#nift

Nift is a rook I don’t show case too often but I do love him. So he lands in the light house an meets a certain lady. @wickedadaar as my cowriter and including her bean as well.

Nift is a mourn watcher who has never left Nevara, a Qunari man whose mother had left the Qun when she fell pregnant with him. She fled to the necropolis and seeked help along with refuge. Nift grew up to be a watcher, whose magic manifested over time and gained the sight to see spirits which proved helpful. Upon hearing that the Veilguard needed reinforcements, Nift reluctantly offered help. This made things a bit difficult for Nift as typically he would just speak with the spirits and very few interactions with people outside the mourn watch.

Nift was nervous upon entering the lighthouse. New people as well as a new space to get accustomed to. His hands fidgeted around the straps of his pack. It didn’t take long for Din'an to spot the Qunari, clearly out of his element and nervous. She studied him curiously as he moved through the room. Her eyes caught his every movement, each full of nervous energy. She could spot a fish out of water just about anywhere. She had been there herself for a time. “You new around here?” She asked as she approached the Qunari, doing her best not to startle him. She held her hand behind her back as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

Nift flushed a bit, the woman making him jump a bit. “Ah, was that obvious?” He smiled gently, his eyes not able to meet hers. This was also a first for him. Someone approaching him willingly was new. Din'an chuckled softly, “Just a little. You look kind of lost. Need help finding anything?” She asked curiously, quietly studying him.

Nift nodded, “Yes, my lady. I am looking for the mourn watch quarters..” She smiled up at him with a certain twinkle in her eye. “Well, I don’t know about your room specifically, but I can help you find the Mourn Watch area of the lighthouse? It’s kind of hard to miss once you get your bearings. Lots of skulls and bones, not to mention the eerie green glare,” she said with a chuckle. “So, what do you say?”

Nift nodded his head with a gentle smile, he couldn’t help how contagious her smile was that his own happen to grace itself. “That would be lovely, I’m Nift.” “I’m Din'an. It’s nice to meet you, Nift. Here, follow me,” she told him as she waved for him to follow her. “So, Nift, why did you decide to join the Veilguard?” She looked up at him with bright eyes, the light of the room accentuating her Dirthamen vallaslin.

Nift gave a small smile, “I truthfully did not want to. Though my mother and my mentor think it would be good for me to leave Nevara and explore. I am only here to lend my aid best I can. I am not the best when it comes to interactions with other people.” Din'an chuckled softly. “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing you ran into me. I happen to help a lot of folks who aren’t exactly good at interacting with others. I’ve helped a lot of former slaves in Tevinter reintegrate once we freed them,” she told him with a warm smile as she walked with her hands behind her back.

“I see. In Nevera, there are no slaves. Everyone is free, it why my mother fled there. It is a good thing you do. Helping others in that type of situation.” Nift gave her a small smile. “I figure it’s the least I can do really. The Shadows Dragons got me away from my slavers. The husband wasn’t too terrible, but the wife was the worst person I’ve ever met. Though I suppose that is a tale for another time. No need to dump that on you when we’re only just met,” she said with a small smile, trying to hide the sadness that had momentarily darkened her expression. “What’s Nevarra like? I’ve never had the chance to go there.”

Nift smiled, “I may not be the best judge of character but while others call it creepy I find it peaceful. Not a lot of flowers grow there but gods the gardens, are spectacular. The graves are peaceful and the spirits, gentle things. It’s home and it’ll never not be home.” She nodded quietly as he spoke. “Well, it sounds interesting to say the least. I do love a nice garden. I hear the nobles there all have huge gardens with shrubbery and hedges, full of beautiful flowers.” Her voice waxed poetic as she spoke, almost dreamily as she imagined the gardens she had only heard tales of. “Is that true? Or is there any merit?”

Nift let out a soft sound, “Yes, I suppose some parts of that are true depending on where you look. Nobility pride themselves in their works. Nevara city has few but when you find them they are grand. And if you come across any mansions in Nevara you are bound to find a few with wide expanding gardens.” She wanes poetic again as she speaks, “That sounds beautiful. I have never been outside of Tevinter until I came here. I will certainly have to add that to my list. Maybe I could pick your brain on particular places to go when I visit?”

I haven't found the time to watch the Met Gala yet! :(

Isn't that ironic? People think that's what we do at fashion college, but I was busy with papier-mâché instead.

Anyway, it might not be worth it, even if I find the time. The memes on Instagram have spoilt the entire event already.

I'm going to try and critically analyse The Devil Wears Prada and/or Cruella instead, but I'm also pretty sure that's already been done to death.

Honestly, I don't think anyone can ever claim to be truly original. Anything we create has to come from somewhere, even if it isn't apparent at first. As Dilbert once said, it depends on copying the masters badly; so badly that no one knows where you got your source material. Jokes aside, there's some truth to that statement.

Even the greatest masters draw inspiration from nature, philosophy, or their superiors. Issey Miyake's fold-laden collections are actually based on solid mathematical concepts, as seen in this brilliant video (full disclosure: Initially, I watched it for the math, not the fashion).

Issey Miyake's developable origami dress (Fall/Winter 2014-15).

But what does this mean for us, as designers-to-be? No one can be a bottomless pit of good ideas. Plagiarism is never okay, of course, but there's a fine line between inspiration and a dishonest rip-off. What's the difference? Is it intent?

And what about creativity? That's subjective, of course; for example, some see Rupi Kaur as a dangerous radical in the field of poetry, while others find her writing to be... milquetoast (to put it kindly). This reminds me of another old post, where I touched on the idea that people in various subcultures tend to homogeneity within those subcultures. This ties in with a few psychological theories about conformity (and acceptable versions of "non-conformity"). Funnily enough, this is called "the hipster effect" or the anti-conformist effect.

It's quite easy to understand why this happens, even for a pop psychology dilettante like myself. For evolutionary reasons, humans don't like to be seen as the odd one out (an easy target for ridicule or ostracism). But what happens when you don't want to be like the other girls? You try to be "different": and in most cases, that idea of "difference" looks like this- get a tattoo, change your hair colour, or get piercings. If you want to diverge from those norms, good luck keeping friends and family!

Of course, this isn't a personal judgment of anyone's tastes. As I've mentioned before, we all do this. All that differs is the way we choose to do it. All I'm saying is that there's a reason why you're more likely to find someone wearing this shirt than the one below.

image source: screenshotted by me.

Also, it's just a tiny bit difficult to be original in a field like fashion. In an industry that literally runs on a culture of rapidly-changing trends, it's risky to truly "reject the norms". Again, we face the debate about conformity vs measured deviance.

There's a lot to be said about this, psychologically (and even philosophically) speaking.

1. Grimmshit numero whatever the heck, its junior!

2. Ellie, not new oc but first drawing of her

3. God Tamer doodle sheet

4. Lucia, and a different au of her! left is og, right is au

5. Secret santa for my favoritest seester, Norsk-outcast (dont wanna ping cause i already showed her)