#the dorian problem

[lazylittledragon]

i am losing my entire shit right now, this single panel caused a nuclear disaster in my ig comments when someone said "halsin just saying 'astarion's partner' instead of his name feels icky"

which is such a fucking reach by itself but descended into this in about 5 seconds

[cryingprincess13]

[mageknife]

hey does anyone else ever think about archon!dorian and lose their minds

[exutrio]

laudnadorian is a very special friendship for many reasons. but one of the top ones is that they are a demi4demi, bi4bi, and t4t friendship. truly who is doing it like them.

[wheresjonno2023-complete]

Ok but if Jonathan is dead (its been over a month now) who should Mina get together with?

Hey. HEY. I'm asking the questions.

[pictureofdoriaaaaaangay]

chaotic book ramble so I can stop spiraling into the abyss: dark academia books you've heard of and probably already read edition

I need to talk about books I love to stay sane please stand by <3

Bunny by Mona Awad. I love this book SO MUCH. it's beautifully written, the characters are all unhinged women, there's murder, there's creation, there's a creative writing class. it drips with insanity and eroticism. reading it is like living a fever dream. you can picture the events of the book perfectly, but could never hope to explain it to anyone.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. this book is the entire world to me. I love the characters [they're all terrible and irredeemable people], I love the story [they kill a man then they kill their friend and also worship Dionysus], and I absolutely want a friend group just like the Greek class [to reiterate: they are all walking red flags]. it's a book you have to read once, then again, and again, just to notice more and more so you can analyze it and make deductions. at the end of the day, it goes beyond the age-old "moral implications of murder" and delves into "moral implications of love". don't ask me how many times I've read it. that's my red flag.

If We Were Villains by ML Rio. it was only recently that I read this over the course of twenty four hours, and I honesty have yet to recover. I'm not a Shakespeare girlie, but I still loved the way his work was so inherently and intricately woven into the story of the iwwv characters. it was transcendent. it was a tragedy, it was a love story, it was a comedy. it depends on your perception of it, I suppose. but I digress - it's a really good bloody book. expect the ending to make you cry.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by our lord and savior Oscar Wilde. this, technically, can't really be classified under the textbook definition of "dark academia" since there's not exactly any academia (can Harry even read let's be honest here), but it goes in this list because VIBES. this is one of my favorite novels of all time, and another one I've read one too many times for it to not be a red flag. I mean, the name of my damn blog is my red flag. I love it so much. it's got everything, from art to obsession to murder to gay people to the most heartachingly profound lines you've ever read. I mean, why wouldn't you read it if you haven't already?

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever. this one snuck up on me. towards the beginning, I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but by the middle, I was hooked. by the ending, I was shooketh. reading the author note, I was sitting silently in abject horror. more gay people, more obsession, more murder - what else do I have to say?

this has been a chaotic book ramble. thank you for being here <3

[kurosmind]

Dorian out here wistfully sighing out loud for the entire room to hear

"I wish I was with my amatus drinking wine and watching the sunset"

Like that. Zero warning. I walk into the room and he says it to no one in particular.

I have died and ascended

[acourtofquestions]

Yrene: Okay, let’s try a hypothetical: You have six people & four chairs what do you do?

Chaol: Build two chairs.

Nesryn: Sit on something else.

Aedion: Like the floor.

Aelin: Or some-ONE else. *uses Rowan’s knees as a footrest*

Rowan: *looks to Aelin* like your husband, the soon-to-be footstool.

Lorcan: You all are weaklings, who even needs chairs?

Elide: That’s impractical. We could just borrow two more.

Lysandra: Yes, Elide, let’s just *air quotes* “steal” two chairs.

Elide: I don’t think you have to use air quotes if you mean what you’re saying… and also that’s not what I meant!

Aelin: Yeah, Lys, see: we could just burn all the chairs, so it’s even ground *winks*.

Sartaq: She’s right, the wink helps… though we really should have some more legal options.

Dorian: Wouldn’t we be better off buying BEFORE stealing or committing arson?

Manon: Or we could just save ourselves the time and skip to the solve.

Dorian: Which is?

Manon: Kill three people.

Dorian: … I thought the problem only requires two people to die?

Manon: But you do agree, at least two must die.

Asterin: That sounds fair enough to me.

Lorcan: No, not fair at all! — Elide never lets me kill anyone!

Yrene: *interrupting chaos* For the love of gods, how did we get here?! This is supposed hypothetical I used to give to 12-year-olds. It should require 0 deaths!

Asterin: Death isn't murder.

Chaol: YES, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS!

Aelin: No, the question is: DID they die OR were they murdered.

Rowan: It’s true, not all deaths are murders.

Lysandra: yeah, some people just “die” in their sleep *winks*.

Aelin: THAT’S MY GIRL!

Elide: *muttering* Or in meetings of their lucky.

Yrene: *head desk/face palm* I’m going to go mark off trust falls in my list of “team building” exercise’s.

[gothnitsa]

"Bioware's writing has gotten worse"

Ok, so I'm going to rant post about something and make it everyone elses' problem.

So, I recently came across a video that compared a scene of a queer character interacting with an unsupportive character in Dragon Age: Inquisition and a similar situation Dragon Age: the Veilguard. The video and the comments seem to imply that one scene is markedly worse than the other in a way that is immediately apparent. I want to push back against this.

Aside from the transphobia/anti-nb shit that is suggested by the video's framing and rampant in the comments, saying one scene is worse than the other is a mischaracterisation and discounts a lot of queer experience.

The scene in Inquisition is very dramatic: the language is flowery and elaborate, the performances are intense, it is a very compelling and dramatic scene. The framing for the scene and visual tone communicate a great deal of intensity and anger from Dorian: there are heavy shadows and dim lighting from torches that flicker, creating a scene that visually has a darkness and instability to it. The blocking of the scene puts a great deal of distance between the player character, Dorian, and his father, representing the distance in their relationship. It is very much a well crafted scene.

Now, the scene in Veilguard is much different: it opens with a very casual tone and atmosphere, the lighting of the scene is very warm and saturated. It feels like we are at a dinner table having a friendly conversation. Then, when the bomb gets dropped, we start to get close ups of each of the characters, interrupted by wide shots of the whole table. The shot of the table reminds us of the physical separation between these two characters, an echo of the rift that exists between them. We then get various close ups of each of the characters which get progressively closer, mirroring the intensity of the scene and the emotions.

Ok, so now we have the "Dialogue," the actual matter under discussion and point of comparison for these two scenes.

As mentioned above, Inquisition's style in this scene is deliberately intense and dramatic. It feels almost Shakespearean. We are given exposition on why Dorian's homosexuality is frowned upon, we get a tug of war between these two characters and the pain they both feel is palpable in the performances: the way Dorian's father speaks with such pain in his voice and Dorian's ferocity and anguish illustrate how this conflict isn't what either of them want, how the values and cultural circumstances have burned this bridge between them.

Now lets look at Veilguard. Right off the bat someone might feel critical of the sort of awkward start to this conversation. I won't lie, it was quite funny to hear someone go "here are some vegetables...so I'm non-binary." It's clunky, it's awkward, it's a strange way to introduce the topic but if you call this "unrealistic" or "bad writing," frankly I don't think you've seen many people come out.

Coming out is often awkward, painfull, and full of conflicting feelings. There's so much hesitation and anxiety baked into the very concept that there isn't anyway to bring it up that isn't awkward. This is actually a pretty realistic way to depict it. Furthermore, the actual conversation is also what I would call pretty realistic for an outing: the child tries to put it in as simple of terms as they possible can, lay it out in a way they think anyone can understand only for the parent to simply reject the explanation. What follows is a brief exchange that rapidly increases in intensity that is brought to life by some well done voice work (though, personally I think the music was a bit over bearing and did a little too much heavy lifting; I would have preferred the scene silent).

You can feel their frustration that is only further compounded by the mother's past behaviour and general presence. Even in this short video clip you can tell right off the bat that this mother child relationship isn't the most healthy, so this is just more fuel to the fire for them. The exchange is brief, harsh, and loaded with baggage and past bad blood between these two. You don't need to even know who these characters are to feel that. This is a much more realistic example of a character coming out to an unsupportive parent. It is laden with tension, awkwardness, unresolved anger, the burden of past expectations. There is, bluntly, a lot going on in this scene. Even just from this short clip you can get so much from these characters and their relationship while at the same time conveying a pretty impactfull and, honestly, real feeling queer experience.

So, no, one scene is not "worse" than the other. One scene has a deliberately awkward moment to convey the difficult and uncomfortable nature of coming out while at the same time communicating a great deal of character and struggle.

The other scene is an intense and dramatic confrontation that is meant to be more instep with the dark and intense tone that this scene holds within the narrative.

Both are well crafted scenes with deliberate directorial, cinematographic, character, and music choices that successfully convey what these moments are supposed to represent.

[screechingfromthevoid]

Y'all like modern aus? I've been doing some doom scrolling and need to write something fluffy and snowy

[acyd-reign]

The fact that the Shark Bait fanfic pool is only 70 fics on AO3, and I have written ten of them, is SO hard. I need more people to write stuff for me to consume.

[cringefaecompilation]

me: hmm i think i will headcanon orym as having ocd and ocpd, he reminds me of myself and my friends who struggle with compulsions and routines we have troubles breaking out of

liam o’brien choosing to portray the most upsetting yet accurate depiction of someone with untreated unmedicated undiagnosed moral purity ocd by sheer accident:

[mageknife]

hey dorian do you want to like talk about your feelings or something. can we unpack this

[malulls]

I miss writing but I'm kind of lost and I don't have any ideas 🫤

I think maybe some prompts could help me, if you have any that you would like to read for manorian, my askbox is always open ❤️

[unsat-and-strange]

god bless furry artists, this shit is harder than i thought

[cryingprincess13]