#especially knowing his family (who are still alive bc elves)

[monabee-draws]

Been daydreaming my Tav and Astarion's backgrounds in the case where they meet before the events of the game and I had to draw some designs.

TONS of What-Ifs in here, which I will elaborate below and also hopefully in a series of comics one day!!!

Astarion is a junior magistrate a few years before the Gur incident, and is (as per usual) used as a jockey for the less appealing, more irritating cases by his seniors. Magistrate Waltzman, the insufferable, well-meaning fool (Astarion's words) often gives Astarion difficult or tricky cases to test his mettle.

One day he's given the application for a Lolthite temple to be built in the Upper City. Everyone else laughs it off and Astarion knows it is going to be a pain (because the patriars would never agree, religious zoning law is complex and takes forever to muddle through, and the drow themselves will probably eat him.) Instead he meets Phaerdril, who commiserates with his work situation, and they find a way to improve both of their situations by causing beaurocratic nonsense. The building of the temple is stuck in broken-ground limbo for several years, Phaer's commander loses face for bragging about progress that never materialises, and Astarion's higher-ups are repeatedly inundated by complaints from the patriars.

They remain friends (with occasional benefits) over the next few years, meeting whenever the drow envoy returns to see how construction is going. Astarion gifts her a sending stone, she meets his sister who (to his dismay) falls in love with and marries a gnomish man, and eventually Astarion is given a chance by Wilbur to take on a more serious charge - the Gur case. He makes a conservative ruling in hopes of impressing his peers. It is not taken well, and his backstory plays out as expected.

Phaer, who was speaking with him over sending stone when he is attacked begs for leave to find out what happened but Iimfryn refuses. She leaves anyway, but gets to the city far too late (without sanctioned magical aid it is a long, long trip.)

Something traumatic happens when she finally arrives (which I will eventually illustrate I hope) and when she returns she is given an excessive punishment. Instead of taking it, she abandons Menzoberranzan, and is saved from her hunters by a band of Eilistraeen duergar. She eventually converts, changes her name in honour of her rescuers, and years later meets Astarion again after being abducted from Waterdeep by the illithids. It is awkward and painful and they fall in love again even though they're such different people from those who met 200 years ago.

[sorcerous-caress]

Feel free to ignore this as even I think it might be a bit silly but I saw you would prefer sfw instead of nsfw... and honestly I am not a very creative person so its the type of to sweet fluff I usually keep in my head.

Post final battle

-Shadowheart- (Sorry but she is the absolute best girl)

Noble Tav background who does not care much for family riches but still after the events absolutely insists in building Shadowheart their home. Shadowheart reluctantly allows it, maybe even annoyed that its taking forever and Tav is hardly ever around. How long would a normal small cottage right? Thats what Tav promised. Turns out when Tav finally proudly presents their new home.. she built them an actual small mansion. Bc you know Tav has unrealistic views on what is small/big or a normal gesture/grand gesture of affection/commitment. But finally in her life actually feels rich with Shadowheart at her side.

- Minthara -

is a bit difficult because im not sure on if she is allowed back into Menzoberanzan? If could do the same of above or maybe instead offer to take the Baerne house back by force?

Like I said feel free to ignore it, if it is to silly or just one or the other.

-undecided anon

You're bold for telling the person who assigned each bg3 companion a Minessota competition flag that something is too silly.

It's not silly anon, it's beautiful and wholesome. My first ever Tav had a noble background and I used to fantasise about this too.

Especially the Shadowheart one because we ourselves get to go into her destroyed village and see the broken homes and the rubble. We get to read the diaries and books of all the people who immediately had to leave their homes.

Imagine Shadowheart's family who finally reunited after so long, you wouldn't want to burden them with having to figure out where to live or where to go.

Like that village probably was a human one, and I doubt her father is welcome back into his elf grove after having a half-elf child. Not to mention her mother doesn't have much time alive.

Noble Tav that fully funds the rebuilding of the village, fixing the windmill and securing the nearby settlements from any goblin or intruders. Fully giving Shadowheart's parents their old homes back.

Also it's just a theory but do you think her father is the blacksmith? The one who invented the sussur tree weapon recipe? Elves and smithry tend to go hand in hand sometimes and the fact you can only enchant daggers, sickles and swords aka weapons that elves commonly use, make me suspect it more.

Not just for Shadowheart but for all families that suffered during the invasion of their village. Shadowheart would probably tear up from joy at being back at her childhood home alongside her parents even if she can't remember it.

For Minthara, I don't think she is allowed back in the underdark.

I mean she can still go there, no one will stop her. But the assassination attempts will skyrocket tenfolds. House Baerne is the last ever house you get to insult and live to tell the tale like she did.

She does want to establish a new house eventually and take revenge on her old house, kill them before they kill you type of situation.

I'd imagine a noble Tav being her patron for all of this, using their absurd amount of wealth and the weight their family name holds to establish a very stronghold in the underdark.

Minthara being the Matriarch of that house, having Tav sitting all pretty on her lap in the throne room. The founder of the this new drow house and one of the most influencal and richest nobles being absolutely smitten with this one drow women. Obediently laying on her lap as she keeps a possessive hold on them. The closest thing a drow Matron ever got to marriage.

Funding all her princess needs and personal army while being spoiled by her lips and possessive words by night. Giving her all the power she could ever need and more.

also as a last one, i still take nsfw requests! So please don't worry about it or feel reluctant if you want to send nsfw stuff. I never write anything I don't want to write.

The themes in my work change a lot, sometimes I prefer writing nsfw while other times sfw. I still like both by the end of the day, think of it like the current trending page in my brain.

[handern]

Devy this is a weird question but you're my only mutual I know who speaks French. Do you have any recommendations for french language children's books? Especially geared at like 6-10 year old readers? I'm trying to practice my language skills, but my french isn't quite good enough yet to read the book reviews. There's "adult readers", but they have a startling lack of anything at all fun in them. I want dragons and spaceships and shit, not sad people buying groceries

Oh I'm going to pull out my list of french writers books I read when I was 7/10 but I'm not sure if it's really what you're searching for?

Even when they're aimed at kids french books by french authors can have a lot of very pedantic words no one uses on a daily basis

Also keep in mind that most popular books written in english out there have probably been translated into french at some point !

Erik L'Homme :

- Le Maître des Brisants (just read book 1 and 2, the 3rd one was a mistake sorry mister Erik sir) : Steampunkish scifi, I don't remember the whole plot but it was pretty epic and I think it was about a boy coming on a spaceship for an internship? Now I need to re read it

- Le Livre des Etoiles : a young boy training to become a mage in a world that was part of ours and is still linked to ours but through a very small gate. It has celtic themes and epic fights but in a more modern way than most fantasy books

- Phaenomen : four kids in a "hospital for children with special needs" realize they have some powers while they go searching for their favorite doctor who vanished one day without a word. Kind of a modern take on changeling kids, smh it gave me a coping mechanism for ADHD and sensory overload that I still use haha

Pierre Bottero : all his series are linked somehow so here's the publication order, which is not the chronological order

- Ewilan series : a girl finds out she has the power to cross from our world to another one, and also that she's the most powerful magic user born in that world. She goes in search of her biological parents trapped somewhere in that world along with a very eclectic band of weird people. It was some of my favorite books ever.

- L'Autre : set in our world, it follows two heirs of some 7 or so families of people who can use magic, they have to learn to control their powers and I also forgot the main plot but hey the girl can turn into a panther and at some point she murders someone which was very cool of her

- Elana : following my childhood hero, Elana from the Ewilan series. It starts with her as a toddler being raised in the jungle after her parents' death (the best book) then it follows her growing up and being trained as a Marchombre (less interesting but still good) which is a thing that would take too long to explain like, they could be assassins but they're not and they could be thieves but they are not but also they're both assassins and thieves for most of them except they're not, they follow a goal way more important than just assassinations and thievery, of spiritual and physical perfection. I started practicing climbing bc of these books.

Erik L'Homme and Pierre Bottero :

- A comme Association : monsters hunting monsters (4 first books are by both of them, the rest is Erik L'Homme alone). It's pretty fun but I didn't get the end at all. But it's pretty fun yes and makes me very emotionnal bc Pierre Bottero was my favorite author and he died right after the 4th book's completion. The characters are really cool and very fun, and of course there's some monsters befriending

Serge Brussolo : each of his series has like 10000 books, I have no idea how this man writes so much but I'm pretty sure his writing rate should be illegal somehow

- the Peggy Sue series : my grandpa gave me the second book instead of the first by accident and thank goodness he did because the first book absolutely TERRIFIED ME, the rest is really kids books but the first one is horror. It tells the story of a girl who can see ghosts and they make her life miserable for it like, literally try to murder her and her family. She ends up travelling through weird places/worlds, it's pretty cool but jesus christ the first book. Warning for graphic murders, mind control and cannibalism in the first book. Some kids get almost boiled alive to be eaten in the second book but you know what? That's tame compared to the impression the first book left on me! There are sheep who eat people in the 5th book also if I recall correctly

- the Sigrid series : A girl born and raised in a weird submarine realizes that something is wrong and weird, ends up travelling through very eerie worlds where she has to learn the rules very fast to survive, it's also kind of horror-like, but less horrifying than the first Peggy Sue book. There are some spaceships, submarines, ghost boats and a lot more

Fabrice Colin : this man is a genius but also sometimes a dirty little copycat man I love him so much. He wrote a lot and not all of his books are equal in quality but when it's good it's really excellent

- Les Enfants de la Lune : set during WWII, a child who lives with his grandmother finds a letter adressed to his grandfather who died 10 years ago, he goes to the meeting to announce it to the people who wrote the letter and ends up meeting the last elves trying to leave our world before the last portal closes. It's very bittersweet and has absolutely amazing characters including a crocodile who probably ate a nazi at some point, evil pterodactyles and a mechanical kraken in the Seine. I spent 10 years hunting for a copy of this book, I would borrow it ten times a year at the local library

Eric Sanvoisin : I was absolutely obsessed w the atmosphere of his books. Horror but not scary? Kind of intriguing and creepy but in a very cosy and familiar way?

- Les buveurs d'encre : vampires but they drink books ink

- Les chasseurs d'Ombres (type in the author's name or you'll just get the Moral Instruments in the results) honestly it's been so long I don't remember much except that I harassed my parents until they bought me the book after I read it at the library. I think it has vampire-y vibes too with investigations

I also read every single book of the "Autre Mondes" collection by the Mango editor, which has really cool scifi books but there are so many it would make this list way too long so I'll just recommend "Les Abimes d'Outremer" which is about space whales being spaceships, but this collection is a goldmine if you want well wrapped together short-ish novels

[lvthiens]

i have a long and messy dragon age au that i wanna write down because i think it’d be interesting but it’s basically “what if zatharian’s clan was clan sabrae”

okay so this sorta disregards the whole “dalish leave extra mage kids in the woods to die” because

clan lavellan apparently never did this so it stands to reason that changes per clan

mages are the ones who pull aravels which would be sorta difficult with just two or three mages. especially with large clans like zatharian’s.

mages are revered and coveted to the dalish and they don’t really fear them also they need to move around to avoid templars regardless of the amount of mages in a clan

i hate that shit and it collided with this au so ya

this would also disregard the option to help the werewolves kill off the clan unless a few survived including marethari and merrill and they went to kirkwall (that would ironically be a good explanation for what happened to the halla in da 2) but this was made in mind with my dalish warden where she saved both the elves and werewolves

zatharian has the same backstory and was the one who started the curse due to the death of his family but still has a child with mahariel’s mother but she’s the one who dies not soon after mahariel is born. mahariel’s father was already canonically the keeper and ashalle could still be a mother figure. their mother would still be from another clan but mahariel was maybe an accident and left to zatharian after she died. i don’t imagine the whole “romeo and juliet” thing we got but even prideful morally gray immortal bald elf mages gotta hit it every once and a while (zatharian wouldn’t be the only one).

he has three apprentices - marethari (who was made first when she was younger, but since zatharian is an “immortal” she aged), lanaya, and merrill. i know merrill was the equivalent of a dalish transfer student from clan alerion(?) in nevarra because marethari needed an apprentice but maybe that clan did the whole “let’s abandon mage babies” but zatharian stepped in and took her in.

mahariel’s backstory is the same but zatharian keeps them alive from the blight with blood magic (bc that’d be insane healing magic marethari was pulling out) since we know he’s a blood mage and this is where merrill finds out that blood magic isn’t a total evil and perhaps it could purify the blighted eluvian. marethari would only see how he had just used blood magic to make him immortal and curse the wolves so when she sees merrill starting to use it to she’s reminded of zatharian and doesn’t trust her. i think it’d be interesting and sad to add to merrill’s story to be betrayed and loose her keeper twice (ily merrill).

i pictured clan sabrae to be in the southern part of the brecilian forest during the origin considering your warden manages to not be half way to a ghoul by the time you get to ostagar so the clan would’ve still moved north.

when the clan splits lanaya is made keeper of the clan in the kocari wilds - also this clan is named clan mahariel because they’re the HoF and a descendant of the emerald knights and lanaya would still wanna honor zatharian since he was very good to lanaya (considering he saved her) and good to his clan despite his definite definite issues. if zatharian lives then he’s the keeper of this clan and still names it clan mahariel (idk why he’s not the one fulfilling the debt to flemeth maybe guilt or wanting to settle on their would-be land after everything). marethari takes merrill and clan sabrae to kirkwall for the amulet.

i think it’d be good for dalish wardens considering the rest of the wardens have more confrontation with their past. brosca and aeducan can go back to orzammar and deal with their families, mages go back to the circle and also deal with jowan, tabris can see their family and the aftermath of killing vaughn, and cousland can slaughter that bitch rendon god bless but the most we get for mahariel is we see tamlen a ghoul and seeing the eluvian in witch hunt but not their clan and it kinda blows. we could get to see merrill (who ideally would be like da 2 merrill) and be best friends with her and have a more emotional connection to the events and be lied to by their father. like i still get emotional bc of the dialogue you get from his clan if you’re dalish and god dude that’d just make it worse. i don’t think zatharian would’ve been a good father considering he’s warped by vengeance and would still be focused on his first family instead of mahariel who they might resent more since they cheated death multiple times. maybe you could meet tamlen’s family and they would blame you for his death and not finding him while you were cured. and the ending where you fight zatharian and he realizes he has to free the wolves so you basically lead your dad to his death. god it’d just be so angst ridden and sad and i’m a whore for that shit so i love this au

i’m not like a da lore aficionado so if i’m missing something else thats conflicting with this au either deal with it bc it’s my angst ridden dragon age daydream or i’m sorry. it depends on what i’m missing.

[divine-motion]

my rewrite of tmnt 2012 is turning more into “my fan iteration within the story of 2012 which i change a bit to suit my self-indulgence” (which it pretty much was from the start but hey) so i’m just gonna write down some General Stuff abt it like arcs and stuff

Tang Shen is alive but did get sliced by Shredder like when she dies in canon, so she has scars and Shredder believes her to be dead. Tang Shen also believes that Yoshi went and disappeared on her when he went to buy those turtles so, you know, rough couple of years for her w/ regards to thinking her infant daughter is dead, moving away from japan w/ her husband, and then her husband mutates into a rat and doesn’t tell her abt it. now she works as a robotics engineer at Stockman labs and while she’s still depressed she’s getting better, she likes her work, and she’s working on a certain nanobot project which is going good

(Nano is in this version but they instead are in an arcade cabinet that the turtles then bring to the Lair so that Nano has a family and they get to play with the turtles often. Happy end for Nano!)

Raph is the one who first meets Shen and Shen starts signing the adoption papers for the turtles

Splinter is pretty much the same as in 2012 but like, he gets confronted abt his shit instead of just being Flawless Wise Mentor, mainly by Michelangelo and then Shen when she meets him again. think he’s still gonna die but only once instead of. what. three times?

the turtles have known April for about three years since they went to the surface in secret and met a curious human girl. April quickly decided she has four brothers now and they agreed whole-heartedly

April’s parents are both alive btw and very good parents, though since “the Kraang want to kidnap April” isn’t a thing here they are both unaware of her mutant friends

April isn’t trained as a kunoichi and instead relies on her telepathic powers, which would grow at the same rate as the turtles become better fighters. i have a whole list of her powers and their limits - for example, tinfoil hats do work to keep your head protected from telepathy, much to everyone’s surprise. a metal pot also works, or a metal helmet. Shredder is unknowingly immune to it with his helmet always being on...

the brain worms serve a slightly bigger role, but they are instead creatures from Dimension X, a weak, telepathic parasite that crawls into people’s brains and controls them to keep the worm safe while it feeds on the person. they are what Kraang Prime mutated himself with to create the Kraang hivemind. they are also called “mind maggots” in Dimension X, “brain worms” is just what Stockman and Donnie started calling them when first discovered. removing a brain worm from a person without using telepathic powers can result in the person’s death or severe brain damage

also the Kraang are a more literal hivemind. if one of them sees you, they all see you. the turtles have to use all their ninja stealth to deal with them, and it’s always a risk because the Kraang can easily overwhelm them with how many of them there are

Kraang Prime is probably gonna be offed at the end of the “season 1 finale”, probably by Leatherhead. he deserves it. offing Prime also frees the Kraang hivemind from his control and the Utrom have their autonomy back. either that, or they manage to release the hivemind from his control another way, and it leaves Prime like weak and useless somehow. maybe by plucking off those weird crystals on his head, i dunno, still thinking abt it

oh Leatherhead! Leatherhead is a doctor for mutants, being a bit of a mix between his 2003 and 2012 self. he wants to help other mutants since he knows they’re victims of the Kraang too, however indirectly, and that they can’t exactly get medical help. mutants do have greater regenerative properties, but that’s only going to help you so far, and your bones might grow back wrong quicker. so, Leatherhead spent his years of freedom studying medicine and mutant biology, using stuff he stole from the Kraang during his first escape.

it would be a lot more focused on helping mutants in general. like, there would still be mutant villains that would be fought when needed, but Mikey and Donnie would put their feet down and try to offer the mutants help in settling into their new life. the turtles would also not be disgusted with mutants like they are in 2012 like jeez, dumbdotcomm really put it into words

anyways the Kraang would cease being a threat after “season 1″ and the truce Karai suggests between Foot and Hamato does happen. Splinter hates it and doesn’t trust it at all

Baxter Stockman has his own lab which is pretty successful, and he is an incredibly smart and eccentric guy with a bubbly personality - until you threaten him or talk down to him, at which point he shows himself to be calculating and ruthless, still with a smile on his face. he doesn’t pick up on sarcasm very well, though, and if you ask him to explain something, he will happily do so in great detail, whether you’re friend or foe. also, he doesn’t get mutated into a fly, and he doesn’t get turned into just a brain, either. he’s just a funky regular human guy

Timothy becomes The Badger in this version. he’s also treated better by the turtles, especially Mikey who takes it upon himself to train Timothy, partially bc Mikey wants to be a superhero but knows he can’t show his face. in fact, Timothy was inspired by Mikey specifically as he saw Mikey trying to be a costumed superhero at one point. when Timothy mutates, he becomes a human mutant like Hun and Ravenwood from IDW, so he can become like an actual superhero with powers

more female characters. like just in general more girls please. i beg of you.

Angel is Casey’s older sister who’s off at college as a STEM student, and she is also Nobody here bc i absolutely love that for her, IDW was galaxy brained when they did that. Alopex is her partner here too same as in IDW, and they jokingly call themselves “Batteries, the Double-A Crime Fighting Duo”. Angel is very much against Casey being a vigilante despite being one herself, but she’s an adult so it’s different, obviously

the turtles ask Alopex to be their teacher, too, especially since Raph notices that she fights using anger in a controlled way, and she is a bit surprised and slightly awkward about it but she accepts. Alopex is an arctic fox instead of a red fox here btw, though she has a summer coat most of the time and only gets white fur during winter.

April would also have an arc where she strives to understand her mutant side and powers better, so she would venture into Dimension X alone to find the Utrom, and learns about their society before and after Kraang. Rook and Queen (named Quin here bc Bishop isn’t a Utrom in this version, and Utrom don’t have a concept of queens and kings) would have bigger roles, as they would help April out with her powers and figuring out what being part Utrom/Kraang means for her identity.

Rook is also an alchemist/scientist who created mutagen in the first place, and Kraang was her assistant. this isn’t super important to April’s arc but i just thought it’d throw it out there

the brain worms/mind maggots would result in a City Fall arc i’ve decided. but it would be the only time mind control/brainwashing becomes a plot point in this series bc i think 2012 really overused that trope. like it was there with Splinter and the Rat King, with the parasite wasp mutant episode, and then again with the brain worms but like, several times over.

this also means that Karai doesn’t get the brain worms pumped into her brain. remember that scene where she’s hooked up to the machine and Shredder’s like “damn that shit sucks i’m sorry Hamato Yoshi’s doing this to you”?? that scene was pretty fucked up. anyways Karai has like. agency in her own arc this time

in the City Fall arc Splinter would die and at the end Karai kills Shredder, and Leo and Karai as new leaders of the clans would be like “alright this stupid fucking ancestral cycle of vengeance” ends here

Northampton time after that because it would be a Lot

after that i think it would be space arc time? it would start with the turtles being separated across dimensions and planets a bit like when SAINW happened, but without SAINW. like, Donnie would get to Neutrino (elves with crazy hair version), Leo would get to Usagi’s dimension, etc. etc.

also in case it wasn’t obvious Tang Shen will play a big role as the turtles’ Better parent and she’d have her own stuff to work through, like meeting her daughter she thought was dead and finding out her boss, Stockman, is evil, that her husband got turned into a rat, and that her new kids get into all kinds of dangerous trouble constantly

anyways that’s um. already quite the wall of text so i’ll shut up now ‘til i have more art to post, digital art this time so you can like. actually see what things look like.

[ofbloodandfaith]

Day 16 of 30 Days of Apollon

How do you think this deity represents the values of their pantheon and cultural origins?

Well, one of the main group of values of Hellenic polytheism is considered by most to be from Apollon, these are called the Delphic Maxims and is where the phrase, ‘Know Thyself’ comes from.

The Delphic maxims are a set of 147 aphorisms inscribed at Delphi. Originally, they were said to have been given by the Greek god Apollo's Oracle at Delphi, Pythia and therefore were attributed to Apollo.[1] The 5th century scholar Stobaeus later attributed them to the Seven Sages of Greece.[2] Contemporary scholars, however, hold that their original authorship is uncertain and that 'most likely they were popular proverbs, which tended later to be attributed to particular sages.'[3] Roman educator Quintilian argued that students should copy those aphorisms often to improve their moral core.[4] Perhaps the most famous of these maxims is 'know thyself,' which was carved into the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The specific order and wording of each maxim varies among different versions (and translations) of the text. 

I believe Apollon (city/society/neighbourhood worship) along with Hestia (household/family/personal worship) had a strong hand in keeping the cultus of (the ancient version of) Hellenic Polytheism alive and along with the other gods made it their job to guide humans. He is considered, ‘The national divinity of the Greeks’, which to me means that when he shows himself he is not just Apollon but all the gods, a representative of the Olympians, in a similar way to how Hermes represents the gods as the messenger. Yet in a modern way, Apollon would be a foreign king/ambassador/politician while Hermes would a foreign correspondent/news reporter/politician.

Considering his cultural origins, he seemed to gain attributes from the gods around him (gods from different parts of Greece) through the years, which explains why he is considered by some a migratory god because it seems like he doesn’t take the place of most of these gods he learns a skill or power from them. 

For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could originate from different gods. In archaic Greece he was the prophet, the oracular god who in older times was connected with "healing". In classical Greece he was the god of light and of music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil.[50] Walter Burkert[51] discerned three components in the prehistory of Apollo worship, which he termed "a Dorian-northwest Greek component, a Cretan-Minoan component, and a Syro-Hittite component."

From his eastern origin Apollo brought the art of inspection of "symbols and omina" (σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα : sēmeia kai terata), and of the observation of the omens of the days. The inspiration oracular-cult was probably introduced from Anatolia. The ritualism belonged to Apollo from the beginning. The Greeks created the legalism, the supervision of the orders of the gods, and the demand for moderation and harmony. Apollo became the god of shining youth, ideal beauty, fine arts, philosophy, moderation, spiritual-life, the protector of music, divine law and perceptible order. The improvement of the old Anatolian god, and his elevation to an intellectual sphere, may be considered an achievement of the Greek people.[52]

In my experience and from reading other introductions to Hellenic polytheism, Apollon tends to be the first god you meet/explore from the Hellenic pantheon, which fits with his role as an ambassador who introduces humans to the divinity of the Olympians

So to answer the question I believe that he does represent the values of his pantheon and his cultural origins as he still portrays the attributes he procured in his Dorian:

The connection with the Dorians and their initiation festival apellai is reinforced by the month Apellaios in northwest Greek calendars.[66] The family-festival was dedicated to Apollo (Doric: Ἀπέλλων).[67] Apellaios is the month of these rites, and Apellon is the "megistos kouros" (the great Kouros).[68] However it can explain only the Doric type of the name, which is connected with the Ancient Macedonian word "pella" (Pella), stone. Stones played an important part in the cult of the god, especially in the oracular shrine of Delphi (Omphalos).[69][70]

The "Homeric hymn" represents Apollo as a Northern intruder. His arrival must have occurred during the "Dark Ages" that followed the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization, and his conflict with Gaia (Mother Earth) was represented by the legend of his slaying her daughter the serpent Python.[71]

The earth deity had power over the ghostly world, and it is believed that she was the deity behind the oracle.[72] The older tales mentioned two dragons who were perhaps intentionally conflated. A female dragon named Delphyne (Δελφύνη; cf. δελφύς, "womb"),[73] and a male serpent Typhon (Τυφῶν; from τύφειν, "to smoke"), the adversary of Zeus in the Titanomachy, who the narrators confused with Python.[74][75] Python was the good daemon (ἀγαθὸς δαίμων) of the temple as it appears in Minoan religion,[76] but she was represented as a dragon, as often happens in Northern European folklore as well as in the East.[77]

Apollo and his sister Artemis can bring death with their arrows. The conception that diseases and death come from invisible shots sent by supernatural beings, or magicians is common in Germanic and Norse mythology.[58] In Greek mythology Artemis was the leader (ἡγεμών, "hegemon") of the nymphs, who had similar functions with the Nordic Elves.[78] The "elf-shot" originally indicated disease or death attributed to the elves, but it was later attested denoting stone arrow-heads which were used by witches to harm people, and also for healing rituals.[79]

The Vedic Rudra has some similar functions with Apollo. The terrible god is called "The Archer", and the bow is also an attribute of Shiva.[80] Rudra could bring diseases with his arrows, but he was able to free people of them, and his alternative Shiva is a healer physician god.[81] However the Indo-European component of Apollo does not explain his strong relation with omens, exorcisms, and with the oracular cult.

Minoan:

it seems an oracular cult existed in Delphi from the Mycenaean age.[82] In historical times, the priests of Delphi were called Lab(r)yadai, "the double-axe men", which indicates Minoan origin. The double-axe, labrys, was the holy symbol of the Cretan labyrinth.[83][84] The Homeric hymn adds that Apollo appeared as a dolphin and carried Cretan priests to Delphi, where they evidently transferred their religious practices. Apollo Delphinios or Delphidios was a sea-god especially worshiped in Crete and in the islands.[85] Apollo's sister Artemis, who was the Greek goddess of hunting, is identified with Britomartis (Diktynna), the Minoan "Mistress of the animals". In her earliest depictions she is accompanied by the "Master of the animals", a male god of hunting who had the bow as his attribute. His original name is unknown, but it seems that he was absorbed by the more popular Apollo, who stood by the virgin "Mistress of the Animals", becoming her brother.[78]

The old oracles in Delphi seem to be connected with a local tradition of the priesthood, and there is not clear evidence that a kind of inspiration-prophecy existed in the temple. This led some scholars to the conclusion that Pythia carried on the rituals in a consistent procedure through many centuries, according to the local tradition. In that regard, the mythical seeress Sibyl of Anatolian origin, with her ecstatic art, looks unrelated to the oracle itself.[86] However, the Greek tradition is referring to the existence of vapours and chewing of laurel-leaves, which seem to be confirmed by recent studies.[87]

Plato describes the priestesses of Delphi and Dodona as frenzied women, obsessed by "mania" (μανία, "frenzy"), a Greek word he connected with mantis (μάντις, "prophet").[88] Frenzied women like Sibyls from whose lips the god speaks are recorded in the Near East as Mari in the second millennium BC.[89] Although Crete had contacts with Mari from 2000 BC,[90] there is no evidence that the ecstatic prophetic art existed during the Minoan and Mycenean ages. It is more probable that this art was introduced later from Anatolia and regenerated an existing oracular cult that was local to Delphi and dormant in several areas of Greece.[91]

and Anatolian origins:

A non-Greek origin of Apollo has long been assumed in scholarship.[7] The name of Apollo's mother Leto has Lydian origin, and she was worshipped on the coasts of Asia Minor. The inspiration oracular cult was probably introduced into Greece from Anatolia, which is the origin of Sibyl, and where existed some of the oldest oracular shrines. Omens, symbols, purifications, and exorcisms appear in old Assyro-Babylonian texts, and these rituals were spread into the empire of the Hittites. In a Hittite text is mentioned that the king invited a Babylonian priestess for a certain "purification".[52]

A similar story is mentioned by Plutarch. He writes that the Cretan seer Epimenides purified Athens after the pollution brought by the Alcmeonidae, and that the seer's expertise in sacrifices and reform of funeral practices were of great help to Solon in his reform of the Athenian state.[92] The story indicates that Epimenides was probably heir to the shamanic religions of Asia, and proves, together with the Homeric hymn, that Crete had a resisting religion up to historical times. It seems that these rituals were dormant in Greece, and they were reinforced when the Greeks migrated to Anatolia.

Homer pictures Apollo on the side of the Trojans, fighting against the Achaeans, during the Trojan War. He is pictured as a terrible god, less trusted by the Greeks than other gods. The god seems to be related to Appaliunas, a tutelary god of Wilusa (Troy) in Asia Minor, but the word is not complete.[93] The stones found in front of the gates of Homeric Troy were the symbols of Apollo. A western Anatolian origin may also be bolstered by references to the parallel worship of Artimus (Artemis) and Qλdãns, whose name may be cognate with the Hittite and Doric forms, in surviving Lydian texts.[94] However, recent scholars have cast doubt on the identification of Qλdãns with Apollo.[95]

The Greeks gave to him the name ἀγυιεύς agyieus as the protector god of public places and houses who wards off evil, and his symbol was a tapered stone or column.[96] However, while usually Greek festivals were celebrated at the full moon, all the feasts of Apollo were celebrated at the seventh day of the month, and the emphasis given to that day (sibutu) indicates a Babylonian origin.[97]

The Late Bronze Age (from 1700 to 1200 BCE) Hittite and Hurrian Aplu was a god of plague, invoked during plague years. Here we have an apotropaic situation, where a god originally bringing the plague was invoked to end it. Aplu, meaning the son of, was a title given to the god Nergal, who was linked to the Babylonian god of the sun Shamash.[21] Homer interprets Apollo as a terrible god (δεινὸς θεός) who brings death and disease with his arrows, but who can also heal, possessing a magic art that separates him from the other Greek gods.[98] In Iliad, his priest prays to Apollo Smintheus,[99] the mouse god who retains an older agricultural function as the protector from field rats.[33][100][101] All these functions, including the function of the healer-god Paean, who seems to have Mycenean origin, are fused in the cult of Apollo.

[bisexualryder]

Okay dude i’ll bite, can i know more about your trio wardens au ? Like how did they meet ? Who did they romance ? What happens to them after dao ? In da2 ? Dai ? (Sorry im just a huge fan of ocs and i love the wardens)

Ahhh, first off - thank you for asking! I’m happy to gush about my trio of idiots wardens :D Secondly - don’t apologize for asking! I love talking about my OCs, I’m just bad about keeping up with posting and such lately (but hope to fix that soon, especially if I make this extra sideblog). ANYWHO, gonna jump in and apologize now if this gets long, lol.

—

SO I’ll hit romance first since that’s quicker and easier. Rylee and Ise (eventually) become a thing - they’re married by the time DAI rolls around. Typical grumpy asshole falls in love with ray of sunshine and doesn’t want to admit it at first. She tries to play it cool and ends up playing it too cool until she gets some help from the couple companions she befriends (mostly Zev, since Sten doesn’t care that much, but he offers his insight on what qunari do). But they don’t actually, like, really become a romance-y thing until after ghoul!Tamlen shows up and oof that one is painful.

Eleri I… don’t know yet, to be honest. She was a re-imagining of my old Cousland, who romanced Alistair, but with Eleri I’m actually leaning a bit more toward Zevran. But uh, still not sure yet, I’m mad indecisive on this one. tbh even Nate is in the running for her *shrug emoji*

On to the rest!

DA:O

They don’t all join the standard way, I guess, but they do all meet at Ostagar. Ducan officially recruits Rylee and Isethari, Eleri recruits herself, lol.

Rylee is recruited first. Standard Tabris origin there and it’s on the way to Ostagar that they plan to stop and see the Dalish elves and that’s when they find Isethari half-dead in the middle of the woods (it was sheer luck, really). Duncan sends Rylee, carrying the nearly-dead Ise, to the camp and goes to investigate the area. Other than Rylee wandering around the Dalish camp like an awestruck idiot, most of the Mahariel origin is the same. Rylee stays behind in the camp, though, when Ise and co. are sent back to the ruin where they run into Duncan. Once they leave, Rylee earns herself the duty of ensuring that Isethari doesn’t run on their trip to Ostagar, bc let me tell you Ise is not happy about leaving without finding Tamlen.

Now for Eleri, she escapes the castle with only her mabari after her parents sacrifice themselves to buy her time to get out. She manages to make it to the stables for her horse and rides as hard as she can to Ostagar, desperate to find her brother. When she basically gets told that he’s out scouting and she likely won’t see him before the battle, she asks about the wardens and is pointed toward Duncan. At that point, she goes up to him like: “I just slaughtered my way through an army of men trying to assassinate my family. I have nothing left but this dream, please.” He asks clarification, she provides, he eventually agrees and sends her off to gather the other recruits and report back with Alistair. It’s at that point she meets Rylee and Isethari, who are hanging around close together by the quartermaster (after Rylee nearly kills Daveth for hitting on that one woman, you know the one). 

From there up until the start of the fight, it progresses as it normally would in canon. They all get their quest, go out into the wilds, etc. etc. And once they survive the Joining, they have a pre-meeting meeting thing. Alistair and Eleri join the meeting as per canon, and Duncan assigns Rylee and Ise to the remaining warden forces. So from there, canon-typical for Eleri. Go to the tower, light the beacon, get almost killed and then saved by Flemeth, etc.

Rylee and Ise, however, have a much more trying experience. Rylee takes a genlock to the face (claws? blade? idk lmao) for Ise to protect her - this being around the time they can see the battle is going south. Duncan’s already been killed at this point and Ise starts to panic (she hates fighting as it is) and manages to half convince, half drag Rylee from the fighting and they flee the battle to the nearest town (naturally, Lothering). They end up meeting up with Eleri and Alistair (and Morrigan) again and explain what happened from their perspective and then work with Eleri and Alistair to come up with a plan of action.

Eleri takes up the role of warden-commander (since Alistair and Ise don’t want to lead and everyone knows Rylee leading is a Very Bad Idea™).

Uhhh, key highlights of what they do I guess would be:

Sided with the Mages

Irving saved, Uldred dead etc etc

Put Bhelen in power

Branka’s killed

sent Dagna off to study ofc

Sided with the Dalish against the werewolves

two elves with one being Dalish and the other violently racist made it a simple choice for Eleri to lessen a headache later (she had way too much else to worry about than argue with them)

Helped Redcliffe and saved Conner

demon killed w/Jowan’s help (he does the ritual and Morrigan is sent in to yeet the demon out)

Isolde’s alive

side note: didn’t poison the Urn

Anora rules w/ Alistair

Loghain alive & recruited as a warden (recruited post-final fight)

Alistair still performs the ritual with Morrigan

Awakening

Not too much of note here. Rylee is the one that finds Nathaniel, though, and it does not go well for him. It’s only Ise that stays Rylee’s hand from killing him. When they bring him to Eleri, she immediately recruits him when she realizes it’s her old friend. He’s still pretty ticked, but softens about the whole thing a bit when he realizes Eleri is around.

With more wardens, they’re able to more easily protect the Keep and Amaranthine. And the Architect does live (much to Rylee’s great annoyance).

DA2 & DAI

Sometime in here is when Rylee and Ise get married. They have two ceremonies - one in the Denerim alienage to honor Rylee’s culture and then again when they find Ise’s clan outside Kirkwall.

Hawke and co. do run into Ise and Rylee in the Deep Roads during the expedition (as they are canon with Ashley Hawke, there’s not a twin to save). BUT the two of them help Ash and crew gtfo and back safely to Kirkwall. Turns out they saw Bodahn on their way into the Deep Roads to investigate and got a tip to keep an eye out for some lost members of the expedition (the whole leaving suddenly without them thing didn’t sit right with him).

Later on, in that mission where you run into Nate? Eleri’s with him, though doesn’t actually advertise herself as the warden-commander while chatting with Ash. Ash isn’t dumb, though, (not always, at least) and gets a feeling Eleri might be kinda more in charge than she was told. So when wardens start disappearing, she takes a chance and makes contact. It ultimately pays off when Eleri sends Rylee and Ise to help the Inquisition.

During the events of Here Lies the Abyss in Inquisition, it’s Rylee that stays behind to buy everyone time to escape. And, much like when Ise was taken from her clan, she has to be dragged out - this time by the Inquisitor herself (Olivia, for the record) - kicking, screaming, and utterly sobbing that they’re leaving her wife behind.

BUT because fuck canon, Rylee survives and kinda wanders around the raw Fade until she finds another open rift. This ends up dumping her into the ass end of Orlais somewhere and it takes her a while to make her way back to Skyhold, but dammit! She and Ise do get a happy ending. It does take a while though, it really does. And for that duration, Ise doesn’t leave Skyhold for anything after they get her back there. Resigned, more than anything, she usually perches on an empty wall away from the hustle and bustle of the main areas near the stables. She also doesn’t eat much, only what small bits that Cole brings her.

As for Eleri, she - along with Nate, Velanna, and Sigrun - are searching for the cure. And I really haven’t thought much beyond that.

MAN this got long, I hope you don’t mind! I had a lot of fun thinking about this and gushing a bit about my girls and what they do :D So thank you, again, for asking! One day, I think I plan to write something detailing their journey from start to finish in DAO and maybe beyond, but it’d probably be a series of drabbles? I struggle with long fics and flowing from one chapter to the next, but maybe.