#griffons theory

[fade-rat]

Veilguard endgame spoilers under the cut!

Y'all, they may have been stabbed to hell. But there are exactly two Veilguard cast members with any connection to the blight and/or red lyrium. And how interesting that the only death that is unavoidable, ends in falling in a pit of blight and/or red lyrium, a substance confirmed to be able to sustain life long after someone should have died. And the only eligible characters who might die in that scene are the only two characters with an innate connection to the blight and/or red lyrium. (Davrin through his connection to the blight as a warden, Harding through her connection to the lyrium hivemind situation and arguable connection to the blight through her connection to the lyrium/titan hivemind thing. Isatunoll whatever)

Calling it now - I don't think Davrin and/or Harding's story is necessarily finished

[lavelans]

for no reason at all, here are some of my guesses wrt which of the 7 evanuris* the 7 veilguard companions might share similarities with:

taash - elgar’nan

emmrich - falon’din

neve - dirthamen

lucanis - andruil

harding - june

bellara - sylaise

davrin - ghilan’nain

*referring to the 7 evanuris that were trapped in the fade. mythal already has connection with either the inquisitor or morrigan and (spoilers) solas with rook

[kabsey]

Also still obsessed with Neve/Davrin, by the way.

I wholeheartedly subscribe to the theory that they hooked up during the Val Dorma job with the expectation that they would never cross paths again. And then one night, after Minrathous, after Weisshaupt, they're sharing a bottle of wine to wash down their grief and they end up making out on the couch in the dining hall.

They go back to his room because he has an actual bed, and they've both been throwing themselves into the mission to avoid thinking about all they've lost, and they fall asleep tangled in each other right after.

And Neve wakes to the sound of Davrin mumbling in his sleep and tossing his head on the pillow. She rolls over and is alarmed to see sweat dripping down his temples and his face twisted in pain. It takes her several tries to wake him (she eventually resorts to pinching one of his nipples with ice-covered fingers), and he thanks her for waking him, not for his own sake but because his nightmares freak out Assan. She asks him how often he has them, and he just shrugs as he pulls on a pair of trousers and goes to let Assan into the room to curl up on the rug in front of the fire.

And she thinks about gathering her own clothes and going back to her room (and she does pull on her shirt and underwear because it would feel strange to be naked in front of the griffon), but Davrin's bed is actually really nice, so she stays and the three of them sleep peacefully the rest of the night.

Neve assumes that will be the end of it—they released some tension, worked it out of their systems—but the next night, as she's dosing off on her settee, she hears scratching at her door. She's not sure it's real at first, but it keeps going, so she grabs her crutch from where it leans against the wall to go see who it is. When she opens the door, Assan whines up at her, and then he dashes halfway to Davrin's room before dashing back and tugging on her nightgown. So she follows him there, and as soon as she enters, she hears Davrin shouting. She nearly knocks her crutch into his worktable as she hurries to wake him. And this time he explains about Warden nightmares and how he'd never quite believed the old-timers who said they are worse during a Blight, but he sure as hell believes it now.

And after a bit of discussion, they agree that she'll sleep in his room from now on—for Assan's sake, of course. And sometimes they have sex, and sometimes they don't. But they both sleep better for the arrangement, and neither of them thinks too hard about it.

For a while at least.

[missriggie]

If Inquisitor Lavellan is Hope, Elf!Rook is Freedom

Forgive my rambling but I just wanted to share this, see if it inspires discussion/theories/new friends to reach out, and maybe cement myself in this fandom.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I've given a sparing thought to some theories and headcanons I've seen circulating with the confirmation of elves once being spirits in Veilguard and all the clues sprinkled throughout Inquisition. One has popped up that I find intriguing and I agree with. Inquisitor Lavellan is a Spirit of Hope.

I think there is a very strong case for that, especially for those Solasmancers out there who love to pair them up as Wisdom and Hope. It's a very beautiful thought as they are without a doubt soulmates, at least in the cases where those two end up together.

Hope defines the Inquisitor's journey. They become the Herald of Andraste, a symbol to look to after a period of ruthless war, then into the ass-end of a demon apocalypse trying to mend a broken world. Deed after great deed they prove their capabilities, and become a formidable player in Thedas's history, keeping people looking up. They are the Dawn That Comes.

Now that Veilguard has since confirmed that Elves were spirits made flesh, I've started to wonder at what possible spirit Rook could be, should they be of Elven lineage. I've decided, either through evidence or delusion or trying to piece together the fanfic I've got brewing, that Rook could be a spirit of Freedom.

Every faction could have some way of a purpose toward liberation. A Veil Jumper would want to free their history and their people from ignorance. A Grey Warden would want to free Thedas from the Calling and the Blight. The strongest background, and most the likely canon faction for Rook would be a Shadow Dragon, putting pressure on the Imperium to abolish slavery.

Rook has a knack for freedom. We free Lucanis from the Ossuary, the Dalish Elves from the Venatori, the Kal Sharok dwarves from the Titan's anger, young griffons from the Gloomhowler. We even free ourselves from a prison of regret built specifically to lock up gods.

My first go round, I played a Lord of Fortune Spellsword, and it coincided very nicely with this theory. An ex-galley slave turned marauding treasure hunter with no masters to hold them back. She lived and breathed freedom so it made sense, at least for my Rook.

We also see the potential to corrupt that spirit of freedom. Into what you ask? CHAOS. Which also ties into the other thing that connects them to Solas; The Tower.

The big teaser for Rook as the protagonist back when it was still called Dreadwolf was the Tower/rook chess piece and floating head of a wolf. Solas's Arcana at the end of Inquisition is the Tower. This Major Arcana represents calamity, disruption, upheaval, unavoidable change, chaos.

Too much freedom leads to lawlessness, and Rook is never one to follow rules as far as we witness. In all backgrounds, no matter the faction, Rook's actions cause unrest, turmoil, disruption, often a total breakdown of authority, much like the spirit they are mistaken for when delving into Solas's memories in the Crossroads.

Rook cannot be caged or told what to do. But also, Freedom cannot go unchecked, to do so on either end of the spectrum just leads to untold mayhem. It needs a guiding hand. It needs Wisdom.

With this in mind, it just makes their dynamic with Solas so much more fascinating. Everything he has done is in the name of Freedom, and if he were to have a living embodiment of it move against him it would be so confronting. It would make him question his entire angle. Why is he really doing this, if not for freedom? But his pride would keep him in imprisoned in denial and regret. This denial is then reflected back to Rook in regards to the fate of Varric.

The case for each spirit, both Hope and Freedom, only intensifies if one chooses the Atonement ending.

Lavellan sees the Wisdom in Solas and tries to appeal to him through that. She gives him Hope, and joins him in the dream, forever protected from his fear of dying alone.

Rook holds a mirror to his Pride, his mistakes, his trauma and makes him confront it. They gather all the pieces needed to unravel his fear, allow him to let go and make his own choice to atone and return to his true self, opening a path to true Freedom to finally come home to the Fade. WHICH IS TWIN-FLAMEY AS FUCK

So yeah, I love this game. EDIT: I've expanded on this with a second part regarding Elgar'nan and will in the future take a look at Rook/Freedom in relation to Mythal as Benevolence and Retribution.

[wrathbites]

Thinking about the Lighthouse wisps and them being helpful as well as up to mischief.

Emmrich: fitting themselves around the edges of whatever book he's reading when candles burn low, so he still has light to read by without using his own magic reserves. For mischief - yeeting said book across (or up) his study.

Manfred: knocking books Manfred's after from higher shelves so he doesn't have to clatter up a ladder, and tinkle-chirping from the general location of whatever other bits and bobs Manfred's looking for. For mischief - hiding said items or zipping off with Manfred's scarf or a glove, and it winds up a merry game of chase down the wisp.

Harding: nudging around pots so plants have all around light exposure, reducing the risk of leaf damage (let nature work alongside magic), or helping her gather up seeds that've accidentally been scattered into every Maker-damned nook and cranny. Diving in and out of soil when she's repotting to make holes and divots for her to work with. For mischief - doing this with Harding in range so there's clumps of soil and fertiliser in her hair and on her clothes, and knocking over watering cans (but not onto the plants!)

Bellara: relocating her quill whenever she misplaces it, chiming over the inkpot when she's running low during a writing session, and nudging over the next ingredient she needs when it's her turn to cook. For mischief - doodling on her face with the ink when she's sleeping, and swapping out seasonings when she's not paying attention (sugar for salt, pepper for paprika, etc)

Neve: bundling her notes back up into their proper order whenever they're knocked over, chiming over particular bits of paper to draw Neve's attention to the scribbles, and sure enough it's what she needed to spark a theory from where she's vocalised being stuck. For mischief - stealing absolutely anything not nailed down in her room. Especially her hats.

Davrin: playing with Assan and distracting him while Davrin's carving. Kicking up little whirlwinds of the wood shavings from his work, and by the time he's done there's no cleanup to be had because they've been swept out as the wisps have teased Assan into open air for some flying. For mischief - nug carving treasure hunt around the Lighthouse. And the DA equivalent of laser pointers for griffons, so Assan pounces on Davrin whenever he's daft enough to nap in his chair.

Lucanis: Spite is somewhat territorial of his Crow and their space so the wisps can't be directly helpful while they're around, but whenever Lucanis returns from an outing his yarn stash is always reorganised from the chaos Spite left it in (they know better than to interfere with anything involving an assassin's weapons, so they stick to the yarn). For mischief - playing tag with Spite around the pantry and leaving a trap somewhere, without fail, to keep Lucanis on his toes. Otherwise there's an entire bag of flour to be upended on his head (his coffee!)

Taash: the wisps learn Taash's exercise routines and become their own personal cheer squad to push for one more rep, and one more, last one! Their routine with the arm ropes, the armour, the LoF jewellery and regalia and lifting every second or third piece for Taash, in the correct order. Trailing cloth and straw and string in the air to create moving objects for Taash to practise their fire breathing on. For mischief - they can't carry a full watering can but they can carry little clay pots and bowls, and so the fire Taash has scattered around, they extinguish, and Taash relights, and they extinguish, back and forth and back and forth (until Taash isn't upset anymore, they're either a bit grumpy or laughing as they chase the wisps away)

For everyone: elfroot and potions being brought to them when needed.

[slecnaztemnot]

Interesting tidbits I noticed in the new trailer!

This image is likely the fade version of the ritual site we disrupt. Could it be the Black city? Its certainly dark enough and one of the theories is that it was originally Arlathan (ancient elven main city).

This could be Ghilian'nain but my mind went to Cetorax first - a horribly "sea smelling" creature mentioned in Tevinter nights, which lived under Minrathous and had tentacles. (also ate people). Location seems to fit.

Notice the dragon flying in the down right corner. Also, the snow + wood roads remind me of beginning of Inquisition and Haven. Possibly Frostback mountains?

This could be a random victim, but the man bun makes me think Felassan - the dreamer agent who worked for Solas in the book Masked Empire. https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Felassan

Notice the shields in the corner - the group approaching the gods likely isn't our group but Grey Wardens, based on the griffon symbol. Also, there seems to be a figure holding Ghilain'nain's thighs. Is it part of her?

This dragon doesn't seem blighted. It could be just an "ordinary" one, but what if its the dragon form of Morrigan or Guardian of Mythal?

I am pretty sure this is our first look at Anderfells.

Davrin is accompanied by a child/teen (?). I don't think the dimensions work for it to be a dwarf. Considering her skin color and the fact we don't see her ears, could this be his daughter? (or another relative?)

Lucanis with a mage (?). I think this is from Lucanis' story quest and its the Tevinter magister planning to kill him, the one mentioned in Tevinter Nights as his next target.

Neve's personal quest? At first I thought it was some corrupted version of Rook, but he is standing behind her. A new dude then (and his beard is different), seems corrupted by Red Lyrium.

This is not Neve, since she has a vallasin. I am fairly sure its Irelin, member of the Veil Jumpers who appeared in Tevinter Nights. https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Irelin

What do you think? Did you also catch anything interesting?

[shirecorn]

Really enjoy your work! Do you have any thoughts on sex/gender in pony society? Since in canon there are very few male characters there's some fan theories they have a different sex ratio. Or in the more speculative biology space they could just not have the same level/kind of dimorphism as humans.

Sex ratio is an interesting phenomenon! Deer can be anywhere from equal to twice as many females. Female horses throw more fillies as they get older. And Pegasus are made up.

Since my "ponies" are 3 different species, they all have different biological histories, including sex ratios. But at this point in time, the ratios are about 1:1, equally "Mares" and "Stallions" Stallions tend to be more physically powerful than mares, but not to the point of looking particularly different.

POLITICS, however, is still very much affected by gender.

In Skyscraper Gods Equestria, society is currently equalizing to be more open and flexible after centuries of matriarchal rule. Mares are seen as more fit to rule because they are closer to the feminine goddesses, and Equestria is a theocracy with rulers (often female) appointed by god. Smaller governments and towns who elect and appoint officials tend towards mares as well, with stallion mayors still being the first of their kind in some places.

Though it hasn't happened yet (that society knows of) there is nothing that prevents a stallion from being eligible for godhood. Rather, it is something that goddesses have only chosen to bestow on mares so far. This is a self-perpetuating system, as less stallions being in leadership positions means less candidates for the gods to pick from, and less stallion leaders make society think they are less capable than mares.

Equestria is the favored land of the Gods that control the sun, moon, love, and friendship, but they are not the only gods in the world (though nationalism will try to convince you otherwise)

Outside Equestria, species other than ponies dominate. They have their own systems of governments (theocracy, monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, plutocracy, etc) that are not based on Equestrian Goddess' will or genders. Many populations of griffons are male-dominated, rooted in sexual dimorphism.

The Crystal Empire vanished before the rise of the Goddesses Sun and Moon. When they came back with thousand-year-old citizens, they were immediately annexed by modern-day Equestria, which installed their own ruler (The Princess of Love) into the power vacuum left by King Sombra. She serves Equestrian interests, but will one day be convinced to step down by the Princess of Friendship in favor crystal pony officials elected by their own people.

TLDR: male and female ponies occur at the same rate, but females are more prominent due Equestria's matriarchy (which itself is due to the known gods being feminine)

[awardenandacrow]

FANFIC SNIPPET 32

NOTE: chronologically this falls after The Choice and before Neve’s return. There is more to this between the main part and the letters that I need to fill in. This is directly before the snippet where Neve confronts Rook about her activities in Minrathos (Snippet 17).

[Lucanis wants a sparring partner, and takes the opportunity to help Rook work on her mageknife technique.]

CW/TW: Brief violence, blood.

——————————————————————————

“I’m sorry, I’m just…” Naimeryn groaned in frustration, then tossed her mageknife aside and turned away from him. “I feel like I’m just not *meant* to get this.”

Lucanis’s Crow training screamed through every fiber of his being. You don’t drop your weapon. You don’t turn your back on your opponent. Unthinking, he grabbed her arm and spun her back towards him, mouth open to offer criticism.

Assan had him pinned on his back in an instant with an angry shriek. The griffon snapped his beak at him in irritation.

“Assan!” Rook shouted, grabbing the griffon around the neck. Startled, Assan spun, knocking Rook over.

BLOOD! Spite hissed angrily.

“Assan! Come here!” Davrin’s voice. Lucanis, uninjured, leapt to his feet and closed the distance between himself and Rook in one stride.

“It was a warning,” he told her apologetically, grabbing her arm — much more gently this time. The wounds Assan’s claws had left were shallow, and would likely not even scar, but they bled freely. “What were you thinking?”

“I was *thinking,*” Rook’s voice was small. Hurt. Confused. “That I didn’t want him to hurt you.”

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Lucanis shook his head, intentionally softening his tone. Rook wasn’t a fledgling. She’d never undergone *any* Crow training. He couldn’t act like that’s what this was. “You can’t just throw your weapon away when you’re sparring. Don’t they teach you that at Weisshaupt?”

“Lucanis,” Davrin’s voice was a warning. Lucanis finally looked up from Naimeryn’s arm, and his heart skipped a beat. Dammit. Her face and ears were red, and she had her head turned away from him to hide her embarrassed tears. He released her.

“We should tend to these,” he said uncomfortably.

“I’ve got it,” she said sharply, standing up with her back to him and going to retrieve her mageknife. “Maybe ask Davrin to spar with you next time. He knows the rules better than I do.”

She walked quickly away, back towards the library, undoubtedly on her way to the infirmary.

“Smooth,” Davrin remarked. He still hadn’t moved from the base of his stairs, where Assan squawked anxiously. “She knows you didn’t mean it, boy. Maybe watch those claws next time, though.”

Lucanis sighed, sheathing his dagger and getting to his feet. He needed someone to release his frustration on, and Davrin was right there, looking so smug.

“I do not understand,” Lucanis snapped at him. “The fabled Grey Wardens, Heroes of Old, but —“

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Davrin scowled at him. “I never knew Rook at Weisshaupt. But I knew *of* her. I’ve been asking around other Wardens I know, and I’m getting the *same* remark. There were Wardens who hated her, because she was *hand recruited* by the Hero of Ferelden herself. Others used to try to cozy up to her to get closer to the Hero, only to find out there were no special circumstances, no special relationship between them, so then they didn’t care.”

Davrin closed the distance between them. “The mage that trained her, Lucienne? A cautious woman. Theory and control. The other mages were leagues ahead of Rook in both, so she trained *alone.* She’s never *had* a sparring partner, Lucanis.”

Davrin turned sharply enough that his shoulder clipped Lucanis, but he let it go. His mind was overflowing with images of Rook — alone.

The apostate daughter of an apostate in an alienage in a kingdom where apostates were more likely to be killed than shown mercy, kept away from the other children for everyone’s safely. The apostate slave in a magister’s household, hated and feared by the slaves who knew, because she could become the favorite if the magister knew. The others, she seemed to have kept at arm’s length, because that was easier than distance becoming hate. The Warden, forcibly isolated from her fellows by recruitment, by skill level, by history, by her superiors. Kept in the most isolated jobs — doing dishes, laundry duty, librarian’s assistant

— to keep her humble. Called a deluded girl for daring to step outside of the carefully drawn box she’d been placed in.

“You know,” Davrin called back from the top of the stairs, “you *love* to make it out like I’m not observant for giving her shit when she doesn’t see something on her left. But this?”

He indicated the courtyard at large.

“This was pretty dense of you.”

…

SPECIAL SNIPPETS

NOTE: there will be some “connective tissue” as it were before the above and these letters, but I haven’t written it yet

—————————————————————————

Hey Neve,

I know things are bad in Minrathos, but I hope you remember we’re here, and can be there to offer support if you only remember to ask. Everyone misses you.

I overheard Rook today. She was in the infirmary, talking to Varric. I think she’s having a harder time with everything than we thought. I want to help you both, but I just don’t know how.

Hoping things are going as well as they can be,

Lace

…

Lace,

If talking to him is what’s going to get her through this, leave it alone. She’ll confide in *us* when she’s ready.

As for Minrathos, it seems I don’t need to ask for help to receive it.

-Neve

…

Neve,

I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.

Lace Harding

[franki-lew-yo]

ALL my feelings towards Friendship is Magic could be so easily summed up as:

" -Twilight Sparkle should never have become an alicorn princess in season 3 of a series with 9 seasons - ''

She should have always had it in the books to eventually become an alicorn, but her becoming one in season 3 is where literally all (my own) problems with the show stem from and almost all of those problems are about the show in execution, NOT in theory. 

Everything about later seasons Friendship is Magic’s writing reeks of the writers trying to make their ideas, fan ideas, and Hasbro’s ideas work all at the same time with so little time. They were told to make Equestria Girls, Princess Twilight, Flurry Heart and the movie “work” while also juggling writing in Starlight and her whole arc (and the characters attached, like Sunburst), the CMC getting their cutie marks, the reformed changelings, griffons and dragons, their Starswirl the Bearded stuff; WHILE ALSO making sure Discord and the Princesses (mostly Luna) and the ‘fan fav’ characters worked on their own and come together.

In my opinion, it just didn’t.

There was always too much going on with little to no time to breathe or appreciate the characters -how far they’ve come, how much further they have to go- at all. And it made later bit of lore and characters feel frustrating. It made potentially great characters deeply unlikable. Starlight and Discord are the biggest victims.

I want to like them. I really do. I can’t though because Starlight is not only a ‘madeawittlemistake’(aka ran a cult)-villain redemption, BUT she has to share her stories with the main six. They underdeveloped her while also trying to make her important and it just made me dislike Starlight and Twilight so much. It made me get mad at Starlight for being in the way of a Twilight episode, it made me wanna scream at Twilight for getting in the way of what should be Starlight’s time to shine!

Discord now had to share his ‘redeemed baddie’ spotlight with Starlight and others meant he had no time for his development which, when it was done* (ALL of Season 4) was abysmally fast, badly paced and in my view insulting. It made Discord, even in episodes where he had a point to be there, feel useless because fundamentally was overall. Season 4 assassinated Discord’s character to me and I didn’t remotely like him. For years I thought I just didn’t like FiM simply because the show and the fandom clearly preferred Fluttercord to Dislestia and I was just butthurt. Which, to be clear, I am. My mega revelation regarding this show was realizing that, no- what I hated wasn’t Fluttercord, it was Discord himself. How he was being handled, how he was written from s4 onward (ALL THE EPISODES WHERE HE’S YANDRE TO FLUTTERSHY SHOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE HIS BETRAYAL. ALL OF THEM. NO YOU WILL NOT CHANGE MY MIND IT’S FINAL) pissed me off so much as a person who really loved his potential character in season 2 and 3. Discord and Fluttershy being besties and possibly more could and should have been adorable...but it wasn't because the Discord we got was a horrid character. Fluttershy deserves better.

I know you guys don’t wanna hear this same old worn-out critique about FiM, but I’m sorry I have to agree: when they weren’t being crowbarred into stuff that didn’t need their stories, Starlight and Discord were both forgiven -by the show- WAAY too soon. The problem wasn’t that they had redemption arcs and/or that other characters didn’t. The problem was their redemptions were badly done. The show didn’t treat them like they had been redeemed from something hurtful, it acted like they had never done anything wrong. And that was bad because it made it so, when the three baddies at the end of the series were officially crowned "irredeemable", the show felt biased. It felt mean spirited towards Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy when their end should have actually felt fitting and funny. It’s not about ‘morals’ or ‘punishing’ fictional cartoon horses voiced by John DeLancie for warcrimes or whatever tf Lily Orchard goes on about-- it’s about how the show FELT LIKE IT FAVORED some characters more than others. That was a thing that I loved Friendship is Magic for not doing in seasons 1-3, what made it and it’s character’s endearing and wholesome to me, and it’s why the handling of the main cast in later seasons felt so mean.

But to get back to the alicorn in the room; Twilight could have graduated or something for season 3 and then the whole show could build up to her actually outdoing Starswirl’s wrongs as she does in the pony of shadows plot. THAT could have been her ‘upgraded to alicorn princess moment’; but it didn’t. As much as I wish it were that way, it isn’t and that’s not what the writer’s did because they didn’t have the time or foresight for that. Sadly, even though lots of flaws and problems were always baked into the loaf from the start (Celestia being useless or 'sinister', ponies being racist towards everything else, bad and/or basic friendship lessons) Twilight becoming an alicorn princess, which DID ultimately change her character, her role and her presence even amongst her friends and the rest of Ponyville, was the start of all the problems.

We’re stuck with what we got and what we got was a series that -to me- only ever kept adding more and MORE until it felt overstuffed, hectic, and unfortunately mean spirited when it wasn’t trying to be. There’s nothing we can do now. Personally, I highkey am annoyed at other adult bronies saying I “didn’t get” the show and its decisions which is why I didn’t like it. No. Trust me I get “it”; the problem is that “it” wasn’t well done which is why I didn’t like “it”. “It” deserved better.

Of course, I also get some of why those bronies are so defensive. After all I was there when the whole 'Twilight becoming a Princess'-controversy happened. I remember how ugly it got and how annoying and entitled you guys were about it and Equestria Girls' existence (don't even get me started on ur #savederpy).

Something I want to make especially clear whenever I criticize writers, especially of kids shows, is that a criticism IS NOT an attack. Ever. Boycotts and callouts should be reserved for stuff that's actually morally wrong and yes they also count for stuff I like, not just stuff I want to be mad at. Lookin at you, Didney.

There was never and still is never a reason to bother, hurt or ask the writers for MLP gen 4 why they did what they did. No, not even if you're being 'friendly' about it. Leave M.A. Larson alone.

Granted, fans being entitled to creator's attention and creator's being entitled to fans' affection is it's own rabbit hole, but I truly think that FiM set an ugly standard for that with animated shows today.

Besides still being too thin skinned and not liking that a thing they've divested so much real life time into could be bad, a thing about cartoon commentary and criticism in the 2010s-2020s is they're really parasocial and demanding of writers and artists behind a show. The was always the biggest, ugliest, most uncomfortable aspect of Friendship is Magic to me: because it's creators were online and fans knew they were listening, could approve of fan's creations, and especially because they felt 'responsible' for a show's success, they were really into @ing writers about everything. When critics would call something out for being badly written it somehow always made it's way into becoming a personal accusatory thing. People were blaming writers for being human and working within time constraints and network decisions. You didn't have to be like that TinyToons guy who stalked Tress MacNeille about sexualizing Fifi in the 90s to be a harasser. You could just be an aggressively oversupporting 'stan' or angry nitpicking critic to make a writer who's just doing their job, uncomfortable

tl;dr: I disliked the writing of the later Friendship is Magic. I think it was bad because it was bad. None of that is meant as an attack on the writers who were trying their best and don't need to be roped into any fandom nonsense, positive or negative, and never should have been in the first place.

Hopefully, that's one deadhorse finally beaten.

[3gremlins]

between blackwall** and davrin, i'm choosing to believe there's this cottage industry of warden carpentry/wood carving. like sure wardens are known for fighting darkspawn, but did you know they also make great furniture and wooden knick knacks? maybe it's how they actually support themselves it's not like killing darkspawn pays well? at all? (like the shakers and the oneidans and various other religious "utopian" communities mostly known *now* for making specific things like furniture and spoons b/c they still had to get food/supplies from the secular world. not that wardens are a religious community tho they are an isolated community w/particular rules so not too far off in other ways) warden made chessboards and hand carved spoons are in high demand across orlais and even the snobbiest ferelden nobility swear by their warden-made armchairs and tables. buyers must not mind the prevalent griffon theme across all the warden made objects **tho you could argue that blackwall is not a warden at the time when he's doing all the woodworking in inquisition- i have two theories for this: 1) due to his exposure/proximity to orlesian nobility circles, ranier had heard tell of the wardens prowess in woodworking. his woodworking is part of his "i'm definitely a grey warden" cover. or 2) The side business in woodworking and handicrafts started because of Blackwall/Ranier finally officially joining their ranks and has thrived in the last 10 years.

[bloedewir]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

It's not an actual theory, not even close. Just few thoughts, a bit of speculation and information to consider.

The Executors

"Those across the sea". Their symbol a downward-pointed triangle with two wavy lines drawn through it.

If we're desperate for news we can try to take this symbol and add it to a Thedas map. Where?

As a suggestion:

We know Skyhold is important. We know Arlathan forest is important. Both connected to the Veil.

The High Reaches might be too (?).

The High Reaches is a mountain range in western Tevinter. Could or could be not connected with the First Blight (-395 Ancient, started with Magisters Sidereal entered the Fade). The First Blight is also includes: collapse of the dwarven empire, lost thaigs, Caridin created golems, foundation of Grey Wardens, griffons. Minrathous is near, so as Weisshaupt fortress (sort of near).

There's also the Valarian Fields, a site of an important battle during the Exalted March (-171 Ancient). Andraste and Maferath joined with elven forces lead by Shartan. When Andraste met Shartan, she gave him a sword to enslave enemies and he renamed it Glandivalis.

"Glandivalis" has no translate. The only guess: elven lullaby in Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol2. The phrase "Ir tela'ena glandival, vir amin tel'hanin" translated as "When we could no longer believe, we lost glory to war" (yet it described as "not literal translation"). So it could be something about belief/principle/conviction. (Solas knows the word because he said to Mihris ("Measuring the Veil" quest): Ma halani, ma glandival. Vir enasalin).

Could Glandivalis (or part of it) be the dagger Solas used in ritual? Seems inconclusive to me but ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Two wavy lines across the Waking Sea.

Waking Sea crossed by Andraste and Maferath in -180 Ancient to begin their assault on the Tevinter Imperium.

In the middle of triangle - Solas, a settlement in Tevinter. May or may be not a village Solas speaking of in Haven:

If the High Reaches connected with Skyhold and Arlathan forest somehow, could it be a place where Solas planned to relocate an evanuris prison? But idk .. there? Near Minrathous of all places? Or is it where he is trapped now? Or is it where all creepy evanuris shit will begin to spread all over Thedas? Or is it a place where the Veil is so thin it's almost the Fade grand entrance, and if it is so and some theories are right, could it be the place Rook and pals will eventually enter the Black City?

Is it a coincidence and nothing more than delusional speculations? Could be so.

Am I going to end with a mind blowing conclusion? No, I barely understand what it means and does it actually mean anything 😅

[serstolas]

Griffon's Monsters and Mysteries Case Files

Davrin Appreciation Week 2025, thank you @datvcompanionweeks for organizing this.

Day 7 prompt: Free day!

MURDER NUGS

A body turns up with dozens of tiny knife wounds. Cellars are broken into and the only thing harmed are potatoes and vegetables. Is it ghasts, a blood mage's escaped experiment?

Griffon's Monsters and Mysteries is on the case!

Read it on AO3

Preview:

Rumors of the first body reached Neve within a day or so of the corpse’s discovery. The body had been discovered in an alleyway in another Minrathous neighborhood. The authorities had first assumed the victim was drunk and had somehow stumbled into the alley and passed away overnight, but upon close examination, it appeared that the victim had been stabbed multiple times. Yet the wounds were small, no more than the width of just past the tip of most knives and swords that were used by various people within and without the city.

It was just one body though, and the victim really couldn’t have been stabbed by a dozen tiny knives, that was simply impossible. And the victim was, after all, just a dock worker. Maybe they’d accidentally fallen into some sort of barbed net and then staggered here. There was a logical explanation for the wounds.

Of course the citizens of Minathous had their own theories. Neve heard one claiming that the wounds were claw marks, not stab wounds, and that the victim had clearly been attacked by a pack of rats. Another more wild tale claimed there were small, misshapen creatures climbing out of the catacombs at night that had fallen upon the dockhand and stabbed.

[freydis-freydat]

who: @nylathriasoulseer where: The Lonely Scroll when: some time after the Standing Stones quest notes: please let me if you need anything changed

Freydis was in the market for a few tools she suspected might come in handy in the near future. After dropping a figurative (thought it may as well have been literal) brick of gold at Abelas' charming animal sanctuary to provide Griffon Charms for a handful of dear friends, she had turned her attention to magic scrolls. No such shop would have ever been allowed to exist in the borders of Iskaldrik, and magic was novel to her both in theory and in practice. She was curious about what such a shop might offer and more than open to pushing past the fear of magic she'd been raised to house within her; if these scrolls would help her achieve an increasingly important goal, who was she to turn her nose up at them? When she entered The Lonely Scroll and recognized the face that floated around the displays with no special sense of urgency, a warm and familiar smile spread across her face. "Nylathria," she greeted, taking a few more steps into the shop. She had to remind herself that Nyla and she were still more strangers than anything else and that just because they both likely felt a sense of pride in a job well done didn't mean they shared enough kinship for a hug. Yet. "It's so nice to see you again--I hope you've been safe since we parted ways. I don't know how I didn't put two and two together that this was your business."

[my-little-pony-theories]

Man, that theory about Scorpan/Spike being the 7th Element is so spot on, the amount of evidence pointing to it...

Even if the entire thing is just a huge coincidence, it fits so perfectly, and it makes me wish they had gone with that instead of whatever the school of friendship thing was supposed to be

I don't wanna take credit for the theory, since DRWolf001 came up with it first. I only looked for more evidence and whatnot :p

And you know what? The whole point of the School of Friendship was (besides selling toys) to show that non-pony creatures are equal to ponies and should be respected, and that they are capable of wielding pony magic. That's actually not a bad message, since for a good chunk of the show the other creatures have been portrayed as either antagonistic, or less sophisticated than the ponies.

The problem isn't the message, it's that the School of Friendship was a stupid, boring, uncreative, and ultimately poorly thought out and written idea.

They could've used the concept of Scorpan contributing to the Tree of Harmony with the Pillars and having his own Element, which is now Spike's Element, as a way to tell that same message. They didn't have to create 6 new characters in order to tell that message. They already had a main character that was a non-pony… the whole thing was so stupiiiiiiiiid.

The School of Friendship was also meant to show more of the culture of the other creatures. But, once again, it wasn't done well. There was one episode where the Young 6 talk about their winter holidays...

And another where they bring in important objects from former leaders and hang their pictures on the wall... and that's about it :p

There have been episodes from previous seasons that do a much better job of showing the culture and societies of the other creatures... by having the characters actually travel there and spend the whole episode there.

Griffon episode: The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

Dragon episode: Gauntlet of Fire

Yak episode: Not Asking for Trouble

Changeling episode: To Where and Back Again, and To Change A Changeling

There are only two episodes from post-movie where that happens.

Hippogriff/seapony episode: Surf and/or Turf

Kirin episode: Sounds of Silence

And its not world building for the sake of looking cool and epic like it was in the season 10 comics. At least one character learns something and improves by the end of these episodes.

I've got a whole long list of issues I had with the School of Friendship (and just everything that came after the movie in general). This is just one of them.

[ocantigueiro]

Minoan Frescoes in Egypt's Tell el-Dab'a

(The image above is mostly reconstructed, with only 5-20% of the original fresco approximated to have survived.)

The New Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt brought the country into close proximity with peoples throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. One evocative example of this are the remains of wall paintings in a Thutmoside palace of modern Tell el-Dab'a (ancient Perunefer). Not only are these paintings unmistakably Minoan in style, but they were also applied in a technique called buon fresco borrowed from the Aegean. Best estimates place this painting during the reigns of Hatshepsut/Thutmose III or the heir Amenhotep II. The paintings themselves depict numerous staples of Minoan culture such as bull-leaping, rosettes, Minoan dresses, maze patterns, and griffins. Notably, griffons, rosettes, and mazes are all emblematic of the Minoan palatial culture and their Cretan environment.

Sensationally, one archeologist, Manfred Bietak, has posited that these paintings, due to the incorporation of palatial Minoan motifs, suggest the marriage of an Egyptian king with a Minoan princess. This would not be unexpected, since Thutmose III married three Asiatic wives: Manhata, Manuwai, and Maruta. Unfortunately, however, these kinds of speculations cannot be proven at the moment. The New Kingdom also saw an accomodation of foreign cultural and religious elements into every level of Egyptian society.

One final notable fact about these paintings is the debate concerning their artists. The artists may have been Egyptians, but the use of lime plaster - previously unknown in Egypt - and the usage of Minoan dyes and a deep understanding of Minoan artistic motifs present a very compelling argument for the Minoan authorship of these frescoes. Like with Bietak's theory, however, the frescoes' artists have been lost to time.

For a detailed, academic treatment of these frescoes, check out Cole 2010.

[bloodycyrano]

Gifts I think the DAO companions would appreciate, outside of giftable in game items! (Pt1, I think this will be a long post if not sectioned)

Sten-

Incense and expensive tea, possibly imported. He talks about how he hates the smell of Ferelden, and misses home; Tea and incense being the most notable scents that stick out to him.

Cookies, or a good recipe for cookies. Everyone in the Fandom has had the dialog where Sten reveals that he enjoys cookies, and that in his homeland, there is no such thing. I think he would greatly enjoy a recipe to be able to bring such a thing back with him- Even if he may not be able to make them himself at home. My memory is fuzzy on qunari custom, but I don't think he'd be particularly allowed to bake.

A wardog of his own- I don't think he'd be permitted to keep it, upon return to the qun. But he has immense respect for Barkspawn, and I think if he were here in 2024, he'd be a great dog dad. I think he'd probably give it to his closest companion upon his return, but he would keep a detailed sketch of it with him always. He'd probably give it a specific title in his native tongue.

This is sort of a separate headcannon, but I think in a modern AU, he'd really like pumpkin spice lattes.- It's always the ones you would never expect.

Shayle-

Obviously, we know they like crystals. They like being pretty, and *sparkling*. So it's not too farfetched to assume they would appreciate gold ore or other shining metals fitted to some of their stone bits- Sort of like.. Magically grafted on with heat? Morrigan could weld them, or I'm sure Sandal could potentially do it.

I think, while they couldn't really read themselves, I think if you brought them books and such, they would enjoy hearing you read it to them. Especially if you manage to find some old records of their own lineage after the orzammar quest line.

I think they would also enjoy being given I big, stone bowl to keep shiny trinkets in- Like a crow, almost. Crystals, cute pebbles, coins, keys, etc. Pretty things for them to look at.

Leliana-

She would love it if you wrote her a poem, regardless of what it was about. I think she'd just be so happy you thought of her and wrote something lovely- I honestly think she'd love it even more if it wasn't the best quality. After all, that would mean you were inspired by her to write something of which you had no prior experience and still tried your best. She'd think it was cute.

I think she'd like it if you gave her one of your own personal favorite books or fables, with little notes on your commentary and theories. She'd love that, honestly.

A ceramic nug. No explanation needed, she loves Nugs. I've got animals I love, too. And if someone gave me a ceramic or plush critter of my choice, I'd be over the moon.

A little on the weird side, I think she'd like a type of porcelain harlequin doll. I can't think of the specific type, but they don't make them the same way anymore.. they're usually from overseas in Germany or Russia or France, you know? The ones that are really glossy and have beautiful line work in the paint? I feel like you found one in the denerim marketplace, imported from Orlais, and it would remind her of another experience she had there or even just of her time as a bard. After all, they weren't *all* unpleasant memories.

Alistair-

A golem doll. Like a little poppet. I don't think it's rare dialogue, but the other day is the first time I noticed it since I first played the game rented from a family video over a decade ago, so.. Yeah. Point is, Alistair mentions in front of "Wonders of Thedas", that Arl Eamon (I think) once bought him a little golem doll as a child, and how he adored it and wondered if there would be one like it at the wonders of thedas.

A griffon figurine. He's a Grey Warden, I think he'd like it. The wardens have always been his real home, and it's truly where he belongs. I think a memento of that is something he'd hold dear.

A book of poems about honoring fallen soldiers. I feel like it may bring him to tears, and perhaps make him confront some extra grief after ostagar, but perhaps it could also bring a sort of comfort. Maybe he isn't the most religious, maybe he has a bit of trauma from the chantry.. But I think he still prays, if only for the ones he's lost.

Again, I think he'd like a war dog. I'll never let him take Barkspawn, but he'd love a pupper of his own. If you gave it to him as a puppy to raise and train all his own, he'd probably be overjoyed.- Off topic, but I headcannon that all companions to the wardens have an extended lifespan, and live and die with their humanoid counterparts if they don't die in battle, kind of like the animal companions do with the avatars in ATLA. Far fetched, and backed by absolutely no real lore as far as I know, but I like to think it's true.