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spitfire-of-ferelden · 2 years

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Play-by-post request: Dragon Age [21+, 1x1]

Dragon Age: Of Champions and Heralds

"You really want to know the truth about the Champion, Seeker? Well, I can only tell you what I know. Best tales I know of the people who reach their glory are those who never asked for it. And Frances? Well... If it wasn't for the Arishok's son, I doubt we'd be here, discussing the events. It's not often you hear the son of a Qunari leader turning on his own flesh and blood... Because of a human woman. This had nothing to do with the conspiracy of taking down the Chantry and conspiring with the Qunari to take over the Free Marches. I think it was all because of love..." - Varric Tethras

Things to note about the roleplay:

Writers and characters need to be 21+ years of age. (I am 26, and MC is between 21 and 25 years old)

The theme should also involve a romance between a human and a Qunari, although a very complicated one that'll have its severe ups and downs.

NSFW content will take place in this story, so whoever is interested needs to be comfortable with NSFW stuff (violence, sexual content and profanity.)

The story starts in the events of the second game and will follow up to the Inquisition timeline.

Looking for a male character, specifically the character of Arishok's son.

My character takes on the role of the Champion. Here is my post regarding the character.

As to where we will write the roleplay, its open for discussion.

Specific traits I'm looking for in a partner:

Cooperative, willing to brainstorm with me and talk to me.

Advanced roleplayer who can post more than just a single paragraph per post. Activity-vise, at least once a week, but no pressure from me.

Knowledgeable of the universe and the Qunari lore. But with that said, we will take some liberties here and there as we see fit, without affecting the overall story and vibe of the universe.

A bit about me as a roleplayer:

Dedicated roleplayer with more than just a couple of years of play-by-post roleplay experience in my pocket. English is not my first language, but I believe you can make your own judgement reading this how good I am in writing! With that said, I'm from Europe.

My posts are detailed, and they are typically multi-para to novella length-vise, the very least I'll post is two paragraphs if it's a scene that demands more back-and-forth (like conversations between characters.) I'm big on character development and creating a compelling story.

I love to write stories, I'm a damned sucker for romance and never shy away from smut, but intimate scenes I prefer to play out as it comes naturally for the characters. Although I don't like to avoid or censor anything. I'm also pretty open in discussing kinks and limits when we get to that point of the story.

Regarding my posting activity, at least one post a week. Given how fired up I am to write this story, it'll be often if we mesh.

I'm approachable and talkative. Really, blow up my inbox if we end up writing together! Memes, music, images and stuff, I'm your gal! I really value OOC conversation, and it doesn't need to be anything personal, it can be just the most random stuff ever.

More specific details about the plot:

My character takes on the Hawke's role, rather than actually being from the Amell/Hawke bloodline, my character is from a Robin Hood-esque assassin leader of an organization that is fairly grey in the moral shade range.

Your character is the son of Arishok, pure-blooded Qunari, under the pressure of the Qun and his father's influence. The entire Kirkwall ordeal is almost like a trial for YC where he has to prove himself. However, when he is set off on a quest with MC, his views of the Qun are challenged by MC, who is very set on freedom of the people and what it actually means to live rather than to strictly abide by laws. The point is that MC has a full on impact on YC.

Following canon side characters will be included: Varric, Anders, Cassandra, Isabela (Although Isabela's role to some degree will be replaced by MC and she will be more of a background character) as they hold importance in the main story, as well as Inquisition. Other canon side characters can be included, and making original side characters is also welcome.

The story of our characters begins during the Act 2 events, My character, as Hawke had in the games, already had earned the tinniest bit of respect from Arishok and she will come back to work for him. Only events that will be played in Act 2 from Act 1 is the part with Sister Patrice and Saarebas (Shepherding Wolves quest) and Viscount's son Saemus running off with the Qunari (Unbidden Rescue) as these are topical situations for our characters.

The exact point where our roleplay starts is when MC comes before the Arishok with the information that the man she's targeting actually has the Tome of Kolsun in his possession. She offers to bring it to Arishok after catching the culprit, however Arishok prefers for that to be done with one of their men and sends YC, I strongly suggest you add a Qunari friend for YC that may end up dying during the story. However, MC did not tell the whole truth to either the Arishok and his son about the Tome...

Our characters should bond throughout the story and possibly even fight the Arishok at the end. The conclusion of Dragon Age 2 storyline is what makes YC end up becoming a Tal-Vashoth, which will lead to our second story in the Inquisition - where YC becomes the Herald of Andraste.

As a Herald, he'll get a visit from a group of pirates who offer their services to the Inquisition, led by a curious masked Orlesian woman... Whose identity he will discover later in the story of the Inquisition.

Anyway, I rambled on for too long. Sorry for making you read all this! If this catches your eye, just pop into my inbox and let's talk!

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jadelotusflower · 3 years

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May 2021 Roundup

Watching

Chess: The Musical - My second live theatre experience for the year, but this time with no seating restrictions. It certainly felt weird and uncomfortable to be packed into a full house again, even if everyone was wearing masks. I've never seen Chess performed, although I have watched the 2008 concert version many times. I enjoyed seeing it properly staged and sung live, even though I suspect there may have been some illness in the cast as there was issues of breath control and strained voices on occasion. Natalie Bassingthwaighte has a good pop/rock voice and she killed Nobody's Side but was just fine with the rest (including a patchy British accent). Paulini has the pipes as Svetlana, although I do wonder if she would have made a better choice for Florence. The other standout was Brittaine Shipway as The Arbiter, usually a male role but actually working much better gender flipped and having a powerful female character outside of the love triangle (and who spends almost the entire show onstage observing).

Mank (dir. David Fincher) - A love letter to old Hollywood through the eyes of Herman J Mankcovitz as he writes the screenplay for Citizen Kane and looks back on his days in the studio system. Some familiarity with that film is required, or at least the broad brushstrokes and the main players - William Randolph Hearst as the inspiration for Charles Foster Kane, the actress Marion Davies, and Welles himself (who looms as a shadow figure throughout most of the film, shot in shadow, or profile, or in costume until the climactic confrontation with Mank). Gary Oldman is somewhat miscast as Mank imo; he carries every one of his 65 years and is just not believable as a 43 year old Mank, affected with alcoholism and a broken leg though he is. Maybe it’s that Mank (as the film depicts him) is just not very interesting - we’ve seen the self destructive drunk with acerbic wit so many times there’s just nothing new in it and feels quite tiresome. He is however a fulcrum for the other more interesting characters to work around; the lens through which we see Hollywood in action. And there’s a lot going on - the ruthless duplicity of Louis B Mayer, the writers rooms at work, the rich and powerful dismissing the rise of Nazism, Hearst bankrolling a campaign against socialist Upton Sinclair. This video is worth watching dealing with some criticisms, particularly the depiction of historical events, Marion Davies, and authorship. The rest of the cast is however very good - Amanda Seyfried as Davies, Charles Dance as Hearst, Tom Burke as an uncanny Welles. It was also nice to see Robin Hood alum Sam Troughton as John Houseman!

Seyfried has been rightly praised and she is indeed the best part of the film (aside from the bizarre Brooklyn accent and the missed opportunity to give the role to an actual actress in her 40's), so much so I wish it had been entitled Marion and about her perspective of Hollywood. Because there’s still distance, we are viewing her from afar - the bird in the gilded cage - not privy to her inner world and that’s a shame, because she’s clearly the most interesting of the lot. It should come as no surprise that this film does not pass the Bechdel test, even though there clearly was An Attempt to boost the presence of the female characters. Other than Marion Davies, we have Lily Collins as the long suffering assistant Alexander, Tuppence Middleton as the long suffering wife Sarah, and Monika Gossmann as the enabling German housekeeper Freda. Variations on a theme, all revolving around and Mank and exerting little to no agency. There’s also, rather out of place, the silent women in the Paramount writers room, topless except for sparkly pasties. If it’s meant to be a comment on sexism of the time it fails, because it is just there, like window dressing, when female screenwriters did exist and are yet somehow completely absent. Also absent are the women who wielded power at the time - the gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons who threaded the Hollywood needle much as screenwriters did. I enjoyed the film, it’s beautifully made and the time period lovingly depicted, down to the era-appropriate framing, camera lenses, music, and of course, filmed entirely in black and white. I guess I’m just less and less interested in these kinds of stories, or at least these stories told through the same old perspective. For a different take on the Welles/Mank collaboration, check out RKO 281 (that incidentally does feature both Hedda and Louella and is on youtube in its entirety). For more of the facts, The Battle Over Citizen Kane is also a very good documentary about Hearst’s attempts to kill the film. Marion Davies is also fictionalised (earlier in her career) in The Cat’s Meow, which I have not seen for many years but remember quite enjoying. Girls5Eva (season 1) - A girl group with one hit album in the 90's reunites after a rapper samples their biggest hit - this is a fun show satirising the artifice of 90's pop as well as the current music scene, with a great cast including singing greats Sara Bareilles and Renee Elise Goldsberry, and comediennes Busy Phillips and Paula Pell (who has at least ten years on the other girls, but they hang a lantern on it, and I appreciate her plot/character in no way revolved around her size). I really enjoyed it, and am still singing the ridiculous but catchy title song with big Spice Girls/B*witched energy.

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (season 2, episodes 5-13) - A meandering, hit and miss season overall - multiple characters introduced and given setup only to be shunted within a few episodes, plotlines picked up then pushed aside (Emily's post-partum depression that basically boiled down to "I'm on meds so I'm fine now" was particularly egregious) - I cut the show some slack because clearly covid interfered and caused a shortened season, which makes the latter half of the season exceptionally rushed. Alex Newell continues to be MVP, and his romance plot was honestly so much more compelling than Zoe's. I didn't really have a horse in the Simon/Max race, I liked both characters even if the OTP of the show was Zoe/Therapy, but while I'm happy the love triangle finally over, the speed of the back and forth really undermined the story. But I enjoyed the final twist and look forward to next season (hopefully it is renewed).

This is Us (season 5) - I don't expect much from this show other than soapy drama and emotional scenes engineered to make me cry, but is yet another reminder about why I shouldn't get attached to ships while shows are still airing. I have a soft spot for Smallville alum Justin Hartley, but Kevin's season of girlfriend's past is so damn tiresome. Maybe it's just that Madison has become my favourite character and I want the best for her, maybe it's the sloppy writing more interested in twists and turns than a compelling character arc. But hey, there's still the always excellent Sterling K Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson, and I continue to be impressed by Mandy Moore - I remember when she was a teen pop star breaking into acting and she's come so far, making all the right career choices (including pulling double duty as producer/choreographer over at Zoey's).

Reading

Mythos (Stephen Fry) - Fry's typically irreverent and witty take on the Classics (even though he is on occasion a bit twee), his focus mainly on the gods, their origin and exploits. I was a Greek mythology kid, absolutely obsessed with these stories although I never really graduated to a Greek mythology adult but rather a casual fan. It was nice to revisit this world, as many of them I had forgotten or had never known all the details (children's versions being understandably light on the rapes and grislier aspects). As Fry notes, these myths were not kindly to humanity and particularly women, which perhaps leads into the remainder of my Greek mythology reading month:

Circe (Madeline Millar)- A retelling of the Circle myth, the goddess best known for transforming Odysseus' men into pigs, and a book that I've finally got around to reading after many, many recommendations. While perhaps not all I was expecting, Millar's writing is lyrically beautiful and touches upon the nature of gods and humanity, parents and children, exile and freedom,and I enjoyed it very much.

The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood) - Another retelling, this time from the pov of Penelope. I've wanted to read this since coming across a quote ("be like water") that I used for a fic, and the novel, while very short, is typical of Atwood's masterful writing style and love of multi-layered meta. Like Circe, this does not paint Odysseus in a good light, as Penelope reflects back on her life from the Underworld, her story interspersed by the Greek Chorus of the maids butchered on Odysseus' return to Ithaca, and the story is as much a vindication for the innocent maids as Penelope.

Writing

Nothing posted this month, but words written for Against the Dying of the Light (1111), The Lady of the Lake (1006), and Here I Go Again (1390). That makes a total of 3,507 for the month and 27,469 so far this year.

#may roundup #watching reading writing #long post

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