Ive Got To Be Real With Cullen That Everything He Says About Samson Unfortunately Makes Himself Seem

i’ve got to be real with cullen that everything he says about samson unfortunately makes himself seem worse and samson seem cooler

Do you ever think about how In Hushed Whispers, we wake up in this dystopian future and our immediate goal is to use magic to find a way back to the world as we knew it? We came across companions who had lived and suffered in this timeline for a year; indeed, it was their reality. Yet while we could relate to them and have compassion for them, and seek to help and comfort them as best we could, when they died it wasn't heartbreaking because to us, they weren't real. To us, it was nothing more than a nightmare of a world that had manifested in the blink of an eye.

Do you ever think about how modern Thedas is no more real to Solas than the alternate, dystopian future was to us? He woke up after thousands of years to find an unrecognizable world filled with oppression and magical imbalance, where the elves he sought to liberate now inhabit the lowest position in society as either slaves, servants, or in poverty. It isn't simply that the world isn't valuable as it is. It's that the world does not feel real. The people in it are disconnected from the fade and so to him, they feel like tranquil. And yet despite this world seeming no more real than a bad dream, Solas still cares about the people in it. He always approves of taking time to help out strangers, and enjoys discussing with the other companions to learn their perspectives and even encourages them during particularly difficult times (such as Cassandra's loyalty crisis with the seekers or Iron Bull abandoning the Qun). He dislikes violence and decisions that take away peoples' freedom. Even though this world isn't fully real to him, he still feels compassion for the people living in it.

And if the inquisitor comes to see him as a true friend or, Maker forbid, falls in love with him, the illusion snaps. The present is no longer a nightmarish dream world. It is real, and the people in it are real. But... so is the world he came from. The memories of that time are still fresh, no more than a couple years in the past to him. They are closer to him than memories of the COVID pandemic are to us. He can surely still remember vividly the taste of foods long gone, the beauty of magic-imbued cities, and the vibrant life of a civilization that was never separated from the fade--which is the way the world was natural designed to be.

This beautiful world that has become lost to time, that exists only his memory, fell because of him. Only he has the power to fix what he broke. But how can he make that choice, when the once dystopian dreamworld becomes just as real as the world he feels duty-bound to restore?

And then she did. Happy pride.

(Alternate versions under cut)

I've recently been thinking about what kind of Exalts the Dragon Age Origins companions would be, so I decided to make a post about it. (And yes, this is inspired by the recent Dungeon Meshi/Exalted posts)

Alistair was hard for me to pin down, but he kind of gives me Fire Aspect Dragon Blooded vibes. Obviously a Lost Egg/Outcaste because of his backstory, but also because his ass is absolutely not built for Dynast high society.

Morrigan is absolutely a No Moon Lunar. She's a shapeshifting sorcerer who grew up outside of "civilized" society and is into magic deemed forbidden; very strong Lunar vibes.

Leliana is definitely a Night Caste Solar, girl was/is a spy and is an idealist who is absolutely dedicated to trying to make the world a better place. Classic Night Caste material.

Zevran is a Wood Aspect Dragon Blood. He's an assassin who enjoys the thrill of the kill, sex, and the other pleasures of life. Also an Outcaste like Alistair.

Sten gave me a bit of trouble at first, but then I realized that he's absolutely an Earth Aspect Dragon Blooded. A mostly stoic warrior who clings to the traditions of his people and believes those ways are the best.

Wynne, with all her tales and attempts at guidance, gives me Adamant Caste Alchemical Vibes.

Oghren is gross, and I hate him, so he doesn't get to be an Exalt.

Shale was impossible for me to pin down tbh, so I'm gonna be lazy and say that she would be an Exigent of some sort. Probably chosen by the God of Pigeon Killing.

Loghain is 100% an Azimuth Caste Infernal. He's a victim of war, suffering atrocities at the hands of the Orlesians occupying his homeland, who later helped free Fereldan from Orlais, and then later let his understandable hatred of Orlais blind him and ended up becoming a tyrant himself. (Though he would also make a good Dawn Caste Solar.)

Honestly, Loghain is a pretty good example of how an Infernal can be a hero and later a villain imo.

Hopefully, this post finds anyone else who is both a fan of Exalted and Dragon Age.

So tell me, what’s your overall thoughts on Mummy: The Curse, and what are these off-canon ideas you mentioned?

God this has been sitting here a while.

Long story short: Mummy is one of my favorite games. I think that the time travel/alternate continuities aspect of it was absolutely genius, there's so much you can do storywise with it. The powers are satisfying and well-designed, I love how cults are baked into the gameplay, it's just generally a really solid and underrated game.

Also, the Mummies on Mars setting? Literally the coolest fucking thing that has ever been done in Chronicles of Darkness and it has so much competition for that title.

However.

I really don't like they gave a concrete history of Irem. I think that both ruins the mystique of it and having a one true history undermines the uncertainty of Mummy. I think part of the horror comes from not knowing what kind of world you'll wake up into, or if it's even close to what you think you should know. I'd have preferred something like the story seeds that you see in a lot of other games, and I really like the idea that even when you get a bunch of high-Memory mummies together, they're always going to have details of Irem that just don't quite line up together. To me that also helps emphasize how genuinely lost Irem is.

...oh, also I just think if someone is deep into Sybaris, they should perceive the mummy that inflicted it either as having aspects of the Judge they serve, or as the animal representative of their Decree. No reason other than it's cool.

you know I love lancer and all that but my heart belongs to ars magica. possibly the best ttrpg of all time, or at least one of the most ttrpgs of all time. it's a game of weird medieval wizards and requires multiple spreadsheets to play. one of the sourcebooks is a crash course on medieval philosophy and medicine with some mechanics thrown in. you specifically cannot cast spells at the moon.