【ｃｏｒｅ　ｍｅｍｏｒｙ】 A Tiny Spinoff Of This Mini Series

pros and cons of the dragon age games provided by me, your local dragon age gay

DA:O

pros: 

the introduction to the series!

DOG

you can select from multiple origins that provide not only an in-depth backstory but also a closer and more personal look at the different cultures that reside in thedas/ferelden

gives you a lot of lore and context that is vital to understanding the rest of the games

there are so many goddamn possible endings it’s actually incredible even minor choices you don’t think will impact the game can heavily affect character personalities (i’m looking at You, alistair and leliana)

the dialogue wheel Does Not Exist thank u lord

ZEVRAN!!!! Z E V R A N!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cons: 

it’s the oldest in the series so it sure looks and feels like it

some people don’t like the combat mechanics; i don’t think they’re too bad but i like playing games like pillars of eternity so :L

“the grey wardens don’t involve themselves in politics” say local grey wardens as they singlehandedly decide the future of ferelden’s monarchies

the FUCKING deep roads oh my GOD

skip the fade is the best mod in existence

morrigan isn’t a lesbian??? exCUSE ME????

Morrigan Disapproves :’(

DA2

pros: 

just like dragon age: origins this game introduces certain story beats that are CRUCIAL to the next game

DOG

imo it has the best combat/level up mechanic in both games

down to earth story that focuses less on world-shattering events and more on the ugly, complicated, diverse relationships between people

provides more information on the qunari culture than the first game did with the introduction of the arishok + fenris

really delves deep into the conflict between mages and templars, and all the conflicts therein

unafraid to tackle the concept of horrible loss, sacrifice, the right to freedom, and the consequences of vengeance

in this house we are ALL bi for hawke

VARRIC <33

cons:

Local Champion Despairs Of Friends, Threatens To Turn This City Around If They Can’t Get Along

the introduction of… the dialogue wheel :(

“mages aren’t people like you and me” says cullen rutherford directly to the apostate future champion of kirkwall with absolutely no shame

i’m so goddamn tired of mages and templars and blood mages oh my GOD

me about halfway through the game: “can’t we just uproot the chantry and start afresh this is so stupid”

me later: “NO NOT LIKE THAT”

WE CAN’T KISS VARRIC :(

DA:I

pros:

you can play as any of the races of thedas!!! (qunari PC… bless up)

FROSTBITE ENGINE EVERYONE IS SO BEAUTIFUL

a deeper look into chantry hierarchies and the politics of thedas

semi-open world full of mysteries and things to explore!!

the approval system is much more streamlined with your companions tossing in their two cents whether they’re present or not

there’s so much elf lore in this game it’s spilling out the sides

companions come from all corners of thedas, providing us a more comprehensive look at the different countries

HIGH DRAGONS BITCHES WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO [IRON BULL VOICE] ANAAN

varric is back!!!

cons:

you get the “chosen one” storyline that’s been done 400 times before

THE FUCKGIN SHARDS…….

no dog :(

since the game concerns nearly every single country in the known world + their leaders it feels a little impersonal compared to the other two

Where In The World Is Zevran Arainai

if you play an elf inquisitor i’m so sorry

you can’t kiss cassandra as a woman even though she’s a romantic soft butch knight in shining armor i’ll never forgive u bioware

epilogue dlc that literally sets up and provides the premise for the next game WHY is this a dlc and not in the base game i just???

WE STILL CAN’T KISS VARRIC???

treebeard and the hobbits

you can get a print here

I'm going to cry tears of joy over this masterpiece

inside front flap copy:

we booksellers of harvard book store think that the original cover for Young Miles (an otherwise fine production) is unspeakably ugly and may deter you from purchasing this hugo award-winning book which would otherwise provide you with hours of entertainment.

with that in mind, we are providing this alternate, less embarrassing cover for your reading pleasure. feel free to discard it and use the original cover if you enjoy flaunting its luridness. or, make it into a spaceship airplane, or what you wish. this has been a free service from

HARVARD BOOK STORE

since 1932

I mean they’re not wrong really

mybloodismaritime is this cover accurate?

How dare Tamsyn Muir, in several books full of queer characters I adore, make Palamedes Sextus the sexiest member of the cast

I like Shadowgast as much as the next person but...what if, by some miracle of fate, they managed to get Molly back.

and more from the same series

top Vor things, no particular order:

Piotr, who wouldn’t accept Miles as his grandson until he was like five, asking if maybe Miles failed the Imperial Academy physical test because the instructor was a jealous prole

the end of Warrior’s Apprentice when Miles finally tells Baz his house colors and Baz nearly faints, and Miles tosses, “Break him in gently, Elena!” over his shoulder as he walks away

Gregor being like 95% sure that neither Miles nor Elena would ever point a loaded cannon at him

I’m almost entirely certain Simon isn’t actually, legally technically, sworn to Aral in any way, but every single person treats them as such

“Vor really does mean thief.” -drunk, furious Duv Galeni

Aral Vorkosigan, Admiral, Regent, Prime Minister and Viceroy, wears bright, floral shirts in his downtime. 

“Let’s see what happens” (every. time.)

“But of course. Every Vor lady go to the capital to shop.”

when Vordrozda draws the needler in the Council of Counts, in the presence of the emperor, and fully half of them, these old men with the status, stuffiness, and average age of the UK’s House of Lords, get up and run forward to tackle him

Miles, what have you done with your baby brother?

when Miles reluctantly admits to Ekaterin that they would have had to sacrifice her and Professora Vorthys for the good of the station and Komarr, if it came to it, and Ekaterin replies, “Of course. We’re Vor.” And you can hear Miles’ jaw hit the floor, because coincidentally it’s the same sound my jaw is making, because holy mothergrubbing shit, if you were not convinced by this point that they were perfect for each other…

when Richars says “Lady Alys doesn’t have a seat on the Council of Counts” and five days later, Alys has whipped up like seven votes against him, mostly by talking to various Countesses and their daughters

when Miles shows up at Ivan’s office in Memory to requesition him, and Ivan is like, “NOPE” until Miles explains that it’s for Illyan, and Ivan is like, “…about time. Mother’s been complaining” and falls in behind him.

Mark haphazardly enlisting Elena as an armswoman-simple

Ivan explaining the secret code of Gregor’s suit choice to the Arquas

this list could go on for so long; I’m going to stop it with a reminded that Aral Vorkosigan wears bright Hawaiian shirts, and also honorary mention to the time Bel Thorne pretended to buy Mark’s charade of being Miles so they could go rescue a bunch of clones from Jackson’s Whole. That was the most Milesian thing anyone non-Miles has ever done, with the possible exception of sinking ImpSec.

Low key I'm kinda bored of and annoyed by the preponderance of works that have Boring If Not Outright Malevolent Angels on one side and Nuanced, Charismatic, And Honestly Not Evil Demons because it just seems like a perpetuation of the idea that good is fundamentally flat or banal or not even good at all, that Goodness is something performed to achieve something else, usually power or control. In fact, I don't object to nuanced demons so much as the imbalance (only the "evil" side is allowed to be anything approching, well, approachable.)

But then I'm like "well identification with monsters is something that marginalized groups often feel because it forces us to question what is monstrous, so the idea of finding compassion and humanity in those deemed inherently unforgivable is actually very powerful and subversive"

But then I'm like "but is it subversive or is it laziness? It's hardly revolutionary at this point, it's like people making children's toys scary. It's supposed to have a tension between what something should be (childlike, innocent) and making it wicked. But now it's so common that dolls are often considered inherently creepy. So where's the subversion in a creepy doll? There's none. Where's the subversion in mean Angels or angels who have no interest in or love for humanity?"

But then I'm like "well but aren't angels traditionally destroying cities and saying Be Not Afraid?"

And I'm like, again just to myself as I pace my kitchen, "I mean YEAH but they're also like flaming wheels or whatever, I'm not sure how much these works are genuinely interested in angel mythology"

Then as I make coffee for myself, I think, "angels represent the traditional hierarchy, the traditional Christian dogma, and therefore are stand ins for the authority that we must question"

But then, as I realize we are out of sugar and my coffee is therefore ruined and am thus more susceptible to thinking there are demonic forces at work in this world, I go, "but demons in these stories aren't systemically kind. They're just cool. They're individuals and help individuals if they feel like it. In these stories, there's no mass concern for all of humanity really."

And then I conclude, "maybe angels are written cruelly because the world seems cruel and therefore there cannot be a Divine force involved in our daily activities looking out for us. Demons are by their nature doomed to fail which makes stories where they try to do Good have a more natural conflict and also explains why things in the world aren't better. For if there were angels, a legion of angels, always at work, shouldn't things be better? But we don't know how the world could otherwise be. But it seems hard to argue that this is in fact the best of all possible worlds. So demons make an easier to identify with protagonist while also being powerful and having cosmic impact. I believe many stories doing their own take on angels and demons would benefit from truly trying to imagine angels and beings of love, rather than the cold and distant figures I often see in fiction, but I understand the framework behind that conception."

Then I add to myself, "of course since I'm mostly talking about like urban fantasy, it might also be that people just wanna fuck demons more."

r/Murderbot mods really said "if you can't use it/its for a fictional character, get over yourself".

Harry hesitated, but after all, Ron had been honest with him, so he told Ron the truth…

one of my absolute favorite bits from the hp books that never made it into the movies. though admittedly, the ootp movie had to rly condense a lot. i think the relationship between harry and ron is super underrated/overlooked - there’s so much love, trust, and support between them in this scene.

Rook oversharing while helping Lucanis with cooking (so I can put more backstory details bc I can’t draw out his entire life)

I’m curious if anybody can guess who the mage he’s referring to is :>

Update: The mage reveal