Hey, thanks for reading :). I really appreciate your comments as I was struggling with this for a while. Mainly had difficulty with choosing which scenes to include, and how to end this (which I'm still not satisfied with tbh). But it does what I wanted for the most part.
The pacing on this is honestly really tremendous. It's nice to see flashback pacing that works so well. If the reader doesn't understand Jowan is Tranquil within the first few lines they are eased into it naturally and the inclusion of the brand becomes a final, inevitable stamp on a sad situation.
I'm glad it works. It's been a while since I've attempted flashbacks, especially something on this scale.
I'm kinda against using Tranquility for cheap angst, but I wanted to write this because of the dynamic and difficult choice involved.
Jowan's a character who really highlights the changes Tranquility imparts--going from someone passionate and fun who makes misguided-but-well-meant decisions to someone who is intellectually clinical and a better decision-maker but without warmth.
Yeah, that's what I particularly like about Jowan being made tranquil. I imagine that the reason he loses to Surana most of the time is because he tends to overthink it (in the same way he pushes himself too hard to be a good mage). Which is why he gets mad at her when she lets him win, because it's not a victory he earned.
Is Kianna an Inquisitor or and advisor or does she have another role at this time?
At the time I started writing this she had a secondary role, possibly as an adviser. I've since switched her to the role of Inquisitor. I forget the specific reasons why I made the change, though I think it had something to do with how certain concepts became stronger once I made her Inquisitor and put Lavellan in a secondary role as the Herald.
Like, Lavellan as the Inquisitor served more as a figurehead than a leader, and Surana's position didn't change that much from her role in DA2 (as a flake working for others). So giving Surana more responsibility and giving Lavellan less made sense to me in that regard.
Jowan's role in DAO and the position he puts a mage Warden provides a valuable perspective. I've seen speculation that Jowan might have been considered as a possible companion at some point, and I have no idea what that's based on but I got that vibe while playing.
I was convinced that Jowan was recruitable in DAO, because he was so honest and wanted to make up for his mistakes that I thought he'd get a chance to if you recruited him (I also thought that you would have to recruit him in order to learn the Blood Mage specialization). I was pretty disappointed when I found out he wasn't.
I later read that Gaider wanted him to be a companion, but was outvoted by the other writers because they thought he was too much of a coward to be a companion.
I think Ser Gilmore was another potential companion, though Idk what the official reason for that was. I think it might've been that his base concept was too similar to Alistair (as a tank/knight) and since Alistair had the role of bastard prince, Gilmore was booted. (Though it probably didn't help that Gilmore was specific to the Cousland Origin either.)
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Date: 2015-12-12 02:38 pm (UTC)I'm glad it works. It's been a while since I've attempted flashbacks, especially something on this scale.
I'm kinda against using Tranquility for cheap angst, but I wanted to write this because of the dynamic and difficult choice involved.
Yeah, that's what I particularly like about Jowan being made tranquil. I imagine that the reason he loses to Surana most of the time is because he tends to overthink it (in the same way he pushes himself too hard to be a good mage). Which is why he gets mad at her when she lets him win, because it's not a victory he earned.
At the time I started writing this she had a secondary role, possibly as an adviser. I've since switched her to the role of Inquisitor. I forget the specific reasons why I made the change, though I think it had something to do with how certain concepts became stronger once I made her Inquisitor and put Lavellan in a secondary role as the Herald.
Like, Lavellan as the Inquisitor served more as a figurehead than a leader, and Surana's position didn't change that much from her role in DA2 (as a flake working for others). So giving Surana more responsibility and giving Lavellan less made sense to me in that regard.
I was convinced that Jowan was recruitable in DAO, because he was so honest and wanted to make up for his mistakes that I thought he'd get a chance to if you recruited him (I also thought that you would have to recruit him in order to learn the Blood Mage specialization). I was pretty disappointed when I found out he wasn't.
I later read that Gaider wanted him to be a companion, but was outvoted by the other writers because they thought he was too much of a coward to be a companion.
I think Ser Gilmore was another potential companion, though Idk what the official reason for that was. I think it might've been that his base concept was too similar to Alistair (as a tank/knight) and since Alistair had the role of bastard prince, Gilmore was booted. (Though it probably didn't help that Gilmore was specific to the Cousland Origin either.)