demonofvyrantium

[demonofvyrantium]

i think a misunderstanding about spirit -> demon pipelines, when people in fandom are guessing what a particular spirit or demon’s equivalent is, is for some reason people think a spirit will turn into its opposite. that’s not how it goes, it’s still the same creature, it’s not going to swap over into the opposite of what it’s been embodying. it turns into, like, a perverse version of that virtue, or what you get when there’s “too much of a good thing”

[demonofvyrantium]

In the DA4 talk table, I found and reordered (as best I could determine) what seems to be a deleted dialogue tree/branch when talking down Solas at the end of the game. 🥹🥹😭😭😭

EDITED TO ADD:

The lines are not assigned speakers, so I had to assign them myself. Looking at it again, I think it’s probably this instead - Solas saying Rook isn’t responsible for Varric’s death, so of course Rook could “let it go.” (The next line staring with “And” confused me.)

[demonofvyrantium]

I love you Anders but you really need to step up your game

[demonofvyrantium]

Trying to put my thoughts in as uncontroversial a way as I possibly can (this is fandom so hopeless endeavor probably). I love Neve. I think she and Lucanis are cute and I like their banter, especially because we learn more about the both of them during their conversation (a bit about their childhoods for instance). No, I don't think “Lucanis loves Neve more” or “Lucanis loves Rook more” are justified takes.

But. Regarding Rook x Lucanis vs Neve x Lucanis. I think the thing that bothers me is that Lucanis feels like a completely different character with a different character arc depending on who he's in a relationship with, with no justification as to why that is.

In his romance arc with Rook, there's a big gap in the middle where he runs away because his own fears and trauma get too much, and he only comes around after Rook has literally been inside his head to break through his mental locks. They don't engage romantically at all otherwise after their almost kiss.

In his romance arc with Neve, he's receptive to her flirting always, and they have little dates and candlelit dinners. He doesn't seem to have a big mental block or to run away from her, he's mostly just being fumbling/shy and awkward. And it's never really justified or said why there's such a difference? Both couples end up being treated as a long-term serious thing. In a unhardened path, it can be argued that since Rook as a friend unlocks his mental prison, it enables him to go after Neve. But in a hardened path? He can't romance Rook because of his resentment/lack of trust, which is entirely justified for the kind of character he is, but does someone help him through his mental prison then? Does Neve go there at some point and help him out? I don't think it's ever mentioned (but maybe I missed things so entirely open to be corrected if I'm wrong. The mental prison thing seemed such a big/central thing for his character arc in this game so...)

Possibly a hot take but I think the comparison between relationships would have felt less jarring to me if there had been hints about Lucanis having the same character arc with Neve (running away, then coming back around after he starts getting his shit together). His romance arc with Neve feels like what Lucanis probably would have acted like before the Ossuary, cute and awkward without the mental prison/trauma thing that blocks him in a Rook romance, even though he's in the same situation, or even possibly worse if Treviso gets destroyed and blighted. I think it would have helped (for me anyway) if on top of the little scenes you get where he's cutely trying to woo Neve by making her coffee and dessert, you got another scene where he's having a bad time thinking he can't risk a relationship (since Rook is the therapist friend by default).

Then again, maybe I missed things? Idk if I've seen all the LucanisxNeve content the game has.

[demonofvyrantium]

i know i’m the one who keeps making jokes about Lucanis being financially savvy and wealthy but you have to understand. he is also IN TOUCH with reality. you can’t make the “One banana? How much could it cost, 10 gold?” joke about him because HE IS THE ONE DOING THE GROCERY SHOPPING. that joke is for rich people who have no clue how everyone else lives. If Illario asked Lucanis how expensive bananas could possibly be, Lucanis would say well if you want the best bananas imported from Par Vollen those are quite pricy these days because of the blockades, but you can still get ones grown in Rivain more reasonably[1]”. But, crucially, he would still buy the expensive fancy bananas anyway because he knows Emmrich likes them[2] and he wants the team to eat well. And that’s what makes him mr fantasy heartthrob in addition to being a pathetic wet beast of a man[3]

[1] The World of Thedas has a surprising amount of banana lore

[2] Groceries codex in DAV

[3] My heart tells me this is true

[demonofvyrantium]

Jesus fucking christ, Emmrich 💀💀💀

(continuation of this banter, text-only paraphrasing srry)

[demonofvyrantium]

This, however, is raging idiocy. I can feel Seanna vibrating with rage in the back of my brain. I do not know if the Warden is still alive because Bioware didn't import anything about her, but if she is that is the absolute last straw.

The stunningly short Fifth Blight. The Architect and the Awakened darkspawn (Ohhhhhhh. We are never going to get any payoff on that plot, are we? I'm going to need a minute to mourn for that one. It was fascinating.)! The emergence of Corypheus and the false Calling! The suggestion that the Black City might have been like that for longer than the Chantry claims. Evidence of Blight in the extremely ancient Primeval Thaig. Red lyrium in general. And smaller things: the purification of a Blighted eluvian; Isseya's cleansing of griffon eggs, allowing the species to re-emerge ...

Everything about the Blight has changed in the last few years. It is completely reasonable for the First Warden to demand evidence. He bloody should demand evidence. But what he's doing is throwing a temper tantrum. Wardens do not have the luxury of temper tantrums.

[demonofvyrantium]

"lavellan would love solas even if he was a worm" yeah okay sure

"solas would love lavellan even if she was a worm" my friend, he won't even love lavellan if lavellan is a man lol

[demonofvyrantium]

Regret

[demonofvyrantium]

I feel like bioware wrote the romance between companions as canon and Rook is just an afterthought. (Except when romancing Emmrich and Davrin). I was romancing Lucanis and Neve and Lucanis kept flirting. It felt like my Rook was an unwanted third wheel. There is more content (including banter) for Neve and Lucanis than For either Rook and Lucanis or Neve and Rook. I really don't think bioware gave a shit about this game.

I had him flirt with her still during my first run too and I assumed it was a bug where his romance didn’t get triggered and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if you were right about the both of them having more content with each other unfortunately

[demonofvyrantium]

Fascinating things are happening in the group chat right now

[demonofvyrantium]

was trying to take pictures of rook but got distracted by varric serving face in the background

[demonofvyrantium]

Lucanis Dellamorte - Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Andoral's Breath. Bitter and sweet, like a kiss goodbye. You should try it.

[demonofvyrantium]

at first I was thinking "well this is not at all a worrying thing to find in Minrathous", but I'm fairly sure I just found a neat Easter egg!

The big, middle symbols are obviously meant to represent the protagonists of each game in the series (Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, Rook), with all the attached ones representing the companions who are either shown as returning characters, or missing.

There's the feather attached to the Warden that I assume represents Leliana as the Nightingale, there's Bianca in the middle between Hawke and the Inquisitor to represent Varric with threads connecting him to multiple points, the wolf head that speaks for itself (which, curious that Varric has an Inquisition sigil under his tag that Solas doesn't have- maybe because his emotional connection to the Inquisition isn't quite that immediate, or quite so in the forefront of his mind?), and then each faction's symbol meant to represent Rook's companions is attached to them, with the thread leading off the side, to the next, unknown protagonist.

The only thing I can't quite tell what it is is that symbol above Hawke's. It looks to me like a bow at first glance, but it also looks like wings, kind of? So from all the threads I'm assuming it means Morrigan, but I really couldn't say.

There's also extra sheets connected to Rook that are entirely unknown, so I'm wondering if that one on top, next to Neve's snake, is meant to represent maybe another, non-companion ally, like an advisor or something that we'll meet later.

[demonofvyrantium]

Oh Solas still loves her...

[demonofvyrantium]

Don't care whether nonbinary is breaking immersion in thedas when the days of the week are called Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Wynne used the word earth in Origins

[demonofvyrantium]

If, while playing Veilguard, we have to choose to leave behind either Varric or your Inquisitor like we had to choose between leaving Hawke or Alistair behind in Inquisition,

No cheating via mods exploits etc to save them both.

@necromancy-enthusiast