invinciblerodent

[invinciblerodent]

the significance of rook as a protagonist who is 'unable to be evil' is because the inquisitor can be. and hawke. and the warden, for that matter. in dai there are companion disapproval cutscenes for a reason: you have either fucked up so badly or killed so many people that they literally stage an intervention for you. rook, by contrast, is a tremendously appropriate protagonist for veilguard—not just because they’re handpicked by varric but because they are good. like their goodness is the point. it is the story.

and i get why some players would be upset by that and feel constrained by the moral paradigm the narrative inherently embodies. players like options. however, rook's goodness (in whatever capacity) does not necessitate that they're a bad/flat protagonist considering they have unique backstories which tells us about the quality and the context of that goodness. in my opinion, it's a natural byproduct of the overarching story of the dragon age games: yet another person thrust into a role and political position they did not ask for but must pursue for the greater purpose of all.

the thing about veilguard though is that no possible protagonist could be as bad or as evil as the evanuris (and by extension, the chaos ripping the veil down would do at this point in time), so to play as an evil!rook feels counterintuitive to the point of the game regardless.

if we WERE to get the option to play an evil!rook who, for example, supports the evanuris and blights the world alongside them, it just means there's no more world to play in. dragon age is over.

furthermore, there's no option to help solas bring the veil down because it is an evil option. it's not a dev mistake that rook doesn't get the opportunity to side with our favorite war criminal. to most thedosians, the end of the veil means the end of their life. solas is one of the most unreliable narrators in the series, so the idea that he has harm reduction measures in place is unmeasurable because he is a proven trickster. those who'd take the chance anyway would still be considered evil by all who are affected in the wake of it.

—and i agree that it would be fun! but it's not veilguard's story because the stakes are higher than they have ever been in previous games, and thedas needs someone else to save it once again.

[invinciblerodent]

Things I really enjoy about DA:TV - Companions and group dynamics

As a self-proclaimed RPG nerd™️, Veilguard is one of the few games that managed to create a group of companions I genuinely cared about equally—and who actually felt like a group of adults.

I know a lot of people love group dynamics where characters dislike or outright hate each other, but that’s like 99% of games, and honestly, I’m tired of it. Sometimes I just want my companions to be likable and come across as well-rounded individuals.

First off, my absolute favorite thing is the way companions wander around the lighthouse and build relationships independently of Rook. Not only does this add an extra layer of character development, but it also makes the group feel like competent, self-sufficient people. I’m obsessed with Harding’s character journey—just from her interactions with the other companions. You don’t need to talk to her directly to understand what she’s thinking or where she is emotionally. Additionally, when Rook is trapped in the Fade Prison, it feels completely natural and believable that the companions would work together effectively without him.

From a game design perspective, a lot of RPGs fall into the trap of creating companions solely for the player. This is true of Inquisition and even more contemporary games like Baldur’s Gate 3. In those games, companions just stand around waiting for the player to initiate conversations, and their relationships don’t really develop independently. There’s also little to no variety in personality dynamics—no introverts, no extroverts.

One criticism of Veilguard is that there’s no tension between companions, but that’s not true at all. Early on, most of the group is uneasy about Emmrich—Taash, in particular, struggles with his necromancy. Davrin and Lucanis also clash at first. The difference is that these issues get resolved almost entirely without Rook’s involvement, and I love that because it feels much more like how real people work.

I’ve always been fond of the “found family” or “friends forever” dynamic in RPGs, and this is the first time I’ve felt like I didn’t have to stretch canon to see it happening. This is my comfort ensemble of companions, 10/10, no notes.

[invinciblerodent]

Me up again metaphorically pacing my room thinking about how datv is a game about hard choices that don't have a right or wrong answer (but the answer you choose still shapes you and your relationships the same way it shaped Solas and his own relationships)

and a game about regret for things you had no choice but to do (the same way Solas had no choice but to struggle against the rule of the evanuris including his best friend/lover/elder sister)

and a game about how even then you ultimately did have a choice (the same way Solas could have refused to make the dagger or could have allowed flemythal to do whatever she had planned or could have not tried to tear the veil back down which he knew would kill everybody before it fixed anything)

and a game about how sometimes you do your best and do things for good reasons and you still fuck up and you can't save everybody and people will still be frustrated with you (the same way the veil was an accident and Solas was only able to save a tiny fragment of mythal and even that fragment seems bitter about him holding her there even though he does it out of love)

and a game about what leadership does to its leaders (the same way Solas killed his blighted allies, the same way he betrayed felassan, the same way he ultimately betrayed the shard of mythal in flemeth)

and a game about GRIEF and how rook is trapped in it and not being allowed to move forward by blood magic, and how grief cages you (the same way Solas feels caged by the loss of mythal and he's just as trapped as rook is but it's of his own free will and how he uses rook as a method of self absolution for what he did to Varric)

and how every character arc and story touches on at least one if not multiple of these points and how it's all layered in with area quests, side quests, main story quests, that do the same thing. I'm tired of feeling like I have to qualify my praise of datv with "it has problems" because it's a fucking dragon age game. They are all, in their own ways, hot messes. Each one has its weak hinges and its stress points but the level of sheer thematic cohesion and thought in datv is absolutely fucking unparalleled and I don't think I'm wrong to say so

[invinciblerodent]

putting out into the ether for the zillionth time that i really love veilguard. i love to chew on its lore. i love thinking about the devouring storm, the executors, and all the clues we *haven't* found/discussed yet. i love the companions and how they act as put-together as professionals in their 30s often act. i love the romances and how much life there is in each one, yet how much room exists for headcanoning as well. i love veilguard's portrayal of solas, and i love how rook mirrors him so well, so devastatingly.

wishing there was a way to shine a bat-signal at the folks at bioware without directly addressing/tagging them directly (and implying they should reply, like on bsky). wishing i could give them all head pats from afar.

i really like veilguard. i hope they know how loved it is.

because it's damned good art.

[invinciblerodent]

Finished my second playthrough of Veilguard this evening and I've gained more appreciation for it now. I think my first run was tinged with a lot of 'where is the game I imagined this would be' which isn't a good attitude to take into a dragon age game in general. I actually really enjoy it - and I did the first time too! - but this time I was able to enjoy it for itself rather than what it could have been. The companions are all really special to me, the main story missions are so so fantastic and delivered with tons of cinematic gravitas, the writing style does take some getting used to but works once you're there. And Rook, dearest Rook, you might have become my favourite Dragon Age protagonist of the lot. Everything about Rook is so chewy. The regret prison, the way they help everyone and ask for so little in return. Their theme being 'Not a Chosen One' in contrast to the previous protagonists being framed as specifically subversions of that trope. In the end, Rook was the perfect foil to Solas. And it felt good to watch them hash things out.

A wonderful experience. I'm ready for round three.

[invinciblerodent]

hidden by Naomi Shihab Nye

[invinciblerodent]

someday i will write an essay on the way fandom likes to recreate the exact same flavor of aggressively heteronormative relationship dynamics in every popular slash ship ever invented regardless of how the characters behave or interact with each other in canon.

[invinciblerodent]

They should invent a new kind of Being Alive where it's not painful and it doesn't hurt constantly and actually feels worth it and you're happy for more than a few hours at a time

[invinciblerodent]

i’m a bit high

i’ve always felt like being born on the first of the month was a lil fun and fancy but then i began to wonder if that’s just how everyone feels about their birthday. so i made a poll about it.

[invinciblerodent]

where?

[invinciblerodent]

You’re getting cynical and that won’t do

[invinciblerodent]

[invinciblerodent]

Feelings tonight

[invinciblerodent]

Saw a post about the sesamarot and wanted to share my favorite reading

[invinciblerodent]

i think if twitter went down, TV writing would get at least 30% better

[invinciblerodent]

can you all fuckers just make ONE post that's POSITIVE about a thing you claim to like without getting in just that one stupid fucking DIG in in the last sentence. can you do that for me. can you just experience a crumb, a tiny modicum of joy WITHOUT snideness.

[invinciblerodent]

Learning languages is SO FUN right up until you need to learn conjugation and then suddenly it turns sour real fucking fast