#DA lore stuff is such fun

[brie-draws]

(Younger) Nozomu, Yukio and Eiichi

[himbopunk]

the more i see about nevarra in datv the more i feel like cassandra was like if the towns star football quarterback was raised by the addams family

[dj-yonds-fort]

🌈

A dream from their childhood

*the dream starts off foggy. He is.. a child, young. The scenery around him starts to take form of a school, he’s outside playing. Recess, probably.. he’s sitting alone, playing with a stick he found; until he overheard some commotion from nearby.

being curious, he’d waddle over to where he heard the commotion, to find a couple of blurred faces picking on another blurred face. The blurred face that they were picking on had red skin and white hair, horns too. He thought those looked really cool. He stood himself between the figures, waving the stick at them while he spoke.

‘ I think they’re really cool! You guys just can’t see it ,

was half of what he said, most unheard by the fact that he wasn’t thinking about these words, they would just come out of him. As the group of blurred faces walked away, he turned over to the other. He felt himself smile, and saw a hand be extended.

‘ I’m (static)! And I think your eyes are really cool, what’s your name, kid? ,

he didn’t hear the other child say their name, muffled by static; just as the name of the child eyes that he was watching this dream through.

he’d wake up a bit after

[thepaleelf]

celebon (2015) vs celebon 2.0 (2024)

i’m remembering why i spent so much time playing inquisition back then lol. there is so much game in this game and i’m having a lot of fun reimagining an old pc

[riadoodles]

I love your rooks sm! 🥹 you got any lore on them?

thank you omg!! Ok so it's been a LONG time since I made/worked on ocs and I'm also not much of a writer so I have a bunch of scattered ideas and worked around with the backstory they already have (thank you DA for doing most of the work for me LOL). it's funny cuz Dawn is technically my second child but i had so much fun coming up with stuff for him (SORRY ESHA I LOVE YOU TOO) also I wanted to answer your question the minute i saw this but decided to ALSO have some doodles with blurbs to show you. SOrry for the wait, but thank you so much for the rook love and this question!!

[hugsarethugs]

I wanna ask you more on the reverse au but was far too afraid to, but I'm here now :D

Anyways, how does rob and stone show affection to one another/other people?? (pretty sure they aren't in an established relationship right????)

And I kinda wanna know more abt the eclipse cannon (like is it still called that?? What's it structure/shape?, stuff like that)

And lastly: stone's logo. Like the org eggman logo we're all aware of (his face basically), what does dr.stone's logo look like??

IM SO SORRY FOR ASKING SO MANY QUESTIONS BUT I REALLY WANNA KNOW ;-;

with affection im not even fully sure how to word it and im sure they don't ever show affection towards other people (except rob to Gerald but we're not here for him yet) so im just going to share this doodle page as it is the most they've ever been open and just yaknow- happy? this is when stone begins to become less depressed and is fully mobile without the need for rob's assistance around their home

for the eclipse cannon its still pretty much the same, it's still designed by Gerald so ye- not much to change

and lastly Dr. Stone's logo ta-da!

anyway thx for sending this ask! always enjoy getting them tho i am still pretty bad at responding sometimes but its fun and gets me to think a lil deeper on the lore of this weird au

[felassan]

Game Informer:

"Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow of the Erdtree Review | GI Show by Alex Van Aken on Jun 27, 2024 at 01:57 PM In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew discusses our recent trip to Bioware for our Dragon Age: The Veilguard cover story, our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review, PS5-bound multiplayer shooter, Concord, a new battle royale from former League of Legends developers, atmospheric horror title Still Wakes the Deep, Dustborn, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD and even more! It's a packed show, y'all.  Watch the Video Version: [embedded link to Game Informer video titled 'Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow of the Erdtree Review | GI Show']"

(On YouTube, the description box for this video looked like this:)

[Article continues] "Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Wesley LeBlanc (@LeBlancWes) The Game Informer Show is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join us every Thursday to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with Game Informer staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Matt Storm, the freelance audio editor for The Game Informer Show, edited this episode. Matt is an experienced podcast host and producer who's been speaking into a microphone for over a decade. You should listen to Matt's shows like the "Fun" And Games Podcast and Reignite, a BioWare-focused podcast."

"The Game Informer Show – Podcast Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:42 - Cover Story: Dragon Age: The Veilguard 00:21:48 - Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Review 00:42:20 - Concord Preview 00:59:04 - Supervive Preview 01:11:59 - The Plucky Squire 01:24:37 - Magic: The Gathering – Assassin's Creed 01:35:01 - Still Wakes the Deep 01:45:52 - Dustborn Preview 01:55:06 - Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Review 01:58:26 - Housekeeping"

"The GI Show podcast is a weekly recap of exciting releases, exclusive details on upcoming games, and in-depth interviews with developers. Watch or listen to a new episode every Thursday!"

[source]

----

Felassan's notes section of this post -

In this episode of the Game Informer show, Game Informer talk some more about their trip to BioWare's studio for the DA:TV cover story, when BioWare showed them hours of DA:TV content while playing it live.

Some notes from this and from what they said:

Wesley LeBlanc wasn't a huge DA fan and he went in with no expectations. The job to go to BW for this just landed on his plate due to other peoples' schedules. After seeing the game, it's probably his most anticipated game for the rest of the year and the one he's most looking forwards to

The game really wowed him and stuck with him, he said he is thrilled about it and is engrossed in the fantasy it's bringing

The visuals and world finally feel like what BioWare has maybe always wanted to make

This is the game where the team said, yeah, we feel fully in command of the Frostbite engine, and it shows

The world is more like Fable-type whimsy than prior DA games. It has a high fantasy feel

BW want new people to play the game. They're very aware that it's been 10 years since the last game and the game does a good job of catching people up

Rook as the PC really has no idea what's going on with Solas and all the other lore-specific stuff that's happening in the game, so they kind of act as the stand-in for newer players or people who have not caught up on the lore

But it's not just a game for newcomers, there is still a lot to chew on in the game for hardcore DA fans. BioWare were saying that they know their community, what it wants and what it's looking for out of these characters

Wesley enjoyed the music, visual design, and voice acting

Nothing that they saw about the game stood out as worrisome to him

Wesley has quite a lot of further stories to add to Game Informer's DA:TV hub

Wesley: "On the topic of the [Dragon Age] fanbase, I just wanna give a shoutout to that community, because, wow, I did not, I knew people would be stoked about this cover, but people are really stoked about this cover. And it’s really funny, the day that we announced it, I got like hundreds of new followers. Anytime, if I tweet about Erdtree or Destiny 2, I get like my normal amount of likes, like, a dozen maybe, y’know, whatever. If I tweet about Dragon Age, it’s like. Today I tweeted, ‘my next feature is coming at 3pm’ and it’s at 1000 likes, it’s so funny, like, this community is like rabid for information, which makes sense if you haven’t gotten a game in 10 years. But yeah, so like, shoutout to y’all, I’m loving you guys reading the articles and telling me what you wanna hear about. So if you have any questions or anything, get at me on Twitter for sure, and I will see what I can cook up with some writing for you. But yeah, shoutout to the BioWare community, y’all crazy.”

[source]

[basedonconjecture]

🎂 birthday fic rec exchange 🥳

yes, I will continue being obnoxious about my stuff elsewhere. but! my real birthday gift to me is spreading my agenda uh propaganda no no I mean the good news of really great fic written by talented people who have all, in some form or fashion, even if you didn't know it until now, kept me in the DA fandom much longer than I expected to be.

So! In the spirit of exchange and ✨fandom positivity✨, I bring you these offerings, then YOU (and I do mean you, if you’re seeing this, idc if you follow me or not or if you're already on this list do it anyway):

read all at least one

leave kudos and a nice comment

reblog with your own rec for ME (can be your own if you want! don’t be shy~)

we all profit

Easy peasy :) I have approximately 6 weeks of extra free time so get to recc’ing 👏 👏

the recs✨

amore amargo by @bygonesigh - E-rated Rookanis, sex-pollen-but-it’s-poison fic! Rook and Lucanis go to steal some ingredients for a sleep draught and accidentally get poisoned instead~

underneath the skin there’s a human by @complikatedd - post-Minrathous vs Treviso choice, canon genfic, emotional hurt/comfort Rookanis feat. my fave, Zita ‘Noodle’ de Riva.

the last train to nowhere - M-rated cowboy/western davrook au by the one & only @thedissonantverses whose other fics I also recommend but this one is new and very easy to get caught up on and has cowboy!davrin so dooooo it

prophets & promises - E-related Cullavellan longfic that I am invested in seeing in it’s entirety, so if you could all go implore (very nicely, very gently) @mythals-whore to post the rest of it, I would be eternally grateful (I bet you thought it would be her davrook longfic that I’m obsessed with and you should also read. well 😏)

considerations by @dymme - t-rated Emmrook!! From the tags: ‘the slightest bit of angst that is immediately resolved, they’re both besotted old fools’ emphasis on besotted dldjsjdjg it’s very sweet and funny and I will adore Maggs forever and ever and ever 🫶

spite isekai (ie., modern demon in thedas) by @ofcrowsanddragons - M-rated Lucanis & Spite fit that IS very clever and very fun and very hard to describe succinctly but you should all read it (and you should all also be reading their gothic horror pre-canon rookanis fic bc it's excellent)

weird forks and other concerns of modern assassins by @hyperions-light - M-rated modern thedas AU about the very messy and complicated relationships and weird power dynamics between Crows. Leth is v fun and so, so messy.

getting into trouble series by @biowaredisasterbisexual - series of Neverook one shots featuring the best Disaster Rook this side of Thedas — and it's finished now and I need to catch up on it and you all need to get in on the Disaster Rook lore right nowwwwwww

it will come back by @mageofquandrix - Cullen/f!Trevelyan gen fic feat. a trans Trevelyna that is very sweet and lovely friends-to-lovers after some distance.

not a date by @propenseverbosity - T-rated demi4demi Rookanis that reimagines the first coffee date as a very sweet coming out conversation between Lucanis and Rook. 'semi-romantic knife exchange' is perhaps my new favorite tag

all the pieces at play by @introvertedfangrl - this is a tbr rec, admittedly, bc I am very behind on reading but multi-chapter multirook fic!!! It's such a fascinating idea and it deserves more attention ok ok ok

where the heart is by @flowersforthemachines - M-rated pre-canon lore fic of one Ghilasara Thorne that more people need to read and I stand by that. I demand more oc x oc content in this fandom, actually. Go read it right now.

bellara's doing alright by @skullypettibone - T-rated mad scientist Bellara fic feat. Bellario <33 I feckin love the way Skully writes them, they're so sweet and real with a side order of also being very funny to boot.

[rory2geeked]

making up lore for mbav because im bored😈🙏

- ethan’s seer powers come from his grandmother on his mom’s side (lets bfr his mom gives off that kinda vibe) and it skips a generation that’s why his mom & jane didn’t have the seer powers + his dad is just completely unaware to everything😥😥

- i feel like his mom doesn’t know anything about the seer stuff either

- benny’s grandma & ethan’s grandma were also silly supernatural evil fighting besties ?????? 😈

- it would be kind of a parallel to benny and ethans friendship too🤔🤔

- rorys parents are divorced👍 100%. BECAUSE WHY WASNT HIS DAD AT THE MUSEATRONICS TALENT SHOW😥😥 uuhhhh🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

- this part isnt actually a theory, but a confirmed fact from a writer on the show— AFTER THE FINAL EPISODES, they were supposed to be transported to like europe back in time like with da vampires n stuff for a silly little adventure👍👍

- my made-up lore for that is that sarah would like find a cure in old timey europe but it would be like a long ass adventure to get the cure

- erica and rory find a way to go to old timey europe to save their friends😋😋

- also rory pulls a bunch of old timey europe chicks🤔🤔 i would mess with that plot like heavy like he starts dating some european girl and when she finds out hes a vampire the fang gang has to save rory from being burned at the stake😭😭 I CAN LITERALLY IMAGINE THAT PLOT IT WOULD BE SO FUNNY

- “guys?? why are you tying me to a wooden pole?? uhh… what are you doing with that— FIRE!!!!!!” cue loud girly rory scream

- serica moments for days!!!!!!!!

- benny almost dies ???

- a lot of fun shenanigans

- okay thats all 😈😈🙏

[dragontheseages]

I'm not having this anymore.

Epler saying Spite is not involved in Lucanis' romance is not inconsistent writing just because he pops the wings out for the sex scene.

I say all this as someone who loves Lucanis/Rook/Spite. It's fun, it's sexy, and it's interesting, and fandom is fantastic for having fun with stuff even if it doesn't mesh with established lore.

But the fact is, Spite staying out of it is consistent with the games.* Cole has no interest in it unless you push him towards becoming more human. Justice is annoyed by a romanced Anders letting it distract him. Solas is offended when Blackwall brings up sex with spirits and, in a separate banter with an Inquisitor, talks about a spirit that played matchmaker for a small village. The Avaar have a teacher/mentor relationship with their spirits.

* I'm not as familiar with the peripheral media as I'd like to be, let me know if there's an instance/s of otherwise.

DA Fandom; I love you dearly, but chill the eff out.

[pinayelf]

I know I don't post much about them bc im davrin/biyavrin pilled but bc ive gotten some more ppl following lately I want to say that I love Cullen Rutherford and if you're someone who hates him this isn't the correct blog for that lmao. after davrin he's my fave male LI in da

I've been into DA for 7 years and I've done the whole rodeo of whether or not he's a bad person or I'm a bad person for liking him and at my ripe age of 30 I don't really care lmao

I don't really care about mage rights either, I'm more interested in exploring different ocs I can make in game and stories that would be fun to tell. I don't do that stuff around here nor do I even post about characters I dislike lmao (unless I'm talking abt an oc and it's relevant to their lore)

I used to be that person who thought I had to like cullen a certain way for me to be seen as "valid" and that's just exhausting lmao. idc anymore if I ever post him & my lavellan it'll be fluffy cute stuff like w biyavrin

it's okay if u disagree and I'm fine w ppl who dislike him still following me I hardly ever do crit around here as long everyone is chill then I'm chill. I follow ppl who like things I dislike and it's not a big deal to me

so yeah peas and blessings ✌🏽

[skyflarepup030]

Welp there goes the sequel. It's gone :'/

here are my thoughts about this

So I heard about this news that Paramount has no plans to make a sequel of Transformers One. The community including myself were shooketh to hear this tho and I've seeing people talking about this on instagram, youtube and tumblr

I am sooo devestated to hear that the sequel of TFOne is not in the works and Paramount had ZERO plans for it

I'm fooken mad guys, so so mad

I think Hasbro and Paramount just doesn't care about this franchise anymore, plus Hasbro just only focus on making games instead of toys (that decision is made by the new CEO remember) and they failed many times and wasted so much money. They still make toys but the said toys are now cheaper and less fun... and look poorly made (I think)

I think the reason why TFOne flopped is because the marketing. The marketing treats the movie like it's for kids. the first trailer has the funny scenes, like B-127 saying "BADASSATRON" and Orion's head shoving into his chassis in his first transformation. Ofc this first trailer made the people think that this movie is straight up some sort of silly comedy for kids😭 (at least the second trailer look alot better than the first) BUT lets not forget that we got spoiled(?) where we have to witness Orion's "death" in the other trailer which was a major spoiler. My god how did they fumbled this up, da shart??? (Oh and Hasbro is in decline, because how much money they've wasted, yikes)

Even though, despite a lot of efforts puting into this movie, people just don't care because how shart the marketing is and they still think it's for kids. Funny that the TFHypeguy markets the movie on his own and was better than the fragging billionare company hehehe😏

The sad thing is that TFOne is a cinematic masterpiece that's failed by this marketing and was left to die alone. It deserves better AND deserves a sequel. This movie just saved the transformers franchise and has good reviews and was the highest rated transformers films ever, but like why we have nothing??? What's goin' on?

I feel like Paramount has no right to make transformers stuff, they handle it so poorly and always fumbled like what happened to ROTB. I think they should hand the right's off to another studio that does better and can market well

The movie along with TFP got me into this chokehold and was the reason why I join the transformers community and make fanart. I've been praising this so long and hoping for a sequel but all we unfortunately got is just nothing burgers

Worst is that I entered this community at the worst timing possible (bruh why am I soooo unlucky💀)

I think we're just gonna make our own TFOne sequel with better stories

Pls save this movie, we don't want it to go to waste, we want this movie to grow with new adventures and new stories and lore to be told

That's all I can say about this news. I hope this franchise gets saved

#SaveTFONESequel

[lafaiette]

Gods I feel you I'm only 10 hours in after having received the game as a gift and I REALLY try to like it but it just ... doesn't feel like Dragon Age. Characters know stuff they shouldn't know about, the game keeps talking down to me, nothing I did in the previous games mattered, the tone is completely different, the mature storytelling of the previous games seems to be missing so far & what I heard so far of how the lore and the characters from previous games have been handled is honestly the worst part and breaks my heart. idk even if i wanna finish the game at this point anymore, I'm just kinda ... sad.

I'm so sad and disappointed, too, I remember our conversations, fics, and headcanons about DA! We were so excited and happy, because Inquisition, DA2, and DAO were genuinely well-made and aimed at pleasing the fans, despite their faults.

DATV is a good action game, no doubt about that. The combat is fun, there is a lot to explore and discover, and many locations are beautiful, even though some are terrible to navigate (Dock Town's structure makes no sense). But that's it - it's a good action game with the name "Dragon Age" pasted on it. It doesn't feel like it's part of the series, it constantly treats the player like an idiot, some references to past games and characters are literally hidden in the brief descriptions of the mementos, and there is even a Glossary to make sure the new players don't get frustrated.

Everything is safe and aseptic, cleaned of every deep piece of lore that could have scared new fans into buying or continuing the game. Even the banters lack the depth of the previous games.

A good game company should lure new players in not by rejecting their past entries, but by making them look even more interesting with their sequels.

Bioware wasn't afraid of offering piece of lore after piece of lore in Inquisition - it was a game set in a precise moment, whose prologue was directly tied to the events of the previous game, and new players had to accept this if they decided to buy it and play it. If they liked that premise, all that information and those details, then they were more than welcome - they were encouraged! - to go back, try the older games, and see how it had all started. It was a game made for the fans the company had already managed to win over, not for possible fans who may or may not bring new money in.

In DATV the new players can jump right in after quickly learning who Solas is and what he's trying to do, and old fans are left with an empty shell, with minor references that are supposed to make us feel happy and accomplished peppered here and there, while all our past choices and our favorite characters are forgotten or brought back with a terrible case of amnesia. It's lazy, infuriating, and very sad, and it smells of reboot, because the new devs probably realized they couldn't keep up with the amount of lore and choices the series contain, and they needed to start anew.

[bunabi]

Im glad I'm not the only one who thought Mythal mentioning humans was weird. Veilguard makes me a little sad bc I feel like its full of awesome concepts that aren't executed well and were rushed, leading to stuff like this.

Still enjoying it, it's just a shame after 10 years I guess

Does make me wish we could have seen more of the ancient dwarves though. They were apparently interesting enough the first elves wanted to mimic them but we know nothing except that they're connected to titans. Give me the extended dwarf lore, bioware, pretty please

Real. I still play Veilguard in my downtime because the combat is fun. (People keep saying it's like God of War? Should I play God of War??) But the streamlined, cliff-notes interpretation of Thedas is so rough.

I just wish I wasn't left with this powerless feeling. Veilguard sold to expectations, had mixed-to-positive critical reception, and it was still shelved. The prospects of future DA projects are unclear compared to Inquisition's post-launch where it felt like a given (and we did in fact get three really solid DLC within a year's time).

I love Dragon Age. I want a faithful conclusion or a continuation even if it comes in the form of a comic, a book, an animated short, a storyboard, anything. As a fan: what am I supposed to do? I will keep voting with my dollar if it helps. Send a sign. Let us know.

[postcardsfromheapside]

So I finished my DA2 replay, and I had wondered if I would feel differently after taking my time with it, and with the perspective of Veilguard. And yes, in small ways I do, but about the series and about Anders, I don't. That is to say: I think Veilguard is a fucking fantastic capper to the series (I mean, pray there is more, "hope for the best, expect the worst" as the Mel Brooks song goes), and Anders is relatably angry, even if the "betrayal" is frustrating and heart-breaking.

Also, there's just too much Dragon Age just the same way there's too much Tolkien, it's just that I can relisten to Tolkien via audiobook while I work and don't have time to constantly replay Dragon Age to absorb every little detail that my broken brain forgets (and I'm pretty good with lore) and I wish parts of this fandom were more curious than scathing about things they've obviously forgotten. Or skipped through, according to some of them, because I guess the context of dialogue and a cut scene isn't necessary for some of them to weigh in on things.

Word vomit of notes below the break:

First of all.

Can these two just fuck already. Watching Cassandra go from throwing him around to absolutely ENTHRALLED by Varric's complete bullshit is just going to make it so much better when I hit the "Guilty Pleasures" quest again in DA:I. This woman is SEDUCED by his story-telling, and you *cannot* convince me he wasn't gagging on his power trip.

Second.

I never played Mark of the Assassin before, and had completely forgotten Felicia Day was in DA2, and laughed like hell. I really enjoyed it. I haven't really used a stealth option in a game since leaving Skyrim for other stuff (do we ever really leave Skyrim?) and it was really fun, but I think the wyvern at the end of the DLC was actually the best fight in the entire game, even more than Corypheus. It hinted at the dragon battles to come in Veilguard. Also, I loved how Anders' dialogue got more relaxed outside of Kirkwall, like shedding the city let him loosen up. The back and forth with Hawke about his fantasy for being rescued was completely unhinged - after I accused Hawke of being feral and lacking social graces, I've decided the two of them match each other's freak and they're fine.

Third.

All the people who were losing their minds about the line "A crow never abandons a contract" and acting like the devs forgot Zevran.

He literally addresses it in the game. I keep having these moments where shit that people bitched about regarding Veilguard is addressed right *there.*

"The crows do like saying that, but I am living proof it's a lie."

No one actually forgot, but I'm sure the Dellamorte's wish to the Maker a motherfucker could.

When people complain the writing in Veilguard is too modern, I'm going to remember Hawke complaining exactly like this. She sounds like I do when I'm side-eyeing my friends in the year of our Maker 2025.

Fourth.

I had planned on romancing Blackwall this DA:I run, finally, because I'm a little obsessed with this Warden throughline from Anders to Blackwall to Davrin. From a cage, to hope/redemption, to a more meaningful path of positive change and impact.

They both haunt Veilguard's narrative and dialogue.

And then of course:

hrm.

Fifth.

I do hope we get another DA. Or supplementary material. Because I want to know what the fuck is going on with this story I had forgotten the details of, especially with the decision regarding the Nadas Dirthalen.

These two fucking idiots. I can't believe in different lives I've schtupped them both. (I can absolutely believe it)

Sixth.

The worst part of Meredith is she sounds like conservative family members of mine. 'Better to punish the innocent than risk even one guilty person go free', rather than the opposite. To them it sounds so reasonable. To us, it's abhorrent to punish everyone else for other people's crimes.

I couldn't bring myself to feel betrayed by Anders, even though I tried to play my Hawke as I think she would have felt: betrayed by the secret-keeping, if nothing else. The shock and hurt at the innocent lives. But it's hard not to feel an understanding when I sit here in a political situation with - maybe not less fraught, but at least less fantastical - implications and certainly still feel like violence is inevitable and we are way past the point of compromise and words.

Anyway.

This dwarf.

[loquaciousquark]

Hello! Not a question just wanted to drop in and say I loved watching your playthrough of Veilguard. I’ve been a long time lurker reading and enjoying practically every fic of yours so it was really fun to hear your process of developing Kata’s personality and motivations.

Most days I’d have it on while I was at work but I finished it on Friday so now I don’t know what I’m gonna do to make the workday go faster haha. Anyway just wanted to say thank you for sharing it! The DA fandom can be cranky to say the least so seeing you genuinely enjoy the game was like a breath of fresh air (not to mention a lot of your reactions to characters and lore drops were very similar to mine)!

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

Ahh, I'm so glad! I had a blast with this game, start to finish, & I'm very close to starting a fresh Nightmare runthrough which I do intend to stream. I have such a better idea of who Kata is now, and I want to take her through the game again and get her narrative really right, especially as regards the timing & story structure. Plus, I want to figure out exactly where the Lucanis romance beats fall for her; I don't think that kiss at the end is their actual first kiss, but I don't know where it actually is!

Plus, I found that combat honestly so fun, and I want to enjoy the early levels again where it's no powers, all skill. I want to feel rewarded for my perfect parry timing & my headshots!! I want to go back to the fundamentals!!

Yeah, I've heard the game had its controversy, but I've done what I can to stay away from that, ahaha. I went into this game prepared to be pleased and with very low expectations, and keeping the mindset of "this game development was restarted twice & it's a miracle it exists at all" helped a lot. It also helped that my immediate circle of DA fans (who played well before I did) really loved the game as well, which I'm sure colored my opinion.

Plus, I think my total detachment from Veilguard's development period honestly was a huge boon. Because Inquisition didn't land for me the first time I played it, I didn't touch that sandbox at all! I didn't spend ten years thinking about Veilguard's possible storylines or Solas's outcomes or writing speculative meta about the Veil; I stayed firmly in my very Kirkwallian DA2 playground & was happy there. I think I wrote Solas's name in fic literally once. If I'd been invested at all in his story back then, if I'd had a decade to think about what I wanted from VG and for Solas and my Lavellan, I think I would have gotten super invested in certain ideas and concepts and possibilities and been inevitably disappointed.

(This segues into a half-thought I've been tossing around—I was quite shocked when a friend told me some people were sad there wasn't an option to side with Solas & complete the ritual, which had literally never once occurred to me as a desirable thing in all my DAI/VG playtime. I wonder if that's because I spent so many millions of words & thousands of hours in DA2's very Veiled-Off universe; to destroy or remake that world would feel like its own death to me, and a death of the future I wanted for Hawke & Fenris. Maybe that's why I felt so strongly against it the whole time. Food for thought!)

Anyway, not having an Inquisitor I loved until about five months ago I think really benefited my experience, as did not having to wait before playing the game. I'd never read a Solavellan fic in my life! I'd never had one iota of investment in his outcome! I'd spent ten years watching tragic fanart float over my dash and sadly shaking my head at those woeful Solas girlies! While the reversal of my own investment was an absolute slap in the face, it did mean I was able to go into VG with the emptiest head & the lowest romance expectations, which meant I was super easy to please from the start, hahahah.

It also helped that the stuff VG got right for me was way more important than the stuff I didn't like as much. The Solas material, Rook, the combat system, the Inquisitor they built, the companions, the back third of the Lucanis romance—those were great. I loved those. I left those events with a huge smile on my face. Those things were infinitely more important to me than the stuff I struggled with (some vocabulary/world tonal mismatches, the middle third of the Lucanis romance, some storylines/quest beats I thought were pretty heavyhanded). It's not a perfect game in any sense, but it did so many things I loved that to dwell on the misses doesn't seem productive.

I mean, I have a million words of DA2 on AO3. I lived in that world for like fourteen years, and boy does that world have holes. Plot, mechanics, combat, characters, even the non-brown-ness of the graphics—it was a complete break from so many of the Origins systems. I remember the huge outcry when that game was released. I remember seeing posts of people shredding their DA2 discs and burning the case inserts. I remember people absolutely railing against Anders' characterization and getting in huge arguments on the kink meme about the Arishok & Elthina & Isabela's pants. There've always been huge jumps in world implementation from game to game, and with the super long dev time, I figured VG would be the same. I guess I just tried to keep that in mind as I moved forward.

(I think it also helps that while I loved my Inquisitor and grew very fond of Solas over my replay, I still don't think DAI is a very good game. I do not like the map design, the combat system, or some choices they made with some of the companions; I think the inventory & UI systems are criminally clumsy. Those are really important aspects of modern gaming to me [I was much more tolerant the first time I played DA2, sue me], and for VG to polish those so well significantly improved my enjoyment of actually playing the thing.)

(Another side thought: I do wonder how some of VG would have been received had it released eight years ago instead of right before the election last year. The world was different then, and I wonder if some material would have seemed less graceless at that time, and if some voices would have been less virulent.)

Anyway, this reply has completely gotten away from me; if nothing else, thanks for giving me a place to finally get down some of these thoughts! Like I said, I'm really eager to get back into the game & Kata's story, & I'll post here when those streams start. Thank you so much! <3 <3