#I allowed myself a bit more Solas

[thedreadblog]

Tumblr is way better at filtering tags than tiktok. The latter seems intent on spoiling EVERYTHING.

[vaguely-concerned]

My two cents on how much of Mind!Varric is Rook’s mind trying to fill the blank space and how much is Solas actively talking through a convenient blood magic paper doll of the mind: I think it's a mix of both, a truly collaborative psychosocial horrorshow if you would, but waaaay more towards the second. It feels too directed and tactical at times to be anything else. Rook's mind is willing to go along with the denial phase as far as it can fucking carry them to not have to face the grief and regret and does its part in papering over details that don’t make any sense, the way brains will strive to create coherent meaning even out of deeply confusing input, but to my understanding it's a collaborateur in how that plays out, not the instigator or control center. Solas is using it as a path to agency and to gather insight into Rook as a person unguarded as he can't count on in his own guise. (That stoic option that leads to him being like 'oh I see you're cautiously denying me access to your inner life. well. at least you still have Varric to talk to. y'know as an outlet :)'. You absolute BITCH Solas! That alone convinced me that he HAS to have an active hand in it on some level.)

My guess is that it takes considerable effort on Solas’ part to make Mind!Varric do anything more involved or complicated than seeming to sit up in bed and give casual commentary, and that’s why he keeps having eerie five minute shallow pep talks with you before he announces he conveniently needs a nap aaanyway good luck kid you got this haha. When he’s just spouting NPC lines from his bedrest, I’m ready to believe that could be Rook’s mind being allowed to improv lines for him more freely because it’s less about Solas trying to get something out of them or working an angle and more ‘Still here! Still totally alive and fine and the mentor figure you know and love and trust :) don’t even worry about it! Thankfully there is no war in Ba Sing Sei, as we all know’ upkeep work lol. Rook’s mind is allowed to set the tone of Varric, the outlines, but not always the content. 

AND, on a (beautifully fucked up) character psychology level, I feel like Solas is indulging in actually getting to be the good supportive mentor figure to Rook with one hand to assuage the guilt he feels about what he's done -- and what he's going to do -- to them with the other. Same internal logic as he uses in Trespasser about the Qun. ‘Almost everyone is going to die from the course of action I’m doggedly pursuing eventually. But at least I can make their last years happier and freer and kinder than they would have been otherwise. and that kind of makes up for it right. a little bit. doesn't it. doesn't that make it better at least. I need that to make it better)'. Did I really take your beloved mentor and friend from you if you don’t know yet that I did? Some philosophers would argue not really! So it’s probably almost ok actually. Isn’t it even a little noble that I’m taking all this grief and guilt on myself and shielding you for now. With undertones that I’m not sure he would realize himself (and might be mortified by if he did) that he is so incredibly lonely, and even a dishonest and indirect emotional connection is more than nothing when you’re that desperate. In this setup he gets idk. Both the control he craves so incredibly badly in relationships and over himself, and the scraps, the fading afterimages, of intimacy and warmth and companionship, even second hand. The one thing Solas and Rook agree on deep deep down is that they really wish Varric weren't gone. They're handshake memeing this in the saddest and most creepy way possible.

I think an important element too is that Solas needs Rook and their team to *succeed* —  up to a certain point. He needs someone to hold the two other elven mean girls off until he can get out of here. Ideally, in a perfect world, even do all the hard work of killing them so he can swoop in at the end and do his thing when both sides are exhausted and out of resources to stop him, and then Bob’s your uncle! Same logic as he was using with Corypheus, and after that worked out so well, too! King of choosing to never learn from a single solitary mistake he’s ever made even though i fully believe he could have the capacity to Fen’Harel <3 The underlying idea isn’t flawed, you see, it was just unforeseen circumstances getting in the way. This time for sure it’ll all work out the way I cleverly imagined it in my head beforehand. Cue By Talos this can’t be happening etc. in the form of a statue almost crushing him like a bug. 

So he's providing guidance and forging Rook into a leader from two angles: one Rook might not trust, and one they probably will. Shaping them into what he needs slowly and carefully. He’s helping you hone your team into their most effective state, as he might have done with his own agents back in the day, setting up his chess pieces even if he has to squint through two glimpsed realities to do it haha. Pincer maneuver of an insidious stealth mentor you never asked for. Also… at one point mind Varric gives you a whole little monologue about how Solas' problem is that he’s always seen his interpersonal connections as flaws and see where it’s landed him, all alone and the worst part? it hasn’t even worked. it’s all been for nothing he’s back where he began with nothing to show for it but his mistakes. Like...that has such strong 'uh okay happy to play your therapist from two rooms away here what the fuck kind of traumadump is this' energy to me, I’m not sure Rook like. Thinks that much about Solas as a private person. So much of Solas' self-loathing and futile insights into his own flaws seem to shine through in Mind!Varric's dialogue all the time — I just can't believe that there's no guiding hand behind it as it were. 

Most of all. I feel like people underestimate the degree to which Solas is incredibly funny. As in, he has a very consistent and recognizable sense of humour. It’s one of my very favourite things about him. We must remember — it is crucial that we always keep in mind — Orlesian accent and wig Solas from May The Dread Wolf Take You (my beloved, the explanation for why I love this dude even with the. All of the everything else. No one does it quite like him). He is not at all above doing things or adding little flourishes for his own obscure amusement, in fact that seems to me to be one of his most consistent traits. The Randy Dowager Quarterly comment Varric has? The ‘Maybe this is the Dread Wolf’s revenge. Forcing us to house sit for him’ thing? To Me this is 100% Solas amusing himself in his boring Fade jail surrounded by the screaming hellscape of all his regrets. Source: it came to me as divine revelation through pure vibes trust me bro 

If nothing else I find it much more narratively interesting personally if the connection between Rook and Solas really is that defenselessly intimate and entwined (and so unbalanced!), and the sense of violation and invasion and betrayal afterwards consequently all the more nauseatingly intense. Even if you kept him at arm’s length in the open, he’s been under your skin the whole time, looking around, gathering what he needs to destroy you, wearing the face of a friend. Regretfully, probably, but choosing to do it every step of the way anyway. (Sound familiar, Inquisitor? Solas doesn’t have that many tricks when you actually look at it, he keeps returning to old tried and true ones like a dog with a bone haha.) Maybe he even genuinely meant some of it as mercy, which only makes it so much worse. It makes his sin against his own core principles of autonomy and the freedom of all beings in mind, spirit and body so much more juicily grave if it’s something he pursues actively and consistently, rather than it half-falling into his lap as a happy accident mainly orchestrated by Rook’s own subconscious. Solas, too, is at his very lowest point, the closest to giving in and becoming his own antithesis fully that he’s ever been, and it makes the choice of whether you still reach out your hand to him one last time or not all the more impactful and difficult.

[justanotherflemethstan]

after I let myself cool off a bit re: the whole past choices fiasco in Veilguard, I am only left with sadness at how existing fans were treated with this decision.

I might be in an absolute minority here but I honestly would've preferred if they did a complete reboot a-la Andromeda, with no recurring characters from the past save from Solas. That would've been a bit disappointing but more honest in terms of building up fan expectations. I'd rather have no Morrigan at all than the Schrödinger's Morrigan that might or might not have a son and doesn't know pretty fundamental things about herself.

But of course, EA and the studio have learned from Andromeda's reception and they want to have their cake and eat it too by simultaneously presenting this game as NOT a complete reboot while introducing only very superficial choices that don't really affect the world or reference your past playthroughs much.

In short, they don't want to fuck around and find out how many existing fans might not purchase the game if, like Andromeda, it doesn't offer much continuity with the last instalments in the series. So they sprinkled a little bit of very shallow continuity on top and called it a day. For that reason, I'd rather they be honest and have no continuity at all than... whatever this is supposed to be.

What saddens me here is that they've made a choice to use beloved characters like Varric or Morrigan to dangle in front of existing fans like a carrot, promising us the return to a familiar world and characters, when what we're getting are cardboard cutouts not allowed to reference past events that could've been defining their entire character arcs.

[evanhereonearth]

VEILGUARD ENDGAME SPOILERS

He collapses the moment the rift closes behind us.

I fall with him to the floor, my own strength giving out after these long years, and I draw the Fade around us like a nest. In a heartbeat we are surrounded by soft grass, growing shamrocks, plush moss. A bower of branches cradles us, gentle and alive.

My arms pull him to me, into the embrace of my form and the forgiving earth where I can enfold him in every bit of love I have stored away for him. My hand smooths his face where Elgar’nan’s archdemon battered him. Traces the tear tracks in blood.

“Are you—truly here?”

His voice is hoarse with the ravages of what he has endured.

“Where else would I be, vhen’an’ara?”

The softness in my words seems to shatter him, and his eyes fill once more. “I did not want you to see—”

“I have seen all there is to see of you, my heart. My spirit recognised yours all those years ago. There is nothing you have done that makes you unworthy of my love, Solas. Nothing you have endured, nothing you have survived, that could make me love you less.”

“Vhenan…”

“You found my messages.” I watch his eyes, tinged with violet amid the grey-blue. He blinks, but no tears fall, only soak his lashes. He nods. “I found yours.”

He doesn’t speak, but his throat bobs as he swallows.

“I learned our first time at Halamshiral your other names,” I tell him. “I learned your true name not so very long after Halamshiral the second time. How much it must have tortured you to see yourself written on my face every time you looked at me, inked there in service of the one you loved who returned such abuse.”

Solas flinches from the word, but he is past dissembling. I remember Cole, in a panic, begging Solas to bind him. “It’s not abuse if I ask!” And I remember Solas’s rebuke.

I touch the scar above his brow where he burned Mythal off his face.

“Ar lasa mala revas,” I say to him, the phrase he once said to me when he removed Mythal’s vallaslin from my face, the phrase she was too cowardly to use herself. Too proud to say she was sorry even as she set him free.

Something in him unfurls, unclenches.

“I told you once why I chose her vallaslin,” I say.

He dips his chin to say he remembers. “A reminder of what we do not know, you said. That we can learn.”

“Yes. But I did not tell you all of it.” I pause, sliding closer so my face is level with his—I do not wish to be looking down on him. “In that temple, everywhere I looked, your wolf statues sat adjacent Mythal. Anuon told me I was blaspheming to say perhaps we did not fully understand you; I chose that vallaslin because of you, in a way. Because even before we met, you challenged what I believed to be true about my world, about my history, about myself.”

He reaches out and places his hand over my heart, like I once did for him in our bed high above Skyhold. I mirror him with my own. His face relaxes in increments, whatever remnants of the mask of Fen’Harel that linger melting into an aching tenderness so wholly for me that my own eyes prickle.

“I never left your side,” I say, my soft words barely above a whisper.

“Nor I yours.”

For the first time since Dragon’s Breath, Solas reaches for me. The gentle firmness of his touch brings with it warm tears spilling over my eyes to cool upon my cheeks. Without a word, he tilts his head upwards to kiss them away.

“The spirits have named you,” he tells me after a moment, almost bashful as he searches my face, still looking for any hint of regret. “That was the single hope I have clung to, the only one I allowed my heart when I thought of you, vhenan. It is why—it is why I left you the letter. So you would know that…so you would be certain my heart was still yours, regardless of your choice.”

I know what they have named me, but I want to hear him say it.

“You have always been Sileal,” I tell him. Wisdom. “What is it they have called me?”

He touches my face like I touched his, tracing my freckles, my dimple, my scar.

“They call you Enaste, da’lath’in,” he says. “The spirits of the Fade call you Grace.”

[colorisbyshe]

List of my Veilguard Complaints... just all together... getting it out of my system and then making it reddit's problem:

This game felt so emotionally flat. I think... the reviewers calling out the game for "therapy speak" weren't entirely wrong. It's more exposition speak and the fact that EVERY SINGLE feeling EVERY SINGLE trauma EVERY SINGLE event needs to be processed, out loud. It's not "too woke," it's just emotionally... spacious. Because you're forced to explore EVERYONE'S interiority... it feels like they have none left, does that make sense? No one has hidden depths because they announce and process every thing they go through, often immediately after it happens. It's hard to imagine any additional depth

It's also hard because... no one... has that much depth. Everyone has weaknesses and bad things that happened to them but it feels like there was a lack of... real character arcs? People had character sub plots. "Accept this thing about myself" was the main one. Which... doesn't help the therapy speak accusation.

No one is a bad person. The crows? The human trafficking, child soldiering, murderous gang? They're the good guys and we should be happy they rule Treviso! Lucanis is just a good guy doing good work. Neve works with Magisters and Templars and some of them are bad... but not her friends. She only works with the good ones! The dalish form a group with Qunari and human members and they're just a diverse coalition who... love mages now (despite having kicked them out last game?? okay). Literally NO ONE is allowed to be EVEN A LITTLE morally dubious unless they'er a Bad Guy or they're fucking solas

I MISS BIOWARE GREY MORALITY! THATS HOW BAD IT IS! I FUCKING MISS IT I MISS IT I DO BRING BACK ANDERS BRING BACK ZEVRAN BRING BACK MORRIGAN AND FUCKING CULLEN AND FUCKING BLACKWALL BRING BACK ISABELA BRING BACK MERRILL AND HER DEMON SHIT! BRING IT BACK

"Oh, we're treasure hunters but we're not COLONIZERS! We don't steal cultural artifacts! We return them to the real owners, we're pirates but we're NICE AND RESPECT PRONOUNS!" CHRIST ALIVE!!!

EVERYONE WE MEET IN TEVINTER IS NICE??? EVEN THE GANG??? THE THREADS GANG IS NICE!! THEYRE SCAMMRES BUT THEYRE SO GOOD ITS A HAPPY ENEDING IF ONE OF OUR COMPANIONS RUNS THEIR GANG??? WHAT???

It was... a little bit awesome to have dorian become a violent revolution man but like????? Then Minrathous gets nuked so the game is too cowardly to even do that shit

AND THATS THE OTHER THING! This game made sure NOTHING matters choice wise! Oh, you chose to save Minranthous? It gets nuked at teh end. Oh, your choices fro previous games? Only matters if you romanced Solas but Dorian might call your Inquisitor "Amatus" in a non-cut scene dialogue. FUck you if you romanced anyone else. Southern Thedas is just.... all dead now... it's over... so any choices you mad ether eare NEVER going to be relevant. The companion personal quest choices really don'tmatter and won't matter next game.

THEY KILLED THE DNA OF A DRAGON AGE GAME! No grey morality, no meaningful choices, fuck... barely any romance once you flirt (NO POST-ENDING ROMANCE SCENE!!! EVEN MORE SHY ABOUT NUDITY!), AND NO FUCKING THEMES!

What was the theme of this game? Following Solas' story, it might be redemption or letting go of the past, I guess, but?? Do the main stories tie into that? Not really. We have ONE part of a hcapter be about Rook letting go of regrets... for deaths that jUST happened not even anything lingering.

Plots around OPPRESSION ANTI-ELF AND ANTI-MAGE DISCRIMINATION?? Gone... IN A STORY ABOUT TAKING DOWN SLAVERS... LIKE THE OG SLAVERS??? Yeah, it doesn't matter. We have idle talk about slave revolutions and that's... it?? I'm an elf in Tevniter and no one cared. What? Qunari and Elves and humans are all besties except the Antaam (some of which still become besties)... what? How do yo drop the single strongest through-line in the series?

"Oh, well it takes place in the north, it's different rfrom the south!" OKAY BUT THE FALL OUT IN THE NORTH LITERALLY NUKED THE SOUTH OUT OF EXISTENCE, I CAN'T GET SOME LINES ABOUT CULTURAL DIFFERENCES! Or like... a line referencing what happned to the southern wardens after... y'unno... the whole betrayal thing last game? That's all chill?

Varric's plot twist was fucking stupid. See: this post.

The romance with Neve was sooo promising btu felt passionless towards the end. Maybe there are better choices but... the lack ofreal closure burns. No final kiss, just a wobbling "I love you" that sounded like it came after pulling teeth like... no passion for real?

Taash's nonbinary plotline sucked. I'm sorry. It did. As a nonbinary person I can say that.

Harding was so OOC it fucking hurt.

I chose her for the mandatory death because that wasn't my harding. It's absurd that that limited the mandatory death thing to two potential characters?

Larger casts are always hard but it feel slike they rly struggled to make all characters relevant to the main plot. Taash's mom/gender struggle could've been skipped. Emmrich was amazing but felt like he was a part of an entirely separate game. Bellara's archive plot felt close-ish to teh main plot of letting go of the past but the fact that you can choose to keep it going kinda... makes it less relevant. Idk.

Besides... Lucanis... and sometimes Bellara and sometimes Harding no one feels like they're reacting to the plot. The fact that a character can die but it's skimmed over after a scene and some chats is insane. The pacing is terribleeeee like oh I can watch Harding and Taash's terrible romance (I'll say it!! Harding acts liek a doting mom and NOT in a sexy way) in dialogue across several missions in the Lighthouse but we zoom past companions dying? THe world ending??

The world was beautiful BUT THE WORLD BUILDING SUCKED! Sorry but SOOO many locations make NO sense construction wise. Why is a chest in the middle of street? Why does this bridge only appear when I have a quest? It's hard to tell when an area is inaccessible because you haven't figured out how to get there vs you literally aren't allowed to go there yet. It makes the world feel more like Oh I'm playing a game rather than you're exploring a real place. They did not navigate inaccessible areas well as a concept.

CHARACTER MOTIVATION EQUALLY AS FUCKING MESSY! I still don't know what Elgar'nan/Ghilan'nain's plan rly was even though Ghilan'nain literally wails about them. They wanted to rule, they were blight addled so I guess they're insane, but... why did they have to do it this way? What were they gonna do as rules?

Solas wanted to tear the veil down ti imprison them even harder except tearing the veil down lets out the blight except letting them out of prison also lets out the blight and don't worry when he tears the veil down he'll imprison/kill them again and make sure the blight isn't too bad even tho the veil was the only thing keeping the blight in?? And oh haha killing them lets down the veil. Also, AFTER killing htem, the veil takes a while to be torn and actually stays in place long enough for Solas to feel bad and patch it up with his own essence... okay?

The Butcher Antaam dude looooves Treviso so he accepts the blight into his body to rule it but you have to fight him.. to prove you're worthy of keeping him... from destroying Treviso? He loves it and also wants it destroyed. Again, he's blighted so he's CRAAAZY but... what?

Even with Emmrich! He's scared of becoming immortal because he's a afraid of death. So you resolve that by either pressuring him to never die by being immortal... or by not letting his friend die? Huh? We conquer fear of death by just... not letting things die?What?

Not the same thing but why would dorian stay up in the north to become an archon if he romanced an inquisitor who is fighting for their life in teh soutH? again this continuity SUCKS

[tonati143]

Anders rant

Lowkey, I need to talk about this and Im sure other Anders fans have probably talked this to the ground.

But I feel like Anders suffered so badly at the hands of the creators and its both heartbreaking and the largest reason I love him so much. We see him, easily one of the most hated characters in the fandom, and he is not handled with nuance by either fans or anti’s because the writers never even gave room for that nuance.

You either are hate him or you love him, because there was never an option presented that allowed for a grey area.

Lets talk about easily one of the most popular options (and mirror to Anders), Solas. He easily does so much worse for even less of a reason. What he tries to do in Veilguard, what he did in Inquisition. If I remember correctly, bro gives the anchor to Corypheus bc he couldn’t understand it and thought bro would fix it for him.

If this would have been Anders, there would be outrage.

But because Solas has the benefit of writers that love him in both games, he gets the benefit of getting a grey area. There is not nearly as much hate, no one sits down to talk about how secretly he is the cause of every problem here.

I cant help but wonder what Anders did to lose out on such nuance. Cullen, one of my favorites, receives that nuance, when we are well aware what can happen with his story line if we dont play our cards right in Origins and DA2.

To have a writer that basically wants you dead is so crippling.

There is no nuance, there is no forgiveness. Even the route where your Hawke doesnt stabby stab him is made to look like you made the wrong choice. I was lucky, my Hawke in inquisition does not paint Romanced!Anders as a monster, my Hawke is much more forgiving and speaks of him as someone who needs to be taken care of. But Ive seen other people talk about how their Hawke speaks of Anders.

We lose out on Awakening!Anders in a way that almost doesnt seem natural. It is like we were given a completely different character. One is capable of facing trauma, and I would even say having to give your body to a spirit holds some form of trauma as well, while maintaining core parts of their personality. It wouldnt have hurt to show us bits of that previous Anders once in a while.

Its hard to look at really, because there are things that he says in DA2 that gives us insight to what is going on in the chantry, things that gives us insight to why he is going through such lengths. But because everything is structured around the idea that you are supposed to hate him, no one ever really acknowledges him in game or in the fandom.

I saw on a comment a few days ago that states that Anders tried so hard to be heard, to have his stance listened to but throughout the game almost everyone shrugs him off. No one takes him seriously. And yes, he can be obnoxious about it sometimes, but if I put myself in his shoes, I would also be talking and talking about it until someone acknowledges me. In smaller cases where I would have things to say in places like highschool and everyone would ignore me, I would find myself repeating it again until someone would tell me “yeah, we heard you already”. Its in a way where I understand what it feels like, to have something so important to say and to be pushed to the side, I understand what Anders feels in party banter in a way that cant be said outloud without being questioned if I agree with his decision towards the Chantry.

He could have been perfect, a way to start a conversation where we ask ourselves, at what point are extreme measures acceptable? At what point can we consider what a person did to be necessary or unnecessary? Would anyone have listened to the cause if that measure hadnt been taken?

Unfortunately, its answered for us, it ends the conversation before we can even have it. It tells us what is supposed to be the answer. It tells us it is wrong, it tells us that this is a black and white conversation. What could have been a legitimate substantial conversation cut short because of their efforts to make the fandom hate Anders as much as they do.

And I mourn that ever since 😔

[crownbeed]

Spoiler Free Veilguard Critique

Includes negatives and positives

I think my biggest issues are that the person u play as is not allowed to have any personality or opinions and if u do manage to say something ur companions don't like they don't...confront u about it. in other DA games if u pissed off a companion enough they would leave or you could kick them out.

>you don't get to choose ur companions in this game and other than flirting ur relationships aren't really...relevant to anyone else or to their stories.

>I've only played it once so far, but I dont remember there being much fallout from my decisions other than which city I choose and the final battle.

Honestly I feel like they should have replaced Rook with the Inquisitor - it would have made more sense and been more interesting. But its my understanding that the developers wanted to make the game accessible to new players...which is great. but there is already so many small references to the inquisition that is summarized for new players anyway so just...do it (I genuinely look forward to the fanfiction that make this happen)

other grievances i had:

>World building was inconsistent with previous games and there was absolutely no attempt to address it. sure we had mage wars, and race wars as a focus of previous games but its nbd in northern thedas? ok then.

>if a companion wants to speak to me at a specific location plz for the love of God don't make me have to go to them at the lighthouse to find out they want to speak and then make me go to a different country to speak to them. jfc dude.

>Everything was so specifically paced it got boring at times and I felt like I had no control over anything. they lock off areas you might want to explore unless u have a quest there and sometimes u can only go there during the quest. I may have hated the hinterlands but I enjoyed that I could find myself fighting for my life in bear country when my inquistor wasn't ready for it. Or stumble across a dragon 10 levels above me. God forbid u go anywhere in this game without permission.

>The most meaningful and rpg-style change my character could make was to their appearance. And they don't even have a bed.

on a positive note:

>Solas is still a fascinating character and he is delved into a fair bit in this game. i love that stupid bastard, he's such an idiotic asshole. Also he looks badass imo. A little mangy tho, iykyk.

>Some people found it wasn't very dark? I found it to be very very dark. maybe the fact that the Lighthouse was very unaffected by most things outside of the fade misled ppl? the horrors are many. the blight pustules are disgusting. Idk man I felt the dark fantasy of the whole thing and think it holds up to other games. (although admittedly its effect on characters could have been explored a bit more but I think that's typical of DA games lbr)

>I like the companions, I like the glimpses we get of their relationships with each other. I like the character annotated codex pages. Idk I think they're neat.

>I only played the once and I did it on easy but the skill tree seems pretty cool and expansive? I didnt get to explore it much as my brain can only handle figuring out so much at once. there's a lot of options.

>its goddamned beautiful. all the scenery is top notch. I wish I had a high end gaming pc so I could get the pinnacle of its beauty. but alas I am but a wee ps5 owner.

[howetragic]

DARP Advent 2024: Day Six

HALFWAY THERE!

Let's talk about INFLUENCES and ADMIRATION! Mun Portion!:

1. What inspired you to get into DARP? Former RP experiences? Just a love for the games? Oh boy. So I actually have a looooooong history of RP since I was in like middle school??? My best friend in the entire world and I actually met on Neopets!!! on the RP boards. I was in this group called the Annoyers and we would "raid" creepy/weird RP threads and/or just flood the boards. Some of us got banned. I then went on to lead this group in a multi-fandom mix of boards. We had a b2g board and a... gosh I can't remember what it's called. We were also on Gaia Online. I was a moderator with Dragon Ball Z / greek mythology muses (hilarious spread there, I know). Then I got on Tumblr, I started writing Dragon Age fanfic for my Hero of Ferelden. And Shink, Pandy, and Tabbi were foolish enough to allow me to RP with them on my personal blog until I finally took the leap and made myself an RP blog and the rest is kind of like history. 2. Name one (or a couple) of your fellow writers that you think are neat, and why! Can be famous, on Tumblr, in your real life, on AO3, whatever. My baes both on AO3 and here are @theshirallen and @theharellan, and I'm also in love with @fatedvoyage, @turlums, @mercysought. Can't recommend those nerds enough. 3. Has anyone in DARP (past or present!) really helped to define or reimagine a character for you? Or made you rethink perceptions that you held? Oh God yeah. Most notable being Tas with Solas - before I met Tas I didn't really give a shit about Solas and wasn't particularly interested in him or his story. Unfortunately for my brain if Inara doesn't Vibe with a character I don't pay too much attention to them at first, and Solas resided in that gray bubble. Tas made me love him and be fascinated even before that turned out to be a very plot-relevant thing to be. 4. What other fandoms/works/writers have influenced your writing style and the way that you view writing and creative expression? lololol maybe see above but overall my writing was influenced very early on by Douglas Adams and Phillip Pullman. I wanted to be magical, but also amusing. 5. Do you have any friends that have created a Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor/Rook that you've basically adopted? Yes. I still use Pandy's Hawke but also steal @fatedvoyage's Van. I love Thora for Inquisitor but am coming to love Asharen more and more since I've been back here, as well as @keepslore. There's a lot of great Rooks so far I'm sure I'll absorb one. 6. What's a fandom work (writing, art, etc) that you think is super cool and you wish more people would see it? Share it with us! I mentioned this Sebastian and Nathaniel fic from Gaia to @mournflame the other day and I think all of you should read it too.

Muse Portion!:

1. Who or what are some things/powers/people that your muse admires? Unfortunately for Nathaniel, his greatest hero was his father growing up. He admired the man very much. 2. Does your muse have a "hero" that they look up to from canon? In an extension of the above, Nathaniel saw Rendon as a hero for his contributions to the Rebellion. He really believed that his father was courageous and brave. 3. What legends, tales, or stories helped to form your muse's ideas of power and heroism? Many! He heard all the stories of the Heroes of the Rebellion as he grew up, from Maric and Loghain to his own father. Standing against the odds, acting noble even when your title has been stripped from you and taking back what is yours by right. Those are the stories that inspired him. 4. Conversely, what sort of legends, tales, or stories formed their idea of what a villain is? Much the same. Nathaniel does not care for Orlais, though chevaliers are a bit softer in his mind thanks to his time with his mother's cousin. 5. Are there other muses in DARP that your muse admires? Or reviles/fears? (be careful with that second one and be RESPECTFUL.) In DARP I think he would admire @mercysought's Anora. He begins hating every HOF that slaughtered his father but especially Couslands. 6. If your muse is someone who has companions or is one of the groups of companions from canon, how do they and their companions play off of each other? Are they friends? Enemies? Two dudes who'd cross the street to avoid each other? What are their most powerful connections within their "group"? He's got a wide variety in the Awakening crew. He and Sigrun are fairly close. He has a crush on Velanna, but she rebuffs him. Anders frustrates him, Oghren disgusts him. Justice... Justice tends to piss him off.

[night-market-if]

I agree with your DAV take! I was really really excited. Pre-ordered deluxe, finished in about four days, and was left with mixed emotions. I'm curious what your opinion will be once you reach the third act, because imo that was the best part of the game. But, yeah, this is the first DA game where I've been more interested in continuing the main story than doing any of the companion questlines. Which is both a bad and good thing. Mostly a bad one. Once you finish the game, I definitely recommend taking a look at the veilguard art book. Google Books has about 50 or so preview pages, and @/felassan has posted them on their tumblr as well. There's a lot of art from the original concepts the dev team was brewing immediately after Inquisition. Before execs were like "fuck that we actually need live service games", and before David Gaider and other DA veterans left or were let go. It feels so much more like dragon age, and I've just been mourning what we could've had lol. But it's interesting to see the concepts that made it into the final product after all that, and how much ended up sanitized in that distinctly corporate way. But, yeah, I just wish the dev team had been given the resources and freedom they needed. Also sorry for rambling in your ask box lol I'm just obsessed with DA

I have still yet to finish it. I've literally been choosing Supermarket Simulator and Sims 4 over the game. Which is just such a sad sign to me. I want to like it so very badly. I really do. And I will finish it (no spoilers) but it's just one of those things where I think the only reason I am playing is for Solas content. Because I love him so much. But I remember when Inquisition came out. I called off work and played it like crazy for days. When the end twist came, I literally called my husband at work to scream.

The opening of Origins with the dragon flying by still gives me chills. It transports me right back to my first apartment that I shared with my mother. To steaming mugs of tea that I would drink so I could stay up and play it just a bit longer. Me surviving on eggs because it was the quickest thing to cook so I could get back to playing.

I don't know if I'm just not in a stage of my life anymore that allows me to immerse myself or if the game was just that uninteresting. And like I said, I will finish it, but I just don't care about any of the characters and half the time, they start talking about something, and I zone out.

Though, this is a case and point to the fact that writers and developers just need to be free to do their own thing without the higher ups intervening.

[lesmurples]

I rewatched season 1 of Our Flag Means Death after getting bored with Veilguard, and I was surprised by how many similar character types and themes the two (loosely) share:

Therapy-speak loving mediator as the leader of a ragtag group of mismatched weirdos

A character realizing their nonbinary identity

Background elements of colonialism/imperialism and slavery which our intrepid heroes must resist

Queer found family vibes (tho with DATV the queerness is mostly incidental and does not seem to inform the characterizations much)

Pirates are there

Except while these are some of my favorite aspects of OFMD, I despise how they’re executed in DATV. The overwhelming corporate stink on Veilguard really interferes with the writing’s ability to talk about queer or anti-colonial themes meaningfully.

Comparing the two has actually helped me work through what it is that bothers me about the lackluster character writing of Veilguard and how it could have been better (besides, yaknow, comparing it against the much better-written previous games - they were far from perfect, but god Veilguard makes them look amazing by comparison). To be fair, I’ve yet to finish the game, but I’m privy to like, 50 hours worth of content at this point between playing myself and watching my sister’s playthrough, so if the game finally improves on these points after that long it feels like too little too late.

If you want to read a waaaay too long screed comparing these largely unalike properties, then boy oh boy is this the post for you!

1. The therapy speak:

So uh, the thing about OFMD’s anachronistic, HR-approved managerial therapy speak is that it’s a joke. OFMD is a comedy first and foremost, so this fits right in with the overall tone of the show, and it’s pretty damn funny if I say so myself. Watching Stede - this campy, middle-aged, 18th century theater kid - tell a bunch of hardened pirates to talk through their feelings is hilarious. And really all it does is alienate him most of the cast - the first episode is about his crew planning to mutiny and kill him as a result of his bizarre behavior.

But, as time goes on and Stede and the crew work through hardships and get to know each other a little better, they form a bond of trust and learn how to communicate more effectively. Stede still tries to mediate and resolve conflicts peacefully among the crew, but more directly and with less artifice, while the crew grows more patient with him and realizes the potential benefit of some of his ideas. It’s pretty basic character progression writing overall, but it’s competently executed, which is more than I can say for Veilguard.

In Veilguard, Rook’s youth pastor energy as they mediate every petty squabble between their teammates casts a bland veneer over a deeply bland cast of characters. Disregarding the fact that Rook is the most milquetoast DA protagonist by far, their involvement in every character interaction leaves me feeling like I’m meeting with HR, and not in a funny way. And Rook seems to attract HR-approved pep talks just as much as they dole them out, particularly from Varric but also from Solas and Morrigan of all people. It’s pep talks all the way down!

Where this flavor of therapy speak was used with intention in OFMD to say something about the characters (and to get a laugh), here its purpose just seems to be to nip all interpersonal conflicts in the bud so our cast can be a big happy family. Teamwork! Yay! Except we started with everyone on the team being more-or-less cordial coworkers, and then we end on them being… more cordial? A bit friendlier? There’s no meaningful progression for the audience to enjoy, no real change. Every argument starts bland and it ends bland, and the few that are allowed to continue through companion dialogue are so inconsequential as to be pointless.

The previous DA games had an obvious fix for this: make the characters socially and politically opposed to each other and let them duke it out, all while having to maintain an alliance against a common enemy. The player could get in on this too if they disagreed with someone - twas a grand time. These interpersonal conflicts were a microcosm of the larger political conflicts of the story, and it allowed the characters to explore the influence of their respective cultures upon their current viewpoints. The progression and tension thus hinged on whether the influence of other characters was able to change their perspective, and if it did, what the consequences would be. A somewhat different emphasis when compared to OFMD, but both understand that allowing your characters to come into conflict with each other and resolve it over time is far more engaging than fixing every little issue right off the bat. This isn’t a sitcom where we need to resolve family tensions before the half-hour mark - it’s an 80+ hour game.

(oh god i swear i’ll try not to make every entry this long)

2. The nonbinary identity storyline:

Alright, there is one thing I like about Veilguard (shocking I know), and it’s the option to be trans/nonbinary. I’m nonbinary and have never played an rpg where that was an option before, so that was pretty dope. I think Bioware’s approach to nonbinary and trans inclusion in the character creator was fairly well done and reasonably flexible - definitely better than the trans options in Cyberpunk at any rate. I also like that we have a nonbinary companion, especially since I totally called it when Taash was revealed and felt super smart and vindicated. The execution of Taash’s nonbinary journey though… eh. It’s mostly left me kinda cold.

I won’t be the first to state that the use of modern terminology for nonbinary gender identity is offputting in this setting, and others have explained it far better than I could. It’s a missed opportunity to think through the question of what gender really means in this setting across different cultures (beyond some lip-service to the Qunari being strict about it, which besides being a retcon doesn’t really tell us much), and whether there are existing nonbinary spaces that would potentially align with Taash’s experience of the world, rather than having one transplanted from our modern sensibility. Third genders have existed irl throughout history and are embedded within cultural understandings of gender, and interpreting Taash’s gender through a more historical and/or speculative mode that better fit the setting would feel far less alienating. As it is, Taash’s story just doesn’t seem to fit comfortably in this world, not least because we’re having them discover their identity rather than already have an understanding of it. Their self-discovery story feels out of place in a narrative focused on a high-stakes, end of the world scenario, unless I’m missing something. It reads more like a fanfic that was accidentally tacked onto the source material. (I love fanfic, but the tone just doesn’t mesh here.)

This is perhaps why the writers felt the need to connect Taash’s gender journey with their bicultural experience, which… hoo boy, that didn’t go well. We have to make a binary choice for which of a nonbinary character’s cultural ties should be discarded? Disregarding the fact that this is not how culture fucking works, why are we making this decision for another person? This is the Cole situation all over again, but worse.

Our Flag Means Death, on the other hand, gives us Jim. Jim has lived most of their life presenting as an AFAB woman, but when the show starts is in hiding as a cis man with a fake nose and beard. After their disguise is revealed, Jim goes through the awkward process of addressing the cis dude-heavy crew’s inane questions about them “being a woman now,” indicating that they’re not really sure if they are one. They tell the rest of the crew to treat them like normal and continue calling them Jim, and that’s that. From then on, they’re referred to with they/them pronouns - maybe they had a talk with everyone about it off-screen, or maybe the show wanted to lean on a sort-of magical realism vibe where everyone just knows Jim goes by those pronouns now. Either way, it fits within the tone of the show and doesn’t need to take up much more space than that. We later see where Jim grew up and learn about their background getting trained by an assassin-nun to murder her family’s killers - we got bigger fish to fry.

Does every queer identity story need to be handled like this? Of course not - there’s space for a range of queer stories, whether the queerness be incidental or integral, discovered or established. In OFMD’s case, they perhaps could have spoken more about Jim’s nonbinary experience and how it fits into the setting, but they didn’t really need to. They established what they wanted to about Jim’s identity, and they decided not to go into the issue of misgendering from that point forward. I personally like how normalized it makes Jim’s presence feel, even if they perhaps could have done more. But OFMD is a limited series about a large ensemble cast of different queer folks, and they chose to be economical about how some of those queer identities were communicated onscreen.

Dragon Age is likewise made up with an ensemble cast, and considering its high stakes end-of-the-world plot line, maybe it should’ve taken a leaf out of OFMD’s book and not spent quite so much time on Taash’s personal gender journey when we could’ve focused on something a bit more outwardly relevant (a big ask for Veilguard’s very personalized, individualistic style of character writing). We could have certainly related their sideplot back to their gender, but there had to be a better middle ground than what we got.

Anyway, while OFMD is fairly comfortable with anachronism, limiting the explanatory dialogue for Jim and other characters’ identities probably also helped to not break immersion. Bioware likely didn’t want to go this route for Taash, but if I might make a suggestion for our consideration: Krem. Krem was a great example of an integrated trans character who talked about his experience through the context of the culture he grew up in. Turns out, it’s very doable, and in a Dragon Age game no less.

(oh god they’re all going to be this long aren’t they, what have i done)

3. Background colonialism/imperialism and slavery:

Something that Veilguard and OFMD have in common is that the wider context of colonization, imperial conquest, and slavery that each story takes place in is more-or-less kept to the background. The characters and plots are certainly informed by this context, but the main storylines don’t often engage with it directly. And herein lies the problem: this is arguably an appropriate approach for OFMD given its comedic tone, while for Dragon Age - considering that its previous installments engaged very directly with these themes - it reeks of erasure and sanitization.

Hell, OFMD engages far more directly and frequently with these themes than Veilguard’s bloated, 80+ hour runtime, and it’s a 2-season long TV show! It’s 20 hours total at most! It explores the heterosexism of settler colonialism that chased a very gay Stede away from home, the racism and classism of the English naval crew they encounter, the power and constant threat of colonial fleets, the fact that colonizers have been slaughtering indigenous peoples, the presence and mistreatment of African slaves, and so on. They do this all while avoiding direct depictions of traumatic colonial violence, but they don’t shy away from its presence.

This has been argued to death by the community at this point, so I’ll try not to go too far into it, but Dragon Age as a series has always been interested in sociopolitical conflict and systemic oppression. It pulls quite a lot of influence from real-life history - one could say too much, perhaps - to create a fantasy world informed predominantly by the sociological forces of hierarchical society.

Past games have struggled to portray DA’s analogies for real-life racism unproblematically, but I don’t think the answer was to cast them aside or minimize their presence in Veilguard. This only trivializes the systemic oppression of this world retroactively; elven enslavement and oppression (especially in Tevinter) and Tal Vashoth and Qunari as otherized minorities are barely a blip on the radar of the game that is a) heavily focused on Solas’s past as a freer of elven slaves and b) set in goddamn Tevinter, where both elven enslavement is widespread and a longstanding war with the Qunari is still ongoing.

Yes, these story elements been handled poorly in the past, particularly with how elves mirror both African enslavement and Indigenous oppression in a way that creates unfortunate connotations when written carelessly, and how the Qunari have orientalist, Islamophobic undertones. They should not be portrayed through violent, traumatic scenes or within the same problematic scope as previous games, but they should not have been minimized to the extent that they were. It’s a structural writing issue if nothing else - the foundations of Dragon Age’s worldbuilding rely so heavily upon these forms of systemic oppression that removing and minimizing them makes the story incoherent. These elements cannot be written out of the story without completely transforming it, and because they were not willing to do that with Veilguard, we’re left with a gutted husk of a story missing most of its core elements.

Couldn’t we have just, you know, hired some sensitivity readers? Or - god forbid - BIPOC writers? Christ.

4. Queer found family vibes:

This one is bit of a stretch since the characters of Veilguard are not brought together through shared experiences of queerness; rather, they are collected randomly like Pokemon from all over the globe for their dubious skills. However, I do believe the writers are clumsily implementing found family tropes whenever you gather your team together, and they are all queer by default so that Rook can fuck them no matter what. At least that Dragon Age staple was respected if nothing else - The Characters Must Be Fuckable.

But I do think this is why we’ve been saddled with all this corporate HR team-building therapy-speak throughout the game: someone on the writing team thought this is how you write that found family thing the kids these days are so crazy about. Everyone’s super supportive all the time, no one fights too much, and when they do your character steps in to correct them (you do not get a choice in this - all of your dialogue options as Rook are effectively the same mediating bullshit). They’re all growing into a happy little family, and isn’t that sweet. Except that none of these characters are fully fleshed out because that would require giving them backgrounds that connect to the story’s wider lore and worldbuilding, and the writing team were either unwilling to do this or incapable because of production restraints. So it’s really just a bland group of pretty people being blandly nice or blandly rude to each other all throughout this bland, bloated game.

All that said, maybe we could’ve had a (queer) found family at the center of this game and actually made it work. There’s no law that says there have to be people on your Dragon Age team who will never get along or are too politically opposed to ever see eye to eye (even though I vastly prefer that in a DA story and think it reflects the series’ themes better *cough*). Absolution did a decent job of it from what I remember, though I think there were still a few conflicts between the members of that team that were used to communicate worldbuilding to us - that’s what character conflicts in Dragon Age mostly do. That is the narrative function they serve, and it’s not surprising to me that in a game with minimized companion conflicts, we likewise find minimized overall worldbuilding with respect to the various cultures of the current setting.

Anyway.

To be fair to Veilguard, I do not think we needed everyone’s entire life story in order to successfully execute the found family trope. Take Our Flag Means Death - the only character we really get much backstory for is Stede, with Jim coming in second at my estimation, and Blackbeard third. You don’t really find out that much about their histories overall, and you learn barely anything about the rest of the crew. For example, we know Lucius used to lie to his mother that he liked girls and was a bit of a pickpocket, which was not cute - and that’s all we get for him. We can infer that he was probably upper crust to a degree since he’s literate (and just from his overall vibe), but that’s about it, and the other characters are much the same.

The thing is, while I would welcome more information about the OFMD crew, I don’t actually need it. The characters are portrayed in such a way that you can infer most of what you need to know about them through the actor’s overall performance. OFMD was blessed with a wonderful cast who do an excellent job acting both scripted lines and the heavy amount of improv that was encouraged on set. Their character voices are finely honed and well-delivered, and so I’m able to get a strong sense of who these characters are, what motivates them, and how they relate with each other through their well-executed sense of voice.

Veilguard struggles quite heavily with character voice. The companions as written have some distinct qualities, but they never really have much life behind them. Davrin comes the closest to having a naturalistic voice, and I think it’s because he’s a self-serious straight man (comedically, not heterosexually). The rest of the cast relies on much more exaggerated and whimsical character tropes - a noir detective, a quirky gadget whizz, a perky necromancer, etc. - and the character writing just cannot summon level of energy these characters would usually have. We’re given a few fluff scenes with them that are sweet, but outside of that, none of these characters actually have much personality. Taash comes close with their moody teen affect, but it never quite sits well within their character arc, so it often feels incongruous.

And this brings me to my most damning criticism of the game: it is not funny. At all. Okay, maybe that’s not fair - it got a few small chuckles out of me within the 50 or so hours I’ve seen/played, but not more than like, 3 times. These characters just aren’t funny. Taash is kinda funny at first, but it dries up pretty quick. The script is just not capable of consistently good comedy. The only real humor I experienced was from Ghilan’nain acting like a goddamn Looney Toon, which was completely unintentional. Like everything else in Veilguard, the humor is bland, bland, bland.

Previous DA companions are brimming with humor, and it’s a huge part of what makes them so enjoyable. Comedy does a lot of work endearing you to a character, and you can use it in a variety of ways - it can highlight their cleverness, or reveal vulnerabilities and undercut them, or create chemistry or tension between multiple characters, all while giving the audience a sense of surprised pleasure that opens them up to connect with the characters emotionally. With a story as busy and occasionally dark as Dragon Age, using humor helps to quickly endear the audience to your characters and encourage engagement in their stories, while also releasing tension after harsher story beats.

It also works the other way around - when tragedy comes or characters are made to suffer, it can hit that much harder because you’ve become so endeared to them. When the Grey Wardens fail to halt the blight at Ostagar in Origins and are all but wiped out, the sense of loss is best communicated through Alistair, who up until this point has been a friendly, wise-cracking presence at your side. Seeing his grief and sense of despair in contrast to his usual good humor signals what’s been lost better than just being told, and because we are (assumedly) endeared to Alistair through his humorous attitude, we can empathize with his struggle and feel the weight of this story beat more effectively. It’s also shockingly, darkly funny when Morrigan is completely unsympathetic and later calls him a whiny pissbaby for missing all his dead friends. This helps to transition us out of the previous scene’s lower mood, and it tells us a lot about her character and her dynamic with Alistair.

And humor is an extremely valuable tool in executing the (queer) found family trope. Humor not only does a lot of work for characterization (especially with a larger ensemble cast), but it can also signal comfort and trust between characters, as well as highlight tensions without fully compromising the feeling of security offered by the found family. If tragedy strikes, it then offers a contrast against the usual comedic tone that can emphasize a scene’s drama to good effect. Humor isn’t absolutely necessary to pull this off, but it’s highly effective at establishing characters and their relationships quickly and enjoyably, and so it can be a valuable tool for large casts and plot-heavy stories where you have limited time to spend learning about each character.

Comedy is subjective, and so maybe Veilguard’s humor works for you in a way it doesn’t for me. Likewise, maybe the humor of the previous games and even OFMD don’t work for you the way they do for me. However, my main sense of Veilguard is that less investment was put into any comedy writing as versus the previous games. Less time is given for jokes, both in character dialogue and in the outer world, from what I’ve seen of it (I cannot imagine anything like the Golden Nug merchant in Orlais happening in this game). At best we get sorta sarcastic comments from Rook, but even Rook’s “funny” dialogue option only prompts any kind of humorous or sarcastic response like, maybe half the time. The writing staff just did not prioritize humor in this game seemingly at all, either by choice or necessity.

Add to this the lack of character depth and detail with all your companions, and they just have nothing for you to grab onto. They have so much potential with their quirky, surface-level descriptions, but no one did the work to flesh them out or make them engaging. Good humor or a strong character voice could have saved them even with the lack of detail and dimension, but it’s just not there. And because there is no real depth, detail, or good humor to unite the characters with each other, the found family trope falls flat and every interaction just feels like an office event.

If you like queer found family feels and haven’t seen Our Flag Means Death, check it out - highly recommend it. That show nails found family like a fuckin pro, doesn’t even break a sweat. And it’s gay as fuck.

5. Pirates:

Both have pirates. I vastly prefer the OFMD pirates over the Lords of Fortune tho. In case you were wondering.

OKAY. This insanely long post must end. It started as a thought experiment to see what we could learn from OFMD’s successes and if they could be applied to Veilguard, and then it turned into me giving unsolicited writing advice. All I can really add is to tell you that any time I’m playing or watching Veilguard, I’d rather be watching Our Flag Means Death.

Or playing the other DA games. They were pretty good. Yes, even Inquisition - at least Inquisition was funny.

[bunabi]

Sorry I just was thinking about the other anon’s thing about Solas’s regret and the theme of Veilguard.

I think that we should keep questioning how the companions fit! I think we should keep questioning if solas was put on center stage! Because when they keep telling us this is Rook’s story, and this is about Rook… We should be allowed to raise concerns. Like… What do the companions regret? What do our new friends and allies regret? How will we see their struggles come into play or are we second fiddling for a storyline that needs tying up??

They preach about the game’s theme being regret, but how much of it is Rook’s? We won’t know until the game is finally out but with what we know… Feels like a bit of a fan service.

Did they say the overarching theme of Veilguard is regret? I've only seen the comments on Solas.

It's one of those things we just have to reserve judgment on until we see the game played to completion; most of the first act has been spoiled but theres two more we haven't seen yet

But from what we've been shown yeah I think his regret will be the focus too. The Lighthouse being our party hub kinda makes that undeniable. The place is drenched in his past. His murals, his furniture, his eluvian, his caretaker spirit butler dude. The Veilguardians are even doing watch parties on the couch with his memories.

I find it hard to believe Rook will be just as central as the character our gameplay literally revolves around, but we'll see. They renamed DA4 from Dreadwolf to Veilguard, so I'm hopeful they made room in the limelight for everyone else. As a Solas enjoyer myself...I did not get into DA to hear about one guy's mostly self-inflicted problems. 🫠

[broodwolf221]

Happy Friday! How about "confessing a time they caused harm" from your heavy content prompts for Varric/Solas 👀

mmmm this was a good one. i almost always write angst for these two but like akfljkfj i promise they have happy days too!!! ...just not this one @dadrunkwriting 424 words cws: death mention; war mention

“You're awful far away.” Varric's voice startled him, flinching before he sighed and rubbed at his face.

“Apologies,” he said quickly. Varric huffed.

“Less mad and more worried, Chuckles. What's eating you?”

“What isn't?” He said bitterly, then sighed. “I… apologies. Again.”

The silence grew. And grew.

“I've done so much wrong,” he said at last. Varric sat beside him on the couch, their arms just brushing. “So much.” He blinked quickly as he felt the sting of tears, a rush of humiliation and anger coursing through him. “And now look at me!” He hissed. “Always the one who makes it out, and selfish enough to feel bad for myself!”

“Hey,” Varric began, putting a hand on his back, “that's just how it is. The ones who make it out… they feel it. They suffer.”

“I deserve to suffer,” he bit out, his fury building—how utterly, wretchedly pathetic he was. He'd hurt so many people and he felt like he'd break under the weight of that guilt and grief.

And if he did, if he gave it all up, if he let himself be coerced into inaction like Varric wanted, every drop of blood on his hands would be for naught. How could he render so much suffering immaterial, just to live a life of personal comfort? 

“I took the Anchor and Feydis' arm failed without it,” he said sharply. “I let Corypheus access my orb, and with it he tore open the skies and killed countless people. The Conclave might have stopped the war—instead, the Breach rushed it. I started a war in Arlathan. I have led so many people to their deaths or to a life of suffering. How can I possibly allow myself to stay here, happy and comfortable with you? I should be out there now, fixing what I destroyed, making their willing and unwilling sacrifices mean something.”

“They're dead, Solas,” Varric said, voice even and strong. “Destroying yourself won't bring them back. And continuing the fight won't, either.”

“So, what, I should give it all up?” He laughed, sharp and without mirth. “Live in comfort with so much blood on my hands?” Varric’s sigh brought him back to the moment and he leaned heavily against the back of the couch, closing his eyes. “Fenhedis. I am sorry. This is not your burden to carry.”

“Is it still yours?”

“It will always be mine, Varric,” he said softly and the dwarf sighed once more, but did not argue. For what was there to say?

The burden would always be his. 

[thedinanshiral]

Exciting times

As we enter the last leg of this race, please beware of the SPOILERPOCALYPSE.

The reason i'm not here much lately is precisely because of spoilers. I think marketing has done more than they should have, i don't need to see more of the game, i just want to play it. Now just checking my socials puts me at risk of getting major spoilers i'm trying so hard to avoid at all costs.

Yesterday the embargo on the preview event was lifted and all the people who was fortunate to be invited have been sharing their reviews, impresions and recorded gameplay. Unfortunately for those of us who wish to experience the game ourselves instead of having the first Act spoiled, not everyone uses spoiler warnings, hashtags or keywords one can mute or block while this lasts. Personally i'm mostly on twitter and there i muted +130 words for 30 days only to have a spoiler about Rook's origins in one of the factions still slip through.

I've been checking on YouTube carefully like it's a minefield -because it really is- for some of these content creators' videos, for the most part just to listen and what i've gathered so far is they were allowed about 7 hours of play, including the character creator and 5 selected missions from Act I, but there's a couple of late Act I missions they weren't allowed to record or talk much about, and they weren't allowed to show some menus, namely the accesibility menu as it seems there's official marketing coming up centered on that.

The big and main positive i can take from these recent developments is that there's a new consensus: Dragon Age The Veilguard looks good. Long gone are the days of first trailer bad impressions and Fortnite accusations, now that some people finally got to experience the game themselves the reviews are mostly positive, excited, and i've seen some content creators change their minds about the game entirely. Bioware took notes all these years and are ready to deliver an unexpectedly very polished game as a result. People at the event were told the game has 3 Acts and i've heard this from several people, if the rest of the game keeps up the rhythm from what they saw of Act I, then Bioware is back. GOTY contender. IMO BW was never "gone", they were just slowly cooking this upcoming full meal

Sure, combat may not be for everyone, a more linear experience may not be for everyone. But personal preferences aside all seems to indicate The Veilguard will deliver as promised.

Spoilers are unavoidable sometimes so i've actualy looked for some, namely the Character Creator, the different factions origin stories, the different surnames. I had to go out of my way to see these things tho, intentionally spoiling myself these details because I have as of now 12 different Rooks planned and i needed to know if the stories i made for them would conflict or not with what the game will offer. Only one origin has a detail that might restrict things a bit.

There's apparently also a scene from a mission i'm not sure they were allowed to show, i skipped through a video about it without really looking and just now saw something from it on my dashboard but i scrolled down as fast as i could because it's something i really want to see in game first. It's such a big thing, it shouldn't have been showned or leaked at all. All i'll say is it's about Solas, and something many of us wanted to see for a long time.

All this said, while we wait for October 31st to come quick we still have the podcast Vows&Vengeance each Thursday. I might write on it soon. This podcast is safe from spoilers, it's set pre-Veilguard and introduces the companions one per episode, and the original characters are apparently a V&V exclusive and won't show in game. I think this podcast series is currently the only safe marketing material available until release. Meanwhile the IGN coverage continues, full of minor spoilers sprinkled all over so i'm also avoiding all of it.

We're now 41 days away from an event we've been waiting for 10 years! The waiting has never been harder.

[causeaimed]

TME vs. TV review.

I will admit, with Felassan, I've shot myself in the foot with having had this creature adopted and revised, redone, and reshaped since 2014.

Still, I sincerely think that what we had been given in The Masqued Empire (TME) with his character and in The Veilguard (TV) are ... distinct images.

TME Felassan is a whimsical, sly, humbly dressed, and often ruthless character. He's sacrificed a whole dalish clan for his goal, he doesn't shy away from threatening his way around, with threats of torture and death.

He leverages similar choices against his protégé Brialla's prodding and probing, too.

It can be argued that there is a sense of unreality for all ancient elves below the Veil, but I think this argument is weak, whereas it seems like practiced tactics he is in the habit of employing.

TV doesn't really show him as this figure - Felassan we see is composed, dressed in shiny armor, with heroic voice and intonations, bearing a formal title of a general of the rebellion. We see him going about in direct conflicts. Instead of the direction I felt his personality (and being bodied by physical attacks easily) is more suitable for — sabotage, infiltration, espionage, and diversion.

Instead, he's shown as an almost stalwart and morally grounded figure to be a contrast to Solas' regrets.

There's more of TME Felassan in TV's notes written by him. The humor, at least, returns, as does the endless propensity to complain. He's shown as a close companion of Solas' and his old friend, but that's about it that we get for Felassan beyond what we've known. He shows concern for the spirits involved in the war and their changes. He does welcome people into the Lightouse in his note and directs all concerns to himself, which makes it look like his position was more people-facing and organizational/provisional. We don't see him talk about the elves as much as he does about spirits and Solas.

In review, this makes it look like he should have been three people instead. For Solas, Felassan is the writers bicycle in TV to cover the positions of Josephine and Cullen, while TMA has landed him firmly in the position of a blackened Leliana.

I'm very fond of TMA Felassan, but I don't think a lot of people are as obsessed with that book, so there shouldn't have been a reason to not create separate characters for these positions, introducing us to a more elaborate rebellion than what we've been given in TV. It is left faceless in majority instead, with Solas and Felassan called to fill too many narrative seats.

If games can be described as a form of theater you can interact with, then leaving the scene to merely two people changing masks but not names makes your troupe seem understaffed and production a bit cheap.

So, make a foil to Josephine, make a foil to Cullen. Keep Felassan as a foil to Leliana. Complete the narrative circle of Solas' foil to Inquisitor. This would have made me a lot more satisfied about the writing and would have felt more complete.

For Felassan in this scenario, he could have served as an insight into the plans and complexities of the Evanuris' plans and movements. With the markings, he has to have been a slave or a priest himself; Mythal's of all the Evanuris. It would have been easy to set up hints towards how he has been blackened over time to become the ruthless character we've met in TME. From the losses and changes in the rebellion to Mythal's arrogance and death. Sprinkle in some personal failures and oversights that lead to overcompensation, and you have it all set up.

P.S.

Also, I have a gripe with one of the notes that make no sense for me. Firstly, them being in common is excusable with Fade perception exploit, I'll allow it. However, "... Solas' friend Felassan, or the rebellion's Slow Arrow ..." - you just said the same word twice in different languages. You are an ancient elf, allgedly thinking, talking, and writing in elven. Who wrote this? If you wanted to objectify him, just write "rebellion's tool", eh.

[soundlesslament]

Since no one answered my questions about "Dragon Age: The Veilguard", I ended up caving and buying the game, and here are my findings. Plus my Rook, because he is very cute.

Spoiler-free!

THE GOOD

The game is nowhere near as linear as some reviews made it seem! You can still explore large areas, finding secrets and picking up quests, and do said quests in whatever order you choose.

The Codex remains and is great.

The game looks beautiful, even at low resolution. I love the illustrated narrated scenes. The look of the 'hub world' is customizable and cozy too.

If party banter gets interrupted (e.g., by an enemy encounter), the characters will pick it back up later.

You can set an 'appearance' outfit to override the look of whatever armor you actually have installed. No more choosing between appearance and stats. All armors can also be upgraded.

You can pet cats and dogs, and even hug a baby gryphon. I have had Assam for one day and if anything ever happened to him I would kill everyone in Tevinter and then myself.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

There are many difficulty settings, including a "storyteller" mode for players who are more interested in the story aspects that allows you to disable death for your character. No need to stress about boss fights.

THE MAYBE

In general, I love the new combat system. I am not a fan of strategic combat, and this feels much more dynamic and fun. That said, they also made it way too complex. Besides short and long-distance attacks and skills, there are special effects using different key combos, using runes, setting up combo attacks between (otherwise independent) party members, and changing weapon types.

They did not override most decisions from previous games. Everything is simply not mentioned. The only exception is when you ask about the companions from "Inquisition", as it assumes all companions were hired, which wasn't obligatory to do. Also, for some reason, Vivienne is not mentioned at all.

Regarding discourse around the game: People are apparently complaining about the game being 'woke', but honestly the only thing I have noticed is that you can have your character be transgender. And maybe Taash struggling with her mother complaining she isn’t feminine enough (is that woke now?). That's about it. There is no 'woke ideology' in the game. I don't know who is making that up.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

THE BAD

The character creator is bad. You have to choose three different premade faces and morph between them instead of working with each separate feature (which you can only adjust a little). I couldn't recreate my Inquisitor properly because it was impossible to alter the eye shape to what I wanted.

I also couldn't give her the scars and tattoo she had. In fact, the scar and tattoo options aren't the best. Some scars look a bit cartoony. There are no small tattoos.

More bad writing: it makes no sense to sideline the quest to stop Solas and have the two evanuris be the villains instead. I think they are interesting, but this development is not the best.

Bad writing. Not all the time, but enough times to be noticeable. Emmrich talks like a cartoon character in his introductory mission, for example; fortunately, it seems to be toned down later.

Bellara has it the worst of all, though. She is the bubbly, ditsy maniac pixie girl that I am sure is some tech boy's dream. The 'cutesy' way she talks and squeaks honestly makes me uncomfortable. I have been actively avoiding having her in the party.

Choosing a faction doesn't really have that big of an influence on the game. Your faction will grow its influence faster and there will be a few lines acknowledging your history with them, but that seems to be about it. There are no special missions, nor a separate start like in "Origins". It feels a bit like an afterthought.

Despite having dialogue choices with different 'personalities', Rook always agrees with everything. The different lines all end up being the same basic response, just in different words/tones.

You can't talk to companions unless there is an event involving them. It's immersion breaking. Seriously, they couldn't have a couple lines on repeat?

[daitranscripts]

What Pride had Wrought Pt. 14

The Well of Sorrows

What Pride had Wrought Masterpost First: Speaking With Morrigan First: Meeting Kieran Previous: Abelas

Morrigan and the PC look over the Well of Sorrows and at the eluvian on the other side.

Morrigan: You’ll note the intact eluvian. I was correct on that count, at least.

PC: Is it still a threat? Can Corypheus use it to travel the Fade?

Morrigan: You recall when I took you through my eluvian, I said each required a key? The Well is the key. Take its power, and Mythal’s last eluvian will be no more use to Corypheus than glass. I did not expect the Well to feel so… hungry.

Dialogue options:

General: Be careful. [1]

General: That’s not good. [2]

General: Back away. Now. [3]

1 - General: Be careful. PC: Let’s not be reckless. I don’t want anyone hurt.

2 - General: That’s not good. PC: Seems like that should be a concern. Morrigan: Knowledge begets a hunger for more.

3 - General: Back away. Now. PC: Don’t go any closer, Morrigan.

Morrigan: I am willing to pay the price the Well demands. I am also the best suited to use its knowledge in your service.

Party Comments:

Solas: Or more likely, to your own ends. Morrigan: What would you know of my “ends,” elf? Solas: You are a glutton drooling at the sight of a feast. You cannot be trusted. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

Vivienne: Do not trust her, Inquisitor. She’s a parasite, only here because she sensed a meal more hearty than you. Morrigan: Hm. Said by one whose only motive for joining the Inquisition was altruism. Vivienne: Is is altruism or sense not to plunge headfirst into a power you don’t remotely understand? Morrigan: Why should I be refused, when the reasons to allow it are sound? ㅤㅤ ㅤ

Cassandra: I do not like this. She is far too eager. Morrigan: I do not hide it. To restore lost knowledge, I would risk much. Cassandra: And what would you do with it? You could be worse than Corypheus. Morrigan: So paralyze yourself for fear of what might be? I can give nothing but my word.

Morrigan: Of those present, I alone have the training to make use of this. Let me drink, Inquisitor.

4 - Dialogue options

Investigate: You alone have the training? [5]

Investigate: What about the price? [6]

General: You really want this? [7]

General: Perhaps nobody should use it. [8] +Sera approves

General: How can I trust you? [9]

5- Investigate: You alone have the training? PC (Dalish): “You alone”? This is my heritage! PC (non-Dalish mage): “You alone”? You’re not the only mage here. PC (non-Dalish, non-mage): What “training” makes you so qualified? Morrigan: I have studied the oldest lore. I have delved into mysteries of which you could only dream! Can you honestly tell me there is anyone better suited?

10 - Dialogue options:

General: Solas? [11]

General: Vivienne? [12]

General: Dorian? [13]

General: Myself./Then it’s me. [14]

General: I don’t know. [15]

General (after suggesting another companion): Maybe Morrigan is right. [16]

11 - General: Solas? PC: What about you, Solas? Solas: No. Do not ask me again. [back to 10] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 12 - General: Vivienne? PC: What about you, Vivienne? Vivienne: If anyone, it should be you. The mark on your hand may protect you. [back to 10] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 13 - General: Dorian? PC: What about you, Dorian? Dorian: A human from Tevinter scoops up the last bits of elven knowledge? I know why you ask. I know it’s important, but… I can’t be that man. [back to 10] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 14 - General: Myself./Then it’s me. PC: I would be. Morrigan: You lead the Inquisition. This is not a risk you can take. I have the best chance of making use of the Well… for everyone. Let me drink. [back to 4] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 15 - General: I don’t know. PC: I don’t know who’s “better suited,” and neither do you. Morrigan: I have the best chance of making use of the Well… for everyone. Let me drink. [back to 4] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 16 - General: Maybe Morrigan is right. PC: Perhaps you’re right. Morrigan: I am. You know I am. [back to 4]

6 - Investigate: What about the price? PC: You’re not concerned about the price? “Bound forever to the will of Mythal”? Morrigan: Bound to the will of a dead god? It seems an empty warning. Perhaps a compulsion yet remains. Who can say otherwise? I do not fear it, even so. [back to 4]

7 - General: You really want this? PC: Are you sure you want this, Morrigan? We don’t know what will happen. Morrigan: We do not, and yet it must be done. I am ready.

8 - General: Perhaps nobody should use it. PC: I hate to say it, but Abelas’s plan to destroy the Well may be the best one. Morrigan: What happens when Corypheus comes for you again? He is immortal. The wisdom of the Well may include a way to destroy him. Give me this, and I fight at your side. I shall be your sword.

9 - General: How can I trust you? PC: What’s to stop you from taking the knowledge and leaving? Morrigan: My word. If that seems insufficient, Corypheus threatens all–even myself. He must be stopped. PC: And who stops you? Morrigan: I, Inquisitor, seek neither immortality nor your life.

17 - Scene continues.

18 - Dialogue options:

What does everyone else think? [19]

Arcane: I know the Well’s danger. [20]

Morrigan, the Well is yours. (Morrigan will gain the power of the Well.) [21] -Vivienne Greatly Disapproves -Cassandra Disapproves -Iron Bull Disapproves +Blackwall Approves (romanced) +Solas Approves +Sera Approves

I’ll use the Well myself. (The Inquisitor will gain the power of the Well.) [22] -Sera Greatly Disapproves -Solas Disapproves -Dorian Disapproves (romanced) -Dorian Slightly Disapproves +Blackwall Approves (not romanced) +Iron Bull Approves +Cassandra Approves +Vivienne Greatly Approves

19 - General: What does everyone else think? PC: Thoughts?

Party Comments:

Solas: She is right about only one thing: we should take the power which lies in that well.

Vivienne: I would not trust the power in that well with anyone but you, my dear.

Dorian: It all seems ghoulish. Let Morrigan use it, if she wants it so much.

Dorian(romanced): I don’t want to risk losing you to a well.

Varric: You’re asking me? This is a lot of… weird. I barely understand how any of this works.

Cole: So many voices. They would be in your head, talking over you. You don’t want them.

Sera: It’s called the Well of Sorrows. Sorrows. No one should go in the Well of Sorrows.

Cassandra: If it is truly between you and her… then let her take the risk. Maker help us all.

Cassandra (romanced): I… do not know. If there is risk to you…

Iron Bull: Any chance this Well could help us against Corypheus, I say you take it.

Blackwall: I’d trust you with this power more than her… but it is not for me to decide.

Blackwall (romanced): I won’t lose you. Let the witch use the Well.

Morrigan: Enough deliberation. Give me your decision. [back to 18]

20 - Arcane: I know the Well’s danger. PC: Looking at it, listening to it… that’s not just knowledge from the ancient elven priests. It’s their will. Morrigan: How would you know such a thing? PC: That’s what Abelas was telling us. The collective will of the priests puts anyone who drinks under a compulsion, a geas. Can’t you feel it? Morrigan: That… would match the legends, but it does not tell us what the geas entails. I would still use the Well, but you are right. We must be cautious. [back to 18]

21 - General: Morrigan, the Well is yours. PC: It’s yours.

Morrigan enters the Well and submerges herself in it. A wave rolls over the area, and the PC runs up to Morrigan laying unconscious in the empty basin.

PC: Morrigan? Are you all right?

Morrigan: Ellasin selah! Vissan… vissanalla…

Morrigan: I… I am intact. There is much to sift through… but now we can–

*Corypheus steps out of the temple and reaches out towards them., then begins to fly after them.

Corypheus: (Scream of rage.)

Morrigan: The eluvian!

PC: Through the mirror!

The eluvian activates, and the party rushes through, and a figure rises from the empty Well, following them. As it enters the eluvian, it deactivates and Corypheus runs into the glass. The party stumbles out of the mirror and into the storeroom back in Skyhold. Morrigan deactivates the eluvian once the PC comes through.

Morrigan: It is done.

Scene ends.

22 - General: I’ll use the Well myself. PC: If anyone is to use the Well, it will be me. Morrigan: So you will take what little knowledge you can understand, and let the rest go to waste?

Dialogue options:

General: We still need you. [23]

General: It won’t go to waste. [24]

General: The Inquisition needs this. [25]

23 - General: We still need you. PC: The Inquisition needs you. Corypheus still endangers us all. [26] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 24 - General: It won’t go to waste. PC: And who’s to say it will go to waste? Morrigan: I do. [26] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 25 - General: The Inquisition needs this. PC: This knowledge stays with the Inquisition. [26]

26 - Scene continues.

Morrigan (the PC did not warn about the Well’s geas): I am forever balked by those who believe they know better than I. Drink if you will, for the sake of us all. But steel your will to do it. Morrigan: (the PC warned about the Well’s geas) Perhaps it is better this way. Do as you will with the Well of Sorrows, Inquisitor. But be careful.

The PC wades into the Well. They lift some of the water to their lips and there is a burst of light.

PC: (Cry of pain.)

The PC looks around, standing in a void of darkness with a circling haze.

Voice: Garas quenathra?

PC: “Why am I here?” Corypheus… a magister wishes to rip the Veil open. I must learn how to stop him.

Voice: (Unintelligible whispers.)

Dialogue options:

General: Your aid is worth any price. PC: If you can help me vanquish Corypheus, take whatever price you wish. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: Is that a yes or a no? PC: I can’t understand what you’re–look! Will you help me or not? ㅤㅤ ㅤ

General: Answer me! PC: You will give me what I demand!

Voice: Vir mythal’enaste.

A sigil appears on the PC face, and everything goes dark.

Party comments:

Cassandra: Is it over? [Are they] coming around? I knew this would happen.

Cassandra (romanced): Maker, please. Don’t let it end this way.

Sera: Wake up from your good decision, stupid!

Sera (romanced): [Honey Tongue/Buckles/’Teetness/Shiny/Tadwinks/Inky]? If you’re dead, I’ll kill you!

Blackwall: I knew no good would come of this!

Blackwall (romanced): My lady? Oh, Maker, let her keep breathing…

Dorian: There! Our intrepid leader’s coming round.

Dorian (romanced): Festis bei umo canavarum. If you don’t come through this, I swear I’ll kill you.

Solas: There. Our Inquisitor’s waking up.

Solas (romanced): Inquisitor? Inquisitor!

Iron Bull (romanced): Hey, how’d that work out for you, kadan? You feeling good?

Varric: Breathing. That’s good! Let’s keep that up.

Vivienne: Inquisitor? Can you hear me?

The party approaches the PC as they they are jolted back into the Well, where they are laying in the empty basin. They stand, unsteady and waving away help.

Party comments:

Solas: How… do you feel?

Blackwall: How do you feel?

Dorian: Not dead! Well, that’s a relief. So… good? Bad? I’m dying to know.

Sera: So, you’ve got a head full of damp whatever. How’s that feel?

Iron Bull: That looked rough. How do you feel?

Cassandra: Inquisitor? How do you feel?

Vivienne: Warn us before you do that again, my dear. How do you feel?

Corypheus steps out of the temple and reaches out towards them., then begins to fly after them.

Corypheus: (Scream of rage.)

Morrigan: The eluvian!

PC: Through the mirror!

The eluvian activates, and the party rushes through, and a figure rises from the empty Well, following them. As it enters the eluvian, it deactivates and Corypheus runs into the glass. The party stumbles out of the mirror and into the storeroom back in Skyhold. Morrigan deactivates the eluvian once the PC comes through.

Morrigan: It is done.

Next: His Next Move - Morrigan Drank Next: His Next Move - Inquisitor Drank