#I really hope we can save Solas

[wetsocksinbed]

I’m really out here snorting “I Can Save Him” tropes like it’s crack cocaine

[tenojan-in-tevinter]

Honestly I really want to be able to side with Solas in dreadwolf. I think it'd be super interesting to play as an elf in Tevinter and be able to just go "yeah actually I think Fen'Harel is right let's tear down that veil." I mean I assume the main conflict will be Solas trying to convince your character to join him, or your character being told they have to try and stop him, and there are not enough games that let you side with the presented "villain" character. I want to see what the world is like with no veil I'm so interested. Also so interested to see what full-on Fen'Harel Solas is like. Is he still as empathetic? Or is he more conniving and distanced from "mortals" like the old stories would have us believe?

[strawberry-halla]

something so amazing about solas is that he is very good at predicting his enemies and his allies moves. he’s always thinking 5 steps ahead, even varric says this. (long post incoming!)

but when it comes to lavellan, he could never predict her. when he first meets her, solas thinks she’s just another dalish elf that is unwilling to listen to his advice. nope turns out she can be willing and not only that but asks him about what he knows so she can better understand the fade/spirits/ancient elves.

and then the haven dream kiss! she’s the one who initiates and solas is once again thrown off guard because he never expected that. and then he just gives into it with so much passion and fade tongue.

in all new, faded for her, solas is once again surprised lavellan agrees with his plan to free his friend, the spirit of wisdom. because nobody in the entire inquisition (except cole) would be down for this?? like all the world knows about spirits is that they don’t ever come in contact with people unless very rarely. they’re an enigma, something to be feared even because they can become demons. but nah lavellan is like ‘yep sounds good let’s go save your friend!’

and solas after this tries to rationalize lavellan’s bizarre behavior as something the anchor changed about her. because he has always known how to read people. he can’t understand her. he thinks her ‘spirit’ has changed due to magic’s influence.

but no, lavellan surprises once again by pointing out that her choices are her own or that if the anchor did change her, wouldn’t she notice? like no wonder solas is so fucking down bad. lavellan subverts everything he thought about the modern people, not just exclusively elves. she’s constantly showing him new points of view and challenging his whole mission. and so the cracks start to form.

“you show a wisdom i haven’t seen since…*pause* my deepest journeys into the ancient memories of the fade.”

“your mind, your morals, your… *pause* spirit.”

“it would be kinder in the long run. but losing you would- *cuts himself off*”

and then if lavellan drinks from the well, this conversation and the previous quest itself (what pride had wrought) just cracks solas wide open (even if she didn’t drink). he’s visibly upset because he’s afraid the well will change lavellan and he knows first hand what it’s like to do everything for someone who made the wrong choices! so solas asks what she would do with the power of the well and he’s ONCE AGAIN thrown off guard by her answer. i really like the “help the world move forward” option because it almost aligns with solas’s plan but it doesn’t.

s: “you would risk everything you have in the hope the future is better? what if it isn’t? what if you wake up to find the future you shaped is worse than what it was?”

l: “i’ll take a breath, see where things went wrong, and then try again.”

s: “just like that?”

l: “if we don’t keep trying, we’ll never get it right.”

you’d think this would be an affirmation that solas’s plan is right, but it’s not. lavellan is wanting to fix things now and shape a better future with the well’s power. it’s eerily similar, but once again a path solas didn’t consider. she surprises once more. using the wisdom from the well to help, rather than command. sound familiar? this conversation just solidifies solas’s want. to be himself and to be solas, not fen’harel, with lavellan.

so he takes her to crestwood. somewhere intimate and quiet just for the two of them. a place where the veil is thinnest because it’s easy for spirits to cross and be comfortable. solas is going to tell lavellan the truth. he’s going to abandon his plan. but then solas gets in his own head. he fights with the possibility of her rejecting him because why wouldn’t she? he’s the very god in her culture that ruined everything. what if lavellan sees him for the monster history painted him? and then he realizes why he even wanted to tear down the veil. to avenge his oldest friend and right the wrongs he did to the elves. and it all comes crashing down in not even a second.

“then what i must tell you… *pause* …the truth.”

solas backpedals so fucking hard. the reality of everything just hits him. so he quickly redirects to the vallaslin topic because it’s familiar as he looks down at lavellan’s face and sees the markings of the very gods he locked away.

remove the vallaslin or not solas still loves her no matter what. and the sad option is still my favorite here because once again solas is slipping.

s: “you have a rare and marvelous spirit. in another world-“

l: “why not this one?”

and then at the end of veilguard, lavellan does one more thing solas doesn’t expect. after hurting her, betraying her, leaving her alone without any answers, killing one of her friends, and almost succeeding in his plan, she forgives him. lavellan abandons thedas and everything she knew to be with him. to the very end, she is subverting his tragic expectations.

“this journey is not yours alone. we make it together, always.”

[cy-cyborg]

It's been confirmed that there are 3 amputees in the main cast of Dragon Age: the veilguard - Neve (leg amputee), Bellara (arm amputee) and your inquisitor (arm amputee). So as an amputee myself, here are some things I'd like to see.

Note: these aren't predictions, just things I'd really like to be included.

The inquisitor doesn't use a prosthetic (I already talked about this in its own post but with 3 amputees, and 2 of them already being shown to use prosthetics that, lets be honest, do look like "perfect replacement" prosthetics, it would be nice to see at least one who doesn't)

We will get to customise our inquisitor in chatacter creation, so I would love, if they do use a prosthetic, for there to be some customisability to it (im not holding my breath there but still).

Neve and Bellara's prosthetics aren't perfect prosthetics, and they are actually acknowledged as being disabled while still being active members of your party.

There's some kind of party banter between Neve and Bellara about some of the downsides/problems with their prosthetics, not necessarily in a "poor them" way, but in a "ugh, don't you just hate it when you can't get the stupid thing on in the morning" kind of way.

I get a kind of jokey/adventurous vibe from Bellara, I hope they aren't affraid to let her use her prosthetic for pranks or jokes. I don't think neve would, but I can see bellara having a blast with it.

I hope the prosthetics come off during down time. No amputee wears their prosthetics 24/7, it's uncomfortable, and they get heavy and sore after using them all day.

I hope we see Neve express some frustration or see her alter her walk animation on rough terrain. It's hard to get a clear look because the trailers she's been shown in are so dark, but her foot doesn't look articulated, which is going to change how she walks, even just a little bit.

I hope the prosthetics don't break - this is a trope I'm starting to notice more and more, where someone has a perfect prosthetic that is only not a perfect replacement when it breaks, usually for plot reasons, at which point the character in question is forced out of the action until its fixed. DA has forced companions out of your party for story reasons before (e.g. solas after you free his spirit friend and he needs to cool off) so I can see this being used for plot, and I really hope it's not.

The inquisitor, Neve and Bellara compair prosthetists (the maker of the prosthetic) and maker techniques.

I really doubt they'll do this but I'd love it if random NPC's approach you if you have any of the amputees in your party to ask what happened and/or make weird comments at them ("but cy, that would be so annoying and inconvenient!" That's the point. So many people do that to irl amputees, and it's never at a convenient or even safe time, and I've never seen it happen in media. A game is arguably the best place to have it happen, in, say, a random event similar to the ones that could happen in origins)

In that same vein, I'd love to see a scene where someone approaches the inquisitor to call them an inspiration- you and the inquisitor assume it's for, you know, beating corripheus (I know I spelled it wrong lol) and saving the world, but it's revealed the chatacter has no idea who the hell the inquisitor is and just means it's inspiring that they're out in public "like that" - referring to their arm. This also happens to me all the time, and you can't tell me some snooty orlesean or tevinter noble wouldn't make those back-handed compliments, lol. You also can't convince me that any version of the inquisitor would just accept that

I hope none of the chatacters are used as inspiration porn ("don't you worry Rook! I can still pull my own weight on the team despite being an amputee, you just have to give me a chance to prove myself!")

At least one of the chatacter's stories of how they lost their limb is left untold in game (we don't always need to know how it happened if it's not relevent to the plot).

Like I said, these aren't predictions, just my hopes. I wouldn't hold my breath for any of these to be honest (bioware has not been the best in term of disability rep in the past) but A lot of them wouldn't be hard to implement and could take the representation from hardly even acknowledging their disability to something actually pretty decent disability rep-wise. It's also pretty rare to have so many characters with the same kind of disability in the cast of such a mainstream piece of media, and I really, really hope they do something with that because you can have a lot of fun with that.

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜 DA:TV spoilers under cut.

Kala has heard rumors that there may be merch pins coming of Assan and Manfred [source]

(Previous comment for context - Dev Brenon: "You can sprint, there is also a dash/dodge move you can do for short range mobility - though I don't tend to use that much when exploring.") A user asked on this, "Will it be a push-to-sprint key, a sprint toggle, or other (to be explained later)?". Brenon replied with some more detail on this feature: "Right now it's a pseudo-toggle, you press it once (while moving) to start sprinting and then as long as you keep moving you keep sprinting. If you let got of the movement controls, you stop sprinting." [source: the official BioWare Discord]

User: "if a choice i made 30 hours ago affects me.. best believe im restarting the whole game". Brenon: "Uh oh''. User: "UH OH???". Brenon: "I mean... we do have "decision saves" before big choice moments, but there are still a bunch that depend on a whole mess of stuff you've done earlier... so... yeah... RIP :P" [source: the official BioWare Discord]

They hope to get a bunch more BioWare-themed emojis for the Discord [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Trick Weekes has been signing DA:TV stuff with "with love and appreciation for your patience" [source]

Carly: "theres so much id love to say, but i unfortunately can't , that being said, i hear y'all and love working on a game for such passionate people and hope y'all enjoy when it does come out 💕" [source]

Actor signing attendees report that it was amazing and that we're in good hands with this acting cast. You can see more photos from it here [source].

Dev signing attendees report that it was packed. You can see another photo from it here [source]. and here is a photo of the sign from it [source]

Another photo of the booth [source]. Sometimes at the booth the devs had a Solas statue [source] (this is done by Dark Horse). I think Dark were also displaying somewhere a Varric and a Cassandra statue too, and I think these were the ones that Dark Horse do too (Varric, Cass), but I can't find the image or video where I originally saw this anymore, sorry >.<

The companion tarot-style art from the website was shown on the big screen at the acting panel [source]

A few more details from the actor panel, from an attendee: John Epler said that this is the best group of companions written because of their relationships with each other, not just Rook. They can become friends, lovers, rivals with each other. Zach thought that Lucanis was the coolest character he gets to play. It sounds like he mentioned Illario [I'm assuming] by name. Lucanis is quick-witted. Neve is a bit of a romantic. Jessica found voice acting freeing as it felt like playing pretend when she was little. In her role, she felt like she could embrace being very powerful. Neve is passionate. On Emmrich, "wisdom, calm to group, warm-hearted, loves learning". Emmrich has some fantastic lines. Along with working with Varric to track down Solas, Harding has also been working with Rook and Neve. Ali talked a lot about how much collaboration there is between BioWare, the actors and the material they're given to work with. Harding has been through some things and has more of an edge to her, but they can't talk about it! [source]

A few more details from the actor panel, from an attendee - Jessica Clark: "A lot of the time, we kind've really all bonded in the way that we were intended to, you know? And that's why we've been so excited all week and all weekend, because we can be like 'oh my god you're here', 'oh my god you're here, you're here, you're here', finally, you know? You know, I know on a lot of projects people are like 'oh yeah, we're all like, we love each other', but we really do, we really really do, and it just evolved so organically, and there was something magical about it just being our voices in the beginning, you know, like, sort've taking anything else out of the [equation.]" [source]

A few more details from the actor panel, from an attendee - Nick Boraine: "I think I've been preparing for Emmrich all my life. I was very attracted to the role initially, and I was so, I was so, I was overjoyed when I got it, because I think it was, the writing of Emmrich is really fascinating, it's this, this man that is obsessed with death, on one hand, but on death as a comfort, death as a transition, death as something that is not scary, and that, that ability to enable people to transition and the investment that he gives in that sphere, which we don't give in our own lives. I was immediately attracted to that and I thought that that was, I'd never seen that before, so to go in these two ways, to talk about death and to talk about it in a way that is kind, and that the transition becomes a kind transition, that was fascinating to me, and I think, will be fascinating to you too." [source]

A few more details from the actor panel, from an attendee - Zach Mendez: "[before they started shooting] I did kinda get an idea about how passionate the fanbase was, which made me really excited. I don't wanna say nervous, because I don't say I'm nervous, I say I'm excited. And so, before the first day of shoot, I was very excited. And luckily, you know, Ashley and them, didn't have me do too much on the first day. I played a lot of darkspawn. I darkspawn-ed my ass off, though. I want you guys to know, I really. And when I got home, I thought to myself, 'Zach, did you darkspawn hard enough?' I was just worried. You know, and within an hour I got texts from Jeff, who's a part of this cast as well, and G, telling me what a great job I did, and then I'll never forget, I got a call from Ali Hillis down here, and I'll remember that conversation, because for thirty minutes she made me feel like I was welcome in the Dragon Age family, and it gave me so much confidence moving forwards. So thank you, Ali, so much, I still remember that." [source]

[Character limit text break!]

Varric and Manfred: "not romanceable" [source] ?

Neve mostly eats deep-fried fish [source], it makes up the bulk of her diet [source]

Bellara loves pan-fried fish [source]

John on SDCC: "thank you to everyone who came out to the signing. thank you to everyone who came out to the panel. thank you to everyone who said hi, swung by the booth, or otherwise expressed how excited you were about the game. absolutely amazing experience. was wonderful to see you all" [source]

There's a lot of lovely concept art for DA:TV [source]

Trick Weekes: "One of the things I was proudest of was inviting leads from other teams/departments into writing peer reviews and having them later say, "Wow, those critiques went deep, but everyone stayed professional and compassionate the whole time." My junior-most writer knew she could tell me I was wrong." [source]

Violet: "As we get closer to DATV, I just want to send out a reminder Var lath vir suledin 😭" [source]

Derek on the casting department: "They really did an incredible job! Every single one of these folks deliver such amazing performances." [source]

Derek: "a lot of great talent doing awesome stuff from KY nowadays. I count myself extremely lucky that I can work on such an amazing project with such a wonderful team straight from my home state!" [source]

Michael Gamble: "i know a few people on the DA team, and i want them to have a nice time." [source]

User, on the recent word count news: "Sooooo , when will I (we) get to hear all these words". Michael: "hopefully when the game is out." [source]

User, on the news of no microtransactions: "This is great news that I hope survives past the review period". Michael: "it will" [source]

User: "What class have you been playing as in DAV mostly?" Michael: "mage. i light everything up. everything." [source]

DAMP / multiplayer mode is not returning [source]

Ghil: "Im very sorry for the teasing tweet but to be very real, i really miss playing veilguard and to stop THERE and have to wait over a year is killing me tbh. Im bothered. My crops are dying. I am withering. I want to know what happens" [source]

A user asked a question around if there are dialogue options and choices available in the game that indicate a mixed or less favorable positive perspective on Solas. Bria, a Councilmember, shared: "As an Egg Cracker, I was pretty satisfied with what we saw. I don’t want to go into spoilers but I was able to play my Rook the way I wanted when it came to the Sad Egg Man." [source]

User: "would you be able to tell us if you can change your perspective while in a fight? Those circles we saw on the video were kind of hard to see from that angle". Ghil: "Like a bit- no promises but they told us a lot of stuff like that would be in an accessibility feature. I get pretty motion sick so I remember talking about backing it up a bit." [source]

Kala: "The amount of gasping, screaming, @/ElbenherzArt having to lay on the floor, @/hattedhedgehog and @/chaosbria having to stand up from excitement and us just being in shock the whole time. Yeah 🔟 😎" [source]

Kala shared that there are moments in the game that she knows people will freak out about [source], that in terms of marketing, she knows that the devs have more things planned [source], and that she found Bellara endearing, despite not usually vibing with optimistic and energetic characters [source]

Kala shared that she feels that the Lighthouse is way cooler than Skyhold [source]

Also, in early May 2024 Zach appeared on a podcast:

Zach: "I'm very excited because it looks like at the end of this year, the video game that I've been working on for about three or so years is gonna come out, and I'm really excited for that. I'm gonna come back on and I'm gonna promote that, you guys, you will have no choice, I'm coming back on." Host: "Does the video game feature dicks?" Zach: "I can't say too much about it, but it, it doesn't ignore dicks, you know what I mean? It doesn't, you know what, there might be, yeah, there's, it's a sexy video game, it's a hot video game." Host: "So are you a character?" Zach: "I'm a character in the video game." --- Zach: "I'm gonna come back on to promote the hell out of that, because I'm really excited about that. I'm still working on that, and that's been, like, I'm super grateful for that, because that's been going on for like three years and it's been consistent work." --- Zach: "I'm super excited about it [...]" "Other people help you make really amazing things, when humans get together they make pretty stuff, and this game looks amazing"

[source (acting career segment. source link isn't work-appropriate. I don't recommend the podcast)]

[bg3daydream]

At the Winter Palace

Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan Fanfiction.

Summary: A short and fluffy one-shot about Solas' and Lavellan's night at the Winter Palace's ball. This is rated mature but not explicit. 2'3K words.

Stars shone over Haramshiral, but Inquisitor Lavellan was in no mood to appreciate them. She wasn’t sure what was worse, all the murders, threats, and conspiracy, or every decision again weighing on her shoulders, or all the mean gossip and cruel, passive-aggressive comments about her and her advisors and friends.

She’d gone to one of the more secluded balconies, trying to hide from it all for as long as possible. How the dancing, celebration, politicking, and gossiping continued after what had happened was beyond her understanding. Morrigan had followed her out, and it seemed now she’d be her advisor too. Lavellan still didn’t know what to make of her.

Lavellan leaned over the balcony's railing when Morrigan left, glad to have time alone, but someone else walked out to join her. This time it was Solas, though, and his presence was more than welcome.

“I’m not surprised to find you out here,” he said as he leaned over the railing next to her. “Thoughts?”

Too many… She didn’t even know where to start.

“We came here to prevent a murder. Instead, several murders happened and we, I, sanctioned one. That death is on me.”

“You can’t save everyone,” Solas said, matter of fact, Lavellan didn’t know how he could sound so unbothered. “And these people playing what they call The Game, they know what can happen to them.”

“Still…I’m not sure this was the right thing to do…” Lavellan let out a sigh and Solas placed a hand on the small of her back, comforting. “Everyone’s saying this is a victory for Orlais and for us, but it doesn’t feel like it, and we all know this is only a temporary victory.”

“You’re right, there’s much trouble ahead.” Solas nodded, caressing her back with his knuckles before pulling her a bit closer. “But for now, focus on what’s in front of you.”

Lavellan looked at him with a small smile, reaching to stroke the side of his face and cup his cheek with her palm. “You are in front of me,” she told him softly. 

Solas turned his head to kiss her palm, and Lavellan felt her heart swelling as she looked at him smiling at her. He was looking so carefree that night, way more at ease at the ball than she, as if he was actually enjoying it.

“I think you might be a bit drunk, my love,” Lavellan teased, caressing Solas' cheek again.

“I am not!” Solas huffed and Lavellan laughed.

“No? I remember you saying that the food and drink were excellent, and that the servants were happy to refill your glass. How many glasses did you have?” Lavellan kept her teasing.

“I didn’t count,” Solas answered and Lavellan snorted.

“Okay…but you’re not even a bit drunk.”

“Not at all.”

Solas leaned to her and Lavellan thought he was going to kiss her, but then he turned his face to look inside the palace and pulled back. Lavellan wondered if he’d noticed someone approaching, but before she could ask, Solas bowed to her and reached out his hand.

“Come, before the band stops playing, dance with me.”

It took Lavellan by surprise, and for a second she could only blink at Solas, but then she took his hand, her smile growing. Solas had sounded so excited and hopeful, as if he had really been wanting to dance with her, it made her feel twirling butterflies on her belly

“Id’ love to.”

Solas pulled her close, one hand holding hers, the other on her waist, and as they danced, Lavellan’s troubles and worries seemed to pause even if only for a moment. Soon, she found herself grinning, enjoying the moment between them, and her heart fluttered at the way Solas looked at her while they danced. It was the first time she enjoyed herself that evening, and perhaps the ball had been worth it just for that moment.

The band stopped but Solas didn’t, and Lavellan let Solas lead her without music, dancing for a bit longer. Eventually, she stopped, wrapping her arms around Solas’ shoulders, pulling him close and kissing him. Solas kissed her back, holding her to him so tight that Lavellan almost had to cling to him to keep her balance.

Lavellan pulled back from the kiss but kept her arms around Solas, while he still held her close. “I know I’m supposed to be in there, letting people see me and forging alliances but I want to stay here longer…stay with me? Unless you can wait to go back to all that court intrigue you seem to love so much…” She teased.

Solas chuckled, pecking her lips before answering. “I can sacrifice the pleasures of the Orlesian ball in order to keep the Inquisitor company,” he joked back.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and Lavellan snuggled to his chest as they turned to look at the night sky again. Solas nuzzled her hair, then kissed the side of her head before leaning to kiss her lips. It was sweet, making Lavellan feel like she was melting as she kissed him back, holding to him.

She didn’t know when it had happened, but she knew she loved him, and she counted herself lucky that he seemed to love her too.

They stayed like that for a while, snuggled together, enjoying each other's company. Lavellan wouldn’t mind staying like that for the whole night, away from the ball and cuddled to Solas’ side, until they could watch the sunrise and finally go back to Skyhold.

They were interrupted sooner than they would have liked, though.

“Inquisitor…I’m sorry but you’re needed.” At Josephine’s voice, Lavellan pulled away from Solas and turned around to face her. 

Solas kept his hand on her waist, taking her by surprise. She didn’t mind it and she was certain pretty much every one of her companions and advisors knew that there was something between them, but still, Solas had been somewhat private about their relationship, and he’d mentioned how talks about the Inquisitor and an apostate elven mage may hurt the reputation Josephine was trying to craft.

“Sure…what happened now?” Lavellan tried not to sound annoyed, it was not Josephine’s fault.

“Nothing happened, but there’s a noble who’d like to speak with you, and we could really use the support of his house,” Josephine explained.

“Alright.” Lavellan sighed but gave Josephine a tired smile, before looking at Solas. “I’ll see you later, once all this is finished, please?”

She thought either Solas or Josephine might think it a bad idea, that they'd comment about the talk and gossip if someone knew about Solas going to the Inquisitor’s room that night, but he only nodded and Josephine graciously didn’t comment.

“Let’s go, then…”

*

When finally Lavellan was free to go to her room, she was more than glad to find Solas already there. He’d changed from his ball uniform back to casual clothes, and he was sitting down on the desk, reading, but he smiled at her as she walked in.

“Vhenan.”

“Love.” Lavellan greeted as she headed straight to the bed, dropping down on it with a tired sigh. “Finally it’s over. I can’t wait to go home tomorrow.”

“That bad?”

Lavellan wasn’t sure when she’d started to think of Skyhold as home, but at that moment, it felt like it.

Lavellan sighed and undid the buttons of the neck of her uniform, tugging at it. “Not bad, just….I don’t know, too much.  Everyone wants to speak to me, and I don’t know what to tell them or if I’m doing it right, despite Josephine's training, I think I’ve messed up a few times, and then some don’t come to speak to me but I can see them speaking about me, not nicely.” She scoffed.

“Pay them no mind, vhenan, you’ve done well today.”

Solas went to sit next to where she was lying, taking her legs and placing them on his lap. He unfastened the straps of her high boots and then took them off her, caressing her calves in the process. He did the same with her long gloves, tugging them down her arms and placing a kiss on each of her hands as he did.

“Thanks…” Lavellan gave him a soft smile, and she felt butterflies in her belly at his caring, sweet touch. “I probably shouldn’t be lying on a bunch of small knives.”

She sat up and unfastened her belt, which held three tiny blades to her back. She didn’t want to get up, and so she just dropped it to the floor. Next, she undid the cloth that wrapped around her waist like a belt and over her shoulder, and Solas helped her unwrap it from her, discarding it on the bed. Lastly, Lavellan undid the buttons of her jacket and took it off, dropping it to the floor next to the belt.

Once she was only on her undershirt and leggings, Lavellan leaned closer to kiss Solas’ lips before pulling back and falling on the mattress again. She tugged at Solas so he’d lie down with her and so he did, resting his head on her chest. Lavellan wrapped her arms around him, stroking his head softly.

“I’ve had enough of this court and its intrigue, but you’ll have to tell me about the ones you saw in the Fade.”

It took Solas a couple of seconds to answer. “You’ll fall asleep, vhenan.”

She snorted. “Right now, maybe yes. But I like it when you tell me about things you’ve seen in the Fade.” She felt Solas place a kiss on the arm that she’d wrapped around him, making her smile. “I don’t know how it was in the Fade but I didn’t like this court. I hated that they introduced you as the Inquisitor’s elven servant, it was not my doing.” 

Lavellan had wanted to speak up when it happened, but she knew it wouldn’t have been well received and she didn’t want to stress Josephine more.

“I know, vhenan. It didn’t work as I hoped, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nobles act like servants are invisible, talk as if they’re not around. I’d thought perhaps I could hear them say something of interest that they’d not say around you or your advisors,” Solas explained. “But it seems they took care not to gossip around me.”

“That’s smart.” Lavellan hadn’t thought of it that way. “There was this woman, though, she was talking about you, calling you the Inquisitor’s pet mage.” She scoffed, angry again just thinking about it. “I could have punched her. I think Josephine saw it on my face because suddenly she dragged me away because apparently I needed to be somewhere else.”

Solas chuckled, he didn’t seem as upset as Lavellan by what had happened. “You don’t need to defend my honor, vhenan,” he joked.

Lavellan brushed her fingers down Solas’ cheek and to his chin, gently lifting his head from her chest to make him look at her. “I’m going to do it anyway.”

Solas gave her a small, half smile, moving over her to kiss her. Lavellan kissed him back, her arms still wrapped around him.

What started soft and sweet soon turned heated, the kiss deepening as Solas pressed his body against hers, and Lavellan opened her legs further to accommodate his hips between hers.

Lavellan slid her hands under Solas’ shirt, caressing his warm skin, and he moaned softly into the kiss. His hips pinned her and she could feel him already hardening against her. Liquid heat pooled in Lavellan’s belly and she pressed her thighs harder against his sides.

One of Solas’ hands rested at the side of her head, his fingers tangling on her hair, and he slid his other hand up her thigh, stopping at the side of her butt, squeezing. Lavellan gasped, moaning against his lips as she lifted her hips to press her heat against him.

Lavellan tried to pull him even closer, if that was possible, but Solas did the opposite, pulling back. He was breathing hard, his eyes closed tight before he opened them to look at her.

“Solas?” Lavellan called his name softly when he didn’t say anything, and she stroked his face, cupping his cheek. “Something wrong?”

Solas swallowed hard before answering. “You should rest, vhenan.”

“I’m not tired.” All the events of the ball had drained her and she felt more than done with it, but Solas’ kisses had awakened her in more than one way. “But…it’s okay if you want to stop.”

It was not the first time Solas stopped and pulled back after stealing her breath and all thoughts with his kisses and touches. She didn’t understand why, and it was not that Lavellan wanted to press him for sex, not at all, but she could feel he wanted her too, and she didn’t know why he always stopped. He never said anything and she wasn’t sure how to ask without seeming pushy.

“Want is not the word I’d use,” Solas murmured, pulling further away from her and sitting up. Lavellan reached for his hand, afraid he might actually leave.

“Then?” She asked but Solas said nothing. “You can tell me…” She whispered.

Solas looked away from her. His eyes were sad, she’d noticed it before sometimes, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t know what was the cause of that sadness in him, and she wouldn’t push him to tell her, no matter how much she wanted to know. She could just hope one day he’d tell her.

“You’re right, we should rest.” She told him softly.

Lavellan blew the candles at the bedside table, still holding Solas’ hand, and got comfortable on the pillows. She tugged at Solas’ hand gently so he’d lie down with her again. He seemed hesitant for a second, but soon he was curling up with her, his head pillowed on her chest.

Lavellan wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her, one of her hands caressing his head, and she placed a kiss on top of it.

“Goodnight, my love,” she whispered.

Solas didn’t say anything, but she felt him snuggling even closer to her.

*

NA:

I just need to write fluffy, sweet things for this two while hoping they'll have happines in Veilguard.

I debated for so long about writing smut in this, I kept going back and forth, but finally Solas decided for me somehow, I kept trying to write it and he'd stop it (I know he's fictional and I write it but...I can't explain the feeling), words wouldn't flow anymore...she here we are, I decided to end the fic like this.

I might write a smutty one (as Cassandra would say), because I keep having thoughts of Lavellan and Solas on his couch and his desk..., if anyone's interested, we'll see if Mr.Solas agrees to smut the next time.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you liked it, please let me know in a comment, and as always, reblogs are more than welcome.

I hope to write more Solavellan, if anyone would be interested in reading it, although writing Solas is incredibly intimidating. But if you have something you want to see writen, let me know.

Excuse my English, it’s not my first language.

[inquisimail]

dai love interests' letters to the inquisitor in veilguard, if anyone was curious to see them. transcriptions in alt text & under cut

Amatus,

I'm writing. Again. Yes, the sending crystals still work and yes, you'll be in Minrathous in a few short weeks. But a letter, written in blind longing, is real. It can be touched, and it can be held, when ink and paper must substitute for your skin on mine and my breath in your ear.

I used to scoff at frequent declarations of affection. Trite, I thought. Save them for rare and precious moments. But time and love are no longer things I care to squander, especially not as we race again toward calamity. And so, in each of these fleeting, ephemeral seconds, I will tell you that I love you. Whether penned or spoken, or conveyed by glance or action, I love you. In this moment, and in all the moments to come, for as long as they do, I love you.

I will find you soon.

Yours, Dorian

---

My love,

You have summoned me to Minrathous, and I will answer your call, as soon as responsibilities here in the South allow. I have missed being by your side.

Will these troubles be the last we face? The world seems always to conspire, through duty or disaster, to pull you away from me. I do not resent it. You are dedicated to purposes far larger and more significant than myself. I hope you do not think me a fool for hoping that one day, your only concern will be the color you wish our walls to be painted, or the flowers we will plant beside our gate. I'm partial to carnations.

Yours always, Thom

---

My love,

We are no strangers to duty, or the separation it demands of us. You head for Tevinter, and though I want to go with you, there is work we both must do. I will not falter in the tasks that wait before me and I pray my actions, in whatever measure they can, will keep you safe.

The others see only confidence in my resolve, but you have always known more than mere appearance. I confess to you, and you alone, that I am afraid. I'm afraid of what may happen, that Thedas will face such turmoil as it did before. I know not what awaits us. Yet even in the face of uncertainty, there are two things I cannot doubt and never will. The first is that our paths are never separated long. That I will find you at my side when I need you, as you will find me at yours. I will play my part in this and follow as soon as I can.

The second thing I never doubt is you. Whatever lies before you, trust yourself. Trust your heart as I trust it. It will not lead you astray.

Yours, Cassandra

---

Hey, Kadan,

Not the first time we've marched toward different battles. I know you're keeping the crap from catching fire up in Tevinter. Wish I could be there, but I'll make sure there's a world for you to come back to when you're done dealing with crazy vints and stupid Antaam and whatever other crap Solas kicked up. (Shit, the Antaam. Remember when I was worried what would happen if I went tal-vashoth? That right there!)

I know you're gonna be careful, and you've got Morrigan there. Just take care of yourself. If anything happens to you, I'm going to have to take Krem and the Chargers and stomp across all of Tevinter to come get you. It'll be a whole thing, and you know it'll upset Dorian.

Being apart from you made me realize something else. I spent so long being whatever the Ben-Hassrath wanted me to be. An investigator. An agent. A mercenary sending reports. These past years, since the Inquisition ended, I've been able to be just what I want to be.

And what I really want to be is yours. I like the person I am when I'm with you.

So come back safe.

Love, The signature appears to be a stylized rendering of the Iron Bull's head.

---

(An artistically doodled journal page presumably from the Inquisitor's partner, Sera.)

Keep this as close as I need you. (A drawing of a pile of flowers, with lines like it's moving, an arrow pointing to it labeled "us.")

North again, Mini-wrathus still stuck up its own pucker.

Magiturds are scared of us. They don't even know.

We work with Maevaris, right? She's wow.

So many Friends! Jennies in all the walls!

We kill him this time. He took from us twice! (A drawing of a cracked egg scribbled out, with "can't even joke" in letters that tore the page.)

Still thinking of you sideways.

Never mind the Dalish, here's the Veil Jumpers! Tempest-kin! (A drawing of a tall, shorthaired elf (Sera?) and Irelin brandishing two fingers, backflipping as a tree explodes in runes.)

The memory thing makes my head spin. If that Rook doesn't take it, throw it out.

Tell Morrigan ppbbth! for me.

I'll also tell her ppbbth! She knows why.

Tell them to Stripe. Him. Up. I wanted more books. (More heavy scribbles that tear.)

You meet; I'll keep you safe. Then I'm your time off, and you're my time on.

(The last section has different colored inks, like Sera has returned to it several times.)

New naked names: -Sweet-tits (scribbled out) -Bestest (scribbled out) -Loverly (scribbled out) -Lovey (scribbled out) -My-for-always-and-ever - name's not too long, time's too short. -But "Sweet-tits," though (scribbled out)

---

The top of the letter has been punctured by small, sharp teeth, leaving most of a beloved name and a few sentences too chewed to read.

I fear the puppy started on this letter shortly after I did. I'd start over, but I must send this tonight if it's to reach you. Matters are settled here and I make for Tevinter as soon as possible.

I almost believed chaos might spare us this time. I can't say I wished to see Minrathous before now, but I am eager to see you. I long to see your face and know that you're all right. You are— I've— There's— I wish that I was better at putting into writing all that's in my mind. For now, simply know that I love you. It is the most cherished constant of my life.

The days ahead will not be easy. I know there's much you carry, more than many realize. But whatever you must face, you will not meet it alone. You have my sword, my counsel, my—I could write this list forever when all I mean to say is this—

Whatever you need of me, I am yours.

Cullen

---

My Dearest Lady, / My Dearest Lord,

I have spoken to friends in Minrathous. They offer us their hospitality, not to mention shelter from the worst intrigues of the Archon's Palace. While you're well acquainted with the roving eyes of grand courts, please take care. Tevinter's regard can be the oldest and cruelest of them all.

The family writes the weather back home is beautiful. I do miss our quiet times together.

There is a question I've wanted to ask you for so long. I would like to pretend I have been busy, or it was not the proper time. But, if I am being honest, I only waited because I have been afraid of choosing a poor moment. Please, let me make a promise to you here.

When we return to Antiva, I will ask you, on the steps of the estate, if you will do me a great honor. And I dream you will say yes.

Always yours, Josephine

Postscript: I cannot believe it nearly slipped my mind. Yvette and Lord Otranto send their best wishes, and hope to see us back home in time to welcome their third child.

[kcwriter-blog]

Someone on another social media platform brought up a point that I’ve never thought about or heard talked about much - at least not with this phrasing.

I’m sure other people have brought it up but I feel the need to talk about it anyway. The person said that we may all just be pieces on Flemeth’s chessboard. It resonated with me. We talk about Solas being a chess master and tactician but we don’t talk about Flemeth or really Mythal.

Flemeth took in whatever part of Mythal’s spirit remained after her murder. They made a deal. Mythal would help her get revenge and Flemeth would return the favor. Obviously it would take longer for Mythal to get her revenge because she would need to be stronger.

Flemeth body hops down through the centuries. She gives events a nudge or even a shove when needed. What exactly has she been nudging? We know Mythal’s end game but how will it play out?

Her daughter Yavanna was raising dragons. She wanted Morrigan to do the Dark Ritual to get a purified archdemon soul. She saved some heroes - Hawk - and extracts promises from others - Merric. Why? How will it help her win the game?

Who is to say that she didn’t call Solas out of the Fade when all her pieces were in place? She needs him to take down the Veil. It seems to be the one thing she can’t do herself. But, she had to be ready or she wouldn’t have asked him to come.

If Kieran is in your world state you find her in the Fade. It seems to be pretty natural to her. As natural as it is for Solas.

Flemeth has been in all three games. Everyone knows she is important but what is her game and who is she playing against? What is Solas? Her mage/bishop? Her pawn? Her tower/castle/rook?

Is she as willing as Solas to sacrifice her best pieces so she can win? Mythal has definitely been playing the long game.

Another question is whether or not she is doing this just for herself and her revenge or does she want to help Thedas. Is she okay with Solas putting up the Veil in the first place? Does she think he betrayed the world by doing it? Does she want revenge against Solas? Is she hoping he will die doing what she needs him to do?

So many questions….

[girlwithadragonheart]

Chapter 2 - A Mourning Crow

This story contains major spoilers for Dragon Age the Veilguard. Read at your own discretion!!

Rook x Lucanis

Summary: Lucanis invites Rook for coffee ;3. Arrangements for Caterina's funeral are made. Lucanis and Rook share feelings over cookies.

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Spoilers, cursing, mentions of death

A/N: A shorter one for some bonding <3

Chapter 1 DATV Masterlist Chapter 3

Meeting with the Shadow Dragons didn’t go quite as horribly as I’d expected. Tarquin looked more surprised to see me than anything. “Welcome home, Rook. Try not to get yourself run out of the city again,” he said.

“No promises,” I told him with a smirk.

We set off to take care of the relic that had fallen into the Venatori’s hands. Lucanis and Neve trailed me as we made our way through Dock town.

“You didn’t tell me you were a Shadow Dragon, Rook,” Lucanis said.

“It was only a couple years. Just long enough to have to leave,” I glanced at him over my shoulder. “They didn’t want to risk taking out a slavery ring, so Varric and I did it ourselves. Every magister in Minrathous was hot on my tail after that,” I chuckled. “It was the first job I ever did with Varric, and it was the day I joined him.”

“The day he picked you up off the streets, more like,” Neve teased.

“It sounds like he means a lot to you,” Lucanis said thoughtfully.

“Of course he does,” I said simply. “He saved me.”

“You. Saved. Us!” Spite’s voice hissed through Lucanis’s lips.

I shrugged. “I had help.”

Neve grinned. “Shadow Dragons stick together,” she said simply.

After trekking all over Dock Town and fighting a Tevinter Magister asshole who got off the hook cause his daddy’s got money, we were back at the lighthouse. I was exhausted but I also did not want to see Solas. That was something Lucanis and I had in common, not wanting to sleep and unwanted tenants in our heads. 

I went across the courtyard to the dining room. The table was now set for the whole team. Next to the fireplace was a hanging grocery list in Lucanis’s handwriting. The assassin had tucked himself in the pantry behind the dining room.

I suppose it would be odd to expect him to adapt so quickly to being out in the open after spending a year in the prison. I just hoped he was comfortable.

I knocked on the door and he opened it, cup of coffee in hand. He smiled a bit when he saw me. “Rook, Illario sent word. He’s got intel on Zara. He wants to meet up. Fancy a trip to Treviso?” He asked.

“Sounds like fun,” I smiled. “We can head out soon.”

It was hard to know what time it was in the Fade. The sky never really changed and there was no indication of the sun. When we left Minrathous the sun was setting. I wasn’t disappointed about getting to see Treviso at night. The barest piece I had seen when we met Teia had captivated me more than Minrathous ever could.

Lucanis and I stepped through the eluvian together into the Cantori Diamond. He led me through the tower and down the spiral staircase. There was a zip line across to another rooftop that I clung to while we swung across. I jumped down to the lower roof beside it before sliding down the lattice. If I remembered right this was the same way Teia had taken us on the way in.

Instead of going across the bridge, Lucanis veered to the right and took us down an alleyway leading to the market.

“Illario will meet us at Cafe Pietra, it’s not that far from here. We have time before he arrives, I wouldn’t mind looking around a while,” Lucanis told me.

“I wouldn’t either. I’m sure Treviso has lots of sights to see. What I’ve seen of your city is beautiful,” I answered. Something in this place sung to my soul.

“The markets are open… good. I have some things I need to get,” he said. “Treviso… I barely had time to look around after the Ossuary.”

“Has it changed much?” I asked curiously as we browsed the stalls.

“In some ways more than I expected. But then… perhaps it’s me.” We wandered for a moment before Lucanis made a stop in front of a stall.

“A potted plant?” I asked.

“For Harding’s garden. Spearmint is supposed to calm bad dreams. It’s good in desserts too.” I nodded thoughtfully. He led me to another stall. “Bellara mentioned a danish seafood recipe she wants to make,” he said.

“The Demon of Vyrantium is grocery shopping for the team,” I said with amusement.

“Have you seen what they eat? It’s a miracle you didn’t all starve before you hired me,” he said exasperated, leading me to a produce stall. “Fresh fruit,” he sighed. “Neve only eats fried fish. You’d think a detective would have discovered scurvy by now.”

I laughed. “Is that everything on the list?”

“Yes, and Illario should be here by now. Let’s go meet him before he gets himself into some kind of trouble.”

I hummed, walking back through the market. “Just one last thing,” I said, approaching the blacksmithing stall. My eyes roved over the selection before a tossed some gold at the trader, picking up my gift.

I smiled, handing it to Lucanis. “You can’t buy something for everyone but yourself. Here this is for you.”

“A wyvern-tooth dagger?” His eyes went wide when I handed it to him. “I loved wyverns as a boy. Caterina would never let me have one of these, though.”

I just smiled at him before he led us to the cafe to meet Illario.

When we entered, the air was warm and thick with the scent of coffee. It was enough to make my mouth water. I sat down across from Illario and Lucanis sat to my left between us. 

“Finally! I thought you might leave me here all by my lonesome,” Illario said as we sat down. I shifted in my seat, keeping my gaze on Lucanis. The presence he put off made me feel calmer.

“Please,” Lucanis said. “You think I’d ever pass up Cafe Pietra’s coffee?”

“You see, Rook? My cousin is all stomach and no heart,” Illario said.

Lucanis grinned, looking over at me. “Don’t mind him. Illario cannot appreciate anything but himself.” There was a light in his eyes that made him seem younger. A light that likely disappeared in the Ossuary. “They serve a specialty roast here: Andoral’s Breath. Bitter and sweet like a kiss goodbye. You should try it,” he told me.

“Bitter’s good. Chocolate is better,” I said with a grin.

“They have cioccolata calda. It was my favorite drink as a child,” Lucanis said, amused.

“I think you’re shaming me, but I’m ordering the choco-chico thing,” I crossed my arms. Lucanis tipped his head back and laughed. “Two Crows and a Shadow Dragon walk into a cafe. It sounds like the beginning of a very bad joke.” Even Illario cracked a smile with that one. “To business?”

“Our final listener left when Lucanis started making out with the idea of coffee,” Illario crossed his arms, shifting in his seat.

Lucanis grinned. “What can I say? I take it very seriously. So. You have something?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows braced on the table.

My eyes trailed the leanness of his body, built for agility and precision, unlike me. My body was a conduit for my power despite my preference of a dagger in combat.

“The Crows I sent after Zara have picked up her trail. They say she’s gone to Vyrantium,” Illario said.

My eyes flicked over his face. “If she was here in Treviso to kill Caterina, she can’t be in Vyrantium already.” I glanced at Lucanis, and the corners of his lips twitched.

“Rook’s right. Zara’s given you a false lead, cousin.”

“You have better information?” Illario questioned.

“We’re compromised,” Lucanis said simply. “There’s no other way Zara could even touch Caterina. You need your eyes here. In Antiva.”

“Zara would never be foolish enough to stay. Not with you out for blood,” Illario said.

Lucanis put his hands together. “Of course she would. If the Crows protecting her are here.”

Illario looked to me. “Rook, reason with him, would you? He’s being paranoid.” Something about the way he purred that made me uncomfortable.

“I am not paranoid! She came after me. She came after Caterina. She will come for you, too,” Lucanis pushed.

Illario scowled. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll clean house, all right? Leave this to me.” He stood and left the room. 

I walked him out, leaving Lucanis to think. He looked at me, nodded and shook my hand before heading off. As I walked back into the cafe, I wiped my hand on my leathers. “He’s gone,” I said as I sat down next to Lucanis.

“Of course he is. Illario always caves under pressure,” Lucanis scowled.

“Your cousin only seems to hear about one word in ten,” I said, picking up my chocolate drink that Lucanis had ordered for me while I was out.

“He’s always been this way. He hears what he wants to hear.” Lucanis swirled his cup, bringing it to his lips and taking a deep inhale of the brew, sighing. He took a sip, eyes closed in contentment as he savored the drink. He looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.

I grinned. “Bitter and sweet, you called that blend. Like a kiss goodbye. So what would a first kiss be?” I asked thoughtfully.

“Honey and lavender cream. Sweet, intriguing…” He said smoothly. “And you? How would you describe it?” He asked.

“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” I said. “I’ve never had one. There’s just never been… well…” What was I even going to say? A person? No. An opportunity? A choice? 

Lucanis smiled softly. “In matters of the heart, one must be discerning.”

“When it’s right, you know,” I said.

“I’ve always thought that to live truly is to live fully. But even before I was captured, my life was not really my own. So much had been determined for me,” he told me.

“You must have found time for a little trouble along the way. And if you didn’t, I can find you some now,” I smiled.

“We’ll see. You don’t know how much trouble I can handle yet. How’s your cioccolata calda?” He asked.

“Just sweet enough to intrigue me.” I took another sip, sitting back and letting my shoulders drop. I felt Lucanis’s eyes on me. “Thank you for this,” I said. “For getting me out of the Lighthouse. And for the drink.”

“Anytime, Rook,” he said. “I mean that.” And I believed him.

“Ready to head back?” I asked.

“In a while,” he said, looking off into the distance, swirling his coffee. “Do we have a minute?” He asked, looking back at me.

My brow furrowed. “Of course. Is something wrong?”

“Teia wants to meet,” Lucanis said.

“I’d never pass up the chance.”

“She wants to plan Caterina’s funeral,” he said darkly, looking into his drink.

“Oh,” my face fell. “Right.”

“If you don’t mind, I… could use some backup. In case Spite gets out of hand,” he said carefully.

“Of course, Lucanis. Let’s not keep her waiting.” I stood, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. His muscles were taut, and I pulled away. “Sorry.”

“No,” he said. “It’s alright.” He looked up at me and stood. “Thank you.”

—-------------------------------------

Illario and Teia met us at the Cantori Diamond.

“Good! You’re here,” she said upon seeing us.

“Thank you for making the arrangements, Teia,” Lucanis said.

“For Caterina… how could I do otherwise?” She said with a frown. “I’m so sorry, Lucanis. This must be such a blow.” She looked over at me with a smile. “Rook, thank you for coming with him. I need one Dellamorte to plan this. His cousin has been no help at all.” She put her hands on her hips.

“I’m sorry, Teia. This is just… too much right now,” Illario said.

“If there’s anything I can do, just say the word,” I told them.

“You’re such a dear. I hope these two are paying attention,” Teia smiled at me.

“Teia. Don’t flirt with my… colleague,” Lucanis said, looking wounded.

“Jealous?” She smirked. “Fine, to business then. There’s a lot to plan. But first, I need the ashes.”

“Ashes?” Illario asked, dumbfounded.

“Maker help us, yes, the ashes! Caterina’s ashes. From the cremation?” Teia asked.

“Oh. Yes. Of course. I’ll get them to you right away,” he said.

“Illario… what happened?” Lucanis asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Caterina. How…? How did the Venatori get to her? When? Where? In the estate? In the city? How did they get past our people? What did they use? Poison? Blades? I need to know,” Lucanis questioned. 

“Cousin, stop,” Illario chided. “You can’t dwell on this. It’ll drive you mad.”

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, that pissed me off. Illario couldn’t dictate how people handle grief, and Lucanis had perfectly good reasons for needing to know those things.

“I’m not dwelling,” Lucanis argued. “Zara killed the First Talon. I have to know how if I’m going to stop her.”

“I told you, I’m handling it.” I glanced sidelong at Illario, trying to gauge if it was just me getting annoyed or not. This wasn’t even my group of people and he was pissing me off. It felt dismissive. Lucanis had earned more respect than that, even from his cousin.

“Boys!” Teia said. “Enough of this. We have other things to discuss.”

“My apologies, Andarateia. Continue without me. I’ll… get you the ashes,” Illario excused himself.

Lucanis had a scowl on his face when I looked at him. “How are you holding up?” I asked.

“I’ll be fine. Better, once we kill Zara Renata. It’s him I’m worried about,” he told me.

“Illario can be a handful, but this… the only time I’ve seen him like this was when Lucanis died,” Teia told me. She looked over at Lucanis. “You’re worrying, aren’t you? What will people say if they hear the Demon of Vyrantium has a big soft heart?”

“He’s been careless at times, but never when his own life was on the line. Zara took down the First Talon. Anyone could be next. And my cousin doesn’t want to think about it,” Lucanis said, frustrated.

“You have a point,” Teia said. “It’s not like Illario to ignore a knife coming at him.”

“What do you need from me for the funeral?” Lucanis asked.

“I’ve already handled everything, I just wanted to run it by you,” she smiled sadly.

“Our house owes you for handling all of this,” Lucanis told her.

“Caterina was family. Can you imagine what she’d say if she saw us all like this?” Teia questioned.

“She’d be furious. Especially at Illario. As usual,” Lucanis grinned.

“I barely know your cousin, and he already seems like trouble to me,” I told him.

“Oh, he is,” Lucanis nodded. “I’ve lost count of the times I���ve had to pull him out of the fire on the job.”

“He’s a good assassin. Most jobs don’t have as many fires as yours do. I’ll have my people keep an eye on him for you,” Teia assured him.

“Thank you, Teia,” Lucanis said. The grief he carried was evident in his voice.

“Go on,” she said to us. “I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

—-----------------------------------

Flour coated my hands and clothes as I mixed the dough between my hands for the cookies I was making. I couldn’t sleep, or at the least didn’t want to, and I had my thoughts to myself while my hands were busy. 

Soon enough, I had them baking. Lucanis eased out of the pantry, squinting into the dim glow of the kitchen. The sweet, buttery smell of baking cookies was unmistakable. I smiled at him from where I leaned against the counter. 

“Perfect timing,” I said as I set the fresh batch in front of me. “Midnight snack?”

“You bake?” He asked, coming over to eye my handy work. “You never cease to surprise me.” His eyes trailed over the cookies, leaning against the counter beside me, gaze lingering on me as I worked.

“I’d hate to become boring,” I said with a smile. “I don’t really like sleeping these days,” I told him. “I… I can’t seem to escape Solas when I do. He invades my dreams. It’s like I’m trapped in them, and nothing feels real when I wake up.”

He studied me for a moment. “We are more similar than I anticipated.”

He reached for a cookie, and my eyes went wide, “Careful–!”

He picked it up with a smirk. “I can handle it,” he said, taking a bite. “This is delicious.” His eyes slipped closed and I laughed.

I brought the tray of cookies to the dining table. Lucanis sat across from me. “How are you feeling about everything?” I asked him.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t know. After the Ossuary, nothing feels real.”

“What about Caterina?” I asked. “What was she like?”

“Caterina was… strong,” he said slowly. “She was fierce and never backed down from anything, sometimes to our detriment. She never stopped. Not until she was forced to,” he told me.

“She seemed like someone who could calm storms or raise them,” I said to him. “I could’ve used someone like her in my corner.”

Lucanis’s gaze softened, and his fingers twitched as though he fought the urge to reach out. “She would have liked you,” he said quietly. “I think she would’ve seen something in you, something… worth protecting.”

“Varric used to say that. Do you know what he said when I asked why he chose me?” I couldn’t help but smile thinking about my friend and mentor. “He said, “There’s a reason I brought you into this mess. You’re clever. Adaptable. And you don’t know when to quit”. He said it was my best and worst quality.”

“He was right in that regard,” Lucanis said with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes.

The quiet stretched between us, and the sound of Spite’s voice filled the space before his aspect appeared in the chair beside Lucanis. “How sweet. Two poor souls, drowning their feelings over cookies.”

“Okay, but, have you tried one?” I picked a cookie up, reaching to hand it to Spite.

“Rook—” Lucanis began.

“Smells like. Chocolate. And Rook.” Spite sniffed the cookie.

“Yes, I made them. Try it,” I urged with a grin.

I watched Spite try a tiny piece before shoving the whole cookie in his mouth. “More.”

I laughed. “By all means, Mischief,” I said, pushing the tray toward him. “There are plenty to share.”

“Spite doesn’t scare you?” Lucanis asked, watching the encounter play out curiously.

“We’re up against gods. No, Spite doesn’t scare me. And you two didn’t deserve what you went through in the prison. I can’t fault him for being angry any more than I can fault you.”

Lucanis studied me, his gaze softening with a touch of admiration. “You’re far more understanding than most. I think it’s why Spite has taken a strange liking to you.”

I shrugged, popping another cookie into my mouth, scoring the sweet warmth as Spite continued to wolf down more. “I don’t know about that.”

Lucanis’s eyes lingered on me as I leaned back in my chair, and for a moment, the weight of the silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt… familiar, like the calm before the storm, or the soft hum of a connection that was only beginning to form.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” he asked quietly, his voice carrying the weight of understanding that so often showed in me.

I paused, unsure of how to answer. It felt easier to just nod. “A lot more than I ever wanted to, and yet… here I am. I think I’ve gotten used to it. Surviving. Trying not to let the nightmares take over.”

Lucanis leaned forward, his elbows on the table. His gaze was intense, but not in a way that made me feel cornered. It was as if he was searching, but not with a sense of urgency. He wasn’t probing; he was simply trying to see. “I know what it’s like to carry that weight,” he said quietly, his voice lowering. “The fear. The doubt. The need to keep moving, even when it feels like it would be easier to just stop.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “You’re not alone in this.”

“I’m not alone, ever,” he said with a pointed glance at Spite who just grinned menacingly.

“You know what I mean.” I reached over, taking his hand on the table and rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. “We aren’t alone. Any of us. Something to think about,” I said before standing. “Thank you for tonight.”

“You know I’m a sucker for good food,” Lucanis smirked slightly. “Even when the world outside is a bit chaotic.”

“More than I bit,” I laughed. 

But for now, the cookies were still warm, and the night, however fleeting, was ours to share.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I'm so tired ;-;

Let me know if you wanna be added to a tag list!

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Losing My Mind Over Veilguard 6/?? Aka the Dread Wolf Double Bind

These posts are getting up here in number (yes ma'am that is 1 2 3 4 5 instances of me not being able to get my shit together and coming back again for more)

and quite frankly there's nothing I can do about it until the "we've been treated and tormented by this game" demon has been exorcised from my body, so here we go again.

Today I give to you:

(Modeled after Inquisition Solas and his sad, bald-ass basset hound mage bum glory becuase I think it's important that newcomers know exactly who his fans fell in love with/who inspired his enemies to conduct speed-runs to punch him. Yassified Solas ran only because this mangled membranous man crawled first)

Part of what's making me lose my mind here, I've discovered, is a strange sort of survivor's guilt where everything I really like or really hate about Veilguard can be traced back to Solas and I don't know how to deal with it because we've never had such a divide before between one character getting ALL the content and everyone else from their game being left in the absolute dust.

Disclaimer: Yeah, no one from Origins has had more screen time across games than Morrigan at this point, and therefore no one has gotten more robbed of the substance of their character, but even the damage done to her wasn't the kind that warped an entire game. No, the devs saved that all for the Dread Wolf in the Room.

Even putting it down on paper and comparing the two in-game versions of him, it took me a second to work through why I'm so conflicted, but I think I've finally settled on a few key points.

Concern #1: Solas Haters Were Robbed.

Part of the allure of Solas is that if you want to punch that man in the face, you're gonna get the chance to punch him in the face. Is that my personal preference? No. But in a game where your companions are built to make you think instead of letting you turn your brain off, you're bound to have personalities that clash against yours. To have such a non-descript-looking iambic-pentameter-talking apostate be able to inspire strong emotions across the whole spectrum of players was part of his appeal. Now, as far as I understand it, you have four options at the end of Veilguard.

1. Solas lives and he might actually not hate himself some day.

2. Solas lives and he's absolutely going to write a diary entry a night about why he hates himself.

3. Solas lives and he's going to write a diary entry a night about why he hates YOU.

4. Solas lives and you better hope he never again figures out how to live in your general vicinity

Do you see my concern here? I, shamelessly, can admit that I would do unspeakable fictional things to get that man his happy ending (within reason...mostly...), but I feel like the game took the opportunity away from the players who threw that knife in their map at the end of Trespasser and vowed to take a bitch down for stealing their best armor and waxing poetic about the Grey Wardens while seemingly sitting on his ass and having no inclination to stop the blight (help). This, then, leads me into my second issue.

Concern #2: The Game Refuses to Give Solas room outside of its own agenda

In the near-decade it took for Solas to slip back into his trickster god persona, he seems to have forgotten why he began his quest to tear down the veil in the first place. I like that Rook gets to experience the version of our favorite hard boiled egg that near-singlehandedly tore down several empires by being an absolute terror to those with bigger egos. I like that new players are going to hear Solas tell them that they've earned his respect and actually believe it until they inevitably get their first taste of ancient elven betrayal. What I don't like? When a nuanced yearning for a world in which three majorly mistreated groups (spirits, elves, mages) would be free from many of the constraints that enabled their oppression suddenly becomes "I am doing this because if I don't I have betrayed my friend. Which friend you ask? Oh, the one that was on board with my plan until it no longer suited the story."

The combo of few characters from previous games and a sanitized near-blank slate for the setting of this game was deadly to one of its best-written characters. Because of it, Solas is forced to abandon his double-speak, the joy he takes in giving you scraps of an answer that, by the time you get it, you will already have missed the chance to piece it together from separate clues that he ALSO dropped. He's not going to get to show you the loyal followers the epilogue of Inquisition made clear that he has, because the game wants to usher you into the new future of the series. You're not going to get to ask him (or any NPCs for that matter) a bunch of questions so that you can form your own opinion of him, because all that matters is that he isn't Elgar'nan or Ghilan'nain so let's move along, shall we?

Because the game needs exposition and a foil to its two other baddies, and needs it FAST, the mythic Dread Wolf becomes a plot device designed to get you where you need to go when you need to be there. It doesn't work purely for that reason alone, at least in my opinion, but it gets so much worse when a game that promises you that it's going to work for players new and old relies on someone experienced players want a personal reckoning with to guide every Rook through the game only to realize that those questions of morality regarding whether the veil is torturous for a subjugated few or the only thing preserving most of life as we know it are going to have to remain questions.

You don't get a choice of whether Solas is in your party or not, and you can't advance in the game without talking to him. You don't get to choose not to impress him. You don't get to choose whether you're going to work with him in the final battle, and as previously mentioned, your only real choice in how his story ends is one of four options in which he lives every time in varying states of self-loathing. You're still going to love him or hate him, but just how strongly you're able to show those feelings towards him is severely curtailed. And that's an absolute shame for a character that commanded such fierce attention.

And that's where, ultimately, I find myself with a weird amount of survivor's guilt.

When I finished my Veilguard playthrough, I had barely a moment to fully contemplate the amount of whiplash and disappointment I felt going from a Solas that I had spent almost a decade knowing to a One Dimensional Fen'Harel who threw out his core values and goals like they were chilling in a cup of tea before. Why? Because I very quickly felt guilty. And then I got angry for feeling guilty!

The game's failure to adequately represent its other characters and lore has created a world in which I don't like the Solas we've been given, but I can't live without him either. Who am I to complain that his most complex and compelling features are gone when other players are mourning the fact that the last they may ever hear of their favorite character is reduced to a scrap in the codex? How can I be frustrated at how the Lavellan reunion scene goes down when other players would kill for the chance to have their Inquisitor seemingly give any sort of shit about being in the game aside from being told it was mandatory to earn participation points? How can I lament the fact that his storyline seems to share all the wrong lessons to be learned from a toxic friendship rooted in a never-equalized power imbalance when someone else is watching Morrigan pull a complete 180 and wondering why the fuck they spent so much time researching whether or not her accepting her mother's choices as her own was what she truly wanted? At least Solas still loves Lavellan, even though we needed to ask Trick Weekes several follow up questions just to double check. At least Solas gets more in the epilogue than one empty "we remember the heroes that came before" platitude.

And to suddenly fear any appearances of past characters from a studio that used to make me stay up theorizing about how a character might grow and evolve and continue to impact the world I helped shape? It's depressing as hell, and it's why I was too scared to get attached to any of the new companions once I finally got past the writing and lack of complexity.

The people that hate Solas, deserved better.

The people that valued what he brought to their Inquisitor's small but strong group of friends deserved better.

The people that love Solas more than Sera loved pissing him off deserved better.

And new players, who had a chance to engage with one of the most powerful storylines in the game and instead got a heaping dose of Deus Ex Machina Lite, deserved better.

If taking a character that had the potential and power needed to shape an entire continent and banishing him one of four different ways to Fade jail so that the book could quickly be closed on a years-long legacy is what the studio is calling a return to their roots, I'll stick with the efforts of fans to create art and theories that aren't afraid to double down into what actually keeps people coming back for more.

[thedastravelerer]

I just finished the Dragon Age Veilguard and I need to scream my thoughts into the internet void.

My Rook, Lucrezia, was bought along with other kids by the house de Riva when she was 3 years old. She doesn't remember anything before that. When her magic manifested at the age of 8, she begged Viago not to send her to the Circle. Viago saw great potential in the little elven chaos gremlin, so he decided to hire private tutors for her. From the age of 14, she became Viagos apprentice, accompanying him everywhere. Her sunny, bubbly personality was a great distraction in social settings. She was the Robin and Viago was the Batman, basically.

Inquisitor romanced Solas.

So that is the viewpoint, from which I experienced the game.

The good:

The music is AMAZING

The environments are gorgeous

Spellblade is sooo much fun. The perfect mix of rogue and mage.

Treviso is so beautiful. I am never saving Minrathous. That sh*thole can get swallowed by the ocean.

The final missions were great. The tension, the loss, the heartbreak, the betrayal—10/10. No notes.

Baby griffons

The conversations/dynamic between Lucanis/Spite and Taash crack me up

The dynamic between Viago and Lucrezia was everything I could have hoped for. I still laugh when I remember the letter from Viago starting with "IDIOT".

Viago and Teia—I would die for them. Every time they flirt, I picture Lucrezia sticking fingers into her ears and going LALALALA. I don't want those pictures in my head.

Harding wins the competition for the prettiest room in the Lighthouse.

I love the little offhand comments and banter between all of the Crows. It was fun to hear Lucanis or Lucrezia randomly mention Viago or Teia. It really painted a picture of them knowing each other for a long time and being able to poke fun at each other.

I loved Lucanis as a character. Also, the 3-way relationship between Rook-Spite-Lucanis is perfect. I loved that when Lucanis learns about Caterina being alive, he shuts down and Spite is like: "What?! Why are you putting more locks into our prison? I AM GETTING ROOK! :D

The "Solas therapy" ending was heartwarming (and also a bit funny)

I loved Solas as a character. I see, why he is the god of trickery and lies. And how his wisdom turned into pride. I just wish I could slap that stubborn liar. Just once.

You know it is real love when you spent the last few hours chomping on an archedemon and your Vhenan still kisses you.

I liked the relationship progression between Davrin and Lucanis. They went from open hostility to mutual respect to drinking buddies.

Lucanis questioning Bellara and Neve about their business decisions was hilarious. Crows are first and foremost business people.

Isseyas storyline. I just wish they delved deeper into her story instead of getting an infodump. I enjoyed seeing how the blight twisted her grief and regrets. How she remembered only her love for the griffons she saved. And the blight corrupted that love, forcing her into horrible mistakes.

The bad:

The story is so shallow in comparison to previous games. All of the nuance is gone. There is no Loghain, no Meredith and Orsino, no Anders. Everyone is either the good guy or the bad guy. Maybe except for the Butcher and Isseya.

A lot of the darker, complicated, interesting themes are ignored. After the Antaam Qunari (Sten in DAO), the Ben-Hassrath Qunari (Bull in DAI) we finally meet a scholar of Qun and we get NOTHING interesting from her. We can't have a deeper conversation about the Qun. We can't even talk about her hypocrisy of running away from the very rules she forces on Taash. The Antaam are the a$$holes and everyone else following the Qun is good. Until they disagree with their assigned role in life and get their mind broken until they fit the mold again. But we don't get to learn that.

Who TF is Anaris? Why is he the Forgotten One? What does it even mean? What beef did he have with the Evanuris? We don't get to learn that. We get MWHAHAHA I AM SOOO EVIL. Boring and disappointing. It would have been much more interesting if he convinced Cyrian his sister was a pawn for the Dread Wolf. There could have been a conflict between elves choosing Anaris, who promised them power after their gods turned out to be a$$holes, and elves choosing a new, free path.

Are we not going to address the EXECUTIONER in the room? Who is he? Where did he come from? Why is he totally cool working a desk job in the Necropolis?

We finally see Kal-Sharok and we learn almost nothing about the dwarves living there. How did they survive? How do they govern themselves? What is the culture like?

I don't understand the Titan powers Harding has. Like, I get the concept, but the details are confusing.

I am sick of the words "ritual" and "artifact"

The quests "press button in three places" or "destroy/place crystals so they link/unlink" were a bit repetitive.

Characters sometimes have lapses in memory. Ferelden has fallen to the blight, but Emmerich and Harding are going camping there... Mmmmkay. Rook, baby, you have used the teleport vortex like three times before. We have 2 in the Lighthouse.

I love Lucanis, but his romance is very undercooked. I get, that he pushes a lot of emotions down, and flirting is just another weapon the Crows use to get to their targets. But we see no inner turmoil in banter, no notes wondering about Rook. He touches Rook exactly once - in the romance scene at the very end. They never even address the almost kiss.

The brutality of the life of Crow recruits is smoothed over to be nice and family-like. We are talking about an organization that buys enslaved children and forces them into hunger games to shape them into elite assassins.

The widespread Tevinter slavery is mentioned minimally. The only mention might be the codex of Dorians speech in the Magisterium. Their whole social system is built on slavery and caste system. We don't get to talk to Neve about any of it.

Most of the helmets are hideous.

The "stealing cultural stuff is wrong and we, the pirates and treasure hunters, are not doing it. We are the good guys!" talk you have with Taash right when you meet her was so jarring. Like, it makes sense, because Isabella is in charge. It would have been funnier and less preachy if they went with "We don't steal cultural stuff, because Isabella stole something from the Qunari once and it was a sh*tshow".

No dirt, no persistent gore

You don't get to have deep conversations with your followers. Instead, you get to read their diaries and letters in the codex. I felt like a creep snooping through their notes and letters to each other. Same feeling with the Lighthouse banter.

I miss the more abrasive followers. Everyone is high on friendship. Why is no one protesting against the demon-possessed assassin cooking all of our meals? Why isn't Bellara more wary about the Tevinter mage? Emmerich gets a lot of sh*t for the creepiness, but nobody questions the morality of using body parts as Legos.

I wish we could choose a class for the Inquisitor. She looked so ridiculous and out of place in the last fight. She is one of the most fearsome fighters in Thedas and she wears the blandest outfit possible. She isn't even armed.

We find out the Andrastian faith is a fairytale and no one except Harding comments on it? All of the human followers grew up in Andrastian cultures. Religion forms the structure of society, customs, inner values, viewpoints on the world, and what is considered "normal" on a subconscious level. In DAI you have a conversation with Josephine about how the Andrastian faith provides common ground for negotiations across cultures. Cassandra walks through an elven temple that is older than her religion and still wonders who could believe this nonsense. Why aren't you more upset, people?!

I am going to pretend the post-credit scene didn't happen. You will not soil the beautiful tragedies of the very human mistakes and choices the imperfect characters like Loghain made. I will not accept some demon whispering over the wonderful multi-faceted people and their rises and falls. F*ck you.

The bug, where the game loads the preset character instead of your custom Rook is annoying and didn't get fixed by the patch.

I hate the UI with a passion

No grey streaks in Inquisitors hair is a crime.

I hate the underwater view in Rooks room. I have an irrational fear of deep waters and sea life. The Ossuary is a prison of my nightmares.

I hate the redesign of the demons. They look like dementors with their robes open.

It is not clear how long was Rook trapped in the prison of regrets.

Anyway... rant over. I enjoyed the game like I enjoy the Marvel movies. With half of my brain turned off.

[notebooks-and-laptops]

Ways in which I could see the main party members betraying us:

Neve: becomes disillusioned with the ability to truly make a difference, believes Tevinter society isn't worth saving, throws her lot in with Solas either during the game or before it (her meeting Varric and Harding in the comic wasn't actually coincidence)

Taash: honestly I could see them pulling a Qun with her. We just had bull outright tell us so we won't expect her to be sneaky with it and the war with the Qun is v big in Tevinter at this point in the timeline. I could fully see her being an agent like Tallis or Bull that's got caught up in all this. (I hope if they do do this route though they give us a more sympathetic view of the Qun like in Dao and Tallis in da2)

Davrin: okay so hear me out...Qun also? I'm saying this because I think it would be a fun twist AND I could imagine Sten putting some qunari into the grey wardens after everything now he's the arishock. I think if this is the case Davrin will be mostly chill about it tho. Like again, I don't think it'll be The Betrayal just a twist. However, I think they wouldn't be this fun with it and he'd be more likely to be a corrupt grey warden as per inquisitions line aka it's not his fault and the blight controls him somehow

Scout Lace Harding: she's been a deep agent or Solas for a LONG time. Or she was made sympathetic to his cause after getting her cool magic powers and realising that the fall of the veil would be cool. I honestly think this would be really interesting and mean that whole "we find people Solas doesn't know" thing hit hard, considering the person who does know Solas is the turncoat

Bellara: I don't want her to be on Solas's side at all because that's too basic, but I wouldn't mind her being quite driven by finding out about the past a la Merrill sometimes to the detriment of those around her because she's just Too Intense About It.

Lucanis: the crows have been contracted by Solas; he's an assassin come to get YOU a la Zevran except unlike Zev it's a long con. Like Zev you can either change his mind or kill him. I think this would be a really awesome plot line actually.

Emmrich: something about Nivarna here...like I want some kind of religious reason he'd be interested in siding with the Elven gods or solas...something about the dead coming back from beyond the pale and that being the true meaning behind everything etc. etc.

[ell-vellan]

A random collection of Veilguard Thoughts after completing the game, because I need to vent some feelings. spoilers below!

Firstly: I was going to love this game regardless. I came into it with the fewest amount of spoilers possible. I do love this game. I won't argue with anyone - if we have different opinions, that's fine! I won't tolerate hate, though.

This is my messy stream of consciousness, but let's start with the good stuff!

The Good:

-Gameplay was fun! Combat was fun and inventive, for someone who plays on Storyteller mode and tries to get through combat as fast as possible so I can get back to the story, it rarely aggravated me.

-The maps/puzzles are fun. They were usually easy enough to figure out on my own without looking it up, but just complex enough I felt smart when I got it. I like that the game almost always rewards you for looking around and exploring off the beaten path a bit.

-It felt like a spiritual successor to Mass Effect 2 in the way that you have to build your team up in order to save the world. I loved that.

-The griffons coming back is one of the best things in the Dragon Age universe ever, and I love that we could decide what to do with them. (But I'm kind of concerned that there's only 12, and they're...related? I feel like that's not enough individuals to grow the species back...)

-Letting us pet and hug Assan (with different animations!) over and over was one of the best things they ever did. Also, photo mode was a great idea.

-The little hints about Those Beyond The Sea we keep getting?! Dear God, I hope we get another game and get more lore. I'm dying to know. They've teased this for so long, I really, really wanna know what's up with this part of the world.

-i loved being able to choose our body proportions.

-I'm so thankful we got to make our Inquisitor and keep the same vallaslin and voice actor. I hate the outfit they gave them and how we had no choice in it, and I would have also preferred to have a choice in their prosthetic, but I'm grateful for what we did get. The missives from them were also a nice touch, and seeing the letter from the Inquisitor's love interest was SO HEALING. Tbh, in reality, I think the Inquisitor would have been involved WAY more, especially since the crossroads would have made travel basically instant across Thedas. But I get why Rook needed to stand on their own two feet.

-Morrigan/Mythal was a great touch. It made sense logically, there was character growth, and I'm glad Mythal wasn't gone entirely, but I wish we could know what's become of Kieran.

-All the VAs are so good. the world felt lush, magical, twisted, and fun, with just the right amount of tragedy and horror balanced with hope and love. Arlathan was gorgeous and tragic and horrific and I took SO MANY photos.

-we got more Dalish and more Qunlat words!!

-THE LORE. So many questions finally answered. I kind of thought we would learn that the Black City was actually the prison Solas made for the gods, but hey, maybe next time? I also still want to know if Andraste was real and more about the origins of elves as spirits, but alas...

-i loved the inventory system. I wish we could have sold equipment we didn't need instead of just the valuables, but it's a minor quibble. It was so much easier to manage, I didn't have to waste a bunch of time going through everything to find the best items for everyone

-ARCHON DORIAN PAVUS !! He was barely in the game which made me sad, but the fact that he was there at all and so glorious was wonderful. I wonder if people new to the game know or care about the significance of him being in charge of Tevinter, though, since we didn't even really get to have a conversation with him

About Solas:

I played thru DAI on release day. My first Inquisitor romanced him. When Everything Happened(tm) I was PISSED. I wanted revenge on Solas, I wanted to hunt him down. I've thought about him for 10 years, and now I am so wistful for more of him. I want to give him a hug. Moreover I want Lavellan to hug him.

Solas was INCREDIBLE in this. I loved, loved getting to see his memories firsthand - this was more than I'd hoped for - and the banter with Rook was one of the best parts of the game. Seeing him with hair - seeing him change into Fen'harel and fight a DRAGON? him helping us in the fade by baiting Elgar'nan and getting all bloody and beat up trying to help us, thinking he was going to trick us one final time? My wildest dreams came true. He was layered, he was complex, he was incredibly heroic and sympathetic and tortured and clever and absolutely ruthless. He was at turns heartbreakingly sincere and infuriatingly traitorous.

He showed a wide range of emotion; we got to see the real Solas, not the polite pretender of Inquisition. He was the shining star of the game for me. And he was sorely lacking.

We hardly got to speak to him!! It drove me nuts that we couldn't talk to him as much as our other companions. He literally knows the most about our enemies and how to defeat them. And we know he's probably planning some trickery in his lil mind prison. Why are we not checking on Solas at every chance we get?

Learning more about and speaking with Mythal? Chef's kiss. But I so, so wish that a romanced Inquisitor, along with Mythal's release of Solas, was what prompted Solas to realize there could be more to his life than rebellion and penance. He's betrayed everyone he's ever loved, and killed his closest friends, but he didn't kill her. Mythal represents his past, she's the origin of where it all went wrong - I wanted Solas to see a Lavellan that understands and forgives, even after everything, and that universal acceptance is the thing he needs to finally let go of trying to make up for what he's done. (It's fine, I'll just write a fanfic about it, whatever)

My Complaints:

-That we only can choose 3 possible variables for worldbuilding to keep from Inquisition. I think this the biggest, most egregious and disrespectful thing they did in the game, and I'm sure it's been talked about to death, but I'll just add that I hate it. I'll live with it - I'd rather they be vague than ret-con or kill off beloved characters off-screen - but still, what's the point of all of our previous choices if we don't get to see how they shape this world?

-The relationships felt SHALLOW. For a game that revolves around your companions, everything felt surface level. While I loved that almost every time you went to the Lighthouse, people were somewhere different and talking to each other, I HATED that Rook couldn't participate in their conversations. We only listened. I hate that we couldn't really ever initiate any long, deep conversations where we got to ask our companions strings of questions about themselves and their histories. I feel like I barely know Neve or Lucanis. I did like getting a bit more in depth with characters during their missions, but still...I feel like I barely know them, not the deep closeness I've felt with Dragon Age companions in the past. Nobody ever argues or disagrees with you, not really, just a couple times and it doesn't truly matter. I loved the companions. Their designs are so cool. I wanted to know everything about them and talk to them more. Why can't we ask Davrin about his vallaslin (it's obviously Ghilan'nain) and how he feels about it now that we are fighting her, especially if we're also an elf? And Bellara, why can't we ask about her tattoo and where her clan is and how she joined the Veil Jumpers? Why can't we ask Neve about her prosthetic? I loved the references to Inquisition in Harding's design, but since we couldn't import more than 3 things, she couldn't even talk about the Inquisition beyond the most vague things. Taash barely speaks at all. Emmrich has no life beyond the dead.

-The companions are so...one-note. Taash brings up being non-binary at every. single. quest, even though their adaari-ness and crossroads between being Qun and being Rivani was super interesting to me. (more on Taash in a minute.) Lucanis likes coffee. Davrin's personal quests mention "torlum" ad nauseum and the fact that Assan eats a lot. Bellara at least talks about other interests, but everyone else is so predictable. Even their banter doesn't seem to give them a lot of individual personality.

-the body models for female elves felt..a bit odd? My Rook always looked bow-legged. And do bras not exist in Thedas anymore? Lol

-The choice of who dies? HEART-WRENCHING. why was it between those two?! Why isn't the romance scene until AFTER this choice? Why doesn't the thing that happens with Harding and The Stone protect her (I thought it would!) and why don't we get any resolution to that if we lose her? I understand that Davrin was prepared to sacrifice himself as a Grey Warden, but making us lose Assan too...? Cruelty. That's what it is.

-I don't like that there are permanent deaths that happen regardless of our choices. That sucks. I know it's realistic, but this is a game, and I want my happily ever after for everyone, DAMN IT! The twist truly shook me, and I didn't see it coming. I didn't think I'd be caught by surprise and I was.

-The characterization of Rook is all over the place. I played an elven Rook with non-traditional vallaslin (figuring that the newer generation of Dalish Veil Jumpers might blend tradition with their new focus of exploring the Veil.) At various times, my Rook has said these things: "I didn't grow up with the Dalish." "I'm Dalish where it counts. "As a fellow Dalish--" WHICH IS IT? I'm in the most elfy faction, it's not even that I picked something unlikely for an elf with a face tattoo. I don't know what you have to do, what flags you have to trigger in the code, but the game still seems so confused about who our characters are. Pick a lane, Rook!

-While I'm on this subject: it would have been so nice to be able to know from the character creator what every kind of tattoo, body paint, and scar pattern went with what faction. And for the Dalish, which god matched to which vallaslin. It would have blown my mind in a good way if our choice of vallaslin came up in any way shape or form

-I would have loved if our race and faction actually like..mattered more. Walking around the Veil Jumper camp at the beginning and nobody talking to me except Strife and Irelin, that was so boring! Nobody recognizes you or asks how you've been. Just silence. Like everyone around you is a cardboard cutout. I expected more from Bioware.

-We got so much amazing lore in this game, and I'm really happy about it! But why did Bioware have to take the most marginalized group of people in Thedas, who were barely clinging to their own language and culture and freedom to begin with, and make everything bad that ever happened THEIR FAULT? What was the thought process there? That they used to have power but their leaders were in fact so terrible that they tore themselves apart and now live on the fringes of society? It makes it feel like the elves deserved their present fate, which is...pretty sucky. I'm glad they did not massacre the elves in this game as they have in the past, and that the elves didn't become even MORE the enemy by joining with the gods, but it really feels like the humans are only going to kill more elves in retribution for their gods almost ending the whole world. Also, related: nobody ever gives us sass about being an elf, not even in Minrathous, where elves are almost entirely slaves?!

-i know everything's changing with the lore stuff we typically know, but why did it seem that existing physically in the Fade is just no big deal anymore?

-at no point does Harding mention Varric dying? They don't have a funeral, a memorial? The Inquisitor says nothing, Morrigan says nothing? I know Solas messed with rook's mind, but even after...?

-the fact that the romance scenes don't happen until after the deaths. So it's possible for your love interest to die before that? Cruelty. Also, weird places to hook up, right after I just found out someone I thought has been alive this whole time DIED AT THE BEGINNING, and another dear friend sacrificed themselves, and we aren't sad at all during this? I understand sex after loss is perfectly normal and I understand that. But at least for the scene I saw, there was no "celebration of being alive" feel, it felt...more lustful than loving? Just an abrupt tonal shift.

-it just...ends. there's the typical little wrap up slides, but they're, again, shallow. A few lines here and there. Apparently the whole of Thedas was nearly destroyed, and not a single country went unscathed, but it's all gonna be ok! The bit of hope was nice, but...I don't feel settled at all. And it seems like we won't get DLC? which...ugh. and they fired the writers, which, again, cruel. If they make another Dragon Age, I can't see it being truly Dragon Age without them.

-i decided to make Taash's whole deal and the Qun a separate post lol

All in all - so thankful we got this game, so thankful we got what we did, I'm still processing a lot of it, and the past 3 weeks of my life I have done little else but live inside this story, but I just really need to scream into the void now!!

[benefitnoone]

Dragon age The Veilguar thoughts that are very Clown of me.

Saving Minrathous bcs I remebered that there is some big bad under city and if it gets blighted it will bite me in the ass....

Overthinking my Rooks class...I always play as mage...but now I thought it would be epic if two of mage that hyped themself to godhood would be defeted by nonmage...

Giving Bioware/EA benefit of doubt about the world state..I really really thought we could pick 3 at begining and than nuanced it in dialog...

Thinking I could talk to my companions and having found family...and companions in general are good...like concept of them but delivery is not good

It pains me that we waited for 10 years for this...like it has potencial

Gray morals where are they?

I would be more forgiving if they had like 2 years like da2...

And I also think that BG3 spoiled us

But! I hope it would sparke creativity in community and fan arts, fan comics and fan fictions can make it better => at least I have new energy to draw ( i guess ots spite lol)

Why was Solas solo? Where are angents od Fen'Harel?

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜

For Game Informer’s July 17th DA:TV article, "BioWare On Returning To The Dragon Age Series, 10 Years After Inquisition", the article is still titled as such on its own page, but it looks like on the GI DA:TV Hub page its listing was updated to "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is 'Respectful And Referential' To Previous Games Without Making Them Mandatory"

[previous comment for context - Brenon: "we do have "decision saves" before big choice moments, but there are still a bunch that depend on a whole mess of stuff you've done earler...so yeah...RIP"]. Derek on this: "Choice and consequence, baby." [source]

[context: DA official Twitter's news about what's coming in August] Derek: "Buckle up!" [source]

Bryony Corrigan (Rook) on the strike: "I care a lot about this game! @/dragonage. Gutted we are unable to speak more about the game for now but absolutely in solidarity with actors in the US. I hope @/EquityUK are also fighting for better protection against AI clauses in the UK too…!" [source]

Matt Rhodes recently wrote to his mailing list that "The project I’ve been working on for many years is nearing completion. In my rare free moments, I’ve been starting to organize concept art to start posting after the game ships." [source] So it sounds like DA:TV is nearing completion and that he will be posting DA:TV concept art that he created after release. [This] is the link to his website where you can view his art, including some existing DA:TV and previous DA game concept art. If you click the envelope symbol on this page, that's how you can subscribe to the mailing list

from Community Councilmember Ladyinsanity - Lucanis x Rook apparently might be an "angst pairing" and there's maybe another one of these in the game also...? 👀 [source]

A user mentioned that they aren't keen on the word "roadmap". Michael Gamble explained: "all it means is a list of cool things you can expect to see us showing." [source]

Bellara's family name Lutare wasn't recently changed as some users wondered, it was Lutare at least a year ago during development. It seems it was just mis-printed or mis-reported in the GI coverage [source]

This article describes DA:TV as the most beautiful game the writer saw at SGF. It says the prologue is dated 9 years after DA:I. "Varric isn’t a ginger so much as a grizzled gray fox now". On Solas, he "wants to tear down the Veil that separates Thedas from the world of demons, restoring his people’s immortality and glory and sacrificing thousands in the process. But when his ritual goes awry, two of his most ancient and powerful adversaries are released. They seek only to finish what they started millennia ago – the complete and utter domination of our world." The game moves quite seamlessly from action to cutscene, and in the prologue "every cutscene is clearly building toward something larger". Position matters in combat. There is an accessibility option which involves the path-tracing of enemies' ranged attacks. At the beginning of the demo, the devs mentioned that they thought about the way different lighting affects your character. " The animations associated with combat are complex for one reason: responsive character features." CC has "inclusion of thick curly hair and capturing the tightly curled texture of Black hairstyles and natural hair", customizable shoulder-width and "a much-welcomed broad spectrum of skin tones—capturing both cool and warm undertones of both white and brown skin". The article highlighted the fluid movement of cloth. The writer also said, "I’m sure other Summer Game Fest previews will have a lot to say on the evolving relationship between Varric and Solas". [source] ((I don't remember seeing this article til now, it's from June though so I either missed it or have seen it and forgotten. also I don't know how accurate it is but the writer was one of the attendees of the DA:TV demo at SGF))

[character limit text break!]

Malcolm: "When I joined DA:Ve I was really hoping there'd be a romanceable dwarf companion and boy howdy did that come true. Harding is ☀️delightful☀️" [source]

[context: this Tumblr post of some neat art] Malcolm: "This is amazing and I fully went "oh wow that really sounds like Emmrich" before remembering that Nick Boraine is in fact a entire human person." [source]

User: "Speaking of Stalker, as a player the description of Bellara and Veil Jumper i've heard so far, alongside their exploration of Arlathan, somehow reminds me of Clear Sky and Chornobyl in Stalker series..." John Epler: "great eye! roadside picnic, Annihilation and STALKER were all absolutely inspirations" [source]

John Epler: "time to slowly make my way home after an awesome 4 days. thanks for an amazing experience to everyone who was a part of it. back to work." [source]

User: "We know there are returning characters in The Veilguard, so my question is: How would you and the rest of the writers go about writing a returning character who was originally primarily written by a writer who is no longer at the studio? What is the process?" Trick Weekes: "1. Watch videos to get the performance, how the character speaks. 2. Don’t try to replicate the character exactly. Allow them to have grown. Morrigan in DAI wasn’t Morrigan in DAO. She’d grown up. 3. Trust Character Art and Performance/VO. As soon as Morrigan walks in and talks in DAI, it works." [source]

Ali Hillis (Harding) on Twitter: "@dragonage @/bioware @/BioWarePulse @/ea #/DragonAge #/SDCC #/SDCC2024 FOLLOW ON INSTA FOR MORE!" [source]

Alex Jordan (Rook): "To all the D&D loving Dragon Age fans out there, let me tell you about my D&D group, made up of faces from the games industry! Including the voices of Geralt from The Witcher, Clive from Final Fantasy XVI, and Noah from Xenoblade! We are ⁦@/NaturalSix ⁩#/DragonAge" [source]

Erika Ishii (Rook): "Grateful I got to spend SDCC celebrating my roles in 2 games I love. Thank you to the devs (including laid-off workers who deserve full credit!), my friends, and the community. This is the last you’ll hear from me about my games from struck companies until they sign an interim agreement or the strike is won. Keep playing games, but share info from the union and let people know we’re taking a stand for all creatives. See you on the other side! ✊🏼🎮" [source]

Jeff Berg (Rook): "Damn, I love making video games. It’s like the perfect blending of theatre on film, where an actor is encouraged to collaborate and let their imaginations soar. And damn, do I ever love the incredible support from the fans of this incredible medium. Unfortunately, we’re in a time of upheaval in the industry. So let me make it perfectly clear: Video game performers deserve fair wages, safe working conditions and A.I. protections. I call on the employers to #/LevelUpTheContract. Guys, this is no single player game. We need you on our team. #/SagAftraStrong #/VideoGameStrike". Text in the accompanying video reads “Video game performers are stuck in a grind. AI is stealing voices, and companies are hoarding profits. The future of voiceover and performance capture artists is at stake. But out fight isn’t single-player. Whether you’re a gamer, a fan, a performer, a labor ally, or just someone believes in fairness. Keep video games people powered. We need you on our team. Video game companies must offer AI protections to ALL video game performers. Join me and show your support for those who bring our favorite games to life.” [source]

Jessica Clark (Neve): "Aaah a true bucket list moment!! Thrilled to play Neve Gallus a Private Investigator & one of the companions in the upcoming DragonAge The Veilguard Video Game!! We are appearing at the San Diego Comic Con as we speak!! With so much thanks & appreciation for the most fantastic team @/bioware & inspiring fellow cast members including (not limited to) @/missalihillis @/nickboraine @/zach.mendez @/jeffberg1 & more 🙏🏽 Draon Age The Veilguard releases this Fall 2024 & from what I've seen... It's truly epic!! You will love it & yes, it's worth the wait. (SAG-AFTRA issued us a specific window to promote & celebrate at Comic Con & from Sunday night onwards we will all be joining our fellow actors in the picket line for the Video Game Strike)." Text in the accompanying video reads "I’ve wanted to share this for so long! Thrilled to reveal that I play Neve Gallus in the upcoming Dragon Age The Veilguard!! Appearing at Comic Con San Diego as we speak” [source]

[source]

Jessica: "Last night's Comic Con San Diego's Fandom red carpet celebrating Dragon Age The Veilguard! Releasing this Fall 2024!!" [source]

Zach Mendez (Lucanis): "A truly amazing first day of SD Comic Con at the @/dragonagegame poster signing at @/darkhorsecomics booth. Thank you to the fans who made my first con unforgettable #/sdcc /#sdcomiccon #/dragonage #/darkhorsecomics #/lucanisdellamorte #/voiceacting #/bioware #/eagames #/theveilguard #/babysfirstcon" [source]

Zach: "Dragon Age. Dancing. Derulo. Thanks @/fandom for a killer party" [source]

Nick Boraine (Emmrich): "Thank you @/bioware @/ea and @/comic_con - had an incredible time! #/dragonage #/theveilgaurd #/emmrichvolkarin @/zach.mendez @/missalihillis @/thejessicaroseclark - can’t wait for the fall release date." [source]

Ali: "Honored and thrilled to have been a part of another epic @/bioware story w @/ea . Thanks from the bottom of my heart to the whole team! We worked hard, and put our all into this one. Can’t wait to see you all at #/sdcc2024 this week to celebrate @/dragonagegame #/dragonageveilguard" [source]

Ali: "1st day of San Diego Comic Con 2024 !! The lines were long and the signings so much fun! Met some really nice fans, hung out w dragon age performance director @/ashley___barlow , companions @/thejessicaroseclark @/zach.mendez & Nick Boraine . So SO grateful for this #/dragonageveilguard family!" [source]

Ali: "I love every one of these people. There, I said it! What a warm welcome we received! Thanks to ALL! For EVERYTHING!" [source]

Ali on SDCC: "Gooooooood times. ❤️" [source]

Here is a 'behind the scenes at the DA:TV SDCC panel' photo -

[source]

Here is a photo of Erika Ishii with Rook's blue knife -

[source]

Here is an excerpt from Brianne Battye's website:

Text reads: "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Defy the gods. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight back and lead your team of seven companions, each with their own rich story. Together, you will become the Veilguard. Coming soon From EA/BioWare. I was responsible for a companion story arc, significant side characters, faction content, exploration content, and helping develop and expand worldbuilding lore."

[source]

Also, last year Zach Mendez (Lucanis) made a prior podcast appearance:

Zach: "I was lucky enough over the pandemic to have just hit a really nice commercial, and then I got this beautiful job on a video game where I was doing motion capture. Motion capture? Okay, so you put on this leotard, this black suit, and those little dots on, and you do all the motion for a video game, and you get to do the voice, and they put all these black lines on your face, so they capture your performance and whatnot. And so I was doing that and had some commercial money, so throughout the pandemic, for the past few years, I’ve just been getting to live off acting, which is great." -- Zach: "[Voiceover is] what I'm working on right now." -- Zach: "My father's from Spain." -- Zach: "I'm currently working on a video game, I can't say which video game." "It is a big one, it's not a big deal, it's a big one, I'm one of the main characters, it's not that big a deal." The interviewer asked about how acting in video games works. "Somebody's giving some performance that of course, they layer on imaging afterwards, like in graphics, right? But you're giving facial expressions, that's what gives it the reality, that's what I find so fascinating about motion capture, is that, you get to give big performances, because you're playing these crazy characters in crazy situations, and a lot of your performance is coming through in the final product which is, just gets me excited about the future of things about all the different ways. It's my voice, a lot of my facial features, I voice, I think, one or two characters in this game."

[source (dated ~a year ago. source link isn’t work-appropriate. I don’t recommend the podcast)]

[dearasteria]

Major Gale romance SPOILERS below, so please DO NOT read and watch if you don't want to get spoiled.

I was REALLY worried about how romance with Gale would go, especially after talking to him right after he gets Karsas' book. My Tav wanted to believe and trust him, but something didn't feel right. At the end of Act II, when Tav tries to convince him not blow himself up for his ex's forgivness/to save Faerûn, it can be summed up with that one gif from Grey's Anatomy: "So pick me. Choose me. Love me" 🤡. Honestly, she asks not only to choose her, but also not to kill her and the rest of the team. Gale is so easily swayed and tells Tav that he loves her, even more than Mystra. Tav should be happy, right? But I'm like WAIT A DAMN MINUTE, it was faaar too easy, I mean, no protests from him, I didn't even have to use persuasion to convince him. At that point, after the trauma that Bioware had caused us with Anders and Solas, I'm getting paranoid. Gale doesn't love Tav, he's definitely hiding something. But I'm thinking to myself, "Okay, calm down, he just doesn't want to die, super understable. Maybe he really loves her and he needed to hear it? He needed reassurance that he has something to live for? Yes, it must be it". But then I go to the quest journal and see this:

DAMMIT GALE, you snake 🐍 My poor baby Tav (especially since the romance scene in Waterdeep was so warm and tender). She's so in love in him. Now I'm convinced that he will definetly betrey us, stubs us right in the heart.

At the beginning of Act III, he becomes obsessed with a book called The Annals of Karsus that may help him learn more about the crown. He becomes obsessed with how powerful he can become. When Tav gives him the book and says, "We already know the crown's dangerougs. Wouldn't that make things worse?" he replies:

"Worse? It could be the best thing that ever happened to me. To us."

After all this, Gale tries to convince Tav to help him reconstruct the crown. We have this beautiful scene on the boat and when I tell you my jaw dropped. HE CHOOSES TAV, listens to her concerns and simply chooses her.

The way he says it, the way he corrects himself… damn. For Tav, it's like a bucket of cold water. And I'm like, "Here we go again" 🤡

Furthermore, when we visit the Stormshore Tabernacle in Baldur's Gate and interact with Mystra's statue, he seems to feel so uncomfortable, he doesn't want to be there. Tav starts to think he's definitely hiding something. She would like to hear Mystra's version of what happened between her and Gale (I hope we can talk to her at some point in the game, it would be very interesting).

My Tav, however, disagreed, and Gale replies, "I hope you're right. I truly do. Godly power, perhaps I can live without, but you? You're everything". Has the curse of dating mages that leave players heartbroken been broken?

But I have to admit, when he said: "With you, I forget my goddess. I love you. Tell me you feel the same way. Tell me you want what I want. Please" - OH GODS 😳. I was so close to agreeing to this madness. The VA did an amazing job (side note: so many talented VAs in this game, it's mind blowing), the writing is amazing, the music is incredible, I was blown away, really.

Next day, after the boat scene, he's so adorable and full of love for Tav. Then I remembered his gratest flaw (for me it's more like his biggest fear) from the scene with Zethino in the circus: "He thinks he, and the world, might be better off if he were dead". At the time I thought he was lying, manipulating Zethino and his answers. My distrust of mages in games… Yes, I have a problem 😅

I haven't finished the game, but I have high hopes for a happy ending. No spoilers please, thanks :)

What a rollecoster of emotions, I love it, I love Gale. It felt like I was playing Dragon Age: Origins for the first time, way back when I was a teenager. It's really insane how this game makes me feel, how much I care about its characters and story.

EDIT: Okay, so we have an audience with Mystra, I mean only Gale, but we see the whole conversation between them. My only complain is that Gale doesn't mention Tav when Mystra asks him why he defied her 💔 The outcomes are different depending on whether you do it before or after the boat scene. Personally, I think doing the boat scene before meeting Mystra is much better. I get the impression that Gale is abandoning the plan to reconstruct the crown solely for Tav and his love for her. And the drama 👌🏻 it gives me life.