#Manfred did not disappoint

[postcardsfromheapside]

"Journeys end in lovers' meeting"

[lafaiette]

Based on this post by @wendynerdwrites: Solas treating everyone at the Lighthouse except Varric like complete morons, but becoming a puppy as soon as Lavellan shows up.

Spoilers for Veilguard!

Davrin was used to facing dangerous situations - the life of a Warden was not an easy one -, but no fight against darkspawn, no exploration of dark, damp roads could compare to the horror of sharing a place with the worst enemy of his people's lore.

Solas, the Dread Wolf, was... a cold man. No unnecessarily cruel like old Dalish legends described him, but certainly ruthless, ready to make sacrifices if it could help finally defeat the Evanuris.

There was a certain distance in his eyes and tone whenever he spoke with the new guests of his old base - that, and badly hidden rage, boiling just below the surface. He was haunted by the failed ritual, by Rook's intervention, by Varric's wound, by years of regrets.

Davrin's superiors had always insisted on a particular point: don't fight battles you can't win. Giant ogre making its way through a narrow tunnel? Run, or you will die under the rubble. Too many darkspawn surrounding you and your fellow Grey Wardens? Retreat, and plan a better strategy.

The Dread Wolf haunts your dreams, turning them into nightmares? Be respectful, da'len, do not enrage him further, and avoid him.

So Davrin did just that. He greeted Solas, but didn't dare ask him questions. He wasn't scared of speaking up in his presence, but he did so with an even tone, not really wanting to attract his attention.

Unfortunately, his being a Grey Warden was something Solas simply couldn't understand - or forgive? -, for the Dread Wolf once found him in the courtyard, taking care of Assan's feathers, and spoke to him without hesitation, without mercy.

"That is a beautiful creature."

Assan chirped happily - he was one of the few ones in the Lighthouse, Varric and Manfred included, who wasn't scared of Fen'Harel.

"Ah, thank you." Davrin nodded at him, then went back to brushing the griffon's feathers. "He's growing up so fast."

A moment of silence, then Solas spoke again, a thin veil of ice in his voice:

"I could not help but notice he fights with you."

"Well... Yes?" Davrin didn't turn back, increasing his focus on the least oily feathers, the ones that needed more care. "Grey Wardens and griffons fight together. We're supposed to build a bond."

"Why would you bring your beloved companion into battle?" Solas sounded furious, now. "Among the Blight and the darkspawn?"

"Because that's what Grey Wardens must do." Davrin did turn around this time, hoping his glare directed at Solas wouldn't condemn him to a week of nightmares. "It's not like Assan fights at my side for the whole time. He flies above the battlefield, and attacks only when I call him."

"Because he is still young. But he will join you once he is older, and ready, and your bond strong." Solas shook his head, distaste clear on his face. "And then he will risk getting blighted, poison in his veins."

"It's terrible, I know," Davrin agreed, for the thought of losing his friend in battle had kept him awake many nights in a row, "but it's a risk we must run if we want to fight the darkspawn."

"Did you ask Assan if he wants to run this risk?" Solas arched an eyebrow. "Or did you decide for him?"

"What-"

Solas walked away, uttering a "tsk", and Davrin was left there, open-mouthed, shock and pain making his head buzz.

Assan let out a sad squeak, bumping his beak against his cheek.

--------

"You are doing it wrong."

"O-Oh?"

Bellara turned around, the elven device she was tinkering with falling on the ground. Solas, standing under the doorframe, looked at it, then at her, and she shrinked under his cold, almost disappointed gaze.

"What... What I was doing wrong?"

Oh, she hated how thin her voice sounded, but she couldn't help it! He was one of her gods! The deity of lies, trickery, and rebellion, the creator of the Veil, the reason why a breach in the Fade had appeared in the sky ten years prior! He scared her!

"Everything." Solas narrowed his eyes, then walked away, heading to his original destination, leaving her there, fuming and confused, angry at him and herself, angry at the device and its secrets, angry at her mind for not being able to understand them.

She picked it up from the floor, but didn't tinker with it again, leaving it on the table, like a forgotten relic.

--------

Harding gently closed the door of Varric's room, so that he wouldn't wake. The wound was getting better, but he was still weak, frail. His fever had broken just the day before.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Solas walked out from the shadows just around the corner - seriously, wasn't a lighthouse supposed to be well-lit?

"How is he?" he asked, almost whispering, dark sorrow on his face.

Harding glared at him, torn between telling him to shove it and answering in a civil way.

In the end, her polite side won, prompted by the memories of their days in the Inquisition, when Solas would accompany the Inquisitor in all her trips and explorations.

He would often narrate beautiful stories at dinner, when the Inquisitor decided to stop at the main campsites where Harding was stationed. He was always kind with the Inquisition soldiers, and once he had complimented Harding's study of a map.

But he had hurt the Inquisitor, and now Varric, and she found forgiveness hard to find in her frightened, enraged heart.

"He's alive." She shook her head. "He's sleeping now, so come visit him later."

"And the wound?"

"It's healing, but I don't like the look of the skin around it. It's getting inflamed, I think." She sighed, making a mental list of all the plants in her room. "I might have something to help him, but I'll need to check and-"

"My magic may help."

Her rude side won over the polite one. Oh, how her mother would scold her if she knew.

"Your magic? I'm sorry, but your magic is what caused all this in the first place!"

She approached him, teeth gritted, fists clenched, and he didn't move, staring down at her with that cold pain that morphed his face into a pale, ancient expanse of regret.

"Your magic almost destroyed the world ten years ago! Your magic almost destroyed it now! Your magic maimed the Inquisitor-"

Something passed over his face - more pain and sorrow -, and she realized she had gone too far, for his next words were too controlled, too calm. He was about to explode just like she had.

"Enough, child of the Stone."

"How dare you!"

All the pain, fear, and shock Harding had packed away in her heart - like many jagged rocks she wanted pick and examine in peace in the quiet of the room - erupted from her. Her eyes burned.

"How dare you call me like that, after what my people lost!"

"Your people are not the only ones who lost everything."

"Well, at least we're not the ones trying to destroy this world to bring it all back!"

She stormed away, hoping her outburst hadn't caused Varric to awaken.

--------

"He's here!"

"What?"

Lucanis looked up from the pot of soup he was preparing for lunch, and lo and behold, the Dread Wolf was indeed there.

Spite respected him and feared him in equal measure. He was the only one who could speak with the demon in a real, coherent way, and make it listen.

Sometimes Lucanis envied him.

"May I help you?" he said, stirring the pot after adding more salt. "It won't be ready for one more hour, I think."

"Spirit, how are you feeling?"

"It's not a spirit." Lucanis spat out before Spite could answer. It was standing next to him, not slouching as usual, but standing tall, almost proud. "It's a demon."

"That's a matter of debate."

"A matter of- it's possessing me!"

"It does not wish to be with you just as much as you do not want it with you." Solas glared at him, before setting his eyes on Spite again. His expression changed, turning kinder, more patient.

"How are you feeling?"

"... Constricted."

Lucanis gawked at it.

"Oh, for... Constricted by what? I bring you everywhere!"

Solas ignored him. "Have you tried shaping the world around you? We are in the Fade here, after all."

"I have, but it doesn't listen! Not as long as I am..."

Spite growled and glared at Lucanis, who glared back, stirring his minestrone with more rage the recipe requested.

"I see. I promise I will try to find a way to help you. It might be difficult, due to your particular circumstances, but..."

"You want to help it?" Lucanis dropped the spoon into the pot, staring at the tall elf with disbelief. "Do you know what this fiend did to me while we were locked away in Renata's prison? What about helping me get rid of it?"

"It tortured you because it was tortured. It still is."

Solas' eyes looked cold even under the light coming from the fireplace. Lucanis realized he would probably never convince him, nor understand him.

"Bah!" He went back to his dish. "No wonder nobody here likes you, lupo."

Solas went away, quiet, his steps the lightest Lucanis had ever heard.

--------

"You remind me of an old friend."

Taash looked up from the axe they were polishing, hoping they had heard it wrong.

Solas was checking some supplies. They hadn't exchanged a single word when he had entered, and Taash was glad of it, because they really didn't know how to act around that guy. Plus, their mood wasn't exactly the best these days, after a hard defeat against a particularly stubborn dragon that had badly burned their leg.

But now, this.

"How old, exactly? Millennia old? Decade old?"

"Decade. Do you know the Bull's Chargers?"

"I heard of 'em. Mercenary group led by the Tal-Vashoth who joined the Inquisition, yeah?"

Solas nodded, still checking the contents of an armory chest.

"So... I remind you of that guy?"

"Sometimes, yes."

Taash blinked. And waited.

"Why? Just because we're both Tal-Vashoth?"

"No." Solas barely looked at them as he closed the chest. "He also deeply admired dragons."

"Oh. Sounds like a cool guy, then." Taash grinned, dipping the cloth into a pot of oil and starting to polish a new area of their axe. "I bet he'd have enjoyed fighting that dragon from the other day."

"Oh, yes. But unlike you, he would have definitely prevailed."

"Why, you little piece of shit!"

They rose, furious and embarrassed, cheeks on fire and axe ready to be used, but he had already left.

--------

"What is that supposed to be?"

Neve almost dropped her pencil.

"A map?" She narrowed her eyes at him. She had tracked him down in Minrathous, yes, but he had still escaped her, in a certain way. She hated that.

"Of course it is a map." Solas' tone was as icy as hers. He knew it was her fault Varric and Rook had found him. "But what are you drawing on it?"

"Possible places where the Evanuris may be hiding."

"Hiding?" He snarled, letting out a disgusted noise. "They are not hiding. They are preparing, setting the stage, gathering power-"

"One more reason to find them as soon as possible, then."

"-And those are not the places they would choose for such a purpose."

Neve felt her right eye twitch.

"Well, since you know them so well," Solas' face turned into a mask of pure outrage at that, "perhaps you could kindly share your opinion so that we may find them sooner."

"How am I supposed to know? Don't you think I would have already done something, had I known where they are?"

He scoffed at her meticulous drawings and walked away. She gritted her teeth, frustrated, then looked back at the map, feeling almost embarrassed.

She refused to erase her marks, though.

--------

Emmrich believed himself to be a patient man, but oh, every time the Dread Wolf was involved he could just feel his patience run thin.

"Manfred, could you please hand me that book? Thank you."

A groan, rattling of bones, and Emmrich smiled.

"Indeed, it is quite interesting. I will give it back to you as soon as I'm done with these notes."

He heard footsteps coming from the staircase, but he ignored them, too engrossed in his research. He heard Manfred prepare more tea, sure it was one of their friends come to visit, but then...

"This is wrong."

Startled, Emmric raised his eyes. Solas was looking at Manfred, watching him choose the right leaves.

"I assure you, Manfred's tea knows no equal. Everyone in the Mourn Watch loves it!"

Solas glared at him, jaw tight, and the very air around him seemed to quiver. Emmrich realized he had said the wrong thing, and slightly bowed his head.

"I apologize if my words offended you, Solas. Is there something I can help you with?"

"You are torturing this poor spirit."

Manfred groaned, shaking his head, and Solas scoffed, shocked by his words.

"This is not your place! You are not supposed to be bound to a corpse!"

"I would let Manfred make that decision."

"How could he do that? You already did it for him."

A pang of pain, like the sting of a thorn in his heart, then Emmrich took a deep breath.

"You are mistaken. This is what Manfred wants."

Solas couldn't hide his disgust, his contempt, as he stared at him. Then he turned to Manfred, sorrow and grief replacing his ire, and he shook his head.

"This is wrong," he repeated, and Emmrich wondered whether he was still talking about Manfred or everything else, the Lighthouse filled with strangers, the Evanuris running free, the world on the brink of destruction.

"I am sorry." Emmrich said, but Solas ignored him and left the room, his steps heavy like those of the corpses that roamed the Necropolis.

--------

"Tell him to stop!"

"Tell him to leave."

"I can't do this anymore, Rook, I really can't!"

"He criticizes everything. He's always there, judging us, and nothing is ever right!"

"Doesn't he have another base he can use? Or maybe we should move."

"Varric, perhaps you may talk with him?"

"Don't worry." Varric smiled from his bed, tapping his fingers on the heavy blanket Harding had found for him. "I sent words to a certain someone just a few days ago. She will join us tomorrow."

Rook looked at him, confused.

"Who are you talking about?"

Harding gasped, not sure whether to grin like a madwoman or scold Varric for his insane idea.

"You did not!"

"I did." Varric looked extremely satisfied, his smug smile almost hiding the gauntness of his cheeks. "Wear your best outfits, guys - the Inquisitor is coming to visit us."

--------

She stepped out of the main eluvian, and the first thing she did was smile at everyone. And everyone thought she looked young, very pretty, but also sad, and a bit tired.

"Inquisitor."

"It's an honor, Inquisitor Lavellan."

"My lady, thank you for coming."

They bowed to her, except for Harding who got a hug, and she told them all those formalities were not necessary.

"I'm not Inquisitor anymore." Her smile was small, but sincere and warm. "Please just call me Scarlet."

Bellara admired her prosthetic arm, and promised her to show her the special gauntlet she used in battle. Davrin tried not to stare at her bare face, but everyone had heard the rumors - how the Inquisitor had come back to Skyhold after a trip with her beloved Solas, face free from vallaslin, her eyes filled with tears for weeks, her lover staring at her from a distance with grief in his eyes.

"How is Varric?" Worry and sorrow made her look older. "May I see him?"

"Of course. This way."

She didn't try to hide her awe and curiosity as they led her through the Lighthouse to Varric's room. She devoured everything, eyes setting on every minute detail.

She gasped when she saw the murals in the library, and it was clear she was looking for traces of Solas, too. She searched for him with her eyes, hoping to see him appear from behind a door or around the corner.

The more they walked, heading to Varric's room, the more she grew disappointed. Rook hurried to reassure her he wasn't hiding, not this time.

"Solas went to one of his old hideouts to retrieve some useful parchments. He believes they could be useful to track down the Evanuris."

"Oh." She blushed, pleased.

"He should be here soon."

"I see."

She was shaking due to excitement and anxiety. Ten years had passed since their last meeting, after all. Rook and their companions led her gently through her lover's Lighthouse, hoping she could be the change they desperately needed.

She gasped when they brought her outside, in the courtyard, and she stared at the giant wolf statue that stood at its center, right above the Caretaker's workshop, for a long time.

The spirit observed her in silence. She saw it and smiled, greeting it with a bow of her head.

"You are finally here, after all this time," it said, and her smile widened, looking almost impish.

"I never give up."

She hugged Varric with all the delicateness, love, and care of a daughter. He held her true hand as she sat next to his bed, patting it between his calloused ones, and tried to reassure her that he was fine, that he was recovering nicely.

Guilt and pain never left her face as they spoke.

"Shy, it's not your fault." Varric smiled at her, while Davrin and Rook prepared the poultice he needed to apply on his wound twice a day. Emmrich checked his temperature and pulse, and used a spell to soothe his fatigue.

The others stood around, ready to help, wanting to spend more time with that famous figure, with the woman who had stolen the Dread Wolf's heart.

"I never should have sent you and Harding on that mission."

"I would have gone regardless."

"Me too!"

Scarlet sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, then." She tried to smile again. "Tell me everything."

Neve was just about to share her theories about the Evanuris' possible locations, when the door opened.

"Why are you all here? Is Varric alright-"

Solas froze, staring at the Inquisitor, mouth slightly open. He looked on the verge of a panic attack, thought Harding and Bellara; or a heart attack, thought Davrin and Taash; or perhaps even a stroke, thought Lucanis and Neve.

Emmrich thought he looked ready to crumple on the floor and cry.

Scarlet stared back, cheeks red, then she slowly relaxed and gently said:

"Hello, Solas."

He let out an odd sound, something between a sob and a croak. Then he ran away, and they all shared looks with each other, bewildered.

They had never seen him like that. So... vulnerable. Soft. Inoffensive.

"You really tamed him, Inquisitor." Lucanis snorted, earning himself a smack on the arm from Bellara.

"Don't worry, Shy, you will catch him soon enough." Varric said, smiling at the empty space where Solas had stood. "He can't run from you anymore."

--------

Rook gave the Inquisitor one of the best rooms of the Lighthouse. She retired there for an hour or so to recover from her long journey, and in the meantime the other guests went to the dining room to prepare dinner.

"Do you think he's visiting her right now?" Bellara asked, smiling brightly, for she found the whole situation pretty romantic. Harding sighed, shrugging.

"Who knows. Maybe? I don't think so, to be honest. He needs to recover from the shock."

"He's probably hiding in a broom closet." Lucanis snickered while cutting the vegetables for their salad. "Or rehearsing their next conversation."

"Assuming he'll be able to speak this time." Taash mumbled, making Neve chuckle.

The door opened, and Solas entered, looking almost haggard. His eyes scanned the room, and he didn't hide his disappointment when he didn't see the Inquisitor.

It was rare for him to join them at dinner. He would usually eat his food alone, either in his room or in the library.

And it was definitely rarer for him to help them set the table, but he did so this time, making sure to choose the best plates, and placing a bowl of berries and fruits at the centre.

"Don't we have any cake?" he asked, heading to the pantry and glaring at the shelves filled with cheese, bread, and ham. "Not even sweet tarts?"

"I don't think so." Lucanis said. He raised an eyebrow when Solas went back into the dining room, a storm brewing on his face. "Is it for the Inquisitor? I could bake something special next time."

"No." Solas narrowed his eyes. "I will take care of it."

Lucanis swore in Antivan under his breath, ignoring Spite's protests to shut up and let the Dread Wolf be.

The door opened again, and this time the Inquisitor entered. Solas' demeanor changed in an instant - one moment he was a surly, grumpy old elf, the next an excited, timid puppy, looking at her with big eyes, drinking every detail of her.

"Good evening." Scarlet greeted everyone with her warm smile. She blushed when she saw Solas, and repeated, softly: "Good evening."

"Good evening, vhen- Inquisitor."

Her blush deepened, and they stood there, awkward and shy, until Emmrich took pity on them and cleared his throat.

"Lady Scarlet, dinner is almost ready. Where would you like to sit?"

"Oh, I have no preference."

She walked around the table so her back would be to the fireplace and approached the first chair on her right, but Solas anticipated her: he pulled out the chair for her and gently pushed it back until she was comfortable enough.

"Thank you," she said, smiling up at him, and his face turned pink, his eyes the biggest puppy eyes the group had ever seen.

He stood next to her, probably not sure whether she wanted him to sit at her side or not, until she noticed his weird behaviour.

"Solas, are you eating with us?"

"I... Yes."

"Then you should sit." She nodded at the chair next to her, and her smile was gentle, but also a bit amused, and he hurried to do as she said.

"Of course."

He sat down, clearly happy she had given him permission to be at her side, and they were so busy dealing with each other's close proximity, that they didn't see the look Davrin and Neve shared, nor heard Taash's snort and Lucanis' "Maker, aiutaci".

"How was your journey?" Solas asked, fidgeting with the napkin and the cutlery, his tone apparently neutral, but not really.

"Long." Scarlet sighed. "I'm not used to traversing such distances anymore. And I'm not a twenty years old Inquisitor anymore."

"You are beautiful." Solas murmured, and everyone around them froze, studying Scarlet's reaction.

Her blush reached her ears, and she breathed out a soft, flattered laugh.

"Thank you."

"Oh my." Emmrich whispered to Harding as they poured the stew - her mother's original recipe - into each dish. "He is truly smitten."

"If anyone can stop him from being an absolute ass, it's her."

--------

"Aren't you a cutie?"

Scarlet laughed and giggled as Assan chirped and rubbed his body against her legs, looking for pets. She gave them to him, stroking his feathers, his head, and Davrin smiled proudly at the scene.

"I have never seen a griffon before. Are they all as beautiful as you, Assan?"

A negative chirp, the little rascal puffing out his chest, and Scarlet laughed again.

Solas was standing a few paces away, also watching them, awkward and quiet, yearning for her touch. Davrin glanced at him, and his previous fears suddenly evaporated.

"Pity Solas said he might die soon."

"What?"

"What?"

The Dread Wolf went to them, his strides long and hurried, panic on his paling face.

"I never said such a thing!"

"You said I am risking his life by taking him into battle, where the Blight is." Davrin gave him a flat, cold look. "And I know you're right. I know I'm being selfish, following centuries-old traditions that make little sense to anyone who isn't a Grey Warden. But this is part of our sacrifice, of the grief we must carry."

Solas took a deep breath, visibly torn between arguing with him and not wanting to do so in front of Scarlet. But she intervened, her voice calm and solemn, and Davrin realized she must have spoken like that during her time as Inquisitor, too.

"Once the Evanuris are finally dead and the Blight is no more, you won't have to sacrifice yourselves and your companions anymore."

She stroked Assan's head, cupping his muzzle and looking into his big eyes.

"There will be finally peace, and griffons will be able to fly alongside people without fearing any corruption. Isn't that right, Assan?"

He squeaked happily, and Davrin felt a rush of gratefulness and hope invade his heart. But what most shocked him was Solas' reaction: he stared at Lady Lavellan with big, awed eyes, his expression the most stricken and softest Davrin had ever seen.

"You are right," he said to her, and the Grey Warden blinked, not believing his ears.

"I know!" She grinned at her lover, then went back to petting the griffon, while the Dread Wolf watched her as an once blind man would watch the first sunrise of his life.

--------

"I'm sorry, lethallan, I fear I don't understand how this works yet." Bellara fidgeted with her many pouches. "But...! Let me know if you have any ideas! Two minds are better than one, after all!"

"I'm not an expert by any means." Scarlet shrugged, turning the little elven device in her hands over and over again. "I could ask Solas, if that's alright."

"Oh." Bellara's face fell. She couldn't help it. "That would be... I don't think he would agree."

"What? Why?" Scarlet looked genuinely surprised. "Nonsense, he loves sharing knowledge and helping people learn!"

Bellara felt her face shift into a grimace, the one she would make whenever she ate something sour or her research didn't proceed as smoothly as she liked.

"I'll go look for him- oh, Solas, you're here!"

Scarlet rose from her seat as he appeared from behind the open door - had he been nearby for the whole time, watching them, waiting for her to call him!?

"Could you please help us unlock this? I fear neither me or Bellara know how it works."

"Of course."

There was a warm, pleased smile on his face. Bellara shuddered, not used to such a sight. Scarlet shared some of their theories with him, and he listened, proud and patient, soft and sweet, before gently taking the device from her hands (their fingers brushed, and they both blushed) and showing her how to activate it.

"Just like that!?" Bellara spluttered, shocked by how simple it had been. "You just needed to press it like that!?"

Scarlet gasped, curious and in awe.

"Oh, it's beautiful, it opened like a flower! What does it do?"

"It's a catalogue." Solas used a bit of magic to further activate it. "A small portable archive."

Bellara bit her lips, trying to contain herself, then she acted, unable to stop herself: she snatched the archive out of his hands and stared at every minuscule detail, overjoyed and excited.

"This is incredible! I can't wait to read everything it contains!"

She beamed at the Inquisitor, admiring her even more than before.

"Thank you, lethallan! I was going crazy over this!" She turned to Solas, giving him a flat look, which he returned.

"If only someone had deigned to explain how it worked sooner."

Bellara left, but not before turning around to see Lady Scarlet fold her arms and scold Solas with a simple, but very effective look. Bellara could almost see his ears drop and his shoulders slump.

--------

Lucanis sighed, rolling his eyes.

"My lady, Spite wants you to know you're very beautiful."

Scarlet smiled. He had explained his delicate situation to her, and even though she couldn't see the demon, she acted as if she could.

"Thank you, Spite."

Lucanis frowned, then growled.

"No, you little piece of garbage, I'm not telling her that!"

He grunted when Spite hit him, making his nose bleed again. Scarlet gasped, babbling something.

"Are you alright!? What happened?" Then she turned towards the door and called out: "Solas, come quickly!"

Before he could understand what was happening, Lucanis felt the Dread Wolf's hand on his head. The pressure caused by Spite's outburst vanished, and he could finally think clearly again.

"Oh. That was..." Lucanis stretched his neck. Spite was still with him, of course, but it felt as if he were sleeping, taking a much needed nap.

Scarlet beamed at Solas.

"Thank you."

Solas blushed and returned the smile. Lucanis glared at him, and the lupo had the gall to ignore him, completely enraptured by Scarlet's smile.

"Stronzo figlio di puttana, grandissimo figlio di buona donna..." the Crow muttered for the whole evening while reading on his cot in the pantry.

-------

"Bull would have liked you."

Taash's mouth was set in a thin line.

"Because he liked dragons, too, right?"

"Not just that. He would have loved fighting with you against one. It's clear you deeply respect them, too."

Taash glared at Solas, who was pretending to check the weapons and armors, but was actually accompanying Lady Scarlet wherever she went.

"I couldn't defeat one the other day."

"Oh, that's totally normal!" Scarlet laughed. "We couldn't defeat one in Emprise du Lion the first time we tried either! It almost burned us to a crisp, and Bull and Cole had to carry me and Solas all the way back to camp."

She giggled remembering the scene.

"Do you remember that, Solas?"

He cleared his throat.

"I do."

She laughed again, the old memories of better days making her face glow, and Solas' face as he looked at her was so sickeningly sweet, Taash felt a shiver run down their spine. They had never seen the Dread Wolf act like that.

"Is that right?" they drawled, judging him hard after their last conversation - but he had eyes for Lavellan only.

--------

"Thank you, Manfred. Your tea was delicious."

Manfred rattled happily, and had he been able to blush, he would have done so. Emmrich smiled at the scene.

"He thanks you in return, my lady."

"You can understand him, then?"

"Oh, yes! We hold many interesting conversations. Manfred is an excellent herbalist and alchemist."

"That's wonderful." Scarlet smiled at the skeleton, but then her expression slowly turned into something more pensive, kind of melancholy.

"Are you... happy like this, Manfred?"

He nodded, the green gems of his eyes shining brightly under the lights of Emmrich's study. Scarlet studied him for a second, then her smile returned, filled with trust.

"That's wonderful. I wish you all the best - should you need anything, just let me know, alright? Maybe I could find a way to understand you, too."

Ah, Emmrich could see why Solas loved her so much.

Manfred gurgled a "thank you, my lady", and when Emmrich raised his head to the spiral staircase, he saw Solas watching them, pining and yearning, the rage from their old conversation completely gone, replaced by wonder.

--------

"What about the High Reaches you marked here? I feel like they might be a good hiding place, too."

Neve scoffed despite herself. She wasn't angry at the Inquisitor, of course, but at her lover and his dreadful lack of tact and good manners.

"Solas said the Evanuris aren't hiding, but gathering more power. And that they wouldn't do that in places like this."

She raised an eyebrow when she spotted him on the railing above the library. Maker, he really followed Lady Scarlet everywhere, like a lost puppy.

"Oh." The Inquisitor looked back at the map, worried and deflated. "He's probably right. He knows how they think better than we do."

"That's...!"

Solas walked down the stairs - no, almost ran, cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Let me check, vhen- Inquisitor. Perhaps I was mistaken."

Neve's eyebrows reached her hairline.

"You mean here?" he asked, pointing at the range of mountains near Minrathous. His hand slightly hovered over Lady Scarlet's back, almost touching it.

"Yes. It's near Tevinter's capital, so I thought..."

"That is an excellent idea. Yes, they might be commanding their minions from there, close to their main objectives."

Neve snorted, not really angry and annoyed anymore. In fact, she was amused, and she realized she had found one more piece of evidence that proved how smitten, how sappy the Dread Wolf was when it came to Lady Scarlet.

--------

"How can you..." Harding sighed, took a deep breath, and tried again. "How can you look at him, talk with him, without feeling the urge to... to..."

She groaned, tossing a pebble into the pond in her room.

"I love him." Scarlet said, simply, softly. "I know you're very angry, Harding. I am, too. But despite all the rage, all the pain, I love him."

"I know."

Harding looked at their reflections in the shallow water. She looked grumpy, tired, a smudge of soil on her cheek. Lady Scarlet still looked a bit too pale and tired, but it was clear Solas' presence had rejuvenated her.

"If we survive all this..." Harding vaguely gestured at the air to indicate that whole mess. "What are you going to do, Inquisitor?"

"You mean...?"

"With Solas, yes."

"Oh, it's easy!" She grinned, suddenly very cheerful. "Once I save him from himself, the marriage is back on!"

She said that with so much sincerity, with so much candor and innocence, Harding couldn't help but cackle, falling backwards on the floor.

The Inquisitor laughed, too, but Harding knew she was serious, that that was indeed what she was planning to do. Always so bright and hopeful, looking for the best in every situation - one of the many reasons why people had loved her as Inquisitor.

They heard a sound just outside the door, and Scarlet sighed fondly, shaking her head.

"Eavesdropping on us? Really?" Harding said, but she was not really angry, just resigned and even amused. That stupid man couldn't stay away from Lady Lavellan for more than ten minutes, now that they were finally together again, with no more secrets between them.

"I think I'll go to sleep. Goodnight, Harding."

"Goodnight, Inquisitor." Harding gave her a lopsided, impish smile. "Sweet dreams."

--------

Someone knocked at her door, and she already knew who it was.

"Solas."

Scarlet smiled at him. Part of her wanted to drag him into the room and finally, finally hug him and kiss him after all those years, but she didn't wish to scare him. She could see and feel he still loved her, just as she still loved him, but she wasn't sure he was finally ready to let himself go.

"Vhenan." His voice was soft, a whisper carrying all his love and guilt and pain and adoration. "I missed you."

She swallowed her tears, but they spilled from her eyes all the same.

"Oh, Solas." Her real hand trembled as she reached out to cup his cheek. He leaned into her touch, sighing happily, never breaking eye contact. "I missed you, too."

"I want..." He took a deep breath. "There are memories scattered around the Lighthouse and the Crossroads. Scenes from my past. I want you to see them, all of them."

Eyes wide, she could just stare at him, at a loss for words. He rested his hand upon hers, clearly determined, fully resolved to finally share everything with her, the good and the bad, Fen'Harel included.

"I do not deserve your forgiveness nor your love." His hand on hers trembled, and a tear ran down his cheek. "But I love you, vhenan. I always will. If the world truly is going to end, if we won't survive this, I wish to die by your side."

He smiled, that sweet smile he had for her only.

"But should we survive this second catastrophe, too, I wish to walk with you wheresoever you desire, to share everything with you, to live with you. Not as Fen'Harel, not as a god of rebellion, but as Solas." His lips quivered. "Your Solas."

She sobbed, a luminous smile on her face. She nodded and a "yes" had barely left her mouth, when he stepped forward and crashed his lips against hers, holding her tightly. He peppered her face with kisses, smiling as well, their laughter and giggles filling the corridor, before scooping her up into his arms and entering the bedroom, their hearts the lightest they had ever been, soaring with hope and love.

[bloodflwrz]

These wall artworks in Carl Manfred's Mansion (theory and analysis)

Carl's mansion itself is an amazing location because I can't help but look and analyze every single piece of art scattered across the walls and floor. But these three objects in particular made me curious, I wanted to understand why they were specifically chosen to be placed on that wall. None of them are similar in any way, stemming from different cultures, eras, and material. So, what could they mean? I have an idea, sort of.

I believe each of these three pieces represent our main three protagonists, from left to right: Connor, Markus, and Kara. It represents their identity, their story, their journey. I did some research on these objects, using Google Lens to help point me first in the right direction of the possible inspiration or sources of the pieces, and afterwards my own reading using various art archives, articles, galleries, and museum sites. (I apologize for the wall of text 😅)

1st, Connor:

This seems to be a type of emblem, shield, a coat of arms. A coat of arms is typically adorned and used to represent an entity, and organization, an empire, government, army, or a noble family. Coats of arms are intellectual property, meaning, they cannot be worn just by anybody and flaunted just to feel special, you have to be deserving and privileged enough to display it. Wearing one is a sign of honor and respect, as well as servitude, and with it comes the duty of representing your status and regulating civil law, should you be in a position of policing, legal activity, or combat.

How does this relate to Connor?

Our beloved Android sent by CyberLife has been given orders by his makers, the great and all powerful company that produces every single Android we see in game. His duty is to assist the Detroit Police Department in investigating deviants. This coat of arms, particularly shaped like a shield or police badge, represents Connor's story as a prestigious and advanced prototype Android, with the capability to analyze clues at an inhuman rate and perform combat maneuvers like its child's play. He is not a force to be reckoned with, should he choose to stay a machine, in fact, he IS the law. He is the shield and representative of the company, CyberLife, and its only chance at finding the source of deviancy among their highest-profiting product, Androids. Without Connor, CL is headed straight into nothingness. He must not disappoint Amanda, his handler, and be the loyal subject that he was programmed to be. The infamous blue triangle logo found on every Android's uniform, a symbol of CL, is just a modern version of a coat of arms.

If you look from a Deviant Connor perspective, the police badge/shield-shaped coat of arms could also represent his loyalty to Hank and his protective demeanor. At almost every dangerous encounter alongside his partner, Connor is given the choice to either protect or ignore Hank's safety. Though his priority is to find the deviants, it is his personal mission to protect Hank from harm.

2nd, Markus:

A Marka/Dogon mask, originating from West African ethnic groups (Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso), particularly the Bambara and Dogon people (and other adjacent groups within the geographic location). This one was a bit difficult to research about, as many masks tend to have ambiguous origins and meaning, but from what I read, these masks tend to represent the coming of age, male initiation, journey into manhood, identity within a society, as well as religious association when used in rituals, sacrifice, and tradition. Some forms of these masks are used in rituals that have a connection with the dead, showing reverence and respect for those who passed on. Practicing remembrance and showing honor to their ancestors are large aspects of their culture with the use of these masks. The masks are also used in traditional healing practices, where they are believed to have powerful spiritual properties that can help cure illness and promote well-being. These handcrafted masterpieces are extremely important in these cultures and are often passed down by generations, signifying the importance of family and bond.

How does this relate to Markus?

These unique masks were primarily made and used by men in West African ethnic groups during the initiations of boys transitioning to men. Much like our Markus, the 'adoptive son' of Carl himself, Markus' innocence and youth is suddenly taken and he's forced into chaos, being harassed by protestors, threatened by Leo, almost permanently shutdown, thrown into the android scrapyard, and has to navigate the world by himself without his father to protect him. He has to mature and leave the comfort of his peaceful and comfy life, and come to terms with the cruelty of the world where Androids are subjugated to abuse and slavery. As a man, no longer a protected child, he takes the responsibility of protection and guidance for his people, symbolizing his 'coming of age' and transition into manhood. He is changed, has endured trauma, and must put on a mask to show that he is still strong and ready to live a life in his new role as a leader. As Lucy puts it, "You had it all, and you lost it all... You've seen hell and now hell lives in you."

Markus' story is closely related to death and the reverence of his 'ancestors': previous Androids who have suffered and died at the hands of humans. His goal as the leader of Jericho is to avenge those that they have lost and fight for those he can yet save. Every deviant's life is unique and special, their stories have meaning, even if they are treated like mere objects and servants by human society. Markus is willing to sacrifice his life in many instances to send a message to the humans, pass on his legacy to Jericho, and afterwards, all of society. His ability to convert is symbolic of a crying, healing, and inspiring message, reaching the furthest reaches of Detroit to those that need it the most. He wants to heal and save his people, bringing them biocomponents and thirium, expanding their sanctuary, arming his people (or family, at this point) with defenses, but in order to do that, he has to be willing to carry the burden of leadership.

3rd, Kara:

The skull of a bull, carved, broken, yet standing strong, thanks to kintsukuroi, aka Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the intricate Japanese art of repairing broken ceramic pottery using powdered gold/silver/platinum to put the pieces together, and display something in a different light, even more special than its original form. The purpose of Kintsugi isn't to hide or disguise the broken figure, but to instead emphasize its history, showing the life that the object had endured. The traditional Japanese philosophy of "Wabi-sabi", often associated with this particular art, describes that beauty can be appreciated even when it's broken and imperfect. There is beauty even in something modest and rough. Even a powerful and enduring beast, like a bull, can be broken down, but its story isn't over, its remains can still be repaired and appreciated if put together by a powerful glue such as gold, or perhaps... Love?

How does this relate to Kara?

Kara, the perfect housemaid Android for domestic work and childcare, is no stranger to being broken. In fact, our first scene with Kara is her being repaired and returned to Todd. Her memory has been wiped clean, she's been made anew, it's almost like nothing has happened, right? Over the course of her story, we learn that Kara has in fact been destroyed, broken, and abused by Todd. How do we come to the realization of her past? Thanks to Alice. Alice, in this case, is her glue, the mold between her cracks and shards. The bond and natural love between Alice and Kara is what keeps her together, alive. Because Kara is a protective mother-figure, the bull, or a cow, whatever you perceive it as, is a perfect symbol for her. Bulls are gentle in their nature, until a trigger sets off their instinct to fight and run you over with their body mass and horns. This is seen in her constant struggle to survive and seek shelter.

We come across two men in particular (out of her many escapes from danger) who set this instinct off, Todd and Zlatko. Both of them want to (or attempt to) break her, wipe her memory clean, and take away the beauty that is her caring nature and deviancy. Just like how mankind has domesticated cattle for their own benefit. Alice brings her back every single time. No matter how much of her body and memory is stripped away, she is back and stronger than before. Kara is a survivor. She can cut her hair, remove her LED, wear ragged clothes as a disguise, but deep down it's still Kara. Her story is shown in her battle scars and changes in her appearance, just like the golden streaks of broken pottery. As long as she has the protective instinct and love for Alice, it'll always be Kara. This is the beauty symbolized by Kintsugi and Wabi-sabi.

---

If you made it this far, thank you! I'd love to hear your opinions and comments on my analysis. This might all be a stretch, but seeing as how the game is littered with references, themes, and symbolism across many scenes, these artworks seemed to standout for a reason, at least to me.

[calibratemehard]

Alrighty folks I finished the game. I will put non-spoiler thoughts here and then put my spoiler thoughts under the cut. Again, these are MY OPINIONS. I am happy to hear your thoughts but I'm not arguing with you because you won't change my mind.

* holy shit this is a big game

* Mournwatch is the best faction in my opinion. Idk they're just cool and not problematic lol

* there is some retconning of established facts, but I take it this way: it's been a long time since the original trilogy's events. Origins was canonically sometime almost 20 years before Veilguard - think of life 20 years ago, it was very different. A lot can change and gods coming back changes a lot. Factions grow and change and become something different. Also this is NORTHERN Thedas, an area we've never played in. With few exceptions we've always had companions from the south and learned information about the north second hand. I think that's important to keep in mind when people complain about things not staying the same or 'lore accurate.'

* I still recommend picking the same faction as your projected romantic interest

* The cameos are ... Fine. Again, it's been a long time in game. Are you the same person you were 10 years ago? 20 years? I think Morrigan is the most disappointing but my headcanon is that motherhood has really suited her, also a decision she made off screen that is explained to you during the course of the game also made her personality make a little more sense

* I think I liked this game because I went in with an open mind. I have always loved Bioware games for the writing and the companions and this game has those in spades. I loved how fleshed out the characters were though it doesn't approach the levels that say, Baldur's Gate 3 reaches. But overall it was an enjoyable experience, around 65 hours for me to finish just about everything. Though maybe shave off about 5 hours for the character creator, which was great.

Okay so now for the spoilers. DO NOT OPEN IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!!

* I maxed out all of my companions and factions and nearly 100% every area. There was no quest undone. I think that's why I got a good ending, namely Solas agreeing to bind himself to the Veil, sharing a big kiss with Lavellan, and walking into the Fade together. I did lose one member, Harding, and that fucking sucked. I haven't looked into spoilers so I don't know if switching her and Davrin would have made a difference cause Davrin is a Warden and would have fared better against the blight idk. I'll have to look into it. Overall I was happy though.

* I ... Should have seen the Varric twist but I wasn't looking for it so it just passed over me. I was devastated, but I think that it was well done and well earned. Still sad though. That was the second time I cried during the finale, after Harding.

* This felt like a Bioware game to me. It felt big, it felt complex, and the humor was always there. The QoL improvements and expansion of classes and abilities made this so much fun.

* I felt the romances were lacking a bit in content, though Emmrich had suuuuch a sweet and gentle romance. I loved it so much. They banged in a graveyard in what I assume is a coffin. A+ love him, love Manfred. I just wish I had kiss options a la BG3. I got spoiled. 😅

* I'll play this again. And again. That's how my brain works. I think they need to patch a sort of 'golden nug' option into the game and a new game plus to make things better. If there are DLC, I'll happily play them.

[cyandreamzaceattorney]

✭Franziska (and others) sketches✭

(thoughts and non-coloured version under cut XD)

Today I went for a walk and wanted a break from doing digital art so I did some AA sketches (I do love digital art but it's often stressful for me while sketching traditionally is relaxing so that's how it's an effective break for me XD). I mostly sketched Franziska because I find her to be the most fun AA character to draw (which I wasn't expecting getting into this franchise but I'm not disappointed, she's definitely one of my top 10 fave characters!) and felt like drawing her in a ton of cute outfits X3

Now for some context behind some of of my sketches >:-3

1/2 (left): both are just outfits but one is a copy of this outfit while the other I made up! but the pose for second pic is based off a model pose I found on google ages ago because I learnt the creator of Jojo references model poses for his manga and I love how cool Jojo poses are so I of course had to save a ton of model poses XD

3 (left): Felt like trying to draw Franziska being disgusted and while I think I failed the facial expression I ended up enjoying drawing this still. In my head canons Franziska isn't homophobic (Than again I don't even hc Manfred as homophobic), but would shit on Miles for liking men because I also hc her as lesbian and asexual, so the idea of being into men makes no sense to her. She would also caller herself "gayer" as if it's a competition because it is to her.

4 (left): Just tried to draw an older Fran, I like people giving her a pixie cut so I of course had to do that too. Not super happy with result as I think she looks a bit older than late 20's (which is what I was going for) but it's fine :>

1 (right): Just Miles in this pose (sorry it's a pinterest link) cuz why not XD he got sunglasses on because in my mind it adds to the silly concept

2 (right): Tried drawing Miles and Fran being smug, I dislike how I drew Miles but I really like Fran here.

3 (right): based off a meme (Idk the original ver but it's always the same setup as this drawing), probably my least fave of the sketches but it was still fun to draw, I like to imagine in the background a child Trucy is just swallowing a super tall American style burger XD

4 (right): My fave sketch out of all of them! the dress is based off the last picture in this post but I did change it's colour and design a fair bit :P

now for non-coloured versions, originally I was going to post the sketches like this but when I got hope I felt like adding some colour and I'm glad I did:

[sage-nebula]

Also can we just appreciate the fact that like:

Eddie Fender: 19 years old when DL-6 happened. By all accounts SHOULD have known that Manfred von Karma adopted (in function if not on paper) 9-year-old Miles in the wake of Gregory's murder, and thus raised him for the next 11 years to become the "Demon Prosecutor." As someone who had been a practicing defense attorney for those eleven years, who knew Miles' circumstances, and who had personal stakes to want to talk to Miles to perhaps flip him away from prosecution and the von Karma way, Fender was in the perfect position to reach out to Miles to try to "save" him. Instead he did nothing but seethe and shit-talk him behind his back to defendants and his father's grave.

Phoenix Wright: 9 years old when DL-6 happened. Knew absolutely fuck all about it. One day his best friend Miles just moved away and he didn't hear about him again until they were in their early 20s and the newspapers started telling stories about the "Demon Prosecutor." Phoenix had not spoken to Miles for at least 11 years; he had no idea where Miles had even moved to, so he couldn't correspond with him at all. But he still wanted to get answers and "save" his childhood bestie and so he put himself through law school to force Edgeworth to talk to him in court, since Edgeworth was screening his calls. All this for someone he was friends with for a couple months in 4th grade.

It's just like . . . bro, Phoenix is out here making Eddie look so bad. Yes what Phoenix did is over the top, Phoenix is an over the top kind of guy, he literally ate a poison-laced glass bottle, we know this. But the fact is that Eddie trying to do the same thing Phoenix did—reaching out to Miles, even if through court—WOULDN'T have been over the top given his circumstances, and that's what makes him look bad. Like goddamn, my man. Grey star for you because you did not try at all. If Gregory would be disappointed in anyone, it's you.

Anyway. Just needed that out of my head.

[rockturbot]

I saw in an interview that the GK2 writer did consider writing about Manfred, Gant and Blaise but he thought it wouldn't be a fun game to play. If that game WAS made, what do you think it would be like in terms of story and gameplay?

I'm obviously not sure how exactly *Capcom* would make this game, but I can write you an outline of a version of it that I at least wouldn't be disappointed by!

Hope everything makes sense, I'm writing this at 4 am. Under a cut because wow did this get Long.

There'd be AAI-style gameplay, with the usual interrogations and the logic mechanic. That one would be modified in such a way that you're not only piecing facts and events together, but uncovering people's emotional weak spots. Once you find them, they're added to the organizer and you can object with them during interrogations to pressure characters into saying what you need them to say to win the case. Also, outside of interrogations, Gant can use Perceive.

Unlike regular AAI, this one would include actual trial segments, at least in the final case. Now, I'm pretty sure the reason regular AAI does *not* do this is because it's simply hard to incorporate cool twists if you're playing as the prosecutor. As the defense, if the prosecution says the case happened like this and you prove it happened differently, that's fun and exciting! But if you're the one saying it happened like this, and then you just ... prove exactly that ... yeah. That would feel kind of flat. So the way that this would work is similar to the last day of RftA, where Phoenix has at least a rough plan in mind to prove Gant did it from the beginning, but we the audience aren't in on it and watch him unravel it testimony by testimony. Basically the tension would be in the "how" rather than the "what".

On to the story. I know the common idea for a game like this is that Manfred would be the main character, but with what we canonically know about him - a perfect record and nothing ever really going wrong before Greg came along - it would be hard to write meaningful conflict for him, external or internal, and I feel like a game as dark as this one would have to be in order to do its cast justice wouldn't work without plenty of both.

So: except for the segments in court, Gant is the protagonist. A detective who joined the force out of idealism, but who's growing increasingly frustrated and disappointed in the law because of how little justice he feels he actually gets to create, between having to let obviously guilty culprits walk free because some loophole makes the evidence proving their guilt illegal and feeling like he's forced to uphold the letter rather than the spirit of the law more often than not. Insert sad backstory of Blaise (a minor antagonist/rival character in this game) destroying his faith in prosecutors by accepting bribes by a corrupt politician Gant risked his life to apprehend and losing the trial on purpose, thereby also ruining any chance of them being held accountable for their crimes in the future because of double jeopardy.

Manfred fills the sidekick role, but as more of a mentor character than an assistant, showing Gant how to manipulate people, evidence, and the law itself to get the results you want. Although Gant knows Manfred's obsession with perfection makes him dangerous, he's also the only prosecutor he still feels fully comfortable working with, because he's the only one he knows for sure will never betray him like Blaise did and lose on purpose, and Gant reasons that as long as he makes sure they only ever convict people who are actually guilty, it's morally okay for him to use Manfred and his methods as a "weapon" to arrive at that goal. His trust in Manfred - or rather his trust in himself to keep Manfred under control somewhat - gets shaken throughout the game, though; if Manfred can forge evidence to fool the court, he could also manipulate evidence to fool Gant. Can he really be sure he's only arresting the right people?

Manfred also gets to be the viewpoint character for a mostly comedic filler case with incredibly low stakes blown incredibly out of proportion because of how big a threat even small things pose to his perfection.

Blaise, as said before, is a minor antagonist/rival who keeps impeding their investigations and generally making their lives harder (think Verity and Eustace pre-AAI2-4) Every once in a while he's actually useful, providing vital information, but always at a cost. Maybe his and Gant's shared backstory is revealed in a flashback case.

Remember what I said earlier, about Gant worrying about Manfred deceiving him? At around the 75% mark of the game, Gant finds out this has happened at least once, whether by Manfred deliberately framing an innocent person or by going so far with his methods that the resulting injustice completely outweighed the justice of the guilty verdict. With this knowledge, every single other case they worked together now seems suspicious too. Gant confronts him. They end up beating the hell out of each other, and Gant has his Dark Night of the Soul moment where he despairs over the fact that he became a detective to fight for justice, but is unable to stop injustice when it happens right in front of him. The next day he decides to report Manfred to the PIC, even at the cost of incriminating himself by confessing to all the ways they broke the law together, but when he arrives at the building, Manfred is there, waiting for him with a deal: he knows how to get around double jeopardy, and he'll help Gant finally bring the politician Blaise let walk free to justice if he agrees to tell no-one what he knows.

Gant is conflicted at first, but agrees eventually, and they get to work. Now - if this game was actually made, they would of course base this on Japanese law, and I don't know much about that. I've read that in the US, at least, double jeopardy does not apply if it's proven the judge accepted bribes from the defendant to pronounce them not guilty, because then the defendant was never "in jeopardy" in the first place. So, at least in this outline, that's what Gant and Manfred are doing now: framing the judge from back then for taking bribes. Gant feels conflicted again - this is his first time deliberately framing an innocent, but Manfred convinces him that one innocent man going to prison will be worth the justice the politician's victims were denied for so long. (Manfred doesn't care about the justice aspect too much, of course - he just knows it'll convince Gant to stick to the deal).

They succeed, the case is retried. Blaise ramps up his efforts to stop them, worried about his positive public image suffering for losing a case with such a high-profile suspect if they're found guilty now. He fails, of course - Gant and Manfred win, the politician's original victims come up to thank them, and Gant thinks to himself that if the price of fighting the world's many unnecessary evils is employing some necessary evils in turn, it's one he's willing to pay after all. There's some RftA foreshadowing in the end credits with Gant saying to himself that since Blaise has aspirations of becoming Chief Prosecutor one day, he'll need to find a way to control the Prosecutor's Office somehow to ensure they act according to *his* idea of justice, not Blaise's.

[illamda-spaminations]

Screenshots I took when playing Ace Attorney Investigations :D [Part 4]

turnabout reminiscences screenshots weeeeee

Spoilers incoming btw!!

Part 1/2

Beautiful victim name

AA never disappoints!!!!

"Ouch my right shoulder"

LMAO GET HIS ASS KAY!!

Also little Kay looks SO CUTE I CAN'T-

*proceeds to yell*

It's been one minute and I love her already

Live laugh love von Karma sibling moments

I love these two SO much it's insane

Detective Badd being their babysitter is also just *chef's kiss*

BRATWORTH USES A FEATHER PEN??? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS????????

I like it when AA throws random details like this around. My inner analyst cries from joy lol

Anyway, Bratworth hc: he's attention starved [I am totally not projecting]

Gotta commend Edgeworth for pointing out the obvious

..Aren't you a defense attorney??

The way he said it so slowly.. Honey you're traumatized get help

"You're not the clown, you're the entire circus." ahh comment

Idk why but this scene strikes me as pretty ooc of Manfred, like he's not the type to directly go and say stuff to people's faces like that, at least any one that isn't a defense attorney. I think it would be more accurate to say "It's worthless to work on a case like this" or smth like that. Maybe it's because I'm working with the anime's version of Manfred who knows

Franzy defending Miles is really cute I love that

New hc: Callisto Yew's coping mechanism is laughing

BRATWORTH NOOOOOO YOU'RE HURTING YOU DAD

Aaaaanndddd that's about the first part of this post :D I'm actually having fun?? Whoa.

I love Callisto Yew she's soooo much fun, I too love bullying Bratworth. Detective Badd is also pretty neat I really like his vibes, his theme is so nice. I hope I get to see little Kay more she's so adorableeee I can't- Franzy is also so cute, she was almost exactly how I thought she would be lol. The Judge was stupid as always and overall the case is good [so far at least]

Anyway, I need to advance more in the case I'll see ya later >:] *disappears into thin air*

[zthesaunatonttu]

Dragon age: Veilguard spoilers below SOME MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW (I am saying what most have already said but kind of wanted to contribute.

Normally I don’t post about things like this, but this is common complaint in the community right now and I don’t have others to talk too because my friends don’t play games like these or at all, but I do enjoy the game a lot. I enjoy most do enjoy the story, I don’t find the complaint that’s it isn’t as dark as [insert game here] or the dialogue is too cheesy or bad [granted in spots it is and we will get to that later]. Sure it gets repetitive but I felt the same way about all dragon age: inquisition and about mass effect. When the story is this long it is bound to happen in my opinion. I find myself smiling at parts and really feeling the story and really getting serious about it. I have feelings of hope, guilt, and love. I see fragments of myself in these characters. Bellara is favorite and bestie. Taash is funny and I get the vibes. Seeing Harding again is great. Manfred and Assan are adorable and rock, paper, scissors is great. I just finally won :,). A lot to people may disagree and that is okay because everyone has different experiences and my experience or positive experience doesn’t discount someone who has had a terrible time/experience with the game and their opinions still need to be respected as well.

The addition of the inquisitor is nice; however, not being able to transfer your saves or choices is odd but it is what it is. Not my biggest grip with the game. I already assumed Varric died but was like oh well then I was like I KNEW IT (I spoiled myself). The plot twists are hard to figure out with Illario and such.

But I think my biggest thing is the romance. The writing. We all knew what happened and went wrong with what BioWare did to their writers and the people who are long-time professional in the field. It made me not want to buy the game and maybe I need to reflect on myself playing it and enjoying it.

But Lucanis is disappointing and though I am still romancing him my first run it makes me sad because that is kind of why I play these games lol. Lucanis voice actor did great with what they had and the scenes with Lucanis are okay. I feel like the romance between Neve and Lucanis is better than Rook and Lucanis or, also from what I heard, Rook and Neve. Which kind of pisses me off lol. Kind of the same with Harding and Taash from what I heard as well. I’ve heard a lot of things lol. I want to restart but honestly I’m so invested in time but I can always afford another play through.

But not all romances are bad though. The romance scenes seem shorter but all the scenes and romance characters seem to have similar lengths but idk what you guys think. Davrin (plan on romancing him my third play through) is great from what I heard and somehow my current rook (who is romancing lucanis) has more vibes with Emmerich (my next play through after lucanis). I think there should have been more romance but no hate on actual workers as a whole because there isn’t just ONE person to blame but a chain of events and the links that made them. The development was long, horrid, and crazy and I can’t imagine what everyone went through.

Anyway I wish everyone luck and even if you want to romance Lucanis don’t let others tell you you can’t. You may not get exactly what you want but the other characters got exactly or almost exactly the same treatment. I may have forgotten something but yeah.

Good luck on your adventures through Dragon Age: veilguard!

[aftonfamilyvalues]

Do you think the game is somewhat engaging if you push aside all the identity stuff? I mean, are the storyline, pacing, combat and characters decent? Is it fun? I disagree with the gender stuff, but I wasn't ever all that interested in the characters related to that, so if I just roll my eyes at the stupidity is there anything redeeming about the gameplay?

i like it so far.

the reviews about the dialogue options were right though, theres no real evil options and its kind of hard to even get disapproval most of the time. like i havent gotten even one disapproval from emmrich so far. another thing i dislike is the tracking isnt like in inquisition. you used to be able to track a quest and then put a specific marker on a the map which helped a lot with quests with multiple objectives marked. now its just the quest is tracked and you cant mark specific objectives which has led me to go to something i didnt want to.

i also loooove being a mage. i failed miserably at it in inquisition but because the combat is so different in this one, im kicking ass. i love being able to laser beam everything and its also cool to be able to switch to a dagger for close quarters combat too. ive been playing as a death caller and its so fun.

the characters arent as disappointing as some of the negative reviews led me to believe. ive finished most of the personal quests and i have to say their big ending decisions dont really make a difference to me (emmrich was the only one who conflicted me but, you know, hes MINE)

harding is the harding you know and her new abilities are cool. bellara reminds me of a pixar character (in a good way, shes adorable). neve got fucked over a lot in my playthrough (sorryyyyy) but i love a detective character who loves her home. lucanis is charming and spite is interesting. i love davrins protective nature and how that turns fatherly towards assan and assan is fun (emmrich and him have dad talk, including a dad off "assan can fly" "manfred can open a door"). taash is really blunt which leads to some great interactions but her personal story did not go in a way that i would have liked. and i dont think anyone cares about how much i fucking love emmrich.

but yeah, overall ive had fun so far even if ive been impatient and rushing through things just for the romance. that being said, i would have liked a little more from the romance. emmrichs is beautifully written but theres just not enough and i would have loved to see more. but maybe i just for spoiled by how baldurs gate handled romance (i really want to kiss emmrich whenever i want and i wish there was more details with the SEX LET ME SEE HIM NAKED YOU BASTARDS WHY WAS HE STILL FULLY CLOTHED WHEN THE CAMERA PULLED AWAY) (sorry for talking about enmrich too much) (not sorry)

[demo-dragon]

Turnabout Horizon- Case 4 WIP

“FURTHERMORE, PROVE THAT YOU WERE AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME THAT DAY… WITHOUT A DOUBT!” Miles and Phoenix spoke in unison as they glared at the prosecutor in anger.

Prosecutor von Karma grimaced as he clutched his left shoulder, knowing that it was the end of the line for him. The young rookie defense attorney pointed his finger at von Karma and spoke those few words, “So, it’s over! Murderer!”

“UUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!” Manfred von Karma, the legendary prosecutor, let out an agonizing scream as the old wound came back to haunt him once again after all those years.

Gregory’s eyes widened as he recognized that scream. “That scream. It was the same scream that I heard that day.” He narrowed his eyes. “So... it was you.”

“Damn, you,” Manfred banged his head against the wall. “Damn you, Gregory Edgeworth! You and your sons are my curse!” He bellowed. “I should have killed you! Because of you, Gregory, my perfect record was tarnished by a mere penalty! And… and you left a scar on my shoulder that will never fade!” The prosecutor continued banging his head. “I… I’ll bury you! I’ll bury you with my bare hands! Death! Death!”

After von Karma’s dramatic outburst that caught the entire court off guard, the prosecutor, who had now fallen from grace, finally confessed to his crime.

15 years earlier, the Chief prosecutor’s office

“You disappointed me, von Karma,” The Chief Prosecutor declared as he was staring at the window of his office. “It’s unlike you to make such an error.”

Prosecutor von Karma stood there as his boss, deemed dissatisfied about the ‘incident’ that happened in the courtroom. He then winced as he frantically apologized. “Mr. Chief Prosecutor I… I’m sorry!”

“Sorry, you say?” Chief looked at his colleague with a hint of a smug grin. “Y’know, If you were sorry, then that Defense Attorney Edgeworth fellow wouldn’t be the one to catch you.” he then pulled his beard as he sniffled. “How could you do this to me?”

“I… was careless.”

Chief pulls out his goggles to dump out his so-called tears and places them back on his face to compose himself. “Y’see, I covered for you in the past, but not this time. As it appears, I can no longer trust your credibility.” He pulled out his small lighter. “It pains me that I will have to penalize you. Since you always boast about your perfect records, but I guess your record is now a tad ‘imperfection,’ y’know.”

“Did he say penalized? Over one simple mistake?” Manfred was in shock beyond words as he couldn’t believe that the Chief Prosecutor would add insult by claiming that his records were now “imperfect.” He couldn’t help but think of the one person who caused all this frustration and yelled out in anger, “Edgeworth!!!”

“Oh, come now, don’t be overly dramatic,” Chief remarked as he looked back at the window. “If we’re done here, you should leave. I have other businesses to take care of, y’know. Oh, before you go, please tell your daughter that Uncky Boo Boo won’t be coming to visit her today. Well, see ya!”

Okay, I hope I didn't butcher Manfred's characterization in the final phase of his breakdown. I added some details from the anime where Miles and Phoenix went into sync as they exposed von Karma as the true culprit and the classic von Karma's head banging on the wall breakdown from the first Ace Attorney game.

I'm going to try my very best to explain how the crime took place in the Defendant's Lobby, room No. 1. I'm not very good at the whole murder case, so I have to find some ways to make it work by doing some references.

With that out of the way, I do hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know if there's anything that should be fixed later on in the future. After all, it's just a rough draft for case 4.

[awritingcaitlin]

🔥Find the Word

Thank you @diabolical-blue for the tag!

My words are: moon, brilliant, find, ache

I'll be tagging: @kaylinalexanderbooks, @clockworkgalaxies, @elizmanderson, @ryns-ramblings, and @juls-writes

Your words are: crash, faint, loud, sure, strain

Snippets from TBW under the cut! (I would have done Heist except I don't have the word 'moon' in that one - go figure!)

🌑MOON

They’d crashed. In the Balios Sea. In the middle of a cloudy night. Fuck. Any survivors would have to tread water twice as hard than if they’d crashed in the saltwater ocean. And neither moon was out. Nathaniel spotted the faint glow from an emergency raft’s lamp.  He held his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly, tasting blood in the process. Double fuck.

🔥BRILLIANT

While Mica was upset her initial kidnapping plan never really took off, she couldn’t say with exact certainty she was disappointed with the new arrangement. Of course, it did mean sleeping with the supply chief of Her Majesty’s Royal Buttress (HMR Butt for short), in exchange for unlimited access to the stores. If the pirates wanted brilliant alchemical creations, she needed a reliable supply chain. The supply chief, Manfred, was almost her type. He certainly had a nice swagger. But he was too hairy, smelled of cheap cigars (she didn’t approve of ruining one’s lungs like that), and he snored. Loudly.

🔍FIND

In all honesty, Rinnie wasn’t sure the High Commissioner would be helpful. After all, someone in the city was either authorizing or turning a blind eye to cover-ups. How high would she have to go to find someone with oversight who also cared to make a change? But she couldn’t leave the High Commissioner out of the loop either. She risked making a hostile enemy if she tried to get around him. Even if he was incompetent. Central Berthingtonn Guard Headquarters was in the mountain that was Berthingtonn. This was largely for security purposes, but Rinnie couldn’t help but think that the lack of windows was certainly depressing.

💢ACHE

Rinnie was on her side, her head resting on her right forearm. Something was cinched around her ankles. She strained her ears, trying to identify the rumbling. An engine. Combustion. A truck, probably? She ached.

[pyropsychiccollector]

Ace Attorney: IF (... Part 6)

About a month after the Fey murder case, Miles hears about Will Powers arrested for the murder of Jack Hammer at Global Studios, and sets out to take on his defense. As you can imagine, Miles is VERY invested in this case, and Ray doesn't let that go without some teasing. (人◕ω◕) Which Miles grumbles about because this is SERIOUS, and well…

Let's be real, Miles loves his Steel Samurai, and woe be to anyone that prosecutes this innocent man. (人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)

While touring Global Studios, Miles reunites with some familiar faces. Simon Keyes and Kay Faraday, along with a fresh new face of Horace Knightley. The latter two are merely visiting Simon while he's waiting for filming on a separate show to recommence… And now because of the murder at the studios, they're being told to wait around for questioning. Everything's on hold, which Simon's aggravated by… But Miles is relieved to see them doing well, five years later. He does get into it a bit with Kay when she remarks nothing like this would happen during a Jammin' Ninja filming… Beyond that, they don't really have much helpful information for the case. Though Simon recommends checking out Vasquez and Manella; he's never cared for the head honchos at this studio, or the sleazy director. They're shady, and Simon's glad to only be a part-timer at this studio, he's got gigs lined up with much better places. That's his opinion, anyway. Miles doesn't know how to feel about the mud-slinging at Global Studios, but files Simon's opinions for later consideration. Horace doesn't offer much at this time, but his chess spirit resonates with Miles. If things weren't so dire, he'd love a match, but…well… (人◕ω◕)

Unfortunately, Miles does have a run-in with Oldbag at the gate. (人◕ω◕);;; Her cooperation with the investigation is appreciated, but the doe eyes are very unnecessary, thank you very much. Paradoxically, she gives him no trouble and all the trouble. Gives him the full run of the studio easy, offering him everything he needs, answers all his questions… But also creeps him the hell out with that flirtatious behavior. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;;

… Yeah. He sincerely hoped whoever was in charge of the prosecution DID NOT summon Oldbag to the stand. For the love of all that is good and holy. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;;;;;;

Not all too surprising, Calisto is in charge of the investigation. Manfred had no care for this movie studio scandal, and lobbed it at Wright at first opportunity. This makes for an awkward reunion for Miles, which Calisto teases him relentlessly for, and makes it exceedingly hard to do his job. (人◕ω◕) Based off current findings, Calisto has no reason to doubt Will's guilt, but she still allows Miles to check Studio 1 for himself. The police are pretty much finished, Miles just can't go to Studio 2 because they still have to clear out that mess blocking the path. Calisto let's Miles into Studio 1, although not without twisting the knife in some more and asking how he got on with the security guard. (人◕ω◕) Calisto was very much not disappointed at his disturbed reaction. (人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)

Ultimately, it takes Miles a few days to get to the truth of the case. He couldn't get in touch with Vasquez or Manella until day 2 of investigation, and even then they barely gave him anything to work with. (人◕ω◕) The trial days were rough, ranging from questioning Oldbag, to Manella, to the little grade schooler Cody, to finally Vasquez on the last day of the trial… At least Phoenix was reasonable in keeping the trial going. Miles was extremely grateful for that mercy. (人◕ω◕) Moronic as his friend was for prosecuting Will Powers - though that might just be Miles's humble opinion. He's a closet Steel Samurai fanboy, do you really expect him to stay rational about his idol being on trial? (人◕ω◕)

With the resolution of that trial, however, Miles feels in a charitable enough mood to celebrate with friends. (人◕ω◕) Inviting Will Powers, Penny Nichols, Cody, Phoenix, even Detective Calisto, Simon, Kay, Horace, Byrne, Tyrell, Ray, Sebastian... They even deign to bring Larry along, to belatedly celebrate his acquittal. Which of course means inviting Mia and Diego, since Larry was their client. Phoenix, taking pity on Gumshoe, invites him along as well... to give the poor guy a break from Franziska, though she wound up inviting herself. (人◕ω◕) Ol' Jeffrey Master caters the dessert portion of the evening, with Kate's help.

It's... a lively celebration that makes Miles reflect on everything he's gone through these past five years. How much he's been able to let go of the past, of his obsession with guilty verdicts and worshipping the Von Karma's... How he can even tolerate Franziska's presence because she's mellowed out in her own way...

It's not the life he imagined for himself. But it's one that he's been blessed with and doesn't regret. (人◕ω◕) There's something... liberating about saving people by finding the truth. Is it stressful at times when he has to think on the spot during trials...? Yeah. But that's something he would have needed to do regardless of which side of the bench he was on. it felt too presumptuous to automatically declare all defendants guilty... But back then, he was soothed by his mentor's philosophies on perfection and punishing criminals.

Now Miles knows better... or at least likes to think so. (人◕ω◕) Phoenix is demonstrating that prosecutors can strive for the truth too, and that he isn't disheartened by defeat. That's another way to live, one that Miles could very well have taken. But he's content having found his way to his father's firm and keeping his spirit and memory alive. Defense attorneys, prosecutors, police... they don't have to be enemies. In the end, they should all want the same goal - the truth. (人◕ω◕)

Alas... As delightful as this outing was for Edgeworth, December approaches. The anniversary of his father's death. And despite how much he's changed, the fact remains Gregory Edgeworth's murder was never solved. Forces would soon be moving to ruin Miles... His resolve would be tested.

... And not just his. The tragedy in December would be one to remember~... (人◕ω◕)

[fcstellae]

manfred von karma is literally the number 1 hater bc he gets ONE PENALTY in court and fucking murders the guy who did it and then takes in his son and molds him into being just like him just to continue to ruin his fathers image and hopes for his son. and then when the kid disappoints him 15 years later HE FRAMES HIM FOR MURDER AND PROSECUTES THE CASE HIMSELF

[persephinae]

Spoiler thoughts on ending

Ending credits are very mcu-y, I feel bad for Solas even with getting the good ending with Mythal

Sollavellan really was best canon ending I guess, because damn that was the most kicked down man alive all by his lonesome as he walked away

I chose Davrin and lost Harding, but I must have missed where they mention all Southern Thedas was lost? Was it in the codex?? I'll have to look again.

I loved Lucanis but man we were fucking robbed of any romance content

I did alllllllllll the side quests, every single fucking one. I hated the Lords of Glory as a faction, their entire existence is fucking stupid

This game was wayyyyyy too padded with crap. I'm over 60 hours and they could have trimmed 15-20 in padding.

I'm sorry Emmrich's personal quest line was dumb and his antagonist was a scooby doo villain. I saved Manfred because I love him so much.

Neve's quest line was a lot of awesome build up for a rushed disappointing boss fight.

Davrin's, while delightful, was stupid and a waste of time. I love Assan with all my heart and soul, as well as Evka and Antoine. Antoine is love personified in his devotion to Evka.

Taash's quest line could have been pared down to 2 quest lines.

Bellara is a precious angel and deserves the entire world.

This game is a solid 7.5, even with the cool shit, because the cool shit cannot make up for the 60+ hours of other shit

As a dragon age game this is a solid 6, and I feel like it's a bridge between the old games and the new direction they want, as if they're trying to appeal to everyone and in the process piss off a lot of people

Like given the varied tone of this game idk what they'll be shooting for in the next, if they do make a new game

I also have SERIOUS concerns for Mass Effect given that everyone is fucking gone and this is what we get in Veilguard, as well as that colossal shit sandwich that was MEA.

This game feels like a Frankenstein game of the continuation of Inquisition/Trespasser and the other parts they crammed in to make a new story/continuation of the series

I'll be stewing on this and might write more later

If you loved this game great but man... I'll be thinking about what could have been if this game hadn't of been rebooted 3 times

That's game was waaaaayyyyyyy too long for what it was actually

[bandydear]

Who's your favorite companion in Veilguard?

This is a great question. I've only just unlocked EVERYONE, so I haven't had much time with Emmrich yet, though I love him and Manfred.

Neve and Lucanis were my go-to party before the dragons were party poopers and Tevinter got blarsted (I was intending to romance Lucanis because he's a thoughtful and polite young man). Then, I switched to Davrin and Lucanis because I'm a misogynist (no, I just don't often gel with the Nerdy Yappy Bioware Ingenue--sorry Bellara, and I spent a lot of time with Harding in Inquisition) . Theennnn I recruited Taash and... sorry Lucanis. I was disappointed that they did The Thing again (wherein you pick a love interest with the same race/background as you and they spend the whole date heritagesplaining to you when you... should know that).

I tend to base parties also on attack styles. I play a rogue, so I usually keep a warrior and a mage in my party, though the classes for this game are a little more loose. Right now I'm playing with Taash and Davrin, because their banter is fun (though limited, I miss the amount of diverse party yapping from DAI and DA2, but maybe I just haven't played enough yet). I also like to go on missions with characters who fit the location/have interesting dynamics with each other. Like, I might take Emmrich and Bellara out for Fade Chores, and Taash and Davrin out for hunting beasties, y'know?

I do wish they disliked each other more. I miss the drama. I understand that not every game needs to have a team of haters (love you, DA2), I just miss feeling like a parent driving screaming kids to hockey practice sometimes.

Uh, but I guess companions in order? Subject to change as the game goes on? But how I currently feel: 1. Lucanis 2. Taash 3. Neve (except now she won't heal me :( ) 4. Davrin 5. Emmrich 6. Harding 7. Bellara

And for DA:I: (there were too many male companions in this game I just realized) 1. Cassandra 2. Varric 3. Vivienne 4. Sera 5. Bull 6. Dorian 7. Cole 8. Blackwall 9. Solas (hate u EGG)

DA2: 1. Aveline 2. Varric 3. Isabela 4. Merrill 5. Bethany 6. Fenris 7. Anders