#Regret in reference to Veilguard being a game about regret

[marianchurchland]

This is Alvo, my new canon warden in preparation for Veilguard. My RP aim for this run-through is to lean as hard as I can into the Regret theme, which (no surprise to anyone, I'm sure) makes for a rich and delicious read of all three games.

[scalpelsister]

Morrigan :(

[lavellaned]

Actually I think one of the reasons why this game is so awful to get through is how it treats abuse, abusers, and abuse victims.

Under cut due to length of rambling:

First of all, Morrigan. Abused as a child by her mother, Flemeth aka Mythal, learned about the world and how to interact with it in a skewed way. Was treated in a way that no child should be by anyone let alone their parent.

Fast forward to Inquisition, particularly a worldstate in which Kieran is alive. The scene in the fade where Morrigan confronts Flemythal is one of the most important and special scenes in all of dragon age to me.

Growing up through abuse as a child you never think "I don't deserve this", you mainly think things like "Why is this happening to me?" and "Bad things happen to me." You know that these things are bad and make you feel bad, but when your baseline for how you should experience the world is abusive, you don't have the point of reference to think otherwise. And then you grow up. You look back on the abuse through the eyes of the child who experienced it but also through the detached, adult view that you currently have and have to reconcile the two. It's not easier nor pleasant. Getting to the age your abuser was/getting into the position of power your abuser had over you is difficult. Being at that stage and picturing yourself doing what was done to you to someone else is fucking sickening, and then you start to realize "I wasn't the problem, it WASN'T my fault, YOU are the one that's fucked up." But a lot of people can't and therefore the cycle of abuse continues.

But Morrigan does. She straight up tells her abuser "I will not be the mother you were to me." To have a character who survived childhood abuse be able to reach a point in their life where they can take back their personhood from their abuser is pretty damn important, actually. To this day I get weepy just thinking about it.

And then fucking veilguard happened.

Not only does it not matter if Kieran is alive or if Morrigan drank from the well (something that would BIND HER SPIRIT TO HER ABUSER), but Morrigan straight up let Mythal hitch a ride in her. The very thing that Morrigan tried to prevent ever since the first goddamn game? And we're all just supposed to accept and be ok with this?

The only way I can see this not being a complete character assassination of Morrigan is if Mythal just straight up possessed her unwillingly/killed her. Have Mythal use Morrigan as a information receptacle for new players, but also use old players' already-implemented relationship with her as a way to manipulate them. Either way, shit sucks.

Then there's the Crows. You know, the guild who takes children from brothels, orphanages, the streets and puts them through Hunger Games levels of training in which they either die or survive to become a slave assassin for the rest of their life. Not in veilguard. We're all just one big happy family. We rule Antiva, yippee!

Finally, there's Solas. One could argue his entire existence is the product of abuse, and everything that has happened in Thedas is because of it. I think framing his regrets as physical manifestations that want to kill him is a really interesting narrative choice. Unlocking the regret murals was one of the very few parts of this game that invoked a strong emotional response from me, not just because I'm an unapologetic Solas Enjoyer but because the implications are heartbreaking.

And then the game has you sit through the most fucking unbearable CBT group therapy session to talk about them with some of the most annoying damn people in Thedas who treat the literal apocalyptic levels of abuse Solas went through for millennia as something like a joke? And we the player are not given the option to challenge this? This game makes the point to force the player to agree with the flippant attitudes brought up from this.

Then brings up the final scene with Solas. Do I think the meeting with Mythal and Solas was handled well? Yes and no, but that's for another time. Solas is so far in the trenches of the trauma of abuse that he will not stop until his abuser pretty much tells him "I'm done abusing you." I think this was good and bad, again another time.

The way Solas interacts with his abuser is the direct flipside of how Morrigan does. You see more than one way someone can heal/not heal from it.

Morrigan, someone with arguable little power in the world, stands up against her abuser unflinchingly.

Solas, described through history as a GOD, someone with unfathomable amounts of knowledge and power, cowers and offers his abuser a literal weapon to kill him with, unprompted.

If this was a good game, it would be about regret but also about survivor's guilt, something that those who survived abuse have to deal with for the rest of their lives. But it's not, because it's a a bad game.

[felassan]

Thoughts on DA: Vows & Vengeance -

[info compilation post link] [more info on the podcast]

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this post is rather unstructured : )

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I know what BW said about how there won't be official transcripts, but I hope that they decide to post official transcripts of each episode if it's possible, as it's rly important for accessibility & inclusivity.

I like the title - the alliteration is fun, and the concepts of vengeance and revenge are a DA thematic staple atp. it's neat that it's free and the spacing of one episode per week until mid/late October will help pass the time until launch (the last podcast episode releases 2 weeks before DA:TV Release Day). it's also cool to see DA expand into new forms of media, and I'm excited that we will hear lots more lines from each of the 7 Veilguard companions. 👁️

here is one of the podcast writers, Jeremy Novick, on Twitter.

I’m really looking forwards to Taash and Davrin’s episodes of the podcast in particular ◕‿◕ it feels like we don't know much about them or their backstories relative to the other DA:TV companions at this point in time.

Nadia Carcosa, Drayden and Elio are described as being "podcast-exclusive" characters, I guess this means they will not appear in the game itself (which helps the podcast storyline stay self-contained and the podcast to remain as optional listening). but it would be cool if in the game there is some references to them here and there, like in dialogue and/or codex entries/notes etc. 😊

in the background image of the teaser trailer and what looks like the thumbnail for the podcast[?] on podcasting sites, the two faction symbols shown are the Mourn Watch and the Shadow Dragons. is this a coincidence/just since their symbols look cool, or are these two factions the factions with the biggest roles in the podcast storyline relative to the others? the penultimate episodes are the ones that focus on Emmrich and Neve 🤔

"revenge, redemption, and love": these themes mixed together often produce regret. and there was a quote somewhere in DA:TV marketing materials that said “For DA:TV [the game itself], from the start one of the biggest themes has been regret; how regret shaped peoples’ lives, how people deal with their regrets, how people maybe move past their regrets.”

Mae Whitman previous credits include: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Brigette Lundy-Paine previous credits include: Bill & Ted Face the Music, Atypical, I Saw the TV Glow Armen Taylor previous credits include: Diablo IV, Octopath Traveler II, Vinland Saga

I wonder when the podcast is set? maybe in the weeks to months before Varric, Harding, Neve and Rook go to Solas' ritual site in the game's prologue? I also wonder what lineages Nadia, Drayden and Elio are? If Drayden has a mysterious connection to the Fade, they're most likely to be human or elven, right?

cat burglar, thief, scoring jobs like the one described in the podcast's plotblurbs - these kind of plot beats remind me of what we learned about an earlier concept of DA:TV when the game was more about stuff like heists and spies.

Nadia being a thief unknowingly employed by the Dread Wolf to track down a powerful ancient artifact before finding herself tangled up in everything: this reminds me sm of one of the 'here's what the DA4 PC's backstory could be and how they could end up caught up in the narrative of the game'-speculation ideas I used to wonder about hhh.

a retired cat burglar.. maybe Nadia has ties to the Lords of Fortune? some of them seem to be more thiefy. although, being wanted by Tevinter authorities for crimes of theft, high treason and murder maybe points towards Shadow Dragons instead.

two lovers going on a job to get an artifact reminds me of Irian Cestes and Vadis from TN. "burglar" also gives me Hobbit/LOTR vibes :D I imagine that over the many years since DA:I, the Dread Wolf has employed many such people [unknowingly to them] on jobs like this.

Elio being "seemingly" banished to the Fade is interesting wording.. so is "banished" actually. (Elio's Fade banishment also makes me think of foreshadowing Solas' subsequent entry to Fade Jail in DA:TV.) ((shoutout to left-in-the-Fade-Hawkes' LIs who I can also imagine desperately searching for answers on a rescue mission across all of Thedas after learning that Hawke was left in the Fade in DA:I...))

Carcosa

I'm reaaally curious about what Drayden's mysterious connection to the Fade is all about and entails.

"a few [answers] they wish they hadn’t" 👁️...

the question is, what the powerful ancient artifact is, and why does Solas want it? if he wants it it's probably ancient elven, right?

On the trailer itself

"This chamber, it feels different from the cave. I can sense something. The Veil is thin here." - I'd guess this speaker is Drayden. it isn't Nadia, as we hear her later on. the speaker can sense the thin/thickness of the Veil and Drayden is said to have a mysterious connection to the Fade. at this point they're in some kind of, well, chamber, as the speaker's voice echoes and you can hear water dripping down the damp walls.

The announcer's voice is so deep hh!

To be wanted by Tevinter authorities for crimes including high treason, maybe Nadia is from Tevinter? treason is "the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government." so to commit treason in Tevinter context, you're probably from Tevinter.

"Who the hell is Nadia Carcosa?" - this sounds like Varric. :>

"So, what's the mark?" - I'd guess this speaker is Nadia. they sound scrappy/seasoned (Nadia is nearly retired), and the speaker is probably asking for more details on the job they've just acquired to do. does she sound like she could be a dwarf to anyone else or is this just me? :D maybe that's just my daydreams hhh

"The Eye of Kethisca" quote: presumably the middle man who Solas hired to hire someone, thereby keeping his own identity secret

The Eye of Kethisca itself: this must be the "powerful ancient artifact" from the text blurbs. there are no hits for "Kethisca" on the DA Wiki, so this is a new name/thing. it must be creepy-deepy, because when it's mentioned in the trailer you can hear creepy voices whispering ominously. :D "Kethisca" doesn't sound elven, but you could easily have an artifact that's e.g. ancient elven but acquired another name or been called something else by others in the centuries since.

"The Eye was made from a rare gem mined here in the caves beneath us. It was crafted centuries ago by a powerful Dreamer." - Solas speaking. I wonder how oblique/lies of omission/technically true (you know what I mean? that thing he does) Solas is being here.. like maybe the Dreamer was an ancient elvhen Dreamer not a human Tevinter one, like maybe the centuries ago were centuries and centuries and centuries ago dating back to Elvhenan rather than later on temporally at say, a more recent time in history like the height of the Imperium. "Eye" makes me think of spherical things, "gem" makes me think of how lyrium (Titans' blood) is a mineral. caves makes me think of dwarfy things and the Deep Roads. as for "mined":

"The runes say the Evanuris fought the Titans. They mined their bodies for lyrium and... something else. It's not clear."

what if the Eye is the heart of a Titan, a foci? Solas' Orb was spherical and the hearts of Titans look spherical here in the Death of a Titan mural. the way he frames it makes it sound like the mark is a rare jewel mined from caves by a Tevinter human dreamer long ago before being crafted into something, but I wonder if it was, more technically, the heart of a Titan mined from the body of a Titan even longer ago by, say, a member of the Evanuris, before being crafted into a foci. Solas needed his own foci in DA:I to carry out his plans, and then it was broken. there was more than one foci in ancient Elvhenan; after DA:I and Trespasser, I could see a world/storyline in which, during the long years between then and DA:TV, Solas at some point learns that another one of the foci artifacts survived into the modern day, and decided to try and get his hands on it so that he can carry out his plan using another foci instead. and since the foci can do Fadey/Veily stuff, that could be how Elio got yeeted in there. reminds me a bit of the scene when the Inquisitor yeets Cory at the end of DA:I. (here I'm just speculating wildly for fun hhh. Solas' Orb doesn't really look like a gem etc. and the Lyrium Knife tears the Veil, so maybe this storyline was set before he got that or sth)

also I wonder where these caves are? beneath Minrathous? Solas has a hideout beneath Minrathous, as we know, and the deeper you go the more elfy things get.

Magister Andante: I think this is our first time hearing about this character. their name reminds me of Andraste.

"Magister Andante? It's about Nadia. She's about to do something quite reckless." - this sounds to me like Neve speaking. it kind of sounds like she's meeting the magister clandestinely, at night. she seems to know Nadia.

"Listen to me, you've been tricked. This isn't a simple grab-and-go for the money. There are bigger forces at play. We have to put this back and leave." - I'd guess this speaker is Elio. it sounds like at this point he and Nadia have found the Eye and taken it, but he's trying to get her to see reason/warn her. it's a tense moment with the sound of battle all around them.

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you pay for my mistakes." - Nadia refusing to listen to Elio. the sounds of battle get louder and it sounds like there's an explosion or something? plus the dragon roar. maybe Mr dragon is breathing fire everywhere. :D I wonder as well if it's Elio grunting in pain at this point. I'd guess this is the moment where Elio is seemingly yeeted into the Fade perhaps?

"Nadia, I presume. I am Solas, and I am, I believe, the one that you seek." - Solas again obviously, only this time sounding way more godly and Fen'Harelly in persona (booming) than he did when he was talking more demurely/plainly about what the Eye is.

"The name I seek is the Dread Wolf" - Nadia again obviously :) so something in the job went wrong, she figures out who hired them, and goes to find the Dread Wolf presumably because she either blames him for Elio being stuck in the Fade and/or she thinks he might be able to get him out or tell her how.

"The Eye will destroy you" - and this sounds like Neve again maybe?

[thedinanshiral]

On Solas, again.

After The Veilguard i think this post deserves an expansion.

This one will be long and full of spoilers.

Veilguard gave us a more complete version of his tragic backstory, his memories, his regrets, and showed us a different side of his character.

Here's the thing: Solas is not perfect, he never was. He's been broken for a large portion of his exceedingly long life.

He started as a spirit, presumably a spirit of Wisdom, but he was always called Solas which is heavily implying Solas may be the elvhen word for Wisdom we've been lacking all this time. How did it come to mean Pride? Evanuris propaganda, most likely. Would you listen to and follow someone who is wise or someone who's just full of themselves? Would you, as an elf in ancient Elvhenan, follow another elf resisting the oppression, or a lying, manipulating big bad wolf bent on destroying the world you know by opposing your gods? Who would you listen to, really? The Evanuris high on the blight couldn't allow Solas' name to be a positive for him, so they likely resignified his name with a negative connotation, and just as Solas ran with the Fen'Harel/Dread Wolf narrative because it scared his enemies, he probably didn't give much thought about this either. He was Solas, and whatever his name meant to them wasn't important, what mattered was the cause.

He was a calm flying, glowing nervous system with wings going about his existence in the Fade, minding his own business bothering no one until Mythal asked him to join her in the physical world, with a physical body. He was pure, fully a spirit, and a former spirit who was a friend was almost begging for his help, how could he say no? Even when he knew there would be unfortunate consequences, how could he abandon a dear friend? So he accepted, and became a man. We don't know why Mythal would turn to him for help, of all spirits of the Fade, why him? For his wisdom only, his guidance? In elvhen lore first came the sun and the earth, and Elgar'nan was the firstborn, followed by Mythal, the two of them are in their mythology the first beings to exist. Veilguard, however offers a few codices which are as interesting as they're amusing: evanuris correspondence. Letters from Solas addresed to Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain and their replies. In his letter to Elgar'nan Solas addresses him with his titles but also presents himself with his own, including "second to Mythal", and after addressing Elgar'nan as "first among the Evanuris (...) who woke at the dawn of the elves" Solas refers to himself as "who is no younger". He's "no younger" than Elgar'nan who is, as Elgar'nan's Bloodbound Desmal says on the reply, "First of the Firstborn". And he was already a spirit of considerable power if Mythal turned to him for help so Solas is even more ancient than previously thought, and possibly on equal standing with all of them. This would explain why he walked amongst Evanuris and Forgotten ones alike as if he were one of them, as the stories go. His official rank may not have been too high but they all knew who he was and at least initially they respected him.

The Blight is what changed the game, he refused to participate in it like the others, he refused to join them in their systems of oppression, so maybe the difference was never in power but in logistics. Solas' own words explain it, he was a thorn on their side, drove them to take on more of the Blight to get back at him, implying his rebellion was winning. His efforts were succeeding and in their desperation to stop him for good the evanuris relied more and more on the Blight.

When in Trespasser Solas claims he "was Solas first" i'm inclined to take his word literally. If the instance that changed him into Pride as Morrigan implies in Veilguard was when the world didn't match his expectations, that would have been after the Titans were slained, once he decided to burn Mythal's vallaslin off his face, when he decided to rebel against them. But in his memories at the Lighthouse we can see he was called Solas before all that, the name change came after the war, when the Evanuris decided being powerful general mages of the people wasn't enough, that they should be gods; it's then when Elgar'nan refers to him as a lapdog, and i think that's were the "Dread Wolf" name came from, later on. He was a dog when he was begging them to stop, and became a wolf when he actively tried to make them stop, no longer a beggar but a threat.

In his memories in the Crossroads we see a different side of him, we see him leading, plotting, making difficult choices he thought himself obligated to make because of the dire circumstances; we saw him worried, scared, desperate. His rebellion was something he did out of a necessity, not senseless pride, he had nothing to prove of himself to the Evanuris, but the people deserved better and their "gods" were not going to give them anything but pain. Solas has always made unfortunate decisions guided by his own guilt. He joined Mythal so as to not abandon a dear friend in need, he rebelled out of guilt because it was his contibution to ending the war with the titans what generated the Blight the evanuris became addicted to and took it out on the people. He's been desperately trying to fix his mistakes since he first had a foot to set on the earth. The war with the titans had already started, that's why Mythal called on him, and his first mistake was accepting her request, knowing what it meant, and he hasn't stopped feeling guilt and shame for his choices ever since.

So during his rebellion we see him gather his forces comprised of other spirits, with Felassan as his second in command. It's interesting how the spirits he relied on for their battles had names that today we would interpret as demons, like Chaos and Disruption. There's a codex in Veilguard that touches on how demons are spirits too, just different, and it's people who collectively decided to clasify and treat spirits of unpleasant feelings and concepts as "demons". This may be why Solas, at the final stretch of Act 3 and if Lucanis is in the party, immediatly recognizes Spite as a spirit of Determination; he's always seen spirits for what they are and not what people make them to be, because he's a spirit himself.

I'm of the idea that Solas doens't mean Pride, that if he was twisted from his purpose then he turned into something else, just as there are many kinds of wisdom there should be many other things Wisdom can be twisted into. Taking into consideration when and what for Mythal called for him, and how he tends to always have a plan for everything, i'd say his brand of wisdom may have been in strategy, analysing and planning ahead. They needed to win the war, makes sense they'd need someone capable of devising a way of achieving that. But strategy is a lot about foresight, measured risk, collateral damage, what is or isn't acceptable to sacrifice considering what is to gain or lose, and it's clear in the war with the titans the end justified the means and we see Solas taking a similar approach in his memories when he sacrifices countless spirits in a move meant simply to distract. I think if he turned into something he wasn't meant to be it was Pragmatism, in the sense that he put his ideals on hold and did what he thought would yield concrete results towards his ultimate goal, even if those actions demanded sacrifices he terribly regreted. In his letter to Ghilan'nain he urges her to change, but understands she's where she's at because of her relationship with Andruil and tells her she wouldn't be the first one to throw away their morals for love. Solas does this thing where he tells on himself without realizing it, he sometimes speaks from personal experience and in that line he was surely thinking of his own choice to support Mythal even when what was required of him went against his very nature and ideals.

After everything was said and done, Solas was mostly full of guilt, regret, shame. He made plans but every plan he made backfired, either he hadn't considered outside factors or miscalculated the severity of the consequences. Even if his plans had contingency plans and even though as an elvhen he perceived time and magic differently i get the impression he improvised on the go, he saw a problem, devised a plan to fix it, but in the urgency to get it in motion he was blind to the ramifications, and even when he considered those he was blind to the ramifications of the ramifications because as powerful as he may have been or is still, he's not an omniscient god. He's just a spirit turned man who did it all to help a friend and it all exploded in everyone's faces.

The thing is, when you screw up so badly by trying to do what you think is right in the way you've convinced yourself is the only or best way available, you enter a vicious cycle that's very difficult to get out of. Again, i don't think Solas was Pride, if anything once he entered this phase in his character development i'd say he was closer to Arrogance. Only he could fix what he broke, so only he could make a plan and only he could execute it and for him to succeed he had to be correct. There was no other way. But ultimately all this was driven by a degree of guilt and regret we can't fully imagine. And that guilt and regret, and the despair that came with it, hit harder than ever when he woke from uthenera to find a world fragmented, the Elvhenan empire destroyed and forgotten, and the elvhen people gone, an imperfect, minuscule version of it in their place, in an insufferable infancy and willfully ignorant of their own history. He had saved the world but the consequence was the destruction of the world he knew, the cost too heavy to process. So he stayed in that vicious cycle, he's the only one who remembers, he's the only one who knows what must be done, he's the only one willing to make the sacrifices needed to see it through. It all falls on him. During his time with the Inquisition he's still plotting, still trying to move the threads around him to get things in motion towards his goal but it was also a time of serious reflection, of revelations coming both from external elements and from within. A befriended Inquisitor, and specially a romanced one, makes him question himself and his plans, and that vicious cycle begins to crack. It's the destruction of his orb what pushes him towards a more drastic plan B, and even before that -if romanced- it's his guilt still dragging him towards his self-imposed dinan'shiral, that guilt that he probably perceives as a final duty to his people. But he had considered stopping and staying with Lavellan, and that's a small yet major crack in that cycle he's trapped himself in. He began to doubt.

Off he went on his own for almost ten years, to set the many phases of his plan in motion, sometimes doing things himself, often times relying on his agents or others unknowingly working for him. Because as a strategist, and a pragmatic one, in order for all this to work he had to detach himself emotionally from everyone involved, he had to see them as pieces on the board for him to move accordingly to what the plan demanded in order to achieve the desired results. So yes, Solas uses people, he's been using people for thousands of years, he used countless spirits during his rebellion, he used Felassan when he couldn't yet wake up, he used Corypheus, he used the Inquisition but got emotionally involved and walked out so he could continue using whatever means necessary to reach what he considered had to be the only acceptable outcome. But he was also willing to sacrifice himself, he was always ready to die if if he had to while at the same time trying to preserve his life at least long enough to do what he must. Solas has always been a creature of contrasts, from that very first moment when he was a spirit, and then he became a man.

He is, as trickster figures often are, a liminal creature. Neither here nor there yet somehow all over the place at the same time. So while he was willing to sacrifice others for his own goal, he was also willing to sacrifice himself to save others. By the end in Veilguard, in a Redeem ending, he makes that sacrifice, not by giving away his life but something he perhaps considers more precious, his freedom.

I'll be writing about his relationship with Mythal, Lavellan and that ending at length in a different post, for now suffice it to say i think it's the best ending in part because it allows a different part of him to come to light and i just love his character dearly, all sides of it.

[nadas-dirthalen]

I Chose the Wrong Romance in a Game About Regret, and It Made the Game Better

A love letter to BioWare about Dragon Age: the Veilguard.

I don't have the thoughts in me for a formal review of all the aspects of gameplay at this time, nor do I have the brainpower for dissecting my every theory just yet.

But tonight, I want to write to you about the thing that stuck with me the most about Dragon Age: the Veilguard. And that is... I chose the wrong romance for my Rook, and it made the game unforgettable.

Veilguard endgame spoilers below the cut.

(I just liked this tiny screencap, okay. This specific dialogue isn't what I want to talk about.)

For a few days now, I've been trying to think of how to phrase what I want to say. The emotions I felt in the endgame of Veilguard were massive—to the tune I became dehydrated. To convey why that was, I think I have to start at the beginning.

This is the story of Winged Death: the party, the romance, and the headcanons that formed a nightmare combination to break me emotionally.

Meet my Rook: Thenera Sa'renan Aldwir, or Nera for short. A Veil Jumper who lost her mom to blight sickness when she was a teen; who tried to find the Wardens at Skyhold only to learn they'd been exiled; who joined the Veil Jumpers to protect people, but also honor her mother's memory. (Yes, all of this becomes relevant.)

Her name is taken from elven: Thenera from theneras (dream), and Sa'renan from sa (one; one more) and renan (voice). I used the patronymic system outlined in Project Elvhen: Sa'renan was her mother's name. I chose all this in late August, long before I'd really theorized anything substantive about Veilguard.

I did not know how much it would hurt.

All through the game, I got more and more into Nera's head. This was helped out a lot by how much footage I'd seen in September, how I knew Nera would be the "throw a chair while beating up an entire bar" Rook rather than try any attempt at diplomacy. How I knew she'd punch the First Warden without second thought, despite not knowing what the First Warden had done before Weisshaupt. She was always the "hit things with rocks to fix them" Veil Jumper to me, just like Bellara's dialogue references.

It also meant that I felt a lot of her insecurity in the early game: her doubt in her own intellect; her insecurity in her Dalish identity from being kicked out of her clan as a child and living in Wycome as a young adult; her acute awareness of her own trauma and fear around all things blight. To mirror my Inquisitor, who had Dirthamen vallaslin, I gave Nera Falon'Din vallaslin, to signify that she had seen too much death at far too young an age.

I even picked a party for her "default" group: Lucanis and Davrin. Because of Nera's Falon'Din vallaslin, Lucanis' demon wings, and Assan's battlefield presence, I gave my group a name: Winged Death.

And I loved them.

But just like I'd headcanoned a lot of Nera's backstory, I also hypothesized a lot about the Lucanis romance. And, to put it briefly... the game did not match what I expected, and the Lucanis romance was not to my enjoyment, personally. (If you like it, good! I'm glad you do! This post is about Nera, though.)

Right away, Lucanis asked about Nera's favourite drink. When she said tea and he made a disgusted noise and nothing else, I reloaded, choosing the "better" answer of liking the same coffee as him—something that prompted more dialogue. For me, in hindsight, this was the first moment I should have seen that for all Lucanis' charm, he would not fit my gruff, chair-throwing Veil Jumper. But I'd committed, and I was determined to see it through just once.

I didn't want Veilguard to be the story of an elf romancing an elf—for me, that was my Inquisitor's story. I wanted a new flavour.

Only... Lucanis' romance, for Nera, did not pick up much from there. Almost the entirety of act 2 was silent—and that was after saving Treviso. Lucanis seemed to care more for Neve and Minrathous than he did for Rook, in my perception. By then, I'd sunk into Nera's headspace, and I could feel her feeling neglected. I could feel her insecurities rearing their ugly heads: was she too blunt? Not intelligent enough? Somehow too elven, even for a Crow, whose organization is made up of so many elves?

You know who she constantly found acceptance in, though? Whose approval triggered almost every time Nera answered a question honestly, in the stern way that she was predisposed to do?

Davrin. The other half of Winged Death. The one who, now, was bickering with Lucanis almost nonstop in party banter, each constantly jabbing the other about how death would come for them, death would claim all they'd known, their choices would bury them.

Lucanis had precious few opportunities to discuss Nera being an elf; an elf Rook facing down their own gods. But Davrin? Davrin talked about it so much, he would know the horror of being called Da'len by Elgar'nan.

Together, they survived the Cauldron. And where did they shelter? In the ribcage of a slain archdemon. But not just any archdemon.

Zazikel. Who has been confirmed now, in a Veilguard codex, as Falon'Din's archdemon.

And where were the griffons allowed to go, at the end? Arlathan.

I could never have foreseen those parallels, and yet? There they were, piling up too late. I'd already made Nera's choices for her, and I'm not someone who would normally attempt a love triangle.

(She's so pleased with their shenanigans. Just look at that totally carefree and happy face.)

Lucanis' content dried up for Nera, but stayed pretty consistent for Neve—to the point that she had begun to feel sincerely cast aside. I began playing her with that mindset: as if she'd been set adrift, even as she locked in Lucanis' romance.

Around 45 hours into my ~60 hour playthrough, I found myself thinking... maybe I try the Davrinmance next game. Maybe I reroll Nera, even as a Veil Jumper again, to see those griffons in Arlathan. To see two Dalish elves haunted by the same ghosts, and see how they grow. I talked to friends about it. I even headcanoned some more, trying to see how Nera's narrative and personality might slot in with Davrin's questline.

In my head, that looked a little like Nera realizing she felt stronger kinship and connection with Davrin, but denying that to herself. She was, after all, locked in with someone else.

I let myself laugh at this, taking more screenshots of Nera and Davrin than of Nera and Lucanis, right up until the beginning of act 3.

And that's how BioWare got me.

If you're here, you know what comes next. I didn't.

I thought I needed Harding to potentially face down Solas, thanks to her line about wanting to look him in the eye after one of Solas' memories. I thought, maybe, some dialogue would unlock by having Harding in the party during any potential final confrontation.

This was the second time I went against Nera's own character: I chose to keep Harding at Nera's side, rather than Davrin. I did it for my Inquisitor.

And at first, I thought Davrin was surviving my choice.

I even felt happy—proud—that I freed him during the Ghilan'nain fight. I thought if I delayed too long, he might die to the fight's mechanics. But he survived that, too.

Then, the worst played out before my eyes: Lucanis going to take the shot at Ghilan'nain. Being caught. Davrin, racing in to defend. Being impaled. Lucanis hitting Ghilan'nain, only to appear suddenly dead—dead, somehow, how could he be dead, I'd just seen him?—seconds later.

Because of Arlathan, I'd thought this was just another Elgar'nan trick. Solas would come to save us soon. He had to. This was just fake-Solas, conjured by Elgar'nan to make Rook lash out or feel lost. Right?

It didn't hit me until I was in the Fade, and Solas was gone. Until Neve's statues were everywhere, because Nera had chosen Neve to risk that dangerous magic. Neve, who was her very antithesis; who was human enough and sophisticated enough and eloquent enough in ways my spellblade had struggled with reconciling since her teen years.

Saying it was my fault, that my Rook chose this for her—and she had. Her decision was motivated by her favour for Bellara.

I think this is when my Rook stopped denying things to herself. Right here.

This was the person she was closest with in her own party. This was the person who shared her feelings on both her culture and the blight. This was the person who brought joy to her days, with more meaningful dialogues (in Nera's opinion!) than Lucanis had had since act 1.

It is hard to put into words how hard this moment hit me. She had chosen wrong—and I had chosen for her. I was reminded of Taash's line from after Memory #2: "There was stuff he wanted to tell her. But he waited too long. And then she was dead."

And then she was dead.

My Rook knew why Fade Jail held her so well, in that moment. Even before the Varric reveal that had my tear ducts begging for mercy.

The game's mechanics had done that to her. Locked her into a romance with Lucanis (my choice, hellbent on seeing it through), didn't let her leave, didn't allow for her to say anything akin to, 'Hey, Davrin, not in this worldstate... but how about the next one?' (and all of those, for the record, are 100% understandable, and just the nature of video games!)

Lucanis continued to have little in the way of content that fit Nera, and was First Talon, to boot. Nothing in the game could change that; games aren't designed that way. He was destined for a life she was never going to enjoy, locked in to that choice—and she, and I, should've figured it out sooner.

We didn't. Varric was dead. Everything had been a lie. We'd been duped; played. We were never smart enough; together, we were doomed all along.

Every insecurity I'd imagined for Nera came crashing down. And all of them, I'd gleaned from hints in Companions Week. From the footage that released on September 19, showing Rook's backstory choices. From the overall tone of the promotional material we saw, and the strong emphasis on companions, and the declaration of the theme of regret.

And it culminated in me crying harder than I have at any piece of media.

Ever.

Ever.

BioWare gave me every hint I needed to make a fitting Rook, and every single choice they showed me I could make was a weapon. That's why I not only accept, but appreciate the 'spoilers' that we got from Bioware beforehand. That's why I am so far from jaded about the Lucanismance. I could not denounce this experience if I tried, and you know why?

Because through Lucanis' continued flirtatious banter with Neve, the way he stays continually animated so close to her, and the way he gives the same mid-combat praise to Neve as to Rook, my Rook felt like a woman scorned. And it made the game BETTER.

I wouldn't have cried so hard, for so long, if Nera was allowed to be happy. I wouldn't have been shaken to my core as a Solavellan, wondering if there really could be a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.

The game wouldn't have hit me like it did if Lucanis hadn't come to Rook to declare his feelings only after she had spent time mourning Davrin and Assan. It wouldn't have hurt so good if Lucanis' dialogue afterward never mentioned his worry for exclusively Neve, and not the loss of Davrin—who he'd travelled with all game long.

But Solas had done it: he had molded Nera into a creature of pure regret.

And I, through my determination to try a romance that turned out not to fit my Rook, had let him.

The way it was structured, Lucanis' every sweet word rang hollow after Nera was freed from the Fade, and it made Davrin's, Varric's, and (what I thought was) Neve's deaths hurt that much worse.

There was nothing that could fix the pain in Nera's heart, the pain of her wrong choices not just in failing to romance Davrin, but failing to question Solas, failing to notice peculiarities about "Varric" in the Lighthouse. She felt like she failed, and she had. Undeniably. Because no matter where the conclusion of the game would take us, she'd never end up happy. She'd never want the life of a First Talon's spouse.

Every piece of her character lined up with regret, all at once. It all clicked into place, all in two soul-crushing hours.

Her name is Thenera Sa'renan Aldwir—and she was the victim of a dream of just one voice. She wears Falon'Din vallaslin, and was given a moment to spend time alone with the many, many dead.

Falon'Din: friend of the dead. That was what Nera had become, wasn't it? Because her closest party member—and what might have been her truer love—would not be coming back. Because I could feel that a part of her did not want to leave Fade Jail, and that Emmrich really did have to pull her out.

Winged Death destroyed her.

She rained down fire and lightning all through parts 13 and 14. She became Wrath and Thunder. I let her hit enemies harder than she had to, wasting her mana at every opportunity. Let her vent her every frustration. All I could think of, through the hurt, was this codex.

Elgar'nan, Wrath and Thunder, Give us glory. Give us victory, over the Earth that shakes our cities. Strike the usurpers with your lightning. Burn the ground under your gaze. Bring Winged Death against those who throw down our work.

Nera became all that was left of Winged Death, having let Lucanis fight with the Crows, taking Taash and Harding instead.

Elgar'nan was resistant to all her magic in that final fight. She was weakest at the end, and I didn't want to change her specialization to avoid that fact. She was broken, deep down. Solas' happy ending did not fix what the game had done to Nera's heart.

She, the other half to my Inquisitor, ended up with the opposite fate. Where my Inquisitor's journey on the din'anshiral was ending (or at least, was no longer alone), Nera had thought she had the companionship she wanted, only to wind up on the din'anshiral alone, with no way of recovering Davrin.

Which brings me to her last parallel: Solas' devotion to Mythal. Saying that if he did not tear down the Veil, then "I—she would have died for nothing."

To love someone and say nothing; it twisted them both up inside. Rook and Solas, always intended to be mirrors. One death, enough for each of them to bring the Eldest of the Sun to his knees. To change the elven pantheon forever.

I don't know how I managed to stumble upon this level of pain, but I could not be gladder that I did.

So, at the end of this extremely long post, here is my praise for BioWare. You mad geniuses, if any of you ever, ever see this... you wove regret into this game so well, so deeply, that my own passing thoughts about romance beats and game mechanics wound up stabbing me an additional time in Fade Jail, just as deep as the wound of Varric's death.

So well was this narrative constructed that I found my Rook in every corner of this story, even its tiniest references twining with every headcanon I had made.

Veilguard is so good, so profound, that a romance that did not work for me made the game better. That, to me, is the mark of a kickass narrative: one that fits almost any headcanon while still delivering on a deep, resonant theme.

BioWare couldn't have known that my party would be "Winged Death." Couldn't have known Nera, or her position as a Veil Jumper, or her doubt in her own intellect and her own ability to love. Yet, that is the beauty of Veilguard and of Dragon Age in general: they don't have to know. The writing is brilliant enough that it fits as much as one single story can in terms of possibility, while still hitting home with the same theme for everyone.

So thank you, BioWare. Thank you to every writer, to every animator, to every amazing, talented human whose hands and minds touched this game.

I needed the cry after a hard year, and you all delivered in the best way. I'm doing the Davrinmance now—because I think it's right to try it, and I think Nera deserves it—but this run will always hold the dearest place in my heart. The one where the regret bloomed, in part, because of jokes and headcanons I had made in the middle of a romance I did not enjoy, wishing for a different second playthrough.

The one where it all stabbed me, all at once. You bastards. (affectionate)

[headachecat]

As someone who hasn't read the books but wants more information, what kind of Regrets™ would Falessan present? Would Solas finally see the elves not as pawns and easily disposable? (That's all I really got from the game/vague posts)

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!

Felassan is present in Veilguard as one of Solas’ friends and Agents during the rebellion against the Evanuris. He grows concerned over Solas’ increasing ruthlessness that eventually leads to their victory, but remains loyal to the very end.

Now, we know that after the creation of the Veil, Solas went missing, as the ritual weakened him so much he went into slumber for literal millennia. During that time, Felassan remained so painfully loyal to Solas, that he went looking for him. For years.

This causes a significant rift between who they were as people, as Solas slept through the years, unchanged in his views, Felassan has grown, adapted and came to care for the people he was surrounded with. Even if over time the Dalish twisted the stories and held the Evanuris as their rightful gods and Fen’harel as the antagonistic, cursed god, Felassan has spent his time adapting to the change gradually. He had no other choice.

Thus, when Solas finally woke up and got hit with the absolutely devastating reality of his actions, he turned to direct his anger at the Dalish and the modern elves for who they were.

In the Inquisition, it is revealed through Solas’ convo with Cole, that Solas murdered Felassan. Because he viewed the mortals around him as people. As friends. Most likely also because he tried to sway Solas to accept who the elves now were, but we know that the spirit of Pride can take over Solas’ actions more than he wishes.

Technically, the game also suggests that Felassan was killed partially because he refused to give Solas the passphrase to activate the Eluvians. Because he tried to protect the world as it is now. And Solas could not take it.

He woke up alone, weak, powerless, chained to a doomed purpose. He’s a broken spirit in a world that despises him, and there is nothing left for him anymore. Imagine seeing your only remaining friend after literally MILLENIA, and he’s just okay with the way the world is. The world that YOU broke. The world that DESPISES you. The world that sings praises to the people that ABUSED you AND your people.

Now, from Felassan’s perspective - imagine searching for your leader, a friend, the only remaining ancient elf for millennia. When he finally awakes, you find him, and he’s just raging. He wants to take away the world he’s so afraid of. The world that you’ve grown to love, to nurture, to exist in. The PAIN that inflicts upon you. But you don’t give up - you try to talk sense into him, you do your best to stop him. But there’s nothing you can do, and you give your life in an attempt.

Felassan’s spirit appears in the Veilguard as one of the mini bosses. It’s literally called The Betrayal of Felassan and it’s voice line refer to being stabbed in the back and also cries about an „unfinished story”.

Felassan’s spirit is tormented in the Fade because he was killed by his friend, betrayed and finally forgotten. Even by the game, ironically. All there is left for the player to do is to kill his blighted remains.

SO, I do believe that Mythal would represent the regrets of Solas’ youth that we’ve seen in the game itself.

Felassan represents Solas’ own betrayal regrets and is successive in the timeline to Mythal. The regrets of not being able to control his own spirit. The regrets of losing a friend (ANOTHER ONE!!) The regrets of doing whatever it takes to repair the world. The regrets of being twisted against his own nature. He’s the spirit of wisdom, for gods’ sake!

And finally, Inquisitor, well- we all know that one. It links to betrayal, but also takes us on a full circle back to Mythal. In romance especially, Solas is the one leaving Inquisitor who is begging him to not go, as he disappeared to the fate unknown in Trespasser. The same happened when Mythal left Solas to talk to the Evanuris, even though Solas begged her not to go. Even further, Inquisitor also links to Felassan - trying to make Solas see the people as who they are - real beings, worthy of life. And again, after Trespasser, Inquisitor spends years looking for Solas.

I mean come on.

[mumms-the-word]

Yet another Veilguard update with the usual good, the bad, the ugly, and the me freaking out about minor references and callbacks haha

This one is very long sorry

So since the last update I have done as much side content as possible before heading to the Hossberg Wetlands and later Weisshaupt (which I just completed last night) which included, briefly, unlocking all of the solas regrets murals

And uh WOW was that whole deep dive a doozy. I definitely should have spaced out the murals over time rather than movie-marathoned them back to back. But the things I learned about Solas…it’s insanity

In a good way

In a really horrifying way

I loved that our theories about Solas being a spirit of Wisdom first were confirmed, and I lost my mind over the fact that the first elves were spirits who gained physical bodies by taking Titan blood (aka lyrium). And the fact that Solas CREATED THE BLIGHT by essentially making the Titans Tranquil?? And that’s why Dwarves don’t dream????

Losing my mind. Solas what have you DONE.

I still ahev to process it all haha but I do have a few thoughts

So far, I wish there was more engagement with these elements and the Chant of Light. The companions react and say that these reveals basically dismantle Andrastianism but the Chant has several allegorical parallels to what, apparently, really happened. The Maker’s first children were spirits, and all that…so I kind of wish the Chantry had a bigger presence in the game with more reactivity

But that’s a post for another day. For now, I reloaded back to only 3 murals unlocked so the team only knows the story up to Solas creating the Veil. I’ll rewatch the others later.

I got worried about being locked out of stuff so I went ahead and did as much side content as I could with a couple of exceptions. Turns out, I probably didn’t need to do that and it would have made more sense narratively if I hadn’t. More on that in a minute

The Siege of Weisshaupt mission was SO GOOD!! Like…the main missions are really where this game shines, I think. I have gripes with some of the companion conversations, but in the actual story missions, the action, the intensity, all of it is so good. And I thought Ghilan’nain turning her archdemon into a many-headed hydra creature was *chefs kiss* so cool. I love fighting big/unique stuff like that!

All that said the follow up scene with the team at the table leaves…a lot to be desired

Listen, DA games pride themselves on bringing together a team of companions that players adore and fall in love with. Naturally we enjoy helping out our companions because we like them. We don’t have to be told to help them because we just generally do that…and if we don’t then, rip, suffer the consequences

So I got a bit annoyed when the scene suddenly turned to a very overt “fix our problems” narrative

I don’t know, that feels so…forced to me. Varric literally tells me I have to solve everyone’s problems. Which is like…I was going to! Because they’re my friends! But being straight up told like “hey you have to solve everyone’s problems and stop their distractions or this team isn’t going to function” is like…I’m sorry are we adults or aren’t we? Why am I being told to babysit the team? Can you guys not pursue these distractions on your own rather than wait for me to give you permission? Did we all forget that two gods are out there rampaging? That they’re strong enough to destroy a fortress that stood against the blight and various conflicts for over 900 years? That they haven’t stopped and show no signs of stopping anytime soon?

But no, by all means, tell me in very obvious terms that my job is now to reconcile all your differences before I face the gods again. That doesn’t feel very handed at all.

Let me be clear. I love to help my companion. I love the idea that you build a team that works well because you have shaped them via your leadership skills. I love the idea that your team works well because you have invested in them. That’s really the heart of any DA game���gather your team, earn their loyalty, and see how well the friends you’ve made along the way assist you in the big battles to come.

But…that scene around the kitchen table could have been so much better, so much more nuanced, and far less “Solve their problems.”

To me, that scene should have been everyone fighting, calling out everyone’s distractions and mistakes, and essentially devolving into outright arguments over the table until Rook yells at everyone to shut up. Everyone is mad, everyone is upset. And then maybe the companions are like “sorry Rook, listen, I have a lot on my mind. I’m still going to help with the Big Problem but I’m also going to pursue this Other Thing whether you like it or not.” No suggestion that it’s now your problem to solve, but a heavy hint that it might get done more quickly if you help (which also gives you room to be an ass and not help). In this scenario, everyone ends up being very disgruntled with you, but you still have your hint that you need to pursue companion questlines if you want to see their cool abilities or special items or get them to be a Hero of the Veilguard or whatever…but that’s just my opinion

Basically I wanted subtly and tension. So much more tension.

What we got instead was a couple of annoyed comments and then Emmrich being like “oh dear we’re all distracted by the things that bother us” and everyone offering up distractions that, yes, need to be resolved…but it’s very easy to be like “hey bud the Hand of Glory and the Nadas Dirthalen can wait until the gods aren’t threatening to destroy the world I think.”

It’s not the worst scene in the world, but it could have been reframed better. Either frame it as “Sorry Rook but none of these factions trust you enough to aid you in the fight, you have to prove yourself to them” (and loop in the companion questlines that way) or show your team literally unraveling because they can’t get along or agree with you—now you see the evidence of what you need to fix, and nobody has to outright tell you to “solve everyone’s distractions.” It’s just implied. Because you saw them fighting. A lot.

Like duh I knew I’d have to resolve everyone’s problems if I want them to like me or stick around! That’s just what I’ve come to expect from RPG games like this. It’s an expectation of the genre. But I don’t want to be told that’s my job now. If anything it triggers my contrarian nature and now I want to see what bad ending I get when I don’t listen to the game’s extremely heavy push for me to deal with everyone’s issues

I won’t, but I’m tempted

I just…wanted it to be better. I want see everyone bitching at each other until everyone leaves in a huff and Rook just sits at the table, head in their hands like “oh my god everyone hates me and they hate each other and we’re going to die if everyone can’t get their shit together”

Then maybe Varric sits down next to them and goes, “Hey kid, did I ever tell you about the time Hawke tried to convince a Rivaini pirate, a weird abomination, a Dalish blood mage, a stiff-necked captain of the guard, a broody elf who glowed in the dark, and a few other friends besides to all agree to fight as a team to stop a qunari invasion in Kirkwall? It worked, more or less. By the end of the night, everyone had worked together enough to end up with one dead Arishok and an entire city’s gratitude.”

Maybe Rook looks up and says, “And how’d they manage that little miracle? Without everyone trying to kill each other in the process.”

And maybe Varric smiles and shrugs. “They had their differences, trust me. Half the time you couldn’t put two of them in a room together without a fight breaking out. But they all believed in one thing. They believed in Hawke.”

Then maybe there’s a pause, as he lets Rook consider that for a moment, before he stands up and says, “It’s a good bedtime story, in any case. I’ll let you sleep on it.”

Sigh. It just would have been cool…

Now in all fairness the scene felt even clunkier because I had actively been doing side quests and helping out my friends so it was like…it felt weird to have this implication that I’m not already helping them. It makes me think I shouldn’t do any of their side quests until after the Siege of Weisshaupt but who knows

I keep pendulum swinging back and forth between moments of brilliance and moments that leave me baffled and wondering who made some of these narrative/writing calls. I don’t hate the game by any stretch of the imagination. Like I said the Siege of Weisshaupt was amazing! And I loved the callbacks to precious games! You should have seen me live reacting and screaming about codexes in the Weisshaupt library haha But it’s like whiplash when something that good is followed up by a scene that feels excessively more hamfisted in comparison.

Anyway I am very busy this weekend and dunno when I’ll get to write another update soooo if you’re following for more, hope to give you more updates in the near-ish future!

[keepittoyourshelf]

Sometimes it really is all about sex.

Let’s talk about morally gray characters again. I just finished playing Dragon Age: Inquisition in prep for the Veilguard release and Solas is literally the textbook example of what morally gray character is. No spoiler warnings because the game is fucking ten years old, already.

TLDR is Solas is one of your companions (romanceable if you’re playing a female elf) who actually turns out to be an ancient elven spirit of some sort that is actively working to undermine your efforts. He was responsible for creating the Veil, as an act of revenge against his fellow elven spirit-gods for killing his bestie Mythal. This unfortunately had unforeseen consequences of cutting the elven people off from the Fade and ensuring that they were no longer immortal. He’s now working to reverse this mistake, despite the fact that doing so will essentially destroy the player’s world and wipe out all non-elves. Or something to that effect.

If you play the Trespasser DLC (highly recommended since I don’t think Veilguard will make much sense otherwise, and you will not get the full impact of the Solas romance if you pursue that path), you’ll get to talk to Solas at the end and he is genuinely regretful and remorseful, and not just for how this will affect his friend/lover, but how it will affect all people. This is despite knowing the cost. He knows the cost, is fully aware of it, is remorseful about the pain and suffering it will cause, and yet is willing to move forward anyway.

Another example I’ve referred to before? Kaz Brekker. Think of how fucked up what he did to Pekka Rollins re: his kid was. Disregard how fucked up Pekka was in turn, because two wrongs don’t make a right, right? Kaz didn’t care. Kaz has never really cared who gets hurt so long as it’s not people he actually cares about and he achieves his ends. It’s literally anything goes. We as readers can still “cheer” for him conscience free because ostensibly the people he’s acting out against are all pretty much trash human beings, but you have to think that statistically innocents are caught in the crossfire, and yet Kaz dgaf. No explanations, even though they would make total sense in context without actually justifying the actions he takes (because they are wrong), just revenge. We as readers aren’t necessarily expected to like what he does. But we should understand it.

Lestat de Lioncourt is the same way. It’s obvious in the books, but quicker and easier to digest via the TV show that’s currently airing on AMC. Lestat is straight-up a petty, jealous, vengeful bitch (though he never beat Louis the way it’s shown on the show, so take that aspect with a grain of salt). Lestat also suffered a seriously abusive childhood and his experience of being turned was tantamount to rape. He doesn’t always go after evil-doers, though later on in the series he goes after them almost exclusively, with the occasional slip-up. Yet we still love him and cheer for him. Is it because he’s handsome and charming and witty? Yeah, mostly. Does he make excuses for what he does? Not really. He might explain his motivations, but he doesn’t excuse the evilness of his actions. He knows they’re wrong and does them anyway.

Astarion from Baldur’s Gate 3 is another great example, though his morally grey status can be considered arguable depending on whether or not you Ascend him (and consequently doom 7000 presumably innocent souls, including children). For those that have played, you know Astarion’s past is as traumatic as it gets. That in itself explains away a lot of his attitude, though I personally believe he was a sassy dick even before all that happened. The way he manipulates Tav and the other characters though, all of that is motivated by self-preservation as a result of his past abuse. If you explore his romance path, you talk to him enough to know that he knows what he’s doing is wrong, and he’s regretful for it, to a point. He’s definitely not regretful about every mean thing he’s done though, that needs to be made clear. Does he offer excuses? No, not a one. He explains his motivations though, and he’s sorry for whatever pain it causes insofar as it relates to Tav (either as a friend or a lover), but everyone else can pretty much fuck off. So yeah, he’s not free of his asshole status just by virtue of being abused, but it does explain his actions enough to let the player still like him and romance him in spite of it all (if the hair alone wasn’t enough to make you turn a blind eye, that is).

This is all leading up to me once again explaining that RHYSAND FROM ACOTAR IS NOT MORALLY GREY. He never has been and he never will be. What is the difference between him and anyone I’ve mentioned above? Chapter 54 in ACOMAF really says it all. Up until that point, Rhysand was the villain. Feyre could not in good conscience explore her attraction to him because he was the bad guy, and head of the bad guys. Literally everyone else in that world thinks of him as evil and is fearful of him. This is by Rhysand’s own design for, well, reasons. Until Chapter 54, where he deconstructs, in practically bulleted-list format, every single bad thing he has been shown to do in the books up until that point. This is needed because since Feyre is narrating, she’s not privy to his inner thoughts and can’t possibly know he’s not really evil, and thus cannot justify fucking him. Killing kids and innocent people? He was under the influence of Amarantha. In order to save the majority, a small minority had to be sacrificed. Let me give a tip here: If someone is saying they do something bad for the greater good, they are 1). Most definitely not morally grey and 2). Quite possibly a nazi. Abusing Feyre mentally and physically? Necessary to keep his cover, so he could continue to protect the majority for the greater good, or undermine Amarantha, which he never really managed to do in the 50 years he was held captive, or whatever. Sometimes he did it because he could find no other way to be near her because even then he was So In LoOoOvE. The whole point of that fucking chapter is to show the reader that there were good/romantic motivations behind bad actions, which in SJM-speak equals good. Unless you’re Tamlin, in which case you are still evil. Why does this need to happen? So SJM can write mid-level smut guilt free.

Chalk it up to religious guilt or societal pressure, but Kaz, Solas, Astarion, Lestat, and others have shown time and time again that you can do bad things and still be considered good enough to justify romantic interest, or friendly, if that’s your bag. The line in the sand really comes in having awareness that what you did was bad, not really caring about it, and most importantly, not needing to completely erase a bad past based on one or two actions/statements/beliefs (or because they’re just good looking). Even if you do not romance them, you can at least understand some of what they do, even when it is bad, because of their history, their obvious remorse, or just their fucking charisma etc.

One could argue that Chapter 54 would not have been required if SJM didn’t think we needed to read Chapter 55 guilt-free, or at least without being able to so easily equate Rhys with Ted Bundy (a handsome, charming psychopath). Rhysand does not express remorse over the acts themselves, so much as he expresses remorse over the fact that the fact that he did them, for whatever reason, could prevent him from getting what he wants. The reader, by virtue of Feyre’s limited and biased POV, is not given permission to let Rhys into their hearts and hoohas until we know that he was forced to do bad things. Bad things that never, ever would have happened otherwise. So it’s okay that she wants to have sex with him.

Solas, Lestat, Kaz, Astarion - they all do bad things. They all know they are doing bad things. Not everything they do is bad (that’s an important point to make), but when they do bad things, they do them with full knowledge that they are bad things, and that good people will suffer. Sometimes they care, sometimes they don’t. The reader cannot say unequivocally that they are either good or bad, because their actions can be understood when looked at in context of their history or their motivations. They cannot be entirely excused. I.e. A wrong thing done for the right reasons is still a wrong thing. It’s still murder even when it’s done in self-defense, and you always have a choice. You never have to do something. The distinction is whether you are willing to do a wrong thing to avoid something you don’t like happening (I.e. you or someone you love dying, or feeling intense pain). However, that doesn’t make murder suddenly not murder. A reason is not a justification. You just choose to do it for a reason. If you don’t (and are doing it for fun) then you are just evil, and most definitely not morally grey.

The key difference is that the reader (via Feyre) is told repeatedly that Rhysand is no longer bad for having done wrong things because he did them for the right reasons. He is no longer the villain he was in book 1 by virtue of Chapter 54 in book 2. Solas is still the villain (and in fact is the main antagonist of Veilguard); so are Kaz, Lestat, and Astarion, depending on who you ask. When other characters in their respective worlds offer their personal opinions on said characters, some will be favorable, some not. We are at least allowed the opportunity to see a different POV and make that choice for ourselves. There’s continuous ambiguity. The ambiguity is the literal grey area.

This is not the case with Rhysand and this is why he can never be morally grey. We are told he was the noble hero all along, he is literally retconned as such (much like Spike was in BtVS, because Buffy-as-heroine could never justify living someone like him otherwise). He was reformatted so much, in fact, that he’s actually thought by some to be deserving of being king of all Prythian. Not just other characters, but by the reading audience at large. His bad things are no longer bad because he did them for the right reasons (or that dogwhistle of a statement, for the greater good).

How do I know this? Because Rhysand is consistently juxtaposed, by SJM’s own hand, by virtue of Feyre’s narration, with Tamlin. Over and over and over again. Now, technically Tamlin has also done bad things for the right reasons (protecting Feyre, helping his subjects) but he remains the villain. If another character tries to say Rhysand is bad (I think Tarquin does, but I could be wrong) they are either wrong or just don’t understand or are under emotional duress and are incapable of seeing the truth. Tamlin does not deserve to have his actions looked at in context (the way we do with Solas, Kaz, etc) because….well, I don’t have a good explanation for that, because SJM herself hasn’t offered one, other than repeatedly showing every other character in the book saying he’s a bad guy and doesn’t deserve to be forgiven. Purely by comparison’s sake, there is literally no reason in a fact based world where one can say without question that what Tamlin did to Feyre is worse than anything Rhysand has done. They both physically hurt her. They have both confine her without their consent. You know what Tamlin has never done though? Touch Feyre sexually against her will. He didn’t engineer situations where he mentally abused her just so he could be near her. That’s not romantic, it’s sociopathic. Fantasy is fantasy, sure, but you can’t defend that even in context of an alleged “fantasy morality” because we are humans and can only look at these things on the context of lived human experiences. There is no situation in real life, anywhere, where mentally or sexually abusing someone is justifiable for any reason, ever. Bottom line, all arguments to the contrary invalid. Any time someone comes out against Rhys, they either retract their statements, are reviled themselves (hello Nesta) in the narrative, or just in the fan community itself.

I haven’t read the third Crescent City book because I finally reached my limit for bullshit, but from the discourse I’ve seen Bryce has been getting a lot of hate for thinking Rhysand is a dick, or something to that effect. Right or wrong, it’s at least more evidence of SJM and the audience’s own bias in favor of Rhysand….and that’s really who these screeds are directed at. The audience. Rhys defenders are wrong when they say he is morally grey. He is not when other characters aren’t allowed to voice opinions against him without having the narrative over-emphasize their own faults at the same time. The text must remain objective and somewhat open-ended. SJM is as biased a writer as they come.

So I guess you could excuse all the word vomit here and just say that actually being considered morally grey is predicated on multiple opinions (it doesn’t necessarily need to be multiple narrators/POVs, but the audience needs to be presented with an alternative opinion in a way where it’s not immediately dismissible). SJM has never shown any indication that that will happen, because even when opinions other than Feyre’s are introduced they either echo her sentiments or we have someone else shooting them down in response, or the character in question is repeatedly shown to be flawed themselves.

Moral of the story? Stop wasting time on SJM and play Dragon Age: Inquisition or Baldur’s Gate 3 instead. Story is better, there’s so much room for interpretation (which makes replay/re-read value increase) and the dudes are just hotter. Sorry not sorry.

Even if Solas does look like an egg. He’s a hot egg.

[cybershock24601]

I remember there being a lot of fics when Inquisiton came out with the Dragonborn from skyrim showing up in them but I think the funniest and most thematic game crossover character would be the Courier from New Vegas because that crazy bastard would take one look at Solas and immediately identify him as having a crazy case of Old World Blues. Also just imagining the Courier who can say some of the most batshit dialogue options I've ever seen in any video game interact with the Inquisition cast and the world of Thedas would be so funny.

But back to the story reasons for the Courier to make an appearance in Inquisiton is because all of New Vegas is a game about regret and moving on and the idea of Old World Blues which is explained in the game with this exchange:

Doctor Mobius: "There is an expression in the Wasteland: "Old World Blues."" Doctor Klein: "It refers to those so obsessed with the past they can't see the present, much less the future, for what it is." Doctor Dala: "They stare into the what-was, eyes like pilot lights, guttering and spent, as the realities of their world continue on around them."

and who does this remind everyone of?

Everyone's favorite bald egg who is stuck in past, in his regrets, can't see the people around him as real people and is willing to destroy the world as it is to try to bring it back to his idea of what it was which as we learn in Veilguard, sucked pretty hard too considering Solas was literally at war with his own people because they were doing terrible things like slavery and fucking around with the Blight.

Vegas is full of people like that. You have Mr. House, the NCR, and Ceaser's Legion all trying to emulate the past, societies that already failed and are continuing to destroy the world around them even more because they can't stop fighting and war never changes. You have the DLC stories like Dead Money with Dean Domino who even after 200 years can't let go his heist and leave the Sierra Madre and the story even ends with you breaking into the vault and being unable to take all the treasure because it's too heavy so you have to leave it behind (unless you're willing to cheat >:3). Then there's Honest Hearts where a people are facing annihilation and you have to choose between helping them flee to preserve their culture as is or help them fight back to keep their home but lose the pacifism at the core of their cultural identity. Old World Blues which is literally called old world blues and there's even a sidequest you can do where one of the scientists who is now a brain in a jar and he's still so hung up over what happened to him in high school to the point that he even recreated it to run experiments in and spends the whole time talking over the loudspeaker about the girl he had a crush on and the guy who bullied him in high school. Finally there is Lonesome Road and the story of Ulysses and cycles of violence which has a little too much depth to get into in a short tumblr post.

Veilguard is the story about regret and you could probably drop the Courier in there no problem but it doesn't have the hilarity of the Inquisition being lead by a brain damaged psycho who may or may not be missing several major organs like their brain that solves all their problems thought a combination of charisma, luck, and incredible violence. I'm not even sure where I'm going with this post anymore but I just think Solas dealing the antithesis of stagnation and regret that is the Courier would be fun narratively and it would also be really fun to see how many problems in Inquisition that the Courier could solve (or make worse) by shooting people in the face because New Vegas lets you do that.

[finitefantasy]

LATE GAME VEILGUARD SPOILERS BEWARE

"Actually, Varric was dead the entire time" is the dumbest fucking plot twist they could've done with this game.

This has no emotional impact for new players who this game is CLEARLY trying to cater to. Why would they care an old man was a hallucination the whole time?

It's a zero impact way to affect the veteran players. it feels like he was "kept alive" in Rook's brain just to have Varric be fanservice for people who liked him. Except the fanservice was shit. Watching him sit around and give rote, context-free lines does... nothing?

Watching him "survive" Solas and then be killed by Solas in the same scene, 60 hours later removes all emotional reaction

We never see Rook spend time with Varric so... Rook's grief doesn't even work here? A cut scene where Rook finds out Varric is really dead being put in the fade where "processing your regrets" can help you escape (which is STUPID and is such a weird take on the fade/the fade prison that it pisses me off) means Rook processes Varric's death the second they find out about it. I don’t care if the game says it was weeks… it was minutes.

This is AFTER hallucinating Varric is alive.... for months. Seriously, no reaction to that besides "Oh no :/"

HIM BEING A HALLUCINATION MAKES NO SENSE! We see Rook interact with Varric/Varric speak in SEVERAL group scenes. Did everyone else just... watch Rook stare into the air for 30 seconds and just go "LMAO THAT ROOK THEYRE CRAZY" like??

Neve goes "I'm sorry I didn't notice Solas did this to you" but like... HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE? Did no one try to talk to Rook abotu it? ZERO conversations were had about ABANDONING VARRIC'S DEAD BODY? OR WHYROOK KEPT GOING OT THE INFIRMARY? Rook never spoke to anyone about their convos with him?

"Oh but Solas mind control maybe kept Rook from discussing it" Okay onto the Solas mind control front... why does Solas have this power now? Why does Solas ONLY use it to make Rook hallucinate Varric??? WHY DOES NO ONE FREAK OUT AND WONDER WHAT ELSE HE COULD'VE DONE? Why is there NO emotional reaction to this? Why is it not a logistical nightmare?

Putting the sex/main romance scene RIGHT after this realization makes the lack of emotional reaction even more insane. You think I want to eat snatch when someone died in front of me, someone else MIGHT have died in front me, AND I just realized I was hallucinating aNOTHER DEAD PERSON? The emotional whiplash is ugly and non-romantic. He’s like a weird footnote to a scene about two unrelated characters

There is no narrative or emotional processing of a MAJOR CHARACTER dying. He's reduced to fanservice and bad fanservice at that

At one point, Isabela refers to the Kirkwall crew as family. Did... no one tell her some of her family died? If they did... did they do that when Rook wasn't there? Why does Isabela never react? Why is Isabela fine being so minimally involved with the Solas thing if she knows Varric was MURDERED by Solas? HE WAS HER FAMILY!

I'm not even a like hardcore Varric fangirl. I thought DA was overplaying their hand by puttig him in a third game and he did best when he was Hawke's bestie. I wanted him to retire. I was even fine with the idea of him dying. But this was the worst way to do it. It's not what he deserved but also it's just fucking stupid.

[carabas]

Dragon Age Veilguard liveblogging -

Varric: "Normally, my advice on befriending abominations would be 'Don't.' In this case... just keep an eye on him." I'm happy there's an Anders reference at all in this game where we can import almost nothing of our worldstate, even if it is Varric's usual griping. I hope we actually get to see Varric interact with the newer companions at some point because I really want to see if he'll somehow wind up trying to adopt Lucanis too, make it three for three on breaking his own heart trying to help every spirit companion he meets.

Bellara's tour of horrifying ancient artifacts, one sealed room after another containing dangerous relics that break people down to their component parts or set them on fire or something similarly lethal, and then finally you reach the last sealed room, holding only...

...a wheel of cheese.

I'm enjoying running around performing rituals that honor the evanuris who we are actively fighting against without anyone on the team objecting to this. Mythal, okay. But Falon'din - a Rook who saw the Mourn Watch as his own form of devotion to Falon'din learns his gods were tyrants and then, having reached whatever level of acceptance he's at with that, nonetheless winds up performing a ritual before Falon'din's statue specifically, his specific blighted tyrant god whose symbols he's still tattooed with, and being tangibly rewarded for it. I love this. I hope we have to perform a ritual for Ghilan'nain or Elgar'nan next.

Talking with Lucanis, my Rook had the option to mention that he's nonbinary! In the part of the character creator where you pick Rook's pronouns and gender identity separately, there was a note that the gender identity setting doesn't affect gameplay, so pleasant surprise to see it come up in dialogue after all. (At least, I'm assuming that the gender identity setting in the character creator is what got me that dialogue option. There was also a clearly marked chance to establish Rook as being trans/nb while looking into Varric's mirror earlier, but I'd picked the option to muse about Rook's Significant Tattoos there instead.)

There have been so, so many appearances by beloved characters or references to previous events despite the limited worldstate customization, but one of my favorites so far was in Minrathous, encountering someone who'd been kidnapped from the Denerim alienage back in Origins by the Tevinter slavers, now working with the Shadow Dragons. Nice little followup I wasn't expecting. And now she's dead because of a choice I made. Thank you, game, for that particular stab in the heart, it's super effective. And Neve's whole city is devastated because of a choice Rook made, and this after she's been wearing very visible bruises for most of the game so far because of a choice Rook made, and the gods are free because of a choice Rook made while trying to save the world, and the game keeps sending Rook on these rescue missions for people he tries and fails to save... and in between all this Rook is living out the memories of Solas's regrets. And the game keeps asking you who you think Solas is. Do you think you can trust him. Do you think he's lonely. Why did they change the title of this game, this is the Dread Wolf game.

"In the name of Elgar'nan, First of the Firstborn, He who was called Lusacan..." !!!!!!!! Finally ;_; one of the correspondences confirmed ;_; tears of joy ;_; I was hoping Elgar'nan = Dumat but I'll take it ;_; I need to go back and rethink all the others now, who was Urthemiel, which god is the Warden's son (if this is actually answered in this game don't tell me)

"Because you're a Mourn Watcher, Emmrich talks in-depth about spirits and necromancy with you" - victory fist pump, this game just keeps giving me everything I want

Rook had SO MUCH Mourn Watch-specific dialogue on Emmrich's recruitment mission! I think it was literally every line, this is Rook's home and he knows all its rituals and do you think the wisps here remember me - it's like Bioware saw the jokes about Lavellan's "Who's Mythal?" and made absolutely 120% sure Rook knows where he came from. But there had been almost nothing prior to this mission - one line where Rook got to play up the ~spooky necromancer~ angle to tease one of Neve's contacts, that's about it - so getting this absolute flood of Mourn Watch dialogue now really makes it feel like it must be such a relief for Rook to be able to talk to Emmrich, especially when they've been discussing people's comfort level or lack thereof with necromancy outside Nevarra. Also, no wonder Rook settled into the meditation room with that greenish underwater lighting, feels just like home.

[madameevil]

HUGE VEILGUARD "Regrets of The Dread Wolf" QUEST COMPLETE SPOILERS

Things learned & my thoughts/interpretations

1. The first elves were spirits given physical form by stealing/using lyrium (Titan blood).

- Explains why Elven magic is different.

- Explains references to spirit or demons in prominent elf names.

- Explains how Mythal body hopped her way through the ages.

2. The Titan's took their blood being stolen (rightfully so) as a threat and war broke out between the Elves and Titans. Solas crafted the first lyrium dagger at Mythal's request to sever the Titan's from their emotions and dreams (like making them tranquil??). However in doing so the Titans became crazed or maddened. This act created the first blight as the maddened Titan's blood infected others.

- Explains dwarves disconnect from the fade/dreams

- Explains disappearance of The Titans

- Explains red lyrium

3. After their victory, some Evanuris began to use the blight for their own benefit. While not directly stated, I almost wonder if in doing so this led to their corruption. Possibly some metaphor about the influence of outsiders corrupting a culture. Unsure. Needs more thoughts. It seems like their hunger for power grew after this. Solas warns Mythal. Mythal talks to the Evanuris and is killed. Solas rebels fully and after much fighting, Solas performs a ritual using the lives of the Evanuris themselves (blood magic??) to trap them within their own palace alongside the blight their previous war unleashed. We also know something went wrong. The Veil wasn't supposed to cut off everything just serve as a prison.

- Explains what the golden city was ( Ancient Elven palace turned prison)

- Explains why it was blackened (Trapped in with the blight. When the Magister's broke through they created a small pinhole for the blight to escape as well as some pieces of other influences.)

This is really interesting because it directly contradicts how the Andrastian faith sees it. It's an example of how the faith interpreted something utilizing their own biases and erased or masked another culture's history at the same time. (Honestly fucked up but this happens A WHOLE LOT IRL as well)

4. Mythal's essence that was body hopping in Flemeth was absorbed by Solas (power wise) the fragment remaining did seek shelter in Morrigan. There is another piece out in the Crossroads from when she was struck down originally that's been trapped.

I don't know how it will fully play out but this answers a lot of questions that have been plaguing the game series. While not perfect, I do enjoy all of this lore finally connecting what we've been slowly uncovering for years.

Let me know if I clearly missed something or you interpreted something differently!

[iniziare]

DAV Spoilers. Or at least, my "general game opinions". I'll be vague in terms of the game's conclusion, so you don't have to worry about spoilers. Though unless you've finished most of the game (roughly halfway act 2, or just around part 10 in terms of Steam achievements), not all of this will make sense to you. But in short: I like it, I like it a lot.

First off, I need to be honest and say that I went into Veilguard as an absolute critic with the expectation that as a fan of the older games and their lore, I was going to rip into it. After all the news of the team crumbling, I simply lost all faith. But worst of all, I was going to do so while potentially not even playing the game. But in all of my rationality, I always say that one only ever has a right to judge something, after having given it enough of a fair chance. So that's what I did (and admittedly, I had some hype simmering in my heart to see the ending of a story that had become very dear to me), and I don't regret it. Dragon Age: Veilguard, in my opinion, is deserving of praise, and is unworthy of the bad reviews it's gotten. Alright, this is only part of my opinion— but it got a little ramble-y, so forgive me.

Rook. I thought that it was going to be impossible to get me hooked on another protagonist, especially in today's society where people seem to prefer a 'make your own' approach, as opposed to my personal preference of a pre-written character. For instance, I always had a clear preference for Hawke vs. the Warden and/or Inquisitor, but that's just me— I don't like 'creating' my character when I play, I simply want to be told an established story (AC Valhalla is an example of a massive dislike for me). But again, I'm aware that this comes down to preference. Now, I was afraid that Rook would be an even blanker canvas, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn differently. Rook is incredibly reminiscent to me of Hawke, without being a copy in whatsoever way. I'm delighted to have the sarcastic option back (and as many, I loved that it was reacted to by Solas), as it really adds some wonderful personality into the mix. To add to that, I love that it's Rook who is the 'comical relief' without being actually outright comical to a point where it's too much, which would then risk taking away from the weight of the story. Bioware chose a perfect balance here. Outside of that, I very much appreciate the backstory options. My first playthrough had me picking the Crows out of curiosity and as an ode to an old favorite's origins (hi, Zevran), and it was very fun. I enjoyed the consistent mentions and references of the tales of her past after I'd chosen them, and I find enjoyment knowing that even the small details change a bit, such as the verbal reactions to the ziplines. I also was very happy to see her interact well with Solas, because that was another big concern of mine, as I was very worried that there might have been a decision made to add in any sort of flirtations (despite knowing Weekes likely wouldn't go there, based on Solas' foundation). Rook and Solas' dynamic is one I very thoroughly enjoy in exactly the form it was presented in. Up until the very end of the story, she stayed consistent with my choices, and had me seated here with blurry emotional vision on occasion. And while those who know me know that I can get very emotional over details in games, it isn't actually that easy to get me there initially. But good job, Bioware, Rook is a worthy, and wonderful addition to your lineup of protagonists. Good job.

Solas. God, the consistency of his character in this and DAI has driven me wild to the extent of a rabid dog. It is so good, I'm wildly impressed. If there was ever a character that I could give up all of my other characters for, I genuinely think it would be Solas. He is incredible. I was thrilled to see the connection to Mythal more properly addressed, and while I know that there's many firm opinions out there on this dynamic (my own write-up will be incoming), it was made clear that their dynamic was always one of utmost fundamental importance, at least to Solas and his motivations. That's my big thing, Mythal's perspective aside, I think that it was imperative that we learned just why Mythal was such a 'final transgression' and catalyst for all of his actions (though don't worry, this isn't me taking away his accountability). And from a personal point of view, while Solas' origins were hinted at already in DAI, it was nice to see it confirmed that he, and the others, indeed originated as spirits. And in that, it is good to have learned how he became 'twisted' from his nature as a spirit of wisdom, to one of pride. I think that's fundamental to his character, and I also greatly enjoy the elaboration on some of Cole's lines in DAI about Solas, and who we now know for sure was Mythal: 'He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face.' A lot of things hit vastly differently now, when you look back and you realize you have confirmed answers finally in the palm of your hand. I thoroughly questioned Mythal when I went for her essence, reloading multiple times as to ensure that I got as much lore as I could. And I hurt, especially since the end of the game. As I said, I won't spoil, but the ending has left me emotionally scarred in more ways than I could ever explain. That interaction, that emotional release was everything to me, and it was good to see it, even if I could barely see my screen anymore at one point. Weekes did Solas justice in so many ways, and while I initially had a little bit of a peeve at a decision in the game towards the end, my rationality had kicked in, and it was a logical decision. I'm happy, I think, if that's the right word that I can use for this. Also, seeing the scene from the trailer was so good, I screamed at my screen. I just, I'm in total and utter love with this man.

Dragon Keep/choices. Let me actually get to my point of criticism, but know I'm approaching this rationally, and not emotionally. I need Bioware to confirm their canon within these games, and if they officially want to let go of the 'decisions that we once made', then just say it and state it somewhere. Tell us what the decisions are. But that aside, I do want to play light devil's advocate, because I think that it's important. Since the revelation about Morrigan in specific, I've been caught in the push and pull of 'does this make sense for her character', and I think that it's so easy to say 'no, it doesn't' when thinking of DAO, but we're not coming from DAO. We're coming from DAI (after numerous years of development for multiple characters), where Morrigan had already shown a pressing interest in something that held a high risk of her getting possessed by Mythal just like her mother. Despite this, and despite her arc in DAO, she wants to drink from the Well of Sorrows. 'But there was no choice, for Corypheus was going to destroy Thedas', the Inquisitor was an option the entire time. No, what I actually am personally of the opinion of (although I'm waiting on my Morrigan expert to finish playing, for I am not an excessively thorough one yet), is that Morrigan was, and remained hell-bent on obtaining knowledge/power, it has been part of her arc for a long time, and even the threat of possession didn't dissuade her from the possibility of obtaining an unusual amount of it in an unparalleled rare form. That isn't, in my opinion, bad or lazy writing, that is consistent and shows a character flaw that I don't think is often addressed with 'protagonists' enough most of the time: greed. I want flaws that make it much more difficult for me to feel inclined to agree with those that call her the Indiana Jones of Thedas, for she is a brilliant character— but a character with flaws. Now do I think, since having watched the ending, that her presence was also a plot device for Mythal in one way or another? Possibly, but that's merely a side addition in my opinion. I just find it too easy to simply go 'it's bad writing', because while I could agree, it also means you then have to condemn Morrigan for the exact same reason back in DAI, which I don't think is something that's fair to do. An argument could be made that Veilguard has lost most of its original team of writers (including David Gaider himself) and so they took liberties, but that same argument can't be made for DAI. Gaider created this franchise, he had intentions for characters, and arcs, and he ultimately is the one who decided when something was good to go. And on top of that, he wrote and created an amazing franchise, and he earned my trust because he did that. And so I trust that the presence of Morrigan in DAI was logical, which I did think it was— it showed flaws that I craved to see outside of her arc in DAO. And I think having seen DAI, that Veilguard isn't unrealistic for her. And as to why this isn't a 'full possession' as it was with Flemeth, I think the key for that is realizing that she obtained it alongside that headpiece where Mythal was killed by Solas. Because what we also know, in that little scene— and it took me a rewatch of it, but Flemeth/Mythal left part of herself in that Eluvian at the beginning of the scene. I would bet that's what Morrigan possesses now, since Solas himself is the one who 'absorbed' the part of Mythal that had fully possessed Flemeth. Does this match with what Morrigan says? Not exactly, but I don't think that she's a reliable narrator.

[dgcatanisiri]

Have fully assembled the Veilguard, so I'm taking some time to organize some thoughts.

Seriously, OF COURSE Isabela would be leading the Lords of Fortune. It really does not surprise me, despite being surprised by her cameo.

I do like Emmrich more than I was expecting as a first impression, but I don't think I really vibe with him on a romantic level enough to ever really give that a try.

I do kinda regret not romancing Lucanis on this first run, because I do like the Crows. I'll probably roll him a Crow boyfriend next run.

Assan hits me in the heart, considering... Well, losing my dog. So yeah, of course I'm romancing Davrin. Or at least in the process of flirting with him.

I am pleased that there's plenty of opportunity to just not accept Solas's "good intentions." I particularly liked getting to throw the line "spoken like a god" at him.

Oof, choosing between Minrathous and Treviso was emotionally hard. Like I had a solid reasoning with opting to go to Treviso - no standing army, the waterways, as the Prologue showed, Minrathous has defense capabilities that Treviso just doesn't... But oof, it was hard on the heart having Neve take Rook to task for not backing up his city and fellow Shadow Dragons. To say nothing of the aftermath.

I DO need to address something that's really sticking out as a problem for me, and that really is the understandable but still sore point of the fact that the three choices of carryover from Inquisition really are just NOT. ENOUGH.

In universe, I feel like AT LEAST acknowledging WHO Divine Victoria is would be important, and Morrigan drinking from the Well or not really SHOULD be a thing, considering her featuring somewhat AS all this ancient elven knowledge is coming to light. On top of that, going further back to Origins carryover issues, despite how Kieran would surely be old enough at this point to be on his own, you would think that Morrigan would maybe MENTION her son.

And then there's my personal bugbear, in that not just with the cameo of the Inquisitor, but even Harding talking about the members of the Inquisition... By having the game written to assume all the characters possible being part of the Inquisition, this does not feel like a continuation of the game world I've played. I don't recruit Dorian, but he uses a mention of being at Adamant during the battle against Clarel to make the First Warden back down. The Inquisitor then outright refers to him as an ally, even though, again, he's NOT one in my games. Harding shares a story of Sera making Reiner laugh, when neither of them were part of my Inquisition, so she's talking about two people she never met, one of them who never actually HAD his hidden identity revealed, so she shouldn't know him by that name.

Is this being finicky over a relatively small part of the game overall, considering that these are minor lines in minor cameos, or a reference line that impacts nothing in terms of the game proper? Sure, I'll grant that. BUT it still leaves me feeling like... Why do my choices in the prior games matter if this game comes alone and says that they didn't? If they didn't matter, why did that game matter? Which was there a choice in the past?

It's the choice to undermine player choices when they could have worked around them. Like, sure, statistically, they could say that (probably) most players would probably bring in all possible characters, especially when the ones I'm specifically upset about are romance options. But... I mean, that's the same kind of logic that led to Jacob being written to cheat on a Shepard who romanced him - just because "most" players do a thing, it doesn't mean that the players who do something else don't deserve acknowledgement.

And yeah, I do recognize that having any variation options involve the cost of recording and animating any line being spoken, so if something had to have variation cut down in the name of allowing anything else, yes, I do understand this being where it falls, because it's not actually impacting anything of this game specifically. It's just a choice that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, even if I recognize that it has a reason that I DO fully understand.

I can understand WHY a choice was made without agreeing with why it was.

[dadmilkman]

there's already plenty that other people have said better than me about this game but one thing about veilguard that gets on my nerves the more I play is how Bioware clearly could not decide on whether they wanted this game to cater to new fans, or old ones. in their attempts to cater to new fans they've dumbed down or entirely erased a lot of the existing lore in order to make things more understandable out of the gate but also, they niceified a lot of bad things the universe used to have that new players would not have historical context for and thus maybe dislike (slavery, elven oppression, mages vs Templars, the brutality of the Warden order, not to mention the entire chantry as a concept). in theory you can know nothing about any of these subjects and supposedly walk into this game without having played the previous 3, and understand what this game is about (I'm not sure how true that is because I've played all the games multiple times). they even went so far as to entirely nullify 90% of every choice you've ever made in the last three games. only 3 choices matter in veilguard and they're from inquisition and they matter so little they might as well not exist.

but then at the same time there are SO many references and easter eggs to the other games and concepts thrown around with no context if you don't already know dragon age history i have to wonder if this game wasn't made solely for die hard fans because who the hell else would understand what anyone is talking about? but if this game was for die hard fans then why did they erase so much of their own lore????

anyway all of that aside my original point in making this post was to complain specifically about how varric is (later on anyway) made out to be some hugely influential figure for rook, and show that Rook holds a lot of regret for varrics injury (& death, once he finds out about that). which is all fine. but only someone who has already played da2 and dai would understand who varric is because he's got like 40 minutes of screen time in veilguard MAX and somehow you as the player are supposed to give a fuck about varric and rooks relationship. I personally as a player give a fuck about varric but that's because I know him, but again if you've never played the previous games his existence and his death are probably meaningless to you. and even if you HAVE played all 4 games, rook and varrics relationship is so non-existently developed that it's really hard for me to care about the entire scene in the fade prison where rook mourns varrics death.

so ANYWAY I said ALL in order to say this - if you romance davrin and you make him the second team leader and he gets killed fighting gilhan'nain, the impact of his death specifically considering his relationship to the PC is immediately and totally undercut by the fade prison scene ending up being about varric, a character who Rook was almost never shown interacting with.

I replayed the ending with a romanced davrin just to see the different outcomes and when rook watched him die I was expecting there to be a big difference in how the fade scene played out. boy was I disappointed. sure we got the davrin statues that rook sadly converses with as he explores the fade. but besides that it ultimately feels like there was not a lot of consideration given to rooks reaction towards their romance dying if that's who is killed in the fight.

cuz like, immediately after you get the dagger back - rook turns around suddenly afraid that Lucanis is dead. to me that felt like it came out of nowhere and seemed like a good opportunity to be one of those scenes that was dependant on who you were romancing (like the LI getting kidnapped in da2 or the nightmare demon in dai taunting hawke that his LI would die). I didn't romance lucanis and in my first playthrough davrin lived. so no offense but why would rook be worried about lucanis all the sudden? and then you flip over what you think is lucanis' body and you realize Solas is fucking with you because it turns into varric. someone who i.... also don't give as much of a fuck about? wouldn't it make more sense for the terrifying faux corpse to be your romantic interest?

anyway I'm digressing a bit. back to the fade prison. on my reply with davrin romanced and also dead, the one line conversations with the statues felt so... lack luster. and i understand that the only way rook made it out of the prison was to put aside his 'regret' (which Solas could not do), and on my first playthrough when harding died and rook was friends with her it made more sense that he'd be able to buck up and power through knowing they still had work ahead of them. but it felt really underhanded that when your romance dies, there are almost no extra or frivolous lines about it at all. Rook says a little bit more about davrin than harding (again, because i romanced davrin) but still ultimately winds up saying "Ah well, I'll miss him, but we gotta move on". which is.....not how my rook would have handled that. and if I'm supposed to have agency in this game then give it to me. it's like, why even give me the option to chose HOW rook says what he says when WHAT he says about it is basically unchanged. i WANT the option for rook to be distraught over davrins death because mine WAS. and what made it 10X WORSE was VARRIC immediately going "wow nice you got over davrins sacrifice! hey why don't you acknowledge mine?" HELLO? VARRIC IM MOURNING MY BOYFRIEND THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. it made me so mad that you had like three times as much shit to say about finding out varric was dead the entire time than you did about your potential romance dying in front of your fucking eyes. it felt so inconsiderate towards a this situation, whether it's harding or davrin either one. like they slapped the permadeath on as an after thought and had to work with what already existed. at this point in the game, I as the player was of course shocked to find out varric was already dead. but the game had given me NO reason for my rook to care as much as he was portrayed doing so. I never got to see rook and varrics relationship develop like we saw hawkes or the inquisitors. that moment was written entirely as fan service and not the good kind. that twist was written entirely for shock value for the player and did not feel like it was written in order to impact the narrative in anyway and it entirely undermines any weight that harding/davrins death would have had, ESPECIALLY if you had romanced them.

I will say, coming back to the lighthouse and everyone giving you well wishes...it hurt. when Lucanis said the line about "joy for a Warden is rare and I'm sure you gave him a lot" I actually cried. but at the same time it felt so hollow. it felt like a patch job for them to include one throwaway line of dialogue about the love interests death. the death of a character i just spent the better part of 80 hours with, gone like that, with hardly a second look back to be sad about it. it made me so mad and I'm really glad my first actual blind playthrough i kept davrin right next to me instead of sending him to lead the second team. And then for half of bellara's entire bit to be about assan too, like it's fine to mourn an animal but a person is dead. that felt so mean. not to mention it already didn't make sense that assan died at the same time. I guess just in an attempt to make it sadder or probably make it an easier mess to clean up if you don't have to worry about davrin being dead but not assan, s if rook wouldn't have taken care of him after davrin was gone.

there's a lot more I could say about lots of different things in the same vein of frustration on this topic (like why was lucanis given the final blow on ghilan'nain and not davrin, a Dalish elf sworn to kill blighted monsters? wouldn't it be more narratively fulfilling for him to kill his own blighted god? I digress). but davrins character really deserved a hundred times better than what he was given.