#also where is my old god baby with Morrigan

[eldrtchmn]

finished Veilguard

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

This week on "CJ needs to gush about DAO": Morrigan's dark ritual.

I adore Origins because depending on how serious you take roleplay, every decision you make is a thread that leads back to your origin, and in this case of the ritual, who you choose to romance can have a major impact on how you handle this choice.

For context, my canon run is with a female Tabris who romances Alistair and keeps him as a Grey Warden, and is close friends with Morrigan. It's more in character for my Tabris to reject Morrigan's ritual and not even bring it up to Alistair, which would result in her leaving him behind while she makes the ultimate sacrifice in killing the archdemon... however, agreeing to convince Alistair to do the ritual with Morrigan is the only choice in the entire game where I break roleplay because I'm selfish and weak and I want Tabris to live.

I have a lot of strong feelings about the ritual, like it hurts me. It makes me want to chew on furniture. I can talk about it until I can talk no more. I so badly want to be strong enough to remain in character and reject the ritual.

Let me explain: Tabris survives an origin that deals with sexual assault. She gets kidnapped on her wedding day, she watches the other kidnapped women and her husband get murdered, and then is too late to save Shianni from being assaulted... and Tabris carries that trauma with her throughout the entire game.

If the way to save her life is to ask the two most important people she cares about; one being her lover and the other being her best friend; who she knows hate each other, to have dubiously consensual sex in order to make a baby to absorb the old god soul... she's saying no. The last thing Tabris would ever do is put someone into a sexual situation where consent is at all dubious after what she saw happen to Shianni and nearly happened to herself. She'd rather die than force that upon Alistair and Morrigan.

That's what I mean when I say origin affects everything; I know some will side eye that with "Really? Your warden would rather die than let Alistair sleep with another woman? It's one time, and Alistair agrees to it, so no one needs to die?"

Let me be clear in saying this isn't a "Morrigan slept with my man" issue. Sure, that part's awkward and it sucks, but that's not even breaking water tension, let alone diving into the deep waters to the core of the issue.

For my Tabris, this is about betrayal, consent, and accepting fate.

The person offering Tabris this deal is someone she thought of as a trusted friend who has actually been lying to her the entire time. It doesn't matter what Morrigan's intentions are now or if she genuinely wants to save the wardens. She knew from the beginning why Flemeth sent her with them, she admits as much. She knew a warden would need to make the ultimate sacrifice and then leveraged that to get what she wants. Morrigan waited until the night before, when Alistair and the warden learn one of them has to die to defeat the archdemon, and took advantage of the high running emotions and possibly the fear of dying to make the warden agree to her ritual.

At least, that's how my Tabris interprets this confrontation. She feels betrayed by someone she came to love like a sister and went out of her way to help Morrigan with her mother upon learning what's in Flemeth's grimoire. And then that someone tells her no one needs to die, she just needs to convince Alistair to sleep with her... which is a huge fucking problem.

The Alistair and Tabris romance is slow; it took a long time for either of them to be comfortable with being emotionally vulnerable and trusting each other with basic intimacy, let alone sex. Tabris is mortified at the idea of putting Alistair in this situation. Not only would it feel like a betrayal on her part to ask that of him, but she knows the last thing Alistair ever wants to do is father a bastard who then goes on to grow up without him. How could she possibly ask him to do that?

Then you consider that ritual or no, there isn't a guarantee that they'll survive anyway. Say they do the ritual and Tabris dies anyway; she made Alistair sleep with Morrigan in order to save her and then she died anyway. Or if Alistair dies then Tabris gets to live with the fact that the last person Alistair was with was a woman he hates because she asked that of him… and either way, Morrigan gets to walk away with what she wanted.

Tabris led the group, and she's accepted that if Riordan dies [which he does] then she'll be the one to make the sacrifice, even if it means breaking both hers and Alistair's heart.... except she doesn't because I'm a coward who doesn't want to lose her because my worldstate isn't good without her in it but I also refuse to lose Alistair so I just pretend it plays out differently in my head it's fine-

But... that's how I play Tabris and view the situation. My friend @pi-creates and I have discussed the dark ritual at length. While I play a Tabris who romances Alistair, Pi plays a Mahariel who romances Morrigan, so we have vastly different interpretations of the ritual itself and Morrigan's intentions.

Which yeah, it makes total sense that someone who romanced Morrigan with a different origin, and has the option to do the ritual with her rather than asking someone else to do it, wouldn't see this the way I do.

To quote Pi: "Playing as a male warden in the Morrigan romance makes the whole situation feel different, and maybe it’s because she’s presenting it differently due to the emotional connection, but it feels more like she’s opening up about her initial instructions (that she had been given by Flemeth) and offering a solution to avoid the possibility of death. And for my Mahariel, the constant threat of sudden death has haunted him from the start – he caught the blight and was ripped away from his clan (something he did not want to do in the slightest), got forced into a Grey Warden ritual that could kill him, was forced into a battle that could kill him, going on this whole quest that he never wanted but has now become responsible for regardless of his thoughts on the matter… the dark ritual may be one of the few moments where he is presented with an option to decide if he wants to walk into certain death, or take actions of his own volition to stop it.

"The idea of the ritual still feels like a dodgy thing to do since the ultimate outcome is unknown at that point, he’s taking Morrigan at her word that it will save the warden and that this child would be unharmed, just with an old god soul that she isn’t exactly clear on why she wants that and is determined to runaway immediately after the battle to secure it properly. It could be interpreted that it’s purely a preservation thing, but I’m biased to wanting Morrigan's intentions to not be power based.

"But also, taking part in the ritual isn’t as outlandish for my warden since he and Morrigan have already been involved in an intimate relationship. It’s the future of the ritual that is scarier – the idea of this old-god baby, and the idea of Morrigan insisting that she’s leaving afterwards when Mahariel and her have a loving relationship. He’s hurting, but he doesn’t want to die, he doesn’t want Alistair to die, he doesn’t want Morrigan to leave, he definitely doesn’t want pregnant Morrigan to leave on her own… it’s complicated, but for completely different reasons."

And I find that fascinating. I want to know how other players approach this part of DAO, what origins they play, and who they romanced. Seriously, this is an invitation to anyone reading to share their thoughts.

What about a warden who doesn't even have Alistair in their party because they made Loghain a warden? Is there anyone out there who has Loghain do the ritual with Morrigan and why? What about male wardens who don't romance her? Do you choose to do it with her anyway, or do you ask Alistair or Loghain to do it? Do you tell Morrigan to fuck off with the ritual? Why? Who makes the ultimate sacrifice in that case? And what about Morrigan herself? How do you interpret her intentions/motivations? I want to know.

I'm telling you, this is a discussion that gets me excited, as most discussions about DAO do.

[felassan]

David Gaider on Kieran, under a cut for length:

"CHARACTERS - DAY TWO: Kieran (Technically this is an addendum to yesterday, but I make the rules here so nyah!) Heading into DAI, I had a bite-sized problem on my hands. I knew Morrigan would feature. I also knew we were importing previous choices. So now I had to contend with: the Old God Baby. Here's the thing about honouring previous game choices, from a design perspective: it's a sucker's game. What many fans picture, when you mention it, is divergent *plot* -- the story changes path based on those major choices. How exciting! But you will never be able to deliver divergent plot. You can deliver flavour differences (usually in the form of divergent dialogue), character swaps (character X appears instead of Y), and extra content (such as a side quest) -- but plot branching, particularly the critical path? It's a question of resources, and there's never enough to go around. "Here Lies the Abyss" in DAI was about as good as it gets, and even that was a far cry from how I originally pictured it (hello last-minute insert of Stroud when a DAO Warden import got cut). The Old God Baby was one of the main choices from DAO -- Morrigan has a baby? With the Archdemon's soul?! Most DAO players who flagged that choice surely expected *monumental* consequences. World-shaking consequences! And we talked about it. We did. There were, like, three different designs of the DAI ending where OGB Kieran could cause complete divergence: new path, cutscenes, the whole nine yards. But it wasn't going to happen. It was a decision from *two games ago* that only a small minority (hello telemetry) would even choose. To the rest, they probably neither knew about it nor cared... so how many resources could you invest? To do what? Set up an even bigger divergence for the NEXT game? The other writers acknowledged my anxiety with a grim nod every time it came up, but they had no solutions. Finally, I realized there WAS a solution, and that was changing how I thought about the choice: don't make it about Kieran. The players don't know him, never have. Make it about Morrigan. Thus began a feverish three days where I wrote probably the most complicated scene of my career: Morrigan's reckoning with Flemeth in DAI and the fallout after. Three different versions (OGB Kieran, non-OGB Kieran, and no Kieran), each with branching for other choices (like the Well of Sorrows). I did it all at once. There was no other way to wrap my head around the complexity of it. It was also a tough sell to the team, considering the amount of cinematics work, but they agreed we had to do *something*. And still it felt... underwhelming, insofar as divergence goes. But it was also good. I remember when I first spoke with Claudia, about how this was Morrigan's story. This was about how motherhood had changed her, how she'd grown up. Claudia got a bit teary-eyed. It was a journey she was familiar with, she said. Her first son, Odin, had been born in 2005 not long after DAO came out. And, man, she killed with that performance! Kate, too, but I'll get to her later. Claudia dug down, and that scene where Morrigan tells Flemeth she'll never be the mother Flemeth was to her? That came from someplace very raw. It was devastating to witness in the booth. There were tears all around. Not long after, Claudia called and asked if maybe - just maybe - Odin could play Kieran? He was a bit young (not yet 5, then), but it felt... right? We agreed. Claudia was in the booth, gently coaching him through his lines, and I think that was the first moment I felt I'd done the right thing."

[source thread]

User: "Do you find it an odd choice that Kieran hasn’t been mentioned at all in Veilguard?" David Gaider: "If there’s less reactivity in DATV, I’m unsurprised. Continuing choice from up to 3 games earlier is… unsupportable. Yet DA established the expectation they would so… damned if you do, damned if you don’t?" [source]

User: "EA is one of the biggest game companies ever. I don't think more complex diverging plots are impossible." David Gaider: "Well, if only more writing was all it took. Sadly, it's also cinematics. Art time for all those reappearing characters you probably want to look *just* right. And let's not forget we have to test all those permutations! So I don't disagree with you in spirit, but I don't think it's the answer here." [source]

User: "is there a possibility of future kieran appearances in a book or something similar outside of the games?" David Gaider: "I'd have no way of knowing that." [source]

User: "I’m actually shocked so little people chose the dark ritual. That was basically the main reason Flemeth sent Morrigan with the wardens, no?" David Gaider: "The impression you get of what "most" players do - in almost any game, not just DA - is very different if you're online a lot. Consider here that it's not just the % of DAO players who chose the Dark Ritual, it's the % of DAI players WHO PLAYED DAO and cared to import that choice 5 years later." [source]

User: "Is there anything you wish you had done differently, in hindsight?" David Gaider: "Probably just to not ever do importing choices between games in the first place." [source]

User: "Kieran only existed in my DAI state b/c Morrigan as a mother really appealed to me. I wasn't expecting to be devastated by those scenes 😭 I guess when we complain about lack of consequences from prev choices in DAV we must also ask how MUCH are we willing to pay for those branches to exist?" David Gaider: "That's indeed it. Content directed towards reactivity would have to come from somewhere else. So essentially a shorter game overall for the sake of those hardcore fans who'd import - who would, I imagine, REALLY enjoy that... but it's a tough cost/benefit analysis to make." [source]

User: "mr gaider im gonna keep it real with you if i had to choose between my hof and hawke i would've simply passed away" David Gaider: "Right? That was the ENTIRE idea! I was very excited, and for a while it seemed possible." [source]

User: "This has been a very interesting read but I have to ask why they decided to use Stroud instead of the HoF" David Gaider: "1) Complexity of providing means for a player to build a Warden (which they did in DATV for the Inquisitor). Also spoiled the surprise. 2) We’d have needed to give the Warden a voice. Add these to the cost and it was deemed not worth it." [source]

User: "Genuine question, not a critique - but what made the OGB decision one that couldn't be handwaved as canon no matter what was or wasn't chosen? Leliana and Flemeth being around no matter what come to mind. Was OGB simultaneously too major and too minor of a decision?" David Gaider: "Flemeth and Leliana being alive were easily explainable, and we knew we were doing it even back then. Circumventing the Dark Ritual… that would be too cheap. We did talk about it, but it just felt too dishonest. Too high a price for what we’d get in return." [source]

David Gaider: "If I’d known the Well of Sorrows would only see reactivity in the confrontation with Flemeth, I’d probably have made a much bigger deal of it." [source]

David Gaider: "We could maybe have gotten past the need to "reconstruct" the Warden, much like the Inquisitor was reconstructed in DATV (so I understand), but the need to give the Warden a voice was the final nail. Too potentially disappointing for the very people who'd be excited about it, aside from the cost." [source]

[flokidokie]

Let me introduce

Gianni de Riva

After having fought with this template for like forever I finally put together some information about my Rook!

Gianni is an Antivan Crow of House de Riva, but just because I can, I combined my two favorite origins and made him the nevarran crypt-baby too. An expedition with his guardian, a watcher named Ingellvar, led him outside the necropolis, where they fell victim to slavers. Six year old Baby-Rook was tossed from board by Ingellvar near the coast of Antiva, where he survived as a thief in the streets of Mareda.

Approximately a year later he crashes one of Viagos contracts (who is around seventeen years old at that time), but the crow sees potential and takes him back to Salle. Gianni becomes a crow and Viagos closest confidant, acting as a thief of goods and information alike.

Where Gianni goes, Chaos follows. Literally, because similar as Mythals memories living on in Morrigan, a small fragment of Chaos has latched onto Gianni since he was abandoned in an empty crypt as a toddler, becoming the source of both of his best and worst ideas.

Gianni becomes Rook after being exiled from Antiva due his attack on the Antaam in Treviso and his relationship with Viago gets cracks. To make matters worse, sharing headspace with Chaos and Solas has consequences and Rook loses his memories after the interrupted ritual. Now the infamous ghost crow has to stop two blighted elven gods to save the world from ending in demons and fire while simultanously trying to redefine his place in the world.

You can read more about Gianni, his life as a crow and his struggle as Rook in my upcoming fanfiction, which I will link here, as soon as it's published!

Additional information:

Rook romances Lucanis Dellamorte

Rook is trans-masc

He prefers to fight with orb and dagger, because carrying a staff while thieving is inconvinient

He can swim, but is deathly afraid of anything deeper than a puddle, since he fled the slavers ship by swimming to shore at age six

His hate for magnolias is rooted in his past with a brothel called House of Petals

Wisps and spirits are drawn to Rook, because he grew up with them in the necropolis

Though he mostly casts lightning, he also can summon nightmarish visions and would be able to raise spirits, if he trained more. He does not possess the abilities Emmrich has and cannot talk to corpses

Because of Chaos, Giannis eyes are faintly glimming in the dark

After a failed contract, invoving poison and a curse, Gianni suffers a chronic illness, he has to battle with daily intake of medicine. If he doesn't, chances are high that the curse mark will act up again, making it hard to breath for him, possibly resulting in death by choking. Viago makes the medicine himself. Cold triggers it to act up.

The curse mark left scars looking like lightning branching upwards at the sides of his neck.

Gianni shares Viagos affinity for puns and names his own poisons in the same fashion.

Gianni is unpredictable. While others simply chose to play against the rules, Gianni is playing an entire different game.

[volkoss]

Author Ask Tag

Tagged by @broodwolf221 thank you!

What is the main lesson of your story?

I'm going to answer these questions with my primary writing project Enduring Friendships in mind, which is also affectionately nicknamed the Johanna Hezenkoss Cinematic Universe (or JHCU).

For those who are unfamiliar, this phrase comes from the 'The Flame Eternal' short, which is set 30 years before the events of Veilguard. To summarise, Emmrich thanks Johanna for having his back while they deal with a haunting, Johanna deflects by saying that she only bothered helping to keep him alive, Emmrich persists and expresses his gratitude regarding enduring friendships. And well, at its most basic level... Enduring Friendships is, uh, a story about the power of friendship. How we're affected by the people around us. No (wo)man is an island, not even Johanna Hezenkoss (despite her best attempts). There's also some underlying themes about free-will and self-determination, but it's probably for the best that my ability to write these fics outpaces my ability to refresh my (rudimentary) philosophical knowledge because otherwise I will get lost in the sauce and never end up finishing anything at all. There's also a little bit of punny wordplay at hand, because of the dual definitions of 'endure'. You know, both 'lasting' but also 'suffering'. Given the ~80 years of friendship this series covers, there is a lot of suffering, lmfao. Putting the rest of this under a cut for length because I don't want to put 1,000 words of unedited Johanna ramblings on people's dashes unannounced.

What did you use as inspiration for your world building?

As I knew that a decent chunk of this series would consist of exploring Johanna's experience with lichdom and what it entailed for her, I am unsurprised to find myself once again obsessed with Dragon Age soul lore. For example, Emmrich and other Mourn Watchers will still use 'soul' and 'spirit' interchangeably in the colloquial sense, despite them obviously being separate concepts (Emmrich even has a whole codex entry where he explains the difference to Harding!) And the lichdom ritual is explicitly stated to keep the lich's soul bound to the body. Where else does the concept of the soul play a significant role? Why, the slaying of archdemons and the Old God Baby, of course! We learn in Origins that the reason only a Grey Warden can kill an archdemon is because the two souls cancel each other out (the Old God Soul is expecting to jump to a darkspawn, which don't have souls). But wait, there's more! Morrigan can also intervene with her ritual and... take the soul into her unborn child who has just been conceived and eventually have a child who just has these two souls, no biggie, makes some unsettling statements from time to time, but is otherwise unharmed when the soul he's been harbouring is removed from him. This got the cogs in my brain ticking in two different directions: a) that it must be possible through magic or machinations to harbour someone else's soul b) Flemeth's motivations for wanting the OG soul in the first place (keeping in mind also that she's soon murdered by Solas who yoinks her powers). Anyway, this is all very important worldbuilding for the final part of the JHCU. Another point of inspiration is the ending of The Good Place, which forever changed by brain chemistry. If you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about. This is all a very convoluted way to say that I'm committing to Emmrich redeeming Johanna but Johanna making him a bit worse in the process 🫡

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help them grow as a person?

Johanna really is just trying to survive or die trying! And it's only when she ends up functionally immortal but trapped in Emmrich's office that she slowly recovers from having the nervous system of a cornered animal whose primary threat response is fight. But then she also has to slowly contend with the fact that her best friend(?) who promised to never abandon her is going to die one day because he chose to save the life of some idiot wisp over the pact they once made as children, lol. For the better or the worse, because Emmrich just refuses to fucking die and even ends up outliving Rook, Johanna has a lot of time to come to terms with this. She would really prefer he just die, but. Alas! Anyway, long story short, Emmrich gives Johanna some Weird Fucking Bequests on his deathbed (at the ripe old age of 102) which allows for Johanna to make another attempt at lichdom. Manfred and the lich lords of the Necropolis finally bully her into admitting her paralysing fear of abandonment out loud 🤙🏽 Real character growth considering she tried to DIY it last time, lol.

How many chapter is your story going to have? As previously mentioned, it's primarily a series of one-shots. I have roughly another 6 one-shots planned for the series in various stages of development, probably all ~5k like the previous installments. Based on my current outline, I think the final multi-chap will be about 20-30k. But scope creep is a bitch.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Fanfic primarily posted on AO3, but crossposted to Tumblr.

When did you start writing?

I vividly remember the first piece of writing I ever did being a story about a girl who was immortal and did NOT want to be immortal, which is VERY FUNNY given. All of the above. But I was about 8 or 9 at the time and had recently played Golden Sun which I think was the inspo for that one! And I had started reading fanfic around that time, too, so I think I wanted to give it a go myself. I've always loved stories, both reading and writing them. Even when I take breaks from writing on purpose these days, I don't quite feel like myself.

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr?

Write!!! Literally, just write. But also, build a sense of community around yourself that works for you. Writing can be an intensely lonely hobby at times, but it doesn't have to be. Tagging: @serbarris @nerdanel01 @jainydoe and anybody else who wants to share their thoughts! (and please tag me, I wanna read :>)

[thevikingwoman]

dragon age as a series has always been awful about things carrying over though. I don't understand why people are acting like this when basically most of what we got in da2 and dai was 'hey I'm here too!' cameos or tiny little missable collectibles like the hawke sibling alcohol. also hey remember that leliana can fucking die in dao and no matter what she's still in dai. actually cullen can die in dao too, now that I think about it.

I do agree on the cameos, and I'm not sure why people were expecting anything else for the Inquisitor, though I'd hoped we got to actually control how they feel about things, but maybe I got swept up in what other hoped. I'd rather they are not there, tbh, like the warden.

but where I disagree is about carryign things over? outside Leliana, which is more of a ret-con, (sorry I don't even remember cullen in dao? and I feel he wasn't integrated into the plot so maybe it's a common name 😂) I think they'd had reference to significant world state events.

Not just the previous protags romance, but the old god baby, who's ruling Ferelden and so forth. I think what I feel most strongly about is that a game tied to the blight and the Old Gods and evanuris, should have things like the Well of Sorrows be significant? at least in DAI, DAO world states were constantly mentioned, as well as DA2 (though I feel da2 had less worldwide long term differences). So if they're not doing this, yes it is a disappointment and a change.

OH EDIT: and as I mentioned in my post: Kieran. Morrigan shows up with a whole child depending on world state and you can interact with him and he gets a plot point and everything. SO yeah saying bioware don't let things carry over is just wrong

[pupkinpumpkin]

BOOM PART 2 OF MY LAVELLAN ALREADY BECAUSE I AM UNWELL

I took a lotta screenshots of her, but I don't have access to that computer rn, so take one of my old playthroughs of her before I changed her a little bit

So, Lavellan basically already learned how to deal with people depending on her and looking to her for everything from being The First, so the Herald of Andraste gig is still incredibly stressful, but she's used to it

I think inherently, she's a very goofy and sarcastic person, but she has just molded herself into being very diplomatic, so that mask slowly comes off as she becomes friends with everyone

She's 25-26 at the beginning of the game

Her eyes glow green anytime she uses the mark, which I really think adds to Trespasser with the anchor freaking out so much and there just being points where her eyes are green for minutes at a time and fully green by the end before her arm gets cut off

She never had alcohol before the Inquisition so she gets drunk very fast

Whenever she is blackout drunk, she gets really good at building or fixing things. Like, she could build accessories to Bianca levels of good. But only when she's blackout drunk.

Once, when drunk, she said that running her fingers through Cullen's hair felt like petting a baby Halla's fur, something which no one has ever let her or Cullen live down

Varric is the first one to make Lavellan laugh, Sera is the first one to make her snort laugh

Immediately after becoming Inquisitor, Lavellan asks Josephine and Vivienne to teach her about The Game and Fereldan politics

Sera is the first person Lavellan tells about not believing in the Elven gods

Lavellan had a panic attack during Wicked Hearts and Wicked Minds

I like to think that, since my Lavellan is scared of fire, whenever she defeats her first dragon, Iron Bull takes her out drinking not only to celebrate defeating a dragon, but to facing a really big phobia of hers and coming out alive

I purposely have Morrigan be the one to drink from the Well of Sorrows because my Inky has enough religious trauma. Can you imagine having heavy religious guilt over never believing in your religion and then having a bunch of old dead priests from that religion in your head constantly?

Lavellan's best friends are probably Cassandra, Dorian, Cole, and Josephine (Sera and Solas are close seconds)

Cassandra because Lavellan had a big gay crush on her originally which led her to get to know Cassandra better and become very close to her, of course not in the way she originally wanted, but still. They bond out of duty to the people and raise each other up to think about their own happiness for once. Also trashy romance books.

She knows Dorian's gay from minute one and the fact that he's so unwaveringly himself really makes her admire him for being something she could never manage to be. In Dorian's personal quest, there's an option to say that Dorian was very brave for being himself and taking no shit and I really think my Lavellan means that. She hid who she was for so long and being friends with Dorian really helped her walls go down and build her self-confidence. Like, early in the game when you recruit Dorian, I like to think that with everyone else she's very nice and mild-mannered, but whenever she's around Dorian, her real personality comes out which I think confuses some of the companions at first on why she's so different with him, and some see it as them being 'together' but really they both just get each other and their struggles implicitly

(also I love the head canon that Cullen purposely plays chess with Dorian to see what his and the Inquisitor's relationship is, it's so funny to imagine)

With Lavellan being very "I need to put everyone above me and never complain", I think having Cole around would stress her out because he can feel all her hurt she tries so desperately to hide, but she learns that he just wants to help and she often joins him or helps him help others. She eventually gets comfortable enough around him to open up, but I do think she makes him promise to never make her forget anything. Then of course, since I always make Cole human, I like to think she starts playing a more active role in helping him help others since he can no longer make people forget him.

I feel like Josie and Lavellan would just vent to each other a lot. They both need to vent so much and they both have had obligations pushed on them since they were young. Josephine's side quest really pulls them together

And then of course there's Cullen and Solas. So, I romance Cullen every time. I just like him a lot. But I started thinking narratively, and now I flirt with Solas for a bit, then immediately end it after Skyhold and go full in with Cullen. The reason I do it is all very soap-opera-y

So, my thinking is that Lavellan is so conditioned to do whatever her clan wants of her. She needs their approval. Solas is a male Elven mage who she really likes and gets along well with. On the surface level, he is exactly who her clan would want her to pursue. Elven. Male. So, she convinces herself that because she enjoys his company, she must like him because that's who her clan would want her to be with. And he likes her, so, she goes along with it.

And then there's Cullen. A human templar. Just like the rogue templars who killed her lover. Cruel and malicious and evil. But he's not. He's awkward and sweet and yes he's headstrong, but he genuinely wants to reform the Templar order and he's trying to better himself. She tries so goddamn hard not to like him because liking him would be saying no to her clan and she can't. Liking him would be moving past her trauma and looking forward and thinking about herself and her wants and she can't. But she also can't help herself from spending time with him and laughing at his jokes and getting flustered when he laughs at hers.

But as time goes on she feels so bad for flirting with Solas when she doesn't feel that way about him but she HAS to feel that way about him, doesn't she? Because just like with the Elven gods, something must be wrong with her if she doesn't like Solas. So after they find Skyhold and she's in the Fade with Solas. She has to test it. She has to kiss him to see if her feelings are real. So she does. And he kisses back. And it's a good kiss. But it's not right. It doesn't feel right. Then Solas also apparently says this isn't right, so once she wakes up and goes back to talk to him, they agree to end it (She tells him later of course why she flirted with him and apologizes profusely for it, she feels horrible about it for the rest of time, but they stay good friends because they genuinely enjoy each other's company).

But with Solas gone, that means that nothing except her own insecurities are holding her back from being with Cullen. And she is shaking when she asks Cullen to go on a walk with her and she is TERRIFIED when she admits how much she likes him, but god, nothing will ever compare to how she feels after he tells her he likes her too and they kiss. And she feels so...free. She made a decision for herself that wasn't tied to her clan's wants for once. They were 100% completely her own. And she loves it. And she loves him.

Anyway, that got a little fanficy. Basically once the Inquisition ends and she's with Cullen, she is the happiest she's ever been because she doesn't have to deal with politics anymore. She definitely gets stressed introducing Cullen to her clan, but if they don't accept him, they don't accept her, and she learns to be fine with that.

Also she has four kids and a dog with him. One warrior, two rogues (one who specializes in making prosthetics), and one mage, thank you and good night!

[petrow1tch]

Yeah so what are your thoughts on the dark ritual in DAO?

LOL ok so i'll try to give two (relatively short) answers, one is a gameplay one, and the other is how i justified in from the lore perspective with my HoF

(GAMEPLAY) The intro of the game where you gather the blood of darkspawn, yeah, the ritual of joining is shrouded in mystery, like "why we don't tell you what is the ritual? dont worry about it wink wink", so you think "hmm is there something wrong with it, what's up?"

So then you start the ritual and BAM you can die during it. One way or another. It feels like "damn ok i'm in it now, but i guess i can see why they kept it a secret, ok, now to play the game and be a hero". Suprises are seemingly over.

then BAM at the end of the game is another reveal that to kill the Archdemon you need to die with it, and, like, ok, it is a bit sudden to give that info to the player who already went through with the Landsmeet and had some plot expectations from it. It feels like a rug being swept from under your feet; and then BAM again here comes Morrigan and says "oh btw you can just not die, just let me have the baby", and, this whole part seems very rushed? Like, ok, there were supposed to be any stakes with choosing who's going to die to end the blight, and suddenly there isn't? (Thats if you're playing a male warden ofc, who can do so himself no matter who's he is in romance with, or you can try and force Alistair to sleep with Morrigan, which i'm not just a fan of. He's already eager to sacrifice himself if you say "i don't wanna die" to Riordan when he says you gotta die to kill AD so why would he agree to a ritual (that he doesn't benefit from) from an apostate (that he dislikes)? If you romance Alistair, then forcing him to sleep with Morrigan is the only choice you have to save your loved one and yourself, but again, would you force someone you love to cheat on you with a person he hates? For a ritual? That he would oppose?)

So, yeah, that whole "die to win" and dark ritual reveal was kinda badly executed IMO

now, to LORE part of why i actually don't mind using the dark ritual

People say that even from in-universe perspective it would be weird to agree to the ritual since the old god would technically still be alive and Morrigan is shady, but you know what? My HoF dgaf.

Now, let's take a look. My HoF is a male Cousland rogue, who was opposed to joining the Grey Wardens when Duncan arrived at the Highever, so that's the angle from which i'm basing my dark ritual choice. It'd be different for different origins methinks.

During Howe's massacre of the castle, Duncan presented the HoF with a "choice":

"Die here or i'll save you to conscript you into GW"

Now. I'm replaying DA2 currently, and this Duncan's offer very much reminds me of Arishok's "we give choice. they can choose to not accept qun and die or to accept the qun and live. #democracy"

So my HoF, who previously stated that he has no interest in joining Grey Wardens, feels very cheated by Duncan using HoF's life as a bargaining chip. It shouldn't have happened! First, Howe slaughtered his entire family, and now Duncan is using the moment to claim HoF's life for his own goal to add numbers to his "glorious murder-suicide" cult? That's fucked up. But HoF doesn't have much choice if he wants to live, so he accepts the offer, with main goal being survival to avenge his family and to live in spite of it all.

So, now we get to the joining, HoF meets Alistair, they gather the blood, meet Morrigan, and go back to the joining ritual. Suddenly HoF sees that you can die from the joining ritual, and from the Duncan also if you reject the joining ritual. what the fuck. Again, there's is no other choice than to accept the outcome that guarantees the bigger chance of survival. HoF goes through with the joining ritual, feeling even more disdain towards GWs.

Joining, Ostagar, saving by Flemeth. HoF and Alistair are the only GW survivors. This is where HoF was about to say "fuck it" and disappear, until Flemeth gathered his ass, after which he decided to wait with rush decisions.

While traveling with Morrigan and Alistair to Lothering, HoF had time to gather his thoughts. He learned that Alistair considered GWs to be his family, and HoF could relate to losing it all at one night, so his disdain towards GWs melted away a bit just for this one guy, who basically lived through the same experience as he did. HoF also found Morrigan interesting and could see reason in some of her actions and decisions, thus they started to form some sort of friendship.

While traveling with these two, HoF found to like Alistair not for just being someone with the same lived experience, but also for a person that he is. You could say it was love, but HoF knew that that couldn't happen, so the best he could do was to be a very good friend.

The longer they traveled, the more HoF understood Alistair's point of view on Wardens as a family, since the adventuring party themselves became some sort of found family to each other. Some of them may not like one another, but they still care for each other's well-being because at the very least, you need them to reach your own goals (committing the dark ritual; avenging the Cousland family; ending the Blight), and at best, they're the ones who you consider friend or even more.

So all this said, HoF found more and more reasons to stay alive, not anymore blinded by anger and revenge, but also for helping those he holds close to his heart. Ending the Blight transformed from being something that he was forced, almost ensalved to do, into something more of a favor for someone he loves.

After gathering all armies, HoF traveled to Denerim where he finally had the chance to kill Howe. He decided to kill everyone who ever associated themselves with Howe, anyone who ever helped him to kill Cousland's family. Be it conspirators, merchants, or even his kids. (Keeping true to his promise, HoF later killed Nathaniel immediately upon learning who he was)

At the Landsmeet, HoF was determined to help Alistair in avoiding the throne, as he wasn't as concerned with grand political scheme as he was with the Alistair's feelings. Thus Anora was made queen, Loghain was executed and Alistair happily gave up any and all rights he had to the royalty. Seemingly a happy end, now to just go to Redcliffe and slay a big evil dragon and the friend's errand is done? WRONG

HEY

GREY WARDEN

WE WANT YOU TO DIE SO FUCKING BAD

HoF and Alistair learn from Riordan that to kill an Archdemon, a warden must sacrifice himself, dying in the process.

He survived the slaughter of his family, he survived the joining, he survived the Fade, Deep Roads, ancient curses and armies of undead, just to die anyways? No. Not gonna happen. HoF will not die killing an Archdemon.

...

"I'll do it"

Facecrack of the fucking century. The man who was the only one HoF could relate to, the man who he considered his closest friend, the man he loved and went all this way for. Alistair says he will kill himself to slay the archdemon.

Without even a chance to say his word, HoF gets shut out by Riordan telling them to get ready for march to Denerim tomorrow. Coming out of the room, he is on the point of breaking apart between his will to live in spite of it all and his desire to save Alistair. There seems no other choice than to forfeit his life and sacrifice himself, that is until he happens on Morrigan in the middle of his room.

And now, now we have this picture of Morrigan suggesting HoF a dark ritual, which would save the chosen warden from untimely death and help Morrigan herself with her goal.

Of course HoF would agree to the ritual.

Of course HoF would help his friend who he had no reason to disagree with prior, fully knowing she has her secrets, but still considering her family

Of course HoF would do anything to save Alistair, whom he loves. Had he known about what it takes to kill an Archdemon, he'd force him to become a king, but alas, the "glorious murder-suicide" cult wouldn't tell all it's secrets neither to him, nor Alistair.

So HoF goes through with the ritual, and when the time comes, he leaves Alistair to defend the gates of the city, much to his surprise. HoF has one chance to do it right, and he cant afford to fuck it up even in the slightest. Doesn't matter what Alistair thinks of him, "how could the man who only yesterday refused to die to archdemon, suddnly leave me here to fight lesser battle, and go to face the dragon himself, without me". It is not important. What is important, is that HoF gonna save Alistair, and that HoF is gonna live in spite of it all.

so yeah lorewise i think dark ritual is pretty neat

[apothe-cary]

So I have had this thought in my mind as I am replaying all the games again. I am someone who started with veilguard and worked backwards so do forgive me if I don’t get all the lore I’m still learnin and since BioWare probably won’t give us another ima do this. I really really wish I was able to play as a character that has a buddy. Like Justice or Spite or even play as a creature like Cole who gradually becames more human or spirit. Can you tell I also loved the head canon of rook being a spirit >.>

Please forgive my English! Not my first language so I hope it all makes sense!

Main Character & Backstory:

My idea for this is MC (Might turn into a story later honestly maybe even an interactive one you guys can help me with) Is either from the fade or possessed by one. Cause I want a buddy to talk to to! They may not like me or they maybe do! I feel like we had a lot of protagonists, warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, And Rook all of them had their things ya know? I want this ones to be Either creature of the fade which woah crazy why would a fade creature save the world or a possession maybe from demon, spirit or even a god kinda like how mythal and Morrigan work. (Still just ideas flowing as they come in)

Companions:

I feel like it would be a cool narrative. And then thinking things like companions. Maybe there were non-romancable characters that you really wanted to romance. Or companions that didn’t get more love in other games. Who would you bring back? What new ones would you want to see?

Personally with the idea of it being a fade creature or possessed person (abomination) I’d probably want to bring back Cole as a mentor like what Varric was for rook in a sense? Would old protagonists come back? Their offspring’s?Feel like that makes sense for at least Cole to show up but you guys tell me who you’d want.

If I think of new companion idea I’ll either add to this post or make a new one depending if people actually want to hear it lol.

Locations:

Where would you guys want to go? What places would you want to expand on and explore more?

Honestly I’m a huge huge sucker for Treviso. It reminds me a lot of home so I’d Probably want more Antiva especially since at least at the end of my game they found liberation. I’d want to see what they do in the future with their freedom.

And as much as we get stuck in the fade, I just want to able to explore more of it. I feel like there’s just a lot more ground to cover in the fade. Idk I could be crazy for that thought. Again feel free to put in your two cents.

Villains:

Honestly I got nothing about who I’d cast as a villain here. Or what type of character I would create or if we turned another beloved character into a villain, honestly dunno dunno what they want.

Pets!

It was a crime to not give Rook a cat or dog in Veilguard. Because inquisitor literally had a horse, Hawke had a dog, and So did the warden. Sorry but my baby here gets a cat. I’m giving this child a cat or maybe you’re able to choose. Cat, dog bird, griffon? Take it here.

End Credits

Anyway, this was just an idea I have no idea if I’ll make it into a story or if people are actually interested in it I’ll turn it into something interactive that all my buddies and you, if you’re interested too. Like a story board and that the end of the post there’s a poll for what choice we should make idk. It’s just kinda an idea I had and wanted to share. Thought it would be fun to share.

Also big shout out to everyone who’s interacted with me. I appreciate the follows. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences in this community especially for being very new to it. I’ve got more recognition that I ever thought I would and that makes me incredibly happy. I’m super grateful. Thank you and please have a wonderful day.

[sunsetwaltz]

Thinking about how out of all my canon DA protagonists, Rook is the only one to get a straightforward romance (with a hint of HEA).

Mahariel/Alistair: She dodged a bullet by never finding out that Anora would throw her under the bus without a second thought. So she crowned Anora, didn't encourage Alistair to become king because he never seemed interested, and took the "easy" way out by (reluctantly) agreeing to Morrigan's ritual. If she had submitted to Cauthrien, well, King Alistair definitely would've left her heartbroken.

There's also the whole "Creators, do I really have feelings for a shem human?" crisis, y'know feeling like a traitor to her people for daring to love a human. And later on feeling immense (survivor's) guilt for not performing the ultimate sacrifice and irrationally believing she robbed Alistair of a better, more stable future. Which is why Alistair's romanced dialogue in DAI had me giddy, swooning and relieved:

"Happier than I ever dreamed possible. She's more than I deserve... And I hope I make her days easier as well."

Oh and let's not forget the Calling. That kind of puts a damper on the future.

Hawke/no one/the fade: RIP my Hawke. She had a fling with Isabela but the game bugged and didn't properly register their breakup... She couldn't romance anyone else or experience the full Isabela romance. If I had known that bug would happen I would've committed to Isabela lol.

In the Keep, I had her in a relationship with Sebastian for funsies. Except she's a mage and I personally don't believe a Sebastian/mage Hawke romance would end happily. Not unless he gives up the throne to Starkhaven, which I doubt either of them would want. Even by 9:52 Dragon I'm not sure Starkhaven or the rest of Thedas would realistically accept a mage as their Princess (he'd probably give the same speech as Alistair heh). So off to the Fade she went during Here Lies the Abyss.

Lavellan/Solas: It's Solas. He makes things complicated just by existing lol. Y'know as a quiet, not-humble, tea-hating, fade-obsessed dreamer apostate scholar. Not a god but still an absurdly powerful immortal elven mage straight out of Dalish legend. Maker of the veil. Sunderer of the titans and the Elvhenan of old. Leader of the elven rebellion against the Evanuris, liberator of elven slaves. The guy who played a hand in creating both the breach AND the blight. Who is "kind and wise and sad" and terrible at loving someone and being loved in return.

"The course of true love never did run smooth" is THEM. Ten years, man.

Rook/Davrin: Felt straight up like a Disney or Pixar romance - lighthearted and cute. I appreciated how level headed, grounded and confident he seemed. How he had a sense of humour but knew when to be serious. How he didn't have any overwhelming angst or drama in his life (after ten years with Solas yk...a girl needs a break!). It felt like Davrin truly understood what was important during all those round table discussions, like he and my (humorous) Rook were on the same page, that they definitely had inside jokes of their own. In a way, it felt like Davrin became a "rock for Rook".

Also ASSAN. My absolute favourite, my adopted baby griffin! While I would've liked to learn more about Davrin (which clan is he from? Does he have any siblings or surviving family? How'd he get his scars?), I was fairly pleased by this romance and all the cute family moments. Except for y'know that barely anyone in the game acknowledges it - it's only Emmrich, Davrin himself and Ghilan'nain of all characters lol afaik.

(Neve absolutely does not count! Watch/read the banter again. Only Rook responds to Davrin's comment about their future; Neve doesn't even offer anything like "I'm happy for you two" FKSDLAFJ;LSAKD;LKF)

When it came to the scene where they discuss their future together(!), it felt only appropriate to allow at least one of my DA protags to have a happy ending. (At that time I had no idea about Solas/Lavellan.) I liked how the game followed up on the "settling down and raising our half-bird, half-cat kid" later in Act 3. Plus Davrin referencing an earlier cutscene, coming around and suggesting they "go flying one day"... That really warmed my heart <3

[livingthedragonlife]

okay so i just finished a replay of origins, and it's also the first time i did the ritual where my warden has the baby with morrigan. and i was just skimming the wiki about it and learned that... kieran only has the soul of the old god when alistair or loghain have the kid??? somehow??? i don't understand, why is the warden's kid not an old god when the archdemon they killed went right to him, which would mean the soul is in him, regardless of who the father was, right??? can someone who knows more about the deep lore explain to me how this is possible

[orionlancasterr]

My truth is that Morrigan is much more compelling unromanced and with Kieran being made with old god blood magic. Your best friend tells you that she can keep you from dying an unavoidable death if you give her a vial of your blood so she can complete an ancient ritual that will give her a baby to suck up the soul of the old god you have to kill but caveat is that she will disappear without a word. This woman has become something of your sister and she wants desperately for you to survive but was not raised in a way that she can show this love she has for you other than through actions. She found out supposedly that her mother, who she already has a tumultuous relationship with, has been raising her to be a power witch so that she can take over her body and that, allegedly, she’s been doing this with her daughters for centuries? She was raised in the woods by a woman who holds the spirit of an ancient elven god also more Morrigan weird girl content wait where was I going with this

[zombolouge]

31 Days of Dragon Age

Decided to do the 31 days of Dragon Age prompts (original post here)

Oct 2: Favorite Origins romance

Under a cut because it got long (and nobody was shocked)

I mean, I gotta go with my canon romance, Alistair. It sort of rankles in me a bit that DA consistently reveals me to be a basic bitch deep down inside, but it keeps holding true XD

I just love the poor guy. He's basically been given BW's every narrative plot disease. He's got trauma. He's got secret dragon blood. He's secretly royalty. His sperm could theoretically cure the blight. He's got an old god baby. He's running Ferelden. He just wants to be Some Guy but he's the specialest boy in the land.

In all honesty, I think what attracted me to his romance as a canon ship was the way it intersected with the politics of both the party companions and the world. I was really fascinated with the way his attitude with Morrigan develops, and it gave me brain worms about how I could push it a little further. I also spent a lot of time wondering if there were ways to put him on the throne where he wouldn't hate it, if there were things that could be said to him to make him a little more comfortable with the idea.

Of course, I also accidentally gave him more trauma than canon does, so I wasn't all benevolence and peacemaking XD (see the fic if you wanna know my crimes)

Plus I got to the fade decision in DAI and was like ABSOLUTELY NOT, MY BOY IS KING NOW. Though I'm quite pleased with how my canon shaped up after making that change.

Morrigan is obviously my second choice, and SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN BI, BIOWARE. But she's been so removed from society and the Warden is her first real, tangible friendship, and I'm SUCH a sucker for how much that lets the warden sort of shape Morrigan. She's also got the requisite trauma that usually lures me to a character, her relationship with her mother one that fascinates me endlessly. I love writing Flemeth/Mythal and doubly love some of the scenes I wrote with the two of them together. Morrigan is also the star of one of the DA stories I've written that I'm most proud of, Pieces of Us, which tells the story of her giving birth to Kieran. I did so much research for that! And I'm really pleased with the result.

I also have a real soft spot for Zevran, and sometimes I toy with the idea of writing another series with different romances (maybe picking all elves this time), but haven't yet been gripped with enough ideas to make it function. But Zevran is ALSO traumatized and has a lot of misconceptions about feelings and connections with people, and I could gnaw on that kind of juicy angst for months. I definitely tried to give him some space for that growth in my fics, but never really got to spend as much time with him as I'd like. *sigh* maybe someday. When I have no other WIPs haunting me.

[tiadres]

(Sent again, I just realized I used a symbol in the last one that makes tumblr eat asks hahah ignore if you got this already!) Veilguard questions: 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 20!

Hi, thank you for asking! c:

1. What was the first Dragon Age game you played?

Dragon Age Origins! So started from the very beginning ^^ I learned about Dragon Age from a friend maybe 6-7 years ago and starting from the first game seemed logical when jumping into a new series.

4. What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

Summarizing some of the main plot points from each game:

- Warden, Tiadres Amell, is a human mage and alive & well

- Romanced Alistair, who is the King of Ferelden. Tia is his mistress.

- Recruited all companions (base game and DLC) and they are alive & well

- ... except for Loghain, who was executed at the Landsmeet

- Helped Redcliffe fight, Connor is alive and not possessed

- Supported mages, did not agree to Cullen's "request" (very diplomatically worded in the Keep, considering what he was suggesting asjfgj) and Irving is alive and well.

- Brokered peace between the elves and the werewolves

- Defeated Branka, Bhelen is the King of Orzammar. Dagna left to study and thus was the Arcanist in DAI.

- Found the Urn of Sacred Ashes, did not defile it

- Tia agreed to Morrigan's suggestion and convinced Alistair to go along with it, and thus Alistair had old god baby with Morrigan.

- ... and thanks to that dark ritual, Tia defeated the Archdemon without perishing herself.

- Protected both Amaranthine and Vigil's Keep

- Killed the Architect

- Champion, Cadriel Hawke, is a mage and alive & well

- She romanced Anders, who is also very much alive & well

- Recruited and befriended all companions, even Sebastian although Cadriel didn't really understand why he'd wanna hang out with the rest of the gang 😂. Everyone is also alive and well, except maybe Sebastian who is alive but maybe not so well or at least not happy with how things turned out. Also everyone besides him stayed with Cadriel.

- Bethany died in the prologue 😔

- Carver became a Grey Warden, Isabela returned with the tome and was not given to the Arishok, Aveline married Donnic, Merrill did not destroy the Eluvian and her clan is alive, helped Tallis.

- Killed the Arishok in duel

- Approved of Anders' actions at the chantry

- Sided with the mages

- In Legacy, sided with Larius and found Malcom's will

- The Inquisitor, Anwen Lavellan, is an elf mage and alive & well.

- She romanced Josephine (and Harding, although Dragon Age Keep does not acknowledge that at all).

- Recruited and befriended all companions

- ... except it's a bit more complicated with Vivienne. They started with very low approval as they saw the mage matters from two very different points of view, but eventually got along much better. Anwen gave Vivienne the real snowy wyvern heart, but as her approval apparently never got quite high enough, there's this funny thing in the Keep where I had to manually assign them to friends because the Keep thought that since they were never friends, Inky also didn't give her the real heart. So I fixed it by selecting the friend and the real heart tiles.

- Dorian reconciled with his father and left to Tevinter to change things, Blackwall left prison as Grey Warden, Iron Bull is Tal-Vashot, Cassandra discovered the book and rebuilt the Seekers, Sera killed Hammond, Solas freed his friend, Cole is more spirit, Varric tracked the red lyrium source.

- Leliana was inspired, encouraged Cullen to stop taking lyrium, did favors for Du Paraquettes to solve Josephine's problem

- Samson was Anwen's nemesis (this is funny in the sense that I never felt like he was some big nemesis for my character, then I saw the tile in the Keep and was like whaat ^^") More than that I felt sorry for him, it would have actually been interesting from story point of view to have him be the Commander of Inquisition's forces instead of Cullen. Learned about Samson's armor and destroyed it.

- Anwen denied being chosen by Andraste, declared for order and stability, was a recruiting judge

- Went to Redcliffe and allied with the mages

- Grey Wardens rebuilt, Stroud was killed in the Fade

- Celene and Briala reconciled, Florianne is alive

- Anwen drank from the well, respected the temple traditions and allied with the guardians.

- Leliana became Divine Victoria

- Sutherland's company was successful

- Did the exploration stuff

- Discovered and met Ameridan, shared the truth

- The dragon was slain, earned legend-mark from the Avvar

- In Descent, saved the mines and stopped earthquakes

- Bull remained loyal, disbanded the Inquisitioon, stop Solas at all costs

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

I actually just talked about that in here! So I have a pretty solid plan forming for my Rook, Konstantin, who will be a mage (I really love playing mages ^^"), necromancer (I think the specialization is called "Death Caller" or something?) and a Grey Warden, and he will romance Harding. I'm certain that I will create more Rooks too (and hc them to be companions to my canon Rook, like I've done with many other Dragon Age ocs who are companions to my canon heroes even though I've also played the games as them) but I don't yet have any specific ideas regarding them.

7. Which character from the previous games or other media are you most hoping will make an appearance in DAV?

The Inquisitor is confirmed so I'm looking forward to that. Josephine would be great especially since Anwen romanced her, maybe we could get some dialogue about how they're doing and see them interact with each other. Merrill would be cool especially since she would certainly have a lot to say about the situation at hand, she could even be a good advisor on Eluvians and Elven lore. Maevaris Tilani, Zevran, Fenris, Krem, Bodhain and Sandal also come to mind, and many others certainly too.

8. What faction are you most excited to learn about?

I really love Grey Wardens but since they've been much involved in every game, I'm not sure how much new we're going to learn about them. Probably mostly something about what's been going on in Weisshaupt recently. Antivan Crows I'd really love to learn more about, and the Mourn Watch. And the Veil Jumpers seem really exciting as well!

9. Which romance, if any, do you plan to pursue first?

Harding! When we first saw reveals about the companions I was all heart-eyes at Taash (and still am, I am weak for big, strong ladies) but when I heard that Harding is in DAV and a full companion and romance option, I knew I'm going to pursue her first. My inky has a non-monogamous arrangement where she's in a relationship with Josie but also dating Harding more casually, so Harding is available for Rook even though she has a pre-existing love interest.

10. Which location are you most excited/hoping to explore in-game?

Based on the trailer, Minrathous seems very exciting. I actually like that they went for a more futuristic style with it because it is a city ruled by mages with a sense for dramatism, so of course it's gonna be like from a different world. I'm also excited for Arlathan forest, I'm expecting it's going to be a more classic fantasy location with bunch of magical stuff.

13. What's one thing you've seen confirmed so far that you're a fan of?

Harding obviously, and the rest of the companions seem very cool too and I love that they're romanceable (and pansexual too, which gives more freedom in designing characters to romance them). I know this is already another thing, but the character creator sounds amazing too and like a huge upgrade from DAI. I love that there will be an option to be non-binary, and that character creator options aren't limited to gender. Sounds like we'll have a lot freedom in making our characters, which is awesome.

20. Post a picture of gif that conveys your current level of excitement for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

[transmasc-tabris]

Anyway, played more Dragon Effect to distract from. The Occurrence (fuck I hate America)

Okay I'm calling it that largely in jest but. But I mean come on. Already said the combat feels that way and that's still true but so many other things give that vibe. The way it seems to be putting such an emphasis on companions and their recruitment. Hell, the lighthouse feels a bit like the mission debriefing room from me1. The way the blighted gods affect the world - definite reaper vibes there. Even the look of some enemies and environments. Speaking of, the crossing was nicely done. Good creepy atmosphere.

Another mass vibe - hard to explain because tired and Stupid™ but it feels like they're going for a bit of a commander Shepard vibe with Rook? But like, the game itself leaning toward Paragon? Could be way off here we'll see where that goes.

Whatever is going on in the crossroads I love it. Beautiful. Surreal.

Morrigan came in way sooner than I'd expected. At the very least some elves actually said they thought she could help this time. I've heard some people saying everything feels sanded down and I get that with her, but she's literally just shown up so we'll see.

Dialogue is... eh, it's alright but there are definitely some moments of amateur repetitiveness or things being said too plainly. It'll depend on how it's done, but I don't automatically mind everyone getting along, so we'll see how I feel.

Harding. Oh my God baby girl Harding holy fuck. Cannot wait to see how things develop with her.

This opinion could change but currently I am looking at everyone who said bellara was annoying and just???????? So far? Neve is so great but Bellara? I love??? Then again the quirky girl is like catnip to me. I know that's not the most accurate descriptor but I am so tired it's kinda hard to type.

Her saying to leave the mayor. Man I just. Oh man.

And, predictably, the unpacking scene. The mirror? Come on I'm predicable you know what I did and you know that no matter how things go from here I'm glad that was an option I'm glad that acknowledgement is there.

Varrics 'kid' bit is so dumb but in a fun way with my character being probably as old as him.

Talking to Solas is. Interesting. Can't complain too much about getting to tell God he kind of sucks.

So yeah.. Basically it's still 'failed mercenary guy surrounded by women way cooler than he is' who will be trying to get back to minrathous whenever I've got time to play again (hopefully tomorrow)

Oh, and I love the fuck ass stupid way rook climbs ladders. Truly a creature.

And still wish I could tone down combat dialogue but not minding it as much since companions also say little things to each other.

So just collecting my thoughts on DAV so far. Literally only a couple hours in at this point since life will not just Stop for a second.

Okay first off. Character Creator? Chef's kiss. God damn. Took me forever but I enjoyed it. Also haven't made a qunari character yet but I did take a look at some of the options and neither hair nor horns were as bad as I'd feared. There are options that aren't trash.

Glad I could give my first Inquisitor the glorious braid, broad shoulders and generally haunted look he deserves.

But also? What does -18% mean for height???? I don't know. I managed to make my Rook a little shorter than Neve after a few tries so it's all good.

Moving the camera with the mouse is still something I'm getting used to, but considering all the times I fucked up in DAI and ended up running around looking at the top of my character's head, I'm fine with this new way of doing things.

The new darkspawn design? Not as bad I thought it would be. Same with the new demon design.

Combat - Well they said it was going to feel like mass effect and it mostly does. Obviously like if you took out the guns but you know what I mean. I keep expecting that one death theme to play when my Rook goes down. Like with every bioware game I've played (besides DAI, actually) it's either a breeze or a death fest with little in between. That could be a skill issue on my part though. I do like the actiony feel and the way it seems to be leaning into the absurd athleticism for rogues.

Do wish I could turn off or tone down companion dialogue in combat though. Tone down most likely. I don't hate it (how could I hate supportive Harding??) it just happens too frequently in my opinion.

Love that running around and looting instead of fighting is now canonically on brand for my Rook. True lord of fortune moment. Speaking of - LoF casual outfit is growing on me.

Irelin is so pretty I could cry. So are a lot of others but she wowed me.

This could easily have to do with the fact that I'm playing it on nvidia geforce now but it does seem like the voices are a little bit... off from the characters? Like ahead of or behind their mouths moving our sounds like it's coming from a different place altogether. I dunno there's just something a little weird about the voices in general but that's a massive nitpick and not a huge deal.

Solas hates blood magic now? Wasn't he pretty neutral on it before? Then again, I'd lie in those circumstances too.

Still wish we'd had more than three world choices to choose from especially if characters from previous games are coming back, but at the very least they are making it easy for a new player or someone who hasn't played a da game since dai came out to just jump in.

Fuck the lighthouse is beautiful.

Pretty much all technical at this point since I've literally just met Bellara at this point. Oh Merrill you would have loved her.

[vigilskeep]

I consider you an authority on blood magic so I need to ask: do you think the Dark Ritual could be more of an actual ritual with casting and spell components and blood offerings instead of just boning?

I imagine any warden regardless of gender could be Kieran's parent if they only gave Morrigan a bit of their blood to put into the Old God Baby Soup

so, here’s what morrigan says about the ritual (using only the dialogue for a male warden to save time): “what i propose is this: lay with me. here, tonight. and from our joining, a child will be conceived. this child will bear the taint, and when the archdemon is slain, its essence will seek the child like a beacon. at this early stage, the child can absorb that essence and not perish. the archdemon is still destroyed, with no grey warden dying in the process.” the warden may respond “so the child becomes a darkspawn?” and she replies “not at all. it will become something different: a child born with the soul of an old god.”

sorry to rehash all this dialogue but i think it’s just easier to discuss if i have it right there. the premise of the dark ritual involves the conception of a child. morrigan’s use of blood magic here may be magically assisting to somehow ensure the child is conceived (wardens supposedly are unlikely to have children, probably even these fairly freshly recruited ones, not to mention that one of the potential fathers is in his early fifties), but otherwise she’s talking abt conceiving a baby in the expected normal biological way. it’s only when the archdemon is slain that the baby—or, not a baby yet, embryo, is that the word at this stage? less than that? whatever you want to call it—will absorb the old god soul essence. i suspect further magic is necessary to ensure it’s the baby not one of the grey wardens present who attracts that essence, and that that would be the actual ritual part of the whole thing that flemeth taught morrigan, but i can’t definitively say that’s true because morrigan’s not exactly explaining in detail here

anyway, my point being that what you’re describing would be a different and more groundbreaking ritual, where morrigan is capable of conceiving that child without, you know, the usual prerequisite of sex with someone biologically capable of getting her pregnant. in the game, that’s not something she’s presented as being able to do, which is why in the first place she’s making this whole pretty insistent argument for you to let her sleep with a man who depending on your setup she may or may not particularly like. that’s exclusively what she needs from the warden in order to do this ritual, so there can be a child in the first place. now, some people in their canon alter that, much like you’re describing, i know bi romance mods let any warden do the ritual, etc. etc. i don’t go for it personally but i support crimes against canon always and am here for u. so i guess basically i would say, the break from canon you have to add in here to facilitate that is that part of this ancient blood magic ritual knowledge also includes the ability to conceive a child between any two people, regardless of biological sex. it’s not what’s presented in canon as possible, but hey, your worldstate is your worldstate and it’s the fantasy genre. i do however think it would have a lot of knock-on effects as to how the ritual is treated and also that you would have to factor in wider alterations to morrigan’s behaviour to a female warden, which imo is clearly affected in comparison to a male warden not only by her perception of gender but also by her not having them always in her mind as a potential partner for the ritual