#and then to find out that lucanis and neve have very little?

[lyriumheart]

i got so sick of feeling like a third wheel and hearing every other banter w lucanis and neve being some flirty horny shit, that i just. stopped putting them in the same party. that shit just got annoying.

and youre telling me THEYRE LIKE THAT EVEN IF YOURE ROMANCING ONE OF THEM?

BIOWARE THATS INSANE

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Ranking the Veilguard companions Hookup Potential based on the kind of bed situation they have going on in the Lighthouse

(im in early act 2 so have no idea what further romance scenes are actually like, this is just jokin time without any romance spoilers. just pics of how their respective rooms in the lighthouse look and some basic characterization we know about them)

Taash: 8/10

In another game or the real world I would only rate this a 5 because they have no pillows or addition blankets. however they do have a real bedframe AND it's big enough for 2 which means the they are doing better than 90% of the rest of the Veilguard so this score gets boosted. And while there's not many blankets, there are plenty of braziers around the room to keep you warm, and Taash is probably their own miniature furnace to cuddle up to. Crucially, they also have a whole wheel of cheese next to the bed, which means you don't even have to leave the covers to get a snack after.

Lucanis: 1/10

Oh no. I'm not even going to comment on the pantry angle because everyone else asks him about that to begin with, so this is just about the bed. Unfortunately the bed is a cot made of uneven wooden planks with some blankets on top of it, and is only wide enough for 1. This is because Lucanis hates sleeping and doesn't want to do it, so the less tempting his bed is, the better for him. Unfortunately this means sleepover potential is dreadful and you will have to find alternate solutions. He does at least have another blanket to go over him and one that's presumably being used as a pillow, so, he gets a 1 instead of a 0, but I am still planning on gifting him coupons for a back massage for Satinalia.

Bellara: 4/10

This setup is perfectly fine for sleeping. It's the lighthouse standard little bed couch thing, has a mattress/cushion, is elevated off the floor, has a pillow, and she's got her blankets folded below. Perfectly serviceable for getting a good night's rest which we know Bellara is not because she forgot to sleep again. However, it's very much a one person sized setup. You might be able to cuddle for a while but if one of you unconsciously tries to roll over you are going right to the floor. Ouch.

Lace Harding: 5/10

You might be wondring "why is sleeping on the floor rated higher than bellara's" and the answer is because this means you are not rolling off the bed onto the floor. it's not going to be comfy but we are not ranking comfort here we're ranking sleepover potential. Harding has managed to make this space look homey and the canopy gives the illusion of being in a tent or canopy bed to help with that illusion. There are rugs down on the floor plus the blankets and pillows--we know Harding is used to sleeping on the ground due to her career as a scout, and I'm sure she can scrounge up more blankets to make the cushioning big enough for the both of you. Your back WILL hurt in the morning but you'll get to have a fun night first.

Neve: 3/10

Girl I know you can do better than this. Which means you're not trying to on purpose, so, live your life I guess. I will say this cot IS bounds nicer than Lucanis's--you can see its a stretched canvas or hide on a frame rather than wooden planks, so it will have a little more give. However they are not THAT much comfier which I know having slept on this modern equivalent many times. Neve also apparently has 0 pillows or blankets so you're out of luck there, as well as the problem of it only being wide enough for 1 again. This woman has too many other things going on to think about romance so your Rook is going to be the one improvising on that matter I think.

Davrin: 10/10

Now here is a man who has his life together. Double or queen size mattress, rustic bed frame he probably lovingly carved and assembled himself by hand, and not only are there sheets AND blankets AND pillows, they are are full on matching set and this knight in shining armor dutifully makes the bed every morning. There's also enough pillows for two! While the remains of a giant corpse is hanging above you all night, the spacing of the ribs still gives you lots of room above to manouver, so just don't worry about that. As a bonus you'll probably even have a baby griffon come to cuddle in the night which is such a cute thought we're going to ignore how much worse getting stepped on by a griffon foot would be than even the biggest fattest housecat trying to stand on your stomach at 4:30am. My one criticism of the setup here is that due to the bed's positioning if the person on the inside needs to get up in the night they'll have to awkwardly crawl over the person on the outside, however everyone else's bed situation is so dismal I'm not even going to subtract a point for that. Great work Davrin.

Emmrich: ???/10

Where... does this man sleep. Peepaw I KNOW you can't be sitting in that armchair all night you need your beauty rest!!! There are 0 beds or cots or floor blankets in this man's room. HOW am I supposed to break his pelvis if he has nowhere for us to lie down??? We can't risk that old man's spine on the cobblestone.

Wait... unless. No, surly not. I mean--jk. Unless...? 😳😳😳

is daddy necromancer gonna fuck me on the sacrifice slab... 😳😳😳🥵🥵🥵

Bonus:

Solas 11/10

does not matter where he actually slept bc once my inquisitor Gets Him again they WILL be fucking on top of the piano in front of the mural in his Yearning Room

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜 DA:TV spoilers under cut.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Character limit text break!]

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

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

Bellara loves pan-fried fish [source]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DAMP / multiplayer mode is not returning [source]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[merrinla]

Corinne Busche and John Epler about their favorite party banters in the Veilguard

Corinne: My favorite pairing just on banter alone is Taash and Emmrich because they have very different views on necromancy, on life and death. Emmrich is nuanced and a bit of a romantic on the subject, whereas Taash is very blunt. And, my goodness, Taash will tell you exactly what's on their mind. So I find their banter really enjoyable.

John: It's hard for me to choose because there's just so many fun little stories, the story arcs that go on through the banter pairings. You know, people loved the chess match between Iron Bull and Solas, the romance between Dorian and Iron Bull in Inquisition. And I think one thing I love about these followers, these companions, there's so many of those. There's so many little arcs. You've got Bellara and Lucanis talking about cooking. You've got Neve and Lucanis talking about old jobs. You've got Bellara and Neve building this kind of sisterly relationship. So I will say my favorite in terms of just, it has one of my favorite little beats and I'm not going to spoil it, is Bellara-Emmrich. They just have such a fun and geeky relationship that they build over the course of the game. And it ends up being having some of my favorite lines and some of my favorite beats. But honestly, I don't think you can go wrong. And one thing I'll say is, choose different ones. Always swap around. And I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how many fun and emotionally poignant little anecdotes you'll get out of that.

Corinne: You know, the one that makes me laugh quite a bit is that Bellara and Neve relationship. Neve is notable within Minrathous. So Bellara...she fangirls over Neve pretty hard. And I adore it. It still makes me laugh.

Kristen Zitani (interviewer): I only had recruited Bellara and Lucanis so far. And their cooking discussions and sort of fear of if Harding is the one cooking that night is very, very fun.

John: That is one of my favorite banter reads by any actor in the game just at the other one. Yet "Usually is". Just how heated Bellara sounds.

---

sorce

[dalishious]

Veilguard Companion First Impressions

So, I’ve finally recruited all the companions for the Veilguard! And as such, I thought I’d share my initial thoughts on them each.

Please keep in mind that as the title says, these are just my first impressions. I am nowhere near finishing the game yet. My thoughts very well may change after getting to know the characters more as the story progresses. Also, please do not take any opinions you do not share as a personal attack against you.

Bellara

Bellara might be my #1 favourite.

I’ve seen some people just say Bellara is “a Merrill rip-off” but I don’t think that’s fair at all. If all it took was a few similarities to say a character is a rip-off of another character, than I can think of so many boring white cishet male characters who would be guilty of that. But heaven forbid we get more than one elven woman who is passionate about her people’s culture and history!

Frankly, I think Bellara is a breath of fresh air in terms of Dalish characters specifically. Finally, a Dalish elf who isn’t punished for being proudly Dalish by the narrative.

I also really appreciate that so much of her can be easily understood by her backstory, too. Like, her feelings of never being good enough is reflective of the very realistic grief she is experiencing.

Lucanis

If Bellara isn’t my #1 favourite, then Lucanis is. They really both dominate that spot neck in neck. I can’t decide if I want to put him in a jar and shake it to see what happens, or wrap him up tight in a quilt and give him some good coffee.

I’m just a sucker for Lucanis’s character archetype, is the thing. I love taking him out simply because he’s so much fun to have around. And in terms of companion arcs, his is the one I am most intrigued to see where it goes.

Taash

(While I haven’t personally gotten to Taash’s non-binary plot yet, I am aware Taash switches to they/them pronouns, so that’s what I’ll be using.)

The moment I met Taash felt my heart skip a beat. The only thing hotter than their appearance is their voice. I know BioWare probably left Taash out of a lot of the advertising because they wanted to keep Taash’s gender stuff a surprise, but oh my god, because of this I was taken by quite the surprise. And so far Taash seems to be the type to keep a hard outer shell to protect a much softer side, and that is yet another character archetype I really love.

Davrin

My initial gripe about Davrin’s writing being so exclusively about Assan rather than Davrin himself is slowly peeling away, I hope. While I still think its bullshit that you can welcome Assan into the Veilgaurd but not Davrin, at least I’ve finally gotten a few bits of dialogue to get to know more about him finally. I just want to keep this momentum! Because Davrin as a concept has so much potential, in my opinion, and what little bits I have gotten from him have captivated me. But I can’t tell yet if it’s intentionally part of his character that maybe he’s just a closed off person who takes a while to trust others, (a little like Taash?) Or if the writer just cared more about griffons than the actual guy. I’m really, really holding out hope for the former.

Emmrich

Emmrich is so much more charming than I expected, and I found him instantly endearing the moment we met him. I also really like that we’re finally hearing some different stances and insight on death and necromancy than we ever had before from a companion! It makes him feel so fresh and completely new!

Harding

I’ll be real with you: I was not anticipating caring about Harding so much. She was who I was originally least interested in, when the companion line-up was announced. But the direction they’re taking her in has me questioning so much about bigger lore questions.

Unfortunately, I still don’t see much in her except being a vessel for those bigger lore questions, though. Like, Harding as a person has me mildly curious at best.

Neve

I’m really sorry Neve fans, but I just find her really boring so far, in comparison to everyone else. She doesn’t have a lot going on, and what she does have going on, doesn’t really captivate me much. Maybe I was just hoping she’d have stronger stances on things than she does? I don’t know.

It could be that I just really fucked up with Neve, and it won’t be until another playthrough that I’ll get to experience more that will change my mind. Because I will admit I am very good at picking choices she disapproves of, with my first Rook.

[amourningcrow]

Late game spoilers, particulary about Varric! I wasn't able to put this into words before, but now that I've had some time, I think I can actually talk about it. It's a little long though.

I tried to start a new playthrough three times now, but I can't even make it to the ritual side without breaking down. It is, frankly, embarrassing.

But Varric means so, so much to me. I knew deep down that he wouldn't make it out of this alive - that he even survived past DA2 was a surprise to me. The man's got tragic death written all over him! But I still wish we had gotten some more out of him. Some more interactions with the companions, more banter, more relationship dynamics. We never even found out what he would have called the others! (Aside from Neve, who was 'Slick', apparently.)

This isn't even a criticism of the writing! I think it makes sense and fits his character, sadly. (Though it's also the first time they actually managed to make me hate Solas, which is quite a feat.) It's just me being heartbroken about one of - or maybe even my ultimate - comfort character. I played DA2 (and the others, too, but DA2 holds a special place in my heart in this regard) during a time in my life where I was very much just... lost, I guess. God. I think I actually felt physical fucking grief when I went through the Fade prison scene? I was shaking and sobbing the whole time and I don't know if I have it in me again.

I'm a bookseller by trade and Varric loving stories always resonated with me. He's often reduced to being the sarcastic sidekick, but I love all his aspects and complexities so very dearly.

The son who didn't ever quite fit in with the society he grew up in, who couldn't hold up to his parents expectations and so instead refused to be tied down by them, but still had a deep love for his family.

The man who was so tragically in love with a woman he couldn't have that he made her his little secret, keeping Bianca's identity even from his best friends. Who probably still didn't let go of his yearning all those years later, maybe because it was easier than opening up and getting hurt again.

The one who was always bickering with Cassandra, this steely woman he was always at odds with, but still wrote her a continuation for his romance series he didn't even think was good because beneath all of his veneer, he still cared.

Who was presented with this half-spirit half-boy and saw just a squirrely kid who needed some help to find his place in the world. (And yeah, this is special to me. Because god damn it, I never had someone like that growing up, and I would have given all my limbs and a kidney for it.)

Who was so, so full of compassion himself, despite all the shit the world had already thrown at him.

I don't know. Maybe I just have a thing for people who try to lock their hurt away so not even they, themselves, have to confront it. (Maybe because I'm a little like that myself and maybe that's why I like Lucanis so much, as well. Damn you, Mary Kirby.)

But anyway. Sorry for the vent. I just needed someplace to share this, I guess. I don't know what to do with this hole in my chest, but props to Bioware (and damn you again, Mary Kirby) for putting it there, because it's definitely not normal for me to care this much. I wasn't even this sad when I had to leave my Hawke in the Fade. Maybe they'll finally find each other again, wherever they are now 💔

[nerd-fandom-drabbles]

A Special Kind of Stupid pt. 2

Description: Bellara vibe-checks Lucanis while they prepare the evening meal. Part 2 to this piece.

842 words

Characters: Lucanis, Bellara, and Spite

Pairings: Lucanis x femme Rook looms heavily but is unseen

Genre: Friendship <333333

Content warnings: Pining, cuteness, fluff

WARNING: This may contain some very, very light spoilers for Veilguard pre-release gameplay footage.

As usual, this was written before the game's release.

That evening, Lucanis had cleaned up quickly in preparation for another long supper preparation session with Bellara. They stood in the dimming light of the sunset-stained kitchen surrounded by cold baskets of shrimp, oysters, and fish; laughing and recounting the day's battles.

After a few minutes of chopping fish and deveining shrimp for the evening dish - a seafood paella - Bellara started shifting awkwardly. They had spent enough time together by now for Lucanis to know there was something on her mind, but he didn't pry. He figured she'd get to it when she was ready.

“So. A little birdie told me you've been flirting with Rook.”

He nearly chopped off his fingertip, “Ah!” Dammit, Neve.

“Don't freak out! I just wanted to ask... about your intentions,” Bellara's tone was kind but her eyes were piercing, “She's under a lot of pressure, and there's a lot going on. So.”

“You're worried I'll hurt her.”

“Obviously, you'll hurt her,” Spite chimed in nonchalantly, “Or get her killed.”

“I just don't know what kind of man you are... romantically. You're a great friend,” Bellara started, “But, some guys are great as friends and terrible as lovers, you know?”

“Yes, I'm aware." His cousin's many questionable dalliances came to mind immediately. He shook his head to clear it of the past, “My interest in her is genuine.”

“What do you like about her?” She stopped her chopping, watching him closely.

He thought for a few moments, and then sighed deeply, “Everything.”

“Wow. That's heavy.”

“I tend to be intense about these things.”

“No kidding?” She cocked her head and smiled, “I guess I can see that. You're reserved. Intentional.”

Have to be with a demon in your head, he thought.

But the truth was that even before Spite complicated his life, he had been the same way. Always nursing some painful, tortured little crush. He never acted on them. He wouldn't have dreamt of it. And even if he had, he was certain that they wouldn't have reciprocated. The notion was almost absurd. He was a weapon. And weapons didn't take lovers.

Still, he wanted to tell her more. About how terrified he had been when he first noticed he was developing feelings for Rook. The endless nights he'd spent pining or trying to distract himself from pining, only to then be tormented by Spite about the pining. The eventual, slow acceptance of his feelings. Or the fact that, even now, he had no idea what he was doing or why it was that Rook seemed to reciprocate... despite everything.

Rook was a distraction and a curse, but of the very best kind. And the truth was that though he fought desperately to keep his feet on the ground, his heart had threatened other plans.

There were truly so, so many things he wanted to tell his friend about how he felt, but he couldn't find the right words. Nor the courage.

“Are you going to tell her what I've told you?” He asked, after a moment.

“Oh no! I would never interfere. And I'm not, like, compiling a dossier. Just looking out for two of my favorite people.”

“Aw.”

“Disgusting,” Spite snarled.

“Can I hug you?” Bellara asked suddenly, placing down her knife.

He looked down at his bloodied apron, “I'm going to get fish guts all over you.”

“He says, as if I'm not already covered in fish guts,” she raised an eyebrow.

He let out a little chuckle and set down his knife. Once he did, she basically threw herself at him, enveloping him in a huge, warm hug. It was an unusual display of affection for him. He could probably count on one hand the number of times he'd been on the receiving end of a hug from a friend.

“You're alright, Crow,” she murmured into his chest. After a few moments she pulled away, giving him a little tap on the shoulder. “Just take care of our girl, okay?”

He nodded warmly and she turned her attention back to her chopping board.

Lucanis was no stranger to the camaraderie that emerged between Crows. Relying on others to have your back in battle or to provide good intelligence by necessity resulted in a form of closeness. But there was something sweet, gentle, and intimate about his new friendships within the Veilguard. They were different types of people, he supposed. Ones that tended to be emotionally open in a way that made him comfortable expressing and doing things that he wouldn't normally. And in exchange, he found himself feeling full and satisfied in a way he didn't usually feel.

His warm feelings were accompanied by a rush of protectiveness. If anything were to happen to any of these people, he would run rampant and wash the streets red with blood.

“So, what are you going to name your kids? I'm thinking...”

He threw his head back and groaned, as Bellara burst into a powerful bout of laughter.

“Kidding. Kidding,” she giggled, “I'd be a great auntie though, and you know it.”

[andersons-bayonettes]

Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance... The podcast that you are...

It's mediocre.

Now, let me explain. Vows & Vengeance was never meant to be an absolute amazing podcast, it's as supposed to make you hyped for Veilguard/show you the companions. A little teaser to bridge the waiting time until release, that it did pretty well.

However. I loved the story of the podcast up until Episode 7-ish. I still liked episode 7, but I could tell it was going somewhere I probably didn't want it to go. Episode 8 was... Episode 8 exists.

But let me actually get to critique it, before bashing it.

I listen to Podcasts a lot. Some of them Lore Podcasts, other Story Podcasts, with or without narration, talk podcasts, amateur and professional. This one felt like it wanted to be professional - while not quite being there - but still felt amateur enough to be a little off-putting. I don't mind most voices (including Nadia's, I think she's fine.) yet tge acting/writing was sometimes whacky at best. I felt like most voices were just way too similar. I often, especially at the start, got confused who is speaking. It got better, of course, but you don't want your listeners questioning who of your main characters is speaking.

Additionally, the podcast was meant to bring some characters closer to you, it was supposed to be a "hey, look at this, this is what they will be like, are you excited yet?" Kinda thing which worked for some. Mainly, the episodes featuring Lucanis, Emmerich and Taash did a really excellent job characterising them. I am ABSOLUTELY down to see more of them. Bellaras was fine, could be better, could be worse. The episodes with Davrin and Neve were... Not well for characterisation. And don't understand me wrong, you get to meet them, yes, but while most characters showed multiple layers, Neve and Davrin both just seemed like you just met them. I forgive them for the Lace Harding episode because we already know her from Inquisition.

Now, I don't mind Solas not showing up often. I think it's fitting. At the end of Inquisition, they out a heavy emphasis on the fact that if Silas doesn't want to be found, you can not find him. He was supposed to be that sliver of danger lurking all around, but where exactly, you'd never know. Thus, Nadia chasing Solas for weeks was absolutely fitting. Even if I think it's funny how Silas's plans have been ruined twice now by people he used as a pawn, doing something he didn't anticipate.

The ending was very, very, very lackluster. The funeral was nice, the demon battle was okay. I don't understand why they had to squeeze in this "I've been haunting you since you were little" crap, it was absolutely and entirely unnecessary. It's sad we spend so much time wanting Nadia & Elio to be back together, rooting for them to finally get a happy ending and all we get is "I killed him, anyways, lemme kille you now". One last talk maybe would have been nice, or let the demon, in one last attempt to stop Nadia, transform back into him. I know it's cliche, but it's cliche because it works.

Or, have the demon kill Elio in front of her. Let's say teh demon used Elios connection to Nadia to cross over, let him kill Elio and the ending would have been a lot cleaner in my opinion. Semantics and personal preferences aside, if they ever make another Podcast, I do hope they find someone who has experience in how to do them. The actors were good. They absolutely were, I assume it's a directing issue.

All in all it was a decent podcast. It has a lot of issues, but it also has a lot of good aspects, makingbit overall, well, like i said, mediocre.

[scurvgirl]

Learning about my Rook through banter. Just a little self-indulgent writing.

-

Bellara: So...you're Dalish, right?

Rook: Yep.

Bellara: But...you don't have Vallaslin.

Rook: I don't.

Bellara: Did you leave before you could get it?

Rook: No. My father isn't Dalish, and I was born in a city - I joined my mother's clan later. Didn't feel like the Vallaslin would suit me at the time.

Bellara: Oh.

-

Lucanis: Rook, what foods would you like prepared?

Rook: Anything really. Dalish, Free Marches, Tevinter, any kind of sea food.

Lucanis: Good to know.

-

Rook: You know, Taash, you don't have to choose to be Qunari or Rivaini.

Taash: What, you think I don't know that?

Rook: Hold your dragons. I'm saying - I'm Dalish and from a city. I respect the Vhenadahl and the halla. I sang prayers to Andraste and to the creators...before, you know, we knew shit.

Taash: Okay.

Rook: It's all important, and...you're all of it, put together into a unique experience of yourself.

Taash: I'll think about it.

-

Neve: Alright, your accent is not Tevinter, Antivan, Fereldan, or Orlesian. You're a Marcher.

Rook: She's found me out!

Neve: Now to figure out where.

Rook: Do you want me to tell you or is it more fun for you to put the clues together?

Neve: Don't tell me.

-

Rook: Fucking Venatori!

Harding: You really hate them.

Rook: Assholes kill people and use my gods as a fucking excuse.

Harding: You made that one explode.

Rook: Yeah, well, sometimes we deal with personal shit by exploding an evil shithead.

-

Neve: I've got it.

Rook: Oh do tell!

Neve: Kirkwall - Varric recruited you, told you to keep where you're from a secret.

Rook: Good thought but nope. Not from Kirkwall, and thank goodness for that.

Neve: Dammit.

-

Lucanis: You're quite good with that blade Rook. Who taught you?

Rook: My mother. She's a very skilled swordswoman. All of her kids are mages but she insisted we all learn how to defend ourselves with weaponry against Templars.

Lucanis: Smart woman. You have siblings?

Rook: Yeah, two older brothers.

Lucanis: Why am I not surprised you're the baby?

Rook: Because I am baby.

-

Bellara: I don't understand. Why not get the Vallaslin?

Rook: My clan was informed of its true meaning. My keeper started offering everyone a choice.

Bellara: True meaning?

Rook: Slave markings, apparently. Makes sense now with what we know of the gods.

Bellara: That's horrible!

Rook: My brother decided to get his despite that. He said "Whatever they were, they are now how we find each other. How we take pride in who we are." I didn't feel ready. I don't know if I will ever feel ready.

Bellara: That...makes a lot of sense, actually. Thank you.

-

Davrin: You saw the Inquisitor, right?

Rook: Yeah. For someone who has been fighting for so long, she looked great.

Davrin: She's like you - Dalish but no Vallaslin.

Rook: There's a few of us out there.

Davrin: I wonder how she got rid of it.

Rook: Ah. Don't like Ghilan'nain's design upon you?

Davrin: Most days it doesn't bother me, but some days...it makes my skin crawl.

Rook: I'll try to ask her next time I see her.

-

Neve: Alright. You don't have Vallaslin because your clan found out information about them from ancient times. You showed an odd familiarity with the inquisitor. You said you are both Dalish and from a city. You hate the Venatori. You're from Wycome.

Rook: Huzzah! You discovered it!

Neve: You were there when the Venatori tried to take over.

Rook: They poisoned our wells. Blamed the elves in the alienage. They killed so many.

Neve: That means your mother was from clan Lavellan - the same clan the Inquisitor was from.

Rook: That would be my clan.

Neve: No wonder Varric gave you a code name and made it so hard to find anything out about you.

Rook: I was twelve when Miriel, I mean, the Inquisitor, left the clan. We were so proud of her, and so worried for her. When she came back...without her Vallaslin...there was a lot of heartbreak that day.

-

Solas: You knew the Inquisitor.

Rook: I did. And you broke her heart.

Solas: I didn't have a choice.

Rook: From what she's said - you did. You just chose wrong.

[cordsycords]

been thinking more about the info about the backgrounds that we've seen, regarding Rook's past, and I really hope we get some reactivity with our companions, especially ones that are in the same faction as us:

shadow dragons - okay, from the single line we get in the prologue from Neve, it doesn't seem like she's specifically heard of/worked with Rook before. This kind of makes me wonder if the Shadow Dragons are a much more decentralized faction than something like the Wardens or the Crows, with multiple cells that are all working together towards the same goal, but keep minimal communication with one another due to secrecy. Might be cool if we have a mission that's like "find the leader of the Shadow Dragons" because no one knows who it is*. The background info from the CC kind of supports this idea, Rook is specifically said to have been "brought to the attentions of the Venatori" and put in time out because of that.

As for reactivity, I guess it would be nice if you could mention that specific mission, and Neve could "oh right I heard of that. You did the right/wrong thing." and just give her opinion on it. I can actually imagine Neve not being really keen on it, as a private investigator she needs a certain amount of discretion to be able to do her job properly, and might not appreciate Rook's brashness if it endangers the wider goal of the shadow dragons.

mournwatch - the mournwatch background is still driving me a little Insane, because what do you mean Rook was found as a baby in the Grand Necropolis. Anyways I kind of assume the Mournwatch is a much smaller faction, because they have a very specific focus, and they only operate in a specific part of Thedas. Since the info specifically says Rook was "raised by necromancers" it would be super cool to see if Rook and Emmrich had a Mentor/Student relationship at one point. Would also be interesting if Emmrich specifically was the one to tell Rook to travel after the incident with the War of the Banners. It would be great to see his response to Rook coming back and suddenly being in charge of this little rebellion, they just can't stop themselves from getting into trouble.

Also Mournwatch!Rook taught Manfred to play rock-paper-scissors. That's my headcanon and you can't take it away from me.

antivan crows - So it seems like Rook is a relatively new antivan crow, and from the little I've gleaned about Lucanis' recruitment mission, it looks like he might have been thought to be dead for the last year or so? Would be cool if Rook has heard a bunch of stories about Lucanis and has some hero worship going on. Would also be funny if we told him all that we had heard, only for him to shoot all the more fantastical elements of those tales down.

grey wardens - This one is also a little up in the air regarding whether Davrin and Rook knew each other before the events of Veilguard. Rook's faction backstory mentions them being in a group along with other Grey Wardens, so it would be nice if Davrin was also on the mission. I would also be really interested to see how Davrin got Assan, and maybe Rook played a hand in that somehow as well. Did Davrin literally find Assan in the middle of nowhere, and maybe Rook was there? Or were the eggs all found and then distributed among the Grey Wardens that were in high favour? Was Rook passed over for a griffon? I do remember one of Davrin's missions from an IGN previwe being specifically about saving the griffons, so it's probably the case that Assan is the only one actively around right now.

Either way, it would be cute to see an encounter where Rook remarks on how much Assan has grown/changed since they've seen them last, if they even know about Assan at all pre-Veilguard

lords of fortune - I think the relationship between taash and a LoF!Rook would be a good case for a slightly more antagonistic relationship. As an organisation of treasure hunters, probably focused more on profit and glory than anything else, it would be cool if Rook got in the way of taash's scores or jobs. Maybe Taash has moved up in the faction since Rook was forced to peace out, and wants to lord her achievements over Rook in an attempt to make them jealous. It could be pretty fun.

veil jumpers - I imagine Bellara and a jumper!Rook would probably be pretty aligned with one another. Reading the background info on Rook in the Veil Jumpers, i can imagine Bellara would probably approve of what Rook had done, while also being just a tiny bit disappointed that the map was lost. It would be cool to see a scene where they traded notes with one another, recounting all the weird things that they've seen in Arlathan, and then maybe trying to figure out why certain anomalies occur, or how they work. Just a bunch of co-nerding out with one another

anyways, I am definitely thinking way too much about this, but there's still 6 weeks to go, so it's not like there's much else for me to do :shrugs:

* it would be equally cool if that leader is a previous char from inquisition. I'm kind of banking on Dorian, or the inquisitor themselves considering the clothing we see them wear in that single shot of them in the CC is shadow dragons casual wear (i believe)

[vigilskeep]

Which unromanced datv companions you can see getting together, a fling (like Fenris/isabela) temporary (like Blackwall/Josie) or a solid one (like Bull/Dorian)

I can see Bellara and Lucanis bonding after spending time together as self claimed cookers of the group lol, but I've heard they also share similar values on family (?) and Bellara is a very kind soul, i can see them being close friends. ngl I can see Lucanis and Emmrich having A Thing too lol.

we already know taash/harding will be possible, so that! i think neve/lucanis is a fair possibility, though it’s admittedly a leap to assume it based on one flirtatious line. i would be surprised if there are more than two pairings within the party because that would leave only one odd one out which feels weird

the way epler talked about bellara and lucanis being a favourite dynamic of his, that didn’t seem romantic to me, that seemed like close friends. (though i WISH. they would be very cute. and rook has two hands. who said that)

i think it’s worth saying that they have said some companions will find love outside of the party, too! based on that, i wonder if it will be possible to get bellara back together with irelin, the veil jumper faction agent we recently found out is her ex? if we’re thinking about which companions will be able to romance their own faction agents, that’s not a possibility for davrin and lucanis because their agents are couples themselves already

im not sure for davrin or emmrich... i feel like i still know so little of the vibe romantically. i could see emmrich/lucanis, i think that’s a sweet match. davrin/bellara and davrin/emmrich are deeply charming to me. but those are just what i’d be interested in not necessarily what i believe will happen

[fersrsbizniz]

I’m not going to say too much, so there’s not really too many spoilers, but damn…

I am really trying my best to like this game and it just isn’t it.

I’m sure others have said things better but I really am trying my best not to spoil myself as I’m not done so I haven’t seen who might have yet. I’m also reserving final judgement until the end, but I’m struggling 20 hrs in and figured laying it out quickly might make it clear what my damage is with it.

Some good:

I’ve grown to not mind the art direction so much (would place it above DA2–remember poor Bethany’s hands there???)

I really enjoyed the character creator and I thought I did a pretty good job of making my Inquisitor (Carwen, my boy, I wonder when I’ll see you…), and my Rook looks pretty spiffy, too.

It’s ticking the box of I have to find all of the things on the map

I like Neve and Lucanis so far but that really doesn’t surprise me

I think I’ve only had one glitch so far and that is where it reset me finding the chests in the Lighthouse for some reason (unless there are two new chests I don’t know about…)

Meh:

I need more time with Bellara. I like her voice actor’s work, and her general everything else, but she is very very bubbly (sans one moment so far where I felt I got to know her a little better) and that always takes me a minute to adjust to.

I like my Rook, but I can’t tell where I get to headcanon and where they’ve done it for me so my understanding is disjointed. (I’m weird though, and prefer the Inquisitor/Tav experience where I’m a blank slate)

I don’t hate but I don’t love the game mechanics for fighting, which, tbh, means nothing to me because I’ve played all of the Dragon Age games and this is constantly changing and has never colored my opinion of the game.

Some not so good:

Not digging the writing so far for things (certain behaviors make no sense, what would have been reactive in all other games is sort of a shrug here)

My Rook is so positive during awful situations I specifically want to ask him if he is okay because he is acting like me when I am at my limit at work. Did not want to play a game where I am reminded of bottling up my stress for the sake of others, and idk if that was even the intention.

Not digging the general direction of the Crows (I like the characters, not liking the change of the established system that ignores the nastier side)

Why is everyone after me??? The rogue??? (I have heard it’s worse for mages and oof) Lemme hide and backstab. I am no tank.

If I have to find and shoot one more red crystal…(at least the shards in the other game were optional—yes, I did find all of those, but it was self-imposed!)

Not liking how the elves are totally blasé about some stuff that really would have affected them before

Not liking how they made Bellara apologize for something she didn’t need to (it did not read like a personal problem, it sounded like the writers kinda being racist actually)

For all they talked about Tevinter I thought there would be more to see of the fancier side (maybe there will be??? But somehow I’m still pressing x to doubt)

Harding, what did they do to your character ;-; (there’s a straight up tonal shift in her character, I am not imagining it…this is not the same Harding that had that discussion with my Inquisitor during and at the end of the Jaws of Hakkon DLC)

Why am I locked out of areas if I’ve found a route there????? Let Me In!!! I must find all of the things!!!! Let me clear the area like I did in the Hinterlands, dragons be damned!!! (Have not seen a dragon yet, just saying, I learned the hard way and survived in DAI) What can I say? I don’t like incomplete maps.

Maybe I’ll grow to love it with time, but this is just what I’m feeling now…

[utilitycaster]

anyway the updates:

went for coffee with the crows AND to plan Caterina's funeral and like. I know some spoilers about Lucanis's storyline, but it really doesn't matter bc Illario is the worst guy of all time and it's great.

Cannot figure out what the shadow dragons want from me. I think this is by design but I feel like I invariably say the incorrect things to them. Especially Tarquin.

Maybe it's because I know what my decision will be and I am not wavering at least this playthrough but god is Neve's companion quest here to make you go "I know you think this town sucks. so does she. and yet. sometimes you can eat a fried fish kabob thing on the docks and think about how in a tiny way you might be making it better." I have many thoughts about Neve, and I intend to write them up after I've done a little more companion questing.

Neve likes me now (platonically). I am struggling to figure out how to bond more with Harding especially because she has no faction around. Also there's some quest in Arlathan that I can't fucking find, meanwhile Docktown threw two quests at me at once, one of which had multiple targets, which really threw me through several loops. It's very hard to like, get an accurate quest tree bc it's early days, but I would appreciate one because I am at heart a completionist.

really torn between wanting to progress like, the story and character beats at a reasonable pace but also I want to explore the places! On the other hand I think I've largely acclimated to the motion sickness situation so gonna go HAM this weekend. I really want to explore the crossroads, actually; they are WILD.

the cooking conversation is everything I hoped it would be and more

I've been a one-woman woman thus far (sadly no bellara quests, see my frustrations with arlathan. Bellara you are beautiful and brilliant and kind and your forest is pissing me off.) but I might say something flirty to someone else if it strikes me. Some of the lines for Lucanis have been really tempting as just, a thing I'd say and then be like wait, shit. I also have made coffee snobbery a cornerstone of my personality.

Docktown champion did NOT kill me though it got close.

I know the Solas altars are important and also idk what the fuck they are doing (don't tell me). I activated two of them. If this is bad don't tell me. If this is good, also don't tell me.

*Beau reading the erotica voice* re: Lucanis and Neve flirting? IT STARTS SO EARLY. I have thoughts on this as well that I will be sitting on until more flirting occurs but all of their mission banter is just. literally why am I here. you guys go on and have fun.

[bhaalble]

Ok so past. The most non-spoiler way to say it is The Big Grey Warden Fight. Here are thoughts so far (spoilers ahead)

-First two hours had me NERVOUS they apparently saved all their cringest lines for those two hours ("People are always dying. It what they do" they could never make me not burst out laughing at you). After that though I genuinely think they found their footing. Still the occasional cringe or eyeroll moment but now at extremely manageable Bioware levels. I can feel the Gen Xer/Millenial in the room with me but they are no longer beating me over the head with Joss Whedon

-God this game is fucking gorgeous to look at every environment I could be in for hours. They keep bringing us to these highly anticipated locations and it keeps being better than I imagined.

-Roleplaying definitely feels more limited. In the spirit of Dragon Age 2 Two I've elected to play as the wisecracking scoundrel hero I feel the game is angling for after my attempt to oc kept crashing and burning. This isnt inherently a bad thing but time will tell if this will be like Hawke (where I am pretty locked into playing specific archetypes but there's enough wiggle room in there to play different kinds for freak) or Inquisition (where there's really only One kind of guy the game will let me realize via dialogue and if I want to do anything different I'll need to hc the shit out of them)

-Companions have proven vastly charming ajd are finally starting to develop the kinds of conflict I associate with Bioware companions. I very much get people who say they feel a little too nicesies for the series, I've felt that in different bursts on my own. That said they are all individually compelling enough for me to still be engaged. Possible my time with FFXIV has also just increased my appetite for groups of people who are Friendships. Neve Lucanis and Davrin have so far all been massive hits with me

-Was a little worried the choices were gonna feel too edgeless but I actually think the linear storytelling lends itself well here. My Shadow Dragon Rook chose to help Treviso believing their organization could handle the other archdemon without them and oh boy were they wrong!!! And the consequences of that have felt deeply palpable on an interpersonal level and a worldstate level

-Glamour system a lot of fun. Wish they let you try things on in the shop before purchasing

-Trans stuff has been both a lot of fun to play with and shockingly well-executed with some genuine variance in play. As a personal preference I tend to kind of repel when fantasy worlds have identical concepts of transition/identical terminology but its been really good to have as a dialogue option. Taash being possibly nonbinary/transmasculine has also been a kind of delightful surprise and I'm really excited to see where they go with it. never in a million years did I really expect them to do this with an R.O.

-BLIGHT IS SO FUCKING BACK DRAGON AGE HORROR IS SO FUCKING BACK ORIGINS/AWAKENING IVE MISSED YOU SO BAD

-DWARF LORE DWARF LORE DWARF LORE

- Weishaupt genuinely inspired a level of hype in me I haven't had for dragon age since my first time playing the battle of denerim. Extremely cinematic in a genuinely compelling way and the use of all the companions (not just whatever two I clocked on here) made it feel so much BIGGER and more engaging.

-In general I think its finally perfected making my inner circle feel like an inner circle rather than just a collection of guys i found in the woods. Its not just banter big team meetings, finding them talking to each other around the Lighthouse, cutscene interactions all make them feel like a proper growing unit. Almost like thats the theme or something-

-I don't mind the simple puzzles (because I am stupid) the environments are fun enough to navigate that it stays fun to complete them for me but I do wish maybe the companions would wait a little longer before prompting you. Hearing "we just need to destroy two more crystals", destroying one, then hearing "ok, one more, just up ahead!" in the span of ten seconds is. Something.

-While I do think that HR writing people are moaning about is a bit exaggerated (likely due to both the anti-woke weirdos and also the lack of companions just going for the throat on each other's lived experiences right away) I do think occasionally its a little too precious about anticipating the discourse. The poor Lords of Fortune get hit by this pretty hard the amount of emphasis drawn on btw we dont steal any cultural artifacts and we employ sensitivity Tomb Raiders is a little clumsily executed in a way that pulls you out of genuinely a cool idea (pirates turned guardians of a way of life that imperialism is trying to snuff out)

[invinciblerodent]

i've had a little time to think about it now, and despite my initial bristling, the more I gnaw on it.... the more I actually really like the choice of the two cities. Both as a story beat, and for how it affects my Rook specifically.

Like... canonically just before that choice, Verbena confided in Neve (one of the first times she's done that with anyone in the game so far) about her feelings about Minrathous being... complicated.

Ver's love for the place, it obviously comes tinged with loss, and pain, and resentment- hardship, and tears, and an awareness of the many bleeding wounds of both city and Imperium that, as a Shadow and as a Soporati, she's keenly aware of. Just like Neve, Ver also knows Minrathous as a tarnished, but precious jewel, and she has many feelings about the place that are best condensed into the word "bittersweet". She's buried and gained family there, she's loved and lost there, those streets have soaked up tears of both joy and sorrow. Despite all its politics, all the painful memories, the complicated feelings, hearing that her city, her home was in danger...

There was never any way that she would have chosen any other over it.

And I really find myself liking how profoundly that changes the relationships that she's going to have with Neve, Lucanis, AND Davrin.

(very lengthy rambles under cut, im sorry ok, i had time to think while cooking today, bear with me)

As for Neve, Ver making that choice with very little hesitation shows that Neve was right to open up to-, and place her trust in Ver. She was right to judge Ver as a loyal ally, a neighbor and a confidant, and to know, deep in the pit of her stomach, that Ver was going to follow her- which, I hope, also translates to the future of their friendship.

It feels like Ver sort of unknowingly "proved" herself, and making this call, it feels like it added a layer of security, and a mutual reliance to their relationship, deepening their bond. It kinda took their tentative friendship into ride-or-die territories.

As for Lucanis... of course there's on one hand his crush that he seemed to have developed, which has now died in its infancy. After a year of isolation (and not really being alone in his own head, not being the sole arbiter of his own feelings), it was probably easy enough for him to quickly develop a strangely intense bond with the people who broke him out (hence the interesting lines, like chiding Illario for "flirting" with his "..... colleague") and then also showed him a rare kindness and understanding, which Ver and Neve both did- and then they both broke that trust. ("Rook.... no more.")

But on the other hand (even though he hadn't come back yet in my game, so I don't know what'll happen then), I think neither Lucanis nor Ver can help but feel resentful of the other now. Him, for known reasons, and her, because though she feels guilt and regret, she also feels that it's deeply unfair of him to expect her to make a decision that he himself would not have made either.

(I think she fully believes that if he had been in her shoes, if it had been his call to make, he too would have let her city burn to save his own people. He kind of did make that decision, when he made his own call and ran off- he had no way of knowing that the dragon would back off so easy, and he still kind of caused the group to split down the middle, leaving only Ver, Neve, and one basically unknown Warden to face Ghilan'nain.)(I think Ver is going to ignore that had she made a different call, Neve would have also presented the same liability.)

Even if they end up reconciling, it won't pass without a trace that even though she rushed to Treviso afterwards as quickly as she possibly could, expressed nothing but regret, and did everything she could to make it right, he slunk off for days, and stubbornly refused to speak to anyone. I think Ver right now definitely feels like that's him pointedly blaming her (doing nothing to help the guilt she already feels all on her own). Him not being there as she was bitterly hacking at pockets of Blight in the heart of his city in the aftermath probably sealed that for her.

And for Davrin, I really like how seeing her immediately make this hard choice only hours after meeting him presents a very quick opportunity for him to bond with Ver, right out the gate.

I think there is a lot to do here with the concepts of both hope and faded glory, both as they live in Tevinter's resistance movement, and the Wardens.

I mean, defending the defenseless from an ancient and seemingly invincible foe? Clinging onto hope with bloody knuckles as one gets up over and over again, to keep thanklessly battling the infinite heads of the hydra of corruption, helping in all the invisible ways? That's got to be something both a Shadow, and a Warden (and the Dalish, tbh) understands deeply. (Really, from where they're standing, what even is the difference between a darkspawn and a magister, if not just a thousand or so years?)

It's also worth mentioning that, like I've said before, this all means that his very first impressions of her were just her jumping without hesitation to the defense of the last remaining baby griffons (you don't get a better metaphor for hope OR faded glory than that), only to then charge blindly at a blighted dragon and a god in defense of her city? That's got to impress him at least a little bit. From his perspective, she's got to look damn impressive now, especially considering how that ferocity she showed there contrasts with the joking kindness she shows in his personal quest right after.

So, lots of character relationship developments, lots of interesting moments, lots to think about. Really impactful bit, I enjoyed it a lot.

I really just wish we had a pop-up or a prompt warning us that grabbing Davrin was gonna move the plot forward, because then I would have taken my time exploring Treviso properly, and wouldn't now be scared to go recruit Taash and Emmrich, lol.

I think I might do a bit of sidequesting and exploring for the time being, wait to see if it does take moving the main plot forward to get Lucanis back (like I assume it does), and toy with the thought of little bonding moments with the others.

[himluv]

DA Review Series: Tevinter Nights

<<< Previous Review: Absolution

I've read this anthology once before, and I'm happy to say it holds up beautifully on a re-read. Since this features multiple stories, I'm going to review the whole work, and then do little reviews of each individual tale.

Title: Tevinter Nights Editors: Chris Bain, Trick Weekes, Matthew Goldman, and Christopher Morgan Year Published: 2020 In-World Year: ~9:45+ Verdict: Required reading. This is a fantastic look at the state of Thedas after Trespasser, as well as an introduction to a few of our companions and factions in Veilguard. If you only consume one piece of tie-in content leading up to release day, make it this one.

Tevinter Nights is a collection of short stories all set after the fall of Ventus. We meet Strife and Irelin, Evka Ivo and Antoine, Lucanis and Illario Dellamorte, Andarateia Cantori and Viago de Riva, Emmrich and Manfred, and Neve Gallus, among others. We also see all of our factions — Inquisition, Lords of Fortune, Veil Jumpers, Shadow Dragons, Antivan Crows, the Mourn Watch, and the Grey Wardens. This book really feels like a primer for the next game and is a ton of fun. I enjoyed my second reading as much as the first!

1. Title: Three Trees to Midnight Author: Trick Weekes Verdict: Set in the aftermath of the invasion of Ventus, this story feels like the perfect jumping off point. It picks up from the comics and introduces us to the Veil Jumpers and Arlathan Forest — a very exciting first story for longtime fans.

2. Title: Down Among the Dead Men Author: Sylvia Feketekuty Verdict: Undead murder mystery, what's not to love? Plus, we meet Emmrich and Manfred and it's absolutely adorable. And, I'll be honest, I'd do anything for Audric. This story makes the Mourn Watch seem pretty darn cool.

3. Title: The Horror of Hormak Author: John Epler Verdict: Absolute nightmare fuel. If you're worried that Veilguard isn't going to be dark enough... Read this story. A pair of Wardens are investigating a missing unit, and discover a very messed up underground lab of some sort. This story very much gave that same creeping dread as meeting the Broodmother in DAO. And if I have one fear for Veilguard, it's a Broodmother in 4k.

4. Title: Callback Author: Lukas Kristjanson Verdict: Heartbreaking. But also a really moving farewell to Skyhold. I love this story even though it kills me. In fact, I loved it enough to write some fanfic revolving around it! That's how good it is.

5. Title: Luck in the Gardens Author: Sylvia Feketekuty Verdict: This story introduces us to the Lords of Fortune faction. Hollix takes a job from none other than Dorian Pavus (and we see him with Mae!!!) to find out what's been hunting people in the docks. And it's uhhhh not anything you might expect. We see more evidence of gross, tentacled, briny-blooded monsters lurking underground. Again, things are getting real messed up in Thedas y'all.

6. Title: Hunger Author: Brianne Battye Verdict: In another throwback to Origins, werewolves are back babeyyy! This time a pair of Wardens (Evka Ivo and Antoine) are on their way back to Weisshaupt when they come across a cursed village. The pair decide to lend a hand and quickly realize they might have taken on more than they bargained for...

7. Title: Murder by Death Mages Author: Caitlin Sullivan Kelly Verdict: More Mortalitasi in this one. We get a peek at Nevarran politics, a brief glimpse of Cassandra, and more insight into the Mortalitasi. I will say, this is probably my least favorite story in the collection. While it showed Inquisition agent Sidony's power, it didn't really come together for me plot-wise.

8. Title: Streets of Minrathous Author: Brianne Battye Verdict: Helloooo Neve Gallus! This is an utterly stunning introduction to our private detective companion. A great noir-style tale that confirms that the Venatori are very much still a problem in Tevinter.

9. Title: The Wigmaker Job Author: Courtney Woods Verdict: Oh man. This is one of my favorite stories. There's just so much to love here! Lucanis and Illario are great together (I fell in love with Lucanis here and have rooted for him to be a companion since I first read it). The action sequences are great, and again, some real nasty, dark things are happening in Thedas.

10. Title: Genitivi Dies in the End Author: Lukas Kristjanson Verdict: This story is So. Much. Fun! It's also a pretty deep cut for fans, featuring Brother Ferdinand Genitivi (from DAO) and Philliam, a Bard!, as well as a few references to the Randy Dowager. All figures you'll only know if you are a lore hound in Inquisition. We also meet another Lord of Fortune and get a fun romp into elven ruins. What's not to love?

11. Title: Herold Had the Plan Author: Ryan Cormier Verdict: More Lords of Fortune, this time stealing an artifact from the Grand Tourney in Starkhaven. We also see Vaea and Ser Aaron at the end, which was a nice little treat. I will say though, this one had me a bit misty-eyed by the end. I usually want to see more of characters I love, but I hope Bharv retires to his farm and never treasure hunts again. Man has earned it.

12. Title: An Old Crow's Old Tricks Author: Arone Le Bray Verdict: After a troop of Tevinter soldiers attack a Dalish clan to make way for their camp, the Dalish seek revenge. That vengeance comes in the from of an old woman named Lessef. Watching her decimate the soldiers was gruesome good fun, and I cheered each time she said "Lessef of the Antivan Crows has fulfilled the contract."

13. Title: Eight Little Talons Author: Courtney Woods Verdict: This is the longest of the stories (I'd probably consider it a novelette) and it is maybe my favorite. I love a good whodunnit, and this one has a remote lake house, Antivan Crows, murders that replicate historically famous assassinations, AND sexual tension through the roof! We are formally introduced to Andarateia Cantori and Viago de Riva in this story, though we can infer from the text that they are the unnamed Crows we met in the comic Deception. I love them and NEED them to kiss on screen on Veilguard, okay?????

14. Title: Half Up Front Author: John Epler Verdict: It's hard to follow up Teia and Viago, but this little heist story is good fun. We see Gatt, and go to Kont-Arr! We also learn that the Agents of Fen'Harel are uhhhh real intense, Solas is after yet another artifact, and his feud with the Qunari is alive and well. We also learn that Dorian hired the narrator of this story to steal something from the Archon(?!) and at the end Gatt suggests the narrator and her girlfriend Irian head to Kirkwall to meet Varric. So, I guess we'll see if they show up in Veilguard?

15. Title: The Dread Wolf Take You Author: Trick Weekes Verdict: Look. As a Solavellan, I was never going to be normal about this story. I remember screaming (and crying) the first time I read it. It's a really interesting look at some different groups around Thedas, including the Carta, the Mortalitasi, and the Executors. We get to see Charter again, and she mentions Tessa! But the real gem here is that Solas himself shows up, and he somehow manages to break my heart all over again all while leaving me we more questions than answers. What an absolute banger of an ending for this anthology!