#bellara × neve makes way more sense

[possessiveandobsessive]

🚨🔥 Hot Take Alert 🔥🚨

Neve and Bellara would've been a WAY better match than Neve and Lucanis.

Neve is so patient with Bellara's dreamy, scatterbrained tendencies. She never gets frustrated or irritated even when Bellara is rambling about things that no one except her really cares to know that much detail about. She calmly calls her attention back to the matter at hand and reminds her where she is. Neve knows how to focus Bellara without killing her spark. Exactly like Bellara said Cyrian did for her.

Neve is also very grounded. She knows what she believes and what she wants and isn't afraid to tell anyone. Bellara is the opposite. She's flighty, distractable, and doesn't seem sure of herself and what she's looking for. Outside of finding the Nadas Dirthalen, she's directionless mostly. Neve is the perfect grounding counterpart that Bellara is missing.

Neve is cynical and jaded, even if Minrathous doesn't fall to the dragon. And if it does, she's colder and hardened on top of that. She needs someone who carries light and love, not someone exactly like herself. Bellara is much lighter and freer. Yes, she's had tragedy strike, she's dealt with loss and pain, but it hasn't made her cold. It's made her more caring and empathetic. She can relate to and empathize with Neve's pain, without bringing more darkness and negativity into the mix.

Plus, they get along great as friends. Neve is Bellara's only real friend it seems from my own playthroughs. Emmerich is kind to Bellara but he's a mentor. The others aren't mean to her, but she seems awkward and unable to relate to most of them. Neve goes out of her way to make Bellara comfortable. She gives her a NICKNAME.

Now, to my thoughts on Lucanis and Neve.

I can understand why the writers made the decision to have them be a couple if they are both unromanced. They have many things in common, and their banter is good and natural. HOWEVER. I think they're too alike to make each other happy in the long term. They both have a more cynical, pessimistic mindset, and wear their pain as armor. They both struggle to be vulnerable and honest about the things that hurt, the things that matter. I feel like rather than encourage growth in each other, they hold each other back from change. Lucanis won't learn to trust anyone because NEVE doesn't. Neve won't learn to have any kind of optimism because LUCANIS doesn't. Yes, they have many things in common, and I think they could realistically be good friends. As romantic partners though? I feel that they could both have so much more character development and growth if they take different paths.

I also personally don't think Lucanis is likely to develop a romantic relationship with anyone in the Veilguard outside of Rook because he's so determined to be closed off and alone, but that's a whole other rant in and of itself. (Let me know if anyone is interested 😁)

[felassan]

July 15th Game Informer article on BioWare's companion design philosophy in DA:TV - cliff notes:

DA:TV wasn't made with the intention of making a sequel or 'the same again as DA:I'. They wanted to do something different

The companions are key to everything in DA:TV; the special centerpiece, load-bearing pillars. The studio uses the phrase "DA is about characters, not causes"

These are the most fully realized, complex, fleshed out & complicated companions from BioWare yet (and DA's best). They have stories of their own, and roles both in and out of combat. They are authentic and relatable

For the first time in the series, BioWare feels that they have purposefully and intentionally created great companions. In previous entries, they sort of 'stumbled' onto great companions

Rook goes on a journey with the companions, rather than how it felt in previous games where the companions are more like going on an adventure with the PC

The companions have complicated problems. We will explore how they think and feel, and help them through their problems. They participate in the game's dark parts and optimistic parts

Corinne: "They feel like my dear friends, and I absolutely adore them"

Corinne quote: "We've really moved into a place where you can have the highest of highs, and it can be colorful, it can be optimistic, but also, you can have the lowest of lows where it gets gritty, it gets painful, it gets quite dark. But throughout it all, there is a sense of optimism. And it creates this delightful throughline throughout the game." 

When creating DA:TV one of BW's principles was that the world exists even when you/Rook isn't around, with ancient conflicts, grudges and more going on. Rook kind of comes in in the middle of some of these plots

John quote: "For example – the Grey Wardens are an interesting faction but by themselves, they don't tell a story, but there are characters within that faction that do. And the same thing with other characters in the story. They represent these factions, they show the face of the other parts of Thedas and of the storytelling we really want to do, which, again, shows Thedas as this large, diverse living world that has things going on when you're not there. [...] Where can Rook come into [the companions'] stories, and what interesting ways can those stories develop not just based on themselves but also based on Rook's presence within them?"

Companions are the faces of their factions. Some, like Bellara, are the faces for an entire area of the world

BW hopes that the companions' visual design challenges and excites cosplayers. Matt Rhodes: "The previous art director had the mindset we should make things easier for [cosplayers], which I think is a misunderstanding of cosplayers. We've seen the kind of challenges they're willing to take on, and so we've gone for, in some cases, a level of complexity and detail"

Tevinter is an oppressive, totalitarian regime that has slavery. "If you’re not a mage in Tevinter, you are lower than dirt for a lot of people". A damaging regime has taken over Minrathous

The Shadow Dragons are a rebel faction that fight back against this Tevinter mage-ocracy (so does Neve)

Neve believes that good exists in Tevinter. She's there for the common people, and believes in fighting oppression and tyranny. She represents the voice of the streets and the common people. BW "wanted to have a character that showed not just what is Tevinter at the top, but what is the average person who lives in Tevinter"

Detective Neve is also about finding clues and ways through problems that aren't as action-focused as some of the other companions

The writer Wesley of Game Informer thinks that DA:TV is sure to be "multiple dozens of hours long"

In combat, companions have their own autonomy and behaviors. They pick their own targets

As their plots progress, they learn how to use their abilities more competently in battle. "It feels like we're all in it together"

In battle, strategy, progression and a sense of teamwork comes into play as the party's leader, Rook. "It is a game about creating this organic sense of teamwork."

Vulnerabilities can be used synergistically

Bellara can slow time

Harding has devastating attacks with 'knock down' effects

Corinne quote: "Now, there are more explicit synergies as well. We very much have intentional combos where your companions can play off each other, you can queue up abilities between them, and each of those abilities will go off and have their effect. But it results in this massive detonation where you get enhanced effects, debuff the entire battlefield, all because of planning and teamwork. What makes it really cool is you can introduce Rook into that equation as well. One of my favorite things to do is upgrade some of Harding's abilities so she will automatically use some of these abilities that normally I'd have to instruct her to do. And she'll actually set my character up to execute that combo that, again, has that detonation effect." 

Outside combat, companions have their own concerns, fears and distractions

Companions have their own personal spaces. They each have their own room in the Lighthouse. These sanctuaries become reflections of who they are. "The more time you spend with them, as the game develops as you work through their arc, their room and their personalities will evolve and flourish and become more complete as they trust you more and you understand them better."

The companions also develop romantically, sometimes with each other. Corinne: "There are moments in the game where two of our companions fell in love with each other and I had to make some pretty challenging choices as it related to the quest we're on. And it broke my heart, it absolutely did"

Get to know and learn about the companions in the Lighthouse. "It endears them to you in a way that I honestly haven't experienced before."

There are joy-filled moments and heart-breaking moments in the game wrt the companions

[source]

[hyperions-light]

woAH I heard people are hating on Neve which is super cringe! Neve positivity time!!

I am in love with her because

1. She has an impeccable sense of fashion, she never misses, could make a paper bag look good

2. Docktown sucks so bad, like major Kirkwall vibes, and she loves it SO MUCH

3. If you give money to the people asking for it on the streets in Docktown, sometimes Neve will check in with them and make sure they have a place to stay it’s so sweet !!!

4. She cannot cook at all. Only eats fried fish. Boils her coffee. Zero domestic skills, completely perfect

5. She loves Bellara so much, she’s such a good friend ;-; She finds all her serials and helps her try to work out the mysteries! She gets her goat cheese! She comes to Cyrian’s funeral ;-;

6. If you wander around Docktown with her in your party you can stop and talk to her regular contacts and she will check in with them <3

7. She works alone because she’s scared that the people who try to help her will get hurt =(

8. She’s not afraid of Spite and she refuses to see Lucanis as a monster or treat him differently, even after he almost kills Illario.

9. She helps Taash figure out their gender stuff and she is so supportive and helpful <3

10. The WAY she talks to people who are hurting… like even though she’s so cynical, personally, she never tells people to give up on others, she’s never sarcastic or scathing when people are in pain. I took her on Taash’s final mission last time, and her voice ;-; She wanted to help so badly, but she couldn’t do anything. She reminded them that everyone was there for them. She loves SO much, so intensely.

11. She does not expect anyone to help her, and especially if you don’t save Minrathous she’s skeptical, but she’s so thankful for Rook’s help when they give it. She’s so fucking lonely, man! She thinks she has to do it all herself, because everyone else in the world and especially in Minrathous has shown her over and over that they don’t care about the people she loves, the people like HER. She’s not rich, she’s not famous or powerful or well-connected, she’s just using what she has to try and help people!

12. Manfred canonically doesn’t like nicknames, but he lets Neve call him ‘Fred

Neve Gallus, the woman you are <3

Edit: When I posted this someone immediately made some rude comment so here’s some more stuff to love about Neve Gallus!

13. She investigated the mystery of the candlehops and she was so serious about it! Just like the wisps in the Lighthouse!

14. When she was a kid she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up and she HATED it lol

15. She got her best coat as a gift from a grateful client!

16. She keeps her tiny little apartment because they gave her a good deal on the rent and she doesn’t want to lose it

17. Halos keeps trying to give her fish for free but she insists on paying him <3

18. That joke she made to Lucanis about having an extra leg if he needed one lol

19. She misses the sound of the ocean, and sometimes when she wakes up in the Lighthouse she hears it for a moment

20. The way she explains everything so patiently to Taash about Tevinter and Docktown and the way status symbols work; the way she is always trying to use her skills to help the other members of the team!!

21. How she makes sure to check up on that kid whose father was doing demon summoning stuff and make sure that he’s alright ;-;

[utilitycaster]

The thing that I think gets me about Neve the most, and this is past the point where I personally am in the game, is that you can still romance her after you've chosen to prioritize Treviso (which you can't do for Lucanis if you do the reverse). The thing is, it makes sense. Neve judges you negatively for trusting her. There's a dialogue in the Shadow Dragons hideout where Tarquin (Shadow Dragons faction agent) gripes about The Viper (Shadow Dragons faction agent and leader) running background checks on him, before admitting he'd probably do the same. And the thing is, if you tell Tarquin that this seems reasonable he accepts it, but he seems irritated. Neve doesn't.

You meet Neve striking a pose, having frozen her assailants, needing none of your help. Neve does not, on the whole, ever seem to want your help until she begs you to save Minrathous. She approves of you taking her to interrupt the ritual, and seems to be entirely unbothered by the fact that it leaves her badly bruised - indeed, you have to actively choose to leave her behind later when you go looking for Bellara.

Neve loves Minrathous and Dock Town, which means she also hates them. She takes you there, if you do the companion quest, which you should. She invites you after Bellara fangirls out over some news pieces about her (Neve drily remarks they were hit pieces), to go pick up some leads and some serials Bellara wants. For all she's sarcastic, gruff, and even a little snide with Bellara (and with my playing of Rook, who is fairly direct and positive with the Veilguard companions) and doesn't believe a Tevinter serial would ever truly end happily if it were remotely realistic, she still wants to get those serials for her teammates. She's not here to make friends, though she's slowly doing so, but she also believes in working with your allies even when they're sunny and scatterbrained or bracingly positive and you're an exhausted, cynical detective.

Exhausted is I think the most salient point. Neve is fucking tired. She tells you she's lived in Dock Town her whole life, and she became a detective, taking on cases for people who weren't helped by the Templars (who, you learn in one of the core missions prior to your choice to save only one of Minrathous and Treviso, are corrupt all the way up to the top). After solving a missing person case successfully, with an implication that she freed a slave in the process, the Shadow Dragons recruited her, but she's been doing the same work she always done. And the Shadow Dragons, meanwhile, in addition to attempting, with limited success, to infiltrate the Magistrate and fight for abolitionism, also do a lot of work like Neve's: helping people on the street. Their basement is full of unhoused and hungry people with nowhere else to go.

Neve is tired because, I think, she doesn't really believe Minrathous will get much better in her lifetime. She tells you in her companion quest, as you eat street food on the docks, looking out into the ocean, that she treasures the small wins because that's what she gets. Whereas the Crows remember a free Treviso and fight for that, Neve, in particular, feels like she's just trying to keep things from getting worse, and maybe help a few people. She's cynical because dreaming big probably won't pan out and she knows it so she's not going to waste her time.

Her work is her life. Her gift is literally just more evidence. Harding, Lucanis, and Bellara all reminisce about friends and family, but Neve still hasn't yet. You get the sense that Rana, one of the few clean Templars with whom she works, is probably the person she'd put down as an emergency contact. She doesn't even really get along with Tarquin, though, to be fair, doesn't seem like anyone does. Her world is a network of people who are useful.

I'm going somewhere with this, and that's, unsurprisingly, to Critical Role Campaign 3, because after all that here's my thesis: Neve is what people want some of Bells Hells, but especially Ashton, to be.

I've seen defense of Ashton's abrasiveness because many leftists are abrasive people, and the thing is, that's not untrue, but they're abrasive because they're like Neve: they're doing endless difficult work with very little reward or thanks, and at most they get small wins.

What has Ashton done for their communities? The Nobodies and Krook House aren't feeding the hungry or fighting corruption; the former is a group of thieves with no particular cause and the latter a punk co-op house. What was Ashton doing for the people of Jrusar or Bassuras? I struggle to find anything tangible. There's a lot of talk and no action - punk aesthetics and a lot of talk about standing for the weak, but when do they actually do that? It's all very surface level, and so the defenses of Ashton must focus entirely on what and who they are (nb, disabled, punk, had a terrible childhood) and what they say but never, ever, what they do. It's posturing.

Neve? It's entirely what she does. She is, for what it's worth, disabled and queer (and played by a woman of color, though whether she's coded as such in-game probably requires an academic background in both the history of Thedas and the history of the real-world Black Sea region) but we don't know a damn thing about her childhood yet. We don't know if she's been hurt or heartbroken or abandoned until we, as Rook, have to decide whether to do that to her. And when we do? She takes her time (she's not back yet in my game) but in the end, she blames the actual root causes of the elven gods sending the dragon and blight, and the Venatori working with them and, as far as I know, gets back to work. As she always has.

[hawke-ondary]

thinking about the dissociative sludge rook's brain must be the entire game. little 500 word scene under the cut, no explicit spoilers but some are implied

He’s standing behind Bellara and Emmrich. Lucanis is on his left, Taash and Harding somewhere behind him. Davrin is beside him, Assan somewhere around here, just waiting for Davrin’s call. Neve is talking to Lucanis- or, at him, probably. Rook isn’t sure, truthfully. He’s barely listening. He’s learned when to tune in, these past several weeks. Or he hopes he has. No one’s said he stares off into space for too long, though Harding’s said she’s heard him talking to himself at the Lighthouse. That tracks. Grief is weird. His eyes focus on what Bellara is doing, Emmrich hovering over her shoulder, the two of them talking magical jargon that goes over Rook’s head. He knows enough magic to not get possessed and make his kills flashy. He never needed to know more, and the Crows didn’t want to throw him off to the Circle back when he was a kid, so all of what they’re talking about- lyrium reserves and resonance chambers or whatever the fuck- just isn’t making sense to him. He watches Bellara’s hands work around the artifact anyway, feels along the edges of the magic she’s doing. Bel’s magic always feels bright, curious and sharp- not sharp like a dagger, but sharp like wit. Personable and malleable. “-ook!” His head jerks up, and Rook’s gaze finally refocuses on Bellara, who’s waving a hand in his face, “Oh! There you are!” she grins, “Lost you for a moment, there,” He chuckles nervously, “Ah, sorry about that. You guys got talking all your fancy words and you lost me,” “I do worry for the state of your magical education sometimes,” Emmrich mumbles, ever the professor, and Rook snickers, even if the amusement he feels is dull like every other emotion since the ritual. “Maybe you could do a placement test,” he jokes, and Emmrich visibly lights up at the idea, but then Taash’s elbow is on top of Rook’s head. “So what is this thing?” they ask, motioning towards the artifact Bellara stabilized. “Oh!” Bellara grins, “Interestingly, I think this one is from after the Veil went up- just the way it reacts to the Veil is all, far more receptive to the comparatively lower levels of magical input modern mages are capable of- though what it was for...” she frowns, “Not sure! But Irelin and Strife will be glad to know it’s not exploding!” Davrin snorts, “I think most people are glad it’s not exploding,” “That would be troublesome,” Lucanis mumbles. “... Magic is fucking weird,” is all Taash has to say to this, earning a snort from Neve and a fond little chuckle from Emmrich. “No denying that,” Rook mutters, trying to get his eyes to focus. They’re right, it is fucking weird, and has only gotten weirder the past several weeks. Maker, he wished shit would stop getting weird and sad and start making sense again. If it ever could.

[vigilskeep]

you've talked a bit about sol's relationship with lucanis, bellara, and davrin, but what are sol's thoughts on the other companions?

neve looked at sol and saw a cute slightly over-energetic puppy that somebody else owns and that it’s always fun to hang out with and make run after sticks. briefly, mind you, before going home and leaving it someone else’s problem. whereas sol was eager to melt neve’s ice walls and win her approval with sheer persistence. all of that went away for a while when sol chose treviso. it was hard to recover from that because sol had no regret for their choice, nor did they believe neve would have any regrets if she had been in the position to choose minrathous, and that was a wedge of silence between them. both aware, both not cruel enough to say everything out loud. it took a while to defrost, with bellara anxiously hovering inbetween them. ultimately they have a strong bond and sol probably respects neve more than anybody else on the team, but as friends, neve is more lucanis and bellara’s than she is sol’s, if that makes sense? sol finally showing up for minrathous and them fighting for it side by side in the end was everything to me

i was never quite sure where they stood with harding until the end, i think it requires further thought. sol wasn’t all that close with harding before the game, when they had varric inbetween. mostly they thought it was funny to play up the antivan crow and scandalise the comparatively more normal straight-laced member of the party. they have a lot of respect for her skillset because they’re accustomed to working with rogues, whereas interpersonally they didn’t know how much they relied on and valued her warmth and stabilising influence until they lost it. they didn’t really understand her all that much, i don’t think? which is funny when lucanis is over here like immediately clocking exactly what childhood trauma led to all her behaviours, but then lucanis is so much more empathetic than sol is

taash is kind of the little sibling sol never had. sol, stretching their arm all the way up to put it around taash’s shoulders: “ah yes, my honorary crow young padawan in the ways of being non-binary and setting things on fire”. sol is a mostly harmlessly terrible influence on them, always telling them to be more rebellious and to feel things fully. taash probably got the worst of the ending, and sol won’t forgive themself for that

emmrich is an endlessly entertaining curiosity who comes from an entirely different world to sol. they’re not that close, but they fascinate each other and always want to hear each other’s stories. something about the work of the necropolis emotionally touches sol—who always expected to die young, unnaturally, and unremembered, and whose profession is giving that same fate to others—in a way little else does. (even if they find the necropolis itself slightly infuriating to do quests in. professor, you’re just too nice to these spirits and it gives them far too much nerve.) i imagine emmrich saying they could be interred in the necropolis if they wished and sol definitely not crying, there’s just something in their eye, they have to go

[seigephoenix]

Happy Friday, love. Here's my prompt for you this week! "An accidental brush of lips followed by a pause and going back in for another, on purpose." For Senna and Davrin!

This was a good one! I wrote out the scenario we talked about earlier, with Senna being a good baker. She gets caught red handed. For @dadrunkwriting

Content Warning: wholesome, maybe minor spoilers so going under a cut for those who have not played Length: ~600 words

Senna was concentrating on the bowl in front of her as she mixed the batter together.  It was close to the wee hours of the morning or even later than that, but she couldn’t sleep.  Sleep was hard these days and she’d been overcome with the craving to taste her mother’s famous cakes.  It was a simple recipe but the simple syrup soaked into the cake itself, giving it a sweet and moist taste.  She’d double checked to see if Lucanis was there, but he was gone.  She’d sent up a small thank you for that.  After going on and on about what an awful cook she was, there was no way in hell she was getting caught actually baking.  She just loved Bellara and Lucanis’ cooking.

Senna didn’t even hear the door opening as she poured the batter into the baking tin.  She set the bowl aside after putting the tin in the oven.  Senna turned around to grab the sugar and slammed right into a sturdy chest.  Panic shot through her as she thought she’d been caught by Lucanis or Taash.  It was the scent that eased her panic.  “Davrin?  What are you still doing up?” Senna asked as she took a careful step back trying to figure out how much he’d seen.

“I’m wondering the same thing, and why is the person who admitted to burning boiling water in the kitchen.  I feared for the safety of the Lighthouse until I saw you knew what you were doing.”  Davrin caged her in the corner and she huffed at him.  She ignored the tug of heat in her belly as he leaned in.  “Why did you lie?”  Senna turned her face away defiantly, letting her cheeks puff out just a bit as she tried to think of a good cover.

“I said I was an awful cook, but I never said anything about being a bad baker.”  Senna turned her head thinking she heard the door open.  Her lips brushed against Davrin’s; she hadn’t realized he was that close.  Senna jerked back the apology already forming on her lips, but the words were drowned out when his lips covered hers.  Her breath hitched in her throat from the searing heat.  Her lips parted beneath his and she found herself drowning in him.  Her fingers curled in the front of his shirt as she let herself sink into the kiss.

They heard a throat clearing behind them and jumped apart.  Senna glanced around Davrin and groaned as she saw Lucanis standing there with his arms crossed.  Taash was next to him with their fists resting on their hips.  “Would you like to explain what that smell is coming from the oven Rook?”

Senna grumbled about getting caught when Davrin straightened.  She stepped around him and grabbed the sugar sitting next to Lucanis on the shelf.  “I said I was a bad cook.  I never said anything about being a bad baker.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to decide for ourselves now,” Davrin said as he joined the other two.

“Wait!  I always thought those cakes and tarts sitting on the kitchen table were made by Lucanis and Bellara.  They were yours, weren’t they?” Taash demanded as they pointed towards Senna.  She huffed in answer and turned to finish making the simple syrup.

“Ah, I always assumed Bellara made those.  Now it makes a lot more sense.” Lucanis chimed in and the other three settled in at the table patiently waiting.  Senna groaned as she just knew this was going to open a floodgate of requests.

“Hey, we saw the light on.  What’s that smell?  It smells so good!” Bellara poked her head in along with Emmrich and Harding.  Neve brought up the rear and soon the whole group settled in at the table.  Lucanis brewed coffee for those that wanted it and Senna admitted defeat.

[invinciblerodent]

I'm a very decisive person and I need genuine help because I'm like. straight up unable to choose one myself 🥲

Propaganda:

Tristan is very direct and "thinks in straight lines"- he's very much an "ends justify the means" person, which both makes sense for someone who's been possessed by a spirit of Purpose since he was just 17, and will create an interesting dynamic with Solas. (Doesn't leave a lot of time for gathering relationship experience though, so he's going in blind on that front- which, the undead/necromancer thing is just...! Chef's kiss.) Cons, he's a warrior like my first Rook, and him making a key choice with this "greater good" mindset will create a similar overall game.

Coris has a very specific plan heading into the story, which she will fail spectacularly at step one by catching legitimate feelings for her target- definitely something the Crows would discourage. She's a bit less tied to the main plot, but for her worldstate I rolled a solavellan one, just to see, and rogue gameplay has been new and a lot of fun in the short segment I've played so far. (plus, there's the thought that "no one in house Dellamorte kneels", but she's a dwarf, so that's the only way she and Lucanis can actually see eye to eye, which I like a lot.) Cons, I just finished an run in which I played a female character and romanced a male one, and I kinda want some change on that front.

Marcus has a lot of gender-thoughts (he/him nonbinary), a gentle affection for the strange or macabre, and a knack for getting himself into trouble in all new, and excitingly strange ways despite meaning well. His affinity with loss and grief is also going to work really sweetly with Bellara's romance path (it'll give me a chance to stretch my philosophy muscles), and I'm kind of excited to finally try out a mage- so far mage gameplay has never jived really well with my style, but this one feels dynamic and pretty fun so far! Cons, he'll probably make a lot of the same decisions as my first character, just by virtue of being nice (and maybe even somewhat naive). (Pro, he's, like, really pretty.)

Tanner will need a severe redesign, if not a complete reroll, because I'm not really in love with the face she currently has, but I'm still a sucker for her anyway. She's 500 pounds of whoopass in a 120 pound bag, a definite knife enthusiast, and one who, in her poetry, will likely exchange imagery of rolling waves likened to the curve of a lover's hip for that of a star-filled, infinite sky like an inverse map of freckles. Cons, there's a part near the ending that is going to be really, really difficult emotionally for her story specifically, and it'll probably color the entire experience somewhat. (My partner is also planning a Harding-kisser f!dwarf for his second run after he's done with his first, Neve-kissing run, so that dings Tanner's score too.)

.... And all Verbena needs as propaganda is 1. she's a Davrin-kisser (and now that I KNOW how that goes I can get more purposeful with it for fic-fuel), and 2.

helplessly gesturing at her pretty, pretty face

[archilich]

yeah okay, but i wanna talk a minute about how lichdom is actually the bad ending for emmrich a second, because i just played through the last part of his personal quest agaiin, and i've been chewing on it for the last, like, week.

so, you can romanticize it all you want, but emmrich changes after lichdom, which...you know, can be expected, but it's not in a good way. in a shallow sense he has more of a temper, he's more...i'm sorry, i don't think the overprotectiveness of rook is exactly ~so romantic~, i think it's...not great, to put it lightly. it's a little guilt-trippy about how he'll have to mourn them forever if they die, which...newsflash, he's gonna be doing that anyway. and on that shallow level there's just a layer of ickiness to it that i think some people just are...overlooking.

the fact that it's his life's work notwithstanding, like...this isn't the same healing and head on confrontation other companions get for what's eating at them, it's enabling emmrich's aversion to looking the facts dead (no pun intended) in the face: people die. he'll die one day, too, and literally nothing is forever, no matter what promise lichdom makes. like there's some banter with lucanis that i don't have exact quotes for at the moment, but it basically boils down to the fact that if you spend all your time reaching for undeath and hoping to return one day, you're ignoring and wasting the life you can have in the here and now and it's passing you by, which is...i mean, is that not it? is that not exactly what emmrich's doing? and i mean, if there's anyone to point that out, it's probably lucanis.

then there's hezenkoss, who has absolutely fed his fears, and if you search your heart you'll know it to be true. like @ofeluvians and i were talking about, i don't think it was ever a real, true friendship, i think it was almost entirely one-sded (boy, is that ever a character quirk i'm familiar with, i say, looking pointedly at 616 tony stark - ask me how!), and his insecurities were exacerbated to at least some degree. emmrich says himself that johanna never had an easy time of making friends, and if you read the flame eternal you can see she was acerbic even then, and not exactly what i would call compassionate to either emmrich or the spirits they were dealing with.

there's the fact that he was taken into a place that terrified him after his parents died, and i don't think it's necessarily some lofty, grand, scholarly thing that makes the memorial gardens his favorite place in the grand necropolis, i think it's because - out of all of it that we at least get to see - it's actually the most peaceful and least scary. just like i don't think it's hugely a shocker that his favorite spirits are definitely the wisps, which, by and large are manifestations of curiosity and by and large harmless.

i think, instead of a paralyzing fear of death, it's anxiety. like...big anxiety resulting from trauma that's never been addressed (his parents' deaths) and loneliness to a degree (manfred). he's so eager to share things with people, there's a recipe from his mother he passes on to lucanis (which i'm sure was a what's your favorite food conversation), or his books with taash and bellara. his skills to help neve solve a murder. going camping with harding. even the dad talks with davrin have shades of this, funny as it is. he...speaks to people on their level, i think, to a degree, once he knows what their level and their comfort level is (taash). he can empathize with situations he'll never actually experience himself. and it's like he says, a good instructor never makes a student feel inferior.

it's the loneliness thing i wanna circle back to a second, though, because it's my ultimate point: for all of this, for all of his flaws and his fears and his kindness, what the heart of his actual issue that needs addressing is is that loneliness. if you bring manfred back, he'll tell rook, you know, that he has pangs for what might have been, but seeing manfred grow and his excitement for his new magic and getting to be an apprentice mage is something he wouldn't change for the world. if unromanced he stumbles into one, anyway, full of adventure that wouldn't necessarily be the kind he'd find himself in, in his daily, normal life. his genuine distress toward the beginning, after he's recruited, when he feels like he's being judged and shut out (his commentary on other people's commentary on his skulls and manfred, his and taash's issues finally coming to a head).

like this man is lonely, y'all, and looking for human connection, and i don't think he entirely realizes it as the core of that overwhelming sense of dread. thinking about all his little notes in the codices, like...outside of lecture notes there's always some mention of someone from the veilguard in them, davrin and silly questions, or harding and burning the dead, or how davrin showed him flowers he's only seen in herbalism books and how excited he is for that. and if he turns to lichdom, he loses all of that. he loses manfred, and he does not get over it. instead he gets, like, five minutes of euphoria and then it's people finding him crying over manfred in his room and the deep regret when even spite confronts him about how manfred should be there.

so...yeah. that's a lot of words to say i don't think lichdom solves anything, and in fact actually probably makes things worse, because sure, he gets to live forever. with everyone around him that he loves dying, no manfred, and in the end he'll still end up alone, which is the core of the issue, i think.

[thegeminisage]

big big spoils behind this cut. do NOT click this even if you "dont care about spoilers" you know who you are

did the point of no return quest, or like, kicked off that chain of quests

got spoiled about harding or davrin did NOT know about neve or bellara

killed harding even though in so many ways i like her better...i also really love davrin don't get me wrong but i simply Cannot watch a baby griffon die. i thought about this beforehand and i figured unless the consequences were dire that was what would happen

i picked neve to die bc her character arc was the only one that hasn't made me cry so far

what the fuck about varric

they lulled me into a false sense of security. at first i thought it was choice based because everyone kept talking about him like he was dead and not just hurt and i thought they were covering all their bases. but the more narration he did the more i realized it wasnt and it was the same no matter which choice you pick

in some ways it's clever because i had been SO close to forgiving solas for being annoying in da:i and now i'm conflicted

in other respects it's very mean-spirited. idk, i'm anti character death on the best day, but i feel like it would have had more meaning if we had either had foreshadowing or known from the beginning. yes, it's clever to pull the rug out from under you in the 11th hour, but at the same time, it means you don't have Time to process it before you make a decision

i'm NOT complaining about dragon age until i'm done with the game also but i'm tired of them thinking a sophie's choice is a difficult and complex choice. "choose who has to die" is in a TOTALLY separate world from questions like "do we spare the architect" and "who should drink from the well" and picking the rulers or orzammar and orlais. it's completely different!!

[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…

[fancytrinkets]

i finished veilguard

My thoughts are still a bit scattered and I think I'll be spending time carefully reading all the codices and letters over the next week or so.

The fight through Minrathous was fun. I bumped the difficulty back up to Adventurer in order to enjoy the battles more thoroughly. And for the first time in a Dragon Age game I found the darkspawn emissaries to be fucking TERRIFYING. Their flesh-tether Blight attacks are excellent and horrible. 10/10 for that

I liked assigning teammates to different roles. Taash to fight the giant construct at the gates, Neve to disable the wards, Lucanis to slay the Venatori mages. Davrin to split off and join the front lines before the climb to the archon's palace. And Bellara, returning from what seemed like certain death to take control of the Blight herself. It felt really moving in a way I liked.

Dorian and the romanced Inquisitor standing side by side and having a caretaking conversation with each other before the final fight was really gratifying for me also.

Seeing Solas turn into a giant wolf was both required by this point and very satisfying. The Solas redemption ending was satisfying for me also. Seeing my Inquisitor kneel at his feet, having Morrigan show up, while Rook produced the statue from Mythal... just from a cinematic perspective—and with the Inquisition's music from Trespasser coming forward in the score and then taking over—I found it really moving, a fitting end to the Inquisitor's story with Solas....

That said, I do have critiques about how disconnected the characters and events and environments often felt from the lore of previous games. I think other people will delve into that better than I can right now

For now I'll just say I have questions. If Andraste really was a previous incarnation of Mythal, before Flemeth, then what was the Maker? Another of the elven gods? Another powerful old spirit? Or a story Andraste told to help her people make sense of their brutal march to war?

What does it mean that the Veil is restored? Has Solas come to trust other people—these new and "lesser" people—enough to believe that they will caretake for spirits (who presumably still can slip through the Veil in some ways) rather than continuing to fear them and drive them off? Or is he just ready to admit that it ought to be out of his hands? He couldn't fix it or undo his errors and atrocities, so he needs to try something new...

What happens to the South? Are Southern institutions so broken by the Blight that they need to accept help from this new Northern alliance that seems to be coming together? Will this alliance fracture and lead to wars again? What are the politics at play? (Lol, I guess the game didn't give us as much bureacracy as I might have liked.)

I am most happy to have given Bellara the Archive and happy that she survived to keep studying it. I still find the Veil Jumpers to be a strange and disconnected-from-the-world sort of faction. But I like Bellara's story within it. As a character, she grew on me.

The Davrin romance was sweet and right for my elven Shadow Dragon Rook. I liked the Grey Warden's story arc, probably moreso for having read The Last Flight. And I'm happy that he survived and Harding didn't. Not because of the romance, really, just because it felt more significant to kill off another returning character, and another of Trevelyan's friends....

I'm happy with Mae as archon. Trevelyan and Dorian deserve a break from the spotlight for a while... (I'm going to have to rewrite their retirement story however, now that Varric is dead. I'm also imagining Trevelyan, Hawke, and the Hero of Ferelden teaming up to fight together in the South during the events of Veilguard, so that's been giving me some writing interest already... we'll see where my writer's brain goes with it)

I have other thoughts, but that's where it's at right now.

[felassan]

New today on DA:TV from Game Informer:

"How Romance And Relationships Work In Dragon Age: The Veilguard by Wesley LeBlanc on Jul 08, 2024 at 02:00 PM Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a BioWare RPG, which means a lot of things, including the fact that the game will feature romance. Based on what I learned during a recent trip to BioWare's Edmonton office for the current Game Informer cover story, Veilguard will be the team's most romantic game yet. Relationship Level"

"Every companion in the game has a Relationship Level related to Rook, and the choices you make (and not even specifically about the companion, but in the world in general), what you say to companions, how you help or don't help them, and more all play into it. Every time you rank up a companion's Relationship Level, you unlock a skill point to spend specifically on that companion. Though companion skill trees pale in comparison to Rook's expansive tree, which features passive abilities, combat abilities, and more, as well as paths to three unique class specializations, there's still some customization here.  Each companion has access to five abilities, but you can only take three into combat. Thus, it's important to strategize which abilities to spend a skill point on and how those abilities can synergize with your current build on the battlefield. Though I couldn't confirm, Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes hints that companion issues, problems, and personal quests will play into this Relationship Level and how a companion interacts with Rook.  "[Bellara Lutara, for example] has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you're on," Rhodes tells me while I watch game director Corinne Busche play through a linear, story-driven mission in Arlathan Forest where Rook is searching for Bellara. Busche adds that "relationships are key, not only romance but friendships. We wanted to lean into not just the relationships the characters have with you but the relationships they have with each other. It's a found family, and at the end of the day, they need to trust they all have each other's back." Romance"

"However, fret not, BioWare fans – romance is a key part of relationships in the game, Busche says, noting some of the romances will get quite spicy. However, not all of them will, as "each romance has a very different flavor," according to Busche. Some characters are straight to the point, while others are more awkward, having never been in a relationship before. "You learn who these characters are in how their romances unfold," she says. She likens romantic and platonic relationships to another way to "level up" your companions. It's not just experience and skill points that determine Rook's standing with companions, but diegetic conversations, too.  BioWare has already revealed that every companion in Veilguard is pansexual, notably different from the community-dubbed "playersexual" approach in some games, which sees NPCs adjust romantic and sexual interests based on the player rather than their own sense of sexuality. As pansexual companions, they are attracted to people of any gender (or regardless of gender). That's a critical distinction because, in Veilguard, your companions aren't just going to vie for your affection – they might take attraction to other companions in the titular Veilguard.  Giving one companion the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm shoulder of someone else on the team. Busche says companions can form romances with each other, although I'm unable to confirm if that means locking Rook out of forming a romance with them.  I saw nothing resembling romance in my very early hours with the game. However, I did see the romantically inclined "emotional" response in Rook's dialogue choices at times, which led to my Rook flirting with ice mage and private detective companion Neve Gallus. Busche says this is the option to flirt and push platonic relationships into romantic territory, though Rook's flirtatious efforts aren't always reciprocated. But that's not to say you should ignore the other options – I saw dialogue choices resembling friendly, snarky, and direct, too, and I can see how these different flavors of dialogue likely mix and mingle into Rook's relationships with companions. It's still a mostly mysterious system to me, but as Veilguard is due out this fall, I don't have to wait too long to learn more and neither do you. For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

[starlit-scrolls]

The beginning

I am officially obsessed with Lucanis, so here is a random Meandering fic with some Back story of my Warden Rook and some start of long slow burning pining

Lucanis  headed across the courtyard to the dining room and kitchen. Mia had told him to look around and find a place that made him comfortable. She was not sure how the lighthouse worked but it seemed to make a place for each of them, and she had hoped it would do the same thing for new members. 

Harding and Neve had just joined her inside the main area, “so how is the new recruit?” Never sat on the couch next to Rook. 

“Rook has a crush” Bellara giggled out 

“What? No. I..  fine, he is handsome and seems brave and I had a surprising reaction to seeing him but I wouldn’t say crush’

Harding raised an eyebrow at her while Neve chuckled. “Sounds  like a crush to me” 

Rook sighed “ It does not matter, because he is not going to like me, and we have way more important things to worry about then if the demon possessed assassin is hot.” 

“Wait” Hardings smile dropped “did you say demon possessed?” 

“The stories of the mage killer did not mention he was also a mage?” Neve looked annoyed she has missed something 

“He’s not” Bellara answered 

“Right,” Rook leaned forward, “ the Venatori did something to force the demon into him. They were doing it to others, and they would turn and with the blood the Venitori kept of the victims they could bind the demons to their will. But Lucanis didn’t turn, him and the demon I guess made some sort of deal. He has not been overly forthcoming with details of what he went through down there” 

Harding was not hiding her concern from her face “But is he dangerous?”

“He is definitely dangerous, but not because of the demon, and I don’t think he’s a  danger to us. Bellara, you know that sense when someone is about to turn, the rush of the fade breaking down, I never felt that around him” 

“I didn’t either” 

“I’ll trust you to on this for now, but I would like to talk to him myself” 

Rook looked over at Never, effortlessly beautiful and elegant and felt a pain of jealousy at her beauty then guilt for even thinking it. None of it really mattered “It would be weird if you didn’t talk to him since he is on the team. Now I need a bath and th get this Venatori blood off my armor 

“I’m with Rook, I need to clean up, and maybe nap” Bellara stood with Rook and with a nod the two walked off to clean up. 

Harding and Neve sat for a bit each processing the new information. 

“Hey,” Harding looked up. “Did you hear the part where she said he wouldn’t like her anyway?” 

Neve smiled “yes, never imagined  Rook lacking confidence.” 

“Guess we found he weak point, romance” Harding chuckled, I do remember Varric asking her about it once, she stated she was fairly inexperienced” 

“Well once we have a chance to confirm this demon of Vyrantium is not  dangerous to us, we can help her through it.” 

It was late, and Rooks stomach was growling; she had never truly adjusted to how much she needed to eat as a warden. She was also looking for an excuse to go talk to Lucanis, she wanted to give him time to settle in, but also he fascinated her and her draw to him was confusing and thrilling, She was mildly surprised to see Bellara and Never sitting there, talking to Lucanis as he starting to the fire. 

“What are we talking about?” 

“Spite, the Demon inside me and how to get rid of it” 

“I’ve heard of killing the Demon in the fade can get rid of it” Never leaned forward “but it doesn’t always work” 

“It’s hard, and dangerous, the Demon is at its most powerful in fade, I almost died last time I did it” 

The three of them all looked at her “What? Yes I’ve done it before, and it almost killed me and the person I released was still too damaged. I was able to heal them physically, but their mind was broken” 

Bellara looked down at her hands “There is another way” 

“You would have to kill me” Lucanis was looking right at her, like he was looking to see what she would see

“That can not be the only way, You have a different relationship here, can we not reason with Spite” 

“Talk doesn’t work on spite” 

Lucanis suddenly jerked his head, his eyes closed then suddenly his nose started to bleed 

“Lucanis” They all jumped up 

“No, No, I am fine” His hand up 

His now was forceful enough, But she wanted so desperately to help him “He hurt you? Why?” 

“He is throwing a tantrum because he did not get his way” 

“He’s done this before, you should not be used to it” 

“It’s ok, once you all leave he will calm down” 

“Are you sure you should be alone right now?” she thought she saw a hint of a smile 

“I will be ok Rook” 

The others started to leave, but Rook could not help but turn back “I’m not sure how much you got to look around, but there is some bread and cheese, I need to get more supplies, but also a tea mix, it was my mother special blend, it works wonders on headaches” 

The next morning, Rook walked to the dining hall in hope of finding something for breakfast. It looked as though someone had made a porridge and there was some Jam left to put in it. Bellara was sitting at the table, absentmindedly stirring her food. Lucans stood with pen and paper going through all the cabinets occasionally grumbling under his breath and writing things down. 

“Good morning” Mia filled her bowl and went and sat next to Bellara 

“Good Morning Rook” Lucanis did not look up from his list “you were not kidding about needing supplies” 

“I found a good amount of gold in Calivans office. We can use it to bulk up.” 

Bellara looked up “I was hoping you would get yourself those boots you like so much in Dock Town.” 

“I don’t need new boots, we do need food, besides if we use the money to get food, I still have the rest in case one of you needs something important.” 

“Like that frog sculpture you bought me?” 

“Yes” Rook smiled at her. “You deserve something nice to make the lighthouse feel more like home” 

“And you deserve boots that don’t look like the stains are holding them together.” 

Rook rolled her eyes. “They keep my toes warm and dry, they achieve all I need of them. They are just well broken in.” 

Bellara snorted and didn’t say any more on the subject and went back to staring at her food. 

Lucanis placed a cup of tea on the table for Rook. 

“Oh, thank you.” She smiled up at him. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to. Try think of anything else you want, I can add it and the next time we get to Treviso I will get us all restocked” 

“That’s really sweet Lucanis, I think we should be able to go soon, I just have to check in with everyone else” 

He nodded and went back to scourging the kitchen. 

“Bellara” Rook looked over at her “whats on your mind, You are clearly distracted and it can not just be about my very good boots” 

She heard Lucanis snort behind her 

“It’s, I don’t…. You know, don't worry about it. I shouldn’t question you” 

“You should definitely question me, especially if something I’ve done has upset you this much.” 

“It’s Julian, They Mayor if DeMetas Crossing, You let him go, after everything he did” 

“I sent him to the Wardens, not let him go”

“But he should have just died, right there with everyone else whose death he caused.” 

Rook took a moment “I can see how that would seem like justice, but my thought was that if he survives the joining, which many don’t, he will have to spend his life now staring down the same horror he brought to those people, he will travel Thedas killing darkspawn walking through stinking pits of despair, while that same blight sings in his blood. And if he survives all of that, he will still die to blight, it will take him in the end, but maybe he will have done some good.”

Bellara was still frowning “but why would the Wardens even want such a greedy cowardly person” 

Rook sipped at her tea, brewed perfectly, Lucanis was already a great addition for this alone “Wardens are not picky. It is not an easy life and many would not just choose it especially if there is not a current blight to drive them. Many wardens join as a way to get out of life in prison or even the noose. 

“Is, is that how you joined?” 

Rook thought she heard Lucanis chuckle 

She smiled at Bellara “have you not heard of the murderous Dalish mage, terrorizing the countryside, saved from templar steel by joining the wardens?” 

“No” Bellaras eyes widened as she looked at Rook, “I, wait” she noticed Rook trying to not laugh “You kidding” 

“I am” 

Lucanis was laughing but as well “I’ve only known Rook a few days and could tell you she would not hurt an innocent person” 

Rook felt a slight blush, and saw Bellara watching her. She had already told everyone else about Rooks reaction to Lucanis, calling it a crush and making fun of her for it. 

“I asked to join. My clan was attacked by darkspawn. We had managed to hold them back but we were backed up against a steep cliff. It allowed us to create a central entry point for the Darkspawn, but they outnumbered us and we were losing people so fast, then with no warning, Wardnes showed up. They saved my Clan.” 

“Oh, wow, and you didn’t want to stay with your clan after all that?

“It wasn’t an easy choice, but I was the fourth mage so I had known from a young age that I would have to leave and at least join another clan. My dad had died some time before and my mom and sister were both killed in the attack. I was angry and heartbroken. I saw the wardens as a way to protect others, to stop something like that from happening to anyone else. I was not ready or fully aware of what I was getting myself into. The wardens warned me as much, but also did not turn me away, said mages, especially a spirit healer like myself are always needed and they could teach me to fight.” 

“Do you ever regret it?” 

Rook sighed “no, I miss them all, especially after meeting your and the Veil jumpers. It had been a long time since I was around other Dalish. It opened some old wounds. And you remind me of Ellie. Smart, curious, and filled with so much light. She would have loved the veil jumpers and seeing Arlathan. But I.. at least I hope, I make their memory proud, that maybe I’ve helped some people and done some good.” 

“Oh, Rook.” 

“Rook,” Neve  walked in, fully dressed for the day “Viper reached out, he wants to speak with you. Can you get to Minrathous today?” 

“Yeah, let me change, and we can go, Lucanis why don’t you give me the list, I can also get the items on it” 

He pulled it to his chest. “I will get these things myself in Treviso. I am not sure after what I’ve seen here I can trust you with the shopping” 

“Rude” 

Bellara laughed “Rook is a good cook, though I think some of her food is too spicy” 

“Let the assassin have his way. I’ll just pick up dinner tonight, and maybe some snacks and I promise we will get to Treviso soon” 

“You can also get those boots” Bellara chimed in. 

“Bellara” Rook shook her head. “Disparage my boots all you want, if I don’t need them I'm not spending money on them”  She rinsed out her bowl and cup, trying to hide how being this close to Lucanis made her heart race. She really did not know what to do about how he affected her. 

She gave a nod to Lucanis and left to get get her armor on

“She really does need new boots” Bellara sighed 

“If you can get her size, I know the best cobbler in Treviso” 

“That would be amazing, and she thinks you don’t like her” 

“Why would I not like her, she saved me from the Ossuary? And has been very kind to me” 

Bellara blushed “not like that, I mean you know what. It’s nothing. I misspoke and I have things that need to get done, correspondence to the veil jumpers and Nadas Dirthalen will not fix itself.” 

Bellara jumped up leaving her bowl behind uneaten

Lucanis cleaned up for her wondering, not for the first time in the past few days, what exactly he was signed up for.  

[utilitycaster]

who out here sieging they weisshaupt

anyway. I understand wardens by definition go to horrible blighted places BUT every warden location SUCKS ASS. Let's do the rundown. A lot has happened.

Siege of Weisshaupt! I took Emmrich with me (Davrin is required and also makes sense) and while, again, I'm on Dumbass mode for combat, I must admit it kinda sucks that two of my healers AND rook are all most lethal with necrotic damage and darkspawn are resistant. this was perhaps a bad idea. I lived though, and I punched the warden and everyone except the academics approved, which is hilarious. Sorry Emmrich and Bellara I am NOT using my words. Also Bellara you'd feel better if you punched someone. Also bringing Emmrich IS pretty funny both because he is a very good healer/buffer and as Davrin and I are both tanks and damage dealers and my physical damage is nothing to sneeze at it's fine; and because Davrin is like IT IS MY DESTINY TO DIE IN GLORY AND DUTY and Emmrich is like the thought of dying makes me sick to my stomach and I am a necromancer.

I'll admit the sad failure family dinner and the solas convo after AND Varric all were like BY THE WAY YOU SHOULD DO COMPANION QUESTS and it was a little clunky BUT some people are stupid and I appreciate the game makes it obvious to them. also, talking to Lucanis, Davrin, and Neve was very fun for me (tragedy enjoyer). I now see why you talk with Davrin so much; he changes drastically after Weisshaupt and becomes much more interesting and you need to have that baseline.

I am slowly regaining Neve's trust! Also Neve being terrible at making coffee and Lucanis flirting with her in the form of "oh my god your coffee is the worst thing ever let me make you some" is a fucking. main quest interaction. Then I took Lucanis to Dock Town for the mission while Davrin dealt with his justified depressive episode.

The scene where Spite possesses Lucanis is missable if you don't check, and that's an oversight on Bioware's part, I must admit. Also I NEVER take the comedy mask option but I had to for the "you can't caffeinate your way out of this line" even though I as a real life person drink a quart of jet-fuel level coffee a day. Once a vending machine gave me three Celsius Essentials for the price of one and I briefly considered finding out what would happen if I drank all of them, and I'd already had coffee that day. Point being Lucanis's inclinations are relatable.

I'm back on that sweet sidequest life before The Cauldron quest, particularly the companion quests. There's like 3in Arlathan I haven't even picked up and of course I must go back to the wetlands my beloathed to see Evka (one of two good things in the wetlands, the other being Antoine). I DID do Bellara's companion quest. I love how the part 2 companion quests are like your friends are GOING THROUGH IT. Again. not subtle. but I do love justified angst. Neve literally the only person who isn't in a deep depression or anxiety spiral right now. I'm even playing Rook as feeling bad enough to admit weakness to Solas. Oh anyway Bellara's quest is great. Matt Mercer is there again, in a performance that made me go "wait is that Matt Mercer?" His delivery is incredible. Obsessed with how everyone was like MATT MERCER IS IN THIS GAME. HE'S A HISSING SKELETON. and actually he's playing two major characters.

I'll make a separate post later about this specifically, but I love the crossroads and could spend all my time there, which is why I've already fought Mythal I guess. I HAVE learned some of my lesson re: sidequesting aggressively though, and I am saving the necropolis dragon for when I'm "not only level thirty...four?" and "am better at this".

Again, my tolerance for clunky-ass dialogue in fantasy is high BUT. This game uses the word "fucking" so why do they keep saying "butt" instead of "ass." It tracks for Davrin, who is a dork, but I'm sorry and not to self insert excessively but Rook would say the word "ass" in front of Mila. there is a fucking archdemon. let the child learn the cuss words.

GOT A BLACK EMPORIUM INVITE BABEYYYYYYYYYYYYY time to FINISH MY GIFT GIVING

[olessan]

Very light Veilguard spoilers under the cut, up to meeting Bellara - my thoughts on one element of the writing (people reacting to circumstances) after watching the start of a playthrough:

So I can't play Veilguard for a while, am good with early-game and light spoilers, and therefore started watching a playthrough to see the opening few hours of the game.

There's one thread throughout the writing that's really stood out to me so far as a bit odd and it's very obvious when their elf rook meets Strife and Irelin and then Bellara.

Part of meeting Strife and Irelin.

Rook: But it didn't go as cleanly as we hoped. Solas got pulled into the Fade, and two somethings got pulled out. Or someones, I mean. Two of the Evanuris. Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain. Irelin: Mythal'enaste... Strife: The elven gods of old. The Evanuris. Irelin: If they truly have returned... Strife: Then things just got a whole lot worse . Rook: (stern) So Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are loose. Which means what? Strife: You thought Solas was bad? He's a bit of a bastard, true. But next to them? Let's just say they weren't known for their kindness. Irelin: There's a reason Solas led a rebellion against the Evanuris. And a reason he imprisoned them. Strife: But now they've escaped... [conversation moves on]

Bellara's intro scene.

Rook: Our gods, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? They've escaped from Fen'Harel's prison. And by all accounts, they want to destroy the world. Bellara: Oh. Yes. That is very much for the worse. Okay. Right. I need a second. Rook: (humorous) I've had a couple of days, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Bellara: It does sort of explain a few things, though. [conversation moves on to the problem at hand]

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like everyone's under-reacting to the emerging crisis.

I can buy the rest of the gang not fully parsing the situation yet, such as Neve not believing Solas is An Actual Elven God™, and understand Strife and Irelin having reached acceptance of Solas being The™ Fen'Harel™ given they've had time to come to terms with that... But!!

The Evanuris prison has been ripped open! Solas opened the veil again (temporarily)! TWO OF THE EVANURIS ARE ROAMING THEDAS! Why is no one freaking out about this!?

Rook tells Strife and Irelin that literal Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain have escaped their ancient prisons and are on Thedas. Their reaction, fully familiar with the legends, is not "OH NO! FUQ! THIS IS A HORRIFIC EMERGENCY OF MYTHICAL PROPORTIONS!", it's "oh no, this is dangerous and inconvenient."

Especially with the comparison with Solas, it's the sort of reaction you'd expect from, I don't know, a new manager at your job making a decision everyone knows is going to backfire.

When Rook breaks the news to Bellara, she reacts the same way. It's not "HOLY SHIT! I'm glad I have skills I can apply to this to help! This is catastrophic!", it's "Oh, that sucks," and even considering the humour option, Rook is dismissing it the most out of everyone. It takes more than a couple of days with a concussion to come to terms with ancient gods returning.

"they escaped the prison they were in, and they want to destroy the world". Guys. Come on. Why are you calm about this? Where's the panic? Not even a sense of measured alarm?

Many people still consider the elven gods to be a myth, and not at all real. There have got to be several stages of horror and realisation that comes from learning about Solas, that Solas is The Dread Wolf™, and that he then went on to (accidentally, thanks Rook) release not only two of the Evanuris from their ancient captivity, but arguably the two worst ones: Captain Angry and Experiment Lady.

This is a common problem with games, and is in part due to the need to deliver the important parts of the narrative clearly, but I don't know, it just feels like they pass over these facts of their situation like this isn't quickly turning into a cataclysmic event.

They can be focused and on-task and still be thoroughly freaked out by it, but they don't come across that way. They're treating this like your average mercenary job or something.

It probably improves later on, but I would've expected their reactions to be a bit more energetic or dire, something like this:

Rook: But it didn't go as cleanly as we hoped. Solas got pulled into the Fade, and two somethings got pulled out. Or someones, I mean. Two of the Evanuris. Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain. Irelin: Mythal'enaste! Strife: Are you certain it was them? Solas is bad enough, but even one of the other Evanuris would be disastrous. We can't waste time. Irelin: There's a reason Solas led a rebellion against the Evanuris. And a reason he imprisoned them. They could tear the world apart. Strife: If they've escaped... well, little is worse than that.

---

Rook: Our gods, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? They've escaped from Fen'Harel's prison. And by all accounts, they want to destroy the world. Bellara: What?! How is that possible?! They've been imprisoned for thousands of years, how could they have gotten out? Rook: Solas let them out. Bellara: He what?! That might explain some things here, but... do you realise what this means? Thedas is doomed if we don't do something, not just Arlathan forest.

Side note, my planned elf, archaeology/history nerd Rook is so going to be Bellara's bestie.