#but as of rn i really just need to get away

[asilentguardian]

I've got like three wips rn that I really want to finish but while I bang my head against those walls here's a little fic. I was going through my old wips and this is something from 2021 that I finished and apparently never posted, and I think it's decent enough to share. enjoy the hurt/comfort :D

-------

It’s weeks before he starts noticing it.

It’s only after they start whatever they’ve started that Bruce’s walls start coming down, that Hal allows himself to watch Bruce unabashedly.

It’s subtle, at first. Sudden hitches in his step that Bruce recovers from almost flawlessly. When Bruce sits down, the crease between his eyebrows smooths out, his face uncoiling from itself. Hal is no stranger to the people in his life hiding injuries, and Bruce happens to be an expert at it, but Bruce’s skin is only marred in old wounds.

When Hal has Bruce on top of him, bare skin and smiling down at Hal, he runs a hand down his spine. There’s no new bumps or bruises, nothing out of place from the skin Hal has been making an effort to memorize. The muscle at the base of Bruce’s spine tenses as Hal’s hand comes to a stop, so he moves it further down. Hal’s thoughts turn to a barely coherent jumble soon after that.

He tries to bring it up. Tries to ask Bruce about it, but Bruce is adept at leading Hal’s attention towards more pleasurable things.

It’s not until days later, when Hal arrives at the batcave, that it all comes to ahead. It’s late at night, and Hal just spent 3 days away from Earth. The last time Hal had been gone for more than a day, Bruce had barely let him get more than 2 feet out of reach. So the fact that Bruce doesn’t even spin his chair around is Hal’s first indication that something is wrong.

“Honey, I’m home!” Hal calls out as he touches down, expecting an annoyed Bruce to swivel around and glare at him. Or perhaps a grunt of acknowledgement. He remains still in front of the computer.

“Bruce?” Hal says, a bit softer this time. He starts towards the chair.

“Yes.�� It comes out strained, more of a statement than a question. As Hal gets closer, Bruce sucks in a breath and grits out “Don’t.”

Hal comes to an abrupt stop and gives the back of Bruce’s head a look.

“What happened.” Hal demands.

“Nothing.”

“Then stop giving me one word answers.”

Bruce heaves in another breath and grips the arms of his chair until his knuckles turn white. Hal braces himself for the start of a fight, but it never comes. He walks around to the front of the chair and leans against the console. Bruce is still in his suit, sans cape and cowl. He’s sitting ram-rod straight, his eyes shut and his entire face contorted in pain. Hal tries to push the panic back down his throat.

“Baby, tell me what’s wrong,” Hal whispers, reaching out and placing his hand on one of Bruce’s arms. Bruce’s eyes snap open and find Hal’s, only to immediately turn his head away, eyes falling down towards the cave floor. Whatever pain Bruce is feeling, it was enough to distract him from Hal’s approach.

Hal assesses him again. Bruce’s breathing is so carefully even. His arms are trembling, and his shoulders are tense. His back is entirely still.

Hal makes sure Bruce is telegraphing his movements out of his peripherals before he crouches down in front of him and takes his hands, lifting them off the arm rests. Bruce’s hands are clammy, they clench and unclench, trying not to grip Hal’s hands too tightly.

“How bad is it?” Hal asks, his voice still low. Bruce swallows once before answering.

“Can’t move,” Bruce pushes out.

“What happened?” It takes a bit of effort to keep his voice even, to keep all of the fear and anger out of it.

“Old injury. Lower spine. Strained it.” Bruce says, once again closing his eyes. It takes Hal a moment to recognize the look on Bruce’s face as shame. He’s blown away by it for a moment, the idea of Bruce feeling shame for something so human. But he’s familiar with the shame that comes along with pain.

“Alright. You can squeeze my hands as hard as you need to, I can take it. We’re going to get you to wherever a clean pair of clothes are,” Hal says, standing from a crouch, maintaining his hold on Bruce’s hands.

“Hal-”

“Nope, no arguing. You’re not laying in bed with me in full costume. Not unless we’re doing something sexy. On second thought…” Hal muses, watching Bruce’s face carefully. A ghost of an exasperated smile makes its way oh-so-briefly onto Bruce’s face.

“Locker room, to your left,” Bruce mutters out, his grip tightening significantly on Hal’s hands. Hal takes a step back to give Bruce room to stand, and Bruce’s eyes finally flutter open. He takes a deep breath before slowly beginning to stand.

It takes a full five minutes for Hal to help Bruce to the locker room. The idea of carrying him is quickly shot down, so Hal just supports most of his weight as they hobble to the door. Hal tries to keep a running commentary up, even as they have to pause for Bruce to catch his breath.

When they finally get Bruce seated on a bench, Hal goes about undressing him.

“Hal, you don’t have to,” Bruce croaks out as Hal begins undoing the hidden catches and buckles on his torso.

“What? Undress my very sexy boyfriend? I think yes I do have to.”

“Hal,” Bruce whispers. Hal stops for a moment and looks Bruce in the eye, framing his head in his hands. 

“Hey, I’ve got this baby, alright? I’ve got you,” He whispers back. Bruce nods and Hal leans forward, pressing a kiss against Bruce’s lips.

“I’ve got you,” Hal whispers again, his thumb stroking Bruce’s cheek. Bruce closes his eyes as Hal resumes taking apart the bat suit. He moves his arms when Hal taps them, stands on unsteady feet when Hal takes off his pants and stays standing as he helps him into sweatpants.

Hal doesn’t draw attention to the spasms in Bruce’s back, doesn’t comment on the occasional flinch. He just eases Bruce through, pauses without Bruce having to say anything.

“We need to get you upstairs,” Hal murmurs, his voice shockingly close. Bruce opens his eyes and looks at Hal. He’s sitting beside Bruce, holding his hand, staring steadily into his eyes. Bruce takes a breath before nodding.

It takes longer to get Bruce to the elevator, but Hal is able to get away with using his ring to help keep Bruce upright.

When they emerge into the manor, Alfred takes one look at them before his eyes widen in panic.

“Master Bruce!” He yells before rushing to Bruce’s other side, taking some of his weight onto his own shoulders.

“To the couch,” he says to Hal. Hal is about to protest, but Alfred seems unaffected, so he obeys. The two of them manage to get Bruce to lay sideways on the couch, his head in Hal’s lap.

Hal is momentarily embarrassed by the fact that he’s essentially cuddling with his boyfriend in front of his boyfriend’s father, but he’s distracted rather quickly by Bruce sucking in another breath between his teeth. He buries one hand in Bruce’s hair and grabs ahold on one of Bruce’s hands with his other. Bruce’s eyes are laser focused on Hal’s.

“I’ll be just a moment,” Alfred says before hurrying out of the room.

“I’ve got you sweetheart,” Hal whispers down at Bruce. Bruce doesn’t respond beyond squeezing Hal’s hand briefly. He closes his eyes again and turns his face into Hal’s stomach.

When Alfred returns, he’s holding a syringe. He gestures for Hal to roll Bruce onto his side, and Hal can feel Bruce tense again as he does. Alfred injects the painkiller into Bruce’s back and gently helps Hal roll Bruce back onto his back.

Alfred takes a moment to study Bruce’s face and take in his labored breathing before standing back up.

“That should help ease the pain, as well make him drowsy,” Alfred says. It takes a moment for Hal to realize he’s talking to him. He looks up at Alfred from Bruce’s slowly softening face.

“Thank you,” Hal responds. Alfred nods and turns to leave the room. He pauses for a moment and turns back to Hal, his eyes fluttering across Bruce, worry very clearly etched into his face.

“Thank you, Captain Jordan,” Alfred says. He’s out the door before Hal can respond. Hal looks back down, continues to study Bruce’s face. He leans back into the couch and props his feet up, listening as Bruce’s breath gets steadier.

[daz-zey]

Okay… here we go lol….

I just want to say first off, I acknowledge the chemistry and the complexity of them. They are interesting as a whole and individually. Them being Gi hun and In ho… at the same time I just don’t like the ship at all. Like romantically. Maybe platonically, sure. But romantically no 😭. They have to be acquaintances or friends first lol… Gi hun has been through a lot and he doesn’t really need anything rn except for his daughter and therapy. He has to work on himself if you know what I mean. Same goes for In ho… I know some are “joking” (don’t know but this is what I’ve been reading and stuff) however there’s people that are serious about it. Squid game itself has no business doing things that involves shipping and romance (not a romance show). It’s a show that has something serious going on. Most of these posts are literally mischaracterizing these two characters in order to seem relevant of the ship. Another reason why I dislike this ship is because it is literally everywhere. Meaning I just want content just with Gi hun or just with In ho. Without bringing the other into every post/conversation. That’s when I get turned off. 😭 I’m more into the story, the theories and some headcanons themselves. For example, the Hwang brothers 🥺🥺 they have to be talked about more… doomed siblings. Sobs.

+ whenever it’s talked about in a YouTube video (Instagram and whatnot) they’re in and it’s literally just the actors. Like come on now… ya’ll are doing too much atp. I get that you’re saying “shipping the characters” but it’s still talking about the actors in this regard to a video with said actors. Especially when they’re literally in a relationship with other people, married for goodness sake. So this also turns me away from the whole thing.

+ I’m seeing all these talks about the violence, gore and whatnot with these two characters being together. Saying a healthy relationship is boring. How the hell is wanting a lovey dovey, fluff, healthy relationship boring?? In this day and age, people want that shit. Cause all you see are harmful, manipulative people doing things to each other already. You guys are basically romanticizing toxic relationships and it’s worrisome.

(This makes Gi hun underrated in his own show….)

In the end, I just think everything is forced.

[red-doll-face]

I mean I’m 23 soooo 👀 i would like to imagine him as perhaps being into it but I do think if he fell in love because sometimes you can’t help it or whatever, he would feel soooo bad like he would think he’s a terrible person 😭😭😭 high honor Arthur think he’s such a bad person for liking someone so young 😔 I don’t know if he’d go for it either like I don’t think he’d be particularly romantic to anyone so young, I think you have to like come on to him a lot and even then he still might just be like sorry but you’re really young and I can’t do that but you’re great 🥲

I do think Mary Beth can recognize that Arthur is different from the other men in camp, that he’s more sensitive and might appreciate men who are like that but I don’t know if she was in love with him like that, maybe just admired him in a way, or wished more men were like him. But historically, I don’t think he would just not care. I think he definitely would care about age. I think in my age gap head canon post, I mentioned how he would feel bad and he would feel like he’s ruining your life because he feels like he’s not long for this world so how could he leave someone so young behind???

I don’t think every age gap relationship is terrible and toxic and manipulative. and I do think a younger woman would appreciate how much Arthur would treat her like an equal. There isn’t a single part of me that thinks Arthur would use his age or status as an older white man to hold power over a younger woman and if it came off like that it wasn’t his intention (lh Arthur…different story, would def hold his age over his partners head) but he already does that with men, where he uses his power as like the older more experienced brother to like low key bully them??

Whether Arthur would or would not is hard to say but I think it’s on an individual basis whether he likes someone or not. Age would definitely be an aspect of that process but idk, he might just be like nah, idk, this bitch too young 😭😭😭😭 nooo I need an age gap relationship with this man rn 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

But if a younger woman were to end up with him, it takes him a bit to get past the age thing and he’s really self conscious of his age. To say he would have no problem is a lie. To say it would take a ton of convincing from a younger woman and they’d have to grow a real relationship I feel is more accurate. As someone in a relationship with someone who is a bit older than me, to say it’s not possible for a good person to date someone younger than them and can only have bad intentions is just not true. I feel that there are bad people who specifically look for younger partners to take advantage of their inexperience and to be extremely immature and get away with it but Arthur does not look for younger partners to do this with.

Low honor Arthur I feel likes to indulge in his own little urges but even he would really care for his partner and he wouldn’t seek out a younger woman. Even he wouldn’t play with his partner like a toy or ignore any problems they have with his behavior. I do think he would care a whole lot less about age and care more about your individual maturity.

Damn so sorry for going off on this post… 🥲🥲 but yes queen, argue w that woman!!! He would care !!! am i a bit hopeful that he would wanna bend me over despite my age ??? Yes 😳 but idk, I would try really hard to seduce this man who knows if he would actually want me tho 🚬😔

I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts on this:

How young is too young for someone to be romantically involved with Arthur? What do you think his minimum age cut-off would be for a partner?

For context, if anyone is wondering how far behind tiktok is on rdr conversations, I’ve been debating with a woman who is adamant about the fact that Arthur had feelings for Abigail simply because he said he would marry her in his journal. But that’s not what surprised me.

How this conversation started you ask? They made and edit of Arthur and Mary-Beth with the caption saying they would have made such a cute couple. To which i commented “they’re cute because they act like siblings. But Arthur is way too old for her.” Ofc they pointed out that in 1899 she would not have been too young. And i answered by saying Arthur specifically, wouldn’t date someone that young.

We both agreed that Mary Beth is younger than Abigail, who is 22. But they think Arthur would have no problem dating someone as young as 20. Which blows my mind because Tilly is not much younger than Mary-Beth, and both Arthur and John see her as a little sister.

Aside from those x readers where there’s a huge age gap (which obviously those are just for fun and not canon)

I feel like there’s a huge mischaracterization going on here. Arthur is not the kind of man to date a girl who is 16 years younger than him. Obviously I dont know the guy personally but that just feels so…icky?

Like, that’s just not who he is? I don’t even know how to properly defend this argument bc tbh it feels gross to imply that he would do that.

Arthur Morgan is an intelligent, deeply empathetic man who feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he is far from blind to the struggles women face, particularly in the harsh realities of his time. Having witnessed firsthand the hardships and injustices endured by the women in camp and beyond, he carries a profound understanding of their experiences.

His loyalty and responsibility make him more than capable of protecting and providing for a young woman, but romantic involvement with someone significantly younger just doesn’t align with his character.

Arthur would never take advantage of an imbalance of power or maturity in a romantic context.

[sungbeam]

not to be dramatic but def just giving up now

[mohntilyet]

continued rook-lucanis sketches from the last week or so <3

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

"Jason was the happy robin" this, "jason was the angry robin" that. Let's all be fully honest here Jason was the lonely robin

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

OMG so glad people are talking abt azrael 1995 i have sooo many thoughts about it. Denny O’Neil has worked on so many amazing comics, but Azrael 95 is like his little personal project and there’s so much weird shit that occurs narratively and thematically that makes me wonder abt the guy sometimes.

On the topic of Batman being a POS to Azrael, at least part of that is because O’Neil probably needed to get Azrael out on his own. If he had Batman agree to go with JPV to fight the order of st Dumas, the comic would be Batman, fighting the order of st Dumas, instead of Azrael. But it definitely gets kind of excessive. And it doesn’t explain why he can’t like.. train JPV off “camera” so to speak or in the background or even in a mini. Batman often comes across like he just hates JPV. I personally read this as a consequence of JPV being a reminder of his weakest point in Bruce’s life since his parents died: Batman at his most vulnerable. And also a reminder of his fallacy of judgement w Azbats of course. Also, the ‘lesson’ of Knightfall kind of fails within Azrael: Batman frees JPV to discover his own identity and find himself outside the Batman mantle, he literally lets JPV walk away from the alternative, jail: and JPV ends up in a homeless shelter and spends the rest of Azrael 95 still trying to figure out who he is, never quite succeeding for long. It can be taken as an meta ironic play on the fact that how Batman’s identical lesson he receives from Knightfall continues to be rehashed arc after arc event after event, Bruce never really learns his lesson either: he’s always pushing someone away, he’s always falling too far into the Bat mantle and trying to do everything on his own. Neither ‘learn their lesson’ and so Batmans apparent hatred of JPV could be taken as a disgust and uncomfortableness with this fact.

The whole ‘greatest mistake’ but is so funny to me because because it’s such a common way that Batman referred to JPV and making JPV Batman during Knightfall I literally made a joke drawing when Jason came back to life and Bruce called him his worst mistake instead, with JPV holding a mug that said: “Batman’s Second Worst Mistake”. Would post it but I don’t have it rn unfortunately. Point is you’re so so right.

I really really recommend reading Knightfall by the way, I know it’s like 72 issues but it’s so so good. The BBC Radio Drama is a good substitute tho, a lot of the dialogue is ripped straight from the comics, but it misses a few moments.

JPV could technically return to school, you’re so right, and It’s strange that it doesn’t really come up so much. And I hadn’t really thought about why he doesn’t. Even when he has like his ‘lol I’m going to be normal and not Azrael arc’ I don’t think he talks about returning to grad school. Could be forgetting tho.

A Lot of details about Jean Paul and his “civilian” life make no fucking sense. Idk if youve read NML yet, but a lot of those inconsistencies start to shine through there, which is super strange given I’m pretty sure Denny O’Neil was writing those issues too. Basically, we get indications that JPV never had a “normal” life, despite his computer grad apparent civilian life and pretty average behavior v early on in Sword of Azrael. (Vague bc I’m Trying not to spoil in case you haven’t read the issue I’m thinking of here) Which is so weird. Honestly one of the things I think Rebirth did well was how they retconned these aspects of Azraels character into one clear story which encapsulated them both.

I'm reading the OG run of Azrael (1995) by Denny O'Neil and honestly Batman/Bruce just irks me in a way I really didn't expect. I'm reading issue #36 and my biggest gripe is...why doesn't he teach him?Like legitimately why doesn't he teach him, or atleast send him to someone who could. That just feels so obvious to me.

It's obvious JPV is a danger to himself and others, and it's obvious Bruce's initial plan of just....giving him the mantal without any help and extremely minimal training wouldn't work but even if he says he doesn't blame JPV um????? You sure aren't acting like it???? Seriously that guy needs an ACTUAL therapist (and no, Brian doesn't count when he so obviously needs his own mental help). He is traumatized, extremely repressed, and is being actively manipulated by Lilhy and I'm just.....MAN.

People say Jason is his greatest mistake but honestly I think it might be tied with JPV at this point, bc unlike Jason (I may be wrong, haven't read Under the Red Hood yet), Bruce has so. many. chances. It's so obvious Jean-Paul looks up to him, he wants to do something good and I get he wasn't Bruce's responsibility, but I do think after Bruce took him into vigilanteism he has an obligation to help. He took those lessons to heart and made them vital parts of himself, that he had to help people and he had to go out in order to do that.

Like JPV had a life. He was getting a degree in computer science for christ's sake. Why didn't Bruce just...let him go back to that? (Tbf i may be misinformed on that last part , I did not read the Knightfall saga I listened to the radio drama instead when I found out there was one.) But seriously. He's rich. Just...get him a psychologist and leave him alone.

[a-stars-art-blog]

Finished the wips from yesterday

[skunkes]

reposting some old doodles i still enjoy a bit

[alongtidesoflight]

so here's my honest thoughts on dragon age: the veilguard, after ~40 hours of playing. i finished the main quest after having finished all companion quests and major faction quests. just to clear up what content i saw, i played as an elven transmasc rook who is a member of the lords of fortune. he romanced lucanis (although after finishing the game i'm now leaning towards taash). i don't know what's happening in playthroughs that have a different race, gender identity, romance or faction going on.

full spoilers ahead, i mean it. don't read further if you want to avoid them. i don't want complaining about it in my asks.

oh and also, if you're worried because of a few negative reviews online i can comfort you by saying don't give a fuck about a certain big name youtuber who is very much tied to bethesda franchises giving this a negative review. i'll explain why.

i'm starting off with the things i liked

the game looks really pretty. i was worried it wouldn't feel like thedas anymore (with them trying to "focus on northern thedas only" i thought they'd make a clear cut in environmental design. they do and they don't. it's complicated. i'll elaborate on it when talking about the negative stuff). anyway it does. minrathous feels like kirkwall. treviso enchanted me like the winter palace did. the hossberg wetlands reminded me of the hinterlands and a couple other inquisition maps. arlathan looked like... arlathan. the crossroads were different, but familiar. overall i like the way it looks and feels. it's thedas, with a twist. it's a good one, and gives everything a solid but unique feel.

combat is top tier. if you're a hardcore dragon age player you WILL miss the tactical aspect of it for a bit, but i promise you, once you're used to the way the combat works, you will be lapping that shit up. and once you get to ability combos you'll mourn the control you used to have over your companions in battle a bit less

the MAIN quest and its story. i expected worse, way worse. and for a while the game even had me tricked (harr harr you'll get it in a second) it is Really That Much Worse. but holy shit was it good. i walked away satisfied ngl.

your choices have SOLID weight. there's consequences, good AND bad. i got minrathous blighted, ruled over by venatori, and the leader of the shadow dragons ultimately died because of my decisions. i made those at the beginning and throughout the game. he died at the end. DAVRIN died because i didn't expect what i was saying to have that much weight. i thought i was in the clear. he had hero status. well turns out, your choices can still get your companions killed even if you do everything right. i fucking love him. he shouldn't have made that sacrifice just because i told him to do everything it takes once.

the inquisitor, morrigan and dorian being there, surprisingly. there's also negatives to this though, see below.

speaking of companions dying and the inquisitor playing a bigger role: the final quest feels like me2's suicide mission. i was blown away by it and the fact that i got to see the results of all my efforts playing out in front of me.

bioware are NOT trying to redeem solas. they love him as a character yes, but i wasn't forced to see any good in him. he betrays you. he fucked my rook over twice. he fucked him over right back, for good this time (the veil wasn't torn down, i anchored it by binding him to it, he's doomed to uphold it). but solas really lives up to his name as the trickster elven god. rip to all the people who grew really attached to him over the years.

varric died. if you like him that's probably as hard reading it as it was watching it. varric died and the game lies about it until the very end. when the realisation hits, it hurts. but in the very best way.

the amount of care they put into gender expression and trans identities this time around. (i'll add onto this with negative points as well too).

rook feels very much ingrained in the world of thedas. he doesn't ask questions that expose the player to lore through dialogue as if he's stepped foot into thedas for the first time. those conversations feel very solid and good. i hope other faction players got as much joy out of this as i did.

and the things i didn't like and boy there's a lot unfortunately

the music. let's just get that out of the way holy shit. it doesn't feel like it belongs in this universe. it gets so incredibly sci-fi-y at times you'd think it's taken straight from mass effect andromeda. there's not a single song unique to veilguard that i really enjoyed. it broke my immersion, real bad. hearing a busker play the tavern songs from inquisition on a lute right after i killed some venatori with wobbly bass songs playing in the background is just odd. weird tonal shift. don't like it. it's made for people who like flashy light-weight cinema.

tevinter nights is required reading. the podcasts are required listening exercises. the game is so fast paced, especially at the start, that there's no time to introduce you to characters and how much weight their names carry in-game. i would not have known who half these people are if i hadn't skimmed over tevinter nights. i'd care even less about them than i already did. there is no time to get properly attached to them. people will act as if you're talking to a legend personified and you'll be thinking man goddamn which chapter of tevinter night were they in again and what did they do???

there's a weird mismatch with the animations. you'll have beautifully fluid ones, like emmrich casting spells. and then you'll have rook's face animating in the most unnatural manner that's sorta reminiscent of mass effect andromeda's "my face is tired" addison, when their emotions SHOULD be landing with the player rn instead.

i'm not vibing with the art style. sometimes it works. most of the time it doesn't. at points i felt like i was watching tangled.

that also brings me to some of the dialogue. same issue. i am watching frozen. i am watching tangled. someone on the writer's team really likes the adorkable trope. bellara is its victim.

for all the talk about identity, bioware sure doesn't like theirs. the grey warden armor got a redesign again and it just makes them look like a generic army. i hate it lol

in general, i don't like the armor design. the wardrobe/appearances system is fine, but it's just not helping if all the armors are just... kinda bland or downight bad looking? and don't get me started on the lords of fortune armor. that is orientalism personified.

the world states should have been carried over, full stop. i know they said they didn't because they want to separate what happens in the north from what happens in the south, which... i could have lived with that. but the inquisitor sends you letters that keep you up to date on... the south of thedas. you learn that there's a blight again, that people are standing strong but it's difficult, denerim's fallen, the rulers are taking care of it, orlais is fighting and they're successful for a while, etc etc. what's good bioware. i thought we don't care about the south this time around. why are you feeding me so much boring generic information. if you're not gonna show any of it and just write letters, then carrying the world state over should not have been an issue. i have a game dev background. those few lines of code would not have broken your budget or pushed your engine's limits. fuck right off.

this gripe of mine carries over to all the cameos. as a lord of fortune you have to deal with isabela a lot. it's fun. i missed her. you get to go drinking with her and taash and bellara! also my hawke romanced her. she's not mentioned once. they had the opportunity to put a sentence or two about her in there with not a lot of effort, trust me.

when varric dies, all she has is a single line about it. for gold, for fortune, for varric. she only says it if you interact with her on your way to the final push. that's not mandatory.

morrigan is there. kieran isn't. the old god soul that mythal and then solas absorbed? who cares at this point, the gods are dead now and solas is locked away for eternity. i suppose? why is morrigan there. she feels unneeded. i wish they'd just left her down south, at least that way i wouldn't have had to witness her god awful redesign.

dorian at least feels as if he belongs in this story. the shadow dragons are a crucial part to protecting minrathous. he's also weirdly underutilised. isabela and morrigan had more lines than him in my playthrough.

on the topic of romance: bro that was underwhelming. no, genuinely. you know when romance picked up a bit? after the point of no return. i heard maybe two lines of companion banter about it before that. maybe i missed something which i honestly doubt, but romance did not play much of a role in lucanis's storyline. i saved his grandmother as he wished me to (and if you read tevinter nights you know she was rather abusive and their relationship not the healthiest) and told him to focus on his family. a reunified family my rook wasn't even introduced to as a partner at the end of all that.

really, do not buy this game if you're only in it for the romances. others might be better, lucanis's basically gave me nothing. except for an outing (the second coffee date i had with him, it was getting repetitive) all of it played out once i committed to the final quest. the sex scene was a fade to black. annoyingly right after davrin died. if you're looking for well paced and good spice, pick up something else. the sweet talk and the final goodbye were nice though.

for all the good the ever-presence of gender identity does, it is brought up in such a disruptive manner too. it doesn't even play out naturally if you CHOOSE the lines that are meant to be said. hearing the words trans and non-binary in this setting doesn't feel right, and i'm saying this as a trans guy. i think it could have been handled more gracefully. the amount of times my rook went "i'm a MAN" as if he's about to start drumming on his chest and roaring any second now got super nerve-grating. "i'm so glad you're into me... the me who is trans. remember?" just. tell me one trans person who'd talk like that to a person they've grown close with and are trying to romance. this game doesn't handle sexuality well, so all this hey my body might not look like the way you're expecting it to look talk amounts to nothing anyway. i feel about this the way i feel about krem: this is partial exposition to trans experiences... packaged up for cis consumption. the ONLY exception to that is interacting with taash. holy shit was all of that heartwarming and bro did it feel good and natural to talk to them about theirs and rook's gender.

rivain and nevarra are new locations added by veilguard. they're also incredibly underwhelming, small and constricted maps. rivain is a coastline with a few ruins. the hall of valor is a partial ruin nestled into a cave on a beach, with a fighting pit. isabela is there in her skimpy outfit commentating your pit fights. that's it. i'm sorry if you were looking for a bustling pirate cove or whatever. you're not gonna get it. the nevarran crypts btw are a long ass dungeon crawl. that's it.

speaking of maps. i thought people were being dramatic when they said you're gonna be fighting the same enemies on them again and again. i thought they were figure of speeching it. they're not. you WILL fight the same amount of enemies. in the same spot. every time you reload the map. best to stay on a map and clear out the enemies and do as much questing on that map as you can before leaving, because you WILL have to do it all over again once you return.

the three choices i made for my inquisitor didn't matter lol she didn't have to face solas and therefore couldn't stop him at any cost as she had sworn (maybe because my rook tricked solas into binding himself to the veil, there was also an option to fight him. would she have stepped in? who knows). blackwall wasn't mentioned. and either her using a small amount of her forces in the final fight was the reason the civilians of minrathous fared so well..... or it just didn't matter. ultimately i think she had very little impact on anything

[0xeyedaisy]

Aw man...

[kirby-the-gorb]

[thegreatyin]

honestly part of the reason i've been really looking forward to finally playing light fingers (aside from the obvious horrors and whatnot) is because it, alongside bag a legend, contains a Choice™ i to this day am Extremely Torn About Making. like i've known for ages that the Choice™ exists in this ambition and STILL i am undecided about it. this Choice™ is of course. well. let's just say that by the time this ambition ends, caeru may not be the only catboy around town

[schnee-gheist]

dp fanfic ideas are getting to me again goddammit

[buglaur]

[demodraws0606]

Being a q!BBH fan is having to be hit again and again with the fact that no one will ever care about his lore or ever recognise that he is one of the largest roleplayer in the server (non debatable)