#carta and commander

[vigilskeep]

did the treveylan loose a lot of their standing for having not one but TWO mage children? ( a la amell)

yeah hugely! they’re canonically “noted for their piety and connections within the chantry and the templar order”, so based on that i can only imagine having two mage children out of nowhere was pretty crushing. i think it’s also a pretty much open secret that bann trevelyan tried to hide arthur’s magic for a while—it got revealed at a public event, it wouldn’t be hard to notice that he and arthur already knew—which is pretty damning. nobles obviously get away with that kind of thing all the time, just look at eamon and isolde who afaik face no repercussions for the horrors of redcliffe, or look at the de launcets or whoever, but with the trevelyans’ reputations so based on their faith it makes them a bit of a laughing stock and they lose all their traditional connections. there’s also just the sheer loss of two of their heirs, three if you include losing evelyn to the templars, leaving them only with the least suitable (rip maxwell)

that’s a big part of evelyn’s motivations. she watched herself and her family be humiliated, she didn’t even get to be in on the secret, she’s constantly faced with her inadequacy in comparison to her father’s idea of arthur when she’s unable to salvage the family reputation diplomatically. so she’s finally “saving” that reputation the only way she knows how, and making up for her siblings’ shame in the eyes of the maker but also in the eyes of the rest of the nobility, by joining the templars

[mourn-and-watch]

there were no fereldan grey wardens in inquisition because they're too unhinged for this game. i mean they would absolutely ruin the narrative and the stakes. amaranthine squad is literally a dalish mage with a pure disgust for humans and especially their attempts to erase other cultures, a casteless member of the legion of the dead who used to work for carta, a drunkard who keeps finding himself in the weirdest situations possible and getting out of them almost without a scratch and a son of disgraced war criminal and all of them also happened to be buddies with a certain apostate and a spirit of justice. these guys don't give a shit about andraste's supposed herald and they already managed to kick one magister's ass or even reason with him. they would crack some kirkwall boom joke in front of the whole inquisition and then call corypheus a pretentious dumbass and nathaniel would bother to stop it only because he promised the commander they would behave and not cause problems if they left them on their own for a while

[kaija-rayne-author]

DA 4 Veilguard predictions

Okay so I wanted to get a whole ass post about what I think is likely to happen in DA 4 done before the reveals but I haven’t had the time between work and life.

There are MASSIVE spoilers for every Dragon Age game, book, comic, and most internet theories in this post. Proceed with caution.

Also I swear like the truckers I grew up around. So CW on language.

First and foremost, I’m going to warn you all that I’m a die-hard Solavellan. If you don’t like that? Don’t bother reading this. And for gods’ sake don’t bother arguing with me about it. Depending on my mood, I’ll either first roast your face off and then eat it with bbq sauce or if I’m feeling generous, I’ll just block your ass. You like what you like about games. I’ll like what I like. I don’t shit in your porridge, I ask you to not do it to me. As I’m writing this, I’m 47 years old and I’ve been gaming since I was 9. Which means I’ve been gaming longer than a lot of you have been alive. Stop yucking on people’s yum. There’s far too little joy in this world. Go find your own.

So, this is just a partial post (albeit, in true to me fashion, an incredibly LONG one XD). It will cover stuff I think we might see revealed in things this weekend at either SGF or Xbox whatever (I have no idea why they’d bother with the Xbox thing since they hold such a small share of the gaming market these days but whatever.) We’re seeing something between Friday and Monday. Hopefully, enough to give hope to the masses.

Depending on how much time I have before I have to serve dinner I might add some more of my theories.

It’s a bit silly of me to be so obsessed about this game because my computer definitely won’t be able to handle it, and because I’m a disabled, neurodivergent author with a family to support… well… the likelihood of me being able to buy both a computer able to handle it and the game itself any time in the near future isn’t good. So, I won’t be able to play it. I am going to add my links and a go fund me to the bottom of this post (which has taken me hours to research and write so if you would like to donate to the cause I would be so deeply appreciative. Dragon Age is one of my AuDHD special interests, and it’s killing part of my soul to know I can’t participate when it comes out. I promise I’ll write all sorts of interesting stuff about it!)

But I can’t help myself. Letting my research-oriented, lore-obsessed brain noodle about Dragon Age is one of my very favourite special interests. So, without further ado… here goes!

CLASSES

I think we have a good chance of seeing some of these as playable classes.

Knight-Templar ❌

Lord of Fortune ✅

Antivan Crow ✅

Mortalitasi (Nevarran necromancer) ✅

Grey Warden ✅

Shadow Dragon ✅

Shaper/Carta/Kal-Sharok/Sha-Brytol Dwarf ❌

Veil Jumper ✅

Fen’harel Fanatic (not his usual people, the fanatical ones detailed in Tevinter Nights) ❌

Companions

A lot of these ideas come from the supplementary material that I’ve read at least three times each. I’m obsessed. What can I say?

Qunari: ✅ Tal-Vashoth Sarrebas, maybe Qwydion? ❌

Rivani Lord of Fortune: ✅ ‘Hollix’ maybe? That would be fun, plus they are canonically non-binary! Please please please? With sugar on top? ❌

Tevinter Mage/Magister: ✅ Maevaris Tilani ❌ would be so cool, but I’d be equally as happy to see Neve Gallus. ✅ Honestly, they both have benefits for me. Mae is trans and Neve has a prosthetic leg. Alternatively, I liked Myrion ❌ well enough that he’d be a cool companion too. And he’s canonically bisexual from what I read between the lines.

Grey Warden: ✅ Please let it be Antoine! ❌ (Antoine absolutely has ADHD and I would love to see more of that rep in a AAA game.) Evke ❌ could be fun too.

Templar Knight-Commander: Rana Savras ❌

Spirit Companion: I really hope it’s not Audric. 1. He’s not really a spirit, he’s a higher undead, which is a Zombie by any other term. And all the poor guy wants is to organize his library. I’ll be quite disappointed with the writers if they go this route.

So, we’ve had Faith/Wynn, Justice/Anders, and Compassion/Cole. There are two other widely known benevolent spirits in Dragon Age canon. Valor and Hope. Given what I think is gonna happen in DA4, my money is on a Hope spirit. ❓

Antivan Crow: ✅ Illario Dellamorte. ❌ (I really really hope it’s not Lucanis Dellamorte. 💩 He’s so damned annoying and gods that is NOT how an assassin operates. Here's my professional editorial opinion of why Lucanis is an absolutely terrible character.

Veil Jumper/Dalish/City Elf: ✅ Strife. ❌ Please please please? He’d be so awesome as a companion character. He’s not young! I want an older companion character. (And it would let them get away with the white hair on a darker skinned character without it being racist as fuck.) I just really hope he looks better than he did in the comics. The art style in those was just fucking terrible.

I am hoping that we can somehow romance Lace Harding. ✅ But I just don’t see how she could fit in with the reported likely classes and things I’ve personally considered.

That gives me 8 even though reports say we only get 7. But did you notice in this picture that there are 8? So either we’re gonna get a ‘secret’ companion like Loghain Mac Tir. (Three guesses who that will be and the first two don’t count.) Or they have a surprise for us. Or the art is off.

I could also see Kieren ❌ as a companion. (Morrigan’s son) He’d be just about old enough if we get the time jump reports are saying we will. He was roughly 12 in DAI. + 2 for Trespasser puts him at 14. Ten years minimum between Trespasser and DA4 puts him at 24. So, it’s possible. I could also see Vaea as a companion. But I’m not exactly sure how she would fit with classes.

Potential Advisors

Some of these I’ve got as potential companions as well because I could see them fitting either.

Dorian Pavus for Tevinter Magisters (I think this is very likely given Tevinter Nights.)

Maevaris Tilani (Same as above.)

Charter (I think we’ll see Charter stepping into Leliana’s place as Spymaster given what we saw in Trespasser and Tevinter Nights.)

Myrna/Audric (Mortalitasi)

Ramesh (Grey Wardens)

Genetivi (Scholar) (given what happened in Tevinter Nights I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again under a new name)

Viago De Riva (Antivan Crows)

Andarateia Cantori (Antivan Crows) I’d love to see Zevran again but considering what he was up to in DAI I think it’s unlikely. Although something did happen in Tevinter Nights that might make it possible.

Lavellan: With how the story in DAI ended and what we saw in the end scene of Trespasser, I think they’ll be important in some way.

Fenris: (Wandering Warrior)

Cameos we might see:

Fenris

Isabela

Arishok Sten

Antaam Rassan

Kieren (Morrigan’s son)

Zevran

Vaea

Sebastian Vael

Viago De Riva

Andarateia Cantori

Lavellan

People I don’t think we’ll see or if we do it won’t be for long.

Cassandra (thank gods)

Morrigan

Leliana (sads)

Most of the cast of DAI and the previous games.

Bosses we’re likely to fight.

Solas. He’ll be a mini-boss and maybe one you can talk out of a fight.

FleMythal

Elgar’nan

Ghilan'nain

Andruil. She and Ghilan’nain often go together.

Critters/bad guys we’re likely to see.

Bone creatures from the necropolis.

Changed darkspawn/humans from Ghilan'nain’s labs.

Tentacley sea creatures from Minrathous and other ‘experimented upon by mages’ monsters.

Werewolves may make a comeback.

Antaam.

Venatori. ✅

Fen’harel Fanatics (these are different from Fen’harel agents).

Whatever or whoever the people across the sea are.

Carta dwarves

Titans

Sha-Brytol dwarves

Antaam Rassan

Antaam

Things I think we’re likely to see.

We’re going to see trans/non-binary rep. ✅ I deeply believe this is happening. I will be so sad if I’m wrong.

Sad as I am to say it. Varric is gonna die. The writing has been on the wall in drippy red marker since they fired his writer. I hate this, personally. I grew up listening to Brian Bloom (Varric’s VA) and he’s just one of my absolute favourites. But I don’t think Varric is gonna make it.

The how? I think, narratively, they’ll do it in a way that hurts Solas a very great deal. In DAI, Varric is one of the few people that Solas listens to. Apologizes to and actually talks to with a sense of respect in his tone that he rarely does with anyone else. Given events in the comic The Missing where Solas saves Varric several times… yeah.

If I were writing it? It would be an angsty as fuck scene where either something Solas does accidentally kills Varric in a friendly fire isn’t friendly sort of situation or that Solas can’t get there in time to save one of the few people he actually probably considers a friend.

So, the pain of Varric’s death will be what in the writing/editing trade we call a pinch-point for Solas’s character arc. How the player decides what happens will likely be one of those crucial choices matters points that will turn Solas down a darker path or possibly toward a redemption arc.

Flemythal isn’t dead. I’ve talked before about how she is not the happy fluffy bunny version of a mother goddess. Sure, she might be a mother goddess. But she’s the type that reminds us that mother nature is often more red in tooth and claw than nurturing.

And the lady is bent. Bent on revenge. Bent on using people to get her revenge. Just… if she ever was the good and kind person that Solas remembers? She definitely isn’t anymore.

I have a feeling given one of the stories in Tevinter Nights that FleMythal has infected Solas (vs sharing her power in a simple power up to help him save people move) with the dragon soul. Which could have been part of Mythal's soul even before the dragon had it, if some theories are correct. There’s been a lot of imagery and description of a dreadwolf like creature that is half lupine, half dragon. So, something is going on there.

And honestly, I think that’s going to be Solas’s breaking point with mommy dearest. (Please, please don’t let them have been lovers, that will squick me out so fucking bad.)

“Betrayal is always worse.” Is one of Solas’s really heartfelt lines in DAI. If I’m right, and FleMythal somehow manipulated that dragon soul she got from Kieren (talk about fucked up action right there) so that it’s gonna change Solas into a half dragon half wolf demon thing… welp.

I think FleMythal will find that Solas has bit more backbone than he ever had in the past. He’s not alone now. He knows he’s not alone. He’s got friends. He’s got someone who deeply loves him in a romanced Solavellan playthrough. I don’t think Solas is going to be very happy with his dearest ‘best of them’ Mythal.

Best of them? Yeah. It doesn’t mean she was actually good.

So Mythal isn’t dead. I think she’s likely to be one of if not the BBEG along with whoever that voice was at the end of the teaser. My money is on Troy Baker for the VA and I’m really curious if I’m right. I’m thinking that’s probably Elgar’nan. God of Vengeance. Perhaps Mythal and Elgar’nan patch up whatever divine argument they’ve been having via celestial couples therapy or something. Who knows.

I think we’re going to see a split path depending on the choices of the player for Solas. Depending on our choices, he could go really dark, or he could have a redemption arc. Patrick Weekes tweeted to me that ‘there’s a possibility of a happy ending for Solavellan’ so I still have hope. I trust Weekes to write a satisfying conclusion to the Solavellan Romance. (I just don’t trust Bioware as far as I can throw them.) Weekes was the lead writer on this game, so I think it’s a good possibility that that’s how it’s going to be structured.

I think the game will very possibly be a multi-act structure like DAI. The first act is possibly going to be like the Hinterlands leading up to Coryphyfish blowing the hell out of Haven. I think the veil coming down is going to either be what starts off the game ✅ (like the explosion of the conclave in DAI) or will be the final ending situation of Act 1. Again. Player choices will likely affect this to some extent.

But y’all? That veil is coming down. ✅ And yes. I’m aware of that silly new name for the game. I don’t like it. (That ‘the’ was a mistake. Veilguard by itself would’ve been much better linguistically.) But if you’ve been following my ramblings about Dragon Age for a while, y’all will know I have issues with their linguistic usage and editing already.

Dumped Drunk and Dalishious did a fantastic piece on her blog about the veil. It’s here if you haven’t read it. Firstly, the veil was never meant to exist in THEDAS in the first place. If you deep dive the lore (and trust me, I really have. A LOT.) It’s obvious that the veil has been the cause of more problems than it has fixed. It’s been slowly killing magic in THEDAS since its creation. It has to come down. It’s also as holey a granny’s doilies anyway. Solas taking it down in a controlled fashion is very likely going to prevent far more deaths than if it keeps just falling apart piecemeal like it’s been doing forever. It’s unfixable and it really really needs to go. ✅

So once that veil drops… I don’t think it’s going to be as horrific as everyone has been bellyaching about forever. Solas’s often misquoted and wildly overblown lines from Trespasser (seriously do y’all even know what the word genocide means? You make me doubt.) are very likely a red herring at best. People are being willingly misled. ✅ I can’t really blame y’all.

Weekes is an absolute Master at playing people’s expectations and assumptions off of their preconceived notions, then throwing a bomb of ‘oops you were all wrong and it was right in front of you the entire time’. They’ve even said they really love to write things like that. I want to write as well as Weekes does when I grow up.

Humans existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they afterward? Given some of the lore, Qunari also existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they continue to? Will there be chaos? Yup. ✅ But change is often painful. And if anything needs change it’s the world of THEDAS. (Both for story reasons and for gameplay reasons.)

One of the changes I think we’re likely to see is the implosion of the Chantry. (I am absolutely hoping for this. I’m not a fan of organized religion on a grand scale like that and the Chantry has soooooo damned many skeletons in its closets and atrocities under its belt that I will absolutely celebrate when it burns to the ground.)

Which will happen if it comes out that Solas put up the veil in the first place and took it down too. The Chantry either outright claims or strongly insinuates that the maker put up the veil. It’s the cornerstone of their entire faith. Also, in the story Genetivi Dies in the End in Tevinter Nights, Genetivi is absolutely wrecked by the discovery that everything he’s ever written as a travelling Chantry Scholar has been a lie. The Chantry is going down.

So, there’s gonna be some chaos there. And that’s not going to be Solas’s fault because that veil is coming down anyway.

And can you imagine the absolutely hilarious chaos that’s gonna happen when word leaks that an elven god-mage was the one who is technically the ‘maker’ by Chantry doctrine? With all the horrific racism and sheer awfulness the Chantry has done to elves over the centuries? I’m popping popcorn.

I think we’re gonna see Felassan again. Cause that elf isn’t dead. And no, Solas didn’t kill him. Please trust me, I’ve combed through all the lore, I’ve read The Masked Empire where it supposedly happened several times, and there is not a shred of actual proof that Solas was the one who did the deed. It’s a Weekes misdirection again. They've got the nickname Tricksy Weekes for a reason.

The actual facts about the 'murder'.

It was someone Felassan worked for.

Someone he knew.

Someone who he knew wouldn't listen to his reasoning. (Solas has been shown to actually listen to his friends and let them change his mind.)

Someone who could very likely have been female because Felassan likens the murderer to Brialla.

It was someone who could fade-walk or move in the fade.

Mythal can do that.

A Somniari/Dreamer can also fade-walk.

Probably most of the still extant Elvhenan can do it (which there were quite a few of in Mythal’s temple).

And we know from DA2 that at least one modern born Somniari/Dreamer exists in the world.

Point being, there’s no actual ‘Solas killed Felassan’ spelled out anywhere. No, not even in Cole's lines in Trespasser. Those lines only indicate that Solas knows about Felassan’s ‘death’ and that he’s sad about it. Cole talks in riddles and references to modern TV shows all the time. I have no idea why people take him even remotely literally.

I have a few theories about this.

IF Felassan’s spirit actually was killed in the fade (possible) his body wasn’t. His body would’ve been just lying there in the woods breathing like any other Somniari. Possibly made tranquil (which we know can be reversed).

What if Solas lost his original body in putting up the Veil?

What if he had a deal with Felassan or maybe came to Felassan to help him get back to his body after the attack and Felassan decided he was done and wanted to move on?

They're said to be friends. Never said to be employer/employee.

If Solas was awake and in the fade and sensed an attack on Felassan, he'd certainly have gone to help.

What if he gave his body to Solas?

Felassan's 'death' chronologically lines up to when Solas 'woke up'.

Felassan has purple eyes. So does Solas.

Felassan has fade-green magic. So does Solas.

Felassan is incredibly powerful. Stares at Solas.

Felassan knows far more about Fen'harel than even a scholar would.

Felassan knew far more about Eluvians, ancient Elvhenan, and The Forgotten Ones (Imshael is a Forgotten One) than anyone would reasonably expect any elf to know.

Felassan let Imshael see into his head about what was coming in the future. Which Imshael almost got off on. Imshael loves destruction and chaos.

I can make a list as long as my arm on similarities there. So, either Solas didn’t kill Felassan and the old? Felassan will be in the game once the veil falls, or it will be revealed that Solas has actually been wearing a (voluntary because a soul cannot take a body involuntarily) Felassan suit the entire time.

Probably blew some minds there, huh?

So given that Weekes has said that if Felassan was a popular enough character they would consider bringing him back… I think it’s likely we’ll see something to do with him again.

Also? The sheer hilarity factor of elves who do not want magic (Fenris anyone?) getting magic returned to them is going to be sweet.

I think we’ll see blood magic as a much bigger mechanic than in previous games. (And I hope they did some work on it to make it make more sense this time.) The game is going to have a lot of Tevinter content. Blood magic is a big deal there. Ergo… it’s likely.

Given some of the things that happened in Tevinter Nights, which honestly really feels like a teaser book to DA4 (I really hate the Veilguard name) I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Templars again. They’ve been in every game and book so far. I doubt they’d get rid of the useless bastards in this one.

Given some of the things in Tevinter Nights, I think it’s possible we’ll see just as many puzzles as we did in DAI, if not more. I’m hoping for more. I do love puzzles in these kinds of games.

I believe it’s highly possible that whoever drank from the Well is going to be completely fucked. Especially, if they follow a ‘kill Solas’ route. Remember who the well binds you to in Trespasser? Bingo.

I think it’s very likely that someone close to the main character is going to be a dual agent of Fen’harel. And it will not be someone we expect. We’re all gonna be side eyeing the mages after the last three games. But what if it’s a warrior or rogue who hides their magic? There was at least one character that completely hid their magic in Tevinter Nights.

We’re going to see more of the Evanuris and The Nameless/Forgotten ones. I base that on Imshael being in DAI and in Masked Empire and some of the dialogue between Felassan and Imshael.

Titans. We’re going to see the titans waking up and being royally pissed off. This is going to cause so much chaos for the dwarves. Who will also regain magic and a kinda creepy hive-mind thing, too. Again. That’s not going to be Solas’s fault.

We’ll have at least one Gala event. Very possibly in Minrathous or Vyrantium. Hopefully with better clothing.

Finally, for things I think likely… The Grand Necropolis in Nevarra is gonna burn. People seem to forget that Solas doesn’t just fight for the freedom of the Elves. He fights for the freedom of spirits too.

In case you haven’t read it… the Nevarran’s imprison spirits in the corpses of their dead using mages called the Mortalitasi. I really don’t think that is going to sit well with Solas. In fact, I know it doesn’t. It’s spelled out in Tevinter Nights.

I think it’s probably going to be a quest line for the main character to go and save the necropolis or let it burn to free the spirits. This, of course, will be one of the choices that matter and likely another pinch point on whether Solas goes dark or gets a redemption arc. It will also deeply affect Nevarran politics and the way the country is run. The Mortalitasi basically rule the monarchs of Nevarra sooooo. It’s gonna cause chaos there too.

We’ll obviously see a lot of chaos with the Qunari. Their culture is splintering already. The Antaam have decided to go off the rails and attack anything and everything. Maybe the Ben-Hassrath will be able to rein that in. Maybe not. I don’t have very many predictions on the Qunari to be honest. They’re at war with Tevinter at the end of Tevinter Nights so that war will figure heavily in the game, most likely. But how that’s going to play out I haven’t a clue.

Some mechanics I think we might see.

Fade-touched weaponry that can stop mages.

Elemental interactions. (IE: Magic lightning x water = lots of zap)

Magically treated arrows.

More magical bombs and poison effects. (I might be just wishfully dreaming there because one of the things I miss from DAO is the poisons and traps mechanics. They felt like an afterthought in DA2 and DAI. I want to be able to make cool traps and set up ambushes again.) But there was that story with Dorian in Tevinter Nights where several of those things were used, so maybe? It would be cool.

I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Despair Demon from Tevinter Nights. And I’m still so mad that they fired the writer of that story. It’s one of my favourites.

Some things that are very possible? But I’m not sure of and could just be wishful thinking.

I think we might see Abelas again. (Abelas romance? Pretty please? ❌😭) His story does have one of those endings that kills him so it’s possibly just wishful thinking. But they brought Leliana back for DAI, so I don’t see why they couldn’t with Abelas too. And also, I have a voice kink and love his VA Matthew Gravelle.

We might see non-linear storytelling. I kind of hope we do because I love non-linear storytelling. Perhaps one storyline will be Arlathan (through dreams or time travel perhaps?) and the fall of it so we finally get some answers to all of this lore. (Please let us get some answers!)

We may see some problems from a rather irrational faction of people who say they’re working for Solas but are using methods he would never approve of. They may be sort of like the Venatori in the last game. Though I do think it’s likely we might have to fight a few more of the Venatori too. ✅ They’re still out there having really messed up rituals and stuff to destroy things.

I think it’s possible given a few clues in the lore and in Tevinter Nights that we’re either going to see not just a double blight (regular darkspawn and red lyrium darkspawn) but a triple blight with the green/yellow lyrium found in Ghilan'nain’s labs. Remember that Ramesh only destroyed one of them. There are eleven more. I think that’s going to very possibly be a big part of this game.

Settings/Levels/Areas I think likely.

So, we already know that the game will be taking place in the north of THEDAS. That’s a no brainer after the map reveal in the teaser.

But where exactly will they take us?

In Tevinter, I think it’s very possible we’ll see Minrathous ✅ and Vyrantium. We may see the Black Divine’s/Archon’s palace.

We’ll see Arlathan Forest. ✅ That I’m almost certain of. We’ll probably also see ancient Arlathan somehow. (Dreams or barely used time-travel mechanic from DAI?)

We’re going to be spending a lot of time in the deep roads and even farther below the deep roads. And dear developers please let me have some answers to all this lore.

We may spend some time inside a Titan again.

Pre-veil drop, we may spend some time in the fade. I actually hope that with the veil dropping we get to rescue whoever got left behind in DAI. That would make my heart so happy.

We’re likely to see the crossroads at least a little bit.

Antiva! Gods I’m looking forward to seeing Antiva.

Anderfels/Weisshaupt. We have no idea at the end of DAI or Tevinter Nights or Last Flight what the hell is going on up there, so I think we’ll have to find out in the game. Also… more chaos that is most definitely not Solas’s fault.

Rivain?

I think we’ll see the Golden City. And the Black City. Which is likely the same place.

And I don’t think it’s up in the sky. I think it’s deep underground below the deep roads.

Ships! I think we’re going to see some more ships. That’s based on a story in Tevinter nights and some of the splash art. But gods I really want more ships. Especially in a place like Minrathous or Antiva for fuck’s sake!

I think we might see some underwater levels for various reasons. And I hope we do.

These next things are honestly my hopes and dreams that would make me so happy, but I have little to back them up with as far as lore or books/comics and supplementary materials.

Polyamory options. PLEASE give me polyam romance options. BG3 did it. It’s 2024 and only 30% of dating people are monogamous. Get with the times!

I want CC body sliders so bad. ✅ Give me the ability to make a fat player character please! Not just because a lot of gamers tend to be on the heavier side but honestly? Because a fat adventurer is going to be able to go farther than any skinny twig. Real strong men/women/enbies do not look like gym bunnies and models. They have a good layer of fat over that muscle for stability. Guess what fat is? It’s energy storage. A fat adventurer is going to be able to survive longer than a twig. I could go on… but come on Bioware. Be brave. Let me have a fat adventurer.

Decent. Fucking. Hair. ✅ Please let the CC have decent hair options. LONG hair options! Let me have my long haired elfy prince dude!

Isabela cameo. She’s one of my favourite DA2 characters and some of the early splash art makes me hopeful we’ll see her again.

I’m hoping for DAO origin style stories for the Main Player Character. But ideally? We’d have something like BG3 where we could play one of a number of origin stories or make our own blank slate character. ❌ Given the gossip going around the gaming community I’m thinking this is unlikely, but damn do I want it.

Useful. Mounts. Please let us have actually useful mounts. And GRIFFONS. ✅ Give me flying mounts you cowards!

Prosthetic using characters. ✅ Bioware has the worst track record when it comes to ableism, but gods please. They’ve got it set up perfectly with Inky losing their arm. There’s a prosthetic leg user in Tevinter Nights. PLEASE LET ME HAVE PROSTHETIC USING CHARACTERS.

Better Crafting Options. The crafting was okay in DAI. Especially if you mod it in so you can buy the stuff to do so easier (I really hate killing dragons but it’s the best crafting material!). But it also often felt more like an afterthought?

Better. Clothes. Seriously. Give me some razzle dazzle with the clothing. ESPECIALLY since we’re going to Tevinter where how you dress is absolutely important!

I know this is sniffing the genie smoke here, but could we have actually attractive armour options? With BRIGHT colours? Research shows that a lot of historical armour was 1. Gorgeous and well fitting. 2. Brightly painted! Let me have bright colours! (And please not the yellow plaid. Ugh.)

I hope for more gardening options in whatever base we end up using. I loved the gardening options in DAI, but they weren’t big enough for my plant loving heart.

I really want to see Solas in flying Wolfie form. We see him like that in Tevinter Nights. So, I really hope we get to see him like that in game.

Finally… and I know I’m high on my own hopes here… I really hope we get the gifting options back. Completely unattached to approval is fine. I just want to be able to find the perfect gift for my companions like I do in real life with my friends. It brings me so much joy.

Things they’re likely to fuck up.

Sadly, I think there’s some things Bioware is very likely to fuck up. This could just be me being too pessimistic, but they’ve screwed these things up throughout the entire series and to my knowledge they didn’t hire any diversity consultants in the making of DA4 sooooo…

Ableism. Bioware has a terrible record when it comes to ableism. ✅ (the demon design is going to cause visual strain and possibly bad effects for epileptic gamers).

White-washing. The North of THEDAS is like the South of Earth. If they make most of the people there have light skin I will probably boycott the fuck out of Bioware for the rest of my life.

No fat character ability in CC.

Really fucked up hair options. Seriously Bioware. It’s bad.

And I think they’re going to be in trouble when it comes to the Lords of Fortune. Look. I love the idea of the class and I even love how a lot of them are described in the books. But it’s absolutely glomming onto the stereotype of the Romani, and I don’t think that’s going to go over well at all. It won’t for me with my Romani heritage, and it really shouldn’t for anyone. Cause you know what that stereotypical usage is? It’s Racism. Bioware also doesn’t have the best track record regarding racism either.

As more thoughts come to me I’ll either append stuff to this post or do others (probably the latter.)

And here are my links if you’d like to donate to the cause of me actually getting to play this game when it comes out. I’m disabled, so largely use a laptop because I’m in bed a lot. That’s probably going to be a pricey laptop. Though I’d be almost as happy with enough to buy a desk, chair, and tower computer set up (none of which I have). If you’re able to donate and so minded… thank you so very very much!

And if you're in Canada like me you can use Interac. Kaija.rayne.author@gmail.com.

As always, thanks for reading my rambles!

[lingering-42-long]

Plsssss

Request: Alejandro x F/Reader.

Idea: the reader is a newcomer who recently joined the Vaqueros, she has difficulties with Spanish and spends more time alone, but Alejandro stays close to her and the two begin to have a relationship in secret.

La carta

Alejandro Vargas x female reader

Thank you so much for this request Anon! The story is short, but sweet. Spanish is rather difficult for many people, including myself (switched to Swedish). Enjoy!

Spanish was translated by using google translate. Somethings may be incorrect.

I wasn’t feeling this story, but it was in my WIPs and I needed to get it out.

Warnings: none, slight angst

When you first arrived at the base, you didn’t know what to expect. Obviously, you knew that a lot of Spanish was spoken. Coming from an area of your own hometown. In the states, where Spanish isn’t as spoken quite heavily as it is here, you were not as familiar with the dialect or the lingo. On some days, it was rather trickier than others, depending on who was speaking it could very between understanding common simple phrases to something more complex. This often lead you to get very frustrated. None of the people who you were talking to but at yourself. Oh sure you had the apps on your phone to help do what you can to translate the words that were being said and you also did lessons as well to help, but it didn’t seem like there was any improvement.

People told you that going to a country would help you understand the language better, but it only seems to cause more chaos than anything else. Sometimes it was just better to sit in your own room as soon as a job is done and to try to converse with everyone at the mess hall.

Alejandro had watched your behavior from the moment you arrived on base to help out too now. He was also very perceptive on you seeing that you were doing your best to engage yourself in whatever conversation was going on. But he also saw the struggle that you were having with connecting with the other soldiers. Some of the soldiers had also taken up the liking at light teasing on your behalf, knowing that you couldn’t understand the language. Whenever Alejandro heard this immediately put an end to it, which made them shut up immediately.

It was one of those particular days where you were sitting by yourself, enjoying your meal, while a small group of other soldiers were sitting a table away, gossiping about you. Alejandro usually likes to mingle with his own crew so walking around he noticed a small group before approaching them and giving them a hard look. “ so tell me why are we picking on her again?”

As soon as he spoke, they immediately shut up and looked down at their half eaten food. “ Sorry Sir it won’t happen again.”

“It better not and if I catch you doing it again there will be consequences”

Alejandro hated seeing people be brutal to one another, especially on his team. He picked the very best of the best and he was not about ready to have his own crew tarnish the name with another group. You had volunteered to come in to help. He decided to move over to where you were, and to sit down from you. “ I hope the special forces have been treating you well.” he looked at you.

“Oh, yes, sir! They’ve been, for the most part, decent. Still having a hard time understanding everyone though.” You gave a nervous chuckle as you continued on poking at your food, not knowing what to do in the presence of the commander. “ yes, that must be rather difficult…. If you wish I could potentially help you with some of the lingo around I understand that it can be rather difficult.” he smiled at her.

“ I would really appreciate it, sir but you don’t have to spend your time wasting it on me. Honestly, I can figure it out on my own.”

“Nonsense! You would not be wasting my time maybe after lunch you can head to my office and I can give you some documents to look over and you can do your best to decipher them” Alejandro wanted to help this new recruit. It felt odd for you. You were so used to doing things without the need our help with the commanding officer. You’re always told to do and to figure things out by yourself as that builds character. This new approach of somebody helping you was unique.

“Then sir, I will be more than happy to see you after lunch” you smile as he got up to continue his rounds.

“ good! See you around two?”

“yes, sir.” You nodded.

“ all right then, enjoy your meal” and once again, Alejandro carried on with talking with the other staff and soldiers.

It was around two when you finally were able to make it to his office. He brushed off any invisible dirt that was on your uniform before knocking on the door.

“Come in” his voice muffled from the wall.

You open the door and stepped into his office. It was a clean space with a large wooden desk with the Mexican flag pinned to the wall. A few small trophies and medals hung on their placards but overall it was pretty scarce. Not much to give away than any other desk or office that was on base. The name plaque was the only real thing that separated him from the others, with the golden letters spelling Colonel Alejandro Vargas.

You sat down on the chair across from him and waited for him to speak. Alejandro was reading some papers before handing them to her. “Can you read this?” He asked, allowing her to see what was written.

You shook your head, “no sir, I see a few words I’m familiar with but full sentences.”

He hummed “Ok then, let’s start with the basics… Hola, como estas?” He asked.

You smiled “that means hello, how are you.”

“¡Muy bien!” He smiled “now when you want to respond, you can say, Estoy bien, witch means I am good. Or Estoy mal, witch means I am bad witch can be used for in place of not feeling good.”

“Ok.” You took mental note.

As it to begin building a closer and closer, with Alejandro, helping her with her Spanish, practicing at least two hours a day, the two begin to develop a very close relationship. There was talk amongst the other staff about how close the two were, but most were pretty much shut up by Rudy. He was the only one who knew how close the colonel was attached to this new girl.

You were sitting in your dorm. You knew where the relationship was going. You had a suspicion for a while, that Alejandro was potentially showing.

Sighing, she got up and walked to the mess hall. A place, especially during this night would allow her to think. Most people were asleep, so it was quiet. Just as she was sitting down, a figure appeared. “Hola mi querida ¿Despierta tan tarde?” The figure, by now was recognized as Alejandro, asked as he was making his nightly rounds from his office to his own quarters. “Oh- sorry sir you startled me.”

“My dear… you know you don’t need to call me that.”

“I know…” you sighed “someone is going to catch us… this is getting dangerous Ale”

Without second thought, Alejandro hugged her. “My love, I won’t let them find out.”

“It takes one word… then it’s over for both of us.” Tears formed on your eyes.

Alejandro gently kissed her and cupped her cheek. “Trust me, my dove”

“I do but… I worry.” You sighed.

“ Listen just go to bed everything will be all right” he continued on rocking her in his arms.

After a few minutes of them, just being together, she separated yourself “good night Alejandro”

“Good night mi corazón” he responded sweetly as he let her go.

You made your way back to your bedroom. There was a plan in mind. You couldn’t be here you couldn’t risk hurting both of you and Alejandro’s reputation. You had given Rudy a letter to give to Alejandro in the morning.

In the morning, Rudy delivered the letter to his friend and Colonel. Alejandra open the letter, and it read: “ To my Love, i’m so sorry to do this. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn’t know how I know this is going to break your heart and our trust but I feel like this is the best option. I got called to work in another division. I know this is very painful for both of us just as our relationship was starting…. But because I love you so much I didn’t want you to suffer. Our relationship was very risky and I didn’t want us to suffer from it. I love you so much Ale… please remember that. Love, (y/n)”

Alejandro closed the letter and stared outside. Love was hard, he knew that… he wished he had done things differently, maybe then she would have stayed. Maybe he could find her, but for now he needed to be by himself.

[dusty-ghost]

My other OC, Rannveig, Rann for short. (The character concept was created with an eye on multiplayer).

Casteless dwarf, rogue/berserker, former member of Carta, former member of the Order of the Ash Warriors. Now a free mercenary and agent of the Inquisition under Commander Cullen.

Born in Dust Town, so she has a tattoo of the Carta coat of arms all over her back. This dwarf is not a fan of half measures.

A stern lady, she will kick down the door of a burning hut and set a horse on a barbecue. Hot-tempered, jealous, vengeful and quick to punish. An apologist for gray morality, to put it very mildly. Without question, she will take on the dirtiest and most immoral work if the customer has enough coins. However, she does not approve of senseless violence, but she does not interfere either.

And despite all of the above, she will not spare her own or someone else's life for the sake of someone who has earned her trust (which is damn hard). Proof of this is her faithful mabari Blighteater, who escaped from the order with the dwarf. For her partner's sake, Rann will spare no one.

[lavared]

⚔️ BRÆNRYN BROSCA ⚔️

-

Race: Commoner Dwarf, Casteless

Class: Rogue (Dual Weapon)

Specialization: Duelist

Affiliations: the Carta, Grey Wardens, Orzammar Royal Family, Ferelden Royal Court

Titles: Brænryn the Duster, The Warden, Hero of Ferelden, Paragon Brænryn

Personality: Wary, Brusque, Quick-Witted, Protective, Non-judgemental

Memorable Quotes: “Can I get you a ladder, so you can get off my back?!”

(Details under the cut)

⚔️ ⚔️⚔️

Three styles, three different life stages. 

First one: The Warrior Traveller’s ‘Fit 

Key Words: practical, medium weight, no-fuss, dark tones 

This is what I imagine Brosca looking like after the Joining ritual and for a good part of the game. The beginning of her journey is all slashing, crippling, and traveling on foot, so I needed to get her a look that is functional (allegedly) and with no frills. I needed to make a mishmash of in-game armor parts to get something I could picture her wearing for real. 

It could have been worse, 3/5 stars.

-

Second one: The Fereldian Court Jester 

Key Words: cheap elegance, military influences, brighter colors, poofy

The special occasions look. You can see her wearing this on a diplomatic encounter with the Arl or during a war council with her allies on a cold winter day in Ferelden. I needed to elevate a basic tunic + pants + boots combo by adding more details and faking a more refined fabric for the blouse. I wanted to play on the contrast between modest and expensive, but it was my greatest goal to make her look a bit on the gaudy and tacky side. Being classy is not her forte. 

2/5 stars, but bonus points for trying to look the part. A generous 3/5 stars score.

-

Third one: The Seasoned Veteran 

Key Words: subtle patterns, better fit, souvenirs, mismatched armor

She’s a grown-up now. She’s a Commander, she’s a Paragon, she’s an Icon, she’s a Legend, she’s the Moment (not really, but still). Instead of letting her go full-blown diva, I let her crawl back to her roots. The tunic + pants + boots combo is her uniform, and you won’t catch her wearing anything else, but this time you can find new and old elements added to it. I picture her collecting and looting trinkets, materials, fabrics, and pieces of armor around Thedas, and combining them with what she already owns. She doesn’t fight that much at this point compared to her Blight days, so she skips on the medium armor. 

It’s nice, it’s cute, but it could have been better. 3/5 stars.

⚔️ ⚔️⚔️

I wrote a post narrating in detail why I chose to dress her like this, but it’s so long it’s basically an essay. I’m not bothering you with that, you have a life to care about lol All you need to know is that I needed to recreate the Grey Warden Armour/Uniform color scheme to be consistent with the lore and display her unhealthy obsession for the color blue

[nevzatboyraz44]

FAREWELL SERMON

(Prophet of Islam Muhammad (pbuh))

The first text that can be counted as a declaration of human rights in the history of the world is the Farewell Sermon.

So, what is the hadith that an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab?

What are the ingredients of the Farewell Sermon?

Our Prophet In his Farewell Sermon, Muhammad called out to all humanity:

You will definitely not do these four things.

Your Lord is one.

Your father is one too.

You are all Adam's children, and Adam is from the earth.

Just as an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, and a non-Arab over an Arab;

Red skinned people have no superiority over black, and black has no superiority over red skinned people.

ARAB HAS NO SUPERIORITY TO NON-ARAB

The first text that can be counted as a declaration of human rights in the history of the world is the Farewell Sermon.

As it is known, shortly before his death, the Prophet gave a historical speech to 124 thousand people in Mecca in 632 AD.

The first human rights declaration proclaimed in the West is the Magna Carta dated 1215.

583 years after the Farewell Sermon.

The UN Declaration of Human Rights is dated 1948.

Our Prophet During the Farewell pilgrimage, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) addressed all humanity in the person of 124 thousand Muslims in the middle of the Arafat Valley on his camel named Kaswa after his death on Friday, 9 Dhu al-Hijjah

(9 Dhu al-Hijjah 10 H./8 March 632 M. Friday).

He addressed Muslims and all humanity as follows:

Do not return to perversions

"O people!

Listen carefully! I don't know, maybe I won't be able to meet you here again after this year.

People!

Just as today is a holy day, just as these months are holy months, just as this city (Mecca) is a blessed city, so are your lives, property and honor, they are protected from all kinds of rape.

My Companions! You will surely meet your Lord.

He will also question you for what you did.

Do not return to the old perversions after me and do not hit each other's necks!

My Companions!

Whoever has a trust with him should immediately give it to its owner.

Be aware that all forms of interest have been abolished. God has ordained so.

The first interest I removed is the interest of Abdulmutallib's son (my uncle) Abbas.

But your principal is yours.

You have neither persecuted nor suffered persecution.

My Companions!

Pay attention, all the customs from ignorance have been removed, they are under my feet.

The blood feuds waged during the Age of Ignorance were also completely abolished.

The first blood feud I abolished is that of Abdulmuttalib's grandson, Iyas bin Rabia.

O people!

Surely the devil has given up hope of worshiping him in your land.

But if you follow him in your small works, it will also please him.

O people!

I advise you to observe the rights of women and to fear Allah in this regard.

You have taken women as a trust from Allah and you have made their honor lawful for yourselves by Allah's command.

You have rights over women and women have rights over you.

Your right over women; they do not let anyone trample your bed, and they do not let people you do not like into your homes without your permission.

If they let a person into your house whom you did not allow to come, Allah has allowed you to leave them alone in their beds and at least lightly beat them and warn them.

The rights of women over you are that you provide food and clothing according to legitimate customs.

I leave you two relics

I leave you two relics, you will not go astray as long as you hug them and follow them.

Those relics are the book of Allah, the Qur'an, and the Sunnah of the Prophet.

Believers!

Do you listen to me and good memory!

A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim, and thus all Muslims are brothers.

Neither his brother's blood nor his property is halal for a Muslim.

But if he gave the property to the heart pleasantness it is another.

Your Lord is one.

Your father is one too.

You are all Adam's children, and Adam is from the earth.

Just as an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, and a non-Arab over an Arab;

Red skinned people have no superiority over black, and black has no superiority over red skinned people.

Superiority is only in taqwa, fearing Allah.

Be careful!

You will definitely not do these four things:

You shall not associate anything with Allah.

- You shall not unjustly kill a soul that Allah has made unlawful and inviolable.

- You shall not commit adultery.

- You will not steal.

[inquisimer]

I was tagged by @dungeons-and-dragon-age and @shivunin to create my OCs in this picrew, and their swords in this picrew! Thank you both - this was super fun! I love a good item picrew :3

these are definitely a mix of Actual Swords and Vibes, even for the OCs who actually use swords

Siobhan Hawke - no actual sword use, completely vibes, I just love her so much I couldn't leave her out. All black for Kirkwall, dripping with blood and chains for Symbolism and more Kirkwall

Nika Brosca - a dual wielder, so actual sword use! But the design, particularly the glowy lyrium blade, is all vibes. The hilt wrapped up in fabric with scraps hanging off the end is allllll dust town though. My scrappy Carta girl :3

Ariya Tabris - sword use Optional™️, only when she can't get her hands on proper daggers or an axe, until she has Vigilance. The design here is mostly vibes, especially the black vines up the blade for the Blight.

Ciel Andras - (everyone: Andras? me: the orlesian warden commander that bioware forgot ;-;) my Actual Sword user, a sword and board warrior! The sword here is literal, silverite for the blade and blue on the hilt and grip for the Wardens. Plus the hilt that I thought was close enough to Wing Imagery without being butterfly wings, and the black veins in the blade for, you guessed it, Blight Symbolism.

Ember Cousland - another dual wield sword user (sensing a type here hmmmm) and it's definitely with her family's sword no I don't care that the stats bottom out so fast. The hilt design here is to represent that, with the mirrored wheat design of the Cousland heraldry, but the on-fire blade is 100% vibes, a representation of her vengeance against the Howes.

tagging forward to: @leggywillow | @exalted-dawn | @rosella-writes | @wheat-and-wheat-by-products | @midmorninggrey |

and @thiefbird have fun friends!!

[spanishskulduggery]

hello

i found a sentence that said "aquí te espero" which translate to "i'll wait for you here" and i wanted to know why

i read the sentence literally as "here you i wait for," so i ended up understanding the meaning eventually, but i see sentences like this a lot where the literal english translation seems to be "backwards" from the original Spanish.

what grammar rule makes it so that "aquí" and "te" are both before "espero" and when (if ever) is that rule broken, and how?

In Spanish the syntax [word order] has a lot of variability, but there are some rules at play here

I would say it's easier to think of it like this: in Spanish there's the subject and the predicate. The predicate is a whole entire bunch of words not just the verb. The subject has much more freedom, and can appear in different places. But the predicate has more specific rules.

A short example and I'll explain more below:

Hago eso. = I do that. Lo hago. = I do it. Yo lo hago. = I am the one who does that. Lo hago yo. = /I/ am the one who does that.

The yo has a lot of freedom to appear or not appear, and it can change places depending on emphasis. However, you'll notice that the lo can only appear before the hago

That's what I mean by the predicate having specific rules. Object pronouns have specific rules and can't appear just anywhere.

Your adverbs and the actual subjects are freer than the object pronouns; so they can be wherever for emphasis

So to answer your question:

Te espero aquí. = I'm waiting for you here. Aquí te espero. = Here is where I will wait for you.

The second one sounds a bit more emphatic or perhaps poetic to me personally, but not incorrect. It doesn't entirely sound natural for English-speakers but Spanish has a lot of freedom in its syntax.

Now the grammar...

First, the te.

The te is an object marker [I think it's a direct object pronoun if I'm not mistaken]

Without going into too much detail on the actual grammar, there are direct objects [the things that receive the action], indirect objects [to whom or for whom something is done], and the pronomials which are typically reflexive markers [a reflexive is when the subject and object are the same; like lavar el piso "to wash the floor" vs. lavarse "to wash oneself"]

Again, very quickly just for the sake of explanation:

Direct objects -> me, te, lo / la, los / las, nos, os

Indirect objects -> me, te, le, les, nos, os

Pronomials/Reflexives -> me, te, se, nos, os

According to the general rules for word order, if you have one conjugated verb, your object pronouns will ALWAYS go before the verb:

Lo quiero. = I want it. [direct object] Me gusta. = I like it. [indirect object; lit. "it pleases me"] Me siento. = I am sitting down. [reflexive, from sentarse] Me siento (bien/alegre/triste). = I am feeling (good/happy/sad). [reflexive, from sentirse; which in yo looks like sentarse but otherwise they conjugate differently]

This also applies to when you're using indirect + direct objects, and reflexive + direct objects. And that's the order they follow. I learned to memorize it by ID and R&D as a learning device:

Te mando el paquete. = I'm sending you the package. Te lo mando. = I am sending it to you. Te mando la carta. = I'm sending you the letter. Te la mando. = I am sending it to you. Me lavo las manos. = I wash my hands. Me las lavo. = I wash them. Me pongo la camisa. = I am putting on the shirt. Me la pongo. = I am putting it on. Me quito el sombrero. = I am taking off the hat. Me lo quito. = I am taking it off. [lit. me lavo las manos is "I wash myself the hands"; because if it's reflexive it can only be "my own" hands. If you washed someone else's hands that's a different construction]

*Note: In their infinitive forms [the dictionary forms; hablar, comer, vivir etc. - an unconjugated verb], the reflexive ones end in -se. This is especially true if they change meaning; levantar "to raise" or "to lift" vs. levantarse "to get up" or "to stand up"

This same order also applies to commands... for example cómpralo is "buy it" made up of attaching the lo to a conjugation of comprar "to buy". You could make it indirect for cómprale "buy it for him/her". And as a reflexive (or possibly indirect) + direct object command - cómpratelo "buy it for yourself"

...

Where you see more variation for object pronouns is when you have one conjugated verb and one unconjugated verb

You have two options: everything in front, or attach it all to the unconjugated verb:

Lo quiero comprar. = I want to buy it. Quiero comprarlo. = I want to buy it. Le voy a mandar la carta. = I am going to send him/her the letter. Voy a mandarle la carta. = I am going to send him/her the letter. No se van a acordar de eso. = They aren't going to remember that. No van a acordarse de eso. = They aren't going to remember that.

...I'm also purposefully not mentioning indirect 3rd person + indirect 3rd person because the indirect object le/les turns to se when you have lo/la used and it's annoying but if you'd like more information:

Anatomy of Spanish: Direct Objects

Anatomy of Spanish: Indirect Objects

~

Same also applies if you end up using a progressive [verbs typically ending in -ando, -iendo, or sometimes -yendo]

La estás asustando. = You're scaring her. Estás asustándola. = You're scaring her. Les sigo contando la historia. = I keep telling them the story. / I continue to tell them the story. Sigo contándoles la historia. = I keep telling them the story. / I continue to tell them the story. Se están enamorando. = They're falling in love. Están enamorándose. = They're falling in love.

You may also find multiple verbs chained together and same rule applies:

No te puedo seguir mintiendo. = I can't keep lying to you. No puedo seguir mintiéndote. = I can't keep lying to you.

...

In general I'd say whichever you choose is valid. Sometimes one is regionally preferred, though at least where I am in the US it's more common to add your object pronouns at the very end if there's multiple verbs, especially if there's a lot of them

Note: In a negative construction that the no or negation word comes before any object pronoun or verb; this is just to make it clear that the whole thing is negative

-

Second, the adverbs. Adverbs have much more changeability than object pronouns, but they generally follow patterns.

Adverbs typically come at the very beginning of the clause or at the very end of it

In this case "here" is an adverb [describing the "waiting"]

You could say either te espero aquí or aquí te espero

It's the difference between "I'll wait for you here" and "here I will wait"

The more words or adverbs or expressions you add, the more you can add variation - often with commas:

Te estaré esperando aquí mismo. = I will be waiting for you right here. Estaré esperándote aquí mismo. = I will be waiting for you right here. Te espero esta noche. = I'll wait for you tonight. Esta noche te espero. = Tonight I'll wait for you. Ya no te puedo esperar. = I can't wait for you anymore. Ya no puedo esperarte. = I can't wait for you anymore. No puedo seguir esperándote. = I can't keep waiting for you. No te puedo seguir esperando. = I can't keep waiting for you. Aquí mismo, y con muchas ganas, te espero. = Right here, with great excitement/anticipation, I'm waiting for you. Te estoy esperando aquí mismo en el jardín. = I'm waiting for you right here in the garden. Estoy esperándote, aquí y ahora, en el jardín. = I'm waiting for you, right here right now, in the garden. Aquí y ahora y con muchas ganas te espero. = Right here and now, I'm eagerly awaiting you.

I have personally found that the more verbs you add, the more you find it all attached to the verb in the end.

And so on. You get the idea. Some constructions are more popular than others, but all make sense and are considered valid in context.

The te and its placement has strict rules, but everything else is kind of loose. You'll notice that te is always attached to the verb, either right before it or right after it depending on if there are other verbs.

I find that in these kinds of expressions it's all about what you feel is right and what you feel emphasizes the right thing. Spanish is very flexible.

[vigilskeep]

hi SO evrion is my first attempt at designing bonus dragon age companions for funsies. he is for da2

he’s a dual-wielding rogue and his specialisation is “renegade templar”, split between templar and assassin talents. raised by the chantry and trained as a templar, he was once a highly efficient apostate hunter, but in a mysterious incident he cut ties with the order. in act 1 you find him begrudgingly working as a mercenary for the carta to supply himself with black market lyrium. finally drawing the line, he enlists hawke’s help in stopping his carta bosses from making a deal with a band of tevinter slavers. during the quest, it will be revealed that one of the captured slaves is a terrified mage, and evrion will let them go and tell them to get as far away from kirkwall as they can. at the end of the quest, evrion is clearly uncertain what to do next, and hawke can either tell him to get lost or recruit him to the party (i will dress up the details of this quest but this is the rough basics)

if recruited, you’ll later discover that evrion is the son of a circle mage, taken away by the chantry at birth. he left the templars—smashing up a phylactery chamber as he went, leading to a handful of escapes that his fellow templars are slow to forgive—after finding out the knight-commander had kept from him that one of the apostates he had hunted and brought back to be made tranquil was, unknowingly, his own mother. evrion regrets his past and is floundering for purpose after having been with the chantry all his life. on a friendship route, hawke can encourage him to make amends for what he has done and define his own future. on a rivalry route, hawke can argue with him that he can’t change who he is and his old ways were, however unfortunate, necessary. only on 100% rivalry will he stand with hawke if they side with the templars during the last straw

personality wise, evrion is soft-spoken and serious, generally conciliatory, often self-deprecating but not a pushover and rarely taken off guard, with a quiet wry sense of humour, though he is usually funny in response to someone rather than of his own volition. i would love him to be conceptually romanceable but you’re going to have to give me some development time on that

[gremoria411]

A twofer today, just some general impressions on the ASW-G-16 Gundam Zepar (left) and the AWS-G-61 Gundam Zagan. I still haven’t watched Urdr hunt unfortunately, so I’ll be mostly talking about Zagan’s design, as opposed to anything that goes on in-series.

Another reason I’m pairing these together is because they’re both Post Disaster Gundam units, that have a two-syllable name beginning with a Z and a serial number that has a 6 in it. I’ve been able to remember them by the fact that the Zepar is Zippy. And that the Zagan has nothing to do with Carl Sagan.

Moving on from naming conventions, what do I think of them? Starting with the Zagan, I like the weight it brings to the table, it feels like it could compete with other heavyweights without much difficulty, essentially functioning as a giant can-opener to the mobile armours. It should be noted that with the possible exception of Agnika Kaeru himself, the Issues were the most prolific killer of Mobile Armours during the Calamity War. Presumably some of that was by dint of its pilot, but the Zagan cannot be discounted. It’s possible the apparent focus on defence aided in its survivability, enabling it to cope with battles of attrition better, functioning as an anvil to the other Gundam Frames’ hammer. It’s also possible that it’s missing some armament, since the hands are free. I know there’s precedent for knuckledusters in IBO, but it only being armed with the shields feels a little odd.

The design specifically reminds me of the Gremory (most likely the armour) and the Abyss Gundam from Seed Destiny (colouration and bulk, though I always remember it bigger than it actually is)

The Zepar I have considerably less to say on - it’s a nice design, agile and suited to closing the distance and stabbing things, but I do want to talk about it in relation to House Kujan, Specifically Iok Kujan.

Iok is……hm. He’s essentially a perfect example of somebody you don’t want in command. He’s a twit, and furthermore, he’s a dangerous twit, since his actions have a tendency to backfire on literally everyone besides himself. But let’s walk back a little. Who is Iok in relation to the story?

Iok Kujan is the heir to House Kujan of Gjallarhorn’s Seven Stars, the Seven Noble Families that wield the most power in Gjallarhorn, as McGillis, Gaelio, Carta and Rustal are to each of their houses (and of course Nemo, Elek and Gargin, but they’re less focused on). He only ascended to the position fairly recently, but everyone has high hopes for him since his late father was beloved.

Unfortunately, he’s really bad at it. He’s reckless, callous of those he’s fighting against and is absolutely unable to recognise his own failures.

@wordsandrobots has done an excellent analysis on Iok which I’m just going to link to here, since it’s very good:

But the crux of Iok is that he represents a great many of the failings of nobility - he’s incompetent, he’s unqualified and he displays a lack of care for how his actions effect others - not out of malice, but out of stupidity. He is a walking talking, killing example of how promoting based on blood rather than ability is such a poor idea.

But then look at the Zepar. Look at how it stands, how it moves. There’s a poise to it, an elegance, a sense of nobility. It’s armed with a sword and shield - simple, yes, but something that focuses on defence, on protection. Even the way it fights seems to be in pushing the enemy away from something, protecting it. So I would say that if Iok is representative of the realities of nobility - the incompetence and disregard for others, then the Zepar is the romanticisation of it - of a noble, red-armoured knight who would protect the people. It also represents how far the Kujan family has come since the Calamity War - Once a great and loved pilot who fought at the frontlines using a Gundam Frame, to a lacking and foolish one who fights from the rear and has to be bailed out at the cost of his subordinates lives. (I know Iok’s father didn’t pilot the Zepar, but it ties in with the theme of Iok being the end result of a lineage, rather than the beginnings).

It also draws attention to the Gjallarhorn’s meritocratic roots - Embrilla Kujan was able to slay multiple mobile armours using this machine, whereas Iok is too blinded by his own self-importance to recognise the threat that they pose, to the point he severely underestimates what it will take to kill one.

[fantasyinvader]

My thinking on Mikazuki changed recently.

See, I remember when the show was airing that the Japanese were calling him the evil Gundam protagonist online, and Mikazuki's whole "I want to protect my friends" bit falls short when Mikazuki pushed Orga to go down the path they did. But I also thought, when a young Mikazuki met Atra, he shared his food with her and helped her get a job at the store off the streets. Considering McGillis would steal bad apples as part of his backstory, it serves as a contrast. It showed that there was a kind side to Mikazuki, a character who later be revealed to enjoy killing.

But then I thought of the scene where young Mika killed a guy for Orga's sake, the moment Mikazuki considers his birth. It's implied that rather than stealing food, Orga tried to steal money, got caught and Mikazuki shot the guy in order to protect Orga from further beating. Then Orga says when he saw Mikazuki do this, he believed that if he had Mikazuki at his side he could do anything, so he promised to lead Mikazuki to a happy ending if Mika followed him.

Orga then led Mikazuki into being a child soldier, while Orga talked about how he felt he had to live up to Mikazuki's expectations of him by doing all this cool, crazy shit. It's even said in the show that Mika doesn't do things he doesn't like or see the point to. Mika was willing to kill to help a friend, meanwhile Orga was making sure he had FUN doing so. Thinking about the implications of this, Orga is the one who caused Mika to develop an enjoyment towards killing.

The thing is with child soldiers, there is legally no difference between forcing kids to fight and recruiting kids. It's still considered exploitation, still considered a crime. In battles, while soldiers don't like killing child soldiers they're also not legally responsible for doing so. The commanders who use child soldiers are, and by that logic all the kids who died following Orga were HIS fault. Not his enemies, his. His idea that it's okay for Tekkadan to kill people because it's just business while seeking revenge for any of it's fallen is okay is just him not taking responsibility for his leadership. Orga recruiting kids from the streets when he should know they have no other options and then telling them if they want to they can leave at any time despite that means returning to those streets, possibly starving to death.

Mika tried to get Orga back on track after Biscuit's death, but Orga's "normal" is pretty fucked up, and that led to him telling his troops, a bunch of children, to do whatever it takes to win, to kill anyone who stands in their way, and that the fallen will be avenged. The director said that Merribit was right at the end of s1 when Orga did this, and in s2 we see that Orga can't control his men as a result (or even run the business) because they're holding him to his promise just like Mika did. And his promise to Mika was, in part, because he believed he could have a good life if Mika was by his side. Orga was exploiting Mika from the moment Mika views himself as being born, resulting in Mika being his attack dog (Shino himself called Mika an attack dog late in the show, and we also see Mika threaten violence to both Hush and Eugene for speaking out against Orga).

But, Orga doesn't realize how devoted Mika is to him even after throwing away the use of the entire right side of his body. Orga promised to make Mika's dreams a reality, kid wanted to be a farmer, and when those dreams became impossible Orga didn't have an "oh god, what have I done?" moment, he was just suprised at the dedication and kept going.

Mika is just another victim of Orga's. Which in turn influenced McGillis, who did have his hesitations with the coup due to his friendship with Gaelio and Carta but was swayed after seeing Mikazuki's power causing him to betray his friends. The fact is, Gaelio and Carta would have helped McGillis with reforming Gjallarhorn. Even Rustal only acted against McGillis because of the chaos McGillis spread since Rustal's whole thing is just maintaining order. The Dort workers were already trying to get smuggled weapons, he didn't want them to inspire more would-be terrorists and instead tried to make an example of them. Without Orga, McGillis likely wouldn't have gone through with his coup.

Likewise, Orga was the one who brought Kudelia to Teiwaz, where she entered into a partnership with them. The mafia, who the show says has slave mines, and she got their support just like Orga did. This allowed them to have greater influence on Mars, resulting in the ending where they use their influence to make Kudelia the leader of the planet as part of their plans for profitting on the now defenseless Mars. Kudelia abandoned her ideal of the independence groups banding together, turned her back on Terra Liberonius and turned a blind eye to Orga later having their leader killed while the group was arrested, and in the end basically put Mars under the control of Jupiter.

There's also the negative arcs of Tekkadan, or how Orga didn't listen to mob boss McMurdo and continued his association with McGillis. That led to both the Hashmal incident, as well as the Turbines being taken out as a consequence.

Orga… is the show's main villain imo, and the rest of Tekkadan are just like the Zeon troops in the original series. They're not bad people, they think they're fighting for a good cause but it's their leader who is the problem. It's like Nadi says, Tekkadan needed more people to call Orga out on his bullshit, as hypocritical as it was considering Nadi and the adults knew things weren't right but instead worked to try and help Tekkadan, not just blindly follow him. As a result, Orga became his own antithesis throwing kids into a meat grinder despite originally saying he made Tekkadan to protect them. But it was all him getting to that fabled goal, using the other kids as justification. He dies saving Ride, but Ride is unable to let his influence go and throws away a peaceful life to avenge Tekkadan.

And this just makes me pity Mikazuki, who died doing what he enjoyed so that others may escape. Orga is my hated Gundam character as a result now. I know he's the Yamcha of Gundam over his death meme, but Yamcha died a hero. Orga may have always been the villain, the real devil of Tekkadan.

[loving-n0t-heyting]

the enforcement clause (in the name of the king) of the magna carta is great:

"(61) SINCE WE HAVE GRANTED ALL THESE THINGS for God, for the better ordering of our kingdom, and to allay the discord that has arisen between us and our barons, and since we desire that they shall be enjoyed in their entirety, with lasting strength, for ever, we give and grant to the barons the following security:

"The barons shall elect twenty-five of their number to keep, and cause to be observed with all their might, the peace and liberties granted and confirmed to them by this charter.

"If we, our chief justice, our officials, or any of our servants offend in any respect against any man, or transgress any of the articles of the peace or of this security, and the offence is made known to four of the said twenty-five barons, they shall come to us - or in our absence from the kingdom to the chief justice - to declare it and claim immediate redress. If we, or in our absence abroad the chief justice, make no redress within forty days, reckoning from the day on which the offence was declared to us or to him, the four barons shall refer the matter to the rest of the twenty-five barons, who may distrain upon and assail us in every way possible, with the support of the whole community of the land, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, or anything else saving only our own person and those of the queen and our children, until they have secured such redress as they have determined upon. Having secured the redress, they may then resume their normal obedience to us.

"Any man who so desires may take an oath to obey the commands of the twenty-five barons for the achievement of these ends, and to join with them in assailing us to the utmost of his power. We give public and free permission to take this oath to any man who so desires, and at no time will we prohibit any man from taking it. Indeed, we will compel any of our subjects who are unwilling to take it to swear it at our command."

[jose92gt]

Resúmenes de los episodios 67 al 69 y 70 solo título de Yu-Gi-Oh Go Rush (Español e Inglés)

Episodio 67: (La conexión Sogetsu)

¡Un misterioso duelista enmascarado que se hace llamar "Comandante de estudio" ha aparecido en la Copa Galaxy! Ha estado acumulando puntos eliminando a oponentes débiles. Sin embargo, un hombre se opone a él para detener sus fechorías. ¡El nombre de ese hombre es Sogetsu Maguto!

Episodio 68: (El primer duelo rápido)

Yudias ha estado enseñando estrategias de duelo de época, así como también cómo construir un mazo. ¡Ahora es el momento de que aplique lo que ha aprendido! Mientras buscan un oponente para Epoch to Duel en la Galaxy Cup, el Rush Battler envía su luz hacia Yuhi.

Episodio 69: (Tremolo vs. Dinois)

El equipo de Yuamu ha estado tratando de descubrir cómo funciona el sistema de cartas. Dinois sospecha que Phaser está ocultando algún secreto sobre la reliquia, por lo que se enfrenta a Tremolo al respecto. El hecho de que alguien sospeche de su hermano no le sienta bien. Además de eso, también sospecha de Zuwijo, el comandante de Dinois. Y así, desafía a Dinois a un Duelo.

Episodio 70: (¡El ataque del armario!)

Inglés

Episode 67: (The Sogetsu Connection)

A mysterious masked duelist calling himself "Studio Commander" has appeared in the Galaxy Cup! He has been racking up points by taking out weak opponents. However, a man opposes him to stop his misdeeds. That man's name is Sogetsu Maguto!

Episode 68: (The First Rush Duel)

Yudias has been teaching period dueling strategies as well as how to build a deck. Now is the time for him to apply what he has learned! While searching for an opponent to Epoch to Duel in the Galaxy Cup, the Rush Battler sends its light towards Yuhi.

Episode 69: (Tremolo vs. Dinois)

Yuamu's team has been trying to figure out how the card system works. Dinois suspects that Phaser is hiding some secret about the relic, so he confronts Tremolo about it. The fact that someone suspects his brother doesn't sit well with him. On top of that, he is also suspicious of Zuwijo, the commander of Dinois. And so, he challenges Dinois to a Duel.

Episode 70: (The Closet Attack!)

[godstride]

Character Bio: Hunter

To serve the Carta Bon Lafwa is to live and die at their command. Carta Corporation owns thousands of patents covering hundreds of thousands of custom-tailored genomes, but the most coveted of which was maintained for their own use.

The Warrior Genebreed 71-13: Hunter-Killer

Born over a century ago in an orbital cradle as one of a batch of ten thousand 71-13's, she was, at birth, designated: Hunter-Killer 55.451.7113. Accelerated physical growth combined with hypnotic learning protocols implanted Hunter with linguistic data, baseline technical knowledge, battlefield tactics, and most importantly, piloting skills for the many marks of Carta exoframes, including the dreaded Tombstone.

Once she achieved full growth, she was implanted with a full cybernetic suite of augments--cyberoptics, a full spinal nerve-linkage, skeletal reinforcements, a cybernetic arm to house additional cyberware, and, finally, a series of adrenal implants designed to trigger her suicidal battlerage, ensuring that she wouldn't flee even in the face of impossible odds.

Her first deployment was to the Eliphas system, where Carta and Dissidia corporations were battling the Ios Conglomerate for dominance over the resource-rich world of Eliphas III. She was entombed in her exoframe, wired into a machine that was never designed to allow her to leave, and there she waited in cryogenic suspension to be dropped onto what would be her first, and likely last, battlefield. By chance, however, her dropship would be shot down before it could deploy its payload, and for over a century she would wait, with each of her brothers and sisters slowly shutting down, until only she remained for a certain young steel-thumb to awaken.

[wordsandrobots]

@trafalgarlog has fansubbed the next instalment of the Urdr Hunt and it's starting to feel like all the threads are coming together. With Katya in the hands of Issue Family troops, the gang turns to its allies (both old and unexpected) for help in getting her back . . .

Hajiroboshi  (Part 1, Part 2)

Departure (Part 1, Part 2)

598 (Part 1, Part 2)

Corridor of Betrayal (Part 1, Part 2)

Holder of the Ring (Part 1, Part 2)  

Unexpected Encounter (Part 1, Part 2)

Venus’ Worth (Part 1, Part 2)

Brothers’ Ship (Part 1, Part 2)

Horn and Flower’s Shadow (Part 1, Part 2)

Family Bonds (Part 1, Part 2)

Beyond Outstretched Hands (Part 1, Part 2)

Foundling have arrived at the vicinity of the destroyed Fareed Family warship to find the drifting remains of the Omden Colony Company mobile suits. On a rather chilling note given what we recently discovered about Cyclase's ultimate goal, 598 observes that all their cockpits have been specifically targeted and destroyed.

Clearly this is not the work of either the Rakou Pirates or Afam Equipment, but before anybody can come up with an alternate option, 144 reports that a small ship has emerged from the warship and is sending a distress call. Parstai Kousa supposes if they're in this sector, they must be Urdr Hunt participants, but 598 sees no reason to be afraid of such a dinky vessel. Being the good lad he is, he decides to help these strangers out.

In another part of space, we find Todo Mirconen (he of the untrustworthy facial hair and all-round rodent vibes) placing an urgent call to McGillis Fareed concerning Katya's capture by Londo Bron's forces.

Looking positively dapper in his Montag get-up sans mask, McGillis is unfussed. He predicted this would happen and is confident he has driven a wedge between Bron and the main Issue Family leadership. However, he still needs to buy some more time. Does Todo know where Wistario has gotten to?

The moustache-man doesn't have very high expectations of our Venusian protagonist. But while McGillis agrees the kid is no Tekkadan, he just needs him to keep meddling a while longer...

Things are rather more dour over with out heroes, who are busy resupplying at a nearby space colony. Korunaru, Range and Wistario are understandably downcast following the loss of Katya, but determined to get her back. However, Korunaru thinks it will be difficult to restock on ammo and mobile suit parts in this unfamiliar area, and Range points out if Bron gets Katya to the Skipjack command ship, it's pretty much over.

[Note: I mistook Bron's departing Halfbeak for the Skipjack at the end of the last episode, which is extremely embarrassing as they look nothing alike!]

Luckily -- for a given value of luck -- Todo rushes up and waves for their attention. He introduces himself as the number two of the Montag Company and 'generously' extends an offer of help.

Some little while later, aboard the Erda II, Demner looks over enough supplies to complete Hajiroboshi's maintenance. Todo encourages the old man to be a bit more grateful. He's even thrown in useful information about the Issue Family: specifically, their plan to unveil Katya as their new heir at a Seven Stars meeting in two months' time.

Todo further clarifies that all this rush is on account of the current Lord Issue having been bedridden for many years, scarcely able to function. Carta Issue, who would have taken over from him, died in battle with Tekkadan; as such, the power of the first seat among the Seven Stars will likely fall to another family, with House Issue dismantled as a result.

Furthermore, there is tension between Londo Bron and Okina Uroka -- here finally identified as a retainer of the family -- which could explain why Katya isn't yet aboard the command ship.

Demner asks the obvious question: what does the Montag Company get out of telling them all this. Todo shrugs and says it's their choice to believe him or not. Wistario says he does. And even if it's all a lie, that's not going to change what they're going to do: get Katya back.

Dexter reports the supplies are all aboard, which Todo takes as his cue to leave. If there's anything else they need, let him know and he'll hook them up with it on the cheap!

He departs with a chuckle (gods, the voice actor is having fun), with Korunaru remarking that the supplies he already provided weren't exactly 'cheap'.

It's at this point that Sinister summons everyone to the bridge. There's an incoming communication from 598!

He's calling from his mobile suit, having finally tracked the Erda II down. Surprisingly, he knows they've been on the run from Gjallarhorn -- which is explained by Mendou, who hails from the Skíðblaðnir (his research ship) to say that on the way to meet up with Wistario, they were stopped by Issue Family forces.

The real subject of that search effort is currently languishing in a cabin aboard Captain Bron's Halfbeak. Katya is, of course, utterly miserable and not happy when Bron himself comes by to check how she's doing.

For his part, Londo is trying to put her at ease. He asks Katya to forget about Wistario, saying he's sure she'll find a more suitable partner in time. But she responds that Wistario was the first person she ever felt she could belong around. The Issue Family could never provide that, not after what happened to her mother.

Londo says he understands her disdain. As the first among the Seven Stars, the Issues are particularly strict about parentage, without much care for those who lack the privilege of belonging. He himself was subject to harassment when he joined Gjallarhorn as an outsider. However, Lady Carta took him on to her squad without regard for where he came from. As such, he feels the need to serve on her behalf and help restore her ideals to the Issues.

Katya waves him away, saying she can't be the leader Carta would have been. But Londo says that while there are things she will need to learn, certain qualities cannot be taught. He saw her noble spirit when she put her life on the line to save Wistario and the others. In that moment, he became convinced she was a worthy successor to Carta. She must be the one to take over as head of the Issue Family.

Not having been born yesterday, Katya wonders if he's the only one who thinks so, and Londo admits the gap between his ideas and those of Okina Uroka. But he is firm that he will not allow the family's retainer to have his way. He asks Katya to bear with him a little longer and bows to her as he is summoned away.

After he has gone, Katya murmurs that there is more to life than the Issue Family. And she curls up on a couch, admonishing herself for making it sound like she has a chance to go home.

Mendou is delighted to see Wistario, while 598 explains they've come from the fifth Urdr Hunt waypoint, with Slice adding that, as usual, the Skíðblaðnir had broken down. She also notes Katya's absence from the group. What's up?

One potted explanation later and everyone is assembled on the Erda II's bridge to talk over the problem. The Hunt notwithstanding, rescuing Katya is Wistario's priority now. After all, she's going to be his wife (a revelation that causes 598 quite a bit of shock).

Mendou asks if they know where she is and Korunaru confirms they do not. Parstai does not take kindly to 598's instant suggestion they simply ask the guys manning the Gjallarhorn checkpoints, but Wistario thinks he's right. It's the quickest way to find out what's going on and they can't afford to wait.

Slice confirms the unit at the last colony they stopped was quite small and 598 eagerly says they can leave taking over the Gjallarhorn ship to his crew (prior experience and all).

Parstai makes one last attempt to be the voice of reason, asking if everyone is OK with this plan. Demner defers to Wistario, Korunaru is determined to get her friend back, and even Sinister chips in, saying he's too old to die.

It's decided. Group shot!

Afterwards, back aboard the Skíðblaðnir, Slice asks Mendou why they didn't tell Wistario about their encounter with Cyclase. Wasn't that the reason they came to see him in the first place? The mobile armour researcher says there's no need to explain that right away. And he's struck by the coincidence that Katya has Issue blood...

The soon-to-be-extremely-unfortunately Gjallarhorn officer in charge of the aforementioned checkpoint is receiving a report from an underling. It's going to be some time before they can catch up to Lord Okina's main group. The search was dispersed to some very distant areas.

The underling (I do not know what rank he would be, since he lacks the epaulettes of lieutenant and we've not had any indication of what kind of NCOs serve on Halfbeak bridges) has heard Londo Bron retrieved Lady Katya unharmed, prompting the commander to remark that things are getting tricky. He advises his crew to take turns resting while they can.

Things get quite a bit more tricky as the ship promptly comes under fire from the Erda II and Foundling's ship. The underling recognises the signals as the people they've been looking for and the fight is on -- with the commander saying it's a great chance to get some data for 'that experimental machine'.

Over with the Afam gang, we get the stock footage of Hajiroboshi and Asmoday launching (it's still a great sequence), and then it's straight into the fight with a squad of golden Issue Family Grazes -- and a bright orange Reginlaze!

The pilot in charge of this new model mobile suit is thrilled to be able to put it to the test and fancies his chances against a pair of Gundams. But since he's down as 'Pilot A' in the subtitles, I think you can guess how well that goes.

Range and Wistario are able to keep the mobile suit forces occupied while Foundling capture the Halfbeak, with Range noting that as powerful as the unfamiliar 'suit was, the pilot means it's no big deal.

598 brings the Gjallarhorn commander over to the Erda II. We have a fairly typical exchange with the gang trying to threaten information out of the officer (Dexter and Sinister are particularly eager to use their ship repair tools to loosen his tongue) but it quickly proves to be a distraction. Korunaru has been sifting through the Halfbeak's communication logs, proving the commander's protests that he doesn't know where Katya is a lie. The ship Katya's on has yet to regroup with the main fleet. Indeed, Londo Bron is flat-out refusing to do so.

Demner and Range conclude this is good news, since they only have to defeat Londo's much smaller force. However, the bad news is a real kicker. The Issue's main fleet is also in pursuit, with a newly appointed leader: Cyclase Mayer.

We end on Range spluttering with rage and disbelief.

As I said, everything seems to be rushing conclusion-wards, with three fifths of the remaining Hunt competitors cooperating to rescue Katya, while Cyclase's unexpected career turn beds in nicely thanks to Londo's mutiny. It's nice to see everybody teaming up, though I think the implication is that Mendou and Slice have gone off on their own again for the moment.

Getting Londo's full backstory places him in the same category as Ein and Isurugi as a bullied disadvantaged soldier who is eternally grateful to the one person who gave them a chance. Let's, um, let's hope that works out better for him than the other two. Also, as much as I appreciate that this ties into Carta's treatment of McGillis, eschewing the bloodline-obsession of her family in favour of judging people by their achievements, it is perhaps slightly harder to take seriously in the context of her collecting blonde hunks for her elite guard. That's not not a factor here, right?

Anyway, we finally have some solid facts on Lord Okina as well. He's a retainer, rather than Lord Issue himself, which means his deal is likely 'I have been running this thing for years, no way is it going down on my watch.' This would fit with his previous description of himself as the Family patriarch. Someone had to be doing the day-to-day work to maintain the Issues' standing and it clearly wasn't either Carta or her dad. I like this. We haven't really had any glimpse into the Gjallarhorn families below the level of the current lords and their heirs before and there's a lot of scope for tensions and ego there. Clearly. I mean this guy hired Cyclase (I'm still not over that and I doubt the plot is, either).

That being said, there is the matter of Okina's eyebrows. He looks like he should be related to Carta and Katya. Very curious. I suppose there is no reason for him not to be a distant cousin of some sort but I have to wonder if Katya's parentage might not be a red herring after all. Just how many girls was the extreme sick Lord Issue having affairs with, hmmm?

In any case, the race is on to see who'll get to Katya first!