#felassan my beloved

[mythals-whore]

Some of y’all have not read the Masked Empire and it shows. Every time Briala idealizes the ancient elves/the Dalish, the whole time Felassan is like:

“Oh the ancient elves? That’s so funny, they definitely also had a hierarchy.”

“yeah yeah the ancient elven empire, so cool…so who do you think the servants were??”

“yeah the elves, they were great….they used to enslave spirits, also”

The whole thing is that tyranny has always existed?? Its just that the elves used to do it to each other instead of like humans oppressing the elves. And Felassan actually tries to help Briala elevate the modern elves (help free them from tyranny. Which, you know, was the whole point of the original rebellion). And Solas doesn’t just get mad at this…he straight up kills him.

And no, idc that he doesn’t “want to” or that he was sad about it. He actually quite literally didn’t have to.

Anyone who wants to pretend Solas wasn’t always Like That…I’m just really confused by you. Its giving: “but he loves me, so idc how he treats anyone else” (his closest friend and confidant btw)

Idc idc i loved Masked Empire, it added much needed context. Felassan, my beloved, you didn’t deserve that.

[oldxenomorph]

in the decade between the exalted council and the events of veilguard, abelas has also changed.

one can only endure so much exposure to radiation. abelas has not had extreme bought of radiation sickness, but even with the protective gear on and his regimen of iodine tablets, he has felt nauseous, gotten extreme headaches (exasperated by regular exposure to indoctrination from zarya'th reaper arm), abdominal and chest pains. his magic and his wards do a good enough job blocking most of the radiation, but it wears him down.

abelas asked zarya'th if the great lord of extinction could impart upon him some of Her grace, some of her glorious technology, as he received an epiphany, a revelation: flesh is weak. how can he serve the herald of extinction if his body cannot withstand being near her? he does not want to wear more protective equipment, as he does not want to lose the ability to hold her hand, or bless her face.

he saw what extinction's machines did for her arm. he wished that for himself.

deep in the innards of her panopticon, is a chamber not unlike that of the inside of a reaper, where zarya'th typically goes to receive maintenance on her arm. (as it is not just replaces her missing limbs, but also regulates the radiation and energy her body generates, operating as a mobile reactor.) the white spire has become a place of power under zarya'th's ownership, connected to the oceanview motel, one of the oldest house's many healthy and violent sisters.

(inspiration for the reaper chamber in zarya'th's panopticon: the siva replication chamber from destiny)

zarya'th suggested that the first of his augmentations should be his neck, to protect his thyroid. she told him that his body would need time to acclimate to the new technology and that it would accelerate his indoctrination. the process would sever him from whatever remaining connection he had to mythal and transfer it to zarya'th, the reapers, and extinction itself. his indoctrination would become complete.

(inspiration for abelas's neck cybernetics: clay render of goro takemura's cyberwar from cyberpunk 2077 by marcin klicki)

with reaper technology firmly embedded within him, and growing inside him, abelas took to replacing most of his body. elves are flesh, and the elves of arlathan could not imagine ascending from flesh into cold, black metal. it is different from the metal and technology created by the sha-brytol, different in its purpose (to devour, to preserve) and in its power. during the decade, reaper technology reinforced his vital organs and he replaced his eyes, his arms, his chest, and his legs. thin red cables changed his vallaslin from green to red, similar to zarya'th's.

his voice changed. it is deeper, colder, flanged; it sounds like it is being split apart.

clan arlanan (the third), the weapons makers and dealers of the seven, made abelas a new set of armor, as his ancient armor now would not fit his augmentations. he kept his cloak, the last remaining thing from his previous life as mythal's sentinel. he shrouds himself when he is outside the panopticon. people are not yet ready to be exposed to such advanced technology. he understands why zarya'th completely veils herself when she goes outside.

(divine victoria/leliana is quite in awe of abelas's transformation, even if he mostly appears the same. and even if he now full of scary and creepy reaper technology, it does not stop her from teasing him about the way he looks at zarya'th.)

(inspiration for abelas's arm cybernetics and chest armor: adam jensen concept art from deus ex: mankind divided by laura gallagher)

the evanuris did not notice the seven within their own houses, as they were so consumed they were by their own wars and machinations. in some sense, abelas views this transformation as a way to atone for not recognizing zarya'th's old blood. he is guilty of being deep in mythal's service, they he was blind to the truth of her presence, her ancestor's presence. (abelas remembers lavellan in mythal's court, old and strange lavellan that made the walls click whenever he walked the corridors.) abelas is a being who has only known a lifetime of service. he is zarya'th's protector and caretaker. not just because within her is what remains of the vir'abelasan, but because she needs him to be a watcher, a warden, a sentinel.

it is the first time in his very long life where he feels of use. no longer watching over the remains of a god, but in service to a living, breathing herald of something more than a god or spirit. she is of a blessed biomechanical construction, the closest thing in all of thedas to extinction and Her daughters. he is meant to become a machine, just like the ones that serve extinction.

with his new body and new technology, abelas is able to stay with zarya'th longer in her personal space. she tells him, in genuine earnest, that he look a lot better now. he tells her that he feels a lot better, moves a lot better. though she is so much larger than him, he likes that they are able to be more intimate. he touches her strange hands, holds them firmly in his; he offers her his hand when she needs to stand or step out. he runs his metal fingers through her hair as he brushes and braids it in the old way, now that it is almost reaches the tip of her tail. (zarya'th likes that he kept his hair.)

it is nice to have someone with whom he can speak the old language with.

(yhoundeh is correct in that the emperor is a sentimental being. none of Her heralds will ever endure the separation She and nyx went through; they will always have a true companion, a love, a partner.)

abelas was worried that if things progressed the way they did, if he had to wear more and more protective gear, zarya'th would become even more isolated. to lose that tense of touch with another person would be even too after a while. the both of them are not of this time or of this world. he needs to take care of her, help her complete her task, and wait until the end comes.

[fadewalking]

"Solas... you've been gone a long time. Things are different, than they used to be."

He had spent millennia, trying to find Solas. Trying to fix the world he'd ruined in his wake. Trying to help their people, in the disasters that followed. Do what he could, however he could.

And now Solas wanted to ruin it again. Wanted to tear down the veil and fix all his mistakes. Well, maybe it wasn't that easy. Maybe they couldn't be fixed. Maybe the elves didn't deserve to go through that again. Maybe Felassan didn't want to go through that again.

He met Solas' gaze, silently pleading with him. To think about the elves. They weren't really their people, but they were all they had left. Didn't that mean something?

"Please," he said softly. "Can't we just... try to make this world better? Instead of tearing it down again?" (//I may have been inspired by your post about Fel's grief :3c)

@fatedmuses likes the meta. :3

Again. That was harsh. Solas wanted to argue that it was unfair, but of course it wasn't. It was painfully the case that Solas had annihilated their home. Even if he had acted to save it. Even if all of this was some terrible, terrible accident. It was still the ashes from the fire he set.

"Make this world better?" Solas' voice carried a sharp, dangerous confusion. He couldn't understand the plea his friend made, and that Felassan seemed so earnest only vexed him further.

"That is what I intend to do. The Veil was a mistake. My mistake." He pressed a hand to his own chest and leveled Felassan with his searing conviction, as if he could burn understanding into him with just the intensity of his gaze.

"Look at them, the 'people'." He spat the words, disgusted by their taste. "Like the Titans, I have severed them from the Fade, and now they drift through this world hollow as Tranquil. Deaf and blind, they reach out for fragments of fragments, and from them, create distorted echoes of our former home." And as if to add insult to injury, the pieces most remembered were nothing but bold-faced propaganda.

"We fought to end the suffering and tyranny our people faced, and yet this future I have woken to is shaped far worse than what it was." The world was utterly unrecognizable to Solas. A turgid wasteland. Empty of everything beautiful that once given them purpose. A tortured land, obliterated of stubborn hope; nothing worth saving saved. Solas' brow furrowed, and he shook his head.

"How can you ask me to yield, knowing what I have wrought? How can you accept it for yourself, when you have seen firsthand the ruin of our people? Do you not ache as I do?" The anger in his voice broke from an ugly pain beneath.

"I know you do."

[lilllithdraagon]

Fanfiction Fridays!!!

New chapter is up woooooooo

Sidenote but my plugin that fix tumblr's UI broke and now it's the twitter knockoff from hell again. Pls send help. I hate it.

[maabelasdaruth]

Oh I love this idea! Amelin does put out an effort to collect and protect as many tranquil as possible during her time as Inquisitor. So I could see her actively working to find him. Oh wouldn't that be absolutely hilarious if it was while she was dating Solas (or even after their break up)! I was thinking of having that occur after the first year once Solas has left the group but it would make sense for her to want to do it as quickly as possible to prevent harm coming to him. Though the dagger rune you get in Trespasser from Morrigan is theorized made by him, imagine him being taken on to help with enchanting purposes, training with Dagna and just all of his sass with none of the emotion. (Is sarcasm an emotional coping mechanism or a state of mind, I feel like he would still be so snarky) Especially once they figure out how to undo tranquil / after allying with Briala at Halamshiral!

They let you do a operation to give Michael back his honor! Give us one to go save Fellassan! I have to write this now, and have him intentionally brought by Briala to the Inquisitor because Amelin is now her magic person with the best resources to help. Amelin's the one who gives him the option of the cure after the Adamant quests. Amelin and Fellassan would get along a little too well though like, there's a reason I had them meeting after Solas had left. Would be so fucking funny if the slow arrow stole your girl, wolf. Not like you were occupying the space beside her in bed, anyway. 😂

Solas had to kill Felassan because Felassan would have heard that a man named Solas joined the Inquisition and signed up immediately just to follow the Inquisitor around and be like “you know this reminds me of a Dalish legend about Fen’Harel stop me if you’ve heard this one before have I told you about the time Andruil almost tricked him into being her lover for a year” while Solas sweats bullets in the background knowing he can’t interrupt or stop him without looking suspicious as hell

[thedaswolves]

Absolutely heartbroken by the news of Trick and Karin Weekes being laid off from Bioware by EA. They were the last true veterans and original creators of DA that were still there, and this truly feels like the final nail in the coffin for beloved studio and franchise.

The way EA systematically drained and destroyed this studio and the franchise too over the years is nothing short of criminal! it all started with that cursed Anthem, than pushing Bioware to make the kind of games it doesn't want to, scraping amazing projects, putting them through decade of development hell, chasing away half of original veteran devs and professionals, and laying off the other half over last few years.. EA's CEO talking bout how AI is at the core of their business six months ago.... It all makes me sick to my stomach! At this point I will never give another cent to EA for anything. DA franchise might be over but lives on in our hearts and through our art and fics and love for this characters and the world. that's what we have left and they can't take away from us. I hope EA crashes and burns in every way possible.

Thank you Trick Weekes for everything.. their writing credits speak for themselves....

Mass Effect (Writer) Dragon Age:Origins (Additional Design) Mass Effect 2 (Writer) Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker (Writer) Mass Effect 3 (Senior Writer) Mass Effect 3: From Ashes (Writer) Mass Effect 3: Leviathan (Writer) Mass Effect 3: Citadel (Writer)

Wrote characters like Garrus, Kasumi, Tali, Mordin, Legion, Jack, Joker…

Dragon Age Inquisition (Writer) - wrote "Wicked Eyes Wicked Hearts" and "Here Lies the Abys", wrote Solas, Cole, Iron Bull and the Chargers, also worked on minor npc's and codex entries and lore

Dragon Age Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon DLC (Lead Writer) Dragon Age Inquisition - Trespasser DLC (Lead Writer) Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Lead Writer)

Dragon Age: Masked Empire - single-handedly wrote full novel and created Felassan as original character Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights - "Three Trees to Midnight" and "The Dread Wolf Take You"

💔💔💔💔

[hoboblaidd]

Untangling my thoughts on the Evanuris

So much of what we know of the evanuris is from Dalish myths. The old tales are allegory that has evolved over millennia, like our own stories of myths and legends. But I do think there's an element of truth buried in each story, because why else would Felassan weave parables of the Dread Wolf to Briala if they were just random stories he knew to be false?

Solas is helpful here. He pointedly comments on Falon'din, Andruil, and Mythal, and we get more from him in the Veilguard clips about Ghilan'nain. There are Veilguard spoilers in here under Ghilan'nain and Elgar’nan specifically, so tread with caution.

The evanuris come in pairs that loosely correspond to demons and spirits. They're also close analogues to Greek mythology. This is another long post that is more my rambling theories than good, concrete facts.

Justice and Vengeance

Elgar'nan, all-father and god of vengeance. His stories are ones of conquest and rage. He was depicted as stern, with narrowed eyes and "an open, snarling mouth." He wielded a fire that burned as hot as he did. He may not immediately look as terrifyingly monstrous as Ghilan'nain, but I think that's deceptive. My money’s on him being the most difficult enemy. I think that gif of true Fen’harel attacking a dragon is him vs Elgar’nan, which is terrifying bc the Wolf is the size of a high dragon and he is absolutely dwarfed by the dragon he’s attacking. Elgar’nan’s symbol may be a dragon, and his vallaslin is stark veins that spread over the elf's entire face, and in the second iteration, quite literally covers half of the slave's face in his own mark.

Mythal, all-mother, protector, and embodiment of justice. She's a tough one, because we have conflicting information from the legends and in our meeting with her. Solas tells us she was the best of the evanuris. That is likely true, but it's an incredibly low bar. She enacted justice with a more levelhead than Elgar'nan and could mediate disputes among the gods, but she also bound her supplicants and stole their individuality to be meshed into the many. Maybe she did repent, to a point, and free her slaves. Her symbol is a dragon, full or as a winged woman, and her vallaslin is a more elegant version of Elgar'nan's, depicting branches or lyrium veins snaking across the slave's face.

Mythal-Flemeth is more vengeance than justice. She connives and manipulates, all with a seething anger underneath. She may love her daughter, to an extent, but her treatment of Morrigan is awful and abusive. I believe her claim that "no soul may be forced on the unwilling," but I don't buy for a second that she's benevolent.

Envy and Ambition

Andruil, goddess of the hunt - or sacrifice. She's a bit harder to separate from her legends, but she is not painted as kind or just. She forged weapons, she hunted beasts and her own people. Her shrine in the Dales had an altar at its heart, which has bad implications if she is a goddess of sacrifice. She lusted for better and more challenging hunts. She descended into the Abyss to hunt Forgotten Ones, and brought "plague to her lands and howled things meant to be forgotten." That certainly sounds like the Blight. That last hunt drove her mad, and Mythal challenged her and stole her knowledge of how to find "the Void." She also has a strange, predatory relationship with Ghilan'nain and Fen'harel. She stalks them not to kill, but to ensnare. That lore piece with her capturing the Dread Wolf is particularly disturbing and I hate/love it. Her messengers are the owl, and her vallaslin is stark lines around twisted antlers or branches.

Ghilan'nain, mother of the halla. Is there any god whose true nature is as obscured by Dalish legend? They paint her as a gentle soul beloved by the beasts she created. She may have been once (you who were the most sensitive of us), but even prior to her ascension, her ambition to create more drove her to the gods. It doesn't seem like she hesitated at all to slaughter her own creatures in her ambition to godhood. That clip of her talking to Solas looks to be pre-ascension, or at least, pre-total apotheosis. Her gruesome laboratory in Horror of Hormack shows her true colors, and we now know she's intricately connected to the Blight. Her appearance is as horrific - it's like she kept adding more and more to herself in her drive to create. Her symbol is a hart, or halla, and her vallaslin is a delicate symbol of antlers.

Fear and Despair

Falon'din, friend of the dead. He's been made out to be a benevolent god who guides people to the afterlife. Solas has a different tale. Falon'din craved adulation above all else, and waged brutal wars to gain more worshippers. "The blood of those who wouldn't bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans." Mythal intervened only when her own people were threatened. The remaining gods fought Falon'din in his own temple and subdued him. This is just theory, but I think the "friend of the dead" might've come from the fact that elves would either bow, and be guided to adore him, or butchered. His symbol is the owl, and his vallaslin looks like blood vessels covering his slave's face.

Dirthamen, keeper of secrets. I'm drawing more on my own theories here, so take it all with a grain of salt. The Dalish say he gave the elves "the gift of knowledge and...loyalty and faith in family." Maybe he was the propaganda arm of the evanuris. That he dealt in secrets reinforces that - he could be analogous to a secret police, stamping out or punishing any perceived resistance. His lost temple is a bathed in despair - despondency, sorrow, torment, misery. His followers butchered and scattered the remains of his high priest and, tormented by the horror they endured, they manifested as despair. His vallaslin is not connected to nature like the others' appear, but jagged lines.

The Dalish legends and academic theories are odd in how they refer to Falon'din and Dirthamen. One is shadow, one is reflection, both of each other. They theorize they were "twin souls" rather than blood kin. It's an interesting question without a whole lot of information to go on, save for the Dalish stories of them always finding each other.

The June and Sylaise Problem

June, god of the craft. We have very little to go on with June, other than that he's a stand in for Hephaestus. The Dalish describe him as inscrutable and clever. He taught elves to make tools, and crafted weapons for Andruil or to hunt her "gifts." He apparently appears the least among the elven pantheon in ruins and legends. An Orlesian scholar theorizes that June's role may have changed over time, eventually settling on craft. What his true personality was like is entirely unknown. I think it's a safe bet to assume that he and Sylaise were not as benevolent as the myths paint them to be. Regardless, his vallaslin is pretty cool. And I'll admit a bias to liking him because of theshirallen's portrayal. That tugged my heart past reason.

Sylaise, the Hearthkeeper. We have just as little real insight on Sylaise. In the legends, she taught the elves herbology and healing. Interestingly, the power she gave them included the ability to channel raw Fade essence into a "Grand Sonallium", a sphere in the air intended as a gift to June. We don't know what a Sonallium is. It's said that thousands of elves had to create it, which reminds me of the story of Elgar'nan using thousands of slaves to build his likeness in the Deep Roads. Idk if there's a connection, but I doubt it's a benevolent one. It's suggested that Sylaise was a rival to the other gods, but so was Falon'din at a time. Her vallaslin looks like snakelike plants. It is also cool.

They’re all monsters, so at this point with June and Sylaise, we’re probably just waiting for confirmation.

[pikapeppa]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

Oooh don't mind if I do since I'm on a kick of rereading a bunch of my own writing currently! 🤣 First off: tagging back to you, lovely @johaerys-writes, and forward to @crackinglamb @alyssalenko @sinsbymanka @vorchagirl @chloefraazers @mwasaw @himluv @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul @contrivedchaos and anyone else who would like to play! Please, anyone and everyone, join in!

So okay. I thought wayyy too hard about this and had A LOT of difficulty choosing because I actually really enjoy rereading my own fics 😅 but I did my best! Answers below the cut for anyone who wants to keep reading:

- Fall Into The Tide: Dragon Age, Sten/f!Mahariel, ~54k words. The premise of this fic is that Mahariel decides on a whim to follow Sten on his maritime journey back to Par Vollen. This was actually the first fic that came to mind as a favourite, and to date, I feel that it's the best thing I've ever written; I'm really proud of Sten's characterization and the emotional beats. I still cry like a baby every time I reread it LOL.

- Lovers In A Dangerous Time: Dragon Age, Fenris/f!Hawke, ~525k words. This is my Fenris the Inquisitor fic. I just finished rereading it and I had a lot of "wow I wrote this? Good job me" moments while reading it! 😂

- Until We Meet Again: The Witcher, Geralt/f!Reader, ~250k words. The point of this fic was that I personally want to fuck Geralt so I made it everyone else's problem BAHAHA. This fic completely mutated from self-indulgent smut to accidentally-falling-in-love in a totally unplanned way, and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out!

- Just Hold On, We're Going Home: Samurai Champloo, Mugen/Fuu/Jin, ~38k words. SamCham is my favourite anime, and the end of it is so heartwrenching to me, even though it's a happy ending. So I wrote this fic to heal myself 🤣 This fic was entirely a gift I wrote for myself on the assumption that no one would actually read it, and it's been lovely to see how many people were craving a poly happy ending like I was!

- The Love That Grows From Violence: Dragon Age, Felassan/f! Lavellan, ~181k words. This is a post-Trespasser fic where a bitter Lavellan falls in love with Felassan, who was made Tranquil rather than killed in the Fade. This fic holds a hugely special place in heart partly because the idea was BRILLIANT (it was suggested to me by a wonderful reader-friend!), and because writing this became my cozy escape during the worst of COVID. I'm really proud of some of the emotional beats in this fic and the lore aspects, and I really hope that Veilguard will not end up proving me entirely wrong or I might just die LOL. 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS (I CAN'T HELP IT, THIS WAS REALLY HARD):

- Even The Hardiest Desert Blooms Need To Get Wet Sometimes: Horizon Forbidden West, Drakka/Aloy, ~365k words. I JUST REALLY LOVE DRAKKA, OKAY? I JUST LOVE HIM. A LOT. I had a ball writing every chapter of this fic just because I adore the disaster Desert gremlin, and I always love the opportunity to write texting in fics, which I got to do here a lot, so this fic makes me a very happy girl 🥰 The only reason this didn't make my top five is that I don't actually reread it very often!

- Inadvisable: Dragon Age, triple romance for Solas/f!Lavellan, Abelas/f!Lavellan, Felassan/f!Lavellan (different Lavellans LOL), ~668k words. This is my modern AU university fic collaboration with my beloved friend and artist Elbenherz. IT WAS SO HARD NOT PUTTING THIS FIC IN THE TOP-FIVE; the only reason it didn't make the cut is because it was either this one or The Love That Grows From Violence, and I just have such cozy-fuzzy vibes/memories of writing TLGFV. 

If anyone decides to check out any of these fics, I hope you enjoy! 🥰

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika xoxo

[lavellenchanted]

heads up, seven up

A WIP Tag Game

Tagged by my beloved @theawkwardterrier, thank you bestie🩷

Rules: post the last seven lines you wrote, then tag if you wanna

It is a light that restores him, but he comes back to himself in darkness. He isn’t sure how long he has been here; it feels simultaneously like an eternity and like no time at all, as if he has always and only existed here, in a vast expanse of nothingness, a place indistinct, formless and shapeless, yet also as if he has only come into being this very moment.  Nor can he yet understand exactly what it is that happened to him. He was … scattered, in some way, pulled apart into pieces, like fabric unravelling thread by thread, until there was nothing really of him left, no conscious thought or feeling or sense of self, just the darkness and the shapelessness. Existence without being.  Until there was light and warmth, a touch that brushed against him as gently as gossamer, bringing those scattered pieces back together so that he could conceive of a self to be - and now, slowly, as words begin to form and unfold into thoughts, he begins to know himself once more. And slowly, painfully, Felassan opens his eyes.

I'm tagging @emilykaldwen, @manicmermaidbaby, @fake-mouthstatic and @apinchofm if you want to play!

[niofo]

after completing the game twice, i have some thoughts on the ending

overall i enjoyed it, and the whole game is way better plotted than inquisition, but i have some issues, and one of those issues is solas. i mentioned before that i neither like nor dislike him, he's a character i don't really care much about in big part bcos of how much of post inquisition lore is centered around him and i just really got bored with his presence. still, i did all the memories and the like, bcos i like to 100% the game. i don't really have anything against them in particular, and discussing what we saw with the team was cool. what i have issue with is it looks like the whole memories and mythal plot was just to give the players option to redeem solas? which i don't really get.

like don't get me wrong, i like that there is this option, it's an rpg, but it's weird to me that collecting his memories and getting mythal's thing is only relevant to this path? through this memories and overall context we learned that he turned against the spirits he allied against, his agent that got blighed, his general felassan, and his beloved mythal. we don't just know that he's a god of lies and that he turned against the inquisition, but long list of similar situations. why the only way this matters is when we want to help him? why would my rook, who knows all of this now and said multiple times that he doesn't trust solas, now when solas suddenly turns around and praises his team, can only say "wow, thanks, bro" and not "what the hell are you scheming by trying to be nice all of sudden".

i'm not saying that rook should successfully prevent the whole fade prison thing, but it did felt like rook who never for a moment trusted solas was more of an afterthought, even though we have two (very well done) options of stabbing him, and only one to play nice. idk, i feel like it's just a lot of little things compiling, like the fact that my inquisitor, who vowed to stop solas, is now suddenly advocating for giving him a chance. he would absolutely not, and it's one of the very few options we actually can input in the game!

there were elements when we could very vocally distrust solas and those were well done, i liked them, but there were others when this line of characterization just faltered and we didn't get the chance to voice out suspicion. and the fact that learning about his previous betrayals didn't matter in the end, was one of them.

[carabas]

Dragon Age Veilguard liveblogging -

Mourn Watch!Rook was found by the undead as an infant? For a second there that had me worried Rook was going to turn out to have a mysterious Chosen One backstory instead of being just some dude Varric picked up in a bar, but the other factions don't mention mysterious abandoned infant Rooks. I love this actually. Why did the Mourn Watch not take him to an orphanage. Is this normal in Nevarra, does the Mourn Watch have foundlings around on a regular basis, or is it just Rook, was baby Rook the Mourn Watch's collective mascot, I can't wait to talk to Emmrich. And I'm resisting the temptation to give Rook vallaslin but delighted to discover the option is there even with this faction backstory, maybe your Rook could have lived with a Dalish clan in between life at the necropolis, it's possible. And LAVELLAN. MY GIRL. MY GIRL IS BACK AND PREPARED FOR HEARTACHE, I AM EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS IN THE CHARACTER CREATOR.

...wait, that can't be all the past choices we input, can it? Just the Inquisitor/their LI/whether the Inquisition was disbanded/whether they want to save Solas? There will be an opportunity to fill in more of the worldstate later, right? They probably just don't want us to get too bogged down in the character creator/prologue. I'm not going to worry. I'm a little worried.

PLAYING FOR ALL OF TWO SECONDS AND WOLF STATUE SPOTTED, I HAVE MISSED YOU

The frescos! The photo mode, the ability to get up close to see the frescos from any angle I like, even playing on xbox with no modding tools!! Incredible, I am going to be poring over every scene like a museum exhibit you've got to drag me out of, I am poking through all Solas's artifacts in extreme closeup, and also what is this wolf-headed instrument doing on the bed in his Minrathous hideaway, does he play music, why has Lavellan not heard him play music, has he been holding out on us

The ritual! ...still has that one extra Elgar'nan circle-headpiece statue on the bottom row of statues that doesn't match the top row, huh, I'd kind of thought that was just a slapdash placeholder kind of thing for the preview that would be edited for the final game. Why doesn't triangle-headpiece get a statue on the bottom row, why's Elgar'nan hogging an extra spot. Rude.

Rook: "Helpful advice from the elven god of, and I am quoting you here, 'Lies, treachery, and rebellion.'"

Solas: "Depending on the story."

The way Solas takes time out from his frustrated angry lecturing to let some amusement show through there, and then that You have exchanged verbal jabs with Solas popup, the most important achievement, giving our trickster god some enrichment in his enclosure

HE LIVED! I KNEW VARRIC WAS GOING TO LIVE i mean he looks pretty bad and it was a magic dagger so who knows what'll happen later but he was NOT KILLED OFFSCREEN IN A HASTY CUTAWAY IN THE PREVIEW! Phew.

Aaaand now that we're in casual clothes, my poor mage gets hideous pajamas. Ah, now it really feels like Dragon Age is back.

FELASSAN SIGNING CODEX ENTRIES IN THE LIGHTHOUSE ;_; And the Divine Imperatives codex entry musing on the nature of divinity in general and its effects on Solas and his followers specifically, and a puzzle to solve already and it's such a cute one with these statues, how am I supposed to ever leave the Lighthouse and progress the plot when Solas's base is already giving me everything I want. He kept a music room locked away! He has been holding out on us. "Finally, a beloved memory surfaces. A smiling glance, meeting at a crescendo, a shared moment of understanding" - given the way we opened this room, was that moment shared with Mythal? And he's recreated his specific frescos from Skyhold here in this hidden room! And despite the fresh paint supplies in front of them they're already in not great condition, and all the other frescos in the Lighthouse are so incredibly horribly faded here in the Fade where time is not real, Solas is really not doing okay

and neither am I, HELP, HELP, I NEED A TANK, I NEED A DOG, I NEED CARVER, CASSANDRA, ALISTAIR, SOMEONE COME GET THESE DARKSPAWN OFF OF ME, I don't think any Dragon Age has spent this long without giving you a warrior companion. Between Varric, Harding, Neve, and now Bellara, one ranged support companion after another, I'm really, really feeling pressured to make Rook the melee guy here, and I refuse. Just frantically spamming Fade Step all through Arlathan Forest.

IS THAT MY WIFE?? okay obviously it would be reading far too much into things to suspect the first raven I see of being Morrigan, but to be fair, they've had sneaky raven Morrigans before, she spent Wicked Eyes Wicked Hearts hiding out in raven form on Celene's balcony - aaaaand shortly afterward, here's Morrigan in the Veil Jumpers' camp! I've connected the dots, I've connected them. It was probably just a raven.

"I have borne many appellations." "I have had many names, but you may call me Flemeth." Welcome back, Mythal.

...But if Morrigan's here already, Mythal headgear and all, and we still haven't been asked to input any more worldstate information like, say, whether she drank from the Well of Sorrows, or the existence of her son - that's seriously it then, those extremely few questions in the character creator were seriously all the worldstate customization we're getting? That's shocking. I'm being so well fed with lore about Solas and the gods right now that surprisingly I don't mind this all that much, but it does feel like they're losing a huge part of what makes Dragon Age Dragon Age. And I was really hoping our Dalish Grey Warden companion would have maybe just one line about what the existence of a Dalish Hero of Ferelden meant to him.

Actually in general the gameplay here is reminding me a lot more of Mass Effect than Dragon Age - the new combat style, the single linear story path to follow with almost no side quests so far aside from the puzzle to unlock Solas's hidden room, Bellara's busy making calibrations and Rook's in their room looking at fish, and now we're heading out on our ME2 recruitment mission. And I mean, I like Mass Effect fine, and every Dragon Age game is always drastically different from the last, but this is an adjustment

SOLAS HAD HAIR AND WE GET TO SEE IT we get to wander through memories of solas's past this game is so good to me I can't stay mad at it.

the god of rook's people now speaks to rook in their sleep and in their meditations and rook even walks through his memories, rook is surrounded by all these charming romanceable companions and yet the most intense connection that is being formed right now, by far, is with solas, and it's in such a wildly different way than Lavellan who got to know him as just Solas first, the person not the legend, Solas the vulnerable apostate in the middle of a powerful organization she leads; Rook is having intense personal conversations with his very own god of lies and he knows it, insane about this.

The prison mission is so beautiful with the enormous sea creatures in the distance and bones at the bottom of the sea and, most importantly and most beautifully, Lucanis drawing some melee fire away from me ;_; tears of joy ;_; finally a companion I can rely on ;_; And Neve complimented his demon on having good taste in possessing him! Oh my god Neve, stealing Hawke's pickup lines? You can do so much better than a Hawke pickup line!

[there-was-love]

Felassan my most beloved <3

Reblogs appreciated ;-;

[vodkassassin]

Felassan my beloved you were who we deserved. Instead we got the egg — and for what. This?

Jfc

[icharchivist]

more da4 stuff are coming out and i hadn't blocked the spoilers tag yet bc the warning was that there'll be more spoilers on the 19Th, but last article by IGN actually revealed two things i really wanted to see in game by myself and i'm so mad kdjfhdjkfhd

i blocked the tag now so at least i should be able to avoid more but boooo

but about those things bc i want to discuss them:

so far it was a theory that Lucanis was possessed by a demon but the latest video just confirmed it and i'm. so sad they did so.

but they also confirmed which type of demons which is a win for me bc i've been brainstorming it for a while.

Because the tarot card showed Pride Demon and it boggled my mind because Lucanis is NOT prideful. he's only arrogant to provoke his marks. And, on the other hand, he's not particularly wise. In fact he's the opposite of wise this man fucking tore open the Veil to get revenge and then went "idk it seemed like a plan, anyway yolo YOU told me to do that", this man behaves on instincts not on wisdom.

To me, if spirit was possessing Lucanis (which was strongly hinted at from his new powers, his skillsets, the fact he's believed dead and probably did actually die!), it should be a spirit of Justice/a demon of Vengeance, because Lucanis is DEADSET on vengeance even though it's not his job. He derails his job completely because he's motivated by vengeance for people who were wronged by Ambrose.

But then again we never truly saw what type of shape a Justice/Vengeance spirit would take, since we only met one possessing other people's body. It also felt wrong to me to have this again considering how close it would have been from the Anders/Justice plotline from daoa and da2 (with Justice first possessing a dead person and him being twisted to vengeance once he gets into Anders).

So my conclusion was Justice/Vengeance unless it's a new spirit we've never heard of that is adjacent to that.

WELL the latest video seems to reveal that Lucanis is possessed by a Demon of Spite.

Which. Well. Close enough????

But also it means Lucanis very likely died or almost died and was saved by a spirit of Spite (probably because Lucanis is waaaays too comfortable using spirits to start with but that's a post for another time i have so many thoughts about Lucanis, magic, and spirits) which is why he's alive. The screenshot i've seen implies that Lucanis is trying to keep Spite from being too active, trying not to trigger it, and i wonder if the stolen glances with Emmrich in particular is a set up to how Emmrich, used to gently handling spirits who bind themselves to corpses, would help him navigate this situation.

BUT the best part to me is that it means Lucanis SURVIVED OUT OF SPITE. THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING YOU CAN SAY ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER HELLO. HE LITERALLY SURVIVED OUT OF SPITE.

I already love him so much it keeps adding i'll never be safe.

The other spoiler i've seen is that we're definitely seeing Felassan again and i'm so excited for that, but i wish I'd been surprised about it in game. He's a book-only character, from The Masked Empire, and there's only one line that refers to him in Trespasser ("His friend had to die. Because he thought they were people. A slow arrow breaks in the sad wolf's jaws."), but we know Felassan was someone important to Solas and that the end of TME still haunts him, so it was logical that in the Lighthouse/Crossroads, that will be filled with Solas' memories, we'll see more about Felassan, but i was worried they may ignore him all together because he IS a book only character, no matter how beloved he is. I'm relieved they're actually showing him, but MAN i can just imagine how i'd have screamed if i saw he was there in game. wasted.

Anyway now i blacklisted everything and i reread The Wigmaker's Job and The Wake the other day, and i have thoughts, i've written half a post about it and then got too lazy to do the rest, so stay up for that one i guess.

But ghhhh. So good.

[kirkwall-age]

just assorted thoughts from playing so far -- not about the plot but mostly just GAME aspects:

I am playing a Crow Rogue (burst + crow skill points right now) / the combat is SUPER fun / the double dagger takedown is AMAZING. can't wait to test out other classes

also I loved the integration into Treviso, that i know everybody there and the lay of the land. can't wait to play other origins. i bet the difference with Shadow Dragons is gonna be insane. but of course Mourn Watch also has me fascinated

absolutely love the agency over the environment. how i can parkour and vault and jump and NO FALL DAMAGE while exploring. and the battlefield is so fluid and great

the fact that i can RESPEC constantly for free literally on the go is a blessing and every game should have that. QOL if i ever saw one

got my first resumable banter!!! the way my panties dropped. i knew they promised it but id didn't know how it would be implemented. i triggered a banter between Lucanis and Bellara. he asked her a question -- and the we got attacked -- the conversation stopped. they proceeded to do battle quips at each other. and then once we were out of combat, he said: What was I talking about? and then REPEATED his startling line of banter and the banter played as normal. AMAZING QOL. fucking in love with it

FINDING ALL THE FELASSAN NOTES?? I CRY. AND THEN SEEING HIM FACE IN MEMORIES? DECEASED. also i am stronk enough now to start clearing the Gates for the Heart of the Corruption. i killed the Treviso one and unlocked the boss and. i didn't fight it, i am not high level enough, but I SAW THE NAME FROM THE DISTANCE. i am so sad forever about Felassan our beloved 🥺

the whole scene where you unpack in your room is SUCH A GENIUS narrative tool of establishing character. explaining your backstory in more than just the blurb during character creation and how you may feel about it. do you maintain you're right? do you now feel regret? it's not exactly Origins level of immersion -- but it's such a good device for fleshing out character

THE MIRROR OF COURSE. Just casually, oh, "establish transgender identity". IN A MOTHERFUCKING TRIPLE A GAME? insane. I didn't envision this character as trans, but I will for sure play one who is. Blessings be upon your house. 🙏

The option I chose for the Mirror was actually Scars. I gave my Rook the maximum amount of scars because he surely has been mistreated by the Crows. And when I picked up the Shaving Mirror, he was like (looking at his reflection): You suck, mister. Some hero you are. Every scar is a mistake you made. Look at what happened to Harding. Do fucking better. INCREDIBLE INNER ANGST thanks.

The transmog option is also so well done and i greatly appreciate it.

Also that I don't have to worry about resources because once I started upgrading stuff, everything I am getting may be worse in rarity, but it is the same strength, so i can side-step into progressing a different weapon / armor instead. LOVE to see it.

The fact, by the way, that the Caretakers is voiced by a nonbinary actor who also voiced Athena and Alecto and Tisiphone in Hades? WAOW. Such voice.

I have no idea where the plot is heading but. My BIGGEST theory so far is that Varric survives lol. I love that he continuously intersperses and does the iconic painted cinematic around big quests -- but it just makes me feel like he survives the events of the game and this is a story he is once again telling AFTER the game is done.

Also, I remember the devs saying that his role was gonne be similar to Obi-Wan -- which that made people even more convinced that he was gonna die lol. But actually the angle of mentorship? Goes down so well for me. My Rook looks PAINFULLY young. He has never done anything so big before, he feels not up to it. He was just following Varric along, being his second, and suddenly having to step up and make ChoicesTM? That first heart-to-heart where you can instantly be like: "First decision I made, and Harding got hurt." "I'm not cut out for this :(" It was SO CUTE and good for me

The inhuman screech I made at 4am in the morning when Dorian strode his way into that inn with the MAXIMUM amount of sass I missed SO MUCH (thank god i live alone. rip my neighbors)

even more importantly: that Maevaris is voiced by Candis Cayne???? SO AMAZING. (some of you may know her as Ms. Hudson in Elementary, or from her lgbt-defining performance in Dirty Sexy Money.) i had no doubt that they would cast a trans actress and i am so grateful they did but also insane that they chose one so personally inspiring to me. ma'am. i simp

Viper being voiced by Mr. Mercer 😳 fandom is gonna either go insane wanting to fuck him, or wanting him to fuck Tarquin. or Dorian. or Mae. fandom will do as fandom does, i can feel it

all in all, the game feels very much like a Mass Effect skeleton in a Dragon Age suit. which is a compliment. i really enjoy the pacing of ME2 and ME3 where you have missions that are contained and linear. and then you have Hubs. and i get lost in the sauce exploring the big "semi-open-world areas". but the way the game pushes one mission after the next feels more resembling how Mass Effect did it. and i like that for pacing. because I love a LOT about Inquisition, but pacing is not its strong suit. the open-world exploration there far outpaces the plot, so I may spend 3 days not progressing the plot at all and just running around doing all the exploration in 2 different regions. which is atmospheric. but the pacing staggers much from it.

also they did promise no silly fetch quests and no nonsense, and i do like that they tapped into a completely different mentality of: yes there are region-specific quests. they are important and they gain you support with a faction and they reveal stuff about the world. but also there are PUZZLES. interactive with your companions and you have to come back to certain places after you gain new companions. and looking for Wolf Statues. which are so atmospheric and the howling is so sad. and collecting all the chest. which are clearly marked and are pingable. oh and a clear multi-layer map. i know you exist because Forgotten Oasis was Like ThatTM. and the environmental puzzles in Arlathan Forest!! i am absolutely the target audience for stuff that. i gotta find everything, collect everything, a 100%, but also i love the parkour puzzle aspect of it 😊

[hoboblaidd]

Elvhen terms of endearment (everyone thank @weptduty )

Now that we have a nice little selection of Elvhen terms of endearment, a few thoughts on which ones Solas uses and who he directs them at. He might refer to a single person by several of these, depending on the depth of feeling in the moment. I'm not adding the gendered terms but they're used as appropriate.

Vhenan (my heart): Vhenan does not have to be romantic, it’s akin to agape.

1. Romanced Lavellan - romantic. 2. Mythal - he wouldn't use it as romantic for Mythal, but it conveys the depth of his feeling. He was her companion spirit, they were bonded beyond normal kinship. Uses it less and less as the apotheosis nears.

Varethlin (literally "promise-kin", intimate - meaning kinship founded on a personal / private oath - @weptduty literally invented this word, bow before Pal)

1. Landalen 2. Felassan

Hah'ren (respected elder; respected teacher). It's rare that he ever uses this, but I can see it happening for a wise elf he grows to respect and learn from (honestly Eldrin springs to mind if they ever met). But generally he usually uses this as a playful insult. Case in point:

1. Felassan - sarcastic but affectionate, used when Solas is being cheeky, so 60% of the time. 2. Anaris - derogatory, used to annoy the shit out of him.

Lethallin (friend, kin): Our first branching definition/use - first, someone who is or is like close kin/familial. Second, a positive way to refer to a friend. Third, towards someone who is an elf but only acknowledging their shared kinship.

1. A high-approval, non-romanced Lavellan - approval status changes the meaning from "friend" to "kin". 2. Abelas - closer to "brother" than the more general "kin", but still distant as of Inquisition. 3. Hulwen - mostly as "friend", but it packs a bit more meaning since Hulwen is struggling with and exploring his elven heritage. 4. Elgar'nan - used as a pejorative; essentially, it reduces Elgar'nan to just another Firstborn elf.

Da'len (little one; child): Our second branching definition/use. First and most obvious, to a literal child. Second, as one might refer to a pupil or a younger person who is beloved when he's in the role of a teacher or parental figure. Third, derogatory. Essentially, 'you are acting like a child.' He will hit someone with a "da'len" if he thinks they're being incredibly naive.

1. Nanna - pupil (at first), but now, daughter. More "little one" than "child." Not meant to disparage or insinuate she's childlike, it's more like she's his child. Nanna also has the rare honor of being one of the few non-elves he calls Lethallan. 2. Low approval elven Inquisitor - not all the time, just when he's in the middle of an argument with them. Used as an insult. 3. Elf Rook - derogatory lol. Not all the time, but since all Rooks start at like -100 approval, he'll throw it in for flavor more than he would for a low approval Inquisitor. Only used when he's being an asshole (and in DATV to Rook, that's 95% of the time). 4. Mihris - perfect example of da'len as an insult. He's chiding her in Elvhen for acting superior towards him.

As for how he's referred to, it's entirely dependent on the muse. In general, the greeting of respect he usually gets from the Titan Wars through to the Veil is just "Wolf." It becomes more of a prayer than a nickname the closer to the Veil, which he hates.

In Inquisition, aside from someone like Nanna, it's probably rare that he's called "hahren" in the teaching capacity, because while he does impart wisdom, it's in less of a teaching posture. Some of the city elf Skyhold servants call him "hahren" because he's in a similar role to the elders of the alienages as their quasi-advocate, but he discourages that. Frankly, I think he likes just being called "Solas." It's been a long time since he could just be that.