#he would be a dorian romance btw. important

[crows-of-buckets]

I think I may make an au where Zel becomes the Inquisitor instead of Selene. They were both at the conclave, so it was only really chance that ended with Selene grabbing the anchor

[kirkwallguy]

i agree with your takes on dragon age's relationship with queer content a lot. a straight female inquisitor (bonus point if elf) gets the most romance options, zevran and leliana's romance feels secondary *by narrative* compared to romances of characters who's a warden/king alistair and morrigan, sebastian being bisexual being a cut content*

* i just don't get it why the templar boys always got to be straight. like why can't men engage with their romances and experience this narrative when chantry and religion is so important for the story of these games? after all romance adds a different perspective for all characters.

here we have veilguard, the pansexual crew, and well... the romance content is the weakest in franchise

and i'm not saying queer romances were bad btw!! its just that i wish people who wants to play mlm or wlw get to see such perspectives in the story or these characters' stories too. like a male warden romancing alistair and all the juicy stuff that comes with it (the hurt or angst or the complications. are you sparing loghain? did you just marry the love of your life off to his sister-in-law for the future of your beloved country? did he become a drunkard visiting bars after bars because of the decisions you made even tough you were intimate?)

no exactly! i do tend to want to give them some slack given they're very Of Their Time (for a 2009 game even including bisexual options was scandalous, and dorian's bare bones coming out narrative was pretty standard for 2013 tv shows / rare in aaa games) but it annoys me when people act like they're these flawless beacons of queer rep that you can't criticise just because we should be happy with being given anything at all. even if you don't count seb, 1/2 of the games pretty much require you to play an f/m relationship in order to experience a narratively relevant relationship. i find dai more insidious tbh because like... sure, don't make solas bi for whatever reasons you want to give. but cass and blackwall? there's 0 reason for them to be straight lol. (especially the bait and switch where you're allowed to flirt with cass as a woman for AGES before she turns you down despite characters like cullen shutting you down on the first flirt. it's funny when you do it intentionally but just feels cruel otherwise?) at least leliana and zevran feel like they're doing the most they were allowed to do

a gay or bisexual chantry/templar character who struggles with their sexuality would be SO interesting. honestly it would require more introspection about thedas' attitude towards sexuality than da has ever done - i feel like they could have done a fun subplot with this in da2 honestly.

and the thing about the dav characters is... they went to great lengths to make sure they avoided the playersexual allegations, multiple characters had a past where they dated people of various genders, taash having a preference for women was mentioned (in the weirdest way possible) but i still... don't know how they feel about their sexuality at all? neve is a tevinter mage, did her liking women play a part in her seeing through the issues with the system? does bellara have any lingering feelings about irelin at all? did harding realise she didn't have to be straight when she joined the inquisition and met people outside of her small ferelden town? (potential extra dialogue for an f/f romancing inquisitor???) it doesn't need to be a big Thing, but just a one-off dialogue during romance (davrin m/m exclusive dialogue on your date: "the first time i brought a man to meet my uncle i was so nervous etc etc") or a comment during a banter. it just establishes a little bit more about the characters and stops them feeling so flat... then again ig that's an issue with the whole game LOL.

[hobnob2020]

The Veilguard review

Big spoilers ahead for the people that haven't finished the game yet.

So after plugging 70+ hours I've finally completed Veilguard.

This will just be a general overview of how I felt about the game, I'll likely do a separate one for Solas/Mythal and Lavellan and one for a Lucanis romance.

First off I want to say that any negative criticism I had for the game I am reminded of how difficult this game was to get off the ground running in the first place; it experienced multiple layoffs, it pulled the team to focus on Anthem when it failed, the team was reduced, OG writers left and multiple people lost their jobs once their work was complete and lets not forget those that worked on this during a pandemic so I think it's important to keep coming back to this so that we can just appreciate what we had as an end product.

Now the end product itself, did I enjoy it? absolutely.

I've laughed, I've been giddy, I've been angry at times and in those final moments was reduced to tears that reconciliations were reached and it was the end of a very long 10 year wait.

I want to start from the beginning where we welcomed our Rooks because holy moly is the character creator detailed. I mean seriously every single Rook I've seen is a catwalk model 😂

Every faction felt different and the brief history to your character was really well done; I went with a female mage elf I the Crows and I loved being a Crow from the get go; the decision that she made that essentially forced her to leave the Crows because she'd basically f*cked up a mission was really interesting because there's still that tension once she returned with Viago (who I adored BTW, his disappointing fatherly persona against Teia's comfort and protectiveness was just perfect) and it set the course for every Rook wanting to prove themselves.

Briefly touching on the Inquisitors creation I was so happy that this was an early decision and hearing her say "it's good to see you again" was like a stab to the heart and felt like I was being welcomed back home after such a long journey.

Once into the gameplay it's hard to ignore how beautiful the graphics look, Minrathous' design was so unexpected and how the locals were treated makes me wonder how Dorian ever survived 😂

There were certain scenes that just blew me away and made me realise just how far games have come to allow us them; the moment you open the doors at Weisshaupt and see Ghilan'nains massive looming face in the clouds was just breath taking, in fact the two gods in general were very well done and there wasn't enough of them in my opinion.

The animation as a whole was very good and again compared to Origins this game is on a different level of good (hate to compare it to other games but Balders gate is probably the closest contender).

There's a particular scene with Lucanis as a romance where he walks over to you after you basically say you like what you see and that Spite doesn't define him, the way his face moves, the little smile, the way his eyes drop to your lips when you touch him floored me and I think having motion capture for this game definitely paid off.

The mechanics of the game were fantastic and as I've yet to play anything other than my mage I am excited to play other classes and possibly Warrior for the first time across 4 games, although Spellblade ruined a mage for me as I love being able to be upfront in a battle and found it perfect for my Crow mage.

I went with purple Rook for this playthrough as I wanted a charming Crow who had far too much energy and was awkward in the best way possible and loved every minute of it; Bioware has always been very clever at establishing the different personalities and how they affect the world around them. Going into a scene and having your Rook react by themselves depending on their personality makes the character feel real and that we aren't just following the same thread of dialogue.

When you first meet Solas they didn't lie that it would feel like an end game mission, the dialogue was fantastic, his voice actor is just incredible and he has a talent to be confident, insecure, determined and doubtful of his own words all in one and it was very easy to fall In love with Solas during inquisition.

I really enjoyed how the first decision you make as Rook ends with the gods escaping, either Harding or Neve being injured which puts doubts in your friendship and leadership from the beginning, that Solas who we'd believed to be the big bad was essentially trapped and looked like a kitten compared to these evil beings who want world domination, it really makes the player question how are we going to fix this massive mistake that we've created, because it takes the gods no time to get to work whilst we scramble to find a team and cleanse multiple parts of Thedas at the same time aswell as setting up base in the fade where we dig deep into the history of Solas and the ancient gods past.

The companions of this game I felt were individuals in their own ways with their own back stories and present problems but I felt as a whole weren't as good as say the previous game; there was no double crossing mages or people with their own greed and agendas, no hidden pasts like Blackwall which personally fell abit flat for me.

In fact I'd say the only one who had an interesting story was Lucanis after his imprisonment and demonic possession and the struggles that came with it.

I don't think I'll romance anyone else other than Emmrich as the others just don't interest me.

It just felt like you were constantly flitting to the Lighthouse and back to grind out companion tasks in order to gain approval and faction points, there was no option to just have a conversation like previous games instead it was very much on their terms and where you were in the game which was something i really missed.

Still, their personalities were very different and characters like Lucanis, Taash and especially Emmrich stole my heart very quickly.

The banter was top notch quality as per 👌 some of my favourites were from Taash and Lucanis, just being a Crow in the middle of their conversations about capes was hilarious at times.

The voice acting as a whole was very good, I felt with some characters particularly Neve it felt abit flat in moments but Bioware have a knack for finding talented voices; having someone as bubbly and excited as Bellara to the deadpan and slightly blunt at times Taash made for a very diverse team.

Returning characters was always a welcome and there were some surprising cameos such as Isabella in the Lords of Fortune faction.

I know alot of people were disappointed that this game felt limited in bringing over past choices but it needed to make sense; Sera isn't going to return and be found in the deep roads etc, it needed to serve a purpose to The Veilguards story and I'm happy with the ones we did get.

When it came to the three decisions from inquisition yes I was disappointed at first; why are we ignoring who drank from the well, why aren't we talking about Hawke, who's ruling Fereldon, who's Divine?.

I think we need to remember that after 4 games the decisions from little to big are so vast that there's simply no way to fit it all in and satisfy everyone and baring in mind this game is for new players too.

Having this game set outside of Ferelden means those decisions won't carry weight in Veilguard, who is divine won't affect us, where Hawke is doesn't affect us because we know they'll either be in the fade or fighting against the evil.

And yes a codex could of helped address any of this but again, it's a smaller team now at bioware and the focus is on Rook this time around, it's their turn and tbh reading codex' is time consuming when you've got gods to fight 😂

The only decision I really wanted brought over was who drank from the Well because as a Solasmancer he was so pissed at me but I think I know why it was glossed over.

I think having Solas being able to control your Inquisitor would have the issue of consent and violation and as a romance that doesn't feel right, especially given how Mythal basically manipulated Solas and used him as a slave it just goes into uncomfortable territory.

We could also argue that Solas absorbed Mythals essence so all that's left is her memories and the tiny fragment you find in the crossroads so essentially Mythal ceases to exist thus there's no pledge anymore for the inquisitor and that she only needed her help to fight Corypheus, who knows but I'm glad Solas wasn't able to do that to the Inquisitor.

The endgame was amazing, finally killing Ghilan'nain was so satisfying and Lucanis was an absolute bad ass doing it, seeing Solas become the dreadwolf and hearing his pained cries was heartbreaking even if he couldn't stop betraying my Rook 😂.

Forcing you as a player to lose a character despite high factions and hero status was brutal, and I unfortunately lost both Davrin and Assan. As much as I loved them both, it made sense to his character to die in that way, and Harding has so much more to do for the dwarves and titans.

I'll talk about Solas/Mythal and Lavellan on another post but I was very happy with how it ended, seeing the art concept of him making himself tranquil just shows how differently it could of gone, and I honestly expected them to die in each other's arms.

If I think of anything else I'll add it onto this post but yeah, 10 years man and it's over, well not over completely as I'm creating an Emmrich romance as we speak but I can't believe years of speculation and doubt is now in our hands forever.

Yes this game could of been better in parts and blew my expectations away in others but I loved it and I think the negative criticism over characters like Taash, the three previous decisions, crazy solasmancers which bring the team down is so unjust and people need to reflect on themselves as humans.

All I would say to those that critic this game as heavy as they have is to take their time and play it again, you'll find things you missed the first time around, really read the codex', just sit back and understand what the characters are saying, read between the lines and just take it back to beginning of this post, this game very nearly didn't happen and alot of talented people that have given you this game have lost their jobs so please just be grateful for what we do have and pray that this isn't the end of dragon age.

Edit:

The whole Varric thing was probably my least favourite thing about the game, not because he died but it just didn't make sense that Rook didn't know until the very end.

I had my suspicions because he was always tired and going back to bed and something about it didn't feel right.

For other companions to say "oh we thought you knew" was just silly, I could understand Solas using his powers to create an illusion but why not on all the companions because surely Rook at some point was like "Oh i'll take some food to Varric" or "have you been to visit him", without that Rook just sounds crazy 😂

[doriansbutt]

OK so I had a sudden realization today that I never actually returned the asks about DAV to you cause I answered them all then passed tf out like a fool so let's pretend it hasn't been. Several. Days.

2, 4, 7, 15, 16 (thank you for sending to me btw mwah mwah)

It’s okay homie I’ll just take several days answer to call it even! 🫠

2. Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

Inquisition. It was my first one and I bought it just to romance Dorian lmao. I do love the other games, but Inquisition has a special place in my heart.

4. What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

So I have a billion worldstates, but my canon one is:

HoF: Yasso Surana, romanced Liliana, still alive (or was at the end of Trespasser lol)

Hawke: Spencer, mage. Romanced Fenris. Sided with mages, killed Anders (I’m sorry), Warden Carver, left in the Fade

Nicos Trevelyan: romanced Dorian, softened Leliana divine, did not disband the Inquisition…idr what other decisions would be potentially important for DA4 tbh 😬

7. Which character from the previous games or other media are you most hoping will make an appearance in DAV?

Dorian, obviously. Also anyone from Absolution would be cool.

15. Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far?

Not sure, honestly. Maybe that idc if Varric lives or dies?

16. What's one crack theory you subscribe to (yours or someone else's)?

I haven’t seen any, I don’t think? I’ll say that Xenon the Antiquarian is gonna have a huge role this time around. And he’s a side romance.

[trashcatsnark]

You have mentioned river a couple times and your opinions of Johnny vis-à-vis jealousy - he’d be a handsy little shit obvs, but do you have any thoughts about how they would interact?  part of me says given how river pretty much falls for every single v and how little he’d likely care for Johnny , I think there might be a *touch* of jealousy there too more of “a seriously this guy???” sort of thing,l

Okay, so, like I do think as like a woman who has an attraction to men (I’m bi) there’s always a tendency for me to compare and how the two are so dynamically opposed. But, works for masc V or a nonbinary V too, btw. Aint not exclusionary bullshit in this house. 

River just offers V such the polar opposite of Johnny. River is like the domestic sweetheart former cop and Johnny is a feral terrorist rockerboy.  Johnny represents chaos and disorder; River represents a more controlled fight against the system, more order than Johnny for sure. Cause River does turn against the system and sees how unfair it is, but his response to withdraw from it and fight for what matters to him most, trying to help people. And Johnny turns against the system by sending a big explosive message, but is shitty to people on an individual level. River wants to help change people’s lives on an individual personal level; becoming a private eye so he won’t be bogged down in doing so by the constraints of the system. Johnny has this vision of changing people’s lives by destroying the system that hurts them. Johnny is ruthless and River is more contained. They both have values that are important to them and a desire to help in some way; but go about it in very different ways. And when it comes to V and romance, River falls quick and isn’t afraid to put it on the table. Johnny doesn’t have that freedom, constrained by circumstance, or the emotional maturity. River isn’t burdened by guilt or the reality of V’s shortening lifespan. 

And to me, at least playing as a fem! V. River is by far the most blatantly romantic and upfront about his feelings for V. Like I never got the feeling Judy was into my V until the cheek kiss, then its up to V to make a move in the cabin. I dont even think I get the chance to flirt with Panam as fem V and while everything feels flirty; obviously Panam isn’t romanceable to me. But I do believe I was shown that masc V is expected to initiate and then she’ll give a return kiss the next morning? (correct me if wrong) And I know with Kerry, you give the option no matter what to try to romance on the balcony, fem V getting shot down. Then I was downright shocked when me helping Kerry break something was treated as a romantic advance. Whereas River is just; his whole ass family being like RIVER WANTS TO KISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! and him being like...”they’re not wrong...” 

So, Johnny has a lot of jealousy imo about how River offers something so different then him, can be open and honest with his feelings in a way he can’t. AND River has a silver hand too, what the fuck, copyright infringement much!?

And then Johnny’s back and River was assumably respectfully rejected by V. And he can see that V likes Johnny but....he’s kind of a dick????? At least Johnny’s a bit of a dick to River (for reasons) and he’s kinda unreliable and all over the place, at least to River. But V likes him and also Randy likes Johnny, cause tell me a teenage delinquent who loves rock music wouldn’t like Johnny, and he’s like, V, he taught Monique and Dorian to swear and called their favorite game cop propaganda. He’s loud, he’s gross, he’s childish at times. And, really V...really???? He’s the guy you wanna spend all your time with????? Really???? Are you sure there wasn’t left over brain damage after mikoshi???

And me and my friend @tender-wounds have joked a lot about how picking Johnny when River is like right there, is basically any incel or “nice guy”’s worst fucking nightmare. Not that River is any of those things because he’s obviously not. But like, you have this nice domestic, sweet guy, just wants to do the right thing, he cooks for you, he’s even like 6′5, good looking fellow, AND YOU CHOOSE THE  GREASY ROCKER BOY WHO SMACKED YOU ON DAY ONE, CAUSE WELL, HE CHANGED. 

LIKE ITS ACTUALLY KINDA HYSTERICAL BUT LIKE, I LOVE HIM.