#i do not think there is a universe in which there is a da game that truly manages to deal with its politics well at this stage

[elek-tavor]

btw i do wanna say, i'm enjoying datv. i am absolutely being critical of it, of course, but like... this is a dragon age game. honestly, scratch that, it's a popular fantasy game. there's a ton of shit to criticise always. but beyond that, i don't agree with the complaints personally. or maybe "don't agree" is not the most correct term, as we are speaking on matters of taste here (and i promise "i want companions to hate each other more" is fully a personal taste thing). but what i'm trying to say is i myself am overall enjoying the experience. far more than i enjoyed inquisition that i just replayed for sure. i like the group, i like the friendships and the romances and how a lot of things relationship-wise are set up (mostly). i think the combat is fun and it's honestly the best option i've seen for a game where you travel with a whole party outside of turn-based combat, which dragon age would never do. i think the way quests work in a fairly linear but still rather loose way is good for this kind of a game too. so i'll be stuck on this one for a while and will definitely be making a couple of ocs at least :)

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

(Light spoilers for act 3 of Hardspace Shipbreaker)

The story in Hardspace Shipbreaker is focused on unions/labor rights, and I was really curious how they were going to handle the conflict of, like... in-universe, you're doing extremely dangerous work under unethical conditions to try and pull yourself out of deep debt; but as a player, the "work" is the extremely fun and satisfying gameplay. So at some point the devs have to face a game design problem: squaring the story they want to tell with not stopping the player from experiencing the fun part of the game. And I really liked how they did it! They managed to meet both goals by telling the player to just absolutely destroy a ship - giving them something fun to do, a slightly different problem to solve that (probably) wasn't something they would have done in normal gameplay, as well as being a good in-universe justification (a work slowdown, destroying profits, showing solidarity). I haven't been totally enamoured with the story in the game - I'm into the themes, but the writing is a little clunky and the scenes tend to slow down the pace of the game - and I thought they might just have the workers go on strike, which would be thematically appropriate but kind of a bummer in terms of gameplay. It was a pretty clever way to solve that conflict.

[hyperions-light]

A home in life, a berth in death, a house of many mansions: the Necropolis fucks

Before the game came out the Necropolis was one of the top five places I was hoping they would let us visit in Thedas and I'm so thrilled it did not disappoint! The architecture, the atmosphere is impeccable, the reactivity everywhere (cleansing the Vault of the Beloved, the secret room that appears, the skeleton workers that begin cleaning different areas as the game progresses), the detail in everything. Did you know that in the room where you get the codex entry about the flesh-eating beetles, you can look down and see them running across the floor? Love it!

But the environment itself is only an aspect of what makes the Necropolis so much fun; the insight we finally get into Nevarran culture is possibly the most important thing that comes out of it. The only Nevarran we've really met before was Cassie (love her, she was not very informative, though), so to actually get to meet people who serve as stewards to one of the most sacred cultural rites is incredible and exactly what I wanted from this game. I loved discovering their unique perspective on magic, and how they handle their Templar Order.

It's also a fascinating lore point to discover that Emmrich can speak to the dead; we've never actually encountered a REAL ghost in DA, I don't think. There have been things which appeared to be pieces of once-living people, but it could always be explained by 1) weird magic causing them to live past their normal lifespan 2) a spirit acting as a dead person. Emmrich makes a distinction between speaking with real dead people and imbuing a once-living body/articulated skeleton with a spirit. This is so cool and interesting! And they've been doing this consistently and regularly, to talk to the late King Markus! All the magic applications in this game make the South seem so boring lol (but that's for another post).

And I love that the Necropolis itself is considered alive by the Watchers! It moves and rearranges its own configuration in accordance with some sort of unknown will; is it partially built inside the Fade? Is it imbued with magical energies, like Arlathan was? How old is it? Is the reason it functions this way because it's so old that it predates the separation of the Fade from the material world, or is it just that the Veil is thin there? Are the Lichlords the ones directing the Necropolis? How? So many interesting implications and questions brought up by just the building itself!

I think my favorite thing about the Necropolis and the Watchers, though, is how they present death. Most of the cultures that we've encountered so far in Thedas view death as a universally negative thing, but the Nevarrans celebrate its place in the cycle of existence. In the gardens, which are such a beautiful, peaceful location, there's a puzzle you can do where you have to turn on a series of meditation bells in a specific order to get into a treasure room; when you put together the poetry accompanying each bell in the correctly, they describe (metaphorically) the movement of a person through life and into death. It's such a gorgeous little detail, and I love the way the Necropolis is designed to encourage the player to think about death (it also folds in so neatly to Emmrich's personal plotline!), especially since it is so integral to the game as a whole (yet another different post).

Visiting Blackthorne Manor and picking up mementos in the Necropolis shows that, this death positivity is, in fact, a pervasive cultural attitude. Nevarrans believe that they have a duty to each other that persists after they die; that the body can keep being useful; that the living should honor the dead. It's such an interesting perspective that was missing from the DA series; people die all the time, and, of course, it's intended to make the player sad, but DA has never seriously discussed death, its implications, what it truly means or how it affects those left behind. They've never really made you sit and look at it as the player. There are some sad lines after Leandra dies in DA2, but it's mostly in the narrative to give Hawke a reason to hate blood magic and stuff. There's no funeral. There's a few lines from Gamlen, Hawke, and your companions, and then the game moves on. It's always like that; the game gives you a moment to be sad, and then it moves on. There's no mourning. But this game is partially about mourning! It's about people being gone, and it being too late; it insists you look at death and deal with it, and the Necropolis is the epitome of this.

The game asks the question over and over what you think the characters should do in response to their own losses, and the Necropolis represents are really interesting, nuanced, answer to that question. They're not gone; they're right there. They're still with you. You can go and visit them and celebrate who they were in a place that honors and cares for them, still. It's so beautiful and interesting and full of love, for the living and the dead.

I didn't even talk about Emmrich's plotline or the class differences in the Necropolis, or how everyone there is a weird goth nerd and I love it so much, but I think that's really the important point: the symbiosis. The living; the dead; the spirits; the corporeal, all finding a way to be together.

[drakorn]

Rewriting Veilguard Part 4 - The Veil Jumpers

Rewriting Veilguard Part 3 - The Grey Wardens

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Writing an Origin Story Mission for the Veil Jumpers

The Veil Jumpers are…interesting, the way they are presented in the game right now. At first you might assume they are Dalish, but then they are not, or at least not anymore, because they let anyone join their group. Then they all seemingly know about the true nature of the Evanuris and actively oppose them.

I have to admit, when the one faction that strictly deals with matters of the ancient elves and has the most visible Dalish influence, I expected a bit…well…more Dalish behaviour, I suppose. When I saw how Strife and Irelin responded to the Evanuris returning, I had a bit of a “…huh…” reaction. I expected at least some elves to have a crisis of faith, and Bellara contemplating how horrible this is for one or two scenes does not really count in my opinion.

So, in the Veil Jumper origin story we are about to experience, we have to tackle the following questions in a satisfying manner:

Why do so many seemingly Dalish elves allow outsiders into their midst?

Why does everyone apparently know of the Evanuris’ true nature?

Why does not a single elf have any kind of crisis of faith upon learning that their gods are evil?

At least one of these questions is going to be answered with “this doesn’t happen in the rewrite." I’ll let you guess which one it is.

So, without further ado, let us experience a potential Veil Jumper origin story!

Creating Rook

For a third time, let us press the start button. This time, we choose the Veil Jumper origin, and the little blurb text reads as follows:

“You are a Veil Jumper. This daring group explores ancient elven ruins in Arlathan Forest. Initially founded by the Dalish, they now, albeit reluctantly, accept anyone into their ranks who is brave and cunning enough to face Arlathan’s reality-warping magic. As one of their senior members, you are quite familiar with the preserved lore of Elvhenan and are now entrusted with leading an expedition into the unknown. But will that trust be warranted?”

I think the Veil Jumpers are the trickiest faction to explain the “you can play all races” angle. The Shadow Dragons consist of the oppressed and those willing to fight against tyranny, the Grey Wardens literally cannot afford to discriminate, but the Veil Jumpers? They were, quite probably, founded by the Dalish clans who lived in Arlathan Forest. And if there is one thing, one crucial trait the Dalish are known for across all previous games, is the fact that they really don’t like outsiders. Clan Lavellan was one of the exceptions to the rule.

So, for this rewrite’s version of Veil Jumper Rook, I’m going to do some world building to explain just why everyone brave and cunning enough is welcome to join them. Because all the building blocks are right there in DA lore, we just have to use them.

Let us go back to Tevinter Nights where we meet Strife and Irelin. We know they are from Clan Morlyn, Strife specifically having joined it after coming from a city elf background. We can presume that Clan Morlyn remained in Arlathan Forest to study and combat the wild magic awakening in it. Eventually, however, Clan Morlyn realised they were just too outnumbered against this raw power. So, begrudgingly, they chose to expand. At first, they picked up the straggling remnants of some of the other Dalish clans who lived in or traversed through Arlathan Forest, none of them numbering enough to survive on their own. But even that didn’t get Clan Morlyn the desired effect.

Clan Morlyn started taking in former prisoners of the Antaam (who were deforesting the place a few years ago), but that was not enough. By then, however, they slowly began to accept outside help, even share in their knowledge of the elven past. They looked at Clans Ralaferin and Lavellan as examples of what can happen if the People open themselves up more. While it is risky, it also brings rewards.

Eventually, the Dalish and the outsiders all merge into one large Clan Morlyn, of which several members form the Veil Jumpers, a force of knowledge and protection.

Now, as we know of Dalish naming customs, there is the first name, the family name, and the clan name. Rook’s Veil Jumper name is Aldwir, doesn’t sound pretty elven to me. But what if Rook’s name is their first name, then Aldwir, and then Morlyn? But how would that work for the different races being all named Aldwir? Well, here’s how we do it: they are all part of the same family. But how does that work?

Early into this expansion of Clan Morlyn, a Dalish woman, let’s call her Ashara, and a human man, let’s call him Beldon, met, fell in love, and married. Both had lost their previous spouse and found very common and loving ground. The man’s last name was Aldwir so they chose that one for the new union. Here’s how Rook’s race affects this backstory:

If Rook is an elf, they are a Dalish elf, the Morlyn mother being their biological parent from the first marriage.

If Rook is a human, they are the child of the human man who came to Clan Morlyn, again, a result of the father’s first marriage.

If Rook is a dwarf or a qunari, they are the adopted child of the human man who came to Clan Morlyn.

For the sake of this hypothetical playthrough, let us play a Dalish mage here.

So, once we finalise our Aldwir, Varric continues with his narration, pretty much summarising the Veil Jumper backstory I just proposed there. He also emphasises on how perilous and dangerous their expeditions into Arlathan Forest are.  But because of their knowledge to all things Elvhenan, he thinks this is the perfect place to look for the right person for his endeavour.

The Veil Jumper Camp

We begin our story at the Veil Jumper camp, and one thing I’d like to establish pretty early on is that the camp is incredibly mobile. It’s been visually alluded to in the game, but I really would like to emphasise the use of aravels here, showcasing the Dalish origins of this faction.

The opening scene starts with the aravels sailing through the forests, until they reach and make halt at a great lake surrounded by tall trees. In the distance, we can see some amazing elvhen ruins that are surprisingly still intact after all these years.

We’re also going to be immediately made aware of the fact that Arlathan Forest has some strange stuff going on with the Veil as there are just so many floating buildings and other anomalies scattered throughout the woods, the shores of the lake featuring an extensive amount on their own.

A note on the lake itself: This is, of course, meant to be the Arlathan Crater, where the ancient Tevinter magisters waged their final battle against the elves before sinking the city into the ground, or so we are meant to believe. I’m going to announce an immediate change right now and say that we are not going to see the ruined capital city of Arlathan here. Because…reasons. Either it’s sunk into the ground, or…well, something else.

Meeting Irelin

The game starts with us stepping out of our aravel, because yeah we get one, pretty cool right? Irelin, one of the Veil Jumper leaders, wants to see us. This is our big day, today we begin our expedition, and now we actually get to hear what this expedition is all about:

The Veil Jumpers have been observing a cave on a small island in the lake for a while now. It could lead to the ruins of a part of Arlathan itself, which is still rumoured to be sunk deep beneath the waves. Our first task is to head to D’Meta’s Crossing, get our supplies, gather our team, and head off. This expedition, consisting of three people, shall be led by us, Aldwir, Bellara, one our most accomplished elven historians, and…Merrill.

NOTE: For the duration of this prologue, Rook shall be referred to as Aldwir, for the same reasons as stated in the other origins. Also, Merrill wasn’t killed in the events of DA2, allowing her to appear here now. In this World State, she romanced Hawke.

So, with Merrill, I am approaching this from a very simple perspective: If she’s alive, she’s here. If she isn’t, she just isn’t.

Our next immediate goal is to head to D’Meta’s Crossing, where we shall meet Strife and Bellara, who need to give us some additional briefing.

Exploring the Veil Jumper Camp

Before we head to D’Meta’s Crossing, Aldwir has the opportunity to do some exploration of the Veil Jumper camp. At this point, we can have the following encounters here:

We can encounter Myrion, the mage from Tevinter Nights, who escaped the Antaam along with Strife. He’s now a Veil Jumper and one of those in charge of defending the caravan during travels.

If she’s alive, which she is in this case, we can have an early meet-up with Merrill. We learn that she left Kirkwall after the events of Trespasser and wandered Thedas in the attempt to learn more about the Eluvians and the mysterious Crossroads. We can ask about Hawke, but she’ll be very quiet and sad about him, as he’s presumed dead after the events at Adamant Fortress.

NOTE: In this World State, Clan Sabrae survived and Merrill’s Eluvian was restored.

D’Meta’s Crossing

So, D’Meta’s Crossing will have a bit of a different role in this rewrite. You see, when playing DAV, I wondered how such a village could exist in Arlathan Forest, inhabited by both elves and humans and a human mayor to boot. How is this possible?

Well, thankfully, the worldbuilding we’ve done a little earlier gives us the perfect way out: D’Meta’s Crossing is the settlement Clan Morlyn and the Antaam survivors constructed for themselves after deciding to build a community together. This is where the civilised, non-fighting part that isn’t the Veil Jumpers resides.

However, I am going to change the character of the mayor. Instead of a generic slimy human guy, this rewrite’s version of the mayor is an elven man named Venalin, who is also the Keeper of Clan Morlyn. The idea here really is to show just how much the Dalish of Arlathan Forest were willing to adapt due to necessity.

Our goal in D’Meta’s Crossing is to find Strife and Bellara to fully get our little expedition going. But first, we can do some initial exploration of the settlement:

Instead of it being a regular human-built village as it aesthetically is made out to be in the game, D’Meta’s Crossing is a bit of a mix of cultures: It’s primarily Dalish, we can see how the foundations used to be Clan Morlyn. There are repurposed aravels everywhere, and shepherds are taking care of halla on the outskirts. A great vhenadahl stands in the centre, invoking memories of the city elves. But then there are also normal human-made houses, as well as several collections of tents here and there. It’s a fun place to look at! Kinda chaotic, but also strangely idyllic.

We can run into Eldrin, Davrin’s uncle figure, who is the chief halla shepherd here. As we established earlier, all elves of Arlathan Forest were absorbed into Clan Morlyn and the Veil Jumpers, so it only makes sense for him to be here. He can even mention Davrin if we talk to him and wonder how he’s doing, softly setting him up for later.

We hear whispers about the Blue Wraith, who is, of course, Fenris. He used to roam Arlathan Forest and hunt down slavers. But when the time came for the forest’s inhabitants to band together, he left.

Last but not least, we get to meet our parents, in this case our biological Dalish mother and our human stepfather. We exchange in a few pleasantries and can actually establish the family dynamic between us.

NOTE: In this World State, Fenris survived and Danarius is dead, allowing him to fully embrace the mantle of the Blue Wraith.

An Old Friend

When we reach Strife, he is currently in a meeting with Keeper Venalin, Irelin, and, as, of course, needs to happen, Varric Tethras. Strife introduces us as Aldwir, the leader of the upcoming expedition into Arlathan Crater. Here we get to really see that Strife grew up as a city elf. He just has that connection with outsiders that only the rarest Dalish elves possess. Keeper Venalin is, of course, known to us. Since we’re playing a Dalish elf here, he is extra fond and respectful towards us.

Varric, of course, knows Strife and Irelin from the Missing comics. He doesn’t know Aldwir, though. In our exchange with him, we can establish just how Dalish we are. Despite Clan Morlyn now containing non-elves, do we act as forthcoming to actual outsiders, or are we cordial and respectful?

Since Merrill is part of the Veil Jumpers in this World State, however, the two share a heartfelt reunion, and we learn that it was actually Varric who encouraged her to join up in the first place. That will immediately make him a more respected figure among the Veil Jumpers as Merrill is one of the best historians and researchers around, equal only to Bellara. This reunion carries a sombre tone, however, as Hawke is presumed dead, and both can relate to that feeling.

Speaking of Bellara, Strife tells us that she’s already gone scouting ahead and awaits us at the entrance to the cave, where we shall commence the expedition together.

When we announce or readiness to depart, we make our way to an aravel repurposed for aquatic travel and set sail across Arlathan Crater.

Arlathan Crater

As we sail across the great lake that once supposedly hosted the great city of Arlathan, we get some really atmospheric shots of Arlathan Forest and truly get a feel for how magical and ancient this place is. This origin story must really come across as a proper adventure, where we’re hunting for old relics and uncovering ancient history, almost like an Indiana Jones film.

We get to have some conversations with Strife, Irelin, Varric, and Merrill, especially with the latter two. When Merrill wonders what brought Varric here in the first place, Varric dodges the topic a little and promises to tell her later. All he can say is he’s on a search. Another quest for the remnants of the Inquisition, perhaps?

As we pass some ruins sticking out of the water, we get a short history lesson on how Tevinter sunk the city into the ground with their blood mages long ago and we can react accordingly, establishing Aldwir’s personality a little more.

This is also a good point to establish how wild the magic of Arlathan Forest is. Strife and Irelin are specifically coming with us to shield the island we’re on from collapsing back into the waters while we’re off investigating underground.

Meeting Bellara

We then arrive on a small island far out on the lake, and find Bellara’s own, smaller boat. Bellara herself has already set up a whole campsite in front of the cave, which looks more like a looming crack into the voids of the earth.

After some back and forth that shows us Bellara’s sheer excitement for what we’re about to do, it’s time to depart into the crack. Strife and Irelin remain above and Varric asks to come along as the fourth member of our little expedition. Strangely enough, however, Merrill is against it. She seems strangely erratic all of a sudden. She really doesn’t want Varric down there. But she can’t properly explain why. So, here we have our first big choice:

Do we let Varric accompany us as a fourth member to this expedition?

Or do we listen to Merrill and have him stay on the surface?

I’m choosing to play Aldwir as willing to cooperate with the outside world in honour of Clan Morlyn letting non-elves into their midst, and my stepfather being a human man, so that’s what we’re going with. Merrill seems resigned to something but whatever we try to gauge the answer from her, she won’t speak up.

The Crater Ruins

We descend into the crater and soon find ourselves traversing a great selection of underground passages. As we do so, we get to see a few strange and marvellous things:

Hardened glass from Ancient Elvhenan through which we can see into the waters of Arlathan Crater. We do, indeed, see great ruins from days long past, claimed by the millennia-old waters. Fishes and other aquatic creatures make their home here. Somewhere in the distance, we see a faint strange glow through one of the windows.

We come across some ancient murals on the walls, depicting June, the elven god of Craftsmanship. This is either a temple to him, or the house of an elven nobleman who was dedicated to him in particular. On some of the murals, we see what appear to be eluvians, with one great mirror in the centre. It’s very blink and you’ll miss it, but it’s there.

At one point, Merrill pulls Varric aside and encourages him to leave while Aldwir and Bellara aren’t listening. She warns him that there are hidden dangers down here, which she doesn’t want to expose him to. Varric states that he’s faced Kirkwall and Corypheus, he can handle an underwater ruin.

At some point, we suddenly sense a strange magical reverberation go through the ruins, and we’re attacked by a bunch of ancient guardian constructs. After defeating them, we sense a great surge of magic from deeper within the ruins and follow it, albeit cautiously.

The Great Gate

At some point, we reach a huge gate, which is secured by two complex locking mechanisms. In order to open it, we need to enter two separate rooms and solve the puzzles within. They’re not going to be too outrageously hard, but still enough of a challenge to get one thinking.

The first room features another mural of June and a fractured dragon statue. We have to magically put it back together to access the locking mechanism. The dragon’s shape is strangely reminiscent of Urthemiel, the Archdemon of the Fifth Blight, but in a non-corrupted, beautiful form.

The second room is almost entirely flooded and features a similar puzzle to the first. But this time, the statue we have to reassemble is one of June himself. At this point, it’s clear we’re in some kind of temple dedicated to the god.

Once the statues are reassembled, it almost looks like they’re facing each other across the rooms. But why are June and a dragon that looks suspiciously like Urthemiel connected? Well, those who played the game already know the lore answer, but I’m going to present these connections in a bit of a slower way than Solas expositioning it all to us.

It's safe to say that Bellara is absolutely ecstatic about all this and has the time of her life, while Merrill, whom we know to be passionate about elvhen history from DA2, is surprisingly quiet.

Suspicious Behaviour

As soon as we’re about to enter through the gate, Merrill suddenly looks as though she’s having a collapse of some sort. Tired, she sits down and closes her eyes. Varric is, understandably, worried about her, but a moment later, she’s back to normal. What was that? What is going on? At this point, our Aldwir is getting a little suspicious. First the insistence of keeping Varric out of here, now this. What is going on? Does Merrill perhaps know more about this place than us? Is there something she’s not telling us?

As Merrill starts to slowly break under the pressure, Varric steps in and defends her from our questioning. Had we not taken him along, we might have heard more here. But now, all we can do is press on and watch for anything perilous.

The Hammer of June

As we descend further into this strange Temple of June, we slowly advance to the bottom of Arlathan Crater, where that odd building with the glowing windows could be seen earlier.

We make our way through the remaining passages, fighting a few guardian constructs along the way, until we enter what appears to be some sort of inner sanctum. A large but defect eluvian decorates the back wall.

In a glowing bubble-like sphere, presumably the source of the glow, we see a hammer, and it’s the most magnificent hammer we have ever laid our eyes upon. It’s as long as a staff and infused with lyrium and, since we’re a mage and can sense it, the raw magic of the Fade.

Bellara and Merrill share a historical geek-out moment as they both immediately come to the conclusion that this must be the Hammer of June, the ancient tool the God of Craftsmanship used to build the very foundations of Arlathan, among other works of beauty. If it’s not that, then at least it must be something similar.

As a Dalish elf, we have a moment of absolute reverence that we may have found something that truly belonged to one of our gods.

You can see that I have changed something here: Unlike in the game, not everyone knows the truth about the Evanuris here. Of course, some do, some of the Southern Dalish clans know, some elves in the North know, but not everyone. This is to set up something later in the game.

Now we are presented with another choice:

Do we return to Strife and Irelin and ask for Veil Jumper backup to safely remove the hammer?

Or do we attempt to remove it by ourselves right now? The risk is greater, but oh boy, so is the reward.

Merrill encourages getting Veil Jumper back-up, as does Varric, for wow does he have experiences with ancient things exploding. Bellara, however, wants to remove and examine it right now. As a very curious Dalish elf, we agree with her and choose to try and remove it now. Something about that greatly seems to upset Merrill.

So, in order to free the hammer from this strange bubble, we would have to somehow dismantle this complex mechanism that’s somehow still intact after all those millennia.

Upon exploring, we find a lyrium-infused base. However, in order to fully access the mechanism, one requires blood magic. Since Merrill is with us, she reveals her blood mage powers to us, willing to spill her own blood to open the bubble. Bellara, however, offers to use her own magic to access the intricate system built by the ancient elves (I refuse to call it Technomancy because that just does not fit into the DA setting). Now we have another choice:

Do we let Merrill go through with the blood magic ritual?

Or do we let Bellara tinker around with the mechanism?

So, at this point, my Aldwir is a bit suspicious of Merrill’s erratic behaviour early on and chooses to trust Bellara on this one. Besides, blood magic isn’t exactly great and my Dalish knows that.

Giving our go-ahead, Bellara begins to slowly override the mechanism’s magic with her own. The base flares up, but then begins to crack. Before we can do anything else, the bubble shatters and the hammer falls onto the ground.

However, this unorthodox approach has awoken something as we hear the ground shake. Then, a gigantic construct shaped like an elven warrior appears from below. It bears June’s vallaslin, which begin to glow. This ensues a boss battle, where we have to destroy the Sentinel of June.

During the battle, the entire room slowly gets wrecked and water starts spilling in. In the end, the Sentinel of June is defeated, but we are left severely beaten and battered.

Betrayal

As we struggle to take the hammer and deliver it to the surface, the great eluvian in the back suddenly comes to life. An entire gang of elves bursts through, led by a tall elf with long white hair.

Varric is stunned, for he recognises the man, albeit faintly. “Abelas?” he asks, confused.

Yes, this scene marks the return of Abelas from DAI. Yes, he could theoretically have been stabbed in the back by Morrigan, but there is nothing to say that he couldn’t have survived that wound.

NOTE: In this World State, the Inquisitor respected the ancient ways of the Temple of Mythal and completed the rituals.

Abelas quickly corrects Varric and refers to himself as Revas. He no longer stands for sorrow but for freedom. For he is now the Dread Wolf’s lieutenant, very much committed to aiding him in his plans to restore Elvhenan. The elves we are facing are agents of Fen’Harel.

So yeah…I know the recent AMA on Reddit revealed that Solas broke off contact with his agents a while ago, but…I don’t really like this, I’m gonna be real. Why have this big set-up at the end of Trespasser only to explain it away in a Reddit post?

So, for this rewrite, the agents of Fen’harel are very much active and Abelas, now going by Revas, is their leader.

And it is here where we are hit with a very unfortunate truth: Merrill is an agent of Fen’Harel, sent specifically to infiltrate the Veil Jumpers and get first-hand intel on the recovery of ancient elven artefacts that Solas might need for his plans. And he definitely requires the Hammer of June. This was Merrill’s final mission. When she went dizzy and sleepy earlier, she was actually letting Revas know that they could come along and collect the hammer. And that’s why she didn’t want Varric coming along.

So yeah, if we choose to play the Veil Jumpers as our origin story, we get a much earlier look at Solas’ plans, as the agents of Fen’harel are our direct faction enemies.

Varric is absolutely dumbfounded by this revelation and can only ask Merrill why she would ever join the Dread Wolf, knowing what he plans to do. Merrill begins to break down, but before she can form an answer, Revas interrupts the conversation by claiming the hammer.

We are now engaged in another boss battle, this time against Revas and the agents of Fen’Harel. Had we followed through with Merrill’s blood magic ritual, we would ironically have better odds now as the Sentinel of June wouldn’t have awoken and wrecked the place earlier.

Revas absolutely wrecks us. Then, he offers Bellara and Aldwir, given our Dalish heritage, the chance to join Fen’harel right now and live to see the old world restored. But both of us are too stunned by the fact that the Dread Wolf is among us. Imagine being a Norse pagan in real life and finding out that Loki has returned and is currently planning to kickstart Ragnarök. That’s pretty much what we’re going through right now with our Aldwir.

Before we can even properly contemplate this idea, Varric interjects and chastises Revas and the other elves for wanting to doom the people they share a world with right now. This angers Revas, for he is an ancient elf and shares Solas’ notion that the Veil is a mistake. He uses the hammer to deliver an absolutely brutal blow to us and the whole facility, which begins to finally crumble beneath the weight of Arlathan Crater. The last thing we see before we get absolutely crushed by the water is Revas ordering the elves to retreat through the eluvian, including Merrill. She gives us one last incredibly heartbroken look, and follows through. Revas disappears last and the eluvian goes dark, before shattering.

Aldwir, Bellara, and Varric are swept away by the waters of Arlathan Crater. Bellara is able to cast a spell that shields her and Varric from the impact, but Aldwir is thrown in a completely different direction. We then lose our conscience.

Rescue

Aldwir is faintly drifting in the waters of Arlathan Crater, until, quite unexpectedly, a large fish picks us up and carries us to the surface. There, we are lifted into the air by Strife, who levitates us onto our aravel. The fish jumps into the air and turns back to Irelin, who lands on deck. Yeah…for those who haven’t read Tevinter Nights: Irelin is actually a shapeshifter. No idea why they didn’t include that part of her character in DAV.

Healing

We wake up at our parent’s house in D’Meta’s Crossing, where Ashara, our mother, tends to our wounds.

She informs us that Varric and the Veil Jumpers saved us from certain death in Arlathan Crater. At this stage, we can show Aldwir being a bit vulnerable should we choose to. It’s not often that we get to interact with actual parental figures in DA.

Beldon, our father, joins the conversation and asks if maybe now is the time to take a little break from the Veil Jumpers.

When we head outside, Strife, Irelin, and Varric await us. Bellara is nowhere to be seen and we are told she has already returned to Arlathan Forest, in preparation for a new expedition, as she needs to get her mind focused now.

It is here where we find out that all three already knew that the Dread Wolf has returned and seeks to restore the ancient world of Elvhenan. What we just saw down there is but a fraction of his agents. Varric still can’t believe Merrill is among them and wonders what the Dread Wolf could have possibly done to convince her.

We also learn the true reason for Varric’s visit: he needs to recruit someone in his fight against the Dread Wolf. He was of the assumption that the Veil Jumpers were the perfect place to look. And it seems that he was right, as Aldwir is standing right there.

The implication is clear: we are to leave the Veil Jumpers and join Varric on his quest. We can either protest or accept immediately. Since my Aldwir is very much devoted to the cause, we shall object at first. But then Strife and Irelin let us know that Merrill may not even have been the only agent of Fen’Harel planted amidst the Veil Jumpers. And now they would know who we are if we reveal our survival. Joining Varric is a perfect cover-up, and they would never see us coming.

We are also encouraged to change our name for the duration of this whole affair. And here we get the Veil Jumper origin of our nickname: when we were still a child, we used to play chess in the evenings, on a board our father had secured from outside. The Rook was our favourite piece. This is told to us by our father, btw, causing for a slightly embarrassing scene. So, half-heartedly, we suggest Rook as our nickname. Varric accepts. “The strongest piece on the chessboard. I like it.”

Leaving D’Meta’s Crossing

We are given a bit of time to pack our things and join Varric outside the village. There are a few things we can do here:

We can, and will, of course, give our parents a heartfelt goodbye family hug.

We can talk to Keeper Venalin and maybe risk urging him to look for anything suspicious among the people of D’Meta’s Crossing. But who knows…maybe he’s in on it? It’s certainly a choice.

We can bid Strife and Irelin goodbye before they return to the Veil Jumper camp. They wish us good luck on our journey and hope to see us again soon. We can express our frustration with losing the Hammer of June, but they don’t hold it against us. Nobody could have foreseen what happened.

Once we’re done, we join Varric and express our readiness to leave. Going by Rook from now on, we accompany our new dwarven friend into the wilds of Arlathan Forest. As we reach a small hill, we turn back to view the almost idyllic nightly image of Arlathan Crater, D’Meta’s Corssing, and the Veil Jumper camp in the woods. We turn back and follow Varric into the unknown.

And there we have it! This is my proposed Veil Jumper origin story. Of course, it’s not perfect, not even close, but it’s a start, isn’t it? Let me know what you think! Next time, we shall head to Treviso and explore an origin story for the Antivan Crows. Stay tuned!

Rewriting Veilguard Part 5 - The Antivan Crows

[twisting-echo]

It's time to talk about some things that have been on my mind since the two final episodes of Monsters at Work season 2 dropped.

Despite how much I loved seeing Randall in Monsters at Work, I couldn't help but feel that Randall was out of character and super extra, to be honest. I know that I'm not the only one who thought that Randall's change in character was due to Johnny's asshole influence.

Now this may be my personal headcanon, but going off of what we were given in Monsters University, Randall, better known as Randy at the time, was a sweet, polite, and self-conscious monster who lacked confidence. Yes, he wanted to “get in” with the “cool kids,” but who hasn't given into peer pressure or wanted to hang out with people who seemed fun and popular? What kind of guy tries to make friends through sharing cupcakes? Sweethearts, that's who!

When Randall first revealed that he joined Roar Omega Roar, Johnny ordered him to “do the thing,” and Randall obeyed his command like a trained dog and turned invisible for Johnny and friends to gawk at. At the moment, I assumed that Randall was the group punching bag.

I always thought that Randall's cruel actions were based solely on Johnny's approval and the validation from his peers because that made him feel seen. Little did Randall know that Johnny was just using him for his unique abilities.

Later at the Scare Games, Randall lost control of what I considered to be his bodily functions and accidentally camouflaged his skin into a humiliating pattern of pink with red hearts, which was criticized by Johnny, Chet, and other members of his fraternity. After that, I always assumed that Johnny saw no more use in Randall because his camouflagic abilities are what got him into ROR, and it's what got him out of ROR.

You want me to really believe that Randall actually liked being in ROR and flourished?!

My point is that what I saw in Monsters at Work doesn't line up with what I saw in Monsters University. The only thing that did line up was the fact that Johnny was using Randall, just like he did back in college.

I had always thought that Randall had lost pieces of himself in an attempt to become a member of Johnny's fraternity. To be honest, I was never fully intrigued by Randall until I saw this alternate side of him in Monsters University. However, I can't really explain away his actions in Monsters Inc., but gosh, do I love thinking about the emotional journey he went through to get to that dark place.

Sshhh, Do You Hear That? belongs to @assrtdj

I Just Wanted a Friend... belongs to PumpkinSoup on DA.

Reflection belongs to Planet-Spatulon on DA.

Randall seemed perfectly happy with his friendship with Mike. He was so secretly desperate to appease his new friend that he discarded his prescription glasses just because Mike offhandedly noted that his glasses gave away his invisible camouflage. Mike didn't tell him to get rid of his glasses. Randall did that himself because he made a self-conscious decision. It's like getting a haircut that you really didn't want, but your friend offhandedly said that they thought that you would look good with short hair or dying it another color. That's how low Randall's self-esteem was!

Mike was the perfect friend for him! They spent time together; they lounged on the grass while studying their homework together; they had playful banter, and it was adorable! Mike accepted Randall for who he was, and I'll never forget that. Mike is Randall's true bestie. 🥺

I refuse to believe that Johnny and Randall are “besties” because Johnny is just using him again. Randall literally said that because Johnny saved him from the swamp people, he “owed him one.”

I refuse to believe that Chet of all people was bullied by Randall during his college days, and that's why he's no longer Johnny's number 1. I love Chet as a character, and seeing what he was reduced to in Monsters at Work broke my heart. He was a former shell of himself, and he was literally walked all over by Randall.

It's almost like they retconned, or should I say, Chet-conned his character and his friendship with Johnny by forcing Randall into his spot. I mean, Chet was a loud and obnoxious guy, but in a lovable way. He brought a lot of funny moments and had a couple of good one-liners in Monster's University. But what stood out in his character the most was his devotion to Johnny.

He literally screamed, "Johnny, you're my hero!" during the Scare Games. Johnny is Chet's boy, damn it!

Roar OhMyGosh belongs to J-Spence on DA.

Full comic by @j-spencer15 right here.

[grandwitchbird]

Veilguard is generally a well designed and well written game. I’m clear on what I think about DA as a whole, but it’s easily the best actual game in the franchise.

People are picking up, however, on a real critical flaw and mostly failing to locate the flaw while getting distracted by nonsense. It’s a flaw present in every DA game if you dig enough. Let’s talk about story bosses.

This is a tricky thing in arpgs. RGG and CDPR try to ensure that story bosses are densely interwoven into the world in a way that works thematically.

Adam Smasher would have been a problem in any universe; he’s just enabled and enshrined by this one. Hansen points us right back to the military industrial complex, the ghost of which we’ve spent the entire game wrestling with. Literally. All of that directs us right back to the systems in place in our cyberpunk world. It points us at our own motivations as V and interrogates our love of the power fantasy as a player.

In an RGG game, when you run down a corridor towards a boss, it’s a gauntlet. It’s there for fun and also to highlight the legendary clash that’s about to happen with reference to the Yakuza films the series started as an homage to. The boss may wait at the end or jump you, depending on their personality and goals. There will be mini bosses along the way because you’re generally fighting hierarchical organizations.

In Veilguard, our enemies wait at the end of a corridor. They’re powerful and don’t need to come to us. Ok good start, also a nod to ME. Occasionally you’re lucky and get story ‘minibosses’ that interrogate that very idea. The first warden is here to flesh out everyone’s motives and challenge us as the player. Sometimes you’re very lucky and the boss is Johanna Hezenkoss and she’s exclusively here to have clear motives that flesh out Emmrich’s arc and to cause problems because it’s fun. Most of the time, you get Aelia or whatserface Aelia 2.0 in Lucanis’s arc. Or the others I don’t remember after playing the game 5 times. Anaris? What did he even want? No I don’t mean power. What was under that? What was his motivation? Because I can explain the power-hunger in every Yakuza shithead or nationalist asshat I’ve fought in an RGG game. But Veilguard, like all of DA is avoiding real discussions of power and psychology and ~implications~.

I’m not a forgetful person. I’m meticulous and have the true blue autistic pattern recognition. I genuinely can’t say what made Aelia and Aelia 2.0 anything other than cosplay tyrants. Not without projecting onto the text or stretching it to breaking point by leaning hard on one specific short story.* Dragon guy and other antaam guy came out of literally nowhere. Mail order villains those two.

Even with our big bads, we get mere hints and gestures. Everyone is impressed with whatsisface doing a bad imitation of Bowie’s lines in Labyrinth. He’s a spirit of tyranny though. What does that mean. What makes the tyrants work in this world. And why are we cribbing from the Goblin King while carefully editing out the sucker punch?

We know the answer in the real world and can project that onto the game. But it’s not in the game. Not in a way the text doesn’t flinch from. And this is something people are picking up on. It’s also not been in any of the other games sorry to say. So this isn’t new. Veilguard just isn’t hiding behind obfuscating design choices and allusions to better stories. It’s still making those allusions (see gif above) but it’s a more honest text re: its limitations.

As with everything. The Mourn Watch and Grey Wardens stand heads and shoulders above the rest of the faction/companion-based conflicts. Their bosses have clear psychologies, motivations, and represent coherent and grounded goals (in hilariously disparate ways) Solas, likewise, has us/Rook as a mirror and his needs/wants and the conflict between those needs/wants are forefront and incredibly well developed. It’s not all bad. It’s actually quite good.

But when people flounder at surface details looking for the ‘problems’ with the writing. This is what’s getting missed. The problem is never ‘plot hole’ or ‘bad lore’. It’s something in the structure and conflict and motivation. And I’m afraid to say it’s old news with DA (Loghain is fine but the entire end of origins is an asspull. Don’t @ me). This game is much stronger than the others on that front. That would still be true if we had only Solas. We also got Johanna fingerguns Hezenkoss and the entire Grey Warden plot. I, for one, am counting that a win.

*the extended media is a critical weakness of the franchise. Referencing your own EU is not the same as entering a dialogue with an existing subgenre populated by works from diverse sources.

[the-goddess-of-mischief-writing]

whipped price is the best price!! i read countryside again earlier on while ao3 was down and it soooo good literally tempted to read it again before i go to sleep tbh looooool but food for thought because i literally think of price and sunshine!reader before i go to sleep but what if (and idk if this is cliche but i am going to be a cliche for this cause why not)

but what ifffff price goes off to the toilet for a week and while he’s gone he leaves sunshine!reader at the bar to get drinks (yes at marissa’s place) anyway sunshine is at the barrr and some random dude comes up and starts to hit on her and she’s like nah dude i’m good thanks and he still hits on her and even marissa is like ‘seriously back off’ and then after a bit price comes out and sees and starts puffing his chest a bit cause ? who da fuck is that flirting with his women?! and the others see him storming over and try to brace themselves for the wrath of price on this muppet flirting with his girl and that’s all i have rn butttt if you wanna continue it then please do

TLTR; price gets jealous of another guy hitting on his girl and i am wondering if you’d be down to finish it off cause you’d do a wayyy better job then me 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

A/N: Thank you s much love. This definitely took I turn, not gonna lie, but I still like it, hope it's alright<3

Dark and Stormy

Summary; When another guy hits on you, Price gets protective. One thing leads to another and you find yourself in a vastly unfamiliar situation with Price that Ghost helps manoeuvre.

Pairing: Cpt. John Price x reader (sunshine!universe)

Rating: Mature

CHAPTER NO/ONESHOT: Onehsot 

Word; 4.3k

Warnings; PTSD, mental health discussion, protective!Price, implied age-gap

Author; @the-goddess-of-mischief-writing​

SUNSHINE UNIVERSE MASTERLIST

The intention of tonight was a quiet night out. Or, as calm as it gets when there's football on the telly. It also was when Johnny entertained a conversation with you rather than watching the game, as disinterested in the sport as they come compared to the others. And yes, even when a team scored, the evening was peaceful. 

But then two things happened. John excused himself to the toilet while you headed to the bar, wanting a drink and something to chew on. It was a few minutes before half-time and you knew there would be a wave of people flocking towards where Marissa, at the moment, stood unoccupied, her arms crossed over her chest, eyes drifting over the crowd with an amused look. As you stepped up to the counter, that gaze settled upon you.

"Ain't it fascinating they can be this invested?" Marissa was as uninterested in football as Johnny, yet both possessed a good understanding of the game and the current season. Both your friend and the Scotsman unwillingly so, regarding the bar broadcasts relevant games on weekends and, apparently, it was a common topic not only off but on base amongst the men.

You shrugged in return. "Each to their own". 

"I guess", she huffed, pushing away from the counter she'd been leaning against. With two short steps, she stood in front of you. "Wanna get something?"

"You already know what I want", you replied, to which she put a hand on her chest, an exaggerated expression morphing her features as her mouth dropped open.

"To come and keep me company, you shouldn't have", Marissa flicked her hand, making you chuckle.

"If it makes you pay for my drink, sure", you wink at her.

"Dream on, missy", Marissa chuckles as she goes to prepare the beverage, but she stops in her track suddenly, eyes shifting away from you.

"I can pay for your drink, gorgeous". You jump slightly at the voice close to you. With a swivel of your head, you instantly locate the blonde man who'd crept up behind you.

"No, thank you", you reply with a polite smile, turning towards Marissa again, trying to make it obvious you turned his efforts down.

"Didn't sound like that a second ago". Your brows furrow, sending the blonde a look over your shoulder.

"Joke between friends", you reply curtly, motioning between yourself and Marissa.

"Well, she can't keep you company all night, can she?" He smiled, leaning on the bar beside you with his elbow. "But I can". He must've thought the wink accompanying his sentence was meant to lighten your mood. If anything, it made you cringe inwardly and take a step away from him.

"Got my boyfriend for that". You looked forwards, locking eyes with Marissa. She met you with an expression you didn't need words to understand.

You saw a movement in your peripheral. Glancing at the man, you spot him turning his head left and right, looking behind him. "Don't see him around. You're not lying to me now, are you?"

You didn't look at him as he faced you, only following Marissa as she propped one of her hands on her hip, a low muttered 'Jesus' passing under he breath.

 "Her man shouldn't need to be attached to her hip for you to understand what a no means", Marissa remarks. You send her a thankful look as her eyes momentarily shift to you.

"He should if having a girl this peng otherwise people will bother her all the time".

"Like you?" You finally turn towards him, arms crossed over your chest.

His brows are furrow, setting his features in a hard stare. "What did you say?"

You want to roll your eyes. But honestly, how the man's voice fell so drastically from the flirty tone made you hesitant. Yeah, you were bordering between annoyed and cautious now. "I'm saying I'm not interested in and you're making me uncomfortable".

"But I've done nothing wrong", he claimed.

"You may interpret that way, but I feel differently, so please", you motioned towards some other tables, asking the man to leave you be.

"I can stay here to have a drink if I want to", he states, turning to Marissa, making no move to listen to your desire for him to give you space. "I'll have a dark ale".

"I won't serve you", she declares.

"You can't decide that", he points at your friend, who cocks her head.

"I can. I own this place".

"Bull-fuckin-shit you do. What poor old grandpa did you rob this place from? Shouldn't even be surprised you took his life-work from him". Your mouth dropped open. Marissa's face hardened.

"Believe what you want because this is my pub and no one here will serve you". The man opened his mouth, about to continue the argument, when someone interrupted him.

"You can't get a clearer no from either of them, mate". Your eyes instantly find John upon his voice. He's standing behind the man looking at Marissa, then you, only for his eyes to meet the blonde's as he turns his head to see who's talking to him. 

"I didn't talk to you, now did I, old man?"

"Maybe not, but you didn't show any signs of human decency and respect to her". John motions to Marissa. "Neither did you care when she straightforwardly said she didn't enjoy your advances", he nods towards you.

Understanding that John caught his behaviour towards the two of you, the blonde suddenly switched up.

"Oh, come on, it's alright, ain't it, love?" He turns to face you, concerning you're the closest to him. Your nose scrunch at the pet name. In your mind, it was only reserved for John. That the man dared to use it despite how he's been acting made a revolting sensation grow in your stomach. "You don't mind me, right?" He raises his arm, attempting to put it around your shoulders in a manner of goodwill. But, you move out of his reach, not desiring to be touched by this man.

And, even if you hadn't moved, the blonde would never have reached you concerning how John acted swiftly. He'd grabbed his shoulder, a gentle pull making him take a few steps back to give you space. When the blonde stumbled slightly from the reasonable action, you understood the man wasn't entirely sober, quite far from it. Noticing the same thing, John placed himself between you and the man rather than standing by your side.

A look of disbelief crosses the blonde's features before he turns sour. "You looking to scrap?" 

"No". John stands straight, using his full height to his advantage. He wasn't only taller but broader than the other man, and you barely saw anything of him if you didn't glance around John's frame. All those things together would've been enough for most to back off, but not this guy. 

"Then piss off", the blonde spat, clearly thinking the liquid courage he'd gotten was enough to stand up to John, oblivious to his disadvantage. And that was only physical. With John's experience, you didn't doubt who'd be victorious in a possible fight. "I'm just trying to get a drink".

John scoffed, glancing back at you. You knew his easy attitude was for your sake, the way his hand sneaked backwards in search of yours reinforcing that as he faced forwards again. 

"It sounded like you tried chattin' up my girl and then insulted her friend. And when both made clear your presence wasn't welcomed, you can't respect them enough to leave. If you didn't notice that it's time to head home". John motions towards the exit with a small jut of his chin as he finally drops what you hope is the hint that will make the blonde scurry away. 

The man did catch it, his eyes flickering to you and then down to see your enlaced hands behind John's back. But you also recognised something else. Hurt fucking pride.

"Don't come and order me around", he scoffs, chest puffing.

"Only givin' you advice". John was serious. You gather that much despite not seeing his face. His voice had dropped a notch, his sentence more straightforward than previously. "Better off takin' it".

"Or what? You gonna force me, don't think ya would even land a hit", the blonde scoffed in return, swaying as he made a show of moving his head as if dodging punches. 

Something changed in the air then. John cocked his head, chuckling. An uneasy sensation rolls through your body upon the sound. It was nothing joyful in it. It was stern, hard edges digging into his smooth and raspy voice.

You know John is SAS, a soldier through and through. He's violent, but not violent. He can separate work from... this. What you feared, however, is that what he deals with professionally is calculated. Everything is planned, counted and weighed until agreed on something remotely executable. Initial planning left little to chance. That much you knew with your sparse knowledge of the military. 

The blonde staring at John now was nothing of this. He was uncalculated, impulsive. He could do something stupid in seconds. You trusted John, not the man.

"Don't buy into his crap, please, John". You step up alongside him, gently shifting out of your enlaced hands to hold his arm, trying to divert his attention. 

He doesn't look at you, eyes remaining locked with the man opposite him. "I won't". 

"Ain't no fucking way to talk to me". You send the man a disgusted look.

"I talk however I want to you if you can't understand what a fucking no means", you spit back. 

One of his brows cock and he steps forwards, hand raising. He doesn't come much further as John copies him. He steps out of your touch, one hand pushing forcefully enough against the guy's chest that he needs to catch himself at one of the stools.

"If you just were about to hit her-". Each syllable of the words is gritted through John's teeth as he speaks slowly. "-don't think about doin' it again". You hear the threat in his voice, the brush of 'test it, I dare you'.

Your throat constricts. And alarm of a situation spiralling out of control blaring in your body. You shoot Marissa a worried look and she knows what you can't say.

"I've had enough of this". Marissa firmly puts her hand down on the metal counter closest to her. Her action is followed by the rattling sound of glasses. John reacts in milliseconds, eyes snapping towards her. The blonde's attention follows a few seconds later. "You are not welcomed here anymore. Get out", she points at the blonde before motioning towards the door, her brown eyes darker than you've seen them in a long time.

"Or what?"

"I call the fuckin cops on you". She threatens, a sneer working itself into twisting her features. 

The man is probably about to defy her and argue when a shadow suddenly positions itself at your side. 

You feel dwarfed, standing so close to the new presence and John. But rather than shrinking in on yourself. You silently thank the gods it isn't an unwelcomed someone.

"You heard her". You look up at Ghost when he speaks. As always, his eyes were the sole feature peeking through his skull baklava. And right now, they bore into the blonde. "Get out". He didn't hesitate to grab the excess fabric of the jacket covering the man's shoulder. 

"Take it easy, mate". The blonde almost whines as Ghost pulls him away from your group and forces him to walk ahead while he follows him to the exit. Even the man understood he'd met more than his match.

You don't hesitate to step around John to face him as soon as the man is gone. You immediately notice his lips set in an aggravated purse and how he must run a pointed tongue over his teeth. His head is turned, a hard stare boring into the man staggering away with Ghost's palm planted firmly between his shoulder blades. 

"Hey". John's eyes finally met yours. They're dark, blue soladites gazing back at you. Something is brewing in them, something volatile. "Are you alright?"

John doesn't answer. Instead, his jaw only works, repeatedly tensing, making the muscle in his temple visible. It looks like he's chewing his words but can't spit them out.

You glance towards Ghost, who just pushed the man out of the pub, caring little about what he does with himself once out of the space. 

Your eyes fall back to John as you sigh in relief. He still looks tense, and in an attempt to wordlessly tell him the situation is under control, you smile. But... you don't get a similar action in return. You got none, in fact. Something feels off. As if the situation is still spiralling despite the source of conflict gone. Your brows furrow, trying to snap him out of whatever resentment he can't seem to let go of by enlacing your fingers. Although, when your fingertips brush his, he flinches. 

Taken aback by how his hand jerks away from yours and he moves back, you whisper his name. "John?"

Your hand hang in the air, staring at him. He's still looking at you. Even so, his gaze feels far-away. Now you're seriously worried. 

"Not your fault". For being such a big man, Ghost moves quick and silently. Upon his sudden appearance by your side again, you turn to him.

"What?" His brown eyes lock with yours briefly before quickly falling on John again. He shakes his head once, not explaining something he must know.

"Marissa". You look at your friend when Ghost directs his attention on her. Even she's watching the situation with wide eyes, unfamiliarity written clearly over her features. "Have a secluded space?" 

"I-uh, you can take my office". Your friend supplies the only private space within the pub's walls. Ghost nods, turning and stepping closer to John.

"Price". The masked man earns the attention of John when he settles on the juncture between his shoulder and neck. Your mouth had opened, wanting to speak up about what just happened to you but stop yourself when no reaction to the touch comes. "Get a move on. To the back". 

And he does. Like a soldier, John turns and heads to the doors leading to the backroom. Stunned, you follow him with your eyes.

"You should come". Ghost directs with a quick look over his shoulder just as he follows John. You do as he says with a quick look at Marissa. She tries to give you a calm expression and a gentle smile, but it's impossible after your interaction with the blonde man and this sudden turn of events. Your jaw clenches as you hurry to keep up with the two men.

One of Marissa's coworkers emerges from the backroom just as you near it. Instinctually she holds the door open for the two men to pass through after she's stepped into the main room. You offer her a 'just getting some things for Marissa' to ease her confusion. Thankfully, you know her and she replies 'alright' just as your friend calls for her. Probably to not linger about to keep it as free of people as possible concerning Ghost's request.

You press your lips together when the doors close, cutting off much of the pub's natural racket, walking briskly behind John and Ghost. Something gnaws in your chest as you look at the latter. Neither he seems relaxed.

Your arms wind around your stomach, silently stepping into Marissa's office, staying almost pressed against the door once your close it by leaning into it.

"Price", Ghost's voice makes John turn. "Your head's elsewhere". He continues. He doesn't sound cold, but he speaks evenly. 

For being a masked man, you would describe Ghost as someone who usually has an expressive voice. But his current tone sounds matter-of-factual. Fuck. You gnaw your lip, fingers digging into your sides, eyes jumping between them.

"You ain't there". Ghost's words make your eyes flitter from John to him and stay there for a few moments. You only see parts of his face concerning how he's still facing John more than you. "You're back home, at the pub. There's nothin' to overthink, nothin' to deal with, nothin' more happenin'. You hear me?"

John nods. But the large man only shakes his head in return. "Answer me, Captain".

"Hear ya, L.T.". John's voice is low and gritty as he grunts the reply.

Ghost nods curtly, a swift tip of his chin. "It's all in your head. Get it back on your shoulders", he continues, letting his sentence hang in the air rather than filling the silence with anything else. 

Though you don't understand the interaction fully, you're starting to grasp what's going on in the stillness. You watch John closely as he crosses his arms over his chest and inhales slowly, holding his breath before exhaling. He repeats the action over and over.

"That cunt ain't here to bother you or your sweetheart, neither is anyone else, so at ease". Ghost angles his body, your eyes landing upon his profile. He motions to you with his hand, bringing a set of eyes to you. Yet, they're not brown, but blue.

Upon John's attention, you shift, shuffling on your feet, but don't avert your eyes. The look from before is still there, though it doesn't feel as intense. And then, slowly, it melts. It's nothing grand, not a sudden shift, no jerk of realisation. But the forced labour breathing John focused on eases into something natural, making his shoulders drop and the look in his eyes change. He feels present. As if he's actually looking at you now. A gentleness fills his eyes. They warm up.

Then, John's eyes flutter close, his head notching forwards. One of his hands settles by his temple, massaging the sensitive point before travelling to the bridge of his nose, pinching the highest point as a deep furrow sets his brows close to his fingers.

"You good?" Ghost asks, his voice milder than before.

"I'm good", John responds on a exhale. He takes a step backwards to partly sit on the desk behind him. He shifts his fingers so his thumb massages the skin between his eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Ghost turns, walking towards you. You only look at him once he stops beside you.

"Should I do something?" You whisper to the tall man. You felt helpless during this ordeal and still not exactly sure what happened even though you now had a guess. Ghost only cocks his head, hand stilling on the door-handle as he looks at you.

"Just be there for him", is all he says, swinging the door open.

He nods goodbye as he exits, not overstaying the moment after he apparently isn't needed anymore.

Your eyes fall on John when the door closes again. He looks tired, standing in a similar position as before. Only his hand had shifted to cover his eyes, the span of his brows covered by his index finger and thumb.

"John?" You try to soften your voice to hide your concern. 

His hand drops, blue eyes finding yours. His mouth is in a thin line, corners slightly downturned. Your heart cracks a bit at his discouraged look.

Your feet move on their own, bringing you to him. As soon as you're within range, he drops his arms, opening them wide for you to step into. It's seamless how you reach around John's shoulders, one hand coming to the back of his head, moving him towards your neck while his arms wind tight around your waist, pulling you close as he haunches forward to burrow his face against your throat.

The silence is only filled with your breaths. Yours blowing into the air at the side of John's head, his exhales puffing against your skin. Your eyes are shut harshly as your fingers repeatedly card through his hair and continue down his neck until your fingertips glide over his last cervical vertebrate.

It's gradual, but you feel John the tension leaving his body. He relaxes against you, not feeling as stiff with his hold. His arms loosen, sliding lower towards your hips where his hand squeeze the plusher flesh. Your thumb circles his shoulder and you turn your head to the side, kissing the side of his head. In return, he kisses the skin over your collarbone.

There's a tug-of-war inside you. Should I? Shouldn't I? In the end, you decide to try.

"If you're comfortable in telling me, what happened?" The words brush against John's head, your breath disturbing some strands of his hair.

He sighs deeply and you hold your breath for a few seconds. "Got triggered". So...PTSD, then? Or was it something you never fucking heard of? Your mind raced.

As if able to read your thoughts, John finally leans away. You don't let your hand fall from the back of his head, continuing to card through the strands of hair at his nape as he looks at you, head bowed to be levelled with your face.

"Doesn't happen much at all". John begins, clenching his jaw before continuing. "But triggers can... it feels like a misplaced adrenalin rush with overwhelming emotions and racing thoughts".

You nod, biting your lip. Brows furrowing, you search for the right words, carefully choosing what to say. "Was it something that guy said that did it?"

"Don't know, can't recall what hit the wrong cord", John said with a shake of his head.

"You sound jealous". You try a different approach in a lighter tone, rapping your fingers against his neck with a soft smile.

"Maybe protective", John shrugs, chuckling awkwardly. Even so, the tightness in the corner of his mouth eases. His gaze flickers away, moving back and forth, staring into nothing for a few seconds. When his gaze trails back, his eyes are a bit clearer, apparently having uncovered something to answer your question better. "Think it was when he raised his hand". 

The reminder that the man had thought about doing something physically to you resurfaced on your frontal lobe. As the moment replayed, you could understand why it was triggering, perhaps not to the extent and with the interconnections John obviously had towards the action.

"Got angry, worried, the feeling resembling something from...", John trails off, but you don't need him to explicitly say it. You're not there. Ghost's sentence echoes in your mind. "Should probably work on that, m'sorry". 

This man. You shut your eyes, turning your head away. You try to will the wetness you felt away, but when you open your eyes, you still need to tilt your head back and forth a few times to not let any tears fall before you look back at John, eyes noticeably glassy even so. 

"Don't apologise". You finally say. "It isn't your fault that guy acted like a cunt. Compared to him, you never wanted to escalate the situation even though you were the one who had the right".

"But-" You cock your head after he cuts himself short, giving him space to continue the conversation at his own pace. John releases a slow breath and speaks again. "It shouldn't have triggered me". You purse your lips at the way he says it. He sounds so frustrated with himself.

"Don't know too much about it", you admit, neither of you labelling what the obvious it was. "But you soldiers can't pick and choose what does or doesn't".

"Wouldn't that be a dream", he sighs.

"Maybe you should work on it. If you want to. Not the protective part, I mean... I appreciate that, I like that I can trust you having my back". You lick your lips, biting the lower one for a second as your brows furrow. "But, maybe the other part?"

It brought a sigh from John. "Guess... I haven't left the last deployment behind entirely despite being cleared on the med-evaluations". It wasn't a yes, but it was an acknowledgement. 

"I-I know we haven't talked much about what you do in detail. But, if you want to, you know? Talk. I'll listen". John looks at you, blue eyes widening.

"I-", he began. "I need to think about it". You nod, not pressing him, understanding that he needs time. 

Rather than continuing the conversation, you lean forwards, pressing your lips against his forehead. You feel his eyes flutter close, his lashes brushing your lower face as he leans into the touch, so you only part to mumble an 'okay' before planting another kiss between his brows. 

You graze your lips over his face in soft presses until you reach his mouth. Hovering there, your hand slip to his cheek. Your fingers brush along the line of his beard, feeling the softness of his skin and the brown hairs. You hover there, waiting until John initiates the kiss.

It's sweet, soft. A gentle tilt of heads in opposite directions as you merely connect the plush pillows of your lips together. It holds so many emotions for something that is so surface-level.

"Want to go home? Escape the crowd?" You whisper against his lips when you part.

John hums, leaning away so his gaze meets yours the second you open your eyes. "If you don't mind".

"Would never mind if that's what you need". You smile at John, running your thumb along his cheek. He sighs, an appreciative smile spreading.

"Can I drive?"

You remember what he said the night you first met, how helpful those drives could be for him. "If you want to, yes". 

"Thank you". John pecks your lip. 

You smile at him. "No need".

[darqx]

Some BP/HH/General asks

That mood when you want to share all the things but also want to keep it under wraps for the actual thing haha! Thanks very much anon!

As for your questions, I can't actually be specific cos there's no definitive number I have in mind for either. Basically there are a number of sectors (you can consider them their equivalent of countries - they have less than what we do though), and a number of species of demon of which I've designed about seven of. The ones I've shown before are these guys (and do you think I could find this pic again? No, I had to recreate it cos for the life of me I couldn't remember what ask I'd previously stuck it in lol):

One day when i have enough species and stuff out there I want to make a proper field guide \o/

Thank you very much for the interest! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ I would actually love to for BP, but before I jump the gun there I have to get the comic out first lol. That being said I have made mini-games before featuring the HH versions and some other characs alas they are all lost at the moment to the sands of Flash becoming obsolete 😩

Me and Gato do still collab sometimes (and send each other Xmas presents)! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

I have been working on one off and on for a while actually! Hopefully I'll have some pages to post next year or so*, I've been doing a bit of thumbnailing recently :D

*that is the plan but i also don't know where people find the time to do anything with a full time job lol.

Hullo! Glad you are enjoying the snippets of BP I've got here and there :D Here is an older ref on Izm back when i first got the idea (at that time i didn't really plan to do anything with it, it was just an AU. Now it's my main project haha. Anyway the ref is a little bit out of date in that regard.)

I used to have a "field guide" which was also made quite a while ago, unfortunately the death of Flash kinda killed it. Here's a screenshot of some relevant info from it though.

That's an interesting one as it's questionable how sentient souls are after removal 🤔 In my mind its only form is the smoke light, it can "see" to some degree and MIGHT be able to talk (but in a very no one can hear them sort of way, a la i have no mouth and i must scream. So i guess it can think "aloud"). The more time passes the less sentience it has.

It could try, though it wouldn't really get anywhere if it's in Rire's collection. He might just eat it lol.

.D: Good with kids, will be fine in all aspects.

Izm: The fun dad however needs a partner that knows what they're doing to ensure the child safety during shenanigans.

Marcus and Zeke: Also would be good parents though might be more helicopter out of protectiveness/worry when first starting out.

Ren: Geek parent very good for homework help. Some Asian parent tendencies eg "ah see, i told you not to do that right? Now you see what happened."

They are similar to our known society for this! So basically, there are some good families out there (eg Zeke - who is a demon - is from a pretty average loving family), and there are some bad families out there who only care about power or having an heir or whatever.

HH Rire is a human. I differentiate between him and Demon Rire because they are two different characters...even though they are also technically the same character lol. You can consider them as alternate universe iterations of a base "Rire" concept.

I actually half jested this in an old comic lol

I am sorry to inform you that a HH webcomic doesn't actually exist 😅 I did a lot of art, animations and one shots (such as the HHJ comics) with them, but nothing actually planned or serialised or anything. Whatever's currently on my DA or here is basically what exists.

Bringing this image back cos it's relevant lol.

You spelled it correct there though! XD

[manitole]

Emmrich x Rook = Ideas for Fanfic

 (This is going to be a REALLY long post)

Context: I’m an awkward millennial that doesn’t know Tumblr very well. I apologize in advance if this post is weird and not perfect, I’m still learning. My activities on this platform are mostly resharing awesome post on my page. Since the last few weeks, I must admit that the communities here around my tags are incredible, positive, academic and just kind of healing my heart. For this reason, I feel comfortable trying to be a little more invested. Introduction to the main theme: I’m really happy to see that I’m far from being the only one to be obsessed and hyperfocused on Emmrich Volkarin, especially his romance with Rook. His personality is different from my typical fictional crushes: this fact had opened new possibilities about scenarios in my imagination. The main theme: I love to write, but I have a thesis to finish. Plus, I’ve already started two fanfictions and I’m not close to be done with those two stories. Since I’m lacking time, experience in fanfiction, knowledge in the DA universe and expertise in the English language (I’m a native French speaker), I must conclude that writing a fanfic Emmrich X Rook would not be the best idea right now. I would LOVE to share some of my ideas if it can inspire some people out there:

A – Too much rigidity versus chaotic (Mortal): I would LOVE to see a fanfic which addresses the mountain struggles of Rook and Emmrich living together after the story of the game. This man has been alone for a long time. We don’t know if he already lived with someone else during a long period of time. Emmrich likes to have his books ‘’pristine’’. I’m also guessing he has a strict routine regarding mealtime. I see Rook being kind of chaotic, as letting their underwear lying around where they needed to remove them (around a bed, coffin, or on the dinning table after some sexy time… why not). I could also see Rook inviting old friends for a late dinner, at the last minute, while Emmrich is already in his night gown, ready to sleep. Anyway, I would LOVE to see character’s development around those struggles: Emmrich learning to be a little more flexible while Rook is learning to be a little less disorganized.

B – Feeling bored after saving the world (Mortal): Could be related with point A or not. I know that everyone has different opinions, but so far, I preferred Rook to also be a Mourn Watcher. It seems natural to think that after the end of the game, Emmrich, Rook and Manfred are going back to Neverra. I could see Emmrich going back to teaching. I could see both possibilities where he is satisfied with this (with Rook and Manfred in his life) VERSUS feeling bored after travelling so often for saving the world. I’m not sure what Rook would want to do with their life after the war. Could they even be able to stay at one place? I could see them needed to travel and leave Neverra for sometimes for fighting or geopolitical stuff. I could also see Rook being done with that kind of life and wanting a normal happy and almost boring routine. Let’s talk about marriage. We all know that Emmrich always thought he would get married someday. Would he be ready to marry Rook? If yes, does it mean that he has outcome the age gap problem (?). I don’t know about Rook since the character vary from person to person. They could want to wait for marriage. I see this possibility more in the Mortal route since I have NO idea how Lichdom works and if a Lich can marry someone…

Now. I must explain before going on with my next idea. I’m not a fan of any pronatalist outcome. I don’t think a couple should have children to be happy or have some news goals. I also love stories and fanfic that show childfree happy people. Having children is not and should not be seen as a normal progression of life. It’s a choice and it should be a free and informed joint decision. Childfree couples are NOT less interesting than parents. But I also can see the difference between real life and fiction, especially in a fantastic universe like DA. I think some fanfic that adds children into the story can be a good thing, especially if those are kind of REALISTIC (happy rainbow sunshine without any struggles at all) and talk about more than only the positive of parenthood. Now, we could argue about Manfred. For me, as a couple, Emmrich and Rook are already parental figures to Manfred. While it’s not a typical experience, there is still something there. Manfred doesn’t need to eat (nor to sleep?) but he can still burn some books by accident, requiring some ‘’parenting’’ from Emmrich or Rook.

C – Parenting: I could see the couple adopting a kid while the opportunity is there. I also think that Manfred would be an awesome big brother. Now, let’s talk about a Rook that could be pregnant (trigger for some people, so please go to point D if you don’t want to read about this idea or about parenting and or reproduction).

1 – Pregnancy (Mortal): I’ve been thinking A LOT about the last scene between Rook and Emmrich when they have sex in a coffin. I’m an artist geek but also a nerd scientific with a nursing degree. Both don’t always match well together. I don’t know a lot about contraception in fantastic universe, especially DA. I can’t stop myself thinking: did Emmrich and or Rook THOUGHT about this? One part of me think that Emmrich would not be the type of person to forget about any risk regarding that subject. It would seem easy for him to cast a charm for preventing a pregnancy? I don’t know. But on the other hand, the end of the world is happening, and him or Rook could not survive to the last battle. The party banter between Harding and Emmrich show that the necromancer can forget some things important when he is with Rook or just by being in a new relationship. So perhaps Emmrich didn't think about it. I could see Rook having sex without having that in mind at all, kind of like a YOLO attitude. They love Emmrich and they are like '' let’s have awesome lovemaking before perhaps dying or whatever''.

Nooooow. Let’s talk about that accidental pregnancy if we could agree that because of those circumstances, no one thought about contraception, because you know… ‘’ End of the world ‘’. Plus, while an accidental pregnancy could be the end of the world for some person, it could not be as horrible for others, like Emmrich and or Rook. So, the team beat Elgar’nan, Solas linked himself to the fade and all. The world is safe for now. It’s the time of celebration. Even after some rest, Rook doesn’t feel really good. They are kind of tired all the time but again, it’s normal since they have been on high adrenaline during the last few months (?). It could explain things. Them and Emmrich could think it is related to the fade or perhaps a curse. Eventually, I’m pretty sure Emmrich would realize the situation before Rook. He was able to spot that stiff wrist. He could see subtle difference regarding Rook. I could totally see his shocked face while understanding the situation. As for Rook, I could see them not thinking about that possibility because perhaps they weren’t having regular periods in the first place because of the hard activities while trying to save the world. Now, let’s ad point A and perhaps point B to this scenario. The couple is trying to live together in a new routine while also learning they are expecting a baby. I waaaaaant to read about that 52-53 years old necromancer realizing his partner is pregnant with his child. Everything is going too fast, and Harding could make snaky remarks on this. I want to read how Emmrich feel about this: He always wanted a family, and he already has Manfred and Rook, but having a child could be something positive to him for different reasons (legacy and pronatalist blabla). But because of his age, it could also be an experience kind of sad, realizing that he could not see his kid grow as much as he would love to. The reaction of Rook about all of this could be really different since again, Rook vary for each player. I would love to see some struggles (perhaps with a big fight?) with a pregnant Rook who still wants to fight and live their ''normal'' life and an overprotective Emmrich (with only good intentions) kind of overwhelming. I could also see Emmrich taking his retirement from teaching sooner than expected, since he wants to spend as much time as possible with his children. I also think he could be the main parent, as the most ‘’maternal’’, kind of overprotective, again.

I see Emmrich having a girl. I’m not sure why, but it flows better in my imagination. It would make a lot of sense if this girl had the name of a flower or a plant, and her middle name could be Emmrich's mother. With Rook and Emmrich as parents, this little girl would become a badass woman with high self-esteem, taking bullshit from no one. She would LOVE her big brother, and Manfred would also LOVE her. I like to think he will learn faster while being a brother figure. I really see the young girl saying to everyone she has a big brother called Manfred without ever explaining that he is actually a spirit in the body of a skeleton. I could see everyone kind of shocked while meeting Manfred for the first time without that context.

Plus: Vorgoth must be one of the godparents, please. And the family should eventually adopt a pig.

Bonus: a time jump where Emmrich is dying, more than satisfied with his life, and all of his family is around him. I don't mind crying.

2 – Lich route (kind of a silly idea): This idea is kind of a joke. I don’t know how Lichdom works, but I’m pretty sure that once you are a Lich, you are sterile? Now… An accidental pregnancy could happen if Emmrich and Rook had sex BEFORE Emmrich became a Lich. I think it would be really hard on him to outlive not only Rook but also his children and perhaps his grandchildren. I could only see this as possible and not heartbreaking if Rook and Emmrich have a kid who is also a mage and would eventually also become a Lich. I could totally see an awkward family tradition that goes on generation after generation where each child gifted with magic MUST become a Lich before they are 60 years old or something. Imagine: you are like 25-year-old mage and Lichdom don’t appeal to you at all, nor does necromancy. Your sibling doesn't have magic so all the expectations are ON you (and that sibling is, of course, jealous of you).  One of your parents is getting close to becoming a Lich, and the ceremony is approaching. You have a grandparent and a lot of great-grandparents who are also Liches, and the festivity dinners are always awkward. Your family is like famously known in Nevarra but from the inside, you just feel weird. Eventually, you take your courage to break this tradition, coming out to your parents, and they tell you: “You are too young to decide this yet. Your great-grandmother thought the same thing at your age. You will change your mind.” To prove your point, you decide to join the Grey Wardens (or any action making it impossible for you to become a Lich), and half of your family is MAD and saying, “Omg, your great-great-great-great-grandfather is SO disappointed in you.” Done. I just find this possibility really funny.

D – Age gap: I would also like lots of scenes where Rook reacts the opposite of expected regarding the age gap between Emmrich and them (this post as an example). I could see Emmrich being a little annoyed sometimes when people talk to him about this subject, but I would love a Rook who doesn’t seem to understand the problem and just reacts possessively, as if the people talking about it are just jealous. That would also reassure Emmrich (I think).

E – Cute little scenes: I want to read about Emmrich and Rook snuggling on the couch in front of a fire, while Emmrich reads aloud a book about some academic stuff. I also would love a scene where Emmrich gives a powerful massage to Rook (since he knows anatomy so well…).

This is it. Thank you very much for reading. Now that all of this is out of my system, I can go back in peace to my boring thesis. If you already know some fanfics with one of those subjects, please tell me. I’m trying to check on AO3 often, but I don’t always have the time.

[faewrenbird]

Okay, hold up, you know what? Since I’m at it, I also want to talk about the other big Elden Ring twt fandom discourse that makes absolutely zero sense in the context of the game other than the Good/Evil Miquella/Mohg debate, and that’s the Miquella x Radahn debate da da dummm

I want to preface by saying this is neither an anti nor pro miq/rad ship post. On the contrary, it’s a “it doesn’t even make sense to argue about it at all” post

Every time I see discourse or infighting about this topic (and there’s been a lot. Whole twt communities have cannibalized each other over it), I’m again floored that people think it warrants a debate. Like, genuinely and sincerely perplexed, and this is why:

The basis for the discourse relies on the premise that romantic and familial relationships, sex, and societal expectations in the Lands Between, necessarily mirror those things in reality. And…that entire premise is just…completely flawed and has been emphatically disproven by the source material.

Hot take, but I’m actually hard-pressed to believe that the act of sex even exists in the universe.

Here’s what the game tells us. It asserts that romantic love exists through the tale of Radagon and Rennala. It asserts that marriage exists, and that through marital union, children are conceived. This is where the similarities to reality ends. If we only had these facts to go on, the assumption that the mechanics mirror reality would be a reasonable one to make. But then the game goes all over the place and completely overturns our presumptions.

Let’s see, we have marital union that conceives children. Good. Okay, but also marital union between two selves in one body that conceives children… Oh, and also the conception of children that does not come from marital union at all, rather from the rotted battlefields of war between a brother and sister. Hm. We have a woman who sleeps with the dead, but “sleeping with” might not mean sex, oh, and she can also have a union with a corpse in game that conceives a child. Oh, but she also needs you and a bunch of other people to help conceive the child, which can later be placed over/in(?) the womb(?) of its grandmother/grandfather’s combined body, which then reconceives its father.

Can you see where I’m going with this? Depending on what angle you look at the game from, you could say it’s fraught with incest, selfcest, and necrophilia (also whatever the fuck is going on with Count Ymir). But this interpretation lacks soooo much nuance.

The thing of it is that we just don’t know how the demigods work. We don’t know the how, why, or even the if they have sexual relationships with each other in the way we’re familiar with. Your personal interpretation can be whatever you want and you literally cannot be proven wrong (or right!).

So why the hell do entire friendships get broken over whether you think twinkella wanted his brother’s gravity sword? Who knows? Who cares? You can headcanon anything you want.

People being morally performative over it is also just completely bizarre for the same reason. The relationship dynamics are between fictional gods, they literally and physically cannot be held to the same real life morals as you and I. The whole entire thing is the biggest nothingburger discourse of the fandom, and I bet the devs spent no more than five seconds considering that western fandom might be sending death threats over whether or not you like a little spice in your cosmic-god-rot-infested-golden-soup

[sundogsandrainbows]

Hi, I'm sorry to write to you out of the blue, but Of Elves and Humans was the first DA longfic that got me hooked back in 2011 when I, as a dumb teen, happened to pick up DAO. Ever since then, the DA universe has been a constant fixation of mine and my admiration for you as a writer as well as someone who isn’t afraid to call out the franchise's flaws has never wavered. Now that Bioware decided to take a massive shit on everything pre-DAV and their oldest fans specifically, I'm really devastated and feel like a fool for having been so invested in DA and its lore for those past 13 years. It’s incredibly encouraging, however, to see you keep on keeping on. "So since they spat in my face like this I ignore this atrocity of a game even exists" is where I hope to be at soon, too. Thank you.

(First of all apologies for the late reply, I put it in my drafts when i was too tired to complete it, and then my adhd brain forgot it existed due to being distracted by new shinies 😂☠)

But aww omg i cannot believe i was the gateway drug into dragon age, or rather the old version of my story on FFN was. I am so very honored <3 And nonnie, I feel you. I am invested in DA as a series since DA:O's release in 2009, like I bought it on a whim for XBox because I liked Mass Effect 1 sm. So that is 15 yrs of my life i spent loving and discussing a thing while still being critical of the thing, but now i feel so very protective of the world, lore and its characters that "New Bioware" has decided to take a massive dump of shit on, and not only the games but the old fans I feel are treated with disdain too and do not matter to them any longer.

Long, subjective rant about current bioware aka the shambling corpse of its former self and talent incoming. Spoilers for Veilguard bc i don't give a fuck to avoid them :D You (general you, not you in particular dearest nonny <3) should use your time better than to play this shit anyhow 😂

It feels like calculated malice of new Bioware to apply the scorched earth tactics to offscreen destroy everything that old fans and fans of the other games in general held dear, and was supposed to suck out the enjoyment of DAO, DA2 and DAI. Like it is obvious they plan to create a sequel on DA's scorched bones, but jfc, you can do so story-wise without spitting everyone loving what old bioware has built in the face after dropkicking them. But to me that is part of the problem, since if i remember correctly and i wish i could find the bit... they praised Veilguard as "The best Dragon Age game ever", with the most interesting companions and best most improved combat system, comparing it to the other three games in a near smug fashion. There is marketing and there is putting the other games down to prop up your most favorite and only child mattering and they were definitely doing the latter. And don't get me started on the whole "Who is Zevran" debacle or we are gonna here all day.

Bottom line is new/current devs and writer do not give a shit about and very possibly have never played any other game than Inquisition, and you cannot tell me otherwise. And since a lot of devs/writer have left since the start of this project that would become this abysmal game, I also have the impression that there is a lot of underlying resentment toward what these former colleagues have created and so they piss on it in order to make it fully theirs now. Like dogs marking their territory, and well that did not work out, imo. At all.

Ever since they announced respecting our past choices by ignoring them (????) it was clear to me that I would not play Veilguard but just watch a playthrough and all spoilers and then move on. And everything i saw before release was shocking... like i was flabbergasted at how baaaad the dialogue was, which as a writer myself is super important to me in my story. There was no subtext, characters just blurt out everything they think and feel, like a lifeless doll you squeeze and words tumbling out and just as natural. It is stilted, awkward and 80% of it exists for info dump or info dumb rather as they keep repeating the same shit they just told you a few seconds ago as if you as the player are braindead. Here is a good example of what i mean.

Jfc, who edited this crap? There is so much superfluous dialogue that adds nothing to a scene but annoyance for the player and says nothing at all. Just pure senseless yapping in the most cringy way. Why was no one there to trim this nonsense as you should as a writer/editor? Hell, they really disregarded every simple and basic writing rule (everything is told never SHOWN for example especially in dialogue) which really made me question their competence in what they were doing and thus the quality of the upcoming game but i still held out hope for it to not be that bad.

Well shit, it was even worse. In all regards. Especially the writing that cringed this writer into a new dimension with its incoherent incompetence. Jfc. they got paid for that? I'm convinced the majority of fandom writer can do much better, even unpaid. Hell my cat just by walking over the keyboard can manage a better draft and script...💀

But I digress. That is a rant for another time. Point is, nonny, despite my defiant words, I struggled too for days after i got to know the full extent of Bioware's spiteful fuckery to even look at anything da related, in my case my Alistair/Mahariel longfic. I was really down for a few days, ngl. Then again, there is nothing better than spite fueling my creativity to prove "i can write better" soooo in the end and with the help of the much better first version of DA4 in the artbook, I was able to exorcise the demons and feverdream-mindfuck of mediocrity sold to me as a turd with gold-glitter that is this game.

I have successfully now rejected its existence, filled the void with the version that should have been from the artbook and vowed to give no fucks what bioware is doing or saying and infinitely more fucks when writing my own version of thedas and the version of DA4 that should be. REWRITES BBY hell yeah. So OEAH:R is just the beginning of a verse-wise rewrite. But if you need a pick me up, nonny, you are very much welcome to take a trip down memory lane to Dragon 9:30 and see how much this iteration of the story differs from my first one back in the days. Because in this house of mine, we grow and learn as writers, unlike bioware where writer ego reigns surpreme (oh boy and does it ever show in VG) aka eating their own turds and tell themselves it is the finest chocolate 💀

There is still a lot of good about DA out there, but we have to accept it does not come from Bioware any longer. Instead it came, comes and will come from the fans and creators of art and texts and words defying their bullshit with their love and respect for the world, its lore and characters. Also very unlike Bioware.

As we should <3

[vaguely-concerned]

Origins is of course the DA game most closely in conversation with and playing around with Tolkien (right down to the walking talking poetree haha) -- and even more so than most works in the larger western fantasy tradition derived from Tolkien's work that DA:O also hails from and owes a lot of its Stuff to, what makes the game so great to me is that it's doing so very deliberately, and is subverting and deconstructing those tropes and entrenched ideas in some very interesting ways without at all denigrating what it's commenting on. (it doesn't have the almost disdainful undertones of the vein of fantasy that seeks to make the world more 'realistic' ala the more tedious reactions to G.R.R.Martin's work, for example, despite having the darker fantasy bent to it.) among other elements it adopts, what I find the most fascinating is the choice to use the same literary device/conceit Tolkien did in ostensibly only having in-universe biased sources and works to deliver the world through (which I feel is an underappreciated thing about his approach but is part of what makes his world so enduringly compelling and real-feeling -- the feeling of real scholarship devoted/applied to a made-up world. the grounding effect of a good diegetic footnote about source criticism, truly).

many things to be said there, and I'm glad each following game has taken on different perspectives and lenses and traditions to view the world of Thedas through because if you stick with that one too closely for too long I fear we could teeter precariously close to Pratchett's famous and bitingly accurate accusation of most modern fantasy of that era just being about rearranging the furniture in Tolkien's attic lol. and while you could accuse DA2 (my perfect wife who has never done anything wrong in her life to be clear) of many things, that's not one of them, they are pulling on some completely different strings for that one and both the game and DA overall is better for it, to my mind. as so many things in this series: worth staying with and exploring for an installment even if it might get stale if all of it was like this! people are understandably sad about the elements from previous games that they liked which were lost along the way, but that capacity for reinvention is to my mind a huge strength of dragon age as a whole.

(I think Veilguard is coming in as a close second in Tolkien conversation-ness if only in outlining/revealing the worldbuilding that indeed may have been planned since DA:O around the animosity that SHOULD by all rights exist between dwarves and elves in this universe (as per Tolkienesque tradition standards). but doesn't really because you see: politics and the many pitfalls of conservation of knowledge over the ages. our ancestral enmity got semi-intentionally lost between the floorboards of history and you know what. maybe for the best. the humans are already up to so much shit you gotta keep your eyes on them at all times you can't be brawling with each other in the deep roads while they're still around getting up to their nonsense or they'll just pile up even more of it)

[lesetoilesfous]

anyway here's my thoughts on veilguard.

i liked it! i really, genuinely enjoyed it. there were moments that made me cry and truly moved me. there were plot twists that really surprised and shocked me. i felt emotionally impacted by the game. i love so many of the characters - both companions and npcs. it's beautiful. it's fun to play.

is it a perfect game? of course not! a) there's no such thing b) gang, i thought we knew this?? it's a game that's been in development for a decade, more than 3/4 of the team got laid off, it's had its usp constantly switched around lord knows how many times. it was never going to be perfect! i went in with my expectations underground and came out with a game i liked much more than inquisition.

neither inquisition nor veilguard were ever going to be like origins and da2. the creative team changed massively between those games. but also, the world changed! the industry changed! the climate in which people were working changed! for goodness sake there was an entire pandemic!

we were never and are never going to get games like da2 and origins again because the world is different now and that's ok. it's good to have new things!

could there have been more conflict in veilguard? sure. could it have been more politically and socially sensitive? maybe. but you know what? i work in media and i know how incredibly fucking hard it is to get any kind of purse-holder to sign off on one explicitly trans character, let alone nine (by my last count): specifically and lovingly designed across a wide spectrum of voice and appearance to illustrate that non-binary is not 'girl-lite' or a third gender, it's just not binary.

we went from vivienne being BALD in inquisition because they couldn't be fucked to design afro hair to a game where it is literally not possible to have an all-white or an all-male team for the first 5 or so hours of the game. one of your team members is a south asian woman with a prosthetic leg and at no point is her disability fetishised or exoticised.

god knows its not perfect but gang i really don't think y'all are recognising how fucking much good stuff we got in this game. literally, please, give me the title of another AAA game that has this much explicit trans rep. that has this many major characters of colour written with care and thoughtfulness. this many companions who are people of colour and essential to the plot. do you know how hard that is???? and everyone got fired!!!! it took 10 years!!! despite everything they got all this through!!!

like. it's not surprising to me the game is gentler than earlier entries in the series. earlier entries in the series are also, often, VERY RACIST. as far as earlier entries in the series are concerned: transgender people don't exist (except Krem, of course, but he is one character in a very big game). they are so obviously trying so hard and in a landscape where i literally cannot think of any other game of this scale and budget that is trying at all, yeah, i'm giving them a pass!

the things that drove me nuts in previous DA games were the christian fascism, the genocide apologism, the white supremacy, the 'peaceful protest' crap, the copaganda. veilguard doesn't do that and it's amazing and heartbreaking to me that so few folks in the fandom seem to value that.

there's this thing that happens whenever a piece of media is actually, truly diverse where fandom attacks it much, much more savagely than media that is actually racist, sexist etc (supernatural vs steven universe, star wars vs dream daddy, etc). people translate the fact that it takes them a little longer to connect with characters they're unused to seeing in fiction into meaning that the art is 'objectively bad'. and then assholes with money use that violently negative reaction to justify continuing to make games without trans people or brown people or a majority of female characters.

"look! veilguard did that! nobody liked it!"

please. consider why you are reacting so much more harshly to a game like this than you did to a game where you literally led a catholic inquisition, planted your flag in indigenous people's land, and had the power to enact military law on anyone unlucky enough to come across your army of religious zealots, up to and including executions.

no one is perfect. fandom isn't activism. consumption of media isn't activism. you're allowed to dislike things and you're allowed to yell about it on the internet and it's my responsibility to block content i don't want to see. i get that.

but just in case anyone else is feeling the way i am: i liked veilguard. i think they tried really hard. i think a lot of the team got fucked over by asshole bosses and worse executives. i think the game obviously got cut short and rushed, which we knew before it came out. and i still think they wrestled a fun, emotionally impactful game out of that housefire, and that that's worth celebrating.

[thewebcomicsreview]

Hate to tell you this, but the HSBC update just got updated.

I get that they wanted to keep the Hell Arc confined to page 666, and it'll make the archival experience pretty cool, but hard refreshing the site didn't let me see the update to the page due to cache bullshit, I had to use a different browser. So let's liveblog now before it breaks again:

Looks like we're back to Tavros. I guess it makes sense that the first path to update would the one where they could reuse the talksprites.

So, as directly stated by Davepeta, Vriska is trapped in a time loop, where Tavros doesn't remember anything that happened the previous day, just like in the movie Groundhog Day. That Davepeta called out the movie explicitly in-universe as the reference makes me wonder if events will follow the rough plot of that movie. It's clearly what Davepeta wants to happen, but...Vriska....

Anyway, Vriska offers to let Tavros decide what to do today, for the first time. It took two whole years for her to try that, but she is the Thief of Light and not letting anyone else decide what to do is literally her cosmic role and stuff, so I guess that tracks. And what Tavros wants to do is....play a game.

Last update I said that Vriska saying she's done some things wrong while shrugging and laughing is the ultimate distillation of Vriska, but her having won everything and being miserable about it is also the ultimate distillation of Vriska. She's a woman of contrasts, that Vriskers.

The use of the phrase "session" here outs this line as having Deeper Meanings. Having SBURB sessions over and over so we can play forever is literally Dirk's plan, and most of the fandom is assuming a Candy session is coming.

So, even though they're talking about playing FLARP (the troll DnD game, which is apparently PvP), this is also an argument over whether or not Homestuck should continue. You can't really "win" if the game keeps going, but that doesn't mean you're stuck doing the same thing over and over.

I know Vriska is Problematique, but I'm still taken aback by her 2000s kid usage of "gay" as a general-purpose insult, and not just because trolls don't have a concept of "straight" or "gay". Apparently she doesn't even know what it means and learned the word from Da-

Oh, it was just to set up this line for people to screenshot. Alright. Fine.

brb, gotta go post this in the hard to use reaction images channel on the discord and have someone complain it's easy to use.

Tavros accuses Vriska of projecting her own fears onto him, and then gets into a tangent about being a "soft" female fairy and Vriska takes him up on playing this new "game for girls" and he panics and changes the subject. There's a...lot....going on there.

Vriska starts to have an actual breakthrough, when suddenly Aradiabot appears. Wait, is this where Aradia and Ult!Dave went?

We fade to black and I thought that was it, but apparently not. This being a visual novel makes it feel like a much bigger update than it is, and also kind of makes you read each line a bit more carefully. It's a good way of having multiple meaty (or, um, candy-y) updates in a short stretch of time, and that's kind of an important part of the "feel" of Homestuck that no one can really replicate.

Oh, I do not care for this talksprite.

The downside of this format is that it's harder to liveblog, I think, but basically Aradia is complaining about the Vriska Cycle of "Do bad thing, self-flagellate to be redeemed, repeat".

Vriska justifies it because she has to take action and set people straight and stuff, and if this conversation/game isn't leading to the return of "(Vriska)", the OG timeline Vriska who died and got a ton of character growth before post-retcon Vriska stole her girlfriend, then what is it building towards?

A lot of these lines make good single-panel memes. Yes, Vriska, you are the problem in nearly every situation, even (especially) when you're also the solution.

Aradia sa- oh for fuck's sake this is unreadable, guys. Anyway she says that getting into a routine leads to stagnation and slow death, which, mood, but also is about Homestuck itself as much as it is about Vriska.

Jesus Christ, how long is this update? This page is a full on Pesterquest game when the other five routes are finished.

Oh, okay. That's it. Vriska levels and we get a bunch of fire-themed pun ranks for her, of which Skinner's Bane is the best

[lottiecents]

Brazilian!Rhaenicent - Headcanons

- Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen would actually be named: Alice Torres and Rafaella Trindade.

- Them both would be from different states! in my head if we fit westeros in certain brazilian states i think oldtown/the reach would be Minas Gerais and Kings Landing/Dragonstone would be São Paulo and Rio. So Alicent would be from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais and Rhaenyra would be from Rio!

- Alicent would study in a federal university (which are Brazil’s ivy leagues), and i can see her studying letras (english/lit) or journalism. As for Rhaenyra she would go to a private university to study economics and business, but i also can see Rhaenyra trying her best to get into Brazils aerospace engineering (ITA).

- Alicent loves to read and her favorite authors are Guimarães Rosa, Clarice Lispector and Hilda Hilst (she also loves with the bottom of her heart Machado de Assis and Lygia Fagundes Telles), and also loves books about Brazil’s (and the worlds) history and books that has that journalistic vein. Rhaenyra wouldn’t be that much into books, she would like one or another, but Alicent would make her a reader because of her recommendations (poetry is one of the genres that grows a lot inside Rhaenyra especially Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Hilda Hilst).

- they curse. a lot. it’s always a “puta que pariu”, “caralho” and “vai tomar no cu”.

- Alicent loves to use her film camera, especially when they do road trips. Rhaenyra is always buying her lots of films and a new camera to support her hobbies (she also books little trips and vacations and outdoors dates just to see alicent taking pictures).

- Both of them would LOVE mpb and bossa nova, it would be their go to songs for everything. Alicent would be a big fan of Milton Nascimento, Gal Costa, Djavan, Marisa Monte and Ana Carolina, and Rhaenyra would be a big fan of Secos e Molhados, Rita Lee, Jorge Ben and Belchior.

- Still talking about music, their biggest guilty pleasure would be funk, Rhaenyra would love the explicit lyrics and the beat but she wouldn’t know how to dance… even though alicent doesn’t like it very much she knows how to dance and knows her way when the song starts to play

- beach dates! beach dates! beach dates! (and also camping and going to visit the natural beauties that exist like waterfalls, caves and many others)

- As two good brazilians they would love football and they would be serious about it, especially in the world cup! (they saw Brazils and Germanys game in 2014 and still haunts them). Alicent would support Cruzeiro Esporte Clube from Minas Gerais, and Rhaenyra would support Vasco da Gama from Rio de Janeiro.

- Rhaenyra would be very into football. like super into it. in an annoying level. she would even play back in high school and at college, later she would play for fun or at the beach.

- Alicent wouldn’t do sports until she was in high school, she did ballet but in her first year of hs she rebelled and tried out to the volleyball team (she is actually very good and very competitive).

- Alicent is a big fan of soap operas, and rhaenyra teases her because of it (she watches with her and is even more interested than alicent sometimes).

- them both would love the bohemian, bossa nova pubs and enjoy a good caipirinha, cold beer and delicious food (and also xeque mate!).

- they would smoke normal cigarettes but also wouldn’t pass the opportunity to smoke a paiol/palheiro (a cigarette made out of straw with tobacco).

[sangfielle]

would love your take on the saarebas as a part of DA canon (until recently i guess lmao) because they're a piece of qunari worldbuilding that i am oddly besotted with, but they also feel to me like another one of those details added to make qunari seem more "barbaric", which was then given some cursory nuance to try and make it not look as uniquely bad (for example, you can draw a comparison between the abuses circle mages suffer in kirkwall and the plight of saarebas, but the visual language of one group being confined to barracks and the other being chained and collared like animals is still going to have someone engaging with the work associating some very fraught traits to an arvaarad that they then wouldn't to a templar). i don't really know how to work with them in a fanon context for my own enjoyment that doesn't feel like uncritically leaning into the most racist parts of how the qun is presented, but deleting them the way DATV did feels worse. what do you think?

also you made a post abt them all being Government-Assigned Nonbinary that gelled with my interpretation of them lol

i sat with this for a little while, because i wanted to have something better to say than "i basically agree with you about all of this", but the problem is that i basically just agree with you and there's not that much you can say about saarebas that you can derive from the actual text of the games. they're categorically denied depth and we're refused any insight into qunari society and, like, the non-antaam qunari mind (sten and the da2 arishok, specifically, i guess -- inquisition doesn't want you to consider iron bull qunari so i won't, tallis is semi-useful as an insight into the position viddathari are forced into when speaking to those outside the qun but that's it [just in da2, i thought about revisiting redemption in case it would provide any insight but i feel pretty confident every character in that show is one-note without re-watching it], i guess you can have that one conversation with ketojan before it* kills itself?) (tevinter nights would have been a great place to put a story from the perspective of a saarebas but that didn't happen, so whatever).

i don't know how much help i can be of in terms of "how do i engage with this in a non-racist (etc) fashion", because i think the answer might be that you can't? i think that for basically everything surrounding the qunari, it's very difficult to not play into the bigoted stuff baked into them without doing a ground-up rewrite of the entire society. you're right that totally ignoring the bigoted writing and just hoping that works like vg does isn't really a solution either though. my suggestion would be to just go into whatever you're doing aware of the politics of the depiction of the saarebas and be mindful to not act like their treatment is uniquely barbaric relative to circles. if the thing you're doing isn't solely focused on qunari, spend some time looking at andrastian treatment of mages and make a point of comparison? if you're writing, make an effort to treat any saarebas and arvaarad as, like, people with interiority in the same fashion as you would templars and mages? if you're an artist, uh. it is much harder to get away from the imagery. i don't actually know what to tell you about that.

that's very basic advice but i don't have much specific rewrite advice besides "probably be mindful of and utilize the fact that in-universe it's implied that ketojan's treatment was extreme and not the typical way saarebas are handled (the specific visual language of the stitched lips are supposed to be a second-to-last resort handling method, not typical practice. i will say that i really deeply dislike the stitching scars that people love to put on their tal-vashoth mage ocs. that's probably more personal preference and me being anal about minor lore notes, but it feels to me like it leans into the idea that qunari treatment of mages is worse and more damaging than andrastian methods, especially when people don't really treat tranquility with the same weight despite that being... worse, probably). iirc saarebas (redemption) was treated notably harshly throughout its* life in the qun but didn't bear any specific visual markers besides the collars that would imply that it was held on a particularly tight leash. again, didn't rewatch redemption for this and it's a pretty vauge memory in my head, so i'm less sure about saarebas (da:r) than i am about ketojan and hissera (and i admittedly don't know jack shit about saarath, but there's very little to know, it seems like?). hissera and saarath have the stitches, but i'm pretty sure that's because they wanted to maintain a visual continuity with the saarebas more than anything else, because hissera isn't noted as being a mage that needs to have a close eye kept on it*, on account of... it's allowed to travel around thedas by itself under its own supervision. so i guess that's another thing worth keeping in mind, that a few saarebas are trusted to just be by themselves and do whatever, like wynne is with the circles? actually probably the most straightforward comparison in terms of level of treatment of the typical saarebas would be to fereldan circle mages specifically. if you want something to use as a yardstick for their treatment (similarly to andrastian circle mages, though the chantry will less readily admit it than the qun, is that the primary role of a mage is being a tool of war). also worth being aware of the fact that unlike thedosian cultures, saarebas are specifically noted as being revered in the qun to some extent. people don't... hate them, probably. the qun is too much about anti-individualism and living as a part of a whole for that to be the mindset about people who are occupying a very restrictive role

*i mean, you saw my post about it. i feel like the -bas suffix denotes a set of pronouns and a gendered role.