#i like playing elf mages it seems also.

[itseghost]

sketch of my warden :] really enjoying origins so far

[requiemforthestars]

Being back in the Dragon Age fandom has awakened something long asleep within me, which is a seething deep, feral hatred and disgust for Cullen and dismay at the way everyone in the fandom is head over heels for him. Literally it's as fresh as it was on the first day. Truly, things you feel at 15 years old do not wane.

[theygender]

I've got too many games I want to play and not enough free time 😭 I still need to finish my BG3 playthrough but since Endless Ocean: Luminous came out I've been playing a lot of that instead. Also just got back into Wizard101 last night. Started playing House Flipper again last weekend. Still need to finish BOTW so I can start a TOTK playthrough and finish Pokemon Shield so I can start on Pokemon Violet. I've been fighting off the urge to start up a new Skyrim playthrough for weeks. My brother just told me that Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is getting ported to the Switch. And now I'm suddenly feeling inspired to replay DAI... And throughout all of this I'm also playing the hell out of DragonVale on my phone. Someone just pay me to play video games all day please

[hawkepockets]

actually. 🫷😀🫸 THOUGHTS ON AVELINE

i think aveline is a CORE da2 character, and her relationship with hawke is super super interesting. she’s hawke’s oldest friend in the game & by act 3, maybe the only enduring connection to their homeland & childhood besides the mabari. her voice, her bearing, her stated values are all very noble & movingly fereldan—but her actions both as guard captain & as a party member should be so profoundly disappointing to hawke almost no matter how you play them, which generates a powerful tension. imo it’s really poignant and adds a lot to the game’s central tragedy.

because how can hawke cut her off! but look at how she behaves: ignoring the serial killing & sexual assault of isolated older women and elf girls, baiting the arishok, slut shaming isabela, condescending to merrill. but how can they cut her off? the question is a privilege and a torment!

in this way i think she strikingly complements gamlen. like no matter what gamlen does and says to you, your love interest, leandra, the surviving hawke twin—he’s family and the only way into kirkwall. hawke is not permitted to sever those ties. and no matter what aveline does and says to you and all the women in your party, she remains your oldest friend and the only way back to ferelden, emotionally.

both aveline & gamlen will maintain a warm relationship with hawke as long as hawke tolerates their picking on those in proximity to hawke—but if hawke pushes back with aggressive dialogue options, both will tone match and became sour and hostile. aveline can be really quite awful to a red hawke, and will throw them to the ground and beat them at 100% rivalry. so there’s kind of an underlying challenge in both of these characters: how much will hawke, as gang leader & player character, put up with when it’s not directed at them?

of course, for all the nostalgia that seems to occlude av’s wrongdoings in kirkwall, she’s not really a childhood friend of hawke’s. she was a grown woman when they met, lothering was lost, and the moment was pretty heated thanks to aveline’s hostile templar husband.

and yet hawke is no more reliable & objective in their treatment of the past than varric is. and aveline is what they have! she’s standing in for all of ferelden, all of the past before the blight!

and likewise hawke for her! hawke is the only one left in act 3 who remembers wesley! aveline is the only one who remembers the dead hawke twin!

and as reprehensible as some of her decisions are, aveline’s grief for wesley and her enmity toward the old corrupt guard captain are sympathetic and her voice is sexy and husky and beautiful enough that. well im sorry i just lost the plot for a minute. uh

there’s also the act 3 subplot of the templars trying to take over the city guard, which sets up aveline as the only thing standing between kirkwall’s mages & absolute templar authority in the city. it’s literally her or cullen at his most brainwashed & violent. (to cullen’s credit he also thought it was a bad idea. but i won’t give him so much credit that i believe he’d turn down the position if aveline was removed.) between a knight-commander and a hard place, a pro-mage hawke has to choose the hard place.

so both of my playthroughs i’ve felt like hawke’s friendship with her is at the very least strained, if not completely ruptured, but they have to back her. how much that feels like fucking sandpaper may vary from hawke to hawke.

ultimately i just think she brings a lot to the table. i don’t necessarily understand why she’d be anyone’s all time #1 favorite companion, but you know.

[raayllum]

Today on crackpot theories: Aaravos' making the world's worst grocery list of items for his Cosmic Council takeover, re: Claudia and the Sunforge staff

I was thinking about how both Claudia and the Sunforge staff are included in her intro, despite not really needing the staff to be (as far as we know, but bear with me for a moment).

Viren, for example, doesn't have any item in his intro, despite the fact that Aaravos clocked that he had the relic staff Immediately. This was one of the biggest indicators at the time that Ziard's staff was related to Aaravos (since we didn't know he was a 'great one' yet).

Callum has the cube (which we'll circle back to) in his intro, yes, but again that makes a bit more sense with the context we have. It's called the Key of Aaravos, of course it was going to be something in relation to Aaravos in the Startouch elf's head of "hehe play into my hands".

It does show a pattern, though, of Aaravos not just going after mages, but mages who specifically have the 'gifts'/objects he's left behind that he needs. He needs the Relic staff, at the very least, because it has the quasar diamond he left inside as a contingency plan seemingly just in case he was ever imprisoned since murder only temporarily delays him. The cube may be something he's been looking for for a while now.

So he adds Viren and Callum to his little collection, convenient pawns pulled in by lures, and then constructs two more grocery list items together in quick succession in S3:

I've pondered before about why have Luna Tenebris and Queen Aditi go missing at all, in terms of being part of his plan. On the one hand, it makes sense without really trying: taking out Luna de-stabilized the archdragons (who seem like the only real threat to his power) and he couldn't let Aditi stabilize them. That doesn't explain why he'd eat her, though, unless it was just for fun.

It also never entirely sat right to me that getting the Sun staff / orb from Lux Aurea was just about protecting the soldiers from dragon fire. It felt too short sighted, not for Viren maybe but for Aaravos, given that if the Sunfire elves hadn't gotten involved, the assault on the Storm Spire probably would've gone on without a hitch.

Season six did provide more context, though! If Aaravos knew there was a good chance that taking out Lux Aurea and de-stabilizing the royal family again would make it easier to manipulate and kill Sol Regem, I could see that being incentive enough. If he's waited a 1000+ years for his revenge on that dragon, what's a couple more?

But like I said... if Aaravos ate Aditi for a reason, which was nullified maybe by his 300 year imprisonment... Does he need to eventually eat the Sun orb too? (Or Claudia, as she's consumed by the corrupted light for a beautifully on the nose metaphor?)

The relic staff has seemingly served at least one of its main purposes for now, though perhaps the quasar diamond can continue to be used past the point of giving Aaravos a new body? And we know the cube is related to Aaravos' book, so he'll want both of those within his possession and likely, like Viren in Lux Aurea and in Katolis with Claudia, be brought right to him. But I wonder about the corrupted Sun staff

The simplest reasoning I could see is the Staff just symbolizing Claudia's attachment to Aaravos and dark magic, but given its inclusion in the pawn intro, I can't help but think there's more to it, anyway. Why have it specifically on Aaravos' grocery list of items to get if all he wanted to do was corrupt the Sun forge, after all?

[velteris]

I’ve seen a fair amount of posts complaining about this arc in Frieren and… we are all entitled to our own opinions etc which is why I will be launching into a Defense of Frieren’s Exam Arc :) Keeping it manga spoiler free since it seems like most of these complaints are from anime-only viewers.

For me the main draw of this arc is the world building. We’ve spent all this time with Frieren and Fern as our main perspectives on magic. Because it’s Frieren, the magics we’ve been hearing about have mostly been a little silly and sweet. But now we’re finding out that 1) “mage” is largely still a combat designation, and 2) Frieren and Fern are actually incredibly jack-of-all-trades when it comes to their magic repertoire. The “magic is visualisation” part is starting to be really leant into and we’re seeing more humans as well who seem to specialise in one magic (steel flowers, rocks, clones, ice and water…) It’s cool!! It’s objectively cool! I love being able to see this range that we wouldn’t have had otherwise! Also it’s fucking fantastic to see how much of a BEAST Fern really is when compared to other human mages. And she doesn’t even seem that aware of it.

Coupled with that is being able to see different people’s philosophies toward magic. I think a lot of viewers are kind of down about the sudden huge influx of side characters who they don’t really care about. But these philosophies—Land’s maximum wait-and-watch, Wirbel and Ubel’s vastly different approaches to killing—keep expanding the world and highlighting Frieren and Fern’s own perspectives. It’s soooo good seeing them react to situations not of their own making and people not of their own kind.

We get to see human society that isn’t a village in the middle of nowhere! We get to see Frieren being forced to socialise! We get to see Fern away from her emotional support elf! We get to see how society has changed since the demon king was defeated! I love that Himmel and co ushered in an era of peace, which it is, and yet the world is still full of conflicts. Truly the story continues after the hero is finished.

To address a few specific complaints I’ve seen brought up:

Frieren isn’t about all these nonstop shounen fights.

Agreed! Which is why it’s cool as hell that Frieren’s main badass shounen strategy is “sit very still for 10 hours”. That aside? There actually hasn’t been much actual fighting. You could probably count up the minutes in which actual spells are being cast and it’ll be something like 2 minutes max in the latest ep20. And that’s because it’s not about who beats who, it’s about the philosophies, the worldbuilding, the ways of thinking about magic. This is not a power-measuring contest, much as Genau would like to make it. And the random lucky draw-ness of the Stilles only plays further into that. It is possible to pass this exam without coming into conflict with others, and certainly without battles to the death. It hasn’t ever been about the shounen fights.

The good part of the show was about the delicate melancholy and that’s totally missing here.

I agree that it’s one of the strong points. But the thing with the melancholy is that it only works when juxtaposed against other moments. A story that’s composed of a bunch of unlinked wistful slice-of-life episodes will eventually fall apart because it has no momentum, no driving force. And ten years to Ende is too long to go without at least some conflict. Also, again, ten-hour bird meditation session?

Anyway, there’s melancholy, but how sad it would be if there was nothing but introspection and wistfulness. Frieren is bringing the memories of Himmel forward with her into the future. That means she has to be moving forward, forging new relationships with unrelated people, going into situations that she hasn’t been in before. A Frieren stuck in the past would be against the themes of the show, of remembering and yet moving on.

Why should I care about them spending ages trying to catch a bird?

You don’t like Stille? 🐤 fweet?

Actually I care lots about this funky thing. Indestructible and goes supersonic fast. That’s fucking hilarious. Bird that simply cannot be contained. Genau is a dick for setting up this kind of exam when, Your Honour, my client Stille does not deserve to be imprisoned.

Too many irrelevant side characters who it’s hard to care about, and they’re gonna be thrown away at the end anyway.

Again, it’s the worldbuilding. And also, mild spoilers for stuff that won’t be covered in the anime, but at least one of these side characters does come back and we get more delicious main character development as a result. Though frankly many of these characters are deeply compelling and interesting to me so I don’t rly get this complaint. Give me more Lawine.

Where’s Himmel? What do these exams have to do with the hero party? Frieren is good because of the links to the past.

Frieren is good because of the links to the past, which affect how Frieren responds to the present. The whole point of Frieren is that Frieren’s life continues. And through her new experiences, she comes to understand and reconnect to the emotions she didn’t realise she felt about her past. I don’t care what Himmel would think of the mage exams, I care what Frieren thinks of them now. And the answer is that she doesn’t really give a damn but she’s in here anyway because Fern strongarmed her into it, and then she was forced to adopt two more kids along the way, and all of that is something she never would have done if she was still hermiting in the Central Lands. Somehow we are still getting Himmel flashbacks anyway? So? He’s still haunting the narrative guys. Just because Frieren isn’t saying “that’s what Hero Himmel would do” out loud in these circumstances doesn’t mean his ghost isn’t here.

Even so, Frieren clearly recognises the name Serie. Do not fear. There is going to be more about links to the past.

I miss Stark.

Fair enough. It’s okay, he’s just on vacation rn. Having an appy juice.

It’s taking too long. The arc is too slow.

It’s only been three episodes… I’ve seen people going “it’s already been three episodes!” but what? Really? Is that considered an excessive amount of time now?? Given the amount of story covered I think it’s quite reasonable? There’s still 8 episodes to go in which we cover the remaining exam stages. Have some patience like Frieren. The payoffs are being set up; they’ll resolve before the end of the mage exam arc. In the meantime, let’s enjoy theorising about the soft magic system and hollering for full auto Fern.

[illarian-rambling]

So this has been looooong overdue...

Character Introduction: Duchon Avymere Kalaphon Spearsong III, Heir to the Icy City

“So.” The Duchon pulled a silken rope and a blue-clad figure brought out a tea set almost faster than Astra could blink. “You seem a curious sort. My last tailor was an old, stodgy fellow—I always worried one needle prick would be the end of him.” They smiled mischievously. “Tell me about yourself, Ms. DuClaire, and I’ll tell you a bit about myself. Nothing you don’t want to, of course. Just anything you find fun or worth sharing.”

Somewhat surprisingly, the Duchon began to prepare two cups of tea with their own hands. Silently, they tapped the bowl of sugar. Astra held up three fingers.

Was this some sort of ploy? Astra honestly couldn’t tell what the motive would be, much less if there was one. The Duchon seemed almost child-like, humming softly to themself as they stirred their servant’s tea.

Alright, doll, I’ll play your game. But I ain’t gonna— Astra took a sip of the tea they passed her and almost fainted for how tantalizing the flavor was. Ok, maybe I’ll like it.

“Well, like my papers said, I’m from the Republic.” She cleared her throat, blushing a bit under the handsome elf’s undivided attention. “What they didn’t say is I’m most a’ the way to a book mage, I just never ended up gettin’ my license. Your, uh, your grace, I mean.”

“What a remarkable path!” The Duchon blinked eyes as bright as a bird’s. “As a note, when we’re in my personal quarters, you may call me Avymere, if you wish. I know you don’t have our slew of titles down in the Republic. Trust me, even I find it all confusing sometimes!”

They laughed, a light, airy sound that reminded the witch of wind chimes. She found herself relaxing into the chair, smiling as she sipped her tea, even as her mind whirled. There was just something about this person! It snagged at Astra’s core like a loose tooth. Maybe it was just her general distrust of fine folk, but no one was that chipper—not at eight in the morning with a total stranger.

“Why did you decide to quit before taking your licensing exam?” Avymere asked, they themself also sitting in a more relaxed manner now. “I understand it’s a very difficult exam, though I never had a head for runes. My father tried, by the gods he did, but nothing ever stuck.” They shrugged in a ditzy way. “I suspect he was always a little disappointed I never took to it.”

“The exam was more money than I was willin’ to spend,” Astra answered, skirting the truth by an inch or two. “’Sides, I don’t need it for what I’m doin’ now.”

Was it possible that the Duchon was just… dumb? Well-meaning, but it was just so out there that a noble would be asking such intrusive questions to the help. If a library worth of runic knowledge hadn’t been on the line and she wouldn’t’ve been hung for saying so, Astra would’ve told anyone else to stuff it. Her reasons for not having her license were no one’s business but her own! Yet, Astra couldn’t honestly look into those starling eyes and work up any true indignation. They were just so genuine.

“I heard a description of the skirt you made,” Avymere continued with a conspiratory grin. “I think that’s a beautiful marriage of the arts—runes and fashion. Though I guess runes aren’t technically art, are they? They sure are pretty though. Do you have a favorite rune? One you think is the prettiest?”

Another… well it wasn’t really a nosy question, just a weird one. Astra decided to answer honestly. “On a visual level? Fire,” she said. “It’s one a’ the simplest shapes, yet elegant too. ’Course I don’t use it much in this line a’ work.”

“Oh, I suppose that’s a shame. But you wouldn’t want clothes catching on fire, now would you?” Avymere laughed again, drawing an unexpected chuckle from Astra’s lips as the elf’s mirth spread through the air.

“So, you had another line of work, then? Not magic if you don’t have your license, I’m guessing, and not clothes because that’s what you’re doing now. Were you”—Their eyes flicked to her hands, to the slight stiffness with which she held her left arm—“a farmer? Oh, or a fighter! You’ve got a tough look about you. Is it true all people in the Republic can swing a sword?”

“I, uh….” Astra paused, then really considered what she was about to say. Potion hunting wasn’t too far from what she’d been doing for six years. That was probably exactly the sort of answer Avymere wanted though.

Astra considered further what she’d said already to this chatterbox elf, what she’d given up as answers to those silly questions. Avymere knew she was an unlicensed mage with the skill to pass the exam, just not the funds. They knew she had a proclivity for fire. They knew she had the hands of a physical laborer and a previously injured arm. In short, they’d picked up on everything that might make her dangerous in less time than it’d taken the witch to finish her tea.

She grinned. So this was a game then. Just one she’d never seen played before.

And by extension, one she herself didn’t know how to play.

“I did freelance work for a few years on the road.” Astra shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “I assume you’re a spy a’ some sort.”

“That—” Avymere coughed, choking briefly on their tea. Astra’s grin grew even wider. They caught the expression and a cautious smile began to creep onto their own features. “And why ever would you ask that?”

“Just the questions ya asked, is all. That and I ain’t too trustin’ a’ nobility—no offense. It all lined up too neatly, ya didn’t have any questions in there that were pure nonsense.”

Avymere’s smile grew more coy. “I’ll take that into account, Ms. DuClaire. Your insight is an honest pleasure. And I take no offense, I probably trust my peers less than you do. Now, shall we dispense with the interview and start our day?”

Full backstory is under the cut ;)

Avymere is the only child of Archduke Eluan Spearsong and Duchess Amarell Spearsong. The Spearsongs have long ruled the city of Salis, within the icy elven country of Skysheer, and are counted as the second most important family in the nation. In addition, they are known to possess a powerful inherited sorcery, augmented by their study of runes. Eluan Spearsong has been long considered one of Illaros's most powerful mages, while his wife steered the city's politics like a well-broken mare. Avymere should've been born with everything, and in a way, they were. In others, they were not so lucky.

For starters, Avymere was born without a trace of sorcery - the first Spearsong in a millenia to be fully mundane. Secondly, though their father tried and they studied and struggled, book magic never clicked for them either. They exist as a break in the grand chain of Spearsong arcane tradition. Thirdly, when they were no more than eight, their mother was assassinated by an unknown faction. The culprit was never found.

This isn't to say Avymere's childhood was all dark. Apart from his sadness in his child not being able to practice magic, Eluan was a model father. He encouraged Avymere's passion for martial arts, even though such a thing is considered unseemly for Skysheerian nobility. He instilled them with strong ideals of stewardship and leading as an act of service, and always made time to care for them while running the city. It's no surprise then, that as an adult, Avymere is doggedly loyal to the Archduke.

Apart from their talent in martial arts, Avymere also has a skill for spycraft. This was recognized early on by the Archduke's spymaster, and since there are simply some places a Duchon can go that a spy disguised as a servant can't, they were trained extensively from the moment they hit adulthood. For their part, Avymere is happy to serve as a spy. It is their duty to the nation and they enjoy the challenge.

This spycraft has had a significant impact on their personality. Though they've never reflected on such a thing, Avymere would hardly recognize their true personality. They play the charming ditz in front of the court, the benevolent library builder in front of the citizens, and the terrifying specter for any rebels or political enemies who manage to get close. The one thing that remains consistent among their many faces is a sense of unyielding duty. They don't see themself as a person, but rather as a tool to protect Skysheer. It's not really an unhappy experience - more that they don't know what it means to be truly happy. The only time they take for themself is when they practice martial arts, often sparring with their bodyguards in the palace garden. They are impeccably polite, deeply cunning, and completely unaware of their worth as a person. They don't wear the crown - it wears them.

Can you see why they're one bad adventure away from a severe breakdown?

Anyways, here are some fun facts!

Avymere is 153 years old. Given that elves in my setting can live to around 500, they're the equivalent of mid to late twenties.

The martial art they practice is called Talmel Valkys, and it's a holdover from before the Skysheerian elves split from their more militant Nabafyrian cousins. Its closest real-world equivalent would be muay thai mixed with a little aikkido.

They, like everyone in their family, are very nearsighted.

Given how their mother was assassinated, Avymere is extraordinarily paranoid about assassins targeting their father.

Their gender would be defined as fe'penche specifically. Elven culture recognizes six genders, and fe'penche roughly translates to nonbianary but female leaning. This means Avymere dresses more femme and engages in traditionally feminine work (politics). In the human tongue, they stick to they/them.

They can play the pianoforte with a very medium level of skill.

That's not quite a wrap, as I have one more present for you. A proper portrait! (Finally!)

Though they are lily white to human eyes, Avymere is considered quite tan for a Skysheerian. Their hair is also a stark white typical of their people, while their eyes are a pale gray.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Let me know if you have any questions and you have yourself a bitchin day <3

@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks

@bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast

@the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff @frostedlemonwriter @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @watermeezer

@leahnardo-da-veggie @mr-orion @televisionjester @the-ellia-west @ray-writes-n-shit

@evilgabe29 @trippingpossum @fortunatetragedy @halfbakedspuds

[purplecritter]

Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance (Ep. 1)

Official episode transcript here

My notes while I was listening under the cut... Spoilers ahead!

“People have been saying the ground be feeling like it’s gonna give”... cool cool so now it’s just a question of if it’s Ghil and Dark Spawn or if it’s Titans underground 👀

What’s this about looking a Qunari in the eyes being disrespectful?? Olen what are you saying

🎶OH GREY WARDEN WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE OATH YOU HAVE TAKEN IS ALL BUT BROKEN🎶

^ Makes me hopeful to hear snippets of previous parts of the soundtrack in The Veilguard! Lost Elf Theme / Dark Solas Theme my beloveds...

“Every Templar, guard, warden, bounty hunter this side of Thedas is looking for the now notorious Nadia Carcosa” they got the Wardens too????

Ohh Andraste’s Grace flowers are poetic… In general or for Nadia and Elio specifically? Nevermind--what is poetic to me is that there was a ring in DAII named Andraste' Grace which boosted defense and health regen... And Elio says the ring he proposed with had been "embued with a protective spell" :3

Nadia doesn’t know her birthday… Abandoned or a former slave? <- Yep liberati

Wow what a conversation… Ogh if he died after they had an argument about marriage without closure I can excuse the poisoning of Olen lmao

Nadia referring to her and Elio as a “break from reality” :(  

Arcanis Hall, the Archives = part of the Magisterium

IT’S SO GOOD TO HEAR NEVE AGAIN :D

“Many lives depend on [stopping Nadia]”. How close is Vows&Vengeance to the start of The Veilguard and compared to The Missing? Because Neve seems to already be at least a little acquainted with Solas' plans here. She seemed to know the consequences of having/using the Eye, saying it will “destroy” Neve&Elio, and she was also sure that it was Solas who tipped the Templars on Nadia (and Elio by proxy).

Silver coins mentioned yippee (I love when the economy is not just gold. I miss my shitty 7 copper items okay)

“holds every object, scrap of writing, relic, antiquity that’s even remotely interesting to the Empire” this description of the Archives makes me understand why Dorian was bitching about the size and contents of our Skyhold library. Sorry king Ferelden really was a nerf for you

So Templars in Tevinter are glorified guards for the Mages rather than over them. But they at least have authority to arrest people part of the Magisterium

Neve warning Elio not to draw magic from the Fade means she casts spells avoiding it? Ma'am👀 <- nevermind she probably knew about the Andante thing

Silent Plains huh? THE TOWN CALLED ‘SOLAS’ IS RIGHT ABOVE THERE!! Mr Dreadwolf is sooo cheeky I know he was giggling when he passed by that location

The Eye of Kethisca. Ancient artifact. (according to Solas so take with a grain of salt) Drawing (magic) power from the Fade triggers an explosion of energy, specifically Elio using magic near it created a bond that amplified its powers. Crafted centuries ago by a powerful dreamer An’dante using a rare gem mined from caves in the Silent Plains, where the Veil is thin because of the unspeakable sacrifice of many.

Solas says there’s “nothing to fear about this relic” I'M NOT TRUSTING THOSE WORDS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IN PARTICULAR

“Ar dirthan’as ir elgara / Ma’sula e’var vhenan” ⇒ saying this somehow deactivated the Eye ^ It’s also what Solas says to Sera in an attempt to make her feel the rhythm of the language 🧐

“Heruamin litirien. / Alai uethri maeria. / Halurocon yalei nam bahna. / Dolin nareba maome… / Ame amin. / Halai lothi amin. / Aloamin Heruamin. / Heruamin oh lonai. / Imwe anine beriole…” ⇒ chanted by Solas and Elio in the caves while holding the Eye. When Elio lets go the caves & Veil collapse

Solas: “I do not play games.” The Iron Bull, who played mind-chess with him 10 years ago: “So that's a fucking lie.”

Elio: “I was told the Eye would end the world, not mend it.” Solas: “Some people confuse a reckoning as an ending.” Elio: “So you seek reform?” Solas: “I seek regeneration.” ^ noting this down since it smells like foreshadowing

I wonder who The Dreadwolf's intermediary with Olen is!

We're going back to the Hinterlands everyone 💀

Interesting that "Carcosa" is Nadia's surname, from a meta perspective at least since it's been used a lot for ominous place-names

Speaking of names, "Andante" is a real surname but it's also a tempo in music which is cool to me since it subtly references the lyrium described to be singing + him being stuck in the Fade where lyrium flows more liberally

[shewolfofvilnius]

There is a huge part of me that is curious about dragon age because I love BG3 so much. But idk anything about it? Also none of the characters strike me as interesting (or attractive....) Maybe you could tell me what you like so much about ? maybe talk about the characters so I can give it a chance? I want to like it! but I just don't know!

I DIDN'T FORGET

So for me the first draw of Dragon Age is the incredible lore and worldbuilding that goes on in the games and books. It's arguably just as fleshed out as a setting like the Forgotten Realms despite just being three (soon four) video games and about a dozen books/comics. There's centuries of history. Ancient ruins. Environmental storytelling for days. A little visual cue in the first game that's referenced in optional banter in the third that pays off in the fourth (FIFTEEN years apart). I really appreciate that the first game, Dragon Age: Origins, only exposes you to part of the story. The game's set in a pestilence known as the Fifth Blight, and you're the plucky young adventurer that the grizzled old veteran manages to recruit out of a bad situation just before the end. And you and your friends are all that stand between victory and oblivion. But right off the bat there's storytelling about love and loss and prejudice and honor. There's a noble character who dies, leading to a coward being killed as the stakes are built. (There's also a dog you can pet, and moments to show kindness during armageddon, like a prisoner who just wants a sandwich before he dies, he hasn't been fed.)

And the banter is funny (if some of it's aged a bit unwell), and the gameplay really encourages you to get in the head of whatever character you want to build. Yes you can be the cliche prince charming. You can also be the sibling of a prostitute to pay the bills until your sister lands a high profile john who catches feels for her. From the start it's equal measures hopeful and bleak at the same time. (And as you invest in YOUR character emotionally, you inevitably emotionally invest in your companions too.) And gradually the world gets bigger. A character whose town you watch get destroyed becomes the protagonist of the second game, and they hook you in to. They're a refugee, a very timely story, and if they're a magic user, then they're an especially persecuted refugee. But you still make friends amidst the hopelessness. More of the world gets revealed. You have FUN, somehow. Characters from past games recur, either as cameos or in one very specific case as a high profile recurring character in 3 out of the 4. And you become so glad to see them as they represent continuity of story.

It's a game about family and faith and the lack thereof and prejudice and love and how one counters the other, about how persecuted people often pay the price of things that happened before their ancestors' ancestors were born, and that tomorrow should always be better than today.

That's thematic, though. Maybe you take a shine to Isabela the Pirate and Aveline the Guard Captain (maybe Merrill the blood mage elf, too). The three women basically form one of the best depictions of big/middle/little sister trios I've ever seen in a game. What starts out as cold hostility becomes banterful compassion and love. A lot of folks fell for Solas, an elven apostate whose every word is couched in three mysteries and two half-truths but seems to know way more than he's letting on. When you find out a horrible secret about the honourable Grey Warden Blackwall, do you leave him to his fate, try to redeem him, deliver a sufficient consequence, or outright torture him.

And you won't like everyone. The odds of you liking both the spirit-possessed mage Anders and the anti-magic elf Fenris in the same play of the same game are low unless you metagame it. And sometimes the games even rewards you for someone hating your ass or vice versa, and THAT'S organic. But being mean or having a negative interaction isn't some edgelord thing either, it's just "sometimes people don't get along" or "something you just need to punch someone"

You get to laugh at the tough stern warrior Cassandra getting absolutely beside herself wanting to know what happens in a book that it's writer, another of your companions, hated writing - and that even Cass herself calls smutty literature. Another character, The Iron Bull, is faced with a choice: His found family and the freedom to be who he's become, or the belief system he's known his entire life and that expects him to conform.

Does your character sacrifice? Does your character make the streets run red with blood? Is all you want to make people feel inspired and in something bigger than themselves? Even playing three (soon four) wholly new characters, you get to truly role-play and emotionally invest in these little blorbos, maybe even more strongly in Baldur's Gate. When a character returns you weren't expecting, is it joyful or melancholy? Can your character handle a confrontation of everything they've ever known.

And in the newest game, there's a baby griffon.

I love Dragon Age. The lore is expansive beyond sanity for a franchise with it's commercial output. The characters feel alive, and the game tasks you to emotionally invest in order to reap the maximum reward and suffer the strongest heartache. Plus, in many cases, when the game doesn't tell you, say about your character? You get to roleplay and use your imagination so, so strongly.

[sadko101]

Varric is soo kean on helping solas instead of just stopping him because he couldnt stop anders

(more indepth and corrected version of my old post)

TW: very brief mentions of suicide and usual Anders stuff

okay the title is even more mid but this point is about how i believe one of the big reasons Varric is set on not just stopping Solas but helping him is because of what happened in Kirkwall. enter brief collection of thoughts:

one thing i loved about dragon age 2 is Varric and Anders friendship and how that added to the tragedy of both of their stories.

if your Hawke doesn't like Anders, Varric is the only one who actually enjoys his company and considers him a friend throughout the entire game. we also see in there banter that Anders is very Anders when interacting with Varric. it is also through there banter we see Anders lean more into the vengeance/justice and "lose" himself:

act 1

Varric: So a human, an elf, and a dwarf walk into a bar...

Anders: The human says, "You're lucky you're so short. That hurt like mad!"

Varric: You could have just stopped me, Blondie.

Anders: Why waste a perfectly good set-up?

act 2:

Anders: Boiling in oil.

Varric: Too prosaic. Trapped in a cave with hungry bears, right at the spring thaw.

Anders: That lets him off too easy. Dipped in molten gold and left as a statue in the Viscount's Keep.

Varric: Ooh. That's poetic!

Hawke: What are you two talking about?

Varric: What to do to Bartrand when I find him.

Anders: Any suggestions?

and the Parallels of act 3:

Varric: So, three templars walk into a tavern.

Anders: Not right now, Varric.

Varric: You feeling all right, Blondie? You're always in the mood for templar jokes.

--

Varric: So, the knight-commander... Boiling in oil? That one never gets old.

Anders: This is past time for joking.

Varric: I'm helping you indulge in elaborate revenge fantasies. I think it's good for you.

Anders: Meredith will die. Do not doubt that.

Varric: Go away, Justice. Can Anders come out and play?

Anders: [Justice voice] Stop.

Varric: You are no fun anymore.

Anders offers Varric his embroidered pillow, the only thing he was allowed to take from home to the circle. anders states to varric how he was a good friend. Varric denies it presumably thinking that Anders is planning on killing himself when he tells Anders "to have many more dreams of killing templars on it''. Varric obviously has concern for Anders and cares for him that we have seen throughout the game. when the chantry blows up all of Anders actions entirely add up to that action. you can only presume that Varric (and probably the rest of the cast) thought back on the warning signs.

the warning signs that Anders was going to do something drastic were there, for example, after act two he begins to isolate himself (regardless of if Ella died or not, but the reasons are different). its clear that he is struggling with his mental state and loosing control.

codex entry "after the deep roads": In the past three years, Anders has become more reclusive, verging on paranoid.

codex entry "the last three years": (if Ella is killed:) The past three years has seen Anders cross the edge from moodiness into open paranoia.

(if Ella is saved:)  Anders lost interest in the cause of mage revolution. Convinced he was no better than an abomination, Anders was determined to gain mastery over the spirit inside him... or die trying. It is increasingly apparent that he is losing this struggle. Prone to wild mood swings between deep melancholy and manic determination.

people don't wake up terrorist, Anders decline and why he did what he did to the chantry was something out of paranoia, vengeance and a kind of insanity. by act 3 'Anders' seems to have very little rational thought left in him, and the bomb was not a rational thought.

Anders story in da2 is his and justice's tragedy and how they spirals into madness together, pushing each other to the worst version of themselves by accident.

so back to Varric, in the trailer we saw how determined he was to stop solas, how he doesn't want to give up on a friend who is in "need". this feels parallel to his inability to stop Anders

*note, Anders and Solas are two very different characters and so are there actions, the similarity here i only Varrics friendship to them.

so i conclude that, i believe that one of the Varric is so intent on stopping Solas through helping him was because he could not stop Anders, and Varric doesn't want to see another friend loose his mind.

end note: Anders and Varrics friendship is so important to me you don't understand how much da2 broke my heart

intresting note from people on reddit: justice was becoming vengance the moment he got stuck in the mortal real in kirstoffs body (mightmake a write up on that too)

[nerdee-blondee]

Do you know what race you're gonna play in DAV ? I'm hesitating between an elf, cause I think an elf going against Solas and learning more abt the Dreadwolf is cool (and in my Solavelyan hc she'd be more jealous of his connection w/ a female elf cough) but playing an human would be cool for Solas' "character development" considering he would see himself in them and he would be forced to once against reevaluate his prejudices, though I guess it works for dwarf and qunari as well

ISN'T THIS THE REAL QUESTION LOLOL

so MY actual headscratcher is which inquisitor i'm going to do HAHA

cause i would LOVE to do my canon inquisitor, Aelyn Trevelyan; but I KNOW the juicy bits of this story will be with a solas-romaced lavellan (so RIP Aelyn, i'll use you on my second playthrough LOL)

i'm actually pretty confident with my idea for my rook. she's going to a human mage factioned with the Lords of Fortune!

personally, i always like playing a human because (obviously) i am a human and ALSO solas has his own little gripes with humanity so i ALWAYS like to be a human character that solas inevitably gets along and likes LOL (i also made a post on how i think solas sees all the other races and humans are the one he seems to respect the least LOL)

so me thinks, my first playthrough will probably be my solas-romanced lavellan, Maella Lavellan (with some traits and characteristics of my canon inquisitor, Aelyn) and a human Rook (Ms. Valeria whatever-her-last-name-is-going-to-be!)

I actually gotta start thinking about my second playthrough about which Rook I want paired up with my Trevelyan (it's probably gonna be an elf shadow dragon bUT WE'LL SEE)

[anneapocalypse]

Well, I think I've officially decided I'm changing my world state for my first playthrough of Veilguard!

I decided against using Rogues Gallery, for two reasons:

I still haven't finished Calla Cadash's playthrough. I know, I'm terrible to this girl. I swear I will eventually but I don't want to have to rush through it.

Solas... hates Calla. lmao. I'll be shocked if she even gets the redeem option in Trespasser, with how low his approval is. And I think that's interesting and I'll really enjoy playing with it for a future playthrough... but for my first, I really do want to play with an Inquisitor who wants to save him. Doesn't need to be romanced; I just want to play a worldstate where the Inquisitor thinks there's hope for him, an option I love with Solas friendship (I actually prefer the friendship redemption dialogue in Trespasser to the romance dialogue).

That makes Eleanor Trevelyan the perfect Inquisitor. She was also the first Inquisitor I actually finished! And honestly I love her world state, and I think I'll really enjoy building on it. She romanced Sera, disbanded the Inquisition and all other things being equal would really rather settle down with her wife--except that she swore to show her friend Solas that this world is worth saving, and she hasn't forgotten that promise. I think that however big or small the Inquisitor's presence in the actual game, I can make it work for her.

I will probably have to play a little loose with the theme of that world state to make it work, because previously it was romancing city elves (Zevran, Fenris, and Sera) and aside from the fact I don't want to pick a romance ahead of time, I don't think we even have a city elf romance option (Davrin and Bellara both seem to be of Dalish origin). The option I see is to simply play a city elf Rook. With Rook's origins focusing on factions, and not culture of origins, that should work. So it's looking like my first Rook will be an elf!

In that world state, Ilana Tabris is a rogue, while Alessandra Hawke and Eleanor Trevelyan are both mages. I think their Rook will probably also be a rogue. As for origin, I've been leaning toward Lord of Fortune as they just sound fun. But we'll see if anything else catches my eye. Still not making any major decisions about personality or backstory until I have the character creator in hand! I haven't even picked a gender; I do usually play a female character first, but I might not this time; we'll see.

[blazingstar24]

I’m still a RQ is Ludinus’s mother theory truther because he conveniently never mentions family in his Calamity trauma dumps. Like he’ll talk about his home, being a child, and the destruction but not once has he said something like “My family died in the Calamity!” or “I was orphaned because of the Calamity!”

Like for an elf hellbent on converting the BH, you would think that sort of info would be the first tragic backstory crumb one would drop. It’s also something to note because he’s a full elf (well before feasting on fey he was a full elf) so presumably his parents had to be elven. To which they would have at least been alive for his move to Molaesmyr. But also in that, from the dossier on him from Uthodern, there’s no mention of his family either. Just that he was living in Issylra in Ivaadel. To move cross continent in a dnd world? You have to have connections or be fucking rich or powerful. Teleportation ain’t cheap~ Nor is other means of travel (skyship/boat).

But he was said to be young (for an elf) when he came to Molaesmyr. So what then? Ludinus is a prodigy mage but still, even in that, being a wizard in dnd?? That means having to learn and be taught, which again costs money (hence why not everyone is an adventurer). Which if he comes from money, which he really seems like he does, one would think his family would at least have some notoriety, the Da’leth name would be a name other noble or rich elves would recognize other than Ludinus. That the dossier would have mention of him coming from such a family.

But it doesn’t. Ludinus’ past is heavily obscured in areas that seem innocuous. Specifics about where he came from prior to Molaesmyr, why he left, any relations are all shrouded. Now Occam’s Razor, Matt probably just didn’t think that deeply on the parentage situation like Marisha and Patia. But also Matt’s been very excited to play and reveal Ludinus’s motive and backstory and this is the man who could tell his players about the sewer system of a town. There’s a good chance even if the answer isn’t the Raven Queen, there’s a deeper story behind the obscuring of his family and past. Or they died in a non Calamity related way so Lud isn’t inclined to mention nor dwell on it.

But idk the fact that nothing is known even remotely about his family and Ludinus hasn’t mentioned it in an opportune moment either has me going 👀. And his obsession with the Raven Queen prior to his switch to Predathos has me in conspiracy mode.

[eff-plays]

Ok so my main Warden is an Amell but I have this personal headcanon where Amell and Tabris both got recruited. And my Amell died in a big heroic sacrifice etc etc. But my Tabris is just chilling with Zev. So I guess that's what I'm gonna go with?

Mainly cuz I don't want to have an all-human world state, it seemed fun at the time (esp when I pretended they were all related lmao) but now that it's four main PCs in a row who are humans it's like ok. Let's spice it up. And because you can't be a non-human Hawke and I'm too attached to my Trevelyan, I guess my Amell will get the theoretical boot. But she's dead anyway so it should be fine. Rip in pepperonis Alistair you really are the world's wettest saddest meow meow. I am taking your wife.

ANYWAY I think I want to play a mage qunari next? I'm thinking someone who's very scholarly and excitable, sort of a Merrill-ish vibe? Not really my go-to with these games as I do love angst, but I'm kinda up for trying something else. Depending on what the game allows, of course. And I'll get to keep my favorite combo of a mage-warrior romance with Davrin (I assume he's a warrior?). And also huge but squishy mage qunari and short king warrior elf is top tier. To me. Like he offers Rook a boob shoulder to cry on but he has to get a box to reach. Ya know?

[raayllum]

since Finnegrin sorta took Aaravos’s place in the rayllum development this season, was wondering if you had any parallels between the two figures specifically? :D

Oh yeah, for sure!!

There's the way they both have this almost gentlemanly, still too sinister to be entirely pleasant but like... calmer outer demeanour? But something cruel and volatile lurking right underneath when they get pissed that will be brutally unleashed if you dare disobey in a way that offends or presents an obstacle to them.

There's their associations with keys and threes (three quasar diamonds, three main mage pawns, three glowtoads, three keys to Finnegrin's door) in addition to being a clearly more rare kind of elf compared to the rest. There's the way they don't actually tend to fight their own battles, per se, but instead use vessels/pawns - for Aaravos, it's his collection of mages, and for Finnegrin, it's Elmer. Ownership and control go hand in hand with both of them. As Finnegrin says, "The chains are just for show," which feels very indicative of Aaravos' whole "I could just possess any of the dark mages in my collection, but I choose to bolster and manipulate them instead" and their reliance on fear.

But the big one, and the reason why I say I can swap them, is that the core prediction I had regarding Callum-Aaravos-Rayla just came true with Finnegrin swapped in for Aaravos - because Finnegrin is pushing forward and developing similar kinds of dilemmas I imagined along the exact same thematic axis those predictions were built off of: control vs freedom tethered together by love.

To me, Callum having a Key of someone who's imprisoned (and its majority negative associations in arc 1, i.e. being the symbol of temptation and dark magic in Callum's fever dreams) as well as Callum's own associations with freedom (wings like Icarus, the sky arcanum, emphasis in lines of dialogue, etc) seemed like an obvious through line of Callum playing into Aaravos' future machinations and setting the Startouch elf free, for some reason (or at least, foreshadowing being unable to stop him). People doing terrible things for love was a smaller undercurrent in arc 1 (largely with Claudia for her family, and Harrow out of grief with Sarai) and Rayla was the reason Callum had the cube in the first place, at risk to herself, so all those things compounded into Callum, under coercion, doing something he deemed terrible but necessary in order to save Rayla being held hostage/captive, no matter the risk.

S4 just added to this in major ways (and S6 could bring it, wildly enough, wholly to fruition - although I could see the 'captive' part be replaced easily with a fatal wound), largely due to the scene between Callum and Rayla in 4x07:

C: I'm not afraid [Aaravos will] hurt me. I'm afraid that he'll use me, to do awful things, or hurt people I care about.

However, it was always very clear to me that if it came to doing an awful thing or saving his loved ones, Callum would 100% always choose doing the awful thing to save his loved ones. And everything Callum was scared of here due to the lack of freedom and autonomy are things that literally happened in 5x08 thanks to Finnegrin.

Callum frames his relationship with Aaravos as one that's an inherent loss of freedom/control: "When Aaravos possessed me, back at the Storm Spire, I felt so weak and out of control." This is also the level of identity, of someone being able to use his body and strip away his voice - "I was his puppet".

Finnegrin's conversations with Callum centre around a similar theme, but he makes the initial mistake in trying to motivate Callum with his own freedom: "Just one dark magic spell, and you go free." He ignores Callum's obvious signs of 'weakness' ( "Tell me where my friends are") by assuming Callum is interested mostly because he wants to be free: "They won't be springing to your rescue" even when that's hardly what he cares about.

He identifies that Callum is deeply attached to his personal loyalties, but I can see Finnegrin thinking he's doing Callum some sort of twisted favour, in giving him the opportunity to sell out for his own freedom and leave his friends out to dry. (Love is weakness, after all. Shouldn't you want to prune yourself from weakness?)

The fact that Finnegrin is targeting Callum specifically because 1) Callum is a mage, 2) in relation to dark magic (when that was Aaravos' in, too) and 3) out of revenge (against an archdragon who's spared restricted him, and Aaravos wants revenge for his imprisonment & against the Startouch elves for also sparing but banishing/felling him) just furthers these thematic connotations between Finnegrin and Aaravos.

+ Bonus framing used to make it look like Callum is the one also in a cage, and a framing technique TDP has used before with always framing it so Claudia and Soren are the ones behind bars upon visiting their father in 3x03:

Then, much like Aaravos, Finnegrin baits a defiant Callum into a test ("those who fail tests of love are simple animals") that he's doomed to lose. Finnegrin's control is immediately set up to be exerted over everyone, yes, but Rayla in particular:

Because Finnegrin doesn't actually care about any of the other kids besides Callum. All he wants to do is break Callum's morale so that the boy will give up the information he needs, whether that's by trying to force Callum to pick someone to lose a hand (which the others remove as a coercive tactic) or by trying to get him to do dark magic again because as he says "You'll do anything for them."

But this, of course, is a false pretense. A lie. If Callum had done it here (and the show seems to imply he would have, or was seriously considering it), all Finnegrin would've had to do was use his blood spell to incapacitate everyone else. This is also an interesting point of note in some ways too, because technically... the episode could've just ended here.

Think of it this way: the overall structure of the episode is to get Callum's back against the wall so he uses dark magic, and accepts that he would use it, so he can gain a deeper understanding of himself and access the Ocean arcanum, leading to him throwing off Finnegrin's ice spell. Right? That's the Plot structure stuff that had to happen. If that was all that they wanted, you could do it in these scenes. The main cast would know Callum had done dark magic, which is the major difference, but surely wouldn't hold it against him. Callum could've done dark magic to get their chains off, could've had an impromptu Ocean arcanum realization, and things could've played out exactly as they do in the final scenes of the episode.

The episode could end here, but it doesn't, because well...

The writers chose to make him give up the information and do dark magic, specifically, to save Rayla. That's what they wanted. That's the relationship they chose to emphasize. Not the group dynamic, or one of the others (Soren or Ezran, mostly, as contenders), but for Rayla. Just like what I always expected Aaravos to prey upon too, even before and definitely after Callum and Rayla's talk in 4x07.

But Finnegrin still miscalculates, still not quite understanding that this isn't enough to keep Callum under control. If anything it spurs him further into continually more violent, escalating action: punching Finnegrin, giving up the spell (control), and when both of those prove futile, using dark magic to free himself (freedom) so he can save Rayla (love). And all of these lead him to the ocean arcanum: "To love is simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep [...] the Ocean arcanum is accepting there are depths you can't see."

Callum already didn't like doing dark magic, but as he says, "I had to, to save my friend(s)" and now he knows what that cost him: the threat of hurting his loved ones because doing dark magic has let Aaravos possess him. And here, as indicated by the intro change being the Callum pawn one, Callum has played into Aaravos' hands - at least marginally. He's accepted this darker side of himself, his willingness to do anything for the people he loves (including keeping secrets and trying to be "strong alone") - the part of him that Aaravos has arguably known all along. Remember those Tests of Love? Yeah Callum just passed one.

By and large, Finnegrin is a smaller, less smart stand in for Aaravos in 5x08. Revenge driven, focused on control and coercion, unnecessarily cruel, and willing to do anything to get what he wants - forcing Callum into the corner and subsequent choices for the person he Loves, as I predicted. (And there will probably be future parallels between Callum and Elmer regarding being pawns and breaking free and identity, but again: post for another day.) The fact that Callum's had this identity arc running throughout S4 and S5 ("Oh, I know [high mage] is my formal title, but you can just call me by my regular name" -> "I don't know how to feel about Rayla either" -> "I'm afraid, Rayla. What if I'm a path of darkness? -> "I have to go after him" "I know" -> "A lot has changed, but not everything's changed. I would do anything for you" -> "I'm not a dark mage" -> ?) and Finnegrin says that seeing Rayla in danger makes him Lose Himself (and Rayla's been setup to also Find Him & break him free of the brainwashing)? Love is a weakness, too, Callum's weakness (and strength). Finnegrin knew it, and I expect Aaravos knows it too, and that we'll see both of sides of the strength-weakness dichotomy come to fruition. TDP loves reconciling its dualities after all.

So yeah, we're in for a deep, wild, emotional ride.

TLDR; Finnegrin takes all of Aaravos' most direct thematic interplay (freedom, control, tests of love) with Callum from S4 and shores it up (pun intended) for the boy in S5, naturally pushing Callum further onto the "path of darkness" that Callum fears and Aaravos is relying on. After all:

Let's see just how far that anything goes, shall we?