#i was in full Veilguard obsession

[whereisjohnnyy]

Thank you again, i love it !!!! 😍😍 totally on point xD

Special art trade for @whereisjohnnyy

Care for him sunshine ✨

[lunarharp]

Scrappiiiees i love kitchen :)

[brainisafk]

Talassan Thorne, Grey Warden and actual puppy. XD

I was not 100% sold on him until I got him in the game, now the longer I play the happier I am with him. \o/

I feel like it's important to add that he has TWO griffon tattoos under that armor. >.>

I may eventually go back to the start with subtitles turned off just to get better early screenshots Idk.

He picked up new armor already and it is snazzy-looking.

He is. Not getting along that great with Harding yet and I really hope that changes later. Because baby.

I haven't said much about his backstory yet but that turned out to be a good thing because he was originally going to be warrior but I wanted to play a spellblade too much so he's a mage. Which is going to change a few things so I will work it all out and see about an "About" post soon. >.>

I honestly don't know how much I will be playing because work does not leave me enough time to do much, but like I said before we have a vacation coming up so I can see how far I can get in the story then. \o/

[gavinette]

It is so incredible to me how Solas and Lavellan have their own code to communicate to each other. Not only explicitly in lines of dialogue, like the elvhen they use in a room full of people just to have their private moment, or the hallelujah cadence they use in certain moments (like when you meet the Inquisitor the second time).

I'm talking about Lost Elf and the music that plays in the "Atonement" romanced ending in Veilguard. Two instruments having a dialogue while time is running. How the tune changes when Lavellan appears in the scene, shifting from the big Dread Wolf vibes to a new arrangement (dialogue?) of the Lost Elf. The music even stops for one second.

I'm obsessing over this little detail, I know, but I think it shows, even if you don't understand Solas or Lavellan body language to each other in the finale, what is happening. They're having the same debate all over again but it is different, the music is telling you it's different. More elements influence it. Lavellan knows better now, the violin is different and it doesn't have this desperate vibe to it.

I always admired Hans Zimmer since I was a little kid and getting to play Veilguard, save Solas from his worst fear and Hans Zimmer taking his time to do something specific for the solavellan ending makes me feel like it was my birthday.

[knife-eared-jan]

Watching the scene of Harding where she talks about Isatunoll, does anyone else get the sense that her role was initially written for Dagna?

Let me preface that Lace is lovely and I'm very happy her fans get so much more content and a full romance with her and I hope it's everything you dreamed. But I just get the strong sense that her role was initially planned for Dagna before they ever started writing for Veilguard.

Firstly, as others have commented, Harding was born and raised in Redcliffe, so it comes as quite a surprose that she's a follower of the Stone and concerned by What The Dwarves Have Lost. I mean sure, it doesn't necessarily contradict anything established about her, but it was certainly never set up in any previous games with even a single hint. Dagna was from Orzammar however, and it would have made perfect sense for her to cling onto her culture in some way even if she left her home to pursue her special interest.

Which brings me to dwarves with magic. Up until now, and them introducing Harding as caring about the Stone etc., it wouldn't have made that thematically impactful a narrative for the Scout from the Hinterlands who joined the Inquisition to have an adventure to be connected to Titan magic... I'd have expected her arc more to be about how adventures aren't always fun and you can actually get hurt pretty bad in the big bad world out there or something along those lines maybe. You know who was set up perfectly for it though and would have absolutely lost it if they got magic? Someone obsessed with magic all her life and actually getting to experience it for herself now. At the cost of learning some rough stuff about her culture.

I didnt't really get the sense in DAI that Harding was meant to be more than that plot device to introduce areas at the time they wrote DAI (again, no value attached here, I just don't think they planned for anything more at that point. The devs said themselves they were surprised by how strong the fan reaction was for her). But when they brought back Dagna no matter your choices in DAO and gave her all those mysterious lines about feeling mountain-tall and lyrium and tranquil... I very much did get the sense that they were leaving crumbs for her to come up again in a titan plotline.

(And least importantly, they even seem to have given Harding Dagna's signature absent-minded rambling? DAI Dagna always seemed way more confident and verbally sparring with you than what we've seen so far for Veilguard imo.)

Idk I just feel like maybe this was concepted for Dagna initially but was changed to Harding early on because of the popularity her character got.

Edit: I should maybe make clearer, that I don't think they like rewrote Dagna as Harding at the last minute or anything like that, but that they had planned this in their little mysterious red book at the time of writing Inquisition and leaving hints for the future and changed it when they actually got to writing the companions for Veilguard because of the fan response to Harding and because they didn't want 2 female dwarf companions when one with a romance was already groundbreaking but they needed that companion tie-in to the titans.

[felassan]

Notes and thoughts on some of the new companion information:

I wonder what clan Davrin was raised in. Is it a known named one, or one we haven't encountered/heard of before? He went to be a Grey Warden - maybe his clan wandered in the Anderfels? Dalish have been known to live in the lands called the Anderfels:

In the far north, where the hills wander the plains and the earth is eternally baked beneath the uncaring sun, the lands which the shemlen call Anderfels, a clan of our people lived, struggling to survive the Blight. Iloren was their keeper. A hunter in his younger days, crafty as any wolf, he led his people always just ahead of the darkspawn who chased them. But the old hunter knew that even halla cannot run forever. They must turn and fight, or be run down.

Davrin would "rather make history than reflect on it"; Bellara is "obsessed" with uncovering the secrets of ancient Elvhenan. there is a bit of contrast there and so I'm curious to see their similar and differing perspectives on elf-related topics. (I hope they are friends).

I just love that Bellara has a strong sense of self, a clear idea of who she is, and a clear idea of what she wants. we love to see it.

Neve not believing in the superiority of mages, being born and raised in a working-class neighborhood of Minrathous: you can see how this ties to what was said about Neve in the SDCC panel -

John: "So Neve, as you can see in the video, is one of the first companions that you encounter in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. She’s from Tevinter, Minrathous specifically. And anyone who’s played Dragon Age before knows that we’ve always talked about Minrathous, we’ve always talked about Tevinter, so we wanted to have a character who showed, not the parts of Tevinter that we’ve touched on before, you know, obviously slavery is a big part of it, it’s a mageocracy, but somebody who was pushing back, fighting back against that." Jessica: "I love her loyalty, I love her dedication, I love how much she loves Docktown and its people and how she really sees a different vision for Tevinter than, as John said, than what’s previously been depicted. And she’s really really fighting for those people, and she loves those people, and so yes she’s cynical, and yes she’s kinda tough and brusque and all these other things, but when they say there’s a heart of gold, there really, like to have that kind of a passion and dedicate your life to something like that, I think that, that’s my favorite part about her."

Lucanis, please level up from specializing in executing powerful mages to specializing in executing powerful mage god-kings (pls. we are in danger).

In Tevinter Nights, a Vint says of Lucanis after The Wigmaker Job, "They're already calling him 'the Demon'". It turns out that his full title is "The Demon of Vyrantium". (hh, it makes him sound like a speed-demon, a boy-racer tearing up the streets and drifting). of course, this is likely a reference to what he did during The Wigmaker Job, a story which was set in the Tevinter city of Vyrantium. the body count from that party was over forty people (all Venatori, sympathizers or 'I'm okay with it'-izers), including Venatori blood mage and sick wigmaker Ambrose Forfex.

I love that Emmrich is serious about his duty to protect innocents. :') a real kind-hearted gentleman.

[aamputation]

Veilguard - Auroche "Rook" Ingellvar

They/He, dual-wielding Mourn Watch rogue. Auroche is 44 years old, but feisty and full of spunk. They were found wandering the Necropolis as a young child, and being raised by a bunch of sassy Undead was a pivotal moment in his upbringing.

They were instantly charmed by the Professor, having crossed paths only once before at a lecture he'd attended, not for the first time wishing they'd been born with magic, if only to be able to experience the things they theorize about firsthand.

⚠️!! Spoilers below cut, for Emmerich's romance route & endgame !! ⚠️

Auroche found family, something they'd not really considered for themself, as a quirky death-obsessed Qunari. But now he has a husband, and a goofy skeleton son.

Killing Ghilan'nain carried a heavy price, not only of loss but of betrayal. They'd suspected Solas from the beginning, but the longer they spent in the prison crafted of regrets, it became clearer the turmoil it cast upon Fen'harel. With help from old faces, Auroche managed to let go of his regrets, reaching back for the loving hands that sought them.

Despite many losses, including Harding, Auroche prevailed and Elgar'nan met his death at the end of Solas' dagger.

Faced with the reality he'd created, the sudden appearance of Mythal, who forgave and released him from service, Solas ultimately chose to atone, alone in the fade. Auroche, the Inquisitor (Tarasyl'nin Lavellan, did not romance Solas) and Rook's party witnessed his self-banishment, and his promise of attempting to soothe the Blight.

ANYWAY! This was my very first play through and HOLY SHIT did I have fun with it. I have my grievances about the game, but I also understand the amount of tomfoolery brought about by the game getting cancelled not once but twice and how much everyone scrambled to fix it all. Am I sad and upset I couldn't import more from the Keep? Absolutely. But there's actually quite a few nods to canon events (even if it takes some extra paying attention) so I can say I'm satisfied for now.

I'm working on my second play through, Betizu "Rook" Laidir, Qunari sword-and-shield Reaper and a soft spot for Lucanis, with two more characters waiting in the wings.

[notenoughdragons]

so i caved yesterday after *gestures* all of that on the other side of the pond, and bought veilguard (meant to wait till the first bugfix patch is out), and i have thoughts

(spoilers for the first few quests)

fucking adore the character creator. overwhelming as heck but God a+

addendum: why tf aren't there different lip/mouth shapes. we have like 30 eyelash options. i'm p sure da:i had diff mouth shapes

THERE'S NO QUICK SAVE/LOAD OPTION???? why on god's green earth

the photo mode is NEAT (tip, get yourself reshade plus the "mod" that allows hiding the UI, so you can do screenshot nonsense in cutscenes too)

it took me like 15 min to get rid of the quest marker bc that shit is hidden in Two diff menus but oh my god so worth it

on that note, i'm Really enjoying the area/level/dungeon design, and traversing it Without an annoying big blue star thing blinking at you is really good

the environments are just. unhinged in the best way. THE CROSSROADS? D'META VILLAGE?? THE OSSUARY???? perfect no notes

have i mentioned the hair? the hair is really good. i'm a lttle obsessed with the style i gave my rook, i didn't think i'd like it this much

okay let's talk plot bc. uh.

see, on the one hand? so far (recruited bellara and got the dagger and fucked around in the crossroads and am currently getting murdered by murdering calivan so lucanis will murder for Me) it… works for me? like it really feels like getting thrown into the DEEP deep end, but it's a kind of. idk. sensible progression?

and oh my god ghilan'nain. i kinda hate how normal she comes across in the memory dungeon lab? (which. AMAZING QUEST) but also i love that SHE'S UNHINGED, that solas clearly held sympathies for her, the way i YELLED when you hear her voice when that dragon shows up in the blighted village??? amazing

(NO fucking idea how this would play for someone who's not familiar with the series, good lord the amount of exposition crammed randomly into codex cards???)

that being said. how the fuck does this connect from trespasser/tevinter nights. solas what Happened to you. like this is (part of) why i'm Not using saar as the inq in this run, bc even pretending they Weren't madly in love, it doesn't work. i don't think it works for Any inquisitor who befriended/romanced him (unless maybe one who decided to go full scorched earth and hunt him down at all costs)

in meta terms i know why this is happening but How is varric our insight point into solas and the connection to him. even if you're not playing them, this Should be the inq. solas doesn't lose a single fucking word about anyone But the inquisitor in trespasser. it's just this really tragic dissonance y'know

also the way this game is frontloaded is so fucking funny (i am also choosing to find it funny). IMMEDIATELY unleash the evanuris. IMMEDIATELY get solas trapped somewhere so he can't use his not-god powers to help you. FIRST "normal" quest is a horror movie walkthrough of The Most Blighted Village You Can Imagine, like okay! solas spends all of da:i being fucking coy about the blight and now it's like 'the evanuris are blighted. yeah they used the blight for power that's why i trapped them. they got out and immediately start spitting blight everywhere For Power. the REST of the blight is trapped in the evanuris prison. yeah the black city IS the evanuris prison. also blight is alive too. uh what else'

sidenote. did. did no one think it was A Little Weird to frame it like 'solas is trapped in the fade' - 'but not like us! we're also trapped in the fade but in a completely different way!'

i do love the fade conversations, it's got dishonored vibes

(and cut-away scenes to the Villains Having Ominous Convos! i liked that in da:o)

also i have hints turned on and the. the little pop-ups. "solas remembers your verbal jab" THANKS GAME

ACTUALLY SPEAKING OF THOSE VILLAIN CONVERSATIONS. we're just gonna drop into a fucking codex that the lyrium dagger IS the red lyrium idol??? SOLAS CAN CLEANSE THE BLIGHT AND WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT IT????

basically. the connective tissue to da:i etc is uhhhh. insane. bonkers, even. but also when i ignore that, it's legit fun??

also good lord i'm glad i didn't try to come up with a super specific character/backstory for this, the faction backstories are Real specific, and rook is written with a v definitive Slant (not a bad one! but there IS a slant)

[wardencallings]

Introducing Myself

Hi!!

My name is Charlie, and I've reentered my Dragon Age phase and wanted to create a place to put all my thoughts and drabbles. I'd love to follow some dragon age blogs, especially those focused on their OCs! Let's talk and create stuff together :D

I am particularly obsessed with my Warden, Alym Surana. I'll make a full introduction post for him later, but the short of it is that he's an elven mage, madly in love with Leliana, and chooses to see the light in everyone and everything. Alym is optimistic, kind, and more than a little naive, but he gets the job done.

I'm also brainstorming my Rook for Veilguard and would love to hear about other people's ideas for theirs.

I'll follow anyone who interacts with this post tbh; I'm desperate for DA content!!

[superdillin]

We're doing Dragon Age bookclub-style from now until Veilguard drops!

My best friend @CaptainKrail has never played a full game. I have a less-than-healthy obsession and have played these games to exhaustion. We're going to play the trilogy and chat about it every week and hopefully finish them by the time Veilguard drops!

Play along with us and tell us your thoughts with #dorkspawn

Episode One is DA:O till just after the Joining Ritual!

Video versions of the podcast on YouTube

Audio-only on all your regular podcatchers

Episodes drop Fridays at 11:00 am Eastern Time.

Links found here

[carabas]

Dragon Age Veilguard liveblogging, through the end of the game -

Bianca's broken pieces really were left on Varric's bedside table this whole time, not sure if that's better or worse than if she was part of Rook's hallucination.

And now it's Bellara's turn to send me codex entries from the future, talking about wishing Harding was here now that we've... solved all the big endgame problems that we absolutely have not solved yet? Spoilers, Bellara. i mean, i did already expect to defeat the big bad and save the world in the end. This does rather squash hope for Harding making a last minute Titan-magic-fueled reappearance though.

Talking to Emmrich about when we stopped Solas's ritual back at the very beginning of the game. "It was a team effort. Me, Harding, Neve. And Varric." And the conversation goes on to be specifically about Varric and mourning, no more mention of the others, but that list of names laid out like that is hitting me - Rook is the only person on that list who is not missing or dead. I mean, I've got my fingers crossed for getting Neve back. But the specific people who were lost were the entire team Varric put together, no one left in the Lighthouse ever met him, Varric's team is gone except for Rook.

Talking with Lucanis, Rook questioning if he actually got out of the god prison, this could be more of the Fade... i'm just. flailing in the general direction of the mental Ossuary about this.

And also thinking about all the Dread Wolf's legends about traps, and Rook following in the Dread Wolf's footsteps in this too, both in his own story and as this foundational part of this love story, Rook as the person who opened the door for Lucanis

Also Lucanis wanting to hear Rook talk, "your voice is a comfort" - Rook's voice actor is pretty great, I get it. Pretty sure my love for Rook is mostly due to Alex Jordan's delivery.

Assigning the team to different missions with the allies we've gathered and seeing that play out in this big final battle - feels like everything we did mattered, Dragon Age has really learned from Inquisition's mistakes on this front. Honorary Crow Taash, omg, they get to fulfill their childhood dream!

SOLAS. incoherent flailing in delight about the Rook-Solas confrontation, but WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WON'T TEAR DOWN THE VEIL, the gasp I gasped, YOU TAKE THAT BACK. Turning on Rook in order to escape the trap wasn't a betrayal, we knew he was going to do that, Rook himself repeatedly said he was going to do that, this is a betrayal. What are you thinking, talk to me Solas... oh, fine, i'm too happy about fighting side by side to be that alarmed right now. One cataclysm at a time.

Bellara thinking over all the questions she had for Solas and what she really wants to know is why he killed Mythal ;_; my girl. i'm so glad I brought this team. And Solas also refers to Spite as a spirit of Determination!! I was starting to wonder if that comes up in this game at all if you don't happen to bring him to fight in the Hall of Valor but Solas points it out too, I'm so happy about this. Lucanis and Spite refusing Solas's offer to separate them, oh my god, everything I want all the time in this game!! except the veil coming down i guess.

BIG WOLF MONSTER SHAPESHIFTER BOYFRIEND i still can't believe they put that in the trailer IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY THE RETURN OF SHAPESHIFTER WIFE, this game is for shady apostate enjoyers specifically

Oh thank god it was a trick lmao, Veil tearing down plan is still on, why did I doubt that, of course it was a trick.

TEN YEARS SINCE INQUISITION. TEN YEARS. and they get their happy ending, lavellan's role in this story was everything i could possibly have dreamed of, no words.

my solavellan heart is very full.

...my mage-rights-obsessed, spirit-loving heart on the other hand is having mixed feelings. i am not surprised the veil did not come down but i did not feel great about turning solas away from that purpose, not without offering him some kind of alternative, someone else picking up the duty he's finally laying down - Lavellan says the people he has wronged are asking him to stop, and indeed some of them are, but the spirits are still so desperate to get back into a world they were separated from that they twist into demons and abominations, Cole in Trespasser was so delighted to discover the Veil was not natural and that he wasn't a wrong thing... but then all my reasons for wanting the Veil torn down come from the previous games and not from Veilguard, why would that be in the ending when it wasn't in the previous hundred hours. Lots of smoothing over of previously complex subjects happening in this game, most of which I'm happy to roll with, but this one's so central to Solas - and the reason this game otherwise works for me even with all its changes in style is because it usually seems to have been built entirely out of love for Solas.

Anyway. I was so incredibly tempted by the option to try to trick the Dread Wolf himself. I want Rook to follow in the Dread Wolf's god-imprisoning-trickster footsteps so badly. But Mythal. And Lavellan's hope for talking Solas around. The lasting reunion for Solavellan that I'd hoped for but wasn't sure we could truly get. So. I haven't looked up what the other endings are like yet, maybe trickster Rook can be something for my Dorianmancing Inquisitor's worldstate.

That post-credits scene - I feel properly rewarded for doing all the sidequests and they've got villains set up for another game if they want them, but by Dragon Age standards that's not even slightly a cliffhanger. The four-game-long story is over. I don't know how I feel but I'm feeling it.

Oh, there's no playable epilogue. I appreciate Bellara's codex entry from the future now.

...okay so I wrote out those last few paragraphs and then actually I couldn't stand having talked him into giving it up, I went back to play through what happens if Rook tries to trick the Dread Wolf and I feel better lmao, it solved my mixed feelings by giving me another, different set of mixed feelings, the mixed feelings balance each other out. I had a blast with this game, we're ending on an odd note, i'm going to be chewing on this for a while.

[rom-e-o]

Funny idea:

In my Veilguard AU for pop culture references in that world, what if they were all jokes and twists on pop culture in this world?

Shakespeare doesn't exist in that world. Meet Quiverspitt! (Which also sounds like a great Dickensian name.)

'Friends'? Nope--'Mates'.

'Bewitched'? We don't have that, but there is a TV show about an ordinary woman that married into a culture of magic wielders and needs to keep her identity as a regular human secret. It's a fun if slightly dated romp full of shenanigans with her doing everything normally but trying to make it look like she's doing it all magically. It's called "Not Witched".

'Downton Abbey'? 'Upstone Château'.

'The Lord of the Rings'? 'The Master of the Circlets'.

'The Great Gatsby'? 'The Notable Nezbey'.

'A Christmas Carol'? 'A Yuletide Yowl'.

I am SO obsessed with all of these! Firstly, they are so totally in the tongue-in-cheek tone of the game, and also have a brilliant fantasy/medieval twist.

Quiverspitt is FANTASTIC. And Dickens would be incredibly proud of that name! The infamous playwright, known for his affinity for large, frilly collars and romantic-tragedies, called traum-antics.

Bellara would adore 'Upstone Chateau.' With her love of serials and romance, especially enemies-to-lovers, girl would be obsessed with every episode and plot point. She starts a "watch club" where everyone gathers and talks. Emmrich is allows, but only if he keeps his eye-rolling about the 'those Orlesian politics' to a minimum. (Orlais is very much inspired by France in DA, haha.)

I would watch he heck out of "Not Witched" honestly. Calling that now. And a "Yuletide Yowl" is glorious. Just like the classic story, but there are werewolves in this version. It's a classic!

Davrin: Why doesn't he just fight the ghosts? I don't get it. Take 'em out with a fireball or two.

Emmrich: Well, if you must know-

Davrin: Stop, stop. No. That was not an invitation for a dissertation.

[thekingofwinterblog]

So we got some artwork for a section of the black codex, the original full history of what actually happened in Thedas history.

I just thought i would go over it.

So we get some insight into how the war between the Elves and titans looked, and how an actually awake titan looked like.

We also learn that though the Elves modelled themselves on Humans, they actually got the inspiration for wanting bodies by looking at the Dwarves.

Also i honestly dont get why Solas was so obsessed with burning everything in Veilfire to restore the old elvhen empire, pre-veil Thedas looks pretty chill.

Certainly nothing like the hell Cory tried to unleash by keeping the worlds sorta half connected.

Also Early dwarves werent just drones, but seems to have lacked the true spark of individuality, just tending to the titans.

Most importantly, as we'll cover below, All The titans power was sealed in a little black box.

So... This shot. Here we learn a lot of things.

Firstly if you finished Origins, you will recognize the aura around the square containing the Titans power.

Though it looks calmer, it's the same energy as what explodes out from Urthemiel's corpse after you slay the archdemon at the end of origins, a massive wave of power that surges through the sky.

It recontextualizes the energy that was building up before the explosion. It was the power of the titants finally being unleashed back into the world.

Which in turn explains why the titan under Ferelden began to awaken again, finally getting jolted back up after the breach. The energy was finally free, from from the box, free from the blight.

Secondly we finally get an explanation of how the dwarves ended up underground, and why they shunned the surface so much, having literarily fleed it so long ago to live in the corpses of their creators.

Thirdly... Well it turns out that the people who speculated that the golden/black city was Arlathan wasn't entierly off... Cause it seems that whatever the hell the city actually was, the seat of the maker, a relic of some older civilization, or actually made by the Elves after all, the city's original location was in the aky ABOVE Arlathan.

Meaning the city of Arlathan was founded BELOW the place where the Evanuris kept the box.

That is... interesting.

What i also find interesting is that there is a clear disconnect between the buildings we see here, and the buildings of actual ancient elvhen architecture we see everywhere else.

Clearly there was a MASSIVE shift at some point.

From this, I can see two possibilities.

1. If the Golden city was indeed made by the ancient elves, then it remained as a monument of this early style, a more "primitive" and experimental style that the elves eventually abandoned, but remained in the great prison in the sky.

2. If the Golden city existed before them, and they choose to found Arlethan underneath it as they put the box here for safeguarding, then it is perfectly logical to assume that the Elves innitially modelled their first building style after this monument of power that predated even them, which they may, or may not have known the origins of.

If so, they eventually abandoned the Golden City's architectural style entierly.

Regardless, as Solas notes in Inquisition, the Elves did indeed build palaces in the sky as we see in Veilguard with this entierlg seperate floating city, so it is entierly possible they created the entire thing themselves.

The only question that remains is the chicken or the egg. Did the elves make the golden city and model their future floating cities on it, or did they find it preexisting, and model their later creations on it?

So here we get an actual explanation of how the blight actually began.

Blood magic.

It wasn't just the anger and souls of the titans becoming twisted that created the Blight.

It was the Evanuris, who wanted more power, who used blood magic to enhance the already incredibly mighty and volatile power of the Titans to even greater heights.

THIS was what created the blight as we know it.

What turned the Golden city from a center of power to a prison, but the power was not yet unleashed.

It adds a lot of context to the Evanuris not yet embracing the blight at first, and innitially being weary of it.

They first was terrified... Then eventually decided they needed this power to defeat Solas once and for all.

And the rest is history.

Then next, we get a look into why Solas disliked blood magic.

Turns out the whole binding the Evnaruis and creating the veil wasn't just a blood magic ritual that used their own power to trap them and make the veil... But it also used his own.

And as we see here, whatever the origins of the Golden City, it was THIS ritual, the creation of the Veil, that turned the city black as his little black cube presumably blew up, releasing all the power of the Titans into the now prison of his fellow gods.

The final art piece isnt as interesting, but it does give us some context into the first meeting between tevinter and the Elves.

History of course remembers the Tevniters as the bloodthirsty, slaver imperials that would subjugate the elves... But as we see here, that wasn't quite how it started.

Rather than attacking and enslavging the Elves of this nameless city, the ancient Vints look... Kinda sad.

This wasn't an army that had come to conquer and destroy, probably just an expedition that stumbled unto a massive and brutal slaughter in the Elves civil warring, and looking over a pointless slaugther.

There is a sense here that the Tevinter Imperium didn't necessarily have to go down the path they did... Of course that is not what happened, but it does add some much needed bit of depth to the ancient vints beyond moustache twirling villains.

They CHOOSE to later go down the path of slaver based empire. But it was just that. A choice.

Other than that, there is what we already know, cory and the rest found the city blighted.

All in all though, it's a rather facinating dew pages.

[evilauthor]

My Inquisitor

For Origins, I played several Wardens, but only Tabris was My Warden. I tried multiple classes for Hawke and did every romance, but still managed to have a playthrough that I considered the canon My Hawke.

This is not the case for Inquisition. While I did play around with the character creator, made multiple save files, and tested out making different choices, I only ever really had one Inquisitor. Because the game so big and there were so many sidequests and areas to explore, I got frustrated having to fully unlock an area multiple times. Item Adaar was fun even if the hair left something to be desired. Ruby Cadash made it a relatively impressive distance into the story since she actually got far enough to have a romance scene with Bull...but Esylla Lavellan was the only real contender.

Elven mage. Has a mild annoyance for the human chantry, but is tolerating it because she's decently sure the story of Andraste, the Maker, and all the important figures are just the Evanuris with the serial numbers filed off.

Cassandra was straight, Dorian was gay, Varric and Cole were both not options, so Esylla romanced Cullen. Not sure if the stuff with his actor hadn't happened yet or if I just didn't find out about it until later. Normally, I'd say you need to separate the character from the actor, but considering Solas?

My Inquisitor hated Solas. Started as an annoyance with him, but it turned into a full on rage by the end. Not because I had hindsight from previous playthroughs either.

Few months before the game released, I'd had a massive falling out with a former friend from high school. She'd been obsessed with Garth David-Lloyd to a very unhealthy level and his voice made my skin crawl. Every time Solas spoke, I was reminded of my fight with her...and I totally took it out on Solas. But then he stole Esylla's arm...so I feel justified?

Ten years later, My Inquisitor is still pissed and wants to make Solas fear her wrath.

Esylla had buck teeth due to some options during character creator, so I'm really hoping I can still do that with Veilguard when they let me design her...

[anebarone]

Happy late Halloween! 🎃

Me & bf gave away candies to the local kids and I'm obsessed with our wolf masks. He had a white one. 🐺

Also: Pic of some candies, and my lunch today with a cheesy stuffed bread + coffee + a mild alcoholic beverage similar to mulled wine, but with liquor, apples and spices. I made it so our home would smell "witch-y". It's almost like a very diluted, watery quentão.

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It's great to see friends and moots finally having their hands on Dragon Age Veilguard as well! The wait is over LETS GOOOOOOO

I'm transitioning to part-time gamedev work in a few weeks (after more than a year full time!) and looking forward to it, hoping this will give me more time to unwind and work on other projects.

But first I r e a l l y need some rest. (this wouldn't be a post by me if it didn't end with a note about needing a break lol, I think it's a solid standard in my blogs)

[cantfakethecake]

Tagged by @sage-nebula - thanks! Haven't done one of these in ages!

Last Song: It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish by MCR. Managed to get tickets to one their shows next year and I'm getting way back into them.

Favorite Color: It's a toss-up between yellow and pink. Gave into the urge to live like a 12 year old girl and decked my room out in pink and gold when I got my own place!

Last Book: In all honesty, I haven't finished a regular printed book in ages. I think the most recent thing I read a part of was a book about childhood nutrition by Ellyn Satter. I really struggle to stay focused for long enough to enjoy reading a plain page of text, and tend toward graphic novels because it's easier to keep my eyes focused where they should be/my mind from wandering. More on those later!

Last Movie: 101 Dalmatians. My niece has been getting into old Disney movies lately and I'm loving it! It was my favorite growing up, and WOW it's darker than I remember.

Last TV Show: Brooklyn 99. We're one season away from done, and it's been pretty good? Not my favorite show ever or anything, but a fun thing to have on in the background while I'm working on another project!

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Savory! I have a pretty minimal sweet tooth, and while I don't hate spicy food I feel like sometimes the heat overpowers the flavors.

Relationship Status: Single, 33 years strong. Mixed feelings on that, which I'm gonna unload a little bit because it's been on my mind. Feel free to skip. On the one hand, I'm excited to pursue being a single mom because I have a great support system and don't have to compromise on things that are important to me. BUT. I hate that no one has ever wanted me? To be the first person they tell about their day, the one they cuddle with on the couch, their Number One Person. Why don't they want that to be me? I know I'm not, like, a knockout in terms of being physically attractive. But it's really hard for me to reconcile that as an asexual person, because I'm attracted to a person's personality. It's hard not to take rejection/a lack of interest as a statement that my self isn't enough. Idk. It just hits me every now and then that literally no one has ever flirted with me or shown any interest as anything but a friend. Like, what's wrong with me that makes me so romantically unlovable? It hurts. But moving on -

Last Thing I Searched: Local assisted living options. My grandpa might be moving out here in the near future - still not 100% clear on if that's actually happening or not, but better to be informed!

Current Obsession: Lame answer, but my job! I just changed positions in my agency (Children's Services) and it's so fucking cool to see how things work on a wildly different end of the process from what I've spent the last 5 years on.

Looking Forward To: Vacation! The end of my job training and the start of my new work schedule lined up with the holidays in a way where I have nine full days off. (Close second: My roommate's birthday. I've been holding off on getting Veilguard until we can play it at the same time. Her grad school exams will be wrapping up right around then, and she already knows she's getting it as her birthday gift, lol.)

Favorite Drink: Latte, either iced or hot depending on the weather. Second place goes to the limeade flavored energy drink I had yesterday, which I can't stop craving.

Song Playing on a Loop in Your Head: Theme of Laura

Current Favorite Character: Hazel from Saga. Seeing her turn into a whole-ass person is so, so cool. I love her.

Fun Activity You Would Like to Get Into: I want to train Clover to ride alongside my bike. Still working on those leash manners, but someday!

Last Video Game: Silent Hill 2 Remake. I can't even begin to say how happy I am that it exists. I've always been into Silent Hill, but the old games were 100% inaccessible for me because I can't handle tank controls. I never thought I'd get to experience it firsthand, and it's been fucking delightful!

Last Comic/Graphic Novel: Saga. It's always Saga. My favorite story I've ever read, no competition. I'm in the middle of a reread, and it still either gives me goosebumps or makes me cry at least once a volume.

I'll tag @vodkacheesefries and @blondepomeranian! No pressure, but it's here if you feel like doing one of these!