#like genuinely. how is Lucanis even a spiteful person

[deputyrook]

If you think about it, it’s kind of crazy that Lucanis is the character hosting Spite instead of Viago. Like, Viago is made of spite. When his father gives him the option to either leave the country or become an assassin, Viago is his sole bastard child to choose to join the Crows. He withstands the torture/training, is so paranoid that he drinks poison to build his own immunity, and works up the ranks until he’s more powerful than the King. He might even make a play for the throne? That’s being fuelled by spite.

Like I love Lucanis, but you can’t tell me Viago hosting Spite wouldn’t be super interesting for both of their characters.

[theesteppenwolf]

Some thoughts on Inner Demons

So i have been thinking about this and i do actually like the idea that Lucanis can't have Rook exist in his mind prison because it fucks up his entire inner narrative of basically just self flagellation. "If rook exists then at some point i have to get out" so just delete rook from the scenario. I think that's really good.

However, i think it would've been better if a part of Lucanis actually was trying to get out, at least involuntarily, and that Rook was the personification of that idea, constantly trying to break himself out but ultimately failing. So ''Rook'' exists somewhere in there but is heavily suppressed. That's why Spite seeks real life Rook out. Not to mention that even if not romanced Rook is pretty much the closest person he has at that point, his only other true friend he's had beside Illario so it makes even more sense for them to be this comforting idea he just can't accept fully.

So you see glimpses of Rook, the sound of their voice, or maybe more notes about them, especially if you are romancing him it seems like a big waste of an opportunity to not utilize Rook for a bigger showing of his inner struggle and fear to try and live some kind of life.

The Neve thing is a bit weird when romancing him, i do understand this complaint and the way Spite phrases it does come off as romantic interest specific to her. I think Neve should absolutely stay as both her and Lucanis seem like good friends regardless of romance but it would've been been better (if the player is romancing Lucanis) for Neve to maybe use Lucanis' feelings for Rook against them here. Implying guilt about Rook, leading them on etc. rather than make it specifically about Neve.

There are plenty of little things like this that would make the quest a bit more impactful overall because this is a pretty short quest for something that is essentially meant to be a psychological deep dive into Lucanis. Just more notes and those reworked Neve lines would make it more way more immersive to the player.

In my opinion this should've been a way bigger and more important part of his personal quest, i think they should've really leaned into the whole ''fighting to get him out of his own head'' idea. Adding things like Lucanis' actual memories of Caterina as the abuser she was and moments of genuine brotherly love Lucanis has for Illario. It would've also made up for the fact that you don't learn anything very personal about him the entire game.

Listen, I have whole rewrites to how his personal quest should've gone, it's really my roman empire at this point. This quest is such a good way for Rook to get real vulnerability from him that wouldn't've shown up in real life due to his introverted and closed off nature.

Again my conclusion of Lucanis being a very scraped up character continues as i find my ideas to be pretty easy to come up with implementations for the kind of thing they are trying to pull of in this specific mission.

But oh well, so it goes. Kind of got rambly for a minute there, thank you kindly for reading :P

[possessiveandobsessive]

A Cat for Her Crow

Pairing: Lucanis x fem!Rook

Synopsis: Lucanis Dellamorte has a soft spot for two things: cats and a certain red-headed elven mage that goes by Rook

Part 5: Into the Abyss, I'll Jump for You

Rook's heart slammed against her rib cage like it was trying to escape. She followed Lucanis as he entered his bedroom that also happened to be the pantry. Normally she found humor in that fact every time she visited, but now she seemed to have no thoughts in her head outside of one: how intensely and passionately she had come to care for the puzzle of a man standing before her. Rook watched as he gently pulled the sleeping kitten from the bag and set her on his pillow before quickly turning back to face her. He looked serious, like he was on a mission.

"Lucanis it's not that big of a deal. It's just some scratches. I'm fi-" Rook started to brush off the Crow's concern but he wasn't having any of it.

Lucanis cut her off with a shake of his head as he more closely examined her right hand and wrist. She was right handed, so most of the kitten's savagery was concentrated there. 

"Any wound can get infected, no matter how small. Plus, cats' claws are very dirty and can carry all sorts of nasty things. I'm going to clean and bandage these before they have a chance to fester." He spoke gently and casually, like he thought there was nothing more natural than him cleaning and bandaging her wounds. Like it was natural for him to take care of her.

Rook felt the very beginnings of tears forming in the back of her eyes and blinked quickly. A lump in her throat began taking shape as well. Panic started to rise in her chest. No no no she was not going to cry over this wonderful man acting like her gentle caretaker. That is not team leader behavior, she scolded herself. Rook was pulled out of her thoughts and back to reality when she realized Lucanis had said her name twice already trying to get her attention. When she finally blinked and met his gaze, he cocked his head to the side questioningly. "Are you alright Rook? Are you hurt anywhere else?" 

"Yes! No!" She spoke quickly and probably too loudly. "I'm not hurt anywhere else. I'm fine. Just.... tired and lost in thought." She paused and then very quietly added, "And embarrassed I got my ass kicked by the world's tiniest kitten." The last statement was so spoken so lowly that Lucanis barely heard it. Judging by how red her cheeks got, she was truly embarrassed. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucanis saw Spite take on his ghostly form and cautiously approach Rook. She couldn't see him, but he crept up to her side slowly and hesistantly all the same. Lucanis watched as Spite extended a finger and lightly pressed on Rook's very red cheek. The color made her freckles stand out, and Lucanis had never noticed how many she had covering her nose and cheekbones until now. Spite turned to Lucanis, his brow furrowed. Why so red? Rook sick? How can we fix?

Lucanis was once again thrown by Spite's seemingly genuine concern for Rook. He could feel what Spite felt (though he typically tried to ignore the demon's emotions), and there was real concern and confusion. Still stunned, Lucanis reassured Spite, She is fine Spite. Her face is so red because she is embarassed. Rook worries I will think less of her for getting hurt by a little kitten. Spite frowned deeply but stayed quiet.

Lucanis turned his attention back to the still red Rook, and waited until she met his gaze again to speak. Gathering all of his courage and pushing aside the thousands of doubts and fears flooding his chaotic mind, he began. "Rook, you are the most special person I've ever met."

Rook's entire face flushed even deeper (if that was possible) and her mouth fell open slightly in shock. Before she could string a response together, Lucanis was speaking again.

"I have never had someone worry for me so much or care so openly about my feelings and well-being. No one has ever gone to such great lengths to bring me simple joy. After the Ossuary and being bound to Spite, I was almost certain nobody ever would. I had accepted that, as painful and lonely as it was. But you...." He paused shaking his head before continuing "You continue to be the exception. You continue to take my breath from me with your kind words and gestures. You make me feel like I have a home here, a real home with you."

"Lucanis-" Rook started to speak in a small voice but he held up a hand. 

"Please, if I don't say this now, I'm worried I never will." He looked into her eyes with a vulnerable, pleading expreesion she'd never seen on his face before.

Rook nodded slowly in understanding and motioned for him to continue.

Lucanis sighed heavily and took another deep breath before saying, "Sometimes, when you look at me, I feel so much I don't know what I'm feeling at all. I- processing emotions is not a strong suit of mine, but I do know that when I look at you, when you look back at me like I'm the only thing you can see... that feeling that I get then, I never want it to end. I am enraptured by you Rook. I've never felt this way before in my life. Mierda, it's terrifying." He chuckled darkly after that comment before continuing. "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. There is nothing a god or demon could offer me that is worth more than that smile you save for me alone." Lucanis paused a moment and ran a hand through his dark hair before steeling his nerves and meeting Rook's eyes again. 

"You are important to me Rook, to Spite as well. I've never seen him so invested in or protective of anyone. He is different around you. Softer." Lucanis's eyes flashed purple for a moment and Spite rasped out, "Want Rook. She is important. Special. Want to always follow Rook. Go where you go. You save us. Save Lucanis."

Rook truly didn't think her heart could take anymore. Her eyes definitely couldn't get any wider, and she could tell that her face was still a very deep red. She had no idea a demon coulld express, let alone feel the things Spite said. He was clearly not an average demon though. He and Lucanis were something completely unique.

The purple light disappeared from within Lucanis's warm brown eyes and the now familiar soft expression was back. "If you- if you're willing- to be patient with me- with all of me, then I..." he trailed off before clenching his jaw for a moment and starting again with more determination. "I am not perfect. Right now I do not even feel completely whole. I'm not sure how long it will take to get there. Spite and I are better at communicating and compromising yes, but I still fight with him every day and night. I still sleepwalk when Spite is restless and I let my guard down. I cannot yet reconcile us completely. But I know now for certain that I want you in my life anyway. I will not allow my own fear and weakness to keep you at arm's length any longer. I want you at my side, and to be at yours, for as long as you will put up with me."

Part 6 Coming 11/20/24!

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

Part 3 here

Part 4 here

[rin-hanarin]

Dudeee I want to draw another rookanis I hallucinated at work but I have more work in the morninggg.

Ok so here's another episode of our Murder of Crows telenovela.

Spite takes over Lucanis' body to finally "talk to Rook", and Renzo isn't particularly eager because he wanted to catch up with Lucanis actually, so Spite decides to be, well, a spiteful bitch and do a little trolling. It goes "He doesn't even like you back, why are you trying so hard?", and instead of taking the bait Renzo just kinda goes through stages of grief and ends up on 🥹 this.

"Okay... I guess you would know... I didn't want to talk to him that much, actually..." and goes to the window to dramatically leap out of it or something. Spite freaks out because it takes the joke literally, Lucanis is going through it while trapped in his own mind head in hands like the babygirl man stock image, Renzo is pretending to be terminally heartbroken and wishing to end it all via jumping out of the window, but he's actually kinda hurt by the idea that Lucanis might genuinely dislike him and tolerates him because Renzo functionally is a leader.

The drama, the pathos, Lucanis takes his control back and is trying to drag Renzo down from the window, even though there's (probably) no fall damage in the Lighthouse, but only Renzo knows this because he's enough of a reckless dumbass to try.

Renzo, however, is also a gremlin and very much is not over Spite's little jab, so he goes "So you do like me back?", and it's the wrong question to ask Lucanis who's supposed to be the mature one between the two of them, but he's also awkward as fuck with any kinds of feelings and he's all "Well, I mean..."

So at this point Renzo is tired of this bit and done with this shit, jumps, lands on all four, doesn't respond when Lucanis tells him to wait, and then goes to annoy Neve and complain that Lucanis' shitty demon is bullying him. Neve is amused, but rubs some salt into his wounds, saying that she's not surprised, considering how much Renzo gets on Spite's host's nerves and that there are more mature ways to express his affection. Renzo says that those are boring and leaves to find another person to annoy, but he initially went to literally just spend some time with Lucanis, but met a demon instead and was disappointed. He decides to go to Bellara instead, and Bellara distracts him by dragging him around her lab and showing her new cool magical contraptions she made.

Lucanis meanwhile retreats to his brooding chambers to go through it again, and Spite is very, very quiet.

End of the episode :D

[fishysaltine]

Honestly I’ve always seen Bloodbath (or the kill Zara quest) as Illario’s final desperate attempt to be swayed form his plan. It kind of reminds me of Solas and Varric’s note of him in the beginning of the game “he just needs someone to give him a different option”

Like Illario is genuinely upset about this whole thing. He thought Lucanis was dead, and we see that he was such a chronically depressed alcoholic yapper after Lucanis’ death that even though he did give the hit, he at least regretted it or it didn’t sit well with him. (I have no doubt Zara manipulated him to some extent into it, since she has her eyes on Lucanis after the Wigmaker job anyway, but neither Zara or Illario are actually explored in game). But when Illario is taking us to the boat, he makes note of saying Catarina didn’t tell him because “I would have tried to save him.” The way he says that line is in a COMPLETELY different tone than anything else he says. It’s stern and to the point, not condescending like after Illario takes out Zara and talks down on Lucanis, telling him he’s a danger and liability.

If Illario knew Lucanis was actually alive, he probably would have killed Zara earlier. And Zara obviously KNEW THIS because she didn’t tell Illario Lucanis was ALIVE for that very reason. Illario never knew about Spite. He never planned for the Ossuary. He never meant for that to happen! Zara knew that whatever Illario and she had going on would never even be close to the bond Lucanis and Illario have, and Illario would put that over power every single time.

Almost every single time.

Because he knows what he did, and he still goes out for coffee with Lucanis and the weirdo rando that saved him. And then he tries to convince Lucanis to stay away from Zara, because he knows that Zara is capable of and how not only she can, but has hurt Lucanis. (She turned his big brother into an abomination!)

WAIT A MINUTE WHO ELSE DOES THAT? Lucanis does! Except Lucanis is more direct about it. Says that Zara might come after him. Illario tries to convince Lucanis she’s in fuckass land, get him out of the situation ENTIRELY involving Antiva, the Anntam, First Talon. Yeah, there’s probably a selfish motivation, but in Wigmaker Illario is so fucking scared Lucanis is going to essentially fling himself off a cliff, there’s a genuine “heyy can you take a holiday? Can you stop being passively suicidal for me, your little cousin? Can we stop with the ‘death is my calling’ shit?”

Of course Illario can’t just go “uhh I’ll take care of it dw bro” because to Lucanis the beef with Illario and Zara isn’t merely as personal as he (and Spites) beef with her. They really just want to protect one another and get their dues.

Illario killing Zara wasn’t so much for him. I mean she kind of played him, but whatever, it didn’t necessarily affect Illario in anyway, it was for Lucanis. A way to try and appease the guilt of something that he never intended to happen to his older brother. That’s why Illario wants to be there during Bloodbath. “It’s Crow business” aka ‘WHY ARE YOU TAKING WEIRDO RANDO 1 & 2 OVER ME? I deserve to be at your side, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth and back, why won’t you let me anymore?’

So Illario meets Lucanis and his rando friends on the rooftop. Lucanis asks him what he’s doing there- and Illario says he wants to go. He’s so desperate to go, to prove his alliance to his big brother cousin. But that’s not all. Lucanis has been gone for a year, and then left immediately. Killing and missions, being Crow’s is one of the main ways Lucanis and Illario bond.

Illario has never felt good enough. For his grandmother, for Lucanis, for anyone. That’s why he started this mess. Zara tells him Lucanis doesn’t think he’s good enough, he never will be, until he does the most Crow thing ever and cuts him out of the family line. Then finally, maybe, when his cousin’s eyes are glassy and corpse empty, will they be filled with approval.

But Lucanis is right here (with two randos)! And Illario asks him to involve him, just looking for that smidge of approval. And Lucanis says no. Ok. Cool! Maybe he just wants you safe. Fine, whatever. But you’re capable- at least you think you are.

So you ask the damning question. “You think I’m not good enough?”

And your cousin, your big brother, simply says: “Are you?”

While surely a good natured jab from Lucanis as siblings do, had Lucanis’ answer been anything even close to praise or more concern, I think Illario would’ve been fine to step out of the way. ALL he needed was Lucanis’ mild assurance/approval. Just a ‘oh no, you’re good enough. I just don’t want you getting hurt is all’

But he doesn’t say that. He simply feeds into the very insecurity that sent Illario to selling him out, the very one that Zara told him but he never quite believed until the words came from Lucanis’ mouth. ‘You’re not good enough to stand by my side anymore.’ And potentially ‘I’ve replaced you with rando 1 & 2, I don’t need you anymore’

So then he doubles down. No more playing nice cousin or big brother little brother. If Lucanis doesn’t want Illario by his side anymore- fuck it, Illario doesn’t need him. Lucanis saying Illario isn’t good enough isn’t just a blow to his ego, or self confidence/self esteem, it’s a flat out rejection. So he takes the kill from Lucanis, and essentially tells him to get the fuck out of dodge or else, and then tries to strong arm first Talon.

Lucanis never quite gives Illario “the different option.” Illario throws their bond away not because he necessarily wants to, but because he thinks Lucanis’ threw it away first, and that he’s just folding onto a frayed rope (not even mentioning how Illario crosses out Lucanis’ name in the family line, showing how he just… almost doesn’t exist. He’s gone to Illario. Illario’s so hurt by everything he just wants Lucanis gone at this point, come hell or high water.)

Lucanis quite literally says that the only way Catarina would be proud of Illario is if he kills her, and if that extends to Lucanis, so be it.

[authorofthemoon]

Dragon Age Veilguard thoughts and opinions from a long time Dragon Age fan.

[Spoilers under the cut]

I have many mixed feelings about this game, I am by no means a hater, there are things I liked a lot of Veilguard, but there so many things that made me frustrated.

Combat was good, I enjoyed it. I think it was a natural evolution of the old style, but I don't blame people who prefer the old style. The skill tree is fun if you really double down on a play style and they let you redistribute. I played spell lade mage which is really good with stagger.

Character wise I genuinely like each character. I think there's something interesting about them all and their personal quests are all very poignant to me. Bellara struggling with the revealed history of her people and letting go of her brother, Davrin creating a path for him and Assan that differs what they were 'meant' for. Neve being someone who always fights despite being cynical and it feels like no progress is ever made (she's the main character btw IDC what anyone says). Emmerich's crippling fear of death despite being surrounded by it. Harding reclaiming the lost history of her people (legitimately love the theme of rewritten history in this game). Taash's whole path of finding identity in different aspects. Lucanis trying to accept the trauma caused by the Ossuary with Spite (I will say I think they could have done a bit better with that one).

Story has its ups and downs. I think there's a lot of contrived suffering you're out through for no reason. There's a big theme of Rook having to deal with the consequences of the big choices they make, but I never really felt that except Treviso vs Minrathous. After that, I didn't really feel like most of my choices really made a huge impact on the world. Then they try to make random impactful choices at the end where your party can just die and one will die no matter what, from what I can tell. It just doesn't feel deserved.

And I think it's part of the larger problem of this game being simply it's too short and overly sanitized.

The game is only 14 chapters long, the last three being consecutive point of no return chapters and the first 6 chapters are building the team, so only about 5 chapters are your entire team actively exploring. The other DA are very story intensive with multiple arcs and you get to see down the road where your decisions as well as siding with certain factions have actual consequences. That also brings me to another thing that throws me off. Why are all the factions so buddy buddy? I get it's like a united front against the gods, but at no point do you decide with some over the others or step on toes except again Treviso vs Minrathous. The game comes off too much like power of friendship trumphs all sometimes which I'm fine with, but DA just isn't that to me. DA is very dark fantasy and this didn't feel like that a lot of the time. Even the bloodiest scenes feel tame. And that's not to be like 'i love blood and gore' or whatever. It just doesn't feel impactful sans I think two scenes. Again, I feel like it's an issue of it being sanitized for a general audience.

To add onto that, this game feels tremendously less horny than the other games. Which idc how that makes me sound, but I stand by it. The romances are kind of lame and lack the sexual tension precious games have. Like how are you going to from giving me Dorian's bare ass to kissing I think twice with Davrin and barely shirtless fade to black (after two of your party members are presumed dead like wtf). I've only done one romance but if the rest are like that, then it feels kind of lame. Most characters from previous games are very horny on main in an BG3 way, but I just done feel that from this party. It also feels like they're not in love with your character, but with the fact that you're Rook, if that makes sense. Again, I think since the game is short and there's less time together, the romance feels a bit hollow. It also makes me feel the eternal debate I have of romance options having set sexualities vs everyone being bi/pan. Bc I think set sexualities adds a lot to Inquisition romance whereas Veilguard just feels not very special. Like they're in love with a brick wall. But maybe I'm being a bit harsh.

The last point is the story. Again, I love the theme of rewritten history and discovering the truth of creation and elves (I feel like it's more interesting playing an elf). I get if some people are upset with a huge lore bomb changing the canon forever, but I think it's interesting. However, I think the biggest issue with the writing is that it honestly feels like I'm playing a Marvel game at times and sometimes I want Rook to stop talking. As much as I love Harding, she's another bad culprit. Maybe it's my fault for choosing more nonchalant options, but I think it affects the rest of the game.

Overall, I think the game is a solid 7/10. I think it's a really good game on its own, but as a Dragon Age game, it falls short to be honest. The vibes just aren't the same. Still, I enjoyed myself.

Again, these are all my opinions and I'm interested in thinking what other people think. Also, I heard that the game was scrapped and remade at some point which would align to the game length, so does anyone know if that's true? I know we waited like 10 years.

[butterflydm]

It's ~official~ (DAV posting)

I don't know how much of the game is left but it feels like things might be picking up towards the endgame. My save game data tells me that I'm currently over seventy hours into playing this character (though that includes menus and such, I assume), so no complaints if we are headed towards endgame! But I am loving the game, so I will be sad when we reach the ending (though I do already have my plans to replay as a dwarven and/or Shadow Dragon Rook).

Put down those two blighted dragons that attacked Treviso and Minrathous, so that's a win, and I shot a ballista bolt into Ghilan'nain. So that was a pretty big success, and I'm back to doing all the side quests and character quests that popped up in the aftermath of that story quest.

We finished through Harding's personal quest and confronted the Titan's Shade, so she's now officially a Hero of Veilguard. It feel fitting that she be the first one to get that status, considering that she came from DAI and all. She's finishing what the Inquisitor started.

I really liked learning more about the history of the dwarves and the Titans, heartbreaking as it could be at times. And since I took Bellara with me on Harding's personal quest, it was two elves that were talking to her at the end. Unintentional on my part there, but it really made a lot of Harding's lines feel like they resonated even more, because it was the elven people who benefited from what Solas and the other elven gods did to the Titans.

The damage that history does feels like a big theme - both in things like the elven gods being the ones who shattered the Titans, or in things like those same elven gods trying to recreate their glory days of being worshipped. One of the lines that Harding says at the end of her personal quest - "we will thrive in spite of you" (and having two elves there definitely gave that line a special punch; I wonder if that line is different if you don't play as an elven Rook or if Harding processes that part any differently if you're also a dwarf) just really felt powerful.

Sins of the past would be an other way to put it -- that applies in most every case we've seen. Regrets that stem from the past.

I got confirmation on a few of my guesses from last time -- the Gloom Howler was a Gray Warden who left on her Calling. More specifically, she's an elven mage who blighted the griffons on the First Warden's orders in order to win the fourth Blight.

Emmrich also interrogated Rana's body and confirmed that Illario is a traitor and sold Lucanis out to her in order to gain his place as First Talon of the Antivan Crows. But she was supposed to kill Lucanis, not use him for her experiments, so Illario was genuinely shocked when Caterina learned that Lucanis was alive and imprisoned.

Harding haunted by the trauma of what was done to the Titans centuries ago (millenia ago? i haven't plotted out the timeline), the splintering that created the dwarven people. Bellara is haunted by her brother, who she thought died chasing the very elven artifact that we first found with her (the archive spirit) but who made a deal with one of the Forgotten Ones of the elven gods instead. What she could have been, a deal that she fears she would have made if put into his place.

Emmrich haunted by an old colleague and Neve by an old case that got away.

Darvin is haunted by the ugly legacy of the Gray Wardens and what it means to be willing to do anything to stop the Blight, no matter what the collateral damage may be. Even if that's an entire species.

Taash's struggle has been against gender expectations, as set against the background of growing up with a Qunari mother and having escaped the Qun. A legacy of their birth culture, and deciding what they want to take from their differing cultures they grew up in. Not the sins of Taash's past but of the culture that they escaped from but still feel some connection to.

And Varric, of course, is haunted by Solas -- a friend that he's worried he can't save (and who is the echo of a friend that he believes he failed to save -- Anders and Solas have a LOT in common).

(the list of things that Solas is haunted by span the entire game lol)

On a lighter note, I took Harding and Taash out together and they flirted! <3 And then they flirted again back at the Lighthouse! <3 Harding had a dream about Taash! <3 It's charming! <3

And to get to the title of the post -- I went through Lucanis's Inner Demons quest and then we talked in the kitchens afterwards and we are officially exclusive.

It was really great too -- the quest. Spite leading me through the prison that Lucanis had constructed around himself, because he's afraid of himself after what happened in the prison. Being able to support Lucanis and also to talk to Spite to let him know that... that Lucanis isn't trapping him in that prison deliberately. It's just that it takes time for people to heal from deep trauma like that. I love how it was entirely dialogue-based and not about literally fighting to get to Lucanis but about talking to the parts of himself that were afraid and hiding.

It seemed like a good place to stop for the weekend, since I do have some non-DAV things to do.

[thrashmetalanthonyhopkins]

i feel like im being gaslit by all the people talking about veilguard being a good game just not a good da game because it fucking sucks

i hate that im in charge of a bunch of adult children who need me to solve their problems and im not allowed to be even SLIGHTLY rude to them and tell them to grow up and put their put their problems to the side while we save the world

to have emmrich and varric BOTH look at me and say "well maybe we could save the world if we werent distracted by our personal problems" is fucking INSANE and i have no option to call them out on it!!! lucanis i get, that could be a genuine issue if he doesnt get along with spite. but emmrich?? im sorry you cant fight because you're thinking about the magic hand or whatever??? bellara's thinking about some gadget she found and thats why shes distracted???? ill give taash that at LEAST they didnt look at me and try and play the "how am i supposed to save the world when i MIGHT be nonbinary?" card because i wouldve flipped

also: neve STILL taking pot shots at me because i didn't save minrathous? Fine im totally down with her being petty about it but it makes me hate her because i literally cant do anything but stand there and take it?? her little jab about dock town not being important and all rook can do is go "it is important :'(" why cant i tell her to shut up!!!

ughhhhh im trying SO hard to like this game but it just SUCKS

[leemarkies]

my dragon age the veilguard thoughts after finishing the game (obviously spoilers below so read at your own peril)

companions

harding: she was an amazing companion, and imo the best companion to be introduced to rook first. she's a great tie back to inq for old fans and her va is amazing. i'm really happy they explored more dwarven lore with her personal quests. my only complaint is that i wish she was given her own "inquisitor faction" like the rest of the companions have. it wouldn't be a stretch to think that the inquisition wouldn't have SOME pull or influence in the north, considering how big it once was. they could have made a small inquisition faction camp in the crossroads since the inquisitor is still using morrigan's eluvian. idk it seems like a missed opportunity

neve: unfortunately since this is my first playthru i made some Mistakes (didn't finish her personal quests before recruiting davrin and then chose to help antiva) so she was veryyyy cold to my rook. i don't feel like i got to explore her character as much as i wanted to but ig that will happen during my next playthru lol. i think her story and role is super super interesting, we don't get to meet a lot of middle class vints ESPECIALLY middle class MAGE vints. i wish we could have delved more into tevinter society but maybe i just missed out on it. i also thought some of her lines were a little .. off. idk if it was the writing or the va but it was noticeable at times

bellara: ok i went into the game thinking i was not going to like her very much and boy was i wrong! LOVE HER. she might be a tad bit cringey (really only at the beginning) but i love having an elven follower who is proudly an elf (cough cough sera) i see a lot of myself in her (worried you're not enough, looking out for younger brother, etc.) and i loved how she was besties with emmrich. she wrongfully gets the "bubbly pixar" trope from dudebros which couldn't be further from the truth.

lucanis: definitely a favorite of mine and others for a reason! his va is amazing. seeing a possession of a non-mage was really really interesting. i wish we could have seen spite playing on lucanis's own emotions. like for instance anders already was upset about mage discrimination and the circles, justice just pushed the emotions FURTHER and out of control. is lucanis, on his own, spiteful? is what we see of spite partially based on lucanis's own thoughts? also the demon didn't seem like a "spite" demon, but more of a vengeance? or rage? demon. like i never saw lucanis spiteful? or spite being spiteful? just angry. also why are we retconning the crows. according to my trusted beloved zevran they are The Worst.

davrin: sooooo relieved on how bioware handled it's first (which is insane) black male main cast character. i loved seeing his relationship with the wardens and with asaan. he's multi-dimensional and honestly a pleasure to talk to. he's a good guy. confident. slightly sefl-righteous but that's ok!

emmrich: full disclosure i am feral for this man. i love how genuine he is. he is genuinely kind, genuinely compassionate, genuinely forgiving, genuinely friendly. there is no ulterior motive to his niceties and manners, he's just Good. he always says pls and thank you. he's the first person to ask if someone's ok when they're hurt. i love how they made him a bit posh and uppity as far as personal comfort but he doesn't treat the others with disdain for being different. he loves learning about the other factions and other cultures. my rook was a lord of fortune, decidedly NOT an academic, but he expressed interest in her work, even though their lives were so very different from each other. i also think the whole take of "necromancer who is afraid of dying" was neat.

taash: quickly became one of my most favorites of the group. loved their arc, loved seeing a character that has two identities: quinari and rivaini. loved seeing how they embraced both sides in their own way. also loved seeing a companion with their parent and how that relationship is. i think a lot of people can relate to taash and their mom's relationship, it felt very authentic. i think people who find them annoying need to see them as they are: a teenager or young adult. they are 19-22 MAX so yeah they gonna be a bit moody and that's ok

overall: wished we could yap with our companions more like dai/dao, i think that would have assuaged my complaints of wanting to know MORE. also loved how they very clearly have relationships/friendships with each other outside of rook's influence. i think the biggest thing missing is pushback and flaws. i wished these characters had bigger flaws that rook could either help them get over, ignore, or push them further in the wrong direction. it felt like regardless of the choices you make with each companion, everything ends up good in the end. i also felt like we had too many pointless cutscenes and also simultaneously not enough if that makes any sense. also, wtf was the gift thing, completely pointless.

cameos

the keep: i understand that bioware wrote themselves into a corner and that not every little decision you made in the past three games is 1) relevant or 2) worth bringing back but i really was disappointed with the limited past decisions. it made me feel like my past choices that were HUGE (who rules orlais?? who's divine?? hello????) didn't matter in the end, which sucks bc this is a role playing game? if my choices end up not mattering what's the point? who's to say that my choices in this game will matter? and i really hated how bioware devs were like "we limited the choices bc we didn't want the game to be riddled with cameos and one-liners" but actually bc they did this they MADE their cameos so bare and not worthwhile. dav morrigan may or may not have a son. varric mentions hawke in passing ONCE. huge implications to fan favorite and long lasting cast characters have been completely erased, it was like i was talking to a 3d print clone of varric and morrigan. yes they looked like them but what made them THEM was kinda gone. also don't even get me started on how all the choices literally revolved around solas and solas only. the devs also promised that they weren't going to retcon anyone's choices, but they did! harding mentions cole and blackwall and dorian acts like him and the inquisitor are friends, when people could have worldstates where none of these people were recruited into the inquisition!

morrigan: actually a cool use of her cameo, but it was jarring seeing her so readily accept her mother's role

varric: i will never forgive bioware for what they did

dorian: love him. wish we got more of him. noticing a theme here in my review.

inquisitor: unless your inquisitor romanced solas, it's kinda pointless having them here. the convos between rook and the inquisitor were like 2 min max. she shows up at the end to try to convince solas to stop being stupid, but really wasn't the catalyst to making him stop, mythal was.

combat:

i played on the easiest difficulty and turned off dying. <3 so i don't have much to say lol

environment:

i really prefer the more streamlined environments in da games so this was! awesome! loved how it wasn't open world HOWEVER you are rewarded for exploring more than what is strictly required for a quest. da thrives on small, detailed environments so the places we visited were amazing! really loved tevinter and antiva specifically. i wish the camera on our character was a little different bc i felt like i (the player) was staring down at the ground instead of looking up at the scenery. also, finding exactly where a quest objectives was pointing us to was sometimes difficult.

music:

meh. not horrible but not memorable at all. inq's music was sooooooooooooooo good. like elder scrolls level good and that's hard to compete with bc tes soundtracks are second to none. i just felt a lack of orchestral sound. at times the bg music was almost modern electric. i can't tell u a single time i was moved or touched by the music in this game, which is a shame bc it's hans zimmer. meanwhile i can put on wicked eyes and wicked hearts or in hushed whispers and immediately get goosebumps and imagine my inquisitor going thru those quests

plot:

i think the writing was a little disjointed in the first half of act 1, but after it got much much better. i do find it weird that bioware was obviously trying to make it friendly for new players, but i would never ever recommend starting dragon age with this as your first game (coming from someone who played inquisition first, then da2, then dao lol). there are some HUGE lore implications (which i will get into later) that will not make sense at all to new players, and honestly, might confuse them more. in contrast, inquisition didn't have that many huge lore changing issues so i didn't feel like i was missing out on the surprise by playing it first.

i also think this series in general has a power creep issue. and it's one that also makes no sense. last game you were fighting one self-proclaimed god and had an entire army, spies, stronghold, politicians, scouts, etc. at your disposal. this game you're fighting TWO gods and it's just u and ur besties <3 what's next? THREE gods? and honestly i get it it's tough for bioware to not try to outdo themselves in the next installment otherwise people would get bored. idk just a thought

i was kinda shocked that some MAJOR lore implications happened in side quests lol. like we disproved the entire andrastian faith in one cutscene of a side mission. and boom. everyone moves on. CRAZY. i liked seeing bellara and davrin talk about how all of this new information could make elves lives worse bc people will blame them for everything that's happening, but i wish there was more. let me see someone freak out over the golden city not being real. in inq we saw a LOT of character's struggle with their faith bc of corypheus's claims. now we have two confirmed elven "gods" wreaking havoc and everyone is like "lol this sucks. anyways" also there is a distinct lack of andrastian faith shown in this game. obviously comparing it to inq is maybe not the best example but even in da2 and dao there were tons of quests and npcs centered around the andrastian faith and i felt like that was missing here

not that i condone fantasy racism (or racism in general lol) but there wasn't enough of it. not one npc said anything about rook being an elf. apparently other players who played as a qunari rook said the same thing. meanwhile lavellan was being discriminated against left and right in inq. inq had some elves in higher statuses but they alwayyyyys remarked how they were outliers. for example, coulette from jaws of hakkon was an ASSISTANT to the professor and still said it was very rare for an elf to have her job and that she has to prove herself. but in dav there are elves everywhere in lots of different leadership roles. and the north is supposed to be WORSE for elves bc of tevinter slavery so??? and the qunari have invaded antiva and no one gives a qunari rook shit for it? it was just very jarring, felt like i was playing bg3

it was also weird seeing how every faction was just super happy to help! and got along with everyone! no! show me how the wardens are critical of the crows being assassins! show me the lord of foturnes being creeped out by the mourn watchers!

i also think the replayability isn't as strong as dai or dao. there's only like 2 really big decisions, one is at the very end. everything else doesn't really change the outcome of the game, unless you purposefully chose to not do the side/companion quests to get the "bad ending"

also, no zevran. which pissed me off.

tdlr: dragon age excels in making compelling, in-depth characters. i feel like the highs were high in this game, and the lows were low. i blame the crazy development process that went on behind the scenes for some of the issues. overall: 6/10. i had fun, i enjoyed it, but tbh it's probably my least fav game. will obviously still do dozens of playthrus.

[nochi-quinn]

there's something so pleasing about how Emmrich speaks

This version of Speak With Dead sucks

Venatori? The ones who put up those glowing red walls? The kind we've seen sixty times on the way down here? Y'dont say 

oh I just looked at emmrich's outfit in the companion screen for the first time. I. hm. 

definitely does better in the mausoleum lighting 

manfred!! 

I have had taash for fifteen minutes and if anything happened to her - 

taash understands Dragons and Nothing Else and I love that for her

Isabela! And her fancy hat!! 

(ngl Isabela was never my favorite but I'll take the cameos I can get) 

oh, she has to manage the firebreathing like a chronic illness! I'm counting this as disability rep

my roommate, as I fail to see Assan and run right past him: PET!! THE BABY!!! 

let Manfred have buttons!! it's what he deserves 

Manfred gets an allowance!!

he is very clearly buying spell components 

the trophy for jumping off the library balcony is called Nostalgia Trip

it's not my fault they made the easiest path into solas’ area a straight drop from the library okay 

assan's floppy ear is my favorite 

you can play rock paper scissors with manfred!! 

taash's little “that's messed up” when lucanis tells her how he got possessed is possibly my most favoritest line read in this game 

yeah you WOULD cheer on the Crows fucking up the Antaam, wouldn't you Isabela  

“in rivain, the water is always falling down. in antiva, it rises up out of the floorboards in your basement.”

 I like myrna's outfit, can I have that outfit? Even just as an appearance? 

cassandra mentioned 

“you can hear spite?” “yes” “I'm so sorry” 

Aw, we love a supportive dad

(this is about maevaris’ dad)

wait, is tarquin trans too?? 

rook backstory! adopted elf baby of mysterious origins! 

(I don't mind the PC having more defined backstory; it's easily ignorable if you don't want it as part of your Rook's personal canon) 

(or maybe I've just played too many Bethesda games) 

tarquin/viper canon? 

aaand I'm assuming the Legatus mentioned in this codex entry is rook's dad

“ugh, puzzles” taash gets me

personally I like the assan trap plan

lucanis isn't using the cup I got him anymore :(

they did WHAT to sten 

genuinely need the HOF to roll back up with a cure to the Calling in one hand and Starbucks in the other and immediately start beating the hell out of people 

“don't be a dick, that was for the little one” my partner handing out pieces of chicken to the cats 

taash is so fucking fascinating, I love her so much

“people who've only ever been one thing will never know how big the world is” legitimately made me smile but also top candidate to show up on aesthetic quote graphics on pinterest 

“maybe because she acts more like a man herself” boooo 

davrin and rook teasing taash about her mom is cute 

(how old is taash supposed to be) 

(old enough that romancing her wouldn't be Weird but young enough that her mom is still embarrassing) 

(do any of us ever grow out of being embarrassed by our parents) 

taash writing to the rivaini guard to tell them to shut the fuck up about Karash

“I wish I hadn't misplaced Merrill's flashcards” 🥺

 bellara my adhd anxiety queen

bellara and emmrich being magic nerds my beloveds

taash's prosthetic horn! (it should absolutely shoot lightning) 

“everyone who ever tried to kill me is dead” 

I absolutely photo moded memory!solas, I had to investigate whatever's going on here

How did Gilan'nain get her ears in that helmet

so solas’ MO has been “nuke it from orbit” the whole time, huh

okay, I was worried “Shiv” was a play on “knife-ear” but the actual explanation is much better 

emmrich really just lives in caduceus colors, huh

if I had a nickel for every pink-and-green themed fantasy gravetender...

davrin: I would like to read about the blood-soaked castle please 

“lucanis why were you frying things at 4 am” “because I've lost all control of my life” 

wait is taash's relationship status just "here”

“you're not a builder, you'd only get in the way" I'm gonna shove this noble lady in the harbor 

PERI

hmm I think my second attempt at her will go better, now that I'm more familiar with the cc

(her hair's supposed to be white, but ofc that's not possible here) (I'm just assuming dealing with solas aged her 40 years)

goddammit do you know how hard it was de-blighting ferelden the first time 

“acting vicountess aveline vallen” is going to kick Varric's ass the next time she sees him

okay the awkwardness trying to talk around solas being her jerkass demigod ex-boyfriend was actually pitch-perfect to my inq so the game is forgiven for that at least 

(I've had a scene/dabble brewing for days where she does show up to stop the ritual, I'm going to end up writing it just to exorcise it from my brain) 

the letter to rook

the letter from Varric to Dorian

the “old friends in orlais” is probably a reference to a novel or comic but I haven't read them so therefore I'm pretending it's Hawke (and maybe Anders)

these are just VIs from mass effect, you can't fool me

man I wanted to insult Avina, I was robbed

egg taash??? 

I'M CRY??? 

I'M VERY CRY

genuinely having to take a moment. someone wrote down real words about the same thing I went through, the same feelings I felt, and they went through multiple multiple rounds of drafts and approvals and checks and probably fights with editors/corporate and made it into a AAA video game 

was it a little after-school special-y? Yeah, but sometimes talking to people about gender for the first time can be like that. It's a whole new topic, you gotta start with the small words. 

and taash is a whole adult!! the “I always knew” narrative is the default, you almost never have characters going through that journey as an adult. 

I'm very cry, is my point 

(also it was a little funny when Taash went “nobody LIKES being a woman” and Rook and Neve (and also me) just went “ah.”) 

“I did not ask for ‘a journey’” mood

I usually don't love irl gender/sexuality terms in fantasy but a. it's just in the codex so far 2. tevene is already basically latin, so whatever

(edit from the future: as of where I am in the game/taash's arc taash is still using she/her so that's what I used here; I'm leaving it for posterity's sake)

The sequel to TotK Thoughts From My Notes App, Dragon Age The Veilguard Thoughts From My Notes App

please do not respond or reblog with spoilers, even in the tags, assume whatever the last thing is is how far I've gotten bc it probably is

first off, meet Kalais:

(I've tweaked her design since this but I don't have access to the ps5 rn for a new screenshot) (really I just filled her face out a lil so she's not so Pointy)

[quest marker flashes] NO, I'm ‘SPLORIN

okay jumping over the wall in D'Meta's Crossing & going from Standard Spooky directly into Turbo Hell was very effective 

“this blight is WEIRD” harding you were there for corypheus’ whole deal, you can't say things like that, it's terrifying 

they really took the deep roads and set it to “worse”, huh

(my roommate kept going "BROODMOTHER" bc she hates me)

NO WONDER THEY CALL IT THE DRAGON AGE

I watched my roommate do this bit with her Warden; she sent him off to probably die from the Joining. I just. left him there.

Morrigan if you're gonna wear the headpiece get your hair out from behind it you're driving me crazy

Morrigan smiles so much, idk how I feel about it 

this is gonna be a weird sentence but I miss how her mouth was shaped in DAO, it just suited her for some reason idk

OH she looks like a Carja, that's what's bothering me

(a lot of this game gives me shades of HZD if I'm being honest) (it's not a complaint)

Titan Harding TITAN HARDING

been trying to figure out who Bellara makes me think of and I think it's “Merrill if she had a support network that wasn't Hawke” 

(“and less blood magic”) 

oh, little backstory tchotchkes!

while Rook just monologues to themselves 

(definitely interesting being a Not Culturally Dalish elf with a vallaslin)

“it is merely a suggestion” gonna suggest you off a cliff

I'm so glad Varric didn't die. I was so prepared for it

as a through-line through the series I prefer him over Morrigan tbh

“your old friend is kind of an asshole” “I know, isn't it great” 

WAIT solas’ knife is the fucking LYRIUM IDOL?? 

that thing just can't stop ruining Varric's life, huh 

the way Harding's bruises and stuff actually take time to heal is so cool 

me: talks to The Viper one (1) time me:...godDAMMIT, Mercer

room: offerings to andraste  me: offerings to me :) 

I. Don't care for Neve so far. 

which is unfortunate bc I picked the Shadow Dragons origin

me: spots what is clearly a fade tear me:

ATAB (All Templars Are Bastards) 

“the venatori rise” yeah yeah, hail hydra, fuck off

hey? hey Varric? I don't think I like your foreshadowing Varric