#maybe even *solas* doesn't know for certain where the dead go and if they make stops before they get there

[lith-myathar]

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[butterflydm]

dav second playthrough: on flirting and romance

My second run continues! My more hostile-to-Solas Rook is giving me some fun moments. She is here to sass divinity and to feel guilty about not being able to be two places at once.

[endgame spoilers below]

The side-eye I am giving 'Varric' right now, let me tell you. This game. This game! Let's not get stuck in our regrets! Biting, clawing, scratching Solas. I might have to punch him for real this time. I gave him a happy ending last time. This time, he might get sucker-punched into the Fade.

One thing that I didn't anticipate in my second-run of the game is how it would affect my (meta) feelings about the romances.

I talked in one of my earlier playthrough posts about how Rook being Varric's second-in-command affects how they approach the potential romances & the power dynamic and that's true... from a certain point of view. Specifically, it is true from Rook's point of view. Rook, who sees Varric as the real person in charge. Rook, who doesn't know (isn't able to admit to themselves) that Varric is dead.

For everyone else, Rook is the Boss, the last word (Davrin literally calls her the boss during their post-recruitment talk!). Rook isn't running an entire organization, the way the Inquisitor does in DAI, but they are running the Veilguard, even if they don't realize it. Even if they think "sure, yeah, I'm calling the shots now, but as soon as Varric gets back on his feet..."

Neve and Harding know that Varric is gone, and the rest of the team has never met him and doesn't even think about him as a potential boss figure over Rook, because he died before they even joined the team. One thing that jumped out at me in my replay is how in the very first post-Varric group roundtable (with just Rook, Neve, and Harding), Rook shuts down the conversation about Varric's death (without maybe realizing what she's doing) -- Harding brings Varric up - "Varric paid the price" and Rook immediately says, "He made the choice to go talk with Solas. He knew the risks. We all did." That's a conversational shut-down when everyone knows that Varric is dead. And Neve echoes Rook's words later when they return to the ritual site -- that Varric knew the risks. Both Neve and Harding tend to cover up their feelings and vulnerability anyway, so it's easy to see why they took this conversation as a cue that Varric is not on the table for in-depth grief and mourning. He knew the risks, and now we have to go on as a team together (without him).

Going through the recruitment missions now actually makes it super-obvious that the bargains are all through Rook, with Varric being zero percent involved, but because Rook makes Varric part of the process afterwards, it didn't feel that way on my first run.

The themes of how each of the companions relates to Rook and to the game as a whole shines even more on the second playthrough; it's genuinely a delight to see what was hiding underneath what I thought was going on. Bellara and Rook's first conversation, where Rook learns about Bellara losing her brother has so many echoes of Varric now, and the struggle that Rook is subconsciously going through underneath the illusion that Solas is showing to her. Lucanis's introduction, with him being influenced by blood magic and having a semi-hostile/semi-helpful presence in his mind! Harding talking about how difficult it is to process an experience if you've forgotten a key part of it.

Part of me wishes that I could have experienced all of the romances before knowing the truth about Varric, but I never could have kept myself from finishing the game straight-through on my first run (plus I had no idea how much knowing the ending would change my perspective!).

And I'm glad that I went with my heart the first time, because I did really love Lucanis's romance. Skimming around, I guess some people felt it was thin on content? It didn't feel that way when I was playing, though maybe I'll feel differently after checking out the rest of the romances. But the "Inner Demons" quest alone was just so intensely satisfying for me. I mean, part of it is maybe the Anders-romance hangover -- I was able to help Lucanis in a way that DA2 didn't let me help Anders. The coffee date scene after the quest where Lucanis and Spite are hanging out together and just... being okay with each other? Literally my heart was so full. I mean, kissing is nice and all, but have you tried helping someone make peace with their inner demon? (I am demisexual myself, so this may have an impact on my feelings about Lucanis and his romance, though I didn't find out until after my first playthrough was completed that Lucanis is confirmed as intended demisexual by the writer.)

One of the things I love about DAV so much is that everyone on the team matters for the mission (which is really shown to good effect during the big missions, when we actually get our whole team to come along!) but Lucanis's specific place in the team is just... idk. It just gets to me. It will probably still get to me in this playthrough, even though I have locked Lucanis's romance away from me by choosing to save Minrathous.

Witness me breaking my own heart so that I can experience all the content of the game and romance someone other than Lucanis:

Lucanis's entrance into the game just wow'd me from the start and I never stopped being wow'd. I didn't go into the game with any particular romantic intentions (well, I was leaning towards Harding, because I already knew her from DAI) but as soon as Lucanis showed up... I was a goner.

I loved learning about Spite, I love what the spirit/demon who made a deal with Lucanis being Spite said about Lucanis and his determination to survive what was being done to him. I just... I really love spirits in the Dragon Age series. They are probably my favorite bit of lore. And DAV was just so good to me as someone who loves spirits.

What was I talking about?

Right, how the power differential is looking a lot different from the companions' side than it does Rook's. Rook, who sees themselves as "leading the team during Varric's recovery" vs the Veilguard themselves, who see themselves as "Rook's team." The power dynamics are still nowhere near as sharp as in DAI, where some of your romance options literally believe that you were sent by their god/prophet to save the world, but are more along the lines of DAO than DA2. It felt like this game pulled a lot of emotional weight back from DAO into DAV -- the ending where building up the factions made a difference in the fight. I wish we'd had that in Inquisition! It would have been so fitting!

I actually feel like every complaint that I had about DAI (which is a game that I loved) was fixed in DAV -- you actually get your whole team present on the missions when it makes sense to be 'all hands on deck' (everyone should have been there during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts! they talk like they were all there afterwards); the tension never lets up (in DAI, things are never as dire afterwards as they are during "In Your Heart Shall Burn"; you basically start winning after that point and wear Cory's forces down, while in DAV, the situation gets more dire as you continue into the game); no fetch quests and instead all the side quests provided lore and character and story info.

Just a really good game. I think it has the strongest third act of any of the Dragon Age games.

The only real complaint I have about DAV is: wtf is up with there being only three character saves available on PS5? There are six factions! You'd think there would be at least six character saves so that each faction could be explored.

Ah. Memories of DAI:

So true.

[vivispec]

Trying to figure out what Vie does postgame. Might just scream instead.

(Veilguard Endgame spoilers)

I am. so fucking torn.

On one hand, it would be sooooo so so out of character for her to just. Turn her back on her twin soul, her daughter, her clan, all for the sake of a single man. I don't think she'd choose Solas over literally everyone else. That said, I don't think it would be that narratively difficult to come up with a reason why she had too, sans choice. I'm hesitant to take away her autonomy in that moment, I think it takes the impact of that choice away, but the things I could do with it??? I've been setting this up from the very beginning and I didn't even know it!!

Their daughter, a Dreamer, visiting them in her dreams, and walking the Fade beside her mamae and the mentor she never knew was her father. Raised in the waking by the other half of her mother's soul, who she already calls babae. The foreshadowing I put into my most recent fic, of how all Niri wants is for her mother to be done with her hunt, and for them to be a family. But they'll never be, because Viera is trapped. She had to, to save the world. She'll never hold her daughter in her arms again, not tangibly. That's the kind of story I love, the one so interwoven with tragedy. Thinking of how Niri and Ilo would react to that, it's everything I want.

...For them, but not for Vie. It would be out of character, or forced. That isn't how I want her story to end.

I think I lean towards having her let Solas walk away, because that's what she would do. She'd still get on her knees to look at him, but when she stands to kiss him they'd both know where she must go. She'd promise that she'd find him, that he wouldn't walk the dinan'shiral alone, but she wouldn't follow him. Especially considering I'm thinking of having Niri blighted, Iloniyn gravely injured (or even dead). She has attachments, and she needs to rebuild. For my Inquisitor, her and Solas always held each other in high respect. I think he'd understand what she maybe doesn't say: that she'll take care of things here, while he gets started there. They'll meet in the middle.

I'm tempted to have her cut by the dagger as Rook was in the beginning, but I'm not certain that won't, in that moment, tie Vie to the Fade and pull her in as well. So I'm thinking I won't. They pulled Rook out of that prison, now that Solas is able to look at his regrets and process them, what's stopping her from guiding him out with a little help? I don't think I want him to fully make it free--I like him still trapped in the Fade--but maybe she can coax him from his prison, walk with him in dreams. I think that fits them better than her following him, finding each other in their sleep and nowhere else. Maybe someday he'll be able to manifest in the Crossroads, but idk? I like there being consequences, and I don't want to unwrite them all. I want to work with them, to make a better story.

Idk idk idk, there is so much I can do with this and I don't know what direction I want to take!! Ah! There's merit in it all! I've been daydreaming about what their ending could be for so long, now that I know I don't know where to take it! I guess I've got all the time in the world to decide, but I want to know now. This is too hard T.T

[foxx-queen]

I was recently replaying inquisition and I think I've worked out why solas' character bothers me so much (beyond like, what I think of his actions within the game) and I think it's because the game doesn't let you ask him the questions that my inquisitor would want to ask.

like whenever you ask him questions about the fade he uses very flowery language to explain what he's seen, but you can't actually press him on it. you can't ask him, as a mage, how he does it, or if he can teach you, or if he can offer advice on how to guard against demons or talk to spirits, even though he constantly talks about his friendship with spirits. as a dalish elf you can't really challenge him on his views of the dalish. when he mocks their burial practice and says 'oh the dalish got one thing right maybe we should plant a tree' there's no way to call him out for literally making fun of your people for literally... burying their dead?? you also can't push him on how he got all this knowledge of the ancient elves. like he says he tried to share it with the dalish, and that he's 'seen it in the fade' but there's no option to say oh can you show me?? or to ask what places he visited that had significance, can you share that knowledge with me (especially if you're a dalish mage because you're literally the clans first and that's your job!! preserving and gathering knowledge about your history!!). we all know the famous racist 'high friendship approval' scene, and there's no way to follow up on that and be like hey it really bothers me that you think of me as an outlier can you maybe educate yourself. or even to point out that... if he sees only you as an outlier/person, does he see your other companions as less than people? even the ones he's 'friends' with?

or the wardens! he hates the wardens! he talks about how stupid their plan was and how foolish they would be to seek out the archdemons / old gods but you can't ask him why!! like as far as our inquisitor knows that's literally the only way to stop the blights, and here's solas going this is stupid and foolish the wardens don't know what they're doing! why can't we ask him why he thinks that? why can't we ask him what he would suggest doing the next time there's a blight? even at a very basic level, we can't ask him about his fresco?? and like I get that they probably had to have that because the moment you start asking about the fresco and certain details, the more likely solas is to slip up and reveal something, but it just feels like a plot hole because you're really telling me the inquisitor wouldn't be like huh you're painting in my castle. why are you doing that. what does that picture mean. why are there so many wolves why do you look nervous solas what's up with you and wolves why -

even the scene where he takes you into the fade. like personally for my inquisitor, that's a massive consent issue. he essentially puts you to sleep mid-conversation to drag you down memory lane, and my inquisitor would've wanted to say um hey can you ask?? me before you do something like that?? also how did you do that without me knowing what was happening (fun fact Ive been playing dao and what solas does reminds me of the sloth demon and the hell fade quest) can you tell me how to guard against that.

like they needed solas to be this figure you couldn't find out too much about, because he needed to be mysterious so they could hide who he really was. but as a result you cant always react to him the way you want to and it's so frustrating replaying the game like that. like no wonder the dalish didn't believe you my dude if all you did was say I saw it in the fade no I won't show you no I won't provide proof just believe me, a guy who shows up and mocks your burial practices.

like it's definitely a flaw with the writing in dai in general, there's a lot of moments where you can't really react to something the way you'd like to or your character doesn't respond the way you want (ie the v first dialogues) and you can't really challenge people on their way of thinking (cassandra and the chantry, dorian and slavery etc) but its just so much worse for me with solas.