#my first character was actually a human inquisitor

[eastern-lights]

I have mentioned my Dragon Age colour theory assigning spirits and demons to each installment and I am pleased to report that Veilguard actually fits right in. Basically

Origins: Despair, inflicted by the Blight but also suffered by Loghain (who is driven to atrocities by desperation). The Warden represents Valour, a possible opposite of Despair (also the first benevolent spirit they meet in the Mage origin). Valour is not just about bravery, but also self-sacrifice, which is a big part of the Warden's storyline.

DA2: Rage, that of the Arishok, but also Anders, Orsino and Meredith. Anders does what he does due to helpless rage at the injustice he is forced to witness every day. Hawke represents Love. It is their love for their family and eventually Kirkwall that motivates everything they do, and even though they fail to save Kirkwall, it is potentially their love for their companions that allows all of them to emerge alive.

Inquisition: Fear. The heroes fight it both literally in the form of Nightmare and figuratively by giving hope to the people. Fear is also what drives Corypheus, fear of there not being gods. The Inquisitor represents Hope. At mutliple points in the story, they have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes, hope is needed more than the truth, and they craft themselves into a figure that would bring hope to others even at the cost of their own individuality.

Veilguard: Pride (of course). Apart from it being Solas' literal name and the motivation that drives all three elven gods (the notion that only they know what's best for the world), the companion quests all include the characters swallowing their pride in one way or the other. Rook (bear with me) represents Wisdom. For all their snark and chaos gremlin tendencies, they also prove time and again that they have a deep understanding of human nature, as well as a firm grasp on morality. They are not the strongest or the most charismatic or the most powerful, but when push comes to shove, they are wise enough to listen to advice, to give it in return and potentially to find the good that is left in the heart of the God of Lies.

[felassan]

New today on DA:TV from Game Informer:

"A Deep Dive Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Expansive Character Creator by Wesley LeBlanc on Jun 27, 2024 at 02:00 PM As BioWare prepared to show me the character creator for Dragon Age: The Veilguard in its Edmonton, Canada, offices, I expected something robust – it's 2024, character creators have come a long way, and Bioware has a rich history of good customization. Despite my expectations, I was not prepared for how robust it actually is in Veilguard. Robust enough, even, that BioWare used it to create most of the NPCs in the game, save for mainline characters like companions. Setting hyperbole aside, it is a staggeringly rich creation system, and I look forward to seeing player-created near-replicas of celebrities and monstrous creations that'd be more at home in a horror game.  But I'm also looking forward to the community's reaction to the Dragon Age series' best character creator yet. At the heart of it is inclusivity, Veilguard game director Corinne Busche tells me before letting me guide her through creating my own character."

"As is usual, there are four races to choose from: Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves. After selecting Qunari, Busche pages through various presets, explaining the game allows for more detailed looks at each and the ability to choose pronouns with she/her, he/him, and they/them separately from gender, select different body types, and more. You can view your character, referred to as Rook in-game, in four different lighting scenes at any time, including The Veilguard's keynote purple hue, a bright and sunny tropical day, and a gothic night.  I joke with the team that after spending upwards of an hour creating my Dragon Age: Inquisition character in 2014, I immediately restarted the game after seeing him in the first cutscene; the in-game lighting made my hair color look terrible amongst other issues I had with my Inquisitor. Veilguard creative director John Epler says the team is aware of countless stories like that with Inquisition and its green-hued character creator, adding BioWare worked hard to squash that concern in Veilguard.  Head and body presets can be selected individually and customized to your liking with 40 different complexions that include smooth, rugged, youthful, and freckled skin tones, skin hues ranging from cool to neutral to warm, undertones to those skin tones, and even a melanin slider. Busche tells me BioWare relied on consultation to represent all people authentically. There's a Vitiligo slider (where you can adjust the intensity and amount of it) and sliders for your forehead, brow, cheeks, jaw, chin, larynx, and scalp. You can select your undergarments, with nudity as well because "this is a mature RPG," Busche adds, and use the "Body Morpher" to select three presets for each corner of a triangle and then move a cursor within it to morph your body or head into a mix of these presets. It's an impressive technology I'd like to see adopted in other games. [link to embedded DA:TV gameplay reveal video]"

"I can keep going: You can adjust height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how visible cataracts are, the sclera color, how crooked your nose is, how big its bridge is, the size of nostrils and the nose tip, and there are as many sliders, if not more, for things like Rook's mouth and ears. On ears alone, I see you can adjust asymmetry, depth, rotation, earlobe size, and even add cauliflower ear to your Rook. Busche says makeup blends modern stylings with the fantasy of Dragon Age with more than 30 options, including eyeliner intensity, color, glitter, eye shadow, lips, and blush. Tattoos are just as customizable alongside options for scars and paint. Tattoos, scars, and paint are very culturally relevant to some lineages, BioWare tells me, with unique tattoos for elves, for example. You can add tattoos to Rook's face, body, arms, and legs, and you can adjust things like intensity, too.  Im most impressed, however, by the hair options on display; there are a ton, and as someone with long hair, I'm especially excited about the fun selections I can make. You can finally dye your hair with non-traditional colors, and it's gorgeous. EA's Frostbite engine uses the Strand system to render each style fully with physics. "The technology has finally caught up to our ambition," Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes says. After customizing all of that and selecting our Qunari's horn type and material (of which there are more than 40 options to choose from), it's time to pick a class out of the Rogue, Mage, and Warrior – read more about Veilguard's classes here. Since we built a Qunari, we went with Warrior. For the penultimate step of the character creator, at least during the demo BioWare shows me, we select a faction. Out of the six options, we select the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune."

"Rook ascends because of competency, not because of a magical McGuffin," BioWare core lead and Mass Effect executive producer Michael Gamble tells me in contrast to Inquisition's destiny-has-chosen-you-characterization. "Rook is here because they choose to be and that speaks to the kind of character that we've built," Busche adds. "Someone needs to stop this, and Rook says, 'I guess that’s me.'" Ready to begin our Rook's journey, we select a first and last name and one of four voices out of English masculine, English feminine, American masculine, or American feminine options. There's a pitch shifter for each voice, too, allowing you to tweak it to your liking further. Don't stress too much about locking in your character creations before beginning the game – the Mirror of Transformation, which is found in Veilguard's main hub, The Lighthouse, allows you to change your physical appearance at any time. However, class, lineage, and identity are locked in and cannot be changed after you select them in the game's character creator.  From here, we're off to Minrathous, and you can read more about that famed city in our cover story, which is available here. For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

[open-sketchbook]

my girlfriend is asking for where she can find your written works, she really likes the one post you made about your mindstate wandering w/r/t making porn stories and she'd love to support you & read your stories

Sure!

I write my (public) fiction on the website Sufficient Velocity, a sci-fi forum. Most of them are in the form of 'quests', interactive stories; my day job is an independent tabletop roleplaying game designer, so the two things go hand in hand.

I unfortunately am both very busy and kind of a mess mentally, so fiction gets picked up and dropped a lot, and I write less than ever these days due to the shambles that my life has become.

For my quests, the stuff I'm proudest of is...

Castles of Steel, a longrunning (though currently on hiatus) story set in an alternate world much like our own, but with radically different gender politics. It's about the first woman in the navy of a country a lot like 1910s Imperial Japan, and more generally about how state power and imperialism entangles itself with and recoups social progress.

A Splinter in your Mind, a retelling of the Matrix with new characters and reimagined twists and worldbuilding. It makes the trans subtext into trans dommetext, and I feel its some of my cleverest writing.

Suffer Not, and especially its sequel The Witch Lives. Suffer Not is a Warhammer 40,000 fic about an Inquisitor who abuses her powers to actually make people's lives better, and is the story of her slowly realizing it is not enough. The Witch Lives takes place ten years later, following the grown up psyker the Inquisitor adopted, and focuses much more on faith, history, and the little people.

The Spider-Liv Trilogy started as a silly and honestly kind of bad extreme-divergence spiderman AU, but its sequel The Amazing Arachne is, I think, genuinely really good, because it's about what happens when a superhero gets hurt and then doesn't get better.

I've managed to properly publish two pieces of writing, as in you can get them in book form, and I'm still really proud of both.

Whispers from the Deep is an adaptation of the quest that defined the setting of my roleplaying game Flying Circus. It's about a young woman who steals a plane and runs away from her abuser with her boyfriend, and then has to take up life as an aerial mercenary in a 1920s-themed post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Also, she's a fish person and her village is a Cthulhu cult!

Lieutenant Fusilier in the Farthest Reaches is a pastiche of the Richard Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell, moving the setting from the Napoleonic Wars to a bizarre future world where sentient, cheerfully productive robots were invented in the early 19th century and promptly took all the jobs, elevating all of humanity to the gentry and then to the stars. It's about a redcoated robot soldier who uses her immortality to save up and buy a commission in the Army of Great Britain and Beyond, a position normally occupied exclusively by humans, and then facing the fallout of her decision and the life choices leading to it as her first deployment spirals out of control. It's also, sorta, a parody of Star Trek; the Galactic Concert is a mechanized, Regency-themed Federation, and the back half of the book is basically about how the problems of a world cannot be solved by an away team of well-meaning people with stun pistols.

[dalishious]

Reclaiming Independence of the Dales

Before anything else, I’d just like to clarify that that vast majority of this is made of my own ideas, based on interpretation from the little canonical information provided, and a little inspired by my own people’s history and governing structure. Additionally, what I am presenting here is an ideal situation, not necessarily what I think is an immediately realistic outcome in the world-state established. So, please keep that in mind.

The Dales were established as a homeland for elves—a small piece of a continent that was once called their home in its entirety, before the humans colonized it—by Maferath in -165 Ancient. This was in reward for the eleven people’s participation in the fight against Ancient Tevinter. But in 2:10 Glory, Divine Renata I broke this treaty and declared an Exalted March against the Dales, ending in its annexation by Orlais.

[Related Post: All You Need to Know about the Exalted March of the Dales]

If Solas has very low approval with Inquisitor Lavellan, and Lavellan accuses him of not doing enough to help their people, he will say the following: “You could order Halamshiral returned to the Dalish, if you wished. But ultimately, you know that would fail. That even you cannot solve this.” I hate this with a burning passion. The reason I can’t do that, Solas, is because it’s not an option in the game! Why are you as a character angry at me, the player, for not doing something that is not an option for me to do? Why was this written? Just to push the point that it’s not worth it to try and fight back against oppression? Because if I refuse to accept hopelessness in real life, why would I in accept it in a video game where the story is made-up, and therefore anything is possible if the developers so wish it.

Regardless, according to Solas, the Inquisition has enough power to support the reclamation of an independent Dales. I imagine this would require a lot of political maneuvering within the Orlesian governance, and therefore I think the best opportunity to do this would be with Briala ruling through Gaspard. This would then later open the door for Briala to be the leader of the newly independent Dales, too. I would like to see Briala as ruler of the Dales not just because she is a favourite of mine, but because I genuinely believe she is the best established character fit for the job. She was trained in everything Celene was trained in, has first-hand experience in court, has extensive connections, and has demonstrated her ability and desire to utilize these skills and assets for the benefit of elven kind.

Briala’s blackmail on Gaspard may help prevent Orlais from invading again while under his rule, but to last longer, the Dales would need to establish itself as a strong, independent Nation with allies. This is why I believe it would also be important to have Leliana as Divine Victoria in such a world-state where this could happen. Leliana re-canonizes the Canticle of Shartan, and in making it available for the common person to understand, would ideally help sway the minds of the average Andrastian into supporting the Dales’s independence. The nobility would of course be much trickier, because they and the Chantry are the ones who actually benefitted from its annexation—but there is little they would be able to actually accomplish if they did not have the power of the people behind them.

As far as allies go, Ferelden could only gain from Orlais losing control of the Dales, because it would mean cutting Orlais off from a lot of Ferelden’s border, therefore reducing the threat of another invasion. Additionally, a leader with just plain good morals like say, Alistair, would easily accept the elven kingdom’s return. But even Anora is willing to grant part of the Korcari Wilds to the Dalish if Mahariel requests it, and while this sadly doesn’t last, it does show a positive sign into her potentially being open to the idea of an independent Dales as well.

I sincerely doubt that all Dalish clans would return to the Dales and re-settle down. After all, they have developed differentiating cultures over the years of wandering in separated groups, with different ideals and different ways of life that they might not want to give up. But many would return, and that would likely create conflict between the elves coming from the Dalish clans and the elves coming from the cities. We know that some prejudice exists against “flat-ears” as some Dalish call those from the city, and we know that city elves have adopted a lot of misinformation from humans into their views of the Dalish. It would take time and positive leadership to reconnect the people, without risking falling into some sort of hierarchy based on origin. This is why I do not believe one group or the other should single-handedly rule alone. Rather, I think there should be a Grand Council of High Keepers made up of those voted into the position each to represent a single district of the Dales. (I like the idea of there being seven High Keepers, not just because there are seven traditional districts of Mi’kma’ki, but because it works out that there seven of the Creators. So it makes sense that there would be seven High Keepers.) The Grand Council would meet and make decisions together, with one appointed leader at the head to act as the Council’s chair.

In terms of protection and order, the Emerald Knights should be reformed. This would include the Fade Hunters, to protect the people against demons and maleficarum, with there being no Circles or Templars.

Restoring the independence of the Dales would lead to a revival of elven culture in ways that could never happen before, because they would actually be free to pursue re-learning the language, re-discovering the history and culture, and sharing it all amongst each other. They would not have to fear arrest the crime of simply being an elf.  

But what of the other races presently living in the Dales? I see no reason why they would have to leave, so long as they would be willing to follow the Grand Council’s leadership. I imagine many nobility would flee to Orlais, simply because they would not stand for it. But for the average human or surface dwarf, their life wouldn’t really even change much; they’d still be managing their farms the same as always. Hell, it might even improve things for them, assuming the Grand Council gives fairer treatment than the nobility previously.

[goosewriting]

I have an inq!cal thought!

Reader and cal both having a crush on the other when they were both on the mantis and just when they finally admit it to the other and get together something happens and cal is presumed to be dead but actually he’s been captured by the empire and turned into an inquisitor and then during a mission reader is on she runs into cal 👀

And like it could be a good ending OR Cal’s conditioning wins and he kisses reader as he runs them through after reader says they can’t fight him and like uh I am very partial to the angst ending

The Bad Ending

summary: years after thinking Cal is dead, reader meets him again as an Inquisitor. 

relationship: inquisitor!Cal Kestis x gn!reader

warnings: mention of character death, also actual character death (ahem, you, ahem), yummy angst

word count: 3k

A/N: i too, am very partial to the angst ending so, bon appetit 😌 no but seriously this has been sitting in my wips for FAR too long, i really loved this idea so i hope i made it justice! thank you sm for requesting and the patience dearest anon<3

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

Somewhere in the Outer Rim, it’s early dawn on a small, often overlooked planet. The first rays of sun hit your face as you’re helping a fellow resistance fighter in loading a truck with some supplies, and it makes you squint. You stop your motions to block the light with your hand held to your forehead, and for a split second, you see a head of red hair in the corner of your eye. Your body reacts on its own, immediately turning and craning your neck to find him. But it’s a false alarm, obviously. The ginger human gives you a weird look as you’re staring, then shrugs their shoulders and keeps walking. 

Heaving a sigh, you load the last of the crates, shaking your head at yourself in embarrassment. It’s already been years since you last saw him. Since you saw any of them. The crew of the Stinger Mantis.

You can’t help the small smile on your face when you think back to everything that you went through together. All the adventures, the missions…the sneaking out. Stolen glances here and there, lingering touches that may have meant something more, making the most of every moment because you knew it could be the last. Except that you didn’t actually believe that. All of you knew how risky the missions were, aware of the dangers that seemed to loom around every corner. But you hoped to, wanted to spend the rest of your life with him. None of you was invincible, you knew that. But to think that he would just be… gone. It still stings. 

When retrieving the Holocron on Bogano, the Second Sister confronted Cal in the vault, except that you never saw him come out. By then, the Stormtroopers had overrun the place, so you had to leave. But you came back, multiple times, searching for him. Every time unsuccessful. 

At some point, you came to terms with the fact that she had probably killed him in the vault, a place you couldn’t access as you’re not Force sensitive. The thought of Cal being in there, bleeding out, alone, BD probably also dismantled by the Imperials… The thought makes you shiver to this day.

Losing Cal took a toll on everyone, and it didn’t take long for the Mantis crew to split up after that. Cere took it particularly badly, blaming herself for the failures, both with Trilla and Cal. Ever since then, you’ve never seen or heard of either Cere or Greez again. So you were on your own. 

You’ve been lying low, helping out more from behind the scenes instead of getting into the action like back then. But you can’t deny the fact that you miss Cal every single day. Despite knowing that you’ll never see him again, you can’t help but wonder “what if”. Back then, you two had something going on. You were actually planning on confessing to him after you safely got off Bogano with the Holocron. But those plans were cut short by one very grumpy Inquisitor. You still regret not having told him sooner, as you were fairly certain he felt the same way. To this day, you still dream with Cal at night, picturing what life would be like if he was there with you.

Shaking your head to focus on the task at hand, you look down at the fruit you’ve been holding in your hand. You were so lost in thought, you didn’t even notice that the loaded truck was long gone, and your feet brought you to the city market. The vendor at the stall you’re standing at looks at you suspiciously, so you shoot them a quick smile and put the fruit back into the basket, then stroll to the next stand.

Focusing back on the task at hand, you force yourself to shove the painful memories aside to make room for a mental plan. The rebellion is growing every day, and that means the amount of mouths to feed is increasing as well, so you’re to get provisions at the market. Other supplies like tools and machinery parts were sent off just earlier. The food you’d bring yourself to a hidden spot where your contact told you they’d pick it up. You just have to find a way to smuggle it all out of there unseen by the imperial troops, who walk around the place in regular patrols.

You actually have your suspicions that your contact is either a Jedi themselves, or someone who’s working closely with one, as there’s been rumours here and there about someone with mystic powers having arrived in the village. No matter if they’re true or not, you really hope the rumours will settle down quickly, as it will undoubtedly attract unwanted attention.

After you’re done with your shopping spree, you look at your haul, which occupies several large crates. You grimace slightly, as it’s more than you anticipated. Maybe you can ask that one farmer who owes you a favour if you can borrow his cart, since you can’t carry all of this on your speeder. Getting your holopad out of your satchel, you double-check the drop-off place, and conclude that hiding the crates there will be quick work. The problem is the cart itself; hopefully with enough hay you’ll be able to cover them all to go by unnoticed. 

So that’s exactly what you do. The farmer is more than happy to help, and you feel a little bad knowing that you’re about to leave his cart at the pick-up spot, then tell him that there was an accident and it broke down, getting swept away by the river which conveniently ends in a waterfall not far away. You’ll pay him for the cart of course, but even so… you’re essentially lying to his face. While in this case, the end does justify the means, this part of the job still doesn’t get any easier for you. 

It’s the same afternoon when you’re loading up the cart. The animal pulling it is tame and knows you, so you bring some extra treats for her. Once you’re done putting on the harness and hiding your crates, you head out. It’s a sunny day, and except for the occasional bleating, the clicking of your tongue and the clinking of the reins, there's not much else. 

The air is calm, and you allow yourself to hum a little tune to yourself. As you arrive at a narrow passage between two walls of stone that leads into the valley, the path turns a sharp corner and you can’t really see ahead. Only once you fully turn are you able to take in the image before you, and your blood runs cold in your veins. Not far in front of you, there’s a shuttle parked on the road, blocking your way, and half a dozen Stormtroopers stand with their loaded weapons. You pull on the reins, wanting to turn her around, but as you look behind you, you see more troopers blocking the other way as well.

You bring the cart to a halt instead and turn back to the front, reaching for the blaster under your seat, when from behind the shuttle you see two dark figures appear: an Inquisitor, followed by a Purge Trooper. The latter approaches you in quick strides, pointing one of the two electrobatons at you.

“Get down,” comes his modulated but demanding voice through the helmet.

You hesitate for a second, unsure of what to do. Biting the inside of your cheek, you quickly analyse the situation, concluding that while you certainly can't take on all troopers alone, let alone an Inquisitor, maybe you can make a run for it towards the thicker vegetation. You just have to make it back past the narrow passage you just came from.

“I said get down!” the Purge Trooper barks, clearly annoyed. 

“Alright, alright,” you finally respond.

You motion to stand up, as if you’re pushing yourself off your seat with your hands, but instead get your rifle from underneath and, from your elevated position, you shoot the trooper right between the shoulder and chest plates of is armour. 

He falls down to the ground with a groan, and you jump off the wagon, making a run for it. You know your rifle can penetrate the normal Stormtrooper armour, so you shoot the ones that had appeared behind you, hitting each one twice, and push past them.

You don’t look back despite hearing the other troopers closing in on you, and you duck as they shoot at you. But you know their aim is not the best, so you keep going, your lungs burning at the sudden effort. You’re just passing the treeline when something knocks you over; you seem to trip over air as you fall face first to the ground, hard. You barely manage to let go of your rifle to brace yourself, and you roll a couple of times from the speed you were coming at.

Everything spins for a moment, and you reach out to grab your weapon and keep going, but an invisible force keeps you pinned to the ground on your back. You groan in frustration and confusion, looking up to see the troopers now gathered around you aiming their blasters at you, yet not firing. They all take a step back to let the Inquisitor walk through, and you give them the best glare you can muster.

The red visor glistens, the sun reflecting on it, as they tilt their head to the side while looking at you. Then comes the modulated voice, calling your name. Not just your name, but your nickname, the one only one person ever used for you. One that you were certain you’d never hear again.

You let out a shuddering breath as you watch in horror how the Inquisitor takes off the helmet, dislodging it with a hiss, to reveal the face underneath. 

“So we meet again, after all these years,” Cal says, running his free hand through his hair, looking down at you with a sour face. “After you left me for dead.”

Your mind is reeling, unable to comprehend the situation.

“I- You-” you stumble over your words. “We didn’t leave you. We thought you were dead. We looked for you!”

He gives you a half-hearted chuckle.

“Not well enough, it seems…” he retorts. “Yeah, well, the crew never was much anyway. I work better, alone, after all.”

“You know that’s not true”, you say in a small voice, your body finally catching up to the situation, starting to shiver.

He extends his hand towards you, and you find yourself being lifted off the ground and to your feet, but slowly pushed backwards into the forest.

“Leave us,” he orders without breaking eye contact with you, and the troopers obey, putting some distance between you and them. For every step Cal walks towards you, you take one back, and after a few moments you’re surrounded by vegetation, out of sight and earshot from the others. Only then does he let go of you, and you stand there for a second, looking at each other. 

Then the quiet tension becomes almost unbearable. There's so much you want to tell him, ask him. What happened in the vault? Did he ever come looking for you? Even if you never got to tell him yourself, does he know how you felt about him?

“I don’t know if it means anything to you anymore,” you finally break the silence. “But I missed you.”

He doesn’t answer, instead continuing to look at you with this unreadable, almost bored expression.

“Are you going to kill me?” you decide to ask instead, fearing the answer. 

“If you stand in my way, I might have to,” he replies, and your heart drops. “You’re not my target, though.”

“Then who is?” Your gaze falls to the ground.

“There’s been reports of a Jedi in the village,” Cal says, taking a careful step towards you. Your eyes snap back up to his, stopping him in his tracks.

“So that’s what you do now? Hunt Jedis?” You don’t try to hide the hurt in your voice.

He merely raises a brow at you, as if the answer to that is obvious. It is. 

“And you're okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You were a Jedi once, too.”

“Technically, I never got knighted, so no,” he retorts with a hint of a sadistic smile.

You scoff.

“But Cere would have done it sooner or later, I’m sure…”

At the mention of the name, Cal frowns.

“Yet she didn’t,” he states coldly. He looks up into the trees with a deep breath, then picks some imaginary lint off his uniform, his face relaxing back into the nothingness from before. His eyes snap back up to meet yours as he stands still. “And she won’t.”

“W-what do you mean by that,” you ask, horrified. “Is she…”

Again, he doesn’t answer.

“D-did you…”

You see his jaw tense up, and your body runs cold, colder.

“Cal, what have you done,” you breathe, barely audible, and bring your hands up to hide your face. You can feel the tears prickling at the back of your eyes, and you try your best to hold them back.

“I only did what must be done,” he answers matter-of-factly, then takes a step towards you, but you take a quick one back. He stops again. “So what were you planning on doing, exactly? Run away?”

You shift uncomfortably.

“I would have found you either way, just like I did now.”

“I thought I wasn’t your target,” you retort. 

“And you aren’t,” he assures you. “But after finding out you’re here, I just wanted… to see you.”

“Why,” you mutter, not really meant as a question. “After all this time. Not like this.”

He takes another slow step towards you, and this time you don't have it in you to back away. Your tears are running freely now, rolling down your cheeks as you hold back a sob. Now standing right in front of you, Cal lets go of his helmet, which falls onto the grass with a soft thud. His gloved hands come up to cup your face, his thumb swiping away a tear over your cheekbone.

“I missed you,” he says in a small voice that doesn’t really fit with his current image.

“And I missed you,” you choke out, placing your hands over his. “So, so much.”

You look into his eyes, now a fiery yellow, and the sight is so unfamiliar, so cold, that you can’t hold his gaze for long, and it falls back down, but you don’t want to look at his black armour either, so you look to the side instead. Your hands still hold his in place, though.

“I really thought you were dead, Cal, but this…” you manage to say after taking several shaky breaths. “An Inquisitor… This is no way to live. It’s not you. We can escape together. Start over. Whatever they did to you, we’ll undo it layer by layer. Please.”

“I’m afraid that's not possible,” he says, dropping one hand while the other moves from your cheek to your chin, making you look at him, and he studies your face for a moment. “But I can’t let you go either. You're working with the resistance fighters, aren't you.”

“I- I’m continuing where we left off, just in a different way.”

“So you are working with the Jedi, and as such against the Empire.”

His hand goes to the back of your neck, holding you in place, and a strange panic starts to settle in your limbs as you realise you can’t move away from his hold. Cal is so close now that you can feel his breath fanning over your cheek.

“If I let you go, will you shoot me?” he asks in a low voice.

You want to scoff, but it’s more of a teary-eyed huff.

“I could never, Cal. I- I loved you,” you tilt up your face to properly look him in the eyes. “I never stopped loving you. I still do.”

He tilts his head ever so slightly to the side, his brows furrowing, then scrunching upwards in the middle, as if he just remembered something painful.

“So do I,” he whispers. 

You let out a sob, broken-hearted. All this time. All this time and he felt the same, was alive. But now he’s… an Inquisitor. A killing machine, fed by his own pain and anger, a tool used by the Empire to eradicate any remaining traces of hopefulness that people still might harbour.

“I can’t fight you,” he finally says.

“Neither can I,” you assure him.

Then he leans in, kissing you hard, and your mind is reeling. He holds you in place with the hand at your nape, your own coming up to hold his face. He kisses you like he’s making up for lost time, pouring his very being into it, and you reciprocate.

Somewhere in your mind, the metallic clink and the pressure against your side got registered, but with the kiss, it’s too much input to make sense of anything else. 

Cal breaks the kiss and pulls back just enough to look you in the eyes, and you see a single tear rolling down his cheek.

“But I can’t let you go either,” he whispers against your lips, voice breaking, and before you can ask what he means, you not only hear his lightsabre igniting, you feel it. 

Your mouth opens in a silent scream. Within a split second, your upper body feels on fire, and a sharp, unbearable pain prevents you from breathing or thinking straight. You hear your own flesh sizzle as Cal retracts his weapon after running it through you. Even though your legs give in, he holds your full weight, embracing you, and slowly kneels down, bringing you down with him gently.

“C-Cal,” you gasp for air as your lungs burn quite literally, everything around you getting blurry.

“I’m sorry,” he says over and over, caressing your cheek softly as he kisses you again. 

With your last effort, your hand comes up to hold his, but it goes limp before it can do so, falling onto the ground. Cal cries into your shoulder, holding your limp body for a long time, until it turns cold.

~~~~~

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[dross-the-fish]

Do u think Solas would have killed Lavellan if it has been her instead of Varric?

to be honest I think he would have killed her if she had earnestly tried to stop him. It doesn't even mean he didn't have feelings for her but looking at his track record caring about people has not been a deterrent before so there's no reason it would have been at the time. Not for a person he's only known for a year and hasn't spoken a word to for almost a decade. Varric was his friend, Felassan was his friend, who knows how many friends he has buried because his mission comes first. That is something that has been consistent with his character, that he will put the mission above his own wants or interests. To a point this is because the game requires certain plot points to be met and the story would be over if he could be swayed before the final battle. That's partly why I don't like the idea of romanced Lavellan or the high approval Inquisitor being framed as somehow "exceptional." Because for 1000s of years no one else was.

Stripped to the barest components (time-frame, interactions, levels of emotional intimacy shared between both parties) there is nothing about the relationship between Solas and the Inquisitor that justifies viewing it that way. It would be a blip even in a regular human life time. I cannot think of any reason to justify why Solas would have spared someone he claimed to love but still held at arms length for a year when one of his closest friends of 1000 years wasn't worth sparing. And if he would spare a romanced inquisitor that doesn't make him look better. It doesn't redeem him. It just says he values his romantic relationships, no matter how brief and uneven they were, over everything else. It would make him a hypocrite and cheapen the one thing that works about his character. his commitment to putting aside his own feelings for "what must be done". I think the dissonance for me comes down to the framing vs the actual logistics and that's been my whole beef with Solas as a character where what I'm told doesn't match what I'm shown. There are people that will argue that Solavellan is a deep romance and it's well written but I've always felt like compared to the other romances it was a bit of an after thought and a very shallow experience that relies heavily on the player to create headcanons to sustain it. It's also one that requires you to create a character that is ultimately ok with never being trusted or treated as an equal and to some degree being willing to forgive being used. Let's not forget in the inquisitor's romance Solas has all the cards. He's the very reason everything in the game is happening and intentionally or not he is responsible for the current state of the world.

He watches the inquisitor shoulder the burden of cleaning up his mess and restoring order to the world but he never gives them more than breadcrumbs or nudges in the right direction. I think what i find the most repulsive is that he would have watched the inquisitor die unknowingly as a direct consequence of his actions while carrying on a romance with them. Case in point, in Trespasser when the mark IS killing the inquisitor it's still ultimately on them to do the leg work to track him down and find him. He's not going to come to them and he only even waits for them to catch up because he needs the anchor. He would not have been by their side or offered them any kind of comfort or protection had something killed them before they could reach him. The inquisitor could also have died at any point from the blight Solas caused in that 10 year span he was gone because they have been on the front lines the whole time. The inquisitor's survival has NEVER been his priority unless there was something he needed from them. He has always viewed them as expendable. He had already committed to thinking of them as a cherished regret. Which is why I fully believe he would have killed the inquisitor if it had been them instead of Varric, even if it was a romanced Lavellan.

[butterflydm]

some thoughts on spirits (DAV)

I feel like the game has done a good job making Rook feel like someone with natural leadership abilities. And while I do love the companions in the previous games, I feel like DAV's companions are my favorites (at least currently; entirely possible that a replay of the older games would make me feel different!).

I also really like the different dynamics between Rook and their companions. Just... idk good vibes.

Also, here is Rook being very relatable for me:

I am just really loving all the characters so much -- Lucanis stole my heart as my favorite (he's my 'personal demon' now in the character screen lol) but I'm very attached to all of my companions. I love how the game has made it easier to know when they have something new to say, and I like that they distinguish between 'conversations' and 'outings' in the companion quest section. I've really been enjoying getting to know them and I feel like this game has done a really good job appropriately gating dialogues and areas.

It feels like they found a good compromise between 'open world' and 'mission-based game'. Each of the areas feels really big but it's also gated in natural ways that get unlocked as the story goes on, so you can't bum-rush the Crossroads and do literally everything the first time you're there, for example. In DAI, I would sometimes have to impose my own pacing to make sure that things flowed well for me, and I haven't needed to do that with DAV.

One thing that leaving the Fereldan/Orlais area did is really let us get to know a lot of mages who don't have the same sense of shame and self-hate that mages are taught in the Chantry of southern Thedas (or the even more extreme way they are treated by the Qunari!). We got hints of this approach in earlier games, but getting to dive more in-depth into several cultures who do not have the same "let's toss all the mages into prison" approach to magic that southern Thedas has has been very illuminating! Obviously we've always had exceptions like the Dalish clans, but they were very much depicted as deliberately on the outskirts of society, and going against the Chantry-defined norm.

And to contrast, in DAV, I recently had a long conversation with Emmrich on the potential merits of lichdom! Basically an unthinkable conversation in either Ferelden or Orlais. Nevarra doesn't burn their dead and they don't have such a deep fear of the dead, demons, or magic itself. And it really just to illustrate how much the oppression of mages that was so much at display in the Circles is just... nonexistent in places like Nevarra. The oppression is cultural and it's religious -- it's not actually something that's necessary to 'keep magic in check'. (which, yeah, is obvious from the outside, but always nice to have reinforcement from the actual games!)

I'm also watching a let's play of DAI on the side and the person just got to Solas and Cole's personal quests and, yeah, they resonant so hard after the additional Solas revelations in DAV. And it really does feel so much like DAV is in a strong conversation with DAI (as makes sense). Solas and Varric are talking about Cole but Solas is also talking about himself.

Varric: "A spirit who is strangely like a person!"

Varric: "He came into this world to be a person. Let him be one."

Solas: "We cannot change our nature by wishing it." Varric: "You think?"

Solas: "You would alter the essence of what he is." Varric: "He did that to himself when he left the Fade."

[if Cole is made more spirit]

Varric: "...could have been a person." Solas: "Would that have made him happier?"

Is Solas's endgame becoming a spirit again? Or has he experienced and changed too much? (would it make him happier? is that a desirable goal?) Is it all a matter of perspective? Cole approves of the Inquisitor's choice whether they make him more of a spirit or more human. I feel like Solas would lose a lot of himself if he became a spirit again, but maybe that's a matter of perspective too.

And then Solas's DAI quest is all about dealing with the damage of a Wisdom Spirit being corrupted against its purpose -- the same kind of Spirit that Solas once was. Wisdom vs Pride (but once you're a person and not a spirit, you can be filled with both at the same time).

DAV is really making me want to do another run of DAI, and take Solas literally everywhere, lol. But the conversation about spirits in the 'real' world didn't start there either -- it started back in DAO, with Wynne. It continued in DA2, with Anders. Both DAO and DA2 are more 'standard' than what we get in DAI with Cole, in the sense that they were possessing a body (though with permission) but it's still part of the same conversation.

But the conversation really did explode into something bigger in DAI, with Cole as a spirit who was with us without possessing a body, and with learning that being briefly possessed can reverse Tranquility (via Cassandra's quest). And now, with what had been confirmed in DAV, we know that a spirit that takes mortal form can, over the generations, become mortal, as that's what the ancient elves did, so Cole could have kids who were fully mortal, maybe. And Cole did it without using lyrium (and thus taking something from the Titans to fuel himself) -- at least as far as I understand.

I am also finding myself very curious about where humans come from -- we know that the ancient elves were once spirits; we know that the dwarves are fragments of the Titans. Where did humans come from? Evolution? Or is there a magical answer for them too? Is the Maker a spirit and/or Titan who created humans specifically?

(I think it's implied that Qunari were genetically/magically engineered in some way, and possibly crossbred with dragons somehow?? iirc DAI correctly)

I'm really looking forward to removing my filters on DA-related stuff and reading other people's thoughts. I've covered my eyes and clicked on posts a couple of times so far and have been rewarded by mostly getting fanart and not spoilers, lol. Mostly.

I genuinely have zero critiques of the game so far, if anyone was wondering if I was just holding some back or whatever. I like the quality of life changes they made to a lot of little things like companion banter; I never had an issue with the art style*; and I'm enjoying the story and characters as they unfold.

(*I know that was a big thing with a lot of people but, confession time: I genuinely can barely tell a difference between DAI and DAV's 'art style'. You can change Qunari hairstyles separate from horns now in the character creator? People walk less awkwardly than in DAI? The menus are purple instead of green? idk, maybe my brain just doesn't register whatever it is that makes DAV so different, art-wise?)

I also love that I can literally just throw myself at boxes to break them open to get materials. It's so satisfying. I have a griffon that I can pet. idk, I guess I'm just a simple girl with simple desires. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Looking forward to playing more this weekend!

Current progress note: a Dalish clan (at least one) has been kidnapped for potential blood sacrifices, so trying to rescue them is my next main quest. I'm about eighty hours into the game.

[shewolfofvilnius]

honestly i think i enjoy making Rooks more than I actually enjoy playing Dragon Age Veilguard.

So far I've made three actual Rooks (well, mostly) plus puttered around in character creation to toy with a 4th.

The top is Isseya Thorne, Grey Warden, elven mage, my first Rook and the only one I've beaten the game with. She's based on a little girl that Warden Tabris (see #4) meets in both the City Elf Origin AND in the Broken Circle quest in the Ferelden Circle.

Second is my current I'm actually playing with, Jordana Mercar, a human with the Shadow Dragons. If there's something vaguely familiar looking about her: She's the biological daughter of Ser Jory, the cowardly recruit from Ostagar. His pregnant wife, Helena, lived in Highever, which is where the Couslands are deposed in the human noble origin. I decided that Helena fled on the last ship out, for Tevinter, but died giving birth to Jordana.

Third is Hawke. Literally just the default female Hawke, Marian (the one I used the first time I played DA2, my favorite game).

Lastly, I was noodling around in the creator and decided to make an aged-to-present version of the Hero of Ferelden, Warden Elissa Tabris. I half-assed her a special title card in Photoshop, but deliberately tried to make her 'Hero of Ferelden 23 years later. If you zoom in close, you'll see noticeable greys plus dark scarring that's the sign she's nearing her Calling.

Since I already have Rooks, Hawke, AND a Hero of Ferelden, I'm also including my Inquisitor from Rook #1's run, my canon Inquisitor Vilkė.

[perfectlyvalid49]

So, I recently finished playing Veilguard, and I’m mad enough at Solas that I’m gonna post about it. Warning if you haven’t finished the game – there will be spoilers. Prepare for an increasingly unhinged rant below the cut.

So first the good stuff (because the rest of this is going to be talking about how much I hate the guy): I think he’s incredibly well written and well-acted. There’s a difference between a character that is good because they’re well crafted, a character that is good in a moral sense and a character that is good because you like them. Solas is good because he’s well crafted (not so much the other two) but where he is good, he is very good indeed. A fictional character that can make you feel things (even if it is pure, unadulterated rage) is always a pleasure to encounter. Genuinely, kudos to the entire team behind bringing him to life.

I guess to start, I want to establish a baseline for where I was before I started playing Veilguard. I seem to be in the minority of people in the dragon age fandom in that I never loved Solas, but I didn’t really hate him either. Honestly, prior to Trespasser, I assumed that he was just supposed to be like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory – very smart, but very, very bad at people. (Side rant – there are SO MANY ELVES in DA that read as being on the spectrum and I don’t know what it says that Bioware keeps making autistic coded characters that are people but not quite human, especially with how elves are treated by humans) And I know lots of guys like that in real life and I was basically like “Yeah, sure, that’s a type of person that can be a companion. Not my favorite type of guy to hang out with in my fantasy escapism game, but we can go with it.”

And then post Trespasser, I was really interested to see where they were going with him. It was clear that they were setting him up to be an antagonist, and all of the stuff about him that was kinda weird in terms of his non-answers to your questions suddenly made sense. I thought it was really cool that they were going for an antagonist that was so well known to the player, and with such an established relationship with the inquisitor. I feel like the fact that he and the inquisitor barely get to interact is a missed opportunity – they saved the world together, they should have gotten to have an actual conversation about the state of things at some point. But prior to playing Veilguard, I was super excited to see what they did with him in the game, even if I didn’t really like the guy.

But playing through Veilguard, every interaction I had with Solas was rubbing me the wrong way, and eventually I figured out that what was bothering me was that he was being extremely condescending. I was talking to my husband about it (he is also a DA fan, and he *hates* Solas) and he basically said to me, “Yeah, he’s condescending in Inquisition too, I don’t know what else you’d expect.” And that’s when it hit me – Solas talks to the PC the way the PC talks to Sera in Inquisition. Dalishious has a great series of posts about romancing Sera in Inquisition (I’d link, but they blocked me) but if I remember correctly, in them they point out that there’s almost never an option to be genuinely positive toward Sera. Generally, your options are either basically, “I think you’re stupid” or “I’m surprised that you’re not being stupid for once.” And I realized that a lot of my problem with Solas is that the vast majority of interactions with him feel like that’s his dialogue wheel with you. Solas disapproves turns into “Solas thinks you’re stupid,” and Solas approves turns into “Solas is pleased but also surprised that you’re not being stupid,” and I don’t appreciate him being so judgmental.

The other thing that was really bothering me is the way that Solas uses people. I initially wanted to say that he sees people as tools instead of people, but I think it’s worse. He stills sees people as people, but he only cares about how he can use them to further his goal. And we see this over and over again in every piece of Dragon Age media he’s in. And even if you take into account that he doesn’t see modern people as people due to the shortness of their lifespan (and by the end of inquisition that isn’t even necessarily true), we see him do it with people he *would* consider people. We know he considers ancient elves people – he fought a war of rebellion mostly on their behalf. But he kills Felassan for disobeying him (no longer being a useful tool). We know from his personal quest in Inquisition that he views spirits as people, but we see from his memories in Veilguard that he’s absolutely willing to sacrifice them in order to achieve his goals.

Even people he supposedly really cares about get treated this way. The Inquisitor gets used by him to stop Corypheus and recover his orb. Even if his approval is high, even if romanced, he still uses the Inquisitor like this. And even if romanced, at the end of Veilguard if Lavellan tries to talk him down, he blows her off. Frankly, even Mythal, the one person he’s willing to listen to, the one person who can talk him down from a bad idea, is still someone he’s willing to use. He clearly loves her, respects her more than anyone else, listens to her, but ultimately, he’s still willing to use what’s left of her as a battery to fuel his plans.

And he’s also clearly using Rook. Early in the game he straight up says, “Had I the power to control you, I would already have used it.” But because he can’t do it directly, he spends every interaction trying to shape Rook into a person who will do what Solas wants Rook to do. He’s the god of trickery after all – almost every story we have of Fen’Harel is about how he tricks others into doing what he wants. He’ll pester Rook into committing to doing “whatever it takes” to stop the other gods, because he’s willing to make any sacrifice, and Rook needs to be his tool to do that. Rook isn’t an ally in his fight against the gods, and Solas wastes no time trying to convince Rook that his plan is correct. He only says what is necessary to drive Rook to the point where Rook will be useful to Solas.

Right before you leave the prison of regret, Varric tells Rook, “Solas wants to be a hero, that’s who he is, deep down. But it’s easier for him to play the villain. Because that means he didn’t fail. All the damage he’s done, the people he’s hurt – it becomes a choice. Remind him who he really is. He might just listen.” And that really feels like the voice of the devs trying to talk to you the player. Like, Solas just tricked you and tried to imprison you for eternity, and you just found out that he killed your mentor/buddy and has been lying to you about it for the whole game. You have every right to be mad at him! But the devs have that same mentor figure, a guy who for many players is viewed as a friend from previous games, someone you would be inclined to listen to and trust, essentially tell you that it’s ok that he’s dead and that you need to forgive Solas and give him a chance to choose good.

And I really want to break that down. You’re being told that Solas tells himself that he’s the villain so that he can feel like he’s in control of all of the bad things that he caused that he didn’t mean to happen. “It becomes a choice.” But by saying that he’s just telling himself that, it implies that he didn’t have a choice, and that the bad things aren’t really his fault. He didn’t have a *choice* about raising the veil so it’s not his fault that the entirety of the ancient Elven civilization was destroyed, and all the suffering that has befallen the Elves since. He didn’t have a *choice* about killing Varric, so it’s not really his fault that Varric is dead. And now he doesn’t have a *choice* about tearing the veil down, so won’t really be his fault when he destroys another whole civilization. In this moment, through Varric, the devs are presenting the opinion that Solas can’t control the entirely foreseeable outcomes of his actions, so he’s not really a bad guy.

And I’m sorry devs, but death of the author and all that – you guys are completely backwards on this one. Solas isn’t a good guy who tells himself that he’s a villain to feel like he’s in control of the shitty outcomes of his choices. Solas is a villain who tells himself that there’s no other choice than to kill tens of thousands of people (or more) for the greater good. He is only ever merciful when the mercy costs him nothing. As soon as not killing someone gets in the way of his goals – well, he “has no other choice.”

And the “I had/have no other choice” thing also completely falls apart because Rook is out there taking care of business in a way that doesn’t, y’know, end civilization. If Rook and the rest of the Veilguard can kill a god mostly by hitting it a lot, then Solas could have done so too. And yeah, they were probably more powerful before thousands of years of imprisonment, but Solas probably would have been as well as would have his allies. The veil was clever, and Solas likes clever solutions, but this clever solution was definitely something he chose, and he can’t escape responsibility for the consequences by pretending he didn’t.

To be absolutely clear, Solas’s plan for the last decade has been to tear down the veil, a thing that he *knows* is going to result in the deaths of more than thousands of people, even after he makes plans to mitigate the damage. We know that when he raised the veil he destroyed a civilization, and we have no reason to believe that lowering it won’t destroy another civilization. A good person does not enact a plan that they have good reason to suspect will be civilization destroying. Enacting that plan and being a good person are mutually exclusive! Like, my dude, you cannot solve the fact that you destroyed a civilization by DESTROYING ANOTHER CIVILIZATION. It doesn’t solve the problem, and it makes things worse. You…you do get how that’s worse, right?

So, anyway, by the time I got out of the prison of regret I was already deeply annoyed with Solas, but the final battle just made things worse. Rook finds him and presses him about his plans for the veil and he says “I promise the veil won’t come down by my hand,” and it’s been two games and a decade of speculation and I am on to your shit. Solas’s MO is 100% saying things that are technically true to lead you to a false conclusion. “Won’t come down by my hand,” is different than just “won’t come down.” The latter means he won’t bring it down, the former just means that he’ll get someone else to do it – it won’t be *his* hand. He is a trickster god who is about to trick somebody and I am so done with his double talk. I heard that and literally responded out loud, “well now I’m definitely going to kill you, you fucking liar.”

And, of course, at the end of the game he shows up and tells you that by killing Elgar’nan *you’re* the one who brought down the veil. He’s kept his promise, it didn’t come down by his hand. You can’t be mad at him, he kept his word! And then you get a choice. If you’ve done the extra quest, you can talk him down. If you haven’t (or even if you have) you can trick him, or you can fight him. They all have roughly the same result, which is that the veil is now tied to Solas and Rook saves Thedas. And when I was looking up videos of the different endings, I noticed that they’re usually listed as talking to him as being the best option and fighting him being the worst. And I’m not sure I agree with that.

I mean, talking to him is definitely the best ending for *Solas*, especially if your inquisitor romanced him. Like, yeah, he’s trapped in the fade, but he likes the fade. He’s told that he doesn’t have to do all the horrible things he thinks he needs to do, he gets to feel like he has a choice, and if romanced, Lavellan goes with him so he gets a friend too. He gets to feel like the hero making a noble sacrifice for the good of the world.

But we’ve already established that I don’t think he’s a troubled hero. And I think that if you fight him or trick him, you gain additional insight into that. If you stab him, the last thing he yells before getting sucked into the fade is, “I am a god!” And if you trick him, he almost yells the same, but catches himself and says “I am a fool,” instead (“You are a mortal! And I am a fool,” makes no sense to contrast, but “I am a god,” sure does). And that’s not the sort of thing you shout if you don’t believe it. I cannot imagine myself shouting that in that sort of circumstance because I don’t think of myself as a god. But Solas clearly does. For all of the humility that he displays, Solas means Pride, and he is a prideful son of a bitch. That humility is an act. I think Solas even believes it himself, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. He’s just as egotistical as Elgar’nan, he just has different priorities.

I do think that it’s worth it to take a minute to compare Solas and Elgar’nan, because they are very similar in A LOT of ways. When you ask Solas about Elgar’nan, he says “He has always been what I most feared becoming. Callous and uncaring, his arrogance unchecked.” And like, sir. SIR. At the start of the game when Varric told you not to tear down the veil because people would die, your response was, “people are always dying, it is what they do.” How is that not callous? How is that not uncaring? You’re literally Pride! Your arrogance is practically a defining feature!

And their plans are also basically the same. They both want to restore things to the way they were before Solas made the veil. Elgar’nan wants his empire back with him ruling over it, and Solas essentially wants Elgarnan’s empire back but *without* Elgar’nan ruling over it. (side note: Corypheus’s plan in Inquisition also basically boils down to “I need to kill a bunch of people to restore my empire to its former glory.” Bioware needs to find a new villain motivation). And of them, I actually prefer Elgar’nan. Hear me out: the key difference is that Elgar’nan has a plan for how he’ll actually reshape the world once he’s done smashing the current one to pieces. Like, if all three of them desire a world where I’m dead, at least Elgar’nan has plans that are more detailed than 1) destroy everything, 2) ???, 3) profit! Glorious utopia. It’s deeply upsetting that Solas wants to destroy the world. It’s even more upsetting that he thinks destroying the world will somehow restore the last one he destroyed with no evidence of a plan on how to get there.

I think the devs were being a little too clever with the reversals in this game. You see Varric get stabbed in the chest, but then surprise! He’s not actually dead. But then surprise! Actually, he is. You start the game thinking Solas is going to be the main villain, but then surprise! He’s actually your ally against Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. And I think that like Varric, this gets flipped again, and that he is the main villain of the game. You don’t have to fight him, but when all the other enemies are dispatched he’s still a threat, and the decisions you make with him are the ones that feel like they might be impactful to a future game (if any other games get made, which is unfortunately looking unlikely right now).

But that feels weird because of the way the game pushes for you to redeem Solas. Dragon Age is certainly a series where you have the option to redeem people, but never the primary antagonist. You can’t redeem Corypheus, or Meredith, or the Archdemon. And while you could argue that Elgar’nan is the primary antagonist in this game, resolving Solas trying to tear down the veil after killing the primary antagonist doesn’t feel right from a structural perspective. You can’t just yadda yadda yadda resolving a world ending threat into the falling action, especially when it’s definitely the emotional climax of the game.

So the game ends with this situation where it’s pushing you to redeem what feels like the primary antagonist. The guy who has been using you as a tool, who sees you as inferior, who constantly excuses his own bad behavior, even when that behavior is destroying a civilization. And in writing all this I think I have a theory on why the game wants you to care for this asshole so much.

For a long time, the name of the game was Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, not Dragon Age: the Veilguard. And I think that’s because for a long time, Solas was the protagonist of this game. Not the PC, but the main character of the story. The game is about how he defeats his millennia old rival, and then (good ending) is redeemed by learning to not be like him or (medium ending) is tricked into saving the world, but realizes that it’s what’s right at the last minute or (bad ending) does not learn that lesson, but is forced to save the world anyway. It’s a story being told from the perspective of the tool he uses to do that, but it’s not the tool’s story.

And I’m glad that the devs decided to eventually shift the focus of the game to be more about the Veilguard, but the pro-Solas bias of the Dreadwolf version is still very present in the game. I just can’t see another reason why the game refuses to acknowledge that a guy with the same rough plan as Corypheus and Elgar’nan is also a villain, and instead insists that he’s just misguided! You can fix him! That’s not what’s going on here. He’s just using and abusing you. This relationship is toxic and you need to get out.

Anyway, all of this has been to say – Fuck Solas. He’s an excellent villain, and I enjoyed going up against him immensely, but I wish the game wasn’t so insistent on making excuses for him. I’m just glad that it still gives you the opportunity to punch him in the face and then stab him with his own knife. It’s what he deserves.

[sha-brytols]

1, 2, 18 for elnora?

Questions About Creating Your OCs

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

honestly all i knew was i wanted her to be a faithful inquisitor LOL. i was going through different romances and it was solas' turn. and i um.... really hate playing elves 😭 no huge reason i just generally don't like playing elves/humans in fantasy games (extraordinarily ironic. i know.) so when i had to do the racelocked elf route i tried to get a little more invested by going with the "nonsensical" choices and making a personality out of that. i remembered cassandra had that one line for elves that was like "is there no room for more gods in your life?" and that's kind of where my idea of a dalish elf with mixed beliefs sprouted. no i did not play jaws of hakkon yet i was actually so fucking mad when i got to that bro

way more fun than i expected and that run actually elevated the game from being my least favorite to a close tie with da2 LOL hence why she became my canon inquisitor

2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

no ❤️ she was birthed directly from my brain ❤️

18. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

it's been bothering me for ages that she's my only protagonist with no relation whatsoever to the other 3 so i was wracking my brain to make a connection to her and finally realized it would be incredibly funny if i made her fiona's niece.

[rainwolfheart]

Generated first names for Rook

I'm a huge nerd about naming customs, and I'm really intrigued by this name generator feature in the Veilguard character creator, so here's a compilation of the generated first names I've seen in videos so far.

Disclaimer that I can't guarantee that all of these were generated by the game rather than by the player, but in most videos you see the player replacing one of these with a name of their choice, so I figured it was a safe bet. Shoutout to Ghil Dirthalen on YouTube in particular for actually talking about the name generator and showing several generated names!

Burhan (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Esha (qunari, she/her, woman, Lords of Fortune, source)

Esha (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Filip (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Grier (elf, he/him, man, Shadow Dragons, source)

Jirell (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Kalais (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Lorant (dwarf, he/him, man, Veil Jumper, source)

Lorant (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Turvi (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

Veryl (qunari, she/her?, woman?, Lords of Fortune, source)

There's one more name I came across that seems likely to have been a player input, but that I can't verify:

Veil (elf, she/her, woman, Antivan Crows, source)

The namebank seems limited, as I saw a two names come up more than once: Esha and Lorant. While both Eshas were essentially the same build, both Lorants were quite different: a Veil Jumper dwarf man and a Lords of Fortune qunari who I guessed was a woman. That, plus the fact that it generated Filip (a name I would instinctively associate with a human male) for a (presumably female) qunari, leads me to believe there's a single namebank that doesn't take into account lineage, pronouns, gender, or faction. But who knows!

There also seems to be a name generator for Inquisitors, but I haven't seen anyone click that button yet, so the only name I've seen is the default female Lavellan name, Ellana (source). I wonder if the namebank will be the same as the one for Rooks, or will be separate?

Please let me know if you have more info on this, and I'll keep this post up to date!

Also, if you're also a name nerd, follow my new name blog @rains-onomatology

[theroguescientist]

Polish scientist watches Orb: Episode 15

This episode is made up of three parts. First, there's the guy who helped Jolenta. He only gets to be the main character for a few minutes (but I think he deserves to be called a main character, even if he lasts like 5 minutes in this role and I don't even know his name), but the scene is quite impactful.

"Love thy enemy" I actually applauded. Finally someone who's read the Bible and got the right message out of it! There is something powerful about turning the other cheek, even when they're both bruised already. Unfortunately, in this world, it just gets you another beating. But something tells me at least some of the people who witnessed this will remember it. Inspiration strikes again. Rest in peace, kid. You were right.

Then we finally get a Nowak and Jolenta episode. Sort of. Antoni tells him she's dead.

Nowak shows very little emotion while watching the body burn. Makes sense that he's the kind of guy who doesn't cry in public.

"I tried to oppose the decision" Oh, fuck you, asshole. It was your decision.

Also, what was that you said about the dangers of letting a possible heretic get away? Because you're letting her get away. And I hope she finds a way to make you regret it. She deserves it. As a treat.

Also, telling No.1 Dad you killed his beloved daughter seems pretty risky to me, but I'm afraid Antoni has a plan.

See, Nowak loves his daughter too much to try to catch her. Like, even if he became convinced that she's a dangerous heretic, he'd likely approach the task with even less enthusiasm than usual. But who can find her more easily than he?

And he's seen enough burnt corpses to notice that this one isn't even the right size to be her. He's gonna figure out she's alive sooner or later, and Antoni probably hopes he'll look for her, not as an inquisitor, but as a concerned parent. The gloves might even be useful, if he has a dog that can sniff her out. Is that it? Is that the plan?

(I could, of course, be totally wrong here, but please don't laugh at my dumb theories in the notes. I'm trying to avoid spoilers. I might make a separate post later to laugh at my own dumb theories.)

Ah. Now he's grieving.

And we get a little flashback to them being a cute little family (btw, I wonder if we're ever gonna find out what happened to Jolenta's mother).

Baby Jolenta is barely smaller than teen Jolenta, lol. She was still wearing the same gloves as a teenager. And they weren't that much too big when she was little.

A tiny kid talking about her dad "working for God" like she thinks God is his actual boss is weirdly adorable.

(The grammar in that letter is actually kind of awful, btw. Not that I would expect an author to learn a whole-ass language just to tell a story set in a particular country, and, of course, it's way better than my Japanese, but I thought I'd point it out anyway. Baby Jolenta's handwriting, however, is way better than mine ever was.)

I understand why she doesn't want to risk it, but it would be funny if Jolenta just ran back home after escaping from the inquisition HQ. If her father was there mourning her death, and suddenly she comes in. Could it end in disaster? Probably. It would be funny for 5 seconds and then hit me right in the feels, I'm sure. But that's not what happens. When will actually they see each other again? Knowing this show, when one of them is about to die for real.

And then we switch to Grabowski thinking about what happened to Badeni.

"Everything he did was suspiscious"

It's funny because it's true.

Ah, so the tip was about the book Grabowski found. At least he tried to decode it first. He wouldn't immediately freak out and alert the authorities just because he saw something written in a language he doesn't understand.

For some reason I'm reminded of that story about a guy doing math on a plane, causing the person next to him to freak out and accuse him of being a terrorist just because they couldn't understand what he was writing. I guess human nature doesn't change. If it's not heresy, it's something else. Some people will always fear anything they don't understand.

I'm not too surprised he did it. He's a decent guy, but he's also extremely normal. As long as he doesn't see a huge obvious reason not to, he just does what he's told.

And this guy is our last hope. He does feel bad about what he's done, but he's also afraid of heretics (Even ones he was sort-of friends with?)

Badeni asking Grabowski to educate the beggars? Even after death, he keeps getting more character development!

The beggar is wearing a hat inside a church. This is probably not actually a crime, even in this world which is absurdly strict about religious stuff, but Grabowski should immediately suspect that he has a reason to cover his head.

Well, what are you gonna do now, Grabowski? You can't report this. These are innocent people who can't even read what's written on their heads. And you can't ignore it either.

[themildmahariel]

Rook Development Questions

Big shout out to @hedwigoprah for tagging me in Veryl's post! ❤️

Template here

How exactly did they get their nickname, and what do they think about it?

In the most boring fashion, Euzen got his nickname because he was a rookie warden. Rookie -> Rook. He thinks it suits him, but he would much prefer to be called by his real name. He chose the name Euzen for himself, so it's quite special to him.

How well-qualified for their new leadership position are they really?

Not at all qualified! He was a tailor until like 3 years ago, he doesn't know what he's doing! He's used to stabbing fabric, not people.

It was a really steep learning curve. But then again, Varric did say that he recruited Euzen because he's not what Solas would expect...

What's their opinion of the Inquisitor?

This is a complicated question. Euzen was actually my second playthrough, so for his path I rolled a non-canon Inquisitor who romanced Solas.

With that Inquisitor, he looked up to her because she was another Dalish who managed to get into a position of power - not something that happens for elves very often. He really respects her.

I'm not sure how he would react to my canon Inquisitor, Ronan Trevelyan. He'd probably just see him as yet another powerful human, like he's seen everywhere else. However, both Ronan and Euzen are characters that I've been developing in my head over the years for a novel that I may never write. So, in another life these two fall in love 🤗

What's other people's general impression of Rook? How does Rook come across in conversation?

He tends to fade into the background if he's in a group. For one-on-one conversations, he's a bit more reserved and quiet. Most people see him as mild mannered and polite.

But when he gets mad, he gets LOUD. He had quite the shouting match with Solas after his Fade Prison shenanigans.

Would they rather throw hands (or spells) or talk it out?

Talk! Euzen prefers to avoid violence at all costs.

Does Rook think the Veilguard can save the world?

Yes. If not them, then who? If they're the only ones fighting, then the only option is to succeed. To think otherwise is unbearable.

... okay, the rest of the team's not listening. Does Rook really think the Veilguard can save the world?

....He really fucking hopes so.

Do they expect to actually come out of the whole thing alive?

lol nope. He does everything in his power to ensure that the others will survive, but he takes this on as a suicide mission. He would have forced Davrin to stand down one way or the other when it comes time to kill Ghilan'nain's archdemon. However, when the moment comes, Euzen is too weakened by the blight in him and he collapses before he can do anything.

Killing Venatori, Antaam and random mercenaries - a particular pleasure, just part of the job, or something Rook loses sleep over?

He tries not to think about it. He probably needs loads of therapy after Veilguard though, poor thing.

How often does someone have to fish them out of a body of water?

In-game? All the time. Canon? Probably never, since he would be as far from the water as possible at all times.

Do they crash on Solas' ugly green couch or do they have a bed hidden somewhere?

That room is only for "talking" with Solas. Euzen has been known to nap in the library, in the kitchen, on the steps, on Emmrich's balcony, etc. His favourite place is Solas' study at the top of the tower, where that one cot can be found. The team freaked out the first time they couldn't find him, only for Assan to eventually sniff him out.

What do they think about their room at the Lighthouse?

As stated above, he only uses that room to talk with Solas. I think eventually Emmrich just shares his room with Euzen.

What does Rook put onto the grocery list in the dining hall?

Tea! And lots of veggies. I'd like to think that he becomes a vegetarian once he starts dating Emmrich, since he was practically one before they met.

How often do they actually get a decent night's sleep?

Never. He's a light sleeper and blight dreams constantly plague him. Then after Veilguard, I'd imagine whatever is creating the "new song" in the blight calls out to him as well. Not The Calling, but something's Not Right.

Out of the people they met during their adventure, whom do they like the most? (Challenge mode: companions don't count)

Vorgoth and Myrna. He thought he'd be super creeped out by all these necromancers, but it turns out that they're the exact type of people that he vibes with.

What's their favorite spot around the Lighthouse (and Crossroads)?

At the top of the Lighthouse tower. He feels safe up there.

How'd they deal with the fade prison?

Not very well. He still blames himself for everything that happened to the others, despite Fade-Varric's encouragement. Some days he's afraid that he never really left.

Is Rook quite as bad at jumping as the game implies, and if yes, why?

Yes. Because he was a tailor! He doesn't like physical activity lol.

What's their favorite outfit like?

His warden hoodie bc cosy.

What do they do when they have some downtime?

Repair the team's clothes. Sew for fun. Read. Pester Emmrich for magical training.

Biggest regret of all?

The deaths of Varric and Lace.

The absolute highlight of their adventure?

There's a few. Meeting Emmrich is number one. He's also proud that he was able to help Taash with their gender identity, knowing that he could perhaps ease their struggles by sharing his own experience and being a shoulder to lean on.

A place in Thedas they haven't seen yet, but would like to?

More of Nevarra. He's looking forward to moving there with Emmrich and having him share all his favourite spots with Euzen.

What's a lie Rook's told before, and why?

His family wasn't accepting of his gender when he tried coming out the first time, so he tried lying to himself and others that he was a girl until he joined the Wardens.

What do they do after the end of their adventure?

Probably join the Mourn Watch. I'm not sure how many years he would have left until The Calling or something else takes him out, but I think he'd be happy.

[celestialastronmy]

"Cullen Rutherford: Redemption Arc or PR Stunt?"

(Disclaimer I'm OK with Cullen. I just needed to slander him )

OH BOY, let me tell you about Cullen "I've Seen The Light" Rutherford, everyone's favorite problematic templar-turned-commander who somehow failed upward into one of the most powerful military positions in Thedas. Don't get me wrong—I GET why people love him. He's got that whole tortured golden boy thing going on, and his character design is basically "what if trauma was hot?" But let's talk about the MASSIVE narrative blindspot that is his redemption arc.

First of all, let's address the nug in the room: this man was literally part of a system that imprisoned and abused mages. And not just ANY part—he was actively complicit in Kirkwall, aka Magic Prison But Make It Worse™. Yes, he had his own trauma from the Ferelden Circle (which, valid), but using that trauma to justify participating in further oppression? That's gonna be a yikes from me, dawg.

But HERE'S where it gets really spicy: the way his redemption arc is structured is basically "Trauma Processing: The Ladies Edition." If you romance him? Congratulations! You're now his unofficial therapist AND girlfriend! The Inquisitor—particularly a female one(only elf or human bonus points if a mage)—becomes this weird combination of emotional support and validation dispenser. She has to carefully navigate his lyrium withdrawal, his past trauma, AND his current authority position, all while he... continues to be the commander of one of the most powerful military forces in Thedas? Make it make sense!

And can we talk about how his "redemption" never actually requires him to give up any real power? He goes from being a templar (power over mages) to being the commander of the Inquisition (power over... basically everyone). Where's the sacrifice? Where's the ACTUAL accountability? He gets to keep his sword and his status while everyone else does the emotional heavy lifting of helping him process his guilt. It's like he's playing redemption arc on easy mode with cheat codes enabled.

The writing treats his withdrawal from lyrium as this massive act of personal growth—and don't get me wrong, addiction recovery is HUGE. But it's wild how the narrative frames this personal health choice as somehow equivalent to addressing the systemic harm he participated in. It's giving "I stopped being actively terrible so now I'm automatically good" energy.

The most frustrating part? There's actually a really interesting story buried in here about power, accountability, and genuine redemption. But instead of diving deep into the messy reality of what it means to truly atone for participating in systemic oppression, we get... broody looks and chess metaphors. CHESS METAPHORS, people! Because apparently nothing says "I'm processing my role in magical fascism" like moving some pawns around.

Don't even get me STARTED on how the game treats his past actions as primarily a source of personal angst rather than, you know, actual harm that affected real people. His guilt becomes this weird form of character development currency that he gets to spend on being perceived as reformed without doing the actual work of material reparations.

Listen, I'm not saying Cullen is irredeemable. But his arc is basically "What if we took this man who participated in magical oppression and made him feel really bad about it... while still letting him keep all his institutional power and outsourcing all the emotional processing to the women around him?" It's the redemption arc equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg and calling it healing.

And yes, I know someone's going to come at me with "but he changed!" Did he though? Or did he just switch from enforcing one power structure to enforcing another, while looking very handsome and troubled about it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks less like actual redemption and more like a really well-marketed rebrand.

The worst part? This is a missed opportunity to tell a story about ACTUAL accountability and transformation. Instead, we got "Hot Guy Feels Bad: The Adventure." Don't get me wrong—I still end up slightly tolerating him in every playthrough because the game basically requires it, but I'm not going to pretend this isn't some of the most privileged character development I've seen in modern gaming.

In conclusion: Cullen's redemption arc is basically what happens when you try to address systemic injustice with personal growth narratives and a really good haircut. It's giving "I've changed (but will face no real consequences and maintain all my institutional power while women do the emotional work of validating my growth)" realness. And that's the tea. Thank you for coming to my TED talk about problematic favs and the power structures they maintain.

(Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go replay Inquisition while aggressively side-eyeing every scene where someone has to process Cullen's feelings for him.)

[snapsnzips]

The end of an era, or a lifetime

The many flavors of grief and coping

Playing through Trespasser for the second time, talking with Leliana especially, where she talks about her memories from Origins and before, takes me all the way back too 2010 when I played Origins for the first time. She was beautiful in her baby-faced earnestness. I've loved having her in my DA:I life so much.

I know I still have Veilguard to play through, but, as of this writing, the Veilguard/Bioware team is disbanded, mostly fired. There won’t be any more Dragon Age and I grieve. It’s strange because I didn’t think at all about Dragon Age for 10 years or more except in nostalgic terms. But I’ve rediscovered my love for the lore and stories of Thedas and I grieve that just as I rediscover it, it’s ending.

I'm still processing my grief and other emotions from playing through Inquisition in December and those feelings are all jumbled up with these feelings.

I played through Inquisition 4 times in a row and it's still what I want to do at night when my brain is too tired to do anything else. I open up the game and walk around Thedas with my friends. I know it's time to move on and let them rest but it's really hard to give them up.

This last fall/winter I did this:

Did a thorough playthrough of Origins and realized I still remembered everything, even dialogue responses.

Did a half assed playthrough of Awakening because I wanted the blood magic tome to do another playthrough as a blood mage in Origins

Started a playthrough of blood mage origins and got bored, moved on to my first ever playthrough of DA2

Made it halfway through DA2, realized I had some wrong outcomes from my origins import and became increasingly anxious because I hadn't paid as much attention as I should have in Awakening (Anders...) and also Nathaniel died because I guess he didn't have enough gear in end game.

Restarted Origins for a meticulous playthrough of Origins and Awakening. Both for the lore and to get the Nathaniel quest. If I knew what I know today, I'd have put Anora on the throne and kept Alistair for myself so I could see him more in DA2. Alas, I can't live through another playthrough (although I set it up like that in my Dragon Age Keep for import into DAI for maximum heartbreak).

Restarted DA2 for a full playthrough, had my heart broken by Anders

Started Inquisition, hated it, went back to DA2 some.

Replayed DA2 a few weeks later when it went on sale on Steam and I could play the DLC (I was playing on my original pre-order disc from 10 years ago).

Went back to DA:I, modded most of my issues away, started playing it and eventually fell in love with it. The Dawn Will Come will always be a truly iconic moment for me. Eventually had my beating heart ripped out of my chest by my romance choice, skipped the other DLC because I needed to play Trespasser instantly for my mental health.

Instantly started a new game so I could get the romance Cullen and I both deserved

Played a third time as a human woman for something different, because I wanted to experience the Iron Bull romance.

Started a 4th playthrough as my canon elf to do a completionist run (I'm 67/69 achievements now too) and start recording footage for therapeutic video making

I actually just finished an EM/Dorian romance playthrough, with just bare minimum power so I could see that story as well.

Dance with Dorian mod. Worth it.

I'm still working on footage for some music video ideas I have and it's really hard to let this game and these characters go. I spent this weekend researching and modding ME1 Legendary because I've never played that story. I'm not sure I'm ready to make new friends yet. But I feel like I need to try.

I'm avoiding Veilguard because I don't think I can care about a new player character. I only care about closure for my Inky. Until I can care about this Rook person and their friendships and connections, I will wait. Surely the emotional hold my inquisitor has over me will fade with time. Won't it?

[apothe-cary]

So I have had this thought in my mind as I am replaying all the games again. I am someone who started with veilguard and worked backwards so do forgive me if I don’t get all the lore I’m still learnin and since BioWare probably won’t give us another ima do this. I really really wish I was able to play as a character that has a buddy. Like Justice or Spite or even play as a creature like Cole who gradually becames more human or spirit. Can you tell I also loved the head canon of rook being a spirit >.>

Please forgive my English! Not my first language so I hope it all makes sense!

Main Character & Backstory:

My idea for this is MC (Might turn into a story later honestly maybe even an interactive one you guys can help me with) Is either from the fade or possessed by one. Cause I want a buddy to talk to to! They may not like me or they maybe do! I feel like we had a lot of protagonists, warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, And Rook all of them had their things ya know? I want this ones to be Either creature of the fade which woah crazy why would a fade creature save the world or a possession maybe from demon, spirit or even a god kinda like how mythal and Morrigan work. (Still just ideas flowing as they come in)

Companions:

I feel like it would be a cool narrative. And then thinking things like companions. Maybe there were non-romancable characters that you really wanted to romance. Or companions that didn’t get more love in other games. Who would you bring back? What new ones would you want to see?

Personally with the idea of it being a fade creature or possessed person (abomination) I’d probably want to bring back Cole as a mentor like what Varric was for rook in a sense? Would old protagonists come back? Their offspring’s?Feel like that makes sense for at least Cole to show up but you guys tell me who you’d want.

If I think of new companion idea I’ll either add to this post or make a new one depending if people actually want to hear it lol.

Locations:

Where would you guys want to go? What places would you want to expand on and explore more?

Honestly I’m a huge huge sucker for Treviso. It reminds me a lot of home so I’d Probably want more Antiva especially since at least at the end of my game they found liberation. I’d want to see what they do in the future with their freedom.

And as much as we get stuck in the fade, I just want to able to explore more of it. I feel like there’s just a lot more ground to cover in the fade. Idk I could be crazy for that thought. Again feel free to put in your two cents.

Villains:

Honestly I got nothing about who I’d cast as a villain here. Or what type of character I would create or if we turned another beloved character into a villain, honestly dunno dunno what they want.

Pets!

It was a crime to not give Rook a cat or dog in Veilguard. Because inquisitor literally had a horse, Hawke had a dog, and So did the warden. Sorry but my baby here gets a cat. I’m giving this child a cat or maybe you’re able to choose. Cat, dog bird, griffon? Take it here.

End Credits

Anyway, this was just an idea I have no idea if I’ll make it into a story or if people are actually interested in it I’ll turn it into something interactive that all my buddies and you, if you’re interested too. Like a story board and that the end of the post there’s a poll for what choice we should make idk. It’s just kinda an idea I had and wanted to share. Thought it would be fun to share.

Also big shout out to everyone who’s interacted with me. I appreciate the follows. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences in this community especially for being very new to it. I’ve got more recognition that I ever thought I would and that makes me incredibly happy. I’m super grateful. Thank you and please have a wonderful day.