#or. it technically is but it's a completely different story

[jam-does-audio]

You know what I'm doing it

My fav example of this:

Game (soon to be named 1)

Game 1 (expansion + prequel)

Game + lore game mode

Game 2

Game 2: Expanded

Revisit of concept of Game 1: Lore game mode

Game 3

Game 3: a completely different semi related game

Game New (this is still game 3)

Game the Last End (still game 3)

Game lore story mode (directly from 1 but it's technically game 3)

Game 3 revisit game 1 in a new way (no lore)

Game 4

Game 4 subtitle

Game V

Game V but its actually Game 4 + Game 4 subtitle sequel

Game 6: subtitle

one of my least favorite game naming schemes:

Game (2018)

Game: Subtitle (2021)

Game 2 (2025)

DON'T NAME YOUR THIRD FUCKING GAME IN A SERIES "GAME 2" YOU FUCKERS. THAT'S NOT WHAT 2 MEANS

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

i cant really tell if yuu's involvement in ace's character is more for fanservice reasons or because they really did play a part in his character development.

like in nbc we have malleus choosing to focus on finishing the task at hand as quickly as possible so that they can then find the prefect rather than drop everything there at that moment and prioritizing finding yuu. (iirc) and compared to that we have ace who does put a lot of emphasis on finding yuu especially when no one seems to remember it during the halloween event it feels very traditionally fanservice-y ? and i cant really tell where the line is drawn for ace anymore. and you did mention a lot of other points in another post that you made esp with ace's dream recently dropping and the fact that hes the only guy whos dream yuu was actively involved in idk its a little confusing for me i hope im making sense TT no shade to the shippers im just a little slow in comprehending it all bvbvsjdj

your posts are always really neutral and accurate it just helps to clear up a lot of my confusions and questions i have when playing so thank you for your hard work!

[Referencing this post; you might also find this related post useful in the discussion of Ace and Yuu's relationship!]

DISCLAIMER: I do not mean to invalidate or detract from Ace x Yuu or Malleus x Yuu shippers or anyone who may interpret their relationship as romantic. You should ship what you like and have fun doing it. My reply aims to be more objective, but that should NOT impede on your enjoyment or whatever it is you choose to ship.

iufipaerasfeao Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you find my posts helpful. I try my best to be objective when it comes to analyzing the story and characters, but there's no true way for someone to be completely neutral. There are definitely times when I have an aside to insert my two cents on a situation or I get super heated about a particular topic. Hopefully I still leave enough space for everyone to come to their own conclusions.

I think it's both fanservice and because Yuu actually plays a big part in Ace's character development? Like, it's technically fanservice but it does not feel egregious because it fits Ace’s teasing nature and Ace's bond with Yuu has been established from the start. He was the first student we met at NRC and we spend so much time with him since then; there's no way Yuu wouldn't have had an impact on him, especially when book 7 is now paralleling the two as people with insecurities about being weak/unable to do anything + not contributing enough and Yuu encouraging him when he finally gets his UM.

I commonly see people joking about Malleus having "missed the meeting about Twst not being a dating sim" and holding him up as "the main love interest". (And to be clear, Twst isn't a dating sim, nor do all Twst fans see the characters romantically; I am only speaking about this in a romantic lens in the context of this post.) However, I think there's a very strong case to be made for Ace as well. The thing is, I also feel that Malleus and Ace fundamentally appeal to two different groups of yumejoshi. Malleus is the tall, dark, and mysterious type you can "fix", the type of guy that would burn the world down for you. Ace is the teasing and approachable boy-next-door that has your back and supports you even when the entire world is against you. This is also evident in the ways they're set up in the main story; Malleus is introduced in a way that encourages much more "filling in of the gaps" due to how little he actually shows up in front of Yuu in the main story. It gives the player a lot of space to imagine what their relationship with him is like because there isn't a ton of interactions in canon to go off of. Meanwhile, Ace has many more canonized interactions with Yuu (eating lunch, doing homework, watching movies, playing video games, etc.), so the effort of thinking about what they actually do over the course of their relationship is already done for you. There is an established friendship and connection with Ace, but you barely see Malleus enough to truly have a strong impact on him or to change him. Does that make sense?

IADUPADF9A9FSBdb I do find it sort of funny that Malleus is basically like, "Oh, something unexpected happened (ie Yuu is missing). We'd better solve this." Not really showing much emotion about them being gone in Nightmare. (Malleus only gets annoyed when Leona begins to take charge; he is not mad at the fact that Yuu is gone.) Meanwhile Yuu is missing in Endless Halloween Night and Ace is the FIRST person to excuse himself to check Ramshackle for them.

If you consult the fandom and the fandom alone, you'd think the situation would be reversed. Edit: Malleus does have his moments of intimacy with Yuu (which I won’t be getting into here because then I fear this post would veer into shipping wars), but the English speaking Twst fandom has a VERY strong bias for Malleus x Yuu. Because of that, there is a tendency to misinterpret or misattribute every little thing that Malleus says and does to support the idea that "Yuu is his most important person". (For example, even though Malleus provides no reaction at all when Skully kisses the back of Yuu's hand, many Malleus fans claimed that he would be very jealous or would harm Skully for doing such a thing. In another Halloween event, Glorious Masquerade, people believed he was angry at Rollo for harming Yuu even though this was not the case; the event states that he was mad because the invitation he had been extended was a fake one.)

It is because of thinking like this that a lot of English speakers genuinely believed Malleus would OB in book 7 in a desperate attempt to prevent Yuu from returning to their original world. Misinterpretations, headcanons, misattributions, and personal projections were conflated with canon, leading to many people to believe that Malleus was closer with Yuu than they actually are. Instead, Malleus ended up OBing because he feared Lilia leaving and he barely even considers Yuu after he OBs. And, ironically, Ace is the character whose dream prominently features Yuu and a scenario in which Yuu doesn't have to leave them forever. It was always Ace that we had a strong relationship with, not Malleus.

Ace is often overlooked even though he has far more canon interactions with Yuu in the main story. I think this could maybe to chalked up to a combination of him being "boring" compared to the literal DARK FAE OP CROWN PRINCE M. Draconia over there and the fact that so many of those "gaps" are already filled by the main story. There's less room for imagination because the game has already defined what Ace and Yuu's relationship entails. Malleus is just so much more appealing when it comes to intrigue and mysteriousness. When you look at it objectively though... Yuu only meets Malleus face-to-face like 5-6 times for brief conversations. (Edit: I’m not counting voice lines because those are arguably directed at the player, not Yuu, to endear the character to you and/or all characters get similar voice line fanservice. The canonicity is questionable since the same familiarity in voice lines is not carried over to the main story.) 5-6 times… That's not nearly long enough to make a huge impact or change in his life (unless you as the player extrapolate and imagine more Malleus and Yuu interactions outside of the ones we see in the main story). At best, I think you could say Malleus is glad he can have a special little friend who doesn't know of his name and status? He doesn't really change because of that relationship though. Malleus doesn't even show up until book 2. But Ace has literally been there since the beginning, canonically spends tons of his free time with Yuu, and has been through several near-life experiences with them (several OBs). He has the chance to bond with Yuu. Malleus does not. (He has given Yuu advice once, sent them a card once, and reassembled a stage for them once; all other interactions in the main story are short talks.)

It makes a lot of sense that Ace would be the one "touched" by Yuu's influence, whether you see it as romantic or platonic. Both he and Malleus (and all the other characters, really) get their moments of fanservice--but very few characters' development is directly impacted by Yuu's presence. Yuu might be there for most of the main story, but they actually get only a few moments to engage with the other boys in the cast to the point of actually changing them. It feels like the changes that occur are more often the result of the other boys (Trey standing up to Riddle and holding his hand afterwards, Epel and Deuce bonding on the beach, the twins telling Azul he's lame but also being the first to check up on him following the OB, Idia finalizing his farewells with Ortho, etc.) Ace just so happens to be an exception to that, as Yuu very clearly plays a big role in his development.

[humanityinahandbag]

I've explored the idea of Eddie being married to Steve without knowing it before in a story before (you can read it here), but in that one, Eddie and Steve have been together for years and Eddie is just so completely blinded by pining that he doesn't know how serious the relationship is.

So now I'd like to put forth a different take on this trope for the steddie court's approval.

Steve, who is so incensed by homophobia for his best friend, Robin, that he decides to protest against Reagan by getting married to Eddie.

The only issue? Eddie has zero clue.

Steve got certified in the mail to be an officiant. Claudia works at city hall and isn't sure why Steve wanted a marriage license, but figured he'd helped Dustin so many times that she could help out with one little favor. And Steve figures that customers in Family Video, while not totally aware, count as witnesses.

So he picks a morning where the sun is shining in an especially Fuck Reagan sort of way, gets dressed in his best polo shirt and jeans, styles his hair, and goes to work.

To be clear; Steve does not think that this is legally binding.

He's thinking that this will be a fun sort of protest souvenir to show Robin. Like "Hey, bestie, soulmate, light of my life! Tack this on the wall! I'm technically gay married to my other best friend, so fuck the haters!"

And to also be clear; he knows Eddie is gay as well. No one told him. But he sees the way Eddie looks at him. He knows Eddie's got a crush (though he doesn't know that said crush has been around since reign as King Steve). Steve knows Love.

He also knows that Eddie unlocked a whole world of bisexuality for him. In fact, he's been putting the moves on Eddie for weeks now.

Eddie is just... so shy and flustered and nervous.

Thankfully, Steve is great at romance. He can seduce. He can use the Harrington Techniques.

And he thinks that a fake marriage license might be just the ice breaker to show Eddie. Proof that he's not homophobic. So much so that he's into dudes. Maybe even get in a good laugh. Get Eddie to chill out and stop acting so skittish and just let Steve kiss him already.

(And maybe, yunno, let Steve do other things to him that probably involve candles and flowers and maybe some smooth jazz).

So to Steve, this is a two for one solution.

He gets to protest homophobia with a fake marriage license for his best friend Robin, and he gets to show the guy he likes (and who likes him back) that he's totally into him with a cute little down with Reagan ice breaker.

It's a win win for everyone.

So one day, when Eddie comes into Family Video, the poor metalhead very nearly dies on the spot when Steve, smile bright enough to light a room, pushes a paper towards him and asks him to sign.

And Eddie, lovestruck and beside himself, doesn't even register what Steve is saying. Steve is perfect and wonderful and funny and smart, and he's asking Eddie to sign something, and Eddie barely even looks down at the document before he's scribbling his name.

Steve does explain. Of course he does.

Eddie just... isn't really listening.

He does however listen when Steve asks Eddie out at the end of his shift and Steve gets to watch the other boy turn pink as a summer sky when he says yes.

And that's that.

Steve has a first date to look forward to and a fake marriage certificate to turn in. He gives the paper back to Claudia and asks if she can stamp it. Make it look real. He'll frame it when he gets it back.

The issue is, Claudia is really good at her job. And Hawkins is currently experiencing the aftermath of a Diet Apocalypse and doesn't notice the fine details of everything moving through their local government. So the paperwork processes; laws be damned.

It's definitely a fun surprise when Steve opens the mail one day (before he's even gotten to take Eddie out), and finds out that he's somehow, legally, the first gay marriage in Indiana. Or most of the United States, really.

Which is... definitely something.

But Steve loves Love. And so he processes the news pretty quick and then walks into work with the energy of an especially confused but cheerful golden retriever. "Hey, Robin!" he'd say, reading through the letter again. "You remember how I made that marriage license for you?"

She laughs fondly. "Yeah, dingus. It was sweet."

"Anything for you," he says, sincerely. And then; "You remember how I'm going to take Eddie out? And you agree? You think he likes me back?"

She snorts. "He's totally obsessed with you. I'm pretty sure we've skipped a few stages over like and moved right onto love."

Which is great. Because when Steve falls, he falls hard. He's a guy who loves Love. It's great to find someone who loves him back the way he wants!

"Awesome," beams Steve. "So do you think I should tell him we're actually legally married before or after I take him to the movies?"

[mer-acle]

Did some lore for Slipping Through my fingers, today, sacred animals and animal forms.

Most of the sacred animals (except Triton, Pallas, and Metis) are based on mythology, with the "default" animal forms being "what Tasha felt like or alternatively what exists in Greece". The idea is that all the first and second-gen gods can shift into any variant of their sacred animal, so Athena for example can shift into any kind of owl she wants, but the barn owl is her usual choice. (I know it should be a little owl, don't kill me I just love barn owls)

It is also still possible for them to shift into other animals as long as they know what it looks like, but it is frowned upon to appear as the animal of higher-ranking gods, for example the second generation Olympians would not shift into an eagle unless they really want trouble. They can technically "use" the Titans' sacred animals without repercussions but it's considered impolite and will def put you on their bad side. The first gen Olympians can literally do whatever they want, and if you know any stories of Zeus, you know he takes that very seriously (Hestia is less than amused about his bull shenanigans)

Before a god is born, their sacred animals will be drawn to the mother, and after they're born, their sacred animals will behave according to their relationships, Athena for example is liked by dogs when she encounters them, and Poseidon gets avoided by owls (not that he would notice he lives on sea). (thank you to @luskaandsissi for this idea) It's not quite Disney Princess level of being sought out by animals left and right because you're friends with a god, but it's quite obvious for domesticated animals, and every once in a while, a wild animal might show up too if you're in their habitat.

It's common for a young god to shift for the first time when they're the mortal equivalent of 5-8 years old (aging completely depends on the god in question. Hermes shifted into like three different animals on his first day alive.) The first time is more difficult because you have to visualize the animal and channel your divine energy correctly, the subsequent shifts are more like changing clothes.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to recover from the image of a fledgling owl nestled against a pallas kitten for the next 5-7 business days.

[cryptix23]

Excitedly seconding Mistholme, Mistholme is amazing, the anthology stuff ranges from fairytale to macabre and it's really well done. And the Tour Guide is really sweet. It's five seasons and complete.

I listen to a LOT of podcasts so here's some of my other favorites:

Observable Radio is incredibly well produced horror anthology: a guy stuck in an isolated radio tower while it slips between dimensions, picking up signals from dystopia after dystopia, each uniquely horrifying. First season is complete and tells a whole story, they're working on a second season but unclear what that story will be.

SCP: Find Us Alive is workplace comedy except the workplace is the SCP foundation and they're also stuck in a pocket dimension and everything sucks but they're figuring it out day by day. If you liked Wolf 359 it has that kinda vibe.

Overbrook is a surreal slice of life horror where two normal-ish young adults are stuck in a town full of nonsense, and one of them keeps dying to the nonsense and coming back. Very weird and enjoyable, sadly seems to be on hiatus.

Unwell is a very good gothic mystery with some horror elements, mostly about loss and grief through a supernatural lens. A woman comes home to help her semi-estranged mom run her boarding house and finds intrigue, some impossible architecture, weird charming men in the woods, and maybe ghosts? Complete.

Weeping Cedars is good modern urban horror, EXTREMELY slow burn but very cool presentation and a lot to dig into, if you can get into it. Technically complete but there's two or three spinoff/sequel podcasts.

Deca Tapes, Deviser, and Second Star to the Left are all shorter and finished, very different stories but all good. Deca Tapes: Dystopian sci fi, a group wake up in a facility with no names or memories and then one of them turns up murdered. Deviser: Existential horror with some serious gore, a guy wakes up in a broken spaceship and the AI tries to guide him through it. Second Star to the Left: bittersweet but hopeful sci fi, about a scout sent to check out a planet for colonization, and the 'minder' chatting through her radio.

White Vault is an incredibly atmospheric horror, I like the first two seasons best before it changes location but it's all very well done. A research group disappears without a trace, a second group is sent out after them, these are the logs of the second group as they try to figure out what happened while being snowed in and menaced by... something.

Mirrors starts as a supernatural mystery and turns into a dystopian time travel adventure, it's been a bit but I remember really liking it. Three women in three different time periods (60s, 2000s, and a nebulous future, iirc) all seem to experience the same haunting. Complete.

Among the Stars and Bones is a bit slow but I really love its sci fi archaeology mystery/adventure, I haven't listened to season 2 but season 1 is a complete story. A group of scientists explore an abandoned alien colony and try to figure out what happened to the inhabitants (and more about the aliens, because we've never found a live one). Then someone turns up dead.

I just started Midnight Burger but I'm definitely enjoying it, it's kind of a comedy but still grounded by the characters. It's about a diner that travels through space and time, landing in random places to open at 6 each day, probably because somebody there needs it.

There's a couple more I could pull up but I'll leave it there and hope you enjoy some of these!

I need a new podcast like I need air someone please save me I haven’t liked the last 10 I’ve tried to endear myself too

I’m genuinely open to anything I listen to a lot of folklore podcasts as well that aren’t fictional so sometimes they don’t scratch the itch

[cyranonic]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a Belated Review

Well, I finally finished playing Veilguard and I've got some thoughts. For context, I'm a big fan of the previous 3 Dragon Age games and of fantasy RPGs in general, so my review is very much informed by that. The TLDR is: Veilguard isn't the worst game ever, but I really did not like it and I feel like it exemplifies a lot of my problems with the modern media landscape. Full explanation below the cut:

There were definitely some things in Veilguard that I enjoyed. It looked nice; combat was intuitive and snappy; VAs did great work. But I am fundamentally more interested in story than technical stuff so I want to focus on that. Some individual story arcs were fun out of the context of the whole. A few of my favorite parts:

Assan!!! Cutest baby boy!! His bond with Davrin was probably the most emotional part of the whole game for me lol

Emmerich's personal quest overall was enjoyable in a zany, campy way. I adopted the skeleton. No regrets.

Solas memory quests! I liked how we kept seeing him sacrifice his own people for the greater good. Set up the theme of the story well and allowed for some good Dreadwolf tricks and gambits.

Bellara taking up the Varric mantle, except that she write romance serials made me laugh (no one tell Cassandra about this; she will lose her mind)

It was actually really sweet when Lucanis and Neve got together

However, even the things in the game that did work for me were all slightly tainted by some bigger overarching issues I have with the tone, lore, companions, and execution of the story overall.

Problem 1: Tone

A lot of other reviews have mentioned that the tone of Veilguard feels cartoony or simplistic, and I unfortunately agree. All of the dialogue has this slightly obnoxious, Marvel movie-esque, jokey tone to it. Serious moments are often undercut by Rook's quip-heavy responses and there is a lot of that irony-poisoned, insincere, self-awareness that would be great in a Deadpool movie, but not a Dragon Age game.

I'm not against humor in a Dragon Age game and, in fact, I love and cherish the comedic moments in the earlier games (purple Hawke forever haha). I think the difference is that earlier Dragon Age games took the story, world, and characters very seriously. The humor was the characters themselves being funny within that very serious world, not the whole tone of the game itself being light-hearted and wacky.

For example, let's examine Johanna Hezenkoss, the villain of Emmerich's quest. I overall enjoyed the quest a lot, but one cannot ignore how silly the tone of it is. Johanna is a necromancer who is now half-lich--the classic Dragon Age trope of a mage gone wrong. However, she is never really treated as a seriously disturbing threat or a genuinely tragic figure. She is basically a wacky mad scientist, complete with a funny crawling hand gag. It isn't bad writing, exactly. It did get some chuckles out of me. But it does exemplify the tone of the game overall--nothing feels like a big deal because it all seems vaguely silly and self-aware and on-the-nose.

In a less fun example, I am quite unhappy with the ways that this game tries to avoid dealing with the canonical racism and social inequity that previous games established. Like yes, we get some mentions that the Shadow Dragons work to free slaves in Tevinter, but no characters or quest lines ever really make the player confront that reality. It feels distant, impersonal, and stripped of complexity. I will readily acknowledge that Dragon Age hasn't always dealt with elf racism plotlines perfectly, but I respected them trying and messing up more than Veilguard just... not trying. For example, the animated show they made (Dragon Age: Absolution) dealt more maturely and interestingly with Tevinter's slave society than any part of Veilguard and I wish we had gotten more of that in a game that finally brings players into Tevinter as a main setting.

Problem 2: Lore

It would not be an exaggeration to say that a huge part of the appeal of Dragon Age as a game is simply the world that the writers created. Earlier games developed a Thedas that felt big and epic and complex. They created a setting that gave players a true fantasy experience, full of mysteries and unique societies and fun languages to learn and a rich history.

Veilguard feels very strangely uninterested in capturing that epic fantasy feeling. I cannot count the number of times that characters talked about concepts or used terms that sounded incredibly modern and bizarre given what we know about Thedas. In scenes with Morrigan, it was so obvious how older games were far more comfortable with characters sounding more archaic (dropping a 'tis on us occasionally).

Additionally, some aspects of lore were simply brushed over in very weird ways. For example, why did the Venatori so eagerly join up with elven gods, when in prior games they were, um... fairly anti-elf??? Also, why did everyone in Thedas apparently forget about the concept of Mage Circles? Did anyone give a single flying fuck about the Chantry in this game? Not particularly. Why won't anyone just call the Evanuris "the Evanuris"? Are you embarrassed by your own made-up words, game? Why does every character call them "the gods," even if they are not an elf??

One aspect of the game where Veilguard's disinterest in building its own lore really bothered me was with Taash's quest. Obviously, I have no issues with an non-binary character appearing in a fantasy setting. But the fact that Taash just kinda independently developed the term "non-binary" was very immersion-breaking to me. This might sound lame, but I want to learn some sort of cool fantasy term or an ancient pre-Qun concept of third genders or something. Just give me more fantasy stuff in my fantasy story please!!

Also, I know this controversial, but it also breaks my immersion that even playing as an NB character from Tevinter, no one ever brings up how canonically homophobic Tevinter is (thinking of Dorian and Krem here!) I think there is definitely a place for games that depict queer characters in fantasy settings being happy and accepted, but I don't think Dragon Age has ever been the franchise that people went to for comforting and hopeful visions of a fantasy society. Thedas has always been a dark, brutal, borderline dystopian world, but it still has the potential to tell queer-affirming stories about the struggle against oppression and living in defiance of your society. I wish Veilguard had done that.

Another part of the lore that felt very poorly done was the Titans. I loved the hints we had gotten in previous games through characters like Sandal and quests like The Descent DLC. But when the reveal happened in this game, all the characters kind just went "oh. huh. wild." Also I found the confrontation with, uh, evil red Harding to be very confusing and anti-climactic. The writing of the scene did not clearly telegraph what the red Harding thing even was? And then all of the rage of the Titans was very easily suppressed by Rook saying... "remember you are still you"??? Huge anticlimax that was poorly built-up and all the characters reacted to with little more than a shrug and a "dang, sucks for the Titans. I'd be pretty steamed too, I guess!" I want confrontations with the Titans to feel alien and epic and dangerous (and definitely not easily resolvable through a single dialogue option).

Problem 3: RPG elements

I feel like the developers of Veilgaurd did not want it to be an RPG and instead pushed the writers into created a more generic action/adventure game, but dang it!! I play Dragon Age because I like RPGs! I like to make choices that feel important and complicated! Veilguard gives the player a few significant choices, but I did not like them much and here is why:

Firstly, Minrathous vs. Treviso. This choice feels very forced. You have no real reason to pick one over the other unless you are planning to romance Lucanis or you are trying to role-play as a character from one of those cities. And you have no other options. I like RPG choices that either feel tactical or rooted in the lore of the world, and this is neither. The choice does not impact the game's outcome; no matter what option you choose, you can still ally with that faction and everyone will just kinda forgive you. From a role-play perspective, the game goes out of its way to reassure you that the city you Blight will eventually rebuild through grit and tenacity, etc.

Secondly, picking a character to die heroically. I hate this one because it feels like the game is trying to give you some "real consequences" and play into the larger theme of regret and leadership. But it once again, picking feels random! The game telegraphs very obviously that your choice will probably lead to this character dying or getting injured, so it isn't even shocking when it happens. And, yet again, everyone forgives Rook so quickly and immediately after the death. I actually liked the Bellara vs. Neve choice way more because I was surprised by the outcome, and that gave it more emotional weight. I thought it was just a random call; I didn't know one would be kidnapped!

Finally, the multiple endings. This was a choice that was not actually a choice. Getting the "true ending" was not based on decisions; it was just a check to see if you actually finished the game you just spent a bunch of money on. Like... yeah, obviously I finished all of the companion quests and faction quests?? I paid a lot of money to play this game so I did, in fact, play it.

For comparison, I thought a lot about BG3, which is another fantasy RPG that I played recently. That game allows you to make lots of choices that feel like part of the role-play and impact the ending of the game (is my Tav evil? Does my Tav want to rule the world with the Absolute's power or do they want to save it? Is my Tav willing to compromise with evil in order to make life easier?) Veilguard does not let you role-play much with Rook. You cannot create an evil Rook. You cannot play as a Rook who wants to tear down the Veil or side with the Evanuris. That's fine, I get that BG3 was a really hard game to make, but it makes Veilguard less of an RPG.

A closer comparison might be to look at a choice from a previous Dragon Age game. One decision that comes to mind was the choice between the Mages and the Templars in DAII. This isn't a particularly tactical choice (you still have to fight both bosses regardless) nor is it a choice that significantly changes the ending of the game. But it is a role-playing choice! By that point in the game, the player has gotten tons of information about the mage/templar conflict. They have seen multiple perspectives on the issue and seen the problems with both points of view. Therefore, the choice is fun because it feels like a declaration of belief. You, the player, are forced to pick which organization you see as less flawed or more ideologically valid, and by that point in the game, you care about that choice. Your companion characters are deeply invested in this conflict too, and so, if you care about them, then you care about the decision even when it doesn't change the ending.

With the choices in Veilguard, I was either not invested in the choice because the situation felt so arbitrary, or the choice was not really a role-play choice at all, but simply a sign of completing the game.

Problem 4: Companion Characters

Perhaps the most disappointing part of Veilguard to me is the characters, because I feel like they all had potential to be fascinating, but the writing played it way too safe.

A lot of the companions were strong concepts (a noir detective from Minrathous! an assassin possessed by a demon! a scholarly necromancer!) but I feel like their storylines never gave them much depth and often felt strangely unfinished. I think Lucanis and Harding suffered the most from being incredibly underwritten (Lucanis' Spite plotline feels like they just forgot to add another mission in?). Other characters had personal quests that were oddly paced (Bellara's brother is dead! Wait, no, he's alive. But we might have to kill him! Just kidding, we don't have to kill him. Oh no, he still died!) or with stakes that were not properly set-up (why does Neve care so much about a random templar guy who we never meet or learn anything about prior to her telling us that he died?)

Ultimately, I think the biggest issue I had with the companion characters is it felt like the writers never wanted to take any risks. There were no genuinely surprising twists like with Solas or Anders or Morrigan. There were no major RPG decisions like with Alistair or Isabella. There were no characters who were genuinely unlikable or flawed or at least morally ambiguous. I'm not insisting that companion characters all be dicks, but flawed characters feel more real, human, and therefore more empathetic to me. I love Cassandra because her faith and devotion to her cause does blind her to injustice. I love Fenris because his trauma has made him so defensive and prickly. I love Zevran because his survival strategies are horribly messed up.

I wish Veilguard had given us characters that felt more flawed. I wish they had been brave enough to show us companion characters acting terribly--lashing out in pain, or struggling with their core beliefs, or even fully betraying the party if their approval was low or the player made certain choices! Let me make Lucanis evil if I destroy Treviso! Let me see Neve genuinely go down a dark path and become the dark mage she has always fought against! Let me see Davrin truly asking himself if the Grey Wardens are a cause that he has the heart to fight for anymore!

In general, while it was cool to explore lots of different factions and parts of Thedas, the game never really put those perspectives into conversation. The threat of the Evanuris was meant to be so overwhelming and apocalyptic that in-fighting wouldn't really make sense. But I want in-fighting! I want the Veiljumpers to have serious issues with the Lord of Fortune surrounding ancient artifacts! I want the Grey Wardens to distrust the Antivan Crows because they are criminals. I want the Mournwatch and the Shadow Dragons to debate about what types of magic should be forbidden. Let things be complicated!

Veilguard, I beg you, let situations be emotionally difficult. Allow the player to be uncomfortable at times. Trust that the story will be better if the characters do not constantly announce to the player how they ought to feel and what is the Right and Correct Perspective.

Problem 5: Theme

This last point is less of a criticism and more of a diagnosis of sorts. Veilguard clearly has a theme relating to regret and how leaders are forced to bear the burden of regret for their decisions. Overall, I think the theme was pretty solid and I actually really liked most of the parts about Solas and Rook, their bond, and the Varric twist. No complaints there (although a symptom of a larger disease that Solas and Varric, characters from prior games, were my favorite parts of this game).

However, I think the rest of the game would have been so much stronger if the writers are really honed in on this theme in the side-quests and companion quests. In general, a lot of Veilguard felt slightly directionless and lacking cohesion. If other story arcs and faction quests had also shown the player different examples of "regret as a prison," that could have been a cool way to make those parts of the story feel more meaningful.

But even if the theme were more fully explored in companion quests and side quests, I still think that the game needs more focus in order to tell an effective story. Honestly, if I were writing the game, I would have limited the setting to Tevinter and the conflict to the issue between Rook and Solas. The Evanuris are fine villains, but immediately making the stakes so massive and global makes the story kinda scattered. I would have waited until the endgame to let them out.

If anyone ever wants to read by in-depth "how I would fix Veilgaurd" post, please let me know lol. I have many ideas.

Conclusions:

I don't want to jump on the Veilgaurd hate train too hard, because a lot of people have not been making their criticisms in good faith. But I do feel disappointed by this game, not just because I am a fan of the franchise, but because it feels like it plays into a bigger issue with narrative art today.

Veilguard fails because it feels deeply corporate, sanitized, insincere, and pathologically afraid of getting messy. Even if that means its lows are never that low, I would prefer it to swing hard and miss hard. I like art that actually has something to say other than "hello, here is more of the thing you like, please give us money." Some games are giving us these amazing stories, but not many of them are coming from big studios. I wish Dragon Age had gone in the direction of being a smaller, shittier, but infinitely more loved franchise. I wish the graphics still looked like ass, but I could fall in love with a mass of horrible polygons anyways because the writing was so compelling.

Instead, we got this glossy, over-worked, and pretty underwhelming game. Veilguard is a game for the modern era of soulless, irony-poisoned, pandering capitalists and I hate it, thanks. I hate it.

[ghost-doodles]

arcane!! on ice (characters)

if you have follow me then you know abt the au ive been writing so im also going to continue with some character ideas

also ive started working on some art for this damned au so I figure id start posting my thoughts with it

VIKTOR lastname (taking the place of victor in the au)

There are 2-2.5 years age difference between Viktor and Jayce 

Viktor has been one of the top figure skaters in the world and is Russias star

Is able to do 4 out of the 6th quads consistently (flip, lutz, toe loop, and salchow), however, until his injury he was working on obtaining the quad axel

has landed hus quad loop before but its not consitent enought that he doesnt usually put it in to his program 

He is well known for his quad lutz with difficult entry 

Along with his quad lutz is well known for scoring high in technical points and skating skills in PCS 

While not the best is considerably more flexible than the average male figure skater and tends to pull of moves not commonly seen in males figure skating

While his flexibility is hindered due to his conditions its more of the after affects which shows up rather than a lack of flexibility ability as a whole 

Came from a rough town and his talent was accidentally discovered by a smaller yet competitive coach (Singed)

Viktor has a malformed tendon in his leg which, while not impairing his skating greatly does tend to act up and often after a long comp requires him to take a few days off to rest (Tendonopathy) along with Femur Anteversion (more significant in his right leg)

Although it has corrected itself significantly (~90%) since his childhood at times he is a bit pigeon toed while walking and his knees are more susceptible to injuries 

Also has some chronic lower back pain which occasionally works up during competition

Has been battling asthma since he was little 

This man pretty much looked at what God gave him and said fuck you I’m going to do what I want to do

He has been at the top of the game since his senior debut when he was 15-16 and immediately took gold at the Russian nationals and bronze at the European championship 

took his first gold at the GPF when he was 18 and has essentially been winning since (or at least getting on the podium)

When he was younger and was better at staying out the the limelight, but was known to be highly ambitious and innovative with choreography but not much else given his want to remains introverted

At times not completely listening to his coach and straight up vanishing after a competition 

But as he started winning more of his personality was show with more interviews and seems to be fairly cold and not always the best socially (hes a little sassy) but despite this he is still known to be very kind and is generally well liked among skaters

can be a bit egotistical at times but its rare

The biggest thing with Viktor is actually a bit of an open secret

There are rumors that his training and how he chooses to take care of himself is rough at best if not abusive at worst and it seems that his coach only encourages it 

No one has gotten a straight story from either of them and he has never been caught doping or doing anything illegal either but a few of his rink mates have made concerning comments about some of the stuff Viktor is known to do 

But again nothing is concrete so there isn’t much people can do and once he became an adult people started caring a bit less

Owns a disabled cat that was gifted to him by singed when he was young 

Names it Rio 

for the actual plot links below and again im not a figure skater so forgive if I messed something up

Arcane!! on ice AU: p.t 1

[thatofabeavers]

Just watched Twisters-

and you instantly know who the love interest is when they look like Dean and survive a near miss with the protagonist xd

[papermonkeyism]

Oh, shoot, bedtime somehow sneaked upon me so this is all I had time to do, but I had to try and doodle Xaranthras next to his boss.

Still figuring out clothing, but specially how much of it Xaranthras should be wearing, considering his size (better at retaining heat), fur (same) and definetely not hominid anatomical features like proportions and the hump. Not gonna fit human collars on that neck.

Gotta continue this later, but I just had to doodle this out of my head.

[hoaxghost]

Happy to have posted that cause I can go into more depth about certain other demon-lore tidbits and the like! To expand upon the familial aspect:

Split demons often have complex relations when thinking about their Roots, this is strongest in 1st degree Splits while 3rd or 4th have a much more detached point of view. When Splits refer to their counterparts, they'll often use the term brother or sister but it's usually not intended in any gendered aspect.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

wanna ask how you feel about the eridan bpd headcanon/theory(?? not sure what to call it!) you're so good at your character analysis and i'd love to see your outlook on it

Since I don't have a degree or any formal training in psychology, I feel deeply uncomfortable diagnosing characters. I've made an autism joke before but only because I'm on the spectrum. He's definitely traumatized and anxious, but I mean those as descriptors of his behavior rather than capital-D Diagnoses. I try to focus on those when I can - the cause and effect of cognition, self-image, and behavior - and those factors may very well match up with DSM criteria, but I try not to touch an actual diagnosis with a ten foot pole unless the author has explicitly stated that X character has Y condition.

[wyfy-meltdown]

The fact that Mami is only 15 screws me up a little. She's barely older than Madoka and the rest of the girls and yet she forces herself into the "mature responsible caretaker" role. I get that magical girls don't live long, but I expected the 16-18 age range for her.

[dravidious]

Trauma Center GUILT Magic Cards

The little titles from the X missions made great epithets!

[pacificbirdnerd]

Runaways? Lovers? Two gryphons from a little story in the making hehe.

These two gryphons, just met days prior to this scene…. Now they appear to be to fleeing somewhere, as he is armed with a bow and arrows. He could also likely be escorting her home.

Would anyone be interested in reading a series of chapters if I actually wrote them and shared them here or on my Bluesky?

(Art and characters drawn, and imagined by me. The background is an image of the Bering strait)

I think I oughta just make a blog dedicated to my gryphon art lol, or just art in general…. :)

Also, I’m still figuring out names for these two….

[eternalnostos]

.

[asurrogateblog]

I still feel like we aren't paying enough attention to the fact that "in the flesh?" is just evil sgt. peppers