#pretty early game spoilers tbh but

[notsomeloncholy]

He's been through so much

[sarasa-cat]

Just to remind people who are avoiding spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard -- this article does indeed contain mild to medium spoilers for the first few hours of game play.

If you'd like to read the Game Informer article not via fuzzy screen caps, here is the [link] to read it digitally on the site.

[bombontheevilcat]

watching the tales of symphonia anime after my latest replay cuz I just ain't over it

so far I really enjoy it, it's quite rushed going from a 50+ hour game w/mutliple b-plots to a sanded down main story in just 11 eps (30 min ones so more like 16-ish eps for an average-length anime). There have been a few kinda drastic changes that have made me raise an eyebrow but not enough to have me make a double-take and raise 2 (or 3) (I keep a spare 4th one as well)

As animated fanservice tho I'm REALLY eatin' it up (like the 🤓kind, not the 😳type)

[lafaiette]

going from the detailed keep to just three decisions is such a drastic change, not to mention it says nothing about dao or da2? are those games just gonna have one default worldstate? i wonder how's that gonna work with varric literally being in the game is he just never gonna mention hawke?

Yes, I admit it bothers me, too - I hope it really was an early build used to avoid spoilers, and that more options will be available in the full game, but I doubt we will see choices from DA:O and DA2.

Iirc Epler said the focus will be on northern Thedas, and consequently choices from the two earlier games won't be addressed. I can understand this tbh - after all, I doubt Tevinter, Rivain, or the Veil Jumpers in Arlathan would discuss or even care about the ruler of far, rustic Ferelden.

Divine Victoria can simply be mentioned with her title, and since mages and magic are seen in a different way in northern Thedas compared to the south, it makes sense for them not to mention the fate of the Circles in Ferelden and Orlais. And considering there are two crazy elven "gods" wreaking havoc and corrupting the land, I doubt Rook, Antaam-occupied Antiva, and Weisshaupt have the time to pay attention to these "distant" things (even though I WAS expecting one of the available choices to be about the Wardens, since the Inquisitor can choose to exile them to Weisshaupt).

Speaking of Varric and Hawke, yeah, I have no idea how that will be addressed. Twelve years have passed since someone was left in the Fade, and it's pretty much confirmed that this person is dead and won't come back at this point, despite all the fans' funny pictures of Hawke coming out of a Fade rift we saw over the years. So, if Hawke was left in the Fade, Varric would have no reason to mention them, since they are long dead and there are much more "important" things to focus on at the moment.

If they're alive... we know that Hawke goes to Weisshaupt after the events of Inquisition, but again, many years have passed since then, so they probably went there to check, saw that things were weirdly quiet, and went back home, their mission concluded. No way they remained in the Anderfels for more than ten years - so even in this case, Varric would have little reason to mention them.

No matter how the devs try to spin this, it can't denied that the events of Veilguard wouldn't exist without Inquisition's. It's basically a direct sequel, even though Bioware is clearly doing their damnest to try and lure in new players unfamiliar with the series, doing everything they can not to scare them off with too many unfamiliar references and characters.

It stands to reason that the events of Inquisition are those that should majorly affect Veilguard's, but it's really odd how simply one (!) choice from the main game and two from its Trespasser DLC are offered.

The biggest concern is the Well of Sorrows - both Morrigan and the Inquisitor are in the game, so how is the game going to address that event? Will it be completely ignored, like a soft-reboot? Will they force Morrigan to be the canon choice no matter our world state?

Or maybe the Inquisitor won't have a very big role (and there's the problem of their personality, too, which wasn't a "fixed" one like Hawke's) or maybe there's something about the Inquisitor's character creator Bioware is hiding/didn't share on purpose to surprise the fans.

[imaginespazzi]

I've been letting your story marinate for a few days. Perfection as always.

I'm very interested in this timeline because Paige getting married after a year dating and Azzi being very pregnant got my braincells firing. And I wonder if one is an (in)direct result of the other. Sorry this is long but I had to write it out.

Feb 2033 - Present day, Stephie is 5. Paige and Azzi not really spoken in 8 years.

2030 - P and Olivia divorce.

September 2029 - Stephie about 18 months. Paige married. Found it interesting that Paige wears an engagement ring...

Jan/Feb 2028 - Stephie born.

December 2027 - Paige's wedding, very Azzi pregnant (the timeline is timelining for me around this). Paige and Olivia been dating 'barely a year.'

Early 2027ish - Azzi flies to Dallas sees Paige and Olivia together, leaves.

Late 2026 - P and Olivia start dating. Paige hid the relationship for the first few months.

May 2024 - End of school year, Paige going into her final season in 2024-2025, appears Azzi is planning on staying until 2026.

September 2017 - Baby Pazzi being adorkable

Other thoughts as I re-read hunting for clues.

I feel like when Azzi's not around and Stephie is over Katie and Tim talked about Paige, she seemed to know a lot about her beyond just seeing her play a handful of times.

The fracturing seemed to happen while still at UConn judging by comments by Jana/Ice. And it was clearly pretty bad from the way the UConn girlies still react to it.

As a side note I kinda don't blame Azzi for feeling so off kilter, Paige parachutes back into her life after barely speaking in a decade, and slides back into how she's so pretty and all this like she didn't have a whole ass WIFE in between. I'd also feel whiplash from it tbh.

Paige doing all those little things that aren't her for the wedding she so wants to love Olivia as much as Azzi but can't. Feels like a massive red flag to be thinking about the girl you wish you could have married on your wedding day.

8 years and it seems like Paige has no idea why Azzi said no?

Azzi feels so guilty but part of me thinks she had a reason that made sense at the time that Paige couldn't/wouldn't try to understand.

I have a partial theory but will save it so as not to put out any potential spoilers (not saying I'm super confident lol).

OMG babes you're pretty much spot on with your timelines. Here's my timeline (literally written on a sticky note on my laptop) for cross-reference (spoilers crossed out obvi)

Yes absolutely, Katie and Tim have definitely spoken about Paige in front of Stephie and especially since Stephie would be with them at Wings vs Valkyries games, they'd make sure she knew

Whiplash + residual guilt, like Azzi's definitely got some valid concerns at the moment

You know how Azzi has warning bells? Paige reeeeeally needs some of those or maybe she does have them, but when they were ringing like crazy on her wedding day, she did an incredible job of ignoring them

Paige and Azzi have had their moments over the course of 8 years but they've definitely never addressed anything they should...

OMG please send me your theory and add like a clue/emoji or something so I can confirm if you're close or not without posting it cause I really wanna hear it.

[brighter-by-the-daly]

Rachel Daly x Reader

Part Six: Dashed Hopes

AN: I know it’s been forever since I added to this series, tbh I thought part 5 would be the end but I kept writing for it and it’s been sitting in my drafts for ages. There’s another part after this but I just gotta figure out how to end it so idk when that will be coming (do we want them to get back together?), just wanted to get something out so I didn’t feel like I’d completely abandoned writing.

In America, off season starts a lot later than in Europe meaning all your friends from back home go off on holiday while you’re still playing competitive football. By the time it was your off season, your friends would be back to work and trying to squeeze in a vacation with them was pretty impossible. You loved visiting your parents and extended family but sometimes you wish you played in the WSL with them so you could have more time together other than international breaks. You weren’t even sure if you’d get called up again but knowing England are competing in America this break gave you a better shot seeing as you’re already here.

Since returning home to The Dash, Rachel had been hard at work trying to win you over again - staying up until the early hours in the morning to be able to call you, often paired with FaceTime. You rarely gave her the same luxury, you didn’t stay up at all hours of the night so you could speak to her and everything was on your terms; every Monday she asks when you’re available and makes sure she calls you in the allotted time frame you give her. It was obvious that she was doing everything within her power to get back with you, whether that meant long distance or you eventually going back home to England.

You looked forward to seeing your national teammates in a few weeks time when England compete in the She Believe’s Cup, it meant that for once, you wouldn’t be doing the 8 hour flight to base camp and they’d all be coming to you! Rachel had been talking about the camp nonstop and didn’t hide her excitement of being able to see you again. She was happy to take what she could get, be that as a friend or even if it just meant acquaintances, at least your were speaking again and that was enough for her. You couldn’t lie that you didn’t look forward to her evening phone calls and the attention she gave you made you feel good but you weren’t allowing her to consume your every thought like before. Propping the phone up on the kitchen counter as you cooked dinner her voice floated through the speaker from another continent, “I saw you got the call up!” she beamed, knowing your fears of Sarina forgetting you existed, “I told you after your World Cup performance, nobody could forget you!” You smiled into your saucepan of steaming pasta, pleased for yourself before sitting on the sofa to eat and stream Love Island. In America the series was being aired 2 weeks behind England and Rachel had avoided all spoilers to watch it with you, she’d often fall asleep half way through and you’d be lying if you didn’t think she looked adorable. Still, you were determined not to get sucked into the facade she played and as soon as her eyes closed you hit the red button. You hadn’t forgotten what she had done the year previous but your feelings towards her had certainly softened. 

Reaching the last few games of the season you were mostly packed and ready to fly to South Carolina for the tournament next month. Tying up your boots and trotting out for warm ups ready for your game against the Red Stars you noticed louder than usual cheering when shooting practice began. “Is today something special?” you asked Ebony as you lined up to take shots at goal, she didn’t say anything but subtly nodded upwards towards the East Stand. Looking towards the source of the noise you spotted a familiar face you’d been getting used to seeing through a 6inch screen. ‘What the fuck is she doing here?’ you thought, rolling your eyes at the sight of her hyping up the crowd from her seat. Standing in the middle of the pitch in your bright orange jersey with your hands placed on your hips and an unamused pout, you waited for her to notice you and when she did you pulled a gesture that can only be explained as “what the actual fuck?!” Rushing down the stairs in excitement you’d be cancelled in a second if anyone knew you hoped she’d trip and roll down to the bottom, chuckling to yourself at the thought. “If you wouldn’t come to me, I had to come to you didn’t I!” she shouted, her grin expanding as she neared closer to you. ‘That’s rich’, you thought! “Or an even better idea would have been to not leave in the first place” you said sarcastically, one of your eyebrows raising to display an unamused look that your ex knows all too well. “Hey, be nice. I thought you’d be pleased to see me!” she jeered, acting like she thought her appearance would be like something out of a rom-com. “Shocked more like! You’re wearing my shirt” you said, arms still folded as you spotted your number under the club badge. “Yeah! Bought it at the gift shop, they’re flying off the shelves!” bouncing around to do your signature celebration by pointing at your name on her back, you couldn’t remember the last time you’ve seen her with so much energy! Shaking your head in amusement it was time to go and get changed and as you jogged away she shouted out to you “good luck captain!” smiling and waving like a fan girl which was seriously giving you the ick. You turned and stared at her smugly while walking backwards towards the tunnel, “have you seen the league table lately? Don’t need your luck mate, we got this!” Running back up the stairs to her seat she placed herself next to your parents who had agreed to also be bought along for the journey. With everything going on you hadn’t spotted them - it was either that or the fact they were hiding behind their programs! 

If you had known your parents were in the crowd you would have celebrated your goal with them but instead you celebrated with the opposite stand, desperate not to give Rachel any more airtime than she probably already had. You tried not to pay any attention to where your ex was sitting the entire game but according to other players (particularly ones that were unfamiliar with what happened between you) she was your biggest cheerleader, barely in her seat the entire game, shouting and cheering at every possibility. You pretended after the match that you hadn’t heard her but her strong northern accent boomed around the stadium; however distracting, you can’t deny that having someone from home in the stands pushed you on. 

Shaking hands and making your way around the field to thank both teams you finally looked up to see not only the blonde but... “Mum? Dad?” you screamed, shielding the sun out of your eyes long enough to see it was undeniably your parents. Launching yourself over the barrier faster than Usain Bolt you sprinted up the steps towards the back of the stands as your dad came bounding down towards you, scooping you into one of his giant bear hugs as you met in the middle. Your mum quickly wrapped her arms around you both to stop your dad from falling over from the shear force you threw yourself at him. Rachel watched everything unfold from afar, a tear rolling down her cheek knowing bringing them along had made you so happy. Surely you’d have to forgive her now, right?!

Rachel stayed until the end of the season, spending time getting to know each other again like it was the beginning. She came to every single one of your games and this time, it was her wearing your name on her back. For so many years it was the other way around when you didn’t play on the same team; you’d go to watch her but Rachel being in a higher league barely had time to show up to your games. Your walls may have been broken down easily but the team certainly hadn’t forgotten what she did to you and how they had to rebuild you after she left. It was extremely messy, it wasn’t a secret that you two were dating and the fans very quickly realised the 6 year relationship was over when Rach abruptly announced her departure from The Dash. Conspiracies and rumours flew around the internet for months trying to guess what had happened and who was the victim - Rach being the bigger name tended to get the most sympathy. You know you shouldn’t have read the comments online but you couldn’t help yourself and it nearly drowned you, if it wasn’t for your teammates you never would have made it out the other side. Now club captain, you had made your own name for yourself, no longer riding off the back of Rachel’s multi continental fame. You are (y/f/n) - striker, captain and leader. You are so much more than Rachel Daly’s ex girlfriend. 

Since her return, the rumours had started spiralling again – ‘had they broken up?’, ‘are they back together?’, ‘is Rachel trying to take her back to England?’ – it was relentless! On the last game of the season, Rachel was invited to make a speech at half time, stating how proud of the team she was and how Houston still feels like home to her. She donned a specially made jersey and given a commemorative photo album to take home with her. You couldn’t stand it and waited in the changing room until she’d dispersed back to the stand. She did do a lot for the team when she was here but it’s your turn now, you’re sick of still being in her shadow even when she doesn’t play here anymore! The back stabby feeling stuck around for a while, bitter that the fans and club still loved her, she even handed out the medals for winning the league! Having to stand there and shake her hand, accepting the trophy from her to take to the rest of the team made you want to drop it onto her foot but you saved face and smiled politely when inside you were dying. Just when you think she’s doing everything right lately, she does everything wrong… again!

Celebrating in the changing room you’d had a little too much to drink when she burst in, keen to join in the party. ‘Oh no fucking way’ you muttered under your breath, slamming your bottle down on the table a little to hard and pushing her right back out of the door she’d just entered from. “This isn’t your party, why are you here?” you slurred, becoming a little braver with your words now your body was filled with alcohol. “I just thought-” she started before you cut her off, “no, you didn’t think! This is my first win as captain and you’re here to take over!” your voice becoming louder and louder, earning you a few stares from passing staff. Even after everything that happened, you couldn’t believe that the club had asked her to be such a huge part of todays celebrations, everyone knows what she did and half of them helped her do it. They watched you for months trying to become yourself again after the worst heartbreak you had ever endured and still thought making it all about her was a good idea! “Just leave, I want to celebrate with my friends” you ended your rant, exhausted with still having to fight with her. “Okay” she nodded solemnly, “have a good night” her head bowed as her feet swivelled and she walked off. “Right!” bursting back into the changing room, “let’s get this party started!!!” 

[rindragon-from-twewy]

Uh oh! Someone left me alone with my thoughts again! I don't see many people talking too deeply about pre-game stuff beyond "Number One was a terrible person" so I'm here to throw my own poorly explained hot take in to the ring-

I'm not really built for theory crafting and tend to miss or forget obvious details so consider this... an AU proposal more then anything. (Tbh I mostly just wanted to draw smol Yuma lmao-)

Spoiler warning ofc and enjoy this horrifically long and poorly explained ramble-

So... I don't really know much about the general fandom age headcannons on characters. I won't be going in to specifics right now about what I think all the character ages are cuz this isn't about that but for context, I pin Yuma around 15-16, on the early 18 side if you really wanna push it. Mainly cuz... it'd be kinda weird for Kurumi (a school student) to be one of his main love interests otherwise- For the sake of argument, I'll say 18.

So anyways-

Makoto's like... what? 3 or 4 years old? Forgive me for not re-watching chapter 5 just to get my timeline correct here but that's roughly right. Meaning that Number One would've been about 13 or 14 when he agreed to participate in the experiments at most. And sure, he's the smartest person in the world but anyone can be susceptible to lies or manipulations, especially someone that young.

But then of course we don't know how long Yuma had the Number One title for. Surely it would've had to have been at least a little while- I doubt the unified government would go after the blood of the newly appointed "smartest detective in the world" the second he got in to office. So who's to say exactly how much this literal child had been manipulated beforehand?

I'm imagining a sort of... Nagisa plus Kirigiri scenario (the danganronpa characters lol-) where they'd been set on a very specific academic path nearly their whole lives. Sure, Yuma probably had been born a genius and his strong moral code was most likely all his own but... no matter what way you spin it, there must have been some negligence to allow someone so young to become so cut off from the rest of society. It could've been intentional, it could've been accidental. Either way, why is someone like Yuma, who is obviously younger then most of his peers, who could easily pass as a trainee detective simply because of how smol he is, make it all the way to the top on his sheer intelligence alone?

This rambling's getting incoherent, sorry, it's late and I'm tired-

Makoto's pretty manipulative, sure, but he only got to the CEO position cuz of all the blackmail he had- Man had zero control over the city to the point he had to let outsiders get smuggled in just to help him fix it. Makoto (and by extension Number One) is book smart. Not street smart. They can build the rain machine, they can run multiple government conspiracies, etc etc. But if Number One was a kid at the time, it would've been pretty difficult for them to manipulate, mansplain, malewife his way in to office imo. A kid can't manipulate a dozens of adults in to being the leader of the whole WDO, no matter how naturally gifted they are. I mean it's no secret that the unified government and by extension the WDO are just as shady as Amaterasu so why wouldn't they take advantage of a young and impressionable kid when the opportunity arises?

We don't really know how Number One truly felt about anything. We know how Makoto views it, we know what Yuma thinks about it but we don't know if Number One really understood what the repercussions of the experiments could've been.

So let me just... break down what I'd interpret a vague timeline of events to be (in this hypothetical... Uh... AU I guess?)

- Yuma gets in to the WDO somehow. Very young, very impressionable. He may be really good at solving crimes but like any kid, he doesn't know anything that he isn't taught about. Being surrounded by mysteries and crimes, all while constantly being praised by adults as being "just soooo smart!" Is probably what taught him that he didn't need other people and so never learnt (or potentially was never even allowed to) make friends.

- Growing up surrounded by a combination of Yes-Men and people who let the obvious child labour/ exploitation slide because "This little genius is such a special case, we gotta let it slide this once!" Made it so he reached to the level of Number One far faster then anyone would expect. And that then came along with abandoning his old name and identity, isolating himself completely for his own protection. (I like to think he may not even remember his original name because he was so young at the time (for extra angst ^vO))

- And so a completely isolated pre-teen, who's entire life up until this point has entirely consisted of gory murder scenes and tragic crimes he was personally responsible for solving, was approached by the unified government. Who knows exactly how much detail they went in to with explaining their plan? Maybe they said that it probably wouldn't even work out, given all the past failures. Maybe they came begging for his help, like many people seeking justice would have done before them. Maybe they simply told him it was for the sake of peace? Maybe he was in his angsty emo phase and thought having a clone would be cool, who really knows? A pre-teen is a pree-teen, they all do dumb things- either way, he agreed.

- And so things played out like they said in the game, Makoto was created, escaped, saved the citizens of Kanai Ward via isolating them. He keeps them fed the only way he knows how - through the WDO; the only organisation he's ever been able to rely on (and thanks to his authority level, of course). Yuma starts getting suspicious while also simultaneously maturing enough to realise just how wrong everything about his life is, gets his new identity, makes the contract with Shinigami and heads off to start fixing his problems.

Additional Thoughts:

It's like that thing in the original beauty and the beast movie where everyone suddenly realised that the witch probably cursed a 9 year old for not letting a creepy stranger in to his home-

Maybe that's why he stuck with the name Yuma after everything. Cuz he didn't remember his original name to fall back on. He could've been Number One for as long as he could remember for all we know!

Maybe he was so busy trying to run the whole WDO that he didn't even pay much mind to the experiments? Could've just agreed to shut them up without knowing what he was getting in to. Makoto really drove it in to the mud how horrible of a person Number One was but how can we be sure that's an objective fact and not completely opinion driven?

I'm like actually really curious what other's perspectives on this could be. Again, I don't know much about the rain code fandom's age headcannons but it's pretty obvious to me at least that Yuma's on the younger end of the cast- (And by extension, Makoto too-)

Maybe I'll fact check myself when I have the time- either way, it's an interesting AU idea at the very least. I'll probably delete the writing portion of this post if it turns out I'm horrendously wrong-

Its probably gunna turn out that Yuma's in his mid 30s or 40s and suffers from baby face syndrome or something cringe fail like that lmfao-

So. Yeah. That's all just a theory (minus most of the fact checking) A GAME THEORY- Thanks for reading! :D

[cirwedh]

Early Impressions Spoilers below the cut.

I am currently in the Crossroads for the first time (approx 8hrs total, slightly over 3 of those in CC).

The writing is a bit… Regressed. It’s very hand-holding, telling rather than showing, doesn’t let you draw your own conclusions really. I particularly dislike the way that companions make hard assumptions about other characters motivations and feelings. Speak for yourself, girlies.

Diversity win? The Veilguard is currently composed of women from each “lineage” in Thedas. And also [Spoilers] is here.

All the things I hate about the combat would be true in any action game (which is why I don’t play many).

I am playing on storyteller and could definitely go up a difficulty level or two, but also I don’t wanna. We’ll see if that changes.

Everything is running very smooth and very pretty on PS5!!!

The Evanuris are, like, borderline camp. Their voices, their dialogue… oof!

Elgarnan: Wahahaha, we’re so evil, sister. We must squash these meddling kids!

Ghil: And their dumb dog too!

I like the scene between Rook and Varric about taking over leadership, but Rook is right tbh… They kinda haven’t earned it. There’s no reason for everyone to be this chummy already.

Also, people keep telling Rook that she’s a loose cannon… I would love to know what about my choices is reinforcing that opinion bc, uhhh, I don’t see it. Like, yeah… sarcasm and a gun, but not much else.

Solas and his piano built for two 💀

[topbanana-art]

Finally making an OC info post- by no means is this all of them, just ones that are most active and/or live in my head rent free.

First up- Rhys (DnD 5e - Rime of the Frostmaiden)

20 years Old, Half Orc, Half Elf (sweet baby angel) , He/Him

Fighter- Echo Knight

Absolute Ray of Sunshine; Rhys is from Icewind Dale; more specifically the Nomadic Reghed Tribe of the Elk.

He's unfamiliar with the outside world and even includes settlements in his own country

He's a Himbo basically a big dog.

This campaign lead him to leaving his tribe for the first time after an unfortunate accident which turned him into a small 'painted child' and searching for his missing sister. (both these are sorted now!)

*Rhys found an old oil painting of this child, blacked out and next thing he knew he was that small elf child. Her skin and clothing having the texture of painted canvas, and bleeds paint.

For a good chunk of the campaign he was just a totally normal elf- whose shadow didn't match with the body

---

Dhalas (DnD 5e Annalor)

36 Years Old, They/Him, Triton

Drunken Master Monk

Chill surfer dude vibes

Part of a travelling circus, They're a balancing act

Extremely laid back, Dhalas talks like they fight- dancing around, seemingly without rhyme or reason and occasionally clumsy.

---

Foxglove (BG3)

138 Years old (tweaked her age a lil), She/They, Drow

Arcane Trickster Rogue

Guild Artisan Background- Locksmith & Apprentice Finesmith

Chill and sassy, that Tav who talks their way out of shit.

Skews Towards Chaotic Good

Presents Androgynous most of the time

Must lockpick everything- she's not actually super interested what's inside, she just wants to see the workmanship of the locks and trashtalk how bad they are.

Yeah she's smooching the vampire. (and Halsin)

Naturally cares for others, even at the cost of her own wellbeing.

Has a Phobia of anything touching/going near her eyes- so the start of the game is A Time for Fox.

---

Arslan Dhoro (FFXIV)

21 Years Old (as of ARR), He/Them

Xaela AuRa

Dragoon - White Mage Main (All healer classes tbh)

Stoic, Resting Angry Face Himbo

He struggles to show emotion but he's just pretty shy and cautious about opening up to others.

From the Azim Steppe, he left in his early teens with his father after the death of his mother, to explore the world beyond the Steppe.

His Father Died in his late teens, attacked in Coerthas thinking he and Arslan were Dravanians.

He's extremely soft and protective for the Scions/his friends

---

Shiv (DnD 5e Saltmarsh- campaign completed)

Awful, terrible lesbian

68 years old, She/Her, Halfling

Celestial Warlock - Unicorn Patron w/ a Baby Phoenix familiar, Toby

A piece of shit. Is an absolute asshole and wont let you know she cares.

Lowkey magical girl

Ex-smuggler, who's patron is literally 'I can fix her', 'she can be a better person'. Part of the 'Beyond Skeletons' Pirate crew, she's the medic of the crew.

---

Pymmyr Tathnel (DnD 5e)

Pym

85 Years Old, He/They, Drow

Gloomstalker Ranger

Emotional Support Blink Dog, Princess Liquorice

This boy is scared all the time

Doesn't talk much, but speaks in a soft voice

Has disordered 'Sleeping' and Eating :)

His plague mask has tinted lenses to help ease the strain with how bright the surface is

I wont tell too much about them as a lot of their info is spoilers to other players. But this sad Drow just rocks up in my head on the regular.

---

Erebus (Anima Beyond Fantasy)

AKA- My first TTRPG character! circa 2011-2 I think???

Real name Sho Yoshimitsu

22 Years Old, He/Him

Duk'Zarist Nephilim

Assassin

Textbook 'strong silent and intimidating hot man'

But basically a big soft boy if you break past the mile thick ice

Tragic backstory™ , used to using his body for the job

He really enjoys cooking!

Also hopelessly in love with a small soft summoner, Caelum (the one hugging him), They're RedxBlue gays

---

I think I'll leave it there for now!

I may add more later, I hope it was interesting?? and I'm still pretty shy with yelling this much about my characters haha.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! 💜

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

pentiment review & thoughts

so. i played pentiment. writing this while at my 4th play (with my first and third as same stats, different accusations). bookworm, hedonist, bookworm again, and now businessman. having a lot of fun so far.

was prompted bc 1) this game is a common rec for disco elysium players, 2) i got andreas maler in a blorbo uquiz, so of course i had to see what the fuss was about

spoilers, obviously:

prefacing first that. uh, i got into this game with relatively surface-level understanding of the late middle ages/early renaissance, and like very little of how this impacted germany. god bless the glossary. the only thing really guiding me was being catholic + my familiarity with benedictines (the people who ran the all-girls catholic school i studied in) so uh

given that, my 1st andreas had his wanderjahre in Italy, is a bookworm with skills towards Oratory and Logic, possessing a Master's in Theology. this will be about the first play

act i

what an introduction. i played off my andreas as an intellectual with a love for God but also a concern for people regardless of class, and i just went around being as respectful as possible. emphasis on "as possible," bc i can refuse to be a Lutheran and still criticize the abbey actually <- pissed off both gernot and rothvogel

the DRUCKERS! my best friends :)

spent much of my dinners with the farmer-peasants. had a meal with sebhat as well. tassing is so alive!!!

the implication that andreas fell asleep if you choose to watch matthieu and rüdeger go at it is very funny to me. monk sex is boring ig. also sorry zdena, im too worried about piero to fuck you right now

why did i think the baron was just an intellectual outcast. of course he's an asshole who abuses his power

THE KIDS! THEY ARE SO LOVELY!

none of these suspects feel like the murderers. tbh i probably should've settled on lucky bc he had the most damning evidence in retrospect. but ferenc just had more, and i was able to push him to the archdeacon

i am a coward and did not look at the execution

act ii

this Andreas just came from France!

"you are banned from the abbey, but i need you to come join me for dinner" okay father gernot???

the golden hand inn looks sooo pretty. surprised i could only make conversation with samuel until the troops were like, really close/the drinking quest

things got worse, a revolt is in formation. this was apparently a trend all over germany at the time, and not limited to tassing. weirdly familiar huh

when you want to escape from your problems via involving yourself from the problems others instead

caspar my boy! im glad to have known you

the Sommerfelds are so lovely

these aqueducts are so cool

it was so much easier to pick Guy, as far as the evidence i got on him is concerned. your embezzlement had an effect on the abbey's management of tassing, which is now biting all of you in the ass

i knew Lenhardt was an ass but i didnt think he'd go as far as to protect the accused

that ending holy shit

act iii

haha i opened tumblr before getting here and got spoiled about the mysterious guy following magdalene

my magdalene bg is Vitae Sanctorum, Bookkeeping, Haggle, & Volksbücher

Ötz you are adorable but you do not suit Magda at all

it does not help that the town ships the two

every single theme is coming together. the question... of history!

the letter writing being so prominent here is very felt

the familiar and unfamiliar are so clouded as time progresses, its insane

apparently ill peter can live *that* long

i learned the hard way after my first run that werner will be an outright asshole in act iii if andreas doesnt speak with him well via my second run; see, my major and only interaction with the guy in run 1 is during the drinks quest in act ii. the difference is stark

martha pfieffer i wish i got more time with you <- got her contemplating the monastic life in the 1st run only? i wonder what triggers this

fucked up that i couldnt send sister susanne out. i think i played my magda too nice with the nuns

snitched on the twins immediately whoops. this is fine, i can go down the mines myself

haha i thought baltas was an act iii-only character, i straight up didnt interact with him during act ii and probably forgot he spoke during the discovery of otto's body

the readying for christmas was sooo brain-sctatchy. seeing the direct effects of our choices in the previous acts, it's so!!!

gotta be real, i thought the discussions on historiography and historical revisionism were like, just there? i didn't think it would be the core of the problem but. of course it is. it makes me feel very stupid for not pointing at father thomas sooner

like, if you spend significant amounts of time with the guy enough, his distrust of collective lay men and assertion towards the authority of the church is like, very very obvious. you see it during the dinner with the baron. when he says the words that triggers peter into burning the abbey. when you talk about claus publishing the 12 articles and agreeing upon the suggestion of banning book reading. the story of how he and sister amalie escaped the fire from their old abbey. in my 3rd run, i got strong hints when i (andreas) decided to eat with the albans (fr. thomas is present in the meal), particularly when discussing the strictness of the abbot

also, notably, in my 3rd run, during the conversation with father thomas for the christian tassing quest, a Vitae Sanctorum Magdalene can ask about the veracity of the story regarding the marian apparition, our lady of the labyrinth. when father thomas asks why she's pondering on it, if Magda is also of Volksbücher bg, she can bring up comparisons to a story she read about a man who tricked a town into believing a head he possessed was a relic from a saint. Father Thomas will then outright ask whether Magdalene thinks that it is valid of the guy to lie about that. Whatever you make Magda respond, he clearly values it. that fucked me up upon discovery, especially since i chose not to question the story of the church in my first run. that's outright foreshadowing, especially since that conversation literally takes place inside said church

anyways, i considered for a moment as to how conscious Sister Amalie was about the notes she wrote. to my fury (against thomas) and relief (for her), she was very unaware. fucking hell, i love christian mystics, and i outright ignored the implications of father thomas as her interpreter

like, i knew such interpreters would twist the testimonies of mystics to assert the church's authority, but. i assumed that this, like the obvious real-time historical revisionism in-game, was just shit that happens. not the core. another blow to my observation skills, but what matters to me is that i figured it out eventually

i had an inkling claus would die but not like that D":

like. magda on christmas eve. dad's friend is back from the dead. the town priest has been responsible for the deaths of people who risked the secrets of the town. dad is dead. idk if the devs over there are interested in spin-offs, but the time between christmas 1543 and when magda leaves for prague should be known

the müller kids really take after their parents, and seeing them interact with old man maler really warmed my heart

ugh, what a lovely game. it deserves its praises

[arikad0]

I try not to speak about the LTD but it's been insane on Twitter ever since Rebirth came out so I am just gonna. quickly give my thoughts

(REBIRTH SPOILERS BELOW)

Cloud and Tifa almost kiss in Gongaga

Cloud and Tifa eventually kiss and confess to having feelings for each other

Sephiroth constantly gaslights Cloud into thinking Tifa is dead while emphasizing that Jenova can look like someone he loves

Aerith recreates her first date with Zack with Cloud and it doesn't go nearly as well

Cloud tells Aerith he sees her as a friend in the Japanese version (though tbf if you got Aerith for the GS date he doesn't say this, he just agrees to hang out with her again iirc)

HOWEVER, no matter if you got Aerith for the GS date or not, Aerith says she knows where she and Cloud stand and that, while she likes him, there are two different kinds of liking someone. which. yeah definitely shoves their relationship in a more platonic direction

also people comment that the two do not look or act like a couple during that dream date

ship what you want. ABSOLUTELY ship what you want! who cares if you prefer headcanon over canon? but the fact that people are insisting Cloud and Aerith are canon after Rebirth is??? so weird???????

tbf from what I've seen, pretty much everyone who is neutral on the shipping debate and played Rebirth agrees cloti is the canon one. and tbh while I'm kinda surprised they just straight up had Cloud and Tifa kiss each other this soon, I'm not that surprised it happened at all?? the devs have said countless times that one of their main goals with the FF7R trilogy is to leave the story a lot less up to interpretation, so it makes sense they tried to kill the love triangle this early. unfortunately the English translation team still tried to make it a bit more ambiguous, but if you look at Rebirth's script in literally any other language it's very obvious the love triangle is pretty much confirmed over (and honestly I'd argue it's still pretty obviously over in the English version, especially with that kiss)

and honestly. let's face it. that love triangle died way before Rebirth came out. Cloud and Tifa end up confessing to each other in the og game no matter what choices you made and they live together and have a kid in AC. Rebirth is just moving Cloud and Tifa's relationship along a little quicker, which makes sense considering what is gonna happen in part 3

[helluvabossrewrite45]

Always sunny anon replying: funny you mentioned Bojack being I believe Viv has said in the past on her twitter that she wants HB to be the next BH yet seems to not understand what makes a show like Bojack work to begin with. (I'll admit I haven't watched Bojack Horseman yet. I've been sleeping on it way to long tbh).

Yeah absolutely. Viv doesnt seem to get that bojack worked in not only in its ability to make people like bojack while not excusing his actions, but also how its structured as 'comedy turned drama'.

(major spoilers for bojack horseman btw, you can just skip to the end/the last paragraph of this post)

Now in bojack's first season, it was a comedy pretty early and stayed that way till later down the season and it continued to grow naturally to a drama (though the comedy is still there of course). Helluva boss though, seems to be all over the place as just after episode 1, episode 2 takes a more serious/dramatic approach when the show is meant to appear at first to be a dark humoured comedy, along with most of the season not even sticking to its original premise, instead focusing more of set ups and stolitz drama that both didnt go much of anywhere (striker might be an exception though i feel like the end with him could be another set up). What wouldve worked is that episode 1 - 4 is entirely on the original premise for helluva boss and the rest would be more serious (with strikers introduction, the agents and stolitz drama) with season 2 continuing the more serious approach. Hell, if their gonna include stolas family drama, why not portray it as comedy at first, then use it later on to portray it more seriously. Like in season 1 of bojack where he and sarah lynn slept with each other, its being treated as comedic. But when he revealed that he slept with her in the interview, its being treated completely seriously and use it to highlight bojacks problem from him with young women and his issues with accountability, episode 2 could portray the cheating as comedic (with stella throwing objects while rambling while stolas dodges them like a dodgeball game with octavia initially being presented as the typical 'lonely stuck in the mud teenager' but we still get hints of her being more than that later down the episode) and while it ends on them leaving the festival in an awkward comedic way, that would used in seeing stars where octavia vents about her family drama, including on how neglectful stolas has become as a father from the festival incident. Im kinda surprised viv didnt consider to use it because it would be a perfect tool for helluva boss to use.

Another reason why bojack worked compared to helluva boss is its characters. While bojack was written well, the rest of the characters (especially women) shine through and we get to see more of who they are overtime. We dont really get much on that with helluva (especially the women), sure we get their backstories though we dont really have much depth if that make sense. Like when we compare todd to moxxie, todd's deal is that he's extremely helpful and he actually have stuff going on for him, its only bojack thats holding him back so when he finally distance himself from bojack, not only is it consistent but its also not repetitive, instead we get to know more about todd, seeing his relationships, discovering his asexuality etc...hell, he even has his own episode where he learn to make time for himself too instead of always helping out everyone. Moxxie has an arc of overcoming his weakness but the thing is, it repeats the same arc that it can get tiring to watch. What would work for him is that he slowly develops him overcoming his weakness instead of it just being repeated (like maybe further snapping at blitzo or confess that he considers quitting) Its a real shame too because him being close to morally good than morally grey or bad (which i predict thats what most of hells beings would be) opens a gate to a lot of possibilities for him as a character like why he took the job, how he met his wife, how he views the world around him etc...but they clearly didnt know what to do with him especially when season 1 wasnt even properly planned (as viv literally admits this on twitter too) so its why he as a character feels stagnant. But a bigger comparison however, has to be the women in the shows. People tend to praise the show for how it writes its women characters, often from diane and princess caroline. They're shown to be as messy and complex as men like bojack in the show though other women characters had their time to shine like hollyhock, kelley, gina, penny, bojack's mother etc...Its clear that bojack writes both men and women well in the show. Helluva boss on the other hand, is quite unbalanced in its writing for men and women. Specifically with the men having more variety and generall knowledge about them than the women. Like millie and loona, despite being major characters, have very little depth especially with millie who wouldnt even be a character if we remove her from moxxie. And even with the other women characters, they dont have much depth either (or at last we dont get to see that depth often like with verosika), they all in some way are in the roles for men characters (octavia and loona being there to establish the good in stolas and blitzo or stella and verosika being there to establish to either be the villain or to show a part of the man's past) Its very clear that viv favours men characters than women as alastor and angel dust having more going on than charlie, the main character herself. I mean, both shows are technically character driven and to be character driven, your gonna have to make sure your characters can equally shine on their own instead of one having more depth than the other.

To put it shortly, i dont think viv really gets why bojack was successful to audiences to begin with and in turn, failed to achieve that success with it being how she structures her show for the 'comedy turned drama' style being all over the place when bojacks was of natural progress and her imbalanced/poorly planned writing of men and women characters where it wasn't an issue in BoJack

[meekmedea]

brain rot - dis aliter visum au rambles

ugh I have so many random thoughts about this AU that my mind feels like it will explode if I don't type it out.

so this au I had where Clemensia manages to mentor Reaper (successfully)

Reaper knew full well what he was doing during that interview when he 'confessed' his love for his mentor

it's even more scandalous now that he's survived and they have to stick to the story - but mentor and tribute duo manage to make it work

Read the AU here on AO3

SPOILERS below (these are things I mostly imagined happening in this AU - some are more background things)

CLEMENSIA & REAPER

it took them a while to be close - it was like begrudging allies (on Reaper's part) to wariness, then neutral feelings - then hmm maybe we are somewhat friends - to friends - to whatever this relationship we have with each other is

they are close enough that he tells her of District 11, of his and her political leanings (they were young and drunk)

in a way, Clemensia is trapped in the Capitol, he has freedoms that she cannot (travelling between district 11 and the Capitol)- he is her only window out. Clemensia never tells him that, of course. But she also misses him a lot when he's away.

Reaper never tells her that because of his flag stunt - his family was killed. He figures out pretty quickly that she has no idea of it either.

He's very lucky that the 10th games weren't that well advertised in the districts. Because otherwise, people might have mixed feelings about him - whether that be seeing him as a suck-up to the Capitol or just doing what he did to survive. Especially with how Clemensia and him have tied their fates together so publicly with the whole 'knight/lady' role they've played up.

while he was in the Capitol, he attended many events with Clemensia - mainly because she is part of the elite, and also he will only attend if she goes with him.

but even at these events, he is pretty closed off. Uninterested for the most part to talking to just about anyone else. If anything, she gains a menacing/brooding bodyguard who just glares at anyone who just as much speaks a word that rubs him wrong about Clemensia.

There's a reason why people thought Clemensia and Reaper were lovers - and that was one of them. Their game plan when he'd been a tribute also contributes to things too.

TBH I considered making their constant appearances together is where the idea of having a Capitol escort to keep the victor in line/show them around coming from

the years where they were apart because of his 'betrayal' was hard on both of them. Clemensia refused to speak of Reaper to anyone. Reaper, on the other hand, had nobody he could speak to about her. It doesn't help that in the early years after his betrayal Clemensia remains one of the 'elite' and known as part of President Snow's close circle.

Reaper writes letters. Many letters, but never has the courage to send them out to her. Eventually when he meets Clemensia's son, he decides to give some of them to him.

both Clemensia and Coriolanus married in their late 20s, and rather close to one another. So when news comes that Clemensia is married - for a moment, he does fear very briefly that it was to Snow.

He's in his late 40s when the ribbon is sent to him from Tigris - it's the same burgundy that Clemensia tied around his wrist when they were 18. And while there's no note, he just KNOWS its from her.

there's a deleted line where Reaper tells Clemensia once they remeet after the districts have successfully rebelled, "I'd have named my son Clementine if he wasn't born a boy."

because yes, Clemensia and Reaper both have grandchildren that are meant to remind themselves of the other. Clementine (Reaper's granddaughter) is more obvious in name, but Rhea's name (Clemensia's granddaughter) is based off the greek myths and is a nod to D11's agriculture. Rhea is said to be derived from the word meaning 'earth'

CORIOLANUS VS REAPER

the beef between them

and YES, every time Reaper mentioned that Clemensia's friend was strange (pre and post games)- he was referring to Coriolanus.

Coriolanus: You are NOT good enough for my best friend, and I don't want you around her. END OF STORY.

Reaper, immediately going to look for Clemensia: Hey Clemmie!

the fact that Coriolanus despises how Clemensia allows Reaper to call her 'Clemmie' - Reaper knows it and calls her that, mostly to piss him off. Also, because he's grown fond enough of her to call her that now.

Coriolanus sort of gives off she was my friend first vibes. And he is like classist too...

to be honest, I considered both as possible/potential love interests for her, but ultimately, I decided against it. But you do see hints of where Coriolanus' route may have gone in the dis aliter visum AU

if these 2 were left alone in a room, it's not a pretty scene for long. The only thing keeping each other from killing the other is Clemensia.

CLEMENSIA & CORIOLANUS

these two could have gone in so many directions, I have to admit that my drafts had quite some variety: from love interest, to former lovers, to being in-laws. But they would have never had a happy ending

regardless, they stayed pretty close friends for quite some time. Enough that Tigris worried whether Clemensia would ever see Coriolanus for what he was

they did hook up (sort of) in their 20s - they were drunk, and both were attracted to one another - but it never went anywhere

she did have a crush on him at one point - her father admits that he thought she'd marry someone else (Coriolanus) when she announces her plan to marry Felix - I like to imagine Coriolanus and her had this sort of are they/are they not dating vibe to them when they'd been younger

Coriolanus keeps her around for a variety of reasons - 1) friendship 2) attraction (since she was never bit, she remains the prettiest in his eyes, and like most of society's eyes) 3) she's a victor 4) their little lie to Dr Gaul, if they are close, there's no reason either will betray the other --- there's more reasons, I'm sure, but I can't remember them all at the moment haha

they drifted apart with their respective marriages to others - one of those things, you know? But their children were close so they remained in contact with one another.

haha there's this whole alt scene where I imagined how their respective children were: Selene (Clemensia's daughter with Felix) + Lucius (Coriolanus' son with Livia[?])

much like Coryo + Clemmie, Selene + Lucius were good friends. Except where their parents remained friends, they did not.

Livia is livid when Lucius spurned his arranged match (she set up the match), in favour of Selene. Coriolanus is annoyed, but more so that it causes a scandal, and not much else.

the two go to Clemensia to ask for her blessing & because they know that she (and Felix) are the only who could really argue in their favour.

ultimately it is Clemensia who convinces Coriolanus to agree to it.

TBH these 2 were potential parents of Snow's granddaughter that he asks Clemensia about. but in the end, I scrapped that idea. Snow's granddaughter is just related to Coriolanus, and has no blood relation with Clemensia.

What really sealed the coffin in Coryo and Clemmie's deterioating friendship was her daughter dying because of his orders.

there was this deleted line from the scene where Coriolanus and Clemensia are arguing over her daughter's death and his son's death (since the 2 were rebels) - in this deleted scene, he says Clemensia should be grateful he kept her name/rest of her family out of this. Furious - Clemensia screams back that he might as well kill her too - for being the mother of a rebel.

had I gone down the route where Selene and Lucius having a child left behind - you can bet Coriolanus and Clemensia would have fought tooth and nail over custody for the granddaughter. Coriolanus would have won eventually - but would have yielded to the occasional visit to Clemensia.

I can't find the line anymore, but to show he bears no (little) ill-will, he would have allowed their shared granddaughter to visit. And on that first visit, the granddaughter brings along a bouquet of red roses.

the 2 former friends have this strange understanding near the end of the AU

It's kind of like how Reaper and Clemensia have this relationship at the end that there can't quite be defined by anything. But Coriolanus and Clemensia's at this point, is far more twisted, and there's no way the two would ever fully be able to reconcile.

there's an understanding at the very least- and perhaps for Coriolanus, no matter how their relationship turns out, he has this soft spot/degree of affection for her.

SHORT callout to FELIX RAVINSTILL

he is such a minor character, but in the end, Clemensia chooses him, and he is the one that she sticks with

it's such a small thing, but if you keep an eye out on the clementines in the fic, he is the first to 'give' them to her - granted he is sending them to Reaper, but he is the one who donates them to her

in all other cases, Clemensia is the one to give them out - she gives them out to Reaper, to Coriolanus - and they are never given in return to her

while she's in the hospital, though she gives clementines to Felix, it's more reciprocal by this point.

In return he brings her orange blossoms, clementine inspired desserts, dedicates his writings to a 'Miss Clementine' that later becomes 'Lady Clementine'. And even in their marriage, he ends up being the one giving them to her all the time

[nube55]

Hey lovely Nube 💕

Finally, finally, I have the opportunity to jump into your ask box & get to know you better!!! We're both huge fans of fanfiction so this ask game was made for us! As usual, I can't stick to one question only so, if you're ok with that, may I ask you: A8 | B5 | C2 | D8?

Looking forward to reading your reply 👀

Lots of love 💕

<><><><><><>

PS: your comment/reblog of Lucy's post about this stinky comment on her fic was perfect 👏

Hello Val!! 🎊 awwww thanks for stopping by!!! Hahaha don't worry, we'll get to all of them!

(Adding a read more cause this got LONG sorry I'm physically incapable of summarising)

What was your first fandom? Are you still in that fandom now?

My first fandom was Harry Potter. I am not in that fandom still and do not wish to engage in it anymore for a number of reasons, but it was my gateway to reading from an early age and it was an excuse to bond with someone I cherished a lot and who sadly isn't here anymore. I met some awesome friends through it too, friends that put up with me to this day! Hahaha

Which story have you read more than any other? How many times?

You know... come to think of it, I haven't read an entire fic all over! 🤔 (regarding multichapter fics). I do want to highlight the ones I've been going back for certain chapters/scenes that I love! This list shows a variety of writing styles that leave me on the ground swooning (Warning!! no concrete spoilers buuuut references to scenes):

Holy Ground by @lucysarah-c (ongoing): Lucy can pretty much give a masterclass on poetic writing and I'm not exaggerating. I come back to it for my faves: chapter 9 (aka Levi's quiet morning gets interrupted in the funniest of ways - for us readers, not for him lmao), chapter 11 (aka not knowing how to play Scrabble leads to interesting outcomes), chapter 15 (one OF THE BEST LEVI POV I'VE LAID MY EYES ON), and chapter 17 (when you can feel yourself in the scene, it's just that amazing)

North Star by @sixpennydame (ongoing): such SUCH a special story. I love coming back to chapters 6 & 7, the whole Mount Aspe arc is exquisitely written.

Spectrum by @19941117 (finished): I have nothing but praise for this story and the incredible talent of its author. It focuses on an AoT character I've never seen explored before, and has the most breathtaking of endings.

Silver Underground by @amywritesthings (ongoing): this girrrrl leaves Easter eggs everywhere so I had to go back an re-read many parts to come up with theories lmao. I really enjoy the first chapter, the pace in it, the dialogue, the tension. And the whoooole bit on the Underground arc makes my heart become pudding.

Please tell me I didn't f*** up any link hahaha.

What word or expression always makes you cringe when you read it?

Usually I cringe when I see a sustained behaviour that feels excesively out of character to me (in those cases I choose to opt out). I also feel cringe-y in NSFW scenes when intimate parts are refered to overly poetically for my taste. I'd rather have them refered to in a filthy way tbh 😂

Which fandoms do you read fic for?

Currently I'm 99% dedicated to AoT (had a YoI phase a couple years ago!). Buuuut I wouldn't mind reading some Vinland Saga stories 😏 (@atruewarrior I'm looking at you)

.

.

Well I think that's it!! Thanks for the questions Val, have a wonderful week! 🌻🌻

Ask a reader meme

[riddleredcoats]

tell me about celene and mythal. TELL ME ABOUT CELENE AND MYTHAL! TELL ME ABOUT CELENE AND MYTHAL!!! TELL ME ABOUT CELENE AND MYTHAL!!!!!! TELL ME ABOUT CELENE AND MYTHAL!!!!!

tell me about celene and mythal. please.

please.

I- well, I assume this is about that fantastic Morrigan post that @ammoniteflesh did that I butted in with my ceaseless love about Orlais? I can do that. Settle in, it's a long boi.

Spoilers for The Masked Empire, if you haven't read it (and you should) then this probably won't make much sense. And spoilers for pretty much everything else in DA, tbh.

More under the cut.

The Andraste parallels.

Basically, just copy-paste everything that links Mythal and Andraste in this section. This is a great post/example, though I don't think they are the same, rather just the same story repeating. But TLDR: Betrayal, Heartache, Justice, etc etc etc. I think this is a popular theory I am not going to go much deeper into it.

Celene is compared to Andraste multiple times throughout The Masked Empire. In the play (End-ish of Chapter 5), by Briala (early-ish Chapter 5), and the whole Empress of Fire (both song and the Burning of Halamshiral) debacle. Not only that, but Celene has some genuine thoughts, intentions, and actions about reforming Orlais that are close to what Andraste was doing; they are both trying to reform an imperialist power, granted in different ways (of course) but the parallels aren't meant to be exact.

Fun add-on: Hilarious that Celene basically destroys herself/her image by (in the Fandom, at least, while in Universe is intact for the most part) setting a fire. Because being set on fire was what finally elevated Andraste. It’s still a point for the parallel, just a contrasting parallel rather than a direct one.

Fun add-on, #2: Andraste is described as being a redhead, even in DAI by Cass I think, but is depicted as a white blonde (like Celene in The Masked Empire’s cover or Flemythal's white hair) in multiple paintings throughout Dragon Age. I don’t know what this means, but it’s a fun detail, nonetheless. 

Justice! (But not really)

Both Celene and Mythal are arbiters of Justice, technically.

Celene as empress doles out justice as she wishes (more or less, see Halamshiral), but more specifically she wants to create a more just society for all Orlesians. Yes, of course, there is still that delightful imperialism there, but it just do be like that sometimes. Mythal is described several times as someone who doles out justice, throughout the games by Codex and Solas. She passes judgement, solves conflicts and was ‘the good one’.

Like the story of Elgar’nan and Falon’Din, where she solved it by each having champions and stopping the start of a devastating war. Sorta like Celene solved the Gaspard/Teagan conflict at the beginning of The Masked Empire (end of Chapter 1).

They can both be fair and reasonable but are also known for taking more harsh paths (i.e.; the slums of Halamshiral and the sinner who took divine form and went to Elgar’nan). They both promised to help the elves, yet they both seem to have ditched that idea; Mythal has done arguably very little for centuries, and Celene, while helping, without Briala is less than radical about it.

The Vengeance thing is here too. Celene is, after all, no saint and actively cannot forgive Gaspard for anything he does. Ever. And is definitely on a ‘war path’ by the end of TME. Mythal, similarly seems to be on a warpath forever for ‘a reckoning that will shake the very heavens’, whatever the hell that means. Also, everything Flemythal says in Origins just screams bitterness and vengeance.

Betrayal

Both of these women have been betrayed by those closest to them.

Celene by her court, her champion (The Masked Empire), her nobles (The Masked Empire and Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts), and both of her cousins (Gaspard and Florianne). Also, arguably, Mantillon betrayed her by ‘manipulating’ her into killing her own servants, but that is a whole 'nother bag to untangle. Oh, and Briala of course, by using Celene’s feelings for her and stealing the ruby during a kiss at the end of The Masked Empire.

FleMythal by her daughter (Morrigan), her husband (Elgar’nan, though if you want to include Flemeth’s here it is also applicable, I guess), her sons (if that’s what Dirthamen and Falon’Din really were?), her fellow ‘Gods’. Oh, and Fen’Harel at the end of DAI, too.

Funny is that both Celene and Mythal when it comes to Briala and Solas’ betrayals are fine with it. Celene completely understands Briala by the end of The Masked Empire, as does Mythal at the end of DAI. And they are both betrayed by Solas and Briala in front of Eluvians Which… yeah.

Another parallel; both Briala and Solas say they must do it for ‘The People’, aka, the elves.

The Rebels

Solas and Briala parallel a lot on their own, but their relationships with Mythal and Celene are fascinating too, as is seeing how Solas/Briala view Mythal/Celene.

Obviously, both of these pairs parallel Shartan/Andraste. Actual mention of this is in the play in The Masked Empire for Celene/Briala (Chapter 5 of TME).

Each pair is obviously fond of one another, likely in different ways - but perhaps not.

Interestingly enough if Solas really was in service to Mythal first (like Cole seems to imply in Trespasser) before he rose to ‘Godhood’ then, like Celene/Briala, the relationship likely started privately and then grew into the public like once Briala became Marquise and Solas became Fen’Harel.

If we take what Cole said, ‘He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face’, as it really being about Solas/Mythal then we have another interesting parallel between Briala/Solas and Celene/Mythal.

Celene, arguably, makes Briala into what she is by sending her away after having her parents killed. Felassan helped and, of course, Briala herself is the way she is because she is herself, but Celene is the catalyst for her more abrupt change. Briala does not get a scar when she separates herself from Celene; at least not a physical one. Mythal makes Solas into what he is by asking him to come to her.

Interestingly, it is a contrasting parallel – because Celene lets Briala go while Mythal beacons Solas into her service. Which is super interesting, but that is more about the relationship between Briala/Celene than anything else.

The way both Solas/Briala describe Mythal/Celene in-game;

Briala, if you ask about Celene during the peace, but before you go to the servants' quarters, says: ‘Celene is the voice of reason in the empire…’

Solas, in that final Trespasser cutscene: ‘She [Mythal] was a voice of reason, the best of them, and in their lust for power they killed her.”

Granted, Solas is fonder while Briala is a bit harsher in her assessment, but Solas did ‘kill’ Mythal, and whatever wounds Mythal may have caused (which we will get there) have long passed while Celene and Briala’s breakup is more recent. This means very little but i suspect that much like Celene, Mythal also betrayed Solas twice. Once in the times of Arlathan - like Celene killing Briala's parents. And another in recent times - with the burning of Halamshiral. We don't know about it yet, but that's my bet.

Morrigan

Both Mythal (or Flemythal) and Celene have a protective relationship with Morrigan.

Celene is more of a patron and offers financial support and protection. And the protection seems to be mutual (or supposed to be, if Morrigan didn’t bail in WEWH, lmao). Mythal/Flemythal is well, her mother, who is supposed to protect her but who is trying to possess her.

Both of these relationships seem to range from a little contentious (Celene/Morrigan, if you believe the rumours of a palace servant) to very contentious (Flemythal/Morrigan).

Celene seems to not be as intense as Mythal. Morrigan speaks well of her, and Celene does not try to control her like Mythal did, Celene even ‘lets’ her go out into the world – something baby!Morrigan wanted – with her blessing and her protection. I legit find the relationship between them interesting, despite the arguments that apparently took place, lmao. (I also sorta lowkey ship it, but that’s another conversation).

To give the benefit of the doubt; we don’t know how much Mythal was ‘in charge’ of Flemeth (or if they can even act separately) so Morrigan’s abuse might not be Mythal’s fault. But there is no denying that she was abused and that whatever aspect of Mythal, The Mother there was, it absolutely did not act in Morrigan’s favour.

But that is yet another that has nothing to do with Celene/Mythal and all to do with Morrigan.

Symbols matter (or not)

Mythal fought with the Evanuris and the Valmonts fought the Drakons. A bit more *tinfoil* and a lot more thin, but if the Dragon is the divine form like we suspect from Codex Entry in the Temple of Mythal, then the Valmonts having gone to war with the Drakon line could be another interesting parallel. After all, the Drakons are represented by dragons. There is also, technically, the 'full' title of the quest where Celene appears in:

The Old Gods will call to you, From their Ancient Prisons they will sing. Dragons with wicked eyes and wicked hearts, On blacken'd wings does deceit take flight, The First of My children, lost to night. - Canticle of Silence 3:6

Finally, and this is really silly and not really a parallel and most likely it’s just a fun coincidence, but the name Celene, which comes from the root word ‘Selene’, means ‘Moon’, which, of course, Mythal is the Goddess of.

Unimportant sidenote: I am pettily annoyed that most characters pronounce it ce-LI-ne when it should be ce-LE-ne. Because Celine is a legit different name and Celine-Celene have different meanings and root words, but okay I’ll allow it because I do like the pronunciation ‘Celine’ better, lmao.

[kkolg]

hello, I love what you're doing with your AU. as someone who is making an AU myself, do you take somethings from "canon" and put them in? if so how do you decide how to put things into the story of Vigilante

GAHHH IM LOVING THESE QUESTIONS!! Fangirling aside, it really depends what direction and plot you’re taking with your AU. Time period, location, and main plot all are big factors here, along with how polished you plan the story to be.

Let me do some comparisons with my two AUs

Vigilante: I did want to keep main aspects of the game in there, but sometimes plot can get in the way of that so you really have to get creative. I won’t spoil anything but I did have to do this with a few main plot points in the game. Tom being Boris in this AU is one example: two Boris’s that look exactly alike would be very difficult to explain in the context of this AU, the only way I could see this working is having them be twins which is it’s own can of worms. There are a few other examples but again no spoilers. This is specifically a BATIM AU due to the difficulties BATDR provides for the AU, plus this AU was also made way before BATDR was released and I already had my main plot points done. I was lucky with the time period because early BATIM did happen in the 1920’s, tbh this is one of those moments where I bullshit the story and say “well in this world-“ mostly referencing the animation era and just moving it to take place in an earlier time. I don’t like to do this too much because I do try to be as accurate as possible, but in the end of the day it’s my story and I can do whatever I want😜. I also got luck with the setting too, correct me if I’m wrong but the cannon studio is in either New York or Brooklyn but at the time I actually didn’t know that so… Lucky me lol. I decided to make Henry’s backstory actually relating to the main plot of the game, he goes back to the studio except this time he’s trying to find Bendy. If you didn’t know, Henry also leaves the studio in this AU. I won’t spoil any more of this because I want to expand on the little man more in the future but that’s what I got.

The Void AU:

This AU was made 6 years ago, it is quite old- This AU was probably my first intro into story making so it’s very messy. What I mean by that? The plot is everywhere, many characters are flat or have no real goals or morals, Bendy was honestly the worst guy ever he was such an asshole (not in the cute way) and was the most toxic mf alive, the amount of Warriors references that are there is honestly exhausting and basically turns this whole “original story/AU” into more of an elaborate Warrior Cats fanfic, the many villains that popped up were super flat and boring along with every protag too, and finally this take place in a forest/plain/camp place and tbh I don’t even know what the setting is.

With that being said…

What I was talking about there was the “original” version of the AU, call it “Random Mess 1.0” if you will, since then I’ve changed many things about it since it’s original creation. Keep in mind, the Void AU you see is only one of the arcs in this full AU and it’s basically the last one, so many of you don’t know a lot of the whole world that’s in the back of my brain. I will tell you the changes I’ve made for the characters and story you do know: I made Bendy much more likable protagonist with goals that are much more expressed, I polished the plot a lot more than it was before, I made a few things more original and deleted a lot of the Warriors references (so many…), I gave many of the characters more expressive personalities which the reader would be able to recognize, I fixed the designs to match the fluffs personalities much more and to help make them more expressive. NOW BACK ON TRACK, I honestly didn’t have any of the cannon events in the game really happen in this AU, the only thing really relating to the actual games is the alt. designs (demon/spirit forms probably the only OG thing I created that was pretty cool, this concept is also featured in the Vigilante AU) I’ll show them here at some point but that aside, this was just a goofy, silly, story that I made just for fun so I really didn’t care how the story went. The Void AU you all see is probably the most polished part of the story and because of that it’s able to be cut off and stand alone as it’s own thing.

Ok, I probably went off track many times and started rambling so my bad, BUT this is sorta how I see it: Depending on the plot you can add and cut out things as you please, this also applies to the quality of the story you want to tell.