#that at least mages will -win-

[the-fallen-blue]

This is an interesting take, because I think it's very true to how fandom interprets and reacts to Anders. But it misses what Anders himself tells you is his actual intent. What he's doing is very calculated, and, if you accept his premise, very intelligently done; it's not an act of anger at all, it's not even about the Chantry, really. Specifically, he's put it together like this:

Meredith has been calling for an Annulment since before the start of Act 3. Elthina has been rejecting it every single time. They're in a holding pattern, with Elthina too afraid of Meredith to curb her, but just beholden enough to her own morality to forbid outright mass murder. As a consequence, things are very bad for mages in Kirkwall, but not quite so bad that any useful number of them are willing to risk literally everything by banding together with Anders to fight back. Survival is still possible. Escape is still possible. For some, even comfort is still possible (mages from wealthy families in particular, like Bethany and that guy who sneaks out to get laid, seem surprisingly content). Violence is too dangerous for too little potential gain by comparison.

But if Elthina dies, that holding pattern breaks. There is nothing stopping the Annulment, nothing holding Meredith back. Indeed, if a mage destroys the cultural heart and spiritual center of the city for which the vast majority of its citizens hold deep reverence, those citizens - which, under a pro-mage Hawke, might in fact have become quite sympathetic to mages by now, might have been an additional potential check on the Annulment or mage-on-normie violence - will lose any shred of sympathy and demand mage blood. The mages will be backed into a corner. They will not be able to escape, as individuals, sheltered by allies outside the Circle; they will not be able to live, miserably, as charges of the Gallows. They will only be able to fight back, or die.

In short, if the Chantry explodes with Elthina in it at the hands of a mage, the mages, who have refused Anders' manifestos, who have survived or collaborated or fled or done anything other than rise up, will have all those avenues closed off, and must join the revolution. If they will not choose Anders' way, he will not give them the choice.

It's true that it's not about making the world a better place for mages with this specific act, but only because he's seeing himself as a Moses figure, here. That part isn't his job. If he can just start them on the right path, the path of violent revolution, the other mages will do that for themselves. He's just got to get them there.

Killing Templars would not accomplish this goal; in fact, it would be counterproductive. So would freeing mages or helping people escape beforehand. He knows that, and that's why he does this instead. His problem is not an aimless despair, a blind lashing out. He is not attempting to bring attention to the suffering of mages, make a political statement, or secure more rights for his people from the wider society they are a part of, and doing it badly. His problem is that he no longer believes that the suffering of mages is of interest to anyone other than mages themselves. Allyship isn't real. Progress isn't real. There is no version of society that grants rights to everyone. There can be no peace. Mages and non-mages will always be enemies, and the only thing he can do for his people, now that he's realized that, is to force them to realize it too, so they finally act accordingly. He knows perfectly well that the consequences will be devastating and mages will suffer a lot more before they finally triumph, and he clearly feels genuine guilt and regret over it, but, well, he assumes he won't have to live with that much longer, either. If the cost of long-term mage vengeance is a few hundred mage lives now, a devastating war after, and his own soon-to-be-executed conscience, it's still a small price to pay.

(Puts on my communism goggles) I think staunchly pro-anders fans are fascinating because to me at least it shows how to most people revenge is more important than actual progress. People will always want to do what feels good over what is right, because progress often is slow and unsatisfying in the moment.

My main issue with Anders’ action isn’t that he did something extreme, it’s that he did in the wrong place. Why the chantry over the gallows, where the actual templars were and there would be less civilians to hurt? He had Hawke on his side, he could have planned to evacuate people or put some safeguard in place to minimize civilian damages in the gallows, since most of the people in the gallows are not civilians. Blowing up property - especially if the property houses information and shelter for the oppressing party- is good. It’s a great plan. It would have made a much bigger impact and put a lot less mages across Thedas in direct danger if it was the gallows that were destroyed and not a chantry.

But Anders was wrapped up in vengeance (and we can have a whole discussion about how responsible Anders is for the actions of Justice). The point wasn’t to make the world better for mages at that point- the mage-Templar war that ensued did not ensure any kind of rights for mages depending on what you did in inquisition, and many had to die for being made automatically complicit in crimes against Andraste (even if they were believers themselves, that’s just the consequence of BLOWING UP THE CHANTRY), it was to do something extreme to feel like he was doing something just for the mages. Blowing up the chantry made this a statement on religion. It distracted from the actual grievances about the abuse taking place in mage circles.

There is no justice when collateral damage in the form of life is acceptable. That is no way forward, and it will create a lot more problems in the long run than it solves. It creates Martyrs, people who won’t rest until their own versions of feel good revenge is satisfied.

But it did feel real good to see the chantry- at that point housing people sheltering from danger- blow up as a symbol of your hate to the Templar order. It felt real good and that’s all that mattered.

This is great commentary on real world situations where good people - and Anders was a good person, dedicated his whole life to doing right by others and the world around him- get corrupted and twisted and pushed to do things that a younger version of them might never condone. When things get bad enough and no one wants to listen these kinds of actions seem to be the only way forward. The issue, ultimately, is not Anders. It’s not even Kirkwall. It’s fear against magic and a distrust of strangers, both issues that would never be solved or even addressed with terrorism. Anyway. He’s a fascinating character and his writing is really interesting to me

[zkretchy]

It's 2am and I can't sleep, have this silly doodle

[ink-blot-thoughts]

Imagine having escaped League for months only to be drawn back in by some gay artistic twink and his toxic relationship with his serial killer boyfriend.... couldn't be me :')

[mourn-and-watch]

"if chantry explosion hadn't happened everything would have been alright" is such a boring take and it simply doesn't work this way for reasons that were explained by people smarter than me but if you give it more thought. it is actually pretty dark and overall hopeless and grim.

so there's no explosion. there's no anders or he gave up for some reason or hawke stopped him. it doesn't matter. what matters is that things stay as they were but it doesn't get any better. it gets harder and harder for hawke to keep meredith and orsino from tearing each other apart. then the right of annulment arrives because why would it be revoked. so there's no more circle. if bethany got stuck in the gallows she dies with everyone else because why wouldn't she. if carver got stuck with the templars he takes part in mass murder and has to live with it. if hawke is a mage they have to witness a legally approved slaughter of their people. if they're not they can lose their little sister. the only family they had left. because it was too late wasn't it. they didn't know. they couldn't change anything. no one man army would defeat the whole templar order and the chantry's divine right.

maybe one day they come to listen elthina preaching about her heart aching for sacrifices that had to be made. maybe they hide in their estate knowing damn well they're granted the right to live and walk freely up until meredith decides they aren't useful to her anymore.

they'll go on like that for another couple of years if they didn't lose it and went on rampage immediately of course. so there's still no viscount because why would someone else be needed when meredith is right there protecting the city from blood mages and abominations even when there's no gallows. actually maybe meredith isn't right there anymore. maybe she's getting a promotion as corypheus' templar general and what's remained of the gallows is already overgrown with red lyrium. maybe there's another exalted march because divine justinia wasn't convinced that the crisis was over.

the bright side? well i guess cassandra doesn't capture varric for interrogation because why would she need a champion whose only achievement was being lucky or skillfull enough to survive the duel with arishok. maybe there's no varric at all because bribing doesn't work on red templars and any rumor about you being friends with apostates is really bad for your health these days. what a wonderful world

[takethistoyourstardust]

listen never be afraid to display your cute anime figures but do be aware there are consequences. one of them being “having to explain hatsune miku to your grandmother-in-law”.

[potatoesandsunshine]

'anna you're relentlessly bullying this fictional man' yeah that's because he sucks

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

bruh he rly can't be stopped

ike was in second place at 95 wins, let that sink in for a minute

[maemil]

Just finished Arcane. Too stunned to speak

[orlesianhennin]

I really feel like so many people who hate Vivienne for being power hungry do not fully grasp and appreciate the desperation that Vivienne feels because she conceals it so well… as little content as she got, she honestly is expertly written and presented and it’s why it disappoints me so much when people hate her for surface level reasons… her writer deserves so much more appreciation.

I think it is subtle because she hides it and you really have to care about the character to seek out these threads and understand her motivations… she is in danger of total irrelevance, being cast aside by society (and history), and she is forced to ride the coattails of some upstart organization because all of the institutions she is invested in have either totally failed her or cast her aside.

She is clearly a prideful person who does not readily admit this… but her true talent is how clearly she can evaluate this and understand her own position. She suffers no delusions. She knows the Circle’s standing in society is diminished to nothing if it doesn’t house and account for the majority of mages, and she is left with just meek Chantry loyalists and sycophants who are lost without her guiding hand, as even otherwise pro-Circle mages with any sense have abandoned ship and left both rebels and loyalists at this point to see where the chips fall (Ellandra) - and the Chantry itself has been all but decimated in terms of military and political power. The one lifeline she has is the Imperial Court, and the fickle nobility have moved on from her - the mages are now a threat that she cannot control or offer any meaningful opposition to, and Celene’s favor has turned to Morrigan, and Vivienne does not know if she will ever have it again. She knows Bastien is dying, and that all that she has left at court will be those who hold kind feelings towards her such as his family, and that is a position she can never accept - being at the mercy of others.

We meet Vivienne, this impressive, powerful mage, who has made a life for herself by maneuvering brilliantly, all to improve her own standing, at a point where she is in danger of losing everything she has. And she doesn’t let on, at least not explicitly, but she joins the Inquisition out of desperation - it’s obvious she sees it as an opportunity, but the gravity of the situation for her isn’t clear from the start. She refuses to lay down and fade away. Vivienne would never had joined this fledgling upstart organization if she was in a better position at Court or there wasn’t a vacuum of power. She is very close to having nothing left, and starting over - and so she does. Before the rug can be pulled from under her, she gets out and sets off for herself again.

Vivienne, often accused of pride, privilege, and self importance, comes to the Inquisitor out of pure humility. She knows she is reduced. And her gamble ultimately pays off, and the Inquisition becomes the political juggernaut that it does, and she becomes more powerful and important than ever just by association. And I like to think, especially with an Inquisitor who respects and befriends her, that she plays no small part in shaping the organization.

I think this is also why, potentially, she plays it so cool at the Winter Palace. She doesn’t get involved… she doesn’t need to. Simply being present is a statement to the court, and she truly doesn’t care about who wins; it’s not just the Game, it’s personal, despite what she claims. That they cast her aside, and now they are interested again… not necessarily in her, but still, she sees the paradigm shifting again. She is now a part of the organization who gets to change Orlais, and favor with the Inquisition is quickly becoming just as important as favor with Celene.

The whole arc is a subtle one as she really doesn’t get much attention, but if you pay close attention, it shows how expertly Vivienne plays politics. We already know she came from nothing and maneuvered into a powerful position. But I think not everyone realizes she is nearly back to nothing when we first meet her… and through the course of the game’s events, by allying with the right people, she plays the game well enough to become an advisor to the most influential person in southern Thedas… and potentially even Divine. But her initial plea to the Inquisitor, for all the great lengths she goes to keep up the appearance of strength and invulnerability, comes from a place of utter desperation.

[mellosdrawings]

This is kind of weird… but do you have any headcannons between Falena and Imani?

Why, of course I do! Thank you for asking!

Falena is what Kalim would be if he were less hyper and party-prone, and able to detect sarcasm. He reigns with a kind heart, following traditions (at least until Leona butts in to give his opinion). While he has a near infinite patience, he will show his fangs if someone goes too far.

Despite his gentleness, Falena has the kind of charisma that immediately brings all eyes to him when he enters a room.

Falena is aroace and isn't interested in getting himself a harem like is the norm for Sunset Savanah princes and kings. That's one of the only traditions he doesn't follow while his brother goes around collecting boyfriends like pokemons for his harem

Falena and Imani's marriage was arranged when they were teens. They've known each other since they were children and agreed with it wholeheartedly. They have a very loving marriage and are very happy together.

Cheka was hard to give birth to, so Imani is a bit relieved Falena is fine with only one child. She's been berated a lot by the court for not giving the king more heirs (in case something goes wrong, but like the mother lioness she is, she showed her fangs and dared anybody to try and hurt her son. She won't go down without a fight if anything happens.)

Imani acts like an older sister to Leona. She doesn't butt in when brotherly conflicts happen, but she will chew his head for misbehaving in front of her and Cheka.

(She will also chew anybody who tries to hurt Leona.)

Imani is from a high status old money family who has been members of the court for generations. She has a very good education and is able to help Falena in his duties should he need.

Imani studies cartography in her free time. She's also a very good artist.

She is absolutely incapable of singing and despises it. Falena finds it terribly endearing.

Falena and Imani can sometimes be caught in pun competitions. The one who tells the worst pun to the point the other can't talk anymore coz they are too busy laughing wins. Leona avoids those fervently.

Falena is very into tarot reading. He has a little collection of cards and regularly reads things for Imani.

Falena's UM creates light and warmth. He doesn't use it a lot.

Imani isn't a mage.

Falena dotes on his son (and his future niece and nephew) far too much. Even Imani has to tell him off sometimes.

And I'm gonna stop here for now!

[deadlysoupy]

my take on who gets most props with caterina in a romance with lucanis, based on rook's faction. (rook de riva gets a free pass, at least she'd be familiar with their family members, but any other rook? there's going to be... some friction) (open to discussion! i have not played many factions i'm just basing this on my experiences)

gray warden rook might not be too bad. i think she'd respect someone in their position, constantly facing death and fighting against evil. it'd be a little bit too "knight in shining armour" for her and she'd still be sceptical, but they'd be off the hook for now. tolerable

shadow dragons aren't too fucked either since minrathous' been taken over by venatori, i'd say she'd even sympathise with them. same goal. raised by the military? also not bad, probably knows discipline

mourn watch rook is also an interesting case. sure, they're freaky, necromancy is definitely not caterina's soft spot, nor is any mage business, and this is where the tables start to flip. they aren't from a noble house, (i think) they don't have much to their name, they're a Crypt Baby, which is very funny but also so unapproachable to caterina. if they're sophisticated and smooth like emmrich, though, i could see her warming up to the idea. very slowly

veil jumpers??? whoo boy let's go into an uncharted territory. dealing with anything magic- or fade-related would probably set her off so much, i think it would take years, if not decades, for caterina to come to terms with that. they're an enigma she can't figure out. their job is dangerous, but they do it for free?? what is it that they even do??? 3\10 she wouldn't recommend

(my personal favourite) lords of fortune come last. where do i even fucking START. she would be absolutely FURIOUS to find out her beloved grandson thrashed in bed with rook laidir. are you kidding me. those no-good treasure hunters? i wouldn't be surprised if one of them stole something from the crows, possibly even house dellamorte. they have no privileges, they have no estate, they're a pirate, their leader is Isabela, for Maker's sake, they collect gold because Shiny, they killed a noble for threatening to take over the country. there's no winning here. no matter how you look at it lof rook would be her least favourite. i think they'd get a lot of support from teia and viago (well, more teia) but it still wouldn't win them a lot of favours. she might even try to separate them at some point. imagine the drama

[isekaicore]

viktor is jayce's mage. he always has been.

in season 1, jayce was saved by a hooded mage as a child, who he sees again after touching the wild rune in season 2.

a figure in purple and golden robes, who walks with a cane and hides their face under a hood.

the resemblance is uncanny.

we haven't seen him post-wild rune as of now, but ekko has yet to gain his time powers. if he is able to break time (as his lol counterpart does) as a result of going into the wild rune, it could suggest jayce, viktor, and potentially even heimerdinger could gain some sort of time-related abilities as well - or at least experience time anomalies.

jayce is shown splitting into multiples, swearing he won't fail before he shoots viktor in episode 6. it does beg the question then: who is talking to?

another post posits the idea that the hand placing the mask on viktor's face in the intro isn't his own, but jayce's - a symbol of jayce being the final domino to push viktor towards his ultimate fate as the machine herald.

if jayce is the one who pushes viktor towards his destiny, wouldn't it make sense that viktor also pushes jayce towards his? that he was the catalyst that set off the hextech dream in the first place?

in season 1 episode 5, sevika's winning cards are death and the magician. obvious sky & viktor parallels aside, the symbol in the center of the magician card is the same symbol the firelights use to represent themselves - though notably, the hourglass is broken.

this post goes more in depth on jayce's butterfly motif in season 2 - something he seems to have picked up from viktor. jayce also returns from the wild rune wearing viktor's leg brace, while viktor's robes are made out of jayce's blanket.

viktor says in his final speech in episode 6 that all emotions are two sides of the same coin. earlier in the episode, while speaking to singed, he remarks how fate is like a large, invisible hand, guiding you.

apt metaphor, viktor.

all this to say, even if the hextech dream isn't a literal time loop, it certainly is a symbolic one. but there's substantial evidence to support it being the case.

(cowritten by @slugbutter)

[ohnoitstbskyen]

So, considering what's going on with Riot right now, do you think Arcane Season 2 got caught up in all of this restructuring?

Yes and no. Arcane season 2 is part of the reason for the restructuring.

As I understand it, internally at Riot, after Arcane was a huge (and more importantly: prestigious!) success, the decision was made to basically hand the entirety of the game's lore and story over to the Entertainment division within Riot. These are the people in large part responsible for projects like Arcane, K/DA, Heartsteel, that animated series China got, all that sort of thing.

The writers at Riot were basically told to flat out stop producing new content and lore for the game - that's why there's BEEN no new story content for League for over a year - because everything was going to be consolidated under the Entertainment division from now on. This is why Riot started talking about "One Runeterra" and "Arcane is going to be canon" and so on.

The success of Arcane convinced executives that what League of Legends needs is a singular cohesive brand with its most successful public property leading the charge, Arcane is going to be the gateway drug, the hook on the end of the line that brings new players and new paying customers into the exciting world of the League of Legends multimedia IP universe!

Nevermind that Arcane's story and worldbuilding is fundamentally incompatible with >checks notes< the overwhelming majority of Runeterra as it exists and enormous compromises would have to be made to either the world of Runeterra or Arcane itself to make it work. Arcane is the big shiny prestigious mainstream Emmy-award winning project that every executive wants to put their name next to, and like companies Pivoting To Video in 2015 because Facebook showed them inflated viewership stats, Riot Games is Pivoting To Arcane. It's better than them pivoting to crypto and NFTs, at least, although I know for a fact that high ranking people at Riot tried to make that happen too.

Now, the primary cause for all of these games industry layoffs is that interest rates aren't zero anymore. Borrowing money isn't free, the curve of constant growth has ever so slightly slowed, taking on debt is becoming a little tiny bit more risky than it was previously, and corporations are responding to this with massive rounds of layoffs and constriction to show "financial responsibility" and prove to shareholders that they are prioritizing core growth strategies and blah blah blah etc. They're also trying to kneecap the growing labor movement in the games industry and exert downwards pressure on wages, but the interest rates seem to have been the main thing.

In Riot's particular case, a secondary reason is they want to pivot the focus of the company to support their One Runeterra pipe dream, so a lot of the people who got fired at Riot are writers, artists, creative leads and sometimes extremely senior and successful staff who are now surplus to requirements. This is also why Riot shut down Riot Forge in the same round of layoffs - can't have a bunch of talented indie devs going off making video games that don't adhere to the new One Runeterra policy. What if someone played Mageseeker and got confused how there can be mages all over Demacia but somehow there are no mages in Arcane's Piltover and Zaun. That's a plot hole! People write snarky articles about that sort of thing. It turns off new consumers! What if Cinema Sins makes a video making fun of it?!?

So yeah. A bunch of cocaine-addled fame hungry executive vultures at Riot are absolutely gagging on their own d*cks to put their name next to Arcane related projects, and since they were going to be screwing hundreds of people out of their careers, healthcare, and in some cases their fucking visa status anyway, it seems to have presented a nice opportunity to clear the board for their latest Visionary Scheme for the company IP.

That is as I understand the situation, anyway. I'm a bitter old man and most of what I hear is second hand and anonymous gossip through my social networks, take what I say with a grain of salt, but I've followed this company for (oh god) twelve years now and I have developed a tragically keen understanding of how its executive class operates.

[miraculan-draws]

I will never shut up about how dirty Da2 was to Justice like. Justice is ROMANTIC, in Awakening! He was awestruck by a sunrise. Hes in a brand new world, terrified and alone, and took comfort in how lovely the sunrise was. He lets his companions put flowers in his armor, because he cannot smell that he is piloting a corpse (bc it is a corpse and cannot smell). He literally sounded on the verge of tears when he unintentionally upset the wife of his host, of whom he remembered, distantly, as if she were his own wife. How much did it mean to the warden, particularly the "bad" wardens, ruthless blood mages or criminal dusters who spit venom, that Justice Itself said "you seem like a good sort. I will follow you"??

Vengeance has always been part of Justice, he mentions even in his recruitment that fighting with the wardens is the least he can do to AVENGE Kristoff. Vengeance is not a demon, just a facet of Justice. And the fear of becoming something else has always been with Justice too—when Anders wants to know the difference, his prodding upsets Justice, and Anders apologized. Said "I hope you never learn why then." And Justice said "As do I."

LETS TALK JUSTICE AND ANDERS MORE

Justice sounds. SO. Empathetic. When he says "I hear you struggle with your oppression, mage." When we met him in the Fade, he was armored, not wearing the chantrys symbol but shaped like a templar, maybe molded by the villagers trapped by the Baroness. They needed a wicked mage defeated, so they conjured what they thought would win. But Justice IMMEDIATELY, in the physical world, turns his sympathies to Anders, pointing out that Anders is in a very unique position to aid other mages.

And something about that sticks with Anders, even when he brushed it off at the time. And in game, they seem less than friendly, but we also know that Justice was WITH Anders when he took the sword from the templar. Justice must have thought he needed the protection, and was right. I don't think they hate each other, I don't think they're constantly at odds like the second narrative leads us to believe.

WHICH BRINGS ME RIGHT BACK. TO ROMANCE.

There is no way that if ANDERS loves Hawke, that Justice doesn't.

He feels what his host feels!! He remembers what they remember, as if it were him!! He mourned Karl too. He is just as reluctantly charmed by Isabela as he was with Sigrun—who made a game of stealing his knickknacks just to prove she could. If Hawke is an ally to the mages cause, there is no way in my mind that Justice disapproves. And if Anders falls in love, I think Justice does too.

If there is any wariness at ALL, I could see maybe Justice remembering the way Anders hurt when Karl was killed, and worried of a repeat performance—especially with mage Hawke. But I don't think he hates Hawke at all.

[takethistoyourstardust]

i’m not watching king and queen of the ring but i think tama tonga is gonna be the king and i HOPE it’s jey uso who becomes king of the ring.

[lady-redhaired]

On Veilguard and the Lyrium Dagger trick ending

Big Veilguard spoilers from here onward, obviously.

We all know the trick dagger ending is lazy and horribly executed. It's just a mcguffin you don't have to earn in any meaningful way and relies on the player not thinking past surface level about the viability or implications of it.

Of course Solas wouldn't ever fall for a random fake dagger made by a regular mage when he seemed to be the only one capable of crafting his own, which is made of pure lyrium (from Elvhenan), and has his own magical imprint.

But since I don't like to complain without offering my opinion on how a flawed concept can be improved, here's how I think the trick ending could've been satisfying and better earned. You would have to work hard for the chance to trick the trickster God.

The process should involve at least a couple of missions involving the process, until it's viable. And I believe the dagger should only be viable if it was made out of the fragment of Mythal they give you a chance to earn anyway.

You might get a choice to make the dagger out of lyrium, more easily, or out of her essence, with more difficulty. But in the end only one is viable because only one has ancient elven magic infused in it. Something like that.

The lyrium replica wouldn't work and would backfire on Rook at the end, so maybe you get an ending like the 'failing to fight Solas' one, where you're both trapped in the fade. Your overconfidence in believing Solas too easy to fool bites you in the ass. While the Mythal dagger allows you to successfully trick Fen'Harel. Of course, since you chose not to have faith in his ability to grow and redeem himself, and that is a flaw of your character, you're locked out of the choice to even attempt the 'good/redemption ending' this way. You win some, you lose some.

Idk, this is how I think it could've been improved and turned into a far more rewarding or engaging process and ending. Just my two cents.