#veilguard spoilers tw

[mercysought]

I was thinking about this earlier, regarding jealousy between Mythal and Elgar'nan's, especially given the conversations that happen when viewing Solas' regrets:

Before I jump in, I just want to make a point:

From Mythal's standpoint, I don't think that they were involved in any way beyond a deep friendship, as both of their natures twisted, so did it. Slowly enough that they might not have recognised it. (I will leave Solas' feelings to Solas rpers who might feel one way or another, just making it clear that from my Mythal's interpretation, she felt nothing but deeply platonic love for Solas which she took advantage of). But, I presume there would be rumours, regardless of how ridiculous Mythal might find them. The way I am taking a lot of the dialogue from Elgar'nan in Veilguard is that they had a truly massive fall out. I mean, that should be obvious right? Mythal was killed within her temple and Elgar'nan, while that might have impacted him at some emotional level, didn't level the whole world while hunting her killers? Who did that was Solas, who himself says that Mythal's death was the last drop that made him fully launch the rebellion. Given the dialogue between Solas and Elgar'nan during his trap, it should be clear why: at some level, whether because Elgar'nan allowed it to happen or was himself involved, he was involved in Mythal's death.

Ok but returning to the main point: why I don't think that Elgar'nan or Mythal really felt jealousy towards each other:

From Mythal's stand point: she is the Mythal. She who was the only one that was able to calm down Elgar'nan's ire. She who all looked up to and sought for wisdom and justice. She was amongst the most powerful within the Evanuris. There is, realistically, no one that she would consider a challenge to her.

From Elgar'nan's standpoint: Mythal being who she is as per the previous point, she is a prize. And two, considering their history together and as the one that (likely, according to my opinion) first convinced her to take flesh just as he had done. He knew that at some level, no one could truly make her feel as alive as he did.

tl;dr? It's ego, it's always awful, corrupted ego with the evanuris lmao.

[vinduri]

sivan thoughts, spoilers for datv ending

i know the inquisitor pushes rook to reason with solas even if you selected the option in which they vowed to stop him but like—not sivan lol. he and solas mutually dislike each other since day one, and before the final confrontation sivan attempts to push rook into tricking the dreadwolf, paying him back for his betrayal

[merciawintersageposting]

just throwing a theory out there about lucanis’ basement room:

have you ever been in a place where you can feel the eyes at your back? calculating, assessing, observing- the back of your neck prickling with a thousand heated daggers. you are never able to get comfortable- comfort is a blade turned inward. lucanis has lived with that feeling since he was a child.

at a certain point the claustrophobia of a locked room becomes the only sense of safety he has ever had. the bed is not so comfortable that he would lose his vigilance to oversleep. here his back is always to the wall. here he is never denied food. his things are safe. he has a key to a door that locks. here he can breathe.

and so a root cellar becomes a crow’s nest.

[minrathous]

the fate of the world shall be decided soon

[aesfocus]

[beaulesbian]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD - Minrathous & Arlathan scenery

[chaezaru]

[aceghosts]

Emmrich: But you've been through so much these past days. You must need rest.

Rook: Emmrich?

[frilly-cake]

Seeing Lucanis and Davrin getting tipsy together and swapping work stories got me thinking...

What would drunk Emmrich be like?

Picture it... They're all sitting around the table, after another wonderful dinner from Lucanis.. Maybe, in their enjoyment, they opened a couple of extra bottles of wine that evening so everyone's feeling a little loose and mellow. Rook glances over and sees Emmrich sitting back in his chair, his eyes a little heavy-lidded and unfocused. His collar is unbuttoned, a few strands of that perfectly coiffed hair falling into his slightly flushed face. When they catch his attention, he beams at them like they hung the stars in the sky

I imagine him being a happy, affectionate drunk most of the time - and dare I say it, perhaps a little risqué?

So as the candles burn low and the first people start to trickle off to bed, he doesn't even blink when Rook scooches their chair up next to him and puts their hand on his thigh. When Rook leans against him and starts pressing teasing little kisses to that exposed throat, he only chuckles and hums happily, tilting his head to allow them better access. And when Rook finally throws caution to the wind and slides onto his lap, propriety be damned, he merely smirks and slurs out a sultry, "Hello, darling" before pulling them in for a breath-stealing smooch.

The others scatter pretty quickly after that because they know these two are gonna get real gross, real fast.

[coriphallus]

DA: The Veilguard Spoiler review pt1 - Blood Magic

alright let's do this. let's write an in-depth review of veilguard. this will be long and this will be negative and i might eventually say some good things but everything i say will be undermined with a 'BUT'.

its now been around a week since i finished the game and had some time to parse my thoughts and this is why i didnt enjoy the game; NOT why you shouldnt.

so dragon age has a very special place in my heart and i am %100 the kind that has DAO as their favourite game. i have played these games religiously, and let me prefix this by saying i was not hyped for this game, i wont lie and say i wanted bw to succeed or i hoped the game would be good etc etc. if i liked the game, it would be a surprise. alas.

so theres multiple reasons for that, but the canary in the mine for me had been the announcement on blood magic, and yeah i was not shocked after DAI but i was still disappointed. so lets start with blood magic:

Blood Magic

DA lore has changed alot over time, and just like the media it took inspiration from (ASOIAF) i was under the impression that it used unreliable narrators deliberately, just as theyve poked fun at the concept with bethanys tits. it made sense then that the people telling these stories didnt know much about blood magic therefore they couldnt explain it fully but we've known some things for certain, from the text. blood magic uses blood as its source of power instead of lyrium (blood=life force), what constitutes as blood magic is open to interpretation (i.e phylacteries), multiple groups outside of the 'civilised society' such as chasind are not so staunchly against it, knowledge on it can be passed down from a mentor and that mentor usually happens to be a spirit. it can be used to enact control over people in a literal sense and thats considered by the narrative of all DA games to be more reprehensible than burning someone alive.

now i will derail this but i swear im going somewhere with it. i grew up in a country with majority white people, some blond, most with exposed hair who lived in big cities with cobblestone roads and snowy winters and starbuckses, and who would consider themselves westerners. some religious practices i know less about than most christians know about their holidays.

where my grandma lived was at the bottom of a high slope, and once a year when we went to visit her id see a thick trail of blood trickle down from the waterway to pool on her street, and at that dinner the family (and neighbours, sometimes) would bring a myriad of dishes and we'd feast. i would see butchers shops clean their curbs with buckets of water, mopping red tinted liquid down a drain. when i grew older and we were visiting my mothers village i watched the men subdue and kill a cow that we were going to eat that night. i watched them skin it and separate the meat from its bones, explaining what parts of an animal is used for which dishes because it was their craft and a young girl showed interest. as people we always live with the knowledge that our lives depend on death, whether it be a plant or an animal. existence is not moral and clean, and death is messy. getting blood stains out of a fabric once a month is the lived reality of more than half the human population.

i was not raised religious, nobody in my close family were, i didn't feel any sort of way when those men started to pray around the cow but i knew why they did it, even if it was performative for some, for the rest they had to show respect. the cow was meant to represent somebody you cared about, offering it in their stead symbolically. it needed to be respected, it needed to be butchered without pain. save from one serving of meat, as was tradition, were donated to the food banks.

now im sure some of you are thinking 'no matter how you slice it, its still a brutal act. made more brutal by the audience deriving some form of moral superiority' and yes, i used to think that too, because what is a religious practice for them is a show to me. but it is the norm where i grew up, and in the end a cow is dead regardless because we need to eat. and some people who needed to eat more than us got to eat too.

somewhere in germany news break out that some immigrants were practicing unethical and unsanitary butcherings, you see the footage of men in kufi and puffy pants and women covered completely in black sheets get ushered out by police. they shout some things in a foreign language, speaking the name of their foreign god. they show a censored room covered in blood and gore.

so i have to ask now, when you play veilguard and see venatori torturing and exploding a halla into a puff of red smoke which image does it bring to mind, what do you think of when you hear 'ritual sacrifice'? you may not have noticed this parallel but your brain sure did, as it has been noticing for your entire life and counting, the same reason you cringe at the barbarity of people consuming raw flesh, painting their foreheads with blood, killing animals you would pet. its alien, its gross, its wrong.

i cant play this game and take it seriously with its mask yanked off, gloating about its lack of nuance every step of the way. when you hit people red stuff comes out, red stuff bad. killing bad. murder bad. that it extends more sympathy to a fantasy deer than it ever allows for living breathing people of its universe, faceless and primitive.

in other DA games there were people over there somewhere who enslaved others, built their entire civilization on the ruins of gods they cannot comprehend, practiced bloody sacrifices and rituals that doomed the world for their own power, and even in their homeland they are nothing but canon fodder to be murdered and gawked at. their traditions, religion, entire culture is less than a set dressing, because whatever grosses you out are the bad apples, because the good ones cant be anything else and still derive sympathy from the audience.

and its true, you need to be an exceptional writer to make that work, especially if you dont have any real life experience to pull from. you need to stain your hands a little, and be prepared to be called dirty.

but i see it, i see those news reports everywhere i look in the game, i see the streets being cleaned and scrubbed so the tourists wouldnt call them backwards people, unclean, less than.

ive never played a game so repulsed by and is uninterested in its own universe than DAV, in every line of dialogue i can feel it trembling in fear. my companions tell me i dont need to watch a deer getting butchered, i can look away and proceed to electrocute hundreds of masked men some of whom are talking about comically evil things like patricide.

this has always been a point of contention in the medium of video games as the most prominent way to engage with the world has been through violence, and for me the DA franchise has always managed to tackle this by allowing its main character to be messy. yes, hawke cleaves thru countless faceless raiders but theyre also an illegal immigrant trying to get by with nothing to offer to the world than their violence. warden is deliberately recruited for that same violence, the only purpose of their existence is to fight as theyre made to shed everything else from their old life. and still, still you play these characters as they are allowed to grow, heal, carve out a little space for themselves where they can laugh and joke with their peers. it is juxtaposed to that darkness in their lives that makes those moments precious.

'what is good?' the games asked, and they answered 'doesn't matter, the world can be a better place with them in it'

veilguard asks 'what is good?' and answers 'you are.'

it doesnt matter whether blood magic is bad lore-wise (and that discussion is irrelevant to this decision made by the devs), because it needs to be narratively. like tabloid news the entire premise of the story is built on it. it needs to be inaccessible to and shunned by your party and rook because they need to be 'good' and in contrast, your enemies need to be 'bad'

and like dominoes it retroactively reframes the moral stance of every game in the franchise.

so, yes, i just laughed when i saw that announcement. i didnt know what else to do. but hang on to your knickers because it gets so much worse...

[mercysought]

   “Ah, Inquisitor!"

In a sea of curved dark lines, with eyes that never close painted against the walls of the Lighthouse, the curved lines of each of the instruments and furniture brought to this music room: the Inquisitor's turned, straightened back cuts a sharp figure, like a wound.

It is only when the red-haired woman turns, that Rook notices that her prosthetic is atop the piano bench, as well as a stack of books that seem to have been removed from the library in the centre of the Lighthouse and a small notepad. Moving into the room, now with a slower step, she looks from the Inquisitor to the mural and then back. It didn't look that much different in style than the rest. The only difference, perhaps, being that these were far more worn when compared to those they had salvaged in the main walls of this place "Is it a bad time?"

   "No, please. I was just... distracted," she replies though her voice is still distant, tilting her head over her shoulder she turns finally, completely to Rook.

   "I need your help, it's about Solas." she adds, looking at the other elven woman with emphasis. She knew she probably should just keep her mouth shut, especially about this ESPECIALLY to the Inquisitor but upon seeing that she was in the music room after returning from the Crossroads Orla simply couldn't really stop herself. Not after the conversation that she and Solas had just had. She needed to talk, and she needed to talk to someone that knew how fucking aggravating he could be.

Rook sat by the empty edge of the piano stool. The Inquisitor grabbed her prophetic before slowly walking towards the other chair "May I speak frankly?"

Asharen's eyebrow arches; mouth twisted briefly. It would not be the first time she had these sorts of conversations about Solas and she was sure that it would not be the last. It was, however, the first time she did so with someone who had spoken with him more in the past few days or weeks than her in years. She sat slowly, brow still arched as the prophetic attaches with a low hum “I wouldn't ask you to be anything but. Please."

Inhaling, Rook feels that this is the last chance that she has to back down. She could just walk back to her room and scream into the air. Truthfully, it would probably be more productive to walk straight into the Crossroads and wear her throat sore calling him far more colourful names than his enemies had ever come up with before.

   "Well." she feels her throat start and once she starts she can't really stop "Solas and I had a chat about his ritual." she looks from the Inquisitor to the keys on the piano. 'They would have minimised the loss of life'. She felt rage build in her throat once more "He has... uhm- opinions, let's say that. The type that makes him sound like a pompous, self-serving, self-flagellating c-" she inhales. Curbing the want to calling him more names. Glancing to the Inquisitor, she remains as she had when Rook had started the rant so she takes that as permission to proceed "- which as you might imagine? Not the most productive or smart move for me to follow going forward."

   "He is testing me," she finally turns fully to the Inquisitor, leaning down to have both elbows resting on her legs "in more ways than one."

The Inquisitor stays in silence as she finds herself without any more words. Orla could see it; she at times enjoyed talking to him, he wasn't just a monster that wanted to destroy the world. But my God did he manage to so easily annoy her in times. He, Elgar'nan, Ghilan'nain - it was like they could not hear themselves talk. Did not care to hear themselves talk or did not care how that might be received. And maybe they didn't.

The Inquisitor gives her a small, mirthful smile; a small snort given through metallic fingers "It does sound like him. He has this natural gift to get in his own way. To push people away."

   "It might not be what you are looking for, but I believe he does this because he knows no other way to ask for help." Asharen would not be there if it were not for the many breadcrumbs that he had left her throughout the years, after all. He seemed resolute the last time they had spoken, and yet despite it all, had made sure that his memory would always linger. And she, foolishly, perhaps, had always reached for them and kept every shred she could.

The Inquisitor rests her back against the red cushion of the chair she was sitting. Eyes lowered to look at both her hands.

   "I find myself more and more concerned that I have allowed myself to live in deep delusion for the past eight years. That I managed to lie to myself so thoroughly simply to not face the music and see how much my ego, my heart, required that I be right about him despite all that has happened. All that he has done."

   "He had this way of making me feel that there was nothing else in this world that shone as brightly as me; that there would never be." her eyes lifted to meet Rook's; there was a raw sincerity, an honesty that Rook could do nothing but flinch at. Asharen's brows furrow as she lowers her eyes once more to the metallic fingers and silence settles once more.

Orla hadn't known the Inquisitor to be shy, but definitely reserved. Perhaps it was that which kept her eyes grounded in her hand. Shame? Embarrassment at exposing herself from a shell that she had built after so long? For the first time since she had arrived to the Lighthouse, she could finally see the weight over her shoulders as she looked over her shoulders back to the mural that she had been inspecting before Orla had arrived

   "This to say, Rook," Rook looks from the mural to the other elven woman "that I feel for your plight, but it seems you are handling it well."

Orla nods. Unsure what she had really expected out of that conversation but this wasn't it. To be honest, she didn't quite understand it. It wasn't for her to understand she guessed. For all she had interacted with the Inquisitor she sounded like a wise figure, a good head on her shoulders, levelled advice. She felt like this was a whole can of worms that she shouldn't have opened, and yet she was there now.

   "You love him still."

The Inquisitor's eyes snap back to her. Arched brows at the directness of the statement. Her expression softens as the air is allowed back into her lungs. Rook nods once more, slowly getting up from the piano.

Ah fuck.

   "I asked him about you." she adds, as she starts walking out of the room. Why was she doing this? When he was such a fucking ass? Why help?! "He might be the god of lies, treachery and so forth, but -" Orla stops, looking at the Inquisitor who now seemed to hang on each of her words. Exhaling, Rook looks to the ceiling, rolling her eyes behind closed eyes.

Solas might be an ass, but she liked the Inquisitor. She had this calming presence; she was good, good to everyone in the Lighthouse. To be honest, she could almost swear that some parts of the Lighthouse had become lighter.

Orla wanted to give her something back, for the help and for the trouble

   "He did say that you are a good woman. That he's lived with many regrets, but some he cherished more than his victories. If it makes you feel better, for whatever that is worth coming from me: I don't think he was lying about that."

Silence settles once more. And this feels more uncomfortable, though she could see that the Inquisitor seemed to smile. Just a flash of it, perhaps - to be honest, Orla felt she had already prodded and pulled at more old scars than she should have. Than she had bargained for.

With one hand against the curved edge of the door, she turns one last time. She was about to leave when another terrible question crossed her mind:

   "Do you want me to tell him that you are here?"

The Inquisitor, having raised once more to her feet, seems to hold the same pad in her hand, and a small charcoal stick in the other. With a pause, Orla can almost see the cogs turning behind loose red hair.

   "No," she finally says; and Orla could perhaps read into it though she was thankful that she would not be used like a raven and correspondence. Truthfully, she was relieved regardless of how curious she was as to the reason "I don't think that would be wise." she smiles, one that is warm and reaches her eyes "But thank you. For the offer and for everything."

[vaamiel]

Here's another Lucanis!

Im sitting here waiting for Bioware to release clearer images of his armor 🥲 let me see it PLEASE

My commissions are open!

[amiracleilluminated]

[knightwayne]

I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night

– Sarah Williams

[knife-eared-jan]

Man, it's rough out there in the YT comment sections. I am genuinely terrified for the moment Taash's personal quest is out there. From what is going on with her pronouns, what we know about her quest revolving around identity, her "other" appearance as a qunari... this is going to get really ugly. And it makes me so frustrated bc I know, Trick Weekes having written her, how personal her arc must feel to them and that she will be utterly amazing and I will want to wife her so bad.

I wonder if all this culture war tourism is so very frenzied in part because of the US election cycle stoking up people's hate especially or if this would have been as extreme no matter what...

[rissi-chan]

SPOILERS for DATV Below the Cut!!!

You have been warned.

On my second playthrough of Veilguard now, and I noticed something that obviously went over my head the first time I played, and it has RUINED me.

At the end of Taash's personal quest, during the scene right after Rowan helps them translate the tablet and they're grieving their mother, they say something along the lines of:

Taash: "I already cried once. I should be done."

and Rook replies with:

Rook: "I don't think that's how it works."

Taash: "Like you know how it's supposed to work. You act like you've never lost anyone."

Which, was already kind of "Ouch" the first playthrough.

But NOW. KNOWING what happened to Varric. Knowing that EVERYONE ELSE in the Lighthouse is probably aware that Varric is dead and never tells Rook . . . that makes the wording SO MUCH WORSE.

"you ACT like you've never lost anyone."

Because they HAVE. But they don't ACT like it.

Is Taash aware of the events surrounding Varric at this point? Unclear. But, regardless, this line of dialogue hurts SO MUCH more with the potential implication that Taash DOES know about Varric and thinks that Rook's seemingly nonchalant attitude about his death is genuine.

When, in reality, THEY HAVE NO IDEA.

I can't. Had to exit the game and sit in my feels for a second after this one.