#bog plays DATV

[boghermit]

[bogunicorn]

i really wish that you could leave notes on blocked accounts so that in the future i'll remember who i blocked for being a spambot vs terf or other kind of asshole vs had a really annoying opinion and maybe eventually unblock those last people

[solavelyan]

honestly imagine what this fandom could be like if people would go play a different game instead of making shit up about veilguard just as an excuse to keep complaining about it

[amaryllis-sagitta]

DATV post-credit ("secret ending") is a Choice not only because of what it does to the world state, but because of other implications

I got my wildest crack crossover with Neon Genesis Evangelion confirmed in a way I did not expect or ask for. Pack it up, Solas, and pilot the Eva one last time, the Executors from across the seas are the SEELE. They want to complete the Thedas Instrumentallity Project and return everything to the peace and comfort of the Void. Turns out Your Mom and her Ayanami backups across the world tried as they might to push back against that incoming Devouring Storm, the renowned history nudger she was. To dance as long as music plays, one might say.

Here's the thing: Dragon Age has always had that New Age'y whiff.

In some capacity, the whole game series seems to be about the manichaean concept of the perennial war between the Light and the Darkness, though until Veilguard it has been more subdued and mostly passed on through lore. We've had the Blight as the main force of darkness that tainted the perfect realm of Light, the Old Gods as those who dwelled the Darkness, etc. In Inquisition we sang that "The Dawn Will Come". And Veilguard almost attacks us with the allegory of Light being under constant siege from the forces of Shadow, with the Black City bursting at the seams, the Blight slowly taking over the world, the Lighthouse being the last bastion against the Elvhen Gods, Shadow Dragons & Lucerni working underground and what not.

Then, there's the Fade, the quasi-platonic "repository" of thought forms, emotions, experiences and memories. The library analogy in respect with the Fade became more apparent with the introduction of The Vir Dirthara and the archive spirits. In this shape, the Fade most resembles Akashic Records, a concept brought in through Helena Blavatsky's theosophy. Then, we have Lyrium and the Titans, entities of the Sentient Magical Crystal, and its chosen Valta and Harding are enlightened to experience Oneness with their cosmic Source. There's the possibility of reincarnation made explicit in the Avvar culture and now semi-confirmed in elvhen lore. There's the undeniably Archon-y vibe of the Old Gods & Evanuris (gnostic sects), and Arlathan is basically the elven Atlantis (a myth from Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, romanticized throughout the ages). There is literally a primordial Abyss in gnostic and Hermetic writings. I haven't delved into this yet but there's also something to say about Solas/ Mythal and the gnostic Yalbadaoth/ the Demiurge, two characters directly responsible for the descent of the world from pure form into matter through an intrigue of error and moral corruption.

At first, the esoteric inspirations seemed closer to some older themes woven into the lore. It was fun to make comparisons as long as these were comparisons with texts and ideas from antiquity, or something that didn't immediately remind you of shit your neighbor might say.

In this context, consider what it looks like to learn that the inspirations for this series now reach down into the conspiracy theory bog that informs many New Age beliefs. Especially since now, in the XXIth century, New Age seems to double down on the Manichaean concept of the ongoing "spiritual war" between the Light and the Darkness. It also incorporates a lot of the XIXth century esoterical ideas with little thought of its origins or implications. And the implications are, among others, that Western esotericism has INSPIRED WHITE SUPREMACY AND CONTINUALLY HAS A THING GOING ON WITH THE FAR RIGHT.

This is not a joke. It is Not. A. Joke.

So, I'm squinting, instantly hit by the whiplash -- not because of what the Executors twist does narratively to the worldstate of the first three DA games, but because Dragon Age IP has just unabashedly announced that it wants to go there.

An important question to ask here is: in the context of all the esoterical references in the series, do we really need ideas such as

a secret cabal of elusive, risk averse, shifty entities that can get into anyone's mind and control them manipulate anyone by creating advantageous circumstances for themselves in some way*

the said cabal prevails throughout history and steers its outcomes from the shadows, and

a tease that it is now imperative for the world's heroes to disclose the said cabal and to fight it. That this might be our new duty, new cause to unite people, new adventure, new grand world-saving experience ---

[*edit: turns out I was wrong about the mind control part, and the writers explained on BSky that they purposefully chose the wording to make that faction merely "inspire" past events -- which doesn't really do much harm to my main point...]

DO WE REALLY NEED TO TEASE SOMETHING LIKE THIS AS A COOL LOOK IN THIS TIME AND AGE??? Especially considering how the only people who oppose Rook's "Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan" tinfoil speak are framed by the narrative to be unconditional assholes?

Is this their idea of an "impactful story"? Did no-one in that writing room and no-one among the executives consider this twist to be tone deaf and in extremely poor taste? Don't they see that it's now completely indefensible to claim that this is "just inspired fantasy worldbuilding" and not a social pastiche that (inadvertently???) romanticizes prevalent polarizing mythologies?

(I wrote about this in the feedback forums, so fingers crossed someone in there sees it and has fire lit under their ass.)

This is so sad, Manfred, play Komm, süsser Tod from The End of Evangelion, I need a moment in the Memorial Gardens.

[joudama]

…DA2 is my favorite of the all the Dragon Age games. I loved it from the first time I played it. I adored how you were on a Heroine’s Journey instead of a bog-standard Hero’s Journey where you’re the chosen one saving the world. I didn’t even mind the repeated maps, other than them not blurring out part of the maps in the caves when they were inaccessible. I thought people were too hard on it because they were salty it wasn’t another Big Damn Hero Saving the World story, and it was gratifying to see people giving it another chance.

But Veilguard? It fell apart on replay. As soon as the ooh-shiny wore off, there was nothing there. There were no moments that stayed with me, like Fenris’ entrance, the death of Hawke’s mother, or when Anders Does the Thing. DA2 is about how trying to keep the status quo when things are fundamentally broken is bound to fail - and honestly, I think people are reevaluating it because that theme resonates with a lot more people now than did when the game came out - and DATV is about how great the status quo is (now that we’ve erased everything that caused friction between people! DATV’s Thedas is a Burger King Kids Club version of Thedas).

So no, I will never come to love DATV the same. There’s not enough actually there to love. It’s a soap bubble - lovely and shiny on the outside but full of nothing inside.

people who say fans will come to love datv in time the same way we did with da2 underestimate my ability to hold a grudge

[boghermit]

yeah man no shit

[boghermit]

on god?

[boghermit]

Sera mention 💖🐝

[boghermit]

DATV spoilers wrt Taash

I'm still so mad that they kill off Taash's mom as soon as she accepts their gender identity. Like literally within thirty seconds Taash's mom gets smacked on the head and dies. Whose idea was that? I can only speak for myself but I think a lot of trans people would prefer a storyline about reconciliation with estranged family to a storyline that ends in shock-value tragedy.

I'm picturing a pleasant ending for Taash where their mom lives, and also they learn to embrace both sides of their heritage. (This would fit in thematically with not being forced into a binary!) And then think of all the heartwarming cutscenes you could have with them bonding with their mom after she accepts their identity, maybe some extra interactions / scenes with a Qunari Rook. Taash's mom could become a consultant to the Veilguard on Qunari culture even if it's just the usual letter-writing that happens in the background.

I'm rambling but I really really like Taash in spite of their "immature" personality flaws and I wish their storyline had been handled with a bit more grace.

[boghermit]

I forgot to hide her helmet for conversations 💀

[boghermit]

[boghermit]

I just realized they're definitely using Iron Bull's concept art armor for the new Qunari in Treviso

I can't get a good in-game picture but some of them have skull helmets and arm cannons

[boghermit]

my Rook continues the time-honored tradition of poor Dragon Age screenshot timing

[boghermit]

My Rook, based on a OC I had back in DAI who was Skyhold's blacksmith? Carpenter? I can't quite remember what.

My Inquisitor and her new awful haircut that her wife definitely gave her. I miss her old hair but her face definitely looks better in DATV.

[boghermit]

You can't make a necromancer who looks like Vincent Price and has a glasses-wearing skeleton named Manfred and expect me not to fall in love with him instantly c'mon

[boghermit]

Declan feat. the guy he is absolutely not supposed to be hanging out with