#squirrel plays datv

[invinciblerodent]

[invinciblerodent]

I'm gonna just come out and say it, if you don't mind me adding a bit of tongue-in-cheek, bitter commentary.

I think in hindsight, Bioware may have made a bit of a mistake with revealing as much about their concept for Joplin as they did.

Not in the slightest because it wouldn't have been a fun game if it had been made real, or because the creative process wouldn't be interesting to see, or because I wouldn't understand them wanting to share something they worked on so much and obviously liked before it got canned. I really enjoyed thumbing through the artbook and toying with the thoughts it sparked, and I too thought it was a clever idea that would have been nice to play. The mistake part of it has nothing to do with what it is.

I think sharing it was ultimately a mistake because by including Joplin's concept art, they put their trust in their audience's ability to look at something that has very little- to fuckall to do with anything else, go "huh, neat", and move on.

Which, turns out, is something many seem categorically unable to do.

"But Dragon Age Joplin would've been the game we WANTED-"

Dragon Age Joplin doesn't exist. Didn't exist. Never would've existed. Dragon Age Joplin was an idea, it was a collection of what ifs and concept art. It wasn't a game. If it had become a game, it wouldn't have looked anything like the concepts we see in the art book (which are very cool and pretty!). The PRACTICALITIES hadn't been considered yet. The issues around writing, casting, sculpting, animating, all the very expensive and time-consuming realities of making a game. It was just ideas

If Joplin had been allowed to continue without any of EA's interference, would it have been a better game? Maybe! Part of me wants to say probably! But we CAN'T KNOW because the game DOESN'T EXIST and NEVER EXISTED

It wasn't snatched out of our hands. It was never there! It's easy to look at ideas and fill in the blanks yourself perfectly, but it wouldn't have BEEN perfect regardless. I can promise you that

Maybe it would've been better. It also could've been worse. We will never know because the game was never real

[dreadblaidd]

yes we’ve all heard you talking about solas fighting dirty, knife and orb. How did he get back into shape after the big ol nap, did he have to recharge his magic a certain way, did he find relearning anything difficult?

cue the Rocky montage but with a very, very old man. It's the most terrifyingly 'human' he's ever felt - stuck in a body that was too heavy, unable to really call on the Fade except in dreams, and able to rely on little more than his wits.

Physique immediately post Big Sleep: Whatever ~magic~ keeps their muscles from completely atrophying and their bodies from being one giant ulcer while they sleep for thousands of years aside, when Solas finally woke up he was weak as hell. Surviving on only ‘tea’ and then sustenance from the Fade would of course remove muscle mass. This is a magical process, but his design in DAI vs. DATV gives us fun room to play in. He wouldn’t have died from malnutrition or had serious muscle atrophy ala prolonged coma, but ~3000 years of sleep took a physical toll. This would have a permanent effect on his health if he weren’t an immortal firstborn elf. It took him that whole year before Inquisition just to reach the 'twunk' status.

Muscle: He was asleep for ~3000 years and even an immortal can't just hop back up with the same muscle mass. Muscles atrophy with disuse, and despite the magic that sustains someone in uthenera, there's gonna be a recovery period to get back to where he was in the rebellion. Regaining muscle was both helped and hurt by the modern world. He was incredibly physically active, just because to get anywhere, he had to do a shit ton of walking, and to bring anything, he had to carry it. That helped a lot with endurance. To use magic (see more below), he needed a foci like a staff. He used that for upper body training, and while it was awkward, it helped. So he was constantly moving, lifting, and carrying things which helped to build muscle, albeit a leaner muscle.

His muscle mass in Inquisition is definitely lean muscle. He did some sparring when they're at Skyhold. Not with daggers, because his skill with that would give him away to Iron Bull, but definitely using staffs almost like a bo staff instead of just magic. Most of his exercise is still cardio, but at least we get some strength-adjacent in there, too. Nothing disciplined, because discipline + Solas doesn't jive for me lol.

Nutrition: The downside is that the nutrition situation sucked. He didn't have money until he found where to steal some (knowing him, he probably had a small cache squirreled away somewhere, but it was ancient currency). He had to eat what he could find, pilfer, or have gifted by nice people. Most of that cheaper and easier to obtain food would be more grains and vegetables than hearty protein. And even when he started to accumulate some coin, he was limited where he could go to eat because he's an elf. So it's tavern stew, bread, and potatoes. The calories were helpful, but it's not a well-rounded diet suited for bulking up after a prolonged period of incapacitation.

He really starts to fill out in Skyhold. Good, quality food is in abundance, and Solas sleeps near the kitchens. He also isn't shy about 'reappropriating' food as long as no servants would be blamed. They do eat trail food when they're on the road, which is most of the time, and his muscle is still mostly lean bc outside of battle, their primary exercise is walking. So he doesn't reach datv levels of physique during dai. But by the defeat of Corypheus, he’s added a few notches to his belt.

Magic: The magic was the absolute worst part. Nothing worked like it should, and he had to relearn everything. Magic used to be like breathing for him. With the Veil in place, it was like gasping for breath under water. He used the orb as a foci in the past for bigger things, but here, he needed a staff just to cast the most basic magic. And none of his spells worked the same way - he had to draw from the Veil instead of the Fade directly. He had to be more deliberate with everything. There was none of the elegance of magic we see him use in Veilguard. It felt like he was physically pulling something across the Veil to manifest in the physical world.

It's like how the kids today have 'new math' from those of us who learned it in the stone age. The fundamentals are the same, but the method for getting there was completely different.

the twunk to hunk pipeline

[invinciblerodent]

Ngl, some people's "I wasn't allowed to be an irredeemably evil shitbird, ergo Veilguard is not an RPG" argument is extra funny to me, because I don't actually think there is a conceivable narrative in which, if your Rook did something as objectively amoral as selling people into slavery, they wouldn't wake up the next morning floating untethered in the raw Fade with Neve's bootprint on their ass, and the Lighthouse no more than a distant blip on the edge of their vision.

Like there is a lot to get into here that I just don't have the time or the spoons to go through, but I'd argue that one of the biggest strengths of Veilguard's writing is that the main cast are all very well-defined characters with their own sets of morals, ethics, and goals, and they collectively have more than enough of a backbone that if Rook did something that proved them incapable of leading the team to the story's climax and/or proved them to be of no benefit to them, they wouldn't fail their quest: they would just swiftly and efficiently get rid of Rook.

[invinciblerodent]

hang on, hold on, now I'm really in my feelings about Harding for a moment

like ever since I heard that conversation where Lucanis (very insightful tbh, short king to short queen I guess) points out that having been a tiny dwarf girl raised among the big, intimidating, human Fereldan farmers probably impacted Lace's personality more than she realizes (beyond making her adaptable and capable, it also seems to have made her... kind of malleable, unwilling to rock the boat, people-pleasing, more limestone than granite), I already haven't been able to quite shake that thought. But her being so startlingly low on that recent "who's your favorite character" poll I reblogged... it really drove that point all the way home.

a core characteristic of Lace Harding seems to be that she always tries, and tries, and tries, to be liked- she tries to always be kind, and compassionate, and caring, and sweet to everyone, and it works! everyone likes her! people like being around her, both inside and out the narrative!

... but she's very few people's favorite.

it's a really interesting take on pleasantness being a shield (honestly kind of a very accurate, but subtle expansion on her character in Inquisition, when she was just... Nice and Capable Little Lace Harding and Little Else) and even her story, while it's about her own repressed feelings (literally fighting a physical manifestation of her rage, and sorrow, and pain, is. wow you don't get more clear a metaphor than that, the metaphor is literally punching you in the face on that one), it's still not about herself- or not only herself, but all of the dwarven people, all that was taken from them, all their rage, and sorrow, and pain, condensed into her tiny little body....

there is definitely more to expand on this, and I'll probably get more into it in subsequent playthroughs, but for now, I'm finding it really interesting how Lace Harding is almost an afterthought in her own life, purposefully made a footnote in her own narrative, and that in itself serves to color it in further. she lives in the silences between the titan's heartbeats.

truly the fucking textbook interpretation of an eldest daughter of all the dwarven people, and I'm fucking emotional as fuck about her right now

[invinciblerodent]

i am fightign the urge to rant about his outfit so fucking much

do you see where the cape is pinned up at his knee, as if to avoid it getting dirty or in his way

do you see the blanket stitch all around it, and how thick and warm that other cape on his arm looks

the open chest, left vulnerable, and the sheer warmth of the outfit, as contrasted with the pieces of plate and hardened leather armor, it all has that same theme of rustic comfort that is reflected in his room's cozy hunter's lodge vibe, with the crackling fireplace, the furs on the floor, and the clothes thrown haphazardly over the back of the armchair contrasting with the diagrams, trophies, and carving station

this man's trust may be hard-won but he is a big giant softie on the inside, i just fucking know it, and i am determined to find out just how many licks it takes to get to his gooey center, so help me Andraste

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Davrin cosplay guide [source]

[invinciblerodent]

can't wait to see people draw Davrin in all sorts of heroic poses fit for illustrations of Arthurian legends, Bellara in pretty pastel sundresses, Emmrich wearing nothing but copious amounts of gold jewelry, Taash in bodybuilder poses (and shirts with the sleeves cut off and the sides scooped), Harding in the coziest of furs, Neve in suits and posed like a Leyendecker illustration, and Lucanis lit like a Rembrandt looking menacingly back over his shoulder, and for everyone to be so fucking correct

[invinciblerodent]

[A subtitle saying "Taash: Doesn't matter how sad you are about doing evil crap if you keep doing it."]

Man, the literal kind isn't the only kind of fire that Taash spits. That's probably the most succinct summary of how I feel about Solas that any character has ever given in this story yet.

[invinciblerodent]

Are people playing the same game I did? What do they mean "Rook has done nothing to earn Solas' loyalty"? Given what Solas did to Varric, and just the general threat Solas' plans represent, Rook is well within their rights to give zero shits about his loyalty. Why are they concerned about Rook earning Solas' loyalty to begin with? Solas wronged THEM not the other way around??? What did Rook even do? Stop the ritual? The ritual which was going to cause apocalyptic destruction? You can't blame Rook for not having all the facts. The one who does have all the facts (Solas) has been keeping them to himself. It's not Rook's fault if they only know what they've been told. What are they supposed to think given that demons are literally popping up all over the place? Solas hasn't exactly given Rook any reason to trust him. Did they forget Solas has a whole track record of being untrustworthy??? And even that considered Rook still makes plenty of effort to understand Solas? That entire quest with Solas' memories? Various companions weighing in based on their perspectives? I don't understand where they're getting this impression that Rook is some unreasonably judgemental dickhead. I'm sorry for ranting I'm just so tired of going into the VG tags and seeing people put the most unwarranted Rook hate in the main tags. How do people have the most bad faith takes about their own character? Are they role-playing them like that??

Dude, I totally get what you mean. These are all the same questions I'm asking myself every time I happen across a take like that. (Adding the link to my prev post about the take in question.)

If you'll allow me some room for pondering, my guess is just that... they are kind of roleplaying them like you say, but they're not truly roleplaying. Or better said, they're not playing the role of Rook.

I think that these people posting takes like that, they're playing as themselves, not taking up the perspective of a character within the story but looking into the story from the outside, AND they're doing so filtered through the lens of having previously also played Inquisition (and their Inquisitor) the same way.

What I think may be happening here is that the Inquisitor's (and by extension, these players') experience with Solas is, by design, drastically different from that of Rook, and many of those who have loved the character they knew Solas as for a long time (a decade at this point) find Rook's and Veilguard's perspective of him and his role in the story irreconcilable with what they know.

These players see Solas as a companion, a friend, a lover, a character who is fundamentally a protagonist in the story (regardless of the fact that Trespasser explicitly states that him achieving his goals would cause massive devastation and the end of Thedas as we know it, plus that much of the face that he showed in Inquisition, he himself admitted was either shown under false pretenses or was an outright lie), and with that being their version of the truth about him as far as they are concerned, they find conceptualizing him as an antagonist very difficult, or even impossible.

Which means that the neutral/wary attitude that Rook (a character who was written as someone who never before interacted with Solas, spent the better part of the year pursuing him with the intention of stopping him, and now has goals that are explicitly contradictory to his ultimate goal) puts them in a place where the player's point of view character is one they think of as an antagonist.

That's why they think that Rook is the one who should win Solas' trust and loyalty, that's why they're frustrated that Rook has no option to immediately believe and trust everything Solas says and prioritize helping him, and in some fringe cases, that's why they think there should have been an option to let the Veil be brought down and let Solas succeed.

Simply, I think that these people, they aren't engaging with the story as written, but they are constantly fighting against their own protagonist, which creates this sort of... I guess moral dissonance(? can I call it that?) between them, and the point of view that the game asks them to embody.

I don't know how much sense this makes (I've been microwaving this in my head for a long time, I think it may be a bit burnt at this point), but I feel like it lines up with the posts that have broken into my isolation chamber. Granted I don't purposefully engage with these types of posts and I'm pretty sure I've blocked a large chunk of the people posting this stuff, but...

I mean, to me it makes sense, lol.

It's kind of that theme of fact and truth and history changing depending on who tells it (which permeates the entire setting) seeping into the real world, and into the fandom.

That has kind of an almost poetic irony to it.

[invinciblerodent]

I'm a little sad that I didn't manage to get her to be exactly the way I wanted (there wasn't much room for small details like her vallaslin or her earrings and pouches), but finally I let go of my perfectionism and finished my tiny Bellara plushie ❤️

she's all of 5 inches tall (a whole inch of which is just her bun); A5 notebook for scale ❤️

[invinciblerodent]

if you wouldn't drown each other in a spoonful of water for exactly one copper piece, are you even really (half-)siblings

[invinciblerodent]

Isabela's comments in the Hall of Valor

Bellara:

Isabela: Our next challenger comes from the Veil Jumpers of Arlathan. She's deadly and Dalish, so give a halla for Bellara!

Davrin:

Isabela: In war, victory! In peace, vigilance! In the Hall of Valor, give it up for renowned Grey Warden and monster slayer Davrin!

Emmrich:

Isabela: The spirits of the Hall of Valor are honored to welcome Emmrich "Vol-carnage" Volkarin of the Mourn Watch!

Lucanis:

Isabela: The Hall of Valor is pleased to welcome legendary Spirit of Determination, Spite! And his spirit-friend, Lucanis Dellamorte of the Crows.

Neve:

Isabela: Is that a chill in the air? Please give an ice-cold welcome to the darling of Dock Town, the Winter from Tevinter, Neve Gallus!

(She didn't comment on Taash at all in any of my attempts, and I tried multiple times, but I haven't been able to trigger a specific comment for Harding either- If someone managed to get one, please don't hesitate to add it! ❤️)

[invinciblerodent]

My little Davrin doll is finally done! ❤️ He's just about twice the height of my Bellara doll, and I think he turned out really cute. 😊

This time, I used a pattern from the book "Crochet Little Heroes" by Orsi Farkasvölgyi for the base shape of the body (because I initially thought I could alter one of her patterns for short curly hair to kinda fit the design I wanted)- at the end of the day, I ended up not being super faithful to it, and just making up both the colorwork for his "outfit", and his wig piece as I went, lol.

Hope you guys like him ❤️❤️

[invinciblerodent]

[invinciblerodent]

i don't know about you but i've been up since 2 am so this is hilarious to me

[invinciblerodent]

so far, my experience with the Veilguard romances kind of boils down to

Davrin's early flirting: I want to hunt you for sport. yes, this is sexual to me. 🥵🥵🥵

Bellara's early flirting: I'm an engaged and attentive listener, and I don't find you to be annoying- I just genuinely enjoy your company. ☺️💖

Harding's early flirting: 😏 well, well, well, what do we have here....😏 do you maybe wanna... spend time together? 👅 hehe, but people will talk! 😝 won't they??? 👀👀👀 idk, maybe??? 😏😏😏

and I'm enamored with all of them