crypticcanidae

[crypticcanidae]

my favorite response to that datv criticism about rook being weirdly divorced from the rest of the party is the "no one in the prev games ever checked up on you either." um. y. yes they did. they did that a lot in fact.

[crypticcanidae]

This is badass: Medieval Nubian Fashion Brought to Life. Click through to the link because there’s more replica clothing and it is all stunning!

[crypticcanidae]

It's called hard sci-fi because it's not as easy

[crypticcanidae]

this is killing me

[crypticcanidae]

*gripping bioware by the shoulders* what is Bellara's relationship to her clan? her mother is a woodworker in orlais. was she always raised dalish? were her parents? did her parents leave the clan? are they from different clans? is her clan a northern one or did she more actively seek out the veil jumpers? lutare is a family name. what even is her clan named? is she descended from dalish nobility and/or an emerald knight? or does her surname have another source? her combat style implies she was not trained as a keeper. was this a choice on her part or a choice of her keeper's? how did she feel about not being made first, if she ever tried to be? did her feelings change over time? since the veil jumpers are not a dalish only organization (for some reason) how did her clan feel about her and Cyrian leaving for them? how did literally any of this affect her relationship with Cyrian? how does none of this ever come up even through implication even once? can i have a single answer to any one of these questions? please. please. ple

[crypticcanidae]

You people who said the Qunari have black sclera in da2 are wild. It’s white but their brows are so… idk the word but the brow bone is so on the front that the shadow it casts makes it look black

[crypticcanidae]

omg. her war crimes ❤️

[crypticcanidae]

There's this interesting new rebuttle I've watched become popular regarding criticism of Veilguard. Essentially it boils down to: Dragon Age was never very good at politics, nobody should have expected Veilguard to be any different. And this...is so disingenuous to me it's wild I've now seen it popping up as a dominant narrative. At the very least it's deliberate and ridiculous strawmanning.

When people who critique Veilguard do so because of veilguards politics I dont think this critique is being levelled because they went into DAtV expecting disco elysium 2.0. nor do I think that those same fans were expecting Bioware to overcome their well documented centerism-both-sides-are-valid-but-the-one-who-values-less-change-is-better that has dominated most of their IPs. The way Bioware has historically treated characters who question systematic oppression in Thedas has...not been great. Anders, Sera - hell, even the way that talking darkspawn are almost completely written off after DA:O:A just so they can go back to being a mindless hoard you can kill without guilt.

The difference between DAtV and the first three games in the series is not that DAtV is less progressive/Marxist/revolutionary. It's not the issue that DAtV has bad politics or bad messaging or anything like that. It is that DAtV refuses to engage with politics at all. Id go further and say that if we get to the heart of it, the 'politics' fans are missing is that companions and NPCs in the franchise have always had different views on what's 'right' which Veilguard refuses to give them.

There is such a stark difference between even inquisition and DAtV when it comes to questions of politics. DAtV is uninterested in examining anything at all that might be controversial; it's not just that they don't want to show the reality of slavery or create evil slave owning characters it's that there's barely any reference to slavery in the whole of the game despite the fact that it has been a key theme surrounding Tevinter for the whole of the franchise. It's not just that they don't want to show the reality of the crows or create evil crows it's that the crows are no longer even allowed to be questioned or thought about beyond 'cool faction in cool clothes'. It's not just that they don't want to show the dalish as good or bad it's that they don't want to engage with the dalish and their struggles and beliefs at all.

I mean seriously, think about just a few of the things the other games made you think about:

DAO has a succession crisis with no real 'good' option, a civil war with people on all sides, questions about circle annulment, the castless in orzammar, questions about when have a people been punished 'enough' with the werewolves. It asks you whether a rude and arrogant but ultimately skilled ruler for Orzammar is better than a well meaning ruler who doesn't think things through.

DA2 is all about refugees, about justice and whether such a thing can ever exist, it's about the cycle of violence and slavery is a huge theme both for the current mages held in the gallows and Fenris and the Tevinters.

DAI asks you to think about who is best to rule during a crisis; a military leader who may later push expansionism but would provide a better army against the current unstoppable evil or the safe choice of a empress who may not be as useful to you in the short term. It asks you to think about structures by making you question the organisation you've built and it's own power and corruption. It asks you whether or not a conservative chantry leader who is nevertheless a mage is better than a liberal chantry leader who wants to abolish the circles entirely.

DAtV is constantly asking you to look away from any questions that could be genuinely impactful on a structural scale. In it's worst moments it ignores this entirely - none of the companions can have differing or problematic views or even really disagree with each others worldviews. When it's trying a bit harder it tends to make the issues it wants to explore personal rather than structural. And any time anything that comes up that could be genuinely morally dubious (having to work with the smugglers in dock town for example) it goes out of its way to say ACTUALLY THESE ARE NICE CRIMINALS AND THEY NEVER DO SLAVERY OR SMUGGLE ANYTHING BAD AT ALL. Nobody you work with can be morally dubious or have bad motives; even the treasure hunters and pirates are very unproblematic guys.

And yet, on top of this refusal to engage with any questions that might genuinely get the player thinking or require the player to think about power structures and different views...the game also repeats the same shitty racism that has been apparent in all DA games but perhaps never so openly as this. DAtV is a game that says 'yeah u can be non-binary but you CANNOT be multicultural'. It is a game where the absolute worst of the racist tropes that have plagued the Qun since Gainer called them a 'militant islamic borg' are played up to 100.

So yeah Dragon Age hasn't always had the best politics. I don't think anyone ever expected it to? But it's always been interested in asking questions about politics, about differing views, about what is right and what is wrong. It's always been interested in examining structures and whether or not they're good or useful. It's always been interested in very morally ambiguous or 'grey' characters like Loghain, Blackwall, Anders, Isabela, Zevran, Sten, Oghren, Leliana, Vivienne, Bull-- the list just goes on and on. And DAtV isn't interested in any of this at all.

So yeah. This criticism is weird to me. Wish people would stop using it.

[crypticcanidae]

gender-neutral terms to use other than mister/miss

buddy

tourist

raven

hound

mercenary

621

g13 (pronounced "gun 13")

[crypticcanidae]

Been thinking a lot about Game Of Thrones season 8 and how that’s basically what DA4 felt like. They basically pulled another Daenerys Targaryen with Solas, which had the domino affect of needing to rip out the narrative and thematic foundations upon which the series was built, watering down and rearranging its contents in the interest of character assassination and forcing an ending that makes no sense and accomplishes nothing.

All the previously smart people are now idiots (e.g, Varric and Tyrion). The previously grey characters are now either centrists or suddenly grew a 21st Century sense of morality overnight because we can’t have anyone feeling ambivalent about the fan favorites. Any and all nuance or depth has been scrubbed by writers who don’t appear to have even a passing familiarity with said character, their history, or the themes of their journey (e.g, John Snow, Jamie, The Hound; Morrigan, The Inquisitor, Isabela, Dorian, and pretty much every returning character)

The big existential threat that has been looming for generations is put to an end by someone who just kinda had a special knife and didn’t make sense being there anyway.

Any and all exploration of the logistics, implication, and societal impact of what’s going on (which was a huge part of both GOT and DA) is absent. Basic facts about the word are presented wrong because the writers couldn’t be bothered to do their jobs properly and just kinda wanted to get it over with. Characters and subplots resolve (if at all) with the most frustrating, lazy, and nonsensical conclusions.

I could go on. But damn I’m so tired.

[crypticcanidae]

I think more historical fantasies and alt histories that have gay marriage be allowed should mess around with the societal implications of this. If your aristocracy allows gay marriage, why? As a release valve for inheritance problems, like monasticism was in parts of medieval Europe? As a way of removing your failchild from the line of succession by legally binding them to the failchild of your political ally, ensuring any offspring they both have will be illegitimate? How about a society where the lower classes are allowed to be gay but the nobility aren’t? Idk there’s just a lot of options that are more interesting than “homophobia just doesn’t real”

[crypticcanidae]

Sibling Rivalry - DA2

I'm probably not the only person to wonder the degree to which Bethany and Carver's approval score affects their disposition toward Hawke in the game. So I got it into my head to search the game files to see every instance in which the game checks their approval score and... it's not much!

A couple things.

There's always a small chance that there's some other line of dialogue in the game that's been coded in some fuckstupid nonstandard way that my search didn't catch, but this should be everything.

Unlike the game's full companions, which have major milestones at 50 and 100 approval points and can sometimes behave accordingly, Bethany and Carver are always at a flat check to determine if their approval is either above or below zero. There's no further benefit to changing their approval more than +-1 point from neutral.

Approval scores for Bethany and Carver really only ever come into play in Acts 2 and 3. There are basically no approval checks in Act 1, and none in the base game.

There's not a lot of approval-related dialogue in the base game, and it's all for warden siblings -- in the Act 2 climax and in the optional Act 3 sidequest Finding Nathaniel. Templar Carver and circle mage Bethany do not have any approval-specific dialogue in the base game... and the majority of approval-specific dialogue in the DLC still goes to their warden counterparts.

I'll be posting additional posts with the dialogue from MotA and Legacy in separate posts, to keep the length manageable, which will be found under the #sibling rivalry tag. Here's the base game dialogue:

Act 2 - Demands of the Qun (Warden Bethany)

Blue Hawke: [Are you all right?] Are you injured? Are there more of you?

[friendly]

Bethany: This is everyone. Thank you.

[rival]

Bethany: We're fine. Everyone's here.

---

Purple Hawke: [I live here.] Last time I checked, you'd moved on from Kirkwall.

[friendly]

Bethany: I'm a Warden now. We go where we're needed.

[rival]

Bethany: We're here on Grey Warden business.

---

Red Hawke: [You're welcome.] A "thank you" might be in order, don't you think?

[friendly]

Bethany: I must say, it's less painful than the last time you saved my life.

[rival]

Bethany: I knew you didn't go to so much trouble to save me, just to throw it away now.

---

Hawke: [You're leaving, Bethany?] But you just got here.

[friendly]

Bethany: You gave me this life… I'm just doing the best I can to live it.

[rival]

Bethany: I've been here for six days.

---

Hawke: [Bethany, Mother's gone.] Wait—I need to tell you about Mother.

[friendly]

Bethany: I know. When we got the news, the Wardens helped me hold a wake. I'm… glad you were with her. In her final moments.

[rival]

Bethany: I know what happened. I waited and waited for you to tell me yourself. Did you hold a funeral, or was there not enough left?

Act 2 - Demands of the Qun (Warden Carver)

Blue Hawke: [Are you all right?] Are you injured? Are there more of you?

[friendly]

Carver: I'm good, but we're not the help you need.

[rival]

Carver: I'm fine. We're fine. And no, this is all of us.

---

Purple Hawke: [I live here.] Last time I checked, you'd moved on from Kirkwall.

[friendly]

Carver: Things change. But… I can't stay.

[rival]

Carver: We're here on Grey Warden business.

---

Red Hawke: [You're welcome.] A "thank you" might be in order, don't you think?

[friendly]

Carver: Sorry. A bit distracted by all the friends you've made since I left.

[rival]

Carver: Pardon my manners. You save me so often I sometimes forget.

---

Hawke: [You're leaving, Carver?] But you just got here.

[friendly]

Carver: Another time, perhaps.

[rival]

Carver: I've been here for six days.

---

Hawke: [Carver, Mother's gone.] Wait—I need to tell you about Mother.

[any]

Carver: I already know what happened. I'm sure you did your best.

Act 3 - Finding Nathaniel (Warden Bethany)

Hawke: Bethany? Is that really you?

[friendly]

Bethany: Why would you come back here if you didn't have to?

[rival]

Bethany: Are you here to "save" me again?

---

Blue Hawke: [Are you all right?] You don't look well, Bethany. Are you injured?

Bethany: Injured? I have the darkspawn taint forever in my veins, barely held in check by the Wardens' rituals.

[friendly]

Bethany : I'm sorry. You did the best you could.

Hawke: I wish there'd been a better way.

[rival]

Bethany: I will never be well again.

Hawke: Where there's life, there's hope.

---

Purple Hawke: [Cheer up, Sis.] A little smile for me, Sister? It's been years. I've missed you.

[friendly]

Bethany: If I let myself miss you… and Carver… and Mother… I couldn't go on.

Bethany: It's better not to feel.

Hawke: I, ah, won't try to cheer you up, then.

[rival]

Bethany: I have kept track of your doings. I'm glad you've done well for yourself, though perhaps too late for Mother.

Bethany: But I am a Warden now. We have no families.

Hawke: They say it's always darkest before the dawn.

---

Red Hawke: [Pull yourself together.] You're not dead yet. Shake it off! There's work to be done.

[friendly]

Bethany: You never change, do you?

Hawke: Enough, Bethany. We need your help here or we'll all die.

[rival]

Bethany: You sound just like Ser Fenley—before the Children devoured him.

Hawke: Enough, Bethany. We need your help here or we'll all die.

Act 3 - Finding Nathaniel (Warden Carver)

Hawke: Carver?

[friendly]

Carver: Well, just like old times.

Carver: Still coming to the rescue after all these years? I have it under control, but thanks.

[rival]

Carver: What are you doing here?

Carver: Just like always, no cause is too small for you to stick your nose in. I have this under control.

---

[friendly]

Blue Hawke: [I'm glad you're doing well.] It's good to see you. I hope the years have been kind.

Carver: I can't say that. The Blight is long over, but the threat never really goes away.

Carver: I don't know if you can understand that. Maybe someday.

[rival]

Blue Hawke: [I'm glad you're doing well.] It's been years, Carver. We can't be civil?

Carver: I almost died in your shadow. I don't appreciate you showing up to take my thunder.

Hawke: If my shadow made it down here, you brought it.

---

[friendly]

Purple Hawke: [Why are you down here?] Don't you have Archdemons to hunt or something?

Carver: There's a considerable gap between Blights, you know. Apparently, just long enough for people to forget.

Carver: We Wardens don't have that luxury, though.

[rival]

Purple Hawke: [A little thanks, maybe?] You know, the average person saves a life, they might expect some gratitude.

Carver: I've seen too much of the world to be impressed by this.

Carver: It's just kind of sad.

Hawke: What is?

Carver: That your world has stayed so small.

---

[friendly]

Red Hawke: [Still hold a grudge?] So, do you still blame all of this on me?

Carver: Do you still expect me to? I'd like to think we've both changed.

Carver: I guess we'll have to wait and see, won't we?

[rival]

Red Hawke: [Still angry, Carver?] Nothing's changed between us after all these years?

Carver: I've seen a lot, Brother. Our little squabble, it doesn't matter.

Hawke: Your tone says otherwise, Warden.

[crypticcanidae]

@lingerie_addict has a really cool thread on ancient fashion over on twitter.

Those source links are here

cambridge.org

Youtube

ucl.ac.uk

[crypticcanidae]

i find it really funny that walter probably calls carla up and is like "hey we're on rubicon and my newest dog is actually pretty good at doing warcrimes please do not put them in the smelting chamber"

and the second you roll up on carla's doorstep, she looks you dead in the eye and goes IT IS TIME TO PUT THE NAUGHTY DOG IN THE SMELTING CHAMBER and throws a fucking robot volcano with chainsaw arms at you

legitimately what is her problem

[crypticcanidae]

also guys wtf is up with seneschal varel. why does he know so much about the wardens

[crypticcanidae]

Wait a second...

The way the game and the interviews portrayed it, it seemed like it was previously unknown that Pixy had betrayed Cipher and Ustio.

And we know that other members of A World With No Boundaries were arrested and imprisoned.

...

Did Cipher just never tell anyone it was Pixy

[crypticcanidae]

source