#Man of Sorrrows

[mollfie]

I took notes while playing and I've tried to edit them into something that makes a shred of sense.

Things I like in Veilguard:

Banter can be interrupted, and they'll continue talking. If you repeatedly interrupt, they'll start over from the beginning later on.

The banter also actually made me laugh, especially with certain companion combos. Not always but more often than not.

The companions aren't stuck in their room. You know when someone wants to talk to you or has a cutscene, but you'll also see them hanging out with other companions or just checking out places around the Lighthouse. Makes them feel like actual people with their own stuff going on outside of Rook. But I do wish you could talk to them more. I like bothering my companions. I'm fine with them repeating themselves. Just let me smooch my love interest or chat with my friends and get random flavour text. Is that so much to ask?

I like the orb and smashing enemies in the face with it. I actually prefer it most of the time to using the staff.

Can wear casual clothes instead of armour with no repercussions. Finally, some cute outfits. But not cute enough. Need more. I also miss dying outfits in different colours and dressing up my team.

It's not my fav but it's fine:

I miss being able to smooch my love interest whenever I wanted to. Let me bother everyone more. The romances are fine but I expected more in comparison to previous games.

Everyone hangs out with each other or all together (eat together, bookclub etc) but is Rook even involved? The camping trip scene was so weird. Ferelden is overrun. Where are you going? Why would these two even want to? I could maybe believe Taash being interested because they're adventurous and might be hoping to see a dragon, but even then it's so weird.

Semi related to Taash's personal storyline, I did not appreciate having words put in my Rook's mouth re: her feelings about her gender and I have seen others saying that when they play as an enby Rook it's very "third gender" rather than having any sort of nuance. This is why I'm always hesitant when companies are so proud of being inclusive, it's often so clumsy.

References:

Mage/Templar war was in the South but no one mentions really mentions much about the South. Varric?? Morrigan?? Inquisitor?? There are some letters and a few lines about what's happening but not much. Who got to be Divine, again more of a Southern issue but you think it would come up when talking to Harding or Varric. Drinking from the Well of Sorrrows. Morrigan's son. King Alistair or Grey Warden. Hawke in the Fade. Varric, my man, are we not friends? Harding, you were there even if you were just a scout! Surely you got the hot goss hanging around outside the tavern at all hours.

Surely even people in Tevinter would be talking about how the Inquisitor's old spymaster became the Divine?? Harding sort of mentions it but no one else. The Inquisitor coming along to be like "oh it's a shitshow in the South right now that's why I'm not helping you or trying to find Solas" is so stupid.

The references you do get are fine but some feel strange because they're specific enough for a fan to get them but vague enough to feel pointless because they abandoned the Keep and tracking everyone's choices. I know it's complicated because we've all played the games in a variety of ways but they started it!

I wish we had seen more of the countries. I liked the places we saw and I really enjoyed exploring them, I would have liked to see more though which is a good thing in a way? I wasn't bored by the places we got, more than they were intriguing and I wished to go further. I would have liked to see more of Minrathos outside of Dock Town, for example.

Cameos:

Re: cameos. Dorian's model looks like he got bad cosmetic surgery and veneers. What did they do to you?? However, I also hate how Alistairs looks in Inquisition so maybe I just don't like when they try to update old characters? Morrigan looks fine, but her outfit is ugly. Isabela is fine. Varric and Harding look good.

Are we unable to have cameos of characters (or references), such as Merrill, because the team are blood magic flip-floppers? She knew so much about Eluvians, blood magic, Dalish nonsense etc. She would have been a fantastic edition to the team in Inquistion and in Veilguard but apparently I can't have anything nice.

Romances:

The romances are good but once I picked my person it was weird seeing how Lucanis switched to Neve almost instantly AND how their chemistry was so much better just through banter and listening to their chats. Almost like that's what the writers intended originally and then made Rook an option later? Davrin has a sweet romance and I have heard good things about Emmerich.

Companions:

Still think I should be able to have three people tag along. Yes, it makes them just talk to each other for banter but I liked having three people.

I wish they would bicker more. Some characters are supposed to not like each other (at least for a while) but they really could have leaned into that more. Be meaner. However, saying that some fans couldn't handle Vivienne...

My main issue with all the companions is that they're really good but don't get the chance to be great. I'm assuming because of development issues. Any decent writer would want to make the most of a character. You can see what they wanted to do and what they managed is good. I feel like the writers pulled their punches too much. They could have really leaned into some ideas and expanded on some aspects so much more but didn't. They all needed an extra ten minutes to fully bake.

Taash's personal stuff is fine. It's a little awkward in places but it's nowhere near as awful as people are making it out to be. It's no worse than anyone else's personal storyline or dialogue. A lot of the criticism is over-dramatic HOWEVER I do feel like their struggles were more with their upbringing as the daughter of a strict mother (who says herself that she was never supposed to have that sort of role within the Qun) in Rivain and those two identities cause conflict, and that was really overshadowed. A lot of Taash's struggles with gender make sense when you consider how gender roles function under the Qun (how their mother would have raised them) versus how they are in Rivaini society (what she was exposed to outside of the home). That's not to say they aren't nonbinary otherwise, just that the conflict could have been woven together better.

I also didn't really like the binary choices you were presented with - why do I, a stranger, get to tell any of these people what to do with their lives? I think Rook can have an opinion but there should be a third option for the character to make their own choice, perhaps based on their approval level with you or something to at least feign free will. This felt particularly insensitive when talking to Taash.

I also think some people are forgetting or deliberately ignoring that Taash is not the only lgbt or nonbinary character in the game or the series as a whole.

But, I do also think there are awkward moments (for all the characters too) where I understand what the team was going for but it doesn't quite land right. I would have actually liked a little more focus on what it's like being a qunari in Rivain etc.

Lucanis is supposed to be a big scary mage-killing demon-possessed assassin but once you recruit him he's practically shuffling about in his fuzzy slippers making coffee at 4am. I really like him but I can't help but wish they hadn't sanded down the edges. Having the Crows fight for the little guys is certainly a choice. I would have preferred them go down more of a "these Crows in this particular family think this way" so as not to undermine everything about Zevran.

Other thoughts:

It feels like the backgrounds don't really matter, they're not referenced much anyway. I was a veil jumper so you'd think Bellara would want to chat to me about that sort of thing more but no, not really. Same with race choices. It does come up but not as much as I had hoped. I also miss the tension between races, backgrounds etc. Why am I, a Dalish elf, wandering around Minrathos unchallenged?

Where's Meredith??? We had that final shot in the animated series but that's it???

What happened to Solas' agents and the uprising? I know years have passed but you'd think there's been more turmoil considering 1. the gods are real and 2. they suck

TL;DR

I had a great time playing, and it was really fun. I actually really enjoyed the finale and the game overall. But, I am concerned that this was essentially a soft reboot and so now what? What about everything we did before? What about all those other characters we cared about?

I also think I got lucky by choosing to have my Solavellan Inquisitor and romancing Davrin, just judging my chatter online.

I think if they didn't want those choices to matter then they should have had this game hav a protagonist who has no connection to Southern Thedas at all. No Varric or Harding. Have them being a literal nobody who doesn't know anything about what's going on outside of what they've directly experienced or it's very vague. They were affected by Solas' actions. They're an elf who was an agent until they realised what he was doing. Something. I just... if you don't want to make a game where choices matter then you shouldn't be working on Dragon Age. You should make something new. This was always Bioware's whole selling point and they've just tossed all that work to one side. Who made that decision?

Imagine if we'd been forced into being a specific character, similar to Hawke in DA2, and had to actually decide whether or not to support Solas as we learned about what he was actually intending to do? Imagine.

Origins still has the strongest writing. DA2 is still my favourite. But I do think Veilguard is a good sequel to Inquisiton. Unfortunately for Bioware, this is the fourth game in a series not the second. As a fourth game, there are some really weird choices. On it's own, it's a really good game. I'm still going to get my partner to play some of it to see what they think as an outsider who only knows about Dragon Age via my chit-chat and reblogging.

[loandbeholdbible]

The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-31)

The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-31)

After being brutally whipped, the gospels say that Christ was victimised in the governor’s headquarters by a group of Roman soldiers. (Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2-5) This humiliation took place in front of the whole battalion. St Matthew’s gospel puts it this way: “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his…

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Stormlight Archive Epigraphs (2) - Navani’s Journal, Preface to [in-universe] Oathbringer, Eila Stele, and Postscript to [in-universe] The Way of Kings

These epigraphs shed light on the books that they appear in, but don’t seem to provide much in the way of foreshadowing for future books, or information beyond the books the appear in.

Navani’s Journal (WOR Part 1) and the Oathbringer preface (OB Part 1), in particular, provide major indications of key plot developments later in their books, and are a reminder to me to keep an eye on the epigraphs in Rhythm of War. The Eila Stele (OB Part 5, along with the Postcript) gives more detail on revelations that have already been covered earlier in the book.

Navani’s Journal

From the personal journal of Navani Kholin, Jeseses 1174

To be perfectly frank, what happened these last two months is upon my head. The death, destruction, loss, and pain are my burden. I should have seen it coming. And I should have stopped it.

Our first clue was the Parshendi. Even weeks before they abandoned their pursuit of the gemhearts, their pattern of fighting changed. They lingered on the plateaus after battles, as if waiting for something. Soldiers reported being watched from afar by an unnerving number of Parshendi scouts. Then we noticed a new pattern of their penetrating close to the camps in the night and then quickly retreating. I can only surmise that our enemies were even then preparing their stratagem to end this war.

The next clue came on the walls. I did not ignore this sign, but neither did I grasp its full implications. The sign on the wall proposed a greater danger, even, than its deadline. To foresee the future is of the Voidbringers.

We had never considered that there might be Parshendi spies hiding among our slaves. This is something else I should have seen.

I was unprepared for the grief my loss brought - like an unexpected rain - breaking from a clear sky and crashing down upon me. Gavilar’s death years ago was overwhelming, but this...this nearly crushed me. I seek not to use my grief as an excuse, but it is an explanation. People act strangely soon after encountering an unexpected loss. Though Jasnah had been away for some time, her loss was unexpected. I, like many, assumed her to be immortal. I wish to think that had I not been under sorrrow’s thumb, I would have seen earlier the approaching dangers. Yet in all honesty, I’m not certain anything could have been done.

But, understandably, we were focused on Sadeas. His betrayal was still fresh, and I saw its signs each day as I passed empty barracks and grieving widows. We knew that Sadeas would not simply rest upon his slaughters in pride. More was coming. Unfortunately, we fixated upon Sadeas’ plotting so much that we did not take note of the changed pattern of our enemies, the murderers of my husband, the true danger. I would like to know what wind brought about their sudden, inexplicable transformation.

Oathbringer Preface

From Oathbringer, preface:

I’m certain some will feel threatened by this record. Some few may feel liberated. Most will simply feel that it should not exist. I need to write it anyway. I know that many women who read this will see it only as further proof that I am the godless heretic everyone claims.

I can point to the moment when I decided for certain this record had to be written. I hung between realms, seeing into Shadesmar - the realm of the spren - and beyond. I thought that I was surely dead. Certainly, some who saw farther than I did thought I had fallen.

I did not die.

I experienced something worse.

That moment notwithstanding, I can honestly say this book has been brewing in me since my youth. The sum of my experiences has pointed at this moment. This decision. Perhaps my heresy stretches back to those days in my childhood, where these ideas began. [My note - this feels like something added to throw readers off the mark, to think the book was by Jasnah. It doesn’t seem to fit Dalinar at all, whose beliefs only become unorthodox after the visions in TWOK revealing that Honor had been killed.]

I ask not that you forgive me. Nor that you even understand. I ask only that you read or listen to these words.

In this record, I hold nothing back. I will try not to shy away from difficult topics, or paint myself in a dishonestly heroic light. I will express only direct, even brutal, truth. You must know what I have done, and what those actions cost me. For in this comes the lesson. It is not a lesson I claim to be able to teach. Experience herself is the great teacher, and you must seek her directly. You cannot have a spice described to you, but must taste it for yourself. However, with a dangerous spice, you can be warned to taste lightly. I would that your lesson may not be as painful as my own.

I am no storyteller, to entertain you with whimsical yarns. I am no philosopher, to intrigue you with piercing questions. I am no poet, to delight you with clever allusions. I have no doubt that you are smarter than I am. I can only relate what happened, what I have done, and then let you draw conclusions.

I will confess my murders before you. Most painfully, I have killed someone who loved me dearly. I will confess my heresies. I do not back down from the things I have said, regardless of what the ardents demand. Finally, I will confess my humanity. I have been named a monster, and do not deny these claims. I am the monster that I fear we can all become.

So sit back. Read, or listen, to someone who has passed between realms. Listen to the words of a fool. If they cannot make you less foolish, at least let them give you hope. For I, of all people, have changed.

Eila Stele

They came from another world, using powers that we have been forbidden to touch. Dangerous powers, of spren and Surges. They destroyed their lands and have come to us begging.

We took them in, as commanded by the gods. What else could we do? They were a people forlorn, without a home. Our pity destroyed us. For their betrayal extended even to our gods: to spren, stone, and wind.

Beware the otherworlders. The traitors. Those with tongues of sweetness, but with minds that lust for blood. Do not take them in. Do not give them succor. Well were they named Voidbringers, for they brought the void. The empty pit that sucks in emotion. A new god. Their god.

These Voidbringers know no songs. They cannot hear Roshar, and where they go, they bring silence. They look soft, with no shell, but they are hard. They have but one heart, and it cannot ever live.

The Way of Kings Postcript

From The Way of Kings, postscript:

As I began my journey, I was challenged to defend why I insisted on travelling alone. They called it irresponsible. An avoidance of duty and obligation.

Those who said this made an enormous mistake of assumption. If the journey itself is indeed the most important piece, rather than the destination itself, then I travelled not to avoid duty - but to seek it.

It becomes the responsibility of every man, upon realizing he lacks the truth, to seek it out.

Yes, I began my journey alone, and I ended it alone.

But that does not mean that I walked alone.

[asoftervirge]

Even Villains Care for Knights

So listening to Id (Sorrrow) from the FE: Awakening soundtrack and thinking of Roceit does things to my brain which results in this. This is kinda short and kinda crappy, but I hope everyone enjoys it anyway!

Fic Warning/Kink(s): Sympathetic Deceit, holding a sword to the neck, small mentions of violence

“I can’t…I can’t do this…”

Sir Roman, the brave and valiant knight of the kingdom, stood above the deceitful villain, who was pined down to the floor, and was showing signs of the one thing he feared anybody in the world seeing: weakness.

Especially to a slimy villain like him.

He was exhausted and bruised, his body was shaking with involuntary tremors as he fought hard to control the muscles in his arms, which were no longer under his control. The tip of the sword was swaying back and forth in small motions, almost daring to cut the villains’ neck. The whole time, Deceit sat quietly and still.

After a time, Sir Roman’s knees had given out and he collapsed onto the floor, a quiet and weak noise escaped his throat as he did so. His sword being thrown down to the side with a loud clank! He didn’t want to whimper, he didn’t want to cry, especially in front of the man he was supposed to kill.

When he did so, Deceit slowly stood up and began to move towards him, stopping a few feet away when the knight’s breathing began to grow harsh and his body jerked, as if he were trying to move away.

“It’s alright, my brave knight,” Deceit said softly, his deep voice was soothing instead of cold and seductive as Roman had previously heard before. “I’m not going to hurt you."

Deceit inched closer. When he was a foot away, he stopped again and knelt down to be closer to his height. He carefully moved to place his hand on Sir Roman’s cheek, only stopping once when the knight flinched but continued when he relaxed again.

“You’ve done beautifully, Roman.” the villain whispers in a voice that held fierceness and pride, again which was unusual to Roman. “You are a fierce and strong knight and I’m proud of you.” He wiped away the tears falling from Roman’s eyes. “You don’t have to kill me tonight.”

“But I have to,” Roman protests weakly, his lip quivering and eyes shining and streaming with tears. “I have to kill you because you’re harming people and that’s not right…but I’m so tired,” he confesses. “I’m so tired of fighting. I’m tired of being the golden boy everyone wants me to be. I’m tired of everything.”

“Shh,” Deceit soothes, caressing the knight’s face sweetly. “That’s okay, my knight. That’s perfectly okay. You don’t have to fight, you don’t have to be a golden boy. You can relax, you can be yourself. It’s only me, there’s no need to keep your facade up. Let yourself go for me, I’m right here.”

Roman opened his mouth to answer, but only a choked sob came out. He still feels Deceit brushing his thumb against his cheek. His shoulders sagged, finally allowing himself to crack the mirror he’s been holding up for so long. More tears spilled from his reddish-brown eyes as Deceit pulled him to his chest, stroking his hair and back soothingly as he started crying in earnest. They sat like that for a long time until Roman’s sobs regressed to whimpers and soft sniffles.

Deceit stood and carefully lifted the knight’s strong body, which felt small and lithe, into his arms and carried him into an adjacent room, which already had a cot set up and a glass of water sitting on the bedside table.

The villain had done this dance with the knight before.

He laid him on the cot, unlatched his arm and shin guards and set them on the table, and covered him with a blanket while pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. He was about to leave when he felt fingers gently grab at his wrist.

“Please,” Roman’s voice was quiet and hoarse from crying. “Don’t leave me? I-I don’t want to be alone. Stay and hold me, just until I fall asleep?"

Deceit moved closer so he could hold the knight's face in both hands. Mismatched eyes held love and such a tenderness that a villain could never possess.

“I’ll stay, my knight.” he promises. “I’ll stay for however long you need."