#but bioware never wanted to explore that potential

[justcallmecappy]

A closer examination of Fenris and Anders' party banter

There's two particular Anders-Fenris party banter that gets pointed out a lot as them being antagonistic to each other, but upon second readings, they both can seem like genuine attempts at connection:

Fenris: Is there something you want, Anders? Anders: You really don't have the temperament for a slave. Fenris: Is that a compliment or an insult? Anders: I'm just wondering how your master didn't kill you. Fenris: How have the templars not killed you? Anders: I'm charming.

Here, it almost seems like Anders is saying, "You rebelled against your oppressors too, huh? I had to survive by being charming. I just wonder how you did it." It was a moment of acknowledgement and recognition, that Fenris, too, rebelled against the ones who had power over him and survived, just like Anders did.

Fenris: You should have lived in Tevinter. You'd be happier there. Anders: You're probably right. Fenris: There, your magic would be a mark of honor. Apprenticed to the right Magister, you would do well. Anders: Is there a down side? Fenris: Only if you're bothered by owning a few slaves and performing the occasional blood ritual. Anders: So they all do those things? Fenris: Just the ones who don't complain about how powerless and persecuted they are.

And in this banter, it's almost as if Fenris is saying, "No, you aren't like the mages and magisters I met in Tevinter. You're different." All the 'normal' practices of Tevinter like blood rituals and owning slaves ... Fenris knows that Anders would never do that. I'm tempted to even say it was almost a compliment -- Fenris acknowledges Anders' talents as a mage, but also recognizes that Anders has no desire to social-climb, and that is what differentiates Anders from the power-hungry magisters of Tevinter.

Their banter looks like vicious sniping on the surface, but on closer inspection, they really were just a hair's breadth away from making a connection.

This banter from the 'Legacy' DLC drives me insane because it was literally right there. We were so close to a breakthrough.

Anders: When I left the Wardens, I swore I'd never spend another minute in the Deep Roads. Fenris: "Left" sounds like it was a mutual arrangement. Anders: Fine. I ran away. What's it to you? Fenris: Ran away from the Circle, ran away from the Wardens... it sounds like a habit.

(If Hawke is in a romance with Fenris)

Anders: Running away from your family, straight to Danarius. Running away from Danarius, straight to Hawke. Maybe we're more alike than you think.

(Otherwise)

Anders: And you ran away from Danarius. Maybe we're more alike than you think.

(if Varric is in the party)

Varric: I've always said so.

If only BioWare's writing had allowed them to explore that common ground and be allies, even friends. They understand each other on a level the other companions couldn't. They recognize themselves in each other, they could have supported one another because both of them know exactly what it means to be constantly on the run, looking for escape, looking for a place to belong to. Not to mention it would have been such a compelling development to their relationship!

But no, for the sake of forced grey morality, where both sides needed to be portrayed as equally good and bad, BioWare needed to use Anders and Fenris as mouthpieces for opposing sides so they couldn't allow the relationship to ever evolve past arguing with each other, despite seven years of companionship and proximity.

[stormikins]

Mass Effect: Failed Opportunities.

An informal rant essay about my opinions and thoughts (and ideas/suggestions) about the choices made in Mass Effect Three. This is all because of this one post, and my friend (@xoshepard) giving me a compliment about my Shepard came back wrong headcanons. So. I’m fueled by validation and rage. A summary of the mentioned post is anonymous regrets that BioWare didn't explore the implications of Shepard dying and coming back and the fact that Liara helped Cerberus in doing so.

Disclaimer: I am a hater in this. I am. No doubt about it. If you like the story and think it’s great and nothing is wrong with it— then I am so happy for you. Truly. I wish I was the same. So, this post might not be for you. Also, this is a rant, and I try to keep it sensible so apologies if it’s not.

Word Count: 3k

TLDR: BioWare flip flops between decisions and choices and never truly settles, disregards choices already made, and leaves players wanting (AND THEIR MOTHERS!) while eviscerating character personalities. Consistency is not in BioWare’s vocabulary. Or dictionary. Or thesaurus.

One of the things that I dislike the most about BioWare's choices regarding this matter is that Shepard starts having these crisis thoughts/questions about if their body is theirs or not, etc. not only in the third game, but at the end of it. The player is literally doing the mission that marks the point of no return in the end, the last of two until the game is finished, and now Shepard is voicing these thoughts. Roughly sixty-ish hours since the beginning of me2 if the player is a completionist. (not to mention how much more time in between playing bc people have lives but I digress). This isn’t a plot hole, it’s a speed bump the player trips over and then the game expects us to get back and get going while asking why our nose is bleeding. Fuck you BioWare.

Now, one could construe this into being part of Shepard's character; squashing down all these conflicting and worrying thoughts to focus on their mission, bc they are a soldier. They literally don't have time for this. But now they're physically confronted with their reconstruction post-awakening haze and/or denial about it all bc Cerberus could be them lying to Shepard bc of manipulation. All right. If that is supposed to be the implication, Shepard putting their mental focus on their mission, why didn't Shepard have this crisis when they were in lock-up for six months, aka where they literally only have time to think?

James having a throwaway comment to Shepard, or another crew member (bc they talk to each other now between missions!), about how he's worried about them, about how Shepard had a freak out some point in lock down, the level of 'freak out' does not need to be expanded upon. Hell, James can just say maybe they passed the time asking each other philosophical questions, maybe about consent and choices and bodily autonomy. It could help lend more weight with Shepard posing these questions during the Cerberus HQ bc these thoughts are still plaguing Shepard. Shepard dies-again-without getting closure-again. This would fall into the cycle theme that the games have.

But, like always, Bioware fails to capitalize on opportunity.

Now. The Citadel DLC. sighs Shepard's repeated variations of "don't want to talk about it" it being the clone and everything else that's happening in the DLC, lends more to the theory of Shepard's supposed to be repressing this all. But the counter point about Shepard having their crisis in lock-up still stands.

What could have been interesting is if Shepard had these identity issues in 2 and potentially in three and given that the Citadel DLC ends with the clone always dying canonically, it can be a pivotal moment for Shepard to realize that they are who they are, different than their me1 counterpart or not (it also would be cool if characters mentioned if the player was choosing choices that an imported me1 Shepard normally would not have) and to have a clarity moment that they are Shepard. This clone and these logs could have provided a clean tying of loose ends of Shepard having identity issues instead of the teammates saying two lines about how they know that Shepard is Shepard and Shepard simply... moving on bc you do all this in the middle of a base attack. The player's mind is already set on defeating Cerberus (finally) and getting revenge, on being so close to the end of the game! It's also OPTIONAL. Yes, the player is automatically entered into a dialogue wheel but the choice to leave without seeing what's on the logs is immediately available.

Another thing the previous post went into was Liara's involvement. Her part in Shepard's reconstruction is not explored in the game. The player never learns about how Liara helped, just that she did and that she lost Feron because of it all to the Shadow Broker. I will not go into the comics, bc 1. I have not read them and 2. If developers must depend on supplemental media to explain key plot points, they are in fact doing it wrong (this is a conversation for another time).

I would not be as bitter about Liara's involvement if the game treated it better. The player has to complete two quests to unlock the dialogue of Liara telling Shepard that she gave their body to Cerberus. Shepard’s renegade dialogue to Liara apologizing about giving their body over is as follows, “all this time, it wasn’t your sources. You knowingly gave me over to Cerberus. You did this to me!” SHEPARD DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING ELSE. JUST SITS BACK DOWN AND THE RENEGADE RESPONSE TO HER SECOND APOLOGY IS TO SAY, “Let me know if you need any more help,” AND YOU LEAVE. WHY IS THIS THE ONLY TIME SHEPARD ACKNOWLEDGES THIS. wow. AND WHY IS IT LIKE THIS? ITS OPTIONAL. I— Again, this could tie into Shepard bottling up feelings and acknowledging them in Me3, could show Shepard as an actual person is the game lets us choose to be mean or turn her off but alas, the player cannot because the game likes ruining Shepard’s character (which I’ll save that for later).

One could say that Liara would go to any lengths for those she loves, whether the player romanced her or not, but in the first game, we have no indication that she is willing to go this far. I have a belief that nothing is 'out of character' if the circumstances are right. Now, these circumstances are right: two important figures in Liara's life die (Shepard and her mother), Liara's only connection to her theories on the extinction of the reapers dies as well, the threat of the Reapers, and all the traumatic experiences she had during me1 and then the destruction of the Normandy all collide together to make it realistic that Liara wouldn't be able to let Shepard go. There is one thing, though, is that this is all boiled down into “I couldn't let you go” and the game doesn't show it. Doesn’t show Liara's descent down into this rabbit hole, doesn't show the switch getting flipped of her turning much more ruthless compared to her me1 characterization.

She does show ruthlessness in some regards in me1, willing to kill her mother no matter their relationship. But out of all the SR1 cast, she is one of the most paragon characters. The game does not show the shift into Liara's characterization. No commentary from Me1 companions about how Liara suddenly shut them out, or from Feron talking about the things Liara was willing to do to get Shepard. No comments from Miranda and Jacob who I do know were part of the retrieval mission about how Liara acted. Liara is just immediately introduced with quoting her mother’s threats. WHICH IS SO INTERESTING! Again AGAIN the game goes nowhere with this. We get optional dialogue from Aethyta about the Matriarch’s being concerned about her but that is optional, and only if the player talked to her in Me2 does she show up in Me3 and deliver said dialogue. Liara herself never confronts this. Even when SHE TALKS ABOUT HER MOTHER. LISTEN— LIARA COULD HAVE TURNED INTO A SCIENTIST THAT WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HER RESEARCH. TO PROVE HERSELF RIGHT BECAUSE SHE IS, SHE KNOWS IT AND SHE’LL DO ANYTHING LIKE BRINGING SOMEONE’S DEAD BODY TO A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION TO RESSURECT AND YET—

Garrus, on the other hand, gets his new characterization explained. In me1 he already tends to be reckless, ruthless, and selfish. It is no surprise that when Shepard died and the Council buried the truth, he went vigilante. The game shows his new bleak outlook on life bc we find him fighting for his life in a base full of dead bodies and then he explains he got betrayed. We deal with his character arc. We do not deal with Liara’s.

One could argue that could go and show how Shepard wakes up two years in the future and everything is different and confusing. Which I will agree with. If it was purposeful. And I don’t think it is, personally.

She doesn’t stay this new ruthless way. I am not saying she can’t be more than one-dimensional; I like that she can be soft with Shepard and the other companions. But all of a sudden, she, the character whose introduction in Me3 is her popping a singularity and gunning down two Cerberus goons with a cold look on her face, “can’t be that callous” about not focusing on the death numbers in the middle of a war zone because “that’s my home down there”. A home she rarely talks about, and she’s also been in numerous war zones just as bad as this. Liara, who spent more time in digs or collecting intel than with people, feels a sudden connection with her people.

I would like Liara a lot more if they didn’t eviscerate her character, thank you. Don’t take this the wrong way, I love her, I think she’s great. She just has the potential to be so much more.

Like—

Mass Effect for some reason, tries not to be an RPG. They don't give the players a proper choice/dialogue to allow Shepard to be mad at Liara about what she did. Or to stay mad. (I am not going to get into the debate of whether being mad at Liara should be a renegade option or paragon). It would make sense for someone to get pissed at the person who gave their dead body over to scientists to reanimate, but also terrorist scientists. The same terrorists that Shepard potentially fought in Me1 and also potentially discovered were behind the whole sale slaughter of their entire platoon and the torture of the only other survivor of the incident.

(I can’t remember if Shepard ever mentions Akuze to Cerberus. Funny, isn’t it. How the games like to take away Shepard’s agency but not in any compelling way.) 

Besides, simply not choosing paragon options, it’s never mentioned again what Liara did to Shepard, which makes sense if Shepard accepted Liara’s apology. But what if Shepard, and the player, doesn’t? Liara’s forced on the player in Me3 as Shepard potential confidant, showing up repeatedly to Shepard’s cabin to move the plot forward, give Shepard missions/updates. Yes, the player can refuse to get personal with her which I do appreciate it. Like I said, Liara’s actions never get brought up in any meaningful way to help Shepard on a character journey.

Another failed opportunity about Shepard’s character is when the games don’t get into what Shepard is like post-resurrection. The game seems to be in the middle ground of making Shepard different but not still human, but in actuality, they can in the words of Hannah Montana, have “the best of both worlds”.

Me2 shows how Shepard is different now. “I’ve noticed a few upgrades,” Shepard states when talking to the Illusive Man on Minute Man station. Shepard can have multiple hard-hitting drinks in a row along with Ryncol in Dark Star, Zakera Ward. A poison tailored for humans served by a batarian bartender in the lower segment of Afterlife only knocks Shepard out, not killing them like it does to every human before.

That is how far the game will go in showing how different Shepard is, not counting renegade scarring. Which is a waste.

Shepard is The Protagonist. The main character. They have done the actual impossible. They are the Sole Survivor, the Hero of Elysium, the Butcher of Torfan, Savior of the Citadel, repeller of Geth, Collector, and Reaper armies and a host of other incredible achievements. They are a prophet, the damned, a modern-day Cassandra. The tip of the Spear, the Diplomat, the Soldier. Coats in the FOB on Earth says that it means something to the soldiers to see Shepard with them. They are “a tool, an agent with a singular purpose,” TIM calls them. (And a Karen ‘accuse her of classism’).

And yet, when Shepard gets revived—the most impossible of all things (and yes, it’s not like they had anything to do with it, it was Miranda and her team, but the Lazarus project only had one subject)—they are not made further into something larger than life. Something Other. Something that sets them out from the others. Because they’re Commander Fucking Shepard.

They literally have a vision of a dying race in their head that propels them to stop the Reapers. Me1 does a great job of playing with it. The player sees it once in Me2 and Me3, a side mission (Blue Suns: Archaeological Site) and after retrieving Javik, respectively.

Mass effect is all about cycles. The Reaper’s, Saren/Tim parallels, etc. What could have been interesting was instead of the reoccurring dream we have about a child that gets his emotional impact tarnished because of said dream and the star-child, the game does a mesh of the vision, prothean civilization in ruin, and the ruins we see of current civilizations from the missions Shepard goes on. Keep the oily shadows that whisper quotes from our dead teammates, but also have their voices coming from long dead Protheans pleading with Shepard to stop the Reapers, to save them.

Shepard can’t get any escape from the war, from the Reapers in their sleeping nor waking hours.

The game not making Shepard Other and going in the opposite direction—that despite all these upgrades Shepard is still human—would be fine if it was done better. A good stereotype of “I’m only human” is when a character fails. Shepard fails in Me3 most prominently on Thessia. I’m all for having characters fail but only when it’s done not so obnoxiously.

It’s a terrible fight. It is. Kai Leng hides behind a gunship that Shepard took down at least three separate times in Me2. Two of these instances are non-optional (Garrus and Samara’s recruitment, with Kasumi’s loyalty quest being the third). So, Shepard—Commander Shepard who literally destroyed a proto-Reaper—can’t destroy a gunship. It’s insulting how they ruin Shepard’s character in three.

In the end cutscene, Shepard clearly hears and registers that Kai Leng orders the gunship to fire on the supports of the structure and… runs further into the building. One could argue Shepard was trying to get the Prothean VI for the catalyst, but Liara is shown scanning it with her Omni-tool. What did she do, if not copy it? Why would she not? Why wouldn’t Shepard? They’re in the middle of a war zone, with enemies that were just right outside the door. Why stop for a chat here and now? (I know why, the plot demands it and lore dumping— lore that contradicts the lore dump by Vigil in Me1 so I’m even more inclined to not like these proceedings).

Kai Leng is Shepard’s nemesis in Me3 (and I’m forever mad that he is) and he’s supposed to be badass and edgy and able to go toe-to-toe with Shepard. Yet the game shows he can’t. He can’t reach his target because a terminally ill drell stopped him, or he didn’t notice Bau being cloaked in front of the Salarian councilor. (I can also go into how stupid this scene is with BOTH Thane and Bau).

He gets one over Shepard with the C-SEC sky car chase but that doubles back to BioWare ruining Shepard’s character by making them an idiot. Why not hit the brakes? Why not do a couple barrel rolls? Why fire through what should be bullet proof glass because it’s a C-SEC sky car?

Kai Leng can’t go toe-to-toe with Shepard unless Shepard gets dumbed down into an idiot and isn’t someone who reached not only Commander rank but also became the first human spectre. HELLO!?

So, Shepard failing and still being human and fallible doesn’t hit because they execute it poorly via Kai Leng and his stupid plot armor.

Who would be Shepard’s nemesis if not Kai Leng? HARBINGER. YOU KNOW THE REAPER THAT TAUNTED SHEPARD IN ME2? THE VERY FIRST REAPER MADE? THE REAPER THAT WE ONLY SEE—NOT TALK TO—SEE IN THE LAST HOUR OF THE GAME? THAT GUY. (matter of fact, throw in some of Harby’s arrogant lines about Shepard not being able to stop the Reapers in the alternative dream.) Harbinger should have possessed troops like he did in Me2 in the major Reaper battles. Earth. Menae. Thessia. He should have showed up somewhere, boasting about how they’re darkening the sky of every world. YES THAT’S A SOVEREIGN CALL BACK CYCLES! SHEPARD’S VISION IS COMING TRUE RIGHT BEFORE THEIR EYES AND HE’S NOT BRAGGING!? I THINK THE FUCK NOT! If you’re gonna make the Reapers so obsessed with Shepard as shown in Me2 with Harbinger’s comments and making a human looking Reaper, KEEP THE OBSESSION FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I hate that the Reapers are obsessed with Shepard, Reapers who are above organics, have no weaknesses etc. and the entirety of Sovereign’s brilliant Virmire speech, because it’s not CARRIED OVER!

The enemies should have primarily been the Reapers from the start, and Cerberus the splinter group trying to sabotage the player. Make them smaller. Keep them kidnapping people for troops and biotic tests and lying about Sanctuary being a sanctuary and not run by Cerberus. Continuously have them send assassins—plural! Phantoms and nemesis— after Shepard with Kai Leng at the head of them. Even better if a strike group of baddies show up randomly during missions and watch out! Now Shepard has to deal with them as they fight the Reapers—in the same mission— because Cerberus wants to stop Shepard from killing the Reapers so they could control them and secure human dominance. Kai Leng is kept away from his target because they’re also fighting Shepard where Reapers are. Have them locked into statements until the environment falls apart literally forces them apart. Have them actually be equal adversaries.

Cerberus is introduced to be a mere group Shepard took out in Me1. They’re not all gone in Me2 surprise! Okay that’s fine and yet they not only sunk so many resources into Shepard and had so many cells gone rogue but they’re able to stage a coup on the Citadel! Pardon?? “But our resources are not unlimited, rebuilding you was a significant investment. And a significant risk,” Miranda tells Shepard in Me2. Cerberus kidnapping people on Benning would make sense if they’re scrambling for troops other than the relying on Sanctuary. (EVEN IN ME3 THERE ARE ‘ROGUE FACTIONS’— still a common occurrence for them. It’s never explained if Cerberus is lying about Benning or not). If they have these many rogue cells, again, how can they manage all they do in Me3? Especially if scientists are leaving Cerberus as well, aka the Ex-Cerberus Scientist mission Traynor gives you.

Yet, the player talks more to the Illusive Man than Harbinger in Me3, the leader of the Reapers, and we confront TIM at the end of the game, the most pivotal moment. The moment which people have sunk countless hours into, and we get a power hungry and indoctrinated TIM to… talk into shooting himself or firing a single bullet at him. There is no physical fight between the two. The conversation is similar to Saren’s and again, cycles are a theme, so why can’t we get a Reaper!TIM fight? The player, and Shepard, deserve the choice to fuck him up. This is a military game after all, they’re supposed to be encouraging our aggressive nature.

They ruin TIM but also Shepard.

Shepard never grows and changes like the characters around them, and their resurrection could have—should have—played a part in that. If they’re supposed to remain the same, be a tool for the narrative, make them it. Lean into that. The player chooses options. What would be an interesting mechanic is to make it a struggle for a certain background to get a certain morality. Have Shepard be stating doubts about who they are and if the player is contradicting a stereotypical background (Butcher trying to be paragon, a Hero trying to be renegade), they meet the camera—the players eyes—as they explain their inner turmoil. Make Shepard feel like the tool they are, like they’re not in control of their actions. A renegade overcoming it all and being a paragon hero, or a fall from grace paragon that brings the galaxy down with them. A renegade trapped in a cycle of violence (CYCLE) who can only see the world down the barrel of a gun, or a paragon who continuously chooses kindness. MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING!

I think I’m done. So.

In conclusion, my love and passion for this game transitions into rage because of seeing possibilities squashed like a bug under a boot. To borrow Star War’s phrase: Mass Effect could be so good if it was good. 

[felassan]

Electronic Arts Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call (August 1st)

This happened today and Dragon Age was mentioned in the opening Prepared Remarks section of the call (emphasis mine):

"To do more extraordinary things for our people, players and communities, our teams are building the strongest pipeline in the history of EA to drive multi-year growth. Over the next few years, we will launch numerous experiences that grow and deepen the fandom of our legendary IP. Our multi-year targeted investments toward our biggest opportunities include global titles like blockbuster storytelling from Dragon Age, incredible skateboarding gameplay and social connection from skate, and a revival of EA SPORTS College Football that celebrates the action, culture and tradition of the sport like never before. We’re also hard at work on a new experience from The Sims that will transform what players can do with creativity, a sprawling action adventure Iron Man game, a reimagination of Battlefield as a truly connected ecosystem, and the expansion of the Apex Legends universe across platforms, geographies, and modalities of play. The most recent reveal of our Black Panther project — set in a massive, explorable universe — marks the latest chapter in EA’s collaboration with The Walt Disney Company and the Marvel Games team."

[source and full Prepared Remarks transcript]

Dragon Age was then mentioned during the Q&A section of the call (emphasis mine):

Q: "Last quarter it was noted that players were concentrating their spend on major franchises. Just wanted to see first if there was any update to that? And then, Andrew, in your commentary you highlighted a goal for Apex as an experience across platforms, I'm assuming that includes mobile as well, so can you speak to how you envision potentially relaunching that title on phones and how the approach could differ to the prior game? Thank you." A: "Yeah, so let me touch on the first part. I do think we continue to see big titles getting bigger, and live services getting bigger, and certainly as a company with a broad portfolio of large-scale IP and large-scale live services, we believe that we will be long-term beneficiaries of that trend. You know, that doesn't mean that we won't build smaller titles over the course of time. There are these incredible stories that we believe should be told in the context of entertainment. We are focusing our investment so that we can build a cost-base around those that's appropriate, but we're also really getting behind our biggest opportunities, and as we've talked about, our strategy and building these experiences that entertain massive online communities. Our expectation is that will be a large scale growth driver for us. But, you know, when thought about the right way, games like, you know, Dragon Age, and Jedi, can tell truly blockbuster stories and really break into that top category of games. I think what we see today is the mid-tier and lower games that, you know, maybe did pretty well through Covid because people had a lot of spare time - they're the part of the industry that really aren't doing and performing as well. And as we think about our future, you should expect that we'll continue to focus our investments and our energy and our resources against these big opportunities because we do believe that is where the industry is trending."

[source: call audio webcast]

There were no further mentions of Dragon Age, Mass Effect or BioWare during the call.

Here is the latest Existing Live Services & FY24 Title Slate (announced titles), from the call's supporting documents -

[source]

The next EA earnings conference call - for Q2 2024 - is on November 1st 2023 at 2pm PT.

[source]

lastly, when the full transcript of this call becomes available I'll post the link/add it to this post. ^^

Edit: Here is a transcript of the full call.

[vigilskeep]

so interested to hear your thoughts bc i love your supreme ability to take a haphazardly-written bioware arc and turn it into a thematically-coherent masterpiece. how does one do this with sera??

i could never get into her personally (found the way they wrote her voice a little contrived/“haha funney swearing and crude jokes”) and i struggled to figure out her core motivations somehow simultaneously being the red jenny “sticking up for little guy” stuff but also a complete alienation from elves and the actual people she wants to protect?

also found it weird how you can just 😭 kick her out any time when you can’t do that with anyone else afaik. i mean i didnt like her but ?? that was a Choice bioware

ah the big sera question

first of all, upfront, i adore sera. this is just a matter of personal taste that people are going to have or not have, and that’s completely fine! (although people have said before that my talking about certain characters has made them give those characters a second glance, and i hope i can do the same for sera for people who maybe haven’t given her a full shot !!) i am just personally delighted by her. i love the fun of her design and i love her combat style and i love the way she talks, how you have to think through what she’s saying to follow where exactly the line of thought went, and you don’t always get everything but that’s okay bc hurry up we’re already onto the next thing! as someone who uh doesn’t always find it the easiest to communicate verbally, i find it very relatable and freeing and charming that she talks as she pleases and dares anyone to challenge it and expects them to catch up. i love the side she brings out in people in banter and i’ve never regretted bringing her along in the party. i think she’s very pretty. i’m getting distracted we could be here a long time

one thing that really helped me figure out how i could play a seramance was bouncing between potential inquisitors until i got one that could use the way the inquisitor and sera’s interactions are written. a big flaw of the writing is that it pushes your character into a box. partly because of the style of comic relief it’s attempting, it forces you to play the “normal” one who can only be fondly bemused by sera at best and can never be unconditionally supportive, even the nicest options available sometimes coming across critical or condescending. the way i’m personally making that make sense to me is playing an inquisitor who has lived a fairly secluded life and is bewildered and stilted and awkward as she tries to navigate a kind of relationship she’s not accustomed to with a kind of person she’s not accustomed to. but she really is earnestly trying. and sera seems not to always get her either, so there’s this process of trying to figure each other’s language out that i’m personally finding very endearing!

obviously that isn’t for everybody. your inquisitor is whoever you want them to be! that’s just one way i’ve personally responded to the question of how you can take the admittedly flawed writing and work with it, and i’ll have to adapt something different with another inquisitor with a different background.

there’s a lot of specifics i don’t know about her backstory and where her story is going—as i say, i know a majority of spoilers, but i don’t have all the details—so i can’t completely elaborate on my thoughts on how she was written until i have all the information. i’ll have some more coherent comments on my actual opinion of sera’s writing as a whole then! but i will say as a final note i honestly find it a little startling how saying completely insensitive things abt elves rarely stops human characters from being continual fandom favourites—and that isn’t, like, a condemnation, i’m thinking of major characters like leliana and morrigan and anders and dorian who i love as well, that’s the nature of the setting and genre of dragon age and the questions it explores—but meanwhile sera, who is an elf and suffers from internalised prejudice that’s against herself as well, seems to be the one who gets so much of the heat? i’m just putting that out there as food for thought.

wait one more thing sorry. when she talks about the little people and the friends of red jenny and it’s confusing who she’s standing up for, i have to say in her defence i think it’s more than a little unfair to expect her to be remotely comparable in clarity of direction/ideology/purpose as the other inquisition companions and advisors, a sweeping majority of whom are major political figures or otherwise trained professionals in their 30s and 40s, when sera is literally just a random person in her very early 20s with a hell of a lot of initiative and talent. of course she hasn’t figured things out she’s too busy cutting her own bangs. you know?

[interact-if]

Day 8 of our Pride Month Event, with Heather B!

Heather B., Author of Jade Empire: Shadow of the Lotus

Legend tells of the Spirit Monks; servants of the Water Dragon, shepherds of the dead, warriors without peer. Though their order was all but wiped from existence forty years ago, they are slowly but surely rebuilding themselves. Young warriors from across the Jade Empire dream of joining their ranks.

You are no different.

You are the newest initiate of the Spirit Monk Order; raised in the idyllic Two Rivers and trained by a living legend, you are a martial arts prodigy. As the junior member of the Order, you travel the Empire, dealing with lost and vengeful spirits. But shadows of something far more sinister lurk on the horizon, and it’s up to you and your allies to unravel the dark mystery before it’s too late...

Read More about Shadow of the Lotus here. Play the Demo here.

[INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!]

Q1 - Please, introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your project(s)!

Hi! I’m Heather, a 20-something non-binary lesbian from Australia, and my project is called Shadow of the Lotus! It’s intended to be a fan-made sequel to the 2005 BioWare RPG Jade Empire. It follows a new protagonist twenty years after the end of the game as they find their way through the vast lands of the Jade Empire as a Spirit Monk; a shepherd of the dead and solver of problems. Throughout their journeys, the protagonist will meet characters both new and returning, visit locations from the original game and ones never explored before, forge strong friendships (and potentially fall in love) and above it all, become one of the greatest warriors in the history of the Empire. Evil lurks in the shadows, however, and is waiting to rear its’ fearsome head.

All in all, it’s a grand adventure set in one of my most beloved worlds!

Q2 - What or who are some of your biggest inspirations?

Obviously I’m hugely inspired by role playing games of all varieties, but especially more old-school ones; games from the early-to-mid 2000s. Something about the inherent clunkiness combined with the masterful story-telling and amazing characters that manages to pull the whole thing together; it’s my intent to try and recreate the feeling of playing a classic BioWare RPG through SotL. I’m also of course massively inspired by Chinese history, folklore and mythology, as Jade Empire is based off of such things, and I’ve always had an interest in such things. I’m also inspired by other IF authors, who’s works I’ve consumed with much joy, and I have to give a special shout-out to my fellow author Jaime (@dcitrinegames) who has helped me through many a coding issue.

Of course, I have to credit a good chunk of my drive and motivation to keep writing to my wonderful girlfriend Cierra (@darthimperius) who has supported me ever since I had the idea to make SotL.

Q3- What excites you most about IF? What drew you to the medium?

I think the main draw for me was that IF was a way to make something that people could not just read, but become involved in. It’s similar to what drew me into table-top role playing games, of which I am mildly obsessed with; the act of creating a character who gets to interact with a world made for them to explore. Obviously, there are differences between the two mediums, but I genuinely adore stories where the reader is allowed to affect the way the story progresses and ends. Two people could play the same IF, make the same choices throughout, and yet, their main characters would be completely different to each other, and I adore that! It’s such a creative and interesting way to tell a story.

Q4 - Are your characters influenced by your identity? How?

Very much so! The love interests in SotL being set in their sexualities and genders is very much inspired by both my desire to see and create more gay and bisexual representation in media and my own experiences. To me, my sexuality is very solid and set, and I wanted to create characters who are proud of who they are and who they love, be they a lesbian, a gay man, or bisexual.

Q5 - What are you most excited about sharing related to your project?

Hmm, that’s a tough one. I think I have to say the new characters I’ve come up with to fit into the Jade Empire, especially the love interests. I’ve put a lot of work into their routes and charactisation, and I really hope people will come to love them as much as I have! Giving fans a chance to explore the Jade Empire further is a close second though! There’s a lot of locations from the first game that are only ever talked about, never visited; the city of Phoenix Gate is probably chief among them, so I’m very excited for the portion of the game that takes place there!

Q7- Lastly, what advice would you give to your creators and readers?

To my fellow creators: your work matters! Even if you only have a handful of readers, your story means something to someone, and that makes it more precious than you can possibly imagine. Writing is a difficult hobby, coding even more so; we’ve got to look out for each other!

To readers: thank you! For being patient with your favourite authors, for commenting on every update, for being supportive! I personally never would’ve gotten as far as I have without the kind and excited anonymous asks I’ve received.

In general: the best way to see the story you want to see is to write it! You don’t have to pump out updates every month, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel; if there’s a story you want to tell, the best time to start telling it is now!

[ryssabrin]

i saw a post today about anders and all of the "wasted potential" of his character and i was like oh yeah they never really delve into how he wants freedom for mages but never really moves past the chantry dogma about magic and spirits and demons to the extent that he'll lecture merrill, someone who grew up outside of that perspective, about it and he never seems to think the chantry could be wrong. and he also cares little to nothing about the elves or slavery and even seems to support the tevinter imperium simply because mages have freedom there even though they also have horrible civil rights abuses. would be an interesting thread to follow if you could discuss all of these contradictions in his mindset in game and it's a shame you can't right?

nope the post was full of examples like "well he's from the anderfels what's up with that" and "you know he met the king of ferelden once how come that never comes up"

and then the post evolved in to criticisms over how he's framed in dai and it's a shame he's always seen as a villain and hmmm bioware must have have some sort of agenda there hmmmm but like. y'all. he's framed that way by characters like varric, whose home he destroyed, cassandra, a devout chantry supporter, vivienne, the strongest supporter of the circles, and even fiona, who does agree with mage freedom as an idea, rightly believes that blowing up a building is not the most politically convenient way to achieve that goal. these are not people who think of him as a hero. interestingly the only dai character i can think of that seems somewhat sympathetic to anders's actions is solas. if the inquisitor expresses opposition to mage freedom because of that one who blew up a chantry that one time solas sarcastically says something like "oh yeah and that was completely unprovoked right?"

i tangented. anyways my point was the post annoyed me because it frames all of this as "poor writing" and poor baby anders isn't getting the place of pride he deserves in the narrative by not exploring all the ways his backstory could have been fleshed out when none of that is integral to his actual character arc? none of that ties in the themes of his character? like by all means all of that certainly enriches the world and the character and it is a shame that because da2 was so rushed bioware couldn't include all these variables from origins and awakening that anders ties into. but your fave not being the writers' pet is not "poor writing" jfc.

[cassandra-pentughasst]

Fanfic Writer Asks

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

Ummm I kinda wish a solid half got more love but a lot of them are one-shots so I'll pick a few and give them vague descriptions. I want to talk more about Deliverance because I write more/better when I'm thinking about it with other people. I have a super soft spot for this modern AU one shot I once planned to write more for because its wholesome and I indulged my power suit Cassandra fantasies. This one was a Haven era thought that I had to write and I enjoy anything I can include Leliana teasing clueless Cassandra in. This one was something I played around with perspective and role reversal on and it was one of the tumblr prompts I think I enjoyed writing the most and I think more people should tinker with things in such a way. This is one I wish people loved more because Kara did such a fantastic job on the artwork and she wrote some of the opening paragraphs which gave me a jumping off point for the rest of it (and makes me wish I could do more collabs like this) This one exists because I reject fandom stereotypes and I think fandom needs more sappy Cassandra content and lastly, this one, because I think the Fallout universe has the potential to explore some very interesting ideas and concepts even if its as something as simple as a thunderstorm. Actually I lie, this is something I wish I loved more because writing femslash fixits for BioWare games is my MO and there are a lot of things BioWare did with Cora that just makes me roll my eyes and not just their usual "designs a character that is attractive to women that are attracted to women and then is surprised women who like women are attracted to, and want to romance her" I'll never finish this and its an absolute shame.

[aqueouserbium]

I'm feeling like having a word vomit regarding Dragon Age romance.

So, like, a few weeks ago now I finished a replay of Dragon Age: Inquisition with a Solas romance (wanted to see what all the hubbub was about). I also struggled and struggled and eventually got Dragon Age: Origins to play on my computer, so I started that (still crashes but can sustaibably play for a bit if I don't tab out). Since I couldn't start at DAO, I spent time reviewing stuff in Dragon Age Keep.

I've already ranted about how I got cucked twice on PS3 from a Leliana romance, and how that first time led me to romance Morrigan (didn't finish the second one out of spite), but that led me to experiencing moments in my first (and, for a while, only full) DAI playthrough to have tidbits of Warden×Morrigan dialogue, so I didn't get to experience anything from what I had hoped to experience with Leliana. I thusly proclaimed in DAK that the Warden romanced Leliana. And every moment Lady Nightingale shared with the Inquisitor about the Warden was just about everything I needed. It was great. 10/10 will do again.

Regarding Hawke and the Dragon Age 2 romances, I've always been enamored by Merrill. She's so damn cute and driven and studious and ajhsvrosj. Naturally, I set her as Hawke's romance in DAK. Unlike Leliana's dialogue, though, I didn't get much about Merrill. You don't spend enough time with Hawke for the Inquisitor to become friends with the Champion, and I yearn for my powerful blood mage.

In DAK, I maintain a "This Is My Ideal World State—My Personal Canon" option, and it changes every so often if I care enough to review it. Naturally, this replay and re-dive into Dragon Age led to me caring, so I went through it all again after finishing DAI. All the art I've seen on here and the continued excitement of the fandom despite only having blips of communication and non-game media from BioWare helped push this, too. Despite my absolute love for Leliana and Merrill, I think my headcanon for the overall story has changed.

I think it's become Warden/Morrigan and Champion/Fenris.

For the former, a male Warden being Kieran's father sends me to a place in my mind that I haven't yet explored, and I love that. I don't remember much of any of the connection being deeply regarding in my first DAI playthrough, but I want there to be more for it, and I think this situation will be incredible. I'm sorry for taking the love of your life away, Leliana. I still love you.

For the latter, I've seen some amazing art depicting Fenris finding Hawke in the Fade, and there's something about it that just fucking slaps so damn good. I don't doubt that Merrill would do the same, but Merrill has a lot of responsibility that she's taken based on what I know from the games—she has other people she needs to protect. I don't know—maybe I just feel like it'd be garder for her to pursue Hawke with all that. (NOT TO MENTION THAT BIOWARE FORCES HAWKE TO BE VERY AGGRESSIVELY ANTI TO BLOOD MAGIC IN DAI WHICH EITHER MAKES THEM A HYPOCRITE ABOUT MERRILL OR FUCKING ABUSIVE TO HER.) Again, I don't fully know, but Fenris going after Hawke in the Fade is just a powerful image that I love so much. Merrill I absolutely love you, and I would never talk shit about blood mages in a general sense that would have to include you because it's said so generally.

In regards to DAI romances, my first was Cassandra, which was partially accidental because I was kind of flirting with a lot of people but would often talk to her first. I really liked it, too, especially when she and my Inquisitor would hide away with each other once she was the Divine. There's something so sweet and powerful about that. However, I feel like the Solas romance will end up being my ideal canon. I don't know. It wasn't that it was exceptionally fantastic to play through, but I think it has the greatest potential for intrigue in future games, especially Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (obviously). Like, The Iron Bull is hot, but his romance is weirdly lacking after climax, with sex being one of the only obvious elements of it. While I love Cassandra as the Divine and romancing the Inquisitor, I think I want Leliana as the Divine, so that plot intrigue becomes limited. And the other romances, while often enjoyable, just don't have the power of plot driving them for me. (I desperately want to romance Scout Harding, though. So bad. I know she can get with Sera, but I'm down for a throuple.)

All the romances (except Sebastian) have their merit and fun, but Morrigan–Fenris–Solas will probably keep as my canon. Kind of sucks because I normally like with queer ships but I see my Hawke as female.

[purgatoryandme]

I wish instead of getting DA: Solas, we could finally get a DA expansion set between the only two games I want to acknowledge: Origins and 2. Just IMAGINE being a rando thief of assassin that is retroactively given a heroic role by influencing the survival or position of characters that effect canon. Maybe you meet Malcolm Hawke and lead him to Flemeth, maybe you create or fuel Meredith’s hatred of mages, maybe you’re present at Anders’ joining, maybe you witness the conflict between Varric and Bianca or try to spring Fenris from his slavery or ride abord Isabella’s ship and fail to dissuade her from stealing a lil something something from the Qunari -  There is so much untapped potential in the intervening time between DAO and DA2. The timeline is already a mess in the games, so it’s no big deal to create different outcomes or to let players explore more of the background of their faves. You could even wedge in lore that relates to the later events of Inquisition, or create uprisings that never happen in canon because you, the player, quelled them too quickly to be noticed. It could be SO FUN. Bioware...please...I am starving.

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

Why Cullen?

Today I bring you a post I’ve been in the process of mentally drafting for a while, a post that essentially analyzes the age old question in the Dragon Age fandom: Why is there always something with Cullen?

To do this, I am going to go through different “phases” of Cullen discourse. My thesis and answering the titular question: It’s complicated, and I don’t think I can answer “Why Cullen,” but “there’s sometimes recycled discourses made about his character through the years, maybe there’s a pattern.” When it comes to Cullen’s detractors, I understand the fact that it might be frustrating to see much content for someone so “boring” when there’s more “interesting” and “well done” characters (though interest is of course relevant) so it leads to a lot of vitriol from both new and old fans who think the man had too much screen time already. Furthermore, he is highly complicated man dressed as a Disney prince, and the “Disney-esque” feel of his romance creates a dissonance between coming to terms with his problematic past and reveling in the romanticism. We can have a happy medium everyone,  but because of what I can only describe as “tik tok thought” it’s become looked down upon to have problematic favorites, which leads to guilt in liking something problematic, or outright revisionism.

But liking things with problematic elements doesn’t make you a bad person.

Alright, let’s begin: 

The first phase truly began of course with DAO with Cullen’s crush on the female Circle Mage Warden. Some were endeared, others not so much. I cannot speak to this phase too much as I was around 15-16 and pretty preoccupied with my high school drama instead of fandom, though I played both DAO and DA2 upon it’s release and followed updates for DA2 before it came out. Despite not being an active fandom member I was what they would call, a lurker. I knew some people liked Cullen and thought he was cute, wishing for more screen time after the game and hoping he’d be in DAI through IMDB message boards (remember those?) and YoutTube comments. When news broke he’d be an advisor in DAI and a romance option, I remember seeing a lot of people in those same spaces rejoice. I’m sure there were also people who weren’t so pleased, but from what I saw, people were happy. When Inquisition did release, I actually did quite a bit more lurking on tumblr despite the fact I didn’t have a blog, because I played the romance route, really gravitated toward it, and wanted to see fanart and such. People liked the romance, liked his arc and how Bioware handled his struggles with lyrium; and found it realistic. Even in my lurking days I did see some blowback on Cullen from detractors, those who didn’t think he should have been the military advisor (which canonically it makes total sense to me why he’s where he’s at, but I won’t get into it here however.) But likely because I wasn’t fully “in fandom,” my surface level understanding of how tumblr felt about Cullen was relatively positive and there was only standard fare discourse.

Phase 2: I can speak about this phase better because I established this blog in 2017. Two years after DAI was released, you still had a lot of fans who loved his romance and character, but you also saw a lot of those fans really dive into his flaws, insisting even that just focusing on the Disney Prince aspects of him reduced his character. There were also more internal debates. Would realistically Cullen be a good father was one. One thing however was for sure, there was a strange them and us line between detractors and fans, and to many fans, myself included, oftentimes the Cullen blowback would extend beyond the valid, “hey I don’t think his characterization was handled well” or “his redemption arc isn’t that great” to outright vitriolic hate that blatantly ignored his PTSD and lyrium addiction, and even sometimes “you just like Cullen because he’s white.” As a POC fan it was a fantastic thing to be accused of. I used to be more involved with discord during this period and I remember a few discussions about this as well. Even those indifferent to Cullen didn’t get it.

Overall, I have to say the air was one where people in Cullen fandom enjoyed all aspects of him, from delving into this troubled past to indulging in the Disney prince aspects of him. It was a happy medium I think, even if occasionally I would see a Cullen fan feel bad for liking him, and feel like they needed to justify it. Heck I even did and still do feel that way sometimes, like I need to justify what I like. But we all come into fandom for different reasons. I come into fandom some days for different things. Sometimes I want smut with my favorite character, other times I want more intense thought pieces and challenging fics. Great thing about fandom is that it’s a bakery that has cherry tarts, cinnamon rolls, or all kinds of pie depending on your mood. Craving a different sweet treat, you can make your own. Or you can commission an artist or writer for something you fancy.

*(sexual assault mentions here late in the paragraph****)And now I’ve been warped back into Cullen/DA fandom through what I am calling phase three, where the general air on Cullen reads as….very different. After having one foot outside DA fandom for a while coming back and reading the air has been different. There was the bizarre nuggetgate and other things with Cullen. Now, instead of accepting his flaws and exploring him there seems to be a lot of revisionism going on, as if his past never happened or we’re supposed to ignore he was a templar. A sexually active Cullen is looked down upon but in a different way from before. Instead of smut works with him “reducing his complicated character.” it’s distasteful to write smut with him where he’s sexually dominant or even just a lot of smut because he was sexually assaulted. (***Now, it is implied that he was, if you are a female Circle mage in DAO, with “sifting through my thoughts, tempting me with the one thing I always wanted but could never have” but this is an implication. I will be honest, it is what I have implied. However, it’s not there if you’re not a female Mage. He was however canonically sexually harassed in the Winter Palace, something I will always argue, even if canon treats it like a joke, even if Leliana tells him to “just look pretty.” Just because he is a man doesn’t make it funny that someone grabbed his bottom, and if you take Cole he flat out says “Cullen is afraid.”***)

So here I am, wondering what changed and what’s going on. Here’s what I believe: Cullen is a complicated character and his flaws and his past make him interesting to me, and they are interesting to explore. However there is nothing wrong with wanting to just explore a romantic, sexual Cullen. He’s a character with many facets. He’s romantic, determined, nostalgic, stubborn, unrelenting, loyal, driven, all things that made him seem so real. Here we get to my theory: in today’s media “criticisms” I see people—particularly younger people—beat themselves up for liking something problematic. It’s like every time you engage with media that’s potentially problematic you have to write essays to yourself why it is so and hold yourself accountable. I see this on tik-tok a lot and why I refer to it as “tik tok thought.” Look at the way some young Hamilton fans talk about the musical, or heck even here, and you may see what I mean. It’s like if you don’t acknowledge the problematic aspects of the historical figures behind their fictional portrayals in the show you’re a bad person. Same thing with nostalgic Disney fans my age in younger, if you don’t clown on Ariel for “choosing a man over anything” (SHE LIKED THE SURFACE WORLD BEFORE SHE MET ERIC) you don’t get your brownie points.

I want to make it clear: being critical of media is good. I am glad I see young people and people my age think about the messages we are given in media, but somehow this is turned into ANALYZE EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. Ya’ll I’m a grad student. I’m critical most of the time, when I come to my tumblr blog’s lawn I’m here mostly to have some fun, and hey sometimes my fun is being critical. But sometimes it isn’t. You do not have to always be critical. You do not have to beat yourself up for liking something that’s problematic or write an essay about why it is as if that’s your due diligence in stanning a fictional character. I’m going to be honest I used to kind of think I had to justify my likes once, especially because of the Cullen vitriol on tumblr. I worked overtime in my early fanfic efforts to try to prove to the world I knew Cullen was problematic for fear I’d be perceived as just an idiot horny fangirl. Well, let me tell you: I largely don’t think that way anymore. If I want to just enjoy writing some smut or reading some smut with him, I am. But I think there is a second part of this in Cullen fandom currently, a revisionism of his problematic elements. Now, if you have to do mental gymnastics with a character in an effort to ignore problematic elements, perhaps you don’t like the character that much. That’s totally okay. DA has many awesome characters to write about and stan.

So, why Cullen? For so many reasons a bit of a shit show has always followed this character. There’s a divide between fans and his detractors and sometimes there’s a divide within the Cullen fandom. What I can extrapolate for now is the need to keep him squeaky clean and safe and away from anything “problematic” because his of past, his templar roots, or the fact that he’s white when there are POC characters with less content. It reads as a guilt associated with liking him. But please, do not be guilty. He’s not real. Templars aren’t real, mages aren’t real, Cullen isn’t real. Here’s my advice, something I learned while in my directing class in college. What my teacher always said was direct what turns you on, direct a story that gets you thinking, gets you excited. What gets you thinking and excited in a fictional world may be tons of conflict and dramatics, or it may be peace and love. Sometimes it can be both or more. Don’t shame others for coming to a bakery and wanting blueberry when you want cherry, and the baker has both, especially if the baker labels each pie, especially if the recipe for the pie has some salt in it and people like the salt. We can have it all and enjoy it all. What we want in our fiction doesn’t always align with something we may want real life. Lots of people write Modern girl in Thedas stories. Ya’ll if that actually happened to one of us it would probably suck. I’d probably get killed and not even get to meet Cullen and pose around the desk to get things going, so I’d rather it not happen. However, it is fun to read about.

Again, don’t be guilty for liking Cullen, please. But if you have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to like Cullen, maybe you don’t like him at all. To that I say, there are many other amazing characters, or perhaps you could write your own.

[jackdawyt]

Today I’m breaking down the newly-revealed story of Dragon Age 2’s cancelled expansion that would’ve acted as a precursor to Dragon Age: Inquisition, planning the events of Dragon Age II’s sequel more accordingly, whilst giving our player-protagonist Hawke a good farewell.  

The DLC was called “The Exalted March” and was canned because of Inquisition’s scope, and the team’s shift to the Frostbite engine. Thanks to BioWare’s Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development book, we have an in-depth look at this cancelled Dragon Age II DLC with concept art and detailed plotlines to follow.  

I’ve already broken down the Dragon Age 4 related-secrets discovered in this book in my last news update, so I recommend you checking that video out for the latest on the next Dragon Age’s current project. With that said, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at Dragon Age II’s planned, and unfortunately cancelled final-DLC.

“The Exalted March was a cancelled expansion to Dragon Age II meant to bridge the gap between the events of DA II and the planned sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition. The expansion focused on the fallout from Kirkwall’s explosive finale, with Corypheus serving as the villain.”

“After the end of Dragon Age II, when Meredith turns into the big red lyrium statue, she basically infests Kirkwall and you end up with what actually ended up being the red templars taking over Kirkwall and being essentially Corypheus’s army, Dragon Age II cinematic designer John Epler says.”

“To stop him, Hawke recruited various factions, having to choose between groups like Isabela’s Felicisima Armada and the Qunari at Estwatch, forcing the hero to split loyalties and risk relationships in the process.”

“It was supposed to bring Dragon Age II’s story to an end,” lead writer David Gaider says. “And it was supposed to end with Varric’s death. I was very happy with that, because all of DA II was his tale. The expansion was supposed to start at the moment Cassandra’s interrogation of him ended in the present. And we finished off the story with Varric having this heroic death.”

“it tied things up and would have broken so many fan hearts, something the writers on Dragon Age notoriously enjoy. But between a transition to the new Frostbite engine and the scope of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the decision was made to cancel the expansion, work any hard-to-lose concepts into Inquisition, and in the process, save Varric’s life.”

“Concept art for The Exalted March explored new areas previously not depicted in the Dragon Age universe, with costumes that reflected next steps for familiar characters. Varric was going to war. What would he wear? With Anders (if he survived Dragon Age II), the plan was to present a redeemed Warden.”

“A character that vaguely resembled Sera in Dragon Age: Inquisition was first concepted for Dragon Age II’s expansion content.”

“The writers sketched out plans to end the cancelled Exalted March DLC with Hawke having the option to marry their love interest. This included alternate ceremonies for party members like Bethany and Sebastian if players opted not to wed. There was even a wedding dress made for Hawke. The assets found its way into Inquisition, donned by Sera If she marries the Inquisitor, or the Inquisitor if they marry Cullen. The dress can also be seen in an ambient NPC wedding after a chain of war table missions.”  

“The destruction of a Chantry was explored in concept art as it might have happened in Exalted March. This idea would carry to the beginning of Inquisition.”

While its bittersweet uncovering the story of this canned DLC, especially with the planned send-off having Hawke potentially marrying their love interest, and witnessing the explosion of the Conclave first hand as a cliff-hanger leading into the next game. I’m very grateful that BioWare revealed the development secrets of this cancelled DLC to the public.  

I respect Dragon Age II a lot, it’s a title that was given way too much flack by the mainstream considering it was created within 9 months of production, and had one of EA’s lowest budgets for its creation. Yet despite that, the game stands on its own two feet with a 40+ hour story, new protagonist and a roster of remarkable characters that join the journey.  

“Dragon Age: Origins had the longest development period in BioWare’s history. Dragon Age II’s was the shortest. Production of Dragon Age II officially lasted just nine months, while the team was still supporting live content for Origins.”

One of the biggest reasons behind Dragon Age II’s “different” narrative was the fact that the developers were working insane hours, with zero time for rewrites and revisions, meaning that the first drafts conceived for stories and characters were often the final outcome.  

In light of that, David Gaider felt that the cast of Dragon Age II were some of his favourite Dragon Age characters to date, he believed that the game had some of the best writing throughout the series.  

“As we were writing, I realized there was going to be no oversight – that everything was going to be a first draft. Because nobody had time”. David Gaider says. “I sat down with the writers and I said: ‘Look here’s the conditions we’re working under. A lot of what we’re putting out is going to be raw. We’re not going to get the editing we need. We’re not going to get the kind of iteration we need. So I’m going to trust you all to do your best work.’”  

In summary, Dragon Age II is a remarkable feat, and doesn’t deserve the harsh criticism in my opinion. I adore the characters, narrative beats, and lore introduced in Dragon Age II that have been fundamental to my personal enjoyment of Dragon Age.  

While, it would’ve been nice to have this DLC finalised for Dragon Age II. There are many fundamental aspects of Inquisition that would be completely different if this DLC wasn’t canned. For example, Varric would be dead, having no appearance as a companion in Inquisition... Just thinking about that as a reality - that’s not a world I want to live in at the moment.  

So, while it’s sad that this DLC never came to be, there are (at least) a couple things, like Varric’s life, that we can be happy about, regarding “Exalted March’s” cancellation.  

[dgcatanisiri]

The thing about playing Mass Effect Andromeda is that it is reminding me of how much I love BioWare games and want another one, want to play others. Hell, it’s making me want to play Inquisition again, and... I’m on record as disliking a lot of what Inquisition chose to be.

And it’s not even just about the queer representation stuff - lord knows I’m not playing the PS4 generation games for that, given how bad they screwed the pooch on that count as far as I’m concerned, in both games. It’s not that I love playing them for being able to play a gay protagonist, I LEGITIMATELY ENJOY these universes, these settings. I want to play more in them. I want another game in these series - yes, even Mass Effect, the franchise I said I couldn’t in good conscience continue to support given how shit they are treating queer men.

I just... I really do love these settings. They’re part of what has given me hope and grounding over the years.

But the frustration is that I have to keep bending them out of shape to actually find personal satisfaction in them all the same. They refused to fix the Shepard trilogy to let me have a full trilogy romance with Kaidan, even though it was entirely within their means. I just don’t warm to Zevran as a romance. And Inquisition thinks I’m fine choosing between “after school special or BDSM” and doesn’t explore anything further as options. In seven games, only TWO leave me satisfied. (And don’t start me on The Old Republic, where there’s not a single base game same-sex romance, and, at this point, it’s the M/M options who all end up being potentially killed off in the course of the expansions, FUNNY. THAT.)

I mean, I could also complain about the story-level frustrations within these games and all, but... I really could let them all slide if I could just walk away feeling like I got to give my player character a happy ending with the man he loves. And instead I spend most of my time in these universes without that.

Y’know, it’s the message I GET out of them, whether or not it’s the message INTENDED. It’s a choice - do I get to be able to play a queer character, have the hero of the story be explicitly queer... or do I get to have the love story? I HAVE to pick.

And... I’m tired. I’m exhausting. And... I’m hurting. Because this choice is cruel. And it’s the worst kind of cruelty - the kind that gets waved off, because “well there ARE choices, you’re just CHOOSING not to take them, it’s not BioWare’s fault that they can’t cater to YOUR SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL DESIRES.” Which is... not unfair of a criticism of my criticism, but... still misses the fact that this is so much a part of my experience that it’s reached a point where I NEVER feel seen. 

And, by all accounts, so far as I’ve seen... The kicker is that I’m the minority. We had Dorian fully embraced by people at large, which just makes me worried about what’s going to come - more active homophobia in the next Dragon Age, especially since we’ll be in Tevinter proper? Y’know, since his story established it being a thing there, and so it’s now something to acknowledge? Oh joy. The Trilogy Remaster is widely popular and, as I pointed out many times, NO ONE SEEMED TO CARE that it was perpetuating the homophobia of the games’ original release by not implementing the Male Shepard/Kaidan romance in the first game. And on the Andromeda side, while I understand why M/M players want to dismiss Gil, because his writing IS a homophobic trashfire, it doesn’t change the fact that I find Reyes absolute sleaze who I WISH I could make Ryder take a headshot aim at during the culmination of that storyline and Jaal just... doesn’t WORK for me as a romance, that the lock-in scene happens in a situation that trips all my anxiety buttons and makes me uncomfortable.

That I keep being in situations where, in order to have the romances that I want, it’s not just that they’re not an option, but that I would actively have to roll a PC who is not my gender... It says that I can’t have the story that empowers me without giving up a part of my identity. And that KEEPS. BEING. THE MESSAGE.

And it’s killing me.

[thedinanshiral]

My personal DA4 wishlist + thoughts

I’ve been teasing this post for a couple of weeks over at Twitter, i’m the worst! But anyway, since game journalism has decided to confirm, once again, that the next Dragon Age game will be set in Tevinter like that’s breaking news, now’s as good a time as ever to write all this down.

Locations: Tevinter, clearly. It’s been pretty much a given since the end of Trespasser in 2015, with that scene where the Inquisitor stabs a map on a table directly on Tevinter as they promise to go after Solas to stop him. But also concept art and several stories from Tevinter Nights heavily imply Antiva, Nevarra, the Anderfells, and maybe Rivain. For those of you who don’t know your Thedosian Geography 101, that’s basically Northern Thedas. And it makes sense, since so far for three games straight we’ve been first stuck in Ferelden, then the coast of the Free Marches, and later the rest of Southern Thedas. We’ve never been North, only heard of it. So in DA4 i’m sure we will finally be able to visit.

Characters: If we’re going to Tevinter, we must meet Dorian again, maybe meet Maevaris Tilani as well (previously only seen in comics), judging from the latest comics series, i’m hoping for Fenris too. And going by the latest teaser trailer, we might see Varric again. As for characters that so far we have no news of, i’d like to see Cole, the Iron Bull, and if by any chance BioWare feels like blessing us with a Hawke/Fenris reunion i might just die happy.  I’d also very much like to see the Inquisitor, but more on that later.

Companions: considering concept art and the latest teaser trailer, plus Tevinter Nights stories and new characters, we have an interesting repertoire of new potential companions. A Tevinter mage, an ancient elf (like a temple guardian) or a dalish elf (like Strife), a Nevarran mortalitasi or spirit, Antivan Crows, Lords of Fortune (new faction, kind of like treasure hunters), Qunari lady, maybe an alchemist or shapeshifter, Grey Wardens (possibly a dwarf), a liberated or escaped slave, a Siccari (Tevinter spies/assassins)..even past agents of the Inquisition could return. 

Plot: We know Solas wants to take down the Veil. We know there’s two archdemons left, and Grey Wardens are regaining some spotlight in concept art lately. We might have to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously and be strategic about it. Solas might even unleash a double Blight just to keep us distracted while he focus on his own goal, who knows. But many other things are happenig in the margins and all over the place. The Qunari Antaam is having a crisis with some of its members supposedly going rogue, the order they’re so proud of is breaking up, and the whole of Northern Thedas is facing an imminent threat of invasion. Tevinter is still dealing with remnants of the Venatori and might soon be dealing with a slaves rebellion and/or a political and social reform (Magisters Dorian and Maeveris have been working wirh the Lucerni, a group aiming to restore and redeem Tevinter). The Antivan Crows -the de facto rulers of Antiva - may be dealing with a succession crisis, as their First Talon, a powerful feared and respected but old lady, might not be around for much longer and seems her chosen heir has died before his time. Meanwhile in the Anderfells nobody’s heard anything from the Grey Wardens’ HQ at Weisshaupt since the end of Inquisition, and as told in the novel Last Flight, the sudden reappearance of griffons may have had something to do with that radio silence. So you see, get ready for another +100 hours long game because BW has plenty of stuff to keep us busy with. But in short, DA4 seems will be about primarily searching, finding, and dealing with Solas. Regardless of what you decided at the Exalted Council in Trespasser, the Inquisition or what’s left of it is most likely the group orchestrating that mission. As it was so clearly stated then, they need new people Solas doesn’t know so he can’t foresee their actions, so it’s possible the DA4 protagonist is a new agent or a third party hired to do what the Inner circle can’t due to their familiarity with Solas in the past. But at the same time -and this is assuming we get to find Solas in this game - i definitely think the Inquisitor could easily show up again. No, losing an arm doens’t mean they’ve retired forever, prosthetics do exist in Thedas, a world where you can combine dwarven craftmanship with enchantments, seriously, i don’t ever want to hear “but they lost an arm” ever again as an excuse to write them out. And no, marrying Cullen or joining the Red Jennys is no impediment to join the “Stop Solas” Squad; the end of Trespasser means something, mainly that this is personal. Be it they loved them as lovers, as friends or ended up hating his guts for using and betraying them, the Inquisitor’s relationship with Solas makes this very personal, and so having any other character do that face off would cheapen all of it, all that bittersweet angsty development and expectations of either revenge or closure. That moment should happen between those two. It adds a ton of motivation due to their past historyas well, something a new protagonist would lack entirely.  My personal best hope is for a sort of dual protagonist thing, say we play new protagonist for most of the game but a selected missions or scenes where we play as the Inquisitor once again and take over for key and heart-wrenching dialogue options. My second best hope is for the Inquisitor to show up as playable for the moment we catch up with Solas. My third and final best hope is for the inquisitor to be a sort of advisor but more like new protagonist’s boss/employer to whom they report back to and get new missions from. The Inquisitor can be stuck in meetings for the most part of it, i just want to know they’re there, behind a door, super busy but there. A cameo like Hawke’s in Inquisition is the bare miminum i can take, anyhting less than that like a mention in a sidequest description or a footnote in a codex entry would be a total  injustice. 

Romances: I’m open for pretty much anything, as any good BW fan would be. But i’d like romances to feel more alive in the sense that they don’t abruptly get stuck once you exhaust all related quests and dialogue options. As much as my Adaar liked that spank from the Iron Bull, that it was the only thing they could share after their romance was locked was a bit..meh. I liked Dorian’s tho, because his gave one the option to talk a bit, go for a walk, gossip, and sure, it all happened off-screen, and there were limited possibilities, but it was nice and made their relationship feel a bit more real, like they had more to it than kissing and stuff. It happens in most games, once you secure a romanceable companion suddenly you run out of things to do and share with them, and you get stuck with the same 3 lines of dialogue over and over again. There should be a way of solving that.

Side quests: i’m ok with fetch quests initially as it is a good way of forcing the player to go out and explore huge maps, but i’d also like the fetching to have some meaning other than checking things off a list. I want to explore many ruins, and -can’t believe i’m actually saying this- i want a Fade quest. Wait! I know what you’re thinking but don’t kill me just yet, here’s my idea: what if we could visit the Fade at certain locations to witness memories or meet with spirits and recollect information on Solas, his past, his present? Both to understand him better (keep in mind we’ll most likely get a new protagonist who isn’t familiar with him like we are as players) and try to locate him or predict his next move. It would be i think i great way of having visions of Arlathan in its golden age, maybe seeing some of the other Evanuris, how they interacted with each other and with the elves in their service, what really happened ...i just want that sweet, sweet lore, i need it.

Technical stuff: ok, graphics will be amazing for sure, but i also would really really like: better, more varied and longer hairstyles, PLEASE. Body sliders, it’s damn time we get them. Mounts that actually make a difference! Let staves blades make damage in combat, I’M BEGGING HERE. Combined classes, MAGICAL ROGUES! A homebase we can fix up/build on/redecorate as fully as possible (Skyhold was great and i love it to pieces but why were those walls NEVER repaired????) . More casual outfit options, idk i love to dress up my characters, maybe some transmog? A day/night cycle and please i would love to see Thedas’ second moon, also weather variations depending on the region. Yes, i’m ambitious.

Gameplay: i’d like more AI options for companions, but not quite like in DAO, that was too much and i rarely used it. I’m curious how they’ll do combat this time but i know for sure i don’t want the kind of combat that has me going almost frame by frame pausing at every second, it’s annoying for me. I want large areas like in DAI but with a bit more stuff to see and do although one of my favourite maps is the Hissing Wastes so i won’t complain if we get a literal desert but i’d also like it to have secrets hidden around, make me work to find and solve them, i love exploring, i jump and click on EVERYTHING like i’m still a kid playing Monkey Island. A companion in concept art seems to be holding what looks like some form of rifle, so i’m curious how they’d incorporate that in the game. I know Tevinter has the magics and dwarves have the skill, a firearm is totally within the possibilities in-game without breaking any lore; also super curious what sort of skill trees Crows or Lords of Fortune could have, are they rogues, or warriors, or both??

So far, that’s what i got in my head.Well, most of it anyways, i may have missed something but this post has to end somewhere lol

What’s in your head? Feel free to share! Have you been thinking on how you’ll create your next protagonist? All i can think of is magical rogues and that  glowing bow was all the hype i needed.

[felassan]

Article: 'Aaryn Flynn interview – Nightingale, tree chopping, and magic'

We chat to former BioWare GM Aaryn Flynn about Mass Effect: Andromeda and his upcoming survival game

Flynn gave a talk at Reboot Develop Blue about how video games still have so much potential to do things in new and interesting ways.

“One of my heroes in all of the creative field, Orson Welles, had this amazing interview at the BBC,” Flynn explained during his talk. “And what he says is that the only reason he was successful with Citizen Kane was because he was ignorant of all the things you couldn't do in filmmaking at the time.”

"It's fair to say that if you read what Starfield is about, Andromeda had similar ambitions" - Aaryn Flynn

He likened this to his time at BioWare when it had ambitions to create the Mass Effect trilogy – a series of games where your choices in one title would impact the world of the next entry. It had never been done before. BioWare did it.

Originally, publisher EA didn’t even want BioWare to announce a trilogy. Again, BioWare did it, even though it wasn’t the done thing to commit to a series of games when you don’t even know if the first one will be popular.

Eventually, even EA started to believe the hype (once it saw those sales numbers), prompting the publisher to coin the term “BioWare magic” – a reference for how the studio’s games would come together, as if by magic, in the final stretch.

Of course, that’s just how video game development is. Games are usually a hot mess while they’re being cobbled together from dust, dreams, and surgical tape, right up until the point that they’re not. BioWare wasn’t magic. It couldn’t just click its fingers at the end of a long project to ensure it made a good game.

Flynn physically grimaces when I bring up the term.

“To my recollection, I think EA offered the term out of respect and appreciation for some of the quality that was made there,” he says. “My understanding of it was just a lot of hard work, and Ray [Muzyka] and Greg [Zeschuk] being excellent at continuing to get us more time on the development until we got it exactly right.”

It also came down to vision. Flynn says the best games at BioWare were the ones that stuck to the objectives on their design documents, and the ones that suffered were the games that strayed too far from their original goals.

The issues with Mass Effect: Andromeda and BioWare’s switch to the Frostbite engine have been widely reported, but Flynn gives some insight into how that switch impacted the vision.

“The vision did get modified,” he says. “And that was largely out of pressure to ship and to get things out there. One of the biggest challenges we had with Frostbite on that game – and we had this issue relatively late in development, with a year to go – is we were waiting on some technical improvements to come in for the last elements of our game. And then the Frostbite team ended up having to support [the] sports [teams] much more because sports teams went through that [change] as well. So we lost that support and had to cut some of those things.

And honestly, it's fair to say that if you read what Starfield is about, Andromeda had similar ambitions – plans to explore and actually travel in a spaceship. We just couldn't pull it all off, and so the vision ended up being less than what we were hoping to do. We should have been more conservative.”

[source and full article]

[virlath]

halam'shivanas: the sweet sacrifice of duty

It implies the loss of something personal for duty’s sake

===

How tragically ironic would it be if Solas, the rebel god and breaker of slave chains, is in fact bound to Mythal’s will, much like Abelas or the drinker of the well of sorrows is?

We can assume his duty was to advise/protect Mythal, as based on the imagery and statues that depict him. Mythal’s murder would have meant he completely failed at his duty, meaning he is still bound to her even after banishing the false gods and creating the veil.

This is why he cannot be swayed on his path. He walks the dinan’shiral because he is bound by his duty to the people, and to Mythal. He can’t just walk away like Abelas can at the well. He can’t even tell the Inquisitor the truth even if he wants to because his duty to Mythal always comes first.

We all know Bioware love their tragic characters and this would just be the icing on the already delicious cake that is Thedas lore.

Note: Assumptions and theories ahead are based on speculation and theorising only- this is simply a potential take on Solas’ motivations. 

===

Firstly, why would Solas even agree to serve Mythal?

Fen’Harel statues are often seen as a symbol of guardianship. In the Temple of Mythal he is depicted as a guard dog. Guard dogs infer protection and servitude to its owner. That’s the impression I get from his statues - that he guarded Mythal willingly and with great pride.

The only reason he came to be remembered as a god at all is because he takes the form of a powerful wolf beast, and walks amongst all factions freely as a rebel leader against slavery.

If Mythal is “the best” of the evanuris (and remember, the evanuris are self proclaimed gods who all owned slaves in some sense), how could Solas lead a slave rebellion while he was still on good terms with Mythal? 

It can be assumed from clues throughout the game that Solas used to be a pure spirit in some sense before manifesting as a material elf. He refers to a person’s essence through their “spirit”, and it seems like he very much misses being a pure spirit himself.

Cole: You don't need to envy me, Solas. You can find happiness in your own way. Solas: I apologize for disturbing you, Cole. I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths. Cole: They are not gone so long as you remember them. Solas: I know. Cole: But you could let them go. Solas: I know that as well. Cole: You didn't do it to be right. You did it to save them. Inquisitor: Solas, what is Cole talking about? Solas: A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything. Cole: You weren't wrong, though. Solas: Thank you, Cole.

(if Cole becomes more human)

Solas: How do you feel, Cole, now that you dealt with the Templar? Cole: I don't know. He hurt me... hurt the real Cole. I'm angry at him. Cole: I can't let that go. I have to become more, let it make me real. Solas: You may well become fully human, after all. I never thought to see it. Cole: When did you see it before? Solas: I did not say that I had. Cole: No, you didn't. It's harder to hear, sometimes. Sorry. Solas: Good luck, Cole. You have taken a difficult road.

Could Solas have been a pure spirit of wisdom before he took on a physical form to be at Mythal’s side? Did the ancient elves use spirits to do their bidding, and those with greater power used physical bodies to transcend singular character traits to gain the full complexity and spectrum of emotions and actions? Perhaps that seemed appealing to Solas at the time - to become more than he currently was?

To gain wisdom you have to actively seek it. That means travelling and learning, a trait that Solas embodies. He elaborates on more of his travels if you ask him at Haven.

“The Fade reflects the world around it. Unless I travelled I would never find anything new.”

“The Fade reflects and is limited by our imaginations. To find interesting areas, one must be interesting.”

I have explored the Fade more than anyone alive, but even I can only visit in dreams. 

Then in Trespasser, Cole cryptically reveals more snippets of his past (presumed). 

Cole: He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face.

Cole: He wants to give wisdom, not orders.

So, why would Solas willingly serve Mythal if he is so against slavery and servitude? 

I presume it is because he actively sought more wisdom and inadvertently fell into Mythal’s will to attain more knowledge. Whether or not he deliberately became Mythal’s servant/advisor is up for debate. His circumstances could mirror his personal quest in DAI, where Mythal summoned him as a spirit to be her advisor, turning him from wisdom to pride. Or, this could just be a red herring.

Abelas sheds a bit of light on what serving Mythal actually entails:

“Brave it if you must. But know you this, you shall be bound forever to the will of Mythal....Bound as we are bound. The choice is yours.”

I personally think Solas could very well have chosen to attain more wisdom at the cost of serving Mythal- becoming her personal guard dog if you will. He was after all, cocky and thought he knew everything. 

In any case, in forming a physical self, he inadvertently came into great power, becoming Fen’Harel, deified in his own right. 

And once you have power, you always want more. It’s what forms a part of being human- he touches on this a lot in banter and dialogue throughout the game. To a wisdom spirit who simply sought more wisdom in the world, it makes sense he would always want to learn more and know more and be more. 

To gain more wisdom, he had to constantly seek out greater things, and being in a position of great power as Mythal’s right hand man allowed him to collect this wisdom he so desired. 

Solas traded wisdom for a physical body, thus he lost his spirit form permanently. He traded the simplicity of being a spirit of wisdom, for the complexity of being a mortal elf with all the emotions tied to it. He traded the very essence of his being to become one of Mythal’s own trusted advisors.

That was the cost of him gaining more knowledge through Mythal’s position of power- without this sacrifice of self, he would never have seen more, or known more, or been more than the singular trait of wisdom.

This is perhaps why he feels so lonely and betrayed and like he can’t trust anyone- because as a spirit, life was simple, he simply collected knowledge and passed it on. As a physical being, he learnt the brutality of war and the cost of betrayal. These events define his overall perception of physical beings, which is why he doesn’t view people as people. He simply views them as pawns to be used, like a game of chess. “He wants to give wisdom, not orders.“

It could also explain why he disdains physicality and envies Cole - he simply wishes everything were that simple, but it can’t because he is now a material being. When he realises his love for the Inquisitor is real, and that the companions in the Inquisition are real, it shakes the entirety of his core beliefs about what makes people, people. He only falls back to his sense of duty because he has to. He failed Mythal when she was killed, and she wants revenge. To achieve vengeance, she needs her guard dog to do her bidding.

===

Solas’ purpose changed 

As the ancient elves warred between themselves, Mythal would have needed advisors and trusted friends. She would have relied on Solas heavily, because he was a willing servant full of wisdom and advice, and his wisdom would be invaluable during a civil war. What Solas was to the Inquisition, he was probably even more so to Mythal.

This may be the reason why Mythal actually uplifted Solas as the dread wolf, helping him shape the image of fear and rebellion. She allowed him to be free of his vallaslin and create his rebellion- it was all subterfuge and part of her master plan to create chaos amongst her rivals and their slaves.

The side benefit was Solas took the fall for her in almost every respect- she came to be remembered as Mythal, the patron of motherhood and justice, while Solas came to be remembered as the trickster “god”, the dread wolf who sabotaged Mythal’s enemies while freeing slaves at the same time.

It was a symbiotic relationship for both of them as their actions aligned with each other’s motivations. It wasn’t out of love that Solas served Mythal, but his bonds of duty, personal desire for wisdom, and eventually his personal quest to end cruelty and slavery. He says himself he did not lead a rebellion without getting his hands bloody. Solas is not a saint and it’s easy to forget that- he was part of the institution as well.

===

Solas’ is a mortal mage whose weakness is pride

Solas isn’t infallible and he knows this. He makes so many mistakes out of arrogance it would be funny if it wasn’t sad. I mean, he gave his orb to Corypheus...what possessed him to think that was a good idea?

His pride is his weakness and he severely underestimates the complexity of human emotions and motivations. Where once he simply desired more wisdom, now, he thinks he knows better than anyone else because of his pride. He thinks modern Thedas is full of “tranquil” because he is so arrogant to believe that his past was better than the future he helped create, even though ancient elvhenan was chock full of slavery and cruelty. 

In fact, his position of power was enabled through the evanuris, and Mythal herself, who was at the top of the pecking order. 

Somewhere along the way, Mythal used him as a general or commander in the war. That is when I think Solas changed from an advisor to one that embodied pride. In doing so he took on the form of a reptilian wolf / dragon hybrid. “I would not have you see what I become...”

If you drink from the well, and have high approval with him, he will be very upset after the fact:

“You gave yourself into the service of an ancient elven god!...You are Mythal’s creature now. Everything you do, whether you know it or not, will be for her. You have given up a part of yourself.”

Solas knows what the Inquisitor has given up because perhaps he also gave up a part of himself for her.

===

Solas vs. Mythal

At the end of DAI, Flemeth specifically says to Solas “I knew you would come”

When he says “I am so sorry” to Flemeth, she responds in kind. “I am sorry as well...old friend”. 

It’s not a “I’m sorry you failed” sorry. It’s a “I’m sorry for what I’m about to get you to do” sorry. It’s hard to be certain at this point exactly what power Mythal bestows upon Solas, but I think the fact remains, Solas isn’t simply Solas anymore. Through his bonds of duty to Mythal, his actions will be for her whether or not he knows it. 

With the essence of Mythal’s power, the things he will do in the name of saving the elven people will likely also form a part of her master plan for vengeance against the other evanuris.

[irikahkrios]

i think i've posted about this before but it's on my mind again since i just did garrus' loyalty mission on my current replay.

so like, emmett blocking garrus' shot is one of the most important moments in my whole canon, especially with regards to my ot4 getting together. emmett brings thane and irikah on garrus' loyalty mission (emmett can bring more than 2 squadmates bioware has no power here), and them seeing him stand in garrus' scope, the same way irikah stood in thane's all those years ago (an action that resulted in 20 years of marriage and a kid lmao), is the catalyst for both of them fully realizing and admitting their feelings for emmett. it brings thane back to that first moment, that feeling of shock and awe and reverence the first time he laid eyes on the love of his life, and it reminds irikah that there's still good people in the galaxy willing to do the right thing and protect people, even those who might not deserve it. and for both of them it just really makes it hit home that meeting him was a new beginning, another chance, proof that they can recover and still have a life and happiness after everything they've been through, even if thane's illness means they don't have as much time as they would want. it's just very important.

and that's not even going into garrus' reaction to it?? i mean, it's his loyalty mission after all. knowing that he has someone who's willing to protect him even from himself, who would never give up on him and always has his best interests at heart, even when it means disagreeing with him and trying to show him a better way?? and on the ot4 front it helps him understand irikah and thane's relationship a lot better, he starts to understand part of what the two of them mean to each other, the chance to be better for your partner but simultaneously the chance to drag them down with you and the constant balancing act, the morally gray push and pull of their love and how it affects them both as people. and he recognizes emmett and himself in that description a bit as well, very different from the krioses but similar in a lot of ways, and starts to realize that the two of them could mean the same to each other as thane and irikah. hell, he thinks, maybe they already do and just haven't admitted it yet.

so, overall, this is an incredibly important moment in my canon and to my polyship. but. i have a problem.

essentially it's hard for me to picture irikah being there and not trying to stop garrus herself. like this is a woman whose most iconic, defining character moment was standing in front of a sniper's shot and staring him down with righteous fury, risking her life to protect someone she didn't even know. i know by this point she's changed in some ways and become more morally gray: she approved of thane doing freelance assassin work to support their family, and the circumstances that resulted from that have even forced her to learn to take life herself. but it just feels so strange to picture her watching this situation unfold and not doing anything about it, when it's such an obvious echo of her most establishing character moment.

i know there's potential for her to chime in throughout the mission, joining emmett in trying to change garrus' mind about killing sidonis, and that would help the situation feel more true to her character. but that makes the final scene come off as even more odd, because she's been actively arguing against it the whole time but makes no attempt to actually stop garrus from taking the shot when the time comes.

however, i think i could potentially solve this by really leaning into the back-and-forth between her and garrus (and even between her and thane, who is largely neutral but does believe that garrus should ultimately make the decision for himself). i could have garrus fight back against her attempts to help emmett convince him, calling her a hypocrite and saying that if something happened to thane or kolyat, he knows she would want to get back at whoever was responsible. she's done so much in the name of protecting the people she cares about, people who were all she had just like his squad was all he had, wouldn't she do just as much to take revenge if they were taken from her by someone? especially if it was a betrayal like this, someone she had known and trusted the way garrus knew and trusted sidonis?

thane, again, is mostly neutral and of the opinion that garrus is an adult who can decide for himself if he wants this blood on his hands, and being an assassin himself he has no issue with it being a straight-up assassination in a public place surrounded by onlookers (an aspect of the situation that irikah and emmett are both horrified by). he understands both points and agrees with both to some extent, and i can see him going back and forth a bit with irikah as well, telling her that if he lost her, he wouldn't rest until those responsible had paid (which, thanks to the unimaginative minds at bioware, we know to be 100 percent true lmao). he reminds her that the situation is complicated, just like their own situation. how many people have they killed to protect themselves, to protect each other, to protect kolyat? she shoots back, saying that killing in self-defense and the defense of one's spouse and child is different from premeditated murder, and he replies that it certainly wasn't self-defense when he stopped trying to work low-paying jobs he wasn't good at and went back to assassin work, reminding her that she didn't try to stop him from doing that because she understood that it was necessary for their family. he does agree that it would be better for garrus to not give into his anger and make himself worse, but his point is that it's not simple on either side. bad things can be done for good reasons. then again, bad things can also be done for bad reasons. but if garrus is capable of doing this and feels that it's worth whatever it does to himself in the process, let him make this choice and live with the consequences if he wants.

and i think all of this does start to hit home on both sides? i think all of them get a little bit more unsure in their positions as the mission progresses. basically it's like. it's a complex situation and they're all complex characters and under the circumstances i can see irikah backing down and agreeing to let garrus make the decision. but after the mission is over, i can also see her feeling a bit guilty that it was emmett who blocked the shot and not her, when 20 years ago she would have done it without hesitation. it makes her wonder, is she even the same person she was back then? if she isn't, is this a bad thing or maybe even a good thing? is it foolish to even assign moral values to it, and judge herself so harshly for the ways she's changed? is it irresponsible not to?

i dunno it's messy and it's interesting and i would love to explore how irikah and garrus are both characters who struggle with having a black-and-white view of the world but in slightly different ways, and how this influences their interactions and their relationship. personally i do agree with irikah and emmett (obviously, since i have emmett block the shot, making this whole discussion a thing in the first place), but it's like. y'know. everything is gray and character perspective is fun, if a bit frustrating sometimes.