Late to the party but seen the Dragon Age: Absolution, loved it and felt the need to draw my Gray Warden, Hawke and Inquisitor ever since.
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antiva writing had its ups and downs. the plots, all of them? bad. making governor ivenci non-binary? the writing choice of all time.
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Ok new game. What's the thing you're a fan of that you're the most pretentious about. NOT the most pretentious thing you're a fan of, I mean the thing that makes *you* act like one of those "oh yeah? Name five of their albums" people. There is a difference
Bad news: everyone who has said some variation of "umm actually I don't do that 🙏 I'm a good person" is more annoying than the rest of us confessing to our nerd crimes. Yes you do. I guarantee it you do. You're saying Um, Actually right now
Stop I’m literally planning an arias fanfic and the Tevinter underground queer scene is such a huge part of it in my heart
I love it and honestly of all the cities in Thedas Minrathous definitely has a wild queer scene hidden there somewhere. One look at Shadow Dragons and you know they have to be getting all their recruits from there.
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the shadow dragons are the funniest faction in veilguard tbh they’re an underground abolitionist revolutionary sect and also the best queer support group in northern thedas, one of their members is bascially tevinter batman, they’re single-handedly responsible for the choice of tevinter’s next archon, their secret hideout is hidden by a singular magic glyph, they don’t even use dragons in their insignia-
Okay so, I've seen one bad Harding take too many and I need to VENT. Some thoughts and spoilers for dwarves and Lace Harding ahead.
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fifty questions for rook
(no spoilers!)
veilguard is finally here yall!!!!! and now a set of character building questions for rook, because i wanna know all about them! there will be more question lists as I play the game, but those will be marked with spoilers and under a readmore for the next sixty days
1. How old is Rook?
2. How did Rook get the nickname? What do they think of it?
3. What was Rook’s life before their faction?
4. Which faction did they join, and why? How long has it been?
5. What was life like for Rook before joining the Veilguard?
6. What was the reason that brought Rook to Minrathous?
7. Why does Rook agree to join the Veilguard?
8. What makes Rook a good leader?
9. What is Rook like on the battlefield?
10. Does Rook know their history? Do they know of the HoF, Hawke, the Inquisitor?
11. Does Rook keep up with current events? (How aware of the situation are they at the start of the game?)
12. Does Rook have any family? Do they keep in touch?
13. Did Rook bring any trinkets/sentimental items to The Lighthouse?
14. What does Rook see when they look in the mirror?
15. What’s the first thing people notice when Rook enters a room?
16. Got any tattoos? What’s the story behind them?
17. How’d Rook get those scars?
18. Their fondest childhood memory:
19. What is Rook’s love language? What love languages do they respond best to?
20. What’s it like to see them smile? Their laugh?
21. What does Rook’s voice sound like? One of the voice options available, or do they have a different accent/voicecast?
22. Most embarrassing memory as a teenager:
23. What does Rook wear in the off hours? Do they like dressing up?
24. Does Rook have any nightly rituals before bed?
25. How does Rook like to spend their free time?
26. Rook is in charge of the grocery list. What’s on it?
27. When was the last time they cried?
28. Does Rook have any pets/animal companions?
29. Any vices?
30. What is Rook’s class? Did they choose it?
31. What specialization does Rook pursue? What called them to it?
32. How would a desire demon tempt Rook?
33. What do fear demons look like to Rook?
34. How does Rook begin their day?
35. Ultimate comfort food meal:
36. What would Rook say are their flaws?
37. Does Rook ascribe to a faith?
38. Did Rook have any relationships before Veilguard?
39. What is their room at The Lighthouse like?
40. Describe Rook’s bed:
41. What’s on their nightstand?
42. Something Rook regrets:
43. Is Rook the type to gossip?
44. What is Rook really good at?
45. Who was Rook’s closest friend before joining the Veilguard?
46. What does it take to earn Rook’s trust?
47. What’s Rook’s temper like?
48. A color, flower, animal, and weather to describe Rook:
49. What will always make them laugh?
50. Are they a mystery, or an open book?
+1 What does Rook smell like?
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hang on, hold on, now I'm really in my feelings about Harding for a moment
like ever since I heard that conversation where Lucanis (very insightful tbh, short king to short queen I guess) points out that having been a tiny dwarf girl raised among the big, intimidating, human Fereldan farmers probably impacted Lace's personality more than she realizes (beyond making her adaptable and capable, it also seems to have made her... kind of malleable, unwilling to rock the boat, people-pleasing, more limestone than granite), I already haven't been able to quite shake that thought. But her being so startlingly low on that recent "who's your favorite character" poll I reblogged... it really drove that point all the way home.
a core characteristic of Lace Harding seems to be that she always tries, and tries, and tries, to be liked- she tries to always be kind, and compassionate, and caring, and sweet to everyone, and it works! everyone likes her! people like being around her, both inside and out the narrative!
... but she's very few people's favorite.
it's a really interesting take on pleasantness being a shield (honestly kind of a very accurate, but subtle expansion on her character in Inquisition, when she was just... Nice and Capable Little Lace Harding and Little Else) and even her story, while it's about her own repressed feelings (literally fighting a physical manifestation of her rage, and sorrow, and pain, is. wow you don't get more clear a metaphor than that, the metaphor is literally punching you in the face on that one), it's still not about herself- or not only herself, but all of the dwarven people, all that was taken from them, all their rage, and sorrow, and pain, condensed into her tiny little body....
there is definitely more to expand on this, and I'll probably get more into it in subsequent playthroughs, but for now, I'm finding it really interesting how Lace Harding is almost an afterthought in her own life, purposefully made a footnote in her own narrative, and that in itself serves to color it in further. she lives in the silences between the titan's heartbeats.
truly the fucking textbook interpretation of an eldest daughter of all the dwarven people, and I'm fucking emotional as fuck about her right now
#Thank you for this gifts op#Nodding my head through all of it#Tbh I relate to Harding a lot#Except for the short part#But the “liked by everyone never anyone's favourite” god it just hits the most painful spot#I love it#scout lace harding#lace harding#dav spoilers#dragon age: the veilguard#dragon age veilguard#da veilguard spoilers
Okay- just got to ending of one of Shadow Dragons plot threads and I gotta say- I love those characters, but Dorian- an Altus mage in Tevinter arguing with Maevaris, another Altus mage from what I know in front of Altus Mage Shadow Dragon boss the Viper about how best to fix the Tevinter Empire and it's either to use the information to inspire people (didn't work) or to install Dorian as Archon (I love u Dorian I really really do but there is no world in which you being involved in governing a country does go smoothly). And meanwhile my Qunari Soporati-raised Rook is standing there like "...I feel like dealing with this discussion is above my paygrade"
#I like Shadow Dragons as a faction overall#And I don't think their key players all being high ranking mages would be such a problem for me#If not for the fact it's not really addressed#And that my Soporati-raised Rook doesn't get to call this out#dragon age#dragon age veilguard#da veilguard spoilers#veilguard spoilers#shadow dragon rook#Saarash mercar#mercar rook#dorian pavus
Every time someone in Veilguard talks shit about Orzammar Assembly I am like "I am so glad that my treacherous, tyrant brother got rid of that one for me (mostly for himself but still, so nice of him)"
I will say- as much as companions being "too nice" is a non-issue for me what is a bit of an issue is how... clean and toothless some factions feel. And like yeah, the Crows and Lords of Fortune are obvious examples of how the game managed to make both murder and stealing ethical, locally sourced and all that good stuff. But also- for how much people talk about how bad Minrathous is... considering any time there is a mention of something bad like slavery it's always only the Venatori doing it... it feels like whole of Tevinter got defanged a little bit and that also means Shadow Dragons and the values they represent within Tevinter don't stand out as much (which is not really helped by the fact Viper, their leader, is an Altus). Or Gray Wardens who were supposed to have a lot more political power in the Anderfels which there is no way under the sun someone wouldn't have a problem with.
It's honestly a little bit bewildering to me that the only factions that Rook can have any sort of mixed opinions on that they state out loud is sort of the Mourn Watch- even then it's mostly just the one "!!!- I find dead creepy!" Dialogue option over and over. But at least it's there. I can't really be vocally uncomfortable with the Crows that much, or Lords of Fortune or Gray Wardens.
This isn't a big criticsm but I do wish that there was a bit more done with the fact Rook HAS to work with theese people. They may not like it. They may not support their methods. But they need them. It would be a small but effective way to let the players flesh out a little bit more who Rook is as a person and what their morals are.
The game talks a lot about having to make though choices when you are a leader and I would love to see that reflected in factions we have to ally with. And how they also have to make some though calls, ones that Rook may not approve of or like very much.
my take on lords of fortune isabela
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I am living for how awkward my Rook is while flirting with Lace Harding, this is exactly the kinda dynamic I wanted for them.
They are great and competent in action but put them in casual setting with that one girl they had a crush on for a while and they can only go "...Your hair is so pretty..."
They are so cute I love them
This romance is every bit as cute as I hoped for. I find Lace's reaction to when Rook flirts with her (or at least tries to) very endearing. It really gives vibes of two people who were sort of crushing on each other for a while now but never found time to address it properly and well, all of the world is going to shit now, might as well go for it.
My Warden may not be mentioned but the fact that Ferelden is holding up against the Blight with help from Orzammar does wonders for my headcanons.
Celia Aeducan calling up her brother she helped put on the throne like "You send me some help here and fast or we will see whose word carries more weight in Orzammar nowadays- king who got rid of the assembly or a living fucking Paragon"
I think that my Rook should be able to romance both Harding and Taash actually. As a treat.
#saarash mercar#lace harding#taash#dragon age veilguard#Lace Harding you of all people should be allowed to get TWO enby qunari partners#Twice as many shoulders to sit on and create mayhem#Honestly though Taash and Harding are sooooo cute#And Taash and Qunari Rook is also nice so far#I already gushed about flirting with Harding#Aaaaagh this is all so hard I love them all
So far the one big criticsm I have is- I do hate how they made the Qun a boogeyman for Antivan Crows to be cool vigilantes about. I was sort of having some hope maybe they would make this more interesting with no real good guys, but nope, Qunari are more bad racist caricature of a society then ever before and Antivan Crows conviniently forgot they get most of their recruits from child slavery I guess.
And like, I know know they made a really huge point of calling it "Antaam" and not "Qunari". But still, their leader getting nicknamed "the butcher". The whole dictator-coded speech was also very odd for Qunari. And yeah, the qunari writing was always very problematic but it feels like this time there wasn't any thought put into how to write them in an interesting fashion and maybe fix some past mistakes (since writers are clearly willing to retcon things), instead all we get "Qun bad Assasins good".
People who say there is to little conflict between companions in DAV- have you tried Lucanis-Harding teamup? Because you should.
I adore how sweet good-hearted Harding is like "Oh btw if you try anything funny I am taking you out on the spot :) Nothing personal though" to an profesional and possessed assassin.
And like yeah- it' not an Anders and Fenris level animosity but I kind of like it because it brings out the side of both characters that aren't as obvious with Lace being the antagonistic one and Lucanis trying to simultaneously calm her down and befriend her. It's funny and cute, they are one of my fav team set ups rn.