Veilguard Anti-Criticisms and How They Missed the Mark : Slavery

 Okay so... here's the thing. I've been seeing a lot of posts that simultaneously defend DA Veilguard and argue against pretty much any and all criticisms. And like... okay... so... okay. Just... okay. Since people's reading comprehension is severely lacking - let's start by saying that if you love the game, that's fine. No one's saying you can't love this game. It's a fun game to play. The characters are interesting. The voice acting is pretty good. The writing is... uh... up to... personal preference? Most of it is good. The game itself, the actual game, runs flawlessly. I've personally done ten full playthroughs, start to finish, most of them include every side quest there is, and I have had it crash only once and have witnessed only one glitch. So, that alone says a lot. It shouldn't but in this day and age - it does.

But there are issues with the writing. Big ones. And these aren't personal preference kind of issues. And the anti-criticism posts I've been seeing have all missed the mark on the real problems with the game. One of the most recent anti-criticism things I've seen has been revolving around slavery in the game or rather, the lack of.

To better organize my thoughts on this, it's formatted a bit oddly.

The anti-criticisms seem to argue against = DA Veilguard didn't address slavery in Tevinter. And thus, the anti-criticism is that the audience should just know that slavery is a thing. And that the player base should assume that the blood that the blood mages are blooding themselves with come from slaves. And, there's no reason it should be shoved into our faces.

The actual criticism though = DA Veilguard sterilizes slavery in Tevinter. This is actually a two part problem in the game. 1. We only see one slave in the game and he's in the Necropolis. We see none in Minrathous. We only find out from an ex-slave Rook that this is a part of their backstory in a single line dialogue never to be revisited again. 2. The game leads one to believe that only the Venatori keep slaves.

The reason this is a problem = Slavery has always been a thing in the DA universe. And 'everyone in Thedas' knows that slaves are a very big thing in Tevinter. Slavers comb far and wide for slaves specifically to sell in Tevinter. People are stolen all over for that purpose. So, in Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Imperium, we should see slaves. Not saying they had to show an auction or public whippings or anything but they should have been there. Doing the shopping, following their 'masters' around, running errands etc. Things we know they did. We know from Orana that she and her Papa did the shopping for their Magister master. We know from Fenris that he went out into the city with Danarius all the time as security, intimidation, and to just be shown off. (We also know that there's no such thing as a free slave in Tevinter, so that rules out the argument of us only being in the "poorer" part of Minrathous and thus, not seeing them - especially the elves.) We know from Dorian that his house had slaves. That most did/do. And that, even to the much adored Dorian, slavery is "better than being poor". Like, it's such a part of the life there that it's literally everywhere.

So, the only people who would think that only blood mages have slaves are people who have played DA2 only, and only know about slaves from Orana and Fenris, who both had horrible experiences involving slaves and blood magic. And still, they said nothing about Ventatori. But according to Dorian, slavery is just how it is in Tevinter. Not just Venatori own slaves. All Magisters own them. Everyone of a certain wealth owns them.

And, before anyone balks, it is unknown whether or not Maevaris actually owned slaves because prior to Veilguard, even the Lucerni had nothing to do with anti-slavery. (I like to think she didn't but who knows.) They were only ever supposed to be anti-Venatori and by extension, anti-corruption. But slavery was never included in that until they heavily implied that in Veilguard.

There's a difference between shoving something in someone's face and understanding that it's a part of the world. If Veilguard is the first game that some people have played, how are they supposed to know that slavery is such an intrinsic part of life in Tevinter and not just something the evil Venatori do as another thing that makes them ultra-evil? Because that seems to be a big chunk of the player base. Which makes since, the last DA game was ten years ago. And in fact, even for those who played Inquisition - maybe some of you need to go play that game again. There's a very frustrating conversation with Dorian in that game that is very enlightening into the way that Tevinter people just think about slavery and how different it is.

Now, could Dorian have learned not to be a pro-slavery person? Uh, yeah. Of course. Did everyone in Minrathous suddenly turn anti-slavery over the past decade? Unlikely. Especially if you're still getting newspaper headlines about slave uprisings in other cities.

And that's the other side of this. We have the Shadow Dragons, right? Their whole thing seems to revolve around freeing slaves. Even though they're supposed to be about so much more - what we hear the most about is freeing slaves. And that's great. But... what slaves? Where are they? They... got them all out? Awesome. Seriously, though. We don't even see remnants of them being moved around. Rook has an optional stumble-upon side-quest to save potential slaves (3... they save 3...) in Minrathous and that's... it. That's it. That's all.

And it's not that they don't want you to see horrific things. Ghilan'nain's tooth eye is fucking horrifying. Desiccated bodies just lying around in droves is horrifying. So then, what exactly was their reason for not showing any real signs of slavery?

Because it's not that it's horrifying. Showing a slave trailing behind a master in the market isn't horrifying. It's uncomfortable. It incites anger, injustice, and tons of other very strong emotions. As it should. That's the point.

A fictional character with a chomping eyeball is just horrifying. Even the poverty that is shown in the game doesn't actually show real poverty. Everyone has somewhere to go/live. They don't look really dirty, they aren't sleeping on benches w/ dividers inhibiting them, or pushing around carts with all of their belongings, or starving, etc. And they give you a way to help them (give coin). So you can pat yourself on the back. But it doesn't make you uncomfortable.

And that's the biggest criticism of the game. Things that would make the average person uncomfortable are not in the game. Slavery, nope. Antivan crows buying kids? Nope. Severely questionable training methods for assassins? Nope. Not even mentioned, actually. But a grandmother starving her own grandchildren are in the game, oddly enough. Just in a codex entry, mind you - not like... out loud. Because again. Uncomfortable. Child abuse and all that. A non-binary character facing actual bigotry? Nope. Tranquil mages? Nope. Visualized sexual imagery? Nope. (Which, not a huge loss but w/e). The Blight transforming people all the time, like that being what the blight does? And it being oober contagious and/ transmittable to the point of like blood in mouth/in a cut or you've just been around it too long, you're now blighted and will not die, nope - you will become a darkspawn? Nope. Hell, even addressing a real argument after the fact? Nope. Discomfort. The whole elves in alienages being treated like absolute shit and having their lands stolen and all of that? Nope with a capital N.

So many things that are a part of Thedas, a part of this world, big parts, that are just... carved out. The problem with presenting a half-assed Utopian world to a fan base that was in the shit in the last game is that... it comes off as half-assed. It does appear to be catering to a specific age group that should not be playing a game like this. Because there still are things in the game that are very adult. Torture. Killing (duh). Human (elf) sacrifice. The loss of a loved one/ loss of a Mother!

And while yes, I get that the game is the result of multiple start/stop projects - that reason (excuse) can only get them so far. When the steps to fix these very big issues would have taken less time than the steps they took to gloss over them, then it cheapens the game.

So - while the game is fun and the characters are interesting. It's more of a... spin off. A fan fiction of Dragon Age rather than the next game in the series. You can't take it too seriously if you want to really enjoy it if you've been a Dragon Age fan since before Veilguard. If you're used to Thedas as we've known it for the past 16 years - you cannot take this game seriously. Take it as a fun game to play but... only skin deep. Don't go looking for the same kind of thought-provoking veiled real-world issues that previous games and books have had. Because this is decidedly not it.

Lucanis Kiss Scene in Dragon Age the Veilguard

So, I've seen the whole thing about Lucanis being an inexperienced demisexual virgin and... while I'll say that personally, I think these little crumbs of "well I intended for this to be such and such way" well after the fact are... eh... kinda toeing the line of bullshit (yeah, I know she created him but... that's like Mary Shelley coming back from the dead and going well the monster I created actually likes the warm glow of fire, my husband just changed it! it'd be a little... meh... you'd make the meh face, is all I'm sayin') but anyway! 

Point being! I don't have a particular opinion about Lucanis' sexuality as I think that's open to interpretation and very head-canon-esq territory. But what I am narrowing my eyes suspiciously at is this theme that seems to be running wild in the wake of Mary Kirby's info-droplet. And has everything to do with explaining away the Kiss scene. 

But I just wanted to do a quick post about this.

The kiss scene. How Lucanis gets all up in Rook's grill and then at that last second, backs off and leaves the room. Everyone's going on about how this is an example of him panicking and while... I kinda get that... I also kinda don't. Dude don't panic. He lives literally locked in his head specifically so he doesn't panic. Now - it could easily be argued that he was being drawn slowly out of that prison by the encounter but at the same time... was he though? Again, head-canon territory.

The issue I take with it is this... just because someone is demisexual... just because they're inexperienced... doesn't mean they have to be... well, rude. I get it. Someone realizes they are in over their head. I'm not saying he should have gone through with something he was uncomfortable with, no. At any point, in any situation like that, one is uncomfortable - bow out. But bow out with grace. His body language went from interested to decidedly not interested. From turning his entire body away from Rook all the way to not even looking at them again as he left the room. And then not even speaking with them about it, like... at all, ever. That's not just rude, that's truly shitty. Like Rook just... doesn't have feelings at all? I'm not saying it was enough to make someone start bawling (I mean, it might but that's not what I'm getting at) but what if your Rook is also demi? And like... they're really growing close to Lucanis? And he does that? Fucking ouch. Rejection is fine, it happens but it's the way in which someone rejects someone or the situation. For a game that is trying so hard not to hurt anyone's feelings, it sure is turning a blind eye to Rook.

I know everyone is different, perceives things differently, etc. But it's almost alarming how people are so willing to write this off under the guise of inexperience, being overwhelmed, etc. And it's like... that's fine and Rook can be understanding of that. But that, getting that close? Drawing them in that far? Only to turn away like that? If you've got an insecure Rook? Which the game allows you to play out in talks with Varric, by the way. And Lucanis does this? I mean, there's just so many ways this can backfire and there's no mention of it after the fact. It's just... forgotten.

But that's been a running theme in the game. Rook is just... forgotten. I mean, they themselves isn't. But their heart is. Their feelings. The only people who ask after them that way is Varric (not real), Solas (god of fucking lies), and I think Emmrich asks once or twice. That's gotta be disheartening, if you think about it. But I'm not going to go too deep into that, because I'll write a whole other ted talk about it.

I also feel the need to point out that this is almost like a systemic problem with games. DA2 Fenris post scene reminds me of this. Yes, dude has some serious trauma and serious issues that Hawke couldn't even begin to comprehend. Leaving them like he did after? Yeah, not great. But at least he tried to talk to them about it. He didn't just go "I gotta go" and literally leave with not another word, ever, about it.

An Open Letter to Bioware

 As much as I would love to start this with "What the fuck?!" I won't. Because, that's not very productive. Though, that kind of needs to be asked. Because there is just so much to talk about with Veilguard. 

First off, however, let's start with the most pressing issue for pretty much anyone who knows anything at all about Dragon Age. The lore. Preestablished canon that shows up in games, books, and comics. Because, I'm curious as to where, oh where, did it all go? It's easier to just break it down, so let's start there.

Tevinter

The Tevinter Imperium. The land of Magisters and the Black Divine (oh, sorry, the Imperial Divine). Oh, and the land of slavery. Open slavery, I might add. Ever since the beginning of Dragon Age, we have all known that there are slaves in Tevinter. That the practice is so wide-spread, so out in the open, that it is just known. It is also known that Tevinter slavers very much steal people from other parts of Thedas and thrust them into slavery in the Imperium. We know from Fenris that slaves are everywhere and that every single Magister owns many of them. That he was paraded around and used as both guard dog and clear threat towards his master's enemies. We know from Dorian Pavus that slavery is so "normal" there that he literally sees nothing wrong with it. That is how everyday it is. So, imagine everyone's surprise when we finally get to Tevinter and erhm... there are no slaves? In fact, there are elves just walking around all willy nilly in the streets? Begging in the streets? Indicating that they have no masters? While, morally, that's great. Lore-speaking, um... what? Unless the Magisterium mysteriously abolished slavery (which we know they didn't since supposedly The Viper and the Shadow Dragons are routinely helping slaves escape Minrathous). So... there absolutely would not just be elves on the street. Because everyone who has paid any attention at all knows that elves are slavers prime targets. In Dragon Age 2, slavers track Fenris all the way to the Free Marches trying to get him back (granted he was special but the point is still there). They aren't likely to just get rid of this practice. 

But no, in the game we are led to believe that only Venatori have slaves. We see them. They're there. But not in Minrathous. We see them in Veilguard at the dalish sacrifice ritual in Arlathan (as removed from Minrathous as they could get) amongst the crowd of Venatori. They want us to believe that only the evil Venatori have slaves. When in reality, literally every single Magister has slaves. Even Dorian's family. Now, he might have changed his tune upon returning from the south, but that's a big maybe. Because when the Inquisitor has that conversation with him in Inquisition? He's still very much of that same mind set - that slavery is better than poverty. He doesn't understand it. But I digress. Point being, the writers what the player to think that only evil people have slaves (and they aren't wrong) but what they're missing is this whole grey area where this entire society [Tevinter] has been built up around slavery.

Also, if you play a Qunari in Veilguard, there absolutely would be a problem with Rook walking around Minrathous. Tevinter has been at war (real war) with the Qunari for over three hundred years. A Qunari in Minrathous? Uh, yeah, no. There would be words. There would be encounters with racist/bigots/assholes taking serious issue with a qunari just walking around their city. Doesn't matter if they've called a tentative cease fire. There would be a big problem. Also, if you play an elf - you get called a slave at the ritual site but not in Minrathous - where you would have also faced persecution. I mean, an elf Rook has the opportunity to mention that elves are persecuted when they're unpacking their things but that's like it. When in Thedas-reality, elves are persecuted like... a lot. A whole lot. Everywhere. Except Arlathan, where we know from previous game mentions, slavers still go to capture Elves. Moving on...

The Qun

Okay. This was something that made me literally blink rapidly when I first encountered it in the game. Shathann. Taash. There's just... so much wrong here. First, we learn that Shathann was a scholar within the Qun. Okay, we know they are a thing, no problem. But then - we learn that she took Taash? Um. Okay, um. No. For starters - only Tamassrans are allowed to raise qunari children. Especially babies. And I mean only. Not like they watch them during the dayyy and they get to go "home" at nightttt. No. Tamassrans are the only ones to have access to Qunari babies/children at all, ever. Not only that, but Tamassrans also decide who gets it on with who. Those under the Qun, regardless of actual race, don't just have kids whenever they want. The Tamassrans decide who does the deed. And upon birth, they immediately take the child to be raised and cared for by them. Literally no one has access to them until they're about twelve. Then they are assigned a role and delivered to those who can teach them that role. That is lore, that is basically law. So... um... Shathann would never have even had access to Taash let alone even known she even existed. So, that's problem 1. Problem 2: Taash says that Shathann had herself transferred to another Qunari outpost. Presumably with Taash??? That makes no sense because of Problem 1. Problem 3: Shathann escapes presumably into the night with Taash and... gets away? Also impossible because of Problem 1. And due to the fact that Shathann would have had the whole of the fucking Qun on her ass because she stole a child from them. That's a no-no under any circumstance from anyone. Ben-Hassrath would have been dispatched in a fucking heartbeat. And they don't ever just "give up". And it's Shathann, a scholar. Running away with a baby. It's not like she could defend herself. So, no. That whole story is bullshit. 

Then, there's Taash's statement that "the Qun is not a prison, people can leave". Um, oh no, honey, they really cannot. People who leave the Qun are called tal-vashoth and are seen as fugitives by the Qun. They are actively hunted and if caught, are re-educated (brainwashed) by Ben-Hassrath. So, while technically one can leave the Qun - they aren't just let go. We know this from basically all the games and books and comics that have come before. It's a very serious point whenever we have encountered the Qun in the past. In fact, it's like the main point. 

Also, if Taash was raised basically under "the Qun 2.0" by Shathann... they and Shathann would very much take issue with a Qunari mage Rook. One of the big, big... VERY big things under the Qun is their stance on magic. They fear magic, big time. They literally think magic is a disease and that it is contagious. They bind their mages, literally sew their mouths shut (though that makes one wonder how they eat... anyway) and keep them under super tight control, period. No exceptions. They are called saarabas (dangerous thing). They don't even view mages as people, no matter their race. Even if they're born qunari and into the Qun, doesn't matter. So, even if Shathann and Taash both tried to hide under the veil of Rivaini "everything is cool" - they would still have an issue with a saarabas Rook. Simply because it is such a major point in the Qun. 

Also, also - and this is just a peeve of mine and while I do adore the voice actor for Taash (Panam forever) but - I am partial to how Sten from Origins pronounced the language. He made it sound less... American English and more like an actual different language. The R's were more rolled and less ARRR. If that makes sense. He was Sten of the Be-d-essad. As opposed to how it would be said in Veilguard as Bear-e-ssad. I won't go into character specifics here on the characters in Veilguard, I'll save that for another post - but, I know that personally, I cringe whenever Taash starts speaking Qunlat.

Elven Gods

Okay, this is a small one and again probably a pet peeve of mine but... it's Ghilan'non. Not Ghila'nain. Not in spelling. In pronunciation. Reason? First come, first serve. It was pronounced "Non" in Jaws of Hakkon and in Inquisition by Solas. So, snooze you lose? Plus, Ghilan'nain sounds stupid. 

Thedas in General

This is something the developers of the games seem to always forget. There are two moons in Thedas. Two. One, Two. Two moons. TWO MOONS. In the other games, we were rarely afforded a view of the night sky so it was a moot point though still irksome but in Veilguard, Elgar'nan moves "the moon" so what the actual fuck. If it's such a focus, then what the fuck. Did they just forget? 

To put this into clarity - Dragon Age, Thedas, all of it is the brain child of David Gaider. He's the literal, singular creator. The entire world and all the races come from his books. Grey Wardens, all of it. Every single faction, all of it. Before a single game was even made. And David Gaider says... there are two fucking moons for Thedas! So... two moons. 

The Antivan Crows

Okay, I like the Crows. The Crows are master assassins and they're awesome. But they are a decidedly not okay organization that steals children and trains them in seriously not okay ways to seduce their targets in order to get close to them. Granted yes, they have different "departments" so to speak, of assassins and will utilize different assassins depending on their targets but the fact remains, they steal children to train as assassins. Or they will take advantage of poor kids. We know this from Zevran in Origins. This is a thing. Also, if a Crow fails their contract, other Crows will come after them to kill them. Because they're basically the Mafia. If you didn't get that vibe from the 1st Talon, there's no helping you. 

This is one of the only things they actually kept kind of true in the game, Lucanis' relationship with his grandmother. It hinted at how brutal their training really is. In the brain-Ossuary, Spite will say straight up that Lucanis is afraid of her. But it back pedals and makes the player think it was more about fear of disappointment when in reality, it's actual fear. Catarina was brutal. While she may have had her reasons, we can conjecture all day, doesn't matter. She still abused children to train them to become killers. But that's part of the thing with the Crows. They are assassins. Their lives are no simple and if Thedas was perfect, they wouldn't be needed. They embody the whole morally grey area thing about this world. But Veilguard tries to show them in a different light and that light kind of falls flat when you understand how their training is. 

Grey Wardens

This was another thing they got so completely wrong and I have no idea how. It's no secret that the fan base feels very strongly about the Grey Wardens. So, you'd think that of all the things, they would have gotten this one nailed down. For starters, joinings are done willy nilly. I mean, I guess it might be possible to do them with the necklace that every warden receives with their joining but... unlikely. That's like a sippy sip. But on the whole, only recruiters can do joinings. Only they would have the arch-demon blood with them because that's their whole job. As much as I really do like Antoine and Evka... um... sorry Flynn... magical components or not - you woulda died, my dude. (I call everyone dude no matter their gender). And if they had access to Arch-Demon blood, then they would have known where to get it, and that means they would have known about the Cauldron (a very possible place) and that means they would have known what was there; rendering Davrin's quest about it a moot point. 

Speaking of joinings... the blight. What the hell. That little indicator that pops up all the time when you're playing "Blighted". Um... it's like Inigo Montoya always said... you keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means. So, yeah. Historically (and at this point, we can use that word) - to be "blighted" is to either die or become a darkspawn. Or, if you're lucky, you can become a grey warden. That's it. End of list. There's no "you'll be fine". That's how the blight spreads. But in Veilguard, apparently you just walk it off? 

Then there's the secrets. Grey Wardens are super secretive. Like, super-duper secretive. There is absolutely no way Davrin would let slip that a Grey Warden dies whenever they kill an Arch-Demon like that just wandering around a library with whoever in the party, especially with a non-warden Rook. At most, desperate times and all that, he might have pulled a non-warden Rook aside and told them what was about to go down. And that's pushing it. Grey Warden secrets are a big deal. That's like numero uno rule. But apparently, it's okay to just say them out loud to whoever now? 

Now, like I said, I won't go into specific characters here because I don't want this to turn into a novel. But, these lore inconsistencies are atrocious and honestly, shouldn't have ever happened. There's no excuse. None. All one had to do was play the previous games, really - wouldn't have even had to read any of the extra stuff. Just play the games. And apparently, Bioware didn't. Which is sad. It shows a distinct lack of care for their own product. It's like they were so scared to offend anyone that they ended up offending everyone. No one likes a coward.

Dragon Age Veilguard... Full Disclosure.

 Okay. Here we go. 

There is a lot to go over with this game and I know I'm going to have to break it into a few posts or it'd be a freaking novel. But, I figured, I'd start off with this.

I have been playing Dragon Age for much... much longer than Inquisition. I'm not going to gate keep on being a fan or anything like that but I do know more than just what was in DA3. 

It all started when a friend of mine got me Origins back on the 360. And I love that game (though, fuck the fade, seriously takes forever omg). And Awakening and Witch Hunt, all the DLC content, is absolutely awesome. The fodder it gives for creation is just jaw dropping. So much fan art and fan fiction has been born out of that single game alone that it is staggering. And then Dragon Age 2? I personally love it. And I don't mean omg I love it, no... I love that game. Yes, the areas are repeats and yes, I know they pumped the game out to capitalize on Origins success but the characters? Um, hello - they are... I mean there just aren't any words, really. I have countless Hawkes, countless stories, and so much just... I mean, I can't even. And Varric. He's the kind of character you just want to stuff in your pocket and carry around with you forever. He's the bestfriend. Always will be. And I have very strong opinions about Anders but I will not go into them here. Moving on!

I got Inquisition when I got my xBox One - part of that whole package deal. I was up and going on day freaking one and I do so love that game and the DLCs. Yeah, people heed and hawed about it but whatever, I loved it. Still do. I still love all of the Dragon Age games. I've read the comics/graphic novels, I own about four of David Gaider's books and have read them. I own Dawn of the Seeker, have seen all of Felicia Day's stuff for the franchise. I mean, big fan here, that's what I'm getting at. 

So... that being said... imagine my excitement about the Dread Wolf Rises... eer... I mean Veilguard. Which, let me take a moment right here and say that is the stupidest fucking name ever. I'm sorry but it's clunky. It doesn't roll off the tongue in any way. It's awkward. Anyway! But I was super excited, like a lot of people and then we see the teases and the meager scraps of information which I was completely understanding about because fuck a lot of the "fans" and the super shitty way they acted about Andromeda (which I happened to like so :P on y'all). But then the game comes out and yes I preordered it because I was going to buy it anyway because I don't trust reviewers, not after Andromeda or Cyberpunk because internet people are assholes. But, I mean, I get it and I'm right there, waiting. Now, I wasn't able to play it day one, I had to work (responsibilities) but I did get to play it the following weekend. 

Now... I'm going to say straight off the bat... I'm not a huge Solas fan in that I wasn't one of those Solavellan people. I was one of those people going "yes crack the egg!" thinking that he was going to be the antagonist that we get to fight, knowing full well that we were playing a new antagonist because that's Bioware's prerogative with Dragon Age games. But then, we find out that he's not and it's like meh, okay, I mean he is kinda a woos so... gotta give us a bigger baddie to fight. Okay, okay. But... like... here's the thing...

I mean, I do like the game. In that... it's fun. But... eer... and I mean Frostbite is lookin' pretty good... they've done an amazing job. But... um... okay, so... 

It's like someone wrote fan fiction about Dragon Age and turned that into a game. They took out all the parts they didn't like and parts that didn't fit their story... and then added in a bunch of fluff... but they wanted to be able to slap a G rating on it... and then put that out there as the game itself. Oh, and they absolutely were a Solavellan fan. 

Because the game ignores so much lore. I'm not talking about the lack of offensive/problematic stuff though there is that too... I'm talking about stuff that is just... canon in the Dragon Age universe. It just simply ignores it, blatantly... with bullshit little excuses that are all tee-hee it's just not like that and the people who have paid any attention at all, even if they only played Inquisition are going "uh, but it very much is like that". 

So yeah... it's a fan faction about Dragon Age. It is not a Dragon Age game. It's like a spin off. An alternate universe. 

And I get that it was like three different false start projects all mashed together or whatever but that doesn't help nor explain away that whole 'we're going to just ignore canon' thing. 

I have played through the game like five times (I've got a problem, I know) and there are still parts that make my left eye twitch. But it can be a fun game, as long as you don't consider it to be the next game in the franchise. Don't take this shit seriously because it's not - not when it comes to Dragon Age. I'll make another post about why because again, this could easily turn into a novel. 

But I wanted to put like a disclosure. I'm not an expert but I'm so far from a novice. I can (sadly) spout lore from off the top of my head about Dragon Age, a lot of it. Kind of that, I know what I'm talking about thing. I am by no means gate keeping or anything but if there's a new fan going "oh, you know, you can totally just walk away from the Wardens" there is going to be me and a whole lot of other people going "Actually, you really can't." That kind of thing. So yeah... yeah... and it's such a shame too. It really is.

A Lull, Glitches, and Twitch

I know it's been awhile since I've posted (aside from the one I just made) and it's not that I've forgotten this blog. Far from it. I've been in a major funk - no it's not "the rona". 

But! I'm getting super excited for Cyberpunk. It's pre-loaded on my tank (six year old xbox one) and it's ready to go! I cannot wait. It's going to be so awesome and honestly, one of the things I'm looking forward to the most... are the glitches. 

Glitches are... hilarious. They are. I haven't seen a glitch yet that wasn't drop-down funny. They make a game... I don't know how to explain it. Take Bioware games. The glitches are part of the games! Just like Bethesda. Not Fallout76, which is just... a nightmare. Ignore that game, pretend it doesn't exist because it shouldn't. No, I mean like Skyrim glitches that send giants careening into the sky never to be seen again. Those kinds of glitches! Bioware glitches that have characters just... sinking. It's too funny. I love it. 

Now, Twitch... I still haven't figured out how to get the mic settings right on console. When I download the few streams I have done, I can barely hear what I'm saying. I'll figure it out eventually but until then - I've taken a hiatus from there but I will stream again soon - I've ordered those little wind-shield foam things for the mic on my Rig because it can pick up the fan in the room and that just sucks. So - that'll be in towards the end of the week. I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with my YT channel. Honestly - I have no idea. I mean, I have some ideas but nothing concrete by any means. 

Well - that's about it for now. See y'all in Night City!

HC vs Canon

So, with the D4 announcement that we got – I have been seeing a lot of Solas unrest. It’s with that in mind that I figured that I would make a post about the egg and what I generally think about him and the discord surrounding him. obviously these are my opinions and while there are some things supported by canon material – a lot of it is conjecture. Now, with that out of the way…

First, Solas is a villain. Yes, I know all the bruhaha about people wanting him to have a redemption arc and all of that and while he might in DA4, it’s highly unlikely. See – there are a couple of problems that go on simultaneously when it comes to ol’ egghead. One, he was the first romance option in Bioware that straight up betrays the player and leaves. His betrayal is different, it’s not an immediate result betrayal – it’s got long range consequences. His betrayal is his lie and his infiltration of the Inquisition and of the player’s inner circle. Isabella betrays Hawke but, if played correctly, she has a redemption arc. Solas, doesn’t. And they made an entire DLC to prove that Solas isn’t going to have one. That he is the villain and while he may try to spin it like he doesn’t want to do this – the player isn’t going to stop him. Even a romanced player. And in my opinion, that’s even worse. They’ve already come out and said it, the final discussion with Solas is the final boss battle. Because it says to the player, in no uncertain terms, that Solas is the bad guy here and that he will go through with his plan, no matter what the player says or does, he won’t change his mind. He looks forward to you trying… but he won’t change his mind. Solas is an ends justify the means character and while befriending or romancing him does show him that the elves of Thedas are real people, he still considers everyone else acceptable casualties.

And those are the things that people seem to skip right over when they start defending Solas. Let’s make one thing clear here – you can like Solas as a character, you can appreciate that he’s well written and you can like the romance that he has with Lavellan, but still understand that he is the villain in this part of the story. When he’s with the player in the beginning of the game, in the part that we don’t see, he’s not a nurse maid. He’s trying to figure out how to get the anchor off the Inquisitor’s hand without destroying the anchor. He doesn’t give two shits if the Inquisitor dies, as long as the anchor survives. Then, the only reason he’s with the Inquisition after that is because he wasn’t able to get it off. So, he tries to influence the Inquisition, basically babysit his anchor. Let’s not forget that the whole temple explosion and rift is his fault in the first place – if he’d had the power to do it when he woke up, he would have and yeah, it would have been just as bad. Even if you want to chalk it up by saying well, he didn’t know anyone yet – he just woke up in a strange world etc. Okay… but – he doesn’t change the way he thinks about it. It’s not like he “sees the error of his ways” or anything, no matter what the Inquisitor says or does. Once the foci is broken, he bounces – he has no use for the Inquisition anymore and subsequently the Inquisitor anymore. He has other stuff he’s got to do – including sucking the life out of other old gods to get powered up. He can feel like he’s in between a rock and a hard place all he wants but he’s the one who put himself there. Especially since, if the Inquisitor doesn’t “change everything”, then “the people” aren’t even on his list of people to take care of. Plus, let’s not forget his big plan. Which, we aren’t entirely sure of only that he’s got a huge spy network that he’s been building up for however long he’s been with the Inquisition, using his place in the Inquisition to do so since apparently he just woke up before the temple explosion – and then his plan to tear down the veil which will throw Thedas into chaos, which he’ll have to deal with as will everyone else and maybe the world will… eventually chill out… one day… in the distant future?

To put it extremely simply, Solas is responsible for everyone who died at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, who died due to any rift demons all across Thedas, and he’s okay with that. He barely sees humans, dwarves, and qunari as people, and if not befriended/romanced, he barely sees elves as people. He’s got no problem sacrificing however many are going to die once the veil goes. And all because… he wants to bring back a way of life that he’s responsible for ending in the first place. That’s Solas in a nutshell. And while we can say all day long that he made mistakes and he’s just trying to fix it, that he’s redeemable, that he can be saved… I think there’s an important thing that’s being missed.

It’s been a long time since Inquisition dropped. Six years. Six whole years. That’s six years of head canons running wild and a lot of them have been about Solas. Six years of people writing stories, coming up with hypothesis, and conjectures. And that matters… because a lot of what people are expecting out of DA4 with Solas seems to me, to be leaning heavily on a lot of head canon and not canon-canon. Canon = Solas is a villain with no redemption arc. Head Canon = Solas’ love for Lavellan will make him see the error of his ways because she changed everything. See the difference? The first one is what happened, the second one is what people want to happen and while the second one does seem great – it’s probably not going to happen. Even if you want to weave a lot into his character – which is complex – it probably won’t matter in the game. He’s still going to do what he planned to do and it’s going to be our job to try and stop him. Because, he’s the antagonist. He’s the quintessential villain who doesn’t think he’s a villain, who thinks his cause is worthy, and honestly – he’s got a little martyrdom going on in his head. His “feelings” don’t matter – only the cause. What he “wants” doesn’t matter – only the cause. These are things that are canon and in game. We’ve seen it. But – again – head canon gets in the way, it clouds the issues because six years.

Now, me personally? I don’t mind Solas – I’m not a huge Solas fan but I admit it openly, my first play through, my Lavellan romanced the fuck outta Solas and consequently got her heart broke. It was a jarring moment and it was so well written, it was amazing. I mean, award winning shock because what!? But yeah, it was great. But – I’m more of a Blackwall fan. Cullen’s okay… he’s about equal with Solas for me.

Now – head canon Solas? He’s fucking awesome and yes! Of course he is – everyone’s HC characters are much better than canon, because they’re better for us because we made edited them to our preferences. Which is why you’ll see Solas drawn without a sunken in stomach and a bit beefier – because in game he’s… sickly skinny. Even I do it because yeah – put some weight on that dude, no reason for his stomach to be thinner than his waist. But, I digress.

The point of the matter is – we’ve got six years of head canons to shelf when DA4 drops, and I hope that these preconceived notions that are so heavily influenced by head canons don’t get in the way and cause a lot of negative reactions to the game when it does come out.

What Will They Call You…

So, I (along with damn near everyone else in the DA fandom) have been thinking a lot about that one line - because of course, we only got like three lines out of the teaser.

They call me the dread wolf. What will they call you, when this is over?

I know there are variances with voice actors and they do multiple takes so we may not even get that particular one in the game or even that line at all.

But, it’s said with a certain amount of... familiarity? If that makes sense. The way he stresses the “me” part, almost incredulously - we know it’s a moniker he doesn’t necessarily like, but one he begrudgingly accepts.

We also know that if it does make it into the game, it could be dialogue in response to choices made during conversation - so some may not get it and others might. Or it might be said differently, who knows.

There is one thing though - that the devs and writers have been pretty clear about, at least in the past when Trespasser dropped. Any relationship with Solas is considered concluded, complete. So, there probably won’t be any of that, even if he romanced the Inquisitor though it’s going to be very interesting to see what dialogue is given from a romanced Solas. And, it would be super sweet, I mean talk about a treat from devs and writers if we could don the mantel of Inquisitor once more and play our Inquisitor for just a moment for a romanced Solas - kind of a meet in shadows kind of thing, even if it’s only for a conversation. That’d be sweet. But - highly unlikely. However, who knows.

And yes, romance is a big part of the discussion because of one simple thing...

We know the game’s going to be good. Game play / fighting / tactics / all of that has never been a problem with Dragon Age (or even Mass Effect, I can’t speak for the other Bioware games outside Baldur’s Gate because I didn’t play the others). But the romance options? That’s something that has always set Dragon Age apart - set Mass Effect apart - the relationships that our characters form with those around them. And I cannot wait.

Dragon Age 4 + A Note About the Art on the Blog

So, I was originally going to post about this on Friday, this past week, but the trailer dropped right before we left for our August camping trip and I honestly didn’t have time. Which is what brings us here now. First, let me say that I am a 100% Loyal, Die-Hard Bioware fan. I tend to ignore EA’s involvement as far as micro-transactions go. Simply put – it doesn’t effect the EA games I play, namely Bioware. Now – I will also freely admit that I haven’t played Anthem yet. Not because I think it isn’t a good game. However, I do think it was a money grab and honestly, I already play a game that is like Anthem or rather, that Anthem’s like and it’s called Destiny. But anyway – let’s see if I can sum up my fan-girl-freak-out about Bioware.

I’ve been in it since Baldur’s Gate. I have many… many, many, many Wardens, Hawkes, Inquisitors. I have just as many Sheppards and just as many Ryders. I’ve easily got hundreds and hundreds of hours put into the Dragon Age series and probably just as many into Mass Effect. I have every Dragon Age book put out by Gaider and I have read, online, all of the manga/comics. And while I, of course, have many fan-theories that I prefer as opposed to canon and I, of course, don’t agree with every character decision that has been made, I still 100% support Bioware. I have zero problems waiting years for games and I want them to take their time. People can baulk all they want but when it comes to RPG games? Bioware’s writing blows all others out of the water. They create real inspiration in their players and give so many opportunities for creative relationships. And, you don’t have to jump on every single fan band wagon – and while I understand that there’s fan discord, there’s the issues of white washing – which has been data mined and proven, there’s the issue of POC characters being received differently by certain fans. I don’t think the writers, the ones who really make the series what it is, did any of those things. They weren’t the ones in control of those things. They couldn’t control how Vivienne would be received and they damn sure weren’t responsible for the coding of the game. But, I won’t get into that.

First, I must commend the artists that have done the concept art because it is awesome. And yes, it’s just concept art, so it’s not what we’re going to get but come on! That is some seriously awesome stuff. And I must, absolutely must, thank Bioware from the bottom of my heart for giving us the glimpses of in-progress game footage. You can see how rough it is in certain areas and they damn sure didn’t have to give us this sneak peak that is easily at least a year or more ahead of when we can even dream of getting the game (I’m being severely generous to us fans here). So, here are a few of my thoughts…. but be forewarned, I’m not a Solasmancer. I think he’s a villain, I don’t like the way he treats Lavellan, especially a romanced Lavellan and honestly? I don’t see the draw. Yes, I love his cadence and the way he speaks, his voice actor is amazing but him as a character? Even as complex as he is? Nope. Not a huge fan, but I can respect how well written he is. He’s an amazing character but I’m not team-Solas. So, with that in mind….

• Davin. WARDENS. –Deep breath.- I am a huge warden fan and I think they, by far, have the most interesting lore. Yes, elves are amazing and yada yada yada but come on! I already know I’m going to like his character, already. Super excited about him.
• Bellaria – Her lines sound like she’s going to be a shaper or at the very least, a dwarf. Because it sounds like she’s talking about a titan with the whole good kind of rumble thing.
• Also, TITANS. Yeaaaaasssss!!! Finally, we get to see these guys because yes. Yes. Though, the one I saw, or at least what I think it was does seem a bit comical so far but maybe that’s the look they’re going for since this one wasn’t corrupted yet? Or maybe I’m totally off here, who knows.
• Solas – that line. YAAAAASSS. Like I said, I’m not a “zomg let’s love Solas back to the good side!” But, I can appreciate his character and I do see him as a worthy adversary if that makes sense and that line? YAAAAAAS Man! Bring. It. On!
• The worlds! It looks like we’re totally going to Tevinter, which we already knew but also it looks like we’re finally going to be going back to more Dwarven places and that is just so cool.
• WARDENS! Again – I cannot stress this enough. I am hoping we get to learn more about them in game – for those who haven’t read the books.
• “What it’s like to play a character who doesn’t have any power.” HOLY HELL! Did anyone else hear current events being echoed there because I sure as shit did. Aside from that and without getting political, this is going to be so cool. I wonder how many starts we’re going to get? Human, dwarf, elf, qunari, and what else is there? Maybe different kinds of humans? Like Origins! OH YES, that would be great. That was something that was sorely missing and I really hope that they can tie up some loose ends that Trespasser still didn’t address like WHAT HAPPENED TO WHOEVER WAS LEFT IN THE FADE! Because it was never explicitly said that they died. And PLEASE come on, let us see our warden again! It’d be awesome to be like “here’s our warden, here’s our hawke (if still alive) and here’s our inquisitor” for the final battle or something, that would be so cool. Also – it’d be awesome if like your character secretly does have power but doesn’t know it or something along those lines.

The possibilities are obviously endless this early in the information-gathering phase of a game’s trailer dropping but this is so excited. I cannot wait, it’s going to be so much fun.

Note About The Art:

So, I've been going back and adding some of my art to each post, honestly - just to break up the text a bit. Sometimes it's relevant to the post, sometimes it's not. I try to make it so but meh. Anyway, there you go. All the art featured here is mine unless otherwise stated, I'll be adding links to my Redbubble and Deviant Art above here shortly.