ojovivo
$LAYYYTER
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
No title available
oozey mess
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
tannertan36
Cosimo Galluzzi
DEAR READER
⁂
@theartofmadeline
occasionally subtle
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
Sweet Seals For You, Always
Misplaced Lens Cap
No title available
Three Goblin Art
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
titsay
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from Italy
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United Arab Emirates
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
@kirkwall-age
It's time for a pinned post! 👋
Name: Cyril Age: 33 (as of posting in Oct 2024 if i forget to update. which i will) Queer: Bi. Genderqueer. Ambiamorous. Somewhere on the aroace spectrum. *gestures vaguely* AO3: [link] (not much there by way of Dragon Age........ yet 😏😈)
This is NOT a spoiler-free blog. Everything gets tagged meticulously because I want to find posts related to topic / character quickly. Currently tagging for #veilguard spoilers. ❖
in a development that may shock and surprise you.... playing DATV on Ultra for 10 hours every day for a month -- on a somewhat outdated video card that was not, in fact, built to handle Veilguard on Ultra
results in a fun consequence of: you need to now purchase a new video card
i keep getting new followers even though i'm not posting and i appreciate you all finding my ye olden posts funny 🤍 but i'm still hiding from the internet at large, doing 3 consecutive veilguard playthroughs so i can see maximum amount of different choices for myself before i actually delve back onto tumblr and see spoilers 🙈
something something... we will be back shortly after this message from our sponsors
hey! yesterdayish you mentioned in a post that you like the choices/replayability of them in da4. ive noticed that as long as you DO a quest, no matter which dialogue options you pick or really even what Big Choice you make, the outcomes are pretty much the same. im a good 60-70% into the game and so far only approx 5 choices have mattered in noticeable ways? and all but 1 are tiny things. im wondering if youve experienced something different? do you think its POSSIBLE to fail a quest in a way other than ignoring it? it doesnt feel like im earning my rewards or good outcomes if theyre the only option to participating if that makes sense? sorry to dump this on you lmao ignore if you want i just thought you might have thoughts on it?
No worries at all, and thank you for asking!
I think you are absolutely right in the way you summarized how the game works. There aren't a lot of choices like that. By comparison, Inquisition had a lot more variety with quests where neither outcome was good/bad, and it was all about RP. Like Wicked Hearts, or certain companion quests, or Judgments. Big or small, there were a lot of quests like that in Inquisition, that were really branching out. By comparison, Veilguard absolutely has much much less.
However, when I said "replayability". I was actually looking for something different. I'm gonna draw some comparisons to other BioWare games which -- I'm sorry I'm not sure if you're familiar with them, so maybe this won't make the most sense. But.
Example 1: Origins. I replay it fairly frequently, and I have to say that most of my playthroughs on paper? Look pretty similar. Support mages. Broker peace in the Brecilian. Save Connor. Support Caridin. The "replayability" factor for me there is purely: what personality I think my character has + the origin itself. How the game reacts differently to me if I'm a City Elf vs a Tower Mage etc. The game may offer choices, but I will make all the same choices. :D
Example 2: Mass Effect. For all that it is described as a similarly choice-based RPG, Mass Effect barely has any choices. Shepard's personality is much narrower because you're an Alliance soldier. You can swing between mercy and ruthlessness. But, in general. Until ME3 which was the big finale and they allowed themselves more deviations in quests (most of which were fairly tragic, to be honest). There wasn't really much variety. Mass Effect 2 seems like the most clear parallel: it is also a game where you recruit a team / build bonds with people / prepare for a suicide mission. Aside from minor flavor here and there, the game really plays the same for the majority of people. Unless you really go out of your way to get a bad result, you will gain everyone's loyalty, you will collect enough resources to be prepared for the end mission, you will make maybe one or two big choices and the rest are gonna be minor flavor and inconsequential. And yet that game is also fairly "replayable" -- for me, at least -- because even within these narrow confines I think of each individual Shepard as somebody very different, based on their class / background / history. The diversity is in my head, and as I play the game, I justify things to myself based on the personality that I selected, and that what makes replayability fun. Even though, on paper, I literally play the same game and make the same choices, barring like 5 to 10% that is different and are only for flavor. The story in that game is put on rails.
So when I made that post and said that "replayability" of Veilguard has me excited. I think saying "choices" was maybe the wrong word to use. Because I was actually thinking about factions. I am currently playing as Antivan Crow. And the way it is integrated into the game is a blast to me. The way Treviso reacts to me. The way my Rook talks about it. The way I have a history with the city. The way the companions talk about Lucanis in comparison to Rook. These little flavor conversations are not few and far between. There is a lot of them. I feel my faction relevance nearly constantly.
So what has me excited is seeing other factions. What my relationships within the Shadow Dragons would be. I went to save Treviso because I'm a Crow, but I'm curious about the reactivity if as a Crow I would have picked Minrathous, or, as a SD, I would have picked Treviso, betraying the expectations of my faction. I wanna see how interactions within the Necropolis and with Emmrich are different if I'm a Watcher and understand their culture. Or with the Wardens and Davrin if I'm a Warden.
That's the part that has me excited. Which is, to be fair, entirely subjective emotional flavor. It doesn't contradict at all what you described: which is that the game is (once again) on rails. There aren't really that many branching choices. Much fewer choices by comparison to other Dragon Age titles. I just... don't mind that at all? It's the journey itself that is fun.
Obviously, neither of us have finished the game yet, and I've been burned by ME3 and ME:A before, which took a dive for me right at the end lol. So. Could be famous last words lol. 😅
But, final review pending, that's what I meant and that's what I'm looking forward to as far as replaying the game goes.
i guess the idea of the South banding together despite adversity is maybe heartwarming? or they wanted to name-drop as many people as they could?
but the whole "threading the needle on what stuff can be neutrally mentioned that will not contradict anyone's canon"?
let me be clear that in no known universe will i believe that if aveline becomes viscount of kirkwall -- (a position i am not sure she would accept or be suited for, but that's a different post) -- that she would as much spit in sebastian's direction if he was on fire. much less go to him for help or seek shelter against the current problems faced in the Veilguard
in every iteration of my every playthrough anders lives, and sebastian invades kirkwall to try and usurp it because of one man (who is not even there anymore), and aveline is the resistance force against the invader, and sebastian writes to the inquisitor about how he should totally be allowed to usurp the city, and gets told a resounding NO, and aveline gets tacit support to kick him out
even without it (which is subjective) -- 90% of their banter in DA2 is about how much issue she takes with his plans to retake starkhaven and how close she thinks he is to becoming that which he fights against
she would not go to him for help
as much as the whole sebastian issue was just severely underwritten and didn't have a satisfying resolution in DA2 as his character arc never fully finishes -- you do not get to slapdash pull out of the hat an "actually in the end they did make up and everything's friends now" (oh and the South is on fire but don't worry about that kitten)
committed to being a short king -- but the height difference is insane
with Davrin especially
bro are you also an ancient elven god? because i'm pretty sure my slider at 100% would still be shorter
ah. i see. i am but a simple halfling
the story behind Harding's famous jaw scar 🤣🤣🤣 almost as touching as iron bull losing his eye you guys
a segment from Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020) with Candis Cayne — currently the voice of Maevaris Tilani in Dragon Age: The Veilguard
just assorted thoughts from playing so far -- not about the plot but mostly just GAME aspects:
I am playing a Crow Rogue (burst + crow skill points right now) / the combat is SUPER fun / the double dagger takedown is AMAZING. can't wait to test out other classes
also I loved the integration into Treviso, that i know everybody there and the lay of the land. can't wait to play other origins. i bet the difference with Shadow Dragons is gonna be insane. but of course Mourn Watch also has me fascinated
absolutely love the agency over the environment. how i can parkour and vault and jump and NO FALL DAMAGE while exploring. and the battlefield is so fluid and great
the fact that i can RESPEC constantly for free literally on the go is a blessing and every game should have that. QOL if i ever saw one
got my first resumable banter!!! the way my panties dropped. i knew they promised it but id didn't know how it would be implemented. i triggered a banter between Lucanis and Bellara. he asked her a question -- and the we got attacked -- the conversation stopped. they proceeded to do battle quips at each other. and then once we were out of combat, he said: What was I talking about? and then REPEATED his startling line of banter and the banter played as normal. AMAZING QOL. fucking in love with it
FINDING ALL THE FELASSAN NOTES?? I CRY. AND THEN SEEING HIM FACE IN MEMORIES? DECEASED. also i am stronk enough now to start clearing the Gates for the Heart of the Corruption. i killed the Treviso one and unlocked the boss and. i didn't fight it, i am not high level enough, but I SAW THE NAME FROM THE DISTANCE. i am so sad forever about Felassan our beloved 🥺
the whole scene where you unpack in your room is SUCH A GENIUS narrative tool of establishing character. explaining your backstory in more than just the blurb during character creation and how you may feel about it. do you maintain you're right? do you now feel regret? it's not exactly Origins level of immersion -- but it's such a good device for fleshing out character
THE MIRROR OF COURSE. Just casually, oh, "establish transgender identity". IN A MOTHERFUCKING TRIPLE A GAME? insane. I didn't envision this character as trans, but I will for sure play one who is. Blessings be upon your house. 🙏
The option I chose for the Mirror was actually Scars. I gave my Rook the maximum amount of scars because he surely has been mistreated by the Crows. And when I picked up the Shaving Mirror, he was like (looking at his reflection): You suck, mister. Some hero you are. Every scar is a mistake you made. Look at what happened to Harding. Do fucking better. INCREDIBLE INNER ANGST thanks.
The transmog option is also so well done and i greatly appreciate it.
Also that I don't have to worry about resources because once I started upgrading stuff, everything I am getting may be worse in rarity, but it is the same strength, so i can side-step into progressing a different weapon / armor instead. LOVE to see it.
The fact, by the way, that the Caretakers is voiced by a nonbinary actor who also voiced Athena and Alecto and Tisiphone in Hades? WAOW. Such voice.
I have no idea where the plot is heading but. My BIGGEST theory so far is that Varric survives lol. I love that he continuously intersperses and does the iconic painted cinematic around big quests -- but it just makes me feel like he survives the events of the game and this is a story he is once again telling AFTER the game is done.
Also, I remember the devs saying that his role was gonne be similar to Obi-Wan -- which that made people even more convinced that he was gonna die lol. But actually the angle of mentorship? Goes down so well for me. My Rook looks PAINFULLY young. He has never done anything so big before, he feels not up to it. He was just following Varric along, being his second, and suddenly having to step up and make ChoicesTM? That first heart-to-heart where you can instantly be like: "First decision I made, and Harding got hurt." "I'm not cut out for this :(" It was SO CUTE and good for me
The inhuman screech I made at 4am in the morning when Dorian strode his way into that inn with the MAXIMUM amount of sass I missed SO MUCH (thank god i live alone. rip my neighbors)
even more importantly: that Maevaris is voiced by Candis Cayne???? SO AMAZING. (some of you may know her as Ms. Hudson in Elementary, or from her lgbt-defining performance in Dirty Sexy Money.) i had no doubt that they would cast a trans actress and i am so grateful they did but also insane that they chose one so personally inspiring to me. ma'am. i simp
Viper being voiced by Mr. Mercer 😳 fandom is gonna either go insane wanting to fuck him, or wanting him to fuck Tarquin. or Dorian. or Mae. fandom will do as fandom does, i can feel it
all in all, the game feels very much like a Mass Effect skeleton in a Dragon Age suit. which is a compliment. i really enjoy the pacing of ME2 and ME3 where you have missions that are contained and linear. and then you have Hubs. and i get lost in the sauce exploring the big "semi-open-world areas". but the way the game pushes one mission after the next feels more resembling how Mass Effect did it. and i like that for pacing. because I love a LOT about Inquisition, but pacing is not its strong suit. the open-world exploration there far outpaces the plot, so I may spend 3 days not progressing the plot at all and just running around doing all the exploration in 2 different regions. which is atmospheric. but the pacing staggers much from it.
also they did promise no silly fetch quests and no nonsense, and i do like that they tapped into a completely different mentality of: yes there are region-specific quests. they are important and they gain you support with a faction and they reveal stuff about the world. but also there are PUZZLES. interactive with your companions and you have to come back to certain places after you gain new companions. and looking for Wolf Statues. which are so atmospheric and the howling is so sad. and collecting all the chest. which are clearly marked and are pingable. oh and a clear multi-layer map. i know you exist because Forgotten Oasis was Like ThatTM. and the environmental puzzles in Arlathan Forest!! i am absolutely the target audience for stuff that. i gotta find everything, collect everything, a 100%, but also i love the parkour puzzle aspect of it 😊
emotionally i am here
decided to fuck around and invest in a Rook x Lucanis x Neve OT3
her and her 2 short kings (for a relative value of short since Neve isn't exactly tall herself)
committed to being a short king -- but the height difference is insane
with Davrin especially
bro are you also an ancient elven god? because i'm pretty sure my slider at 100% would still be shorter
a source of schematics, surely???
there is a mural in Treviso that is probably not even Zevran and is more like in celebration of Crows
but all it looks like to me is Zev in his WoT armor killing Plato during his conversation with Artistotle
"YOUR Platonic Idea of the Republic is What Inspired THE QUN!" (STABS)
absolutely screamed at this codex
after more than a decade of The Joining being SO BIG OF A SECRET
that Anders refuses to tell Hawke what it is when he proposes it to save Carver / Bethany. and then Carver / Bethany also never mentioning it. and romanced Anders presumably also never mentioning it
you never have the option to betray the Wardens' confidence in Awakening. you can just say to your potential recruits: fair warning, you MAY die. and then only when they are handed the Cup, they are like "ah we're drinking the Blight"
the Warden contact in Inquisition never fully explaining the Calling or that the Wardens carry the Blight in them
after all of that this codex entry hit me like a FREIGHT TRAIN
from the DOYLIST perspective: I understand -- letting newcomers in on who the Wardens are and WHY they are like that
from the WATSONIAN: do not put SECRETS of the ORDER in wrITING??? helLO?
in 2009 BioWare released a critically acclaimed game where we play as a Warden and made us all care about Wardens
and then in every game since then they do something to say 'haha it's not that serious it's not that great' as if we don't have a Pavlovian response to being Wardens
we swore an Oath, Bioware, we swore an Oath to Duncan, and we take it more seriously than you!
i am playing very slowly but I have finally reached the conversation with Harding about her times in the Inquisition
and -- i am enjoying the game very much -- but this one thing i am NEVER going to be NOT salty about
they did everything cleverly. there is no reason for me to butt into personal business of anybody at all. i'm a stranger, and the stakes are world-ending, so i don't get to sit around with Dorian and reminisce about his personal life
and it's neat that they are referencing things that are just by default there. i.e. Lucanis saying that the source of the experiments on him came from what the Promisers did to the Seekers, force-feeding them lyrium and creating monsters, even though Seekers cannot be possessed
you can, by and large, get by on shit like that, and it's neat
but what is not neat is having a conversation with Harding that will have zero changes in all playthroughs. she talks about Leliana, and Rook's follow-up is "i heard she's terrifying". really? is your follow up NOT gonna be, "yeah i hear the new Divine is famous for her nugs?" (if she IS divine)
their rebuttal was that they didn't want to invest in cameos and ask voice actors to come back for just 3-4 gimmicky lines. well i don't want that either. Dorian's presence is logical and seamless. Morrigan, presumably, has more role than what I've seen so far. i don't want characters to just BE there for 3 seconds of fanservice.
but Inquisition was alive with resonance. and I'm not even saying the major things like HTLA and Warden Contact. just ambient conversation. just 20 to 30 extra lines of ambient conversation throughout the whole massive game. "oh I heard Lady Morrigan is married to the Hero of Ferelden. i heard she has a six pack".
but more than that: codex entries? the first example that came to mind when the 3 choices were unveiled was the codex entries that take no voice acting to write. they just need to be adjusted for world state input. little stuff, like the Bottles of Thedas collection, where i can find 3 different bottles depending on my world state: for Bethany / for Carver / for unknown Warden.
because I'm running around Treviso, and everyone is very in love with being a Crow, and a "Crow never abandons a contract", and... how is there not just a funny haha codex entry lying around that says "A Crow never abandons their contract -- except, you know, for that ONE famous time" -- a codex that would be absent if Zevran died, but a codex that would acknowledge Zevran's existence and history if he became the constant thorn in their side
so far, i think, (and i'm only like 30%? 40%? in it), this is a very good game, to me. there is so much i am enjoying about it. and it is very replayable, because the choices within it and the consequences are fun
(also the way they did open-world is catnip to me personally.)
but it could have been elevated to truly like UNPARALLELED heights by having ACTUAL continuity instead of this default continuity of only mentioning things that are gonna be factual for every world state ever.