#datv tag

[utilitycaster]

Neve Gallus/Rana Savas from veilguard for the ship ask!

EXCELLENT QUESTION i am in favor of it and it's my go to "if you romance Lucanis as Rook, this the ship I imagine for post-canon Neve," ie, it's my favorite non-canon ship for her. I think Neve, who is brutally sparing with praise and trust and who shows affection through some degree of teasing cares about Rana and grants her that rare trust, and thinks extremely highly of her. Obviously we don't see as much of Rana but I think as someone who is really frustrated by the corruption of Minrathous but who is working inside the system rather than outside, she values having someone like Neve who doesn't force her either way. Also I do think that detective coworkers to lovers OR reluctant mob boss and person who might have to rebuild the templars after the city gets wrecked to lovers are both premises with a TON of promise.

[serenityfails]

with dragon age news it's time for what's REALLY important.... imagining what my blorbinas tabris and lavellan are up to 10 years later

[breadedsinner]

I feel like I have seen the smallest amount of Bellara romance content across the board (fanart, gifs, etc). Don't worry my princess I am coming. Just give me a few months.

[halliserres]

many thoughts abt rook. head somehow still empty

[utilitycaster]

There is something to be said about how RPGs (video games and tabletop) exist in this sort of knife's edge space where your characters are both, by definition, exceptional people, but also we love a story of coming up from nothing/the underdog, so especially in a game that begins with low-level play, they have to exist in this space where they are both. I think the key really needs to be precisely what we see in both Veilguard and EXU Divergence specifically: You become a PC when you seize that agency and do something. Rook's backstory varies by faction but the core detail remains the same; that you had to leave because you acted in a way that was in line with your values and even heroic, but also fucked things up for the higher-ups in some manner. The Divergence characters (sans Garen) reach level 1 when they fight back to protect Torm's Hill.

I think it is genuinely challenging to incorporate a story that accounts for the truly common people, because in an RPG, once you start following a group of characters, by definition they become something more than that. But I think that Veilguard and Campaigns 1 and 2 of Critical Role (and EXU Divergence, and Downfall) make an effort to show at least some of the worries the unleveled NPCs in the world have (I'm thinking about VM conversations with locals during the Briarwoods and Conclave arcs, or the Nein's extensive travel through the Empire and tendency to bother every NPC shopkeeper they saw, or the others of Torm's Hill, or even the scene-setting of Downfall, or all of Rook's quests around town in Dock Town, Hossberg, and Arlathan especially) and to make it clear that these are people suffering at the hands of the villains.

[utilitycaster]

Can you play Dragon Age the Veilguard with no context to the earlier franchise? I keep seeing the stuff you share and write about it and it seems very fun and definitely my kind of game to an extent, so I'm curious if it's a game I'll understand going in blind.

Yes - I do not have much context to the earlier franchise outside of reading a short story collection and talking with people who had played previous games. It explains the current plot as a self-contained thing. There will obviously be nuances you'll miss (and that I missed, and probably some I am still missing despite trying to fill in some gaps) but you can still have a fun time!

[utilitycaster]

I will also admit that the previous post is a little veilguard-inspired but not actually so much re: regret because that is the outright text of Alyxian in Call of the Netherdeep; it's generally a good theme for ancient entities anyway. It's actually inspired by how, having tried both in-faction and out-of-faction romance, I'm an advocate for romancing outside of your faction because I think the game that's all about building a team is better and more fun when you have a special connection with two separate people rather than entirely with one. I think that's another thing, incidentally, that strengthens Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein - the PCs all have a confidant or family member or good friend in addition to their love interest, and I think Bells Hells would have been improved by a stronger encouragement towards multiple connections.

[serenityfails]

after da:i i had thoughts about bren and harding getting closer post-solas breakup.... harding being an actual romance means my plans are complicated but that can only be a good thing because it means room for me to make it angsty and unrequited in my head :x