varric and dorian making comparisons between hawke & lavellan caught me by surprise but it was a VERY good conversation and probably my favourite scene in this chapter, i really loved the back-and-forth and that ending note of "if it was lavellan, wouldn't you keep him away from this shit" / "if it was hawke, wouldn't you do anything if it helped him" i need words that aren't 'good' and 'love' but it's GOOD and i LOVE it. it's a very poignant discussion of like, the woes of being someone who loves a selfless hero, and it's just... a really well written dialogue. also i'm enjoying the dynamic of varric giving dorian advice, from someone who's been through this exact shit before with hawke to someone who has never had to deal with this in his life, it's fun.
lavellan being cagey about his past!!! i'm going WILD i want so badly to know what is up with this boy. he shares such small insignificant details about himself and his life w/ the lavellan clan but the broad strokes are so mysterious and i'm losing my mind. i didn't even CONSIDER that he had a dark & mysterious past of any kind bc he keeps his clan life so separate from the inquisition that dorian really hasn't gotten any indication of it and now i'm desperately invested, even tho i was already extremely invested in lavellan before.
another side note: lavellan and cole... i knew it i knew it i knew it. he's so protective already and it's so cute. i love how friendly & casually physical he is with him -- Lavellan mucked with Cole’s hat. ugh that's ADORABLE. i'm curious about his dynamic with the other companions now too, after that sharp little aside to vivienne.
(also him jumping off the wall made me laugh)
when it came to the conversation just before the inquisitor crowning my heart fucking stopped. oh my god. i've always found the appointment of inquisitor to be a cruel move no matter who they are, springing it on them without warning in front of a crowd where they can't say no, but having them do it specifically because they know lavellan plans to leave was such a gut-punch. i was legitimately angry & heartbroken over that revelation and so vindicated by dorian tearing into the advisors w/ this fervent desperation to protect lavellan, which is... a huge testament to the fact that you're a wonderful writer who is doing their job well.
i'm so sad abt lavellan and i want so badly for him to be able to go home, like. he's such a sympathetic & compelling character that i want him to be able to just leave no matter the consequences. but the dilemma of selfless/selfish is genuinely compelling and awful; even tho i'm on lavellan's side 100%, the urgency of the situation & the sincere NEED for lavellan's leadership comes across so clearly through dorian's perspective that it really is just a tragic fucking mess. you've done a really good job of chaining lavellan to the inquisition in the same way that hawke was bound to kirkwall by the simple fact that they cared, which is a kind of tragedy da2 communicated really well that dai was lacking.
and i'm just in.... absolute despair knowing how much more will get heaped on him and how much more shit he'll have to deal with as the actual inquisitor as opposed to a figurehead. i'm so invested in seeing whether this exhaustion festers, if his bitterness is going to grow and come back to bite the advisors one day, since they're the ones that force him into the role of inquisitor. on one hand i want him to find his footing & recover and figure out how to balance his obligations and his own needs just so that he's not as miserable all the time, but on the other hand his despair is so justified that i just want him to be able to yell at everyone who has stolen his life from him.
Comment on keep to the stars
astrabysm on Chapter 4 Sat 10 Feb 2018 02:09AM UTC
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