#[ i still need to name lucanis' parents ]

[spitedriven]

the dellamorte house is one of the few crow houses that is a literal family. before house velardo attempted a coup, house dellamorte had caterina (first talon), her husband (grandmaster), her five children and their spouses (four master assassins, five assassins) and eight grandchildren (six fledglings). doesn't sound like a big house, i know, but that's why dellamorte has usually relied upon their cuchillos for support--many of which are also literal families, though not all.

only illario and lucanis were not crows, not technically, but began their training shortly after.

and if you're doing math and noticed i only have nine for caterina's kids and their spouses, that's because lucanis' mother did not marry another crow--she spoke with caterina at length about securing house dellamorte's future and convinced her it was in their best interests to bring a rich merchant into the fold. it helped that she also loved him, but his money and influence stabilized the house from the continuous infighting amongst the crows, in addition to getting them closer ties to the merchant princes. as he himself had aspirations of becoming one of the few dozen merchant princes, with his marriage to caterina's favorite daughter and heir, the couple would effectively rule antiva.

the coup, then, was an especially painful blow. house dellamorte was not supposed to survive, but due to some heroics and quick thinking, lucanis and illario were secreted away and caterina managed to survive, the three of them now faced with a grim future.

[ollypopwrites]

They pulled Rook out of the fade only hours ago, and the first thing Emmrich hears as he leaves his room with an urgent letter meant for the Mourn Watch is weeping or at the very least talking (depending on your own headcanon) from the infirmary.

He’s heard Rook talking to Varric before, he’s felt the ache of empathy — his first instinct to reach out his hand and introduce his parents. I understand, it’s sprinkled through every turn through the Gardens.

Victory to the living. Shrines and deep affection for those who had walked amongst them who no longer do — understanding that the pomp and circumstance around death is also for those left behind and not just the dead themselves.

The Mourn Watch isn’t just a catchy name or a legacy, it’s a promise. Initiate Watchers are first and foremost introduced to the importance of grief. The entire reason they exist is to acknowledge the importance of a life lived. For every wail from a loved one was countless moments of joy, laughter, pain, love, and countless other emotions. Proof that a person mattered.

He’s heard weeping/final goodbyes so often, it never stops pulling at his heart strings, but over time it has become a comfort. But it hurts more to hear Rook.

Rook who has comforted every companion with a loss. Bellara and Cyrian. Davrin and his fellow Wardens. Harding and the Titans. Neve and Dock Town/the Viper or Alia’s victims. Lucanis and Caterina or Treviso and the blighted Crows. Taash and Shathaan. Emmrich and his lichdom or Manfred.

Rook has held their hand, been their strength and their guidance so they can all come out on the other side and become Heroes of the Veilguard.

Meanwhile, Rook’s been stuck in a state of denial for almost a year. Toyed with, offered empty hope that Varric was just hurt, just needed time to recover but was still their comfort and mentor. He was holding their hand while Rook became the Leader of the Veilguard. He was there whenever Rook had doubts or felt overwhelmed.

But none of it was real. And acceptance of the loss of Varric was forced on Rook at the same time Rook watched one of their companions die, thinking at least Lucanis had also joined them, and then got stuck in a prison meant to play on one of the hardest things to grapple with: regret.

For 3 weeks one of Emmrich’s dearest friends/his partner has been missing, only to come out of the Fade with fresh grief no one on the team knew they hadn’t yet had to face. And that’s what Emmrich is supposed to be good at.

That’s Mourn Watch basics. That’s everything he sees so often and affects him so deeply with his corpse whispering. It’s what he faced when he lost his parents. It is part of the reason he is as empathetic and gentle as he is.

But Solas put Rook through a long unwitting torture that was so convincing, so delicately played, that in turn Rook convinced the entire team nothing was amiss.

So, while I believe that, yes, Emmrich is fascinated by Solas. Emmrich has empathy for solas. Emmrich does have academic curiosities and interest in speaking with him.

I don’t believe, as a man who loves what the Mourn Watch does and who very dearly loves Rook (platonically or romantically), he’d have nothing to say about the cruelty of what Solas did to them.

[lizzybeeee]

The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.

Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.

TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno

Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.

Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.

However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.

We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.

If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!

Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.

In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.

But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.

If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."

Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."

Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?

Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."

Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.

It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.

The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?

But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.

[pupkinpumpkin]

My mind is pulling me in 500 different directions because I want to finish Dragon Age 2 so I can get to Inquisition so I can see my Cole and Cullen and Cassandra and Dorian and Josie and Vivienne and Se-but I also promised myself that after DA2 I'd finish my playthrough of Veilguard bc I WANT to but also INQUISITION but also DAVRIN ROMANCE but also what if we played Origins again because I fucked up ONE THING I consider canon in my runs that I forgot to do but also SOLAS AND VARRIC In INQUISITION but also headcanons about Davrin meeting Faith's (Rook the 2nd) parents THE KING AND QUEEN OF FERELDEN THE HEROS OF FERELDEN and Morrigan training Faith and Faith and Kieran being the best of buds but also headcanons about Hawke and VARRIC dating and getting MARRIED as a political move but also bc they are IN LOVE but also what if I romanced Emmrich too bc MMMM but NO I need to finish Davrin's romance but what about Lucanis will he still be my canon romance I never got to romance Leliana I want to romance Leliana what if Isabela and Merrill are in love and Neve and Bellara are in love but FUCK I never named Cullen's DOG WHAT ARE LUCANIS AND ROOK'S KID'S NAMES and LUCANIS and ROOK IN LOVE BUT CULLEN AND LAVELLan IN LOVE BUT ALISTAIR AND COUSLAND IN LOVE FUCK-

[lavendarr00]

ADAIA "ROOK" THORNE | GREY WARDEN | SLAYER

Adaia (ah-die-ya) is my Grey Warden and my youngest Rook at 21 years old. She's special to me because she's actually the secret child of my HOF and Alistair. (I had to do it haha) My Tabris HOF and Alistair fell in love during DAO and spilt when he became king but they maintained their secret love affair resulting in Adaia. She has a serious/stoic personality, romances Davrin, and is closest with Harding & Lucanis.

Ramblings about Adaia under the fold (some end game datv spoilers) 😊

Tabris went to be with Leliana in the chantry while she was pregnant and gave birth there. Tabris couldn't return with Alistair's child and her duty to the Wardens and Ferelden lead to her leaving Adaia with the Chantry for adoption. She named Adaia after her mother. The only other people that know about Adaia's parentage are Alistair, Zevran & Morrigan (though I feel like Solas somehow finds out). Alistair has never met Adaia but got to see her once with the help of Leliana while visiting Orlais (Tabris gave him permission). Adaia does not know who her parents really are. Leliana naturally keeps tabs on her and in the rare opportunity she gets in contact with Tabris she shares what Adaia's been up to and what she's like. Morrigan does not reveal her parentage when they meet in Veilguard but a knowing smile would flit across her face when interacting with and observing her.

Details about her origin aside, Adaia's personality is more serious/stoic like her mother but her dad is Alistair so... yeah she has her moments 😆 Her upbringing was more or less uneventful but that pushed her to seek a higher purpose in life as a teen which eventually lead her to joining the Wardens. In truth, the decision to join the order was impulsive and she often regrets joining but at the end of day is dedicated to fighting the blight and saving lives. She struggles with feeling like she needs to be useful to be of value and can have a temper. She takes life too seriously which makes rolling with the punches hard for her. She gives surprisingly good advice and shows a lot of grace to those she cares about but will never give herself that same grace. Not very self aware in that area.

In Veilgaurd, she romances Davrin & her bestie is Lucanis so just like her mother she falls in love wither her fellow Warden and is best friends with an Antivan Crow 😆 She's also close with Harding since they are both from the South and are "salt of the earth" type folks. She, Harding, and Varric quickly became like a little family while hunting Solas. Adaia takes Varric's death especially hard. He really was a mentor to her and got a lot of comfort and reassurance from him. His "it will all work out" like mentality was something she needed especially after being basically kicked out of the Wardens. She's mature of course, but still young and learned a lot from Varric. To his surprise, Varric came to really appreciate and cherish the role he took in Adaia's life even though it was brief.

Post Veilguard, Adaia & Davrin work with the remaining Wardens to research what of the blight is left and how recent events have effected it (and go visit the griffons of course). We learn from the Inquisitor that the south has basically been wiped off the map from the double blight but of course we don't have specifics. No clue what Bioware has in store for Rook post Veilguard so I'm going to write my own thing until then haha

My HC: Alistair is alive, got married, and has a child (young - no older than 10) so Adaia is free of the potential responsibility of the crown. My HOF was not idle during the double blight. She survives but gets serious injuries meaning she can no longer fight. Before the double blight she was researching the calling so she decides to take that back up again and travels to the Anderfels where the remaining wardens are based. She and Adaia meet. Adaia has no idea of her connection to her but Tabris knows right away. She keeps that to herself as she and Adaia get to know each other. Both are heroes that have ended blights so they had a lot to talk about. Tabris helped Adaia out a lot actually with processing lingering regrets and grief from events in Veilguard (Harding's death especially). And Tabris got to spend time with her daughter for the first time since Adaia was only months old. It was very healing for both of them. After some time Tabris gets the courage to tell Adaia who she is. She doesn't expect Adaia to believe her and if anything expects anger from her. Adaia doesn't take it well but not entirely bad either. Mostly shocked and speechless and needed some space to think about it. But within the week Adaia & Tabris are connected to the hip. Davrin thinks Adaia's parentage is hilarious. Of course Rook would be the daughter of the legendary Hero of Fereldan & King Alistair! It explains so much 😆

And that's Adaia! 🤍

[mx-pastelwriting]

Just wanna show off my Rook!

This is my second game play (We don't talk about my first rook :)).

Spoilers up ahead!

Isn't she pretty~ Pronouns are She/Her and is Non-Binary! Also is a mage.

Her name is Lavellan! Yes, that's her first name. Why? Let's get to her backstory I made in my crazy little head! NOT CANON (I know my made-up backstory for her isn't going to make sense with the game's timeline, but let's pretend it's more than ten years!)

Lavellan's backstory (In my head) is that she is a Shadow Dragon being adopted as a foundling with an unknown origin found only with the name "Lavellan" attached to her (A name or filing marker from being stolen??). Her adoptive parents, wanting her to have as much of her Elven origin as possible, kept it as her name.

Raised in a military family, later joining the Shadow Dragons before meeting Varric. Varric, trying to find traces of Solas, hears about a child born months after his disappearance, along with echoes of the inquisitor's mourning of a child (Mourning or cries of her child having been kidnapped?).

If you haven't pieced it together by now, yes, my backstory for my Rook is that she is the secret love child of my Inquisitor and Solas…🧍I don't care if the timeline doesn't make sense.

Of course neither Solas nor the Inquisitor, or even Rook, knows when coming face to face, but Varric does as soon as he finds her, seeing both Solas and the Inquisitor in her face, bringing back old memories of fighting alongside Solas and the Inquisitor. (I wanted to spice up my second gameplay, so I created all of this on the support beam of a toothpick.)

I tried my best to give her their looks. Giving her a similar vallaslin to her mother. Also, it doesn't show much, but her eyes are a mix of Solas's purple eyes and her mother's amber eyes.

Now what features are from who? Jaw and some of her shin came from Inky. Eyes and hair color are from Solas. Color in the cheeks and cheek plumpness are from Inky, though cheekbones are from Solas. Lip shape from Solas and plumpness from Inky. Finally, the eyebrows being the shape of Solas's and Inky's thinness.

My Inquisitor before and after:

Definitely had a glow up! I took more time on this Inky compared to my first playthrough.

Meeting her mother. (My headcanon for this scene is that the Inquisitor, when looking at Rook, feels some kind of connection but can't put her finger on it with all that is going on with the world; she can't think on it too much, sadly.)

Now meeting Pop Pop. (Also feeling a connection with Rook when looking at her but thinks it's because she has similar features as the Inquisitor, so doesn't think on it anymore than that as two tyrant gods are running around.)

Last thoughts. No Solas or the Inquisitor or even Rook would ever know they are related. Though when Solas and the Inquisitor when in the Fade, they would comment on Rook's features and the name, but they have other things to do and passes the name off as a clan thing.

The Inquisitor would open up to Solas about both of them having a child out there somewhere in the world, not knowing if they are alive or dead, but with them both having painful wounds still open needing to be healed, the topic would drop off, but the thoughts and questions would still linger in their heads.

NOW ROMANCE!! Bit of Spoilers!!!

Romancing Lucanis this time around, as my first playthrough, I romanced Emmrich. Which was amazing! But my jaw is dropping with this scene, so I'm excited to see what's next!

I haven't gotten that far in the romance or game, so I don't have the great ending clip (Solavellan ending) just yet, but I'll post it when I get there if my console doesn't shit the bed on me again. yes again. I'm still bitter.

Thank you for reading my rambles! Hope you had fun reading it!

Heres more gifs of my Rook! GIF DUMP!!!

The lie detector test determined that you are the father!

[tonberrykins]

My Rookery

After waffling about for MONTHS, it's high time I put my kids up for everyone to see because despite my misgivings about the game I still love the universe, the characters I've made for it, and I have the power to fix it my damn self however I like. (Prepare for a cut after a bit)

Name: Quinto de Riva

Age: 27

Gender: Cis-Male (He/Him)

LI: Lucanis Dellamorte (and Spite)

Summary: The fifth of seven orphans "adopted" by House de Riva, Quinto is one of only two survivors of the training process; the other being his "sister," Una. Though he is quite clumsy on rooftops--where he tends to lose his footing a lot--he was, and is, considered quite formidable and always carried through on his contracts. Then he was taken under Viago's wing and that was where he finally found a sense of family albeit as an irritating younger sibling. Still, all this has done little to diminish his joie de vivre nor has it tempered his tendencies to act first when he sees someone in need.

Upon exile for going against orders and hitting the proverbial hornets' nest, he began to wend his way South toward Orlais but was picked up halfway by Varric and Harding. The scar on his face was picked up years earlier from a lightning slinging mage who was his target, and Teia spared no expense on a healer for her favorite fledgling despite Viago's insistence he would pay for it. In his absence, rumors have sparked about his possible parentage in the wake of the looming shadow of the Talon Killer with his cloudy origins--as most Crows have--and penchant for going off script but no one can say anything for certain.

Name: Oslo Ingellvar

Age: 23

Gender: Cis-Male (He/Him)

LI: Davrin

Summary: Found as a teeny toddler in the Necropolis, Oslo was subsequently claimed by Vorgoth as their ward. His magic was sensed early on, and Vorgoth nurtured his abilities along with other teachers. Perhaps due to his closeness with Vorgoth, or some random reaction of his magic with the Necropolis itself, his eyes darkened until the sclera were completely black and that, coupled with his birthmark, Othered him from children his age and even many young adults and regular adults. That being said, he is still rather social though he developed an early understanding that his appearance caused some alarm which lead to his interest in makeup and its application techniques.

Though a mage, Oslo is also very athletic and learned how to use daggers from more militant members of the Mourn Watch. This resulted in him setting aside the typical stave used by his peers to pick up the dagger and orb specialization known for its higher mobility and speed. It pairs well with his quick thinking and decisiveness on a course of action, however not many outside of The Watch appreciate his talents. Fortunately Varric did, and so he had a home away from home though it has been an adjustment being outside the Necropolis for the first time ever in his life.

Name: Albinus Mercar

Age: 35

Gender: Non-binary (Mostly He/They, will respond to just about any pronoun as long as they know they're being referred to)

LI: Emmrich Volkarin

Summary: Being raised as an elf by a decorated and mostly respected human soldier in Minrathous was...a challenge. Albinus learned from a very early age that they were an outsider, despite what their family said and how they were treated by them without the public watching. He also ended up being very different from most elves, with a build reminiscent of many humans which also alienated him from a lot of the household help. Still, they understood their family desired actual, lasting change for Minrathous--as evidenced by the household staff actually being paid and given decent clothing, food, and lodgings--and when it was safe he was treated as any child would be by a loving parent.

The trials and tribulations of growing up as an elf adopted by a rather public figure set Albinus' emotional intelligence rather high from a young age. Too, they shared their father's views on the institution of slavery in Minrathous and the desire to abolish it, as well as give those born without magic a chance to succeed beyond the military and the ceiling they hit within that structure. Those desires led him to the Shadow Dragons where a high profile mission eventually led them to needing to beat feet out of Minrathous where Varric subsequently found him.

[invinciblerodent]

Now that I'm getting close to what feels like the point of no return with Ver (all side- and companion quests done, only a handful of chests and some exploration left to get to), I'm really wondering who of my Rook ideas should be the next I play

like I'm equally excited for all of them, for different reasons!

(just me thinking out loud under the cut- i've narrowed it down to all of four ideas, so that's fun)

Tristan, unlike Verbena, is going to be very straightforward in all his approaches to things- he'll be very direct and frank to the point of crassness, a quintessential "Rook" in the way that his mind moves entirely in straight lines- and it'll be a lot of fun to both experience such a Warden-heavy story AS a Warden, and at the same time roleplay him gradually softening up, and turning that hard edge towards protecting people, instead of only protecting himself.

(Plus, there's that wrinkle that he's not, entirely, uh, alive. And it'll be really fun to play through him and Emmrich kind of stumbling through budding feelings while Tristan is trying to keep the secret that he's kind of, sort of, partially a spirit of Purpose. From a necromancer. Who's teaching him manners. Shit's wild.)

The one thing making me hesitant to go with him is that I can't justify him not choosing to save Minrathous like Ver also did- it's strategically the most advantageous thing to do, and while it's regrettable that Treviso will need to pay its price, someone has to. In Death, Sacrifice. I just don't wanna do the same thing again.

his Inquisitor is my Cadash, with all the opposite decisions from my canon with my Trevelyan.

(he also has a couple "theme songs" in my head already, this one being the latest.)

Tanner, I'm very excited to delve more into all the dwarf-stuff with- she's a Lord of Fortune, a sailor, adventurer, and poet enamored by the ocean, but also an Orzammar-born dwarf- her parents were Warrior-caste, and part of the forces that Orzammar sent to combat the Blight. They decided to then remain on the surface, and Tanner, a very young girl then, fell in love with all the vast openness that the surface had to offer. She first took up arms against the Breach as an agent of the Inquisition- hence the name.

I think it'll be a very interesting roleplaying angle, to romance Harding as someone who also has very personal ties to her storyline, and will likely be tossed into a whole mess of identity issues herself.

She'll choose Treviso I think, but her story and reasoning aren't as well-formed in my head yet, so I'm thinking still a bit about an angle to approach it from- then again, that could form as I'm playing.

her Inquisitor is my Josiemancer mLavellan, with the same decisions as the ones I made canonically.

(my working song for her right now is this)

And Coris, my problematic pretty girl assassin, modeled to look as much like a portrait that hangs in the Dellamorte mansion as possible- I have this whole Plotline thought up for her to romance Lucanis through grit teeth and with a dagger behind her back- her "plan" breaking down to basically

make Lucanis Dellamorte fall madly in love with her

talk him into murdering his grandmother and taking the title of First Talon by force

murder him, but make it look like an accident so that she can wrest control of the Crows for herself- a nobody underling to the Fifth Talon wouldn't be able to, but who's gonna say no to the grieving partner of the second First they've lost in such a short time?

bonus points if Illario, that fucking bastard who ruined her life and then proceeded to not even recognize her afterwards, suffers. Even better if he dies. (I was gonna have her be mad at Viago at first, but yknow, plans change.)

She'll fail that plan at step one by catching feelings herself. Then Caterina will get "murdered", and everything is gonna fall apart, and it's a whole Mess, but maybe he won't get too mad once she comes clean about it all starting out as a ploy to crush everything he holds dear.

her worldstate has a Solavellan-romance, even though I've honestly never done that- I'm just really curious how that'll work out.

As a Crow, she'd of course choose to save Treviso too, so that adds up. (And have a fun funky lil song to her name, too.)

......

And then there's Marcus Ingellvar my dear, whom I have not even made a face for yet, but I'm just so unexpectedly enamored by Bellara that I'm even willing to play a mage(!!!!!!!!!!), just to make her smile.

I wanna play him as a Mortalitasi, and a he/him(he/they)(he/any) nonbinary person, partly to explore gender feelings (as of right now I'm in the "if I were to unpack this suitcase I might end up with something tangible but also, my native language doesn't even HAVE gendered pronouns so what do I fucking know, maybe THAT'S why 'they' feels a bit more correct than 'she'" part of it all), and maybe a little bit to confuse Taash a bit further.

yknow, they've figured out they/them as singular pronouns, get ready for a genuinely kinda gender-weird little guy, lol.

He however has the same issue as Tristan in being a pragmatic thinker, and I don't really see a way past him thinking "hey maybe letting the Venatori seize Minrathous is not, uh. the right. move, right now. things in Treviso at least can't get much worse....? maybe....?"

He's probably the least well-formed in my mind as of right now, but that has never stopped me before, has it

.......

writing it all out didn't help me decide

[caisleanlaider]

Rook Appreciation Post. #1

*Spoilers for Gameplay Below Cut*

Maliah de Riva

Human - Mage - Antivan Crow

Backstory:

Maliah grew up in Treviso on the streets, her parents mere citizens and held no fortune. The home was her mothers, her father was from Fereldan. He didn’t know their customs and he didn't understand much of anything from the north. While Maliah was still young her mother passed away of an unexpected illness, breaking both her and her father. Later on Maliah found they couldn’t afford a doctor and her mother may have survived had their situation been different. Her father took odd jobs to get his small family by but they were heavily labor intensive. On a particularly difficult job he was nearly crushed to death and was nearly made lame. No healer could fix his left leg. It was a miracle he could still walk albeit with a heavy limp.

So Maliah took to the workforce starting honest and clean but soon finding that the shadows favored her better. Never once did she tell her father what she was doing hoping she could help him. She defended herself and stole only what was needed to get by. That is until the day she stole for the wrong man. Viago de Riva, brother to a merchant prince and Antivan Crow Talon. He caught her and pinned her before she could escape him but something in his eye sparked as she tried to fight.

“Thievery is barbaric without propose. Why don’t I show you a better uses for those skills?” And so she became an Antivan Crow of House de Riva. Viago pushed her far more than anyone else, seeing her potential and forcing it to shine. On occasion when she would travel home he would “tag along”. Of course the first time went about as well as you’d expect. Her father was furious but knew he couldn’t stop her. His fereldan stature dwarfed Viagos even with the bum leg. He was still strong enough to pick Viago up by his collar and pin him against a wall but he did nothing except glower at him. Viago though, had surprisingly let him do it too. After a time her father set him down with a bit of care and sighed. He apologized to the man before collapsing in a nearby chair.

After that Viago would “drop in” whenever he was in the neighborhood to see him. They would talk and quip like they were brothers. There were times Viago would even bring a chef so they could eat together like old friends. Her father didn’t have any friends in the north, everyone he knew was in southern Thedas and he would probably never see them again. His accent normally gave that away most days.

This is how things continued for a few years. She was able to take care of her father. She did odd jobs and smaller contracts because Viago could not trust her to be a sound mind. She was good at what she did, but her emotions would get the better of her. As was the case when she jumped the Antaam and freed Varric. This resulted in her immediate layoff from the Crows and how she formally joined Varric’s quest to find Solas.

*Spoilers Below- You’ve been warned.*

Epilogue:

She took the events of the game very hard. Between the siege of Weisshaupt, fighting old Elven gods, choosing to save Treviso instead of Minrathous, and witnessing Harding‘s death, one would say she was a broken person. The burden of leadership was never something she wanted. But she did her best for Varric and she hoped that she made him proud.

When she returned home to Treviso after the defeat of Elgra’nan, she was unable to take contracts for several months. Both due to her injuries and her state of mind. She stayed with her father the entire time and many of the crows would come to visit. Viago and Teia being there nearly every other day. But she wasn’t alone. When she returned home, she brought with her Lucanis Dellamorte, the new First Talon of the Crows. The two were virtually inseparable. 

Over the course of a year, she reestablished herself within the crows and made a name for herself. She was only called Rook by a select few in honor of Varric. She still kept in contact with her friends that she made during her fight with the gods. Some would often see her disappearing through an Elluvion with flowers. Lucanis would be on her heels as he often was. It was no surprise that the two of them ended up married. She was no longer of house, de Riva, but now a part of house, Dellamorte. Much to Viago‘s dismay, there also may have been threats made and knives thrown when this was announced. Viago supported her decision, even if he didn’t publicly say so. Something Viago and her father both shared.

Years later, a new crow would emerge from the Dellamorte ranks. A promising fellow with the name of Álvaro. He was Lucanis’ and Maliah’s son. His stature looked more Fereldan, but his skin was tanned like his father’s. He was an even mix between the two. He had his mom’s blonde hair and freckles, as well as her purple eyes. But his complexion came from his father. Many would argue he looked close to his grandfather in appearance otherwise.

His great grandmother Catarina loved him dearly. And so did his uncle Illario. Viago even tired to make him his protégé like he had Maliah. When his father got older, he was made the successor to House Dellamorte.

Whether or not he took the position was entirely up to him.

I am mainly doing this so my Xbox doesn’t delete my screenshots and so I can remember each of my characters as I play more.

The Epilogues are mainly just the head cannons I have for my character and those they romanced. You’re free to think what you want, this post is just my opinion.

[lorspolairepeluche]

The Murder of Rooks

The six of them got their collective nickname all at the same time: as Varric was exiting a tavern into a rainy street, he saw his group of seconds-in-command tucked together, all with their dark cloaks pulled close and hoods up to protect from the weather. He laughed and said, "You all look like a group of disgruntled black birds."

(am no artist and don't got screenshots, so picrews and info beneath the cut!)

Sario "Rio" Laidir (they/them): Spellblade Lord of Fortune.

Rio was born to a human woman and a Dalish man in a pirate town on the coast of Rivain. The clan their father belongs to is one of the few mostly-stationary ones -- they protect an archive of knowledge in an ancient glassy tower in the town. Some of them still itch to move, however -- and those are the ones that become the town's pirates -- and defenders. Rio's mother was part of the crew the hahren captained, and they spent half their childhood on the sea. Captain ("Admiral") Isabela stopped at the port on her way north around 9:42 Dragon, and (with their parents' knowledge and reluctant but fond blessing) Sario hopped aboard her ship, joining her as one of the Lords of Fortune. The rest is infamy.

(Likes shiny things. Really likes shiny things. And despite everything, Rio thinks Lucanis shines like a sun.)

Candiano "Candy" de Riva (she/her): Duelist Antivan Crow.

Candy was the rare -- and extremely illegitimate -- result of a union between an elf and a dwarf. The Crows, as Crows do, bought her took her in when she was young, and she was trained raised from that young age to be a deadly operative. There's not much love lost between her and her former "family." When the Antaam invaded Treviso, Candy's partner (take whichever meaning you will; most of them apply) Allegria was killed. It made Candy more reckless, and it may have had a hand in her decision to liberate Antaam hostages at the expense of a larger Crow operation. She wasn't sad to leave.

(Still. She and Davrin learn together from Assan that in a world of darkness, one must look for the light. One must be the light and find the light in others.)

Korvinian "Korbl" Ingellvar (he/him); Slayer Mourn Watcher

An infant dwarf was decidedly low on whatever list of expectations Mourn Watcher Konstanze Ingellvar had when she went out to perform her routine rituals in the Necropolis, but there it was. She took the child in, taught the ways of the Watchers as she parented, and her adoptee grew up among graves, bones, and spirits. Stanze knew from almost the start that her child would grow up to be a patient, thoughtful, respectful, and strong man -- despite the fact that the shortsighted would perceive him as a woman, and despite his youthful dreams of becoming one of the famed Nevarran dragonslayers. Luckily for him, his adoptive mother can be aptly described as "juuust this side of mad scientist," so she was happy to help him present how he wished to.

(Patient and thoughtful were qualities mirrored in Neve Gallus, and before long, the two of them were gravitating toward each other for more than just that.)

Irhim "Irri" Aldwir (he/him), Veil Ranger

The Veil Jumpers found the new Tal-Vashoth after he escaped from his platoon just outside Arlathan Forest. Once he'd convinced them he was no threat -- and once he'd been given some water -- he explained himself. He was an Ashaad of the garrison of Antaam that were held in reserve to march on Tevinter cities, but the forest just to their east reawakened something in him -- a curiosity and fascination with magic that he'd had to tamp down even before he was assigned to the Antaam. The pull of it became irresistible, and he ran. The Veil Jumpers, always in need of skilled scouts and fighters, eventually accepted him into their cohort, and he adopted the name Irhim -- loosely translated as "I am become" -- for the new self he found among the trees and ancient magic.

(The fascination extends to most kinds of magic -- especially Emmrich's gentle form of necromancy. It helps that Irri finds himself charmed by the mage himself too.)

Whitaker “Whit” Thorne (they/them), Grey Warden Champion

A Free Marcher by birth, Whit remembers well the day their little sister’s magic manifested — too soon after the fall of the Kirkwall Circle, and too close to the city itself, for the people in their village to react with anything but fear. They wanted no mages there, and they wanted no templars coming to collect mages, either. The Thornes were run out of town, at the cost of Whit’s father’s life. Their mother died of illness as a refugee on Tevinter’s borders, and at all of seventeen years old, Whit was not strong enough to protect their sister from the squad of Templars who found them not long after. It was sheer luck — and a suspicion of templars — that meant a Grey Warden found them in time to call the right of conscription to save Whit’s life. He managed to make the templars back off, and he did his best to comfort Whit and help them bury their sister. Whit did end up going with him and undergoing the Joining, and life as a Warden was kinder to them, somehow. But they weren’t about to let anyone else die if they could help it.

(And maybe being semi-exiled turned out okay, since it led them to meet a certain Lord of Fortune whose fire breath had Whit sweating for more than one reason.)

Kyrie “Kyr” Mercar (she/her), Shadow Dragon Evoker

Kyr has no memory of parents beyond a vague, early notion. She remembers only running with her fellow orphans and urchins, including her older sister, through Minrathous streets. Her magic was used to create distractions, get away from angry shop owners from whom their cabal stole, and ward off civilians who got pissed at a group of dirty kids for daring to exist in public. It’s difficult to say whether Kyr found the Shadow Dragons or vice versa — but what’s certain is that they nurtured the righteous anger in her and shaped her into something more directed and powerful than a kid who spat sparks. (Kinda bit them in the ass when she fucked up an entire slaver ring on her own, but she was starting to get restless in the small-time stuff anyway.)

(Then it’s suddenly very extremely big-time stuff, and the cynicism Kyr developed on the streets is challenged and softened by a bright-eyed and brilliant Veil Jumper.)

(bonus fact: the tinted glasses are because i unfortunately gave her the Migraine Haver trait)

[imamageinanotherworld]

My Rook, Riya Mercar, female elf shadow dragon rouge.

A few of my headcannons now.

Riya got the name Rook because she has a tendency to climb, as well as a general affection for birds. More often than not one of the highest places that she could get to was the Rookery, and she'd sometimes sleep up with the birds. (You can't tell me that Tevinter doesn't have people using birds to deliver messages like Leliana. They're too edgy to not to)

The tendency to climb continues. You know the one hidden place in the lighthouse at the top? Yeah she found that before she found the passage leading to it. She keeps disappearing up to there to catch a breath. It's her safe place.

She could go higher if she wanted too, but she knows that if anyone throws to climb up to follow her they would likely fall and hurt themselves so she doesn't. (Except for Lucanis. the little assassin boy would be fine)

She keeps giving the companions heart attacks because she can and will climb a sheer wall and jump from higher than safe. Some of those gaps that we as players can't jump, or those ledges that are just a hair too high? Yeah she can deal with them no problem. I feel like I'm understating this, she runs around rafters and roofs for fun.

The general affection for birds is pretty notable. If the inquisition had continued (it didn't on my save) and if Riya had been a little older and less involved with the shadow dragons, chances are she would have wound up over in the Inquisition's Rookery as one of Lelliana's people.

She can legitimately talk to the birds, I feel the need to emphasize.

The birds gossip and if she is nice to one literally every single bird in the area will hear about it in a day.

She keeps having birds fly up to her and steal her food or flock around her feet asking for hand outs.

It's borderline magic but every mage in the party has checked and there is nothing there.

Speaking of birds, Assan. Literally in love. This woman is his mother.

Assan keeps sneaking off to find Riya and making Davrin panic because the feathered baby wants to cuddle with his mom.

(I would like to say after the vault bit of Davrin's quest. You know the one with the skeletons, during that quest I was, in real life, yelling "NO MY BABY" when Assan dive bombed the Gloom Howler, because I thought he'd be hurt.)

Davrin and Riya have a joint custody agreement long before they start dating.

After Davrin and Riya get together, the couple finds themselves being pillows for Assan if they try and sleep in the same bed because the boy just wants to cuddle with his mom and dad.

Assan is very good at getting his parents to lay the fuck down and sleep because if one ends up sleeping then he'll go get the other and drag them into the room to get them to lay down and cuddle and be his pillow.

And if they both won't sleep he still drags one of them over and tackles them onto the bed and lays on top until they fall asleep.

Bonus!

The reason her hair is short is she got sick of it being caught on objects or intentionally grabbed and shaved it off into a boy's cut, and it's only recently that she's grown it back out

She has a feather collection. She had at least one from the most common kinds of birds. If she ever went to an event that needed dressing up, no one would be able to stop her from putting them in her hair.

[blightdaddy]

spoiler questions 20, 30, 43 for pasha 💕

YES yes thank you, friend!! Spoilers under the cut!

20) Which faction allies does Rook like best? Do they dislike anyone?

SO pasha is a veil jumper, they love being a veil jumper. the downside is the falling out with strife but if things had worked out a little differently, they'd still be with them. a little community of freaks who like to mess with old elvhen artifacts that are unstable and poke it to see what happens. they're scholars and pasha fits right in with them. it's what they're meant for!!! as far as a faction they dislike, i need to throw in a lil backstory! pasha played mentor to a young qunari mage named tamsin (my friend's rook). tamsin is basically pasha's daughter lol they're practically inseparable. tamsin's involved with lucanis which gives pasha some discomfort. they would rather have no involvement with the crows, they've got (what they consider) a pretty healthy fear of the crows. pasha feels it's unsafe and they'd rather keep their girl out any kind of danger. it's more of a brandishing a shotgun and asking what his intentions are bc tamsin isn't in any more danger than she already is with the veil jumpers. pasha is just a helicopter parent.

30) Does Rook give their companions any additional gifts

They give Emmrich that ass. I think Pasha's very sentimental - if they see a trinket or anything that reminds them of another person, they'll grab it for them. forming and maintaining new relationships is not easy for them but once you're in there... you permanently live in their brain.

43) What does Rook do if they can't sleep?

Pasha will do some stretches, exercises, try to read, or hang out outside (maybe do all of these outside). I think once they start establishing things with Emmrich, they might find themselves in his company a lot. Without trying, he soothes any anxiety they're feeling (even if they deny, deny, deny feeling anything). He's safe, he's kind and they WILL fall asleep on him. I might've been thinking Emmrich reading an old poem while touching their hair and Pasha just fuckin. snoring. What I'm saying is what if Pasha found love at the end of the world and it changed the trajectory of their life forever?

[mythalsknickers]

Meet My Rook;

~The Crows send their regards

Teigue De Riva was born 13th Cloudreach 9.21 Dragon, in Antiva. Born into the Antivan Crows, he remembers very little about his birth parents as they died during a bought of infighting amongst the crows. He was taken in by House De Riva as promising potential mage and crow. Around 9.30 during another scuffle of among Talons and rival families, he was kidnapped of the streets of Treviso and handed over to a group of Mage hunters from the Free Marches as means to cripple House De Riva. He was submitted to The Kirkwall Circle of Magi under the his dead name Taide De Riva. His apprenticeship was rough, between grappling with not feeling at home in his skin and the strife that was the Kirkwall Circle of Magi. He was often an apprentice targeted by Templars for just studying or existing. The Grand Enchanter in a rare moment working with the Knight-Commander Teigue was given the opportunity to harrow early, if he agreed to help the Templars hunt Malificarum. Having his harrowing did not improve things for him, rather it made the templars he was assigned to work with more aggressive towards him. Despite this he managed to gain at least five solo mage kills, and despite the early foundational training of the Crows, these kills were senseless and without any of the trappings of a kill worth making. It was a struggle he had and sometimes still reflects back on. When Kirkwall descended into chaos 9:37, he took his chance and managed to escape and make his way home to Antiva. Where he completed his training and became a full crow by the time he was nineteen, transitioning to Teigue shortly after reuniting with his House. The life a Crow, changed for him dramatically when Varric Tethras approached him in a cafe, "You are that mage kid that hunted with the templars from Kirkwall right? I need your brand of fire for a contract."

I briefly introduced Teigue in my return post but I wanted to do something a bit more formal, and I took inspiration from @eurodyne-d post they did for their Rook, Valentin Mercar . I am probably going to do this with all my characters until I can get my character page situation sorted at some point. Teigue does have a whole lore thread on a discord server with some friends and additionally I am working on his fanfiction Feathers on a Chessboard, where I can say his canon romance is Lucanis. I will always happily share information on them, feel free to ask.

[life-love-geekculture]

Age-wise, Viago was probably too young to be a Talon when Rook was in training (unless he became Talon as a teenager which seems…unlikely).

I will throw in this, however, as another potential perspective for people’s visceral reactions between the two (apologies for the rambling ahead):

She’s Lucanis and Illario’s grandmother.

In general the Crows’ training of their fledglings is bad. No question. But that added level of intimacy makes it feel worse somehow. Head canons aside, Viago & Rook aren’t related. End of the day it is very much a mentor-mentee relationship. There’s emotional distance built into that. And while the methods are bad (and I cannot emphasize enough how bad they are) we still walk away with the impression they were done with the intent to keep Rook alive. Especially in context of the, frankly, wild amount of freedom Viago lends Rook despite his/her/their habit of jumping into situations without a plan or approval.

Caterina, on the other hand, is all about control.

This is a woman whose own children, that she probably trained the same way as her grandsons, were subsequently murdered in a bid for power. Which, in response to, she refuses to relinquish her title and immediately turns around and repeats the process on the next generation. I believe there’s a line of dialogue during the rescue mission where Lucanis comments about running around with Illario in the estate as a young child. Educated guessing would suggest it wasn’t long after or just before both boys lost their parents, any siblings they had, aunts, uncles, and were thrown hard-core into Caterina’s training program. Like, the emotional whiplash is bad enough. But Caterina made it worse because she was more concerned with holding on to power than actually protecting her grandsons.

We can tell this by her favoritism towards Lucanis. Yes, he was the son of her favorite daughter, but had she actually been interested in her family itself, she would have put much more focus on training up Illario for the role of First Talon with Lucanis working as advisor/shadow to begin with. Yes, Illario’s “plan” ultimately sucked but the instinct for playing the game was there. We have evidence from the “Wigmaker Job” that he took what he thought he needed from Caterina’s training and made up the rest as he went along. A sign of independence which likely got him tagged as a threat growing up. Lucanis, in contrast, a much more empathetic & emotional character, internalized Caterina’s “training” as an attempt to please her. A move which she would see as making him more malleable and easier to train (control).

Even when she cedes the title of First Talon to Lucanis she gives it up in name only. The one thing he is able to accomplish is keeping Illario alive (a move Caterina takes an awfully long time to support, by the way). He tells Rook point blank his grandmother is still giving orders.

Caterina is the worst because her goals and the abuse she put both boys through was ultimately for selfish reasons. Viago and Teia have much more in common with the Threads of Minrathus (also, not great people but better than the alternative) when it comes to the logic of their decisions. And the fact Caterina hides behind the mask of “oh, my poor boy” makes me seriously consider wanting to punch an old woman.

TL;DR Viago may be an asshole, but Caterina was willing to put her family through hell for her own personal ends.

I have to say, while I don't begrudge anyone for it and anyone is absolutely free to have their own headcanons...

I am mighty confused by the vitriol people have for Caterina...And not for Viago? (Or Teia, but she's charming enough to get a pass, Caterina and Viago are both the stoic type, which is why I'm confused about the double standard)

Crow!Rook confirms their training was torture as well in banter, and it is understood that you're Viago's protege and were supervised by him, which gives very similar vibes to Illario and Lucanis being trained by Caterina.

And hell, if anything, he'd know and approve of any torture taking place to train you properly. In fact, I think given how much of an overachiever he is and how big the chip on his shoulder is, a potential Crow!Rook, as his "favorite", would be subjected to even worse kinds of training than regular fledglings.

But that's a headcanon, the fact continues to be, Viago is as much a Talon as Caterina is, and does what he thinks is best for his house, which involves torturing their very young recruits to make sure they are ready for the job they must do, which is not an easy one.

So why is Caterina a framed as a child abuser and Viago everyone's dream parental figure for their Rook? I am powerfully confused about this.

(If you hate Caterina because of her obvious favoritism towards Lucanis, please have a fantastic day and ignore this entire post, cuz you do indeed have a point, but this post is not about that.)

[rookedcrow]

he’d made a point to keep his hand in hers, even after she’d settled herself down beside him, safe and sound — and she wasn’t about to be the one to untangle them. there was an immense amount of comfort in a gesture that’s seemingly so small ( it wasn’t as if they could walk hand - in - hand like this down below in the streets proper — kisses exchanged in the shadows or late night visits may have been more intense, but somehow were still far easier to conceal. ) his hand in hers felt as intimately possessive as any of those.

it was just as easy to keep her thumb moving slowly back and forth against the side of his hand now; prompted by the occasional light squeeze he offers up as they sit shoulder to shoulder. ( she wonders silently to herself if she could pull his hand into her lap along with hers, but getting to sit quietly side by side like this without worrying if there were extra sets of eyes on them is enough. )

this little hideaway being one of many he’s got scattered across the city comes as no real surprise ---- that lucanis would find ways to keep bits and pieces of time ( and of the city ) for himself when there’s so much of him that’s pledged to others. it’s the difference between the two of them; she’d joined the crows a few years after losing her parents, she’d chosen to accept viago’s offer of this life and everything that came along with being a crow of antiva ( which, she mused with another brush of her thumb, also included the choice of entangling herself crossing paths with lucanis dellamorte ). he’d never had that choice. it was an inevitability. for as much as she felt indebted to treviso for continuing to give her a life, his burden would always feel greater.

which made a little hideaway like this ( several of them, apparently ) make sense — and all the more impressive that he’d managed to keep them secret in a city with eyes and ears everywhere. ( and now this one was her secret too, wasn’t it? a privilege she didn’t take lightly. it was sweet in a way. )

the question she’d posed had been about the city ------- or at least it had started out that way. mostly. but her words and the way she looked at him didn’t exactly square up. ( and as a crow she knew how to mask emotions; how to deliver honeyed words with only venom lurking there behind the eyes. but she forgets that part of her training so easily when she’s around him. it’s a reprieve she never seemed to realize she needed until it would happen. )

a coy little smile meets his, however slight — and once again manages to conjure up the warmth from earlier back into her face. “she’ll miss you too,” the view, treviso -– she’s content to continue to use either one ( or both ) as stand - ins for herself; even if both proxies are as threadbare as the draped fabric keeping the rest of treviso out. because it’s safer that way ---- at least for her. speaking in hypotheticals means she doesn’t have to put a name on what it is ---- what this is; what they are. eager kisses in dark corners and behind closed doors, lingering glances when no one was looking, shared beds on more than one occasion ------ with no name for it. but in a life when so much of who they were and what they were fell to the whims of someone higher up on the pecking order, undefined didn’t change the way she felt when he looked at her.

“it’ll be a dull few days. the view will suffer, i think. more than she’ll like to admit.”

a little tug on one of those threadbare proxies, and there’s less and less she can get away with putting it purely on treviso’s ability to live and breathe around them. nothing about treviso is dull; even the less - than - polished parts still find a way to radiate a light and energy you couldn’t find anywhere else, even in the rest of antiva. it’s a thread that leads elsewhere, and lucanis is clever enough to tug a little more if he likes.

“she’ll probably want to see you when you get back ....”

So much of his life was not his own. Predetermined by lineage, by geology, by an iron fist ... so many aspects of the person he was had been carefully crafted and formed by hands other than his own. No part of Lucanis Dellamorte could be traced back to an original idea ... everything had been insisted upon him. To be a Crow - taking after his parents, a dynasty inherited by fortune of name alone. To be the Mage-Killer - a specialization chosen by Caterina to make him more marketable. She made him the best, then she put an edge to that weapon nobody else could corner the market on. Elevated to Master Assassin by merit of his own skills (pushed onto him by a grandmother with cruel limits, and even then he wondered if she had any say about the position he currently held). The company he kept - a stark no given by a Higher Crow than himself, a head of house, someone he liked to imagine was something of a work friend.

Instead of letting her hand go Lucanis laced their fingers. Palm-to-palm, digits pressing into her knuckles. It was a simple gesture, far more intimate than he would ever admit aloud ... especially considering who they were, what they were doing and all in the name of ... no name at all. There was no official label or title for their flirtations, for stolen kisses and bedfellows that pretended they hardly spared a second glance at one-another when anyone else was present. But it was important. For more than one reason.

The first was that it was his choice.

The second was that it was her.

If he had to choose anywhere to be, anywhere in Thedas, right now ... it would be exactly where he was. Present company included. Eyes on the bay, the reflection of too many stars and a fat, glowing moon with the flickers of gentle waves lapping the mirror image askew. With the smell of salt and brine and maybe just a hint of mildew from the curtain every so often ---but mostly the scent of her whenever the breeze was kind. With her warm hand against his, her shoulder brushing his, and his foot dangling puckishly over the edge of their perch as if falling weren't even the most remote of concerns.

He hummed in response when she commented about more work, about where, about who with. He loved Illario. Despite all of their differences, despite the little things that irked him and itched his skin ... he was family. His methods were questionable at best sometimes but they worked. And maybe he didn't need someone just like himself to rely upon. He was all Lucanis had. Better than blood.

But a party, a fancy party, with Illario was probably just as bad as having teeth pulled.

No, he'd had a back tooth pulled out a few years ago. Cracked, but one of the extras. That was much less painful than waiting for Illario to finish preening.

No preening here. Just the occasional slightest of squeezes easily blamed on re-settling for the shifts that neither of them made. Just preferred company. Just his choice.

"I have a few little places like this stashed across Treviso. Caterina always has someone coming to fetch me for something." My time is never mine to spend as I like.

Even now he knew that there was an errand person looking for him. He was due back from the Markets. He was late. He should be preparing. He should he should he should. But nobody could find him here. Or any of the other little caches he had hidden around. Even if they stumbled upon it they might not think anything of it. It wasn't as if he were there all the time.

But he didn't mind Emmy knowing. There was some soft comfort in that. Something private.

He pushed the burgeoning warmth in his stomach back down.

Will you miss it terribly? When you're in Minrathous? The view?

Lucanis let his gaze linger on the bay for a moment longer. What he wouldn't do for Treviso ... a short list. This city was his first love, the poetry in the streets written into his bones. He could find music in the simplest of things, the beauty hidden beneath the most obvious of veneers. He'd always miss Treviso, but ---

When he answered his attention shifted fully onto her. Dark eyes considered her glittering emeralds, the line of lashes so full it looked like she'd applied charcoal to the lids. The honesty in the question, beyond the obvious veil.

Will you miss me terribly. That's what she meant.

Lucanis hummed his answer, let the slightest and laziest of smiles take his lips when he spoke.

"I will. More than I'd like to admit."

[moinsbienquekaworu]

I was not expecting such enthusiasm but I'm glad you like the idea too!!

I'm actually a bit of a 'what kind of a normal guy can I make that still fits with my aesthetic sensibilities' person, so I tend to make Some Guy. I love Just Some Guy™s very much... but by virtue of making a guy up for a grand story they have to end up more of a specialest boy :'). I do think making up a guy who would have the hardest time possible is a great guy-making-up philosophy though, I'm sure that leads to super interesting stuff.

For your viewing pleasure: the sillies!! So you have a better idea of who I'm talking about 😌

I'm not usually particularly into body-swapping, it's fun when I stumble upon it but it does not particularly live rent free in my head as a trope. But these two... They're really not doing the same thing, and they're not really the same person that much, but I made them with similar sensibilities and I played the games they exist within for similar reasons, and so they're similar facets of me. And of course all the characters I make that are facets of me should know about each other in some way or universe, because this is how I have fun.

Honestly I'm not particularly meaning to make it a story, it's what I think about to fall asleep to pleasant thoughts, and so when I was first thinking of it I fully imagined both of them would come out and just say "hi I can tell you like whoever I'm supposed to be so you should know, that's not me!". They're from universes with magic and they're friends with wizards and such, both of them could probably come out and say that, people would believe them and also be able to suggest solutions. (and they would have different eyes because I Think It's Cool - Constant's black sclera with Solaros' purple and pink irises) But now that you mention it, it doesn't have to be like that 🤔

I think it would be fun if they both independently decided to run with it. I imagine the first instance of it happening would be early-ish into the game, so I'm putting it after the grove party (which of course Constant helped save and not destroy, I couldn't just get the tieflings killed) and after recruiting everyone at the lighthouse and choosing to prioritize one of two cities during simultaneous bad guy attacks (Solaros went to Treviso because um. Well I want to romance Lucanis. Sorry Neve and Minrathous, it's not that we don't like you, we feel very bad about it).

So on one hand there's Constant, who want to be dependable and reliable and is willing to lie a little if it'll help the people they care about (think parents softening up bad news for kids), in a position where a few people are counting on whoever they are in difficult and upsetting circumstances; and on the other there's Solaros, who cares about saving people a lot and just had to make a choice with no good answer, in the shoes of someone's who's on a comparatively cute little quest. I figure Constant would try to pretend a little because clearly these guys don't need another problem, and only bring it up after a little while if it looks like they're stuck like that with no solution, and Solaros would resolve to take maybe a day of not having to save the world immediately and then try to figure out a way to get back (he's not going to abandon his companions, but you can't keep going forward unflinchingly all the time).

I think what would arouse the most suspicions beyond the classics like not answering to a different name or not remembering events they weren't here for is their combat styles. Constant is a land druid (maybe stars druid on a replay 👀) and Solaros is a mage I play mainly orb and dagger because that's what I think is fun to play, and those aren't diametrically opposed but they also don't really work the same. I think it would throw the BG3 companions for a loop if Constant, who's never used anything but a quarterstaff, switched out to a dagger for the day and struggled to cast spells, and same thing for the Veilguard companions if Solaros kept saying incantations when he neither needs to nor has ever done it before. Also opens up a path for them to realize it was mutual when their respective companions ask them about the weird way they fought yesterday that they aren't sticking with today... !

As a last addition (because I could keep going for a while on minute little details) here's the things they both do the same without realizing and that would unknowingly help sell the ruse: Solaros doesn't always ask dozens of questions like Constant but he does like to know what's up, and they both prefer talking their way out of trouble (and they both tend to manage it when the game gives you the opportunity). They both spend time with their companions on a story level (and not just mechanically to get quests! I have a whole list of what kind of things Constant does with their companions and I'll have to think of stuff for Solaros once I get to know the Veilguard companions better). If someone important tries to start shit with them they just stand their ground but if it's with their companions they'll let them handle it but also like. It's on sight. And I think they both like tea :) (Solaros canonically because you get to say that in the game, Constant because he likes plants)

ANYWAY so I like my characters a normal amount 😌 once again thanks for encouraging and listening to the OC show and tell!!

Hello, mutual reporting in for "doing whatever they want to you" duty 🫡 what I want to do tonight is tell you about my specialest little guy main characters I made for two video games 😌

On one hand we have Constant, my BG3 Tav, tiefling druid who likes being there for people, predictability and routine, and is very curious. On the other hand we have Solaros, my DA:tV Rook, an elven mage who's still Becoming Someone because we're like three quests and maybe 10h into the game, but who's shaping up to be a bit of a freak who prefers talking things through before getting into a fight and gets snarky when he maybe shouldn't. And they were both made with "what is coolest to me" as their main design criteria, as is the tradition when making my first character in a video game where you can make your guy (this means yellow-orange-y tiefling for Constant, pink and purple heterochromia elf for Solaros, and magic users for both)

Knowing this about them, I will set the scene that I've been daydreaming about for a few days on and off: imagine you are Some Guy who was just chilling at home, but then you get kidnapped by aliens and now you're on a quest to not turn into a weird tentacled alien, and also help some people along the way, because apparently you and the like six weirdos you're friends (??) with are adventurers now. And so you're about to go explore an abandoned temple, or a cave, or free a kid from harpies, whatever, and you got to bed after a quiet evening getting to know your travelling companions. And then you wake up, and you aren't in your tent, you're in a bedroom you've never seen, and you look like an elf with strange scars on your face, and when you get out of that room there's strangers sitting around a table talking strategy, and they and call you by a name you've never gone by, and act like they know you, and look up to you to lead them, but you've never met them.

Imagine you're from a race widely enslaved, but you were rediscovering your ancient magical culture up until last year, where you got recruited to help prevent one of your ancient gods (who's also some guy?) from messing with the fabric of reality, before succeeding but not 100%, and now you're recruiting people from all over the world to help with killing a few gods to maintain the fabric of reality. And so you're about to go make some headway on stopping the gods from fucking up the whole world, and you go to bed after a nice dinner where you talk about silly stuff with your new buddies, to get to know each other. And then you wake up, and you've got horns and a tail, and you're in a tent in a camp full of people who call you by a name you've never gone by, and act like they know you, and look up to you to lead them, but you've never met them.

Anyway so I think they should have a Your Name-esque thing going on except they're mostly just buddies. Because on top of being protagonists who are running around with their half-dozen of kooky companions trying to fight god(s), they are actually kind of similar! Constant was presented with the singular deity ("deity"...) of an alien race one of his friends belongs to, and they waved to her, and Solaros would do the same. Solaros was told by a high military authority he was spreading dangerous rumors and that he'd be sent to prison, and he went "um, no", and Constant also would "nuh-huh" someone like that.

Also they have the same taste in men (because I romanced my favorite companion with them both and I have a specific type in men. That type is "I can fix him", rogue type, traumatic past, acespec, "there are many straight women who want them to be daddy doms but I think they should get a hug and a blanket". Y'know, Astarion and Lucanis) And they're both not cis (Veilguard lets you do that!! meaningfully!! I'm roleplaying a trans guy!! in the game!! not just cosmetic top surgery!! he's talking about it in dialogue!!!). They should have weird bodyswapping shenanigans going on for a while and then they should be buddies, is my point.

Anyway so hi, hello, that was the pilot episode of me doing whatever I want to you. Tune in next time if we get the green light for... well, I can offer more OCs, or media opinions, or a doodle or two, or you can start on a specific topic if you'd like. Bye bye, a good timezone to you, and thanks for the space to type out my thoughts 😌

It's like reading a light novel, I want to steal your people and ideas now! I've got no experience in Dragon Age and I've played maybe a couple hours of BG3 at most, but it all sounds absolutely fascinating!

Obviously, every OC, especially game OCs, should follow the "what's coolest to me" rules. I usually go for whichever person would experience the most struggle in any given setting myself, and I love making characters extreme underdogs that have to rely on unconventional methods of achieving their solutions.

I love body swapping stuff, especially when the people don't know each other. I don't know why but it has always had a major appeal to me (probably because of memory loss or something idk) so I really really like the direction you're taking this story. Especially with people that act just similar enough that their peers wouldn't fully believe that they weren't just having an off day. The more I think about your story, the more I start to get in the mindset, it sounds awesome and like it'd be full of metaphors and that it'd make a great piece of written or spoken work, I'm in love <3333

Please continue to share anything and everything, I think it's all so fascinating and amazing and I want it injected into my bones <3333