#WHAT DO I NAME MY ROOK HELP I DIDN'T THINK THIS THROUGH

[americankimchi]

in true dragon age fashion it has been. a full hour. and i'm still not done with character creation 💀💀💀

[meltedbluecaterpillar]

I Don't Care!: Pomfiore

Heartslabyul - Savanaclaw - Octavinelle - Scarabia - Ignihyde - Diasomnia

Romantic Jealousy: Based on real or imagined threats to a romantic relationship. There could be a history of infidelity or flirtations; however, this could also be solely based on insecurities. Sexual/Suspicious Jealousy: Based on fears that a partner may have cheated or be engaged in inappropriate communication.

Does he get jealous?

Vil Schoenheit

Vil was aware that he had a jealous streak. Not that he would ever take it out on you. But he can't help his clinginess when Leona comes into the picture...

The two of you were sitting on the bleachers in the MagiShift stadium. You were the teams manager (through force and begging for you to help) so you came to watch them practice. Your job was mainly to keep track of everyone's time and keep score with Coach Vargas. Vil had no problem with the way you spent your time. You could do what you wanted when you wanted.

The problem he had was with who was consuming said time. You mentioned in passing how Leona 'wasn't that bad' and Vil couldn't bury the annoyance he felt. So he decided to join you today. Vil admired his glossy nails silently. Fingers outstretched before he sighed and glanced over at you. He watched as you clicked on a little stop watch, writing on a notepad numbers and names.

You were diligent with your task. Something he loved about you. A smile crossed his lips and he lifted his head. His eyes met Leona's, and he frowned. The beastman was standing on his broom. Arms crossed over his chest as some of the others raced back and forth chasing the heavy disc. They held eye contact before Leona clicked his tongue and went back to join his team.

"A tall child. How could I expect less." Vil grumbled to himself and moved closer to you. Watching the team circle around before returning you to his center of focus. "Oh my little sweet potato, after this why don't we go out?" He suggested as he pressed his lips against your temple.

A warmth filled your face as he continued to press kisses along the side of your face. "I'm not busy today. Why don't we have dinner tonight?" Vil suggested as he continued. You weren't sure what made him so affectionate. But you didn't mind it at all. You agreed with a smile, excited to leave your duties as the MagiShift manager for the day.

Rook Hunt

Rook has no reason to be jealous. He loves you with his entire being. But Azul does have a way with words...

"It is such a pleasure that you could join us." Azul cooed sweetly as he clasped his hands together. His eyes lingering on Rook. You sat at a small table with Azul, Idia, and Rook; your boyfriend. You had invited him to the Board Game club for a game of Old Maid. "Surely you will be bored joining us today... I know you would rather-"

"Non. I came on request." Rook shook his head, cutting off Azul as he motioned to you beside him. A smile on his face as Idia dealt the cards. Rook had been feeling uneasy ever since you joined the club. He was happy that you found a club that fit you the best. He liked Roi de Chambre. He usually liked Roi de Fort. There was a level of hostility in the air. Rook knew it was because he joined todays club session.

Azul must be fond of you. Rook could understand it, there was a reason why he quickly took you into his arms when he found the opportunity. The game of Old Maid was quiet. With just a glance, Rook could see that you had the Joker card in your dwindling deck. He didn't mind losing for you. "Let's see..." Azul hummed and his hand outstretched, reaching toward your hand. Rook's lips twitched into a frown when the merman's fingers brushed yours.

He took the Joker from your hand. Almost like he knew it was there. Rook worried that he was thinking about the situation too hard. The game was starting to feel strangely competitive. But not between the four of you. Just between him and Azul. He didn't want to get upset over a game. He didn't want to get upset over you having friends in your club. But Rook isn't stupid. And neither is Azul.

You smiled and continued with your turn, choosing to take a card from Idia who smiled to himself with a snicker, he was getting down to his last few cards as well. Rook didn't think he was capable of pettiness. At least he hoped he wasn't. But something in his brain screamed for him to play Azul's game. Something needed him to prove a point. And with that same calm smile, he reached towards Azul, and stole back the Joker card. "Très bien." He chuckled to himself as he quickly shuffled his cards around.

Epel Felmier

Epel already has his own insecurities. And that seems to become more apparent when Sebek opens his big mouth...

It was time for PE. Epel stood on the grassy field with his broom in hand. The sun was beating down and he had pulled his mop of lavender colored hair into a tiny ponytail. You were in the front, trying to steady yourself on your broom with Grim as the pilot. Sebek was right next to Epel, watching silently with a frown.

"The human is struggling..." He grumbled under his breath. Epel's eyebrow twitched. "They're fine." Epel didn't expect his tone to be so short. Maybe it was standing under the hot sun that was making him irritable. "You don't practice together?" Sebek asked softly and looked down at Epel, who gripped his broom much tighter. "I can tell. No need to explain yourself." Sebek grunted as Epel started to clench his jaw tight. The muscles straining in his face. Epel and Sebek didn't have many conversations unless you were the topic.

And you and Epel haven't told your friend group that the two of you began dating. It's only been a month. "I ain't ask for any opinions." He growled as the wood groaned under the grip of his palm. Before Sebek could retaliate, there was the sound of you and Grim yelping and a hard thud against the ground.

The students began to crowd around you as Coach Vargas blew his whistle. Waving everyone back to give you some space as Epel made his way to the front. Sebek was right behind him. You were holding onto your ankle. Grim's little paws were patting your shoulder as he fussed and told you it would be okay. "I'll take 'em to the nurse!" Epel offered quickly and Sebek clicked his tongue. "I don't think you can handle-"

"No one asked you!" Epel snapped as he kneeled next to you, lashing out at Sebek as the rest of the students either became silent or started to snicker. You looked shocked at the short outburst. A squeak passed your lips as Epel suddenly lifted you in his arms. Holding you with a small huff with no visible issue as he carried you all the way from the grassy field and to the nurses office. Grinding his teeth as he tried to let go of Sebeks mini commentary Epel never asked for.

[pomefioredove]

Hey Dove~

I was reading through the different headcannons and the mute reader really caught my attention. Could you possibly do the Vice Wardens (including Ruggie cuz he's basically second in command anyway) with Yuu that has a speech impediment? Basically they stutter/stumble on words, get them mixed up, pronounces them wrong, and maybe forgets certain words. And obviously with new arcana and magical words (and the weird ahh names some of these characters have) they can get pretty frusterated or embarressed.

You always have such good headcannons!! Feel free to throw in any other characters that you like to the mix as well!!

OH this hits close to home too. I stutter and mispronounce things when I do speak, so I'm using that for reference

twst x mute reader

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ reader with a speech impediment

summary: as described type of post: headcanons characters: trey, ruggie, jade, jamil, rook, lilia additional info: romantic or platonic, reader is gender neutral, reader is not specified to be yuu

see, I don't think Trey would say anything about it

he's not one to criticize strangeness

that would be rude, first of all

second of all, there's no such thing as "normal" at NRC

(even so, some people may point it out, but he's not one of them)

he doesn't have any trouble understanding you, either

he grew up with younger siblings who pronounced owl as "awa" and kitty as "shishi" until they were six

he's certainly patient

and he knows how to use context

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

honestly? Ruggie didn't even... notice?

for a while, he just thought you talked fast

he knows how it goes; you get excited or nervous or whatever, and you end up stumbling all over yourself

no biggie

then one day you come up to him all sad and teary, apologizing for a speech impediment he didn't even know you had, and he's like...

...oh! no!

of course he's not annoyed!

Ruggie's an adaptive guy, after all. when he wants something, he'll bend backwards for it

you think a little stuttering is gonna stop him from being friends with you?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

much like Trey, Jade doesn't say anything

he just watches you talk

and smiles

like this -> :)

it's not that he's particularly concerned about being rude, he's just...

observing

humans are such fascinating creatures, he thinks

he learns all of your quirks just by listening to you

which words you have trouble with, which ones you mix up and forget, which consonants you stumble over...

he teaches himself your language

and he becomes a sort of translator for you

any time someone is rude to you, he'll come out of nowhere and tell them everything you said in the exact order you said it

weird, but nice

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

to put it plainly, Jamil has bigger problems

whether or not he can understand you doesn't really matter to him

it's not his job to worry over you

then, you come to him asking for help, and...

...well, he's flattered

he can't deny he likes that you come to him for guidance before anyone else

because of this, (and because he had to learn how to control his own tongue when he was little), he takes pity on you

whether your goal is to work on your speech, or to simply feel less anxiety about it, he's there

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

is it cliche to say that Rook already knows exactly what you're thinking?

perhaps, but it's true

he's mastered the art of observation

he can read your thoughts in your expression, your body language, even the slightest twitch in your lips gives you away

he just knows

you don't have to be a good speaker, or a speaker at all, to communicate with Rook

(and he can do all the talking for you if you'd like, he'd probably enjoy that)

and, of course, he is of the opinion that there is beauty in everything

you don't need to be perfectly clear and concise for him to like you

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

now, I can't guarantee that Lilia won't tease a little

only in good fun, of course

and only if you respond in kind

but he does find it rather cute when you mispronounce something, or mix up your words

he won't correct you or interrupt you, either

he'll step in to help if you're really struggling, of course, but he thinks of you as capable

he does remind you to take breathers when you're getting too anxious about it, though

he cares <3

[felassan]

New today on DA:TV from Game Informer: 'A Deep Dive Into BioWare's Companion Design Philosophy In Dragon Age: The Veilguard'

"A Deep Dive Into BioWare's Companion Design Philosophy In Dragon Age: The Veilguard by Wesley LeBlanc on Jul 15, 2024 at 02:00 PM During my visit to BioWare in its Edmonton, Canada, office earlier this year for the current Game Informer cover story on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I heard a sentiment repeated throughout the day from the game's leads: in past Dragon Age games, BioWare stumbled onto great companions, but with Veilguard, it's the first game where the studio feels it purposefully and intentionally created great companions. As such, those companions are key to everything happening in Veilguard.  With such a significant emphasis on these characters, I spoke to some of the game's leads to learn precisely about BioWare's philosophy on companions in Veilguard.  [embedded link to DA:TV reveal trailer] "No, that is the case," BioWare general manager Gary McKay tells me when I ask if he agrees with the stumbled-onto-greatness sentiment. "I would first start with Dragon Age – each installment in this franchise has been different, so we didn't set out to make a game that was a sequel or the same game as before. We really wanted to do something different and we did push the envelope in a couple of areas, companions being one of them. Once we got knee deep into it, we really realized we had something special with these companions, again, around the motivations, the story arc, and it really started to become the centerpiece for this game.""

"The Philosophy Behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Companions Game director Corinne Busche agrees, adding that Veilguard's companions are "the most fully realized complex companions we've ever crafted." She also believes they're the Dragon Age series' best. "They're complicated, they have complicated problems, and that's what's interesting," she continues. "As much as I adore the companions and the journeys I've been on with them in past Dragon Age titles – previously, it feels like companions are going on an adventure with me, the main character, whether it's the Hero of Ferelden or Hawke, you name it. But in [Veilguard], in many ways, the companions are so fleshed out that it feels as though I'm going on a journey with them. I'm exploring how they think and feel; I'm helping them through their problems. We're working through their unique character arcs. They feel like my dear friends, and I absolutely adore them." Busche says these companions participate in the game's darker and more optimistic parts. "We've really moved into a place where you can have the highest of highs, and it can be colorful, it can be optimistic, but also, you can have the lowest of lows where it gets gritty, it gets painful, it gets quite dark. But throughout it all, there is a sense of optimism. And it creates this delightful throughline throughout the game."  When I ask creative director John Epler about BioWare's philosophy behind Veilguard's companions, he reveals a phrase the studio uses: Dragon Age is about characters, not causes.  "What that means for us is [...] let's take the Grey Wardens, for example – the Grey Wardens are an interesting faction but by themselves, they don't tell a story, but there are characters within that faction that do," he tells me. "And the same thing with other characters in the story. They represent these factions, they show the face of the other parts of Thedas and of the storytelling we really want to do, which, again, shows Thedas as this large, diverse living world that has things going on when you're not there.""

"Epler says one of BioWare's principles when creating Veilguard was that the world exists even when you – Rook – are not around. There are things, ancient conflicts, grudges, and more, that happen even when Rook isn't participating in them, he says.  "You kind of come in 'in media res' in some of these, so that's where we wanted to go with the companions," he says. "They have stories of their own. Where can Rook come into these stories, and what interesting ways can those stories develop not just based on themselves but also based on Rook's presence within them?" Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes adds that companions are the load-bearing pillars for everything in Veilguard, so "when you're designing them, it's not just designing a character; they're the face for their faction, the face for, in [some cases like Bellara Lutara], an entire area of the world." From his aesthetic-forward part of developing companions in Veilguard as the game's art director, he tells me Veilguard's characters are (hopefully) going to give cosplayers a challenge.  "The previous art director had the mindset we should make things easier for [cosplayers], which I think is a misunderstanding of cosplayers," Rhodes says. "We've seen the kind of challenges they're willing to take on, and so we've gone for, in some cases, a level of complexity and detail that I hope a lot of them are excited to rise to the challenge for." A Quick Detour: Neve Gallus"

"As Neve Gallus is the companion I spend the most time with during my visit to BioWare, I asked Epler about this character and her role in the game. Here's what I learned: "So Neve is a private investigator in Minrathous. Minrathous is the capital city of the Tevinter Empire. It’s also a mage-ocracy; mages run the entirety of the Empire – they’re all-powerful. A lot of them still believe in slavery, they keep slaves, it’s a very oppressive, totalitarian regime. And Neve is a member of the Shadow Dragons, which is a rebel faction within Thedas that fights back against this mage-ocracy, fights back against this oppressive, very damaging regime that’s taken over the city, because she believes there’s good, and she is there for the common people. So if you’re not a mage in Tevinter, you are lower than dirt for a lot of people. She and the Shadow Dragons, in general, fight back, but Neve, in particular, is this character that represents this more, ‘voice of the streets, the voice of the common people.’ In previous Dragon Age games, you go to Orlais, you meet Emperor Celene, you meet Briala; we wanted to have a character that showed not just what is Tevinter at the top, but what is the average person who lives in Tevinter. And she is very much about, again, fighting oppression, fighting tyranny and, as a private investigator, finding clues and ways through problems that aren’t maybe as action-focused as some of the other companions." Companions, In And Out Of Combat"

"Rook's companions in Veilguard have roles both in and out of combat, but since I only saw a few hours of this game (which is sure to be multiple dozens of hours long), I wanted to ask Busche about these roles and how they play out. Here's what I learned:  In Combat Bushce: "So companions as realized characters, we have to take that premise when we talk about how they show up in combat. These are their own people. They have their own behaviors; they have their own autonomy on the battlefield; they'll pick their own targets. As their plots progress, they'll learn how to use their abilities more competently, and it really feels like you're fighting alongside these realized characters in battle. So I love that, I love the believability of it. It feels like we're all in it together.  "But then when it comes time for the strategy, and the progression I might add, that's where a sense of teamwork comes into play as the leader of this party as Rook. When I open the ability wheel, I almost feel like we're huddling up. We're coming up with a game plan together. I see all the abilities that Harding has, and I see all that Bellara is capable of, and sometimes I'm using vulnerabilities synergistically. Maybe I'm slowing time with Bellara so that I can unleash devastating attacks with Harding, knocking down the enemy, and then me as Rook, rushing in and capitalizing on this setup they've created for me. It is a game about creating this organic sense of teamwork.  "Now, there are more explicit synergies as well. We very much have intentional combos where your companions can play off each other, you can queue up abilities between them, and each of those abilities will go off and have their effect. But it results in this massive detonation where you get enhanced effects, debuff the entire battlefield, all because of planning and teamwork. What makes it really cool is you can introduce Rook into that equation as well. One of my favorite things to do is upgrade some of Harding's abilities so she will automatically use some of these abilities that normally I'd have to instruct her to do. And she'll actually set my character up to execute that combo that, again, has that detonation effect." [embedded link to DA:TV gameplay reveal video]"

"Outside Combat Busche: "It's one of my favorite topics. I talked about the idea that these are fully realized characters, that they're very authentic and relatable. So outside of combat, what that means is they're going to have their own concerns, fears, distractions, and indeed, even their own sanctuaries, their own personal spaces. In our base of operations this time, our player hub, the Lighthouse, each of the companions has their own room. And what I love about it is it becomes a reflection of who they are. The more time you spend with them, as the game develops as you work through their arc, their room and their personalities will evolve and flourish and become more complete as they trust you more and you understand them better.  "What's interesting, you mentioned romance, the companions also develop romantically and I'm not just talking about with the main character Rook; I'm talking about each other. There are moments in the game where two of our companions fell in love with each other and I had to make some pretty challenging choices as it related to the quest we're on. And it broke my heart, it absolutely did [Editor's Note: I get the sense Busche is talking about a specific playthrough of Veilguard here – not a definitive sequence of events for every playthrough].  "So I would say, as you're adventuring with them, as you're returning to the Lighthouse and getting to know them – all these decisions and conversations and things you learn about them – it endears them to you in a way that I honestly haven't experienced before. And sometimes that fills me with joy and sometimes it breaks my heart." For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

[miroh4]

MANOSOUTA WEEK : DAY 4 : SWAP AU (A LOT of text + collection of illustrations)

so. it has come to this. THE day.

this au has been on my mind for such a long time, and i'm finally getting to share!

i'll be the first to admit that some things have not been thought of, so feel free to make em up!

TW FOR COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF BLOOD,

enjoy!

I call it "Turnabout Sacrifice"

this an overhaul of the story (made with the help of FEYA!!! THE SMARTEST PERSON EVER!!)

First thing to change:

Simeon ran away from the orphanage the day of presidents assassination, and Bronco was left to distract and take the fall, unbeknownst to Simeon. Simeon was the one to send the drawing and did not look back, staying with Kanis, but the drawing was pinned on Knight, and all three were after him, not Saint.

Another change is that Simeon is no longer the one to remember the car incident, Bronco is. and he resolves to take revenge FOR Simeon and himself, no matter the cost.

after enduring whatever-the-fuck, everything goes as we know. Knight becomes the presidents second-in-command (while knowing his secret and in hopes of getting to kill him) and Simeon joins the circus while keeping in contact with Kanis.

because he had not endured what he did at Fifi, Winner and Wangs hands, the threat of the past being relatively out of his mind AND not remembering what happened 18 years ago makes Simeons ditzy sweetheart persona obsolete. so he becomes a bitch

Knight, on the other hand, needs to be close to Wang and for him to find a confidant in him, to trust him with his life and not have a single suspicion about him. so, he adopts the persona of a soft lovable guy who is a little skittish and shy despite being as big as a fridge.

Sometime in the future, Knight and Saint reconnect (through Bronco basically stalking him) and start developing a relationship together.

Now onto the game.

TURNABOUT TRIGGER

First change to be had: Knight does not kill Rooke. Instead, it's Wang who does out of fear of being named a fraud, and naturally tries to pin it on the stupid little second-in-command, who would do anything for him, right after commencing the fake assassination.

Next change is that Simeon wasnt the one to think of the plan NOR to hire Shelly (idk who feel free to get creative). Still, the real assassination attempt commences, resulting in an injured Bronco, and the fake one begins.

Rooke is killed by Wang, and an "attempt" on Wangs life gets made. Miles Edgeworth is called.

Bronco presents as a sweet and helpful individual, a bit bashful and nervous, but otherwise competent and, strangely enough, averse to violence.

After some time, Miles starts suspecting Bronco, but then learns that Bronco only assisted Wang because he wanted to help Zeng Fa and didn't know his colleague would die!

THEN! Miles deduces that it was Wang. But what can you do against a president?

Knight is falsely arrested on the murder of Rooke as well as an attempted assassination.

THE IMPRISONED TURNABOUT

Next day, we learn of something horrible that had happened in prison.

Blood, a lot of it - belonging to Knight, with him nowhere to be seen, and a ring that supposedly belonged to him.

While the body can't be found - the suspicions fall on his best friend, who'd visited him yesterday.

So, Miles and Kay go investigate.

And they meet a bratty, arrogant rising star of the animal training world and Big Berry Circus - Simeon Saint! (slight spoiler to aa4 on the pic (line courtesy of Feya!))

He is cocky and rude, bragging about how he's "free do do anything" and immediately takes dislike towards Miles, yet has no choice but to accept his help.

While investigating, Kay and Miles learn of what was inside the case, and how it got there, as well as Simeon travelling to Knight without permission and with a huge cage to boot.

After determining that a chisel in the case might be Knights work (which it is in this AU - a LaGuarde lure), they turn to accuse him of trying to aid a criminal in escaping prison.

And he snaps.

Now Miles fully trusts Simeon. He tells him how he tried to get Knight to climb into a cage, "But Bronco was always the kind of guy to follow the law to the T. Nevermind the law being wrong..."

This is an inverse of that one scene from the finale of the game. The idea was proposed by @diableriezer and it near made me weep.

After more investigating we finally get on Fifi's trail, and get her to confess.

Knight's body is missing because he ran away from her wrath, and thus HE is presumed missing, although she claims that he couldn't have survived the attack.

In reality, he did. (cw blood)

(contains lyrics from "Evil" by Electroforez, a song about being obsessed and in love)

Kanis lied about not knowing him, and secretly patched him up with Helmut's help and helped him escape, so he'd finally take revenge.

Inherited and Forgotten turnabouts play out, second probably with a lot of changes which I didn't think of, but in the end Winner gets arrested, so does Gusto.

Knight hates Gusto with his whole heart, and wishes to rip it out for letting him and Saint suffer like that. He remembers his father, and he only wishes he got to kill him first.

Now, without further ado...

TURNABOUT FOR AGES

TURNABOUT SACRIFICE

We get evidence of Fifi, Blaise and Wang working together, and decide to finally confront the latter, only to learn that he went missing.

We find his corpse and realize that Simeon also hasn't been seen in a while. Learn from Kanis that his pup has gone to seek revenge, determine that it's Simeon the same way.

Weirdly enough, we do NOT find Saint at the circus

Regina says that he left in a hurry.

We determine that he'd gone to retrieve a piece of evidence from the crime scene, which in this case is the presidential plane because I thought it'd be rad.

There we find Knights "corpse", but it turns out he is asleep and Simeon is helping care for his wounds here, since he thought it'd be safe. They ask Knight if Simeon has harmed him, he says no.

We learn that Simeon has been notified of Knights location by Kanis.

When Miles attempts arrest, Knight quickly takes Simeon hostage, revealing himself to be Wangs killer.

Knight reveals his motivations, his story. Reveals that he'd been abandoned by everyone, even by his darling friend, and nobody was there for him. Despite that, he still forgives Simeon, because he is all he has, and all he wishes for is to finally stay together - leave and never look back on the horrors they've endured.

Unfortunately, it does not work out.

Saint is adamant that he wants to stay together, and he is truly grateful for the revenge, but that he didn't trust Saint with that, so how could he trust him?

After talking through things, and various threats from Knight, he concedes. But not in a way one would expect.

Knowing that he won't take being apart easily, Knight tells Simeon that there is only one road to go from there.

And pulls the trigger.

[what-eats-owls]

It matters how you do it

I finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard and had some big feelings about it. Spoilers for basically everything under the cut, and frankly, it won't make sense unless you've finished the game anyway.

First of all: I had a blast with this game. I didn't find Act 1 slow, I did find Act 2 a bit of a whack-a-mole, and then Act 3 kicks you in the kidney (complementary) while insisting it's for your own good.

I've seen some recurring complaints: that it lacks depth/edge/darkness, that it abandons previous lore, that the previous choices don't matter. I don't entirely disagree. To me, it felt like a massive Dragon Age 4 game that pivoted to a different, tighter game after complaints about bloat in Inquisition. The key is that when editing down, there's such a thing as trying to trim the fat and taking a chunk of the roast with it.

I enjoy the concept of Lucanis's character, and the voice actor sold the hell out of him, but the storyline felt like being taken to a museum and allowed to see one (1) beautiful unfinished sculpture. Why did Spite, specifically, work? We know the spirit of Justice became Vengeance by abomination, we knew Solas was Wisdom before he became Pride, so what was Spite before, and why wasn't that tied to Lucanis's own personal arc? (Doubly so if you romance him!)

Similarly, Harding was a delight, and her greenhouse was such a lovely little haven. I would have loved to see more explanation of the connection between plants and the titans, and how Harding's own personal struggles with rage connected to that of the titans. She has every reason to be angry and scared, and the game tells us she pushed that away—but we don't actually see her toxic positivity manifest to that degree, until she abruptly has an angry clone.

On the flip side, I loved the other five character quests, and I felt they had solid, poignant arcs that delivered. I also adored their interactions with the codex—if anything, I wanted to see more of that type of interaction on the screen. You have to fill in a lot of the character work for Rook yourself; Rook has all these interesting potential backgrounds, but I think starting the game playing through those, a la Origins, would have gone miles towards establishing more personal stakes up front and made for a stronger start.

So that's all my nitpicking. But let's talk about the bigger theme: It matters how you do it.

In the first Fade conversation with Solas, he gets so mad when Rook refuses to let him DARVO them about the consequences of his botched ritual. This makes way more sense when you understand he's literally imprisoned by his own regrets, and he needs Rook to have that same kind of regret in order to take his place. His entire arc is about rationalizing binary choices and shitty actions that hurt others in the name of a hypothetical greater good that he wants.

Solas can't engineer every binary choice Rook's forced into, but he uses Varric to maximize Rook's regret. He is trying to quite literally mold Rook into him, and the game is great at presenting this both as a coldblooded manipulation and a broken plea for validation—if you let it. You don't have to give Solas a moment of consideration; you don't have to take time to view his memories, or kill his demons, or listen to those scraps of Mythal still holding onto the good in him. You don't have to do any of it.

But you can. And in the end, it matters.

It matters because for every companion, you can encourage them to either be more nurturing/compassionate or destructive/closed off versions of themselves, and that is frequently tied to continuing or breaking from a cycle. (The exception is either Neve or, presumably, Lucanis, who are forced into the Hardened version depending on which city you save.) These aren't presented as morally opposing choices, just who you want them to be. You can see how the Grey Wardens fucked up bad with griffons and decide they have a better place. You can help Emmrich face his fear by finding deeper meaning in life instead of indefinitely postponing death. You can help them do things differently.

So when you get to the final choice in the game, you may have two options: physically force Solas into saving the Veil, or trick him into it. The kind of binary choice Solas has molded you into making by pelting you with cruelty and manipulation.

Or, if you've taken the time, you can get him to understand he's wrong. You bring out the people who saw the best in him and speak to what he's had to endure, even as you're showing him there's another way. You reach him not as Pride, but as Wisdom. And he goes willingly.

Ultimately, I think DA2 and Inquisition grappled with big questions of oppression and violence, faith and authority. It makes sense for those games to delve into harder, uglier subject matter, and ask you to make binary calls.

But my read of Veilguard is that, at its core, it's about how those decisions are meant to trap you in regret at best, and numb you to rationalizing cruelty at worst. It's why the companion who loses their home city becomes colder, more isolated, in response—more like Solas.

That's why it offers you a third way at the very end, but only if you've worked for it. A better way is possible, yet it has to be more than words. You have to understand where the pain comes from, what maintains and is being maintained by the current cycle. Then, and only then, can you break it.

I can't wait to play it again.

P.S. Utterly obsessed with the Trevisan fish merchant.

[butchvamp]

i finished Davrin's quest last before going into the endgame and i have a lot of mixed feelings about it. i know a lot of people were really upset with what they did to Isseya (i don't know anything about the Last Flight so i can't speak on that) but i think it was interesting what they tried to do-- the Grey Wardens have always asked "do the ends justify the means" and i think his quest has potential to tie up nicely with the overall theme of choice and regret-- Davrin choosing the Wardens, choosing that sacrifice versus Isseya, who was forced to follow orders and ultimately regrets her choice.

but Davrin's quest, like the majority of companion quests, is hindered by racism (thinly veiled anti-indigenous racism filtered through the elves as well as anti-black racism). we had a chance to explore real reasons why he felt compelled to leave his clan and join the Grey Wardens-- he's a monster hunter, sure, but he is also a protector. maybe he felt he could better protect them in this role? but Dragon Age loves their "the Dalish are boring and too stuck in the past and tradition, so i left to find something better" shtick, and they are clearly caught up in dichotomies in this game which we also see with Taash (and the rest of this quest, too). Davrin cant be Dalish and a Grey Warden and proud of both-- only one. but this doesn't even really align with Davrin's attitude that we see later.

i mean he named his griffon Assan, he clearly does hold the Dalish close, and we get to learn about how he used to tend the halla with Eldrin-- he comes back to this after surviving Weisshaupt, something he probably never imagined he'd be able to do, and i wish the game had dug into his feelings more rather than shifting immediately to focus on Assan.

Davrin survives Weisshaupt, he survives killing an archdemon, and he clearly has a lot of guilt about it-- Rook can tell them that he did the Wardens proud, but he retorts, "Did I? Because I'm still here and they're not." he made his choice, was prepared to make the sacrifice, and it was taken from him, and he survived when so many others died. "I feel like a blade sharpened all these years to confront the worst darkness in the world. And my blade struck true at Weisshaupt. What now?"

so now he has a new choice, one that he doesn't feel he's earned. and they try to convey this through the griffons, trained by the Grey Wardens for one singular task until it ultimately killed them... but now reborn, Rook and Davrin are given the chance to release them from their service to the Wardens and potentially find a new path. like Davrin, they weren't supposed to survive, either, and only did because of Isseya. throughout the quest we can see Davrin shift his opinion of the Gloom Howler, insisting on calling her Isseya, giving her back her name in the end to stop her. we see other wardens who have lived past their calling, past their "purpose," and how twisted they have become-- Davrin clearly sees some part of himself reflected in Isseya because of this, on top of being both a Grey Warden and an elf, too. unlike Isseya, though, Davrin has pushed through his guilt and regret and found new purpose with the griffons.

i think this is a good set-up. but in my opinion the execution is weak because after a certain point the story just starts to ignore Davrin in favor of the griffons. Davrin is the one that is both the monster hunter and the shepherd, but we only focus on Assan, and the ultimate choice is about the griffons, not Davrin himself. with the blight ending, why didn't we get to discuss what it is Davrin wants to do once everything is over? does he want to return to the Grey Wardens? he fulfilled his purpose, he killed an archdemon. does he want to become the griffons' shepherd now instead? there is no option, the griffons (besides Assan) are just handed over to someone else in the end. does Davrin join them after the final battle? does he help train them with Evka and Antoine? or does he leave the wardens and join Eldrin in Arlathan? the fake-out goodbye with Assan makes it seem like he doesn't do either, but we really don't know, since his end slide in the credits is just about the fucking griffons! it's so frustrating.

i also think him being the possible sacrifice at the end is a poor choice. the point of Davrin's story is that he survives. he survives! he has to live with it and accept it and find a way to move forward, reconnecting-- through raising Assan-- with a life he had previously sworn off. all of that development only for the game to potentially just kill him anyways.

Davrin has some of the best banter and relationships in the game, he deserved better, i really wish we got to explore his character more beyond using him as a stepping stone to reestablish griffons in Thedas.

[sunny374940]

Don't do that again

And I'm back at it with those two. Emmrich gets sick and won't admit he needs help. Free continuation of my story Adventures in baking, which is here https://www.tumblr.com/sunny374940/769611729043931136/adventures-in-baking?source=share

.................

Rook was bored. There were no outings planned for the day, he wasn't on cooking or laundry duty and he had been poking around the Lighthouse for a better part of the morning. The others were all engaged in some of their own projects and he didn't want to intrude.

He was moping outside on the stairway, worrying about the battles they were yet to face, when he decided to see what Emmrich was doing. Maybe he could convince him to take a break and spend some time with him. Yeah, that would cheer him up. And surely Emmrich would be happy to see his partner? lover? something? They haven't really given a name yet to whatever it was between them and it was driving Rook mad. But right now he wanted company, not to solve the mystery of their relationship, so he got up and went to Emmrich's room.

Rook knocked on the door and waited for Emmrich to answer. But there was no sound coming through the door, so Rook opened it carefully and entered the room. Emmrich was sitting at his desk, slumped over a thick tome. He didn't seem to have heard Rook’s knocking and startled when he saw him approach. The abrupt shake of his body sent him into a coughing fit. Rook eyed him suspiciously.

“Emmrich, are you alright?”

“Yes dear, right as rain,” Emmrich said hoarsely. He cleared his throat and appeared to reconsider his answer. “Perhaps a spot of cold, nothing to worry about, I assure you.” He tried for an encouraging smile, but its effect was quite diminished by his red cheeks and glassy eyes.

“You have a fever,” Rook accused him with narrowed eyes. “You should rest. You’re always badgering us to take a break and now you won’t take your own advice.” There was a tinge of worry in Rook’s voice.

“Nonsense,” said Emmrich. “I am perfectly capable of judging my needs and right now I need to work. Was there something you wanted? Or have you only come to pester me about my supposedly failing health?” He said tersely. There were dark circles around his eyes and his hands seemed to be trembling where they were resting on the desk.

Rook’s eyes widened at Emmrich's words. "I see you are busy,” he said, feeling more than a little hurt. “I’ll leave you to your work, see you around, Emmrich.” He turned, not meeting Emmrich's eyes, and left the room. He didn't hear the quiet “Rook, wait”, as he was closing the door. He ran straight to Harding, to enlist her help.

“Hi Rook, whatcha doing?” she asked, looking up from her gardening with an easy smile.

“Emmrich'ssickIneedyourhelpplease,” he spilled in a single breath.

“Woah, slow down, I didn't catch all of that,” she laughed, but her merriment was quickly exchanged for concern, when she saw the worry on his face.

He took a deep breath, wiping a hand across his face, and tried again. “I went to see Emmrich and he seems to have a fever and he's coughing horribly. And he's being stubborn and insisting that he's fine,” Rook sighed. “I don't know anything about medicine, but you understand herbs, right? Do you have anything that could help him?” he asked hopefully.

“Hmm,” she hummed, thinking for a moment. “I've managed to grow thyme and peppermint here, those could work. Let's gather some and we'll go make him tea. Oh, and my Ma swears by chicken soup, she would make me some every time I was sick as a kid. Aw, but he doesn't eat meat, so that's out the window. We could maybe ask Lucanis for help figuring something out?”

“You’re the best,” Rook smiled brightly. “Let’s get to it.” They picked some of the herbs and walked together to the kitchen. Lucanis was standing at the counter, cutting up vegetables for lunch.

"Hello, Rook. Have you come to make a mess of the kitchen again?” he teased.

Rook opened his mouth to defend himself, but Harding spoke up first. “Actually, we need your help, Emmrich is sick and we thought some soup might make him feel better. And herbal tea, but I can make that.”

“Mierda, I told him that all that trudging in the nasty water in the Wetlands was bad for him,” Lucanis sighed. “He was shivering a lot the last time you came back.”

Rook cursed himself internally. Emmrich asked to be included in their expeditions to Hossberg, saying something about putting the spirits of the dead there to rest and Rook didn't even notice that he was suffering the whole time.

Harding placed a hand on his arm. “Hey, he's gonna be fine,” she said. “I can see you beating yourself up, but it's not your fault. He can make his own choices.” She gave him a small smile. “Let's get to work, so you can go back to him, alright?”

“Alright,” he said gratefully and went to fetch water. As they were brewing the tea and making a start on the soup, the kitchen door opened and Emmrich staggered inside, leaning on a walking stick with white knuckled hands.

"Rook, you’re here,” he rasped, chest heaving with the effort of staying upright. “I meant to apo-” He got no further than that and fell down on the floor unconscious. They rushed forward to help him.

“Is. He. Dead?”

“Spite, for fuck’s sake,” Lucanis mumbled wearily. Though Emmrich wasn't looking very much alive from Rook's viewpoint. The redness of his cheeks from earlier that morning had been exchanged for a sickly pallor, the circles around his eyes were even more pronounced and his breath was coming quick and shallow. Rook stood frozen to the spot, unable to act in the face of Emmrich's collapse.

It was his fault, again and again. Why did he have to drag Emmrich everywhere? And why didn't he notice sooner that something was wrong? He couldn't bear to lose him- But Harding's words cut through his self-pity.

"Rook, come on, help us get him to bed, he's burning up!”

“Shit, yeah, sorry,” Rook stammered and rushed to assist them. Together they managed to move Emmrich into his bed and Rook was left in charge of the patient, while Harding and Lucanis brought in the tea and soup. He got the fire going and dragged a chair over to Emmrich's bedside.

“Right as rain, my ass,” Rook grumbled as he was mopping Emmrich's brow with a damp cloth, trying to bring down the fever that was ravaging his body.

At last Emmrich's eyes opened. He looked around blearily, until his eyes alighted on Rook's face.

“Hello there,” he said, his voice so weak it made Rook wince.

“Hi. Are you still going to insist that you're fine?” Rook asked, his annoyance at Emmrich not caring for himself coming back again now that he didn't have to worry whether he would wake up. Whether he would make it…

Emmrich glanced aside, looking embarrassed. “I… am sorry about earlier. I truly didn't want you to worry about me. You have so much on your plate without me adding to it.”

Rook chuckled mirthlessly. He was wringing out the cloth into a bowl on the nightstand without looking at Emmrich and said: “Yeah, well, I think I ended up worrying a lot more, so that didn't work out much.”

He turned back to him and immediately regretted his words at the look of profound sadness on Emmrich's face. He found his hand where it was lying on the bedcovers and gave it a small squeeze.

“Hey,” he said softly. “I'm not angry, you just scared me. I was worried I'd lose you. Just… don't do that again, alright?”

Emmrich simply nodded, the small movement drawing another coughing fit out of him. Rook helped him sit up and pressed the tea into his hands. Emmrich drank gratefully, a little color returning to his cheeks. He leaned back against the headrest and looked at Rook with a shy smile.

“Would you care to keep me company a while longer? I hear bedrest is an awfully dull endeavor without the right companion.”

Emmrich patted the space in bed next to him, inviting Rook to join him there. Rook wasted no time getting on the bed, settling close to Emmrich, shoulders touching. They sat there, Rook doing most of the talking, until he noticed that Emmrich had fallen asleep, head leaning against Rook's shoulder, his breath coming deeper, calmer. Rook smiled to himself and closed his eyes as well, enjoying his partner's presence.

[twstfanblog]

*~Toddler Chronicles-3rd Years PT.1~*

A/N: I have no excuses. I've just been hoarding my writing and trying to stack finished stories and post them out when I have depressive episodes—just to make sure I have something for you all! So anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this part. The series is going to be so full of cute baby shenanigans that you'll have a toothache. Thank you again to @bun-lapin for letting me use their wonderful OCs! They are so fun to chew on... Word Count: 6.3K Pairings: Alluded Ruggie/Leona Warnings: Needles, Children, Me typing out a country accent, Google translate french

Starter, Pt 1

Ruggie had only felt fear so strongly he could taste it twice in his life. The first was when he was five and awoke in his hut with his grandma nowhere in sight. The second was when he was twelve and a drunk man had gripped at his arm to the point it bruised him for days.

And now he can say he's tasted fear three times. The third being he realized the second prince of the Savanna had been turned into a four-year-old and was missing. Anyone left in Savanaclaw that weekend morning was out and searching, using every nose and ear in the dorm to hunt down their missing leader.

Ruggie had to stop after an hour, his panicked breathing pulling in the scent of his search party more than the sandy flora he was looking for. He stood to the side, his head in his hands while his thoughts raced on what could have befallen the defenseless toddler that a pack couldn't find him.

“Ruggie!”

He looks up, not even trying to hide the tears pooling in his eyes. A rhino beastman, a third-year who heard Leona was missing and the pure distress in Ruggie’s voice quickly helped mobilize the dorm, stood before him. He shook his head, “We've searched the gardens side to side, we've got teams combing the woods. The school and coliseum are next for the beta teams, but we haven’t found anything.”

Ruggie’s sigh was ragged, dropping his head back down to grip at his hair in frustration. Dropping to the ground in a squat as he started to rock in a self-soothing motion. 

The third-year sighed along with him, folding his arms as he looked out to the campus, “The ‘Emergency Protocol’ for a lost member is normally Rook…but you said he was four, too, right?”

“Yeah…”

“...” He tilted his head, a questioning sneer showing his teeth, “Why are they four?”

“If I fucking knew, do you think I would be five steps away from a heart attack?”

“Okay…geeze…” The third-year turns around hearing someone call his name. With a nod to them, he turns back to Ruggie, “Cool your head. You know Leona best and you're in charge when he's not available. If anyone could figure out where he went it'll be you.”

As the other beastman left, Ruggie was left to calm himself. Once he could breathe without the laborious tug of his own nerves, he really thought. Leona had very key areas he went to, all secluded away from others as he was always more comfortable alone. But those areas were also easily accessible, a factor that the possibly scared four-year-old no doubt didn't care for.

Away from others, carefully hidden, familiar…

Ruggie’s eyes snapped open, jumping from his position and bolting back to the empty dorm. His hands braced against one of the open-air window sills, hopping through it with ease as he sprinted into the faux savanna their dorm resided in.

In his first year, before they had started their situationship deal, Ruggie remembers waking up in the middle of the night. Nothing serious, just thirsty, so he left his room. But on his way to the kitchen, he saw Leona outside of the dorm's walls and walking into the fields of scattered vegetation and rocks. Ruggie never asked where he was going, but that memory was enough to tell him Leona had more places to hide than he thought.

Tracking Leona became almost laughably easy once he was far enough from the dorm, after a while the only smell was Leona in the magically sterile lands. A scent he followed to a small cave, the opening semi-hidden from view by a large rock resting in front of the opening and the amount of weeds growing from the top. Brushing the strands of grass aside he bit his tongue to hold in the urge to bark out laughs at the scene before him.

It was a pretty sweet setup, by Ruggie’s standards. A large rug had been laid out on the ground, softening the area while also keeping the dirt trapped underneath it. There was a low table at the center of space, the remnants of a quick meal by way of multiple snack wrappers and an empty juice bottle. But the best thing was the ‘bed’. A pile of old blankets and pillows all pressed into the corner, a tiny mass with reddish brown hair swimming in a daishiki resting on it. As always, Leona slept with his back to the entrance, laying in a curled up ball with his tail laid out behind him.

Ruggie stepped into the area as slowly as he could. Yeah, Leona was four, but he was still Leona. And Ruggie did not want to see what the potentially scared toddler could do to him in an enclosed space. He couldn't stop the swear he mutters, seeing a single tiny ear suddenly flick around and point toward him. He sunk to his knees, hands held up in a motion of surrender as Leona slowly woke up, “Hey…hey there, bud. You ok?”

The kid turned, a big green eye full of distrust peering at Ruggie as if daring him to move. Before long Leona had moved to fully face Ruggie, sniffing the air a few times before narrowing his eyes and wrinkling his nose, “You smell like the sheets in that room…”

Nodding, Ruggie tries to walk on his knees, one step for every few seconds to not startle the toddler, “Yeah. I do your laundry, it smells like me sometimes. I'm Ruggie, I…I take care of you here.”

Leona did not look pleased in the slightest that Ruggie was getting closer, but made no move past the adorable sneer, “Where's here? If you're trying to get money you picked the wrong kid.”

Ruggie didn't know if that was the inkling of something terribly sad or if Leona was actively threatening him and he didn't care to find out. He chuckles, one-half hobble of a step makeing Leona tense up, his poker face pinching together as he struggles to hold it together. Ruggie takes two knee steps back.

“I'm not dangerous. Hell, I think you'd wipe the floor with me anyway. I haven't had breakfast yet.”

Leona eased, his face slowly morphing into a pout and placing his tiny hands onto his stomach as he looked to the side, “I haven't either…”

Ruggie chuckles, eyes looking to the table and the empty wrappers, “You haven't?” He snorts at the little growl of a huff Leona lets out. He turns back to the kid, his smile turning soft as he held a hand out, “How about we get out of here and I make you some food? You can call Kipaji and we can go from there…”

“Kifaji…?”

Name dropping the aid was the right move, Leona's eyes lighting up at the familiar name before he schools his expression again. He wrings the edge of the now oversized sleep shirt in a show of nervousness. Sniffing the air, Leona wasn't able to smell anything pointing toward malice from the hyena. If anything it calmed him in a sense, the scent of something sweet with the earthy smell of dandelions, the same smell clinging to the fibers of the room he woke up in. 

Ruggie kept his hand outstretched, breathing in relief when Leona finally walked closer and grabbed at his fingers with both of his hands. the sophomore stands, his scrawny hand wrapping securely around one of Leona's, “Let's get you a good meal then. You're so tiny; I gotta make sure you're well-fed!”

Leona pouts, following as the older boy guides them out of the little sanctuary, “I'm not that small for my age…”

Epel sighed, placing two plates down in front of the toddlers, “Here. Some nice and filling breakfast. Y'all want somethin’ to drink?”

Vil looked up, the long sleeves of his button-up pajamas neatly cuffed to allow his hands to be free of the fabric. He tilted his head, purple eyes curious, “You talk weird…Can I have peach juice?” he looked to his plate, smiling as he took notice of the gold swirls along the rim.

“...” Epel sighed, quirking his lip as he rolled his eyes. He couldn't smack the little bugger across the back of his head, he was four, he was going to say whatever was on his mind. 

While Vil started to eat his breakfast, buttered toast and cut-up fruit just as he had requested, Rook was pouting, poking at his food in mild confusion.

“Rook?” The child snaps up, looking to Epel at the sound of his name, “Ya okay bud? Do ya not like ya food?”

“...” Rook pouted, eyebrows pinching together before he turned to Vil. He patted Vil on his shoulder, calling him to lean closer to whisper into his ear.

Vil hummed, nodding and swallowing his food before looking at Epel, “You got his food wrong.”

“Ah…how!?” Epel gestured to the bell pepper omelet on Rook's plate, “You said he wanted eggs and bell pepper! Did he want them raw!?”

“Don't yell at me!” Vil huffed, his tiny nose scrunched up as he slapped his hand to the table, “He told me you made it weird. You're the big kid, you should know what little kids need.”

Epel rolled his eyes so hard he nearly fell. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down before speaking to Rook, “What's wrong with it? What'd ah get wrong?”

Rook only looked at him confused, blinking a few times before mumbling a few words to Vil. The other blonde perked up again, swallowing his food before he responded in stilted Florian. Epel watched the back and forth, eyes following and wondering why…they were speaking in the other other language…

Vil nodded after a while, turning to Epel, “You made it wrong.”

“What did ah make wrong?” How could such a cute kid be so annoying in this small amount of time?

Sighing, Vil gestured to the omelet on Rook's plate, the other child finally picking at the food to eat it in tiny bites, “His food! You made it wrong!”

Epel gestured to the plate almost in a hysterical fashion, “Ya said he wanted eggs and peppers!?”

The pout Vil pulls is cute, Epel can't lie. But the glare he gave him was all too familiar to the disapproving stare of his 18-year-old self, “That's what he said he wanted! That…Rook, qu'est-ce que tu voulais?” *

“Shakshuka! Mon papa le fait pour moi, mon frère et ma sœur. Il n'y a pas des tomates…”

Nodding, Vil passed over a few chunks of his fruit medley to Rook, turning to glare at Epel, “You forgot the tomatoes.”

Sighing once again, Epel braced against the table and leaned closer to Rook, “Lil guy, ‘ou're gonna need to communicate with me. What is Shakshuka?”

Rook blinked his two big green eyes, tilting his to side as he gave Epel a look of pure confusion.

Vil leaned past Rook, cupping his mouth with both hands to loudly whisper, “I don't think he knows Common yet…”

“...”

Oh, that…that was bad. Epel forgot that Rook was one of the younger third-years; most kids didn't start learning the worldly language of Common until they were around four or prepping to enter the school system. He could make the assumption that the other third-years had at least started their introductory lessons, allowing the school's translation charm to be properly activated for them still.

Epel looked to Vil, trying to keep himself from looking concerned, “Wait, why? He should at least know a few words by now?”

Another brief conversation in Florian between the toddlers, Vil turning to Epel, “He said his mommy said he wasn't getting lessons until he was five.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Epel breathed out. A new annoyance to this pile of nonsense that has become his school life.

Crewel sighed, leaned over his desk as though it was the only thing keeping him up. brushing his hair from his eyes he looked at the group of students and toddlers gathered in his homeroom. The toddlers all dressed in makeshift clothing of oversized shirts, socks, and magically resized shoes.

Riddle stood behind his two turned juniors, eyes watching them like a hawk. His gray pupils moving back and forth to make sure neither child was acting out. A helicopter guardian move that proved unnecessary since both children were sharing a chair and crowded against each other, looking with wide eyes at whatever was on Cater’s phone.

Ruggie stood still with a blank expression, for a second Crewel had feared that the Savanaclaw students hadn't managed to find Leona. Only to see tiny hands creep from behind Ruggie’s head to tug at the corners of his mouth. An equally tiny face peeking from Ruggie’s shoulder and demanding to know when he was going to be fed again.

Epel sat in a chair, eyes glaring straight ahead in purely concealed annoyance. In his lap was Vil, the toddler quietly whispering in a harsh tone as he held and picked at Epel's nails. Clearly scolding him for having dirt under his nails and the small nicks on his fingers. In contrast, Rook was comfortably seated on Epel's shoulders. The other child smiling and having fun messing with the freshman’s hair by running his hands through it and trying to pull it into pigtails.

Ortho was the calmest, Idia practically swimming in his standard hoodie from Ortho's arms. The junior's long hair had shortened dramatically, now a fluffy halo of blue flames compared to the tail it was before. He sat curled into Ortho's arms, his mouth covered by his hoodie sleeve as he nervously glanced around the room and chewed on the fabric.

The most contrasted pair were Malleus and Lilia. While Mallues stood on the ground, holding onto a folded over Sebek's hand and calm, Lilia…

Silver held the still hissing and yowling child by the arms and as far away from his body as possible. The long-haired bat fae was kicking and squirming, nearly fighting for his life to escape Silver's hold. Though from how he kept angling his head and biting into the fabric of the shirt, Crewel could only think it was also a demand to be freed from the prison called clothing.

Crewel groans, covering his face with both his hands. Soon Hui-Yan enters the room, looking annoyed as she tips her head toward Crewel in greeting, “I’ve alerted the other teachers, no one else seems to be affected so I believe it was just this group affected…”

“Uh…” Ruggie reached up, Finally pulling Leona's hands off of his face and moving to hold the toddler to his front, “So…I know they have these meetings every now and again. I help Leona make stuff for them sometimes. That's most likely where they got spelled or dosed…”

Riddle hummed, eyes still locked on his unbothered charges, “A potion makes the most sense…it would explain the delayed reaction more than a spell-Cater, don’t you dare open that message!” He reaches down, pulling the phone away from Cater’s little hands and ignoring his and Trey’s whining.

“...” Crewel sighed again, reminding himself that he had a bottle of scotch calling his name once this whole event was settled, “What potion even does this…? Bucchi, do you have any idea how they could have dosed?”

“Leona was making a big fuss last night on Malleus fuc-” He nearly bit his tongue, closing his mouth as nearly everyone’s eyes snapped to him, basically daring him to finish his sentence, “...He said Malleus messed up the drink mix he brought and it tasted bad…”

Silver sighed, trying his best to rework his hold on Lilia as the child managed to wiggle one of his arms free from his hand, “I remember…Kalim came over a day or so ago with various syrups and sodas…Malleus just said they were mixing things for fun but it must have been for this meeting- Ow.” He groaned frowning at the growling child digging his fangs into his hand, “Please, stop biting me…”

“I don’t think Kalim al Asim would bring anything that contained magical properties. So that leaves the Scarabia and the Diasomnia dorm as the prime location for a third-party to slip something into the beverage.” Ortho nodded at his reasoning, giving his brother a worried glance, “My most present concern is what could have done this. It was strong enough to effect full-blooded fae but weak enough to humans to ‘deage’ them  both to the same age.”

“...No?” Sebek spoke quietly, eyes glancing between Malleus in his arms and Lilia wrapped around Silver's arm and biting into his wrist, “They're…they're not. Waka-sama! Do you know how old you are?”

Malleus had only jumped a bit at the sudden volume increase that was Sebek’s voice before calming back down, “I'm forty…”

“...”

Crewel pinched the bridge of his nose, counting back in his head to calm his rising blood pressure. He grabbed his phone with one hand, texting Oster as he searched in his other coat pocket, “I’ll need to do some tests to determine what’s in their systems. Not to mention just making sure it’s not actively hurting them…”

Epel spoke up, Vil moving from his hands to poking and pulling at his face claiming he was going to get wrinkles if he kept glaring, “How are you gonna test it?”

“Blood sample.” Crewel then pulled what they could only conceive as the biggest-looking syringe any of them had ever seen. Silver and Sebek both only seeing one of such style in the valley since it seemed more modern needles weren’t so…comically terrifying.

…

Every child once in a relative calm had started to sob the second the syringe was brought out, each wailing and struggling to escape the room or their guardians' hold once they realized they were going to be stuck with the insanely scary needle.

Silver was fighting to keep Lilia from kicking him in the throat in his efforts to break free of his hold. Sebek wasn’t any better as Malleus whimpered and whined, the lights flickering the more distressed he became as the clouds darkened outside. Ruggie had Leona on his head, the child hissing and trying to tug Ruggie by the ears to demand he turn around to leave the room. Epel and Riddle had it the worst. Both of the smaller boys tried to strong-arm two wailing toddlers from flinging themselves to the ground.

Riddle yells, face red both from overexertion and rage, “Why do you have a sterile syringe in your coat pocket!?”

“Don’t you bark at me, Rosehearts! I’ll keep what I need to deal with you lot of rowdy puppies!” The teacher groaned, the sound of wailing children something he had no desire to ever hear. 

Hui-Yan was no better as the woman stood almost frozen beside him with her eyes jumping from one crying kid to the other. She leaned over, eyes glancing to Crewel’s phone to see what he had texted the other science teacher, “Is Oster bringing more syringes or are you going to draw from each of them?”

“... I'm not using the same needle on all of them Hui-Yan.”

“Okay.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I just assumed that’s what you’d do.”

“Why-”

“Um!”

Crewel and Hui-Yan look in surprise. The voice was squeakier but Idia was clearly the child to speak out. He was making direct eye contact, pulling his face from his sleeve and nodding his head.

“I can go first! To show them it’s not scary.”

“O-oh…Thank you, Idia…?” Both teachers glanced at each other, almost asking if they had heard the same thing. Idia as an 18-year-old was not brave, loud, nor as considerate as his toddler counterpart. While very helpful, it was simply jarring…

Crewel pulled out his crop, starting to cast a few spells on the syringe in hand, “Another teacher is coming with more supplies so I can safely get a sample from each of you. You’ll get one of those needles since I have this one for Malleus or Lilia. Modern syringes are made from steel which, if you puppies have been doing your science homework, is a mixture of iron and carbon.” He held up the syringe again, eye twitching at the increased wailing of the children, “I have a few vintage syringes that are still functional that were made with silver. A few cleaning spells and they’ll be safe to use for the fae…”

Oster bursts in, a bag slung over her shoulder as she huffed and puffed, “I’ve come with the items!”

“Perfect timing. Please prep the baby Shroud to draw blood and prep yourself to potentially fight several children…” Crewel pulled out the single-use bags of syringes, looking each over before he started to prep the second vintage syringe.

Rook peaked from under Epel's arm, watching as Idia let Ortho and Oster maneuver his jacket around to show his arm. He whimpered louder, watching the teacher wipe at the other boy's arm with a cotton ball that stained his skin orange, “Vous ne savez pas ce qu'est un tir? Ils font mal et font peur!” **

Idia looked down, eyebrows creased together in confusion, “Wha…?”

Ortho hums, gaining Idia’s attention, “He’s speaking Florian.”

“Oh…” Idia turned back to Rook, shaking his head at the terrified child, “I don’t speak Florian…”

“Scary! He’s saying shots are scary!” Vil wailed, struggling and twisting his arm in Epel’s hold while Rook started to do the same with his other side.

“Oh…Well. I get shots a lot, so I’m used to them.” Idia gains a fearful expression seeing both Oster and Crewel give the needles a final check over, “Yeah, it feels like a pinch but then you get a sucker!”

Malleus stopped his whimpering, shyly peaking from a fretting Sebek’s shoulder. He sniffled, looking over to Idia, “What…what is a sucker?”

“...A sucker?” Idia responded, looking just as confused. How did anyone not know what a sucker was…?

Sebek spoke up, patting Malleus on the back in an effort to calm him more, “It’s a confection; like the honey drops given out at the spring festival! Once you have the test done, you will receive a sucker as your payment for your bravery!”

“...” Malleus looked over to Crewel, the man realizing he was being watched and stiffly held the syringe up. Turning back to Sebek, Malleus nodded his head in a determined manner, “...I want a honey drop…”

“I will ensure you have as many honeydrops as you can stomach, Waka-sama!”

Two of the eight children pacified by the promise of candy, Riddle and Epel took notice and decided it was their best bet.

Riddle managed to kneel down, almost being pulled over by the two struggling toddlers, “Trey, Cater, you can have sweets if you both allow the nice teacher to get a blood test-”

Trey all but wept, the fight slowly leaving him after nearly two minutes of tugging against Riddle’s grip, “I want my moooooooom…!”

Vil cried out, much angrier and still fighting to be released from under Epel’s arm, “I want my lawyer!”

It took another five or so minutes for every child to be calmed and pricked. Trey demanded to call his mother and father once he had his blood drawn and his sucker firm in hand. Cater completely rejected the idea of candy, pitching an even bigger fit at the idea he would be force-fed the sucker after he had his blood taken. Riddle had to promise not only on his life but his favorite color that Cater would be the one allowed to pick what they all had for lunch that day.

Vil had nearly screamed himself hoarse when Crewel approached him with the needle, completely falling into tears on the ground and forcing Epel to fully console the child. It took a promise of as much frozen yogurt as he wanted for dessert and to swear he hadn't been kidnapped by crazy fans of his father. The other blonde toddler had helped Epel explain to Rook that they needed to take a bit of blood to make sure he was healthy. Though he didn't look happy about it, he gained his sucker by holding Vil's hand and closing both of his eyes tight.

Malleus had allowed Oster to stick him with the needle, hiding in Sebek's shoulder and whimpering. The first-year nearly making the woman break the needle off under the toddler's skin, yelling at her that she had taken enough blood when the sample had barely reached the first measurement mark. Lilia fought tooth and nail, never having seen a syringe and thinking it to be a weapon of sorts. It took both Silver and Hui-Yan distracting the child with the promised bright green sucker, allowing Crewel to gather his sample the moment Lilia had let his guard down, barely moving away to avoid razor-sharp baby teeth.

Leona refused and no promise of candy nor food nor any activity Ruggie could think up was accepted. In the end it took Ruggie holding the little prince in a body lock with both his legs and an arm. His last appendage helping Oster by holding Leona's arm still as he hissed and yowled. Once released the first thing the prince did was turn around and lunge at Ruggie, biting down hard on the hyena’s ear and had yet to let go.

Idia had watched it all, comfortable and snug in Ortho's arms with his star-covered bandaid and already blue sucker-stained mouth, “Bunch of babies…”

A botched potion was the answer. From the trace of ingredients found, Crewel and Oster were able to conclude the original potion was a magic reduction syrup. A rare concoction, but commonly prescribed for younger children with high levels of magic and no proper training. A potion that Oster had started to make once she and Crewel realized the children would possibly need it, Malleus mostly…

The main deviation was the substitution of moon crystals for moon petals. An ingredient commonly found in high-quality beauty creams for rejuvenating purposes. Both Crewel and Oster recognizing it from their own beauty night creams. Not harmful, but, it did manage to turn the recipients four. Luckily the potion would only last for a week or so, two tops.

Crewel had tasked Hui-Yan to do what she did best, hunting down students. Someone had planned to potentially poison multiple students and it was an act that would not slide, even by Night Raven standards. But, until the culprits were caught, there wasn't much any of them could do but make sure their new tiny charges were comfortable.

With promise of properly sized clothing and other necessities to be delivered, everyone took their respective toddlers back to their dorms.

Riddle sighed, a pouting Cater holding onto two of his fingers and a still sniffling Trey clutched in his free arm. Walking back to Heartslabyul was a chore and his workload would only grow as the days went on. While aid would be coming in the form physical items, Cater and Trey were pillars of the dorm, emotional support for many a student and Riddle's closest aids. He was aware he'd lose them once they went off to their internships, but to have it happen only a few weeks into this repeat year was cruel. Even if it was only for at most two weeks, Ace and Deuce were not ready for the task of filling their juniors roles yet…

As he entered the dorm's lounge area, he made eye contact with Ace. The redhead freshman sitting on a couch opposite Deuce while the other muttered quietly.

“Wow…they're still four, huh? I would have thought Crewel-Sensei would give them something to make them older again…” Ace stood from his seat, walking closer and raising an eyebrow. Both at Trey whining into Riddle's shoulder and the foul little pout Cater was giving him, “What's their deals?”

“Shots. Suffice to say, neither were too happy about it…” While he was able to guide Cater toward Ace, the smaller redhand's pout lessening when he was picked up, Trey had simply refused to detach from Riddle.

Deuce smiled soft, poking at Trey's back, “Hey, lil guy. Nothing to be afraid of, we're all pretty familiar with each other when you're older.”

Trey merely shook his head, not moving from Riddle's shoulder.

Sighing, Riddle did his best to shuffle Trey in hopes of moving his weight in his quickly tiring arms, “It was a very emotional morning for everyone. Maybe a nap is in order for them, at least until lunch…”

Ace takes notice of Cater in his arms. At the mention of lunch, the toddler seemed to be on the verge of tears the longer Riddle spoke on sleeping arrangements instead of the actual meal time.He bounced the toddler lightly in his arms, gaining his attention before doing a stage whisper to gain everyone's attention, “Hey. Why are you so mad?”

Cater puffed his cheeks out, sending a glare over to Riddle before whispering back to Ace in a harsh tone, “He lied about letting me pick lunch. He didn't say I could pick…”

Ace gasped, looking toward a confused Riddle scandalized, “Housewarden! Shame on you! Did you promise Cater could pick lunch? And you go back on your word? Shame! Jail! Jail for one thousand years!”

Deuce turned to Riddle, frowning himself at the slight, “Rosehearts-senpai…”

“I-! Cater is still allowed to pick lunch!? I didn't say he wasn't? I only gave the opinion that they should have a nap beforehand. It was a very busy morning.”

Cater’s demeanor changed, his eyes widen in amazement and moving away from curling against Ace, “You mean it? I can still pick what's for lunch?”

Riddle softened, smiling at the clearly excited toddler, “Of course you can, Cater-CATER, DON'T JUMP!”

Calm had fled quickly, Cater managing to slip out of Ace's relaxed hold and hit the ground running. His little legs zooming him out of the room before any of them realized he was running.

Deuce was the first to sprint after the child, “Diamond-Senpai! Where are you going!?”

“To pick lunch!”

Ace and Riddle rushed after them both, Riddle still carrying Trey in his tired arms, “Cater, lunch isn't for hours!”

Cater demanded to pick lunch, only then would he even entertain the idea of a nap. So Riddle, Ace, and Deuce all walked along the kitchen. Following behind a far too excited toddler as he looked around the curvy space looking for something to eat.

Trey had finally calmed down, pulling himself from Riddle's shoulder to look around the kitchen himself. Luckily he was distracted enough for Riddle to hand him off to Deuce, finally giving his arms a break.

Riddle watched from a stool, Deuce carrying and holding Trey up to cabinets and various items of the kitchen for closer looks. Ace was following behind Cater, laughing whenever the child opened a cabinet below only to be greeted with pots and pans instead of the food he was expecting.

But soon, Cater found actual food in the cabinets he could reach. The redheaded toddler proudly presenting an unopened jar of tomato sauce to Riddle, “This! I want this for lunch!”

Riddle looked at the jar, knowing the sauce was healthy enough but…, “Just the sauce?”

“Yes.”

“No. You're not just eating sauce for lunch.”

“...” Cater’s face started to flush, tears welling up in his eyes before he started to stomp his feet, “No! You said! You said I could pick! You promised!”

“I did promise, but sauce isn't lunch. You need to pick something else.”

“Nooooooo!” Cater had fallen back onto his bottom, shaking his head and nearly throwing the glass jar to the ground in fury before Ace kneeled down. The now older redhead trying to both calm and reason with the child.

“H-hey. It's ok. We can find something other than sauce for lunch-”

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Deuce had appeared, still holding Trey at an arms length while the toddler held out a box of dry spaghetti  pasta. Trey shook the box, gaining Cater’s focus before he shook it again.

“We can have sauce and noodles! Then you can have a lot of sauce with them.”

“...” Cater seemed to weigh his options, casting a pout at Riddle who remained seated in his chair but was unable to look at the upset toddler for long, “I want a lot of sauce on my noodles…”

“...” Riddle knew they had some chicken in the fridge, Trey had wanted to try to teach a few dorm members proper breading techniques, “Yes. A pasta is a wonderful idea for lunch. You're both very smart boys. Cater’s sauce will help make the perfect food for lunch.”

The praise was more than enough to dry Cater’s tears, the toddler holding the jar tight in his hands as he smiled.

Ace, Deuce and Cater walked around the kitchen, both of the freshmen taking turns lifting the toddler to see into the upper cabinets. Riddle sighed, a weight settling into his chest. Children were…so emotionally fragile. A part of him feared this was another avenue of his life that his upbringing failed to prepare him for. Feeling a tug on the top of his boots, the housewarden looked down to Trey, the once content toddler now looking unsure and back on the verge of tears,

“Can I call my mom now? You promised…”

“...” Brief panic gripped his heart, a bead of sweat forming at his temple before he smiled at Trey, “S-sure. Just one moment…”

Riddle pulled out his phone, looking at the personal content number of Mrs. Clover, a number that was routinely deleted and re-added before and after every school break. He gulped, clicking on the icon for a video call and waiting.

The line had rung only a few moments before a middle-aged woman with cropped black hair appeared on screen, she blinked at the camera with warm honey eyes before a wide smile took over her face, “Oh! Riddle, hello, lovely. How are you? You don’t normally call. Oh! While I have you on the line, can you tell Trey I tried to call him this morning but his phone kept going to voicemail?”

“...About that…” Riddle smiled nervously, making brief eye contact with a very excited looking Trey at the sound of his mother’s voice, “Something happened today and…Well…” Riddle turned his phone around, doing his best to keep Trey in frame of the camera.

The sound of pans falling from over the phone was loud and as disastrous as Riddle feared it to be. Instead, Trey beamed, waving with both his arms and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Hi, mommy! I got shots today and was really brave!” Trey moved closer to the screen, holding up his unopened sucker for his mom to view, “I got a sucker. I think it’s strawberry. I can tell because it’s pink but still red. So it’s not cherry. I can tell!”

Riddle could hear how frazzled Mrs.Clover was, the woman stuttering over her words, “Oh, how amazing, Trey! You’ve gotten so good at telling flavors, haven’t you? Um…B-be a good boy for mommy and be nice to Riddle okay? He’s gonna look after you for a bit, okay?”

“Okay, mommy! I’ll be good!”

“Trey!”

Riddle and Trey looked over, Cater now on Deuce’s shoulders and looking into a cabinet with an expression of wonder, “There’s more pasta shapes in here!”

“I wanna see!” Trey had dashed over, only to stop and double back to wave to the camera one more time, “Bye, mommy!”

“Bye, sweetie~...” Once Trey had ran off, being picked up by Ace to look into the cabinet, Mrs.Clover whispered, “Riddle, what happened to my son?”

Riddle turned the camera back to himself, whispering low as to not gain anyone’s attention, “There was a situation involving a misbrewed potion being slipped to a group of juniors and Trey was unfortunately a part of it. Bloodwork was taken and there’s no harm being done from the potion. They’re simply…four for the next few weeks.”

Mrs.Clover stood with her mouth lightly agape, giving Riddle a hard stare that lasted so long her husband had called out to her in mild confusion and concern. She shook her head, blinking herself back before turning around. She said a few words that Riddle couldn’t make out before facing him again, “We’ll get our ducks in a row over here. By…By Sunday we should have everything all set to close down for the week to come help you boys out.”

“Mrs.Clover, I couldn’t possibly ask-”

“Well, you aren’t, I’m offering, Riddle. You said a group got turned right? You boys over there are still just kids. My husband and I will be there to take the load off of you from watching them. Plus, it’ll be nice you know? We missed so much of Trey’s childhood…It’s not permanent but it’d be nice to have more pictures of him from when he was small…”

“...” Riddle huffed, looking to the side, “That would be helpful…I will have plenty of paperwork to handle now that Trey and Cater are indisposed…”

“I’ll call you later tonight! I can help you get Trey settled into bed. You should think of calling Cater’s parents, too. Bye, Riddle. Talk more later, okay?”

“Understand. Farewell and a good afternoon to you Mrs.Clover.”

Once the call had ended, Riddle thought over her words. It may be helpful for the others dealing with toddlers to have a week break from tending to them. Humming under his breath, he sends a message to Ortho, wondering what the android though of the idea of alerting the turned junior’s families…

Translations!

*V: Rook, what did you want? R: My papa does it for me, my brother and my sister. There are no tomatoes

**R: Don't know what a shot is? They hurt and are scary!

[h2llish]

【╰ヾ❝ COULD'VE BEEN ✧„

VIL SCHOENHEIT ── when it could've been ☆ angst, heartbreak, requited feelings, gender neutral, lowercase intended, not proofread

inspired by my fic from me to you

he remembered the moment you came to him, with a smile so sad and ready to be rejected as you gave him a envelope with your handwriting at the top, for vil. with it, a rose wrapped safely in ribbon. by the look on your face and the shyness in your tone as you gave it to him, he could guess what was in the letter tucked inside the envelope must've been important, at least to you. you didn't bother to wait for him to open and read it, you didn't seem to want a response if he did, only apologizing and thanking him before turning away.

rook was with him, with a knowing look that looked a little sad in similar to your smile. he questioned it, but rook brushed him off in rook fashion, telling him it wasn't his place to speak on your behalf. what did he know that vil didn't? the actor wondered silently but trusted his friend despite his question and worry for you.

so vil tucked the letter away and waited till he was alone in his room. as the day ended and he finished his night routine, he sat comfortably on his bed and grabbed the letter.

dear vil,

i've written this letter six times now, and i know that if i continue to read over this, i'll never gather the courage to give it to you. so please excuse how messy it is, and the mistakes you may possibly find.

by the time you get this, i'll be ready to leave for my world. ortho found me a way home, and i wish to return there, even though i'll miss a lot of people here. i'll miss you the most. i'm sorry you had to find out through a letter, a lot of my friends remained unaware, but when you get this, they'll all know just like you.

perhaps you've caught on, but rook was one of the few who knew, he also knew you were going to receive this letter. but, if you are upset at all, please don't be upset with him. i asked him to keep things to himself, he wasn't even meant to know. he was just respecting my wishes.

to the reason of my letter, this is where it might get messy, i hope you understand.

vil, i think you're wonderful, amazing even. while i know how we started off may not have been the most eventful or greatest, you've been respectful. even after you overblot, and forgive me for bringing it up, you've been nothing but kind to me and i thank you. when you offered your own money to ramshackle and then helped rebuild it when it was damaged, i was incredibly grateful.

you work hard, and you care about your dorm. not everyone may see it, but i do vil. you've done your research, have gotten to know everything about your dormmates, and made diets and routines just for them. it shows you really care.

we've gotten close. i care about you, and i think you care about me. we're friends.

but i'll be honest with you, my feelings for you have become more. i'm falling in love with you. i understand if you don't feel the same, i'd feel better if you don't, knowing my feelings were unrequited so i can leave with the guilt of only leaving my friends.

i'll probably be gone by now, and if not, i ask that you don't approach me. i wouldn't be able to keep myself together if you do. i want to go home, nothing will stop me from doing that. i'm sorry we can't have a proper goodbye, but for my own reasons, selfish i understand, i can't face you so this will have to do.

goodbye vil. and thank you for being my friend.

perhaps things could've been different.

sincerely, your friend, [name].

romantic feelings were new for the actor, you were the first person he'd felt anything for. he loved you; he realized as he sat there, hair pulled back neatly and mask on his face. he pinched the end of the letter in his feelings, relaxing when he worried he would tear it.

he respected your wishes in the letter, remaining in his room as he read over the words once more. although it was heavy on his shoulders, he knew even if he had left to confess his requited feelings, your decision would have never changed.

perhaps things could've been different, but you'd always choose your home, and he could not blame you.

patting myself on the back for managing to write something even if it's short. my headaches chilled out again and i took advantage.

do not repost, translate, copy or run my writing through an ai

[lorkai]

*･゜ﾟ Three reasons to love him

*･゜A/N: This has been seating on my drafts for some time now and maybe it's just me being me, but I don't like how this turned out. But if I don't post this now then I'II probably never will tbh. Enjoy! @sweetbydarkness

"I don't understand how you can love someone like that," Epel said, leaning over the bed and pretending to vomit on the impeccably clean floor of his room. The topic of dating always reminded him of your poor taste in men, in his own words.

The boy tried to make a grimace, but the black mask that Vil had applied to his face a few minutes ago prevented him from expressing what he felt. He resorted to waving his hands frantically to release the contained anger within his small body. "This mask bothers my face, and he forces me to do this every day. It's ridiculous, he's ridiculous, and you're ridiculous too. Everyone is ridiculous!"

You pretended to be offended, rolled your eyes, and pushed him away with your foot. But Epel was used to dodging Rook's cunning attacks and dodged at the last second to the other side of the bed, smiling like a true idiot once he was out of your reach.

"Oh, the great wisdom of humanity, if you had kept your mouth shut during the selection, Vil would never have looked in your direction and decided to 'torture' you, abominable cave creature," you reminded him with a laugh.

The boy pretended not to hear you as he scrolled through posts on Magicam carelessly, holding back from scratching his own face and ruining the mask Vil had applied to him. There was no way he would go through that torture twice in the same night.

Finally, he looked up at you again, letting out a tedious sigh, wondering how you could love someone as strict as Schoenheit.

Epel couldn't even remember how it happened. All he knew was that he woke up one day and realized a special sparkle existed in your eyes and a smile on your lips every time the blond was nearby or when you heard his voice, or when someone mentioned his name. Love was a beautiful feeling, as his grandmother had told him so many times, and yet, he rolled his eyes trying to find a single good quality for someone to love his dorm leader.

In his perspective, his dorm leader was just a cruel tyrant. Schoenheit was always talking about beauty and effort, but Epel didn't care about any of that. The boy had more important concerns in mind.

Anyway, he hoped that you two would start dating soon so that he would have more free time to jump in mud puddles and challenge Savanaclaw students to a fight — or that's what he liked to think, as he preferred to forget that Rook would keep an eye on him.

"Aren't you going to confess?" He suddenly asked.

And you felt the wave of shame rise on your face as you remembered all the plans you had created and shared with him, seeking a second opinion. One idea was more cliché than the other, and after a while pondering more ideas, you convinced yourself that it was better to simply express your feelings to him face to face. Nothing was better than a sincere confession, in your opinion. That's what you had decided, yet you hadn't mustered the courage to confess to him.

And how could you? He was almost a god, and that look in his beautiful eyes could intimidate anyone. Beautiful lilac eyes that made you smile every time he looked in your direction.

"Aren't you writing a letter? Did you give up on it?" He laughed bitterly. He endured hours of suffering and torture listening to the silly content you were writing. Epel felt a vein pulsating on his forehead at the fact that you had chickened out, and your expression didn't help at all.

"Well, I finally don't have to hear oh perfect Vil, oh gentle Vil again. For the love of the seven, I wanted to eat lava and die if you read those lines to me again!" He laughed loudly.

You looked at him and narrowed your eyes as if that would make him explode. In your mind, he was exploding into a thousand pieces, but you took a deep breath and rolled your eyes again.

Epel was even worse than you when he had a crush. He talked about his beloved for hours on end with a silly smile on his face, but he also didn't have much courage to confess, and when he tried, he started shouting and blushing.

"I could list a thousand reasons why Vil Schoenheit is perfect!" You confidently murmured aloud. A foolish smile once again spreading across your face as your friend looked disapproving.

He waved his hand as if to shoo away an annoying fly and laughed condescendingly, prolonging his laughter to irritate you a little more. "I doubt it!" Crossing his arms, Epel looked at you challengingly. "Tell me at least three reasons why you love him."

"What an outrage!" You naturally mimicked Sebek's way of speaking as you decisively looked back at your friend. "How dare you question Your Excellency in this way? But very well, I suppose I can entertain you for now, ungracious human. Feel grateful to be able to hear the qualities of my good lord."

Heat rose on your face as you let your mind wander through your memories and shared moments with Vil. A nervous laugh escaped your lips as you imagined Vil's beautiful and intimidating eyes staring at you, a smug smile growing on his lips as he heard everything you would say about him.

And clearing your throat, you began to speak in an almost timid tone but gaining your usual confidence as you spoke.

"Well… You see, I love the fact that Vil is very diligent and responsible. He literally created a specific skincare routine for each student in his dorm, thinking about even those who have some type of condition or allergy. That takes dedication and a great attention to details, he takes good care of his underclassmen, you gotta give him that." You said, taking a few seconds to continue.

You thought about all the moments you witnessed someone running up to Vil to tell him about what they had achieved with the help and advice he offered, and how his eyes softened with genuine joy because of it. With Vil, it was always about the little things.

He was happy if someone had fixed their posture, spoken in public without stuttering, or tried his products even with a busy routine. And he always showed it.

Perfection begins with small steps, you remember him telling you one day, as he helped with your eyeliner.

"I understand it can be uncomfortable to be approached by him suddenly and have a bunch of products thrown into your arms while he says you need to change this or that, but it's his way of showing he cares, Epel." You laughed, recalling just hours ago when the lilac-haired boy sought refuge in your dorm.

And how later he was approached by a certain hunter and the queen barging into the Ramshackle and how he was dragged all the way through to Pomefiore. And you were brought along to keep Epel company during his routine. Your face heating again as you remembered Vil's soft fingers touching your face and the focused look on his face.

"Maybe you'll understand in a few years." Epel rolled his eyes at your remark. You were not that much older than him.

The boy wrinkled his nose, furrowed his brow, and looked away behind you as if he found the ceiling more interesting than the subject you were talking about. Epel decided to be a child and ignore you again, not that you cared.

"Well, if he didn't care about you or the other students, he wouldn't spend so much time working on things that could help all of you." You concluded, looking at your nails with interest instead of focusing on the sounds of Epel's disgusted reactions.

He leaned back, resting against his plush pillows, muttering something under his breath that you couldn't quite understand. More relaxed, he made a hand gesture for you to finish this torture soon.

"Two more reasons to go." He reminded you unintentionally.

You chuckled. "He's passionate about what he does." You let out an almost dreamy sigh. "Passionate about his work, either be his modeling or acting job, or making potions. Or doing anything really, even when doing the most mundane of the things he just has this focused look on his face that is so inspiring. And everytime I look at him I feel capable of doing many things, of exceeding everything I put my mind into. Do it makes sense?"

You paused, thinking about everything he had inspired you to do, even if he wasn't aware of it. Vil was a huge source of bright light shining endlessly, never allowing the darkness to get too close, he started to brighten your days every time he was around you and you were grateful to him for that.

You were grateful for every tip, for every smile and hug exchanged, for every joke and story shared, for him being there when you needed him. Maybe deep down he knew about your feelings too, preferring not to comment anything about it so as not to embarrass you since you weren't subtle about how you felt. And why should you? Love was a beautiful feeling, but so confusing and agitated.

It was love that you felt when you opened the windows and saw a pink sky announcing the beginning of another day, another day that you could see and hear him, his voice, his little humming, leaving extremely happy for whatever the day thrown your way. It was love you felt when you saw him acting, chills running down your back when a cold, calculating expression took over his face like a mask. If he had to be a villain, it must be a sin to be so beautiful acting like that.

"Earth to Yuu!" Epel's voice took you out of your thoughts, spread out on his bed and completely relaxed in his presence, he was playing something on his cell phone. "Last reason?"

You smiled. It was so obvious what the ultimate reason was after everything you'd been through here. "Because he's true to himself, even with all the criticism and nasty comments he receives daily, he's strong and I'm very proud of him. Do you think he would think that was weird if I told him? I mean, I see how he tries hard even if not everyone can see it and I wanted to say that what he does is enough. I wanted to say he's the best."

Epel held back a giggle, the same characteristic giggle he had when he was up for no good. You stared at him, not understanding why he looked so smug, not understanding why his giggles evolved into a loud laughter.

"I must say, Liebling, I'm glad to hear all this." A new voice joined the conversation and you cold tell that there was a smile on Vil's face from the way he sound.

He sounds so proud, so happy that someone appreciated everything he did.

Your soul seemed to have left your body at that very moment, slowly turning back to see Rook and Vil standing in the doorway. A quick wave of recognition passed through you, Epel knew they had been behind you this whole time! That was why he was looking back before!

You clasp your hands together, wanting nothing more than to grab a pillow and use it to beat Epel until it bursts. Fortunately, you resisted this urge, feeling your heart beat faster in your chest with each step Vil took towards you and Epel must have sensed your murderous tendencies, preferring to get away from you before you attacked him.

His smile, as you predicted, was beautiful on his lips and he seemed overjoyed to hear such genuine compliments, even though he was used to it. All the anxiety and fear of rejection you felt before seemed to melt away as soon as you held eye contact, nothing else existing but you and him. And Epel who eventually made gagging noises as the seconds passed and Rook who recited poetry about the obvious love that existed and was reciprocal between you and Vil.

"How much did you hear?" You decide to ask, deciding that you would declare yourself here and now, without caring about anything else. He was here, he was listening to you. There would be no better opportunity than this.

And Vil smiled that cocky smile that made millions of butterflies dance in your stomach, holding your chin between his fingers carefully. "I've heard enough, Liebling." He's close now, his lips brushing your sensitive ear. "Do you want to talk about it once your skin care is finished?"

You nod, feeling the force of a thousand suns shining over your head, over your skin. You feel warm, but it's not as uncomfortable as it seems, on the contrary, you feel a thread of hope growing in your chest, Vil's fingers making you smile as he carefully pulls the black mask off your face.

Being cared for and loved by him felt incredibly good. And you sighed when those expressive lilac eyes kept you captivated by his attention, feeling the cold cream being spread over your skin.

Rook and Epel's voices were like your own white noise, sounding so soft in the background like a song that you don't pay attention to the lyrics. Vil gently held your hand when everything was finished and you followed him without asking, letting him take you to his room so you could talk.

At least, at the end of the night, you had managed to tell him about all the other reasons that made you love him so deeply.

[supacutiepie]

My full playthrough verse for Dragon Age is 'What the World Asks of Its Children' and the idea is that we focus on children and how they change dynamics and themes in all four games. (Also I love Dorian and he's the main star for a good portion of the au because he started it with Theia and Ataashi) Origins: Running of the 78% reasonable idea that Aegis is the child being asked to save the world. So her real part of the story will be an after story tale, about her Mother, Edona. DA2: This time, Hawke is the parent and the twins are the children he raises with help from his companions. Hawke is a disabled ex-sexworker doing his very fucking best. (Instead of either Bethany or Carver dying in Lothering, it's Leandra. And the twins are way younger, at like ten or eleven during the opening act) Sort of between DA2 and Inquisition: Dorian and the story about his girls. 'A girl named Dragon': how he gets captured and meets a dying tal-vashoth, and how this ends with him adopting a little girl named Ataashi. And then 'The Ghost of a Girl', how he takes a terrified and mute elf under his coat and they make a little family. Also in this era is Bull's 'Sea of Candles'. where he learns he has a daughter but the human mother wants nothing to do with the child because it kiiiinda ruined her. Tal-Rasani is a treasure. Then we get into Inquisition: Where The Herald is an elvhen hunter named Liora who lost her husband at the conclave and the same day of the explosion she conceives her first child, several months later giving birth to a little girl named Dawn. And how the Inquisition changes when there are four little girls running around and then two angst twin teenagers LMAO PLUS morrigan has kieran. we're all girl dads here. Then to Veilguard: Rook is a Crow turned Warden. She was sweet ona boy several houses above hers, sweet for a long time and he even reciprocated her affections. enough so that they were each others only love - until she found out she was pregnant. His grandmother did not approve of the match at all, so she 'sent away' the girl and the child under the guise of 'its not safe to carry a dellamorte child' and that Rook would be able to deliver the babe somewhere safer. Bull shit. She got like, a month of rest after giving birth before she was ambushed by darkspawn. Caterina didn't know how pregnant Rook was because rook had suspicions about the old crone. So timeline was, Caterina was trying to get rid of both her and the baby. Rook is blighted, found by wardens carrying her newborn through the woods, and saved by the joining. All of this happens pre wigmaker - lucanis thinks his sweetheart was killed on an assignment bc thats what caterina tells everyone. i dont like this woman. cont

SO Lucanis thinks Rook was KIA. Never even knew she was pregnant. And Rook becomes a Warden sorta not her choice but it's what she can do, because she sort of thinks Caterina tried to kill her. So, she works with the Wardens, raises her daughter, and tries to think of a future. She doesn't get a chance to get much information about Antiva in. But she gets a single contact, she gets the news that the 'Demon of Vyrantium' is dead. That her 'Luca' is dead. So, for a year, she thinks Lucanis is dead, and he's thought she was dead for four years. Imagine his shock when she rescues him. Actually imagine VIAGO'S shock when Teia wide eyed and shocked brings Rock and Harding into the Diamond, imagine CATERINA'S shock and disdain, trying to twist it around as though Rook hid the fact she was alive. Rook doesn't mention her daughter, doesn't trust that information to the first talon at all but damn, she tells viago and teia in secret when she can. they agree, its not a safe place. SO... Imagine being Lucanis, first being rescued by the very alive first love you ever had. THEN her telling him not to freak out - but his mini me is five years old and running amok in the lighthouse. And then, imagine seeing some FUCK ASS Warden pick up said lil girl and she squeals about her 'uncle dav!' and oh BOY you thought those two were catty before???? now its a DAD FIGHT (It's not, because literally everyone and the spirits can tell that little girl belongs to Lucanis, but Lucanis is so deep in his head about spite he's terrified she'll get hurt so he tries to remain distanced but this is literally the one thing he's wanted his whole life SOOOO) ((Also, those weeks where rook is gone? Dad Adventures, the estranged father and the step dad LMAOO) ANYWAYS!! I'm going to piece together this big massive au little by little. It's been my little pride and joy for seven, eight, TEN years man.

[sirenthegalaxycollector]

Criticisms of Veilguard

After playing the series for most of my adult life, I can confidently say that this is one of the few games where I could feel how much the leads did not want to be making this game and simply didn't respect or enjoy the world they were working within. I strongly believe that both these things contributed to the lack of understanding of the societal intricacies of the world and the disdain with which they consider their consumers. Its a miss on so many levels, but for me, personally, its the obvious corporate propaganda.

In a time where our real world is experiencing fascist ideals spreading like a wildfire fed by the fear of disrupting the status quo, anything claiming to be art media has a responsibility to try and give people a way to explore their fears. To try and open their perspectives to a different viewpoint, or to model options other than staying the course simply because of fear. This could have been a game about different informal organizations coming together to ease the world through a drastic change, and exploring the consequences of that change. It could have examined Tevinter's relationship with the Evanuris. Could have explored the ways in which they have historically profited off hiding the origins of their magical and technological advancement by building a society that marginalizes the very races who's pasts they plunder for their successes. Could have shown organizations like the Lucerni, supported by unions and guilds, of which the shadow dragons could have been one, working together to reform Tevinter culture over the last decade, setting the stage for them to be better situated to handle a situation like the Veil coming down. Or perhaps making massive gains in the aftermath, because it would be pretty hard for a mageocracy to continue to maintain status quo when magic is more accessible. On the subject of the Shadow Dragons, I strongly dislike that they named this anti-slavery organization that, because its just too close to the hierarchical titles of a certain racist cult in the u.s.a. Snakes Serpents would have been a better choice, there's the alliteration with shadows and, more importantly, it would have been a cool little nod to indigenous American cultures (and maybe others but I am most familiar with the mythologies of the Americas). Not to mention, Fenris should have been in this organization, he is alive in canon and would absolutely help organize slave rebellions. There is no justice when the Veil remains. Mythal and Solas made the Titans tranquil. That is where the Rite of Tranquility must come from, taking the lore from prior games into account. No wonder he disapproves so greatly in DAI when you use that option. With the Veil left standing, we still have the Titan/Dwarven souls trapped in the Fade. There is no way that Harding, the Inquisitor, or Rook would find that an acceptable solution after everything they have learned. I do not think anyone in the Veilguard would consider that acceptable. Yet, Veilguard completely avoids the topic of tranquility, it isn't even in the game's glossary. It is hard to not see that as a way of denying new players full knowledge of the atrocity committed against the Titans so they consider the Veil remaining just. Considering the real world parallels between the dwarves and elves of Thedas, and various ethnic groups of our world, the decision is, at best, poorly considered in its implications. In what world would being offered the chance to reunite these peoples with the soul of their cultures and choosing to keep them divided be considered just or right? Thedas, I guess.

This game had the potential to dig in and explore the biases present not only in the teams working on them, but also our world at large, something they were already primed to do with the set up of the previous games. Instead we got a game that reinforced the status quo, that framed societal change as a mistake, and reparations of any kind as the responsibility of the past, divorced from the people who continue to profit from the atrocities. I do not think that this messaging is coincidental. It is too much aligned with the interests of the corporate class that has eroded our societies so quickly. I don't know if less apathy would have changed the ultimate message. Perhaps the biases of society were too overwhelming to confront in the face of all that is happening around us. Or perhaps decision makers were unable to recognize the biases they held. Whatever the case, the game did not capitalize on the potential offered by the stories that came before it and that is disappointing.

[rambles-on-dragon-age]

Varric doesn't give you the nickname Rook, your whole faction calls you Rook. It makes no sense to give you a faction specific last name and then your faction doesn't even use it, but yeah.

Hi hi!

This will be a bit of a ramble, sorry.

Varric, as a character, gives nicknames to those he's around for any length of time. (Solas is Chuckles, Merrill is Daisy, Vivi is Iron Lady, etc. Very few people in close contact with him will escape earning a moniker. I can go on about how I think it's one of his ways of telling people he sees them, but I digress.) The player character has been traveling with him for a year/the better part of a year. Varric would have definitely given them a nickname in that time. (Honestly it shocks me Harding doesn't have one by now but maybe he tried and she shut that down like Aveline once did lol) When you're putting out your things in the Lighthouse one of them is his shaving mirror and you have a moment of reflection about what he said when he hands it to you. There's also the whole time where he's giving you advice and guides you (IYKYK) and it's clear he means a lot to a Rook and they're close.

That is to say, no matter what faction you were with, you left in disgrace. You broke some code the higher ups held dear, messed up well laid plan, ignored orders to save people, etc. You didn't "fit the bill" for your faction and were summarily "adopted" by Varric to help in his hunt for Solas. Those things that made you a bad fit for your original faction? Made you perfect for what he's doing. A good person that doesn't let the potential costs stop them; they see what needs to happen to help people and will run head first into it and manage to figure a way through the most fucked up situations possible.

When you first meet Neve, you're introduced as Rook. "Like the chess piece?" Yes! One of the most powerful pieces on the board, "but tends to think in straight lines". Which becomes evident in all our shenanigans as Rook through the game. Rook's ability to claw their way through the worst situations and be flexible and creative means that Solas wouldn't be able to predict them or what they'll do. Which turns out to be right; he doesn't expect you to drop a statue on him in the middle of a massive ritual. Rook saw only "this ritual needs to stop NOW" and found a way, no matter the consequences.

I didn't hear that dialogue my first game, though, because I did my first run as a Shadow Dragon. Neve doesn't comment on the naming convention because instead Varric says you both do work with the Shadow Dragons and she just skims past the naming convention to say "Oh, what a coincidence." You are still introduced as Rook at first; it's not until later when you're in the Lighthouse where you can have the conversation that you've heard of each other even though you've never worked together.

Because even if I've worked in the group beside you under the same boss for 20 years, if you're introduced to me as "Rook" instead of "_____ Mercar" I'm not going to know who you are. It's not until later, probably while you're unconscious and she has a chance to speak to Harding, that she says she knows who you are. (Based on what Bellara says when you find her in the forest, you've been out cold for two or three days. Can you imagine what our detective figured out in two or three days?)

All that to say, if "Rook" was given to you by the Shadow Dragons, Neve would have said "Oh! I heard of a Rook." instead of just "Oh! What a coincidence we're both Shadow Dragons." She doesn't comment on who you are and what you've done until later when you have a chance to talk to her in the Lighthouse.

And throughout the game, you continue to be introduced as Rook. Even if you started as another faction, if you're written a letter about "Rook" and not your real name, why would anyone know who Rook is until they meet and go "Oh this lil shit right here. I know this asshole."

[hmserebusadjacent]

Eyes open

Another fluff fic, this one taking place during Rook and Emmrich's relationship. I love the trope of lovers sneaking peeks at their lovers in secret during kisses, and thus this story idea popped into my head.

Emmrich Volkarin x Trans Male Rook (established relationship. Just pure fluff, Emmrich admiring Rook and waxing lyrical about him and his affections for him.

Word count: 676

AO3 link

Emmrich didn't try to make a habit of keeping his eyes open when he kissed Rook, but sometimes he just couldn't help it.

It was like being permitted to enter a world of wonder that even Rook himself didn't know existed. The wonder Emmrich felt when Rook scrunched his eyes closed at the first press of the mage's tongue against his lips, seeing the spread of his eyelashes on his cheeks like fern leaves.

Seeing Rook's freckles even closer up, like a dazzling constellation as a gift from the sun and its light that danced across his skin.

The flyaway hairs that Emmrich had disturbed as he wound his hand round to the back of his lover's neck. He really did have such a lovely hair colour, reminding him of the dry tree leaves that skittered along the floor late in the year.

Hairs that were growing back into the gap previously taken up by a massive scar thanks to an ill dodged enemy knife swipe. Emmrich had pressed kisses to it so many times almost as an apology for not getting to his love quickly enough, even though Rook had told him multiple times it wasn't his fault.

Sometimes, more than just merely studying the details of his lover's face, Emmrich couldn't help but stare because he couldn't quite believe Rook was real. Rook, who had been through so much in his life before he had joined The Veilguard, still had so much time and compassion for all of them. He who had pulled his true self out of the broken remains of his former self still had time to help people discover themselves too.

Rook, who had held Emmrich all of those times he had confided in Rook about feeling homesick. Who had hugged him so tenderly even before they had got together, and in the beginning adored him as a friend more than Emmrich thought anyone was capable of.

His lover, who murmured and moaned his name so sweetly and opened his heart and body to Emmrich every day without question and with absolute joy. The man who gave Emmrich purpose again, who turned his life around and gave him a taste of what ultimate bliss must feel like.

Rook, who just now fluttered his eyes open in the kiss and caught Emmrich staring at him. Caught like a halla in the proverbial torchlight Emmrich froze, half of his brain keeping his lips moving in the kiss. And Rook, oh fabulous brilliant Rook, merely smiled into the kiss and closed his eyes once more, the hint of his smile still present in the aftermath.

Spellbound, all Emmrich could think to do was whine and close his eyes once more, pulling Rook closer with the hand at the man's back.

“Emmrich…”, Rook whined as he broke the kiss a few seconds later, only going far enough away to lean their foreheads together.

“I love you, Rook. So very much”, Emmrich replied in a whisper, his feelings needing to go somewhere when they couldn't be poured into a kiss for a moment as they both caught their respective breaths.

“I love you, Emmrich Volkarin. My true heart.”

Whatever breath Emmrich had gathered he quickly robbed from himself as he pulled Rook to him with a needy whine that set his own heart on fire. This kiss had a more passionate edge to it, desperate little noises being emitted by both men as their tongues began to dance in each other's mouths once more.

When Emmrich sensed the opportunity, he chanced to open his eyes again and found Rook already looking at him with such a fond smile in his eyes. There was a slight mischievous glint to his blue eyes as if to say “got ya!”. That accompanied by a wink had Emmrich grinning like a lovestruck fool into the kiss.

He would never get tired of this, never ever. Emmrich hoped that he and Rook had so many years ahead of them yet, and so many kisses that he could admire his lover during.

[datvtranscripts]

In Entropy’s Grasp Pt. 1

Bellara Lutare

Bellara Masterpost

Signs and Portents Masterpost Previous: Through The Eluvian

Rook travels into Arlathan Forest in search of Bellara.

Veil Jumper Rook: Never been to this part of Arlathan before. This fog’s… strange.

Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Is it me, or is there something strange about this fog?

Their companion looks around.

Neve: I've never seen fog like this. Something's not right.

Harding: It all feels a little off. Like everything shifted a little bit.

They approach a suit of golden armor standing to the side of the path, and it comes to life.

Harding: Is that suit of armor… moving?

Neve: So that suit of armor is moving.

They fight the sentinel. As it falls, another leaps out of the woods at them, but is stopped midair and its magic is absorbed into an artifact worn by an elf.

Bellara: Hah! Gotcha.

She climbs down to where Rook is.

Bellara: Oh, people! Where’d you come from?

Rook: Bellara? Bellara Lutare? Strife and Irelin sent us to find you.

Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: Wait. Didn't you used to be a Veil Jumper? You left with Varric. What was your name…? Rook: Rook. At least, that's the nickname Varric gave me.

Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: Who are you? Exactly? Rook: Call me Rook.

They turn to their companion.

Harding: Lace Harding.

Neve: Neve Gallus. Bellara: Wait—I know that name! But…

Bellara: Protocol is to wait a full week before they send anyone out to look for me. I've only been gone three days.

Rook: Well, the situation's changed—for the worse, unfortunately.

Elf Rook: Rook: Our gods, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? They've escaped from Fen'Harel's prison. And by all accounts, they want to destroy the world.

Non-elf Rook: Rook: The elven gods Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain have escaped Fen'Harel's prison. And it seems like they want to destroy the world.

Bellara: Oh. Yes. That is very much for the worse. Okay. Right. I need a second.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Understandable. Rook: it’s a lot to take in.

Sarcastic: Won’t help. Rook: I've had a couple of days, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

Stoic: You don’t have it. Rook: Like I said. End of the world. You can mull it over later.

Bellara: It does sort of explain a few things though.

Harding: Like what?

Neve: Like what, exactly?

Bellara: The surge of raw magic in the area. These artifacts started waking up a while ago, but in fits and starts. One here, a couple there… Then a couple of days ago, the sky split open. And now? Raw magic, thick as fog. Only a god—or gods—could've done that. There's something kind of exciting about it. And dangerous. Really dangerous. Dangerous enough that I was going to head back to the Veil Jumper camp, but…

Rook: But what?

Their attention shifts to the shimmery barrier around them.

Bellara: See that shimmer? That's a Veil bubble. It's separating us from the rest of the real world. So to speak. You can only pass through it one way. Once you're in, you can't get out.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Can you bring it down? [1]

Sarcastic: Sounds bad. [2]

Stoic: We’ll force out way out. [3]

1 - Affable: Can you bring it down? Rook: Strife and Irelin said you're their best Veil Jumper. Hope that means you've got an idea. Bellara: Maybe…

2 - Sarcastic: Sounds bad. Rook: I think I'd prefer to stay in one piece, yeah. Bellara: Right! Me, too. But I think I can find a way out.

3 - Stoic: We’ll force out way out. Rook: We don't have time for this. Let's just force our way out. Bellara: Oh, I wouldn't do that. I don't know what contacting that much raw magic would do to you. But. There's another way.

Bellara: A bubble like that? There has to be something at the center that's generating it. Something powerful. If we can find it and remove it—safely, I mean—the bubble itself should collapse.

Harding: And then we're back in reality? Bellara: I really, really hope so.

Neve: And then we're back in reality? Bellara: I sure hope so.

Rook: Well then—let’s get going.

Next: Journey to the Center of the Forest