#also by the time of veilguard he's been a warden for long enough that he might be hearing a real calling...

[manfred-volkarin]

still don't know if anders was hearing the false calling during the events of DAI btw. Hawke's warden contact mentions that "every warden in orlais" hears it and says he hears it too...but you're in eastern fereldan when he says it????

so is it every warden in southern thedas? (so anders would hear it too) every warden in orlais and it follows you if you leave? (so anders wouldn't hear it)

[felassan]

David Gaider on Kieran, under a cut for length:

"CHARACTERS - DAY TWO: Kieran (Technically this is an addendum to yesterday, but I make the rules here so nyah!) Heading into DAI, I had a bite-sized problem on my hands. I knew Morrigan would feature. I also knew we were importing previous choices. So now I had to contend with: the Old God Baby. Here's the thing about honouring previous game choices, from a design perspective: it's a sucker's game. What many fans picture, when you mention it, is divergent *plot* -- the story changes path based on those major choices. How exciting! But you will never be able to deliver divergent plot. You can deliver flavour differences (usually in the form of divergent dialogue), character swaps (character X appears instead of Y), and extra content (such as a side quest) -- but plot branching, particularly the critical path? It's a question of resources, and there's never enough to go around. "Here Lies the Abyss" in DAI was about as good as it gets, and even that was a far cry from how I originally pictured it (hello last-minute insert of Stroud when a DAO Warden import got cut). The Old God Baby was one of the main choices from DAO -- Morrigan has a baby? With the Archdemon's soul?! Most DAO players who flagged that choice surely expected *monumental* consequences. World-shaking consequences! And we talked about it. We did. There were, like, three different designs of the DAI ending where OGB Kieran could cause complete divergence: new path, cutscenes, the whole nine yards. But it wasn't going to happen. It was a decision from *two games ago* that only a small minority (hello telemetry) would even choose. To the rest, they probably neither knew about it nor cared... so how many resources could you invest? To do what? Set up an even bigger divergence for the NEXT game? The other writers acknowledged my anxiety with a grim nod every time it came up, but they had no solutions. Finally, I realized there WAS a solution, and that was changing how I thought about the choice: don't make it about Kieran. The players don't know him, never have. Make it about Morrigan. Thus began a feverish three days where I wrote probably the most complicated scene of my career: Morrigan's reckoning with Flemeth in DAI and the fallout after. Three different versions (OGB Kieran, non-OGB Kieran, and no Kieran), each with branching for other choices (like the Well of Sorrows). I did it all at once. There was no other way to wrap my head around the complexity of it. It was also a tough sell to the team, considering the amount of cinematics work, but they agreed we had to do *something*. And still it felt... underwhelming, insofar as divergence goes. But it was also good. I remember when I first spoke with Claudia, about how this was Morrigan's story. This was about how motherhood had changed her, how she'd grown up. Claudia got a bit teary-eyed. It was a journey she was familiar with, she said. Her first son, Odin, had been born in 2005 not long after DAO came out. And, man, she killed with that performance! Kate, too, but I'll get to her later. Claudia dug down, and that scene where Morrigan tells Flemeth she'll never be the mother Flemeth was to her? That came from someplace very raw. It was devastating to witness in the booth. There were tears all around. Not long after, Claudia called and asked if maybe - just maybe - Odin could play Kieran? He was a bit young (not yet 5, then), but it felt... right? We agreed. Claudia was in the booth, gently coaching him through his lines, and I think that was the first moment I felt I'd done the right thing."

[source thread]

User: "Do you find it an odd choice that Kieran hasn’t been mentioned at all in Veilguard?" David Gaider: "If there’s less reactivity in DATV, I’m unsurprised. Continuing choice from up to 3 games earlier is… unsupportable. Yet DA established the expectation they would so… damned if you do, damned if you don’t?" [source]

User: "EA is one of the biggest game companies ever. I don't think more complex diverging plots are impossible." David Gaider: "Well, if only more writing was all it took. Sadly, it's also cinematics. Art time for all those reappearing characters you probably want to look *just* right. And let's not forget we have to test all those permutations! So I don't disagree with you in spirit, but I don't think it's the answer here." [source]

User: "is there a possibility of future kieran appearances in a book or something similar outside of the games?" David Gaider: "I'd have no way of knowing that." [source]

User: "I’m actually shocked so little people chose the dark ritual. That was basically the main reason Flemeth sent Morrigan with the wardens, no?" David Gaider: "The impression you get of what "most" players do - in almost any game, not just DA - is very different if you're online a lot. Consider here that it's not just the % of DAO players who chose the Dark Ritual, it's the % of DAI players WHO PLAYED DAO and cared to import that choice 5 years later." [source]

User: "Is there anything you wish you had done differently, in hindsight?" David Gaider: "Probably just to not ever do importing choices between games in the first place." [source]

User: "Kieran only existed in my DAI state b/c Morrigan as a mother really appealed to me. I wasn't expecting to be devastated by those scenes 😭 I guess when we complain about lack of consequences from prev choices in DAV we must also ask how MUCH are we willing to pay for those branches to exist?" David Gaider: "That's indeed it. Content directed towards reactivity would have to come from somewhere else. So essentially a shorter game overall for the sake of those hardcore fans who'd import - who would, I imagine, REALLY enjoy that... but it's a tough cost/benefit analysis to make." [source]

User: "mr gaider im gonna keep it real with you if i had to choose between my hof and hawke i would've simply passed away" David Gaider: "Right? That was the ENTIRE idea! I was very excited, and for a while it seemed possible." [source]

User: "This has been a very interesting read but I have to ask why they decided to use Stroud instead of the HoF" David Gaider: "1) Complexity of providing means for a player to build a Warden (which they did in DATV for the Inquisitor). Also spoiled the surprise. 2) We’d have needed to give the Warden a voice. Add these to the cost and it was deemed not worth it." [source]

User: "Genuine question, not a critique - but what made the OGB decision one that couldn't be handwaved as canon no matter what was or wasn't chosen? Leliana and Flemeth being around no matter what come to mind. Was OGB simultaneously too major and too minor of a decision?" David Gaider: "Flemeth and Leliana being alive were easily explainable, and we knew we were doing it even back then. Circumventing the Dark Ritual… that would be too cheap. We did talk about it, but it just felt too dishonest. Too high a price for what we’d get in return." [source]

David Gaider: "If I’d known the Well of Sorrows would only see reactivity in the confrontation with Flemeth, I’d probably have made a much bigger deal of it." [source]

David Gaider: "We could maybe have gotten past the need to "reconstruct" the Warden, much like the Inquisitor was reconstructed in DATV (so I understand), but the need to give the Warden a voice was the final nail. Too potentially disappointing for the very people who'd be excited about it, aside from the cost." [source]

[krems-chair]

I've been thinking a lot today about how easily people condemn Solas for making the choices he did or for so regularly refusing the help and love his friends or a romanced Lavellan extended to him and how that's a very easy thing to do from behind a screen in a fictional game where you are able to (with very few exceptions) curate a world in which your allies are loyal and your decisions will go the way you'd like them to.

And yeah, it's a game and that's kind of the point, but if I were to look at it a little more deeply (and who am I kidding, I got back on this website exclusively to process the aftermath of Veilguard) I'd say that there's so much to be found in wondering if the protagonists in any of the other games would have fared better in similar conditions.

Apparently I can't stop making long posts, so buckle in.

What would Morrigan have become in a world where the Warden never stumbled upon her cottage with Flemeth, if she never got the chance to see more of the world and decide what she wanted out of it? With just her mother (who, coincidentally in this Solas-y discussion is also kind of Mythal) and no support, who is to say what she would have unleashed upon the Korcari Wilds one day when the confines of her cage became too much?

What about Leliana? She, too, suffered at the hands of a very controlling abuser who tried to convince her that one lifestyle was all that her future held. What do we think she would have become if not for a chance meeting in Lothering with someone who could help her face down the woman that molded her?

Fenris, a character MANY people are just fine with was incredibly ready to kill a mage on sight if need be, no questions asked. Where do we think his story goes if he doesn't have someone in his corner early on enough in the game? If he doesn't get caught by Danarius, he's almost certainly going to end up on a murder spree, and he doesn't even have Justice whispering in his head to do it.

Cullen. Just all of him. It's an absolute miracle he hasn't snapped by the time you encounter him in Inquistion, and even then you get the benefit of intervening at a critical point in his story several times over.

Almost every other character could face this analysis and I think we'd reach a result that suggests perhaps the only thing keeping them lovable is your playable character's investment in their well-being.

Enter Solas. We don't meet him when he's twenty to thirty something and on the precipice of falling down a dark path. He's been there for literal millennia already, and with the exception of one close friend he's been alone. And not even Felassan is enough because of the years Mythal had prior to that friendship to make Solas exactly who she needed him to be.

I've had shit friends before that aren't just good at isolating people, they're naturals. I barely made it through high school with my mental health in place (in fact, looking back, it almost certainly wasn't). When you think you've got a true friend and they need something of you, it's so easy to blindly follow them because you think your love is enough to mark someone's soul as trustworthy. Solas doesn't learn that lesson until it's too late, and even when he does he can't turn back: the spirit that was once Wisdom has been exposed to several of the worst ancient elves to ever exist and now he has to stand his ground rather than let it all fall, because that is what Pride would dictate. Admitting that the person you gave your love and labor and time to is a monster is hard. And he was alone.

Give me Morrigan after centuries with her mother. Show me Leliana after the years have become a blur and the only voice whispering in her ear is Marjolaine's. Show me the innocent mages that don't make it through if all Fenris has for years and years and years are the scars Danaris left him and the means to make more. Show me Cullen if he stays in a chain of command under a Knight Commander who knows exactly what he fears and holds it over his head for so long he forgets what it was like to be an excited kid begging the templars for training because he just wants to keep people safe.

We get companions in these games who are broken by the time they're twenty. Solas has spent thousands of years in servitude to a cause of a woman he believed to be his only friend. He doesn't know who he is without her influence, anymore, only exists physically in the first place because she asked it of him and then asked again and again and again. He doesn't have a witty band of merry fools to pull him out of that cycle. He has Felassan, but he has him during war after war after war in the hopes of freeing others from the very situation that torments him.

Trauma from war affects everyone touched by it, nevermind the fact that Solas is actively responsible for saving the lives of thousands and feels each life like a weight around his neck because maybe he can save them like he cannot save himself. We should always be worried about the people trying to do the most good. Who is looking out for them? Why are they so determined to help others? Could it be that it's something they wish others had done for them?

Solas certainly feels comradery with Felassan from working together to free slaves from the very people he helped put in power because Mythal told him it would be okay only to leave him with the pieces, but even the Solas that Felassan knows has been turned into an attack dog shying away from the touch of the very person it desires to be near above all others by the time their relationship forms.

The fact that Solas is able to try and show the Inquisitor who he is at all is a miracle as far as I'm concerned, a sign of a peaceful spirit of Wisdom who loves knowledge for the sake of it finally sensing that there might be a chance to embrace its nature again.

Yeah, if you give him what he has come to expect from people with power, if you let near-absolute power over the masses corrupt you, he's going to bristle and try to shut your inquisitor down.

But if you show him even the smallest bit of kindness? If you treat him like the starving wolf he talks about and feed him instead of fighting him? God, it shatters his entire existence.

It's called a cycle of abuse for a reason. Finding friendship, finding the love of your long-ass life can be the first step in realizing there's better out there. But the time it takes to learn that? When you're too weary to even reach out for help in the first place and afraid of every kind word or gesture because you've never known such tenderness (on a platonic OR romantic level, both matter so so much) before?

Part of the compelling tragedy of Solas is that it's almost Orpheus-like how he knows what he has been made into and still cannot stop himself from yearning for more, from turning around to see if just this once something has changed. You can't convince me that he hasn't spent years hoping that someone will hear the legend of the Dread Wolf and see it for what it is, a leash the Evanuris created for Mythal's whipping boy to ensure that even if he ever escapes them, the people he fought to save will hate him. And I cannot blame him for the shock and terror that consumes him when he realizes someone finally has.

You give me any of dragon age companions after the amount of time Solas spent under Mythal's thumb without your character's intervention and you tell me how that looks.

You tell me if they're able to change at the first sign of something that feels too good to be true.

And then, I want you to tell me they're any less worthy of trying to save, especially when you know how good their best can be.

Solas might be hard for some fans to love, but it's only because he serves as the perfect representation of the beast we are all capable of becoming when the love that sustains us, assuming we receive any at all, is laced with poison.

The journey out of that place, out of a literal prison of regret, is brutal, and I'm thrilled that even with the many things about Veilguard I'm still struggling with, we have the chance to let Solas try again with the help of those who love him not because he never fell down, but because they believe in the beauty of a future where he gets back up again.

[dragonagegayz]

Wherever You Go, I'll Be Right Beside You

Rating: Explicit

Game: Dragon Age The Veilguard

Pairing: Lucanis x Rook, Rookcanis, Lucanis x TransMale!Rook

Word Count: 14,700

I didn't intentionally write this with my Rook in mind but uh yeah, it def my Rook, he even gets named dropped so sorry friends

also, I did not mean to write 14k I was really aiming for like 4 and then just 10k more of stuff, I am so sorry lol

Summary: Too long Rook and Lucanis have been separated after the defeat of the gods, so the leader of the Veilguard returns to Treviso to surprise his lover. Reunion sex ensues and all the emotions that come with that.

Warning: I am a trans man author and use cunt/clit to describe Rook's junk!

Title comes from the song "Steady Hand" by Saint Motel

Ao3 link

     After saving the world from ending, you’d expect the one who was the leader in all of it to probably get some sort of break from responsibilities, they did save the world after all. Unfortunately for Rook Thorne, such a luxury was not available to him and he quickly found himself running all across Thedas to try to tend to hundreds of different things for those who helped in the fight against the Evenuruis. Helping the Veil Jumpers reestablish their footing in Arlathan, trying to get the Shadow Dragons back into power in Minrathous, focusing an effort to return balance to the Necropolis after the fade nearly fell, and of course, helping the leadership of the Grey Wardens establish a new purpose for the organization and for those who chose to stay as Wardens. It was good in a way, helping those in need was a calling Rook always answered which helped him to see his team fairly often even after going their separate ways. The elf had made a lot of friends in the journey doing so and to be able to see what those relationships bloomed into was one of the perks of it all to him. Especially with the Grey Wardens, being a part of his group’s history from curing the calling to discovering their new call of duty felt important, vital even. Rook loved it, he truly couldn’t deny that.

     But he also couldn’t deny the desire to just stop for a moment and relax, to take a moment to breathe and see his work before charging head first into the next thing.

And it would be incredibly nice to see his lover again.

     It had been at least a month since he’d seen Lucanis and their last interaction had been so brief Rook hesitated to even call it anything but a figment of his imagination. They had met for coffee in Treviso, Cafe Petra of course, and while their date had been wonderful, it had barely lasted an hour before the First Talon had to be pulled away, as did the Grey Warden. They barely got to share a kiss before they parted, a short peck of their lips together, and a promise of more from both men. Well, neither had expected it was going to be another month before they would see each other again. Had Rook known that, he wouldn’t have let his lover out of his sight for at least 24 hours, maybe even 48. Perhaps it was dramatic but to know he was only going to be able to talk to Lucanis through letters for such a long time, he would have done everything and anything to just hear the man’s voice in his ears for as long as possible before being forced to part.

     Rook knew he wasn’t the only one feeling the distance though, the more days they spent apart, the more sad the First Talon’s letter became. More little details of pet names, more mentions of longing and missing the elf. There were even a few times where Spite would write too, angry lines of asking when Rook would return and even one time about how he missed his smell. When he wrote a response, the elf made sure to dab a little of his cologne on the paper, the response he got was from a single sheet of paper with a giant thank you written on it. The grey warden still wasn’t sure which one of them had written it.

     So, after a long, grueling month without seeing his lover, Rook decided enough was enough. After making sure the Grey Wardens weren’t in desperate need of his assistance anywhere, he let Evka and Antione know he was going to Treviso and wasn’t sure when he’d be back. Evka had given him this knowing look but for as much as she teased, she always understood. Antione did too, ever the romantic, and even made sure to assure Rook as he was leaving for Antiva to not worry about things in the Wetlands. “We’ve got it here, go and see your First Talon!” He yelled as he practically pushed the other warden into the Eluvian.

     By the time Rook got to Treviso, night had already settled over the city. Which didn’t mean much for its citizens, even with the sun set the markets still buzzed with people, cafes, and casinos full of patrons to please. However, it also meant the attendants at House Dellamorte would most likely be in bed and if there was one thing Rook hated more than anything, it was being a bother, especially in his lover’s home. Lucanis had tried to assure him that it was fine and that his home was Rook’s home but it was intimidating, to say the least. Rook had grown up in a 4 roomed shack where they had to use an outhouse, the mansion was nauseating for him to even stand in, let alone try to stay at. It just always felt strange and with Caterina being there too, the Grey Warden always just felt it was best to avoid it. Either way, he found that getting a room at the inn was usually the best way to avoid interruption from the Crows when with their First Talon. What could Rook say? He knew it was selfish but Lucanis was the one thing he was proud to be selfish about. He was the elf’s lover, after all, not the Crow’s.

     He always ended up at the same inn, one located right in the heart of the market district. He liked the atmosphere it gave the rooms he rented, Rook would crack the windows open a bit to let the noises of the Treviso city life filter through, it became a low buzz in the back of his brain, almost as a way to fill the empty space left by the blight no longer in his body. And so, when he had exchanged his gold for the room, (the attendant knew who he was, thanked him for saving the world, and tried to offer the room for free but Rook refused) that was the first thing he did after setting his bag down. This time, however, the elf threw the whole window open, letting the cool sea air hit his face as he looked out over the markets. It was lit with those cool-toned lights, and there was that wonderful low murmur of people talking, making sure to be quieter since it was night after all. There were clinks of glass, gentle clashing of steel, and the occasional mewing of the cats that laid lazily around the city. It was comforting, a reminder that everything Rook had worked for with the Veilgaurd meant these people could go about and live their lives. It was humbling and gratifying to know he was a part of it.

     Rook was ready to pull away from the window, to get changed and head to bed, ready to rest up to surprise his lover in the morning but a flash of feathers caught his eyes down at the market stalls. He squinted a bit to see and as soon as he realized who he was looking at, he sprinted from the room, nearly forgetting to lock the door in his haste. The elf stumbled through the halls, apologizing to the group of people he had run through and usually, he would be far more eloquent with his apologies but all he could do was yell out a “Sorry!” Over his shoulder as he ran out into the street. On the way down Rook managed to calm himself into a brisk walk instead of a sprint, the markets too busy for him to be running like a child. He quickly made his way to the stall he saw from his window.

     There, with his back to Rook, hands on his hips, and head tilted to the side was the First Talon of the Crow’s, evidently deep in thought as he pursued the seller's wares of the stall he stood at. Rook noticed they were weapons, specialized daggers it seemed with the variety he saw laid out. A certain one caught his eyes, so he cleared his throat loudly which made the Crow in front of him pause. “I’ve heard Wyvren Tooth Daggers are good, I’d recommend it if you haven’t got one,” The Grey Warden watched as for a brief moment the other man tensed, before he very quickly spun on his heel to look at Rook. Their eyes met and, as it always did when they reunited, Rook’s heart thumped hard in his chest.

     He didn’t even get to open his mouth to talk again when Lucanis practically barreled into him, arms wrapping around his waist and the elf was lifted into the air as the spirit wings popped from the Crow, spinning the Grey Warden around as the other man buried his face into the crook of Rook’s neck. He couldn’t help the laugh he let out, especially when he felt a gentle inhale from the man’s nose. “You’re home,” A raspy voice said, it was happy in tone and the elf couldn't help but place a kiss on the man’s temple. “I am, Spite,” He said gently, giving a squeeze to the arms around him. He could have sworn he heard a quick purr.

     Then Lucanis looked up at him, face barely pulled away from his neck and Rook swore his heart turned to goop as those big brown eyes looked at him as if he was the only thing in this world. The elf placed his hands on either side of Lucanis’ face, pressing their foreheads together. “You’re here, you’re really here” The Crow said. Rook giggled quietly at the deja vu of his words. “I am,” He confirmed, opening his eyes again to look into the other’s brown ones. There was awe in his eyes, almost like he was in disbelief to be holding his lover in his arms again. That made Rooks hard beat in a much more pained way this time, so he just pulled the man in close, letting their lips meet for their first kiss they got to share in over a month.

     Kissing Lucanis wasn’t like the way the books Rook would read had described it to be. It wasn’t about sparks flying or this intense overwhelming feeling that would make his head spin. It was warm, all-enveloping but in this comforting way, the same one someone gets after getting home after a long stretch away. Safe and loving, it was something the Grey Warden never thought he was ever going to experience. Yet here he was, in the arms of the First Talon of the Corw’s no less, in the Treviso Marketplace with fingers digging into his waist and the lips of his lover so generously making up for lost time. Then the hands on his hips began to wander a little further up, playing with the buckle of Rook’s belt when he pulled away with a laugh, much to Lucanis’ disappointment. His pout was what some may call unbecoming of a Talon of the Crow’s but the elf loved it. “We’re in public,” He teased, finally straightening up enough so the two were standing, the assassin now a few inches taller than the elf again. He got another frown in return once again made him laugh, lifting his hand cup to the other man’s cheek who buried his face into it, Lucanis laid a kiss on the palm. “I am First Talon, I can do as I please,” He grumbled into the hand. Rook smiled up at him, placing a kiss on the man’s cheek, which he trailed to his mouth where they once again met in the middle, this time though he didn’t let Lucanis deepen the kiss as the Grey Warden pulled away, causing a very, very quiet whine to leave the human.

     “I have a room at the inn,” Rook said, nodding towards said inn which got him a hum of disapproval from his lover.“I still don’t understand why you don’t just come to the estate, we have plenty of room,” The crow mused, it wasn’t angry more curious than anything and the elf just shrugged. “You know me, I like humble sort of quarters besides,” He leaned in, placing a kiss on the earlobe of the taller man. “We’ll be alone,” It was a whisper; words meant only for the Crow. Usually, Lucanis would fight a little bit more about getting Rook to the estate, always saying how he felt bad how his lover felt the need to stay in an inn instead of his home but there was a look in the man’s eye that said all the elf needed to know. ‘You’re right, we’ll talk about it later,’

     They shared another kiss. This time when Lucanis pulled back, there was purple in his eyes and a vague sense of displeasure. “Why are we still standing here?” Spite asked in his choppy, unpleased way which only made Rook laugh, lacing their fingers together and pulling the other man towards the inn. “Ok, ok. C’mon before someone decides they need the First Talon,” He joked. There was a squeeze to his hand as the Crow followed his steps. “They will have to pry us away from you,” This time Spite’s voice and Lucanis’ seemed to overlap which made the elf smile. Even after saving Caterina, it was hard to get the two to agree sometimes but they always agreed about Rook. From wanting to pamper him to giving him their sole attention, they both just wanted him to have the best treatment they could provide. He was spoiled for attention by the two and he was more than ready to make up for the lost time in the month he couldn’t see them.

     As Rook guided his lover to the Inn, he could feel those eyes on his body but he knew it wasn’t a lustful stare at him, but those big brown eyes looking at him with reverence. If the elf were a betting man, he’d put all his money on the fact Lucanis was probably thinking something along the lines of “I am so lucky,” As he so often did when the two got together. When they passed the threshold of the inn, another squeeze came from where their hands were still intertwined. “To be yours,” A dreamy sigh. “I am the luckiest man alive,” The crow whispered, pulled the Grey Warden close for a moment, and pressed a kiss to the tip of his pointed ear. Rook had to laugh at that, a silent victory of knowing his lover so well as they continued to his room.

     Finally, the two made it, nearly running into a group of crows on the way (The same group Rook had barrelled through earlier, he had a feeling if they saw him with the First Talon in tow there would be questions so they chose to go all the way around). When the door clicked behind them, the elf found his hand dropped but very quickly he was crowded against the opposite wall, hands on his hips before he was spun around. Before he knew it, Lucanis practically attacked his neck with such vigor he accidentally bit down a little too hard. There was a yelp from the shorter man and the other apologized with a gentle lap of his tongue to the probably bruising love bite. Reflexively, Rook swallowed down his moan, letting his hands fall on top of where the other’s hands were. A growl came out. “I like your noises,” Spite spat at the Grey Warden. It was him who moved next as a thumb dug into his newly acquired hickey making him yell out in surprise. The answering chuckle was laced with both the demon and the man’s laughter, which made the elf huff. “This feels a bit like two-on-one,” He said softly, trailing his hands up the other man’s arms slowly, letting himself feel the elegant lines of his lover’s muscle arms through the First Talon’s jacket. He couldn’t wait till it was discarded away so he could get a full touch. “Spite wants you to know how much he missed you too, I think,” Lucanis mumbled against the elf’s skin, still buried in the man’s jawline giving a mix of the most body-worshipping, loving kisses with much gentler love bites in the mix. Rook laughed, feeling the sensation of his throat vibrating where his lover was pressed against. “Well I missed him too,” He said softly, with a teasing smile on his lips. One last kiss was placed on his neck before the other man pulled away, eyes half-lidded with a ghost of a smile on his lips, almost like he was nervous.

     “Did you miss me?” He whispered like he was afraid to speak too loud. Rook sighed, a dreamy, love drunk sigh as he pushed himself from the wall, standing up straight with a slight tilt to his head as he looked up at his wonderful lover. From this close, Rook could see the bags under his eyes though they weren’t as bad as they had been when the two had first met. Lucanis was now at least getting more consistent sleep though he once confessed in a letter that without Rook at his side, he found sleep elusive again. The Grey Warden understood that, he too found sleep hard to get without his lover’s arms wrapped around him. Sometimes he could swear he could feel something around him some nights, always joking to himself that it was Spite who managed to find him through the fade. Lucanis brushed Rook’s fallen bangs from his face. “Of course I missed you,” The elf whispered back. A grin formed on his lover’s face and very quickly, the two’s lips met again and unlike their last ones, this had a hunger underneath the exchanges.

     Hands began to drift, wandering with curiosity as the two very slowly made their way to the bed. Tongues met as the Crow spun Rook to be the one to sit on the bed, and bent down to continue their exchange as his tongue so lovingly lavished the elf with attention, mapping out the other man’s mouth like he was starved for his taste, or like Rook was going to vanish from his arms. When they pulled away, the Grey Warden chuckled as he trailed a finger down the other man’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere,” He promised. Lucanis paused for a moment, surprise on his face before he shook his head, climbing to straddle the shorter man, hands being placed at the base of his skull before the man pulled the elf into a much more aggressive, attention-needing kiss.

     Moans were enchanged, the vibration of them filling each other’s mouths and the subtlest moves of each other’s hips against the other. The two never moved very fast or aggressively when they had sex, it wasn’t a competition, it was supposed to be a shared moment in time between the two and they wanted to savor every moment of it. (There was also the two’s lacking experience but they knew each other’s bodies well enough now that it wasn’t an issue anymore) Especially after being away from each other for as long as they were, while they didn’t talk about it they simply understood this was meant to be an exploration of each other. To allow each other the touches that they have been denied by distance for a month. So when Lucanis pulled away, chest heaving ever so slightly as he tried to pull air into his lungs, he slipped away from his lover’s lap and began to work on his outfit to undress. For a moment, Rook simply watched with reverence, absorbed by the man’s skilled, dexterous hands undressing himself with the cunning that only a master assassin could wield. Temptation ate away at the Grey Warden and he eventually stood to join his lover, helping to remove whatever buckles and straps he could get his hands on.

     As the man undressed the two were in silence, the background of the Treviso market still there but turned to that low buzz in Rook’s ears. After a few minutes of this, the Crow stopped to kiss his lover, and the Grey Warden continued his work for him. Very quickly though, Rook found himself in a losing battle the the numerous buckles and ties. When a semi-frustrated curse fell from the man’s lips Lucanis chuckled at him before taking over once more.

     Finally, the main part of the outfit lay discarded to the side of the bed, leaving the man only in a long shirt and pants. Anticipation at seeing his lover’s body gnawed at him but when Rook reached out to the bottom of his shirt, Lucanis’ hands stopped him a teasing smirk on his lips. “Your turn,” Was all he said, nodding down to the other man’s outfit. A grumble of annoyance came from the elf and he stepped back, ready to start throwing clothes from his body but the other man shook his head, stepping forward to start working on removing the man’s shoulder pads. “Gentle,” He chided, eyes focused on the task at hand. The Grey Warden huffed but followed the instructions, working on undoing the other metal shoulder plating from its spot, both finishing at the same time and Lucanis took them in both hands, gently setting them on a nearby desk earning a laugh from the other man. “You throw your stuff to the side but treat mine so kindly?” Rook teased, accepting the kiss the assassin leaned down to give. What was supposed to probably just be a brief come-together became more slowly heated, once again Lucanis letting his tongue explore his lover’s mouth with great respect, the best kind of worship.

     When he pulled away there was a haze to his dark eyes but still, he continued his work, sliding the heavy jacket from Rook’s shoulders. “Your armor is an extension of you, I would never treat you unkindly, why would I treat what protects you so?” He answered with a murmur. Blood rushed to Rook’s cheeks as he looked away from the man, letting himself be moved so the other could pull the coat from his arms. “You and your words sometimes,” The elf mumbled earning him a breathy chuckle from his lover who just placed a kiss on the tip of his nose before he continued his reverence undressing. It was a slow process, the assassin so careful with each buckle undone and with each new piece he removed, he’d so gently place it on the desk, neatly organized for later retrieval. Rook glanced over to his lover’s outfit on the ground. “Well now I feel bad about yours,” He muttered with a bit of an embarrassed tint to his voice. Lucanis shook his head, pulling the thick gloves from the elf’s fingers, kissing his knuckles once the skin was revealed. “Never feel bad for me Rook. With you in my life I want for nothing, I have all I need and all I feel right here,” The words were so soft, that the elf could feel the move of his lover’s lips against his skin where he continued to kiss each knuckle, switching to the other hand once he finished with that one.

     Worship didn’t feel enough of a word to describe Lucanis’ actions but it was the closest the Grey Warden could think as he watched the crow continue to undress him and with every inch of skin reveal a new kiss was placed upon it. “You make me speechless sometimes,” Rook whispered like it was something he was afraid to admit. Usually, the man had a quip for anything and everything, always a smart word on his tongue and he was especially good at it at the beginning of his and Lucanis' relationship. He was the one to tease the assassin into a blushing mess, purposeful remarks to watch his ears turn a wonderful shade of red but now, Rook found himself at the mercy of his lover’s smooth words. Maybe Lucanis was getting lessons from Crows on wooing, maybe Spite’s influence gave him more confidence or maybe he just was more comfortable saying what was on his mind, no longer held back by nonexisting self-worth and belief he didn’t deserve the love Rook gave him. The elf hoped (and knew, truly) it was the latter. There was a hazy high that came with the thought that the First Talon of the Crow’s felt these things for him, and after all the two went through to get here, it felt well earned. There was a smirk on his lover’s face once Rook noticed Lucanis had been talking to him but the Grey Warden had been too absorbed in his staring and thoughts he didn’t even realize.

“Uh, sorry what was that?”

     The answered chuckle he got was low, as his lover shifted his focus to the chest plate, fingers caressing down his sides as he found the buckles. “No no, I want to know what is on your mind that has the indomitable Rook so flushed in the face,” The tease was playful, only worsening the elf’s blush as he squirmed under the touch of the Crow’s wandering hands. “I’m just glad you’re comfortable with me, to be like this,” Rook mused, humming when his lover leaned down for another kiss. When they pulled away, Lucanis had his chest plate in his hand, once again turning towards the desk to place it down. When he turned there was a gentle encouraging look in his eyes, trying to get the man to continue his thought as the taller man started on the Grey Warden’s belt and the sash under it. “You never hold back what’s on your mind, you didn’t use to do that when we first met,” Rook continued, watching his lover swiftly remove what he was working on, again placed with reverence. Lucanis had even folded the sash up. A hum came from the man as he turned back, now working on the ties on the long sleeves, lifting the elf’s left hand to his mouth, laying a kiss on the exposed wrist, and going up the arm with each new tie undone. The Grey Warden could only sigh under the attention, allowing himself to be moved however Lucanis wished.

     “You were very intimidating back then,” His lover whispered against his skin, which made Rook choke on a laugh only to earn a raised eyebrow in response. “You truly were,” The words were teasing but still honest, he could tell by the way the Crow so earnestly stared down at him even as he switched to the other arm, following his set pattern of untying and lavishing any exposed skin with gentle, loving kisses. “How?” The Grey Warden asked, voice quiet as he watched how in-depth his lover was with his administrations of attention. Nothing was left untouched, unloved. “You were and are, a whirlwind of force Rook. You shine bright, always managing to undo my clouds of despair and it scared me,” Lucanis explained in a soft voice, hands now wandering to the last piece on the elf’s body from his armor besides his boots, pants, and shirt. The elf chuckled, going to pull the last part off himself but the Crow stopped him, instead leaning in to lavish the other side of Rook’s neck with kisses and bites as he had done before. “I was holding onto my own clouds of despair then too,” The elf muttered quietly, letting his hands go to the other man’s shoulders and pulling him in closer. “Yes, and yet,” The words were muffled against Rook’s skin, each emphasized with another kiss. “You still helped with mine, and how lucky of a man I am that you did so,” Again, with each word a kiss was laid on the Grey Warden’s skin, going closer to the man’s ear. “For now, you are mine, and I need not ever worry of those clouds when I have you here to shine for me,” The words were whispered in his ear, Lucanis’ tone akin to a priest declaring the love for the Maker and how his kindness shines down on the people. It made Rook shiver, to bite down on his lip as he stopped a whine.

     A rough bite to his earlobe and growl spoke of Spite’s displeasure of him hiding his sounds again. “S-sorry,” The elf said quickly, turning his head to meet the lips of the demon in a way to apologize more thoroughly which pleased the spirit as he hummed into the kiss. When they parted, the brown eyes had a playful tint to them and the Grey Warden rolled his own with a giggle before tugging on his lover’s shoulders. “How much longer must I wait to see all of you?” His ask was akin to begging, and he knew he should have been more embarrassed but at this moment, a heated need began to burn in his gut. Desire made him impatient when Lucanis seemed to find more self-restraint in the throws of passion. (Until right before his peak, any restraint would leave the door as he finally allowed his emotions to overwhelm him) Thankfully, he was not feeling totally cruel as the Crow removed the last piece of the man’s armor, laying it on the desk before turning to face Rook again. He saw something on the elf’s face that made him smile fondly, which made the shorter man’s cheeks heat again.

“Sit on the bed, Amor,”

     The pet name was said very quietly, it was something Lucanis was still getting used to trying. He had once said he’d seen the way Illario threw them around when working for the Crows, how insincere they felt, and how the First Talon had developed a distaste for them. But through their letters, through their time together he started to understand the desire to call his lover these things. While still very hard, anytime he did, the rush that would run through Rook was like nothing else. No one had ever said things like that to him and Lucanis being the one to do it, both learning to use those terms together made it truly something special. Before he followed the instruction to sit on the bed, the elf pulled Lucanis down for another kiss, this time being the one to have his tongue slip into the man’s mouth, taking his time to explore what he could reach, lifting up to the balls of his feet to get a better angle. He tasted of coffee, of course. A resonating moan from his lover vibrated in his mouth and Rook responded in turn, making sure to make his noise as loud as he could. There was a rumbling pleased purr. With a laugh, the Grey Warden pulled away, leaving one last kiss on the assassin’s lips before he took a few steps back to the bed, sitting himself down and leaning back, having his arms on either side behind him to hold himself up. He basked under the eyes of Lucanis and Spite, one eye the man’s and one the demon’s as they looked down at him with a grin on their face. Once, Rook shied away from any sort of attention like this, it always felt fake, flawed in some way that made him feel like men only wanted his body, never with the Crow, this was different.

     Lucanis loved him, he loved Lucanis. They had these heady emotions for each other before ever having sex. It hadn’t important to either of them. They wanted these emotions between the two of them before that step and it just made everything so much sweeter, better. Were Rook delirious, impaired, and loose he would scream it from the rooftops of anywhere he could get to, talking about the overwhelming love he felt for the Crow to any poor soul close enough to capture his attention, and had they never had sex, it wouldn’t have mattered. It wasn’t about that, it was about their love, their worship of each other through words, through emotion. But when they did have sex, it was unlike anything else the elf had ever experienced, a special raw feeling that Rook knew he’d never share with anyone else. He didn’t need to, he had Lucanis.

     The Grey Warden watched as the other man knelt down in front of him like he did all that time ago, right after they recused the elf from the gods prison. They stared for a long moment at each other, the assassin’s hands coming to rest on the smaller man’s knee, squeezing it. A question Rook realized, as the other man tilted his head. No words needed to be exchanged, this was what happened every time they did this, a question of consent, a chance to end things before they got too far. Lucanis would follow whatever the elf wanted, if he were to shake his head, the man would stand up, place a kiss on the other’s forhead then prep them for bed and the two could fall asleep in each other’s arms. That wasn’t what Rook wanted though. So he nodded, making sure to lean down to place a kiss on the other’s lips, in a way of saying ‘thank you for checking’ as he did every time.

     A hum vibrated against his lips as they kissed and when the elf pulled away, Lucanis' hands drifted to his boots, tugging it a little as a request to have better access which made Rook lift the leg slightly, to give the other man an easier time as he pulled it off. As reverent as with the other parts of the Grey Warden’s armor, he set the boot to the side, and when he turned back he lifted the ankle of the leg to his mouth, leaving a kiss to the bone that protruded out before setting it back down. He did the same to the other leg, boot off, set aside, ankle kissed, leg set back down. When the Crow looked back up, eyes big with love, Rook had to lean down again, kissing with more pressure to try to convey the feelings that welled in his chest. He tugged at the man’s shirt, trying to get him to straighten up which he did but before the assassin could straddle the elf, like he probably planned, the Warden stood spinning them around and then pushing the man so he was the closest to the bed but he shook his head when Lucanis asked if he should sit. As they kissed, Rook’s hands traveled down to the hem of his lover’s shirt and he paused, pulling back from their kiss.

“May I?” He asked quietly, to not break the spell that was over the two of them.

     There was no hesitation in Lucanis’ nod. Trying to match his lover’s moves, Rook made sure to take the process slowly, taking his turn to kneel in front of his lover and lavish his skin with every inch exposed as he pushed the fabric up. He didn’t miss the notable bulge in the Crow’s pants either but chose to ignore it in favor of exploring the skin he finally had revealed to him. As the elf followed up the man’s happy trail he added those love bites in between his kisses which earned a breathy moan from the other. When the Warden got to the man’s rib cage he made sure to press a kiss to each rib, making sure to get both sides as he trailed further up. When he passed the man’s nipples he made sure they also got attention, each earning a kiss and gentle bite which made Lucanis jerk a little, back arching as he let out a low groan. “Tease,” A raspier voice bit out which Rook chuckled at. He continued further up, Lucanis helping him finally slipped his shirt off and they stood face to face, chests nearly touching. The elf leaned up, being met halfway by his lover and when their lips met, Rook grabbed ahold of the man’s waist, digging his fingers into the fabric of the other’s pants as their kiss deepened. The Grey Warden made sure to let whatever noises he could slip from his lips the few times he and Lucanis parted as they continued to kiss, a pleased rumble came from deep in his lover’s chest.

     Eventually, Rook had started to tug on the man’s pants, eager to get them off but the assassin stopped him with a gentle press on his hands and a chuckle, nodding down to the elf’s shirt. The elf grumbled but simply took Lucanis’ hands, guiding them to the bottom of his shirt before letting his hands drop as the man finally grabbed it and started to pull it up. Unlike the rest of his body, the Crow decided to explore his torso with his hands rather than his lips, dragging his fingers up as he slowly pulled at the shirt. The Grey Warden couldn’t help but squirm under the feeling, the vague, light ticklish feeling of not enough to get him to laugh but defiantly something he felt. Especially when the man went over his scars from the blood magic he had used to transition, their sensitivity never really goes away. His very observant lover had realized that the first night they had slept together, cracking knuckles and outright cries nearly spooked the man but Rook had assured him, it wasn’t bad; just sensitive. Now that evil man knew just how to use the right touch to to get a gasp from the elf and the evil demon always favored it as a tactic too. Usually, they would gang up on the poor Warden to get a reaction. Today though, it was about the slow, gentle touches so while the Crow did give them attention, he kept his touches light, always just barely there, barely enough.

     “Now who’s a tease?” Rook asked, shakey huffs of laughter starting to come out as the touches that were just never enough, drove him slightly insane. There was a smirk on Lucanis’ face. He gave a gentle shush to the other man as he allowed his fingers to glide across his torso, no longer trying to lift the shirt off but letting it fall back into place, just now with his hands under it. With a rather dramatic huff, the elf went to grab the shirt himself but the hands on his torso quickly darted back out to catch his, purple eyes looking down at him. “No touch,” Spite growled rather ruthlessly but there was no fear in Rook, instead just an inpatient whine. “Then get on with it,” He said back, raising an eyebrow as he looked up, watching as one eye faded from the purple to see those blown open brown eyes, now just a thing ring around his dark pupil.

The Grey Warden swallowed hard.

     “Let us worship you, Amor, you deserve nothing less,” The words were so honestly spoken, his eyes were like that of a begging puppy as the assassin looked down at his lover. The elf squirmed under his gaze, wondering if this was how the taller man’s targets felt right before he would strike, that heady anticipation of something coming just around the corner. But unlike those people, he would get to keep his life, though probably not with his dignity intact. “Wouldn’t you rather worship all of me?” He tried to tease, he hoped his words didn’t sound as needy as they had felt in his mouth. Was he begging, he wondered? Rook honestly wasn’t sure, far too concerned with getting the rest of their damn clothes off than worrying if his desperation for his lover was obvious to said lover. The answering groan he got wasn’t what he was expecting but the Grey Warden had no complaints as his shirt was finally slipped from his body. When the elf leaned in for another kiss, he was temporarily ignored as the assassin folded his shirt ever so neatly and set it on top of Rook’s coat, making sure they were stacked neat and straight. With a quiet groan, the Warden took hold of the other man’s pants, tugging on one of the belt loops to get his lover’s attention. As the man turned to look at him, Rook rocked forward onto the balls of their feet again, accidentally knocking their noses together causing both men to giggle as the taller man rubbed his jokingly. They were still giving each other those big grins when lips finally met again, laughs turning at moans as Lucanis’ hands returned to exploring Rook’s body, and the elf decided to do the same to his lover. With every teasing dig of the assassin’s fingernail into the Grey Warden’s scars, the other would respond in kind by tugging on the other man’s body hair, not too hard but just enough to get similar noises to his own to leave his lover’s mouth. A few one-word exchanges went between the two as they did so.

“Tease,” Lucanis mumbled.

“Flirt,” Rook whispered.

“Temptress,”

“Enticer,”

“Gorgeous,”

“Handsome,”

“Amor,”

“Schatz,”

     With each word, muttered against each other’s lips, their hands wandered lower and lower till both held the waistline of each other’s pants, one gentle tug away for each into being naked. Lucanis was the one to pull back, taking in a quick deep breath before pressing his forehead to his lover’s, Rook sighed dreamily at the view of the other man. A few moments passed as each man tried to gather their breaths. “Do you wish to continue?” The assassin asked in a whisper, eyes trained onto the Grey Warden’s, probably looking for any form of hesitation in the man. At first, the elf just nodded but when the grip on his pants didn’t change he realized he was going to have to voice his desire to continue so he cleared his throat, trying not to focus on the lingering taste of coffee that had been filling his senses since reuniting with his lover. “Please, let’s please keep going,” It was begging, through and through but Rook found he couldn’t care. Especially not when the other man finally pulled his pants off and let them fall to the floor, a shiver running through the elf as the wetness between his thighs was exposed to the air, colder than the heat of his body and the heated head of his hardened clit. He squirmed around as he adjusted to the air, reaching for his lover’s pants so they could both be in the same state on undress but of course, he was stopped by the other man.

     Rook defiantly didn’t let out a swear, and he didn’t let out a whine as he was denied. Lucanis leaned down to kiss him before he continued to go down, gently pushing the elf back so he would step out of his pants and so the Crow could pick them up. The Warden didn’t think much of it until a snarky, raspy huff came from him as the man straightened back up. He looked down to see what Spite was planning but his body involuntarily jerked up when a puff of air was blown rather cruelly against his sensitive clit, the little stimulation still enough for a full body twitch. “Bastard!” He whispered in a high voice as his head was thrown back, eyes squeezing tight as he tried to ignore the oversensitivity of his body. It had been too long since he last had been with his lover if his body’s reaction was anything to go off of. The answering raspy chuckle was a tease in itself, Rook swore as his nerves seemingly sparked at the sound, trying to shake his head as if he could shake the sensation from his skin. Hands cupped his hips and purple eyes met his as the demon leaned in, the kiss the two of them shared much more aggressive than anything with Lucanis. For a moment, the hands now on his ass, tightened, just barely pulling the elf’s cheeks apart much to his surprise before they very quickly stopped and pulled away returning to his hips.

     The taller man pulled away from the kiss with an annoyed sigh, shaking his head disapprovingly. “Spite and you need to learn some patience,” He joked. Rook smiled up at him, sliding his hands back down to the other man’s pants. “Or someone needs to hurry up a little,” He joked back, the elf hooking his fingers into the assassin’s waistband and mustering up the biggest, pleading eyes in a bid to finally shed his lover of the last of his clothes. Lucanis smiled down fondly before he nodded, laughing at the Grey Warden’s excited whine as he finally got to push the man’s pants down. Rook let himself moan out freely as he watched the man’s cock jut out, head swollen red with neglect and precum slick at the tip of it. It was gratifying to see the elf wasn’t the only one so affected by their rather extended foreplay.

     The shorter man took a step so the Crow could kick his pants away before quite nearly rushing him, pulling him down into a kiss, and crowding him to the bed. His lover hummed, the vibration of it rattling in Rook’s mouth making him moan as he pushed the assassin to the bed. He took a brief moment to admire the scene before him, Lucanis’ big brown eyes swimming in lust and black, his cock standing proud in between his legs where they were spread, ready to receive Rook however he wanted. Different possibilities began to go through his head, it almost became overwhelming the number of ideas he came up with as this innate desire to make up for lost time caused him to overthink. The assassin must have noticed something was off because the Warden found himself being pulled into the other man’s arms, his chin resting on the elf’s upper stomach as he looked up with those eyes. “Slow, let us take it slow Amor,” He whispered. There was an assurance under those words, an unspoken ‘We’ll have more time,’. It was a promise Rook knew Lucanis would keep.

     So the elf nodded, taking a moment to calm his racing thoughts and heartbeat before gently pulling away from his lover only to kneel in front of him and his proud standing cock. A hand found its way into the Grey Warden’s deep red hair, not pulling or tugging, just sitting there like reassurance. Rook shuffled forward till he could comfortably reach out for Lucanis’ dick, legs somewhat already aching from the long days he had been doing but the elf ignored them, this was more than worth the burning thighs. The elf hesitated for a short few seconds, as he always did when it came to this, fear of inexperience always managing to creep up on him during these moments. The hand sat in his hair tightening, just a little, making Rook look up at his lover and what he saw made any worry melt instantly. When he looked up, the shorter man saw the other man’s spirit wings were out and unfurled, one eye purple then the other darkened brown, and this look of pure admiration from both the man and demon. They looked down at Rook as if he was the most beautiful single object in the entire world. As if nothing else in this world mattered except for the here and now, with Rook kneeling at their feet ready to please.

     With renewed confidence, the Grey Warden reached out, wrapping a hand around the base of the man’s cock as he leaned in, giving a single swipe of his tongue to the slickened pre-cum head. A happy purr rumbled out the Crow as he threw his head back in ecstasy, this time Rook wasn’t sure if it was Lucanis, Spite, or both but was happy to have caused such a reaction. He continued his gentle lavishes on the man’s dick, hand never straying from the base as he went up and down the shaft leaving one kiss after the other in a very similar fashion to what his lover had down to the elf’s body as he was undressed. It felt good, to be able to give the same attention to the man he adored, especially with the moans tumbling from the assassin’s mouth, all those going straight through the elf. He knew he leaking on the floor himself and tried to squeeze things together to get some relief. It didn’t do much but make a moan fall from his lips. The vibrations against Lucanis’ dick made the taller man throw his head back again with a much louder groan this time, the hand in Rook’s hair tightened for a second before the Crow realized and he loosened it again but didn’t pull away. He knew the Warden needed the comfort of his touch even as pleasure began to overwhelm the assassin. Very carefully, Rook leaned in and began to take the man’s cock into his mouth, the pace slow and controlled as he sunk to about halfway on his lover’s cock before pausing to get his bearings. His eyes fluttered as he tried to get a look at the other man’s face and nearly choked when their eyes met. How Lucanis still managed to have those damnable puppy eyes while being pleasured was a mystery to the Grey Warden.

     Rook took in a few breaths through his nose, getting ahold of his nerves again as he started to move further down his lover. He managed to take in another inch before deciding tonight was not a night for attempting to deepthroat, so he brought his other hand up to wrap around the remaining length. The assassin hummed, an appreciative noise that the elf could swear he felt in his bones. Neither man was partially good at dirty talk, still too relatively new to sex to add it so instead they would encourage each other with noises, and gestures while also making sure to check in with one another. “Alright?” Lucanis asked in a breathless tone, heavy breathing coming once he managed to squeak the word out. Rook nodded, or as much as he could, before fluttering his eyelids as check-in back to the other man, and the answered chuckle he got was playful, teasing. “I am wonderful Amor,” The Crow assured, hand coming down to wipe away some drool that had started to leak out the side of the Grey Warden’s mouth.

     After a few minutes of letting Rook adjust, which was a great show of the assassin’s self-control as his hips never moved, not even a little, the elf began to move. A slow pull back off the man’s cock before just the tip of the head remained in his mouth before going back down in a smooth movement of back and forth, with his hands getting what his mouth couldn’t reach. Lucanis, ever the gentleman, used his self-restraint as a master assassin to never let his hips jump or jerk while his lover pleasured him. It was wildly impressive, especially as the growing blush on his cheeks started to travel to his ears and his chest which was just a show of how much the man was enjoying it. There was one particular moment where Rook thought he had got the man to lose some of the restraint, as the moan he got on the way down at one point was shakey, very loud as it echoed through the room. A smirk found its way to the elf’s face as he remembered the open window. People probably heard that, and while they didn’t know it was the First Talon of the Crows, the shorter man sure did.

Talk about a power trip.

     Lucanis didn’t falter though and his hips remained firmly planted on the bed, never forcing his cock deeper than what Rook was taking in. Ever the gentleman. The Grey Warden did one last move down, taking as much as he comfortably could, to hear the other man cry out again before he pulled away, giving a lick to the red tip as he did so. Something was whispered under the Crow’s breath and the elf was fairly certain it was something along the lines of “Tease,” but he let it be, the ache between his legs starting to take more precedence than his smart mouth. He leaned back for a moment, spreading his legs just enough so his clit was no longer being rubbed by them to give himself a moment of respite. Rook felt the man’s eyes on him and he knew, with a prideful smugness, his lover was looking down at his wet cunt. The Grey Warden smiled under the attention, spreading his legs just a little further to allow his lover a better look who whimpered once he did, eyes shining with a glint that the shorter man knew all too well. He shook his head, which earned a displeased, confused sound from the Crow, who tilted his head in curiosity at the man’s silent refusal. “Not tonight,” Rook reasoned that as much as he would love for his lover to eat him out, something Lucanis did very well, this had gone on long enough, and while he was ok with slow, he needed the other man in him now.

“I want to ride you,”

     It was said in a low tone, a pleading tone that was whiney in a way, desperate. The responding moan he got in return had him squirming as his clit twitched at the sound. The hand on his head moved to be in front of the Warden, out reached to help him to his feet which Rook graciously accepted. Once he was standing, hands made their way to his lower thighs. “Allow me to prep you, Amor?” It was a kind ask, and probably to Lucanis a simple gesture to continue their foreplay but the elf shook his head, placing his hands on either side of the Crow’s face and tilting his head so they could kiss, slow. When he pulled away, he pressed their foreheads together. “I don’t need it,” He reasoned, shifting as he felt just how wet he was. Lucanis frowned. “I don’t want to hurt you,” The man reasoned back, brow furrowed down in worry. Rook gave a breathy laugh as he moved to kiss the worried wrinkles on his lover’s forehead away. “You won’t, I’m uh…” He cleared his throat with embarrassment, his cheeks heating up as he tried to say the words. “I’m wet enough,” The Grey Warden eventually squeaked out, having to fight against his eye’s desire to squeeze shut to hide away from his lover’s caring eyes. But he knew if he did that, it would just worry his lover more so, the elf fought himself to keep eye contact. Though, it had worked as Lucanis’ eyes fluttered for a moment at his words and a shakey sigh came from the man. Pride rushed through Rook.

     When his lover looked at him, he just nodded before clearing his throat to speak again. “How do you want me?” The Crow asked. Rook pulled away from him for a second, pushing aside from fallen hair from his face. “Like this,” He answered, climbing into the lap of his lover. The happy noise that came from his chest was Spite and the demon took over for a moment so his hands could wander down to the elf’s ass again, giving it a squeeze which made the Warden laugh. Lucanis joined after a moment, the two coming together to kiss even as their chuckles and giggles entwined as their lips touched. As they kissed, Rook reached down, wrapping his hand around the base of the other man’s cock again before guiding it to his cunt. The hands on his ass tightened as he teased the head against his pussy, his own wet slick mixing with the other man’s pre-cum, adding to the mess already between the elf’s legs. Not that he minded.

     With a slow intake of air, Rook finally guided the head in and started his slow descent down the man’s cock. While the amount of slick from both of them helped, the no prep slowed the Warden into needing to take every inch as slow as he could. It was a consistent pace, never really stopping but it was paced so as not to overwhelm the shorter man. To Lucanis’ credit, he didn’t move again, just letting his lover take his time in sinking down on his cock. He rubbed circled into the elf’s hip bones, laying kisses on the shoulder he could reach and while no words were exchanged, with each kiss Rook could feel the praise he was thinking. ‘So good, you’re always so good for me,’ They said as he kissed up and down the Grey Warden’s exposed skin. Unable to say his own words, the shorter man just sighed, continuing his way down as his way of saying ‘And you are good for me,’. About halfway down the man’s dick, Rook had to pause, his legs giving a full shake at the tension of holding his body up the way he was. A curious sound came from Lucanis, another check-in Rook realized. He made sure to nod, as reassuring as he could and he smiled down at the other man, giving his squeeze to the man’s shoulder as his check-in. The Crow returned the smile and nodded as well, tilting his head up as he silently asked for a kiss which the Warden graciously returned.

     Slowly, but surely, Rook continued his descent down as the two continued to kiss, the burn of the stretch a bit uncomfortable but it was starting to fall away as his walls began to flutter around the man’s cock. Both men let out equally loud groans when the elf finally got to the base of his cock, the stretch once again hitting uncomfortably as the Grey Warden squirmed at the pressure. Lucanis' breath hitched as he did so and Rook placed a kiss on the shoulder he was leaning over as an apology. “Are… A-are you alright, A-Amor?” Even through what must be overwhelming heat and tightness, the taller man’s main concern was for his Warden which in turn made the shorter man’s heart melt. “I’m o-ok, just need to g-get used to it, a-are you…?” Rook couldn’t continue as he let out another moan, his body’s nerves alit with what just felt like ‘Lucanis, Lucanis, Lucanis,’ His lover gave a hum, turning his head so the two men’s lips could meet in a kiss, a quick exchange of tongues where the coffee taste on the Grey Warden’s tongue, that had been melting away, was returned in full force. A perfect bitter dark blend, one that just encapsulated the master assassin just so. When they pulled away, there was a wide smile on the Crow’s face. “With you in my arms again, I want for nothing in this moment,” He answered with full clarity as if he could now so easily handle the cunt wrapped around his aching cock, if only to make Rook’s head rush with a heady mix of love and the need to be fucked by his lover, right now.

     But, slow and steady was the name of this game today so instead he just sighed as he leaned into the side of the First Talon, peppering kisses and bites down his jawline to the muscles in his neck. The hands on his hips continued the comforting circles and Lucanis made sure to give the elf as much access to his body as he wanted, moving in whatever way made things easier for Rook. Always the thoughtful one. So the Grey Warden decided he deserved to be rewarded for his kindness and slowly began to squeeze around the man’s cock, basking in the sound of surprise that came from his lover. The groans that came from the Crow were heavenly, who needed the Maker when Rook had this angelic moment right here? The look of the man too, his head was thrown back, his eyes closed and mouth open slightly as he let his noises loose from deep within his chest. Who needed the Golden City when the elf had this man in a way no one had ever seen and no one would ever see? Eternal afterlife had nothing on the throws of passion with the man Rook loved with his whole body, mind, and soul.

     “Y-you alright Amor?” Lucanis’ voice came through the Grey Warden’s thoughts and with a few blinks he realized he had paused halfway back down the man’s cock. Big brown eyes looked at him with concern and the shorter man could see that the other was about to lift the elf off but he slid down the rest of the way, both men giving loud moans in response to the sudden pick-up in pace. But the thought was being empty after all that was much more devastating than Rook cared to deal with. The assassin looked taken aback, but pleasantly so as his lips opened to let another sound out, that’s when the Warden saw the shiny spit starting to fall from his mouth. He leaned in to lick it away, letting their tongues tangle for a brief moment before pulling away. “I’m amazing, how can I not be when I’m here with you,” They weren’t as sauve as the Crow’s words, pleasure always did seem to dull the elf’s tongue but his lover didn’t care as he brought his hands up to pull the shorter man down into a passionate kiss.

     Rook’s arms slid past the taller man’s neck as he leaned further into the kiss, the vibrations of their moans making his head rush with heat. Had the air in the room always been this warm or was it just the two of them? The elf could see his lover was shiny with sweat, his hair slicked down with it and the tips of his ears were a bright red along with his cheeks. Rook knew he couldn’t have looked any better. If he looked even half as overwhelmed as he felt, well, he was glad there was no mirror for him to see his state of being right now.

     When he pulled away from his lover, the Grey Warden placed one last kiss on the tip of his nose before finally starting to move on his cock again. Hands returned to his hips, this time helping the shorter man gain a soft, slow pace, a languid move of up till just the tip was left then a slow descent down till he was full to the brim again. This went on for a little while, the up and down, exchanges of loving kisses and nips as they returned back to the slow pace of their lovemaking. Then, on one of the ups, Rook purposely squeezed as he got to the tip of the man’s dick and the resounding moan he got told him all he needed to know but the twitch of Lucanis’ cock was helpful in itself. The man was close and that meant, he was also very close to his composure breaking.

     Rook felt a bit cruel when he pulled completely off his lover and the whine from the assassin was so pitiful, so sad but as he climbed off the man and saw those eyes look up at him he knew it was a good choice as very small tears forming at the very corners of his eyes, so it was only a matter of time. “Back on the bed Schatz,” The elf said in a quiet tone. There was a nod before the other began to push himself back till his head hit the pillows waiting for him and the Grey Warden followed suit, climbing onto the man as he hovered over his cock for a second, simply looking down at his beautiful lover’s overwhelmed state. Purple eyes appeared. “On,” Was all Spite said, brow furrowed as he looked between his aching cock and where Rook hovered over him. The shorter man snorted, perhaps Lucanis had been right about Spite needing to learn patience but that was a thought for another day. Instead, the elf leaned down and sealed their lips together before once again sinking on the man’s dick, a very pleased growl rumbling in between their intertwined lips once again. Rook would never tire of the feeling, especially how it always seemed to send sparks through his clit, which was throbbing rather angrily from its lack of attention but he ignored it, he had a mission after all.

     When the shorter man pulled back, those brown eyes were back and they were bigger than ever, slightly more tears gathered. It seemed the Grey Warden would have to work harder to push his lover over, not that it was an issue, Rook rather prided himself as an expert on the man’s body and knew just how to get what he wanted. So, with their eyes looking deep within each other’s the elf started to move again, this time picking up the pace ever so slightly, letting it go to a smooth transition of up and down instead of pausing at any point. More strangled breaths came from the Crow and he had attempted to bite down on his lip, probably to hide his whines but Rook used his thumb to swipe against the man’s bottom lip. “I want to hear your noises,” He whispered, making sure to lean in close so Lucanis could feel the words against his skin, to feel the impact of his Warden’s plea. Immediately the man’s mouth opened, moans and groans filling the room once again much to the elf’s delight. The shorter continued his pace, adding the occasional squeeze to hear his lover’s breath hitch in his throat, to watch his eyelids flutter and see more tears gather. Then, Lucanis spoke.

     “Amor, I-” Oh yes. Rook knew that tone, the breathy sigh that cut himself off, and the look in the assassin’s eyes. “Don’t hold yourself back Schatz,” The elf implored. “Let me see you, all of you,” As he spoke, the Grey Warden sunk down and squeezed tight, and that was all Lucanis needed.

     Instantaneously, the tears that had been gathering in the man’s eyes flooded down and hiccuping breaths filled the room as Lucanis just sobbed with emotion. Cries interminably interrupted by gasps as Rook began to ride faster, still at a medium pace to not overwhelm his lover too much but enough to keep the tears of the man flowing. The first time the two slept together, this hadn’t happened. It was still wonderful of course, a memory the elf cherished close to his heart but when they had saved the world and finally got a moment alone, this had happened. It was much faster the first time they’d experienced it, one moment the Crow had been fine and then the next he was sobbing as he had come down the Warden’s throat. Lucanis hadn’t even a moment to register what had happened by the time the elf got to him, in a panic to make sure he was ok but the taller man assured him he was fine. Both had chalked it up to being an outburst of all the pent-up emotion, especially after defeating the gods. So when it happened again when the assassin had slipped inside the Grey Warden’s cunt, they concluded that maybe it was just something Lucanis does.

     And boy were they right, every time since, a little before the man would orgasm, the Crow would break down into a mess of sobs and babbles of his love for Rook. It was incredible to watch the man he loved so much, the stoic semi-stiff with emotions First Talon dissolved into a mess of tears and barely lung-filling gasps. It was also hot, of course, knowing that just his mere being alive was what would get his lover to that state, it was a bit of a power trip. Now was no different, Rook watched with slightly masochistic glee as Lucanis’ tears streamed down his face, big eyes staring up at him with some much love and devotion. How lucky of a man the Grey Warden was, to have this, to be like this with such an amazing man. He voiced as much. The gasp he got in response made his evil grin deepen, now came the next best part.

     “Lady luck has nothing but grace for me if I can have you, like this to myself,” His words were shakey, interrupted by the occasional gasp of air as Rook continued to ride his dick but the Crow was determined to say his piece. “For I know nothing can compare to you Amor, I used to think a demon like me deserved nothing but now that I have you, I know that is not true. I must be one good man for someone like you to have looked at me and chosen me,” The elf nodded in agreement, keeping his noises quieter so he could hear the declarations of his lover who so graciously spoke his words. “There is no one like you, I am indeed a lucky man to have you in my arms, on my cock, in my life, making every day I have with you full of color, of light,” Rook would have laughed were he not in the middle of moaning, feeling as his lover’s hips finally jerked up, the self-restraint finally washing away to give away to something harder. “No one else will ever have you like this, what a lucky man am I to be gifted with such a prize,” Another jerk of Lucanis’ hips came as the Grey Warden let out a swear as it hit the spot where stars flickering in his vision, making his clit give a hot, red anger throb which caused him to choke on a gasp. Even in this state, the Crow was ever vigilante of his lover’s pleasure and so, through the tears he managed to get his hand to reach down and press to Rook’s clit. The slick between the two of them was everywhere as the assassin's fingers were slippery when he touched the man which made him cry out, back arching and hips jerking for more. He heard a dreamy sigh come from the man under him. “I will never tire of this, of you, of us. I will spend my life showing you how much I love you, how much I adore you and I will make sure the world hears of our love,” Hiccuping breaths made the words somewhat hard to hear along with the blood rushing from the elf’s head down to where the other man was rather ruthlessly touching. Rook tried to say something in return but all that escaped him was a gambled mess and with one more expert slide of the fingers on him, the elf calmped down on Lucanis’ cock as he came. He hadn’t even realized he was so close.

     Either from watching his lover cum or the sudden squeeze around his cock, the assassin followed his Warden over the edge letting out a significantly louder cry than his other noises had been as his back bowed. The two stayed in their taunt positions for a long couple of moments, breaths coming rapidly from both men, and muscles tensed and tightened. The elf felt the warm slosh of cum trickle out of his cunt when the other man shifted his hips slightly, causing both of them to moan at the overstimulating sensation. Lucanis was still hard, he usually was after only a round but he always gave Rook time to come down, to avoid the nerve zaps the shorter man usually got after cumming. Finally, the elf took in a deep breath before he collapse down onto his lover, the man’s dick still buried and more cum trickling out with how he had moved but he buried his face into the crook of his lover’s neck, taking in the smell of his sweat and now distant cologne. And of course, that underlying smell of coffee.

     As the Grey Warden began to come down from his high, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to the words his lover had spilled as they reached their peaks. “I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you,” felt like a quote in one of the romance books Rook secretly read, the kind of words before an important, 4-word question was asked. He couldn’t help the giggle at the thought of it. How funny. There’s no way that’s what Lucanis had meant but…

     “What is it, Amor?” The very man asked, a smile in his voice as a hand came up to thread his fingers through the elf’s hair. Rook leaned into the touch, humming dreamily at his lover’s soft touch, his eyes fluttered close as he buried his face deeper into the taller man’s neck but still he answered. “Just thinking about what you said,” He said, words somewhat muffled against the skin of his lover. “Ah, I hope nothing… offended,” The Crow sounded embarrassed, he always said he never had control over his babbling while in that state, just saying whatever words he was feeling deep in his heart. How he didn’t know what that did to Rook was beyond the elf, to drive your lover to the point where they would just babble about how much they loved you while crying? The best feeling, if the Grey Warden was to be asked about it. “Never,” He reassured his lover, placing a kiss on the skin he was pressed against. “Flattered if anything, it sounded like a proposal honestly,”

     Almost immediately, both men tensed at Rook’s words as they were taken aback by what he said. Even the elf himself hadn’t been expecting to say those words. Anxiety immediately riddled the shorter man, how could he have said that stuff so… so casually?! That was supposed to remain a thought in his head, he wasn’t the one who babbled whatever was on his mind. The Grey Warden felt awkward as his lover was still stiff next to him, the hand in his hair nearly a tight grip. He wanted to pull away, to laugh and call it all a joke but if anything that felt worse, to dismiss it as nothing but sex talk would be a disservice and insult to his lover. Instead, he took in a shaky breath and spoke up. “Lucanis?” He asked, still too afraid to move from where he was buried safely. There were a few moments before the man responded, each passing second causing more and more tension to build in the shorter man.

“Do you mean it?”

That… hadn’t been what Rook had been expecting.

     He finally decided to lift himself, to look down at his lover and was meant with those damn big brown eyes but the elf could swear there was a… sparkle in them.

     “Lucanis…” Rook found himself breathless, speechless at the intensity of their eyes there. The other man sat up, wrapping his hands around the Warden’s waist, and very slowly began to move his hips up his cock, then down when he got halfway. A strangled gasp forced its way from the shorter man. “If it was a proposal,” Already, tears were starting to form in the corners of the assassin’s eyes. “What would you say?” The question was borderline desperate and the Grey Warden found his thoughts messy as at the same time, Lucanis began to thrust up into his cunt and a hand wandered down to the man’s clit, rubbing soft circles to the tip causing sparks to go through the him. It took him a few tries to speak again.

“Do you want it to be?”

     Immediately, the First Talon gave a desperate nod, eyes big as he watched his lover as if he would disappear at any moment. Rook opened his mouth to respond but right at that moment, the other man pressed down onto his still-sensitive clit making him arch his body with a ‘Ah!’. The motion made the man’s cock hit right at the perfect spot and Lucanis definitely caught on and he began to abuse that spot with talented calloused fingers. How was the elf supposed to answer his question when the Crow was so insistent on giving mind-blowing pleasure?

     Luckily, Rook was a stubborn man, one who never backed down from a challenge. So he ground back down on the man’s cock, basking in the strangled moan his lover gave. More tears gathered in his eyes, and the way the drool fell from his mouth, he was close to breaking again. The Grey Warden leaned down, pressing their foreheads together as he started to move his hips to the rhythm the Crow had set. “Ask me again, ask me properly,” He hadn’t wanted to sound so desperate, so close to begging but honestly, Lucanis was the one person he was fine seeing in this state, to be seen as this vulnerable. Not that the other man was any better, tears had now started flowing down his cheeks again and it was obvious he was trying hard to stop himself from just babbling again, brow furrowed in thought as he continued to move the elf on his cock and probably trying to collect the words he wanted.

     “Caspian Rook Thorne,” The Warden was surprised to hear his name, causing his walls to flutter around the man’s dick which made him groan but still, he kept moving. “Leader of the Veilgaurd, savior of the world, friend to Wardens, Watchers, Veil Jumpers, Lords, Shadows, and Crows,” Their moves slowed to an agonizingly slow pace but it was because Lucanis wanted their eyes to steady as they stared at each Rook realized. Both stared up blinking at each other. A smile formed on the First Talon’s face, one full of love and admiration. It was so soft, so full of emotion that it made the elf dizzy.

“Will you marry me?”

     It was Rook’s turn for tears to fall, he hadn’t even realized he had been so close to crying until he already was. What did he care though? His lover just proposed to him, of course, he was going to cry. “Yes,” He whispered, “Of course, I’ll marry you Lucanis,”

     A whirlwind of things happened next, the Crow finally let himself break out into a series of babbles. This time, it was thank you’s over and over and over again as he picked up the pace of his hips and fingers. The Grey Warden let out a cry as pleasure began to build in his stomach once more, being pulled taunt behind his belly button, an intense build of up, up, up. His lover, his fiance, only encouraged him with words and pressure against his clit. “Come for me Amor, please Caspian, let me feel you come on my cock and know that you will be mine forever,” Rook nodded, trying his best to voice how yes, the elf will be Lucanis’ for the rest of entirety but pleasure made his tongue dead weight in his mouth so he could only let out unintelligible cries. The taller man’s cock felt amazing, the picked-up pace going in and out, the smooth glide against the walls of his fluttering cunt, and the force behind every thrust made him feel earth-shattering pleasure. Before he could warn his lover, Rook’s body tensed and he came with a very loud cry, his entire body going taunt as this orgasm just took everything. He was vaguely aware of the rush of wetness forming in between his legs but he had no time for the usual embarrassment that happened when his body gushed like that, the elf just got engaged.

     Engaged not only to the First Talon of the Crow’s, not only to one of the members of the Veilguard who saved the world but to Lucanis Dellamorte.

     The elf felt another gush of warmth in his body, realizing it was the other man cumming in his cunt with a cry of his own, tears going down his face that Rook leaned down to kiss away. Beyond a few twitches of their hips, the two had stopped moving and just sat, Lucanis soften cock keeping his cum deep in the elf, though he would have to pull out at some point, Rook hoped it wouldn’t be anytime soon. The two sat in silence for a while, tears continued to slowly go down the Crow’s face so the Grey Warden would kiss and wipe them away, softly, lovingly. There was a blissful smile on the taller man’s face, almost like he was high. It was adorable.

     Eventually, the Warden decided it was time to get up as his thighs were beginning to go from a reasonable burn to an ache that would make it hard for him to walk for a few days if he wasn’t careful. As gently as he could, he let the other man’s softened cock slip from his cunt, both groaning from the loss. The hands still on his hips helped guide Rook down onto the bed, laying him on his back. Lucanis leaned over above him, giving a love-filled kiss before slipping away to the attached bath presumably to get some towels to wet and wipe the two down. The Crow was ever the gentleman to his partner in their aftercare. All the Grey Warden could do was lay back on the bed, simply basking in the aftermath as well as the knowledge that he was engaged. A day full of wonderful surprises it seemed.

     When the assassin returned, there was a damp towel in his hand as well as a small drawstring bag that he put on the nightstand. Rook gave a curious sound as he looked over at it but Lucanis simply kissed him whispering “Later,” against his lips which the elf nodded at. The First Talon began to wipe his lover down, following each swipe with the towel with light kisses. His Warden watched him through half-lidded eyes, taking in the sight of his and the other man’s love-bitten body the sweat that still shined on the Crow’s body, and how his hair was mused from when he was laying on the bed. Rook let out a soft giggle which caught the other man’s attention. He gave a questioning hum as he smiled up at his lover. The Grey Warden returned it. “My fiance is a beautiful man,” He answered the unasked question and smiled wide when the assassin gave a choked sound before his grin became wide on his face. “You’ve already fallen into using that so easily, I’m flattered,” Lucanis said, tossing aside the towel when he was satisfied he got most of the fluids that were left on his lover’s body. Rook was certain he left the cum in his cunt on purpose.

     The elf gave a devious smile as he leaned up, putting his hands around the Crow’s shoulders to pull him close. “Just wait till I get to say husband,” Rook teased, which got him a “Mierda,” and a nip to the lower lip before they began to kiss, slow and loving. The Warden went to pull the other down with him so they could lay together but the taller man stopped him for a moment, reaching over to the nightstand with the drawstring bag. The shorter man watched with curiosity as Lucanis undid its string. “I’m not sure if you remember, but when we met with Tiea and Viago after they discovered that Caterina was alive, it was because of-”

     “Your mother’s opal ring?” Rook interrupted, staring down at where the other man had pulled the ring from the bag somewhat surprised that the Crow had it. “Will you take it?” Lucanis asked quietly, holding it in his hand with worry that this was maybe Rook rejecting the offering. The elf stuttered for a second before managing to form his words. “Oh Lucanis, I can’t… That was your mother’s! And isn’t it Caterina’s?” He asked though he reached out to caress a finger down the beautiful old ring. The jewelry was worn but in a ‘seen a lot of life’ way, it was still absolutely stunning, the opal itself not faded whatsoever, seemed to still shine so beautifully bright. It truly was a gorgeous ring. “She gave it to me when I returned home to take over the First Talon duties, I didn’t understand why at first but…” Rook watched his lover's face morph from confused to a look of realization and the elf reached out to squeeze the man’s arm. “What’s wrong?” He asked, unsure of what conclusion was just made but ready to support whatever the Crow needed. He was surprised to see when Lucanis looked up at him there was a pink tint to his ears. “I think she gave this to me to propose with, and I… didn’t realize,” Lucanis said, an embarrassed tone to his voice that try as he might not, the shorter man had to giggle at as he reached his left hand out. “Well, in that case, I would be honored to accept it,” Rook said, getting a wide grin from his lover as he carefully and thoughtfully slid it onto the Warden’s finger. It fit surprisingly well, almost perfectly actually. The elf kept to himself that he was certain Caterina somehow got his ring size with whatever methods the former First Talon probably had hidden in her arsenal.

     “Now I understand why Illario was giving me all those strange looks,” Lucanis sighed, leaning forward to kiss his lover before wrapping his arms around the shorter man and spinning them so that they were lying down, Rook on his chest. The Grey Warden chuckled as he looked down at his ringer finger admiring the beautiful jewelry now adorning. “Antonie and Evka are gonna be happy for us,” He mused. Lucanis gave a low chuckle.

“Just wait till the rest of our friends hear,”

“Bellara and Neve are gonna have a field day with the news,”

“Davrin and Taash are probably going to try and give us “Fiance sex advice”,”

“Emmrich will probably offer us grave plots next to each other in the Necroplis,”

     Rook moved from looking at the ring to looking up at his lover. He wasn’t surprised to see purple eyes looking down at him, full of fondness. “Rook will be ours forever,” Spite’s words were smooth, for once, and the look in his eyes was so full of love it was easy to forget he was a demon. Not that it mattered to Rook. “Yes, Spite,” He leaned up, sealing their lips together with a kiss. “I’ll always be here with you,” When he reopened his eyes, it was the big brown ones staring at him, with the biggest grin on Lucanis’ face. “And me?” He asked playfully, a tease but still waiting for an answer. Rook chuckled, leaning up to place a kiss on the tip of his lover’s nose. “You can’t get rid of me, even if you tried,” He joked. “I would never,” Lucanis responded, brushing a bit of bang from the elf’s face. His hand wandered down, index finger tracing won’t the opal of the ring on his finger.

“I love you Caspian, I don’t think I can be away from you for such a long time again.”

“I love you too Lucanis. Wherever you go, I’ll be right beside you,”

After two and a half days, two nose bleeds and a snowed say, I have finally finished this fanfic lmao

I didn't have a beta reader so if some stuff is wrong (especially spelling of names and just words in general) I apologize and will work to fix it asap.

I'll also put the Ao3 link again here if you want to read it on there! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! -<3 Skunch

[cadaveerie]

spoilers for DA2, DAI, DATV (from things seen in the first Dragon Age: The Veilguard gameplay reveal, and from the character designs and descriptions) and Tevinter Nights (The Horror of Hormak)

Trying to guess what gods Davrin and Bellara's vallaslin represent

Long post ahead. TLDR at the end!

I suppose that someone has already made some comparison like this, but I couldn't find any post that compares the images like this so I'm doing one!

Firstly, the source: The chart in which the vallaslin were assigned to their gods for the first time was posted by Matt Rhodes (post).

The vallaslin used in that chart are from Dragon Age: Inquisition, so we don't have an official confirmation for the vallaslin of DAO or DA2. The designs are different in those two games, but they're similar enough to make a guess. For further reference, aside from the confirmed DAI version I'll try to assign the vallaslin that I suspect might be Davrin and Bellara's to their respective DAO version.

Now, the post itself is under the cut:

Davrin - Ghilan'nain

Ghilan'nain is the elven goddess of guides and navigation. She is often called the Mother of the halla—white deer-like creatures revered by the Dalish and used to pull their aravel, or "landships".

Comparison to DAO's, this is the most likely to be Ghilan'nain's vallaslin, in my opinion. This image belongs to codexapocryphal, who made this post. After looking at all the vallaslin, I agree with them that this is the one that's most likely to be Ghilan'nain's.

Ghilan'nain is my best guess for Davrin.

The reasoning:

Theme

The Mother of the Halla, a goddess closely related to animals, who loves and protects them, and who herself became the first halla. The goddess that created countless monsters so wild that she had to destroy most of them after her beloved pleaded her to stop (Codex: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain). And possibly, she might have been the one responsible for the events of The Horror of Hormak, a story in Tevinter Nights that narrates how two Grey Wardens find a temple that, coincidentally, is full of halla horns symbolism in its columns, and in which from a strange pool come out horrifying mutated darkspawn and monsters. There's also some other symbolism in the story that suggests that it might be Ghilan'nain's doing, but that's the most obvious one (aside from the fact that the pool is straight up creating monsters, as Ghilan'nain is known to do).

She is also said to help Dalish hunters find their way home when they're lost. And all of that -- the hunter, the monster and the animal elements, sound very accurate to Davrin, who is both a monster hunter and one of the Grey Wardens that were assigned to raise a griffon (perhaps he loves animals like she does, that'd be cute :D).

Additionally, if it turns out that it's indeed Ghilan'nain's vallaslin, we will probably end up getting this information in-game, since Ghilan'nain is one of the gods that Solas (and Rook) freed by accident. Oops.

Design

Based on the design alone, I think you could easily see a halla's horns in it. However, I think it can be a little hard to properly identify which vallaslin we are talking about by only looking at the forehead, since some of the designs look very similar to each other, especially in the forehead region.

Having said that, I think that if we look both at his forehead and chin, the Ghilan'nain vallaslin design from Inquisition is the most similar to Davrin's, since both vallaslin occupy the forehead and the chin only and the "horns" are making similar shapes.

Other reasons

One of the reasons why I believe it might be hers as well is because it would make a very interesting conflict for Davrin. The monster hunter who has to fight this... monster-looking creature, that on top of that is the goddess his vallaslin represents?

And it's even crazier if we consider what Solas reveals to f!Lavellan in one of their romance scenes: that the vallaslin are actually slave markings that nobles forced their slaves to get. I wonder what Davrin (and Bellara, and a Dalish Rook) would think if they knew this... And I wonder what a god would think if they saw an elf with one of their symbols on their face. Would they believe they're a slave dedicated to them? Who knows, if some of the theories out there are true, perhaps the gods themselves could have some control over them. Not sure how likely that is, but it would be interesting and add yet another layer of drama (and maybe it's reaching, but it reminds me to what happens if you bring Anders with you to the Deep Roads in the Legacy DLC, that he turns against the team. I wonder if something like that would be possible if you bring Davrin along and have to fight this goddess at some point. tbh I love this trope.. I know it's too extra but I hope it's true lol).

Other options

If not Ghilan'nain's then I believe the other most likely options are the following:

Mythal's (complex version), The All-Mother, the patron of motherhood and justice (the flip side of vengeance):

and Falon'Din's, the god of death and fortune who guides the dead to the Beyond:

And the both of them is because even if they have a cheek part that Davrin's doesn't have, it's similar enough to his in both the "horns" aspect and the chin. At least enough, I suppose... I still think it's way more likely that it's Ghilan'nain, though. For the rest I can't seem to find enough similarities to even suggest them... but here is all of them, in case you want to check:

link!

Bellara - Dirthamen

Dirthamen is the elven god of secrets and knowledge.

Comparison to DAO's, this is the most likely to be Dirthamen's vallaslin, in my opinion. This image belongs to codexapocryphal, who made this post. After looking at all the vallaslin, I agree with them that this is the one that's most likely to be Dirthamen's.

I know that for this one, the DAO and the DAI one don't seem that similar to each other, but I believe that there's still similarity, especially in the cheeks. Since this is speculative it might not even be the right comparison, but it's not that relevant either way.

Dirthamen is my best guess for Bellara.

The reasoning:

Theme

The Keeper of Secrets, he is the god that gave the elves the gift of knowledge. Both him and Falon'Din, his "twin brother", would venture into The Fade often to learn secrets. He's also said to have gifted the elves the gifts of loyalty and faith in family.

It's pretty clear that this would make sense for Bellara, since she's a Veil Jumper, the people that explore the ancient ruins of the Arlathan Forest looking for ancient secrets of the elves. And Bellara herself is described in the EA website as "obsessed with discovering the ancient secrets of ancient Elvhenan". This god seems to be a perfect patron for her.

Contrary to the dynamic that Davrin might have with Ghilan'nain, the other god that escaped as we saw in the gameplay reveal was probably Elgar'nan (if you want to know why, you can watch this video by Jackdaw). So if Bellara's vallaslin is Dirthamen's, then she wouldn't have this sort of connection to one of the gods that escaped as Davrin does for having Ghilan'nain vallaslin (although it would have been funny, but I suppose it's better this way, to give each character their own personal struggle facing this. And at the end of the day, both of the gods that escaped are still part of the pantheon she follows, so it'd be significant for her as well regardless of who was released).

Design

Compared to Davrin's, this is a bit harder to figure out, as the two vallaslin look significantly more different. To me the most relevant part when we compare DAI Dirthamen's design to Bellara's are the geometrical shapes, especially the triangles, as this shape (in this form of... dots, almost) is never found in other vallaslin.

And I think that the design in her cheeks is also kind of similar to Dirthamen's in DAI, as they are little triangles/diamonds that go across a longer curve. It could be a reach though... I'm not super confident in this one, but considering the other options, this one seems like the most similar.

Other reasons

Relevant to her overall design and her vallaslin, it seems that the triangle (and geometric shapes, but mostly the triangle) is a relevant motif for her. She's full of them all over her outfit... although as seen in the concept art below, it's not so much a "her" thing as it is a general theme for Veil Jumpers. I also suppose that they took a lot of their style from the elvhenan and their ancient artifacts that they found in the Arlathan Forest.

Other options

The one that in my opinion looks the most like it could be Bellara's, aside from Dirthamen's, is June's, the elven Master of Crafts, a god of crafts and building. I believe this because of the little dots June's has under the eyes, which I think look similar to what Bellara has in her cheeks, and also to those she has right below her eyebrows. The forehead part also looks... kind of similar to hers. One of the biggest differences is that June's DAI vallaslin goes down the neck, and hers doesn't (and doesn't even have anything on the chin, but Dirthamen's DAI one also has something on the chin).

I've also seen some people suggest Sylaise's (the complex version), the goddess of all the domestic arts, or Falon'Din's, the elven god of death and fortune who guides the dead to the Beyond... but to be honest I just don't see enough resemblance, and I don't think thematically it makes as much sense as Dirthamen's does.

And once again I leave the picture of all of DAI's vallaslin in case you want to check:

and the link, again!

And that's all! Sorry if this was too long!

Keep in mind that at the end of the day we know that the vallaslin are different depending of the region, so that's the in-game reason why they're different. That and of course, there can always be slightly changes, especially in this game since it's been 10 years since the last one came out.

Do you agree or have any other take? If you have other theories for this or you spot any mistake, please let me know! Thank you for reading :D

TLDR: It's Ghilan'nain for Davrin and Dirthamen for Bellara, probably? But we're just guessing here.

the DAI vallaslin images from the wiki, they were uploaded by KeladinStorm and  Evamitchelle so shoutout to them!

Edit 1: Confirmation for Bellara

[fimrila]

108 hours.

Finally beat Veilguard after 108 hours with everything maxed out. You can imagine how it ended.

The game got me good. I was surprised multiple times by the plot twists and by the choices I actually made. I had planned to start with the Mourn Watch, but I heard the calling of the Grey Wardens once again so back into the fray (grey?) I went. As a long-time dwarven player, the faction was incredibly satisfying: plenty of reactivity as a Grey Warden and way more reactivity than I expected for the dwarven lineage.

Davrin was also another surprise considering that he wasn't even on my radar. There wasn't that much information out there on his character compared to a few others. Besides I had "been there, done that" with romancing Grey Wardens with none of them being successful. (Alistair left. Blackwall became Thom Rainer so it technically didn't count. =p) I thought Davrin would just be the generic warrior of the group. There wasn't anything mysterious left about the Grey Wardens, right? Right?

Yeah. I was wrong again. I knew I was in trouble when I started laughing at his dry comments during his recruitment quest. We just vibed for the rest of the game. I enjoyed his character growth and I appreciated his kindness towards Harding. Those two were my ride-or-die to the very end.

Needless to say, I went into Act 3 completely blind. I thought I was prepared. I was not. It was just one emotional gut punch after another. Yeah. Outstanding cinematics though! You could really feel the scale of the battle and how high the stakes were. Truly top notch.

DATV started out as a bit of a slog, but went out with a bang. My Aeducan declined the Dark Ritual all the way back in Origins and I always wondered what that meant long-term for the dwarves. Was it the right choice? Was my logic sound? Veilguard provided enough answers with the retroactive closure that I needed and the hopeful future that I wanted.

For the Grey Wardens!

[kilannad]

Musings on Dragon Age alla the Veilguard Controversy

I was talking with my brother after I finished Veilguard and its led to some Thoughts. For context, shortly after Veilguard came out and my dash became nothing but DA, I asked him if the games were worth playing; he said the first three were but the newest was shit and that I'd end up rage quitting quickly.

Naturally, that meant I played all four back to back.

Warning: I'm a literature major first and gamer second. My analysis/meta commentary reflects this. Spoilers for all four games below the cut.

this got stupidly long

I saw a post recently about how the greater theme of all Dragon Age games is Grief. Through all four storylines, it's the one thing they share, the uniting force of the series. I cannot agree more that Thedas is a setting about grief and the greater arc between games reflects that. However, that and the conversation with my brother had me reflecting on the story each game was individually trying to tell.

I'm setting aside the technical gameplay for each of these because while I think it helps tell the story, it's also largely reflective of what technology was like when each game came out and doesn't add much to the point I'm trying to make.

Origins

When you boil it down, Origins is a story about Duty. Someone, for whatever reason, is placed in an organization bound to protect Thedas and is then left nearly completely alone to do it. From the very beginning when Alistair looks to you to make a call in Lothering, it's people and the world asking for a choice and telling you this is your job. It's your choice. Can you live with it? Are you making the right one? Irrelevant. You are a Warden. The Warden. Alistair refuses to lead and you're the only other one left. You need to get allies to stop the Blight and that is the only thing that matters. Do you save the mages or damn them? Can you reconcile the werewolves and elves? Which king do you raise in Orzammar? Every decision you make ripples out and effects the world but you have to make them. The Blight must be stopped. How you get there is important because it changes the world but it doesn't matter because you end up in the same place anyway; fighting an Archdemon, stopping the Blight. You can be cruel, kind, aloof. It doesn't change it. This is your job, your Duty. You are the Warden and the Blight must end.

DA 2

Is there a word that means perseverance and failing anyway? If so, that's the theme of DA2. Inevitability, maybe. You lose your home. You lose your sibling. You go to a city where you're promised a better life and have to sell yourself in order to even get in and live in squalor. Every step you take, every day you live is about protecting your family and fighting for a better life. You collect strays because you are one and maybe together you can make everything a little better (the streets run red with blood). Surely going to the Deep Roads will fix things, will get your mother the life she deserves. (It does, but what is the cost? Unknowable, considering the next two games and the effect of the idol and red lyrium). If you earn enough respect from the Arishok, surely you can prevent bloodshed, can save the city. (You do but you're too late. People are already dead; the Viscount is already dead). Maybe, if you're quick enough, if you're smart enough, you can keep the city together. You're the Champion now, you have real power. You just need to be smart enough, funny enough, forceful enough. (It doesn't matter. Whatever steps you took don't matter and it is your fault. You blow up the Chantry as surely as Anders does no matter what because you let him get here. You promised to protect and you failed). You get up and do your best to limit the bloodshed anyway. But the match has been lit. The path has been laid out. (It's a tragedy. I could make a whole post about how the 3 Act structure lends itself to this story, but I'll save it for another time.) (This doesn't touch on the two DLCs. You have to wonder, years and years later. You are the reason Corypheus is freed. You are the reason those Qunari spies are never identified. Could you have stopped Dragon's Breath? Maybe.) (No.)

Inquisition

Faith. Not religious faith on whether you think you are Maker sent or not (see this for my thoughts on that), though that is important. But Faith in people. In the world. In what could be. Do you have Faith in Cassandra, Leliana, or Vivienne being the Divine? Do you have Faith in Bull? In Dorian's father? Do you have Faith in Solas? Do you have Faith in yourself? I've ignored gameplay for most of this post since it's not very relevant in most ways, but for DAI it is. It's open world for many reasons, most Doylistic, but it also lends itself to the weight and size of the story. The entire south is depending on you keeping the world together. You feel that in every minute you spend running around huge maps, doing a million little things. In a lot of ways, it's the sister game to Origins. But whereas Origins concerns itself with a singular, focused duty, Inquisition is about having Faith in making a better world. Sure you stop and make watch towers; after Corypheus is defeated, this area will still need protection. Why not help the draconologist? He's a good guy. Of course you help Valta go towards the Titan; she's a friend at this point. Every choice you make showcases whatever brand of Faith you carry, whether it be weary or reluctant or passionate. The world is changed by the Faith people have in you but just as equally as the Faith you have in the world.

Veilguard

Finally, we get here. The fourth, bastard child. The reason that I even started these games in the first place. Plenty of people have pointed out that what Inquisition is to Origins, Veilguard is to DA 2. That is a fair comparison I think in many ways, but also diminishes what Veilguard is trying to do. There's a lot of criticism towards the game (and much of it is very fair I think. There is no joy in engagement that isn't critical (meaning well thought out) and shit sometimes needs to be called out) but that being said, I think some things need to be taken in good faith.

The atmosphere: I've seen many a complaint that Veilguard removes the 'dark fantasy' elements that were so beloved in various previous games. Do I think some of the factions were sanitized for the sake of time and staying focused in a way the other games didn't do? Absolutely, yes (Minrathous, looking at you). HOWEVER I don't think that means it stopped being dark fantasy, or magically stopped feeling like Thedas. Did we all see D'Metas Crossing? Treviso/Minrathous? Harding/Davrin??? DA games have always been hilarious (Morrigan and Alistair banter comes to mind, to say nothing of the Bull/Inquisitor BDSM scene) while still feeling real and I don't think Veilguard loses this at all if you're willing to enjoy it for what it is.

Consequences from previous games: this one... this is my biggest pet peeve with the game. Zevran, Fenris, Merill, Hawke/Warden choice... this game is so big (geographically) that there were a million ways to have more of an impact from whatever world state you have. On one hand, I understand that it might take away from the story being told (see below) but on the other I think a few more lines of dialogue, possibly by these characters themselves, would fix a lot of problems about the factions being sanitized that people have complained about. I wasn't part of the development and don't have the knowledge to know if there's a doylist explanation for this.

Personality/choice impact: I've seen some complaints that even the 'mean' options aren't actually that mean and the game hard-fixes you into an archetype. I've also seen complaints that most of the important decisions are near the end game and thus aren't felt near as much as in some previous games. These are both very fair criticisms that are completely understandable. However, I do think there is a reason for them, whether you think it's a valid reason or not. See below.

Here is the crux on which all conversations about Veilguard's plot must rest: what story is it telling? Origins is about someone forced to carry a duty they did not ask for. DA 2 is Some Guy (gn) fighting for a life and life fighting back. Inquisition is an accidental miracle doing everything they can to save a world on the brink of ruin. But Veilguard?

Veilguard is a story about a reluctant hero. If Origins is Duty, DA 2 is Inevitability, and Inquisition Faith, then Veilguard's theme is Responsibility (which is not the same thing as duty). Rook gets hired. That's their problem, that's what sucks them in. They don't even have Hawke's excuse of coming to a place for a better life anyway. Varric finds them on the street (so to speak) and drags them along. And then he dies (not that they realize it) and suddenly the world is ending and it's their problem! There's a conversation where Solas asks you why you're leading the Veilguard and one of the options is you saying because someone has to step up. That's the whole point of Veilguard, the whole story that is being told; the world is ending and you have to be the Hero. Like with all the games, the companion quests all relate to the main theme. Bellara has to take responsibility for her brother and deal with the consequences. Neve takes responsibility for Dock Town. Lucanis for his cousin specifically and then the Crows as a whole. Taash for their identity, Harding for her lost heritage, Emmrich for his life (one way or another), and Davrin for the griffins and also what it means to be a Grey Warden. It all comes back to this one question: if I have to step up, what does that look like?

Rook has to save the fucking world and they did not ask for this. They aren't like the Warden, who was the only choice left. They aren't Hawke, who is fighting for their family and friends and home. They are closest to the Inquisitor, who was also chosen to save the world seemingly by accident, but crucially the Inquisitor had no choice--they had the anchor. They had to be involved with the Inquisition, one way or another (which is why they aren't actually the Inquisitor until after the first act ends and you end up at Skyhold). Rook?

Rook could walk away. Rook has every right to say fuck this and walk away. Let Harding or Neve lead the Veilguard. The only thing stopping them from doing that very thing is the fact that Varric is their friend and has asked them to do this, to take on this responsibility. And that is enough.

A story depends on character motivation. This is especially true of every DA game; if they didn't find a way for the character to buy into the goal, then there is no story. It's the first rule of writing. Even as an asshole, the Warden is still caught in a duty they don't want but have to complete. Even aggressive, Hawke still has to protect their family. Even doubtful, the Inquisitor still has to stop their world from falling apart because they are literally magically infected by the disaster. Rook doesn't have any of that.

Rook can't be an asshole, or at least as much of one as in previous games, because then the whole story stops working. If Rook doesn't care, if they don't value the world, or their friendships, or at least their responsibilities, then why the fuck are we here? You can say that Solas is controlling them as much as the anchor forced the Inquisitor's hand (ha) but I don't buy it. He has to use constant manipulation tactics and hallucinating Varric just to get them to do as much as they already are. If they didn't care about Varric? If they didn't willingly reach out to Solas for help? No fucking way could he get them to do it.

And that means there is no game.

There is a term many of you are probably familiar with: railroading. I would find Veilguard guilty of this far more than any other game, though Inquisition comes close imo (another post for another time). However, I would equally argue it has to be. It is a story of a reluctant hero, forced to carry a responsibility they are not ready for and deal with the consequences. If you aren't willing to be a hero, if you aren't the underdog, if you don't deal with your responsibility, then there is no plot. There is no game. They could have put those conversation options in, but where would it get us? A hollow game without even a sense of internal consistency, which DA has long prided itself for.

Is it perfect? No. Could some changes have been made to alleviate these problems at least? Yeah, of course. But that's true of all the games. How many people complained about DA 2's repeated maps? Of DAI's obnoxious fetch quests? Of Origins' either or mentality for basically all the choices? Don't let its flaws blind you to the story being told. Because that is where it shines, just as all the Dragon Age games do. It's why we're all still here, being heroes even if we don't want to.

[todisturbtheuniverse]

FIC: A Pretty Lie

Rating: G Pairing: f!Mahariel/Zevran Word Count: 2,454 Summary: Zevran has traveled with the party for a week now, and despite Mahariel's reassurances to Alistair, she hasn't let her guard down. Her trust is put to the test when she sustains a wound that won't heal...and Zevran offers to help. Also on: AO3 Notes: Back on my Dragon Age bullshit: played Veilguard twice, decided the whole series needed a replay, returned to Origins/Zevran hell. I missed this Thedas place.

Hours had passed, and still, the wound stung. That boded ill. The healing poultices that Lyna carried, made by her own hand, had always done the trick before, numbing the pain and closing the wound quickly. She wondered what filth had been on that bandit's blade.

She filled a small bucket from the cold, clear stream near their campsite and carried it to the spot she'd prepared on the bank: a large burlap sack to protect from the cold and damp; her wound kit, all the pockets that she might need unfolded; fresh linen, cut in useful lengths for more bandaging; her weapons, axe and dagger, never far out of reach. She set the bucket down on level ground beside the cloth, and then sat down herself.

Her feet gave a little throb of relief. They never seemed to stop aching, these days. She'd roamed far and wide with her clan, but not at this pace, not without respite. But the Blight was on their heels; there was no time to rest.

Carefully, she peeled up the edge of the bandage, dismayed to find the wound still bleeding. She ladled a bit of water from the bucket and poured it over the gash. With some of the blood washed away, she could see that the wound had widened since that afternoon, the edges ragged.

"And here I thought I would have to carry out my chores in lonely solitude. You, dear Warden, are a sight for sore eyes."

By the Dread Wolf, she hadn't even heard footsteps. She covered her wound with a clean bandage and silently admonished herself. She could not let down her guard, not even for a moment. These were not the forests and wilds of her youth; these were ugly, desolate places, danger waiting around every corner.

Danger like this new stray, Zevran, who sauntered up to the stream lugging a bag and a bucket, as guileless as if he hadn't tried to kill her a mere week ago.

Alistair thought she was mad for taking him in. Sometimes she, too, wondered about her own judgment. Her reasoning had convinced her fellow warden, at least for now: the Crow had sung his secrets very willingly and readily, had sworn an oath, and had proved incapable of overpowering four of them on the road even with all of his hirelings. What chance of success did he have here, alone, if he still intended to kill her?

He could have done it, just now, if he'd kept his mouth shut a little longer. He hadn't, which Lyna told herself counted for something.

Instead of carrying out an assassination, Zevran set down his bag and bucket. The bag clanked a little with the impact. He untied a length of burlap from around his neck—he'd been wearing it like a cape—and spread it on the ground beside hers. She'd assigned him several camp chores, hoping it would at least give her a break from Alistair and Morrigan's constant squabbling over whose turn it was to do the washing. Hoping, too, that it would reveal some character flaw, some impatience or bitterness, that would show her more of who he was—or at least keep him too busy, too tired, to plan her death.

Zevran had not complained. He had taken up the tasks assigned to him with good grace, and she'd been left watching him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if this would finally be the decision that proved her undoing.

"Stay with us long enough," she said finally, "and you will crave lonely solitude."

He chuckled good-naturedly, laying out the battered plates and cups. "Do you speak of the relentless attacks on the road? Or perhaps your companions, bickering over how to properly roast a rabbit?"

"Either," she said. "Both."

He flashed a sidelong smile at her, as if she'd amused him, and she told herself to harden her heart. It was not easy. His warm charm had undoubtedly saved him from many scrapes before, and he was not hard on the eyes: the moonlight gilded his blond hair, cast intriguing light and shadow on his well-muscled shoulders and arms, and even in the relative darkness, his eyes sparkled like the glint of a copper piece polished to full shine.

"It's still bothering you?" he asked, now looking at her arm, where she still held the bandage to the wound.

"It should have started closing by now, with the poultice I used earlier," she told him. "It just won't stop bleeding."

"Might I have a closer look?"

She hesitated, studying his face. He looked back at her, meeting her eyes without flinching. There was no trickery in that gaze that she could see—but what did she know of the world? Until the disaster at Ostagar, until the long, bitter weeks on the road, she had never known how sheltered she'd been.

"Why?" she asked guardedly.

"Your poultices are good." At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "I looked them over. They should act quickly on a normal wound. On a poisoned wound, though, they would only stave off the inevitable, not heal."

Was this just an excuse to close the gap between them, to get close enough to strike quickly and without warning? Would the wound make her too slow—just a hair too slow—to scoop up her axe and dagger and defend herself?

Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes, and Assan pranced happily into the open. He carried a bone in his mouth, which he settled down to chew, his back end on Lyna's burlap sack. Instantly, some of her fear eased. She'd seen the mabari tear a man's throat out; if Zevran made one false move, Assan would spring to action.

Besides, Zevran was mostly unarmed. Only a small, utilitarian knife hung at his belt, sheathed. He'd left his daggers back at the campsite.

"Ah, a chaperone," Zevran sighed, and tsked at Assan. "I will only sully your lady's honor with her enthusiastic permission, this I swear."

Assan pointedly ignored him, though he did pull back his lip to show a bit more tooth than was strictly necessary as he gnawed on his bone.

Lyna, too, ignored the comment. She held out her arm to Zevran. "You have experience with poisons, then?"

"Am I a Crow," Zevran said, with a wide grin, "or not?" He shuffled a little closer, just enough to take her left hand gently in his, and peeled away the bandage to inspect the wound.

She tensed; she could not help it. She was still afraid of him, despite his warmth and flirtations, despite his oath. She did not know if she would ever stop being afraid of him.

But he held her hand so delicately, and when he leaned over her arm to inspect her wound, she felt the ghost of his breath on the back of her wrist. She had not felt another's touch very much at all since leaving her clan, and this was…nice. To feel taken care of.

If only she could be certain exactly how he would "take care of" her.

"No clotting," he murmured, frowning; a wrinkle formed between his brows. She hadn't yet seen him look quite so focused, so serious. "You have a fresh bandage?"

She picked up a short length of linen from the pile beside her. He took it from her and pressed it, hard, to the wound. She hissed; the pain sharpened significantly when pressure was applied.

The hand still holding hers squeezed, lightly, as if to comfort her. She didn't know what to make of that.

He looked up at her. "Describe the pain?"

"Sharp," she said. "Worse when water touches it, or with pressure."

"Radiating?" he asked. "Do you feel it when you flex your fingers, or make a fist?"

She did both; his fingers moved with hers, captured against her palm by her own. "No," she said, shaking her head.

"Any headache? Dry eyes?"

"No," she said again. "What would that—"

"Ah, good," he said. "You will live."

"What does that mean?" she asked, trying not to betray her alarm. Assan stopped chewing, lifted his head, and gave a low growl.

"Keep pressure on this," he told her, indicating the wound and bandage, and took his hands away. "Relax," he added, this directed at Assan.

With her free hand, telling herself she could still reach her dagger plenty quickly, she applied the same pressure he had. He, meanwhile, unbuckled a little leather pouch from where it was fastened at his hip. He flipped the metal buckle on the front open and began to carefully rummage through the contents. She heard soft, gentle clinking, like glass bottles brushing one another. Assan watched with curious eyes, but he'd stopped growling.

"There are a few poisons that could produce such an effect," he told her. "The worst of them would have spread by now. That one would be beyond my power to fix." He pulled a tiny vial from the pouch and held it up, squinting; reading the slip of parchment affixed to it, perhaps. "This, though, is just the aftereffect of a very strong acidic coating. Keeps the wound open, the blood from coagulating. Not nice, but rarely a death sentence."

"And that vial is…?"

He lowered it and patted the pouch. "I keep treatments and antidotes handy for all the common poisons, just in case. This one will neutralize the acid, encourage clotting, and allow that excellent poultice of yours to do its work."

"That's clever," she said, impressed.

He had the nerve to wink at her. "I have many talents, I promise you. All at your disposal."

She had to suppress a groan. He laid it on awfully thick, but she was only flesh and blood, after all; she was not immune to that brief, wicked look in his eye, like he was sharing a joke only the two of them knew, like she would laugh at the punchline.

"Lucky me," she said. "I…suppose you should apply it, then. If you can spare some of your supplies."

"We can always find more," he said. The wicked gleam was gone; he eyed her thoughtfully instead. "From the right buyer, for the right price."

"I'm sure we can arrange that."

Lyna glanced at Assan, but he had gone back to his bone, clearly unperturbed by whatever the vials contained. Zevran gestured for her to lift the bandage; she did, this time without hesitation. Quickly, he unstoppered the vial and let three small drops of the thick amber liquid fall to the wound. Instantly, some of the sharp sting eased. She let out a breath of relief.

"You thought it might be poison," he said. There was nothing accusatory in his tone; he merely stated facts. He stoppered the vial again. It was still three-quarters full.

"It crossed my mind," she admitted. "There's writing on the vial, but I don't know Antivan."

She reached for another length of bandage. He brushed her hand aside and picked up the bandage himself; with practiced hands, he spread the healing poultice over the wound—the bleeding had already slowed—and wrapped her arm with just the right amount of pressure.

"That was a risk," Zevran commented. Before she could respond, he showed her the vial. "Coagulante/acido—roughly, a coagulant that also neutralizes acid."

"Ma melava halani," she replied. He cocked his head to one side, frowning a little. "It was a risk," she clarified, "but you helped me. And so, my risk teaches me something, as all risks do."

"Ma melava halani," he repeated, slowly, carefully. "That sounds…very beautiful."

"You don't know any Elven?"

"Very little. Andaran atish'an, ma serannas—that sort of thing."

"Perhaps you can teach me Antivan," she said, and began to pack up her wound kit. "And I can teach you what Elven I know. So much of it is lost, but…" She cleared her throat, letting the grief of missing her clan pass through her. "Andaran atish'an—enter this place in peace—is very formal, used with outsiders, primarily. We would say aneth ara to one another, instead."

He packed his kit of antidotes away and resumed the business of setting out the dishes for washing. "We would say buon giorno—good afternoon—for most of the day. Or ciao, bella, more informally, for both hello and goodbye."

"Ciao, bella," she repeated.

"Well, bello, if you are addressing me," he said, with another of those terrible grins. "Bella is for a beautiful woman, like yourself."

"Flatterer," she said, folding her wound kit back up.

"Only if it is untrue," he said mildly, "and it is not."

He got to his feet, picked up his bucket, and went to fill it at the stream. She tucked her wound kit away in her pack and scratched behind Assan's ear; he tilted his massive head into her touch, panting happily. Zevran returned with the bucket, got out the scrubbing brush and soap, and began the thankless task of cleaning the dinner dishes. She hesitated for only a handful of seconds before pulling her own scrubbing brush out of her pack and picking up one of the dishes.

"Many hands make light work," she said, only a little irritably, in response to the look he cast at her. "Or so they say."

"Mmm," he said, smiling. "Flattery will get me far in this camp, I see."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, if you know the ingredients, I could probably help you make some of the antidotes," she said. "I'm not bad at herbalism."

"A woman of many talents," he remarked. "You will have this archdemon defeated next week, I'm sure."

She laughed, because he sounded so warm, so certain, even if it was a pretty lie. She let her guard down, just a little. He taught her more Antivan as they scrubbed the dishes; she gave him pieces of Elven in return, watched the quiet delight on his face when he correctly mimicked her pronunciation. Assan eventually gave up his work on the bone and began to snore.

As with every city elf Lyna had met, she wondered. What was Zevran's story? The whole story? He'd told her, on hands and knees, at her mercy, that the Crows had bought him as a child—another pretty lie, the better to play on her sympathies, creating the possibility of a second chance for his blade to strike true? Or just a callous truth, one that rightly made her heart ache, imagining one of her people bought and shaped into a killer?

She did not think that this was a trick, but only time would tell.

[lunammoon]

@veilguard-appreciation-week

Day Four

Prompt: Treviso/Determination/Bitter And Sweet Like A Kiss Goodbye

Summary: Taash and Rook got to Treviso market,

Read on AO3

Word Count: 1564

The only real issue Rook had with Treviso was the canals. They were deep and dark and full of water that Rook could not swim. 

Not that they could swim in any type of water.

Swimming, was the kind of thing that you learned because you intended to get close to water. Getting close to water was not the kind of thing one did in the Grand Necropolis. It had not been taught to them growing up in the Necropolis and they had not thought to learn it themself on account of the fact that if the pools in the Grand Necropolis WERE in fact water they had been still underground for long enough that they might as well be full of blight.

Canals aside, the city was wonderful. Jumping across rooftops was exhilarating and they could not get enough of the ziplines!

They wished that they had something like this in the Grand Necropolis. 

Admittedly, it’d be pretty impractical on account of the constantly moving chambers. Maybe some kind of solid beam projecting node. Although if they moved while someone was mid flight that could be potentially disastrous.

Treviso was also not difficult to navigate. Then again, most places were easier to navigate than the Grand Necropolis. Treviso even had shortcuts!

The Antaam were a pain to deal with, but they weren’t dangerous. 

Well, they were.

But they were a managable danger and it was because of that that no one went to the city alone. 

This was why Rook and Taash were braving the markets together. 

Without Lucanis. 

Illario, had been very clear that Lucanis was not to come back to Treviso.

Rook didn’t think that Lucanis was “a danger to his family”, but after that night, they weren’t certain that the man was safe here.

The Dellamorte Cousins were not mages (probally) and yet with a simple nick on his finger, Illario had incapacitated his cousin and sent both him and the spirit sprawling on the ground silent and twitching.

Rook knew blood magic in a way that few people did and what Illario had cast was one of the most dangerous kinds. The kind whose effects lasted long after the enchantment had run its course.

The spell itself hadn’t been hard to break, but…

The two of them had been barely lucid enough to not be a complete deadweight as Neve carried the man to the waiting gondola and back to the Lighthouse and into the infirmary. 

They were thankful that Spite recgnozied how their magic felt enough to know that they hadn’t been the one to cast that. 

At that moment, they weren’t sure that they would have been capable of the careful control required to fend off an enraged spirit without hurting them.

It had taken Neve, Emmrich, and themself hours to remove the lingering threads that the enchantments had left behind and during that, Lucanis and Spite had separately woken up three times, but didn’t seem to remember anything until the fourth. 

It was completely possible, that this as all some misunderstanding and there was a missing element to all this that didn’t add up to Illario having betrayed his cousin.

Rook did not know what that missing element could possibly be, but they hoped that it did indeed exist for Illario’s sake. It was part of why they’d encouraged him to leave. But if they were wrong…

Illario still had that broach.

And so, Lucanis was still at the lighthouse. He was well enough to cook and the pantry was empty of onions and other things and a good portion of the pantry contents had been sacrificed to one of Hardings—

Culinary experiments. 

And so it was off to Treviso they went.

Rook and Davrin tended to be the ones to go to the market when Lucanis couldn’t. The gossip mill had ground down the story of the day Treviso was nearly lost to a blighted dragon into a fine “the Grey Haired Mage and the Dalish Warden Saved Our Lives Give Them Deals” powder. Taash was coming along because Davrin and Harding were doing drills with Assan. Also, taash was able to carry the most at once.

Taash was easy to talk to. They were blunt. They didn’t have to piece together what they meant from what they said or didn’t say, and they expected them to do the same. 

Taash also only really had an issue with the fleshy parts of Necromancy, and could handle the spirit stuff just fine. 

“So,” Taash said, as the two of them rushed across a rooftop to avoid an Antaam patrol.

They weren’t difficult to fight. But it was much easier to avoid them if they could so they did.

“You’re a seer right?” Taash asked, “Or kind of like a seer.”

“That’s not too far off.”

“You talk with spirits?”

“In a sense.”

“Do you let them possess you?”

“No.” Rook said quickly.

“Are you sure? It’s okay if you have. I’m Rivani remember. Seers do it there all the time. One even saved my life as a kid. So Tama always made sure to chip in if they were going through tough times. You could tell me.”

“Spirits don’t often possess people in Nevarra. There are plenty of easier options.”

It wasn’t that Rook BLAMED the citizens of nations that used funeral pyres when they complained about the unfortunate number of possessions that occurred there. Especially when the way most of the circles in Thedas had been run prior the reign of Divine Victoria had been run in a way that, in Rook’s opinion, was seemingly tailor made to create demons and encourage apprentices to make deals with those demons. 

Rook had never been inside of a Circle other than the Cumberland circle, but from what they knew about Kirkland alone it did not surprise them in the slightest that it had been Kirkwall where someone had blown up a chantry.

That being said.

“Dead people.” Taash replied bluntly.

There were ways to decrease possession cases.

“Yes.” Rook replied. “But I know that you don’t like talking about it. So let’s not.”

“Professor Skullface doesn’t seem to.”

“I don’t think Emmrich has been in the presence of someone who wasn’t eager to hear from him about corpses in a while. I’m just as bad about spirits half of the time.”

“You don’t let them possess you, but you deliver messages for them.”

“Sometimes,” Rook nodded, “Although, most of the time they’re delivering messages to me.”

“What message?”

“‘My friend needs help’ mostly.”

“A lot of spirits need your help?”

“More like they know they can come to me when they’re in need.”

The two of them had finally reached the fruit stand. Rook gave the sales woman a polite greeting and continued to talk to him. 

“Spite calls you Helper.”

“He does. You can’t free as man trapped spirits as I have without it leaving a mark on your soul. Not a bad mark, but one that says ‘I helped ones like you and will help you if you ask.’”

They two of them moved from the fruit stand to a vegetable one. Rook inspected a head of cabbage thoughtfully, trying to make sure that it wasn’t in fact, a head of lettuce.

They had only made the mistake once, but it had been embarrassing.

“How did you know you were you?” Taash suddenly asked.

“You mean—, what I wanted to help spirts?”

“No, not that. You’re not a man or a woman. And how did you tell your parents—or the people who raised you?”

Rook lowered the vegetable. It was in fact a cabbage.

“With my guardians, in particular, it was kind of a unique case. They never treated me like a girl or a boy. I was always just the child to them. I think part of it is that some of them THOUGHT that I might be a spirt or something to that effect. If I had been a boy or a girl, that would have been something that I would have to tell.”

“Lucky,” Taash replied. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell her.”

“You can tell her during dinner. I’ll be fine! Of course, we’re going to need the ingredients for that too. We’ll add that to the list. And then after that, we need to go by Cafe Pietra to get the beans Lucanis likes. ‘Bitter and Sweet like a kiss goodbye.’”

“Did he actually say that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s hilarious.”

“He seemed serious enough. The man knows his coffee.”

“I didn’t think you liked coffee. I thought you said it made you feel like your heart was fighting your lungs.”

“It’s not that bad when it’s decaffeinated.”

“Since when does Lucanis drink decaf?”

“He doesn’t. Not on purpose anyway. And that’s not what I’m picking up. I don’t think Cafe Pietra has decaf. And if I tried to order decaf I think they would try to drown me in the canal. There’s a coffee blend here that Lucanis likes.”

Honestly, Rook was slightly intimidated by the amount of caffeine that the man could consume. A single cup of his typical brew downed quickly to make a point had made them feel like their bones were shaking, and Varric had told them that he once had drunk eleven in a day.

But—

Coffee was something that comforted the man and after the past week and also the previous year, he deserved what he could get.

They’d just have to make sure he drunk plenty of water too.

“Is there such a thing as a Helper spirit?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m sure there’s a handful of Compassion spirits that call themself that. Why?”

“You help Spirits. You help people. And you’re an elf.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Are you sure you’re not a spirit? Especially with the whole, you know, appearing out of nowhere in a graveyard thing.”

“I’m fairly certain that if I had been a Spirit, one of the many Mourn Watchers I had been to and from would’ve figured it out and written a whole paper about it. Unfortunately.”

[lgvalenzuela]

Oc tag game

Got tagged spiritually by @thedissonantverses since at the time I was super busy, but I finally finished my student reports

Name: Finn Cousland, sometimes also known as Finn Tabris

Alias: Rook, The Thorne (by the Wardens)

Gender: Cisgender man

Age: 25

Place of Birth: Fereldan, with a tiny bit of Antivan in him

Spoken Languages: Common, and very little Elvhen (enough to be polite)

Sexual Orientation: Demiaromantic (he doesn’t know), pansexual

Occupation: Grey Warden, Heir of the Couslands

Favorites

Color: Purple and copper

Entertainment: Observing and analyzing people. Getting in people's good graces or wooing them is big on entertainment there

Past time: Reading, playing chess, cards, puzzles… any activity that’s cerebral and challenging enough. And a healthy amount of sparring and training

Drink: To Lucanis’ dismay, he prefers tea

Books: He does an unhealthy amount of reading, the topic doesn’t really matter since he just likes learning in general, but he will probably pick something on history or battle strategy. If he reads fiction, he likes romance (especially if it’s spicy)

Have they…

Passed University: He had an excellent education thanks to his noble ties

Had Sex: Certified manwhore

Had Sex in Public: What hasn’t he done at this point

Gotten Tattoos: No

Gotten Piercings: Also no

Gotten Scars: Plenty, if they’re from training or fighting darkspawn he doesn’t remember anymore. But he remembers the ones he gets during Veilguard, especially the one at Weisshaupt

Had a Broken Heart: In a way. He has been engaged before, family things, but broke his engagement because he knew his fiance didn’t love him and he didn’t love her, he still thinks of her because he considers this one of the most selfish things he’s ever done

Been in Love: No, until now

Are they…

A cuddler: Surprisingly for him, he is. Nobody ever stayed long enough to check

Scared easily: Very, but he’s become way too good at hiding it

Jealous easily: Not really

Trustworthy: You can trust him with pretty much anything, he likes getting on people’s good side too much to not be

Family

Siblings: A little sister, Saoris

Parents: Ronan Cousland died during the Fifth Blight and sadly Finn was way too young and Ronan wasn’t present enough for him to remember him properly. His mother Ciara Tabris though was enough of a good mother to cover for his loss, her husband Zevran loves him as his own so he did grow up with a very loving set of parents. But he has… a lot of feelings about his relationship with Zevran and not being able to remember Ronan…

Children: He loves children, and he will become the best uncle in the world. But he’s probably never going to have children of his own. Lucanis and him agree to this since there’s no way they’d let the Crows get their hands of any potential children they might adopt

Pets: Does Spite count?

[derelictjunk]

3 Rooks, 3 Endings

**VEILGUARD ENDINGS & ROMANCE SPOILERS BELOW**

Altirez Mercar - Convince

Though he’d enjoy nothing more than forcefully putting the Dread Wolf in his place, Altirez is able to stow his emotions in the moment. While he began the final push towards the Archon’s Palace on a warpath, after recovering Bellara from Elgar’nan, Altirez’ grief-stricken mind begins to clear. Thinking of what is at stake for him personally and those he’d be affecting most by risking a fight, he opts to act on Inquisitor Lavellan’s suggestion of appealing to Solas’ nature. To Altirez’ relief and admitted surprise, Solas eventually relents after a confrontation with and release from Mythal’s essence and is joined in the fade by Lavellan; intending to act both as companion to and warden of the last elven god.

Afterwards, Altirez continues his work in Minrathous alongside Neve and the Shadow Dragons. He reclaims his role as the organization’s go-to agent regarding elven victims of the Imperium, also acting as liaison between the Dragons and Veil Jumpers; working closely with Bellara to offer refuge to those freed from remnant Venatori sects. The two remain living in The Lighthouse, maintaining its eluvian for quick travel to and from their allies without having to be apart from one another for long; and keeping access open to their visiting companions.

Andreissa De Riva - Trick

Few have ever been able to influence Andreissa, and her self-assurance remains on full display in her final confrontation with the Dread Wolf. Though she does believe deep down Solas could be convinced to bind himself to the Veil, she also acknowledges she’d be sending him in alone, without the scorned Inquisitor Trevelyan as companion to keep him in check. Believing the solitude would eventually drive Solas back into the deceit and trickery of Fen’Harel, she opts not to give him the opportunity. Forcefully binding Solas to The Veil after switching out the lyrium daggers, Andreissa can’t help but let some smugness slip as she gets the last laugh over the Dread Wolf.

Afterwards, Andreissa and Davrin are both committed to following through on their promises. Sticking by one another’s side, they postpone their planned quaint retirement for a time, returning to Treviso to aid with the final stages of removing the blight and corruption from the city. With the support of the First Talon, Andreissa is able to settle her remaining debts and effectively retire, though Lucanis assures her he will continue pestering her with enticing contracts hoping for her eventual return to their ranks. Davrin likes using them as kindling for their cabin’s fireplace.

Bersaar Thorne - Fight

After witnessing Elgar’nan taking Bellara and the death one of his closest allies at the hands of Ghilan’nain, Bersaar’s patience had already begun to ware thin. Following the revelation of Varric’s death and Solas’ manipulation of his memories, he was now cemented on his warpath to the Archon’s Palace. After witnessing the destruction wrought by the elven gods firsthand and remembering warnings given by Inquisitor Cadash, Bersaar decides the elven god of trickery and deceit has run dry any remaining goodwill and denies him the opportunity to scheme his way out of consequence once again. Supported and trusted by his companions, the team follow his lead and manage to distract Solas long enough for Bersaar to wrench the lyrium dagger free and bind him to the Veil with a satisfying final blow; as Fen’Harel curses the mortals that dared to stand against him, Bersaar feels increasingly at peace with the decision.

Afterwards, Bersaar splits his time amongst the companions and allies’ that need him most. He spends most of his days with Neve in Dock Town, supporting her investigations or acting as a bit of extra muscle, should a job require it. The two still hold some reservations about letting themselves fall too hard due to the dangerous nature of their work, but during quieter moments together their care for and loyalty to one another is impossible to ignore. He’s also made it clear that, should he not be preoccupied with obligation to Neve or his other companions, he will continue supporting the remaining Wardens however and whenever Antoine and Evka call upon him.

[kaija-rayne-author]

DA 4 Veilguard predictions

Okay so I wanted to get a whole ass post about what I think is likely to happen in DA 4 done before the reveals but I haven’t had the time between work and life.

There are MASSIVE spoilers for every Dragon Age game, book, comic, and most internet theories in this post. Proceed with caution.

Also I swear like the truckers I grew up around. So CW on language.

First and foremost, I’m going to warn you all that I’m a die-hard Solavellan. If you don’t like that? Don’t bother reading this. And for gods’ sake don’t bother arguing with me about it. Depending on my mood, I’ll either first roast your face off and then eat it with bbq sauce or if I’m feeling generous, I’ll just block your ass. You like what you like about games. I’ll like what I like. I don’t shit in your porridge, I ask you to not do it to me. As I’m writing this, I’m 47 years old and I’ve been gaming since I was 9. Which means I’ve been gaming longer than a lot of you have been alive. Stop yucking on people’s yum. There’s far too little joy in this world. Go find your own.

So, this is just a partial post (albeit, in true to me fashion, an incredibly LONG one XD). It will cover stuff I think we might see revealed in things this weekend at either SGF or Xbox whatever (I have no idea why they’d bother with the Xbox thing since they hold such a small share of the gaming market these days but whatever.) We’re seeing something between Friday and Monday. Hopefully, enough to give hope to the masses.

Depending on how much time I have before I have to serve dinner I might add some more of my theories.

It’s a bit silly of me to be so obsessed about this game because my computer definitely won’t be able to handle it, and because I’m a disabled, neurodivergent author with a family to support… well… the likelihood of me being able to buy both a computer able to handle it and the game itself any time in the near future isn’t good. So, I won’t be able to play it. I am going to add my links and a go fund me to the bottom of this post (which has taken me hours to research and write so if you would like to donate to the cause I would be so deeply appreciative. Dragon Age is one of my AuDHD special interests, and it’s killing part of my soul to know I can’t participate when it comes out. I promise I’ll write all sorts of interesting stuff about it!)

But I can’t help myself. Letting my research-oriented, lore-obsessed brain noodle about Dragon Age is one of my very favourite special interests. So, without further ado… here goes!

CLASSES

I think we have a good chance of seeing some of these as playable classes.

Knight-Templar ❌

Lord of Fortune ✅

Antivan Crow ✅

Mortalitasi (Nevarran necromancer) ✅

Grey Warden ✅

Shadow Dragon ✅

Shaper/Carta/Kal-Sharok/Sha-Brytol Dwarf ❌

Veil Jumper ✅

Fen’harel Fanatic (not his usual people, the fanatical ones detailed in Tevinter Nights) ❌

Companions

A lot of these ideas come from the supplementary material that I’ve read at least three times each. I’m obsessed. What can I say?

Qunari: ✅ Tal-Vashoth Sarrebas, maybe Qwydion? ❌

Rivani Lord of Fortune: ✅ ‘Hollix’ maybe? That would be fun, plus they are canonically non-binary! Please please please? With sugar on top? ❌

Tevinter Mage/Magister: ✅ Maevaris Tilani ❌ would be so cool, but I’d be equally as happy to see Neve Gallus. ✅ Honestly, they both have benefits for me. Mae is trans and Neve has a prosthetic leg. Alternatively, I liked Myrion ❌ well enough that he’d be a cool companion too. And he’s canonically bisexual from what I read between the lines.

Grey Warden: ✅ Please let it be Antoine! ❌ (Antoine absolutely has ADHD and I would love to see more of that rep in a AAA game.) Evke ❌ could be fun too.

Templar Knight-Commander: Rana Savras ❌

Spirit Companion: I really hope it’s not Audric. 1. He’s not really a spirit, he’s a higher undead, which is a Zombie by any other term. And all the poor guy wants is to organize his library. I’ll be quite disappointed with the writers if they go this route.

So, we’ve had Faith/Wynn, Justice/Anders, and Compassion/Cole. There are two other widely known benevolent spirits in Dragon Age canon. Valor and Hope. Given what I think is gonna happen in DA4, my money is on a Hope spirit. ❓

Antivan Crow: ✅ Illario Dellamorte. ❌ (I really really hope it’s not Lucanis Dellamorte. 💩 He’s so damned annoying and gods that is NOT how an assassin operates. Here's my professional editorial opinion of why Lucanis is an absolutely terrible character.

Veil Jumper/Dalish/City Elf: ✅ Strife. ❌ Please please please? He’d be so awesome as a companion character. He’s not young! I want an older companion character. (And it would let them get away with the white hair on a darker skinned character without it being racist as fuck.) I just really hope he looks better than he did in the comics. The art style in those was just fucking terrible.

I am hoping that we can somehow romance Lace Harding. ✅ But I just don’t see how she could fit in with the reported likely classes and things I’ve personally considered.

That gives me 8 even though reports say we only get 7. But did you notice in this picture that there are 8? So either we’re gonna get a ‘secret’ companion like Loghain Mac Tir. (Three guesses who that will be and the first two don’t count.) Or they have a surprise for us. Or the art is off.

I could also see Kieren ❌ as a companion. (Morrigan’s son) He’d be just about old enough if we get the time jump reports are saying we will. He was roughly 12 in DAI. + 2 for Trespasser puts him at 14. Ten years minimum between Trespasser and DA4 puts him at 24. So, it’s possible. I could also see Vaea as a companion. But I’m not exactly sure how she would fit with classes.

Potential Advisors

Some of these I’ve got as potential companions as well because I could see them fitting either.

Dorian Pavus for Tevinter Magisters (I think this is very likely given Tevinter Nights.)

Maevaris Tilani (Same as above.)

Charter (I think we’ll see Charter stepping into Leliana’s place as Spymaster given what we saw in Trespasser and Tevinter Nights.)

Myrna/Audric (Mortalitasi)

Ramesh (Grey Wardens)

Genetivi (Scholar) (given what happened in Tevinter Nights I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again under a new name)

Viago De Riva (Antivan Crows)

Andarateia Cantori (Antivan Crows) I’d love to see Zevran again but considering what he was up to in DAI I think it’s unlikely. Although something did happen in Tevinter Nights that might make it possible.

Lavellan: With how the story in DAI ended and what we saw in the end scene of Trespasser, I think they’ll be important in some way.

Fenris: (Wandering Warrior)

Cameos we might see:

Fenris

Isabela

Arishok Sten

Antaam Rassan

Kieren (Morrigan’s son)

Zevran

Vaea

Sebastian Vael

Viago De Riva

Andarateia Cantori

Lavellan

People I don’t think we’ll see or if we do it won’t be for long.

Cassandra (thank gods)

Morrigan

Leliana (sads)

Most of the cast of DAI and the previous games.

Bosses we’re likely to fight.

Solas. He’ll be a mini-boss and maybe one you can talk out of a fight.

FleMythal

Elgar’nan ✅️

Ghilan'nain ✅️

Andruil. She and Ghilan’nain often go together.

Critters/bad guys we’re likely to see.

Bone creatures from the necropolis.

Changed darkspawn/humans from Ghilan'nain’s labs. ✅️

Tentacley sea creatures from Minrathous and other ‘experimented upon by mages’ monsters.

Werewolves may make a comeback.

Antaam.

Venatori. ✅

Fen’harel Fanatics (these are different from Fen’harel agents).

Whatever or whoever the people across the sea are.

Carta dwarves

Titans

Sha-Brytol dwarves

Antaam Rassan

Antaam

Things I think we’re likely to see.

We’re going to see trans/non-binary rep. ✅ I deeply believe this is happening. I will be so sad if I’m wrong.

Sad as I am to say it. Varric is gonna die. The writing has been on the wall in drippy red marker since they fired his writer. I hate this, personally. I grew up listening to Brian Bloom (Varric’s VA) and he’s just one of my absolute favourites. But I don’t think Varric is gonna make it.

The how? I think, narratively, they’ll do it in a way that hurts Solas a very great deal. In DAI, Varric is one of the few people that Solas listens to. Apologizes to and actually talks to with a sense of respect in his tone that he rarely does with anyone else. Given events in the comic The Missing where Solas saves Varric several times… yeah. ✅️

If I were writing it? It would be an angsty as fuck scene where either something Solas does accidentally kills Varric in a friendly fire isn’t friendly sort of situation or that Solas can’t get there in time to save one of the few people he actually probably considers a friend.

So, the pain of Varric’s death will be what in the writing/editing trade we call a pinch-point for Solas’s character arc. How the player decides what happens will likely be one of those crucial choices matters points that will turn Solas down a darker path or possibly toward a redemption arc.

Flemythal isn’t dead. I’ve talked before about how she is not the happy fluffy bunny version of a mother goddess. Sure, she might be a mother goddess. But she’s the type that reminds us that mother nature is often more red in tooth and claw than nurturing.

And the lady is bent. Bent on revenge. Bent on using people to get her revenge. Just… if she ever was the good and kind person that Solas remembers? She definitely isn’t anymore.

I have a feeling given one of the stories in Tevinter Nights that FleMythal has infected Solas (vs sharing her power in a simple power up to help him save people move) with the dragon soul. Which could have been part of Mythal's soul even before the dragon had it, if some theories are correct. There’s been a lot of imagery and description of a dreadwolf like creature that is half lupine, half dragon. So, something is going on there.

And honestly, I think that’s going to be Solas’s breaking point with mommy dearest. (Please, please don’t let them have been lovers, that will squick me out so fucking bad.)

“Betrayal is always worse.” Is one of Solas’s really heartfelt lines in DAI. If I’m right, and FleMythal somehow manipulated that dragon soul she got from Kieren (talk about fucked up action right there) so that it’s gonna change Solas into a half dragon half wolf demon thing… welp.

I think FleMythal will find that Solas has a bit more backbone than he ever had in the past. He’s not alone now. He knows he’s not alone. He’s got friends. He’s got someone who deeply loves him in a romanced Solavellan playthrough. I don’t think Solas is going to be very happy with his dearest ‘best of them’ Mythal.

Best of them? Yeah. It doesn’t mean she was actually good.

So Mythal isn’t dead. I think she’s likely to be one of if not the BBEG along with whoever that voice was at the end of the teaser. My money is on Troy Baker ❌️for the VA and I’m really curious if I’m right. I’m thinking that’s probably Elgar’nan. God of Vengeance. Perhaps Mythal and Elgar’nan patch up whatever divine argument they’ve been having via celestial couples therapy or something. Who knows.

I think we’re going to see a split path depending on the choices of the player for Solas. Depending on our choices, he could go really dark, or he could have a redemption arc. Patrick Weekes tweeted to me that ‘there’s a possibility of a happy ending for Solavellan’ so I still have hope. I trust Weekes to write a satisfying conclusion to the Solavellan Romance. (I just don’t trust Bioware as far as I can throw them.) Weekes was the lead writer on this game, so I think it’s a good possibility that that’s how it’s going to be structured.

I think the game will very possibly be a multi-act structure like DAI. The first act is possibly going to be like the Hinterlands leading up to Coryphyfish blowing the hell out of Haven. I think the veil coming down is going to either be what starts off the game ✅ (like the explosion of the conclave in DAI) or will be the final ending situation of Act 1. Again. Player choices will likely affect this to some extent.

But y’all? That veil is coming down. ✅ And yes. I’m aware of that silly new name for the game. I don’t like it. (That ‘the’ was a mistake. Veilguard by itself would’ve been much better linguistically.) But if you’ve been following my ramblings about Dragon Age for a while, y’all will know I have issues with their linguistic usage and editing already.

Dumped Drunk and Dalishious did a fantastic piece on her blog about the veil. It’s here if you haven’t read it. Firstly, the veil was never meant to exist in THEDAS in the first place. If you deep dive the lore (and trust me, I really have. A LOT.) It’s obvious that the veil has been the cause of more problems than it has fixed. It’s been slowly killing magic in THEDAS since its creation. It has to come down. It’s also as holey a granny’s doilies anyway. Solas taking it down in a controlled fashion is very likely going to prevent far more deaths than if it keeps just falling apart piecemeal like it’s been doing forever. It’s unfixable and it really really needs to go. ✅

So once that veil drops… I don’t think it’s going to be as horrific as everyone has been bellyaching about forever. Solas’s often misquoted and wildly overblown lines from Trespasser (seriously do y’all even know what the word genocide means? You make me doubt.) are very likely a red herring at best. People are being willingly misled. ✅ I can’t really blame y’all.

Weekes is an absolute Master at playing people’s expectations and assumptions off of their preconceived notions, then throwing a bomb of ‘oops you were all wrong and it was right in front of you the entire time’. They’ve even said they really love to write things like that. I want to write as well as Weekes does when I grow up.

Humans existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they afterward? Given some of the lore, Qunari also existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they continue to? Will there be chaos? Yup. ✅ But change is often painful. And if anything needs change it’s the world of THEDAS. (Both for story reasons and for gameplay reasons.)

One of the changes I think we’re likely to see is the implosion of the Chantry. (I am absolutely hoping for this. I’m not a fan of organized religion on a grand scale like that and the Chantry has soooooo damned many skeletons in its closets and atrocities under its belt that I will absolutely celebrate when it burns to the ground.)

Which will happen if it comes out that Solas put up the veil in the first place and took it down too. The Chantry either outright claims or strongly insinuates that the maker put up the veil. It’s the cornerstone of their entire faith. Also, in the story Genetivi Dies in the End in Tevinter Nights, Genetivi is absolutely wrecked by the discovery that everything he’s ever written as a travelling Chantry Scholar has been a lie. The Chantry is going down.

So, there’s gonna be some chaos there. And that’s not going to be Solas’s fault because that veil is coming down anyway.

And can you imagine the absolutely hilarious chaos that’s gonna happen when word leaks that an elven god-mage was the one who is technically the ‘maker’ by Chantry doctrine? With all the horrific racism and sheer awfulness the Chantry has done to elves over the centuries? I’m popping popcorn.

I think we’re gonna see Felassan again. ✅️ Cause that elf isn’t dead. And no, Solas didn’t kill him. Please trust me, I’ve combed through all the lore, I’ve read The Masked Empire where it supposedly happened several times, and there is not a shred of actual proof that Solas was the one who did the deed. It’s a Weekes misdirection again. They've got the nickname Tricksy Weekes for a reason.

The actual facts about the 'murder'.

It was someone Felassan worked for.

Someone he knew.

Someone who he knew wouldn't listen to his reasoning. (Solas has been shown to actually listen to his friends and let them change his mind.)

Someone who could very likely have been female because Felassan likens the murderer to Brialla.

It was someone who could fade-walk or move in the fade.

Mythal can do that.

A Somniari/Dreamer can also fade-walk.

Probably most of the still extant Elvhenan can do it (which there were quite a few of in Mythal’s temple).

And we know from DA2 that at least one modern born Somniari/Dreamer exists in the world.

Point being, there’s no actual ‘Solas killed Felassan’ spelled out anywhere. No, not even in Cole's lines in Trespasser. Those lines only indicate that Solas knows about Felassan’s ‘death’ and that he’s sad about it. Cole talks in riddles and references to modern TV shows all the time. I have no idea why people take him even remotely literally.

I have a few theories about this.

IF Felassan’s spirit actually was killed in the fade (possible) his body wasn’t. His body would’ve been just lying there in the woods breathing like any other Somniari. Possibly made tranquil (which we know can be reversed).

What if Solas lost his original body in putting up the Veil?

What if he had a deal with Felassan or maybe came to Felassan to help him get back to his body after the attack and Felassan decided he was done and wanted to move on?

They're said to be friends. Never said to be employer/employee.

If Solas was awake and in the fade and sensed an attack on Felassan, he'd certainly have gone to help.

What if he gave his body to Solas?

Felassan's 'death' chronologically lines up to when Solas 'woke up'.

Felassan has purple eyes. So does Solas.

Felassan has fade-green magic. So does Solas.

Felassan is incredibly powerful. Stares at Solas.

Felassan knows far more about Fen'harel than even a scholar would.

Felassan knew far more about Eluvians, ancient Elvhenan, and The Forgotten Ones (Imshael is a Forgotten One) than anyone would reasonably expect any elf to know.

Felassan let Imshael see into his head about what was coming in the future. Which Imshael almost got off on. Imshael loves destruction and chaos.

I can make a list as long as my arm on similarities there. So, either Solas didn’t kill Felassan and the old? Felassan will be in the game once the veil falls, or it will be revealed that Solas has actually been wearing a (voluntary because a soul cannot take a body involuntarily) Felassan suit the entire time.

Probably blew some minds there, huh?

So given that Weekes has said that if Felassan was a popular enough character they would consider bringing him back… I think it’s likely we’ll see something to do with him again.

Also? The sheer hilarity factor of elves who do not want magic (Fenris anyone?) getting magic returned to them is going to be sweet.

I think we’ll see blood magic as a much bigger mechanic than in previous games. (And I hope they did some work on it to make it make more sense this time.) The game is going to have a lot of Tevinter content. Blood magic is a big deal there. Ergo… it’s likely.

Given some of the things that happened in Tevinter Nights, which honestly really feels like a teaser book to DA4 (I really hate the Veilguard name) I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Templars again. They’ve been in every game and book so far. I doubt they’d get rid of the useless bastards in this one.

Given some of the things in Tevinter Nights, I think it’s possible we’ll see just as many puzzles as we did in DAI, if not more. I’m hoping for more. I do love puzzles in these kinds of games.

I believe it’s highly possible that whoever drank from the Well is going to be completely fucked. Especially, if they follow a ‘kill Solas’ route. Remember who the well binds you to in Trespasser? Bingo.

I think it’s very likely that someone close to the main character is going to be a dual agent of Fen’harel. And it will not be someone we expect. We’re all gonna be side eyeing the mages after the last three games. But what if it’s a warrior or rogue who hides their magic? There was at least one character that completely hid their magic in Tevinter Nights.

We’re going to see more of the Evanuris and The Nameless/Forgotten ones. I base that on Imshael being in DAI and in Masked Empire and some of the dialogue between Felassan and Imshael.

Titans. We’re going to see the titans waking up and being royally pissed off. This is going to cause so much chaos for the dwarves. Who will also regain magic and a kinda creepy hive-mind thing, too. Again. That’s not going to be Solas’s fault.

We’ll have at least one Gala event. Very possibly in Minrathous or Vyrantium. Hopefully with better clothing.

Finally, for things I think likely… The Grand Necropolis in Nevarra is gonna burn. People seem to forget that Solas doesn’t just fight for the freedom of the Elves. He fights for the freedom of spirits too.

In case you haven’t read it… the Nevarrans imprison spirits in the corpses of their dead using mages called the Mortalitasi. I really don’t think that is going to sit well with Solas. In fact, I know it doesn’t. It’s spelled out in Tevinter Nights.

I think it’s probably going to be a quest line for the main character to go and save the necropolis or let it burn to free the spirits. This, of course, will be one of the choices that matter and likely another pinch point on whether Solas goes dark or gets a redemption arc. It will also deeply affect Nevarran politics and the way the country is run. The Mortalitasi basically rule the monarchs of Nevarra sooooo. It’s gonna cause chaos there too.

We’ll obviously see a lot of chaos with the Qunari. Their culture is splintering already. The Antaam have decided to go off the rails and attack anything and everything. Maybe the Ben-Hassrath will be able to rein that in. Maybe not. I don’t have very many predictions on the Qunari to be honest. They’re at war with Tevinter at the end of Tevinter Nights so that war will figure heavily in the game, most likely. But how that’s going to play out I haven’t a clue.

Some mechanics I think we might see.

Fade-touched weaponry that can stop mages.

Elemental interactions. (IE: Magic lightning x water = lots of zap)

Magically treated arrows. ✅️

More magical bombs and poison effects. (I might be just wishfully dreaming there because one of the things I miss from DAO is the poisons and traps mechanics. They felt like an afterthought in DA2 and DAI. I want to be able to make cool traps and set up ambushes again.) But there was that story with Dorian in Tevinter Nights where several of those things were used, so maybe? It would be cool.

I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Despair Demon from Tevinter Nights. And I’m still so mad that they fired the writer of that story. It’s one of my favourites.

Some things that are very possible? But I’m not sure of and could just be wishful thinking.

I think we might see Abelas again. (Abelas romance? Pretty please? ❌😭) His story does have one of those endings that kills him so it’s possibly just wishful thinking. But they brought Leliana back for DAI, so I don’t see why they couldn’t with Abelas too. And also, I have a voice kink and love his VA Matthew Gravelle.

We might see non-linear storytelling. I kind of hope we do because I love non-linear storytelling. Perhaps one storyline will be Arlathan (through dreams or time travel perhaps?) and the fall of it so we finally get some answers to all of this lore. (Please let us get some answers!)

We may see some problems from a rather irrational faction of people who say they’re working for Solas but are using methods he would never approve of. They may be sort of like the Venatori in the last game. Though I do think it’s likely we might have to fight a few more of the Venatori too. ✅ They’re still out there having really messed up rituals and stuff to destroy things.

I think it’s possible given a few clues in the lore and in Tevinter Nights that we’re either going to see not just a double blight (regular darkspawn and red lyrium darkspawn) but a triple blight with the green/yellow lyrium found in Ghilan'nain’s labs. Remember that Ramesh only destroyed one of them. There are eleven more. I think that’s going to very possibly be a big part of this game.

Settings/Levels/Areas I think likely.

So, we already know that the game will be taking place in the north of THEDAS. That’s a no brainer after the map reveal in the teaser.

But where exactly will they take us?

In Tevinter, I think it’s very possible we’ll see Minrathous ✅ and Vyrantium. We may see the Black Divine’s/Archon’s palace.

We’ll see Arlathan Forest. ✅ That I’m almost certain of. We’ll probably also see ancient Arlathan somehow. (Dreams or barely used time-travel mechanic from DAI?)

We’re going to be spending a lot of time in the deep roads and even farther below the deep roads. And dear developers please let me have some answers to all this lore.

We may spend some time inside a Titan again.

Pre-veil drop, we may spend some time in the fade. I actually hope that with the veil dropping we get to rescue whoever got left behind in DAI. That would make my heart so happy.

We’re likely to see the crossroads at least a little bit.

Antiva! Gods I’m looking forward to seeing Antiva.

Anderfels/Weisshaupt. We have no idea at the end of DAI or Tevinter Nights or Last Flight what the hell is going on up there, so I think we’ll have to find out in the game. Also… more chaos that is most definitely not Solas’s fault.

Rivain?

I think we’ll see the Golden City. And the Black City. Which is likely the same place.

And I don’t think it’s up in the sky. I think it’s deep underground below the deep roads.

Ships! I think we’re going to see some more ships. That’s based on a story in Tevinter nights and some of the splash art. But gods I really want more ships. Especially in a place like Minrathous or Antiva for fuck’s sake!

I think we might see some underwater levels for various reasons. And I hope we do.

These next things are honestly my hopes and dreams that would make me so happy, but I have little to back them up with as far as lore or books/comics and supplementary materials.

Polyamory options. PLEASE give me polyam romance options. BG3 did it. It’s 2024 and only 30% of dating people are monogamous. Get with the times! ❌️

I want CC body sliders so bad. ✅ Give me the ability to make a fat player character please! Not just because a lot of gamers tend to be on the heavier side but honestly? Because a fat adventurer is going to be able to go farther than any skinny twig. Real strong men/women/enbies do not look like gym bunnies and models. They have a good layer of fat over that muscle for stability. Guess what fat is? It’s energy storage. A fat adventurer is going to be able to survive longer than a twig. I could go on… but come on Bioware. Be brave. Let me have a fat adventurer. ✅️

Decent. Fucking. Hair. ✅ Please let the CC have decent hair options. LONG hair options! Let me have my long haired elfy prince dude!

Isabela cameo. She’s one of my favourite DA2 characters and some of the early splash art makes me hopeful we’ll see her again. ✅️

I’m hoping for DAO origin style stories for the Main Player Character. But ideally? We’d have something like BG3 where we could play one of a number of origin stories or make our own blank slate character. ❌ Given the gossip going around the gaming community I’m thinking this is unlikely, but damn do I want it.

Useful. Mounts. Please let us have actually useful mounts. And GRIFFONS. ✅ Give me flying mounts you cowards!

Prosthetic using characters. ✅ Bioware has the worst track record when it comes to ableism, but gods please. They’ve got it set up perfectly with Inky losing their arm. There’s a prosthetic leg user in Tevinter Nights. PLEASE LET ME HAVE PROSTHETIC USING CHARACTERS.

Better Crafting Options. The crafting was okay in DAI. Especially if you mod it in so you can buy the stuff to do so easier (I really hate killing dragons but it’s the best crafting material!). But it also often felt more like an afterthought?

Better. Clothes. Seriously. Give me some razzle dazzle with the clothing. ESPECIALLY since we’re going to Tevinter where how you dress is absolutely important!

I know this is sniffing the genie smoke here, but could we have actually attractive armour options? With BRIGHT colours? Research shows that a lot of historical armour was 1. Gorgeous and well fitting. 2. Brightly painted! Let me have bright colours! (And please not the yellow plaid. Ugh.)

I hope for more gardening options in whatever base we end up using. I loved the gardening options in DAI, but they weren’t big enough for my plant loving heart.

I really want to see Solas in flying Wolfie form. We see him like that in Tevinter Nights. So, I really hope we get to see him like that in game.

Finally… and I know I’m high on my own hopes here… I really hope we get the gifting options back. Completely unattached to approval is fine. I just want to be able to find the perfect gift for my companions like I do in real life with my friends. It brings me so much joy.

Things they’re likely to fuck up.

Sadly, I think there’s some things Bioware is very likely to fuck up. This could just be me being too pessimistic, but they’ve screwed these things up throughout the entire series and to my knowledge they didn’t hire any diversity consultants in the making of DA4 sooooo…

Ableism. Bioware has a terrible record when it comes to ableism. ✅ (the demon design is going to cause visual strain and possibly bad effects for epileptic gamers).

White-washing. The North of THEDAS is like the South of Earth. If they make most of the people there have light skin I will probably boycott the fuck out of Bioware for the rest of my life. ✅️

No fat character ability in CC.

Really fucked up hair options. Seriously Bioware. It’s bad.

And I think they’re going to be in trouble when it comes to the Lords of Fortune. Look. I love the idea of the class and I even love how a lot of them are described in the books. But it’s absolutely glomming onto the stereotype of the Romani, and I don’t think that’s going to go over well at all. It won’t for me with my Romani heritage, and it really shouldn’t for anyone. Cause you know what that stereotypical usage is? It’s Racism. Bioware also doesn’t have the best track record regarding racism either.

As more thoughts come to me I’ll either append stuff to this post or do others (probably the latter.)

And here are my links if you want to toss me a buck or two as a tip. I'm recovering from a pulmonary embolism (do not recommend) and every penny helps because I'm the sole income for my family.

And if you're in Canada like me you can use Interac. Kaija.rayne.author@gmail.com.

As always, thanks for reading my rambles!

[datvtranscripts]

Completing the Veilguard Pt. 2

What the Team Needs Next

Signs and Portents Masterpost Previous: Spoken Like a God

The team meets around the fireplace in the kitchen.

Choice dependent dialogue:

Saved Minrathous [1]

Saved Treviso [2]

1 - Saved Minrathous Neve: Solas thinks we need a dragon hunter and a Fade expert.

Took Bellara/Davrin to Minrathous (?): Harding: He's right about the dragon hunter, at least. Rook, when I was with the Inquisition, I saw some terrible things. But what happened to Treviso… I mean… So much death. Lucanis stayed behind. He said he'll be back soon, but… At least you took care of yours.

Took Harding to Minrathous (?): Davrin: I wouldn't trust the Dread Wolf, but he's not wrong about us needing a dragon hunter. I've been a Warden for a while. Seen some pretty awful things. But what the dragon did to Treviso? I'll never get that out of my head. Lucanis stayed. Said he'd be back soon, but… At least you took care of yours.

Rook: We hurt it, but didn't kill it. The dragon flew off before we could put it down.

Neve: A dragon hunter would've helped in Minrathous, that's for sure.

Dialogue options:

Affable: We couldn’t have known. Rook: That's hindsight talking. We didn't know a blighted dragon was coming, or that we'd need someone who could take it down. +Harding Approves

Stoic: We’ll be ready next time. Rook: Then we find one. Next time a blighted dragon comes calling, it'll be the last time it comes calling. +Davrin Approves

Sad: Yes, I know. Rook: Don't remind me. Fewer people injured, and we wouldn't have to worry about it coming back. +Bellara Approves

Neve: We can't forget the second dragon in Treviso. We should see how we can help, but… We're without Lucanis until he's done helping the Crows. Who knows how long.

→ Lucanis will be away helping Treviso for a while.

Varric walks up.

Varric: Hey, let's not get stuck in our regrets, all right?

Davrin: Just so we're clear, you're taking advice from this elven god, Solas. The Solas who tried to tear down the Veil. You really trust him? [3]

2 - Saved Treviso Lucanis: So this elven god thinks we need a dragon hunter and a Fade expert?

Took Bellara/Davrin to Treviso(?): Harding: He's right about the dragon hunter, at least. The Shadow Dragons did all they could. The dragon was just too much. The moment the dust settled? The Venatori rushed in. Guess they knew it was coming. Neve's staying for now. She said she'll be back soon, but… At least you took care of yours.

Took Harding to Treviso (?): Davrin: I wouldn't trust the Dread Wolf, but he's not wrong about us needing a dragon hunter. I've been a Warden for a while. Seen some pretty awful things. The dragon just kept strafing the city. Shadow Dragons did all they could. It wasn't near enough. The Venatori took their opportunity and rushed in the moment the dust settled in Minrathous. Neve's staying for now. Said she'll be back soon, but… At least you took care of yours.

Rook: We hurt it, but didn't kill it. The dragon flew off before we could put it down.

Dialogue options:

Affable: We couldn’t have known. Rook: That's hindsight talking. We didn't know a blighted dragon was coming, or that we'd need someone who could take it down. +Harding Approves

Stoic: We’ll be ready next time. Rook: Then we find one. Next time a blighted dragon comes calling, it'll be the last time it comes calling. +Davrin Approves

Sad: Yes, I know. Rook: Don't remind me. Fewer people injured, and we wouldn't have to worry about it coming back. +Bellara Approves

Lucanis: We should not forget the second dragon, in Minrathous. We ought to see what we can do to help. However… There is no telling how long Neve will be helping the Shadow Dragons with the aftermath.

→ Neve will be away helping Minrathous for a while.

Varric walks up.

Varric: Hey, let's not get stuck in our regrets, all right?

Davrin: Hang on a minute. Not only have you retained the services of a demon assassin, you're also taking advice from the elven god who attempted to tear down the Veil.

Lucanis: Spite is my problem.

Davrin: That's what they always say. Rook, Lucanis is one thing, but do you really trust this Solas? [3]

3 - Dialogue options:

Affable: He hasn’t led us astray. [4]

Sarcastic: Trust is a strong word. [5]

Stoic: Absolutely not. [6] +Davrin Approves

4 - Affable: He hasn’t led us astray. Rook: He's been right about a lot of things. He knows how Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain work. We need him. Davrin: As long as you're sure. [7]

5 - Sarcastic: Trust is a strong word. Rook: Trust is such a strong word, you know? Davrin: So you don't trust him. Rook: Enhhh… Davrin: All right then. [7]

6 - Stoic: Absolutely not. Rook: Of course I don't trust him. He's the only option we have. If it makes you feel better, we've checked every piece of information he gave us. Davrin: That does make me feel better. [7]

7 - Scene continues.

Harding: So a Fade expert and a dragon hunter… I'll ask around about dragon hunters and see what turns up. Come talk to me in a bit.

Bellara: And I've been corresponding with someone about the Lighthouse's reverberative oscillations and the resulting dimensional peculiarities—Oh… sorry. Not relevant. I'll get a message through to a Fade expert immediately.

Varric: (Chuckles) See, Rook? Nothing to worry about.

Rook: All right. We all know what to do. Let's get going.

+Bellara Approves +Harding Approves +Lucanis/Neve Approves (depending on who is present)

[I have a feeling that the Harding/Davrin dialogues are bugged and swapped.]

Next: A Dragon Hunter Next: A Fade Expert

[herearedragons]

4, 12, 23, 29, 44 for the oc asks! c:

4. A character you rarely talk about?

shoutout to: Firi of the Red Scarves, a would-be dnd roguelock turned dnd npc turned. Tav maybe. when I get BG3

his thing is that he's a high elf born with a disability that makes casting magic painful, and his parents, who were dead set on having a wizard son, tried to Fix Him by any means possible, and when he realized they were going to do Unethical Science on him he ran away from home. on his way out he grabbed an expensive-looking necklace off his father's desk, planning to sell it, but that necklace turned out to contain an imprisoned friend that was supposed to serve the wearer of the necklace for a hundred years. Firi went "sweet", put the necklace on, became a warlock and used his newfound powers (which, being borrowed magic and not his own, aren't painful for him to use) to get out of the country and start a new life Elsewhere under a new name. the problem is, the fiend also swore to kill the wearer of the necklace as soon as the hundred years are up, buuuuuuuut maybe Firi can endear himself to it enough that it won't do that! we'll see! <- he is: coping in the best way he can

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot

@curiouslavellan's Aurelia and Helaine are both on the brain quite a lot. and yes it's because they're in AU worldstates with my own characters but also just. I Care Them. they both have this. I don't know. sincerity?? and determination?? to them?? even as the world throws progressively horrible stuff at them?? like you just want to see them succeed and also get a warm meal and a good night's sleep (and some therapy/Reflection Time) because really it's not their fault the world is going crazy around them and they're trying their best

(also I've put Aurelia in my Sims Medieval as the physician and it's been really funny)

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

WELL. Pyrrha Thorne (who I'm still rotating) started out as a Dalish character, and then I came up with a different backstory that I also like and. might fit Veilguard's entire deal better, tbh. but we'll see if I go back on it because her having a Dalish background does also have its own crunch (but also I'm really attached to her very non-Dalish name, SO. and we have one Dalish Grey Warden on the team already)

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

....see many of them would go investigate, but not telling anyone... I'm going to say Adina (she does what she wants), Kyana (none of your concern.), Secret (it's going to be FINE, guys), Pyrrha (why?? would anyone need to know she's going there?? she's just checking it out real quick) and Inquisition-era Neilar (honestly he probably SHOULD have said something but. he just didn't feel like it)

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

Every time I make a character I try to center them around a Concept or Idea that's appealing to me personally, and as a result of this they all have struggles/conflicts that are REALLY fun for me to observe and to play with. Each of them has at least one ThingTM that I'll get emotional about if I think about it for too long, and that's what keeps me invested.

...also the ships. I think I've been doing a good job with the ships

[defira85]

Thedas Tuesday

Yes I'm going to keep doing these. Do I have enough characters to make it through to the launch? Not quite. I'll elaborate on some of them in more detail closer to the date

Micaela "Hawke" Gottschalk

Presenting Micaela "Hawke" Gottschalk, cousin to the Champion of Kirkwall Josefina Hawke. Bubbly blood mage and junior member of the Veiled Brotherhood. I have a fairly extensive background plotted out for my Hawke that included giving Malcolm a family and explaining why he was familiar with the Grey Wardens and knew ancient blood magic rituals, which created House Gottschalk of Nevarra, a powerful noble house dedicated to being demon hunters. The Veiled Brotherhood was the name of the organisation they founded at around the time of the First Blight, and Jo made the decision to come out of hiding during Inquisition and align the Brotherhood with the Inquisition and share their immense libraries and knowledge regarding strengthening the Veil and fighting demons

Micaela looks a lot like my Bethany Hawke (and Mallorie Hawke owned by @apocalyptichero who is ALSO a Hawke cousin), and she was so mad that nobody thought she was old enough to go off and help with the Inquisition when that disaster happened. In the interim, she moved from the ancient family estate on the border with Tevinter to Nevarra City to study, and found that necromancy was a fine match for her given her family's history with blood magic. She joined the Mourn Watch, as her talents with the Veil were quite well suited to helping maintain the Grand Necropolis, and has spent the better part of the last seven years serving in Nevarra City

She's been a canon character of mine for a long time - she was mentioned in passing in one of Jo's fics, and I really wanted to bring my Veiled Brotherhood headcanon faction in to work with the Veilguard. She'd be in her late 20s at the time Veilguard is set, so it worked out perfectly!

[3gremlins]

ahhhh i finished it last saturday night (11/9) (this will post from the q so after other q'd things)! it was really enjoyable tbh, i really liked it. it was good (if we don't get another da game, i am fairly satisfied) not perfect but few things are. def stick with it if you're not sure, there's a LOT at the end

spoilers for the end of veilguard- initial notes after the cut, not particularly organized

not me figuring out the varric reveal like 5 minutes before it was actually revealed tho XD tbh i was expecting him to die from the trailers and then he didn't and i was like "oh perhaps they're doing something else with him?" so they got me with the bait and switch and i was properly horrified. good job, you got me bioware. (as an aside, i still don't think varric was a strong enough choice as solas' friend for the intro section, like you never get the impression they are friends in dai at all. varric was stronger friends with anders than he was with solas, despite weird dai retcon about it. I wish they'd centered the narrative around someone else there- cole would have been a good choice? or cole and varric even since that's the most interesting interaction varric has with solas in dai) i'll def have to watch the cutscenes with him in subsequent pts. I kinda wish they'd done a follow up with him somewhere, maybe like the endings in that one fade book you find in trespasser (like at that fade bar with alistair/the warden/hawke/etc, would have been nice). got some solavellan conclusions, more than i expected and it was pretty good all things considered (i would have loved more, but also this was much more than we've gotten from other cameos of previous protagonists).

(is this the most awkward screenshot ever? possibly XD look she loves him so much, she'll even kiss his blight-y mouth and go live with him in the fade) i do wish they'd figured out a way to keep cole in (esp since spirit cole has that sad line about needing to help solas at the end of trespasser) somewhere. it was still pretty good honestly, i cried (this whole game made me cry at various points tho). I do think it could have resolved with them both living outside the fade and just his life being tied to it but i also get them wanting to literally tie up loose ends with this particular narrative.

it feels very mass effect 2ish (esp the end game section), i think most people will like it but i did find the end game section kinda stressful (where you have to pick the right person for things). Also for a dragon age game, usually by the end you have your team so having to break up the team so they live is not necessarily what i want in a DA game (i can appreciate it narratively while disliking it in practice lol) The format is also very mass effect-y in how it doles out companion stuff (esp romance stuff)- it's paced around the plot which is for the most part a good thing (but it also made it hard to tell where you were with things). I definitely like how they utilized the factions better than DAI or DAO tho- even tho only their rank mattered, having the characters in cut scenes and as npcs you can chat with at the end was really nice. I don't know if it's just lucanis' romance or all of them, but i kept thinking i'd missed something b/c of how long they make you wait for private time alone with your partner (the parts we get are really good, don't get me wrong, it just made me wait FOREVER to smooch him or get more than burning looks lol). 100% worth it tho. will romance many more times probably

(aside: getting to have a rook who's got a body like mine and a flat chest and have another character look at them desirously was just gender euphoria really. like okay actually their chest is nicer than mine -i have to do more pushups- but STILL. THANK YOU BIOWARE FOR INCLUDING NON BINARY PEOPLE SO MUCH IN THIS NARRATIVE and integrating us so deeply in all the bits, not just pronouns and basic shit) Like it wasn't even before the first "final" mission but before teh for realskies final mission ish (and i got more dialogue towards the end too). Real Return of the King BUT WAIT there's more vibes with the end (past the point of no return warning). I wish there was a little bit more romance partner time in act 2 even if it was just vibing? I did get a lot of good companion banter about it which i love (i live for banter and the banter in this was so good) i think my biggest note is i didn't feel the music helped it that much? idk i wish they'd just gone with one of their previous composers so it felt more dragon age-y (the zimmer score felt a little generic except when it did reprises of previous dragon age themes). Sometimes it felt too bombastic and sometimes there was not enough, idk, it just didn't have quite the same feel. i did like that they reused the bard music from DAI in the cities, made me smile hearing the sera song esp. i also wish the approval/tone system was a little more like dragon age 2 where you got unique dialogue choices based on which you chose more. Also sometimes the "sassy" answer wasn't that sassy or felt mean, there felt like a little bit of a disconnect between what i would have expected from the choice and what was said. The approval system was a bit weird too - like there were no approvals early on and then suddenly people reacted to things (but it didn't seem to impact their bonds). It felt like that could have used more tweaking or been more obvious anyway. It also felt like it required your character to code switch when talking to different companions since some of them responded to the different tones differently- which felt really weird and a little clunky. I def wished for more of the DA2 style where your companions just accept that you are a fun or kind or straightforward and you can rp that for the whole game.

i really liked the art direction (tho i did sort of miss the persistent splatter gore) and loved all the companions! the story was overall pretty good tho it suffered from a few pacing issues early on (you could sort of tell it had been reworked a little bit and bits were still a bit weird- but tbh all the games suffer from this a bit).

the combat was fun! i wish the targeting was a little better (as i've mentioned) and toward the end of the game, i got some stuttering when a lot of things were hitting rook at once (so it wouldn't register my dodges correctly). I played as rogue rook and it was super fun, glad i went with my actual fave class on my first pt (i always think i should be a mage and then want to be a rogue so im glad i can finally be like no no, i love knives and arrows!) The optional bosses were the most fun/challenging. Finished the game with the poison squad ofc but most of the companions felt reasonably balanced when I had to use certain parties (i'd say the warriors felt the weakest in their skills, have to see how player warrior feels, rogue rook was awesome). i loved that you could refund your skill tree at any point for no cost and also that it explained the bits of the tree (bursty, control, etc) so you could work out your own build for it. I wish the super special rune you get for beating the optional questline wasn't presented as your last ditch effort thing- i got confused by this dialogue and was a little afraid to use it at first (i thought i'd have to use it at a particular time in a fight, but nah it was just a really good rune with a normal cd) Obviously there's still more questions (the "secret" post credits scene) and i kinda wanted a post credit party scene? Maybe if we're lucky we'll get one like we did for bg3 i'm pretty satisfied, already started some more rooks and ready to make some fan art! [im also pretty sure my first pt had the most bugs since i started it on release date and didn't get the starter quest achievements until my 2nd rook, so we'll see how it plays with war rook and mage rook)