#and now rook is stuck with the crows

[crowinkwriting]

The temptation to make a post cannon fic of one-shots of Rook joining the Crows and just goofy short stories about her learning how to live in Antiva is so tempting.

This is 100% not an excuse to write more Spite and Lucanis or to write Teia hanging out with Inky (my Rook) more.... okay maybe a little.

My baby Rook is in for such a culture shock.

[vaguely-concerned]

every time rye hears lucanis really laugh he has such a mortifying '*sick and harrowed with longing to the very depths of his soul* alright :)' moment. I just got the banter where taash talks about stuff their mother told them about crows as a kid and it was a 10 on the soul quaking richter scale event

[100jewels-between-teeth]

18+ Oneshot

Word count: 3055

AO3 ¤ Ko-Fi ¤ Masterlist

~ Summery: They both could not truly understand if this was the reality they were gifted, or elaborate hells that they were still stuck within. But through late night reassurances before their final fight, they both find themselves grounded in a crazed reality that could only be blissful as long as they are with one another.

Lucanis x f!Rook de Riva

Cw: Smut, just pure lovemaking smut, overstimulation AN: So... this is my first smut posting here so... well enjoy. Im def not nervous. Huge massive shoutout to @enterthedreams for the beta!!! Honestly youre my favorite person.

Something about the sound of his steady heartbeat harmonizing with the calm breathing that caressed her damp, flushed face, was nothing short of bliss. The couch had been abandoned at some point during their second round. Now they were just content to lay on the floor, surrounded by blankets and candles bathing them both in a romantic glow. Between that and the reflective veins of the aquarium above, Avantika could not help but think this all looked to be the most ethereal dream. 

To see Lucanis like this, to even hear him like this, made him more godlike than any of the Evanuris could think to achieve. Lucanis must have noticed the silent adoration that Rook was giving him. A brow arched as he reached to move some hair that remained stuck to her skin away. His hand did not immediately retreat, taking a moment to trace the outline of her cheekbone. It followed down until the tip of his finger was resting at the bottom of her chin. Without even a silent command, Rook leaned in to have her lips grace his own – a kiss of gentle tenderness and love. “What has your mind distracted, mi diosa?” The look of concern on Lucanis’s features immediately tugged at her heart, wanting to eradicate any kind of emotion that was not happiness in this moment, in this little world they had created. 

Concern was for what would take place in the morning, not now. Not here. “Would you believe me if I said you?” The smile that she gave him was one filled with dimples on her cheeks and teeth. 

Lucanis’ own reflected straight back, a smile that would tear down the heavens. It was a privilege to Rook that she had been gifted his smile. His trust and comfort. That kind of smile could only be reciprocated with another kiss, moving from his lips to the bags under his eyes. For the first time, Avantika felt the exhaustion in those beautiful eyes was warranted. They both had given up on sleep a long while ago. 

Lucanis was right. 

How on earth could either sleep when the other was like this? “I could only hope it is good. I know it has been a while so my skills might take some ti – ” Before Lucanis could even finish the sentence, Avantika was quick to cut him off. “Oh, shut your fucking mouth.” 

She all but pounced on his broad chest, attacking his face with her lips while tenderly pecking and nipping as his own laughter filled the room. Strong arms wrapped around the woman as he took her in a roll, accepting this defeat as he got Rook on her back. The sight of him above her, eyes filled with nothing but love looking into her own almost brought her to tears. But in this light, the reflections of water mixed with the flickering candlelight, she could not help but have her eyes drawn to that silver puckered skin on his chest. Which only brought her eyes to all the others that littered his body. It came with the job, the scars. 

Lucanis probably noticed at some point with all the clothes flying off that Rook had her own. Some Crows – usually Viago – would tell anyone that scars meant a sloppy job. Crows were meant to be clean. Quick in and out performances. From what Avantika could assume, neither her nor Lucanis were exactly fitting that description. 

Catching the direction of her eyes, a small smirk grew. He raised himself into a seated position on her lap as Avantika rested upon her shoulders. “My cousin gave me that one, funnily enough.” Lucanis shrugged, the pad of his thumb tracing over the two inch long pinkish line. “We were sparring in the garden, and snuck a couple of Caterina’s knives. You know how it goes, stupid kids playing with knives.” “So what you’re saying is that he beat you?” It took everything in Avantika not to let out a little snicker. “What?! No! I beat him and he gave me this because he is a sore loser!” Lucanis placed his hand over his heart in mock offence. But the flint in his eyes gave away that jovial mischief. “I killed a god, Rook! You think my cousin is going to best me?” “Okay, okay!” Rook lifted her hands in surrender, seating herself up more so that they were both level with each other. Lucanis made sure not to keep his whole weight on her legs or hips. “I'm just saying it only took until the second chance and – ” “And I did not have a demon, nor a woman like you, distracting my thoughts then, pequeña cuervo.” Lucanis’s voice dipped to a playful low growl, taking her face in his hands as he traced the tip of his nose against hers. “I'd say that is unfair.” 

For as much as this man tried to play that intimidation game, they both knew with Avantika, he could only be this soft man. “Ah yes. My fault, I see your game, Dellamorte.” Avantika playfully pushed the man away, moving to stand with the destination of nowhere in mind. “I see how it is.” 

The arm that wrapped around her waist was expected, Avantika letting Lucanis pull her back as he assaulted her neck with kisses. 

“Forgive me diosa, I mean it as the greatest compliment.” His nose buried in the thick wild mass of her hair as he took a deep breath of her scent. 

Rook felt him rock their bodies back and forth, his bare chest pressed against her bare back as his face travelled from her neck to the line of her shoulders. Avantika had learnt much from this night. Like how this man could spend literal hours just memorizing every dip and valley of her body. How there was not an inch of skin he would leave unappreciated, unadorned with his branding lips and igniting breath. How Lucanis could be so determined to find every spot that made Avantika shudder, whimper, bite her lip to suppress that moan he was chasing. 

Maybe it was for the thrill of the sexual experience. That carnal desire both had suppressed for however long in their lives, let it be their choice or otherwise.  

It was so much more than just a simple desire. It was reassurance, to make sure that what they were tasting, kissing, loving, was real and tangible. That what they were trusting with their most vulnerable hearts was real, that the safety and love they both wanted to shelter them was truly existing. 

So the lingering touches, whether it be to explore a desire or just for the comfort of feeling they were there, helped the both of them. When Lucanis kissed from one shoulder blade to another, humming happily to himself as he felt the trail he left behind bloom in blush, she smiled, nuzzling into the skin. “And the others? Were those Illario too, or do you just have that many sore losers you fight?” Rook could not help but giggle at the small bite Lucanis left in warning following a growl. 

She turned around in his arms. Now Avantika sat in his lap with both legs on either side. Leaning back, she could hear that stifled whimper Lucanis gave, not wanting her too far away from his adoring touch and gaze. Her fingers went to his lips, playfully hushing him. Those wide brown eyes looked to her with deepest reverence, his lips automatically capturing the pads of her fingertips between his lips and his beard tickled the skin he kissed softly. Finally breaking her focus away from that beautiful face, her amber eyes fell back to those scars decorating his body. Some were jagged, rough, and others seemed so precise and delicate. It truly was a strange kind of tapestry of his life he bore. Where some were faded, only a ghost of a story lingering, others seemed quite new, possibly no less than a year old. That thought made Avantika swallow the sudden lump in her throat as Lucanis reached to gently brush her cheek. Rook’s eyes flickered back to him. 

A silent question being asked as her hand fell away from his face, instead ghosting over the scar they both had just focused on. Compared to the others, it was rather tame. Of course, if touching such wounds was far too fast, too personal for Lucanis to deal with right now, Avantika would stop immediately. But with a shivering breath, goosebumps appearing on his skin, he nodded. His right hand took hers softly, directing her to another, far more jagged scar over his right bicep. Her touch was featherlight. As if Lucanis would just shatter like glass if she applied any more pressure. Whether it was her touch, or his scar being touched specifically, Lucanis let out a shudder, his breath hitching in his throat as Avantika slowly traced over every curve. His hand fell away, letting Avantika fully explore the canvas of this man. 

“Ambushed on a job.” For how jovial he sounded, Lucanis's voice was almost breathless. “Not that the target had any backup, but the attic I chose to enter seemed to have a hermit also residing there. Maybe I deserved it for disturbing the peace of his sleep.” 

When he finished speaking, a few deep breaths followed. Avantika’s hand traced over the valley of his chest, finding a scar just on his shoulder. This one was much different – not a stab or a cut, but instead a burn just slightly smaller than her palm. “A couple years ago, one of my targets really didn’t want to go down without some sort of blaze of glory.” Something in Lucanis’s voice became quieter, more wistful as Avantika’s finger traced small circles within the taut skin. “Burnt their entire estate to the ground. Still managed to get him, but I didn’t really consider the falling debris.” 

“Viago had told me about that incident.” Avantika could not help but snicker and flick the nose of the man whose expression went from light to deadpan. “Said that is the reason if you take a contract, make sure you case the home for the smell of oil.” 

But hearing the woman laugh, he could not stop the smile reappearing. Seeing the smile too, Rook nuzzled her nose to the corner of his lips, eliciting another low chuckle from the Crow as she continued her discoveries. That finger of hers trailed from the shoulder down his arm, asking about every little story Lucanis could remember. Some were from little accidents; falling from roofs, lost drunken bets, Illario being the cousin that he is. 

Others, she could feel his body stiffen at the stories, some much harder to stir in his memory than others. For those particular reflections, Avantika’s hand would reassuringly stroke Lucanis’s hair, not wanting such memories to take over his heart and mind from the small bubbled world they had created. There came a point where Avantika stopped asking. Where both of their voices just somehow drifted away as she traced over the scars over and over. 

Then she felt, to herself at least, her touches were not enough. That just a lingering touch could not help heal the wounds of memories left behind. She may not be able to heal them completely, but the least she could do was make sure he was never alone in facing the dark. At this point, Avantika had homed herself behind Lucanis, the man’s back to her chest. When her finger disappeared, and for a moment there was just the ambient air around them, a soft and fleeting whimper escaped Lucanis, having grown so accustomed to her adoring touches. But what was once just the feeling of a featherlight finger became replaced with the burning warms of Rook’s lips, capturing the puckered flesh of the healed wound between her lips. 

Where Lucanis had just let out near breathless whimpers before, this touch had made those sounds change to something far deeper, more guttural. The sound sent shivers and pleasured waves through Avantika’s body, only able to take that as the go ahead to keep moving forward. 

For the next blissful eternity, Avantika worshipped every scar, every physical remnant of a memory on Lucanis’s body. Her lips, tongue, even teeth did everything they could to kiss away whatever metaphorical demons lingered within them. It did not take long for Lucanis to lose whatever sliver of control he had over himself in this moment, his body shuddering every time her lips graced another scar. 

Bit back moans became guttural growls and whined pleading, words incomprehensible. But, slowly, so agonizingly slowly, Avantika made her way around the man’s body. From his back, down the length of his arms. Even his hands and fingers did not escape her worship, those small worn knicks and weathered callouses receiving nothing but love from her mouth and breath. By the time Avantika returned to straddling Lucanis’s hips, he had become a shivering, opened mouth mess. Gasping open-mouthed breaths, skin fire-hot and oversensitive. Avantika could only assume not once had this man ever felt this kind of care, this kind of much deserved appreciation given to his body. If together meant forever showing this man the love and adoration he deserved to feel for the rest of his life, Avantika would willingly take it. 

For the next million lifetimes over. Her lips finally broke away from her journey. Then Lucanis’s arms shot up to hold her own, white knuckled like she was the only lifeline he could cling to. For a moment, Avantika saw the panic in his eyes – one that the two seemed to share. The panic that this was not real, that the two were in some elaborate and cruel dream. His mind still in the Ossuary partly, this being some new method of torture concocted by Calivan. 

To her, this could have been another visage in the Fade. Solas being cruelly sympathetic and letting her live out the rest of existence in the Fade in some warped, tortured dream. But as his breath once again caressed her face, his heartbeat thrumming in his chest, Avantika knew that this was true. 

This was real. 

This was their eternity, together. And if she had to prove that, by the gods she would. Before he could speak of their worries, her hand found his lips again. Lucanis’s eyes rolled to the back of his head at the contact, his breath shuddering. Rook kept her own mouth nearly a breath away from his, drinking in every gasp and moan that he fed her with. His arousal was already quite prevalent against her thigh, exhausted and oversensitive from the prior adorations of the night, but still somehow more. 

For a long moment, Avantika just kept herself still, falling into the abyss that was his gaze. A stare filled with love and pure bliss at what was being held in his arms. Letting her hand slowly slip away again, she silently allowed Lucanis to help lift her waist, their faces not breaking the miniscule distance from each other. Both wanted to drink this in, drink each other in. To witness their eyes, their breaths, their very beings connecting as one. And so it did. 

Slowly, he sheathed himself within her warm walls once more. The overstimulation of the night prevented him from fully entering completely, letting out a long whine at the surge of overwhelming pleasure that shot through him. Avantika could not blame him, her own mewl following as her sex automatically tightened as much as it could from the entrance. 

Both were well spent, well satisfied, but this coupling was far more than just sex, just chasing pleasure. This was the two solidifying themselves in reality, within each other. Drinking in her moans, Lucanis canted his hips upward, sharply letting the rest of himself become engulfed. The cry that ripped through his throat was quickly devoured by Avantika’s kiss. Not a kiss of precision, but one full of teeth and tongue – one that just needed to devour him completely. 

He groaned into her mouth, his own kiss sloppily reciprocating as the two began to move together as one. Both of their hips rolled simultaneously as they cried out in a frenzied ecstasy. Rook finding all the scars again to drag her nails along, eliciting the most erotic and passionate cries from the Crow beneath her. That is when the first tear fell from Avantika’s face. 

She did not know what exactly made her cry through all this. The immense pleasure he was giving her with every stuttering thrust, the wailing cries and whimpers they both fed each other, or just the knowledge that he was here with her. 

That all of this was real. That their love was real. 

So when the tear fell to his cheek, he immediately latched his lips to her face, kissing away every exhausted tear she produced as his own materialized. Neither knew how long they rocked with each other, neither really seemed to care. Avantika had let herself go, losing count on how many times Lucanis had made her unravel into jaded oblivion. He had come with her, his seed filling her core and overflowing, dripping like the tears on her cheeks, thighs slick with the physical representation of Lucanis’s adoration. It could have been an hour, to them they did not care if it was days spent like this either. But pulling away one more time, collapsing on their side to the floor as their legs were wrapped in a tangled heap, Lucanis kissed the remaining tears away, Avantika following suit. “Diosa mía, mi vida, mi corazón y mi ser son sólo tuyos. Te amo, mi pequeño cuervo.” Lucanis followed his words with a long, lingering kiss, one that carried the love of his words.  Avantika could not help but let out a choked sob at the beauty of his words. A language she had to learn, that she thanked every god above she kept remembrance of. With her own reciprocating kiss, capturing his lower lip between her teeth, she looked up into his eyes, her hand wiping away the remaining tears staining his cheek.

“Lucanis… You're really here, we are really here. My love for you, truly, is here.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mi diosa - my goddess pequeña cuervo - little crow Diosa mía, mi vida, mi corazón y mi ser son sólo tuyos. Te amo, mi pequeño cuervo - My goddess, my life, my heart and my being are yours alone. I love you, my little crow.

[senseandaccountability]

“It takes the wrong sort to put the world right.”

A huge problem for me with the tone of the narrative is that outside a very carefully curated playthrough experience with preconceived ideas of and love for Solas, Veilguard is probably the least compassionate game I’ve played in forever, while spouting out lines about how everyone can find a new path in life because our nature isn’t written in stone, our fates are our own, as well as plenty of HR department lines about working together as a team.

“It takes the wrong sort to put the world right.” The game says that, but it definitely doesn’t mean it. At least I don’t feel it. You are so very rarely challenged in your idea of who this wrong sort is and what they could bring to the table. Davrin speaks of the Wardens recruiting at the Gallows but you meet only adorable, righteous and charming ones. The Crows aren’t the wrong sort anymore, they’re just adorably Antivan upper class. And so on and so forth. Rook certainly isn’t the wrong sort either, they’re mentally around 19 years old and stumbling their way through the world like some romance novel protag. In one of the most thematically shallow plots, Rook gets thrown into a prison of regret fit to hold a god but unlike Solas, Rook doesn’t do regrets or guilt because Rook isn’t that complex. Rook hasn’t been allowed to feel any guilt for three acts, just how are they meant to be stuck in a regret prison?  

Compare with Origins where you yourself could be just that wrong sort that would put the world right. ALL of my Origins PCs would get stuck in Solas’s prison due to the weight of their own fuckups. If not during the game events where you could make shitty moves en masse, then because of their origin stories. Brosca and Tabris would get out of there through sheer fury alone - fuck you, I am a wreck because YOU MADE ME ONE, WORLD OF THEDAS - but the nobles would stew. Amell would loop in some guilt trip regarding blood magic and Jowan and whatnot.

Compare with Origins where Loghain is a piece of shit for most of the narrative. He actively wants to kill you and your Order, it’s nothing personal (okay, a little personal) but he just needs you gone. If you want to, you can hack and slash your way through some release there and just have him executed. BUT the game also challenges you on that idea. It presents a very pragmatic alternative that comes with a very plausible downside (you lose Alistair). It presents not excuses but explanations - do with them what you will. Loghain has people in his corner through the entire trilogy, arguing his case. Cauthrien FALLS TO HER KNEES before you, pleading to spare his life. Threnn in DAI will stan him for the rest of her life. Anora tells you stories about the man behind the name.  And Arl Eamon’s world view and idea of Loghain is shown to be more than a little self-serving when faced with the politics of the Landsmeet. Things around Loghain blur. In the Ostagar DLC they allow things to blur even further when Loghain’s pragmatism is countered by Wynne’s player character-moralism (ie “someone died, it’s always wrong if someone died even if that death prevented 9000000 deaths you KILLED someone!!!!!111”). Origins tells me - or hints at - why Loghain became the wrong sort, shows me ways in which he is also the right sort and leaves me wondering about him. Because the game is gritty and dark and weird but also yes, compassionate. If you execute him, Anora will mourn him because she loves him regardless. If you have him join the Wardens she will sit with him while he recovers because he is undeniably an asshole but he’s also her father who braided her hair and showed her the world. A good narrative never, ever forgets that.  Veilguard feels so different here, maybe it's just me. I'm pretty sure I'm almost done being salty now, I just... feel a lot about narratives.

[tamwritesstuff]

for anyone in need of a little bit of angst, here's a snippet of the conversation between lucanis and viago after crow!rook gets stuck in fade jail :)

Lucanis strides into the Cantori Diamond looking like death.

The casino is bustling with activity as usual. The movement of people, the clinking of glasses, the sound of coins exchanging hands. It almost makes it seem like any other day. Lucanis knows it’s not. He had never enjoyed places like this — not the way Illario did — and even being on the top floor of the casino, above all that noise didn’t make him any more comfortable. Still, he had always found the time to greet some of the other Crows wandering about the room, even if it was just a quick nod. Now, fledglings flinch away as he walks past them not paying them any mind.

Teia sees him approach from the other corner of the room, and something in her posture seems to relax. “Thank the Maker!” she exclaims, running to meet him. “What in Andraste’s name happened, Lucanis? You sent word you were all going to an island to stop some ritual and then we didn’t hear from you in days!” she frowns, “and after the things we’ve been hearing from Minrathous—”

Lucanis can feel her anxious gaze on him, waiting for a response but he has no words for her. He closes his eyes, chest roaring with pain. Joder. Caterina’s training hadn’t prepared him for this. All his life he had measured suffering in broken bones and stab wounds. Now his heart is faced with a loss so devastating it reverberates through his entire being.

“Lucanis?” Teia calls softly, almost startling him.

“Ghilan’nain’s been slain” he manages to say at last. The only good news he has to offer. She makes a sound of surprise, turns to look at Viago only to find him already looking at them. There’s a dangerous glint in his eyes as he stares at Lucanis.

“Where’s Rook?” he asks, voice deceptively calm.

Lucanis goes still, grief and pain wreaking havoc inside of him. He doesn’t know what expression is reflected on his face but it must be enough to convey what his words cannot because Viago takes a step back. “No,” he says and there’s a sharpness in his tone, a denial that Lucanis knows all too well. “No” he repeats, turning his back and leaning his hands on the table for support.

Teia stares at them, horrified, “How—”

Spite growls. He tricked her! He took her away from us!

Lucanis can feel the demon’s anger like a mirror to his own, a painful, angry thing wanting to be let out and ravage the entire room. And yet when he speaks the words are deadly soft. “The Dread Wolf betrayed us, betrayed her” The words are a new kind of pain. He pauses, hoping that if he doesn’t breathe too deeply he won’t feel the hollow echo of his empty chest. “He trapped her in the Fade”

Viago turns abruptly. He doesn’t make any move to strike, but there’s a cold violence to his gaze, like the silent swish of a blade right before it draws blood. They stare at each other for a moment, neither of them moving. Then Viago's face changes, hard blankness breaking for a moment to reveal the feelings beneath. Loathing.

[hannahwdraws]

I want to draw the whole exchange that follows Magda'len Rook Laidir coming to dinner to meet Catarina as Lucanis' romantic partner but that will be a lot of drawing!! So I wrote it below instead.

Despite Lucanis' reassurances, Rook was having a difficult time convincing her armpits not to sweat, her stomach not to churn, or her nose to twitch in nervous anticipation.

Her first time in Villa Dellamorte had been under different albeit just as high stakes circumstances: rescuing the very woman they were coming to have dinner with. And during that first visit, she was nearly taken down by Venatori for how much she gawped at the luxuries on display.

A treasure hunter for much of her adult life, trying to earn enough coin to survive and turns out all she had to do was attach herself to the crown prince of The Crows and she’d be set for life.

Provided Catarina didn't kill her tonight.

Despite The Crow matriarch's gratitude on the night of the rescue and her promoting of Lucanis to first talon, her approval was in short supply tonight. There was no warmth in her welcome, and Lucanis all but shivered from the icy brush of her lips to his cheek when they met her outside the dining room. Her eyes slid over Rook like she wasn’t even there. Was it better to be ignored in this case? Rook would have to wait and see.

They made it through the first course (a light salad) relatively unscathed. Only polite comments on the weather, the markets, and how they might get tickets to a pantomime that swore to recount the most accurate depiction of the fight against the Elven gods in Northern Thedas and they wanted to test that claim for themselves.

Catarina found a biting comment to make in response to every one of theirs.

Rook was determined to smile through the discomfort and hope that none of the food was stuck in her teeth. Or poisoned.

Unfortunately, Lucanis caught the disdainful sneer Caterina tried to hide behind her napkin and evidently thought now was the perfect time to put his title of First Talon to the test.

"Aye, Catarina, don't make faces like that. I thought you liked Rook? Didn't you always ask me when I would bring someone home? Well now I have, and you're picking it apart," he said.

"I am happy Lucanis, but you have to understand, she isn't a Crow. How will your children continue the Dellamorte line as you need to with an untried, an untested thief?" Catarina immediately shot back.

Funny, Rook thought, that thief was worth such contempt from an assassin.

Lucanis' hands raised in disbelief, and he could only scoff,

"She rescued me from The Ossuary, she rescued you from Illario. She killed a GOD!"

"Yes? And?" Catarina sniffed, only as a grandmother with impossible standards could. "A soldier can kill a man just as well as a vagrant in the streets, a Crow is of a different stock entirely. She has no parents, so I don't know anything of her house. She has no fledglings she trained with to compare against. How am I to know she is worthy of you? For the family?"

"Mierda, Catarina," was all Lucanis had strength for. He had to rub at his forehead, realizing only now that this wouldn't be as easy as he initially thought.

"WE. LIKE! ROOK." forced through Lucanis' lips before he could clamp them together.

Catarina's eyebrows creased even more (if possible) and Lucanis flushed. It was the same feeling of shame and embarrassment as when he didn't hit every target when Catarina trained him as a boy.

His shoulders tensed. His eyes unable to meet hers. Damnit, Spite was supposed to stay quiet while they were here.

Convincing Catarina was difficult in the best of times, they didn’t need the added challenge of Lucanis’ inner demon making him look incompetent or out of control.

Rook reached over, rubbing his thigh hard enough to generate heat. She gave what weak smile she could. She was too busy biting her tongue to stop herself from jumping to Lucanis' defense. They needed Catarina's approval and ripping her a new one was the least likely way to get it.

"Thank you, Spite, but don't worry about it. We are still getting settled into life after all this... crazy Elven invasion. Marriage and kids are a long ways off, if they were to even happen at all!"

"Oh so you wish to deprive me of meeting my great-grandchildren? How selfish," Catarina scoffed.

Shit. There was no winning against this woman. At least the second course was being brought in. The words would stop coming out while they were busy putting food in.

The bowls of red had only just touched the tablecloth before there was a flash of silver coming from a butler's cummerbund.

"DOWN WITH DELLAMORTE, LONG LIVE ZARA!" was screamed, as the butler closest to Lucanis raised his blade. How he got so close, into the house, no one was sure. And it didn’t matter! All that mattered was surviving the next minute. Lucanis and Catarina both dove for their cutlery, the closest weapons they had.

But they wouldn't have a chance to use it, as their vision failed them.

A cold flash of light burned around them, a flash grenade? Smoke? They blinked away the stars in their vision, and only once their eyes started to clear did they come to find their ears were blocked too. A crashing roar of thunder rolled through. The light was at least brief, while it took their ears much longer to stop ringing.

Lucanis was on his feet, knife in hand. He appeared to be fine, no injuries, no wounds. He was a coiled spring but looking around, he couldn't see the assailant anymore.

He saw a knife fall to the tiles, clattering next to a black scorch.

Only two butlers remained in the dining room, both looking just as surprised and ready to defend the Dellamortes.

Catarina was as prepared for a fight, the knife hidden in her cane drawn and at the ready. But her eyebrows and hairline were both blown back.

Slowly, the two master assassins turned, looking at the only other person in the dining room they didn’t have in their immediate vision.

Rook's hand was extended. Sparks continued to crackle up her forearm. Her chest heaved in fury for a few more breaths. A deep shuddering breath and she let the tension leave her body. The threat was not longer in the room, so she could blink the rage from her eyes. She tossed her hand a few times, dissipating the sparks as thought they were flicking water from her fingertips.

She smiled at Lucanis and Catarina. This was a different kind of uncomfortable from before, but just as bizarre. So she might as well approach them the same.

"Is this gazpacho? It looks delicious. Is it the same recipe you make, Lucanis?"

Lucanis and his grandmother both slumped back into their chairs. Everyone was on much better behavior for the rest of the evening.

Later, Rook looked out to sea on the balcony attached to the guest room that was larger than her apartment over the canal. The wealth on display was truly mind boggling. She never would have guessed given how grounded Lucanis was.

Though he wasn't exactly grounded at that moment. He made a sinuous entrance, sliding down an eave from the roof, and dropping to the balcony. He earned the squawk of surprise Rook let loose. Her laughter didn't follow far behind collapsing into his arms.

"You scared me half to death! I couldn't have handled two assassination attempts in one night!" she laughed into his chest.

"You might have to, if you don't keep it down. Catarina will know I snuck out to see you."

"Mm... isn't this supposed to be your house now? Can she really forbid us from sharing a room?" Rook grumbled against the soft knit of his vest. Her fingers were already picking to get underneath.

"Not really, no. But it's another one of her little tests. If I'm an assassin worth my salt, she won't ever know I was here. But, if I didn't try to defy her in the name of love, she wouldn't think I was serious about you. So either way, I prove she taught me well," his eyes were hooded in a devilish smoulder and he brought Rook's gloved fingers to his lips for a gentlemanly peck.

Taught well indeed, as Rook's stomach turned molten. But it was hard to feel amorous with all the worries still piled on her shoulders.

"Well good thing you aren't the one she has a problem with. I might have bungled this beyond repair. i'm sorry if I ruined dinner. I can pay to replace the tiles if they can’t get the scorch out. At least I think I can afford to replace them."

Lucanis’ eyes were focused on the cut of her dress, on the rosy flush on her cheeks. Those were much more important than listening. He was too busy pressing his lips to her wrists, biting at the gloves and eyeing where they joined her dress. Could he take just them off just as gloves? Or would the whole dress have to go?

"Mm do not worry mi amore. You did wonderfully, genuinely, I believe Catarina will give us her blessing. As soon as she's done investigating the butler. She wants to be sure you weren't the one who hired him."

Rook snatched her hands back. Her fists clenched and pressed to her cheeks. Immediately she was confused and panicked.

"ME? She thinks I hired him?! Why? And why would she give her blessing to someone she thinks tried to kill her favorite grandson and first talon?!"

Damn the rich laugh Lucanis rolled out. He shouldn't be so relaxed around someone who allegedly wanted to kill him.

"No, she is impressed! If you hired someone to make you look good by saving my life! It shows dedication and a flair for the dramatic. Both things Catarina appreciates greatly. Or, if you didn't hire him,"

"I didn't! I swear! Lucanis I would never," she grabbed his wrist and hoped her emphatic tone expressed sincerity and not panic that her plot had been figured out.

"If you didn't," Lucanis drawled, all while taking her hands again and winding her close. Back into his arms she went, "Then you still showed great power, excellent reaction time, loyalty..." Lucanis' eyes were so soft, so glowing with admiration for this beautiful creature against him.

"And a flair for the dramatic. I cannot emphasize enough how important that is for Catarina and most Crows."

Rook hung her head, leaning forward to press her brow against his chest.

"I know everyone says their in-laws are crazy. But you have them all beat by 60 leagues."

"It's a good thing you love me then, isn't it?" Lucanis purred, only just able to hide the nerves that his family would be the reason Rook finally left.

She heaved a sigh, lifting her eyes to his, pursing her lips like she was really thinking about it. Really weighing her options. But she couldn’t let him dangle for long. She pressed upwards to brush her lips against his and slide her arms around his neck.

"Yes, it is."

[wickedapostate]

Rook Faction Ask Meme

A collection of questions based off each of the faction options, meant to help expand on Rook's background.

Antivan Crows

How were they recruited to the Crows?

What was their first kill/job like? When was it?

What kind of jobs are their specialty?

How do they feel about house De Riva?

How do they feel about the other houses?

What memories of training have stuck with them the most?

Do they want to become a Talon someday?

Do they prefer working in Antiva of elsewhere?

Grey Wardens

Did they choose to join, forced to by circumstances, or conscripted?

How have they adjusted to the nightmares of the Wardens?

Do they have any plans for things to do right before leaving for their calling?

Where do they come from originally?

What do they think of The Hero of Ferelden?

Have they been to the deep roads?

How did they feel about the wardens before being recruited? What about now?

Do they want to care for a griffin?

Lords of Fortune

What made them decide to take up a life of adventure?

What is their favorite tale of battle to tell?

How far have they traveled?

Do they follow Rivani tradition or a different faith?

Are there any notable figures they've wanted to steal from?

How much are they in it for themself vs to help others?

What's the best haul they've gotten from a job?

When they're sailing, what job do they do aboard?

Mourn Watch

Do they have any theories on how they ended up left in the crypts?

What were their caregivers like? Do they wish they had different ones?

How comfortable are they with spirits?

Do they have a favorite type of spirit to interact with?

Have they put anyone close to them to rest?

What job do they perform for the Watch?Griffin?

Do they get involved in the inner politics of the Watch or try to avoid them?

Before their incident, had they ever left Nevarra before?

Shadow Dragons

What has made them so determined to fight oppression?

How do they feel about their adopted family?

What do they think of blood magic?

Did they receive any martial training?

Have they stayed in touch with anyone they've helped rescue?

What does Tevinter look like ideally to them?

What do they make of Magisters like Dorian who are trying to improve Tevinter?

Do they think of their birth family much?

Veil Jumpers

What sparked their interest in the veil?

What do they think of the elven gods?

What's their strangest experience in the fade so far?

What role do they play while at camp?

What did they leave behind when they joined?

[zaahvi]

first concept of my rook!! his name is faolan and he's a dalish crow :))

backstory and lore tidbits under the cut bc it's alot 👇

fal was part of a dalish clan roaming northeastern thedas, and had been first to the keeper since his magic manifested (around 8 yrs old). he was quite troublesome, impatient, and had a temper. one day when he was 15, he stormed off in a fit of anger mid-lesson with the keeper, disappearing into the forest on his own for several hours until he'd calmed down. when he came back, his clan were all dead, and whoever was responsible was long gone.

after pulling himself together, he packed his things and left in search of another clan. there was one nearby, he knew, but when he reached them, they refused to take him in; they already had too many mages, they said. faolan knew this wasn't true, and instead suspected that his well-known poor character was the reason he was turned away, but for once he said nothing and just turned away. it was time for a different path, it seemed.

his journey took him to the nearby city of treviso, where upon learning of the antivan crows he practically begged to be let in. after all that happened, all he wanted was to kill, and to find whoever murdered his clan, and kill them too. after some time and trials, he was accepted in, and his training began.

after officially killing his first mark at 18, he paid another visit to the nearby dalish clan, for nothing else but to ask for his vallaslin. he wasn't a first anymore, but he had become a hunter, in a way, and thought he'd earned his markings. the clan's keeper begrudgingly agreed, and faolan got his vallaslin: the twisted branches which symbolised elgar'nan, the god of vengeance, for that is the path he'd taken when they'd turned him away.

over the next few years, the antivan crows began to receive more and more contracts on members of the venatori. during this time, faolan discovered that they were behind the murder of his clan: they had been searching for information on elven lore, and had chosen the violent path with his clan. fal was lucky enough to swipe a few contracts on the specific members that were involved and kill them personally; but when it was all over, he felt nothing. it seemed that getting vengeance wasn't as gratifying as he thought it'd be. in the end, his clan were still dead, they weren't coming back, nothing was going to be like it used to be... he had a new life now, one filled with plots and murder, and he really hadn't been in the headspace to process how permanent that'd be.

so that's faolan and where he is now. he's about 25 now and he feels kinda stuck in life, his past is still weighing on him and he's constantly just trying to distract himself with work. i think the solas job & then the forming of the veilguard is the first time that things start to feel a little different for him? like he's actually doing something important for once... and he finally gets friends yay :)

some tidbits:

as a kid he got into fights all the time. ALL the time. this continued on until he got into the crows and started losing

^^ he never used magic while fighting btw. that's cheating.

personality wise nowadays he's more guarded and doesn't really like to socialise, it's not that he's "socially awkward" it's just that he'd rather keep to himself. i think the veilguard is the first time he kinda comes out of his shell so to speak

that being said he will still absolutely kick your ass if provoked.

he's the kind of guy you see at the bar sitting at a solo table in the corner staring at everybody who comes in

his eyes both used to be that goldenish colour; his left eye turned silver when his magic manifested

doesn't know any healing magic. he hasn't bothered to use it since his clan died, and has forgotten how to do it

the tips of his ears get hot when someone casts magic nearby

takes shots at veilguard team meetings

hates any and all weather, honestly how he managed to survive 15 years in a dalish clan is beyond me

can be very charming and really good at flirting when he wants to be, but is an absolute disaster when it comes to showing genuine affection

has whatever the deity equivalent of daddy issues is with elgar'nan

okay i'm all done but on a related note for that last point here's a lazy meme as a gift for scrolling this far:

[bitethedemon]

Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 1

Next Chapter ->

Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

(A really messy Lucanis/Named!Reader/Illario love triangle set in Treviso. Lucanis/Rook isn't the main relationship, but reader is jealous as fuck about them)

You had been called River amongst the Crows for so long that you had almost forgotten your real name. It had been a stupid joke from when you were just a fledgling that had stuck. ‘The Rivaini de Riva’ had at some point turned into ‘River de Riva’, and that became who you were. Viago would always say that you were just as unruly as your namesake too.

Viago had found you in a sanctuary for the poor in Treviso five years ago.

…well…

That was the official story you had been ordered to tell the others and especially Teia. The real story was that he found you in a whorehouse. You were barely a human being by the time he found you. You had spent months in captivity by the Antaam.

They had burned down your village, killed everyone, and taken everything from you. They brought you with them to Treviso, but they were unsure what to do with you. It was bad luck to kill a seer, though the same superstition had not bothered them when they killed your grandmother, your mother, and all of your sisters.

However, you were not going to point out the flaws in their logic or tell them that you never got to finish your training. You needed to stay alive so you could get your revenge.

You used your time wisely. The elders of your village had always praised you for being observant, and by the gods you were going to mentally note down every word your captors said, how they said them, were they went, when they came to your cell, when they left, when they took a shit. Everything.

Viago kept an eye on you in the meantime and when they gave you over to the whorehouse, he swept in and presented revenge to you on a silver platter. The information you gave over to the Crows resulted in the downfall of the camp that had taken you. You became a de Riva that same day.

The Antivan Crows had not forgotten that the organization had roots stemming from the Chantry though. It was a tough pill for a lot of the Crows to swallow. They looked at you and saw a savage witch that spoke to demons and let spirits possess her. You did not fit in.

Even worse, you were utter shit with a dagger, much to the dismay of Viago. You were hopeless as a fledgling. Viago even hired mages to teach you more ‘appropriate’ magic, such as the way of the Spellblades, but with no luck.

You were no good at following orders either, having never been used to taking orders from a man because of the matriarchal society in Rivain. It was driving Viago up the wall. The two of you were constantly fighting and it was a wonder that he did not give up on you entirely.

He stopped your training after you had learned the mere basics. Instead, you took to poison-making. That was what you found out that you were good at, so you were left to do just that. You liked that better anyway. You were left to do what you were good at, and Viago did not get grey hair prematurely. Everyone was happy.

Except most of the other Crows, of course. They still kept their distance from you, though it mattered less when you were free to keep mostly to yourself. You had your own little laboratory to study and make poisons for everyone else in.

That was how you met Lucanis.

Lucanis was barely ever around. Being the most expensive assassin the Crows had to offer, he was always busy. You had never even met him until he was one day standing beside you in your laboratory. You had jumped at his presence and almost dropped a vial of wyvern poison on the floor.

“Three vials of Quiet Death, please,” he said politely. “If you’re not busy, of course. I can wait.”

You had blinked at him in confusion. No one ever came into your space except Viago.

“I’m…sorry…who are you?” you asked.

“Oh, forgive me,” he said and bowed his head slightly. “Lucanis Dellamorte. I have a difficult time keeping track of who I have met and not.”

“Oh,” you said quietly and looked him over. “You’re…yeah. I’m River. Sorry. Usually people go through Viago, instead of coming in here…”

“Why?” he asked plainly without a shred of judgment in his voice. “Quiet Death is a simple poison, no?”

Because they all hate me, so Viago hides me away here.

“Because…” you began. You had no answer that didn’t sound pathetic, so you changed the subject. “We are out of Deathroot, unfortunately, but I can make you something else.”

You began looking through the supplies.

“Do you have a weight estimate on your targets?”

He thought for a moment before giving surprisingly specific estimates. It was great to hear someone who knew what they were doing. If you had a gold coin for each time you had heard ‘small’, ‘average’, or ‘big’ as a weight estimate, you would have been a rich woman. Every question you asked was given a detailed answer by him.

He watched you closely as you were working, as if trying to figure out what you were doing.

“What are you making?” he asked in a curious tone.

“It’s uh…a mix of things,” you admitted. “It’s a Rivaini recipe, but I’m improvising a bit since I don’t have all the ingredients. Don’t worry though. It will work.”

“Oh, are you the Rivaini that Viago keeps talking about?”

You gave a tight smile and a small nod.

“That’s me,” you mumbled.

“Your name is River de Riva?” he asked with an amused smile that belied image of the serious master assassin that she had heard so much about. “He is going insane, you know? I have heard him describe you with many colorful phrases.”

“He does that,” you mumbled and carefully dripped the toxin into the vial you were working on.

“He says you can’t fight, but it seems you are good at this,” Lucanis said and watched the careful movements of your hands. “Did he teach you?”

“Well, first of all,” you protested slightly and put a lid on the vial to shake it. “I can fight…just not in any way that he finds acceptable. Secondly, no, poison-making was a part of my training back in my village. Viago just showed me which ones the Crows specifically use, since he doesn’t like me using the Rivaini ones that work perfectly fine. Which is why I never made you this.”

You handed him the first vial.

“Understood,” he said with a smile.

You began shaking the next one and then shook your head.

“Sorry for ranting,” you said. “I rarely get the opportunity.”

“It’s fine,” he said and studied the liquid in the vial. “You promise me that this will work?”

“It will.”

You handed him another vial and shook the last one.

“You said you received training before joining us,” he said. “As what?”

You froze for a second. The conversation was going so well, and this man seemed so nice, and now you were going to ruin it. You were sure of it. You sighed quietly.

“As a seer,” you replied reluctantly. “Though I never finished my training.”

“A seer?” he asked. “Interesting. Why did you stop?”

You look over his face for any trace of judgment. You found none. It took you by surprise.

“I didn’t.”

His brow furrowed ever so slightly at your reply. He didn’t understand. You handed him the last vial.

“My home was destroyed, and my family were killed by the Antaam,” you explained, trying your hardest to not to sound like a sad, pathetic mess. “Seer training can take almost a lifetime, and it’s taught by the women of your family. I am the only one left, so I will never finish my studies…”

His dark eyes softened when he heard, as if the words had hurt him to hear. There was some recognition of pain in his eyes, and you would only understand much later where it came from. He bowed his head slightly.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He mumbled his thanks for the poisons and promptly left the laboratory. You mentally hit yourself over the head for the entire day for opening up in that way to him.

A couple of days later you found a history book on Rivaini seers on the table in the laboratory when you came in in the morning. It would not help you finish your training, but you appreciated the thought more than anything.

That was the beginning of your relationship with him. You quickly learned that Lucanis was a crow in the literal sense: he left gifts and shiny things. That was his love language. He was not good at talking about his own feelings, though he did not mind talking about yours when the need arose. Lucanis did everything for you to not feel alone.

Half of the things he brought you, you had no idea how he even got his hands on. He would not tell you either. He always brushed away your gratitude. In the beginning it was mostly gifts that he insisted that he had simply stumbled upon. Later, the gifts became more personal. He even learned to cook Rivaini food just for you, which he would bring when he visited.

You adored him. It was hard not to, even though you knew he was simply being nice and that him being a Dellamorte meant that anything beyond friendship was no more than a naïve dream. Family was more important than anything to Lucanis, and he would be damned if you did not feel like you belonged to one, even though he seemed to be the only willing member for a while.

Eventually, more and more of the Crows started accepting you, simply because Lucanis did. You were introduced properly to Illario as well. You had always seen Illario as a rude bastard, but because of his cousin’s interest in you, he began warming up to you too. Illario eventually began flirting despite Lucanis’ interest in you. Or perhaps because of Lucanis’ interest, you realized later.

Either way, Lucanis was not fond of the situation, but he never said anything other than a few friendly warnings to you about how Illario treats women. Lucanis obviously cared and at the end of his life it only became even more obvious.

There had been an event at Villa Dellamorte that someone of your rank would never have attended had it not been because you were friends with Caterina’s grandson. Lucanis, Illario, and you sneaked off to the wine cellar sometime during the evening. At the end of the night, Illario and you were drunk and Lucanis was tipsy too.

You only remembered the night in fragments. You know that Illario flirted relentlessly with you that evening. You didn’t want Illario, but in your drunken stupor, perhaps you reciprocated. You weren’t sure. You only remembered that Lucanis was uncomfortable, torn between not wanting to be there and not trusting Illario enough to leave you alone with him.

You vaguely remembered Illario chuckling into your ear and then feeling his lips on your neck. It was when his hand ran up your thigh that you remembered sobering up and flinching slightly.

“I think I should get you home, River,” Lucanis had said and promptly gotten up from his chair.

You felt Illario huff against your neck before leaving a small bite there. You moved away from his touch.

“Why?” Illario asked and turned his head to look at Lucanis. “We are just having fun.”

“Illario…” Lucanis said firmly.

“She doesn’t want to go home, do you, River?” Illario said and put his arm over your shoulders. “Just a little seer possessed by spirits,” he joked with a smile and looked at Lucanis. “If you are tired, you can go. I will be sure she gets home safe.”

Lucanis looked directly at you.

“Do you want to go home?”

You nodded and got up. You stumbled slightly and Lucanis offered an arm for you to lean on. You did not even have to look back to see the hateful look Illario gave him. You could practically feel the tension in the air.

“You always get what you want, don’t you, Lucanis?” Illario said with disdain. “As if your intentions are any purer than mine.”

Then Illario mumbled something in Antivan that you did not quite catch, but Lucanis certainly did. There came a low growl of anger from him, and he led you to the staircase up and out of the wine cellar before turning to Illario.

“Go upstairs,” he said to you. “I will be with you in a moment.”

You stumbled up the stairs. The second you closed the door you could hear them arguing loudly in what was no doubt very colorful language. You had never heard Lucanis like that before.

When he came up and started to lead you home, he was deadly quiet for the longest time. It made you slightly nervous and you weren’t quite sure what to say.

“Are you..mad?” you asked, slightly slurring the words.

“Yes,” he answered curtly.

Another long pause of silence.

“At…me?”

“No, River,” he said, his tone softening slightly. “Not at you. At Illario. He acts like a child sometimes.”

You nodded and looked at his face as the two of you walked, trying to figure out what he was thinking. You often did without much luck. He noticed you staring and gave you a gentle smile.

“Not far now,” he said.

You kept walking. When you got to your house, you gave him the key. You could barely look straight. He unlocked the door for you to enter. When you saw the staircase up to your room, you gave a deep sigh. Lucanis took the hint and helped you up to your room.

“I didn’t mean to, you know,” you mumbled. “For that to happen, I mean. I don’t���”

Lucanis quickly caught you before you fell backwards down the stairs. He mumbled something in Antivan and held you by your waist from behind like a parent trying to teach a child to walk.

“I don’t even like Illario,” you said, continuing your drunken babbling. “I should have done something…”

“It’s not your fault,” he said and helped you up the final steps.

He opened the door to your room and sat you down on your bed. You looked up at him.

“Thank you for getting me home,” you said. “And even bringing me in the first place. I’m sorry it became such a mess.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” he insisted and pulled the blanket on the bed aside for you to get in. “It’s nothing.”

“You always say that,” you protested. “It means the world to me. Everything you do. I need you to know that.”

He gave you a smile.

“You are drunk, River,” he said and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Can I trust that you won’t throw yourself down the stairs in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t want Illario,” you mumbled.

“You have already said that.”

“I want you.”

His eyes softened at your drunken admission. He looked over your face in almost comical confusion, as if it had not been the most obvious thing in the world that you liked him. His eyes flicked to your lips for a second and you leaned forward.

“No,” he said gently and put his hand on your shoulder to stop you. “No, no. None of that.”

Your heart sank and you must have looked like a beaten puppy to him. His rejection was a knife in your heart. You felt ridiculous for even thinking that might have been where things were going. He gently brushed his hand over your hair.

“Not like this,” he said gently. “Goodnight, River.”

He squeezed your shoulder and left.

You had kept on replaying that night over and over in your head. The mental hangover had been insane. It did not help that you did not hear from him for about a week after. When he finally came, it was early in the morning, and he sneaked up on you in your laboratory. You weren’t sure what to say when you saw him.

You tried to say something, to get any word out of your mouth, but without any luck. You became even more speechless when he walked right up to you.

“I have been thinking,” he said. “Since last time.”

At least five excuses were already at the tip of your tongue, waiting to spill out in a jumbled mess.

“Did you mean it?” he asked gently.

The excuses died on your tongue before they could ever make it out. You couldn’t lie. Not to him. You swallowed hard and nodded, readying yourself for another rejection. It never came.

Instead, he looked at you with those warm eyes of his and placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

You froze completely for a long moment. When he broke the kiss, you finally snapped back into reality and leaned in to kiss him again properly. Your heart hammered in your chest. You felt truly alive for the first time since you arrived in Treviso.

It was only a week later that he died.

You were inconsolable. To have everything taken from you, just to be given a sliver of light in your life and then have it be taken away again. The only other person you could talk to who would understand was Illario, who was trying his hardest to drink himself to death. You and Illario found an odd solace in each other during that time.

Though even when you started dating him, it did not fill the hole in your heart of losing Lucanis.

In the evenings you would sneak off to read all the books Lucanis’ had given you on seer magic. You learned to contact spirits, but you could not find the one spirit that you wanted to talk to. Needed to talk to.

This obsession only made you feel even worse. You were Illario’s now, but even then, you were still obsessed with the man who he had been forced to compete with his entire life. Even in death, Illario lived in Lucanis’ shadow. The guilt kept you up some nights, but you could just not let him go. There was no closure.

It had been over a year now.

You were hunched over a tome on seer family lines in the laboratory, when you really should have been working instead. You kept reading the books he had given you. You weren’t sure why. Perhaps, you simply felt as if it was a way to honor him.

“River,” you heard softly from behind you.

You quickly shut the book closed and stashed it under a shelf. You fiddled with some equipment, so it looked like you had been working.

“What do you need, Illario?” you asked.

“River,” the voice called again.

It sounded odd. As if he was sick or something. The tone was all wrong. He sounded like Lucanis, you realized.

You felt a hand on being laid softly on your shoulder and you turned around. You turned white as a sheet and time seemed to stop.

You clasped your hands over your mouth and your legs gave in. You slid down to the floor and looked up at him. You couldn’t breathe. You frantically reached out to touch his leg to check if he was solid or just a figment of your imagination, and then you sobbed.

He crouched down and you clung to him.

“I thought—”

“I know,” Lucanis said and squeezed your arm.

As you were crying your eyes out, a grating, hissing voice flowed through your ears all of a sudden.

“Smells like earth. Poison roots and wyvern spit.”

Your eyes darted up and widened. Behind Lucanis stood a copy of him with grey skin and eyes that glowed purple. You knew immediately what that was. It smiled at you.

“Seer!” the demon said with excitement. “She sees. Hears…”

Your mouth fell slightly agape. Lucanis looked at you.

“You can see him?” he asked urgently.

“By the gods, Lucanis…” you mumbled quietly and looked into his eyes. “Who did this to you?”

“Help us. Now,” the demon said.

[hydine]

Ok, so I'm on a Crow Rook run, intending to romance Lucanis, and for a while I thought nothing could quite rouse Lucanis.

He's just. So nice. So composed.

Then I encountered Davrin, and his banter with Lucanis is so funny. And then Emmrich came along, and Emmrich had questions about the Crows, and there was one banter where Rook was like admiring Lucanis - "I'm nothing like the Demon of Vyrantium!" or something like that, and Lucanis' reaction was... I can't describe it. It was subtle, but I enjoyed that, since I don't recall him being like that in any other banter.

Abd now I'm stuck with an idea. Rook is incredibly nice with anyone on the team. Rook is also trying really hard to flirt with Lucanis, but that man is immovable. Meanwhile Lucanis has already fallen hard for Rook, but never makes a move on it, because he thinks it's just Rook being nice to everyone, and Lucanis himself is not special. Especially with the whole Spite thing going on ("Who would want an abomination anyways?"). But he sees Rook bonding with everyone, particularly with Davrin over Assan and with Emmrich over Manfred, and Lucanis just starts loosing his shit (internally), bc he's jealous and Spite just never stops calling him out on it. But he also doesn't wanna say anything, bc that would make the whole team dynamic go weird (he's not special, Rook's just being nice to everyone). Meanwhile Rook is starting to go insane, bc Lucanis won't reciprocate any flirting, and they just don't know what to do

And basically they're just idiots in love who can't communicate, bc they're gremlins 😂

[princess-aeducan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Gameplay Reveal Thoughts

Okay for one thing, I am so happy to be making this post. Going from people voicing doubts about the game coming out at all to a Fall 2024 release window is so exciting. 10 years and it’s finally almost here.

-The game is absolutely gorgeous. I love the design of Minrathous, I love how gobsmackingly different it is from Ferelden. Dorian’s complaints from Inquisition all make sense now, and it’s fascinating to see a place that is not repressive of magic- the fact that it resembles sci-fi levels of tech but is all powered by magic is sooo fun and interesting to me. I also think it’ll be an interesting contrast to the more classic fantasy style locations we see at the ritual site and throughout the screenshots the developers have posted. It makes the world feel so much bigger, diverse, and more fleshed out.

-Unpopular opinion and I totally respect why others dislike it as it does look quite different, I’m actually looking forward to the combat. It honestly just looks more fun to me, as I tend to favor a more action/real time style anyway. That being said, I do dislike the 3 person party change for banter reasons and do think that’ll make it feel significantly less like classic Dragon Age. I feel like I’ll get used to it pretty fast, but it is a disappointment. Controlling companions isn’t mandatory for me but it was always nice to be able to try out all the classes, so that’s a loss as well, although one I’m less bothered by.

-I like the way the characters look, but do understand it could take a little bit of adjustment. Harding got a massive glow up, she looks gorgeous. So excited she’s a companion, and that we’ll have our first romanceable dwarf! Not a huge fan of the way Solas looks in this style, but I don’t feel particularly upset about it anyway. Not sure what it is. Varric looks great, but like many others, missing his ginger hair. All in all, less drastic changes to returning characters than we’ve seen in previous titles, I will never be over how much they butchered Alistair in Inquisition. I love the designs and vibes of the new companions, Neve is a fashion icon and sooo fits in with what Dorian has set up for us to expect from Tevinter. I can’t wait to meet Davrin in particular, because god I miss Grey Wardens.

-On that point: Factions have me maybe the most excited. I cannot wait to be a Grey Warden again, I’d been holding out hope! I liked that the faction was referenced in the gameplay reveal as well, and hope it’ll change small things throughout the game, at least through dialogue. Also will have to play as an Antivan Crow at some point. A bit sad this won’t include a playable prologue like Origins, but since DA2 and DAI I wasn’t expecting it. Just always something I’ll miss.

-A red flag for me is how little Rook was prompted to make dialogue choices. I hope that because this is simply the prologue and therefore focused on binary plot progression, that this will be different in more dialogue-driven sections, but it’s something to look out for and be wary of. I’m okay with Rook speaking on their own occasionally, but if that continues, I hope it’s at least like Hawke where there’s some variation based on personality.

-Also yes, excited about the return of the purple Hawke icon! The dialogue wheel in Inquisition felt more bland to me than in DA2, so if the wheel is what we’re stuck with, I’d rather it lean more to its DA2 execution.

-On narrative: I cannot BELIEVE the game just jumps into “let’s confront Solas RIGHT NOW!” I was not expecting so much plot from the gameplay reveal. I am very intrigued by what’s coming next with the evanuris, and what it will mean for Solas’ role in the story. I’m kind of obsessed with the fact that it begins with Rook fucking things up worse, I think that will be magnificent to explore for roleplay and the repercussions for Thedas will be massive. I know there were concerns about tone, but this gives me hope that we’ll have the fucked up shit Dragon Age is known for. “Just some guy who makes things worse” is a great start for a protagonist, and reminds me of DA2 in some respects.

-My brainrot is horrendous. I have so many more thoughts all of the time, but tried to just center on the gameplay reveal so I don’t yap forever. But always feel free to send asks, and expect more posts as we get closer and closer!

[ofcrowsanddragons]

Headcanon for my trans Rook:

They go by Rook. No, really. There's not a "real" first name in there, at least not right now.

When they left their old life and joined the Crows, they left their name behind along with all the gender expectations and performances of their old life. They picked up a new name with the Crows, and they liked it.

When they joined up with Varric on his insane quest, they picked up a new name: Rook. It stuck, and by the time they slipped into a new life in the Lighthouse, it was mostly how they thought of themselves. To them, it was just part of being trans: you have one name, and then another name, and maybe sometime in the future you'll have a different name again.

Also, it made Viago want to tear his hair out when he first read about it. So that's a bonus.

[selunesdreams]

Eating Crow

Chapter 2: Gems of Antiva

“I haven’t had a cup of Andoral’s Breath since before the Venatori stuck a demon in me.” Lucanis’ smile was wasted on Illario, whose eyes remained fixed on Rook as he pulled out a chair for her. She lowered herself cautiously, as if it could be snatched away from under her at any moment.  “You see, Fiamma? My cousin is all stomach and no heart.” His words were syrupy as he took his place across from her, but there was something very, very threatening in his gaze.  “Rook.” Lucanis corrected politely. “She goes by Rook now.”  Illario’s eyes narrowed. “I heard. You would really abandon your namesake? Your father’s legacy?”  “I don’t need a name nor reputation that precedes me in this fight.” Her voice remained plain and unaffected as she replied. “I earned Rook, it wasn’t bestowed onto me like some curse. I’ll return to Fiammetta once it suits me again, if it ever does.”  “Well, then you won’t mind me continuing to address you by the name your father called you by? I would prefer to honor the Flame of Treviso, not cause him to roll in his grave any more than he already has.” “One has to have a body in order to roll in a grave, Illario.”

Pairing: Lucanis x Fem Rook/OFC x sometimes Spite??

Summary: Rook gets out her rock collection and reminisces about her dead mom. Illario wants to meet, and Lucanis finally gets that cup of Antivan coffee. This chapter covers the quest "Coffee with the Crows". No major warnings, just dead parents and Illario being…Illario. You know, the lighthearted stuff. Link to Chapter 1

Word Count: 3.4k

Things of note: 18+ fic, MDNI! Rook is Fem, human, mage, Antivan Crow. I like writing storylines and tension, but there will be smut! I don't know how the tags/warnings will evolve, but it's reasonable to expect some messy Spite consent stuff? Please read on AO3 if you need to track warnings, they will be inevitably detailed better there (or just want to be real sweet and give me hits/kudos/comments).

Dante De Riva’s advice to his young daughter had always been a bit cryptic. The “Little Flame of Treviso”, he had called Fiamma. He came to regret his advice when his daughter became so good at hiding that neither he nor his wife, both assassins trained to find people, could not find her. 

No child of an Antivan Crow grew up with the luxury safety. So parents created rituals, games, protocols - all conceived to keep children prepared for the worst. Fiamma hadn’t faced real danger. Not really. But today, for the first time since she’d been chased through the streets of Treviso by an angry rooster from the market, Fiamma was scared. And so she did what her father trained her to do, and she kept out of sight. 

Because today was her mother’s funeral. 

Gemma De Riva, “The Gem of Antiva”, lived a brief life. Twenty-eight years, to be exact. When assassins died young, it was typically a contract that took them out. Fiamma didn’t know what a contract was, but she knew when her parents accepted one, because they would be gone for days, sometimes weeks. Usually one at a time, but every once in a while, they’d go together, and auntie Viama and cousin Viago would come over, or she’d stay with the Cantoris down the street. 

Crows always came home to roost, but when they didn’t, contracts were to blame. Fiamma always believed contracts were the only bad thing that could happen to a Crow. Until her mother. 

For weeks, Gemma’s health declined. It started with fatigue. She sequestered herself away for a couple of days, claiming she just needed to rest. Days later, her eyes were bloodshot, and her olive skin grew clammy and pale. When her mother couldn’t leave bed, Fiamma joined her, and Gemma would read aloud to her, pausing occasionally to cough into a blood-speckled handkerchief. That was usually about the time when her father would send Fiamma to play alone in her room. 

And then mama was gone. Peeking from behind corners in the hallway, she and Viago would listen to their parents whispering about poison - something Viago explained to her like a sickness you give someone on purpose. But it would be okay now, Viago assured her, because now they could all move in together and make a new family. His father was a king, but didn’t talk to him, because he was a bastard (Viago couldn’t tell her what that meant), and he had half-siblings, but he’d never met them. But Dante and Fiamma could be his new family, he’d told her, trying to help her see the bright side. 

And Fiamma loved Viago, she really did, but how could he and auntie Viama possibly replace mama?

Hiding out in the back room of the cathedral during the funeral, Fiamma lined up colored rocks in a row. A green one for Viago, a red one for daddy, gray for auntie Viama, and a purple one for her. She pulled the pink ribbon from her hair and set it off to the side to represent the Cantoris. Teia couldn’t talk very well yet, but Fiamma had a feeling they’d be good friends someday. The stones felt off, no matter how she rearranged them. Frustrated, she swiped her hand along the floor, sending them rolling across the granite tile. 

“Are you playing marbles?” 

A boy dressed in a too-large suit stood in the doorway, his long black hair nearly reaching his shoulders. His dark eyes surveyed the room like he was looking for monsters in the shadows. 

“No, I’m making a new family.” Fiamma said, crawling on the floor to retrieve her rocks one by one. The boy crouched beside her, helping her search.

“Out of rocks?” He asked. 

“Auntie Viama wouldn’t let me bring my dolls.”

“Oh. You’re Fiammetta.” The boy frowned. “I’m sorry about your mom. My parents are dead, too.”

“My daddy is still alive. He’ll always be alive.” Fiamma said proudly. 

“Parents always die.” The boy retrieved her green rock from under a nearby statue of Andraste and dropped it in front of her. 

“That’s not true. Lots of people have parents.”

“Not Crows.” 

“No. You’re wrong.” Fiamma insisted, “I’m smarter than other six-year-olds. You can’t trick me.”

“My little cousin Illario is six and still can’t read. I believe you.” The boy said with a smirk. “So, which rock is you?” 

“The purple one.” She said, chewing on her lip. “It doesn’t seem right, though.”

He hummed in admiration. “I like the purple ones. They’re my grandma’s favorites. They’re called tourmaline. There are pink and green ones too. But here…” 

He shoved his hand in his pocket and dug out a small, iridescent stone that shimmered between his thumb and forefinger. Smooth and cube-shaped, it reflected glimmers of white, pinks, and blues back to her. 

“Take it. It’s a fire opal. You should have it for your collection. It kind of reminds me of you.”

Fiamma plucked it carefully from his hand, letting the cool rock roll around on her palm.  

“But it’s yours.” She protested, holding it out to him.

“Nah. I stole it from my grandma’s dresser.”

“You shouldn’t steal.” She said, but closed her fist around it, anyway. 

“Caterina won’t miss it. She likes it when I steal, but only from her. She says it will make me a good Crow someday.” 

“Your grandma is First Talon Caterina?” 

He nodded. 

“You’re Luca?” 

“Lucanis.” He corrected her quietly. “Nobody calls me Luca anymore. Not since my mom died.”

“Oh. Well…” Fiamma set down the opal next to the tourmaline and the red stone. “Maybe you can be the purple rock.” 

But Lucanis didn’t answer, and when she looked back up, he was gone.

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

Rook woke up with a start, scanning the room. Schools of fish swam in the Fade’s illusions overhead and she exhaled slowly, closing her eyes. Solas had called this place a meditation chamber, but since her arrival here, all she’d had were nightmares. Though, with the addition of Lucanis to their team, it seemed she would no longer be haunted by visions of Varric being stabbed over and over again. Instead, just memories of dead people and rocks, apparently. 

She wasn’t sure which was worse. 

Rising from the green chaise she called a bed, she pulled a fresh pair of training leathers from her wardrobe and slipped them on. They’d become worn over the past year, the stitching slowly coming apart at the seams. Viago would call her a disgrace. It wouldn’t be the first time. 

The main hall was empty, oscillating rocks and miscellaneous objects shimmering in blood light above. On a nearby desk, a scroll tied in purple ribbon waited for her. A contract. 

She delicately pulled at the thread and uncurled the parchment. It bore only four short lines, a missive from Illario: We need to talk. Café Pietra. Nightfall. Bring Lucanis. 

Rook tossed it aside. They were fighting elven gods. What possible news could Illario of all people have that required their attention? At least he wanted his cousin to tag along - that meant this was business, not a personal call. Judging by the hourglass on the table, they had an hour to get to Treviso. 

She crossed the courtyard. Since Bellara had fixed the Eluvian and they’d cleaned the Crossroads of some of the blight, it had become more pleasant to look at. Passing through the kitchen, she knocked on the pantry door. Of all the rooms the Lighthouse had to offer, Lucanis and his demon had chosen a glorified closet to call home. A far cry from the luxuries he used to enjoy in Caterina’s estate. 

“Come in.” A voice called from within. She crossed her fingers for Lucanis, not Spite, and pushed inside. 

“You asked for time…has it been long enough?” She asked, leaning against the wall. 

“Yes, my head’s clearer.” Lucanis said, sitting cross-legged on his makeshift cot and sipping from a mug in his hands with a wince. “Though I would kill for a good cup of coffee.” 

Rook could have rolled her eyes. Growing up in Treviso would cultivate a snobbish affection for quality roasts in anyone, but Lucanis’ standards were, at best, unreasonable. Maybe his habits were endearing to the others, but she’d lived in the same home as him before. He wasn’t exaggerating: there was a good chance he would kill to satisfy his caffeine craving, if he hadn’t already. 

“You’re in luck, then. Illario requested a meeting in Treviso. Tonight. With both of us.” 

“You don’t seem thrilled. Not exchanging love letters with my cousin anymore, I presume?”

She shoved off from her place on the wall, standing over him as he swirled the grounds in the bottom of his cup, unphased. 

“I might have been your subordinate in the Crows, and yes, you had the pleasure of seeing me at my most humiliated. But within these walls - in this contract - we are equals, and you will treat me with the respect I’ve earned.” Rook snarled. 

Lucanis sat his mug down on the floor and stood, holding out his hands in a peaceful gesture. He bowed - genuinely, not mocking her - bending slightly at the waist. 

“My apologies. I meant no disrespect.”

Despite being nearly the same height as her when he rose, he had the imposing presence of someone a full foot taller than Rook. Perhaps it was just that she had a rough tally in her mind of the people he’d killed. She sighed, slumping against the wall behind her and letting her head fall back. 

“No, I’m sorry. I haven’t been sleeping. I’m on edge.” 

“I can empathize. Spite is stronger when I’m asleep. So I try not to do it much.” He stepped past her, holding the door open. “Let’s go find Illario. There will be time to chat on the way.”

They returned to the main chamber of the Lighthouse and descended the staircase to the Eluvian. 

“You’ve got questions. You might as well ask them.” Lucanis said, breaking the silence that Rook had grown pleasantly comfortable with. His voice echoed in the nothingness surrounding the bridge to the mirror. 

“I have a few. We’ll start with the obvious: how did the Venatori manage to capture the Demon of Vyrantium?”

“Someone set me up. I had a contract for Calivan. I took a ship from Treviso to Minrathous, and the Venatori were waiting for me when I arrived. I don’t know how they convinced the Crows I was dead, but I woke up in the Ossuary with Zara gloating about it.” 

He stepped through the Eluvian, moving seamlessly once his feet landed in Treviso without interruption. As if it were the most natural thing in Thedas. Rook had been using the Eluvians for days and still felt dizzy every time she exited one. 

“Illario wants to meet at Café Pietra at nightfall.” She said, glancing at the sky. “I have no desire to get there early, so we have a little time to kill.” 

“Good. I need a few things from the market.”

Rook groaned, but didn’t object. The man had just spent a whole year in an underwater prison. Who was she to decide whether he should go grocery shopping? 

She followed him from vendor to vendor, watching him cross items off a crumpled list he’d stowed in his pocket - a spearmint plant for Harding, fresh fruit for Neve, ingredients for a Dalish seafood dish Bellara wanted to make. Gifts for all of his companions, except her and Varric. Typical of him to overlook her, but it was fine. She was used to it by now, and Varric hated gifts anyway. 

“Is that everything on your list?”

“Should be. Let’s get to the café.”

“So,” Rook said, stooping to drop a few coins in a beggar’s dish as they exited the market, “I know Caterina volunteered you to work with us. Are you okay with that?”

Lucanis chuckled. “Did Viago ever consult with you before sending you out on a contract?”

Rook snorted. “No.”

He paused as they crossed over a bridge, watching the streetlamps reflect over the dark waters below. He took a deep inhale through his nose, closing his eyes and wrapping his fingers around the railing. It was beautiful - her favorite view of the city - so she let him enjoy the moment in silence. It was the kind of thing that might keep a person sane through a year of torture - the promise of return. The desire to protect. 

“It’s good to be home, no?” 

She flexed her hands at her sides. “It’s fine.” 

“Fine?” He opened his eyes and gave her a puzzled look, as if he’d never heard anyone describe Treviso anything short of breathtaking. “You didn’t miss home while you were away?”

“I left of my own volition after becoming a local disgrace. I don’t have the right to miss it, nor call it home.” 

“Nobody gets to tell you what you can or cannot call home.” He shook his head. “Home is a feeling. Not a bed, not a house. Not even a city.” 

“Caterina volunteered you for a contract, not to play therapist.” 

“Volunteered or not, Fiammetta, there’s still plenty of reason for me to work with you.” He pushed off the railing, giving her his full attention. “I owe you a debt, for one.”

She dipped her chin, pivoting to continue down the path. “It’s Rook.”

“Right, sorry.” He said, taking a few long strides to catch up.

“So, what do you think Illario wants?” She asked, changing the subject. 

“Hopefully, he has intel on Zara. Or…he just wants to whine about how much he’s missed us.”

“He might miss you,” she said in a low voice, “But don’t even joke about-”

“Illario.” Lucanis said, cutting her off as his cousin stepped into view. 

“Finally, I thought you might leave me all by my lonesome.” He replied, giving Rook a once-over before gesturing for them to join him at a nearby table near the water’s edge. 

“Please. You think I’d ever pass up Café Pietra’s coffee? I haven’t had a cup of Andoral’s Breath since before the Venatori stuck a demon in me.” Lucanis’ smile was wasted on Illario, whose eyes remained fixed on Rook as he pulled out a chair for her. She lowered herself cautiously, as if it could be snatched away from under her at any moment. 

“You see, Fiamma? My cousin is all stomach and no heart.” His words were syrupy as he took his place across from her, but there was something very, very threatening in his gaze. 

“Rook.” Lucanis corrected politely. “She goes by Rook now.” 

Illario’s eyes narrowed. “I heard. You would really abandon your namesake? Your father’s legacy?” 

“I don’t need a name nor reputation that precedes me in this fight.” Her voice remained plain and unaffected as she replied. “I earned Rook, it wasn’t bestowed onto me like some curse. I’ll return to Fiammetta once it suits me again, if it ever does.” 

“Well, then you won’t mind me continuing to address you by the name your father called you by? I would prefer to honor the Flame of Treviso, not cause him to roll in his grave any more than he already has.”

“One has to have a body in order to roll in a grave, Illario.” She said with a warning smile. While the years had hardened Rook, they had also changed her for the better. Apparently, Illario had only gotten worse.

“Enough.” Lucanis growled. He had been silent for most of the exchange, his arms folded and eyes flitting between them as he leaned back so far in his embellished iron chair that the front legs lifted off the ground. He typically didn’t get involved in their spats unless he felt a line was crossed. Which Illario was known to do, from time to time. Like now. 

“Whatever.” Rook waved her hand dismissively. She wasn’t attached enough to Varric’s nickname to play this game all night, nor did she have the energy for it. 

Lucanis shifted forward in his seat, clasping his hands together. “Let’s get to business, mm?”

“Agreed. I think we’ve done enough Three Crows In a Coffee Shop Bickering to bore the spies.” Rook said. 

“Just about. The most persistent one gave up when Lucanis started waxing romantic about roasts.” Illario sneered. 

“It’s a very good roast.” He grinned, bringing a bit of levity to the conversation. “So, you have something, or did you just miss us?” 

“The Crows I sent after Zara have picked up her trail. They say she’s gone to Vyrantium.”

Rook raised an eyebrow. “How did she get all the way there when she was just in Treviso to kill Caterina only days ago?”

Lucanis nodded. “She’s right. Zara’s given you a fake lead, cousin.”

Rook did her best to not take too great a pleasure in his approval. Or Illario being proven wrong. 

“You have better information?” He demanded. 

“It’s obvious, is it not? We’re compromised. There’s no other way Zara could even touch Caterina.” Rook said. 

Illario’s lip curled. “Yes, you would know so much about my grandmother after serving as her errand girl for a couple of months, wouldn’t you?”

“Rook is the one who broke me out of that underwater hell, and she’s been the only one trying to save our home from certain doom at the hands of elven gods.” Lucanis snapped. “Whatever transpired between the two of you, put it to rest.”

“If the Crows protecting Zara are here in Treviso, she has no reason to leave.” Rook interrupted, as if Lucanis didn’t just scold his cousin on her behalf. “I’m telling you, your lead is wrong.” 

“Fine. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll clean house.” Illario rose abruptly to his feet, his iron chair scraping loudly in protest against the cobblestone underneath. “Leave this to me and worry about all that saving the world business you’ve been going on about.” He shot a glare at Lucanis and stormed off.

“How long do you think he’s going to lurk and watch us to make sure we’re not talking about him?” Rook asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Lucanis rose without excusing himself, and walked to the bar, returning with two mugs of coffee. 

“Long enough for me to get a refill.” 

He pushed a cup towards her and swirled his around before taking an appreciative, slow drink. Rook leaned onto her elbows, resting her chin on her wrists. 

“Is it everything you dreamed it would be?” she asked snidely. 

“It’s enough of what I need it to be, for now.” He said, setting his cup down. “You know, I understand why you’d change your name.” 

“I didn’t change it.” She sat back quickly in her seat. “I’m just…taking a break.” 

“Still…” Lucanis averted his eyes. “Even before I was captured, my life was never really my own. So much has been determined for me.” He leaned over the table, holding her gaze. “The mess with the Antaam - you owned it, and you paid the price. When you had a rare opportunity to reinvent yourself, you made the most of it.” 

He fell back in his chair. 

“Make whatever name you want for yourself, Rook. I’ll call you whatever you tell me to.”

She smiled at his words and reached into the hilt at her waistband, producing a wyvern tooth dagger, and placing it before him on the table. 

“For me?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. She nodded. 

“I loved wyverns as a kid. Caterina would never let me have one of these, though.” He turned the blade in his hands. “Thank you.”

He ran his fingertips over the edge delicately, looking up with a hint of alarm on his features. “I just realized I didn’t get you anything.” 

“Sure you did.” 

Rook brought the cup nestled in her palms to her lips and winked, taking her first sip of Antivan coffee in over a year. It tasted bitter and sweet. Like Treviso. Like home. 

[brekkie-e]

The more I spend time with Emmerich the more it is difficult to red tape conspiracy theory away my Lavellan's single-ness and availability for a Solavellan ending. Like. Harding and Tara (my Inquisitor's cousin and also Rook) would meet him and be like wait? You're single? Have I got the girl for you. You gotta take her to the Necropolis gardens on your first date, she's been waiting to see them since she was 8. Yes, do take her to your favorite tomb. You have to explain in great detail to her how you corpse whisper. She's gonna love you. (The fact she's the Inquisitor is borderline a jump scare, they just dont mention it to him. Her ex being Solas is also a jump scare.)

So now I'm considering doing a Barbie's Nutcracker styled AU playthrough where it's just my Inquisitor having the weirdest yet best dream of her life? Falls in love with a distinguished Nevarran professor, in a cursed future where her ex is stuck in her head and Varric can't remember her name. Harding thinks her cousin is the Inquisitor. The Antivan Crows are nice??? But all the horrors don't bother her because this dream is showing her what being valued and cherished by your partner is supposed to look like. Apparently all her dream relationships involve raising a spirit boy together?? And then it ends with her cousin and her ex boyfriend running off in to the Fade together.

She wakes up in a cold sweat and is like "why the hell was Tara kissing Solas? They hate eachother? She's a lesbian? I need coffee."

[carabas]

Dragon Age Veilguard liveblogging -

Third and apparently final mysterious circle, and it's the outer two rings together -

...so the whole mysterious circle is a set of five rings? Earlier Anaris said about the Forgotten Ones "The sixth and the seventh roam free," and now here's a Forgotten Ones thing with a set of one through five... Also hey, Clan Sabrae mention in the codex! What were they even doing in the Deep Roads? How many completely cursed locations can one clan discover?

Tour of Villa Dellamorte!

Rook: What was it like? Training under the First Talon? Lucanis: Torture.

Vague! He answered that question in more detail in Tevinter Nights: Memories of sweat-filled days without food or water came unbidden. Lucanis's back tingled from where his grandmother's cane had bruised his flesh for letting his guard down or fumbling his footwork. And that difference in detail when it comes to training/torture methods is making me really curious what kind of faction-specific dialogue you get if Rook's an Antivan Crow.

...Wow, that is a whole lot of people who are shockingly okay with a possessed man becoming First Talon. As close as Treviso is to Rivain, maybe they're used to Rivaini-style possession? Or the possessed Avvar mage that Josie sent on a cultural exchange tour was a bigger hit than previously realized? Or everyone's just that intimidated by Caterina? Rook just tried to convince Spite not to sleepwalk Lucanis out of the Lighthouse because nowhere is safe for a possessed man, but apparently Treviso is fine actually.

SOLAS'S VOICE TALKING ROOK THROUGH THE MAZE, Rook has been slow to trust his god of lies and I've enjoyed all the verbal sparring between them that resulted but in this moment Rook just honestly asks Solas for his help and Solas sounds genuinely happy both to be asked and that he can in fact do something to help, this remains the most intense relationship in the game, SOLAS PICKING A FIGHT WITH ELGAR'NAN, SOLAS TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER GODS WHO HAVE BEEN LOST, I wasn't positive they were dead until now, that's upsetting, I mean it's probably better that we're fighting only two evanuris rather than all of them but it's upsetting, also if killing the archdemon results in the death of the evanuris in their prison why did solas think wardens killing the archdemons could make things even worse, or did he really not know what might happen - ANYWAY, A CHANCE FOR THE DREAD WOLF TO HELP FREE HIS PEOPLE ONE MORE TIME

"You have earned the respect of the Dread Wolf" popping up on the side of the screen, this is the perfect game actually

Ooh, the Butcher is fun now that we finally meet him, finally a supporting villain who seems to be motivated by something other than a desire to sacrifice people for power aaaaaaaaaand he's dead already. Okay.

The second conversation with Lavellan, all about her relationship with Solas, offering the chance at maybe some kind of happy ending for them - this is more than I'd hoped for, we just keep winning. I was worried her brief cameo earlier might be all we saw of her, she and Solas both referred to their relationship as if it was firmly in the past, I'd been lowering my expectations! Foolish of me, this is the Dread Wolf game built entirely on love for the Dread Wolf, no idea why they ever changed the title.

The only remaining quest in the journal has a warning that it will lead to the endgame, so I'm just running around wrapping up treasure hunting things now. I'm deeply concerned that none of my companions seem to be preparing to betray me reveal some secret plan of their own that will drive the endgame plot in a new and more interesting direction. None of them seem to be troubled by a hidden secret! Everyone actually talks to each other openly about their problems like adults! Except Varric who's been stuck in the infirmary by himself this whole time - Varric, is it you, are you the shady apostate??? Is it the Inquisitor???

My money had been on Harding - the memories of the Titans are surfacing, the specific people who killed them have returned, we're working for Solas who was there and part of it, that could lead in all sorts of interesting directions - but she's dealt with that already! She wasn't even sneaky about it! Or Neve fits the Anders-Solas pattern, the cynical Darktown Dock Town mage fighting for freedom for the enslaved and downtrodden - but there's been no sign from her of secretive plans in the works at all! Unless you count that one newspaper that claims she can talk to cats and they are her secret informant network. I did get approval points from her when I pet the cats at the cat cafe when she wasn't even present, how did she know. Suspicious.

I don't believe any of my companions are about to betray me at all. Where am I, what's happening, is this even Dragon Age?

[mika-lover]

my rooks

(1st run) nifft ingellavar: mid 30s (35?), mourn watch, calm, self-actualized, has a unassuming naive, gentle nature but very scary in combat

non-binary, trans, he/they, warrior (shield toss?)

was adopted by three mourn watchers(talos, mithra, and kojira), pretty normal childhood, had a teenage phase where he was a troublemaker in nevarra , very honest, relatively easygoing, not ambitious

relatively close with vorgoth and mryna

gets along with davrin and emmrich the most

romances lucanis (them choosing something that was not decided for them, very sweet)

preferred choices:

(2nd run) rocco de riva: late 20s (27), antivan crows, from a dalish ?? clan (something something they werent a typical dalish clan as in they passed down essence of a forgotten one within certain members) that was experimented and killed by a blood mage, may have magic but its sealed away,,,recarnation of who???!! (june?????haha idk if i will do this plotline) taken in by a trainer in the crows who found him

trans, he/him, rouge (duelist)

has a funny mentor/sibling relationship with viago, besties with teia, tough, nonchalant, humorous, charming, troublemaker during his fledgling days, very ambitious, workaholic, very softhearted with animals and children ( lowkey wanted to adopt/mentor jacobus)

gets along with lucanis and neve the most

romances davrin ( they did not realize they can find a different path, a future , just for them, both have conflicting thoughts about purpose)

preferred choices:

(current run) malakei thorne: mid 20s (25), dead name raya, grey wardens, grew up in the countryside, orphaned at a young age, older brother protected him, they gets infected with blight when they are stuck in a cave-in, ends up killing brother out of mercy since the blight was worsening quickly in him, stuck in cave with dead body for 10 days before saved by grey warden thorne, is offered to do the joining, lives, and takes grey warden thorne name and has a father-child relationship

she/he/they, trans, rogue (saboteur)

besties with antoine and evka, a tinkerer in machinery and alchemy, very playful, ambitious

gets along best with bellara and davrin

romancing harding

preferred choices:

---

notes:

accidentally realized i made nifft have the same hair color and age range of one of my da ocs (lavellan's runaway daughter) and decided to just make them twins separated at birth and the parent who had him dumped at the necropolis

New note>> Help wait?? Did i just accidentally make my lavellan inquisitor the father to my mw rook??? Bro doesnt know he has a another child😭😭 him and dorian need to find out NOWWWWW ,,, not varric being the uncle figure who meets regis son first?? Now aisha has to be like a shadow dragon or veil jumper who nifft meets during a side quest? How are they gonna find out hes nifft father? Shit… be funny if solas was the one who exposed it? Bro was like father like son and both of them are gonna be like HUHHH