#because rook is singled out as being important

[anotherramblingfangirl]

What if Rook de Riva was just a problematic fledgling Viago got saddled with by the previous House talon? They apparently were seen as having talent from the start, perhaps explaining why that Talon didn’t just do away with them and took a different approach.

Viago meanwhile remembers Rook as a fledgling who are children/teens and their graduation - as well as seemingly views a lot of responsibility for how they turn out, even still, including wanting them more “cultured” such on Antivan art - but isn’t quite old enough to have been the Talon in charge himself when Rook was actually recruited.

This could have been either a keep Viago busy and unproblematic to me sort of decision, or perhaps giving him responsibility over a fledgling under his wing was part of grooming him as heir to the house depending on if Viago was the intended next Talon.

It could explain the sibling/parental dynamic fans have been commenting on, especially as in-game comments make it clear this isn’t just on all in his house - he worries and is in a worse mood when Rook specifically isn’t there.

[hyperions-light]

What Will Be Left, Then?: Illario in the Fade Ossuary

This is the third part in a series of posts about Spite's Fade Ossuary. The first is here, the second is here.

Illario's Room

Illario is the final and greatest obstacle to Lucanis getting out of the prison. He stands in front of the vial (that thing's like a fucking... pitcher lol) of Lucanis' blood. The notes in his room are located behind Rook when they enter inside the boat, on the table by the ledge, and under the "vial" when you break it. They read:

I think this is less a single emotion and more of an amalgam of feelings that Lucanis has had regarding Illario throughout the game so far: the fear that he'd be killed, the pain and anger at his betrayal, and that he ultimately still loves Illario as his brother, despite everything he's done. When you speak to him, Illario will say:

Rook... you're too good to be wasting your time in a place like this. Forget about my cousin. You've got much more important things to worry about, don't you? You've got the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Which is, again, Lucanis thinking that he doesn't deserve Rook's help, that his feelings aren't important and his issues aren't worth dealing with-- that he is wasting Rook's time. Spite then gives you some insight into Lucanis' feelings by saying:

Sharp. Jagged edges. Hurt with every breath. Grief and relief. Hope and anger. Mixed.

Which is.... a lot. He loves Illario, he's happy that he's safe, but he's angry, devastated, that his brother would betray him like that. He's extremely conflicted about what he wants to do, how he can fix this situation; before Rook enters the Ossuary, Lucanis calls Illario an idiot and asks how he's supposed to deal with this. Illario has utterly complicated the situation by mixing together Lucanis' three categories of people, which Spite tells Rook earlier are family, contracts and enemies. What is Illario, now that he has done this?

After more commentary from Rook and Spite, Illario reiterates that Rook should leave, that letting Lucanis out is dangerous. If Rook asks the question here, Illario will talk about how the entire Dellamorte family perished in the war of succession except for Caterina, Illario, and Lucanis. He will ask what will be left if they fight each other, and if Rook really thinks they and the Veilguard will survive it. This once again emphasizes Lucanis' fear that he will destroy everything he has left as he pursues vengeance; is it really worth it, if he endangers what he values?

Rook can here say one of three things to Illario: that a confrontation with him is inevitable (1); that Illario is just trying to save his own skin (2); or that Lucanis should not let Illario speak for him, because the situation is his fault (3). I think Illario's responses are interesting, so I'll relay them:

1. A year he spent in this hole. In darkness. Dreaming of escape. Just to come home and kill his only family for a job he never wanted. 2. Would that be enough? Would anything? 3. Is it? Are you sure of that?

I think these answers indicate different things Lucanis is afraid of about himself, about Illario. That he will have to murder his only brother for something he doesn't even value; that killing Illario, sparing Illario wouldn't be enough to sate Spite, to stop his revenge; that maybe all of this isn't really Illario's fault, but Lucanis’ (I didn't say he was being super logical lol). Illario follows all three with:

Do you really think he made a deal with a demon? He's not even a mage! Or do you think, maybe, he just found the one there already? He'll carry this prison with him forever, and he'll fill it with corpses, given time.

Lucanis still doesn't know how he was able to contain Spite, why this is working at all, and that feeds into his fear that maybe he was always this way. Maybe it's just him who's uncontrollable and violent and dangerous (oh my gooooood Lucanis ;;;-;;; let me hug him, BW). He will never get out of here, and he will only destroy more and more of what he loves.

Rook can dismiss Illario by saying that Lucanis is a professional, who knows friend from foe; by saying he should evict his cousin from his mind; or that Lucanis doesn't know the future, and that fear is no reason to stay somewhere that's hurting him, especially when he's needed. Illario will warn Rook about the consequences of their choice, and Rook will say that no matter the outcome, they will help Lucanis.

I was hoping this would be the last post, but Illario had a lot to say, so Lucanis will get his own. Last one is here.

[some-lost-fox]

Overblot scars, part 2/7 Leona got kinda... long, oops?

Trigger Warnings:

Possible OOC, no beta, scars (bit of angst)

Important note: You are actively hiding scars from them!

Heartslabyul - Savanaclaw (You are here!) - Octavinelle - Scarabia - Pomefiore - Ignihyde - Diasomnia

SAVANACLAW

Leona Kingscholar

- Leona barely cared about the Herbivore that had the sheer AUDACITY to wake him up, barely a few days into the new school year

- But then you started to wear that ugly scarf, which sadly ended up catching attention. (Black and green? Like the colors from Diasomnia? Disgusting.)

- Sadly, the lion beastman started to have his eyes on you, and when lions choose their prey, it's hard to get rid of them

- His eyes would notice tiny things, capable of reading the body language, and his ears would twitch ever so slightly to changes in your tone

- The way you told your friends not to worry about the scarf ("It's just cold!") (bulls--) and always tried to change the topic of conversation the second they poked around it

- Or how you would ever so slightly flinch when you heard Riddle's voice. The overblot clearly left some mental scars on you. With all those facts, he wanted to know more...

- He doesn't remember anything from his overblot, but your body language towards him changed. Even your behavior. He's not dumb.

- You would shift your gaze whenever you two talked, and you would clutch your dominant hand. (Had... he hurt you? That's what your body language was saying... No, he surely didn't...)

- Talking to you eventually got so difficult, as well as looking out for you from respectable distance (He was NOT a stalker like Rook.) to the point he had to get Ruggie for it. (Ruggie did dig into him because of that)

- Then the whole stupid thing with the dorm happened, but that was the closest you had gotten to Leona in a while, and he was, deep inside, grateful (not like he would say it) but threatening HIS sleep? No, that wasn't happening

- Overblot fixing later, and Azul got the same jumpy treatment. Just now you were rubbing the wrist of your non-dominant hand.

- So, when he saw you talking to Azul, he decided to swoop in and grab you the wrist you were rubbing so much. He was slightly surprised when he felt a glove instead of your skin.

- After kidnapping you into an empty classroom, he decided to finally tackle this issue.

- "I'm not fidgety! You are just imagining stuff!" "I'm not blind, Herbivore."

- So with nowhere to run and him glaring at you, you finally gave up. You removed the scarf and removed the glove, showing him the two out of three scars you got.

- Leona quickly puzzled it together, and his eyes turned soft, the glare was gone. The ears lowered themselves as he reached for your hand, and his eyes met yours, asking for permission to check what he caused to you.

- You were now shaking, your heart was beating fast, but you allowed him. You had no clue why, but you did.

- He gently rolled up your sleeve, his eyes widening. (You were surprised he was being... so gentle.) His thumb gently caressed the scratch-mark-like scars. For the longest time, not a single word escaped his lips.

- "Do they still hurt?" (Yes, they burn.) "No."

- He gently pressed his lips against the back of your hand and murmured something to himself (which caused the magical scar to burn, just a little bit less)

- Once he pulled away he just stared into your eyes and sighed.

"Can you try not to get hurt? Your friends have to be worried about your ass." ("And I'm twice more." said his eyes)

🦁🦁🦁

Jack Howl

- Unlike students from Heartslabyul, Jack didn't know you from the start, but he tilted his head to the side when he saw you in that scarf, during sunny and warm weather.

- "They are just special like that," Ace said with a shrug, but Jack found it odd, but didn't say anything, your friends would know better, right?

- Being a wolf beastman, brought advantages of noticing small things, just like Leona.

- So after dealing with Leona's overblot, Jack found it odd how you would keep your hand always close to your side, and would always move around to not have anyone at that side. ("Wha? No, you are just imagining things, Jack.")

- But he didn't try to push you, at least not yet, but you would always catch him staring ("I-I wasn't staring, I was just looking your way......" he would lie while his tail would wag oh so little)

- A couple of days after Azul's overblot, he heard a soft crying, and found you, clutching your wrist outside of Ramshackle (He will never say why he was there, stop trying. He was just... passing by.)

- "Jack...!" You were startled, but he just looked at you, and... the first thing that came to his head was a memory... of you mentioning how soft he looked in his wolf form...

- "Unleash the Beast" he murmured to himself turned into his giant wolf version, and simply relaxed next to you, as a giant fluffy wolf.

- Needless to say, you hugged him and explained everything, it was easier to explain it to him by pretending he was a dog...

- Jack listened, and the next morning, he was by your side, slightly blushing, but his tail was wagging.

"D-Don't think I will repeat that... It was one time event...!" (You both knew otherwise...)

🐺🐺🐺

Ruggie Bucchi

- Oh boy, Ruggie barely knew you, and barely really cared, at the start.

- Then Leona's overblot happened, and well, he noticed you were acting odd. At least towards Leona, who sent him to investigate.

- And well, his investigation went pretty smoothly, it didn't take long for him to realize you hiding something. But he just wasn't sure what.

- Once you managed to force Leona into helping with Azul, (and dealing with his overblot) Ruggie had a theory. You got hurt and decided to treat the wounds yourself.

- Perhaps if he helped you, it would make you less... weird (scared?) towards Leona!

- Of course, the hyena beastman didn't ask like a normal person would, and simply... used his unique magic (he could get away with it!) and removed the glove from your hand! (Or well, YOU removed it.)

- As he was about to grab the proper first aid kit, he was shocked

- You were glaring at him, tears slowly appearing in your eyes.

- "Hey don't cry. Hey c'mon." Ruggie felt bad. He didn't mean to hurt you, or rather in this case, expose you.

- He sighed and explained how he simply wanted to help. He was lucky that you appriacited his caring (but you did scold him over asking for permission if anything like that ever happens)

"What if we use your newest scar on Azul, and demand emotional payback? Hey, I'm joking!" (He made you stop crying and made you laugh, win.)

🌭🌭🌭

[twistmusings]

Character Analysis of the Twisted Wonderland Dorm Rooms - Savanaclaw

Thanks so much for your input on the first post everyone! Honestly a lot of you have much sharper eyes that I do, so I'm making it a habit to add addendums when people spot things that I don't.

At any rate, here is the examination of the rooms for Savanaclaw!

Dorm Room Character Analysis Series

Heartslabyul | Savanaclaw | Octavinelle | Scarabia | Pomefiore | Ignihyde | Diasomnia

Leona Kingscholar

To start with the obvious, Leona is probably the most disorganized dorm that we've seen so far. He's noticeably left his clothes lying around the room. It's of note that he's got an empty hangar in his closet, which could mean that some of these clothes are clean and he cba to hang them up.

Leona has a chess set with three pieces displayed - what appears to be a Knight, a Rook, and a Pawn. I believe this may be a reference to the story arc of book 2, considering that Rooks are a powerful piece in chess. If we consider in terms of chess, if I had to guess, I would say the Knight is Leona (known for it's unique movement which can be used to strategize and take tactical advantage of board placement), the Rook would be Ruggie (known as one of the most powerful pieces in chess because it can move any distance in a single line so long as it doesn't jump another piece, thank you anon for correcting me on this!) because of his unique magic being the lynch pin of Leona's plan during book two, and Jack, or more generally, the rest of his dormmates, being the pawns, that are used to set a strategic defense.

Also of note, Leona has a plant in his room. Of course, it could be fake, but if it is real, it shows a nurturing aspect to Leona that is interesting given his characterization that we know of. Minor Spoiler Warning for Book 6 that has definitely been pointed out by other people, but we know that he lets Riddle rest on his lap during the book when he's knocked unconscious, so he does, indeed, seem to have aspects of a nurturer in his characterization that he tends to hide by being prickly. If I had to read further into this, I would say it's another aspect of his motif overall - Leona has the capacity to care a great deal about everything, but he doesn't because he isn't given the same opportunities as Falena, and so you see those parts of him come out in other places.

This may be a bit of a stretch, but I believe this pillow in Leona's room is intended to be a call-back to Lions and their manes. When Leona lays his head down on the pillow, the pattern would be splayed out around his head like one.

Leona, of course, has textiles in his room, which is mentioned to be important for his homeland in the Tamashina Mina/Cloudcalling event as they are handmade and the primary source of income for Sunset Savanna. This is of note because Leona is not the only one in Savanaclaw to display tapestries like this, but these tapestries are notably similar to those shown in the Tamashina Mina.

So this is going to be a very long and not particularly important sections, so feel free to skip if you CBA to read it, but I wish there was a little bit more information about the inspiration drawn for Leona's homeland because it could be particularly informative of the actual symbolism in the textiles. If we are considering what we know about his homeland, Leona mentions a few things that give us some hints as to the location.

Generally speaking, the Lion King is considered to be set in Tanzania, and this is in line with the Hibiscus and the Baobab that Leona mentions in the Cloudcalling event, however from my most definitely not expert research, a lot of textiles produced in Tanzania are wax dyed. (Mind, I am far from an expert in African Textiles.) This becomes important when Leona mentions that the tapestries and clothing in the Sunset Savanna are woven. While it's not always a rule, typically woven clothing and tapestries are dyed before they are woven, and weaving is what produces the pattern. With wax dyeing, the textiles are produced first, and then waxes are used to create layers of dye that are arranged in patterns. (This also gets called batik dyeing).

The left, above, is a Tanzinian Batik Kitenge Fabric from east Africa, while the right is a Ghanaian Woven Kente Cloth from West Africa next to Leona's Tapestry to show more of what I mean, which throws a wrench into examining this further because we are talking about two different cultures across the continent from one another.

The gist of this being, it does seem that Leona's tapestry and blankets would seem to be more in line with woven fabric as opposed to batik dyed fabric. If anyone has more information who is more versed in this subject, I would love to know more! Basically, this is the long way of me saying I can't exactly identify whether or not any of the tapestries or blankets in his room hold any particular meaning in their patterns or colors because I wouldn't know what culture it would be drawing inspiration from! To be quite honest, it is entirely possible this is a case of Twist mixing several cultures together to paint a more general picture of African culture.

To change the subject back to the room - Leona has a notable lack of study materials in his room. In fact, I don't see a single book in his room. If Riddle is the one who is the king of the little readers club, Leona was the kid who filled in all the stamps on the summer reading list to get the prizes without reading anything.

While it's not as prevalent as Cater or Trey, Leona's room features a lot of darker yellows and reds. It's possible that Leona favors these warmer colors, which is funny considering his rather gloomy outlook on a lot of things, as these colors are generally associated with happiness and passion.

The hidden mickey in his room is just below his overhead lamp.

Jack Howl

Jack, as we know, has a little cactus garden in his room. it is of note, his cacti are flowering, which is a sign that his little cacti are as happy as could be.

This might be a bit morbid, but if I had to guess, I would guess that Jack's rug is a synthetic wolf-skin rug given the jagged design on the edges. This is only a guess of course, as the bedrooms and backgrounds in twist tend to have a slightly flatter style than the rest of the game, so it's hard to tell if it's actually fur or not. Regardless, we see see a lot of the members of Savanaclaw's animals represented in small touches in their room.

Jack is pretty organized in comparison to the other freshmen! All of his books are put away, and even his weights and resistance bands are tucked away as much as they can be.

Jack seems to have soy protein, a protein shake container, and a stick of deodorant ready-to-go! Jack might be a bit extra with his workout routine, but at least he seems to be responsible about it by making sure he's getting the nutritional support he needs to build muscle and taking care not to smell rank.

Jack also has a textile on his wall. Given the Shaftlands seems to be generally inspired by Europe, I would guess that the tapestry is most similar to Nordic knitted and woven fabrics. The motif of the tapestry seems to be floral designs or snowflakes and pine trees. This seems to be a cute callback to how Jack likes to snowboard and how he comes from a snowy place.

Like the other first years, Jack doesn't seem to have decorated his bedsheets much. He does have a bedrunner in a flamestitch sort of pattern. Though the flamestitch pattern isn't commonly attributed to any one country, it is generally considered to be of European origin, adding to the European inspiration of the shaftlands.

The hidden Mickey in Jack's room is next to his tapestry.

Ruggie Bucchi

Mr. Pig. More seriously, Ruggie found it abandoned on the street and took it home. There's a meerkat version as well that Ruggie has mentioned getting in his Birthday Boy Vignette. He also mentions that it sings or lets out a happy squeal when you put coins into it.

Also, Ruggie has a framed photo on his desk, similar to Deuce. I would guess this is a photo of him and his grandmother.

Ruggie actually seems to read quite a bit! He has books in his bookshelf, as well as stacked next to his bed within easy reach to read there if he would like to. These don't seem to be textbooks, so it's an easy conclusion that Ruggie probably reads in his free time. My guess for the textbooks is that Ruggie likely downloads them online from a library resource. Or illegally. To be quite honest, good for him, textbooks are expensive for no damn reason.

Ruggie is also quite well organized - he doesn't have a lot of personal items in his room, but the ones that he does have are put away.

Following on that last point, Ruggie's lack of decorations aside from a handful of things likely lends to him being raised in poverty.

Interesting note, but Ruggie has roommates. In fact, a lot of the Twisted Wonderland cast do, but you can actually see snippets of Ruggie and Jack's roommates space in their cards. The freshmen are mentioned to have four to a room, so though I didn't include this in the first post, Ace and Deuce have two other roommates.

While it might be easy to assume that Ruggie's comforter is giraffe print at first glance, the coloration and spacing of the pattern actually leads me to believe this is meant to be the pattern of a spotted Hyena.

Ruggie's hidden mickey is on the wall next to his closet.

[kaija-rayne-author]

Dragon Age, as a series, deserved so much better than Veilguard.

Spoilers for Veilguard and maybe other DA stuff.

Obligatory 'I'm not an asshole' disclaimer. Feel free to jump to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I was on media blackout while I played DAV. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Note. None of my writing on DA, but especially DAV, is edited. This is just my off the cuff writing. I don't have the time, energy, or heart to edit them properly.

The Solavellan romance deserved a much better end than 'die and go to fade prison'. I agree that Inky would likely be happy to leave. She's as traumatized as Solas for having to lead when she didn't want to. But I needed more than a craptastic Romeo and Juliet ending.

I refuse to do the heavy lifting for the writers. If it wasn't shown in the game or in supplementary materials, it didn't happen. Showing us the story was the writers' and devs job, not mine.

I mourn what will never be, even as I work on a Solavellan fix it fic.

How could they betray the IP so badly?

How could they betray their fanbase so badly? The fanbase that kept hope for that game alive for 10 years. I've seen so many people saying they've lost their interest or passion for the entirety of Dragon age. That they're not even remotely interested in another game because absolutely none of the choices we made in previous games matters anymore. They've wiped everything clean... or blighted it anyway. (I have absolutely no interest in another DA game. Not with Epler/Busche/Weekes involved. And whoever designed that ridiculous fighting system.)

The only way I could possibly be interested in another game would be if they loudly decanonized DAV, gave us a DLC (they've already confirmed there will be no DLC) that showed us Solas and Inky happy and not in a horrible place. One that showed us that somehow, something changed for the elves.

But that's so unlikely it's laughable.

The elves deserved a better ending. Are the survivors still enslaved or living in alienages? What actually changed for the elves except the largest portion of the Dalish being dead from blight? (That’s a real elvish win, isn't it?)

I'm a stubborn person. I refuse to let Epler's 'hate-revenge on Solas fan fic' ruin something I've loved for years. I still have the first 3 games. I'll make an actual happy ending and a decent romance for Rook in my fic.

And by the fact they paid a fortune to big gaming magazines while denying game keys to bigger honest reviewers... they knew.

They knew gamers wouldn't like it and tried to blow so much smoke up our asses with the interviews and AMAs.

How do they even sleep at night?

I'm a creative too, I write, do graphic design, digital (learning) and traditional (good) art.

My stories are important to me. They deserve not only an ending, but an ending that respects the characters, lore, and world that I've created.

My readers deserve that, too.

I, as the creator of my stories, deserve a decent, respectful ending.

Dragon age deserved it, too. A good, well thought out, and well written ending to the story of the Dreadwolf storyline, which, if you're paying attention, is intertwined through all 3 games. It's not just in Inquisition. One that made sense to the collected Lore, his struggles and mistakes, his literary role as an anti-hero.

I would never be able to do what they've done to a beloved series. I could never knowingly mislead fans like they did.

It's just a really painful reminder that beloved stories can be utterly destroyed in the wrong hands. And a reminder that there's so much talent and skill in Fan fic.

Busche worked on the Sims. No wonder the companions often feel as interesting as wet cardboard. Most Sims NPCs do, too. (I actually enjoy the Sims, but the NPCs aren't why I like it.)

And she had the gall to blame 'culture wars' and 'identity politics' for why the game is tanking. Rather than take ownership of the incredibly bad calls made for DAV.

It's just gross. I wish I could stop thinking about it. But Dragon Age got me through some tough times. It means a lot to me.

And it just deserved better. So did we.

[corvidaerook]

I'm thinking about Rook De Riva and Viago again and just rambling about my thoughts, which might change when it's not 3am:

For my Rook, I think the reason he never met Lucanis, Illario, or Caterina before Veilguard, or even apparently saw them from a distance considering he didn't recognize them at all, was partly because of Viago and Viago's past with the King.

Basically, Viago got forced to choose between being a Crow or being exiled because of his position as a bastard child. He didn't have a choice in it, which in my opinion leads to him having issues with the whole idea of power and who holds it and all that ("The Crows rule Antiva" do you mean the Crows, or do you mean you, Viago?) And that makes me think of two things.

1) Viago hating the idea of the higher-up Talons having too much control over him or pulling rank. What's one way to give them less of an opportunity to let them do that? Keep them from ever really seeing his best Crows. And personally, I think it's implied that Rook is one of his best. The way he talks in the Blighted Treviso scene, where he goes "you always think of something!" and acts like Rook literally just being there could've changed anything alone makes me think he relies on Rook a decent amount. Plus him trusting Jacobus to Rook, "you're a damn fine Crow," etc. So I can totally see him tucking Rook away from the higher-ranked Crows as an "out of sight, out of mind" tactic to keep them from using Rook in any way. (I know Teia and Viago don't pull rank with each other, but I can't remember if they said that was all the Talons or just themselves, and I don't believe that none of them do)

And

2) Viago seems to actually care about Rook. Teia says it, Viago seems to imply it, etc. and in my headcanon, it's definitely true. So, similarly to the first point, I think Viago would be hesitant to let anyone he cares about be in a place where they could be subject to a display of power from someone higher up in the Crows. He had to deal with being banished or given to the Crows by his father, and I just don't think he'd tolerate the idea of a similar treatment towards people he cares about. Teia is relatively safe because she's incredibly capable herself and has Caterina's support, but Rook when they were just starting out? Viago couldn't have been sure that they would win over anyone important enough to give them that sort of immunity. So to me, it feels like the easier method would be to just keep Rook out of the way. If Rook is never really noticed by the higher crows, they could never be deliberately singled out. Not only would that protect Rook, but I think it would also satisfy the paranoid, overly cautious part of Viago that's constantly waiting for another adder in the wardrobe situation.

(also, 3, Imo Viago would love to have a secret ace in the hole trick up his sleeve in the form of a personally trained, very skilled assassin who none of the other big-name Crows have necessarily noticed. Especially if Teia helped train them too, on top of Viago and an Heir. Two, if not three, incredibly talented teachers making a top tier assassin? It'd be his dream come true if they'd just start listening to his fucking orders.)

So, with those two (3ish) reasons, I think Viago purposefully keeping Rook away from the Dellamortes makes a lot of sense. I can absolutely see it where Viago just sent Rook away whenever there was some important meeting or he knew Illario would be around the Diamond or that Lucanis would be at the cafe. He might've even warned Rook that he wanted them to stay away from the Dellamortes because he didn't trust them not to fuck up in front of them, meanwhile he was really calculating about how best to keep Rook from being noticed until they were at a point where he would feel like they were ready.

And then Rook went and pissed off everyone with the Antaam stunt, all at once, and Viago had to send Rook away, making him use his power to make choices for Rook in the exact way that he'd been plotting so carefully to avoid anybody else doing to them.

[solasfenheral]

some bemused vg bitching below the cut

i am. very bemused by the way this game seems to pull its punches at certain moments. like its afraid to really step on your toes and get in your face thematically. which is a deeply strange experience considering i've never ever felt this way about a dragon age game before???

to be honest. I half wonder if it is a product of this game being a sequel that came out so long after it's previous title and right off the heels of two games that received cold to lukewarm reception critically and within the community. I know there would've been extreme pressure internally for this game to be a critical and commercial success and you see that in how polished it is, how there have been huge technological improvements in things like hair which bioware has always gotten some flack for. and I can't help but feel that history contributed to how. cautious of me this game feels at times.

but its just. strange. it feels so strange to get something like the push up scene at the end of taash's personal quest chain. like what are you doing, with this lukewarm defense of trans identity. have some BITE about it man, I know you care about this! it's like the game doesn't want to commit to locking you out of companion content because they wouldn't tolerate transphobia but also doesn't want to accept it, so you end up with this bizarre kind of. half ass defense of transness without really standing its ground about it.

and one hand I get it because I don't want taash's storyline to be about defending themselves from player transphobia when they're already struggling with coming to terms w their identity throughout the game, but this scene man. its so damn strange.

and like. the way this game handles religion is so damn bizarre to me! which is a critique I've again, never felt for a da game! it feels SO strange for bellara to be like. lol yeah the gods being evil actually makes it EASIER for me to let them go like ffdsjkfhjks what....? epler I am in your HOUSE, this is not how faith worksssss

in trying, it feels like, to avoid steeping on toes about what the revelation of the gods would MEAN to the elves, vg just. really fails to grapple with the importance of faith in people's lives and the pain of what losing that or it being challenged means.

i wouldn't even be as annoyed if like. at least ONE of our dalish companions had complicated feelings about their faith and it was something they could discuss between them! it would be really interesting to contrast davrin's pragmatism, his preoccupation MORE with the lived reality elves might suffer with this knowledge come to light under the current systems of oppression, his understanding of the dalish mythology as important to his culture and his sense of SELF w/o ever having really believed in them personally, with someone like bellara who DID believe and is working through an arc about grief and trying to find a new understanding of what dalish culture looks like now with such a key tenant being challenged!

how do you understand death and what comes beyond death when such a central pillar of your life has been challenged! oh my GOD the depth the funeral scene gains when u have this subtext.

there's not a single banter on how harding reconciles her understanding of the Titans to her belief in the maker!

its just. CRAZY to me that this game seems to be trying to dodge the religious and political bite of its own story fsdhfjkds aaaaaaaa

man this isn't even touching how bizarrely fast rook's regret prison does its switcheroo and goes from neve/bellara's blaming rook for losing them to rook going don't worry your death wasn't my fault to davrin/lace like my GOD lemme stew in the survivor's guilt man ur not even giving me an understanding of why rook can process this!! lace or davrin literally died like! 10 minutes ago to their understanding!!!

[krems-chair]

I wanted Solas to be able to steal your companions (or at least some of them) away from you

On my first playthrough I genuinely thought that the test of your leadership abilities was going to be if you could keep your team together despite the machinations of the Dread Wolf himself. Obviously that was not the case, but I like the idea enough still that I want to share it now!

(Idk if I should tag this as a critique or not because while it IS me saying I wish the game had done this, that sentiment is also like. The extent of the displeasure you will hear from me in this particular post. So instead, I'll just put the divider in and give everyone a heads up now that while I am about to descend into a spiral about something I think would have been cool, me describing the cool thing I would have liked is not peppered with hate and might therefore still be fun for you to read. )

My brain went off the rails the first time I heard Harding tell Rook and Neve that Solas can go into people's dreams and kill them. (Which, was this something we learned in Inquisition/Trespasser and I missed it? I totally probably did if that's the case because I did not do a replay before jumping into Veilguard, but that line freaked me out when I first heard it lol I was like "since when?!").

While Rook assures both that they're a-okay, all good, it's just a little bid of blood magic, I thought we had just been blessed with some hella foreshadowing. Based on:

-My belief that Solas was going to have followers at his disposal

-The knowledge that he likes to mirror people and give them what they're dishing out

-Him telling Rook that once he found out they were pursuing him, he did his research

-My belief that reminiscent of other games, low approval could result in companions turning on you/leaving the party/speaking against you

I thought that Rook was going to learn that at some point in the game, Solas approached the Veilguard companions in their dreams and tried to sway them either to join him or abandon their leader. And I think there was a lot of opportunity for this to work really well.

Lucanis is perhaps the easiest example to work with here, but there's potential with all the companions because all of them can relate to Solas' experiences.

Solas, through communications in the dreams of his followers or through snooping through Lucanis' himself, would have been interested in the parallel the two share of "extreme loyalty to an important woman in their life that they look up to and take orders from" when it comes to Mythal and Caterina. Solas also knows what it's like to be gone from the world as you understand it to be for a long time and struggle with the adjustment to come back. It would have been wild to find out that he inserted himself as an interested party who sympathizes with Lucanis' struggle and had slowly been showing him all the reasons he shouldn't put all his faith in Rook while playing as a supportive mentor to Rook at the exact same time.

I think depending on how Rook handled Spite, it would have been interesting at either high approval to have Lucanis be like "hey I just want you to know that Spite caught Solas snooping around in my head last night and we shut him tf out" or a low approval Lucanis being convinced that there's no place for him at the Lighthouse/he isn't understood/is too feared and that he needs to try and help through other means. That, consequently, would create some additional difficulty when it comes to trying to kill Ghilan'nain or gain loyalty with the Crows.

And obviously him going for every single companion would have been hard to do or made the game repetitive, so maybe if at a certain point in the game it just took your companions with the lowest approval and triggered Solas attempting to sway them, that would be fun and add an element of replayability. And if you manage to raise their approval enough after getting kind of a warning-sign cutscene where they're more frustrated with Rook than usual, they then tell you "hey yeah I heard from him but I shut him out."

For brevity so that this doesn't go on forever:

-He could have very easily nerded out with Emmrich and convinced him that the world he wants is what's best for the spirits (especially since he does genuinely believe this)

-He could have come to Neve and been like "you don't have to like me because I did kill Varric, but you do love your city, don't you? As I loved mine? And wouldn't you do anything for it?" (especially if Rook saves Treviso over Minrathous)

-He could have promised Taash a place amongst his followers where they don't have to hide their fire/potentially shared some compelling truth he learned in his nerd travels about fire-breathers that they, craving more about their identity, would be tempted by

-He could have tried to play on Davrin's sympathies for the griffons and shared that all he wants is to create a world in which those he harmed have a chance to be at their fullest capacity once more, especially after its revealed that the wardens abused the griffons and then hid from their history. (Now, Davrin is a king and I see him being very hard to persuade even at low approval, but I didn't want to exlude him)

-With Bellara, I mean come on. He is the least sinister of the old elves running around, and she has always craved questions. Knowledge about Arlathan is one of the strongest connections she has with Cyrian. I also think he might try and argue that Rook could have spent more time/energy towards rescuing Cyrian, OR offered her information on the Forgotten Ones that would save him in exchange for her assistance

-Finally, I think it would have been cool if Harding is the only companion Solas actually refuses to try and sway regardless of their approval with Rook. Much in the same way Varric didn't nickname her because he feared her, I'd like to think Solas would know that having fucked with the dwarves enough, she's off-limits to manipulate because he regrets his actions so much. It would have been a cool way to actually explore that part of the narrative a little more, especially because I personally think (especially if you don't have Cadash in the game or a dwarven Rook) someone deserved to have a tough discussion with him, and given Harding's quest line, it would make sense to be her. Assuming she survives past Ghilan'nain's death, I think a cutscene while Rook is in the fade of him coming to her when we know she wants to believe that he can be saved or else it's all for nothing (I can't remember the exact quote right now, so apologies if I'm way off) and them having a really meaningful conversation about the Titans and the rage she holds would have been cool, especially since they did know each other and fight for the Inquisition together.

So yeah, just some thoughts I've had brewing, that's all.

[senseandaccountability]

What's your verdict of Dragon Age the Veilguard now two months down the road? How do you think fandom has reacted to it, compared to the other new titles that you can remember (I know you're a long-time fan)?

(Two months + a fair amount of weeks at this point, sorry for the delay, anon.) This is going to be salty, I’m afraid and a bit like beating on a dead horse but you did ask, thank you for that and sorry about being whiny.

My first impression was that it’s a 6/10 game. I think now upon replaying it two times, the score is even lower. It’s a very mid game that’s also clearly a salvaged product from a long and erratic production cycle. It has some good lore, some good writing, but it’s hidden almost entirely in optional side quests, subtext and the tiny margins of the text. 

Overall its way too much of a high stakes/low tension kind of game for me. It’s fun and it never truly grabs me except for the bits that are about previous characters. I don’t care about Rook. I like them well enough for a protag, I can fill them with headcanon to make them real but I would easily sacrifice them at the end without a second thought. There’s no pull, no tension, nothing to hold on to. I've tried to write fic about Rook but I just don't know anything about this person apart from the fact that they're very young and likes to say the word team a lot. Maybe Rook works in HR.

For all its high stakes, the game also repeatedly fails to show me these stakes. It keeps telling me how important it is, how busy we are and during the Siege of Weisshaupt and Blood of Arlathan, I really do feel it, momentarily. Those quests have weight to them, and they are tied in with the overall narrative of the series. We know the wardens, we know the Dalish. They matter. 

“Sometimes it takes the wrong sort to put it right,” the game says and doesn’t even dare to show me a single shred of moral ambiguity in Rook. Call me annoying but I don’t necessarily want to feel like a hero. I don’t need to feel morally righteous about my player character. I want the narrative to be complex and challenge me and hold compassion for the world it’s telling me about, dare me to change my mind about its characters and their various plights. What if the hero is wrong? What if the world is too complex to be reduced to simple choices? What if the trusted mentor lies and the liar tells the truth? What then? Somewhere in the far distance DAV wants to offer some complexity but hey we have EVIL ANCIENT GODS TO FIGHT YO! I actually hate the tone. I said early on that it’s one of my main gripes and I stand by it.  It’s chipper and full of HR-department tidiness and in general it just doesn’t move me because it’s just telling, not showing me the emotions. THIS IS THE EMOTION CALLED DOUBT, the game screams in my face. LET'S HAVE A TALK WITH THE TEAM TO PUT IT RIGHT. Immediately after finishing DAV, I went and played Disco Elysium and the contrast was quite honestly heartbreaking. Because the tone in that funny, sarcastic and over the top writing? It’s compassionate. It wants to be truthful about what it’s like to be a human living in a broken, inhuman world. It cares. Veilguard more often feels like an action movie revenge plot where you get to punch some EVIL ANCIENT GODS in the face because they want to drown the world in demons, man, let’s just leave it at that lol omg you can even PUNCH Solas lol whatever thanks bye.  

I also just find the text flat. It doesn’t have the transtextuality I’ve come to appreciate in the other DA games, it doesn’t play much with differences in dialogue for the different characters - like making one stand out as being anachronistic or having a different way of expressing themselves or being very unlike the others in some fundamental ways, it doesn't challenge and/or characterize through banter in the way the other DA games have done and it doesn’t give us companions that seek meaningful conflict or are difficult to understand. Veilguard is the only DA game where I haven’t felt any kind of strong emotional reaction while interacting with the companions, and while you could argue that this is a good thing because teamwork and professionalism or whatever, I’d say that for a text, this is a factor that makes it flat. No great piece of writing has only likable characters capable of self-reflection because no actual human being is only likable or not likable to everyone and by god are actual humans not always capable of self-reflection. In fact, some humans shy away from it for entire lifetimes.

The story of DAV is consistent in its themes, yes. It’s just that it’s also without nuance and - again - without stakes. The companion quests raise big moral dilemmas but the answers are so bland they might as well just be ignored. The outcome changes nothing, doesn’t affect the characters. There’s no price to be paid for becoming first talon, no punishment for being a lich, it’s just another wardrobe choice. Should I wear blue or black, perhaps become an immortal creature? No matter darling, you are always adorable. I think most of all the state of the game is a testament of a really fucking tragic industry that doesn’t care enough about storytelling and authenticity or its workers. I think it’s clear that the writers were trying very hard but I also think it’s clear that it wasn't the narrative the powers that be decided to focus on.  The DA fandom at large, quite frankly, has always just made me exhausted and miserable. I think a lot of the criticisms of DAV have been unhinged. I think a lot of the defences of the game have been so deranged that it makes me wheeze as I read them out loud to my husband. I’ve seen plenty of people dragging up some 17 year old noob’s post from the depths of reddit just to do some edgy take about how stupid people are for disliking the game and it’s just been so many bad faith takes. Overall, I’m truly sorry to say, I have no desire to play this game anymore nor do I feel very tempted to play the other DA games. I’m happy to see that my mutuals are having fun - I wish I felt anything stronger than oh well about the new characters, but I don’t. Maybe I will not be this actively bored in the future and pick it up again, but for now, no. I'll try to finish my fanfic and then probably be done for good with this fandom.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Raven! I just had a quick question because I was hoping to clear up some confusion for me.

In book 5, when getting ready to audition for the VDC and the actual audition, I interpreted it as us just helping and being moral support for ADeuce. However, with some of the things I’ve seen, we, the MC, might’ve auditioned? Bc I really hope not lol I have no musical talent and would be so embarrassed I know I’m a bad singer I don’t need Vil the Queen telling me

Thanks! Have a good night/day :>

Good question! I went back into the game to check and… well, it’s more complicated than you might think! Let’s go through it all.

So beginning in 5-4, you first learn about the VDC/SDC. Grim expresses his excitement: “I want in on this competition!” In Japanese, you’ll notice that Grim uses “ore-sama” which is an uppity way to refer to oneself in the singular. Here, Grim is talking about his own intent to join the competition both in English and In Japanese.

Now let’s jump ahead to 5-9. This is the part where Adeuce and Grim are practicing their dance moves on the basketball court. After witnessing how bad they are, the player is granted two dialogue options, one of which makes use of the word “we”. This could imply that Yuu is practicing dancing with Adeuce and Grim. Important to note, however, is that the Japanese version includes no such subjects and could be interpreted as not including Yuu because of this.

Also!! Jamil comments on the dancing abilities of the other boys in both EN and JP, but not on Yuu at all.

In 5-11, Jamil asks if “you” have applied for the audition yet. In JP, Jamil uses the phrase “kimi-tachi”, which is closer to “you all” (ie more than one person). He does not make specific reference to Yuu, nor does he single them out with the “you”.

Then in 5-12, Adeuce, Grim, and Yuu approach Rook to sign up for VDC/SDC auditions. Rook announces their personal details and then tells them "Since you have informed me of your intent, you do not need to fill out any paperwork". In Japanese, the subject "you" is not present, but the implication is that he's referring to at least Ace, Deuce, and Grim as a group. There's not much here to implicate that Yuu is also signing up.

When the actual audition happens in 5-16, Rook announces that Ace, Deuce, Grim and Yuu "may enter". This could imply that Yuu is there for moral support or that they, too, are auditioning.

In 5-18, a little while after the auditions, Yuu has a dialogue choice: “Did we flunk?” The use of “we” here could imply Yuu auditioned, or it could refer to their group of friends + their efforts to cheer them on. It should be noted that JP lacks pronouns in these same options, so it’s unclear whether or not Yuu is referring to themselves and/or the group.

5-20 perhaps gives us the most definitive answer. Grim gets annoyed that he was summoned despite not being accepted into the NRC Tribe. More specifically, he points out that he and Yuu were left out of the conversation. Grim then says “Why’d you call us over when we already flunked out?” Given that every other student present has been accepted, the use of “we” here HAS to refer to Grim and Yuu. In JP, Grim uses the term “ore-sama tachi”, which makes a plural or group of people. So here, both EN and JP are very clear and agree with each other; they seem to suggest Yuu auditioned and failed.

It's very easy to miss this if you aren't paying close attention! (I overlooked it myself, www) I wonder if the writing was intentionally vague or dragged its feet up to part 20 because a lot of details surrounding Yuu are left vague to allow for as much or as little player projection as they like. That way, people who have no interest in it can imagine just sitting out while the people who are interested can imagine performing their heart out. I know that there's some fan art of individual people's Yuusonas auditioning, but the majority of the fandom seems to be satisfied with Yuu fulfilling more of a support/cheerleader or managerial role for book 5.

Interestingly, Yuu failing the auditions here can support a line that Azul says in book 3 when they're negotiating the terms for a deal (in 3-10). He states that Yuu is "not gifted with a beautiful voice [...]" but doesn't remark on their dancing abilities. So... Yuu might have been mediocre at the singing part of the audition?

Ace, Deuce, and even Grim seem to have improved a bit thanks to Jamil's coaching earlier in book 5, but since Jamil did not comment on Yuu... er, maybe Yuu didn't see a little improvement and so didn't get accepted into the tribe? Not sure why Grim wasn't either, especially since Vil was convinced by Rook to go for "unpolished" gems to make himself shine even brighter; maybe cuz he's a lil' cat and would steal all the attention/j)

[el-bellanaris]

I was thinking a lot about Elgar'nan and how underutilised he is within the scope of the game. I understand a part of it is to show us how the blight is damaging him, like with how he cannot speak in Elvhen anymore, but he also has such a unique presence as a villain that could have utilised more in the specific climate of Thedas.

The biggest religion in Thedas is the Chantry which teaches the main belief that the Maker, their god, has turned his back on the mortals and sent the blight and the darkspawn as a punishment for their sin of daring to approach heaven - the Black City. Elgar'nan also obviously plays a part in both the Dalish religion being the father of their gods and a major important religious figure for them that Fen'Harel had locked away.

Elgar'nan could have easily weaponised both religions here to build himself an army beyond just organisations that are already just standard bad guys. First is the obvious choice, droves of elves would have flocked to his side in hope of some better kind of life for themselves. To have some kind of powerful representative that can grant them freedom and hope in a quicker manner. And he could use the Dalish stories directly against Solas, he could tell the world that Fen'Harel ha returned and here to take him again back into the prison so the Dread Wolf can get the last laugh once again. So many elves would believe that its a sign of the end and go to Elgar'nan's side to ensure they don't lose their gods once again.

Now the second and more interesting aspect would be how he could easily incite a huge divide inside the chantry. The Maker has turned his back on the people, the chantry sing songs to worship him but the blight comes back. What hope do some of these people have when a 3rd biblical event of war happen in a span of 20 years with two of them being blights. Elgar'nan, if given the chance to actually spend some time in this world to understand what advantages he could use, could easily see the gap in the world he could fill. Rather then proudly using his and Ghila'nain's archdemon directly under his orders, he could easily manipulate them to spread the blight and pretend to fight back against them. Put up a guise that he, the god of the elves, is here to free the world from their "sin" and fight back against the arch demons and the blight. That in a world where their god has turned his back on him, Elgar'nan would not and actively bring them into a future that is better and protected by a God who actually cares. This wouldn't change the mind of every single devout believer but it would change the tides for some, not only creating an army of believers for him from elves but from anyone whose faith has been shaken due to previous events and as a result want some kind of certainty.

Both of these ideas could be really interesting to be shown to play out in both Rook's. Rook is supposed to mirror Solas as Fen'Harel but I believe the game doesn't go as deeply into it as I would I have liked as a major, I think missed and sadly ignored, concept of Fen'Harel is that he is a misunderstanding of history. That the Dalish took paintings and what little text they could find about what happened to the ancient elves to conclude that yes Fen'Harel locked away the gods, but that he did it out of malice. When in reality he did it out of protection for his people and revenge for Mythal. If Solas didn't lock them away I would not be surpised if given no challenge, as in the humans never arrived to Thedas, that Elgar'nan would have cannabalised the entire empire leaving it in complete ruin because of his greed. Back to the actual game we're supposed to see some parallels between Solas and Rook, although they are incredibly shallow compared to him and the Inquisitor. So what would have been more interesting would be showing Elgar'nan weaponising Rook's title agaisnt them like the Dalish unfortunately did with Solas and Fen'Harel. Have Rook become synomous for evil, make Rook the next Fen'Harel, the next dreaded evil that dares to mess up the world and have the last laugh. As a result you get this beautiful parallel between Rook and the Inquisitor with Solas. One becomes the misinformed legend of evil and one is the symbol of hope that fought against evil.

In terms of the gameplay this would create a pretty unique struggle for Rook, they have to live through the discussions and weight of their life as an evil villain when they're trying to help. If you have the turn of the world starting to hate and see Rook as an outlaw happen at the end of act one, you get this really fun twist where everything that is fun and excited becomes necessary for survival. The eluvians stop being whimsical devices they become necessary as a protective measure, building a rapport with the factions means more because Rook is unable to build an army elsewhere and provides the world with more people to challenge the idea the Rook is just evil. That by doing good deads, word can spread that maybe actually the gods aren't telling us the whole truth.

This plot point would also make some of Rook's decisions have more weight throughout the main story. Helping the Grey Wardens shows the literal army that exist to fight the blight that Rook is actually helping and gives more weight to wardens not actively siding with the "gods" who will end the blight. Saving the Dalish elves can be about Rook mirroring Fen'Harel by freeing those who have realised that Elgar'nan isn't actually here to help and wants to use them as slaves for his new empire. Killing the archdemons becomes not only a way to make the gods mortal, but shows the world that Rook is actually here to get business done unlike Elgar'nan. And then killing Elgar'nan actually has the weight of killing a god by first stripping away his power over the people first and then taking his life second. He becomes a mortal in the physical and theological sense so his death is meaningless, how fitting and belittling for a god that he will die insignificant and at the hands of someone who Elgar'nan raised from a nobody out of a crowd and gave Rook the stage to rise to power.

And how fitting would the ending be where everyone talks about Rook but nobody knows who they are, they become an everyman. An idea like Fen'harel and the Inquisitor but just of some person who rose us to do what's right. Rook who in some stories is a veiljumper or in some a mourn watcher. This leaves them changing history but never having to tie themselves to fables that may misinterpret them like the dread wolf.

[yamnjamslam]

hello friends, i'm posting this here because i don't have an ao3 acc yet and i'm spiraling over the fact that emmrich was 7th in the most romanced poll!! so, here's a purely self-indulgent drabble with my antivan crow rook cairo de riva (pictured in my pfp) tyvm (:

this takes place after the events from the game so beware spoilers!

_____________________________________

classes at the grand necropolis were in full session. mourn watch apprentices hailing from all corners of thedas gathered into the capacious lecture hall for a talk by the famous professor emmrich volkarin. the senior necromancer was more than eager to jump right back into teaching after being a member of the team that defeated the elven gods and ended the blight. as much as he had loved the adventure and the friends he made during that time, he always felt most comfortable in the walls of the necropolis doing what he truly loved, educating the up-and-coming generation of young scholars. the rows of seats were completely full by the time the talk was about to begin. the voices that were chattering about silenced as soon as a tall slim man approached the lectern.

“good evening everyone! i am professor emmrich volkarin, some of you may know me and others might not. no matter, i am more than excited to get to know you all this year and teach you everything you need to know about the wonders of the fade, spirits, and how to hone your skills in necromancy!” the professor’s voice protruded through the lecture hall, echoing off the walls so that even those in the far back could hear him. emmrich proceeded to approach the wide chalkboard that was in the center of the room and scribble down some important terms and diagrams.

cairo couldn’t understand a single thing that was being taught but was enjoying it all the same. being that he was the only one there that wasn’t part of the mourn watch, he was obviously not the target demographic for what he deems “this nerd shit”, but he was there nonetheless. he had probably heard the same lectures from the professor back at the lighthouse when cairo would barge into the man’s tower, take a seat at his desk, and demand to be educated. he loved seeing emmrich’s passion for his craft, the way his eyes lit up when one of his student’s raised their hand to ask a question, or the “wow”’s from the crowd when he performed an astonishing demonstration.

but, what the crow was really there for was the whispers from the crowd. he had developed a particularly keen sense of hearing throughout his time as an assassin so he was able to tune into the gossip that was circulating through the lecture hall while the professor spoke. most of the idle chatter was students discussing the topic amongst themselves or proposing thoughtful questions to one another in the hopes of asking for more clarification. however, some comments that floated to his ears intrigued him. “i heard the professor rejected the offer to become a lich!”, “yeah, apparently he did it to save that skeleton companion of his that’s always roaming around the necropolis…”, “ohh, well that’s understandable”. cairo had to agree with that one.

“the professor was part of the veilguard right?”, “yes! he fought beside lucanis dellamorte, first talon of the crows… ugh he’s so hot…” cairo had to hold in his laughter when thinking about how the first talon was probably sitting in the dellamorte villa right now, sipping a steaming hot coffee, completely unbothered, while being swooned over by a poor delusional mourn watch apprentice. priceless. “what? have you seen taash the dragon hunter? they can swing an axe to my head and i’d thank them!” cairo thought about the fact that taash was probably out in rivain right now, rummaging around a dragon lair, sweat dripping down their forehead from the harsh sunlight, probably daydreaming about throwing harding on their bed and… oh no, he couldn’t even imagine it, it was way too graphic.

“do you think the professor would ever have a relationship with one of his students?” now it was really getting good… “i dunno, don’t you think he might have a wife at home or something? he just seems like husband material for sure,” oh they were damn right about that. cairo was a malewife emmrich supremacist if he did say so himself. “you think he might be into guys instead?” one of the apprentices joked. cairo almost laughed aloud that time.

when the crow idly glanced at the clock, he realized two hours had gone by and the professor was already making his final statements. finally, it was his time to shine. suddenly, as emmrich was walking back to the chalkboard, an object flew across the lecture hall at the speed of light, landing just a hair away from the man’s head. the entire room gasped in surprise and began frantically looking around for the culprit who had disappeared like a shadow through all the commotion. the professor, eyes widened in shock, turned his head to gaze upon the cause of his near-death. when he observed it further, he noticed it was a dagger with a familiar design on the handle and a sticky note taped to the sharp end. emmrich released a breath he didn’t know he was holding as soon as he saw what was written: the words “i love you” scribbled inside a poorly drawn heart. he couldn’t tell if his own heart was beating out his chest from affection or the thought of his almost murder.

with a bejeweled hand, the professor pulled the dagger out of the chalkboard and placed it onto the lectern, “i apologize for the brief… intermission. however, that is the end of the lecture for the day, i hope to see some of you around the necropolis and feel free to come to me with any inquiries you might have! thank you”. he announced with a kind smile. the lecture hall erupted into voices as the apprentices packed up their things to leave and resume their studies elsewhere. they filtered out one by one until the capacious room grew quiet and only one occupant was left…

emmrich took a deep breath to compose himself before… “rook!” he called out loudly. promptly, cairo jumped down from the rafters and landed steadily on his feet, a wide grin gracing his features, “how’d you know it was me?” he teased as he leaned against the lectern, arms crossed over his chest. the professor rolled his eyes, “i don’t know many other crows who would write such a thing on their knives,” he replied. cairo couldn’t help but laugh, “awe come on, lucanis loves you too,” he joked, slipping the knife into his fingers and twirling it around with ease. “he’s also busy being the first talon… speaking of which, hasn’t he given you any orders yet?” emmrich questioned curiously. cairo tapped the dagger against his temple as if he was lost in thought, “hmm, now that you mention it… there might be one or two…” he admitted with a playful wink. emmrich’s jaw dropped and his eyes thinned at his lover, “darling… you can’t keep doing this!” he protested. cairo scoffed loudly, “look, i was lucanis’s boss before this, there’s no way i’m gonna take orders from that freak. and i say that with the most love in my heart” he chuckled as he spun the blade on his finger. 

“oh my… well then, he was right when he called you a menace,” emmrich teased. cairo threw his head back with a laugh, “and you love it,” he replied, pointing his dagger at the man. emmrich nodded his head with a chuckle before changing the subject, “so, what did you think of the lecture, dearest?” he questioned, turning around to start erasing the chalkboard as another professor would be needing it later. cairo leaned across the lectern, “well i learned that lucanis and taash have some avid fans and that your students have been questioning your love life,” he responded. emmrich’s eyes widened, “what did they say?!” he gasped. cairo bit his lip and acted as if he was struggling to remember, “i believe one asked if professor volkarin would be interested in dating a student… then the other shot back by arguing that he might have a wife at home since he’s so “husband material”, and the last one wondered if he might be interested in guys. all very good questions which i’m also curious about… so what’s your answer professor?” he revealed with a shameless grin. emmrich’s cheeks grew pink out of embarrassment, “instead of asking such silly questions they should have been focused on the lecture!” he denounced, his erasing becoming more aggressive. cairo merely watched in amusement at his lover’s flustered expression and admired how cute he looked, “what’s the matter? scared to talk about your relationship?” he joked.

upon hearing that, emmrich froze up, his hand completely coming to a stop and his breath hitched.  the crow’s eyebrow rose in confusion at the sudden change of attitude, wondering if he might have said something wrong. soon enough, the senior necromancer had placed the eraser down and turned to look at cairo with sorrow in his eyes, “i’m aware that was only a joke but… dearest, you know i wouldn’t want to hide our relationship unless it was absolutely necessary, right?” he confessed, stepping closer to take the male’s hand into his own. the coldness of the the jewerly that adorned emmrich’s hand felt familiar and comforting as cairo intertwined their fingers, “i know… i get it, not everyone is understanding of the age gap.. i told you, i’ll be here no matter what so… you know, whenever you’re ready, there’s no rush” he asserted, his normally playful demeanor vanishing for the moment as his expression grew serious. emmrich’s heart fluttered at the sentiment, he was overjoyed to have found someone he can forge a serious, healthy, and hopefully long-lasting relationship with, something he had never thought he could achieve in all his years.

“darling…” he uttered as he stepped even closer so their bodies were almost touching. cairo’s eyes thinned as a teasing smile returned to his features, “you sure you wanna do this in a lecture hall, professor?” he questioned. emmrich looked around at the rows of empty chairs, then to the clock to make sure it wasn’t time for the next class to start. once he had confirmed they would be safe for the moment, he leaned in and softly pressed their lips together. cairo was quick to reciprocate, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s neck and rising on his tippy toes to deepen the kiss. after a few moments, the two leaned back for air and the shorter male rested back on his heels. as they stared into each other’s eyes, they couldn’t keep smiles off their faces, happy to be able to spend precious moments like this together after all they had been through. “i love you,” emmrich whispered, wanting only the male in front of him to hear despite there being no one else in the room. cairo chuckled, “and neve called me the sappy one,” he teased, sticking his tongue out playfully. the professor rolled his eyes before joining his lover in laughter. 

“ROOK!” a familiar voice shouted from not too far away as the couple was busy lost in each other’s gazes. at the sudden interruption, cairo quickly unwrapped his arms from the man’s neck and shuffled away while emmrich did the same, both pretending to look unbothered after being caught red-handed. however, when they looked towards the source of the voice, they both released breaths they didn’t know they were holding, “manfred?! you scared the shit out of us…” cairo choked back a laugh as he watched the skeletal apprentice skitter over to the front of the room to stand beside the professor. emmrich placed a hand to his rapidly beating heart and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, “thank goodness it was just you manfred… what have you been up to?” he questioned, noticing that the skeleton’s robes were slightly more singed than they had been before. “FIRE!” manfred shrieked as he summoned two small flames from the palms of his hands and waved them around vigorously. cairo and emmrich exchanged worried parental glances at each other before emmrich took the skeleton’s wrist bones into his hands and placed them at his sides, “manfred, what did i say about using your fire so recklessly? come, i must go speak to myrna and vorgoth about this…” he sighed before motioning manfred towards the exit of the lecture hall.

cairo watched the two figures approach the door before emmrich turned and met his eyes with a smile, “darling, will you be coming over for dinner?” he called out inquisitively. the crow twirled his dagger with a smirk, “if the first talon doesn’t chew me out for too long, then yes,” he chuckled, “but if not, you know i always have room for dessert,” he winked teasingly, fully aware of what he was doing. the professor with cheeks as red as ventaori robes promptly rushed out the door with manfred in tow and cairo was left by his lonesome, giggling to himself over how cute his lover is.

end.

[theolivetree123]

Voice claim: Alhaitham - Genshin Impact (JP)

Character Details

Age: 18

Height: 181 cm

Sexuality: Bisexual (men pref)

Birthday: July 16th

Nicknames: Swordfish (Floyd), Rosé Noire (Rook)

Dominant Hand: Right/Left (Ambidextrous)

Dorm: Scarabia

Grade: Freshman (1st year)

Likes: Scented candles, gothic lamps, plants

Dislikes: Loud noises, cigarettes, dogs, alcohol

Favorite Food: Chocolate cake

Least Favorite Food: Yams

Best Subject: History of Magic

Club: Pop Music Club

Hobbies: Botany, cooking

Homeland: Briar Valley

Family: Constance (cousin), Victor (cousin), adoptive mother and father, biological mother (dead) and father (whereabouts unknown)

Twisted from: Mary Sanderson (Hocus Pocus)

Character Info

Silas is a very stoic and serious young man. He is known for being the mature and most experienced mage of the three cousins. This maturity and seriousness causes Silas to seem kind of intimating, and in his childhood, he struggled to make friends because of it. It takes a lot of work to break Silas out of his shell, but once he opens up, he's a very kind person who will always put his friends and family's safety over his own.

After his mother passed when Silas was 7 years of age, he spent the rest of his childhood with his abusive father. Silas's dad was extremely neglectful, only interacting with his son when he needed things and when Silas would clean the house. Silas's father was also a drunkard, always leaving the house to go to bars. Silas found himself being bored most days, only studying and cleaning. Only on certain days would he secretly go outside to play with cousins, Constance and Victor. Due to his father's neglect, Silas grew up to be very reserved and have major trust issues. This led him to act colder to most people and shut himself off from any social interaction with people who weren't his relatives.

As Silas and his cousin's potion business boomed, so did their reputation. In both good and bad ways. Silas quickly grew protective of his cousins, making sure they didn't get hurt by their clients. Silas grew wary of every single customer the three would have, never actually taking to any of them and just helping with potion-making. Once the three cousins became homeless, however, Silas became the somewhat "father," having to keep track of his younger cousins and make sure they were fed and healthy.

Once the three moved in with their new parents, Silas was less than thrilled. While the others appreciated the kind gesture, Silas grew wary of the couple that took them in, worrying about any ulterior motives the couple might have had. As the years went by, Silas warmed up to his new parents, but he still struggles with calling them that to this day.

Unsurprisingly, when Silas found out he would be enrolling into NRC, he was a bit wary at first. He had never really had many friends before, and even in his new hometown, he still struggled with socializing. Once Silas came to NRC, it was just like he expected. He had a lot of trouble talking to people, even teachers! But, due to Kalim's kindness, Silas slowly broke out of his shell and finally found some friends.

Relationships

Jamil - Jamil was the first friend Silas ever made at NRC. Due to their similar personalities, they hit it off right away. But, as months went by, Silas started developing more romantic feelings towards Jamil. Whether it was his calm personality or the way he looked at him, Silas started to fall head over heels for Jamil. And even if he couldn't say it, Jamil became one of the most important people to Silas.

Kalim - As the person who broke Silas out of his shell, Kalim strives himself to be Silas's friend, even if Silas doesn't agree. Kalim isn't really who Silas would normally hang out with, but he still respects Kalim both as a housewarden and a friend. Silas sometimes acts like a father towards Kalim, sometimes not letting Jamil do his job and forcing him to take a break. This is due to Silas having to take care of his own siblings. I guess Silas's maternal side just comes out sometimes.

Constance and Victor - As his cousins, Silas obviously loves Constance and Victor very much. Even if they annoy him sometimes. Silas also tends to be a bit overprotective when it comes to Constance and Victor due to their past. Silas sometimes evens goes out of his way to show his disdain for the people his cousins like. But, at the end of the day, Silas would never stop his cousins from finding true love.

Random Facts

Silas doesn't like to admit he has a sweet tooth and likes chocolate

Silas is roommates with Jamil.

Silas likes plants, but his favorite is the venus fly trap. He has a bunch of plants on his side of the dorm room.

Silas can't sleep without holding on to/hugging something.

Silas is blind in his left eye due to the deal he made with his adoptive parents. He hides it because he thinks he doesn't have a use for it anymore.

Silas was in a band before NRC and was in a polyamorous relationship with two other members of the band. They broke up before NRC, but even though Silas has moved on, the other two have not.

Silas used to be polyamorous but isn't anymore.

Character References

[saras-almanac]

Thinking about the idea of how unnecessary Rook is in every single recruitment mission and how that’s incredibly detrimental to showing why Rook is leading the team. Every single recruitment is set up by someone else (namely Harding and Neve) so you’d expect maybe something important to happen in the recruitments but that’s not the case.

Every single companion is so competent they basically don’t need Rook at all. Harding is handling the demons in Minrathous so well she’s rescuing random citizens. Neve wasn’t abducted by Venatori and saves herself. Lucanis has already broken out of the prison cell and could have left with the blood even if not killing that guy there. Bellara is confused why anyone’s coming after her because it hasn’t been a week and then drags Rook with her through the glitch. Davrin and Assan would still be dealing with the loss of the griffons but Rook being there doesn’t do anything either positively or negatively. Emmrich’s totally fine and just asks for some help since rook’s there already. And Taash… man they really have no reason to join us other than their mom said so?

It’s not necessarily bad—and absolutely echoes of the live service—but the only reason it sometimes matters if Rook is there is because some of the fights are hard. But that being the sole reason doesn’t help with understanding why these characters are throwing their lots in with Rook and/or why Rook is leading the team because none of them show their leadership ability or even give any connection why the companions follow them.

Not that I needed each companion to be in a horrible situation for Rook to swoop in and rescue them, but at least that would have shown me more of why they are all following Rook. Or even have them specifically reaching out because they want to join/do something different.

Like imagine a Neve who was in a bit of trouble when Rook and company stumble upon her and so she decides to follow Rook’s lead because maybe Neve’s too close to this with the Venatori all wrapped up in this and her priority is docktown.

Or a Lucanis you have to physically break out of his cell for and he has no choice but to immediately trust that you will not take his blood and force his hand to join your cause. So you help him and he get to space to heal away from the politics of Treviso.

And Bellara who was sucked into the Veil anomaly thing and Rook decides to jump in to help try and rescue her because it’s the right thing to do. Or a Bellara who hears about the Evanuris being back and wants to learn about what’s going on at the source. (Don’t get me started on her potential of being a Dreadwolf agent)

Davrin who’s alone with the gloom stalker hunting the griffins and getting no support from the First Warden so he gets Evka to help who reaches out to Harding for help, which is how Rook gets involved and Davrin sees the changes in the blight and chooses to go with to help.

Emmrich who’s so wrapped up in his studies that he didn’t notice the Venatori slowly entombing him in the chambers, which is how Rook rescues him and he decides to follow them because they helped him and the least he can do is help-plus maybe he needs a little time outside the necropolis after that.

And Taash, who reached out on their own to speak to Rook and tell them they want to join them for the job of Blighted Dragons because it’s what they’re good at and they choose to want to help.

These aren’t necessarily amazing and are just off the top, but just any sort of changes could have been incredibly helpful at developing Rook as a leader and also their relationships with their compassions. (And every recruit from Rook’s faction should have been their idea to be completely honest)

[robinyourcreator]

Your OC's Personalities

thank you @defira85 for the tag! always love an excuse to yell more about my gorls

Adana (left) and Alde (right)

I will tag @skingrad and @tacticalgrandma aaaaand anyone else who wants to me to coo over their Tav/Durge/Rooks!

How would you describe Adana’s personality?

Adana comes across as a “light touch.” Very warm, very sincere, with an easy confidence and a gently teasing/mildly self-deprecating sense of humor. She knows the reputation and archetypes people are going to ascribe to her for being a bard, and she’s more than happy to play into them. She’s an extremely anxious, nervous wreck of a perfectionist and a control freak underneath, but the sincerity is real even if the confidence isn’t. Intensely principled but with an incredibly low sense of self-worth or even self-preservation, so she’s willing to die for anything and anyone, at anytime. (We are working on this.)

What brings Adana joy?

Being Useful™, making other people happy, helping others, defining herself by the needs and desires she fulfills in others—hey, wait a minute.

...A well-kept ledger. A good deal at the market. The antics of small children and animals. A good book. Art and music. Time to herself when no one wants or needs anything from her.

What does Adana strongly dislike?

Condescension. Entitlement. Abuses of power. Anyone who thinks they’re better than her. And… alcohol, actually, because she’s that kind of a control freak. She still partakes because to not do so would invite questions, but takes an absurd amount of care to never get past ‘mildly tipsy’ while still looking like she’s drinking as much as everyone else. Nearly any touch she doesn’t initiate herself.

Is Adana scared of anything?

Being made helpless. Cold, dark places. No longer being needed.

What is Adana’s alignment?

Neutral-to-Chaotic Good. Intensely principled, but those principles are largely, “don’t do, or fail to do, anything that will keep her up at night” with a side of “fuck the establishment because rich people are awful.” It is of utmost importance to her to Do and Be Good, but laws are just suggestions that quite plainly don’t apply to everyone.

How would you describe Alde’s personality?

Now? A quiet, skittish soul with the occasional shameless streak when she wants something badly enough or feels she’s done something worthy of praise. Prefers to observe before she acts, and but also just because she likes to observe in general. A kicked puppy. A stray kitten left out on the street in a cardboard box in the rain. A single kind word to her and you will have a friend for life. The most pitiful and pathetic little creature. Comes across as much younger than she is (100+, but her default answer is “26” because of 1) baby face 2) haircut makes her look fourteen years old 3) the ‘tism 4) the memory loss making her a poor baby bird who was only just born yesterday.)

Pre- having her brain eaten by worms, thus rendering her this precious baby bird who was only born yesterday? Workaholic in constant sensory overload. “Arrogance and efficiency” and “murder made flesh.” The most miserable not-quite-human being alive. Desperately lonely.

What brings Alde joy?

Any kind of physical affection. People watching. (Particularly for people she can put on her yuri knight vision goggles for ;) ) Learning new things. Patient teachers. The whole world is new to her, and she will find joy in any part of it that’s pointed out to her.

What does Alde strongly dislike?

Funny enough-- blood. It’s hot, it’s sticky, it gets everywhere, and it’s such a pain to get out of your clothes. Also red meat, because it tastes like blood.

Being mistaken for being younger than she is-- or worse, being condescended to because someone has mistaken her for a child.

Poor tactical choices, which she takes as a personal insult. You used this sloppy of a formation? Against ME? How dare you. The arrogance of semi-immortal demigodhood has remained post brainwipe.

Is Alde scared of anything?

She is terrified of being the thing that kills her loved ones, of course, but she mostly trusts them to protect themselves from her. Precautions have been taken. They know what to do. If they have to kill her in the midst of an Urge then so be it.

But more than that? Abandonment. Alde is terrified that she will be found to not be worth the trouble. She is trouble. She knows that. She wishes she wasn’t, but there’s nothing she can do about that. But she can hopefully make herself useful enough to… make up for being herself so much trouble. Even without the Urge, she's going to be a magnet for trouble for the rest of her life anyway, just for being a Bhaalspawn. She'll make up for it. She promises.

What is Alde’s alignment?

True Neutral-to-Neutral Good. Alde is largely a passive observer in her own life. She doesn’t have any strong moral opinions, (having just been born yesterday, after all,) but she has good instincts. She wants to return the kindness she has received, but she doesn’t really go out of her way for anyone who hasn’t already endeared themselves to her. (This is, admittedly, a very low bar to achieve. One kind word. One.)

[ryuichirou]

what kinda underwear do you think the male cast would wear?? i like to think Jade would go without some days, so improper!! OTL Floyd with the colorful patterns, whether he actually wears them tho is a 60/40. i can see him in those cliche heart boxers very, very easily. Do you think any of the cast would keep their lovers' underwear, like a souvenir? I could see Lilia doing it. 1/3 (the rest is just horny posting for a fish)

2/3 (this is *not* an art request just me being down bad for a semi-crazy assfish) I would die to see jade leech in lingerie OTL i cant think of any scenarios where he'd wear it, but god is it a beautiful mental image. Considering his take on clothing (being a mer+weird asf) I don't think he'd have any actual hangups about it, but he still wouldn't do it under normal circumstances. i think part of the appeal for me, is that you wouldnt expect a guy like him (big, top, JADE) to wear sumn like it

3/3 in conclusion  they took away my license because of how  fast i was undressing him

Hi Anon!

This is such a great theme for hcs, and I am very sorry that it took so long, but please understand: this is a very complicated subject, I just had to do research before writing it. Well, in actuality I was just googling all kinds of underwear over and over again until the picture in my head for every single boy looked right lol We’ll get to hcs shortly, but first I’ll reply to the other things you’ve said!

Btw, this ask is from MARCH, that’s how far behind I am in replying to those.

Totally agree about Lilia stealing his lover’s undies as a souvenir. This is his trophy, and he is very proud of them. He should have a display in his room…

Floyd also has his stealing undies moments. Some of the boys he sleeps with could be smitten with him enough to try to gift him their underwear, and Floyd would go “??? Why the fuck do I need these”. But sometimes? He just steals them lol He totally stole a couple of Riddle’s undies. He doesn’t really store them well though, so they’re just lying around his and Jade’s room…

Rook. Rook would also take trophies. And he would take such good care of them it’s insane. Now this is someone who would have a display somewhere… somewhere where no one would be able to see it unless he wants them to…

I also think Ortho would do it one time just because he wanted to play out the trope of having someone else’s panties in his room, oops! He’s a weird boy.

Can’t say much about Jade in lingerie, but it really would look good, not gonna lie….

Riddle – god I want him to have cute ones with a strawberry print, but realistically he is probably wearing just some plain tighty whities…. unless they have a pretty embroidered “R” on it, which is somehow even worse. I love him so much. Wait, would he be the one to wear undies with the weekdays written on them?

Ace – just some boxer briefs, nothing crazy; he used to have very colourful ones when he was younger, with fun prints and all, but nowadays he tries to be a bit more stylish and mature about it, so a lot of times he goes for dark-red/red/black ones.

Deuce – pretty neutral, but he does have a “lucky” pair of trunks that he always wears when he has something important going on that day… He also has a pair of very good seamless running underwear (deep blue with some light blue patterns), and he kind of cherishes them because it’s an expensive gift. Just wear them and run, Deuce…

Trey – he prefers boxers, the ones that are basically just shorts and aren’t tight. They also look pretty plain, but he has some with the tartan print. Usually green or red… He would look like a Men’s Health model if he wore something less loose and more stylish, but he loves his stupid tartan boxers!

Cater – boxer briefs, but the “leg” part is somewhat shorter; he has a variety of different ones, but it’s almost always some variation of grey and orange. He buys the ones that seem cool to him, even the sillier ones are on the cooler side; he is very happy that his sisters don’t have power over what kind of underwear he wears… he thinks about it every time he looks in the mirror after taking a shower.

Leona – probably something high-end and luxury, but he also doesn’t wear them all the time. He wears something short, slick and sporty when he does anything sport-related and needs support for his balls, but other than that – nah, putting on underwear is just another annoying unnecessary extra thing to do.

Ruggie – he bought the cheapest ones available in bulk when he was like 13, and he still wears them (they were a little big for him when he first got them). His grandma said that it has to be cotton, but other than that – it doesn’t matter, and Ruggie believes it wholeheartedly. So I guess some neutral grey briefs? Nothing too fancy.

Jack – oh this boy. He doesn’t like underwear that doesn’t give him good support, so all of his options fit pretty close to his body. I guess his signature ones would be briefs in which one leg is just plain black, and the other leg has a print of half of the wolf face… what, you think it’s cringe? At least it’s not the ones where the wolf’s face is in the crotch area… Jack actually thinks those are cringe too – he got a pair of those from Ace, Deuce and Epel for his birthday (google wolf underwear)

Azul – Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss are his best friends. Very… gentlemanly. He always picks the ones that would make him feel like a successful young man. They’re not too short, but a little shorter than regular boxer briefs, and always very tight. To some maybe even uncomfortably tight, but Azul doesn’t mind it at all for some reason. He has exactly 10 pairs of grey and purple ones, exactly 10 pairs of black and purple ones and a couple of white ones.

Floyd – a big collection, kind of like with his shoes and socks. He hates plain ones, but some of his undies aren’t obnoxious – he has a couple of pretty stylish and bright ones that aren’t too crazy. But yeah, a lot of them are pretty obnoxious and bright lol He loves loose boxers, but also has some tighter ones too.

Jade – yeah he’d go commando lol But not all the time. His choice of underwear is… eclectic. Of course, he has some plain ones (a couple of those are similar to Azul’s but in a different colour and size), but also? He has some surprisingly silly ones. Of course with mushrooms and stuff, or something that too cursed even for Floyd to wear. It just tickles Jade when he has a secret…

Kalim – luxury underwear! Mostly white + yellow/golden/orange ones, but he has some black ones as well. Super high quality, super special design, super cool-looking actually. And Kalim doesn’t even know that his underwear is different from the rest of the guys, but if he ever was to try on some other type of underwear, he would immediately feel discomfort and say that it doesn’t feel right against his skin. Too rough…

Jamil – his is also pretty high quality; even though his family serves the Asims, I feel like this is exactly why Jamil can afford a good pair of underwear. It’s not even remotely near the price tag of Kalim’s though, god forbid, no one should allow to wear underwear this expensive..! Anyways, since Jamil likes to go sleeveless, he probably prefers underwear that doesn’t cover his thighs at all, so just some regular tight briefs. It’s mostly black+deep red, his favourite colour combo.

Vil – there he is, the underwear guru. He has all kinds of underwear and sometimes changes it multiple times per day depending on his activity: he wears seamless short briefs for yoga so it’s not visible through his leggings, but still gives him support, he wears longer boxer briefs for jogging so his thighs don’t rub against each other too much, he wears some other type for flying… his collection is expensive, high quality and very well organised… What was that? A thong? Of course he wears a thong sometimes, it looks hot. And lingerie too, when it’s appropriate. Come on now.

Rook – there he is, the man who used to wear underwear with holes in it and didn’t even care. Point at him, laugh at him, and then say thank you to Vil Schoenheit who took one look at this creature and said “I can fix him”. Anyways, nowadays Rook wears a pair of seamless boxer briefs that hug his body tightly but don't feel suffocating; he owns a bunch of these in different colours. He also owns a jockstrap, and finds it kind of functional, but it makes his butt too prominent, so he doesn't wear it. It’s for special occasions only...

Epel – he fought his mum for the right to buy himself some new cool underwear before coming to NRC (having colourful undies your mom bought you when you were 12 SUCKS!), but he didn’t even get to wear them much because Vil saw them and gave him a lecture about how this is the worst type of underwear he could wear (pure polyester, are you serious??), and that Epel doesn’t care about the well-being of his down-there at all. Long story short, Vil got him some red+purple boxer briefs for the regular wear (not too tight, very comfy!) + a couple of  black pairs for magift (longer ones?? Epel didn’t even know it existed). Epel was actually worried that he would get some stupid girly underwear, but wow these are… kind of nice. But he would never admit that the ones Vil got are much better!!

Idia – he usually wears the grey ones with triangles that STYX issues for its personnel. They are pretty comfy, and you can just grab a box and boom – you don’t have to think about your underwear ever again, EASY. But also Idia has some kind of childish loose boxers… with his favourite characters, of course. This isn’t just underwear, it’s also merch. Perfect for rewatching 300 episodes of your favourite anime.

Ortho – how much he wishes he could wear underwear…! But if we’re talking about real!Ortho, I think he would also like good ol’ regular loose boxers. But overall his underwear collection is less childish than Idia’s, at least because he has some Calvin Kleines.  And yes, of course it’s black and neon blue. He doesn’t really like the STYX ones because they make him sad, but he wears those from time to time because he wants to match with Idia.

Lilia – the moment he discovered funky underwear he was never the same. It’s the same thing he does with socks: he buys everything that seems fun, even if it ends up not being his size: he just gifts it away to younglings, so it’s all good! I think every Diasomnia boy has at least one pair of underwear that doesn’t match his style at all, because it was Lilia’s gift… anyways, Lilia either wears black ones with bright patterns (black + neon green+pink!), or something completely obnoxious. Nowadays he’s also thinking whether he could pull off something cute+sexy…

Silver – he wears whatever and doesn’t think about it twice, as long as it’s clean and has no holes in it. The majority of his underwear are pretty boring regular boxer briefs + just regular boxers that aren’t as tight. He also has one silly pair with blue and pink birdies… a gift from father, of course. He always smiles when he wears them.

Sebek – his default is black+green briefs; his thighs are getting too powerful, so he doesn’t like shorts-type underwear these days. But he does wear one lengthier pair – and it’s special equestrian underwear that has padding on the crotch. Sometimes the boy just wants some extra protection against rubbing okay… it’s not as much of a problem for the rest of the equestrian club boys for some reason.

Malleus – it’s clearly custom-made just for him: it’s black, made of high quality special type of silk + has beautiful lacing. Honestly, Malleus panties are a piece of art. I guess it’s like traditional Briar Valley type of design, but super extra fancy; he is the future King, after all. It’s hard to say if it’s comfy or not, but it looks quite dramatic. Malleus also has some underwear that is lengthier, almost like leggings. 

Bonus round!:

Crowley – doesn’t wear anything. Don’t tell anyone.

Crewel – a big variety, a lot of bold patterns, but his favourite pair is a part of black trunks with a white zebra print. Shocking, I know. He has some pretty sexy ones though, maybe even a thong.

Trein – granpa undies… grandpa undies.

Vargas – unfortunately, probably a jockstrap.

Sam – well wouldn’t you want to know? :)

Che’nya – he almost never wears underwear. And he flashes people. He is a very, very bad cat. He only wears underwear when he knows his pants are going to slide down because he doesn’t know how to use a belt properly, and people are going to see that he is wearing boxers with cartoon hedgehogs tickling each other in a weirdly sexual manner. Bad, bad cat.

Neige – pretty plain ones! Almost all of his underwear is either white or light blue. Some of them have silly prints, almost too cute for a guy… He gets tons of very cool expensive underwear for free as promo, but he donates the majority of them without even unpacking it. Thank you for your kindness, but people need undies more than Neige <3

Rollo – he is similar to Riddle, but I also think he would be that one kid who wears some priestly old-timey looking cotton shorts, because these are more traditional, and traditions are to be cherished. One could think that this is a part of his school’s uniform, but nah, Rollo is just a little weirdo… looks good on him though.

Fellow – I’m sorry, it’s probably kind of bad :( it used to be a decent pair of boxer briefs that he got when they suddenly got lucky enough with money, but now it’s well-worn and has some holes in it. It also used to be bright orange, but now it has a pale sort of peachy hue… he wants to get something new to wear, but whenever they get the money, clothes aren’t really a priority.

Gidel – his aren’t as bad because Fellow always wants Gidel to have something at least a little bit better than what he has, but Gidel’s pair of boxers is clearly too big for him. It’s pinned around his waist just so he doesn’t lose them… it has some guy’s name written on the butt part, and while Fellow finds it kind of depressing (maybe he remembers the guy he stole those from), Gidel thinks it’s pretty funny.