#da4 spoilers //

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

the thing about Lucanis and Spite is like. neither of them actually wanted to be there. and that is both how they were able to survive the melding and why they resent each other so much. Lucanis' banter about the Ossuary where he says to survive it he "Shut down completely. Think nothing. Feel nothing. Except what you need to escape." And when asked what's left he says "If you're lucky? Revenge. And bad dreams." like. he always had this core of his own personal spite down in him (not doing crow jobs the easy way, ignoring Caterina's summons, not embracing his future as a potential first talon, to "live truly is to live fully" but he HASN'T been allowed to and resents it, etc etc etc) but in the Ossuary he really hollows himself out into the perfect vessel, empties himself of everything but wanting to survive anyway. and "no one was in the Ossuary by choice, not even the demons" so of course he and Spite can agree on this One Thing. they make their deal that they're gonna make it through just because everyone else there is waiting for them to die, and of course they're not gonna just give them what they want. even if they're fighting each other the whole time (hence Lucanis being used to Spite 'hitting' him etc when he doesn't get what he wants), they still have this united purpose Every Day about getting through it. like it's utterly crucial that for both to survive at all the demon had to be something that wanted to defy what the venatori wanted from it.

and this is also why their relationship falls apart once they do escape, because without something else present to rail against every day, they have to turn on each other. and of course it is actually an absolutely miserable situation for both of them to be in--Lucanis is living the nightmare of his body being puppetted around without his consent, just like the blood magic he already had to endure under Zara, and can't ever be alone again even in his own mind. Spite is trapped in a world that no longer responds to his shaping, lacks the autonomy of a truly possessed host body, and can barely comprehend the new laws that govern the place he's in.

for both of them it's such an intense violation of being, and one I wish got more emphasis/recognition. it's really easy to make jokes about how Lucanis could be better at sharing/compromise with Spite more (like I make them too myself, it's easy) but really just... man. this isn't like with Anders & Justice, who agreed to their situation, or Wynne where Faith is content to be mostly a silent passenger and did it to save her life. Lucanis and Spite are suffering the most complete form of intimacy under the worst circumstances, and neither actually wanted it. which makes it honestly impressive at all that (unhardened) Lucanis & Spite are able to reach an accord at all by the end. like i'm glad that they did--and have SO many thoughts (& fanfic WIPs lol) exploring just how they managed to get there--but boy was it hard won, if you actually look deeper into it than the game has room to explore.

[exhausted-archivist]

Interactive Map for Dragon Age: The Veilguard

If you're trying to find all the chests, notes, codices, loot, and even some of the easter eggs, a really helpful and amazing tool would be this interactive map! You can even track your progress.

[beaulesbian]

that escalated quickly

[galedekarios]

what it feels like to take emmrich and davrin with you as your team

it's basically just emmrich 'gentle parenting' volkarin vs davrin 'tough love' the warden

[gwinaesfer]

"The Veil Guard didn't actually care about Rook" the Veil Guard was so desperate to get Rook back from the prison they tried to make a ritual dagger of their own to rip the Veil apart and look for them

Rook wasn't their boss, Rook was their home

[innieirving]

rook: *obvious flirting* emmrich: 😲😲😲🤯🤯🤯😳😳😳??????????

bonus:

[sky--phantom]

Rook and Lucanis' banter during the Siege was a highlight

[warden-commander-of-ferelden]

I love him your honor

[thismission]

two of the sexiest lines in this game fr

[pancakesprince]

arvel mahariel - he/they

hes 50 years old now.. never experienced twink death

edit: part 2

[corseque]

The final song in the Solavellan ending, when Lost Elf reappears, that is not on the soundtrack

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

with Ghilan'nain's codex entry about how she was making darkspawn Better by reforming them/changing them/etc, like how they're just kind of birthed from the blight cysts rather than infected people or via broodmother now. it would be SO cool and narratively powerful to bring back the Awakened darkspawn and have this be a motivating factor for having them help fight off the gods. with the double blight over they will FINALLY be free of the Archdemon's call, and saving themselves from Ghilan'nain's meddling in the meanwhile is motivation to not just wait it out/leave it to everyone else... imagine after the Wardens fall at Weishaupt, having the Architect get in touch with an offer to send his own darkspawn to fight in their place since HIS army can't be infected unless Ghil herself shows up to reform them. actually maybe this will be my new headcanon for whats going on down south and how they manage to get through it despite lack of forces, because it's just too cool a thought to let go...

[miyku]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | ▶ dev. Bioware

[beaulesbian]

Emmrich & Lucanis banter about/with Spite because it's a very fun angle of conversation between them

--

--

--

--

--

[galedekarios]

i need you all to know that emmrich gives manfred pocket money bc i think this is extremely important information 😌💕

[thanekrios]

HARDING & LUCANIS' friendship.