#dragon age spoilers /

[vaguely-concerned]

the contrast in lucanis' early game responses to bellara and davrin are sooo funny and also quietly devastating. the vibe is like

BELLARA: heey so... how are you feeling lucanis? generally, I mean. or specifically, if you'd rather talk about something in particular! well, you usually don't, so no worries if not, you know, no pressure, only if you'd think it'd maybe, I don't know, help! I know it doesn't always. but ah, um... are you -- alright? (in the pantry. we should probably stop asking you about this but are you sure you're alright in there? it's where the parsnips live. and you now, too, I suppose! just... you and the onions. and a demon. sorry, didn't mean to remind you! you see I'm only asking because um for a second there I thought the dark circles under your eyes were actually bruises and it jumpscared me a bit)

LUCANIS (tired but soft): I'm fine, Bellara. Really. Don't worry about me.

VS.

DAVRIN: So hey lucanis. just out of interest. what the fuck is your damage anyway. why are you like this

LUCANIS (at his most 'orders one black coffee and drives away' and also honest): Well you see Davrin since you're asking: I am in hell. Also go fuck yourself.

[neithrain]

[crimsonphantasmagoria]

I'm still mad at that first Crossroads memory for implying that Solas should have tried to cure that one elf of the Blight, and criticising him for not trying it. Like holy shit! As far as Rook should be concerned, there IS NO CURE FOR THE BLIGHT. Even Mythal says the only 'cure' is to become a Grey Warden, and she's been around for all of them. Way to imply to new players that he just can't be bothered to do the impossible.

[grimrevolution]

[apriltastic]

Solas: *sees Rook running towards him* What do you have?

Rook: *running past him, flashing the lyrium dagger* A KNIFE!

Solas: NO!

[elcor-thespian]

Reblogging to answer later. Love this

Rook Tarot Card Ask Game

Some in-depth character development questions for your Rook, inspired by the major arcana tarot cards

The Fool: Where did Rook's journey begin? What were they doing before joining the Veilguard?

The Magician: What are Rook's thoughts on Solas? Do they change as the story progresses?

The High Priestess: Which does Rook obey more: their head or their heart?

The Empress: What does family mean for Rook?

The Emperor: What does Rook's leadership style look like?

The Hierophant: Is Rook religious? How do they feel about the religious organizations that impact their life the most?

The Lovers: Who is your Rook's most significant relationship within the Veilguard? How do they help Rook feel seen and understood?

The Chariot: How does Rook fight? What are their preferred abilities and damage type?

Strength: What gives your Rook courage? What inspires them to keep fighting?

The Hermit: When Rook is alone with their thoughts, what do they think about? Is solitude a blessing or a curse for them?

The Wheel of Fortune: Describe an interesting character moment for your Rook. What made this moment stand out to you?

Justice: How does Rook feel about the circumstances that led to them leaving their faction? What does returning feel like?

The Hanged Man: What does Rook do when their hard work doesn't pay off? How do they cope with failure?

Death: What part of Rook do they need to kill to become the best version of themselves?

Temperance: What does Rook do to deal with the stress of their situation?

The Devil: What type of demon is most likely to target Rook? Why?

The Tower: How does Rook respond to unexpected catastrophe?

The Star: When things get dark, what gives Rook hope?

The Moon: How does Rook's past impact their values? Does their past come with any biases or blind spots they have to account for?

The Sun: What is Rook passionate about? How do they fuel that passion?

Judgement: How does Rook approach difficult decisions? How do they cope with the consequences of those choices?

The World: What does happily-ever-after look like for Rook? Is it attainable, or just wishful thinking?

[iamluzgar]

Okay I have thoughts on Veilguard and why I liked Rook and the whole positivity thing. Hear me out.

Spoilers:

One of the main topics of Veilguard (it has many imo) is the question of leadership (which is connected to the question of identity too). It's a question that is asked through Solas at the beginning as to why Rook should be given information regarding the gods.

None of the reasons are "because I'm special". None of them are "because I killed an Arishok" nor "killed an archdemon" nor "because I was blessed by whatever god you want". The purpose of Rook is that they're a rando, so far away from what heroes look like in Thedas. The only stuff you can answer to Solas is "I'm good against odds" or "there was nobody else to do it" and a third one I haven't picked yet that's probably as underwhelming.

Rook did one good deed Varric saw and was like "uh unpredictable and defending people, neat". Solas has been dealing with politicians/politics/big names all of his life, they are assertive people, leaders in the sense of leading faceless soldiers to war for a cause. Rook is none of that, they're the antithesis of this actually and that's the whole point of Varric choosing them.

What IS a good leader actually? The purpose of Rook as a character was to grow and make players wonder. If we look at how "Varric" treats them during the game, and the options, it becomes kinda obvious that Rook is meant to be unsure/not feeling like they deserve to be there/not in their right place. I saw many criticisms about the game for that, but it is MEANT to be like that. We see other leaders, through Solas, Elgarn'nan, etc etc... Every time we see what they do, what they think regarding their faction, how they treat their people. The whole game explores what the fuck is a leader.

I think Veilguard wanted us players to wonder, if we got into Veilguard tomorrow recruited by Varric etc, who would we be as a leader? I think anyone, and even people with leadership positions IRL, would feel awkward and unsure once in a setting to fight gods, having the weight of the whole world on their shoulders. We weren't meant to play "any" character like we used to in other DA (and even then I'd argue Hawke is always kinda the same dude too but I digress), we were meant to play Rook: the rando who got there by Varric and who is unsure about leadership because wtf is happening. This is an honest characterization, what would genuinely and obviously happen. We'd feel inadequate and useless. But the game doesn't tell you "ah you're shitty for feeling inadequate and useless because you have none of what makes a great war leader", it tells you "okay, you have nothing giving you an advantage against your enemies... You're average. What's the best you can do with what you have?"

How would you deal with the rest of the story, with all the understandable vulnerabilities and insecurities you have? Rook dealt with it by supporting the people they thought were better/adequate/fit the hero box they didn't. Because they do, all of them have something narratively special about them. Rook supported them so they realized themselves as heroes, so that they didn't die in the final fight. Which... All comes back to the positivity thing. I know I would do my pep talk to my team, because that's probably the only thing I'd think I'd be good at, and I know they would certainly need it considering the weight on our shoulders. It is what I do in my daily life in the face of struggles.

Rook is meant to be that. They're meant to be the supportive leader, because they have an absolutely disastrous view of themselves and, as a character, fit none of the boxes meant for Heroes. But in dealing with the hands they had, they made heroes out of special people. And those heroes saved the world. And Heroes could include Solas depending on your ending imo.

Veilguard tells you that's the kind of leader you can be, even if you don't think you're adequate in your life, even if you have vulnerabilities, even if you're facing enemies who have a tremendous advantage over you. You, as an individual, can support the special people around you so that they realize themselves and become heroes, even if you're average yourself.

NGL I can't wait to be in 2034 when people realize Veilguard is actually a great game.

[fanfoolishness]

Oh, well of course 47, for you know who!!

This went in all sorts of wild directions for the prompt a kiss out of spite! It’s set a few years after Veilguard, so full spoilers for the game; by this time, Liesl and Lucanis have married. Rook x Lucanis, platonic Rook & Spite.

—

Liesl yawned, rubbing one hand over her face, squinting at a familiar lilac glow in the dark of their bedroom. She reached out, brushing one hand over Lucanis’ chest. It rose and fell in a soft rhythm, but one a little sharper than his usual. “Spite. Are you letting him sleep?”

Spite sat up, his violet eyes bright and agitated, Lucanis’ lips curling into an expression of confusion. “He is resting, but he isn’t. Restless, roaming, rumination. It’s unsettling!” Spite twisted Lucanis’ hands into the blankets. “Like early days. When we were trapped!”

It had been a long time since then. Over the years Lucanis and Spite had both grown tremendously, to the point that sometimes Spite answered to the name Determination once again. She hadn’t seen him quite like this in a long time.

”Caterina is ill,” Liesl explained. She smiled ruefully. “It’s… difficult for him. He loves her. He’s afraid to lose her. But I think he’s relieved, too. Their relationship is very complicated.”

”She ties him in knots!” Spite hissed. “Knots and locks, buried deep where he can’t undo them.”

Locks? She didn’t like the sound of that. “He’s not back in the Ossuary, is he?”

“No, not there. Never there. Rook opened the doors.” There was a hint of pride in Spite’s voice.

“Good,” she said, taking a deep breath. She rested a hand on Lucanis’ shoulder. Spite leaned in, and she brushed his cheek fondly. “It will be hard on him if this is really her time. It may be very difficult for you. Grief is… we mortals have such a hard time, even when we think we’ve prepared. I can’t imagine it’s pleasant for a spirit—“ She caught the cautionary shift in his expression. “—or a demon, to experience.”

“Like Harding,” Spite said, eyes narrowing. “Like when he thought he lost you.”

“Yes. Like that,” Liesl said, blinking back a sudden wave of sadness, remembering warm laughter, Fade-butterflies, an enchanted arrow never used.

“Smells like regrets and… crystal grace.”

She smiled with stinging eyes, recalling Harding’s pride when the fickle herb had finally sprouted. “You remember.”

”Remember many things. Everything. I grow.” Spite glared at Lucanis’ hands. “Won’t let Lucanis be trapped again. Want him better. Make him better!”

”I know you’re worried about him, Spite,” Liesl said gently. “But you and I can’t force him to feel better. He has to work this out on his own. Remember, he had to choose to leave the Ossuary. We can help, but we can’t force.”

Spite let out a frustrated snarl. “It’s vexing!”

“That’s us mortals all over.”

“I know,” Spite groused, but he seemed mollified, his violet eyes flickering with Lucanis’ brown. He glanced back at her. “Thank you, Rook.”

She reached up, placing a hand behind Lucanis’ neck, and bowed his head toward her. She pressed a kiss against his forehead, closing her eyes. “I’ll let him know you want to help, Spite.”

A long pause. A quiet voice, almost Lucanis again. “Determination,” it whispered, and then Lucanis raised his head, blinking, dark brown eyes faintly confused.

“I thought I heard you talking,” he said. “Was it —“

“Spite and I had a good talk,” Liesl said, smoothing a few loose hairs back behind his ear. “Actually — by the end, he preferred Determination again.”

Lucanis blinked, looking impressed. “You are a good influence on him. And on me, though that goes without saying.”

She giggled, then pulled him into her arms. “What can I say? I’m charming.” She let out a long, contented breath. “He’s worried about you. About Caterina. And he wants to help you.”

“Oh,” he said darkly. “I was trying not to think about it. I guess I couldn’t hide it, not from him. Or you.”

“No, not really.”

He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “I thought it was too much before. When we thought the Venatori had killed her. But this — this fading — I don’t know how to deal with this, Rook.”

“You don’t have to have the answers now. It’s going to be hard.” She wished it wasn’t so, but that was life, wasn’t it? That was death? She knew that better than anyone. “But I’ll help you, Lucanis. We both will.”

“My wife, tamer of demons,” he said, chuckling slightly. “You’ve soothed Spite, and you’ve captured my heart… you are unstoppable, you know that?” He kissed her, softly at first, then insistently. His mouth slanted over hers as he ran one hand through her hair, the other sliding long, slow strokes over her naked back.

“Mm,” she breathed, her pulse quickening. “Feel free to keep telling me how impressive I am. I don’t mind, truly.”

“Oh, I am only just beginning,” he promised, one he kept with languid kisses, low murmurs, the trail of his fingers over her skin, urgent moans in her ear, the way he moved within her. And he kept it afterward, holding her close against his chest so she could hear the beat of his heart, sending her off to sleep. She slept long into the morning, her Fade-wanderings safe. Sure.

Determined.

[mementomortalitasi]

Grabbed some action shots of the bone daddy! 💀

[vaguely-concerned]

huh. you know something I just consciously put together for the first time about caterina and lucanis' relationship is that through the game we get to hear them talk about each other a lot, but we get very few chances to hear them speak with each other at any length at all. contrast it with other companions whose storylines have elements of 'believed lost/long time no see relative returns!' like bellara and davrin, where we get to see both of them have several pretty in-depth conversations with cyrian and eldrin. hell I think even rook talks with varric longer in the regret prison scene than we ever get to see lucanis and caterina interact directly.

(and when we do see them interact, it's mostly one-sided -- it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, caterina who is doing most of the talking and giving all the orders, as he ruefully observes is her wont after murder of crows. including jumpscaring him with 'you're first talon now btw' and the shocked pikachu face in five acts he goes through in response lmao. perhaps it's more accurate to say that she talks at him and he reacts, than that they talk to each other much.)

it has such an interesting effect too, because in deliberately denying us direct insight or experience and only having this mosaic of description from each of them to go on, as well as forcing us to pay attention to the negative space of what is carefully not said, it's evocative along the same principle that you never actually show the monster in a horror film. if you've read the wigmaker job you have a clearer image of the more uh. worrying elements at play here going in, but there is something fascinatingly insidious and naturalistic in the way it's 'hushed up' in the game itself. she has his complete loyalty both as a member of her house and, more importantly, that of an abused child to a parent figure. he readily admits several times that she's a difficult person to live with, an even more difficult person to be loved by ("even for me. and I was her favourite")... but never once does he actively blame her nor truly conceptualize that he has every right to do so (that he can be angry with her and still love her, because whether he should or not he unavoidably does), or that she might have acted differently than she did, that she made a choice every time to hurt him. even affectionately he speaks of her as a force of nature, an act of god -- something that can't be reasoned or pleaded with or resisted, something you can only hope to navigate with as little pain as possible and pray to survive. let yourself get carried away by the riptide, resisting it will only make it worse. you don't compromise with a hurricane, you just try to find the best shelter you can and cross your fingers while you wait for it to pass and be calm again.

love is that hurricane. you do whatever she asks. you earn her continued affection day by day by never letting her down. you only want the things she tells you it's okay to want and cut everything else away preemptively. ("A wyvern tooth dagger?? I loved wyverns as a boy --Caterina would never let me have one of these, though." and as we have all wept and gnashed our teeth over, it never even OCCURS to him that he's a like thirty-five year old adult man who can buy himself any dagger he wants at any time. she said he couldn't have one. so he'll never have one. that's just how it works. and maybe if Illario could just accept that and find his peace with it like I have, this whole thing wouldn't be so difficult. oh lucanis.)

such is the price -- and the cost -- of being loved by her, it's a loan on which the interest will never stop piling up. you have to keep paying it down in perfection every day if you want to keep it. who got the worse deal there: the grandson who has abandoned everything else in life to live up to that and mostly succeeded, until the day he's so burned out and broken it threatens to no longer be an option, or the grandson who can never seem to scrape together enough worth in her eyes no matter how he begs, borrows or steals it, how he hustles and plays dirty?

one of the worst things that can happen to anyone is to be loved by a selfish god. another one of the worst things that can ever happen to anyone is to not be loved by a selfish god. (hope that helps, boys!) even in betraying everything else, Illario can't bring himself to hurt his grandmother, because that would defeat the whole point. who would he defiantly be proving himself worthy to, without her. in love, devotion, submission, hatred, frustration, bitterness, everything is defined in relation to her, you can spot the gravitational force of it through how the dellamorte family move through time and space. she -- her love and regard and attention -- is still the sun both of their worlds orbit around, even as adults. the game might never tell you outright 'she used to beat and starve them growing up. for their own good you see, so they'd be strong (and broken down enough for her to build them up again however she wanted but I'm sure that's incidental)', but if you know even a little bit about how these dynamics can work the writing is on the wall everywhere you look and all the more unsettling for it.

follow lucanis' freeze-logic and fraught interpersonal catch 22 irreconcilable mixed emotions problems back far enough, looong before the ossuary entered the picture, and you start to see caterina's ghost around every fucking corner. she is so proud of him. (well, she would be. she made him. she forged exactly the knife she needed and it rests willingly, devotedly, in her hands, it would return to her every time because it doesn't know love as anything but to be a knife. his tama never taught him how to be anything else. his biggest fear with her is that she won't even want him back, the way he is now.) to the best ability of her soul, whatever parts of it survived a lifetime of crow politics and 'five children, eight grandchildren, only Illario and me left now', I think she really does loves him. he certainly loves her, with all the sincerity and artless desperation of a child, of the little boy he was once. and what she's done to him (and to illario, for all his shitty gremlin scar-ass antics lol) is awful. the harm is real, and the love is real, and trying to find a way for these two truths to exist in the same space is driving all three of them their own individualized forms of insane. you know. the way only family can and so often does lol.

through implications and short glimpses and having to put the pieces together yourself, you can have the feeling that there is very genuine mutual love and attachment in this relationship... and that beneath that there is something so profoundly wrong. and the sneaking '...oh shit it gets worse the longer I think about it' horror of that is more effective for me at least than the stark in-your-face presentation of the facts of the matter could have been. the love is here. the love is here. it only ever makes it worse.

[thievinghippo]

I love the dialogue you can hear in the Tomb of the Beloved in the Necropolis

I desperately want to know all the different chants and hymns that the Watchers have. You know they have a chant for every occasion!

The rituals the Watchers use must be completely over the top. The Chant of the Starless Dawn can't be interrupted? And the Watchers are honest enough to start over even if no one else is listening? That means the Chant is for something specific and I'm so curious!

I've got to imagine that the pagentry for senior Watchers like Emmrich are even more so. I mean, lich!Emmrich mentioned that he has even more elaborate robes for formal occasions. And his lich robe is already pretty damn formal!

I'm also just picturing the comedic potential in some of this. Can you imagine a Rook who wants to go on a date or something and Emmrich is like, 'I'd love to, darling, but I'm overdue to recite the Chant of the Dueling Moons, and I'm afraid this must take precedence'

Help me think of other potential Watcher chants!

[valka-arialitan]

Everyone talks about the ''Rook's talon'' relationship stage.

BUT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT

''SLEEPING DEMON'' ??? 😭💖

[doodlingfoolishness]

Mierda, I’ve ruined everything.

[uchidachi]

Talking in discord about what room in the Lighthouse did Felassan live in during Solas’ rebellion, and I said that it would be very poetic if it was Davrin’s, to have baby “arrow” Assan living there with Davrin, after “slow arrow” gave up his life to defy Solas and protect the modern elves.

And oooh wow… now I’m thinking of Davrin being representative of Felassan’s legacy, and his choice for the fate of the griffons is taking on new meaning… Will he choose to have them help the Wardens destroy the Blight? (try to fix the damage that the Evanuris caused) or will the griffons go to Arlathan and care for the halla and elves there? (Protect those that live now in the ruins where the Evanuris once did)

[grimrevolution]

[crimsonphantasmagoria]

I've been thinking about Solas’s plan to tear down the Veil. When confronted by Rook, he states that his plan for the chaos of bringing down the Veil is a host of friendly spirits, waiting on the other side to help. I honestly believe him that this is so, and it makes a certain amount of sense. Spirits which are prewarned and prepared for the trip across the Veil have a much better time keeping themselves whole, as discussed by Cole and Solas in Inquisition, so they likely could have helped. Up for debate how effective it would have been, but it's all academic at this point.

However, when asked what he planned to do for the Blight, Solas says, somewhat defensively, "I had a plan". This is...not convincing. But it is Solas, so I do believe he had one. The fact that he refused to explain it, however, implies that it was a Bad Plan. In one of Felassan's notes, he comments on how Solas is refusing to give him details on some plan to deal with the Evanuris, and suggests that this means he knows it's a Bad Plan, and it's implied that this was the plan that resulted in the Veil so. Yeah, called that one Felassan. So, Solas (probably) had a plan to deal with the Blight, and it was certifiably a Bad Plan.

This next part is wholly in the realm of speculation, but there is some basis. Twice in the Veilguard artbook, there are depictions of Solas sealing the Blight into himself, and then making himself Tranquil. Don't ask me how that works or how it helps, but. What if that was the plan? Seal the Blight into himself, and lock himself in the regret prison with the Evanuris?

He did say he was on the Path of Death, after all.