#eight little talons

[bigshrimp365]

gotta love how dramatic Eight Little Talons was bc wdym Teia’s ex shows up? And Viago’s jealous?? And there’s a murder mystery that threatens to destabilize the Crows?

delicious, I love reading the “The Real Housewives of Antiva” 💅

[housederiva]

Eight Little Talons but it's just parts where Viago is down bad for Teia

[elvhendis]

I have been yelling about Viago and Teia in various discords but it's not enough, I have to start yelling on my tumblr too asdfgsjfk

(Context: They're trying to get information out of a fellow Crow and Viago suggested trying a serum he concocted that makes people pliable)

He admitted RELUCTANTLY

(Viago: Sit.

Me: SIR I'M SAT)

Mind you he's still wearing his gloves, man's not even touched her AND HE'S PUTTY IN HER HANDS

[eonianshadow]

oh how I wish to take a look at antiva

[ofcrowsanddragons]

Imagining how many baby Crows have unrequited crushes on Teia and how tiresome that is for Viago. He doesn't feel threatened by the baby Crows! (He totally feels threatened by their peers tho.)

And then just once he's the one fending off a crush from the baby Crow (who barely counts as a baby Crow because he's the First Talon's grandson and he's basically their age).

And instead of suffering like he does AS WOULD BE JUST, Teia is just standing there, laughing. It's still him suffering!

[eveninglakehomeworld]

obsessed with whatever tf Teia and Viago have going on

[amarmeme]

I need someone to make a gloves for Viago mod.

This will just not do!! He's neurotic and obsessed with protecting himself from being poisoned. These free digits are obscene.

From Eight Little Talons

[rin-hanarin]

It only took me fifty years (two months) to read Eight Little Talons, and boy is Antivan Crows' drama fascinating.

Everyone's scared shitless of Caterina Dellamorte and her legendary cane, by extension everyone is scared shitless of Lucanis, who's apparently such an asset that he can assasinate any other Crow or Talon if Caterina asks him;

House Arainai is struggling, and they didn't mention mention the extent of Zevran's exploits because it's not always canon, but he totally fucked up the Crows as a whole beyond just "failing to kill the Hero of Ferelden", I'm so proud of him, and I hope and pray to everything that we'll somehow meet him in Veilguard. Maker, if you're out there 👆

Teia and Viago are extremely horny for each other, and seeing them in the Veilguard release date trailer is like... yeah, no shit, good for them, can't wait to hear their sexy ass accents in the game;

Also I love how Crows are everything we've heard about Antivans up until this point, they're such assassins about everything that they didn't even need another Qunari invasion to have insane levels of interwoven professional and personal melodrama, these people were ready to knife each other without a murder mystery going on lmao

Anyway, my weak Crow loving soul is happy, can't wait to make one of my own and have him have Opinions.

[dalishious]

Ramblings on "Eight Little Talons"

The Talons

One of the most interesting things about the Tevinter Nights story, “Eight Little Talons”, is how it portrays the relationship between all the different Talons.

The very first paragraph features Viago reflecting on how important decorum was, because he does not want to be shown up by the others. He then goes onto think about how unusual it is to have such a gathering of Talons, and that they will need to put aside their differences if they want to accomplish their goal of a united front against the Qunari invasion. The quote, “while all Talons were peers, the same could not be said about their resources and influence,” paints a picture of how even though they are all individually powerful, yes, there is still the ladder of supremacy based on First Talon to Eighth Talon. As such, they are all stuck playing a game against each other to keep or advance their positions on that ladder. Additionally, Dante refers to a competition that exists between the north and south of Antiva.

This is, ultimately, their downfall. It’s what Emil claims motivated him to take them out. He admires the noble origins of the Antivan Crows, and dislikes what they’ve become. He tells Teia, “Now, it’s all about family. Blood. Instead of a claw working as one, we fight over scraps. Eventually, we’ll all starve.” And in the end, he says, “It’s always money with all of us. That’s the problem. In the beginning, we were protectors. We fought for Antiva—for the people. Then somewhere along the way we chose profit over patriotism.”

Viago de Riva

I love how Viago proficiency with poison is both a blessing and a curse for him. On one hand, it makes him very good at his job. But on the other, he is profoundly paranoid about being poisoned himself. He has memorized how different ingredients react and can be hidden in different foods, and refuses to consume anything handed to him without either testing it first or preparing antidotes. He dresses to show the least amount of skin possible, and is anxious over any form of contact with another person. He takes a daily micro-dose of Adder’s Kiss to develop an immunity to it.

Another interesting thing about Viago, is how bitter he is about being a bastard son of the Antivan King. When Teia wonders about his past, she knows better than to actually ask him any questions. Viago was only given two choices in life because of the circumstances of his birth: either live in luxurious exile, or join the Crows. He resents all his half-siblings who chose the first, and he resents the king himself. Viago may be more powerful than them all, even the king, but he is now stuck in this life. Had he not been, he thinks he could been a better ruler of Antiva.

While Viago is certainly skilled – he firmly believes he could kill every Talon at the summit if he wanted to - it’s easy to infer that it was nepotism that earned his rank, or at least that’s the reputation he has, based on the comment from Dante: “Your daddy will protect you”.

Viago sees himself as a recluse. Teia says his reputation is that of a curmudgeon, and in her defence, he himself says he doesn’t care about being liked, he just wants to be respected and feared. I think the fact that he was raised in a “gilded cage” with a mother whom he remembers only for her wine-stained teeth had a lot of influence on this. He’s been alone all his life.

Andarateia “Teia” Cantori

Just like Viago, Teia has an unconventional speciality as well. While Viago observes that she weaponized her beauty, I would propose that Teia’s real mastery is manipulation. Using her beauty is certainly part of that, but in examining the way she responds to each and every character differently shows that she is playing a far subtler game. She shoehorns Viago into riding with her in a gondola, so that the others will gossip about how their houses must be in an alliance – the goal being to give them more power in the discussions. She calls Caterina “Nonna”, which Caterina points out that not even her actual grandchildren do, as a way of disarming the First Talon. And when she interrogates Dante, yes the serum he’s under helps, but it’s her cunning persuasiveness that does the leg work.

Viago remarks that at twenty-eight years old, Teia is the youngest Talon in history. Perhaps this is a contributing factor to why she has a different perspective than the others, when it comes to her dislike of “the bottom line” – the obsession with making coin for their kills. She also has her own set of rules the others do not follow; for example, she refuses to kill servants unless absolutely necessary. And she displays the ability to sympathize with people in a way that the other Talons do not. So you could call it naivety, sure. But I believe it’s more to do with just the type of person she is. We know from Zevran how the Crows work hard to burn out everything except murder in their recruits, but the fact that Teia holds onto her compassion speaks of how strong it is.

It’s also worth mentioning that Teia had to accomplish a hell of a lot to get where she is. “An elf born in an alley with no family or connections, Teia and her rise to power had caused quite the controversy. The Antivan Crows always told new recruits that anyone could become a Talon, but it rarely happened.” She tells Viago that she does not let where she comes from define her, nor is she ashamed of who she is. I love that. I love how unapologetic Teia is about herself.

[schrodingersroachie]

viago and teia in eight little talons

[panic-in-the-multiverse]

Lucanis, Viago and Teia, I wanna romance you all

[the-northern-continent]

Which lineage/background Rook is having the worst time after the ritual?

⬇️ poll under the cut (Game Informer spoilers) ⬇️

[elvhendis]

God GET THAT MAN TEIA

[proffbon]

Every time Rook fucks up, Viago makes them pet sit Emil.

[ofcrowsanddragons]

More evidence for my personal theory that every time Lucanis says "Mierda," it should be read in the tone of Varric's "Well, shit."

From Tevinter Nights, "Eight Little Talons"

[leinton]

Its really nice to know that at least one time that Annulment was used, the Crows were contacted to kill all the Templar leaders responsible for the Annulment