#give taash a cape!

[dell-amor-te]

All I’m saying is that if Lucanis makes sure Teia gets a cape for Taash just because they’re friends and Taash wants one, then he would absolutely make sure romanced Rook gets a Crow ensemble. He’s a Crow, he’s gotta give his significant other something flashy. As a love language. You understand.

[felassan]

Notes and thoughts on the August 30th dev Discord Q&A. (this post contains DA:TV spoilers from the recent Q&A).

Mother Ghil is a herbalist 😌

"there are opportunities in conversations, in dialogue, in scenes where you will, you know - a companion may ask you for a hug because they’re having a rough time and you are able to give it to them"

🥺😭 I'm worried (but in a good way, pls hurt me storylines) because this reminds me of DA:I when the Inquisitor can hug Varric after something incredibly sad happens as a result of our choices (Hawke's death in the Fade) oughh.

Influence on the fate of nations? 👁️

"Rook does become a fairly important figure" - this reminds me of Solas' line in a past trailer: "They call me the Dread Wolf. What will they call you when this is over?"

UNDERWEAR CHOICES

Taash is babey 🥺 it makes sense why in this screenshot she looks young. if Taash is in her early 20s, say 23, that means she probably can't have been one of the Five Belles of Hunter Fell as that was in 9:42 and she would have been like 13

Here is some further info about companion ages that came out since the time of the Q&A

Harding had to have been at least 18 ten years ago in 9:42 when she joined the Inquisition and became Lead Scout, so must be at least 28. but I think older, as I think she was older than 18 in DA:I by a fair few years. like around early to mid 20s at that point in time.

"they’re all people who have been through a lot [...] they’ve been through a tremendous amount by this point by the time you meet them" 🥺😭

"They’re more linear than some of the other parts of the game, because we feel that’s how we can tell the best stories, give you a very intentionally-paced experience, y'know, with lulls and climaxes, so it really hits you."

This was how Trespasser was and it was the best part of DA:I, the storytelling and narrative beats in that DLC were soo good.

Hossberg Wetlands! - new location confirmed, and also described as being one of the biggest like Arlathan Forest. also new location just dropped, Hossberg existed before in the lore but I don't remember hearing about the Wetlands! Hossberg is the capital of the Anderfels. it'll be awesome to see more of the Anderfels than only Weisshaupt. by the name these wetlands must be nearby Hossberg. I wonder whether they're around the Lattenfluss or more around this body of water to the south of Hossberg? the area around Kassel looks wet with multiple bodies of water, but there the nearest settlement is Kassel. we also learned that there's a Davrin-oriented quest there that he can show up in with Assan and help you clear the way forward

also, I remember reading before that "Thedas’s separate regions are connected by The Crossroads, which will allow players to venture out into", but from how The Crossroads was described in the Q&A, they sound kind've like an explorable area in and of themselves in the game like they were in Trespasser, and that's exciting. :D I'm so excited to explore in there some more and see how it has changed from DA:I/Trespasser:

"but this, isn’t necessarily the Crossroads as you remember it. So you’ll be able to explore this, this part of the Crossroads, and as you’re there, you’re absolutely gonna be discovering new areas, new quests, mysteries and new challenges"

like this sounds very 👁️. The Veil has been having a rough time lately and magic has been flowing into the world. reality is warping in places like Arlathan. we've seen the effects this sort of thing is having on the waking world. but what about the effects this is happening on the Fade and Fadey dimensions? I wonder if this game will still reflect that the Crossroads looks different for elves compared to other lineages?

"I wanna see that big 100% completed on my map. That’s gonna take you quite a bit of time."

I love that. :D

I totally agree that the cloth sim and hair sim in the game is beautiful and looks beautiful. you can see this when characters move their heads or when their capes and things move around as they move. its so cool!

"there is a unique Venatori-themed helmet. I, I don’t want to spoil what that is exactly, but, so, you can get a helmet, it is unique, it’s pretty interesting and ties into some of the events that can happen in the game but I’m just gonna leave it there."

inchresting... this helmet sounds like it has special powers or attributes and has some sort of presence in a possible plot somewhere.

I will still romance Strife Dragonage in my dreams

while Rook's romance is within the companions, iirc was mentioned elsewhere that sometimes companions may find romance both inside and outside of the party

Cat Vibing To Ievan Polkka

KFM: "So Taash breathes fire, Lucanis has wings, Harding is a dwarf who has magic. A lot of our companions have some strange abilities - is this because the Veil is compromised?" JE: "Oh, I’d say it’s, I mean partially yeah. I mean, we’ve talked before about how over the course of the time since Dragon Age: Inquisition, I mean, it started at the end of Trespasser. The Veil’s not in great shape. Corypheus already did a number on it, and Solas has very clearly, as you saw, in the [inaudible] preview, not been making things better in the intervening times. [...] because there’s all this magic that’s coming back to the world through the torn Veil"

This is inchresting and ties to what was said in these two previous quotes:

Lore/art direction: “Magic has started seeping into the world through Solas’ ritual”, “and so you’re seeing the effects of that on the space, and on the visuals as well” [post this is from, original source. original source is a John Epler interview video]

“Epler, who writes Bellara, tells me about her place in Thedas as an elf and the connection elves have to the magic of the world. He says if you’ve paid attention to the franchise, you likely already know that elves are historically an oppressed people in the games. Now, with two of their gods on the loose in Veilguard, magic has poured back into the world in a big way. […] A Quick Detour: Magic During my discussion, Epler spoke about magic’s place in the world and how it differs in Veilguard from previous Dragon Age games. Here’s what he said: "Historically, as you’ve mentioned, we’ve been in the south of Thedas and south Thedas is Ferelden, Orlais. Both are fairly still oppressed, they still have circles. Mages are viewed with suspicion, but Tevinter has always been this land where mages rule, mages are in charge, mages make the rules, mages run the show. So what does that look like? And as we’ve gone through [Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition], magic has become more and more present. And part of that is because Solas has been slowly preparing this ritual for longer than anyone in the Dragon Age universe is really aware of, but also, just going into the spaces where magic is, by definition and by the lore, much, much more present. And it’s been fun because, again, we do have rules; we want to make sure we’re not violating the lore or violating things we’ve said before. But it’s also, again, that permissiveness of, ‘Okay, what is the most interesting way to do this? What’s the most interesting way to tell the story? [In] Origins, II, on the Eclipse engine, we could talk about this fantastical magic, but the engine didn’t really allow us to show it. For the first time, we’re really able to let the visuals speak for themselves and not have to tell the player, ‘Trust us, it’s spectacular; this magic is really cool.’ We can actually show you and let you drink it in.” [post this is from, archive post of the original article as that went down when GI did]

The effects of this on space, reality, visuals, people and their abilities, ancient elven artifacts turning back on, and Solas' activities being part of what affected things in the time since DA:I. I wanna speculate that these ancient elven artifacts turning back on or becoming active again is part of why reality has been warping and "something [going] wrong" in Arlathan Forest. I wonder if the Morlyn clan journal relic began rewriting itself as a consequence of the magic returning.

Bellara was an interesting example though, she's a mage not a non-mage like Taash, Lucanis, Harding. was I parsing this right - is the implication that she wouldn't be able to interface with the artifacts that have turned back on if the Veil was in better shape and magic hadn't been pouring back in?

^ Bellara interfacing with an artifact

All the talk of magic coming back into the world are like Sandal's prophecy:

One day the magic will come back - all of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part and the skies will open wide. When he rises, everyone will see.

and reminds of a few other bits too:

Ardent Blossom Faerie: "Pulling back the curtain. Let the light in. Let it burn. Bring faith. Bring hope. Bring dreams of life. - Morrigan: "Change is coming to the world. Many fear change, and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free." - Flemeth: "We stand upon the precipice of change."

I loved hearing about Bellara's friendships with Lucanis and Neve. it sounds so well thought-out, and I'm looking forwards to learning the relationships between each companion!!

Bellara believing that family is deeply important combined with a previous quote about her backstory,

"Whereas Bellara is somebody who has seen tragedy, and as you get into her character arc and get into her backstory, you realize this is a character who has seen a lot of tragedy"

makes me wonder if this tragedy has involved her family and if her family are okay. 🥺

Lucanis' belief in the deep importance of family makes me worried in case any of his personal arc/story involves the family tensions he has with Illario and Caterina

I love that Bellara collects newspaper clippings and was basically Neve fan before meeting her!

Neve must be a fairly prominent, well-known/successful private detective/investigator to have formed a large profile in print media

Taash and Emmrich [...] When you’re out in the field like exploring, or on missions with them, their banter is so good, because they do not see eye-to-eye on necromancy, like, at all, and, it’s really funny, it’s really delightful, I love seeing how it evolves

as a necromancer Emmrich doesn’t have a problem with necromancer (makes sense). I wonder what Taash dislikes about it? is it its bad reputation (per Josie in DA:I)? Solas freed the weak spirit the Mortalitasi in Tevinter Nights had bound to stir her drink. maybe Taash doesn’t like the binding part, or the undead helpers or servants part? maybe she just doesn't like the dead the way Bull doesn't like demons?

Having to figure out how Harding's new powers layer into her combat kit - Harding's new magical powers are part of her gameplay abilities confirmed!

Harding can also do Heavy Draw

Interesting - the more you help a faction the more gear you get from them. between that and transmog it means everyone can access the Antivan Crows awesome threads if they wanna :D

Both the specs and gear are themed around particular factions like aesthetically but aren't exclusive-to-them when it comes to use/gameplay

It sounds like each faction will have a quartermaster

Veil Jumper lore! they tend towards electricity/lightning damage and archery in their fighting style. and in general they're practically minded and dress as such because where they go and what they do requires care and protection and is dangerous, they wear boots/shoes etc for this reason

Veil Ranger info! it tends towards electricity, use of the Veil and use of that kind of magic. it also uses archery

The answer to the question about the Evoker spec made me reassured about the answer I wrote here ^^;

Great news that any piece of gear we find will unlock the appearance of that gear and how it can be applied to anything we want <3

Training dummy cosmetic - joke gear pieces like the Wedge of Destiny live on :D

I'm so psyched that we can even transmog our casual wear!! that's so cool and allows for so much agency. I find when I play mages in the past I'm always looking for the.. least magiest-looking mage gear to wear, and previously there wasn't crazy amounts of choice in casual wear, so this is amazing dbgfjdbd

very personal GIFTS for the blorbos 🥺 the gift system sounds so lovely and thoughtful. I think maybe some of the empty shelves that can be seen in the new screenshots of the companion rooms in the Lighthouse just miiight be where the companions will display the gifts

"A really big thing for us on this project is making sure that the gameplay reflects the characters, their arc and their personality as much as possible, so."

looking real hard at Lucanis' wings rn, especially given the context of what else we know about him 👁️

"you’re not even going to see everything necessarily in a couple of playthroughs"

Aaaaaa :D

as a warrior fan the love for the warrior class was really heartening. (love you Inky)

The Missing setting up some of the characters we'll see in the game makes me even more sure that alongside Strife&Irelin and Evka&Antoine we'll see Teia&Viago in the game (plus the characters in the release date reveal trailer that totally look like them ofc)

Emphasis that themes and events/things present and explored in Tevinter Nights are present in the game

It sounds like Vows & Vengeance is set in the weeks before the prologue of DA:TV kicks off

There is a buff called Rally Party where Rook triggers a surge in their companion's ability

MAAEEEEEEEEEE 😭😭😭 this was so good I was like yelling OMG. I'm sooo happy about this, this is so great. she's been on my 'DA4 wishlist of stuff' for so long and we waited to meet her since 2012 (12 years ago!!!). I'm soo excited to meet her oh my god. this reveal was honestly the highlight of the whole Q&A. pack it up, we can go home now. Mae.. 😭 I hope we get to see her interact with Varric. and I wonder if she has some involvement with the Shadow Dragons (Varric said something about "some old friends in Tevinter said the Shadow Dragons were pog to work with" in the gameplay reveal..), and how things are going with her and Dorian's faction the Lucerni

It sounds like Lucanis' parents were killed at some point in some Crow-Crow politics. probably when he was quite young, since when Lucanis thinks back on being raised by Caterina she did things like making him spend days without food or water, which makes it sound like he was quite young when he entered her care

No jealousy dialogue is interesting

I hope for a poly romance option in a future game

ABILITY TO SAVE CHARACTER APPEARANCES for use later in CC aaaa. Amazinggg. thankyouuu. a lot of thought has been put into the quality of life features of this game :') pausing cutscenes is another great one.

KFM: "The question is, is Lucanis possessed?" JE: "So, again, spoilers, everyone has been warned, fairly warned. So Lucanis Dellamorte is also known as The Demon of Vyrantium. And, he has spent a lot of time killing Venatori, who are mages, and who do know a lot about demons, so. Yeah, somebody decided that it might be a good idea to make that nickname stick."

👁️👁️👁️ Aaaaa. Inchrestinggg. From this and The Wigmaker Job I would guess that this "somebody" who decided that and did that to him is Zara Renata. she ended that short story like [evil anime villain laugh] "huehuehue":

"From flying vermin to malicious spirit. That's quite the promotion." [...] "A true maleficar knows demons cannot be killed, only controlled. If this Crow fancies himself a demon, then I look forward to using him to his full potential. He'll be duly punished"

Who else could the "someone" be? Zara, when I catch you.. 😠

I'm sure it will be different this time around as it always is! - both Wynne's situation (the specifics of it, how it came around, the effect it had on her) and how it was explored in the story was different to Anders' which was again different to Justice's in DA:O's to Cole's etc. (speaking veeery broadly in terms of the 'spirit companion' archtype, I know for example that Cole isn't possessed, simply a spirit. yk what I mean). I'm super curious about the take on this theme this time around ^^

(Lucanis possession-y-type-situation evidence [plus his demon-y looking tarot art, plus the wings and purple magic abilities of course])

I love the agency companions are given by them showing up in the field to help you, waiting for you somewhere on a quest they want to go on, or you encountering them out randomly somewhere doing there own thing (like the tidbit from a magazine about encountering Neve). it makes them feel like real people

I wonder if Taash's keen interest in the main story mission & the challenges of its arc in the far reaches of Arlathan Forest (it's strong enough that she shows up there impatiently if you don't take her) has something to do with the eluvian that's in her room?

"Far reaches of Arlathan Forest" is music to my ears btw as someone who has wanted to explore in there for the longest time

"You’ve just been around them, you’re aware of their techniques, and you wanna take that on yourself." - sensical explanation of what 'specs are aligned with/tied to factions' means ^^

KFM: "This next question is, where is the equator in Thedas, or the planet Thedas is on, relative to places we’ve explored?" JE: "That is a great question. So, I will say that, you know, it’s funny until I saw this question, it’s not something I’d ever thought a lot about, but as I started thinking about it a little bit more deeply, based on how the climate changes across Thedas, you know, obviously, to the south are the Avvar and things get a little bit more wintry, and then up north is a lot more tropical, I’d say that Thedas is a southern continent on this world, so."

I feel like the answer that was given here matches what a lot of fans have speculated or headcanoned on this topic. ^^

"There are these times where a companion, either their faction or their story arc is so closely tied or intersects with the events of a main story mission that they do become required, but it’s not the standard"

This makes sense. It sounds like Liara on Thessia in ME3.

When someone asked "Can a companion leave due to your world decisions, and if so, will their partners leave with them?" and John Epler mentioned that he would only answer half of this question as the other half is a spoiler, it made me wonder if companions will leave at certain times due to our world decisions

No mechanic behind companion-companion romances is so nice, it's more organic and real that way. I'm really looking forward to seeing the friendships and relationships between the companions develop

DAVRIN INFOOO 😭🙏 He sounds amazing. I wonder which companions in particular bring out his kindness

"He’s not just a Warden who sees fighting monsters as, you know, just part of the job. He believes in turning this into a skill-set that he alone, you know like, he has more than anyone else. Learning how to defeat monsters, learning their weaknesses, and that does show up a lot in his character arc, so."

this ties back to a related quote from a lil while ago.

I know it can be inferred from her vallaslin, but this Q&A is the first place I remember (atm) Bellara specifically being stated to be Dalish

We already saw each companion's Lighthouse casual wear here

Emmrich?? what are his casual threads like? :D

I wonder if Lucanis being one of the team cooks is part of why he appears to sleep in the kitchen storage/pantry

"It’s funny, I’d say that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is probably the most we’ve talked about food in a context of Dragon Age, ever" - it makes sense that it was only recently that the DA cookbook came out hh :D

Some of the companions being so bad at cooking that they'd burn water and die took me out. who do you think are the ones that aren't even 'passable' cooks but terrible ones hh? :D

So do the Crows in general quite enjoy the finer things in life and in food?

I wonder if part of Lucanis' interest in food and cooking stems from when he was young and Caterina made him go for days without food and water? :(

"So one of the things I really love is, you know, Bellara and Lucanis actually end up being, essentially, the team cooks. Bellara, you know, spending a lot of time out in nature, learning a lot about, you know, different types of cooking, is really big on experimentation, she likes to, you know, try different things. Lucanis comes from the Crows, Lucanis is very big on the finer things, so between the two of them, there’s a point in the story where they basically decide, if we don’t do this, the entire team is going to starve, so let’s just call ourselves the cook, cooks, and make sure that nobody dies of food poisoning, so."

I love this so much 🥺💜 ooh my heart. (its so wholesome and so funny at the same time). also Bellara's creativity and love of learning and exploring expresses itself in her cooking too!

It's great that fine, fancy dwarven-style beards are returning :D I wonder if there are also hairs with beads woven in? Strand hair in the beards 👌 beard physics working with different armors 👌 (amazing work!!). Dwarf Rooks shown before launch 👌 as many options in CC being universal as possible 👌 I love what I'm hearing!! I would guess from this that it means hair isn't gender-locked and mostly isn't lineage-locked (I can understand qunari hair may have to be) and things like that.

It wasn't in doubt ofc but this Q&A is the first time I remember hearing a clear mention that Solas was written by Trick Weekes in DA:TV

I'm really curious about the Rook faction background-dialogue with that same companion. it sounds like some have only heard of them and some may have known them a bit more directly. Like for example, is Antivan Crow Rook also from House Dellamorte, or another Antivan Crow house? Has Grey Warden Rook ever been to Weisshaupt (some Wardens don't seem to have)? Did Veil Jumper Rook ever go on adventures with Bellara? Did Emmrich and Mourn Watcher Rook ever be direct colleagues in the Necropolis? etc.

"maybe even heard of you leaving the faction to go help Varric to track down Solas" - this snippet makes it sound like part of Rook's backstory may involve having left their background faction when getting picked up/tapped by Varric for the work. inchresting

This screenshot shows an example of the Veilguard team hanging out together

"Rook and Solas have a connection, they have a bond'' - my guess is this is to do with Rook interfering with Solas' ritual, and the Lyrium dagger passing from Solas to Rook

I'm curious about the differences in Solas' connection/relationship with Rook to the one he had with the Inquisitor

"there are followers who, you know, are going to have a more complicated connection and complicated relationship with just, Solas as an entity, you know, Bellara, for example, is an elf, she’s Dalish, and this a person from her pantheon, so. There’s going to be a lot more of a, I guess, like I said, complex relationship between the two of them. Davrin is another example, someone else who is Dalish, so, you know, their views on the gods in general are going to be a little bit different"

I was happy to hear this. ^^ it would be odd if this sort of thing wasn't explored or at least acknowledged in the game. you can hear a bit of this in Bellara's release date trailer line, "Our gods are back. Our gods." it was also hinted at a bit in this Game Informer article I feel.

It sounds like Bellara and Davrin have slightly differing views on the elven gods.

It's so cool that we have 2 Dalish elf companions in the team this time! I missed a Dalish perspective in the roster in DA:I.

Turning off some of the UI components is great for taking screenshots and stuff

I think that Bellara's unique exploration ability is Tinker

Party swap-points confirmed?

Rook's ability to channel the companions' exploration abilities through the Lyrium dagger is super interesting 👀 I wonder how that works and how that comes about? Is it to do with lyrium? the Veil? the runes that can be put on the dagger? the mysterious entity in the Lighthouse that assists with crafting? do the companions each have some kind of connection to Rook sort've how Rook does to Solas? back in the day, when Solas led his own band of followers during his rebellion, when Solas' Lighthouse was filled with his own group of companions (Solas sees himself in Rook etc), did he channel his own companions' abilities the same way using the dagger? Was Felassan once essentially a party member of Solas'?

Great news on the helmet situation :). I wonder if the vitaar variants of helmets thing also applies to Taash?

Here's an example of qunari vitaar, two

Themed color-variant cosmetics 👀

Flowing faction-themed capes 👀

ASSAN SIBLINGS... after the Mae reveal, this was the highlight of this Q&A for real :D and it makes sense, griffons seem to lay clutches, so unless Assan was created or something wild or all the rest of his clutch died somehow, there would be others around in the world. I wonder what role the others will play in the game, and what the plotbeat around griffons is more generally

Confirmation that if companions showed up previously in TN they were at that point intended to be companions. It gives you an idea of how long some of these characters were worked on and developed for

Rook's surname being referenced in dialogue quite a bit 👀 interesting, I wonder when. Neve and Varric have called Rook "Rook" in videos from the game

Confirmation that the shape of Morrigan's crown is meaningful and tied to Flemythal stuff/themes

"In the case of Morrigan, she’s coming to terms with a lot of truths about both herself but also her mother, you know, you see her with Flemeth’s crown, or a variation of it, and that’s speaking to her personal journey of, what I would call, kind’ve acceptance of who she is and how she connects to Flemeth, because ultimately we want this to feel like a real world"

It sounds like all of these hints are coming to fruition now:

"A soul is not forced upon the unwilling, Morrigan. You were never in danger from me." - "Mother is the inheritor, she who awaits the next age." - "Designer’s Notes: This is Flemeth from the previous two games. In this game, Flemeth’s story comes to a head – she knew that Solas would summon her, and that he would need to steal her power to further his plans. She knew that because they are both elven gods…yet Solas has slept for a thousand years and his power dwindled, while she was killed long ago and a spark escaped from her into the body she now holds. She has nurtured that spark, and knew that Solas would need it. He was once her oldest friend, but she knows in his drive to save the elven people he will kill anyone – even her. She intends to let him have the power, so long as she can pass the essence of her god-hood onto Morrigan, a gift Flemeth had always planned for her daughter yet one Morrigan misunderstood as hostile possession."

Even mundane Kieran's dialogue line about who his mother is ("She's the Witch of the Wilds") touches on this. The old Witch of the Wilds, Flemeth, is no more. Morrigan has taken on the mantle, in a manner of speaking. These things seem especially impactful in worldstates where Morrigan drank from the Well. I am curious about how Well-drinking Morrigan vs non-drinking Morrigan will play out.

In a way, Morrigan has already stepped into her mother's role in the world of Dragon Age. Flemythal used to show up dramatically and mysteriously in every game to interact with the main character of that story. Morrigan has also been doing that, also now for 3 games. I'm reminded of Varric's tombstone in the Fade, Became His Parents. especially if she continues to do this while she gets older, the similarity is apparent.

It's cool that you don't have to be Spellblade spec to use orb and dagger

"while City Elf versus Dalish Elf is a lot more of a useful distinction in, you know, Ferelden, Orlais, we’re in northern Thedas, things are different up here. And a great example is Rivain. Dalish settlements, you know, they have Dalish settlements within cities, integrated into the cities, because, again, they don’t have that same bias, that same distinction."

New lore, or maybe a return to older lore? in DAII Isabela tells Merrill the Dalish haven't reached Llomerryn. but prior to that around 2009, David Gaider mentioned that the Dalish elves in Rivain have a semi-permanent settlement in Llomerryn. this sounds like that, and it sounds like it's not only Llomerryn. of course, Bela could just have been mistaken or this could be a recent development that began in the last decade or so in the world. I think it makes sense for what we know about Rivain.

"It’s a lot more about, how you play into the faction, you know, and, in some cases it matters more that you’re an elf, in other cases it doesn’t actually matter to the people of that faction, they’re just looking for someone who could do the work. A great example, and I’ll just, very, very light spoilers, Mourn Watch is a great example where, they just care that you are capable of, you know, executing the duties that you’re given, so."

I'm curious about which do and which don't for this, and not only for the elf lineage. an elven Veil Jumper may have more to say on or different investment in the artifacts they find and places they explore. an Antivan Crow who was employed because humans often find them attractive, or an Antivan Crow who was an enslaved elf or enslaved human and then bought by the Crows may have different thoughts on/experiences being a Crow than say a human who was born into it. (this is previous lore stuff, the Crows favoring recruiting elves, Zevran was bought etc). etc.

Lastly a quick recap on the things that came up in the Q&A that the devs said they would be talking about more soon:

They will be going deeper into settings, accessibility settings/features and similar things closer to launch

(On accessibility features, Corinne Busche mentioned that she thinks they are doing a feature, some kind of blogpost on that subject)

They will be talking more about exploration next month

They will be talking more about the Lighthouse next month

They will be showing some dwarf Rooks before launch

[transcript link]

[himluv]

The Incident, pt. 1

Here is Chapter 29 of Say My Name (Say it Twice)! Read it below or over on AO3!

SPOILER ALERT!!! This chapter contains spoilers for Veilguard's endgame! PLEASE do not read it if you haven't finished the game! (I do NOT want to be the reason [REDACTED] is spoiled for someone)

Now, then. Back to the fic.

*runs*

Lucanis had just hung up his dish towel to dry when Bellara entered the dining hall. He turned to face her, and was surprised to see her sheepish expression. 

“Hey, Lucanis?” She asked. She stood with her hands behind her back, and one toe of her boot drew tiny circles on the floor. She was nervous. 

“Bellara,” he said. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah,” she said, unconvincingly. “I mean, mostly.”

He sighed. This woman and her ‘mostly’. “What is it?”

“Well,” she said. “I need to go to Arlathan today, but Rook and Davrin already left, and Neve is in Dock Town. I have no idea where Taash and Harding went–”

“–Probably for the best,” he said.

She smiled. “Right?”

“So, you want company to Arlathan?” 

She winced. “If you wouldn’t mind?”

He shrugged. He could use the distraction of an outing. He’d cleaned the whole kitchen from top to bottom, and he was still thinking about the feel of Rook’s lips on his cheek. “Give me a moment to change,” he said. 

Bellara beamed at him. “Thank you, Lucanis,” she said. “I’ll meet you in the eluvian room?”

He nodded, then headed for the pantry to change into his leathers. He hadn’t planned to leave the Lighthouse today, and his knives could use honing before another battle, but an outing with Bellara shouldn’t be too dangerous. In fact, whatever artifact she was hunting was probably more dangerous than any enemies they might encounter. 

He counted and checked each knife as he sheathed them. The smallest slid into the sheath across his chest, above the vials of poison Viago had given him. His emergency knife, in case a target got far too close. The next smallest went in the sheath at the small of his back, hidden by his cape. His backup emergency knife, the one a foe wouldn’t see coming. Then his boot knife – for throwing – followed by two large daggers, one at the front of each hip. These were kept within easy reach in case he was somehow disarmed. Only then did he sheath his main weapons, a dagger and rapier, respectively. 

There. He was ready. 

He triple checked his blades – all seven firmly in place – as he stepped through into the eluvian room. 

“Oh, good!,” Bellara said. “Are you ready?”

“Ready,” he said, and gestured for her to lead the way. He followed her through the eluvian and into the Crossroads. They made it all the way to the Caretaker’s boat before she said anything.

“Don’t you want to know where we’re going?” She asked as she climbed into the boat.

He sat across from her and shrugged. “To Arlathan.”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean, yeah. But don’t you want to know why?”

“I assumed to investigate some magical artifact or another.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m just here to make sure you come back in one piece.”

“Oh!” She blushed. “Well, then, you’ve got a pretty good grasp on things already.”

He smirked at her, but she said nothing more for the rest of the boat ride. By the time they reached Elvhenan’s Haven, he could practically hear Bellara vibrating with questions. 

“What is it, Bellara?” He asked as he climbed out of the boat after her. 

“Oh, I just…” she blushed. “Wondered how things are going? With Rook.”

Lucanis frowned. “If you’re worried I’ll hurt her–”

“What?! No!” She said, turning to stand in front of him, making him stop. “That’s not it at all!”

He glanced around, confused. “Then, what?”

Bellara shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought you might want to talk about it.”

He stared at her, wondering what could possibly have given her that impression. “Bellara. When have I ever wanted to talk about… this?”

“Ugh!” She said and crossed her arms. “Fine! Maybe I want to talk about it!”

Lucanis nodded at that and couldn’t help the tiny smile that flickered across his lips. “That sounds about right.”

She pouted at him, her eyes big and shining in the bright Fade-light. Lucanis sighed. 

“Fine,” he said. “Ask your questions.”

Her mouth fell open in shock. “Wait. Really?”

He smirked as he stepped around her. “I might even answer some of them.”

“Okay!” She said, hurrying after him. “So, she liked the torte?”

Lucanis rolled his eyes. “Everyone liked the torte. It’s a great recipe.”

She scowled at him as they climbed the stairs toward the eluvian they would take to the Veil Jumper camp. “Did you guys…?” She blushed. “You know…?”

He glared at her. “Next question.”

She raised her hands to ward off his anger. “Right. Too personal. Got it.” She followed him up the slope to the eluvian. “Did you at least kiss?”

Lucanis sighed and stopped, turning to face her. “No.”

“What? Why not?”

He looked away from her, suddenly embarrassed to be having this conversation. “We’re taking things slow.”

Bellara’s nose crinkled and her brow furrowed. “Why?!”

He glared at her again. “Because I asked to.”

She shook her head, still looking confused, and then she gasped. “No. Way!”

“Mierda,” he muttered and turned away from her. He marched up the slope, Bellara chasing after him. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said. “Lucanis! Does that mean Rook is your firs–”

He whirled on her, teeth bared. “Have you forgotten I am the best magekiller in Thedas?”

She pulled up short, blinking at him. Then she snorted. “You’re not going to kill me.”

Of course he wasn’t. “I am seriously considering it,” he grumbled. 

“This is amazing,” she continued as they approached the eluvian. “It’s so romantic!”

“It really isn’t,” he said. “This is my life, Bellara, not some romance novel.”

“Ugh!” She said. “Why does everyone always say that as if you can’t have both?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, then shook his head and stepped through the eluvian. She followed after him, and for a moment he thought she might continue pestering him about his love life as they walked into the Veil Jumper camp. Luckily, Irelin called to her, and she turned to look at the other mage. 

“I’ll just be a minute,” she said as she ran off. 

Which left him alone with Strife. They glared at one another, each with their arms crossed and chins high. Spite circled the elf, sniffing and growling, which only added to Lucanis’s sense of animosity. 

He did not like this man.

Strife sighed. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

Lucanis kept his face impassive. “Then talk.”

Strife snorted. “You and Rook,” he said. “It’s not a good idea.”

He hated that those same words had once left his lips. Had she heard the echo of his voice behind Strife’s the other day? Had she questioned if both of the men in her life might be right after all? Maker, he hoped not. 

Strife interpreted his silence as permission to continue. “Rook is… emotional. She wears her heart on her sleeve.” Strife gave him a hard look. “She’s been lucky, but it’s going to get her hurt one of these days.”

“Not by me,” Lucanis said. 

Not us, Spite said. We would. Never hurt. Rook!

Strife tilted his head, conceding the point. “Maybe not on purpose. But, do you really think she won’t be hurt if something happens to you?”

“And if something happens to you?” He asked. He hadn’t meant it as a threat, but his voice carried one all the same. The man flinched, just barely. “Won’t Emmrich be just as wounded?”

He shook his head. “Emmrich isn’t the one with that damn dagger.” Strife looked down at his feet. “I never should have sent her away.”

That made Lucanis blink, his own defensive anger fading. “You blame yourself,” he said. 

“If I hadn’t sent her with Varric, she wouldn’t be caught up in this mess,” he said. “And maybe he’d still be here.”

Lucanis doubted that. From what he’d heard, Varric had been determined to talk Solas down, and he couldn’t imagine that working out, even if Rook hadn’t been there. 

“I know you don’t like me,” Strife continued. “But, I care about Rook. It’s why I hassle her as much as I do.”

Lucanis frowned, but his voice was softer when he said, “have you considered that hassling her is a terrible way to show you care?” 

He knew all about tough love, and it had never done him any favors. Lucanis had survived despite Caterina’s harsh brand of love. He’d learned his lessons, become the best assassin, the best Dellamorte he could. He’d learned his role well, and because of that, he had never truly thrived. Only now, with Rook, was he beginning to see the difference. 

Strife’s expression was pained, but he nodded. “I’ll… consider that,” he said. “And,” he added. “Emmrich mentioned that the knife was your idea, so–” he shrugged “–thanks, for that.”

Lucanis gave him the barest flicker of a smile, though he knew it still had a hint of sharpness to it. “I’ll give him the name of my blacksmith. She’s expensive,” he warned. “But also, the best. Tell her I sent you and she might cut you a deal.”

Strife nodded. “Appreciated.”

For a long moment, there was painful silence. Lucanis was about to turn away and find some corner to lurk in, when Bellara reappeared. 

“Hey,” she said, breathless. “Sorry about that.” She glanced between him and Strife, no doubt noticing the charge in the air. “Ready to go?”

“Ready,” he said. 

“Bellara?” A voice shouted over the sound of fires crackling and people talking all around them. 

They both turned to see Rook, Davrin, and Assan walk into the camp. Rook looked excited to see Bellara. Too excited. Then she laid eyes on Lucanis and gasped. 

“Lucanis?!” She sprinted toward him, as if she hadn’t just spent hours with him that morning. Immediately he knew something was wrong. Her gait was loose, almost unsteady, like her knees wanted to give out from under her. 

“Shit,” Davrin muttered. Assan let out a nervous squawk, glancing at his guardian and bobbing his head.

Rook barreled into Lucanis, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. He caught her with a grunt, surprise keeping him from returning the hug for the span of a heartbeat. When he did pull her close, she sighed and melted against him. 

Mierda, she was soft in all the right places. And warm. She was always so warm. 

“Embria?” He murmured at her ear. He shot a glare at Davrin, who spoke in a low, urgent voice to Bellara. 

“What are you doing here?” She pulled back just a little to peer up at him. Her pupils were huge, barely any of the violet edge of her irises visible. She grinned at him. “Did you know Assan can talk?!”

“What?”

“He only says ‘worms’ and yet, he’s surprisingly insightful.”

Lucanis pushed her away gently, holding her at arm’s length to peer into her eyes. She held his gaze as best she could, but she seemed unable to keep her focus on him. Her smile was slow and dreamy, and utterly wrong. 

Spite sniffed at her and growled. Rook is sick. POISONED?!

Lucanis glared at Davrin over Rook’s shoulder. “What did you do?”

Davrin sighed. “It was an accident,” he said.

“An accident?!” He and Spite shouted at once. 

“I’m okay,” Rook said. “Please don’t fight.”

He flicked his gaze over to her, saw her chin quiver, and immediately reined in his fury. “Tell me what happened,” he growled at Davrin.

The Warden rubbed at the back of his neck. “Emmrich found this old recipe for gingerwort truffle tea.”

Lucanis grimaced. That sounded terrible, and he said so. “That sounds terrible.”

Rook shook her head. “It wasn’t great,” she said. “I’ve never had worms, but once Assan said that’s what it tasted like, I knew he was right.” She laughed and shook her head. “Worms.”

Assan squawked and she laughed again. She looked at Lucanis with tears in her eyes. “He’s so funny!”

Lucanis stared at her for a moment, dumbstruck, while Strife chuckled. 

“I thought we could try it,” Davrin said and looked at Assan. “See what all the fuss was about. Emmrich said there were some very rare potential side effects. Something about latent magic or… something.” He shrugged and gestured at Rook. “I’m fine, but she’s, uh, flying as high as a griffon right about now.”

Lucanis snarled at him, prepared to use the strongest language available to him to tell Davrin to fuck off, when Rook’s hand cupped his cheek. He blinked and looked down at her. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m okay. Just… take me home?”

He covered her hand with his and nodded. “Of course,” he said. He glanced up at Bellara, an apology on his lips.

“Go,” she said. “Davrin and Asssan will come with me.” Even she glared at Davrin, who had the decency to look ashamed. 

“It should wear off in a few hours,” he said. “Maybe check in with Emmrich if it doesn’t seem to get better?” 

Lucanis growled again, and Bellara winced. She tugged on Davrin’s cape, then headed off toward the path to the lake. 

“And Lucanis?” Davrin called once he was a little further away from them. “I’d say this makes us even, don’t you think?”

No, he did not think this made them even. In fact, he thought this meant Davrin owed him, that he ought to get at least one free punch, maybe two. But Rook was clinging to him and giggling, as if she might tip over at any moment. 

“Let it be,” Strife said, more than a little humor in voice. “Get her home before she gets sick.”

Rook snorted. “I never get sick.”

“Uh-huh,” Strife said. “Wherever you post her up? Have a bucket handy.”

Lucanis grimaced, but nodded. “Come on,” he said to Rook. He slipped his arm through her elbow, and she held on as if she might float away if she let go. 

“Wow,” she breathed as she reached the eluvian. “It’s so pretty!” She reached out to touch the rippling glass, and giggled when her hand went through. “I am… so fucked up.”

Lucanis laughed at that, even though he hated seeing her so impaired. 

She turned too-wide, too-dark eyes on him. “Are you seeing this?”

“I see an eluvian,” he said. “I have no idea what you’re seeing.”

She marveled at the mirror. “It’s like I can see every spark of magic running through it, in so many colors? I didn’t know there were so many colors?”

Mierda, this was going to be a long trip back to the Lighthouse. He tugged gently on her arm. “Let’s go, Embria.”

She nodded and then wordlessly followed him through the mirror. 

[thatgaymerguyb]

WIP Wednesday

A Life After Book One is almost done.

Thanks for the tag @gingervitus I'm like 6k words into this and just got done the Wedding Ceremony.

Soft Tags @mythals-whore @gaysebastianvael @thedissonantverses and whoever else has something cooking!

“Maker, I can’t wait to see him,” said Rook as the barber worked on his hair.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” said Elissa.  “I promise.” 

“If anyone would know, it would certainly be you,” laughed Rook.  “I honestly don’t know how you can be apart for so long.  Davrin and I haven’t been apart since I got out of the fade prison Solas trapped me in.” 

“You’ll understand as you get a little older,” Elissa stood beside him.  “Always in your heart, if not in your line of sight.”   Elissa smiled at Rook and he met her smile as well.

“True, I’m so excited to see the outfit Bellara got made for him.”  Rook had only seen a pattern for the outfit to this point.  He watched the barber put the final touches on his hair in the mirror he sat in front of and brushed away the excess.  Rosalia, the tailor from Minrathous, walked into the room followed by a couple of servants of the crows who carried a chest presumably with the outfit they had made for him. 

“I hope I’m on time,” she said waving the servants to place the chest on a nearby table.

“As always,” said Neve walking over, opening the chest and inspecting the final product.  “Rosalia this is some of your team’s greatest work.  I’m so impressed.” 

“Thank you, Miss Gallus,” said Rosalia.  “Okay, Rook are you ready to get into it?” 

Rook had to keep himself from jumping out of his seat with excitement.  “Of course I am,” he smiled wide as he walked over to the outfit.  “Where do we start?”  Rosalia walked over and lifted the outfit from the chest passing Rook the pants. 

“Be very careful this silk is very delicate,” Rosalia advised. 

Neve and Elissa both walked over.  “Here let us help you,” said Neve and she took the pants from him.  Rook laughed a bit to himself, he had never been pampered like this before and how were they even going to help him get pants on anyway?  Neve took the pants from him and held them out while Elissa made sure the leg was held straight. 

“Make sure nothing gets caught on anything, we could use someone with some height,” Rosalia looked at Taash as she spoke. 

“I gotcha, whaddya need?” they asked as they walked over. 

“Hold this up off the floor don’t let it touch,” Rosalia instructed. 

“Got it!” Rosalia passed the cape to Taash and they smiled at Rook.

Rook slowly put his pants on, Rosalia passed him the upper part of the suit Neve helped him get it on with little trouble and when he had everything else on they finished him off with the cape.  Elissa and Neve both fussed over him and made sure all the pieces were fit just as they needed to be.  Rook stood in front of the mirror, the outfit came out exactly as he hoped it would. The white suit adorned with golden thread and embroidery hugged his body just as he wanted it to and had been made the perfect fit for him.  There was a knock at the door and Lace answered it, two Grey Wardens stood in the doorway holding a chest as well.

“Um, can we help you?  What’s this?” laughed Lace.

“Ah my outfit’s here,” said Elissa as she walked over to the door.  “Thank you for bringing it along.  Place it in the corner.” 

“What is that?” asked Rook.

“You didn’t think I’d give you away in some commoner outfit did you?” asked Elissa as she opened the box.  Elissa lifted a piece of heavy plate armour out of the box and Rook realized it was a Grey Warden’s Brilliant Regalia. 

“That’s heavy, are you going to be able to walk wearing it?” laughed Neve.

“My dear girl don’t you worry,” laughed Elissa. 

While they talked Rosalia took the cape from Taash and draped it over Rook’s shoulders.  He smiled at her, they had done the griffon embroidery on the chest just as he wanted and the tie that held it on his chest was done with a gold chain in the shape of Davrin’s vallaslin. 

“Maker, Rook that’s a nice final touch, Davrin’s going to love it,” said Lace leaning in close to get a better look. 

“Thanks, Lace.   I had them add that last minute, so he doesn’t know,” said Rook running a finger over the shape. 

“Oh my gosh this is so exciting Rook,” Lace jumped a little as she spoke.  “It’s almost time!”

“I know Lace, I know,” laughed Rook.  “You’re making it worse.”

“Come on now Lace, if you’re that excited imagine how Rook feels,” said Neve walking over with a couple of glasses and a bottle of champagne.  “Here.”  Neve passed Rook and Harding each a glass and poured the sparkling liquid into it.  “Don’t worry Rook it’s not alcoholic.”  Rook smiled and gestured the glass toward Neve, that she had gone that extra step meant a lot.  “First, to the three of having come this far from that fateful night on the streets of Minrathous.”  Neve raised her glass.

“Here’s to that,” said Lace following suit.

“Who’d have thought we’d get to this point,” Rook touched his glass to theirs.

“And second to watching our wonderful friends grow into true happiness,” Neve smiled before taking a sip of the drink. “Here, here!” called Taash from behind.  Rook took a sip of the drink it was sweet and the bubbles from it almost tickled, he’d never had champagne before.

Catch up on the rest of the series HERE!

Reblogs, likes, reads, comments appreciated!

[antivanlights]

I had a thought the other day about how since Manfred can talk and move and see and hear that he probably actually magically has all the senses. That lead to thinking about how Manfred and Spite are both pretty new to the world and I bet Emmerich and Rook and Lucanis would love to take them on discovery adventures so they can see and taste and feel and hear and smell new things. I bet Davrin would also like to expose Assan and maybe the other griffons to things too. Actually probably the whole team would end up bringing new things or taking them all to their favorite places and bringing their favorite foods.

So what do you think? Where would they go? What would the other companions encourage/help them to explore? What do you think they would end up liking?

*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer

OH I LOVE THAT!!!

They DO deserve to explore the world free from the "we have to prevent the apocalypse" pressure and without the need to always be ready for battle. To just take it all in and ask (or squawk) questions, play, poke at some things, stare at others... to simply exist as a part of the world around them...

I'd love for Spite to experience the smells and lights of various marketplaces/cities throughout the day. They can tour all over the place visiting cafes/restaurants/bakeries. Like the scene where he gets his own cup of coffee, but everywhere. Maybe the smells of the food will become an afterthought to all the weird conversations/gossip he's hearing around them. They. WHAT? (He will gossip with Bellara later that evening. Good for book. Maybe.) Maybe he'll have comments on the decor - not as nice as the haunted candles. THAT yellow? Yuck. Does Not Match. Our Cape. AND For him to become comfortable enough with "mortal stuff" to start to feel like he fits in - that he simply just belongs with Lucanis and the world they navigate and life's good. Safe. I just want Spite to have like a million good "regular life" experiences and the chance to engage and voice his thoughts. Also I want to give him art supplies. Go wild, buddy. Just wash your hands later.

Oh sweet little Assan. I'd love to see Davrin try to take all the griffons on a little trip. Can you image them all going "single file, kids!" right down the street? Since the other griffons were trapped for most of the game, it'd be cute to see them discovering all the different cities/environments. Maybe some of them would love the big cities (so many buildings to jump across, so many people to look at!) and maybe some of them would prefer the Rivaini coast (sand but BETTER! also chance for shiny trinkets!). The entire team ends up looking like day care staff. Some of the griffons will inevitably commit a crime or two. Davrin will surely find like 30 things he did not buy or hunt, all placed at his bedside later on.

MANFRED MY BOY. LOVE the idea of watching his journey as he becomes a person, basically. I'm sure he regularly has access to tons of books, but Imagine the team taking Manfred along to meet other people! Manfred getting to learn from others and to eventually start making his own friends and connections. Talking and being spoken to just like he's a regular kid. And not just learning about "mage stuff", but all types of regular life things. Maybe he'll be writing birthday letters with Bellara when he learns about them. Rook finding him discussing DnD rules and simple compaign ideas with Johanna's skull (she was sassy at first but could not resist the opportunity to yap about her fav game). Maybe one day he'll be making or polishing jewelry with Taash, adding red strings to Neve's case board, asking Spite Lucanis how to make bread (he would like how the dough grows)... Just being a little dude. One day he goes "My friend Bob said that-" and everyone is just like who tf is Bob. Maybe kind of bittersweet, but I imagine that one day Manfred might be the one going on his own journey as the resident fade expert with a team of weirdoes and :')

[victias]

My take on the letter from tearstone island prompt I've seen so many amazing fics of (if anyone knows who first did this please lmk so i can credit)

My Dearest Lucanis,

If you are reading this I did not return from Tearstone Island, if I am honest I always believed that this job would claim my life and maybe on some level that is why I accepted it, almost two years ago now, gods it seems like a lifetime. But this letter isn’t about me, not really, its about you. 

There is so much I wish I had been brave enough to tell you face to face despite you changing the subject every time I tried, well you cant redirect a dead woman so I’m saying it now and you’ll just have to brood about it ha! My soul has never felt as at peace as it does in your presence, my smile never as big, my laugh never as free, you have made me feel seen in a way that i never thought possible and I need you to know.

I wish I could help you see yourself as I see you, not only handsome but strong, resilient, kind, you use your training not only to spot weaknesses in your targets but to learn about those around you, how Emmrich likes his tea, picking out the perfect cape for Taash, and my churros, rarely do you ever have to ask but when you need to you do without hesitation, always willing to learn, to be there for those around you. You are determined and protective, more times than I can count you have saved my life. You care so deeply  though you try to hide it and give second chances even when people maybe don’t deserve them – yes i mean Illario (seriously watch your back there lest you join me sooner than your time), your witt is so fast and your heart so big. I truly never deserved the attention you gave me, the gentleness in your voice as we spoke and the way your concerned eye, makers breath your beautiful brown eyes, would linger on me when I would say I was fine and you knew I was hiding my pain, you always knew.

And Spite, you have grown so much, learned so much and whilst doing so you never cease to make me laugh. Your confidence in me to help Lucanis when he most needed it touched my heart in a way I can never truly express, to be trusted by a demon is a honour I never expected in this life, just know that it is mutual. I trust you with my life, Spite and more than that I trust you with Lucanis'. You have so much to offer each other despite this situation you were both forced in to and I hope you continue to make deal after deal until you find that perfect harmony. I am sorry I won’t be there to see it.

There is so much more I wish I could write, but we leave soon and I don’t have the time. Know that I love you. That the time we have spent together, reading, drinking coffee, holding hand, sharpening knives, me ‘helping' you cook, the simplest of things, have been the happiest of my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I love you, always

‘Rook’

PS. A first kiss, I think, would have tasted like coffee and cinnamon, not honey and lavender cream.

[ivyveleva]

You know what? Fuck it…give all the companions in DAtV a de Riva! Let me put something down really quickly.

Davrin - oh no the gray warden rizz got another crow. It’s a classic!

Harding - oh no the dog lord got our crow again! See this the real reason we don’t work in Ferelden anymore. And she’s cute as hell!

Bell - You know Crow Rook jumped straight out of one her fics. Mysterious, funny and charming…

Neve - you know that killing machine has your back! You can be all inspiring Batman while Crow Rook feeds you fried fish and destroys your enemies for free.

Taash - fucking capes and great kisses!

Lucanis - hoooo boy where do I start with the de Riva/Dellamorte dynamic. It’s already all the drama antivans can bring. They are all insane!

Emmr - His hobbies include alchemy…and he likes art!? Viago already ships them. Crow Rook can bring all the mansions a watcher can handle. They are fantastic!

[datv-banter]

Taash: Hey. Could you teach me how to be a Crow?

Lucanis: Why would you want to be a Crow?

Taash: Crows are great! You have flashy outfits. You do flips and stuff.

Lucanis: We kill people. You already know how to do that.

Taash: You have capes.

Lucanis: We train in acrobatics from the time we’re children. It’s brutal, punishing.

Taash: Whoa.

Lucanis: I suppose I could give you a few pointers on killing with flair.

[felanndaris]

i'd give my left pinky toe for someone to draw baby Taash on the roof of Shathann's house, with butter knives in their hands and a cape made out of tablecloth, pretending to be a Crow

[flowersforthemachines]

I'm occasionally overcome with the desire to give Taash some crow armour with a cape. Not necessarily only because they'd look good in it, but because they'd love that a lot :)

[blightedcrow]

I couldn't find anything about it in his tag but I wanna know about Sihu's daughter and where she came from and what their life is like

oh my gosh thank you for the interest <3 I am so sorry for the loredump I'm about to spill.

All y'alls questions have seriously helped me build her story and I appreciate y'all so much ;;__;; so thank you! And big shoutout to @virusq for tossing me some fantastic ideas.

Her name is Selva, and she's his biological child! I spoke a little bit about her conception in an answer to another question a while back, but I skimmed over it out of concern that it might be a rough topic for some people and I tried to keep it a little on the light side in terms of verbage used. It really was a rough time for Sihu hjfkgfd

The time after Sihu finally had her safe and sound, he had every intention of telling Viago about her and the events that took place the year prior, but only after some time had passed. Sihu felt as though had anything worse happened and it brought down the de Riva house name, he would have solely been responsible, so he really wanted to be sure that everything had been taken care of and there weren't any other scumbags looking for blackmail or anything of the sort before he could just dump everything onto Viago.

(He was also really concerned Viago would stop giving him the fun dangerous contracts that were also higher paying if he learned he had a kid, so, lmao he might have been a little selfish about it too.)

Selva was often attended to by a hired nanny, an older Qunari woman who happens to be Tal-Vashoth who previously held the role of Tamassran and was thrilled to be able to help Sihu raise Selva. She was someone who frequented the market in Treviso and has been a source of support and cultural enlightenment for Sihu - who hadn't gotten much education on his own heritage prior to meeting her. She gave Selva her name, is teaching Selva Qunlat as Sihu has very basic knowledge in it, and just overall has been a huge help for Sihu in raising his kid and keeping her from being discovered by Viago while Sihu is out on a contract.

In current timeline Veilguard, she's around 6 or 7. Selva had been staying with her nanny while Sihu was helping Varric. After the attacks on Treviso, Sihu is desperate to find her and make sure she's safe. Upon discovering her nanny unfortunately didn't survive the attacks, Sihu brings Selva back to the Lighthouse.

I did also ramble a little bit in yet another ask about Lucanis and Selva during Sihu's time in the fade prison! I would love to revisit this idea I had to also include Davrin now that I've stopped being a coward and made them an official polycule LOL I like to think this was around the time Viago learns about Selva, Lucanis having brought her to him for the sake of having all hands on deck while looking for Rook and didn't want her to be alone, and Viago not only discovers he has a niece who is 6/7, but Sihu might be dead, dude ain't happy one bit lmfao

During her time in the Lighthouse, she's become besties with Bellara and Assan, finds Manfred to be intriguing but she'll watch him from a distance, and really loves Taash and wants to be just like them. Taash and Selva want to have matching Crow capes.

I haven't thought too too much about anything outside of the game just yet, but I'm still ironing out her overall main story.

She loves her papa, and I will never not think about how she's going to be so much taller than Lucanis and Davrin when she's older. And I'm torn on if she's going to represent house de Riva or Dellamorte when she becomes a Crow.

[rookamell]

So much of my brain has been taken up by the victory ball and it's thanks to that art by @rookanisstuff with their fucking headpieces... (sorry to tag you but you gave me brain worms)

Would each of the companions have different symbolism for their outfit/headpiece?

Neve - Snakes/wyrms with the white/blue motif obviously

Bellara - Antlers (As a Ghilan'nain fuck you) with brown/yellow/green

Davrin - ??? (I sort of want to give him antlers and have Bellara take starlight/triangles of some kind since that features so heavily in her in-game outfits? Thoughts?) colours would be warden blue tho and maybe red/orange if you sent the griffons to Arlathan?

Lucanis - Crow/feathers/wings but the colours here get interesting because I think him and Rook should match slightly. So his outfit would be purple obviously but I think it would have golden accents like maybe the feathers are gold or the cape (because obviously he is wearing a cape)

Rook - This will obvi be different for everyone but my Rook would def be sun-inspired? Both because I think whoever chooses the outfits *cough* Teia *cough* Dorian would pick it as a fuck you to Elgar'nan and because she's Orlesian...) and her outfit is GOLD (with purple accents???)

Taash - Dragon/Fire outift is blue/red/gold for the lords/qunari/rivaini

[felassan]

Just poring over some of the new images. ◕‿◕

I like the overall shape of the dragon, its wings and silhouette, like it's maintaining this theme, two. It particularly reminds me of the DAII cover, with the figures of other characters being present in the dragon's wings. the pattern in the background gives the impression of a sunburst or explosion/outwards burst of energy (there's been lots of that going around in promo images for DA:TV over the years hasn't there). :D chunks of rock float around, which by now is associated with Fadey stuff (floating rocks in the Fade), the barrier (Veil) crumbling in key arts, and reality warping in places like Arlathan Forest. the dragon, open-mouthed, golden-eyed and ready to breathe fire, recalls the dragons on the Dragon Age vinyl arts, two, especially with its general position, and the dragon in this screenshot/scene. in the background at the bottom you can even see a hint of the 'concentric circles' pattern that represents the Veil.

I love that this group shot truly does include the whole team, including Assan and Manfred. I wonder if they will come into the field too if we select Davrin or Emmrich to come out with us respectively? We saw Assan capably fighting darkspawn in the character trailer, and in this image Manfred is helping fend the monsters off. Does Manfred carry Emmrich's stuff in his lil backpack..? 🥺 and I wonder what the purpose of Manfred's goggles are. Visually they set him apart from other skeleton/undead-type enemies and make it so you don't have to peer into empty the eyesockets of a skull, but also they're green (necromancy magic color) and we see Emmrich doing magic on them here. Are they part of the enchantment keeping him animated? also happy to see Varric in this one even though he is not one of the 7 companions. also, Bianca is still here. RIP

Taash looks so cool. :D Even her weapons are gold. her upper body armor in this piece has the aesthetic to me of like a dragon's ribbed armored chest and underside. I like that her weapons are unique generally, and from each other too. her dual-wielding like this as [I presume] a warrior differentiates her from Rook who if a warrior would be sword and shield or twohanded. her gauntlets look like they have dragon teeth or spines on them (the sticky-out parts that are not scale-like).

Davrin is at Rook's right hand. ♡ the floating triangles near Bellara show that she is using her magical device. I wonder what the white sphere part of Neve's wand/staff is. like, in this particular image it gives me the impression of a big pearl. Lucanis' eyes are glowing, like we see here, in that way that seems to hint that something interesting is going on there. overall it's cool to see all the team and cast together like this, working together heroically to stave off doom.

some of the monsters the group are fighting at least are red lyrium darkspawn. the ones with 'shark fin'-shaped headpieces are the same kind as the one at that link. are the rest all darkspawn too (there are different types of darkspawn ofc), or are there some walking dead mixed in there? (lol at the one Varric has just shot in the face). the non-sharkhead ones seem to be these guys from concept art. the prominence of darkspawn in this key art give the impression that we will fight a lot of red lyrium darkspawn in this game and that the threat they pose, including the Blight, is a significant part of the game's storyline.

at the center of it all and at the forefront is Rook. in a nice bit of poetic mirroring (the Wolf and the Rook), they too stand on a rocky outcropping, also with the knife - just like this. the knife is blue here.. blue lyrium influence? the very ground on which they stand bursts with energy. I wonder if Rook's outfit here is sort of their default, iconic look, like the Champion of Kirkwall armor for Hawke etc? I love that they have a cape and the point of their helmet gives them a bird-like feel. (omg.. we can have capes in this game fr). they have the Veilguard symbol on their chest. and could they be canonically left-handed..? :)

[rookinthecrownest]

🖊️ + any OC of your choice!

Hiii! Ty so much for the ask! <3

I think tonight is Val's night to shine, bc I can not stop talking about her lmao. This is a cute moment I was thinking about earlier. I love Taash and Val's friendship.

So, Val is not great at sewing. Her own Crow leathers are faded and a bit tattered (to Lucanis' chagrin, she refuses his offer of giving her his tailor).

But when Taash has that banter about Crows and their capes, she wants to do something nice for her bestie. Val actually goes shopping in the Treviso market for materials like feathers and a flame-resistant cloth.

She spends a lot of the game hiding it from them, and surprises them with it after the events of DATV.

Because Val doesn't know how to sew, but she knows Lucanis knows how to knit, she goes to him for help. She shows him a scribble of her idea, Lucanis calls it a crime, and reworks the entire design into something fitting a Crow. They work on it together throughout the game when time permits.

Anyway, I imagine Taash gives her a bone-breaking hug and takes their new cape out for a spin post haste

[lunastarhawk]

Setting up my world state for the Dragon Age fic I may perhaps one day write once I'm done with the Arcana and then collected enough research to do what I actually envisage... (or indeed envisage an actual outlined plot but what even is that)...

And after wrestling with mods and patches for two hours to make DAO look nice and also not ctd at every turn...

My little guys! They'll all be up there together somehow some way I'll make it make sense.

Sherene, cocky gooberhead of a city elf, unlikely Hero of Ferelden and Alistair's beloved. I've looked at her for about five minutes I've got nothing else yet.

Teale Hawke, loner warrior who's really Seen Some Shit, seems to not give a fuck but unfortunately actually does. No idea who she's romancing yet, haven't played DA2 fully yet so we'll see! She's a beloved oc from more years ago than I care to admit... as with Favian I made her in the cc to see how she looked and unfortunately for her I liked her, so yoinked her in here.

DA2...

DAI...

Flint "Rook" de Riva, warrior elf, tripped into the Crows and charmed Viago into letting him stay, but more as a guard puppy dog than assassin. My man can't stay quiet long enough for stealth missions. He's a bit like Taash in that respect and is equally as excited about capes, drives Lucanis nuts. Sarcastic little shit, the golden retriever that brings Lucanis' stray cat in from the rain.

Kal Mercar, taciturn gwump, rogue Shadow Dragon, acts first and smiles never, except for Neve. Kind of a second Rook. Because... I can do that.

Marin Laidir, Lord of Fortune spellblade, would rather be at sea but apparently has to help save the world first. Doesn't take anything too seriously, including necromancy, which... is a bit of a problem since she's fallen for a certain gentleman necromancer. Also, originally Altheia and Julian's daughter so somewhere in the back of my brain is an Arcana/Dragon Age crossover which totally makes sense if you don't question it. But I'm chuffed with how she's come out looking like a good mix of her parents.

So the thing is... I can't choose a canon Rook for the fic soooooo I've got three. What if I want a Rook in Minrathous, one in Treviso and one in Skyhold. What then. Who's gonna stop me huh? Who.

Aaannnnddd the man the myth the not-a-herald, Favian Trevelyan, traumatised alchemist and artificer who still can't quite believe that he, despite being staunchly atheist and adamantly not the Herald he's a very naughty boy, prodigal adopted son who went rogue and disappointed almost everybody until he landed on his feet again despite all his efforts not to, is somehow the only person capable of leading, well, anybody. Somehow manages to inspire an entire army despite self-loathing, excellent at masking after years of practice at it - though by the time of Veilguard has far more self-belief. Gets by on charisma, sarcasm and dry wit. Amatus of Dorian.

He, those flipping missives of his, and his relationship with Dorian, are the whole reason I'm in this mess. Ultimately, it's his story.

DAI...

Veilguard...

And that, er... that's Them. And if I lose the next 10 years of my life writing whatever beast of a fic the brainworms are cooking up, assuming I can translate the worms into anything like coherent words, those pixel people and their pixel love interests are to blame.

Actually it's a good thing I've got to finish Tides first, it's keeping me from diving headlong into this before I'm ready.

[pink-ivy-vines]

antoine and evka! specifically their chatter when you're just hanging around. sometimes your companions or rook will even respond.

when harding talks to the spirit of compassion in rivain and compassion says she wants a big floppy hat like cole

rook constantly checking in on companions during the early quests in the hossberg wetlands.

the formless one's hate mail after you beat it's ass back into the fade

the first shopkeeper you meet (the veiljumper one) has a whole conversation with rook about keeping safe in arlathan if you don't just immediately leave. it took me by surprise. i don't think that's ever happened in a game before and it was a delight

when you take lucanis on the weisshaupt quest, neve is the one who has to jump back in the mirror. her 'venhedis' lives rent free in my brain it's sooooo bitter and i love her

when rook sits with bellara and starts humming awkwardly. that smile she gives rook? beautiful

giving flowers to Hope Unyielding

davrin and rook constantly digging on solas at every opportunity lmao "that's a big statue" "it's still only half the size of solas's ego"

finding revas's feather and showing it to isseya.

"hey, lucanis." "yes?" "the crows axe their regards." "when this is over we're getting you that cape."

companions checking in with rook as they start to look worse and worse during the blood of arlathan quest

i dunno if i just had the luck of gods but taash's theme always kicked in at the perfect moment

Some things that gave me immense joy in this game:

When Morrigan first appears, the way she greets Harding is so sweet and familiar and gentle, it carried the weight of history in just one line.

Walking into an aravel

I love all the sounds associated with ladders, they scratch my brain nicely

The fact that Rook breathes heavily while running

The reflections on wet surfaces, even interior puddles showing glimpses of exterior scenes as you cross rooms

Emmrich's happy "Rook!" when you walk into his room, even before you trigger a romance

Neve's baleful "Couldn't be one god it had to be three." what an entire vibe, I love her so much

Harding's room coming to life around her as she grows more comfortable with her magic, like her own loving heart is blooming.

The sound of Davrin whittling, confident and cozy.

Bellara's shy sweet smile. It felt like any time I popped into photo mode she was doing that thing where she turns a little to the side and the corners of her mouth are coyly popping up.

Taash's "k..." at the end of any awkward conversation. It's a full sentence in one letter and it cracks me up.

The minstrels playing Inquisition songs!

Seeing fish in river/canal water (I am sometimes a 5 year old at heart pointing at fishies)

As I go through my videos more, I might add to it. Feel free to add your own.