#heart plays datv

[bardistraee]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD (2024) | lucanis dellamorte [5/∞]

[sotc]

as fun as it is to talk about the sillay crow family dynamics, i'm soo interested in what this means for the crow familia going forward in a darker lens.

im mostly speaking from the perspective of a rook de riva who romanced lucanis btw <3

illario brought the axe down on his own head after failing to take first talon. he's imprisoned except to play house whenever caterina wants to see him around for family dinners before tensions inevitably shove him back into the cage he's been left to like some house pet lmfao. it's actually kinda fucked up and as a certified sicko i love it. especially considering the casualness in which lucanis describes all of this. crows gotta be a little unhinged<3

But!!! while lucanis was right that illario's reputation is ruined forever as a traitor crow beaten to his knees before every house that doesn't exactly free house dellamorte either. Talon houses will want their pound of flesh of illario for nearly trying to put antiva under venatori control. and yet lucanis refused. house dellamorte showed mercy. they are breaking the rules, making exceptions. this is not how the crows operate and there should--WILL be retaliations for it. illario left this house bleeding in his attempt to claim first talon and their blood is in the water now with house dellamorte having a sole heir who blatantly exposed a weakness and seemingly has no lineage to take after him.

and nevermind that we know murmurs amongst the crows will linger about a first talon being an abomination. i know lucanis kind of handwaves it off as at the coffee date like 'there could be worst first talons' but baby boy, you have avoidance and denial issues this WILL become worse of a problem the longer it goes on. <3

more under the cut bc i didn't realize this was getting so long lol

but in comes fifth talon viago de riva. a bastard to the king of antiva who wants to strengthen the crown. a man who has been ruthlessly exacting and meticulous to get where he is now. and the scariest part is that he has ambition, always has, and knows he has more power than the king himself to make plays if he needs to. this makes for a dangerous (and sexy) combination. in comes his protege rook. casting silly family dynamics aside, viago knows this union between house dellamorte and de riva is extremely beneficial for both houses but also very dangerous. even he knows his ties to teia show a weakness in him that other crows may seek to exploit. and while i do think he may be sincere about wanting rook to find their happiness with lucanis as he has with teia - i truly think he will not shy from showing the importance of a 'political alliance/union' especially with first talon house dellamorte struggling from the blow after all is said and done.

and of course, by extension to de riva, house cantori and the beautiful lovely miss teia, will be extending her support to strengthen their houses but also herself from any opposition. as much as i love that she's kind of the heart that brings this fucked up lil familia together, i know she is just as cunning and clever to recognize what this alliance does for her too.

and caterina.. well, without going into a whole thought piece on her, she has built her (and her grandson's reputation) entirely to instill fear in others, even command enough respect to know she's the one running things while lucanis is just a stand-in as first talon. but what happens when caterina is gone? another dellamorte dead just like all the others. all lucanis has left is himself and his traitor brother. how does he handle illario? how does he fair being a leader to the crows when he didn't want any of this in the first place and no longer has caterina to guide him? how does he wish to pursue carrying the dellamorte legacy (if at all)? does he seek a protege of his own to take on after him? i can't remember who says it (viago or lucanis) but there's a line about how saving thedas will make their houses immortal (hot and very sexy) but also how far can that reputation protect house dellamorte, really?

i don't really have a point to all of this, this is all just stuff im simply chewing on and letting out into the ether because the ripple effect of repercussions with what illario did and what lucanis now has to deal with fascinates me SO MUCH.

[babblingbat]

everyone who's ever said that Neve's VA work is bad or phoning it in owes me 17 kajillion dollars. she sounds like if humphrey bogart was a bisexual woman and i literally could not ask for more

[saessenach]

I'd be the voice that urged Orpheus when her body was found,

I'd be the choiceless hope and grief that drove him underground.

Rook, Spite and Lucanis together because what is Inner Demons if not a funky little katabasis into the self.

[covertleathers]

Varric Being a Ghost The Whole Time Was To Let Players Process Him Dying

There's a dialogue option when Rook learns that Varric where they say they had a hunch that Varric was dead the whole time. That they were just in desperate denial. Like us, the fans? We all knew deep down he was dead, but had a hard time acknowledging it.

I fully believe the devs knew they were going to kill Varric but also knew that fans would've gone ballistic. So this was a kinder way to for us to experience it.

[invinciblerodent]

A pet headcanon of mine is that during Veilguard D&D night (which absolutely exists, don't even try to tell me otherwise), Taash may be the one who says little, takes no notes, and often just stacks dice until it's their turn to bonk something, but nevertheless they are also absolutely the only one in the room who has read all the rulebooks cover to cover, and remembers all the rules, plot details, and NPC names by heart.

Like their barbarian may be named Baash, and they may look and sound eerily like them, but they also have an intricately built, 20 page backstory, an arc that's set up to tie into the setting perfectly, and a fully formed, rich personality that acts as the very glue holding the party together.

[gift-of-prophecy]

i keep track of all my dragon age protags and world states in google docs(bc i find the keep unreliable) and i find it really funny i just Haven’t put either of my veilguard characters…. that game really is not canon to me omg

yeah i played it twice in a row but now refinishing my second origins run and having space from datv mannnn FUCK bioware for that watered down, pretty to look at, solas brown nosing bullshit they tried to hand feed us

like it’s fun but that is not my dragon age :((((

[vancalox]

can you fucking imagine if instead of the mourn watch or lords of fortune factions we'd instead had an inquisition and agents of fen'harel faction . personally i have not stopped thinking about it once since finishing veilguard but maybe thats just me

[whispersleo]

I'm so sorry my love, what a shame you're one of the easiest bosses in the game even on max difficulty/nightmare 🫂

Like he's easy as fuck to parry it's hilarious. Maybe if I redesigned your villain final form, and made an animatic of this "better" boss fight... Just joking haha unless 👀

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

played the "remember who you are" ending for the first time instead of the "embrace your anger" one for the Lace Harding plotlines and im so mad i want to kick a chair over. much like Lace Harding might if she wasnt still punished for being angry by the game.

[whereismywarden]

oh.

[bardistraee]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD (2024) | davrin [3/∞] & assan [2/∞]

[trevisos]

got sick and had to play this scene again

[loverinthesnow]

The letter a romanced Cullen sends the Inquisitor that you find in your Codex had more romantic and emotional beats than the whole of the Lucanis romance. Like it was sweet enough at the end I guess, but it really needed more quiet moments between them. Even some flirty banter while he’s in my party would’ve been nice.

I put over 100 hours in to the game only to come out feeling nothing. Not even a single epilogue slide to give us some closure? Something?? :(

[avoskorm]

Jovus was summoned into Thedas with literally nothing, so had to make money somehow.

Odd jobs to start, while he learned the language. Occasionally backing Neve up on a case, and eventually playing the Dock Town circuit.

Usually to fill a time slot, or to stand in for someone else dropping out, but he does eventually start to make something of a name for himself as a musician.

His primary instrument is the violin, but he's an excellent pianist, and generally picks up strings pretty quickly.

Eventually, with contacts in the Lords and tagging along for dragon hunts, he doesn't have to do that stuff anymore, but he'll still play whenever he gets the opportunity.

[crow-of-paradise]

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THE MURAL REVELATIONS

THE ELVES SUCKED

Bruh playing this part as an elf rook was such a shitty feeling LOL I can’t imagine what it’s like as a DWARF!!!