#if he and Lucanis ever adopt

[cybershock24601]

Alternate Veilguard time travel au where everyone BUT Rook ends up in the past as a result of one of their attempts to get Rook back.

The Inquisition suddenly gets the weirdest collection of freaks showing up at Skyhold including a tevene detective, a dalish monster hunter, a dalish historian, an esteemed member of the mourn watch, the demon of vyrantium who might possibly be possessed by a demon, and a 13 yr old dragon hunter + their mom. Also Harding is there and suddenly doing rock magic.

And none of these people seem to be doing all that much to help, they just keep side eying Solas.

(How do the companions that were lost on tearstone island get blasted back to the past too you ask? i don't know, i don't care, it's the power of friendship bitch)

Highlights of this au include:

Lucanis telling Caterina No for once in his life and ditching the Crows. Caterina and Illario have absolutely no idea how to handle this sudden shift in behavior from the ever obedient Lucnais

Harding suddenly being able do Rock magic and just giving Solas so much pointed shit but never outright calling him out for what he did to the Titans so Solas just has to sit there uncomfortable unable to really say anything about it because if Harding doesn't actually know what happened then he doesn't want to out himself by confirming anything

Bellara peppering Solas with a million questions about the things "he's seen in the fade" and Solas having to awkwardly try to answer her questions because he likes being the guy with the answers while also coming up with increasingly ridiculous explanations on how he knows these things so as to not give too much away

Manfred and Cole becoming friends!

Dorian having to deal with his old teenage crush still being super hot

Davrin fucking with Blackwall by asking him questions he already knows about the Wardens just to see what bullshit that guy's going to come up with

Taash and Iron Bull bonding over dragons while Shathann is freaking out in the background because Bull is ben-hassrath

Neve as Cassandra's bi awakening

Davrin adopts a mabari to fill the assan shaped hole in his life

Bellara getting starry eyed about Varric and convincing him to give her writing tips. They end up essentially co authoring a number of serials about some of Neve's more memorable jobs and Bellara even goes onto write some serials based on Davrin's monster hunting adventures and Lucanis' assassination gigs with the two of them getting a little too nitpicky about the accuracy of Bellara's fictionalizations of their professions

But mostly I just want this au because it's essentially the entire veilguard minus Rook looking at Solas like this throughout the entirety of Inquisition

[biowaredisasterbisexual]

I really don’t understand the criticism that Veilguard doesn’t include enough open, devout Andrastianism. Like, it just perplexes me?

Unlike the first three games, which take place in Southern Thedas (the purview of the Orlesian Chantry, the Sunburst throne), Veilguard takes place almost entirely in Northern Thedas. And it’s clear the Chantry’s role there is very different than in the South.

In Southern Thedas, the Chantry is a power unto itself. The Southern Divine, holder of the Sunburst Throne, occupies a place of real significance and power. She has her own militarized forces (the Templar and Seeker Orders). She politically has to interface with the rulers of the various places in Southern Thedas (Orlais, Ferelden, the Free Marches, etc.), but is not formally associated with or dependent on them. The South is comparatively poorer than the North, and we see a majority of services (taking care of orphans, medical care, the Circles, and very significantly education) being taken care of by the Chantry without necessarily much assistance from the relevant countries.

The Southern Chantry is an ever present figure in Southern Thedas, even for those that aren’t devout. And that is reflected in those stories and the cultures we learn about there.

The Tevinter Imperium is not like that. And that’s not terribly surprising. First, the Imperium pre-dates Andrastianism. They have another, older religion that helped form some of their cultural touchpoints. The Imperium did adopt Andrastianism, but did so as a consolidation of empire (which tracks with the Imperium being, in no small part, a reflection of the real life Roman Empire). As such, the Chantry is folded into and subordinate to the Imperium’s government. The real power in Tevinter, and control over the incidents of daily life that we see the Southern Chantry involved in, is the Magisterium and the Archon.

The Imperial Divine doesn’t control the Templars, the Magisterium and Archon do. He doesn’t control the Circles/education. That’s the Magisterium and Archon again. He is, in practical terms, less powerful than Dorian. He can’t make any real change as the Imperial Divine, so he dons a mask and runs a vigilante group to free slaves and make change that way.

The Northern Chantry simply isn’t as omnipresent as the Southern Chantry in the areas it exists, and it competes with a preexisting cultural backbone in a way the Southern Chantry doesn’t (because it largely stamped that out, though some of the Avvar and Chasind are still around).

I think a lot of people are comparing the impact of Andrastianism in Veilguard to that in Inquisition, because it’s the most recent, and the criticism spawns from that. But that…doesn’t make sense. The Inquisitor is leading a religious organization, ultimately affiliated with the Southern Chantry itself and founded by the left and right hands of the former Divine. It claims its legitimacy from Andraste herself (even if the Inquisitor doesn’t believe a single bit of it). The people who join the Inquisition are all okay enough with Andrastianism to affiliate themselves openly with it (Solas aside, but of course he has other reasons), and many are devout.

The Veilguard are just…random people. Skilled, powerful, talented people, but not people with any real affiliation with any Chantry. Davrin and Bellara have complicated relationships with the Dalish religion they grew up with, for obvious reasons, but they weren’t raised in Andrastianism or an Andrastian culture. Neve, per her, “barely keeps the holidays.” Her relationship to Andrastianism seems closer to the average non-church-attending American who celebrates Christmas and Easter, but isn’t particularly Christian beyond that. Lucanis does seem open to belief in the Maker and Andraste, but is kind of ambivalent to it. More agnostic than anything else. Taash wasn’t raised Andrastian, their mom largely still embraces much of the Qun even if she left, and Rivain was always kind of religiously funky anyway. Only Emmrich and Harding are particularly Andrastian, and even then Emmrich is from Nevarra which although deeply Andrastian is unique. Harding is the only companion whose Andrastianism we’d recognize from the prior games.

So in a game set in a region where Andrastianism is culturally less of an influence, where the Chantry holds far less power, and that has companions that aren’t devout Andrastians…how is it a failure of the game that it isn’t brought up more. That makes sense. It’s consistent with the world building that came before it and the continued reveal of that world in game.

I don’t get it.

[hyperions-light]

even though I was VERY predictable and ended up romancing Lucanis first (irresistible tragic wet cat energy) I actually did not decide until the second act because literally every single time a new companion was introduced I was just

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

and I fell in love instantly

I was like OOOOH but Harding is so sweet and adorable! Look how she takes care of everyone! Look how competent she is with her bow, and how protective and dedicated she is to this cause! Look how she's so adorably excited about her powers! Look how she DESTROYS enemies with them, (holy shit, not to be a lesbian, but--)

OOOOHHH but L👀K at Neve and her compassion for common people, and how forgiving and sweet she is, even to the worst people you meet, and how nice she is to Rook, and how she loves cats and she can't cook and she takes so many notes and she always tries her best and--

But there's Bellara OOOOH look at her brilliance and how much she cares about her friends and her people, and how passionate she is about her history and her culture, and how creative and inventive she is, and how much she wants to help and understand all of her new friends, and how SAD she makes me all the time OH NO I'm going to trip and fall into love--

OHH there's this sad wet assassin and his demon hitchhiker, look at his tired eyes and his trauma and how he can't even ask you to come plan his grandmother's funeral with him, and look how sweet he is buying everyone presents (oh my god) and making everyone food because he loves taking care of people, and--

But have you SEEN Davrin, OHHH, he is so protective and caring and he just wants to do a good job for his new son he keeps insisting he didn't mean to adopt except Assan loves him and follows him everywhere and he goes and gets special truffles for him, and he's leading Rook around the forest and being vulnerable and wishing to return to his roots and to protect everyone like a prince from a fairytale--

And look at this dapper professor we found in a crypt with his skeleton son, OHHH, he's so polite and gentlemanly and solicitous, and look at jewelry and his unlimited well of compassion and kindness and empathy for everyone around him, and look how he's inexorably drawn to death despite being afraid, and look at his brilliance and--

OH MY GOD, yeah, Hey, to you, too, Taash, WOW, you are so tall and so competent at murdering those bad guys and making friends with this dragon and also at breathing fire??? I didn't know they could DO that... but awww look how they are with the birds! Look how gentle and sweet they are, and how much time they take to understand and make space for other people, and how they're learning about themselves and how wiling to address their problems they are, that's really impressive--

anyway, that's about how it went. It was the longest time I ever took to decide in a BW game, tbh.

[sky-scribbles]

Party Banter with Rook!Blackwall

Harding: You know, for a moment back there, I thought you might actually get through to Solas.

Thom: Regret’s something we have in common. I thought… if I reached out to him, told him I understood what guilt drives you to do…

Harding: But no. ‘Do not compare your regrets with mine, Thom Rainier!’

Thom: He’s right, though. He can at least say he did his crimes trying to stop tyrants. I did mine for coin.

Harding: Uh, yeah, and then you faced up to it and decided no one else was going to get hurt for it except you. Solas is right. He’s nothing like you.

—

Lucanis: Do we have a problem, Warden Rainier?

Thom: You kill people. For gold.

Lucanis: I do. Venatori. Blood mages. The political rivals of those who hired me.

Thom: And that’s enough for you? Someone flashes a purse, and you’re ready to murder over some nobles’ spat over which of them gets the bigger fancy house?

Lucanis: Depends on the size of the purse.

—

Bellara: Um, so, about the mayor of D'Meta's Crossing? I just… do you really want someone like that? In the Wardens, I mean.

Thom: I won’t defend him. But he wouldn’t be the first Warden who let innocent people die for gold, and got another chance from the Order.

Bellara: He doesn’t deserve it. Like, really, really doesn’t deserve it.

Thom: No. Neither did I.

—

Thom: Do you ever get people trying to bribe you? To look the other way, or drop a case, or...

Neve: It's Minrathous. If I took even half the bribes I've been offered, I could buy an estate in Hightown.

Thom: It takes a special kind of strength to resist that.

—

Thom: I got a letter from Sera the other day. Don’t ask me how she got it to the Lighthouse.

Harding: ‘Friends’, I bet. And hey - she dealt with the Fade for you! So what'd she say?

Thom: Well, there was a lot of calling Solas a shite-faced arseknuckle. And then she told me not to get killed, or she’d yank my beard ‘til my head came off.

Harding: Aw.

—

Lucanis: Rainier, I do not knife civilians. Everyone I have killed has been embedded in politics. Their hands are never clean.

Thom: And you're sure you’ve never made a mistake? Never got a passer-by or a child caught in all the blades and arrows? Never gone in without knowing everything, and got someone hurt?

Lucanis: Of course not. I’m a professional.

Thom: You’re a mercenary with a cape.

—

Thom: You could’ve left Dock Town. A mage. Talented. You could’ve gone anywhere, chased a better life.

Neve: If I left, I’d be abandoning people who never got that choice. I’m good where I’m at.

Thom: I hope you know how admirable that makes you.

Neve: Not that admirable. If I got that estate in Hightown? Too far to walk to Hal’s fish stand.

Thom: (laughs) Good priorities.

—

Davrin: So, Rainier. Heard a lot of rumours about how you joined the Wardens.

Thom: (uneasy noise) You know, Warden Blackwall told me your past gets forgotten after the Joining.

Davrin: A nice ideal, but it never stands up to the gossip. But you’ve shown your worth.

Thom: Enough for me to have one of those griffons when we rescue them, d’you reckon?

Davrin: (laughs) We’ll see.

—

Thom: I knew someone like Manfred once. He was a spirit, but he sort of… grew his own body.

Emmrich: Oh! A spontaneous incarnation! Do you happen to know what kind of spirit he was?

Thom: Uh… the kind that looks like a young man, but reads minds and flits about trying to make everyone feel better about themselves?

Emmrich: Ah, Compassion! A rather more advanced emotion than Curiosity, and therefore capable of manifesting a physical body, rather than needing to adopt a vacant one.

Thom: More advanced? Right. That explains why Cole used to talk to me about living with the weight of regret, and Manfred spent ten minutes yesterday poking my face to see if my beard came off.

—

Neve: So, you know Dorian?

Thom: Does anyone who’s been in the same room as him for thirty seconds get a choice about knowing Dorian?

Neve: And didn’t always get along, I take it.

Thom: He’s… he’s not so bad. We might’ve judged each other by first impressions back when we met.

Neve: And what’s your impression now?

Blackwall: Still too fancy for his own good. But it says exactly who he is that he’s fighting against slavers and blood mages. I think I got the better deal with the darkspawn.

—

Taash: I heard the Inquisitor turned into a dragon.

Thom: No, she… didn’t. But she did get one to fight with us once.

Taash: She did? What kind? How’d she do it?

Thom: Sort of… gold? And she drank from this pool of elven magic, and… that somehow let her ask it to help us. I think.

Taash: Did she ride it into battle?

Thom: Uh… No.

Taash: Oh. I would’ve ridden it into battle.

—

Thom: Emmrich, do you know what those demons were the other day? The ones that wouldn’t leave me alone?

Emmrich: Ah. Those were manifestations of Shame. A variant of the Despair spirit.

Thom: Right. Don’t know what I expected.

Emmrich: If it’s any consolation, I find that one can tell much more about a person from the more benign spirits that gather around them. I catch glimpses of them about you often. Valour. Fortitude. Honour.

Thom: I hope to be worthy of them.

—

Thom: Lucanis, have you ever regretted any of your kills?

Lucanis: Not so far.

Thom: So this is what you’re fine with being? A man who takes nobles’ money and lives in luxury with your bloodied hands? That's the life you chose?

Lucanis: Not ‘chose’, exactly. It is what I was trained to be since my childhood.

Thom: Wait. You were – who trains a child to be an assassin?

Lucanis: You met my grandmother.

—

Davrin: You held up pretty well in the last fight, Rainier. For an old man.

Thom: Whelp like you’d better watch what he says around a senior Warden.

Davrin: Why? You’ll tell me to do the fifty press-ups that your creaky bones can’t handle?

Thom (laughs) I’ll stop letting you borrow my best chisel.

—

Bellara: Hey, um, Thom? You know that little rocking griffon you made? Could you make, I don’t know, a bigger one? Like… adult… person-sized?

Thom: (chuckles) You never have a rocking griffon growing up?

Bellara: No! They’re not a Dalish thing! Because you can’t really rock. When the aravel’s moving, I mean. So… no, it’s a dumb idea. Forget I said anything.

Thom: You want me to make it a rocking halla?

Bellara: Yes please thank you.

—

Emmrich: How far you must have travelled, with both the Inquisition and the Wardens!

Thom: I like being on the road. Keeps a man honest.

Emmrich: I rather envy your fearlessness of the wider world. It’s so recent that the end of the Circles allowed me to travel freely outside the Necropolis.

Thom: Must have been freeing. Having the whole world suddenly open to you.

Emmrich: And rather overwhelming, I must admit. When I compare myself to you – a brave Warden, combatting the Blight across all of Thedas…

Thom: Trust me: compare the two of us, and that’s the only way I’ll come out better from it.

—

Thom: We fought quite a few dragons in the Inquisition. Almost got eaten once by some pissed-off beast in the Hinterlands. Kept throwing its dragonlings at us.

Taash: Fereldan Frostbacks are crappy mothers. First sign of trouble, and it’s ‘here! Take my children!’

Thom: (laughs) The worst was the lightning-spitter off the Storm Coast. Spent twenty minutes hacking away at its scales, rest of my team unconscious on the ground.

Taash: Wait - you what? That's not how you fight dragons. You can't just stand there and hit them. That's stupid. And boring.

—

Lucanis: It’s how the Crow Houses work. Children of the House lineage are trained from our infancy.

Thom: Andraste’s fucking tits.

Lucanis: It’s necessary. If Illario and I had been coddled… Caterina pushed us hard and young, because she wanted us to survive.

Thom: I don’t… (sighs) The things people do to children.

—

Harding: I never thought to ask - how come Varric changed your nickname?

Thom: I asked him to go with something else. 'Hero'... that was a name he gave to Blackwall.

Harding: Well, he chose the right name. You know, 'cause Rooks move in straight lines. And you charge right in there, don't mess around with fancy words, just hit things til they drop. You could say you're -

Thom: Don't do it, Lace.

Harding: Straightforward.

Thom: (chuckles) You're as bad as Sera.

—

Emmrich: Master Rainier, I wanted to say – I hope you know that you’re the only person here who looks at you with any harshness.

Thom: I – (sighs) You don’t know everything about me.

Emmrich: I would never claim to. But I know that you place yourself before your allies and the defenceless without hesitation and with utter selflessness. I know you understand your Warden oath better than many of your superiors. I know that you are a good man.

Thom: … I wish I knew what it was like to be you. Seeing the good in everyone, living or dead.

Emmrich: Then I hope you’ll permit me continue to see the good in you – until you can see yourself as I do.

[catierambles]

"So," Rook said, leaning back in the chair in the cafe. "Since we're still stalling, I have a joke for you two." Illario and Lucanis both gave her an interested, and identical, tilt of the head. Definitely related. "Two Crows and a Mortalitasi walk into a cafe--"

"I think I know this one." Lucanis said, one corner of his lips perking into a grin, "It ends with a Venatori spy being killed and raised from the dead--"

"To serve drinks while doing handstands." Rook said, "It's a classic."

"You're a Mortalitasi?" Illario asked, "I knew there was something beautifully macabre and mysterious about you." She just perked an eyebrow at him before giving a snort.

"Okay, then." She said, "But yes, I'm a Mortalitasi of Nevarra. Member of the Mourn Watch."

"You work in the Necropolis?" Lucanis asked and she nodded with a hum, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Until recently. I was...encouraged to travel a bit after ending an undead uprising of risen nobles. Politics."

"Now you're fighting Venatori and Antaam." Illario said.

"Mustn't forget the blighted elven gods controlling them." She said, casually, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

"How did you come to be a member of the Mourn Watch?" Lucanis asked, "Illario and I were born into the Crows, I'm curious how Nevarra does it."

"I was found in the Necropolis as a baby." She said, looking down at her coffee. "By a couple of spirits, Protection and Compassion. Not a newborn, but not yet a toddler. They heard me crying."

"Your parents abandoned you in the Necropolis?" Illario asked, leaning forward a little in his seat.

"We don't know what happened." She said, "The spirits never said how I came to be there. The Necropolis is...well, it's almost a living being itself. Constantly changing and rearranging. New rooms appearing, more hallways. I was in one of them. Protection watched over me while Compassion got the attention of the Watchers." A smile stretched slowly over her face, "Apparently when the Watchers found me after following Compassion, a few wisps were dancing around me making me laugh and I kept trying to catch them, Protection keeping the other spirits away. No one ever claimed me and, like I said, the spirits never said how I wound up there."

"I had wondered how an elf came to be named Anna Ingellvar." Lucanis said and she gave a small laugh.

"I was adopted by a senior Watcher, Otis Ingellvar. He was one of the Watchers who followed Compassion." She said, "He and his wife, another Watcher, never had children of their own and they always said that if they had a daughter, they'd name her Anna. There's a theory that I was a spirit pulled from the Fade by the Necropolis and given a living form, the Fade being a plane of manifestation and reflection and all that. Well, less an actual theory and more "wouldn't it be fascinating if--" kind of thing. It was never given any serious consideration."

"That would explain your beautiful and captivating green eyes." Illario said and she perked another brow at him.

"Does he ever stop?" She asked, looking at Lucanis.

"When in the company of a beautiful woman? No, unfortunately not." Lucanis said and she gave a small smile at the roundabout compliment he gave her.

[cicide76536]

Discussing Lucanis' hand in relationships and flirting, I have a feeling that he must have been trained by Caterina to at least try to be somewhat charming and polite, but as soon as real feelings start to get in the picture, he fumbles. Like he tries to do everything he's seen Illario do, say the things Caterina taught to say when needing to break the ice, but with Rook he's just... lost and first time experiencing butterflies in stomach.

I'm certain that Rook will read that as Lucanis not being interested in them and kinda backing off, only for Lucanis to attempt really awkward flirting later... Fumbling with words, twitching anxiously between sentences, unable to look anywhere while waiting for an answer....

I bet Lucanis stays awake at nights thinking How the hell did that one assassin get adopted into a family of failed contract targets??

Not to embarras the man even further but being so busy with crowtraining and work, has he ever had a relationship before? Is he the first virgin crow? Can Zevran teach him or

[supacutiepie]

My full playthrough verse for Dragon Age is 'What the World Asks of Its Children' and the idea is that we focus on children and how they change dynamics and themes in all four games. (Also I love Dorian and he's the main star for a good portion of the au because he started it with Theia and Ataashi) Origins: Running of the 78% reasonable idea that Aegis is the child being asked to save the world. So her real part of the story will be an after story tale, about her Mother, Edona. DA2: This time, Hawke is the parent and the twins are the children he raises with help from his companions. Hawke is a disabled ex-sexworker doing his very fucking best. (Instead of either Bethany or Carver dying in Lothering, it's Leandra. And the twins are way younger, at like ten or eleven during the opening act) Sort of between DA2 and Inquisition: Dorian and the story about his girls. 'A girl named Dragon': how he gets captured and meets a dying tal-vashoth, and how this ends with him adopting a little girl named Ataashi. And then 'The Ghost of a Girl', how he takes a terrified and mute elf under his coat and they make a little family. Also in this era is Bull's 'Sea of Candles'. where he learns he has a daughter but the human mother wants nothing to do with the child because it kiiiinda ruined her. Tal-Rasani is a treasure. Then we get into Inquisition: Where The Herald is an elvhen hunter named Liora who lost her husband at the conclave and the same day of the explosion she conceives her first child, several months later giving birth to a little girl named Dawn. And how the Inquisition changes when there are four little girls running around and then two angst twin teenagers LMAO PLUS morrigan has kieran. we're all girl dads here. Then to Veilguard: Rook is a Crow turned Warden. She was sweet ona boy several houses above hers, sweet for a long time and he even reciprocated her affections. enough so that they were each others only love - until she found out she was pregnant. His grandmother did not approve of the match at all, so she 'sent away' the girl and the child under the guise of 'its not safe to carry a dellamorte child' and that Rook would be able to deliver the babe somewhere safer. Bull shit. She got like, a month of rest after giving birth before she was ambushed by darkspawn. Caterina didn't know how pregnant Rook was because rook had suspicions about the old crone. So timeline was, Caterina was trying to get rid of both her and the baby. Rook is blighted, found by wardens carrying her newborn through the woods, and saved by the joining. All of this happens pre wigmaker - lucanis thinks his sweetheart was killed on an assignment bc thats what caterina tells everyone. i dont like this woman. cont

SO Lucanis thinks Rook was KIA. Never even knew she was pregnant. And Rook becomes a Warden sorta not her choice but it's what she can do, because she sort of thinks Caterina tried to kill her. So, she works with the Wardens, raises her daughter, and tries to think of a future. She doesn't get a chance to get much information about Antiva in. But she gets a single contact, she gets the news that the 'Demon of Vyrantium' is dead. That her 'Luca' is dead. So, for a year, she thinks Lucanis is dead, and he's thought she was dead for four years. Imagine his shock when she rescues him. Actually imagine VIAGO'S shock when Teia wide eyed and shocked brings Rock and Harding into the Diamond, imagine CATERINA'S shock and disdain, trying to twist it around as though Rook hid the fact she was alive. Rook doesn't mention her daughter, doesn't trust that information to the first talon at all but damn, she tells viago and teia in secret when she can. they agree, its not a safe place. SO... Imagine being Lucanis, first being rescued by the very alive first love you ever had. THEN her telling him not to freak out - but his mini me is five years old and running amok in the lighthouse. And then, imagine seeing some FUCK ASS Warden pick up said lil girl and she squeals about her 'uncle dav!' and oh BOY you thought those two were catty before???? now its a DAD FIGHT (It's not, because literally everyone and the spirits can tell that little girl belongs to Lucanis, but Lucanis is so deep in his head about spite he's terrified she'll get hurt so he tries to remain distanced but this is literally the one thing he's wanted his whole life SOOOO) ((Also, those weeks where rook is gone? Dad Adventures, the estranged father and the step dad LMAOO) ANYWAYS!! I'm going to piece together this big massive au little by little. It's been my little pride and joy for seven, eight, TEN years man.

[mx-pastelwriting]

Just wanna show off my Rook!

This is my second game play (We don't talk about my first rook :)).

Spoilers up ahead!

Isn't she pretty~ Pronouns are She/Her and is Non-Binary! Also is a mage.

Her name is Lavellan! Yes, that's her first name. Why? Let's get to her backstory I made in my crazy little head! NOT CANON (I know my made-up backstory for her isn't going to make sense with the game's timeline, but let's pretend it's more than ten years!)

Lavellan's backstory (In my head) is that she is a Shadow Dragon being adopted as a foundling with an unknown origin found only with the name "Lavellan" attached to her (A name or filing marker from being stolen??). Her adoptive parents, wanting her to have as much of her Elven origin as possible, kept it as her name.

Raised in a military family, later joining the Shadow Dragons before meeting Varric. Varric, trying to find traces of Solas, hears about a child born months after his disappearance, along with echoes of the inquisitor's mourning of a child (Mourning or cries of her child having been kidnapped?).

If you haven't pieced it together by now, yes, my backstory for my Rook is that she is the secret love child of my Inquisitor and Solas…🧍I don't care if the timeline doesn't make sense.

Of course neither Solas nor the Inquisitor, or even Rook, knows when coming face to face, but Varric does as soon as he finds her, seeing both Solas and the Inquisitor in her face, bringing back old memories of fighting alongside Solas and the Inquisitor. (I wanted to spice up my second gameplay, so I created all of this on the support beam of a toothpick.)

I tried my best to give her their looks. Giving her a similar vallaslin to her mother. Also, it doesn't show much, but her eyes are a mix of Solas's purple eyes and her mother's amber eyes.

Now what features are from who? Jaw and some of her shin came from Inky. Eyes and hair color are from Solas. Color in the cheeks and cheek plumpness are from Inky, though cheekbones are from Solas. Lip shape from Solas and plumpness from Inky. Finally, the eyebrows being the shape of Solas's and Inky's thinness.

My Inquisitor before and after:

Definitely had a glow up! I took more time on this Inky compared to my first playthrough.

Meeting her mother. (My headcanon for this scene is that the Inquisitor, when looking at Rook, feels some kind of connection but can't put her finger on it with all that is going on with the world; she can't think on it too much, sadly.)

Now meeting Pop Pop. (Also feeling a connection with Rook when looking at her but thinks it's because she has similar features as the Inquisitor, so doesn't think on it anymore than that as two tyrant gods are running around.)

Last thoughts. No Solas or the Inquisitor or even Rook would ever know they are related. Though when Solas and the Inquisitor when in the Fade, they would comment on Rook's features and the name, but they have other things to do and passes the name off as a clan thing.

The Inquisitor would open up to Solas about both of them having a child out there somewhere in the world, not knowing if they are alive or dead, but with them both having painful wounds still open needing to be healed, the topic would drop off, but the thoughts and questions would still linger in their heads.

NOW ROMANCE!! Bit of Spoilers!!!

Romancing Lucanis this time around, as my first playthrough, I romanced Emmrich. Which was amazing! But my jaw is dropping with this scene, so I'm excited to see what's next!

I haven't gotten that far in the romance or game, so I don't have the great ending clip (Solavellan ending) just yet, but I'll post it when I get there if my console doesn't shit the bed on me again. yes again. I'm still bitter.

Thank you for reading my rambles! Hope you had fun reading it!

Heres more gifs of my Rook! GIF DUMP!!!

The lie detector test determined that you are the father!

[lightan117]

Mourn Watch Headcannons 2

I had to make more now that I've finished the game....

As a reminder - this is based on the character that I've used, but I've mostly tried to keep Rook's gender natural.

Mourn Watch in general:

Students 100% ship Myrna and Vorgoth together. They also have little betting pools on which professors sleep with whom. Many students also end up as couples that eventually lead to the next generation.

Speaking of students - the students are the entire gossip pool of the Necropolis. The teachers get their information from the students.

Nevarran beetles are 100% pets (think Scarabs). Mourn Watchers will try to have different colors and species. Golden beetles are rare, but green ones are common.

More on the Grand Necropolis is Hogwarts - first-year students ALWAYS get lost, and search parties always stand by the first few months to find the ones who are. Spirits who are restless might "lure" people away and just peace out when they are well and truly lost (Vorgoth is never happy when this time rolls around)

If students get in trouble, their punishments are to deal with the gentry and clean their tombs. Ever want to hear a spirit complain about how students are not cleaning their tomb correctly? No, didn't think so.

Everyone knows that Markus Pentaghast is dead or undead. It may not be confirmed, but low-key, everyone knows that man is not really "alive." Emmrich confirms it with Lucanis, but we all know Mourn Watchers just know in general just by reading the news. The king was poisoned again? Of course, it didn't work—the man is already dead, guys. Take a hint.

They love to throw any type of fancy party to one-up each other. If someone is having a fight, they don't brawl - they throw the biggest party to show off.

Mourn Watch Rook:

Mourn Watch Rook, when traveling to Treviso, will always look to see if there is anything that they can bring back for Myrna and Vorgoth (Big sister and brother energy). Def will try and get Vorgoth and Viago together to talk about paintings.

There is a scene where Harding mentions Rooks' speech not being as proper unless they are talking to a fellow mourn watcher—THIS IS ON PURPOSE, NO ONE CAN KNOW THAT THEY ARE VERY PROPER IN SPEECH! They worked really hard that first year with Varric to be "normal." They can switch back and forth really easily.

Minrathous is the place they dislike the most due to their view on spirits and power. Feels bad for those in Dock Town - hate everyone up top. Politics are almost the same but not as bad I feel.

Would pester Emmrich (in the best way) about what they missed in Nevarra and any lessons he could teach them. Lessons from one of the top professors in the Mourn Watch? Why the fuck not?! They can also nerd out together about all things undead.

Assan and Manfred are the favorites of the whole group

Rook has beetles in their room - fight me - everyone knows and thinks its weird when they show up at the lighthouse with a glass case full of beetles. Spite thinks they're cool.

(End of Game) Mourn Watch Rook and dating:

If Mourn Watch Rook is dating Lucanis, they would have a hard time once everything is...normal I guess? I'm sure the Mourn Watch would give the nobility the middle finger if they protest Rook coming back to Nevarra (they would be welcomed back with open arms - Rook just made them fucking famous). Their role, they take seriously, but they would find some common ground to meet in the middle. I could see that the Mourn Watch would allow Rook to work out of Treviso but have to make trips home for rites/reports/gossip. Rook is the only exception tho, everyone is shit out of luck until Rook decides to put forward change. Lucanis and Rook do end up getting married and having a bunch of kids (adoption or by natural).

If Mourn Watch Rook is dating Emmrich, they would move back to Nevarra to live together. Rook would be allowed back into the Mourn Watch cuz why the fuck not...

(Spoilers!)If Emmrich became a Litch - I would feel things would be difficult due that the man is undead and would outlive them (there is no going around that topic; it will be rough). There will be arguments and such, but after about, I would say, a year, things will die down into a routine. The topic of marriage might come up and there might be one. (Lots of convos about what happens when Rook does die). Emmrich might try to stay teaching students and opening up conversations with Litchs still having relationships with the living as per his relationship with Rook being an example. An uphill battle if you choose this route.

(Spoilers!) If Emmrich did NOT become a Litch - this route might be a tid difficult but not as much as if Emmrich is a litch. Since he's human with Manfred (Manny as I call him) you two are in your perfect little bubble that no one can pop. Emmirch would go back to teaching and Rook could do whatever they want. They could teach if they wanted, become an instructor, or even help Myrna. Emmrich does have fears of his death still but Rook would be there to help him along with Manny. When the time comes, Rook would not be left alone.

[pixiedurango]

Get to know Rook

Thank you, @thedosianmage for tagging me. As always with me, you get the 2 for 1 so here are my girls. No pressure plz, but I tag @uriellactaea @sephiratales @thievinghippo @cryinthevortex @sternentreue @druckkugelschreiber @midnightwind @say-lene @rookinthecrownest @boufsy @xladyxfatex and whoever wants to play

Name? Leyla "Dapper" De Riva

Gender? She/Her

Age? 30

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Pragmatically optimistic.

Are they introverted or extroverted? extroverted

How do they display affection? touch, spending time, showing interest in hobbies etc

What is their greatest fear? Not being taken serious

Do they have siblings? Older or younger? When she left dust town her mother had no other children

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? Being trained a Crow was an improvement to being casteless in Orzammar. And yet Crow training is not easy or being nurtured at all

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? Probably taking out another fledgling whom she was close to because it was part of her contract

Has anyone ever saved their life? Probably the de Riva who bought her free from Dust Town

Do they believe in love at first sight? No. Love, like friendship and any other bonding feelings take time. And trust. And a crow does not trust easily.

Are they in a relationship? It's complicated (ask Lucanis).

Has your character ever been in love? She's about to fall for Lucanis. But they both need time being awkward around each other

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? She's a loud and brash one and she is known to get in tavern brawls. But she's witty with words too

What is their choice of weapon? Two blades. And as a de Riva preferably poisoned

How many weapons they can use? She carries a small bow and does pretty badass distance shots. But she likes to fight in melee range better.

If they could save one person, who would it be? Lucanis

What is their greatest regret? That her mother had to stay back at Orzammar as a casteless dwarf and that there were no way to find and get her later when she had the means.

How do they respond to a threat? Calling them out and facing them.

Name? Caramella "Cara" de Riva

Gender? She/Her

Age? 32

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic

Are they introverted or extroverted? Extroverted

How do they display affection? Proximity, listening, touch, gifts, surprises

What is their greatest fear? Hurting someone she loves by being impulsive

Do they have siblings? Older or younger? Viago is her half brother (same father - so she is a royal bastard, too), one younger adopted sister, Elia de Riva neé Cousland (OC belongs to @wardenparker)

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? The Crows are not nurturing. And Viago is especially hard on his sisters. But they knew how to play him to make things more bearable. It became easier, once Teia came into Viago's life.

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? not being firmer in holding Varric back from walking up to Solas all alone.

Has anyone ever saved their life? The whole Veilguard team and vice versa. Also probably Viago and her sister

Do they believe in love at first sight? No. But she believes that love can grow from a friendship and even if being apart from the loved one for many many years.

Are they in a relationship? Yes

Has your character ever been in love? Yes. She had feelings for Lucanis since she was 15 and he 17. And now finally the can be together

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? She's an excellent negotiator. She most likely will kill you with words before she even draws her weapons

What is their choice of weapon? She wields a sword and carries a shield. Its not common for a crow but she defended her choice for so long and so often until no one wanted to get into that argument with her. Her shield is custommade and way smaller than the average warrior's shield. It's like a chakram and enchanted to be tossed and return to her.

How many weapons they can use? She's good with any type of blades, uses her shield with a passion and if necessary she can actually be pretty deadly without any weapon but her hands/body.

If they could save one person, who would it be? Lucanis

What is their greatest regret? Not being in Treviso when Lucanis was kidnapped and put into the Ossuary due to her "contract" with Varric.

How do they respond to a threat? Facing it right away

[ashenlavellan]

Rook & Companion Banter - Part I

This was inspired by @t00tsmcgee - I had seen their post about banter between their own Rook and Neve (it was the second episode, as the first contained Bellara). Go and check theirs out, I highly recommend it! ^.^

Neve | Harding | Bellara | Lucanis | Davrin | Emmrich | Taash

Backstory - Lucretia's mother, Laverna Amata, was once a slave to an abusive magister; this monster was her biological father. Her mother was adopted into the Mercar family, hence, Lucretia was born into the family. Lucretia joined the Shadow Dragons to save those trapped in the life of slavery - so no other families experience what her mother had.

[MINOR SPOILERS FOR QUESTLINE DECISIONS]

Neve: "What made you join the Shadow Dragons?"

Lucretia: "I thought you were privy to that information beforehand?"

Neve: "Perhaps. Maybe I wish to compare what I've heard?"

Lucretia: "I joined because my mother was forced into slavery and shipped away from Starkhaven. I'd like to save those who have been dealt the same hand."

Neve: "Wow. You certainly don't hold back, do you?"

Lucretia: "Most of the time, I do. But, there are exceptions."

-

Lucretia: "Can I answer any other questions for you, detective?"

Neve: "Detective? I wasn't expecting that..."

Lucretia: "It only seems fair, considering that you refer to me by moniker."

Neve: "Point taken."

Lucretia: "Feel free to call me Lucretia, or even refer to me by surname. Just don't call me 'Luce,' only my cousins can use that nickname."

Neve: *chuckles* "I'll keep that in mind, Lucretia."

-

Lucretia: "Neve, I-"

Neve: "What do you need, Mercar?"

Lucretia: "...Nothing."

-

Neve: "How do you like your coffee, Mercar?"

Lucretia: "Hmm, I prefer medium roasts since I like a little bit of sweetness. I'm not too picky though, as long as it's not black coffee."

Neve: "Then you'd certainly hate the kind that I make. I can still recall the look of disgust when Lucanis realized that I boil it."

Lucretia: "I'd be willing to try it, if you'll allow me."

Neve: *chuckles* "Don't say I didn't warn you."

-

Neve: "I want to apologize to you, Lucretia."

Lucretia: "Whatever it was, there's no need. I-"

Neve: "Lucretia."

Lucretia: "Neve."

Neve: "I called you a knife-ear, Lucretia, and it's been weighing on me ever since-"

Lucretia: "We were surrounded by the Venatori and undercover, Neve, so I'm not upset with you. Yet I'm touched that you were concerned about this. So, please, don't blame yourself any longer."

Neve: "Then how much longer will you continue to blame yourself for Minrathous?"

-

Neve: "We've had our disagreements and differing choices, but I'm glad that you've stood beside me for most of it. Especially with helping me take down Aelia... for good."

Lucretia: "I may not have proven myself enough to be your friend, Neve, but you're certainly one of mine."

Neve: "Then let's take down Elgar'nan, once and for all, Lucretia. He's wreaked enough havoc upon our home.

I certainly had fun writing this - it was delightful, writing one-on-one dialogue between Lucretia and Neve! It was a little heart-breaking, writing the implied convo after she had saved Treviso over Minrathous...

[rederiswrites]

Arden Mercar

Fighting style: Two sword duelist (and a very very good one at that), decent archer when pressed.

Faction: Shadow Dragons

Age: 28 at the beginning of the events of Veilguard

Backstory: Adopted only son of Legatus Charon Mercar, a high-ranking general of the Tevinter military. Grew up in the upper ranks of Soporati culture, trained from a young age to succeed his father as a military man. Rebelled and went to Minrathous to create his own life. Spent a while doing odd jobs as a guard, got in with some of the wrong people and did some things he wasn't proud of, until he found the Shadow Dragons. The Shadow Dragons gave him clarity of purpose and a new use he could live with for the martial and leadership skills that had been drilled into him.

Also he had kinda a huge crush on the Viper and though he's since moved on, he will probably go catatonic if he ever learns who the Viper really is.

Romance: He fell hard for Lucanis. Initially for maybe not all the right reasons--Lucanis' badassery and (trained, not natural) smooth talk was very very sexy to him. But as he got to see more and more of the real Lucanis, the love deepened and the texture of his care for Lucanis changed to something much richer. Arden is pretty casual and comfortable about sex and romance, which was always a pretty straightforward good time for him, and he has to put a lot of thought and care into approaching Lucanis in a way Lucanis can deal with. It's work he's absolutely eager to do, but there's some trial and error.

Solas: That is more than a paragraph or two will tell, but Arden's interactions are all colored by his starting point, and that's Varric. Varric believed in Solas' good heart, and Arden trusted Varric. Varric wanted to give Solas a chance, and so Arden comes to Solas with an open mind. After that, things...get messy. Obviously.

But the trouble is, no matter how furious Arden gets at Solas, he carries understanding around his neck like a stone. He understands the strategic value of Solas's choices. He's been trained all his life in making the hard choices, in taking a dispassionate approach to strategy. He didn't like it much, but he's stuck knowing it. He understands the reasons for Solas's betrayal. He even understands, given time, the great deception. Understands "whatever it takes". Understands that in a way he has been relying on Solas more all this time than he realized, that they're inseparably entangled in this. Oh, he's furious. He wishes he didn't understand. But he does. So he can't just condemn Solas and be done. And ultimately, the forces Arden brings to bear turn Solas from his path.

[lgvalenzuela]

With some encouragment from @heliomanteia reasons Caterina Dellamorte would hate Finn SO much

Background information about Finn. He's one of my oldest ocs, I've had him since Origins. He's the son of my Cousland and my Tabris.

He was living with his uncle since he was 15, because he's the only heir to the Couslands. But his background in the Alianage inform his personality a lot more.

His mother, Ciara, is also married to Zevran. And Finn and Zevran have an extremely close relationship, they truly love each other as a father and son.

Also I have this headcanon that Adaia Tabris also being an Antivan Crow long ago, because the thought of the Tabris family doing this for three generations absolutely cracks me up.

So reasons Caterina would hate Finn:

-He's part Antivan yes, but was raised in Ferelden and by all means he's Fereldan.

-He comes from a random family that keeps stealing Crows somehow (they don't really know about Zevran)

-They can't have kids biologically, and both agree that adoption is out of the picture if they know their kids would be tortured the same way Lucanis was.

-Finn being raised by Zevran, and already being exposed to people taking advantage of elves and disadvantaged people. Has NO sympathy for the Crows, he has sympathy for individual people but he will call them out as an organization, and is clever enough to not get tricked even when they're allies.

Seems like typical Grey Warden high and mighty bullshit until he reads them for filth.

-Again, thanks to Zevran (and my Hero of Ferelden who is not my Tabris but my Surana. Zevran and her have a sibling like relationship) Finn does see how important blood family is, he loves his mom, his uncles, his aunt and his sister. But from a very young age he's always valued the family you meet along the way, friends that become so close they're also family to you. And that not all families are healthy or loving.

These two facts are like Finn was made in a lab to deprogram Lucanis, he shows them so much about found family and how fucked up everything is by being genuienly caring and loving that it kind of rocks his world.

So does his meeting with Zevran. Finn takes him to meet his family because at one point he does really want to trust Lucanis, and Lucanis would never betray Finn's trust (with how much Finn has cared for him and done for him) by telling anyone where Finn's beloved father is.

-And very important. Finn has learned the art of being absolutely insufferable. Yes, he does go out of his way to piss Caterina off on propose, and knows she can't touch him because if anything were to happen to him, Lucanis and Spite would NEVER forgive her (this is the first line he ever drew with her that she could ask anything of him but break his relationship with Rook) and she would lose him forever.

[threelittlerooks]

On Crows and Surnames

So, I like the joke of "Will Crow Rook change their surnames to Lucanis'?" as much as the next person and I love to think of Viago freaking out about it, but I'm not from an anglo country and the underlying implication that they can't have both always seems a little foreign. The fact that people in anglophonic countries (usually) have only one surname was always a personal hell to me when I lived in England because 1) they couldn't pronounce my last surname to save their lives, 2) my uni email was like all my surnames together, which was a freak of the nature.

Usually people don't get rid of their own surname in most Iberian countries/latin american countries unless they want to? In Italy, it seems, they don't change at all, and the kids get the father's surname (I'm not sure about this one, I used google for it). But if you'd think traditionally, when a woman gets married, they keep their father's surname and adds her husband's surname, dropping her mother's. With some modern couples, both change their names and make a surname like the ones they'll use to their kids.

So, in this context, in the event of a marriage, a Crow Rook that has not changed houses would be Rook de Riva Dellamorte. In Spanish speaking countries, the kid's surnames would be Dellamorte de Riva, that is just. The best surname ever. If you go with the Italian way, Rook keeps the surname, the kids are all Dellamortes.

I don't think people at Bioware even thought of that, but that makes the fact that Crows who are adopted or change houses have to drop their past surnames even more violent? It's like, I'm stripping you of everything before we took you, and now your only loyalty is to us? Leave all you family allegiances behind. There's no family and nothing from before, only this, and you have to earn it. Until you earn it, you're nothing, you belong nowhere. On the other hand, if someone changes houses, it's one opportunity of starting again and a huge fuck you to your older house.

Anyway. Viago would never let Rook drop the de Riva. And it goes from each ones Rooks, but mine would never want to drop it either.

(But on the other hand, it's so good to think of Rookanis in a little situation where they have to deal with both Caterina AND Viago freaking out for different reasons and Lucanis having to face a lot of things about himself and to fight for what he wants!!)

[silurisanguine]

fabric and wine

I was inspired by a lovely comment from @damndirtyheathen on my Rook's missive story - Gift List, regarding how Teia and Isabela helped design Teleri's gift Taash's of Crow sashes. So here is their conversation below! Hope you like it!

Sitting side by side in Isabela’s captain's quarters on her ship, the two women drank wine and went over the design Teleri had come up with for her gift to Taash. Isabela had set aside everything normally on the table except for some gemstones and gold bullion she wanted to add to the piece. She pulled the exquisite shimmery blue samite silk to her face and inhaled the perfumes magically embedded in the fibres. “Andraste’s tits. The Orlesians didn’t have to go that hard with this fabric but they did it anyway. “ ”I know darling,” Teia crooned, lifting a piece to her nose to inhale the seductive scent of amber resin and night blooming jasmine “It’s not only soft and smooth, it’s flows like water. I have a nightgown made from it that drives Vi wild, he cant keep his hands off me or the gown.” ”How is that handsome bastard?” Isabela grinned at the way Teia tormented her lover, laying the bolt of fabric down and picking up her glass of wine again - a vintage Teia had brought with her to pass the evening helping with designing the cape sashes Teleri had wanted as a gift for Taash that would fit both Lords and Crows. She’d jumped at the chance to help as she thought it adorable Taash loved the Crows so much, hearing second hand about their childhood pretending to be one. She knew Taash would always be a Lord, but a Lord Crow?…now that was a fine idea. And Teia had fallen in love with Taash during the final fight in Minrathous, when they'd worked together to take down the Venatori witch who was controlling the first battle. They’d fought side by side through the ranks after that and Teia had agreed with Teleri and Lucanis at the celebration party to informally adopt the qunari into the Crows, should they ever feel like they needed another family alongside the Lords - they would have one. “Missing me probably. Vi is the one who picked this wine choice by the way, said it was as sharp as you are, but I only taste richness and seductive depth. He’s always been fond of you.” Teia giggled, nudging Isabela with her shoulder as she opened the box of enchanted Crow feathers, laying a few down on the fabric. “Vi wants these added. They need to be placed at the top of the sashes at the shoulders, so they catch the light and shimmer. They may look fragile but they will never damage.” ”Ooh we have to add some gold feathers in amongst them. Lords have to show off their haul you know, so cant forget our little dragon. Make it look like the Kataranda’s scales and how they are similar to feathers. I love that symbolic shit.” ”OOh good idea Bella. Might have to suggest that to Vi. He wont admit it, but he loves a little touch of gold in his outfits. Just don't let Chance near this or else it will have more gold on it than what you Lords wear!” ”I don't see a problem with that.” Isabela chuckled throatily as she looked down at her skimpy outfit, so encrusted with gemstones and gold from her many hauls, it sometimes hurt her head to look at when she'd had one too many drinks with the Lords. “But maybe for the Crows it’s a little too gaudy.” ”Vi would say too Orlesian, yet he loves his linen and samite from them!” The two women fell into fits of giggles, though they both managed to keep the wine in their glasses from spilling onto the fabric laid out on the table. ”Maker’s breath,” Isabela gazed down at the shimmering feathers laying on the rich fabric, almost jealous her dragon queen was going to get something so fancy. “Taash is going to look so good in this. They are going to explode when they see the finished sashes. Teleri, darling that she is, chose well.” Teia nodded in agreement, her eyes becoming glassy with emotion and she quickly took a sip of wine to centre herself. ”She’s taken Taash under her wing, practically adopted them. Reminds me of how I did the same for her years ago. Taash has two families now, they’ll always be loved.”

[persephinae]

any kid of Lucanis x Rook x Spite is going to be the most spoiled protected kid in all of Thedas

any daughter is doomed to be the most deadly assassin trained girl period. she'd have both her dad(s) and her mother's adoptive father who's a famous general of Tevinter training her. deadliest most spoiled princess ever. she can tell Caterina to fuck off and Caterina will be shedding a tear, like so proud bbygirl. I'd also love to see her abandon the Crows to become something that drives Caterina insane like a Veil Jumper. Fuck off great gram gram, I'm camping with the elves ✌️

any son is definitely getting that wyvern dagger, but will also be free to study whatever the fuck he wants because his dad remembers being forced by knife point through abuse and starvation to become the best assassin ever. this boy will be free to become Treviso's best chef and make his dad(s) proud

Spite goes crazy trying to protect them and also give them whatever they want whenever mom or Lucanis says no