#it’s her necrotic damage

[gin-draws]

feral fey flower witch

[mantisgodsdomain]

Maybe it's a bad idea to give a lich access to multiattack.

[leavemetoplaythesims]

another fantasy villain au edit because i like it

before:

[impossible-rat-babies]

making my own specialization for eshka that is just she shoots a bow really fucking good

[necrotic-nephilim]

For the ask game

How do think talia would react to seeing her father loose to dick in sword fight, since I discovered this I can't stop think about how others would react

for the ask game!

this was such a fun moment in the comics for Dick's development and thinking about how other characters would react to it is so fun

so the context of Dick beating Ra's is proving himself as Bruce's heir, since Bruce just died and Dick's Nightwing run is coming to an end to make him Batman. also interestingly, is that Ra's called Dick 'Detective' during this moment, as a sign of respect. so Talia is not only reacting to Dick beating Ra's, but also Ra's extending his respect to Dick as Bruce's replacement. so like everyone else, Talia is coping with the loss of Bruce. and like everyone else, she's apprehensive at best of the idea of Dick replacing him. they're impossible shoes to fill, and she's not exactly known for liking Dick in the first place. it's a difficult, messy time for everyone.

i don't think she'd believe it, at first. there are plenty of rumors and fights always get dramatized when they're retold. so until she hears it from Ra's himself, hears the respect in his voice when he talks about Dick, that's when she finally accepts it. and well. her feelings are complicated. because her feelings about her father are complicated, but at the very least she knows he's a formidable opponent and not many people alive can beat him, especially in a sword fight. and Dick isn't even *known* as a sword fighter, it's not his specialty. so shock would be the first real reaction, from Talia. Dick and Talia do *not* have a history of liking each other, they've always been at odds whenever they're forced to be around each other. they can work with each other for a common goal, like saving Damian or Bruce, but otherwise, they just don't get along and she's not one for extending and compliments toward him. and it was easy to dismiss him as nothing more than a sidekick when he was Robin, but now he's clearly Bruce's equal, able to beat Ra's and becoming Batman. it forces her to re-evaluate her view of Dick.

i think one of the biggest changes would be her being more willing to leave Damian in Dick's care. Damian is her son, and she loves him more than anything, so it's a lot of trust for her to just leave him with Dick. (i know she has issues with it in Batman & Robin (2009) and does all sorts of nonsense but we do not acknowledge Morrison's Talia in this house i refuse ty) so it'd make her slightly more secure to know Dick is capable of defending himself and raising Damian, since he can clearly beat Ra's in a fight. it at the very least means he has something meaningful to teach Damian and will make a good mentor, even if Talia's still not too sure about trusting Dick as family to Damian. she can respect him as a teacher.

eventually, i do think she'd still check up on Dick. she'd have to see this for herself and she would just. try to fight him solely to see what he's capable of. which Dick would be. annoyed by because he's really got bigger things going on than a test from Damian's mom to see if he's fit to raise Damian. but for Talia, it's not just about Damian. it's also about Bruce. this is her beloved's mantle that Dick is wearing, and she's not just going to take Ra's' word for it that Dick is worth this mantle. Dick tries to blow her off, but Talia is absolutely insistent on the fight, threatening to take Damian from Dick, which actually gets a real reaction out of Dick.

it'd be a close fight, but Dick would eventually come out on top. and when Dick finally beats Talia, she has to face a lot of feelings at once. she has to face her grief, that Bruce is really gone. she has to face the annoying reality that this kid she's never liked his finally surpassed her and is actually worth being Bruce's successor. and she has to face that Damian loves and respects Dick as his family. she doesn't take it well, at first. she blows Dick off and struggles with the reality of it all. but once she's sat with her feelings, similar to Ra's, she would come to a grudging respect for Dick. and even like him a little bit, holding him a high regard for being able to take care of her son and shape him into a good man, and to be able to take down Ra's. it's a hard balancing act for anyone to manage. i think she'd keep some level of contact with Dick, annoying him regularly just to check in and make sure he and Damian are doing okay. it ends up healing their relationship in a way, because she's finally able to view Dick as an equal.

[cannibalisticskittles]

okay wait actually instead of falling into their camp, she probably lands in some random spot in the shadow-cursed lands bc its connection to the feywild is currently all fucked up

makes her way to the last light inn because it seems like the best place to find more information -- the only spot that might have actual, living people, really. meets jaheira. "oh my gods it's jaheira, hiiiii jaheira i love your work"

immediately involves herself in their problems because she Just Can't Fucking Help Herself. she hears that some refugees got snatched up by cultists, and that's all she needs to know; point her in the general direction, and off she'll go

so symon and company rock up to moonrise towers and start exploring until they're stopped by some half-elf guard who's really insistent that they don't go beyond this door they're guarding and come into the room with them, and the party is secretly ready to come to blows over it bc hey, they need to do shit here, when the guard stops and just says "wait -- dad???"

opens the door, pulls off their helmet, says "oh, thank gods, i was sick of wearing this face." swipes a hand across their face, dispels their disguise, and there's a bloody little tiefling standing there instead

"i have been looking for you EVERYWHERE, what happened?? actually wait, let's talk about this later, there's more important business right now"

opens the door and there's a small pile of burned bodies that she's been trying to drag out of sight

"the people i'm looking for are a floor down but i was, um, a bit less discreet than i meant to be and i haven't been able to make my way down there yet. could use some help with this, if you've a moment to spare. either hiding or storming the rest of the castle, i'm not picky! :)"

[waterdeepthroat]

the moon and the world for the rook asks!

(pausing working on my viper fic to write this)(SPOILERS BELOW)

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

Oof, this is a good one for my Rook. It's important to start out by saying I played a very pro-Dalish, pro-preservation of history Veil Jumper, that in hindsight means the reason Varric recruited her is very ooc. She basically chose all of the actions in the game that would at least recognise if not restore the past- for example, collecting all of the wolf statuettes, having Harding embrace anger, Taash embrace Qunari culture, Bellara keep the archive spirit, and returning the griffons to Arlathan with Davrin. True to her name, she really does tend to think in straight lines, and prefers looking backwards than farther ahead. I think it's part of the reason I was so drawn to romance Davrin with her, while initially saying I would go for Emmrich or Neve. Davrin's all action, and they balance each other out well.

As for blind spots? Her reliance on history for decision-making means she can be naive, or miss the bigger picture. Rook's not the best at thinking ahead or predicting consequences, since she tends to rely on a limited data set and disregards her intuition. She also tends to put her foot in her mouth in conversations and is quick to anger (reflected by my choices of mostly Option 2 or the fist emotional response when it appears).

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

Oh boy. Yeah, my Rook has been through it. I really wanted to maximise narrative/thematic potential on my first playthrough, and that meant putting poor Rook through the ringer. Like Solas, she was often caught up in the past and her regrets, and tended to be single-minded in much the same way as a spirit. She genuinely thought Davrin was the better choice for Tearstone, and unintentionally sent him to his death. She bound Solas and tricked him with the fake dagger, even knowing that doing so would make her his parallel, something she hated more than nearly anything else. At her core, Rook is bitter and angry at the world for how much it has taken from her- her lover, her memories, even at times her personhood when it comes to Solas. I don't think there's really a happy ending for her, or for my Lavellan who I had abandon Solas at the end, but at least they're both okay. I'm a sucker for a bittersweet ending, and I was close to tears by the end of my first playthrough. Those parallels really do be paralleling.

Some photos of my Rook under the cut:

[bioware]

To begin our Companions Week, let us first reacquaint ourselves with the Veilguard.

Lace Harding - The Scout [Caption: Harding’s skills with the bow are unmatched - her arrows can stagger enemies and shred armor.]

Davrin - The Warden [Caption: Fiercely loyal, Davrin brings his enemies down hard with a combination of mighty attacks, teaming with his griffon, Assan, to keep their companions out of danger.]

Bellara Lutare - The Veil Jumper [Caption: Bellara manipulates the Fade and uses electricity and control magic to support her Companions and diminish the powers of their foes.]

Lucanis Dellamorte - The Mage Killer [Caption: Lucanis stylishly deals necrotic damage in battle with his dual-daggers, while supporting his companions with potions and buffs.]

Taash - The Dragon Hunter [Caption: Blunt and straightforward, Taash is a mighty warrior, who wields dual-axes and breathes out flames, igniting enemies with draconic fury.]

Emmrich Volkarin - The Necromancer [Caption: Emmrich summons forth spirits of the dead to both entangle and hinder his enemies and heal his companions.]

Neve Gallus - The Detective [Caption: Neve uses her talents as an ice mage to freeze and slow enemies, stopping them in their tracks.]

[soraavalon]

-Mary and Mistletoe making survival checks-

Mistletoe: *rolls* That's lower!

Marigold: *rolls an 18*

DM: Alright, well...

Ethan: RIP

Mistletoe: At least it's not worse. I think, I think Mistletoe--

DM: What did you roll?

Mistletoe: I got a 9 total.

DM: Okay.

Mistletoe: And I feel like Mistletoe is kind of reluctant to hurry things along. Just kind of, I don't know if he's consciously taking us down shortcuts that aren't really shorter or something like that, but I think he's like... willing to get a little lost.

DM: Got it.

Hunt (OOC): Oh.

DM: Well thankfully with Marigold's 18.

Marigold: He's like, "Mistletoe, where are you going?"

DM: Yeah, you kind of manage to steer things closer to the right direction. You go deep within the bog, you pass by you can see in the distance some hovels that you probably should not mess with. And eventually by the end of the last day, you're like 'We need to find a place to probably camp.' You can see through the trees maybe a little ways away this gnarled tree that they told you to look out for that was an hour about from where the troll resides.

Marigold (OOC): dun dun dun

DM: So with that 18, I'll say you guys are able to make camp tonight and that way you can face them in the morning.

Nathaniel: Yeah.

Marigold (OOC): Yeah, preparation casters prepare your combat spells.

DM: So that way that you guys have time to prepare your spells.

Marigold (OOC): I say that like Tark doesn't always have Inflict Wounds prepared at all times.

DM: But if you have anything with fire or acid, you're gonna want that.

[vigilskeep]

as a big fan of you Viago Posting I gotta ask, how do you think Viago feels/reacts to the news of Rook de Riva romancing each of the various companions? I feel like the guy would absolutely have Opinions on all of them lol

i keep receiving asks addressed like this as though i am some kind of Viago Whisperer, which i find both funny and an intimidating task. nevertheless i shall do my best.

i don’t think he would react well to any of the options here, but that’s not necessarily damning, because viago does not react well to basically anything. roughly in order from Least Viago Stress to Most Viago Stress:

1) emmrich seems, in banters with lucanis, to have been emboldened by lucanis’ confirmation that viago posssesses a rosseletto painting and gone on to actually discuss art with viago himself. (lucanis later lets emmrich know from viago that a painting he ordered for vorgoth’s benefit has come in.) emmrich is a man of culture with a very respectable necrotic damage specialisation. he comes from a politically powerful organisation that can defend itself, yet is not personally ambitious in a way likely to drag house de riva into trouble or use rook for his own ends. sure i think viago would make a little fuss about the age gap because he’s judgemental like that but i don’t think there would be much passion behind it

2) bellara’s bubbling questions and excitable nature would be personally a bit startling and maybe slightly grating to viago but i’m keeping her pretty high up because i think lucanis is right and that viago would eat up her knowledge about taste profiles for his usual Nefarious Purposes. once he realises she genuinely is asking questions about house de riva proprietary poisoning tactics for writing research, of all things, i think we can get these fantasy scientists chatting and then she’d charm him against his will.

3) taash’s general bluntness would startle viago even more. their interactions would be pretty hysterical, because taash is so straightforward and viago is so paranoid, and i think viago would leave all of them confused and slightly intimidated. if you send taash with the crows in the final battle, they and teia have a cute interaction about taash getting honorary crow rights, as a conclusion to lucanis and taash’s banters. so this has Teia Approval, which causes viago grumbling but does have a positive viago effect overall. the lords of fortune are friendly with the crows so i don’t think there are major occupational objections here

4) harding is an inquisition agent, which i think viago probably has both condescending and paranoid opinions about. i.e., the inquisition are a small band of fading influence but they also have a history of insane power grabs out of nowhere. neither of which are exactly what you want your protege to marry into. her inability to cook suggests very little skillset bonding. she’s an ordinary farm girl from ferelden and viago’s an antivan elitist so no discussion of their relative backgrounds is going to go very well. HOWEVER, there are saving graces here. she’s a rogue, which is the viago equivalent of dating someone who’s made good career choices. they briefly worked together in the comics with no issues and happily shook hands at the end. he would find her powers conceptually interesting. she’s the type of person to make an effort with in-laws. (hysterical image of her somehow getting viago to her ma’s house for a family gathering. his spindly legs not fitting under the dwarven table. him testing the world’s most earnest fereldan soup for poison. endless potential here.)

5) neve is a detective. viago is a poisoner and rook is his assassin. these are not particularly compatible life paths and i believe viago would point this out with increasing volume as nobody else seems to take issue with it. her canonical willingness to work with the crows would mollify him a bit. every other aspect of her life would not. maybe avoid her mentioning that she lives in a dock town apartment and makes no money because she’s too busy picking fights against impossible odds out of the goodness of her heart? like just don’t bring that up over dinner.

6) davrin made life choices against his own clan’s wishes, greatly approves when you knock his boss out cold, and has zero respect for the crows. davrin does not want viago’s approval. davrin cannot even pretend to want viago’s approval. viago thinks he has the right to be insulted. let alone the insult of his protege ending up with someone with the zero lifetime prospects of a grey warden monster hunter. does rook even know what happened the last time a crow lost their head over a warden? perhaps rook would like the crows to bury as many fifth talons as they did eighth talons! <- said in increasingly hysterical tones, as teia pats him on the back comfortingly while giving rook a thumbs up for picking out a handsome one

7) viago’s fairly sure you’re publicly dating the first talon because you want him personally in an early grave

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - site update - companion blurbs and abilities. [source] Some of this information is new, including each companion's Abilities list.

Text reads:

"LACE HARDING Inquisition This dwarven scout has a positive outlook and a ready bow – as well as unexpected magical powers. At her core, Harding is still a girl from Ferelden; she loves adventure, animals, and nature and is fiercely protective of her family and friends. Abilities: Seismic Shot; Heavy Draw; Shred; Adrenaline Rush; Soothing Potion Harding's skills with the bow are unmatched - her arrows can stagger enemies and shred armor. DAVRIN Grey Wardens Bold and charming, this Grey Warden has made a name for himself as a monster hunter. Though he was raised in a Dalish clan, he craved excitement and adventure. He’d rather make history than reflect on it. Now, he cares for Assan, a young griffon. Abilities: Battle Cry; Death from Above; Heroic Strike; Assan Strike; In War, Victory Fiercely loyal, Davrin brings his enemies down hard with a combination of mighty attacks, teaming with Assan to keep their companions out of danger. BELLARA LUTARE The Veil Jumpers Bellara is creative, romantic, and obsessed with uncovering the secrets of ancient Elvhenan. She has a strong sense of self – a clear idea of who she is and what she wants – and will push herself to her limits to find the answers she seeks. Abilities: Fade Bolts; Enfeebling Shot; Replenish; Time Slow; Galvanized Tear Bellara manipulates the Fade and uses electricity and control magic to support her Companions and diminish the powers of their foes. TAASH The Lords of Fortune A Qunari dragon hunter allied with the Lords of Fortune, Taash lives for adventure and doesn't mind taking risks. While her interests include sparkling treasures and hitting things with an axe, Taash is also deeply knowledgeable about many topics. Abilities: Fire Breath; Dragon's Roar; Dragonfire Strike; Spitfire; Fortune's Favor Blunt and straightforward, Taash is a mighty warrior, who wields dual-axes and breathes out flames, igniting enemies with draconic fury. LUCANIS DELLAMORTE The Antivan Crows Lucanis is an expert assassin for whom the Antivan Crows are a family business. He is poised & pragmatic, but he’d rather not be the center of attention. His focus is usually on his work. Lucanis specializes in executing powerful mages and has earned himself the title Demon of Vyrantium. Abilities: Eviscerate; Abominate; Soothing Potion; Debilitate; Adrenaline Rush Lucanis stylishly deals necrotic damage in battle with his dual-daggers, whilst supporting his companions with potions and buffs. EMMRICH VOLKARIN The Mourn Watch A necromancer of Nevarra's Mourn Watch, this well-meaning scholar comes complete with a skeletal assistant, Manfred. Emmrich is as serious about his duty to protect innocents from the occult as he is about his studies and his interest in the mysteries of the fade. Abilities: Final Rites; Replenish; Entangling Spirits; The Bell Tolls; Time Slow Emmrich summons forth spirits of the dead to both entangle and hinder his enemies and heal his companions. NEVE GALLUS The Shadow Dragons A cynic fighting for a better future, Neve is both a private detective and a member of Tevinter's rebellious Shadow Dragons. Born and raised in a working-class neighborhood of Minrathous, she does not believe in the superiority of mages. Abilities: Icebreaker; Blizzard; Glacial Pace; Time Slow; Replenish Neve uses her talents as an ice mage to freeze and slow enemies, stopping them in their tracks."

[source]

[graha-stan-account]

Things I learned from Encyclopedia Eorzea III

Do with this what you will, ffxiv fandom.

G'raha and the tower appeared about 15 years after the Flood of Light. Ardbert and team were all already dead. "Our" Minfilia had already dissipated.

At the time, he looked like his normal self. He is described as a Mystel dressed as a mage, so we can assume people knew he was a "Mystel" at the time, vs. later when his appearance is only speculative.

A bunch of refugees clamored to the Crystal Tower when it appeared. He said yeah you can hang out here, the tower defenses will keep you safe.

And then fucked off for 4 years to survey the damage of the Flood of Light.

When he got back he knew shit was really fucked and ASAP started trying to figure out how the hell to get the WoL over for pizza

At some point he figures out he needed to address the WoL verbally for some reason for the summoning to work properly???

It doesn't.

He decides this shit is gonna take 5ever and I'm already having a quarter life crisis. I'm going to bind my aether to the tower. It's the one secret anti-aging trick that has doctors PISSED

It'll be great, like, he'll almost never age.

Downside, his body slowly becomes necrotic with crystal.

More time lost because he has to use aether to discretely animate his crystallized limbs and digits to keep their use.

At some point, early Crystarium dwellers get tired of asking him for his name (he won't give it) and him rejecting the crown they offer him so they start calling him the Crystal Exarch.

Exarch says OK and wheels out some Allagan nodes to help build what would become the Crystarium. Go ham, guys.

Since no one really recalls what the Exarch looks like in present day, G'raha likely began wearing a cowl after returning from traveling Norvrandt, or when his body begins to change. Those who remember are likely dead (age or sineaters) or sworn to secrecy.

The developing crystal, which he did his best to hide, prevented him from truly connecting with the others.

Sometime after this, an infant Lyna falls into his care.

Well technically the Settlement Council (because he was like hey let's have a representative government [not because I grew up in one or anything!]! I'll just be over here.)

But he was very involved in her upbringing.

Probably because he was close friends with her parents.

Who die tragically while serving in the Crystarium guard (Meaning that the guard is at least 30 years old, likely more, as her parents were known to have served in the guard since inception basically and Lyna is 33 in SHB)

G'raha was probably in his mid-eighties at this point, judging by Lyna's age in SHB (33) and that we know G'raha had the Crystal Exarch title for 9 decades + the 24 years he had lived before he entered the tower. (He is likely slightly older due to the intervening time between being awakened in the Bad Timeline and heading to the First.)

He FINALLY gets summoning to work something like 90 years later!!!!! Except it still doesn't! Five years before he could nab the WoL, he nabbed Thancred instead (oops). It took another 2 years for it to successfully transport a soul again.

[coughloop]

Bart is weak to psychic and fairy attacks and strong against flying, and bug enemies. Resistance to physical and fire attacks. fastest movement speed and slingshot allows for greatest range attacks

Lisa is weak to physical, ground, and ranged attacks and strong against poison and fairy enemies. high resistance to psychic attacks and high discovery multiplier. can learn additional spells and restore parties mana pool

Marge is weak to poison, bug, and fire attacks and very strong against ghost and psychic enemies. Only character that can see ghost enemies and has high resistance to psychic and dark attacks. She hath seen where darkness crept, and banished it wholy.

Maggie is weak to flying, physical, poison, water, and fire attacks and strong against psychic enemies. moves at 1/4 speed and makes a constant popping noise that alerts all enemies in an area to her presence. mostly considered a gag character but possible to beat the game with.

Homer is very weak to psychic attacks and very strong against ice, poison, and dragon enemies. high physical, poison and dragon resistance and his Witchvein Urumi does stacking necrotic damage.

[grey-wardens]

all right, evil run time! as soon as i get mods all figured out on patch 7 🙏🏽

[bleeding-star-heart]

My personal (Watsonian) theory on how Gale's abs are visible

Ladies, gentlemen, nonbinary dazzlers; you know her, you don't love her, you do everything in your power to keep Gale from detonating her...

Yep. The Netherese Orb!

Now, hear me out. It's canon that this thing eats Gale's magic (a.k.a. the Weave). It's also canon that the Orb is or could be affected by Gale's emotions and/or physical body (a.k.a. Gale being afraid that arousal could cause it to detonate). Plus, whenever Gale dies in-game his corpse just happens to leak toxic magic which gives everyone in the area continuous necrotic damage. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that hosting a Netherese Orb does a lot of physiological damage to the body; damage on par with that of a tumor or a parasite. Supporting this is Mystra's dialogue with Gale. Namely, she states that the Orb can "never be sated", that it would "consume all magic in existence". That it was a "miracle" it consumed "no more than [Gale's] powers". That she "allows" it to eat real magic, and that this is a temporary solution. All of which heavily implies, if not outright tells us, that Gale could have been killed on first contact with the Orb (along with the rest of the universe possibly being nuked out of existence). Therefore, if the Orb is indeed as toxic/world-destroying as canon tells us, it makes sense that Gale's body would require vast amounts of caloric energy in order to keep it contained. In order to acquire/maintain which, Gale's body might resort to depleting its fat stores.

This in turn might create the appearance of abs-especially if Gale is dehydrated. And since, as we have established, the Orb is super toxic and might be a serious drain on his health, he might be. TLDR: Gale has abs because the Orb takes a serious toll on his body, causing him to lose weight without trying.

[mmavverickk]

percy's scars look like waves on his skin. they ripple when he moves, as if you're looking at him from underwater. it's impossible to imagine him standing still, because even if he does, the way the light hits his skin makes it look alive. alive like the ocean, alive like waves that crash on a beach, alive like a waterfall, like a whirlpool, like a waterspout, like a hurricane. alive like a riptide, pulling you in for a closer look before dragging you under.

jason and thalia's scars look like lightning. lichtenberg figures grow from their injuries, dance across their skin in the light. you can watch it happen, if you look closely. a cut, the blood striking across their skin like lightning in the sky, and if you listen closely, count the seconds, you may even hear thunder. even after the wound is long since healed, the scar shimmers with electricity.

nico's scars look necrotic. his wounds darken, the surrounding skin growing leathery to the touch. it never spreads, never goes farther than each wound that cannot simply sew itself back together, but it is a reminder that he does not quite belong with the living.

hazel doesn't scar. Hazel is borne of earth and treasure, a child of cursed beauty and value. nothing can damage a diamond, nothing is harder, stronger. perhaps she gets an injury, perhaps something does manage to pierce her skin. in time, there will be no trace of it.