#lucanis at the very least seemed into it on the very first coffee date

[butchvamp]

the romance in this game is making me bonkers, am i the only one that feels like the triggers aren't working. the scene i just got was really just

lucanis: i never wanted you to see me like that, rook

rook: (with the biggest wettest puppy dog eyes) it's okay, lucanis.... i'm here aren't i........ i Love You.

lucanis: (no reaction. goes straight into the next conversation topic)

thanks. my rook is killing herself after that one

[fereldanwench]

the assumption that anyone who is dissatisfied with lucanis' romance expected it to be like z*vran's is hilarious in my case bc i could never get into z*vran's romance specifically bc he comes on way too strong lmao

i knew 3 things about lucanis going into the game (besides the big stuff, like being an assassin possessed by a demon): he likes coffee, he's supposed to be a little aloof and socialyl awkward, and mary kirby tweeted that she wrote him specifically to be "the sole bisexual disaster" of the crew

so i went into this full expecting a slow burn with him being afraid of his feelings because of the possession and The Horrors™️ he's been through in general

but instead spite is like the third-wheel comic relief half the time and in lieu of slowly building tension we just have to wait longer to trigger fewer scenes lmao

and there very much seems to be missing content. i think there are official artboards floating around that show a sexy lake scene with him that was cut, so that's great, but just looking at what's in the game gives that impression. like after he gets his first talon title, he says something like "i have other plans for tonight" in a low voice when you ask if he wants to leave in the middle of the celebration--i thought we were finally gonna get a proper smooch at the very least! but no! nothing!

and i took this screenshot earlier today when i think i kinda just had it. finally do get a 'confirmed-romantic-date' scene with him and he just comes and stands next to you while spite drinks ??? his coffee

THIS IS VERY SILLY!!!!

anyway

i might come back to his romance later now that i know what I'm in for, but i have been very disappointed. all signs pointed to a character and romance that is 100% my jam, but instead i just got a really disjointed experience that left me wondering if i borked his romance until, like, the beginning of the 3rd act when i had already committed 60-70 hours to this run

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #94: Raven's Plan, but make it Dragon Age

Having finished DA:V just yesterday, I've been beset by terrible fic ideas for the entire Dragon Age universe - especially this one, which I've been partially sitting on since I learned the DA:V release date and half-wrote on my phone at work today.

Or: What if half of Thedas time traveled from just after Dragon Age: The Veilguard to the very start of Dragon Age: Inquisition?

(DA:V spoilers below the cut)

Just imagine it:

Everything follows canon through DA:V, with Solas agreeing to tie his life force to the Veil. Rook and her allies walk off into the sunset...

...and wake up eleven years in the past, in the year 9:41, the morning after the Breach was closed for the first time - as does approximately half of Thedas.

For those first few days chaos reigns: The people of Minrathous rise up against the Venaturi and the Magisterum in a violent, bloody convulsion that puts Maevaris Tilani back on the Archon's throne - and sees half of the worst slave owners and blood mages lynched in the streets. (Half of the rest are captured and face the courts; the rest flee into exile.) The Civil War in Orlais manages to somehow worsen, with Celene - who does remember - executing Grand Duchess Florianne for her future crimes. Gespard - who does not remember and thinks the Lost Future a hoax - believes it to be an escalation of the conflict, and retaliates in kind. Warden leadership convulses, as does what remains of the Templars. Overnight entirely new fractions appear across Thedas.

Into this Inquisitor Mahanon Lavellan - here a warrior who romanced Dorian in that Lost Future - wakes in Haven after three days unconscious.

Those who remember flock to Haven by the dozen, though already plans are being made to preemptively move everyone to Skyhold.

Solas has been placed under arrest, as much for his own protection as anything else - which he submitted to quietly and willingly, much to the surprise of everyone who wasn't at the Archon's palace for the final battle. To everyone's greater surprise, the Inquisitor chooses to allow Solas parole - as the Dread Wolf has finally realized that destroying the present won't rebuild the past, it will just give him more to feel guilty about. This world is worth saving - indeed, it's been saved despite himself twice. Besides, he's still their best expert on the Veil.

Those present devise a plan: first, stop Corypheus, then find a way to deal with the remaining Evanuris without tearing down the Veil or allowing them to escape into the world.

It's an ambitious plan, not the least because they can't be sure how much their enemies know of the Lost Future. To say nothing of the constantly shifting political situation as others use their own knowledge to change things.

Vivianne is somehow the first DA:I companion not already at Haven to arrive, despite coming third-furthest.

Dorian shows up a week before they're set to move to Skyhold, an adorably tiny 13-year-old Rook in tow. ("I tracked her down the moment the fires stopped burning in Minrathous and told her father I was taking her to be my heir-apprentice. I'm afraid the story got twisted somewhere in the telling and now half of Tevinter believes she's the result of a youthful dalliance I didn't learn existed until the Lost Future. Completely ridiculous, of course, but it seems to have made my father happy.")

Lucanis just shows up one day a few weeks later - no one's quite sure when - and simply takes over the care and feeding of the inner circle. He's half babysitter, half bodyguard, and completely terrifying in a way that no 19-year-old should be. (At one point he takes down trio of assassins without dropping the cup of coffee he was holding.)

Others arrive as well - Grand Enchanter Fiona, Ser Barris, and the parts of their factions amenable to compromise; Emmrich, Manfred, and seven cartloads of books covering all aspects of the Veil; Inquisition forces from the Lost Future; &c - and others pledge their support - Empress Celene, King Alistair, Archon Maevaris, the Prince of Starkhaven, the Wardens, and newly (re)formed Lords of Fortune, &c.

(Hawke is in and out, and somehow finds himself Viscount of Kirkwall before the end, the people of the city deciding that the only way to spare themselves the deprivations of the future is to vote in a leader who can be guaranteed to have their best interests at heart.)

Despite the chaos, there's hope - and many heartfelt reunions.

In fact, the greater part of this fic in my mind is character moments - Dorian becoming a second father to young Rook, and the Inquisitor a third; Harding confronting Solas about everything he did to the Titans, but somehow the most compassionate towards his actions; Hawke practically weeping over Varric the first time he sees him in this timeline; Rook becoming the annoyingly sarcastic angel on Solas' shoulder; &c.

But there is plot.

Corypheus does not remember the future, but has plenty of high-placed followers who managed to live through the end of DA:V. Not quite abandoning his dreams of godhood, he uses the knowledge that The Old Gods are trapped behind the Veil to put together a ritual that will allow them freedom - for which they will certainly reward him with divinity.

The Inquisition gets wind of his plans and manages to bring an army to bear, but are not in time to stop the whole ritual. Elgar'nan is released into Thedas.

His first act is to kill Corypheus, who has the audacity to demand apotheosis for his actions.

Without Ghilan'nain, Elgar'nan is unable to unleash the Blight. He is still a Blighted mage of tremendous power, but cannot do as they did at D'Meta's Crossing.

War rages across Thedas - but a conventional war, with Elgar'nan taking over what remains of Corypheus' forces (and picking up more from the power-hungry, be they Antaam or human princes). Inquisition forces meet them in battle - sometimes winning, sometimes losing, sometimes fighting to a draw. All the while both sides search for the remaining Blighted dragons.

The Inquisition is in a good position - no one needs to be convinced to aide them this time - but still burdened by thousands of refugees and the need for the Inquisitor himself to seal the Fade rifts across the continent.

Eventually it all comes to a head, with Solas - aided by the mages of the Inquisition, Mourn Watch, and Veil Jumpers - coming up with a ritual that will allow Ghilan'nain to pass through the Veil, drawing off her life-force as she does. Should she survive the crossing, she'll be weak enough to kill in the minutes after, tying her life-force to it forever after.

Astoundingly, it all goes exactly according to plan. Ghilan'nain is drawn through the Veil and slain, strengthening the Veil.

Elgar'nan arrives in full force while the Inquisition is celebrating their victory - and many of their best fighters are exhausted from the ritual. It's a brutal, desperate fight - but in the end it's still-tiny, now 14-year-old Rook that strikes the final blow, having slipped away from the other children when things started looking bad.

Bonuses include:

All the character moments. I imagine an incredibly sassy baby Rook acquiring parents, aunts, and uncles left and right from throughout the Inquisition. (Weirdly enough, she ends up being the one to draw Solas out of his my redemption-equals-death got undone, what do I do now? funk, and the two can often be found in each other's company. Like a grouchy Spock and sarcastic Bones.) She starts calling Dorian dad as a joke, comes to mean it, and the story repeats for pretty much everyone. And for everyone else? Well, there's nothing like time travel to make people appreciate eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.

For every high, there is a low. There should be genuine moments where it looks like the Inquisition is going to fail.

An exploration of the weird dynamics time travel makes. To those that don't remember, relationships seem to change, develop, or break apart overnight. There's a spate of weddings - and divorces - in the days immediately after. A least one member of the Inner Circle is glad that their partner is alive again, but cries at night for the children that have now not been born. (Rook and Lucanis were desperately in love in the Lost Future and are still in love in the new timeline, but it's weird now that she's just hitting puberty, and navigating that should be an ongoing B-plot.) And that's not including having to play nice with with person who killed you, or having PTSD from being killed, or one-sided relationships with people who don't remember.

It never being made clear what caused the time travel, but assumed that it was a failsafe the Evanuris had been working on in their prison once their archdemons started dying in the Blights.

And... yeah. I'm sure there's more I could flesh out here, but I just had this very strong desire for Inquisitor + Dorian + Rook found family, and here we are. As always, feel free to adopt, just link back if you ever do anything with it.

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