#maybe there will be better options with a watcher rook

[mabaris]

love to see emmrich try to start a debate over the nature of wisps and whether it is the soul returned to the body, when you consider that he knows audric. you know my man is studying him like a bug

[vaguely-concerned]

I will say that the mourn watch background makes so much sense of rook's occasional social awkwardness. this poor fucker had really barely ever been outside before when they were kicked out from home for shenanigans and varric adopted them like a puppy slash poor little meow meow because they reminded him so much of hawke when they were young ssssh that's my headcanon. what's more they were raised by a bunch of fifth house style freaks (affectionate) who also had never been outside before. as baby jesus was laid in a manger baby rook was laid in a coffin. as baby moses was found in the bullrushes, baby rook was found among the shin bones. they may have glimpsed normalcy before once on a sunny day, but only about three degrees removed and around a corner.

considering their circumstances and previous life experiences I think they're doing great at social interactions actually don't worry sweetie you're doing amazing, realizing most people get a bit nervous if you talk too much about skulls and bone saws around them is a great first step! a joke not landing with your audience here and there is detail work we can fine tune at another time let's get some of these fundamentals in place first <- me and varric encouraging them as they're stepping into this brand new world

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Veilguard is a black hole where I have no inspiration. I feel nothing for these characters. I don’t even feel anything for my Solavellan, if you can believe it. Maybe I’m outgrowing it (been 6 years) or I’ve simply thought and daydreamed absolutely everything there is for this romance, or my added daily adult responsibilities and work schedule make creativity and such difficult to gather up and channel into whatever, but Veilguard was supposed to be the extra kerosene to keep it burning, but it’s turned into a blanket smothering it. I can’t believe this game made me distinctly, actively, and deliberately not care about this world anymore. I don’t care about these companions or their problems or their cutesy lil non-issues, I don’t care about Rook, I don’t care about Treviso, the Crows, Lords of Fortune, Isabela, Dorian, the Veil Jumpers, Mythal, the Evanuris, the Blight, the Crossroads, the Venatori, the dwarves, the Qunari, the Antaam, Rivain, the Mourn Watchers, the Shadow Dragons, and hell, I sort of scarcely care about Solas in this present iteration of him. I simply don’t care, because the game has given me nothing to care about, because what is there is so hackneyed and superficial and declawed and just… the height of mediocrity. A 57/100 Metacritic-worthy storyline. A genuine 5.7/10 IMDB.

Nothing here for me to chew on, because what I chewed on in games past were the deep philosophical and morally ambiguous arguments and debates which, while not always handled gracefully, still allowed for exploration and critique and analysis. Here there is nothing. Nothing is contentious, nothing is “problematic”, nothing is gray or dark gray. There is just Good Guys and Bad Guys. There is no doubt, no regret, no genuinely lingering feeling of being haunted by choices because no one holds your choices against you for long, no one interrogates you. Reactivity? What reactivity? How is it that S1 of Telltale’s The Walking Dead (2012) managed to nail this sort of character reactivity better than this fucking game made twelve years later.

If the Inquisitor was bland and the character reactivity brief to your choices a bit brief, then in Veilguard it might as well not exist, because none of the companions will ever protest to any great extent that makes you worried you’ve genuinely fucked up, because everyone talks out their feelings and all the dialogue options and banter can only point toward reconciliation and emotional intelligence that only my fellow overly-therapized critically online lefties and liberals could conjure up. There are no hard feelings. Everyone likes you no matter what. Everyone forgives you for letting their city get destroyed, everyone is like “Nah Rook you gotta keep going, you’re doing the right thing!” as you bring down travesty after travesty everywhere you go.

It’s all the beats of a superhero film without the heart, without the messiness and problematique ✨ elements that made us dissect and argue and postulate for years. “Not only is this game free of problematic elements like in prior games, but we’ll explain everything to you—repetitively and poorly c: “.

Ugh this game is such a black hole for inspiration. I can’t even think or know where to begin with it. Looking at other peoples’ fanfiction AU endings written before Veilguard dropped is honestly my safest bet because everything else people wrote is better than what we got.

[mamamittens]

Additional thoughts for the Veilguard AU Nikia fic

(why yes, I am recycling my precious bby girl self insert for this. I suspect I have a thing for tangentially Italian men with facial hair and big old puppy dog eyes, but only time will tell if the trend continues)

So, despite Nikia being mostly a self insert at her core, I do like to sort of... Focus a character like a magnifying glass on particular traits and struggles.

Makes the story more interesting.

This version I believe will mostly struggle with masking, apathy, suicidal ideation, and a deeply ingrained desire to be kind. It goes nicely with what seems to be the intended attitude of Rook.

That is, being very optimistic even if they aren't quite ready to be a leader.

Still working on her specific backstory for this one tbh

Anyway, I thought it would be nice if there was the occasional, almost muscle memory moment of the actual, original Rook. Like, when the Minrathus or Treviso pops up, despite already having a plan (Neve and Lucanis are kinda having a "Oh shit, she REALLY WASNT LYING ABOUT KNOWING THE FUTURE" moment and panic) she immediately responds

"We're going to Treviso." But it wasn't her. It was the real Rook. That is, if I decide to keep the ✨spicy✨ option of having this Rook be a Crow. It would be very interesting, Mourn Watcher is just easier cause they'd be less "is it a demon???!?!?" About her predicament. But Crow is really growing on me.

Also, totally forgot to explain in the last ramble post, but the strange god that made this possible is a Really Fucked Up Future Lavellan who decided to rearrange time after gaining fucked up godhood to save the world (again). Her goal was to save Solas from himself but the original Rook didn't quite have the temperament for the best ending.

Maybe this version Varric is actually alive lol

But OG Rook is more... Less friendly and trusting? Would make sense as a crow honestly. But they're not very supportive or good with people which, if you want the best ending, is... Super necessary. Quick to murder people at the very least if they get in the way. Not a good person. But not terrible? They try, but most of the Veilguard died in their original timeline. And once they saw the consequences they immediately agreed to the deal but knew they wouldn't be able to beat their instinctive reactions to stuff. Maybe with more time, they'd grow as a person enough to be the leader they all need, but right out the gate and under stress???? No. Absolutely not.

Which is why Nikia was pulled in. She already knows what she has to do and is from a world (and situation) where overt violence is a last resort. Does mean she sucks in a fight tho, but that's where her companions come in. At least until she trains up a bit with magic.

Wanted her to discover she can actually use it through dance? Sort of? Like, it's more akin to bending for her like this cause her connection to the fade is fucky. She was dragged spiritually through it and it had... Interesting effects. But she's unexpectedly physical for a mage, even for Veilguard mages.

And I like the idea that Neve and Harding think it's a bad idea to run through the events immediately cause it's easy to lose track. But also they don't quite believe her. So she writes letter for events and has them sealed until they need to be opened, giving her more credibility with time. Harding and Neve don't need too much convincing because she accurately knows who they're going to recommend for their team. Which given how hard they had to dig for some of it is... Interesting.

If Rook was a crow, Viago immediately knows something is up and Nikia is... So awkward and apologetic. He demands answers or he kills her and maybe she ends up having God!Lavellan pop out for a minute like "would u stop that, I worked hard to bring her here to fix this shit".

In the end, he stands down and is like "You better keep Rook's body in good condition or I will personally find a way to kill you, and you alone".

"I have zero intention of dying or causing permanent damage but considering what's coming... I'll try???"

Eventually Neve asks why she even revealed herself.

"It takes a special kind of person to pretend to be someone else. I absolutely could NOT pretend to be a complete stranger. All the time. I just... Don't have the energy for that. And I don't think you would forgive me for hiding what's coming from you, if nothing else."

"And my opinion matters to you?"

"Of course. I spent hours researching how to make everyone happy. More or less. You all deserve a happy ending. And to be free of all this as painlessly as possible."

Idk, I like the "time loop" trope but I almost never see one where they admit to knowing shit and also rarely see possession ones where they admit to not being who they appear. So I'm smashing them all together with the intention of making everyone upset with a slow burn yearning fic.

It's a good thing she reveals herself early because at least two companions should, in theory, notice something is odd about her. Mainly Emmrich and probably Bellara or Lucanis for magic reasons and personal possession himself respectfully. The future bit is a slightly harder sell, but considering the dramatic shit they deal with, it's not as hard as it could be.