#rook here looks more like rook hunt than rook hunt has ever looked like rook hunt. like am i wrong

[suntails]

🏹⚔️

[etheries1015]

The Twisted Wonderland orange peel theory

The orange peel theory: A theory in which one requests their significant other to peel an orange for them. If they say yes, then it means they are willing to do small tasks for their lover. If they say no, it may suggest they are less willing to offer support, the theory says.

featuring: Lilia, Malleus, Trey, Rook, Vil, Leona, Ruggie, Ace, Deuce, Riddle, Jade, Floyd

Sitting around in the presence of your beloved whilst holding an orange, you glance at him contemplating something. You decided to put him to the test! Will he pass?

General warnings: Gender-neutral reader. Also if you don't like oranges/are allergic to them, just imagine something else! <3

TW: None! Just fluff <3

Lilia

Your fae lover sat at his computer playing away at his video game while you lay upon his bed fiddling with an orange in hand. You glanced over at him, turning around to lay on your stomach and holding out the orange.

"Lilia, love?" You asked.

"Yes, darling?" He replied, eyes glued to his screen

"Will you peel this orange for me please?" He paused his movements and turned his head to look at you with a carefree smile upon his face. Without hesitation, he grabbed the orange out of your hand and began peeling away at the skin and discard it in the garbage that sat next to his gaming desk. You giggled slightly and thanked him with a kiss against his cheek, Lilia removing himself from his computer and engulfing you in a hug tackling you to the bed.

"If you wanted my attention, surely you could have found something more creative than peeling an orange, my little bat~"

verdict: Pass! He had the wrong idea of your intentions, but he still won.

Malleus

"Malleus," You asked the tall male, interrupting his focus in crafting the gargoyle he had been paying attention to, holding out the orange in your hand.

"Yes?" He asked, averting his attention from his craft to attentively look at you. He glanced at the orange and flicked his eyes back to yours, tilting his head in confusion.

"Will you peel this for me, please?" Malleus had furrowed his eyebrows ever so slightly- a frown upon his lips as he studied the fruit.

"Are you struggling with peeling it by yourself?" He asked in genuine concern, grasping your hands to study them, "Are you experiencing any pain that is hindering your skills?" You giggled at his strangely focused pout while analyzing your hands, it wasn't even a moment later before he used his magic to lift the orange, peel it, and even take apart each of the slices before grabbing it with his hands and holding one to your mouth.

"Here, I shall feed you. No need to further strain your hands, dearest."

Verdict: Pass...? he has the spirit!!

Trey

The moment you were studying the orange dubiously with an interesting look of focus immediately caught his attention. You didn't even have to ask Trey before he was asking for you!

"Would you like me to peel that for you? You've been staring at it for a while," He chuckled. You smiled up at him and held out the orange with enthusiasm and a nod. He took it gracefully and peeled it perfectly, handing it back and throwing away the peels for you.

"You're the sweetest," You smiled whilst popping a slice into your mouth, Trey responding with a bashful smile and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"There's no need for that...you just seemed deep in thought, so it was more or less an excuse to bring that up. Is something on your mind? You can talk to me about anything."

Verdict: Pass with flying colors!

Rook

"Rooook!" You called out holding an orange to the sky, "Can you peel this orange for me, please!? I don't want my hands to smell like oranges!" You seemed to be calling out into the woods at nothing, but in reality you were sitting against a tree waiting for Rook to finish hunting. You decided to put his loyalty to the test. You heard rustling around before an arrow zoomed past the top of your head, piercing the orange out of your hand and hitting the tree.

Your jaw slacked open, mortified.

You trusted Rook with your life, yes, but he likes to test this sometimes.

"If that is what your heart desires, of course I shall peel this orange for you, my beloved!" He skipped over and took the orange off of the tip of the arrow and began to peel away at it. You stared at him in horror.

"...Rook."

"oui?" An innocent smile as he worked away at the...now miss-shapen fruit.

"Go get me a new orange."

Verdict: ...Questionable pass..? He went and got you a new orange, and peeled it properly for you.

Vil

"Can you peel this for me?" Vil glanced over with furrowed eyebrows and a frown upon his perfect features.

"Why do you require my assistance in peeling an orange? Are you unable to do it yourself?" The question was valid and innocent enough, but you were determined to go through with this challenge.

"Just do it, please?" You gave him puppy eyes, "I don't want to get the peeling under my nails." An excuse you felt he would be able to understand, surely!

"And you believe I do?" He retorted.

Touché...

You flashed him a pout, and he caved. Vil sighed and held out his hand for you to place the orange, slowly and with care removing it's peel. You gave him a bright smile and a little giggle, for you knew he always caves eventually when it comes to you. He loves that part of you though, how you seem to always brighten up at the smallest of things. It's a part of your charm.

"What are you giggling about? It's just an orange, silly potato. You get excited over the most random of things..."

Verdict: Pass with some push

Leona

"No." He was pretty immediate to reject your question. You began to whine and pester him.

"Leona! Please? Will you do just this little thing for me?" You gave him puppy eyes, to which he sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes.

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because I want you to do it."

"That's not an answer."

"Why do I need to have a reason?"

"You woke me up from my nap to peel an orange."

"And?"

He turned around to fall back asleep, you responded with shaking his body and complaining to your lover. Leona turned his body and used his strong arms to pull you into his chest.

"Stop your whining and take a nap with me, herbivore. The orange can wait."

Verdict: Fail...? but in a weird way. You get it?

Ruggie

"Eh?" Ruggie looked up at you with wide eyes, "Peel an orange? Why?" You pouted at the brown haired heyena and placed your free hand upon your hips.

"Because you're my boyfriend, and i'm asking you oh-so-nicely..." He shrugged and took the orange, peeling it.

And then, when you thought he was being extra nice to you and peeling away the slices for you to eat, he took half of the orange and popped it into his mouth. Much to your dismay.

"My orange!!" You complained. Ruggie handed you the other half and laughed.

"What? There's always a price for labor, even if it's just an orange! Besides, you're my s/o, and I wanted it oh-so-bad...sharing is caring, right?"

Verdict: Pass...and you made him go get you another orange. In which he also ate half of before it got to you.

Ace

"Peel this for me," You said in the middle of watching a movie, holding out the orange. Ace eyed it dubiously before looking back up at you.

"Eh? Why can't you do it yourself?" He whined, "I don't wanna smell like oranges."

"Ace, please? for me?" He gave you a deadpan stare and you spent a solid minute just looking at each other in a silent battle. He then sighed loudly and obviously theatrically, snatching the orange away from you and peeling it (not without some attitude.)

"I don't get it...I've seen you peel oranges so many times. I don't think you actually care about smelling like oranges, somethin' else is definitely going on here!"

Verdict: Lowkey failed, but that's okay. Eventually, it worked!

Deuce

"Deuce, can you peel this for me, please?" You asked the blue eyed male, offering up the orange.

Deuce was pretty fast to jump to the opportunity to peel it for you. He likes when you can depend on him on such tasks that are seemingly mundane, it makes him feel important, that you trust him. Even though it isn't that deep. Grabbing the orange and peeling it with eagerness, you smiled fondly at him.

"Here you go!" He said proudly, handing you a...messily peeled orange. It wasn't very pretty, you could see parts of the orange where he managed to either miss some of the peel or scraped some of the main part with his nail by mistake. But that didn't matter to you.

"Sorry it isn't the best...I should practice peeling oranges so it's perfect next time. Huh? You were just testing me? Don't worry, i'll do anything you ask of me! It's important to work as a team, so you won't have to worry about doing tasks by yourself!"

Verdict: Pass, he's a little angel

Riddle

"Riddle," You said taking him away from his studies, "Will you peel this orange for me?" The red head set down his pen and looked over at you and then the orange, holding out his hand for you to give to him right away.

"Of course. Hand it here." You gladly gave him the orange and he peeled it perfectly, cleanly, and discarding the peels right away and standing up to wash his hands.

"I don't mind doing such things upon your request. It's a healthy snack too, much better than the chips and other things I see Ace and Deuce sneak around...hm? No, I don't mind if you eat your orange while we study. Now... where were we?."

Verdict: passed with flying colors (Already knew about this theory beforehand, but wouldn't let you in on that!)

Jade

It was pretty simple, you handed the orange while he was reading something, and he peeled it without you even asking. He peeled it while reading, handed it back to you, although handing you the peels to throw away yourself. You smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek, Jade chuckling in response.

"Were you testing me with the orange peel theory? What, are you surprised I know of it's existence? I actually anticipated you would attempt it at some point. I see some of the things you like to look up. How do I know what you search online? ...hehe. That's a secret."

Verdict: Pass! ...with a few extra questionable things!

Floyd

"Haahhh?" He looked at you with his signature look of annoyance and dismay. "What'dya mean you can't peel an orange? I don't wanna either," He whined, going back to...whatever weird thing he gets up to in his free time.

"Floydddd," You pouted, "Please? for me?" He looked at you, then the orange. Then you, then the orange. This went on for a minute.

"Fine. I'll go ask Jade." You fled the scene before you could reap the consequences of your statement, hearing his loud protests from afar and the sound of scrambling to catch up to you...

Verdict: Fail. Big big fail. Sorry Floyd lovers.

[kiame-sama]

Not gonna lie, Drider!Rook made me think about the story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ and I can just picture him wanting to hunt Reader since he’s never encountered such an exotic and unique prey like a Human, as he’s vibrating from excitement about how his newest ‘Prey’ shall fair against him

He probably read stories about Humans in his youth and wondered before they went extinct, how they were able to survive without gills, scales, claws, wings, poison, etc or even without magic

Because Reader uses hidden traps and misleading tracks, Rook calls her ‘Mademoiselle Trickster’ (Mademoiselle is a title for an Unmarried Women in French) and felt his heart skip a beat seeing Reader use her intelligence, cunning and trickery to get the upper hand over him

Only he’s not going to eat or kill her, rather he just wants to feel the thrill of the hunt by chasing an endangered species (He has no intention to harm her)

But here’s a twist, the hunt is actually a common mating practice for his species of Drider (Or just his family) when it comes to finding a mate

There’s not really a lot of information about Rook’s family as he’s quite secretive about himself (Which I find ironic because he wants to know everything when it comes to his ‘Muses’)

(I know the shadows over his eyes don't make sense given the pose and the angle of the lighting, but I liked the way they looked all darkened and menacing, so I kept the eye shadows for my own aesthetic.)

(Rook waiting in his web on the Pomefiore ballroom ceiling. He does this to observe the other students and document their habits and will even do this web building around campus in heavy traffic areas/popular gathering spots to stalk others more effectively. Vil will often throw things at Rook if he sees the Drider has built yet another web on the Pomefiore ceiling. His dorm robes aren't well suited for the upsidedown life, but he makes due and uses magic to keep his favorite hat in place on his head.)

- Rook would absolutely love hunting the little Human Trickster if only to experience the thrill of The Hunt. He wouldn't dare harm a hair on his sweet Human's head, but he would absolutely love a back and forth of Hunter and Hunted with them just for fun. He may not tell the little Human it is just for fun, seeing as he wants an authentic experience and a good hunt. Once he eventually catches his Human- and he will catch them at some point- he will be practically bouncing from the thrill of it all and only then will he inform the terrified Human that this was a game and not an actual hunt. Were it an actual hunt, they would not have seen a single hair of the Drider before he struck.

- There is little as exhilarating to Rook than a hunt for prey that knows how to fight back and evade him. Any traps his Human sets, no matter how flimsy or obvious, will only thrill Rook becuase he loves the idea of being hunted by his own prey. To flip the tables on such a skilled Huntsman only makes the game more fun. There is nothing quite like the thrill of chasing down dangerous game and it certainly gets Rook's blood burning hot and pumping.

- As Rook is a Golden Huntsman Drider, he doesn't often participate in web-building in regards to hunting his prey. He will build webs for many reasons in many places, but rarely ever will he build a web to be used in an actual hunt. Huntsman are a spider species known for wandering, tracking down prey, and foraging when needed, Rook is no different and is a voracious predator when it comes to the true hunting and gathering of prey. Naturally, this does mean all of his family shares this drive to hunt. Hunting is ingrained in a Huntsman's DNA so naturally they will also hunt prospective mates.

- Like their spider counterparts, male Huntsman Driders- upon locating a suitable mate- have a tendency to lay their legs in substrate and shuffle them back and forth to make a rustling or rattling sound depending on the substrate. Usually a hunter would not be keen to reveal themselves, but this sound can draw in curious prey and curious mates who are seeking the Drider making the sound. Part of this mating display is hunting their mates down and drawing them in with the sound before springing. Naturally, when they have their mates in their grasp, they don't let go easily as Huntsman Spiders are known to cling tightly to prey and even predators to stop themselves from being shaken off or dislodged from their quarry.

[mohntilyet]

literally cannot remember if this is already a post you made but do u think about if illario was a companion character and lucanis wasnt (maybe still rescued from the ossuary, maybe not). would he even be a viable companion character. etc.

i think i've mentioned it in tags but god yeah i've been thinking about companion illario. through bias and visions i think he could have made a really great companion!!!! i just don’t think we had enough who lie to/betray you in veilguard and i was like illario would love to do this <3 or at least TRY to do this and find that he can’t, because the betrayal-according-to-approval mechanic would return in this concept. this assumes a lot of things that i consider to be canon, including that illario’s a genuinely good assassin (YMMV on this i think. i look upon him with rose tinted glasses) but we’re introduced to illario as the second-best option who accompanied lucanis on various mage-killing quests.

he’s recruited in minrathous and not treviso because he’s been killing venatori like a man crazed. i forget who made the post but the one about how veilguard recruitment quests feel forced because you are recruiting, when stumbling on the right people could have felt more organic and a lot less formulated. he’s been operating in minrathous as the ‘demon of vyrantium’, which he admits to rook that he’s not the original. the original was lucanis, who was captured and killed by the venatori, and in his grief, has been trying to kill the magister (zara) that killed his cousin. he’s actually very nice and fun for an assassin, but players get the feeling that the charm is practiced, and there are glimpses into the “something rotten” under the surface.

what the players also do not know is that his hatred for the venatori is definitely projecting his guilt, because even in this au, illario is the guy who originally betrayed his brother and his complexes (slash pos slash hot slash i often picture him on his knees) remain. anyways. plot breakdown under the cut because its so fucking long and please take with a grain of salt because this was workshopped on a call with fie, who ‘yes and’s everything i say, so it might not be the greatest plot ever. nor very coherent. however, this is my blog and i can say whatever i want

act one recruitment: hunting down and killing zara. there’s foreshadowing here or something where she definitely recognises him and the facial animation leans towards “betrayal”. like zara saying “you?” in a way that can be mistaken for fear, when it’s recognition and betrayal + illario killing her before she can reveal anything else. they find evidence that lucanis is still alive and you see how excited he is, but also very conflicted. illario finally returns to treviso, and you immediately see the favoritism when he informs caterina that lucanis could still be out there. caterina delights in the idea of her favorite weapon back in her possession, and illario swears to bring him back.

in between: there’s a venatori leak! the magisters send some back up to weisshaupt which makes things a lot harder for the veilguard (miniboss before ghil?), and it contributes to failing to strike at ghilanain. but who could it be? everyone is a bit wary of each other, and causes friction.

act two: the ossuary <3 inexplicably, illario has found where lucanis is. the veilguard fights their way in and out, escaping with lucanis and destroying the vial of blood. they also find out lucanis is possessed, and when they return to treviso, after the shock and relief leaves, there’s a gleam in caterina’s eyes. illario is moved up in line of succession because caterina can’t see an abomination becoming talon (canon not discussing that he’s fucking possessed pisses me off so bad btw), and she’s obviously envisioning a world where lucanis’ leash is passed onto the grandson she’d seen as lesser, but has recently proved himself better than she had previously judged. suddenly, illario has everything he’s ever wanted, but not in the way he’s wanted it. he’s never wanted to necessarily be greater than, and doesn’t want to lose him. illario is very uncomfortable about becoming a new caterina to lucanis, but can’t express himself or explain it because he’s deeply repressed and he’s trying to be happy because, isn’t this what he wants?

in between: illario’s acting super weird. a high approval illario is a lot more awkward and doesn’t seem to know what to say, which is a first for him. he’s obviously putting on a brave/pretty face on, and hesitates to say something— but finally just thanks rook for helping him get lucanis back. a low approval illario is actually much happier, smiling and laughing and delighted by the way things have gone, with rook/the player none the wiser about what’s happened. (kind of like… bull’s reaction to the chargers in the dreadnought quest being positive either way, but the repercussions come later)

if you are in a romance, a low approval illario will trigger a sex scene, a high approval illario does the dellamorte branded “lean in for a kiss but he can’t bring himself to actually follow through and leaves rook awkwardly”. the differences in reaction would ideally confuse and interest players :)

act three: hinges on approval rating. illario plotted to trade rook’s life for lucanis’. the venatori at weisshaupt was supposed to be their shot to kill them, but failed to do so, and now they’re forcing him to make good on his deal. there’s a cutscene where the party is led into a trap and a high ranking venatori magister— the one who actually experimented on lucanis (because zara is like a middle man. she wants the blood but isn’t the evil mage scientist who did all the experiments)— shows himself and reveals everything illario has done. he was the one behind lucanis’ initial ‘death’. how the venatori leak was him. illario is desperately trying to keep the venatori’s mouth shut, but the magister is tricking him with magic as he tries harder and harder to keep his cover. a fun, trippy kind of sequence where there are illusions and mindfucky magic as illario stabs at the magister and finds out he’s attacking air, and the party keeps getting attacked with magic that they can’t figure out is real or not until it hits them, in this hall of mirrors type freakshow. it splits into two different paths:

low approval: the deal to save lucanis over rook was made early on, and nothing they have done has made illario think differently. he’s scripted to be more defensive and try to stop the magister from speaking, ignoring the party and thinking only about how he can keep his secrets but failing to. he’s angry that his plans have fallen down around him, and attacks both the party and venatori, determined to keep his failures from reaching anyone else (god forbid it reach caterina). the party are forced to kill him when he turns on them, willing to work with the venatori to keep the power he has before it slips away from him again.

high approval: everything they have done has made illario think differently and he’s spent ages regretting and trying to find a way out of the deal (see: the distress he feels right after becoming first talon, interesting codexes, etc). he’s scripted to defend rook from magic, at cost to himself, physically protecting his friends/rook from the magister and getting in the way of spells. he admits what he’s done and pleads with them to help him, despite having no reason to trust him. after the party fights the magister off together, illario begs for forgiveness, explaining himself, how regret couldn’t make up for what he’s done but he’s still tried to change things, change himself. but how could you ignore the feeling that, as with everything else in his life, that this is another lie? you get the choice to trust him and forgive him, or kill him for betraying the veilguard. i think this can hit harder if he’s romanced and you forgive him. the image of him pleading literally on his knees is about to get me to black out, followed by a rook who gets down on the ground and lowers themselves to his level just to kiss him before pulling them both up onto their feet again…. its like a ��i fear to stain your hands with blood’ moment <3

completed companion quest: faced with compassion that he’s basically never extended to anyone, illario is inspired. he admits this guilt to lucanis, wanting to make him talon and leave everything behind, and while lucanis initially is obviously both angry and distressed, he later seeks out illario by himself, and their reconciliation happens off screen. i’d love for rook to be there so i could this but i honestly do not think its their place like can we leave the dellamortes to do this by themselves. in private its just a very “you went through hell to get me back. i think i need to give you a chance” + a slow rebuilding of the trust they had. and also lucanis has not even gotten the same outside support system as illario has taken his place and i think it’s good to note that. well. illario is about the most positive his relationships get and the only other person he would potentially have is caterina, who is also a more intense and outwardly scheming in this au. so not to be like “lucanis has no choice” but he kinda has no choice LOL. the point is: lucanis decides to protect him, and says that this betrayal is something they have to keep secret together as long as it safeguards illario, which safeguards himself. like what would the crows think of 1) illario trying to usurp power using an outside source (infighting/betrayal is okay. bringing a third party into crow business is not), 2) illario losing the idgaf war and desperately bringing lucanis back, 3) lucanis being possessed, 4) lucanis forgiving illario despite it all because they’re so codependent they can’t even bring themselves to leave the other. house dellamorte so weak that they can’t snuff out the weakness in each other? oh fucking brother. they can’t let anyone know how dire this situation is, and need to present a united front. also the terrible fact that they love each other deeply remains. mentioned in banter probably? eg:

“So… what do the Crows think?” // “The Crows don’t know.” // “…What? But your brother, and you—�� // “Are keeping it to ourselves. We’ve discussed this. House Dellamorte can’t afford to look divided, not right now.” // “So, what, he just forgave you?! You’re moving on? From trying to kill him?” // “'Forgave' is such a strong word, but maybe someday, yes. And we’re not just family, we’re Antivan Crows. You should know by now that we’re odd like this.”

“Illario. How long do you think you can keep that secret?” // “Considering only us, Lucanis and I know about it, hopefully forever. He insists that no one else has to know. Or should I be afraid that you’re going to go tell on me?” // “No! It’s just… Lucanis doesn’t, I don’t know, want vengeance?” // “Ha! He is the vengeancey one. But no. No, he’s… between the two of us, he’s always been the good one.” // “Lucky you.”

i also picture a lot of post revelations blackwall type banters and maybe something like davrin going “I have to believe you can be better, that you’ve changed. Half the Wardens are like that.” and once again i have to grieve varric because if there’s anyone that would understand lying their ass off and having mixed feelings about their brother, IT’S HIM LOOLLL. i think harding would treat him quite harshly, and neve loses a lot of respect because why would you ever even think about working with the venatori. but there’s a recognition over how he’s changed for the better. i think bellara is the surprise sympathiser, with everything she feels about cyrian. (“For a second, listening to Anaris to be with my brother again was worth it. So… yeah. I get it.” // “You weren’t foolish enough to fall for it. I did.” // “But you’re fixing it, aren’t you?” // “I’m trying.” // “Cyrian tried too. And if I can still forgive him, I can forgive you too.” // “…Thank you.” )

i also think a serious talk about being talon happens, where lucanis doesn't think he should be talon (possessed so his self worth is at an all time low. and also he's always thought illario should be talon anyway) and asks illario to keep the title. which is... weird because suddenly illario realises he doesn't necessarily want to be talon anymore. sure he can, sure he finally has caterina's approval, but he's got a new chance in life and he's not sure he wants to spend his life running an organisation that doesn't even care about him, would betray him first chance they got and remind him of the way he used to be, or see who he is the way the veilguard/lucanis has. his bitterness towards caterina also trumps his envy of lucanis, and the idea of lucanis resenting him as much as he resents caterina is something he'd like to avoid, which is another reason he's uncomfortable with being expected to tug at the leash. indecisive, illario can't quite fully commit himself to the crows, but is nervous about what leaving them would mean.

endgame: he would take lucanis’ place as a magekiller in this ofc, so he’s the guy killing ghil, and (for now….) first talon leading the crows to fight in minrathous (illario: “one of us should probably say something. remind the crows in whose name this fight is to be fought. we are emotional beings after all, and rhetoric is the fuel that feeds the fire—“ viago: “maker’s sake just give your speech”) i’ve also implied romance throughout this ask while not discussing it properly (ask me about it later. i need time to think on the whole romance arc and beats i know it exists but i refuse to give out half baked illario thoughts.) and i think the endgame post-fade prison talk would be very sweet and so intensely genuine/sincere and illario’s half struggling with being this truthful but pushes through because he wants to say “i love you” and really mean it. almost losing rook has put his priorities in order, and rook is at the top of this order, which has made him reevaluate everything else in his life and realise, "i don't think i can live without you. please don't make me". it’s fun for me that lucanis’ romance is a first in many different ways, but for illario it would be the first time experiencing actual romantic feelings for someone that he’s not faking, so you can imagine the damage its wrecking on his crow-psyche. sometime here i think there’d also be a decision where he’d ask to leave the crows and be with rook, tho i also think if given the chance to develop he could actually find something he cares more about than being first talon. genuine affection might kill him, reciprocated affection would probably be the nail in that “fuck the crows actually i just found out i like life outside of treviso” coffin.

but this is kind of leaning towards “illario only leaves the crows if you romance him” which i don’t like the sound of. he should be able to do that without a romantic relationship. i think narratively the best way to end this arc is for illario to leave the crows after having found alternatives to what he believed his life should amount to (as i think lucanis should have in veilguard), but i also don’t exactly know how to end it. i do want house dellamorte to be defunct, like an ‘illario leaves, and so does lucanis’ thing, where even lucanis gets the chance to grow out of believing “death is his calling”. i also like the idea that illario, ever the extrovert, gets real friends and is like “LUCANIS. you gotta fucking experience this” LMFAO. i’m thinking maybe the companion you spend most time with illario in the party after his act 3 quest starts to suggest things, so neve being like “you made a pretty great demon of vyrantium. consider making venatori-killing your full time job, you were good at it, despite all the traitor stuff.” or taash going “you know, you wouldn’t be the first lord of fortune to make mind numbingly stupid mistakes. drop by sometime. you and isabela can bond over it.” and they’re half joking but it makes the cogs in illario’s mind turn where he’s like “whoa. i could just. stay with the people who like me!” and where he goes is mentioned in the epilogue. a romanced illario would potentially just join the faction rook is a part of, tho a de riva would probably be unique in choosing if they want to remain a crow.

HOWEVER. i honestly don’t know if this is in character. fie and i convinced ourselves it was but i’ve had some time to really chew on it and idk if he’d want to give his ambitions up?? if someone has managed to read on this far, feel free to suggest things if you like i am always stumped because i don’t actually want to crows to stop being an assassin house, and there’s ofc no way to really make them ‘softer’ without taking away the bite that makes them interesting to play with. but extricating the dellamorte cousins from this WHILE feeling true to dragon age writing is difficult lol. just let me think. i’ll be back with some results hopefully.

side note: if illario is killed, lucanis takes his place with some difficulty (spite getting in the way, and no relationship building as he would get in canon) especially because despite his incredibly complicated feelings about his cousin trying to kill him, all of his anger is directed at rook for actually killing him. it doesn’t matter if lucanis would/could have never forgiven him, or otherwise, rook has taken that chance of hashing it out with illario from him completely, and lucanis won’t forgive them for it.

anyways the potential endings and first talons:

lucanis defaults into first talon if illario is killed as the only remaining heir, and struggles in this role alone, though the fact he is an abomination helps keep the crows in control for a while #cycles #snakethateatsitsowntail #housedellamorteissocooked

illario can remain first talon if encouraged to stay during the endgame, or if romanced by a rook de riva that also chooses to stay with the crows. depending on how the crow missions were complete, his direction with the crows either hardens/softens the organisation.

teia becomes first talon if illario decides to leave the crows, and rook has made choices that lean towards ‘softening’ the crows, eg. sparing ivenci to humiliate him, helping the crow-venatori loves run away, being kind towards jacobus, etc. the crows gain a reputation for coercion and can once in a while be found targeting, killing or exposing corrupt officials.

viago becomes first talon if illario decides to leave the crows, and rook has made choices that lean towards ‘hardening’ the crows, eg. killing ivenci to humiliate him, turning in the crow-venatori lovers, being harsh with jacobus, etc. the crows gain a reputation for efficient, quick assassinations that tip the scales towards anyone who can pay for their services.

if missions were not complete, the antivan crows’ reputation falls as they get sloppier, unable to recover from their losses and struggling to keep ahold of their power. there’s a reshuffling of talons, but the crows are in such disarray that it takes a decade for them to recover and gain back the effeciency they used to be infamous for.

ANYWAYS. sorry for that it is actually getting away from me and i don’t know how much of this is clear and how much of it is just my wishful thinking. i think there’s enough good things here to publish as an answer tho i’m aware this plot is kind of dollar store zevran LOL. maybe the best way to describe it is that i’ve accidentally combined blackwall, bull, and zevran’s arcs into this. hope this is at least a bit compelling for you anon!!!!!

[astarion-dekarios]

I did a live transcription of the Dragon Age: the Veilguard dev Q&A session today.

UPDATE/EDIT: I made a second pass of this and cleaned it up into a full/complete transcript.

Q: If you could belong to any of the main factions, which would you choose? 

Corinne: Listen Katie, you say softball but this is hard. I'm gonna cheat and I’m gonna give you two. So for fashion, the Antivan Crows all day long. their threads, you're gonna love it. For vibes though, the ones that capture my vibe, Mournwatch. Gimme those necromancers.

John: Those are good answers. I have one for fashion and for just general faction that I’d like to be a part of. Veil jumpers - who doesn't like a nice walk in the forest, you know, even if that forest is filled with horrifying monsters and terrifying anomalies, but uh, yeah.

Matt: For me it’s definitely the Lords of Fortune. I’ve had a chance to try out a bunch of them, and I think I’ve finally settled on them, and I think it’s just because pirate barbarian is just such a great combination of elements. Treasure hunting, plus beaches and palm trees and all that stuff, it’s a really good mix, so that’s kind of my default.

Q: I’ve seen a lot of talk about only having two companions in your party instead of three for this game. What is the reasoning this and will we get the same companion conversations and banter as seen in the previous Dragon Age Games?? 

Corinne: Such a good question. Thank you to whoever submitted this one. I'll start and then turn it over to John Epler. As you saw in the gameplay reveal, this is a much more intimate experience. We pulled the camera in. For those that aren't aware, the reason why is we want you to feel like you actually are in this world, like you’re walking these the city streets of Minrathous, you’re looking up at the buildings all around you. You're a part of this place. It's much more intimate, and we believe as the narrative unfolds that this creates a lot more immersion. Now how this relates to the companions is in doing this, we went back and forth on it a lot, but we actually found that having two companions allows them more visibility and presence. We've talked about the incredible depth and focus we’ve put on fleshing out these companions, they're very fully realized, so here you really get to see them more clearly, you get to see them shine. When you see Lace Harding jump into the air and release a volley of arrows, you can only get that because of this more intimate view. So I love the spotlight that’s been put on them. But I think in addition to the banter, one of the things people are wondering about is, ok but what about gameplay. Again, this has come about from our testing, working with the internal team and also our lovely our council of players. We just found that in the combat system, when you're planning your strategies, two felt like the right number to manage. Keep in mind, Rook has a lot of different types of actions: abilities, individual attacks that are more fleshed out than ever before. Timing and positioning matter a lot, so this really felt like the right balance. The number of inputs and actions we’re asking you as a player to take, including directing your companions, is higher than ever before. And I will also say that I engage with the companions, I actively control what they're doing more than I ever have before in any of the other three games. But John, I’ll toss it over to you for the banter.

John: So banter, honestly I don't think you could stop the writers from writing banters. I will say for myself, it's one of the more light but fun things to do. You get to write little stories, little arcs between the characters, and Veilguard is no different. Banter is still absolutely a core part of it. We've got global banter, you know the general stuff that you get in all spaces, as well as mission specific stuff. But yeah. It's definitely still a big thing, if anything it's the most we've ever done for pairings of companions. Beyond that, we’ve also made sure—and I mean, I’ve been on Dragon Age for a while, and I know there’s been an issue, you know, things like, “well, I don’t wanna miss this banter.” So we've even added stuff like interruptable and resumable banter as well, just to make sure that—because again, it’s a core part of the experience. Everyone loves hearing these companions talk to each other. Everyone loves hearing these little stories and relationships develop over the course of the game, and as mentioned before, companions are the heart of this experience. So we still have it, if anything like I said, you could not stop the writers from doing it, even if you tried.

Corinne: Well John, listening to you speak, one thing that comes to mind, maybe people are wondering, with two companions in the field, do I get less interaction? Like do I get a scene with my companions interacting with a broader group more often? And the way you'll gather them around the kitchen table, there's just so many of those moments where they're all interacting with each other. Those are some of my favorite parts.

John: Yeah, and that’s a good callout, because I think the other side of it is, we aren’t talking too much about your home, but we also wanna make sure that they feel like they have relationships and a life outside of just the times you take a certain pair of companions out on the field, so we made sure that they have interactions there as well.

Q: How customizable is the backstory of Rook? Will we get to determine their past in the character creator?

John: Absolutely. So Rook has six different backgrounds that you can choose from. Each  one is tied to one of the major factions in the Veilguard, and each one sets out who Rook was before they were recruited by Varric. While that sets up the broad events, as you go through the game and have conversations either with members of your faction, other characters, you can define not just what those events were but what they meant to you – what was your motivation, what was the kind of person you are as you build up Rook, because again, we wanna make sure that roleplaying is at the heart of this experience, and taking Rook, giving them a background in the world but letting you decide what that means and what that says about you is also a big part of it. And again, there are six different factions in this game. Two which anyone who’s played Dragon Age for a while would remember, you’ve got the Gray Wardens and Antivan Crows. We also have, in addition to them, four new ones because we’re in Northern Thedas. We’ve got the Veil Jumpers, Mournwatch, Shadow Dragons, and Lords of Fortune. A lot of different options, a lot of different backgrounds, and a lot of opportunities to define who your Rook was and who they are now.

Q: Will crafting return and has it been improved since Inquisition?

Corinne: Will crafting return? You can absolutely improve and customize your gear, yes. That is a big part of RPG progression, so yes you can improve and customize it. I will say though, it's different this time around, and it does get into spoiler territory so I'm gonna be a little cagey about it, but there might be a mysterious entity that assists you with that that will be an important part of the narrative.

Q: Can we kiss or romance Manfred the skeleton? 

John: I would say, not that skeleton, but we're not saying no skeletons.

Q: What were some of the development considerations that you had to take into account to ensure this game flows & functions with prior games & dragon age keep, if keep is being utilized? 

Corinne: We did an interview with IGN that goes into some of the details there. To summarize, we have taken a different approach on how you import your decisions this time around. It's now fully integrated into the character creator and serves a dual purpose, to be honest. It’s not called this in game, but I playfully think of it as "last time on dragon age". When I talk about its dual purpose, it's been 10 years since the last dragon age game release, so it serves as a refresher on critical events as well as allowing you to remake those decisions that are critical to you. The thing I love about it is it's very highly visual, it uses the familiar tarot card aesthetic, so it's actually a very visual and playful experience as you go through it. It is very much important to us that it's built into the client, though. You can play this game entirely offline, no connection, you don’t have to link to your EA accounts. That's been a really big request, so the refresher plus make those decisions in client, I think we're all pretty happy about that. I don't wanna spoil anything by revealing what decisions you can import. Y'all don't want the spoilers. But it's been a really interesting creative intersection for us. Because on the one hand, this is a whole new adventure. You're in northern thedas, these locations you've literally never been to before, so that affects what will matter and what we’re not using this time around as far as decisions. But obviously there’s some very very clear connections to existing characters. It’s no secret that the Inquisitor, our dear Inky, is gonna show up, so that's a factor.

Q: Will this next game be an open world game or is it just confined to Tevinter? 

John: Yeah, so you are in northern Thedas, but the game only begins in Minrathous. It doesn't stay there. I think one of the most exciting things for me, and again, I don’t wanna get into too much spoiler detail, but getting to go to and work with the art team, the narrative, the design team to build out these locations we've talked about, places that character have referred to as where they’ve come from, places that characters obviously in previous games have hailed from, has been absolutely exciting. So you do start in Tevinter, you do start in Minrathous, but again that’s not the entire game by any stretch.

Corinne: And the first half of it is, is it an open world game? We've gone back to what we believe delivers the best, most curated, intense narratives. So this is a hand crafted experience, it's mission based. Now these locations can open up, you can go back, solve mysteries, do some really great side content - not fetch quests, not grind quests, some really great side content. But I wanna be clear, it's a really curated, hand crafted experience.

John: Just to bounce off of that very quickly, the most important thing for us and what Corinne was saying about hand crafted, obviously we’ve talked about how characters, story, narrative are critical to us, and this has allowed us to build those experiences in a way that emphasized that really well while still tying it into the story threads and story beats.

Q: Will the companions have unique specializations like DA2 or the same as player?

Corinne: I think the best way for me to describe this is that yes, our companions will have abilities that are truly unique to them, but also the companions do fall into the archetypes of mage, rogue, and warrior. For instance, you might be surprised to hear, because she has a bow, but Bellara is in fact a mage, and I love that. Some of the abilities, the bulk of the abilities of the companions, are based on their own unique personalities. Neve is the only mage that is an ice mage, so you get distinct abilities for her. But because she's a mage, she does have access to abilities that all mages share, like Time Slow. We really like the balance there. It’s a good mix of representing their archetype, their class, and also their distinct specialization or personality or whatever you wanna call it.

John: Yeah actually, I would say the word personality is a great one, because all of these characters exist, have a story, have a history of how they became who they were, and part of that was finding that intersection between narrative and gameplay and making sure that again, we serve the needs of gameplay, but also allow these characters to exist as their own people, not just in conversation but out of conversations as well.

Corinne: I would also say that as part of that core mage kit, healing spells are there. So if your mages, you wanna make ‘em a healer, yeah.

Q: Will the Veilguard have tactical combat still? 

Corinne: Yes. Combat gets quite tactical. Obviously this is an evolution of the combat system. I talked about immersion, wanting to put you in the world like you’re actually living and existing in it, but it is very tactical and I will say we have a robust difficulty system. The tactics are increasingly important the higher difficulty that you go. So if you’re showing up for a highly tactical experience, I would crank that difficulty in particular. But I wanna make sure I’m super clear in my answer. You saw the gameplay reveal. Our pause time tactical mode is not overhead. It stays close to Rook. It does allow you to cycle between targets in and out of combat, there’s a reason for that. As the game progresses, you didn’t see this in that opening hour of the game, but it will display strategic information on the enemies, so what are their vulnerabilities, what are their elemental weaknesses, their enhancements, what are they resistant to, so your type of abilities, leaning into elemental gameplay matters a lot.

I would also say, this is a long answer because it’s such a great question, tactical decision making also takes the form, I would say this is front and center, of coordinating your ability usage between Rook and your companions to create synergies and or really devastating, we call them detonation combos. So let me give you a couple of examples, because it can be really hard to visualize, so hopefully this helps. One of the tactics that I personally enjoy in my own builds, I just recently played as a veil ranger, I love it, it’s one of my favorites. if I'm fighting fade touched enemies in Artlathan, I like to use Bellara's galvanized tear to pull enemies together, it’s like a gravity well. You then Slow Time with Neve – Slow Time affects the world around you, but it does not affect you, so you clump them up, you slow time -- and then with Rook I come in and do a devastating AOE or damage over time spell or ability. And it’s even better if it's a lightning based ability, because the fade touched in Arlathan are vulnerable to that. So there’s so many layers of coordination and strategies and tactics. We did talk about the devastating detonation combos, that's one of my favorite features, because that’s when you’re really leaning into explicit teamwork between your companions and Rook or the companions together. When I build out my team and I'm going into a mission, I try to ensure that I have at least a couple possible synergies, detonation combo synergies, between my team. It might be between Harding and Neve, Neve and me, or both. So here, I'd go into battle, pause time, open the ability wheel, get information on the enemy – and the wheel will actually tell you that there is a synergy combo, you  might have seen a screenshot that says “combo available” – it will remind you of synergies between companions, you can queue both of those abilities up at the same time, close out of the pause time menu, they’ll both execute, both abilities will happen. Then the detonation AOE happens, applies debuffs to all the enemies in a radius of it. It's so satisfying. I can’t wait for yall to see it, but the interesting thing is that too is a tactical choice. I’m choosing to use my companions to do that, and that means I’m not using them to heal me, or to give me that defense bonus, or to knock an enemy off a ledge, so it’s about the opportunity costs. I could spend the rest of the session talking about this, apologies for being long winded, but this is one of my favorite parts of the game.

Q: Can you choose rook's pronouns? If yes, is being non-binary an option? How detailed is the character creator?

Corinne: Well yeah you can select your pronouns. Absolutely. You can actually select your pronouns and your gender, because those are related concepts, but they’re not actually the exact same thing. Yeah, you can be non-binary, we have he/him, she/her, they/them. Yes. Emphatic yes. How detailed is the character creator? Oh my goodness, yall. Very. I don't wanna give away too much just yet but it's very very deep. It has been revealed, it’s out there in a couple articles about the focus on hair, the focus on skin tones that are done respectfully, full body customization, hell yeah, we love to see it. But we’re gonna come back, we’re gonna show you a lot more on character creator, but we wanna make sure we have the time and space to do that.

Q: Will there be a photo mode in game? 

Corinne: That is something we’re actively looking into, we know there’s a ton of interest, so stay tuned on that one, but we are very much looking into it.

John: I can add too, that is a feature that we like, we like the idea of, and it’s not just player facing, but internally it’s a really helpful thing to have that as we’re building things out, so we’ll let you know.

Corinne: Yes, yeah, absolutely. We are as geeked on that possibility as you all are.

Q: A lot of people were asking about abilities. Are we going to be limited in how many abilities we can pick from the wheel?

Corinne: Ability wheel does have a capacity. You have to choose which three abilities you wanna bring for Rook, which three for  a companion, and which three for another companion. What I like about this is there is kind of an emergent gameplay depending on who you and your companions are coming into a mission with. Now the reason for that is it actually creates a really interesting balance between strategizing, having to do that strategy about your combat kit before the mission, and then the tactical decisions once you're in the field deciding what to do. I want to clear one thing up, while there are three ability slots for Rook, there's so much more than that - other actions that you can perform directly from the wheel like you’ll have an ultimate ability associated with your class or your specialization, so there’s variants there. There’s a type of items you can get that function like abilities, they’re typically like buffs and enhancements, in the form of runes, so you’ll control that for Rook and/or the team from the wheel. You may have also seen that you can direct which targets your companions can focus on, but what you might not know is that a lot of the companion gear really synergizes with that directing with your companions. When you issue those commands, that too will proc depending on the gear they have equipped, really interesting and strategic effects. They can be more ability like, more like proc’d effects, there’s just so much from the wheel that once you get in and see everything working together, becomes more and more apparent.

Q: Will fireball and cone of cold be back as spells in Dragon Age: the Veilguard? 

Corinne: All these combat questions, really good. Fireball and Cone of Cold aren't specifically back, however their successors are, frost nova and meteor. These serve the exact same combat role and function as those other abilities. I would also say it gives them quite the glow up. Meteor in particular, so satisfying nuking a group of darkspawn with a well placed meteor. It’s wonderful

Q: What accessibility features are available? Arachnophobia mode? Mod support? 

Corinne: Oh my goodness, arachnophobia. I am wicked afraid of spiders too. My partner always laughs at me, I’m just terrified of them. That said, that's one we're going to save for a little bit closer to launch before we’ll go into full details about accessibility features. But I do wanna assure you we have spent a lot of time thinking about this topic, so that you can play the game in a way that really works for you. I'm excited to share that with you when the time is right.

Q: How long is the time skip from Inquisition to the Veilguard? 

John: Anyone who's paid attention to Dragon Age, and I can say as somebody who’s been on Dragon Age since Origins, timelines are always a little iffy. They change and they morph over development as we see how longs things are taking, but for Veilguard we were actually pretty consistent from the start that it's been about 10 years since trespasser, as you may or may not have noticed, Varric's become a bit of a silver fox. I’ve seen a lot of comments about that on social media. Yeah, 10 years. Solas's ritual has taken time to set up and you’re kinda coming in at the end of that hunt.

Q: Is Solas still bald? 

Matt: Yeah. I mean if you’ve watched the gameplay thing, we can all confirm that Solas is still bald, Solas is still Solas. I really like how Solas has turned out this time around. I will say, here’s a comment on this specific question that’s gonna sound like a non-sequitor, but once you get a chance to play a little bit more, maybe you’ll – In Thedas, ancient elves go bald when they are millenia old, so Solas wasn't always bald. So if you end up seeing what Solas looked like in the past, things might be a little different. Now that said, I’m sure some of you are wondering what happened to Solas’s wig from Tevinter Nights. I’m sure he still has it somewhere, so… It’s his most important possession.

Corinne: Some pride there, huh.

Q: Will we be able to change companions appearances and outfits or are they fixed, similar to Dragon Age 2? 

Matt: Dragon Age 2 was, we loved how the followers turned out in that, but it was sad given our constraints that we had to keep them with just one basic outfit. We really tried to make some space for them this time around. They have iconic color palettes and things like that, but they do have a wider range of appearances that you can find for them, some are just cool but then there are some  that are tied to directly to their narrative and just kind of what’s happening in their life.

Q: Will we be seeing or visiting Kal’Sharok? 

Matt: What’s been really cool, so in previous games, we’ve kind of alluded to this before, it was a lot of fun to hint at the locations that were off the map, the mysterious places you were not going, and so you could just bring in some props, some characters, a piece of art, things like that. Even Tevinter was only vaguely hinted at and we’d just add drips and bits and pieces, so that stuff was really fun. In the Veilguard we’re actually getting to visit a whole lot of those locations that had only been hinted at for real, so you do actually run around Tevinter and a bunch of the other locations that we’ve revealed. But this also means that we're not completely filling out the map, and that there are new things we can start hinting at and we can start drip feeding. It’s kinda fun, I’d say for what we can show of Kal’Sharok and other locations, there’s more to do.

Q: Will the dialogue wheel/options be similar to Inquisition and Andromeda in the sense that it's more tone based?

John: We have a number of different types of wheels in our game. All the dialogue wheels are based off the same principle, anyone who’s played a dragon age game and remembers what they look like. In Dragon Age: the Veilguard, we have tone wheels which are roleplaying your character picking consistent tone. We also have emotion wheels where you can pick specific emotional reactions, and choice wheels which are, I don’t have a strong emotional or tone tie here, but I do want to make a choice based on what I do. Investigate’s obviously return as well. We want players to understand as much as possible what it is they are going to be picking, we want the choice to be clear even if one of the best things about consequence is making sure that’s not entirely clear.

Q: How extensive are Rook’s dialogue decision trees? 

John: Huge. Again, it’s a Dragon Age game. We wanna make sure you have choices, we wanna make sure you can choose your roleplaying, but also choose outcomes of conversations, choose how events unfold. Again it’s a Dragon Age game, we wanna make sure we also react to decisions you’ve made. So for example, you may be talking to a follower who is an elf, and if you yourself are an elf, obviously you'll have a different perspective on events than someone who’s not an elf. Sometimes that means different conversation options, sometimes that’s going to be entirely new dialogue trees, as well as based off decisions you’ve made throughout the game, so again, making sure the game feels like it notices what you’re doing is a huge part of how we’ve written out the dialogue wheel and dialogue trees in this game.

Q: All companions romanceable by all player characters regardless of race and gender? 

Corinne: Yeah, yeah. We have talked about this in some of the interviews, I’ve seen a few articles about it, so I'd recommend everyone check out those articles, but let me just give you a quick interview. Each of the seven companions has full romance arcs and they are romanceable by all genders. Absolutely. But something that’s really important to us on the team, and so I just wanna make sure and double down on, that doesn't mean playersexual. If anyone’s unaware of what we mean by that, it doesn’t mean they conform or twist their identities to who you the player are. They won’t suddenly have a preference for men or women based on what you’re playing. Instead they have their own fully fleshed out identities. They are true and authentic to that. So in this game they are all pansexuals, they all have histories and romances, sometimes you’ll hear about preferences and things of that nature. And what I really love is if you don’t pursue a romance with them, they’ll actually build their own romances with each other. So in one of the interviews I talked about Lace Harding and Taash getting together. I give that example because it’s one of my favorites. I’m gonna put a question back to the community though. I’ve heard we’re going with Laash for that ship name? You tell me what is that ship name?

Q: What are the markings on the faces of the elven warden and veil hopper?

John: So there’s quite a few, I think more than we’ve done before, tattoos from various cultures. We're bringing the vallaslin back of course but there's a ton of different options, especially when we’re going into these new regions. Each area has its own kind of visual language for that. We are bringing the vallaslin back and a couple characters have them, but we've customized them a bit. They’re a bit more specific to their personality.

Q: What are you as a developer most proud of and excited for players to experience? 

Corinne: I suspect for most of us, myself included, it's the depths and authenticity of the companions journey along with on their arcs, learning about their hardships, what they care about, being by their side. That authenticity is just so good, they all feel like my dear friends. But I have to say, the closest runner up for me has to be the character creator. Has to be. That character creator, the makeup options, the range of sliders... I'm a Qunari fan, so even just the way you customize the horns and combine that with the really great looking hair. Character creator has to be my very close runner up.

Matt: As far as what I can say I’m most proud of on this one, I can speak for the art team, we worked incredible hard to make the story more visible than ever. Games are a visual medium, but sometimes it's easier to do things in text format or written in a codex somewhere or alluded to off screen, but we really leaned into trying to make sure that every design, prop, character, environment, that the effects we’re choosing, all these choices were putting the story on screen so you can see it unfold, and I think having worked on all the dragon age games, I'd say Veilguard represents one of the best attempts at that we’ve made yet.

John: I’m gonna cheat and kind of combine both Corinne’s and Matt’s answers. Honestly the companions for me are the absolute highlight. Just being able to work across all the disciplines, building characters who look and sound and behave in very specific and characterful ways. These are the deepest companion arcs we've ever done, not just on Dragon Age but in BioWare in general. Each companion has their own story arc you can go through, decisions you can make. They really do take center stage. As you play through them, you see the care and love that the team has put into each and every one. I mean, there’s moments in each arc that make you cry, make you angry, make you excited, and the way they integrate into the story as a whole for me is something that’s been really fun. Finding ways to bring these characters together, ways to bring this story, this narrative, of you know, you need to put together a team and stop the end of the world, has been absolutely exciting and thrilling. And again, you see the team's love in every single piece of it. As for what I’m most excited, Dragon Age has been part of my career and part of my life for literally the last decade and a half, I’ve worked on it since Origins, and there's something about the Veilguard that feels an amazing mix of novelty and familiarity, it’s like coming home in a way that I feel is going to be very exciting for people who are existing Dragon Age players, but there’s also so much here that’s just new and exciting for people, new players and old players alike. Going to parts of the world, seeing things we’ve never seen before, and just getting to take this amazing world and series and expand on it and build on it in ways that I’ve just been, honestly an absolute thrill, the best part of my career, and I’ve been in games for 17 years now and this has been the absolute highlight for me, so that’s what I’m excited about.

Corinne: I just wanna yes and that. I so completely agree with you. There’ve been times in companion arcs where even knowing what's going to happen, we work on the game, with some of these decisions, I've had to set down the controller, let out a heavy sigh, and go “oh my god, what am I gonna do here?” The depth of them is wonderful. I do wanna put this out there, when we talk about as a developer what we are most proud of, can we just give a big shout out to the dev team? I am so proud of them. This team has poured their hearts into this. Anyone from BioWare who’s listening in, thank you so much. Y’all are just the best.

Q: Why does Varric have dark hair now? 

Matt: He's been adventuring for a while now. His hair is more gray, but he's been in very dark scenes so far, so we’ll see him in some more contexts.

Q: Will the Inquisitor be appearing in the flesh or are we just choosing their major DAI decisions?

Corinne: Yes they will. The Inky does appear. We've know how attached y’all are to the Inquisitor, we’ve seen the love for your OC. Yes, the Inquisitor shows up. We'd already confirmed that a few places, so let me just say you can also customize them and it includes some of our new customization options. Yeah they’re gonna show up and they’re gonna be your Inquisitor.

John: And I think beyond that, the story of Solas and the story of the Inquisitor obviously are tied together as much as any story, so it would have been strange for us not to bring them in for this one. They’re gonna be a part of this story.

Q: Will there be any planned DLCs and transmog armor? 

Corinne: Right now our focus is entirely on the quality of the game, it's so important at this stage for us to be all in, all attention on finishing this game and delivering on the quality and the promise of it. So that's all I can really say on it, we're 100% focused on this being the most complete game we can make it. I wanna emphasize, there's not gonna be any microtransactions or battle passes, you don't have to connect online. Our focus is making this the most complete single player we possibly can. Now this was kind of a twofer question. Will there be transmog? Hell yeah. I’m the kind of player that believes fashion is the real endgames. Yeah there’s a transmog system, absolutely. It’s sick.

Q: Will any of the characters be asexual? 

Corinne: Such a good question. So, look I'm gonna be really forthcoming with yall and a little bit vulnerable, I'm ace. I'm a gray ace, I don't mind sharing that, I’m kind of public with it. I will say though that none of our companions this time around are explicitly ace. We look at the characters, their motivations, who they are, we always assess is this the right time. This time it wasn't. What I will say for everyone on the ace spectrum on there, I would love to represent an ace relationship sometime in the future when it feels like the most authentic fit for a companion, when we can do it best. And I do see some questions, what do we mean by ace? Asexuality. We often refer to it as the ace spectrum.

Q: Can mage Rook do blood magic? Will blood magic be a skill tree separate from regular magic?

Corinne: OK, this gets a bit spoilery, so let me just say, Rook has some pretty good reasons to avoid blood magic. Rook is not gonna wanna be interested in that. But I will say, the mage skill tree is packed with all kinds of spells, traits, and perks to give you a ton of flexibility in your magic. Gonna go off script just a little bit because I’ve seen “just tell us about the specializations”. I’m not gonna tell you the deets, but there is a necromancer one. There is an elemental one, and there is one that’s actually more of like a combat mage. It’s my favorite.

Q: Can we name the griffon? We also have a griffon emoji in this Discord server.

John: Excellent. So, someone in your party, again, spoilers, may have already named the baby griffon, but don’t worry, Assan is a very good boy.

Corinne: All these griffon emojis, y’all are killing me.

Q: Will we have a camp/home/headquarters that we’ll be able to customize?

Matt: Well this time around, in Inquisition you had Skyhold. In this case you have a headquarters called the Lighthouse. More to be seen on that, but narratively it serves kind of a different purpose, but also the same purpose. As far as customization goes, there are elements of it that change over time and some things you can adjust. I don’t know how much we’re really going into that at the moment. One thing I like about it is that it definitely does start to feel very much like home over time.

Q: We need to know, does pasta and noodles exist in Thedas? 

Matt: I’ll take it as a chance just to geek out about worldbuilding. Again, the Veilguard for us is a really kind of dream opportunity to go to places we've only ever heard reference to or we’ve seen in set. In going through the world building process, and trying to build these things out not just as neat things from the IP, but also as, if you’ve read about this stuff, you've got your own version in your head, you’ve imagined what it might be like and you're probably hoping for something spectacular, and our brains are always far better at creating this stuff than any game developer or any artist can really do justice to, so you really have to swing for the fences to make something very satisfying and exciting. That can be everything as big as architecture and landscape and biomes and ecosystems, but it does get into things like art and culture and costume design, and also food. This time around that was one of the many things we did look into to try to catch the character and feel of a place to make it feel believable and lived in. So that’s my really long answer for yeah, I'm sure at least one place does have pasta.

Q: Are we getting a mabari?

Matt: Ooh, that’s a good question. I will say you’re spending most of the game in the north of Thedas. Mabari are not nearly as big of a thing up there, so in this particular instance, no, you will not get a mabari, sadly.

Q: Can we pet the griffon? 

John: You, I’m really sorry to have to be the one to tell you—Nah, I’m kidding, yes you can. It's not even just petting the griffon, I've actually hugged the griffon, so that feels like even there a step up.

Matt: There’s lots of opportunities to interact with the griffon.

Corinne: Can we see Assan in chat if we wanna see him in the Lighthouse hanging out? And hey, y’all, this was so important to the team, too. Like this is the team’s like, just huge support for this feature, so props to them.

Q: Will we get to see any of the character creator before the game releases?

Corinne: Yes. Yes you will. You've probably seen we are laying out a roadmap for what we're gonna show and when we’re gonna talk about it. You will see it  as we get a little closer to launch.

Q: Will we be able to play as a qunari dwarf elf or human? 

Corinne: hell yeah you will. All 4. And all 4 have that full body customization. I already talked a little bit about, I’ve always loved the qunari, I will say in Dragon Age: Inquisition it was hard to get a good looking qunari hairstyle. So yes you can play as them, you can customize them, the horn options are rad, the hair options are rad. And also related to this, your lineage gives you a lot of really unique dialogue options. So that’s really one aspect of choosing your lineage as well.

John: So actually just to bounce off that, earlier questions about backgrouds. Each lineage, depending on the lineage you choose and the background you choose, there are some specific callouts to, for example, if it’s a Mournwatch, Mournwatch being from Nevarra and mages, if you play as a dwarf, obviously your experiences in that faction is going to be different from, say, a human or an elf, so there are also specific callouts tailored to those combinations and, with the intention of giving each lineage a little flavor as to how they fit into that faction as a whole.

Q: Where is barkspawn and is he ok?

John: Barkspawn is safely gnawing on a bone next to a fireplace somewhere in Ferelden. Don’t worry, he’s fine. You may ask yourself, “but John, it’s been so long.” To which I say, Mabari live exactly as long as they need to.

Q: Will Rook have a set of default name?

John: Yeah, so Rook’s last name is defined based on their faction, again we wanted to tie that into your backstory, but also there's a name generator that can give you a selection of first names, obviously if you wanted to make your own first name, that’s definitely something we support as well. If you’re somebody who maybe has a little more difficulty coming up with a name, so for example you name every single character Bob because that’s the only name you can think of, we also give that opportunity for that generation.

Q: When will the voice acting cast be announced? 

John: We worked with a lot of very talented actors on this one. I am super excited to talk about the voice acting cast, we’ll be talking about it more over the summer, we’re not quite ready to announce names yet.

Same answer for collectors editions and preorders, and required PC specs.

Q: Any special musical guests? Tavern songs? 

Corinne: Yeah there are tavern songs and a huge credit to the audio team and performance teams, because they’re pretty great. There’s one at a little tavern in Minrathous called the Swan, and the song you hear there might just be my favorite of the tavern songs.

Q: DA2's main theme brought back motifs from DAO main theme. Can we expect DAV to recall more or less of that original thematic material than inquisition? 

John: We are not quite ready to talk about music yet in specifics. But in broad strokes I can say that the process for us is always the same. Working with the composer, figuring out themes, figuring out what kinds of elements we want to keep, tying specific elements to maybe specific characters, it's very in depth process and a very collaborative process. We have some fantastic audio people on our team that have done some fantastic work, that have done an amazing job working with composers and with the team as a whole to make sure that again, we said earlier about cohesiveness, making sure that the music feels like a cohesive part of the experience.

Q: When writing the overall story of this game, what themes did you want to have as the prominent focus? 

John: Again, it’s interesting. When writing these games, and this has been true on every Dragon Age I’ve been a part of, what you start with and where you end up aren't always necessarily the same. Sometimes you start writing a theme, you realize actually it’s more interesting if you attack it from this angle, or maybe it ends up twisted a little bit. I will say for Dragon Age: the Veilguard, from the beginning one of the biggest themes has been regret. How regret shapes people’s lives, how they deal with their regrets, how maybe people move past regrets. Each of the characters and the story as a whole have elements of these. We wanted to have that thematic, that cohesiveness to the game’s story and the game’s writing.

Q: Can you play a dwarf and does the world react to your race and backstory?

John: Yes, you can play as a dwarf. Yes, the world does react to your race and backstory. And again you’ll have unique dialogues or unique conversations based on that backstory as well as that race.

Corinne: And to give you a little nugget here because I saw it scrolling through real quickly, you have beards. So when I think of dwarves, I think about glorious, fantastic beards. Hell yeah we do.

John: Yeah I can say, as somebody who plays a lot of games, the character creator—I don’t know what magic they did, but the beards, they feel like a beard should feel like, it’s great, they look awesome.

Q: Will our heroes and companions leave us if we go against their wishes? 

Corinne: Do y’all just love pain? Do you want us to make you cry? Um... if you go against their wishes and make decisions they don't like, I will tell you, you can piss them off, they might not agree with you, and they will take some time away. That said this is the biggest threat to Thedas we've ever seen, so they will always be willing to defend Thedas, but yeah you can piss them off and they’ll leave for a minute. As it relates to them showing up to defend Thedas, well yeah they will, UNLESS…

John: No spoilers, Corinne. No spoilers.

Corinne: Alright, alright. But they want it!

Q: Did any songs, books, movies, or anything inspire character writing? 

John: Art is always a synthesis of your own experiences both in the real world but also the art you consume, the art you pay attention. I don't think that any characters have a direct reference or inspiration, but yeah, they're all inspired by the things we do both in the real world and in the media we consume. And you’re gonna see elements of characters that yeah. The things that we’ve enjoyed show up in these characters. For me it comes down to, writing can be a deeply personal experience, so even if you don't intend for it to be the case, parts of you will show up in the characters. I think that’s true for all the characters in the Veilguard. Sometimes it's exploring things about yourself that you may like or may not like, and sometimes exploring things about characters you like or don't like. So that’s my longwinded way of saying yes, it’s impossible to not have that happen when you’re creating art, but I don’t think there’s one where you can say, “oh this is this character, this is this character.”

Q: What was the thinking process behind making Harding a companion this time around? 

John: When we released Inquisition, it was impossible not to see the love that people had for our murderous girl next door dwarf. She has always been a fan favorite obviously. But I think beyond that, it's something that Harding's writer wanted to explore, there was more of a story to tell there and more perspective. And beyond that Harding also has a strong connection to Solas, to Varric, and the events of the last 10 years. So I wouldn’t say it’s always been but I’d say Harding’s probably one of the first ones we settled on as like yes, this is a character we want, and the writer had a story that they wanted to tell with her, so it just made sense.

Matt: You know, actually, to piggy back on that, that’s something I hadn’t even thought about that much and it’s not a huge part of her character, but she tends to be one of the people that have the most insight into who he was.

John: Yeah that’s exactly—that’s a great way of looking at it, too, it also provides you with a little bit of perspective, for players who’ve been around for previous Dragon Age games, but also for new ones, who was Solas? What kind of character was he? Yeah it’s a great, using characters to provide windows into the world is honestly one of my favorite things.

Matt: And when I say was, I just mean in Inquisition.

John: Yes, that’s exactly, yes. Thank you for correcting that.

Q: What approach are you taking to quest and world design in the Veilguard?

John: I think for us it just comes down to relevance and narrative heft. We wanna make sure that each quest provides either a perspective on the world, a perspective on the characters, or it feels immediately and obviously relevant to what you’re doing here. You’re here to save the world. At the end of the day, one of the things that we heard loud and clear was the feedback about how relevant, or in our case not relevant, previous quests have felt, so for Veilguard, we really wanted all quests to feel like something somebody faced with the end of the world would believe was necessary and important. So again, there’s quests of all sorts and sizes, but all of them share that same feeling of, this is the kind of thing that the Veilguard would do. This is the kind of thing that my hero would do. Especially faced with the end of the world.

Corinne: That’s really good, John. That’s so right. I would just again double down on how hand crafted all the quests are. Whether you’re doing the main story or you’re journeying with your companions or you’re out exploring and you encounter a mystery, everything's hand crafted, intentional, we spend a lot of time listening to what yall said, and of course everyone has slightly different tastes, but you're not gonna be gathering shards in the Hinterlands. Everything is built with intention and they’re lovingly handcrafting the experience.

Q: Are there any locations in the game that can only be accessed by making specific story choices? 

John: So I don’t wanna get too much into spoilers here, but I will say that locations can fundamentally change based on decisions you make. Some of the parts of the world that you go to, you can have, the choices you make have an impact on how these spaces exist and develop.

Q: Will we be able to control companions in combat?

Corinne: If Rook gets KO'd, the player character gets knocked out, this time around it is time to reload your save, or better yet, the companions have really interesting progression. You can spec them out to be able to revive you, but that’s if you’ve invested in their progression and what they can do. And that said, I mentioned this earlier but I personally spend more time in the nature of this combat system when everything comes together, interacting and directing the companions than I have in any of the other games. So like that’s interactivity between them. Once you play it you’ll see just how engaged the scene is.

Q: Will Solas still occasionally or dramatically speak in iambic pentameter? 

John: I actually spent a little bit of time trying to figure out if I wanted to answer this question in iambic pentameter, and then I very quickly gave up. Massive kudos to Patrick who always writes Solas so well. Again, Solas is a returning character. It's the same Solas you know and love or hate depending on who you are. The same writer. So I think this is, the answer is yeah, it's Solas.

Q: Will our decision of who was left in the fade be important? 

John: While that decision does not show up—not for the Veilguard, now that said, that doesn’t mean that’s not a decision that won’t ever be important in the future. Not for this one.

Matt: I’m glad to hear you say that, John, because one of my favorite stories was Bob getting stuck in the web in Reboot.

John: That’s a deep cut! The sound of my childhood.

Q: Will we have mounts again? 

Matt: No, mounts were, they addressed a need in Inquisition that we don't have in Veilguard, and you’ll see why when you get to play.

Q: How is the side quest design? Will they be mostly story based or will there be a lot of radiant and quests for power like in Inquisition? 

John: We talked about this a bit earlier, but they are all hand crafted and story focused. The narrative, the companions, not just the companions but the characters and the world as a whole, are so much at the core of the Veilguard that anything other than handcrafting quests just felt like it would be a disservice to the game we were building.

Corinne: And maybe we can clarify as well, because with power was such a devisive mechanic in Inquisition, there’s no mechanic like that that blocks your progression until you fill a bar. That’s just not a thing in this. You have the autonomy to engage in these quests as you like, there’s no grind out gates before you can progress.

John: That’s right. Again we want to make sure that doing this content feels as natural and part of the logical flow of the story as possible.

Q: Will there be a similar system to war table? 

Corinne: We haven't talked much about the player's base, the Lighthouse, and we're gonna save that, but what I will say is that the Lighthouse, your headquarters so to speak, it has its own unique purposes and functions this time. So that's an area that we'll leave for you when we talk more about the Lighthouse and when you have a chance to hop in, you’ll be able to see what those unique purposes are.

Q: If there is dual wield for warriors, is it dex or str? 

Corinne: So we did wanna bring dual wielding back. It is part of the rogue kit this time, warriors are really focused on mighty two handed weapons, I can’t wait until you see, when you swing those weapons there's a real heft to it, and then of course sword and shield. So we’re leaving the dual wielding to the rogues, but you can see, the amount of hits you can get in in rapid succession dual wielding as a rogue is really satisfying.  

Q: What have been some of the challenges and advantages of working on a single game for so many years? 

John: That is a fantastic question. I have often joked, and I don’t know how much of a joke it is, that when this game is out and I suddenly don't have to keep all these pieces of game and lore and story and everything straight in my head, I'm suddenly gonna be able to speak Latin or something because there’s gonna be a ton of brain power freed up. But for me it’s just, the thing that keeps me sustained is just knowing the game we're building is the right one. Knowing that the pieces are coming together, and knowing just how much people care about this franchise, care about these games, and how excited people are going to be when they get to see the fantastic work the team has been doing. I’ve been on this project since the start, and even today I see things on a daily basis that I’m like holy smokes I can't believe what the team is doing, I can’t believe how good this looks. It's a huge game and I don't see every piece every day, so I get pleasantly surprised on a daily basis. Sometimes if I’m having a particularly long day, I'll spend about an hour late at night just watching cutscenes come in, watching the work coming together, and just sitting back and being like, holy smokes, I can’t wait for someone who hasn’t seen this every day as I have, to see this and just be blown away by the work.

Corinne: It's been very real, hasn’t it? I will just say speaking on behalf of the dev team, everyone's working so hard and putting so much passion, so much of themselves into it. This is a franchise they truly love and seeing your support cheering us on has meant a lot to them. So let me just say thank you to all of you.

[offorestsongs]

designs for my Rapunzel/fairy tale AU! because i still have worms in my brain!

some more lore for this AU under the cut <3

🩷 Lysander was raised by his grandma, a witch; he lived in a tiny room on top of a tower in the middle of the woods, spending most of his days alone, cooking, cleaning, embroidering, caring for the plants on his windowsill — anything, really, that could help him occupy his time

🩷 his grandma was strict, always controling how he looked and behaved. she kept insisting that Lysander should keep acting like a "real lady"

🩷 she also kept telling him that he should never leave his tower. a stain on the family's honor should better stay hidden. and besides, it's not like he could ever survive on his own, could he?

🩷 despite that, on the day of his 19th birthday, Lysander runs away. he's been preparing for this for quite some time; sewing himself new clothes, storing food

🩷 his goal is to find his parents. he's never meet them or doesn't know much about them, but they have to be somewhere out there and they surely can't be worse than his grandma, right? right?

🩷 i wrote a whole fic about his first meeting with Rook here if you want to read it, but the tl;dr version is that: while in the forest at early morning, Lysander loses his shoe in the dark and accidentally gets caught in one of the snares that Rook set up in the woods

🩷 Rook doesn't actually live in the woods. his family are merchants (well, that's what he says, anyways), quite wealthy ones at that and their summer estate is located near the forest

🩷 Rook has seen Lysander before — he would come across Lysander's tower during his hunts and stop to watch the boy thru the window

🩷 basically they go searching for Lysander's parents together and go thru all the fun classic "fantasy adventure journey romance" tropes (yes they had to share a horse and yes there was only one bed in the tavern, why are you asking)

🩷 idk i haven't gotten that far yet lmao

🩷 there are other characters that i want to be involved but i haven't thought about that yet also lmao

taglist (ask to be added <3): @thehollowwriter @tixdixl @scint1llat3

[cosmiccrushes]

The Potential of a Painting

Solavellan || 2.1k words

on ao3 here!

summary: Lavellan visits the Lighthouse for the first time and finds, upon its walls, something she did not expect.

notes: I'm just obsessed with the idea of the frescoes in the Lighthouse being Solas' venerations to Lavellan. And her having to process that. I cannot stop thinking about it

***

The Inquisitor's boot connects with smooth, flat stone as she steps through the eluvian. 

“Home, sweet, home,” Rook says as they step through the mirror behind her. 

“Is it sweet?” Inquisitor Lenore Lavellan asks, tilting her head thoughtfully at Rook. The idea of Solas having a place, comfortable and safe, to return to after leaving his bloody trail through Thedas stirs her emotions into a muddled brew. Not quite rage, not quite relief. Bitter on her tongue. Telling in the warmth it spreads down her throat, through her stomach. 

Rook shrugs their shoulders. “Eh, it grows on you. Strange to be in a place that keeps expanding and changing as more of us arrive.” 

Strange indeed, Lavellan thinks. That Solas would choose to live in a place capable of transformation when he himself has refused to evolve. She’s heard all about this Fade-touched place from her various reports and letters from Varric. The Lighthouse- where rooms appear to accommodate Rook’s growing team. A place that seems to be made for community, to provide for its occupants. Yes, strange that Solas, who’s chosen to walk his lonely path, would take his rest here. Then again, did the Dread Wolf ever rest? The last decade spent always a step too far behind him would suggest otherwise. Her own restless nights would demand it. 

“So, a tour first? Or,” Rook pauses, “Would you like to see Varric? He's resting in the infirmary.”

Lavellan smiles at Rook’s kindness. It's been many moons since she's seen her dear friend, yet, “Thank you, Rook. But a tour first, I think.” 

Rook nods, sweeping their arm forward. “Right this way.” 

She climbs the steps from the eluvian’s chamber into a wide, circular space. Her gaze is immediately drawn upwards. Her lips part in awe at the beautiful, mysterious contraption spinning in the center of the room. 

Rook is watching her, something of pride in the curve of their mouth. “Yeah, it's breathtaking.” 

“Mmm,” Lavellan hums, rotating in a slow circle, as her gaze hunts hungrily across the low tables and chairs, prowling for signs that Solas was ever here. 

Rook’s voice breaks through her focus. “This is the main entrance hall. We take a lot of our meetings gathered here. The fireplace has a nice ambience for discussing the downfall of ancient elven gods.” Rook shrugs their shoulders playfully. “Since we're already downstairs, let's see the music room first.” 

“Music room?” Lavellan asks sharply, a memory glinting like the edge of a knife before it plunges through her. 

***

“Yes, vhenan, I've been known to dabble in piano.” 

Lavellan stares at him doubtfully. “You? Play piano?” 

Solas gives the tiniest shake of his head and his lips pull at the edges, like he's fighting back a smile. “I've dabbled over the years, yes. Is that hard for you to believe?” 

She leans an elbow atop her balcony, resting her chin in her hand. “It's hard to imagine you dabbling in anything. You seem more of an, ah…” She taps a finger against her bottom lip as she searches for the right word. “A deliberate pursuer of things.” She looks back at Solas. His eyes are fixed on her lips. 

“Ah, yes. I suppose I can be rather decisive in my drives.” His gaze finally lifts to her eyes. “Most of the time.” 

A warmth spreads through her at his words, and she thinks, not for the first time, that perhaps Solas had rather meant to dabble with her. Had stumbled into something far more definitive than he intended.

“Maybe it’s just surprising that you would have a more idle hobby.” 

“I paint, do I not? It is not so far reaching that I might enjoy leisure time with other arts.” 

Lavellan laughs, wide and open-mouthed. “Solas!” She gasps between mirthful breaths. “You don’t dabble in painting. You create-” She shakes her head, picturing the beautiful murals adorning the walls of his room. “Masterpieces,” she says softly. 

Solas stares at her like she’s the sun. Warm and bright, but difficult to look at for too long. He’s always watching her like this. With a reverence and longing that makes her ache. He’s just as likely to reach for her in those moments as he is to turn away, as though afraid she might scorch his skin. 

“Perhaps I can hear you play, when this is all over,” she gestures vaguely at where the sky is torn open, bleeding Fade and demons. 

Solas’ answering smile is brittle and breaking. Like bark peeling off a tree, revealing the growth of something new and harder underneath. Many of Solas’ smiles were like this. It maddened her not to know what they meant. 

“Maybe, vhenan,” he replies, his fingertips reaching to brush gently against her temple, trailing the shape of her vallaslin. It did not feel like the potential of a promise though. More the doleful caress of a decision already made. 

***

“Yep, a music room, complete with a piano!” Rook is saying, striding across the room to reveal a round door in the wall. Lavellan follows them down a long hall, drawing a deep steadying breath through her nose- that she immediately exhales sharply in a quiet gasp as she steps fully into the music room. 

Paint is splashed across every wall. Perilously parallel to the frescoes Solas created in Skyhold. As if sensing the lurking danger, her heartbeat increases its pace. She half expects Solas to look up from one of the armchairs, a book open on his lap, old elven endearments on his lips.  

Rook is saying something, but Lavellan cannot hear over the rushing in her ears. For across the walls, is the story of the Inquisition. Just as Solas once painted it in a tower room that smelled of earth and spice. If she could force her lungs to draw breath, would she be able to smell his scent lingering here? 

“Inquisitor? Inquisitor?” Rook's concern is etched across their brows when Lavellan looks at them. “Are you okay?” 

Lavellan nods slowly. “Yes, sorry. I'm just… taking it all in.” 

“Right,” Rook says with the undercurrent of knowing there's something more to it but being tactful enough not to ask. Lavellan's fondness of Rook grows by the moment. 

Rook leads them from the music room, re-entering the central chamber. “I'll show you the upstairs rooms next. It's amazing- everyone has their own chambers, curated specifically to meet their needs. Somehow, the Lighthouse knows what we'll require.” 

Lavellan's footsteps are heavy on the stairs, her mind tumbling through time. She watches her feet lift from step to step in a detached sort of way. She feels weighed down by the past. A past she didn't expect to encounter here. A past someone did not warn her was gaping open here, hemorrhaging from the walls. 

Color at the corner of her vision catches her attention. She turns her head, footsteps faltering as she crests the landing to the second floor. 

Now she's not just weighed down, she is falling. Plummeting to the bottom of a well where she floats, weightless, at the edge of drowning. One mouthful of broken heart away from going under. 

She spins to look out at the other walls on the second floor landing. Every single one of them is a brutal punch to the gut, a glorious blade to the bone. Like a gift wrapped in rose thorns, beautiful and promising but horribly confounding. 

Solas has painted frescoes here too. But these she has never seen. Suspects they were not made to be seen. Solas filled his empty lighthouse with the ghosts of a person still amongst the living. She swallows hard, forces tears not to fall. Would they be from grief or gratitude? She does not know. 

Every painting depicts wolves, an homage to Fen'Harel, one might think. But amongst the wolves, too prominent to be mistaken as anything but a focal point, is her. Bathed in golds and reds, fiery like the rising sun. Hair flowing long around her, like she used to wear it in moments of refuge at Skyhold. A Dalish charm dangling from her neck in the painting closest to her. Her own vallaslin depicted on the charm’s surface. As if Solas plucked it from her brow all those years ago and enshrined it here.   

Rook’s tour is forgotten. Lavellan makes her own way from painting to painting nestled between doorways, gaping at her likeness. Why? Why has Solas painted her here? All these years he has refused to stand before her- or so she thought. How many times has he stood before her portraits? Are they here for his pleasure or his penance? 

She traces a finger down her face in one of the murals. Her hair is flowing around her in this one too. Her hands clasped around the hilt of a sword at her chest, its blade pointed to the ground. A large wolf, his head tilted back in a howl, sits at her feet. She lays her palm against the wolf and a single, strangled sob chokes out of her. 

“Uh, Inquisitor?” She remembers Rook is with her. They are looking back and forth between her and the mural. “Is that you?” Rook asks, bewilderment permeating their question. 

“Yes,” Lavellan states plainly. 

“Oh,” Rook’s head bobs up and down. The upward slant of their eyebrows indicative of how baffling they find this development. “Varric never said-” 

“I’d like to see Varric now.” Lavellan cuts them off, offering a gentle smile to soften her bluntness. 

“Of course, sure, yes.” Rook’s head is still nodding. “Over here.” 

Lavellan exchanges pleasant greetings with Varric, waiting until Rook shuts the door behind them as they exit. Then she turns to Varric and demands, “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Ah, I take it you saw our very own little museum to the Inquisition.” Merriment dances in Varric’s eyes. 

“Varric,” Lavellan says, exasperated with his response. “There are paintings of me everywhere. Maker’s breath, why didn’t you tell me they were here?” 

Varric sighs. “I thought it was best for you to see it for yourself, Lenny.” 

She softens at the nickname. “I suppose I might not have believed you if you’d written to me about it.” 

“I do love a good joke,” Varric smiles dimly. “Although, I’m not sure that would have been a very amusing lie.” 

Lavellan sits on the edge of his bed, taking care not to disturb his injuries. “Then why are you so amused?” 

“Because, Lenny, don’t you see? He can be saved.” Varric says it with a conviction that presses on her heart painfully. 

“Varric, I don’t think-” 

He interrupts her with a raised palm, before she can begin the same argument they've had for the last decade. It's not that she doesn't want to save Solas from himself- that had been her own steadfast conviction ten years ago. But with every body he dropped behind him, every instance he avoided a confrontation with her, Lavellan felt him slip further away. He didn't want to be saved. The Dread Wolf had chosen, and his choice had not been her. She had to choose too. If she could not save him, she would stop him. 

“I trust my gut on this one. I’m right. Chuckles can be pulled back from the ledge, whether he knows it or not.”

“He stabbed you!” Levallen exclaims. 

Varric sighs again. “And I’ll be pissed at him about that when I see him next. But first, you need to knock some sense into him.” 

“Me?” She huffs an incredulous laugh. “Varric, he didn’t listen to me eight years ago. What makes you think he’ll listen now?” 

“Those are veritable venerations to you out there,” Varric implores, pointing at the door, the faintest tinge of vexation in his tone. “That’s not the work of a man who’s given up on what he really wants.” 

“Or perhaps it’s the graveyard where he’s laid to rest the wants he refuses to have,” she says darkly. “Besides, he is trapped in the Fade now. It hardly matters.” 

Varric studies her intently. “Doesn’t it? Do you really think he'll stay quietly locked up there forever?” Varric pauses. “Is that where you really want to leave him?”

“Damn you.” 

“All the way to the Deep Roads if you like, but I’ll still be right.” 

She smiles at her oldest friend. “You really think I can reach him this time?” 

“I think,” Varric says slowly. “He’s spent his last lonely decade painting your portrait to fill the emptiness around him.” Varric softens, voice dropping to a low murmur. “Those paintings aren't a cemetery, Lenny. They're his salvation.” 

Lavellan sinks. Slips beneath the cold, calm surface of her hope. Chokes on a lungful of potential. Varric takes her hand gently in his and squeezes as she weeps for a painting and what it might promise.

[lemonmoxy]

Ships in the Night (3)

Summary: Mimir Ingellvar and Lucanis Dellamorte keep meeting each other for the first time during some of the worst moments of their lives.

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Chapter Three: Rook and Lucanis

Mimir is having a bad day. Like how it tends to go for them, it is a bad day in a series of bad days. However, it is not the worst day - that day was a week behind them. Though they aren’t foolish enough to think that today can’t suddenly become a new worst day ever if they aren’t careful. 

It’s bad, not just because of the shit situation Mimir has found themself in since interrupting Solas’s ritual but because of the particulars. Mimir has never been a strong swimmer. As an academic who lived within a Necropolis, there were not a lot of opportunities for swimming in deep waters. This had never bothered Mimir before. They weren’t scared of water. The Lighthouse had seen fit to grant them a room that was more of an aquarium than a bedroom, and Mimir liked it. However, Mimir was suddenly very aware of how poor a swimmer they were when they were in a bubble of air on the seabed, and that bubble of magical air was��leaking. 

“You okay, Rook?”

“Oh for sure.” Mimir lies to Harding. The Ossuary is a nightmare. An ancient elven building that was sunk to the bottom of the ocean (Bellara would know when, and she will be devastated she wasn’t here to see it) turned into a Venatori prison, because Tevinter mages like nothing more than to desecrate elven history with their filthy blood magic. 

“You keep looking at the edges of the prison.” 

“Indeed I do!” Mimir agrees, stepping over a dead Venatori cultist. There were a lot of them.  “That is because the spell is fracturing.”

Harding startles, nearly dropping her arrow. “What? Do we need to leave?”

“Well, we can’t until we find Lucanis Dellamorte.” Mimir reminds Harding of the deal they had made to the First Talon. It would be one thing if Lucanis was already dead, the First Talon would probably understand that. It would be quite another to actively abandon him to drown because they were scared. “The good news is, it’s very obvious that the barrier is cracking. And, presumably, the Venatori don’t want to drown. So they should be doing something to keep the barrier from collapsing.”

The next Venatori Mimir came to they paused at, crouching down to examine the corpse. They wish they had thought to bring any of their examination tools, but this was supposed to be just a social call on the Crows for contract negotiation, not an impromptu rescue. However it is probably for the best as they don’t really have time for anything but a surface examination. 

Mimir moves the corpse, finding the most likely causes of death. The lacerations are vicious, done quickly, but are still precise. They are positioned at the weakest points in the armor, at spots Mimir knows death will have come quickly (though not painlessly). There is little tearing, the cuts are clean.   

“You never mention good news without bad news.” Harding’s tone is dubious, pulling Mimir from their thoughts. Harding’s tone is however completely fair because Mimir did, in fact, have bad news. 

“Well, the bad news is that there’s a lot of dead Venatori. And you would probably need a lot of powerful mages to strengthen the barrier.” Mimir rubs the tacky drying blood off on their shirt, a Dalish poncho like top that had loose but cut sleeves so their arm movements weren't hindered. It is not Mimir’s usual clothing, but the strange lyrium infested goulish darkspawn (and Mimir is still wrapping their head around what the fuck that was) had completely wrecked their only set of armor they had brought on their hunt for Solas. So Mimir had been forced to find something amongst the Veil Jumpers to wear. They miss having shoes as well. The sand squelches unpleasantly between their toes and Mimir realizes they might not be a beach person.

Harding looks around, at all the dead Venatori, and thinks about the fact that they have not found one living person despite waltzing right in. “So… what you’re saying is that the barrier is still coming down.” Harding clarifies.

“Well…” Mimir doesn’t want to say that. With Varric injured, it falls to them to lead now. It’s probably bad for morale for Mimir to just say they could die at any moment. “It’s coming down slower?” 

Harding looks a little green.

Mimir rushes to reassure. “But, we’ll find our Demon of Vyrantium soon.” They tell her. “This corpse is his work - or else the work of a Crow - but we know he’s the only Crow here.” 

“How… can you possibly know that?” 

With it confirmed that they could die at any second, Mimir decides to keep moving, walking, but at a quick clip.  “I’m a Mourn Watcher.” Mimir reminds Harding. “I’ve done autopsies on hundreds of corpses, Harding. I know the work of an Antivan Crow.” Their tone is patient. 

Tevinter chanting cuts them both off. Harding gestures to the closed doors up ahead. They both move softly over. Mimir doesn’t speak Tevene, but they can tell from the repeating words and phrases and the magic in the air. “They’re trying to strengthen the barrier.” Mimir tells Harding.

“Confident?” Harding asks in a whisper.

Mimir makes a face. “I know the Tevene word for water?” 

“...Should we leave them to it?”

Mimir frowns. Leaving blood mages at their back as they walk into a Venatori prison seems foolish. However, killing the mages who are holding the barrier together seems even more foolish. “We’ll try diplomacy.” 

Varric had once said Mimir was too charming for their own good so Mimir thinks it has a shot of working (they’ve talked Venatori down before, even if only for brief intermission). Besides, the Venatori shouldn’t want a fight in these circumstances either. If Mimir wants to take Lucanis off their hands, really they should be tripping over themselves in gratitude. 

Mimir opens the door. “Good evening!” They smile. Harding is ready to draw an arrow but Mimir keeps their hands off their spell knife. “While we are natural enemies, but that does not mean we need to kill each other at this very moment.” Mimir quickly reminds them. “I’m only looking for Lucanis Dellamorte. I’m pretty sure he’s been tearing his way through you guys like butter. So why don’t you just point me in his direction and we end this- oh”

The leader of the spell actually stops the spell cold (which you are not supposed to do, what does the Circle of Vyrantium teach these guys?) to start channeling a different spell directly at Mimir’s face. He’s a pretentious Tevinter mage so even though Harding is standing right there with a bow, he does not pick a quick spell to cast. 

Harding shoots at his staff and knocks the crystal focus free with practiced aim. Since diplomacy has clearly failed. Mimir closes the gap between them. Their knife is still sheathed but their hands glow with death magic. However, before they can do more than grab the mage by the collar of his robes, he is dead, and so are all the other mages. 

Nothing about the man indicates he is a Crow. He’s Antiva, Mimir doesn’t have to hear him talk to know. He’s scruffy: unwashed, uncut hair, a beard that has taken over his face like a fungus. His clothes are threadbare and stink this close. His knives are Tevinter made, clearly stolen given the balance problems, it's not a set. Alarmingly though, more than the smell of his clothes, is the smell of the Fade on him, unnatural for a human. Though so are his spectral wings that wink out of sight as soon as the last Venatori stops breathing. 

Mimir doesn’t have to ask. They can sense it, a spirit of twisted determination (Spite perhaps?) clings to him, draping over his shoulders, a panther in the forest. It’s not good . Mimir had hoped to find Lucanis Dellamorte in one piece, but a year in a Venatori prison and he is lucky to be alive. (It’s a research lab, whispers the part of Mimir that is clever before it is stuffed down by the part of Mimir that doesn’t want to think about what that would entail).  

“Lucanis Dellamorte?” Mimir asks, hopeful. 

“You’re not a Crow. Who sent you?” His voice is suspicious and though Mimir does not want to be standing this close to a suspicious Crow, they dare not move. 

“Caterina sent us.” Mimir says, because a familiar name that Mimir shouldn’t know if they weren’t a friend should soothe him. “I’m Rook. This is Harding. We’re here to rescue you. Though you seem to have it in hand.”

Lucanis’s smile is a bitter thing. Mimir watches his eyes. The presence leaves his shoulders, shifting inside him, but his eyes stay brown. They can sense something behind his eyes looking back at them, but it is also very clear that Lucanis speaks with his own voice, sees with his own eyes, and smiles with his own mouth. The movements are too clear, nothing jerky or uncertain. Spirits, even those very settled into their stolen or bargained for bodies, have tells, and Mimir sees none of those tells. It is possible they are being tricked, or he just hasn’t shown those traits yet. But Mimir suspects that the possession is, genuinely, incomplete.

“Rook.” Harding speaks up, and Mimir knows it won’t be good from just her tone. “He’s an abomination.” 

Mimir winces. “Doesn’t matter.” They tell Harding firmly. Lucanis hasn’t attacked them nor has Determination, and Mimir will never attack a spirit unprovoked. They fix their gaze on Lucanis. “We need a mage killer. Is that still you?” They challenge gently. 

“I can still work.” Lucanis promises. 

“Good enough for me.”

“I’ll need my phylactery.” He tells them, which naturally the Venatori would have to leash him and Determination, and obviously they can’t leave it. “And I have a contract, on Calivan. He runs this facility. I cannot leave it unfilled.”

That does give Mimir pause. “Crows really don’t come cheap, do they?” They sigh. “You might have let them finish their ritual before killing them, if you wanted to linger.” 

“I’ll owe you.” Lucanis offers as if his favor is worth risking being crushed to death by tons of water (Mimir stops the part of them that is actually doing the math as to how many tons of water is above their head right now).  

“...It’s fine.” Mimir remembers enough about Crows to know how weird they are about their jobs. If he won’t leave without killing Calivan, then they simply need to kill him quickly. 

Harding scoffs, but they are set upon by Venatori before the air can get awkward again.

~X~

Lucanis is having a bad day. Not the worst day of his life, these days it is hard to pick which day is the worst day. But even if he’s had worse days, it's not a good day, because today is the day he dies. But it is also the day he takes down every fucker who ever hurt him in his time in the Ossuary. His only regret is that Zara Renata, the witch who put him here, isn’t present today for him to kill too. However, his bad day is spoiled by the appearance of Rook. 

Rook . Spite echoes their name with a reverence that makes Lucanis’s skin crawl. Melon and woodfire, and home . The Fade. It likes them. Spite has never been anything but annoying or ominous in turn, but that is really up there for him. 

Rook is a mage. They have a sweet mouth, though they deflect often with humor. They are a good mage. They follow in his wake as they tear through the Venatori that set upon them. Their hands ghost Venatori, touching bare skin that rots under their touch. They are a necromancer, and from their skill, he would not be surprised if they were Mortalitasi. Though he doubts they are. His memories of Mortalitasi are them draped in gold. Rook’s ears are pierced many times, but none of the earrings can cost more than a handful of coin. 

“Hold on.” Lucanis had moved to unlock a door to move on to the next part of the prison but Rook speaks up. He turns to look at them, and they are practically glowing with death magic. He can barely see their pupils through the glow. 

They dart back into the chamber. “Oh Harding, Lucanis, bring hmm… bring three bodies please.” 

Harding obeys. Lucanis does too, but reluctantly. 

Death. Blood. Spite warns.

Rook, for some reason, has green chalk in the pocket of their shorts (which should be too tight for pockets). They draw around the ice, kicking sand off the stony floor to keep their lines connected and neat. They direct Harding and Lucanis to where to put the bodies and then drain the death magic seeping from their own body into the runes and wards. 

The creaking and popping from the barrier doesn’t stop but it slows. 

“Did you fix it?” Harding asks.

“What? No.” Rook’s voice trills in offense. “Harding. I just took over an abandoned Tevinter spell that was interacting with an ancient Elvish artifact I know nothing about, while replacing its primary school of casting with necromancy instead of blood magic.” Rook explains, incredulous. “We’re lucky it worked even a bit.” They rub sweat off their face. They had been frantically moving around drawing before doing an intense bit of spellcraft quickly. They end up getting more chalk on their face then the sweat off of it. 

“How long did you buy us?” Harding asks instead. 

Rook’s expression pinches. “Longer.” Is all they offer. “But we shouldn’t linger.”

Honestly, Lucanis would be impressed with Rook, and their skills, if it wasn’t for the certain slap togetherness they had about them. Their clothes are mismatched. The arm bracers are clearly human made, but the rest is Dalish (with the exception of their shorts which have to be Rivaini made because no one else would think anything that short was acceptable for combat), but they have no vassaslin so they are not Dalish. The spell knife on their hip is from Nevarra and is clearly old though well maintained. Their hair is cut short, clearly by no professional given the uneven edges of the fluffy bob, and the cheapest black hair dye he has had the displeasure to see. It is an affront to the Maker. He wants to stick their head out of the bubble and use the saltwater to scrub it off immediately. Spite is thrilled at the idea so Lucanis abandons even pretending that he would. 

“Was that blood magic?” He asks instead. 

“What? No.”

“But the bodies.”

“Ugh look . Normally, you’d bind something like that to another object. Those blood soaked ice crystals for example. Or if you aren’t an evil blood mage, you’d pick an object capable of channeling the Fade or that has been soaked in the Fade long enough that it's near the same. But that would take time and a lot of people, or a lot of time if you had no other people to help. So what I would do if I was in a hurry would be to pull on spirits, either here in or through the Fade, to hold the spell for me, until I didn’t need it anymore. But I can’t do that, because the spiritual energy here is rancid . No spirit would answer my call. And if they did, it would be twisted quickly. So, and I’ll admit, what I did was mean but it wasn’t blood magic.” 

They shove a lock behind their ear that keeps bouncing free as they walk. “When a person dies, their spirit goes to the Fade.” They explain as if that’s not heresy. “I caught them before they died and bound them in their bones. The shades of the dead Venatori will fuel the spell. But the spell is… probably the most shoddy spell I’ve ever cast since graduating, it won’t last long so they’ll be free then. It wasn’t nice but I do think it was fair.”

It was spiteful more than fair. And Spite purrs at Rook’s explanation. Lucanis can see Spite, a twisted purple tinted mirror image of himself, leering at Rook from the corner of his eyes. They understand. Lucanis ignores Spite and marches ahead to ruin its ability to leer at Rook. 

Lucanis leads them through the facility that he barely remembers through the haze of pain and disassociation. But he does remember this room, or rather, Spite does. This is the room that made Spite, Spite. Lucanis wants to rush through it, because Spite is angry and wants to break everything in the room, and they just do not have time from what Rook said. However it is Rook who pauses. 

“They… they tortured spirits here.” Rook says. Lucanis looks back. Rook looks like they can see it happening. Their skin was already pale but now it is so white, Lucanis feels an urge to grab them, so they don’t keel over. “They twisted their natures. Why?” Their voice peeks, enraged. Then they take a deep breath. “Well, the whys don’t matter. Do they? Let’s just kill them.”

Lucanis can’t help but smile, and he doesn’t even frown when he feels Spite tugging at the edges of his mouth, smiling with him. 

Rook throws themself into fighting as soon as there are enemy in sight. They show not a flicker of sympathy for Venatori who get in their way, but their hands hesitate when they come across undead.

They’re sad. Spite plucks at the emotions radiating from Rook. Friends? What’s friends? 

Lucanis doesn’t answer, but he takes the lead to bring down the undead, letting Rook focus on the Venatori. At the end of it, Rook looks at the slaughtered undead, their lips thinned. 

“I don’t understand.” Harding speaks up. “They summoned them, so why are they fighting with each other?”

“Just because you summoned something, doesn’t mean it has to listen to you.” Lucanis explains. “Blood mages never seem to understand that.”

“Spirits listen if you talk to them. They care, often more than people do. They want to follow their natures.” Rook’s words are explanatory, but really they are venting their feelings. They open their mouth and then shut it, thinking better of continuing the thought. Lucanis can see how they shift with their thoughts, moving on from a thought they won’t voice. “Undead though? That’s not like the Venatori.” 

“Those are the failures.” Lucanis informs them.

Rook’s face goes too neutral at that. “The failures.” They repeat.

Spite laughs, in Lucanis’s voice, but mean. Hot! Burning in them like fire! They burn so pretty. 

“Well, I’d hate to see the successes.” Harding smiles tightly. 

“There aren’t many left.” Lucanis reassures. “Zara took most of the successes out a few days ago.” 

Rook’s eyes flash at that and Harding raises an eyebrow. “It’s not like you to look for unnecessary fights.” 

“We can’t help them if they’re not here .” Rook points out.

“You can’t help them at all.” Lucanis is quick to say. He knows all about Mortalitasi and their bleeding hearts. Rook is a contractor given to him by the First Talon. He cannot let them die, especially not before he’s even seen Caterina again. 

Rook shoots him a look of fire, unlike any of the gentle looks they’ve been giving him since they’ve met. “Maybe you can’t.” They say, spitefully. 

Spite laughs so hard Lucanis feels his teeth rattle in his skull. Rook! Rook helps! Sweet Rook! Lucanis just hopes they don’t run into any demons at all. 

Unfortunately, they do. Rook hands have a slight tremor to them, that they are quick to ball into the fabric of their loose top. There are half a dozen demons just over a chasm. The chasm is jumpable, but it is a big jump. Harding draws an arrow. Lucanis isn’t looking forward to jumping in, but Rook is a mage and Harding an archer. The frontlines only have him. Rook has taken to keeping to his back, but in such a crowd, the mage shouldn’t wade in. “You two stay back on the high-” Rook goes whizzing past his head.   

“Merida!” Lucanis swears in Antivan. 

“Rook!” Harding sounds horrified, though not particularly surprised. 

Rook lands straight in the middle of the mass of demons and they don’t even draw their dagger. “Let me help you.” Lucanis can feel the magic in their words. It burns behind his eyes. “You’re hurt. You’re trapped. You can-” They swipe at Rook. 

Rook dodges the attack. They are so, so close to the demons. They dance just out of reach, twirling closer to the demons to dodge the grabs and slashes. “You can’t make me angry with you. I know you. You’re in pain and lashing out. I understand. I won’t hurt you.” 

Rook is doing an admirable job dodging, but there are a lot, and one catches them off guard. They stagger towards the chasm. 

Rook! Spite sounds concerned. Lucanis doesn’t hesitate to throw himself in after them. He catches them by the shoulder before they can topple over to their death.

“I told you, they won’t listen!” Lucanis’s anger is so loud he can’t even hear Spite crowing in his ears. He hasn’t felt a lot in a long time, but he feels anger now. “You stupid-” He swipes hard at one of the demons that draw too close, but they are quickly encircling them. “You cannot fix this-”

Rook draws their blade and Lucanis cuts himself off, because he needs Rook’s goodwill when he can tell Harding is one sour look away from trying to kill him (and he’s learned very quickly just how dangerous she is).

“I’m sorry. It won’t hurt for much longer. I will send you home. May we meet again in gentler times.” When their hands come down on the demons this time, there is no gentle glow to their necromancy. 

They’re. Not. Fighting back? Spite notes, his tone strangely solemn. 

Lucanis couldn’t disagree more. A few swipes send him to the ground to avoid losing an eye and a few strikes have him rolling. He is having to work for each kill. The demons are certainly fighting back. Rook is at his back and they thump against him a few times. He can smell their blood in the air. But he had seen the work of the demons on the Venatori. They do, he can admit, seem slower. 

Eventually the herd thins and the last demon falls. Rook is panting and out of breath. Their hands on their knees, and their (terribly) dyed hair is obscuring their face, but their shoulders are shaking and Lucanis doesn’t think it's exhaustion.  

Gentle Watcher. Tried their best. It’s thin here. Misery can smell them. Can’t have them! Listen! Do something! 

Lucanis doesn’t want to deal with a misery demon falling through a crack the Venatori made in the Fade. “You. You did help. They’ll be back in the Fade now, right?” Lucanis has never cared to learn about the Nevarran way of things, and only remembers a few scant details from the Mortalitasi he’s spoken to. 

“Yes.” Rook says. They straighten and Lucanis pretends he can’t see tear tracks on their face. 

“Maker.” Harding swears, jumping over to join them. “Zara has more of those demons?”

“Yes.” Lucanis says. 

Rook and Harding exchange a look, but say nothing. Lucanis suspects it has to do with their contract, but there isn’t time to ask. Rook smiles at him instead. “Let’s get your phylactery, shall we?” 

They find his phylactery a few rooms later. Behind a barrier powered by red lyrium. 

“I think there are anchors, if we could shatter them-” Harding is thinking, but Rook just walks up to the barrier. 

They are still glowing with energy that they took from the Venatori from the last fight. They expel it as they reach forward and grab the centerpiece of lyrium in the barrier and it shatters in their hand. Lucanis’s stomach does a somersault at the display of raw strength. 

“You really shouldn’t be touching those things with your bare hands, Rook.” Harding sounds unimpressed. 

“I don’t. I compress the entropic magic out in a small burst after conve-”

“Maker! Please don’t explain again.” Harding begs. 

Lucanis’s nose pinches just a touch. He had thought it was Rook’s actual strength, but even though the poncho obscures most of their body, it’s clear they have a traditional mage figure. 

All of them move past the shattered barrier. It’s almost anticlimactic. One second Lucanis has the threat of his freewill being taken from him on a whim hanging over his head like an executioner's blade, and the next he doesn’t. And the only thing that changes is there is blood on the floor. Rook holds out a hand and burns the blood until it bubbles and evaporates. “Just in case.” They tell him with a wink.

Spite purrs in his mind. So sweet. Freedom. They’ll never bind us again. On this, Spite and Lucanis agree.  

All that is left now is putting a dagger through the eye of Calivan. His target. The man who trapped him here. And he’s just one lift and a hallway away. 

“Rook.” Harding intones as they head to the lift. She hangs back and pulls Rook back as well. But Lucanis can still hear them.

“It’s fine. I know you’re not big on Crows but-”

“Oh yes, you know all about Crows all of a sudden.” Harding sounds disapproving. 

“I.. I don’t.”

“An abomination. Rook” Harding stresses. 

“So, that is not an accurate term to refer to him with. He said he’s not a mage and that Spite didn’t willingly enter his body.”

“Rook.”

“This isn’t the South, Harding. We do things differently here. And I certainly don’t turn on people just because I’m scared of what they might do. If you suspect the worst out of people, that’s what you’ll get, and that goes double for spirits.”

“It’s a demon.”

“There’s no such thing. Just because you have a word for something doesn’t make it real.” 

“I can hear you, you know.” Lucanis says. Harding shoots him a nasty look. Rook looks flustered, the tips of their pointed ears go pink.

“Sorry! Sorry. Let’s talk about something else.” They jog over to him.

Lucanis has sympathy for the situation Rook is in, constantly defending him to their companion and he’s grateful too. So he offers the conversation. “So you aren’t actually that strong? It’s just magic? Why use it up close then, why not at a distance?” 

“Well, it’s like throwing a punch.” They explain. “The more distance the weaker it is. I could put more magic into it but then it’s just kinda wasteful.” They reach the lift and Rook fiddles with the controls while waiting for Harding to catch up. “It’s more telekinetic than strength that’s true, but-” they cut themself off for a moment as Harding joins them. 

“We all good, ready to take on the big strong prisoner keeper?” They ask. 

Lucanis nods, but Harding starts downing an elf root potion. Lucanis freezes but Harding tosses him one, avoiding any eye contact. Rook follows their lead. 

“-But, I can do raw strength.”

Lucanis chokes on the potion. “What? You can?”

“Mhm!” Rook finishes the health potion and then unstops a lyrium one and downs that too. “It’s… like advanced healing magic stuff but powered by… schools more popular in Nevarra. I did a lot of reading on Arcane Warriors in school. I can’t produce as much raw power as I can with a ‘punch’ and I can’t hold it for long but I can like, lift and toss a qunari.”

The image flips his stomach uncomfortably. “Oh.”

Rook flips the switch and the lift starts its ascent. 

I want. To see. Let them throw. Calivan. Spite demands.

Lucanis considers it. Calivan would probably find it humiliating. Maybe he offers. It’s a mistake because Spite starts insisting on a yes. 

“Why?” Lucanis asks if only to shut up Spite. 

“Well, everyone expects a mage to throw a fireball. And lots are good at it, better than me for sure. But like, if I tried to punch you, and you didn’t know, would you dodge?” Rook smiles. “And you only have to make that mistake once for me to win.” 

Want. To. See!!! 

“You’re a battle mage then?”

“No. I’m an academic.” Rook insists, like they didn’t just shatter stone with their fists. “It was just a hobby and a thought exercise, well, until I needed it.”

“About your contract then.” Lucanis guesses. 

Rook nods. “Yeah.” The lift arrives, and it's time to end this. Calivan dies today.

And he does. He dies screaming about how he cannot die because Magisters are better and honestly Lucanis couldn’t hear him over the cackling of maniacal glee from Spite. Rook shattered Calivan’s blood spears so hard they flew in his face becoming shrapnel. Lucanis took advantage of his surprise and Calivan went down before he could fully get a barrier up. “The crows send their regards.” Lucanis tells him, as the light leaves his eyes. 

Lucanis expects a quip from Rook, but he doesn’t get one. Rook’s lips are thinned and their eyes are glossy and far away. He’d worry they were possessed if he didn’t know better. They were looking at the Veil. They don’t seem antsy so he looks down at Calivan. A year. A year of torment. It ended in an hour, a handful of minutes if he only counted the fight. 

“Oh.” Rook sounds surprised. 

Lucanis’s eyes snap up, immediately on guard. Spite is circling Rook, and their eyes are tracking him. “You can see him?” Rook hadn’t seemed to earlier.

“No. Not exactly. I can sense he is there. Like… hmm… no I can’t think of a good example. I can see in a sense, but not in the way people usually see.” When Lucanis follows Rook’s gaze, and it’s off. They aren’t tracking Spite as well as he first thought. Rook’s eerie green eyes snap to his. “But you can see him. And hear him too, I imagine.” 

“Yes.” 

Harding shifts. There’s an arrow in her hands, ready to be drawn.

“Fascinating. I have so many questions. But! I really don’t think my slap-together spell will hold for much longer, so let’s go before we all drown.”

“Yes… It's time I got some air.”

We. Spite corrects. 

“And a bath.” Rook suggests lightheartedly. Lucanis laughs at that. 

[linkemon]

Love language headcanons

Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here.

Consider supporting me on Ko-fi.

Other headcanons from this series can be found here.

Rook Hunt • Words

• If there is anyone at Night Raven College who has mastered the art of speech, it is definitely Rook. The boy has been using flowery phrases since you first met. It has become so much a part of him that you can't imagine him speaking in normal words.

• His love language is words, so he naturally gave nicknames to the people around him during the time he spent with them. However, you are unique and that comes with certain privileges. You have already been called the Crown jewel of his heart, An angel with a divine face, and The most beautiful person the world has ever seen. Interestingly, if anyone else had said it, you would have thought of it as empty platitudes but not with Rook. You know he sincerely believes everything he says.

• First graders literally can't listen to the boy for long periods of time. His words are so sweet that it makes them all sick, as Ace put it...

• Hunt likes to give you poems in which he praises various aspects of your character. Of course, the concept of beauty must always come up but he wants you to remember that beauty is not just about appearance.

• Rook uses foreign-sounding words very often. At first you looked up what they meant. Now you simply ask him to translate what he is saying but sometimes you will be refused. Some things are more interesting being a mystery...

Jack Howl • Acts of service

• Something broke? Need help you with your bag? Renovation at Ramshackle? This man is definitely the answer to all your problems. At times you feel that perhaps his distant connection to dogs due to being a beast with wolf-like characteristics is responsible for his textbook loyalty. Once you have won him over, he will always be there, willing to help.

• His love language seems to be usually favors. He'll find or take care of Grim when you're having a bad day. He will help fill the hole when your dormitory roof is leaking. He will lend you his jacket when you are cold.

• You sometimes let him do things that you could do yourself. All this just to see his satisfied face and his tail moving left and right when you thank him.

• You're not as fit as he is. If you go for a morning training session in the forest on the school grounds and fall down along the way, you can be sure that he will take you ona piggyback ride. He doesn't take you in his arms because he's a little embarrassed that you'll see him blush. But you know what's going on in his head because his ears give him away.

• You especially like it when Jack's favors include manual labor. You then have the opportunity to take a closer look at his muscles. And there are many of them...

Floyd Leech • Physical touch

�� Floyd is a walking fan of touch. In various forms. Mostly squeezing, which most Night Raven College students don't like. Fortunately, he doesn't threaten you with anything terrible in this matter.

• It started with Floyd simply throwing his arm around your shoulders. He would always tell you that he was extremely bored as he led you to Mostro Lounge. It wasn't long before he started literally hanging on to you if you weren't paying attention to him.

• Nowadays, a boy loves to give you surprise hugs. Sometimes you have to remind him that he has a lot more strength than the average person and that you need a little more air in your lungs.

• He likes to grab your hand unexpectedly when you're passing the school corridors. One time it got to the point that he didn't want to let you go and went with you to Professor Trein's class. You felt a lot of shame then, especially when he told the teacher that he couldn't be separated from his shrimpy. Only when Jade came to talk his brother out of the idea of starting an argument with Trein, he announced that it was over for the day because he was tired of sitting in the stuffy atmosphere. He then got a week's punishment.

• You once bought him a tiny rubber ball so he could squeeze it when you weren't around. He liked it so much that now he won't part with it. You can meet many dissatisfied people on campus who were hit in the head with such a ball.

[mercurialmalcontent]

It turns out that meeting Taash as a Lord of Fortune has some different turns to the conversation than if Rook is any other faction!

It turns out that Taash and Rook don't know each other as Taash joined after Rook left; upon meeting Taash and giving them the passphrase, you can choose to have Rook ask Taash to test them, and they ask three questions about relic hunting to prove Rook knows their stuff. Rook namedrops Isabela in the last one to Taash's surprise, and they're immediately more at ease with Rook.

Isabela knows Rook of course and teases them: Isabela: Wonderfully done, Taash. While you played with the big scary dragon, we looted the shiny stuff from her cave. Isabela: And you managed it despite this former crew member tripping you up the whole time. Rook (thumbs up option): I missed you too, Isabela. Isabela: (Laughs) You're lucky you're cute.

Not new is being able to ask her "How much could you get for something like that?" and her answering, "A fair bit of gold, if you're lucky. Maybe a war, if you're not." which is, of course, interesting in light of the whole Tome of Koslun whoopsie.

The conversation then proceeds as normal, but has Isabela telling Rook to wipe their boots next time :')

More under the cut.

The conversation with Taash after you return to the Lighthouse has quite a few differences:

Rook: These days, everything is elven gods this and blight that. Give me a stolen idol in a trap-filled dungeon any day. Taash: Hey. We're not thieves. We don't steal. Rook: Bharv's team literally stole the big prize sword from the Grand Tourney of Starkhaven. Taash: Starkhaven is full of assholes. It doesn't count as stealing from them. Taash: You don't screw over anyone who can't afford it. Rook: If the Lords of Fortune ever get a coat of arms, we should print that on the bottom in Old Tevene.

It's also specifically Taash's mother who appraises artifacts:

Rook: I don't remember meeting your mother when I ran with the Lords. What does she do? Appraisals? Taash: Yeah. She tells them how rare something is. How much it might be worth. Taash: Also tells them if they found something cultural. Rook: Cultural? Taash: You know. Important. Stuff you don't want going to some rich noble's collection. Taash: The Lords send that stuff back to the Qunari in Par Vollen. They pay the Lords a finder's fee. Rook: They've put a lot of thought into it. Probably more than I did when I collected artifacts. Taash: Just thinking about the gold? Rook: And the glory, too. Can't forget about the glory. Rook: Though if I defeat these gods, I'll have cornered the market there.

That sheds some interesting light on the whole matter, especially keeping in mind how during the quest Taash says Rivain was on good terms with the qunari until the Antaam invaded.

From here they continue the conversation as usual, talking about how the Lords are good people who helped their mother out when she came there from Kont-aar. You can finish up by asking how the Rivaini nobles are feeling about the LoF now that they've had some months to cool off, where Taash says "They were angry for a while. Then the Antaam invaded."

I figured that Taash had a rosy view of the Lords of Fortune due to the help they've given their mother and this really solidifies it -- the LoF didn't just help, they straight up gave her an important job. I didn't expect Taash to have such a flexible idea of what constitutes as theft. So the LoF aren't really 'nice pirates' but when Rook's primary source of info about them is from Taash, they come off looking rather rosier than they would otherwise.

(… Hey, isn't Starkhaven where Sebastian's from? lol. lmao, even.)

I'm sure there will be more later (I've heard that Rook can talk about how they ended up with the LoF, at some point), and I'm looking forward to it -- even though the LoF reactivity isn't thick on the ground, what I've gotten has been a lot of fun.

[ell-vellan]

All My Children Rooks

(thus far)

With reference screenshots and backstories, mostly for my own use for fic purposes.

My first baby girl! and first Rook to finish the game.

Personality: Happy-go-lucky, big-hearted, snarky, (over-)confident, elf nerd, unserious, full of youthful idealism and unflagging (to the point of annoying) optimism. Very much believes she's the gal who's got what it takes to save the world. Goes with her gut, doesn't waste too much time intellectualizing. Unsurprisingly, she and Bellara get along like a house on fire.

Background: Born a slave in Minrathous, as a child served as housekeeper to a minor magister arcanist/professor who taught her to read and know enough to assist in cataloging her scrolls. When Lailani's magic manifested, the scholar sponsored her to join a Circle for her education, intending for her to return as research assistant when her magic was trained. But Lailani, now a young teen and with her first taste of freedom at the Circle, heard about strange rumblings happening in nearby Arlathan, and, having consumed stories and legends of the Dalish all her life (and having always admired Inquisitor Lavellan), saw her chance for adventure and ran away to join a Dalish clan in Arlathan. There, she turns her interest in elven ruins and Imperium training to good use for the fledgling Veil Jumpers. She throws herself headlong into all things ancient elven, exploring ruins and studying artifacts. Like a lot of young Dalish coming of age at this time, she chose an atheistic vallaslin design based on some early maps the first Veil Jumpers had begun finding and creating as they uncovered more ancient relics - rejecting what they know new to be marks of subservience to long-ago tyrants. Met Varric and Harding when they worked with Strife, and, still hungry for adventure, offered to help if they ever needed it again.

View on Solas: Has a complicated relationship with elven culture in general. The Fade and all that ancient elves accomplished with magic is both exciting and fascinating; she wants to be proud of her people and see the good in ancient elves, wants to believe there was something good in the Evanuris, once. She gives Solas the benefit of the doubt because she respects what he was trying to do, but comes across to him like a defiant child who doesn't understand what they are up against.

Inquisitor: Ellawyn Lavellan (romanced Iron Bull)

World state: HoF Mahariel, King Alistair, Leliana is Divine, Celene + Briala rule Orlais, Cole is a spirit, Hawke is alive.

Romance: Davrin

Swashbuckling pirate hero.

Personality: "He a little confused, but he got the spirit" meme personified. Here for the vibes. Severan is a big softie, a chill surfer dude, and a terrible liar (his every emotion shows on his face) . More competent than he might appear. Doesn't take life too seriously, but is seriously good at what he does. Can't ever pass a dog or cat without giving it a pet, and can't ever let a serious moment pass without making a joke to ease the tension. Flirty and adventurous, he's here for a good time, not a long time. Doesn't really know what's going on with all this elvish stuff, but doesn't want the world to end, and he's got this dagger, so...

Background: A swashbuckling treasure hunter, as cliche as they come. He was born on the sea, climbing the rigging as second nature. He knows, and wants, no other life, even though he spent the first half of it enslaved by Tevinter. A chance run-in with Isabela gave him a chance for freedom in the form of his own ship and crew, and once he proved competent and trustworthy, he began treasure runs and artifact hunting with the Lords. It was a good life for a while, living it up with plenty of coin, sea air and white sand beaches - until some Venatori started trouble in a port tavern where Severan was drinking on a break between jobs. He thought they were there for him - the Venatori were always looking for relics lately and causing trouble for the Lords - and inadvertently came to Varric and Harding's rescue.

View on Solas: Fascinated respect. Sort of knows he's out of his league, sort of falls for Solas's lies, but thinks outside the box in ways Solas does not expect.

Inquisitor: Atish'anera Lavellan (romanced Solas)

World state: King Alistair + Queen Cousland, Leliana is Divine, Cole is a spirit, Inquisition disbanded

Romance: TBD

Older brother to the Inquisitor. Solas broke his sister's heart, and he's here for some personal revenge.

Personality: Quietly clever, crafty, and cunning Rasim (banal'ras + him "become shadow") thinks more than he speaks, analyzing situations quickly before jumping into the best course of action. Wise, but also a wise-ass. My personal reincarnation of Felassan. On the surface, he puts you at ease by seeming glib, relaxed, and sarcastic, but he has a deep, dark ruthless streak. Inherently mistrustful of strangers, he wants to believe in the good of his companions, and trusts those that Varric and Lace trust. He comes across effortlessly charming and likeable at first meeting. That is, until you cross him - but you wouldn't even notice the moment he's decided your life needs to end, because he'll keep smirking the whole time. Fast, agile, he could throw knives on targets in his sleep and shoot bullseyes blindfolded. The Crows trained out any hesitance to kill, as well as any lingering instinct for mercy, but he lives by his own set of ethics, and does not follow instructions from the Crows, or anyone, blindly. Despite being a Crow longer than he was Dalish, if push came to shove, his first loyalty is to the elves (but don't tell Viago). He's accepted Antiva as his home and choose not to return to his clan when he had the chance - he believes himself too changed to return to the Dalish way of life.

Background: Rasim was on a ritual hunting trip with other youths of his clan, seeking their first kill to earn their vallaslin, when they were attacked in the night. Those who fought back were killed, and the rest captured and taken north on a slaver's ship. On the journey they were kept overnight in a warehouse in Antiva. Rasim figured out how to open the cage they were in and waited for the right moment to strike back at the men holding him, but just before he could, the Crows executed a contract they had on the slaver. Rasim was free to go - but he was a bare-faced elf in Antiva, far from home, with no money or contacts and no way to get back to his clan. Viago was impressed by Rasim's "scrappiness" and his ingenuity in lockpicking his own shackles, so when Rasim asked to be trained as a Crow, he accepted him, despite him being much older than the usual fledglings. Though he had only joined the Crows for protection and to learn how to defend himself, his charm, his experience as a hunter, knowledge of Dalish uses for poison plants, and his agility helped make him a standout. But the Mage-Templar war soon broke out, and the chaos leading up to the Inquisition prevented him from finding his clan, as by now they could be anywhere. Years later, when he became a full-fledged Crow and had earned money and independence, he was able to make contact with the Dalish again through a nearby travelling clan, and finally get the vallaslin he had earned all those years ago. That clan put him in touch with his own former clan, and Rasim was able to reach out again to let them know he was still alive. And that's when he learned his younger sister Anera had, in his absence, become the First of the clan, and then, to his great surprise, the Herald of Andraste. Brother and sister finally reconnected again after the Inquisition, and it was Anera who recommended her brother to Varric, as someone already on the inside of things going on in the north.

View on Solas: The bastard elven god who slept with his sister, offered to take her vallaslin, and then broke up with her. His ex-almost-brother-in-law. Rasim has the urge to get a little revenge for his sister, but for her sake, he tries to keep an open mind about the guy she (apparently still?) loves. Rasim works the angles on Solas as much as Solas does to him, his sharp mind and insight from Anera on his psyche giving him a bit of an unexpected advantage that sets Solas aback. Rasim tries to see what Anera saw in Solas, he really does, and while he hopes to bring him to heel for her, he wouldn't mind roughing him up a bit in the process.

Inquisitor: Atish'anera Lavellan (romanced Solas)

World State: same as Severan

Love Interest: Either Bellara or Lucanis.

Based on Vessel from Sleep Token (in terms of visual design, at least)

Personality: A bastard-coated bastard with bastard filling. Doesn't see the point in sparing anyone's feelings and doesn't mince his words. Smart, independent, stubborn, doesn't listen to anyone who tells him to cool it.

In actual reality, has a deep sense of justice that is constantly being betrayed, leading to him being angry at the world, 24/7. He's angry, always angry, at the inequality he sees all around him, and the incompetence and corruption of everyone who he believes should be doing something about it and would rather ignore it. A problem solver who's used to only relying on himself and trusts no one else to do what needs done. Will cut to the chase and tell you - rudely - to get to the point. He thinks the world and most of the people in it suck, and that's why he's working to rid the world of those people, in the most efficient way possible. His esteem is hard-earned, but he has no trouble offering it where it's deserved, and he treats those few who he deems worthy with the respect of an equal. There is another side of him, but the only ones who ever see it - and only briefly - are the slaves he helps smuggle out of Minrathous, and the genuinely innocent victims, forgotten by the powerful of Tevinter.

Background: He hates his adoptive father with a cold passion. He was never going to fight for the side of Tevinter, so they were always at odds. He learned to sneak out of the house at an early age, where he was mostly surviving on his own - it's where he learned to be sneaky, and learned to navigate the underbelly and dark alleys of Minrathrous. He doesn't use the given name from his adoptive family but goes by a codename, Vessel, as he prefers thinking of himself only as a vessel for justice (and sometimes, vengeance.) Learned how to blend in easily with other groups and factions; a one-man spy operation, working mostly independently so as to be untraceable, with occasional trusted contacts in the Shadow Dragons. Keeps his face and identity secret as much as possible, so that his doings don't get reported back to Mercar or that connection used against him. He only uses his surname when the weight of the title could be useful. He's a loner who isn't used to working with a team, and struggles with how to trust and connect to others, as he's worked hard to never need anyone.

Antaam-turned-Warden, my interpretation of a "What happened if Sten from Origins went the way of Iron Bull from Inquisition?"

Personality: Still...developing. His personality for most of his life was reduced to "kill things for the Qun" and he was heavily disincentivized in thinking about anything else. He's innately curious, and learning it's okay to ask questions, but he still has the instinct to hit first, ask later. Surprises himself with random moments of wanting to do things the Qun wouldn't have wanted him to think, care about, or do. Things that have no purpose, like the urge to admire the view, pet a cat, or save an innocent civilian. He means well, most of the time, but tends to stick his foot in his mouth, as he's still learning how the bas talk to each other. He's not used to talking, in general.

Background: Among the earlier waves of Antaam that broke from the Qun to invade on their own, Basreth was just a cog in the Qunari war machine, not an individual who had been allowed to develop many of his own interests or opinions about much. His squad of fairly new young soldiers were sent to investigate a report of rogue darkspawn, and they were caught by surprise and overwhelmed. Basreth was the sole survivor, though left infected by the Blight. he had accepted death, as he was no longer pure in the Qun - when the Grey Wardens showed up to investigate the same darkspawn. Impressed that Basreth had finished them off alone and survived, they offered for him to join the Grey Wardens, convincing him that dedicating his life to killing darkspawn was a better use of his body than letting it rot to bones that served no one, and therefore a more honorable choice in the eyes of the Qun. He accepted, and became Basreth, "thing that protects." He is not Tal-Vasoth, but neither is he truly Qunari anymore. Instead, he's thrown his entire fledgling identity into that of a Grey Warden, channeling all the single-minded loyalty that used to go to the Qun into his masters.

Created solely to romance Emmrich, lol

Personality: A scientific, creative open mind paired with bull-headed stubbornness when she knows she's right. Studious, rational, curious, who loves intellectual debate and schooling others she sees as less well-read. A bad-ass mage who likes showing off. Dry wit. Reads obscure high-brow literature and offers to discuss it, acts surprised when others have heard of her favorite scholarly papers.

[soratsuart]

Now how about octavinelle ace vil Lilia malleus sebek and yor :]

Hey Salt, the first three seem weirdly targetted/j

Long post, long post, here we go!! Yor relationships with everyone!

Azul Ashengrotto:

Yor initially doesn't think much of him, honestly. He's classic sketchy dealer, the type of person one should know better than to make a deal with and they want nothing to do with him, plus, his dorm is underwater, that is reason enough for them to want to stay away. Since they of course end up making the deal like in canon, at the very least Yor can say they find him interesting and fun. Azul is cunning and always one step ahead and that is nothing if not a challenge. Yor enjoys a good match of wits even after his overblot. After learning about his past, they feel like they can relate a lot more to him: being hurt by others, seeking revenge and eventually becoming strong so no one can hurt you ever again... they can admire all of his hard work and they will tell him so. (and if that admiration turns into other feelings in certain timelines that is another matter).

As for Azul's opinion on them... what is wrong with them??? Azul initially thought they would be an easy target with them coming from another world and not understanding stuff but they keep throwing him for a loop. Their mood changes so quickly it rivals Floyd, they can either act as a mastermind whose thoughts he can't easily read or as the biggest cat he's ever seen. For a while he disliked them after the destruction of his contracts, but it doesn't last long since they aren't fighting anymore and Yor has no reason to provoke him or be antagonistic of him, and it's actually nice to talk to them. One could even say he considers them a friend!

Jade and Floyd Leech:

Yor is so uncomfortable around both twins. It's the same as with Rook initially, they don't like the feeling of being hunted, and these two are definitely hunting them. They are just the most startled cat ever whenever they are around. It's not like they can't work with them when it matters and even enjoy some conversations, but then Jade says something mildly ominous and Floyd is laughing about their startled look and it gets ruined.

Of course this means Yor is terribly interesting to the two of them. Not only the entrance ceremony already put a big target on them, the reputation they win over the months and their first official meeting only make them more and more interested in them. They have the funniest reactions if you push the right buttons and they are experts at doing so. It's even funniers with how much of an aversion to the ocean they have. Maybe Yor should consider being a bit more boring if they don't want them to keep an eye on them!

Ace Trappola:

If you asked them at the beginning of everything, Yor would say they couldn't care less about Ace. He was annoying and childish trying to get on their nerves and mocking them for being "magicless" (they were pretending not to be able to use magic, but it was still upsetting to hear him). They first started to see him with better eyes (er, eye) after he punched Riddle. That was the first time someone ever defended them like that, and from then on they allow themself to not be so biased against him. He is still very annoying, but they can tease him back and it's more lighthearted, like friends bickering. He has their back and they have his, and it's a weird and new feeling for them, but they don't dislike it at all.

Likewise, Ace's first opinion of them is that he dislikes them. Yor was funny during the entrance ceremony and he thought it would be fun to bully them a little the first day. He thought wrong! Turns out Yor knows how to provoke him instead and then make him look bad and get in trouble. He has to admit they are smart, though. As their relationship improves and they become actual friends, he finds he really likes their dynamic. Yor is quick with their comebacks for anything he says and it's genuinely fun to go back and forth with them. They are an important friend to him, but he wishes they wouldn't be so reckless with how much of a trouble magnet they are (like he isn't a trouble magnet himself).

Vil Schoenheit:

Wow, he's really pretty. As a fellow theater enthusiastic (because they don't know what cinema is), Yor can recognize Vil for his talent and hard work. It's easier to like someone when the two of you share a passion such as performing, be it acting, dancing, making music, etc. When it comes to that, they can get just as strict and perfectionist as Vil himself. They do steer clear of him when it comes to his perfectionism with beauty though, they know they are NOT up to his standards dsjhfgedsrf with their (inexistent) routine. They also are wary around him whenever the conversation gets too much into personal matters. The bad side of Vil being a great actor is that he can see right through them a lot of the time, and they really don't want that.

As for Vil's opinion, well... He likes Yor. He really does. But he's really exhasperated with them. It's like they are allergic to taking care of themself! (pray he never finds out about how they cut their hair with a knife). He fusses a lot over it, but they keep running away from him when it comes to that topic. Vil is also not an idiot, he can tell Yor hides a lot of secrets and they aren't quite as cheerful and carefree as they pretend to be, and this only gets reinforced the more he learns about them. He won't force them to speak, but he sees little point on playing along when it's just the two of them together. If they ever decide there is something they want to say, they can come to him.

Lilia Vanrouge:

Lilia is someone Yor is comfortable around. Maybe it's because he has lived long enough that he saw a Twisted Wonderland that was once very similar to their own world, but they can communicate with him in a way they can't with most others. He's also very similar to them in a lot of aspects, it's just easy to talk to him. Yor gets the feeling from the beginning that Lilia truly is both older than he looks and trained in combat, and is not surprised to find out how right they are. They naturally orbit towards him when dealing with how different this world is from theirs gets too exhausted. He's just familiar enough like that. ...There is also a certain feeling they get from seeing him and Silver interact knowing they're family even if not related, a bitter, angry feeling they really dislike. why couldn't their own story be like that?

Lilia really likes Yor, they are a very nice kid. It's endearing to see them get adjusted to all the new technology and inventions they are unfamiliar with, it reminds him of Malleus, and it's always nice to see a youngster act so motivated towards learning. He likes to keep an eye on them and give them chances to be a kid. He's an old soul and a war veteran, no matter how good they are at acting, he knows the stance of someone who is used to fighting, and he knows their scars are not ones you get from a silly accident. If he can, he wants to act as a guide for them whenever they need it, it's his job as an adult to look out for the new generations.

Malleus Draconia:

Malleus is not the type of person they would have befriended if it weren't for the special conditions in which they first met him. Their distaste for royalty would have ruined their interactions immediately. Alas, for Yor Malleus was first their good old friend Tsunotaro, the weird but strangely endearing guy who likes to take midnight strolls around Ramshackle and is defensive about telling them his name. Yor simply assumed he was another strange person in NRC and moved on with their life. Like with Lilia, they feel comfortable in his presence due to how much he reminds them of their world, a sort of familiarity you only get from someone who was born before phones were a thing. He becomes a precious friend to them and someone they can talk to when things becomes too overwhelming and they need a break from this futuristic world. Plus, since he almost always meets them at night, they've come to associate him with their beloved night sky. (They are, however, not ready to accept the idea that the prospect of them going back to their original world could have been one of the reasons that led to his overblot).

Malleus is ever so curious about this child of man who isn't afraid of him and doesn't even know him. Much like in canon, he simply enjoys their dynamic where they can be friends and he isn't neither feared nor idolized and they can just enjoy each other's company. Yor is a dear friend and similar to him in the way they both ramble about their own interests but will always listen to what the other has to say. Yor also shares an aura of loneliness he is painfully familiar with, even though in his eyes they seem to have many friends. Being surrounded by a crowd and still feel alone is a sentiment he is come to understand very well. There is a sort of understanding and connection he has never experienced before and doesn't wish to lose. He just hopes he can be as much of a support and friend to Yor as they often are to him.

Sebek Zigbolt:

For the longest time, they don't like him, period. Sebek is loud, always yelling with a bombing voice and looking condescending at others. They are not a fan of how he looks down on humans, the disdainful way in he says the word reminds them all too much of things they would rather not think about. I don't think they start warming up to him until midway through Book 7 and seeing a bit more of his own insecurity with being half human. Even then it might be a rocky relationship for a while, but slowly they'll get to a point where they can just exist in the same room without them being in constant tension.

Sebek initially despises Yor. They are a disheveld, disrespectful troublemaker who keeps talking like they are above all consequences. And what is that god awful nickname with which they dare call his master!? Unbelievable, simply blasphemy! They should be punished immediately for their audacity!

But... he will concede they are stronger than he gave them credit for. He can respect their skills and intelect as well as their tenacity, they really prove themself in Lilia's dream. And after getting to know them a bit better he guesses they are not the worst person out there. They should still be way more respectful towards Malleus!!

[binint]

ೃ⁀➷ "Everything I know about Love"

A Twisted Wonderland Series based off of Laufey's beautiful album "Everything I know about Love"

(ongoing series)

Synopsis for stories may not reflect the final piece :")

Dance with You Tonight ➻ Ace Trappola

╰─▸ "You're a charmer that's for sure, but I can't stand anymore. Shame I would've danced with you tonight..."

Prom with you would be perfect.

----

Fragile ➻ Deuce Spade

╰─▸ "Your skin on my skin, the room is spinning..."

┊͙School is rough, classes, sports and the cherry on top: chores. Everyday more work than the next. One moment of calm would be nice wouldn't it?

----

Beautiful Stranger ➻ Idia Shroud

╰─▸ "A fairytale moment could've occurred, but my beautiful stranger will have to remain a stranger until I see him again..."

┊͙You needed help fixing your laptop and Crowley knew the exact person to ask.

----

Above the Chinese Restaurant ➻ Rook Hunt

╰─▸ "I still freeze when I look at these faded photographs from February, last twenty-second or twenty-third..."

┊͙You have some photos from your old world and reminisce of a time you can't imagine anymore.

----

Dear Soulmate ➻ Floyd Leech

╰─▸ "Dear soulmate, I can't wait to fall in love with you..."

┊͙Soulmates have always been a foreign language to you, but in this new world, these tales of destiny and soulmates seem to be translating.

----

What Love will do to You ➻ Jade Leech

╰─▸ "Losing my mind, drunk on jazz and wine..."

┊͙You can't get him out of your head, why won't he leave your mind?

----

I've Never Been in Love Before ➻ Sebek Zigvolt

╰─▸ "So please, forgive this helpless haze I'm in. I've never really been in love before..."

┊͙Falling in love for the first time is scary and sometimes you end up doing strange and irrational things

----

Just like Chet ➻ Ruggie Bucchi

╰─▸ "I don't know anything about love and its' foolish tendencies, and just like Chet I tend to fall in love too easily..."

┊͙

----

Everything I know about Love ➻ Jack Howl

╰─▸ "I don't know that much at all, I trip I fall, every time I try it's all too much. That's everything I know about love..."

┊͙From all the fairytales that have been read to you as a child, you would expect to know a little bit more about love.

----

Falling Behind ➻ Jamil Viper

╰─▸ "I've never had a shoulder to cry on, someone to call mine. Everybody's falling in love, and I'm falling behind..."

┊͙You've always been way too busy for anything other than school and now is a good time to relax, if ever a time.

----

Hi ➻ Azul Ashengrotto

╰─▸ "Now I'm dreaming of your moonlight glow from my empty studio, hoping that you'll say 'hello' to me..."

┊͙You've always been a nervous figure, the 1st years only being the people truly close to you. You should probably go out and say "hi."

----

Valentine ➻ Silver

╰─▸ "Don't know how to respond. I tell him that he's pretty too. Can I say that? Don't have a clue..."

┊͙Valentine's day has always been one of your favorite holidays, isn't it nice you get to spend it with your favorite person?

----

Night Light ➻ Secret

╰─▸ "Guess I won't be living in here anymore. Take down the posters of the pop stars on the wall. Empty room, it looks so small..."

┊͙Twisted Wonderland has such a lasting impact on your life. Nice things don't always last forever though.

[kunikame]

TWISTED WONDERLAND

NATSUME DROPLIGHT (ref. to sundrop flower from tangled)

ramshackle dorm leader, 1st year

dominant hand : right homeland : ? club : gargoyle studies club best subject : astrology hobbies : art pet peeves : grim talking in his sleep favorite food : macarons least favorite food : pumpkin soup talent : quick to pick up skills friends : 1st year gang, kalim al-asim, silver vanrouge, malleus draconia, cater diamond, ruggie bucchi neutral : vil schoenheit, rook hunt, floyd leech (she’s scared of them), trey clover, jamil viper, idia shroud, leona kingscholar

her favorite vest is yellow but she had to give up wearing it because she was mistaken as a savanaclaw resident. mostly wears greyscale clothes now (partly due to ramshackle aesthetic), but she puts red ribbons in her hair since heartslabyul is like her 3rd home.

has a new bandage like every other day. ramshackle is a health hazard (curse you crowley. fix the damn staircase already).

she's on relatively good terms with everyone important, except floyd. the moment she glimpses him in a crowd she's GONE with the wind.

HEARTDROPS !! ace trappola x natsume droplight

#HEARTSHACKLE for life!! (deuce is third wheeling.)

everyone knew it was gonna happen eventually, but nobody knows how exactly it did (natsume asked ace out with a corny pick up line and he doesn't want anyone to know it worked)

nothing really changed between them, except the small sprinkle of additional pda (hand holding ew!!!!! - ace). they still relentlessly bully each other cause it’s fun.

deep down though, ace sometimes worries whether his jabs hurt more than she shows (he’s aware he can be an asshole, but hurting her is the last thing he would ever want to do).

he’s also terrified of the day she gets the chance to leave twisted wonderland. he knows this is not her real home and that she probably misses her family and friends, but he likes to think he and their friends are also essentially like family to her now– he likes to think she belongs here, with him (he doesn’t know she has no plans to leave).

movie nights every saturday, and 1st year game nights on fridays

though natsume constantly complains about them getting her in trouble with crowley, she would not trade their stupid asses for anything in the world.

very common date activity is dancing in ramshackle to songs from her homeland, or stargazing on the roof (ace fell off one time and he has not let her live it down since).

rarely will you find one without the other being somewhere nearby. it's an eyesore. they are banned from most public spaces.

ace offers to be her human canvas out of boredom sometimes and thoroughly enjoys the feeling of the cold paints on his skin, though he will never admit it aloud. when she gives him a painting or sketch of him as a gift he puts it in a hidden box under his bed. he faithfully collects them all to look back on when they're older. he swears up and down every new one he gets is better than the last one. he just loves being her muse

BACKSTORY !!

back at her original world, natsume was a pretty normal kid growing up. divorced parents with shared custody, a couple friends, some after school clubs and niche interests. average teen life basically

on a lovely friday morning, she had a nasty argument with her mother, and her already sour mood at the prospect of having to go to her fathers house later soured even further. she had a surprise math exam and her friends kept throwing jabs at her throughout the day.

safe to say, she’s had enough. after school she immediately rushed home without saying bye to her friends.

she tried to rush home anyway, but then a medieval looking carriage hit her and some magic dark mirror spoke at her. she honestly thought she was dead, but, nope, somehow even worse. some crazy dimensional travel occured and she found herself in the magical land of twisted wonderland. booyah!

ace, deuce and grim being her first friends in this crazed dimension was truly a blessing. despite grim being a talking cat and the other 2 being complete idiots, they were still somehow the most normal beings she's had the fortune to meet.

and, somehow, somewhere along the way, she found her eyes lingering on ace a tad longer than they normally should. found herself thinking about him more than it was socially acceptable between friends.

what joy. if she were alice she could never return now, for love is the strongest magic of all, or however the saying goes. be as it may, she stopped planning her return home long ago. perhaps staying here wouldn't be too bad, after all.

[hawkeish]

1, 7, 9, 20, 27 for Orrenrook? :3

ooh thank you for asking!! I’m gonna send some right back at you, I’m so intrigued by Eve

1 - Where in Thedas is Rook from?

Nevarra City! More specifically, beneath a bush in the Necropolis’ Memorial Gardens

7 - Romantically close with…?

It takes her a while and there are more than a few stumbles along the way, but she’s a Demon of Vyrantium enjoyer 😌 Spite also becomes strangely charming (and doesn’t faze her. she’s had to work with the irritating spirits inhabiting dead Nevarran nobles for her entire life. what’s a silly little demon who wants to eat candles in comparison)

9 - Does your Rook get along with their chosen faction?

The Mourn Watch are all Rook has ever known and she’s fiercely, fiercely loyal to them, to a potentially dangerous degree. Even after she gets put on sabbatical following the controversial way she ended the War of the Banners and other Watchers are not her biggest fans, she has faith in the order till the end.

20 - Would they side with Solas or fight him?

Orrenrook may be a lovely, gentle forgiving soul but Solas made her do an annoying amount of exercise in order to stop the ritual. and also stabbed the guy who’s paying for her meals. she’s scrapping with him as soon as she can.

27 - What was their life like before the events of Veilguard?

oh mad look at that it’s almost like the opening chapters of my rookanis fic reveal a bit about this (sorry for the shameless plug)

but here’s the rundown: she was adopted by a Watcher academic and raised as her studious protegé. she was never really exposed to city elven culture and, at the start of the game, hasn’t actually left the grounds of the Necropolis on her own for twelve years. all she wants is to sit in the library, finish her Masters dissertation and tell spirits to piss off when necessary. oh also her adoptive mother has just been killed and she’s going to hunt down the people that did it

[zevzevarainai]

because i always feel the need to fill in gaps and fix things, here is my current thoughts for my rook's backstory. i dont have anywhere else to get this off my chest, so here i go

My rough plan is that the crows were in even more in-fighting because of Zevran, which essentially branched the crows into those who were willing to reform into not being a colossal piece of shit and those who weren't and were like yeah no you can't stop us from making children slaves. The reform people would be the Viago, Teia, etc.

My vision for my Rook has been from the start that she fled the templars/Circle and the crows were like, "hey. we'll protect you from the templars in exchange for your service." (This is also my way of coping justifying not having an Antivan accent). And this would have been when she was young so during/after the fifth blight when the anti-mage stuff was still a major plotline. So she agrees and ends up being one of the kids in horrible conditions described in dao

Fast forward, she's one of the ones who makes it (obviously), but then Zevran comes to Make Problems. I imagine he must have like, killed the worst of the crows leaving Mihnyla and her peers, well, not so much free as rejoining society would be rough but at least not treated like total shit. She somehow gets picked up and taken to house de Riva-- which, at this point, she's an authority-pleasing husk. Viago is assigned to watch over her and try to acclimate her, especially since she is ~a mage~. He slowly pulls out her personality with Basic Decency. Eventually, she becomes optimistic-Rook and the first time she jokes around with him, Viago gets attached but in a sibling way like this is my little sister which soon evolves into this is my annoying idiot little sister and in turn Mihnyla looks to him as her older brother with a stick up his ass. It's the closest thing she's ever had to family. They annoy the crap out of each other, but if someone else talked shit about one of them, the other would threaten your life. Hence the "he is insufferable when you're not here" despite being a crab ass when she is there.

Fast forward again to the crow rook backstory event where she takes out all those antaam but then the crows are pissed. She is scared shitless. If you fail the crows, you're hunted and killed slowly. She is so scared to the point where she starts going by Varric's nickname for her (Rook) as to better increase her chances of not being found by the Crows. When the team wants to go to the Crows for help, she agrees but is secretly terrified that they're going to grab her the second she steps foot in Antiva. That is, until Teia smiles at her and Viago treats her like always.

The fact that I stumbled into Lucanis' romance makes it funnier because he basically tried to court her brother figure years ago and failed spectacularly. Then she's like. imma take this one off your hands. although in reality they never encountered each other in person

More Mihnyla and Lucanis bits:

They have long, extensive talks about their very different experience with the crows, that is also not that different at all at the same time.

She also gossips about Viago and tells embarrassing stories

Lucanis, being the man that he is, feels a strange sense of anger and guilt when after asking where a scar is from, the answer is more often than not "her trainers" or "when I had to fight another crow." This is even though he probably got some scars the same way and there's no way he could have done anything anyway.

Her being a mage helps diplomacy with Spite and Fade Nonsense. Before they enter any relationship, Mihnyla offers to watch Lucanis' body while he sleeps, but he refuses to let her.

Because of her conditioning at a young age, she feels way less important than he is as he is Caterina's heir. She overcomes this pretty quickly and before the relationship goes anywhere. Lucanis shooting down her self-deprecating comments in-game is so important to me

Lucanis learns to see through her brave face, but only brings it up in private. He knows that they've both been taught not to show emotion, but he also knows that they're safe to break that around each other (breaking apart his perfectly gathered clouds of doom). I just know post-game the second they were alone she was a hysterical mess after bottling all that shit up

When Lucanis uses her real name in private she turns into a metaphorical pile of goo

Post-game he probably takes her back to Antiva and spoils the shit out of her with his Rich Kid Privileges (in Villa Dellamorte: Rook - "wow! this is nuts! my lodgings were the size of one of these bathrooms!" Lucanis: "...HUH?")