#rook jehanne ingellvar

[cursed-candlehop]

Say hi to my other Rook, Jehanne Ingellvar (she/they).

Whereas Fede learned quickly that the best way to survive as an elf in Minrathous is to be useful, and the easiest way to be useful is to be entertaining, Jehanne realized that she was always going to be seen as a suck-up and the most irredeemable teacher's pet of the entire Grand Necropolis, and decided that the best defense is a good offense. They've got a solid sense of humor, too, but where Fede uses his to de-escalate, frequently at his own expense, Jehanne is sharp, mercilessly direct and occasionally tactless.

Still, all the bluster hides a gentle heart, a genuine love for the people around them (even if she does not understand them and their Intricate Social Rituals one bit), and boundless academic curiosity.

[cursed-candlehop]

Have a not-so-quick overview of all my active Rooks (with actual screenshots for once in my life) because I should be drawing and I don't wanna.

Fede Mercar

A sweet, gentle lad; realized at a very young age that to survive as a free Elf in Tevinter, one has to be useful (but not intimidating), and his most consistent way of being useful was being entertaining and playing the fool - but his humor is a soft and caring thing. He tends to deliberately position himself as someone to be laughed at to defuse hairy situations or cheer up people he likes. Unfortunately for him, that often means looking a heckuva lot more clueless and incompetent than he really is, but he considers that a worthy sacrifice.

Had a shockingly decent childhood, all things considered, and he really does love his parents - but he's still afraid his unlikely adoption might have been a publicity stunt: "look, you really can civilize an elf if you get to them early enough" or something along those lines. He's never actually asked, worried that they've come to love him enough to tell him the truth. He doesn't want to know.

(Fede is also, notably, the dork who loses his virginity in a coffin; Emmrich's legit the first person he's ever found both interesting and trustworthy enough to (badly, clumsily) flirt with - and somehow it worked. He's extremely surprised by that, but also not about to question it)

Jehanne Ingellvar

Pretty, confident, academically brilliant, wildly talent at magic, and blunt as anything. Raised by a rotating cast of Mourn Watch teachers, their most constant companions were the corpses of the Necropolis - which left them with exactly the social skills you might expect: good for spirits, bad for polite corporeal society. They mean well, but they do not suffer fools gladly - and to them, that might just be most people. Despite their occasionally somewhat stern exterior, though, they are an idealist at heart (and one that ultimately wants even the fools to be happy. Ideally somewhere else). They're definitely somewhat of an asshole sometimes, though.

Fina de Riva

Was picked up by house de Riva after being orphaned (and trying - and almost succeeding - to pickpocket Viago). Uses her charming looks as a weapon - she loves manipulating people, but she also doesn't like harming innocents, and the Crows give her the opportunity to harness and indulge her base impulses as much as she wants without having to feel overly bad about it. Most of her targets have it coming, anyway, as far as she's concerned.

She starts off more than a little ruthless, until Neve enters the picture and they end up enabling each others' softer sides.

Reva'sahlin Aldwir

(... got a nickname because Varric needed something shorter to yell in battle so this fucking idiot doesn't take an axe to the skull)

Born to a particularly bedraggled Dalish clan in northern Orlais, he was gently encouraged to GTFO as soon as he reached adulthood: Not only did his clan have too many mages as it was, they also figured that this wildly curious, overly trusting goofball was a ticking demonic time bomb. Since the other clans of the area largely agreed and didn't want him either, he traveled instead - tried to live with the city elves for a while but they hated his guts for being Dalish and not subtle about it. And so, he travelled towards Arlathan - more because he needed a goal in life then because he thought it was a good idea. It took him a solid seven, eight years to get there, taking the long way through Orlais, the Free Marches and Antiva, sometimes staying in one place for months; upon getting there he joined the Veil Jumpers... and then promptly pissed them off, too.

Despite everything, he's a bafflingly genuine, sincere and happy-go-lucky guy - might be a remnant of spending his childhood until his magic came in as the clan's beloved golden boy - though he does have oodles of emotional baggage that he considers "nobody's business but his own".

He's also kind of a shit mage (until Bel, Emmrich and Neve get him up to speed) - he ends up as a Spellblade, because he spent most of his life a lot more used to carrying a dagger than a staff. Which drove Varric up the walls at first.

Has heterochromia; both of his eyes started out brown, but he injured one of them while getting mugged somewhere outside Kirkwall and his botched healing magic tinged it fade-green.

(... I also have like three or four more Rooks cooked up, but they don't have actual, started playthroughs yet)

[cursed-candlehop]

Whew. Okay.

First playthrough's officially done.

A bit over a month of IRL time, 105 hours and 48 minutes of gametime, and 52 of 52 achievements - completely by accident, by the way.

I wish I had more to say, and I will eventually, probably - but mostly, I'll fiercely miss my stupid Rook's stupid face. At some point, I'll have to drag Fede through the entire thing again, for shits 'n giggles (and to get those first twenty-odd hours of footage until I started routinely recording shit). Fucking Bioware did it again, and made their silly, allegedly-boring-blank-slate protagonist my favorite out of the bunch - and in THIS game, that's a goddamn feat.

So, uh. Yeah!

There'll be a bunch of m!Rook/Emmrich content on here as soon as I stop gawking at the screen and switch into Making Stuff Mode, but I'm also gonna be starting another playthrough, featuring my second Rook Jehanne Ingellvar and probably a Bellara romance, unless Neve smacks me over the head with chemistry instead.

Chances are my motivation will go ~poof~ partway through playthrough three or so, but I'm really in the mood to see all the romances Veilguard has to offer, and as many alternative choices as I can stomach.

(also, I know for a fact that there's banter I haven't seen yet, despite how incredibly thorough I was. I was getting new lines right up until the end. Absolutely buckwild, especially - as much as I adore it - compared to Inquisition.)

[cursed-candlehop]

Blog Maintenance: List of player characters

Since blog pages have a habit of not playing nicely on mobile.

Rooks

Fede Mercar | First Playthrough, Canon Rook Male Elf Mage | Emmrich romance Tag | Page The plucky one with the brown Link hair and the crescent scar.

Jehanne Ingellvar | Current Playthrough Nonbinary (she/they) Human Mage | Bellara romance (probably) Tag | Page Curly, short brown hair and some slight mad scientist vibes.

Inquisitors

Odeon Lavellan | my precious canon Inky Male Elf Mage | Dorian romance Tag | Page White hair, bright red June vallaslin, golden eyes, doesn't believe in the Maker but sure acts like a fucking martyr about it anyway.

Champions

tba

Wardens

Velishan Surana | very incomplete playthrough Male Elf Mage | ??? Romance Tag | Page Brown hair, slightly mousy, huge nerd. His name's a corruption of Bel'ish'an, originally meaning something along the lines of "eternal peace".

[cursed-candlehop]

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Currently Playing Veilguard, 2nd Playthrough - Rook: Jehanne Ingellvar Veilguard, 3rd Playthrough - Rook: Serafina de Riva