#she and lucanis do spend a lot of time in minrathous

[collegeoflore]

the thing is magpie doesn’t feel Guilty at all about choosing treviso. she’s sad about the state of minrathous after and determined to help however she can but guilt? not really. she knows no one in that city would have chosen treviso if the choice had been up to them. why should she feel guilty when these people wouldn’t have helped her either? the crows are the only defense antiva has and She Is A Crow. she went home. there was never a choice.

she’s also deeply still on her bullshit about believing her choices affect Her Only. and this doesn’t really help bc in the end what happens in minrathous truly isn’t her fault like she split the team 50/50 and things happened how they were going to happen. it is Not her fault. so she will continue to think the consequences of her bad decisions are hers alone to bear until the world teaches her some very cruel lessons LMAO

[flowersforthemachines]

Some facts about Harding gathered from the banters

I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).

Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)

Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.

Other characters' posts: Bellara, Davrin, Lucanis, Emmrich, Neve, Taash. I'm also planning a post about just the Lighthouse some time later

Family and past:

Harding's parents split up a few years ago. Her father lives in Amaranthine. She's okay with that and thinks her parents are happier apart

Harding’s mother never taught her how to cook, she's entirely self-taught

Harding carries around the first letter her Mother sent her after joining the Inquisition

Harding doesn't have siblings 

Harding had a mabari named Contessa who passed away from old age

(If in romance) Taash offers Harding to get a mabari together

Time with the Inquisition:

Back in Skyhold, Solas once told Harding he was sorry dwarves couldn’t dream

Harding thinks that if she had never joined the Inquisition, she probably would’ve got married and tended to goats

Harding volunteered for the Inquisition because their soldiers kept scaring the sheep because they all had super old maps. And because she didn't want to spend the rest of her life watching sheep

General: 

Harding likes sandwiches, they are one of her favourite foods 

Harding finds Treviso very beautiful (who doesn’t) 

Harding would bring a bow, clean socks and a spoon to a deserted island

Harding likes books about blood and gore

Harding doesn't like killing, but she doesn't feel bad about it. She compares it to farmers having to kill wild animals that get too close to their land, as sometimes a quick kill can prevent more suffering (i.e. if a wolf gets inside your sheepfold, your own animals will die in pain)

She says that this kind of mindset is the reason why a lot of Inquisition scouts came from farmers, as they need to kill people when necessary (even if those people aren’t their enemies personally), but don’t go out looking for it

Harding likes almonds. They are crunchy :) 

Harding is fascinated by Minrathous’s nightlife 

Harding doesn't drink alcohol 

Harding really likes puns

Harding has fought a Stormrider dragon before 

Harding has a detailed and decorated scrapbook with her kills (with doodles. Including a cute giant spider)

Harding never visited Nevarra before the Veilguard, though she had heard of Cumberland’s Summer Exhibition. Emmrich disregards it as just a market with a horse show 

Dwarves and magic:

Harding finds herself more hungry than usual since getting hew new powers

Neve and Emmrich hypothesise that Harding developing Titan powers may have increased her lifespan (or even granted her eternal life) 

Harding describes using her magic as “touching something vast and eternal, a well, deep inside”. Lucanis says that it sounds similar to him using his demon powers

Relationships with companions:

Bellara, Neve and Taash call her “Lace”. Davrin and Lucanis call her “Harding”

Emmrich calls her "Harding" most of the time, though he calls her "Lace" on two occasions (in a banter about Emmrook, and the one where he talks about seeing her aura differently after he becomes a Lich)

Harding grows special plants for Davrin to help him mask the griffon smell in his room

Harding grows truffles for Assan

Harding lets Assan sleep on her

To Lich!Emmrich, Harding appears different from other dwarves. She has a special aura (but it comes and goes)

Harding buys an enchanted barbed arrow to take out Lucanis/Spite if push comes to shove. She later tries to give it to Lucanis and apologises, but he insists she keeps it as a sign of his trust

Harding finds Teia intimidating because she is “polished” (Lucanis disagrees but notes she keeps good track of all utensils Viago poisoned at the table) 

Teia called Harding fearless in a conversation with Lucanis

Harding invites Neve to her house in Ferelden after Neve's apartment in Minrathous burns down, in case she wants to get away from the Lighthouse 

Harding is very excited about Neve taking over the Threads (“Do they have to kiss your hand?”) and wishes she were a crime boss

Harding once dreamt of Neve stealing her strawberry tarts

Harding starts humming Taash’s name to herself after they get together

About gifts from Taash: 

Harding doesn’t use the archery bracer because it feels so special she’s afraid it could get lost or get dirty

She also doesn’t wear the hairpin because she’s afraid to lose it

Taash got the cheese in Minrathous

Conclusion: get Harding cheese, it’s the only thing she isn’t afraid to actually use

Garden and plants: 

It's enough to mention a plant for it to start growing in Harding’s garden

The Fade plants normally don’t need tending. However, they may begin to wilt if that’s what you expect them to do 

Smuggler’s Rose clouds the person’s mind if you are wearing it like perfume, letting you pickpocket other people more easily

Sage bane mixed with troll moss can be used to treat toenail fungus

[theresa-draws]

veilguard spoilers review

Part 1 of review (up to mid Act 2)

6.5/10 - it'll be a fine, even fun, game for newcomers but for old dragon age players who want some actual dragon age in their veilguard? if you squint a bit at some codex entries, and only focus on the dread wolf part of the story.

and i AM LOOKING (then the artbook killed me thanks matt rhodes)

so any way......

1/ Rook and Companions

i really wanted to love the new cast but the characters were not clicking for me (or my rook). idk if it's because we can't initiate convos like we could in dai but it really felt like rook was looking in at the companions from outside. everyone else is having fun existing in thedas but rook is an outsider (unless that's the writer's intent? parallels with how solas COULDN'T MAKE FRIENDS FOR 1000s OF YEARS.............

In DAI, we could argue and banter when quizzy initiate convo about various topics back in haven or skyhold. the companions banter and argue about things they disagree with. In VG, WE DON'T. the closest i felt we could get a bit of that was when my rook told neve to get off my back about minrathous (because they did not regret a thing but i couldn't tell her that). Or certain sass/pragmatic dialogue options with solas, e.g. my rook consistently shared nothing with solas (or as much as i could avoid), and solas dropped the line about oh but you have varric WHICH KILLED ME.

2/ Evanuris & Titans

We had some world-shattering revelations in this game, that I wanted yes, but the companions or the world don't.......... really........ react to it. No POV of the chantry(s) imploding at the lore implications, no civilians going we must raze the chantry to the ground, no elves looking at Elgar'nan and going yes that's our All-father coming to burn you humans for everything you did. (Although the party did ask the elves, Bellara + Davrin + Rook, about the spirit revelation.)

I know Isen (my city elf/veil jumper rook) was shaken during Blood of Arlathan, they would be genuinely tempted by offers of uplifting elves to greatness because the alternative is slavery or alienages. But nada.

Blood of Arlathan Elgar'nan you will always be my fav!!! Because if you were expecting more after that, I'm sorry, man's on a downward spiral since he lost his sister. We had to put old peepaw down.

BTW Maybe check out the tree in the crossroads to eavesdrop on Ghilly and Elgar, because the game doesn't give us any other way to find out who the remaining two Evanuris are besides codex entries. :(

---

The Titans were covered only in Solas' murals and Harding's personal quest, which takes us to a corner of Kal-Sharok once then never letting us visit again. I had to read the artbook for the actual genesis of the world stuff about the Titans and what that was about. That was only alluded to in the game itself.

3/ Combat Scaling

Combat took a bit to take to, but it was fun. I played a Spellblade because that was the closest to Knight Enchanter/melee mage. The mini-bosses were difficult since you can run into them severely under-levelled on the regular maps. The high dragons were easy because they ALL had the same attack pattern, just had a lot of health to chip away at. Even Mythal Dragon. Which made the fight with Ghilain'nain and Elgar'nan underwhelming as hell, when they took less time to kill than the mini-bosses.

4/ Romance (Bellara)

i can only talk about Bellara's romance since i've only finished hers, even though I flirted with Davrin and Lucanis all through act 2. she's a very awkward character, and her response to the flirt options reads as ACE to me, but the romance culminates in sex.

okay so, most of the flirt options are quite platonic in tone like encouraging her to talk about her research or telling her you like to spend time with her. things like "i trust you know what you're doing" makes her...... fall in love..... with rook.......... even though rook's the mediator and therapist of the whole veilguard. i don't understand but i went with it, although i was having more fun watching rook banter and flirt with Davrin.

she's had past (failed) relationships but her reference for sex/romantic relationships is fiction/serials to be exact. you see where i'm going here???

then the romance scene after rook comes back from the fade plays out and i'm like??????????? i love her vow of love in elven, nice touch, but ummm i don't have the option to not want sex? i didn't even think she was interested in any of that in the first place!

Then that was it, we don't get a proper send-off to the veilguard romance just one line in the credits scene. Even BG3 gets an afterparty set up by Withers, buggy as it is, but still a nice touching wrap to the entire adventure.

5/ Bugs & Glitches

I was lucky I didn't get any major game-breaking stuff, just a couple of clipping issues through the game.

then, I reached the FINAL SCENE OF THE ENTIRE GAME for the first time. my inquisitor arrived with the wrong face model and vallaslin that was not supposed to be there.............. at least they got her hair colour right? By the time I finished the game, and the marvel-esque credits rolled, I wanted to murder. Then I loaded the game to fight Solas just to feel something. Adios Asshole.

6/ Factions

What else can I say about factions that everyone else have already touched upon? They're very shallow insights into the world of Thedas for returning players, there aren't enough of Dragon Age in Dragon Age.

I do like Arlathan, very Annihilation-Shimmer kind of horror happening in there. I have some questions about the Veil Jumpers taking in non-elves and them being around Arlathan/elven history though............. we're just letting anyone join the Dalish now or???

Also Hossberg became my fav when I finished Davrin's quest. There was a despair demon that I ran into in the Ice/Fire dragon area, and it became a spirit of compassion/hope (?) again after the Isseya quest and the flowers return. The small things that turn utter despair into hope and will to keep going got me..........

AND THEN the Treviso/Minrathous choice. It was too easy playing as a Elf Mage, because the venatori-run Minrathous was more aligned to the Tevinter that I know it was from past games. In fact, I was actively sabotaging Minrathous every chance I got RPing my elf rook who was a Tevinter slave before joining the dalish.............. Not that it matters, since Elgar'nan obliterated the magisterium and the venatori and probably the entire city with blight by the end.

7/ Identity Crisis

You can tell from the writing and breadth of the game, Veilguard has been through development hell and back. Looking at the stuff from the artbook only confirms that for me. Ideas were played around for Veilguard to be an actual sequel to Inquisition, since the hook for this game was Trespasser. But now, there's some disconnect.

The Inquisitor's (disbanded or not) presence and relevance is severely diminished in-game, it's especially glaring during the final battle sequence. All the factions + Morrigan are fighting but Quizzy is nowhere to be found. A romanced Lavellan even less so, since the Mythal option is the same with a friendly Inquisitor, and the only thing that change is whether Solas is alone in the end. (Love that for my Miha but ummm..... she's a cameo in a story that she's heavily involved in.)

There's barely any substantial connective tissue between Veilguard and the rest of Dragon Age and this is how they're sending off this storyline that started in DAO? Before trying to move on beyond towards the Devouring Storm and Executors bullshit? I'm mentally exhausted just trying to connect the pieces we actually got to the rest of Thedas and you're telling me this shit doesn't matter anyway............................ could have given me the Tear Down the Veil option since we're doing that with the writing.

So when the marvel style credits scene started playing, like woah look at the dreadwolf vs lusacan over some modern song/music, i just about died. Solas and Elgar'nan was barely in the game about them, a huge chunk of the quests were about the companions and factions. The most interesting part of the game was Blood of Arlathan when the gorls were fighting in my head, because it was fun trying to figure out what were lies and what really happened with Solas & the Evanuris. They were both appealing to Rook to see their POV and join their side, throwing allies into the blender when it suits them, it's so fascinating they have the same methods and the same goal: bringing back Elvhenan. Just different motivations for doing so. Elgar'nan saw Solas as the hypocrite he is (I love him, he's fascinating) and Solas sees Elgar'nan as a dark mirror. I'm on board! Where's the rest of it???????

Because there's no rest of it. The next time they meet, Solas kills the Archdemon >> goes haha elgar you're mortal now pls die >>> Elgar dies, leaving Solas the actual last standing Evanuris.

(I'll leave the Mythal stuff for later, I've drafted another post talking about her.)

In Conclusion/

There were some great moments that survived the development hell like Solas' inevitable betrayal(s), some companion questlines, bits of Evanuris lore, the actual Dread Wolf, and.... the regret theme surrounding all the companions, Rook, Solas and to some extent, the Evanuris. You'll have a better and fun time crying going through the artbook, but none of those are technically canon since they're just concepts during the development phase.

The combat was fun, but Dragon Age was an RPG not an action-RPG. The writing is more important, even if this game has beautiful locales and hair physics. Music was boring, but did appreciate the return of the Lost Elf motif for the ending. Makes me want to go back and play Inquisition instead :Db

P.S. Tearstone Island was so mind-numbingly boring, but was redeemed by the Fade Prison Betrayal that followed. (My Rook doesn't regret all those choices though, sorry I thought we all knew the risks when we signed up for this :T) I endured the boring act 3 to give my daughter her ending, and the inquisitor doesn't even react to the DREAD WOLF outside her window................ I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF AROUND HERE.

[elgar-nyan]

OC Tag Game

Tagged by @vitaeplaysda !!! :Vc I'm cheesed I get to yapp about my OC djsslkajsdlk x3c

Tagging anyone who wants to do this - I'm actually unsure who all has done it or not already but *boop* @crystalizedbloodd @soeasilyswayed @crowofstarlight @kezzdaddy

Note: Da'mithra is the core character, but Rook is her reincarnation. They are the same spirit/being, but different lives and experiences for the most part. I have separated them where applicable as the following format: Da'mithra <- // -> Rook

GENERAL

Name: Da'mithra // Valkryie Ingellvar

Alias(es): Little Fox // Rook, Val

Gender: Female (she/her) // Non-Binary (she/they)

Age: ∞ // 20 years-old

Place of birth: D: Somewhere in the Mountains // V: Tevinter Imperium (Minrathous?) Was moved to Nevarra City as a foundling

Spoken languages: Ancient Elven, Trade // Trade, Nevarran

Sexual orientation: Panromantic Demi-Asexual

Occupation: Evanuris, Elgar'nan's Shadow // Mourn Watch Necromancer

FAVOURITE

Colour: Gold // Green (like her magic)

Entertainment: People watching, being a general nuisance, stealing Elgar'nan's Crown off the top of his head when the opportunity strikes and playing hard to get, testing Elgar'nan's patience in general, bullying the Dread Wolf

Pastime: Working out, sparring, getting drunk, swimming in shallow water

Food: Cheese, meat, stew, anything Lucanis or Bellara cooks, those weird breaded cheesesticks Taash has

Drink: Honeyed mead, fruity wine, otherwise just water

Books: Anything about the Fade, Spirits, and Magic. Spends a lot of time around Emmrich to study his collection and Bellara for Ancient Elvhen studies. Rook is mostly unable to read due to visual impairments and needs someone to read to her. (At least until after DATV events happen.)

HAVE THEY

Passed university: Rook passed the Mourn Watcher Academy, although she never took the advanced classes.

Had sex: As Da'mithra; whenever it struck the fancy of her partner. She never initiated. // As Rook, however, never before the events of DA: Veilguard.

Had sex in public: Depends on your definition of "public." If in a spot accessible to the public, yes, but never in front of or at risk of being seen.

Gotten tattoos: Rook got a dwarven tattoo around her neck as her first tattoo because it "looked cool." Then she got a sleeve tattoo on her left arm to signify her journey becoming a Mourn Watcher

Gotten piercings: Da'mithra gets ear piercings and wears moon-looking discs only when in "uniform." // Rook never before DATV. She was raised by humans and tried to avoid things that drew attention to her pointed ears.

Had a broken heart: Maybe a few close calls, but never truthfully got her heart wholly broken

Been in love: Da'mithra was in love her whole physical existence, as well as a great majority of her time as a spirit (although it was a bit different then. More so just the nature of being connected.) // As Rook, never until she met Elgar'nan. She thought she was in love with Emmrich but one awkward kiss later proved otherwise (oopsie).

ARE THEY

A cuddler: Very much so. Likes touch and to be touched. Hugs and snuggles are their love language much more than anything else.

Scared easily: Nothing scares them. They are 5'0" and are so used to "punching up" that they don't scare easily at all. // With exception to Claustrophobia and Thalassophobia which is exclusive to Rook.

Jealous easily: Not at all. Not as Da'mithra and not as Rook. Never felt the need to feel jealous, or feel as though she isn't getting enough attention either, so there never is a reason to feel jealous.

Trustworthy: Depends on to whom. Da'mithra is eternally trustworthy to Elgar'nan and would drop anyone and everything at his command. // Rook, however, is less inclined to blindly follow the word or desires of Elgar'nan. Her end goal remains the same no matter what; stopping the sixth blight and preventing the apocalypse.

FAMILY

Sibling(s): not technically, though it depends. The Evanuris acted like siblings and a dedicated family structure in front of the public, but in actuality none of them are related // Rook doesn't know if they have any siblings as they do not know who their blood parents are. The closest she has is Bellara and Harding who both treat Rook as their little sister.

Parents: None, unless you count whatever created the Primordial Spirits to start with // Unknown Tevinter slaves. Later adopted by a Lich Lord named Victor Ingellvar who died under mysterious circumstances and then she was raised by Vorgoth and Myrna until she was of age and a full Mourn watcher.

Children: None - Can't have any // Can have kids as Rook but her partner can't

Pets: Does Elgar'nan's dragon form (Lusacan) count? Does a massive great dragon even like chin skritches or belly rubs??

[sternentreue]

@pixiedurango's Antivan Postal Service delivered a letter all the way from Minrathous to Treviso! This is Enzo's answer to Cara's letter, set up post game. Enjoy!

Transcript under the cut:

Dearest sister,

thank you for support, but you don’t have to, really (tell Lucanis he finally needs to put that guilt to rest, he has repaid it multiple times). Things are finally starting to look up in Minrathous (as best as it can get here). Since Archon Pavus officially took office, reconstruction efforts in the city and especially in Dock Town have rapidly increased. He released extra funds to provide food and shelter for the poorest and the new tax reform, effective immediately, already improved life for most citizens. Most I say, of course the richest magisters complain about it and there are still uprisings here and there. I’m sure you have heard. So money isn’t the issue, it’s time and resources.

Neve is working tirelessly to find people that have been reported missing during the siege, although I fear that most of them are dead, but she insists (don’t ask me where that new optimism is coming from, might be my bad influence). I also have my hands full here. I have been hunting for scattered Venatori with Tarquin - the lad turned out to be good company when he can leave the books and archives behind and trade them for a sword and I think he finally swallowed his grudge against us. He also seems rather pleased that we are tasked with cleansing the templar order from corrupted members. To no one’s surprise there is a huge overlap between the Venatori and the latter. We are not allowed to kill them, however, they are supposed to get a fair trial. Pity.

Anyway, enough with the politics, the most important news: we adopted a cat! The repairs on the cat café are going well and some cats took a liking to us, especially Neve. The little one followed us home one day and refused to leave, so we took her in and she just stayed. I wanted to call her Frosty, but Neve is sceptical. I wonder if she will be as indecisive on names when it’s time to talk about our own children. Not that I have been thinking  Please forget you’ve read that, I’m too lazy to start anew.

Our apartment is coming along, too, even if slowly. There is still a lot to do, of course. Our main focus right now is making the city somewhat habitable, so we just fall into bed every night and don’t use it much, yet (the apartment, not the bed, sicko). Which is by the way the only thing we have so far - a bed. And two chairs and a table, but that’s more than most people have in Dock Town. Did you know Neve almost broke up with me about this? I offered to pay for the place and she didn’t talk to me for a whole week. Called me a rich prick! There’s a first time for everything. She feels guilty that we have the means to even have a place of our own, but I didn’t forget that she lost everything, too. I have all these savings rotting in the bank of Antiva, how else should I spend them, if not on us? But she finally accepted it, I think, slowly. One step at a time, like you said.

So you can tell there is still a lot to do before Minrathous will be the same as before, though it never will be to be honest, which is good! I wonder what this means for our future but I do know that I’m going to stay here. I miss Antiva, terribly, but I can’t go back to being a Crow, not after everything that happened, and not with the people that rely on me here now. My skills are put to good use within the Threads and of course there’s Neve. I can’t let her down, not a second time. I hope you understand. I hope Viago will understand, too. I haven’t told him yet and I pray that he has stopped frisking your letters or this will be my last to you. I don’t know how to tell him, for now I keep hiding in Tevinter but at some point he will send for me to reveal his portentous plans. I too have a feeling that he’s up to something, now that the Antaam are gone and there’s somewhat peace. And I fear that this new era will also bring some infighting among the houses. There’s currently a lot of attention on our house and I don’t like it. Be safe, not everyone is well-disposed to us.

Which reminds me, how are the preparations for Lucanis’ inauguration ceremony coming along? I hope you’re going for a big masquerade, I miss those! And of course I also miss the parties you mentioned, we could have one after, a private one with only friends! Show these lightweights a true Antivan booze-up. Remember that one time we ran out of wine and had to sneak into Viago’s private wine cellar? I think Teia saved our asses back then, as she always does. I miss her, please give her a hug from me!

Anyway, I am looking forward to your visit! And I gladly take you up on your offer to send some goods from home. I’d appreciate anything that’s not fried fish and bad coffee to be honest, anything that you can get your hands on that’s not too expensive or inconvenient to bring along (though you know me, chocolate is the fastest way to my heart). 

I’m leaving Treviso in your capable hands. Say hello to Lucanis from me, please!

Yours, Enzo (annoy Viago from me or he’ll get dull)

PS: Neve asked me to attach some of her case notes leading to Treviso, maybe you can give her some insights on any strange occurrences if you find any.

[lunastarlight593]

Gonna talk about my Cannon Rook and Dragon age a lot on here so I’m introducing Anna “Taron” de Riva!!! I love her so much and the questions are from @pinkhallaclub

1)Where in the Thedas is your Rook from?

Anna is born and raise in Tevinter, specifically from Minrathous until she was 13-15 years old

2)What is your character’s alignment?

Chaotic neutral or true neutral. Anna will do whatever she believes is right, even if it seems wrong to others and will be really reckless/won’t think before doing. At least at the beginning of the game

3)Race and subclass?

A human mage

4)If your Rook was companion, where would they be found?

She would be found in Minrathous on a contract, kinda. The “contract” is actually one she failed a year or two ago, before the game story takes place of course, and her mentor was killed by the man/contract she was supposed to kill and has finally found him again after that failure

5)What emotion did they usually pick?

Mostly the sarcasm/sassy ones and the stoic/serious ones

6)What companion are you platonically close with?

I would say Anna is close to Davrin and Bellara the most. After spending time with Davrin, she sees him as a genuine chill guy and not as bad as she thought for a Warden. And sees Bellara as a younger sister, like having Bellara ramble to her about anything

7)Romantically close with?

Lucanis :)

8)Who are they suspicious of?

Neve only cause she doesn’t trust any mages from Minrathous

9)Does your Rook get along with their chosen Faction?

Yes but after the fucking up the Talons operation, its now a “meh”, but slowly getting along again

10)Are they proficient in playing any instruments?

Yes, Anna plays a elven bass, specifically her father’s bassve

11)Weapon of choice?

Dagger and elemental orb, does use a staff from time to time tho. Uses thunder magic but knows a few neurotic spells

12)What is their orientation?

Bisexual

13)What are their thoughts on killing? Is it a necessary evil or do they enjoy it?

I mean to her it’s a necessary cause she is a Crow but if it’s not for her job, she still will depend on the situation

14)What hobbies does your Rook have?

Anna plays music and dances, training either her fighting skills or magic, reads but not as much, gambling in card games and making bets with her fellow Crows, cooking, making poisons and alchemy, and origami

15)What NPCs do they like? Which one's do they dislike?

Anna loves Antoine and Evka and is she is honestly surprised to get along well with the Wardens. Has a love/hate relationship with Viago, sees her as a brother but after sending her away, Anna is piss with him still but their relationship gets better later on in the story. Love Teia but who doesn’t love Teia. Kinda hates Illario but not really at the same time. Really hates the First Warden and Governor Ivenci but yet again she hates politicians/military

16)Do they have a favorite creature in the Thedas?

Likes snakes, halla, and birds

17)Do they enjoy life as an adventurer?

She does, especially when Anna is traveling with Varric to find Solas cause it’s not her typical contract

18)What would your Rook be doing if they weren't recruited by Varric?

Honestly, she would probably be either kick out by crows or might even be kill by them. Or she would still be finding that failed “contract”

19)How do you think they'll meet their end?

Either old age or on a contract

20)Would they side with Solas or fight him?

Anna would fight him for sure

21)What is your Rook's favorite ability?

Void Blade and Tempest

22)What languages is your character fluent in?

Common tongue and Tevinter, some Antivan, and a bit of elvish. But she knows every curse word lol

23)What do they do after an absolute crisis?

She will keep acting her usual self, until Anna is by herself and she will just yell and scream and cry

24)Does your character believe in the afterlife?

Not really

25)What specialization best represents your Rook?

Spellblade cause it was specialise with the Crows but it also works for her story too

26)What animal best represents your Rook?

A cat or maybe a falcon

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

Lived in Minrathous for 13-15 years, jump on a boat and landed in Trevio, robbed people including Viago, was brought in to the crows by Viago, Viago and someone else(don’t know his name yet)train Anna, loses her other mentor due to her mistakes on a contract, meets Lucanis and gets along with him, Anna gets captured by the Venatori while finding the contract, and gets magic at the age of 32 because of the Venatori

28)Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

Took charge as soon as when Varric ask her to, but Anna is starting to regret it/thinks she is a awful leader after the dragon attack and Weisshaupt

29)If you could choose a different faction for your Rook, which one would they have joined and why?

Anna would either join the Shadow Dragons or Lords of Fortune. For the Shadow Dragons: if she had stayed in Minrathous longer, Anna would have found out about them and joined. For Lords of Fortune: would have probably ended up there instead, Anna didn’t know where the boat would have taken her when she snuck on

30)What's your favorite thing about your Rook?

Anna’s sassness and her relationships with the characters(and looks cause god damn she is fine)

[hyperions-light]

magician and moon for rook romance asks? - @freedomcrows

Hi @freedomcrows! Thanks for the ask!

Doing some of these in the middle of the night as a little break/treat for me <3

You can play the Rook Tarot Romance game {here} !

I have been asked/answered: hermit, hanged man, justice, hierophant, temperance, emperor, lovers, tower, sun, moon, magician, empress, fool, star, chariot, world, strength

I am going to answer just The Magician here, since someone asked for The Moon again, later!

The Magician: How does trust develop between Rook and their partner?

Lmao... you shouldn't trust them. Very inadvisable.

But really, probably through a lot of trial and error?

Lucanis kind of trusts them immediately, because they get him out of the Ossuary, and spend all this time backing him up and agreeing with him (which tbh is mostly because they have similar priorities wrt Treviso and the Crows). The problems come after the game, when their aims diverge. Leth is going to Sneak Around about some stuff, because they are just like Solas lmao, so if they think their friends/lovers are going to make the 'wrong' choice, they're probably just not going to give them one! Anyway, breaking Lucanis' trust is not the only consequence of this, but it is one of the big ones. I imagine it's very painful for all involved, because Leth wouldn't really... perceive it the same way. From their perspective, hiding stuff/lying to him was necessary to protect him and his reputation. So they honestly didn't intend to hurt him. Nonetheless, lots of apologies and work are needed from their corner.

They just trust him. Probably dumb, from the perspective of outsiders, but if you become Leth's friend, they just trust you! No questions asked! Probably around Weisshaupt or so, they're pretty locked in about the Veilguard. This attitude would give Viago a heart attack. Very easy to use against them.

Viago trusts them because they've been through SO much shit together, and they've saved each other's lives, and they've trauma bonded, and they're extremely co-dependent. He trusts Leth like he trusts himself, and they trust him MORE than they do themself.

Teia trusts Leth at first by proxy; Viago is in love with her, Leth is absurdly loyal to him-- ergo, they would never do anything to hurt or undermine her. She's right, but it becomes more than that, because with her they're like... weirdly harmless? All the sharp, protective parts of them melt away, against Teia's kindness. They're her Little Dove; they couldn't hurt her. It would hurt them, to do so. And Leth extends their loyalty to Viago around her, so whatever she says is automatically true, in their eyes.

Leth trusts Neve; they can see how dedicated she is, how there is love in her every gesture. The care she takes with her people, her city, precludes them believing she could be anything less than trustworthy. And, she has Varric's seal of approval. I think Neve is starting to trust Leth before Minrathous, and then she sort-of doesn't, but they do everything to prove she can count on them because they're pretty miserable over the whole thing, tbh. Also, it helps for Neve that Leth-- despite their best efforts-- cannot effectively lie to her. She will catch them every time lol

[fenharel-babe]

Seven Deadly Sins

@emmg Thank you for the tag!!! I LOVED learning about your Rook and I hope you love my Rook hehe. Again, thank you so much💙💙💙.

I don’t have anybody else to tag. So…..everyone that sees this DO IT🫵. Well, I’ll double tag @thessaralka

Rook Name: Raven Mercar.

LUST. desire for connection. pursuit of pleasure. emotional intelligence. obsessive. lovesick. one-night stands. seductive encounter. flirtatious conversation. erotic party. seductive attire. revealing clothing. passionate gaze. provocative makeup. sensual expressions. suggestive gestures. flirtatious smiles. lingerie. love letters. perfumes. provocative behaviour. love poems. erotic art.

—> Girl was a slave in her 20s and even before they never felt love. She went through a lot of issues, so she never had time for romantic love or time to even read about it or understand it. She’s learning with Lucanis and once she learns she loves him, she has passion all in her and writes letters occasionally :).

GLUTTONY. indulgence in experiences. savouring moments. hospitality. generosity. hedonism. culinary expertise. wine-tasting. excessive snacking. overloaded plates. excessive portions. bloated stomachs. messy eating. greasy fingers. full tables. indulgent spreads. overflowing cups. satisfied expressions. wine bottles. just can't get enough. fast food wrappers

—> Girl was a slave but escaped in late 20s and lived on the streets of Minrathous for 3 years before being found by the Shadow Dragons. She knows she should be embarrassed when she has so much food, but she never knows if she’ll be kicked out or kidnapped or never have food again. She remembers being on the street and almost starving to death, so she just eats as much as possible. She can’t help it. She’s scared she’ll never eat again or someone will take it from her.

ENVY. motivation. competitive spirit. strategic planning. observational skills. bitter rivalry. contest. envious gossip. resentment-filled argument. social media jealousy. furrowed brows. clenched jaws. side-eye looks. pursed lips. tense posture. whispering behind backs. crossed arms. gossip magazines. keeping up with the joneses. the grass is always greener. feeling inadequate.

—> Girl tries to be better, but she’s edged so much from the past and can’t help but be pissed at people and not hide it. She was taught to hide it when she was a slave, and she promised to NOT live like that anymore. She won’t hide her hate or anger, which is sometimes bad for her. She only whispers if she’s too scared to confront at the time. Plus, from living on the streets and joining the SD, she knows how to observe specific things and detect traps and sense lies.

GREED. resourcefulness. entrepreneurial spirit. negotiation. materialistic. aggressive investment. lavish spending spree. resource-hoarding. get-rich-quick schemes. auction-bidding war. property acquisition. piles of money. overflowing wallets. luxury items. locked safes. penny-pinching. rare collectibles. selfishness. unwillingness to share.

—> Girl, as I said before, was on the streets in her teenage years and in her late 20s. She’s terrible at sharing AT FIRST and is always skeptical of people. She keeps things safe and doesn’t leave them alone for long. However, she isn’t heartless and does her best to negotiate and be peaceful if possible. If she sees someone struggling and needs something, she will try to share. She doesn’t want others to suffer like she did. Still greedy at times.

SLOTH. calmness. stress management. nonchalance. relaxation techniques. lethargic. apathetic. inactive. lazy weekend. binge-watching marathon. neglected chores. skipped workout. long nap. lounging on the couch. missed deadlines. unkempt appearance. messy hair. pajamas. blankets. slippers. procrastination station. self-care routines.

—> Babygirl does NOT know how to take a break anymore. Sometimes she is lethargic from working too much, but she’ll take a long ass nap and feel better. She’s not very lazy and uses self-care things since when she was on the street, she couldn’t take care of herself and got sick many many times. Now that she can, she takes the best care of herself. She won’t fall back to how she was before.

PRIDE. confidence. self-assurance. self-respect. dignity. public speaking. self-promotion. arrogant. conceited. egotistical. self-important. vain. boastful speech. puffed chest. raised chin. smug smiles. spotlight. tooting your own horn. showing off. refusing to admit mistakes. feeling entitled. personal branding. leadership development.

—> Girl is not always proud of herself, but whenever she is she cannot help but talk about it for a long while. She likes the approval it gives her and makes her feel good. She craves that approval and care, so she mentions cool things she’s done in the past a lot.

WRATH. assertiveness. decisiveness. strength. intensity. boundary setting. courage. indignant. heated arguments. road rage incident. physical altercation. angry outburst. clenched fists. glaring eyes. tense muscles. raised voices. reddened faces. aggressive gestures. stormy demeanour. intense frowns. destructive actions. broken objects. punching bag. out for blood. fists. simmering anger.

—> Girl has magic, but WILL use her fists and blade to fight. She’s brave, and sometimes reckless, when trying to save people and feels anger for a long while. It simmers until it boils over since she sometimes tries to contain herself. She’s trying to be better she swears. And she does become better over DATV.

Again, thank you!!!! Love you babe🥺💙💙💙.

[mercars-musings]

Astaarit {Az} Mercar & Friends: Bonding.

Aka: A list of all my Rook's favourite things about the lighthouse gang & the ways they've all bonded both separately & in groups! {Listed in recruitment order.}

Also tagging anyone who wants to do this - feel free to reblog to add / copy & paste this into your own post to add info on your Rook's relationships! :3

{ A mention would be appreciated though if you do the latter 👉👈 }

Ao3 Link

{MASSIVE SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT}

Harding:

Feelings: Az thinks that Harding is one of the coolest people he's ever met & is absolutely in awe of how she's able to take her new abilities in stride {better stride than he would anyway}. He also is extremely inspired by her absolute resolve to help her fellow dwarves recover from the horrors inflicted on them by the Evanuris. Bonding Activity: They spend a lot of time talking about Cheese & Hardings stories of the Inquisition. They also talk about coping with their respective deep seated anger about things, though Harding only really talks about her rage over the Evanuris due to not wanting to upset Rook who as far as she thinks is very clearly not coping with Varric's loss. {If only she knew.} Post Tearstone Island: They start to talk about Varric, ALOT. Not constantly, they still talk about things they used to but their anger conversations quickly turn to also include grief conversations about Varric. They share stories about him, Harding talks about how he was in the Inquisition days, and they make a yearly visit to The Hanged Man with the Inquisitor, Hawke, Isabella and the rest of the Kirkwall Crew. The pair also frequently send letters to eachother with life updates, gossiping about people in their lives, and updates on any enemies they encounter that they think are important to let the other know about.

Neve:

Feelings: Work bestie that slowly turns into real bestie.

He was nervous around her at first, but warmed up to her & calmed down when he realised she didn't judge him for the Nessus job or think him incompetent for it. Thinks she's the best of the Shadow Dragons, wishes he had her intelligence / investigative skills very frequently too. Bonding Activity: Talking about all sorts of things: previous Shadow Dragon jobs, current Shadow Dragon jobs, gossip about their fellow Shadows, they bond a lot as the 2 people from the team that grew up in not only Minrathous but also POOR Minrathous AND as Laetans {Mages born to Non Mage Families.} Post Tearstone Island: They meet weekly for Hals fish and trade stories about their current jobs. He also frequently helps Neve and Rana on some of their cases whenever he has free time and the two of them swap intel with him frequently. They also have double dates {Neve & Lucanis / Az & Emmrich} every few months just to chat shit and sample the First Talons fancy wine selection - though Lucanis doesn't mind since he gets to see his friends & Neves also happy.

Bellara:

Feelings: His little sister in trashy romance, awful smut & in trying to figure out how to talk to cute people.

He really appreciates that their brains seem to work in a lot of the same ways, and really appreciates that they can oscillate between talking a bunch and then just sitting in a comfortable Autistic silence while Bell writes / tinkers & he reads / daydreams. Bonding Activity: They frequently meet up to brainstorm ideas for Bellaras stories, Rook is also Bell's First In Line Beta reader.

They often talk about the trashy romances they're reading, the awful smut they've been obsessed with AND when he finally takes the plunge, Az FREQUENTLY gushes to Bellara about Emmrich. Post Tearstone Island: Bellara makes monthly visits to the Necropolis to meet up with both Rook & Emmrich. In the day: she and Rook will hang out and talk about whatever their most recent literary hyperfixations are! And once Emmrich is done with work the three of them will go get something nice to eat & Rook will nod along and listen to Bell & Emmrich talk about all the intricacies of magic / whatever they're currently both researching. Bellara also sends Az drafts of her work for him to Beta Read. Rook also 1000% helps Bell ask Irelin out again now that she is in a better place emotionally and actually has time for a relationship again. It's very cute, sometimes Bellara and Irelin even join in on the Neve & Lucanis / Rook & Emmrich double dates to make it a triple date on the rare occasion they're all actually free.

Lucanis:

Feelings: Low key jealous of Lucanis' masterful cooking / baking skills. He also thinks Lucanis' abilities to hide more knives on his body than Rook can count is an amazing talent. Does wish Lucanis would actually get some rest sometimes though. He still feels fucking awful about Treviso and whenever he thinks about it, he yet again wracks his mind for a way he could have saved both Minrathous & Treviso. Bonding Activity: Lucanis gives Az cooking / baking lessons every other week {before Treviso fell, and then later once the wound healed between the two men a little}. Rook returns the favour by gifting Lucanis every book on Wyverns that he comes across. They also frequently talk about knives {the best ones they've used / heard of, good concealing methods, etc.} as the only 2 people in the team that use smaller daggers in their fighting styles. {Az is an Orb & Dagger Mage} Post Tearstone Island: They don't get to hang out that much anymore though when they do they often still discuss knives & cooking / baking. Rook is always asking about new recipes Lucanis knows & they'll even occasionally set up a day every few months where Rook will visit the Dellamorte Estate and Lucanis will teach him a new recipe while Rook drops off a new Wyvern book or some item or other to do with Wyverns.

Davrin:

Feelings: Rook see's him as the strongest person in the Veilguard. His bravery inspires Az and his quick thinking when it comes to dealing with the Darkspawn and the blight leave Rook wishing he had half the battle smarts Davrin had. Bonding Activity: Rook would spend hours asking Davrin questions about Darkspawn & the Blight. Originally: he wanted to know what they were up against, but over time he also found a strange interest in the topic in general.

They would also often talk about Griffons and Az would read anything he could find about Griffons {raising, rearing, training, history, etc} outloud to Davrin while Davrin was doing his whittling / carving.

After deciding to hand the Griffons over to Arlathan, they would talk about how excited they both were for not just the Griffons future but also to see what Davrin would do next. Post Tearstone Island: Rook was devastated about Davrin's death, he was so happy to see that his friend had gotten a second chance at life after Weisshaupt and he knew Davrin was so excited to forge a new path for himself and the Griffons.

Rook took some of the pieces that Davrin carved while they talked about Griffons, as a memento of the time they'd spent together. He frequently looks at them, and once a year on the anniversary of Tearstone Island, he will whittle another piece to add to the collection as if keeping Davrins legacy going in some small way.

He feels like he let Davrin down, making him sacrifice himself to make up for Az's failure to keep the team safe. In his darkest moments, Rook wishes he could trade places with his old friend so Davrin could get the future he deserved.

Taash:

Feelings: Little sibling!!! One of his closest friends in the Veilguard - Sees way too much of himself in Taash and it both endears him to them and makes him want to rip his hair out sometimes. Appreciates having another trans person & another Vashoth around, and is really grateful that he could help them figure that stuff out. Thinks they're cool as fuck & does appreciate it when Taash makes the effort to get along with Emmrich more. Bonding Activity: Talking about their family issues & how both their families died before they were able to make things right with them. Also talking about random crap {"What Ifs" particularly seem to be their favourite game together because they both say the wildest shit.} Taash really gets along with Rooks "Purple" side {which is basically his entire side tbh}. Post Tearstone Island: They still talk about their family stuff though it doesn't come up as often over time as they both heal more with each vent & just time in general.

Will have a monthly meet up where they will either go to the Hall of Valour to beat the shit out of some opponents for a bit OR will go do a monster workout at Taash' place. Either way it helps them both get their rage out in a healthier way {since Rook came out of the Fade Prison with A LOT more anger in him}.

They also make sure to go feed the birds on the monthly visit & Taash will tell Rook how things are going with trying to help integrate the Antaam into regular life. They also use this time to yap about their current hyperfixations honestly.

{Naturally, Taash helps Rook get a hold of a Dragons Tooth to propose to Emmrich with when the time comes!!!}

Emmrich:

Feelings: Loves that man more than he's loved anyone else. Truly sees him as his rock, his one and only, his Kadan / Amatus.

He loves the little family they've made together {Him, Emmrich & Manfred}. Really likes living down in the Necropolis, the travel between there and work can be a bit frustrating sometimes but luckily they still have access to the lighthouse eluvians so that definitely cuts down on travel.

He does wish that Emmrich would take some more time off work but that is rich coming from Az tbh. Bonding Activity: When they're not being insufferably gay, they'll trade stories of their respective adventures {Emmrich's dives into the deeper Necropolis & Rooks Shadow Dragon missions / shenanigans.}

They also frequently cuddle and read together, or one of them will read out loud as the other rests their head on the reader's leg. Post Tearstone Island: Many a dinner date, many a family outing in the Necropolis Gardens.

Emmrich will also sometimes pick Rook up from the Shadow Dragons sanctum when he finishes work early and Rook will do the same in return. Rooks favourite though, is still when they cuddle together and read. On special occasions Manfred also joins, sitting on the bed with them once he learns how to read.

In Groups:

Davrin, Lucanis. Az & Assan: Sitting in the dining room and trading stories of fights & missions gone surprisingly well or gloriously awry! With Assan begging for some snacks & pestering them all, knowing that if he can act cute at just the right moment 1 of them will be drunk enough to crumble & sneak him something.

Neve, Harding & Rook: Biweekly gossip sessions about people from the factions they visited or are / were helping that week.

All of them love to be nosy, & the messier the drama is the better it is. They'd never share this info outside of their little gossip circle though.

Taash, Davrin & Rook: Weekly workout sessions between the 3. These sessions also contain a lot of combat talk and conversations where they plan their next big fights out.

Sometimes, they'll even boast about fights they've been in to one another for funsies.

Bellara, Taash & Rook: The three of them really understand one another on how their brains work & honestly sometimes it helps to just randomly bundle into Bellara's room every week or so to just vent about how hard it was to get some tasks done or understand others.

They also often share neurodivergency tips & will usually end the conversation with one of them info dumping on the other 2 about whatever they're currently interested in. {For Taash, this has never failed to be Dragons lmao} Emmrich, Bellara Neve & Rook: All being mages they often like to discuss spells / how their magic manifests / weird magic stuff they've encountered lately / etc.

And although they'd never admit it, this usually does devolve into them chatting just shit about something or other.

Extra Secret Sad Addition:

Varric:

Feelings: Always thought Varric was the funniest person around. Really respected his opinions on things & always went to Varric for advice even before they got to the lighthouse.

Saw Varric as a somewhat father figure {albeit a shorter one than he would have expected}. Bonding Activity: Before the lighthouse, they would often talk about their respective adventures. Rook would also occasionally manage to persuade Varric to let him read an extremely revised draft of his yet to be published pieces. Post Tearstone Island: Rook was devastated, pissed & felt grief like he'd never felt. He had to mourn 2 parents before this but this... this was mourning a truly exceptional friend and father figure that he hadn't even known had been dead for the last several years {For context: I hc that Az experienced years of time in his Fade Prison even though it was only a few weeks in the real world}.

As stated in Harding's section: he & her make a yearly visit to The Hanged Man with the Inquisitor, Hawke, Isabella and the rest of the Kirkwall Crew to talk about and remember their friend.

He & Emmrich were also able to pull some strings and erect a grave in the Necropolis for Varric {not with his body, he got put to rest in the way he wanted to before this point obvs. But this is more symbolic and gives Az a way to visit often.}

[butterflydm]

In the continuing adventures of my Rook, I have met my last three companions, and also learned that the spoiler I accidentally ran across wasn't an endgame spoiler after all, yay!

As for those last three companions, Taash feels like a similar kind of "brash 19 year old" energy that we had from Sera in DAI; Emmerich is very polite and I like him; and Davrin is pretty aces so far (and Assan!! My baby!!! Rook can hug him sometimes!!!!).

Davrin needing to go from Assan's bodyguard to his primary nurturer has been very sweet. We've had a couple of good conversations about it.

As for the spoiler that I was worried about, I accidentally ran across a title about needing to choose between saving Treviso and Minrathous, and I was worried it would be an endgame choice but it was actually right after I recruited Davrin, so fairly close to where I stopped off in my last post. Didn't get spoiled too badly!

I really liked the effects of it! I chose Treviso, for a couple of reasons -- my Rook was more invested in that city due to Lucanis; and also they assumed that Minrathous had more resources to handle a dragon than Treviso did, given what they saw at the beginning of the game. The game taking Neve away for two main story missions in order to help clean up the city afterwards, and 'hardening' her character in ways that had gameplay effects is very cool! Poor Neve! She's also the one who got injured in this game, because I took her along at the start, so she's having a rough time. I think I'm going to make my second Rook a Shadow Dragon to make sure I have enough personal investment in Minrathous to make sure I pick it over Treviso in my second run (I think I'll also go with my Inky who disliked Solas in that run, to see if it changes any dialogue or etc).

We saw Ghilan'nain when we went to Treviso (very effectively creepy, with the tentacles and all) so I wonder if we would have seen Elgar'nan if we'd gone to Minrathous instead.

I don't think I mentioned this last time, but Varric telling the framing story has been fun and ominous, lol. Every time I get a new companion, he's basically like "and then a new source of trouble snuck in behind them in their wake" lol. And I love the art that we get every time that it's Storytime with Varric.

Companion updates: the character who gets along best with Lucanis so far is Taash -- everyone else is creeped out by the demon aspect, but spirits are more integrated into Rivani culture, so she takes it in stride and even already had a conversation with Spite (and on a meta level, I love that 'Spite' literally kept Lucanis alive while he was imprisoned; embodiment of 'fuck you I won't do what you tell me to do'). But Bellara recently had a positive conversation with him too, so that could be a good sign.

Varric has even sorta warned Rook against getting too close to Lucanis (specifically because of the demon). He's having Anders flashbacks, I'm pretty sure lol. (too late. fairly certain I'm going to romance Lucanis. The only person who could maybe persuade me away is Davrin).

Bellara's hero worship of Neve in the early parts of the story was cute but I don't know if that'll have a chance to continue with Neve hardened by the story's events.

Loving exploring the regions and they really do feel so big. Definitely more 'gated' than DAI but that's not a bad thing. Areas open up when you do quests with people but then stay open afterwards so that you can go back to them, which I like.

I am also loving all the new explorations into the lore! The Crossroads and the Lighthouse make this spirit-loving girl feel great. Cole was one of my favorite companions in DAI, I romanced Anders in DA2, and I took Wynne everywhere with me in DAO because she was my healer, so I ALWAYS spend a lot of time with my spirit-based/possessed companion, lol (I also loved Justice in DAO: Awakening).

I love learning more about spirits and demons and the relationship between the two, because I've always found it interesting. (Haha, it really was A Moment when I found out that Wynne is apparently 49 in DAO; I thought she was in her eighties or something when I was playing the game, lol.)

On the mechanics side of things, I like the new version of upgrading gear, and DAV really cut down on collectables & fetch quests -- there's really only one 'collectables' quest and it has a solid and immediate impact (powering up the caretaker). I also like that the companions 'skill points' are based on their relationship with you and that they skill up as you get to know them better and get closer to them.

The fighting feels fairly fluid and intuitive playing as a rogue. I was finding it a little trickier with my first Rook (who was a mage). But shifting between archery and daggers is pretty smooth, and the combos are fun. And now that I've specialized as an Antivan Crow, I can do 'Murder of Crows' as my ultimate attack, so that's a fun time.

Hours played so far: roughly 30

[elcor-thespian]

I'm doing Rook and partner questions for each of my Rooks. One question at a time.

2) Does your couple share the same faction? How do their factions effect their relationship?

Here are the couples:

Nephele Mercar (human rogue) - Lucanis

Nasreen Aldwir (elf mage) - Emmrich

Aleksei Laidir (elf rogue) - Bellara

Brenna Thorne (human warrior) - Davrin

Elspeth de Riva (dwarf warrior) - Harding

Konstantin Ingellvar (Qunari warrior) - Neve

Paloma (Qunari mage) - Taash

Lucanis respects the Shadow Dragons, but obviously doesn't get the chance to spend that much time getting to know them. Nephele fits in with the Crows like she's been doing it her whole life. After the game, she is a very highly regarded figure in Crow society, and she very much leans in to the political position of First Talon's Wife.

Emmrich has a lot of questions about the Veil Jumpers, both based on his correspondence with Bellara and his own research. Nasreen is much more passive about the Veil Jumpers and is much more like "Eh, it's something to do". She is enthralled with the Mourn Watch, and spends as much time in the Necropolis as possible. After the game, she is able to enroll as a student to formally train as a necromancer and eventually joins the Mourn Watch. Of course she and Emmrich had to go before an ethics review board (headed by Vorgoth) to prove that there was no conflict of interest, and Emmrich was never permitted to be her teacher. That didn't stop the other apprentices from being dicks about it, but jealousy is an ugly look, babe.

Bellara and Aleksei trade adventure stories from both their factions, and Bellara asks tons of questions about the various artifacts he's handled (he does his best to answer them but tbh half of it he doesn't remember or more likely didn't understand in the first place). After the game they end up sort of shifting back and forth between the two, just seeing where the next adventure takes them.

Brenna and Davrin are Warden4Warden. Just two cuties doomed by the narrative.

Elspeth: They don't really talk about Elspeth being a Crow. There's more important stuff to talk about with the Titans. After the game Elspeth joins Lace in spreading the song with dwarves all over Thedas. She still goes home occasionally, mostly to bother Viago, but she doesn't take any more contracts. She was never that good of a Crow anyway.

Konstantin: Neve doesn't have a problem with the Mourn Watch, but it's just not her scene. Konstantin loves being in the Mourn Watch, and had previously never imagined himself doing anything else. For a while after the game they try doing long distance, but it's just too hard. Konstantin moves to Minrathous full time to help Neve both in her work as a detective, and as a Shadow Dragon (in a timeline where I sacrificed Minrathous, so there's a lot to do). He still goes home periodically to visit and help out with special cases.

Paloma: Paloma is sort of suspicious about the effectiveness of the Lords of Fortune, and doesn't really have any interest in being involved. Taash doesn't have the patience or people skills to be successful in the Shadow Dragons. These two spend a lot of time long distance, but will come back together for weeks at a time every few months. Eventually they'll probably have to choose, or find a third option to call home, but for now it works for them.

[rookinthecrownest]

For the first time asks: first time Lucanis let Madeleina hold him? <3 :)

Oooh this is a great question!! Tysm <3

So, I do love me a slow burn romance. I think the first time he lets her just hold him is during the final romance scene, after they've pulled Rook out from the Fade.

My additional headcanon about that moment, is after Lucanis says Rook's voice is a comfort to him, she nearly starts ugly crying. In my fic where the team gets Rook out of Fade prison, Lucanis' voice acts like a guiding beacon to get her out. His voice is also a great source of comfort to her as well.

They spend a lot of that evening doing just that ... talking to each other.

Madeleina spends part of the evening using illusion magic to bring The Joyous Wyvern to life for him :)

And then they fall asleep because they've both been severely sleep deprived throughout this whole damn game and nearly miss the damn battle of minrathous the next morning skjfkdkgfdk -

[soulcluster]

some thoughts about Lucanis & Spite, with Veilguard + Tevinter Nights spoilers

I've been thinking lately about Lucanis and Spite and especially in comparison to Anders and Justice. I haven't seen all of his paths in the game yet, but a supported Lucanis is able to make peace with Spite and the two start to work together as one. They hardly face the same challenges as Anders and Justice did. I thought about this for awhile and I think partially it can be traced back to how the two men were trained.

Lucanis is obviously not a mage, but as a Crow he did undergo severe training. Tevinter Nights explains how his grandma beat him with her cane, that he can still feel the tingle of it on his back, and how she starved him for days when training him as a crow. he says in Veilgaurd that he resented her for it...but that he doesn't anymore.

To me, I think he just repressed all of his feelings on the matter out of survival. he could not escape the crows, he could not escape his family, but if he kept resenting how he had been raised then it wouldn't end well for him (this is my speculation/headcanon, I'm unsure yet if this is expanded on in some manner I haven't seen yet)

Spite was forced on him after a year of being locked away and tortured, and I think Lucanis only came out of that as well as he did because he'd already been subjected to something similar in his youth. And despite these circumstances, Spite and Lucanis don't seem to have the same dynamic/issues as Anders and Justice.

Pivoting to Anders, one of the Veilguard codexes talks about possession.

Anders isn't the first companion we've had with a spirit either. Wynne was possessed by a spirit of compassion and those two co-existed. Easier, I'm sure, since that emotion was much more benevolent, but I think it's also important to note that Wynne was older when it happened and much more confident in herself. Even when Anders accepted Justice, he was Justice and not Vengeance.

So to me one of the big key differences between Lucanis and Anders is that Anders received poor training from the Ferelden Circle, and though he grew to be proud of his magic and would fight for mage rights, he was still raised with that shame. That lack of foundational training made it easier for him to have a rift with Justice. However, if that was all, maybe things would've turned out OK. Probably the bigger factor to Anders was Kirkwall itself. It was a hotbed of blood magic, which weakened the Veil and made things unstable. Kirkwall was also pretty much a cursed location because of all the slaves and blood magic that had been there previously.

Lucanis has the benefit of both being a very disciplined man and also spending most of his time at the Lighthouse. It's said somewhere, probably one of the banters or convos around the place, that the Lighthouse protects them all from the worst of the Fade. It's a much more peaceful location compared to Kirkwall and Lucanis was not dealing with a very personal, long standing struggle for mage rights that would see him and those he loved dead if he didn't do something. They're in such vastly different circumstances with vastly different personalities and ways to approach their problems. Comparing them has been really interesting

When I write Lucanis I do plan to do a bit more with Spite, but right now I'm also still soaking up a lot of info. My first playthrough I saved Treviso and this time I plan to save Minrathous and I know Lucanis takes that hard so I'm eager to see how his personality shifts.

[ass-deep-in-demons]

Rook Questionaire - Osla Mercar

Thank you for the tag @nerdanel01 💚💚💚

Where in Thedas is your Rook from?

Originally from Seheron, but she was around 3 years old when she was found and taken to Minrathous, so she has no memory of her family nor her life on the island.

What is your character’s alignment?

Lawful good.

Race and subclass?

Osla is an elf warrior.

If your Rook was a companion, where would they be found?

Tarquin would ask Rook to investigate something Blight-and-Venatori related in a Tevinter military encampment near Minrathous. He would mention Osla as the contact that the Veilguard can trust. Osla would help the team infiltrate the camp and get to the bottom of things, likely having to go against her commanding officer in the process. She would be recruitable at the end of the quest.

What emotion did they usually pick?

Mostly the 🙅🏾‍♀️ stoic/firm, occasionaly the 🌿kind/good. She would very rarely pick the ‼️anxious option, and almost never the 🎭comedic. She does have a sense of humour but wit and mockery just isn't her brand.

What companion are they platonically close with?

Davrin, hands down! Both warriors, both military-adjacent, both elven but not living among the people. They spend a lot of time training together. Sometimes Taash, Lucanis or Harding join them. Emmrich likes to watch. The only thing where Osla and Davrin differ is their approach to authority and hierarchy - Osla treats the chain of command seriously while Davrin is more of a lone wolf type of person (at least that's my take on him idk). She would sometimes get frustrated when he's acting too independent.

Runner up is Neve - they both view Dock Town as their home and they both support the Shadow Dragons' cause. Though their approach differs on occasion, they get along well.

Other generally positive relationships include Harding (they both love the outdoors), Bellara (who mentors Osla in the lore and language of the Dalish), and Taash (workout buddies along with Davrin). They might be a little too high-energy for her at times, though.

I'd say Osla has the least in common with Lucanis. They respect each other but aren't close.

Romantically close with?

Emmrich. It takes her a while to learn to accept affection from him and allow herself to grow attached, though. They also differ in a lot of things like hobbies, paths in life etc. Two completely different worlds. But there's fun in that, I think.

Who are they suspicious of?

Osla is generally not a suspicious person, which is perhaps one of her biggest flaws and comes around to bite her in the ass 😅 Being adopted, growing up in Dock Town relying on people's good will, and her life in the military have taught her to be generally open minded and accepting of different quirks that people have. Until you openly cross her, she will not suspect you and keep minding her business.

Does your Rook get along with their chosen faction?

Yes. She even has a dragon tattoo on her back that she got after she got kicked from the army.

Are they proficient in playing any instruments?

She owns a marching drum and can beat some basic rhythms on it.

Weapon of choice?

Sword and shield, and occasionally an auxiliary dagger, which is really taken straight from the Tevinter military playbook.

What is their orientation?

She's bi.

What are their thoughts on killing? Is it a necessary evil or do they enjoy it?

Killing is a means to an end to her. So long as it is done to protect Tevinter or stop bad people her stance towards it is neutral.

She doesn't enjoy the act itself... or so she thinks. She might yet discover some aspects of her psyche 🫣.

What hobbies does your Rook have?

She is skilled in handcraft, especially stuff like metal and leatherwork. She used to help mend Mercar's armor as a kid (which is not really a child-appropriate hobby but they don't have CPS in Dock Town 🫣​). She is also highly skilled in stuff like outdoors survival, DIY and preparedness, which are life skills that Mercar would try to teach her from a very young age.

In a modern AU she'd be either a team sports player or a hardcore team sports fan.

What NPCs do they like? Which ones do they dislike?

She is good friends with Tarquin. From the other factions she likes Evka a lot. Despite the First Warden's thick skull she has a soft spot for him because he reminds her somewhat of her adoptive father.

Do they have a favorite creature in Thedas?

Someone pls get this girl a Mabari 😭😭😭 It's like her ideal pet. Too bad she lives so far up North!

Do they enjoy life as an adventurer?

50/50. She is used to being out in the field and being in the middle of the action, it's her element and she doesn't really question it. Thanks to Emmrich she learns that she enjoys the quiet, comfortable life as well.

What would your Rook be doing if they weren’t recruited by Varric?

She'd be still in the military, still secretly helping the Shadow Dragons. I can see her one day becoming a commanding officer in the army - one of the good ones. Later in life she would be schooling recruits. I don't see her married or settled down in a scenario when she doesn't meet Emmrich.

How do you think they’ll meet their end?

Honestly no idea. We're not there yet.

Would they side with Solas or fight him?

The only angle Solas could work to get to her would be promising her to regain her lost connection with the elvhen people, which she's been kind of sad and insecure about for most of her life. But even then I think she would resist.

What is your Rook’s favorite ability?

Counterblow. Uno Reverse, bitch!

What languages is your character fluent in?

Tevene and Common. She has been trying to learn elvhen on her own, to catastrophic results. Solas and Bellara teach her a lot of elvhen during her time in the Lighthouse, though.

What do they do after an absolute crisis?

She would try to exorcise her demons by training hard, but when all else fails... booze 🫣. The Bad Ending Osla is definitely an alcoholic.

Does your character believe in the afterlife?

Nope. She is superstitious though.

What specialization best represents your Rook?

The Champion spec for sure. Also the "sword and shield" and the "battlemaster" skill trees from the Inquisition.

What animal best represents your Rook?

A horse, I think. Can't really explain it, just the general vibe.

What was their life like before the events of Veilguard?

While still in the military she would get periods of deployment, mostly in continental Tevinter outposts, and then periods of rest when she would live in the Mercar house in Dock Town and work in one of the Garrisons inside Minrathous. She would work out a lot and hang out with her colleagues from the military. In her free time she would help in the smithy or mend stuff in her home. She would try to learn elvhen on her own.

After she got kicked out of the military she became lonely, as her previous colleagues wouldn't want to be associated with her any longer. She also grew slightly paranoid because of the Venatori poking around the Mercar house and sometimes harassing her. She would do occasional covert missions for the Shadow Dragons. Tarquin would check on her frequently - the two became good friends after Osla rescued the slaves.

Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

Yes, she is the (reluctant) leader. Someone has to do it, she can do it, she's gonna do it.

If you could choose a different faction for your Rook, which one would they have joined and why?

I think in a different world, one where Mercar hasn't adopted her, she'd be quite happy as a Lord of Fortune.

What’s your favorite thing about your Rook?

That she's so damaged but it made her kind, not cruel.

Bonus: some of the characters that inspired her.

Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail.

Bonus photo of Osla with her best friends:

Tagging: @lavenderprose, @emmg, @hmserebusadjacent

[collegeoflore]

it Is canon that lucanis gives up the title of first talon post game for fucking sure in magpie’s world state but it is NOT magpie who convinces him to do this. magpie is in fact spending most of his years as first talon trying to Keep him in power by any means necessary. they fight about it like. monthly if not more by the end (mostly bc it drives lucanis mental that she keeps sneaking off to assassinate crows who threaten him and putting herself in mortal danger. and one really bad argument after she gets in a fist fight with illario at one of caterina’s little Family Dinners lol) it’s not even that she doesn’t think he would be happier if he Weren’t first talon it’s that she, like him, sees No Way Out Of It. neve has to be the one to be like guys you can literally just stop. you can stop doing this. in fact i need you to stop doing this because i would like to spend time with you where lucanis doesn’t seem like he’s 3 seconds away from crying at all times. this whole thing is for sure going to get you both killed. it does take, like, a lot of convincing on her part and a good few arguments (magpie unfortunately only knows how to deal with big problems via argument. this was an issue for solas in her head as well.) but i think eventually it Does work and she gets them the fuck out of there. not out of the crows entirely bc we all know that will never happen but at least the dellamortes are no longer the first house. and also they definitely move into her minrathous apartment at least part-time which neve didn’t really think through

[mageknife]

the empress and the world!

i took an accidental nap while writing these. i wanted to do it for all of them, so it took a while, but here they are :) long post incoming. questions here

(+ behold: them)

The Empress: What actions do Rook and their love interest take to nurture their relationship?

vervain: after their dinner date in the gardens, v makes A Thing of trying to get to know as much about emmrich as possible. whenever they’re exploring or just idly hanging out together he tosses little questions at emmrich—favorite animal, funniest failed experiment, least favorite coworker. emmrich starts asking him questions back, specifics about his life in dock town and his work with the shadows. they hoard little tidbits about one another like dragons and are just endeared to each other more and more every day. after a couple weeks of this v asks emmrich test him on his memory. emmrich says it’s only fair for v to test him, too. it becomes a ritual for them to quiz each other every few weeks. this is the only game v won’t find a way to cheat in.

castano: cas might be an absolutely abysmal cook on his own, but he follows lucanis around the kitchen like a lost puppy when he’s working and assists wherever he can, chopping and stirring and fetching ingredients. lucanis insists that he partake in cas’s hobbies too, and it takes a moment for cas to realize that he… doesn’t really have any. so lucanis proposes that he help him find some. they try a lot of things together whenever they can find the time. by now cas has found a few things that he’s developed a passion for—dancing, gardening, painting, studying the stars—but they had a lot of fun in the process, even with the things cas didn’t stick with, and now when they go on dates, they usually try to spend them doing something new.

asphodelus: one day ash bets davrin five gold that he can’t make a jump between rooftops. davrin does it easily and bets ash fifteen to do the same. (davrin becomes fifteen gold richer.) after that they start making bets over everything. who can kill more demons in a day, how quickly ash can track down a spirit, whether davrin can oneshot a darkspawn. the stakes range from a few gold to dish duty to paying for a dinner date in minrathous. they’ve been keeping a cumulative tally. it’s neck and neck. both of them are always up for a challenge, and the competition feeds into the energy and excitement they inspire in each other. ash has a feeling that one day a tree somewhete in arlathan will have rows of tally marks carved into it that span decades.

felandaris: after years of only ever watching their own back, fel is now dating a chronic helper. against their will, it starts to rub off on them. they find themselves cleaning neve’s office while she sleeps and notice an inconsistency in one of her notes, so they add a note of their own. the next day they find a note on their bedside table from neve, continuing the conversation. they start to leave little letters and notes and scraps of paper for each other everywhere. not just comments on cases—it becomes a way for them to have all sorts of conversations, and a way for two people who struggle with expressing their feelings face-to-face to be sappy and sweet to each other more easily.

The World: Thedas is saved, but changed. Where do Rook and their love interest go from here? Is marriage on the table? Children? What milestones do they have to look forward to?

vervain: his veins run with the water of the dock town harbor. he can never leave tevinter, especially not in the aftermath of elgar’nan’s takeover. but he finds an apartment big enough for two, in a slightly nicer neighborhood, where emmrich stays when he visits. they get married in nevarra, a small ceremony with a handful of friends. v gives some guest lectures at the necropolis about his time in the fade, and emmrich helps the shadows track down lingering demons. v’s work will never be done, but emmrich convinces him to slow down and take breaks sometimes. they’re maybe the most functional semi-long-distance couple possible. they can see each other easily thanks to the eluvians, but that doesn’t stop them from sending sappy, romantic, yearning letters back and forth anyway. v is the “cool parent” who teaches manfred to play pranks and scale buildings and always win at card games. emmrich can’t help but to fall even more in love with him.

castano: with lucanis as the new first talon, cas spends a long time thinking about his work as a crow. he never wanted this life for himself, but if he wants to stay with his love, he won’t be able to leave it behind. so now what? he ends up traveling alone for a few months, trying to figure himself out, and eventually decides that whatever he does, he can’t do it without lucanis. years later, he’s still tentatively a crow. he hasn’t carried out a contract since elgar’nan. but he vows to never leave lucanis’s side. a new contract, signed with himself: pour as much love into lucanis’s life as he possibly can. cas spends most of his time painting and doing community service around treviso. they don’t have kids of their own, but teia and viago’s kids adore their uncles. they get a dog. two dogs. four dogs. and they haven’t told anyone yet, because teia insists on a big wedding, but in a moment of passion, they eloped when cas got back from his soul-searching travels and have been married for years. whoops!

asphodelus: a necromancer with an extremely nonchalant attitude toward death and a grey warden who has to figure out how to cope with the idea of growing old since there’s no blight anymore walk into a bar. well, they walk into a cabin on the edge of arlathan forest that davrin builds himself (ash is no help at all, but he gives his best moral support). ash uses his network of researchers and academic connections from nevarra to help davrin publish that monster manual. at some point, the veil jumpers encounter a young dalish girl who lost her parents, and ash and davrin take her in as their own. ash works with the veil jumpers and the mourn watch to study the fade in arlathan, and davrin focuses on hunting while being an on-call local monster slayer. they live a disgustingly sweet married life in the woods with their daughter and their now massive griffon son.

felandaris: fel has spent their whole life running away from things, but now that they have neve, they’ve finally found something they don’t want to leave. after reluctantly returning to vigil’s keep and making a mutual agreement with the warden-commander that none of them want fel to be there, least of all fel, they pack up their bag of knives and officially move up north. (they would’ve done it with or without his permission, but it’s nice to not have to watch over their shoulder for once.) fel “former professional thief, liar, and cheat” thorne feels right at home in dock town. fel and neve are both allergic to the concept of marriage, so that doesn’t happen, nor is it ever brought up. but they share a shitty little apartment that could easily be less shitty if either of them didn’t prefer it that way. fel becomes a bona fide shadow dragon and tarquin’s worst nightmare, and neve couldn’t be more proud.