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

[trevisos]

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.

[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

[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)

[elcor-thespian]

I’m in the early early early stages of planning out what my characters do post-DATV, but so far:

-Lucanis and Nephele get married like 6 months after the game. People that don’t know them well are like, isn’t that a little fast? But everyone who has spent even 5 minutes with them knows they’ve been acting married pretty much the entire time and honestly it’s less weird if they finally make it legally binding. These two are so wifed up for each other I stg

-Emmrich and Nasreen on the other hand take about two years and properly date, although just like Lucanis and Nephele they do move in together right away. Nasreen joins the Mourn Watch and has to go through all the training and there’s multiple tribunals and ethics committees to establish whether there is an unfair bias, but eventually it’s decided that as long as she never has Emmrich as a professor and he’s never her direct superior it’s fine. This doesn’t stop her fellow students from being weird and gossipy about it, so she has a really hard time making friends her age. This makes Emmrich obviously feel really guilty but she could honestly give a fuck. She has enough friends.

-So far I only have plans for kids for these two couples. Nephele has a hard time getting pregnant and has multiple miscarriages, but ultimately has a daughter named Francesca. I feel like we as a fandom really got attached to this name for this game and I am no exception (I blame Hozier)

-Nasreen has fraternal twins named Jonah and Imogen, both mages.

-Only one of my 7 Rooks stays with the faction they started with

—Nephele Mercar moves to Antiva and never officially becomes a Crow because of her age, but as my canon Rook and wife of the First Talon she is very highly regarded. Plus shit got really awkward when she chose Treviso over Minrathous as a Shadow Dragon, and even though she was basically forgiven the vibes never really recovered.

—Nasreen Aldwir joins the Mourn Watch, like I’ve said. If she had been born in Nevarra instead in an Antivan Dalish clan she would have always been there, but it is what it is.

—Aleksei Laidir romanced Bellara and I think they kind of smush together the ideas of the Veil Jumpers and LoF. Like yeah, there’s a lot going on in Arlathan, but there’s weird undiscovered magic stuff all over, right? Let’s get on a boat and go find it.

—Brenna Thorne romanced a sacrificed Davrin, and she spends about 6m with Antoine and Evka before admitting that it’s just too much for her emotionally. She goes on special assignment to Arlathan to care for the griffons. She moves in with Uncle Eldrin and they take care of each other until he dies and she hears the Calling. I love yearning.

—Konstantin Ingelvar romanced Neve and mostly stays in Minrathous helping her and the Shadow Dragons. He’ll still go back to the Necropolis from time to time to help out, but as a non-mage he feels more useful with Neve.

—Elspeth de Riva peaces the fuck out of Antiva and goes with Lace to work with the dwarves in Kal-Sharok (mostly). Most people don’t even realize they’re married at first, they just think Elspeth is Lace’s bodyguard. That’s a dynamic she’s very comfortable with.

—Paloma stays with the Shadow Dragons. I haven’t played Taash’s romance yet so I don’t quite know what the vibe is, but I’m feeling like it’s probably a lot of long distance

[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.

[rookinthecrownest]

23, 20, and 10 for Madeleina!

23. What does Rook wear in the off hours? Do they like dressing up?

Madeleina's usually wearing the purple Shadow-Dragon pyjamas. Purple, surprise surprise, is one of her favourite colours (*cough* Lucanis *cough*). And Lavender, her favourite flower, is her favourite scent as well. She prefers practical and comfortable clothes over fashionable clothes because she was partially raised in a military family. Much of her adolescence was spent learning hand-to-hand combat on top of mastering her magic, so she was usually in some kind of training ensemble (lightweight, breathable, plain). Eventually she was sent to the Circle in Minrathous where she was afforded very few chances to dress up (she basically lived in Mage's robes here) so it's not something she ever got into. That being said, I imagine at some point, after the events of the game when things have calmed down, she starts enjoying herself as she explores different styles of dress and fashion. I think this would partially come about because of spending more time with Teia (I can see Teia showing Mads her wardrobe and her falling in love with everything in it).

20. What's it like to see them smile? Laugh?

If you ask Lucanis, he would describe her smile as wide, warm and inviting. Her eyes seem brighter, and they crinkle at the corners because she tends to smile with her entire face. Her laughter is infectious because similar to her smile, it's completely unrestrained. If Madeleina thinks something is hilarious, she's laughing with her whole chest, and maybe even snorting too. She had a lot to unlearn after leaving the Mercar family to join the Circle and the Shadow Dragons. Growing up there, one couldn't be too loud, too smiley, rambunctious, too anything. They were disciplined in all things, so there was rarely a time for her to express how she was really feeling. But with the Shadow Dragons and her friends in the Veilguard, she's learned to let go a lot, and you can tell when she laughs/smiles it's quite genuine.

10. Does Rook know their history? Do they know of the HoF, Hawke, and the Inquisitor?.

Madeleina is fairy well read on both world history and military history, so she does know about all three heroes. But she is the most familiar with the Inquisitor, Harrehn Lavellan. She thinks it's kind of cool that all three heroes are female mages, like her (Serafina Amell, Marian Hawke, and as mentioned, Harrehn Lavellan).

It was actually through reading about Dorian Pavus' contributions to the Inquisition, and his later efforts to establish the Lucerni to bring about change in Tevinter, that inspired her to join up with the Shadow Dragons. Dorian is a bit of an idol/mentor to her. One day, she catches him outside the Magisterium after a session and asks him how she can help. He ends up connecting her with Tarquin and Viper. Dorian helps her maintain a 'cover' for a time, as she's both a Circle Mage and a Shadow Dragon until she's graduated. He makes excuses to her preceptors in the Circle for her long absences so she can go on missions. Her life gets tremendously easier once she has graduated the Circle and can dedicate herself more fully to being a SD.

[amarmeme]

My Shadow Dragon Rook is shaping up to be such a lonely, kind, sarcastic loser.

Ramblings under the cut.

She starts as a basic outcast among the Shadow Dragons for picking the side of the enslaved. You enter Dock Town not knowing any of the local Shadow Dragons but they know you by reputation. (With a tone of, ah the collosal fuck up) You clearly are playing Neve's faction and Neve's city, not your own. You're not from Docktown and you don't know your way around anywhere. These people are not your people. To boot, my Rook is an elf, and there's not a lot of elves in the Shadow Dragon leadership...

At some point you have to decide alright, save Minrathous or save Treviso. Lucanis and Neve run off before you make a choice, and in my Rook's case she actually picks Treviso (because meta gaming tells me picking against your potential LI is not good) based on the fact Minrathous has Neve and the Shadow Dragons, plus a government with an army and a shit ton of highly powerful mages. Treviso is lovely but very unprotected, as seen by the fact it is already under Antaam occupation.

Well, Rook is even more the loser because it turns out it was a coup that the Shadow Dragons apparently couldn't stop without you, the faction fuck-up, physically present waving your staff about.

At this point Neve is pissed at Rook, and while I was glad there was an option for Rook to snipe back, "I thought it would be okay because you were there," no one gives two shits about how Rook feels to have Venatori controlling Minrathous because of what seems like a bad call. But how would Rook even know? I think they could have doubts that the Venatori would have taken control regardless of their presence because why would one person matter in the scheme of things?

If Rook wants to take any solace in Lucanis, they're not going to get it either, because he spends an inordinate amount of time offering Neve consideration and solace after she gets back, to the point where Rook is tearing her hair out every time they're together as a team.

Anyway, eventually Rook just stops bringing Neve and Lucanis out together because it is like she's not even there when it is the three of them.

And Rook kind of wonders that maybe she's not really there and this is all a fever dream when she cracked her head open. Because no one ever really asks how she's doing, and the only people who encourage her are Varric (ha) and Solas. And through her conversations with the dread wolf and revealing his past regrets she's starting to feel downright sympathetic to him (!!) especially after he helps her free a bunch of the Dalish from Elgar'nan.

She's really beginning to think maybe she fucked up this time on a scale that's so impossibly big that she'll never be able to fix it, but she's gotta plaster on that can-do attitude and smile so the team doesn't doubt it.

And it's kinda lonely, this feeling of constant failure despite best intentions, that even when you are right, you are wrong, and I just feel for my babe Rook who is Doing Her Best but thinks maybe Her Best is actually, The Worst.

Almost done with this playthrough so can't wait to see more ways for Rook to flop on her face before the show is over.

[trevisos]

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

[jasontheoctopus]

Extra Veilguard thoughts on second playthru: (contains spoilers, it's been a couple months, but under a readmore in case you're still avoiding)

Dwarf warrior as mentioned in previous post; that Paragon armor that makes your character look like a super thick muscle tank felt perfect for the vibes

Small level design thing: I really enjoyed both times how the final crawl up the Archon's palace reminded me in some great ways of the final Mass Effect 1 Citadel mission.

Harding taking down that big mech / automaton construct thing in at the start of the final quest is so bad ass ( i mention this, because her coming out of the rubble after defeating it, that shot also reminded me of ME1 when you find out Shepard wasn't crushed by Sovereign )

Ended up romancing Bellara this time, because a couple banters/offhanded comments from her really struck me differently on this playthru (also I swear I got different ones, maybe because I took different companions on some of the missions? )

The Neve/Lucanis romance that happens was okay. I think I'd missed something with Lucanis the first time. (possibly due to Treviso getting blighted in the first playthru, I picked Minrathous this time to see how that changes things) There was a dream sequence thing with Spite or something where they work out their differences? also there seemed to be more banter in the Lighthouse between him + some of the other companions talking about it. Idk, I still prefer my Rook getting to romance Neve, but I at least don't think that Neve and Lucanis make each other worse.

Picked Grey Warden background this time and I loved the extra dialogue with Davrin, Evka and Antoine, and the other Wardens in the game as well as some of the other interesting things it unlocks.

Still picked Bellara to break the ward in the second to last mission, so she ends up getting kidnapped and blighted, so I might have missed the full romance scene, but what I still got was so sweet?? And wow, Bellara gets some badass scenes!

I wish we didn't have to choose between Harding and Davrin, but in a good way because I really enjoy both of them and I feel genuinely sad with either choice. That feels correct.

I actually kindof love how much more this game made me dislike Solas? I haven't felt this great about getting to finally serve someone some consequences in a Bioware game in a minute.

Morrigan showing up felt a little fourth wall acknowlegding, but also she got to be a bad ass and it was a fun time

Thoughts on my next playthru that I won't stick to:

Need to make a Mage this time

I do genuinely enjoy Taash and Harding together, but sortof want to romance one of them next time. Also; still very much want to romance Neve again, and Bellara's was surprisingly sweet. Also, might watch someone else's let's play of amab!Rook/Emmrich because I feel like I got to know him a lot better with my Rook spending more time with Bellara somehow? Their banters were really cute.

Really enjoying the actual gameplay of this game. People who said it feels more like a fantasy Mass Effect game to play were right, and that's probably what has me still making new playthrus.

I do wish Bioware was allowed to do multiple sex scenes like Larian; but I get that EA Games would never let them. It's cool, I hope that will just inspire me to write some smut of my own which could be cool.

General thoughts:

I don't know if it's going to go down as a "game of all time" for me or anything, but it's been very enjoyable and fun to play, and that's honestly all I'm looking for.

Leaves a lot of unanswered questions, sure there's plenty of "but that's not how they said stuff worked before" bits but I think that's unavoidable with projects spanning so many years and worked on by so many different writers. Idk, nothing jumped out at me as super horrible.

I know a lot of people complained about the companions getting along to well, but with the couple years I've had it was actually so calming to just have them talk about their issues and work thru them or "agree to disagree" or whatever.

Also not disappointed that there's not an option for a more "true evil" aligned playthru, because I don't enjoy that. I'm sure some folks were really let down, but I played the game I wanted here.

Big studios are clunky; they have to put out a product that appeals to as many people as possible because their budgets are so sky high. I'm also a Blizzard apologist (well maybe not that far, but I still play and enjoy a lot of their games even with knowing how problematic they are) so feel free to nay-say; but the point is that I think the team working on the game managed to put out something quite enjoyable given what seemed from the outside like a disjointed development schedule.

Also in line with the "I enjoyed people not fighting" I'd prefer not to fight on this post. Got enough fighting coming up about real life things, just want to talk about things I enjoyed.

[stormlit]

a rundown of merryn's major game choices. note: none of these are decisions i will push onto other writers, and will leave all companion choices up to those writers. they're just what i will go with by default. i think there's a lot of fun in exploring different options!

worldstate: i have no interest in specifying worldstate decisions for previous games, as merryn would have had no part in them, but her default hero of ferelden is tabris. a city elf hero from her own alienage is influential on merryn's life as she grows up.

default romance: harding.

prologue: agrees that varric should talk solas down. neve comes to help her disrupt the ritual.

d'meta's crossing: leaves the mayor to his fate. she's a veil jumper, those were her people. it's one of the few times she is visibly angry, and while she agonises over almost all her choices, she doesn't feel bad about this.

city saved: saves minrathous. her brother is a shadow dragon, she's only recently reunited with him after almost two decades of separation, and she absolutely believes in what they're doing, and that it will be hindered if the venatori take over. and the venatori stole elves from her alienage, they enslave her people; she's not willing to let that happen. she does spend a lot of time afterwards wondering if she made the right choice, even though she split her people 50/50, and helps with the de-blighting/rebuilding efforts in treviso.

regrets/mythal: finds the dread wolf statues in the crossroads and views solas' regrets. convinces mythal to give her essence over willingly to help the fight.

companions: bellara: keeps the archive, to the point that she will have a major falling out with bellara if she gets rid of it, and it will change the nature of what is generally a really good friendship. merryn is also an elven veil jumper historian, and she cannot accept letting that information be lost forever. she doesn't necessarily want it released to the world at large, but they do deserve a real chance to sit down with it together and learn as much as they can and to figure out what to do with that information. davrin: the griffons become sentinels of nature in arlathan. merryn is horrified by what the wardens did to the griffons previously, and she doesn't believe they're what's best for them, however good davrin specifically is. the wardens are already protectors in their own right; the forest needs someone. emmrich: brings back manfred. she loves that little guy, and she is noticeably uncomfortable with the concept of lichdom. she also doesn't think it's a healthy way for emmrich to deal with his fear of death. harding: encourages her to remember her compassion and who she is, but as an elf she also feels like she can't exert too much influence, however much she cares for lace. she just wants her to remember her heart and to honour the titans that way. lucanis: encourages him to imprison illario. i don't think merryn's view on the crows changes a huge amount, she remains as sure as ever that murder for money is fucking awful, even if she can also see that the crows do help in the aftermath of treviso being blighted, but she does care about lucanis, and she thinks that illario deserves punishment for what he did to him. neve: rejects the threads' deal; she believes there's a better way than working with people like that. encourages neve to become an inspiration and bring hope to dock town. people will always need hope and someone to turn to. there are lots of fighters in the shadow dragons already, but only one neve. taash: ultimately leaves the decision up to them, but she does lean towards encouraging them to embrace their qunari heritage — or at least to learn more about it before they make a real decision. she's an elf who never felt like she had enough knowledge or experience of elven culture, and has spent her life trying to get in touch with it and to learn everything she can, and she sees similarities in taash's background, but they can access information much more easily than she could.

isle of the gods: davrin leads the second team. neve disables the wards.

solas: attempts to convince him, first as herself and then with the essence of mythal. the regret prison really fucks her up; she's already an anxious leader who takes on far more guilt over every decision than she should, and never quite shakes the imposter syndrome that has plagued her her entire life, even as she grows in confidence. she's furious at solas for it, furious that a part of her wanted an elven god, even one she didn't grow up following, to be decent or look on her differently for being an elf...but she also pities him, and the idea that he always has to make these chess moves instead of just talking to people. she doesn't make a secret of the fact that she feels betrayed by him, but she still talks him round, with help. she's got the dagger in reserve, though, just in case.

[impossible-rat-babies]

Rook asks! 9s for eska! (9, 19, etc <3)

ty!! :D

rook ask meme

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9. what is rook like on the battlefield?

she's a backline fighter--uses a bow most of the time and likes picks off the enemies before they realize what is going on. used to rely on having to sit and set up to get a good headshot, but her time with varric hunting solas and especially now, she's had to get better at doing things on the fly. relying more on her knee jerk reaction and muscle memory. she tries very hard to not hit people, but has definitely gotten close with an arrow shooting past a companion's shoulder or neck.

19. what is rook’s love language? what love languages do they respond best to?

i don't know if eshka really has a "love language" she leans into the most. quality time might be the closest, just because it's easiest to sit and spend time with people. listen to them, or be content to do ones own thing nearby. (she likes sitting with bellara while she works on her projects, or with neve while she does case notes). but again, she's not a big stickler for what she likes best out of others. who doesn't like getting gifts, or having things done for them? it impresses her more when someone takes the effort to do things like that regularly, though.

29. any vices?

she's smoked + drank before, and still does on occasion. old habits from the stress of being a crow; with a lot that stress back, she sneaks a smoke and a drink, just to take the edge off. if that doesn't work, she likes hitting things; a "violence works for me" kind of girly.

39. what is their room at the lighthouse like?

conservative. after the crows + all the time on the road with varric, she doesn't have much in the way of decor, or personal items that dont fit into a pack. she has issues with settling down in spaces, making them feel like her own beyond a few small things. the others have gotten her a few presents + practical items she keeps around; there's a small stack of books by varric + some minrathous serials that she likes to talk about with neve and bellara. even a necromancy text or two by emmrich, even if they are rather dense. a blanket that came in a care package from harding's mother. her own little stash of coffee that lucanis gets her with a little orlesian contraption. (they are both on the fence if its better for making coffee or not). taash helped her put up curtains in the room because it's hard to sleep with the light from the aquarium.

49. what will always make them laugh?

eshka loves the face neve makes when she's about to say her name in *that* exasperated tone. it never fails. also manfred. she thinks manfred is a delight, and incredibly funny.

[roseofblogging]

The gang's all here.

There wasn't much time to rest or feel guilty over Teriso. Not that Rook didn't feel bad--it was eating up at her inside--but she tried to keep herself busy. She had two potential allies to check out, but first she needed to visit Treviso to see what help they needed immediately. Jacobus thoroughly chewed her out. He's a kid, and she tried not to let him rile her up, but she couldn't blame him. Lucanis was taking a break. Keeping busy, certainly, or maybe avoiding her? She didn't see him when running around Treviso killing darkspawn and clearing out pustules of blight.

Professor Volkarin--or Emmrich, as he insists he be called without any honorifics--was not what she expected. They needed an expert on the Fade, and the professor hardly got out. She expected some sort of mad scientist animating the dead, but he was a surprisingly chipper sort, happy to get out of the Necropolis and learn while putting his knowledge to use. Rook couldn't help seeing him as a sort of father figure to Bellara, or perhaps to most of the team as well. Bellara loves to ask questions and think out loud, and she never slows down...until Emmrich reminds her to do so. His skeleton servant, Manfred, has also been a surprisingly comical addition to the team; Rook has yet to beat him at rock-paper-scissors.

Before checking on their dragon expert addition to the team, Rook visited Davrin to take the griffon, Assan, out on a baby version of a hunting trip. Assan still has a lot to learn, and every time Davrin wants to push him harder, something gnaws at Rook. Yes, Assan has the cutest baby face a griffon could possibly have, yes his cheeks are so squishable and his nose so boopable, but he really is so, so young. And he lost the other 12 members of his family. He's not a person, but surely that has to have some effect on him, right? So Rook continues to remind Davrin to go slowly, that pushing him too hard too fast could get him into danger. (Davrin's only survived this long thanks to a supreme amount of luck on top of his already polished skills. The same probably goes for her, too.)

Next, Rook traveled to Rivain for the first time in her life. Neve noted to her that the coastline on which they were looking out shared waters with Minrathous, right where they shared some food from Hal's stand, Neve's favorite place to eat in the city. All of Thedas is connected, even if that's hard to forget when you spend your time in one place. In a way, she's grateful she was forced to run from Minrathous and start traveling the world with Varric. It's taught her so much more about other cultures and people.

For example, in Rivain, they recruited Taash, a young qunari who has the remarkable ability to breathe fire and knows a lot about dragons. Rook and Taash are still mostly strangers, but the pair did share a romp through the coastline to give one of Taash's friends some food (a qunari deserter), during which Rook learned Taash feels at odds with both the qunari and the people in Rivain who fear the qunari. As much as she wanted to make a biting comment about how people will always fear what they don't understand, Rook tried to think positively. She wasn't a great judge of qunari ages compared to elf ages, but Taash seemed young. Best to hold off on any jaded comments.

(omg Taash is so tall! Well, Rook's also short.)

Bellara's been talking Taash's ear off, asking all about what the Lords of Fortune do with cultural artifacts.

Now it's back to the Lighthouse to check their next steps.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard liveblog

Hello! I often post Splatoon stuff here or reblog Tales RPG stuff, but I'm currently sucked into Dragon Age: The Veilguard and want to dump my thoughts on my game somewhere that I can look back on later.

If you want to avoid these either because of spoilers or because you just do not want to see it, I'll be using the tags: rose plays veilguard and dragon age: the veilguard spoilers, and you can blacklist those.

With that said, here we go!

The background for my Rook: She's a mage originally from a Dalish clan that greatly worships Elgar'nan, the father of the elven pantheon, god of vengeance, justice, retribution, and the sun. She grew up eagerly taking the vallislin and vowed to help the helpless, invoking Elgar'nan's name when doing so. (All the while, I, giggle at the sheer irony of how she'd hate the Evanuris--whom she currently worships--for them having been slavers.)

After she moved away to see more of the world, she found herself loving both the glitz and the grime of Minrathous in the Tevinter Empirium: the street markets were nothing like she'd ever encountered at home, and she became enamored.

Then she learned about the much darker side of Tevinter, and the fact that slavery was still legal there infuriated her. That's when she joined the Shadow Dragons and eventually made a name for herself freeing a bunch of slaves, going against the Shadow Dragons' plan to go slower and avoid attention. She doesn't regret freeing people, but she recognizes her actions had consequences for the Shadow Dragons and probably endangered a lot of people after she was forced to flee the city.

She's looked up to Varric ever since he found her and asked her to help them track down Solas. She's not fond of essentially being the leader in his place now, and she goes to him for advice a lot. He always manages to cheer her up no matter how much she beats herself up.

We're still early in the game's story, and while Solas didn't outright say at the start that the elven gods enslaved people, she got the sense the stories she'd grown up learning weren't entirely true. Now that she's lived through a couple of Solas's memories of fighting back against Elgar'nan, she has very mixed feelings about her prior hero-worship of the Evanuris father (she still does not know the truth about vallislin's origins). Time will tell how she'll feel eventually having to face Elgar'nan himself, now that he's escaped Solas's imprisonment.

She finds Solas pretty irritating and full of himself, but her conversations with him in the Fade have made her see him for more of who he is: a very old man who wanted to save people but is ultimately fallible and prone to mistakes like anyone, including severe lapses in judgment and an inability to listen to people he views as far younger, far more inexperienced, and deluded by a millennium of lies passed down as culture. For which he's right! That irritates her even more.

Where we're at now: Varric is injured and out of battle for what seems to be a long time. Harding has become a sweet friend, and Rook is looking forward to learning more about this strange stone magic she acquired from Solas's ancient dagger.

Neve, oh my gosh *swoon* aaaa. Kinda crushing hardcore. Excited about working with another person from the Shadow Dragons, especially someone with such fantastic inductive reasoning skills. We're aligned on some major core values. Both fiercely love Minrathous.

Bellara is incredibly sweet! Crushing--not sure if romantic or platonic, but definitely wanna learn more about her. The way she rambles is adorable. She's a fantastic tinkerer, brilliant, and full of life with a sense of adventure. Her enthusiasm is infectious!

Lucanis...yet another *swoon* He's only just joined, so Rook doesn't know much about him yet, and having a contract killer with a demon living in his head is concerning, but she's trying not to be judgmental about it. After her first one-on-one with him, she's feeling like he has a really good handle on that situation, though she feels awful for him and how he's constantly sleep-deprived because of that situation. She plans to sit down with him for coffee on the regular. (My own thoughts from being able to see the interactions with Spite: OH MY GOSH LOL he's hot) Plus, he takes his work seriously, and it's not like he wants ancient elves unleashing the worst Blight upon the world, worse than any of us can imagine. So, she can work with him, and she's got a good vibe about him at the moment. It's not like she hasn't killed people before.