#so i kinda understand where lucanis comes from?

[thewardenisonthecase]

btw tw for talking about abuse

I've seen a lot online about how the game never mentions Caterina's abuse of Lucanis while he was growing up (being beaten and starved, which is mentioned in the Wigmaker Job) and I think there's a small mention to it if you're a crow (when asked, he says it was torture training under the first talon and that he resented her for a long time)

And while I do think part of the reason why this isn't brought up is just due to how sanitized this game is when it comes to the crows, I think I do understand why in world wise it's not possible to just be like hey lucanis, fuck your grandma.

It's really hard, loving someone who hurts you. Because you know they're hurting you and yet, you still love them. It's even harder when they're family.

Because its not like Lucanis doesn't know that she hurt him. He says so himself - he hated her, he resented her, and althought I do think him 'justifying' it by saying that at least it prepared him for the life of a crow, at least he still admits that it happened.

But the thing is that despite all this shit, she's still his grandmother. And like, yes, blood shouldn't excuse justifing this behaviour, I feel like it's cultural. Idk how spain or italy works when it comes to family, but here in brazil, you'll hear so many stories of physical abuse happening in families, and its still a situation like Lucanis - i hate them, i resent them, i love them, they're my family.

It's a...complicated situation and I think Lucanis's situation is made worst by the fact that he only has two family members alive and that he cannot let go of.

She beat him, she starved him, he hated and resented her, and he was afraid of dissapointing her, even if in her eyes, i don't think he could. I mean, he comes back an abomination and she still tenderly says 'my poor boy' when you rescue her in the Villa.

All in all...it's tought and I think that it would not be Rook's place to suddenly make Lucanis want to kill his grandma bc he wouldn't. Sorting out those feelings is something he has to do himself, and i'l almost glad the game doesn't make rook do a therapy session with him to talk about it.

[pupkinpumpkin]

Aight, don't get me wrong, I have and will read about almost every Rookanis fanfic there is, and I enjoy almost every version of Spite I see, but I think I see Spite's development and role in Rook and Lucanis' relationship in a certain way, but, suffice to say, Spite's relationship with Rook is just as much of a slow burn as Lucanis' relationship is

Just my personal opinion under the cut, you're free to believe whatever you wish

Spite is interested in Rook from the start, not romantically or sexually, but as a new person to learn about/annoy the fuck out of

As Rook gets closer to Lucanis, they also begin to tolerate and like Spite, which is new to him since everyone he meets kinda hates him, so, since acceptance is a very nice feeling, he wants to spend time with them. He's also realizing that Lucanis is developing feelings for them, feelings that are rare for Lucanis and completely new, and therefore, weird, to Spite

All Spite really knows is that Rook is nice, Lucanis trusts them, and Lucanis has certain feelings for them that Spite doesn't really understand, but he wants to (he's very curious for a Spite demon), so he wants Lucanis to hang out with Rook more so he can potentially talk with them more himself so he can understand these odd new feelings better

Here's where I may start getting a tad bit far fetched in my beliefs when it comes to how Spite, and possession in general, works

I'll keep it short, but just know I have a lot of feelings about Justice (all good, I love him dearly)

So, Justice in Awakening takes over Kristoff's dead body, and, when he does that, he gets these memories of him and his wife. He tells The Warden that he longs for the connection that they had and when he was just a spirit, he used to pity mortals, but now he finds beauty in their world and wants to experience all of it for himself.

I personally believe that when Justice takes over Kristoff's body, he is now able to feel different kinds of love more than the average spirit can because of this new form, and I believe that applies to Spite

When Spite possesses Lucanis, he is able to feel more than he can when he's just a spirit, feelings he's not used to and has never even thought of before. The feelings equivalent of seeing shrimp colors. New and confusing, but still exciting and worth investigating

It's in these moments that Spite's interest and fascination with Rook becomes more defined and intense, especially since Lucanis feels it as well, but because Lucanis doesn't let go of control often, these moments are few and far between, which kinda pisses Spite off, since it's another thing that he doesn't get to experience because Lucanis won't let him, so Rook becomes this forbidden thing that he wants to learn about, but has little to no access to, and, as a Spite demon, this only makes him want them more, but not in the way you're thinking of just yet

Lucanis is demisexual, we've learned that from God herself, so on top of Spite being interested in Rook, which is only intensified by Lucanis' feelings and Lucanis refusing to let Spite talk to them, Lucanis starts developing more intimate thoughts of Rook (which I personally think is around the time of the almost kiss), adding to the disaster of this overly caffeinated bisexual (well, biromantic)

Spite does not understand this. He's already trying to untangle the weird feelings he has for Rook, but now Lucanis is adding even more weird feelings that Spite can't possibly understand. He could understand, at least a little better, if he possessed Lucanis (which would give him deeper access to those feelings according to my little headcanon) and unpacked that with him, but Lucanis does not allow this, so the whole thing frustrates Spite and Lucanis, who is constantly being asked why he thinks Rook being in certain positions is so interesting all of a sudden

So, stretching my headcanon even further, I think that after Inner Demons, when Lucanis and Spite finally accept each other, Spite is given greater access to all of Lucanis' feelings for Rook, romantic and otherwise

He still needs time to truly get what all of that means, but I think those wings unfurling during the last romance scene is him beginning to understand exactly what he's feeling and being able to fully explore his new emotions, desires, etc without the previous constraints that were holding him back

I don't think Spite is by any means going between Rook's thighs and that he has any idea what he's doing by the end of Veilguard, but he's at a place where he is trusted, loved, and wanted, which is new, and he is a very curious demon who may or may not want to see what the fun's all about now that he understands people and their complexities more

Or maybe he's asexual and he just really loves cuddling, that's up to you, I'll read it either way

TLDR: I don't think Spite was begging Lucanis to pin Rook to a wall and have them scream his name from the beginning, but after Veilguard, who's to say?

[theskee]

thinking a lot about Them this morning and i already went on a mini ramble on bluesky but i gotta just dump more detailed brainrot here because this is where most of my fellow emmcanis lovers are but like

there's a dialogue that comes up between emmrich and lucanis if treviso isn't saved. and emmrich is concerned about lucanis, his emotional state, and what it might do to him and spite. and lucanis kinda snips at him about whether or not he actually cares or if it's weird professional curiosity. because lucanis is so damn raw. it reminds me of how he snaps at rook when rook suggests lucanis talk to emmirch and says "he looks at me like a thesis topic" and there is some level of truth to emmrich being curious about what's happened.

but the thing that comes through the strongest, every time it comes up, is that emmrich thinks what's happened to lucanis and spite is unfair and horribly cruel, but that there's hope for them. that they can find harmony and survive.

so in this dialogue, where lucanis is short and defensive, emmrich's response is simply a promise. that he'll be there, to look out for lucanis and spite, no matter what. emmrich has seen some shit in his time as a watcher, and he hates suffering. he knows loss. i think there's such a depth of empathy and understanding that he has for lucanis, who is coping with the loss of everything important to him, so suddenly and senselessly, and emmrich knows intimately how difficult that is, especially when you're trying to get a handle on unexpected changes to who you are as a person that are outside of your control. emmrich began to talk to spirits after his parents died. while going through so many life changes, along with the manifestation of his magic, he began to talk to the dead, something we know he didn't master until he was an adult.

how jarring must it have been, to have lost his family, and for distant relatives to have rejected the responsibility of taking him in, to suddenly have magic and have the dead talking to you? i think in a lot of ways, emmrich feels especially strongly for lucanis and his situation because he can see parallels between them.

and emmrich is patient. he never takes it personally when lucanis rebuffs his support. he's calm. he lets lucanis reject it. and eventually, we know lucanis softens up and lets emmrich help him.

lucanis goes to emmrich for help keeping himself and spite contained, and emmrich sets wards for him. more than once. when lucanis is alone in the dining hall, he questions why emmrich is still hanging around, and emmrich simply expresses that he thought lucanis might want the company. emmrich understands loneliness. keenly. he knows it well.

and lucanis goes to emmrich. timid, exhausted, and asks if emmrich has time to talk, because spite won't leave him be. and emmrich is so gentle and welcoming, insisting he will always have time if lucanis needs to talk. emmrich will stop what he's doing to create a safe place for lucanis to express himself and open up about how hard it is. and emmrich is kind. he's there. he's steady and he understands more about the nature of what lucanis is going through than most. he has the most hopeful perspective of it possible, from the very start, that despite the tragedy of the way it began, that lucanis and spite will survive together, because of each other.

he encourages lucanis to bond with spite and read to him.

and then... on the other side of it. lucanis is direct with emmrich in a way emmrich needs. when it comes to the topic of lichdom and immortality, lucanis confronts emmrich with something that i think emmrich needs to hear. that undead forever is still dead. and he asks why emmrich would want to outlive everything he's ever loved. just as emmrich has so much acceptance for Spite, this thing that Lucanis is afraid of and wrestling with, lucanis has acceptance for death. all things end, is what lucanis says. and that's okay.

when i look at these interactions, and add them to all the little things, like Spite growing attached to Manfred or Manfred breaking into Lucanis room-- the debates and the references to their companionable time drinking fine wine together, out of glasses Lucanis bought for Emmrich, and all their little cultural back and forths and i just. in the final run up to elgar'nan, emmrich tries to thank lucanis for the wine glasses. he's trying to get his affairs in order. and lucanis tells him no. don't do that. no squaring up. it's bad luck. and it just screams of subtext, of reassurance that we're not dying here today. when death seems so fucking certain and emmrich is so afraid of it. my heart for these two.

i know it's might not be as fun or full of friction as the enemies to lovers vibes one gets from say, davrin & lucanis (which omg what's not to love) but the slow burn of rejection to acceptance to closeness-- the inherent intimacy of sharing space with another person who understands your fear. and doesn't let you linger in it alone... i just. am so so so in deep with this pairing.

[proffbon]

Okay, I'm gonna say it. Some people's attitude towards beardless Lucanis feels kinda weird to me.

I personally don't care about any type of mod out there but I at least understand where people are coming from when they express their dislike for "younger" or "handsome/beautiful" mods.

But not only is beardless Lucanis literally what he looked like a year ago (he's implied to be clean shaven in Tevinter Nights and grows a beard while in the Ossuary), beard is also not some constant unchanging trait a man has. He can grow it out, he can shave it off or trim it into a different shape. So I don't get the reaction of "EWWW Lucanis looks so weird and naked without a beard! Give it baaack" from some. It lands in the same ballpark for me as suddenly not finding a girl attractive when she removes her make up.

[fenharel-babe]

Maybe it’s just me, which is okay, but I understand why the past romances weren’t really mentioned. If you romanced someone other than Solas, We got a letter and one line because I mean….the other LI’s aren’t involved in this chapter of the inquisitors story. You know what I mean?? They’re not involved in the plot, so it makes sense there isn’t much mention of previous romance.

And the reason Solavellan gets so much is because breaking news: SOLAS is one of the MAIN CHARACTERS. Literally the most important character. It’s not such a shock that his romance is going to get more coverage and an ending itself.

The romances in DAI all had conclusions (from my memory), unless someone writes otherwise. CULLEN AND SERA GOT MARRIED.

Do I hate it? No I’m SOOO glad they got that! Even though I fucking hate Cullen, if you love him then I’m glad for you! Yay! And I kinda get the saltiness from not getting attention in DATV if you didn’t romance Solas since it will sting to see everyone else get so much and you only get a letter and 1 line…..but I don’t get it when there’s ppl out there sincerely mad. And once again coming from a solavellan, I hate when ppl call them delusional and say the game was just going towards solavellan. It wasn’t. Once again, past romances mentioned very little because they’re👏not👏involved👏. While a romanced Solas and Lavellan are very much involved.

The other LIs (other than Dorian) are not involved. They won’t appear bc where would they fit??? I know we can say they come with the inquisitor, but in my head it would be pointless. The inky is going RIGHT BACK to the South literally through an eluvian (most likely) so coming with them would be pointless to me.

And another thing I don’t get is that some people hate the romance in the inner circle. Like if Lucanis or Neve get together, a lot of people hate it??? I’m just surprised like…..I thought we would like the fact that story happens in the banter and the characters change over the story and then fall in love?? I got Harding and Taash together and I loved it! They were sweet and cute! I don’t see anything wrong but that’s my opinion. And you’re totally allowed to have yours!! This isn’t hate to literally ANYONE!!! Just my ramblings and takes on things I’ve seen in the fandom.

Anyways thanks for reading if you did lol.

[artemisiavulgaris1114]

I normally don't do discourse but, I've seen some floating around and I maybe have some relevant perspectives so here's my opinion on a thing:

so I am a hella subtext girlie. ships are always painful as fuck for me (in the good way) because give me breadcrumbs and I'm HOOKED I wanna eat that whole loaf crumb by crumb!! no ez mode. that's boring. I love a nice slow burn, I'll happily gnaw my way through 50 chapters of complicated setup and character development before they even meet (and like lol maybe this is actually the problem). And I love Lucanis's romance and I'm happy with his story, the writing and the way it progressed for the most part. I'm demi so I got it and that's all I'm gonna say on that point til a bit further down.

I STILL think that the way it was handled doesn't work well with the pacing of the game, and I don't think that's down to the writing, I think it's mostly the way the game story progression was designed. I think this is true to some degree for all the romances because there's no interactivity outside of quest cutscenes and the ambient dialogue that happens right after the commitment scene. But especially for Lucanis because to me their romance is in the little details, the every day interactions as their relationship slowly deepens. That's obviously done really well in the cutscenes we get, but feels like it makes less sense in the scope of the whole story because there are a whole bunch of in-between pieces missing.

If you're going to finish everything there is to do by the end of the game, a huge chunk of the time that you spend doing quests is completely devoid of any reference to your romance. I feel like especially for Lucanis and Rook more ambient dialogue between them would have made it feel more natural and substantial, especially especially if they are both Crows. For example, the way it's handled between Taash and Harding/Lucanis and Neve feels much smoother and the development is more overt. I think being that those happen more toward the end of the game, there feels like more of a natural character development-relationship development progression as you go through their individual quests.

Like, 2-3 lines of additional unique dialogue peppered throughout the lead-up to endgame after the romance is locked in with Lucanis would have vastly improved it and helped bridge the gap, I feel. And I'm not necessarily talking about romantic interactions, just some unique dialogue to show how well they've come to know each other, how Rook understands his mind and that it helps them build trust, any sort of communication to illustrate the subtler ways they're building their bond. It's clear from Lucanis's journal that they're intended to be spending a decent chunk of their off-time together--so why is there little to no evidence of it in game other than the initial reference? There's no reactivity from Teia and Viago, which made me sad because theirs is the reaction I'd want to see the most. I've gotten lines from Neve and Taash about the romance after it's locked in, and the convo with Emmrich about gifts, but that's it as far as other companions go. Maybe there's stuff I'm missing? Maybe this is something lacking in all the romances.

And honestly as a demi person the final romance scene kinda came out of left field for me. considering it felt like not much communication had been happening leading up to it (minus the pre-endgame convo, which I'm also gonna mini-argue should be more explicit with the emotions involved from Rook's end, like the spanish translation) and understandably a lot has been going on. but I wasn't really expecting it to escalate the way it did with so little dialogue, I'm fine with it but this is one of those cases where I prefer less subtext and more text before something like that happens, actually.

I did a replay where I saved Lucanis's quests until last and that honestly felt a lot better, so maybe the pacing's just a me problem idk. I'm gonna chalk a lot of this stuff up to cut content? and maybe like, the fact that they didn't want to get too specific with Rook's ambient dialogue since they're meant to be player-driven. Going back to the companion romance comparison, it's a lot easier to write dialogue between two characters who are more specifically defined.

Anyway blah blah that's it. i'm nitpicking because overall I'm happy, so anything i feel doesn't work or is lacking is gonna be a gripe, and you can be happy and still have valid criticisms. I enjoyed the game and the writing and the characters quite a lot, and I honestly wasn't expecting to, so yay! Time to gnaw on that subtext and see what kinda creative juice comes out~

[piictochat]

I thought I was done with Veilguard things but alas.

Things that could’ve happened if Rook’s companions could dislike them.

Spoilers under the cut

First of all the fact that no one has the ability to leave is crazy. I understand Harding and Lucanis staying no matter what (Harding due to Inquisition ties and Lucanis because of his contract) but Davrin could always go back and help the Wardens, same with Bellara and the Veil Jumpers. Neve could just go back to Minrathous and keep an eye on the Venatori herself from there. And Taash and Emmrich could just straight up be like I’m done and leave. And they wouldn’t be available in the party anymore but they would show up to the final fight and their survival could depend on their faction level.

With the wards if your affinity with Neve is low and you choose Bellara she’d try step in to do them in her place cause she doesn’t trust Rook but Bellara insists and Neve blames Rook for Bellara being taken and blighted. If you do choose her she does them reluctantly and gets blighted and doesn’t survive the endgame. She’d probably also throws underhanded insults at Rook while acting like a magister during Elgar’nan’s archdemon party. Also when it came to the point where she’s about to leave she’d tell Rook Varric is dead.

I also feel like if your affinity with Bellara is low it can’t be high with Neve only neutral.

Bellara just doesn’t share anything with Rook if her affinity is low. Her interactions are really awkward in the not cute way, very need-to-know and just a bit passive aggressive. She goes to meet with Cyrian and doesn’t tell you and she may even fall under Anaris’ control? Maybe Strife and Irelin tell you about her going missing again and you find out and try to save her, Cyrian sacrifices himself for her somewhere during the fight and if Rook can’t help her turn it around she destroys the Nadas Dirthalen and is just gone after you return to the lighthouse.

Spite would be on your ASS if your affinity with Lucanis is low which weakens his control. That should make Lucanis cast an amount of blame on Rook during his failed attempt at killing Ghilan’nain (or even that the attempt would be more or less successful based on his affinity). It wouldn’t really effect his quests because they usually come as jobs or Teia asking for Rook’s help.

Davrin with low affinity would be less cordial and more direct. He’d be the first to criticize Rook’s failures and would question how effectively they’re leading the team. You likely wouldn’t get any of his companion quests since they’re all quality time things that he likely wouldn’t share with someone he doesn’t like.

I could also see Davrin maybe dying at Weisshaupt since in the game when the first warden demands to kill the archdemon Davrin looks to Rook before letting him through. If his affinity is low enough (which is wild cause if you fucked up with him THAT BAD by this point of the game it’s intentional) he’d ignore them both and do it himself (maybe the first warden would push him away on some “No! My glory!” thing so that Davrin doesn’t die?The option would’ve been nice though). Then he’d leave after Weisshaupt cause he’d feel like he’s wasting his time while his fellows are dying off and he feels that since he failed at killing the archdemon he’s not fulfilling his duty.

Taash I feel would have the least fuss for leaving if they weren’t feeling respected. I think you only fight maybe two dragons (and at the same time) if you stick with the main story. So if Taash didn’t at least stay neutral they’d get bored and bounce.

Now Emmrich? If he leaves due to low affinity and someone calls him back to help get Rook’s dumb ass out of the fade, I think the low affinity dagger he’d make would either break after getting Rook out and would straight up eliminate that being an option during the endgame or the dagger is made but Solas would know that it isn’t real and the option is basically a game over.

Low affinity Harding is kinda tricky. I think if she didn’t like you she’d just be short and factual and go about her business. She would do what she’s told and not much else. The effect maybe wouldn’t be felt until post game cause I’m sure if she survives she would take off to the Kal Sharok herself and not turn back and if she couldn’t calm the Titan’s rage then… Dragon Age 5: Harding fucks all this shit up.

Obvs there would be no Hero of the Veilguard status since you probably wouldn’t be able to even complete a quest line from a low affinity companion. Also faction growth if they left would be hard since each companion is pretty important to their faction.

[dawningwinds-s]

I'm a decentish way through Veilguard (just before Weisshaupt) so idk. Here's a summary of my compabions impressions so far:

- Neve: This woman has the sexiest voice I've ever heard, huge props to the VA. She's also a lot nicer to everyone than I'd've first guessed, I kinda expected similar vibes to Vivienne (who I'm pretty lukewarm on) and have been pleasantly surprised. The cutscene with her bonding with Assan is adorable and the fact that she just gave the skeleton a nickname makes me happy.

- Lace: Lace Harding, the scout of all time. She was fun in DAI and I've loved seeing her get a good of development here. The Stone Song powers are an interesting bit of lore and it's been fun seeing her grow accustomed to that. She's also just really sweet and I like her a lot.

- Bellara: Ngl I think she might be the funniest bitch of all time. "So it's safe?" "No, I just mean... worrying won't help. Whatever happens will be instanteous! :)" (her and Davrin in the crossroads) is probably the thing that stuck with me the most on that front. Her backstory with her brother makes me pretty sad, though, but makes a lot of sense for her character. Also, love a woman who builds stuff.

- Lucanis: Gods I feel so bad about Treviso. This man has had it so rough and I only made it worse. The Spite situation is really interesting and I look forward to seeing how it's resolved, and I've really enjoyed seeing his interactions with the other Crows. He's also surprisingly nice for an assassin, considering we went to the Treviso marketplace and he went out of his way to buy something for everyone else on the team. I also find it kinda funny that he seems to be primarily in charge of the grocery shopping.

- Davrin: He comes with an adorable griffon, what more can I say?

... a bit, actually. I genuinely enjoy his storyline with learning to take of and train Assan, he's understandably having a bit of a tough time considering he has no idea what he's doing but he's really pushing through it and finding his way. The wood-carving hobby is really interesting, I don't think I would've guessed it but I like seeing companions have things they do other than beating up bad guys. The way he connects it to the monster handbook is also interesting-- I do have a lot of respect for him seeing other handbooks and deciding he needed to do it right.

Emmrich - Honestly I would love to take one of his classes. Not only would it be really interesting from a perspective of someone who likes Lore, he genuinely seems like a really good teacher with a lot of patience of his students, and he puts in the effort to individualise the learning experience. Manfred as a teacher's assistant would also be really fun. He's really polite with everyone and seeing how much more formal he is is a really fun contrast. The absolute terror of death that can only be quelled by surrounding himself with the dead also works well with the idea of a necromancer.

Taash - I'll be using they/them for Taash since I'm at a point in the game where their gender isn't entirely clear. They're dealing with it. Taash has such a rough time with their mom, I've never had an overvearing parent like that but it's very believable how they respond. I also really love the "People who've only ever been one thing will never understand how big the world is" line that technically comes from Rook, but it's a really good line and it's a good early bonding moment for them. They're also a just little stupid I think (there's a couple Lighthouse interactions ypu can listen in on that exemplify this), but they've got big muscles and breathe fire so they'll be fine.

Bonus round

Assan - BABY. I love this little griffon. He's really clever and full of mischief and I can hug him whenever I want. Perfect character.

Manfred - For some reason my brain keeps thinking his name is Martin. That aside, he's such a silly little fella. He's a spirit of curiosity. He picked his own skull. He loves to make tea. He'll get in a fight with a griffon only to team up to beg for treats. I don't even know if he can eat. I doubt he knows if he can eat. He's got goofy glasses. You can play rock paper scissors with him. Icon.

[alpaca-clouds]

Things I will once more do: Overthinking magical stuff in a fantasy title scientifically. Right now featuring the question: "So, how does sleep work for Spite and Lucanis from a biological perspective?"

I know it is silly, so please, if you want to tell me that in the comments: Please spare your virtual breath. For everyone else though: Feel free to indulge me.

Also warning: Mild spoilers for Veilguard. Obviously.

I am not a biologist, let alone a human biologist. However, I know enough to be able to understand that sleep is important for both brain and body. While the research onto the exact biological aspects of sleep is still ongoing, we generally know that while we are awake certain chemicals build up in our brain and nervous system, and only can get flushed once we sleep. Because of that sleep generally improves neurological functioning, attention, and especially visual perception. We also do know that certain chemicals can build up in muscles and organs while awake, and will be flushed during sleep, just as certain wounds will heal better during sleep. (Though do not ask me on details there.)

Lucanis, obviously, does not try to sleep, because when his mind sleeps, Spite can take over. And ideally the hope for the poor guy is, that by the time you finished his companion quest and he has an agreement with Spite, he will be able to sleep more easily, because at the very least Spite is no longer a danger.

However, I cannot help but wonder: How exactly does Spite's control of the body work in regards to the biology of sleep?

The wiki tells me, that in regards to spirits and demons, they usually do not have a physical body - though I will at this point not ask too many questions how it works with the manefested spirits at the Fade tears, given that poking them with swords does seem to kill them. But... No, I am not going to that level of overthinking. No, no, no.

But Spite... Spite is right now very much bound to the physical body of Lucanis, which kinda gives this a little problem: Does the body ever really get to sleep?

Because if Spite takes over, once Lucanis sleeps... Well, we know at least that the entire physical stuff is then still in use. The muscles do not get that full rest they need. When it comes to the nervous system, we do not quite know. Because, yes, spirits in this world can think without a body. So I am not fully clear on whether or not Spite, now that he is bound into a human body, uses that body's nervous system to think and have emotions - or if his thinking works still on a sort of non-physical, paranormal level. Because if he uses the nervous system, that is not gonna be healthy.

We know the body needs the physical rest. But we know the nervous system does need it even more.

So, either Spite does just not use the nervous system for that - or they will have to agree to having a couple of hours a day, where both of them sleep. Because otherwise... Well, again, we do not quite know what "not sleeping" does on the long run. But there are definitely some hints that it migth be a possible cause for dimentia and certain mental health issues.

Again: I get I am overthinking a fun fantasy concept. But you know what? I kinda love overthinking this kinda stuff. xD

[thegeminisage]

okay liz i have a fic question. what was zara tempting lucanis with? sex? is that it? maybe this is simply the fact that i am ace, but i don’t understand why she thinks that would work

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION firstly dw you're in good company i'm ace lucanis is ace everybody can be ace here. secondly ty for asking about my fic bc i love to talk about it. ok, i'm putting the answer behind the cut because 1. it's long (sorry, i wrote it late at night, you are not obligated to read it all) but also 2. for anyone who doesn't know, i'm discussing the sexual assault from ch6 of "the ossuary." my answer isn't at all graphic or anything but please consider this your content warning.

okay, so, short answer: yes, zara was more or less tempting lucanis with sex. it's a honey-or-vinegar, carrot-or-stick kinda sitch - since beating lucanis with a stick for almost a year has gotten her exactly nowhere, she, ON A VERY SURFACE LEVEL, has decided to try offering him pleasure instead of pain in order to get what she wants, which is for he and spite to turn into a monster that fights for her. what's actually happening here is that temptation doesn't really factor in at all; she wants to assert power over him and simply sees sex as the most appealing way to do it.

long answer w/ author analysis (sorry again): zara actually appeared in "the wigmaker job," a novella set in the dragon age series that takes place before the events of the game and also before the events of my fic, and that is where most of her characterization comes from. in the game, she's a bit of a generic villain. in the book, however, even though we only get her for a few short paragraphs, we get to learn a LOT about her.

first and foremost: zara is vain. in the game, your party confronts her while she is bathing naked in blood. she does the whole fight naked (covered in blood from the shoulders down to appease the censorship gods), and the longer the fight goes on, the more old and haggard she begins to look; she makes herself beautiful with blood magic. in the book, we see her do this: she stands naked in front of a huge mirror, with multiple slaves standing around her, ALSO holding mirrors, so we can see herself from every angle with no blind spots. the instant she finds a stretch mark, she has one of the slaves prick their own hand open and bleed on it, so she can use blood magic to make it go away. she is interrupted during this ritual with new of lucanis's exploits (more on this in a sec) and doesn't care; she's so vain that she enjoys that these people can stare at her body. she's so vain that every slave and servant in her house must also be beautiful; the book says none of them look "a day over thirty-five." there is nothing this woman loves so much as her own appearance.

the second thing to know about zara is that she is obsessed with lucanis and has been since she first heard about what he did. in the book, lucanis manages to kill some forty venatori (blood mage cultists) in a single evening by setting demons loose on a party they're having - but before he does that, he frees the slaves to get them out of danger. zara is impressed by his skill in killing, but she's also gleefully looking forward to exploiting such an obvious sign of weakness: his heart. zara wanted to turn lucanis into her own personal attack dog from the moment she knew his name. that being said, the entire time she talks about exploiting his weaknesses and punishing him for killing venatori, she is COMPLETELY NAKED SMIRKING AT HERSELF IN THE MIRROR, while other men blush and try not to stare. there IS a sexual undertone to this budding obsession.

and, of course, there are also hints of her being extremely controlling (of the appearances of the people around her, of her own image, lucanis's behavior, etc) AND of her being very sadistic (happy to bleed her slaves dry, looking forward to exploiting lucanis's weaknesses and punishing him for killing venatori).

the problem, then, arises when lucanis just. doesn't. break. almost a year of torture now and he's still absolutely useless to her. and not only can she not use lucanis as a weapon, neither can she not exploit his weaknesses or punish him the way she wanted (she can hurt him, but it doesn't get the results she's after). zara is getting absolutely nothing she wants, and furthermore, she has just found out from lucanis himself, who had no reason to lie, that she's NEVER going to get what she wants - lucanis couldn't break for her even if he wanted to because it so thoroughly goes against spite's nature to allow her the satisfaction.

when zara approaches lucanis, her real goal is to assert power over him bc she's tired of not having it. but she's not self-aware enough to like...think of it that way? in zara's mind, she is so beautiful that there is no one, NO ONE, who would not jump at the chance to have sex with her,. people who don't like venatori might deny it, but deep down, ANYONE would do whatever it took, whatever she asks, because she's irresistible. she thinks what's going to happen is that she's going to go in there, reveal the trick, seduce him while he's weak and vulnerable, and then, when he gives in, hold it over him and taunt him with it, and later figure out how to use his desire for her as a new tool with which to break him. i don't think she thought it through much beyond that - she's tired of not getting her way, she wants to be desired, she thinks lucanis is hot, she's gonna go fuck him, that'll fix everything. she might not get him and spite to turn into a weapon on the spot, but she's expecting to make progress, AND scratch an itch a year in the making while she's at it.

what she was NOT expecting was for lucanis to 1. be ace and not desire her at all even a little bit 2. call her out on her bullshit. she was expecting him to cave and beg her to fuck him, because hey, she's the most beautiful woman who ever lived, that's what anyone in thedas would do, right? no one has EVER turned her down before, either because they couldn't or didn't want to. but lucanis does. worse, he tells her "i know what this is." it's rape, he knows it's rape, and the point of rape is power. he KNOWS she's frustrated with her inability to force him to do what she wants in any other way except this. furthermore, he also knows she's secretly ugly - he and spite can smell the blood magic holding those good looks together like safety pins and duct tape.

this is the worst possible thing lucanis could do to zara in this moment. not only is he NOT becoming the weapon she tried to turn him into, not only will he NEVER become a weapon, not only has he sensed zara's WEAKNESS (or feeling of weakness, for not being able to force him to do what she wants), he DOESN'T WANT TO FUCK HER. her, zara, the most beautiful woman who ever lived! in one version of this scene, lucanis reading her for filth like that temporarily shocked her into leaving - though she did come back and assault him eventually. in the scene i have as it is, this is why she finally breaks eye contact with him. because even though he's the one strapped to the table, he has just humiliated her. it won't save him - he knows it won't save him - but he is defiant to the last because that defiance is what drew spite to him to begin with.

and so she doubles down: if he won't fuck her by choice, he won't get a choice. she'll make him want her whether he likes it or not. ultimately, though, the whole thing is still very unsatisfying to her: like, yeah, she can force him into a state of arousal and she can force him to finish, but she can't MAKE him WANT her anymore than she can MAKE him turn into a weapon. that's why this is her last scene in this fic, and also my explanation for why she isn't in the prison when your party arrives there during the game. he humiliated her, and she can no longer bear to look him in the eye. in a way, lucanis won, even if it was a pyrrhic victory: she raped him, yes, but aside from sex, she still doesn't get anything she wants.

ironically, this was probably the closest lucanis ever came into finally goading someone in the ossuary into killing him and releasing him from the torture - if zara kills him, no one ever has to know what happened (that someone didn't want to fuck her), and he said himself that he couldn't become the weapon she wants even if he tried. the only reason she threw him back in his cell instead was because she knew he'd find death so much more preferable and wanted to punish him for hurting her.

so, yeah! she was both tempting him with sex and not actually tempting him with anything at all. sorry the explanation got long-winded. i thought about this scene a LOT prior to writing the fic and i adjusted it many times in my outline and after it was down to get it just right. so i have a lot of thoughts about it!

[sigridhawke]

4, 7, 13, 18 for the rook/partner asks!!

Yayayay thankyou! >3c

Ask game here! I’m going ham cause I wanna talk about the boys. Ettore de Riva my boy (nonbinary/male) [1] [2] Stephen Trevelyan (male) belongs to @ur-localkiwi <3 Tash has also added her notes for Steph to help me out with these, thanks bestie <3

4. Do your Rook and their partner share the same faction? If so, does that affect their relationship at all? If not, what is your Rook’s opinion of their partner’s faction? What is the partner’s opinion of Rook’s faction?

Ettore was a Crow years before Steph joined the Veil Jumpers. It affected their relationship much cause they were always long distance and when they met at the Lighthouse it just fell into their natural division of who goes where when hunting the gods/helping the team.

Because he is a Crow, his relationship with Lucanis starts on a pretty good foot even if there is some ‘tension’ between their Houses. If anything it makes them work better together because they have an innate understanding of what is expected of each other. It means they talk a lot about ‘family’ and also butt heads with their different upbringings within their Houses. Ettore can and will get pretty heated about the methods used to train Crows.

Tash:  Steph would only have been with the veil jumpers about 2-3 years before VG. Steph doesn't have an opinion over Ettore being in the crows, he came into his house with a knife he probably thought “oh yes that makes sense” when he learnt he was a crow lol

7. Are they a physically affectionate couple? Are they fine displaying those affections in public or do they prefer to be in private? If they’re not, how do they prefer to show their love instead?

Ettore loves affection and attention and will go out of his way to seek it or give affirmation that he’s still hopelessly in love. Intentional stealing of touches whether it's brushing hands, hand on back, patting on shoulder. One of his favourite games is trying to steal kisses. With Steph it is a greater challenge cause he’s so damn tall. So he has to get a little creative. With Lucanis likes to make a game out of (usually) fights, the winner gets to request 1 thing from the other. Ettore will always pick a kiss if he wins and cashes it in immediately. 

13. What song(s) do you associate with them?

I am not well versed in music associations but for Ettore: Jacky by Marc Almond

The “Cute in a stupid ass way” gets me every time.

18. When all is said and done, where would they like to retire together? Is marriage in the cards for them? Children? Pets?

Ettore has 100% joked/not joked about marrying Steph. Buying a ring, proposing all that jazz in some grand gesture. He would like to eventually. But he also would like both partners to be there too so he’s happy to just kinda wait and see how things work out. He’s optimistic it may happen eventually but it's not a necessity for him to be happy. (Maker knows Teia is on the edge of her seat waiting to say she’s already preplanned half the wedding lmao)

He is also the kind that daydreams of retiring, little cottage, pet cats, pet wyvern, living out his days iwith his partners, growing old, everything just perfect in the world. It’s completely unrealistic and he couldn’t imagine actually retiring from the Crows (not that they would let him) or living long enough to retire, but it's a nice thought to daydream about. He wouldn’t say it out loud but he hopes he outlives his partners so they wouldn’t be sad without him. Especially Steph.

Tash: Steph would like to marry Ettore but has never brought it up purely out of fear that Ettore’s crow work would come first. He's also a bit scared that would mean sharing him with lucanis if the marriage extended to him and steph might explode with jealousy if there was a second husband in the mix (something he probably couldn’t work through this time ripf) 

Tash: Asides from his wisps friends, steph would like to adopt a cat one day.

[himbopunk]

🌹and 🌷 for the ask game!

meant to do this when u sent em oops. ask game in question!

doing hakim for both of these!

🌹 What’s the first genuine fight Rook got in with their love interest about? How was it resolved?

hakim and neve fight a decent amount, their main big early one (at the cusp of their relationship like. being one lmao) was about hakim not being upfront about the fact that he grew up in tevinter as a slave before being a raider + lord of fortune. (i think its kinda like, how the dragons/crows are harsher on you because youre supposed to look out for your people and you left to go help the other. he's not a shadow dragon but it's like, something super important about his life he didn't tell Anyone until the slip up with taash and then on top of that that retroactive feeling of betrayal cuz its like, you of all people then should know what the venatori rising + losing shadow dragons would mean... it's layered.). it kind of fizzles out a bit on its own though cuz thats how hakim and neve's fights usually go, i think? they get to the point they both are yelling or something, one of them realizes what theyre doing or says something stupid and the tension falls apart. theyre both just not great at being upfrot about their feelings so they gotta yell a bit and move on. (they dont usually get like super nasty/personal/etc its just. High Feelings that burn out quick)

hakim and lucanis don't really get into many fights until after the endgame i think bc the stakes finally arent world ending enough that they can let whatever they wanna fight about be an issue. i think. either its about illario or after an encounter with caterina. i think hakim gets super frustrated with the way lucanis can be with her and hes tried to be understanding about it but its like. he's not had any functional/longterm relationships before and seeing someone he cares about struggle w the circumstances of all lucanis' family + crow shit really gets to him. and considering hakim's whole like, live freely by your choices mentality, he just doesnt really get a lot of it. so i think either they argue about some shit lucanis didnt speak up on to caterina more than once despite hakim knowing how he feels, orrr theres also just the whole. mess of hakim having previously had a thing with illario. that ones complicated cuz hakim does Not like illario and thinks hes a piece of shit and lucanis doesnt exactly have a jealous streak but i just feeeeeeel like. whenever it is they finally have a big fight post-endgame some of the illario stuff comes out too on both ends.

i think neve intervenes and talks to them both individually. they both have to take a few days to cool off and then feel really bad about everything and apologize a ton. (probably lucanis goes to bring him food as a peace offering just as hakim is coming to bring him some cute small gift like smth for his knitting or an apron or smth wyvern themed.) this is not the last time this happens ofc but its not very frequent at all.

in general ig all corners of the relationship are rly good at empathizing with the other but neve and hakim will do it like mid-fight and then lose momentum but lucanis and hakim both get blinders on a bit and it takes a couple days to set in and sort things out

🌷If Rook needed to get away from their responsibilities for a moment, where would they go? Where is their safe space outside the Lighthouse?

drew a little smth for this, but hakim likes being on the coast, somewhere he can watch the ships take off from the docks. sometimes he'll find a spot on a rooftop watching the docks in treviso or dock town in minrathous, but there's a lot of little things there that don't quite hit the same as being back in rivain... there's a sweet spot of quiet and busy the air is + the sea smells a certain way. so if he's got access to an eluvian, he'll make his way to the rivain coast (preferably the southern coast or even an island bc thats what he actually prefers but he takes what he can get.)

usually its taash or harding who finds them there first when he needs to get away

[rederiswrites]

Arden Mercar: the Lovers and the Moon?

Yay thank you! Very good selections!

The Lovers: Who is your Rook's most significant relationship within the Veilguard? How do they help Rook feel seen and understood?

At first, of course, it's Varric. Ha. Haha. Varric appreciated the person Arden had chosen to be in a way that none of the older figures in his life did, and that created an easy bond. He was very happy for a while there, working with Varric and Lace, and he made Lace the sister he never had, too.

But ultimately, it's his relationship with Lucanis that becomes an absolutely critical point of contact, of being seen and loved come what may.

I badly need to write about this at greater length and mean to, but at first, Arden thinks that Lucanis's relationship with Caterina was very much like his with his own father, Charon Mercar. Eventually, he understands that there was an element of cruelty and manipulation in Caterina that just isn't there with his dad, but it takes Lucanis a lot longer to see the distinction (certainly not during game canon). They both had harsh childhoods marked by extremely demanding training and study, where parental figures with inflexible expectations molded them into fighters, though for pretty different ends. It's a fairly unusual experience that helps the two of them bond--as well as Taash, in their own way.

Arden and Lucanis are also both just...painfully earnest and sincere about their feelings, when they do show them. Arden shows his very freely, which kinda freaks Lucanis out at first, but Arden is a good enough reader of people that he can course correct and look for ways to make both of them comfortable, and as we know, Lucanis finds ways to show his feelings when he can't say them. And the fact that they care about each other for the people they are, rather than their importance to the fight, is so critical to both of their mental wellbeing.

The Moon: How does Rook's past impact their values? Does their past come with any biases or blind spots they have to account for?

So working, again, from the more or less canon idea that a Mercar Rook is the adopted child of a Tevinter general who is in good standing with the leader of the entire Tevinter military, I imagine that Arden grew up in the upper ranks of Tevinter Soporati culture. Charon Mercar's only mention in canon is in a codex that describes him as a potential ally to Dorian and Maevaris' Lucerni because of his private sympathies for reform. Personally, I imagine him as the kind of guy who's actually quite traditional, but in the way that he really believes in noblesse oblige and the responsibility of the powerful to those in their power and so on. He's a military guy, not a revolutionary, but he believes in treating servants and slaves well, and has nothing but scorn for anyone with Venatori sympathies. But, you know, the kind of guy who thinks that you should work with the system to deal with bad actors, even as the system is clearly rewarding the bad actors.

Arden respected, and still respects, his father, but ultimately diverged with him on the last point. After years of fights, he finally said, I'm out, and went to Minrathous, where he eventually found the Shadow Dragons. It eats at him that his family still has a few slaves, and he knows he's avoiding the issue by freeing the enslaved people of others without truly holding his family to account.

The part he knows a lot less about is what it's like to be poor year after year; what it's like to be free but desperate. He's pretty poor when he's on his own in Minrathous, but you know--also young and able-bodied and only responsible for himself.

[dgcatanisiri]

Have fully assembled the Veilguard, so I'm taking some time to organize some thoughts.

Seriously, OF COURSE Isabela would be leading the Lords of Fortune. It really does not surprise me, despite being surprised by her cameo.

I do like Emmrich more than I was expecting as a first impression, but I don't think I really vibe with him on a romantic level enough to ever really give that a try.

I do kinda regret not romancing Lucanis on this first run, because I do like the Crows. I'll probably roll him a Crow boyfriend next run.

Assan hits me in the heart, considering... Well, losing my dog. So yeah, of course I'm romancing Davrin. Or at least in the process of flirting with him.

I am pleased that there's plenty of opportunity to just not accept Solas's "good intentions." I particularly liked getting to throw the line "spoken like a god" at him.

Oof, choosing between Minrathous and Treviso was emotionally hard. Like I had a solid reasoning with opting to go to Treviso - no standing army, the waterways, as the Prologue showed, Minrathous has defense capabilities that Treviso just doesn't... But oof, it was hard on the heart having Neve take Rook to task for not backing up his city and fellow Shadow Dragons. To say nothing of the aftermath.

I DO need to address something that's really sticking out as a problem for me, and that really is the understandable but still sore point of the fact that the three choices of carryover from Inquisition really are just NOT. ENOUGH.

In universe, I feel like AT LEAST acknowledging WHO Divine Victoria is would be important, and Morrigan drinking from the Well or not really SHOULD be a thing, considering her featuring somewhat AS all this ancient elven knowledge is coming to light. On top of that, going further back to Origins carryover issues, despite how Kieran would surely be old enough at this point to be on his own, you would think that Morrigan would maybe MENTION her son.

And then there's my personal bugbear, in that not just with the cameo of the Inquisitor, but even Harding talking about the members of the Inquisition... By having the game written to assume all the characters possible being part of the Inquisition, this does not feel like a continuation of the game world I've played. I don't recruit Dorian, but he uses a mention of being at Adamant during the battle against Clarel to make the First Warden back down. The Inquisitor then outright refers to him as an ally, even though, again, he's NOT one in my games. Harding shares a story of Sera making Reiner laugh, when neither of them were part of my Inquisition, so she's talking about two people she never met, one of them who never actually HAD his hidden identity revealed, so she shouldn't know him by that name.

Is this being finicky over a relatively small part of the game overall, considering that these are minor lines in minor cameos, or a reference line that impacts nothing in terms of the game proper? Sure, I'll grant that. BUT it still leaves me feeling like... Why do my choices in the prior games matter if this game comes alone and says that they didn't? If they didn't matter, why did that game matter? Which was there a choice in the past?

It's the choice to undermine player choices when they could have worked around them. Like, sure, statistically, they could say that (probably) most players would probably bring in all possible characters, especially when the ones I'm specifically upset about are romance options. But... I mean, that's the same kind of logic that led to Jacob being written to cheat on a Shepard who romanced him - just because "most" players do a thing, it doesn't mean that the players who do something else don't deserve acknowledgement.

And yeah, I do recognize that having any variation options involve the cost of recording and animating any line being spoken, so if something had to have variation cut down in the name of allowing anything else, yes, I do understand this being where it falls, because it's not actually impacting anything of this game specifically. It's just a choice that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, even if I recognize that it has a reason that I DO fully understand.

I can understand WHY a choice was made without agreeing with why it was.

[thessalian]

Molly!Rook vs Toxic Relationships with Cities

Bopping around Minrathous

Molly!Rook: Y'know, for all I'm apparently saving the world now, it's kind of nice that I'm still doing my usual thing about finding ancient temples and stuff.

Neve: Except you're now doing it with a crime syndicate and a Templar.

Molly!Rook: Former Templar. Didn't Rana lose her job because Venatori assholes?

Neve: ...Hadn't had time to think about that.

Molly!Rook: So I know Hal wants to give you free fish and you want to give him money. Could you not, like, say, "Fine, I won't pay for my fish but here's some coin to feed Rana when she comes around"? At least until we can find her a job? One that hopefully doesn't involve her working for assholes?

Neve: I could, but Rana's proud. I'd have to find a way to make it not look like charity from either of us.

Molly!Rook: ...How about "as thanks for being part of rescuing him from being a blood magic marionette"?

Neve: That could work-- waitwut.

Molly!Rook: *points*

Aelia: *as puppeted Hal* Hello, Neve Gallus...

Molly!Rook: As much as I hate this bint, I admit it takes talent to make a full name sound so much like "fuck you".

Neve: ...Aelia.

Molly!Rook: ...though you have her beat by a country mile...

After a long wander through increasing horror

Aelia: Ah, you're here to witness my great triumph, where I get the power I need to save Minrathous like you never could!

Molly!Rook: Um ... lady? All I've 'witnessed' so far was the kind of horror-show that tells me you didn't get enough toys as a child, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what the gods want to actually do.

Neve: Honestly, don't bother. There's only one thing Aelia understands.

Magic Battle: *ensues*

Lucanis: Will you be helping Neve with this?

Molly!Rook: Sort of. Feels like that particular zappy-pushy is the kind of personal I shouldn't interfere with--

Venatori Fighter-Types: *attack*

Molly!Rook: --but that is Aeila cheating. *holds up dagger and orb* So! Shall stabnation ensue?

Lucanis: You always know just what to say.

Stabnation: *ensues*

Sometime later, in Treviso

Molly!Rook: You know, when they said "contact will meet us at the market", they could have just said "contact will meet us at the coffee house"--

The Butcher: Shanedan, Rook.

Molly!Rook: .........Okay, this was not on my bingo card for this meeting.

Lucanis: Being ambushed was not on your ... 'bingo card' for this? But you said--

Molly!Rook: Being ambushed was on my bingo card for this. A chat with the leader of this bunch of Antaam over a cup of coffee? Was not. *to Taash* ...Also, what did he say?

Taash: He said 'hey'. But respectful.

Butcher: I do respect your strength. And your defense of this city. Because I love this city and I don't wish to see it sold by weak humans or blighted by gods!

Molly!Rook: ...but ... correct me if I'm wrong, but ... aren't you a little ... um...?

Taash: Tainted and kinda crazy?

Molly!Rook: I was looking for something diplomatic, but we're running out of time, so yeah, sure, whatever. So what is this meeting for?

Butcher: You need information to save this city. But I can't give it to you without losing my city! But I'm going to lose this city anyway!

Lucanis; Taash: Wut.

Molly!Rook: Lemme think... Okay, which is better? Losing the city to blight and not caring - hell, and being the one who does it? Or losing your city but, if you have to die, dying assured that it'll still be there in all its glory?

Butcher: ...I keep forgetting that some of you bas find your strength in logic. FINE! *flips table; leaves*

Lucanis: ...What just happened?

Molly!Rook: He was fighting the gods' control. He was losing. Losing means giving in to the gods ... but it also means knowing where their ritual is. He's going to drag out being taken over as long as possible so we can beat that out of him, because he knows it's the only way to save Treviso.

Lucanis: So we go after him, yes?

Molly!Rook: Yeah; just needed to give Taash a minute to deal with his entourage.

Taash: *has made a mess of both Antaam guards*

Molly!Rook: ...She doesn't like the Antaam very much right now.

A long chase later

Molly!Rook: Antivans take raving Qunari rampaging through their streets very lightly, y'know. But at least we have a location for the ritual.

Lucanis: Shame he didn't manage to drop the name of the traitor who sold Treviso to the Antaam while he was at it.

Molly!Rook: It's Ivenci.

Lucanis: A jumped-up functionary? You must be joking.

Molly!Rook: No. It's Ivenci. And also ... it's Ivenci. *points up*

Ivenci: *standing on a rooftop with a couple of Qunari* About time you worked it out.

Molly!Rook: I mean, I kind of knew from the first, but didn't want to interrupt in case the Crows were playing a long game, giving you enough rope to hang yourself, all that kind of thing--

Lucanis: ............you may overestimate the intelligence of some of us.

Ivenci: And this is why I will wrest control from this city from the Crows and fix the damage their chaos has caused! *exits*

Taash: Couldn't we have just ... killed them right then?

Molly!Rook: Technically, but we don't know what allies they have or what orders they left, so better to have the Crows' people keep an eye on them so if they start shit, they-- oooooooooooooooooofuck.

Lucanis: I know that look.

Molly!Rook: Remember one of the first things we did after breaking you out of the Ossuary? That ... 'qamekmaster' jackass?

Taash: Wait. They were making qamek?!? Ugh; of course they fucking were. Assholes.

Molly!Rook: And I found a note that said that some of it went missing?

Lucanis: And this is why I defend your habit of looting everything not red-hot or nailed to the floor.

Taash: Wait. People give them shit for that? That's, like, standard.

Lucanis: Some of us get paid outright for our labours, rather than working for promises of gold and glory that might not pan out.

Molly!Rook: Guys? This is great cultural and social stuff and I'm happy to have it happen over coffee, but it won't if we let Ivenci poison half the city.

Lucanis: Right. Yes. Of course.

Some while after that, in Ivenci's courtyard, in the middle of a fight going differently than Ivenci expected

Ivenci: Why aren't you more affected by the qamek?!?

Molly!Rook: Veil Jumper. Mage. Seeing weird shit is kind of my day-to-day.

Taash: Fire-breather. Probably makes me pretty resistant.

Lucanis: Demon. Also trained to withstand most tortures, including drugs and poisons.

Molly!Rook; Taash; Lucanis: Also we live in the fucking Fade.

Ivenci: Fine. Kill me. Whatever. At least I won't have to see what you idiots do to this city anymore--

Jacobus: Nope. You're going on trial. Everyone's going to know what you did and what you tried. And you get to live with that as long as the common people will let you.

Ivenci: No!

Molly!Rook: Oooh, I like this plan. Oh! Hey! What if one of the punishments included seizure of their assets? I mean, the Crows deserve restitution for all the Crows who suffered from all this. Especially you, Jacobus, who lost a whole family to this nugshit.

Jacobus: Well ... I was thinking of starting a House of my own, when I graduate from fledgling. For the orphans who don't have one. I guess I'd need coin for that. ...If they let me, anyway.

Molly!Rook: Well, you could ask the First Talon... *gestures at Lucanis, Will Smith-style*

Lucanis: Finally, something about the job I will enjoy.

Later, at the Cobbled Swan with Morrigan

Morrigan: The Inquisitor is dealing with a few matters in the south and will join you as soon as possible. What news from your team, and your allies?

Molly!Rook: So, yeah, summary is that everyone's as ready as they can get. Personal business handled on the team, everything our alies were struggling with now tidied up so they can commit to the cause, and we have a location. Also apparently we need an eclipse, so we've got a couple of weeks to prep--

Citizens of Minrathous: *start kind of panicking*

Sky Outside: *gets really dark*

Molly!Rook: ...oh no no no. No he did not. No fucking way.

Molly!Rook; Morrigan: *run outside*

Eclipse: *is happening*

Molly!Rook: ...Well ... shit.

[miriani-lavellan]

Crap DA4 Speculation

Because I’d like to shout into the empty auditorium, innit

Locations

I think we’re going to see more urban locations, and very few wilderness locations.  The ones in DA3 were beautiful, and I loved exploring them, but they did at times feel empty.  I feel like I’ve seen clues indicating they want to go the other direction for DA4.

My second crap prediction is that we’ll see Nevarra (at least the Grand Necropolis), Antiva City, Minrathous, Kal Sharok and Weisshaupt Fortress - I’ll honestly eat my hat if we don’t see Antiva City.  I suspect the maps won’t be huge, whole city maps, but sections dedicated to certain quests.

Sorta think either (or both?) Minrathous and Antiva City will have commerce hubs where we can buy/sell items.  

I’m also thinking we’ll see a few other locations - perhaps other Grey Warden sites, Elven ruins, parts of the in-betweenish Fade/Mundane locations and wilderness areas that serve a very specific plot quest.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we briefly make a jaunt in the Arlathan Forest, but I don’t think we’ll see anything as open or expansive as the DA3 maps.

I was expecting that we’d be visiting the Horror of Hormak-esque locations, but I have my doubts they’ll make us do all eleven as there were indicated to be??  Unless they’re vastly varied somehow doing the same thing eleven times doesn’t seem amazing in terms of gameplay.

I don’t think we’ll be seeing Ferelden, Orlais or the Marcher cities at all.  We explored the south pretty well in previous games.  

I’m excited to see what player hub we get.  Jackdaw on Youtube suggests by way of Isabela being in the concept art (it seems!) that we might get a ship, which I think sounds amazing.  A mobile hub would be novel, and would make sense if we’re going to be moving around the north coast and up the Minanter River with a small band of companions.  Technically, I feel like it might be tricky to pull off though?  But I’m not a game dev so wtf do I know.

Companions 

In DAO and DA2, not counting temporary members and DLC, we got 2 of each class.  In DAI, we got three.  As much as I would love 3 of each again, I think with this game they’ll focus on being a tighter experience.  I’m expecting to see 2 of each class again, so 2 mages, 2 warriors, 2 rogues.  Although I’ve speculated more here.

A Crow - Again, I will consume my chapeau if we don’t get a Crow companion.  Lucanis (who I keep wanting to call Luciano) Dellamorte seems like a perfectly set up companion - a killer with a conscience who has a choice ahead of him about whether he’ll accept his position as his grandmother’s heir.

A Lord of Fortune - Be shocked ‘n’ amazed if they introduced that new faction and don’t give us a pal and a friend from it.  Hollix is fun speculation, but I think it’s just as likely to be a stranger.  I very much like the idea of Isabela having ties to them, considering her job these days.

Harley Qun - Or someone with a similar background.  We got someone Ben Hassrath last time but I’m not sure that’s a reason they won’t give us another. The ol’ BH were were noticeably absent from the table in Dread Wolf Rises - but other stories seem to hint they’re keeping their finger on the pulse.  Hopefully a character who can give us a more nuanced and sympathetic view of the Qun.  

A Mortalitasi Mage or Dead Boi - Now I saw that concept art that LOOKED like a skeleton boi (his posture even looks shuffling, and in that underwater picture? that doesn’t seem like a mask).  They’ve given us “dead” companions before in Justice and Cole - spirits that have attached themselves to a host.  From the start they’ve set up the ‘spirits are people’ thing and let us see them as more complex.  With everything going on with Solas, it would be mad interesting to have a spirit willing to stand against him.  

A Tevinter Mage - I would love to see Feynriel again - I’m d e s p e r a t e to have a Dreamer in the fight against Solas.  He can be made Tranquil in DA2, but not killed, and as we know from DA3 there is now a perhaps more widely known way to cure tranquility.  I think it’s more likely to be Maevaris Tilani though, considering her political ties and her experience with these eldritch monsters we’re seeing, or someone else we haven’t met yet.

A Dalish Elf - Seems like a given, considering who we’re up against initially.  Who better to understand the dangers of Fen’Harel?  I suspect there’ll be secrets to uncover in the Arlathan Forest, and we’ll need a guide innit.  Irelin and Strife seem like fun options.

A Kal-Sharok Dwarf - Kinda loosely basing this on the ‘Bellara’ glimpse of voice acting we got, as well as the whole Titan thing.  Like with the Wardens, we’ll need someone who knows (as far as they can) what they’re talking about.  

A Grey Warden - A real one, this time.  We got a brief glimpse of Davrin’s voice actor - I would love it to be him.  Either way, with the fact that the real enemy is not Solas but the Blight, which we learned a huge amount about in the recent game and comics - I think it would be odd not to try and get a Warden onside. 

Plot Points

There seems to be three ‘big things’ coming up: 1) the Qunari invasion of Antiva, 2) Solas, the Fade plan and more ancient Elvhen bullshit and 3) The Blight. 

I don’t actually expect there to be a Blight starting, but the Blight really is the true enemy in Thedas.  I’m not sure whether we’ll have any real influence on the actions of the Qunari, but I do expect we’ll have a pivotal role in stopping Solas, including his ultimate fate.

I also expect we’ll learn Extremely Important things about the nature of the Blight.  Tempted to say we’ll even discover it’s true origin and source, and perhaps even a cure.  There’s been lots of hints about blood magic and the Blight in the form of Isseya (Last Flight) cleansing the Griffon eggs of Blight (by transferring it to herself, although she didn’t feel any different), Merrill cleansing the Eluvian via the ol’ sanguine treatment and the work of Avernus in DAO.  Our Warden, if they live, also goes after a treatment for the Calling.

I expect it to tie in the the ancient Elvhen nonsense (everything is elves) and have visiting ruins or uncovering that lore the vector for learning some sweet sweet key world saving knowledge.

Also - the folks across the sea.  The Executor is such a tantalising lil clue, and we did have one in DAI with the chalk markings etc.  I’m thinking we might meet them, for the first time.

Ultimately, my Big Theory is that there’s one more game after this (EA and shareholders allowing, I guess), centred on the 6th Blight.  It’s a return to the origin (heh) of the series, only this time, we’ll have the tools to end it altogether.  I don’t see this game as being the one to round off the series like that.

Anyway thanks for joining me on this episode of crap speculation!  I apologise fully.