#the rooks have returned

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Alexei Kondratievich Savrasov (Russian, 1830-1897) The Rooks Have Returned, 1871 Tretyakov Gallery

[egoschwank]

al things considered — when i post my masterpiece #1360

first posted in facebook november 8, 2024

alexei savrasov -- "the rooks have returned" (1871)

"nature is always breathing, always singing, and the song it sings is full of majesty. contemplating nature is the highest pleasure" … alexei savrasov

"the rooks were sailing about the cathedral towers; and the towers themselves, overlooking many a long unaltered mile of the rich country and its pleasant streams, were cutting the bright morning air, as if there were no such thing as change on earth. yet the bells, when they sounded, told me sorrowfully of change in everything" … david copperfield

"[this] charming painting itself is known to every russian schoolchild" … vladimir petrov

"this sad message of 'change' is finally dawning on every american citizen" … al janik

[emopulco]

in neve’s words: they’re incurable saps

[hellamorte]

do you ever think about how lucanis keeps losing and losing and losing — his entire life? losing his parents, losing his childhood because of the crow training, losing his freedom, his sleep, and one year of his life due to imprisonment. then the maker smiles upon him, and he's discovering something good (rook, the veilguard team, purpose), acquiring something back (his family, his life, his freedom, his job, his city), finding some peace in mundane things (coffee, cooking, taking care of others). it feels like the scales are finally moving, balancing — only for him to lose again. he loses caterina, he can lose his city to blight, he loses at weisshaupt, he loses grip on himself (thanks to spite), he loses control — he loses himself, piece by piece. rook can help lighten the load on his chest (thanks to spite), he gets caterina back, and breathing feels a little bit easier. but loss is not done with him. he loses illario, and it feels like losing a limb, a large piece of himself violently torn away. he's visibly shaken, but no one truly knows what it takes to string the assorted pieces of himself together and keep functioning. and then loss deals what seems like the final blow: some of his friends are dead or lost, and rook is gone, too. he failed; he only knows death, doesn't he? life only takes, and takes, and takes, giving only to tease and take it back. at that moment, he's falling apart completely — until they find rook, and there's a sliver of hope once again. the scales are moving, the team wins, they eventually go back to their lives — and that's when he realizes that the final blow is the life as the first talon.

[agentark]

do you ever think about how in the literal very first scene with Rebecca, we learn that Unit Bravo had no idea she even had a kid

she chose UB and The Agency over the detective so consistently, so frequently, that her team didn't even consider that she had some kind of life outside of them, with someone waiting for her at home

[pinkwarden]

thinkin' about Spite being, true to form, spiteful about Lucanis neglecting their deal in ways that are petty and stupid. He takes over for the night? Consider:

Lucanis' favorite cup goes missing bc Spite hid it

His grocery lists have items randomly redacted

All of Lucanis' similarly sized daggers are suddenly crammed into the wrong sheathes. Thanks Spite :)

Of the spices he uses most, Spite picks one and dumps out just enough that Lucanis will come up short next time he needs it

He reorganizes the pantry by color instead of whatever the fuck system Lucanis and Bellara painstakingly decided on

He carves those geometric lines from the logbook into the dining room table with Lucanis' most expensive knife

Spite takes a piece of bread from the kitchen to eat in their cot bc Lucanis thinks eating in bed is gross and he'll know Spite did it when he sees the crumbs

Maybe he goes after Davrin once or twice with pebbles meant for his shoes, but it never works out bc while Spite’s piloting the body of a Crow, he doesn’t quite know how to use it like one

[flowersforthemachines]

Rookanis angst, anyone? (✿◠‿◠)

[mrsrookhunt]

Rook: Look at that splendidly ornate comb! Ahh! Magnifiqué! Trés, trés bien!! I--

Exhausted!Yuu: Oh my god, here we go again. Another TED talk today? You've already given 7.

Rook:..I beg your pardon?

Exhausted!Yuu: Everytime you open your mouth I get the urge to say, 'welcome to the comedy club!'.

Rook: Excuse-moi--

Exhausted!Yuu: I'm sorry but be glad you're not part of my world because there's a role in a show 25 years ago that's calling your name. I hope you like being Phoebe Buffay's ex, because you've been doing some damn good impressions since I got here.

Rook:...

Exhausted!Yuu: That's what I thought.

[vaguely-concerned]

I just *clenches fist with tears in my eyes* love the grand necropolis so much

[tiredassmage]

Theodore de Riva

[midnightwind]

gods, do I try to dig up any info on the city of Salle in Antiva or do I just make up a bunch of shit and hope no one else tries to fact check me

[rahabs]

Well, on the upside, Veilguard’s absolutely horrid writing and utter lack of meaningful roleplay mechanics made me appreciate Inquisition’s already watered-down writing and roleplay mechanics.

[cybershock24601]

Rook does in fact have a mabari, it's just that Rook is a member of the Mourn Watch so her mabari is bones and seeing how everyone is reacting to Manfred, the absolute sweetheart, she just decided to leave her bone dog at home until she brings it back to the lighthouse one day and most everyone gets real freaked out by how she spoils and babies the creepy skeleton dog.

[tuxedo-rabbit]

My thoughts:

Combat reminds me of playing da2 on console. I don't hate it, but after playing so many crpgs its going to take some adjustment.

Rook seems to talk a lot without player input. As long as Rook has more personality this isnt necessarily a bad thing. I liked when they did this with Hawke bc of how much personality they had, the inquisitor on the other hand was done very blandly. We'll see how they do with Rook.

Having the ritual take place at the beginning is very cool. I like that its bc we distracted Solas that the Gods are released. Oops! I know why they used Varric, but I think a lot of people are going to think it feels weird for their Inquisitor to not be there for this moment. They're going to need to invent a strong reason why they were absent.

Despite how much I liked what I saw, the gameplay reveal has tempered my hype a little bit. It reminded me direction Bioware has been taking the series gameplay wise is the opposite direction of the type of games i like now. Regardless, as long as the story and characters are strong I'm sure I'll play the hell out of this game.

[jangmi-latte]

i can't get over rollo's ssr fuck.

[crow-of-paradise]

Blooms in Lavendel