#which they do but it's not flirting they're antivans

[rin-hanarin]

He's got that irresistible Mysterious Italian Attachment Style(c) with social awkwardness sprinkled on top.

[hyperions-light]

That'll Get You Killed: Harding and Neve in the Ossuary

Second post in a series about the Ossuary. Read this one first.

Harding's Room

Rook enters the second occupied room, which has Harding. You can see her plants overflowing into the prison, as well as her books, chair and sleeping bag. Harding's notes are:

Which all center around the fear that he will be unable to contain Spite, and that his friends will be hurt as a result. Interestingly, the third one also indicates that he doesn't want Spite to be hurt, either. When you speak to Harding, she has some very fascinating dialogue:

Don't worry Rook. I've got my eye on the prisoner.

and then

Rook, are you sure Spite isn't tricking you? What if there's no Lucanis- just the demon?

Lucanis is afraid that his friends still see him as his captors did; a dangerous thing to be contained-- and, moreover, he's afraid they're right. That maybe there is none of him left, after the Ossuary; that all there is is Spite.

Rook refutes this idea directly, saying Lucanis is not a demon. Harding then says:

Look around. This isn't the mind of a human being, let alone an Antivan Crow.

Lucanis is afraid that he is too broken by his experience to be useful, or even to be human anymore (this fucks me up guys... brb crying). Rook can refute this by affirming that Lucanis is still himself, even after what happened; that everyone has mental scars, and that it is Lucanis' choices which define him; or that the state of Lucanis' mind is irrelevant, and that Rook is trusting him to save the world. For the first two Harding will warn Rook that their attitude could get them killed. For all of them, she warns them to be careful and disappears.

Neve's Room

Neve's room is based on the one where you fought Calivan originally, signalling her place as one of the two biggest obstacles to Lucanis leaving the Ossuary. Her notes are on her desk (behind Rook when you enter), on the clue board behind her, and near the exit in a pile of books. They say:

All of this text surrounds Lucanis' fear that he's out of control, that he's become a monster that can't help anyone; that he's completely lost himself (this fr almost made me cry ;-; the fear and pain and helplessness here is staggering ;;;;-;;;;). When you talk to Neve, she asks if Rook should be there, since it's dangerous. The following description of Neve by Spite is the only difference I can find between the romanced/non-romanced versions of this quest (besides flirt dialogue); he'll say something different if the Nevecanis romance is active, but essentially he identifies Neve as someone strange/new but intriguing. Neve then says:

You know how he is, Rook. Even if you open the door, Lucanis won't walk through it. This is where he wants to be.

Reflecting his fear that even if people try to help him, he won't be able to accept it; that in some way he is doing this to himself, and that he'll choose it over something better. Rook and the others HAVE reached out to him before this; they have offered their help sincerely, and he has rejected it because he was ignoring his own suffering, and because he's afraid he's incapable of accepting it. Neve says this because she has been one of the most kind, and still, Lucanis has refused her help, to this point.

Rook has a choice here where they can say either that Lucanis always has options that they are here to show him, that they are not going anywhere until they help, or that Lucanis is losing himself in masks, and Rook can handle the real him. Neve then says:

You really think you can help him? You're such a sap, Rook.

Which is Lucanis reflecting the fear that he is not actually worth helping, and that the people around him are wasting their time trying to do so. Rook then says she needs to let them try, and Neve disappears.

We've again hit the limit of how long I'm willing to stretch dashes, so the (hopefully) final post will be here.

[justjasper]

Trick or Treat! Adoribull :3

It's boring an awful lot of the time, and that's the only issue Dorian has with his work. It's not that he minds pouring over tomes, making sheet after sheet of notes, interpreting tricky dead dialects – Maker knows it's important work, but what he wouldn't do for some excitement once in a while. A fire, a cursed books, even a rogue raven would do to liven up the day sometimes. This important work has been so frustratingly slow of late, making no real progress to show to the Inquisitor. She's understanding, but he can feel the weight of expectation, and every day he doesn't have something helpful is another day of useless stalling in their quest to defeat Corypheus.

A familiar sound greets him, sending a little thrill through him. He keeps looking at his text and not at the place where the Bull will appear in just a moment, the sound of his deliberate footfalls on the stairs. More and more he's been making his way here during the day, giving Dorian a welcome reprieve from tedium and a chance for a spirited debate, a good laugh, and perhaps a little flirt.

“Hey,” the Bull says, must be settled against the bookcase. Dorian finishes writing his note, a few last words before he looks up.

“Come to be a nuisance?” he says without heat. The Bull's shoulders huff in a laugh, and he tosses a small box to Dorian.

“Sure.”

The box – which he caught one handed and the Bull definitely noticed – is plum purple with gold edges, about the size and shape of a decent book, and rattles slightly.

“Chocolates? You think this'll get me into your bed faster?”

“Worth a shot.”

“Well, it entirely depends on what kind of chocolate it is.”

He opens the box to reveal beautiful, delicate chocolates – Antivan, quite obviously.

“They're liqueurs,” the Bull says. “Thought you'd like them.”

Dorian picks one at random and pops it into his mouth.

“Filched them off lady Josephine, did you?”

“She was gonna keep them, but she owed me a favour. Thought it'd make the research a little nicer.”

“Mm, they are good.” Dorian proffers the box to the Bull. “But the last time I ate an entire box of chocolates to myself I deeply regretted it.”

“You could just save them, make them last.”

“Ah, but they're always there, tempting me.” He shakes the box again, so the Bull comes closer to pick one out, and eats it in two surprisingly delicate bites. He licks his lips free of a trace of caramel and Dorian tries not to consider it temptation.

— — —

🧡 Prompt Me 💜 Read More

[carabas]

Dragon Age Veilguard liveblogging -

Kind of genuinely love the Treviso chantry's aesthetic which is just: toss in everything with wings on it regardless of religious significance. Grey Warden shields hanging on the walls. Rows of pews facing a giant crowperson statue, is this Andraste's fursona?

And I do not know why an Antivan chantry would have owls and skeletons all over the confessional booth like some kind of tribute to Falon'din but I'm into it, I want my elven Mourn Watcher Rook to somehow steal this look.

Back to Arlathan - the Forgotten Ones! Actually appearing in this game! Not even just in flashbacks or ominous codex hints! And this note - "There's something wrong about this place. The air feels heavy, and I feel wrong. Achy, almost like I'm about to be sick, but in my mind, too. I can't describe it."

With those two mysterious circles we found earlier, the first codex associated them with the Forgotten Ones but the codex writer seemed doubtful about that, didn't think they were artifacts from Elvhenan at all - but that "air feels heavy" note near Anaris sure does fit in with the circle codex entries. "The air felt greasy, like we were pushing through it." "There's a difference between 'evil' and wrong.' And these things are wrong." Anaris doesn't sound like the voice we heard through the circle, but he's not the only Forgotten One - oh, hold up, now that I'm looking at the image in the codex

...the markings on that inner ring and only the inner ring are a match for the circle we found in the Crossroads. (I didn't get a close look at the other one before it disappeared.)

So they're a set of concentric circles that fit together? What happens when they're all together?

Is this. is this made of iron. is this an iron bull.

Seventy-three hours into playing this game, Rook has finally officially started a romance. Not committed to one, as the game dialogue was careful to inform me! Just started one. Officially flirting. Seventy-three hours in. I was genuinely starting to think Lucanis's romance was bugged or I'd somehow missed my window, Rook's out here playing matchmaker for Lace and Taash while he himself is just hopelessly pining.

Side note, I just now noticed Spite has his own cup next to his bed! Aww, Spite gets to have something of his own. Or at least Lucanis has a cup in Spite's color.

And meanwhile Lucanis is leaving the empty plain brown mugs piling up on the floor. Everyone here is doing great.

[heroofshield]

hello, hero! for anna ryder and rose cousland, could i know these: 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 21, 23, 25!!

Anna Ryder

4) What color or colors do you most associate with your OC?

Maroon, Amber, Blue, Purple

5) Any animals you most associate with your OC?

Not really. Anna isn't much of a pet person, Alliance life didn't really allow for one and even before that her parents were too busy to take care of a pet plus twins. In Andromeda Scott gets a pyjack and Anna finds it somewhat cute.

6) Any flowers you associate with your OC?

Queen Anne's Lace, Daffodils, Dandelions

7) Does your OC have a favorite and least favorite food?

Anna doesn't care for winter squashes, she doesn't like the texture. Her favorite is anything noodles, easy to carry in a bowl/eat while trying to catch up on reports/etc

11) What actor or voice actor do you see best playing as your OC?

I haven't really given this much thought for Anna only because I mainly use her CC when getting fanart created. That being said, I could see Agam Darshi being a faceclaim for Anna.

21) Any embarrassing secrets your OC demands you take to the grave but you will share anyway?

Her first time snowboarding, she had a hard time finding her balance and went ass over teakettle right in front of a girl she was crushing on. Face full of powder, Anna managed to get up without too much trouble but that ended up having the girl ask if she was alright and Anna managing to flirt (somewhat) successfully with her. They ended up going out on a few dates so it worked out in the end.

Then when the Tempest first landed on Aya she was so excited to explore that she tripped over her own feet and nearly ate grass. But she managed to right herself and endured the jokes from the crew, brushing it off with a crack of her own.

23) Is your OC religious and what religion? If it’s a fictional religion for your story please give a summary of the core teachings of their faith?

Not really. Alec and Ellen weren't super religious, their mom more because of her science background and Alec just because, so they never really encouraged it with Scott and Anna. They did try to teach them to be nice but firm, to stand up for what was wrong but also be kind, and to help those in need though.

25) The name you chose for your OC, why did you chose it?

I wanted something that I could shorten, that Anna would only be called when she was in trouble (which ended up being A Lot). At the time I was reading War Storm by Victoria Aveyard where one of the characters has the nickname 'Nanabel' and that stuck with me so I decided to go in that direction and came up with Annabel, eventually deciding that she had a vague US Southern/Hispanic background.

Rose Cousland

4) What color or colors do you most associate with your OC?

Black, Silver, Dark Blue

5) Any animals you most associate with your OC?

Her mabari Griffins. She's had Griffins since he was a puppy and wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't in her life. She dares anyone to tell her that she can't have a Marbari in the castle.

6) Any flowers you associate with your OC?

Roses obliviously :P but also sunflowers and snow drops.

7) Does your OC have a favorite and least favorite food?

Rose is a fan of bread, especially if it's fresh from the oven. Also once Zevran introduces her to Antivan dishes, she's a big fan of the spices. Doesn't really care for "travel rations" (aka hardtack & cheese) but knows that when they're on the road there's not much choice.

11) What actor or voice actor do you see best playing as your OC?

I've fancasted Gemma Arterton as Rose, specifically from Hansel & Gretel: Witchhunters because she had the vibe I was looking for in the movie (but with redder hair).

21) Any embarrassing secrets your OC demands you take to the grave but you will share anyway?

Rose is somewhat afraid of the dark, she needs a candle burning in her room once the sun starts setting and can't fall asleep if it's completely dark.

23) Is your OC religious and what religion? If it’s a fictional religion for your story please give a summary of the core teachings of their faith?

Rose had to sit through Chantry services while at Highever, it was expected of her as the Teryn's daughter, and only loosely followed the teachings of the church. Then Highever got razed and she turned her back on Andraste and the Chantry, angry and confused at how she could let that happen since her parents had been devout followers of Andraste. She doesn't belittle Leliana for her beliefs, but at the same time she doesn't try to go back to the Chantry and the Maker.

Once she becomes Queen, Rose knows that she has to at least attend one service a week, but at the same time she tries to find an excuse not to go if she can help it.

25) The name you chose for your OC, why did you chose it?

This was before I fully fleshed out my Cousland Warden and wanted to just jump into the game. A friend on here had been talking about Titanic/Doctor Who and Rose so that was at the forefront of my mind so I went with that.