#works for both lucanis and rook

[royalich]

Lace, possessed and speaking directly to Rook: You took everything from us, and you thought you won. But we're still here. We will endure. In spite of you.

Lucanis: 😌🙂‍↕️😌🙂‍↕️

Spite, from behind Lucanis' eye: 😂😈👹

Rook: 😐🫥😶‍🌫️

Solas, from behind Rooks eye: ✌️🙂😔

[thismission]

two of the sexiest lines in this game fr

[vaguely-concerned]

can you even imagine what a fucking horror show the early game is from spite's perspective, though. not only is this funky forcibly severed little slip of the fade having to deal with the reverse cosmic horror of physical reality as perceived by a spirit and being trapped in it against its will -- existentially confused and disoriented and hurting and nothing makes any kind of sense, at the mercy of human cruelty at its most deliberately sadistic. and then the one source of comfort and compassion and some kind of safety and clarity that lucanis surely must have been to him in the ossuary despite everything just goes and shuts himself in his room inside with a seemingly passive aggressive number of locks between them and no explanation and won't speak to him and they're STILL in the fucking ossuary. rook came and found them and they could be free now (rook is here!) and still lucanis keeps them in the ossuary even though he PROMISED he promised they'd get out of there together!!! what the fuck DO you think at that point? like did he trick me that whole time??? he wasn't like zara before, so why is he doing this to me now? why isn't he saying anything? 'he won't move. I can't reach him'. at least in the ossuary they had a deal, a goal, a hope -- each other. at least he wasn't entirely alone, before.

this poor poor poor little spite spirit really was ferried into the real world like 'hey welcome to reality! as your first introduction to it you're first getting horrifically tortured and then getting to vicariously experience one of THE most distressing and harrowing psychological conditions the human brain can cook up for itself (a fully fledged and deeply entrenched freeze response flaring up with catastrophic severity due to an unbroken ongoing and unlikely to let up any time soon chain of Unfortunately... Recent Events). I think spite is being extremely reasonable and patient about the whole thing, when you put it into perspective. I'm not saying let him eat the self-lighting candles or anything, but he's got some extremely valid points along the way lol. spite is not only child-like, the metaphor work going on is a lot more pleasingly flexible and complex than that, but he is also helplessly existentially dependent on lucanis in a way that, if anything, is a heightened version of the way a child (or child part) has to depend on a parent to navigate the world and survive.

tl;dr: we truly don't give enough sympathy to spite for having to live in the head of lucanis dellamorte. a place even lucanis dellamorte would prefer not to be. to be fair to him I think lucanis would be the first person to agree with this lol

[rsenak]

first kiss

[thanatologie]

holds my rarepairs so close.

[20genderchild]

I haven't had enough first kisses to say. There's just never been, well...

[crows-of-buckets]

Unique brand of Rookanis where they kinda cancel out each other's problems

[barufisher]

i really like a lot of the banter in veilguard, it's one of the few times the companions can actually exchange some verbal jabs especially at the start of the game. i've said repeatedly that this game is lacking friction and i stand by that ☝️ i think the problem isn't that they all automatically get along, some of them don't at all in the beginning-- Davrin and Lucanis i think are the most obvious, and Taash and Emmrich as well-- but the thing is. Rook just speaks their therapy-speak to them and suddenly it's all fine. we don't see a lot of the friction in cutscenes or significant questlines, only in banter.

again there is Davrin and Lucanis of course who i do think are the most successful and organic relationship in the game. and that's because we actually get to see them go from being hostile to supporting and ultimately liking each other, and it feels born out of mutual respect rather than Rook forcing them to hold hands.

i like a lot of Bellara and Neve's banter as well, and they seem to spend a lot of time together at the start of the game when there's not that many people at the Lighthouse yet, and Neve consistently shows up for Bellara during her story. i also like Neve and Lucanis together, they're very cute. there are definitely friendly relationships that feel natural, but then there are moments like where Taash bulldozes over Bellara when discussing Mythal's and Solas's relationship, and Bellara isn't allowed to snap back at Taash for being disrespectful. she (+ elven Rook) are also never allowed to call out Harding for her racism, we either have to agree or just not acknowledge it and always be really really nice to Harding specifically.... and i think little moments of friction within actual main plot beats and significant cutscenes (like is done with Davrin and Lucanis) would have made a lot of the dynamics more interesting rather than just dancing around it and relegating it to banter or limited interactions you could ultimately miss if you don't have them constantly in your party/aren't constantly checking in at the Lighthouse. also companion approval should actually matter and they should be allowed to vocally disapprove of Rook's choices.

[de11amorte]

hi I just discovered this wonderful Crowskull artist & all I’m now thinking about is soft romantic lucanis/emmrich gestures.

[wardensantoineandevka]

when you have thoughts about a conversation that started just now in the fandom and you type 700 words as just the beginnings of a post because you have an alternate take and it's like, y'know what, lemme draft this and sit on it for 25 to 72 hours because I'm too tired (like genuinely physically fatigued) for this right now, I have a lot of work to finish, lemme get involved later if I still feel like it

[sky-scribbles]

I'm going to say something controversial. I think there's something Veilguard does better than any other Dragon Age game. Namely: incorporating the companions into the plot.

Look, I love Origins as much as everyone. But to be frank: you could cut every companion except Alistair, Morrigan and Loghain and the plot could still work. Once you've finished the mission where you recruit a companion, there aren't other main quests that involve them in any way.

Oghren and Wynne could have stayed home after their recruitment missions for all the difference it would make to the main plot. Sten, Leliana and Zevran could vanish and nothing would change, because once they're on your team, they don't interact with the main plot at all. (There's the Temple of Sacred Ashes, I suppose - but even then, you'd be going on that quest whether Leliana and Wynne were there or not, and it's very telling that they can both die here and next to nothing in the rest of the game is impacted.)

Again: I love Origins. This doesn't detract from any of these characters being great, or from the story being great. It just means there's a layer of separation between the two. They're involved in the story, but they're not driving it, and you seldom get to see them have strong feelings about it.

DA2 is a huge step up. Your companions' personal stories are integral parts of the main plot. You can't do the Deep Roads expedition without witnessing Karl's death and its impact on Anders. You can't enter Act 2 without seeing Varric's brother betray him, or watching your sibling either die or begin a new path in life. Act 2's climax happens because of choices Isabela and Aveline have made. Act 3's endgame is all about Anders making one enormous decision. Even Fenris and Merrill, who have the fewest ties to the plot, have strong reasons to be invested in the Mage/Templar conflict.

And then Inquisition just... backslides. There are multiple companions you don't need to recruit at all, or can send away with zero alteration to the main plot. Your companions don't like Corypheus because he's bad, but no one - except maybe Varric - has any strong personal feelings about him. They have no personal stake in defeating him, not like Alistair has a personal stake in opposing Loghain, or Anders in opposing Meredith.

We go to the Winter Palace, and Vivienne is not made a part of that story. We have a whole subplot about the Wardens, and Blackwall only gets a couple of extra lines, if you even bring him. Their personal arcs could have been somehow impacted by these missions, and they're just... not. Sera is packed with internalised self-hatred that manifests as trying to distance herself from elven culture, to the point of sometimes lashing out at other elves. And despite all the missions you do where elven history features... Sera's growth past that flaw happens entirely offscreen between the base game and Trespasser?????

IMO, this is one of the biggest reasons why Corypheus is such a bland villain. He doesn't make anyone grow, except by starting a plot for them to be part of. He doesn't challenge them emotionally. No one is invested in him. Because no one interacts with the darn plot.

Veilguard, though? Veilguard keeps your companions interacting with the story the whole way through. The Treviso/Minrathous choice affects both Lucanis and Neve heavily, and impacts who they become for the rest of the game. These cities are personal to you, even if you're not a Crow or Shadow Dragon, because your companions love them.

The Siege of Weisshaupt is beyond personal to Davrin and Lucanis, both of whom are entrusted with major parts of the quest: trying to kill the archdemon and Ghilan'nain. Lucanis is affected by his failure to kill Ghilan'nain for ages afterward. Davrin is haunted by survivor's guilt; he should have died when he struck down the archdemon. He's alive. How can he live with that?

Whenever killing the gods becomes a possibility, Rook hands the lyrium dagger to Lucanis. When the squad go to fight the gods' dragons with the Wardens, Taash is the one to flush the first dragon out. When you infiltrate the Venatori, Neve tricks your way in, and everything that happens is especially weighty to Bellara, whose people have been abducted. On Tearstone Island, because of how Lucanis and Spite have grown, they strikes true.

Did you not hate Elgar'nan before that mission? Because you probably will after you watch him capture Bellara or Neve, and see his fellow god kill Harding or Davrin.

You know what's a great piece of writing? There's no reason Emmrich shouldn't have been an option to deal with the wards on Tearstone Island; he's one of the ideal options to take out more wards with the Veil Jumpers in the final mission. But you can't select him to do it. Because Emmrich has far less personal investment in the Elgar'nan battle than the other two. This is Neve's city. This is the monster who tries to call himself Bellara's god. The game makes sure the characters who take control of the Blight at the end are the ones with the greatest stakes in doing so.

One of your companions, not you, wrests command of the Blight from Elgar'nan. The final mission depends on how well you've come to know each companion's skills. They're just... always involved.

And they're invested, too. The companions all have serious personal reasons to hate the antagonists by the end. Lucanis and Neve have either seen their city burn, or know it happened at the cost of their friend's (and potential partner's) hometown. Davrin has seen his order devastated. These are Bellara's and Davrin's supposed gods, and instead of helping the elves reclaim their history and culture, they're trying to enslave the world. Harding learns that the Evanuris maimed and destroyed her Titan ancestors.

Emmrich and Taash have perhaps the smallest emotional tie - and sadly I do think Emmrich especially gets underutilized in the plot. But heck, Taash is still hella motivated by the way the gods are abusing dragons. And Emmrich is tied thematically to the main conflict. He's facing the question of immortality, while nigh-immortal beings are right in front of him, proving how that gift can be abused. The final choice of his personal arc is whether he's willing to embrace his personal, mortal attachments, at the cost of consequences that terrify him... you know, the same question that Solas faces at the end.

And don't even get me started on how everyone is emotionally tied to Solas. Harding and Neve watched him kill Varric in front of them. Everyone not dead or captured has to watch him drag Rook into the Fade. Just about every companion faces some kind of huge regret or failure at some point, in constant foreshadowing for Solas's prison of regret: both the literal one he sticks Rook in, and the mental one of his own making.

Veilguard has its problems, but it absolutely shines at keeping its characters involved and invested in the main story. It gives them things to do, it gives them reasons to care. For all the flaws this game has, this part is good writing.

[mojo-bro-tho]

Now you listen here-

Be honest. How many of you give your Rooks lilac eyes when you're going to make them romance Emmrich? BE HONEST

[dalishious]

I do love how when you first meet Lucanis he says "talk doesn't work on Spite" but then when you actually get to talk to Spite at length it turns out all it takes is just being a little patient and explaining things the right way. So either Rook is the Spite Whisperer or Lucanis is just really bad with words. (Both. Both is probably correct.)

[crows-of-buckets]

I think Ena gets so fucking annoyed about the fact that he has an actual honest to God crush on Lucanis fucking Dellamorte. Like. He's had crushes before but THIS ONE is a DELLAMORTE and keeps making him TRIP OVER HIS GOD DAMN FEET. He's like a pathetic little fish flopping around out the water. He tries so hard not to take it out on Lucanis bc he is a Professional™ but for like a month their conversations just go

Ena, crushing so hard he can't see straight: I'm going to kill you. With my poisons

Lucanis: please dont

[thevulturesquadron]

I see people making a big thing out of the ‘companions are not even asking Rook how they are doing, it’s just Solas when he is being manipulative’ twitter post.

And you know what? I stand by that one. While companions are always concerned about Rook’s well-being, there is something deliciously heavy in the vulnerability and risk attached to the fact that Solas IS the one asking directly and receiving a direct answer back.

The companions show time and again how much they care (they are even ready to pierce the Veil for Rook), but there is a heaviness in avoiding the direct approach throughout most of the game. They show care and concern by sharing with Rook who they are, by making Rook a part of their personal lives, by allowing Rook into what makes them happy: Neve shares her favourite spot in Dock Town, allows Rook to be part of the one habit that clears her mind. Lucanis takes Rook to the one place in Treviso that offers him peace and makes him reconnect with his own life, he takes Rook for a stroll in the Market as an insider, not a passerby, in hopes that what relaxes him can work for Rook too. Emmrich shows Rook the beauty of the Memorial Gardens. Davrin, repeatedly, takes Rook out for a breath of fresh air, much needed when they are drowning in impossible odds. Bellara allows Rook to mess around with the Archive, the one thing that keeps her focused when she’s navigating through her emotions. Harding spends time with Rook outside the Lighthouse. Taash takes Rook out for drinks and into their home. They all offer Rook numerous opportunities to unwind and to open up if they need to. But none ask the question directly because Rook is what keeps them together, so the answer to that question can’t be anything but ‘I am fine, we got this.’ It’s a mix of fear for what the potential answer could be and the realization that Rook won’t ever admit when they are out of their depth.

And then there’s Solas. When he checks in on Rook, it never is out of concern. It’s either because he relies on Rook to understand what is happening in the world or because he needs to make them lower their guard. And Rook can call him out on that on almost every occasion. But it’s also precisely what allows Rook to openly receive and answer that question, if they want to. Solas doesn’t depend on them, Rook doesn’t owe him anything, and that’s liberating. No need to put on a strong face because who cares if Solas is disappointed? And I think that’s such a fantastic aspect of their relationship. The distance between them, much like the rift keeping them apart, is also a source of safety for both. I am devouring that dynamic. There is something so liberating, for both probably, in the fact they HAVE to work with the other, and there aren't any emotional strings to pull or feelings to be careful about. Gloves are off, conversations are direct. Until one of them makes it personal.

They are both each other’s lifeline and ankle weight, not by choice but by circumstance.

[raven-6-10]

tags via @thesummerstorms

I don't have Arsinoë de Riva and Lucanis being more than acquainted in passing in my canon world state.

But recently my brain ambushed me with the over dramatic idea of Rook/Lucanis (maybe Arsinoë , maybe a different Rook) being serious enough pre-Ossuary that Lucanis actually introduces her to Illario...

... Except he does so literally as he's waiting to catch the doomed ship to Tevinter.

Illario's blood turns to ice as his cousin's unknowing last words are literally asking them both to look out for the other.

He's standing with his cousin's soon to be widow* as the ship pulls out, ears ringing with his cousin's promise to introduce them more properly when he returns, the statement that they all should talk when he returns, the hint of something maybe, finally about to change...

Except that it's too late. His cousin is never making it off that boat alive. It's too late to call off Zara now.

And Rook is giving him an awkward but... maybe even genuine smile, trying, for Lucanis's sake. He hadn't even known his cousin had fallen in love, much less seriously enough to introduce them like this. And now he's all doubt... He thought this was a mercy in a way, that Lucanis would only die slowly under Caterina 's thumb while he and Illarionl both suffered...

But if Illario missed this... Then what else?

And it's too late. It doesn't matter. Lucanis is never coming back.

(*they aren't even engaged; this is dramatics, but the situation calls for dramatics)