#like yeah we are trying to stop the end of the world but if rook can stop to help the companions with their shit... they cant do the same ??

[shdwtouch]

I think the funniest and saddest thing I can say about varrics fate is shade as a companion is just like. oh. I thought you knew. @ rook

[lafaiette]

So, the localization file of Veilguard was found thanks to datamining, and it contains Some Stuff about Solas, Solavellan, and some cut ending stuff.

No idea if these lines were cut because of budget/resource reasons, if they are old scraps left of Joplin or if the writers simply changed their minds. Please keep in mind they are in jumbled order/there are different responses, probably due to different choices and the dialogue wheel.

Under the cut because of spoilers.

Solas and Fen'Harel

"I must hold back the blight! My wolf will distract Elgar'nan while you take the dragon!" "Did I see that right? The Dread Wolf is a separate spirit from Solas?" "Nice. Why does he get to be part wolf?" "Yeah. Seems like Fen'Harel is a merging of the two."

It seems like Solas and his wolf self are two separate spirits - perhaps similar to Falon'Din and Dirthamen, who are confirmed to be the same spirit who split into two different aspects.

Final dialogue with Solas (Solavellan edition)

"The blight is its prison. The world is safe." "Until the Veil collapses, and demons kill thousands of people." "If there were another way…" "There [i]is[/i]. Let the Veil stay in place." "The elven people must be restored. They do not deserve what was done to them." "Neither did the Titans." "Neither did Mythal. Either time." "Those are my mistakes. Only I can correct them." "I'm here to help you." "You think you have to do this alone. But you don't." "Every time, it has come down to my choices." "Are you a god?" "I am the furthest thing from it." "Then stop acting like one. Let someone else help you." "Do the right thing." "You want to be a hero? Then save the world. Right now." "The restoration of the world as it was meant to be…" "That's not saving the world, that's saving your pride." "Is that why you think I am doing this?" "I think you're doing this because you think that you have to. But you don't." "You have to forgive yourself." "You know how I got out of the Prison of Regrets? I let it go." "Varric's death was never truly your fault." "And you didn't cause every problem. You tried to fix them." "And every time I failed." "The world's still here. You got some of it right." "I cannot. To stop now would dishonor those I've wronged to come this far." "Even if those you wronged asked you to stop?" "Vhenan. And… Morrigan?" "One appellation among the many I wear, Dread Wolf." "I have been advisor to Orlais, Witch of the Wilds, daughter of Flemeth… and once, long ago, an old friend." "Mythal…" "You never would have left the Fade and taken on that humble form had I not been the one who first convinced you." "The things that I have done…" "Are not for you alone to bear, my friend. The many wrongs we did, we did together." "It is not too late to stop this. Banal nadas. Ar lath ma, vhenan." "My life force now sustains the Veil. With every breath I take, I will protect the innocent from my past failures. " "The Titans' dreams are mad from their imprisonment. I cannot kill the blight, but I can help to soothe its anger." "What I've done, I will atone for." ""But you do not have to go alone." "Thanks to you, I can see the way."

Rook and Solas' final confrontation if Rook tries to convince him to stop was apparently supposed to be much longer, with Solas mentioning the elven people and the Titans, Varric's death, and Rook acknowledging he always did try to save the world.

It seems there was also one more line Solas would say to Lavellan after her "But you do not have to go alone." -> "Thanks to you, I can see the way."

The Inquisitor's happily ever after

"So you have to stop Solas, but not in a way that prevents him from stopping the blight." "Let Solas put the blight into its nice new prison, then we'll put him in there with it." "So with Solas and the elven gods out of the picture, where does that leave us?" "Nothing. He didn't deserve his little happily ever after." "If there's anyone who can reason with the blight, it's him." "The Inquisitor believed in him. [i]She [/i]deserved her happily ever after, even if that's helping Solas fix his mistakes." "And so the Dread Wolf shall spend eternity in the knowledge that he stood at the precipice of disaster and was saved by a mortal's wisdom." "Then why maneuver matters so as to deliver it to him?" "Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain were villains trying to conquer and blight the world." "Solas did terrible things, but he was trying to help. I can understand that." "He was wrong, not evil." "She waited many years for him. You are kind indeed to ensure those years were not in vain." "I am surprised less that he would seize upon such a chance for redemption, and more that you would offer it. " "The Inquisitor earned it." "He's working off his debt. After all, I don't think there's anyone else alive with the power and perspective to try to heal the blight." "Few would react with such compassion to the Dread Wolf's trickery. What merits him a fate fairer than Elgar'nan or Ghilan'nain?" "True. Even had I Mythal's full power, she and I often struggled to mend feelings we might have broken." "'Twould not be the first time he accomplished something Mythal herself thought impossible." "And so the Dread Wolf is stopped by, of all things, love." "Surprised?" "He's fixing his mess."

Lines for the different ways Rook can handle Solas' fate. Rook and Morrigan discuss Lavellan and Solas' chance at happiness, with Rook deciding to help them reunite despite Solas' trickery; Rook deciding to lock Solas away with the Blight; probably a line referencing a friend Inquisitor or Rook themselves ("Solas saved by a mortal's wisdom") and one referencing Lavellan ("Solas saved by love").

Epilogue

"It may mean nothing. Or everything. What matters is that the Solas is content, and we need no longer fear him tearing down the Veil." "So, Rook, what's the plan?" "[i](Sighs)[/i] Damn it." "Thank you." "Then it sounds like you have work to do. I'll leave you to it." "Good luck, Rook. Enjoy the adventures to come. " "I'm sorry, vhenan. If there had been another way..." "And now he'll spend who knows how long trying to heal the blight? What does that even mean?" "I can think of few things he'd have hated more." "He made a cage with bars made out of his worst weaknesses. He's not getting out on his own." "And we're certain there's no way for him to escape?" "Trapped forever in a prison with the blight." "Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are also both dead. 'Tis no great loss there, the blighted fools." "So, Rook: How does it feel to have saved the world?" "Honestly, I have no idea." "Don't be so shy with your feelings, Morrigan." "We were all young once, were we not? 'Tis from such humble seeds that great things are grown." "Tell that to Mythal." "When the next aspiring deity lays claim to our world, you are the woman who shall remind them that even gods can die." "You are really bad at inspiring speeches." "Despite these rough edges, you forged a team that saved all of Thedas. Precious few can claim that." "I notice you left out one elven god—the only one still here in any capacity." "When the next aspiring deity lays claim to our world, you are the one who shall remind them that even gods can die." "You're leaving me to handle this?" "Were Mythal younger, she might have wished to rule again. Were I younger, I might have agreed with her." "Hey, the world is still here and isn't blighted or covered with demons. I think we did okay." "Says the woman carrying the god who made most of the mess I had to clean up." "And prepare yourself for whatever storm next clouds our skies." "I did save the world." "Who else? Make no mistake, you could do with a finer touch in matters of politics. " "You're not very good at this." "Even with Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain dead, the Venatori remain a threat, as do the Antaam and darkspawn. "

It seems there was supposed to be an additional scene after the ending, with Rook and Morrigan discussing the future. The dialogue would change depending on Solas' fate/Rook's choice about him.

That "Solas is content, and we need no longer fear him tearing down the Veil." probably refers to the ending with Lavellan, while it's not clear if that "I'm sorry, vhenan. If there had been another way..." is supposed to be there (maybe Solas apologizing again for bringing her to what he believes will be a terrible place?) or if it's referring to another scene.

The lines about him being stuck in a prison made out of his worst weaknesses, being unable to get out on his own, and spending a very long time trying to heal the Blight, something he hates, all sound like lines that would fit his bad endings.

One last mission

"Rook gives the team their seventh pep talk after the Finale." "We're sticking together. The gods might be dead, but there's more to do in this world." "We'll find Harding or Davrin. Somehow." "The eighth pep comes after nearly all content has been completed." "Weird shit is going on. What are the clues we have? The Executor, the Devouring Storm - what does it mean?" "We don't actually know. But it sounds bad. So we need each other more than ever." "On return to Rivain Island, defeat the Executor and collect the Memento for Davrin/Harding"

There is a cut scene + mission with Rook talking to their team after the ending and going to Rivain for one last mission. It's pretty much confirmed the cutscene was supposed to take place in the Lighthouse, there are old files and flags for it. If you pay attention after the ending sequence, you will see your Rook appear in the Lighthouse for a millisecond, the only trace left of that scene.

[magesforthedas]

Just have to share this, because I keep seeing critiques of Veilguard that like, try to guilt people who say they love, or even like the game. And HEAVY critiques of the protagonist, Rook, and how they aren't really a hero.

ALSO it contains some SPOILERS so just be warned ☺️ and an edit of additional thoughts now!

Like, yeah I have a couple gripes about the game, but overall it's emotional and amazing and I care about the characters so deeply. I keep seeing how people are saying how Rook and the party were not well written because they caused a lot of death?? This is Dragon Age, everything always goes from bad to worse, but the characters always bring out the light.

Rook was put in a very shitty situation, and I've seen people say they caused the destruction of thousands by trying to prevent the hundreds. But how many people, before the game came out, said Solas's plan to tear down the veil was a bad idea? Not all, I'm sure, but most. I always viewed it, and I know I wasn't alone, as that by trying to "fix" things Solas was just justifying his selfish wants, when he knew somewhere in his heart that the people of today, including the elves that he was "doing this for", would rather live alongside their friends & family in a world without their old magic, than live in a world with it alone.

That being said, even with differing views in and out of the game, it's very reasonable that a group of people would try to stop him, not know the consequences. And the beautiful thing about Rook, why Varric chose THEM, is that they saw what they had created, and didn't give up, didn't leave it to someone else to fix. Whether or not it was really their fault they stepped up and tried to save the world the best they could, from the mistake they unwittingly made (which I would argue against the fact that they made a "mistake", looking at that they were hired to do a job & by successfully completing that job there were unintended consequences).

Parallels anyone? Dragon Age loves those. But the difference, again illustrated in the game, is that while Solas couldn't move past the regret of his mistakes, Rook could. And on the topic of the deaths of those around them, not everyone that died in the past was Solas's fault, but some he did directly lead to their deaths. And he accepted that, did it over & over. Rook never led anyone to their death. Rook walked willingly into it themselves, and the love and trust their companions felt led them to choose to die for Rook, and the world instead.

And people who say the destruction of the south means the earlier games were for nothing? How so? 20 years ago, 10 years ago, things were happening, people were dying that needed saving. The heroes of that age saved the world so it would still be around to save now. And who knows what the south really looks like, or what it might look like as and after rebuilding? We will, in another 10 years once BioWare comes out with more content I suppose, and I wouldn't be surprised if everyone we knew is dead, but I also wouldn't be surprised if many, many of them lived.

Because that is Dragon Age. Death, betrayal, sacrifice, cruelty, pain. It's a dark, dark world. But there is always a ray of light, of hope. And characters who will do their utmost to protect that .

EDIT: Adding!! To this!! And more spoilers!!!

We know because of the Wetlands that it's possible to cause the Blight to pull back. In the end scene, as people are being broken out of the Blight Roots, it seems to me like it's died, at least to some degree. In my playthrough, Neve was cured of her blight sickness. There's obviously some immediate changes, and that all means that the South could have had an immediate reprieve. Plus, once more surviving wardens from Weisshaupt are free to travel south, and all the factions up north get things relatively in order, the South could get a lot of assistance.

The South was overrun... By hordes, by growths? That's the land, what about the people? Could the combined might of the Inquisitor, the Chantry, The Free Marches, Fereldan's ruler, have evacuated enough people that the death toll might be high, but not totally catastrophic? Enough people have survived to rebuild, maybe with a better, more unified attitude towards one another?

(The last bit may be wishful thinking 🥲)

But still!! We have no idea what exactly happened down there. And no matter what, Rook did the best they could, they WERE a hero, and made a difference not only for the North, but everywhere affected.

And yes, I might complain about this or that, mainly that we don't get to put more past game decisions in.... But I love this game and that won't change.

[merrinla]

Not exactly cut content, but rewritten. I tried to restore the lines from the previous version of the prologue, when Rook first meets Harding and Neve.

Meeting with Harding

Varric: You are here. Harding: I secured the area for you. Oh! And my ma sent snacks. Hope you like jam pudding! Varric: Rook, this is Lace Harding. Formerly, the lead scout of the Inquisition. These days, she works with us.

Harding: Nice to meet you, Rook! Varric's told me stories.

Option: It's a pleasure. Rook: It's good to meet you, too. I was starting worry the whole team was just me and Varric. Harding: No, no! There's three of us! Which... admittedly isn't much better. Harding: But... the team is a work in progress.

Option: Wait, what stories? Rook: He told you stories? What were they? On a scale from one to ten, how bad are we talking? Harding: I mean, I wouldn't say, "bad," exactly. More like... implausible? Really, really implausible.

Option: Ready to train? Rook: Harding. Are we training together, then? Harding: I've been looking forward to it! This'll be a change of pace from my usual scouting.

Rook: So... you've got me here. What's the job? Varric: Remember the Breach? Rook: That big hole in the southern sky a few years back? Varric: The Inquisition thought we'd stopped the person responsible for it. We were wrong. Varric: The real culprit is loose. And the Breach? Just a failed first try. Varric: We're going to find and stop him before his second attempt kills... pretty much everybody. Rook: Oh, great. That's... that's great.

Rook: So... our team? It's just the three of us? Varric: I'm still recruiting the others. The kind of people we need aren't easy to find. Varric: By keeping the Aegis* down to small teams of specialists, we stay fast, flexible, and avoid becoming a target.

*Aegis - previous name of Veilguard

Rook: So... the rest of Aegis is... where, exactly? Varric: All over the place. The Inquisition's problem was being a giant organization. Easy to find and infiltrate. Varric: Our enemy was an inside man in the Inquisition. He knows us. Knows how we work.

If the Inquisition was diabanded Varric: That's why it had to be dismantled. But the world doesn't stop needing heroes just because an institution falls.

Varric: I need someone he doesn't know. Someone he can't predict. Rook: And that's me? Varric: That's Aegis. All of us together should be able to act in ways Solas doesn't expect. Varric: We've got a lead on Solas. Our contact is waiting for us in the city of Minrathous.

Meeting with Neve

Varric: Rook, Harding, meet Slick. Varric: She's the best damned detective in Minrathous. She can find anything. Neve: Almost anything. And call me, "Neve," please.

Option: Pleased to meet you. Rook: Good to meet you, Slick. Er, Neve, sorry. Neve: Varric and his nicknames. Why are you, "Rook," and I'm, "Slick," but she's "Harding"? Harding: Because Varric's scared of me. Varric: Yeah, she's got me there. Varric: She's tiny, but terrifying.

Option: What can't you find? Rook: There are limits to what you can find? What are they? Size? Shape? The color yellow? Neve: Got hired to find a stolen dog once. Except the client never had a dog. He just wanted to hire a detective. Rook: So... you draw the line at finding imaginary pets. Neve: And house keys. Standards are important.

Option: You found our target. Rook: Varric said there was a lead. Yours? Neve: That's why I'm here. Neve: Elven man matching the description you gave me was seen here yesterday. Varric: I don't know what Chuckles is doing in the capitol of Tevinter, but you can bet it's not going to end well.

Neve: Witnesses saw Solas enter this building, but not leave. And, well... see for yourself.

If Rook is a Veil Jumper Neve: Rook, you've probably seen more ancient elven relics than most. Rook: You could say that.

If Rook is a mage Neve: So, Rook... what's your tolerance for ancient elven magic? Rook: Right now? Undecided.

Neve: Rook, you had much experience with ancient elven relics? Rook: A little.

Neve: Come on, there's something you should see.

If Rook is a Veil Jumper Rook: An eluvian.

Rook: Is that... an eluvian? Actually working? Where does it go?

Neve: The big guy already went through. Said he was going to reconnoiter the area. Rook: Big guy? Varric: Our last specialist. Come on, let's not keep him waiting.

[solxamber]

Could you perhaps give us a little peak on what are the nect fics you'll post? The holiday event placed it on hold for so long😔

i'm in the kitchen and the kitchen is on fire

I have some i'll be posting soon but also

i have like 20 active drafts rn and the editing is rougher than the writing itself for me so it might a little while till they see the sun but here's a few sneak peeks: (I'll probably change some parts but anyways!)

1. Concept: Stuck in a timeloop with Idia

“This can’t be happening,” Idia was saying, his eye twitching erratically. “It’s just like World Recoil 2.0! The DLC that no one wanted! The algorithm hates me. I must’ve angered RNGesus—why else would I be cursed with infinite suffering?”

You stared at him blankly, your mind about ten steps behind his spiraling panic. “We’re... what now?”

He stopped dead in his tracks, spinning to face you with the kind of manic energy you’d only seen him use when trying to win a rare gacha pull. “A TIMELOOP. We’re in a timeloop. It’s a classic scenario!”

Your brain struggled to process this declaration. After a long moment, you let out a hollow laugh and sank into the nearest chair. “Okay. Sure. We’re in a timeloop. Makes perfect sense. What do we do now? Call Bill Murray?”

2. Concept: Mafia au (Vil x reader)

You answered, leaning back in your chair. “Hello?”

The voice on the other end was distorted, trying—and failing—to sound intimidating. “We have your man.”

You blinked. “Uh… what man?”

“Don’t play dumb! We have Rook Hunt—and if you ever want to see him alive again, you’ll do as we say!”

Rook. They kidnapped Rook. Oh no.

“Oh, no. That’s terrible. He must be so scared.”

The person on the other end hesitated, clearly caught off guard by your mild response. “Uh. Yes. He’s terrified! Screaming! Definitely regretting all his choices!”

Vil frowned, tapping a perfectly manicured finger against his wine glass. “Lying,” he mouthed.

“No kidding,” you muttered, before raising your voice again. “Listen, uh… person-who-definitely-has-Rook. You might want to double-check who’s the hostage here.”

“What?” the kidnapper demanded. “We tied him up! There’s no way he’s—”

A blood-curdling scream cut through the phone, and in the background, you heard someone shout, “Help! He’s unstoppable!”

You pressed your lips into a thin line to keep from laughing. “Yeah. That’s Rook for you. He really likes a good game of cat and mouse.”

The person shrieked again, and you thought you could faintly make out Rook’s laughter—a terrifyingly cheerful sound considering the context.

“I’m going to hang up now,” you said pleasantly. “Good luck, though!”

“WAIT!”

Click.

You set the phone back on the table, and Vil sighed dramatically, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Of all the insipid people… kidnapping Rook?”

“Should we warn them he carries extra knives?” you asked, half-serious.

“No need,” Vil said, taking a graceful sip of wine. “They’ll figure it out soon enough.”

3. Hero / Villain AU except the hero (Rook) cares more about flirting during the fights

“You’re supposed to fight me, not flirt with me!” you snapped, dodging his unnecessarily elegant sword swing.

“Ah, but why can’t it be both, mon magnifique nemesis?” Rook countered, parrying your staff with a flourish. “Tell me, have you ever considered conquering a restaurant menu instead of the world? Perhaps… over dinner with me?”

You blinked. The constructs you summoned waved tiny “YES” flags behind him. Somewhere, thunder awkwardly stalled.

“I… what? NO.”

“Très bien,” Rook replied, grinning. “Then I shall vanquish you with charm instead.”

For the first time in your villainous career, you started considering early retirement.

[etherealancientmusings]

Playing Inquisition after DATV is wild. My brain is just pinging off moments in Inquisition flying back to DATV.

So Solas is talking to the Inquisitor about Arlathan and he's so passionate when he talks about it you can feel like he almost tastes it and he misses it. It made me think of the ending in DATV.

'When you see the old world restored.' like he is sooooo close there he can almost taste it. He's been speaking about the old world since Inquisition with the Inquisitor. He wants it so bad, he's so close to having his sins forgiven in his mind that his brain is messed up at that point. He could be saying that to anyone, to Neve (my girl goes everywhere with me) to Rook, but imo i think he's really saying it to himself. If you look at that scene, he's staring off into the distance, like you can feel he's seeing the old world restored in his mind! And Rook (well, at least mine) knows it, Rook is like this guy is so close to his goal how do we snap him out of it? Yeah we can fight but I think Solas expects that, so what snaps him out of it???

Rook hands him the dagger!!!! And talks to him. Who would choose that?? But its like others I've read on Tumblr have pointed out, it's like Rook had a plan! Cause its not enough cause Solas is still so close, why should he stop cause Rook asked him to? Like noooope, sorry, not when he's that close. And because for me only the redemption ending is my canon, Solas needs another disruption and another to snap him out of the mind state he's in.

The person that he talked about the old world with in Inquisition!!! The person who listened to him, who helped him change his mind about people. And if you read the vhenan letter, it's the one person he expects to see in the old world restored! Like what a fuck yeah moment that was for me just now as I write this! Like the way Solas's head just whips around when he recognizes the voice??? Man that hit me hard.

And Solas listens a bit more, he's moved, he's processing, but it's still not enough cause now its turned from 'see the old world restored' to 'not the world SHE wanted' and Solas is still not all with it cause he's mixing it all up in his head cause he's still so close to his goal but he's confused now, emotionally fucked up. Rook caught him off guard by giving him the dagger, the Inquisitor interrupts his brain even more, stirring up emotions. But that last voice is needed. The person that actually lived with him in the 'old world', who helped build the 'old world' (maybe when Solas says 'When you see the old world restored' he's thinking about Mythal?!?) the one who he is trying to restore it for (or so he thinks)? And Mythal's just like, let it go, its ok to let it go, this is also because of me and you don't have to do it anymore. And he sobs cause he just wants to stop but also cause what does he have left now, after all the horrible things he's done?

And then it's the Inquisitor again which is so cool cause what a full circle moment for both of them! The person that listened to him back in Inquisition talk about the old world, the one who was Solas's first friend or love in the world he wanted to destroy. They show him the door to the new path and Solas stands. And Rook is just so fucking relieved im sure that this plan worked.

I think what i love about this is that it really shows Rook as such a unique protagonist. Like Rook has no loyalty to Solas, Rook had one job to do and Rook delivered! Solas just screwed Rook over and over again but Rook, Rook is like nope, we aren't doing it Solas's way. We're going to forgive and show him another way. I don't know how many people could do that. Like my Rook loves their friends so much and they influence them -- Neve, Taash, Harding --all of them. They're everything to Rook. And i posted before, to offer that back to Solas?? Seeing how messed up Solas was at the end and then just getting those people important to Solas to talk to him was so neat. Talk about intervention. I fucking love Rook.

And now i feel like when my Inquisitor is talking to Solas in Inquisition about the old world, im like Solas my man, let it go, let it go and I feel in my heart for him, that he's going to go through so much more pain before that ending.

I think after Inquisition and the dlcs im gonna play DATV again. I can't wait to make more pings like this. What an emotional roller-coaster so far.

[foxglovepng]

Hello! I don’t know if you write this kind of thing, but could I have a silly little crack fic about Grim sabotaging different boys’ attempts at flirting with the prefect? Little guy has gotta look out for his henchhuman, y’know?

Characters: Ace, Cater, Floyd, Rook.

CW: Ace's part mentions his ex, Bit of blood in Floyd's part, Cater's is kind of sad, Rook is Rook.

A/N: Hello Anon! I hope this is to your liking. I made Ace's part kind of long and since you didn't specify which characters I just let the wheel picker decide. I feel I may have written Grim a little OOC so apolgies for that I don't normally write for him, but I do love a challenge.

If you liked it reblogs and likes are always greatly appreciated!!

Not proofread

↠ Part 2

Ace- He nitpicks at his attempts/ruins them

After the events of Riddle, Leona’s, Azul’s, and the Jamil overblot he wasn’t present for. Ace had started taking a liking to prefect they were close after spending so much time together and he liked Yuu however a certain cat had other plans. Ace was always worried that he wouldn’t date anyone especially after what happened with his ex-girlfriend he was worried he wouldn’t be able to date the prefect, so subtle hints of flirting he gave to the prefect. However Grim started taking a notice to Ace’s behavior towards his henchman and didn’t really like that. The next time Ace would try anything Grim would try and stop it. 

“Henchman, can you get me some more Tuna?” Grim asked

“Grim I just got you some Tuna we barely have the expenses to get you more. I still need to eat as well.” Yuu spoke as Grim sighed, mumbling something. 

“Yo prefect.” Ace’s voice was heard as the Prefect turned to look at the red head who was jogging over.

“Hey Ace. What did you get on the test yesterday?” Yuu asked

“I got a 100%.” He crossed his arms proudly

“In your dreams you did.” Grim spoke 

“What! No, I totally got an A.” Ace defended himself

“It was an easy test so I would hope you get an A.” Yuu spoke giggling a bit.

“Anyways. Prefect you wanna grab some lunch? I’ll pay.” Ace offered flashing a cheeky smile.

“Yeah I.” Prefect was cut off by Grim, “Actually we were going to the library to study.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to have some lunch Grim.” Yuu spoke

“Yeah I can totally help you guys study as well.” Ace spoke

Grim gave up as Yuu started walking with Ace to the cafeteria. Grim was obviously annoyed. He needs his Henchmen to not dally off with boys that will distract them from him becoming a great mage.

“You had a basketball game recently, right? You were pretty amazing.” Yuu spoke to Ace

“I have to do well, so I won’t be benched. You should come to my games more often. It would help if you were cheering me on.” Ace nudged Yuu

“If you want a personal cheerleader you could just hire one y’know.” Grim crossed his arms

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Ace rubbed the back of his neck

“I don’t mind going to your games, in fact I really like seeing you do something you’re passionate about.” Yuu spoke which made Ace turn red a bit.

“Can we go back to studying? You two are getting off track.” Grim spat

“Jeez Grim, it was just some small conversation.” Ace spoke

It went silent as the air felt heavy. The only sounds of pencil writing and pages of textbooks flipping. Eventually it was almost time to go to class.

“We should probably get to leaving class is going to start soon.” Yuu spoke

“Yeah. I’ll meet you at class.” Ace spoke feeling defeated by Grim’s tactics who felt quite proud of himself. Maybe Ace will have another chance to tell Yuu how he feels.

Cater- Ruins photos/Justs gets in the way

Cater enjoyed hanging out with Yuu a lot and he always tried to find a way to hang out with Yuu. Taking photos while hanging out to save for memories incase Yuu ever decides to leave this world he has something to remember Yuu. Whenever Yuu needed help or needed something he was always offering just to spend time with Yuu. However as of recently due to Halloween being at the end of the month and midterms coming up Yuu hasn’t had a lot of time to spend with Cater not to mention Grim is also finding a way to try and keep Yuu busy. Grim didn’t want his Henchman to get distracted by one of the coolest and chillest third years. Cater started picking up on Grim’s behavior but just pushed it off as he just wanted the both of them to work hard so they don't get expelled.

“Hey Yuu.” Cater walked up to the Prefect.

“Hey Cay. Sorry we haven’t been hanging out a lot, just been so busy.” Yuu spoke

“It’s no biggie. We can find a way to hang out soon.” He spoke

“Do you have any unbirthday parties coming up soon? Maybe I can attend.” Yuu spoke

“We do actually I was going to see if you can come anyways. It’s on Friday at the usual time.” Cater spoke

“Yeah I’d love to come.” Yuu spoke

“Henchman.” Grim’s yell was heard as he came running up to the prefect. Jumping on them, climbing on them to their shoulder.

“Hey Grimmy.” Cater greeted Grim.

“Can we go to Sam’s please?” Grim begged, ignoring Cater.

“You aren’t going to get 20 cans of Tuna are you?” Yuu asked

“Please.” Grim started begging gripping Yuu’s shoulder.

“Okay we can go. I’ll see you later Cater.” Yuu spoke as Cater waved and they both left.

Cater felt sad. He wanted to hang out with his favorite freshman, but of course they got caught up with something. Cater would also feel upset seeing the message Yuu sent the very next day saying they can’t make it to the birthday party another hangout ruined.

Floyd- He ruins any food/gets defensive whenever Floyd gets too close

Floyd liked his shrimpy, he loved the way Shrimpy hung out with him, he loved the way he got to squeeze his shrimpy. However Floyd’s been noticing the baby seal has been passive aggressive to him recently. He’s also been noticing food he makes for Shrimpy also gets ruined. Floyd has done many checks no one in the kitchen is messing with prefects food, and it’s certainly not Jade or Azul doing it. Azul started complaining Floyd is spending resources on food that doesn’t get paid or eaten so eventually he had to stop the free food for his shrimpy. Jade has pointed out it could be the doing of Grim, but Floyd isn’t hoping Grim would go that far. Would he?

Prefect decided to pay a visit to the Octavinelle trio mainly to check up on everyone and see how they are doing. Grim was getting antsy because he wanted to go back to ramshackle to take his daily nap. Floyd was working a shift, but decided he was going to take just a small break to go see his shrimpy.

“Shrimpy.” Yuu heard Floyd’s voice as he came from behind them and squeezed them. Grim got fed up from wanting to take a nap and Floyd so he did what his instinct told him to do.

“Grim.” Yuu called as there were lines that started to bleed on Floyd’s arm. Grim had scratched Floyd and he didn’t look pleasant with that. Yuu pulled Grim away as Jade looked shocked watching the interaction.

“Brother let me go get the first aid kit.” Jade spoke walking off as Floyd exhaled and walked away. Baby seal is getting a talking to tomorrow and not a fun one.

Rook - He destroys love letters & poetry

Yuu had caught the eye of Rook. Naturally from not being from his world he took interest in the Prefect and fell for their beauty. Rook is a gentle poetic lover meaning the Prefect is his muse. Rook has definitely caught on that Grim does not like him, but would never think Grim would go as far to destroy his pieces of work to protect Yuu. Rook would send letters and Poetry to Yuu every day, and even went as far to handing the letters directly to Yuu before grim threw them away, not caring about either one’s opinions. 

Rook deemed it as a challenge and decided he would use any means necessary to make sure the prefect knows they are valued and appreciated. Rook is simply a poet and Yuu is simply his muse; he wishes to know every bit of them if they decide to leave his world.

Even if Yuu decided to leave in a poet's eyes the muse lives on forever.

-

Special mention

Malleus- …

Grim is dead before he can intervene with the courtship of him and his child of man (/hj)

[slothquisitor]

Costs of Leadership

Summary: In which Rook has to make a choice, and Lucanis doesn't believe anyone is coming to save Treviso. Also, my official petition to give Mourn Watchers cool bone magic. Eventual Rook/Lucanis, 3k.

Read on AO3.

_____________________________________________________________

When Camina had met Varric and Harding, she’d felt more resigned about traveling with them than anything. In those first few days, Varric had told her a story, one that she was not entirely sure she believed until almost a year later when traveled through a magic mirror to a ritual site that was everything Varric had feared it would be. Somehow, over the course of the last year, Varric’s cause had become hers. But she’d still never wanted to be a leader. Had only taken up the mantle because Varric had insisted that she did after he was effectively sidelined. She had thought that Neve or Harding might question her, especially after her disastrous attempt at stopping Solas’s ritual. Instead, they’d looked relieved to have someone stepping up. And some part of her had been relieved too, for another chance to fix things instead of simply making them worse for once. 

In some ways, she feels like she’s play-acting being a leader like she’s not making this all up as she goes. But at least she knows that part of being a good one means listening to the team when they come up with great ideas. And she’s grateful that Harding had found a way to get in touch with the Wardens even after she’d botched the meeting with the First Warden. 

The blight is changing, and they need experts, and the gods have been quiet so far. Some days, she wakes up in the Lighthouse on the makeshift bed in the room she calls hers and feels like maybe they’re actually making some progress. Today had started that way. 

It’s certainly not ending like it. 

They might have met Davrin and Assan, and she might have convinced Davrin to join them, but it had come at a cost: two dead Wardens, twelve missing griffons, and a promise to help Davrin get them back from a terrifying monster. She wishes it was less of a mixed-bag day. 

It’s a quiet and somewhat heavy trek through the Crossroads back to the Lighthouse. She’s looking forward to being back in the safety of the Lighthouse, to a warm meal, a bath, and some rest. 

“So this is where you live, huh? In the Fade?” Davrin asks, looking around with distrust at the Crossroads. 

“You get used to it,” Harding says encouragingly. 

“Yeah,” she agrees. “It’s cozy and the gods can’t find us here.”

“Right. Never going to get used to that,” Davrin replies flatly.  

He’s borne the news about the elven gods better than expected, anyway. When she’d noticed his vallaslin, she’d tried to be careful in her explanations. He’s a Warden and not with a clan, so it’s hard to say where his actual beliefs fall, but even if the gods were nothing but a fairy story to him, learning that they’re not only real but trying to blight the world…it’s a lot. 

She steers the conversation away from that particular topic for now. “Don’t worry, we’ll find you and Assan a nice -” She stops mid-sentence when she sees Bellara in full gear running toward them. 

“Rook!” Bellara calls. From the look on her face and the alarm in her voice, something is very, very wrong. Neve and Lucanis aren’t with her, and her mind immediately starts jumping to worst-case scenarios.  

“What’s wrong?”

Bellara takes only a moment to catch her breath before diving headlong into a rushed explanation. “Oh Rook, everything is wrong. Treviso and Minrathous are both under attack. Blighted dragons! Two of them. Neve and Lucanis already left to go try and help. I stayed behind to let you know, and to find out what we should do. We have to help them.”

“We got back just in time it sounds like,” Harding says, not bothering to hide her worry. 

She has been waiting for the gods to make a move and now they have and well, it was never going to be just one dragon was it? She shoves down the tiredness she feels and starts asking questions. She doesn’t like any of the answers. 

On the one hand, they’ve got Minrathous, the seat of power in Tevinter, currently overrun with Venatori who might use a fucking dragon to make a political play. But it has a few things Treviso doesn’t: namely defenses. On the other hand, Treviso is a merchant city already under occupation whose best defense is a group of assassins currently playing vigilante. The Crows are good at what they do, but a dragon is not an assassination target. 

“Where should we go, Rook?” Harding asks. There’s a trust there, that she’ll know what to do, the right answer to make. No matter what she says, she knows Harding and Bellara will follow. It feels like too much power for a single person to hold. 

From a purely strategic standpoint, they should go to Minrathous. Throw everything they’ve got in one basket, do everything possible to keep it afloat, to keep the power balance shifted their way. Losing Treviso would be terrible, but it’s not Antiva City and in some ways, with the Antaam occupation, it’s already lost. There’s no guarantee that they can do anything to stop the gods in either city, but there’s a better chance if they all stick together. She’s just not sure if she’ll ever be able to sleep at night knowing that she was sacrificing one city to try and save another. 

For a moment, she is back in the Grand Necropolis surrounded by undead and ignoring an order to retreat, to pull her team back. 

“Davrin and I will head to Treviso to help Lucanis. Harding, you and Bellara go see if you can help Neve.” 

She doesn’t like it, splitting the team like this, but what other play does she have? She hopes Neve and Lucanis will understand her rationale. She hopes she’s not dooming anyone, any place. 

“Let’s go.”

***

Lucanis never used to feel fear. He had prided himself on that fact, thought it made him more professional. And then he’d been captured and fear became as constant a companion as Spite. But even that fear seems to pale in comparison to the cold trickle of terror inching its way through his veins as he and Teia run through the streets of Treviso with their fellow Crows as a dragon bellows overhead. What does he know of fighting dragons? In all his years of training and contracts, nothing could have prepared him for this. 

He and Teia have taken nearly half the Crows with them and are sweeping the streets, killing as many Antaam as they can and directing civilians toward safer parts of the city. He trusts that Viago and Illario are doing the same along different routes. Lucanis doesn’t believe that they can stop this, but maybe they can alleviate the worst of what might be. When he’d left the Lighthouse, left Bellara with the message for Rook, he knew that he’d be going into this fight alone. 

Treviso is his home, but it is not as important as Minrathous. He knows this. Rook will too. But the Crows protect their own, so he directs another group toward a legion of Antaam and keeps making his way through his ruined city while the streets shake and a dragon roars.

“We can’t keep this up forever! Wherever that dragon attacks, the Antaam immediately follow,” Teia calls as she throws a dagger through the neck of an incoming warrior. 

“I’m open to suggestions, Teia,” he replies as he dodges an incoming blow. He spins to lodge his own dagger in the gap between the Antaam’s armor and helm. The qunari collapses heavily. He’s fighting as carefully as possible, willing Spite not to manifest those wings or any other indicator that he’s more than he seems, but he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be able to keep this up. They’ve been fighting for a while, and he’s already tiring. The Ossuary really did a number on him. 

“We can’t fight it if it’s in the air! We need to lure it to the ground,” she says as she trades blows with another Antaam warrior. 

“Okay, and how do you propose we do that?” 

Teia rips her blade free in a spray of blood that barely misses him. “I don’t know. This is all a bit above my pay grade.”

“Tell me about it,” he replies, looking around his crumbling, burning city. At least Caterina isn’t here to see this; it would break her heart. And there is some relief in that, in knowing that the only person he truly has to worry about here is Illario. 

“Lucanis!” 

He whips around at the sound of his name, and he has a hard time believing what he’s seeing for a moment. Running through smoke and debris and downed Crows and qunari is Rook.  Her armor is covered in blood and dust, but her purple eyes are bright and her magic is too. She shoots spells through her staff at nearby Antaam, looking for all the world like a hero in one of the romance novels he enjoys. She’s here.

The surprise gives way to immense gratitude. She’s not alone either, she’s being trailed by a burly, well-armored elf and…is that a griffon?

Teia grins. “Rook, it’s good to see you.”

Rook turns to the elf beside her. “Davrin, this is Lucanis and Teia of the Antivan Crows. Davrin is our new Warden contact.”

Davrin nods in greeting and then gestures to the griffon beside him. “And this is Assan.” In answer, the griffon jumps excitedly, lopsided ears flapping. He feels even more relief now. Rook hasn’t only come to help, but she’s brought a Warden. Surely that means she’s got a plan. 

hey don’t have time for pleasantries; not while Treviso burns. “We need to find out where the Antaam are coming from and get that dragon on the ground.”

Rook glances around at the carnage surrounding them. She points to a nearby dead Antaam warrior. “This is one of their legion captains?”

“Yes?” 

She turns towards Davrin. “I need you to find another dead Antaam with armor like this and I need you to bring me their foot. Lucanis, can you keep them off me for a few minutes?”

Davrin stares at her in concern. “You want me to do what?”

Rook takes a deep breath. “I’m happy to answer any and all questions when we’re not in the middle of a battlefield. Can you help me?”

Davrin looks like he wants to argue. “Yeah. Sure.”

“I’ll go with you, I have a feeling I’m not going to like this,” Teia replies before they re-enter the fray. 

“Rook, what are you doing?” he asks. He wants to trust her, but she’s not making a lot of sense. 

She kneels down next to the corpse, rips the boot off the Antaam’s foot, and pulls a sharp, thin dagger from her pouch and something that looks suspiciously like a saw. “I have a way of figuring out where the Antaam are coming from, but I need you to be okay with the methods.”

“Is this a weird necromancy thing?” 

She doesn’t answer him and instead fillets the skin off the Antaam’s largest toe in quick, deft movements. He realizes with some horror that she’s done this before. “Mierda.”

Once the bone is exposed, she saws it clean through until all that remains is the small nub of blood-covered bone. She holds it in her palm and begins whispering words he cannot quite catch. The bone shudders and then glowing green, it rises, hovering just above her palm.

Lucanis can feel her pull on the veil, her magic responding to her call. It doesn’t feel like blood magic, but it doesn’t feel right either. When her eyes open, they glow a sickly green that reminds him of veilfire. 

“There’s an encampment and a dreadnought near a square building. The building is a few stories tall and there are stone reliefs on the second and third floors… I can see the Chantry building not far from it…and the canal…”

“The governor’s residence?” Lucanis asks.

Rook blinks rapidly, the spell fading. “That’s where this warrior was for the last twenty-four hours at least.”

“Whatever you did, told you that?” 

She looks less than thrilled about having had an audience for this. “It’s called bone reading.” 

He has heard of bone reading. Zara even had her own mystics, but that is not what Rook has just done. “That is not like any bone reading I have seen.”

“Does the governor’s residence make sense? Do you think Ghilan’nain could be there?”

He thinks about the directions they’ve been encountering Antaam from. Perhaps they’ve turned it into their garrison. “Maybe.”

Davrin reappears, holding a still-bleeding foot out to the side as far as he can from his body. “Alright, Rook. Now will you tell me what we need this for?”

Rook quickly repacks her tools. “Sorry Davrin, turns out I don’t need it.”

“Of course, you don’t,” Davrin grimaces and then tosses the foot into the courtyard.

“Do you have a plan?” Lucanis asks. 

Rook nods, going a little pale. “Yep. But it’s a really bad one.” She pulls out the lyrium dagger from her belt. 

“You’re going to taunt a god?” he asks, wishing he was more surprised. 

“If you’ve got any better ideas, I’d love to hear them.”

He really, really wishes he did. “I’ll get to the governor’s residence.”

She tucks the dagger away and gestures to him to lead on. “You ever fight a dragon before?” 

He begins to jog. “Can’t say I have.”

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything,” she replies lightly. 

He’s pretty sure they’re all going to die. And well, he supposes trying to protect his city isn’t the worst way to go. 

Lucanis learns three things fighting a dragon. The first is that Ghilan’nain is horrifying. If that monster was ever a person, she’s not one anymore. The second is that his daggers aren’t very useful against a dragon. Which, he could have probably guessed. The last thing he learns is that Rook is absolutely batshit insane. She flings spells and magic and dodges attacks and acts like this is any other fight when they all know it’s not. But somehow, in the end, they’re all still standing when Ghilan’nain calls her dragon off.  

Bruised and battered they make their way back to where they’d diverted from the rest of the Crows. It’s a relief to see Teia and hear that the worst has been avoided even if it doesn’t feel much like a victory. Rook is only one person, but whatever she’d done in that fight had spooked Ghilan’nain enough to call the dragon back. If she hadn’t come to help…he doesn’t like to imagine how much worse it could have been. 

“We should get to Minrathous,” Rook says, but she sounds tired. There’s still ice in her long, dark hair and dirt streaked across her cheek. 

They’ll rest when they’re dead. He trusts that Teia and Viago and Illario can handle the rest. “Let’s go.”

They rush to Minrathous, and he still has to wonder a bit at the miracle that is. That they can be in Treviso one moment and Minrathous within the same hour. But it doesn’t matter how quickly they’ve hurried here, he knows as soon as they step out of the eluvian that they’re too late.

Blight is everywhere. The buildings in Dock Town that aren’t burning are groaning under the weight of the blight. There’s a sense of wrongness in the air. They find Neve, the Viper, and Tarquin just outside the ruins of the Shadow Dragon hideout. The Viper lays on a box, clutching an injury. 

“Smells like blight and death,” Spite says, recoiling from the scene. For once, they seem to be of one mind.  

The few Shadow Dragons he can see are hurrying from place to place, tending injuries, directing those carrying in bodies, and coordinating what relief they can from this ruined corner of the city. If there was any question about how things had gone in Minrathous, it is dispelled by this harrowing scene. 

“What’s the situation?” Rook asks. She looks at Neve with worry. They’re too late, and Rook knows it, but she’ll need to hear it from Neve first. 

Neve shakes her head, defeat showing in every line of her body. “Look around. I don’t know where to start. Venatori had a clear shot at the palace while we faced a dragon we could barely hurt. The Viper drew it away from a safe house and took a claw to the gut as thanks. A healer could fix the wound, but the Blight is already in him.”

The devastation is clear in Neve’s voice. The anger too. 

“I’m so sorry,” Rook says. “What can I do to help?”

Tarquin steps forward from his place beside the Viper. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough? This is all you, isn’t it?” He gestures to the ruined city. “The blight. The dragon. Now the city’s lost to the Venatori.”

If Lucanis expects Neve to jump to Rook’s defense, he’d be wrong. The Viper waves Tarquin off, but the silence that follows is deafening. Rook is just one person, and he’s not sure her being here really would have made the difference. But it’s pretty clear it doesn’t matter. 

“I sent Bellara and Harding to help, and we came as soon as we could. Treviso was under attack too…I didn’t…I tried.” Rook’s words falter as if she knows as she’s speaking them that there aren’t words enough to make any of this better. 

Lucanis is struck by the desperate unfairness of the whole thing. It should have never been a trade. How is anyone supposed to choose when faced with something like this? And that’s why it was that way, wasn’t it? The gods had to know that they couldn’t be everywhere at once. Treviso is safe enough for now, but the cost is staggering. 

Neve squares her shoulders and steps up to Rook. “Tension’s a little high. You should go for now. I need to be here a while. See to things.”

“Neve…”

Neve shakes her head. “Just go.”

And so they do, but Rook is uncharacteristically quiet the entire way back to the Lighthouse. 

[lilllithdraagon]

PART 4: Lore and continuity breaks

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE THE VEILGUARD. READ AT OWN RISK.

Main Post Link

So yeah. Bioware put themselves in a deep ass hole with this one. I’d like to preface this section by saying that some of this is completely understandable. By the time of Veilguard, they have three games worth of world altering decisions to contend with. The flow charts for allowing for every possible world state would be completely insane. There comes a point where things get too much.

I think Veilguard was that point. Trying to fit into the narrative Fenris existing in some canon’s and him being dead in others and even another where he’s enslaved to Danarius still would be a nightmare. Especially when this is for every character from a previous game. Zevran could be dead for twenty years in one persons save file and could be running around still causing havoc in another. They didn’t want another Leliana lyrium ghost scenario. I get it.

(Lunadys) That being said I feel like Inquisition cut away a lot of the fat by retconning a lot of those options.

All of that out of the way.

Seriously.

Where are Solas’ agents? What did Cole mean ‘it left a scar when he burned her off his face?’

Do the Crows buy children or not?

Did Solas call all the Dalish to Arlathan or not? There was sort of a whole end credit splash-screen about a mass exodus. Just... not addressed? Gotcha.

Racism just doesn’t exist in Minrathos Docktown I guess?

We are left with so many questions. Are things being ret-conned or just not addressed? It’s enough to make our hair fall out from stress like the ancient elves do apparently.

WHY CAN YOU USE THE CRYSTAL DAGGER LIKE THAT? There’s no cutscene or explanation for you learning to use this thing. There’s no explanation beyond ‘yo this is easier for gameplay’ about why you can use other people’s abilities while they’re not THERE. No conversation with Solas, or Neve, or Emmerich, or Bellara, or Morrigan. Nothing. Just here’s your dagger. Use it well. Not even a throw away line from Harding about it.

You just take over Solas’ lighthouse? And just live there? And everyone just accepts that? From every faction? Without mistrusting the person who ended the world? Cool Cool Cool.

And so much of the lore is in massive dumps in the codex or by characters.

Thanks for the huge dialogue monologue dump of past lore and clarifications with 0 weight behind the revelations because we get it in large conversation chunks. Like wow so many answers to our burning questions, just said over coffee in the crossroads. No big reveal, no buildup.

Pacing is off. There doesn’t seem to be a clear indication of how much time is passing between any of the ‘scenes’ and as such... How does Rook have time for all these personal quests for the companions? A lot of the interactions with them are timed so you HAVE to interact. Which is all well and good but when you have literal gods destroying the world, why are you stopping for tea in the forest and shopping for groceries? It’s stilted. The tones don’t match.

Everyone just accepts that the Elvhen gods were called the Evanuris. Great. When did that happen?

And everyone believes Rook is good and Solas is evil. There isn’t a single fucking character that challenges that except for Solas himself. And who is going to heed the god of lies?

[ladygelfling]

A Time Rook got Incredibly Drunk

From the Rook fic prompt list here

"Thought you had been kicked out of the Lords, Laidir. Guess being Isabela's favorite has its advantages."

Tessora turned in her chair to the face the man addressing her. "Heglind. Thought I smelled something rotten." Tess slurred the words slightly, seeing as how she was already pretty deep in her cups. Taash and her had taken Bellara out with them to the Hilt and currently, Taash was the most sober of the three.

"Haven't seen much of you or your crew around lately. No matter though, my crew gets all the business now anyway. Thanks for that, love." He smiled inanely at her.

Tess suddenly flew up out of her chair and got right in his face. "Don't call me 'love'. I didn't realize we were all having a contest. We're all Lords of Fortune, right? You and your mates enjoy it while you can though. I'm trying to save the fucking world! And after I do and come back here, every scholar and rich toff looking for treasure is gonna want to hire the captain who slayed gods."

"Yeah!" shouted Bellara, followed by a hiccup.

"Ugh, don't encourage Rook. Tess, shut up and sit back down." Taash said. They knew Tess could handle herself in a fight, but Heglind was tall and broad and a giant asshole.

Heglind laughed. "All this shit happening with blight and dragons and fuck knows what else? You think you're gonna be the hero? Save us all? Some knife-eared-"

The sound of the back of Tessora's hand making abrupt contact with his face seemed to echo off the walls of the bar. Several members of Heglind's crew stood, as did Taash and Bellara, though in Bellara's case, a bit wobbly.

Another large man came to Heglind's side and shoved Tess. Taash moved in front of him. "Touch her again and I'll break your arm." they growled.

Bellara giggled. "Is this a bar fight? I've never been in a bar fight!!"

Heglind spit something out of his mouth. "You broke my bloody tooth, you crazy bitch!"

Taash knew immediately that there was going to be no talking their way out of this. As soon as the insult left his mouth, Tess launched herself at him like a deepstalker bursting out of the ground and toppled him over.

Taash shrugged, cracked their neck, and looked at the big man in front of them. "Let's go, big guy!"

The scene descended into chaos from there. Several other patrons joined in on behalf of Tessora. Heglind's crew was not the most popular so some were just happy for the excuse.

Fists, furniture, and magic went flying everywhere. Tess had been thrown into a table. Taash had been hit with a chair, which shattered into several pieces. Bellara had been wildly throwing out bolts of magical energy but was too drunk to aim properly so she may have accidentally hit Tessora. Heglind had ended up on his knees doubled over in pain because Tess had delivered a swift kick to his balls.

And someone had been slapped with a fish.

The whole thing ended just as quickly as it started when Isabela walked in a yelled at everyone to stop. Heglind and his crew limped out of the bar, leaving Isabela shaking her head at the mess and at her friend.

"What am I going to do with you, Kitten? You told me after the last time you got into a fight in here that you would keep it in the arena. Poor Jax has to clean all this up now."

Tessora looked sheepishly at her friend and then at the Hilt's bartender. "Sorry, Jax. We'll help clean up and I can pay for the damages." Tess went to pick up an uprighted chair and nearly fell over.

"Tess, you're drunk and bleeding and look like shit. Go back to the Lighthouse. I'll take care of this." Isabela waved her off. "Taash, you okay? That one is looking a little green though."

"I'm green??" shouted Bellara.

"Bela, no. Everyone is gonna say your playing favorites or something." Tessora said.

Isabela laughed. "Kitten, you are my favorite. I don't give a shit what everyone else thinks. Hawke even knows it and he's my husband."

~~~~~~

Taash, Tessora, and Bellara emerged from the Eluvian into the Lighthouse and Bellara promptly threw up over the side of the walkway.

"You okay, Bellara?" asked Taash.

"Tastes like banana. When did I eat a banana?"

Tess snorted out a laugh, followed promptly by winces of pain because she had taken several hits to the face apparently. "Ow…don't make me laugh!"

"Wait. You ate my banana! I knew it!" Taash said, trying to hold in laughter.

They went up the stairs from the Eluvian room and found Emmrich and Harding sitting on the couch still awake and talking about Lace's magic.

"Maker, what happened??" asked Lace.

"WE GOT INTO A BAR FIGHT! IT WAS AMAZING!" Bellara clapped her hands in excitement. "I broke a bottle over someone's head!" She swayed suddenly. "Oh…I need to lie down I think." She sank into the nearest chair.

Emmrich rushed over to inspect Tessora. "Dearest, what happened? Sit down, let me heal you." Lace went over to check the wounds on Taash, leaving Emmrich with Tess on the sofa.

"You should see the other guys," said Tessora, while Emmrich started to apply a healing spell to her swollen right eye.

"Was it at least a justified fight?" he asked with a sigh. "I do wish you would be more careful, darling."

"Asshole called me a knife-ear. Been a while since I'd been called that and I didn't like it." Tessora touched her injured hand and winced.

Emmrich took her hand in his and weaved magic around it. "Then he most certainly deserved whatever beating you gave him." He looked up to check her face again and she was staring at him with a tiny smile.

"Bela said I'm her favorite," she said with a giggle, then leaned in conspiratorially. "But you're my favorite."

[datvtranscripts]

In Entropy’s Grasp Pt. 1

Bellara Lutare

Bellara Masterpost

Signs and Portents Masterpost Previous: Through The Eluvian

Rook travels into Arlathan Forest in search of Bellara.

Veil Jumper Rook: Never been to this part of Arlathan before. This fog’s… strange.

Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Is it me, or is there something strange about this fog?

Their companion looks around.

Neve: I've never seen fog like this. Something's not right.

Harding: It all feels a little off. Like everything shifted a little bit.

They approach a suit of golden armor standing to the side of the path, and it comes to life.

Harding: Is that suit of armor… moving?

Neve: So that suit of armor is moving.

They fight the sentinel. As it falls, another leaps out of the woods at them, but is stopped midair and its magic is absorbed into an artifact worn by an elf.

Bellara: Hah! Gotcha.

She climbs down to where Rook is.

Bellara: Oh, people! Where’d you come from?

Rook: Bellara? Bellara Lutare? Strife and Irelin sent us to find you.

Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: Wait. Didn't you used to be a Veil Jumper? You left with Varric. What was your name…? Rook: Rook. At least, that's the nickname Varric gave me.

Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: Who are you? Exactly? Rook: Call me Rook.

They turn to their companion.

Harding: Lace Harding.

Neve: Neve Gallus. Bellara: Wait—I know that name! But…

Bellara: Protocol is to wait a full week before they send anyone out to look for me. I've only been gone three days.

Rook: Well, the situation's changed—for the worse, unfortunately.

Elf Rook: Rook: Our gods, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? They've escaped from Fen'Harel's prison. And by all accounts, they want to destroy the world.

Non-elf Rook: Rook: The elven gods Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain have escaped Fen'Harel's prison. And it seems like they want to destroy the world.

Bellara: Oh. Yes. That is very much for the worse. Okay. Right. I need a second.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Understandable. Rook: it’s a lot to take in.

Sarcastic: Won’t help. Rook: I've had a couple of days, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

Stoic: You don’t have it. Rook: Like I said. End of the world. You can mull it over later.

Bellara: It does sort of explain a few things though.

Harding: Like what?

Neve: Like what, exactly?

Bellara: The surge of raw magic in the area. These artifacts started waking up a while ago, but in fits and starts. One here, a couple there… Then a couple of days ago, the sky split open. And now? Raw magic, thick as fog. Only a god—or gods—could've done that. There's something kind of exciting about it. And dangerous. Really dangerous. Dangerous enough that I was going to head back to the Veil Jumper camp, but…

Rook: But what?

Their attention shifts to the shimmery barrier around them.

Bellara: See that shimmer? That's a Veil bubble. It's separating us from the rest of the real world. So to speak. You can only pass through it one way. Once you're in, you can't get out.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Can you bring it down? [1]

Sarcastic: Sounds bad. [2]

Stoic: We’ll force out way out. [3]

1 - Affable: Can you bring it down? Rook: Strife and Irelin said you're their best Veil Jumper. Hope that means you've got an idea. Bellara: Maybe…

2 - Sarcastic: Sounds bad. Rook: I think I'd prefer to stay in one piece, yeah. Bellara: Right! Me, too. But I think I can find a way out.

3 - Stoic: We’ll force out way out. Rook: We don't have time for this. Let's just force our way out. Bellara: Oh, I wouldn't do that. I don't know what contacting that much raw magic would do to you. But. There's another way.

Bellara: A bubble like that? There has to be something at the center that's generating it. Something powerful. If we can find it and remove it—safely, I mean—the bubble itself should collapse.

Harding: And then we're back in reality? Bellara: I really, really hope so.

Neve: And then we're back in reality? Bellara: I sure hope so.

Rook: Well then—let’s get going.

Next: Journey to the Center of the Forest

[khomabrutalist]

Rate Your OC: Simonetta de Riva

thank you so much for the tag @kaleido-moon!! i love getting chances to be annoying about my ocs 😌

Compassion: 5/10

She certainly doesn't think of herself as a very compassionate or caring person; it kind of undermines the whole paid contract killer mystique, really. Which makes it really confusing when she slips into the whole leader role remarkably well. I think she's able to face down her vast array of emotional issues when she sees them in somebody else; it makes things less complicated, in a way. And she likes feeling needed. Wanted, even! This is a whole new world for her! Before I think it was just an undefined burning feeling in her when she felt her principles being violated. Now I think she has better tools to put that feeling into words. The Lighthouse crew absolutely does help her as much as she helps them.

Bitterness: 5/10

She's no stranger to sulking or feeling sorry for herself, absolutely. At the same time it's like. She doesn't see how her life would be any better under other circumstances; it would just be a different kind of rough, and at least here she gets a taste of luxury to go along with it. However I find the banter with Lucanis that implies Rook de Riva resents Viago extremely chewy, so that bitterness is definitely there in some capacity!

Happiness: 4/10

She's not in a great place when Varric recruits her, honestly! Very much in a free fall of feeling like everything she's ever wanted in her life is about to slip out of her hands. I think for her the Antaam incident was the culmination of a period of feeling alienated and dissatisfied, and she ended up with a face permanently marked with her greatest shame because of it! Real rock bottom moment there. Post Veilguard it goes way up, because I am a sucker who is allergic to not giving my characters happy endings. So like, an 8 or 9 eventually, but god does it take a lot of working through dumb shit first!

Politeness: 4/10

She's capable of it! She's extremely good at turning on the charm in situations where it would benefit her, or situations when Viago emphasizes the value of it, because Maker take you high society is where you're going to get most of your contacts and I won't have my protégé be unhirable because she can't control her own blighted mouth. If she's comfortable she tends to be a lot more direct and rough around the edges.

Chivalry: ???/10

I genuinely don't know how to quantify this. If we're talking about a traditional sense then yeah probably not very high. If we mean like an honor among thieves sort of way then yeah. She certainly has principles! I think she's very much on board with the whole reform the Crows deal, for example. She doesn't exactly have a code to recite for you, though.

Pride: 8/10

She fulfills her "narrative foil to Solas" obligations quite well here, I think. What doesn't she have to be proud of? She's worked hard to be where she is and it was absolutely all worth it, don't pay attention to any of the extensive emotional damage it's fine she's fine. What are you doing stop dialing that therapist's office number.

Honesty: 6/10

There needs to be an asterisk on this one, I think, because really what kind of honesty are we talking about here? She's honest with the people she cares about when it counts, but when it comes to strangers she'll lie, steal, and cheat with no problems whatsoever. Emotional honesty and honesty with herself? Lol. Lmao, even. If you were to ask her she would judge it against the first criteria, though, because of course she would.

Love: 8/10

That Clarice Lispector quote that's like "Although I do have love inside me. I just don't know how to use love. Sometimes it tears at my flesh, like barbs." I think about it every time I think about her relationship to love. Baby girl is so disgustingly full of love that it physically aches, honestly. But like...what outlet does she have for that in the world she occupies? She knows better than to make herself vulnerable trying to reach out for real intimacy, and the one time she did make that mistake she got her heart broken. Once bitten etc etc.

It's terrifying when she ends up just stumbling into it, then. You mean to tell her that all that effort and those emotional safeguards meant nothing? What's more, how do you stagger the flow of a bursting dam? Any other time she makes reckless decisions it's because she trusts herself and her abilities. She does not fucking trust herself in love even a little bit, and why would she? It's not part of the training. But not knowing doesn't stop the torrent, so where does that leave us? Squarely in self-sabotage territory is where. Thank the Maker Lucanis is willing to have patience.

Bravery: 10/10

To a fault! Like I hinted at in the last one, Simonetta has full confidence in her rigid control of her abilities, and just enough of a self destructive streak that she's willing to let that be enough for her to throw herself at any obstacle in full.

Recklessness: 9/10

Indistinguishable from bravery, if you were to ask her.

Ambition: 6/10

Being a good Crow is something she has worked towards with single-minded purpose since before she was old enough to understand the concept of single-mindedness. Honestly I think the actual goal of becoming Talon is nebulous to her because she just...doesn't want to imagine a future where Viago is not there, but she knows she wants something. Some kind of distinction, to be known by her peers for doing more than just fucking up a big operation. This is maybe incompatible with her tendency to get very frustrated at encountering setbacks, which just kind of sticks her in a feedback loop of sorts...she's not doing great by the time she leaves Antiva with Varric, is what I'm saying.

Loyalty: 10/10

Simonetta committing atrocities for the approval of the one person she cares about the most in this world: I see no parallels here, this is fine.

I've used the phrase "doggedly loyal" to describe her in the past. Particularly to Viago de Riva, because when a man saves you from starving in the streets and instead gives you wealth and power beyond what you could have ever even imagined you're going to stick to him like a bur on his clothes. Even the commitment to tormenting him is a show of loyalty, an expression of trust in him not to respond with the undue harshness or cruelty you would expect from a strict Talon-Crow relationship. This is all, for the most part, wholly unexpressed between them, because despite not sharing any blood they are very much cut from the same cloth and that cloth would rather die than be open and vulnerable with emotions. But make no mistake that man is a certified Father and he would do anything for her. And she would happily burn down the world she just got done saving if it meant he had a chance to have the life he wants.

It causes a bit of a dilemma post game because now she has more than just Talon and house to concentrate her loyalty on, but I think that's good, really. She needs that perspective in her life, but ultimately I think her brand of loyalty remains just as intense and frankly unhinged as it was before. Its focus has just been expanded to the friends and lovers she picked up along the way.

Sense of family: 4/10

Half-starved orphan girl plucked off the streets of the poorest district of Treviso raised by one of the most tightly wound emotionally stunted men in existence? No, she doesn't really have a lot of time for the concepts of family or blood, except maybe as responsibilities tied to one's duty to one's Crow house. She's seen how it causes Viago to be the way that he is (ironically he and Teia are the only real familial ties she puts real weight on, and no it was not through any self awareness on her part next question) and when she does eventually end up getting thrown into some family drama she pretty much rejects it wholeheartedly. It's a whole emotional journey for her post-Veilguard. She and the Dellamorte boys go through a lot of weird convoluted healing together.

Attractiveness: 10/10

I am not going to be objective about this. She's hot because I made her that way on purpose. She knows she's hot, too, and she's not above using it to get what she wants. Goblin girl can have a few redeeming qualities as a treat.

Agility: 9/10

Lucanis calls her little sparrow for a reason. Simonetta is for sure on the smaller side for a human (5'3" which isn't terribly short, but short enough to be thrown in bite jail for making sure unwary people jokingly using her as an arm rest ended up with teeth marks in their elbows for their trouble) and you fucking bet Viago saw that as an immediate advantage when it comes to acrobatics and agility training, and she took to it like...well, like a sparrow takes to flight. She has a joke that so many great assassins are short because they hate being the bigger person.

It does present a problem when she lets herself use it as a crutch: Viago is constantly reprimanding her for neglecting her parrying in favor of her dodging, and it also conveniently provides cover for the little problem she has with water. You don't have to admit you can't keep your calm when you fall in water if you just...never do that, right? Perfectly solid defense for someone living in a city full of canals and constantly ziplining over said canals. It's fine, don't worry about it.

Sex drive: 9/10

Oh she absolutely fucks. What else is a Crow with this much pent up aggression supposed to do in between rigorous training and bouts of mortal peril? You won't be able to convince me that the barracks for newly fledged Crows doesn't look like the Olympic village. Continuing with the Viago's problem child theme I think he did everything he could possibly think of to rein her in...which of course just led to her finding new and exciting ways to evade him, because these two have a real Spy vs Spy ass relationship. Eventually he just sighed and threw his hands up and said to the fucking Void with it all the least you can do is just be safe about it. Which is a fair enough compromise to her.

Oddly enough this doesn't really cross over into the professional realm? She'll dabble in a little seduction if it seems like the best way to get the job done, but I think she tends to prefer other, less direct methods. Sometimes you just need to arrange a tragic accident for enrichment.

I'll be so real I don't have a lot of followers and that makes tagging people for things very difficult. If you want to do this you can shout me out and say I tagged you, I'd love to read about your Rook!

[idolsgf]

Six Song Soundtrack

Rules: If you're tagged, make a post with links to music and/or lyrics describing six things/ events about your OC/story.

tagged by @shivunin and @fenharel-apologist94, tysm!! <3 (y'all are tagged back if you want to do another character :3) I remember doing this one for Mori'na awhile ago, this is definitely a fun one. Decided to do my LoF Rook, I don't talk about her much so it's time for them to shine.

tagging: @ell-vellan @theheartmold @ustalav @ndostairlyrium @greypetrel ( i know i'm late in doing this so if you've already done it then no pressure to do another one 😅 )

blank version at the end

Selin Laidir's Soundtrack

Event that defines your character's past:

On the Run by Glass Animals // Selin faked their death and left home the night before they were set to be married

I'm thinking this, I'm thinking this Thinking I should fake my own death There's no fixing this Thanks for all the fish I'll go and you'll forget this 'Cause them's the consequences, ooh I'm going on the run, on the run, on the run, on the, on the run

How your character sees themselves:

Ceiling Won't Break by Finish Ticket // A lot of insecurities on the inside

I close my eyes, takes me away And I go to better times, but reality draws that line I felt alive, just for the stay Then it's back to my ways I see no lights 'cause the lights weren't aimed at me And every night's just a day that failed to be At it again, darkest of darks And I'm over my head Yeah I'm over my head

How others view them:

Dazzle by Oh Wonder // A thrill seeker, someone who's just out here having fun. It's never enough though, is it?

Give me neon lights, roll me paper heights I can feel the dice, cooling me See the plastic life through my bloodshot eyes I am wild alive, I am wild alive Not in it for the money, just in it for the thrill Living in the moment, paying for the kill Golden grill of sadness, mid-life wasted youth Always ends up like this, always gonna lose

Their closest relationship (romantic or platonic)

Sailor Song by Gigi Perez // I had to do this song for my Neve-mancer

She took my fingers to her mouth The kind of thing that makes you proud That nothing else had ever Worked out, worked out And lately, I've tried other things But nothing can capture the sting Of the venom she's gonna spit out right now Oh, won't you kiss me on the mouth and love me like a sailor?

A major fight scene:

Glass Heart by Caskets // For the Solas boss fight we never got 😔

I finally agree, I'm a mess, I confess To the lies and my mistakes They convulse till they scream and they cry 'Cause I feel so exhausted, I just wanna be free To drag myself from death's front door And not let him capture me Maybe I should take back what you meant to me Just like you took my self-belief

End credits song:

Can't Run Forever by Hembree // Time to stop running away from problems

I stand here dressed in my devotion Trying to rule my world But if I drift out deep into the ocean Am I the fooled at faults? I can't run forever We watched the models Walking with their eyes closed Hoping to break the mold When will I swallow All that I am proud of Am I the typical

Blank Version:

Event that defines your character's past:

How your character sees themselves:

How others view them:

Their closest relationship (romantic or platonic)

A major fight scene:

End credits song:

[ajarofbees]

Hey! 18, 19 or 21 for the Rook story time prompts! You know I love hearing about FeeFee, but feel free to write for your other Rooks, if you want!

i got the word-juice out for one, so its feefee's joining! thank you!!

21. GW!Rook undergoing the Joining

Fiore Thorne was probably the only one actually excited when the time for the Joining came. This didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knew him—where every other recruit looked to the Joining with apprehension, maybe some excitement, but mostly with the sort of tenseness that came from staring down a distant threat, the young elf had been unable to hold still all day. Where his enthusiasm went, his clumsiness followed, and saw him passed off to Antoine and Evka before he banged himself up too badly.

He desperately tried to pay attention to the First Warden’s speech, as serious and heavy as it was, but he couldn’t focus on just on thing; his eyes roved from the metal chalice, filled with dark liquid, to the serious expressions of his fellow recruits, to the First Warden’s incredibly animated mustache as he spoke, to how Fiore had to physically stop himself from fidgeting in place, and then back to the Joining Chalice to start the whole process over again.

Finally, it was lifted from the pedestal. Finally, recruits where brought forth. Finally, finally, finally—it was handed to Fiore and he gladly drank.

It was awful. Every recruit and conscript in Weisshaupt knew, by the time training was over, it was Darkspawn blood in that cup. Some other stuff to make the whole ritual work, but mostly Darkspawn blood. It felt like it was clawing its way down his throat, making him wheeze and tear up, but Fiore resolutely swallowed it down. This is what it takes to be a Warden, he reminded himself as the ceremony moved on and the next recruit drank, trying to keep his vision straight as the world started to spin, This is nothing compared to getting a face of a red lyrium exploding! You can do this! You can be a Warden!

He managed to hold on until it was nearing the end, but when one of the older Wardens supervising looked him in the face, they frowned.

“Hey, kid, you alright?”

Fiore tries to confidently reply, I’m fine! Instead, what comes out is a mysterious, garbled sound, and then the tilting of the world wins out as he keels over into unconsciousness.

It’s not uncommon for recruits to pass out as the Darkspawn blood settles in, but that doesn’t make it less embarrassing for him when he comes to later. Antoine, still in his traveling clothes from checking some Darkspawn sightings with Evka, tells him not to feel bad about it.

“We weren’t able to help out the ceremony, but we tried to hurry back to see you afterwards.” Antoine said once Fiore was able to sit up without the world trying to start spinning again. Fiore did not think about how some of the recruits who fell over did not get up.

“All you guys missed was the First Warden’s speech… Which I couldn’t really pay attention to.” Fiore assured him, “I tried! But, you know—it was the Joining!”

“And you passed! Congratulations!” Antoine repeated it in Orlesian, clapping Fiore’s shoulders. Fiore did not think about the recruits who did not get up after drinking from the chalice.

“You are now a Warden.” Antoine continued proudly, “There are even more challenges ahead but this is still worth celebrating! You said you are from Wycome, yes? Will you to write something to send back?”

“Yeah, yeah, later though!” Fiore said quickly, already latching onto the idea of ‘challenges ahead’, “This means fighting actual Darkspawn, right?” He scrambled in the cot to fully face Antoine, “Like you guys! And I can help out with more of your projects!” Already, he could see it: grand challenges, yes, but just as grand actions to overcome them, just like the Wardens of legends.

[mamamittens]

Playing through Veilguard again is doing wonders for feeding the brain worm currently attempting to shit out what is rapidly looking to be a perhaps 300k~ fic by the end (based on the playlist I've been using as a guide while writing where I'm 1/5th of the way through the whole thing and my current progress).

Mainly it would be REALLY FUNNY if they get all the way to Lucanis settling into his 'room' and the end dialogue basically for Nyla to realize she STILL HADN'T TOLD HIM ABOUT HER WHOLE SITUATION.

Look, a lot happens lol, and it seemed like a bad idea to spill that in the Ossuary and immediately after discovering his grandmother's 'death'. Not to mention Nyla knows not to say shit in front of Illario just yet (also, he has both an undercut and a manbun, what an interesting choice of style... Not that I can talk, it's not that far off from my own hair last year or so lmao).

Anyway, she almost starts telling him before realizing that THE DEMON OF VYRANTIUM, CURRENTLY PSEUDO POSSESSED HIMSELF, MAY NOT REACT WELL TO BEING HIRED BY SOMEONE ALSO POSSESSED. And may, in fact, find it sus as hell she was all like "I get it, but u know u can't avoid sleep forever dude, please let us help"

So she quickly runs to get Neve to help explain/protect her if he tries to stab her ass and gets spooked to shit to see he followed her and heard her talking.

"Hey, Nyla, what's the rush?"

"Nevey-Baby, please help me not get merced by a paranoid assassin--we forgot to tell him! About me!!!"

"What about you?"

"SONOFABITCH-- YOU SPOOKY BASTARD! God damnit--okay, you got me good there--fuck me sideways dude a little warning!"

And Neve is trying very hard not to laugh her ass off because Nyla is genuinely panicking that she'll be murdered by a half starved, malnourished top assassin in her sleep--if she's lucky.

"If you're worried I'll kill you for being a mage, I only kill contracts and people who stop me from killing my contracts. And you, are my employer." Nyla is just nervously smiling.

"Well, I certainly won't be stopping you from any of that but--oh boy howdy this is unfortunate, I thought I was done with the painfully awkward explaining to twitchy assassins."

"...does it have to do with the strange way you talk for a de Riva Crow, Viago's apprentice at that?"

"Sharp as a tack, I see. Yeah. It does. Uh..." She looks to Neve who is, as usual, no help when it comes to not looking crazy explaining shit. "We've got a lot more in common than you think. But uh, not technically me and you, but only sorta Spite and I?"

Lucanis just stares at her like she's lost her damn mind.

"...are you saying you're a demon?" She can't see but Spite is losing his mind and wondering if that's why Nyla 'feels half there' or something close.

"No, I'm an accountant. Depending on your point of view, that's worse somehow."

Lucanis just gives her that massive "WTF" look as he processes that.

"Think of it as subletting a contract. When we kill the gods, the real Rook comes back home and I go back to my own world. Which, no, isn't the fade. We don't have magic and all that where I'm from. Some strange, sad god is created originally if Rook stayed as she was, but they don't want to exist so they swapped us. It's weird, I know. I'm sorry about that."

"...and a full Crow could not work because....?"

"Uh, it's not clear to me, but apparently this whole shindig requires a lot of trust and compassion--"

"Ah, so not a Crow then. How bad could it be?"

"Bad enough a fully powered god would rather die than be created, apparently." Neve finally pipes up. "Doesn't hurt she knows the future. Won't share a lot, we're trying to keep the timeline intact since rushing the gods won't help us any."

"Thanks for finally pitching in, Nevey-love."

And basically Lucanis was basically entertaining this until now because it's low-key not his business if his employer is kinda batshit, which really smacks him in the face when Treviso gets attacked AS SHE WARNED HIM by a blighted ice dragon.

Him and Neve both have massive "oh SHIT" moments despite knowing ahead of time cause neither could really comprehend the devastation until it was in their face basically.

[queenerdloser]

also i AM playing veilguard and i made a wee pocket sized lad of a man for my first rook and i love him and his boyband hair. spoilers & reactions below the cut.

my first rook is a lord of fortune mage w/the plan to romance lucanis. he's very snarky and i love him.

i'm glad they made the call to go back to the like. da2 style of dialogue.

me so far every time rook talks to solas: get his ass!!!!!!

that said, i feel like they're making solas like rook too quick. what the fuck. it took my inquisitor like YEARS to build a rapport with this motherfucker.

i hate the combat lol. maybe i'll enjoy it more when i get used to it but there's too many moving pieces to keep track of for me. my favorite combat is where i can just like mash one button and easily kill everything in my path, i don't want to be strategic and have to micromanage everything. also what is this three potions bullshit. even dai gave you 10. and i have to like find them in random pots????? what the fuck????

very fun to sprint and jump. makes me feel zoom.

why do the elves just accept that their gods are back and evil? like. it feels like they accept it WAY too quickly lol.

dialogue so far is uh. very cheesy. a lot of "we're all great so let's work together!" stuff that is like. fine. but cheesy.

i'd die for lace harding. she looks so cute in this game.

when solas stabbed varric i SCREAMED. i was like. do NOT kill my boy in the first fifteen minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm still only like a couple of hours in but varric was being suspiciously sick in the cutscenes so i have feeling he is going to die :((((

me: where is my BOYFRIEND (lucanis) and my FUTURE BOYFRIEND (davrin)

i love neve but i have a feeling we are going to butt heads a lot lol. i'm playing my rook as the reckless, confident type with a saving person thing that feels true to what we know about his backstory and he's already disagreed with neve several times. whoops.

i love the little marker showing me exactly where to go. hell yeah, hold my hand with this bullshit. kind of glad they dumped the open world of dai and got us back on rails.... tho that may change as i get further in the game???

when i say i spent HOURS in the character creator.... like i love it but it honestly felt like TOO much tbh. esp. when i had to do it for rook and then immediately again for my inquisitor too.

i ended up going lord of fortune background almost entirely bc i liked their casual look the best but i think i'll definitely try to play most of the backgrounds. they're so fun! i was THIS close to doing shadow dragons.

honestly minrathous is really cool???? all the locations so far have been great, love the lighthouse. (v. funny 2 me that we get all of these cool locations thanks to solas. man knows how to find a cool spot and name it i guess.)

the updated blight is VERY creepy. also those new darkspawn??? i gasped.

i do like that they're playing solas as this like. enemy who is begrudgingly allied due to worse enemies. but i'm so curious how they'll play it when the inquisitor gets involved. i'm doing my kai lavellan inky who DEFINITELY is going to try to stop solas at all costs... uh oh lol.

i know people were salty about not getting to integrate a lot of dai choices but tbh i'm fine with it. i'm more happy we got to include our inquisitor tbh.

morrigan showing up looking younger than she did in da:o.... um okay lol. also i kind of hate that she's considered an expert on elven history yet again. stop that.

im going to say again i hate the combat bc i really do hate it. praying it grows on me as i get more used to it bc otherwise i'm enjoying the game a lot.