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@magerightsmagefights
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it must have been a hot minute (aka before patch 5) since the last time i played a dark urge character that chose not to ally with gortash, because the way these screenshots just took me right out at the kneecaps
for context, this is his reaction to selecting "for what it's worth, i think i always liked you too. but this is how it has to be"
(and actually just before this, too, when durge shows up after having destroyed the steel watch foundry, he is visibly hurt by what he perceives as a betrayal!!)
then archcunt mode activates and he's so much more brutal than he is with vanilla tav 😬 babygirl is so mad that they skipped the fuck around phase and went straight to find out
"your bones will be a souvenir of what could've been" anyway he's not taking rejection well
i'm not sure why this was posted without the link to the actual GFM but here it is
I had a thought the other day about how since Manfred can talk and move and see and hear that he probably actually magically has all the senses. That lead to thinking about how Manfred and Spite are both pretty new to the world and I bet Emmerich and Rook and Lucanis would love to take them on discovery adventures so they can see and taste and feel and hear and smell new things. I bet Davrin would also like to expose Assan and maybe the other griffons to things too. Actually probably the whole team would end up bringing new things or taking them all to their favorite places and bringing their favorite foods.
So what do you think? Where would they go? What would the other companions encourage/help them to explore? What do you think they would end up liking?
*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer
I think Emmerich, Rook and Lucanis would have to take Spite and Manfred on discovery adventures, because those spirits will absolutely go on adventures either way and it's better for everyone involved if those adventures are supervised. We know Spite is constantly wanting to put things in his mouth which definitely should not be there, and when Manfred has something, Spite oftentimes also wants that thing. The two of them left unattended would spell inconvenience and discomfort (and in Lucanis' case, indigestion) for the whole team.
I think that these planned, supervised discovery adventures would likely happen after the game, since the end of Lucanis' personal quest is when we see him sit down and purposefully introduce Spite to things like coffee, and Manfred is presumably speaking words around that time. I feel like Lucanis would approach this task more like training a dog what is good and bad (see how bad baskets taste? Please stop eating baskets.) meanwhile Emmerich would approach it more as a schooling/research opportunity. (Can you verbalize your thoughts about baskets? What would you like to put inside it?)
Davrin and Assan I have less of an idea about, just because the fate of the griffons and Grey Wardens are so up in the air after the good ending. Davrin, to me, seems like a very determined man who was certain of his fate and the task ahead of him, and now suddenly has no fate or no task. He's been cured of the Taint. The Blight is effectively quelled, and if it comes back, Solas is there to stop it. In my head I process these questions as if they were for a fic, and I think that if Davrin and Assan were included in these discovery adventures, Davrin's inner turmoil would take center stage for me just because it's so interesting. A man who was willing and ready to die, who was convinced for most of his adulthood that an honorable death was the point of his life, and now suddenly it's gone. Now, he's going to live a full and healthy life without burdens. How does a character built for struggle deal with being thrust into peace? What is his griffon son going to grow up to be? There used to be only one possibility and now there are thousands.
Anyway. Uh. I think Davrin would try to train Manfred in melee combat behind Emmerich's back. And I think Manfred would be the first person/spirit to ride Assan, since he's just bones and very light. And I think Davrin would be very very very jealous.
Wyll: Either that was a hook horror, or I ate too much pea soup last night.
Almost a year old and has been abandoned due to me not knowing how to make animatics yet, but! I like their lil spin :)
"Did Varric just become stupid in Veilguard, that he'd walk up to Solas like that?"
No, I just think he knew. He's a 50-something year old rogue; he's lived in a sketchy tavern, fought all sorts of monsters, demons and abominations, witnessed all kinds of betrayal. He's seen it all, from Kirkwall to Ferelden and now Tevinter...you can't convince me he wasn't aware of what would most likely await him at the top of those stairs.
He knew, but he was tired. After losing Bartrand, Kirkwall, possibly Hawke—being away from all his friends, who ended up dispersing all over Thedas—after years of living with his regrets about the Deep Roads, about lyrium, about Bianca—about Anders, whom he couldn't save. A friend whose mind he could not change, a haunting tale now mirrored in his elven companion.
What is there left for Varric Tethras? A broken city to govern, occasional letters from friends. Maybe, but he's so tired. So tired that his well-groomed stubble has now turned into a full bush across his sunken cheeks. His flashy earrings gone, his flamboyant chain and tunic replaced by a more sober outfit, now drained of the fiery, warm colours that used to adorn his wardrobe, his hair, his eyes. Almost in greyscale now, it'd be hard to know it's Varric if it wasn't for his steady sarcastic remarks.
No, Varric was not stupid. Not in 2, not in Inquisition, definitely not in Veilguard. He was just tired, and probably figured if it was time to go, the best way to do so would be to try and redeem himself for all his perceived past failures. A domino of disastrous events started by a lyrium instrument which caused the downfall of a Tethras, ending the same exact way—except this time, it's one last sacrifice to try and break the cycle, to try and save a friend.
slapping this badge on my blog
There’s a lot of good “what ifs” for a Rook. What if Rook is the child of HoF, of Hawke, bonded to this or that spirit, etc, but I'd like to make just one more suggestion for who Rook could be:
Cole.
He’s real now, all the way through, with a beating heart and a face that needs shaving every now and then. Varric never knew much about children, and Cole didn’t know much about parents, but everyone needs help to become a person. Things just fell into place. Cole has Varric’s shaving mirror now. The dwarf said “You should hang onto this,” and it took a few years for Cole to understand that actually meant, “It’s yours now.”
There was a hole in Varric after losing Hawke. Cole didn't need to be a spirit to understand that. "Rook" was a chess piece, but it was also a bird, and Varric loved to tell stories about heroes like that. Even in Thedas, this place of immovable fact and reality, Varric could change the world with his stories. He said that Rook was a hero, and like a spirit answering its own nature, Cole became one. Stories were lies, in their own way, but Varric used them to tell the truth.
Solas was the opposite. Solas preferred using the truth to tell lies.
Solas has never seen "Rook," and they hope it will take him off guard when the time comes. Varric's job is to "stop the Dread Wolf," but it edges close to "save the Dread Wolf." Cole prefers that. Solas was his friend, too, even after so much change. Cole hopes Solas will still recognize him with a human heart.
But that human heart can no longer sense blood magic.
Solas wants to be angry when the ritual fails. He wants to accuse. He wants deride. He wants Rook to be unworthy of his grace, but it all breaks to pieces when Cole stands before him. He used to know that spirit, just as he used to know Mythal. Like her, like Solas, like every broken spirit pulled into mortal flesh and forced to decay, Cole has the weight of years on his body. Cole is older. Cole is aging. Cole will die unless Solas brings down the Veil, but Cole wants to stop him. This world is going to kill him one way or another, and yet Cole fights as if this is something to be protected.
They understood each other once. Neither one is sure how much of that remains.
Cole approaches leadership with gentleness, the way he approaches everything. He cannot hear pain anymore, so he tends to his companions with words and hands like a gardener, with the spiritual tenderness only Compassion could muster. Most spirits are confused when the world refuses to shape itself at their command, but Cole has learned Varric's tricks. He knows that if he treats his companions like heroes, they will eventually become so. It's easy to follow a leader like that. It's easy to love a leader like that.
Solas does not know whether he pities the fallen spirit, or envies him. Cole is Compassion. Cole is damaged beyond repair. Cole is happy. Cole doesn't regret a second of it. All things in this world are temporary, and that only makes Cole love them more. Why does Cole think this is worth saving?
(Is Cole right?)
It nearly ruins Solas to leave Cole in that prison. The entire Lighthouse wouldn't have enough space to paint this regret. But he was once Wisdom, and Cole was merely Compassion, and Compassion is not a spirit built for these wicked choices. Better for Pride to carry the burden, because Solas has so many scars on his soul that one more won't make a difference.
Compassion would never have been able to escape that prison. But a human being? A human being knows how to change.
Solas is relieved, dismayed, astonished to see what the spirit has become. To know that change is the very reason Cole bested him.
(Was Varric right? Lavellan? Felassan? Mythal? Is this all for nothing?)
All those mistakes speak together in the end. Cole opens his mouth, and Varric speaks through him. Mythal beside them, Lavellan with forgiveness already on her tongue. Solas is free. This world can be more than his mistakes. There is space for flowers in between the bones. He cannot undo his wrongs, but he can soften them.
And it begins with, "I'm sorry."
Cole smiles. Of course he does. There was never any doubt that he would redeem Solas in the end. He touches the copper chain around his neck, and one of Bianca's broken arrows in his pocket.
"I know," he says, and there is an echo to it.
Cole is glad Solas turned toward redemption. He is glad Solas believed Varric after all this time. He knows what happened was an accident.
But Varric is gone. The dwarves are tranquil. The number of deaths it took to turn Solas' pride is higher than Cole could count. Compared to the Blight, Cole's friendship should seem like hardly any price at all. But losing this is perhaps the sharpest wound.
Cole understands him, in the way of Compassion spirits. But Cole is no longer Compassion. Cole is no longer Solas' friend. As they part ways, as the Fade-tear closes and Solas looks over his shoulder, they both know: Cole understands. But he will never forgive.
i'm sorry but the "da fandom is a little racist BUT veilguard holds most of the blame for making davrin so irrelevent in the game" excuse is the weakest shit i've ever heard. no actually i genuinely think this is almost exclusively a fandom issue. like i won't argue that the "davrin vs harding choice is reliant on assan" shit john epler pushed was unbelievably racist and i won't argue that there's merit to the fact that it was tone deaf at Best to have the black man's character arc so reliant on his animal companion but i'm sorry you cannot fucking convince me that the "knight in shining armor with a gentle heart and a cute animal companion that takes you out on picnic dates and carves you little wooden trinkets" character is not almost Perfectly Engineered to be the most popular romance option in any game ever and yes i fully believe the only reason he isn't is entirely hinged on the fact that he's black and no amount of whataboutism towards the devs can convince me otherwise
davrin is literally one of the better written characters he's a major driving force in like four main quests he's the companion from literally the most popular faction in the entire series i'm sorry I DON'T BELIEVE IT ISN'T RACISM I DON'T!
This reminds me of the sentiment I had when I first played the game, when I got to know both Davrin and Lucanis that I thought, "Hmm. These seem like two petri dishes of Fandom Romance, labelled "Blackwall Concept" and "Blackwall Appearance" respectively.
Let me explain.
I am not saying that either Davrin or Lucanis are based on Blackwall, nor that they are Blackwall cut in half. But in terms of story, and particularly the way the first few scenes treat Davrin/Rook vs. Blackwall/Inquisitor, there are a few striking similarities.
Their first scene introduces us to an (assumed) Grey Warden, who is gruff, action-oriented, and will take control of a dangerous situation without hesitation. Through external storytelling (Assan/Blackwall's recruits) we are also told that this man has a gentler, nurturing side to him, and a goal to protect those weaker than him. This man is not awestruck by the protagonist; indeed, he's comfortable issuing orders to them if the situation calls for it. He isn't recruited by any initial attraction to the protagonist; he agrees to join the team because he has a deep-rooted urge to help, to save, and to protect.
As we get more acquainted with this Grey Warden, we learn more about him: he's comfortable and competent in a command structure, no matter whether he is subordinate, superior, or comrade. He likes animals, is generally laid-back, and carves wood in his spare time. He protects the innocent, and admires those who do the same. He's self-sacrificing to a fault, perhaps to a worrying degree, but that's par for the course with Grey Wardens.
Here, of course, the two paths diverge. Davrin is a woodsman in the Dalish sense, with a love for nature and a soft, mischievious side he thought he'd left behind in childhood. Blackwall is, well, Blackwall, and who he appears to be is different than who he is. But that's what I'm talking about. Appearances. Because the first few scenes are how most people get their first impression of Blackwall, they don't know the truth about him.
All to say, everything Blackwall appears to be at the start, Davrin actually is. Everything you thought you were getting from Blackwall, Davrin actually delivers. Gruff, masculine with a soft side, Grey Warden warrior who self-sacrifices. Love for animals, love for those weaker than himself, and willing to cut his own throat to feed the flower of hope.
And then we have Lucanis. He is nothing at all like Blackwall, except that they are middle-aged men with long(ish) black hair and excellent black beards. There's not much else to say.
It's so clean-cut, it feels like a science experiment. If not for DAV's hellish development cycle, I'd wonder if it was deliberate. Here sit our two petri dishes, and between them sits a question: Is it the character concept, or the appearance?
Given the preceding posts, and the general nature of the DA fandom, I think the answer is self-evident. But this is about more than popularity. Blackwall wasn't the most popular Inquisition romance. This is about who the fandom is markedly aggressive to. On its own, the sentiment "Davrin is irrelevant" is, frankly, bizarre. Others have already mention how crucial he is to the main plot, so no need to retread old ground. This isn't even about relevance, because plenty of DA companions are irrelevant to their main games. That's why you can kill, send away, or simply refuse to recruit so many of them in the first place. Davrin is certainly more 'relevant' than Blackwall, and yet there is far more discourse around him. Davrin is far more crucial to the main plot, and yet there is still that constant string of questions about whether he's "really necessary? Do we really have to pay attention to him? So what? He's the least interesting companion, not because he's Black, it's just because he's badly written."
Is he, though?
Is he?
I understand the dismay at No Canal Romance Scene for Lucanis. I get it. I really do. But uh.
y'all those canals gotta be nasty as fuck. Remember Lucanis' line "Treviso doesn't have a sewer system" to sneak through. It's because they have the canals. Those are the sewer system. That's where the raw shit and garbage are thrown. Into the water. No it would NOT be romantic to swim in there. Teehee splashy paddle in the wastewater of Treviso. I'm actually glad we didn't get that scene because um. Just thinking about it makes me gag. Treviso has those amazing Venetian vibes but I think the devs forgot about this very important piece of Venice lore. When Lucanis cheerily tells us he went swimming in them as a boy, I pray to the Maker he only did it once, because that shit is NASTY.
Reading sports headlines while pretending sports doesn't exist suggests a fascinating world of magic and whimsy.
terrible news everyone
perhaps i judged too quickly
My HoFs always romance Zevran, so I'm not really keen on the whole "Crows are actually good and we never see them kill innocents ever, and also no mention of slavery" bit. As such, I've never been interested in a Crow Rook, unless I headcanon them escaping the Crows post-game.
HOWEVER, my next Rook will be a Davrinmance run, and de Riva is undoubtedly the funniest candidate for these conditions. Mainly because she grew up in the shadow of Zevran “biggest embarrassment of the century” Arainai, who not only failed to carry out his contract on a Grey Warden, but actually fell in love with his target and turned against the Crows which led to the downfall of his house.
Which means that after the game, some unlucky soul is going to have to tell Viago "Hey. Uh. So your protege met this Grey Warden..."
"You'd better not say what I think you're going to say."
"And now we can't find her..."
"Absolutely not. Send word to the First Talon. We are not doing this again, and definitely not in my house."
"So about that. The First Talon. She took Lucanis with her."
"??!?"
(I don't see much in Davrin/Lucanis, however it would be immensely funny if they were throupled with Rook because it means Davrin's Grey Warden aura was powerful enough to snatch two Crows.)
Another Hawke x Lucanis thought:
Lucanis worries about taking things too slowly. He’s never done it before, and he’s watched Illario catch and thrill lovers in less than a day, so it’s natural to be apprehensive when Crows have such a sultry reputation. Hawke has just spent nine years in the Fade after all; are they desperate for sex the way they were desperate for food? However many months Veilguard covers, it’s a snail’s pace compared to what Crows are “supposed” to do. Hawke has more experience, and perhaps more expectations.
Hawke, meanwhile, spent 3 years pining after their ex before things became physical. This thing with Lucanis is moving incredibly fast actually. That “almost kiss” in the pantry took them off guard because they didn’t expect it so soon. Yes Hawke has been passionately flirting with Lucanis since day one, but they honestly thought it would take at least a year to get any response. The other companions said something about a “slow burn romance” but Hawke thinks “slow burn” equals seven years. To them, Lucanis is moving at breakneck speed.
Thinking about how Illario expects his cousin to be the silent, brooding killer. About how Lucanis has never had a serious friendship outside House Dellamorte, and he's also just spent a year imprisoned, so of course Illario would assume Lucanis is still unsociable and awkward. He's always been that way. Thinking about what if Illario asks the other companions about Lucanis when they stop by the Cantori Diamond, and has to do a double take when someone says, "Oh yeah, Lucanis is hilarious. Always has something funny to say."
And Illario is like??? Lucanis? My cousin Lucanis? Is making people laugh? On purpose?
Bellara goes on a tangent about the book she's reading, and how Lucanis had such a good interpretation of the villain's motivations and it made the ending so much sadder! She's never been in a book club before, she's so happy Lucanis suggested it.
And Illario quietly mouths the words "book club" to himself because, aside from contracts, when has Lucanis ever joined any kind of club?
Of course Taash thinks Lucanis is just the coolest. Antivan Crows are already pretty cool, but a Crow with wings? Who's teaching them how to say good one-liners? Fuck yeah, Lucanis is awesome!
Then if an unromanced Emmerich starts dating Strife, he nearly gives Illario whiplash with the comment "Lucanis gives excellent romantic advice, especially with gifts." Because surely we can't be talking about the same Lucanis. The same Lucanis who has never been in a relationship, and the one (1) time he tried to flirt with Viago -- by *sending a gift* specifically -- Viago either ignored it or took it as a threat. Did the demon do this? Can demons make their hosts charismatic?
Davrin calls Lucanis a "fun drinking buddy." Harding appreciates how concerned Lucanis is that she's being fairly compensated for her services. Offers to lend her his contract negotiator, show her what other people are charging for the same services, he's really so sweet.
And a romanced Rook. Most people make insanely hot Rooks, so Illario watches, completely baffled, as Lucanis manages to pull that. Or if not that, Neve Gallus. Just. how?? Lucanis made one step out of the Ossuary and fell into a Pit Of Friends. All it took was like one month away from Caterina's influence (and the prison) to turn Lucanis into a guy everyone likes being around. How did this happen. When. How the hell is Illario suppose to defeat his cousin if his cousin is armed with the power of friendship? (He can't. Illario is very much defeated by Lucanis' power of friendship.)
Nothing Rook can say to Solas will ever be more savage than Spite looking him in the eye and going “Hmm. Smells like lies and crying.”
I'm going insane trying to find some recording of this. I heard it with my own ears. I have spoken with others who heard it with their own ears. It's in the final mission if you bring Lucanis. But none of the companion banter compilations on youtube have it. I have never in my life made a video of any kind but this dialogue has to be recorded. Do I need to make a whole new playthrough to catch Spite's unmatched sass. Does anyone out there know where it is recorded. Have others already shouldered this burden or is it a treasure yet unclaimed.
FluffyNinjaLlama, savior that you are. I did slightly misremember the banter, Spite's exact words are "smells like tears and lying," which is. slightly different. But essentially the same. It is the third version of Lucanis' banter in the video below, for anyone who hasn't heard it and would like to.
Nothing Rook can say to Solas will ever be more savage than Spite looking him in the eye and going “Hmm. Smells like lies and crying.”
I'm going insane trying to find some recording of this. I heard it with my own ears. I have spoken with others who heard it with their own ears. It's in the final mission if you bring Lucanis. But none of the companion banter compilations on youtube have it. I have never in my life made a video of any kind but this dialogue has to be recorded. Do I need to make a whole new playthrough to catch Spite's unmatched sass. Does anyone out there know where it is recorded. Have others already shouldered this burden or is it a treasure yet unclaimed.