OC Wardrobe
Okay, so I have done my best to give a couple of examples of Zita's wardrobe in the images above. It's my best approximation along with the massive text post. It's not great but I'm just tired of looking at it honestly? And if I keep doing it, I'll find more reasons to hate it rip. I've made little notes about pre & post banishment. Thanks @basedonconjecture (Allie) for tagging me. Buckle up for the word vomit.
The most important note is this: post-banishment from the Crows, Zita no longer wears leathers. She doesn’t care that her leathers are likely (read: they are) better than the armor she acquires after abandoning them, she won’t wear them. Your girl is Big Mad™ at Viago for banishing her. She felt betrayed, abandoned, and honestly just thrown under the bus for doing what she thought was right. And sure, while she has since learned that her actions have (supposedly) upset bigger plans that the Talons had, she did not know of that at the time, and she stands by the fact that she made the best decision that she could with the information she had. This…difference of opinion has left wounds on her relationship with Viago but also with her views on the Crows as a whole. These wounds have scabbed over but not healed, even post the events of the VG. She doesn’t believe Vi's explanation of how he did it for her safety and/or planned on reinstating her as soon as she returned from her mission with Varric. It stinks to her. It's too convenient and allows him too much credit for her “heroics" in the following Dread Wolf saga and even though her showing up for Treviso him showing up in the Wetlands with those ballistae helped, they aren’t healed. She's hurt and he doesn’t communicate, what can I say?
ANYWAY, all of this to say, she doesn’t wear leathers, tbh won’t mention she’s a Crow at all (she isn’t one currently) unless pressed or someone else mentions it. She abandons her name entirely, and if it were up to her, no one would have known it at all. Zita is dead and Rook is in her place. Of course, this can’t happen, because she had to return to Treviso and liberate Lucanis from the Ossuary. Neither he, nor Teia and Viago, will allow Zita to be dead and eventually she and the mask that Rook has become reconcile, but it takes for fucking ever and is absolutely chalk full of twists and turns.
While she won’t concede it, she was one of Vi's pet Crows, slated to (perhaps) succeed him should he advance from his post as head of house. And as such, there were certain expectations on her wardrobe. Crows are, generally speaking, interested in fashion at least in passing, and she felt all the pressures of being a known favorite of Viago’s. It might have been nice for him to provide a stipend for her clothes, alas, he did not. Still, she did her best to not embarrass him, at least in this area.
Formal wear: Zita has never felt especially beautiful or feminine, finding herself to be too stocky, short, and having a distinctive lack of curves to be traditionally appealing—this is a lie she tells herself. She finds the trappings of formal occasions to be confusing and just generally boring—unless they devolve into infighting or she finds some particularly juicy gossip—despite this however, she rarely is possessed of a good enough excuse for Viago to not insist (read: demand on pain of an unknown penalty accompanied with another lecture) on her presence at said formal occasions. When forced into a gown, she prefers those with slimmer silhouettes, feeling like she drowns (or suffocates) in too much fabric. In all honesty, if the situation allows or if left to her own devices, she’d choose she’d prefer fitted trousers, a blouse, and a cape/jacket, as pictured above. She cites that it is easier to transition from socializing to battle-ready but the truth is she's just more comfortable in them. While she might prefer the shape of her trousers or skirts to be close to her body, she is a fan of a dramatique sleeve in her blouses, jackets, and/or capes. Also if she can avoid a heel…she will << Color wise, she is a fan of blacks, grays, creams, and darker blues.
Post banishment: Ha. You. Wish. I'm mostly joking, but up until the events post-game, you couldn’t find this girl anywhere near anything “formal". After the game, it’s slightly different of course, since she now has ties to the First Talon not to mention all that “hero" business. Lucanis doesn’t require her attendance, thankfully, and she has no interest of being touted around as any hero, but he does occasionally attempt (and succeed) to bribe her into attending. For the most part, her preferences in attire haven’t changed, though the color palate has. She’s much more likely to coordinate with Lucanis and is much more open to wearing things that present a more feminine silhouette. Open backs and strategic cutouts also make more of an appearance as she’s found that she quite likes the ability to feel his hands on her skin. It's as anchoring as it is exciting.
Casual Wear: It's more of the same, really? It is slightly toned down, and she tends to pick pieces that she'll wear for a significant portion of time verses a for-the-job set. She tends to still stay in those colors mentioned above, but might add in a wine or a deep green for flavor~. High waisted trousers, vests (or a corseted belt on occasion), more of those billowing blouses. For sleeping, it is usually just a shapeless tunic-type nightgown. She’s had it for years, it's worn but comfortable. There's an equally worn cardigan that she'll throw on if she has to leave the confines of her room. Not that exciting, but it’s comforting and quite likely is covered in cat hair :)
There isn’t much of a change post-banishment? I guess you could say she'd be more apt to sleep in something of Lucanis’ once they’ve committed to each other.
Work Wear: The leathers themselves are pretty standard issue crow leathers. Armor that has been cared for lovingly over the years it fits like a glove and is flexible and silent. It isn’t ostentatious or ornate, like some of her fellows, but she prefers stealth over fashion while working. A hooded cloak is her choice of concealment and its clasp is a silver serpent over the standard crow’s head. Her bow and the short swords have filigreed winged serpents on them—on the shaft(?) of the bow and on the blade of the swords—and though they’re far from new, her hands would know their feel anywhere and their aim is still true. Fun fact, she fully threw one of the swords at Viago the night she was banished. It was sheathed, but now she only has one of the two. The first thing she “liberated" (read: stole) on the road with Varric was a new bow.
Post Banishment: It's silly, perhaps, to commit so fully to erasing anything that ties her to her old life as a Crow, but that’s exactly what she has done. Partially because of that Big Mad™ but also because she left Treviso with whatever she had on her at the time. Still, it wasn’t like she couldn’t have had someone at the Diamond send her things once she was settled in the Lighthouse, but she didn’t. Didn’t answer any letters (especially Vi's) and would have preferred to not return to Treviso at all, had they not needed another assassin. As such, for “work wear" her philosophy currently is anything that fits that isn’t tied to the Crows…at all. She does still carry her lock picks, boots, and cloak, simply because she couldn’t justify getting rid of them, but that’s all of her “Crow Kit" that she still uses. Her distinctive bow and sword are stuffed in the closet for the majority of VG.
Accessories: Lots. Of. Snakes. She’s a fan of the rumored but genuinely accepted DeRiva motif. She tends to pick one statement piece and leave it at that versus some of my other ocs who are more of the more is more mindset. She will usually wear the serpent ear cuff and two rings on the daily, one filled with poison (she is Viago's creature, it’s usually on her dominant hand), and another with a fairly common anti-venom on her opposite hand. She also never goes anywhere without her lock picks, some kind of gloves, and her hooded cloak. She also tends to keep any makeup she wears fairly minimal and pretty close to the same thing each time (she's perfected it and doesn’t have to think about it anymore) and her hair is always braided. The braid might get more complex should the occasion call for it, but it’s always braided in some way, mostly to keep it out of her way.
Post Banishment: Good luck finding a snake on this girl at all (save for the tattooed one <<). Honestly, though, most of her shit was left at the Diamond. And she doesn’t feel all that inclined to replace it, it's frivolous and unnecessary. She does however still wear the poison ring, not for any love of Viago (so she says) but because its useful.
