#rookanis week asks

[kogarashi-art]

Hi! How about 11 & 12 for Rookanis week asks? 💜

Thanks for the ask, @wolfsong-the-bloody-beast! 💕 I'm glad you asked this pair. 😊 I have some pictures for this one.

For the Rookanis Week Asks here.

#11: If Rook got a chance to get Lucanis a second gift during game events what would it be?

So I'm going to say third gift, because we actually can get Lucanis two things during the game. This tea set:

And the wyvern-tooth dagger:

(Though I prefer gifting them in the other order to a romanced Lucanis, because his reaction to the tea set is very sweet if you romance him.) So it'd be a third gift.

Which Saadrah does give him, post-Tearstone, and it's related to their romance. I have her gift him one of these:

This is a pair of dragon-fang daggers that Saadrah has the Caretaker help her make, from a fang taken from Corius the Icetalon after they defeat it in the Hossberg Wetlands. It's her take on the "necklace of kadan" tradition (the one we see in Inquisition with a romanced Iron Bull). She still wanted to split a dragon fang with Lucanis, but neither of them is really the necklace type.

The intent was to give him the Crow-themed one and keep the Qunari-themed one for herself, but he asked for the Qunari one instead to match a knife she gave him when they were children.

#12: What would Lucanis get for Rook at the Treviso market?

While they're wandering the market picking up gifts for their companions, Lucanis sees Saadrah admiring all the lanterns hanging there. You know, these ones?

(On the left, my favorite spot in the market. On the right, one of the lanterns from the Antivan theme for the Lighthouse.)

And frankly, that's me absolutely projecting onto her for this bit, because these lanterns are gorgeous.

After they get back from meeting with Illario, Saadrah finds one of these left outside her room as her gift from Lucanis.

[jb-nonsense]

What would Lucanis get for Ogden at the Treviso market?

Rookanis Week Questions!

Chamomile tea. Or something akin to that. Ogden does not sleep well and Lucanis knows this because he does not sleep well. Ogden struggles with the beginnings of the Calling but he hasn't told anyone about it yet at the start of the game. So, he has a lot of Blight nightmares and sometimes he won't go to sleep to avoid them. Lucanis would notice and offer the tea and Ogden would tell him only if they both have a cup together before bed.

Another option would be sheet music, if it were available. Ogden plays the violin and would probably enjoy some traditional Antivan music to learn how to play.

[grad-writes]

For the Rookanis week asks! 3. What's Rook's favourite drink? 19. If Rook had to strike a deal with a demon to survive what would they promise?

20. What is Rook's default fear response? (Fight, flight, freeze or fawn?)

Thanks for the asks Vixen!!

3. What's Rook's favourite drink?

Like any proper Antivan, Rook will claim it is coffee - but privately she prefers tea during the day (with milk and sugar like Emmrich) and when needing comfort, a steaming mug of cioccolata calda. For formal events, she prefers white wine - but for more casual drinks, she'll settle for a bottle of rum or two fingers of whisky!

19. If Rook had to strike a deal with a demon to survive what would they promise?

Oooh tricky.... Rook would likely strike a deal similar to a contract. She'll ask the demon to let her go in return for something else: as a Crow she isn't too fussed about taking out a named target. But if it is something more sinister, she might promise one thing and do another.

If it is to save a loved one, she would likely sacrifice herself.

If it is Spite, then she'd promise ONE HUNDRED KISSIES if he would just let her up to go to the bathroom please.

20. What is Rook's default fear response? (Fight, flight, freeze or fawn?)

This one is definitely freeze first, and then fight! Rook is scrappy and quick thinker, so it might take her a moment to assess the situation, but she'll always fight back biting.

[genjyoandgojyoandhakkai]

For the Rookanis Week asks! :D

#1: Is Rook a good cook? Or can they burn water?

But more seriously...

#18: If Rook had to face a personal demon what would it be?

#19: If rook had to strike a deal with a demon to survive what would they promise?

Is Xiqaa a good cook?

Answered here (the answer's more "unskilled and unenthusiastic" than bad)

If Xiqaa had to face a personal demon what would it be?

Vengeance. They would be facing all the twisted injustices they've seen over their lifetime and it would be so easy to give in to that because the world isn't perfect, or just. It would be so easy to just give in to vengeance and enact revenge over everyone who's hurt them. They'd be transfixed by the demon as they saw the fantasies of themselves making the world a better place through the power of vengeance.

If Xi had to strike a deal with a demon to survive what would they promise?

What a good question. Part of me thinks they would never do it, and would prefer to just die. Certainly that would be the case if it were about themselves. But if they *had* to, because their loved ones were at stake? They would agree to enact revenge, but it would cause them incredible pain each time they did so. For their family, they would strike first and ask questions later, and count the pain as worth it, even if it kills them in the end.

[juniper-and-dragonthorn]

Hiya! How about 14 and 22 from the Rookanis week asks, please and thank you <3

Thanks for the ask!!

Rookanis Week Asks here

Is Rook a morning bird or a night owl? (Or perpetually exhausted pigeon?)

Probably in the realm of perpetually exhausted pigeon, haha. Selora was kind of a night owl to begin with, but after getting together with Lucanis, sleeps almost less than he does some nights. Mostly making sure he sleeps. Early afternoon to around dawn is her usual schedule but she does enjoy a good nap if she can get one!

Does Rook introduce Lucanis to their non-Veilguard family/ friends?

Yes, eventually.

The few she has are all in the Salle, though, so it takes awhile for them to get there. Then Lucanis is somewhat shocked to find that most of them are in their 50-60s (she's been referred to as "kid" for pretty much her entire life, yeah). This is something of a big deal, though, since, prior to Veilguard, she would have claimed to have no friends and wouldn't have thought to introduce Lucanis Dellamorte of all people to a handful of people who are, at most, Crow-adjacent. But they are the people who shaped her the most, even if she didn't recognize it until much, much later.

[kogarashi-art]

Ooooo may I ask 23 and 30 for the Rook and Lucanis week asks 💕💗💞👉👈?

Thanks for the ask, @lycheecatee! ❤ For the Rookanis Week Asks here.

#23: How does Rook feel about the Antivan Crows?

Saadrah has mixed feelings about the Crows.

On the one hand, she doesn't like how the Crows as a whole tend to train their fledglings. Some houses sound better than others, sure, but a lot of it sounds just...bad. She regularly compares to her own upbringing, where she was trained with a firm hand but also still allowed to be a child and shown love and care, and she's plenty competent enough to go toe-to-toe with most Crows (Lucanis and Spite would likely win if they actually had to fight in earnest). She especially disapproves of Caterina's handling of her grandsons—of being distant from them, of pitting them against each other, of treating them like weapons rather than people—even if intellectually she understands the reasoning behind it (once she's told of the Dellamorte massacre).

On the other hand, part of the reason she trained as she did when she was younger was because, like Taash, she was fascinated with the Crows. And, like Shathann, Saadrah's mother tried to keep her child from being too enamored by using the Crows as a boogeyman. It, of course, backfired. Saadrah didn't go jumping off of a roof with a blanket tied around her neck, but she did befriend a Crow fledgling when she was seven, and ended up self-training as an assassin when she was older.

In the long run, Saadrah will encourage and support Lucanis in trying to reform the Crows where possible, and otherwise keep her fingers out of things unless absolutely necessary (such as determining whether or not her own children will be trained as Crows).

#30: How do they spend major holidays? Who keeps the calendar up to date?

Major holidays are usually low-key for the both of them. Saadrah spent the better part of a decade living thousands of miles away from her own family without eluvians to help her visit easily, so she's already used to sending letters and parcels in lieu of actual visits (though, with the eluvian network now available to her, she'll probably visit just for fun more often).

Lucanis's family, meanwhile, doesn't seem all that intimately connected for major holidays. Caterina probably insists upon a formal dinner for Satinalia, All Soul's Day, and First Day, but otherwise doesn't make much of the holidays and definitely doesn't care about festivities or parties. I doubt this would change much either with Lucanis's rise to First Talon, though Saadrah can probably convince him to at least take a day off on major holidays to spend with her (and later their children). Small, personal traditions rather than big, flashy ones.

Keeping the calendar is Spite's job. He's probably pretty particular about keeping the both of them on track for "upholding their deal" regarding celebrating certain holidays together as a family.

[kogarashi-art]

Number 11 for the Rook asks please 😍

If Rook got a chance to get Lucanis a second gift during game events what would it be?

Thanks for the ask, @redheadsramblings! ❤ I actually already answered this one earlier this week, so if you don't mind, I'll answer #9 since it's still gift-adjacent and I haven't answered that one yet.

From the Rookanis Week Ask List.

#9: Is Rook a natural gift giver or do they need help?

Saadrah's actually pretty natural at it. Gift-giving is her love language (both giving and receiving), and she regularly notes when things remind her of the people she knows. Where she can, she tries to get said item and gift it to the person it reminded her of, though for much of her childhood she didn't have much in the way of spare funds with which to acquire gifts. As an adult with a job with the Shadow Dragons, though? People in the Shadows learned very quickly that if Saadrah Mercar interacted with you on the regular, then sooner or later you were going to find yourself receiving not-so-random gifts and you'd better be ready to accept them. (Though she wouldn't be all that hurt if it turned out you couldn't use or keep the item. Sometimes her gift intuition whiffs, and that's okay.)

Her favorite gift to give to date was a mug she gave Tarquin, where she asked the potter to paint "#1 Templar" on it before glazing and firing. It was meant to be a joke gift, a bit of a jab at the cranky coworker she frequently butted heads with, but she did note that despite his obvious irritation at the gift, he continues to use it in the Hideout.

Lucanis is going to have to get used to random things (frequently knives or knife-maintenance supplies) showing up on his desk in the Villa. Spite, meanwhile, demands a special box to keep the trinkets she gifts him in.

[kogarashi-art]

For Rookanis week ask 1 and 12 please.

Thanks for the ask, @redaresss! ❤ For the Rookanis Week Asks here.

#1: Is Rook a good cook? Or can they burn water?

Saadrah's mother was raised in the Qun and was not among those taught to cook, so she has the barebones skills needed for staying fed while traveling but not much beyond that (she was Isskari, one who sought and contained magical artifacts and relics, so expeditions were a regular thing). As such, in order to feed her family after she left the Qun, she had to learn what she could of cooking, which wasn't much (not many teachers, most of her experience is from experimentation and a little bit from observing street cooks).

This means she had very little skill to pass on to Saadrah, and Saadrah didn't really ask for cooking lessons either. So, like her mother, Saadrah has had to learn the barebones to keep herself fed, and that's about it. She's attempted to recreate some of the recipes she has fond memories of, with mixed (mostly failing) results, but generally she relies on food vendors and things that she can eat with minimal prep (like fruit, certain raw veggies, cheese). She's not burning water anytime soon, but she's also not really winning cooking awards. The one thing she does reasonably well is a Qunari flatbread her mother would make regularly because it was easy to figure out and easy to prepare. Some kind of unleavened pan-fried thing.

Once Lucanis joins the team and laments the overall lack of cooking skills among the ladies already in the group (aside from Bellara), Saadrah asks him for cooking lessons, to his surprise.

Also, while her cooking skills are minimal, she has very good knifework in the kitchen. She may not know the best way to sauté an onion or braise a cut of meat, but you can bet her vegetables are perfectly cubed and that fish precisely fileted.

I answered #12 here.