I Didn't Want You To See That. Again. How Do You Always Do That? Break Apart My Perfectly Gathered Clouds

Veilguard Tumblr Stats: The Results

In December I ran a Google Form looking to compare the official Bioware player statistics to those of the tumblr fandom. I received 3031 unique responses, and am now making the results available to you! This was a solo endeavor and I'm so grateful to every single one of you for your participation! All I ask in return is that we keep it positive: this was a fun project, let's keep it that way!

The results are in graphic form under the cut (alt text is available for every graphic). I have also captioned them with the official Bioware stats for comparison purposes where applicable. You can view the raw data in the form of a Google Sheet here. Please note that these results contain major endgame spoilers.

Thank you again, please reblog for reach!

Bioware did not provide hard numbers, but their ranking is: Neve, Lucanis, Taash, Harding, Bellara, Davrin, Emmrich

Bioware stats: 44% freed the archive spirit, 56% kept the archive spirit; 54% had Emmrich become a lich, 46% saved Manfred

Bioware stats: 33% sent the griffons to the Wardens, 67% sent the griffons to Arlathan

Bioware stats: 22% forgave Illario, 78% sent Illario to jail; 21% had Taash embrace Qunari culture, 79% had Taash embrace Rivaini culture

Bioware stats: 39% had Neve become an inspiration, 61% had Neve become a protector; 16% had Harding embrace anger, 84% had Harding embrace calm

Bioware stats: 22% banished the mayor to the Grey Wardens, 36% saved him, 42% left him for dead; 64% punched the First Warden, 36% reasoned with him

Bioware stats: 49% saved Minrathous, 51% saved Treviso

Bioware stats: 46% for Davrin as the distraction team leader, 54% for Harding as the distraction team leader; 58% had Bellara shut down the wards, 42% had Neve shut down the wards

Bioware only provided top 3 picks for each: Emmrich, Neve and Bellara are top 3 for unravelling the wards and Lucanis, Taash and Emmrich are top 3 for going after the Venatori. Please also note that these questions were optional on the Google Form and was not answered by all respondents.

Bioware only provided top 3 picks for each: Taash, Davrin, and Emmrich are top 3 for fighting the Juggernaut and Taash, Davrin, and Harding are top 3 for the counter-attack. Please also note that these questions were optional on the Google Form and was not answered by all respondents.

Bioware stats: 3% sacrificed Rook, 8% fought Solas, 17% outsmarted Solas, and 72% redeemed Solas; 43% of those who redeemed Solas had the inquisitor join him in the Fade

Bioware stats: 31% played rock, paper, scissors with Manfred; 50% petted Assan

Bioware stats: Human at 43%, Elf at 40%, Qunari at 11%, Dwarf at 6%

Bioware stats: Grey Wardens at 24%, Shadow Dragons at 24%, Antivan Crows at 16%, Veil Jumpers at 15%, Lords of Fortune at 11%, Mourn Watch at 10%

Bioware only provided stats for the three core classes: Mage at 40%, Rogue at 30%, and Warrior at 30%

It's just so narratively crunchy that Spite writes poetry as his chosen form of self expression. Especially given that he clearly struggles to communicate with the people around him, the fact that he writes poetry in the scant moments he has command of Lucanis's hands really cements other textual indicators that Spite is frustrated by his difficulty with communicating. Over and over again he asks to talk to Rook, to be heard, but when he does get the chance to talk, he isn't understood, which must be unbelievably frustrating for the poor guy. So he practices! In writing! And that writing gives such a neat look into Spite's mind and how he conceptualizes himself and his situation. So I'm gonna dust off my English degree and yell about his poetry.

1.

a PEACE

cut from the ALL

golden stranded weaves

PROTECTION CAGE

keep them OUT

keep me IN

As with all poetry, there's a lot of room to interpretation, and I think that's especially intentional for Spite's worldview as a spirit. He's from the Fade, which operates on perception and emotion instead of concrete immutabilities like the material world. That being said, I think this first poem is Spite trying to process and talk about a.) his own violent summoning from the Fade and b.) Lucanis's mental Ossuary.

Spite was ripped from the Fade against his will, a piece of a larger infinity cut and captured. Likewise, Lucanis creates the Ossuary in his mind as a (poor) coping mechanism for dealing with what happened. Spite recognizes this as an attempt to create peace in emotional turmoil.

The golden stranded weaves evoke the imagery used in the narration explaining how the dagger cuts through the Veil. It's visually represented as gold geometric lines separating the Fade from the material world, which may be a hint to how spirits see the Veil: a barrier made of gold strands that has also stranded Spite from the world he knew. Given that Lucanis's mind Ossuary is also a part of the Fade, this same barrier applies here as well, stranding him and Spite from the freedom they seek.

The Veil and the mental Ossuary therefore function as what Spite calls a "protection cage," designed both to keep its occupants safe and keep them contained. Arguably, Spite could also be talking about the magic that keeps him bonded to Lucanis, magic that is likely similar in nature to how the Veil works given that blood magic is what sustains both. Protecting Spite and Lucanis from being hurt further by the Venatori but also keeping Spite from going home. He's stuck in Lucanis whether he likes it or not. This is further complicated by the mental Ossuary, which Lucanis has unconsciously constructed to keep the people he loves out of harm's way (protecting them) while also keeping Spite trapped.

This is Spite's first cry for help. He recognizes that he is trapped in multiple ways: he is forced to share a body that aggressively does not want to share with him, and the part of the Fade that Lucanis is connected to mentally is also a prison, one that does not respond like Spite would normally expect the Fade to respond. Lucanis mentions in Sea of Blood that "The Fade does whatever a spirit wants. Real walls and chains, not so much," but Spite tells Rook in Inner Demons that he can't touch the locks in Lucanis's mind despite it technically being a part of the Fade. My personal theory is it has something to do with the blood magic that bound them together in the first place, but regardless of why, it's understandably extremely frustrating for Spite to feel trapped both in the material world and the Fade, neither of which respond to him as he expects. To Spite, it must feel like the very laws of physics have stopped working as they should.

2.

scentsing the BEYOND

rememburnings from before

when one was infinity

not a small shade

not a SHARP hooked claw

in a gut

takemeouttakemeoutletmeout

riiiiip

Here we get to see how Spite has been learning to use language to artistically express complex abstract ideas, which speaks to him having mature, adult intelligence, given that abstract thought is a marker of higher-order cognition. In this poem, Spite is no longer simply describing his situation as he is in the first poem, he is self-reflecting and forming his own identity.

It's clear in this first line and in several points throughout the game that Spite's favorite sense is smell, possibly because it is a sense that he can unintrusively access and therefore isn't barred by Lucanis. So he is not just sensing, he is specifically "scentsing" what he calls "the BEYOND," likely the Fade, referencing his ability to pull things from it (especially considering that the little icon on an accessible spot says "a sense of something").

But he's not just talking about the Fade as a place, he's reminiscing of the Fade as a time. But the portmanteau he uses here, "rememburnings" suggests an attempt to explain the emotion he associates with this remembrance. The memory is painful. It burns. It hurts him. He remembers being a part of the Fade, being part of "infinity," and now he is only a "small shade" of what he once was.

But that's not all. He's also demonstrating that he understands how Lucanis perceives him, sees that he is hurting Lucanis. He knows that he was force-fed to Lucanis (quite literally according to his banter with Bellara where he says it happened when "They fed me something. Like he was a parasite in uncooked meat."), which explains why Spite conceptualizes himself as being a foreign, damaging object "in a gut." And, importantly, he doesn't take satisfaction from that. The tone he is using here suggests grief and desperation, especially the "takemeouttakemeoutletmeout." He wants to be free, yes, but he also wants to stop being an object of pain. And yet the last line suggests that Spite knows that separation would also be painful. It would be another ripping, because he is a claw now. As much as he is trapped by Lucanis, he is embedded in him as well, and extraction would tear them both apart.

3.

toes wiggle

when he drinks the brew

a small shade

and a wounded spirit

sitting

there is STILL

we are still

there is an INFINITE

there is a SHELTER

there is a STORM outside the center

UGH Spite your MIND!!! This poem makes me want to cry fr. It's so much more concrete than the other two, showing how he's becoming more familiar and comfortable with Lucanis's body and the material world. The tone is gentle, like a relieved sigh, with none of the urgency and desperation of the others. This is the first time we see Spite describe a physical sense other than smell. He notes that Lucanis wiggles his toes when he drinks his favorite coffee, suggesting that this is something Spite feels as an occupant of the same body, though he likes to manifest himself as separate. It confirms that he feels what Lucanis feels through shared senses, though has his own interpretations of sensory input.

Spite still conceptualizes himself as a "small shade," but no longer is he a "SHARP hooked claw." He is still hurt, still affected by what he and Lucanis went through, but he now sees Lucanis as more than the body he's trapped in. He sees Lucanis as a fellow "wounded spirit," hurting and healing in the same way that he is. They are sitting together, feeling together, and they have found stillness. They've finally made peace.

While he may no longer be a part of the Fade as he once was, Spite has found that being and living with Lucanis is another "INFINITE" that he gets to experience. He is safe, sheltered in their bond. It's no longer a cage. It's just protection now. And while Spite can feel the absolute mess that's going on with the world and the Fade and everything they're dealing with, he is centered now with Lucanis, which makes it all manageable.

All this leads me to believe that after Inner Demons and their little coffee date with Rook, Spite and Lucanis are at a point in their relationship where Lucanis is much more accommodating of Spite and where Spite is able to explore and experience the material world with a certain level of patience. He no longer feels like he has to bully Lucanis into letting him pilot because he understands physical space now and can experience things alongside Lucanis as he experiences them. Lucanis is more confident letting Spite speak through him because he's no longer worried Spite will wrest complete control from him and/or do something to hurt them. As Lucanis says in the final romance scene, they're no longer afraid. Lucanis now trusts Spite's reports about what happened and how much time has passed while he was asleep, which suggests that Spite has earned that trust.

At this point, the line between demon of Spite and spirit of Determination seems extremely blurry at best, and it really makes me wonder if gaining a physical body through means other than normal possession allows spirits to develop more complex cognition and emotional versatility beyond just their purpose.

More cut lines. It seems like companions talk to Rook after the regret prison depending on the romance.

Lucanis.

Spite caught your scent before we all heard you.

Taash?

Then I caught your scent. Sort of. It was your scent but with magic and feelings and crap.

Emmrich, I guess.

Then suddenly, I heard you, darling. And the welcome pull of your voice. Finding you was fiendishly difficult. I tried a number of rituals. Multiple attempts.

According to the localization in my language, these are the lines of a female character. Harding, Neve, Bellara?

But I heard you. Over everything else. Because, well. It's you. I heard your voice. I wasn't sure it was real but… here you are. I didn't believe it at first, when I heard your voice. But it was you.

Once again according to the localization in my language, these are the lines of a male character. Davrin, Lucanis?

And then all of a sudden, I could hear you. Across the Veil. Then I heard your voice. No way you're getting away from me that easy.

No idea.

(Chuckles.) Welcome back. We missed you.

Rook?

You're all incredible. I… I don't know what to say. I don't think "thanks" really covers it, but thanks. All of you. You saved me.

Fifty Shades of Mierda. Okay, actually forty. There are more in the text, they just aren't voiced.

lucanis and his beautiful sad brown eyes text post compilation

STOP THIS IS THE FUNNIEST PHOTO OF LUCANIS I'VE EVER

Nick Thornborrow on BlueSky showed some more Lucanis narrative sketches

Sketch of Teia and Viago

Portrait sketch of Lucanis

Sketch of Lucanis violently dispatching prison guards along with Spite rapidly dispatching Venatori minions in the background.

Spite conversing with Rook. Spite grins with … well… spite. And Rook looks like she's having none of it.

A hedonistic bath house. Lucanis is deep in foreground in silhouette with two sword hilts apparent in the silhouette.

Ilario being seduced by I forget her name. But the villain in Lucanis's story. The villain is in a glowing red pool and drawing Ilario towards her who sits on the edge. Lucanis spies in the foreground.

Shirtless Ilario hulked out advancing on Lucanis in the foreground with a sword. The villain is in the background towering on a miasma of blood magic.

The villain reduced to a skeletal frame begging Ilario to save her.

Ilario smoke bombing out I think. Lucanis in the foreground in command of Spite.

Rook checking in on Lucanis who is curled up on the floor. Lucanis has just had an episode with his demon, Spite. Scorch marks in the shape of wings smolder on the walls.

Lucanis holding Rook in an embrace but looking warily back at Spite's wings protruding from his own back.

Lucanis ceremonially marking a book with blood.

I honestly can’t remember what was going through my head. I drew this years ago. It’s possible I was working from an explicit description of a ritual to become a Talon, or I may have been taking creative license. Either way, it was something to do with Talon coronation.

Lucanis and Spite working together for once to defeat the villain.

Action shot of Lucanis. I don't know. Kinda scruffy.

Lucanis looming over the villain who has been thoroughly defeated.

Lucanis becoming First Talon.

Lucanis with Spite wings out kissing Rook in the rain. This sketch was meant to portray an intense moment in the midst of going into a battle we don't expect to survive.

An intimate moment between Rook and Lucanis in the hot springs at the Dellamorte Estate.

Rook (who quite famously can't swim) tumbling into the canals of Treviso in a friendly game of bumper car gondola with Lucanis.

Rook and Lucanis having a wholesome (read spicy) experience in a secluded tunnel on a gondola. Lucanis's back is to us and his shirt is half off. Rook is obscured by Lucanis but the two are kissing.

Lucanis executing an ancient God with a lyrium dagger by stabbing him in the back. The God has a skull like face and and a horned helmet. Grey fog leaves his throat as he perishes with the word "URK"

there's something truly fucked about lucanis showing no interest in becoming first talon and even stating that's illario's calling instead, because he's right. it's explicitly stated that illario is a lot more like your average crow than the ones we get to know in veilguard. zevran would confirm this too if the writers remembered he exists. illario isn't a victim to their selfless idealism because that's not what crows are supposed to be. they're wealthy criminals, any "selflessness" they might possess must be bought. illario learned nothing but cruelty from caterina's cruel teachings and he's a better crow for it. he's not better person for it of course, that's not how you raise a well adjusted individual, and still it feels like caterina resents him for being exactly what she made him. it's just so unfair? she likes lucanis because he still cares, but she didn't teach him to care. he cares in spite (heh) of the things she taught him, of the violence, of starvation, and he gets special treatment for that. illario's the monster caterina wants to pretend she's not, and she hates him for it. imagine that! being punished for being someone's true successor. your own brother says he's entertaining the idea of becoming first talon only until she thinks better of it and passes the title down to you instead, but that never happens. and when you fall on schemes (because that's all you know) to earn the life you're owed, when you have to kill your own brother for it and feel horrible because you killed your own brother, his death is still not enough to sway her mind. one day he'll return from the dead, and again you'll scheme and it still won't be enough. your bother is made king and he keeps the crown he doesn't even want, the one he sometimes forgets he was given. and you get nothing but humiliation, he may even throw you in prison. my god. they'd catch my ass barking in the streets.

most precious daydream

thinkin about lucanis' struggle with his wants vs. familial expectations, rook being a catalyst for his reach for freedom and understanding the crows from an outside perspective, and all of the cut content and epilogue scenes ...

Rookanis Kisses