#i sort of romanced him by accident but i am ENAMORED with the idea of him going through this whole thing without a romance

[iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid]

who could have foreseen me (the person who spent literal years writing a 200k+ series about loki becoming friends with the guardians of the galaxy) playing bg3 and instantly becoming obsessed with the idea of astarion having friends for the first time in his life? truly one of life's greatest mysteries

[invinciblerodent]

Now that I'm getting close to what feels like the point of no return with Ver (all side- and companion quests done, only a handful of chests and some exploration left to get to), I'm really wondering who of my Rook ideas should be the next I play

like I'm equally excited for all of them, for different reasons!

(just me thinking out loud under the cut- i've narrowed it down to all of four ideas, so that's fun)

Tristan, unlike Verbena, is going to be very straightforward in all his approaches to things- he'll be very direct and frank to the point of crassness, a quintessential "Rook" in the way that his mind moves entirely in straight lines- and it'll be a lot of fun to both experience such a Warden-heavy story AS a Warden, and at the same time roleplay him gradually softening up, and turning that hard edge towards protecting people, instead of only protecting himself.

(Plus, there's that wrinkle that he's not, entirely, uh, alive. And it'll be really fun to play through him and Emmrich kind of stumbling through budding feelings while Tristan is trying to keep the secret that he's kind of, sort of, partially a spirit of Purpose. From a necromancer. Who's teaching him manners. Shit's wild.)

The one thing making me hesitant to go with him is that I can't justify him not choosing to save Minrathous like Ver also did- it's strategically the most advantageous thing to do, and while it's regrettable that Treviso will need to pay its price, someone has to. In Death, Sacrifice. I just don't wanna do the same thing again.

his Inquisitor is my Cadash, with all the opposite decisions from my canon with my Trevelyan.

(he also has a couple "theme songs" in my head already, this one being the latest.)

Tanner, I'm very excited to delve more into all the dwarf-stuff with- she's a Lord of Fortune, a sailor, adventurer, and poet enamored by the ocean, but also an Orzammar-born dwarf- her parents were Warrior-caste, and part of the forces that Orzammar sent to combat the Blight. They decided to then remain on the surface, and Tanner, a very young girl then, fell in love with all the vast openness that the surface had to offer. She first took up arms against the Breach as an agent of the Inquisition- hence the name.

I think it'll be a very interesting roleplaying angle, to romance Harding as someone who also has very personal ties to her storyline, and will likely be tossed into a whole mess of identity issues herself.

She'll choose Treviso I think, but her story and reasoning aren't as well-formed in my head yet, so I'm thinking still a bit about an angle to approach it from- then again, that could form as I'm playing.

her Inquisitor is my Josiemancer mLavellan, with the same decisions as the ones I made canonically.

(my working song for her right now is this)

And Coris, my problematic pretty girl assassin, modeled to look as much like a portrait that hangs in the Dellamorte mansion as possible- I have this whole Plotline thought up for her to romance Lucanis through grit teeth and with a dagger behind her back- her "plan" breaking down to basically

make Lucanis Dellamorte fall madly in love with her

talk him into murdering his grandmother and taking the title of First Talon by force

murder him, but make it look like an accident so that she can wrest control of the Crows for herself- a nobody underling to the Fifth Talon wouldn't be able to, but who's gonna say no to the grieving partner of the second First they've lost in such a short time?

bonus points if Illario, that fucking bastard who ruined her life and then proceeded to not even recognize her afterwards, suffers. Even better if he dies. (I was gonna have her be mad at Viago at first, but yknow, plans change.)

She'll fail that plan at step one by catching feelings herself. Then Caterina will get "murdered", and everything is gonna fall apart, and it's a whole Mess, but maybe he won't get too mad once she comes clean about it all starting out as a ploy to crush everything he holds dear.

her worldstate has a Solavellan-romance, even though I've honestly never done that- I'm just really curious how that'll work out.

As a Crow, she'd of course choose to save Treviso too, so that adds up. (And have a fun funky lil song to her name, too.)

......

And then there's Marcus Ingellvar my dear, whom I have not even made a face for yet, but I'm just so unexpectedly enamored by Bellara that I'm even willing to play a mage(!!!!!!!!!!), just to make her smile.

I wanna play him as a Mortalitasi, and a he/him(he/they)(he/any) nonbinary person, partly to explore gender feelings (as of right now I'm in the "if I were to unpack this suitcase I might end up with something tangible but also, my native language doesn't even HAVE gendered pronouns so what do I fucking know, maybe THAT'S why 'they' feels a bit more correct than 'she'" part of it all), and maybe a little bit to confuse Taash a bit further.

yknow, they've figured out they/them as singular pronouns, get ready for a genuinely kinda gender-weird little guy, lol.

He however has the same issue as Tristan in being a pragmatic thinker, and I don't really see a way past him thinking "hey maybe letting the Venatori seize Minrathous is not, uh. the right. move, right now. things in Treviso at least can't get much worse....? maybe....?"

He's probably the least well-formed in my mind as of right now, but that has never stopped me before, has it

.......

writing it all out didn't help me decide

[inviouswriting]

Past

Aymeric x Kiya

milder smut

During their stay in the Hermit Hovel, Kiya and Aymeric read a lot of the books on the shelves. They had discovered quite a few erotic romance tomes and read them together. Kiya felt a twinge of shyness whenever they came across a spot in the book that was explicit, she would shift closer to Aymeric. There were many moments where they got lost in the passion of the book and he would pepper kisses on her neck to draw her attention to him.

They were in one of those moments, the book was more of instructions on positions or how to please. Aymeric took and put everything he read into memory as well as tested these ideas on his beloved. They had retreated to the water outside or on rare moments when completely enraptured. Aymeric took his love on top of the tables.

Aymeric preferred the water, it allowed him to move with her without preparing so heavy. He had her once completely on her back and waist raised to where he had her hold his hands to keep support. The rain that fell on them made the experience one of his favorites to see Kiya so lost in bliss he recalls in his mind how tight her hand held his.

Now he had her in his arms and read to her from the text. He would feel her shift closer till his voice lulled her to sleep. He’d stop reading when her breathing evened out and tug her close into his arms. 

Aymeric had never thought that the time he would spend with her would be spent discovering so much about the other. She had donned the outfit she had left her tribe in and showed him a sultry side of her as she had danced for him giving him a lasting memory as he took her then. There were quiet moments together talking about their lives. He shared stories of his youth, she shared many of her adventures before she became the eikon slayer. How she use to work at the Gold Saucer as a server. He had recalled her there a few times when he and other knights snuck to gamble at the race tracks. 

He vaguely remembered her, she had to be around nineteen while he was twenty two. It was before he had his own fateful events with his band that left only he and Estinien alive. He remembered how the other knights at that time had tried to harass her. The men laughed as they walked away from her. 

Aymeric steps back from the group seeing her casting spells quicker than the others could react. Fire and ice hit his companions while he stares on after them. He looks back at the girl seeing the fury in her eyes. Even he felt fear from them, she gives him a glance debating whether she wanted to throw a fireball at him, or ice when he waves his hands. He didn’t do anything to her.

“Easy!” He backs up and she lowers her hands down. He glanced over to his group. The men that sported burns had groped her, while the ones hit with ice made comments and whistles. He himself reprimanded them fierce about harassing other women. 

“Would be that you guys deserved it! If you all had half a brain between your lot, you would have noticed her scepter! Miss! I am terribly sorry for my companions. They are idiots who have not seen women dressed so... well... scantily..”  He apologized to her for his company. She gave him such a cold stare he still remembers the anger behind her green eyes that it made him shiver in memory. They had went their separate ways then.

He poured himself into his training, Kiya poured into hers till he had heard that Ifrit had been slain by two survivors.  Ten years had pass since that one encounter. Aymeric became Lord Commander, while Kiya had become a warrior that had survived Ifrit’s fire, then Titan, followed Garuda. Every single being that came to fight her had fell. He became enamored by her tales. How she with another group of people took down the castrum and Gaius.

Then Leviathan. She has recounted to him that despite the fact Leviathan was a primal. The great sea monster was her favorite fight. It was raw, it was alive, it was a fight between not falling off into the depths, while the serpentine monster lashed and summoned creatures. People lost to the sea in hysteria, till she had taken it down. The light in her eyes at talking about the fight.

As they shared their stories, Aymeric became aware of how much she had achieved in years, he had his own, but he was no warrior of light. He felt a little envious towards her prowess in few moments. He shoved those feelings aside as this woman who sat nestled in his arms divulged her life to him. When she remembered he was that young knight in training that apologized for his companions she gave him that one stare. Then laughed when he panicked earning him pinning her down for his retribution on her.

The turn of events of her becoming the warrior of light, and him with his heritage as the archbishop’s son.

They shared their first impressions of each other. She knew his from when he first told her about his fascination in her. He scoffed when she thought him pompous at first.

“Me? Pompous? What gave you that impression?” He questioned as he lain on top of her with his hands beside her head. He had to know.

“It was Alphinaud’s words! He had told me you Ishgardians were stand-offish and set in your ways! So I had assumed you would act all high and mighty! I thought you were going to be this old crotchety man. Not some young and handsome guy.” This earns a laugh out of him as he placed kisses on her face.

“Old? Crotchety? Forgive me if I dashed your expectations.” Aymeric says haughty and amused. Kiya lines one of her hands with his, marveling at how the size between their hands are. His so much bigger than hers and he tilts his head at how small hers are closing his fingers on hers easily.

“I think I like the fact you were a lot younger. If I had been faced with one of the devoteds.. I don’t think we’d be here today.” The thought makes him frown at how easy this opportunity would have slipped them. They would have been overrun by Vishap breaking their barriers and probably have died defending his home from so many dravanian. Her mere presence turned that fight. Her and the adventurers that came to their aid.

They pause to share a kiss with each other. Kiya leans more into it, while Aymeric runs the back of his hand against her face tender feeling her skin. They lounged a lot together nude and in the comfort of the others arms. The only time they really need clothing was to make a trip to camp overlook for provisions.

Kiya notes at just how much the man over her has grown from that knight that scolded his mates for grabbing her to a alliance leader and now husband to her. They keep their kiss till Aymeric parts it to look her in her eyes checking to see what sort of mood she is in. When he sees how she matches his own stare. He inclines his head down to hers to seal another kiss.

The book they had been reading forgotten next to them as they get lost in an emotion together of realizing just how much is between them. She urges him to allow her to fit on his lap and he guides her as she does. He listens to her sighs and whimpers she makes whenever she takes him on he cautions her about being reckless with having him in her so sudden. He tries to move but is met with a sight that makes him stop altogether in pained tears.

“My love.. you can’t just mount like that.. you know how large it is.” He scolds her as he tends to her pulling from her. He showers her face in kisses and holds her to him.

“If we were in the water it would be different. or an oil used. We can’t go dry my love.” He soothes her through his touch, he has her lie back and checks to make sure he didn’t tear her.

“I’m sorry Aymeric. I just felt in the moment.”

“I understand that my love. But you know the prep I do is for a reason. So I don’t hurt you by accident like this.” He rubs her gently, to sooth the ache from the poor penetration done. 

“I still want to...” She is met with his concerned stare, and Aymeric sits more upright.

“Will you let me lead then? Make it all the better?” Kiya nods and he has her on her back now, he tends to her, his mouth used to please her till her toes curl against his back where her feet press against it. Once Aymeric knows she is prepared to his liking and knows she is more accepting to his length. He takes her slowly, just to be sure she isn’t still in pain.

Aymeric gets her to keen out in pleasure as he moves within her. Pleasure across her face, he sighs in relief at her feeling it better than earlier. He is in bliss himself at the way she is to him. Soon he has her saying his name, he can’t help letting his mind drifting to that woman he met those years ago. The one that gave him such an angry expression is now beneath him looking at him in need and chanting his name as if it is all she knows how to muster.

Kiya holds onto him after they had peaked together. He jumps down from where the bed is with her in his arms to take her to the pools of water. To let her waist soak in warmth to ease the tension in her thighs and soreness in other spots from him being over eager.

“Funny how... you and I became so intricately bound together now. What were you doing at the Saucer then?” Kiya murmurs as she rests her head in his lap, Aymeric simpers a smile down at her, his blue eyes shining bright as he locks eyes with her vivid green ones. 

“Aye. We were there to bet on some races. Some foolery on our half before we went to respond to a dragon sighting.” Kiya’s eyes widen at his words remembering the story he told her from when he met Estinien.

“That was then?” He nods, Kiya feels a little bad about their encounter then. He tugs her cheeks a little.

“Do not look at me like that. While I lost those companions, it reshaped my thinking and well here I am now. A knight, married to a beautiful woman. Who also happens to be a powerful black mage.” He cups her face to lean down to kiss her.

She notices he does not use the titles. She smiles even more as when they began their pilgrimage they excluded all titles and their roles. Aymeric had donned a bow to leave his sword behind to fully focus on them in their marriage. She notices even more how they’re so comfortable now. 

“How do you feel? Not still sore?” Aymeric breaks her thoughts checking on her from earlier. She stung just a little bit still.

“A little bit.” Aymeric feels a little guilty. if he wasn’t so big he wouldn’t worry so much. He at least made her feel good erasing the pain she felt, but he had to be sure in their times together to make sure she doesn’t try to repeat that move.

“You my love, while I enjoy loving every ilm of you. You have worn me out from all the fun we did today.” He sees her grin, he collects her into his arms letting her cling to him so he can climb the ladder with her up to the bed.

Getting her into his arms to actually rest, he moves the book they neglected then lays where it was. He notices how she seems to beam happiness at him. Making many secrets between them in how they see the other in different ways each day.

Aymeric takes her leg hand to kiss her ring, a steady habit he has gotten into to do it every chance he gets to. He pets her face until she drifts to sleep again. He joins her afterwards making sure she is secure in his arms under a blanket.