#oc: tanner laidir

[invinciblerodent]

I love giving my little hobbies and interests to my characters (partly for authenticity's sake, and partly because I think every little guy benefits from having a hobby), so like Arvid crochets and is interested in philosophy, Iona is a jeweler (I'm, like, super fascinated by historical jewelry-making techniques and symbolism), Petyr does all sorts of weird DIY shit, Tristan does embroidery, and I'm really considering giving Tanner some sort of a writing-related hobby, for those long hours of downtime one has on a ship

I can't decide what'd be more fun: to have this burly, pirate-adjacent, helplessly butch dwarfette writing gorgeous, lavishly written travelogues and memoirs under a pseudonym with sales numbers rivaling Genitivi and Tethras, or for her to like, write actually kind of incredible, and profoundly horny sapphic poetry that never sees the light of day

maybe both

...... and this is not at all because my death grip on my knee turns into a horny grip at the thought of a dwarven stud with a smoker-voice and a sailor's hands tenderly reciting the poetry that she had written for Harding at the small hours of the morning

[invinciblerodent]

i should not be concocting elaborate daydreams about characters i haven't even heard speak in earnest yet, huh

i am vying against the desk, nails bloodied and knuckles white, please let me make up more guys (gn) to kiss those other guys (gn)

[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

[invinciblerodent]

if bioware doesn't release the veilgaurd cc for me to play around with (and I don't really have the hard drive space to whack on another game with a better cc), I just have to make do!!!!! :c

rambling about each of them under the cut, going clockwise from top left

Verbena (or Ver), my "main" Rook and a Shadow Dragon from Minrathous, I picture with a wavy shag of messy chestnut hair, warm autumn skin, and striking grey eyes that look almost colorless, as long as there's nothing for them to reflect. (I wanna call them her dagger-greys mostly, but there's so much room to play with reflections and metaphors and stuff with a color like that!!! and, with that darker border, it calls back to Ray's blues a bit, since they are sort of distantly related.) She'll have a longer nose (slightly hooked if I can get it in a way I like), a scattering of freckles, and a rounded cupid's bow but a somewhat more squared jaw- this face looks way more sculpted than what I'd like for her to have, but none of the others worked even this well. :/ I'd like her to look younger than she is- like she's supposed to be roughly 32, but looking at her, I kind of want people to not think her much older than 25. She's somewhat short, but wiry-strong, with toned limbs and a very straight spine. She'll be a sword and board warrior, as I usually go lol.

Tristan, my Fereldan Grey Warden, will, on the other hand, look older than he is: at ~40, he'll easily seem middle-aged (undeath and general warden-hood will do that for you). His eyes are somewhat vacant, smeared in tired purple, and a vaguely unsettling sort of brown that seems almost red if the light hits it just right. He's overall tall and broad (if carrying himself somewhat crooked), and I kind of want him to have some sort of body modification, maybe body tattoos (for battles he's been in, general reminders) or a number of discreet piercings, kind of to make his body feel more his. Might give him a facial tattoo too, just for fun. Probably a great weapon warrior, something long and heavy like a greatsword.

Coris, my Antivan Crow dwarfette, will get sort of unremarkable, but somewhat feline, playful-looking features, with upturned eyes, and lips that seem to be always smiling. I want her eyes to be so dark that they seem to be lacking a pupil, and I couldn't quite get the skintone right, but I want her to be sort of olive-skinned, with thick, dark hair she'll keep just long enough to pull back and out of her eyes. No visible tattoos or notable piercings (an assassin can't afford to stand out), but I really like that mole right under her right eye, I want to keep that if I can. She'll be agile, and pleasantly plump, with quite generous curves- probably an archer rogue.

and "Tanner", my Lord of Fortune dwarfette, will be an ex-Inquisition agent (probably from Orlais) who adopted back her old name assigned by Sister Nightingale for this (and will only reveal her actual first name to Harding once they're together ❤️❤️❤️ thinking something very Orlesian, like an Elise or a Jeanette or something) - I want her to have sort of the sunkissed, if slightly ruddy appearance of someone who spends a lot of time outside (or at sea), a fuller, friendly face, kind hazel eyes, and a mass of slightly coarse, dirty blonde hair. Her time adventuring (as well as spying) has likely left her with a few notable scars, but I'll want to figure those out once I'm there in the cc. (I may want her to have a pirate/sailor/adventurer type of stick and poke tattoo or two, something that looks wonky but has a lot of emotional significance to her.) She'll be kind of robust, and rather tall for a dwarf. I'm very undecided on the class yet, I kinda don't want to romance both rogues with other rogues, but the concepts just lend themselves well to being rogues.

[invinciblerodent]

Thank you for your dwarf propaganda, Brosca origin slaps so hard and I love my short girl so much

I'm ALWAYS down for dwarf propaganda, I'm so glad you gave them a go! ❤️❤️

.... so who wants to hear more dwarf shit?!

Last night I took a crack at making my Orzammar-born Lord of Fortune dwarfette I plan to kiss Harding with, Tanner! (<-definitely not her real name)(yeah i didn't want to only make my boykissers first)

I only took her through the opening cutscene as of yet, but, as I was making her, I was trying to think "what's the hottest butch I can make with this CC fighting me this hard", and I ended up with 500 pounds of whoopass in a 120 pound bag, desperately wishing for some lip- and tongue piercings to add to her. (I mean, her tongue is for sure pierced. There's just no question about it. You can't see it tho.)

In her spare time, she writes horny poetry about the ocean.

(kind of loving the thought that if you have a dwarf rook, the prologue is like a very reduced budget stage play. Snow White And The Three Dwarves Becase We Couldn't Afford Another Four Actors.)

[invinciblerodent]

I feel like as the release draws near, I should update my Rook concepts a little bit, post a bit more about how they've been taking shape in my head... (no visuals of the designs yet- while I have loose ideas, I'm also undecided, and kind of going back and forth on many things, lol.)

Divvying them up by class, the warriors are gonna be:

Verbena Mercar, main Rook

the Idealist, who likely wouldn't really be in this mess if it wasn't happening right on her doorstep (and ngl, fully thought she was just taking this job for like, a month at best), but someone has to do something, and it might as well be her. So far what I know about her is that she has a good head on her shoulders, a strong sens of justice, and few scruples about breaking the rules to do what's right, and she will trip over her knickers the first time she sees Davrin.

She'll be the first character I play, a human sword and board warrior- she's had a first name since roughly 2016, and I can't wait to explore her personality more. For now, I'm kind of torn whether on her appearance I'll want to lean more into her being from Minrathous (so stealing Dorian's color scheme a little bit), or her being distantly related to my Inquisitor Trevelyan (so kind of resembling Ray)(and Kate Bush)(I can see her looking more like Ray's sister than his actual sister, that'd be fun)- but either way, the one design thing I'm firm on is that she'll have some really interesting steel-grey eyes. (I'm calling them her dagger-greys in my head, and I love the thought of them looking cold and almost colorless until there's something for them to reflect- like the warm light of the fire in Davrin's room~)

Tristan Thorne

the Professional, who is Totally Not A Zombie or a Wandering Spirit looking for Purpose, but maybe, just maybe, saving the world will be the way to finally find it. (maybe it's somewhere in Emmrich's pants, who knows, he'll need to investigate.)

For him, I've a short snippet of his backstory as a very normal 17-year-old human Fereldan boy who once took up arms to fight for his village, and "died" in the Battle of Ostagar, so I hope to kind of lean into the "undead" angle a bit more.

I know regardless of what the CC actually allows, he'll have a number of tattoos chronicling his life (and death) all over his body, partly as a way to reclaim ownership of it, and I'm hoping that in the background, I can kind of start off what he'll have going on with Emmrich underscored by a ~purely clinical~ interest. (until the pierced nipples on a wide, hair-littered barrel of a chest come out, which is when all scholarly sense goes out the window.)

(I'll need to see the CC for him most I feel, because no picrew I've found lets me make burly greying gentlemen with appropriately sad and haunted eyes, lol. But I'm thinking fairly low-maintenance short hair, maybe a touch lighter than the black I had planned initially [so he'll not look like a knockoff Blackwall], pale skin, and eyes that are a shade of brown that look unsettlingly red if the sun hits them slightly wrong.)

The rogues:

"Tanner"

(or Nalinda Bramunt, Elena Firavanti, Loseck Brovo, Stéphane Rousselot-Poincaré, and honestly, who even knows how many more, the list goes on and on- but as far as anyone is concerned, Laidir will do), the Daredevil: adventurer, treasure hunter, poet of some renown, spy more than just incidentally. She's an Orzammar-born dwarf and ex-Inquisition agent enamored with the ocean, she's 500 pounds of whoopass in a 120 pound bag, she likes knives a bit too much, and she's here to sweep Harding off her feet and get paid.

I'm thinking a butch/futch lesbian(? unsure on that, could be bi, she'll have to tell me herself) dwarfette with dual daggers, I'm thinking blonde and sea-tanned, I'm thinking pierced lip/tongue, I'm thinking tattoos ("gaatlok-spots", as a reference to gunpowder-spots of actual sailors), and I'm thinking her having more trouble confessing her actual first name to Harding than she'll have confessing her romantic feelings. (She smokes. She 100% smokes. And if there's at all a chance for her to have a poly romance with Harding and Taash, she'll TAKE it.)

(myesh i knoooow that there's a Sister Tanner agent in Redcliffe and a Tanner in Bull's first Skyhold friendship scene, I figured it's both a spy's profession name and a fairly common unisex name in Ferelden- I was thinking about tanning leather, because I wanna call her and Harding "leather and Lace" in my head.)

Coris de Riva

the Cynic who'd like to correct all in the rumor that she once dispatched a mark by tearing his still beating heart out of his chest with her teeth. (He actually bled out when she bit through his windpipe- she only cut his heart out afterwards, upon the client's request.) A pretty surface dwarf with a checkered Chantry past, enough arrows in her quiver, more than enough resentment in her heart, and no small desire to force the First Talon to his knees- if only he'll then actually look her in the eye.

Her plan is going to be to live out her grudge deeper than a Titan's asshole against the Crows by making herself the Lady Macbeth whispering in a Dellamorte's ear, and she'll be very pleased to have the more favored grandson that was believed dead (she had her doubts on that one) dropped into her lap. Except she'll not expect to realize that, along the way, he'll actually worm his way into her cold little shriveled up heart, and suddenly, pushing him to take over the Crows and then stabbing him to take over herself doesn't sound like that fun an idea anymore.

The mage:

Marcus Ingellvar

the Scholar with more talent, curiosity, and compassion (and excellent sideburns) than good sense, who's not really had a conversation longer than 20 minutes with a living person in more years than he can count, and will likely feel his very core turn into warm vanilla pudding the first time he lays eyes on Taash.

I'm toying with the thought of fucking with gender a little bit on him, but I'm unsure what that means for him. I'm getting a Vibe, but I'm wondering if it's just that he'll have an interesting approach to masculinity (which sounds like heaps of fun to explore and contrast a little bit with Ray's fairly traditional masculinity), some flavor of nonbinary-ness, or if this guy is just... trans, and that's it lol. But for him, I'm really thinking of an appearance that's rather tall and lanky, and... kind of if Rezaren from DA: Absolution was both very, very tired, and a semi-starved Victorian urchin child. (With, again, excellent sideburns.)

Either way, my goal is that people will look at him, and immediately want to feed him warm soup. I hope Taash will need to physically pull him from danger and carry him to safety more times than either of them can count, and I think he'll be very, very pleased with that. (And let's be real, no matter who happens to be wearing the penis at the time, she'll be the one topping.) (And again, he'll be very, very pleased with that.)

Undecided:

Syl Aldwir

the Double Agent who, after having worked with the Friends of Red Jenny as an Orlais-born elf (long story), joined the Veil Jumpers in hope of connecting with her elvish roots, but wound up with her butt planted firmly on the ground between the two proverbial chairs she could have landed on.

Her design is the one that varies the most wildly in my mind, but my inspo for her is a certain piece of Tabris concept art, so she'll probably look either a bit like that, or like Cid, the Tabris I had played once.

I'm planning for a lot of sapphic yearning with Neve, but depending on her relationship with her elvishness, I can see it ultimately being Bellara too- it'll need to unfold during the gameplay (hoping for a love triangle type of thing, or some jealousy-dialogue, if there is any in the game), but personally I'm leaning towards Neve- partly as a rejection of the elves' clinging to the unclear ancient past, and partly because, well, fucking look at her lol.

(She'll either be an archer rogue or a sword and board warrior, depending on which type of gameplay I enjoy more.)

[invinciblerodent]

actually going a little bit insane over this Sappho fragment

[invinciblerodent]

Some random useless headcanons about my upcoming characters (that are hopefully not going to be overwritten by the game's canon)-

Thinking about giving Verbena some slightly "bleached", brighter streaks in her "shag of chestnut" hair from having spent a lot of time outside, so she can be a "Sun-Blonde Vint" ❤️ (which is also gonna be her favorite drink, and it'll give me some nice imagery to work with, vis a vis her being intoxicating as a spirit, and "strong enough to fluster a Tranquil" ❤️❤️❤️)

Whatever the Antivan Crow Rook's last name will wind up being, Coris' real last name will be "Alcoforado", for backstory reasons, and the one used in-game will have nothing to do with her actual family that's still alive. (I hope the game will be vague about how Rook came to join the Crows, because I have a very specific idea based on a false rumor about a 17th century Protuguese nun, lol.)

Tanner will be 500 pounds of whoopass in a roughly 120 pound bag, she'll like knives a tiny bit too much, she'll be a smoker, very sunkissed and freckled all over, and she'll be the (slightly unusually tall) butch dwarf woman of my (and Harding's) dreams. I am unwilling to back down on any of these statements.

Also played with something of a base appearance for Syl that I'll be sort of going for in the Veilguard cc-

All I have in my head for her right now is that one piece of Tabris concept art, where she's in the wedding dress? that's sort of where I'm coming from for her. (Thinking hard about whether she too is bi, or a lesbian. I'm leaning towards lesbian.)

Tristan's "Isolde" is going to be a Grey Warden mentor whose actual name was Iselva, she'll have been a city elf and a healer mage, one of the only (if not THE only) person who knew about his secret, and she'll have died during the events of Inquisition.

[invinciblerodent]

i have a million things i should be doing right now, yet here i am, falling down a rabbithole of traditional sailors'- and legionnaires' tattoos for two side-characters who don't have faces yet (who i plan to play far after finishing my first run as a completely unrelated character), for a game that isn't coming out for another two months

........ anyway, Tanner, my Lord of Fortune dwarfette, is going to have basically been a treasure-hunter at sea (so kind of a pirate, but I'm gathering visual inspiration more from Vikings), and she's gonna have what the qunari she served with called "gaatlok-spots", based not-so-loosely on the gunpowder spots of 17th century buccaneers. which are basically stick and poke tattoos made by rubbing finely crushed gunpowder into needle-marks made on the skin. (maybe a swallow in a style reminiscent of the American traditional style of sailor tattoos to signify distance she's traveled, or just something I can get in the cc that makes her extra hot, just on her biceps, because I can.) (I want her tall for a dwarf, strong as hell, and generally to sweep Harding off her feet.)

Tristan, I'll have to see the cc's options, because there aren't really many constraints there (i'm picturing this sort of thing so far, kinda more warden'd up, but his might be a mishmash), i just know i want to poke many holes into that guy- not necessarily his face for the sake of Warden respectability, but... there are many more places to pierce and draw on, especially considering that I want him to be Large in general

(am i also going to retcon in my Brosca having similar types of stick and poke tattoos beyond his casteless brand? you betcha)

[invinciblerodent]

Far into Ver as I am, I'm kinda also having a good time thinking about all the future plans I have for my other characters I plan to play.

I think Tristan and Marcus are both also going to choose to save Minrathous, and Coris and Tanner are going to choose Treviso. (I'm not yet sure about Syl, but her whole Deal is gonna be symbolically choosing between Neve and Bellara, so I'll have to see how she feels once I get there with her.)

Tristan is a Grey Warden. He's no stranger to making uncomfortable choices that hurt people, but ultimately are made in service of the greater good- if Minrathous falls, then the Imperium also falls, and then there's nothing to stop the Antaam from expanding further and further South- first through Tevinter, then the Marches, and if Orlais falls, the entire South falls. It's unfortunate that Treviso has to be the one to pay that price, but... someone has to. In Death, Sacrifice.

Marcus, I'm also thinking of as a fairly pragmatic person- he's on the Mourn Watch, he's gonna be a scholar, and I quite like the thought of him being especially invested in stopping the Venatori in particular. They're the living representation of all the worst things magic can do: they control, they destroy, they enslave, and even beyond the immediate threat they represent, there is an ideological reason for standing against them.

Neither of these guys are thinking about the city specifically, not in the way Verbena did (honestly, to her, what Neve said there was like the fucking icy terror unzipped her spine, and there was immediately no way she would choose otherwise- it was an emotional choice, a personal choice, and one she believes in her heart as well as her mind was the closest to a right choice that she could make), I don't think they've ever even been there- but they both have their reasons for why they'd choose to prioritize it over Treviso.

While Coris, to her, Treviso is as much of a home as it is to Lucanis- and, I'm pretty sure that'll be the first moment when she looks and Lucanis, and doesn't see the hated First Talon's repulsive grandson she's been playing the nice girl for, but him, for the man he is. That'll likely be their first moment of genuine bonding, as Crows, as people, and it'll set a shaky foundation for their future relationship being something genuine, too.

And Tanner, well... I figure that she isn't one for ideology. As a Lord of Fortune, she's going to be thinking about the people, first and foremost- the Blight in the waterways, the innocent bystanders, all those who can't protect themselves. Minrathous is, simply put, far more capable of defending itself. With its military, its magic, its covert militia of Shadows, it simply has a better shot than Treviso is with its handful of assassins and people already straining under the weight of the Antaam.

Treviso is flying on a hope and a prayer, and even though in the metagaming way we can know that Minrathous, too, falls... well, at that moment, it sounds like Treviso needs the help more.

I think I'm satisfied with these choices so far, but I'll be really interested in seeing where Syl falls. She'll be a Veil Jumper, a city elf originally, and from Orlais no less- she needs a lot more developing until I can figure out where she falls in all this.

[invinciblerodent]

Masterlist

Twitch page 🎮

YouTube channel 📺

❌Tagging "datv spoilers" for Dragon Age: The Veilguard until the end of the year!❌

Fic:

AO3 page (as of jan 2024, mostly old Dragon Age and Mass Effect fics- this is to be updated)

Ficlet on immortal elven souls and vampiric immortality (BG3, Astarion/Iona)

"Prayer of an unknown cleric" (BG3, Gale/Arvid)

Warden Tristan of the Grey - OC backstory snippet (DA:TV)

Verbena of the Shadow Dragons - OC backstory snippet (DA:TV)

Selected love letters (DA:I, Dorian/Ray)

Characters:

Baldur's Gate 3

Arvid Trygg (he/him, 54)

"Gold dwarf" cleric of Tempus

Soldier background

❤️: Gale Dekarios

Playlist 🎶

Summary:

Note written by Gemria Bozzahr, 1438 DR, found pinned to the swaddling of a corpse-blue, wailing infant boy: "If you've any care for the weak, please find one who may care for him. I cannot face my family as mother to a half-breed. May he find grace in the glory of your god, and let him bear the name 'Arvid', after the father he may never know."

A bastard son born from but one night shared by a trader's daughter and a handsome duergar soldier, Arvid was raised by clerics of Tempus in a small and insignificant monastery/fortress, in a small and insignificant town close to Neverwinter. Now, it was unusual for Tempurans to take in urchins like that, but the boy, while unusual in his appearance and meek in his nature, proved a quick study, and a rare talent at healing. Which, with his quiet, mellow (and soon, not even quite so anxious!) personality, made him a favored addition to the "mercenary" excursions of the warrior-priests: and so, hitting the ground running, Arvid learned to fight in the very melting pot of battle.

With body and spirit molded by the Foehammer's teaching, he took his Acolyte vows shortly after his 16th spring, and became a fully fledged cleric of the Faith much younger than most. And as time passed slowly (and with... only a regular amount of constant bloodshed), he made his way to the rank of Direhar (guardian-priest). It was at 53 that he was called to Baldur's Gate: partly to replace the sole healer of the city's monastery who had perished (naturally in battle), and partly at the urging of his Warlyon (high priest), as an opportunity for him to eventually, maybe, even head his own congregation.

Of course, the mind flayers had different plans.

After merely a year of trying to establish a foothold in the city with... middling-to-poor success, Arvid was yanked from the city streets while trying to usher as many of those fleeing into the protection of the temple as possible. Fat load of good playing the hero did for him. (But to be fair, that's... kind of his theme.)

Iona Raedir (she/her, 61)

High elf sorcerer (draconic ancestry, red)

Guild Artisan background (jeweler/trader)

❤️: Astarion Ancunín

Playlist 🎶

Summary:

"Don't ask, kitten, and I won't lie."

Once dutiful daughter, once devoted wife, always a secret sorceress. Iona lived most of her life in a settlement by the name of Puremount's Hollow, among the so-called 'Emissaries of the Immaculate': a radical offshoot of the Ilmaterian church, one that views all magic as the domain befitting solely the gods, and arcane casters, abhorrent thieves of divine power. So, with the magic of ancient dragons thrumming in her veins, that... was sort of a problem.

To her very good excuse, neither did she join of her own accord, nor did she know she commanded such powers at the time. She was only 11 years old, after all.

But, one of the things elves do best, is wait. So that's what she did, and she played her part expertly: she and her beloved father lived their life in accordance with human traditions, he took a second wife (we don't talk about the first, it's too painful), she married the first boy who asked her (Herric Birchlight- a nice boy, if rough around the edges), and kept her facade (though loveless and rote, minor issue) impeccable, while ignoring her magic as it grew and yearned to be used. For over 30 long years, she kept playing her part. But even the best liars must eventually slip- or be made to slip, more accurately.

Uncovered as an "abominable thief" of divine power, a "pretender", a "fucking witch" and "magespawn" (all Herric's lovely words about the woman he had once called "wife" and "love"), Iona was forced to flee the compound, and took the burning of bridges behind her quite literally, taking little more than the clothes on her back and that brand new scar on her face.

She was snatched less than a day after she had finally arrived to Baldur's Gate, penniless, exhausted, and alone- and for all intents and purposes, she can't quite shake the feeling that this really might have been a better outcome than many of the possible alternatives.

Petyr Wildbrook (he/him, 45)

Wood half-elf ranger/rogue

Outlander background

❤️: Shadowheart, Halsin Silverbough

Playlist 🎶

Summary:

Raised among druids of the Circle of the Shepherd, Petyr waited quite a bit longer than he should have had to for his magic to show itself. And, well, it... simply never did. Brother, cousins (gods, so many cousins), friends, all inducted into the druidic arts before he could as much as conjure a single goodberry.

So, partly at the urging of his mothers and partly out of spite, Petyr took to trying to learn all he could about the wild- on his own, through sheer trial and error if need be. At 20, he gathered what meager belongings he could call his own (and a big pack of gifts from his worried, but oddly relieved family), and set out to find his luck wherever it may guide him.

Though it wasn't easy, or painless, or even smart by any stretch of the imagination, he fell into the role of a ranger and forester, and made a living as a hunter of monsters and big game, and a silent keeper of his little patch of woods: a lone watcher, and reclusive woodsman. He had always enjoyed the company of those who expect no social niceties from him anyway.

Turns out, the exception to that particular rule is the silent, squirming passenger of a tadpole behind the eyeball. And, yeah, so maybe even a self-identified utter bitch of a man is capable of being a "hero", if you stretch the meaning of the word far enough.

"Mara" (she/her; ???)

Lolth-sworn drow monk

Dark Urge

❤️: Karlach Cliffgate

Playlist 🎶

Summary:

She is three days old, and all she knows is murder.

But she's... nice. No, I promise. Or at least, she's... she's trying her best.

Dragon Age

The Veilguard

Verbena "Ver" Mercar (she/her, 32)

Human (Tevinter), Shadow Dragons

❤️: Davrin

Playlist 🎶 (WIP)

Summary: TBD

"Tanner" Laidir (she/her, late 30's)

Dwarf (Orzammar), Lords of Fortune

❤️: Lace Harding

Playlist 🎶 (WIP)

Summary: TBD

Tristan Thorne (he/him, 41)

Human (Ferelden/Orlais), Grey Wardens

❤️: Emmrich Volkarin

Playlist 🎶 (WIP)

Summary: TBD

Coris de Riva (she/her, early 30's)

Dwarf (Antiva), Antivan Crows

❤️: Lucanis Dellamorte

Playlist 🎶 (WIP)

Summary: TBD

Marcus Ingellvar (he/him nonbinary, 25)

Human (Nevarra), Mourn Watch

❤️: Bellara Lutare

Playlist 🎶 (WIP)

Summary: TBD

Syl Aldwir (she/her, 27)

Elf (Tevinter), Veil Jumpers

❤️: Neve Gallus

Playlist 🎶 (WIP)

Summary: TBD

Origins

Aren Lorna "Arie" Aeducan (she/her, DAO: 25, DAI: 36, DATV: 46)

"Canon" Warden-Commander

Noble dwarf, sword and board warrior (Berserker+Champion)

❤️: Leliana (softened, Divine)

Aesthetic

Summary:

Aren Lorna Aeducan is a woman forged in fire through and through. Bearing the name- and donning the armor of her late grandmother, she quickly proved herself to be as steadfast and politically shrewd as her namesake.

As she was bred and born a leader and thus grew up an unintentional rival to her elder brother, she is generally proud and poised, unapologetic in her way of carrying herself, and assertive in her opinions which, while driven by a desire to do and be good, are quick to take backseat to a strong emotional motivation- She is as dedicated and passionate in love as she is in duty.

While her assertiveness may make her come off as harsh, stubborn, she is nonetheless essentially benevolent, mindful and supportive of emotions and wants of those around her- keeping people’s best interests at heart, she is diplomatic and ambitious, occasionally sarcastic, with strong convictions of what is right and just, which she intends to enforce and uphold even if that means resorting to less than legal measures. The end, in her eyes, sanctifies the means, even if that end is just the survival of one more person, be it others or herself.

The main conflicts of her character throughout the story are the choices that force her to pick between her compassion and her desire for vindication, and the choice dictated by her royal upbringing in grossly homophobic Orzammar conflicting with her later-life realization of her own bisexuality, with which she grapples until eventually she allows herself to fall in love with Leliana.

While trying to avoid facing her own emotions whenever possible, for the first chunk of the game, she is almost singularly obsessed with the idea of revenge, and until Bhelen’s eventual death at her hands, her personal vendetta takes priority even over the establishment of a stable dynasty that might be best for Orzammar in the wake of the Blight. That anger and defiance that resides in her is eventually placated, and it is only once the faith of Ferelden and Thedas no longer rests on her shoulders that she mellows out, turning from the commander into herself.

Vogar Brosca (he/him, DAO: 22, DAI: 33, DATV: 43)

Casteless dwarf, dual-wielding warrior (Reaver)

❤️: Zevran

Non-canon Warden, but an unrelated Warden in my head regardless

Vogar Brosca is unequivocally what the Hero of Ferelden should not be- he is abrasive and selfish, almost completely illiterate, and easily the most cynical man Thedas has ever carried, in its belly or on its back.

He carries a lot of anger in him- a lot of envy and jealousy, as well as overall resentment towards most everyone willing to exploit him and people like him. As he is motivated mostly by spite and a drive to prove people wrong, he always strives to show an image of strength and confidence, even though many times he would rather hide under a rock and never again poke his head out- the man has turned “fake it till you make it” into a personal motto and intends to stick to it.

After an adolescence and early adulthood as a Carta grunt (during which he had to sell his sword arm and honor simply to stay alive), he keeps his loyalties fluid, and his morals where his money is; if it suits his fancy, he is prone to reasoning away any and all decisions he might make as reasonable and moral.

As little beyond his love for his sister and his friendship with Leske tied him to the city, he was quick to jump on the opportunity to abandon Orzammar in favor of the promise of an ability to be someone beyond a casteless thug, although he won’t deny that the idea of “pretty and easy Surface girls with knockers the size of my head” also contributed to the decision- the fact that later he happened to find love by the side of a very male assassin who had been sent for his head is but an amusing caprice of fate.

As the game progresses, he grows and changes rather quickly and dramatically- the responsibility of decision-making affects him pretty badly, but the rest of the party poses a whole new set of good and bad examples and influences on him. The surface, where people look at him and say “Ser” instead of spitting, will finally show him an angle of the world which he likes- a world in which his existence is at least acknowledged beyond him being an eyesore. He also manages to eventually overcome his deeply internalized homophobia with Zevran’s help, (come to terms with his now past but then obvious affection for Leske,) and learns to trust and allow people to get close to him.

Inquisition

Raymond "Ray" Percival Trevelyan (he/him, DAI: 24, DATV: 34, BG3: 55)

"Canon" Inquisitor, Inquisitor-as-Tav AU

Human

DA: sword and board warrior (Reaver)

BG3: fighter/Oath of Devotion paladin (noble background)

❤️: DAI- Dorian Pavus, BG3- Wyll Ravengard

Playlist 🎶

Aesthetic

Summary:

There's one thing that is to be said / about him in the years to come: A hero seldom lives to see / past the ending of their tale.

Raymond begins his story a naive, idealistic young man with a passion for the romantic, the sentimental, the dramatic, and the comedic. He is witty and bright, an educated and charming man, but as such, he is also impulsive and brash, immature, and emotional- his decisions are motivated mostly, if not only by his heart, and an almost comical sense of justice.

Inspired heavily as a young teen by the Tale of the Champion and the refugees' tales about the Hero of Ferelden, he aspires to be the great hero Hawke and Lady Aeducan were painted as- while fully aware of how unattainable that ideal might be, he nevertheless aims to become the generous and brave "Knight in Shining Armor" Thedas wants him to be, more or less successfully.

In the beginning of the story, he is deeply Andrastian and practices his religion frequently, but throughout the game, his faith is shaken. Initially, it is his firmly held belief that he is in fact Andraste’s chosen, but confirmation of the opposite at Adamant plants the doubt in his heart that later results in the abandonment of organized Andrastianism, and establishing a rather more lenient, personal relationship with religion.

Throughout the events of the game, as he is faced with more and more injustices and pointless loss of life, his initially neutral-positive views on mage freedom and elf rights quickly radicalize. While the realizations take away a lot of his naiveté and optimism, make him slightly jaded and more skeptical, ultimately he matures and grows as a person. He unlearns a lot of the toxic views he internalized growing up noble, and slowly, with the help of the friends and the love he finds in the Inquisition, he also learns to allow himself to be loved.

At the end, while tired and battered and suffering from moderate- to severe PTSD, the once-green-eared kid emerges a soldier and a man more or less worthy of his title as Inquisitor.

---

The BG3 AU is set roughly 30 years after the events of DAI. After a tumultuous youth of adventuring, ostensibly saving the world (which earned him the moniker "Inquisitor of the Dales"), and the loss of his sword arm in the process, Raymond had retired from heroics young, at merely 25 years of age. Upon the peaceful passing of his father (a minor, but old-money Baldurian baron in this reality), he quickly took to managing the family estate (reconciling a tenuous love with his estranged mother- we don't talk about the past much on that one), and settled in for two joyous decades of blissful domesticity by the side of the love of his life, Dorian.

Except fate has a way of throwing its doomed chosen at increasingly bigger problems, until one finally manages to kill them.

A handful of years pass between the assassination of his husband over blasted politics and his own abduction by mind flayers, and Ray, both dreading and strangely anticipating the adventure, falls back into the role of a leader and a hero like he would into a bad habit, though he is barely a shadow of his once-gregarious, larger-than-life hero self.

Maybe this time, throwing himself at a nigh-immortal god-monster will finally wind up killing him for good. And then, maybe he can finally rest.

Or not. Who knows. At least if he's lucky, fate will take a fucking leg this time.

Adela Cadash (she/her, DAI: 37, DA:TV: 47)

Surface-born dwarf (Marcher, Tantervale)

Archer rogue (Tempest)

❤️: The Iron Bull

Non-canon Inquisitor

Summary:

Adela Cadash is a woman with an undeniable talent for consciously putting herself into the wrong place at the wrong time. She’s cynical and efficient, energetic- not one to sit idly by and contemplate consequences, more often than not she leaps before she would look. She fixes mistakes as she goes, making a lifestyle out of risk and thrill-seeking, but regardless of what it is into which she’s throwing herself, she always gives off the impression that she is at least one step ahead, even -or especially- when that’s not true.

Perceptive and cunning, Adela is an expert at reading people and giving them who, and what they want her to be. She is flexible and adaptable, clever and shrewd, capable of morphing herself into whoever the situation requires her to be- from the principled dame, through the mother figure, to the commander of war, there is a personality in her arsenal that fits that role, while she keeps her true thoughts and feelings buried six feet under.

As for religion, Adela is mostly agnostic in her views. She is mostly neutral concerning the plight of mages- while she is mostly aware of the injustices, Tantervale's Circle never caused the kind of problems Kirkwall's did, and overall, she holds mostly the same views as Vivienne does- that magic is dangerous as fire is dangerous, and she's not about to let herself get burnt.

She has, however, a passion for the finer things in life- be it food, bathing, or love, she likes to make an event, a spectacle out of the mundane. Be it Orlesian opera, really nice shoes, disgustingly overpriced alcohol, or elaborate, kinky sex, she is not one for saving things for special occasions- to her, having lived most of her life in mortal danger, every day lived is a special occasion worthy of celebrating, and she lives life from one day to the next, barely thinking past tomorrow for it may never come.

She is, all in all, a professional survivor.

Harwen Lavellan (later on Harwen Montilyet- he (primarily)/they (incidentally), DAI: ~35, DATV: ~45)

Dalish hunter

Archer rogue (Assassin)

❤️: Josephine Montilyet

Non-canon Inquisitor

Summary:

Harwen is a no-nonsense, practical man- a calm and collected, rather quiet person whose every word is spoken with purpose.

Able to think coolly and logically even in the face of danger, Harwen is a born analyst and strategist. He’s prone to seeming emotionally detached in his decision-making and known to prioritize the purpose over the idea- Ultimately, he is a smart worker rather than a hard worker, with a remarkable talent for seeing the big picture without getting swallowed up in the details.

He is very pragmatic and equally introverted; a very private person and while not unfriendly, he is difficult to get to know and even more difficult to predict. Being perceptive and at times suspicious, he may come off as grumpy, coarse. That is, however, merely the surface- as a private person, he is deeply romantic, loyal, and works best as a member of a team. Having been trained as a Dalish hunter, he seems to have a gift for seeing the strengths and weaknesses of each of his companions, and working with- and around them with efficiency.

He is also an eerily fast learner- while as a Dalish elf, he has not had any formal education and is barely literate in human writing systems, he is remarkable at absorbing large amounts of information very quickly and applying it as the situation requires.

Regarding beliefs, Harwen is a traditionally wired mind with a modern twist- while conscious and critical of its flaws, he observes Dalish customs and honors the gods according to his clan’s practices, invoking Falon’din and Andruil before each battle. In this, he does not allow himself to be shaken- while he accepts that his people are not perfect, not by a longshot, he is nevertheless devout. As the story of the game progresses and he is forced to give up elements of his heritage, he only seems to cling tighter to the few parts to which he can.

In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, and he often whistles out of tune.

By Veilguard, he lives in Antiva as Josephine's husband, no longer wears his clan name, and is a father to one half-elven daughter by the name Valeria Montilyet (she looks human, and her father is often mistaken for merely her caretaker).

[invinciblerodent]

god please let me see the body tattoos in veilguard, i can't take this

i'm like fuckin...... scuffing my metaphorical hooves, chomping at the equally metaphorical bit over here

"I need to rein it in, I don't know the characters yet, so I won't write fic about them- it'd just end up being out of character anyway."

(proceeds to write like four pages)

"well, okay, that's.... fine, it's ambiguous enough, they barely speak. but i won't mention the kind of tattoos this character is supposed to have without seeing what options I have for them in the cc, just to keep things neat and canon-accurate."

(proceeds to spend like half an hour brainstorming ideas for exactly that)

[invinciblerodent]

woke up very in my feelings after talking just a little bit about this girl last night actually

there is something so compelling to me about the idea of an Orzammar-born dwarf who, instead of confusion and apprehension (which also compels me so so much), took in the surface with sheer wonder. someone who spent their formative years hidden away under a rock, staring at the walls, and then as an adult took to open sea and open sky, and found that it moves something in them, then yearns never to be confined again.

.... anyway so I've decided that she indeed does write profoundly horny sapphic poetry, but most of it is, in at least a roundabout sort of way, about sailing, and the water, and the inherent eroticism of it

whether it's the chopping waves of the Waking Sea, the embrace of Rialto Bay, or the quaking, frigid depths of the unknown that is he Sundered Sea, she's just so deeply entranced by the beauty and vastness of the world that she just... can't help it.

"The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all."

(also this is a great reason for her to actually have the mermaid tattoo that I had been picturing her with, since mermaids in sailor tattoos are generally a symbol of that beauty and danger represented by the ocean.)

I love giving my little hobbies and interests to my characters (partly for authenticity's sake, and partly because I think every little guy benefits from having a hobby), so like Arvid crochets and is interested in philosophy, Iona is a jeweler (I'm, like, super fascinated by historical jewelry-making techniques and symbolism), Petyr does all sorts of weird DIY shit, Tristan does embroidery, and I'm really considering giving Tanner some sort of a writing-related hobby, for those long hours of downtime one has on a ship

I can't decide what'd be more fun: to have this burly, pirate-adjacent, helplessly butch dwarfette writing gorgeous, lavishly written travelogues and memoirs under a pseudonym with sales numbers rivaling Genitivi and Tethras, or for her to like, write actually kind of incredible, and profoundly horny sapphic poetry that never sees the light of day

maybe both

...... and this is not at all because my death grip on my knee turns into a horny grip at the thought of a dwarven stud with a smoker-voice and a sailor's hands tenderly reciting the poetry that she had written for Harding at the small hours of the morning

[invinciblerodent]

Just gonna pop the tentative specializations here too, just for safekeeping-

Ver is probably gonna be a sword and shield Champion, or if that makes combat with Davrin in the party too unwieldy, a Reaper (continuing the trend of my main guys being S+S warriors and sort of Reaver/Berserker/Barbarian-adjacent in combat)

Tristan is looking at a Slayer, big man with a greatsword and a death wish, that's just a hole in one, also works very well with a mage boo ❤️

Coris will likely be either an archer Saboteur or Veil Ranger- I'm thinking those are kind of the spiritual successors to the Artificer and the Tempest specializations of Inquisition- the Veil-thing should be kinda interesting to play with a dwarf.

And Tanner is likely gonna be a dual-wielding Duelist, because not only would that play off Harding being an archer nicely, it also sounds fun for a sorta-swashbuckling, pirate-adjacent Lord of Fortune.

if bioware doesn't release the veilgaurd cc for me to play around with (and I don't really have the hard drive space to whack on another game with a better cc), I just have to make do!!!!! :c

rambling about each of them under the cut, going clockwise from top left

Verbena (or Ver), my "main" Rook and a Shadow Dragon from Minrathous, I picture with a wavy shag of messy chestnut hair, warm autumn skin, and striking grey eyes that look almost colorless, as long as there's nothing for them to reflect. (I wanna call them her dagger-greys mostly, but there's so much room to play with reflections and metaphors and stuff with a color like that!!! and, with that darker border, it calls back to Ray's blues a bit, since they are sort of distantly related.) She'll have a longer nose (slightly hooked if I can get it in a way I like), a scattering of freckles, and a rounded cupid's bow but a somewhat more squared jaw- this face looks way more sculpted than what I'd like for her to have, but none of the others worked even this well. :/ I'd like her to look younger than she is- like she's supposed to be roughly 32, but looking at her, I kind of want people to not think her much older than 25. She's somewhat short, but wiry-strong, with toned limbs and a very straight spine. She'll be a sword and board warrior, as I usually go lol.

Tristan, my Fereldan Grey Warden, will, on the other hand, look older than he is: at ~40, he'll easily seem middle-aged (undeath and general warden-hood will do that for you). His eyes are somewhat vacant, smeared in tired purple, and a vaguely unsettling sort of brown that seems almost red if the light hits it just right. He's overall tall and broad (if carrying himself somewhat crooked), and I kind of want him to have some sort of body modification, maybe body tattoos (for battles he's been in, general reminders) or a number of discreet piercings, kind of to make his body feel more his. Might give him a facial tattoo too, just for fun. Probably a great weapon warrior, something long and heavy like a greatsword.

Coris, my Antivan Crow dwarfette, will get sort of unremarkable, but somewhat feline, playful-looking features, with upturned eyes, and lips that seem to be always smiling. I want her eyes to be so dark that they seem to be lacking a pupil, and I couldn't quite get the skintone right, but I want her to be sort of olive-skinned, with thick, dark hair she'll keep just long enough to pull back and out of her eyes. No visible tattoos or notable piercings (an assassin can't afford to stand out), but I really like that mole right under her right eye, I want to keep that if I can. She'll be agile, and pleasantly plump, with quite generous curves- probably an archer rogue.

and "Tanner", my Lord of Fortune dwarfette, will be an ex-Inquisition agent (probably from Orlais) who adopted back her old name assigned by Sister Nightingale for this (and will only reveal her actual first name to Harding once they're together ❤️❤️❤️ thinking something very Orlesian, like an Elise or a Jeanette or something) - I want her to have sort of the sunkissed, if slightly ruddy appearance of someone who spends a lot of time outside (or at sea), a fuller, friendly face, kind hazel eyes, and a mass of slightly coarse, dirty blonde hair. Her time adventuring (as well as spying) has likely left her with a few notable scars, but I'll want to figure those out once I'm there in the cc. (I may want her to have a pirate/sailor/adventurer type of stick and poke tattoo or two, something that looks wonky but has a lot of emotional significance to her.) She'll be kind of robust, and rather tall for a dwarf. I'm very undecided on the class yet, I kinda don't want to romance both rogues with other rogues, but the concepts just lend themselves well to being rogues.