#viperquin

[kmackatie]

Tarquin / Ashur Fic Rec List - Part One

So you've played Dragon Age: The Veilguard (or had dash osmosis) and want to read about the fantasy pope moonlighting as a vigilante and a resistance fighter tired of his job falling in love? Being two idiots in love? Well! Do I have the post for you!

Look no further, here are a collection of fics to get you started.

Honestly, I recommend the entire tag which I read (at the time, it was 8 pages on AO3) in its entirety but I know not everyone is insane so I wanted to get back to a little fic rec list and put together a (non-exhaustive!) list of a few favourites.

I added part one to the title because I'm optimistic about writing another one later. Without any further ado, here we go.

Snatched from the jaws of an ending world by SkyScribbles/@sky-scribbles (1/1 chapters, 5,089 words, rated T, no warnings)

This was the first tashur fic I read and set off what was a simmering interest into full blorbo mode. A blighted Ashur throwing himself in danger and a Tarquin who can't bear it anymore.

You fill the emptiness behind the masks I wear by SkyScribbles/@sky-scribbles (1/1 chapters, 4,205 words, rated E, no warnings)

Yes, a second Sky fic, however, they are both excellent and are set in the same timeline (though both can be read independently!) Ashur is losing himself to the blight, and Tarquin is there to remind him of why he needs to keep living. Also some incredibly hot and tender smut.

The Templar, the Viper, and Other Masks by teddywesworl/ @teddywesworl (2/2 chapters, 13,996 words, rated E, no warnings)

A great fic of how Tarquin came to be a Shadow Dragon (and to find out Ashur's identity) which has been sitting with me since I read it. Great characterisation and writing, there is also a series with additional works!

The Sacred and the Profane by Sidney Sussex/@sidneysussex (chapters 1/1, 6,029 words, rated M, no warnings)

Crack taken seriously in the best of ways. This fic had me laughing at some moments (the end reveal is :chefskiss: wonderful) and just a fun comedy fic full of great characterisation.

Trials 1:11 by minrathian/@minrathian (works 4/4, combined 18,546 words, rated T-M, no warnings)

A series of fics both pre-and-post canon of Tarquin and Ashur meeting and falling in love. It's a lovely series of fics (seriously, everything minrathian writes is a delight!) and hits the spot of filling in how these idiots in love came to actually admit it.

5 Years / 5 Conversations by bendingwind/@bendingwind (works 5/5, combined 6,278 words, rated T-M)

Another series based around different conversations, how they met, and came to be. Bendingwind is another where you could just go through xer works and have a great time.

And right at the end, I'm linking to a collection of drabbles which spawned off the hivemind discord server (want to join? reach out!) and all of the are worth a read!

Tarquin/Viper Drabbles by various authors (myself included!)

Missed one of your favourites? Drop it below!

[fadesense]

something something tarquin sees ashur's face for the first time

[jjthebunbun]

Valentine’s DA-y 11: Tarquin and Viper

We are one dropped knee away from a religious scandal… 😳 Assless Chaps 4 Assless Chaps couple.

(Prints of this series available HERE)

[rookfeathers]

you're lucky your head is so damn hard

[loustica-lucia]

DATV — Quick Tashur doodle

I missed Tashur 🥰

(Tarquin/Quin & Ashurt/The Viper)

A quick 30minutes doodle before bedtime <3

[obibail]

"Still not helpful."

[aquamonstra]

[sky-scribbles]

Next up on Things I Liked About Veilguard: the faction leaders. We all know some of the factions and their NPCs did not get anything like the amount of content and character that others did (Strife and Irelin I'm so sorry, I still love you), but sometimes I take a step back and realise how wonderful the stuff we did get was.

I mean - Evka and Antoine. Everything about them is so heartfelt. I hadn't read the supplemental material, but they barely needed to interact before I understood why this sweet, smart guy and this tough, smart woman loved each other. They affirm each other constantly. They respect each other so deeply. They have written letters for the other to take to their Callings: a cipher only Antoine could read. Je t'aime. Je t'aimerai toujours.

I love how Myrna and Vorgoth are introduced, suddenly and unsettlingly there in the Lighthouse. I love Vorgoth speaking in all caps. I love the fact that nobody knows what they are. I love that they raised baby Ingellvar. I love how Myrna is calm and polished while every so often coming out with the absolute wildest shit. They're fun.

The Viper and Tarquin? Top tier. They might be my favourites, just because of how much they have going on. Each of them has a backstory, and you can see exactly how those backstories produced their personalities. Ashur has a secret identity you can piece together from notes and codexes (and it's the funniest identity possible). I love their argument over Ashur's paranoid investigation into Tarquin, because it shows that the world goes on when Rook is not in the room, and the NPCs have relationships that go through ups and downs.

I'm mildly insane over the level of devotion, with Tarquin's desperate letters to the Wardens if Ashur is blighted, begging for a cure Ashur won't take. Him standing over Ashur to defend him in the final mission, or else his devastating reaction if Ashur dies: 'It should have been me!' God, these NPCs are alive. (fun fact: I wrote most of this post, and then Sheryl Chee confirmed these two were written as being in love with each other and stupid about it. I'm so happy.)

Speaking of NPCs who love each other: Teia and Viago, my beloveds. Again, I was coming in without the supplemental material, and I was sold on them so fast. The way Viago tenderly cradles Teia from behind as they mourn Caterina. The way they're so involved in Lucanis's personal quests - they're his family, they're there for him, they love him. I love Teia's fierceness and her heart. I love their banter - so much mutual understanding, exasperation and affection mixed together. 'We know each other too well to be strangers.'

Isabela is as wonderful as she always is - I especially appreciate how her depiction in Veilguard makes it clear just how loving she is. But can we also talk about Rowan? (I don't know if she's technically considered a faction leader, but meh.) I love her poetic speech patterns; I love that she's a scholar who wrote a bunch of codex entires; I love her calm, soothing voice. I love getting to see a Rivani Seer at last. And I love how she'll suddenly turn around and say, still calm and soothing, 'Spirit of Determination: may your enemies die bitter and in pain.' Perfect, no notes.

Strife and Irelin, sadly, drew the shortest straw when it came to being fleshed out in-game. But what I do love about them is their relationships with your companions. I love the tiny detail of Irelin, Bellara's ex, helping her pack for the Lighthouse; I love how she writes to Bellara to beg her to take care of herself, because she still matters to her.

And while I am a profound Emmrook lover, I appreciate Emmrich/Strife so much too. I love their shared curiosity and sense of adventure; I love thinking that Emmrich might give Strife tenderness that his life has lacked, while Strife could help nudge Emmrich toward boldness. I love the idea of two older men who likely think love has passed them by suddenly going, oh. If the Veil Jumpers didn't get a deeper relationship with Rook, at least they got relationships with Rook's friends.

Dragon Age games always give us a fun roster of companions, but honestly? Veilguard got me invested in the non-companion NPCs more than any other game in the series. Yes, there should have been more - but what we got was so much fun.

tl;dr: Faction leaders, my beloveds.

[boeing-787]

happy valentine's day

[thismission]

this is not a platonic interaction

[lynnerdo]

“After all the shit we’ve been through, I thought I’d earned some trust.”

[fadesense]

mission gone wrong (then right) for the shadow dragons

[jjthebunbun]

A delightful Valentine’s (DA)y lineup awaits~ 🩷Dropping February 1st thru February 14th🩷

(consider supporting my work on P*treon and getting early access to these WIPs and the finished illustrations 🙏✨)

[triaelf9]

Just a little viperquin doodly bc I cant get them out of my heaaaddd

Yes, longing glances over a war table is my brand XD

[rookfeathers]

moments we stole from the blight

[loustica-lucia]

DATV — Healing Kiss❤️‍🩹

Tarquin & Ashur/The Viper