laurawritesandgames

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Some of the many makeup looks of Zea Laidir, dwarven Lord of Fortune. For gold, glory and glamour!

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I found my first Rook! And she connects to my Hero of Ferelden. Veilguard spoilers below.

Not going to lie, I'm still bummed out that so little of my worldstate will be in DA:V. I like codex entries! I like one or two lines of dialogue! I'd take that over nothing! What are Veilguard's characters going to be like if they have so little sense of the past? If Davrin can't mention the Hero of Ferelden? If no one can talk about the politics of the Divine, which should impact Rivain, Antiva and Nevarra? If freaking VARRIC can't even mention HAWKE?

Sigh.

But, somehow, in the depths of my despair, my OG City Elf-loving mind went into overdrive. Because my Hero, Kallian, has two cousins that we see in-game: Shianni and Soris. Soris married Valora, while Kallian was recruited by the Grey Wardens.

Where was Valora shipped off to by the time Kallian returned to the Alienage? Tevinter, where she was made into a slave.

You see where I'm going with this. If I've done my math right, any kid of Valora's should be 21 or 22 by now.

I headcanon that Rook-Shianni doesn't have any idea she's related to the Hero of Ferelden. If she was a "foundling" like the Shadow Dragons backstory states, then Valora likely died giving birth to her.

I believe in DA:O Soris says that Valora has ideas for changing the way elves are treated in Denerim, and I've incorporated that into my headcanons. As a slave in Tevinter, Valora got word of Shianni becoming Bann of Denerim's Alienage, a political position no elf has ever held. When Valora lived in Denerim, she and Shianni often debated the best way for elves to become more than second-class citizens, and they became good friends.

So, Valora named her daughter after her friend and her husband's cousin, Shianni.

Rook-Shianni might have heard about her namesake far across the sea. But enslaving a people fractures information and families; why would she think she was related to Shianni and, thus, the Hero of Ferelden? Even if she thought it, how would she ever know for sure? Tevinter's problems are more important than her mother's homeland.

I'm not sure what her life was like after she was "adopted into a military family". In her case, I imagine she was raised to be a slave, but was lifted up by some fluke and given training in weapons and spycraft to kill her master's enemies. Guilty that she got out of slavery, she turned on her master, joined the Shadow Dragons, and now she works to end slavery throughout Tevinter.

Shianni's legacy lives on.

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Fiddling around with the concept for my first Rook thanks to @riessene's Rook Planning Template.

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I decided to splurge and bought a Cameo of Tim Downie as Gale broaching a delicate topic with his wife, Argent (star of my fic Mates). I love his interpretation of my prompt! When a wizard and a knowledge cleric get together, space for books goes fast.

Enjoy, Gale girlies!

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Love and Marriage

“Do you still love me?” He asks as you read. You’re unsure if you heard the words correctly in between the arcane texts you fumble your way through. You lift your head and look at him with a smile. “Do you still love me?”

You bat away the question. What a silly thing to ask. Of course, you love him. You never stopped loving him. Who does he think you are? Mystra? What even gave him this idea? Yes, things have been tough. You married in a hurry but after everything, it seemed like the right thing to do. Yes, Tara criticises everything you do to him, you’ll never be good enough for her dear friend, but she’s Tara and it must be let go. Yes, his mother is constantly just popping by for one little thing or another. Checking up on you, asking for grandkids, but it’s his mother and so it must be let go. He was going to die a year ago, after all, he’s trying to make up for all the time he missed with them.

“You’re yet to entertain my question…” The silence has hung for a while. You’re not sure why you can’t answer him and yet the words stick in your throat. Say yes. You do love him, don’t you? You didn’t just fall in love out of pity, for a chance to mend his broken heart? You didn’t marry him for his skills, for his intelligence, for his looks? You married him because you loved him, right? Your heartbeat quickens. You ask why he’s questioning your love so suddenly.

“Nevermind. It seems your mind is elsewhere… again” He mumbles the last part, another passive bit of snark he thinks you don’t register. But you remember all of them and you hold a grudge for each one. You watch as he retreats to his library, again he does this when things get uncomfortable. Just like the time he was wrong about a spell but wouldn’t admit to it and things got heated. When you refused to talk to each other for the rest of the evening, no apologies ever made. Love. Such a powerful curse. 

You think over his question for the hours that follow. You try to read the book in front of you, try to bury the anger you’re feeling. How dare he ask you such a question? Just because you can’t conjure stars or create a cosmic intimacy. Sorry that all he gets is your pathetic attempts at romance, poems written in common and not in the exotic tongues his goddess would spoil him with. Now you’re angrier with him, you want to confront him. You go to his library and knock on the door prepared for what he might say.

And then he opens the door, his eyes tired and defeated, his wedding ring resting on the table and you know this is it. This is what a sudden marriage after trauma comes with; two people who barely know each other hurting one another when there is no calamity pulling them together. Do you still love him? Yes… Are you in love with him? Well, that’s another question entirely. 

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Valorean and Astarion for @laurawritesandgames 🪈🎼💫

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In BG3, dialogue options for wild magic sorcerers don't always come up...

But when they do, they can be pretty fun!

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She's just a little gnome with a silly hat

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My latest Tav is Argent!

She's a silver dragonborn cleric of Oghma hailing from Candlekeep who has an adorable smile...particularly when she's thinking about a certain someone. 'Twas truly love at first sight!

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How it started

How it's going

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New Fic

I wrote a fic for @dapolyshipping‘s exchange! Please check it out!

The Portrait

Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: T Relationship: Female Adaar/Josephine Montilyet/Lace Harding Word Count: 8,604 Status: Complete Summary: After the Exalted Council and the disbanding of the Inquisition, Josephine Montilyet, Adder Adaar, and Lace Harding sit for a portrait painted by Josephine's sister, Yvette. But what will Josephine do when Adder and Lace have some issues with the portrait?

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Look at this beautiful art by the amazing Stef! It brought back such wonderful memories to see this on my dash!

Second Tarot Card for Laura, of her Inquisitor Adder Adaar and Sera. :) The relationship between these two is INTENSE, and you can read more of it in the Jenny and the Ox series.

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After the Curtain - Finished!

Fandom: Beetlejuice (Musical)

Rating: E

Pairing: Beetlejuice/Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland; one-sided Beetlejuice/Lydia for a few chapters

Blurb: Barbara and Adam died, became ghosts, and gained a new family in the span of a few days. It’s a lot to process. As years pass and the Maitland-Deetz household grows, the Maitlands find themselves making some unexpected choices about (un)life, lust and love.

Full story available now on AO3!

[laurawritesandgames]

Thanks so much for all your hard work and talent!

The finished piece of Kallian Tabris for @laurawritesandgames ! I am so appreciative to be commissioned and it was great to draw a puppy!

Buy me a ko-fi!

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Ooof. It took far too long, but it’s finally finished!

Read on AO3!

Alistair really just wants to spend some time alone with the love of his life. Clearly the Maker is laughing at him right now, because every single person in Thedas seems to interrupt his plans!

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Thanks so much for all your hard work! The throne and my Lavellan look so awesome!

Commission for @laurawritesandgames of Ellana Lavellan and a design of her ironbark Dalish throne at Skyhold 🌿