DragonRacer

She/Her. Elder Millennial. Ren Faire geek. Back in my Dragon Age... uh, age. LOL Still love comic Negan stuff.

[dragonracer]

The Moments Between - Chapter 19: Recompense Latest chapter of "The Moments Between" dropped today. After a lifetime. I'm so sorry. A small snippet to pique interest: ******************************************

"Rook, wait—"

I sigh, stopping just short of breaking our temporary Fade connection, and reluctantly turn back around to find the Dread Wolf staring at me.

"There is a different air about you," he observes. "What has changed?"

I cross my arms over my chest and raise a brow at him. "Is that really something a Spirit of Wisdom can't figure out on his own?"

"You've found another of my statuettes."

"Not one that says you're a spirit," I reply. "Not yet, at least, though I guess the cat's out of the bag on that one now."

He looks surprised. "Then how did you…?"

"I'm not what I was meant to be," I confess. "I was broken and reforged by the Qun into a mindless weapon. Before that happened, my first taste of magic was inadvertently pulling a wisp through the Veil, having felt his curious presence near me yet separated from our world. I was a child and we had great fun playing together until the adults lopped my horns off and threw me in chains for the crime of companionship."

Something shifts completely in Solas's stance and demeanor, as if he's seeing me for the very first time again. Every ounce of aggression and standoffishness has been replaced with fascination, but also a touch of wariness.

"You are a spirit-caller," he concludes.

"Is that the name for it?" I ask. "That first time was an accident done out of innocence. I haven't actively tried to summon anyone since then." If we don't count that time I tried to corpse-whisper Emmrich's parents, which I'd very much prefer to forget I ever attempted.

That trace of unease seems to drain away as he whispers to himself, "Anyone. Not anything."

"Emmrich has been helping me reconnect with my old self lately," I explain. "That's the change. I can see you now - see through you - to your real self."

"And you still see a Spirit of Wisdom?" Solas asks and the naked look of hope on his face almost knocks me over, both from the sheer desperation in it and because seeing someone so guarded appear to drop that mask so quickly is dizzying.

"Not exactly," I reply with no small amount of sympathy, "but before you start up, no, I don't see a Pride Demon either."

"Then what do you see, Rook?" he asks breathlessly. "What am I to you?" ******************************************* New to the story? Start here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63502270/chapters/162722593 Chapter Summary Song: https://youtu.be/uqvfbIuJd6Y?si=AnYfA0gUaJrlKT6M End of Chapter Recommended Listenings: https://youtu.be/V2paBoVofDk?si=_Za3eZ6eSCwn5mSL and https://youtu.be/F5Z2RtajfTU?si=m8dmar8VLM7-8AKX

[broodwoof]

reblog if you are veilguard positive!

i've found my little zone in fandom that i'm comfortable in, but it occurs to me that others are still struggling to find the people who actually enjoy this game! and who talk about it!

so please do reply or reblog if you're veilguard positive and talk about it uwu

[lkblackham]

All day every day babyyyyyy

[dragonracer]

Reporting for duty! 🫡

[spinfins]

Rook: My boyfriend's too tall for me to be able to kiss him on the lips. What should I do?

Taash: Punch him in the gut, and when he bends over in pain, kiss him.

Davrin: Dump him.

Lucanis: Tackle him.

Harding: Kick him in the shin.

Manfred: Hisssssssssss.

Emmrich: No! No to all of those! Just ask me to bend down!

[lkblackham]

(credit to maejiun_sht for this pose, my brain is too mushy for composition at the moment)

I've been getting back into drawing every day, and something I've really enjoyed doing is playing around with gender roles in romantic couples poses. Atash and Emmrich just fulfill that dynamic so perfectly and it's so fun to rewrite the story a little bit. Arbitrary gender roles are so so weird and frustrating to me, I wanna smash em.

Which is good, because I've been really worn out lately. I mean, "worn out" is pretty much my default state these days, but with world shattering events piling up as well as regular daily stress, the worn-outedness is a bit more intense at the moment. Am I depressed? Probably. But like, not in a destructive way necessarily, more in the "everything I enjoy just seems so dumb in the face of so much straight up evil on display in the world right now." I think we're all feeling that right now and the collective exhaustion and grief of humanity is really really heavy.

But.... It is good to know I'm not alone. And that, one way or another, this is temporary. And making my silly drawings about a giant horned lady and her adorable dapper necromancer always helps.

[dragonracer]

Love this so much!

[ajastu]

[Rook voice] maybe if you had some friends you'd calm down 🙄

[dragonracer]

Paging @spinfins and @lkblackham because 🤣🤣🤣

[nondelphic]

"just write a little every day" ok but what if i write nothing for 3 weeks and then suddenly type like i’m being hunted by god

[dragonracer]

I feel so seen! 😂

[dragonracer]

SO excited to share this absolutely amazing commission from @lkblackham featuring my Rook having a surprisingly light-hearted Fade chat with Solas. 💜 Having personally been a Solavellan for 10 years before DAV introduced me to Emmrich, it’s been a great joy recently working in my Inquisitor Lavellan into my current EmmRook fic “The Moments Between”, which you can read here if interested:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63502270/chapters/162722593

Over time (starting with this latest chapter), Rook and and Solas become a bit less antagonistic towards each other as they realize they have unsuspected similarities, such as both coming from broken origins that twisted them from their original purpose/selves (my Rook being a Saarebas born under the Qun and Solas being a Spirit of Wisdom led down dark paths by Mythal and the other Evanuris) and both finding healing/a return to their original unbroken selves whenever they’re around their love interest - hence the speech bubbles showing Rook gushing about Emmrich and Solas fondly reminiscing about his time with Lavellan.

[karawra]

emmrich if he worked at medieval times for @opulentshits

[dragonracer]

I may love this a little TOO much 😅😁

[dragonracer]

WIP Wednesday

I actually feel comfortable finally contributing a small snippet today since the next chapter of "The Moments Between" is almost done! I'm in the downward slope of maybe 1-2 days left to complete, edit, and post up. :) -------------------------------------------------------

"Did I miss anything?" Raven asks as she pops back up from seemingly nowhere. I actually startle a bit at the elf suddenly beside me.

"Nothing too out of the ordinary for this place," I answer her, "or so I'm told."

"Oh, good!" she says with relief before excitement lights up her eyes. "There's one more shop I ought to take you to before lunch. Lots of magical trinkets and doo-dads. Much of it old, some of it foreign. Might be up yours and Master Volkarin's alley."

"Just Emmrich is fine," my sunshine insists.

"Okay, then, follow me, Just Emmrich!"

That earns a chuckle from me and I'm even more amused when it takes a moment for him to finally understand the joke. Raven gives me a playful wink that I return as she leads us further east and, eventually, to an entrance that appears a bit tucked out of the way. The interior corridor is unassuming until we turn a corner and the smell of musty old tomes and archaic artifacts assaults my nostrils. The walls are lined with towering shelves filled with all manner of books and items, every corner piled with a rather unorganized assortment of oddities, and in the center of this bizarre bazaar stands a massive throne at the top of wooden stairs, occupied by what appears to be a shriveled old man… or a desiccated corpse.

I'm so caught up with staring at the seated figure that I barely notice a young boy take one glance at me and flee the shop. I turn to watch after him for a moment because he looks awfully familiar. Is that the pickpocket I chased after to retrieve Emmrich's coinpurse so long ago?

"Urchin!" a booming, disembodied voice shouts angrily. "Get back here and greet our customers! Pah! Good help is so very hard to find these days…"

"Is that… the dead body talking?" Lucanis asks warily.

[maniplague]

Solas steeped in remorse after cutting the titans off from their dreams while the rest of the Evanuris, including Mythal, celebrate a war won. The light of wisdom leaving his eyes, hiding behind guilt, shielded by pride.

"He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He doesn't want to be chained, tied together wracked and raging. He left a scar when he burned her off his face."

(im still not good with backgrounds so for now i've been blurring out, blending, and changing the lighting to pics i find on pinterest just so that the background isn't plain.)

[dragonracer]

I swear to goodness, there is ALWAYS a Cole quote in hindsight.

How much foreshadowing was hiding in plain view in Inquisition?

Also, wonderfully angsty art 10/10.

My Lavellan actually had Mythal’s vallaslin as well (largely because I thought it was pretty in the character creator menu, not specifically because of Mythal) and it makes me laugh now because NO WONDER my romanced Solas wanted to remove that vallaslin. 😂

It also makes me wonder just how pisssssssed off Lavellan would be learning about all the Mythal shenanigans with Solas in the ancient past and then there she was wearing her follower markings for 75% of DAI. Hoo boy. Hoooooo boy.

[dragonracer]

But, guys. Guys. GUYS.

Finally, there's some movement happening again. Words and stuff and THANGS, Lori. *Rick Grimes lean*

Hopefully new "The Moments Between" chapter soon. Week or two, less than that is goal. And then hopefully back to a more regular update schedule again. Nice time to get caught up if you haven't read before and are hankering for some Qunari/Grey Warden EmmRook shenanigans. Plus the rest of the Veilguard gang! Bonus - next chapter has... *counts on fingers*... no less than THREE DAI cameos, not just including Solas being Solas. LOL Also quite possibly a DA2 semi-cameo that I may or may not be planning more stuff and thangs with, maybe, possibly, mwa-hahaha. Also, shout outs to @lkblackham and @spinfins for cheerleading me and checking in with me during my writer's block/IRL brain freeze hiatus, plus every lovely person who left a review or otherwise helped breathe life into my weary bones.

[nipuni]

🥰 these two

[dragonracer]

Also on my mind lately... no particular reason... nope, none at all... *whistles innocently*

[marrrkpoppy]

[dragonracer]

Just adding to the ol' "dusting off my writing motivation" pile, nothing to see here...

[spinfins]

Manfred is curious, you guys.

But you knew that, didn’t you?

Our slightly unnerving skeleson is made from a Wisp of Curiosity. It’s literally in the name.

He has always been that way.

“Oh, hello,” says Emmrich, with slightly more black in his hair.

Manfred, who is not yet Manfred, preens like a cat at the attention, bringing his shimmering, star of a body closer.

“I’m examining this burial site for possible signs of an earlier Storm Age internment.” Emmrich says, and Manfred, who is not yet Manfred, has the impression Emmrich talks to himself out loud whether or not someone is listening.

These parts of the Necropolis are largely empty and must get boring for someone who stays in one fixed point of reality like a body.

Manfred, who is not yet Manfred, wonders what that is like.

He shines his light obligingly on the dark sarcophagus where Emmrich is brushing at a tarnished bit of metal.

“Oh! Thank you. It is beastly difficult to read these. You’d think they’d want to label the remains of their loved ones more carefully. “

Manfred, who is not yet Manfred, twinkles and chitters in agreement. He likes the way the Mourn Watcher explains things. It is as though he can hear Manfred’s questions.

Perhaps he will stick around a bit longer and indulge his curiosity.

[ellie-shy]

Wait... is that a bird?

A bat?!

No! Wait! That's--!!

PROFESSOR VOLKARIN?!

[dragonracer]

OMG! 😆

[mintcrows]

(flirting) did it hurt when you fell from your ethereal form and created your flesh with the blood of another sentient creature

[theriothag]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

[ichiwashername-o]

Don't you hate it when someone checks all those special boxes but there's just that one persistent thing that holds you back?

Mage understands.

AKA my incredibly infuriating dilemma when I began my very first playthrough. I had already started flirting with another character before Emmrich made his introduction and I would have jumped on Emmrich in a heartbeat, but the age gap made things awkward XD

I did eventually romance him in a different playthrough and I'm only disappointed with myself I didn't do it the first time. Emmrich's great, I love him.