❤️Introductory post❤️
Common tags for filtering purposes:
#squirrel speaks (general posts unrelated to fandom) #squirrel plays bg3 (posts about Baldur's Gate 3 that relate to my playthroughs and characters) #squirrel plays dragon age (posts about Dragon Age that relate to my playthroughs and characters) #squirrel plays datv (posts relating specifically to my playthroughs and characters in Dragon Age: The Veilguard) #squirrel watches stargate (posts about -you guessed it- watching Stargate) #happy tag (funny or cute things- I keep this tag to scroll when I need cheering up ❤️)
❌Not currently spoiler-free!❌
Fic:
AO3 page (as of 2024, mostly old Dragon Age and Mass Effect fics- this might be updated later)
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, Pavelyan)
Character list and bios below!
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/fighter, 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 Dragon warrior, Champion spec
❤️: Davrin
Playlist 🎶
✨Canon Rook✨
Summary:
There is little that is set in stone about Rook, but all of that is pretty well exemplified by Verbena: she is, ultimately, only a person striving to do the right thing, and she isn't particularly concerned with the opinions of those who claim to be in charge to achieve that.
The only difference between her background and the game's Shadow Dragon backstory is that she lost her parents not as a baby, but slightly later in life- when she was around 8 years old, in a nearby slave revolt, a magister's faulty defense system went haywire, and led to the destruction of large parts of the residential area in which she and her parents lived, and her parents lost their lives in the fire that ensued. In the aftermath, it was her paternal aunt, Abelia Caeso, and her husband, Valerius Mercar, who took her into their home.
From a young age, Verbena poured a lot of her emotions and her impotent rage into her training at her uncle's alma mater, and she quickly grew into a promising prospecting officer- but despite Valerius' pulling of the strings (and subsequent resentment at her rejection of the favor), at 18 Ver decided not to pursue a military career, and instead elected to leave the Mercar household, and move into one of the many, primarily Soporati-populated entertainment districts of Minrathous known affectionately as the Redbrick (and locally as Catsbane). Here, she gained some amount of notoriety as one who worked as a security guard, a bouncer, a general blade for hire on most days, and a Shadow Dragon operative on others.
She was sought out by Varric partly based on the recommendations of her fellow Shadow Dragon operatives (that may or may not have come mostly because of the concern over her last job going belly up), and partly word of mouth- just as much because of her role as a reliable and well-loved member of the local scene with word often passing through her as it was because of her reputation for being able to get through even the toughest skulls fairly easily: if not with her words, then with her fists.
Ver often feels in over her head, but it's her sincere belief that if you just keep your feet kicking, the surface is never too far away. All you need at any given time is your next breath- and once you have that, the next, the next, the next. She's a fairly free-spirited, kind young woman whose talent of rolling with- and taking punches equally well won her the dubious honor of being saddled with preventing the latest apocalypse- you know, no pressure.
Tristan Thorne (he/him, 41)
Human (Ferelden/Orlais), Grey Warden warrior, Champion spec
❤️: Emmrich Volkarin
Playlist 🎶 (WIP)
Summary:
Tristan Thorne is an unconventional figure, as he's not... technically, fully, completely, alive.
As a boy of 17 and the oldest of five siblings, he fought to protect his home at Ostagar during the Fifth Blight- and, promptly, lost his life in the process to the deadly blow of a Darkspawn blade, the corruption of the Blight already spreading in his veins as he fell.
It was his stubborn refusal to stop drawing breath, his sheer force of will that caught the attention of a spirit of Purpose hovering just past the ragged edges of the Fade, and upon touching the dying boy's mind, the two fused: both together and apart, two and one, dead and alive- spirit, man, and neither, all at the same time.
He was found by the Orlesian Wardens arriving to clean up the last of the Darkspawn horse, wandering the Brecilian forest in tattered, makeshift armor, and with no real memory of how he got there- rumor has it that no recruit in recent memory and no recruit since had taken the Joining as easily as the skinny Fereldan lad they just happened to stumble into.
Over 20 years have passed since then, and Warden Tristan, though quiet and maybe even harsh by some tastes, rose quickly in the ranks, all the way to becoming a Warden-Lieutenant as he wandered Thedas: from Ferelden, to Orlais, through Nevarra, the Anderfels, and even skirting the southern edges of the Tevinter Imperium.
Few ever got close enough to him to know his secret, and none have lived to see the present day.
Tristan is a brusque, matter-of-fact warrior- a leader who is not unkind, but also isn't particularly concerned with coddling his men, or sharing much about his own life either. Over the course of his life, though he had many experiences, he's not had many intimate friendships, no romantic bonds, and as far as his family is aware, he's decades dead.... but who knows, maybe a certain necromancer can bring him back to life.
In his free time, he does embroidery, ostensibly to keep the fine motor skills of his undead fingers, but his work is also quite beautiful.
Marcus Ingellvar (he/him nonbinary, 27)
Human (Nevarra), Mourn Watch mage, Death Caller spec
❤️: Bellara Lutare
Playlist 🎶 (WIP)
Summary:
Ask him, and Marcus Ingellvar will tell you that there is not much to say about him. He might be persuaded to mention some of his academic achievements, if you have a pair of pliers you might extract from him his preference in hot drinks (he is, all things considered, a peppermint tea type of guy), but unless you're careful, you might just wind up exiting any conversation with him feeling like you've just spent the past hour talking about yourself, and while you do feel much lighter than you did before and he was nothing but courteous and lovely, you have still learned absolutely nothing about him.
And that's the way he's been since he was just a child: taught by the Mourn Watchers who found him in the crypts to always be attentive to the needs of others, he's an introspective, careful, strategically- and scientifically minded thinker, a researcher and necromancer with more to prove to himself than he has to anyone else, but he nevertheless possesses the same rebellious streak that makes Rook who they are- that last part is probably what makes some of his meticulous calculations of risk seem like he fucking stinks at math.
But, maybe if he's good enough, smart enough, virtuous enough, loving enough, kind enough, beautiful enough, he might one day feel worthy of being known.
(An addition to the canonically given backstory is that Marcus is actually of noble birth- the son of an unwed noblewoman who unfortunately passed in childbirth, and her servant lover blinded by terror and grief, who took the child to the catacombs in the hopes that he might later return and "adopt" the child, once he no longer runs the risk of being accused with the murder of his beloved. Unfortunately, that day never did end up arriving. Marcus will most likely never learn that he was always loved and wanted, and that it wasn't callousness, but simple misfortune that put him on this path.)
Aramis de Riva (he/him, mid-thirties)
Human (Antiva), Crow rogue, ??? spec
❤️: Lace Harding
Playlist 🎶 (WIP)
Summary:
Yeah, that's not his real name- not "Aramis", and most certainly not "de Riva", but for whatever it's worth, it works just as well as any other.
(TBF)
As of yet unplayed:
Coris de Riva (she/her, early 30's)
Dwarf (Antiva), Antivan Crow rogue
❤️: Lucanis Dellamorte
Playlist 🎶 (WIP)
Summary: TBD
Syl Aldwir (she/her, 27)
Elf (Tevinter), Veil Jumper rogue
❤️: 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 his 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).
