Yay! It's Lark's birthday! They challenged us to challenge ourselves creatively, and it's been a ton of fun. So happy birthday to @hyperions-light, thank you for everything you've done for the Veilguard community, and I cannot wait to see what everyone has created!
I've had to set it aside for now due to the Halloween costume crunch, but I am needlefelting Manfred's mural of the Veilguard!
for reference:
Felting itself isn't new to me, but I haven't done it in over a decade, and it's my first time doing this kind of 'painting' with wool, rather than a 3D object.
These are just the "sketch", where I'm mostly just colorblocking, and details will come later. I'll have to redo Em because of the proportions but hopefully I'll just have to wiggle some thread around for Dav. I'm going to work it across two pieces of felt, then combine them for one long hanging. I want to do the detailing of the stone and some vines as well, when the main part is done. The insane part of my brain wants to make a little pipecleaner manfred showing off his art.
Also, below the cut is what I'm currently working on for Halloween:
Sorry for the bizarre privacy edit
Kiddo wants to be Vanessa from Five Nights at Freddy's, but with the Vanny mask, so we are mask making for the very first time! You can't tell in this picture, but it sits on her head like a hat in the back. Something between an entire mascot style head, and a classic mask.
This is on hold while I finish up the bits I need for Vanessa's security guard outfit, and then the mask will be the focus of next week. We're having a lot of fun working on it together.
Ahhh I’m a little late, but happy birthday, Flowers!! I hope you had fun <3
This is me inviting you to talk about some aspect of Ghilasara’s life or character that you reeeally want to talk about, but you don’t think anyone is going to think to ask
Thank you, Lark! This has been sitting in my inbox for what feels like forever, so now I feel like the late one skdjgsjkdf
This entire time I've been pondering what Ghilasara thing I'd like to talk about, and I've finally decided on it.
One of the scars on her chest (the one marked in the screenshot below) comes from the darkspawn attack where she got blighted, which is what caused her to join the Wardens in the first place. She always makes sure to show it off in her casual clothing, like sort of a reminder of what brought her to where she is :)
Thank you for the ask !! oc background asks are here
💔 Answered here for Sel!
🧸 - Childhood friends
Selora: Does it still count if her friends were all adults? She really just... did not get along with her peers. Like she took one look at the other De Riva fledglings, figured out they were likely to kill her, and endeared herself to the closest adults they were scared of. So all of her friends at that time were minimum 10 years older than her, some of them decades older. But she did learn a lot of neat things that way. A man named Stefano was among them and he became kinda like a surrogate grandfather, in a way? There was also a kitchen maid who used to feed her in exchange for doing small chores. But like...no children.
Leithe: She did have a few kids she ran around with before she was sent to the orphanage. All kids with parents just on the verge of neglectful in the way they didn't get picked up by gangs or anything but also were left to fend for themselves for the most part. She lost tracks of them after she left her neighborhood and only thinks of them as part of the life she lived before everything happened.
❓ - Estranged family/relatives they've never met
Selora: Sel's father is a human Tevinter man making her a half-elf, but she's never met him and is unlikely to ever meet him, and doesn't even know that's the case at present. In my mind, he's from a really large family and is part of the soporati. Her mother, however, was Dalish and had no family within her clan before ending up in an alienage in Ventus.
Leithe: Leithe only has a vague idea of who her father might be, since the timeline that led up to her mother being in prison long enough to have her and who she was hanging around at the time did give her a few leads. But she decided when she was pretty young that she didn't care to know for sure. That said, the closest to family she has is her mother's best friend whom she wasn't spoken to since before she joined the wardens.
ended up going with 9 for this one and drawing a lil smth for it cuz it gives me an excuse to talk about iktom's divorce
9. Rook saying goodbye to a friend.
gytha was, in addition to being his wife, iktom's closest and only (accessible) friend, so her leaving permanently was really hard for him, even if he knew it wasn't good for them to stay together. and it's kind of rough because it's not sharp or immediate, it's something they realize slowly, that they talk about a dozen times, that they agree on. i think sometimes he wonders if it'd been better if it was this big explosive thing or if they resented each other the way other divorced couples he sees seem to, but he's kind of glad that it isn't that.
(she lives further south in the anderfels, closer to kal-sharok where her family is from. iktom's dad lives with her as the only way to make this man retire was to physically remove him from the mountains. lmao. iktom writes them both and checks in from time to time if he gets the chance. harding and varric prolly have met them.)
First of all I owe you my life your prompts are DELIGHTFUL! Second of all I hope you enjoy! I'm sorry these take so long but am so grateful for you taking the time to send some in!! I had so much fun writing <3
8. A time Rook argued with someone they cared about
Echo de Riva (because I'm on a tear about Viago and Rook's relationship right now)
“You will not continue your training–you will not be a Crow.”
Viago’s words struck Echo as truly as a physical blow. She flinched, staggered back a step. Her skin burned where it pulled taut over fresh, still healing wounds.
“What?” She hated how small her voice sounded. Like she was eight again, instead of a woman nearly grown.
“It’s too dangerous. You–” Viago bit off his next words, looking away. When he continued, his voice was measured again, low. “You cannot continue.”
“Vi, of course it’s dangerous–you’re the one who says ‘every job is your life risked, doubly if you’re an idiot about it.’” She hoped the sneering Viago impression covered the actual desperation slipping through the cracks. She had to continue her training; what else could she even be?
“And it’s infinitely more dangerous now! Look at yourself–” he rounded on her, gesturing sharply. “You’re barely standing. Should you have even left your bed?”
Echo grit her teeth in answer, chin lifting in defiance of her slight sway and copious amounts of visible bandaging.
“You can’t control your magic, Echo,” Viago continued, the word like a curse. “It will kill you.”
“No! I can-I can learn! There are mages in the Crows, Heir has probably trained others–I’ll learn, Viago. I can control it,” She reached for him, grasping at his arm. “Please, Vi. I’ll– I will be a credit to de Riva. I swear it.”
He studied her then, gaze hard underneath his furrowed brow. An eternity passed, her cold hand gripping Viago’s arm, warm even though his leathers. She watched silently as a host of emotions played behind Viago’s eyes, and wished not for the first time she could somehow hear his thoughts. They stared until finally, Viago blinked. Sighed. Echo’s heart soared–surely he was about to relent, realize he was wrong, though he’d never apologize, and tell her she could still be an asset to the House–when his gaze fell to her arm, freshly bandaged and yet already darkened with ruddy, oozing blood.
“No,” he ground out. “I forbid it.” She hated him for a moment, then. Hated the gentle way he removed her hand, stepped back from her reach. Hated the glimpse of pain that crossed his brow as he turned his back on her.
“Vi–” she started, before Teia stepped in front of her. She’d materialized from the shadows; Echo had a sneaking suspicion she’d been there the entire time.
“Not now,” she spoke gently, hushed, though her expression brooked no argument. “Come and rest.”
As Teia led her back towards her rooms, Echo released a gasping breath, not realizing how it had caught and held as she and Viago had stared each other down. Her body ached, phantom lightning racing across her skin again. She shuddered and immediately Teia’s arm wound carefully around her, ready to catch or support her weight if needed.
They slowly shuffled up the grand staircase this way, pausing every now and again for Echo to squeeze her eyes tight against another bout of the burning, stinging, searing pain. It only worsened as the adrenaline from the argument waned; by the time they reached Echo’s rooms she went immediately and willingly to her bed. Didn’t say a word as Teia helped her lay down, carefully tucking her in. Again, she felt as if she were eight again–still fragile, still small, still terrified to be left alone, jumping at every shadow as if every moment were her last.
“Teia–” she began before a wave of despair choked her. She had to become a Crow. She had to. It was all she’d dreamed about, even before Viago had taken her in, and now…Now it was the only way to repay him for all that he’d done. She had to become a Crow, to honor the House that had saved her, provided for her. She had to become a Crow, like her mother and father before her, had to make them proud. Had to make Viago proud. She turned her face slightly away from Teia, unwilling to show the tears building behind her eyes. She willed her voice steady as she asked, “Do you think he means it?”
“I…” Teia pressed her lips into a thin line. A beat of silence, then a sigh. “I think you scared him, today.”
She went to protest, head whipping around too fast and sending another shockwave of pain through her body. She cleared her throat instead and Teia sighed again.
“You didn’t see it, Echo. You were up, fighting one moment, holding your own, then suddenly surrounded the next. Then Vi had barely taken a step towards you when we were all thrown back by–”
“By the explosion.” Not quite a question, but close. Echo didn’t remember much from earlier–just the feeling of overwhelm at being surrounded, the adrenaline coursing through her and then the sudden primal surge that had sprung forward in arcing flashes of lightning. Then blackness. Nothing.
When she’d next awoken it was hazily, to the ministrations of healers, clustered around her and talking too quickly for her brain to register anything as words. Then blackness had taken her under again, until just a little while ago when she’d awoken to a quiet room and thought foolishly to seek Viago out.
“...Yes. By the explosion. Your…magic, manifesting. The light was so bright and it cracked through the air like, like real lightning. From the sky. All those mercenaries around you were fried and there you were at the center. You collapsed in a pool of blood–yours, we’d come to find out. The lightning hadn’t split the sky, Echo, but you.”
Echo absorbed this. Frowned. “But I survived. And I meant it, Teia. I know I can learn to control it.”
“You barely survived,” Teia’s tone bordered on reproach, “But it’s true. You can learn. It’s a little odd for magic to manifest late, but not unheard of. And I do know Heir can help.”
“Then why would Viago say that?!” She couldn’t temper her shout in time, but found she didn’t actually care if it did echo all the way to Viago’s ears. Teia sighed, rubbing her forehead exasperatedly.
“Look, I won’t speak for Vi. But I’ve not seen him afraid like that in…in a long time. Just don’t forget who we’re talking about, dove,” Her voice softened around the pet name. “He’s lost a lot, most of which was before he was even born, and none of it due to his own fault–no matter how he feels it to be. Forgive him if he is…extreme in his reaction, I think he only wants to protect you.”
Echo absorbed this too, remaining quiet. Teia sighed again, her footsteps retreating on a final promise.
“I’ll talk to him.”
—
Echo sunk further into her plush pillows as Teia left, mind still racing. She’d learned a lot about Viago over the years; She knew of the title he was denied, the choice thrust upon his mother, and the exile of family to cover the sins of the wealthiest. She knew how he’d lost his mother, how he’d fought every inch of his way up to Fifth Talon. She knew too, he’d invested a lot into her as an asset for House de Riva. An asset…she blew out a frustrated gust of air.
Idiot. She knew he cared for her. She wasn’t stupid, just surprised at the strength of it. Before, she thought herself more asset than ward, but now…
Exhaustion pulled at her, her eyes growing heavier with each blink, until she finally succumbed, letting the darkness drag her down. Dreamless, she slept so deeply she didn’t hear the quiet scrape of a chair beside her bedside, nor felt the hand–ungloved–that reached out to hold hers, deep into the night.
Rook being recruited for a mission by a separate faction for their expertise in treasure hunting
@anderfels
The stacks of parchment had appeared overnight.
None of the wards had been tripped, so Zea had no idea how they had gotten there. The note on top had been handwritten with simple cursive script saying
If you're interested, go to the Cobbled Swan. Midday. Wear a blue scarf.
Glancing at a few pieces of parchment, Zea saw that they were maps and reports of treasure located somewhere. Intrigued, she spent the morning going through the stack- trying to learn as much as she could before the meeting.
She was so intrigued by the information that Zea was nearly late to the meeting at the pub, hurrying through the streets trying to not slip on the wet cobblestones, blue scarf tied in her hair. Rushing into the Cobbled Swan with a minute to spare, Zea grabbed a pint of the cheapest beer on tap before taking a seat in a corner- it was out of the way so no one could overhear them but still in view so the prospective client could spot her.
Pulling out the stack of parchment from where she'd hid them to keep safe from the ever-present rain, she drew the votive closer to illuminate the writing better.
"Hope you haven't been waiting long."
Zea looked up at the smooth voice to see a rather pretty woman sit down in the chair across from her. She took in the white and teal leathers and the black square fascinator with netting partially obscuring her face. "Not really..." she said, trailing off hoping that the other woman would give Zea her name.
But the woman just smiled and discreetly signaled for a drink, which arrived quickly- telling Zea that she was a regular at the pub and had a standard order. "I was hired as a go-between for the interested party." she nodded towards the stack while continuing, "What do you think? Can you get the treasure?"
Zea shrugged, "Depends on a lot of things, like who I'm working for for starters."
The other woman gave a coy smile and shook her head, "Sorry, but that's the one thing I can't answer. They need to keep their identity secret for...political reasons." There was a beat of silence before she continued, "But I can tell you that you'd have access to the Shadow Dragons, both in terms of resources and manpower. They have a stake in recovering this artifact."
Zea looked at the older woman's eyes, idly tapping a finger against the wooden tabletop as she turned it all over in her head.
"You came highly recommended from Isabela. Said that we couldn't find anyone better for the treasure hunt. That business with the Rivaini nobles aside that is."
Zea felt her stomach clench at the mention of the Lords of Fortune's leader. It had been over a year since she'd had to flee the country in order to keep her head, but she still considered herself part of the pirate group. "And Isabela sending them in my direction means she's been keeping tabs on me." she thought while straightening up.
"What's in it for me? Other than the whole 'gold and glory' bit."
"There'll probably be Venatori and they won't go without a fight. So there's that as well."
Zea knew the casualness of the comment was by design, she hadn't become a shrewd Wicked Grace player without being able to pick up on things like that, but it had the desired effect. Moving the stack of parchment to the side, she held out her hand, "I think we have a deal. Tell whomever it is that I'll do the treasure hunt, and they'll get whatever it is they're looking for."
"Good to hear." The woman took Zea's hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'll be in contact."
"Wait." Zea called out as the woman stood and took a few steps away from the table. "At least tell me your name."
"Neve. Neve Gallus." Neve threw Zea a wink before sauntering out of the pub. She'd send a note to The Viper that Laidir was onboard for the expedition-and if everything went well the Dragons might get a new recruit as well.
Thank you for the ask from your brilliant Rook Storytime Prompts! I'm still on my first ever Veilguard playthrough, but I hope this works for my Horrible Nepo Baby Rook!
Maybe she should have been paying closer attention, but the dragon is so big it's hard to see the tail coming when you're focussed on aiming a spell at the soft spot of its belly. At least, that's what Cara would tell anyone who asked why she didn't see the tail coming and ended up smacked into the wall of the half-ruined Treviso market.
There's a loud crack from something in her head, and black and white stars dance across her visions, like the lanterns that used to hang between the awnings and now likely form the broken glass digging into her back. Not that that really matters in this moment. Even the dragon and the Blight seem very far away. It's just her, and the stars, and the ragged scraps of awning fluttering above her, and she's probably going to die here, like this, and is too dazed even to really care.
Then there's a rush of wind - warm, not icy like the dragon's breath had been - and she hears shouts and the sound of boots on cobblestones. She makes an inarticulate groaning noise, and then someone is leaning above her, and in the shadow of the awning, their eyes seem to flare with light for a moment, and their hands are cool on her face.
"Cara? Cara, can you hear me?" A man's voice, low and urgent. Something about it seems a little off, but everyone here calls her Rook, because Varric calls her Rook, and there's only one man with glowing eyes who says her name with such panic and such tenderness.
"Daddy?" she mumbles, and someone else nearby - Bellara, she thinks? Why would Bellara and her father be in the same place? Her father shouldn't even be in Antiva - gives a high, almost frightened laugh.
The mans head snaps around towards the laugh. "The dragon is gone, Treviso is in ruins, Rook does not recognise us, and you are laughing?"
"Look, you have to admit she's going to hate this when she comes round properly."
Bellara's words might as well have been a prophecy. It's the only thing any of them have to laugh about, so naturally it's all around the Lighthouse before Cara's even recovered from the cracked skull.
"It could be worse," Bellara reminds her through the bedroom door, when she buries her head in a pillow and refuses to come out of her room for dinner. "Lucanis is too bashful to read into that. If you'd called Neve Mommy, you'd never be allowed to forget it."
"I wish," Cara says, into the pillow, "that you'd let the dragon eat me."
My favorite dinosaur is the Therizinosaurus cheloniformis! Main reason why one of my One Piece OCs has that ancient zoan fruit, indulging myself.
On that same vein, did you know that when they found the claws of Therizinosaurus for the first time they thought they belonged to a turtle-like lizard? Which is where the name "cheloniformis" comes from (Therizinosaurus cheloniformis = turtle-shaped scythe lizard)
Reconstruction by one of my favorite paleoartists, Gabriel Ugueto :]
And my lad, for funnies (he shall be posted more properly one day)
