#ilya lavellan

[lyanachaan]

carved from the same fruit, part of the same core

[lyanachaan]

for @cullenromancersocmonth day 3: backstory!

Yelena, unlike her Brother, was born in Nevarra and for the first years of her life, her small family stayed there. Later on they reunited with the Clan, both children speaking not only elvhen but also nevarran, roaming the Planascene Forests of the Free Marches.

After they returned from Nevarra her brother took up his studies to be the First of Clan Lavellan, and later on Keeper, Yelena soon after becoming his Second.

When Yelena went to Nevarra again later on in her life because of her own means of study, she had a short (and somewhat unhealthy) romance with a Templar. She had been accompanying a Senior Enchanter from Orlais when she met Yelena. Other than that she has had a small fling during a Grand Tourney once.

There were a couple of moments that shaped who Yelena is, but the most important are when her Brother was taken away to a circle and she chased after him to get him back again and when she dreamt through the whole winter, and only waking up again through the help of spirits she had appeased before, rising from the blanket of snow like an early bloom herself.

Yelena went to the Clonclave by means of a vision quest. Originally, her older brother Ilya, the first of Clan Lavellan, was tasked to go to the Conclave. As the days grew closer to his departure, Yelenas (prophetic) dream repeated itself over and over and over again to the point that she was convinced it showed her his death, to which she decided to go in his stead. (you can read about it here)

[tevinternet]

Ilya “actual 12 year old” Lavellan: That is the biggest dick I’ve ever seen.

[tevinternet]

there’s no point to this other than to spam you all with pictures of Ilya.

[tevinternet]

So I have a Dalish Inquisitor (Ilya) that I didn’t put in my OC info dump post. I have a post about him that I’m gonna finish tomorrow. Anyway, he has an adopted daughter named Tatiana (age 4 at the end of Inquisition)... and I have sent @tavum and @kloud some really fucking adorable things about her.

But my favorite so far is this bit about Ilya taking Tatiana to Halamshiral some time shortly after Corypheus’ defeat. The Inquisition is invited to a party to celebrate. Ilya gets stuck talking to Celene and Tatiana wanders off. Some Orlesian noble doesn’t realize she’s the Inquisitor’s child (the fact that Ilya has a kid is not well known). She tries to steal some idk cheese or something and he calls her a filthy knife-eared runt.... then she kicks him in the shins and sets his fancy hat on fire. Dorian finds her before she causes an even bigger scene. She’s quite pleased with herself tbh.

I’m gonna write up more stuff about Ilya and Tatiana tomorrow..... not that anyone is really all that interested but too bad. I’m talking about him anyway.

[dreamerinsilico]

11 Questions Meme

RULES


1. Always repost the rules 

2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you 
3. Give 11 questions of your choice to the people you tag 
4. Tag 11 people

Tagged by @spacetango​  :D

Which of your OCs is the sinnamon roll?

Catrin Hawke is definitely the sinnamon roll.  She's by far the most hedonistic of the group, and the most irreverent (in the playful sense, as opposed to Mei's rather studied hostility to human religion).

And which one is the actual cinnamon roll?

Um, of my 'canon' OCs, none of them.  (Ilya's the closest, I suppose, but I wouldn't quite call her that.)  Of my other continuities, Emien Lavellan.

What’s the one thing your Inquisitor regrets most?

Not being able to save her clan.

What does your Warden most value about their friends?

In general, Mei's friends can be divided into two groups: the ones who support and augment her intense and often somewhat unhealthy exisistential anger, and the ones who help keep her stable without invalidating or hindering her.  She understands these needs in herself, and so collectively values her friends greatly for that, and moreso because she realizes she can be hard to be around.  

Friends in the “inflaming” category are all fellow mages – Anders (who was one of her best friends in Kinloch), Morrigan (who can occasionally be a stabilizing influence as well), and Velanna. Friends firmly in the “stablilizing” category include Zevran, Leliana, Merrill, Dagna, and Sigrun.  

As far as she's concerned, if you don't support her goals, you don't support her, and you are an ally of convenience at best.

What would your Hawke do if they got left in the fade?

Catrin's always been a bit of a daredevil for whom the best way to ensure she'll do something is to tell her she can't.  In my actual canon for her (as established in this story), she has trouble with the Fade jaunt because she's scared and exhausted and doesn't have to be in charge.  By herself, though, after slaying Nightmare, she'd be 100% convinced that there is a way out, and she is going to find it... or at least, she'd convince herself that she believed that, and cling to that layer of bravado until her dying breath if need be.  She'd handle her fear by smothering it with the bravado blanket and the thought that Morrigan would be annoyed with her if she showed back up without having much interesting new knowledge to show for the experience.  (And studiously avoiding thoughts of Morrigan and various others being upset if she didn't come back at all.)

She'd end up monologuing to herself almost constantly – sometimes commenting on observations with the actual intent to help herself remember and piece them together (saying things aloud is a major memory aid for her), though mostly just snarking.  Probably inventing innovative new swears and epithets.  

What’s your Inquisitor’s earliest memory? 

It's of sitting by a communal fire with her elder sister, listening to someone – she no longer has any idea who – sing a ballad about Arlathan, and struggling to stay awake but only half-succeeding.

What would your fave DA OC order at Starbucks?

Catrin's actually not much of a coffee drinker, and wouldn't be in a modern AU either; she'd just get plain tea if she wanted the caffeine, or probably the caramel apple cider – the latter because it reminds her of her pre-Kirkwall years.

On what occasions would your fave DA OC be most likely to lie?

To people she cares about, Catrin rarely lies.  When she does, it's something small to avoid something she perceives as potentially awkward, and rarely noticed, because she's good at it – but she's gotten in trouble a couple of times in the past because if the situation snowballs, she'll double down rather than admitting it until she absolutely has to.  

To people she doesn't like, she lies a lot, basically whenever it seems more convenient than telling the truth unless there are other good reasons not to.  Her bullshit-spinning skills are top-notch.  

What is your fave DA OC’s guilty pleasure?

She reads Varric's smut and loves it.  Somehow, she's managed to conceal this from him.

I know at some point either she catches Cassandra with one of them, or vice-versa.  I need to write that scene.

How would your canon DA OCs feel about one another, if they were to meet?

Mei and Catrin do meet, briefly, in Lothering at the beginning of the Blight.  At the time, they don't have time to form a nuanced impression, but it's mutually positive, and very curious on Catrin's part (Mei's pretty preoccupied with other things).  Were they to spend more time around one another later in the timeline, they'd likely be fast friends.

Mei would have mixed feelings about Ilya – she's an elf (yay), a mage (doubleplusyay), who makes policy decisions that are generally in line with Mei's values, and all that is good, but by Mei's standards Ilya is too timid with her power.  “Yes, that's great and all, but if I'd had that much influence basically just plop into my lap, I'd have done a lot more with it by now.”  Meanwhile Ilya would look at Mei with awe that quickly turned into extreme wariness.  Mei can get up to Spymaster Leliana levels of ruthless, and she's much, much more volatile.  

Catrin and Ilya get along well – they aren't close, but they enjoy each other's company well enough when they happen to be in the same place, and have a solid mutual respect.  

What tarot cards do you see representing your Warden, Hawke, and Quiz?

Mei Surana – The Lovers is her main card, both in the sense that she's very intimate relationship-driven, and that establishing and defending personal values is of utmost importance to her.  These aspects come into conflict sometimes, as her strong self-assertion creates barriers with others.  Other cards I associate with her are The Tower, and Justice.

Catrin Hawke – Queen of Wands/Staves.  In the Major Arcana, the Wheel of Fortune kind of works, but she is the Queen of Wands.

Ilya Lavellan – Temperance, and the King of Swords.  (It's hard to put my finger on why the King and not the Queen, but.  Yeah.)

Questions (I wrote these with Dragon Age in mind, but sub in other RPG series as desired ;) ):

What's a headcanon you have about a non-companion/advisor character from one of the games?

What would some/all of your major OCs be like in a high school AU?

Which game's combat system did you enjoy the most?

What's your favorite side-quest?

What's your favorite ship (whether game canon or not) between two NPCs?

What would your OCs order at a (modern) bar?

What are your OCs afraid of, besides the usual death/dismemberment/abandonment sorts of fears?

What sort of character would each of your main OCs play in D&D (or tabletop system of your choice)?

What are your OCs' Hogwarts Houses?

What sort of (real-world inclusive) music would your OCs prefer to listen to?

Pick at least one OC to describe what they would be like as a person in the real world (profession, hobbies, favorite school subjects, major life goals, etc).

Tagging @nagia-pronounced-neijia @frayedone @zeowynda @whyndancer @photosyntheticvulcan @palindrome-chan @middlemarching @bossuary @spectreromanoff @karmadragonia @fontscosplay - as always, if I missed you here and want to do it consider yourself tagged, and if you don’t want to do it, no pressure.  <3

[dreamerinsilico]

21

21) How did they decorate Skyhold? What does their throne look like?

Ilya put up the Serault glass in her chambers and Fereldan decor throughout Skyhold itself, keeping her throne as the initial, spiky Inquisition throne, and banners also Inquisition.

Emien... has Dalish banners up.  I think that might actually be all the customization I've done for him.  He might have the Orlesian throne at this point, though, and I'd consider swapping to that, but I don't actually know what's required to get various thrones (Ilya never unlocked ... any other ones, I think, somehow?) in the game.  

If we step aside from what's available in-game, as a general thing, Ilya takes most chances she gets to emphasize that they are the Inquisition, and that that is a separate entity from any nation or other group of people.  So while she'd import some choice pieces of decor from various nations where convenient, the Inquisition heraldry and designs will always be the most prominent. 

Emien, on the other hand, wants it to be remembered that he is Dalish, with the implication that they deserve a place alongside the other nations of Thedas.  So while he wouldn't ever do away with Inquisition heraldry, his Skyhold aesthetic borrows more heavily from his own people than from anything else.

[dreamerinsilico]

10, 11 and 13!

10. How do their personal beliefs affect their choices and dealings with others?

Ilya believes, first and foremost, in moving forward, embracing necessary change.  It’s a large part of why she remained with her clan rather than leave to become the First of another (her older sister was the Lavellan First); she loves the lore of her people, but hasn’t ever seen a Keeper do much with it. 

That mindset is part of why she came to respect and truly appreciate Cassandra as quickly as she did - in Cass she sees someone who has every reason to be rigid, but who is pushing aside all the authority that would hold her back from doing what is presently necessary. 

It’s had an interesting, dichotomous effect on her relationship with Solas - she never took offense at his attitude toward the Dalish, finding his criticisms for the most part fair.  But her optimism toward the future is something that’s brought her into conflict with him a few times, though ultimately he respected her more for it. 

In terms of game choices, she respects and encourages the wishes of others concerning their own lives, with the exception of cases where someone is trying to figuratively fall on their sword because they don’t see another way out.  (She sent the Grey Warden woman back to the Order; she reclaimed Blackwall for the Inquisition and told him to buck up and be the person he wanted to be for the future, rather than wallowing in his guilt over his past.)  

11. Who did they side with during the events of Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts? Why?

She saw a way to force the three to reconcile, and took it, reasoning that keeping the obvious strengths of each in play was better than allowing a bloody coup. 

Had reconciliation been impossible, however, she was prepared to support Celene and endorse Briala.  If asked why Celene over Gaspard, she would say that Celene was a proven ruler with more strengths than faults as such things go, and a regime change would weaken the nation. 

What she wouldn’t say was that she also found Gaspard fundamentally off-putting, the very image of a shem taking advantage of a crisis to further his personal ends.  

13. Did they side with the mages or templars? Why?

Mages, mages, mages.  There wasn’t really a choice to make there, as far as she was concerned.  As a free mage coming from a tradition that demonstrates that templars are unnecessary to prevent mages as a whole from running amok, she hates the Order and basically everything it stands for.  And she grits her teeth every time someone tries to equate the rebel mages’s actions with those of the templars.