[whit-doodle]

Finally found motivation today to continue my playthrough with my Shadow Dragon Rook, Alden. Didn't accomplish much, though. Just a quick trip to Minrathous with Neve before the inevitable disaster at Weisshaupt...

[whit-doodle]

I meant to post this yesterday for Day 6 (Past/Future) of Lucanis week and forgot. So, I guess it’ll be my Free Day submission instead!

—————————-

Lucanis Dellamorte never envisioned any future other than one where he would ultimately take up a mantle passed to him simply because he was his grandmother's preferred choice. The moment he completed training and became a true assassin, he knew the only path ahead of him led him to becoming the First Talon.

Until his cousin's betrayal left him imprisoned for a year and forcefully possessed by a demon that would always be a part of him until his last breath. Lucanis, desperate for the daily torture to end, no longer cared about the future after a few months in the Ossuary. Days were spent barely conscious, locking himself away in his head just to pretend he hadn't become something he feared once Zara forced Spite onto him.

The day he finally made a deal with Spite to escape gave him a little hope for a life free from any more of Zara's twisted experiments. He thought—believed, for a while—maybe one day Illario would show up to help him escape…

Help came in the form of a Crow from House de Riva instead. A Crow far more selfless and caring than anyone else he knew. A Crow who risked his life to infiltrate the Ossuary and give Lucanis a chance to find a future worth fighting for again.

Lucanis tried to ignore his growing feelings toward Rook at first. He believed eventually the other man would realize what a danger he was as a demon possessed assassin who could one day lose control of himself to Spite. Lucanis wanted to push Rook away to spare him from getting too close to an abomination.

"You're not an abomination, Lucanis," Rook told him late one night. Both of them awake at an odd hour - one because of nightmares, one because fear wouldn't let him sleep. "Lesser men would have given up after a few days. You fought for a year and have somehow managed to coexist with Spite. I don't see an abomination. I see a man who should be dead, but is still living against the odds."

Rook defended him when someone dared to hint Lucanis wasn't safe to be around. He always showed up in the kitchen on the nights Lucanis couldn't rest due to Spite's incessant voice in his head. Rook's voice became a comfort on those nights, drowning out Spite’s angry rambling.

Rook never saw him as a monster.

Over time, he caught himself thinking about what came after they defeated the gods. Because they would defeat the gods. A Crow always completed a contract.

Now, their fight with the gods reached the point of no return. Elgarn'nan had moved the moon, pushing the eclipse up by weeks. The group had no time to wait.

He was in the pantry, gathering his weapons, when Rook walked in to check on him. Lucanis feared they weren't prepared. Rook believed they would get the job done this time. He vowed to keep Rook safe, even if it meant killing every blighted creature in Thedas. Rook told him he didn’t have to keep doing things alone.

"I'll be here for you," Rook told him.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep," Lucanis countered. His doubts tried to drown out the hope of winning their fight.

"Lucanis, I—"

"Don't." Lucanis cut him off. Allowing Rook to finish that sentence meant opening a door he wasn't ready to walk through just yet. "Whatever it takes, I won't miss this time."

Rook merely nodded before turning to leave.

"You did not. Tell him!" Spite said from where he manifested by the door as Rook walked out. "Why not? You. Love him. You should. Tell him!"

"Not now, Spite," Lucanis sighed. He picked up a dagger, inspecting it closely. "The gods need to be stopped, first. I’ll talk to Rook when we get back from Tearstone Island."

Lucanis tried to hang onto Rook’s optimism as he walked out through the pantry door and into the kitchen. He had one more shot to bring Ghilan’nain down, and he would make it count this time. The gods would fall. He would return to the Lighthouse ready to confess his love to Rook. The future didn’t seem so bleak anymore. He no longer imagined himself as First Talon, doing things alone.

He didn't dare dream of a future without Rook by his side.

[whit-doodle]

I know I’ve yapped a ton about my Crow Rook, Gunnar, on here, but one thing I haven’t ever discussed much is the fact he’s the first gay character I’ve ever made for anything at all. So, in honor of Pride Month… Let me explain why he’s so important to me and more about why he’s the first (and only, so far) gay character I’ve ever created.

First, let me start with a little about me. I grew up in—and still live in—an area that is referred to as the “Bible Belt” in the United States. Growing up among southern Baptist relatives meant that during my more impressionable childhood years, I emulated things that ultimately went against what I would believe by the time I graduated from high school.

When I first started Gunnar's playthrough, I didn't initially intend for him to be gay. In fact, I planned for him to romance Harding. I had already romanced Lucanis with my first Rook, but the more I thought of Gunnar's backstory, the more I realized he would be a perfect fit for Lucanis.

Those things I heard all through childhood… They came back when I first started thinking about having Gunnar romance Lucanis. I momentarily felt like I was doing something wrong when I chose his romance.

Then I embraced what I wanted for him as a character, and it was the absolute best decision. He became my favorite character I've ever made for a game, and honestly, I enjoyed romancing Lucanis with Gunnar more than I did when I played as my female Rook.

Gunnar helped me realize that even though I am a straight woman, it's okay that I enjoyed creating a character who ultimately ended up in a same-sex relationship. He'll forever hold a special place in my heart because of that.

[lomielarts]

Lucanis and Gunnar💙

Commission for @whit-doodle 💫

The idea was the scene after Rook is rescued from the fade and when later on he meets Lucanis in the Lighthouse!

So tried to capture the motional vibes at that moment!💙

[whit-doodle]

This is the first commission I've ever requested from an artist, and it was absolutely worth the wait to see what they'd do with the info I gave for what I was envisioning.

Gunnar holds such a special place in my heart as my favorite OC I've ever made for a game, and I couldn't be happier with how this turned out! ❤️

[broodwoof]

the whole Dynamic lucanis and illario have intrigues the hell out of me

fandom has definitely given me a lot of angles to view it from, too 👀

like, the idea that illario getting lucanis "killed" is, among other things, a sort of grim mercy, a way of sparing him becoming the first talon?

at the same time, illario can never really be anything so long as lucanis is there. he exists in lucanis' shadow, to the point that no one really sees him

and then there's smth intriguing about zara potentially preying on that part of illario, on seeing him - or making him think she sees him (and cares) - and drawing him to her with that as her leash

but illario isn't ignorant or naive. he MUST be aware he's being manipulated, that's just how this stuff is done. he's manipulating her right back

but all this time, he did trust her to actually kill lucanis. he didn't intend - or want!! - his cousin/brother to be imprisoned and tortured and made into an abomination. death happens to everyone, and crows are better than most at coping with that knowledge, so I think while he would've mourned lucanis, he also would have been able to move on

but not only is his plan foiled, but lucanis has suffered far more and worse than illario intended or wanted

[whit-doodle]

After reading The Wigmaker Job, I realized there's so much more to Illario than we see in the game. It's a shame we didn't get to see more of him or have more interactions that better suited his character.

[dellamortal]

Lucanis sweetie watcha doin up there.

[whit-doodle]

Commissioned a second work this week from an artist I came across on Tiktok - Amity Bloom. I simply asked for something that depicted Gunnar & Lucanis having a moment to themselves at the Lighthouse. (my first ever commission is still in progress at the time of posting this one.)

They provided two different sketches of poses since I didn't have exact poses or a scene in mind, and this was the one I chose. I was absolutely blown away with how they interpreted what I asked for! I'll definitely commission at least one more piece from them in the near future.

I shared here, with their permission, in order to help them gain more exposure for their art! Their commissions are currently open, and I felt that their pricing was definitely fair. If you'd be interested in commissioning work from them, you can contact them via:

Tiktok - Amity Bloom

Instagram - @amity_bloom

In a world of AI slop becoming prominent, I want real artists to gain recognition for the work and dedication they put into their art! I also plan to commission more work from artists whenever I'm able to do so!

[whit-doodle]

Thinking about the fact Viago still feels guilty for the scars that Gunnar bears... All because he feels like he failed to protect Gunnar from what turned out to be an elaborate setup disguised as a contract.

An explanation of Gunnar's lore beneath the cut. 😊 Along with extra photos of his scars.

Roughly three years before the events of Veilguard, Gunnar accepted a contract from Viago. The Fifth Talon didn't think anything of someone requesting help dealing with a mage who was assisting a small Venatori operation in a town a day's journey from Salle.

Viago never expected the contract to be a setup that left Gunnar fighting for his life. The contract had been a ruse, cleverly planned by another Crow, Ronan, who wanted Gunnar dead. When Gunnar failed to return as expected, Viago went searching for him.

Viago found Gunnar nearly lifeless, covered in serious burns on his face, torso, arms, and even his legs. It took months for Gunnar to recover. Due to the burns not being immediately treated, a healer could only do so much, even with the help of their magic and any potions they could make or acquire.

A healer also couldn't do anything to repair the damage done to Gunnar's right eye. Once vibrant green, the eye clouded over, leaving a permanent reminder that Gunnar would never have normal vision again. It took weeks of training for him to adapt his fighting and archery skills with his newly altered vision and depth perception.

Viago never forgave himself for not realizing sooner the contract hadn't been legitimate. He did, however, make sure Ronan paid the price for attacking a member of House de Riva. (and he nearly started a House war with House Dellamorte after finding out Caterina was the reason Ronan attempted to kill Gunnar in the first place...)

[whit-doodle]

Blighted Treviso just hits so much harder than blighted Minrathous.

[lighthouse-heroes]

Rook: "It sure is muggy outside." Lucanis: "Rook, I swear to the Maker, if I go outside and all our mugs are in the courtyard..." Rook: "..." Rook: *sips coffee from a bowl*

[whit-doodle]

Gunnar would absolutely do this. Although, I think he'd be more inclined to do it to Viago than Lucanis. Mostly because he knows it would annoy Viago far more than it would Lucanis.

[aradelka]

How my attention works when I play Valhalla

I swear I'm not interested in anything in this game except watching Basim and his little eagle.

[booksncatsworld]

Rookdex: Gunnar

Gunnar for @whit-doodle

Thank you for giving up Gunnar for the Rookdex, he’s simply adorable and I loved getting the chance to draw him :>

[If you haven’t already, you can request for your Rook to join the Rookdex here]

[whit-doodle]

I love this! 😁

[datvcompanionweeks]

Hello everyone!

Before you panic; no, we’re not cancelling Davrin week. Instead we wanted to come to you, the community, about how to run this blog for the foreseeable future (until, hopefully, Tumblr rolls back their new feature).

If you have not read the new update, you can read it here. A breakdown of what it actually does can be read here.

What this means is that if we comment as we normally do on creator’s work, the responses will then go to us. We don’t want that. This blog and these events were made to foster a community. Removing our comments and leaving nothing but a blank slate entirely removes that purpose.

Additionally, this upcoming week is for Veilguard’s only black companion: Davrin. We have no desire to lessen our engagement with fans because of tumblr staff’s utter disregard for community and creative spaces. We have no desire to alienate black fans and fans of Davrin in general due to this situation.

We’ve come up with a few solutions after an hour of testing on our personal blogs, but this is a community. We want to hear from the community. Not just the people who create but also the ones who interact and engage with those creators.

So far we know that if we reblog with our comments the creators will not see anything added to our posts except the notification of additional reblogs that also have comments and tags. Liking a post that’s not on the creator’s original page will just automatically apply that like to the most recent reblog with a comment. Additionally, all replies on other’s reblogs will not be seen by the creator, whether in notifications or on the post itself.

We’ve come up with two different choices on our end:

We reblog with our comments as usual with the addition of telling people to reblog/comment on the original post.

We simply reply and do an otherwise silent reblog with tags so if someone doesn’t read our reminder the creator is not deprived of interaction.

We push out the week (not ideal, but if it's what the community wants we will try to make it work.)

This event is about all of you, though. We just have the delight of seeing what you make during the week. So, if you have any ideas, we’re opening the floor to you. What do you want from us?

- The DATV Weeks Mod Team

[lostintheweave]

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Protective Dialogue

Part II

"We will always protect each other, right?"

"They would have to go through me."

"Hold my hand, and don't let go."

"I will be your cover."

"Please, trust me."

"I got you. I got you, ok?"

"I will take the fall for this."

"Don't worry about anything."

"Nothing wrong with needing a little bit of help."

"I can and I will protect you from this."

"I will be happy when I know that you're safe."

"We will get through this."

"Come to me when you're in trouble."

"I need to know that you're ok."

"They can't take me away from you."

"You will always be safe with me."

"I will keep you alive at all costs."

"No, let me do it."

"Please, let me help you."

"Call me if you feel weird."

More: Master Prompt List + Protective Dialogue Part I

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[whit-doodle]

I really want to get back into writing again. May pick a few of these to write some short scenes featuring my Crow Rook, Gunnar. Or if anyone out there sees a prompt you'd like me to write for, you're welcome to pick one (or two!) from the list and ask me! 😊

[serecenhawke]

This one is mesmerizing, I stared into those eyes for a while ngl

[whit-doodle]

👀

[whit-doodle]

I really hope I can find the motivation soon to continue my playthrough with Alden. My poor Shadow Dragon has been neglected for weeks now.

I plan to have him romance Neve. I'll also be making the opposite decisions from what I chose with Gunnar's playthrough... which means choosing Minrathous over Treviso and I'm not ready for that yet. 😐

I may also kind of speed run it, meaning of course I'll focus on all the Shadow Dragon quests and focus more on doing things in Minrathous. Might make this playthrough a little more impactful if I choose to not go full send for every companion/faction this go around....