#laerke

Twin polar bears Astra and Laerke chasing one another in their enclosure.

Twin polar bear sisters reunited years after mother rejected one of them

(Image credit: Detroit Zoo)

And those I drew today

Well, there is Min; she is a thief who is skilled with a dagger and is adept in subtly/illusion magic. Her parents were both Nords and members in good standing of the Thieve’s Guild in Riften before they relocated to Bruma, which is where Min was born. She always showed a proclivity for her parents’ trade and followed closely in their footsteps. Once in Bruma her father began taking jobs with the local Fighter’s Guild as well. Min grew up there, and thankfully most of the place was peopled by other Nords, despite that, there could still be issues. 

She’s capable in physical combat, but is more dependent on her magic than either of her parents. Once she gains her freedom, she heads to Riften seeking to live up to a promise she made years earlier. Right before he left Bruma, she swore to Brynjolf that she would find him, that they would be together again. 

When she got to Riften though she didn’t rush right into the city and throw herself at him. It had been a long time. And she might not have been that memorable. She to be sure that there might still be a chance for them. Only with her bets hedged did she finally make her presence known to him. Even still, she didn’t force him to live up to anything they’d said to one another all those years earlier. She gave him an out; one he did not take. The reality of her life kind of left her a bit of a cynic, who is less trustworthy, thus she didn’t assume that any of those things they whispered to one another in stolen moments were solid proclamations. Though she had prepared herself for his arrival, a part of her did not actually expect to see him that night. 

For Min, she’s a tiny woman, especially given her lineage. Short and slight. Her hair is white and a little on the wild side. Her eyes are violet and haunting. She still wears the cloak that Brynolf gave her the night he came to her rescue. The dagger she carries is one her father used as an offhand weapon. Only after her father passed, did she venture north to find the thief that stole her heart.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Laerke’s father was a mercenary of Nordish decent, and her mother was equally capable, but her lineage was a bit muddier–Breton, Redgaurd, Nord. Her mother always told her amazing stories about her ancestors, how they did not wed for money and names like the Imperials, how her people only married someone of prowess and only ever for love. It honed Laerke’s romantic streak.Her father would tell her the stories of his people, her people. These stories inspired her adventurousness.  

Her parents tended to delve deep into ruins and caves and places that others would not dare to wander. And sometimes Laerke would go with them. When they had someone who was apprenticing to one or both of them, they would be tasked with keeping an eye on Laerke, who was trained in combat from the time she could walk. Sometimes there wasn’t anyone to keep an eye on her, so her mother would spell a family amulet to keep her hidden from sight, then Laerke would travel in their wake. 

She loved it. Of course, she knew nothing else. So, it is difficult for her to settle down. She falls into the Companions on a whim. It leads her toward something solid and offers her a family eventually, though it is difficult for her to actually settle down. She struggles with the idea of making a home. At first, most of the homesteads that she ends up purchasing or earning through service are really only merely places more comfortable to sleep, though there are many nights where she just sleeps on the floor. She’s more accustomed to that. 

Though she tries to be a solid individual, she struggles to with being still, being in one place for too long, even if it is with Vilkas or any of the Companions, or the others she counts among her friends. Thankfully, Vilkas doesn’t mind going off on her adventures with her, though he likes it less when she goes off without him, and least when she goes off alone. 

It was Vilkas who helped her through the transitions early on. And it was she who helped free him from the curse that would chain him to the hunting grounds of Hircine. She gave him something he never could have hoped for and he wanted to share the bounty of it with her. 

*Side note:* Laerke was the first character I rolled in Skyrim and I immediately became enamored with the Companions and Vilkas. Then I finally got to Riften and promptly lost my mind at Brynolf referring to my characters as lass. Love this game. I adore the various storylines. Cicero is one of my favorite characters. Though I’ve not played all the DLC yet. 

I was tagged by @sephiratales​ for the OC’s faceclaims. This is going to be interesting. Not all of them have face claims. So I’ll try.

Thank you for tagging me. This was a fun distraction.

And before I get into this really long post, I’d love to tag @ofmanynames, @thetwobosses, and @ladyamesindy (though I know LadyA might not see this).

Furia: I created Furia first then moved backwards to find a face claim for her. I’m not sure who this is but this one really captures Furia’s style and so much more in one image.

Though the face that I do know that also reminds me of Furia is Natali Danish. There’s a sweet playfulness as well as a very sultry nature to Natali that matches Furia to a tee. She’s got great expressive eyes, and a smile that makes you wonder what she’s thinking. And in some cases her style even aligns with the boss.

Nyx Shepard: I tend to make my characters first, then sometimes happen upon a faceclaim. After a bit of a search the closest I feel I can find (and I’m not 100% married to it) is Cadice Swanepoel. Nyx is “too pretty to be a soldier,” or so she’s been told. It never phased her or kept her working her butt off for what she wanted. She’s used to not being taken seriously.

Cyna Mahariel: During this exercise I managed to find someone I think captures Cyna Mahariel to a tee--Roselyn Sánchez. A great combination of beauty and ferociousness. Though clearly, she lacks Cyna’s scars. But she’s got that same air of mysteriousness as well, and this shot just screamed Cyna to me when I saw it.

Min: My Drgaonborn rogue, Brynjolf’s old flame, and enchantress born of an elven woman and a warrior father came to be after some struggles to determine her look. She was born with silver hair, shocking her parents and the locals. I developed her after seeing this image, and sadly, even after searching multiple times I still don’t know who she is (though it is attributed to @starrynight-sky26, but the link to the specific post is “no longer found”).

Remy McGinnis: Similarly Remy came first, then her FC. Even so, she’s tough to classify for me, but awhile back I settled on Scarlett Johannson. I know there are a few bosses that also use that claim, so I tend just to keep to Remy’s screen caps -- usually. Remy’s got a sweet face, that counters her build.

Feign Shepard: Falling into sync with the others ... Feign is Feign, but I think if I were to pick someone for a face claim for her it would be Deepika Paukone. They both have great mouths and eyes, though Deepika’s are darker than Feign’s. Their bone structure is quite similar.

Rhys Trevelyan: The idea for Rhys was actually based on a piece of concept art by Stephan Alekseev. It’s really a great piece.

And I really think Nick Bateman captures the essence of him--that mix of serious and playful that makes Rhys even more irresistible than he thinks he is. Rhys was always a looker, at least until an incident left him with a horrendous scar and only one good eye. It doesn’t preclude him from the use of his bow, though it forced him to become at least as adept with blades. He covers the scar typically, at least as much of it as he can, for the comfort of others. 

Tala Darzi: This is one character whose faceclaim, or more accurately hair style claim I had before I rolled her. I happened to get luck that Cher Lloyd also happened to have a similar look as I imagined Tala to have. 

Boss Cinq: This is where I break type. I based Cinq off of Shemar Moore from the start. Cinq is beautiful and knows it. He puts a lot of work into maintaining his physique and is comfortable sharing it with anyone who wants to see it. 

Devine: My cathar smuggler doesn’t really have a face claim beyond herself as created in the CC of SWTOR. So here she is in all her loveliness. She’s a consummate flirt, though her heart is loyal.

Boss Ravi: Falls back into my normal type ... I’ve had her in my head, but managed to find a spot on face claim for her in Priyanka Chopra. They even have a similar build. Ravi’s a stunner, with the looks of her mother. She’s got a smile and an air about her that could stop a rhino (namely Johnny) in his tracked.

Marcelaine: She’s a character for 7th Sea, and I imagined her as this sweet faced, dedicated warrior. She’s a powerful and gifted fighter--trained her whole life to be a knight. And managed to avoid most temptations, though she still rather lost her heart to the knight of her order that mentored her. Despite this, as any good knight would she’s never acted on her. Emma Watson, I think captures her best, especially in this shot.

Laerke: One of the Dragonborns that I write (though I haven’t posted any of Laerke’s fic yet). Mainly because I’m still squaring away her backstory. The moment I saw Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha in Vikings I knew I’d found Laerke. There’s a softness and a fire to Winnick, especially in this role that really reminds of Laerke, who is a young woman trying to carve out her own niche in life when she gets this otherworldly call toward a destiny she is not certain is her own.

Boss Wei Sheng Liu: Maybe it’s a male boss thing. I chose Nicholas Tse as Wei Sheng’s face claim after an exhaustive search, and long before I ever rolled him. Of course, I also wrote Liu before I played him. I chose Tse because I wanted someone with a young face, but eyes that could hold a harshness to them, and he’s got a very serious look.

Aderyn Hawke: This lovely mage has also proven a hard one to peg. The lone red head in the group. I didn’t realize she was the only one. I used to write a lot of redheads, and only just realized that she’s the only one that stuck. Though again I find myself with an attribution issue. I have no idea who her faceclaim is. She just struck me--there’s a softness to her, but also a strength that seemed to capture Aderyn’s spirit.

Evia Dolciati: Yet another hinted at, but fiction never seen character. Evia is an assassin I wrote when I was completely and irrevocably obsessed with Assassin’s Creed, which could happen again at any moment given the correct impetus. She’s a trained courtesan in Venice who I’ve been writing for ... years and years. But a few years ago I happened across the film Dangerous Beauty and there were quite a few similarities between Veronica and Evia, namely their sharp tongue and clever wit. So it should be no surprise that I would chose Catherine McCormack in the role of Veronica Franco as Evia’s face claim.