#Skill Training for Mothers

[couriers-mile]

I enjoy the implication in Origins that Zevran isn't a very good fighter when we meet him and then after Origins he was utterly terrorizing the Crows. All the levels he gained in the Warden's party actually made him a canonically, significantly more dangerous fighter than he was when the Warden met him.

[acourtofquestions]

"You'll come back," Manon said.

It sounded like more of a threat than anything

Dorian smirked. "Would you miss me if I didn't?"

Manon didn't reply. He didn't know why he expected her to.

He'd taken all of a step, when Asterin clasped his shoulder. "In and out, quick as you can," she warned him. "Take care of Narene." Worry indeed shone in the Second's gold-flecked black eyes. Dorian bowed his head. "With my life," he promised as he approached her mount and grasped the dangling reins. He didn't fail to miss the gratitude that softened Asterin's features. Or that Manon had already turned away from him.

A fool to start down this path with her. He should have known better.

The hours that passed were some of the longest of Manon's existence.

From anticipation, she told herself. Of what she had to do.

Abraxos, unsurprisingly, found them within an hour, his reins sliced from the struggle he'd no doubt waged and won with Sorrel. He waited, however, beside Manon in silence, wholly focused upon the gate where Dorian and Narene had vanished.

Time dripped by. The king's sword was constant weight at her side. She cursed herself for needing to prove-to him, to herself-that she refused to let him go into Morath for practical, ordinary reasons. Erawan wasn't at the Ferian Gap. It'd be safer. Somewhat. But if the Matrons were there … That was why he'd gone. To learn if they were. To see if Petrah truly commanded the host there, and how many Ironteeth were present. He had not been trained as a spy, but he'd grown up in a court where people wielded smiles and clothes like weapons. He knew how to blend in, how to listen. How to make people see what they wished to see. She'd sent Elide into the dungeons of Morath, Darkness damn her. Sending the King of Adarlan into the Ferian Gap was no different.

It didn't stop her breath from escaping when Abraxos stiffened, scanning the sky. As if he heard something they couldn't.

And it was the joy that sparked in her mount's eyes that told her.

Moments later, Narene sailed toward them, making a lazy path over the mountains, a dark-haired, pale-skinned rider atop her. He'd truly been able to change parts of himself. Had made his face nearly unrecognizable. And kept it that way.

Asterin rushed toward the mare, and even Manon blinked as her Second threw her arms around Narene's neck. Holding her tight. The mare only leaned her head against Asterin's back and huffed.

Manon hadn't dwelled long on what she'd say.

And as the three hundred Ironteeth witches filed into the hall, some coming off their patrols, Manon half wondered if she should have. They watched her, watched the Thirteen, with a wary disdain.

Their disgraced Wing Leader; their fallen Heir.

When all were gathered, Petrah, still standing in the doorway where she'd appeared, merely said, "My life debt for an audience, Blackbeak."

Manon swallowed, her tongue as dry as paper. Seated atop Abraxos, she could see every shifting movement in the crowd, the wide eyes or hands gripping swords.

"I will not tell you the particulars of who I am," Manon said at last. "For I think you have already heard them."

"Crochan bitch," someone spat.

Manon set her eyes on the Blackbeaks, stone-faced where the others bristled with hatred. It was for them she spoke, for them she had come here.

jacket, then hoisting up her white shirt. Rising in the stirrups to bare her scarred, brutalized abdomen. "She does not lie."

UNCLEAN

There, the word remained stamped. Would always be stamped.

"How many of you," Asterin called out, "have been similarly branded? By your Matron, by your coven leader? How many of you have had your stillborn witchlings burned before you might hold them?"

The silence that fell now was different from before. Shaking shuddering.

Manon glanced at the Thirteen to find tears in Ghislaine's eyes as she took in the brand on Asterin's womb. Tears in the eyes of all of them, who had not known. And it was for those tears, which Manon had never seen, that she faced the host again.

"You will be killed in this war, or after it. And you will never see our homeland again."

"What is it that you want, Blackbeak?" Petrah asked from the archway.

"Ride with us," Manon breathed. "Fly with us.

Against Morath. Against the people who would keep you from your homeland, your future." Murmuring broke out again. Manon pushed ahead, "An Ironteeth-Crochan alliance. Perhaps one to break our curse at last."

Again, that shuddering silence. Like a storm about to break Asterin sat back in the saddle, but kept her shirt open.

"The choice of how our people's future shall be shaped is yours," Manon told each of the witches assembled, all the Blackbeaks who might fly to war and never return. "But I will tell you this." Her hands shook, and she fisted them on her thighs. "There is a better world out there. And I have seen it."

Even the Thirteen looked toward her now.

"I have seen witch and human and Fae dwell together in peace. And it is not weakness to do so, but a strength. I have met kings and queens whose love for their kingdoms, their peoples, is so great that the self is secondary. Whose love for their people is so strong that even in the face of unthinkable odds, they do the impossible."

Manon lifted her chin. "You are my people. Whether my grandmother decrees it so or not, you are my people, and always will be. But I will fly against you, if need be, to ensure that there is a future for those who cannot fight for it themselves. Too long have we preyed on the weak, relished doing so. It is time that we became better than our foremothers." The words she had given the Thirteen months ago. "There is a better world out there," she said again. "And I will fight for it." She turned Abraxos away, toward the plunge behind them. "Will you?"

Manon nodded to Petrah. Eyes bright, the Heir only nodded back. They would be permitted to leave as they had arrived: unharmed.

So Manon nudged Abraxos, and he leaped into the sky, the Thirteen following suit.

Not a child of war. But of peace.

[orcelito]

Ok had to stop for the night bc i am so so so so tired. But I got all the way to Tainted Lumière. Been taking notes. Been learning some new things. I'll share those later tho. For now, I sleep

[msommers]

🥪📚🤝🎒 for Riya, Meredith and one more of your choosing!

what is this?? tabby answering prompts in a timely manner??? unheard of. (mwah mwah i'm giving u kisses ty ty) // yet another oc ask game

🥪 On a scale from ‘burns water’ to ‘5 course menu’ how well can your OC cook?

RIYA — after thinking on it for a minute, i think Riya might actually have some decent baseline cooking skills purely because i can see her dad as being a great cook and he would have loved having her join him in the kitchens on occasion. and tragically Riya would do anything to see him happy, even stooping so low as to making her own brunch 🙄 i mean incredibly basic though. like she can chop the vegetables, stir the pot, keep things from burning, blah blah. no actual technical skills or know-how. so on the scale we'll give her "could cook fantasy boxed mac and cheese but you don't want her to because she's gonna complain the entire time about having to do it herself when there are actual cooks around"

MEREDITH — that b.ridgerton scene of the siblings standing in front of the stove all “well i should not know how to turn it on” “and you think i should?” but it's Meredith and Fergus. and she stays that way for the rest of her privileged life. she has more important things to do than whip up a meal! let the staff do it!! that’s what they’re paid for smh. she's a "might burn your toast because she misjudged the heat" on the scale.

GREER — she can heat up something that you give her but not much more than that. Greer spent more time in the dungeons than on kitchen duty and i wish i was joking about that. on the scale she's a "let her prep all the ingredients and i'll do the rest"

📚 Your OC has to improvise a 10 minute lecture about a topic of their choosing. What do they choose?

RIYA — if she needs to select a “serious” topic, then she’s going off on a deep dive on the history of the Free Marches Grand Tourney. it would naturally include her penchant for adding unnecessary details and perhaps a little extra drama here and there, and it’d reach a point where you can tell she stopped her research after the past eight or so tourneys (she won the 32nd so. lmfao), but at least she’s accurate and knows what she’s talking about. if she thinks she can be a little silly?? 10 minute long fantasy tier ranking of all the current top smut books in Nevarra and why her favorite is obviously #1, the others can't compete.

MEREDITH — i wanted to give her a fun answer but if it’s improvised she’d want to fall back on things she’s knowledgeable on and probably thinks she Has to excel or she’s a failure, so she’d likely go for something boring like a brief synopsis on the past decade of Landsmeet councils or explaining the basic duties and expectations of Teyrnirs and their heads. if she's feeling frisky then maybe the latest Fereldan fashion trends and their improvements on previous designs.

GREER — if she can get away with it, predictable righteous rant on the history of Templar crimes in her Circle alone. if not?? i think she could manage to scramble together a coherent ramble about theory on strong emotions affecting a mage’s casting and mana. as somebody so fueled by rage and passion she's absolutely done the research.

🤝 Does your OC have someone they want at their side when they are scared? Who?

RIYA — many people bro, she's not afraid of turning to others for support. top of the head would honestly likely be her eldest brother, Regulus. he taught her how to be brave in the first place and she'd feel fucking invincible with him at her side tbh. next in line would be Bastian but :///

MEREDITH — it's kinda fucked up and weird to say but like. anybody who is more frightened than her. because they're somebody in need and that's when it's easiest for Meredith to bury her own fear so that she can take care of them, the damn noble hero she is. if we want an actual name here then it's obviously going to be Alistair. he's her shield 💚

GREER — i don't think so, no. she learned pretty early on that she was on her own for most of her battles and adjusted to not relying on anybody for support.

🎒 If your OC had to pick three things of all their belongings to keep, which would they chose?

RIYA — she's shaking crying throwing up as she picks them but: her father's handkerchief, the golden heart-shaped locket sent by her family, and the pair of Valdivia signet rings (they're a combined set to her fuck off she's taking both or lightning bolting you about it).

MEREDITH — the Cousland shield, her father's signet ring, her mother's dagger.

GREER — her staff, a handcrafted spellbook gifted by a former apprentice of hers, the sending crystal gifted to her by Dorian.

[sakohakura]

how is kohaku oukawa more emotionally mature than a significant number of grown adults. fictional and otherwise. how does he do that. hes never even been socialised before like. the past year (in-game). and yet

[n1ghtwarden]

i imagine minth after defecting from lolth for the absolute (regardless if it wasn't her choice) had to deal with baenre assassins/scouts targeting her. it's unlikely house baenre, of all fucking people, would let one of its daughters just vanish with an entire retinue of men she's been leading with no repercussions.

[artiquar]

Encore, tiefling bard (college of swords)

After escaping Mephistopheles' court, Encore renamed himself and began his life anew in Baldur's Gate. When he gets caught on the mind flayer ship and takes a trip through the Hells again, the devilish courts takes notice — and now he's being tracked by the father he thought he could leave behind.

[simptasia]

bless all the nurses who sincerely told me i'd make a great nurse, during the months my mum was dying and i was taking care of her near constantly to the point of around the clock emotional and physical exhaustion. and then i'd have to, thank them but gently inform them I'm Only Doing This Well Because I Have To

[gonguji]

another  lil  hc!           whilst  I  do  like  all  depiction  of  Kabukimono  (  canonic  &&  fandom  ) ,    I  think  rendering  him  as  not  knowing  how  to  do  anything ,  how  the  world  of  humans  work  at  all ,  or  making  him  beyond  clueless  is  a  bit  too  popular .      I  much  prefer  him  to  had  been  trained   by  Ei ,  lectured  about  the  art  of  performance  such  as  kenbushido . . .    he  canonically  has  memories  with  Ei  &&  Yae ,  even  wears  reisō  (  white  attire  for  shintō  purification  rituals  )  signifying  his  affiliation  with  the  Grand  Narukami  Shrine .        he  had  the  entire  Shakkei  Pavillion  to  himself  with  all  the  equipment  inside ,  with  no  servants  nor  guards  so  he  was  most  likely  awaiting  the  day  his  mothers  would  return .        I  firmly  believe  he  was  preparing  each  day  to  properly  greet  them,  which  also  requires  basic  skills .

[rottmnt-honeybea]

I am my mother's savage daughter

The one who runs barefoot

Cursing sharp stones

I am my mother's savage daughter

I will not cut my hair

I will not lower my voice

[skillprowisetrainigcentre]

I might not be saying this often, but let me express this today-- Thank you

[teaboot]

One time my mom took me to a hibachi grill with a bunch of her friends and if you've never been to a hibachi grill basically the draw is that theres a bunch of interactive performance stuff done by the cook who cooks for you at your table, and one of the tricks they did at this one was take a squeeze bottle full of liquor and shoot it into your mouth across the table (with permission)

And now at our table my mom explained this because it was my first time going, and she wanted to make sure to warn me it was liquor because she knows I don't drink- she just said "if he offers to shoot at your mouth, say no because it's alcohol".

And so the chef does his thing and it's all very impressive, but the time does come where he pulls out this squeeze bottle of booze and asks me if I wanna try

I of course say no, because I really don't do alcohol, so he moves on to someone else

And I watch, and slowly come to understand that this is some sort of game, because once someone is drinking from the continuous flow the chef starts counting "ONE! TWO! THREE!"

I realize that we're trying to see who can keep drinking the liquor from three feet away without choking or spilling, and its a bummer cause i kinda wanna try and I CAN'T

But he goes around the table with everyone there, and I think my mom makes it to three, one friend makes it to five, I think my brother got to three as well, and he comes back to me

And I'm REALLY bummed out now but I will not drink alcohol, so I sort of sadly repeat that I can't when he pulls out a SECOND BOTTLE and grins and goes "juice?"

And Im like FUCK YEAH LET'S GO and I'm a bit worried he's gonna spray it into my eye or something but he doesn't, it hits me right at the back of the throat, and I start drinking while the whole fucking table counts "ONE! TWO! THREE!"

And like

It just sorta

Kept going?

And Im looking at the chef and he starts freaking out by the time we get to six, and at around seven I kinda start looking around and my auntie is staring back in shock, my brother is laughing his ass off and my mom has her face in her hands

And then at like nine or ten it gets like. Super tense and quiet, and only the chef is still counting

And I guess it got too much for even him cause we're at eleven and I don't believe in quitting early and it is almost painful how awkward it's getting

So he cuts me off at twelve and raises his hands in the air and everyone else cheers and claps like a dumb movie

and I just sit back in my seat to look back at my mother staring at me surrounded by everyone she knows, bright fucking red in the face and choking with honest to god tears in her eyes and she puts her face back in her palms and starts chanting "I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't want to know"

So I give her the biggest, proudest grin and tell her, "I won."

So now every time something suggestive happens in a movie, or in conversation, or something shocking happens around us and she goes to jokingly cover my ears, I just ask her, "Remember when I won?" And she goes face-down and groans, because I know EXACTLY how she thinks I trained to develop that particular skill and she HATES knowing that about me

The truth is though, I'm a whole ass 28 year old virgin. I've never so much as kissed anyone in my life. I had no idea I could do that trick until that exact moment

But she doesn't know that, and I'm never gonna tell her

[nyukaart]

The Grayson who used his mother's nickname for him as his vigilante name, the Grayson who incorporated his acrobatic skills his parents taught him into batman's training, the Grayson who never forgot about his parents legacy, the Grayson who didn't fall but flew.

I love him so much guys

[chron0ph0bia]

you parents constantly telling u the shit that you've been trying to unlearn surely is smth

[niwaart]

Family without light.

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[#part1 #part2 #Part3 #Part4]

Bruce and Y/N divorced after more than 15 years of marriage. The marriage was only for the sake of cooperation between the two companies, not for love. But after Y/N's father died and she took over the company, she decided to cancel the contract between them and divorce him. But... that's not what matters to Damian now... what matters to him is what happened after Y/N left the house. He thought that when she left, nothing would happen, he always ignored her or even fought with her or said harsh words in front of her and behind her. But... when did his wounds and injuries become so painful? After all, it's not the first time he got injured while fighting some villains. After all, he was trained by his mother Talia to be strong and feel as painless as possible. So he's surprised by the pain he feels from a mere scratch! His mother would be disappointed if she knew about this. But that's not the only change Damian has noticed. Y/N usually took him home from school and home to school and sometimes took him to the mall to buy food for his pets or to the Kent family's house. Now that she was gone, it was Alfred who drove him with Bruce and sometimes Jason. Tim barely had time for himself and Dick wasn't in Gotham. So when Jason was busy on a case and Alfred was busy, he would wait for one of them to come or he would walk home. As the days went by he was getting tired of it, the commute between home and school was too long... and he missed the places Y/N used to take him. She would take him after shopping to see the ocean or even to a fancy place to buy him nice clothes that fit his taste... she knew how to choose clothes... comfortable and cool at the same time. He missed when she would stop at the candy store or ice cream shop to buy his favorite flavor without telling Alfred. He missed when she would defend him in front of his father, she knew when he was lying or not. And when Bruce punishes him by stopping him from going on patrol, Y/N will bring the Robin costume that Bruce hid and then she will ask him to go in patrol, whether Bruce wants to or not. He missed her when she would stand waiting for him every day after school, start another fight in the car with her, and make it up to him with ice cream even though she didn't do anything wrong... He missed her... So he had a plan, a plan for her to come and take him from school to the market. A few weeks ago, Damian saw one of the students at his school calling their mother because they were sick. So Damian was going to call Y/N... and tell her he was sick and she would take him! Yeah, after all, it had been 3 months since the divorce, she must be missing him by now. Right?

"Yes Damian Wayne? What's wrong?" The headmistress said with a raised eyebrow upon seeing Damian hoping he wasn't here because of another fight.

Damian looked at her for a few moments nervous and a little excited. "I'm sick... I need to go home early today. Can I call someone to pick me up?" Damian said using his acting skills and speaking in a pale and sick voice. The principal was surprised and nodded "Of course you can, go ahead you can call your family." The principal gave him the phone and Damian took it after thanking her he went out and stood in the school corridor while writing down Y/N's number after writing down the number he was nervous and his finger hovered over the call button. after taking a deep breath he pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear... After waiting for an eternity (for Damian) a familiar voice answered. "Yes? Who's calling?" Damian forgot for a while why he was calling but he finally answered.

"I-It's me, Damian... I'm calling from school..." Damian said cursing himself for stuttering.

"Okay?... What do you want?"

"I... I'm sick... and Alfred is busy, I need you to pick me up from here." Damian answered lowering his voice, to show that he was sick. There was a long moment of silence… then Y/N answered, “Why should I?… I don’t have a connection to Bruce anymore, so you’re not my responsibility anymore.” Damian felt a lump in his throat… like he was choking, did she not miss him? Did she no longer love him? Or care about him? Was everything she did fake? No… it was real, he felt it! Damian answered in a voice close to tears while cursing himself internally for his weakness, “What?… But I… I… I’m sick…” Damian couldn’t hold back the tears that started to fall. “then call your mom… I’m busy, don’t call again.” Y/N hung up the phone before Damian could answer. Damian tried not to fall and cry, tried to wipe away his tears, tried to hide the trembling of his body, but he failed. After crying silently in the bathroom for a while, he washed his face and handed the phone back to the principal, looking down, trying to avoid her gaze. The day passed quietly, Alfred came late as always and got into the car silently as usual, but this time he was sadder. After several more months, Damian was about to forget about it and act like nothing happened. He was walking out of school and heading to his new seating area where he would sit while waiting for Alfred or Jason. But he noticed something… no, someone… It was Y/N! Damian's heart fluttered with joy and he wanted to run to her… She came for him!… That's what Damian thought as he prepared to run to her… But before his joy could be complete, he saw a twin from the same school he goes to. They hugging Y/N… Why? Damian looked at them in confusion… then he heard one of them say 'Auntie'… then Damian knew that Y/N didn't come for him… but for those two, Damian was hit with another wave of sadness, he was about to cry, he was close to crying but he didn't in front of people… so he silently walked to the spot where he sits to wait for someone to take him home while he watched Y/N from afar… she patted the two kids on the head… hugged them, opened the car door for them… Damian's breath was shaky, he was about to break down, why did she have to be nice to them, what about him? He also wanted her to look at him, smile at him, ask him how school was, and spoil him with sweets… he wanted someone to take care of him… he wanted her to take care of him like Talia didn't… he missed Y/N. He will do anything to back the days before she leave him... he promise to himself.

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