#she'll either be a dwarf or a human

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

Early morning I-can't-sleep-for-stress-over-a-medical-procedure thoughts: Well, OBVIOUSLY I have to make my weird Mourn Watch Rook something like Moritani so that her nickname can be Mori. Obviously.

[mae-gi-writes]

Finders Keepers | Gally [TMR] - Part 3

In which Gally gets soft for one of the boys in the Glade, only…is it a boy? alternatively; In which Mai disguises herself into a boy to fit in the Glade, only to be suspected by the keen eyes of the Builder's Keeper.

taglist: @edynmeyer1 @ss28

Also available on Wattpad.

A/N: I'm sorry but can we take a moment to look at this fine-ass man? Thank you very much.

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-----

The first thing that Mai thinks of the moment her eyes spring open is Gally.

Him, and the fact that she's literally made a deal with him. Why? All for a lie.

A lie upon a lie.

Great, Mai wonders what he would make of her if he knew she was a girl. Probably never let her hear the end of it, surely.

It takes a lot for her to drag herself out of bed when she catches sight of Frypan to her left, getting a hold of his shoes and trudging to the kitchen. Mai sighs, running a hand through her short strands before slipping on her own boots to follow the dark-skinned boy.

It's still early and the Maze walls aren't open yet, giving the duo enough time to prepare all ingredients before the Runners start twitching in their hammocks. Frypan gives her the toasting of bread and the cutting of vegetables while he takes charge of the eggs, his good mood boosting the atmosphere and making her feel at ease in his presence. He's a nice guy, Mai decides as she watches him with a small smile, dancing about and humming tunes to himself, tunes probably from his past memory.

"How ya holdin' up, Mai?" Frypan asks as he overlooks his eggs, "you doing okay?"

"Fine," Mai replies, realizing that she'll have to either restrain herself from talking or talk in a deeper voice so that they won't get suspicious of her. Though, with the baggy clothes she's inherited from the storage room, it will take a while. They're all so large they practically dwarf her skinny frame.

It's finally breakfast time and the Runners are up first, getting their load of eggs, toast and bacon before they settle at their usual table. Minho's here too, grinning at her while she loads up his plate, "enjoying your new job, Greenie?"

"My name is Mai." she throws him a scowl, but he just laughs, "yeah yeah, sorry. The name suits you. Anyway, Mai," he makes a good point of dragging the word out, "hope your cooking's as good as Fry's."

"If not better," she answers with a roll of her eyes before moving on to the next Runner.

"Don't forget to pack their lunches!"

"For shuck sake," Mai mutters as she quickly moves on to the lunches.

Minho settles himself down at the countertop, not really caring whether she looks like she's in a panic, "Ever wanted to go out into the Maze, Greenie?" he asks, watching her quickly build up the sandwiches with amusement.

"No," Mai responds as she finishes wrapping up a sandwich, "aren't you scared of going out there everyday?"

The asian boy shrugs, "it's our job. That's what we do as Runners, we try to find a way out of this place."

"And have you?"

"Not yet," he presses his lips together, face drawn and serious, "but we hope we will soon. We've got a clue that might lead us the right way."

"Right," Mai finishes up his sandwich and hands it out to him, "you'll need all of that energy then."

"Thanks," he tucks it into his satchel, then without warning reaches over to ruffle her hair as Mai protests, "I'll see you tonight."

She barely has time to tell him off about touching her hair with the same hands that touched his food before he's setting off towards the Maze doors. Embarrassed and flustered, Mai pats her hair down in hopes of getting her heartbeat back to normal when a voice causes her to jump.

"You look pathetic."

"Jesus Gally!" Mai holds a hand to her chest, throwing him a glare as she does so, "can't you say hello like any shuck human?"

Gally shrugs, leaning over the counter where Minho had been a few seconds ago, "why you looking at him like that, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai starts assembling his plate, putting two toasted bread slices before going to the eggs.

"Your face says otherwise."

She scoops up some extra eggs and bacon onto his plate before shoving it into his hand, "just go eat Gally, and leave me alone."

"Sure thing Greenie," he smirks, which causes Mai to scowl even deeper, "you're holding up the line."

Thankfully he doesn't fight her, merely picks up his utensils before trudging off to find a seat.

Mai blows out air from her mouth. Today's going to be a long day.

——-

"Newt, right?"

The elfin-faces boy looks up from his gardening spot, frown dissipating into confusion when he finds Mai looking up at him with an expression similar to a deer in the headlight's.

"Hey Mai, everything okay?"

That's probably the first person to address her with her name and she will certainly not forget that.

"Yes everything is fine. Uhm— Frypan needs more tomatoes for the stir-fry tonight," Mai tries not to fidget under Newt's intense stare, "so..."

"Yeah," Newt looks over to another boy not too far from him, "Oi Zart," he calls out, "think we got some tomatoes to spare them?"

"Should have," the boy called Zart replies, "just need to cut 'em."

While Mai lingers around for Zart's tomatoes, she decides to keep Newt company as he toils through the soil.

"I thought you were second-in-command," Mai's eyes linger over the way Newt seems to drag his leg. It's a small limp, barely noticeable and yet, it seems like it hurts him, "why are you out here in the gardens?"

"Ey well, I like planting," he throws a small smile her way, "but I also tend to walk around and oversee stuff when Alby's not around."

"Where is Alby anyway?"

"He's been up all night, the poor shank," Newt shakes his head as he pulls out a few weeds, "the Runner seem to have made some progress. He's probably busy with that." Only then does he glance at her small frame, "you doing okay with Frypan in the kitchen?"

"He's great," Mai nods, "I like him."

Newt chuckles, "everyone does."

She finds that he's easy to talk to, this blonde boy who barely looks over sixteen yet speaks with the experience of an adult that's lived here for ages. Mai realizes she feels comfortable in his presence and before she knows it, has spent the entire afternoon by his side as he goes through his tasks.

Only at Frypan's call does she clamber back to the kitchen with an apologetic wave in Newt's direction and her basket full of ripe tomatoes.

She's halfway to the Homestead when she collides against a hard wall. No, not a hard wall. Someone. And that someone's angry.

"Hey watch it!" An angry Gally comes out from the other side, causing Mai to yelp out, "I'm so sorry Gally, I—" her eyes are wide as she sways, basket threatening to fall in her hold, "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going—"

"What're you doing carrying that klunk around by yourself?" He interrupts, glowering at her.

Mai winces, hating the intensity of his eyes because god he can be scary when he wants to be, "I--Frypan needs more veggies for dinner so I--"

"Oh slim it, Greenie." And before she knows it, he's hoisted her basket out of her hold and is already striding towards the kitchen, leaving Mai to run after him in hopes of catching up to his giant strides, "you don't have to help--"

"Too late for that," he grunts out. He reaches the counter and hoists the basket onto its surface, throwing her a glare that makes her want to shrivel up and die in a corner, "watch where you're going next time. You have eyes, don't you?"

"Yes," her mumble barely makes it out of her mouth as her eyes glue themselves to the ground.

"So use them," he turns to go but Frypan's voice echoes through the air, "hey Gally! What brings you over?"

"Nothing," his eyes narrow towards Mai, "just this shank being useless."

"What happened?" Frypan looks over at the smaller Glader, concern swimming in his voice as he asks, "did you get hurt?"

"Of course not," Gally growls out, "but you might want to stick him into the kitchen instead of making him run around to get your stuff. He's weak as shuck."

"Gally," Frypan tuts, though there's a grin on the Cook's face. He turns to Mai, "don't worry about him. He's always this grumpy during the day. I think it's because he hasn't eaten yet."

The said grumpy Glader is already walking away at this point, leaving an amused Frypan and a traumatized Mai in his wake. The brown-skinned boy throws Mai a smile, as if to comfort her, "Don't worry about him, Mai. He's a bit rough around the edges, but his heart's in the right place."

"Not too sure about that," Mai mutters, though it reaches Frypan's ears and causes him to chortle in laughter, "come on," he motions towards the uncut veggies, "we got a lot of shanks to feed."

——-

Night falls and as usual, Mai waits in her hammock, curled up and tucked in to try and look as if she's already asleep as the rest of the Gladers shuffle to their own spaces. The chatter slowly dies down one by one and soon, even Newt, who's done his round around the Glade, settles in and murmurs a soft goodnight to her before turning his light out.

Mai waits, breathing as softly and as steadily as she can.

And then, when silence stretches out before her like a blank canvas, she decides to take the chance.

Slowly letting herself down from her hammock, she pads out of the Homestead as gently as she can, hurrying past the group of Huts where the rest of the Keepers are currently asleep. She hears a soft snore coming from Minho's hut and a small giggle escapes her lips. She can imagine him now, mouth parted and legs akimbo, probably dead tired from this morning's run.

Mai almost makes it to the showers when sudden footsteps echo behind her.

She swirls around, eyes wide and alert, only for her eyes to land on a familiar face.

"Gally?" she whispers hoarsely.

He lets out the most exasperated sigh she's ever heard from him yet, "You again?" He rubs a hand over his face, it's clear that he's tired too and half-asleep, "what're you doing out here?"

"I..." her voice trails off unsurely. What should she say? Should she just make up an excuse about wanting the loo?

Gally lets out another sigh before he regards her with a look, crossing his arms over his chest, "showers again?" he prompts when silence is her only answer.

He gets confirmation at her nod and after a few beats of more silence, the Builder shakes his head before motioning towards the shower, brushing past her in the process, "come on then, you crazy shank." he mumbles.

Maybe his words are a bit vicious, but it's probably the darkness that softens his tone and causes a small smile to quirk at the corner of Mai's lips as she follows him.

Contrary to his grumbling and his groaning, Gally stands outside the shower stalls -- after having been pushed out by the Greenie when he'd walked in and turned away -- a bit confused as to why Mai was so adamant on keeping her privacy. It just doesn't make sense, considering that they're all built the same. Right?

Unless...

Unless there's something that the Greenie is hiding.

Gally's foot taps impatiently out of pure habit, something he's picked up while deep in thought. What is it that Mai doesn't want to show other Gladers? He can't seem to think of one possibility apart from the very literal one that would've been so obvious that--

Wait.

Wait wait wait.

Wait a shuck minute.

No.

That's not possible.

The entirety of Gally's body freezes up like stone. For a moment, he thinks he forgets to breathe.

No. It can't be. Mai's a guy just like all the other Greenies that came up before. And he looks like one, there's no way he isn't one unless this is some sort of sick joke to the Creators. And if he was -- hypothetically speaking -- a girl, then why the need to hide?

Gally wants to laugh at himself for being so stupid. Of course not. He would've seen it since the very beginning. Girls had...well, different assets than guys, so he wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret for so long.

Yes, Gally was certain there was nothing else there. Mai just wants some privacy, as simple as that, because Mai fancies guys.

"Gally?"

His body unfreezes at the sound of the Greenie's voice. He steps away from the door and turns to see the younger boy, at the way his newly washed hair falls into his face and how he's practically swimming in his clothes. With his hair down like this, Gally can almost picture Mai being a girl, all soft features and small mouth and wide eyes that look like he's constantly surprised.

He's a guy, Gally repeats to himself. He is a guy.

But what if there is the possibility that Mai is a girl? Then what?

Doesn't that mean something to the Glade? Doesn't that threaten their supposed peace? Is it a sign?

And if so, is he supposed to tell Alby and Newt about it?

"Gally, you okay?" Mai asks, causing the said Builder to snap back to reality. He clears his throat, "yeah m'fine. Let's go."

He walks a little too fast for Mai's liking back to Homestead, but he realizes that he doesn't care. His mind is spinning too much and there are so many thoughts crowding his brain that he just wants to sleep and forget everything about that new stupid Greenie.

Tomorrow, everything will go back to normal and Gally can go on with his life just like he'd done for the past three years.

[therookerydatv]

Major Spoiler warning for the ending of Veilguard

But...I think they really had a missed opportunity, in killing off Harding or Davrin at the penultimate mission, they really should've kept them both alive(With Hardingwhich you send her to lead the second team, because Titan Magic, somehow Harding reacting negatively to the creation of the Red Lyrium Blade would shock Ghilinain long enough for her let go of Lucanis and then he attacks, and then Harding seemingly is injured and lost(she is captured just like your second party member choice. This causes her to be Blighted being a mini boss you fight and then free, she is not blighted but was instead responding in pure rage to anything and everything and then she and say Neve help you out against Elgarnan in the last leg, because Elgarnan guess tries to will the Blight back and is failing at it.

So then when confronting Solas, and redeeming him, he says he will go to soothe the Titans pain. Here Lace can offer herself up to go and soothe it, in completing her personal quest with either rage or calm, she says she can best understand their pain and needs to be the one to go and do this. Thus fulfilling her Destiny in typical Chantry fashion, chants a bit of the chant to herself.

Solas being long lived is made to promise her to find a way to bring the Veil down safely if it needs to come down one day, and she'll work on soothing the Titans.

There, that's my ending.

In fact, even if you choose Davrin, so long as you have him as a Hero of The Veilguard Status, then he lives, and Harding gets captured because Ghilinain registers her as the bigger threat.

Like, who else but Harding, the voice of the Titans, not a Deep road Dwarf, but a Surfacer, one entirely disconnected from the mainstream culture of Orzammar Dwarves and Surfacer Castes and Merchants. She was a homely farm girl growing up as the one dwarf in a human village, and she joined up because she wanted to protect her home. Plus with all the elf root she grows, she wants to soothe pain, and if need be taken out the thing or person causing the pain. So either in rage or calm, she still goes to soothe the Titans. The only thing that would change is her tone towards Solas.

[invinciblerodent]

as of right now it's really looking like I might just wind up playing Veilguard with an absolute gaggle of ladies and like.... one token dude

my very vague plans so far include-

sweet darling Verbena, my baby Ver, the disaster of a female human warrior and Shadow Dragon (for Davrin, it'll be all tragic and heartbreaking and in part about duty and honor and all that pish) (she has had a name and been in the dormant stages of development since like 2016 so hoping that she'll wind up as my canon Rook)

Coris, a no-nonsense female dwarf warrior, Antivan Crow (for Lucanis- i know she'll mockingly call him "First Talon" and make jokes about having attended his funeral) (yeah i just. i want that man on his knees, is that a crime) ("My, aren't you pretty now that you can meet my eye, First Talon.")

Tanner, a female dwarf Lord (Lady?) of Fortune for Harding, who is exactly 2 inches taller than her so she can do the finger-under-the-chin, head-tilt-up thing (all i know is that i'm calling them "Leather and Lace" together)

an unnamed archer rogue female elf for Neve (who was freed by the Shadow Dragons once and had been admiring her from afar for a while) (it was maybe even young Neve who inspired her to join them, but they never spoke, it was just pure unadulterated unrequited sapphic yearning for years do you see my vision) (normally all my characters are bi but i'm getting the feeling that she'll probably be a lesbian) (thinking maybe like "Syl" or something of the sort)

aaaand either the burliest young human dude possible who'll gladly carry Emmrich princess-style, OR a tiny dwarf guy who'll make his knees weak and creaky with many kisses (either way probably a Mourn Watch underling/assistant type)

so far I've got nothing for Taash or Bellara, but yknow, all in due time

maybe a warden on two, i don't know

this is already far more in the way of thoughts than I had wanted to have before release

now watch as nothing of these even happens. watch Ver fall for Bellara and Coris for Harding and the elfette for Davrin and it'll all be just pure chaos

[mysticonsheadcanons]

Pink Skulls Episode 6: The Seperation

They look at the map, and realize that there is a stop along the way. As there is a stop sign and a key on it, they wonder if this means that they have to get the key before continuing on. They decide to follow the map's directions, and stop at the island.

The island seems to be split in two parts: a beach and a forest. Nona asks where the key would be, but Kitty remarks that the map just shows the island, and doesn't say which one, as the picture of the key takes he entire island. They decide to split up in groups to find the key, with Kasey and Kitty leading each group, Kasey says he'll be going on the beach, and Kitty says she'll be going to the forest. Tim says that he and Tom will go with Kitty, but Tom says that he'd rather go on the beach. Nona goes with Kasey and Danisha goes with Kitty.

While looking around the forest, Tim is talking about how he and Tom always stayed together, and he can't believe Tom doesn't care about that. Kitty says that she's sure it's not that, but says that they will find different interests, and want to do different things. Danisha adds that Arkayna and Zarya like different things, but they're still close. Tim admits that Tom always seemed to be happy whenever they were on the beach.

As Kasey, Tom, and Nona are walking down the beach, Tom asks if he was wrong to want to do something seperate from Tim, and admits that after losing their parents, they made a promise to always have each other. Nona remarks how everyone noticed that Tim and Tom mostly talked to each other when they first became Pink Skulls, but they slowly begun talking with the other members now. Tom asks Nona why she brought it up, and Nons says that it shows how it's great to be close to one person, but sometimes branching out is nice to. Kasey adds that they will always have each other, even if they go seperate ways and have different interests. THey find something that looks like the handle of a key, but not the part that actually goes into the keyhole. Just then, they are suddenly pulled in quicksand, and are quickly consumed by it.

Back in the forest, they are using a metal detector they use for treasure hunts, and come across the half of the key that goes into the keyhole. Tom notices that it doesn't have a convient way to hold it, and is shorter than most keys he know. Just then, a secret trapdoor opens up, causing Kitty, Tom, and Danisha to fall inside.

The two groups find each other trapped in the same cell, and when they inspect the pieces of the key, they realize that it's part of the same key, and that when the key pieces were put near each other, they key formed into one again. They manage to use their lockpicking skills to get out of the cell, but are don't know where the exit is. They decide to keep looking.

As they are looking, they come across a mixed group of elves, dwarves, and humans. One of them calls the Pink Skulls criminals and points out how they already combined the key, and a fight ensues. When a dwarf says that the Pink Skulls are foolish for working with the Spectral Hand, Kitty signals them to stop fighting and asks for more information. The dwarf, who introduces himself as Alston, says that the key, along with another failsafe, can either fully destroy the Spectral Hand or break its seal, and that another group was going after the key. He also reveals that the group calls themselves The Gate. They all hear noises from above, and assume that it's the group that wants the key. An elf brings up how the other group will find the key soon, even if they seperate the key pieces again. Tim and Tom suggest that the Pink Skulls take the key, as it might be safer if it moves around instead of staying in the same place. The Gate agrees, and they help the Pink Skulls get to their ship without the other group noticing. As they are running, they hear voies, and while they don't make out words, they hear a squak.

On the pirate ship, Tom apoligizes for leaving Tim, and says that he just wanted to be on the beach again. Tom says he understands, and that, just like the key pieces always having a connection even if they are apart, they will always be there for each other, even if they do go their seperate ways sometimes.

[thetavolution]

Tav Party

I want to try something and see how it pans out, just for fun!

I'd love to see whose Tavs would be in a party with mine. Just send me an ask with the name or names of my Tavs that you could see your Tav(s) in a party with! And be sure to tell me about your Tav(s) or link me to a profile/info about them.

If you feel up to the task, you can add a little emoji to represent how your Tav might approach them. I'll answer with whatever I think my Tav would do in response.

Your Tav would want to be friends: 💛 Would become family: 💚 Would want to be lovers: ❤️ Would be enemies: 🖤 Would murder them: ☠️

Don't worry about any Origin characters for this thought exercise.

The Tavs:

Tessa

Human Rogue Monk

She's the daughter of a thief and mercenary who is a beloved "member of the family" in Zhentarim circles.

Despite being a professional thief, Tessa is a kind-hearted person. She always overflowing with joyful enthusiasm. Tessa is outgoing and funny. She has a big heart and it’s easy to take advantage of it, especially with a good enough sob story. She has a good-natured sense of humor, but she's not averse to dark humor either. When she’s angry or hurt, or just talking to someone she hates, she can be particularly cold and scathing.

Tessa is far from morally perfect, of course. She’s made peace with stealing, focusing on targets that “deserve” it. That said, she doesn't believe in hoarding wealth. She keeps what she needs (with some left over as a little treat) and spreads the rest of it around to those who might need it.

Bex

Tiefling Bard

Bex is intelligent, but flippant. Not very many things upset her, but when they do anger her, she goes from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. She can typically diffuse tense situations simply by a lack of reaction or by telling a joke. She generally keeps a cool head, so much so it seems like she doesn’t care. In reality, she’s tired. She’s seen some shit and she is over it. She is in a constant state of existential dread and it's led to her having a very "is that all there is to a fire?" attitude about life.

Her philosophy is life is hard, why make it harder? She’s way too tired for that shit. She's friendly yet apathetic to most people when she meets them at first. She doesn't hate a lot of people either. Someone would really have to press her buttons or give her a reason to hate them. (I.E. I'm talking like Cazador vile.) She’s the type of person who prefers to stick up for the underdog.

She struggles to trust people on a deeper level, yet she continues to seek out connection with others. Under all her bluster, she has a good heart. She's just used to taking care of herself with little to no help from anybody else. Some people see her as trashy and she'd tell them they're correct.

She’s blunt, but she’s never intentionally hurtful. Sometimes she just sucks at wording herself. She’s never been one to brush off someone else’s hurt feelings with “I’m just being honest” either.

Minty

Shield Dwarf Selûne Cleric

Minty is excitable and bubbly. She’s kind-hearted, friendly, and cheerful. She can be one-track minded, especially whenever she has a new obsession. This can make Minty seem rude when she’s just bulldozing right past someone’s point. 

She’s a little too confident in her knowledge as a cleric, believing she can handle whatever is thrown at her. She's not "stupid" after all. But going out on this adventure teaches her a bit of humility.

Sometimes she can get so single-minded that she doesn’t think twice about her actions. She’ll accidentally hurt people when she becomes obsessed with getting her way. When called out on it, she'll try to make amends as best she can.

She’s a family oriented person. While her father has passed away, she’s very close to her mother and older sister. She’ll do anything to help or take care of them.

She’s quick to adopt friends into her family. So when she puts her family above all, that includes her friends. Even if she doesn’t always see eye to eye with her loved ones, she draws her strength from her family.

Laura

High Elf Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer

Laura is sarcastic, but not cynical. She has a deadpan sense of humor without being unnecessarily mean. (She's only mean to people she believes deserve it.) Laura is blunt about her opinions, but she has some sense of tact. She can be a total dork when she gets excited, especially when it comes to magic. She's as giddy as a school girl whenever she finds a new spell or magical item.

Laura is a natural born leader. She’s talented and brilliant, but she doesn’t trust people easily. She struggles with her self-worth and PTSD, preferring to fight her inner demons in private. Laura doesn’t reach out for help nearly as often as she should. She keeps trying to set aside her trauma and hope it'll sort itself out. She’s a humanitarian at heart and she’s not a judgmental person. At least, not unless what you’re doing is hurting someone else.

She does show signs of someone who has been traumatized. She can be irritable, even when she doesn’t understand why something is upsetting her so much. She’s easily startled and she can have a full on panic attack if something reminds her of her past. When not adventuring, she has to work to keep her mind busy to avoid thinking too much. It's near impossible to get her to talk about what happened to her before she left home. Whatever it is that haunts her, she's trying to keep it firmly in the past.

Paloma

Seldarine Drow Monk

Paloma is the quintessential older sister. She’s protective, responsible, determined, and bossy. She’s also short-tempered, high-strung, and sarcastic.

She grew up in an orphanage as one of the older kids. She stepped up to take care of the younger children and she took responsibility for them at a young age. Even after they reached adulthood, she continued to clean up after them and care for them like she always did. She has a habit of stepping in and doing things for other people.

Paloma believes she has to "earn" the right to be in people's lives, which means taking care of them. She has a very dry sense of humor that can sometimes go over people's heads.

She avoids getting help from others, and she reassures everyone she can take care of everything herself. It's a lot easier for her to ignore her own problems if she spends all of her time solving everyone else's. She actually gains a lot of pride and satisfaction from taking care of other people. She just needs to learn to take care of herself... and let other people take care of her every once in a while.

Lamia

Rogue Bard Changeling

I have to use a half-drow to make her in BG3 due to the lack of Changeling options.

I don't have her profile up yet, but soon! Lamia is Paloma's adopted younger sister. They grew up in the same orphanage together and neither were adopted due to the prejudice against their species. They aged out of the system instead. She typically hangs out with her Dragonborn Barbarian buddy, Allie.

Lamia's a con artist and thief. She considers herself as more intelligent than most people. She’s smug and her ego is often her downfall. She likes to be perceived as tough as nails and cocky, but she’s a lot more sensitive than she lets on. It doesn’t take much to hurt her feelings, especially if you imply she's stupid. She can be callous toward strangers and acquaintances. She assumes people are cruel until proven otherwise, so why go out of your way to help anyone?

Due to her ability to shape shift into any humanoid, Lamia is able to blend into any crowd. She has the skills and brains to take care of herself. It’s just that her bloated sense of self-importance always lands her in hot water. She's actually a pretty smart cookie though. It's what makes her attitude so frustrating sometimes.

All of her bravado hides a lack of self-confidence and a fear of being abandoned. The only people she trusts with her whole heart are Paloma and Allie. She's so afraid of everyone leaving her that she pushes others away before they can hurt her first. She never had a safety net in life and now it's everyone else's problem.

Ingrid

Deep Gnome Circle of Spores Druid

Ingrid is soft-spoken and timid. She can be shy, but once she feels comfortable, she loves to talk! People are surprised at how at ease she feels with the dead and the spores, but it makes perfect sense when you get to know her. She respects all aspects of nature, including death and decay. Oddly, it’s become a way for her to confront her own fear of death.

She’s a pushover and she lacks assertiveness. Or, at least, that’s who she was before she started traveling with a ragtag team of certified weirdos. She had to get it together and get over her bullshit. Her bravery comes from how terrified she is. If other people weren't counting on her, she’d probably curl up in a corner and cry. When other people are relying on her, she quickly musters up every ounce of courage she has and powers through her terror.

She always comes through in a clutch. Even when scared out her mind, she’ll never abandon anyone. She’ll just go have a panic attack after it’s safe. She has an incredibly kind heart and strong sense of empathy. 

[suntamer]

spitballing on potential future bg3 ocs:

paladin or cleric of ilmater for gortash. probably human. knew him briefly before he was sold. the fact that she knew him when he was a different person entirely is a matter of immense displeasure for enver, but it's a narrative that he seeks to control, hoping to reinstate some power over what she knows. a precious dumbass of a ranger or thief for gale. probably half-elf. he hurts her feelings very early on, and it takes him some effort to recover from that because she doesn't really trust people who make her feel bad about her mistakes.

a bard for rugan, probably either a gnome or a tiefling. constantly saving him from one enemy or another. look, i have no excuse. i feel passionately about that old charmer.

BRYNWYN — my dwarf paladin for shadowheart. i just want them. i have no thoughts other than soft girlfriends.

DIAPHINA — my halfling druid for astarion, my tiny little misanthrope who has absolutely zero charisma, but still ends up making most people fall ass over tits for her. they just know she'll care for them, even if she grumbles about it the entire time.

[kalh-plays-dnd]

Notes: Session #5

Summary: Aaria and Zia interrogate a barmaid, Fred and Aurora get pastries and cake, and Viliam eats pancakes.

Aaria, Zia, and Niko head towards the Perlen Tavern. Along the way, Niko splits off to go speak to people in the streets, to hear if anyone's heard of Wish or Rogan Underbite.

At the tavern, Aaria and Zia speak to Sylvia, a human barmaid in her early twenties—blonde bangs, large ear rings, and (in Aaria's eyes) an attractive figure. Sylvia tells them Wish was there a week ago, with three others: a dwarf, a wealthy lady, and a bland guy whose face she doesn't recall. The party stayed overnight in rooms rented by one Rogan Underbite, though the dwarf went out in the evening and didn't return until the morning.

Aaria and Zia get each their glass of a fruity beer called lumiere, made by the local brewery, and get a table. Other patrons include a man day-drinking in the corner, and two people either having a late breakfast or an early lunch.

Fred and Aurora make their way back from the mayor's, bickering like an old married couple. They stop at Böhler Bakery, where Fred treats them to a chocolate croissant (for Aurora) and two slices of raspberry and white chocolate cake (for himself). They make for the tavern, where Aurora reveals she's somewhat uncomfortable with the atmosphere taverns normally garner. Fred reassures her, and they join Aaria and Zia.

Zia takes the stage to play gentle lunch music.

After speaking to Dr Schmidt, Viliam heads to Granny Peacock's Pancakes—a stone-built square tower, two floors, with children's paintings on the lower stones and a little flowery herbal garden surrounding it. Inside, a Alena the firbolg greets Viliam. She has rich blue fur and thick green hair with golden tips. She tells Viliam to take a seat upstairs, and that she'll come take his order shortly.

Upstairs, Viliam finds a panorama view of Waldstad. Most of the tables are small, made for two, with candles and fresh flowers. He sits by the north-facing window and lights the candle on his table. Alena comes up and takes his order. While he waits, he observes the Walden, the forest beyond Waldstad, and sees birds flying across the tree tops.

A couple, two young men, arrive and sit by one of the other tables. (One of them is the young man who served Fred and Aurora at the Bakery.) Alena comes up with a plate of three fluffy pancakes arranged around a blue sugar flower of a design Viliam has never encountered. Viliam asks about the flower, and Alena reveals that Granny Peacock calls it a 'Dream on a Plate'. Viliam asks how the firbolgs came to be in Waldstad. Alena says they travelled there some 2–3 years ago, from some village to the north, and settled here. Apparently the tower used to be a kindergarten.

Viliam eats the pancakes, then heads downstairs to pay. Another firbolg—Gloria—also young, though shorter and rounder, takes the payment. In the corner, Viliam sees an elderly firbolg with greying fur, grey streaks in her hair, and little round spectacles perched on her nose, hunched over a table and a lamp making detailed sugary works. He compliments the flower he had, and Gloria laughs and says Granny Peacock learned the art from her grandfather, but that she's not taught either of her grandchildren yet.

Viliam then heads towards the tavern, where he finds Alvin already warming his seat at Aaria, Zia, Fred, and Aurora's table.

[theblogofdurin]

"Yes?"

|Script Style One-shot|

Pairing: Kili x Fem!Human!Reader

(Lots of female pronouns and titles. I promise to try to write more neutral stories.)

Disclaimer:-> A/n: This is a script style story, inspired by a scene in this amazing Turkish show on Netflix, that I've been hooked on for the past week called 'Resurrection: Ertugrul'.

The scene I'm referring to is a proposal scene with Dogan Alp and Banu Cicek, it's so cute and sweet. I immediately fell in love with these two story. From the scene, I took a couple of my favorite lines, so credit to the shifting writers for that.

I highly recommend the show to anyone wanting a show that is high paced with both action and drama. 

word count: 1,090

warnings: mentions of love and the Dwarf God, Mahal

__________________

Set in the following days after the BOTFA->

{Fili walks up behind Kili as he sit at the fire, that Bombur and the others had set up near the front entrance. }

Fili: "What's wrong?"

Kili: "It's nothing Fi. "

Fili:...*raises eyebrows*

Kili: *sighs*"Even if there was something, you couldn't help."

Fili:" Let me guess…"

Fili: "Does this have something to do with this human friend of ours and that little old bead that's been in your pocket for ages". 

Kili:....*looks down*...

Fili: "Just tell her how you feel brother."

Kili: "I can't! That's the problem. Every time I get near her, my tongue gets all twisted and my brain turns to mush. "

Kili: "It doesn't matter either way, it's not like she would accept a proposal from a dwarf anyway. "

Fili: "How do you know?"

Kili: "Know what?"

Fili:" That she'll deny a proposal from a dwarf. Do you really think that low of her? "

Kili:"....That's not what I meant. I just don't know how she'll react."

Fili: "Exactly my point brother, How can you know if you never ask? "

Kili: "….what if she says no?"

Fili: "Then she says no and you move on, because that's how life works, Ki. It isn't always full of yes's. Sometimes you have to hear a no before something or someone can say yes. "

Kili: *huffs* "When did you get so philosophical?"

Fili: *bumping his shoulder* "When did you  get old enough to love?"

Kili: *smiles sadly*

Fili:"...Wait, did you ask Uncle about this yet?"

Kili:...*small quick nod*

Fili: "Before even mentioning it to me!" *punches Kili shoulder*

Kili:*gulps*" If it makes you feel any better. He tried to have the 'talk' with me again and embarrassed the both of us."

Fili:....*smirks*

Kili: *smirks back and pushes his shoulder* "whatever."

Kili: *sighs big* "What would I even say? I can't just- "*waves hands in the air sporadically*

Fili: *pushes Kili hands down* "Ok, ok I know what you mean." *visually thinks for a minute*

Fili: "I got it! *turns to sit facing Kili* " You can say something like-" * places his hands on over his heart*

Fili: "Your honey stroked glances have pierced my heart like an arrow. Your blushed cheeks make rubies pale in comparison. ."

Kili: “ That's...actually not bad.”

Fili: “See! I have some knowledge when it comes to love, brother.”

Kili:*mumbles* " honey...pierced arrow…rubies pale.." *looks over at Fili, who nods encouragely *

Fili: ….*rubs at his eyes suddenly*

Kili: "What?”

Fili: "My little brother is all grown up .*sniffs*:(

Kili: “Don’t make me throttle you.”

  ____________________

{In the small healing tent outside Erebor that Oin set up to help treat the wounded after the battle. It is mostly empty now, for it was late and the rest of the critical wounded were being treated in Dale. There were only two left inside as the day ended.}

Oin: "Now remember to wash your whole shoulder before applying the salve. It won’t do any good with dirt in the way. "

Y/n: "I will, thank you again Oin, I truly appreciate it ."

{Tent flaps quickly opens and Kili stumbles in}

Oin: *glances at the two of you* I have other patients I need to attend to. Now remember to do everything I told you. 

{Oin grabs his small med bag and scurried out of the tent }

Kili:*clears throat* "How’s your wound?"

Y/n: Oh, it’s fine! With the stuff Oin gave me, it should get better soon. Thank you for checking in. "

Kili: "That's good!...That's good..."

{A few beats of silence}

Kili: "Y/n I have something to tell y- I mean, ask you."

Y/n: *nods softly as she raises an eyebrow*

Kili: *deep breath* "Your arrow glances have pierced my heart like honey. Your rubies cheeks make blushes pale in comparison."

Y/n: "Kili what are you saying?"

Kili: "I don't even know." * shakes his head, angrily* "Fili."

Y/n:*laughs softly*

Kili: *mumbles* "help me mahal"

Kili: "I may not know what to say but I do know that." *Swifts his posture to stand taller as he looks up*

Kili:" I want you to be my wife...….eventually...I mean I want to court you Y/n.  Then I want to marry you.....and I want you to accept me...as yours."

Y/n:*looks down at the small bottle in her hand and smiles softly as she looks at him*

Y/n: "if what you say is so....then"*takes a small step forward grabbing his hand to hold in hers* "I shall be your life, and the cure to your troubles. For now your arms shall be my palace and your life shall be my heaven."

Kili:"......." *frozen with a dumbfounded expression*

Y/n:"...Kili?"

Kili:*blinks*"...."

Y/n: "Kili?"

Kili: "........" *still frozen*

Y/n:" Kili?" *gently slaps him across the face*

Kili:*He shakes his head and swallows deeply*

Y/n: "Thank God" *smiles shyly as she looks down at the bottle in her hands again*

Kili: "I..I could not understand."

Y/n: “umph?”

Kili: "I asked you if you wanted to be my wife and you said yes, right?"

Y/n: *nods* "Yes."

Kili: *starts to smile big* " I asked you if you wanted to be my wife and you said yes. So you are going to let me marry you?"

Y/n:*laughs softly*  "Yes, Kili."

Kili: "MAHAL!!!" *grabs and spins Y/n, both laughing*

Kili:*abruptly puts Y/n down* “I have to go tell the others!”

{Kili runs out of the tent, Y/n just stands there as a giggle leaves her lips.}

{Kili runs quickly back into the tent before Y/n could move}

Kili: “You said yes, right?”

Y/n: “I said Yes” *nods*

{Kili smiles broadly, as he rushes up to Y/n. Gently resting his hand on the back of her neck, bringing her head down to press her forehead against his. }

Kili: “You have no idea how happy you just made me.”

{Moving slowly, replacing his forehead with his lips. Kili and Y/n both closes their eyes in contentment}

Kili: *Whispers* "Maralmizu ( I love you )"

Y/n: "I don't know what that means" *giggles quietly*

Kili: *still smiling* "I believe you do."

{Smiling goofy at each other, Kili softly pulls away to run back through the tent door. }

Kili: *echoing against the entire valley* "BLESS YOU!! MAHAL!!!"

-------

Tag list for Kili related posts are now open!:

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[purplejairox]

Starting to flesh out (pun intended) my transformers oc MegOp fanchild Andromeda (aka Eris Xena)

She was born after the events of beast hunters

At this point she is about the equivalent of a 6 year old human

Megatron carried her without any knowledge of the pregnancy itself and birthed her in an astroid belt that overlooked the Andromeda galaxy, hence her name

She was conceived when Optimus lost his memory and stayed with Megatron as Orion Pax. Megatron did not plan on letting the Prime know about his sparkling, more out of fear that she'll be taken away by Autobot forces than Optimus' reaction

Megatron planned is to travel around the cosmos with his daughter, renaming himself Galvatron and staying as far away from any continuing conflict between the factions, afraid that either side would use her as leverage or a weapon

Megatron knows that the only reason Andromeda exists is because Unicorn revived his body, and lives in constant fear that one day she will fall to the god's control, becoming a puppet. He keeps a close optic on her when he can, though she makes it difficult with her curious nature and lack of fear

Unfortunately at some point she was separated from Megatron. She was found severely injured by some Autobots that treated her injuries and took her in. Because she couldn't remember anything besides that she lost her carrier, they decided to call her Eris Xena, after the dwarf planet they found her near.

Because she's a sparkling of the new generation, lost her carrier and sustained serve injuries leaving her with horrific helmaches and memory issues Optimus and Ratchet were called in to see her. Ratchet confirmed with Optimus that her spark signature is both his and Megatron's. He oversees her when his duties allow, but feels it isn't right to claim to be her sire, at least for now

[kitkatt0430]

Taking my Tales of Symphonia replay slow, really enjoying the nostalgia feels.

Lloyd is still such a relatable guy. I mean, I was more like Genis academically, but Lloyd's so very ADHD. He gets excited about stuff but then it takes too long and he can't focus and he gets bored but there's still more dungeon to do. But he has those Dwarven Vows memorized forwards and backwards. Including the one he wishes Genis would shut up about.

Lloyd's adopted dad is a dwarf who found him when he was a baby, so Dirk's the only dad Lloyd knows. And this game is so pro-happily adopted. Dirk's not shown to be perfect, but he's doing his best with this human kid he found and done a pretty damn good job raising Lloyd too. Lloyd clearly has never felt like he has any reason to doubt his dad loves him and Lloyd has been raised to show kindness and compassion to everyone. Sure, Lloyd's a bit arrogant but he grows out of it fairly quickly and he just... he doesn't care that Raine and Genis aren't human or that his dad isn't human or anything like that because being a living person is more important than what species that person happens to be.

This is the kid who is going to learn about systemic prejudice and get so fucking pissed off. Doesn't matter if it benefits him, it's wrong.

On another note, when the Renegades are mocking Lloyd, Genis, and Colette for thinking they're Desians... while I realize this is just heavy handed foreshadowing that they aren't actually Desians... they're literally disguised as Desians. They are wearing the damn uniforms specifically so people. will think. they are Desians. Like. WTF? Botta, you and your team should not be making it so easy to tell you're fakes. It should not be surprising that the people you are trying to fool into thinking you're Desians wind up thinking you're Desians. Both of your groups are just half-elves in the same freaking uniforms.

*heavy sigh* annoys me on every replay, I swear.

And despite my many, many issues with Remiel, I find it hilarious that the only thing Lloyd's thinking about after meeting a literal angel for the first time (that he knows of) is how inconvenient wings must be. Gotta be hard changing clothes. Gotta cut holes in the back too. And sleeping. Can't sleep on the back, probably not on the side either???

Meanwhile as Lloyd's musing about how difficult it must be for an angel to change clothes, Genis is blushing. And since the only angel he's knowingly met is Remiel, a dude... this just fuels my bi!Genis headcanon. He's twelve and figuring himself out and give him another decade and this kids gonna be a heart breaker for all genders.

I'm paying a lot more attention to Colette this time. She definitely wields her smiles and klutzy-ness as a shield to deflect from the turmoil she's feeling. She's the Chosen One and she knew the time of her journey would come eventually and what it would mean for her. And it starts today. The Cruxis Crystal bestowed upon her by someone claiming to be her father and now she has this death sentence to march to while praying for blessings upon the people (whom she's going to die to save) at various monster-infested temples along the way and she doesn't want Lloyd or Genis to know so they don't yet.

She actually keeps so much bottled up and keeps going anyway. Probably terrified all the way that she'll die before the appointed time and waste her own death. I don't know how the girl does it.

[codylabs]

Knight Sabers!

But redesigned to use technology from my universe!

Apparently my universe has infinitely-sharp swords and razor wire now!

ABSOLUTELY UNREASONABLY DETAILED breakdown below cut!

Okay, so by 'redesign' I mean essentially just repainting the Class-5 Berserker Frame from my own universe. The C-5 was already fully interchangeable from the elbows and ankles down, and has hardpoints for specialized equipment on the knees, shoulders, and helmet, so this little exercise was as simple as researching cool weapons, then pausing and screenshotting the anime to get the colors right, because I'm naturally garbage at colors and prefer to trust a computer.

Bubblegum Crisis was a big inspiration for the C-5 in the first place, especially on the character-customizable side, so this was a blast.

For info on the C-5's general mechanical design, including what those ankles are for and how the operator gets in and out, go to the original post where I designed it, linked above.

Anyway, I gave each character the weapons and tools that either best match their original loadout, or best match their needs and fighting style if the originals were deemed unrealistic. All together, their equipment is suitable for taking out heavily-armored, slower-moving targets in urban environments, while maintaining a short-range tactical network within the squad.

In order of protaganosity,

Priss, the blue one:

Equipped for close-quarters combat. The large clamps are much stronger and better suited for grappling and crushing than the ordinary waldoes, but their musculature system doesn't leave any room in the gauntlets for integrated machine guns like Nene and Linna have. The claws do have a couple fingers that can unfold off their tops, so she isn't completely incapable of fine dexterity.

Each gauntlet externally mounts a short-barrelled 30mm-calliber cannon, which fires high-powered tungsten-carbide discarding-sabot kinetic perpetrators. The short barrel makes these inaccurate at range, but the high speed, high mass, and low cross section of the rounds make them ideal for piercing armor from mid-range or close range. These replace the weird glowing spears that she shoots in the show. They are essentially just non-glowing spears that travel a lot faster and are MUCH louder. Each magazine holds 6.

Knees are each mounted with a single-use high-explosive anti-tank shaped charge designed to blast a gap in an armor plate, then release another blast through the gap, in a two-stage detonation. Vents in the knee plate prevent armor or operator from being damaged by the kick-back, though the knee plate itself is often destroyed.

Priss being the most reckless and close-quarters combatant of the bunch, her helmet is largest and most tanky; it contain extra padding and armor against blunt force impacts, a minimized sensor suite consisting of a pair of night-vision-capable armored cameras, and the non-retractable variety of communications antennae, and an external speaker so she can yell at cops or something.

She elected against armored skirt plating on the grounds that it looked girly, which leaves a vulnerability in the upper thighs, where a large area of light joint ribbing is exposed. Shouldn't be a huge issue as long as she stays too close for machine guns to target. As you may guess, Priss gets hurt a lot, and no redesign will change that.

Sylia, the silver (mint?) one

Equipped for precision strikes and rapid movement. Her gauntlets, aside from the standard waldos, prominently feature a pair of short swords. Their blades contain neutron-froth graphene, a highly expensive material over 10,000 times stronger than steel, and only 2,000 times as heavy; it only exists in a very thin strip on the leading edge, but is hard enough to maintain a monomolecular sharpness. The rest of the gauntlets are occupied by the muscle systems needed to swing and align the sword, and the pumping system needed to maintain the cold temperature needed to stabilize the neutron froth, and so she doesn't carry machine guns either.

Externally mounts the same kinetic perpetrator launchers as Priss, but with 3-round magazines instead of 6, both to save on weight, and because she doesn't use them nearly as liberally.

Knees and shoulders contain compact gravity dynamos for increased maneuverability. On extended discharge they can allow for limited flight, and on fast discharge can provide a powerful "boost" in any direction, vastly increasing the ability to strike, retreat, strafe, or jump. I know gravity dynamos are pretty out-of-left-field, but they're a thing in my universe ever since exotic mass was discovered on planet Hephaestus.

Sylia's helmet is fairly standard, with comm antennae that can retract during maneuvers, and a sensor suite that can be swapped out depending on mission specifics or how fabulous she feels like being.

Not quite sold on her paint job here. Anyway,

Nene, the pink one

Equipped for fire support and electronic warfare. Gauntlets contain the standard waldo and machine gun loadout, as well as extra feelers and data ports for interfacing with computer systems. I don't know why I drew a little screen folding out of the gauntlet, that doesn't make a lot of sense when you have a HUD, but it looked nice. Speaking of looking nice, the shoulder joints of the C-5 suit actually cannot physically bend into the position that Nene's arms are in right here. So that's some disappointing.

The suit mounts no heavy weapons, but is accompanied by a pair of gravity-propelled escort drones. They normally act in a strictly observational role, but can ram and self destruct with a high-powered shaped charge if needed, which is nice.

The suit is meant to serve as the nerve center of the knights' tactical network. A large suite of antennae extend the range of its comm systems, allowing it to connect with friendly systems at distance, as well as listen in on enemy signals, or jam them completely. A powerful onboard computer handles decryption and data processing from enemy signals.

Those knee pads are smoke grenade and flare launchers. It seemed like a nice thing to have.

Helmet speaks for itself. It contains a vast sensor suite, allowing her to see in perfect dark, use infrared thermal imaging, 'hear' electrical activity, measure radiation sources, and even detect trace chemicals in the air and stream in 4k until Sylia told her to stop.

The first drones were named Sneezy and Sleepy, these two are Happy and doc. Whenever one gets destroyed she names its replacement after the next dwarf. Someday she'll run out of dwarves and will have to resort to pacman ghosts or bionicles.

Linna, the green one

Equipped for high-powered, hit-or-miss type attacks, and high mobility. Linna is their most nimble and physically intuitive operator, so they have her be first to try out any exotic or experimental equipment. If it's any use, she would be the one best suited to find that use, and if not, she would be best suited to get out of dodge.

Gauntlets, as mounted here, are a standard waldo/machine gun unit on her left, and high-explosive anti-tank ram on the right, which uses the same 'rounds' as Priss's knees. Her right gauntlet is the only arm on any of the four to completely lack fingers, so that's amusing. Maybe I could fit a little claw or something but I forgot.

Knees and shoulders mount gravity dynamos for extra mobility, same as Sylia. To decrease weight and increase bodily control, she went so far as to forgo the armored skirt, same as Priss did.

And of course the fancy whip things. They're composed of the same neutron-froth graphene as Sylia's swords, but in the form of micron-diameter razor wire, which would be able to slice through light armor in broader strokes and greater range than a sword. At such a tiny thickness even NFG wears through quickly, so the suit contains spools to replenish it. Although I drew the wires as black lines here, they would be thinner than a human hair, and quite nearly invisible in person, so it would be down to the operator's skill and intuition to keep track of where they actually are, and to keep from getting hurt by them. Speaking of, in the show the whips come out of her HELMET, which (although I appreciate the Sailor Moon pigtail aesthetic) makes absolutely zero sense, would be nearly uncontrollable, hard to swing with any power, and, more to the point, absurdly dangerous. Mounting these whips externally on the gauntlets seemed more effective and responsible. They can roll up and retract when not in use.

So yeaah

This was done as a request for @mechanicalinertia I think, but not actually, because I wanted to draw it too anyway, they just reminded me.

[ifearmetoo]

Play the devil

Scp682 x Female reader

His half-submerged body does an odd sizzling sound as the cascade of acid trickles to the awaiting pool over scales. The hum of machinery vibrates in the ground below its clawed feet. 

 The restraints are a nuisance, strung around his limbs in a vain attempt to assure themselves they have control over him. It's laughable and It oh so enjoys reminding them of their powerless attempts to stop him.

 

His brief respite from the acid lasts a measly second before they descend the metal stairs into the observatory. A march of ants is in sync with their toting of guns and the pathetic humans chitter their questions to receive the same answer he gave yesterday. Nothing.

 

Today, He senses a new presence amongst their ilk and growls in a warning. Is this another test of these foolish researchers? 

The toxic sludge of chemicals drains down. The relief from his pain and breathing oxygen is minimized when the doctor comes in with the air of a queen in her castle. Shrewd studying her subject. 

 

His mouth opens exposing white teeth and deadly points. It whips its tail at her. Lashing the strong glass, the room shakes with echoes of the hit. A lightning strike.

 

He gets immense pleasure from seeing a flash of fear in her face. She collects herself, scowling down at him in a pathetic attempt at intimidation. 

 

"Old hag." Her paper-thin skin becomes red. She announced that they'll be conducting another test. 

 

"We have a treat for you 682."

 

Humans and their half-pint theories. "Cooperation is expected." She sneers.

 

He stretches his neck, sloshing the acid. Ready for whatever they throw at him. Will it be the swordsman? The last time he'd seen that lapdog he put him in his place. The crier? they had torn each other to shreds, once done a pool of blood had risen. Or a new creature?

 

Either way, one of them will meet their end and it won't be him.

 

The door they stop at is big. Her nerves are tightly packed with tension and the buzz grows louder, warning her that what's inside will kill and eat her corpse. At the edge of a promise of brutal violence. The guards and doctors enjoyed recounting tales of the inhabitants of the facility. 

 

She jumps when a loud smash shakes the building, lights flicker. "What is it?" She whispered.

 

The guard on her left chuckles and tightens their hold. "You're going to find out."

 

 In a flash, the door opens and she's tossed inside too fast to process. The door is shut when she lands on the wet concrete smelling strongly of chemicals that sting her skin.

 

Loud breathing is heard across her.

 

She scrambles up to face the cell's inhabitant. There's a dark pool of green sludge and a concrete ledge, other than that at first glance its bear of inhabitants.

 

  Dangerous. The beatles in her throat trill. Run .

 

There is nowhere to go. The hanging light is low, one can hardly see, instead, she feels its presence in the murky water watching her, She feels like prey, She is prey. 

 

 How bizarre, this is what those boys felt when she chased them down, right? She asked herself. Head full of flies, each a racing thought, a ' should have.'

 

Should have watched the sun drawdown instead of sleeping in.

 

Should have made more of an effort to appear human.

 

Should have gone to the park as per usual instead of following those human boys into the city. Into the alley crawling with maggots.

 

 She trembles in place. Trying and failing to make out anything besides the darks shape of mass under the acid's surface. The cement ledge hitches up two inches as a minuscule warning. Painted with a small yellow stripe from wall to wall. She takes a step forward to peek into the depths, its murky form is still. The occasional small bubbles travel to the surface and soundlessly pops

 

In the observatory the researchers argue and look on in complacency, drinking out of steaming mugs, she pays them no mind, it's only her and the creature waiting underneath the surface to strike its prey.

 

 She dares not to gaze away. Her poor beetles trill their warning once more, 'run please if you can run. It will eat us-'

 

A great splash of cold shoots up, the accompanying roar bursts her eardrums, her answering scream is a high note drowned by the awful sound. She wipes the chemicals out of her eyes in frantic swipes. Tears sting her puffy eyes, she cranes her head up and up at the looming monster.

 

The size of the creature dwarfs mind-boggling, from the vantage point of a speck It's all she can see, like the crowning of the sun over the earth.

 

Tiny, insignificant insect. A cockroach.

 

The scaled body and heavily armored snout that resembles an alligator's opens and the fair teeth display the ability to shred you to strips of meat. Uneven and jagged. It brays its hot breath upon her. The mouth is a flower pink, The thick hide and green scales are hard plates of bone, encasing it in spikes from head to long winding tail. Swishing angrily.

 

Claws sharp and soot-black already tearing the floor. 

 

"Pest." It hisses. its gaze sears her trembling body where she stupidly stands like a calf waiting for slaughter. 

 

She wonders, are her eyes as baleful? She'll get no sympathy from the butcher.

 

Why didn't the guards just shoot her again?

 

"Eliminate her." The intercom cut off. He doesn't need to be told 

Before she had a chance to shriek he digs his teeth down to slippery marrow.

Read the rest on ao3

[invinciblerodent]

I feel like as the release draws near, I should update my Rook concepts a little bit, post a bit more about how they've been taking shape in my head... (no visuals of the designs yet- while I have loose ideas, I'm also undecided, and kind of going back and forth on many things, lol.)

Divvying them up by class, the warriors are gonna be:

Verbena Mercar, main Rook

the Idealist, who likely wouldn't really be in this mess if it wasn't happening right on her doorstep (and ngl, fully thought she was just taking this job for like, a month at best), but someone has to do something, and it might as well be her. So far what I know about her is that she has a good head on her shoulders, a strong sens of justice, and few scruples about breaking the rules to do what's right, and she will trip over her knickers the first time she sees Davrin.

She'll be the first character I play, a human sword and board warrior- she's had a first name since roughly 2016, and I can't wait to explore her personality more. For now, I'm kind of torn whether on her appearance I'll want to lean more into her being from Minrathous (so stealing Dorian's color scheme a little bit), or her being distantly related to my Inquisitor Trevelyan (so kind of resembling Ray)(and Kate Bush)(I can see her looking more like Ray's sister than his actual sister, that'd be fun)- but either way, the one design thing I'm firm on is that she'll have some really interesting steel-grey eyes. (I'm calling them her dagger-greys in my head, and I love the thought of them looking cold and almost colorless until there's something for them to reflect- like the warm light of the fire in Davrin's room~)

Tristan Thorne

the Professional, who is Totally Not A Zombie or a Wandering Spirit looking for Purpose, but maybe, just maybe, saving the world will be the way to finally find it. (maybe it's somewhere in Emmrich's pants, who knows, he'll need to investigate.)

For him, I've a short snippet of his backstory as a very normal 17-year-old human Fereldan boy who once took up arms to fight for his village, and "died" in the Battle of Ostagar, so I hope to kind of lean into the "undead" angle a bit more.

I know regardless of what the CC actually allows, he'll have a number of tattoos chronicling his life (and death) all over his body, partly as a way to reclaim ownership of it, and I'm hoping that in the background, I can kind of start off what he'll have going on with Emmrich underscored by a ~purely clinical~ interest. (until the pierced nipples on a wide, hair-littered barrel of a chest come out, which is when all scholarly sense goes out the window.)

(I'll need to see the CC for him most I feel, because no picrew I've found lets me make burly greying gentlemen with appropriately sad and haunted eyes, lol. But I'm thinking fairly low-maintenance short hair, maybe a touch lighter than the black I had planned initially [so he'll not look like a knockoff Blackwall], pale skin, and eyes that are a shade of brown that look unsettlingly red if the sun hits them slightly wrong.)

The rogues:

"Tanner"

(or Nalinda Bramunt, Elena Firavanti, Loseck Brovo, Stéphane Rousselot-Poincaré, and honestly, who even knows how many more, the list goes on and on- but as far as anyone is concerned, Laidir will do), the Daredevil: adventurer, treasure hunter, poet of some renown, spy more than just incidentally. She's an Orzammar-born dwarf and ex-Inquisition agent enamored with the ocean, she's 500 pounds of whoopass in a 120 pound bag, she likes knives a bit too much, and she's here to sweep Harding off her feet and get paid.

I'm thinking a butch/futch lesbian(? unsure on that, could be bi, she'll have to tell me herself) dwarfette with dual daggers, I'm thinking blonde and sea-tanned, I'm thinking pierced lip/tongue, I'm thinking tattoos ("gaatlok-spots", as a reference to gunpowder-spots of actual sailors), and I'm thinking her having more trouble confessing her actual first name to Harding than she'll have confessing her romantic feelings. (She smokes. She 100% smokes. And if there's at all a chance for her to have a poly romance with Harding and Taash, she'll TAKE it.)

(myesh i knoooow that there's a Sister Tanner agent in Redcliffe and a Tanner in Bull's first Skyhold friendship scene, I figured it's both a spy's profession name and a fairly common unisex name in Ferelden- I was thinking about tanning leather, because I wanna call her and Harding "leather and Lace" in my head.)

Coris de Riva

the Cynic who'd like to correct all in the rumor that she once dispatched a mark by tearing his still beating heart out of his chest with her teeth. (He actually bled out when she bit through his windpipe- she only cut his heart out afterwards, upon the client's request.) A pretty surface dwarf with a checkered Chantry past, enough arrows in her quiver, more than enough resentment in her heart, and no small desire to force the First Talon to his knees- if only he'll then actually look her in the eye.

Her plan is going to be to live out her grudge deeper than a Titan's asshole against the Crows by making herself the Lady Macbeth whispering in a Dellamorte's ear, and she'll be very pleased to have the more favored grandson that was believed dead (she had her doubts on that one) dropped into her lap. Except she'll not expect to realize that, along the way, he'll actually worm his way into her cold little shriveled up heart, and suddenly, pushing him to take over the Crows and then stabbing him to take over herself doesn't sound like that fun an idea anymore.

The mage:

Marcus Ingellvar

the Scholar with more talent, curiosity, and compassion (and excellent sideburns) than good sense, who's not really had a conversation longer than 20 minutes with a living person in more years than he can count, and will likely feel his very core turn into warm vanilla pudding the first time he lays eyes on Taash.

I'm toying with the thought of fucking with gender a little bit on him, but I'm unsure what that means for him. I'm getting a Vibe, but I'm wondering if it's just that he'll have an interesting approach to masculinity (which sounds like heaps of fun to explore and contrast a little bit with Ray's fairly traditional masculinity), some flavor of nonbinary-ness, or if this guy is just... trans, and that's it lol. But for him, I'm really thinking of an appearance that's rather tall and lanky, and... kind of if Rezaren from DA: Absolution was both very, very tired, and a semi-starved Victorian urchin child. (With, again, excellent sideburns.)

Either way, my goal is that people will look at him, and immediately want to feed him warm soup. I hope Taash will need to physically pull him from danger and carry him to safety more times than either of them can count, and I think he'll be very, very pleased with that. (And let's be real, no matter who happens to be wearing the penis at the time, she'll be the one topping.) (And again, he'll be very, very pleased with that.)

Undecided:

Syl Aldwir

the Double Agent who, after having worked with the Friends of Red Jenny as an Orlais-born elf (long story), joined the Veil Jumpers in hope of connecting with her elvish roots, but wound up with her butt planted firmly on the ground between the two proverbial chairs she could have landed on.

Her design is the one that varies the most wildly in my mind, but my inspo for her is a certain piece of Tabris concept art, so she'll probably look either a bit like that, or like Cid, the Tabris I had played once.

I'm planning for a lot of sapphic yearning with Neve, but depending on her relationship with her elvishness, I can see it ultimately being Bellara too- it'll need to unfold during the gameplay (hoping for a love triangle type of thing, or some jealousy-dialogue, if there is any in the game), but personally I'm leaning towards Neve- partly as a rejection of the elves' clinging to the unclear ancient past, and partly because, well, fucking look at her lol.

(She'll either be an archer rogue or a sword and board warrior, depending on which type of gameplay I enjoy more.)

[a-drama-addict]

thanks to @dungeons-and-dragon-age for the tag!! to do this picrew

i'll tag @dumbassentity @blueheaded @lostwonderlandgirl @squeakedout and @beelzebard (no pressure as always)

>:3 this was really fun (a great opportunity to show some new faces~)

(left to right) Velka Brosca (she/her), Ares Tabris (he/him) and Da'revas Mahariel (he/him)

(left to right) Chloe Hawke (she/her), Damien Hawke (he/him) and Matthew Hawke (he/him)

(left to right) Hecate Lavellan (she/her), Randi Cadash (she/her) and Aristaeus Adaar (he/him)

and now, i will also add some fun facts/headcanons!! >:D

- Ares and Aristaeus are the only male exclusive and Chloe is the only one female exclusive, the others have no restrictions

- None of them have any race restrictions (though Hecate will warm up easier to an elf/qunari/dwarf than a human)

- The order of easiest to hardest to romance is this:

Da'revas - Randi - Velka - Damien - Matthew - Aristaeus - Ares - Chloe - Hecate

Velka

- She can be found in the cafe or in the park, in the cafe she'll be sitting at a couch and in the park she can be found near the tree with the swing.

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can visit her house where you will meet Rica. In the house you can make pottery with her and watch shows and movies with her.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: Talking about history, gifting nature related items and taking her out to dates in the outdoors

- If her friendship is maxed she will give you a gem, it may differ on your personality. (Which are the Diplomatic/Humorous/Direct personalities from DA2)

If your dominant personality trait is Diplomatic she will give you a Sapphire, if your dominant personality trait is Humorous she'll give you an Amethyst and if your dominant personality trait is Direct she'll give you a Ruby.

Ares

- He can be found in the library at the computer and if he isn't there he's either working or printing stuff

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can visit his apartment in the alienage where he will show his little robot he is working on.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: Talking about technology, helping him with tinkering on robot stuff and taking him to dates in the library

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a mini robot, with your name etched onto it.

Da'revas

- He can be found on the edge of the forest or with his friends in town

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can visit him in his cabin where he can be found either knitting or baking.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: Talking about elvhen lore, joking with him, baking with him and taking him out for dates in the woods.

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a ring. He will also introduce you to his Halla

Chloe

- She can be found in the bar, skate park or the musuem

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can visit her apartment where you can meet her roommates, Varric and Bingo the Cat. She'll show you her latest projects and helps you make your first painting.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: listening to her sing, giving her items for writing/drawing and dancing with her

- If her friendship is maxed she will write a poem about you. The poem is different depending on whether you romanced her or if you only had friendship with her.

Damien

- He can be found in his garage from the start and if you let him feel comfortable around you and when he feels accepted, he can be frequently found with Velka in the café.

- If you have enough friendship with him he will reveal that he is very insecure about his life decision and he reveals one of his bad choices that have hurt him for a while. If you comfort him you can enter his house where you can go to his room to find his dog.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: taking him on cheesy dates, playing board games with him and helping him in the garage where he is fixing an old car from the 80's.

- If his friendship is maxed out he will give you a puppy Mabari and if you romance him you can decide the name for the car and drive it around with him.

Matthew

- He can be found in the bakery, where he works. If he isn't working you can find him babysitting his younger cousin.

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can visit his house where he will introduce you to his mabari and show you his video game collection. Afterwards he'll show you his favorite game and lends you his copy.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: playing video games with him, taking him out to the cafe and by being nice to his Mabari

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a statue of a pigeon (he will joke saying "Y'know, Ares knew a person who loathed pigeons. Their name was Shale I think. I hope you like it though.)

Hecate

- She can be found deep in the forest or at her job at a small daycare

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can find her in her house where you can meet her parents. You can then enter her room which has scratched projects everywhere.. and an pet dove.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: allowing her to talk about elven history, taking her out to dates to the bar and gifting her items from the bakery

- If her friendship is maxed she will give you a bracelet she crafted herself.

Randi

- She can be found in the park near a bench with names engraved everywhere on it.

- If you have enough friendship with her, you can visit her apartment where you'll be able to visit her and meet her roommate Dorian. You'll then be able to play board games with her and her roommate.

- You can gain friendship/approval by: joking, showing her tips and tricks on your hobby, sharing your interest and gifting her vinyls.

- If her friendship is maxed she'll bring you to Chloe's house where you'll get a costumed record player with a bunch of vinyls.

Aristaeus

- He can be found in a small retail store where he works or he can be found hanging out with Hecate.

- If you have enough friendship with him, you can hookup with him and visit his house where you can find his crafts ( statues and clay sculptures).

- You can gain friendship/approval by: watching movies with him, going to museums, helping him do chores and putting graffiti on abandoned buildings.

- If his friendship is maxed he will give you a little sculpture and tells you one of his secrets.

[drunken-drengr]

DAO 12 for Ragnar, DAI 3 for Karrie, and Essentials 4 and Party 1+4 for either/both!

Heyyyy thanks for all the questions! This will be fun to write too much about!

Ragnar // How did they react to seeing a loved one at the Temple of Sacred Ashes?

This is something I've actually wanted to touch up on for awhile. I didn't expect the Aeducan storyline to be as tragic as it was, really, but here we are. Of course, Ragnar saw his deceased brother Trian. He didn't say much to him, as he didn't quite know what to say. The exiled Prince was in... disbelief. His wide eyes soon were filled with tears, and the image of his dead brother was blurred. Though the two had their fair share of disputes and disagreements, it was so oddly comforting to see him again, to hear his voice once more. It was so relieving to know that someone didn't blame Ragnar for his brother's death, that someone knew the truth. It's like a weight was lifted from his lungs, and he was able to breathe again, knowing that Trian didn't blame him or hold a grudge in death. Even if it wasn't really Trian, it still all felt so genuine, and Ragnar was convinced that no magic could ever recreate his older brother's comforting embrace as he cried on his shoulder. Seeing Trian at the temple was what prompted Ragnar to stop avoiding his past, and finally face Orzammar again. But perhaps that was just another mistake, because that ultimately led to the death of Ragnar's last brother. With Bhelen gone, it was over, that was it, Ragnar was the only one left. His father, his brothers, all gone, except for him. It's safe to say that he never came back to Orzammar again.

Karrie // How do they feel about bearing the Anchor? For what did they declare the Inquisition stood for?

The Anchor is something, admittedly, I don't think about often. I feel guilty for forgetting to ever draw it, haah. At first Karrie had some very strong opinions about bearing the Anchor, but eventually she accepted it. Helped her seal those damn rifts, she'll give it due credit, but it sure as hell can be annoying. At first, she was fuming, constantly fidgeting with it, cursing it. Her bursts of anger often caused it to act up even more. And as if Karrie and Solas didn't despise each other enough as it was early on, his insistent prodding and 'fascination' didn't help at all. Imagine a kid at a doctor's appointment and that kid really doesn't want to be there. Yeah that was basically their whole situation. But, ah, it's apart of her now. Losing her arm was just a fucking dick move of the anchor in her opinion though. Like she fucking had that thing on her hand without choice and this fucking thing just decides to like destroy her arm like what the fuck. You come onto MY arm, fuck MY shit up, and then fucking LEAVE???

The Keep says the Inquisition was declared for the Inquisitor, because I chose the dwarven option, but Karrie really didn't mean it like that. She made it a point that the Inquisition was being led by a dwarf, in order to point out that the Inquisition was different. It wasn't run by humans for a change, and the fact that everyone respected her lead was change. She wanted to make it clear that the Inquisition wasn't just for Thedas, but for everyone who lived there, from the largest Qunari to the most lithe elf. So yes, she technically declared it for herself in the books, but in reality, there was a deeper meaning behind what she said.

Karrie + Ragnar // What is their moral alignment?

Karrie is Chaotic Neutral. What else could she really be, growing up how she did? The Carta didn't trouble itself with the greater problems of the world, they didn't pick sides based on good or evil, that would prove fruitless. The side that benefitted them was the side they chose, and Karrie still has that greyed vision in a way. Leading the Inquisition, she has to know how to discern good from evil, but as a leader, she can't let two sides of the coin limit her. She doesn't see things on a good and evil spectrum, but rather, a spectrum of who or what benefits her cause the most.

Ragnar, on the other hand, could be considered either Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral. He's noble, he's valiant, he wants to do the right thing, but then again, not everything can be classified as good or evil. Sometimes, you must make choices where being good or evil simply don't matter. Sometimes he'll side with 'evil' people, in order to further his lawfulness and bring order and stability.

Karrie + Ragnar // Who does their preferred party consist of?

Both dwarves are strategists at heart (no matter how chaotic or reckless Karrie can be) and build their parties in a balanced way. Generally speaking, a balanced party in their eyes consists of: A Rogue, for range or stealth, a Mage, for yet again range and supportive spells, and two Warriors, to protect the previously mentioned classes and to handle the front lines, take most of the blows.

Karrie's preferred part consists of: Blackwall, Sera, and Solas. Of course, she's a bit biased, and brings them along because yes she does have favorites and bonds with them the most, but they are also all a balanced party. Karrie handles the heavy damage, Blackwall can focus on defense, Sera can handle range, and Solas can support from a range, as well as do massive damage. All in all, they fight together well, they have fun, Karrie and Sera especially.

Ragnar's party isn't always consistent, and he didn't bring along a mage for awhile, because 1. magic scary wtf and 2. doesn't quite understand magic. In Orzammar, a balanced party in his eyes would've been two warriors, and two rogues, bow and daggers, but having a mage in the mix shook things up. His most consistently used party would be Alistair (though he can swap him out for Oghren on occasion), Leliana, and Morrigan. Fighting alongside Morrigan for the first time was... interesting, to say the least. He actually admires how she fights, and finds her spells rather useful, so he keeps her around at all times. Yes, totally for her skills, he doesn't keep her around for any other reasons no that would be unprofessional....

Karrie + Ragnar // Are there any companions (or advisors) they don’t get along with? Have any of them ever left the party?

Easy one for Karrie, considering she doesn't often get along with people in general. Ragnar isn't very social, but he's cooperative, and can be agreeable. Karrie likes most of her Inner Circle, and even if she isn't particularly fond of some or isn't buddy buddy with them, they can get along. But with that being said, there are some exceptions, though she's rather on and off with them, like Vivienne for example. She doesn't get along with Cullen at all. But alas, they're forced to work together, it's not like she can just kick him out of the Inquisition. She admires his skills as Commander, his tactics in battle, but she really can't have a real conversation with him. Early game she couldn't fucking stand him, and to be honest, she didn't give a shit about who she sided with to close the Breach. She was considering Templars, because she was hella skeptical of magic, especially after the Temple. Sure, she's had some tensions with Templars all of her life, sure they were viewed as the big bad cops of Thedas, but all in all, they were a very skilled force, and she though their magic resistance would help the Inquisition. But in the end she was so pissed she said fuck it and sided with the Mages to piss Cullen off, which was actually a good choice in the end. Later on, they get along a bit better, but not much. The only positive interaction Karrie had with Cullen was getting him to quit lyrium for good. Yeah she despised him but the man was taking steps to become better, and that she could respect.

Ragnar shares Karrie's dislike for Cullen as well, after meeting him in the Circle tower. But companion-wise, there isn't anyone he really hates. He hated Morrigan at first, and he harbored a dislike for Ohgren early on, if that counts. But in the end, he found himself attached to all of his companions, and his farewell was a saddened one.