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"I'm not here because I'm being forced. I want to help you. Please let me." - Marie/Alistair for Thedas Weekend! :)

Hiiiii I swear I didn't forget about these prompts, I hit crunch time for my Dragon Age Big Bang fic and had to focus on that for a bit. But I'm back to going through my backlog of prompts and trying to get caught back up. Please enjoy, @nyx-de-riva, for @thedasweekend!!

Marie advanced on Zevran, practice blades ringing out as they clashed together. Something had the Warden worked up, and Zevran was doing his best to allow her to work out some of that extra energy. But when she disarmed him for the third time, she groaned.

"Enough, Zev." She tossed the blades on the table and picked up her waterskin, taking a long drink from it. "There's no reason for me to exhaust you to satisfy my own restlessness."

Zevran set his blades next to hers and leaned against the table. "Copper for your thoughts?"

"It's nothing. Just...trying to get my head to stop thinking."

"Ah. Likely a difficult task with all we have going on."

"You could say that." She grumbled. "Don't worry about it. I'll take my frustration out on a practice dummy instead. Get some rest, and maybe have Wynne look at your arm--I wasn't gentle with that last riposte."

"You were not, but perhaps Wynne will take pity on me and let me rest my head on her bosom while she heals me."

Marie snorted out a laugh. "Good luck with that--maybe if you lay the blame on me she'll finally relent."

"From your lips to the Maker's ears." As he pushed off the table, he blew her a kiss and headed inside. "Don't stay out too long--it looks like rain."

After another minute of break, Marie picked up the practice knives and stood in front of one of the training dummies. She began to run through different formations, angrily hitting the dummy repeatedly. Unfortunately, that's when Zevran's words came true and a downpour started. Marie let out a scream that matched a crack of lightning, her attacks getting angrier and angrier.

Inside, Alistair was grabbing himself some food when the storm started up. He was busy building his plate high when he saw Zevran saunter in and flop at the table.

"Are you and Marie done?" He asked the elf.

"I am--she took pity on me nearly an hour ago and set me free." Zevran rotated one of his wrists. "She got me good in our last bout."

"Did she came in with you?"

"No. If you have not seen her come in, then she is likely still outside."

"In this weather?!"

"She is...not doing well, Alistair. Everything going on, the Landsmeet coming up..."

"Don't remind me." He grumbled. "I'll go check on her, then."

"Be gentle with her, and don't surprise her--she may be wielding practice blades, but I do not think that would stop her from accidentally injuring someone."

"Thanks for the heads up." Alistair set his plate down and headed outside, snagging his and Marie's cloaks as he passed through the hall.

Outside, Alistair found exactly what Zevran described: Marie, practice blades in hand, hacking away at a training dummy. What he didn't know until he was standing there was that she was screaming and sobbing as she swung.

"Marie!" He called out, careful to stand a few arm-lengths away. It was a good decision--she whipped around at the sound of her name and had her blade pointed at him.

"What do you want?! Did Zevran send you out here?! Eamon?!" Her eyes were red, tears mixed with rain falling down her cheeks.

"Zev just told me where you were." He kept his voice calm. "Once the storm started up and no one saw you come in, I wanted to check in with you."

"I'm fine!" The blade was still pointed at him, quivering slightly.

"I'm just worried, Marie. You shouldn't stay out here in this weather, tomorrow's a big day."

"Oh yeah." She threw her hands up, still armed. "Super big day, I'm certain Eamon wouldn't be pleased if his little hero came down with a cold. I don't need you to check on me, Alistair, I'm a big girl. Don't force yourself to do something you don't want to."

Alistair's jaw dropped. "Forced...Marie, I'm not here because I'm being forced!" He finally took two steps forward. "I want to help you." When she didn't back up, he took three more steps so that he was close enough to touch her. "Please let me." His last words were soft.

Marie continued to glare at him as he advanced. "Don't pretend you care--we'll name you king tomorrow, you'll take Anora as your bride, and we...we'll be over." She was trying to sound confident and sharp, but there was an undernote of fear in her voice. "I...I never should have let us get this far. I can only lose the people I care about."

"Is that what you think!?"

"How could I not! I've seen the way she schemes with Eamon--they're not going to give you a choice."

"Marie Cousland." He reached out and wrapped her in a tight hug, which she doesn't return; he can only feel her tense, tightening her grip on the blades. "Nothing, nothing, would make me give you up. I would turn Ferelden over to Anora alone before I did that."

"You can't."

"I shouldn't. But I would, to keep you. But why wouldn't I have both? Your blood is just as blue as her's. And you'd make a fine queen. If...if that's what you want?"

"You...you'd marry me?"

"Of course I would!"

The blades clatter to the ground and Marie moves enough to throw her arms around his neck. "Promise?"

Alistair tightened his grip on her, nuzzling against the crook of her neck. "I promise--I will become king, and you will be my queen. There is no one else I will accept at my side, and if the nobility wants the Therin bloodline on the throne, they'll have to accept you. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright then. We should get inside so you can warm up, you feel frigid."

Marie went to pull away, but the moment Alistair had enough space to he swept her up into his arms. "Alistair!" She finally laughed, a smile breaking out of her features.

"What? If you're my fiance, I should be able to carry you about as I please. If you allow it, of course."

She flushed at being called his fiance, but still reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "I'll allow it, my bethrothed."

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This was my fic for the 2025 Dragon Age Big Bang! I’m super happy with how it turned out and I hope folks enjoy :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65870557/chapters/169679143 Hi everyone! We're back with our twenty first work of the Dragon Age Big Bang 2025! Let's give it up for author Katz92 and artist CaedHarlowe; they did incredible work! Go check out their efforts over on Archive of Our Own, and we hope y'all enjoy!

Rating: General Audiences

Summary: One day, while Hawke is sick in bed, Varric stops by to tell her a story--the story of a Mourn Watcher named Zea Ingellvar and a Grey Warden named Davrin, and how they fell in love.

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Dumb Post About Harris’s Hawks

Intelligent, deadly pack hunters: raptors. 

No, not those girls.

These girls.

Harris’s Hawk is the only raptor (i.e., bird of prey) that hunts together as a pack using teamwork to take down their prey. Most birds of prey are solo hunters, and if they’re social at all, it’s limited to mated pairs getting together to raise their young before going their separate ways.  Even Bald Eagles (the America Bird), who are monogamous and will raise children with the same mate year after year, are pretty much loners most of the time. They get together in the spring, have some chicks, and then fly away like “see you next year, honey.” So while it’s remarkable that they’re able to find their mate again every year and they’re great parents, they’re not really that social. 

(These lovebirds do win the prize for best at long-distance relationships)

Harris’s Hawks, on the other hand, are always together. Living and working together to survive. That’s pretty amazing. Not only are the coordinating hunting together, but they’re also coordinating their attacks from the air. 

(literal wingman) Harris’s Hawks live in South America, Central America, and the South Western US (Arizona and Texas). Since they aren’t that big, they eat a lot of little things, birds, lizards, small mammals, and giant insects. But because they have figured out how to hunt in groups, they can take down larger prey. In fact, in the Northern part of their range (Arizona and Texas), their favorite food is the desert cottontail, which weighs about 1.8 lbs. They’ve also been known to take down prey weighing over 2lbs like jackrabbits (which weigh from 3 to 6 lbs and can run up to 40 miles an hour).

( Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit)  Why is that so impressive? Well, the males only weigh about (1.204 to 1.874 lb), while the adult female average is (2.269 lb). 2lbs max is pretty small. That rabbit they’re chasing weighs about as much as they do or more and is hella fast. Imagine killing something that’s almost the same size as you are or bigger using only your feet. That’s hard. 

They have the tools to do it, bigger powerful beaks and large deadly claws:

(look at the size of its claws compared to the rest of its body)

(just like it’s distant dinosaur ancestors: murder feet) However, as with Jurassic Park’s fictional raptors, what makes these girls dangerous is the power of teamwork. The first Hawk flies right for the prey. It sees the danger, it runs, and that’s when the attack comes, not from the back but from the side and the other raptor it didn’t even know was there. (Wanna see?)

(clever girls) Often called the “Wolves of the Sky,” the Harris Hawk not only hunts in packs like wolves but lives in family groups. The “alpha” hawk as it were (alpha theory of dominance isn’t real) is the big female, or you know mom. 

(Mom raises her babies with the help of her family, in their Sonora-Arizona range they nest in cactus) The babies don’t “leave the nest” as soon as they outgrow their fluffy murder muppet stage. The young from previous years stick around and make up the pack. The hierarchy goes Mom, Dad ( other Dad if she has two male mates) older siblings, and younger siblings.

(They also like to stand on top of each other to form a hawk family tower) 

The pack size ranges from 2 - 7 birds, and this family not only hunts together but takes care of the nest as a team with siblings looking out for their new baby brothers and sisters. While the babies will be ready to fly in about 2 months, they will stay with their parents pack for up to three years before heading out to start families of their own.  Because these hawks are intelligent and social, they have become super popular among falconers. 

(see what I mean about them being small, if the Bald Eagle is the T-Rex of the skies, these really are the raptors) Also, the babies are adorable:

(well I think they’re cute anyway) These hawks are the closest you’ll get to Jurassic Park. Intelligent, pack-hunting raptors. If you’d like to see them in action, you can visit a pack at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, which has flying demonstrations daily in the winter (you know, when the pandemic is over *this post is from 2020*). Just remember: 

They Stack

They Attack 

And most importantly: They Hunt with the Pack

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happy thedasweekend! y'know, i am very intrigued by kattryn and bethany's dynamic and am 100% gonna go with the additional prompt 182: "We grew apart, as sisters do. But I still wish I had seen her one last time." bc yeah, so many feelings 🥺

Ugh I'm so glad someone sent this in. I know I could have just written it unprompted but this is more fun. Please enjoy, @broodsys for @thedasweekend!!

"Hey. Can we talk?" Kattryn ducked her head into Karmyn's tent, where her cousin sat preparing for the seige of Adamant tomorrow.

"Of course. Come sit." The warden patted the pillow next to her and waited for Kattryn to sit. "What's up?"

"...When did you see Bethany last?"

Realizing they were about to have a serious conversation, Karmyn set her weapons aside. "Maybe 6 months ago? Ran into her at Weissaupt. Why?"

"How was she?"

"Well enough--her and Nate were delivering some reports for the Ferelden Wardens. Managed to catch them for a day in between my own trips. It was good to see them."

"Nate...he was that Warden that I went looking for in the Deep Roads, right?"

"Mhm. That's why Bethany was in Kirkwall for the final assault, remember?"

"I do. Did you know that was the last time I saw her?"

"What?!"

"The Wardens kept her busy, and we had a really hard time working through me practically forcing her into the Wardens so she wouldn't die in the Deep Roads. I just...I didn't want her to die, not so soon after Carver. Even if I never saw her again, at least I was giving her a chance."

"Bethany was always hesitant to talk about Kirkwall. It took a few months for us to be able to have real conversations about you and the rest of the family. That's when I started writing you, but..." She paused, unsure if she wanted to continue.

"You can say it--I heard more from you than I did her."

"...Yeah. I'd be ready to send something out to Kirkwall, and ask if she had anything to send. She rarely said yes."

Kattryn sighed. "I guess it's not unusual for sisters to go apart. But...but I wish I had seen her one more time."

Karmyn reached out and squeezed her knee. "You will. We'll get through the siege, and we'll reunite you two."

The older woman sighed, resting her hand on top of Karmyn's. "I've never understood how you've remained optimistic despite everything you've gone through."

"Because I'll never get anything done otherwise."

"Then I'll be honest with you--I am not optimistic about tomorrow."

"I'm not going to let you die."

"I don't plan on dying, Kar. Just...I don't know. Don't you ever feel like you're building to the end?"

"Every day since I drank darkspawn blood and knew I was on borrowed time."

Kattryn shook her head. "No...no I think this is different."

"It doesn't matter--you'll get to see her one last time." Karmyn's voice was firm, refusing to accept a different answer from her cousin.

"If I don't though. Just let her know I was thinking of her. That I wish we'd had more time, that I could have figured my shit out better so we could have stayed close." She took both of Karmyn's hands and gave them a squeeze. "And you should know that getting to meet you and become close was an unexpected pleasure."

Unbidden, a tear streaked down Karmyn's face. "Please don't talk like this, Katy. You're scaring me."

"No. If I'm not going to get this resolution with Beth, I at least want to get it with you."

"I'll-I'll let her know. She deserves to know you were thinking about her, if this ends up being your end. Which I am not planning on allowing to happen."

The next day, the pair would tumble into the fade alongside the Inquisitor and her companions. And when the time came for someone to make the sacrifice and allow the others to leave, Kattryn didn't give anyone a choice; she shoved Karmyn into the arms of the Inquisitor and yelled for them all to run. The first thing Karmyn did once she was alone was start penning a letter to Bethany.

Dear Beth,

I'm sorry to be the one that needs to tell you this, but I feel it should come from me. During the siege of Adamant, a group of us fell into the Fade, including myself and Katy. Unfortnately, she didn't make it out. She sacrificed herself in order for the rest of us to get out. None of us would be alive without her, and who knows what Corypheus would get up to with the Inquisitor gone.

She had a feeling that this was going to be her last stand. Her last thoughts were of you, Beth. She wished things could have ended differently with the two of you. I know that probably won't mean much coming from me, but I promised I would pass the message along.

We've got a handle on this false Calling, so if you're able, please come to Skyhold. Varric can tell you how to get there. I would love to see you again, and we can remember Katy together. I'm writing Fenris too, and...well, maybe he won't be so mad if we're both there.

All my love,

Karmyn

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In the arms of the Creators

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Honestly, it’s too perfect for her 😂

Ala, I’m sorry for the role I played in your death.

Okay, I wanted my revenge on Vanya, but this is not the way I pictured Vanya's death. Or Ala's for that matter!

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If you’re cold, they’re cold. Let them inside. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Good. I'm glad Vanya is cold.

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Whoooo Congrats to the Top 10!

Status update!

Turns out that Zalan and Maha are absolute monsters.

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RIP Ivy, I was rooting for you…Vanya was not 😬

It's the end of the road for Grier and Ivy!

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This was such a peaceful little moment after the murdering we just experienced.

No clue who likes Vanya enough to send her water.

Dahana can survive death, but not start a fire. Not much of a mage, eh?

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The ole murder and hide

I think Ivy and Vanya are on to something. With the death count going up, seems like a smart plan.

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I mean, she’s pretty scrappy. I believe in her!

Wow. Just wow.

A moment of silence for my elf twink.

A moment of utter disdain for Vanya.

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Whoops…😬

So proud of you Vanya for at least getting one kill.

Wow. Just wow.

A moment of silence for my elf twink.

A moment of utter disdain for Vanya.

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It's okay to not do anything super exciting, Vanya. It means you're staying alive. Just stay out of the way and stay alive.

My theory is that Nico and Dejana were hooking up. Totally engaged in other activities they failed to notice the tremendous storm approaching.

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Keep on practicing baby girl. Just bide your time.

And there goes Ceren. People are dropping like flies!

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Rip Embria but at least I didn't fall into the pit.

Embria. EMBRIA!!!

That is not how you play the game!

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Vanya's ready to take on whatever is thrown at her. Her track record for defeating her enemies is pretty damn good.

I'm excited to see how this turns out, thanks @becausedragonage @brennacedria and @luinquesse for organizing everything!!!

The Battle is On!

We'll start the killing at 3pm Central (4 Eastern, 5 Atlantic, etc.)

If you want to discuss events @brennacedria has set up a space at her Discord server, Dragon Age and Stuff, for the Battle of the OCs. The link to join is here. Be sure to check out to announcements section for further info.

But also be sure to shit talk fellow competitors and tag me for reblogs during the battles! Half the fun is is getting involved on Tumblr.

Also, @brennacedria has graciously offered to donate a commission from the wonderful @luinquesse! Knowing that you're all fighting for a prize should stoke the bloodlust!

I do have to admit to one mistake. I forgot to ask genders and while I have them for most OCs I did miss some. I'm right at the end of my energy, so I consulted my associate battlemasters, Edward and Jefferies:

They weren't much help, so I'm just going to go with the the '?' option for everyone on the forms. I don't know how or if it will show up in game, but I apologize for the oversight.

It won't accept ?, so I AM going back to fill in genders. The only options are m/f so if I'm not sure what to enter, I might be sending you a dm.

Tagging all the participants:

@chibichibisha, @serendipitousoracle, @wukodork, @wardentabriis, @pixiedurango, @the-night-wizard, @meleyys, @brennacedria, @bubblecat-co, @autistichansolo, @the-font-bandit, @virenasalin, @empressledge, @cursedskull-666, @jouskaroo, @operative-arrow, @dymme, @hyperions-light, @mossandrock, @setphaserstofandom, @mythals-whore, @captainlordauditor, @bigmountainlittleme, @himluv, @melvinthedepressedrobot, @theyearningghoul @im-on-fire-today, @nyx-de-riva, @hedwigoprah, @ladyarrowhead, @rookinthecrownest, @alinnsurana, @gwinaesfer, @cherrypikkins, @hyperbali, @castor-redd, @athenasdragon, @rat-spit-village, @aubergion, @tinyshoopuf, @propenseverbosity, @cocoboots, @crowofstarlight, @fortressofdoors, @bygonesigh, @muqington, @basedonconjecture