#A Sky of Shattered Stars

[psalacanthea]

A Sky of Shattered Stars- 11: Blood for Blood

what? Yeah. Another chapter of the Hawke x Varric fic (it was almost done, lol). Kirkwall welcomes her Champion home from the Fade with another assassination attempt. Well, assassination attempt against Varric, which is the same exact thing as attacking Hawke.

Fic Found Here!

(there's a short prequel and some DA2 bits too in the series)

...

Hawke was starting to feel the poison.

Knowing she probably had less than an hour to make an antidote, she surged forward, pushing her way into the assassin moving for her from across the hall.  They’d gone in Varric’s room.  Rage and adrenaline driving her forward, she ran straight into their knife before it could aim at anything more deadly.  It sank into her shoulder with a pain that only drove her on; it just fed the fire inside her.

The most important thing was to take the assassin down fast.  Using her body weight and her momentum, she surged across the hall without stopping, dragging the charging assassin with her.  Viciously, Hawke slammed them into the wall next to the door across the hall, the stiletto in her shoulder scraping bone, piercing through to the other side.  She trapped it with her body.

The blade was inside her– it was hers now.

Eyes met hers, recognition in them; too bad she had no idea who this man was.

“You’re dead.”

“No, you are,” she hissed, tasting blood as it dripped down her sliced lip.  And then she smiled, all bloody teeth.  The cut in her lip split, but that was just more pain to add to the adrenaline.  “Your only chance.  Who?!”  Her voice scaled up, a snarl, feral and protective and ready to rip out throats.  “Who wants to kill Varric?!  Who hired you?”

The assassin started to struggle, but there was no way in hell she was letting them get their blade out of her.  It hurt like the void when they grabbed the hilt and jerked it, but Hawke just gritted her teeth and slammed her shoulder back into them again, knife scraping bone as it drove back into her.  The assassin got a leg wrapped around hers, a disabling strike aimed for her eyes.  Fancy moves.  She avoided the gouging fingers going for her eyes by the simple expedient of biting the shit out of them.  She clamped down and g round her teeth until they managed to pull free, leaving a chunk of skin between her teeth.  While they were reeling she slammed her forehead into their nose, and something broke.  They choked.

People never listened to her warnings.

Hawke spit the skin stripped from his fingers into the assassin’s face.  “Welcome to fucking Kirkwall. I will rip your ear off with my fucking teeth so you either tell me or we start the torture,” she snarled, spitting blood into their face.  It dripped down her chin, pooled in her mouth, but she didn’t care.  “It won’t be fancy fucking torture.  I just start tearing things off!  WHO?!”

She saw the dart of their eyes, the calculation.  “If you let me go-”

“Name first,” she growled, baring her teeth.

“O-orlanda Valisti.”

“Hawke, step back!”

Out of instinct, she did exactly that, slamming her forehead into the assassin’s jaw and then staggering back and out of the way, the knife ripping free of her shoulder.  A crackling bolt of lightning slammed into the man’s chest, sparks of energy coursing through Hawke’s skin, making her teeth crawl.  Ugh.  Lightning magic.  As the guy was being electrocuted, she drew her other blade and threw it into his throat for good measure.

Shit.

The arm that had gotten a knife through the shoulder was numb, fingers having difficulty curling in.  Something had gotten damaged when they’d jerked the blade around.  Impossible to tell, everything hurt.  She was going to have to make the antidote one-handed.  As Feynriel rushed up to her, she shook her head at him and snapped out an order.

“Check both the rooms.  And the one they entered from, third on the left opposite up the hall from yours.  Make sure there’s no more.  Then come to my distillery.  I’m poisoned.”

He glanced down at the bodies, looking unsettled, but nodded his head.  “Y-yes.   I’ll…”  Falling silent, he turned and started walking.

She watched him go, using her good hand to rip off the damaged sleeve of her shirt.  Binding it around her shoulder hurt like fuck and she’d pay for covering an uncleaned wound later, but she couldn’t risk bleeding to death.  Streaks of it dripped down the length of her arm, and every breath hurt like fuck from the knife still in her back.  A deep, dull throb pounded through her entire body from the blade, distracting and dulling her senses.

Both were less important than the poison.

Breathing, gathering her strength, Naomi stood in the middle of the carnage-strewn corridor, blood dripping off her limp fingertips.

Well what do you know, this place finally felt like home.

“Welcome fucking back, Kirkwall says!”  She shouted hoarsely, voice echoing up and down the corridor.  “You were complaining about the lack of crime?!  Surprise!  There’s still plenty of other nugshit in store!”

She spat blood.

[self-spaghettification]

the black part on aaravos’s chest is suspiciously shaped like a certain sword

the more i look at it

the more i hmmmm

and the nova-blade is a double edged sword (albeit tapered)

btw, I also recently accidentally cut myself, so I was researching which open wounds need stitches and which don’t. It looks like how a deep open wound does—if it were a black void

images of wounds under the cut

fyi open wounds don’t heal correctly without stitches so this is very likely the physical or magical manifestation of the scar after—

“White as the star's heart it pierced, ivory draconic brought death's bite known ever forth as Novablade..

and though undying, took last breath, immortal Laurelion was no more”

if not the open wound itself, eternally unable to heal

take that as you will :)

[mist-dancing]

DUDE! Violetpaw’s best friend was about to fucking kill her and her only thought is “i hope it’s over quickly”

[dreamerwithapen1]

Beneath the Shattered Sky (tpm ~ ?)

Darkness encroaches.

Anakin Skywalker- the strongest Force user the galaxy has ever seen, the Chosen One- is struggling. He bears a weight that none other can understand. A power that threatens to consume him, a pressure that threatens to make him buckle, and a darkness that slithers into his mind, waiting patiently for him to fall.

On Varadan, a young boy born into slavery works day in and day out trying desperately to survive the horrors of the mines. All the while, he dreams of the Jedi, praying that one will come save him before it is too late.

There is a traitor in the Jedi Order. They play the part of peacekeeper, fighting to keep the light at bay as they cling to the darkness like a child to its mother. All they can do is await their Master's orders and hope that when the time comes, they do not fail them.

Light erupts.

Lumina Tere does her duty, and she does it well. Despite starting her training later than most, Lumina worked hard to become a Jedi Knight, and she lives to uphold the values of the Order. She thrives under their teaching, a true beacon of light in the ever darkening galaxy.

But one mission. One second caught between life and death. One Force Bond created in a moment of utter desperation. That is all it takes to set everyone on a different path- for better or for worse.

Forever Tag: @darknightfrombeyond @arrthurpendragon @foxesandmagic @bravelittleflower @darkwolf76 @stareyedplanet @thophil2941btw

[iniziare]

Tag drop: Jingliu

[wormstar]

since im curious about it rb and put in the tags your favorite warrior cats arc + main series book + novella + super edition + graphic novel/manga

[brandwhorestarscream]

for orange energon since the color can be associated with health how about something involving that and for yellow maybe it can cause paranoia or increased perception or something

I'm so glad you said this! I'd had this thought of a certain type of energon being harvested from whatever organ is responsible for Primus's immune system, and this thought was born:

Orange energon can either function as the elixir of life or as a guaranteed death, depending on when it was harvested. If it's harvested while the body is tranquil, the so called "white blood cells" are not in an activated state. Drinking this unactivated orange energon grants invulnerability: the body can't be injured, nor can it age, while under the effects. On the opposite end of the spectrum though, if orange energon is harvested while the body is combating something, the immune system is in its active state and is very aggressive. It will attack and destroy anything that is perceived as a foreign entity. Anyone who drinks activated orange energon will be consumed from the inside out, as their body registers as an enemy. The orange energon will spread, multiply, and devour them, breaking them down piece by piece inside their own veins. It's a terrible way to die, honestly

[lana0120]

Could you recommend some characters I could write about 😭 ?

Btw I was looking at the sky today tought it was pretty and drew this :

[oathofpromises]

“Let me stay. I can make you breakfast in the morning.” (Rhea to Koko!)

Koko sighed as she dragged her tired body into the dining room. It had been yet another long day of her running around, tending to the sick and injured. It wasn't like she hated taking care of people; after all, it was her job as the healer to keep them safe. But lately, the thing that had been weighing on her the most was the fact that it seemed like some of the female soldiers had taken it upon themselves to taunt the Au Ra. 

It wasn't a surprise that Koko was one of the few Au Ra in this area; the majority of the soldiers were Hyur. It hadn't bothered the mage at first, but it was beginning to wear thin on her patience. Several of them had even begun to tease the woman about how close she and Rhea had been since the red mage arrived here.

'You know Rhea is way too good for someone like you. He deserves a woman who is far superior.'

Koko merely laughs at their statement, it was as if they were trying so hard to get under her skin by poking at the one person she truly did care about in this godforsaken place. The White Mage knew it was better to ignore their antics and continue on her way, but they had different plans. As the Au Ra was leaving the dining hall, one of the women decided to toss their glass of water at her, drenching the woman from head to toe. Normally, this wouldn't phase Koko, but given how cold the weather was around here, it would be unwise to remain in these same clothes. Sighing, she turned and left without another word. Starting a fight would get Koko nowhere and it would merely dely her. Rhea was expecting her hours ago, it was their usual time of checking up on his leg and everything, yet she was getting held up by a bunch of immature soldiers.

Shivering as she enters her cabin and quickly tosses off her drenched outfit. It shouldn't take her more than a few minutes to hop in the shower and change into something else, but she knew keeping Rhea waiting would only worry the Miqo'te. A small cough escapes the woman's lips as she finishes showering and was just about to put on her other coat when the door to her cabin opens.

Koko barely put her glasses back on, though not really needing them at that moment, since she already knowing who was at her doorway. It was Rhea, he seemed deep in thought about something before walking towards the living room. Without saying a word, he sat down and glanced up at Koko.

"Rhea...I told you that you needed rest...though I have a feeling I know why you are here,. I was late to check up on how your leg has been doing..for that I am sorry. I got a little tied up in the dining hall..."

A part of her knew that he probably was well aware the reason why she was late. After all, she had seen him eating his dinner shortly before she had left herself. It was their usual routine to eat together and leave separately if one needed to run a few errands before they met back at his place. It was very unlike her to not show up, let alone not at least contact Rhea and let him know why she was behind schedule.

The truth was, the Au Ra felt embarrassed to admit that she was being a little bullied by some of the soldiers. It wasn’t like her to let things get under her skin, but when it came to Rhea, she felt protective of him. Quickly, she made both of them some tea before sitting down next to the Miqo’te.

It was clear that Koko hadn’t slept much in days, and the fatigue was beginning to show. There were slight bags under her eyes, and her face seemed a little paler than normal. It could be just the cold weather they were forced to endure here, but as a healer, she already knew that she was beginning to catch a cold.

Taking a second, the white mage patted at her skirt before taking a few moments to examine Rhea leg. The Red Mage had endured so much, and there were days, even weeks, when he would suffer from phantom limb pain. Of course, there was only so much Koko magic could do to relieve such pain, but it did seem to help soothe it a lot more than any normal medicine could.

Her hands slowly traced over his leg, making sure to note any infections if she noticed anywhere his real leg ended and the prosthetic one began. Most mages around here didn’t pay that close attention to such things, but then again, none of them had Koko healing experience or medical knowledge.

“It looks like your leg has healed okay, and there is no infection that I notice. Have you been feeling any of the same pain again?”

‘Let me stay… I can make you breakfast in the morning.’

Rhea's voice was gentle, almost like he had already put everything together. He was smart and always caught on to pretty much everything. At least when it came to others, as far as his own personal life is concerned..there were a lot of unsaid things between him and his brother. Maybe it wasn’t her business to dwell on such things, but it was clear as day, no matter how angry Rhea was at his brother. Deep down, there was still that sibling love he held for his brother.

“Rhea, you know that we could get in trouble…especially if the captain finds out you aren’t back in your own cabin by roll call..”

A faint flush spread across Koko face, it wasn’t like them spending the night in each other's cabin was new. The two knew when exactly they had to be back in their own cabins, so it wasn't a huge risk at all. It was the fact that he wanted to make her breakfast himself. It wasn’t something he did for anyone else, and thinking that sent the white mage's heart fluttering.

[polrification]

copium for an al haitham-centric interlude chapter. not just event; I need an entire interlude chapter based on this guy solely because 1. I am delusional and 2. not only does he take inspiration from su (former owner(? correct me if I'm wrong on that) of the bubble universe called Sumeru, a powerful psychic MANTIS AND is playing chess with some kind of GOD rn I think) but also probably Elysia (lesbian jesus, the crystals/glass/mirrors, the things about humans and humanity and something about hthm's original leaks mentioning "forlorn lotus"....) 3. the gem on his chest STILL hasn't been explained and if they aren't gonna do it in an event they can have like. an interlude quest for it (interlude quest only if its that important but like. it can be a passing statement. just include him in more perma content pls hoyo I need more of these gray-haired green guys)

[demigirlvioletshine]

[psalacanthea]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Female Hawke/Varric Tethras, Hawke/Varric Tethras Characters: Dorian Pavus, Feynriel (Dragon Age), Bethany Hawke, Anders (Dragon Age), Orana (Dragon Age), Bran Cavin, Divine Victoria (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Cassandra Pentaghast, Cole (Dragon Age), Sera (Dragon Age), The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Bull's Chargers (Dragon Age), Sebastian Vael, Fenris (Dragon Age), Merrill (Dragon Age), Isabela (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Friends to Lovers, Best Friends, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Psychological Trauma, Healing, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, Purple Hawke (Dragon Age), Hawke Escapes the Fade (Dragon Age), Minor Isabela/Merrill (Dragon Age), Minor Anders/Fenris (Dragon Age) Series: Part 2 of Naomi Hawke & Varric Summary:

After over five years in the Fade, Hawke is struggling through her recovery.

Her mind is exhausted, her memory's full of holes, and she’s terrified of sleeping. But she’s getting better, little by little with friends at her side. Besides, she’s found her way home- back to Varric- and she knows he’ll keep her safe.

Things have changed, and so have they all. Some for the better, some worse. And some of them aren’t safe even now. Navigating the dangers of the post-Inquisition world while trying to heal is a big ask, but everything seems a lot more survivable with Varric on her side.

The problem is, it feels more and more like he's hiding things from her.

Hawke thought they didn't keep secrets.

 (in which Hawke and Varric are idiots and don’t realize they’ve been in love with each other for a very very long time)

...

New chapter!  Sorry no chapter preview, I cannot be arsed right this second, but I still wanted to post.  <3  First time Varric POV!

[inavagrant-a]

Fischl might be a unique(tm) lil girl but she was on to something for real.

[reginrokkr]

Tag dump repost #1

◟༺✧༻◞ memories are all but forgotten in the river of time ┊queue.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ glimpses in the past of a shattered spirit ┊headcanon.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ events to be remembered in blue veins ┊addendum.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ fragments of light from the roots of truth ┊reference.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ what use has the veil of falsehood? ┊ask.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ sapphire flames in their wake ┊ic.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ lament of a fallen seraph ┊thread.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ searching for a long lost fate ┊meme.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ what lays behind the mantle of faux stars ┊ooc.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ fear not the long night if malice is to fade ┊musings.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ ethereal moon dust sunken in ripples of light ┊reflection.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ moon on the sky as a trembling heart ┊aesthetic.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ requiem of the echoing depths ┊music.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ crystalline traces splattered with stardust ┊open.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ chaos is hardly different to poison ┊dash comment.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ shall fair divination be imparted ┊dash game.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ trust not the gods; nor overthrow them ┊psa.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ connections of an ancient twilight sword ┊promotions.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ forgo that which is cursed by the gods ┊self promo.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ gifts to prevail into eternity ┊keepsake.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ echoes of a fallen star ┊drabble.┊

◟༺✧༻◞ nascent dreams of fading twilight ┊wishlist.┊

[cause-between-and-beyond]

canon (first) vs oc-ified (second), azure edition

you can't see it (picrew didn't have the option), but azure has her hair in a bun

(picrew link)

[oathofpromises]

and in the middle of my chaos there was you. (rhea to koko—)

Koko's eyes were focused, and a green aura admired her hands. Rhea leg has a tendency to act up and on depending. There would be nights she would wake up to him, trying so desperately to find any solace. While she knew her healing didn’t completely take away the pain, it did seem to relieve a little of it. 

Since he lost his leg and joined the Garlean forces, they had developed a close bond. Thanks to the resistance, they had bonded over the loss of their family; at least both had lost their parents. He had mentioned having a brother, but anytime the topic was mentioned, she could tell it caused him a great deal of pain. 

Leaning back, she slowly removed her glasses before taking a moment to clean them. The cold chill had caused them to fog up slightly, making it difficult to see sometimes. That was the price she paid for having sight issues. 

“I did what I could for your pain. I know there is still phantom pain you feel where your leg was, but hopefully you can get some rest now.” 

Koko started to turn to leave, wanting to give Rhea the space he needed to rest, but felt his hand wrap around her wrist before slowly pulling her onto the bed. She ended up partly on his lap as the Au Ra felt his hands slowly run through her dark purple hair.

Rhea whispered, 'Don't go,' as he pulled Koko closer to his chest. The Au Ra felt her body relax against his, a sensation she had not experienced in a long time. However, in Rhea's presence, it was effortless for her to feel vulnerable. She placed her trust in him, despite the fact that those around them were prone to betrayal. After all, Koko had experienced her fair share of Garleans attempting to exploit her for various reasons, but she possessed a far higher level of intelligence than most.

'In the middle of my chaos, there was you...' whispered Rhea, as Koko felt her heart tighten. Although it sounded like a confession, the woman was not accustomed to receiving such gentle words. Rhea's life had been filled with so much pain, and he was still going through so much. 

"Rhea, you mean so much to me. In the middle of my own sadness and chaos, you were like a light in the darkness. I never wanted to grow too attached to anyone here yet. Time and time again, you always found a way into my life."

Koko felt her glasses vanish as Rhea's fingertips touched the sides of her face. A faint flush emerged on the woman's face as she tried to stay calm, but his touch ignited something in her that she had never felt before.

"Rhea, you need to rest. You haven't slept in..." she began to murmur, but his lips gently pressed against her own. It made her heart race, and pale face flushed even more. Never before had anyone rendered her speechless, but Rhea had such sway over her that she was completely unaware of herself. A part of the woman thought he wasn't quite aware of the power he had over her yet, but maybe he was. Lately, she'd noticed that he seemed extra protective of her, especially after the recent encounter with his brother.

Many looked up to the Warrior of Light, but there was a reason the two brothers were at odds with each other. That hurt. She had felt the same inside her own heart for years, which was one of the reasons she tried so hard to keep her emotions hidden. Not get close to anyone but this man just surprised her at every turn.

"Rhea..why did you..kiss me?"

It was brief, but maybe he was tired of feeling alone. Koko wasn’t entirely sure, he always had such a way of catching her off guard. A part of Koko felt undeserving of his affections, believing that he deserved so much more, while another wanted nothing more than to remain this close to him. As Long as He would allow her to and the very thought a day could come that he would no longer need her…frightened the healer beyond anything.