#AND SHE ISN'T PALE ANYMORE!!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chipistrate]

OH MY GOD THE NEW CASSIE WIKI RENDER<3333333333333333

[sweetmage]

Got obsessed with a new NPC, yippee!!🎉 Unfortunately he dies 😭

Anyway, here is a little bit of Niall and my new warden Valentin saying their final goodbye in the fade 🥲 

Words: 836

Series: Dragon Age Origins

Ship: M!Surana/Niall

Tags: Character death, belated confessions, final goodbyes

Reality crashed upon Val like a wave, sudden and suffocating. The Litany... all Niall could speak of was the Litany, as though he had not just admitted to giving everything with the casualness of a passing comment. 

'His body...'

Val shook his head slowly as though denial might displace the truth. "But there must be some way. Wynne is with us, she's a healer, she—"

Niall stopped him with a wan smile. "This isn't something any mage can undo. I have... minutes, maybe. Maybe less. Promise me you'll take the Litany."

"Of course, but—" His tone rose, words tumbling upon words in a rush to make sense of it all. "There must be something. There's always something. What about—?"

"Val," Niall spoke, quiet as a sigh. "Don't do this. It won't help you, it won't save me. I was never meant to save the circle or survive its troubles. I am dying. It is as simple as that."

"Then what do I do?" Val demanded, hands clenching uselessly at his side. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Fine. Just like you always do." His words were tinted with a morose fondness and his eyes lingered upon him like he wished to take his image with him to the Maker's side.

"I thought... I had hoped I'd bring you with me. Then you'd be free of all of this."

"I always thought it would be me that would take you from all of this. A foolish thought now, but... I wanted to. I had forgotten what it was like to hope. I saw no future for myself, I didn't really care if I lived or died. I would just keep going until I couldn't. But I wanted better for you. I thought when I was an enchanter I could raise my voice for the Isolationists, that maybe I could make a change. That you might be safer, might be happier, you wouldn't need to run away anymore."

Val's eyes fell upon Niall's form, pale and ethereal and flickering like a candle nearing the end of it's wick. "You would have done great things. You deserved better than this."

"I got what I wanted in the end. No thanks to me, but... I am happy to know you'll be alright. Even if I can't be there to see it with you. In the end, haven't we both escaped the Circle in some way? My only regret is that I could not save it. Perhaps trying to play hero was a foolish act. But if there is anyone who can, it's you."

"You weren't playing hero, Niall." Val took a step closer to him, wishing to reach out and take him in his arms the way he'd always wanted. "I would never have made it from this place were you not here."

"We both know that's not true." Niall closed the distance between them, taking Val's hand in his own and pressing it against his cheek. There was no warmth or substance, all that remained was the memory of him. "I would have liked to have loved you," he said quietly. "Just once. When we weren't trapped in a cage, but I'm glad to have known you. It was a privilege. You will be alright, Valentin, you have fought worse and come out alive."

He could resist no longer, taking Niall into his arms and embracing him in a way the templars never would have allowed. "I love you," he murmured against his hair. "Do not die believing you've done nothing for me, for the circle."

"If it's you saying it, perhaps there is some truth. Before I was taken to the Circle, my mother always said that I was meant for greatness. I hope I haven't disappointed her..."

"She'd be proud," Val assured him, "you've done well." 

"If you see her by some chance, do tell her that I tried my best. But," he grew suddenly seriously, leaning back the embrace while his hands still rested upon his shoulders. "You must make it out of here alive. Do not forget the Litany, you will need it to stand any chance against the blood mages. And..." Another look, long and longing. Even among the troubled tides beneath his features, he'd never looked so at ease. "It is time for us both to be on our way. Be strong, Val."

"I... I will try. Should we meet again, it will not be today. You will not have gone in vain. Go easy into the beyond, you've nothing to wor—"

His words all but sent him on his way. Niall faded in an instant, passing on from this world and to the next.

"May your soul know peace," Val spoke to the air where Niall had been, wrapping his arms tightly around his middle so that the feeling of Niall's embrace would not leave him just yet. "And may your ashes know rest."

[the-acid-pear]

Please tell us about the hallway bald man

I woke up from a fever and I'm still dehintegrated. No. That's not the word. Dehydrated. There. Anyway sorry if I make no sense.

Basically i live in this REEEALLY old house, from when the Spaniards were around, and the house all looked the same and were uh. Huge as balls. This is to the degree me and my neighbor who both have the same house have it dived up to THREE!!!! parts. Very epic.

Anyway houses this old oughta be haunted.

I don't know how far back the man in the hallway dates back to tho! Because the story of my family is complicated. Lots of witches with no fucking morals who out of hate for kids cursed their parents. Obviously they got cursed back and such, literally a battlefield.

And there WAS a big possession that happened in this house that took up to a few years to be solved. I wasn't there so i can't tell you omg it 100% happened!!! nor i can't be like Tch...... That's bullshit; because everyone who lived in this house who was up to 8 people saw it and was very reserved about it.

NOW 👏 with that said you can really imagine the possibility of some guys being left. My family is dead sure these people work out of your fear, the more scared you are the more they will haunt you because let's be real: they must be bored as all fucks, being dead and such.

Not there's more lore about our ghost belief that i could share but I'll cut to the hallway bald man.

The thing that makes him the most special is that WE ALL SAW HIM, well, at least part of the family did. I know my great aunt did (she's gone now but it's well remembered something breathed on her neck while she was there), my dad had a time he saw him constantly (my dad being extremely vulnerable due to being scared) and i saw him too, very vividly.

Now, I'm not John Sanity, I'm very prone to hallucinating under stress, but when I'm walking out of my bathroom a regular day like others and i suddenly see this FLASH of a very nitid face of this very pale bald and ANGRY man trying to throw my phone off my hand I'm like. Hm. This isn't my regular hallucination.

And i spoke eventually of it w my dad and he confirmed everyone who lived in this house had seen the same guy. OBVIOUSLY they didn't describe him because that would only scare others further, but there's a common agreement between the witnesses of his appearance.

Very worth noting too I'm like, cripplingly face blind. The fact that i avoid eye contact AND that i need eyeglasses doesn't help, to see a face THIS DETAILED is something i wouldn't be able to do under regular circumstances, not even in my brain.

Now, the lore doesn't end here tho. Because notice how i mentioned he tried to throw my phone and was very angry? Well I'm really convinced that didn't end there.

Because time close, earlier or later, can't remember, it's been years, my phone magically fell and the most expensive part broke.

Sure, you could be like ah I'm sure one of the 6 cats did that on accident, but my cats are so fucking careful when it comes to objects, not ONCE i saw em throw something on purpose unless they wanted to eat it, plus this was throw REALLY bad.

Well, i did nothing out of that. I mean, what could i? So time passed and my phone was fixed yippee!

And you know what happens the first night?

It falls the exact same fucking way.

Except! This time it was protected to the teeth so no damage was done! And literally my phone never fell from that again. As if he had given up seeing it doesn't work anymore.

And that's the story of the hallway bald man!!! Some really technophobic and bored old man who can't unfortunately find the light.