#Atoner Hunny

[breadedsinner]

I know I tend to attach "being a good cook" to male OCs and male characters I like but I think I like the idea of Blackwall being one, as well.

He's lived on his own and gone to places on the outskirts of civilizations, so it makes sense he can feed himself. But I like to think he can find herbs that enhance the food he makes.

The fact that he's initially regarded as something of an uncultured oaf makes this a bit funny. It could work as a subtle hint that he wasn't always the lone warden in the woods.

[baku-usagi]

“It’s in the past, far in the past. And you have troubles enough.” “Didn’t you hear me,” she said, bringing her hand to Blackwall’s face, cold fingers brushing against the area where cheek met beard. “I want to hear it, if you want to tell me.”

@breadedsinner if I draw snippets of the drabbles you send me will you send me more of them?

[breadedsinner]

If Vivienne sees through Blackwall's facade because she's not noble born, I have to imagine she sees Rota's reaction and is initially confused before a moment of "Oh no".

In Rota's defense, she's only dealt with nobles on a surface level, she's never interacted with their culture in any meaningful way. So when Blackwall is being courteous to her, she's just like yeah I guess this is how humans are.

Also to be fair, I do think he is being genuine with Rota, to the extent that he can. He believes she deserves the courtesy of a gentleman, even though Rota doesn't care about those things.

And so Vivienne is just hands on her face how do I fucking fix this because she KNOWS Rota is observant and clever yet she's turning a blind eye to something very obvious. She SHOULD know better, or, perhaps worse, she DOES, but doesn't care.

[breadedsinner]

WIP Wednesday

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“Your father’s carpenter shop, the dead sister … was that all made up, or was that the real Blackwall’s family?”

“Those are all mine,” said Blackwall, head bowed, and with a voice as coarse as a stone dragged across gravel. “I could not tell you if the shop is still there, it’s been years. Last I saw my parents they had taken an apprentice and forgotten they ever had a son. If you went to Markham today, perhaps you would find it, perhaps not. If you walked to the edge of town, you may find one grave, you might find three. But they would have the name Rainier.”

Cadash brushed against the small wooden cat in her pocket, felt the ridges of its carved details. “I don’t believe you would teach yourself to whittle just to add a layer to an alibi.”

“Just because I’m a liar doesn’t make me crafty. The frustrated youth, the glory-hungry soldier? I am all those things.”

“So, the story about you and the Chevalier, at the Grand Tourney, that was true, too?”

“Yes, he offered me a future and I turned it down, as I told you. Ser Geoffroy de Bordelon was his name. I joined the army years later but I never saw him again.”

"All right," said Cadash. "I believe you."

"It doesn't change anything."

"It does for me."

[breadedsinner]

I started thinking about a fic where Rota pulls some kind of favor for the Carta so she can get Thom out of prison and I'm wondering... maybe she would want to start calling him Thom right away. And it might be a problem how eager she is to get all this done; get him out, start over. Meanwhile he recedes into his guilt, refuses food, wants to die.

[breadedsinner]

Ok but listen... this is Blackwall vibes...this is Thom wanting the Inquisitor to let him go.

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For the ship meme! 49. Do they keep secrets from each other? annnddd/or 29. Describe their nighttime routine. for Rota and Blackwall :]]

49. Do they keep secrets from each other?

I MEAN...

Aside from the obvious, both of them were extremely hesitant to share much of anything about each other. Rota wasn't exactly hiding the fact that she was former Carta, but she was hardly announcing it, either. And she was slow to share why she wanted to leave, and how she came across the orb, when the memories came back. She didn't say the whole story once she remembered, she was afraid Blackwall would think less of her; she wasn't trying to save the Divine, she was looking for a back way out, when the orb rolled at her feet.

Blackwall was also hesitant to share anything of his past, lest any of it leave a trail to his biggest secret. He only started to tell her some very carefully selected things, and only because she showed genuine interest.

29. Describe their nighttime routine.

Rota likes a cup of tea to wind down; Blackwall doesn't strike me as a tea guy, but it's enough to sit in peace and quiet with her. They also brush each other's hair; Rota takes a lot of pride in her hair, so it's a big show of trust that he lets her touch it.

[breadedsinner]

Rota liking weird and ugly animals, Blackwall looks at his chisel and wood and sighs, I can figure this out.

[breadedsinner]

I hope this isn't too much, but I am very curious the more I read about your couples! For the Couple Questions ask thingy :)

Rota & Blackwall

#3: What's their favorite thing to tease each other about?

#10: What was their last big fight? What did they learn from it?

#23: What was their first impression of each other?

Judy & Sebastian

#13: How do they express love for each other? Do they have compatible love languages?

#14: What little things remind them of each other?

#29: Where is their relationship lacking? What could they do to improve it?

3) What's their favorite thing to tease each other about?

I don't se Blackwall as much a tease, maybe a VERY gentle poke about her height, which would get him a kick in the shin. Rota mainly teases him about being a grump and having bigger tits than she does.

10) What was their last big fight? What did they learn from it?

Already answered, thank you!

23) What was their first impression of each other?

Already answered, thank you!

13) How do they express love for each other? Do they have compatible love languages?

Judy is very much an acts of services person. In a way, overthrowing a usurper and getting Seb on that throne was her expressing love, and she is eager to show that she loves him.

Sebastian on the other hand, I'm gonna say is Quality Time, which was something Judy sorely needed. With as busy as she is in Kirkwall, it's nice to have someone make time for HER.

14) What little things remind them of each other?

Already answered, thank you!

29) Where is their relationship lacking? What could they do to improve it?

Honestly, they lack time and space to just be together. They had known each other for years, yes, but once they're actually a couple, they have.... maybe a few months before the Thing happened, then she goes to help the Inquisition... once she gets back, hopefully they get many peaceful years together.

[breadedsinner]

At any given moment Rota could look to Blackwall and say, “hey do you want to fool around?” And he will always reply, “Maker, yes, I do,”. And I just think that’s a lot of fun since they’re both in or around their forties.

[breadedsinner]

For Rota/Blackwall:

What good do they bring out in each other?

How do they express love for each other? Do they have compatible love languages?

What values do they not share? How do they reconcile those differences?

What good do they bring out in each other?

I think Rota and Thom are very good and building the other up and making them recognize each other's values. Never of them liked themselves much before.

How do they express love for each other? Do they have compatible love languages?

Yeah they're both really horny

But yeah they are both fans of strong physical touch. Blackwall was all but bursting at the seams when he tells her to make him stop, but Rota was just as in need of it as he was.

What values do they not share? How do they reconcile those differences?

Rota has a darker outlook on things and that can cause a clash. This is a harder one, it's not something that just goes away. Blackwall definitely helped build up her own confidence and thus her outlook on things, but when the Reveal came, a lot of that cynicism reared its head again.

[breadedsinner]

Ooh, 29 and 30 for Judith/Sebastian and Rota/Blackwall

29) Where is their relationship lacking? What could they do to improve it?

Judith "I'll just keep my emotions inside and then one day I'll die" Hawke has had a very difficult time expressing herself, from her grief, her dreams, her sexual desires, etc. It's a process but Sebastian is very patient with her.

30) Where is their relationship the strongest?

Talking may have been an issue, but listening never was. They're both pretty perceptive and will stop to make sure the other is doing all right.

29) Where is their relationship lacking? What could they do to improve it?

Besides the obvious one (though Rota didn't even it was something he needed to be "forgiven" for and she as sure as shit wasn't the one to do it) there are some cultural differences, some very different perspectives. Despite everything I would say Blackwall is pretty optimistic, and Rota... not so much.

30) Where is their relationship the strongest?

Respect, which is not a concept Rota was very well acquainted with before meeting him. Likewise, Rota sensed that Blackwall was a bit of an introvert (even if part of it was out of necessity) and never pried with personal questions, though she also made efforts to include him and see to his needs.

[breadedsinner]

For the couple questions! 5 & 19 for Seb and Judy, 10 & 23 for Rota and Blackwall

5) How do they sleep?

Judy and Seb like to talk in bed and snuggle like their lives depend on it, since it's not something they've really had the chance to do before. Judy is almost always the big spoon, although by morning limbs are just splayed out everywhere.

19) What values do they not share? How do they reconcile those differences?

Magic pretty well encapsulates where they disagree. Neither of them are joining Anders's line of thought, but Sebastian prefers to think the Circle is necessary, and while Judy thinks a place of education and training is good, she doesn't like the way Circles are run, based on what she knows.

To open that up, Sebastian would generally prefer to let things be, and Judy wants to fix everything herself.

This is all part of why, when Seb first confessed his feelings in Act 2, Judy turned him down. She would be with her equal, no more and no less.

10) What was their last big fight? What did they learn from it?

Rota and Thom's biggest fight was post-reveal, but maybe not the reason one would think. She wasn't mad about the lies or the deaths, she was TOO ready to let that go, and it bothered Thom how little she cared. But Rota's ideas of justice are very different, they come from a different place; why should she respect Orlais's ideals when they've only hurt people like her, and people even worse off than her? It took a lot of talking.

23) What was their first impression of each other?

Blackwall admired her cunning and efficiency, even though she was not above making a crude joke or two. She was someone who understood suffering.

Meanwhile Rota was thinking she would like to sleep with him before she tried escaping again.

[breadedsinner]

I don't have any ideas for a chapter fic of Rota/Thom but I would love to write one where the phrase "it's not about deserve" is repeated.

Like maybe she's helping him with an injury and he says he doesn't deserve her kindness, "It's not about deserve, all right? I want to. Besides, I need that shield arm as much as you do."

And then when his true identity is revealed, and Rota mobilizes to get him out, someone tells her, "He does not deserve your mercy,".

She responds, "It's not about deserve. I love him."

[breadedsinner]

Blackwall's carving and Aint no lie bi bi bi for the wip tag game :)

WIP Meme

Thank you! I already gave most of the Bi Bi Bi WIP, so here's the other one!

Tether is primarily a Sebhawke fic but I am determined to squeeze in as much Cadashwall as possible.

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Varric paused. “You two are sweet on each other, huh?”

Blackwall groaned. “Is that what this is all about?”

“I came here for my own reasons, but I can’t help being a little curious. Don’t think no one sees her running off to the barn, or you blundering upstairs to her quarters. Neither of you are very subtle.”

Blackwall put the knife down, but his eyes stayed stuck on the wooden cat, studying the lines of fur. “It’s not a secret. It never was, though I wish I had been more careful. Everyone else has made their opinions known. Most think I’m wasting the Inquisitor’s time, or a bad influence. Only some have been the least bit encouraging but… I love Sera, but she keeps asking me what I do with her legs, and I don’t know how to answer that question.”

“Well, you’ll get no judgement from me.”

“Is that right? I’m sure you have no idea what she could possibly see in me. Maker knows I don’t.”

Varric rolled his eyes. “It’s not the confidence, that’s for sure.”

“Fortunately, my lady has more than enough.”

“Right… you don’t still think she’s chosen, do you?”

“I don’t see why I would stop now.”

Varric pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned; every word from the Warden like a shove with his shield, deflecting, pushing away. He wondered how Cadash managed to get through. “I’m not saying I don’t believe. I’m not even saying she’s a bad Inquisitor. It’s just…the Chant of Light doesn’t talk much about dwarves. You really think Andraste would pick her, of all people?”

“The Hero of Ferelden was a dwarf woman, if I recall correctly. Perhaps Lady Cadash was chosen as a reminder of the ongoing plight of dwarves. About the struggles we don’t see, and how quick we are to forget. Look how many are working in Skyhold, how many people she’s given a chance at a new start.”

“Right,” said Varric, an acknowledging nod. While this corner of Skyhold was empty, he had passed several dwarven soldiers, cooks, laborers, stoneworkers, and merchants. A lot more than what they started with. He shuddered, the realization just hitting him, like tree leaves changing colors. “I suppose a Warden would appreciate that better than most.”

“Indeed,” he said as he picked up the knife and resumed whittling. “And besides that, Lady Cadash is resilient. "

[breadedsinner]

WIP Wednesday

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Varric paused. “You two are sweet on each other, huh?”

Blackwall groaned. “Is that what this is all about?”

“I came here for my own reasons, but I can’t help being a little curious. Don’t think no one sees her running off to the barn, Cadash is not subtle.”

Blackwall put the knife down, but his eyes stayed stuck on the wooden cat, studying the lines of fur. “It’s not a secret, it never was, though I wish I had been more careful. Everyone else has made their opinions known. Most think I’m wasting the Inquisitor’s time, or even a bad influence. Only some have been the least bit encouraging but… I love Sera, but she keeps asking me what I do with her legs, and I don’t know how to answer that question.”