#Character: Etienne de Rousseau

[lcgacyofages]

so I remade Etienne so he basically got a glow up

[lcgacyofages-a]

Places to find my DAI Companions: Haven Edition

Aurora Amell - Near one of the buildings near the Apothecary. I imagine the one Dorian hangs around might be a makeshift infirmary, so she’d be located inside that one, tending to the wounded.

Seigfried Trevelyan - Down by the training area, I’m going to say there’s an archery range in that area as well and he’s helping with training their archers to be better shots.

Xoras Pharae - Outside of the Haven gates, you go right and you’ll find him training the snow, making an effort to avoid the shemlen.

Hildegard Cadash - The opposite corner of Sera in the tavern. She’s set up a desk there typically with letters and papers for her underground contacts. And typically has a mug of strongest drink on supply.

Inatar & Shamut Adaar - Typically together in Haven. As you go up the stairs where Varric is, you go left and they’ll be hanging out by the building there.

Sergio di Vasco - In the Chantry on the pews which are on the opposite side of where Vivienne usually is.

Etienne de Rousseau - In his advisor verse, he’s located just outside the Chantry to the left corner, looking towards the Breach.

[thepariscollective-blog]

Whirlwind Paris: a scavenger hunt

I’ve just completed perhaps the most blissful final exam of my life so far: a scavenger hunt around Paris! My professors split our class into pairs and handed us a list of places to find. The main rule: absolutely no phones! We had six hours to complete our hunt. Here are a few little blurbs about some of the places we visited (already I want to go back to all of them!). If any of you happen to visit Paris in the near future, I highly recommend these destinations, as many are off the beaten path and are not super “touristy” (hallelujah!).

Place Edith Piaf, 20th arr. 

Situated in the 20th arrondissement, this place is named after the French singer Edith Giovanna Gassion, famously known as Edith Piaf, or “The Little Sparrow”. Fifteen years after Piaf’s death, the place was created as a site of remembrance and memory. In the middle of the place, a statue depicting Piaf singing with her arms outstretched overhead can be seen. Sculpted by Lisbeth Delisle, the statue was inaugurated in 2003 as a tribute to Piaf. Through the emotion and energy conveyed through the sculpture, one can almost hear Piaf singing her famous “Non je ne Regrette Rien”. 

(Sources: “Follow the Footsteps of Edith Piaf in Paris”  & “Les rues des Paris: la statue hommage a Edith Piaf”)

Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1st arr. 

Jean Jacques Rousseau, a Genevan philosopher, writer, and political theorist, heavily inspired leaders of the French Revolution and the Romantic generation. During his lifetime, he is considered one of the most if not the most influential philosopher, as his thought drew the Age of Reason to a close. Importantly, Rousseau highlighted “liberty as an object of almost universal aspiration”. At the age of 30, Rousseau moved to Paris. From 1774-1778, Rousseau lived on rue Plâtrière, his last home in Paris. In 1886, rue Plâtrière was renamed to rue Jean Jacques Rousseau to commemorate this truly influential thinker and philosopher. Also worthy of mention on this street is a cookery shop named E. Dehillerin, where famous American cook Julia Child would go to buy all of her cookware when she lived in France. 

(Sources: “Les rues des Paris: la rue Jean Jacques Rousseau” & Jean-Jacques Rousseau Britannica entry)       

Place des Vosges, 3rd & 4th arr. 

The Place des Vosges exists as Paris’ oldest square. Once the site of the Hotel des Tournelles and acquired by the Crown in 1407, Catherine de’ Medici pulled down the residence following the death of Henri II. Later, in 1605, Henri IV transformed Place des Vosges to what it now appears as today. Upon our entrance, we were surrounded by elegant, symmetrical buildings that bordered a beautiful park dappled in morning sunshine. In the middle of the green space, a statue of Louis XIII stands. Fountains trickle nearby. The buildings bordering the park, which were once houses, contain a variety of shops and cafes on the bottom level, easily accessible from inside the place.  Also of note are particular plaques of commemoration around the buildings that tell of former residents, like Victor Hugo at no. 6.   

(Source: Michelin Guide, pp. 165-166) 

Gare St. Lazare, 8th arr. 

Located near rue Haussmann and the famous Printemps department store, Gare St. Lazare presents itself both as a large train-station and a modern shopping center. We were both surprised to find that the quintessentially Haussmannian-style facade of this building held such a sleek, modern interior, with a plethora of high-end shops to boot! The shopping center is a fairly new addition to the space, as major renovations have taken place over the past few years. With the addition of the shopping center, Gare St. Lazare pairs the old with the new and represents much of the character of Paris today-- both historical and increasingly modern. I especially enjoyed visiting this site because it was one of Monet’s favorite muses before he decided to focus solely on nature and the natural environment. He painted a variety of paintings inside Gare St. Lazare, focused on light, steam, and of course- the trains. I find it extremely interesting that during Monet’s life, Gare St. Lazare was a modern subject for him. In a new way, this place has taken on a new modernity, reiterating the idea that what is modern is always changing. 

(Sources: “Monet, The Gare Saint-Lazare”,  “St. Lazare train station- Paris” & “Gare Saint-Lazare - Paris tourist office”) 

Buttes-Chaumont Park, 19th arr. 

By far my favorite destination on our list, this glorious park is known for its sprawling greenery, steep cliffs, and rolling hills. An island is located in the middle of the park, where the Temple of Sibyl rests. This Corinthian-style temple was created after a Roman temple bearing the same name in Tivoli, Italy. The Roman temple was built around the second century BC. Despite the intense climb, the view from the top of the Temple is absolutely wonderful. One can see over Paris, all the way across to Montmartre and over St. Denis. We couldn’t help but take the time to appreciate the view, even amidst our crazy time-crunched scavenger hunt across Paris! 

(Sources: Michelin Green Guide, pp. 318-319 & “The Temple of the Sybil- Visit Tivoli”)   

For reference, here was our complete list of places to visit: 

1. In front of a street sign on rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

2. On the steps of the La Madeleine, Place de la Madeleine

3. In the Place des Vosges

4. In the center of the Arenas de Lutuce, 49 rue Monge

5. The exterior facade of St. Etienne du Mont church, Place Sainte-Genevieve

6. Galerie Vivienne (covered passage), 4 rue des Petits-Champs

7. Inside the Gare Saint-Lazare SNCF

8. Place Edith Piaf

9. Temple of Sibyl, Parc des Buttes Chaumont

We finished around four hours in, with enough time to snag lunch at the original Cosi. Yum! 

All in all, this was a final exam I’ll never forget... a place I’ll never forget... je t’aime, Paris!  

[kyliegalloway]

best. final exam. ever. (a blog detailing the scavenger hunt final exam for Paris 2019)

Today we did our final exam for this May Term, and I have to say: BEST. EXAM. EVER. Exploring new places in Paris? Yes please! We were given some expectations and then a list of sites to visit with a partner, and then left to figure out which route we would like to go! I’m glad I like directions and navigating because today was a whole lot of that.

(Note: I posted the pictures with the locations tagged on my Instagram, @kyliegtravels, if you would like to see exact locations. They are all under my “final exam” highlight.)

Picture from Paris Stories at Hope College Facebook

The following is the expectations/rules we were given this morning (bright and early at 8am) for the day.

Objective:

Demonstrate proficiency in Pairs by:

1.     Ability to successfully navigate mass transit. You must use the metro and/or the buses to get around. NO UBER.NO TAXI.

2.     Referencing only your Paris Pratique and Michelin Guide for directions—not cell phones. Should it be revealed that you used your cell phone for navigational purposes, you and your partner will receive an automatic failing grade on the exam.

3.     Find historically/culturally significant locations per the list provided, and experience them.

4.     Do so in an efficient way (within the 6 hour limit).

5.     We encourage you to take a break for lunch, snacks, etc.

Mechanics:

·     8 am start time from the Citadines Place d’Italie

·     You may NOT use computers and phones to plan the best route. Your sites are not listed in any geographical “order.”

·     2pm arrival (not earlier) at the professors’ apartment: rue Watteau

o  Please bring your laptops and your Michelin Green Guide to rue Watteau. (Pick these at the Citadines before arriving at rue Watteau)

·     YOU MUST VISIT EACH SITE WITH YOUR PARTNER

·     Each group must take a photo at each site, and slow down a bit, and think about the space.

·     Back at the professors’ apartment (or if you finish early, please feel free to begin working), make Tumblr posts documenting your groups journey—including each site visited.

o  Divide the blog posts between partners/group members.

o  If you reference a source, please be sure to include the citation. Your Michelin Guide is a great reference.

After reviewing these expectations, we were given our partners and the list of our sites.

Group 1: Rousseau (Emily and Kylie)

1.     In front of a street sign on rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1er)

2.     On the steps of the La Madeleine (8e), Place de la Madeleine

3.     In the Place des Vosges (3e)

4.     In the center of the Arenes de Lutece (5e), 49 rue Monge

5.     The exterior façade of St-Etienne-du-Mont church (5e), Place Sainte-Genevieve

6.     Galerie Vivienne (covered passage, 2e), 4 rue des Petits-Champs

7.     Inside the Gare Saint-Lazare SNCF (big trains) train station, the one painted often by Monet (8e), 13 rue d’Amsterdam

8.     Place Edith Piaf (20e)

9.     Temple of Sibyl, Parc des Buttes Chaumont (19e)

Emily and I went to work to figure out what the best way to find each of these places would be. We used our Michelin Green Guides and our Paris Pratique to craft our path. The following is the path we followed to complete our final exam. We started out by taking line 7 (La Courneve) to Place Monge to our first site.

Arenes de Lutece:

We decided to go here first because it was the closest to our hotel, and we had seen signs for it in the line 7 Metro. It was pretty easy to find when we came up out of the metro because there were signs for it, so I expected more people to be there. We were the only people there. I’m not sure if that’s because we were there at 8:15am. The Arenes De Lutece and is located in the Latin Quarter. It is an amphitheater and could originally hold 15,000 people. It is one of the only surviving evidence of the Roman period in Paris. It was interesting to see that apartment buildings have been built over part of the amphitheater. We enjoyed appreciating the calm arena before we set off on the rest of our day. We decided earlier to walk to the next site because it was in the same arrondisement and it didn’t make sense to take a Metro.

Source: https://www.parisinfo.com/musee-monument-paris/71451/Arenes-de-Lutece-et-square-Capitan

St-Etienne-du-Mont Church and Place Sainte Genevieve:

We walked down some winding streets, which is the character of the Latin Quarter to find St-Etienne-du-Mont Church. I’m not going to lie, this was pretty easy to find because it is so distinguishable. It was cool to see the Pantheon next to it too. In fact, in 1744 King Louis XV replaced the Saint Genevieve Abbey with the Pantheon. The abbey was looted and burned in the Revolution. It was attached to what is now called St-Etienne-du-Mont Church. This is why the place near the church is called the Place Sainte Genevieve. I had never heard of this church before and] the façade of it is quite grandiose, Renaissance style. It was restored after the revolution and actually slants left due to the shape of the ground. According to the churches website, it is a product of a transition period between gothic and Renaissance styles. I think this is for sure true because of what we have learned about the two styles in class. Another interesting thing about this area is that the original wall fortification is still present in some areas and we just happened to walk by, how cool! We then continued our walk to the Cardinal Lemoine station and took line 10 (Gare d’Austerlitz) to Gare d’Austerlitz and transferred to line 5 (Bobigny), exiting at Bastille.

Source: https://www.saintetiennedumont.fr/en

Place de Vosges:

Check out Emily’s blog for this entry at. https://thepariscollective.tumblr.com/tagged/scavengerhunt!

After exploring Place de Vosges, we walked to the Chemin Vert Station and took line 8 (Balard) to Republique and transferred to line 3 (Galleieni) and got off at Porte de Bagnolet.

Place Edith Piaf:

I was surprised because we popped out of the underground Metro station into a market and the statue of Edith Piaf was on our right. Emily has the entry for this site too! We enjoyed a walk through the market before embarking to our next site, which was the one we knew the least about. We went to the Gambetta station and took line 3 (Levallois) to Pere Lachaise, then transferred to line 2 (Porte Dauphine) and got off at Belleville.

Temple of Sibyl, Parc des Buttes Chaumont:

We found the Parc des Buttes Chaumont easily In our Paris Pratique, but the Temple of Sibyl wasn’t labeled so we ended up looking it up in our Michelin guide while on the Metro and finding a map of the entire Parc. It was quite a hike to find this site (which makes sense because the 19this near Montmatre) and it was definitely not a tourist area so it wasn’t labeled from the streets. I think this may have been my favorite site we visited. In 1860, Napoleon III integrated the areas surrounding the park into the city, creating a need to make these areas “Parisian.” Haussmann played a role in the installation of this park, a large English-style park, along with the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincenne. Adolphe Alphand created this park by buying 25 hectagres of the Buttes Chaumont. Originally this had been quarries, but they were abandoned in the mid 1800s. It was a three year process to form the park from construction of artificial cliffs (the one in the lake where the temple is located is the most prominent) to digging trails both steep and flat to planting new species. The lake was created by using a local water tank. The park was inaugurated with the Universal Exhibition of 1867, when Napoleon III wanted to show off his newly Haussmannized capital. I would love to go back and explore this park when I have more time because it looked like there was lots of trails and different paths to explore. Emily has a little more about the Temple of Sibyl on her blog if you would like to read more about that. We hopped on the 7b (Pre-St.-Gervais) and got off at Place des Fetes, then got on line 11 (Chatlet) to Arts et Metiers, and then line 3 (Levallois) to Bourse.

Source: https://www.histoires-de-paris.fr/parc-buttes-chaumont/

Galerie Vivienne:

I knew from our assignment sheet that this was a covered passage, but as we stepped into it, it was much more extravagant than I expected. It felt like I was in a department store because the ornamentation of the ceiling or the glass roof and the detailed floor felt too special to just be a street passage. It was built in 1823 and now houses a cute bookstore, boutiques of various kinds, food shops, and probably more that we didn’t see because the spectacle of the passage itself was so beautiful. We walked through it and on to Rue Etienne Marcel to find our next site.

Source: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/100272/Galerie-Vivienne

Rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau:

This is the street our group was named after! Check our Emily’s blog to understand it’s importance. We walked from here to the nearby Etienne Marcel Metro stop. We got on line 4 (Cligancourt) to Strasbourg-St. Denis and transferred to line 8 (Balard) for the Madeleine stop.

On the steps of the La Madeleine, Place de la Madeleine:

You would think finding the front of the church would be easy, but it turns out we got turned around. We got out of the Metro and went towards the back of the church, and got super confused because it was locked. Not to mention, it was under construction, so that might also have added to the confusion of where the front was and it also doesn’t look like other churches in Paris, so we were a little shocked by that. Don’t worry though, we wandered around the place and found the front steps of the church. After looking into this place later, it is now well known for the little cookie/cakes that Marcel Proust made famous, but there is a deep history of the church. The church is situated between Place de la Concorde and the Palais Garnier. It is different than a religious building because Napoleon wanted it to be a pantheon to honor his armies. The iconic Corinthian colomns were under construction, but we still got to see some of them. We also saw many signs for concerts, which the church hosts regularly. From here we walked to our last location. We followed Rue Torchet towards Printemps and then Rue de Havre straight to the station.

Sources: https://en.parisinfo.com/transport/73127/Place-de-la-Madeleine,https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71158/Eglise-de-la-Madeleine

Gare St. Lazare:

Emily wrote about this site too, but I want to mention how modernized this building was. I expected it to be more like what Monet painted, yet instead, it felt more like a mall. We had a hard time getting a picture inside of ourselves without it looking like a mall, so we took a few pictures inside and headed outside to get our selfie with the iconic sign.

Whew! That was a lot! We started at 8am and got done early (noon) before we had to be at our professors’ apartment at 2pm. Since we had time, we decided to pull up Dr. Janes’ food recommendations list and found Cosi, a sandwich shop in the 6th. It was fun to celebrate completing our exam with some delicious sandwiches. Then, we went to our professors’ apartment for a delicious spread and to work on our blog posts. I want to go back to so many of these places because we were on such a timed schedule today! I look forward to revisiting these places someday and knowing the history of them because I took an exam by finding them. This class was such a cool experience I never imagined myself doing after finishing my first year of college, but I’m so glad I did. My professors are absolutely amazing and I’m so grateful for them. They’ve given us such great guidance and tours at places around the city, but also the independence to wander and explore. I will never forget this trip and it was such a fun way to wrap it up with a whirlwind scavenger hunt of such a beautiful city.

[theharellan]

RP POSITIVITY MEME

DAY 05: favorite multimuses

i’ve been trying to bring multimuses in on past days b/c i want to acknowledge certain characters on said blogs, but here i’ll just highlight the blogs as a whole!

@aniente​ - muses: ameridan, merrill, evangeline, gatt, adrian, dalish, missne (oc), sabriel (oc)

a dragon age multimuse who i featured a couple times b/c i just. really admire their choice of muses as well as the writing! there’s not a muse on here i don’t love, even those like adrian that i’m not overly familiar with given i’ve yet to finish asunder. i can feel ciri’s passion when they write about each of their muses, and it invests me in each one. i’d honestly love a thread w/ each of their muses one day. gotta catch ‘em all. 

@burnsbriiight​ - muses: mai (a:tla), kitty pryde (x-men), marie-elise (da oc), annuneth (da oc), patricia anne (da oc), adahleni (da oc)

first, it was apparently rachel’s birthday the other day, so happy birthday! second, mai is one of my a:tla faves (i actually rped her back in the day) and although i just followed this multimuse i’m excited to see her rps w/ mai. she’s an underrated character.

@centuriesuntold - muses: all the doctors. every one.

i’ve been following this blog since my mass effect days, back when they were bowtied, and they provided a lot of rly inspirational posts to anons and such on their dash! seeing them again, only now with more doctors, was a very exciting experience!!! it’s not something i’d seen before in the dw fandom, and i’ve adored what i’ve seen from them, even as someone who is only familiar with new doctor who.

@dryhtenhold - muses: gareth cousland (oc), ves aeducan (oc), eleanor cousland, agravaine ker (oc), tamar (oc), loghain mac tir

i’ve only listed erran’s primary dragon age characters, but she rps tolkien as well as having a list of secondary muses! her ocs have interesting and complex backstories that really dig deep into dragon age lore, specifically fereldan lore and the civil war. they are such natural parts of the lore that i had to mark them (oc) otherwise you might confuse them with canons like eleanor and loghain.

@kaleiidoscopehearts​ - isabela, miryin brosca, peebee (mass effect), bolin (lok), sally malik (being human), azalea gothel (descendents oc), artemis crook (young justice), amellia smollet (treasure planet)

multifandom, and some are fandoms i’m unfamliar with, which just goes to show how talented they are b/c i’m v selective with non-da multimuses! i’ve talked about peebee and miryin, but i also have been v pleased with seeing bolin on my dash! he was one of my faves from lok. and every time an isabela hits on solas another five minutes are added to my life.

@lcgacyofages - ceridwen mahariel, atena hawke, myrrdin lavellan, zoria amell, dazbo amell, aurora amell, ronina lavellan, seigfried trevelyan, etienne de rousseau, xora orsiniel pharare, arik tabris, hildegard cadash

a blog full of lovely ocs based upon the pc backstories given to us in-game (for the most part!). don’t let the names fool you, though, as not all of them are the heroes. some are companion ocs, which are honestly some of my fave ocs in darp!

@mercysought - priestess (oc), maxima aurum (oc), himsulem (oc), manala (oc), anora theirin, emilie de clair (oc), abel de clair (oc), laone shatterspine (oc), moe (star wars oc)

there isn’t a muse here who isn’t fascinating and beautifully written. with the exception of moe, they’re all dragon age characters, and while i haven’t rped with all of them yet i hope to one day. skells is a wonderful writer and i’m glad a multimuse has enabled her to have more characters b/c that’s what we deserve.

@mindsmade - cremisius acclassi, liam kosta (mass effect), aiden shepard (me), gil brodie (me), celebrian (tolkien), and more!

also featuring more tolkien muses and characters from the good wife and mythological characters! i mentioned this the other day, but i adore their ship on liam with the aforementioned peebee! there’s not a muse listed here who isn’t worth reading about, even as someone unfamiliar with the expanded tolkien universe.

@teleidoscopic - khaliya lavellan, raleigh samson, morrigan, sera, zenyatta (ovw), jameson locke (halo), EDI (mass effect), ashley williams (mass effect), the black box (halo), john hancock (fallout 4), red (transistor)

i’ve been following pastry’s rp blogs for... idk... seven years now? a lot. a lot of years. i’ve seen a few of these muses in action on single-muse blogs, so i’m glad they can return in multimuse form. pastry’s samson and ashley in particular are old favourites, but looking at this list pastry has the magic ability to pull my faves out in general (i would die for zenyatta. and probably deserve it after how many times i’ve gotten him killed playing him...). 

@tothezeros - morrigan, minaeve, raleigh samson, melchior heeren (oc), cornelia solette (oc), clancy griffin (oc), corin thenn (oc), sylvus varnehn (oc)

again, i decided to only list the dragon age muses to save me from tabbing back and forth, but this blog has so many fun muses aside from that! like spyro, taking me back to the days i would ask my dad to take me and my brother to a clubhouse so we could play one of the games on the ps2. and christopher robin! as for their dragon age muses, i’ve thoroughly enjoyed them. i still have a few to get to know, but their samson and minaeve are great, and i’ve known clancy for a few years now! it’s comforting to see him on my dash after all this time. 

[lcgacyofages]

☆ Headcanon Prompts ☆ Clothing Preferences | ACCEPTING

@duchissa​ sent: 👑 = Does your muse always spend a lot of money on their clothes, or do they buy cheap clothes? (for your noble born babs!!)

Okay so my noble born (as in legitimate children of nobility) characters are as follows:  Antoinette, Aurora, Dazbo, Emrys, Etienne, Katarina, Lir, Seigfried, Selena, and Zoria. The answers for them are under cut.

Antoinette is Orlesian so it’s definitely expected for her to spend a fair amount of money on her attire. It’s a status symbol and her wealth, considering she married into the de Ghislain family. She has dresses made from the finest silks, jewelry from the best quarries, and so much more. It’s something she’s accustomed to, and not necessarily something she thinks too much about. She keeps with Orlesian fashion, of course, but she prefers to occupy her mind with other matters.

Aurora does not spend much on clothing, honestly. Just a few nice things here and there, but despite the nobility of her family, she was born when they were moving from place to place after Sorin was taken to the Circle. She learned how to be humble and that a plain dress was just as good as a jewel studded silk one. And often times, with her work as a healer, clothing gets messy so she tends to go for the less expensive. She does, of course, enjoy the occasional pretty dress or outfit, but is often more conservative with her style and it mimics Fereldan attire.

Dazbo has a great love for the finer things in life, and does try to look his best and prefers clothing which suits him. Of course, this can add up in price, which is difficult for an apostate to come by. He manages, though, with under the table type dealings. Even then, if he knows it won’t do him any good to have fancy attire, he will forgo the expensive option for a cheaper, more durable type of clothing.

Emrys has little interest for material items that don’t add to knowledge or wisdom. He wears the most reasonable and durable attire he can find, often for long periods of time. He’s in competition with Solas for the top looking “unwashed apostate hobo” look honestly. His nobility background has little bearing on his fashion choices, but he can be fashionable if he needs to be. And often times, he really hopes he doesn’t need to be as he finds expensive clothes stifling.

Even though born from an affair with a mage, Etienne was legitimized by his father. And his father always made sure he had the best, even when he was sent away to the Circle. His father was his patron and this often meant some of the finest robes were made for him and sent to the Spire. He had to look decent as he often was utilized as a bridge between the mages of the Spire and the nobility. After the White Spire Revolt, he did chose for more practical attire, but it always had a little bit of an expensive flair to it.

Katarina, herself, doesn’t spend a lot of money on clothes. The Order isn’t one for such frivolities. But her parents, on the other hand, often have expensive gowns made for her for when she visits them and they often will hold a gala when she’s there. She’s expected to be dressed to the nines, even if she might prefer to be hold up somewhere with a book in some training clothes instead. But that’s the expectation of being a noble in Wycome - always be present and looking wealthy and gorgeous at their parties while sipping on Antivan wine.

Being from one of the highest noble families in Ferelden, it’s expected for Lir’s attire to match that. With a wealth of fur and the blues of the Cousland family, Lir has to spend a decent amount of money on clothing due to his work as a royal advisor and, at times, ambassador. That doesn’t mean he feels like he must always have the finest attire, though, and if he knows he has a long trip, he will go for something cheaper but more durable.

Seigfried tends not to spend a lot of money on his clothing, as he tends to wear leather from his hunts. If he supplies the material, it cuts down the cost of the clothing. While he does have some expensive attire, he tends to save that for “stuffy” social functions, oftentimes preferring to dress like the lower class and that of his fellow Ostwick guards. Sometimes people are often surprised he’s a Trevelyan if they just run into him at Skyhold due to his preference of attire.

Mm, yes, yes she does. Selena, while having run off from her noble family upon learning she was a mage, does like to look and feel pretty so does spend a little bit extra of her money from smuggling on the finer attire. Granted, it’s not as expensive if she had been a non-mage and remained home, but it’s expensive enough to suit her taste with nicer fabrics and jewelry to wear.

If Zoria had her way, yes she would. But she doesn’t, so she makes due with what she has. She’s very interested in her own appearance, so she’d like her clothing to match her own looks and confidence level. And some people might even label her attire as a bit risque at times, it’s how she likes it and how she is. She’ll spend a little extra money if she sees something she especially likes and thinks would suit her, though.

[lcgacyofages]

Send “💋” to kiss my muse out of nowhere. | ACCEPTING

@knightenchantr sent:  💋 kiss kiss for etienne, fellow knight enchanter buddy

The sudden kiss was a surprise, but a welcomed one at that. Etienne had no qualms about stealing a kiss in the Spire’s library, after all. The templars weren’t looking and they were both alone. He grabbed her by the waist to bring her closer to him.

At the sound of footsteps, he broke away and gave her a little wink, turning back to examining the bookshelf with a practiced ease. One knew how to have discretion when having romantic flings in a circle, after all.

[lcgacyofages]

Updated muse Looks so far

Fenvir

Shalelan

Etienne

Idrilla

[lcgacyofages]

[lcgacyofages-a]

Etienne was far more of an expert in battle magic than other forms of magic. Due to his skill and how trusted he was by the Chantry and Templars, he was trained in the art of knight enchanter. He was a mage who specialized in hunting down blood mages when a mage was required by the templars.

Of course, with the mage-templar war, this skill was turned against former comrades. Etienne’s martial skill rivaled many of the templars they were faced against. Yet instead of choosing to be on the front lines, Etienne preferred to work to escort refugee mages and non-mages alike. He worked as a guard for them on the perilous journeys to safety and saved many lives doing so.

One could say his style is cocky, with a little bit of flare, but that would be typical for an Orlesian. He’s spry and quick in battle, even dares to taunt and throw jabs at his enemy. Yet it’s all a tactic to see what their breaking point is and also a distraction for his comrades to be able to attack while the enemy’s focus is on him.

[lcgacyofages-a]

waddles over and drops a ❣ into your inbox for etienne

Send in a ❣ for a random kiss. | TENTATIVELY ACCEPTING

10. An assertive kiss

Etienne was not a fool. He had spent far too much time within the Orlesian court to be so, after all. If one were to survive in such an environment, one was to learn how to read others and their intentions, their desires, and their bodies. And he had paid careful attention to Inquisitor Trevelyan’s, Evelyn’s that was.

Perhaps a first name basis would be more acceptable. Considering how they had been having a little back and forth banter with each other. Etienne knew very well where the next step was to go. He had played this game a few times in his life. He was no young man, after all.

And today he’d found they both seem to have forgotten the concept of personal space, Evelyn standing near to him. Gray eyes took her in, examining her body, her face, her eyes, reading her with careful practiced ease.

And in less than a second, a hand had gripped her chin to bring her lips to his. He pressed a heated, teasing, and slightly rough kiss to her lips, not moving from his position of leaning against the desk. His hand caressed against her jawline before it moved back to cup the back of her head to deep the kiss and draw her closer to him. His tongue ran along her bottom lip before pressing into her, tasting her, feeling her, before he pulled away with a smirk.

“I assume that is what you wanted besides the conversation excuse you created.” His voice was smooth and full of an easy confidence of a man who knew where he stood.

[lcgacyofages-a]

SHIP CALL: ETIENNE DE ROUSSEAU

What this ship call means is:

You’re interested in doing a plotted out relationship, platonic, romantic, or otherwise.

We can send each other ship memes to see how they fit if the interest ins romantic

We can exchange discords and yell about ship stuff

[lcgacyofages-a]

[lcgacyofages-a]

Drabble: Etienne proposes to Aurora

“What are your thoughts on marriage?”

The question drew Aurora from the book she had opened. She and Etienne had found a quiet place away from the rest of the, well, mage rebellion as it were now. Rhys had secured that with his vote a few weeks back. Etienne, himself, also had a book open and had been skimming the pages as well. His fineries he typically wore were dusted with the ware of battle and travel, yet somehow still pristine. Aurora examined him as she considered his question.

It brought up old childhood fancies she had had as a girl. The idea of marrying and having children, living simply and normal. It had been something she had frequently daydreamed about in her youth and sometimes those daydreams included…

She pushed the memory to the side, not wishing to dwell on the painful memories.

“I’m fond of the idea.”

“Ah, that pause, though…” Etienne looked up at her with playful grays. “Have a secret?”

“What? No, no! I...It’s…” She pulled the book close to her chest, glancing away as a blush brushed over her cheeks. “I used to think about it quite frequently and it tended to involve someone...Someone it would never happen with in the first place.”

“So you thought of it fondly?”

“Very much.”

At that, Etienne gave a sigh and sat up more fully, closing his book. He gave a bit of a shrug, opening his hands and revealing the glimmering rings on his fingers.

“I thought of it fondly as well,” he confessed. “Perhaps enjoyed romanticizing it in spite of my father’s situation. And I suffered the same disease as you.” He gave a wistful sigh, the playfulness leaving his gaze. “So, it was not in the cards for me either.”

A silence came between them, Aurora attempting to understand what point he was trying to make. Merely looking to strike up a conversation? Or was he nervous due to the recent events and what it may mean for him?

“If this rebellion succeeds, my father will more than likely put me as his heir,” Etienne continued finally. “And your family, the Amells, may well attain some nobility rank again. I was considering…” He looked her in the eye and he wore no mask, every emotion was there for her to see. “We get along well. We both think fondly of marriage and having children. We both have noble blood. And since we both have the issue mentioned prior, perhaps it may be viable if after all of this is done, we get married.”

Aurora furrowed her brows a bit, tilting her head to the side as she absorbed what was happening. He was...Proposing? In a perfectly political manner. While they did get along well, there was currently not much more than a friendly affection and admiration for each other. It might not be the dream of a young girl, but it made sense for the life of a young woman, Aurora supposed.

“That could be an idea.” Her tone was thoughtful and the more she considered it, the more it sounded appealing. Etienne was handsome, even with the wound across his face she had been careful to tend to. A mark of the friendship they had; him taking a templar’s blade in place of her.

“Obviously, we are not of the romantic persuasion, but I have heard that may come in time,” he said. “We could try it and see how an engagement goes. And if by the end of this war, we find it amenable, we can see about a wedding to make it official.”

It wasn’t how Aurora had dreamed it to be as a girl. It was actually very different than how she had daydreamed it happening when she sat in the library at Kinloch. Her eyes glancing over to see if he was there, not wishing to be caught in an awkward thought while she’d daydream. But it was...A respectable one. Not dashing, to say the least, but respectable. Etienne took care for her thoughts and feelings as he waited for her response.

“Yes, I think that’s agreeable,” Aurora finally said, a soft smile on her face.

That caused Etienne to smile in return and take the ring off of his pinky and kneel before her.

“I should do this properly, then, shouldn’t I?” He joked, causing Aurora to chuckle. “Then Lady Aurora Amell, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“I shall,” Aurora responded, allowing him to slip the ring onto her finger. It wasn’t a fairytale, but Aurora was learning fairytales were just stories.

[lcgacyofages-a]

Drabble: Random Scene set during Asunder featuring Aurora Amell and Etienne de Rousseau. It’s a bit rough, I just wrote it today and have not edited it to be a bit more fitting for the setting.

Lord Seeker Lambert had held a chokehold on the White Spire and made sure to be aware of what every single mage was doing. It gave little chance for Aurora to observe Val Royeaux, as Wynne had instructed her to do. She was to keep her eyes and ears open for any peculiarities which may arise and inform her when she returned. Luckily, Aurora had managed to befriend one of the senior enchanters of the White Spire.

Etienne was the son of a well respected marquis and had more freedoms than many of the other mages Aurora had seen in the Circles. Despite Lambert’s attempts to regulate traffic, he had no option on the matter of Etienne. The man had been away from the Circle when the crimes had occurred, at his family’s estate at his father’s behest. It was a birthday matter or some reason, Aurora wasn’t sure. But due to this connection, Aurora found herself strolling along the streets of Val Royaux with him and two templar escorts, of course. Two Etienne requested and Lambert had to clench his jaw about and accept for the time.

He was a handsome man and Aurora did consider it a shame he wore a mask about outside of the Circle. It had been a habit, he explained, after being raised in his father’s household until his magic appeared. It was a simple version of the family mask, an ivory color with the family’s emblem etched into it with gold paint. The sunburst blossom, as it was called, glimmered on the forehead of the mask, a complimenting contrast to the ivory hue on the mask. Some simple yellow sapphires lined the underside of the of his eyes, following a gold etched line. His attire was a rich blue robe, detailed fashionable with gold and ivory, matching the mask he bore perfectly.

To say Aurora felt rather simple in her light blue circle robe was an understatement. Perhaps it was finer than some, with a white fennec fur trim, but the style was distinctly Fereldan. And the simple details on her attire paled in comparison to the complex gold and ivory trimmed patterns on his. It was, to say, an odd pair which caught the eye of quite a few people in the marketplace. Perhaps it was also the fact they were mages with a templar escort following a bit behind them, but also terribly mismatched.

“Thank you, again, for allowing me to accompany you, Ser Etienne,” Aurora began, unsure of a proper title for him. He waved it off, a charming smile visible beneath the half mask.

“I could not let you be in Val Royeaux without actually experiencing the fine culture,” he told her. “It really does pale in comparison to others.”

Aurora kept her features even, considering the implication. She paused to look at a stand in the marketplace. A merchant who sold ‘exotic’ goods, but Aurora could note a few of them were of questionable shape. She’d spent so much time buried in whatever book she could get her hand on, she could see the lackluster of some of the false Antivan jewelry and the poorly done Fereldan embroidery. She continued walking along beside Etienne, giving a thoughtful hum.

“So much so merchants sell poor copies of other cultures?” She inquired lightly. “Or perhaps they believe them to be better?”

Etienne was not insulted in the slightest; in fact, he seemed amused by her astute observation.

“Orlais does tend to think itself capable of doing better than others, but we have the history to back that.”

“Have you ever woven a basket, Ser Etienne?”

“No, I have not.”

“Pity, it’s a relaxing hobby, and one which takes years to master to the finest,” Aurora began. “And then those skills are passed on to the next generation and the baskets get stronger and prettier. This continues until the basket of the region is one of the strongest and finest...Now imagine someone coming and seeing it, and considering ‘I can surely make that!’ And does so, but it is a poor copy and you buy it, thinking it is a better version than what is made elsewhere. But after time, you see the flaws and how it doesn’t hold what it needs to properly.”

Etienne waved his hand, giving a warm laugh.

“I see your point, Lady Aurora. You can desist in outwitting me with your clever tongue. Perhaps there is room for Orlais to learn and not be as prideful. Is that what you’d like to hear, then?”

“Perhaps.” Her tone was nonchalant as she walked a bit ahead of him. She paused as they walked by a sidestreet. She assumed it lead to the alienage from the looks of it because further down the way it was far less appealing than the street they were on. Aurora knew of the dangers but she could see a few shops down the way. She glanced back at their escort and then back to Etienne.

“What shops are down that way?”

“Some lower ranked merchants who can’t afford this area and some better off elven ones who can manage to rent a shop outside of the alienage, if only for a short time,” Etienne explained. “While it can be questionable in the evenings, it should be fine during the day if you are curious to look.”

“I am,” Aurora began, headed down the road. She turned to look at him, a brow raised. “I was raised in Ferelden so I have simpler cultural taste, after all.”

“Ah, there it is,” Etienne remarked cheekily, following after her. The two templars followed them at an easy pace, clearly not as concerned about Etienne as they would be with any other mage.

“There what is?”

“The sweetly biting remark I was expecting, of course,” he responded, gray eyes glimmering with mirth. “I imagine you could kill a man with a smile and politely worded insult. It is very Orlesian.”

“Hardly,” Aurora shot back, false disdain in her tone. “I don’t have a knife up my sleeve when doing so.”

“And there it is again.”

The pair fell into a comfortable silence as they strolled along the street, merely window shopping at this point. They would point out different wares on and off to each other, but felt no need to fill the quietness between them. It was oddly comfortable, Aurora realized, not at all awkward like she was used to feeling. She found it pleasant. She also noticed how people would pay special attention to them due to the mask Etienne wore and she realized precisely why he chose to wear them outside of the Spire.

While the Chantry would expect his family to renounce a bastard mage child, his father had not, and Etienne played it to his advantage. Whether outside of the Circle or inside of it, he made sure he hadn’t as many difficulties of others. For a moment, Aurora wondered if she would have had the same courtesy if her own noble family hadn’t been so utterly disgraced in Kirkwall.

She was jolted from her thoughts at the feeling of someone rushing past her. An elven boy, no older than ten years of age, rushed by her. She could hear shouts from behind them. Etienne put an arm around her shoulder and moved her out of the way as guards from a nobleman chased the boy. It hardly seemed to be fair, two guards after one boy.

As the boy tripped on a loose cobblestone, the guards advanced, one ready to strike the boy with his fist. Aurora moved on instinct, not really hearing Etienne yelling after her. She placed herself between the guard and the boy, taking him in her arms.

“He’s a child!” She scolded the guard, causing him to pause. “What has he done to deserve a strike?” He was shivering and Aurora noted he already had injuries, as it were.

“He dared to insult Baroness Le Monte,” the guard sneered. “The worthless knife-ear mocked her—”

“She didn’t pay all she owed!” The boy piped up, his voice cracking with fear.

“Your rabbit master will accept whatever pay the baroness deems worth his time,” the second snapped, moving to pull him out of Aurora’s grasp. “Now, let him go you insolent dog wench!”

“I must ask you to watch your tongue when speaking to my friend.” There was a cool edge to Etienne’s voice as he cut in, causing the guards to look at him. While his voice had an edge, his face was nothing less than polite and friendly. “Baroness le Monte, you said?” He took a step closer and the guards seemed to realize who he was. He tilted his head a bit, seeming to play confused. “She’s shirking around payments? My, I hope they haven’t fallen on difficult times…”

“No, no they have not, Ser de Rousseau,” the guard said firmly, yet there was a waiver in his voice.

“Ah, because they ought to be able to pay what is owed then, correct? We would not wish the other nobles to think any less of the house le Monte, no? It would be a shame, the baroness throws such lovely parties. If they think…”

“We will see the pay is done,” the first said with a huff, giving them a pouch of what else was owed.

“Good,” Etienne said with a smile. “Give Sophia my regards.” With that, the guards left the two the the boy, the templars watching them skeptically.

Aurora helped the boy to his feet, straightening his jacket a bit and smiling at him. He looked at her in surprise with large green eyes. He tilted his head to the side, a tuft of dark brown hair falling onto his sunkissed forehead.

“Are you well? Not too hurt, are you?” She asked gently. He shook his head, still not sure what to say. She handed him the pouch and then reached into her own purse and pulled out a few small coins she had. “Good. Run back to your master and buy yourself a sweet roll on the way.”

“Th-thank you, ma’am!” The boy said, turning to rush off. Aurora watched him go, a sad look on her features.

“You know, it is not typical for someone to stand up for elves,” Etienne pointed out. “That was the cause of a revolt in Halamshiral, you know. A good elf was apparently killed and the elves revolted because no one stood up for them against one of the lords of the city. The empress purged the alienage.”

“Well, maybe more people ought to stand up for them,” she said, allowing Etienne to help her to her feet. “Perhaps if more people stood up for each other, the world would be better.”

“An astute philosophy, Lady Amell,” Etienne teased her. He glanced back at the templars, realizing they were becoming antsy. “It is about time for us to return, is it not?”

“It is, Enchanter,” one of them replied with an annoyed, gruff voice.

“Then let us not keep Lord Seeker waiting,” Etienne responded. “I am sure he suspects us of great crimes due to this.”

“Watch your tongue, mage,” the second snapped and Etienne merely smiled.

Aurora was sure it was to hide his nerves.

[lcgacyofages-a]

@lessaboteur liked for a starter with Etienne

The Empress’s party was as to be expected. He had adorned the mask his father had commissioned for him; a bit plainer than the rest of his family’s to denote his status as a mage of the White Spire, but still elegant. And while he enjoyed parties, he knew there was a danger to them if one were to venture too far. Judging by how his step mother kept looking at him, he was sure there was danger for him.

She was terrible at thinking he didn’t notice.

Etienne smiled at her, raising his glass but not drinking. Grey eyes watched about, taking note of everyone...

His eyes fell on an elven woman who didn’t seem to entirely...Fit. Ignored by most due to being an elf but...There was definitely something about her. And he watched as she made her way out of the room and he felt inclined to follow.