#Id love to talk with people about out inquisitors

[arrowhawkart]

Alright what's up everyone! If you do not follow my personal blog fair warning: I have become very suddenly obsessed with Dragon Age and have been playing thru the games for the first time ever- so expect the next chunk of art from me to be very Dragon Age-centric

So Anyways here's Cedric Hawke, the fun little guy I made for my DA2 playthrough and became incredibly attached to much faster than I expected.

More incoherent rambles and thoughts on my Hawke under the cut- it's very stream of consciousness under there and also very very long you've been warned

[ID in Alt Text]

Just like.... wow.... okay so I've now played through Inquisition and finished Trespasser and I've gotta say DA2 really took the cake for me, like by far my favorite of the 3. (Like please don't get me wrong it absolutely had it's issues I'm not saying it was a perfect game or that all the writing choices were amazing) But I just really enjoyed the smaller more personal scale of the conflicts in DA2, I liked that Hawke was even more Just Some Guy, and like yeah the Warden and the Inquisitor aren't like special chosen ones or anything, but they are both tasked with these gigantic world-saving country-spanning quests, and Hawke? Hawke is just a guy trying to do right by his family. Like he doesn't have any world saving mission. He is just trying to Get By and that really made this game hit home more for me than the other two.

I said I was gonna ramble about my Hawke and I just ended up rambling about DA2 itself... whoops. ANYWAYS- Cedric- My Boy Cedric- I recognize that a purple mage Hawke is the most common route people go and I am by no means unique or original, but this game series is very new to me, personally, and I'm having fun anyways. (From here on out I will be talking about my Custom Hawke and not like, Hawke the player character in general)

And gosh I'm such a sucker for complicated and messy family dynamics, and DA2 does that so well. Like the Hawke family is Fucked Up. Bethany gets killed by that ogre while they're fleeing Lothering when she tries to save their mom from said ogre, and Leandra immediately turns and blames Cedric for Bethany's death- and then later in Act 1, Carver, best baby brother Carver, also throws Bethany's death in his face while they're having their own stupid argument which started because Cedric was trying to cheer Carver up and boy did that fail dramatically.

Like Cedric is witty and charming and sarcastic and kind of an asshole sometimes, and comes of as incredibly over confident and cocksure and that's because he's very much been shoved into the role of 'okay you've gotta take care of everything and if you don't everything bad is Your Fault, and since you're in charge of taking care of everything, everything bad is automatically Your Fault No Matter What Anyways.' So he's gotta playact like he has everything all together and under control, because what the fuck is his family gonna do if he doesn't? And underneath all of that he's an incredibly stressed out guy, who does not feel like he can ever let on that he's stressed and making everything up as he goes and just hoping that things work out well.

And like he tries to do the right thing- by god does this man try. He brings Carver with him on the deep roads mission because he and Carver work well together! Carver wants to go! He loves his little brother, there is no one he would rather have by his side than his little brother! There is no one he trusts more than Carver to have his back! Carver and Cedric are incredibly close, (yes in the game's friendship/rivalry system Carver was locked in at full rivalry but that absolutely does not mean they weren't still very close and also friends). Like Carver is the one person who actually recognizes that the way Leandra projects all of her own issues onto them, but like mostly Cedric, is really shitty! He acknowledges that after apologizing for his part in the argument I mentioned above. And then of course Carver ends up getting the Blight during the deep roads mission, because nothing can every go right for them. Thankfully Cedric brought Anders along, so Carver is able to become a Grey Warden instead of DYING, but he has to leave, and Cedric doesn't even find out whether or not Carver survived his joining for months. And of course Leandra blames Cedric for this, she begged him not to bring Carver along with him, and he did anyways and now she's never going to see her youngest son again and it's all Cedric's fault. And that's how Act 1 ends and I just.... Auaghghghghhhh-

And then we've got Act 2, and like mid-way through Act 2 is probably the high point for Cedric. Things peak for him here and then it's all one big snowball downhill from there. So like, Cedric romanced Fenris, because this man is addicted to difficulty, and of course was going to immediately be infatuated with the guy that makes hating mages half his personality. (I mean it wasn't immediate, it was more of a slow build, mutual-trust, to friendship(and yes once again Fenris was at full rivalry but I stand by what I said about the friendship rivalry system earlier), to lovers thing, especially considering three years pass between Acts 1 and 2) And yeah, Cedric doesn't hide the fact that he's very into Fenris, and Fenris definitely hasn't seemed opposed to this. So after Fenris kills Hadriana and then they have that fun little argument that ends with Fenris pinning Cedric to the wall and kissing him 😳- Cedric is like, riding the high of what was probably the first positive physical affection he's gotten since Carver let for the Grey Wardens three years ago. And then of course the following morning Fenris immediately breaks things off with Cedric, so what Cedric thought was going to be the start to a romantic relationship, just ends up being an ill-fated one night stand. And like! Cedric does not begrudge Fenris this! He completely understands Fenris's reasons, he is not upset with Fenris at all! He is still just completely crushed though. So yeah, things peaked for Cedric for like one very short night and then start speeding downhill. Because not long after that is when his mom is killed by a fucking serial killer. As if things weren't already fucked enough for Cedric, already having lost his twin younger siblings.

Also side note- I love the fact that DA2 is portrayed as Varric telling the story of Hawke's life to Cassandra, and that we know Varric is an unreliable narrator. Because like Leandra's last words to Hawke being that she's so proud of her strong boy- at least with how Cedric's relationship was with Leandra up to this point- felt so so out of character for Leandra, and I love the headcanon that that's Varric giving his bestie some closure narratively that he never actually got in reality. So like that's canon for Cedric. Because that was Leandra's decapitated head frankensteined onto another woman's body- and magicked into a reanimated corpse that absolutely did not seem like it had any conscious thought- like she was already dead before Cedric showed up. There were no final words. There was no nice narratively satisfying ending to that one. And I like it better that way tbh........

We're just gonna like skip over the whole qunari invasion subplot because I am. Not a fan of how that was handled. Writing wise. Like what the fuck was that. Like I have THOUGHTS about it but they're not gonna go on tumblr. Anyways. Moving on.

Champion of Kirkwall! Yay! Meredith knows he's an apostate mage and is just Waiting for any half-decent excuse to either bring him to the circle, make him tranquil, or kill him? Not yay! Cedric is absolutely good friends with Anders, and has been helping with the mage underground every chance he has. People in the city have been whispering about making him of all people Viscount and he has no idea how to feel about that, like he'd rather not, but who else is gonna do it? And who else would do it and actually give a shit about mages and elves and just like lower class people in general? Like this incredibly stressed out guy does not need more added to his plate, he really doesn't. But he's definitely thinking about it. I mean hey! It's not like he's got any family around to take care of at this point right? Why not just take that eldest daughter syndrome thing he's got going on and use it to fix the city?

The one bright spot for him here is that hey, at least he and Fenris get back together. That one's nice. They both deserve something positive and comforting after all the shit they've been through.

And then Meredith is trying to invoke the right of annulment and Anders blows up the fucking Chantry. And Cedric can't even blame him for it. After 6 or 7 years of painstakingly working to try to find peaceful ways to improve the lives of mages and getting blocked at every turn, with the knowledge that Meredith has been getting worse and worse and worse, and has been actively looking for any excuse to invoke the right of annulment and just kill every single mage in Kirkwall? And Grand Cleric Elthina has been absolutely no help, and has absolutely been subtly on Meredith's side the entire time. Like at a certain point, violence really does feel like the only option left. When you've been backed this far into a corner.

So obviously Cedric takes the side of the mages, doesn't kill Anders, is honestly like 'my dude, my buddy, my guy, my best pal(aside from Varric, and my boyfriend Fenris) why didn't you tell me? I would've helped you on purpose.' He's elated when Carver shows up during that final push to the Gallows, like the whole situation is absolutely shit, and it'd definitely be better if his beloved brother was no where near danger, but he's a Grey Warden now so that's not even an option anyways. So it's just nice to have him around even during such an intensely stressful moment. Honestly everything is so unbelievably fucked at this point that Cedric isn't even stressed anymore. Like things literally cannot get worse. He's kind of riding the high of things not being able to get worse. Or maybe that's just adrenaline. Who knows. Aveline and Sebastian both leave, Cedric is unbothered. Doesn't even try to convince Aveline to side with him later either, like he's never really gotten along with her, and he did not like how she treated Carver. Fenris and everyone else stick around, and that's what matters to Cedric, like all the people he was actually close friends with stick with him in this moment (Fenris, Varric, Isabella, Merrill, Anders, & Carver)

And then yeah, they save the mages, defeat Meredith, leave Kirkwall with the renegade mages. Everyone goes their separate ways due to one reason or another, except Fenris. At least Cedric does get to keep one positive close relationship around.

[lokorum]

Pls rant about non romance cole…he’s my favorite character in anything, ever and it feels so sad that we never got to have a deeper relationship w him. Like the mechanics/possible lore of having a romance with a spirit are so tantalizingly interesting but no…also doubting we will see him in veil guard which leaves me so so broken …

*looks at their pile of unpacked feelings about cole*

so ૮( ◡̀_◡́)ა where to start....................

first of all uh! im not good at talking! that's why i draw phphp but i'll try my best to resurrect my memories from 2014 and share it with you!! sorry if it will sound weird, english is not my native language! 

well WELL from the begining then. i remember spending hours  more like days hhhh thinking about how weird and cool the recruiting scene with cole is? later when he is already with the inquisition, our party is either on guard around him or kinda treats him like he is helpless and needs special attention or guidance or something like that? demonising someone like him or framing them as in need of help are like textbook behavior ofc and im not here to be a hater, i just noticed it? moments with solas and varric fighting over him like a divorced couple are super cute for sure!!

but i remember being confused because excuse me, out of all of them, this guy??, this feral bat that is chilling on the ceiling like it's a lounge-zone inside Lucius' head, created especially for him?

he is confident. also a little bit nervous, a bunch mysterious and just ghostly cool. but also confident. (im not saying this confidence is not misplaced sometimes btw x) he even tells you that if you'll leave your head you'll die! what a jokester (҂ ꒦ິヮ꒦ິ)

and the whole quest with templars and envy are soooo horror coded, i love it!! it looked a bit silly, sure

(even after so many years im not able to get rid of the image in my brain phphphp) 

but it's still a very interesting quest!! dorian is ✨the bestie✨ but i'm always picking templars bc the implications of the story are just so good

1. its placed at the beginning of the game and your character is probably confused and anxious and dont yet worked out the routine of how to deal with their new title\powers + not every inquisitor character would want to be in the spotlight.

imagine you suddenly got yourself into position where a lot of people looking up to you, listening to what you saying, placing their hopes on you or waiting for you to fail? this is terrible! id 1000% just jumped out of a cliff!!! a small one, but still 

2. you meeting the guy who basically came from a place you now have unlimited access to.

he is: a) almost as confused as you are b) possibly came to this world without knowing consequences of that decision c) along the way he is figuring out how to be himself in the environment that is nothing like where he used to live. wow thats just like forced immigration *nervous laugh*

3. and let's not forget that you are meeting him inside your head and you can say to him "you look familiar".

dont know about you but apparently i dont need much to start screaming ¯(ツ)/¯

also can i just spend the moment to say that this is three (3) identical dialogue options??????????

the screenshot is from here btw

how awesome would it be to be able to figure out stuff together? to find comfort in someone, with someone who barely experienced it this way? to build on your strong sides? like "hope" for cole and i guess "unhingedness" for the inquisitor? i bet they would ground each other easily as well: cole distracting inq by being unintentionally mischievous and inq would have a notepad with cole's "firsts ____" or they would just read together. oh im such a sucker for hurt\comfort\some things cant be healed stuff uaaaaaaaaa

ALSO THE "FORGET" THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the drama the horror the tension!!!!!!!! you can fight me over this but heres the thought:

cole being so stressed that he is erasing\being on the edge of erasing the inquisitor's memories??????

i got the feeling that cole's confidence in the concept of "help" is, among other things, makes him being able to zoom in on something borderline obsessively? or vise versa - dismissively, not noticing "it hurts, its not for the better"? he thanks you when you promise to kill him, he cries when you do not. i swear this man (─ ‿ ─)

+quick addition bc im not entirely sure: so if i got it right, the anchor makes the inquisitor "too bright" to read? so among all the people we know about inq is the one that cole can't truly empathise on this lvl? on spiritual lvl you might say lsdkjflksdjflkj sorry!!!!! but jokes aside,this is like the perfect ground to build both comforting stories 

"someone from the party notices that cole is hanging near inq before inq do, and when asked he explains it by saying something like "dry warm skin. the air is stilled with quiet, easy to breathe. i followed the shining whispers and then i was followed no more" with the most plain face possible? "

and "today for lunch i have glass" kind of stories, like "the inquisitor is cornered and possibly bleeding and probably on the verge of passing out and they know that situation is bad and no one should follow/find them, "it's better to wait it out and deal with it on my own" kind of clown behavior. so they laugh tiredly at how pathetic they are, maybe remembering something similar from their childhood, remarks from their sibling for ex., and just trying their best to not think about how they need cole's help, cole's presence. the sense of safety that comes when he is around" 

uh!!! that wasnt neither quick or painless so i'll go make a tea wait a second please

im back!! so since i talked about the forget thing i must confess - i dont really like cole's personal quest???? again, im not complaining or anything but i remember feeling kinda empty while playing it? like deep inside me, there was something sad, but it was so far away,i coudn't even feel it properly?

both human and spirit versions of his ending made me feel like the distance between you and him lengthened, and maybe you could do something about it before but now? this "something" is missing and you're lost and can't even tell for sure if theres was a chance to do something in the first place? and cole just moved on? its super logical considering he is not a romance option but phphph so, i rarely romance someone in games, partly bc rpg tends to be a little horny and im that kind of ace who is not interested in this, partly bc i tend to pay attention to non-romanceable characters, so when i started to explore last da:i dlc and i saw cole having gf i was like "well ouch".

imagine your inq has a crush on cole but they never were able to say it clearly?

mb it was a melancholic slowburn, and your character was going through too much and felt like burdening cole with their problems would be unfair?

maybe they tried but the timing was wrong, the words felt stupid, and their hands felt too dirty, too guilty?

oh anon its been ten years and its still huuuuuurts!!!! if you following me for a while you know that im an edge lord in poor disguise so its not surprising for neither you or me that i ended up rumbling about inexplicable sadness and crushing existential guilt, but sorry for that anyway!! if anyone would want me to talk about something specific, or to draw something - im here, staring at the wall, listening to cole's banter :') thank you for the wonderful question tho, it was more than just nice to return back to this ship. im so agreeing with you about cole being the fave character from everything, but i also understand that this could mean being very unsatisfied with the way he was portrayed at some points or just with the fact that characters like him are rare so im sending you warm and tight hugs and a little sketch!! <3 

let's collectively accept the fact that dav gonna be a beautiful mess, we gonna love it (passionately), we gonna be hurt by it (not surprisingly) and COLE FOREVER WILL BE THE BEST DA CHARACTER EVER IM NOT GONNA CHANGE MY MIND FIGHT ME

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Second Inquisition WOW

I don't even know how to preface this, because this is some massive tonal confusion. I guess the best way to put it is that for all I love Werewolf and Vampire, I am not blind to the horror they are for humans. Though my go-to question for anyone writing monster hunters is why they hunt, I still feel hunters are extremely important to the narrative as a counterpoint to the monsters. So when I read the introduction text for the Second Inquisition book for V5, my jaw hit the floor.

"The theme of the Second Inquisition is determination – aimed at the player coterie. Like a certain killer cyborg from the future, the Coalition can’t be reasoned with, it can’t be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Individual Inquisitors or soldiers or cops or nuns can be reasoned with and bargained with. Most feel fear, some feel pity, and even a few feel remorse. All those deviations and human moments make excellent stories, ripples in the flood. But the narrative relentlessly washes over those stories, replacing every flawed or broken foe with two more – ten more — out for revenge or salvation. The Inquisition as a whole – both as a conspiracy and a movement that enflames that conspiracy – will not stop until every Kindred burns. Conveying the impersonal, implacable determination of a gigantic bureaucracy to crush the player characters should not be impossible in the 2020s – but it should be very effective."

Why this made me stare at the screen, is how the Inquisition was introduced in an older book;

"The theme of The Inquisition is the crusader. The Society of Leopold sees itself as humanity’s last stand against the encroaching hordes of the World of Darkness. Inquisitors are the new Crusaders; all the Earth is their Holy Land. But theirs is a lonely struggle, bereft of the support of those whom they would save. The general populace does not know of the struggle, and would most likely think the Inquisitors are mad. Inquisitors are holy knights, alienated from their fellow mortals by their knowledge of what awaits. Some within the Inquisition are zealots, it is true, but it is better to err on the side of caution than to let slip the defences of humanity." The difference is stark, especially as they are talking about the same sort of hunters. The reason I find the newer book's take extremely strange, is due to the fact that the player characters in VtM are undead bloodsucking parasites that manipulate humanity and have magic blood powers that make them much stronger than an average human. Yet the V5 book chooses to introduce the inquisition as horrible people who will never stop hunting poor innocent vampires. It goes even as far as the art.

(Start ID; A mixed media picture with modified photographs. A bald man in a trenchcoat is scowling with his fists clenched. He is holding the severed head of a female vampire from its hair. The expression on the head is of wide-eyed horror. End ID.)

(Start ID; A book cover with the text Inquision as the title, with a crosshair symbol reading 'Year of the Hunter' on the bottom. The cover art is a painted picture of a bearded man in a trenchcoat and torn jeans wielding in one hand a large cross and in another a lit torch. There is a shotgun and spent shells on the tiled floor. Just outside the light of the torch, a horde of vampires with glowing eyes has surrounded the man, some shirking from the light. End ID.)

One treats the hunter as a threat overpowering a vampire. The other treats the hunter as a lone figure surrounded by a mass of vampires. Let me be quite frank, humanity in WoD are the mice that the cats (vampires) hunt. Hunters are the mice that fight back. A vampire in VtM, regardless of edition, has an advantage over a hunter. Vampires use humans as prey, the polite ones pay them for it but they don't HAVE to. In V5 you are given various methods to hunt for your blood, some which are cruel. Painting the people standing up to creatures that actively harm humans as the abusers and the ones in the wrong is extremely tone deaf. Vampires are not some oppressed minority trying to eke out a living, a vampire is creature that needs to drink blood to survive and human blood is the best. In V5's own lore, it is only recently that vampires are even put on the backfoot at all. Before that, humanity were pawns in centuries long grudgematches and at best a quick bite snack at wost fleshcrafted into sacks hung from hooks. Can there be good vampires and bad hunters? Of course, WoD is all about the shades of gray. It is when the basic set up of the setting is turned around like this that I have a problem.

[rosykims]

😥 and 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 for Ashara

😥 SAD BUT RELIEVED FACE — is your oc prone to getting stressed out, or is it easy for them to keep their cool?

ashara's funny in that she gets pissed off quite easily over small inconsequential things, but when the going gets tough and she's facing real problems she has pretty remarkable emotional regulation and can keep composed through pretty much anything. she believes in leading by example mostly, and tries to project an aura of strength and unflinching control in order to inspire morale in her people and make them feel.... idk. safer! more secure. like they can depend on her. which they can.

but ofc if some marquis decides to cancel a meeting on her last minute or a shipment of flour has been stolen by scavengers on the road, all that goes out the window and shes in a bad mood for the next 3 hours lol

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 FAMILY WITH MOTHER, FATHER, SON AND DAUGHTER — how many people are in your oc's immediate family? how many people are in your oc's extended family? do they have aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc? who in their family are they closest with? are they close with their birth family, or do they have a found family?

ashara has a pretty wild family tree + history which i talked about a bit in a seperate answer, but long story short she has a LOT of family lore, tho currently the only surviving dhavise descendants are her, her sister mithra, and her nephew samahl

quick namedrops:

mithra is her twin sister, another mage, tho she rejected her abilities because she believes its ultimately more trouble than its worth. she prefers archery and has trained with the clan's hunters since early teens.

she also has a 5 year old son, ie ashara's nephew samahl (hard launch of that name i just decided on the spot lol). he's a very sweet inquisitive boy who ashara absolutely dotes on. mithra struggles with motherhood to the point where it's a frequent source of fights between them, because ashara sees mithra's relationship with her son as a mirror for THEIR relationship with their late mother. aka, bad and neglectful lol. anyways just realized he'll be 17 in datv :( cries and dies

numina dhavise was ashara's aforementioned mother. ashara's father arlan was a free marcher circle apprentice who'd been taken in by the clan after escaping the templars. the two quickly fell in love, conceiving ashara and mithra. arlan disappeared shortly after with no clue as to what happened and numina was never quite herself afterwards. she remained an adept healer for the clan, but ended up alienating herself quite a bit due to frequently resorting to blood magic in the hopes it might help her locate arlan. it never did, though her relationship with her children suffered in the attempt. it culminated in her death after the clan encountered nearby templars who were escorting an enchanter, and numina panicked. her blood magic went wrong for the first time in 13 years and she became a despair abomination, icing out half the camp and inflicting frostbite on several other members of the clan.

lastly, arlan is ashara's absent father lol. she and mithra found out years after numina's death that he had turned himself back into the circle of magi for a few reasons, mainly because he learnt what happens when dalish clans have too many mages and wanted to do right by his family. he'd been forced to complete his harrowing shortly afterwards and failed, becoming tranquil. i like to think when ashara became inquisitor she was able to keep better tabs on him and insure he was safe during the mage/templar conflict and all that followed afterwards.

so yeah. lots to unpack within ashara's family. everything in ashara's character really does come back to her family and the people in it, and although its mostly a sad story she is very much a family oriented person and wants to provide/protect them (she wants to protect everybody, really). if datv doesnt end in tragedy id love to end her story with her having her own little family and ending the cycle of pain which has kind of followed them around for generations.

[starnautt]

Does anyone else put filters on their inquisitor?

No? Just me?

[sunderedazem]

🍇 ALL OF THEM.

AT ONCE, MY DEAR SIR!

🍇What sort of friend are they? Where are they in the group dynamic?

Corrain (Knight/Outlander) - Sleepless Friend - This is the friend you actively worry about. Not because he's doing something illegal or causing drama, but because you genuinely don't know the last time he ate or slept on purpose. He's always the first one to volunteer to help someone else out but in the same breath he's completely oblivious to his own issues and needs. you've got to kick him in the seat of the pants from time to time.

Kalvonut (Consular) - "Mom" Friend - but in the kind of resigned way where he's not going to STOP you from doing something batshit insane, he'll just sigh disapprovingly, maybe warn you once or twice, and then be ready with bandaids and ice packs when you inevitably hurt yourself. he's the one that bails you out of jail and gives you hugs when you're upset, no questions asked.

Kessin (Smuggler) - the Party Animal Friend. Somehow they know ALL the best parties to go to, AND they've got the fake IDs to get you in if you need it. 10/10 a terrible influence, but they'll kick ass if someone looks at you wrong and they absolutely take shit seriously when it's their turn to be the Designated Driver. Having fun is only surpassed by being safe in their book, and they can and will frog-march you home if you get blackout drunk. They're the one to ask for info on the least-sketchy bars and clubs.

Deitente (Trooper) - Can't-Relax Friend. She's the one you go to for a good time that's also a clean time. She's the one that always knows the best local restaurants and scenic spots and also organizes every surprise party ever. you never just sit around and do nothing - she *will* find something for you to do out of the house! god forbid you catch her actually RELAXING for once in her life.

Eiri (Warrior) - Tired of Socializing Friend. You go to his house, play video games in silence for three hours, you go home. Sometimes you even talk to each other about books you've liked recently, and you bitch about all the assholes you both know. He's the one you don't need to do stuff with or really talk to to just. be able to hang out with, quietly. he wordlessly makes you hot chocolate when you're sad, throws blankets at you, and turns on the shittiest sitcom ever so you laugh.

Sekulyn (Inquisitor) - Broken All the Laws Friend. This is the one who's got your back 100% but will also show up to a knife fight with a bazooka, flamethrower, and a pack of grenades. They don't necessarily ASK you to do illegal shit, but you've heard very true stories about how they've gotten away with arson and grand larceny at least seven times and each story is different. you're 90% sure that if you weren't friends that they'd have to kill you, but they manage to keep you out of their shady shit pretty well out of respect? you're not sure and you don't ask.

Astayr (Bounty Hunter) - Shit-stirrer Friend. Like the Party Animal, but she doesn't go to a party just to have a good time, she goes and starts shit. Most of the time it's because Xey've gone and thrown someone into a wall for groping someone else's ass, a fight starts, and by the time it's 2 am you're both sitting in jail drunk off your ass and laughing. On the rare occasion xey DON'T start a barfight, xey get roaring drunk, kiss a bunch of people, and eventually find two people that will start a fight for xir amusement. Do not tell her ANY gossip in the AITA vein or you will get a confrontation between her and whomever the asshole is.

Elennye (Imp Agent) - Tough Love Friend. She's the one you call when you get into shit and Kalvonut is too busy rescuing kittens to pick you up. She will berate you for being stupid even as she's patching you up, but her advice is always sound even if it's not what you want to hear. She doesn't mince words and she's never nice for the sake of being nice, but she's the person to call when you need some sense shaken into you.

THANK U FOR THE ASK KITTY YOU'RE A BEAN <3

[creative-frequency]

Inquisitor!Cal Kestis x Reader: Free Time

Word count: 1564 Pairing: Inquisitor!Cal Kestis x Reader Notes: I had a mighty need for inquisitor Cal, asked what kind of scenarios would you guys like to read and here we go.

My Writing Masterlist

He is always training.

Alone.

You don’t know much about this new Inquisitor who some call unofficially the Eleventh Brother. There would be plenty enough numbers available among the first ten. Some even whisper that he is the next Grand Inquisitor. He doesn’t look that special to you, but you don’t want to go close enough to get a better look.

With the way he handles the red lightsaber, it’s clear that he is no stranger to the weapon. After a few sparring matches, the Purge Troopers quickly learned to avoid him in training spaces. Everyone gives him a wide berth.

Former Jedi Cal Kestis is always training because when he isn’t, he can hear his own thoughts, screaming inside his head. There is no one to talk to, no one to drown the thoughts with. The other Inquisitors barely treat him as equal, most often settling for avoidance. The feeling is mutual.

Cal feels the yearning for companionship, but there is none he can trust now. None who would comfort or encourage him. Getting physically exhausted and falling into dreamless sleep makes his new life somewhat more bearable. There is no light in his existence now. Just aimless darkness where he wanders, trying to hold his head above the surface. He is just surviving.

Attending to your duties at the Fortress Inquisitorius, you have no time to stare at the new Inquisitor, as handsome as he may be. He is swinging the double-bladed lightsaber in a speed that makes you dizzy. You don’t like the way the Second Sister looks at him, like a trophy from a hunt. It makes you feel sick but there is nothing you can do, especially show your disgust.

Nur wouldn’t have been your first choice, but one can’t exactly say no to a direct order. So you just focus on the job and hope that a new order will come soon.

It’s been two years.

Working in maintenance isn’t the most exciting career under the rule of the Galactic Empire. At least you don’t have to torture or murder anyone, only look the other way when someone else does. Things like that tend to numb people. You’re not proud of it. You’re just surviving.

Most of your coworkers are droids. Sometimes you hear people joking that you’re leading an army of your own. You tend to avoid the Troopers and especially the Inquisitors. Keeping a low profile is not just the best tactic to stay alive on the planet, it’s a necessity.

With a job that mainly requires only hands, you have too much time to think and wait for the comlink to spark into life.

“Requiring maintenance on residential level. Over.”

An everyday occurrence. You sigh. “What seems to be the problem? Over.”

“Another blasted lock. Apartment 2-5-7-K. Over.”

Gripping the comlink, you bite your lip. Shit. Anything over 250 means it’s an Inquisitor’s door. You’d best hurry.

“I’m on my way. Over.”

A blasted lock. You wonder what the reason is this time. What Trooper was stupid enough to draw a weapon in the hallways? They probably paid for the insolence with their life. Maybe there was a skirmish with one of the prisoners or someone tried to escape. Wouldn’t be the first time. You try to think of something else.

The hallway is fortunately empty so you speed walk to the right door. 257K. After a short inspection it seems that the lock is not actually broken, the door just needs some basic maintenance. The room hasn’t been in use for a long time but apparently someone has moved in recently. You make a mental note to bump it higher up on the priority list and to make sure a droid is taking care of it.

“It just needs adjustment, right?”

A scream almost flees you and you drop the servodriver.

The red-head Inquisitor stands next to you, slightly crouched to see better what you’re doing. You didn’t hear anyone approaching.

“Would’ve fixed it myself if I had the tools,” he continues, ignoring your almost heart attack.

“I’m sorry! This’ll be ready in a minute,” you say hastily and try not to look at the freckles on his face.

The Inquisitor’s brows crease closer together when you don’t look him in the eye.

“Okay,” he simply replies and leans against the wall, arms folding on his chest and looking like he isn’t going anywhere soon. If anything, he seems to enjoy watching you panic. A light smirk on his face and all.

You feel the eyes on your back as you work as fast as you can, checking and testing the connectors. Some of them need to be changed soon and that requires another order of spare parts. You just love paperwork and spending the Empire’s credits.

“Can you take a look at the AC inside? It’s been acting up.”

The servodriver almost falls from your grip again. You turn around to bow your head to the Inquisitor. Your eyes are obstinately drawn to the lightsaber resting against his thigh. “Of course, sir.”

The constant feeling of “I hope he doesn’t kill me” in your gut makes your hands shake but somehow you manage to make sure the lock works again. The Inquisitor still leans on the wall, looking like he has all the time in the world to just hang out. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him outside the dojo.

“There. Is it okay if I go in to check the AC now?” You don’t want to look him in the eye and with your every cell hope that he will leave now and let you work in peace.

Not a chance.

He shows you inside and stays hovering nearby as you try to calm yourself enough to work. He can’t seem to take his eyes off you. Something about you, watching you is… itching him.

“The thermostat seems to be broken, sir.” You dare a peek at the Inquisitor. He doesn’t seem as intimidating as the others and is actually younger than you initially thought. “I’ll need to go fetch some parts but I’ll set a static room temperature for now.”

“Okay.” He runs his hand through his ginger hair and sighs. “Can’t you just make a droid bring the parts?”

You blanch. “Uh, yes. Of course, I just thought it’d be faster if… I go… myself…” Your voice trails off under the cryptically meaningful look in his eyes.

Cal examines you, circling around in a slow, lazy arc. He has noticed you before even though you actively make every effort to not stand out. He felt something spark inside him in the hallway and he needs a moment to realize it’s curiosity that brings life to his dull existence. The feeling has some exhilarating new shades and he wonders is it because you look like a cornered animal, shaking in fear.

It excites him.

“Sir?” you squeak and can’t form the follow up question because Cal takes a step towards you.

“Who are you?” he asks slowly, gaze trained onto your face, eyes boring holes into your mind. His pulse is quickened like in the thick of a combat and he cannot understand why.

“Um, I’m not sure I– I’m just a technician. I’ve got clearance, y-you see… I can show you my ID…” you stutter and fumble a hand into your chest pocket to fish out the ID card. “See?”

Cal doesn’t even spare a glance at it.

“Yeah. I’m not interested in that,” he says coolly. He stands close enough to either strangle or hug you – though you know he wouldn’t need to get close and personal to kill you. You’re starting to panic.

“Sorry…” you peep, “Can I…”

Go?

You can’t finish the sentence because the Inquisitor leans forward and plants a gloved hand against the wall over your shoulder – a predator enjoying one last sniff of his prey before the killing blow.

All of your jittering ends and you completely freeze. The whimper that escapes your lips doesn’t sound like you at all. He has so many freckles and the feeling they enact in you acts as the perfect opposite to what their owner is doing. As good-looking as he may be, getting within a kissing distance to the Inquisitor wasn’t on your bucket list.

However, while you’re waiting perfectly still – in spite of your racing heart – for his next move, Cal hesitates. The excitement that spurred him into taking the initiative is gaining an altogether different tone. He is suddenly nervous and has to ball his hand into a fist to stop it from shaking.

You stare at each other, mere inches away and lightly gasp for breaths. The menacing Inquisitor aura is gone and you curse him for toying with you like that since there’s no way you can forget this ever happened. For a fleeting moment, you think should you just kiss him and be done with it – and gamble your life on his goodwill.

Cal finally loses his nerve and leaves without so much as a word or a glance at your direction.

You wait for a few stunned breaths to hear if he is coming back after the fateful sizzle of the door. Your head is positively spinning by the time you make it out alive from the quarters of Inquisitor Cal Kestis.

You hope nothing breaks in his room again.

//

Part 2

[ahsoka-lives]

Iris pt. 1

The Elevator  Inquisitor!Cal x Reader- Parts 2&3 are up now!

Word Count: 1417

Warnings: none. nosmutyet

A/n: I cannot write summaries to save my life but this is the first part of a series I’m doing for Cal because I love him sm and there just is not enough fics for him! Pleaseeee be gentle I haven't written in ages but I am open to constructive feedback. Ty!!!  I Forgot to put this in when I originally posted so I’m sorry about that but, the gif is NOT MINE. It’s by @calkesttiss​ 

   You considered yourself lucky. There were thousands of jobs to fill throughout the Empire, and you had managed to get one of the more comfortable ones. You were a droid technician on a remote imperial base where high ranking officers, special forces, and the ever-intriguing inquisitors lived when not doing the empire’s bidding. Unfortunately for you, there were more droids aboard the ship than people meaning your days were often busy. Each room was equipped with a kitchen droid and an automated laundry machine etc. Its a bit ridiculous, but you were in no position to make such comments. 

You had just finished your last appointment for the day, the light control panel had given out in someone’s office, and you were making the fairly long walk back to your living quarters. As you walked past the massive training room you couldn’t help but let your gaze wander over the last few who were still going at it at this hour. Your eyes linger on a man who was blocking blaster shots fired from a training droid with a staff. His back muscles flex with every subtle and not so subtle movement of his arms that were equally toned. You felt your breath catch in your throat when you caught a glimpse of his face. He was beautiful. His hair was a brilliant reddish-orange that contrasted well with his black training gear. His jaw was sharp and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. And his eyes were such a nice compliment to his freckles, a deep green that reflected the light emitted by the blaster, and oh they were staring right at you.

Oh, Gods. How long had it been since he realized you were being a creep! A blush burned into your cheeks as you quickly turned to continue down the hall as fast as you could without running. What was Wrong with you?? Why did you have to drool over the possibly very dangerous man who was training to be more dangerous? You sigh to yourself as you reach the elevator and quickly push the button and step inside. 

“Safe at last.” You mutter as you enter your floor code into the elevator pad. A light ding sounded and the doors began closing and they were so so close to shutting but you just weren’t that lucky. A hand shot between the doors causing them to hum open again. Tall and lean, the man you had been gawking at stepped in beside you. 

You stiffened and forced your eyes ahead of you, wanting to avoid all and any eye contact. You can’t believe your luck. All this time on this base and you had managed to keep yourself out of any distasteful situations. And now, here you are chest pumping, eyes frozen ahead of you and thinking of how quickly he could take you out. Hell, he was probably trained for it and the men(and women) who resided here did not handle disrespect well. You frequently had to repair damages caused by the temperamental and egotistical residents. You recall how defined his arms were as the thought of them being used to snap your neck crossed your mind, only to be interrupted by the feeling of someone standing unbelievably close to you. 

An arm was reaching over your shoulder with ease to input another floor causing you to gasp lightly. His chest was radiating warmth and it seeped across your shoulders and back. Before he could finish punching in his floor code you were shuffling away from him, putting as much space between you and his enticing warmth. 

“Sorry, I- I wasn’t paying attention.” The words just tumble from your lips before you catch your brain forming them. 

“Was I that distracting?” He muses now leaning against the elevator wall, relaxed and now he is the one staring. You feel his eyes burning holes into your head.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Great plan. Just pretend nothing ever happened. You almost want to laugh at yourself. 

“Oh, so that was someone else’s heart I could feel pounding when I caught your eyes? Good to know.” You could practically hear the smirk forming on his lips. 

Bing! Sweet relief, how long was that elevator ride?? 

“No, sorry you must be mistaken.” You rush your words and hurry to get off but your wrist is caught in his warm and surprisingly comforting hand- you’re cursing yourself for your thoughts and turn to face him. You’re certain your heart had stopped all together now. He was so close. His eyes boring into yours as you tried to wipe the scared look off your face. 

“There’s no need to be afraid of me. I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice is deep and gentle as his eyes scan your face. He is so much prettier up close. His lips are a subtle pink and you can’t help but think how they might feel agains- Wait.. was he smirking again?

You snap out of it and you take your wrist from his grasp. You realize how flustered the elevator made you as you take in the free air. You also realize the man was now wearing a sweater, also black, but the most surprising was the symbol on the right side of his chest. He’s wearing the badge of an Inquisitor. 

“Are you always this quiet...” He pauses and leans a bit toward you to read your ID badge. “Y/n” He sighs your name testing it on his tongue, seeing how it tastes. A small smile creeps onto his face and steps back into the elevator, letting the doors seal and finally carry him away. 

You turn and rush to your room. You quickly lock the door behind you as if he would be knocking on your door at any moment. And if he wanted to, he could. Inquisitors are the highest ranking in the building. They lead the special forces units and the officers. They’re force-sensitive assassins with the utmost skill. Hell, some can even read minds. They each have their own private hall and keep mostly to themselves. They live by a different set of rules than the rest of us, they have more leeway to do as they please. It makes sense, with what they do for the empire, they must be kept content. 

But what did that mean for you? He had said he didn’t want to hurt you which is a good sign. 

You sigh and make your way to the shower. You turn on the water and let it warm up while you strip off your uniform. A simple pullover sweater and pants, your dress code was relaxed since you work where people live. You step under the warm water and let your brain unwind. Before you know it, your mind is back on the Inquisitor. Maker, he was pretty. Strong, agile but also somewhat kind and reserved. He gave off confidence but it wasn’t arrogance. Your mind wandered to his hands and how his touch felt against your skin, it made something swell inside of you that you almost didn’t recognize. 

You groaned and shook your head. You did Not want to end up being tied to an Inquisitor. Could they even be involved with someone? You tell yourself you shouldn’t even care because it was never going to happen. Why are you even assuming he wants anything to do with the girl he caught staring at him from across the room? 

After turning off the water and wrapping yourself in a towel you pick up your clothes to carry to your room. A light thud makes startles you, your ID had fallen from your sweater. You pick it up and glance over it, a nervousness comes over you as you remember that your badge not only says your name but your occupation and call number. 

How much attention had the Inquisitor paid to your badge? 

Beeeep boop beep!

A notification sounded on your tablet, someone booked an appointment with you. 

“Read it to me, B-5.” You call to your droid who was cooking dinner in your kitchen. 

“Appointment for Malfunctioning BD-1 Droid at 0900 Hours. Location: Floor level 7, Cal Kestis.” Your droid recites. “Would you like to see the full card, y/n?” 

“Sure pull it up, B-5” You couldn’t remember issuing anyone a BD-1 droid so they must have brought it in themselves. You go meet your droid companion in the kitchen and  there was the answer to your question, one of them anyways.

The Inquisitor paid great attention to your badge. 

[luobingmeis]

Can you tell us about your DA protags?? Id love to learn about them 👉👈

yes!!! i have a bunch of secondary/tertiary OCs but i’m just gonna go through my main canon :’)

also this is probably gonna be a bit of a general description more about my personal headcanons of all of them bc 1) i have an expansive canon and 2) my brain is very tired

my main warden is my electra surana!! she’s an elf and a circle mage, and is alistair’s mistress (bc i refused to have my heart broken again by him breaking up with me so you KNOW i maxed that persuasion skill). i think my favorite thing abt electra is that i originally intended for her to be like, super angsty? like i made her when i was 15 and also angsty so i kinda expected her to be this jaded character with a tragic life but just like... as i kept replaying her, it was so much more narratively satisfying for her to be happy? like both with her in-game choices and the way i started to think of her in a more “stuff we don’t see in canon” type of stuff, she just became this OC who does everything she can to save whoever possible (and imo that’s exemplified in her choosing to save the city of amaranthine) and like the way i imagine all her friendships, it’s just so much better for me to think of her as a character who chooses joy in spite of all the shit she’s been through (and she does have a pretty tragic backstory, imo). also, in my canon, she’s my main inquisitor’s cousin! though bc of Stuff, they don’t meet until post-inquisition. and her younger sister, kira, is one of my tertiary inquisitors!! i also headcanon that she does find the cure for the calling and she does have an eventual son with alistair bc i love family stuff.............

my hawke is dani hawke, and she’s a mage (and sided with the mages)! and romanced fenris, and i 100% headcanon that isabela marries them (bc can’t captains like marry people???) and. oh boy. if electra is the one who missed out on the tragic character trope, then hawke is where it fell. like it is kinda canon bc, imo, hawke has the least celebratory ending but my hawke is. going through it. just bc i see hawke in general as such a tragic figure, and i kinda lean into that. like i primarily play purple hawke but, as we get into act 3, i start dabbling with red hawke options bc my hawke is just. so tired. and so done with having to fix everyone’s problems. like hawke really just is A Person who got tangled up in too much shit. she also might be where i store like at least a fraction of my overall family issues. but hawke is also where i really lean into the found family bc her kirkwall crew really is her family, like, by the time da2 finishes, she only has carver left and, even though they’re working on it, they still have a strained relationship. i headcanon that, by the time hawke gets to skyhold, she’s just so tired and so done and she was ready to sacrifice herself in the fade. varric, fenris, and the entire kirkwall crew really, are very happy that the inquisitor didn’t let her do that. i also headcanon that, after skyhold, fenris and hawke finally do settle down (as best they can) and eventually have a daughter.

and my inquisitor!!!!! camris lavellan!!!!!!!! idk if he’s necessarily my favorite bc it’s hard to choose, but he’s more so my self-insert and my comfort OC like i do the most self-projecting onto camris. i joke that i don’t know where he ends and i begin but tbh i’d be lying if i said that he hasn’t grown as an OC alongside me growing as a person. he’s a mage and romances dorian!! i almost have too much abt camris to just focus on one thing to talk abt (so if u ever wanna send questions,,,,, :3) but like. he just makes me happy :’) inquisition is the game i’ve played the most so he’s probably had the most consistent development overtime? or at least the one i have put the Most time into, but i still think him and electra are tied for who has the most expansive canon pre- and post- game. and, as i said before, he’s my warden’s cousin!! that whole storyline is very tragic bc their fathers were brothers in clan lavellan but electra’s father was exiled (though in my canon, it’s revealed he was going to run away from clan lavellan anyway with an apostate from the local alienage and he was going to tell camris’s father aka his brother to go with him but then uh. bad things happened real fast.) i equate that whole part of my canon kinda like what happened w/ merrill in da2? but not exactly, it’s more so just the easiest point of comparison. and also!!! my secondary inquisitor is camris’s older sister, adaranni! i didn’t intend for this to happen but i think it’s very cute that camris romances dorian and is best friends with josephine, and then adaranni romances josephine and is best friends with dorian. i just think it’s neat! i value all my heroes so much and they’re all very special to me but camris just hits a bit different omg

thank you for asking about them, i love talking abt my protags :’)

EDIT: WAIT I HAVE PLAYLISTS!!!! electra surana & electra/alistair, dani hawke & fenhawke, camris lavellan & pavellan

[atissi]

What advice would you give someone who wants to play Pathologic but is also terrified of screwing up really badly because I've played just enough of it to feel like there's no way I can succeed without looking stuff up but I don't want to do that! Just basic tips and/or reassurances if you have any?

Updated: Feb. 27 2021 (since I've finished and am replaying P2)

See, the thing about Pathologic is that it’s not possible to “succeed” like you do in other video games. There’s no happy ending for everyone. In the same sense, you can’t really fail. The game accommodates a wide variety of deaths and mistakes—even in Pathologic Classic HD, you can get a character's ending if you hoard enough medicine by the end of the 12 days, no matter how many people get sick or die. In Pathologic 2, everyone can die, but you’ll still be able to get an ending. Even some of the "bad" endings are fun in their own right. Sometimes, the game will reward you with more content because you failed in the first place.

All that being said, I totally relate to your fears. I’ll start by talking about Pathologic 2 first, since I’m more familiar with it. Then there will be some tips on playing Pathologic Classic HD.

Pathologic 2 is incredibly punishing, both emotionally and mechanically. I’ve seen people adapt to this through 3 different playstyles. I’ll rank them in terms of “least close to the intended gaming experience” to “most close”.

1. Just cheat.

“wrt cheating, as a notorious cheater, id recommend trying to do the game as legitimately as possible regardless! if there are some aspects that you absolutely do not vibe with, even with reduced difficulty (for me that's hunger mechanics), i would say that you can load in items to mitigate this aspect. and, tying in with the second point, if you complete a run this way you can always go back and try it legitimately since you've (sort of) gotten an understanding of the mechanic.” - Onion

If you have really bad anxiety, or just dont have the time available to do the other playstyles, cheating is a way to engage with Pathologic 2′s excellent story. Fiddling with the difficulty controls is allowed. Spawning in endless food for yourself is possible. I can even get you in touch with someone who uses cheat codes in the game regularly to get game assets. If changing the game is what it takes for you to get through it, I think it’s better than nothing. But I’d personally at least encourage you to try an Imago playthrough first. Decide if it’s too difficult for you after that. And again: Pathologic 2 is constantly trying to trip you up. It’s meant to be difficult. Sometimes you’ll fail and the game won’t tell you if you could have prevented it. Just keep going. But like Onion said, cheating works as a supplement.

2. Replay, replay, and replay, until you get it right.

“You can always replay. You have more time than they do. Also save states are your friend.” - Alex

“reload as much as possible, do NOT look things up. your first playthru WILL be bad, and thats good!!! experience it fully yourself first. [and] “reload as much as possible” meaning like: [it] isnt a crime, you can do it as many times as possible. but dont get stressed about doing everything perfectly. its an experience!!!” - Zee

There’s no penalty for using your save states. If you get stuck in a death loop, go back as far as you need to in order to get things right. Hopefully this means starting a day over and using your time more effectively. Personally, I got to Day 7 before realizing I had to restart from Day 1, because I was doing that badly. Trust me, if you’ve gotten one miracle cure and 10 bottles of water by then, you’ll be doing better than I was. My friend Bee had trouble too, and took 92 hours to finish their first playthrough. A replay playstyle takes a LOT of time. But Pathologic 2 is so rich in content that replaying isn’t even as annoying as it could be. And this is also the best way to complete as many quests and save as many people as you want. Whenever you’re scared, just remember: you can always go back on your choices! (Other than the theatre’s death penalties. But nothing can help you with those.)

3. Just go through it.

Again. You’re not supposed to succeed in Pathologic. In the words of the lead translator Kevin Snow, “…I know [Pathologic 2’s] script and this is different from other games: there’s so much story locked behind failure and death. You’ll die, and you can’t save everyone. That doesn’t gate you from story; it gives you more. Resist, survive, but continue.” It’s only when you’re suffering that you experience the story so viscerally. That’s when the choices mean something. Sacrificing your own health or the health of others–saving tinctures for yourself, breaking into houses, killing people, choosing not to help people because you just don’t have time–these are impactful because you’re experiencing the mechanical repercussions of your actions. You are not a removed arbiter of the Town’s suffering. Everyone in Pathologic is having the worst 12 days of their life, and you’re dying right alongside them. Spoilers for Day 4, but I don’t think visiting the Rod and seeing the Tragedians would have affected me so deeply if I wasn’t actively starving for the entire sequence. It served as a reminder that I wasn’t the only one in pain; it was heart-breaking and heart-warming. Which I think is Pathologic at its core.

Try to see your failures in the game as another form of success. You’re experiencing the game as it’s meant to be played. And when you feel bad about all the people you’ve failed, remember that this is all a play. The game knows it’s artificial. You can replay the game after you finish–and feel free to use cheats or lowered difficulties on a replay–in order to get everything right. Your mistakes aren’t permanent! But on a first playthrough, try to tough through the hardships. You’ll have a more fulfilling time.

Other tips

You can use these 3 playstyles in combination if you need to. I let myself die when I feel like I deserved the punishment, or reload when I feel like I don’t. Bee managed to finish Day 11 by lowering the game difficulty in the final stretch. Just approximate the intended gaming experience as much as you can.

As for gameplay guides, I don’t think anyone I’ve met recommends it (at least for Pathologic 2). The game does interesting things with when and where it reveals information to you, often in ways that are deliberately inconveniencing. You want to experience that on your own. I also think Pathologic 2 is relatively good at telegraphing mechanics or quests. compared to Patho Classic. That said, I do have tips that I wish I knew before playing:

Sprint everywhere. I know the town is beautiful. But you’re on a hell of a time crunch. If you finish your quests early you can forage or trade for more resources, or just bottom out your exhaustion bar. Sprinting does not make your exhaustion go up faster, and water is plentiful in the first few days. Just do it! Save your own time!

Save a lot. Even if you’re not gonna die on your way in and out of the Broken Heart, this game is chock-full of choices, down to the resource management. If you waste a swig of twyrine, you’ll want a good save point to reload at. You can load any save point in your timeline, so save as often as you want. Keep track of where clocks are on the map--the game tags these in the building descriptions. (For that matter, keep track of where beds are. I didn’t realize I could sleep at Vlad Sr.’s place, which made me waste SO much time travelling between the Shelter and the Lair.)

Learn the trading economy. Everyone holds items at different values. Even the kids value certain nuts over others. There are also some interesting conversion rates between items, like peanuts to soap to pemmican. Make the most of the items you’re bartering. And for that matter, try to build up a cache of items valuable to little girls, in case you find one with a schmowder. The kid’s caches are valuable for trading too: twyrine can show you the locations.

This is also a good spoiler-free guide to Pathologic 2′s mechanics.

For Pathologic Classic HD, I haven’t personally played it, but I’m under the impression that it’s easier than Pathologic 2 because there are less character perma-deaths and no death penalties. The advice about reloading still applies. Here’s what Ally says:

“id recommend using a spoiler free guide (Bachelor, Haruspex, and Changeling guides) but other than that read the diary and letters carefully and try to keep track of npcs that could be affiliated with quests. also! some quests have different options for endings so there could be multiple ways to complete them. stock up on food on the earlier days, and after the inquisitor arrives because the prices drop. try to stealth kill with melee weapons when you can, and also reserve your bullets. …also make sure to trade with the children a lot! hold onto objects like the hooks and flowers [to get schmowders. Like I said before, to win the game you only need enough cures to heal the Bound.] …another tip is to keep a pen and paper around to take notes. like when i got the tincture recipes instead of keeping them in my inventory i just wrote them down.”

And that’s it! If you need specific advice or clarification, feel free to DM me! I love talking about this game. I can also get you in touch with anyone mentioned in this post (except Kevin Snow LMAO). Pathologic has an amazing story and I want everyone to experience it!!!

[biconicfinn]

id like to know, what are your takes on politician!Alec? if you want to talk about that

THANK YOU FOR THIS ASK!!!!! POLITICIAN ALEC IS MY FUCKING JAM DJKABVHJKDBVKADVBFAV okay anon strap in because this will get crazy

holy shit this is long so i’m putting it under a read more!! 

okay so first of all: alec is someone who has been trained from a young age to be a politician, he would have been educated in diplomacy and politics, his parents were expecting him to become head of the new york institute and they have no qualms about living vicariously through their children and forcing their burdens on them as we have seen in the show.

he was probably taught clave law and the accords, a whole bunch of languages (polyglot power couple malec ftw) because i assume the NYI uses english as their lingua franca because of their location but since institutes also have to deal with local downworld and mundane populations it’s safe to assume that in other countries where english isn’t the main language, they go with the local languages and alec would need to communicate with these other institute heads, etiquette, some formal ballroom dances like the waltz, the art of negotiation, administrative stuff like resource allocation, budgeting, public speaking, the nitty gritty details of the clave workings, in addition to the knowledge of the different races of the shadow world, hand to hand combat, combat with a variety of weapons (he masters archery to utter perfection but he definitely is also incredibly proficient in close range combat as well).

sorry i just love alec and he is definitely more competent than most of the Alec StansTM (yall know what im saying) make him out to be

okay so!!!!! it’s pretty much canon that alec has spent a considerable amount of time as acting head of the NYI; what with maryse and robert always fucking off to idris to lick the boots of the clave and so he probably has a good relationship with the people under his command. he’s probably put protocols in place to reduce casualties and injuries, form patrol teams that are well-balanced so that they are versatile enough to take just about any threat that comes their way, etc.

of course, thanks to a little thing called the nephilim’s deep-rooted homophobia, a lot of the work alec put in probably got negated when he came out. it took a lot of courage for him to come out and to be openly gay. raj was an absolute asshole to alec for no reason and often questioned his leadership decisions post coming out, and even if not all the shadowhunters reacted like that, they did show some resistance(?) to alec’s leadership when he was appointed head and questioned him. it probably took a lot out of him because it’s one thing to have your people doubt you as a leader because of your actions or words; your decisions as a leader, it’s another thing for them to mistrust you entirely because of a fundamental part of your identity that you can’t change. you can build trust by publicly admitting and apologising for mistakes and putting in honest work to be better, but it’s impossible to build trust when the other person doesn’t even see you as human to begin with. 

this is turning into a hoti!alec ramble but i promise i will bring this back to politician!alec okay i promise i just need to establish the headcanons i’m building on first sorry 

okay back to business!!!! i feel like alec is so very genuine and honest outside of the political sphere alec “casual wedding vows” lightwood anyone? so when he does show his ability to be a complete fucking shark in the political arena a lot of people are blindsided because they expected him to be very honest and direct but he knows that as much as he’d like to be genuine, he needs that shrewdness to navigate the political minefield of idris. he prefers directness, but if you take the manipulative, indirect, route and underestimate him, he will not hesitate to turn your own methods against you.

he is also the type of leader who constantly tries to make an effort. his intentions were genuine with the downworld cabinet and i think that if it wasn’t set up in the middle of the shitstorm which was valentine’s re-emergence and the circle’s rise, it would have been more successful. he has a lot to learn and unlearn, and he (an utter perfectionist) will do as much as he can to help the downworld. i like to think that in a post s3 world, but before the time skip, he helps to re-establish the ties between the shadow world factions in new york and focuses on being the nephilim voice of the downworld to the clave, constantly trying to push for new accords and reformed policies, and he makes an effort to not speak over the downworlders, but instead be their representative and ally to the clave because the clave are racist bastards who wouldn’t listen to them but they have to listen to alec lightwood (”it’s lightwood-bane, actually”), one of the heroes who stepped up to defend alicante when the rift to edom opened. (and also because if they did try to slander or belittle him, they risk angering magnus, who has enough clout to embargo most warlocks from providing magical assistance to any local institutes, if he feels that the downworld is being ignored despite the fact that a warlock is the sole reason why alicante was’t razed to the ground, or that he and his husband are being targeted by the clave. because they are That Couple.) in conclusion alec is a good ally okay?

but as much as he tries/tried to do right by the clave, he sometimes also doesn’t give a fuck about them. he’ll be in meetings at idris, and maybe they’re discussing asinine, irrelevant, minor issues that are really just stupid excuses to showboat and compare family clout and whatnot and he’ll be pissed as fuck because instead of discussing actual relevant issues like irregularities/strange patterns in demon attacks, hunting down remaining circle sleeper cells, reparations for the downworld (like for the heavenly fire project), rewriting the accords, rebuilding idris, helping get the attacked institutes back up and running, you know, actual important issues that need attention but no, we’re discussing some petty family squabble that turned into a political feud that involves everyone and their fucking uncle. and he gets so damn angry he just blows up and rants at them and tears them a new one. he finishes his impressively long spiel with “you know what? fuck this. when you guys are done fighting like children and taking up precious time that we should be using to talk about real, pressing issues that affect the entire shadow world instead of five people at this table, let me know and i’ll be there but until then don’t bother. if you’ll excuse me, i’m going back to my husband. thank you. and for the last damn time, my name is alec lightwood-bane. i already changed my damn name legally so fucking use it.” and he just leaves to go back to new york because fuck the clave. 

he goes back home to the loft and it’s like the stress and anger just melts away because he walks in on magnus dancing around the kitchen as he cooks dinner, singing dancing queen at the top of his lungs, laughing when magnus twirls to see him leaning against the doorway of the kitchen with his heart eyes and blushes at being caught doing somethin so silly

he becomes a successful inquisitor by sheer force of will and determination. it’s not at all intentional, but it just happens. with the success of the cabinet and the measures he puts in place, he shares it with other institute heads and slowly more and more institutes are collaborating with the local downworld and most of the time, the statistics pay off in the long run. there are starting troubles as with any new initiatives, but soon enough there is a sizeable number of institutes following them successfully and it’s hard for the clave to ignore. alec gets invited to alicante to discuss the possibility of him becoming inquisitor just when the downworld deputy program is taking off in new york. (it all starts with simon asking “so are you guys nephilim or shadowhunters? what’s the difference? or is it interchangeable?” and then they realise that while nephilim is a term to describe half-angel half-human beings, shadowhunter is a term more commonly used by active duty demon hunters and drops out of use as a self-descriptor when the nephilim in question leaves combat. “so that means technically anyone in the shadow world whose job it is to fight demons is a shadowhunter? right?” and the lightbulbs light up in alec’s head immediately) oops time to get back to it the point. 

okay so!!!! the clave offer alec the position of inquisitor and it’s part recognition for his efforts and acknowledgement of his skills, part them wanting to keep him under their control. how does that work? well it’s simple. if alec is inquisitor and the clave makes it as hard as possible for him to do any effective work, bogging him down with bureaucracy and and votes on motions that are just shy of the majority needed to pass laws etc etc. basically throw every road block they can at him and wear him down; forcing him to step down and thus silencing him, and by extension, the downworlders who rely on him for a voice in the clave. 

malec side note: so they first say that magnus can come to alicante and make an exception for him, and the general plan is to make it look like they’re actually doing something good when it’s to lull them into a false sense of security. (but alec and magnus choose to live in brooklyn first because despite everything, it is still dangerous for magnus to be the only warlock in a city full of nephilim) but then alicante opens up to the rest of the shadow world, magnus becomes the high warlock of alicante, and the clave are dealing with the force of nature that is known power couple and ultimate badasses magnus and alec lightwood-bane. oops. 

but they underestimate the power of alec’s Lightwood(-Bane) DeterminationTM and his sheer stubbornness. so their plan backfires spectacularly when within the first few years, he’s implemented laws to open alicante up to downworlders, expunge criminal records of downworlders who were previously wrongfully charged with crimes, rehabilitation of wrongfully imprisoned downworlders, mandatory downworld cabinet and downworld deputy initiatives worldwide, as well as be part of the core group that rewrote the accords to be more fair. 

alec probably retires after like five years of being inquisitor and then magnus steps down as high warlock and they just travel the world together and be in love and happy, occasionally consulting on political issues here and there but for the most part they just run off into the sunset to be immortal husbands together because they’ve sacrificed enough for the good of the shadow world to last several lifetimes. 

[anemeraldknight]

About Duke Cadash, part 2

okay so I know that this is supposed to be like an ask thing from here! butI only have like 3 followers on here, I just finished my second playthrough of Inquisition and I really really wanna talk about my Inquisitor :’)) so we’re doing this

what is your inquisitor’s name & race? - Duke Cadash, surface dwarf

what is their sexual orientation? - bisexual <3

what do they look like? (add screenshots, drawings, descriptions!) - he's a freckly ginger and has bright blue eyes, a very well groomed beard (he at least tries to redo the braids every morning), undercut on on the left side of his head but otherwise longish hair, scarring underneath his right eye and between his brows; he's like muscular and thick at the same time, I don't know a good word for it? but yea :) he's prettyy

how did they feel about being called “the herald of andraste”? - he uses it to his advantage. he doesn't outright deny it to people he doesn't really trust, only those closest to him know his real stance on it. he just takes being called the Herald in stride, doesn't hate it but isn't the biggest fan either

what are their religious beliefs, if they have any? - believes in the Stone because his parents had been cast out from Orzammar and they passed on their beliefs to him as well. he's not super into it though, more like a casual believer.

what is their opinion on the mage/templar war? - supports the mages and even though he can get along with templars if necessary, he often calls them out for their prejudices and bullshit. he believes that the war was inevitable and kind of necessary as well because in his eyes big change usually comes by, sadly, using harsher tactics.

who is your inquisitor’s best friend? - he was suuper close with Blackwall in the beginning because their humor was pretty similar, he was one of the first people he recruited on his own, and they're both pretty close in terms of age as well. however, as Duke grew closer to Dorian, they became best friends instead (and then eventually lovers). I'd say his real best friend is either Cassandra or Solas? because even though he disagrees with both of them quite a lot, they still somehow manage to get on pretty well <33 and they both have been there from the very beginning of this entire journey!! so it makes sense :) also, Duke is suuuuuper loyal, so when he found out about Blackwall :)) he fucking flipped and completely shunned him and never again took him into his party.

who is their rival? - uhhh among the companions? I don't think he really has one...

who is their love interest, if they chose one? do you ship them with anyone else/non-romanceable options? - DORIAN!! <333

warrior, rogue, or mage? - rogue, archer

how do they feel about the dalish? - he feels for them and wants to support them and work together as much as possible. he can see that a lot of them seem arrogant and standoffish on the outside, but he gets why that is, so he just lets them be and tries to work with it.

how do they feel about the qun? - he does not like the qun, to him it seems like a cult. he can also see many similarities between it and the chantry so.

how do they feel about the chantry? - he doesn't like the chantry BUT he does not shun them out loud because he knows that having them support him makes him look good to those who believe in Andraste and such, but also he doesn't wanna take away hope from those who find it in him during such a difficult time (even though he doesn't believe he's chosen in any way)

which demon is most frightening to them? - definitely the nightmare. Duke doesn’t get rattled very easily but that whole thing managed to get underneath his skin. plus! he’s incredibly scared of spiders and the nightmare created to many of them to freak him out, so the entire fade thingy was very hard on my poor Master Cadash :((

did they choose the qun or the chargers in iron bull’s personal quest? why? - the chargers. he didn’t trust the whole thing from the beginning and basically went along with it because he wanted to support the Iron Bull and because he could feel that something fishy was going on. also, even before the whole thing Duke got along with Krem really well, because he has this habit of taking younger people under his wing (exhibit A: Cole) so that’s also what kinda happened with Krem. ALSO! another thing is that Duke id very much against sacrificing lives in order to get something, so even if he hadn’t cared about any of the chargers personally, it would’ve just went against everything he stood for.

when are they the happiest? - when he's exploring the wilderness with his party, probably picking elfroot or iron lol

how do they feel about the mark/the anchor? - it doesn’t really cause him very much pain so he sees it mostly as something  that’s just there and helps him deal with this whole mess.

upon first meeting cole, were they afraid of him? - not really? he could tell that he was different but Thedas is full of so much surreal and nonsensical shit that this kid who acts a bit outside of the established rules of the society didn't really faze him. when he first met Cole during the attack on Haven, his first reaction was that “why is this young kid out here??? get him to safety!!!!” but yknow in a way where he could still see that Cole was perfectly capable of pulling his own weight, Duke just worries.

did they use the templars or the mages to close the breach? - mages

what was their court approval like at the winter palace? did they have any fun at all? - the only things that Duke liked during the whole charade was seeing Josephine and Leliana enjoying the whole thing AND getting to dance with Dorian. he got 100 court approval but he hated that everybody kept shitting on him for being a dwarf etc. also dealing with Gaspard, Celene, and Breala was frecking frustrating.

someone is encroaching on their love interest. how do they respond? - idk how to answer this. he knows that Dorian can handle himself but if the situation requires his help then he will get supper angry and protective

what is their favourite weapon? - Duke’s Bayard!! :D this really great bow that he got made

are there any creatures in the wild that they refuse to/are reluctant to kill? why? - nugs because to him they look like a rabbit and an old wrinkly man merged into one. so yea, no. he also doesn’t like killing dragons. the only proper dragon he and his party ever killed was the big one in the hinterlands but Duke didn't feel right about it afterwards so he never went after another again

what is their opinion on blood magic? would they ever use it, if given the chance? - to him blood magic is just a type of magic really but I don't think he'd use it if he were able to

what is their favourite place within playable regions? - interestingly, the hinterlands. it's because he grew up in fereldan is used to that kind of nature

did they feel suspicious of dorian upon first meeting him, because of his tevinter heritage? - a bit, yes, but it quickly faded

as a whole, how do they feel about tevinter + the imperium? - he hates the whole slavery business that they've got going on over there but Dorian manages to convince him that the imperium could be changed so he has hope for it. he doesn't blindly hate every vint he meets.

did they encourage cullen to continue taking lyrium, or to stop? for what reasons? - to stop because even though he’s not very close to Cullen and he has his issues with him, he didn't want him to be dependent of lyrium in order to work to the best of his abilities. because Cullen is in charge of such a huge part of the Inquisition, he needs him to be dependable

does it bother them to sleep in tents when on the road with the inquisition? - nope! Duke loves tracking and yknow finding and looking for stuff out in the wilds so he’s used to that sort of thing since he grew up in a naturey place. he had to spend a lot of nights in similar situations while he was part of the Carta too

are they an optimist, a pessimist, or neutral? - i guess something between an optimist and a neutral? I guess you could call him an optimistic realist. he rarely veers towards pessimism

if varric wrote a book about your inquisitor, how would they feel about that? - he would actively encourage it because it would be fucking hilarious to read

do they get along with vivienne? - nope, he doesn’t even recruit her.

are they afraid of anything specifically? - spiders

what was their reaction to the destruction of haven?

how do they feel about “the game”? - a bunch of nugcrap

are they especially protective of certain inquisition members, even those capable of defending themselves? - even though he knows that all three of them can take care of themselves and he trusts them to do so, he still worries about them the most. Cole, Krem , and scout Harding.

do they like their skyhold pajamas? - he hates the pajamas. but the outfits that he usually wears look superrr fly so he doesn’t mind those one bit

are there any insults they find to be especially offensive? (i.e. “knife ear”/”rabbit” for elves, “oxmen” for qunari, ect.) - I am not sure what insults a dwarf would get in terms of specific words. the fact that people keep making comments about the Inquisitor surprisingly being a dwarf does annoy him though

if varric gave them a nickname, what would it be? - either cherry because of his red hair OR the Archduke :P

do they enjoy being the inquisitor? - yes!! at the beginning, he's more wary of it, which of course makes sense, but even then he's just ready to take on the role of the leader because no one else will do it and he does have the mark so it makes sense for him to do it. as time moves on he grows to really like it! he makes a great leader and he knows it.

[rosykims]

1,2,21,22 for the inquisitor ask please

thank u !! q 2 answered here <3 

1. race:

tbh.....at risk of being the most boring person ever,,, i think i would be human jdfkdjd tho maybe dwarven? for now im sticking w human

21. would you keep cole around?

definitely ! i think id be......concerned at first, since i’d have no idea what to think. i DO believe that i would Absolutely be manipulated by solas to do. literally Anything fdjhkdfjkfdjkfd so yeah there wouldnt be much deliberation on my part before id be persuaded to keep him around. and also, hes lovely lol, so just having one single conversation w him would make it super hard for me to do anything other than love him unconditionally lmao

22. can you play the game (politics)?

NOPE :) id die instantly ! i wouldnt even make it into the winter palace id be stabbed out in the courtyard ! fdkdfkdfkjdfkjfd

OKAY BUT ACTUALLY to my credit.......... i think id be okay if i had josephine/leliana w me. i think there are many different ways to be charismatic, and while im not super articulate or suave w my words, i think i COULD make a good impression if i looked at it from like. a hunger games perspective? aka if i played a certain persona - in my case it would be endearingly awkward and Bubbly - to my advantage, mayhaps getting people to drop their guards.......idk. im good at getting people to talk about themselves, so it might not be a complete lost cause

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @aprilgloomisheretostay!

*****

Lovers' Quarrell

1.

“Magnus Lightwood-Bane,” Alec hollered from their rumpled bed, face all grumpy and red. Magnus flinched from his position in the kitchen, frowning a bit.

He took the tray with the breakfast into their room prepared to see a smiley Alec at the food and the steaming hot coffee but all he saw was grumpiness and annoyance.

“Well, good morning to you,” Magnus enunciated, sarcastically. Alec shook his head angrily, his hair flopping on to his face, “It’s most definitely not,” he grumbled.

“Well, I tried to be a good husband and make breakfast for you,” Magnus snorted, sitting on the bed with the tray.

“Well, I didn’t ask you to,” Alec spat, turning over on the bed and huffing.

“If you were going to be such an ungrateful brat, I wouldn’t have even thought about making this for you,” Magnus shot back, annoyed at Alec’s lack of excitement.

“I thought this would be a nice thing considering you rarely get the day off,” he continued.

Alec turned back around to face Magnus, propping himself on his elbows, “Maybe, you should just ask me what I want,” he retorted.

Magnus rolled his eyes at Alec’s dramatics, “Fine, Alexander. I apologise for being sweet and bringing you coffee and breakfast. What can I do to make this better?”

Alec mumbled out an answer, looking at the sheets pooled at his waist. “What was that?” Magnus asked.

“I said, you can cuddle me, for once,” Alec said, louder. Magnus’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “You’re angry with me because of cuddles?”

“I—Every time I have a day off, I tell you I just want to wake up next to you. But you keep doing this breakfast in bed thing and it’s getting annoying now,” Alec huffed.

“Alexander, I was just trying to be nice—” Alec cut Magnus off, “I don’t want you to be nice, just fucking cuddle me and kiss me awake, is that so hard?” Alec yelled, exasperated, “I hate having to leave you in the mornings, this doesn’t make it better,” Alec said, softening.

Magnus was startled by his outburst but quickly recovered, “Would you like to be cuddled right now, Alexander?” he asked, snapping the tray away.

Alec sunk into the covers, “And kissed,” he mumbled. Magnus internally laughed at what they were fighting over as he got under the blankets and wrapped his arms around his husband.

If this was the kind of stuff they fought about, he wouldn’t really mind. Alec hummed as he sank into Magnus’ embrace, hugging him close, arm and leg over his chest and his head tucked under Magnus’ chin as he nuzzled into his heart, placing a tiny kiss there.

“You’re right,” Magnus whispered after a while of them quietly cuddling and placing soft kisses on each other, “This is definitely better than breakfast in bed.”

Alec smiled, all smitten, leaning over to press a small kiss on Magnus’ lips, humming as he returned to the original position, both of them, tightening their arms around each other.

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2.

“Magnus, seriously?” Alec cried out exasperated.

“You’ve clearly found someone else, Alexander,” Magnus yelled.

“Babe, you know you’re the only one for me,” Alec whispered, moving forward to kiss Alexander.

Magnus flinched back, “That’s not what I walked in on last night. You were with him while I was a sleep. On our couch. Have you no shame?” Magnus shot back.

“Magnus, you’re being overdramatic,” Alec replied, exasperated.

Magnus’ laughter was hollow, “That’s what you said when you asked for a strand of my hair.”

Alec flinched back, “That was a low blow and you know it,” he replied, hurt showing in his voice.

“Well you deserved it. You’ve been lying to me, Alexander! Constantly spending time with him, seeing him after I’m asleep. I’m not blind, you clearly want him more than me,” Magnus cried out.

“Magnus, for fuck’s sake, he’s a goddamn cat! Chairman Meow gets hungry at night and you sleep like a corpse,” Alec shot back, “I get that you’re jealous, but this is getting out of hand.”

“I don’t get jealous.”

“Underhill?”

“You thought he was handsome!”

“Well, fuck, Magnus so did you. In fact, you referred to him as my handsome friend, if you have forgotten.”

Magnus opened and closed his mouth shut, unable to answer for that.

“And what about Adam?” Alec continued

“He was getting too handsy.”

“He was five”

Alec raised an eyebrow at his husband. “Okay, fine, maybe I get jealous. It’s not like you don’t” Magnus tried to defend himself.

“I never said I don’t, Magnus. And people flirt with you, even though I’m actually there and I don’t pretend that I’m not trying to make sure they know you’re mine,” Alec replied, growling a bit and pulling Magnus towards him.

“You’re mine, husband, and I’ll make sure everyone knows that,” Alec rasped out, biting Magnus’ lower lip. Magnus’ breath hitched in response and he closed his eyes in anticipation.

But Alec moved out of his arms, “But you getting jealous over a friend, a cat and a five-year old, first of all, not only makes no sense but is absolutely ridiculous as well,” he laughed.

Magnus reddened, “Fine, fine, let’s forget about that. I’d much rather go back to what we were doing before, husband.”

Alec’s pupils dilated, two years of hearing it still didn’t affect him any less. He let Magnus pull him in.

“You mean, this?” Alec asked and kissed Magnus, hard. Magnus moaned, threading his fingers through Alec’s hair and hiking a leg around his hip which Alec held onto, grinding as they made out.

0000000000000000

3.

“Magnus!” Alec yelled, drawling out his name as he got out of the shower looking like a drowned cat.

“Yes, darling,” Magnus came out, looking like the smug motherfucker he is.

“You used up all the hot water … again,” Alec fumed.

“I did ask you to join me, gorgeous,” Magnus replied, not feeling the least bit remorseful, giving Alec an approving once over.

“Don’t you dare get turned on by this, you bastard,” Alec continued, wagging a finger in Magnus’ face.

“Alexander, you are asking for the impossible.”

“Magnus, all I want is hot water!”

“I thought you were going to say ‘me’,”

“I would, if someone hadn’t use up all the hot water,” Alec replied, voice raising with every word.

Magnus struggled to keep a straight face, “Perfection needs to be maintained, Alexander, and it cannot be maintained without a nice hot shower.”

Alec smiled instantly, “You’re right. Why don’t you give your ichor covered husband a kiss?” he replied coming close to Magnus.

“Don’t you dare, Alexander! I will curse you,” Magnus warned him, as Alec inched closer with a sinister smile on his lips.

Magnus inched a few steps back and ran, a naked Alec following behind him, tracking ichor and water all over the apartment.

“What would your people say if they knew the Inquisitor was behaving like a child?” Magnus asked, trying to hid behind the house.

“They would understand that the Inquisitor needs hot water. Why don’t you just,” Alec asked twirling his wrist, as he tried to catch his husband.

“This is so much more amusing, my dear,” Magnus replied.

“Oh, is that so?” Alec asked, voice going low as he quickly took out his stele and activated his speed rune.

Magnus’ eyes widened and before he knew it, he was in Alec’s arms, ichor and all.

“There, now we both need hot water, maybe this time, I’ll join you,” Alec whispered, into Magnus’ ears.

“I’m sorry, Alexander, but that’s not sexy as you think it is.” Magnus bluffed.

Alec bit Magnus’ earlobe in response. “On further thought, let’s go,” Magnus replied, waving his hands to get the hot water running as he pulled an over enthusiastic Shadowhunter behind him.

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4.

“Is it just me or are Alec and Magnus not speaking to each other?” Clary asked her Parabatai, looking at the two men who were ignoring each other, on different sides of the ops table.

Izzy rolled her eyes, “Yea, they got into a fight.”

“Alec and Magnus? A fight about what? They couldn’t decide who was the prettiest?” Clary scoffed, incredulous.

Izzy looked at her, blasé. Clary’s eyes widened, “You’re kidding.”

Jace walked up to Izzy and Clary, “Alec and Magnus have a fight over who’s more pretty again?” he asked, rubbing at his Parabatai rune.e

Clary turned to him, “Again?” she asked, now turning to Izzy, “How many times has this happened and where the fuck was I?”

“More times than we care to count,” Jace answered her question.

“And we have no idea how you haven’t witnessed this. Even Maia has seen it at Taki’s,” Izzy continued.

“How does this end?” Clary asked them. Jace chuckled, “Usually ends with them trying to prove the other is prettier by Magnus creating a portal and falling into bed. Alec comes to the Institute the next day looking like the cat ate the canary.”

“But now, we have a demon horde to find and the Institute is on high alert with all hands, on deck so they can’t have their weird ‘you’re more gorgeous’ sex, so they’re angry and sexually frustrated at the same time,” Izzy finished.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous,” Clary said, moving forward to talk to the husbands. “Hey guys, are we making any progress?”

Alec looked up at Clary and scowled, “Maybe you should ask the most gorgeous man in the room.”

Magnus looked up, “She is, Alexander. Maybe you should answer her.”

Alec straightened out, “You know what, we both know who’s the more attractive one here, so why don’t you just accept it?”

“I do accept that you’re indefinitely more attractive, Alexander. It’s you that has the problem of not seeing the facts. Love has made you blind,” Magnus argued.

Clary turned to face Jace and Izzy, “Are they serious?”

“Very,” Izzy mouthed as the married couple continued to squabble.

Jace interrupted them, “You know, I’m kinda hurt that I’m not even in running for most gorgeous.”

“Shut up, Jace,” Alec and Magnus said, in sync. “Wow, so much hostility,” Jace replied, chuckling.

Magnus rolled his eyes and turned back to Alec, “Maybe you don’t remember all the Seelies that were checking you out when we were in Pandemonium!”

“They were sizing me up to see if I was competition to get to you, you, gorgeous idiot,” Alec yelled at him.

“Ladies, ladies, you’re both pretty. Can we please concentrate on the matter at hand?” Clary interjected.

“I would like nothing more. If only Magnus could concede for once in his life,” Alec picked up arguing again.

“Me? I’ve provided clear arguments as to why you are the most handsome, my stupid light of my life. You just choose to stay in denial for reasons I do not understand.”

“Your arguments are clearly flawed, Magnus. I guess beauty does come without brains, my darling.”

Magnus stalked over to Alec and grabbed him close by his lapels, “Why don’t you fucking prove it to me,” he stated.

Alec looked at him with determination, grabbing his hands and moving in the direction of Jace’s room.

Jace looked horrified, “Guys, that’s my room,” he whispered to Izzy and Clary.

“It’s being utilised for a good purpose,” Clary smirked.

Jace groaned, “Why did we have to give away Alec’s old room to someone else?”

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5.

“Magnus, I told you I’m sorry,” Alec cried, going behind a very upset Magnus. “Like you said—never mind, I can’t even say it,” Magnus sniffled in disdain.

“Baby, I didn’t mean to, you know that,” Alec tried assuaging Magnus.

“What the hell is going on here? What did Mr. Lightwood-Bane do?” Evelyn asked, recent transfer to the New York Institute.

“You didn’t mean to? How could you accidentally say something like that, Alec?” Magnus yelled at him.

“Alec?” Alec whimpered quietly. Evelyn looked at Andrew worriedly, “Did he say the wrong name in bed or something?”

Underhill rolled his eyes at her, “Alec cheating on Magnus would mean that the world is ending and Angels are descending to earth.”

“I don’t know, what else could cause such a reaction? He clearly said something he wasn’t meant to,” Evelyn persisted.

“You don’t know them. Just last week they were arguing over who had more soulful eyes and yesterday they were in a disagreement about who could turn the other on more,” Underhill explained.

“What I would give to have fights like that with someone.”

“Tell me about it. Lorenzo and I are in love and all but I don’t think anyone can come close to what Alec and Magnus have.”

“I’m sorry, Alexander, that was too far, but I still can’t believe you would say something like that,” Magnus took back his words.

Alec’s strained smile grew, “I know, baby. I’m so sorry, I swear. What can I do to make this up to you?” he asked, pulling Magnus closer to him.

“Promise me you’ll never tell me ‘I love you too,’ again,” Magnus replied.

“I promise, my heart, I promise. I was just having so much work. It’s not an excuse, I’m so sorry,” Alec said, cupping Magnus’ face in his hands and pressing kisses all over his face.

“I’m sorry, am I missing something here?” Evelyn asked Underhill. Underhill nodded, “Usually, Alec never replies with a plain ‘I love you too.’”

“And I’m so sorry for calling you, Alec, my darling. It was such a low blow,” Magnus apologised.

“No, you were right, I deserved it,” Alec replied.

“Magnus has always called Alec, Alexander. It’s their thing. Alec hates it when anyone else does it and Magnus only uses ‘Alec’ when he really angry or annoyed with him,” Underhill explained before Evelyn could open her mouth.

“No, you didn’t, husband. How about I take you home and we can cuddle all night?” Magnus asked, kissing Alec deeply.

“Lead the way, my love,” Alec whispered. Magnus grinned and open a portal, stepping through it with Alec following behind him.

“They’re so in love that you want to kill someone, right?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t know how you put that into words, but that’s exactly how I feel,” Evelyn answered.

00000000000000000

+1

“Alec, you promised me you’d be more careful. Magnus is so close to figuring it out,” Catarina told him.

“I know, Cat. But I need to do this. I can’t wait any longer,” Alec reasoned with her.

“I know, Alec, I understand. I’ll try to do some damage control. Maybe stall Magnus, but I don’t know how long I can hold him off,” Catarina told him.

“Hold me off of what? Finding out that my husband has been sneaking out with some other warlock?” Magnus asked, furious, walking into the room.

Catarina and Alec spun to face him. “Magnus, it’s not what you think,” Catarina tried to placate him.

Magnus raised a hand to silence Catarina, “I want to hear it from him,” he said pointing at Alec.

Alec visibly swallowed, “What do you want to know?”

Magnus raised an eyebrow at him, “What do I want to know? Oh, I don’t know, maybe I want to know why my husband has been lying to me for weeks, why he’s been sneaking around behind my back and why he was holding some warlock’s hands!”

“Magnus,” Alec hesitated, “Baby, you have to trust me, I can’t tell you yet.”

“Tell me what, Alec? That you’re breaking our marriage, that you’ve gotten bored of this? Ten years, Alec! What the fuck happened?” Magnus fumed.

“No, Magnus, I would never,” Alec tried, surging forward to hold Magnus. Magnus stepped back, fury in his eyes, “Don’t touch me. I know what I saw,” his eyes filled with unshed tears, his heart, breaking, his tongue, heavy.

“And you, you were trying to cover for him?” Magnus turned his inquisition to Caterina. “Magnus, it’s not what you think. Alec is not cheating on you,” she tried to explain.

“Then how do you explain the sneaking out, the lying, the texts about how sore they were after a very ‘productive night’?” Magnus spat out.

“You looked through my texts?” Alec asked him, incredulous, “Is that how much you trust me?”

“Don’t you dare talk about trust! Those messages popped up when you were in the shower and I thought it was Clave business. After everything I’ve told you about Camille, I didn’t expect you of all people to follow in her footsteps,” Magnus spat out, fury shaking in his very voice.

“Don’t compare me to that monster,” Alec whispered. “YOU CHEATED ON ME!” Magnus yelled at him. “I WOULD NEVER!” Alec yelled back.

“Then what the fuck, Alec! Then what other fucking explanation do you have for what has been going on?” Magnus asked, voice quivering, holding back tears, trying to remain strong.

Caterina stayed in the background. This was for Magnus and Alec to work out. She’d been begging Alec to tell Magnus for months now, but Alec stayed stubborn.

“I can’t tell you. You have to trust me, Magnus.”

“At least Camille was honest with me when she did it,” Magnus hurled at him.

“I AM NOT CHEATING ON YOU! I LOVE YOU” Alec burst out. “Then tell me the truth, Alexander. Or you can consider this marriage over,” Magnus laid out, coldly.

“Magnus,” Alec whispered, shivers going through his body. “Tell. Me.” Magnus enunciated.

“I was trying to find a way for me to become immortal,” Alec blurted out. “What?” Magnus did a double take.

“You refuse to talk about our future, Magnus. There’s only so much I can do, living in the moment. I went to Caterina for help and she pointed me to this ancient warlock who was already looking for a way to immortality for his lover,” Alec explained.

“And you didn’t think to tell me this? You didn’t think it would concern me? Alexander, immortality is a curse. It’s nothing fun or light. I will not allow you to do this,” Magnus stated.

“I wanted to tell you after we’d found a concrete way. This isn’t your decision to make, Magnus, it’s mine,” Alec retorted.

“Did you find a way?” Magnus asked, softly. Alec took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it over to Magnus, “This has been sitting in my pocket for over a week now. What you saw yesterday was me showing him solidarity in his way of celebration because he’d given it to his girlfriend and it worked.”

“Over a week? Then why didn’t you tell me,” Magnus asked, after skimming through the contents of the paper. “I don’t know,” Alec whispered, taking the paper back from him and securing it back in his pocket.

“Alexander,” Magnus pleaded. “I was scared.” Alec’s voice was small.

“Scared of?” Magnus prodded. “Scared that you wouldn’t want me,” Alec whispered. “That I wouldn’t want you to be immortal?” Magnus asked.

Alec shook his head no, “Scared that you wouldn’t want me forever,” Alec replied, tears streaming down his face as he looked at Magnus.“I’ve been holding on to it for so long because I couldn’t bear to hear that answer.”

“Is that what you think? That I wouldn’t want you to be by my side forever?” Magnus asked him, moving close, cupping a cheek in his palm. Alec nuzzled into Magnus’ palm, wetting it with his tears.

“I know you love me, but this isn’t what you signed up for. You signed up for maybe 40 years, max, 50 if we’re lucky and I understand that. I just wasn’t ready to hear it yet,” Alec answered.

“And now?” Magnus asked.

“Now I have no choice. So just tell me, please,” Alec choked out, more tears falling down his cheeks as he faced away from Magnus.

“Alexander, I can’t ask you to choose immortality for me. You will see everyone die. Your sister, Max, Jace,” Magnus explained, gently.

“That’s not what I asked. And I’ve made my peace with all this. We’re shadowhunters. We’re more likely to die tomorrow than getting old and die. Hell, I saw Max on his death bed when we were fighting Johnathan and he was only 10 then,” Alec answered, “If you don’t want this, then that will be fine. We could go on as if nothing happened, I’ll throw away this scroll and stay with you as long as you’ll have me.”

“Alexander,” Magnus whispered, his voice shaking at the confession. “You know I love you,” he said taking Alec’s face in his palms. Alec smiled bitterly, “Just not for forever.”

“No, of course not, Alexander. I will love you for as long as you live and after that until my memories fade and I turn to dust. But I can’t ask you to do this. This will change your entire world—” “You are my world,” Alec cut him off, “I walked through Edom for you, Magnus. I was ready to stay there too. As long as you’re with me, it’ll be enough. You are always enough,” Alec insisted.

Magnus sobbed and launched himself forward, kissing Alec fiercely, both of them, crying as they held each other tightly and kissed, tasting their tears on their tongues. They could feel the hope of a new tomorrow, the bitterness of an end and the promise of together in those droplets of liquid emotion.

Magnus pulled back to look into Alec’s tear-stricken face, “Alexander, if you decide to do this, for yourself, I promise you, I will love you till the last breath in my body fades and then I will wait where ever my soul goes for you to join me,” Magnus declared.

“I love you,” Alec said, the words holding so much emotion and hope.

“I love you too, my angel,” Magnus’ eyes shined with pain and joy. Pain in seeing Alec having to lose his mortal loved ones and join in having the opportunity to spend the rest of forever with the only man that had ever made his life worth living, the only one who’d loved him wholly and unrelentingly, the one who’d literally changed the world for him.

“Take us home, darling,” Alec whispered, placing a kiss on his eye. Magnus gave him a wet smile as he opened a portal and pulled him in.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 17

Ah, right. We left off with Ross being arrested for Hughes’ murder. And something tells me that the Goths having a member who can literally walk right into Central undetected, to say nothing of the Fuhrer himself being a Goth, means that the deck’s stacked against her.

Yup, Ross is in an interrogation room, a scowling MP just dropped a deformed bullet onto the table. The very one that killed Brigadier General Hughes. Ok, so what if it’s the same caliber as her pistol? This is the military, everyone’s gonna have the same firearm. What about the ballistic fingerprinting? Fire a round from her gun, and see if it matches with the killing round. Unless the Goths stole her gun for the murder and then returned it… Oh! Well that’s pretty damning - a requisition form for a single bullet. But that shot was fired to defend Ed… at the “unmanned” Fifth Laboratory that’s now a pile of rubble. An eyewitness? Bleh, that’s right, they would have seen Ross (or Gracia, but I’m assuming Envy switched back to Ross afterwards) leaving the scene. But who saw her? Paperwork that she fired one bullet around the time of the shooting, an eyewitness saw (someone looking like) her leaving the murder scene, and her only defense is family testimony that she wasn’t there that day. Yikes. Ok ok, she doesn’t have a good alibi, but what about motive? Why would Ross of all people want to kill Hughes? Explain that, copper! Outside, Armstrong’s been turned away from seeing Ross while she’s being questioned. And then Brosh comes running up. Ouch. He’s confirming Ross’ story, saying he fired a single round at the Fifth Laboratory too, but everyone’s ignoring his report. Armstrong wonders if the Conspiracy is trying to frame Ross for the murder. Episode 17 - “Cold Flame” Winry’s still looking sad, cleaning Al’s armor and remarking how up close she can see all sorts of dings and scratches. Al’s brrrrr, sorry, bit silly and creepy at the same time to see headless Al just calmly polishing his helmet. All Al can do is give a weak chuckle at the comment. Aw, why must my babies be upset? Winry asks Ed what their next move is. Ed doesn’t know. [Flashback!Elicia]: “Mommy… please don’t cry.” NO. BAD SHOW. VERY BAD SHOW. Ed asks what Winry thinks. The mechanic is surprised that Ed’s actually asking her for advice. Damnit, stop being melancholy, show. I don’t want to listen to Winry’s voice shake as she talks about the brother’s digging up dangerous information that could get them killed. [Winry]: “I mean, you could die… I’d still be here, and you’d just suddenly not be there anymore. Like my mom and dad.” GUH. Would you quit it, show? Stop being so Leto-damn depressing! So to sum up, Winry’s torn between supporting their goal to get their bodies back, but also wanting them safe and alive. In the end, she really doesn’t know what they should do. THANK you, Al! Little bro teases Winry about how nice she’s being, lightens the mood at the expense of a few more dings and scratches. Good for you, little guy. In the Warehouse, Falman and Barry are playing chess when the newspaper comes by, no question what the main story’s going to be. Yup, Falman takes one look at the paper and jumps to the phone. Ed’s in his room, going over his notes when WHAM Al bursts through the door with the newspaper. Wait, convicted?! The brothers rush out to see someone in charge. In prison, oh hey it’s Ling! Who’s complaining about his ID cuffs, while chatting up the guard. Wait, only 15? Huh, I was thinking early 20’s. Running guards? Intruder? Oh, the Ninjas must have finally tracked down their wayward master. Although the music’s a bit spooky… NOPE, not the ninjas! It’s Barry! How did he get out of the Warehouse? He’s just striding forward, bullets bouncing off of him.

Even Ling’s guard with a high-power rifle just knocks his helmet off. Crap, run red-shirts, ru- wait, he knocked them out? [Barry]: “This would be a lot more fun if I was allowed to cut ‘em up.” Oh! It’s a prison break! With the conspiracy framing Ross, Roy’s crew sent Barry to bust her out! How in the world did they convince him not to kill innocents, though? Ling asks the Soul Armor to let him out, Barry almost walks by, but picks up on Ling being from Xing. That opens the door for some reason, and Barry tells the Prince to go with him. Hey Ross, wanna leave this dump? Of course Barry has to be unnecessarily creepy breaking her out, but shows her the paper and offers an escape. After a bit of despairing about a life of crime and apologizing to her parents, Ross is heading for freedom. And methinks Barry has yet another crush on a tough lady. The Inquisitor gets news on the jailbreak, orders the men to scour the city for her and her violent accomplice (what, doesn’t Ling get any love?). Along with shoot to kill orders if she “resists”. Cue picture of Angry Roy donning gloves. So wait, was this your plan, or did your crew do this on their own? The escaped convicts are running through the alleyways, when oh hai Elric Brothers! [Al/Barry]: “Ah! You’re that guy!” Aw crap, the Elrics are trying to figure out what’s going on, but Barry’s irritated at them being slowed down, orders Ross to run to the Warehouse while he holds them off. Ross has to run into the darkness as the Elrics call after her, asking about Hughes. Aargh. Ok, ok, miscommunication continues to stand in the way of a good time, but as long as Ross can get to the- oh. Oh crap. [Pissed-off!Roy]: “You’re Maria Ross… right?” Roy. Roy, just hold on RoY ROY NO WHAT THE FUCK ROY That was an explosion. Um. Al’s arrived to find Roy facing away from a burnt… body. Um. Was Roy in on the plan? Part of me is thinking that this is a decoy, convince the authorities that Ross is dead (oh jeez this is gonna kill Brosh). And once “they got her” Barry was quick to run away… but if Roy wasn’t in on the plan? Then he was facing down the person that was convicted of murdering his friend. I honestly don’t know which way the show will go. ...those are the burnt ID cuffs. W 6186 Maria Ross. Kinda leaning towards Situation #2 here. Mid-show cards ID the Inquisitor as Henry Douglas. Back in the alleyway, Ed oh dear he’s charging Roy. And Roy just decked him. [Roy, adjusting collar]: “You threaten a superior officer?” Maybe he’s just acting so detached? If the Conspiracy is listening in, then Roy has to act the good soldier, following the “shoot to kill” order. Even if it means standing over the possible charred corpse of a friend of the Elrics. Leto, these poor boys. The MP have arrived, taking pictures of the evidence while Douglas demands an explanation from Colonel Mustang. Who has no chill as he questions if one of Roy’s crew helped her escape, just so that Roy could kill her personally. Roy calmly says such speculation is best avoided. All while the Elrics sit quietly against the alley wall, Ed glaring daggers at Roy. At the hotel, Armstrong’s apologizing to the boys for not telling them about the murder sooner, tries comforting Ed when he says that it was his fault. Wait, doctor? Ah it’s the hospital, not the hotel. Aaaaand the doc says while the body was almost completely destroyed, the dental work says… it was Maria Ross. Um. The Doc proceeds to chide Roy for turning her into charcoal, while Roy just sits on a bench and says nothing. [Doc]: “Is the vengeance as sweet as you imagined it?” Roy gets up to leave, when Armstrong… [Armstrong, trembling with emotion]: “Colonel… Please allow me to apologize for one of my own officer’s actions. I could never have imagined that Second Lieutenant Ross would commit such a heinous murder. She was so straightforward and earnest… compassionate… A truly fine officer!” Armstrong’s glaring at this point. Argh, if this is all an elaborate ruse to get Ross away, then Armstrong doesn’t know about it, does he? He’s not in Roy’s crew. So from his perspective while he speculated that Ross was framed, he believes Ross was killed by Roy in vengeance for Hughes. Roy just tells Armstrong that he looks fatigued, recommends he take some leave back where he was. No big city noise, and lots of beautiful women. Is… is that his way of saying Ross was sent east? Or just Roy being the womanizer from the shorts? Monsters in cages, Envy is meeting with the Goths and letting them know about Ross’ fate. Lust is irritated that the plan to keep Roy amiable fell through, but Envy points out that he shouldn’t be distracted with Hughes’ murder being free now, and that there’s a bonus of his crew not trusting him anymore. Cue Riza putting a request for leave on Roy’s desk. Ok, still hoping beyond hope that it’s a ruse, but if it’s not, if Riza’s leaving to get away from a murdering boss for a while… Leto. Roy approves the request and Riza briskly leaves, slamming the door behind her. Wait, Roy’s smiling? Please tell me… Barry’s humming while he sharpens his cleavers, Falman’s freaking out over Barry going out on his own? Crap, if there was a plan Falman wasn’t in on it? Oh, and Barry brought back Ling as well! Who’s building a signal fire/cooking a fish oh hey Ninjas, nice of you two to finally show up. [Snarky!Ling]: “Wow… Impressive response time.” Poor Falman. Roy’s chatting on his office phone, to Elizabeth? Wait, who’s this? Why does Roy call her when Riza’s not around? Where’s this character coming from, messing up my ship? In any case, Roy’s paperwork gremlins are irritated as Roy natters about how he hasn’t had a day off since he got to Central, invites Lizzie on a fishing trip. Sudden bombastic military music as the Blonde Trio lounge in their room, Ed goes to answer the door and SUDDEN MIGHTY ARMSTRONG PUNCH what the Leto. Ed’s sent sprawling as The Mighty Armstrong strides in and picks the boy up, announces that his automail is broken and says he’ll escort him to Resembool immediately for repairs. I am just as confused as Ed right now. The Mighty Armstrong glares directly at Al, saying that he’d stand out too much so he must remain in Central. Wait why are you breaking up the Brothers? What on earth is going on here? If The Mighty Armstrong needed an excuse to take Ed somewhere, was saying that his arm needed repairs while standing next to his mechanic and telling his brother that he’d stand out in his own hometown really the best one? The Mighty Armstrong’s carrying our Protagonist through the hotel foyer like a sack of flour, says that he can’t put the boy down because of his orders. From “him”? Cut to Roy being told that The Mighty Armstrong and Ed are on the train, causing him to smirk and think that “everyone’s out of the way.” What is going on?! Is Ross dead or not?! In the Goth Cage Room, Envy’s passes on a sketch of Barry as the one who orchestrated the breakout. No direct connection to the Colonel known, but Envy bets that he was the one behind it. Doesn’t know where Barry is though, complains that he’s short on manpower. Are these chimeras finally going to get play, then? Wait, what? [Lust]: “Looks like you’re finally on… Barry the Chopper.” [Humanoid in cage with bone-skull-mask-thing]: “Graaaah!” Hold up, did the Goth’s kinda-sorta resurrect Barry? But his soul’s still in the armor! Or is it like a soulless clone, a chimera copy? Oh crap if they can make chimera clones, as much as I freak out about having a shapeshifter the ability to make evil copies of our heroes has the potential to be much worse.

Well, I’m lost! I honestly can’t tell if Ross is dead or not, I mean how do you fake dental work? I suppose the Doc could have been in on the scheme, but if Roy isn’t even telling The Mighty Armstrong about the plan then I doubt he’d bring in anyone else. If she’s not dead then please let us know soon for me and the poor kids’ nerves, if she is dead then what the hell show.

[alongtidesoflight]

💅💋🐇💐 😊 For Rox, Thelen, Hafiz, Amir and Katara (👀)

i see you there ghostie,,,,,,, trying to sneakily slot thelen in 👀

soon bby,,,,,,,, soon,,,,,,,, keep that thirst at bay for a little while longer,,,,

💅 What are some things they have strong opinions about?

for rox it’s definitely poverty. she spent most of her childhood barely able to scrape by and she’s generally the first to step in when she witnesses a poor person being mistreated. there’s a lot more stuff she’s itching to fix but poverty is the first point on her list.

with hafiz, it depends on when you ask him. for him it’s just not worth the hassle to get upset over things he most likely can’t change anyway. but then there’s days on which his wife gets mistreated, or someone throws a couple of slurs at him, and all the negativity he usually keeps an arm’s length away from him comes crashing down on him, and on t h o s e days, you’ll sure as hell hear him voice his opinions.

amir has several strong opinions, mainly on the synths of the commonwealth and how the institute mostly refuses to share their knowledge with the surface. he’d never share those views with anyone, though, unless it’s a person he’s very close with. if they stay awake for too long together, niall might just wish he’d have put in some earplugs before going to bed.

this might probably be a given here…… but katara has very strong opinions about the qun and how the qunari treat their mages. of course she can’t say anything about that before she becomes the inquisitor, or else she’d risk her own safety. once her ass is firmly planted on that throne, though, there’s no holding her back.

💋 What traits do they like in other people? What traits do they not like?

rox absolutely loves herself a person with a good sense of humor. if they know how to turn a bad situation around and brighten the mood, she’s a 100% sold. what she c a n’ t stand is people who are needlessly uptight or unwilling to rethink their narrow worldview. she loses interest in them the moment they open their mouth.

hafiz likes uncomplicated, care-free people who prefer to stay out of other people’s businesses. there’s enough shit going on out there already, no reason to add onto all those grievances. it’s kinda needless to say that he dislikes people that are confrontational without any tangible reason.

amir l i v e s for analytical and resourceful people. someone knows how to hold an intelligent and civilized conversation, he’s glued to their lips. disorganized and uncommunicative people who don’t care for what he has to say quickly become yesterday’s news, though.

katara values boldness. people who don’t shy away from taking action and voicing their opinion. the ones who don’t hide who they truly are in the face of a threat. dishonesty and cowardice are big dealbreakers for her, and forgiveness doesn’t come easy to her.

🐇 What animal would they say best represents them?

for rox, it’s definitely a coyote. a little trickster that mostly prowls through the nights, independent but also not without a strong connection to her pack. also, willing to hiss at everyone who gets too close to erick.

hafiz would claim it’s a panther. a big intimidating cat that’s actually…… far sweeter than you’d imagine it to be. also just about as needy for head pets, but of course he wouldn’t ever admit that. also, he’s a b s o l u t e l y ready to strike if the need arises, don’t get him there.

for amir it would probably be an owl, since they’re associated with knowledge. if you put him in front of something he’s interested in, he’ll spend hours studying it, even if it means pulling an all-nighter. someone definitely has joked about his eyes going all wide like an owl’s when they walked in on him in the morning, still stood in the place they left him in.

katara doesn’t really like comparing herself to an animal, since most humans do this to her already and she sees absolutely no joy in it. the next one to call her an oxman gets a firebolt to their face.

💐 Do they collect anything? What’s their most prized possession? 

rox still carries the rosary her mom gave her when she was still a child around. she’s been struggling a lot with her faith lately, but for some reason she just can’t let go of the rosary. most of the time she wears it on her wrist now.

likewise, hafiz still carries amir’s ID tags with him. of course that’s because for the longest time he’s unaware amir has actually been brought back by the institute. but even after they meet each other again, he refuses to put them away.

contrary to that, amir has no prized possessions. he barely even remembers his family or the time before the war. he also doesn’t collect anything of sentimental value, unless you count the ten thousand schematics and blueprints he comes up with and never uses. those are neatly stashed away in his desk and he probably forgot about them already. 

katara doesn’t really have a most prized possession other than the badge blackwall gave her and she’s pretty much in denial about how much it actually means to her. she also collects interesting artifacts she finds around thedas, not because she wants to study them, but because it reminds her of all the adventures she’s been on.

😊 What do they consider to be their best quality? What actually is their best quality?

rox is quick to mention her charisma whenever she’s asked about this, but actually it’s her compassion. one thing she uses in order to get where she wants to be, the other she uses to do good. it’s an easy choice, really.

hafiz would probably go for his ability to remain calm in situations that leave others scrambling, but in truth it’s his open-mindedness and approachability. keeping his cool in a situation that’s already escalated is slightly inferior to keeping the situation from escalating in the first place.

amir considers his best ability the fact that he’s always able to think logically without taking his feelings into consideration. it’s his intelligence and kindness, though. the guy is practically a walking, talking encyclopedia but instead of letting it get to his head, he rather uses his knowledge to do good.

katara definitely considers her many strengths her best quality. people can throw daggers and an infinite amount of pressure her way, and she won’t bat an eye. as it’s so often the case with her, she’s in denial of her true strength though, and that’s her absolute willingness to shield others from harm. “i’m only doing this because i have to.” no, katara. you’re doing this because you like these people and we all know it.

thanks for the ask ghostie!! and i’m sorry for leaving out the tasty bits of thelen there, you’ve almost made it through the wait, i promise! all the questions can be found here.