#about: adelaide sprye

[haloneshiral]

12, 23, and 30 for the uncommon asks!! For whichever you want

12. How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

I can easily picture her discreetly pressing her back against the edge of a doorframe

23. How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)? 

She tries to emulate people rather than express it negatively. She's actually quite envious of how other people live, but instead of lashing out she channels it into positivity and hopes it works out for her too. It’s not exactly a positive thing because her motivations are pretty selfish even if she is quite empathic. Eventually she’ll learn to live with being her own person, without having to compare herself.

30.  Who do they most regret meeting? 

Colmar. The only person (so far) who knows she’s a mage. She (rightfully) suspects he knows she’d killed a Templar in self-defense with blood magic. They never properly talked about what happened, so when she joins the Inquisition thinking he resented her, she wonders if they were better off not meeting in the first place.

[aidan-hawke]

Character Info | Aidan Hawke

BASICS. full name: Aidan Hawke pronunciation: Ay-den Hock nicknames: none really height: 5′6″ age: time bubble: 25, “real time”: late 20s zodiac: scorpio languages: fluent in Common, fluent in Garlean, he gets by in a couple of other things like sign language and Hingan.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. hair colour: black eye colour: dark brown skin tone: mid-tone to tanned body type: short, athletic, muscular, though he’s lost some muscle definition over the past few months. Accent: not much of an Eorzean accent to speak of; seems proficient at picking up the locals to a degree Dominant hand: right-handed Posture: straight-backed to seem taller. he’s got his pride. but moves lazily -- not much of an air of respect. Scars: burn scars along his back and part of his torso, surgical scar on the right knee,  tattoos: no tattoos most noticeable features: probably whatever dumb look gives away he has one (1) braincell

CHILDHOOD. place of birth:  The Black Shroud hometown:  ... same as above birth weight:  a little underweight, mostly because he was born so soon after his sister. manner of birth: no complications, grandmother helped with the delivery first words:  some nonsense word since his sister was still half babbling at that age anyway. siblings:  Honoura Hawke (older sister) Avali Nahsra (adoptive sister) Emma Hawke (younger sister) parents:  Teagan Hawke (mother), Albin Hawke (father, deceased) parental involvement:   both were involved, loving, and supportive in their own ways, but they also had a tendency to let their two oldest kids mind themselves. Honoura and Aidan were just a year apart, so the general mindset was “they can entertain and babysit each other.” they were also pretty poor, so Albin might have made up a few ‘games’ that later both of them realized was just foraging lessons disguised as games because hey look at all these wild mushrooms and other great food they found. it had its upsides -- meeting Avali for one. their paternal aunts, uncles, and grandparents also had a hand here and there for a few years. it abruptly came to an end when they were disowned shortly after Albin’s death in the depths of the Shroud. 

ADULT LIFE occupation: adventurer is the closest to it -- you could also call him a jack-of-all-trades. current residence: Aidan presently doesn’t have a living space he’d call his residence. there’s a small place he pays rent on in Shirogane -- most everything in it doesn’t belong to him. he may also crash with family members or get an inn room. but he doesn’t own much by way of furniture or other possessions. close friends: former medicus Adelaide Sprye counts closest; the two aren’t in contact, but she’s the only one who knows anything about what his life has been like in the years since the Calamity. ( @home-halone) relationship status: not seeing anyone at present financial status: money’s tight, but his needs are pretty simple. vices: fighting, stubborn, pride, drinking, swearing, a poor listener. Aidan isn’t completely reckless, but he can be accused of being cavalier with his life. SEX & ROMANCE. sexual orientation:  bisexual romantic orientation:  biromantic preferred emotional role:  submissive | dominant | switch | unsure | preferred sexual role:  submissive  |  dominant  |  switch |  sex repulsed | libido:  rather low. he doesn’t recall the last time he was in the mood. it doesn’t bother him. turn ons:  kind, good sense of humor, confidence, attentive but not cloying. turn offs: people who are shallow, selfish, and inconsiderate tend to turn Aidan off fairly quickly. he also can’t stand when a potential suitor doesn’t listen to him -- he’s spent years having his personal opinions stifled or plain ignored.  love language: for someone who tries to present as cavalier about a lot of things, Aidan can be very doting. he’ll buy meals, he’ll walk you home to make sure you get there okay if you’ve been out drinking. he’s highly talkative -- he likes asking people he’s interested in about themselves and hearing about it.  relationship tendencies: a long-term relationship is something that Aidan’s never tried. he certainly had a few short-term flings and one night stands. MISCELLANEOUS. hobbies to pass the time:   mental illnesses:  PTSD caused by several years of forced servitude for an enemy nation, survivor’s guilt from living through Cartenau. physical illnesses:  for the most part he’s still physically healthy! there’s one knee he had surgery on a number of years ago, but it doesn’t cause any trouble other than occasional stiffness. left or right brained:  right brained self confidence level:  fairly confident in himself, especially in terms of surviving a fight. this entirely hinges on what people do or do not know about his recent personal history.  vulnerabilities:  temperamental, suspicious, proud, survivor’s guilt, scared of the dark, trust issues. particularly when it comes to authority figures. he’s also an escaped conscript, something that still makes him extremely wary and prone to keep people at arms’ length. tagged by: nobody! tagging: no one, live your best life and enjoy ShB!

[haloneshiral]

17, 23, 26, 28 (rip your wrists i’m sorry)

23. Will laugh as they kill you

Yeah it would be... Haliya.... she’s got an evil witch aesthetic going on. Not that she is, she just loves how people are intimidated by her very tribal look and she plays up on their fears. But she WOULD laugh and kill you because you’re beneath her.

26. Acts like they don’t care, but do

Caesia. She copes with situations with her seemingly carefree nature but in reality, she does take things to heart when something really means something to her. She’s not as caring as Letheia or Laidy but she’s fiercely loyal. You should have seen her when Isabela ran off with the tome (see above). She’s basically 100% ‘wear heelies to escape ur feelies.’

28. Gets lost easily

By virtue of being sheltered, Laidy has a pretty poor sense of direction and the least likely to make it to an unfamiliar destination. Caesia gets a shoutout because she doesn’t fucking know how to get somewhere but somehow she turns up completely fine and that’s why I believe if I leave her in the Fade (I wouldn’t tho lol) she’ll pop out in DA4 like this:

17 answered here

[haloneshiral]

Where did you get the inspiration for Laidy?

Laidy is actually an old OC of mine! The same goes for my Warden, Hawke & Inquisitor actually lol but she’s actually the most developed of the 4, since the other 3 revolved around brief concepts I never got to delve into.

With Laidy, however, her story was played out and written pretty extensively over the course of 2 years’ worth of active roleplaying. I had this whole arc planned out (which we never got to play) that pretty much had her story set from start to end. 

Buuut, instead of mirroring set events in her life, I try to retain key themes from her original verse and let things play out as I headcanon with @honquisitor   (Inquisition Agents & siblings, Aidan and Honoura)

(Oh boy this ended up being quite the long read lol have full art under the cut)

(hoooo old art)

Old Backstory: I knew from the beginning I wanted to roll a class I didn’t usually play, so I went for a dancer. It would have been easy to go typical ~flirty~ tropes, but I didn’t want to oversexualize her. I also didn’t want to portray her as a haughty ice queen type or anything, and somehow I ended up with a motherly figure with a heart of gold. And for the longest time the RP group saw her as that before I revealed the truth— that I didn’t stop there. I wanted there to be more layers and depths to such a bright and bubbly person.

Key Themes

1. Identity - Duality

The division in her identity (as Adelais Vitalis, Tevinter mage, and Adelaide Sprye, barmaid) leads her to feel as though she’s living half-truths. With her “truer” self (not wanting to fulfill her ‘obligations’ as heir) considered unacceptable to the Imperial society and her family, and with her considering her own past (blood mage, Tevinter etc) to be unacceptable for people in her current life.

Interestingly, Laidy may be considered “nice” but there is more depth to it. For example, Letheia Lavellan also similarly exudes kindness and warmth but it’s a lot more natural and subdued. Laidy actively acts the way she does, deliberately showing a cheerful face, acting overly familiar etc.

Basically, in Laidy’s case, she gives the acceptance she craves from people in her life, but her own judgment towards herself prevents her from giving herself that same acceptance. :,^)

2. Motivation - Recognizing she could forge a path of her own

Laidy’s theme revolves around learning to break away from expectations, whether it was set by her family, by common Fereldan opinion, or by herself. She knows what she doesn’t want, but she doesn’t know what cause or purpose to devote herself to. Partly because she was in a very sheltered environment prior to venturing out (this manifests in her well-meaning naivete and ignorance most of the time.) Even in fics I write about her, she still somehow needs to follow a path someone else set for her. Arriving at Skyhold would have granted her freedom but she still chooses to follow in the Inquisitor’s path and manner (being the beacon of kindness and mercy of the Inquistion). Which is a pretty tall order.

3. Not choosing power despite having it

Laidy, across all her incarnations, will always be a powerful lightning-aspected mage. It’s a combination of rigorous training and extensive study. 

It will never be showcased or used in grand fights, except in maybe in under extreme conditions in the form of an outburst. She associates magic with the evils of the Token Evil Magic Empire she grew up with, and with her family. As a result, she’s basically sworn an oath never to use it again and to become someone else.

[haloneshiral]

SHARE THREE SONGS THAT REMIND YOU OF YOUR OC

I feel like I’m emphasizing a lot of her sadness LOL but a major part of her character is reconciling what happened in the past and moving on from it.

1. Empires - Northeast Party House Electronic

We stole our lives, we never fought we never tried Slip away deep into the night Run, run, run— from empires.

2. Vagrant - Feint ft. Veela Drum & Bass

There's a reason she's alone You can't pin her down Because no one needs her home Or needs her around, she says

"There's beauty in the hills A chip in the sky So don't be sad because I roam It keeps me alive"

3. Happyland - Måns Zelmerlöw Pop

There's a scar in the heart of happyland In the shadows of where we used to stand

Tagged by @sulevinblade a million years ago dfsjl thank you! Tagging: @plisuu @shepavellan (can’t tag ;_;)   @fourletterepithet @taetelli @a-tear-in-the-veil @mightofthedalish @drellvhen

[haloneshiral]

I’ve taught you how to love yourself And oh my dear, you’ve done too well And fall I’ve created a monster x

[haloneshiral]

No one asked for this but click here to hear me ramble on and on about how to say my OC names for 3 minutes. Hear me say all the weird names I use:

haloneshiral

Proxi

Vanadis

Caesia

Letheia

Adelaide Sprye

Adelais Vitalis

Haliya

[haloneshiral]

Character(s):  Adelaide Sprye, Letheia Lavellan

 ----

Skyhold was much too bright. 

Not in the way the sun spilled over the mountains at dusk.

No, it was that Skyhold was a place of hope— of purpose— and every step she had taken upon its stones made her heart tremble.

And how would it not?

Everyone moved with such unwavering devotion to the cause that she felt like an impostor. As though such was not her place. Not without a fire of her own.

Perhaps she had lived among shadows for too long.

She had lived with the banality of blood magic and slavery. It sickened her, but not enough to fight it. Her birthright would have had her stand on top of it, gorging herself on benefits reaped from what others had sown. 

Even when she had begun anew, to live another life, she took one instead. The blood on her hands belonged to a man who had every intention of cutting her down. And still it weighed upon her soul. No matter how she twisted it in her favor, the truth was brutally simple— She had valued her life more than his.

She was Adelais Vitalis.

And Adelaide Sprye. 

Laidy.

In each name she felt a deception— not a lie, but an incomplete truth. Yet she wore them all the same. 

The thought stopped her from venturing any further. It was, in truth, the toll of a long trek up the Frostbacks, but her heart called it guilt. The unworthiness she felt. 

She had accepted an invitation to serve, extended to her by a pair of Inquisition soldiers— siblings— and thought she had found her calling. She could have it all. Hope and purpose. 

And yet now with Skyhold in view, she faced doubt.

With a ragged exhale, she licked her lips already cracked from the sharp, icy winds and she cast a glance over her shoulder. The sight that greeted her was an expanse of snow and mountains jutting left and right. She looked to remind herself how far she’d come. She could not take her word back so close to Skyhold’s gates. 

Scouts and merchants were eyeing her briefly as they walked past. If they had thought her lost, they would not know how right they were.

Clutching a small satchel carrying what little she owned, she willed herself forward one step. 

Then another.

Who was she fooling? 

What could she possibly offer the Inquisition that they could not have? As the barmaid Laidy, nothing. As the Tevinter blood mage Adelais, still nothing. 

What was she doing? She did not mirror the passion their Inquisitor had to make things right. She wanted not to serve, but to absolve herself, to silence, to wash the blood off her hands. 

Her third step would not come. 

Laidy had spun around before she could even cross the fortress’s threshold and promptly crashed into someone clad in armor.

Scrambling to form an apology through the pain of the impact, her sentences were half formed in a panic, but the elven soldier shook her head.

“Are you alright?” she asked quietly, with a light Dalish lilt.

The elf’s eyes scanned over her checking for signs of hurt.

“Perfectly fine, miss.” Laidy forced herself to smile.

The soldier relented, not wanting to press the matter, then eyed the way Laidy held her belongings. She offered a smile, much gentler than her own, in return. It was difficult not to realize that the redhead had every intention of leaving before she made it in.

“It’s a little daunting, isn’t it?" The soldier nodded her head towards the fortress. 

Laidy directed her attention to the towering brick and stones before them. A breathy chuckle was all she could muster in agreement. 

”No, I understand, believe me. It took me some time to call it home, but...” The soldier relaxed, smiling fondly. “Now it is. I hope you’ll find a home here too.“

With a slight nod, she took her leave.

It could easily have been small talk, but there was something so genuine about the way it had been said. For several moments, Laidy found herself rooted into place, watching the white cape billow slightly in the breeze until the soldier was out of view. 

Would she find a home here?

To be consoled by a Dalish elf who found meaning within those walls, to be spoken to right when she was? it was nothing short of extraordinary.  For someone exuding such a gentle warmth without burning so bright, she still served the Inquisition. Enough to call it a place of her own.

Perhaps a sign from the Maker. It was enough to spur her on. Laidy strode past the gates— this time her steps without stutter.

[haloneshiral]

Character(s):  Adelaide Sprye, Cole

—-

"Your hands were bloodied by sword and magic, so you thought to carry the sin of every mage."

Laidy stared at him, eyes wide. The comment caught her off-guard. It was not the sort of response she expected when asking "How are you doing today?"

The barkeep warned her that the attic's occupant might be a little eccentric. Yes, "eccentric" she had been prepared for. But this? She meant to acquaint herself with the people of Herald's Rest with a little small talk over the past few weeks. Instead the man— Cole was it?— saw her for who she was. Any trace of a smile on her lips evaporated instantly. Her deathgrip on the banister was all that kept her knees from buckling in shock.

The thought of being exposed, of being vulnerable-- the thought of her sins laid bare-- terrified her. Though she breathed not a word of it to anyone, somehow, he knew. It would have been easy to laugh it off, or feign ignorance, but the suddenness of it all robbed her of her wits and speech.

Cole averted his gaze, searching the floor for find the right words. His expression betrayed nothing, though she anticipated an accusation of some sorts. He must have sensed her immense discomfort. For a moment, he seemed to reach out to her, then thought better of it.

"But... you are not every mage. You are Laidy."

The words lifted the weight upon her shoulders. And without realizing it, she had been holding her breath. Releasing her hold from the banister, she wrung her wrists, wondering what to say in response to something so cathartic. Before she got the chance, however, he began again.

"You are bright. You think you are not. No, not like her. Her fire burns, a torch, a beacon for all— one to lead. But you are a hearth."

Did he even realize what he said to her? The sheer gravity of his response were words she needed, but she was not a fool to readily believe them. Even if she wanted to. His expression remained the same, eye staring straight, boring a hole into her soul. It was not difficult to imagine he could see everything about her.

"I-... thank you kindly, Cole. I think." She turned her attention to the bustle in the floors below, noting that the sweet notes from the bard's playing surprising carried all the way up. The Herald's Rest was different from the tavern she worked at. It was smaller, and the unforgiving winters made the patrons prickly. Most kept to themselves, save for a few regulars. But the name suited this tavern. The Herald's Rest. Even when the Chargers grew rowdy enough to drown out Maryden's voice, there was a sense of camaraderie and comfort in being there. And now Cole was saying she had a place here. She did not mind the idea, if she dared.

Slowly, she turned to him, looking over her shoulder, this time with a grin.

"I'll bring you a hot meal." Laidy said before disappearing down the steps.

"We'll see," was all she heard behind her.

And she would soon find herself preparing a meal no one seemed to ask for.