#ask: tasalin lavellan

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

✨✨✨✨✨ for the OCs! Your choice 😚

✨ A lot of people are surprised to learn that Emma is really not shy at all.  She’s quiet and introverted, for sure, but growing up her dads kept her from locking herself inside her own head completely by assuring her she could talk to them about absolutely anything on her mind, and encouraging her - a person who to this day does not have the slightest clue what being embarrassed is or why she should be - to do so often.  Now, if she has something to say, she will say it, without hesitation, to whomever it needs said, and more often than not people are just...not ready for it.

✨ Lux loves the idea of using aliases, but is terrible at coming up with them on his own.  Usually his efforts stop at changing a few letters in his name followed by the first thing nearby to catch his eye. Some examples: Rux Barstool, Lex Tankard, Hux Table, Bux Streetcat, and Tex Fountain.  He LOVES his Inquisition agent alias, Piper, and is in awe of Tulio’s prowess for conjuring himself a new name out of thin air.

✨ Rexus is happy to travel anywhere outside of Minrathous, with the glaring exception of his mother’s hometown of Qarinus, which is just...insufferably boring.  At least, he says it’s boring, but what he means is unless he brings someone with him for that purpose, staying overnight in Qarinus means he’ll be sleeping alone.  Because there’s a good chance that if he tries to proposition someone, it’ll turn out they’re his cousin.  Well, there’s a good chance he’ll proposition a distant relative practically anywhere in Tevinter, but we’re not talking distant cousin any number of times removed here.  We’re talking a whole child of one of his mother’s siblings.  His mother’s eleven siblings.  House Callas, his mother’s family, is notorious for being quite amorous (it’s really no wonder where he gets it) and consequently having a LOT of children.  Between his maternal aunts and uncles, Rexus has somewhere between 50 and 60 legitimate first cousins, and who knows how many illegitimate ones.  He only really knows a few of them, though, a couple of each of his three living uncles’ children.  The useful ones, you know, who he might be able to poke for a favor at some point while leveraging the fact that his mother is their father’s favorite sister.   

✨ Tasalin Lavellan and Nicky Hawke both subscribe heavily to the idea that people don’t necessarily need to like them in order for them to do their jobs, but in different ways. Tas knows some of his decisions are going to be unpopular but they need to be made regardless, and he will put a ton of effort into explaining himself so he will at least be understood, if not agreed with, because whether or not it’s necessary he still very much a) wants people to like him, and b) hates to be told he’s wrong. Nicky, on the other hand, says this as a warning.  He will do his job, and well, but he knows you will not like him.  Doubt him on that all you want, but you won’t. And he will not give a single shit.

✨ After his self-imposed exile from Orlais, Remy struggled to get established as a trader and worked secretly as a smuggler until he was able to save enough money to go legit and open an apothecary for his husband.  The experience came in handy later, when he decided a great way to surprise Eynon would be to smuggle his father, Orlyn, who they’d been unable to bring with them when they left and whose fate was a cause of great anxiety to his son for years, to live out the rest of his days in the empty house next door in Starkhaven.  Even though he was moved to tears that Remy would go to such trouble to do this for him, Eynon had to laugh; clearly, his anxiety about what had become of his father led Remy to believe the old man was in far worse health than he actually was and had thus vastly underestimated the longevity of a skilled alchemist and apothecary.  Emma was six years old when Baba Orly came to live next door, and as of the Inquisition’s disbanding in 9:44 she was still taking him bread and tonics every morning despite his protests that he doesn’t need handouts and can make his own, even work the fields for the grain itself, since he’s always had to fight for his meals.  When she and Eynon tell him to go right ahead and do that, then, his response is, of course, that he doesn’t need to prove he’s right.

Got any more?

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

For Tasalin and his wife: 1, 3 and 10 :)

THANK YOU I never talk about them enough :’)

1. What drew your character to their LI and vice versa?

Tasalin met Falani when they were teenagers, at a gathering of allied clans. They were both competing in a footrace, which he would have won if she didn’t trick him into stopping to help her and subsequently winning the race herself. He admired her wit and charm, and loved how just plain fun she was to be around, and liked her instantly. Falani found Tasalin charming and fun as well, but it was the complete lack of hesitation to try to help her that really got her about him. They didn’t see each other again for a few more years, until Falani was traded to Lavellan from her birth clan in Nevarra. Once they remembered each other, it was really only a matter of time before they grew to love each other.

3. When they are having a fight, what is it about and how do they deal with it? 

They are more likely to argue about logistical things within the clan than they are to actually get angry with each other, as Tasalin is the clan’s warleader and Falani is one of the leaders of the hunt. They work phenomenally well together, but will both argue passionately for their people, which means discussions can get heated sometimes. Likewise, they do sometimes argue when they think clan operations are putting too much strain on their family and negatively affecting their children. Personally, Tasalin is very, very prideful, and sometimes Falani’s joking and irreverence pokes at him more than he’d like, and she can get annoyed with him when he takes himself too seriously. To deal with it, they generally have to spend some time apart until they can approach the problem with calmer heads, sit down together, and figure it out. It’s very important to them that they approach their problems as partners with the common goal of resolving them, rather than as opposing sides.

10. Do they have pet names for each other?

Not really. They call each other silly things sometimes but nothing has really stuck, despite Falani’s penchant for giving nicknames. She was one of the first people to start calling him Tas, though, and he has always called her Lani.

Romance asks!

For Tasalin and his wife: 1, 3 and 10 :)

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

15, 18, 24, & 31 for Tas

15. did they choose the qun or the chargers in iron bull’s personal quest? why? 

Chargers, without hesitation. They’re a part of his Inquisition - his troops, his people, his family. No alliance would be worth sacrificing that.

18. upon first meeting cole, were they afraid of him?

Wary, perhaps, but not afraid. He met Cole when he followed Eren, Emma and Lux back from Therinfal (Tas went to deal with Alexius and the mages and sent Eren to deal with the Templars in his place, which I’m sure you can imagine he was thrilled about), so he had them to vouch for him. Of course, they had their own misgivings about him, but only reported that he’d been instrumental to their survival, for which Tas was immensely grateful.

24. what is their opinion on blood magic? would they ever use it, if given the chance?

Tas recognizes that it isn’t blood magic itself that is evil, it’s how a mage uses it. Nevertheless, he has yet to encounter blood magic in any context other than as an enemy combatant, so his opinion of it and people who use it is pretty negative. He’s also a spectacularly proud person and wouldn’t have himself seen resorting to something he dislikes and disapproves of without it being the only way to resolve a truly desperate situation, like the imminent death of his wife and children, or his brother.

31. if varric wrote a book about your inquisitor, how would they feel about that?

He’s not the best or most avid reader, but he’d be entertained by the idea at the very least. Again, though, he’s spectacularly proud and while he doesn’t need any and all stories about him to be ingratiatingly flattering and making him out to be this perfect person, if he were portrayed as, say, weak, cowardly, or tyrannical, he would...take issue.

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

5, 6, 7, 8, 22

5. what are their religious beliefs, if they have any? 

Tasalin follows the Dalish religion, and has never had any reason to consider otherwise.  

6. what is their opinion on the mage/templar war? 

Answered here!

7. who is your inquisitor’s best friend?

Tamralan Lavellan, courtesy of my dear @saphyremelodies!  Tam’s a couple years older than Tas, but they’ve been thick as thieves since they could walk.  Tasalin’s mother serves as the clan’s Hearthkeeper, she was involved a lot in raising Tam after his father’s death.  They’re practically brothers, and both of their children consider the other an uncle.  He trusts Tam implicitly and would love to have his dearest friend with him in the Inquisition, but also knows the clan’s in the best care if he stays.

Among the Inquisition, Tas’s best friend was Blackwall.  That…changed after he found out who he really was.

8. who is their rival? 

Aelon, a former Lavellan warrior exiled from the clan for attempting to overthrow Tasalin as the clan’s warleader.  Tasalin recommended exile instead of execution as punishment, and he’s been bent on revenge ever since.  With Tas in a more visible position and away from the rest of the clan as the Inquisitor, he may finally have the chance he needs to take it.

  22. what is their favourite weapon? 

Swords and shields.  The actual weapons, though, not the book.  And he’s picky about them, and about who takes care of them.  As far as he’s concerned, no one makes or repairs his equipment better than his brother.

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

6, 8, 20 for Tas and Lux.

6. Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

Tasalin tends most often to follow his own advice above all others, but there are a few people he’s learned it’s a good idea to hear out rather than just going with his gut: his parents, his wife, Falani, his best friend, Tamralan, and Josephine Montilyet. He’ll usually at least consider any advice anyone wants to offer, with the exceptions of post-Revelations Blackwall for obvious reasons and his five year old daughter, Laile, whose idea of advice consists mainly of either some variation of the word “crush” or a strong insinuation that whatever problem he has can be solved by giving her extra food.

Lux always takes advice from Emma, of course, and one of her adoptive fathers, Eynon Sparrow, who he sees as kind of a father figure himself. He’s hesitant about taking advice from Túlio, but that changes the longer he’s known him. He never has and never will even entertain the idea that Rexus might have something even remotely close to good advice.

8. Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

Both, for both. Tas is more likely to give up and get someone else to either tell him how to do it or do it themselves, while Lux will stubbornly keep at it until it’s finished while employing as many changes in strategy and curse words as he needs to get the job done.

20. What do they like that nobody else does?

For Tas, it’s his jokes. Hands down. He’s convinced he’s a comedic genius, and everyone else is very thoroughly convinced of the opposite.

For Lux, it’s Túlio. He’s a former Venatori - a slave, of course, but the Venatori part is all most people care about - a constant liar, and a bit of an asshole. He’s not even really that pleasant to be around at first, but still Lux defends and advocates for him, and insists he be given the benefit of the doubt even if all he gives anyone else is a headache.

Send me some oc questions!

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

4 6 20 26 and 38 for the inquisitor asks!

4. how did they feel about being called “the herald of andraste”?

He laughed it off at first, corrected them, then grew genuinely irritated that no one was calling him by the right name. Has no one at all been listening to him this whole time that his name is Tasalin, not Harold??

6. what is their opinion on the mage/templar war?

That it needs to end. Neither side holds enough sway with him to believe them totally justified in what they’re doing, but he despises seeing innocent people, especially elves, caught in the crossfire and would see that stopped regardless. To leave it and let it get out of control, possibly to the point it would threaten his family? He wouldn’t have it.

20. what was their court approval like at the winter palace? did they have any fun at all? 

I haven’t gotten this far in the game lol

It got pretty high. He would insist it was because he’s charming and entertaining to be around and shows competence in his position, but really it’s because he got aaaalllll the blackmail material, and he used it to keep anyone from killing anyone. Which, I’m sure, was also something of which the court approved. More than they did of his dad jokes and stories about his kids, that’s for sure.

26. did they feel suspicious of dorian upon first meeting him, because of his tevinter heritage? 

Somewhat, but it was mostly that he didn’t understand a thing Dorian was talking about, which translates to he knows things about weird things happening, which translates to inside knowledge, which translates to possibly involved. He was wary of him for a bit, but definitely grew to trust him. Dorian, on the other hand, was not so thrilled about Tasalin’s reaction to the whole situation with his father being, “it’s okay, I’m your dad now.”

38. are there any insults they find to be especially offensive? (i.e. “knife ear”/”rabbit” for elves, “oxmen” for qunari, ect.) 

Of course he takes offense to “knife ear”, but he’d never actually heard “rabbit” before until Halamshiral. It took him a minute to realize whoever said it was talking about him. Honestly Tas is a prideful bastard so he really dislikes being talked down to in any way, but to do so over the shape of his ears? That’s just lazy.

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

TELL me about TAS (which i'm pronouncing like taz, which is hopefully right??). 6 8 and 9 for that fella!

It’s actually pronounced like “toss”, haha ;) So you would say you are pro-Tas and Protoss the same way, lol. His full name is pronounced “Toss-ah-Leen”.

And I’m so glad you asked about his family, because they are his greatest source of joy and have been so much fun to piece together and figure out. :D

6. Interactions with their children

Tasalin comes from a long line of fathers who were also warleaders, and from the moment he found out he would become one himself, he vowed that he would never allow his position to make him distant and uninvolved in the lives of his children. He and his wife, Falani, have three children together by the time he becomes part of the Inquisition: twin nine year-old sons, Feren and Ashralan, and a five year-old daughter, Laile.

As previously mentioned, Tas has had to find ways to balance his family with his responsibilities to the clan, but he is very present and engaged with his kids. They get as many hugs and kisses from their father as they want, and he’ll do it shamelessly in full view of his warriors if need be. He listens when they talk. All of their stories are riveting, all of their found treasures are delightful, and every concern deserves his full attention. He treats them like they’re people while recognizing that they’re still children. He doesn’t know the answer to every question they ask, of course, but he isn’t afraid of telling them that, either. He hates punishing them, but refuses to raise disrespectful or dishonorable children. They will apologize and atone for the wrong things they do, and likewise so will he. He’s made it clear that he does not expect any of them to be just like him, or just like anyone but themselves. He lets them be who they want to be and tries his best to know them individually so he can encourage that.

Feren enjoys exercise and training, so Tas runs and does calisthenics with him since he’s still a bit young to train for combat. Ashralan is very detail-oriented and likes to build things and know how they work, so Tas will often spend time looking at something interesting he found and try to help him figure it out. Laile loves leaves and mud and bugs and lizards and a game he plays with her where he holds her hands and helps her walk up his legs and do “backflips” (assisted of course) off of his chest, and is the strongest of the three despite being four years younger than her brothers. Of course, there are as many play sessions with all three of them as he can manage, chasing him with wooden swords and wrestling him to the ground screaming their children’s battle cries, only to be absolutely destroyed when Papa suddenly transforms into a vicious tickle monster who is capable of no mercy.

8. Interactions with their significant other

This counts for 9 too because Falani is his best friend and I’ve already taken a million years to do this so :P

Falani is Tasalin’s partner in every sense of the word, and one only needs to watch him watch her for a few moments to know after eleven years he’s still completely and totally smitten. Their relationship has always been full of jokes and good-natured teasing, playful roughhousing, gentle moments, flirty touches and smiles, and this sense that they’d never want this with anyone else that just permeates their entire lives together. They’ve learned the right ways to support each other, and how to work together to solve problems and be the best partners and parents they can be. Falani is a check on Tas’s tendencies to overwork and put too much pressure on himself; she reminds him to relax, have fun, be a bit silly sometimes. More than sometimes. Though she’s spirited and fiercely independent, Tas keeps Falani grounded; it’s okay for her to need help, need a time out, and it’s definitely okay to ask for it. Their love, like any, isn’t without its problems, but it’s theirs. They waited a long time to find it, and they’re going to keep it.

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

23 and 30 for exactly three of your OCs. Do the RNG.

23. Which OCs have fought with each other the most?

I’m assuming this one doesn’t need RNG because there’s really only one answer…

Rexus and Caius Leventis, but only because it took 13 or 14 years for Eren and Tasalin to stop getting along. Rexus and Caius never have, and they never will. It would be quicker to count the times they’ve been moderately civil towards each other. That’s what happens, though, when your self-proclaimed mission in life is to spite everyone and everything in it and your younger brother exists solely to spite you.

30. How does OC get along with their parents?

Eren Lavellan

If you ask him this directly, he’ll give you a curt “fine” and say nothing else about it, but in reality it’s…a lot more complicated than that. He doesn’t hate or resent Nathra and Lilya Lavellan, nor would he allow himself to; he cares for them greatly and recognizes that even if they are not such by blood, they are his parents in deed. They raised him as their own despite lacking any obligation to do so. Even so, just the knowledge itself that he wasn’t born their son leaves this persistent stab of “but not really” surrounding them that forces him to keep a bit of distance. He never quite feels as though they are his mother and father the way they are Tasalin’s mother and father. This just gets worse closer to the Conclave, when he’s strongly considering that Lavellan is not truly where he belongs anymore and he may be better off leaving, searching for his “real” family and making a living among city elves and humans.

Eventually, he’ll encounter his biological father, a meek and unassuming elven dock worker from Wycome named Idras, while working there with the Inquisition. Idras is kind, overjoyed to meet him, and reveals he had no part in his mother abandoning him and mourned his loss for years afterward. Eren thought perhaps this meant he should follow through on his plan to leave Lavellan and join his father in Wycome permanently, but over the course of events in the city involving the elves there it became apparent to him that it just…wouldn’t be that easy. He has to work out his feelings about the three of them enough to realize he can accept and care for his biological father without rejecting his adoptive family. Essentially, he doesn’t actually have to place bonds of blood or deed higher than the other, and once he’s able to recognize that, he’s able to find peace with where he came from, where he’s been, and where he’s going.

Except his biological mom, who’s also Lux’s mom; as far as he’s concerned, she can choke.

Lux

Lux doesn’t really know his parents, or what it’s like to actually have them. He has no idea who his father is, never met him and never will. His mother, Saya, sold him into slavery and converted to the Qun when he was five years old and is one of very, very few people he can honestly say he hates. She’s manipulative and selfish, so much so that she actually seeks Eren out for financial reasons (he’s a successful weaponsmith and thus conceivably wealthy) in the time between Corypheus’s defeat and the Exalted Council and doesn’t even recognize Lux. Hers is the only murder Emma ever committed that Lux knew of and dismissed with a solemn muttering of “good riddance.” As far as he’s concerned, Eren, Emma, and her adoptive father Eynon Sparrow are his family, and that’s the end of it. That’s all he needs.

Rexus Leventis

His father denies being his father and either treats him like he doesn’t exist or like he is the lowest of low beings. His mother dotes on him as much as she can force him to allow, though whether she does so out of sympathy for his treatment at the hands of his father, guilt for not stepping in more to prevent it, or her own spite against the husband and second son she never wanted in the first place is anyone’s guess. I won’t say she has the patience to put up with Rexus enough to love him, because Atilia Curio notoriously has no patience for anyone, but rather she has the wit to do so. They may still speak harshly and never be overtly affectionate to each other but make no mistake: Rexus Aemilius Maro Leventis is one hell of a mama’s boy.

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

Top 5/Bottom 5

Rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!

What are your five most popular works? What are your five least popular works? Are you surprised? Why? Optional: If you want to calculate this, what are your works’ average number of notes? Today’s date, so you can see how your results might change if you do this again in a year.

Tag six people to do this next!

@fleshwerks tagged me!  Thank you friend!

I’m gonna exclude stuff on my Mass Effect blog and the chapters of my main longfic, Equilibrium, that I posted here.  

Most popular:

Far Greater Purpose, in which Emma gets a lecture from Inquisitor Thalon Lavellan (of @princeofmorley fame).  9 notes.

This Time, Pup, written for OC Kiss Week and featuring Rexus and @thatgirl-who‘s Julien Charbonneau.  9 notes.

This ask prompt about some well-earned alone time for Emma and Eren.  9 notes.

This drabble.  An AU where Eren’s older brother Tasalin is alive and comes to bust him out of jail after the Conclave.  He’s not counting on @ematis‘s Lailani, though.  8 notes.

This ask prompt, in which Rexus ‘borrows’ a shirt from Julien, who is...less than appreciative.  6 notes.

Least popular:

This raging horror inflicted upon me by @ematis in which Lux mourns Emma’s hypothetical death.  4 notes.

Nothing Hurt But Your Pride, another OC Kiss week thing featuring Emma and @ematis‘s Talim Lavellan.  And sparring.  4 notes.

Just Come Home With Me, an ask prompt which sees Rexus attempt to convince Emma to stay in Minrathous with him.  6 notes.

This excerpt from a (hopefully) future chapter of The Swim Upstream, in which Rexus tries to convince an exhausted Emma to stay the night.  6 notes.

This adorable fluffball of Emma teaching newly-freed Lux to read.  6 notes.

Are you surprised?

No?  I write about OCs with minimal canon character appearances, I don’t update consistently, and there’s no sex.  I’ve accepted my fate, and I know better than to really expect more.  Would I like more notes?  Sure, who doesn’t?  Equilibrium’s been on AO3 for 15 months or so now and it has 351 hits, 9 comments, and 18 kudos.  Considering it’s STILL not finished and there’s literally no reason for anyone to even be looking for it, that’s...pretty good.  It means a lot of people read it because it’s mine, which is a pretty awesome thing if you ask me.  I’ve got a few people who appreciate what I do and make up the bulk of those notes up there, and I appreciate the shit out of them right back.  I’d take the readers I have over thousands any day.  ;)  

Tagging: @pathfindersemail, @thatgirl-who, @bladeverbena, @elidoo, @forevermarked, and anyone else who wants to do it.  No pressure as always!

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

Nothing Hurt But Your Pride [Emma Sparrow/Talim Lavellan]

A (slightly late) OC kiss week drabble for my dear @saltquizzy, featuring her Talim and his unfortunate discovery of just how tricky Emma Sparrow can be.  ~1060 words. Set in an AU where Lailani Lavellan is the Inquisitor and Tasalin Lavellan is alive and with the Inquisition instead of Eren.

“Pulling punches today, are we?”

Ignoring him as usual, Sparrow didn’t pull the next one, but she didn’t land it either; Talim threw a forearm between the vicious fist and his chin with no time to spare, and a jeering smirk spread across his face as he locked eyes with her.  As much effort as the taciturn little woman expended to avoid people, eye contact had little effect on her.  Some people like that could be more like dogs, lashing out or becoming reckless from sheer discomfort at being looked dead in the eyes, but not Sparrow.  Sparrow stared back, taking nothing from his attempts to unsettle her and giving him nothing to work with, either, save for a momentary mimic of his expression.  

Short strands of her red curls hung in front of her face, having found their way out of the large, twisted bun in the back of her head, and sweat glistened over her bare arms even in the chill mountain air as she shoved away from him and reset her stance before attacking him again.  Talim’s own were spotted with gooseflesh, and a little red, but he would endure; he had to.  Despite barely standing as tall as his shoulders, Sparrow possessed formidable skill, but skill he’d matched evenly from the beginning; not once had they fought each other beyond a draw, and he certainly wasn’t about to be bested now, not by the likes of her.  If she could spar with bare arms in the cold, so could he.  

Talim attempted a hard downward strike towards her chest; anything higher was too easy for her to simply duck beneath, leaving his legs and abdomen open to counterattack, but this was just low enough that she couldn’t.  She’d have to block the blow, or take it, before she could counter, which would in turn give him all the time he needed to deduce what she would do next.  

She blocked, folding her arm in front of her to absorb the impact.

Good, just as I expected…

Talim resisted the thought that she was becoming predictable, but smirked at her again nonetheless.  She countered quickly with a hard right that just grazed his ribs as he moved deftly to the side, and sent one long leg back towards her head.  She ducked, of course, but he’d moved too far for her to have the reach to counter right away.  What Sparrow lacked in reach, however, she more than made up for in speed and endurance, and their battle was a heated storm of limbs once more in no time at all.  

“Getting tired?” Sparrow asked, barely audible as she caught her breath, taunting him even in her lack of inflection as she once again managed to outmaneuver his strikes.  She knew he wasn’t, and neither was she; in all likelihood, she was simply growing bored.

“Not in the slightest,” he rebuked, feigning an easier time than he actually had dodging away from her next attack.  “You done being lazy?”

The wind picked up for a moment, and behind the curls blowing in her face, Talim could’ve sworn he caught the slightest glimpse of a twitch at the corner of her stone-set mouth.

“As you wish.”

This was the real fun, when Sparrow stopped absorbing his teasing and started throwing it back at him with her punches.  When her feet barely touched the ground for her movements, her more acrobatic and overwhelming attacks, and he had to stop and wonder for just a moment between dodging and deflecting and attempting to counter, if she wasn’t secretly using magic to be able to do it.  Tsk tsk, little Sparrow…

Finally, a break: an aerial kick missed, landing her off balance and directly next to him with a stone wall behind her, and Talim grabbed firmly ahold of her, pinning her hard against the wall.

“If this is too much for you, we can just stop.”  The smile he offered her was far beyond smug now; this was gloating, plain and simple.  She had no recourse from this position unless he’d let her, and he certainly had no intention of that.  He’d bested her, and he wanted her to know it.  “I’ve seen all your tricks, little Sparrow.  Try anything you want; I’ll be ready for it.”

Sparrow glowered up at him for a moment that seemed to linger far beyond what it actually was, and, before Talim knew what was happening, her head rushed towards his.

A headbutt?  Now?  What is she-

His thoughts were irrevocably derailed as, instead of lowering her forehead and smashing it into the bridge of his nose, as he expected, she pressed her lips hard against his.  

The heat of her mouth on his couldn’t have been there for more than a moment, but the damage was done.  Talim could only stare, wide-eyed and completely incapable of speech, as the red curls and freckles, and those deadpan ice green eyes, retreated from him back to where he held her against the wall.  He didn’t even notice the subtle movement of one foot behind his, and as his mind searched frantically for what in the names of all the Creators he could possibly say, he relaxed his cold, goosefleshed arms just a bit too much.

Another moment passed with no words, and his eyes locked on hers, before she quickly shoved at his shoulders, hard.  Talim tripped on the foot she’d surreptitiously snaked behind his, and landed on his back with a winded grunt. 

Once he caught his breath and was finally able to make sense of what the fuck just happened, his hands flew to his forehead as he admonished himself with a disappointed sigh, torn between frustration and amusement that he’d actually fallen for that.  Truthfully, he was surprised she hadn’t tried it sooner.  Or, that he hadn’t thought of it first.  

Sparrow crouched beside him a moment later, straight-faced as usual, and offered her hand.  Talim accepted reluctantly, not only still unsure of what to say, but what, exactly, he should do with his face.  She was no help, as her mouth didn’t move from that hard set straight line the entire time she helped him to his feet, nor did her eyes move from his face, ready to meet his again once he’d somewhat dusted himself off.  He really should’ve known she’d have no intention whatsoever of letting him off that easy.

“Perhaps you will be ready next time.”

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

Did they go through any typical phases growing up? (Tasalin) Do they make excuses often? (Lux) Do they believe you have to give respect to get it, or get respect to give it? (Eren) How politically aware are they? (Rex) Which of the nine types of intelligence is your OC strongest in? Weakest? (Linguistic, existential, naturalist, et cetera) (Emma)

Did they go through any typical phases growing up?

He’s almost always had some kind of “lucky” piece of clothing or armor or jewelry or...trash, even, when he was really little, but otherwise he kind of grew up too quickly to go through what we’d think of as phases. Tas was pretty much groomed to succeed his father as warleader since he could hold a sword, and then he basically strongarmed his parents into adopting a baby brother for him who he’s always seen as his responsibility. It was always kind of set what he would like, and what he would grow up to be, and he never took any issue with that.

Do they make excuses often?

YEP. Lux will admit he was wrong, but begrudgingly, and he will definitely use the opportunity to make up some excuses for whatever he did. He’s also a huge fan of channeling Gandalf for “I’m not late, I got here precisely when I meant to.”

Do they believe you have to give respect to get it, or get respect to give it?

Eren thinks, plain and simple, that respect has to be earned. He is more likely to respect someone who is respectful to him, but he will also respect someone who just generally behaves in a way that merits it, even if the behavior isn’t directed at him. He’s never, ever going to respect someone just because he’s told he should.

How politically aware are they?

Rexus is never really that aware of exactly what the Magisterium is doing as far as actually governing, but he is acutely aware of pretty much everything else about them. Knowing what - and who - magisters and the people who work for them do outside those chambers and behind other closed doors is his bread and butter for most of his life, so even if he doesn’t exactly understand the government itself (he doesn’t really care), he’s very aware of the machinations behind it and how they can be used to his or whoever’s paying him to know’s advantage.

Which of the nine types of intelligence is your oc strongest in?

Logical-mathematical, bodily kinesthetic, spatial, and musical are her strongest, for one reason only: she’s been nurturing them the longest. If anything, growing up Tranquil enhanced these types of intelligence where others were lacking. It’s how she can quickly perform complex calculations in order to use her force magic as precisely as she does, and keeps her mundane combat skills sharp and her body fit. She’s not exactly a musician, but she does have acute hearing and sound - particularly lower frequency sound (think the beginning of Glosoli by Sigur Ros) and people’s voices - are important to her.

Weakest?

Predictably, interpersonal, intra-personal, and linguistic, but...only as it relates to the other two. Emma is very articulate, learns new languages easily, and she can express herself as it relates to any of the intelligence she’s strong in very well. She’s an excellent teacher. But, when it comes to dealing with other people and expressing her own emotions, she’s...kind of at a loss. She can read people very well from a distance, sure, but she comes off as cold and aloof more often than not for a simple lack of knowing what to say. She does best when a conversation stays within the realm of something she can speak easily about.

Send me some questions?

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

A19 for Tasalin, C7 for Emma.

A19. What instantly irritates them or puts them in a bad mood?

Tas’s level-headedness and positivity is hard to topple, but we know he’s got that pesky Pride Problem. Accordingly, he’ll get real salty real fast over one thing every single time: being ignored or dismissed when he’s trying to tell someone something. Of course, ignoring (not questioning, ignoring) his orders as warleader makes him one sort of hella mad, but that at least is understandable. This is in less of an official capacity, particularly if he’s correcting someone or offering advice, especially if the person asked him for advice in the first place, and particularly with Eren. And oh BOY does he hate when people roll their eyes at him. He can curb his frustration over it so that all he shows outwardly is a little clench in his jaw and he may become a bit more aggressive when - not if, when, without fail - he repeats whatever he’s trying to say, but he will be heard. It’s something he definitely struggles with as a father, as well; he’s become a great deal more self-aware since they were born, especially about when he’s getting frustrated and how he’s expressing it, but honestly all that’s done is make him get irritated at himself for getting irritated at his kids for doing things kids do. He tries, though. It’s a work in progress.

C7. Do they believe people change over time? If so, is it a natural process or does it take effort? 

Of course, it’s inevitable that a person she hasn’t seen for months or years is not the exact same person she remembers. The Rexus who showed up at Skyhold on her half-brother’s behalf wasn’t the same man she and Lux left to die on a Nevarran road five years before, and the Sala they found in the Fade wasn’t the same man whose home she’d furiously fled years before that. People even change right before her eyes, and she’s acutely aware of it. The scared, angry sixteen year old she brought back from Tevinter isn’t the same person as the witty, confident, cheery twenty-one year old she joined the Inquisition with. Hell, the Emma who came back from Tevinter wasn’t the same Emma who arrived there. People will always change the longer they’re people, for better or for worse. However, only one of those will happen without some sort of conscious effort, and passiveness and inaction will never bring about the other.

Send me some questions?