#burning down the orchard to the graves || verse 002 (dragon age).

[contrariian-archive]

@chevalors said: 29. a kiss on the inside of the wrist

        TO  SAY  THAT  THEY  ARE  UNUSED  to  such  true  tenderness  would  not  be  a  lie .   they  find  moments  of  it ,  of  course ,  in  the  beds  of  strangers  or  in  that  of  their  benefactor ,  but  they  hardly  expected  it  from  her .   they  have  exchanged  formal  kisses  before ,  of  course ,  on  knuckles  at  parties ,  but  this  is  no  party .   in  a  secluded  hallway  of  their  father’s  estate ,   showing  her  a  gentle  unseen  side  of  them  that  is  far  less  a  calculated  manipulation  than  it  should  be .   but  who  could  blame  them  for  wanting  her ?   who  could  not  want  her  themselves ?   rhys  is  many  things ,  but  they  are  not  blind ,  and  they  are  not  a  fool .

      élise  had  begun  innocently  enough ,  a  brush  of  her  lips  against  their  knuckles ,  the  same  as  a  thousand  times  before — but  then  she  turns  their  hand  over  and  lifts  their  wrist  to  her  mouth ,  kissing  them  on  the  soft  skin  there  as  she  makes  unfaltering  eye  contact  with  them .   so  often  the  pursuer ,  rhys’s  breath  hitches  and  they  grin  easily  at  her .   ‘  dame  clérisseau ,  ’   they  tease ,   ‘  do  you  think  nothing  of  my  honor ?  ’   as  if  they  have  any  LEFT .

KISSES | ACCEPTING

[contrariian-archive]

ok quick dragon age verse rhys stuff

      their family is from ostwick originally. their mom was a non-mage child born to a high-ranking tevinter family (an altus? who knows! not me :)), which is why they married her to llewelyn ab owain glyndwr (aka rhys’s Shitty Dad). this was largely regarded as a Bad Move, and after a few kids llewelyn picked up the entire family and they relocated to orlais, where he’d recently inherited an estate from a distant cousin anyway

      rhys was born in orlais; they speak common with an accent (it’s real-world equivalent would be irish), but they’re also fluent in orlesian & tevene, and have a working knowledge of antivan. rumors swirled around their birth that they were a bastard, so neither their father nor their older siblings ever treated them well. they were often One Bad Behavior away from getting stuck in the chantry. consequently, when their magic manifested (they were nearly 13) they hid it so they wouldn’t be sent to the circle. the only reason they didn’t want to go to a circle, other than Obvious Reasons, was because they’d have to leave their younger sister nerys.

      when they were nineteen, they became a bard. their benefactor is another orlesian noble, also a Secret Apostate, who agreed to not only sponsor rhys but also personally train them when he realized they were a mage. when they were newly twenty-two, their oldest brother’s wife whispered to them at a dinner party that she knew their secret, and that she was going to tell their father and make sure they never saw any inheritance. with prompting from their benefactor, rhys magically set fire to their brother’s wing of the chateau, killing his wife and son, and pinned the arson on a maid.

     they’re now twenty-three, and a few months ago they got drunk at a dinner party their father was throwing and made one too many snide comments about their brother’s losses. their father exiled them as punishment, and as a result they offer their services to the inquisition. they support getting rid of the circles, have a unique version of the bard specialization that utilizes magic as well, and their personal quest probably involves disentangling them from their benefactor, whom they are in love with. despite this, you can romance them (and should. they’re sexy).