#feralkwe

[veliseraptor]

i was forced to talk about dragon age today, now i am forwarding it on to you. tell me about "the best all lack conviction"

oh maaaaan this one is fenders which idk how you feel about, but basically it's the result of me going "90% of the fenders out there is not complicated enough for me, I need it to be messy and slow burn and not one-sided in terms of who is getting offered understanding for their perspective, guess I'd better write it myself!!!" and promptly have taken, what, five years? more? to do that

but I go back and work on it periodically, and I like a lot of what I have actually, though I'm still a long way from getting them anywhere resembling a reconciliation let alone a relationship. but the journey is the fun part anyway so

it's a classic "hostile road trip" setup in terms of plot, because I am the person I am and "hostile road trip" will always be one of my favorite ways of forcing characters to cooperate :D

the title is from "the second coming" by yeats, specifically the lines: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst  / Are full of passionate intensity."

a snippet:

“Mage,” he said harshly. “Are you awake?”  The lack of response suggested not. “Anders,” he tried more loudly, just in case, but that was equally pointless. He breathed out through his nose and rolled him to his back. His forehead was still clear, unbranded, though there was blood dried on his face, probably from a blow to the head.  Fenris looked up at the sky like some help might come from there, but the most noteworthy feature there was still the rift emitting its sickly greenish light.  Rummaging through the Templars’ things he managed to find two healing potions. He maneuvered Anders to a sitting position so he didn’t choke when Fenris poured one into his mouth, and let go quickly when he came awake coughing. “Ouch,” Anders said, when he stopped. “My head hurts.”  “I imagine it does,” Fenris said grimly. “Get up. There might be more of them nearby.” “More of,” Anders started to say, and then started up. “Wait, there were,” he said, and then finally seemed to absorb the carnage of his surroundings. “I missed something.”  “Yes,” Fenris said. “Did you hear me? Get up.” “Okay,” Anders said, and started to stand up only to almost fall over. Fenris had to catch him, but though he braced for the skin crawling, achy feeling being too close to Anders always gave him, it seemed muted, less intense. “I hate magebane,” Anders said. “Makes me feel like a drunk foal, all wobbly and…strange. You’re tingly.”  Fenris gave him a sidelong look, unnerved. “Tingly?” “Mm, yeah,” Anders said. “Sort of. Like…like mint. But on skin.”  Fenris shifted his shoulders and started dragging Anders away, though he didn’t really know where he was going. He couldn’t both keep hold of Anders and hold his sword, so he set Anders down momentarily to wipe his blade clean before sheathing it. Then he pulled Anders up again.  “You’re really strong,” Anders said. Fenris made a noise at the back of his throat. “Stop talking, mage,” he said. “And get moving.”

[tarysande]

you will tear my em dashes from my cold, dead fingers. ;D xoxo

Em dashes are amazing! I love them! But like…when someone’s got ten em dashes in a paragraph, it’s seizure-inducing. 😂

Keep them to a pair per paragraph (not EVERY PARAGRAPH; I SEE YOU) and as many as you need to indicate sudden breaks in dialogue, and they’re all yours. 😂😂

[brennacedria]

bother bother bother i'm bothering you with ask box activity.

tell me about ria's first impression of sebastian versus when their romance begins.

You mean other than the "hate to see you go/love to watch you walk away" eyes she was making when he stormed passed her that morning at the chanters board? Cause her first-first impression based only on that scene was hawt. There was no reason for it. Nothing he'd done was specifically sexy. But he was passionate, had an accent, and happened to walk by at just the right time.

... unfortunately, I haven't decided yet when their relationship actually Begins, so I can't answer the second half of this. Ria and Sebastian themselves will consider their first night together the beginning/their anniversary but really, the relationship was fully involved long before that whether they admit it or not. Without having the right moment identified, I can't say what impression she'd have of him.

I'm not giving up on this answer, I just have to do a lot of thinking. Ask again for the second half in like ... 4 months and I might know. That'll give me 2 months to think, one for ADHD to forget ever existed, then in that fourth month I can give a final answer 😆

[yamisnuffles]

Commission for @feralkwe of her Inquisitor, Warden, and Hawke,

[rabid-catboy]

so much of what i love about urianger and thancred (whether or not you see them as romantic) is how they lovingly murder one another at any given opportunity. 11/10 relationship goals.

REAL!!!!!!! they're silly your honor

[redhead-trickster-art]

Commission done for @feralkwe I had a lot of fun with fabric here haha. I can still remember the times when I was terrified of floaty robes, but now GIMME MORE OF THAT. Also I took the risk with my creative liberties here, but I am so very happy it worked well in the end!

[kidspawn]

was filming my cute cat, and @feralkwe decided to announce the daily news-

[leggywillow]

Six Sentence Sunday

Tagged by @dreadfutures ^_^

Tagging @theluckywizard @ammoniteflesh @feralkwe @nirikeehan

A snippet from the next chapter of The Path of Most Resistance that I am so almost done with. Templar Dacre Trevelyan is about to embark on his bad idea revenge quest to catch Anders and deliver him to Starkhaven. (My sentences are so shorttttttt.)

“I don’t know what the fuck my duty is anymore. I don’t think I ever knew. Meredith was mad, and I never thought to question—I never—I killed so many people, Ruvi.” His chest shook with the effort of holding back his rising sobs, hysteria bubbling up in his belly and threatening to tear out of his throat in wails. “Innocent people. I helped make Kirkwall what it’s become. Let me stop one person who actually deserves it.”

(It's seven sentences I think.)

[feralkwe]

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV

Rating: Teen and Up (for now -- will update as needed)

Relationships: Elidibus/Warrior of Light

Characters: Elidibus, Emet-Selch

Additional Tags: Enemies to Lovers, Lost Love, Memory Loss, Shadowbringers, Named Warrior of Light -- Kit Hareington

Chapter 1 -- Long Gone

Summary:

That his mind had not been the same since the Summoning remained a poorly kept secret despite his best efforts. That it had fractured violently under the Sundering more so. Though he worked to hide the ways it hindered or unsettled him, he was no fool to assume his closest brethren had not noticed the cracks in twelve-thousand years. Yet he fought on, had worked toward their goals, had guided the course of civilization where it needed his touch. He expected that occasionally there would be places where he himself would need a nudge to recall that which was locked away and obscured by the wails of the souls whom even now he felt keenly. What he had not expected, however, was her. How he’d been thrown to discover her in those recesses between things he knew with certainty, and how, apparently, her existence there was no longer private information.

Elidibus and the Warrior of Light have been entangled by Fate, and they have only just begun to discover why.

I guess I'm finally committing to this! Wee!

[thelittlestancient]

WIP Wednesday!

Tagged by @azems-familiar Tagging: whomever would like to do it! but I would love to hear what's on the docket from @ectojyunk and @feralkwe...

Since you all liked the Sky Pirates AU so much, have a piece of it:

The morning after their arrival, Hephaistos awakens to find King Azem standing outside of his cell, watching him.

"I spoke with Themis," the king says, voice soft, and Hephaistos can't help but brace himself. "He says you saved his life--risking your ship, your crew, and your own life in the process. Hardly the sort of behavior I'd expect from a ruthless pirate intent on my destruction. And yes, he told me about your letter."

"The woman who captured him, she was…" A dozen words cycle through Hephaistos' brain. "Mad," he settles for. "She lusted for power, with which she sought to control others. I do not know if such a thing is possible, but she wanted to steal his. Had I not intervened, she certainly would have tried."

"And the fact that your son was aboard her ship played no part in your decision?"

Hephaistos winces. "I--"

King Azem smiles at him, shaking his head a bit. "I would expect no less. You play a coward's role but you're willing to stand and fight when the stakes are personal enough--and you want them to be. The mask suits you less well than you think, Hephaistos, but you've sunk too much into the act and so I'll play along. I'll let you out of here on one condition."

"I was not expecting to find myself an open book, laid bare before a mortal enemy. What do you want?"

"Not what I want--Themis wants his diplomatic mission to your king, and I intend to see that he has it. I'll be sending along a letter offering once again to discuss reparations for my misspent youth to King Lahabrea and the possibility of a permanent ambassador, a hostage if you will, to his court."

"You intend to see Themis stationed there as a regular post?"

King Azem sighs. "I have…clipped his wings a bit, I fear. His judgement of me was harsh but neither unfair nor unearned. When he was first brought to me, I'd just lost my mother. She was assassinated by what seemed to be agents of King Lahabrea's at the time, but now I am no longer so certain--I fear some other power is sowing dissent between us for reasons of its own. Such is one of the things I wish to discuss with him. Perhaps he will have information that I do not; perhaps we will have an easier time solving this mystery as allies than as enemies. Regardless, I was a young king and a lonely one, and then Themis was there, speaking to me with a wisdom far beyond his young years and sharing her coloring. It was like I had a bit of her back, in a way, and I feared to ever lose it.

"But he deserves to seek his own happiness, rather than having his fate bound up so tightly in mine. An adventure to a foreign land--with a proper escort this time--will serve him well. Besides, he implied to me that he had already begun the process of, ah, establishing diplomatic relations, shall we say? And so my condition, my charge to you, is this: keep him safe. Protect him without stifling him, as I could not."

Hephaistos turns the king's words over in his head a long moment. "This is…"

"A mission. Whatever else you read into my words is on you." He winks. "The guards will free you when I'm upstairs--alas, security must be observed, even now. You'll be escorted back to your ship. Themis is packing now and will meet you there this afternoon. Let the dockmaster know what supplies you need for the journey. I will not have my ambassador traveling in discomfort."

[veliseraptor]

fanfic never have i ever! have you written fix-it fic? if yes, what is your favorite?

oh boy I have written a lot of fix-it fic, as is probably unsurprising based on the fact that something like 75% of my faves die in canon (I did the math once!). so I do a lot of. uh. making them un-dead.

as far as my favorite, I thought about if living can be this but ultimately I think the backyard is full of bones wins by a narrow margin.

I used to write a lot less fix-it fic and a lot more make-it-worse fic, and I still do that, but I think less than I used to? I feel weird about this sometimes. might be an artifact of the fact that part of the main fandom I'm writing for right now is so unremittingly miserable that I feel more of a need to balance it out.

[azems-familiar]

WIP Wednesday

Here's a bit from the next installment of the Ascian Azem AU!

-

It has been two weeks, approximately, since they returned from exploring Coerthas and the revelations of that trip. Since, the Lord Speaker has sent the Scions an official request to know more of the magic that restored summer to one small corner of that ice-crusted land, which had required informing everyone else what happened…and then a long discussion on what to do about it. They had asked Azem for their opinion. Azem has yet to give it.

The Lord Speaker’s message had been…desperate. Couched in flowery, political language of necessity - a language Azem recognizes, despite how long it has been - but desperate all the same. You have saved us once, in the part you played in ending the Dragonsong War and aiding us as we stumbled down the thorny path to peace. Yet Ishgard’s troubles do not end there, not when the very land turns against us, our children freezing in the streets and our coffers dwindling as we struggle to bring in enough food to support ourselves. If you know anything - anything at all - related to this magic that might let us expand its effects, I offer a formal invitation to discuss the terms of what the Scions might receive in turn for such invaluable information.

They could offer their expertise, certainly, and maybe even it would be enough, despite this not being their actual area of study. But that would be intervening, and if Elidibus thought adjusting Coerthas was necessary to restore balance to the Source, he would already have set out on that path. But- something about those lands covered in unseasonable snow keeps sticking in their head, the cold so familiar after their long millennia of grief. Corrain and Alisaie had helped them melt the ice.

Azem blinks at the ceiling. Corrain had promised them as long as they needed to make a decision, and had promised that their involvement could be kept a secret (though his face had twisted and he’d grumbled something about Emmanelain when he said that, so perhaps not). That they had already given enough knowledge for the Scions and Ishgard to figure it out themselves, if there was anything they could do. They…don’t know how to answer, even so.

It had been a good trip, despite the people, despite everything. They had…liked talking about aetherology, and Alisaie had been kind, and Corrain…he still looks too much like Helios, sometimes. They had not wanted to see him so sad. He had cried into their shoulder for a long time, standing in the new patch of summer they’d made together, and they had held him, eventually, running fingers along the furred edges of his ears until he settled. Alisaie had smiled at them, and hadn’t tried to hug them, but had thanked them quietly later on their return to Dragonhead. Had said that Corrain has been struggling with this grief for years now, and she’s never seen him seem to cry through it like that before. Azem hadn’t known what to say; they’ve never worked through their grief either.

(They might have managed to, once. But then Hythlodaeus had gone, and the star had shattered around them, and that pain weighs as heavily on their shoulders as the souls of the lost do on Elidibus’s. There is nothing to work through to. Just- the cold, and the endless years of struggle, until they can finally save their people and do their duty.

And yet…Corrain has Helios’s eyes, but his smile is his own, and no less bright for it.)

-

tagged by @thewitchofelpis, thank you! :D

tagging @sunderedazem @feralkwe @thelittlestancient @akirakirxaa and anyone else who wants to do it

[brennacedria]

being the change i want in the world! i still am in ffxiv brainrot and can only talk about kit, but that doesn't mean i don't want to know about the rook you are planning. i've seen hints over my dash from you, but give me the scoop! what do you know? what are you adamant that you will not commit to yet?

The stuff I posted last night or this morning or whenever is as far as I'm willing to go: Kaela, blonde, "half elf" or elf, rogue (ranger?? duelist?), diplomatic.... I think that was all of it? I won't know the companions enough to pick a romance yet. I don't even know most of the factions enough yet to make a choice between them.

[yamisnuffles]

Urianger, as requested by @feralkwe on my Patreon.

[thefreelanceangel]

Tagged: Character Arc

(No one is surprised by this.)

(She really really hopes this is true.)

Tagged by: @the-white-snake

Quiz HERE.

Tagging: @mirugaidoesthings; @rylen-ashworth; @luck-and-larceny; @dumb-hat; @argentrenard

@kestrelvylbrand; @kuroyagi-ffxiv; @shroudkeeper; @chainsofaether; @gatheredfates

@riftdancing; @azems-familiar; @sjofn-lofnsdottr; @feralkwe

[redhead-trickster-art]

OMG, I didn't post this commission with @feralkwe's gorgeous character (right about this time I've lost an access to this account)! One of my 2023 favorites for sure!