#in inquisition solas is the character that makes me scream

[ghoul-haunted]

me, earlier: I will draw cullen and the inquisitor hanging out

currently: fenris/hawke

[warpedlegacy]

15 Lines of Dialogue - Theresa Trevelyan

Thanks for the tag @theluckywizard! Tagging @inquisimer, @demawrites, and @varric-tethras-editor.

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

Theresa can be a tough nut to crack for people. She's very guarded at first, and is plagued by resting bitch face and a piercing stare, so comes off as aloof or cold to most. But beneath that, she's passionate, righteous, generous, and protective. She's a mage who hated the captivity of the Circles, and is determined to use her power as Inquisitor to put an end to them once and for all. To create a future where mages are free, and without fear. She will always throw herself head-first into the fray, whether it's on the battlefield or at the Orlesian Court. Her greatest fear is losing who she is to this legend being made of her.

“Storms do not discriminate, Alexius,” I answered. “You would have done well to remember that when you agreed to unleash one upon Thedas in the service of a would-be god.”

“I do not traipse, Commander.”

“Should I expect such gossip to start taking up room on our agenda with regularity? Because if so, I shall have to make accommodations to allow for the extra time.”

"I can’t recall the last time I was allowed to just… be. Maybe I never was. I don’t think I even know how."

“I don’t have the right temperament for healing.” 

“I have no idea what [Solas is] capable of anymore. I was a fool to believe I ever knew him. He hides his true face too well. We have that in common.” ... “I thought I could use that to protect myself from him. I warded my corner of the Fade using memories of us. Hoping the guilt would keep him away. It was the height of hubris. Something else we share.”

"Stop trying to mythologise it. There’s no grand purpose in this. No rhyme or reason. My pain is not simply a means to an end. It happened. To me. It's not divine. In fact, it's perfectly banal. His hatred… your faith… the fanatics who idolise me… it all comes from the same place.”

“I know I don’t really have a say in how the Inquisition moves forward, but I want to make it absolutely clear now that I will not participate in anything I find objectionable. And I won’t allow you to ignore me anymore. You don’t have to listen to my opinions, but you will at least hear them.”

“Safe?” I laughed at the absurdity. “We were never safe in the Circles. You’re forgetting I was raised in one. I could tell you stories of Templars that would make your blood run cold!”

“You took everything from me!” I screamed at them. “My life! My dignity! My home! I can’t love because of you! I can’t trust because of you! I have nothing left! It’s not fair! I hate you! I hate you! I wish I could have killed the lot of you! I wish I had caused the explosion! Then at least I would have had my revenge!”

“Yes, I am quite the rebellious bookworm,” I announced with all the weight of an oath of honor. “My reach is great. Fear my power.”

“Corypheus tore open the Veil in the name of faith. Templars slaughtered mages because faith drove them to fear us rather than protect us. I am not asking you to follow me out of faith. I’m not ‘chosen’. I have chosen. Chosen to stand between the flame and the world it seeks to consume. The Inquisition will - and must - fight for all of us. With all the power granted to me, and only for as long as you see fit that I should keep it, I give my word that I will be the shield that protects those most in need of it. And I vow to place my faith in all of you, who have helped uplift me. I will never cease working to be worthy of this honor.”

“We have been many things to each other. We’ve pushed and pulled each other, reshaped each other in ways I’m still discovering. Falling in love with you was like gravity. It was never an overt decision, it simply happened. But for love to last, it can’t be an excuse. Love is… a verb. A deliberate and conscious choice. And so I choose to love you. And I will choose it, over and over, because we have shaped a beautiful home in each other. You are the home I choose, Cullen.”

“Well, in that case, welcome to the Inquisition. I hear we’re a dour lot. Perhaps you can help liven things up.”

“I haven’t yielded yet,” she fires back. “Which means I haven’t lost.” 

[greypetrel]

Sera and Solas for the opinions meme? c:<

Ooooooh you asked me to spill the tea!

Thank you for asking about the elves, I'm glad they can rest together hating on each other in this ask. uwu

Sera:

First impression: *starts singing Anarchy in the UK* Beside that, I didn't like her all that much at first. I liked her points of view, but playing as a Lavellan... At first it was a "Yeah but why you're so hostile". She grew on me like moss.

Impression now: I love her your honour, she's such a nuanced and complex characters, and with Dorian one of the most caring people around Inquisition, if you spend the time to build a good relationship with her. Her point of views on politics are genuinely good and much more rooted in reality than Solas' (for obvious reasons)

Favorite moment: Her whole set of reactions in Trespasser. The way she notices Inky is feeling all but well but still does her best to cheer them up and remind them that there is an after that they can shape how they want, she's there to help. The way she's genuinely worried sick for you and is there to help... It was the moment she became a ride or die for me. Also all her banters with Dorian. All of it.

Idea for a story: Anything expanding what we see of her character, really. Anything. Little things, her learning to cope and interact with an Inquisitor who is a mage and/or a Dalish, she spending time with the Chargers and finding the family she always lacked. Cookies experiments. Flirting with Dagna. Anything. Some expansion over her War Table mission and having Cullen saying "Do you know what, I'll do it. I'll send soldiers to hold drills as loud as possible under that noble's windows. Yes.".

Unpopular opinion: She's one of the most emotionally intelligent characters around. She is closed and abrasive, sure, but show her you care and are sincerely interested in having some kind of relationship with her and BOOM. Don't know how unpopular it is tho, LOL. And: she and Solas could actually get along and have more similar opinions that they would admit. It's just that Solas is not a people person (he's 24/7 screaming internally, there's no mental space for much else) and approaches her in the wrong way.

Favorite relationship: I'll say three. She and Dorian gives me life, you see the prince and the pauper going on and learning to live together and finding points in commons and enjoying each other's company. She and Cullen. I am sure Cullen is the one who has the most fun in the Red Jenny missions (not that he will admit it), and they are both commoners and simple people at heart. She sees right through the hard shell of pretending he's a serious knight of course no no he's the expert here, uh-uh. He's totally at level with the other advisors. She is there to take him down a notch. Also. She and Solas. Listen. They share quite some opinions. Sera is more rooted in the actual reality of things, while Solas just has theoretical knowledge. They say the same things and have a lot of things in common (both are solidly against the establishment, both renounced to position of richness to just go and play hobo, both are artists and imaginative. He's a marxist, she's an anarchist, but as above: she's rooted in reality, he isn't). Solas just chose the wrong way to approach her and doesn't know how to fix it, and she's not making a step towards him either.

Favorite headcanon: She's the little girl that got the painted box from the Warden in Denerim.

Solas:

First impression: I was heavily influenced by @karmicblackhole, who is the friend that brought me into the saga and my number one Solas authority. So I got to know him in theory before and came knowing who he is exactly. I was curious when I first play to see him finally in game.

Impression now: I like his character A LOT. Wouldn't romance him, I recognise the fascination but personally there's a "You're not like other girls" theme that is really not my cup of tea. Again, if you're not here from 5 minutes you all know I love him as a platonical friend figure, I love his character and I'm firmly convinced he may be your local trickster and obscure character... But a villain? Evil? No. Not at all. Man is going on of pure inertia screaming internally. And also he's the worst liar around Skyhold. Worst of them all. I sniffed there was something weird with Blackwall, but at least Blackwall doesn't let slip things about his past that don't add up with the story he told you and disapproves when you call him out.

Favorite moment: The last cutscene pre final battle when he's there panicking and asking you advices about how to deal with horrible mistakes. The façade cracks a little and he's just... A scared person not knowing how to fix his mess. Also the way he treats you in Trespasser if you had a positive relationship with him during the game. He's a cuor di panna, he's very tender, he's just so horribly bad at people.

Idea for a story: I am pondering from months on a short ficlet about him going back to watch the Inquisitor as time goes by. Because yes he may be resolved... But he's bad at plans. Also DadWolf, but I'm drawing/writing it. Basically, anything that lets him find something he may use to stop running in circles in guilt and self-commiseration and learn that hey, it went how it went that's ok.

Unpopular opinion: He's not a villain and he's not evil. I can see why people think of that and he's in that grey zone that's grey enough that he can easily fall in both parts... But in my opinion he's not. He's just panicking HARD and starved for human contact. Again, I can see why people treat him as a villain... But I think we saw him only up to the middle of his narrative arc. It would be like judging Cullen stopping at DA2 before the final battle and the mutiny. You can but we're all missing the second half of it. I may be wrong in my opinions and I read some great fics that has him as the villain. He could double, again, I just like to think that people are fundamentally good.

Favorite relationship: As above. Him and Sera. Him and Varric co-parenting Cole gives me life. I recently brought him on a mission with Blackwall and they had the funniest banter ever, BOTH sweating profusely and lying. x°D

Favorite headcanon: He's a huge softie and hugely touch starved and it will take very little to bring him back to the good side. Also, I'd love to see him... Doing something to the Veil and actually making elves mages. Also, he's a terrible hugger, but will appreciate being hugged greatly.

[sometimesraven]

I Can See Through The Scars Inside You

Whumptober No. 10: “Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?”

Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition POV Character: f!Lavellan Whumpee: Lavellan

Miriel doesn't know who she is without Solas. Adris wants to find out.

AO3 Link

"My dreams are growing more abstract. Tonight was only smoke and fire, confused screaming... And the eyes of a wolf. You are lost, it told me. In his voice. Perhaps I am."

Lavellan was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of gentle padding footsteps on creaking wood. Adris tried her best, bless her, but there was no sound that did not carry in the quiet of their back-alley Orlais home. Shaking off the sudden spike in her heart-rate, she quickly docked her quill and closed her journal, spinning to greet her friend with a warm smile.

"Sorry," Adris hummed, their freckled shoulders offering a meek shrug of apology. "We need a rug."

"Wouldn't make much difference," Miriel assured, her smile falling through almost as quickly as it had come. She couldn't shake the image of those canine blue eyes out of her mind. In a second, Adris had crossed the room to kneel in front of her, taking pale, trembling hands into eternally warm brown; Adris' larger hands engulfed her own almost entirely.

"Look at me," she murmured, bright hazel-green staring into Miriel's soul as if they could replace the burning of her dream -- and they almost did. "Does it help? Writing it all down like that?"

"Sometimes." Miriel's gaze fluttered for a moment, heavy from a wave of fatigue as if she hadn't slept at all. She could hear Adris breathe a concerned sigh through her nose, resting their foreheads together; grounding the thoughts away.

"For what it's worth," she said, "I don't think you're lost."

The care in her fellow Dalish's words squeezed Lavellan's chest. How could she look upon this... this mess of a creature, scarred and sickly and fragile and sleepless, and think there was anything more to be found? The confusion quickly turned sour, pushing Adris away and shooting to her feet to pace. "You don't know that. You can't know that. If you knew-.."

"I don't know because you don't say!" Adris' voice wasn't quite angry, but it was certainly raised as she watched Miriel all but wear holes in the floorboards. "You can't keep holding in whatever it is you think is so broken about you. You're not more special than any of us just because you're big. You still get to feel."

"No, Adris, I don't." Miriel didn't know if she looked to her fellow with rage or pure desperation. Something inside her screamed, begged to be set free, but it wasn't that simple. It could never be that simple again. "You don't know the burden of leadership you never asked for. You don't know the weight of having a body that betrays you with every waking hour. You don't know what it is to have your dreams haunted by a man you haven't seen in four bloody years, or a woman you killed with your own cowardice. You don't know the pain of knowing your decisions caused the deaths of thousands of people, your own clan included. You don't know the kind of bitter, evil hatred that sits in my gut every time I have to think about the Creators, or the Chantry, or the bloody shemlen outside our door who look to me for answers but would kill me in the same breath! You don't know the madness that drove me to this!" She gestured roughly to the self-inflicted scars on her own cheek, "Or what it is to feel every bone in your hand cramping only to remember he took that with you along with your heart!"

Her breath choked and her legs gave way, crumpling her painfully to the ground as sobs hiccuped from her throat without permission, like they had been waiting a lifetime for the chance to escape her. Adris didn't move, watching her with wide, wet eyes until she spoke again; a hushed, hoarse whisper this time. "All of that-.. If I show it, for-.. for even a moment. I will be weak. Our enemies will see their chance and close in upon us. You don't know-.. You don't know how hard I have to try to stay hidden. I can't let them see me, Adris. I can't."

There was a long silence before the creaking of her footsteps sounded again. Slowly, Adris knelt before her, hand slowly cupping her scarred cheek and lifting her gaze once more. "They aren't here, Miri. I am. I see you, you have to know that. More than the pain. I could never know how hard it is to be in your body, but I know how it feels to be outside. How bright you are. I don't see some broken fragile little thing, you know? I see you. Scars and all. I see you."

And for the first time in the long years since solace was the arms of a god, Miriel almost believed it.

[dgcatanisiri]

I do get the bind that BioWare's marketing is probably in right now - honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if, given the reception to Andromeda and Anthem, their last two games, some pencilpusher at EA is looking over BioWare's shoulder, warning them that if their next game doesn't sell well, EA might start looking to restructure the company. And with how DA4 has been stopped and restarted a couple of times now, I get banking on the aspect that is 100% firm set in stone as a marketing aspect.

I even get not wanting to put things that are more specific in the marketing - I remember some of the Inquisition pre-release material featuring Varric remarking that he's being "outflexed by the ladies once again," and building up some big choice in Crestwood that didn't make it into the final game, which definitely seems to be a detriment to the released product as a result of knowing that there was more planned that didn't make it.

My issue is that... Okay, at this point, people who respond positively to Solas have been hooked on this game. They've honestly probably been hooked since the initial teaser trailer, and, sure, you want to make sure that aspect of the hype machine stays oiled and lubricated and all those other awkward metaphors.

But shouldn't SOME effort also be put in towards trying to hook in the people who AREN'T drawn in by Solas? Like being in Tevinter is expected - that was where the map in the final scene of Trespasser was, so, for example, do a trailer from the perspective of a tourism ad of Tevinter - show off the scenery, talk up the history, present the splendor... And then undercut it by presenting the horrors of slavery and the depravity of the blood magic. Show us elements of the game that are not centered on this one character.

Like... Dragon Age Absolution made me FAR more excited for DA4 than any of the teaser trailers have, precisely BECAUSE it had nothing to do with Solas, instead managing to show a place we the audience have never been, exploring Tevinter, and teasing a particular antagonist who was unexpected to hear from again. THAT got me hyped for returning to this setting, and particularly after my recent run through Inquisition left me screaming in frustration.

I get banking on the feature that they know will be unchanging regardless of how things in production shift. But it's kind of a double-edged sword - sure, the people who like the character, who are invested in him, they're gonna eat that up. But it does create a sense of... anti-hype, for want of a better term, for those of us who don't care about him, aren't interested in his story.

[crackinglamb]

OTP Asks, fully knowing how you are with 'favorites' but indulge me anyway: #25, 26, 33, and 43. *bonk* 😘 and an extra 💖

I will indulge you, because I love you. *bonk* 😘 And I'll do these for both of my girls and Solas, since I need to get back into their respective headspaces.

This got super long, so I'll put it under a cut. Questions are from this list.

25 - Favorite canon moment of them? (oh, this ought to be fun, since neither of them are 'canon' romances)

Imogen

Honestly? Anytime they have each other's back in the field of battle. They are a Power Couple, and it shows. I mean...

(this shot is included in chapter 54 of WG)

...need I say more?

Lark

The nature of Lark's existence falls so far outside canon that it's tough to find in-game things that match her relationship with him. BUT! The soft tone he uses when he tells stories, and the soft tone she uses when she asks questions is arguably the best thing ever for both of them. They are disillusioned, bitter and Tired(tm) people, who are soft for no one...but each other.

26 - Least favorite canon moment of them?

*snort* Am I allowed to say that it's the fact that neither of them can canonically romance him?

Like, I get the whole aspect of his being Like That about other races. To him, humans are newcomers barely out of barbaric infancy in comparison to his own culture (regardless of how they end up mirroring each other; Tevinter conquest anyone?). And dwarva...well, I don't want to get spoilery. You get to claim beta's rights to know my thoughts on how Elvhenan affected the dwarves. (Solas, I love you and I'm sorry; you're a Boomer.)

But the level of Tragically Doomed Relationship is still incredibly high with both races, and I wish we were given an opportunity to explore it as part of our character arcs as players. I would love to know how the Crestwood breakup would have gone with a human or dwarf. Qunari too, for that matter. Would it still have been about duty or would he have found some other, equally as painful justification for it?

33 - How do their personalities compliment each other?

Imogen

Imogen is clever, intelligent (those being two different things), curious and confident. All of these combined into being absolutely irresistible to a trickster god. She understands his motivations in a way no one else in the Inquisition does. And he understands her sense of displacement and overwhelming exhaustion at having to be a reluctant leader. They can be themselves together, no facades, no lies, no hiding the ugly parts. She gives him the space he needs to work through stuff on his own, and isn't afraid to call him out on his bullshit when he needs that too. They are very similar in the ways that matter.

That said, Imogen hasn't lost her childlike wonder. She's able to bring that to the fore for him when he's overcome with his own guilt. They have both lived through the cataclysmic loss of their previous lives. But she still finds joy and beauty in the present. She drags him - yes, kicking and screaming - into building something new, rather than focusing on what came before.

The fact that she knows exactly who he is doesn't hurt. He was initially intrigued by her foreknowledge, then a little bit frightened at just How Much she knew, then comforted by the fact that someone in this chaotic world got him on a level that no one aside from Cole does. Besides, the sex is amazing.

Lark

In much the same way as Varric, albeit from a slightly different angle, Lark challenges Solas. She gives as good as she gets when he's on his soapbox about spirits, lost empires and just...humans in general. She doesn't want to be here any more than he does. They have something of a rogue's pact between them. Get the job done, then move on.

Of course, it gets complicated as soon as emotions get involved. Unlike Imogen, Lark doesn't know he's the Dread Wolf. Not yet anyway. But she understands having to make tough choices. It's not so much that she's particularly forgiving, because she really isn't, but that she truly knows that desperation leads to the road to hell lined with good intentions. And deals with the devil only cost your soul.

The pair of them have more in common than they think, and more than mere shared languages and mourning the lost things. Lark is also rather tricksterish. She loves a good con. She's adept at hiding in plain sight. She's scholarly. She's got a temper. too. They are very much the 'I'm either going to kiss you or kill you' kind of couple.

I haven't quite decided what that means for them, post-Trespasser. I have a feeling she'll never stop trying to convince him to do things differently. And she'll never give up on trying to preserve his better moral self (which is saying something considering her own).

43 - How do they say ‘I love you’ without actually saying it? Ex “Have you drank any water today?”

Imogen

She lets him in, no reservations, no using him to enhance her own power or status, no judgments. When he needs space, she gives it. When he needs to be held, she holds him. She thinks of him, including him in her planning stages, making him better armor and weapons, making sure he has what he needs. She indulges his sweet tooth and doesn't poke fun at his toddler's palette. She imagines after several millennia of uthenera, food has a lot of Unpleasant Sensory Experience for him.

He, in turn, takes care of her. He makes sure she eats and rests and gets out of her head from time to time. One might call it a soft dom approach, although there's very little of that dynamic between them. Well, okay, there's more than a little if we're going to be honest. But it comes from a place of devotion and not obligation, perceived or otherwise.

Their love is also expressed in the little things that aren't so little. Touches of assurance after battle, moments of trust in tense situations and constant support.

Lark

Lark listens. Solas has spent much of his life being disregarded, but not by her. She might not always agree with what he says, but she allows him to say it and she weighs it instead of brushing him off. She's highly observant, and a lot of their relationship seems invisible because they often do things unspoken. She keeps track of his mural supplies and orders refills before he needs to ask. She notices the trend of books he asks for in his research and finds sources he might not have thought of.

She accepts him as he is.

He gives her freedom. It's the greatest gift he can give to anyone. She is free to do as she likes without fear of reprisal from him. He does not own her time or affection, and he knows it. He doesn't judge her previous life as a smuggler and assassin. In his time he has been both himself.

He also collects things she might find interesting and leaves them where she'll see them. He welcomes her son into his life as part of her with no resentment or difficulty. In a way he sees Fedric as a gift to himself too; it's been too long since he had a hand in shaping the spirit of a child. And there is nothing quite like watching the potential of a child grow.

He accepts her as she is.

Bonus round: Lark and Garrett Hawke

Just for this question because at the heart of this complicated FWB/unspoken polycule is love.

Lark was immediately drawn to Hawke as another someone who took on a mantle of responsibility with reluctance and got their heart broken for it. Up to and including the inability to ever go back to what they were before. She gives him a soft place to land and asks no questions he doesn't want to answer. She knows their arrangement is not permanent and holds no resentment for that. But neither does she treat it with less respect than it's owed, because they do care for each other, very deeply. But not all relationships are meant to last, and they're both aware of it. It doesn't make the present any less precious.

Hawke gives her steadiness, in a way he can't give himself. He's someone outside of her circle of advisors and companions and the politics of her position. He's always there for her to unload on, either in words or actions. He puts no demands on her. He brings lightness to an otherwise very dark time of her life.

Losing him nearly destroys her, much more than she thought was possible.

I mean...what? Nah, it's fine, they're fine. Promise. 😇

[for-the-ninth]

DADW: "Trembling, I step forward" with any characters!

Thank you for the prompt! @dadrunkwriting

I have a hard time writing from first person perspective bc it always feels like a self-insert and then I project my shit onto the character so I'm gonna do a 3rd person POV here.

The raucous winds of a tornado swirled around Shielan and her comrades, knocking some back and freezing the others in place. Even Bull, who was pushing against the wind with all his might, was struggling to move forward.

"Bloody hell," Sera shouted over the din. She was staggering backward and nearly fell on her ass before Shielan reached out and yanked her to her feet. "Any idea when this fuckshit will stop?"

"Her wings will tire soon," Solas called out. He pointed Sera to a cluster of boulders that reached high above the dragon. "That cliff will be your best vantage point."

Much to Shielan's amazement, Sera had nothing sarcastic to say in return. She only nodded and dug her heels into the ground, bracing herself against the rest of the dragon's onslaught. The moment the great creature rested her wings, Sera sprinted to the base of the cliff and clambered up to the ledge like it was the last thing she'd do.

For a moment, Shielan was overcome with guilt. Sera really hadn't wanted to come with her to begin with, in no small part because there were rumors of a dragon in the area. But Shielan had dismissed her concerns entirely, figuring that as long as they stuck to lesser known pathways they could avoid it. She had not considered that the beast's younglings would spot them and go crying to mama.

With an almighty shriek, the dragon spit a vicious ring of fire around herself, catching Bull directly in the flames. He stepped back from the creature and patted himself down, but now that he'd gotten her attention, she didn't let up. She crawled toward him with her neck low to the ground, and Shielan's stomach sank as she realized what was about to happen.

The winged beast opened its cavernous mouth wide as she approached Bull, and for the first time since joining the Inquisition, the towering warrior looked genuinely afraid. Shielan sprinted toward him and thrust her palms out, wrapping him in a gust of wind that extinguished the dragon's flame. The creature responded with pure rage, stomping her feet with such severity that the entire crew—Sera included—fell to the ground. Without hesitation, the dragon lurched forward and flicked Bull across the field, smacking his head into a boulder. Sera screamed in horror, and the dragon turned on her next, rearing up on her hind legs as if ready to snatch her from the cliff side. Shielan dug the spiked end of her staff into the ground and hoisted herself up.

"Hey!" she shouted, marching forward and banging her staff against the ground. The dragon turned to look at her, but held its position as though waiting for Shielan to make the first move.

Trembling, she stepped forward and threw her staff to the ground, harnessing all the bravery she had left to smack a wicked grin across her face. Might as well smile in the face of danger, Zev had always said. She straightened her posture and threw her shoulders back.

"Come and get me then, bitch."

[mellow-honey]

Character Headcanons: Idres Lavellan

My Lavellan play through for ‘The Father, The Son’ Au. Still a WIP as I work through Fen’s (the son) personality, how big of a change he is from Solas (the father) and how that changes some plot points in the main story.

Age: 32

Class: Mage Rogue

Weapons of Choice: Dual Blades

Varric’s nickname for them: Bubbles

Who did they romance: Fen’Harel (the son)

Who did they get along with the most: Fen, Leliana, Dorian

Who did they get along with the least: Cassandra, Cole, Sera (she doesn’t hate them. It just took a while for them to find common ground)

More headcanons under cut. Link to where I found some of the prompts here.

10. A food they can't resist: fried sugar dumplings (Jamaican festival)

15. Injuries: childhood scars from learning how to hunt and exploring. Later on some came from human archers. There are scars on her face too but the complexion mod won’t let me have nice things. Later at the Lost Temple of Dirthamen, the high priest gave her a full-body vallaslin. She’s not sure if it was a curse or a thank you.

23. An object that is important to them: a handwritten recipe book that her mother gave her for traveling. It had specific instructions on how to make the meal taste just the way Idres likes and is a mix of cuisines Dalish clans from all other Thedas specialize in.

30. Favorite animal: light-torn steed, Avvar war nug, great halla mount.

37. How they would react to being the last person on the Earth: screaming internally. Would still live everyday just surviving. Would have a lot of animal companions.

48. Viewpoint on accepting help: not opposed to it. Being raised in a clan, she understands the importance of everyone having their role and performing them effectively. However, she will question the intention depending on who offers the help.

49. The perfect day: before the Breach, it was the days preparing for Arlathvhen. During the course of inquisition, any free day she could get. Usually those days are spent with Fen, cherishing the private moments they have together. After inquisition... she's still adjusting.

66. Are they easy to approach?: people often think she is until they actually start speaking to her. She tries to keep most conversations short unless it’s important, interesting or if she’s comfortable with the person.

69. Something they have a reputation for: disappearing. Like all the time.

98. An aroma they like: cinnamon.

[emerald-amidst-gold]

18 19 20 27 28 from the protag questions <3

Ooooo! Lots of goodies! o3o You all spoil me~! X3

Thank you so much! Let's get into it! >:D

18. What is the biggest similarity between your protagonists?

Grey morality. PFFFFT!

I'm serious. I have a habit of creating characters that have questionable methods to situations, but yet can be empathized with or even sympathized with. Fane, Rylen, and Elise all do what they have to do, and it's up to the audience to formulate whether or not they agree or disagree with their personalities and actions.

I'll say this once because I've had people in the past kind of...bash me for it, but just because your character has a specific view does not necessarily mean you as the creator share that same view. That isn't me throwing swings out at self-inserts or characters that are reflections of their creators, this is just how I feel in response to my own characters. I try to disconnect from my characters because I want them to be their own. I build the foundation, give them a name, a history, or a family to influence them, but I don't steer their minds, their decisions. They flow the way they want to flow. Simple as that. Fane is the OC that is most reflective of me, but not with everything. He has his own methods, own reasons for thinking the way that he does and so do I.

I think it has a lot of my fixation on making characters teeter has to do with how I interact with the world in real life. I just...don't see black and white. I give everything the benefit of the doubt and I hold my ground concerning my views even if others might see them as 'wrong' or 'controversial'. I'm horribly analytical and I'm always like, 'But what if...'. That's just...me. XD

But yeah! Grey characters are my vice and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right most of the time, but I try! :3

19. What is the biggest difference between your protagonists?

Mainly how they approach situations and their feelings surrounding leadership.

Fane is rash, doesn't plan, doesn't think everything through before acting or he just outright chooses not to. He tends to make decisions on his own, but mainly only in battle. In more diplomatic settings, Fane is the master of deferral. XD He divvies out tasks that he feels aren't his area from either a lack of interest, a lack of confidence in himself, or just feeling that someone else would be the better option.

Rylen has his moments of brashness, but he's pretty subdued, go with the flow type of deal, but most who know him intimately know he's pretty high strung when it comes to matters where his voice has power. Man's a ball of stress and anxiety. PFFT!

Elise is the calmest out of the three. It was practically trained into her in the Circle. She's also just inherently docile, but after the Blight she does have moments of being feral and unhinged. That mostly happens if one of her companions are in danger or if her own life is threatened. She's not afraid to make her voice heard, either. Generally, Elise is soft spoken, but she will stand up for herself and other people, despite the grief it could cause her.

20. Who handles responsibility the best? And who handles it the worst?

If Fane puts his mind to it, he can handle responsibility pretty well. His want to involve himself deeply in matters doesn't happen until after Adamant and only gets stronger and stronger after Trespasser. Fane is a force when he wants to be and Solas tries to draw that out, to make him realize he can do whatever he puts his mind to. However, Elise would be the best in terms of responsibility. She had a lot in the Circle, even more during the Blight, and a substantial amount as Warden-Commander. Does she wish she could rest? Of course! But she doesn't complain because she knows she can make change. Rylen's okay with responsibility; he becomes Viscount after all. But, he is prone to slacking off at times, but really only after the Chantry explosion. The guy is TIRED. What can I say? XD

All in all, none of them bad at handling responsibility. They just have different ways that they go about it! :D

27. What would their fears on the graves in the fade during Here Lies The Abyss be?

Yes, yes, yes, YES! The question! The big question! The question that leads to Fane and Solas' first kiss! AHAHAHAH! >:D

Elise - Betrayal. This is more in terms of Elise towards herself and her own actions. She's afraid that everything she's ever done has been one great betrayal to everyone and everything she has ever cared about. She had no choice but to witness Jowan become Tranquil, Alistair, so hurt and angered by her decision at the Landsmeet, abandoned her to face the possibility of the death alone, her faith was sundered after the Broken Circle, making her fear her magic for the first time in her life and making her wonder when she would become the very monsters she had just finished killing. The list goes on. Elise made so many decisions in service to the world, but she silently wonders when it'll all come crashing down around her, when everyone will leave her because they'd been betrayed.

Rylen - Wasn't enough. Rylen wrestles constantly with the fact that he's never been strong enough. He wasn't strong enough for Carver; the ogre ripping him from their family and pounding into pulp. He wasn't strong enough for Bethany; unable to protect her from the templars, so he opted to take her to the Deep Roads, thinking it would be safer, but it wasn't. He wasn't strong enough for his mother; his eyes focused on the horizon rather than the ground that began it all.

And he hadn't been strong enough to end Corypheus for good. We all know what happened wasn't Hawke's fault, but Rylen the master of blaming himself for everything, so that's one event he dwells about every. day. every. night.

Last, but not least, FANE. *sounds the horns* You ready? You ready?! >:D

Fane - To be forgotten. That's right.

That's Fane's biggest, deepest fear; to be forgotten. I know there's only been a few chapters of my main fic that kind of reference this, but you know how Fane constantly says to himself, 'I wish I could be forgotten. It would be better if I would just disappear and be forgotten.'? Yeah, it's a front. He's trying to convince himself that that's what he wants, but in actuality, it's reversed. He's terrified, terrified of being forgotten by the world, by his sister, by the Inquisition...

...by Solas. That's the worst person who could forget Fane. And around the time of Adamant, Solas and Fane being the stubborn fools that they are, act as if they haven't known each other for fucking centuries even though the truth literally screamed at them after Haven. They were lost together in the mountains with that truth hanging between them, and still they ignored it because it hurt and they both felt they didn't deserve the hope that they could be together. Fane attempts to unearth some lost memories, some lingering feelings, but Solas wasn't ready and guided them away from that unopened bag, refusing to let Fane in on his agenda or allowing him to help in any way. It gets to a point where Fane starts to believe Solas doesn't actually recall their relationship, who he is and he spirals pretty bad in the Raw Fade when that tombstone is glaring at him.

When Solas sees it...he cracks. Quietly, in his mind, but he realizes how stupid he'd been, how stupid they had been. The truth was looking at him in two tones and he ignored it out of fear. It's what spurs Solas to take Fane into the Fade and show his dragon the place where he had endeavored to make sure the other would never be forgotten. Solas also makes it clear that he had never forgot Fane, ever.

"I could never forget you, my dragon. Your memory lingered within the halls of my mind even as I slumbered. I am but a fool, a fearful fool. I thought it kinder to let you live a new life, unburdened by my burdens. I do not wish for the past to repeat itself, to see two tones ebb away and breath leave your lungs once more.", Solas said, eyes downcast, pained grimace housing sorrow, grief, and despair in its curves. "...But, it is not kinder. It is more agonizing to try and forget than it is to remember. Though, I have never tried to erase you from my memory nor have I tried to abandon what I felt for you--what I feel for you.'

Fane frowned, tugging on the mage's forearms to bring him closer, urgently, but timidly; Solas didn't even protest, but his eyes remained downcast. "What do you feel, Solas?", he asked and received no answer. "What do you feel, Solas?! What can't you forget?!", he repeated, voice echoing off the halls of death and remembrance. He needed these words, he needed to know!

What did the sky feel?! What did it remember?! He just wanted one damned answer in this upside down world!

Solas' eyes shut slowly, chest rising with a deep inhale. "I..", he started, but paused again, face twitching with hesitance and reservation. "No, it's not--!"

Fane growled low. "Enough! If you won't tell me,", he barked, yanking Solas forward by his arms, barely registering the grunt of surprise that left his lips, and shot his hands up to hold a bewildered face. "...then show me!"

I tease~ >:3

-----

28. What is their favourite location within their own game and what would be their favourite in each others?

I answered this ooooonnnneee HERE! >:D (I would just copy and paste, but it LONG. ADHDKS)

And there we have it! Beautiful! Perfect! And FUN! X3

[dragonageficrecs]

Coiling Time

Title: Coiling Time

Author: Enceladus (EspressoComfort)

Rating: Explicit

Words: 138,086 – Finished

Spoilers for: DAI INCLUDING TRESPASSER DLC

Admin L’s notes:

Solas/Original Female Character (non-Inky), Solas/MGiT

Is it "Modern Girl" if the character is from a century, clearly beyond ours, that has perfected time travel, and if the character is no blushing, unsure girl? Both the premise and protagonist were very well molded. In particular, I liked how the premise (including the dictum that time travelers are observers and not shakers of history) so clearly affected the protagonist's interactions with the Inquisition members, forcing the main character to skirt around truths with a deftness equal to Solas (do not doubt that it catches his eye). Themes involving time, guilt and culpability, and community thread with immersive scenes of pottery making and tannery.

Time Travel, character of color, pottery, tannery, some angst, lots of good fluff.

Summary:

Coiling Time aka. the Thedosian Pottery fic

"Just that feeling when you’re about to go but then you’ve forgotten this particular data strand and the continuity just barely lets you pass through deflux... You know, like every molecule in your body is screaming in frustration at you over being reassembled just a little off. Oh fuck,” a wave of nausea and pain passes through me, and I accept a hot metal cup of liquid with shaking hands and a grateful sigh. “Thank you. I really must have miscalced some… something, something bad this time. Was it a timecode thing? Two days, you said?”

The man hums, as if in agreement.

“Well, there goes my plan to document hand-building techniques and drip glaze for a few months in the nineteen-seventies... Oh, this tastes nice and herb-y. Is that mint? And... Fennel seed?”

“Elfroot, mostly,” the man says, and I nod, leaning back.

Following what appears to be a mishap with her calendarium, time traveling 22nd century researcher Malika finds herself in Thedas during the Inquisition. Staying undercover proves hard however, despite your training, when you've caught the interest of a certain stoic elven mage... Also, pottery? Complete!

[luobingmeis]

taz balance as dragon age inquisition and dragon age inquisition as taz balance

i spent too much time on this and leaned real into the dark fantasy for balance

(some names have been adjusted!!)

taz balance as dragon age inquisition:

the hunger: “beg that i succeed, for i have seen the throne of the gods and it was empty”

magnus burnsides: “that's the world. everything you build, it tears down. everything you've got, it takes—and it's gone forever. the only choices you get are to lie down and die or keep going. he kept going. that's as close to beating the world as anyone gets”

merle highchurch: “let those who would destroy us step into the light”

taako: “you let it keep hurting, because you think hurting is who you are. why would you do that?”

lucretia: “in the end, you are always alone in your actions”

lup: “forget you know this about me”

barry bluejeans: “that's what i do. fall out of the sky, make bad decisions, and somehow everyone still follows me"

davenport: "selfish of me, i guess. not wanting to spend my entire life screaming on the inside"

johann: “i don't want to die”

jeffandrew: "all of this happened because of fanatics and arguments about the next world. it's time we start believing in this one"

taz balance: "truth is not the end. it is merely the beginning"

the mcelroys: “if you love a character, you give them pain, ruin their lives, make them suffer. maybe even throw in a heroic death”

dragon age inquisition as taz balance:

the inquisitor: “i’ve decided the inquisitor is an idiot”

corypheus: “that’s it? it’s just a guy!”

cassandra: “we need a competent woman to come save us!”

varric: the author of caleb cleveland, kid cop

josephine: “we’re going to pull your ass out of the fire this time but we’re going to have a nice long talk about ethical- about your fiery ass when this one’s… over and out. dammit. dammit, i could’ve done way better there

leliana: “everything’s for keepsies if you’re sneaky about it”

cullen: “my password is turkey boy, ok? varric saw me eating a turkey sandwich on my first day and he wouldn’t shut up about it. it doesn’t even make any sense, it’s not even a good slam!”

the inquisitor and cullen in their canonical chess game: “thanks for the chess game and... kiss my ass, you sanctimonious bastard”

dorian: “you know, it doesn’t always have to be goof-goof dildo machines over here, okay? i’m travelling around with the boner squad, and i never get to just say what i’m feeling!”

iron bull: “i got too horny from the killing, and i-i’m jerking off”

solas: “bad news, compadres, this place is magic as hell”

solas 2.0 even though in my eyes he doesn’t deserve two: “it’s a record of my life’s work so far, the seven habits of highly effective elves, and i carry it around with me”

sera: "sera just finds a gun! and she’s like, hey inquisitor! count the shells!”

cole: "i'll be having my body back, you undead fuck"

vivenne: "i cast prestidigitation, shoot sparks out of my fingers, cast minor illusion, put myself in a dope outfit, and start walkin' down the catwalk with all the style and panache i can muster, which is - i should note - a fuckin' lot"

the inquisition: “wait a minute. i need to clarify something. just so i’m clear: your whole organization... so far the score is zero? i couldn’t get out of a jizz-cave without nearly dying, and i— i destroyed one!”

[bhaalble]

The fucking inherent contradiction in the themes of Inquisition like it's almost impressive.

Because on the one hand, if your Inquisitor isn't Andrastian/just doesn't believe they're the Herald, you are told time and time again that it doesn't matter sometimes whether or not something is true. Hell, you find out for yourself that it wasn't Andraste at all who saved you from the Fade, and yet you are still encouraged to Foster belief that your cause is holy.

The explanation for this, as Mother Giselle, Cassandra, Leliana, Dorian, and even VARRIC point out time and time again, is that there is something powerful about believing in something. Even if it's not true, belief can unite people. Make them strive to be better than themselves. Give them courage. The "Dawn Will Come" scene communicates that even if you have no idea whether or not the sun will rise, it gives you the power to make it through the darkest night.

And in theory? I've got no problem with that. I'm religious myself so clearly I feel the value of belief on a personal level. And if a bunch of fictional characters derive comfort and courage from fantasy Catholicism, well, more power to them.

The issue is that same courtesy is not extended to other faiths.

If you are Dalish, your gods are not only "proven" to be fakey fake bullshit who actually were slave owners in Trespasser, but you are routinely shit upon for even holding onto your beliefs. There's Cassandra's line "is there no room for one more god?" (Which, sure Cass, you start learning about Sylaise and I'll show up for Mass). There's Solas who, though he can accept the vallaslin, treats it as a separate entity from "the real you". There's Sera, who views it as simple trappings kept alive to make people feel better about themselves.

If you are Dwarven, you are BARELY allowed to even speak about your understanding of the Ancestors and the Stone. Because no one asks. The one other dwarf there is apparently Andrastian.

You aren't allowed to talk about the effect your beliefs have on your life. No one comes to your defense. You are not allowed to say to anyone "my beliefs bring me comfort regardless of their truth".

It's transparent that when it comes to the Maker, it doesn't matter whether or not it's true because people like it. It's only when it comes to non-Andrastian (AND ESPECIALLY DALISH) religion that we suddenly need to be concerned with what "the actual facts" are. Which is so damn reflective of European religious trends, where the miracles recorded in the Bible are granted the dignity of maybe being metaphors, maybe being true, while non-European religions are held under the microscope for "superstitious nonsense" that i could scream.

[basementdwellercreaturefeature]

Current  DA2 Thoughts

Per usual, I have thoughts. 

TL;DR Anders fucked up but that doesn’t make him irredeemable. 

Jennifer Brandes Hepler said, “Personally, my view of it is that Anders wants to blow up the Chantry AND wants to die for it -- that way he gets the revolution he/Justice believes is necessary, but still gives justice to those who died in the Chantry.”

First, yes. People died in the Chantry explosion. Not like, 5 people. A lot of people. Not up for debate. Second, it didn’t start the revolution or the mage rebellion, it was a tragic loss of life. Also not up for debate. The following events of Inquisition confirm this, even if you don’t read any external Dragon Age content. Anders’ actions did not start a mage rebellion.

What Jennifer Brandes Hepler said here touched me though. Anders, like Solas and Loghain, and other controversial characters in the canon, walks his own Din'Anshiral and believes his death is the only atonement he can offer to the victims. With the prompting of Justice, he moves toward violence as a catalyst for his revolution. It’s an illogical move rather than a strategic move toward mages’ freedom. It really is not even discussed in DAI as a significant plot element regarding the Mage Rebellion. Frankly, Anders... it was dumb. Love you the most, but it was dumb.

So I am never going to argue that Anders was right in his final solution because I think the political climate of DAI objectively shows us that he wasn’t. Was he right regarding mages rights? Different topic, one too dense for one post. To me, his final decision doesn’t really matter when it comes him being redeemable/empathetic or not. You want to talk about the merits or issues of the Circle? The potential crimes of Kirkwall’s Chantry specifically? Fine, then whether or not he was “right” matters in the context of those discussions. However, in regards to character study and the merits of his redemption, I feel that him being right or wrong is irrelevant. Here is why.

Kirkwall is a dumpsterfire. Weakened Veil, wealth disparity, alienages, blood mages and Abominations running rampant, poor control of both the Circle AND the Templars, abuse of both, overwhelming refugee influx from the Blight, both Orsino and Meredith and their own brand of crazy, etc. What we have here is a chaotic clash of both magic and material. Basic, real world problems and fantasy RPG elements. Let’s throw fucking Anders in the mix, see what happens.

How would a mage joined with the spirit of Justice not go a little batshit being there?

And that’s just Justice standing alone. With the kinds of injustice present in Kirkwall? I mean, think about it. We aren’t even factoring in a traumatized ex-Warden whose blood may have tainted Justice (or his anger, we don’t know for sure) into Vengeance. Just Justice in itself would have been difficult. Frankly, I am amazed that he was even sane for as long as he was and able to do as much good as he did in his clinic.

Elements of Justice improved Anders, ironically. In DAA, we see a something of a fuckboy who loves his cat and runs away from responsibility and who probably likes Nickelback. In DA2, our first introduction to Anders is in his free healing clinic in an impoverished area where he is offering aide to refugees and Kirkwall’s maligned and he has definitely moved on to Nirvana. Big difference there. Would he have remained a non-violent advocate for mage freedom outside of Kirkwall’s magic influence and internal chaos? Unclear, but I find it interesting to think about. Sometimes in my personal head canon AU Hawke got him out of there and they moved to a farm with cats before it all went to shit. 

JFK said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” BLM taught me that when a group is oppressed long enough, when screaming from the rooftops and offering peaceful solution for decades doesn’t work, when years go by with no change, people get mad because they’re fucking human beings. So, when some protests engaged in looting and rioting and violence (even though it was minor and the news harped on it like a bunch of assholes) it didn’t invalidate the movement. What else do we expect when we ignore their cries for justice for so long? 

You shit on people for years and get surprised when it bothers them?

The question to me is not whether or not Anders was right... but is it fair to not expect this from him? In so many ways, that boy was setup to be a disaster. Childhood trauma, Circle trauma, becoming an Abomination after the taint, then the horrors of Kirkwall... Look at all these red flags we all ignored! But still, he works to improve the lives of refugees and mages in Kirkwall. Did our other companions do the same? No, they laugh off his pleas for mage freedom and dismiss him as a fanatic. What does that say about them? 

It’s strange to me that there is such a cry for empathy for Solas and not for Anders. People dismiss Solas’ actions because “he hasn’t done it yet” but he is advocating for the eradication of entire races knowingly and has already been partially responsible for hundreds of deaths in Haven and at the Conclave. Solas does this without being possessed by anything. Less of the argument with Solas I have noticed is whether or not he is “right” but more so if he is worthy of redemption because of player affinity, empathy, love in some cases. There’s a desire to save the Dread Wolf from himself, despite his past and future mistakes. Because his "intentions” are good and he wants to restore Arlathan. But with Anders, him being “right” often is the most discussed... as if redemption and grace has anything to do with that. Less popular is discussing the value of intentions. It appears to be a minority that want to reach out to the fucked up apostate idiot cat man and offer atonement despite all these external factors, which I think make mercy more... amiable? At least it did to me. The dissonance here is confusing and sometimes I wonder if it comes down to player preference. Solas is pretty damn smooth. Anders? Not so much. Complete dumpsterfire.

When romanced, Anders might be given the chance to live and atone, to come to terms with himself as an Abomination. Hawke can provide a more stable atmosphere and offer grace and mercy in the moments when he curses himself for joining with Justice and the chaos that decision wrought. Whether or not that is healthy or justified is up to the player to decide. But, I have to wonder what it would do to him seeing the mage rebellion prompted entirely by something else years later and the lack of revolution his actions caused. Mages reject him and his own self-hatred may be all-consuming at this point. While I love the idea of my favorite sewer-dwelling apostate and my kick-ass Hawke growing old together, it very likely would be an agonizing journey, ripe with toxicity and painful dynamics for both of them. Frankly, I have yet to decide what my canon decision is there. Thank the Maker its a video game and I can change my mind as often as I want to.

I see a lot of myself in Anders in a way I have yet to experience with other Dragon Age characters, so I can recognize that this factors into my level of empathy. But all the same, I wanted to share my thoughts. Even as someone who loves the guy, I can see that he is a complete fuck up who may be better off dead... then he is at least free. Unsure. What are your thoughts regarding fandom empathy and objectivity towards more controversial characters?  Now excuse me as I return to my Sewer Apostate Spotify playlist and cry for a good two hours looking and Handers fan art like an idiot I just feel for the guy.

[wanderingnork]

Fic Writer Meme

Tagged by @lesetoilesfous. And tagging anyone who’s in the mood. :)

Name: Nork, or bluebeholder if you’re on AO3.

Fandoms: Current primary is Dragon Age (II and Inquisition), have written extensively for Dishonored, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and a wide scattering of others.

Most popular oneshot: Everything Important in a Suitcase, a Newt Scamander/Percival Graves story. Healing, romance, and traveling around the world together.

Most popular multichapter: The Protector, the story of how Corvo Attano accidentally kicked off a religious reformation in the world of Dishonored (and kissed a god in the process). Just passed 1,000 kudos. I don’t know how to handle this. o.o

Actual worst part of writing: Man, I love most aspects of writing, but there’s nothing that drives me up the wall faster than realizing after the fact that I forgot to include some important piece of character development. I have to go back and put it in, and then edit everything that came before to make sure it coheres with the rest of the story. Ugh.

How you choose your titles: by screaming. And then either making some joke or snagging a quote/line of poetry/whatever.

Do you outline: no. Never. Unless forced to. You can’t see me, but I’m glaring at “patron saints of blissful imperfection” right now, that fucker ended up growing an outline JUST to provide a solid framework for the stuff I’d already written and give me some idea of where to STOP.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

One: super want to write about the Architect, Urthemiel, Flemeth stealing the soul of Urthemiel, and some suspicions I have about all of that in relation to a certain flesh-warping ancient elven goddess. I don’t have the mental wherewithal to actually write it, especially because it’d probably grow some kind of terrifying Warden/Architect subplot and I’d have to deal with Solas again, but this time strictly as the Dread Wolf.

Two: I’d give my left arm for the inspiration to actually finish my Trevelyan/Iron Bull fic. Highly unlikely since I’d want to start again from the beginning and that’s a mess. It cracked 80,000 words last year and would probably be twice that long, and frankly...no. If I get to them, it’ll be much tighter and probably not go past 10,000 words.

Three: that bagginshield correspondence fic. In short, everyone survives the Battle of Five Armies, but after Erebor is mostly put back together, Bilbo decides to go back to the Shire. He and Thorin carry on a long-term relationship by letter. Honestly one of my favorite concepts I’ve ever come up with, but neither of them is capable of sticking to romance. Instead, it started growing messy subplots about things like “the rise of Sauron” and “Bilbo being steadily corrupted by the Ring.”

Four: Merrill as Inquisitor.

Five: y’all I want to write a horror story so badly but I can’t figure out what fandom to do it in

Callouts @ Me: no more ellipses. Make it stop. Also, maybe someday you could just not accidentally write a novel-length fic? Maybe???

Best writing traits: I’m good at picking apart characters and seeing what makes them tick, then writing narratives focused on that.

Spicy Tangential Opinion: Fuck ketchup. That shit is NASTY. Heinz tomato ketchup (specifically Heinz) should be a banned substance. Someone get the FDA on this. 

[secret-engima]

I’m sick currently - any rambles or snippets for TttW or FiF? Or any of your verse characters meeting the spitfire that is Sola? (Especially bby!Sola who is pretty much like bby!Cor but with all the possessiveness of a dragon going MINE that hasn’t been somewhat calmed with age)

Welcome to the sick people club! Hope you feel better soon! I do have one snippet left of FiF and then I’m out, but no snips of Thrown to Wolves, sorry.

...

     Weskham treated Clarus’s injuries with antiseptic and the remaining two potions, then reheated the tea and coaxed Clarus and Princess Regina to her sprawling bed in the other room, as it was one of the only comfortable pieces of furniture to escape the rampage —he ignored the impropriety of sitting on the Princess’s bed with her, this was not that kind of situation and Clarus did it often enough to remove any awkwardness—. He stiffened despite himself in surprise when Princess Regina nudged him to the right side of the bed with his back against the pillows and headboard and then curled up beneath his left arm, her legs wrapped around one of his, her head resting over his heart, and her hands clutching her cup of tea. Then Clarus flopped down at Regina’s back and began running the fingers of his free hand through her wavy hair while he sipped on the tea with the other.

     Weskham accepted the positioning with grace and opened the book he’d snatched out of the demolished pieces of bookshelf. He paused when he realized it was the Cosmogony, then inwardly shrugged. If she didn’t like it, Weskham could always get up and get another. He tilted it so that she could see the sprawling illustrations and began, “Titan, the Archaean, steadfast as stone. Ramuh, the Fulgarian, sharp as lightning. Shiva, the Glacian, gentle as snow. Leviathan, the Hydraean, relentless as tides. Bahamut, the Draconian, unbending as iron. Ifrit, the Infernian, fickle as fire. Since time immemorial, they have watched over Eos…”

     He read for what felt like hours. Stopping only to sip on his own tea to keep his throat from rasping. With the same gentle tones and lilting rhythm he remembered from his own childhood, Weskham worked his way through the beginning of the Cosmogony, all the way to the Prophecy of the Crystal. The princess, who had been dozing throughout the last chapter, suddenly snapped awake and alert again, something shivering through her magic that made all of Weskham’s hairs rise and he scrambled to figure out what he had done wrong. Instead of crying or pulling away, she asked softly into the silence, “The Prophecy … is it true?”

     Weskham blinked, considered that, “My family believes so, though not many people do anymore. The Prophecy has stood for two thousand years, since the very foundation of Lucis. Most believe that if it hasn’t been fulfilled yet, it never will.”

     Princess Regina mulled over that for several long seconds, something old in violet-tinted blue eyes, “Prophecies don’t work on human time. Just their own.”

     Weskham shrugged, sipped on the dregs of his long-cooled tea, “That is true. The Prophecy was laid down by the Draconian, and he is immortal. I doubt time is much of an issue for him.”

     “So that means someday a ‘Chosen King will be born, with magic untold and the Crystal in his soul, to purge the world of endless night’?”

     Weskham mulled over his answer, wondering why the Prophecy had grabbed her attention so thoroughly. But then, a mystery and a fantasy was better than screaming grief, “Yes, I believe so.”

     Regina sat up a little more, eyes sharp and inquisitive as she glared at the pages, “How will he do that? How much magic will he have compared to me, or any of the past kings and queens?”

     Weskham floundered just a bit, “I … don’t know. The Cosmogony doesn’t say.” At her dark, thoughtful look, Weskham took a chance and murmured, “We can go down to the royal library if you wish, I’m sure there would be more information in there than in this book. This is the cosmogony for the general public, not for scholars or those with more questions than the basic ones.”

     He could see her debating silently over it, then she settled, “Tomorrow,” she hummed. “We’ll go down and look tomorrow.” I’m comfortable right now, when unspoken but so clearly heard it might as well have been his own thoughts.

     Weskham nodded agreeably, going down to the library tomorrow would give the servants a chance to replace all the furniture without having to come near the princess they now feared and would distract Princess Regina from … everything else, “Alright. Do you want me to keep reading?”

     “No.” She curled up more firmly against him, “I want to sleep.”

...

Ramble!

-Sola is in a bad mood when she stumbles across the bookshop. Nobles causing trouble over the royal princess in the glaive, despite the fact that she’s been there for a year now and is quite obviously not leaving no matter what the old fogey’s say. She isn’t sure why she goes into the shop, she’s not looking for anything to read, but it looks like a place to hide and its on the outskirts of the Little Galahd district, so she thinks she’ll probably be safe from the media finding her.

-She steps (stomps) into the shop and pauses at the atmosphere of the place. It’s very quiet. Almost peaceful. There’s an old, mysterious air about it that feels more like it should be in a storybook setting than a real location. Momentarily distracted from her bad mood, Sola eyes the shop with its overfilled shelves and vaguely arcane-shaped armchairs and wonders if a creepy old man shopkeeper with a cane is going to come out and spout nonsense at her.

-She hears the tap of a cane, but instead of a creepy old man, it’s a young woman with black hair and blue eyes so dark they’re nearly black. The woman pauses at the sight of Sola and Sola braces for the bowing and scraping and “your highness”ing that always comes when recognized. Instead the woman just sighs and leans on her cane, “You look,” she comments “Like someone who just had to deal with very annoying know it all for a few hours.”

-Sola blinks. The woman takes it as an affirmative, “You can read any book you want, but if you aren’t going to buy it, make sure to put it back where you found it. I have multiple blends of tea if that is your thing, I do not sell coffee. There are cookies and pastries for the hungry, though my flavors change every week. Currently I have lemon cookies and chocolate croissants.”

-”Who are you?” Sola asks, blunt as ever, because something about this woman seems familiar and its driving her crazy.

-The woman just scoffs and moves to the nearest armchair to sit down, “Cyra. The owner of this shop. Now, what kinds of things would you like to read?”

-Sola ends up spending the afternoon there with a cranky shopkeeper and a lot of good books about ancient sword techniques that she suspected might be hold enough to be illegal. The woman never comments on Sola being the princess, and Sola never outright asks why the woman feels so familiar. The woman mentions having a husband in the Kingsglaive, then just laughs when Sola asks which moron she was unlucky enough to marry. Cyra winks and tells Sola to take a wild guess sometime, who knows, she might guess right. Sola leaves with three ancient books to read and a bet to win.

-She goes back the next week only to find that the shop is gone. She never does figure out which glaive the woman claimed to be her husband. Sometimes Sola wonders if the woman was real at all.

... One more ramble!

-There is a tiny child trying to her absolutely hardest to murder him.

-She’s very cute.

-Now if he could just figure out how she’s here and why she has magic, that would be great. Oh wait-

-Nox calmly looks up at the Cor who just burst into the room with his sword in hand, not bothering to react to the tiny child trying vainly to pin his arm and maybe bite through his long sleeves, “I think,” he greets politely with a flicker of blue LC magic to prove his identity, “That I am in the wrong Citadel.”

-Yes, it turns out he is in the wrong Citadel, and that the small child trying (still) to murder him is named Sola. She is Noctis’s big sister. Cute. The Regis of this dimension does not find her attempted fratricide nearly as cute, possibly because he's worried of how Nox will react and forcibly picks her up and holds her out of reach. Nox introduces himself with magic again, Regis goes pale at the discovery that in another dimension he had a child out of wedlock. Still, he DOES look like Regis and he DOES have LC magic, they have no reason to disbelieve him.

-The girl, who’s name is Sola, pauses in her attempts at murder during the conversation of where Nox will stay till this matter is sorted and goes, “He’s a brother?”

-Regis grimaces, “Yes, Sola he’s ... a brother. Of a sort.”

-And Nox watches in fascination as a switch goes off in the girl’s head and she stops flailing and instead stares at Nox like a baby dragon that just spotted a shiny, “I have two brothers?”

-Cor sighs like he knows where this is going, “Not specifically-.”

-“I have two brothers.” And that appears to be that.

-Nox spends the visit with Sola basically glued to his side, alternating between rabid overprotectiveness of the sibling she is SOMEHOW convinced is still her younger brother despite being much taller than her and trying to get him to teach her fighting tricks.

-Nox is gonna miss this scamp when he goes home, he just knows it.

[the-temple-of-sacred-asses]

da inquisition characters as lines from my poetry

cassandra:

you picked up your blade, and killed them all. but even blood could not bring him back.

blackwall:

there are people who have left me pondering over our past conversations, turning them over and over in my palms, sifting for verity in the ashes

iron bull:

it feels like there is a barrier between me and the people who are supposed to be my home, as if i’m an imposter in my own daydream.

cole:

the world is a terribly dark place, but you make me forget that when we’re laughing together.

sera:

your past is filled with heartache and agony, and i marvel at the strength you have every time i am reminded of it.

varric:

as cliche as it sounds, my story is a better one with you in it.

solas:

you seem like a stranger now, and that somehow doesn’t seem so strange.

dorian:

they have twisted my love into something terrible. “give it back,” i want to scream.

vivienne:

they ought to know: there is no antidote for retribution.

cullen:

you still see their blood on your hands, no matter how many times you scrub til the bath water turns cold.

josephine:

he’ll realize it soon enough, when i write his name to dust: i was never the one who should have been afraid.

leliana:

she wears the scars on her body, the way queens wear their jewels. a proud adornment on her skin, as if to say “was that your worst?”

[da2 version]

[dao version]