#merrill for ts

[skullmoss]

im just thinking about aeducan & brosca. of inquisitor cadash. dwarf rook and am just laying facedown in the dirt yelling bc i love them all so fucking much, man.

[zot3-flopped]

Reading that article from the sunday times and just gagging:

"Upstairs, in a corner room, was where she asked for three books to be read and five songs to be played to her every night",

"According to family friends they drove a Chevrolet Suburban — an SUV fit for the secret service — sent Christmas cards showing their impressive holidays and brought their daughter’s pony to school for show and tell.",

"The family would also give teachers the keys to their holiday home as a thank-you present.",

"They had a hot tub on the patio, a jetty with a boat from which they waterskiied and two jet skis. They were also members of the sailing club.",

"“When Taylor was young, the family came over for dinner and the kids were all swimming,” Hand says. “They [Swift’s parents] asked me if I had the Disney channel and I said no. There was some country singer on that was Taylor’s idol — and so they got up and they left.”,

"Her father, Scott, now 72, grew up nearby. He was a financial adviser at the investment firm Merrill Lynch. Swift’s mother, Andrea, now 66, was a marketing executive born into a wealthy family who grew up between Singapore and Houston, Texas. Andrea’s father was the president of a construction company, her mother an opera singer.",

"A third-generation banker and former radio salesman, he updated them on which songs she had cut (I am told he spent $10,000 on building her a recording studio at their home); which singles were coming out next (by the age of 15, Taylor had a record deal with a company in which Scott had bought a 3 per cent stake); where she was touring (he had bought Cher’s former tour bus for her); and the awards for which she needed votes.",

"During the long, hot summer days Swift would walk through town, her guitar slung across her back, much to the judgment of the local girls.",

"Swift gave out wallet-sized photos of herself as Sandy to the kids in the years below her at school",

"Her notebook, he claims, was filled with pages of her own autograph.",

"Many, however, thought she was “a bit of a brat”, from the moneyed side of town and modelling clothes for Abercrombie & Fitch. At 16, Swift bought a Lexus SC430 convertible, the car driven by Regina George, the meanest girl in Mean Girls.",

"Swift made an entrance when she first arrived at Hendersonville High School, says a former classmate, telling people she was going to be a star. “We kind of rolled our eyes because, being in Nashville, we hear that a lot,” she says. “It was just such a strong statement for someone of that age.”

Underdog who??? Tbh it's not just TS being obnoxious, rich, spoiled brat flaunting her wealth left and right, it's her entire immediate family.

“There were times when, in middle school and junior high, I didn’t have a lot of friends,” she told the Great American Country network in 2008." damn, I wonder why. /s

Classic nepo baby.

[hyperbali]

Two more tho(ugh)ts as I'm powering away on like an hour and a half of unconsciousness in the last 36 hours

Merrill should absolutely have at least been in the Veil Jumpers, or given the opportunity to speak with Bellara and Solas given what she devoted her life to

(Honestly the way that so many characters would have made complete sense to show up that just didn't. Augh. Kills me)

And

Ferry was bemoaning that Solas had been race and gender locked from the start, offering ways that would justify him being romanced by a human, a dwarf, or a qunari

And it was like I was hit with a clue-by-four going why haven't I ever thought about how he interacts with Jeanne?

So now I'm going down that rabbit hole

[calicomccoy]

Romancing Anders in DA2 at the moment and boy, he is basically a walking red flag...

There’s someone for everyone, but wowie. Killed Anders when I didn’t romance him, might do it again while romancing him.

Red Flags

Let himself be joined with Justice in the first place. Now if another character who was always an apostate, like Morrigan, did this I would not be bothered. Go do that funky magic. But someone who was trained in the Circle, knew about the Harrowing? Seems sussy to me... 👀

Says that he is “obsessed” with Hawke before he tells them he loves them.

Writes a manifesto (always a HUGE red flag)

Looks like he doesn’t wash his hands and he's a healer.

Says the most disgusting awful things to Fenris, ex. “If you didn’t like slavery, maybe you should’ve just offed yourself” WHO SAYS THAT TO ANYONE???

Always talking about politics, even when Hawke is trying to flirt with him.

The self deprecating remarks about how Hawke could still love him all the time. Why shouldn't Hawke love him, why is he self sabotaging? Just be cute and flirty for once GOD. Didn’t know I was reaching for the stars.

Did blood magic in Awakening but sh!ts on Merrill in DA2 while walking around as a textbook example of an abomination. Cognitive dissonance!

Dyes his clothes black in your bathtub? Whoa dude, he probably didn’t even clean it up.

Involves Hawke in terrorist plots without knowledge or consent.

KISSING? There was one. It’s obvious Hawke and Anders don’t have the same love language, HAWKE GET OUT!

Anders has no friends of his own, only Hawke’s friends

Does he wash his hair?? I have doubts...

Not even done with the game. Good for you Anders girlies, but I don’t get it. Looking forward to romancing Fenris again. I understand that Anders is a character who is supposed to be corrupted by Justice as he is turned to Vengeance, but he is so completely unlikable from the start that I can’t tell the difference. You shouldn’t have to play the DLC to understand Anders’ character arc.

[tayfabe75]

SR: You and your family lived on a Christmas-tree farm? That's a unique place to grow up. TS: It was such a weird place to grow up. But it has cemented in me this unnatural level of excitement about fall and then the holiday season. My friends are so sick of me talking about autumn coming. They're like, "What are you, an elf?" SR: Who took care of the tree business? TS: My dad. SR: I thought he was a Merrill Lynch guy. TS: He'd tend to the farm as his hobby. He'd get up four hours early to go mow the fields on his tractor. We all had jobs. Mine was picking the praying-mantis pods off of the trees, collecting them so that the bugs wouldn't hatch inside people's houses. SR: How old were you? TS: From five to ten. The only reason that was my job was because I was too little to help lift trees.

November 2014: Taylor describes what it was like to live on a Christmas tree farm as a child. (source)

[womanexile]

Wow, TS may be about the age that Faith (33) was when she watched the special that was the catalyst for TS (11) to go to Nashville.

Lol- she was called Fearless- pre-2007 tour w/ Tim & Faith youtube.com/watch?v=cl5q5NttH4Q

Jay-Z was in the house at Sixers game (she was 12 in '02 for anthem) youtube.com/watch?v=6E63AeaHczE

gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/hip-hop-superstar-jay-z-takes-in-the-game-between-the-news-photo/1456395

Age 1 1 karaoke practice- patgarrett.com/html/swift.html

patgarrett.com

Success Comes Quickly for Taylor Swift

By MORNING CALL | Staff Report

PUBLISHED: February 10, 2008 at 5:00 a.m. | UPDATED: October 5, 2021 at 3:42 p.m.

When Taylor Swift was 11 years old, she practiced her signature diligently. She experimented with curly letters and bold, determined strokes. She filled notebooks with her autograph in the hopes that one day, it would be scribbled on thousands of T-shirts, album jackets and posters.

But don’t mistake the Grammy nominee’s daydreams for arrogance.

“I was never that kid that walked around saying, “I’m going to be famous.’ ‘Cause that kid is annoying,” Swift says, laughing, during a phone interview from her home in Hendersonville, Tenn., near Nashville.

Swift got her wish and then some. At 18, the Berks County native and new darling of the country music industry is up for a Grammy Award — music’s top honor — tonight for Best New Artist.

Her 2006 debut album, “Taylor Swift,” has hit double platinum in stores and platinum in Web downloads. She’s the subject of one magazine article after another, including a four-page spread in the Feb. 8 issue of Entertainment Weekly. And she tours with the biggest names in country, including Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts.

Despite her youth, Swift has long been on the path to fame. It began in Wyomissing, a Reading suburb, with a very tiny Taylor singing for anyone who’d listen. She dragged her parents to fairs, to festivals, to karaoke contests, to sporting events — if there were a “Star-Spangled Banner” circuit, she’d be on it.

Afternoons, after homework, were spent writing songs and learning to play the guitar.

Pat Garrett, a Strausstown musician and owner of a sheepskin clothing shop, first met the wannabe starlet when she sang in the weekly karaoke contest at his former restaurant, the Pat Garrett Roadhouse in Strausstown. She was determined to win, Garrett recalls.

“When she introduced herself, she said, “I’m Taylor Swift. I’m 11. I want to be a country singer.’ I told her, “I couldn’t even find my shoes when I was 11. Get out of here.”‘ Garrett laughs at the memory. He glances up at the platinum record that now hangs in his sheepskin store. It’s signed, “To Pat. Love, Taylor.”

Garrett says Swift’s success is a surprise. And it isn’t.

Of all Swift’s extraordinary characteristics — poise and charm, beauty and intelligence — her voice wasn’t one of them, he says. She’d often sing a little off key and lost more karaoke contests than she won. But “she had the spark; she had the drive,” Garrett says. And she had a family who supported her.

Scott Swift’s enthusiasm, in particular, nearly rivaled his daughter’s, Garrett says. The financial adviser from Merrill Lynch often solicited advice from Garrett, who had his own Nashville record deal back in the ’80s. He wanted to know how to make his little girl’s dreams happen. “I told him, “In Detroit, they make cars. In Hershey, they make bars. And in Nashville, they make stars,”‘ Garrett said.

Soon afterward, the Swifts — Scott and his wife, Andrea, Taylor, and her younger brother, Austin — packed up and moved South.

It wasn’t long before Sony Publishing hired 14-year-old Swift as a songwriter. By day, she was just another high schooler, attending homecoming and completing English projects, but after school let out, she was at the studio, scribbling lyrics intended for signed singers.

And it drove her crazy.

“I ended up begging them to hold my best ones,” she says. She couldn’t stand the thought of someone else singing about her own heart’s joys and aches. “I told them, “Trust me, some day, they’ll be worth something.”

No one ever sang her songs. They all ended up on her self-titled debut with Big Machine Records, a Nashville label that represents weighty artists such as Trisha Yearwood and Jack Ingram.

Swift says writing songs isn’t a choice but “something I have to do.” The melody for her breakout hit, “Tim McGraw,” for example, came to her while in ninth-grade math class. She excused herself, went to the bathroom and recorded it onto her phone, lest she forget by the time she could reach a guitar.

Most of her songs revolve around love. The barefoot-by-the-lake, roses-on-the-doorstep, slow-moonlit-dance kind of love.

“I like to write about personal experiences. … I like to write about guys and not change their names in songs,” she says, referring to her second single, “Teardrops on my Guitar,” about a Tennessee classmate named Drew that she had a crush on.

And Swift sells it well. With a heap of blonde ringlets and shiny blue eyes, she has a freshly scrubbed, girl-next-door appeal. She wears sundresses paired with a silver heart necklace and a charm bracelet Tim McGraw and Faith Hill gave her while on their 2007 tour.

Swift says it’s the honesty of her songwriting that hits a chord with her millions of fans. And the critics agree.

In 2007, the Nashville Songwriters Association International named Swift Songwriter/Artist of the Year. The Country Music Association honored her with the “Horizon Award,” bestowed on country’s rising stars. Past winners include Randy Travis, Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks. Swift sang her latest single, “Our Song” at the 2007 awards show.

Swift’s former choral director at Wyomissing Area Junior-Senior High School, Sharon Luyben, watched that show nervously. Luyben remembers thinking Swift’s legs looked “a little too skinny” and was worried she’d trip in her very high heels. “That’s the way I saw it,” she says — with “a mother’s eye.”

Luyben still sees the country star as the sweet, effusive sixth-grader who played Louisa in the school’s production of “The Sound of Music” and who unanimously won the junior high chorus’s “Wyo Idol” contest by rocking out on her 12-string guitar.

Among all of her old friends, Cara Wojciechowski may be her most loyal. The 14-year-old Wyomissing eighth-grader met Swift at age 9, when Cara played Marta in “The Sound of Music.”

Swift, who was four years her senior, took Cara under her wing. She’d sing for Cara, let her play with her guitar and console her when playground jests turned cruel. The Swifts and Wojciechowskis spent weeks at the shore together..

Cara has mapped her path to resemble her role model’s.

“It’s kind of scary, but I’ve based my whole life on what she’s done. I love country because of Taylor, obviously,” she says. “I play the guitar because of Taylor. I write music because of Taylor.”

This type of sentiment is echoed again and again by fans on Swift’s MySpace Web page, which has 29,293,872 hits and counting.

Swift says knowing how many people love her and look up to her keeps her grounded. “You can’t sell 2.5 million records without 2.5 million people helping you. The fans are the only reason I’m here.”

kelly.suarez@mcall.com

610-820-6530

TAYLOR SWIFT

Age: 18

Hometown: Wyomissing, Berks County

Records broken: Youngest person in country music history to singlehandedly craft a No. 1 single (“Our Song”). First female solo artist in country music history to write every song on a double-platinum debute record.

Nominated: Grammy, Best New Artist

She had so much determination. Especially for such a young age.

I don’t see how gaylors think TS and her father have a bad relationship. He clearly loves her & would do anything to make her happy.

[alexesguerra]

Hello Kitty and Friends: You're My Bff A Fill In Book Hello Kitty and Friends: You're My Bff: A Fill-In Book Contributor(s): Humphrey, Kristen Tafoya (Author) , Hagan, Merrill (Author) Publisher: RP Studio ISBN: 0762483318 Physical Info: 0.53" H x 4.45" L x 5.35" W (0.3 lbs) 96 pages Merrill Hagan is a writer for television, film, comic books, and video games. He is the Executive Story Editor on the upcoming Netflix series Daniel Spellbound and his credits include Teen Titans Go, Marvel's Spider-Man, Love Monster, Polly Pocket, Danger Mouse, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, and Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law. Kristen Tafoya Humphrey is a marketing professional who has written shorts for GoNoodle, the SyFy Network, and the Adventure Time/Immortals: Fenyx Rising crossover cartoon. Together, Merrill and Kristen have written several episodes of Hello Kitty and Friends' Super Cute Adventures!

[brooklynbutterflyarts]

Snow White Movie Poster Many Framing Options Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film) Poster Molding:Professional 1" Flat Top Black (solid-wood) 1.5 inch mat. . Includes glass and metal wire for hanging on your wall. Print: Bonded & Dry-mounted Print on Foam Core. Perfectly flat and smooth finish High Resolution and Quality Full Color Poster Print The double mat adds depth giving the display a unique "looking through a window'' appearance. The calendar print is bonded to foam core on a hot vacuum press. This bonding gives the print a perfect flat and smooth texture. This process also insures the print will never fold or fade with age or moisture. This wonderful display makes a thoughtful and original gift containing a classic vintage touch yet modern design, allowing it to fit alongside both modern and classic decor. BUY WITH CONFIDENCE. ALL OF MY DELICATE ITEMS ARE SHIPPED WITH A SPECIAL 3 LAYER PROTECTION SYSTEM. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length traditionally animated feature film and the first Disney animated feature film. The story was adapted by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith. David Hand was the supervising director, while William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen directed the film's individual sequences. Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 21, 1937. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success and, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release (compared to its $1.5 million budget), it briefly held the record of highest-grossing sound film at the time. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top-ten performers at the North American box office and the highest-grossing animated film. Worldwide, its inflation-adjusted earnings top the animation list.[3] Snow White was nominated for Best Musical Score at the Academy Awards in 1938, and the next year, producer Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney by Shirley Temple.[4]

[jokerislandgirl32]

Zach with Violet: Vi💜

Arthur with Amelia:🥰Amelia🥰 or My Sunshine or My Universe

Merrill with Emmaline: Em or Sunshine

Grinch with Aurora: Annoying Little Who

Angel Dust with Angelina: Angel, Sweet Cakes, or Sugar T*ts

so ur texting ur f/o now. cool! imagine what their name for ur contact would be :3

[giantsreach]

💏 ( from merrill obv )

fifty ways | three ( goodbye ) | @fadebred​​

     the general consensus among wardens is that furloughs are never long enough, even when leave goes on for weeks or months or however much time your senior warden can spare, if they even know you’re gone. 

     he doesn’t say he’ll write, because carver knows who he is, the kind of man who won’t send his own mother a single letter before she dies, and he hates breaking promises, besides. what he does say is, ❛ it was — nice, seeing you. we ought to get drinks next time. if there is a next time. ❜ before realizing how morbid that sounds and trying to correct himself, ❛ i mean, if there’s a next time because you’d like to meet again, not because i’m dead. or you’re dead. maker, i hope you wouldn’t be. ❜ 

     really, carver doesn’t understand what it is about her that makes him sputter on like a faulty pipe. ( is it her eyes? maybe. he can barely meet them half the time. ) embarrassment rises to roost in his face nonetheless, and carver scrubs at the short hair along the back of his neck for comfort, sighing. 

   ❛ can i — start over? i’ll be short. ❜ his heart pulses in his throat. carver’s glad for his gauntlets because his palms are drenched behind the leather. collecting his confidence, scattered as it gets at the sight of her, he bends forward — a bit further than usual, for ventures like these — and alights a hand to the curve of merrill’s cheek. to her other, carver tenders a kiss, trying to commit the feeling of her skin soft under his mouth to memory.

     he doesn’t pull away more than a few inches, just enough that they can look each other comfortably ( or as comfortably as he can ) in the eye. carver hazards a shy smile. ❛ i’ll see you later, merrill. ❜

[ryfts]

they won’t take  ‘ go to hell ’  for an answer.     what are you going to do?     i’m gonna give them directions.       /       horror original characters.

[pigeoncheeks-archive]

rebooted DA2 for the first time in a while bc half my mutuals are and just... party banter is so much more pleasant when u just leave Andres behind lmao

[blarrghe]

holding hands while jumping down from somewhere together for Merrill and Isabela??

I somehow forgot about the holding hands part of this while writing it, but I like how it turned out so here we are.

@dadrunkwriting finally doing some backlog

--

"Are you ready, Kitten?"

Merrill gulps. Her lower lip quivers in the most precious of ways and her already ample eyes grow wide as fine china saucers, all glittery and pretty and green as the deck of a deep ocean wreck. Her toes curl in and out of a hesitant grip on the edge of the cliff, and her huge, gorgeous eyes do a dive over it. It's a long drop to the water below, which runs deep and dark. But the cliffside is sheer and clear of rocks, the waters are warm, and the grove around the hidden inlet is sunny and gorgeously green. It's a beautiful day for a swim.

"Yes," Merrill stutters, swallowing it up with a deep breath.

Isabella crosses her arms, raises an eyebrow, and frowns.

"Oh, Kitten," she half purrs, half scolds, "that is not a yes." she takes a step, beginning a slow half circle behind Merrill as she speaks, appraising from head to toe. "Now I know you could handle this," she begins, her words slow, letting them sink in. Merrill eyes the water with blazing derermination, but her cheeks go pink. "I could push you, and you would land on your feet." she takes a step back, holds up her hands in a show of innocence. She won't, she wouldn't, and that's not the point. "I know you can swim, I know you can think fast, under pressure. Isabella shifts, and so does Merrill, as if to prove her right. Merrill pivots, and suddenly there she is, red cheeked but ready for anything, staring back at her with big wide eyes.

Isabella relaxes her posture, and smiles. "That's good, I need that." She purses her lips, "no First Mate of mine is going to sea without being able to swim, to fight, to keep her wits -- even when the captain doesn't."

Merrill straightens, the eyes narrow in, and she nods.

"I need you ready for anything, for the very worst. Out there, sweet pet," she steps forward, drags a hand up and over Merril's chin, her thumb rubbing over the soft plushness of Merrill's bottom lip.

Her lips aren't chapped, despite the salty air and beaming northern sun, because Merrill brings a remedy for everything everywhere she goes, and she has a salve for that.

"Out there on the open seas," Isabela purrs on, licking her own lips at the sound of Merril's small hitch of breath when she releases the touch, "anything at all can happen, at any time." She smiles again, slow speech crooning on, "the very worst could befall us, likely will befall us, so," she whispers each word close to Merrill's ear now, "I need to know: Are. You. Ready" -- she licks her teeth and bites down on the Ts -- "Kitten?"

"Yes, Captain," Merrill answers, her back straight, her shoulders down, her wide, beautiful eyes sparkling and solid, "and it's First Mate Kitten, to you." She smiles, bright as the sun on a sail, and leaps.

Merrill flips, and falls, and dives in a perfect sweeping arc that drops like a pin into the deep water below. She pops up again a moment later, black pinhead of hair and a grin Isabella can see from the clifftop, and shouts.

"What are you waiting for captain? The water's fine!"

[bisluthq]

I think Taylor’s immediate family is over rated at well off. That farm she grew up on was rented, not owned. I am sure Scott was very wise with the money, but I see Taylor coming from a typical stage family. The stage family tends to overspend on their kids, and often the parents end up divorcing or separating at a much higher ave than a normal family. I’ve seen that happen a few times. I think Scott did make a wise investment into her career, and it paid off, but TS bought them their big houses

Idk man I’ve never heard of poor Merrill Lynch brokers. Like yes we know Taylor bought the estate in Nash and probs his Florida house but they were very well off lmfao. If your dad’s a top broker at Merrill Lynch, with his own fucking team, you’re not living an average life tbh.

Scott started his own team in 1981, and in 2011 he was managing over $450 million in assets.

I’m not saying they had private jets lmfao but they clearly had a boat since he made her get a license. If you grew up having a boat that’s not… the average experience idk.

[sidhelives]

Andraste's Grace

Written for @kyupidete as part of my Twitter giveaway. I said I'd give her anything and this is what she wanted.

In which Aria Hawke fucks with Sebastian Vael.

Full text under break

"So," Aria set the empty shot glass down onto the bar with a firm clink . "Why do you think Sebastian decided to come out with us?" She rolled her eyes onto the side to look at Isabela.

Isabela tossed back her own shot and slammed it down beside Aria's. "He didn't used to be such a good boy. Maybe he misses it."

"Or maybe he just wanted to ruin my evening." Anders glowered from Aria's other side.

The other members of their drinking party, Varric, Fenris, Merrill, and Sebastian, were seated and chatting amicably a few yards away. Aveline had declined Varric's invitation to The Hanged Man, citing her busy work schedule. Aria knew the real reason was that she hadn't yet forgiven her for the previous soirees.

Isabela rolled her eyes. "Oh come off it, Anders. Not everything is about you."

"And take your shot, we can't do another round until you do." Aria pushed up on the bottom of the glass in his hand.

He swatted her hand away and threw back the shot, his glare still focused on the table.

Aria plucked the empty glass from his hand and kissed his cheek, grinning madly. "Stop sulking. I don't have drunken sex with sulkers."

" I'm not sulking," Isabela volunteered enthusiastically.

Anders glared at her and wrapped one arm possessively around Aria's hips. "I'm not sulking , I just don't like him."

"Corff," Aria called sweetly, gesturing at the empty glasses, then turned back around to join Anders in observing the table. "He is cute though." She smirked.

"Those eyes," Isabela agreed dreamily, leaning back on the bar.

Anders scoffed in disgust.

"You'd think so too if he didn't have the hand of the Maker so far up his ass." Aria nudged him with her shoulder.

Behind them, Corff showed up and tipped dark alcohol into the three empty glasses.

"Leave the bottle," Aria told him over her shoulder.

"Am I ever going to get paid for this?" He grumbled.

She looked back at him. "I'm the Champion of Kirkwall, you know I'm good for it."

He rolled his eyes and set the bottle down on the bar, then receded to help other patrons.

"You're never going to settle your tab, are you?" Isabela smirked.

Aria grinned, placing a full shot into Anders's hand. "I'm sure Varric will get it handled eventually."

"Clink!" Isabela cried, and the three of them knocked their shots together before tossing them back.

"We could mess with him," Aria suggested nonchalantly, pouring more alcohol into their glasses. "Would that make you feel better, Love?"

Anders gave her a side-eyed glance. "Might."

"What did you have in mind?" Isabela asked with a raised eyebrow, taking the bottle from Aria's hand and drinking from it.

Aria considered. "Maybe rile him up: low whispers in his ear, soft caresses, accidentally slip my tongue into his mouth. You know, get him all hot and bothered," she snatched the bottle back from Isabela and took another shot. "Then do Anders on the table. Really hammer the point home."

"Wouldn't Anders be the one hammering in that case?" Isabela laughed.

Anders rolled his eyes. "I thought the point of the plan was to make me feel better ."

Aria kissed his cheek again. "That's why you get to fuck me and not him."

He shook his head. "Absolutely not." He looked Aria up and down. "You're already drunk."

She nodded. "That was the purpose of the bottle, yes."

"I've got a better plan anyway," Isabela interjected, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Anders and Aria both raised their eyebrows at her, and she crooked one finger at the woman to come closer, whispering into her ear once she did. Anders watched with interest as a maniacal smile came over Aria's face and she cackled.

"Oh, that is good."

"I know, isn't it?" Isabela agreed proudly.

"What is it?" Anders asked suspiciously.

"A surprise," Aria responded coyly. "Don't worry, you'll like it." She tipped the bottle back, emptying it with several swallows, then dragged the back of her hand across her mouth. She gestured for the others to follow her then headed to the table. Anders sighed heavily and followed behind her and the giddy Isabela.

Everyone looked up as they approached and Varric opened his mouth to greet them, but before he got the chance Aria dropped to her hands and knees and shimmied under the table.

"What are you doing, Hawke?" Fenris asked gruffly, pushing his chair back.

"Gird your loins, boys. Hawke is cock hunting." Varric laughed.

"I think it's unfair to Merrill to imply that I'm only interested in cocks." Aria's muffled voice came from under the table.

Merrill blushed, a sparkle of crimson across her cheekbones.

"Deepest apologies," Varric said grandiosely. "Gird your loins, everyone ."

"Thank you!" Came the muffled response.

"Where is she?" Anders crossed his arms.

"I'm— I'm not sure," Merrill murmured, cautiously peeking down at her feet.

"Does she do this sort of thing often?" Sebastian asked, nonplussed by the strange sequence of events.

"Not as often as you would think," Varric replied with a shrug.

"I can't imagine the state of the floor in a place like this. Her breeches are going to be rui—" Sebastian stopped mid-word, eyes widening slightly and he wetted his lips uncomfortably. "Aria. What are you doing?"

Isabela, who had been suppressing giggles between tightly clamped lips, broke, cackling madly. Everyone else quickly moved to get a better view.

"I'm asking forgiveness for my sins." Aria's palms were flat on the tops of his thighs, on either side of and level with her chin. "I've never done it before. You're supposed to do it on your knees, right?"

Sebastian swallowed hard, casting his eyes up toward the ceiling. "I feel that there are better times and places to seek penitence."

"You ever seen a man try that hard to not be hard?" Varric murmured out the side of his mouth at Isabela.

She smirked. "Which do you think will blow first? His pants or his brain?"

Anders said "pants" at the same time Varric said "brain" and they shared a competitive look.

"Spoken like a man who's never had Aria's head between his thighs," Anders quipped.

Varric chuckled. "You're on, Blondie."

Aria's hands slid father up Sebastian's thighs and she leaned into him, making his entire body go rigid. "Blessed Andraste, forgive this poor sinner what she is about to do."

"What are you about to—?" Sebastian chanced a glance down at his lap and pressed his lips together, corners of his mouth turning down, as Aria pressed her lips to those of the visage of Andraste emblazoned on his belt buckle.

Varric, Isabela, and Anders burst into hysterical laughter, Merrill covered her giggle behind her hand, and even Fenris cracked a smile as Sebastian sat looking unimpressed. He made a small grunt of surprise as Aria grabbed his hips, mouth opening slightly so she could tongue his buckle with the same reckless abandon she had shown when crawling into his lap. Tears streamed down Isabela's face as she struggled to breathe between howling cackles, leaning on the table with one hand, and The Hanged Man's other occupants began casting glances in their direction.

Sebastian gave an irritated sigh. "You're defiling my lady."

Aria slowly pried her mouth away from Andraste's face with a pop and looked up at him. "What? Are you the only one allowed to do that? I can only assume that's why you keep her so close ." She punctuated her statement by sliding her hands back over his thighs, her fingers firmly brushing just below the buckle.

Sebastian, who had settled into a false sense of safety, sucked air in sharply in a hiss, his entire body tensing, and his eyes shot back to the ceiling. This caused another uproar of laughter, even Fenris throwing his head back and guffawing.

"I think that's enough prayer for one day." With a smirk Aria receded under the table again, appearing back where she had initially disappeared, hopping to her feet and dusting herself off.

"How was it?" Isabela whispered, leaning into her.

"I can see why he was popular with the ladies." She replied with a wink before grabbing Anders's hand and dragging him away from the table towards Varric's suite. "Varric!" She shouted as she passed.

"Yeah, yeah, the room is in use, I got it." He grumbled, a smirk still on his lips. He turned to Sebastian. "Welcome to the club, Chantry Boy."

Sebastian took several deep breaths, exhaling slowly. "Does she do that often?"

"Usually only once per person," Fenris joked. "Then again, I've never seen her drag her pet off that quickly afterward."

"I'd say someone was impressed," Isabela purred, settling onto the table near Merrill's elbow.

"Impressed with what?" Merrill asked innocently. "All he did was sit there stiff as a tree."

"Yes, Kitten. All of him. Every single muscle. Stiff as a tree." Isabela stared directly at Sebastian as she spoke, his face slowly gaining color.

Merrill looked between Isabela's intense gaze and Sebastian's rising flush and became suddenly quite red herself. "Oh."

Fenris and Varric burst into laughter again as Sebastian awkwardly scooched his chair closer to the table. Varric signaled to Corff. "I think everyone could use another round."

"Some of us more than others," Sebastian grumbled.

[elleah]

Found a good example of a difference between sarcasm and irony.

“So “irony” is when the movie audience knows the villain is lurking behind the door as the hero opens it, saying “The bad guy is gone.” But when the villain knocks out the hero and says “Gee, what a smart guy,” that’s “sarcasm.”

- Merrill Perlman