#romilda

[smash-or-pass-laytoncharacters]

[ernestlaytonpolls]

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

A request for @aprilbrowines: Riodora lifting weights.

Romilda, a member of The Circle and daughter of Arkon (Earth-12041 - Marvel: Hulk and The Agents of S.M.A.S.H.) and Thundra (Earth-12041 - Marvel: Ultimate Spider-Man) belongs to @aprilbrowines

[kimberly-ld]

🌹 🕊️ Minha maneira de expressar meu eterno amor e gratidão à minha mãe. Onde repousa a matéria, de alguém que sentirei saudades para todo o sempre! Com carinho, detalhes dos pássaros que ela mais amava em vida... 💖✨ ⠀

[storiearcheostorie]

Cividale del Friuli (Ud) / Grimoaldo e i Longobardi protagonisti di un grande convegno internazionale

Cividale del Friuli (Ud) / Grimoaldo e i Longobardi protagonisti di un grande convegno internazionale

Si terrà dal 24 al 28 aprile a Cividale del Friuli e Bottenicco di Moimacco (Udine) “Grimoaldo. Dal Ducato friulano al Regno”, quarto Convegno del Centro Studi Longobardi. Il convegno affronta gli anni centrali del VII secolo, un periodo “oscuro” ma decisivo per la formazione del primo medioevo, della storia italica e della nascita del territorio forogiuliese, imperniata sul nome della città che…

[startanewdream]

I've always wanted to write a scene of mutual agreement and support (friendship is a strong word) between Ginny and Romilda Vane, so here's around 1600 words of something that might have happened during Year 7.

*****

They wait until after dinner to round on her.

Ginny is mildly surprised; she'd guessed they would question her as soon as she got off the train, but perhaps they thought that Snape's speech—not the Headmaster's, she'd never consider him so—might terrify her enough to make her betray everything she has ever believed on. If so, they were very mistaken; seeing Snape in the middle of the staff table, with Death Eaters by his side, only infused her Gryffindor spirit.

"Weasley," calls Alecto Carrow. She has a mind to pretend to ignore her, but the mass of students climbing the stairs seems to freeze with that call, and Ginny has no choice but to answer it, all eyes on her as she walks to Alecto Carrow.

"Yes, Professor." She puts as much spite in that word as she can. Neville and Luna suddenly materialize next to her, and Ginny almost wishes they would stay away, as if there is any protection to be found this year.

Alecto looks her up and down. "That's it?" Her voice is mocking. "That's Potter's girlfriend?"

By her side, Crabble and Goyle nod; their gazes are not as unappreciative as Alecto's. With a shudder, Ginny thinks she will favour disdain any day.

"I thought Potter had better taste."

She buries her nails into her palm. Don't answer, she tells herself, and tries to keep a look of disinterest.

"Where is your boyfriend?"

Her rehearsed answer comes in a bored tone. "I would know if I had any." It feels more than ever that everyone is staring at her.

Alecto doesn't seem convinced, nor do her cronies.

"They were dating," says Goyle, in a whisper that everyone can hear. "Everyone saw it, they were snogging all around the place."

"It's what happens when you are dating someone," snaps Ginny. "We've broken up." She hesitates for a tiny beat. "He dumped me."

This time her rehearsed line doesn't sound credible, despite being the truth. Everyone's gaze seems to burn, evaluating her answer, and, for a moment, Ginny waits for someone to question this, to raise the absurdity of her words: they were in love. As Goyle had noted, anyone could see how they felt about each other; Harry had been beaming the whole time they were together, all those few weeks of sunshine and happiness and hope. Harry wouldn't just dump her—

And then Alecto Carrow laughs.

"I guess Potter already got what he was after, then?" She mocks. "Blood traitors aren't a good value if..."

"Perhaps the girl is lying," another voice pops in, and Ginny turns to see Amycus Carrow joining his sister. His gaze upon her makes Ginny shiver; she remembers all too well duelling him. "Perhaps she knows more than she's letting on—"

"I wouldn't think so," Luna says, her voice as dreaming as ever. "If she knew, she wouldn't be here."

"Harry always kept his secrets," Neville adds, crossing his arms.

Amycus and Alecto share a look before Amycus takes a step forward.

"I will be the judge of that. If we have Potter's precious girlfriend—"

"I am not even his girlfriend anymore!"

It doesn't seem to matter, though. Terror floods her, not so much for herself; there isn't anything that she can share with them, but if somehow Harry finds out that they've got her—their breakup will be for nothing—he is too stupid and too noble to do something reckless—

Amycus grabs her arm; Ginny dives her hand into her pocket, but before she can take out her wand, many things happen. Professor McGonagall appears, Neville points his wand at Amycus, and Romilda Vane laughs nervously.

"Please," she says. "Weasley was his girlfriend, so what?”

That makes everyone draw their eyes to her. Romilda tosses her hair out of her face, seemingly enjoying the attention, but Ginny can see a thin layer of sweat breaking through the girl's careful makeup.

"Harry was always smiling at me, flirting unashamedly, even when he was dating her. I wasn’t the only one either. Everyone knew he wasn't good business. A ladies' man, that one."

Ginny blinks; she is not alone. The year before, when Harry was at the height of his popularity at Hogwarts, everyone's favourite Chosen One, he had drawn many eyes. Ginny had found it bothersome, but she could understand what everyone was seeing: that gorgeous young man with messy dark hair and green eyes, tall and fit, with the added benefit of seeming oblivious to his own charm, almost shy. It had been endearing.

That also was one of the reasons why, when Harry and Ginny started dating, everyone wanted to talk about it. It had been huge news for Hogwarts' standard.

There was no way anyone would believe that Romilda was telling the truth.

"Potter never had any other girlfriend," Crabbe mumbles.

Romilda laughs derisively. "I wasn't his girlfriend, haven't you heard what I just said? He just liked to flirt." She nudges her friend. "Do you remember, Lisa? I told you Harry never took his eyes off me."

Lisa looks terrified, but she nods. "Yes," she confirms in a small voice. "And you—you shared chocolate once."

"Harry dated Cho," someone from the Ravenclaw crowd says, and there's a murmur of agreement.

"I went with Harry to a Christmas party last year," notes Luna. She skips the part where they went as friends.

"I think I saw him snogging a girl behind the greenhouses," Hannah Abbott says.

At her side, a boy nods. "I saw something in the library once."

People start adding comments, their voices mingling in a cacophony. The weirdest part is that Ginny knows no one is lying; people are telling about the times they saw Harry with a girl — only she was this girl, this only girl, but no one specifies that.

"Quiet, quiet!" Alecto sounds annoyed. She looks at Crabbe and Goyle. "Is this true?"

They shrug, lost.

"I saw Potter with Chang at Madam Puddifoot's," Pansy Parkinson confirms, distasteful. "And he went with Loony Lovegood to Slughorn's party."

"That would be Professor Slughorn, Miss Parkinson," chides Professor McGonagall, taking a definite step ahead and placing herself between the Carrows and Ginny. She raises her arm and, almost without a second glance, lowers Neville's still extended arm. "I do not see why a student's romantic life is under scrutiny at this hour of the night, especially a student who is not even here at the moment, but the others have class tomorrow morning."

"This is more important than classes," Amycus spats.

"I remind you this is still a school," Professor McGonagall says coldly.

Amycus' answer is cut by a bored voice. "What is this?" Snape walks, easily opening his way between the students gathered at the door.

"We are trying to interrogate the Weasley girl," Alecto says. "To find out the whereabouts of Potter. She was his girlfriend."

Snape rolls his eyes. "You heard the others. Potter was a lover-boy; that is not surprising considering how his father behaved with his fans." He regards Ginny coldly. "Weasley is not special. I doubted Potter ever shared anything more than a snog with her."

There's an underlying truth in his words that stung her, but before she can react, Snape is already addressing Professor McGonagall.

"Take your students to bed, Minerva. It would not be advisable to be out of the bed at this hour."

Professor McGonagall, who had been frowning at Snape as if trying to figure out something, bristles; there's nothing but repulse in her eyes as she nods.

"Of course, Severus." She turns to Ginny and the others. "Go to the Common Room, now."

And she casts a warning glance at Ginny, who runs to meddle between the other Gryffindor students climbing up the stairs. Her heart doesn't stop beating painfully until she enters the Common Room, and only then she looks back; the Carrows aren't in sight. She doubts this is the last time they will try to question her, but for now, she can breathe easily and give Neville a feeble smile when he looks at her.

"We will watch your back," he whispers.

"It will be fine," she says, with a confidence she doesn't feel. Nothing about her experience at Hogwarts so far gives her any faith that things will turn out well.

And then she catches a mop of black hair.

"Romilda," she calls. Romilda pauses on her way to the stairs.

"Yeah?"

Ginny waits until they are alone to whisper: "Thank you."

Romilda nods. There’s a moment of silence, during which Romilda eyes the stairs as if considering fleeing the scene before she asks: "Did he really break up with you?"

Ginny gulps. "Yeah."

"Oh, I thought—"

"No, it was true."

She waits for some remark; Romilda was truly determined to get Harry the year before, and she had pestered Ginny when she was dating Harry.

"He never actually flirted with me," Romilda says in a rushed whisper. "And you were special to him, I—I spent a lot of time watching him and trying to get his attention, but he never glanced at me... because he was too busy ogling at you."

Warmth spreads inside Ginny; she cannot help her smile. "Harry didn't ogle."

"Yes, all the time. He had it hard for you. Still has, I'd bet." Romilda smiles awkwardly. "Not very womanizer of him."

Ginny's eyes wide. "About that—if anyone finds out that you were exaggerating—"

"I'll talk to my friends. No one is going to say anything."

"I know. I trust you." They look at each other; it suddenly occurs to Ginny that Romilda has no idea, not really, of what could happen if anyone suspects her lie. Romilda never faced a Death Eater. Ginny hopes she never does. "It will be fine."

It's the same thing she told Neville before, but now there's a promise in her voice.

Romilda nods one last time. "Night, Ginny."

"Night, Romilda."

[dazymaisy]

Do you think Ginny has her own " chest monster" version ? Just like Harry? We always talk about Harry's jealousy moments but Ginny also has her own when it comes to Harry

“Ginny! You’re drooling,” Demelza giggled.

She felt her fingers tighten around her broom and tore her eyes away from Harry, who was commandeering a clumsy group of first years. “I am not,” she said brusquely, “just scouting his body language, is all.”

“He’s not bad looking,” Dee qualified. “You like his captain’s badge, do you?”

“Shut up,” she groaned.

“He’s bound to pick you,” said Dee. “He practically lives with you, doesn’t he?”

“I don’t wan t him to put me on the team because he’s friends with my brother,” said Ginny. “I want him to put me on the team because I’m bloody good at quidditch.”

Dee patted her knee. “That’s very noble of you, Gin.”

Ginny huffed. A second group had taken to the pitch – a gaggle of third and fourth year girls, giggling and falling over themselves. Ginny spotted Romilda Vane immediately.

“Oh, god,” she moaned.

“What?” said Dee.

“It’s Romilda,” she said coldly. Romilda was not well-liked amongst Ginny’s dorm mates. They often heard her through the floorboards, in the fourth-year dormitory below – giggling loudly at all hours of the night. “No way she can fly a broom.”

Harry had his back to her – Ginny couldn’t see his face, but she could see the way Romilda looked at him, eyes wide and falsely bashful. Her hair wasn’t even tied back. It cascaded in long, dark curls down her back.

“She needs to put her hair up,” Ginny muttered, “that’s a hazard.”

Dee blinked. Their grudge against Romilda had always been quiet, a sort of unspoken undercurrent – Ginny had never been so outwardly venomous.

It took her a moment to understand. When it clicked, she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, who does she think she is?” said Dee.

“Harry, I’m so sorry –” Romilda’s high-pitched voice carried across the pitch, and Ginny cringed – “could you help me mount the broom?”

Ginny let out a disbelieving huff. Something deep inside her chest threatened to rear its ugly head. “Oh, that bitch.” 

Beside her, Dee dissolved into poorly concealed laughter.

Harry refused to help Romilda mount her broom. “It’s expected you know the basics of flying before you come to a try out,” she heard him say.

Romilda and the other girls did not last long. They just as soon got their brooms off the ground as they collapsed into a squealing heap. Harry told them to get off the pitch – the girls obeyed, clambering up into the stands to watch the rest of try outs.

“He’s very authoritative,” Ginny observed. Dee smirked at her.

And really, she needn’t have worried about her own try out – she easily out flew the rest of the contenders, and sank seventeen goals before Harry blew his whistle.

The chasers landed in a semi-circle around him, chests heaving as he announced his decision. Ginny hardly felt winded.

“Alright. Er – you all did very well –” Harry met her eyes for a split second before lowering his head. “But obviously I can only choose three...”

Ginny felt her heart sink. Was this his indirect way of letting her off easy?

“Katie Bell – we’ll keep you, obviously.” Ginny saw Katie grin with pride. She felt a surge of dislike toward her, though she couldn’t identify the source – Katie had never been anything but kind to her. “And next… Demelza Robins.” 

Dee let out an involuntary squeal of excitement, and squeezed Ginny’s hand. It was with great effort that Ginny returned the gesture. If Dee made the team and she didn’t, she’d have to seriously consider dropping out.

Harry was very pointedly avoiding looking at her. Ginny’s heart sank, she thought she might throw up right here on the pitch – she hadn’t made it.

Her disappointment was swiftly replaced with anger. How dare Harry not choose her? She’d filled in for him all last year – proven herself, again and again –

“And, er, Ginny Weasley,” said Harry. 

Everyone else let out soft sighs of displeasure. Ginny felt as though she might faint. “But like I said, you all did quite well, there’s always next year…”

“Yeah, right,” said a girl Ginny recognized as one of the seventh years. She crossed her arms and stormed off toward the changing rooms.

Harry watched her go, then clapped his hands together. “Good work today, everyone. Katie, Demelza, Ginny – I’ll see you all at practice. I’ve got to go find some beaters, now.”

Dee grinned at her sideways.

Ginny’s eyes were locked on Harry. He was turning to leave, to head back toward the group of potential beaters. He caught her eyes for a fleeting moment, just long enough to give her a small smile.

Something warm spread down to Ginny’s toes. She smiled back.

[iamnmbr3]

Romilda Vane is so lucky Draco was busy with other stuff in 6th year. Otherwise she never would've known a moment of peace.

[theonceandfuturequeenoftarts]

It happens while he’s having a long-overdue visit with Ginny. After a night of good food and alcohol and catching up, she digs her fingers right into the bruise that is his loneliness.

“So, seeing anyone?”

The short answer is no. The long answer is, frankly, depressing. 

It’s a no, but not for lack of recent effort. He retired from professional football nearly five years ago, and he hasn’t had any luck finding a partner despite going on several dates. He’s tried to meet people; his friends keep subtly (and then not-at-all subtly) pushing him in the direction of single acquaintances or friends-of-friends, but he’s been out of the game long enough that it all feels foreign to him. He hasn’t felt a spark or connection with anyone. And if one more person mentions Tinder or Grindr to him, he might stuff his phone down their throat.

Hell, his last real relationship was… Ginny. Christ, that was almost twenty years ago. No wonder his friends think he needs to be set up. But after he and Gin broke up, he was so focused on playing better, keeping his team in the Premier League, or playing in Euro Cups or World Cups. The long hours spent training and playing and travelling didn’t exactly allow for much time to meet people or date, and a lot of the people he’d meet through club events or at the bars and parties his teammates frequented weren’t exactly looking for a committed relationship. From a couple disastrous attempts, he's well aware he doesn’t do well with one-night stands.

By the time his retirement loomed, he was more excited to spend time with his friends and family – to watch his honorary nieces and nephews grow up. He’d done his best to maintain those relationships when he could, and now he’s going to enjoy the results of that effort. 

But he’s always wanted a partner – a love like he’d heard his parents had. He’s sure there’s someone out there for him; he just wishes they’d stop hiding.

“I’m going to take that as a no,” Ginny says after an embarrassingly long pause. “Oh no, don’t get all mopey on me–”

“I’m not mopey,” Harry grumbles into his beer. Ginny gives him a look. “I’m not! I just. Maybe I’m a bit frustrated. Trying to find someone is exhausting. And demoralising.”

“If you can’t find someone, what chance do mere mortals have?” she teases.

“Oh, ha ha,” he snarks. “I know you’re taking the piss, but… I think that might actually be part of the problem? Most of them want Harry Potter, but I’m just Harry. Once you take away the sports stuff, I’m really quite boring.”

“Harry.”

“What?”

“You are not, and could never be, boring. You, my friend, are a chaos magnet. Even now that you’re not one of the highest paid football players, or on the cover of Sports Illustrated, or modelling underwear, or whatever ridiculous thing, you are plenty interesting on your own.”

“Gin,” he says, feeling a bit choked up.

“There, there.” She pats his hand before leaning back in her chair, lost in thought. “So, dating isn’t working…”

“To put it lightly.”

Ginny gives him a considering look. “Have you ever thought of finding a sugar baby?”

“A wh–” He chokes on his spit and coughs. “Sugar baby?! I’m not some creepy old letch, Gin!”

She waves off his pearl-clutching. “No, but you are rich and desperate.”

“Oi!”

“Oh, hush. Why not give it a shot? One of my rugby mates used this matchmaking service and had great luck.”

“I’m not paying someone to have sex with me,” he says flatly.

“Then don’t. Pay someone to keep your lonely arse company.”

He sighs, running a hand through his unruly hair and wincing when it snags on a knot. “That just seems so pathetic…”

“Harry,” Ginny says, looking him in the eye. “You have money you don’t need, and want someone to care about. There are many people out there who would love to have that money and someone to care about them.”

And that’s a little more enticing.

“But, since I know you, I will add: Do not try to be a hero. It should be mutually beneficial,” she stresses sternly.

“You say that like I’m going to do this, but I haven’t agreed–”

“We’re going to create a profile right now.”

“Ginnyyyyyyy,” he groans. “Noooooo–”

“None of that,” she says, grabbing his laptop. “You need to build up some relationship confidence, and since the old-fashioned way isn’t working, you’re going to give this a shot.”

He finishes his drink and goes to flop on the sofa in protest.

After a fair bit of typing, Ginny calls from across the room, “Ay, Harry – birds or blokes?”

He lifts his face from where it’s wedged into a pillow enough to shout back a bleary “Both!”

Foggy memories flicker in and out of them shouting questions and answers back and forth, with Ginny eventually migrating to the sofa and asking him to look at photos.

The next morning, Harry wakes up with a nasty hangover and a message on the sugar baby matchmaking app saying he has a date that weekend.

What.

(wake-up call)

[i-post-random-layton-screenshots]

hoogland yuri

my favourite part of hillside is romilda and her butch wife julien

[solitaireships]

New Friends

I've been hardcore in Anders love mode for like the last two months, so at last we have a fic with him! This is about her and Romilda's first meeting, and I have some other fics from further along in the timeline that hopefully I'll get done one day lol

Rating: Teen

Genre: Fluff, Pre-Relationship

Words: 1964 words

Divider by animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Content warning: mentions of death and imprisonment

Romilda had never wanted to be a Grey Warden. She had grown up hearing stories of their heroism, but she would hardly have considered herself capable of that. She would have been content to live peacefully, only ever using magic if she absolutely had to. Her sense of justice unfortunately got in the way of that, but even then, she doubts that would’ve been enough to make her ever even consider joining the Wardens of her own volition. But she supposes a life dedicated to fighting the darkspawn is better than what her fate would’ve been if the Warden-Commander hadn’t invoked the Right of Conscription. She doesn’t know if being executed or made Tranquil would’ve been worse, but regardless, joining the Wardens was clearly her best option. 

Though this still means that she has to leave her home. Now she’s come to Vigil’s Keep, days of travel away from where she spent her entire life, and away from anyone that she knew. There’s a feeling of loneliness that follows her as she makes her way out of the keep’s main building, the sharp taste of darkspawn blood still on her tongue. The Joining ritual was nothing like she would have expected as part of recruitment into the Wardens, but she supposes that this is just what her life is now.

It’s nice getting to be outside without having to worry about being on alert for templars, though. Romilda doesn’t know where she’s going, perhaps just to clear her head, but she finds herself moving towards the houses just past the keep’s forge. 

Though she finds herself pausing as she draws closer to one of the houses, eyes going down to land on an orange cat. It looks up at her with curious eyes, approaching her readily with a soft meow. It’s an adorable sight, and one that serves to help ease Romilda’s nerves. It’s not exactly the same as at home, but there were plenty of stray cats in the alienage, and she grew up with a pet cat of her own. This one is clearly someone’s pet, with a collar and a little bell around its neck, but as far as Romilda can tell, its owner isn’t around. 

She kneels down to greet the cat, holding one hand out for it to sniff before petting it. 

“Hello there, beautiful,” she says. “Are you all by yourself?”

The cat merely mews in response, circling around her legs to rub itself against them. It’s certainly affectionate, purring at her touch and nudging its head against her legs as if to demand more attention. 

As Romilda pets the cat, she supposes that things here probably won’t be too bad. If nothing else, it at least seems she found something to calm her nerves with. The cat’s fur is soft, and as she scratches behind its ears, she finds that its fur is even softer there. She hopes whoever its owner is, they aren’t too far, though she quickly gets and answer to who’s cat it is. 

“Ah, there you are Ser Pounce-A-Lot! I see you’ve managed to make a new friend.”

Romilda turns to look at who just spoke, seeing a person dressed in blue mage’s robes trimmed with gold, and with a set of feathered black pauldrons. She’s tall— Romilda’s pretty sure she’d only come up to around her shoulders if they both were standing— and has a sturdy looking build, seeming to be a bit fat. His blond hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and stubble stands out against his pale skin. So does the gold of the earring she’s wearing in her right ear, but Romilda finds her attention lingering more on the staff at her back. 

It’s not surprising that the Wardens have a mage on their roster. Romilda’s fairly sure that she saw a Dalish woman with a staff of her own when she was in the keep’s main hall, and the Warden-Commander herself is a mage. But it’s still nice to meet another mage. It’s always hard to judge how people without any magical abilities might react towards her, at least with other mages there’s some commonality on that front. 

“This is your cat, then?” Romilda asks.

“He is. But as you can see, he likes to wander,” the mage replies, coming to kneel down by Romilda so that he can pet Ser Pounce-A-Lot too. She coos at the cat, an adoring look on her face as she pets him.

“Hopefully never too far from you,” Romilda says. 

“More like unfortunately. He’s not a fan of the Deep Roads,” he says. 

“Well, I can't imagine I would be either."

The mage laughs, smiling. “Finally— another Warden with at least a bit of a sense of humor. You’re the new recruit we got in from Redcliffe, aren’t you?”

“That would be me,” Romilda replies, though she can’t say that she’s ever been told before that she has a good sense of humor. She wasn't trying to be funny, the Deep Roads do sound genuinely dreadful, but she supposes this has worked out in her favor. “My name’s Romilda.”

“Anders. And you’ve already met Ser Pounce-A-Lot.”

“Yes, he seems very distinguished. No doubt befitting for a knight of his status.”

“Oh, yes, I’m definitely going to like you,” Anders says. 

Romilda smiles. She’s not used to accepting compliments, but it still feels nice to find someone here that she could already see herself bonding with.

“Did you used to live at the Circle?” she asks, more out of an idle curiosity than anything. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had been an apostate, but still she does wonder what it might have been like to live in a Circle. 

Anders scoffs. “It’d be more accurate to say I was trapped there. Not anymore, obviously— turns out that seventh time’s the charm for escaping from Kinloch Hold.”

“That’s… a lot of escape attempts,” Romilda says. And a good enough indicator that for as challenging as staying beneath attention for years of her life was, it was probably for the best. She doesn’t know if she would have had the determination to even attempt to get out of the Circle if she were there. 

“And we’ll still have to see if this most recent stretch of freedom actually lasts,” he says. “Ser Rolan’s here to keep an eye on me. Doesn’t matter if he says he’s not a templar anymore— you don’t just leave that behind.”

Romilda can hear the frustration behind Anders’s voice. It’s one that she can understand, even with her experiences with templars being different from hers. Before recently, the majority of her experiences with them was trying to stay as far away as possible. But it seems that they’re an inescapable fact of life when you’re a mage, forever lurking in the background, ready to leap at the first sign of magic to either smite them or send them off to a perpetual imprisonment. Even Romilda’s ticket to freedom may not be a complete one. 

“I’ll have to avoid him, then. Thanks for letting me know.”

“If that sword on your back’s anything to go by, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about him. He’s a smug bastard, though,” Anders says. 

“I might have something to worry about other than just annoyance. I was caught by some templars doing magic. The Warden-Commander decided to step in for me, which is why I’m here instead of Kinloch Hold,” she explains. 

“You’re an apostate,” Anders says. 

When Romilda looks at him, he seems to be seeing her now in a new light. There’s a curiosity to the way she looks at her, and a new appreciation. Romilda didn’t get the feeling he bore any ill will towards her in the first place, but now it seems more like he’s fully interested in her, like learning that she’s an apostate makes her all the better. It’s an unusual sentiment considering most people would rather she either die or be made to no longer be herself upon finding out she’s a mage living outside of a Circle, yet not an unwelcome feeling. 

But she supposes that it also makes sense— she knows it’s not the prevailing belief in Circles, but she’s heard enough horror stories about them to know plenty of people would see any mage able to live outside of one as something of a wonder. Romilda has had a freedom that few people like her could say they ever had, even if it came at the cost of the miserable conditions of living in an alienage instead. 

“It’s not nearly as glamorous as it seems like it would be,” Romilda says. “A lot of training in private, a lot of learning about self control and trying not to push too many boundaries.”

And trying to find ways to make her powers blend in with what anyone else might be able to do. Channeling her magic into a weapon made it easier for her to pretend that any magical effects were just the result of an enchanted blade, though she supposes now that’s not an option. 

“But you’re what, in your mid twenties?” Anders prompts.

“Twenty-nine,” Romilda corrects. 

“And you never got caught by a templar before? Ever?” she asks.

“Not until about a week ago, no.”

Anders laughs, almost unbelieving. “You’re incredible, you know.”

Romilda gives a small smile at that, though she can’t say that she agrees with him. She was only able to avoid the attention of the templars for so long because of self control and pretending to be something she wasn’t. She’s glad that she never had to be taken away from her family, but she’s been through her own challenges to get this far. And now it all got thrown away, just because she couldn’t ignore someone in danger.

But she’s not going to say that out loud. So instead she says as she scratches around Ser Pounce-A-Lots’ ears, “If being incredible means that I’m able to spend more time with your cat, I’ll take it.”

“Oh, being incredible can get you far more than just that,” Anders says. 

Romilda’s not used to being flirted with, but she can recognize the light tone in Anders’s voice, the proposition hidden beneath her words. It’s flattering, even if it does feel undeserved. And she supposes that he’s a pretty good looking person too— it’s impossible to know if things could even work out between them, but the thought’s far from the worst she’s had recently. 

“Are Wardens even allowed to have romantic relationships? I thought the point was that we spend our lives fighting the darkspawn,” Romilda says. 

“And helping people solve every other problem in existence, apparently,” Anders adds. “But no, you know I don’t think there ever was a vow of chastity or marriage to the job requirement in the recruitment process. Just the assurance of an eventual death in the Deep Roads and the disgusting aftertaste of that darkspawn blood.”

“Well, then in that case, I might be interested in seeing you more often,” she says. 

“Maybe over dinner?” he suggests. 

“Dinner might be nice,” Romilda says. 

Anders grins. “Then I suppose that I’ll have to see about taking you out some night. Amaranthine is still recovering from the darkspawn attack, but there is a good tavern there.”

Romilda isn’t used to being flirted with, nor is she used to flirting with other people. It’s surprising to her just how far she’s managed to make it with Anders, but it’s exciting too. Maybe this is just some casual flirting, or maybe this is something that could evolve into something more. She hopes that it will be the latter. 

Still, Romilda has trouble figuring out how to respond, so instead she nods. “I’d like that.”

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

The Two Snakes’ Bond and Agreement, also known as The Two Snakes’ Deal and Bond is a two-parter stories explaining how a human scientist, Lucky Two-Shoes is chosen to become one of the second-in-commands of the secret criminal syndicate, The Circle. Part 1 takes place before the first week of summer and Part 2 takes place on the third day of the first week of summer.

Lucky Two-Shoes, Dante Jojo, and Chinatsu Young belong to @ej-cappy-universe.

Ariel North, Tesla Vreedle, and Romilda (all characters are mentioned) belong to @aprilbrowines.

Munchausen Young-Hat, Alverta Tang (mentioned), Gloves Flinders (mentioned), and Shadow (mentioned) belong to @froppy-butterflyfan2000 (me).

[ellorypurebloodculture]

There's a relatively famous video of a female gamer saying to harrassers "I'm going to f*ck your dad and give him a child he actually loves".

Which leads me to this FSF request: any pairiing but using the phase- " I'm going to bond with your (Mater/Pater) and give them an heir they can actually be proud of."

When Lady Harriet Potter is certain that Mister Ron Weasley, her First Vassal and one of her dearest friends, will recover from the love potioned chocolates, she storms out of Professor Slughorn's office and back up to Gryffindor Tower, her hair glowing Potter-Crimson with magic so vibrantly that it almost appears as if she has inherited her mother's hair color instead of her father's.

The Fat Lady opens without even asking for the password, her painted eyes wide with horror.

Miss Romilda Vane is sitting on a sofa near the fireplace, tears streaming down her face, not a single friend at her side. She glances up and full-body flinches before stuttering, "L-Lady P-Potter, I-I--"

Harriet glares at the cowering girl who has no right whatsoever to call herself a pureblood witch with her reprehensible and unforgivable behavior and snarls, "I'm going to bond with your father and give him an heir he can actually be proud of as soon as he disowns you."

[gatabella]

Sophia Loren's mother - Romilda Villani - who won a Greta Garbo look-alike contest in 1933

[messyhjp]

Romilda Vane sells Harry x Voldemort BL comics and is a toxic fujo. She was angry when Harry kissed Ginny because Harry? kissing women? (puking emoji)

[greenhousethree]

Thank you so much, anons! It's been such a gift knowing this fic is on your minds even through a hectic wrap-up of 2023. Chapter four has been sitting in an open tab awaiting the edits I haven't had time to make, but this should be the week! This one's got some meat on its bones... check below the cut for a sneak peek.

(More Chasing snippets from chapter 4 and beyond can be found here!)

Maybe I could see your place or that pub or something, I don’t really care what we do. Shame I missed Ron’s singing, I’ve been meaning to collect more source material for my impression of a cat getting hit by the Knight Bus. Hope work’s still good. Not sure if she’s told you, but the girls in my dorm convinced Hermione to let us have a party for her this Friday (she made us wait till after exams, obviously). It seems like a lot of people are trying to get to know her more than before, and I’m not sure how she feels about it... can’t imagine you know what that’s like. So anyway, we might be throwing a rave-up, which is great because I missed the last one Gryffindor had. Can’t remember why, something about a bloke wanting some privacy to ask me out. Tell Teddy I miss him, okay? I don’t even want to think about how big he’ll be when I get back. Weather’s been awful here… hopefully this reaches you by the end of the month. I miss you a lot too, by the way. It's not stupid.