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thiswaycomessomethingwicked · 3 years

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so i am back on the grima train and i was reading through your posts (absolutely quality, for which i can only thank you !! 💓) and you mentioned in one about his use of magic that you have a Lot of Feelings about grima in relation to gender and plz i need to hear them!! (if you want to share? 👀)

LOTR: Grima & Gender

Oh man, so Grima and gender. My favourite topic. Other than Grima and magic - but they’re linked! So, that’s a bonus for us.

I want to thank you so much for asking this question. I have wanted to rant about this for Forever.

This became incredibly long, but the long and short of it is that Grima undermines social expectations of masculinity in Rohan through his disdain for martial achievements, his occupying a more private/passive role within the king’s household rather than the expected “masculine” public/active, his use of spells and potions being an “unmanly” and “cowardly” approach to problem solving, and his reliance on language and soft-power approaches to politics.

All of this works to position Grima within a more feminine role and character - at least within the context of Rohan’s hypermasculine performativity of manliness.

[It does allow us to read Grima as trans with greater ease in terms of fitting into the canon than the usual favourites, other than Eowyn. So, you know, do with that what you will. Eowyn and Grima both want to be queen. Let them be in charge! I’m going to get my ass bit for this.]

Grima’s gender performance needs to be quickly situated within the broader context of masculinity in Middle-Earth. Gondor’s ideal of masculinity is the gentler masculinity that everyone focuses on when they talk about men in middle earth being good models of what masculinity can look like. It’s a nurturing masculinity, it’s gentle, it’s healing-focused. Aragorn and others try and take the first off-ramp from violence or conflict whenever they can. There is no enjoyment in warfare or soldiering. It’s done because it’s necessary. Dick-swinging is limited to non-existent etc.

Rohan is different.

Faramir touches on this when he speaks to Frodo of how Boromir was more like the men of Rohan and how he thought that wasn’t a good thing as it meant he was seeking glory for glory’s sake, relishing war and soldiering as an occupation rather than an unfortunate necessity.

Of course, Faramir was also making (some very dubious) racial commentary, but race and gender are often bound up together (e.g. hyper-masculinization of black men and the feminization of East Asian men in the North America).

As R.W. Connell says, “masculinities are congurations of practice that are constructed, unfold, and change through time” — and, additionally, masculinity must be defined in opposition to femininity but, also, other masculinities.

For Rohan, there is a strong, militarized hyper-masculinity that threads through their culture. One of the reasons Theoden was seen as a failing king was his physical decline and inability to continue being a physically strong king. His aging emasculated him, more so when compared to Theodred and Eomer. (Something Theoden believed of himself and Grima capitalized on.)

For this, I’m going to speak of masculinity of the upper classes, since that’s what we see for Rohan. Masculinity, and how it’s to be performed, is contingent on social variables such as, but not limited to: age, appearance and size, bodily facility, care, economic class, ethnicity, fatherhood, relations to biological reproduction, leisure, martial and kinship status, occupation, sexuality etc. and as we never see lower class Rohirrim men it’s impossible to say what the “acceptable” and “expected” forms for a farmer or cooper would be.

Upper class men of Rohan are expected to be militarily capable - ready to ride and fight when called by their king or marshal. They are to be men of action over word, and when language is in play, it’s to be forthright and plain. No riddling. Marriage/Husband-ing is an expected part of manhood. Being strong minded, and capable of taking charge and making decisions is important. Fatherhood is also clearly prized, especially fatherhood that results in son(s).

(Theoden only having one child could be read as another “failure” in living up to Rohirrim ideals when compared to the older kings of his family who were far more prolific.)

The appearance of an “ideal” man is tall, fair, and handsome. Physically strong and capable in all ways (martially, sexually, fertile etc.).

Men should be able to demonstrate that they are capable of being in charge, taking control, defending and protecting families and homes. This slots in with more generalized expectations around bravery, honour and glory.

[Eomer: And that, in summation, is how you are to Be A Man.

Grima: Well that sounds utterly exhausting.]

So, with all of that in mind, let’s talk Grima.

First, let’s address the name and character construction as this is the least bound up in how he acts and its tension with Rohirrim ideals of Being a Man. It’s also interesting in that it can give a glimpse into Tolkien and the possible thoughts he had when constructing Grima.

Grima’s Name & Beowulf Stuff

Grima’s name is from old Icelandic Grimr, which is a name Odin takes during the Grimnismal saga.

Here are some lines from Odin in the saga:

I have called myself Grim,

I have called myself Wanderer,

Warrior and Helmet-Wearer,

[...]

Evildoer, Spellcaster,

Masked and Shadowed-Face,

Fool and Wise Man,

[...]

Rope-Rider and Hanged-God.

I have never been known

by just one name

since I first walked among men.

Not only is Grima’s name from Odin, more importantly, it’s the feminine version of that name. No man in the eddas or sagas goes by Grima. Only women. And most often they were seidr-workers or healers/magic practitioners of some kind.

"Other healers include Gríma from Fóstbræðra saga and Laxdæla saga and Heiðr from Biarmiland in Harald’s saga Hárfagra."

- “Hostile Magic in the Icelandic Sagas,” Hilda Ellis-Davidson

And

"There was a man called Kotkel, who had only recently arrived in Iceland. His wife was called Grima. Their sons were Hallbjorn Sleekstone-Eye and Stigandi. These people had come from the Hebrides. They were all extremely skilled in witchcraft and were great sorcerers."

- Laxdæla saga

This is most likely something Tolkien was aware of — I would be flabbergasted if he wasn’t. However, did he fully appreciate the implications in terms of gender and subversion of masculinity? Impossible to say, of course, but he certainly knew he was giving his male character a name that has only been used by women in historical texts.

It would be akin to naming your male character Henrietta instead of Henry. It’s a deliberate, explicit decision. And while I don’t think Tolkien expected most readers to track down the origin of Grima’s name, the --a ending, to most anglophone readers, signifies a feminine name, more often than not. At least, it rarely, if ever, signifies masculine.

So the name alone brings in, at a subconscious level to readers, feminine qualities.

Alongside this, Grima is loosely based on Unferth from Beowulf. The entrance of Gandalf et al into Meduseld directly mirrors Beowulf’s into Hrothgar’s hall (complete with Grima lounging at Theoden’s feet the same as Unferth at Hrothgar’s). Indeed, it was clearly Tolkien’s intention to make a call back to Beowulf with that scene. (He was being all “look how clever I am. Also these are Anglo-Saxons on horses. As a general fyi”).

Unferth is a fascinating character in his own right ,and there is much scholarly debate around his role within Hrothgar’s hall, as well as the text more broadly. While there isn’t enough time/space to get into Unferth, I will quickly note that he is another character who subverts his society’s ideas of manhood and masculinity — particularly with regards to expectations of heroism and bravery. Yet, at the same time, Unferth is noted for being very intelligent, cunning, good at riddling, and overall quick witted (also, a kin-slayer. Dude murdered his brothers for Reasons).

Unferth’s contrary behaviour that flies in the face of Anglo-Saxon norms and ideals of masculine bravery is clearly reflected in Grima. Particularly in Grima’s fear of battle and lack of interest in taking up his sword when called by his king.

This leaves us with a character who was given a woman’s name and who is loosely based on another character who is known for his inability to follow through on his society’s expectations for masculine behaviour.

Grima, from the first moment we meet him, clearly reads more feminine than masculine - this is amplified when he’s contrasted with the likes of Theoden and Eomer. And, not only is his aligned with traditional femininity more than other male characters, he is specifically aligned with the more negative tropes of femininity (i.e. lack of bravery, unreliable, dubious morals etc.).

That is a brief overview of the bones of Grima’s construction: name and inspiration. Now for actions and characterization within the text. This will be subdivided into comments on his use of magic and how that interfaces with Rohirrim masculinity then we’ll get into power and language.

Grima’s key point of power is his ability to weave words in so powerful a way he could convince Theoden of his own infirmity and weakness thereby securing control over the king. Alongside this, we know that he was using certain “potions and poison” to further weaken Theoden. Most likely to amp up the king’s physical weakness so it coincided with Grima’s mental magic games.

Magic for Anglo-Saxon and early medieval Scandinavians was heavily rooted in the power of the spoken word. Runes were probably used but the historical support of this is vague. Which is to say, we know they were used, we’re just not certain how and to what extent.

We do know that rune staves were a thing. They were most often used to send your landwights after opponents or wreck havoc on enemies from afar. To make one, a magic-worker would carve the prescribed runes onto a large stave and position it in the ground facing the direction of their enemy. On top of the stave was added the head of a horse. (Lots of horse sacrifice happened for early medieval Scandinavians, alongside some human sacrifice.)

But, the brunt of magic for Anglo-Saxons and early medieval Scandinavians was spoken word. Which makes sense as their society was, like Rohan’s, predominantly illiterate or, at least, para-literate (though, there has been some recent archeological evidence that is starting to call that into question, for what that’s worth).

In particular, Grima’s spellwork aligns most closely with seidr, a fact I’ve gone about ad nausea. And, again, something we can assume Tolkien was aware of, which means he was also aware of the gendered implications of a man practicing the craft.

The mainstay of seidrcraft is, but not limited to, the following:

making illusions,

causing madness and/or forgetfulness,

brewing of potions and poisons,

prophesying,

channeling the dead,

channeling gods,

removal of elf-shot, and

recovering lost portions of someone’s soul.

The first three bullets are things Grima does to Theoden. That kind of magic — the kind that fucks with your mind and your sense of self, the kind that is subtle and quiet and lurks beneath the surface so you don’t know it’s happening, that’s cunning — that kind of magic is what women do.

It was considered unmanly/effeminate for a man to partake in it as it undermined the hypermasculine militarized culture of the time. Winning a battle or a fight through spells and poison was cowardly.

Therefore, in Rohan where we have this hypermasculine culture that so prizes military glory and grandeur and martial might, Grima pursuing his goals through spellcraft and potions/poisons is Grima pursuing distinctly unmasculine, effeminate modes of action.

Indeed, within Rohan it could call into question the entirety of his masculinity. It would make him ragr (adj. unmanly) because his actions are the epitome of ergi (noun. unmanliness).

"In the Viking Age, homosexual men were treated with extreme disdain and a complex kind of moral horror, especially those who allowed themselves to be penetrated. Such a man was ragr, not only homosexual by inclination and action, but also inhabiting a state of being that extended to ethical and social qualities. This complex of concepts has been extensively studied, and in the words of its leading scholar, "the unmanly man is everything that a man should not be with regard to morals and character. He is effeminate and he is a coward, and consequently devoid of honour". [...] What we would call sexual orientation was, in the viking age, completely bound up with much wider and deeper codes of behaviour and dignity, extending way beyond physical and emotional preference." -Neil Price, Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

Though Price references specifically homosexuality in this passage, a man could be considered ragr for more than just that — and one of the other ways was through practicing seidr.

We see this with Odin, who learns how to do seidrcraft from Freyja, and is then mocked by Loki for how emasculating the practice is for Odin to undertake (as if Loki has any room to talk). Odin’s made himself effeminate, he’s made himself unmanly, he’s allowed himself to learn spells that could enable him to take a cowards way out of a situation, to be dishonourable etc.

Which is a neat tie-back to Grima’s name being one of Odin’s names, particularly when he is in disguise and using seidrcraft and wily ways to escape various unfortunate situations that he ends up in during the Grimnismal saga.

(As Odin says: I have been called Evildoer, Spellcaster, Masked and Shadowed-Face, Fool and Wise Man.)

It also mirrors him to Gandalf - another character who bears an Odinnic name. Gandalf very much represents the masculine, “acceptable” aspects of Odin. Grima embodies the darker, more dubious, and more effeminate, aspects of the god. As I’ve said in other posts, they are two sides of the Odin coin.

Though both are temperamental as fuck.

Alongside the spellcraft and potions, Grima’s performance of power does not align with Rohirrim traditions and ideals. He relies on his wits and his skill with language to navigate the world. Succinctly captured in the epithet bestowed upon him: Wormtongue. This is the modernization of Wyrmtunga, or, Dragon’s Tongue.

Wyrm can translate to worm, sure, and we see Saruman doing this on purpose when he refers to Grima as a worm, a creature that crawls in the dirt. But Wyrm, of course, is actually a form of dragon. And in Middle Earth, wyrm is used interchangeably with dragon (Smaug is called both wyrm and dragon), rather than denoting a specific species/categorization of dragon as it does in our world.

Grima’s approach to power is that of a gentle touch. He speaks softly, but doesn’t carry a large stick. He’s not Eomer or Theodred, who are much more traditionally martial, aggressive and forthright in their responses to a situation. Grima is clearly all about influencing those around him either through persuasion/use of words, or through spellcraft. He manipulates, he uses linguistic trickery.

Additionally, how he undertakes his role as advisor to the king places him more within the private world of Meduseld and the king’s household than the active, public world of marshals and thanes. And, of course, the private world of households was traditionally considered the woman’s domain while men were expected to occupy the public spaces of the world.

Of course, being involved in court politics is a public role as opposed to existing within a wholly private space (such as Eowyn. Who, in the books, takes a mostly private role until she is required to rule in her uncle’s stead while he and Eomer are off at war, and even then it is clearly considered a temporary situation and part of her duty as a woman). But the manner in which Grima occupies that public position is a more “feminine” one.

We can assume that if Eomer or Erkenbrand or Elfhelm occupied the role as advisor to Theoden, they would have a very different approach to the position. A much more aggressive, active and probably military-focused approach. Less carrot, more stick.

A quick note on his appearance in the film, aside from being entirely in black with black hair in a land full of blonds because he needed to be visually distinct as the Bad Guy. He is dressed in longer tunics and robes compared to Eomer and other Rohirrim men (aside from Theoden, but as soon as he is “healed” of his possession(?) he returns to the Proper Masculine shorter tunics than the Weak and Effeminate longer robes and tunics of before). Grima’s hair is longer than Eomer’s and Theoden’s, he wears only a dagger and not a sword, the furs and quilting of his clothes indicate wealth and status, of course, but also decadence and effeminacy.

All in all, Grima’s performance and actions undermine and subvert Rohirrim expectations of masculinity. If not outright transgressing gender norms. He uses spellcraft to achieve his ends which is cowardly and effeminate. When it’s not that, he relies on language and manipulation to ensure his position and rarely, if ever, willingly takes on an active, martial role that would be expected of a man who is in the king’s household and serves as an advisor and a quasi-second-in-command.

Here is a man, occupying a man’s role, but doing it like a woman. Subversive! Scandalous! Underappreciated by fandom!

Grima lives in a liminal, marginalized space that is at once gendered and ungendered but is absolutely Othered.

As for my note on Grima and being trans - absolutely a trans woman. Grima suffers from that thing of “I want to be you and sleep with you” re: Eowyn. That’s my hot take. (Similar to me and Alan Grant from Jurassic Park - I want to be him and sleep with him.)

But no, in all seriousness, a strong argument can absolutely be made for Grima being not-cis, however that might look for Grima. Grima and Eowyn are the two, within the trilogies, that have the strongest arguments to be made for not being cis.

(Grima is a bit of a foil for Eowyn, I think, while also being a foil for Gandalf.)

#grima wormtongue #lotr #Lord of the Rings #writing #lit #gender presentation #gender in LOTR #Rohan #masculinity #queer shit #history #anglo-saxon #viking

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meadow-roses · 3 years

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aske time :) for the writing asks: A1, A2, A10, A12, A14, your choice of anything in B, C8 ( :^) ), C11, D6

A1: Introduce the characters from one of your current WIPs in one or two sentences each.

Okay let's gooo,,, I'll do The Keepers cause I haven't talked about that one as much. These aren't gonna be the best descriptions but whatever

Ketsler: Quirky, fun-loving, everyone's weird grandpa, but also the most powerful person to have ever lived. He's old- so very, very old- and he's seen so much over all the centuries he has been protecting the worlds from Chaos, but he still makes an effort to slow down and appreciate the little things around him, because he knows better than most how fleeting life is.

Skylar: Skylar is from a world where faerie circles are real and witches turn people into frogs and trolls live in great, big castles and are slain by talking cats, a world where there's too much adventure to stay in one place, too many people to meet, and too many monsters to slay to stop running. He may be only a human (ooo mystery!!) but he is proficient in Wind magic and carries around a good bit of rune stones he and his pet dragon have found along his adventures.

Felix: Felix is just a normal human from a small town after the earth becomes united under one world power. He wasn't born with superpowers like most soldiers are, but he was still skilled enough to join a special force working behind enemy lines when the rebellion made its move to free the planet from the tyranny that built this dystopian reality.

Betty: A very sweet young lady, she's from a planet that was colonized by humans centuries ago. She may seem naive, but Betty can read anyone like a book and uses her gift to help those who are lost find themselves again.

There's more characters but I'll just stick with those main ones cause I really struggle with descriptions xD

A2: Who's your favorite character to write and why?

Probably Joden? I haven't written most of my characters, but I looove writing his dialogue. He also makes me think so I can keep him clever lol

A10: What’s your character development process like? (As in how you develop them, not necessarily their development in-story)

I roleplay them! The more developed they are, the more I've acted as them. It really gets me inside their head to try and think like how they think, and that results in me being more equipped to "discover" why they are like that.

A12: What kind of internal conflict does your character go through (want versus need, personality complexes or strong personality flaws/”fatal flaw” kinda thing)? How does this affect them?

It really varies depending on the character? For example Joden has this need to always have a plan, always be in control, and a breaking moment for him comes in when he finally just,,, doesn't know what to do. He's in over his head and the only thing he can do is trust Jacer to do what he can- knowing Jacer doesn't have things under control.

So that's an example of a flaw that the character gets to overcome, but there also characters whose flaws are part of who they are. Skylar wouldn't be Skylar if he weren't stubborn. Ketsler wouldn't be Ketsler if he weren't arrogant. They never grow out of these flaws, they just learn to control them. Or I guess not be controlled by the flaw.

This is actually something I think I struggle with for my characters, giving them those visable flaws. I see other people's characters that start out "bad" and grow into heroes, but it kinda seems like all my characters start out as heroes. 😅 I mean, they have flaws, but in comparison to other people's characters they feel really bland in that aspect. Idk

A14: Ramble about your characters. Anything special you like about them? Random little details you’ve added that you enjoy?

Uh,,, I don't even know where to start I just love all of them for so many various reasons. Joden is just a clever little genius but he still can be so naive. He just has simple pleasures and it's not hard to make him laugh or smile and practically impossible to discourage him. He starts off just,,, wanting his old life back and then he sees what the world is like outside his little bubble and the bubble pops. He sees the atrocities for what they are and to be able to settle down again, he has to fix it. He can't just smile and do as he's told, he can't let the bad guys win. It I just his mother and wife and son he's fighting for, it's the entire wood and the idea of being actually, truly, free.

Jacer is so savvy, he knows what to do and what to say to get into and out of any situation, but at the same time he's just clueless when it comes to genuine connection. He's a princeling who's really never had a friend and now he's saving the world with Joden who only knows how to make genuine connections. Why does he have to keep hugging me??

And Twylla who's ready to fight anything so she can get her clever idiot husband back?

Adric who's just doing his best to be a good leader but everything keeps going wrong. He wasn't born to be a king, he wasn't born to lead an army, he always had his big brother to help him do these things and he's gone- he's gone and he's not coming back he messed up again so bad and yet here he is with everyone looking to him for answers and he doesn't know what to tell them. But he's got his friends, and he's got a good heart, and he genuinely cares and they're going to figure it out.

Skylar just keeps running forward and he never looks back at the past he just jumps from one adventure to another stopping the monsters and saving the day. He's got Gigi what more does he need?

Felix is just,,, he's just such a nice guy. Over and over he stepped into the gap because someone's gotta fly that fighter, someone's got to fire that gun, someone's got to stabilize the bomb, someone's going to lose their life to ensure the victory, why shouldn't it be him? But he never actually dies, somehow he always survives and lives to fight the next day, and the next day and the next day, and then they win the war- the world is free. And even though he's been through so much he still hasn't lost that kindness, that love for all life that makes him himself. He still falls in love and starts a family and has his own beloved children… and even when he loses them he still doesn't become cynical. He still stands in the gap and is the one to fire the gun, to hold the hand of the one who's mourning, to scoop up the orphan child and carry them home. He fights, so others don't have to. Father to the fatherless and hero for all. Also he puts up with Skylar's time traveling craziness lol

And Ketsler? Unlike everyone else he never chose to be a hero. What are you supposed to do when you're a four year old boy and everyone tells you you're the hero they've been waiting for, praying for, you have to save them. It wasn't at all his choice to be born with the power of the universe running through his veins. To hold the Inness in his hands and bend reality to his will. But he didn't run away. He never hid from his destiny. He took the world onto his shoulders and never set it down. Only once- and he's never going to do it again. Never going to ask someone to fill in his role for him, it is his burden to bear… Except not anymore. Despite being multi-millenniums old, all that time didn't dull his appreciation for the little things. A baby's smile, sunshine through the leaves, the change of the seasons. The union of two souls in marriage, or the colors of the sunset streaking a foreign sky. He still sees these things, loves these things, fights for these things. Cause it's the little things he's fighting for, not just the big things. The precious moments and precious lives that make up the worlds. One of his apprentices asked him once, he'd been fighting for so long, when was it going to end? It's not his job to strike the final blow, to end the suffering and bloodshed, just to help. He saves the world, so that he can save it again.

I have… several more characters I'd love to ramble about but that answer's gotten pretty long so I'll cut it off there. XD

B3: Do you have any plot twists? No need to describe them, just think about what kind of reaction you want from your readers.

Oh I was just talking to August about this the other day. XD There is one plot twist in the Keeper's story I'm reeaaally looking forward to hehe I want to make people confused and then really mad when the whole thing is stretched out. >:)

C8: Does magic exist in your world? Who can use it? How does it work?

It really depends on which WIP, but in general I like to keep magic restricted with rules. Joden's story and the Keeper's story are in the same universe (along with ThRoG) and follows that magic system. It's too complicated to go in depth here, but "magic" exists in another plane of existence, and things in the material world have varying levels of connection with it. It's kinda the energy that holds all worlds together and sustains life. The magic realm- the Inness is not a place where physical matter should exist, only spirits can walk there.

Wizards are creatures that stand with one foot in the physical realm and the other in the Inness. Tevlar is destroying the world basically by turning it inside out- pulling the Inness out.

C11: Have you developed historical figures? How do you develop them? How in-depth do you go?

Oh yes. I am a complete history nerd so if any world EXISTS it has history, and history only happens because people.

Sometimes it's a thought through process of "somebody needs to go here" and sometimes it's an npc from a time travel rp that took on more importance than I originally intended.

It really varies how in depth it will go? Sometimes it's just a name to fill a spot and other times it's like, man I could write a whole book about this guy!

One historical figure would be Ares of the Pegasus. He was a powerful warrior that won a bunch of wars and united the different pegasus clans under his leadership and became the first king. He's really famous and people like naming their kids after him in a kinda superstitious hope they'll grow into attributes of his character. Ares is the male form of the name, Aris is for girls. It's like, the most common Pegasian name. XD

D6: Are there any writing styles that inspire you?

Probably the first writing style I wanted to emulate was Tolkien's, but I also really liked Andrew Peterson's? Tolkien is so dramatic, and Peterson isn't heavy on location descriptions, so I'm kinda aiming for in between I guess.

#thanks for the ask!!#sorry that took so long to answer 😅#reblog #text #writing #keepers #deepwood #shifters #ask

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bigmeatymudcrabchitins · 4 years

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A not-so-brief overview of my Skyrim Dova OCs bc i need to scream to the digital void about my ideas

Freyora Lind, more commonly known by her strange alias “Bjorne Icepick”

A Nord-eventually-turned-werewolf who orphaned during the Great War and taken in by a Dunmeri mercenary whose residence was in Windhelm’s Gray Quarter. Grew up in a cramped boarding house setting among desperate mercenaries of varying backgrounds. Many of them would all come and go, but there was always some sort of a familial bond between them all.

From a young age she got in a lot of fights against people who insulted her for living in the Gray Quarter among the dark elves. Eventually she took a fight too far and was jailed for murder around 14, but was broken out shortly after by a band of masked vampires. Turns out some of her mercenary comrades unwittingly caught vampirism during a contract to clear out a vampire den and had to skip town, but not before ensuring one of their own wasn’t left to rot.

Lived in Cyrodil for about 15 years, but returned to Skyrim pursuing rumors surrounding a cure to vampirism, as her adoptive father would be nearing the end of his elven lifespan and had wished to die a normal death.

Seeing as she was literally a fugitive, and her long-belated parents were somewhat renowned for their battlefield prowess, she took on a false identity. AND an act to match it.

She’ll eat raw meat, chase prey with swords instead of using a bow like a normal person, harp about irrational conspiracy theories, and more. Everyone’s foul reactions to her outlandish act are plainly hilarious to her and only encourage her to act even stranger.

The alias “Bjorne Icepick” was simply the most ridiculous name she could think of.

Not the most morally outstanding. Besides drunken brawling, she’ll steal from anyone who angers her, even if it’s things she literally won’t ever need such as all the goblets in a household. It’s the pettiness that counts. “Try drinking your damn high-end wine now, jackass.”

Calls Dwarven Automatons “Gundams.” Including she herself, no one knows what that means.

Joins the Companions out of homesickness and a desire to fill in a gap that leaving home left.

Hasn’t bothered curing herself of lycanthropy because her whole schtick is being incredibly resourceful, and that includes using any means of power necessary. Still doesn’t fancy Hircine’s Hunting Grounds as her desired afterlife, though.

As her journey goes on, however, her lightheartedly eccentric face starts to fall off as a number of events push her to begin to question the legitimacy of her actions up until that point.

Some of which include the eventual death of her adoptive father (and how she was indirectly responsible for it even if it was what he wanted), Delphine’s ultimatum, the civil war as a collective, learning the tragic history behind the Falmer and the original Companions’ role in it, and killing of Vyrthur (no matter how much he genuinely deserved it).

She grows disgusted by herself down to the core. She takes to skooma to cope, and starts to be plagued by serious skooma-induced side effects. She ends up shutting herself away from all her responsibilities and distancing herself from her friends.

Does she get better? Maybe. I haven’t thought up anything past this point lol

Moureneris Alta

A very, VERY ancient vampiric snow elf, (though it’s notable she was born a considerable amount of time after the razing of Sarthaal)

Survived many atrocities. Stayed in isolation with a band of vampires for countless years out of sheer disgust for the nature of the sapient races. (I’ll explain her full story some other time. It’s pretty complicated)

She was abducted from her isolated lifestyle by a certain person i’ll talk about later. She managed to free herself south of Skyrim, and uh, walks right into that Imperial ambush. The rest is history.

Super ignorant to modern society as a result of centuries of isolation. Exploited for comedic relief. (“What in the name of Oblivion is a Cyrodilic Empire? Are you messing with me? And please, how does levitation magic simply get outlawed by this hypothetical Empire? What are you to do when you fall down a crevice? Just... let yourself perish? How degrading.)

She reintegrated herself into society with vengeance in mind under the belief that all humans are savage bloodlusting murderers who had to answer for their treachery. (And she was royally angry there was no Dwemer left to spite, but partially satisfied at the same time). But she grows conflicted after being shown genuine kindness, even as early as being freed from her binds in Helgen.

Subsequently has a very muddled redemption arc. Queue Dragonborn hero stuff

She has impaired vision, but she cultivated detect life magic to aid her in daily life and combat (think Hyakkimaru from Dororo ‘19 and his soul detection or Toph Beifong from ATLA and her seismic sense). At her peak, she can detect life from about a kilometer away.

She can just barely read, but only if she holds the text incredibly close to her face, not to mention her Cyrodilic lessons were left unfinished after her abduction, making reading a very taxing process. Weary travelers are often spooked at the sight of a floating, ghastly looking elven woman with her nose pressed up against crossroad signs, and it has become somewhat of an urban legend.

Isn’t as nearly as skilled with detecting the dead and tenses up in burial crypts or around other vampires for that reason. Unfortunately, being the Dragonborn and all, she finds herself in a lot of crypts...

When questioned about her background due to her unique appearance: “Oh, yeah. My mother was one of those mer from the east. You know the ones. Dark elves, I think? And my father was one of those er, tall elv- no, sorry, HIGH elves. Yeah. They both died in a big fire or something though. It was horrible. I can’t get the noxious smell or the deafening screams out of my head. Good talk, but never ask me about that again.”

Queue sheltered old immortal antics: “Wow, you’re THAT old? Enlighten me on how it felt witnessing the fall of the Dwemer. Or perhaps the rise of Tiber Septim’s Empire. The Gates of Ob-“ “Oblivion if I know. I lived in someone’s basement for thousands of years. And I still don’t know what everyone means by Empire. You all are messing with me, aren’t you? That really annoys me.”

She ultimately returns to faith in Auri-El and makes it her life’s purpose to help the Betrayed find peace, as well as to seek out any remaining snow elf groups. Probably good friends with Gelebor or something.

Had a crush on Serana. We all know how THAT went. Damned temples.

Was originally gonna spiral into a much darker corruption arc (another ATLA comparison being Jet or Hama) but I just felt bad for her. Moureneris can have a little found peace. As a treat.

That’s her preliminary design made. I’ll need a mod to properly play her, because that right there was made by choosing Dunmer as her race. But I can’t do that. I’m on console, and while I got the Steam port a month ago, my PC’s stone age specs can’t handle Skyrim yet and I’ll need to wait until I can afford a better graphics card (thanks economic inflation)

Alexandre Armasi, jokingly nicknamed Alexandre the Curious

A complete and unapologetic export of my character from a dead and unfinished DND campaign. Except there are no Aasimar in Skyrim, so he’s half Altmer half Bosmer. And his initial last name was Armas but I thought Armasi suited his Skyrim counterpart more, as subtle a change it is.

He’s mainly Bosmer in appearance and constitution, save for his hair and eyes, which are more similar to that of his Altmeri father’s.

I can’t really export his original backstory though because the campaign wouldn’t translate well into TES lore at all.

He’s a writer who came wandering into Skyrim in search of inspiration. While he mainly writes dramatic fables, he wanted to divert his focus to crafting his own bestiary and herbal compendium surrounding Skyrim’s fauna and flora. The ones at home are simply too vague to him!

He’s very altruistic, wishing to spread cheer wherever he goes, through the art of song (even though he was a cleric in DND and not a bard. My bad.) However, many of his verses are just blatant self promotions of his published fables.

But he’s too naive for his own good. Dangerously so. In fact, he says what’s on his mind with little forethought, with little grasp on the consequences of his actions, which lands him in lots of trouble. “I don’t favor him myself, but you guys kill people over Talos worship? That’s not very cool. A bit scary, if you ask me.” or “A Stormcloak rebel? Didn’t your leader kill a bunch of Reachmen rebels years back, or so I’ve heard. By the divines that’s not a man I’d make a symbol of nonconformity.”

He’s also insatiably curious. The type to ACTUALLY shove alchemic ingredients in his mouth with no knowledge of their properties, experiment with dangerous rune spells, throw rocks at pressure plates, and more. Needless to say he’s very accident prone.

Doesn’t know common curse words. People exploit this for laughs. Think that episode of Spongebob.

Everyone is a little baffled that HE of all people is the prophesied Dragonborn of legend. This agonizingly imbecilic writer who has absentmindedly wandered into burial crypts, troll dens, bandit forts, and more, too busy juggling his manuscripts to pay attention to his surroundings.

His past doesn’t exactly reflect his outlook on life. His mother and father fought in the Great War aligned with the Imperials despite their elven background. Both managed to live to see the war’s conclusion, but his father vanished without a trace shortly after, and it seems his mother knows something she won’t tell him.

With plenty of exposure to bad influences, his innocence is slowly lost throughout the course of his journey, and his altruism begins to grow twisted. But nevertheless, he maintains his jovial, social persona, except this time with much darker undertones. Kinda like a creepy dentist or something.

Whoops. He winds up becoming a feared Dark Brotherhood assassin. (Haha get it “Innocence Lost”???) He somehow deluded himself into thinking that the life of an assassin was the right thing to do. But he’s a funky little guy so he gets a pass for his heinous crimes against society

#skyrim #skyrim oc #dragonborn #dovahkiin

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sh-rare-pair-exchange · 4 years

Text

Love Rune

For @sleepy-sendhelp

Summary: With their honeymoon over Jem, Tessa, and Will now have to return back to their kingdoms and face the reveal of their years-long hidden relationship.

Read it on ao3

----------Chapter One: Prologue-----------

Will rolled over and immediately heard the grumbles from Tessa and Jem in protest. Four hands pulled the Shadowhunter back into his spot between the other two.

“Too early,” grumbled Jem into Will’s shoulder.

“Little longer,” Tessa supported as she wrapped her arm around Will’s waist, snuggling closer into him. She opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of both of her husbands basking in the morning’s light. Tessa allowed herself to soak in the warmth and tranquillity the moment radiated.

“Just a bit more,” Will conceded and fell into the loving caresses. His wife and husband were never morning people and while at times that allowed him to make them breakfast undisturbed, on days like today it meant that they would do anything to keep him in bed with them.

“How do you think they’ll react?” Jem quietly asked, finally opening his eyes. He unconsciously started to trace the fresh and still evolving love rune on Will’s shoulder. “It’s not like they can reverse it but they won’t be pleased.”

“They’ll have to figure out how to live with it,” Will huffed and pulled Jem closer.

“This isn’t for them to dictate,” Tessa replied as the sleep and serenity of the previous moment faded away. She shifted to free her other hand from underneath Will’s pillow, and reached towards Jem, running her hand through his hair. “We won’t give them the chance to tear us apart, right?”

“Right,” both Will and Jem confirmed.

They laid there for a few more moments switching back to their honeymoon phase and whispering promises of love and courage to each other. The three of them had known that eloping in secret would cause shock through the whole of the Shadow World. Still, after years of secret dates and stolen glances in public, the trio had decided enough was enough.

Thanks to an unceremonious removal of the previous king; and quick placement of his son on the throne, the Warlock Kingdom had become a peaceful one. With the change in leadership, the kingdom had begun to form alliances with other kingdoms. The most volatile yet important of those being between Edom, the Warlock Kingdom, and Alicante, the Kingdom of Shadowhunters.

Before the Lake Lynn Treaty, both kingdoms were often at each other’s borders bringing different threats of war and conflict; neither side’s hands were clean during those days.

Jem and Will both fought in the front lines for Alicante during some of the skirmishes, while Tessa strategized and aided in the coop to allow the Prince of Edom to overthrow his father. Their paths didn’t cross till the first time a white flag was waved at Lake Lynn, and kingdom representatives for both sides met.

Tessa remembered the first time she saw them as she walked into the tent, Jem was wrapping and tending to Will’s wounds while they had waited for the meeting to begin. She had heard of the duo’s prowess on the battlefield, from Jem’s calculating nature to Will’s brute strength. Edom knew their names well.

The crackle of magic disrupted their peaceful bubble pulling them back to the present.

Tessa sighed as she caught the fire message and immediately recognized the magic.

‘I hope the union went well but our kingdom is restless without you here and Lorenzo keeps forgetting himself. Please consider returning soon.’

She chuckled at the message from King Bane.

“Good news?” Jem inquired.

“Just Magnus being his usual dramatic self,” Tessa responded as she released Will from her hold and pushed herself into a sitting position. “Apparently the Warlock Court is falling apart without my presence.”

“Aren’t they like decades old? Why are they acting like children?” Will asked as he rolled over to at least keep Jem in his hold. He was prepared to get up earlier, but now that he felt how cold the world outside the blankets was, he was rethinking that idea.

“Will we’ve talked about this. It is rude to inquire about a warlocks' age,” Jem reprimanded.

“Yes it is Jem, but Will is right they do act like children at times,” Tessa giggled, and saw the tiny nod from Will to signify ‘See told you so.’

“So guess we chose the right time to come back,” Jem noted as he ran his hands through Will’s hair, tugging at times to try and get him to get out of bed. “Do they know where we are?”

“I doubt they thought we would use my personal cottage as a hideout when we returned,” Tessa said, playing with the fire message’s paper in her hands. “The fire message simply sought my magic out.”

“Did he send you some before?” Will asked not remembering any fire messages while on the honeymoon.

“No, I had my magic basically create a return to sender block,” Tessa answered as she pulled the robe from the hook near her. “Even if anyone did try I wouldn’t know. If Magnus wanted to get a hold of me he knows how.”

“The Clave is going to be so angry when we show up today,” Will groaned. “They are gonna make a spectacle of it.”

“Don’t you mean you will at the first snide comment?” Jem corrected as he slipped out of bed and stretched out as he stood.

“No need for the call out,” Will pouted and sighed sitting up. It always ended like this when he was coaxed back into bed. The jerks always left him alone when they wanted but forbade him to get out of the bed first.

“Behave today,” Tessa called out as she had already made her way to the bathroom to begin her morning routine,“I don’t want to hear through Lorenzo’s gossip that there was a fight in Alicante.”

“Please you’d hear it from Jem first,” Will stated as he smirked. “Our Jem would probably fire message you before I even threw the first punch.”

Tessa and Jem both rolled their eyes at that. They both knew how protective and rash their Herondale could be at times.

“Don’t worry Tess, I’ll keep him in line,” Jem assured her.

-------------Chapter Two: Storge--------------

“Finally decided to grace us with your attendance?” Jax’s snide comment greeted Tessa as the portal closed behind her.

Tessa had hoped that portaling straight into her wing of the council's building would allow her to avoid most people but it seemed luck wasn’t on her side today.

“Ah, Jax I didn’t know you were going to be visiting today,” Tessa responded with a fake smile. She didn’t exactly detest Jax but she was well aware of his drive to become one of the King’s trusted court members. Jax never missed a chance to shine a light on anyone’s shortcomings.

“Someone had to upkeep things after your little M.I.A. stunt,” Jax responded. “Edom should be our priority.”

“I made the King aware of my absence,” Tessa defended herself, rolling her eyes. “I don’t need to explain myself to anyone but him.”

“Even so I heard you didn’t even provide a return date,” he continued, annoyance starting to bleed into his voice.

“Jax, are you speaking for me again?” Magnus’ voice rang through the corridor. “I thought I demonstrated with Lorenzo how much I detest that. I am capable of maintaining my own court members.”

“Of course your majesty,” Jax paled as he answered, quickly scampering away after excusing himself.

“See what I had to deal with while you were gone?” Magnus whined and pouted at one of his closest friends.

“I warned you,” Tessa replied with a smile. “I told you to contact Catarina in my absence.”

“You could’ve told me where you were,” Magnus continued to poke.

“Is this you asking me where I was, your majesty?”

“I am asking,” Magnus confirmed. “We are about to hold court Tessa, I will always favor you but you took off for a month with no explanation. Please Tessa give me a leg to stand on and defend you.”

Tessa looked at Magnus and sighed. She knew he wasn’t asking to be malicious but still she didn’t know how her friend would react to this.

“I was away getting married,” Tessa confirmed as she unglamoured the bracelet that held the wedded and love rune. She was a warlock and couldn’t bear them so Will and Jem had made the piece of jewelry specifically for her.

“Are those runes from Shadowhunters?” Magnus asked, his voice measured. “Tessa, did you hide so you could wed someone from Alicante?”

“I went away so that I could wed Jem Carstairs and Will Herondale,” Tessa confirmed. She knew Magnus would never stand in her way but she also knew that this could cause a conflict of interest in the court.

“Both Carstairs and Herondale,” Magnus repeated and looked over the bracelet again. He noticed the shifting love rune and watched it as the rune settled.

Storge

“You’ve known them both for a while,” Magnus stated. He had studied Alicante customs for long enough to recognize their runes. “From my memory, you three were together for the peace meetings years ago.”

“That’s where we met,” Tessa confirmed and noticed the King’s stare on the love rune’s current form. While the most common was the agape rune, Jem had explained to her that the love rune would morph between the eight different love runes. In Shadowhunters’ culture if your love rune shifted it confirmed the Angel’s blessing of the union. Will had only told her of a few cases where the rune never shifted for a Shadowhunter.

“I’ve read it usually takes close to a year before the rune shifts,” Magnus commented as he waved her to follow him as he led them to the Warlock Court’s meeting room. “That must be some union for their Angel to accept it so fast.”

“I will admit it was startling at first,” Tessa smiled, recalling the courting attempts of her Shadowhunter husbands. “It was a clear example of how different our cultures are. Did you know they give blades as courting gifts?”

“Blades? What use would that even have?” Magnus questioned.

“Well they are a society of warriors,” Tessa continued as she opened the door for the King. “For them keeping their partner safe in battle by providing them with high-quality weapons is a great honor. Receiving a gift like that is an envied gesture. The Shadowhunter accepting it will display the weapon and use it for battles during the courting period.”

“So you have one?”

“I do but they were careful with the blade,” she motioned to the hip holster she now kept unglamoured. “Will wanted to get a broadsword apparently, but luckily Jem talked him down to a small pocket dagger.”

“Lucky for us,” Magnus chuckled as he took his seat at the head of the table. He watched as Tessa took her seat next to him and sighed rubbing his hands over his face. “You know they will ask for your removal.”

“Will you allow it?”

“I will do my best to avoid it but I won’t be like my father and force my will upon my court,” Magnus explained. He knew that he had already shown too much nepotism toward Tessa. “I am happy you found love my friend but peace is still fragile. I wish you had confided in me before committing. I don’t want you to come to regret that love.”

“I could never regret loving Jem and Will,” Tessa answered, tracing her bracelet with a finger. “I will handle whatever the others have prepared to de-seat me.“

Magnus smiled and looked into the fire sparking in Tessa’s eyes. He felt bad for whatever the court's members decided to question her about. She had held her seat through the previous King’s court, led a coop, and secured an initial treaty with Alicante, and those achievements weren’t easily traversed.

-----------Chapter Three: Mania------------

“Jem!” a young Shadowhutner tore through the command center. He had one mission in mind. Retrieve Will Herondale’s parabatai and apparently husband before he lost his own parabatai. Only Jem could calm Will right now. “Carstairs! Jem!”

Jem felt the burning anger from his parabatai rune and looked at the love rune on his forearm shifting between the mania rune and storge rune. The mania rune raised a high concern in him. That meant possessiveness. But why would Tess or Will be possessive? His partners had no need to feel jealous and he liked to believe that they had good communication.

“JEM!!!!” the Shadowhunter broke through Jem’s office door. “Jem! Get Will!”

Jem shot up and strode toward the panting boy. He didn’t have a good feeling about what was happening. He pulled the boy up from his collar and spoke. “Where?”

“Training room 2!” the Shadowhunter doubled down in pain and clutched at the parabatai rune on his wrist. “My parabatai angered him.”

“Of course they did,” Jem bit back before dropping the Shadowhunter to get his parabatai. He could still feel the seething anger consuming their bond. Jem turned the corner to the training rooms and immediately heard the cheers and yelling coming from one of them.

He pushed his way through the crowd. Most Shadowhunters moved away once they realized who he was; no one wanted to be in the way of a parabatai duo.

“What’s wrong? I don’t have magic gear on,” Will taunted as he kicked the Shadowhunter. “Wasn’t that the only reason I was the best? Come on Adam!” Will circled his prey, eyes flicking around trying to guess the best next move.

“Fuck you Herondale! Your demon probably gave you a potion or something!” Adam stupidly shot back. “I bet the treaty was just the first step and you three will have us become pets to them! Just like you and Jem are now!”

“Adam you are really trying to get a beating today,” Will grinned as he broke through Adam’s block, landing a hit straight to the Shadowhunter’s abdomen. “Want to keep talking nonsense?”

“What nonsense? You married a demon and your own parabatai!” Adam continued, pushing himself off the floor before getting back to his stance. “I bet the love rune shifting is just her magic messing with the Angel’s blessing.”

Will growled and dropped low, sweeping his leg under Adam, causing the idiotic Shadowhunter to fall once again. He quickly delivered another direct kick to Adam’s stomach before he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. Will thought it was Adam’s parabatai again but stopped when he saw Jem’s eyes staring back at him.

“Will, you said you wouldn’t fight,” Jem sighed as he looked over to Adam’s parabatai trying to quickly apply some iratze runes to his parabatai. “Tess won’t be happy.”

“It’s not my fault the academy is giving us idiots to train,” Will huffed, “Someone has to set them right.”

“What even happened?” Jem questioned as he looked over his husband to check for any wounds. It seemed like the other wasn't able to land a single hit.

“I would like to know that as well, cousin,” a new voice broke through the crowd. “Wonder what my parabatai will say when I tell him the new training rooms were being used as a fight club.”

Will grimaced as he turned and faced his younger cousin, Jace. “Who summoned you?”

“Aww can’t I drop in on my older cousin?” Jace pouted in mock hurt, “Words around Alicante say that I have two new cousins-in-law.”

Will groaned at the joy he saw running through the younger Herondale’s eyes. Ever since Alec Lightwood, Jace’s parabatai took the Consul seat in The Clave; Jace hadn’t missed a chance to brag about his parabatai’s position.

“Did Lightworm send you to derune us?” Will asked, still defensive.

“You think Alec would send your own cousin to derune you?” Jace asked and looked at Will as if he was dumb. “Please, he’d send a whole army if he meant to derune a Herondale. Alec isn’t that stupid.”

“At least there is hope for the future Lightworms,” Will continued and sighed, finally relaxing a bit. “So why are you here actually?”

“Consul Lightwood sent me in order to congratulate you both and make it known that he endorses your union, just like the Angel does,” Jace stated clearly and loudly making sure to deliver the warning, “Looks like I might have to make an incident report already.”

Adam and his parabatai both paled at Jace’s gaze on them.

Jem sighed and watched as the Herondale cousins tortured the parabatai duo with threats. Luckily like Will, Jace had Alec to reign him in, if needed. He pulled his Stele out and sent out a fire message to Tessa, in case she was watching the love rune and wondering what was happening.

----------Chapter Four: Epilogue-----------

Jem sighed looking around as he slipped his blade back into the ornate cane, a courting gift from Will. He watched his husband retrieve a few salvageable throwing knives from the fallen demons. Jem didn’t know why his parabatai bothered with it but waited nonetheless.

“Those were the last ones, right?” Will asked, rolling his shoulder back and activating his own iratze rune.

“Tonight’s hunt ends with these,” Jem confirmed and felt the exhaustion from the fights start to take over, “We should head home.”

“Home,” Will repeated with a childish smile, “That means Tess’ cottage right?”

“Our cottage,” Jem corrected with a soft smile. They had agreed that all three would move in with Tessa and share her old cottage in the outskirts of Edom. It made sure none of them resided in Edom or Alicante. It was a precaution they took in case things didn’t go as smooth and accepting when they revealed their relationship.

“Do you think Tess is home already?” Will asked longingly.

“Why don’t we see?” Jem suggested as he pulled out the necklace Tessa had given him as her courting gift. The necklace worked as a single person portal back to their cottage, the perfect match to the ring that she had gifted Will, both enchanted with the same spell. Tessa had wanted to ensure they would always have a way back to her.

“Right!” Will agreed, holding out his hand and watching as it started to glow with Tessa’s magic stored in it. He smiled at the warm licks of her magic before they subsided to create a very small portal, barely big enough for the Shadowhunter to jump into. He looked over and watched his husband enter his own portal, and he quickly passed through his own after Jem.

“Welcome home,” Tessa’s soft voice greeted them as the warmth of the fireplace wrapped and coaxed them further into the cottage, “I see my gift was of use.”

Jem and Will immediately found themselves on the couch, with Tessa in the middle of them.

“I heard you had an interesting day,” Tessa teased, as she let her magic sweep over both of her husbands, seeking any lingering injuries their iratzes might’ve not healed.

“Tattle tell,” Will grumbled at Jem as he felt the warm strands of his wife’s magic sweep over him. He closed his eyes and hummed into the warm buzz that followed every magical caress.

“She would’ve found out either way,” Jem defended himself and kissed Will’s cheek before settling his head on Tessa’s shoulder. He watched as the sparks float around them. Tessa’s magic was always soft like her touches, careful and tender.

“Let’s leave the fighting for another day,” Tessa resolved and settled in her spot on the couch, nestled on both sides by her husbands. Soon she heard Jem's soft snores, closely followed by Will’s yawn. Tessa closed her eyes and wished she had the foresight to have led them all to bed before this happened. Will and Jem always came back dead tired and running on adrenaline and runes alone. She should’ve foreseen this scenario.

With the last of her consciousness, Tessa summoned a thick duvet to cover them all and snuggled back into her spot between the parabatai duo. Today was conquered and the future didn’t look as bleak as it did the previous night.

#shrarepairexchange #shrarepair2021 #sh rare pair gift exchange #shadowhunters #sleepy-sendhelp

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ranmanjuu · 4 years

Note

What about an mc that acts like a foreigner everytime a situation with the warlords becomes difficult?? Like nobus like "youll go to war with me" and theyll just make a weird face and act like they don't understand and speak broken thick accented japanese. Choose ur faves from the bunch ! Or whoever u have good ideas for ;)

ah, the Selective Dumbass. i made mc a foreigner, they’re fairly fluent in sengoku japanese. the character selection here’s Wonky ahaha one for each forces baby but y’all listen i have unfunctioning brains. also last foreigner mc i tried to avoid the stiff language (that can be taken as me making fun of foreigners) and i’m gonna try it here so like,,, please don’t cancel me i have a family to feed

oda forces

—mitsuhide:

you’ve pulled this off several times. all to horrible results, really.

that time he confronted you of your knowledge about him being a traitor, the time he practically told you to go with him during the bubbling rebellion, all the likes.

each time, you pulled a confused face at him as if he’d spoken some moon runes and switch to broken japanese. “i,, not know,,,,, what talk,, you,,,,,”

it’s hilariously stupid, since the two of you know that you can, in fact, speak language. mitsuhide was close to splitting his sides in pure amusement. and even with his metal mask on, he still let a foxy grin slip past.

“why, little mouse, did i not give you enough teachings it seems? perhaps i should give you more work to do.”

you knew in every possible way that he was as torturous a teacher as he is with his victims. and you desperately wanted out. but you’ve done so hard to dig this hole, the condensed spite inside your body said no.

“i’m,,, not know, still.”

you feel your braincells vanishing.

and he kept pushing, teasing. from that point on, he gave more homework for japanese and you’ve decided to dislike him for the rest of your life solely for that.

but hey! it gets worse.

that was only at the suface level, if the situation wasn’t too serious. but if it does:

the bitch uses your language.

he’s probably known by now what language you use, and will probably learn it just to know if you’re keeping any secrets. but now you’ve been utterly cornered. there’s no way to escape this now other than to bonk your head and get amnesia or just normal brain damage.

he still hasn’t lived that down.

uesugi-takeda forces

—yukimura:

perhaps the first time you used such a comical “strategy” (a poor excuse of one) wasn’t at the best moment.

it was when he found out you were the chatelaine of azuchi castle. the betrayed and conflicted look on yukimura’s face sent a wave of panic through you, telling you to not let the friendship you’ve built so strongly crumble.

and the first option you went with, is to scrunch your face. “you,,, uhh,, not s-sense make,,?”

“. . .what?”

you’ve done it, you’ve distracted him from the topic at hand. and you’ve also successfully drained 90% of his braincells. “what,, are you trying to cast a nonsense spell on me, boar enchanter,,,?”

even as he continues to jab at you, the hesitancy from pure confusion was clear.

“hey—! u-uhm. .”

you wanted to jab back in your own signature way, but then you realized you had to keep up the clueless persona.

“why’re you being so silly all of the sudden? i—”

“shhh! i—erm, not understand—?”

you managed to stall the discussion for another day. and he still remembers it, and also teases you at certain times.

misc. forces:

—kennyo:

the first time you met at the night of honno-ji, kennyo didn’t think much about your ‘defense mechanism’ by sputtering through the japanese language then promptly running off. he thought it was from just fear or something similar—he was, in his own words, a demon.

but the second time, he encountered it again in its fullest degree. he’d kidnapped you for ransom, and you were very scared, rightfully so.

and just like any movie villain, kennyo more or less explains what he’s going to do to you. and your reaction was to feign cluelessness, your once frowning face was now looking at him as if he were an alien.

“i,,, what,, you m-mean,,?”

now, kennyo knew you were a foreigner. his spies told him such. but once you displayed that you didn’t know language and what he meant (even if it’s fake, but he doesn’t know that yet), he felt a bit more guilty.

in his eyes, you weren’t only a chatelaine with horrible luck, being in this situation, but you were someone who already had trouble outside of his dangerous grasp.

and so, he explained it to you at least like,, 3 times in the most careful way he could. but you’re stubborn also, and you kept up the act, one that wasn’t,, even really good acting.

to an outsider’s perspective, it played more of a cartoon come to life.

eventually, he left with a sigh, and you still “”don’t know”” what he’s talking about.

whether or not he found out later,,,,, u pick :)

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen #cyikemen #ikesen mitsuhide #ikesen yukimura #ikesen kennyo #*writing

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lisinfleur · 4 years

Text

T&T - Chapter 09: Eagles, snakes, and rats

Author’s Notes | I’m really proud of some of my characters. Others? Not that much… Words | 2763 ⁑ Warnings: Mentions of death, blood, and treason.

"You're telling me to send my men to death."

Brynjar couldn't say he was satisfied. He wasn't. Despite being a good counter plan, Ivar's words were still sounding as full of dishonor as Udir's. The king was feeling lost and Ivar didn't miss this feeling in his eyes.

"No," Ivar sentenced in a firm voice. "I'm telling you to clean your armies and send your enemies to death in this trap, my friend. Cause any man who fights in your lines without being loyal to your crown is not your man. Any man who fights in your lines and plans against you behind your back is not your man. These men, they're your enemies. The worst kind of enemy a king can have: the ones who eat from your hands, share your mead, and smile at your face to stab your back as soon as you trust them enough to let them come closer."

Ivar's fist clenched and Brynjar noticed there was something more than just the desire to help a friend inside that boy's eyes. Trying to feel safer, the older man decided to try and know that boy in front of him a little more.

"What is it that glows in your eyes when you speak about treason, boy? You claim yourself a fallen king... Tell me, how did you lose your crown?"

Ivar sighed.

The memory of dear Freydis and how stupid he was for falling in love with a woman that never really existed bubbling the shame and anger inside his blue orbs.

"I was bitten by a snake I cradled against my chest," he answered, looking at Brynjar's eyes, allowing the old king to see his heart being poured through his words. "I was so blindly in love with my queen that I couldn't see she wasn't really the woman she showed me to be. While I was sharing my sheets with her, trusting her enough to sleep by her side, she was confabulating against me and even held the child of another inside her belly, claiming it was my child to keep me mesmerized by the childish dream she broke into pieces along with my heart."

Brynjar listened attentively as the boy in front of him was showing himself a man. A shattered one, beaten by life, wounded deeply in his pride but pretty more in his heart.

"You see, my friend, I'm a crippled man. It is not like I could expect any woman to fall on my feet as they were used to doing for my brothers. Despite my noble lineage, I was always self-aware I wouldn't be the most blessed of the men when it comes to relationships. So, when she came to me with gentle touches and sweet words, I fell quickly into her theatre like a fly into the spider's web," Ivar said, playing with his fingers as if they were a fly, flying around; closing his hand as if it was the spider settling its fate. "Since the beginning, she was playing a game. She made me a fool. And in the end, she and her consort - the true love of her heart and the man for who she was doing all she did to me - threw me out of my lands, humiliated; to learn from my mistakes that anyone inside your court may become your enemy and that a king might have the heavy hands to expel the untruthful ones before they can rip its chest apart."

Brynjar could see the truth in Ivar's words; the real suffering inside that boy's eyes. There was a boy standing in front of him, but he could see the man he had been lapidated into and the scars of the hard hits that turned him into that man.

The old king sighed, resigned. Despite how terrible that decision was showing itself to be, Ivar was right and it was the best way to turn around that situation.

"Believe in the gods, my friend," Ivar completed. "As much as I do."

"The gods allowed you to be fooled, Ivar," Brynjar said, looking at him, frowning as Ivar smiled.

"They did, Brynjar. Because I deserved everything that happened since Freydis entered my life. I paid for my crimes with the humiliation she exposed me to and I learned from my mistakes to become a better man from what she did to me. The gods allowed me to pass through it to make me stronger, better than I was before, such as they allowed me to be born like this for these legs are the source of my strength and all that I became came from this," Ivar said, touching his leg guards. "From my will to survive, to show the world I'm pretty much more than they think I am. So, believe in these gods, king Brynjar: If they think this is not a fair action, then, these men will come back alive with the heads of your enemy earls in their hands, Udir's plan will be real and these things I saw would be only his fail in noticing the hills could be dangerous to his king," he explained, touching Brynjar's shoulder. "However, if I'm right, then let the gods strike your enemies dead, and may these men who will fall with Udir serve as a sacrifice for your long life and as an example so others won't think about planning against their king."

The old king's heart filled with his faith: those were wise words and it was always wise to deliver his fate in the hands of the gods. Maybe Ivar's arrival was a sign they were with him and Brynjar was being saved from that terrible trap he alone wouldn't have noticed being settled for him.

"You have a strong mind, my friend. I could make good use of someone like you by my side," Brynjar said, causing Ivar to smile bigger.

"We can talk about this after this situation is solved. It would be a pleasure to be by your side and I'll be idle once I'm recovered, so I see it can be a good way to keep the dust away from my brain," Ivar answered, touching his fingers on his temple with a smile in his face.

"Better not to let these good gears get all rusty, uh?" Brynjar joked, giggling with Ivar, trying to take a little of that tension away from his head.

The two of them took their time, speaking, drinking, and settling the plan. With Ivar's help, Brynjar organized his mind and at the end of that evening, everything was ready to be executed the next morning. However, the mind of the king was still unsettled. After Ivar left to his room, called by a tired Iliana who came after a whole day of work to take her husband to bed with her, Brynjar left the castle, walking through the forest towards a river nearby, raising a small bunch of stones as a praying monument near what he sat down, sighing.

"Is this the right thing?" he asked, talking to the gods, listening to the sound of the water flowing beside him. "Do as he said, I ask. Show me by the end of this situation if I took the right way. If I'm wrong, then may Udir come back with my enemies' heads, so I can honor him and speak his name through your halls. If I'm right, then may the gods be honored for bringing this man, this Ivar, into my lands, for he will have saved my life and any debit he could have with me for Brimir's murder will be paid."

A sound crossed the sky, breaking the silence and filling Brynjar's chest with the presence of his gods. Over his head, a pair of crows, cawing, flying around as if they were dancing with the wind of the night.

"Hail Lord Odin! With his Munnin and Huginn who came to hear my prayers. Hail!" Brynjar saluted, placing his cup of mead he brought with him over the little mount of stones as an offer and leaving the place certain the gods had accepted his asks.

Tomorrow would be a great day - one way or another.

A house of strong stone and shining silver. Treasure enough to live a good life, with lands and slaves under his feet.

They needed a strong and new king. He wanted to end that war and grab the fate he wanted from the gods by its tail. What were two or three earldoms for someone who could be the king of all those lands?

Brynjar was a good man, however. But stupid and old. And his greed and bonds with the past union of those lands were putting everyone into that useless conflict because he didn’t want to admit he had lost the lands of those Earls.

No. Not Earls. Kings. As he would be himself.

Udir would never be proud of the way he settled for Brynjar’s death. That blood would always be in his hands. But even Odin had to stab himself with Gungnir and hang himself to have a glimpse of the runes from Yggdrasil. “Nothing comes without a price,” the warrior thought as his heavy steps came into Brynjar's hall. The hall that was promised to himself by the self-proclaimed kings for his help with the end of that war.

Udir's hand touched the throne, sliding his fingers through the wooden carved surface. He thought he wouldn't order its change. It was a beautiful chair, carved by good carpenters as a gift to Brynjar. He always liked this chair and now, it was his.

"In my lands, it would be considered a full act of disrespect," Ivar's voice echoed through the hall as Udir was sitting the throne and the warrior prepared to answer the one he considered an intruder since the first moment he stepped into Brynjar's castle. But Udir's eyes became wide with surprise and fear.

Standing beside the cripple, with pure fury filling his eyes, was the old Brynjar, alive and well, not dirty, untouched by the battle that should have killed him.

Udir's mouth lied agape, no word escaping his lips. The gods had proved him wrong: that throne wasn't his fate as he thought it could ever be. Instead, in front of him, that foreigner man was standing beside his king in a position he abandoned in goodwill when it would have been more honored and more intelligent to stick to it as if his life depended on it.

"I know... It seems impossible," Ivar said, on top of his conquered arrogance, looking at the warrior in front of him as the beginner he was in a world Ivar knew very well, like the palm of his own hand. "But it is not that hard to figure out your plans when they were already used before... The Repton hills, uh? Quite a good plan, I admit. Built entirely over the ignorance of a Christian king about its own terrains or the heathen's way to battle." Ivar said, moving forward with his crutch, causing Udir's eyes to become even larger at the sight of those imposing blues looking at him with victory and pride shining into them. "But Brynjar is no ignorant Christian king..."

"He wasn't at that battle..." Udir mumbled, trying to justify the use of that plan.

"No... When the death of Ragnar Lothbrok, he sent a small portion of his army just to be there with his name among the ones who would avenge the legend's death beside its sons. It was too far from his lands for him to really move more than a group of men under his flag and the command of his man of trust. But I have to admit we were accepting any men sent to us. Even the dishonored ones..."

Those accusatory blues, undressing Udir from his pride, from his assurance... That man he thought was a nobody was pretty more than he was expecting to see.

"Ivar, the Boneless..." he mumbled the name that placed a smile in Ivar's face as he gently bent himself in an ironic reverence.

"It wasn't pretty smart to use my plan against my allies..."

"I did it for my people!" Udir finally lost himself, getting up from the throne to face Ivar, trying to show no fear despite Brynjar's guard men coming into the hall, surrounding him. "Brynjar's greed is putting us into an endless conflict! Lives are being lost for a piece of useless land! Just give them what they want!"

"And show them how weak their king is," Ivar answered.

His calm and cold tone causing Udir's entrails to contract in a mixture of anger and a bit of despair.

"Give them what they want once and they'll come with new demands. Give them what they want twice and they'll come for your head. Earls must know their place under a king and if they want to be kings themselves then, they shouldn't be Earls." Ivar continued, looking straight into Udir's eyes, right at his trembling soul. "Why do you think they promised you his crown? You're weak, Udir. You gave him what they wanted once so, they understood they would always have what they wanted from you... Put a crown over a fool's head and you can rule the town and see the fool being burned by your mistakes. And I think the fire came for you pretty sooner than they were expecting."

"Kill him," Brynjar ordered, watching as Udir stepped back, unsheathing his sword, threatening the warriors that closed a circle around the three men inside that hall.

"Don't come any closer!" Udir yelled.

But Ivar giggled, supporting his body carelessly against the crutch with a taunting smile in his face.

"I wish I could say I’ll see you again in Valhalla, my friend. But Odin does not settle chairs in his hall for traitors and cowards like you," Ivar completed, turning his back to the furious warrior as Brynjar's men ignored his threat, advancing against him in order to fulfill their king's order.

Udir fought as much as he could. His eyes lost over those men's shoulders, seeing as Brynjar was watching the fight with a cold glare in his eyes.

As his sword was hitting against the axes and swords of men that so many times were under his own command, Udir watched as Ivar walked towards the king with his slow pace, placing his hand over the old man's shoulder.

He didn't hear what Ivar said, but he saw the coldness in Brynjar's eyes becoming disappointment and the king turned his back on the battle, walking towards the hall's door.

That strike was enough to get Udir's strength bent over. As the first sword crossed his unprotected chest, Udir remembered the words of his father so long ago in time, when he was a boy and the old man was teaching him about what he lost that day...

"A man without honor is nothing, my son. If you cannot stand beside your king, then want his eyes on your death with despair. Want your king to mourn your departure and avenge your blood on the ground if you cannot keep yourself alive. At the doors of Valhalla are drawn the back of a king: if not even your king mourns the loss of your life, why should Odin open his hall for you to feast?"

Udir's knees hit the ground and the men stopped attacking as his voice echoed through the halls with a scream of despair.

"BRYNJAR!"

The king looked back, so as Ivar by his side. The bent warrior was looking straight to them.

"I would have sent you to the halls! I didn't deny you the chance of your good fight!" he cried. "Look at me!" Udir demanded. "Don't turn your back on my blood!"

"You wouldn't be there to see the crows eating my flesh," Brynjar said, disappointed. "You would be here, feasting in my halls, sitting on my chair, wearing my crown. Then share the fate you settled for me, old friend. I'll give myself the fate you wanted for yourself. There is still a war to be fought. I have no time to mourn my enemy's death."

More swords crossed his chest as Udir tried to get up, yelling in fury.

But as the screams were engulfed by the blood in his throat, he saw the doors of Brynjar's hall closing behind his king's back. Beautiful wooden carved doors.

Beautiful golden closed doors...

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shallowgravesrp · 4 years

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“You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."

Dorcas Meadowes

Age: Nineteen

House: Slytherin

Affiliation: Order

Career: Spell Creator

aesthetics: pins on leather jackets, uncut gems, tiny forests in concrete cracks, a bleeding heart, sarcastic wit, overflowing tea cups, a family legacy, messy scrawled notes, unwavering loyalty, a house full of ghosts, ripped jeans, wind riling up the sea, protective instincts, silver arrowheads, dancing mirth in dark eyes, classic doc martens, ringed fingers, hyper focus, decades worth of research, abandonment issues, loud opinions.

what we all know: Even with a heart and attitude that screamed Gryffindor, somehow the sorting hat saw something different. Felt something that made it scream the name Slytherin to the waiting great hall. Spending years fighting against her housemates, Dorcas has grown hard and lost the light she originally had. Now working as a spell creator, she spends her days alone and keeping her distance from as many people as she can. She helps with the Order, but most don’t know why considering she doesn’t actually talk to those around her.

As a child, Dorcas was always defying her parents expectations. While they weren’t technically a part of the sacred twenty eight, the Meadowes family was undeniably a part of the pureblood society. They went to every important function, every fundraiser, and even hosted some of them from time to time. Her parents had expected her to act like a lady, at least while they were in public, but they had given up on trying to tame her. Dorcas didn’t want to be the princess or the knight; she wanted to be the dragon. At a young age she took up ballet, and found that she loved the art more than anything else. Her parents had her in a plethora of lessons from a young age, and Dorcas had excelled in both languages and ballet the most. The rest she bore for their sake. When it came to her family though, Dorcas felt like both the glue that held them together, and like she didn’t quite fit. Her father was more of a traditionalist at heart, and her mother was a brilliant woman that put more time into her work than she did to her children. Despite being the middle child, Dorcas often felt like she was the oldest one, holding them all together. Her older brother Alexander, and younger sister Ophelia usually relied on her to make sure the household ran in her mother’s absence.

Before Dorcas could even make her escape to Hogwarts, tragedy struck their family. Her mother had always been involved in old family magic, and Dorcas had always wanted to know more. All the research her mother did was information that Dorcas wanted to soak up. Isla Meadowes was a brilliant woman that dedicated her life to researching the different types of magic. Despite the fact that she wasn’t close to her mother, she respected and admired the woman greatly. She looked up to her, even if she didn’t always take the time for her family. Dorcas knew it came from a passion for her work, and not a lack of love for her children, even if it was hard to feel that way about the situation all the time. However, the year before Dorcas was expected to go to Hogwarts, her mother had gone missing. She had been on a research trip that was uncovering rare and unusual magic types, when she had stopped all correspondences with her family. The Meadowes family had no idea that they would never see their mother again.

Going to Hogwarts was the change that she was looking for, and she was thankful for a change of pace. Despite coming from a long line of Slytherin and Ravenclaws, the hat was torn between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Her heart, loyalty, and work ethic made her a shoe in for Hufflepuff, but ultimately, her love of mischief, courage, and brashness put her in Gryffindor. Dorcas could hardly complain; Dorcas loved her house. It was at Hogwarts that she was able to nurture her love of magic, specifically her interests in charms. Her grades were good, but they were excellent in the studies she enjoyed. Charms, Ancient Runes, and Transfiguration were her strong suits, and she made top marks throughout her years. Each focused on a different branch of magic, and Dorcas loved being able to broaden her knowledge of magic. Her extracurricular also included Care of Magical Creatures, another subject she enjoyed, but didn’t often put forth as much effort towards. With her love of physical activity, it was unsurprising that she found herself joining the Quidditch team. The position of beater suited her, and it was a good place for her to work off any pent up emotion.

Going to Hogwarts was the change that she was looking for, and she was thankful for a change of pace. The hardest part was leaving her younger sister behind, but even then, she was almost grateful for the reprieve of responsibility. Her mother hadn’t come home yet, and Dorcas was starting to think that maybe she never would. In Isla’s absence, Dorcas had been the one to hold their family together, and in the end, she had been left with too much weight on her shoulders. Still, she was a calm and level headed child. She learned how to manage her emotions, and more importantly, she learned how to balance them. Dorcas had never been able to do things in halves, so she learned how to not leave herself too vulnerable to the wrong people. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to her that she was a hat stall, but she absolutely was. Despite having the heart of a lion, and the courage to break family tradition, Dorcas was sorted into Slytherin. Initially, she had been frustrated with the decision, especially in the early months. She fought with almost all of her housemates, she didn’t make friends easily, and she felt like an outsider once again. Dorcas hadn’t found the comfort that Hogwarts had promised, and she had started to grow cold because of it. The only saving grace she had was Marlene McKinnon and later Remus Lupin.

What Dorcas realized later, was that Hogwarts could be her home, if she looked outside the people she was immediately surrounded by. It was at Hogwarts that she was able to nurture her love of magic, specifically her interests in charms. Her grades were good, but they were excellent in the studies she enjoyed. Charms, Ancient Runes, and Transfiguration were her strong suits, and she made top marks throughout her years. Each focused on a different branch of magic, and Dorcas loved being able to broaden her knowledge of magic. Her extracurricular also included Care of Magical Creatures, another subject she enjoyed, but didn’t often put forth as much effort towards. With her love of physical activity, it was unsurprising that she found herself joining the Quidditch team. The position of beater suited her, and it was a good place for her to work off any pent up emotion. Dorcas had found that if she surrounded herself with the right people, she absolutely could feel right at home there.

During her fourth year, the Meadowes family finally got the closure they were looking for. After five years, they had finally found her mother’s remains, and Dorcas no longer had to wonder if her Mum would be coming home. With her remains came the clarification that she had been murdered. Dorcas had been filled with grief, anger, and fear at the news, but she had held it together because her family needed her to. Her brother had always been a mama’s boy, and her sister had always been their mother’s baby, leaving Dorcas to hold them together as best as she could. Going back to Hogwarts had once again been a reprieve. Despite having close friendships, ones that she cared about more than anything else, Dorcas stayed away from any kind of committed relationship. The secrets in her family, the distance between them, had created a fear of commitment that Dorcas hadn’t even fully realized she had. Still, after the heartache of losing her Mum, Dorcas held onto the people she loved most even tighter. By her seventh year, she knew she wanted to be a spell inventor. It wasn’t even that she wanted to honor her mother, she just wanted to know everything there was to know about magic and how it worked.

After graduation she took a position in the spell invention department, and only excelled from there. Creating came naturally to Dorcas, but she put work into her spells and she never relied on pure talent. Her career helped the Order as well. The spells she created could help them win the war, and more importantly, make the world a better place. Despite never wanting to be involved in the war, Dorcas found herself in the thick of it not long after graduation. Neutrality wasn’t something she could handle, and Dorcas knew it was going to cost her greatly. Despite not being overly close with her siblings, she had practically raised them growing up, and she had a gut feeling she was going to lose at least one of them. Alexander was leaning towards the Death Eaters, just as their father did, and with Effie she couldn’t tell. There were people on the other side of the war that Dorcas didn’t want to fight, that she still considered friends despite them not seeing her as one, but she would do what was necessary to end the conflict. However, Dorcas knew she couldn’t pick her family over this war, not when the cost was so high.

Just when she started falling into a routine, her family suffered another tragedy. The loss of her father shook her, and it was only after his death that she realized he was looking into her mother’s murder. With her and her siblings now officially orphans, she felt compelled to look into their parents’ murders for herself, but knew there was a risk that came with such an investigation. It felt like a necessary step towards closure, but Dorcas did not want to become another tragedy to her family.

REMUS LUPIN - Dorcas met Remus while they were in Hogwarts and he was probably the only person she felt like she could trust. He was smart, but he was also kind and cared for those around him. She considers him her best friend and someone she can always rely on.

SIRIUS BLACK - She dealt with more than enough crap through school, and Sirius was one of the main people dealing it out. She couldn’t stand dealing with him, and often avoided him as much as she could. Even now that they are out of school she tries not to spend any time with him if she doesn’t have to.

KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT - Kingsley has always been someone that Dorcas looked up to. He’s like the brother she never had. He helps to give her advice when she needs it, and just lets her rant as well.

CONNECTIONS DORCAS MEADOWES IS MENTIONED IN

Dorcas Meadows is currently a OPEN role with the faceclaim of Sydney Park. She is played by Elle.

#marauders rp #lsrp #marauders roleplay #hp rp #dorcas meadowes #o #order #dorcasmeadowesbio #mention: remus lupin #mention: sirius black #mention: kingsley shacklebolt #taken #takenf

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angelsoffiore · 4 years

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3. What occupations did their parents have when they were born? Did this job influence your muse in any form? 4. Did they have any childhood enemies? Any friends? Enemies that became friends?

Ooo! It’s been abit since I’ve talked about this side of their stories! I’m going to stick to the Angelslayer bois since I’ve been updating my muses a lot and have yet to update it on here. That and I would be typing here for a loooong while otherwise lol. Let’s go!))

Zayne-

Zayne’s parents are the monarchs of Alstonia, a kingdom that is known for its laws against magic. Though his mother is more open to the idea of magic, his father, the king, is very much sticking to the laws put in place and ruling with an iron fist. Since Zayne escaped and made it to Fiore, feeling betrayed and such by his dad, it didn’t sit well with him. He became a lot more moody, distrustful of people. Least until Atticus came along and took him in. He may have softened up abit over the years, but his still has his issues and baggage. If anything it fueled a desire to probably go and dethrone his father. But that’s a story for another day. The friends that he has depends on the verse that he is in. In one, he is a freelancer that only has Atticus and his fellow angelslayers to talk to along with a few other characters he comes across. In the other, it’s him being a part of the Fairy Tail guild and being friends with much more people. When it comes to enemies, Dorian (aka Abbadon) is at the top of the list of anything. He gets messed with by him the most out of the other Angel bois.

Mizumi (and Kazumi, his older brother)-

The Ichida brothers’ parents are a classy pair. Their father was a renowned artist and owner of a trading company in the city of Hydrangia. Their mother was more known for her writing of short stories, some of them award winning, along with piano performances. Kazumi was more free spirited and followed in his father’s footsteps to do something that worked in tandem with his magic. Ice Sculpting. Mizumi usually spent a lot more time with his mom and gain some experience in piano playing. Where he spent a couple years of his childhood giving performances at his school and to the public. His best friends are mainly the other angelslayers (Hiro mainly), but he is known to be acquainted with Sabertooth guild members and other guilds. Enemies include Dorian, snobby rich kids that he and Kazumi had feuds with back then, and anyone that messes with his family/friends. Honestly, Mizumi is one of my favorite muses that I like to write.

Hiro-

I’m going to be real, I couldn’t figure out what Hiro’s parents would do. Though for the sake of this ask, I’m going to say that his dad would be a construction worker or something to do with metal refineries, aside from his past as a high end criminal bandit who decided to stop and have a family, leaving it behind. I’m guessing that his mom would be a small time shopkeeper in the market district. These jobs influenced Hiro in a way of him having to fend for himself at times. Him getting in fights at school lead to mixed feedback from his parents. His dad saying good job and to stick up for himself and others that aren’t able to. His mom is okay with him fighting at times, she wished that he didn’t get hurt as much and just try to talk things out. Needless to say, it was conflicting for Hiro himself. Unfortunately, he’s still kind of going through some uncertainty to this day. There are times when his anger would get the best of him and when he would catch himself. His friends are, again, his Angelslayer bros and those in Sabertooth. Though Mizumi is one of his best buddies. His enemies include Dorian, anyone that thinks it’s a good idea to try and mess around with him in the not so friendly way. There are some enemies that became his... aquaintences. Like some small time biker gangs that see him more as a rival, since he shows them up with his own motorbike. He had some childhood friends at school, but sadly had to leave them behind after the whole incident with his house fire and going to be with Atticus.

Fumio-

Fumio, to me, is the most inspired/influenced by his parents professions. Since they both were doctors/physicians. They taught their son what they could over the years. After they were killed, he still continues to do what they did. Help and heal people, even when he is doing jobs for his guild. He is pretty much their living legacy and wants to make them proud. His enemies are Dorian and anyone that means to harm others in his presence. He never exactly had many childhood friends, since he traveled ALOT around the kingdoms.

Hitori-

Hitori is alittle different from the other backstories I’ve made. His father was an ex general for the Rune Knights, while his mother was a nurse that would take care of wounded soldiers from skirmishes and other raids by rogue wizards and dark guilds. They later started a small farm together on the outskirts of Onibus. Hitori was more confident and prideful back then of his dad being such a high rank general, along with old stories his mom told him of Mavis Vermillion helping with her strategizing the war. It made Hitori want to be a well known and strong general just like his father. Needless to say, his dad’s past occupation influenced him very much along with the stories of Mavis. His enemies are Dorian.... along with those that somehow break through his Crystal skin ability and has him feel immense pain. Cause right there is where he’d see anyone and everyone as his enemy. (If interested about why, and if I didn’t mention it in his story, feel free to ask! Lol Also I’m sorry if Dorian is seemingly the only enemy they have, aside from minor ones that I’ve yet to write. Dorian just straight up loves to torment them.)

#ask answered #Sorry this took a minute!#I feel I may have strayed fro. the question abit #let me know and I can edit it later so it can make sense!#angelsoffiore #fairy tail oc

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arofili · 4 years

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Worldbuilding Exchange Letter 2021

Hello lovely creator, thanks for creating for me in the Worldbuilding Exchange! I’m very excited and grateful for whatever you create for me <3

This letter will restate my DNWs, list my likes, give you a brief rundown of my canon preferences, and then dive into specific prompts for each of my requests.

I’ll warn you upfront that I tend to ramble, so feel free to skip prompts that don’t interest you and/or use ctrl+F to search for whatever it is you want to write for.

My requests are divided by fandom, and in the case of the Silm + Middle-earth Legendarium, by topic too, so hopefully that will be helpful for you! Also, my TAZ request is waaay down at the bottom, so if that’s what you’re here for, just go to the bottom of the page.

Housekeeping:

DNWs:

Non-con

Unrequested dub-con

Abusive/Neglectful parenting (especially wrt Fëanor)

Sibling incest, parent-child incest (cousin pairings are fine)

Unhappy/Unhopeful endings (unless otherwise specified)

Jealousy/Possessiveness

Cheating

Character or ship bashing

Hanahaki/any scenario where unrequited love is physically damaging

Soulmates, especially soulmate AUs (soul bonds are OK, if there is choice involved)

Porn without plot (Porn with plot is fine!)

Food involved in sex

Unrequested Modern AU

Non-trans mpreg

If you’re writing a slash ship where the characters are/were married to/involved with someone outside the ship, please don’t have the character(s) hate their spouse or not have been actually in love with them (the one exception is Finrod; I’m fine with him and Amarië not having been actually in love, but please don’t do this for anyone else, especially not Fëanor)

Hobbit/LOTR-specific DNWs:

The concept of a dwarven “One”

Any Fíli pairing

Alfrid

Legolas or Gimli paired with anyone other than each other

no smut for these fandoms, please

Silm-specific DNWs:

Evil/irredeemable/incel Maeglin

Elwing bashing

Fëanorian bashing

Over the top Fëanorian apologism (they did bad stuff; it was at least partially their fault. you don’t have to address that, necessarily, but don’t rewrite the story to claim they were blameless)

Fingon with a wife

Fingon or Maedhros ships that don’t take Russingon into account (polyamory, an open relationship, Mae with someone after Finno dies or vice versa for an AU, them with other people while they’re separated on the Ice/in Angband - all of these scenarios are fine, but in the end I need them to be with each other first and foremost)

Dark!Maedhros

Elvish re-embodiment after death being an actual, literal rebirth that requires the characters to have a second childhood; I much prefer them being granted a new hröa in their prime (feel free to explore what “in their prime” means, though, especially wrt scarred and disabled elves)

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Likes:

(these might not all apply to worldbuilding, but they might give you a place to start from!)

Gen fic

Found family

Family dynamics

Loving families, even when things get complicated

Friendship, intense/important platonic relationships

Relationships that defy categorization

Queerplatonic relationships

Polyamory

Queer headcanons (especially aromantic-spectrum headcanons)

Trans/nonbinary headcanons (genderbending is also fine, but I prefer trans/nb hcs)

Angst with a happy ending

Gray morality

Explorations of magic

Most tropes

Fanon and fandom tropes

Deconstruction/Inversion of fanon and fandom tropes

Interspecies relationships

Peredhil

Secret relationships

Secret relationships coming to light

Secret kids (especially secret peredhil!)

Giving ships OC kids

OCs interacting with canon characters

Confessions of love

First times

Hurt/comfort

Redemption, forgiveness, mercy

Ironic foreshadowing

Canon divergence AUs/X Lives AUs

Politics and scheming

Resolving conflicting canonical details

Historical/Narrative bias affecting what is and isn’t “canon” (to an extent; changing motivations, consequences, etc is great, but please don’t ignore canon entirely)

Elrond & Elros having complicated relationships with both their bio and adoptive parents

Names fitting the time period (Quenya names in Valinor, please; if this is difficult for you, that’s okay, no pressure, but I do strongly prefer it)

Names having a lot of thought put behind them (does the character go back to their original Quenya name upon rebirth? or do they keep their Sindarin name? or come up with something else entirely? do they hate their new Sindarin name and resent having to use it, or do they embrace it? As long as you put some thought into it, I’m sure I’ll like whatever you decide!)

Author’s notes where you explain your thought process, if you want; I love hearing how the story took shape!

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Preferences re: Canon:

LaCE compliance is always completely optional (except if you’re choosing a prompt that is specifically about LaCE, lol). If you do want to include it, that’s great, but if you just want the characters to fuck without having that be an issue, go for it. I love explorations of LaCE that take into account the exceptions, boundaries, definitions, etc; I also love takes that emphasize that they are Laws and Customs, not biological imperatives.

I’m not picky about my Amrod deaths. He can die at either Losgar or Sirion (or, hell, some other time/place if you make it interesting enough!), whatever works best for the story. I do like Lightly Toasted Amrod, aka he almost burns to death at Losgar but survives/gets rescued at the last minute.

Gil-galad theories are all very fun. Please don’t make him the son of Fingon and a wife; if he’s Fingon’s son, I want Maedhros to be involved at least a little bit (adoption or trans mpreg are both fine in this scenario). Otherwise, I don’t have a particular preference, though if it’s not really relevant I usually default to the son of Orodreth (who is in turn the son of Angrod). Also, I’ve requested “Origins of Gil-galad”; there’s more information on him in that section.

Honestly, when it comes to theories and headcanons, my rule of thumb is “convince me”! I’m down for whatever, for the most part, as long as you can justify it :)

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For all of these, “suggested characters” pulls from the list of characters I requested with that signup, but if you’ve got an idea involving other characters then go for it! And in the end, all characters are just suggestions, this exchange is more about the worldbuilding :)

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The Hobbit (Book)

Adventuring Hobbits Before Bilbo: Who were they? Did they ever come back, or was Bilbo assumed dead because of precedent? Were they all Tooks, or did some other hobbits tag along on adventures, too? Suggested Character(s): Belladonna Took

Dragon Magic & Dragon-hunting: Talk to me about dragons! I’m interested in dragons & dwarves, especially in relation to the first time dwarves were driven from Erebor and into the North and the War of the Dwarves and Dragons. What kinds of dragons set their sights on the mountain? How old was Smaug when all that was happening; did he learn anything from the failures of his kin? Who were the dragon-hunting dwarves who fought in that war? Suggested Character(s): Smaug, Original Dwarf Character

Dwarven Craft and Magic: Enchanted weapons, enchanted armor, runes and spells...all so interesting! Borrowing from the movies a bit, did Kíli’s runestone from Dís have any magic power? What’s the deal with the Arkenstone’s thrall? How do elf and dwarf magics intersect when it comes to objects like Bilbo’s mithril coat? Suggested Character(s): Dís, Frerin, Thorin, Original Dwarf Character (perhaps a craftsdwarf?)

Dwarves and Gender: We need more dwarf women! And I’d love any takes on nonbinary dwarves and/or dwarf-specific genders. Were there female dwarves in the Company that Bilbo mistook for male dwarves? Are dwarven women really only a third of the population? If dwarf men and women are very similar in appearance, how do they differentiate between them, or do they differentiate at all? If you included something about dwarvish braiding styles indicating gender, class, marital status, I would be delighted. Suggested Character(s): Dís, Frerin, Thorin, Original Dwarf Character; in this case I’d prefer a focus on canon characters, but OCs interacting with them would be marvelous, especially people like Dís’ spouse.

The Black Arrow: Bard’s little pep talk to his arrow has always intrigued me. I’d love to see your take on the origins of the Black Arrow. Does it really come from Erebor, and if so, who made it? How did Bard and his forefathers come to acquire it? (I like the movie version that ties it into Girion’s attempt to kill Smaug, so feel free to incorporate that if you feel like it.) Is the arrow enchanted? (Perhaps that could be tied to the Dwarven Craft and Magic tag!) Suggested Character(s): Bard, Original Character from Dale, Original Dwarf Character

The Stone Giants & Were-worms: I don’t have many thoughts on these guys except “neat! tell me more!” I’m fascinated by the creatures Tolkien only gives us a passing mention of; if you feel like it, maybe you could combine these tags with some of the creatures in the LOTR tagset (crebain, cold drakes, Watcher in the Water, Mearas, Kine of Araw, etc...I didn’t sign up with all those tags, but it would be neat to hear about them anyway!)

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The Lord of the Rings (Books)

Cold-drakes and Fire-drakes & Crebain & The Watcher in the Water: Like with the Stone Giants and the Were-worms, I just think they’re neat and I’d love to hear your take on their origins and how they affect the history of Middle-earth. Feel free to combine this with other creature-related requests. Suggested Character(s): Scatha

Ghosts and Hauntings: Barrow-wights? Nazgûl victims? Just your crotchety old hobbit neighbor who still holds a grudge about losing the biggest pumpkin contest despite having been dead for 20 years? There’s a lot of potential for stories here; maybe you could combine a ghost story with some other prompt to add a murder mystery or haunting plot to a relationship you’re exploring!

Dwarf-Elf Relations: I don’t believe All Dwarves and All Elves hated each other! We have famous elf-dwarf friendships across the ages, and really it was just the Sindar vs. the Broadbeams/Firebeards that had the feud. Still, Legolas (a Sinda) and Gimli (raised among Broadbeams and Firebeards in the Blue Mountains) are caught up in that, so their friendship is quite remarkable! I’d love interrogations of how that feud continued across centuries and discussions of what really went down in Menegroth, perhaps with one of the Durins having an elf friend at some point in the past that sheds light on how Legolas and Gimli can get along. (I am here for any and all Gimli and Legolas combinations; I love them as friends, I love them as boyfriends or husbands, I love them as queerplatonic partners, I love them as anything in between! Do whatever you’d like with them!) Suggested Character(s): Gimli, Legolas, Original Elf Character, Any of Durins 1-7

Elvish and Mannish settlements in post-Ring War Ithilien: How do Legolas and Faramir get along, both living in Ithilien after the war? What do Legolas’ people think about being neighbors with a bunch of Men? Faramir and Imrahil were Aragorn’s chief commanders after the war, and Legolas expressed admiration for Imrahil; I imagine Imrahil visited his nephew in Ithilien, so what are the interactions of those three like? I’d love to see an exploration of Silvan elves and their culture here, with Legolas leaning into his Silvan heritage and maybe some Silvan OCs who have spent their whole lives in Mirkwood up until now and have never met Men before now! Suggested Character(s): Faramir, Legolas, Imrahil, Original Elf Character

Relations between the Dúnedain and Rivendell: Talk to me about the Grey Company, or Elladan and Elrohir fighting alongside their distant kin, or Rangers taking breaks in Imladris, how the Rangers think of Aragorn who was raised among elves, etc. I’d love an outsider POV here, such as an OC observing the oddities of a canon character. Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Original Ranger of the North

The Glittering Caves of Aglarond: More Gimli and Legolas stuff - but with a focus on Gimli this time :) Gimli as a lord in his own right, Gimli who takes elves on tours of his dwarf-kingdom and weirds out his people (is it just Legolas, or does he take any Silvan elves with him, or like...his elvish in-laws??), Gimli as a craftsman... Or, alternatively, you could explore the caves before Gimli gets to work on them, what the Rohirrim thought of them and how they were created - by natural processes, or by magic, or a mixture of both? Did Aulë make them for the dwarves to find, perhaps? Suggested Character(s): Gimli, Legolas

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The Hobbit (Movies)

Dragonsickness/Goldsickness: The parallel to mental illness in the movies was really interesting. I’d love to see lingering effects of the goldsickness on Thorin after the Battle (Everyone Lives AU, probably), or an AU where Fíli or Kíli inherit the throne of Erebor and are afflicted by it as well. Or, sticking to canon, how did Fíli and Kíli and the rest of the Company deal with Thorin falling into madness? Were the other dwarves affected by the thrall of the gold? Bard and Thranduil were observers of Thorin’s madness; what did they think of him? Did Thranduil remember Thrór under dragonsickness? Or, since movie!Thranduil is a far cry from book!Thranduil when it comes to going to war over jewels, was he affected by the dragonsickness even from a distance? Was Bard? Suggested Character(s): Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Bard the Bowman, Thranduil

Dwarves who "choose craft"/Aromantic-Spectrum and Asexual-Spectrum Dwarves: This is pulling more from the books than the movies, but I didn’t have enough nomination slots to include any book nominations, so it went here, lol. Anyway: as I’m sure you can tell from my tumblr url, I headcanon Fíli as aromantic, and I love seeing that in fanworks! It’s really wonderful that Tolkien mentioned that many dwarves choose their craft over marriage, and I’d love to see an exploration of that aspect of dwarvish culture, and how Fíli fits into it. It seems to be fairly common/accepted, but are there different cultural pressures around marriage for the crown prince? How does Fíli figure out he’s aromantic? If aro and ace dwarves are expected to be choosing a craft over romance and sex, what’s Fíli’s craft? Or does he not have one, and people judge him for that? The “choose craft” language I use is very much inspired by this post and the Neo-Khuzdul word “bijebtorva” :) Suggested Character(s): Fíli, Original Character(s)

Governance and Politics in Mirkwood: How did Thranduil and Oropher come to power in the Greenwood? I hate the “lowly Silvan elf” line from the movie; can you somehow justify that with worldbuilding, or show how it’s not accurate? Is Legolas half-Silvan like is implied in the LOTR books? Who are Thranduil’s advisors? Is Tauriel really the only one who dislikes and defies Thranduil’s isolationist policies? Is Mirkwood very patriarchal, and is Tauriel’s appointment to Captain of the Guard something she faced opposition or competition for? Are the Sindar elite colonizers, or did they integrate into Silvan society? How does the average Silvan elf feel about their king, or do they not even think about him? Suggested Character(s): Thranduil, Tauriel, Original Character(s)

Poetry and prophecy: Bard uncovers that tapestry that turns a song from the book into a somewhat ominous prophecy; there’s a lot of discussion of fate and signs from the thrush at the door to the last light of Durin’s Day; Thranduil has seen enough in his thousands of years to have had time to brush up against a prophecy or two. What do these three believe about fate and prophecy? Are any of them prophets in their own right? How does poetry/music lend power to prophecy? (Bonus points if you tie it back into the Ainulindalë...) Suggested Character(s): Bard the Bowman, Thorin, Thranduil

Poisons and antidotes: I love Kíli/Tauriel and the scene where she heals his wound...but the worldbuilding around morgul poison and athelas is a little murky. It’s a decent parallel to Frodo’s condition in the LOTR movies, but it’s confusing lore-wise. Can you make sense of it? If Tauriel is a warrior, where did she learn healing? (In my own headcanons, her foster family are healers, which is how she learned those skills even though she’s primarily a warrior - but feel free to take it in whatever direction you’d like!) Suggested Character(s): Tauriel, Kíli, Original Character(s)

Rebuilding Erebor & Relations between Dwarves + Elves + Men: (I’d prefer an Everyone Lives AU for this situation.) How do Thorin and his Company put Erebor back together again? What are the renovation projects like? How long does it take Dís and the rest of the Longbeards to arrive in Erebor and help out? How long does Dáin stay to help his cousin? I would love to see some politics both internally within the Longbeard dwarves and externally as they relate to Mirkwood and Dale. Smaug’s corpse is just lying in the Long Lake...how do the dwarves feel about their old enemy’s body so close by? Do some Men want to re-establish Lake-town, and demand help from the dwarves who flushed the dragon out of the mountain? Do the dwarves want to harvest Smaug’s corpse for resources? (He’s probably got gold and jewels stuck in his scales, and dragon-skin/scales is probably a good raw material for crafting things.) What’s the process of Bard becoming King of Dale? Does he face any opposition? I love the idea of Hilda Bianca challenging him for leadership, or maybe insisting on some kind of democracy/representation in Dale! And if she doesn’t get her way, maybe it’s her leading some people back to Esgaroth and founding a democracy there that would make the old Master roll in his watery grave... How do Bard and Thranduil and Thorin reconcile after the battle? Does Thorin pay up like he said he would? Does Tauriel hang around, or does she go somewhere else? Are any elves inspired by her, or is she a total outcast? If you choose to explore the Kíli/Tauriel relationship, how does that affect politics between Erebor and Mirkwood? Suggested Character(s): Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Bard the Bowman, Hilda Bianca, Thranduil, Tauriel, Original Character(s)

Tauriel's fate after the Battle of the Five Armies: This is for exploring what happened to Tauriel in canon. Does she wander the world and explore new places? How long does she mourn Kíli? What does she do with the runestone? Does she return to Mirkwood, and if so, how does she manage to get back into Thranduil’s good graces? There are a million different ways to take this, I’d love to see your take on her! Suggested Character(s): Tauriel, Thranduil, Original Character(s)

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The Silmarillion: Magic & Spirits

Houseless Elves: Why did they refuse the call of Mandos? Do Avari even go to Mandos? Can Melkor and Sauron ensnare these spirits for their necromantic purposes? If the call of Mandos is refused once, does that bar them from listening in the future? What kinds of ghosts are haunting Middle-earth in the First Age? What kinds of ghosts haunt Aman? Suggested Character(s): Original Character(s), Melkor

Magic as a connection to the Music/the Song: Magic isn’t always the best-explained in Tolkien’s universe, but what we do know is the incredible power of the Music. How do the Maiar and Valar, who are not technically beings of Arda, interact with the world? How do elves and men (and dwarves! and orcs!) tap into the Song and manipulate it to their benefit (or detriment)? I have the headcanon that Elemmírë, the elf who sung the Aldudénië, is a priestess of Varda; what was the power of that mourning song, and how was it received by her patron Vala? Suggested Character(s): Elemmírë, Varda, Melian, Melkor, Original Character(s)

Nature Spirits: These holes in Tolkien’s worldbuilding are fascinating to me. What role do nature spirits play? How many are there? I’m thinking particularly of river spirits, like the River-woman and Goldberry, but there are probably also mountain spirits and water spirits and-and-and... Are they Maiar? Lesser beings? What do the Maiar we know of think about them? Gandalf seems the kind to listen to them and learn their stories, but perhaps Melian sees them more as servants in protecting her realm... Suggested Character(s): Melian, Original Character(s)

The Shadow-shapes in the hills above Cuiviénen: What were these shapes? Melkor’s prototypical monsters, Maiar who didn’t know how to interact with the Children, something else entirely? What did the original elves believe about them? Did they fear them, did they try to appease them, did they try to confront them? I headcanon that Elemmírë is an Unbegotten elf, so perhaps she lost friends to the Shadows, or thought she did. If the Shadows did take elves, was it out of malice or curiosity or a desire to protect them from whatever Melkor was planning? Suggested Character(s): Melkor, Elemmírë, Original Character(s)

The Void: Melkor spends a whole lot of time here. Does he have any company? Something or someone he makes to pass the time with? Do the Valar (like Manwë or Námo or Varda or Nienna) visit him there? What is the nature of the Void, is it pure emptiness or chaotic magic or a nightmare machine? Is Melkor being punished or is he being contained? And where are the boundaries of the Void? Varda rules the heavens; does her realm bleed into Melkor’s prison? Suggested Character(s): Melkor, Varda, Original Character(s)

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The Silmarillion: Elven Relationships

Note: This request deals with relationships, and while I’m open to pretty much anything, please keep in mind my DNWs. Exploring these topics using canon relationships is a safe bet; I adore Maedhros/Fingon so having a look at them through this lens would be amazing; I have Aredhel as a character request here, and I see her as aromantic (“to none was her heart’s love given”) so while showing her in a relationship is fine, I’d love it if you could take her lack of romantic feelings into account; if you have a question about another ship, you can check to see what I’ve written and/or send me anon message! Additionally, a lot of these talk about soul bonds, which I’m very interested in, but one of my DNWs is soulmates. To me the concepts are very different things; it’s the destiny and inevitability and universal assumption of romance that really squick me out about soulmates. Soul bonds, on the other hand, have an aspect of choice to them that I really dig. So, please don’t make characters Fated For One Another, but please do explore what joining souls is like!

Laws & Customs of the Eldar: Boy do I have a lot of feelings about LaCE—and I’m always intrigued by other people’s feelings, too! I’d love to see an exploration of how these laws and customs came to be, which parts of the rules around marriage and children and re-embodiment are social constructs and which are innate to the fëa and hröa, and/or relationships that defy the norms. If your take on the laws is hetero/cisnormative, how does that affect queer elves? If your take is free of bigotry, what are the flexibilities around queerness, including asexuality and aromanticism? Laws and customs and rules always have loopholes and exceptions, so what do elves who don’t fit into the expected relationship mold do about these norms? Suggested Character(s): Aredhel, Maedhros, Fingon, Elrond, Any Unbegotten Elf Character(s)

Arranged Marriages among the Eldar: Russingon arranged marriage AU?? Orrrr....Maedhros or Fingon are politically engaged to someone else, and they have to deal with the ramifications of that? (Please don’t have them actually go through with the marriage if you go that route; I’m not interested in a story with Fingon having a wife, even if she’s a beard.) If elves (usually) only love once, and by declaration of the Valar can only marry once (Finwë being the somewhat disastrous exception), how is an arranged marriage justified within the cultural emphasis on these bonds? Are they more like arranged romances, people pushing their children together in hopes that they’ll fall in love? Or is it a stricter rule about “you do what’s best for this family”? (Note: Bad/cruel parenting is one of my major DNWs, so if you’re going that route, please don’t make the parent uncaring or malicious. Stubborn and narrow-minded is fine, as is the genuine belief that this is what’s best for the child, but ideally they’ll learn from their mistakes or perhaps everything will be interrupted and derailed by Canon Events. This is especially important wrt to Fëanor.) Suggested Character(s): Maedhros, Fingon

Creation/Discovery of soul bonds: How do soul bonds work on a metaphysical level? Can they be broken? Do they have to be nurtured and maintained? What’s long-distance communication like? Heck, what’s short-distance communication like, is it like talking in your mind or sharing your feelings or more abstract than that? Can elves form soul bonds with mortals? And most importantly—how did elves figure out they could soul bond with one another?? I can imagine that would be quite a shock when they’re discovering sex and then suddenly they’re inside each other’s minds! Suggested Character(s): Any Unbegotten Elf Character(s)

Non-romantic/sexual soul bonds: I’m good with practically any relationship here. Explore sibling bonds, twin bonds, parent-child bonds, queerplatonic bonds, found family bonds, adoption bonds, the bond between a Vala and their Maia...any kind of soul bond that is familial or platonic or chosen without regard to romance! (Feel free to take a canon romantic relationship and turn it queerplatonic, I live for that shit!) How are these bonds formed outside of sex? What are the rituals and ceremonies around forming them? Is it a public or private thing? Are non-romantic soul bonds taken seriously, or are they seen as less important than marriage bonds? Since elven parents literally give part of their soul in the creation of the child, is that parent-child bond innate? Suggested Character(s): Aredhel, Any Unbegotten Elf Character(s)

Elven adoption: I nominated this with Kidnap Dads in mind (if you go that route I love fluff for them as well as more nuanced/complicated takes on the situation, but whatever you do don’t make M&M cruel, and please include Maedhros as a parental figure alongside Maglor)...but hey, it could work for Fingon (and Maedhros) adopting Gil-galad! What are traditions around elven adoption? Are there soul bonds created between the adoptive parents and children? Was adoption even a thing in Aman, or is it only practiced in Middle-earth? Did elves adopt mortals and vice versa? Is adoption extended to found family other than a parent-child situation? How is adoption viewed by elvish society, especially if inheritance/succession is a concern? Suggested Character(s): Maedhros, Fingon, Elros Tar-Minyatur, Elrond

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The Silmarillion: Noldorin Politics

Original Fëanorian follower(s) who turned on their lords at Sirion: Okay, this is a character tag, but I’m absolutely obsessed with this line: “For the sons of Fëanor that yet lived came down suddenly upon the exiles of Gondolin and the remnant of Doriath, and destroyed them. In that battle some of their people stood aside, and some few rebelled and were slain upon the other part aiding Elwing against their own lords (for such was the sorrow and confusion in the hearts of the Eldar in those days).” Who were these people who followed the Fëanorians into exile, into a Kinslaying, through the burning of the ships, through 30 years of Maglor as a king-regent incapable of treating with the Nolofinwëans, through the scattering of their lords and the harsh conditions of the North, through the Bragollach and the Nírnaeth and a “wild and woodland life” and the Second Kinslaying (where some of them went as far as to abandon children in the winter woods to die because they thought it was what their lord/s would want), through isolation and hatred from every other elven group, through the plan to attack a refugee camp—through ALL OF THAT, and THEN they turn on their lords at Sirion??? Why betray your lords NOW? And the people who DID keep following them after that (after kidnapping children!!!), what were they thinking?? — I firmly believe that Maedhros has many escapees from Angband in his service who are ride or die for him and whose morality was somewhat warped by Angband, but what about Maglor’s followers? Caranthir’s? Ambarussa’s? Even Celegorm and Curufin’s?? There’s just SO MUCH potential for story here, I’m dying to read about them!

Noldorin lines of succession: Was It Sexist Or Was It Not: The Eternal Question aka Why Didn’t Idril Become High Queen After Turgon? Also, what does “eldest of the house of Finwë, and not the least wise” even MEAN, Maedhros?? How did Gil-galad come to power? I find it hard to believe he became king immediately after Gondolin fell; was it a wartime power grab? A battlefield promotion? How did the kingship get established in the first place? Why was Finwë chosen to go with Oromë to Aman? Was Maglor ever really king, or did he only rule as a regent for the missing Maedhros? Suggested Character(s): Finwë, Gil-galad, Maglor

Origins of Gil-galad: I am always so interested in takes on Gil-galad’s parentage. My favorites are Russingon baby Gil (through trans mpreg or adoption, both are good) and secret peredhel Gil (probably an Aegnor/Andreth baby adopted by Orodreth), but I also love Finduilas Is Gil-galad and honestly, any situation is fascinating here—just convince me! A possible way to explore this is through Outsider POV; some noble or historian trying to figure out just what the heck is up with Gil-galad. His parentage being confusing in-canon is so fun!! Suggested Character(s): Gil-galad, Original Nobility of the Noldor

Maglor's Kingship between Maedhros' capture and rescue: Was Maglor ever really king? Did he give up on Maedhros early on, or did he cling to the hope that he still lived? Did his brothers turn to him for support, or did they connive to take responsibility from him? The rift between the Noldor wasn’t healed until Maedhros’ rescue; did Maglor try to cooperate with Fingolfin, or did he keep his people isolated? Was he relieved when Maedhros came back and took responsibility, or was he resentful to lose his power? How does this situation (and Maglor not going to rescue Maedhros) affect M&M’s relationship later on? Suggested Character(s): Maglor, Original Fëanorian follower(s)..., Curufin, Caranthir

Dwarf-Elf relations in the First Age & Dwarf-kingdoms: Dwarf-friends!!! Yes!!! I love elves and dwarves being buds (or partners if you’d like to go that route!) <3 IIRC, Curufin learned Khuzdul, and I’m sure Celebrimbor did too; Caranthir was supposedly rude to the dwarves, but what if that’s just his (and their!) love language? How did relations between the Sindar and the dwarves sour over time? Maedhros was friends with Azaghâl; how did that relationship begin? How did Finrod’s contract with the dwarves blossom into a real friendship? Eöl was also buddies with the dwarves; did he ever bump into Curufin or Caranthir while at a trade festival or something? And the dwarf kingdoms of the First Age are fascinating on their own, too; what was the political structure like? Did the dwarves bring items from the other side of the mountains into Beleriand? How did the petty-dwarves get exiled? What happened to Nogrod and Belegost in the War of Wrath, and were they ever re-established after the sinking of Beleriand? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Caranthir

Guilds and Noble Houses of Tirion: Give me a Tirion political drama! Finwë trying to appease his lords and craftseldar? Indis integrating into Noldorin society and making connections with the noble houses? Arranged marriage situation between Nolofinwë and Anairë? The younger princes running amok and causing chaos in their elders’ carefully-laid plans and delicately balanced alliances? Suggested Character(s): Finwë, Indis, Original Nobility of the Noldor, Curufin, Caranthir, Maglor

Roles and Responsibilities in the Noldorin Royal Family: There were oodles of princes in Valinor. What did they all do? How did they get the followers who came with them to Middle-earth? Were they free to pursue their own crafts, or did they have responsibilities to the common people? How did this change in Middle-earth when suddenly everyone was in danger and had more pressing needs? What is it like being a re-embodied royal in a society that’s adapted to life without you? Suggested Character(s): Finwë, Indis, Maglor, Curufin, Caranthir, Gil-galad

Fashion as Political Statement: This is an excuse to request Color Coding Politics. Fëanorian red! Nolofinwëan blue! Findis wearing Aggressively Neutral White! Lalwen in orange? Arafinwë in yellow? Finwë in an amazing technicolor dream-coat...or more likely just red, showing his bias once more? Art of this would be absolutely fantastic. I have lots of headcanons about color politics; feel free to ask me about them if you choose this option. Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Caranthir, Gil-galad, Finwë

~~~

The Silmarillion: Trauma & Religion

War of Wrath: For a war that took so long and had such wide-reaching repercussions, we really don’t have very many details about this. It’s free real estate, basically! I have my favorite characters (Maedhros, Maglor, Elrond, Elros, Gil-galad...) that you could use to explore this time period, but literally anyone who’s alive at this point is fair game. And OCs! What do the Noldor and Vanyar (and Telerin sailors) feel about the War and interacting with the war-weary exiles and Sindar and Men of late-stage Beleriand? What kind of culture shock/culture clash is there? Were re-embodied exiles permitted to return to Middle-earth, or were they barred from going to war again? Suggested Character(s): Original Noldorin Character, Original Vanyarin Character

Trauma after the War of Wrath for elves and humans & Exiles adjusting to life in the Undying Lands post War of Wrath & Dealing with psychological trauma in Valinor: Trauma was commonplace in Beleriand, but not so much in Valinor. What’s it like for exiles who sail West to be in a society that doesn’t know how to support them? Are the Valar having to learn how to deal with the trauma of living elves super quickly, or are they reticent to change? How do the exiles interact with their re-embodied kin? What do the Vanyar and other Amanyar think of these elves who have been so deeply hurt? What kinds of treatises on psychology are penned by scholars with little to no previous experience? What is therapy like in Valinor? Do the exiles get together for support groups since no one else understands them? Or did the trauma of the Darkening and the First Kinslaying wake up the Amanyar and get their act together before then; are the exiles surprised by the structures already in place to support them? And what about Avari who have been dying steadily all this time from accidents and incidents in Middle-earth? If they’ve been re-embodied, how do they engage with the Eldar who have similar traumas? Suggested Character(s): Estë, Finrod, Maeglin, Original Noldorin Character, Original Vanyarin Character, Rúmil, Any Avarin Elf Character(s)

Worship of the Valar and Religion & Avarin religious culture: Do the Vanyar really worship the Valar, or do they seem them as hyper-powerful neighbors? What are priests and priestesses like in a world where the gods walk among you? How does each kindred of the elves interact with the Valar? Are Maiar viewed as equal worshippers/servants or as deities in their own right? Do the Avari even know about or acknowledge the Valar? Do they worship the stars, or simply Eru? Suggested Character(s): Pengolodh, Rúmil, Any Avarin Elf Character(s)

~~~

Middle-earth Legendarium: Magic & Spirits

Afterlives: This is pretty vague, but I think it’s referring to the various kinds of afterlife. What are the Halls of Mandos like? What happens to spirits who don’t go to Mandos? Do Men pass through Mandos on the way to Beyond? What happens to Men? Are they reincarnated in the more traditional understanding of the word, do they go to some other realm similar to Arda, are they just endlessly partying it up with Eru? Do dwarves really go to the Halls, or is that just a superstition? And of course, what about orcs? Suggested Character(s): Námo

Fate of orc souls after death: Yeah, really, what about orcs? If the orcs were originally elves twisted into Morgoth’s servants, are their spirits still elven? Are they reborn as they once were, elven despite their life as an orc? What about orcs who are many generations removed from their elvish ancestors? Do they have fëar? Can orcs be rehabilitated? I refuse to accept that all orcs are inherently evil; but what does everyone believe in-universe? Suggested Character(s): Námo, Original Orc Character(s)

Foresight and Prophecy and Doom: I’m honestly not sure if this fanon or canon, but Finarfin and his line having foresight through Indis is a wonderful concept and I’d love an exploration of that. How accurate is foresight? Can fate be circumvented? Are prophecies like the Doom of the Noldor self-fulfilling, or are they warnings about possible futures, or are they curses upon people? If you have a high Doom upon you, does that end with your death, or does it follow you to Mandos and beyond? Suggested Character(s): Námo, Finarfin

Songs and Words of Power: Rap battles with Sauron! ...joking aside, song as magic is just fascinating to me. How does this connect to the Ainulindalë and the Song of the World? The elves named themselves Quendi, the Speakers; how do they view the power of words and their ability to change the world around them? Can music be used as a force of destruction or a weapon (battle bard Maglor)? Can it be used to manipulate someone’s mind (Sauron)? Suggested Character(s): Maglor, Sauron

Stars and Starlight: “All light is sacred to the Eldar...but wood-elves love best the light of the stars.” Okay, sorry for being a Hobbit movie apologist on main, but I do love Tauriel! How do elves view starlight? Is it holy, or are the stars more like their friends and guides? Did the Avari choose to remain in Middle-earth partially because of their love for the stars, which were drowned out by the light of the Trees? How does Eärendil feel about being a star; does he feel blasphemous or holy? What legends and superstitions are there among Avari and Men and others who don’t know the origins of Gil-Estel about the new star in the sky? Suggested Character(s): Morwë, Eärendil

The Unseen Realm: This is the in-between world where Frodo goes when he wears the ring, the world that the Nazgûl in their half-life inhabit. Are Ainur able to slip into this realm at will? Did Gandalf walk invisible in Gondolin? How does Sauron manipulate this realm to his purposes? Is this where elves go if they fade? (I don’t usually like Maglor fading, but it could be an interesting way to explore this...) Suggested Character(s): Námo, Sauron, Nazgûl, Maglor

Magical Artefacts & Magical Communications: Palantíri! Galadriel’s mirror! Ósanwë! All sorts of cool ways to talk with magic. Do the Rings of Power enable long-distance ósanwë? Did the Silmarils contain pieces of Fëanor’s soul? What other marvelous magical creations were there that didn’t make it into the Legendarium we know? Suggested Character(s): Sauron, Maglor, Eärendil

~~~

Middle-earth Legendarium: Politics & Lore

Feudalism between Eldar and Edain: We have Edain entering into the service of Noldorin lords (Bëor and Finrod, Hador and Fingolfin, Amlach and Maedhros) and land being given to Men by elves (or not, in Haleth’s case)...how far did this feudal relationship extend? Were the Edain mostly autonomous or were they very much bound to their elven lords? Were there common elves who paid tribute to Edain lords? Can any relationship between elves and Men truly be equal if this is the way they originated? Fealty kink? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Original Elf Character

Fourth Age Tirion: What’s Tirion like with a bunch of dead people walking around living again, and a bunch of weird legends now imposing in daily life? What’s the first meeting of Rúmil and Pengolodh like—who geeks out over whom? Are the Fëanorians back yet? Is the average elf even really aware of all the nonsense that happened in Middle-earth, or are they extremely unimpressed with King So-and-So of a square of land that’s now underwater trying to cut them in line at the coffee shop? Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Pengolodh, Rúmil of Tirion, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

Relationship between Noldor and Dwarves: See “Dwarf-Elf relations in the First Age & Dwarf-kingdoms” in my Silm request for a starting point...but also, was Elrond’s Last Homely House open to dwarves? How did Galadriel come to respect the dwarves, especially after her Sindar kin grew to hate them? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

Timekeeping between the Death of the Two Trees and the Rise of the Sun and Moon: Tolkien’s math drives me ABSOLUTELY INSANE. His timelines are contradictory, I get headaches just thinking about the length of elf pregnancy, what does aging mean for an immortal species, WHY ARE TREE YEARS LIKE THAT and WHAT IS A YÉN? Please try and make sense of this for me, I beg of thee. I’m especially interested in the time period between the Death of the Trees and the Rise of the Sun and Moon. Did the Noldor wander the Helcaraxë for 3 years or 30? How long was Maitimo in Angband? Did the Sindar even realize something was different? How did people start calculating Sun years? When was the calendar of the First Age adopted? Who did all this math? Is there an in-universe explanation for these contradictions? Do people fight over math? Do the Ainur experience time the same way the Children do? Did some Noldo genius come up with a timekeeping system that worked with the Moon, only for the Sun to come along and muck it up? Suggested Character(s): Pengolodh, Rúmil of Tirion, Original Elf Character, Fëanor - really any scholarly character, tbh!

Treatment of Angband's Escaped Thralls: Which kinds of escapees choose to go to Himring with Maedhros the Tall, and which choose to go to Gondolin and the House of the Hammer of Wrath? Was Rôg an escapee too? Can Maedhros really tell who’s been turned by the Enemy? Does Thingol have the right of it in turning away thralls from Doriath? (If he even does that, I’m now researching this and I’m not sure it’s actually canon...) What was it like for Maedhros and Gwindor to readjust to elven society? Did Elrond grow up surrounded by Fëanorian followers who escaped Angband, and is that where he learned healing? Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Elrond

In-universe authorial bias in historical texts: All of the Legendarium is a history, which means there’s bound to be unreliable narrators. Was Maeglin really as evil as the story says? What gets left out of the narrative? What gets lost in translation? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? Suggested Character(s): Pengolodh, Rúmil of Tirion

Trade in Middle-earth: What was trade like in First Age Beleriand? What about Second Age trade between Númenor and the mainland? Was Ost-in-Edhil a trade hub? After Sauron returned and traveling became dangerous, what intrepid traders braved the wilds for the sake of goods and money? How was currency developed around the world? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

Orcs Surviving the Wars: Again, I don’t believe that all orcs are irredeemably, inherently evil. Were they persecuted and stamped out after the Ring War, or did some escape and adapt to a life without a harsh overlord? What’s orc agriculture like? Would Elrond take a chance on rehabilitating an orc in Rivendell? What if orcs were more complicated all along, and it’s the histories that simplified them to cardboard-cutout villains? Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Pengolodh, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

~~~

The Adventure Zone: Balance

My only non-Tolkien request, oops. Don’t think I’m not as interested in this request, though; I’m the only one who nominated for it, so I picked my very favorite concepts and I’d love to see what you do with them!

Angus McDonald’s Grandfather: This guy’s name was lost to time, and he loves silverware, and he has a grandson, and that’s pretty much all we know about him. Was he involved in the Relic Wars somehow? Did his name get eaten by the Voidfish? I imagine he’s a rather eccentric fellow; how much of that did he pass on to Angus? Is he even real, or was Angus lying to Tres Horny Boys about his destination?

Any Wonderland Adventurer(s): I’d love to see what happens to the other people who go to Wonderland before our boys. Do they all die? How many get what they want and get out? Do any of them have weaker moral compasses than THB and agree to advertise for Edward and Lydia? What if Edward or Lydia fell in love with an adventurer and trapped them there? What kinds of things do people sacrifice to the Wheel? We know about the Escape Game and the Healing Game; what about the Recovery Game? How long has Wonderland been around? How has it evolved over time? What was it like before Edward and Lydia got ahold of the Animus Bell? How did they get ahold of it? (Personally I think Barry just gave it to them...but did he have to go through the trials first?)

Differences within species between the Two-Sunned World and Faerun: I love the fanon that Two-Sun elves are juuust a little different from Faerun elves...like Taako’s echolocation, for example. But what if this applies to the other species like gnomes and dwarves and even humans? How are the Seven Birds just a liiiitle off from everyone else around them? Also, Cat Elves. This is an excuse for Two-Sun Cat Elves. GIVE TAAKO A TAIL. (I mean, or not, do what you want, but I’d love to see that, lol.) Suggested Character(s): Any Member(s) of the IPRE, Original Character(s)

Reclaimers before Tres Horny Boys: Who were the other Reclaimers? Who did Lucretia trust to carry out this dangerous mission? How did they all each, inevitably fail? What if Magic Brian was a Reclaimer gone wrong? What was the last straw for Lucretia, the last failure that made her scheme to get her boys back? And the other Reclaimers weren’t officially disbanded right away; how did they feel about the new guys in town, and losing their jobs to these doofuses? Suggested Character(s): Lucretia, Original Character(s)

The Relic Wars: There were wars about the Relics!!! Wars!! That everyone forgot!! Wars where people that THB knew died!! And then we never get into this in canon! It drives me nuts! I would love to see an exploration of this chaotic time period, what the IPRE did to mitigate the damage, which relics were obvious and terrifying and which were secret and terrifying, etc... I’ve written a bit about Relic War-era Hurloane, but what were the other NPCs doing? (Or Hurley and Sloane too, I’d love to see your take on them too!) When Lucretia wiped everyone’s memories, what was lost? (I suspect Angus’ Grandfather got caught up in that...) How did those missing memories lead people to the Bureau of Balance? Suggested Character(s): Lucretia, Any Member(s) of the IPRE, Angus McDonald’s Grandfather

The Robot World's crystal post-Story and Song: The IPRE promised to return the Robot World’s crystal if they ever managed to defeat the Hunger...and we know they can plane hop from the casino liveshow...so, did they ever return the crystal? How did that go down? How does the Robot World rebuild itself? And if we’re going into it being the (K)nights Arc’s setting, are there other characters than Troth that we might recognize? Suggested Character(s): Magnus Burnsides, Lucretia, Any Member(s) of the IPRE

Worlds that survived the Hunger: In the worlds where the IPRE found the Light of Creation before the Hunger arrived, what was it like for the people there who had to endure the Hunger’s attack? What was the scope of the destruction? How did they rebuild afterward? Does uniting against a common enemy bring the people of the world together and create more Tesseralia-like societies? How many people knew about the IPRE, and what did they think about them? When they hear the Story and Song, what’s the reaction? If they didn’t know about the IPRE what myths do they create to explain the Hunger? Suggested Character(s): Lucretia, Original Character(s)

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Alright, that’s the end of my prompts/requests! Thanks for reading this far, and whatever you end up writing for me I am super excited to read it!! And if you have questions or ideas or something, my askbox is open and I have anon messages on, I’d love to talk! Thank you again for creating for me, you are the best! <3

#tmi anna #worldbuilding exchange #exchange letter

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carabas · 4 years

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So I’ve just finished reading the Dragon Age Tevinter Nights anthology, and short reaction: enjoyably hit and miss right up until that final extremely thorough direct hit, thank you Patrick Weekes.

Much, much longer version:

1. I don’t know how reasonable it is to try to extrapolate about what’s going to be in the next game based on a random short story collection, but hey, the novels that came out before DAI were about the mage rebellion, the Orlesian civil war, and eluvians, so.

So things I’m now expecting to see in the next game, aside from the Tevinter-Qunari conflict and Solas of course: Nevarran necromancy, Antivan Crows, Wardens who are struggling with decimated numbers after DAO and DAI (would be the perfect time for Razikale and Lusacan to both wake up at once really), and the Lords of Fortune, a never-before-mentioned Rivaini treasure hunting organization which appeared in I think three different stories here.

Plus a few stories were very much signalling This Specific New Character Will Be Showing Up Again, whether in the games or elsewhere; I'll be shocked if Lucanis the “Demon,” reluctant heir apparent of the Antivan Crows who just got into a cliffhanger conflict with a Tevinter magister, doesn’t have more to do.

2. THERE IS A MAP, there is a great big fantasy map surrounded by nifty little illustrative details to poke at.

There’s a label reading “White Spire,” not in Val Royeaux, but on a mountain beyond the Arlathan Forest. Is that an error or is there really a White Spire mountain? If not an error, has it always been named that or is that new, possibly a new center for the mages after the war, after the original Spire fell? At no point is either Spire mentioned in this book aside from this map.

Lots of astrological sun and moon patterns prominently featured around the edges. Is that one moon chart depicting moon phases or an eclipse? Is it too conspiracy theory of me to be counting the nine dark moons (or spheres? like in that DA4 idol illustration’s seven slots?) on the dragon’s wing? Probably. Or are those spheres a reference to the second moon that never seems to actually be visible, is that missing moon actually deliberate.

Most of the astrological charts are fairly straightforwardly showing sun/moon phases but what is the crowned figure in the one on the lower right meant to represent? The Maker? What’s going on with the horizontal lines passing through it/behind it? The two moons beneath it - is that an illustration of the moon in two phases or being separated into two (metaphorical moon in that case, presumably), do those horizontal lines also indicate separation, do I need to move on from the astrological depictions here, definitely.

Love the big horseshoe crab sea monster.

3. Patrick Weekes’s first story in the collection: halla shapeshifting! An elf named Strife who I fully expected to be revealed as an agent of Fen’harel mimicking ancient elven names like Sorrow and Pride, though I was wrong - would it be charming or just annoyingly unsubtle if that became a thing among his agents. An ancient forest guardian with lyrium blades who hunts magic in a way that struck me an awful lot like a forest-themed equivalent of a golem, though I may be wildly off base with that one.

4. Nevarran necromancy story. An odd bit of the chant to highlight for a funeral: “And the Maker, clad in the majesty of the sky, set foot to earth, and at His touch all warring ceased.” I continue to squint suspiciously at overlaps between Maker and elven god imagery. Also, evidently mortalitasi believe that when someone dies, an inhuman spirit is pushed out from the Fade into the physical world, and that’s part of the reason behind their housing spirits in bodies - neat! The existence of Curiosity spirits, also neat!

5. Is Ghilan’nain’s horrible body horror place supposed to be spelled Hormak like in the title and previous canon references, or Hormok like throughout the text here? I know this was just a mistake but maybe I’ll use this to say that in-world there’s multiple ways of transliterating Dwarven.

6. Lukas Kristjanson story #1, the one featuring approximately a million minor Inquisition character cameos and a meditation on Solas’s regrets, introduces a character with the phrase “free mage by special commendation,” and I was briefly thrown by that little signal that we are Not In My Worldstate, that the mages aren’t all free by default - except then the story went on to destroy Solas’s fresco so I wound up quite grateful for that little heads up that this isn’t my worldstate actually.

(Unfortunately I can’t get into this guy’s writing style at all, which is a shame because it’s one of the big Solas stories in the book.)

7. There’s a little plot point in the Wigmaker Job story that demonstrates those elven artifacts Solas had us activate all over Thedas do indeed strengthen the Veil - like, he wasn’t lying to us about what those orbs do, that is how they work, here we see a Crow stab one in order to deactivate it, weaken the Veil and unleash a horde of vengeful demons. Nice confirmation.

8. Genitivi is the Randy Dowager. (Possibly. At least, Philliam wrote a scene in which Genitivi alludes to being the Randy Dowager. I do appreciate an unreliable narrator but after a certain point it does make the lore hard to keep straight.)

9. By the time we got to the story about adventurers stealing an incredibly powerful healing amulet just to donate it to a mysterious contact at a makeshift hospital trying to help people where the Qunari-Tevinter war has spilled over, I knew better than to expect any cameos from DAO/DA2 characters. And with the mention of the squire, I was pretty sure the mysterious contact was going to be Vaea, and it was. Still. Anders would approve. And for a moment I was fantasizing that it would turn out to be him, or connected to him. A new mental setting for him and Hawke post-mage-freedom - makeshift hospitals at the edge of the invasion, secretly sponsored by a certain pair of absurdly overpowered, dungeon-crawling, treasure-hunting fugitives.

Yes, my Dragon Age interpreting is still all about Anders even when he’s not remotely present.

10. You know, I really expected the leaders of the Crows to be a bit more ruthlessly competent than this. Someone is setting up a grand demonstration, recreating infamous historical assassinations carried out by the Crows but now with the leaders of the Crows themselves as the victims, incredibly flashy, incredibly clearly sending a message, and yet not one of the characters trying to figure out whodunit is speculating about the meaning behind that message??? the motive in going to all that trouble??? it’s all, hm, perhaps it’s the qunari invaders. hm, this one was posed with a pearl necklace just like the one in the historical murder it’s recreating, i bet the culprit owns a pearl-fishing business! I know they’re assassins not detectives but at least show the professional courtesy of paying attention to the message in the show your fellow assassin is putting on for you, geez.

Anyway. Interesting Crow details: they talked about neutral ground and territories divided between the Crow households here, does that just apply to Antiva or like, does Arainai have claim to all jobs in Ferelden?

And the line “Teia's back was bare except for a tattoo marking her as a member of House Cantori” puts Zevran’s tattoos in a slightly different light for me - he’s mentioned that some symbols are sacred to the Crows, and logically it follows that having that symbol tattooed on him would indeed mark him as a Crow to other people in the know, but that his tattoos mark him as belonging to House Arainai is a thing that did not hit me from that.

11. An agent of Fen’harel muttering “Felassan” to activate a rune. In memoriam? Charming. I mean it’s a rune that’s intended to kill an entire city, so possibly the more literal slow arrow is meant, but I’m still charmed.

12. PATRICK WEEKES CLOSING OUT THE BOOK BY JUST DUMPING THE CONTINUING DREAD WOLF HUNT PLOT ON US.

So much.

An actual giant wolf in the Fade, I’m so happy for tumblr user corseque.

A character again raising the possibility that Solas is not an ancient elf but rather a young elf who stumbled onto old magic, a theory I thought debunked by Trespasser but here we are considering it again.

A minor side note that a lot of Kirkwall’s templars went rogue after the explosion - that’s not relevant to the post-DAI plot really, I’m just noting it for my generally-DA2-focused fanfic purposes.

The possibility that somniari (presumably) can kill even dwarves who don’t dream in their sleep. Somniari in general or did Solas personally step in here?

A ritual involving the red lyrium idol resulting in the phrase “As if we were the blood and the cavern the body through which it flowed” right before the POV character enters the Fade, which is a rather Titan-esque turn of phrase.

The Dread Wolf again asserting that all creation is in danger and he’s trying to fix that. A biased POV character recognizing that, huh, funny how those spirits around the Dread Wolf which surely must be demons actually look an awful lot like Justice and Valor.

And Charter’s notes at the end, so direct, not only spelling out the new details on the idol for us (that the figure represents a crowned figure comforting another) but thoroughly hitting us over the head with Solas’s essential characterization in his own words, as if Weekes is still trying to clear up any possible lingering misinterpretations there. (Prideful, hotheaded, foolish. Doing what he must. Sympathetic to elves. Said that he was sorry.)

And the quiet simplicity of Solas coming to this meeting of spies in person because, pause, “...the Inquisition was involved,” written in such a way that you could read all sorts of things into that pause, whatever the Inquisition and the Inquisitor might mean to him.

The book would have been worth reading for this last story alone, what a note to end on.

#dragon age #tevinter nights #inquisition #da4 speculation #this is a deeply inquisition- and post-inquisition focused book #lots of neat continuing plot stuff and cameos from DAI or comics characters #no updates on your favorite DAO/DA2 companions

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fieryfantasybooklover · 4 years

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Halos And Hellfire - A Malec angst/sad fic

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Long ago, when the universe was still new, 10 incandescent stars were exiled from the sky for their kindness.

The stars are cold beings that care for nothing and nobody. They burned entire worlds to the ground and enjoyed doing it. Because the primal energy of the universe was harnessed in the stars, and they decided there was no reason they shouldn’t use it. The stars could control all the elements, shift their forms, and teleport. And they used that power. Entire species met their ends in seconds, the last things they saw being terrible waves of fire and horrible all-powerful entities descending from the sky.

These 10 stars were born and they saw the universe for what it was - beautiful and worth saving. Those stars dared to dream, to have faith, to believe. Their thoughts were occupied by dreams of a better life. One where there was something beyond this - an endless stream of death and the cold void of space. These stars tried to save lives, save worlds. Their opinions were not shared by the other stars, so these brilliant entities that only wanted peace were cast from the sky. They fell in the form of gorgeous winged beings. And after falling for a thousand years, they landed.

At first, everything went fine. The star’s DNA altered to fit the environment. The planet was named “Earth” and it was perfect in nearly every way. It was lush and green, filled with water and even a native species to interact with. Half of the angels made their home in the sky, the other half in the underground part of the planet. Everyone lived in peace for some time, an era that became known as the Golden Age. But then there was a betrayal. An underground angel (as they had started to call themselves) clashed with an air dweller over the death of an air angel general. Both sides of the world blamed the other for the death. The force of the conflict nearly brought the planet to the ground.

Everything the stars had fought against for all their lives forced its way into their lives and brought fire and chaos with it. The war raged for nearly 100 years, nearly causing the angels to go extinct. Finally, peace was brokered… if both groups of angels promised to remain in their respective domain and only interact on earth, who’s residents were blissfully unaware of their existence.

As time passed, animosity grew and made itself at home. It grew to the point that the “dark angels” of the ground hated the “light angels” of the sky. The angel children of both sides were taught to hate the “enemy angels” from the time they were born. It remained this way for so long that all hope for happy coexistence seemed lost to the clouds.

*1000 years later*

“Do you have any idea what’s happening?” Catarina asked Magnus. Catarina and Magnus were best friends and high ranked soldiers in the Light King’s army. All the soldiers had been called to the courtyard for a speech from the High General, and were milling around while they waited. “I’ve got absolutely no idea. Maybe the General is finally letting us spruce up the barracks. Of course, me being my fabulous self, has still fought this topic despite the lack of help.” Magnus snarked at Catarina. “How long are you going to be mad at me for that? Just because I chose the improvement of the armory of the improvement of the barracks outward appearance doesn’t mean-”

Magnus shushed her as the General stepped up to his plinth. A hush fell over the crowd as General Charmeine stepped up and cleared his throat. “As you know, all of the soldiers have been summoned here for a speech. I am sure that you are all wondering why. I will not mince words, for as you are about to find out we have very little time.” The general paused and it seemed that every fiber of the world held its breath. “Our sensors have detected 10 bursts of pure undiluted energy emitting from an unknown source. And they are headed straight for this planet. These pulses are scheduled to arrive around this time tomorrow.” The general paused again. “To put it clearly, we have only a day left to live. Along with every single being on this Earth. I hereby release you all from your posts. You are free to live your last day however you wish.”

With that, the General took flight from the plinth, spreading his pale gold feathered wings and soaring off into the night, leaving chaos behind. Magnus stood there shocked, unable to process the devastating axe blow that was this news. Catarina did her bets to rouse him, but Magnus was lost beyond hope. Anger, pain, hate, confusion, and despair were cascading through him, mixing and leaving little room for Magnus to breathe. Moving like a robot, he spread his pure gold wings, a rare color among angels, and took to the skies. Not being able to stand looking at his home of 25 years, he turned to Catarina and spoke. “Caty. You were the best friend I could ever hope for. I wish you all the best in these last hours.” And with that, Magnus took off, flying as fast as he could in an attempt to forget everything he knew and wished he didn’t. That would be the last time he has his best friend.

The poor angels had no idea of the source of the power pulses. In fact, those stars that had once exiled the original 10 angels had found them. And decided to have a little fun. By blowing up yet another planet. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world a similar situation was playing out.

Alec spread his wings and took off without a second thought, not even hesitating for his best friend Jace. “How am I supposed to fucking deal with this? I’m told the world is ending and I’m released from my service? What do they want me to do? I’m sure as hell not going to stick around that’s for sure.” As Alec soared through the skies, he spotted a speck of gold on the roof of an extremely tall building in New York City. “Oh god, it’s an air dweller. Well, I have nothing left to lose anyway.” With that Alec began his descent towards the angel that would change his life, no matter how much remained of it.

Magnus stood on top of the building, surveying the skyline of the world that would soon cease to exist. It wasn’t until he heard the quiet swooshing of approaching wings that he realized another angel was approaching. Magnus turned and nearly lost his breath as the approaching angel landed. The angel was clearly dark, marked by the silver ebony runes spidering up his arms. The dark counterpart to Magnus’s silver runes. The angel was tall, dark haired… and unbearably smoking hot. He had breathtaking ebony wings that shimmered and shined with purple, gold, red, blue, and so many other colors. His skin was beautifully tanned and a pair of brooding deep blue eyes stared at Magnus with a thousand years worth of prejudice.

“Ummm… hello?” Magnus managed. “I am assuming you just got the news as well.”

“Yeah. And I don’t want to talk about it. We’re enemies and we always will be. I just don’t want to spend the last day of my life alone.” Magnus, shocked at the brief flash of emotion from this angel with a “Go to hell” attitude, just nodded. Both angels silently took off, with no particular destination in mind. They just needed to fly.

The existential dread faded as the angels soared through the sky, finding it in their hearts to be able to stand each other's presence.

The pair took turns choosing destinations, not even bothering to share names. They toured the Pyramids of Giza, flew over the Great Wall of China, and visited Tikal before finally pausing to rest atop a tree in the Amazon rainforest.

As they lounged, Alec worked up his nerve to speak to the golden vision that had suddenly appeared in his life. He rationalized that it was probably normal to want to talk, to experience, to feel. After all, he was only 25 and about to lose everything he had ever known. “Hey… what’s it like. What’s it like living in the clouds?” Magnus looked over, surprised at the question. “Well… it’s beautiful. Everything is made from white, gold, and silver. The sky is stunning and you get to see the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises. I love to stargaze… the sky is panoramic to the maximum when you’re up as high as we are. When I look at the stars, at the galaxies and the lights that fill the sky, I feel hopeful… but it’s also humbling. It reminds you how small we are to the universe. How much beauty there is beyond this world.”

Alec realized just exactly how beautiful the other angel was, silhouetted against the setting sun, ringed in gold. All of a sudden all the emotions Alec had been suppressing welled up inside him and he had to fight back tears. To stop himself from crying, Alec began talking. “I love living beneath the surface of the Earth. There’s so many mysteries down there that even we don’t know. We build everything from red and black colors, and it’s always warm. We can fly around the endless caverns we build. The kids play there and the teenagers sneak out there to make out. I love the earth. It’s grounding and it’s real. It keeps me tethered to reality.”

Silence echoed between them, but it was considerably more comfortable than it was before. Without a word, the two angels took to the sky to live out the remainder of their lives. Even if it was only 9 hours.

The two angels still did not share their names, even as they explored the catacombs of France, snuck behind massive crashing crystalline waterfalls, and explored the unmapped parts of the Sahara desert. They paused again at the top of Mt. Everest, when the talk turned to romance.

“Did you ever have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?” Magnus asked Alec as they gazed at the breathtaking Himalayas. “For me, it would be a boyfriend. And no, I never had a romantic partner. Us “dark angels” only marry once and it’s for life. I haven’t met that one person yet. What about you?” Alec inquired, gazing at Magnus with a surprisingly open and earnest face. “Well… it isn’t uncommon for us to have more than one lover. We don’t limit ourselves as we believe love is essential. We don’t marry as much, it’s more common to live with somebody and share a relationship and not be married. We don’t like to bind ourselves down with things like marriage.”

With those phrases, a passing on of knowledge to outsides, the barriers between them fell more. The pair took to the sky for the last time. They had less than an hour left to live.

The two angels landed on some unnamed beach. They stood there looking at the sun slowly lowering itself to set over the ocean. There was still no sign of the energy pulses set to destroy the world. As time ticked by and the world edged closer to extinction, neither angel said anything. There was nothing left to say.. Atleast not till they were sure nobody would live to repeat their words.

With under 10 minutes left to live, both started talking, talking over each other and talking like they would never be able to again. Which they wouldn’t.

“I hate the world. It’s full of hate and pain and anger and sometimes I think it would be better off to start over. To wipe the slate clean and hope that some decent race will rise from the ashes. That’s why I bolted when we got the news… because I was scared to admit that I thought it might be better. People destroy far more than they create and there is so much more bad in the world then there is good… and I just-- I GET SICK OF IT. BUT THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO TO CHANGE IT. And I can’t discuss it with my people - they believe that the world is unconditionally good! And I just can’t see it. Maybe I’ve just seen too much.” Alec stopped his rant, gasping for breath as if he had just run a marathon. Magnus stood there quietly, not judging, agreeing, or disagreeing. It took a minute for Alec to realize that Magnus had started talking.

“I am in a constant never ending battle with the devils in my head. One’s that have never seen the light of day because we do not let people show weakness. Shadows and darkness scream that I’m alone, that nobody is truly there for me. I never had parents - they didn’t want me and I was left on a friend’s doorstep. I was bullied growing up because I was different. It got bad… so bad. But then I pulled myself out of it. I pulled myself out of that pit, that void, just to die young.”

Both of the angels, descendants of ancestors who hated each other, looked at the other in shock. They had just exposed demons to their sworn enemy… and they didn’t even know the other’s name. Silent words flew between them, words that didn’t lie words that told the bare ugly truth. Words that said “I see you I understand you I agree with you. You don’t have to pretend here. You’re allowed to be dark because the world is dark with much to dislike about it.” Words that said “Maybe if things had been different, we could have loved each other. Maybe if there weren’t so many factors stacked against us. Maybe. But we’ll never know.”

With a roaring growing in their ears, the angels decided that there was nothing left to lose, nothing left to prove, nothing left to deny. And in that minute, with crushing finality, their lips met. It was a kiss like a thunderclap, like a lightning strike, a kiss like a sonic boom. It was pure exhilarating freedom and a wild howling wind. A kiss that sounded like thousands of years of hate falling to the ground with roaring and noise. It was a kiss of anger and pain and like-minded souls. It was a burning kiss as Magnus tangled his hands in Alec’s ebony hair and Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus to pull him closer as he ran his hands up and down the golden angel’s back. It was a kiss that silently spoke of what-ifs and maybes and if onlys. It was a final middle finger to the universe and everything that told them what they’re allowed to be. It was a kiss of passion… a kiss of halos and hellfire as the world fell to pieces around them.

Darkness. Darkness and nothing and nothing and darkness.

#malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #catarina loss #angst #minimal fluff #love #kiss #fire #angels #wings #destruction #stars #magic #megans writing

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teddylupines · 5 years

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[ PLOT ARC 4, PROPHECY 6, THE CHAMELEON ] ❝ Oh, I’ve been waitin’ for something to change but I can’t escape this waterfall of doubt. Oh, my blood, sweat, and tears for twenty-some years, all bottled up and broken. ❞ TEDDY LUPIN looks a lot like that muggle, TOMMY MARTINEZ/MARIA GABRIELA DE FARIA, right? Only 27 years old, that HUFFLEPUFF alumnus works as a WANDMAKER and is sided with the ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. THEY identify as GENDERFLUID and is a HALFBLOOD (METAMORPHAGUS). [ JAY, HE/HIM, 24, EST ]

howdy hey i’m jay, and no i didn’t mean for that to rhyme but here we are. this is teddy! my child! my heart! they’re soft. very good. mean well. a little chaotic. a little messy. they have a lot of feelings. below the cut is info about teddy!

i definitely want to plot with everyone. i have ideas for people who are in the order and for people who are wraiths (listen........ plotting their relationship with valentina nott, the wraith teddy is impersonating......... and having teddy try to figure out how to interact with everyone? *chef’s kiss* the drama. i’m here for it) and just everyone please.

Teddy Lupin is my trash son (read: absolute darling love of my life 10/10 would die for him without hesitation they’re perfect and I disparage them with fondness) and I’m playing them a bit differently than I usually do so I’m still learning about them, so please bear with me. I’ve played them a hundred times before but I’m still figuring out the nuances and details.

Teddy Lupin, in a mess of words: Strange and unusual. Turquoise. The smell of something faintly burning. Crooked grins. Bubblegum pink. An old piece of parchment (maybe it’s a map). Messy hair. Nails painted the muggle way, dried with a quick charm. Heart bursting. Odd splinters of wood. Righteousness. Rich yellows. Bleeding heart. A collection of records first started by the first Ted. Coming alive after dark. Ever changing. Grief-stricken. Scribbles on scraps of paper. An eyebrow piercing that made Andromeda cry. Cereal at midnight, no milk. Plinking keys on a piano. Blood doesn’t make family. Too many words to say. A former troublemaker. Dedicated.

To begin, as we all know, Edward Teddy Lupin was the only child born to Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. One was a Gryffindor, one was a Hufflepuff. Both were brave beyond compare, dedicated to their beliefs and to their friends -- at least, that’s what Teddy was always told growing up, and they had no reason to believe otherwise. They grew up with their grandmother, Andromeda, and they’d lay on the floor in her living room as she told stories of them both. They’d stare at the ceiling, their mind flitting with thought as they replayed story over and over until there was no way they could forget it forget it.

Andromeda, the only blood relative that Teddy grew up around, was not Teddy’s only family. And they thank Merlin for that every day. Teddy had the privilege of growing up around their godfather, the one and only Harry Potter. By extension, he also grew up around the Potter-Weasley family and their relatives. There was never any question that the lot of them were their family. Older than most of them, they saw most of the lot as younger siblings, friends unquestionably (of course, this included everyone but Victoire, but she’s another story entirely).

Going to Hogwarts, Teddy walked up to the sorting hat, their hair their signature turquoise, and they placed it on their own head and waited. And waited some more. The hat talked to Teddy, about their parents, about where they would do well. Much to the hat’s chagrin, Teddy had no preference whatsoever, so they served as no help. They wanted to go where they’d fit best (a strange thought, considering how prone to change they were). Finally, after what seemed like ages, the hat called Hufflepuff. Pleased, Teddy’s hair turned a rich yellow, and they walked to their table -- to their new family and home.

With a marauder as a parent, and a marauder’s son as a godparent, there was never ever doubting that Teddy was going to be a little troublesome, and perhaps, on some days, a little was an understatement. They were never malicious or filled with bad intent, they just craved fun and excitement. There were times they couldn’t get either of those things without a little rule-breaking. Teddy always saw it as this: as long as no one got hurt, there was no harm done. Whether they were right about that was and will always be up for debate. Despite their disposition for a little trouble, they were named prefect their fifth year, then headboy their seventh year. Their headboy badge was then charmed to say, “Head Ted”. It was much more fitting, if you asked them.

Post-Hogwarts, Teddy faltered. The plan had been to follow in Harry’s footsteps, to become an auror. They had the grades, their NEWTs were nearly impeccable, but when it came time to apply? They didn’t. They couldn’t. Everyone knew that Teddy had always been more of a lover than a fighter anyways. So, for the summer after finishing their schooling at Hogwarts, they did a little bit of everything. They shadowed mediwitches at St. Mungos, they worked at a few different shops in Diagon Alley (including a very brief stint at WWW -- it ended when they realized they had not one, not two, but three different puffles to take care of, and they couldn’t be confident in their own abilities to say no to bringing home a fourth).

Everything changed when Teddy noticed a brief advertisement in the Daily Prophet. It was written by none other than Garrick Ollivander and Teddy’s attention had been caught. It said they were looking for someone strange and unusual for a strange and unusual job. How could they have said no to that? They couldn’t. So, instead, they wrote to Ollivander, inquiring about the position, and soon enough -- Teddy was the elderly wandmaker’s apprentice. It was never where they imagined themself ending up, but they quickly realized they loved working with wands and with the renowned wandmaker.

When Harry restarted the Order in 2023, there was no doubting that Teddy would be a part of it. Though their godfather wasn’t keen on them putting themself at any risk ,there was no stopping Teddy. Their mother had been a part of it, their father had been a part of it -- wouldn’t they have wanted them to do what was right? Teddy, though slightly morally ambiguous in school (rules were broken, fights were had -- they were genuinely good-spirited, but they weren’t always nice), not quite brave enough to become an auror, couldn’t deny that the Order stood for what was right. The idea of anyone disagreeing was blasphemous, and what the Death Eaters had done? What the Wraiths were stirring up again? Teddy had never been too keen on fighting, almost too soft, almost too hesitant, but they wouldn’t sit idle. They’d play the fight where they could. If that was offense, so be it. If it was intelligence, so be it. They couldn’t stand around being useless. Tonks and Remus’ child was not going to stand around, letting the world fight for what was right around them. ( Quick addition: Teddy’s Order Code Name is Kit -- their patronus is a fox!)

{ DEATH MENTION } When someone first told Teddy that Harry had been killed, they couldn’t believe it -- they didn’t want to believe. Harry was the Boy Who Lived -- he wasn’t meant to die. And yet, Harry, their godfather, the closest thing to an actual father they had, was dead. It was devastating. Suddenly, Teddy had to do more. They watched people give up their day jobs to dedicate themselves to the order, maybe they should do that, too. They just needed an opportunity, a chance to prove themself.

That chance came when Valentina Nott died. The Wraiths believed that she was missing, no proof otherwise or body found. The idea came to Teddy quickly, and they approached both Ron and Hermione with trepidation. They didn’t want to be seen as the kid that grew up around them, so they raised their chin, they spoke without a wobble in their voice. They would pretend to be Valentina, having been injured badly, too severely to immediately return. They knew that her rune was seen on her hand -- like her, they’d wear a pair of gloves. So long as they didn’t remove it, no one would know. It could be crucial to getting information, Teddy urged. Eventually, Ron and Hermione. Teddy would be given a chance to do this.

Teddy is getting used to the Wraiths, hiding their disgust in meetings and discussions. They’ve learned to talk like Valentina, they’ve learned to be Valentina. It’s hard, spending so much time away from the order, but this is what’s right, isn’t it? They’ve only ever wanted to do that.

Regarding Harry Potter returning, Teddy is conflicted. On one hand, they know how much pain Harry went through -- they were alike in so many ways, orphaned by a war started long before their birth, and Harry had dealt with so much more. To spare him reliving it would be merciful. But to let him know nothing, to be naively blind? That seemed just as cruel.

For the prophecy, Teddy wholeheartedly thinks it means they will die. Whether as Teddy or Valentina, they’re willing to take the risk. Their parents died for what was right, Harry died for what was right. Maybe they will, too.

Quick and Dirty about for Valentina Nott, the Wraith Teddy is impersonating

25 years old, a former Slytherin

Betrothed to ??? someone. Honestly I’m a sucker for a cool plot idea & I had the idea that maybe Valentina was betrothed to another Wraith & now Teddy not only has to deal with the struggle of pretending to be Valentina and the Wraith ideology, but now this person who Valentina was supposedly in love with or was in love with her (more details to come later, I’m just a fool)

ANYWAYS. The eldest daughter to Camila and Theodore Nott. She has an older brother and another younger sibling. Theodore Nott had not gotten the dark mark before the end of the war but was close to it. He always had poor things to say about muggles and muggle borns as she grew up.

Pretty. Loves the idea of being more than someone else.

Talented with charms, begun developing her own spells when she was alive. Her rune was meant to enhance her power of spell-casting. Her rune was on the palm of her hand and was typically covered by silk gloves.

Her Wraith Code Name was Coruscatio, meaning a glittering, a flash

#✧・ﾟ: * — summations ( about )#rev intros

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