#IT ROOK 14 HOURS TO MAKE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

selunesdreams · 2 months ago

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Chapter 14: For A Minute There, I Lost Myself

“Pick up any other souvenirs while you were visiting my family’s home?” A dangerous voice inquired from across the room. Her eyes flicked to where Lucanis was posted, arms and legs crossed as he glowered at her.

“You told him?” She asked Neve.

“Who do you think carried you back from the villa?” She replied with a shrug, “He’s the only reason we got you to Viago in time.”

Rook glanced at Lucanis, filled with remorse. He dipped his chin and averted his gaze, jaw clenched tightly. The tension in the room became suffocating as he pushed off the wall, walking towards her with calculated steps. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he produced a small ring and deposited it onto the nightstand. It scratched across the wood as he slid it toward her with two fingers.

“Explain.”

Pairing: Lucanis x Fem Rook/OFC x Spite???

Summary: Rook faces the consequences of trying to talk Illario out of his plans. Lucanis finds a familiar ring that carries some serious news. Spite recruits Rook for some help with a sad, sad Lucanis.

Word count: 4k

Things of note/warnings: 18+ fic, MDNI! warnings: : Attempted SA, violence, blood, bodily injury, death, glass-related injuries, drugging/poisoning. Please read on AO3 if you need to track warnings, they will be inevitably detailed better there (or just want to be real sweet and give me hits/kudos/comments).

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

Lucanis shut the doors of the kitchen behind him with a deep exhale. Although happy to let Taash take credit for his cooking, he had learned his lesson about sticking around. Confined to the pantry during the last meal, with no hope of escape, he endured their ceaseless bickering with their mother for hours. Already living with one incessant voice of outrage, he couldn’t bear a chorus of them.

Cracking his neck and flexing his fingers at his sides, he scanned the empty courtyard for signs of Rook. Their earlier encounter still had him on edge. Even as he’d prepared dinner, the rhythmic knocking of his knife against the cutting board as he diced vegetables was the only thing marking the passage of time. He stared at the dining room table, unable to shake the memory of her hair in his hands, her body underneath him, nails digging into his sweater, tongue in his mouth…

He squeezed his left thumb, a bandage now wrapped around it to mark where his wandering thoughts had cost him a piece of flesh. Distracted, he hadn’t even noticed his blood amongst the tomato juice on the counter until it began to sting.

Something about Rook completely unraveled him, making him a liability she couldn’t afford. Worse, Spite was fascinated by Lucanis’ desire for her, yearning clearly a favored emotion amongst spirits of determination. Anytime she was within arm’s reach, his ears rang with thoughts he’d once held privately, vocalized in Spite’s persistent timbre.

Neve emerged from Bellara’s chambers, her prosthetic clicking against the stone as she ascended the steps and waved him over with a puzzled look.

“Have you seen Bell?”

He shook his head and met her in the center of the courtyard. “Everything alright?”

“It’s fine. It’s just-” She let out an exasperated sigh, retrieving a worn notebook from her pocket and flipping through the pages. “I needed to pick her brain about something, and she’s been gone for hours. It’s getting late…not like her to be away for so long. I stopped by Rook’s room and she wasn’t there either.”

“They’re probably working on something together. I wouldn’t worry about it, Neve.” He said, trying to disguise his unease at the mention of Rook’s name.

The detective hummed to herself, scribbling in her notes and pocketing them. “Right, of course. It’s just-”

“Lucanis!”

The library doors burst open and Bellara fell through, doubling over to catch her breath.

“Bell?” Neve grasped her by the shoulders. “Slow down. What happened?”

“Can’t find Viago…Rook, Illario…I think she was poisoned? She won’t wake up-”

ROOK. In DANGER?

He straightened, his racing thoughts competing with Spite’s own concerned ramblings.

Bellara gasped to catch her breath. “With Teia. Under the villa. I told her it was a bad idea to talk to Illario on her own-”

Lucanis didn’t wait for her to finish, heaving open the library doors and sprinting towards the eluvian room.

“If anyone sees you in Treviso-” Neve’s warning trailed off, drowned out by the pounding in his ears as his boots hit the pavement.

“Keep looking for Viago!” He called over his shoulder. “If he’s not at the casino this time of night, he won’t be far!”

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

HELP ROOK. KILL ILLARIO.

“No! Damnit! I’ll deal with Illario later, Spite.”

Lucanis leapt off a rooftop into the alley below, folding the demon’s wings behind him. Before he could react, he was slammed against a brick wall, a silver blade gleaming against the base of his throat. He peered down at his attacker and disarmed them in a single, deliberate movement.

“Lucanis?” Teia asked, eyes widening as she wrenched her dagger from his hand. “Thank the Maker. Here, I’ve gotten Fi halfway, but I can’t carry her seven city blocks on my own. She wanted to talk down Illario, but you can imagine how it went…”

Directed to where she had propped an unconscious Rook against a wall, Lucanis crouched and pressed two fingers to her neck. Although her pulse was strong, it was far too slow. Roused by his touch, Rook shifted with a pained moan before her head slumped onto her shoulder. He sighed, rising to his feet and brushing himself off.

“Bellara and Neve are looking for Viago. We need to get her to the apartment.”

“Let’s not waste time then.” Teia said, taking off down the alley to scout ahead. With no other options, Lucanis prayed to the Maker that Illario’s spies were preoccupied elsewhere and scooped Rook into his arms, pressing his chin against her head to keep it from lolling back.

“Damnit, Fiammetta.” He whispered into her hair, “Why couldn’t you just listen to me?”

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

Draped across her white sheets, Lucanis assessed Rook’s face in the low light, noting several bruises and scrapes on her cheek. Blood and lipstick stained her mouth and chin, and he tentatively reached out, tracing a thumb over her bottom lip. An oily substance adhered to his skin, and he hesitated, throat bobbing as he inspected the faint emerald gleam on his fingertips.

“Try not to be upset with her,” Teia said, steering him aside as he wiped his hands clean on his trousers. She dabbed Rook’s face using a damp cloth and scrubbed the remaining pigment from her lips. “I know Fi’s methods are questionable, but she did it for you.”

“She did it for Illario.” Lucanis said bitterly, leaning against the wall. He folded his arms, watching as she set the rag aside, turning over Rook’s palms and picking out fragments of glass.

“She did it for you.” Teia reiterated firmly, “Fi doesn’t want Illario dead, but even more, she doesn’t want to see you hurt.”

“Did she tell you that?” Lucanis asked doubtfully.

“She didn’t have to say a thing.” Teia wiped the dried blood from Rook’s hands, searching them one last time before resting them on the pristine sheets. “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but she doesn’t put herself on the line for people like this. And I promise you, she wouldn’t do it for Illario.”

They each exchanged a glance at the sound of the footsteps in the hall, and Lucanis unsheathed the dagger at his chest. In a defensive crouch, he crept towards the bedroom door. Concerned, muffled voices filtered through the walls just before Viago swung the door open and shoved past him.

“Save me the hero act, Dellamorte.” He sneered, shooing Teia out of his path as he crouched beside the bed to check Rook’s vitals. Neve and Bellara appeared in the doorway, looking on anxiously.

Muttering to himself, Viago threw a case on the mattress, fingertips drifting over dozens of glass cylinders as he searched for the right one.

“You know, I expected this from my cousin, but not from you, Teia.” He snarled over his shoulder, retrieving a flask of antitoxin, uncorking it, and tipping it into Rook’s mouth. She coughed and sputtered in her sleep as it went down before settling back against the pillows.

“Vi,” Teia protested, “she would have done it with or without me-”

Viago discarded the empty vial inside his poisons case and stood to face her.

“But you could have come to me.” He said in a low voice, full of fury and betrayal.

“Can anyone tell me what’s happening?” Neve asked, clearly losing patience with more Crow drama. “Is Rook going to live?”

“My cousin will be fine.” Viago worked his jaw, tearing his gaze away from Teia. “Let me know when she wakes. I have words for her. Several, in fact.”

Bellara flinched and pressed herself against the doorframe as Viago stormed past her into the hall. Lucanis sighed, rolling his shoulders and giving Teia a sympathetic smile.

“You should go after him, Andarateia. We’ve got it from here.”

She nodded, sparing one last guilty look at her unconscious friend.

“Thanks.” she said, squeezing Lucanis on the shoulder before hurrying after Viago.

“You go too, Bell.” Neve said, inclining her head towards the den. “Get some rest.”

“But-”

“Neve’s right.” Lucanis interjected. “Besides, you don’t want to be here when Rook wakes and Viago comes back in here.”

Reluctantly, Bellara nodded and vanished down the hall. As Neve sat on the edge of Rook’s mattress, Lucanis closed the door and leaned over the footboard.

“My idiot cousin nearly killed her.” He muttered, watching Rook with a tortured expression.

“Can’t say I like the circumstances, but maybe the forced nap is a good thing for her.” Neve said, examining Rook’s injured hands, “She’s going to be pissed when she wakes up. Maybe Emmrich can do something about these…”

An iridescent glimmer caught Lucanis’ attention, and he frowned, hand dragging across the bedpost as he shifted closer.

“This was my grandmother’s…” He slipped an opal ring from Rook’s finger, inspecting it more closely over a lit candle. “Caterina never took this off.”

“Pretty. Did your cousin give it to her as some kind of token?”

Lucanis closed his fist around the ring, carefully sliding it into his pocket.

“That’s what I would like to find out.”

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

To her relief, Rook woke in her own room and not Illario’s. From her place near the window, Neve smirked and silently handed her a cup of tea from the bedside table.

“Feeling better? You scared Bell half to death.”

“Marginally.”

She accepted the mug with shaking hands and raised it to her lips. The tea was lukewarm and oversteeped, but she savored it anyway.

“Your cousin and friend are fighting in the den,” Neve said. “Hopefully that buys you some time to gather yourself.”

“Of course they are.” Rook mumbled, setting the tea back on the nightstand. Shards of glass glimmered against the wood grain and she examined the swathes of minor cuts they’d left behind on her palms.

“You told him?” She asked Neve.

“Who do you think carried you back from the villa?” She replied with a shrug, “He’s the only reason we got you to Viago in time.”

“Explain.”

She reached out slowly, still feeling weak, and turned the opal over between her fingertips.

“I heard something when Illario was taking me to his room,” she recalled, trying to ignore Lucanis’ visible scowl. “He blamed a cat, but your grandmother was never an animal person. When I was escaping, I found this on the ground. I didn’t have a chance to see it clearly then…”

Her mouth fell open in recognition.

“She’s still alive.” Rook breathed, “She had to have slipped this under the door as a message.”

“As hopeful as I am that you’re right, why not just call for help?” Neve asked.

“Reasonable caution. My cousin is messy, impulsive when he panics.” Lucanis explained, taking the ring from between Rook’s fingertips and pocketing it. “He could still kill her if we move against him.”

“As long as he thinks we don’t know, Caterina is safe.” Rook said, “He has no reason to suspect any of us would return to the villa.

“So we plan a rescue.” Neve suggested, “The sooner we get her out of there, the better.”

“We have to deal with Illario first.” Rook said. “Too much pressure, and he’ll do something rash.”

Distraught, Lucanis sat down on the corner of the bed, burying his face in his hands. “What if I go after him and get Caterina killed?”

Rook bit her lip, watching his breathing become ragged. “Neve, could you…give us a moment?”

“Take all the time you need.”

As the door shut behind her, Rook crawled closer, reaching out tentatively to touch his shoulder.

“Talk to me.” She begged, tugging at his sleeve. The muscles in his neck tensed as he stiffened under her fingertips.

“Rook, I…”

Suddenly, he swiveled towards her, a violet gleam in his irises. Afraid to move, she swallowed as Spite desperately seized her by the shoulders.

“Help us. He listen. He always listens to you!”

A bright flash of light enveloped the room, and Rook blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the dark ruins surrounding them. A thick fog hung over the landscape, but there was something familiar about it. Schools of fish swam through clouds of bubbles that rose against an invisible barrier, bearing some resemblance to the mediation chamber.

“Is this the Fade?” She asked, taking a tentative step after Spite, who waited impatiently at the end of a sandy downhill path.

“Lucanis is here. Always! Behind locked doors. I can’t break through.”

“A prison?” She mused, “It looks exactly like the Ossuary.”

“Yes! Locks everywhere! I can’t touch them!”

“Take me to him.” Rook demanded. Spite beckoned her on, eyes shifting across the landscape warily. Rare to see a demon so anxious.

“Rook opens doors. Not close them. Rook can’t be here!”

“I…don’t know what that means…” she said under her breath, moving toward a figure in the distance. As she drew closer, she found Caterina Dellamorte leaning on her cane, grey hair swept neatly in a bun, as it always was.

“Tenderness and terror. Rage and relief. Old, stale fear of disappointment.” Spite grumbled beside her.

“Oh Fiammetta, you were supposed to bring me back my Lucanis!” Caterina cried, shaking her head. “Not this abomination! ”

Rook gave Spite a sideways glance. “Is this a spirit playing tricks?”

“No! They wouldn’t dare! Lucanis belongs to ME! She is an idea!”

She grunted in acknowledgement. If Caterina was lingering in Lucanis’ mind like this, she had to be attached to something heavy. This was a prison of his own shame.

“Caterina, Lucanis is trapped here because he believes he’s let you down. But we both know he’s not to blame. This was done to him. There was no choice in this. No failure on his part.”

The old woman’s face crumpled as her memory faded away into fragments of light.

“My poor boy!” she wailed, and disappeared into nothingness.

“Yes!” Spite exclaimed, “Good. Come. There are more.”

Uncertain of how time passed in this realm, Rook followed Spite through the prison for what felt like hours, convincing the figures in his head that he was in control of himself, capable, worthy. Harding, Davrin, Neve - they all bore their own voices, but spoke with Lucanis’ self doubt. It wasn’t until she came face to face with a mirror image of herself that she took pause. Her reflection peered at her curiously, but said nothing.

“Fascination and desire. Yearning and avoidance. Something familiar and foreign at the same time. With a little guilt.”

“Why am I here?” She asked, reaching out towards the ghostlike figure. Her fingertips met nothingness, distorting her likeness, but it did not react.

“People come in three kinds. Family. Enemies. Contracts…” Spite rambled, moving closer.

“I hope that’s just you talking…” She inhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves before addressing her visage. “Let us pass.”

The phantom-like version of herself didn’t answer. Rook scoffed, pacing around the room and gathering parchment from nearby tables, reading the scrawled thoughts and insecurities written upon them in Lucanis’ hand.

I didn’t want you to see that. Again… (I’m not this. I cannot be this.)

I’m sorry for getting you in trouble, Fiammetta. (I never should have brought you into my mess.)

Everyone in my life has suffered because of me. I will only bring you pain. Can’t you see that? (Rook…I can’t.)

These were about her…had Lucanis been the one to write them? Is this truly what he thought?

“You really think you can help him?” Viago’s condescending asked from behind. She whipped around, scowling as he circled her.

“He will ruin you, cousin. I have tried to protect you from this abomination for too long. The two of you will never have my blessing.”

“Do you exist in everyone’s nightmares, Viago, or just Lucanis and I’s?”

“Kissing two Dellamortes in one day, Fiammetta? Which did you prefer?”

“Strange way to tell me you’re jealous, Lucanis.” She sneered at Viago’s image. “Quit hiding behind my cousin’s form. Although your impression of him is…spot on.”

“He’s a coward. You said it yourself.” Rook’s reflection taunted, breaking her silence. “We said it.”

“And I took it back! I’m not leaving Lucanis in here alone. Get out, both of you!”

“Your funeral.” Viago said, sweeping the vision of her aside, and disappearing. Rook threw Lucanis’ notes aside, letting them drift to the ground, and pushed through the rubble into a thick cloud of fog.

“Somehow, I knew you’d be here.” She said in greeting to the memory of Illario standing before her.

Spite sniffed, leaning in close. “Sharp. Jagged edges. Hurt with every breath. Grief and relief. Hope and anger. Mixed.”

“Fiammetta, you’re too good to be wasting your time in a place like this. Forget about my cousin.”

Rook ignored him, picking up more of Lucanis’ memos of self-loathing from around the chamber.

She came after me. She came after Caterina. She will come after you too… (Cousin, what about you?)

But we’re more like brothers. Caterina took us both in. (We’re brothers…)

Death is my calling. Just as yours is to become First Talon. (I don’t want it, Illario.)

“I can give you everything,” Illario said, following her around the room. “I can protect you from him. All I’ve tried to do is protect you, Fi.”

“I can handle myself.”

Rook crumpled Lucanis’ memos in her fist, igniting them in flame and letting the ashes drift in the wind. Illario glared disapprovingly.

“You know what happened last time the Crows fought a war of succession, Fiammetta! The Dellamortes lost everything, except the seat of First Talon. This time, we fight ourselves. What will be left then? Ashes?”

“He. Put us HERE!” Spite roared.

“Your father would have never wanted this for you, Fiammetta-”

“I don’t give a damn what my father wanted!” She shouted, pushing through Illario’s image. It evaporated around her.

“I’ve had enough, Lucanis! Where are you?”

She stormed through the halls, ignoring echoes of Illario’s voice until they reached a vast, empty chamber. Lucanis stood in the center, not waiting, not searching for a way out, just…there. Defeated by his own mind. Startled as she came into view, he took a step back, eyes wide.

“Rook?” He asked in disbelief, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m getting you out. You can’t stay here forever.”

“There’s nowhere to go…” His face fell. “It’s better I stay here than risk losing you. Can’t you see that, Fiammetta?”

“You SEE? He BREAKS our AGREEMENT!” Spite stepped between them, furious. “His mind is still here. So he wants to STAY HERE. So he keeps. ME HERE!”

“Mierda! Why would I want to stay?” Lucanis gestured around the Ossuary. “Even in my head, this place is a nightmare.”

Rook stepped around Spite, her hand coming to cup the side of Lucanis’ face. “But it’s a nightmare you’ve already defeated. What’s waiting for you out there? That’s new. That’s risk.” She said, her thumb caressing his cheek. “You can survive this, Lucanis. You won’t hurt me. I know you.”

“No!” Lucanis growled. “Damnit, Fiammetta! This is not… ”

“MAKE HIM LEAVE!”

Rook threw her head back and groaned.

“Find a way to coexist! You two can’t live this way forever. Make a contract, an alliance, I don’t care. Figure it out.”

Lucanis gave her a helpless look before stepping forward and confronting Spite.

“My grandmother is alive. We free her. Together.” He proposed, “And we protect Rook, whatever the cost.”

A wide smile spread across Spite’s face.

“Together. We will fight.”

Lucanis merged with Spite’s form, the demon disappearing in a flurry of violet. In a blinding flash, Rook’s bedroom materialized around them, unchanged. Disoriented, she blinked rapidly, her gaze meeting Lucanis’ as he studied her face in the candlelight. Curiosity and wonder were etched on his features, as if he’d never seen her before.

Reality suddenly set in, and his expression wavered. He recoiled, muffling a cough in his fist as his eyes wandered over the wound on her temple. Davrin’s stitching from the week before.

“You haven’t taken those out yet?” He asked, clearing his throat and rising from the bed. Glass bottles and trinkets rolled around in the wooden drawers as he rummaged through her vanity for a sewing kit. Typical Lucanis, always finding work to do rather than facing his feelings.

“I can do it myself-” Rook propped herself up, wincing as her palms touched the sheets. She pulled her hand away, frowning at the crimson stain left in its wake.

“I’ll do it.” He insisted, the mattress dipping under his weight as he knelt over her. This close, she could feel the warmth radiating from him, smell the leather of his jacket and the spices lingering on his skin from so much time over a stove. She held her breath, focusing on the intricate fibers of his sweater, the crow-shaped buttons on his collar, anything to distract her from the way his body hovered over her own.

“You should have had me do this in the first place.” He murmured as he expertly tucked a needle under the thread and clipped it with a small pair of scissors. “Our Warden friend isn’t known for having a delicate touch. I can sew, at the very least.

“You were unconscious.” She said as he pulled the final stitch free. “You’ve got quite the jealous streak, Dellamorte.”

Needle pursed between his lips, Lucanis leaned back and inspected his handiwork. Satisfied, he tucked his tools away in the sewing kit and set it aside on the sheets.

“Just recalling a conversation where you had bragged about not having a single scar on your face.”

Tentatively, he reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, his thumb ghosting over the friction burn on her cheek, a scabbed over reminder of the runner she’d dragged herself across to escape the villa.

“This is twice now that my cousin’s actions have harmed you.”

“Physically.” Rook added with a smirk.

Lucanis reached for her palms, examining where the glass had left behind several deep cuts. “You won’t be able to wield a blade for at least a week.”

“They’ll heal.” Rook said, pulling her hands back. “It’s my fault, anyway. I should have listened to you.”

“All that just to kiss my cousin.” A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he precariously arranged her pillows behind her. “Was I that bad, Rook?”

“N-no! Lucanis-”

Flustered, her cheeks burned bright red as he leaned forward, sweeping his lips across her forehead and pressing a firm kiss to its center. As he retreated from her bedside, even he appeared surprised by the gesture.

“Rest.” He said, nodding towards the den. “I’ll go debrief the others. Spare you one of Viago’s big speeches.”

Guilt gnawed at her as she watched him leave. Maybe he could forgive her, shake this evening’s events off and make light of them as if her actions hadn’t hurt him, but she couldn’t. There was nothing she wanted more than to erase it all. As if sensing her ruminating, Lucanis rested a hand on the doorframe, casting a glance backward.

“Your sacrifices tonight didn’t go unnoticed. What you did for me…” He hung his head, staring at the floor. “If there’s one person I trust my thoughts to, it’s you, Fiammetta.”

Lucanis slipped into the hall and Rook bit her lip, rolling over in bed and stifling a sob. She allowed only a few tears to stain her pillowcase, knowing the time he'd buy her would be brief. With a sniff, she wiped her eyes and stared at the wall, waiting for the weight of Viago’s disappointment, and drowning in her own shame.

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rederiswrites · 18 days ago

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Arden codex: 8, 14, 20, 23. the play one could be Very fun

Oooh, lots to work with!

8. A future historian’s analysis of Rook’s actions (Bonus: featuring a relevant primary source)

From the dissertation of Henry Darrow, University of Starkhaven.

Details as to how Arden Mercar, commonly known as Rook, became involved in the Blight of the Gods are often confused, with one source making a claim entirely contradicted by another. Some point to his involvement with the underground movement the Shadow Dragons as the point of connection, suggesting that he became involved due to Venatori alliance with the gods. Others propose that he was secretly an agent of the Tevinter military, serving under his father Charon Mercar, and his involvement with the Shadow Dragons merely a red herring.

I propose a rather radical revision of this timeline. I believe that Rook was in fact involved with a splinter faction of the Inquisition, and was in pursuit of the elven god Fen'harel before Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan broke free of their prison. In support of this bold claim, I offer a series of fragmentary letters between one Lace Harding and known agents of the Inquisition, kept in the archives of the Mortalitasi in Nevarra.

While portions of these letters are sadly rendered illegible, what is clear is that Rook was working with this Lace Harding, as well as author and known Inquisition agent Varric Tethras, as much as a year before the Blight of the Gods began, and that they were in pursuit of an unidentified powerful figure. As you will see in the following transcriptions, we can guess a great deal that was previously hidden from these correspondences.

14. A letter from a faction leader to a companion about Rook’s actions.

Davrin--

Out of respect for your services to the Wardens to date I will not have you arrested, should you return promptly, but if I see that insolent whelp "Rook" again, I assure you, he will spend time in Weisshaupt's cells.

--First Warden Glastrum

20. Something written about Rook on a historical plaque. Oh Hmm!

ARDEN MERCAR BRAVE SON OF TEVINTER LEAD OUR FORCES AGAINST THE BLIGHTED GODS AND RETURNED THE SUN

[A more cynical scholar once noted that this statue and plaque are notably revisionist, as Rook did not carry the heraldry of Tevinter, and while the phrasing permits the viewer to believe that it was the forces of Tevinter which Arden led, in fact the Tevinter military was in disarray following the disappearance of Archon Radonis, and many of those who led the fight against the Blighted gods were from outside Tevinter's borders.]

23. Excerpt from a play dramatizing Rook’s actions (Bonus: include a review of this play)

I apologize, but the first thing that popped into my mind was the Gaang watching that terrible play together and I couldn't get past it so I've gone off prompt a bit.

"Maker, that was agonizing," Arden said, eyes squeezed shut.

"Speak for yourself. I thought my actor was amazing," said Taash. "'Raargghhh! Woarrghhh! Die, darkspawn!' Plus I had my own little mage stage hand to do the fire."

"Mhm. And you said 'therefore' and 'most certainly' and 'charge, my fair warriors' a lot less than me. So, you know, appreciate your fortune." Arden rolled his shoulders as if trying to shake off the last hour and a half.

Lucanis laughed. "Come now. You were terribly dashing. The actor is not nearly so handsome, of course, but you can't fault his commitment to the role."

"And I'll bet you loved your actor's commitment to completely destroying an Antivan accent?" Arden said.

"Very much so, actually. It had the added benefit of rendering all 'my' lines completely incomprehensible."

"Look lively, people," Neve cut in. "Here comes the director, along with a couple of aldermen if I'm not mistaken."

"Fasta vass. I need a drink," Arden muttered, straightening up and plastering a smile on his face.

#stuff red wrote #arden mercar #dragon age #veilguard spoilers

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kaija-rayne-author · 3 months ago

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13th review in series of Dragon Age Veilguard

98 steam hours logged, 84 game hours logged on final save, (the listing in the game itself) actual gameplay hours (-2 for time in CC) either 96 or 82... depending.

14 hour discrepancy between game logged hours and steam logged hours is likely how much trouble the game gave me in loading, reloading, glitching, and crashing. Do I get to charge Bioware for those lost hours of my life?

Obligatory disclaimer, feel free to skip it if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though., every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Spoilers for Dragon Age Veilguard and everything else DA, I'm a Lore fiend.

My pithy pre-end sequence commentary.

Section 12 here.

END GAME SPOILERS

End game spoilers for BG3 too.

13 is my lucky number, but even that couldn't save it. I can't think of a single thing that can save this disaster of a game. I'll write a more professional wrap-up review post too, this is my reaction portion.

I've finished the final sequence of the game. Sat through the credits of probably a thousand people who worked on this piece of shit and still thought it releasable. AND saw the 'easter egg/future game possibility scene'. My kid said I got a hint of hope back in my eyes for about 10 seconds when that final scene popped up then the light faded again. Apparently the 'long slow horrified stare of death' was all over my face again.

Loading in, I dreaded everything I was about to see. Veilguard had already disappointed me in so many ways. I didn't have any hope the final sequence would be any better.

It wasn't as bad as I expected. It was worse. Yes. Honestly.

In all fairness (even if I really don't want to be fair right now) the last sequence does contain some of the best material in the game. If they'd actually written the rest of it with that kind of passion it probably would've been a better game. But that doesn't actually make it good. And how any average person makes it to the final sequence is beyond me. I'm stuck in bed. I've got an excuse.

So. I expected it to be long. That part didn't bother me that much. Most Dragon Age games have long final sequences.

The positive! Ummmm? Oh! I actually did get an intimate scene with Lucanis. His timing stinks but whatever. I did actually get one. I mean, it was one your aunt who's a nun probably wouldn't have found racey, but it exists! Dude. It's 2024, there's this cool toggle function you can click off if you don’t want nudity. It's a Mature rated game and I'm pretty sure most of us know what sex is. Give paying customers what they want!

My least favourite character died.

I called it on Solas killing Varric in the first scene. Interesting twist they did with that, though. Told y'all. I didn't want it to happen either, but the writing was on the wall in great big letters in drippy red paint from the second they fired Mary Kirby (Varric's writer.) In case you want more details than snark on that? Varric did indeed die when Solas stabbed him in the beginning. What you see throughout the game is Solas messing with Rook's mind because Solas needs Rook to work with him. Varric died before the story actually started. That last line of his 'take care of the team' told me. But I got taken in by the twist too. Bet that was a Weekes twist. 'It’s right in front of you the whole time.'

Elgar'nan made a WAY better final boss fight than Coryphyfish.

I did legitimately love watching Teia and Viago fight as crows. That was a really awesome section. (They're two of my favourite characters from Tevinter Nights.)

The bad.

There is no way for me to list it all. So here's the highlight reel.

Varric died.

They lifted almost the entire final battle sequence from BG3. The tentacle they have to climb to the fancy building in the sky. People falling and almost dying by tumbling down the tentacle, having to fight through said self-destructing fancy building in the sky... I know you can't copyright an idea. As an author, I understand and approve of that. But you should at least make the idea a wee bit unrecognizable as to where you lifted it from. Y'know?

Yay! We got to see Solas in wolfie form! He looks like a Chinese hairless crested dog on a really bad day. Like... really needs to go to the salon and have a bath day. I really wish I were joking.

Called it on the Solavellan ending. And NO. Trick Weekes. That DOES NOT give a suggestion of a Happy Fucking Ending. Read some fucking Romance. GOOD romance. (They do. And I'm being very mature by not calling out one of the authors they read who was one of the ones who harassed me off of Twitter. Oh. No. Two of them I've seen Trick mention as books they've read were involved in that. I guess looking at the people someone likes and respects is kinda indicative... isn't it?)

What's that say about me? I don't like very many people. I get along with people as best as my autistic/AuDHD ass can but I don't LIKE very many people at all. Nor do people tend to like me. I have no compunction about calling someone on bullshit. It makes people cranky, but I've had enough bullshit in my life. And I respect about the same amount of people as I like. If I can't respect you? I can't like you. (For anyone who does actually know me... I don't mean you. If I talk with you privately? Or even if I'm willing to? I both like and respect you. Or I wouldn't bother talking to you privately. I'm shit at reaching out. But if we've talked more than once in any form of privacy? You've made the list of my cranky ass.)

Am I a bitch? Probably. Live my life and see if you'd be any different.

No intimate scene for Solas and Inky. After ten years of waiting for Solavellans. After all the shitting on Solas we had to put up with in DAV (and OMFG there was soooo much!!) No actual happy ending. No intimate scene. Oh, but you do get a rather grody kiss between them because he's just been fighting and has blight all over his face. But yay? They get to kiss? With absolutely no passion at all. Maybe the passion of a bavarian cream pastry? A rotten one? Ew. Before dissolving into fade gook.

The entire time I spent in CC for my Inky to make her look like my player character from DAI? It didn't show up in the final sequence. And no way was I replaying that hellscape to see if it MIGHT could be coaxed into actually showing her the way I made her. I just got the stock body.

So... y'know the veil? That edge of reality that has been getting more and more holes in it throughout the entire history of the Dragon Age Franchise? The veil that the Lore has been pretty clear about it strangling both the magic and the life out of THEDAS? Not to mention everything the elves lost because of it? That veil?

It's all better now. Regardless of the Lore. Because Solas bound his life force to it. So instead of a quick bandage being pulled off to get rid of the veil that really does need to go (y'know if Bioware writers actually gave a rat's ass about the fucking lore of the world they're writing in)... Now it's there until Solas dies... which he can't really do easily being one of the first Elves. Sooooo by the very lore of the world they've crafted... THEDAS is now doomed to die.

Congrats Bioware. Well done. /s

Oh, but THAT doesn't matter. Because everything from the very beginning of DAO has been 'influenced' by 'the ones from across the sea'.

Pardon me while I gag.

The entirety of THEDAS and everything that's ever gone wrong with it is the fault of 'the foreigners from across the sea who wear clothing that's kiiiinda a lot like a Burqa.' Y'know... the black over gowns and veils Afghani women and some other Muslim folks wear?

Cause... uh... yeah. That's a GREAT idea. I legitimately cannot believe they went there. I just... I can't. Bioware hasn't ever really been great on the racism front but I'd hoped they'd gotten at least a little bit better.

Nooooope.

There were a couple of mentions of something like 'the gathering storm' in Taash's quests and how she's a weapon against them. HUGE spoiler I'm sure, but I'm pretty sure they want to make a game that deals with 'the foreign invaders who have been subtly influencing everything wearing black burqas and veils' as the next Dragon Age. Or maybe they'll call it a spin off since it has to be getting close to the end of the actual Dragon Age in the calendar.

I really hope I'm not the only one who can see the issues there. Not that I expect Bioware to. Honestly? I used to pray that DAV would save Bioware. I've liked them as a company for a while, but this is it for me. I'm done.

I might enjoy the first three DA games occasionally if I feel like it. But DAV does not exist for me. Anything they make going forward does not exist for me. That fucking bullshit about no one having had any free choices in the entire history of the games/books/comics etc.? AND the next game's bad guys looking like they wear burqas?

Bioware has made my boycott list. And I honestly hope they sink like the fucking Titanic for the shit they've pulled in DAV and that last fucking scene.

With that scene, they not only shit on many cultures who veil, they shit specifically on Afghani people who are required to wear that. Whether they want to or not.

They also, from a writing perspective, removed every single bit of agency from any of their previous characters. Making every single game pointless in the history of the world.

I'm just done. My boycott list is pretty long. I have these pesky standards. I'd already compromised them by continuing on with playing Bioware games regardless of their well known issues. But nope. Done. Finite. Time to cut the rope and watch it sink.

I would never, in a million years, recommend this game. On those two reasons alone. But also because it doesn't do anything a good CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game) is supposed to do very well.

It doesn't hold up the Dragon Age expectations for anyone who has played the games or enjoyed the lore. They basically shoved all the lore under the proverbial carpet. (Must have made a hell of a lump. That's a LOT of Lore. Trust me. I know. I've marinated myself in it.) On the surface it LOOKS like a CRPG. It has the elements of one... but so few of the elements are carried through that it's kinda shocking to me that they dared to advertise it as one. I mean... didn't someone tell them pissing off people by advertising something they aren't delivering is a bad idea?

It's full of easily fixable plot holes. Seriously, they'd be so easy to fix! They just didn't bother.

Where DAI was an intricately woven adult CRPG masterpiece? DAV is a poorly woven bedsheet with arm sized holes in it and lots and lots of stains. Made for kids.

CRPGs have a long history. Bioware and Dragon Age do too. DAO came out in 2009, Dragon Age 2 released in 2011, both were solid CRPGs. You felt like you were playing a role playing game. Bioware then released DAI in 2014. And in the Dragon Age series, DAI is the crown jewel.

It had everything a CRPG is supposed to have. It wasn’t perfect, no, but it's definitely the best of all 4 games for being what it's supposed to be.

CRPGs generally do not challenge the player as far as manual dexterity or physical response time. That's for action/fighting games. I'm not a professional level gamer. But gaming is my number one hobby and source of entertainment. I play on hard level for most games I play, if not ultra hard. I struggled with the shitty DAV fighting system. Dear gods, who had the brilliant idea of tying accumulation of skill points to how high your bond is with your companions? That's just... the kindest thing I can say is poorly thought out. Especially when you can only take two of them with you on missions. My not-a-fucking-rogue should never have had aggro. And they always did. I'm intimately acquainted with the inside the mouth animations on the dragons.

RPGs are supposed to have intricate, layered world building, a levelling system that makes your characters grow and develop as they progress through a well developed world, often they have fighting, puzzles, and other mechanics to spice things up. But there's some very specific things an RPG needs. And DAV has so few of them. They focussed so much on that shitty gods damned fighting system that had my not-a-fucking-rogue always plastered with the 'come eat me' aggro flag that they failed to deliver on so much else that an RPG needs to have. Especially a CRPG.

I think I heard someone on the dev team say they were quite happy with how the characters and romances came out and um. Well. Might I politely suggest learning how to write better? Cause they weren't. From both a professional and consumer level? They just weren't good.

The characters were dishwater boring with no character development possible. The romances were... not. I'll just leave it there.

Those are a few things I KNOW I'm good at. Just because my fans have told me often enough that I've almost internalized it by now. What? Characterization, writing intimate scenes, and writing romance. My writing voice is very love/hate like many authors. If you love my voice and read kinky romance, you'd probably like it. If you don't like my voice? No story I tell will satisfy you. But from an editorial and writing standpoint? The characters and romances in DAV needed so much work. As much as the plot.

I'm no stranger to trauma. And yes. I did it to myself. I needed to play the ending for myself and I wanted to see what the game was like. I feel traumatized. Abso-fucking-lutely traumatized.

If you're Solavellan and looking for reviews to tell you whether it's worth buying and playing? It. Is. Not. On any level.

Oh and you know those Steam Achievements you get? At the beginning they were like in the high 90s and 80s percentages. The last two I got were from the end game. 2.2% and 6.8%. Respectively. According to my kid (who usually knows more than I do about things like that) that means people stopped playing before they got there. (Or possibly just haven't gotten there yet. I did play it reasonably fast because of my current circumstances.)

I really wish I could say better things about this game. I wanted to love it as much as I loved the other three. As much as I've loved most Dragon Age material. Something about it just captured me. Until DAV.

More professional review to follow at some point.

If my review series has been helpful... and I really really hate to ask, but if it has been? My work of words is my family's only income. My partner is still recovering from a broken back, and I'm recovering from a pulmonary embolism. Money is so tight it squeaks. If you're not gonna buy the game anyway after reading my blather, a tip would surely be appreciated.

All my links are at the bottom of my website. And the tips button up top is set up too.

My response to breaking media blackout.

#dragon age veilguard #da veilguard #veilguard #dragonage #solas #bioware critical #dragon age #dragon age veilguard review #veilguard review #veilguard spoilers #Solavellan #Solas dragon age

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seaglassmelody · 13 days ago

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10, 14, 16 for the Rook asks please!!!

Thanks so much for the ask!! It's been...a very long time since I've done any fanfic so here goes!

All are for my main Rook, Mourn Watch elf Sabriel "Sabi" Ingellvar (she/they, demiromantic asexual)!

Prompts from the Rook Story Time Asks

I actually did all 3 so this got pretty long. All under the cut:

10. Rook attending a funeral-

Sabriel released a shuddering sigh as she anxiously adjusted the burial shroud on the corpse before her.

Fine embroidery, elegant weave…this was a family of some means, I suppose.

Not for the first time, she found herself wondering if her parents had the dignity of even a rough-spun shroud.

She shook her head quickly to shake the thought out. “Can’t get distracted now.”

This was far from her first time preparing a body for the Necropolis, but it would be her first time performing the burial rite on her own.

She mouthed the words to herself silently as she finished preparations. Everything was perfect. Everything had to be perfect. The man on the table left behind a beloved family and a mourning community. They deserved her best work.

For how can one truly grieve without a proper chance to say goodbye?

With one last deep breath, she patted the hand of the corpse in front of her.

“Well ser, shall we go say our farewells?”

-----

14. Rook attending a celebration-

“Hey Lucanis, finally decided to stop lurking in the pantry for once?” Davrin’s question was goading as he climbed up the stairs from the Vi’Revas chamber.

“Rook kicked him out of the kitchen.” Taash’s reply came before Lucanis could respond, and he gave them an exasperated look.

“Rook has kicked us all out of the kitchen for the foreseeable future.” He retorted, before turning back to Davrin, “So don’t even try going in there.”

“She said it was for a surprise!” Harding chimed in from the couch, looking up from the book she was reading - The Count of Bloodhill Manor. Emmrich had scoffed at it when he found it on the shelf, but still kept a hold of it for Harding anyway.

Davrin’s face turned skeptical. “Should I be worried about that?”

Neve’s laugh came from the stairs behind Davrin as she entered the room behind him. “Guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

“Rook’s not that bad of a cook!” Bellara spoke up, her legs crossed in front of her in Rook’s usual chair. “She’s pretty good when she actually makes something instead of…eating the ingredients individually…”

“I did see Rook and Taash bringing in quite a haul from the market yesterday,” Emmrich supplied from the upper balcony, having just exited his room to investigate the hubbub.

Taash nodded. “Dunno what she needed all those potatoes for, but it sure was a lot of em.”

“So how long has she been in there?” Neve asked, coming around to take a seat on the couch next to Harding.

“3 hours and 23 minutes.” Came Lucanis’s prompt reply, spurring a laugh from Neve.

Davrin sighed deeply. “Guess there’s nothing we can do but wait then. C’mon Assan, let’s go preen your feathers.”

The young griffon trilled in joyful assent before bounding off towards the door.

~~~

It was another several hours later before everyone was summoned to the kitchen by a few wisps that had been coaxed into Sabriel’s service by offering them a few curious notes from her personal desk (and potentially one of Neve’s. Not that Neve needed to know).

The group entered to a table sprawling with a variety of foods - fresh cut fruits, some sort of stuffed mushroom dish, a few pots of what appeared to be sauces, cups filled with drinks and in the center of it all- 3 large pies lovingly decorated with dragon motifs.

“You made all of this yourself?!” Harding exclaimed as Sabriel wiped her hands on her apron.

(She played it off as getting off some stray flour but really her palms were sweating. Were they going to like it? Was she going to give everyone food poisoning? Only time would tell.)

Setting aside her anxieties, Sabriel smiled broadly at her team. “I found my old recipe notes from when some of the other elves in the Watch gave me some cooking tips.” She pointed at each pie in succession. “This one’s a fish-based one, this one is root vegetables with herbs, and this one at the end is an extra spicy curried vegetables.” She smiled at Taash. “Hopefully it’ll be to your taste.”

Taash’s responding toothy grin helped settle her nerves enough to explain herself.

“I just figured…we’ve killed an archdemon. We took down two dragons. And we’ve even drawn blood from Ghilan’nain. I wanted to do something to thank you guys for all your hard work and…celebrate how far we’ve made it.” Her courage faltered a bit at their stares and her smile turned a bit nervous. “So umm…bon appetit?”

The silence that threatened was immediately broken by Assan noisily crowing and bounding the table, followed quickly by Manfred, who picked up a stuffed mushroom and began poking at the cheese mixture in the middle.

As both skeleton and griffon received a sound scolding for lack of manners from their respective fathers, the group laughed and took their seats, happy chatter echoing through the kitchen as everyone discovered that Bellara was right.

Turns out Rook is a pretty good cook when she tries.

-----

16. Rook falling in love for the first time-

Love was never an easy thing for Sabriel to understand.

Attachment? This she knew. She had her friends in the wisps and spirits, in her fellow Watchers and the friendlier undead.

Obligation? Certainly, she had her duties to the Watch, to the living, to the memory of the dead.

Affection? More difficult, but still known. She watched her agemates form bonds, experiment with public displays, experienced friendly nudges and hair ruffling.

It was the sum total of these parts that eluded her.

What was it that drove others to write entire operas about the passion of romance? What spurred heartbroken poetry and the lovers’ suicides that she had heard rumor of in the Necropolis? How overwhelming was this experience of seeing and being seen?

Was it joy? She had seen it described as a feeling of floating, of wanting to burst into song.

Was it pain? She had heard tales of excruciating attachment, so strong it hurt more than helped.

It was a question she had resigned herself to never fully receiving an answer, no matter how hard she tried.

It felt like a wall she could never break through— A glass barrier where she could watch everyone on the other side experience transcendence. She was never bitter, but a bit confused, and very resigned to her fate as a companion of only spirits and the dead.

And yet, when she sat at the Lighthouse’s table, cup of cioccolata calda made especially for her in her hands, watching Lucanis’s face light up with silent laughter at something Harding said-

The glass began to crack.

#these helped me develop a couple rook ideas of mine #the 'making dinner for the team as a thank you' is one I've been sitting on for a while #and developing sabi's relationship with romance is something I've been meaning to do #so thanks so much for the ask!!!#answered asks #oc: sabriel ingellvar #dragon age #veilguard #rook ingellvar

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darkwingphoenix · 2 months ago

Text

@loominggaia Discord Opening Meme Bakery!

Because we NEED a meme bake to celebrate this momentous occasion!

Canon Skylie vs My AU Skylie

Cobalt to Skylie about Cerulea (He wanted to imprison her)

A vicious attack by Aquarian Alliance dorikori

youtube

Skylie making a buncha trauma songs and her fans vibin

POV: Sai with Maia, aged 6 months old

The day Project Starblast hit

Cobalt with Rosaria age 14

Lazuline and Cobalt meeting Skylie after like 4 years

Citrine having a rave with her friends

Saraia's War Cry

Skylie 0.01 nanoseconds after adopting Sygbarne

A gallery of Skylie's divine toddlers, babies and lil kiddos

Justinia a few hours before vs a few hours after giving birth to Amber (Yes she didn't know until after Amber was halfway outta her)

What happens to many people Skylie kills

Cobalt being a chivalrous simp for Justinia and Sai:

youtube

Collei and her 3 monster pals

Saraia when Skylie changes

Saraia with Lucy and Piper

Ei and Makoto be like (They're otherwise completely identical)(Also Saraia's siblings Piper and Lucy)

Maia as a little girl praying for a friend and Skylie forging Ajaw real quick (He ain't no angel, that much is true)

Columbina with literally anyone of the opposite sex:

youtube

The Merry Band of Idiots disguising themselves

If Saraia's people had survived into the modern age

Darshaan being goofy

A cecaelia pop band be like

One of Skylie's longest lasting dance trends, one she made up in Evangeline in 6018 and which maintained popularity across Gaia for so long it escaped association with her and became a folk dance in Evangeline

Skylie's most popular songs (Also the one she invented the above dance for)

Skylie's pet monster, forged by Yue herself

Jaq and Zov be like

Yerim-Mor peasants be like

Saraia and Skylie robbing be like

A Yue Monster be like

Skylie to Amber on her 1st birthday (She's been talking with words for 3 hours at this point)(Fireworks went off at the explosion):

youtube

Skylie, Saraia and Darshaan

Saraia to a buncha drau

Skylie and Saraia before they started dating

People reading Agony Awakens with Buddy involved

Saraia and King distracting the Folkvaran forces so the Evangelites and Damiscendii can join up

Saraia showing she's not a weakling as King is dying for the second time in 30 years

Baby Sirene at 3AM:

youtube

Darshaan poking Justice and instantly yeeting her to Umory-Ond

Skylie summoning animals to fight with her

Saraia when meeting random Evangelite men near cliffs

Alaine, Collei, Skylie, Thetos, Citrine, Glenvar, Buddy, Maia, Rosaria, Columbina, Ajaw, Paimon, and Lumine finding a random village near Evangeline Capital in a super hard-to-reach cove full of every species just fucking vibing (No one will ever believe them)

Skylie helping her brother out of a pickle

When someone picks on, bullies or harasses Skylie's kids, nieces or nephews (She shall kill them now)

Maia being a bisexual chick in Kelvingyard but going to the Grand Temple of Evangeline to repent with Rosaria and Dottore:

youtube

Maia celebrating being in a patriarchal society (She won't hafta do anything ever and can just chill)

Another time Skylie helped her baby brother (Also one of her songs)

Two people of Lost Cove (The cove the group above encountered)

Indigo meeting Skylie for the first time

Rook using her breath weapon

Saraia meeting Mr. Ocean and Solveig on Redwood Island that one time (Yes. This happened. Saraia just hasn't been asked about it, Solveig's deader than a doorknob and Mr. Ocean has brainrot and not in the Gen Alpha way)

Lumine in Doll Form and Ajaw vibing

Columbina being unstable with Signora

Skylie to Rooklet

Skylie in a Zareen store after Halloween

Skylie after Darshaan slams an elderly Evangelite woman after Evan reforms the Kingdom and the Evangelite lady complains about people adopting fae and gaians

Ajaw and Doll Lumine tryna get help for Paimon and Maia

#dwpmemebakery #the ole meme bakery #best meme bakery this side noalen #looming gaia #Youtube

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msnihilist · 6 months ago

Text

August of Whump Masterlist

day 1: food

Ben glanced down at the mess. Red, sticky liquid spilled out of the styrofoam cup and into the cracks between the asphalt. The puddle lazily inched along, slowly but surely growing wider.

day 2: cry for help

Through the agony, Ben didn't make a sound. He didn't let himself cry, he didn't give in to the urge to scream, and he didn't cry out for help, even as the voices of his friends grew closer.

day 3: freezing

Ben sat against the wall curled in on himself, shivering so violently that Rook feared his teeth might shatter. His skin was so pale and translucent that it appeared as if Ben was wrapped in porcelain. His breathing was still steady for now, but his head drooped and Rook could see him fighting to stay awake.

day 4: filthy / drowning

His lungs quickly began to burn, his chest tightening desperately. Ben pumped his arms hard, trying to propel himself to the surface. His fingertips scraped fresh air, but his head remained just under the waters' surface.

day 5: power tools

Ben said nothing. He held himself stiffly, lips pressed into a thin line. If he were with Gwen or Kevin, he would make some sort of joke — probably about how Vilgax couldn't manage it, but of course he would nick himself on a power saw of all things.

day 6: confusion

"Absolutely not." Rook swung the blaster around to Ben-2. "If you lower your arms, I will shoot you." He hoped that he sounded more sure than he felt. Because the truth was Rook had no idea who was who, and that was terrifying.

day 7: rot

The Omnitrix, much like the roots forcing themselves between gaps in the rock, inched its way through Ben's veins. He didn't even really notice its growth until there were black-and-green circuits curling around his chest, providing a dim glow at night.

day 8: rejected apology

Ben didn't try to say anything in his defense. He stood there and took it, because it seemed like Julie needed to say it. Their "break-up" had been rather lackluster. Maybe Julie was just making up for a missed opportunity.

day 9: role reversal

The doctor grimaced. "He was under the effects of a Cassiopeian Dream Eater for thirteen hours. He will be a little bit... on edge when he wakes up."

'On edge' was a gross oversimplification.

day 10: exhaustion / publicity

"How is he?" Carl asked quietly. Sandra gestured to her side. Carl peered over the back of the couch to see that Ben was laying next to her, his head on his mom's thigh. His chest rose and fell steadily with sleep.

day 11: freedom

His pupils were bright white and, even though Ben moved and spoke with plenty of energy and personality, his eyes were empty; his brilliant smile was vacant. He looked so beautiful when the only thought he was capable of was her.

day 12: monstrous

Zs'Skayr's laughter echoed through his head. In the mirror, Ben watched his decaying face contort into a grin, his chest struggling to rise and fall as raspy laughter was forced out of his gaping mouth.

day 13: outcast

And Ben felt his mouth go dry and his will to push deflate, because— Because it wasn't about his supposed skill-advantage — not really. It was about the fact that people were scared of Ben.

day 14: alone

As he rapidly began to slip into unconsciousness, Ben didn't fight it. He could see Gwen in the distance, silhouetted by golden light. Where she was seemed so warm, and Ben was so cold. Missing her hurt more than anything Charmcaster could do to him.

day 15: phobia

On the path ahead was a large male peafowl. Its feathers were folded back, but its head was cocked towards them, its beady eyes seeming to focus directly on Ben. Could they smell fear? Ben had no idea, and he felt his pulse skyrocket.

day 16: hunt

He was hiding in a tree near a small pond. If he'd had paper and a pencil, he would have entertained the idea of writing some sort of goodbye note to his loved ones and begging Khyber to deliver it to Earth once he was dead. As it was, though, Ben didn't have that option.

day 17: experimental serum

"Bottom's up!" Ben flipped the top of the vial off with his thumb, plugged his nose with his free hand, and downed all of the putrid-looking contents in one go.

day 18: came back wrong

He must have made a mistake, yet the world seems brighter than ever.

day 19: midnight

Ben's muscles tingled with exertion and he was pleasantly exhausted now that the adrenaline had faded. His body ached for sleep, but his mind was still racing.

Why couldn't he relax?

day 20: contaminated

"Our research has shown that the spores are ineffective on humans. If you're not fully human, we can't risk it."

"I'll go in," Ben offered. "I'm fully human."

day 21: set up to fail / creep

Ben couldn't speak. He opened his mouth, and nothing came out. Dee had her hand on Ben's thigh, their torsos angled in such a way as to hide the touch from the cameras.

day 22: stitches

The first time that Gwen gives Ben stitches, he cries.

The Omnitrix glows red on his wrist, useless, and there's a bloody piece of shrapnel laying on the pavement next to Gwen's knee. Her shaking fingers are smeared with Ben's blood from when she pulled it out of his side.

day 23: fate

It doesn't matter if Ben wants this or not (even though he doesn't, he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't) because he knows how his future is going to play out and it's a race to get to the finish line.

day 24: humiliation / gilded cage / jewelry

Personally, Ben was glad that Vilgax had picked gold jewelry. The silver set reminded him of chains, which seemed a bit on-the-nose.

day 25: barbed wire

The Omnitrix had latched onto Ben like a cuff of barbed wire, and it hadn’t loosened its grip since. It threaded its barbs under his skin and shoved its way through his veins to tether itself to his bones. The Omnitrix strangled him, squeezing and tearing until Ben’s body was crying out for mercy.

day 26: tape

Ben groaned through the gag at the painful stretch and unpleasant angle. They wrapped his hands in duct tape next, rendering his fingers useless, and then continued up the length of his arms. Ben blinked away tears at the burning in his muscles — the pain faded into numbness quickly as he was bound from wrist to elbows.

day 27: machine

day 28: bloody nose

day 29: control

day 30: collapse

day 31: free day

Tip me on Ko-fi.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #my writing #august of whump #to be updated

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lavender-tea-fling · 1 month ago

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For the rook ask meme! Sent from the alt universe from ur pseudo twin 🌟

13, 14, 18, 32, 40 !!

HIHIHIHI GRIER MY BELOvED

This is for my canon Rook, Nyx Ingellvar! (I have 4 total now thus far 🫣)

13. Did Rook bring any trinkets/sentimental items to The Lighthouse?

Oh man that’s a good one.

I think upon Nyx’s sort of “banishment” from the Mourn Watch, he left with only two sentimental items: a small flag with the heraldry of his Legion in the War of the Banners (despite the fact it lead to his fall from grace, Nyx was very proud of his actions and feels an enduring kinship to the Legion), and a small golden locket containing a portrait of his mother. While Nyx had never met her, it was the only notable item he was discovered with in the Necropolis. The two looked identical before he transitioned.

However, this locket was lost in the aftermath of Solas’ ritual, a loss Nyx mourns deeply.

14. What does Rook see when they look in the mirror?

It depends at what point in the story!

At first, Nyx’s reflection was a great reminder of his mother since her portrait was lost. By the time they disrupted Elgar’nan’s plans at Arlathan, the stress of making so many life or death decisions caused him to go grey alarmingly fast. After that, it was just a reminder of the toll their venture was taking, and the number of things lost in the process. I wrote a lil fic about it here.

18. Their fondest childhood memory:

Probably the first time Nyx saw live theater, especially opera. He had an incredible voice in his youth, and is still working through some insecurity about how his voice sounds after transitioning (cracked and broke a lot at the start, has finally settled into a warm, occasionally shaky tenor).

32. How would a desire demon tempt Rook?

Probably finding his parents, or alternatively, finding a supportive, loving family. While not uncared for, growing up as a foundling in the Necropolis is a lonely childhood. The comforting warmth of always having someone to tell him he’s going the right thing, that they’re proud of him, and that they are always there for him… Nyx would crumble really fast.

Alternative options are Emmrich (take that to mean what you will. Nyx is head over heels for that man) and rest/early retirement. He is so tired.

40. Describe Rook’s bed:

Sort of open ended. I imagine Nyx spent the majority of his life sleeping in a single bland dormitory bed with whatever generic bedding he got it with. After that, it was a mix of bed rolls, hammocks, and the chaise lounge (I’m gonna be so real, Nyx is typically too tired to even think about going to the Infirmary to sleep) until post-Veilguard.

The first legitimately nice bed Nyx ever slept on was Emmrich’s back in Nevarra. He slept nearly 20 hours the first night there, and vowed to never stay anywhere without a bed ever again. Nyx served his damn time. He deserves nice things.

#oc ask game #rook ask game #datv #datv rook #dragon age rook #rook ingellvar #dragon age the veilguard #da the veilguard #da: the veilguard #da:tv

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coffeeworldsasaki · 3 months ago

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Okay random thoughts from my 6 hours playing veilguard

1) once again the area design looks fucking amazing, dai had some stunning areas and obviously they just did better here. Also I'm still crying over Solas bed in the prologue having on top of it an instrument (because he pretended to be a bard in TN....)

2) I found nug meat once and I yelled "NOOO' so loud that I was afraid of waking up my brother, I'm sorry little nug

3) Solas memories are so fucking good oh my god

4) every mention of Felassan makes me cry and I really feel that this time reading the books really award the player. On this note, Viago putting a hand on Teia's shoulder had me go 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 because i love them so much and I can't wait to play as a crow

5) the little part when unpacking that is used to set up rook's past/personality was delicious

6) the cheesy lines you can say to build the team together is adorable "we can do it with each other's help!!!!". It's cheesy and a bit cringe but perfect for my character in a way that dialogue since da2 hasn't been able to be

7) talking with solas is. So. Good. And the fact that what you say in the first dialogue carries on and influences the second? I adore that. Solas' va is once again extremely good, the writing too and now "depending on the story" said with that sarcastic tone will stay stuck in my head for a while

8) they weren't kidding this is a Found Family capital letters and I love them so much

9) I'm obsessed with Neve, I'm still doing Lucanis' romance first because my current character is so good for him but now I'm struggling because I want to do her romance but my next character is not good for that 😭 I want to play crow but for reasons that's a bad fit for Neve 😭😭😭😭

10) I'm having fun with a dragon age gameplay, never thought I'd see the day

11) ISABELA ISABELA ISABELA ISABELA THEY SUSPICION I HAD FOR MONTHS THAT SHE MIGHT BE THE LOF CONTACT MADE ME CHOOSE THIS FACTION AND I WAS RIGHT

12) currently the only thing I'm not loving is that the recruitment is linear, I prefer how it was in previous games where I could choose the order of most of them 😔 besides that I'm fine with a linear structure because dai was a fucking mess

13) it's not open world yes but it's open world just enough for it to be enjoyable to me

14) FACTIONS REALLY MATTER 🥺

15) some reviews said it was slow at first and maybe it is but they've dropped so many cameos from books and previous games and SO MUCH LORE in just 6 hours that I was screaming every 5 minutes

16) I hate to say this but I'm fine with Varric now, because he gave me the da2 narration again and that's one of the things I prefer of da2

17) I desperately want to learn to draw because I'm in love with my Rook and I want to draw them 😔

#okay for now this is all #I'm loving this game and I'm so happy #dragon age #datv spoilers #veilguard spoilers

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mentallyshattered · 1 year ago

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This is part 14 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

"A nightmare? Both of them? I've heard of familiars having similar dreams, given how common it is, but it's generally accepted that having a familiar is a nightmare deterrent." Vil pauses, his face pensive. "Generally, though, having a familiar means you won't have any nightmare you can't be woken from. And you're sure it was a bad dream?"

"Positive. He kept begging some unknown figure for help; it was something like 'please, make this stop' over and over again, quietly."

"Hmm. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll see what I can do."

"You know, Roi de Poison, I have seen Monseur Smoke go and punch trees quite often, until he bleeds. Every time, his attacks last one half-hour, if uninterrupted."

"That does sound like it could be related." Vil turns his head towards me and Grim rather suddenly, as though he forgot we were there. "Yuu, Grim, go and eat. You need the energy, and you've already done enough here. Make sure to drink some water; you two haven't been drinking enough."

Grim and I follow Vil's instruction and leave. Breakfast is avocado toast, which I'm pretty sure is our housewarden's way of making sure everybody eats a decent amout of something green instead of living on fish like the whole dorm seems to try.

While the ice water is nice, I can't bring myself to enjoy it. What of my friends? What of Ace and Deuce, with their tyrant housewarden? What of Korrak and Mandible, with their unknown nightmares?

"H-Hey, Yuu."

"Hi, Korrak! What's up?" Looking into his smokey grey eyes, I can understand why Rook calls him 'Monseur Smoke.'

"Not much, but I'm p-p-pretty sure we have t-t-t-t-to join a club. What club are you joining?"

"Myeh? We have to join a club?"

"Yeah, by the end of the week," Mandible adds, "have you seen the options?"

"Uhh, nope." Grim and I speak in unison this time.

"Well, w-w-we can all g-go and look at the opt-t-t-tions lat-t-t- Mandible, you know what I was g-g-going t-t-t-"

"Sure do. Anyway, do you two wanna go to the courtyard later today and look at the options?"

"Sure! Sounds fun."

Korrak looks relived. "Thanks, bud. You've always b-b-been there f-for me." Korrak turns to Grim and I. "Th-th-the speech issue is w-w-w-worse when I haven't eat-t-t-en."

Grim and I nod. "Isn't everything?"

"Fair point." Mandible seems to share Grim's sentiment. I hand Korrak a piece of toast, and he starts adding butter and avocado almost immediately.

When Grim and I get to class, we discover a well-rested Ace with no collar on.

"Yeah, housewarden Riddle must've had a change of heart or something. He's stopped enforcing most of the rules, and now Ace's punishment for stealing is helping Trey bake the tarts for the party. We still can't play croquet after 5:00pm, though."

I smile. Grim and I were right. Riddle did just need a hug and some time to himself.

The rest of class goes by without incident. It would be boring if I weren't learning the history of an entirely new world, but, hey, I'm in luck!

Alchemy sees me successfully using magic to catch a glass jar that got knocked off of a shelf. It "certainly would've shattered" on the stone floor if not for my "catlike reflexes-" or so Crewel says, anyway.

To be honest, I didn't even realize I knew a spell that could save that jar. I just panicked and attempted one I've read about. Good for me!

P.E. sucks, as usual. Ace stays conscious, though! Not without a bad sunburn that got him sent to the nurse anyway, but baby steps.

Lunch is tomato soup, which is the first time the main dish of a Pomefiore meal does not and cannot include fish. Even this morning, there were pieces of salmon for the avocado toast.

"So, Epel, w-what club are you in?"

"Spelldrive. Cain't wait fer practice t' start up, lemme tell ya! Hopefully I'll git bigger an' stop lookin' so-"

"Epel, Vil's in the room." Epel, despite having just been interrupted by four people, one of whom is a cat and another of whom is an opossum, does not delay his speaking. That's gotten pretty normal, after all.

"Whoop, sorry. Thanks, y'all. 'Nyway, I'd jus' like t' be a little less girly, y'know?"

"I g-get that. I got mist-t-t-aken for a girl all the t-t-t-"

"Take another bite of your soup, Korrak."

"Thanks, Mandible." He obeys. "Anyway, people u-used t-t-to think I was a girl all the t-t-time. They'd p-pick on me 'cause of that- you should've seen th-the looks on their faces when I beat the shit out of them."

Korrak laughs. I recall what I heard Rook say about Korrak punching trees until he bleeds, and spilling no blood for half an hour every time. Guess that's just what he's like.

Korrak doesn't strike me as a violent person so much as the retalliative sort. Why would he be violent? He doesn't start fights, he doesn't bully people, and he doesn't tolerate bullshit.

"It was always real f-funny, watching them s-s-suff-"

"Korrak." Our housewarden now stands tall behind the Korrak's confident figure.

"Uh, when I beat the bully out o-of them."

"Perfect." With that, Vil walks off. I wonder, why did it take him so long to react? Then again, this room is full of teens. Epel can't be the only potty mouth.

Korrak watches Vil go and shrugs. "That's life, I s-suppose." His stutter has noticeably improved since eating more of his soup, but is still present.

"Do you fight often, Korrak?"

"Only when I g-gotta. Kids back a-at my elementary school called me th-the gas st-t-t-ation, cuz I w-was nice t-t-to have around unt-il there were s-sparks."

Yeah, that makes sense. It's a little hard to imagine people pissing him off at all, but especially recalling the tree-punching thing. After all, Korrak stands tall and confident, with square shoulders and a smirk that suggests anyone who goes looking for trouble with him will find more of it than they bargained for. There's a spark in his eyes, like the sun peaking out from smoke, that makes it obvious: you fuck with Korrak, you've fucked up.

He's not shy, that's my point. He is kinda cute though, what with the hair- ashy purple and super fluffy. Combine that with his beautiful eyes and some teenage jealousy, and you've probably got at least one kid challenging him to make sure he stays away from their lover.

"Myah, we have class!"

Everybody's eyes widen. Evidently, the whole room forgot we aren't eating dinner.

Then, from various voices accross the room: "run!"

Luckily, Grim and I make it to class on time. Biology class is about morays today- specifically, the differences between cold sea morays and warm sea morays.

According to Trein, there's a trench that separates the sea. Morays who lay eggs on the south side lay two connected egg sacks. One side only has babies with magical left eyes, and the other only has babies with magical right eyes. The babies in each side fight until only one is left, and the survivors are twins.

Warm sea morays have nothing of the sort. Eggs can't be carried over the trench because the temperature change kills them, and keeping them on the side they weren't laid on requires keeping them at the temperature of the other side.

Cold sea morays can lay warm sea eggs, and vice versa. It's all location, and it's all very facinating. But, alas, class cannot go on forever.

MacGyvering shows us using drills as motors for fans, boats, and a variety of other things. Not really, though- we're making blueprints. Reasonable enough, if you ask me.

Finally, class is over. I hold Grim and carry him to the courtyard so he can sleep on the way. Korrak and Mandible are already waiting.

They wave. I wave back. Korrak motions to me to stand over by him, and I follow his lead. Beside him is a big list of all the clubs, pinned to the wall.

"I was thinking of joining the track and field club, but I'm not really sure. What do you think?"

"Well... what kind of stuff do you like?"

"The science club sounds fascinating. I've always liked all of it, anyway, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, I want to be more physical."

"You don't have to be in a club to use the gymnasium, Korrak."

"Yeah, great point. Science Club it is!" With that, he starts filling out an application that apparently just needed a few more fields to be filled in.

"Myeh?.. what time is... oh, I took a nap." Grim yawns, putting his, frankly, adorable little teeth on display. "What club are we joining?"

"I don't know yet. That's why we're here, Grim."

Grim hops onto the ground, does the iconic kitty stretch, and hops onto the bench. Before I can wonder why, he jumps onto Korrak's shoulder- the one that doesn't have Mandible on it- and onto my shoulder from there.

"You can just ask me to pick you up, Grim."

"Where's the fun in that?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. What clubs are there? Board Games, Mountain Lovers, Gargoyle Studies... out of those, Board Games seem like the best option.

"Where are the applications?" Korrak hands me one.

"Hey, you didn't even tell me what club you picked! We're both going, so we both need to approve!"

"I picked the board games club, Grim."

"Ooh. Sounds fun, I'm in!"

I grin. "We sure are!"

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst vil #m!yuu #twst grim #twst yuu #twst oc #twst epel #twst ace #twst deuce #twst disney #twst #what if yuu didn't want to go back #twst rook

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esseastri · 7 months ago

Note

here i made it an ask:

HECK YES, ok, I'll do all the questions that Kogi didn't ask me.

What was the first Dragon Age game you played?

I started at the beginning because I think Kogi and Feather would have manifested in showers of sparkles to berate me into oblivion if I hadn't, so DAO.

2. Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

DA2. Listen, I love all of those bisexual disasters (except Fenris) so damn much, and while the whole thing is a little repetitive, I always find it to be more comfortable than annoying. I'm a sucker for a good framing device with an unreliable narrator. And while I love the Warden and the Inquisitor because they are blank slates that I can create anyone off of, it's nice that Hawke has a solid, actual character for me to love.

3. Do you usually play as a warrior, mage, or rogue? Which class are you planning to try first this time around? Which subclass?

I've got one of each in my canon worldstate, but Rogue is historically my favorite, even though I find mage easiest to play. I will almost certainly make a shitty little double-daggers rogue as my first Rook because all we know of Rook so far leads me to believe that she'd be besties with my Hawke, which means Rogue Supremacy.

5. Do you typically use a preset character and name or spend hours in the character creator coming up with a custom one?

Bahahaha, I think the first time I played DAI, I was in the CC for a solid two point five hours. I will be dicking around for nine years with hair color alone.

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

I will need to know the canon surnames for all the races before I can really dive into planning a Rook. I can't do anything without a name, and my name has got to jive with the surname, so that's what I'll need to start with. I can say that she will almost certainly have red hair, since all of my previous First Characters have been redheads. Gotta stick with tradition.

9. Which romance, if any, do you plan to pursue first?

I have been trying to KISS Scout LACE HARDING for TEN YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (But Davrin is making a strong case for himself by simply existing. He'll probably be second.)

10. Which location are you most excited/hoping to explore in-game?

Weisshaupt. I want to know everything about how the official organization of the Wardens works, so I know how shitty the little Fereldan outpost has been all these years.

13. What’s one thing you’ve seen confirmed so far that you’re a fan of?

Mmmm everything about the character creator--the pronouns and body shapes and lighting and just... everything about it.

14. What’s one thing you’ve seen confirmed so far that you’re NOT a fan of?

mmmmmmrrrrrggggggg Ghilan'nain.

15. Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far?

The character trailer was a blast and made me infinitely more excited for the game than anything else we've seen, I didn't think it was ""too MCU"" or ""quippy"" or whatever, I thought it was perfect Varric content and I loved it.

16. What’s one crack theory you subscribe to (yours or someone else’s)?

Sandal will show up at some point, possibly in the Black City, because he's actually massively important and possibly the Maker in disguise.

17. Are you interested in all the lore and speculation or do you focus more on the games and stories themselves?

Yes? To me, a lot of the lore is in the stories and the stories are about the lore, so they go together. I'm not the most speculative--I just want to know, I don't want to guess!--so I'm bouncing off the walls waiting for the actual game to drop so I can just go nuts. And I'm always really here for the characters, so that's what I'm most interested in.

18. Which aspect of fandom are you most looking forward to? (e.g. reading/writing fic, the bounty of gorgeous art, getting to know new people, etc.)

NEW ART SO MUCH NEW ART god bless every fanartist in this fandom, I cannoooottt waaaaiiiittt!! There is already so much amazing stuff in the tags, I can't wait until there's even more!!! I want to see everyone's Rooks, all of them, I cannot wait. Also I have not written fanfic in years, but if anything is going to get me to write some, it will be Dragon Age, so it will be great to get back into that, hopefully.

19. Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime?

Uh, Kogi and I watched the gameplay trailer and about ten minutes after we finished, I'd plugged DAI into the PS4 and booted everything up. So. Yes. I'm also finally reading Tevinter Nights after sitting on it for two years. AND I'm making my best friend play all three games from the beginning so she can join us in DA hell, we are deeply enjoying Origins rn. It's great. I am fully in the soup and there I shall remain until DAV appears.

#dragon age #dav #long post #nicole does meme things #ask meme #BLESSED ASK MEME CONTENT #I'm extremely excited about everything

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cyber-dump-171 · 2 years ago

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Chapter 13: Pudgy paws

Left for Carnage (Twisted Wonderland x Reader)

← Chapter 12 | Masterlist | Chapter 14 →

WARNING: mentions of injuries.

Note: Alright, we’re back! If you would like to know why I didn’t post for a very long time, please check my previous post in which I explained what happened. Again, thank you for your support!

━━━━━━◇◆◇━━━━━━

The blue flame dashes towards the end of the hallway and then takes a sharp left, going directly to the study and painting rooms, the hallway shrouding itself in darkness once again as the momentary source of light disappears.

What the hell was that? Fearing it might be a beast and set the house on fire, you throw your things on the floor and proceed to chase after it.

You turn down a few corridors, following the little blue light that disappears at every corner and turn you make. Whatever it is that is running is quite fast and agile, but you know that after a few more turns it will run into a corridor that has a dead end, so you can corner whatever it is running.

You take a few more turns and hear a door swing open before the final corridor. Damn it, it entered the painting room! Immediately after that, you hear a large number of objects fall and a screeching sound leaves the entire hallway in complete silence. Hurrying, you enter the room and see that the blue flame has made a complete mess in the room.

The white curtain that covered the dirty window has fallen from its holdback and something is moving underneath the fabric. Whatever it might be, is kicking as it curses under its breath at the stupid piece of curtain. You reach out carefully and grab the corner of the fabric, taking a deep breath as you prepare to fight whatever is down there. You pull with all your might and the curtain flies off into the corner of the room and you see what was making such a mess.

“You!?" it's that raccoon-cat you found in the forest! What's it doing here? The creature looks at you in surprise but quickly stops and takes a defensive stance white it bares its teeth at you. "Fugya! Stay away human, don't even think of touching the Great Grimm!" ah, right, it called itself by that strange nickname.

Although the little animal tries to put up a façade of being strong and fearless, you notice that it is trembling a little. It is likely that when the curtain fell on him, he got scared and stunned.

"What are you doing here? Everything was locked," the monster slowly blinks, but as he remembers something, his gaze becomes annoyed. "Ugh, that weirdo left me in the living room. He said you'd be back in a few hours and to stay put," Grim comes down from his defensive position and lets out a sigh, as you watch him.

He looks somewhat embarrassed and avoids looking you in the eye as he evades answering the important part of his story. "I don’t think he let you loose inside the house, I assume you escaped from the cage," you know Rook, he wouldn't be foolish enough to let a monster that has flames in its ears run loose all over the place.

It looks like you've got it right, as Grim shrugs his ears and again, avoids looking you in the eye. "The Great Grimm can't be stopped! So I melted the lock!" he says proudly as he stands on two legs and crosses his "arms" with a big grin.

You feel an incoming headache. You let out a sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose, well, you'll have to take care of this little menace until you can find a way to put it back where it came from, after all, you promised Rook that when you finished this mission you would take care of the beast.

You look carefully at Grim, who is now back to standing on all four legs. "So, why were you running like crazy down the hallway? You looked scared," the cat seems to be surprised to hear your words, his eyes widening like saucers and his mouth hanging open slightly, revealing a set of pointed teeth.

His embarrassment disappears in seconds, however, as he stands back up on two legs and gives you an angry look. "Not at all! You think the Great Grim would be scared because the house was dark and I was alone!?" he says in a slightly shaky voice but tries to hide it with an assertive tone. You let out a laugh, it's a somewhat detailed excuse that he demands to be taken as the ultimate truth.

You can't help but quietly coo at his adorable puffed cheeks as he crosses his tiny little arms. Oh! And those absolutely squishable paws.

'Ah! He almost looks like a cute plushie,' the initial scare from the blue flame running at full speed down the hallway and the headache from the disaster caused by the tiny menace have completely disappeared as Grim reminds you of the house cats your aunt used to have. "Oi! What're you staring at?" Grim asks confused while you watch him tenderly.

The cat keeps wondering why you're not moving and why the hell your eyes are shining so bright. Did you die? Or maybe you are so overwhelmed by the presence of the Great Grim that you can't say a single word? That's what the monster thinks as he laughs to himself and places his little paw on your thigh to wake you up.

Before you can answer him, you hear something fall behind you. Turning your head, you realize it was that strange painting. You had forgotten to take it off the canvas and put it away with the other sketches. "Don't move," you warn the cat as you stand up and walk over to the slumped sheet that lies on the floor, the canvas faces down on top of it.

With a sigh, you bend down and pick up the unfinished painting, being careful not to scratch or damage the art in front of it. You place it back on the easel, the sketched figure of Guddommelig ulykke stares at you crudely.

You briefly wonder why did your mother even sketch this. It's bizarre, that for a moment you thought someone else had painted this and left the half-finished painting here when your father decided that no one else could set foot inside the house, leaving the lively hallways that once populated the house to fill with dust and cobwebs while your mother's cherished garden rotted and withered over the years.

'Then again she did paint that absolutely terrifying picture of the angler fish that gave me nightmares when I was a kid.'

But something tells you that this was no stranger who painted the picture, it was your mother. Even as you gently brush your fingers across the canvas you can imagine the paint pots surrounding the bench, the sunlight streaming through the window, and in the background, you hear children running up and down the hallway laughing at something.

Your mother picks up the paintbrush and smudges it with green paint, in front of her lies a canvas that has smooth penciled lines dividing it into eight sections. Without wasting any time, she paints each of the sections with different colors and when she is done, she gets up and leaves the room, leaving the paint behind.

However, your thoughts are interrupted when you hear footsteps approaching the room. You turn around to face the door and see Epel approaching with his eyes closed. "Hey (Y/N), dinner's ready. I made some- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Shit.

━━━━━━◇◆◇━━━━━━

After calming the lilac-haired boy and catching Grim before he could run out of the room, you explain to Epel everything that happened and how such a strange creature ended up inside the house. Despite the apple boy's insistence that he doesn't mind a cat on fire roaming the halls of the house, you get a great deal of doubt when you notice that Epel keeps glancing sideways at the creature.

"Are you sure it doesn't bother you? I'll take care of Grim anyway, but you don't seem very convinced," you ask him somewhat worriedly as you tie a black and white lined bow around Grim's neck. The cat sits on all fours on top of the kitchen counter, his nose inhaling the smells of the dinner that was just cooked as he mumbles that he's hungry.

"A little. I just don't want him to set the house on fire," hearing that response, Grim's ears perk up and his face turns angry. "Oi! I wouldn't do that! The Great Grim knows how to control his magnificent power," you can’t help but let out a small chuckle as you remind yourself that the creature set fire to the sleeping tent out of sheer desperation. "What are you laughing at, henchman!?"

Henchman?

“Excuse me, what did you just call me?” the cat turns its body to look at you and with a mocking smile, stands on two legs to try to level itself towards your face. "That you are my servant. Look! You've even dressed me," the creature turns to show off the bow tie. It seems that the fear you saw in the paint room has completely vanished.

You don't feel like fighting against his bizarre claim. You let out a sigh and turn to Epel, a tired look decorating your face. "We don't have much time, tomorrow we'll have to go somewhere else as per Draconia's instructions. Let's have dinner and I'll go drop Grim off at the Institute of Beast Study," at the mention of his name, the cat stops his ears and turns quickly, lowering himself to all four paws. "Ah!? Where are you going to dump me!?"

"I'm not going to dump you! It is illegal to keep an assimilation beast without a permit given by the Institute. Besides, I don't recognize what breed you are and I'm not going to leave you locked up in the house for days or weeks," you say as you head toward the cabinet to take out some plates and glasses. The creature follows you, jumping from the cabinet to the dining table.

"The Great Grim can take care of himself! The 'great' is in my name for a reason!" the creature shouts, trying to maintain its magnanimous appearance. However, you can tell that its tone sounds desperate and although it tries to hold its ground, you notice that its little paws are shaking a bit.

“The people at the Institute are not going to hurt you, they're just going to examine you and take care of you while I’m gone. Either way, I cannot afford to make any more mistakes after the last time”, you mutter the last sentence in hopes that the creature doesn’t hear your laments. Thankfully, the creature doesn’t appear to have heard you.

The discussion is interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. You take the opportunity to leave the room and ignore the exaggerated demands of the little creature. As adorable as it is, you're not crazy enough to let it wander the corridors of the old house while you're off solving problems elsewhere.

Arriving at the front door, you wipe your trousers and fix your hair as quickly as possible, an action you now do unconsciously after Dorothea scolded you for greeting guests with a few flyaway hairs on your head. You looked fine and there was nothing wrong with your appearance, but the insults that fell from your stepmother's rotten mouth have scarred you for life.

You open the doors of the mansion and the cold air from outside enters the house, which is only tepidly heated. Lately, the place has been getting colder and colder as the days go by, and it is most noticeable at night when the wind blows hard, shaking the trees and blowing a lot of leaves and branches to the ground.

But its effects are most evident on the poor boy standing outside your door. Half of his face is hidden behind a black scarf, and the tips of his pointed ears are slightly red because of the cold.

When he notices your presence, Sebek stands up straight and his eyes, which resemble those of a crocodile, widen like saucers, though he quickly fixes his appearance.

"Good evening, I apologize for my late arrival!" he shouts in a loud voice. His tone reminds you of a general commanding his soldiers. You step aside to invite him into your home, and he quickly enters, removing his scarf as you close the wooden doors.

"Don't worry about being late. Lord Malleus informed me that you would be coming to give me information on the next mission," at the mention of the Prince of Briar Valley, the boy turns and nods enthusiastically, an aura of pride emanating from his body. You notice that he no longer seems to regard you with such hostility.

Without another word, you begin to lead him toward the living room to discuss the details of your next mission. You try to offer him something to drink, but Sebek flatly refuses, saying that he doesn't have much time to stay here and must return to Briar Valley.

Once you are both seated in opposite armchairs, the door to the room opens, and in comes Epel, holding a small tray with some glasses of water. He gently places it on top of the table as Sebeks takes out various documents from his bag.

The lilac-haired boy takes a seat right next to you and extends a hand towards the green-haired, who stares back at him a bit surprised. “Good day! I’m Epel Felmier, Mx. (Y/N) assistant. It’s a pleasure to meet ya!” he excitedly says. Sebeks seems to snap out of his trance and takes Epel’s hand, slightly shaking it as he introduces himself back. Afterward, the green-haired clears his throat and begins to speak.

"As you know, your mission will take place in the Sunset Savannah. Recently, there have been several reports of players who were supposed to participate in the Spelldrive Tournament being injured," Sebek hands you several documents with the faces of the players, the teams they were on, and the circumstances of their injuries.

At first glance, most of the wounds are the result of falling down stairs or tripping during practice, but the one that stands out the most is a recent one which details the fall of one of the players from the second-floor balcony of a hotel they were staying in.

"He ended up with his right arm broken, a concussion, a broken nose, and a sprained ankle. Goodness, how did he survive?" you mutter to yourself, your eyebrows furrowed as you continue to read the documents. There is another piece of information that also catches your attention.

You raise your face to meet Sebek, who sits still with his arms crossed. "Most of these players were chosen by King Falena to be part of his special team," the green-haired man smiles at you, satisfied with your answer.

"You have a good eye, Mx. (Y/N). After receiving these reports directly from the queen of the Sunset Savannah, we have a theory that this series of injuries were caused intentionally and is some kind of threat against the king," the knight points to one of the lines on the document. "Do you see another similarity?

"Yes, all but two of the documents mention the presence of a mysterious figure at the scene of the crime. The most recent was the one Lord Malleus told me about, that one of the palace maids saw the figure slip away early in the morning," you reply, your head full of questions.

Strange, what is the point of hurting these people? It seems like a bizarre kind of threat and at first glance, it can be interpreted as some type of revenge executed on a specific player or group of people. You think that if they truly want to threaten Falena, they would’ve had a more direct approach, rather than injuring various players who are most likely innocent.

Also, the Spelldrive Tournament is no big deal. Yes, it is presented to the public as an opportunity for teams from different nations to come together in friendly competition and win a trophy through the teamwork of the players, but that's it. It's no coronation ceremony or a royal baby announcement, just a competition.

...Hang on, something just popped into your head! It could be that this is exactly what the perpetrator wants. To downgrade the situation as much as possible and to not be taken seriously by anyone, because this is the Spelldrive Tournament, an event that most people consider to be a day of entertainment.

"It is possible that this is an intimidation tactic against the king. As you said, a kind of threat, quietly telling him that whoever is doing this damage may do more vile things in the future," you comment on your theory. "It may be that this is the beginning of a series of actions intended to sabotage Falena's place as king."

The details will certainly need to be refined as time goes on and you gather more information, but it is a solid theory with which to begin this investigation. Somewhat far-fetched, but it does work and it fits inside the realm of possibilities.

"Exactly, after what happened at Rosehearts Manor and Miss Meiji's testimony, we shouldn't take such a situation lightly," Sebek adds, and Epel sits up straighter as if something has occurred to him. "Could it be that this sabotage is being done by the cult?" the lilac-haired boy asks.

"It’s a possibility, however, we still can't point fingers and accuse someone without sufficient evidence," the knight's intense green eyes focus on his figure. "This is where you come in.

Sebek buries his hands in his bag and pulls out a rather elegant invitation and hands it to you. "As Lord Malleus told you, you will be going to the event not undercover but as yourself, who is part of a noble family. Your objective is to discover who is behind these attacks and what their intentions are."

You gently take the invitation and look at it more closely, your name embedded elegantly in the small cream-colored envelope.

It's been too long since you last attended one of these events, your family stopped attending formal events after your mother died and they started denying invitations to parties when your father married Dorothea.

Your hands suddenly feel cold when you start to overpress everything: your manners, how to start conversations, what is the correct outfit to wear on these types of invitations, and many other things.

However, your thoughts are interrupted when you feel Epel's hand rest on top of yours. It seems like he knew you were nervous and was attempting to calm you down. "You said that we would be working with two newbies, who are they?" the boy asks.

"Oh, that's right. Forgive me, I almost forgot. You will be accompanied by Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade."

…What!?

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