#ammoniteflesh

[flashhwing]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I really enjoy your presence on my dash :D

🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 thank youuuuuu

[anneapocalypse]

🎀and💝!

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

I think I'm pretty good at plot these days!

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I never expected "Homecoming" (an RvB gen fic about Tucker and Junior going to Sanghelios so Junior could get to know his people) to get anything like the response it did! It was just an idea I had that I thought would be fun, and I never dreamed so many people would like it. It's my most-kudosed Red vs. Blue fic to this day.

[fakeosirian]

Zevistair and Alistair/Anora for the ship bingo! (Also hi!!!!)

OOOOH VERY INTERESTING ONES

zevistair:

this one is a Very Recent consideration/revelation for me and honestly. kinda obsessed and i wish i had been into it when i was first playing origins a couple years ago/makes me want to start a new file to Observe them more

bulleted thoughts:

i love the idea that their character arcs are sort of going in...opposite directions? if that makes sense? like despite the fact they have similar brands of tragic backstory, the actual circumstances of the tragic backstory diverge such that zev is recruited into an order that makes him distrust people and alistair is recruited into an order that, in his mind, is the only people he CAN trust, but in the game itself zev is "softening"/opening up and alistair (in more interesting characterization directions lol) is hardening/losing his naivete its So Cool

attempted murder is ? because that's more the warden than alistair but it's close enough that i think it'd be a bit for them LMAO

the specific combo of zev being super forward sexually/a bit harder to reach romantically (iirc i need to replay origins Stat) and alistair being very forward romantically but inexperienced sexually is...Very Good for ship dynamic/conflict purposes...

besides that tho they're just silly. like they both make jokes and do the hahas. what more could you want

alistair/anora:

so full disclosure i've never done a playthrough of origins (or at least not gotten to the landsmeet with a warden that had this as the plan of action) with alistair and anora co-ruling which may be coloring my opinions A Lot but i'm glad you asked about it because i've been meaning to think up a scenario that i'd want to use it for (ive kept alistair as a warden, married him myself, and had him rule alone hardened fwiw)

my ideal scenario/conception of this is absolutely a like. starts literally Zero romantic interest. probably some degree of contempt, even. but through a comical series of events they end up doing pretty much everything couples do besides really "having feelings" in such a way that they're like. ticking off boxes on the Businesslike Relationship List and Getting a Good Grade in Marriage. like ok honey great work out there today. we had a functional discussion about what dishware we want to purchase, planned our next ten years of children, and practiced a polite amount of public affection while negotiating with a diplomat. here's what's on the docket for tomorrow. and through that practicality they become fond for each other? sort of? idk i still think lingering contempt is a Hallmark of their vibes and what makes it work for me as a concept

i can...sort of see them developing proper romantic feelings for each other on like Year Fifteen of Marriage maybe but tbh its more a hard-earned-despite-the-circumstances-respect flavor of romance like. you are a Stable Feature in my life. and not so much "storybook" romance which tbh would be really interesting for a character like alistair to have to work through considering How He Is in his warden romance (and iirc you Have to harden him to even do this so itd be...neat to dovetail that with that element of his development specifically re: i have to call up the desire for romance i had before i Lost My Innocence as a mask for the public to idealize re: our marriage/rule and its legitimacy but also i do not believe in it anymore. we love a lil cognitive dissonance)

probably obvious from how i talk about it but tbh not something i "ship" LOL not even in a "they're so toxic it's fun" type of ship way...idk they are a narrative device to me. the most fun they can have is a divorce arc

tysm this was very fun!! i think i'm going to go find the mahariel save file i started a bit ago and hope i remember what i was doing bc that warden would 100% shove alistair and anora together LMFAO

[thedragonagebigbang]

No Esteemed Deed

Written by: Faust Illustrated by: Willemina

Rating: Mature Content Warnings: Please see the work for complete warnings. Fandom(s): Dragon Age 2 Major Pairing(s)/Character(s): Gen, Fenris/Isabela, Aveline Vallen & Meredith Stannard, Bethany Hawke & Justice, Merrill & Original Male Character, background Anders/Male Hawke

Hawke and his lover, Anders, die in the Battle of Kirkwall. Meredith wins. A brutal martial rule follows, with the city in complete lockdown until she can be certain no mage is left alive. Red lyrium festers, spreading its brittle roots throughout the city. Kirkwall is dying; Kirkwall is death itself.

This is the story of the people left behind.

More from Faust: @ammoniteflesh More from Willemina: @willeminaaa

Full art by Willemina:

[dreadfutures]

Death is an Open Door | Dragon Age Fanfic

Rated: T | M!Mahariel & NB!Mahariel | Length: 8k, oneshot.

Art commissioned from @eldrtchmn.

Old Wardens told tales of long-gone companions and how they knew it was time to go. When hair thinned and nails grew sharp; when bone spurs sprouted or muscles began to hunch; when the eyes grew milky and the veins grew dark, and the light of the sun burned like the Maker’s wrath… that was when a Warden was a Warden no longer. Mahariel had never known old Wardens. Mahariel traveled at night.

A gift fic I wrote for @ammoniteflesh <3

Written for the annual Dragon Age Fan Fic (DAFF) discord server's April OC Swap. I was SO excited to receive Ghila to write a fic for and had to place my own Mahariel in stark contrast - and uncanny comparison - to Ghila's experience with the Blight, and vice versa.

We both commissioned @eldrtchmn for our ghoulish Wardens (above). Please keep an eye out for commission openings, and follow on all socials! No one does dark fantasy/souls better IMO.

[carlsdraws]

tagged by @drk-et-al

10 songs 10 people

Rules: Put your music on shuffle and list the first ten songs that come up, then tag ten people.

ok well surprisingly enough there aren’t an insane amount of musical songs on here

Sonya Alone - Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

No Children - The Mountain Goats

Bones in the Ocean - The Longest Johns

Bright - Julie and the Phantoms Cast

SugarCrash! - ElyOtto

Natasha & Anatole - Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

Bring on the Monsters - The Lightning Thief Musical

overbehind - flor

The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun - Julie Brown

Dogsong - Toby Fox

tagging: @anonymousbathtub, @tadpal, @courtjesterart, @vhenad4hl, @longhairsokka, @ammoniteflesh, @cowboysmp3, @wildflowerwi1dfire, @kojottek, @junkoandthediamonds

[exalted-dawn]

RULES: post a 24-hour poll containing two truths and one lie about your OC. Have your followers try to guess which is the lie. I was tagged by @dreadfutures

Find The Lie: Talenna Ethera

Art by @alienturnip

Tagging forward to (optional!) @oxygenforthewicked | @pickelda | @theluckywizard | @kiastirling | @breninarthur

@ammoniteflesh | @thebookworm0001 | @ammocharis | @alienturnip | @nananarc

[dellamortethelesser]

@amatres @terendelev @ammoniteflesh @dragonologist-phd and @arendaes all tagged me to do my faves so heehee.

tagging @archduke-enver-gortash @bardofbaldur @flashhwing @fergus-cousland @fenharel-apologist94 @himbo-robot @hannahrama @jean-dieu @new-austin @cassynite @tenmillionbees and whoever else

[rosella-writes]

RULES: post a 24-hour poll containing two truths and one lie about your oc. have your followers try to guess which is the lie.

I was tagged by @dreadfutures and @queenaeducan

Find the Lie: Virelan Lavellan

(Art by @wabart 💚 please play if you like!!)

Tagging forward to (optional as always!):

@pickelda | @demarogue | @shift-shaping | @thedreadblog

@ammoniteflesh | @breninarthur | @inquisimer | @drag-on-age

@kiastirling | @little-lightning-lavellan | @shivunin | @theelderone

[breadedsinner]

Tagged by @sunflowerdales, @elvenmother, @daisymeade, and @ammoniteflesh

I'll tag @dwarvenales, @dandenbo, and @shadoedseptmbr

[dragonologist-phd]

OC Inspo

Guidelines: share something that acts as inspiration for your OC(s)! It could be anything; a moodboard, a collection of pictures, a playlist, a movie, etc. Explaining why you like it as inspiration is optional.

tagged by @gothimp! thank you! i'll pass the tag on to @ammoniteflesh @serenbach86 @starlightcleric @arendaes @transprincecaspian (if y'all want to, no pressure!)

i'm in a real playlist mood today, so how about my oc playlists for marja and darvis? i won't ramble too long about all the inspiration (we'd be here all day) but feel welcome to ask about any specific songs if you'd like!

Marja Aeducan

King- Florence + The Machine // Daniel In The Den- Bastille // Everybody Wants to rule the World- Lorde // Up the Wolves- The Mountain Goats // Angel On Fire- Halsey // Glory- Bastille // Hide & Seek- Amber run // Delicate- Taylor Swift // Stay Gold- First Aid Kit // Queen of Peace- Florence + The Machine // Yellow Flicker Beat- Lorde // Call Mercy- The rough & Tumble // I Of The Storm- Of Monsters And Men // It's Called: Freefall- Paris Paloma // Upper West Side- King Princess // Sometimes I See Stars- Tegan and Sara // Second Child, restless Child- The Oh Hellos // I Must Be The Sun- The rough & Tumble // Supercut- Lorde // Wait For Me- John-Allison Weiss // Costellations- The Oh Hellos

Darvis Brosca

The Boxer- Mumford & Sons // I Go To Work- Delta rae // Back Against the Wall- Cage the Elephant // Kiss the Sky- Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra // Dog Valley- The Moss // Cops and robbers- The Hoosiers // This Year- The Mountain Goats // Fistfight- The Ballroom Thieves // Thank God I'm Not You- HIMALAYAS // The Kids Aren't Alright- Fall Out Boy // Comfort of Strangers- Bastille // Alone Together- Fall Out Boy // Blood In The Cut- K Flay // Bad Blood- Bastille // The Harrowed And The Haunted- The Decemberists // Glory- Bastille // Sunlight- Hozier // Shovels & Dirt- The Strumbellas // Ends of the Earth- Lord Huron // St Jude- Florence + The Machine // Inkpot Gods- The Amazing Devil

[inquisimer]

wip wthursday

tagged by @hollytree33 and @greypetrel this week, thank you friends! <3 I wasn't originally going to have anything new that I could share, then I was possessed by "Divine Cassandra with Cullen as her Right Hand + sooooooo much knight/lady devotion" and I threw this out in my notes app as I was falling asleep

tagging forward (for this week or next, I know I'm a day late!) to: @midmorninggrey | @dungeons-and-dragon-age | @shivunin | @dragonologist-phd | & @ammoniteflesh

-

He looked radiant in the red and silver of the Knight’s Divine armor. Neither it nor the sword at his hip were ceremonial and he knew how to use both, as Divine Victoria is well aware.

His new vows fell from his lips confidently, assured, taking the place of the shattered purpose leftover from his years with the Templar Order. Before the assembled clerics, nobles, the remnants of the Inquisition, he swore himself into her service: by Andraste’s grace, by the Maker’s will, up to and including the cost of his life.

He dropped to one knee before her and bowed his head so that she could place the wreath of prophet’s laurel around his neck. She offered him one gloved hand and only narrowly kept her composure at the whisper of heat through the fabric where his lips brushed against her knuckles.

“Rise, Ser Cullen Rutherford, Knight-Commander of the Divine Order!” Thank the Maker her voice did not shake. She was better at that, these days. “May the Maker guide your duty, your purpose, and your path.”

His eyes did not leave hers as he stood. They both knew, of course, that is was not the Maker who would guide his path, just as it was not the Maker who brought him here. Not really.

It was her.

It was always her.

[blightbear]

two truths and a lie 

RULES: post a 24-hour poll containing two truths and one lie about your oc. Have your followers try to guess which is the lie.

tagged by @shivunin (you’re tagged back if you want to do another one :3) to do this, thanks so much <33

I’m going to do this for Ashari this time, try and show the others some love c:

( the artist was /seriousames but they’ve deactivated on here and their kofi so if they ever pop up again I want to properly credit )

tagging: @first-talon @lords-of-fortune @ustalav @ell-vellan @ndostairlyrium @fenharel-apologist94 @ammoniteflesh and anyone else who wants to do this <3

[pickelda]

Six Song Soundtrack

tagged by @dreadfutures and @inquisimer :3 <3

If you're tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following: 1. An event that defines your character's past 2. How your character sees themselves 3. How others view them 4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic) 5. A major fight scene 6. End credits song

For tragic girly, Nara Hawke:

Arms I Know So Well by Emma Ruth Rundle

Sorrow by the National

Putting the Dog to Sleep, The Antlers

Your Loves Whore by Wolf Alice

Funeral Bell, PHILDEL

The Ghost in Your Smile by Les Trés

tagging forward to: @star--nymph | @ammoniteflesh | @fatale-distraction | @rosieofcorona

Lyrics + descriptions under the cut.

1. Arms I Know So Well, Emma Ruth Rundle

Oh boundless life were we to gain From lost lands to the garden's gate It's fear of the frozen and unhappy skies Burnt now, burnt now, breathing only fire And deliver me From all the evil I did to myself And deliver me to arms so open Arms I know so well

[A song defining their past] Nara is haunted by a demon all her life, and she resists its call up until the very moment she doesn't. When she finally gives in to Despair, it's like falling into the arms of a dark friend.

2. Sorrow, The National

Sorrow found me when I was young Sorrow waited, sorrow won Sorrow, they put me on the pill It's in my honey, it's in my milk

[How they see themselves] This song fits nicely for her journey with the literal Despair demon as well, but in this case it speaks to how Nara views herself as intrinsically built around a deep sorrow. Everything she does is to fight it, to soothe it, to serve it. She wouldn't know how to exist without it.

3. Putting the Dog to Sleep, The Antlers

I can't prove to you you're not gonna die alone, But trust me to take you home, To clean up that blood all over your paws. You can't keep running out, Kicking yourself off the bed, Kicking yourself in the head, Because you're kicking me too.

[How others see them] The good dog that still bites. Nara is loyal and protective but places little value on her survival. She'll succeed where others fail, but the ways in which she does it can be destructive to herself and those around her.

5. Your Love's Whore, Wolf Alice

I let your love tease me Now I am your love's whore Keep me hardly breathing But I could only love you more I could only love you more I could only love you more I could only love you more I could only love you more

[For their closest relationship] To break up the Sad, have a nice one for Isabela <3 There's certainly something to be said for the ways they enable each other, but Nara never feels as free as when she's with her gal, and they never stop having fun together.

5. Funeral Bell, PHILDEL

Oh, mother, I'm scared to die Where oh where do my good deeds lie? Oh, father, I'm scared to live Takes more than I've got to give Oh, sister, my voice is weak Oh, brother, I long for sleep

[For a major fight scene] Facing the Nightmare in the Fade is the concluding battle of Nara's life. She goes out fighting but spent and broken, thinking back on all she has lost.

6. The Ghost in Your Smile, Les Trés

[For the end credits] No lyrics, just a haunting and mournful instrumental for a fallen bird :')

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @AmmoniteFlesh  |  AO3: AmmoniteFlesh

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

Top Eight People Having An Absolutely Soul-Destroying Time in This City: number four will KILL you!

Faust and Dema discuss The Bog, the power of deadlines, and Ghila “So, So Blighted” Mahariel

Dema: We're well into the writing and collaboration period now; how's it going? Are you excited? Are you in The Bog?

Faust: Oh my god, I am extremely in the Bog.

Dema: Any particular monsters in that Bog with you? 

Faust: Well, I'm only just coming out of a massive writing slump that sucked away a lot of my ability to work on anything. But while I'm not nearly as far ahead as I would like to be, I've always worked best at the last minute (unfortunately lol). I feel confident that I can finish. The fic itself I'm actually feeling really good about! I like what I'm doing, I have like 90% of it in bullet points, there are some moments I'm SUPER proud of. It's coming together - I just wish it was doing so a touch more quickly! 

Dema: Oh, are you me? (LOL I really really empathize) 

Faust: Honestly, I'm in awe of anyone who doesn't work this way lmao

Dema: Same. What helped you emerge from your writing slump?

Faust: I'm not sure! Going easy on myself helped - sometimes you really just need to let the batteries recharge. Plus my artist sent some absolutely BANGER sketches and was just generally very complimentary about my writing, which is always nice. Also, just... lowering the standards I set for myself. Writing is also kind of my day job, so it's sometimes difficult to remind myself that this is the Fun Writing that does not need to be perfect. 

Dema: Yeah, perfect really is the enemy of good. I'm so glad you gave yourself some grace and are back on the horse! What is your ideal writing environment? Do you have any rituals around it?

Faust: I love writing in a cafe, if I've got headphones to cancel out the noise. It just feels so indulgent? Here I am, getting my work done over a hot chocolate, people-watching – makes me feel very artsy lmao. I'm trying to get better at bringing more of that energy home, though, because I cannot afford to write at a cafe every day. 😅 Usually I do two pages of journalling first, to get all the noise out of my brain so I can focus. Then it's pomodoros all the way!

Dema: I also love cafe writing! And the pomodoro method, for sure. How long do you usually write in one go? Or is it varying a lot?

Faust: It varies a lot - sometimes I only manage one 25-minute burst and then I get distracted. Other times I go for several hours. The reason I decided to do the Big Bang in the first place was that having a deadline makes me waaaaay better at actually sitting down and getting words on the page - that external structure is so, so helpful.

Dema: I agree! Are you pretty used to writing longer-form fic like this, or is the Big Bang stretching your wordcount?

Faust: Yes and no? I have my extremely in-progress longfic, which is currently sitting at about 25k words, but that's literally it. I've worked on long-form stuff a ton, but actually completed very little of it - again, because I struggle a bit without external structure. I've cheated my way into feeling more comfortable with my DABB fic by writing something that's kind of a long-form piece and kind of a collection of shorter pieces. This nefarious plan to make me less intimidated by the prospect is working great so far! 

Dema: Is your longfic a DA fic?

Faust:  It is! It's an Origins retelling featuring my Mahariel, Ghila - who is extraordinarily Blighted and just generally does not have a good time. It's actually the first DA fic I ever wrote and the first fic for anything that I published, so it's very very close to my heart.

Dema: Can you tell me more about Ghila?

Faust: I AM ALWAYS READY TO INFODUMP ABOUT MY GIRL/AMBIGUOUSLY GENDERED ENTITY! Ghila was the result of me looking at how Mahariel has to travel all the way from the Brecilian Forest to Ostagar while Tainted and going 'oh, you should by WAY more fucked up by this'. She almost dies of the Blight, gets saved by the Joining in the nick of time, continues dying of the Blight but more slowly, until Avernus is finally able to stabilise it. She then steadily gets more and more Darkspawn-like, unlocking some cool spooky powers along the way.

She's also just so, so full of love - and full of rage for how the Dalish have been mistreated. Her opinion of the world is very cynical, but she does her best to make it better anyway. A lot of her arc is about trying to find a way to exist and survive in a world that hates her - both because of her Dalish-ness and because of her newfound monstrosity. And she does get there in the end, but it's a long and bitter road. I have so many feelings about it.

Dema: I am adding immediately to cart, haha! She and your fic sound super interesting. 

Faust: Thank youuuuuu 🥰 I'm Love Her

Dema: Is Origins your favorite installment of the franchise, then?

Faust: It's my favourite to write fic for! Favourite full stop is probably DA2 - I just love the characters, the small setting, the tight scope of it. But Origins has a lot more missed opportunities and loose ends imo, just by dint of having more going on, so I find it much easier to dive into and play with! 

Dema: In our last minutes, you may have seen that I'm titling these interview posts with a click-bait title 😂

Faust: Oooooooh

I'm gonna go with Top Eight People Having An Absolutely Soul-Destroying Time in This City: number four will KILL you!

Dema: L O L amazing! 

Faust: why thank you 😄

Dema: And it has been delightful interviewing you, thank you for taking the time! I hope you have a fantastically productive writing week.

Faust: No worries!!! It was super fun, thank you for doing these.

[dreadfutures]

2024 DA Fanfic Server OC SWAP Fics!

Every year in April, the DAFF server does a semi-secret round-robin gift exchange where the goal is to write a gift fic using your assigned person's OC. The gifts are always phenomenal, heartfelt, and give a glimpse of how your character is loved through someone else's eyes. Click the link above to read the 18 gift fics!

This year, I wrote for two different lovely writers, and both fics were OC & OC crossovers. I was so inspired by their characters I couldn't resist.

I wrote two of our Mahariels meeting as they quest for a cure for the Blight. And I gave a Trevelyan and my Lavellan the dragon fight we've all been rooting for!

The Dragon Age Fanfic Writers Discord Server anniversary (Aug 2021) generated a bunch of crossover-type gift fis and introduced the idea of a multiverse connected by eluvians. Thus, the Mirrorverse was born. This is an OPEN collection for ANYONE'S FICS that feature Dragon Age OCs who meet via the eluvians-to-the-multiverse plot gimmick. (I hope to see your own soon ;) )

Death is an Open Door

for Ghila Mahariel ( @ammoniteflesh )

Rating: T Words: 8100 (Crossover Mahariel & Mahariel).

Old Wardens told tales of long-gone companions and how they knew it was time to go. When hair thinned and nails grew sharp; when bone spurs sprouted or muscles began to hunch; when the eyes grew milky and the veins grew dark, and the light of the sun burned like the Maker’s wrath… that was when a Warden was a Warden no longer.

Mahariel had never known old Wardens.

Mahariel traveled at night.

Faust's Ghila Mahariel and my Halevune Mahariel are both worn out ten years after the Blight: shem politicians have not made good on the promises made to Ferelden's elves, and both Mahariels struggle with a lot of guilt, regret, and frustration. They both set out in search of something: a cure for the Blight, or at least its source. But their eluvian journey leads them from their own worlds, where each is the singular Hero of Ferelden, to somewhere in-between. Together.

It felt like the perfect mirror/foil set up for the two Mahariels and gave me the chance to write some horror and some ancient elven legends to boot!

and a second fic:

Unbreakable, Unbowed, Unyielding

for Theresa Tervelyan ( @warpedlegacy )

Rating: T Words: 2600 (Crossover Female Trevelyan & Female Lavellan, Female Trevelyan/Cullen Rutherford)

Tess, if it's this important we can march the blasted halla in with some troops to guard it. — Cullen

“For once,” said Inquisitor Theresa Trevelyan, a wry smile aimed at her advisers, “that might actually be a good idea, Commander.”

I love Theresa with all my heart, and her writer Duchess. I was able to write a little Cullen-centric mysterious mini adventure for her for the winter holiday exchange, but we've always talked about "Ixchel and Theresa should slay a dragon together!"

Now they have!

Featuring battle couples, mid-combat banter, a dash of humor, and a bit of a cliff hanger, I hope it inspires more Mirrorverse crossovers.