#anyway. that's hawke and varric. To Me

[vaguely-concerned]

every so often, varric will write a black fox story. not anything fancy or for publication or anything, just for fun and because he knows hawke has a soft spot for them. ("an intrepid hero getting into and out of all kinds of trouble and the merry band of misfits following inseparably in his wake? can't imagine why".) some of them are experimental, some of them are straightforward retellings; they're generally pretty short and quick to do, so he allows himself to play around with form and genre and language more than he does in his professional work. stretching over the span of almost twenty years as they do, they contain some of his favourite pieces of his own writing, and some of the most '...was I huffing lyrium fumes or drunk or both for this one, hawke? what the actual hell is this' pieces. hawke keeps every single one of them. varric speculates that this is either because they're just that sentimental, or possibly that it's for future blackmailing purposes. he usually has one ready for their birthday. they have so much blackmail material on him anyway by this point, he figures, what's one more piece of ammunition going to do one way or the other.

varric finishes one of these black fox tales a couple of nights before he brings rook with him to minrathous — the last one. it's about the very last black fox story, the one where the black fox and his friends all disappear together into the depths of arlathan forest, where those in the know say you can find them to this very day, if you know where to look, or if you ever find yourself in trouble and in need of a helping hand. they'll turn up to aid a traveller in need, and disappear back between the shaded trees again once the day is saved, squabbling all the way, seeking treasures and unlikely quests yet unfound and unimagined.

they say on some days, you can hear them as laughter and friendly bickering on the wind from a couple of clearings over. it's not the end, it's just other adventures, some other place. that's the thing about stories. they're funny that way.

(once he wrote a book for his mother on her deathbed and read it to her through the comfortless and drawn-out hours of the troubled nights, and he burned the book the day she died and never spoke of it again.)

after he finishes the manuscript, he sits with it for a long time in the quiet and the candlelight before he wraps it up properly and sends it off back home to kirkwall. he attaches a note -- a story, to the best of all my stories, the one I'd tell forever if I could. take care of each other while I'm gone. first one to arrive saves seats at the bar, right? happy birthday, and send all my lack of love to the merchant's guild, as always. —Varric

he sends that to hawke. just in case. and then he gets up and he goes to find rook — it's time to get going.

[purpleenjoyer]

If you saw the previous post no you didn't I had to correct some things

The second part of my previous Inquisition post.

[albaharu]

dude that def hasn't let one bad experience color his whole world and it's very openminded

[tethrarisms]

I'm so normal about Varrichawke....

[trvstydwarf]

THE LOVERS — choice | kindred spirits | shared values

THE PAGE OF COINS — grounded | dependable | loyal

THE SUN — optimism | confidence | truth

[midnightwind]

I'm fucking sorry, did they fully expect me to banish the Grey Wardens? after the entirety of Origins?? I spent that entire game scraping that order back into existence, no fucking way was I ditching them because one commander made a stupid ass decision

[queenofbaws]

QUEENIE you still know me you KNOW I'm gonna be asking about our favorite dumpster fires can you PLEASE give me Hawke AND/OR Varric's "oh...uh oh." moment

"Watch m - excuse me, I'm sorry, do you not see me over here doing my best to protect you against this place? Quit the giggling already, and watch my hands, Sunshine, I'm not gonna be able to sleep at night knowing you're walking around out there, oblivious to something as basic as bottom dealing, so watch my hands!"

Snickering into her drink, Hawke watched as Bethany dropped her face into her hands, her shoulders heaving with laughter as, time and time again, Varric made an absolute mockery of her card skills. When she came back up for air she was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, taking huge, gulping breaths to try and calm herself down; it wasn't working, of course (once Varric found his flow, there really wasn't anything, save perhaps an inconveniently placed trapdoor or outraged member of the Guard, that could stop him), and as her sweet sister collapsed into another giggling fit, Hawke caught Varric's eye and rolled her own when he winked.

"He's got three up his sleeve, you know," she remarked coolly, lowering her tankard just enough for the accusation to be heard and her smirk to be seen, "he always does;" but it wasn't until Bethany, still laughing, grabbed for Varric's arm - an arm he pulled away with the quickest flash of the cards hidden within - that Hawke realized the greatest sleight of hand had been pulled on her: After everything they'd been through, after everything they'd lost, her little sister was smiling again...she was laughing.

"I don't know how to break it to you, Hawke, but I think this one's a lost cause - here, you deal this hand, maybe the kid'll actually try if you're the one tearing your hair out," Varric joked, and as she took the deck from him and their eyes met once more, she realized there wasn't any use in pretending the flush she felt rising to her face was from the drink: Bethany had been swindled of her coin, sure, but she'd get that back...Varric had stolen Hawke's heart, though, and Maker help her, she didn't think he'd be returning that any time soon.

six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

[mournmage]

Must be said that I was willing to try and give Avaline a fair shake at a friend route mayhaps with my Hawke but the moment I heard her call Isabella a whore while were actively trying to help her with her weird little courtship gestures was the moment that stopped being a concern of mine.

[chantryexplosion]

this shit piss me off bc why marian specifically lol. i hate it here so genuinely

[alistair-stan]

Clearly my stamina for video games has waned DRAMATICALLY bc ive barely managed to clock 2 hours of inquisition across 2 days.

And its not like im fatigued by the gameplay or anything yet like i just got the fucking title screen lol. Like this is not a hinterlands bear moment or a fallow mire situation yet

[sapphim]

tabitha actually literally sacrificing her life for isabela, dying and then just getting back up and continuing on like nothing happened and never mentioning this to her or anyone, and then the truth only coming out years later when she up and decides to sacrifice herself for her sister and just perishes on the spot, is SO funny actually. she has SUCH a complex.

[potatoesandsunshine]

mage hawke & vivienne parallels real...

[crows-of-buckets]

For some reason whenever I brainstorm for my eventual solasmance Lavellan I always imagine her leaving on bad terms with him and swearing to stop him no matter what it takes. However. Just had the idea of Lavellan solas and Varric being in a weird love triangle. during inquisiton only Solas and Lavellan would happen, then They break up and Lavellan is with Varric within a year. Queen of moving on or whatever. Cole gets dropped right in the middle of whatever the fuck they've got going on. Rest of the inquisiton is immensely intrigued by them

[surprisegents]

unfortunately a lot of my early dragon age chars fall into overly headcanoned first rpg oc traps, but i'm still fond of my exists-to-be-faded, varricmancing uncle hawke

[hazardsoflove]

i do really love how your choices from other da games affect inquisition so much because it turned my warden and alistair’s love story into a horrible tragedy against my will

[andrewknightley]

every scene with aveline in da2 is like oh wow aveline woudl be so fucking cool. if we explored this in deep. wouldnt it