#i am not an anders expert

[themournwatcher]

If the lightning is so dangerous, does that mean Anders is just REALLY good with magic and has wicked control when it comes to his, ahem, "electricity thing' 👀

you guys act like i know jack shit about anders what the fuck does this mean

[idolbound]

Anders kinnies on twitter in the year 2024 not understanding that while yes, Meredith had previously written to Val Royeaux to ask about invoking the Right of Annulment, the request was rejected.

In the throes of her paranoia being made worse with the addition of the red lyrium idol fashioned into a sword, she was getting desperate and looking to search the Gallows for blood mages as a reason to invoke the Right.

However, Meredith did not invoke the Right until after Anders blew up the Chantry.

During the argument with Orsino, it was clear that he was not going to allow Meredith to search the tower. And, much like the start of Act 3 in Hightown, he wanted to call upon Grand Cleric Elthina to settle their disagreement because he KNEW that Elthina was the only person who could control Meredith (and kept her on a proverbially short leash). To this, Meredith immediately raises her voice and says "You will NOT bring her Grace into this!" which CLEARLY implies she knows Elthina would put a stop to her actions then and there, which is the opposite of what Meredith wants to do.

So, with Anders' interjection in this scene and blowing the Chantry up:

Meredith (who was running Kirkwall as a Templar police state under martial law) had to respond to the crime in and of itself;

Elthina was dead, and therefore, the person who could have stopped her from invoking the Right of Annulment was no longer able to do so; and,

She was already at the peak of her paranoia, and this made her not seek justice on Anders himself (who had immunity from templar prosecution as a Grey Warden), but upon the innocent mages of the Circle.

So, she initiated the Right of Annulment as a response to the destruction and lives lost, and the Circle mages paid for Anders' actions (and depending on Hawke's choice, his own life could pay for it too).

It is not difficult to understand that Anders' actions - however morally justified he may have been - acted as the catalyst to the genocide of the Kirkwall Circle.

People will say "it would've happened anyway" but to be frank, if Anders did not blow up the Chantry and had Elthina been involved, she would've shut Meredith down again as someone who didn't want to get involved in taking sides but wanted to maintain the peace AND the desires of the Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux. Alternatively, Hawke - Champion of Kirkwall - has enough influence at this point to influence Meredith and Orsino both as a popular (political) figure among Kirkwall's citizens and nobility. (it's why Meredith was reluctant to crown them Champion to begin with - it gave them power that she wanted for herself!).

I realize a lot of DA fans are not looking at these moments in-depth, but acting as if Anders is entirely justified in giving Meredith the fuel she needed to kill all the innocent mages is a bit ignorant and tbqh, misunderstanding this situation for what it is.

[barbex]

Febuwhump 2024

I know, I know, it's basically over, but I wanted to at least post one fic for @febuwhump. I'm not even sure this is whump, I'm clearly not an expert in these things.

This is for 15. "Who did this to you?"

Dragon Age 2, Fenris x Anders

---

The nights in Kirkwall are strangely calm. Roaming groups of bandits can occasionally still be found in Lowtown, but everyone seems to have learned that attacking one of Hawke's group usually ends in fatal injuries. 

Fenris walks through Lowtown undisturbed. He's been to the Hanged Man, but neither Hawke nor Varric were there and he Aveline was leaving just as he stepped inside. He paid for an ale but didn't finish it. It lost its taste without company.

Lowtown isn't exactly a pretty place for a walk and night, the stars hidden behind buildings rising too tall and too close to each other, but when he finds himself in front of the rusty elevator to Darktown, he begins to question his sanity. Darktown is the last place anybody should want to be. Still, he steps on the platform, listening to the rattle of rusty chains as it carries him down. 

Darktown is quiet, even the poorest robbers and bandits need to sleep sometimes. Fenris walks down the familiar path, jumping over sinkholes and climbing up and down rickety stairs. He really only ever has one destination down here, the mage's clinic, and he goes there more often than he likes to admit. At first, it was to prove that the abomination would definitely turn against them all one day, then he wanted to see the mage use his powers for his own gain, and when none of that happened, he still returned to the clinic again and again, just watching. Not that he would ever let the mage know any of that. 

He cannot quite explain why he still watches the mage and frankly, he doesn't want to analyze it.

The lantern above the clinic's door is dark and no light spills out from under the door. Maybe Anders is with Hawke and Varric tonight, it's not like he knows what kind of jobs Hawke takes up nearly every night. When he turns around, something moves in the shadow and he has a dagger out before he even blinks. 

"I wants no trouble, Serah," the person says, a boy, probably not older than ten. 

Fenris sheathes his dagger and nods. "You should not sneak up on people like this then." 

"I was just watching if the healer comes out."

Looking at the dark lantern, Fenris shakes his head. "I don't think he is in." 

"But he hasn't left."

"Have you seen him go in?"

"Yeah, and later some other guys came and they left again but the healer has not come out."

The feeling of unease is like a tangible force on his neck. He turns to the clinic's door and presses the handle down. It opens with a creak. The inside is dark, not even a fire alight in the cast iron oven. He carefully steps inside, waiting for his eyes to adjust. The main room looks fine, but towards the side, where Anders' private room is separated by a ratty curtain, one of the wooden cots lies in pieces. He steps carefully, avoiding the sharp splinters. Slipping through the curtain, he finds more destruction, a broken chair, the wooden board Anders used as a table split lengthwise, broken bottles strewn around.

He turns around to leave, when a noise makes him turn back. There, on the wall, what he thought to be just a shadow in the uneven wall, a person is tied up. Before his mind can quite register what he sees, he's already there, cutting rope wrapped around Anders' neck and wrists. He sinks into Fenris' arms, whimpering. 

Fenris freezes. Nobody touches him, nobody sinks into his arms, especially not the mage. He doesn't remember the last time he held someone ins his arms. With a careful step, he lowers Anders on the miraculously undamaged bed. 

"No, don't leave, please don't leave." Anders clings to him like a man drowning.

"I am not," Fenris says, hesitating only for a moment. "I will not leave."

Anders sinks back, staring at him. "Fenris?"

"Yes."

Turning away from him, Anders rubs his wrists. "I thought... no matter." 

Fenris lights a lantern, hanging it on a hook on the wall. Now, with light, he can see that the mage is naked, his whole body screams of injuries. There's blood everywhere, dried in rivulets from knife cuts, spots of dark purple forming on every part of his body from beatings with fists or worse. 

"Who did this to you?"

Anders rolls on his side, turning his back to Fenris. He also has cuts on his back, longs strokes with a knife, cutting through old scars. "Who did this?" Fenris asks again, unable to control the anger in his voice. 

No answer. Anders pulls a blanket up over his body, hiding the injuries. 

"Let me clean your wounds." 

"You can go," Anders croaks. 

"I will not." Stomping into the main room, he finds a basket with clean cloth and bandages and a flask of water and carries it back to Anders' room. The mage hasn't moved and Fenris kneels next to the bed and wipes the blood on Anders' back away with a wet bandage. "Tell me who did this."

"What? You have to be more specific," Anders spits out. When Fenris doesn't say anything, he glances over his shoulder at him. "The scars are from the circle. Templars don't like it when you run away or contradict them or don't kiss their boots or —" He stops, only hissing through his teeth when Fenris touches a fresh wound.

"Why don't you heal yourself?" 

"Can't. They had magebane."

Fenris isn't sure where the anger inside of him comes from, but it burns like fire, like it wants to consume him. Anders stares at him and in the reflection in his eyes he sees his markings glow. "Who were they?"

"It doesn't matter."

Fenris' fingers clench around the bedframe. "It does matter!"

Throwing the blanket away, Anders sits up, grabbing the wet bandage from him. "Why, because you want to know who to thank?"

The flame of anger in his chest turns sharp and white. "Is that what you think of me?"

"Sorry, did I miss something?" Anders wipes over his arms, grimacing at the pain. "I haven't seen you in weeks, last time I checked you hated all mages and especially me. Oh yeah, and the last thing I heard you say was, 'what has magic touched that it didn't spoil?'. Such a nice statement, made me feel all warm and — ahh, fuck!" He throws the bandage away, biting his lip as he cradles his arm. 

Fenris stares at him. For weeks he has watched the mage, waiting for him to fulfill his worst expectations, only to see him be compassionate and selfless. You cannot see someone literally give away his possessions and food to children after healing them and still believe he is a murderous magister. But he never told Anders about that, never even spoke to him. 

"Why are you still here?" Anders asks, his voice so quiet that he almost didn't hear him. 

"I cannot explain," Fenris says equally quiet.

Anders frowns. "If you could find a health potion, that would help." 

Fenris looks through the shelf in the main room, cursing himself for his inability to read. 

"It's green and has an drawing of elfroot on the label." 

He freezes with his hand halfway in the air. "Why does it have a drawing?"

"Not everyone can read," Anders says without looking at him.

Fenris lets out a breath and gives him the health potion, watching how his face relaxes as the pain recedes. "Was it templars who did this?"

Anders laughs, much too light and easily. "Surprisingly no, not this time."

The slight emphasis on 'not this time' has Fenris' hair stand up. "Have templars..." He doesn't even know what to ask.

"No, I'd have to move the clinic if they did. But I'm sure they know where I am, it's just a matter of time until..." Anders makes a vague gesture with his hand.

"They will not have you." He will not allow it.

"Why? Because you want to kill me first?"

There had been a time when he held his sword tighter when the mage was around. But not anymore. But Anders doesn't know that. "I do not wish you dead." 

"Since when?" 

"Since quite some time." 

Anders narrows his eyes. "I don't understand. I'm still a mage and an abomination, in case you've forgotten. Actually —" he holds up his hand watching with a smile as a yellow glow spreads on his palm — "my magic is back." He looks at Fenris, the smile falling from his face. "You don't have to stay, I'm fine and I'll be doing magic now."

"I'm staying." 

"Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Anders' magic tingles in his markings and the mage heals his arm and the various cuts. He picks up another piece of cloth, wetting it to clean up the dried blood, but Fenris takes it from is hand and washes him. But Anders puts his hand on his, holding him still.

"Why are you nice to me?" 

Fenris stares at Anders' hand on his. "You do not deserve this. You are a good man." 

Anders blinks at him, his mouth opening and closing several times. 

"Tell me who did this."

 "No." Anders picks up the cloth and wipes something from Fenris' cheek. "I don't want you to go around and kill stupid people for me." 

"But they hurt you!"

"And now I'm healed." He picks up two cups from the floor, wiping them clean and puts them on the broken board. "I rather have some tea with you."

Fenris lets out a breath. "I would like that too." He will find the people who did this to the mage and make them suffer. But for now, he would rather drink tea with him.

[aeronbracken]

1, 6, and 10 for the da:tv ask meme, please!

THANK YOUu

What was the first Dragon Age game you played?

It's Dragon Age 2 lmao... I got into those games after watching a full Dorian romance video on youtube then I watched Anders' romance and said I needed to learn more about him. But I haven't fully completed it and quit to properly start from Origins.

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

I have two! One is Aurelio, an Antivan Crow Elf in his forties who sold by his father as a child to pay his gambling debts. He is a duel wield rogue who is expert at poisons and herbs. He is goofy but has a lot of unresolved trauma due to living with the Crows more than thirty years. He will kiss Emmrich hehe. the other is a Warden, I haven't decided his name yet but I want to make him Fereldan. I am planning to go with the Combat Mage specialization. Lucanis romance because they will be my zevwarden 2.0

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

Weisshaupt... I really need to see there and I am so curious about that mysterious First Warden. Also DA:I slides hinted that there's some kind of a Warden civil war and I wanted that to be resolved.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard HYPE Q&A

[thiefbird]

for the WIP game, maybe that justsolanders and the mass effect aubreyad au?

alright! <3

So my JustSolAnders fic is also, of course, my Inky!Anders AU - I have a whole lot of bullet points!

Backstory-wise, Hawke romanced Sebastian, and she sided with the Templars. Merrill and Isabela managed to sneak Anders out of Kirkwall and onto Bela's ship, with Fenris's help(he told Hawke he wanted to do it himself, she believed him and left him to it. He told Anders something along the lines of "You don't get to not live with this. That's a worse punishment than making you a martyr: do what you can to make this right." [I don't think Anders needs to be punished for exploding the Chantry, but Fenris does.]); they also got Bethany out then, too, and some of the youngest apprentices.

Anders then eventually made his way to Ostwick's Circle, where he befriended a Mage-Templar sibling duo, Evelyn and Maxwell Trevelyan, and helped them stage the strange Ostwick exodus; unfortunately Maxwell was one of the few killed when Ostwick's Circle dissolved. Evelyn urged Anders to adopt her brother's identity, for Anders' safety, and because Maxwell would have wanted that (Anders and Max may or may not have had a romantic relationship, I haven't decided if I want to give Anders another dead lover).

As Maxwell Trevelyan, Anders became relatively well known as a voice for mage integration as opposed for isolationism, which is why he was invited to the Conclave

Leliana recognises him from Vigil's Keep (Leliana-romanced Warden, they may or may not have had a threesome with Anders. Probably did but it's never confirmed in fic), but is content to see what happens, because she can't resist a little chaos. He manages to avoid Varric until after the explosion; Varric is immediately convinced Anders is at fault (obviously Anders is the lead suspect in a Chantry-related explosion <3 ) but importantly does NOT tell Cassandra who he is at first, because Varric also knows the all-important rule Don't Talk To The Cops, and Anders' disguise is decent enough (short-cropped hair dyed black, beard also dyed black) to give him plausible deniability towards not immediately recognising him.

Solas immediately recognises Justice in Anders, but does not say anything because it's Solas. Also, he's intrigued by this guy with a spirit in him because of course he is.

In terms of general info, Bethany takes the role of Hawke, because even Varric can agree that Hawke has gone off the deep end. The only thing that could make Varric dislike Hawke is promising to lead an Exalted March on Kirkwall. Which she has done. Loghain is the Warden Contact; I am hand-waving how Bethany knows Loghain because I am do what I want. Merrill is the eluvian expert, not Morrigan, though she is also there, with a Loghain-sired Kieran; she and Merrill have a very intense and possibly leaning towards sapphic rivalry about the eluvians.

The Mass Effect Aubreyad AU WIP is a bunch of disorganised notes that I toss in there when I think of them (and mostly a list of who is what kind of Alien), but here you go!

Maybe Andromeda? Stephen would like that, EVERYTHING is a nondescript. He can name so many things after Jack if he wants to

Jack is a human. He is the most Human Guy I can think of. Platonic Ideal of Human Man

Stephen is either a drell(assassin/spy) or a quarian. I cannot make up my mind but it's definitely one of these.

I cannot decide if Diana and Sophie are humans, or asari, or if Sophie is a human and Diana is asari - they could still be cousins even if Diana is asari, and then it can be extra tragic when she dies. Bc she should have outlived Stephen by hundreds of years.

James Dillon is a turian. He is SUCH a turian. Platonic Ideal of a Turian. Probably still had A Thing with Stephen.

If not set in Andromeda, is Jack Shepard? Maybe? That would be very stressful for him. That would be very stressful for everyone. I do not think Stephen would cope well with Jack being Lazarus'd. It would be funny tho

[contreparry]

hey contre!! i am back yet again for fenris content, this time with “Desires are already memories.” from the invisible cities list pls!

Oooo, this is perfect for some pre-fenders for @dadrunkwriting!

He yearned.

It was not an unfamiliar feeling, yearning. Wanting. Lusting for what wasn't his. Who didn't want food in their belly or a warm bed to retreat to? Who didn't long for a bit of comfort from the cold, cruel world to hang on to? Fenris wanted. He always, always wanted.

Wanting Anders, however...

He was crouched by the fire, poking the embers with a stick, the flickering light casting harsh shadows on his thin face. His hair- straw yellow, peppered with red and grey, fell out of his nub of a pony tail to fall around his face, and Fenris wanted to comb his fingers through it. He wanted to push the hair back, see Anders' face, draw close enough to count the faint freckles on the bridge of his nose-

He wanted so much that it felt as if he had already done it before: pushed the hair back, counted the freckles, kissed every one until Anders laughed and pushed him away- but Fenris hadn't. Of course he hadn't. His past was a blank, but his memory was excellent. He would never forget intimacy, especially the kind that he so craved.

It was just the lyrium shoved into his body, buried in his flesh, that made him want to seek Anders' out. The pain the lyrium caused him untangled and faded when Anders' magic brushed against him. The healing magic, at least. Combat spells burned like all the others, but Anders was an expert caster (much to Fenris' chagrin) and he didn't often feel the thrill and singe of magic course through him like lightning when Anders dove into battle.

"Stop hovering like a restless spirit and sit. Hawke, fetch some water for the kettle," Anders ordered, and when Fenris bristled Anders glowered up at him, brown eyes fierce as he scowled. Fenris wanted to kiss the furrow between his brows until it melted away. He didn't.

"You're exhausted, don't argue," Anders added, and for one brief moment Fenris saw- he thought he saw- a smile cross Anders' thin mouth.

"Very well," Fenris grumbled as he sat down near Anders. Close enough to touch, if he was willing to cross that space and grasp Anders' bony wrist. But Fenris didn't.

He yearned.

[herzerfolg]

Herzerfüllte Freiheit

Wir haben das Geld als Hilfsmittel erschaffen, um den Tauschhandel zu erleichtern.

Sobald es jedoch zum Zweck verkommt, wenn Du es als Zweck verkennst, ist das ein großes Missverständnis des Lebens und geht am Leben vorbei, da Geld dazu dient, die unterschiedlichen Wertigkeiten auszugleichen.

Was ist der Wert, den Du für andere zur Verfügung stellst?

Erkenne deine Wertigkeit, deinen Wert.

Das Geld dient dazu diesen Wert auszugleichen.

Es ist für deine Entwicklung, es ist jedoch niemals der Zweck an und für sich, sondern der Wert der Dir zufließt oder den Du anderen zufließen lässt, weil sie wertvolles und wundervolles leisten.

Es ging nie ums Geld, sondern immer schon um die Liebe. Das ist dein wahrer Kern, der vollkommene Liebe und Glückseligkeit ist.

Dein Wert als vollkommenes Wesen bleibt erhalten. Manifestation funktioniert in beide Richtungen. Wenn Du reicher werden willst, öffne Dich für den Geldsegen, den Reichtum und die Fülle und heiße das Geld in deinem Leben aus ganzem Herzen in Liebe willkommen. ❤️

Für was bist Du dankbar in deinem Leben?

Erstelle hierzu eine Liste, was Du magst in deinem Leben und aktualisiere diese, um deinen Anziehmagneten noch zu stärken und den Weg dafür zu öffnen, dass diese Dinge noch reicher als zuvor in dein Leben treten werden.

Schöpfe aus der Fülle, die Dich stets umgibt und schwinge in den höheren Frequenzen.

Stelle Dir die Regenbogenfarben vor, je klarer, intensiver, heller und deutlicher die Farben sind, desto freier ist dein Assoziationszentrum und deine Zirbeldrüse und desto besser kannst Du mit deinem Vorstellungsvermögen erschaffen.

Konzentriere Dich auf deine Zirbeldrüse in deiner bedingungslosen Liebe und Du wirst merken, wie Du von Innen her zu strahlen beginnst und die piezoelektrischen Kristalle deiner Zirbeldrüse ein wunderschönes Lichtermeer eröffnen, was deine Stimmungslage hebt.

Die Meditation zur Zirbeldrüse findest Du hier: Teil I https://on.soundcloud.com/FWS83 Teil II https://on.soundcloud.com/S8v5H

In der bedingungslosen Liebe sind die Dinge leichter.

Manfred Josef Schuster Experte für den Schwingungsaufstieg und für Frequenzwissen. ❤️ https://www.xn--lichterfllteglckseligkeit-mwcg.com/

[wyvernscales]

Syl’vhenan just ends up the unofficial dad of Vigil’s Keep.

Kirta is a bit of a leash child. They are young and don’t really know how to be the public face for an arling in a country they’ve never been to before. They’re out of their depth and need guidance. But what Kirta finds important isn’t what Syl does.

Kirta: “Do you know if taupe is in this season?”

Syl: “Do I look like the expert on human fashion?”

Kirta: “Given all that human jewelry? Yes.”

Syl: *dad grumbles*

Velanna and Syl bond over Dalish lore. Sometimes Syl comes off as a “back in my day” boomer, but they generally mean well. At first, Syl is absolutely bewildered by the way her Clan does things, but its literally just because things changed over six ages. Velanna values this knowledge immensely, and many of the stories she records are from Syl.

Syl: “Why don't your aravels fly?”

Velanna: “Why would they fly? Did yours fly?"

Syl: "Everyone's did"

Justice is new to the whole “possession” thing. The jury’s out on what exactly Syl is, but they’re a corpse who’s been in the waking world for centuries. Syl definitely ends up doling out the most advice on existing to him. Which isn’t to say they’re best friends. Justice isn’t particularly fond of the “bones decorated in stolen jewelry” thing.

Justice: “Stealing is wrong”

Syl: “So is going back on your word. So is mass slaughter. So was the Exalted March of the Dales.”

Justice: “I’m afraid I do not know of the events you describe”

Syl: “Then perhaps you should hold your condemnation”

Sigrun is the perky dead girl to Syl’s gloomy dead guy. They’ve also been a Warden since forever and know a lot about the darkspawn. Sigrun also seems like the type to carry snacks, so you know Syl is reaching their hand back to grab some.

Sig: “All this time, and I’ve still never gotten used to the stench of the Spawn. Do you think if we catapulted some soap into their camp they’d use it?”

Syl: “No, they wouldn’t”

Sig: “Wait, did you actually try that?”

Syl: “In the Black Age. It didn’t work. Bring a satchet of aromatic herbs with you next time”

Oghren has absolutely been on the wrong side of Syl'vhenan's petrify spell before. Several times in fact. They also watch the Glavonaks build up the walls of Vigil's Keep while complaining about the 80 Gold price tag together.

Both: *standing with their hands on their hips watching the construction crew work*

Nathaniel’s image of his father was recently demolished and he threw his life at the feet of the Warden-Commander. He is in desperate need or purpose, advice, and guidance. Syl can often be found helping the groundskeeper, and Nathaniel pitches in too sometimes.

*Nathaniel clumsily swinging a scythe at some tall grass in the Keep*

Syl: “That is the worst attempt at weeding I have seen in six ages”

Anders is fascinated with Syl because they’re an absolute mystery. Syl ends up giving him magic advice a lot. Syl was so against Anders keeping Sir Pounce-a-Lot, but ended up taking the cat when he left for Kirkwall.

Anders: “What type of spirit are you? Justice is, well, Justice, but you go by a name. You must be a spirit of something.”

Syl: “Must I?”

Anders: “Aren’t you a spirit who possessed a corpse?”

Syl: “I am simply Syl’vhenan Andras”

[evolve94]

The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

Transcriber: Gustavo Rocha Reviewer: Marssi Draw Hi everyone. Two year ago, my life changed forever. My wife Kelsey and I welcomed our daughter Lela into the world. Now, becoming a parent is an amazing experience. Your whole world changes over night. And all of your priorities change immediately. So fast that it makes it really difficult to process sometimes.Now, you also have to learn a tremendous amount about being a parent like, for example, how to dress your child. (Laughter) This was new to me. This is an actual outfit,  I thought this was a good idea. And even Lela knows that it's not a good idea. (Laughter) So there is so much to learn and so much craziness all at once.And to add to the craziness,  Kelsey and I both work from home, we're entrepreneurs, we run our own businesses. So, Kelsey develops courses online for yoga teachers. I'm an author. And so, I'm working from home, Kelsey's working from home. We have an infant and we're trying to make sure that everything gets done that needs done.And life is really, really busy. And a couple of weeks into this amazing experience, when the sleep deprivation really kicked in, like around week eight, I had this thought, and it was the same thought that parents across the ages, internationally, everybody has had this thought, which is: I am never going to have free time ever again.(Laughter) Somebody said it's true. It's not exactly true, but it feels really, really true in that moment. And this was really disconcerning to me, because one of the things that I enjoy more than anything else is learning new things. Getting curious about something and diving in and fiddling around and  learning through trial and error.And eventually becoming pretty good at something. And without this free time, I didn't know how I was ever  going to do that ever again. And so, I'm a big geek, I want to keep learning things, I want to keep growing. And so what I've decided to do was, go to the library, and go to the bookstore, and look at what research says about how we learn and how we learn quickly.And I read a bunch of books, I read a bunch of websites. And tried to answer this question, how long does it take to acquire a new skill? You know what I found? 10,000 hours! Anybody ever heard this? It takes 10,000 hours. If you want to learn something new, if you want to be good at it, it's going to take 10,000 hours to get there.And I read this in book after book, in website after website. And my mental experience of reading all of this stuff was like: No!! I don't have time! I don't have 10,000 hours. I am never going to be able to learn anything new. Ever again. (Laughter) But that's not true. So, 10,000 hours, just to give you a rough order of magnitude, 10,000 hours is a full-time job for five years.That's a long time. And we've all had the experience of learning something new, and it didn't take us anywhere close to that amount of time, right? So, what's up? There's something kinda funky going on here. What the research says and what we expect, and have experiences, they don't match up.And what I found, here's the wrinkle: The 10,000 hour rule came out of studies of expert-level performance. There's a professor at Florida State University, his name is K. Anders Ericsson. He is the originator of the 10,00 hour rule. And where that came from is, he studied professional athletes, world class musicians, chess grand masters.All of this ultra competitive folks in ultra-high performing fields. And he tried to figure out how long does it take to get to the top of those kinds of fields. And what he found is, the more deliberate practice, the more time that those individuals spend practicing the elements of whatever it is that they do, the more time you spend, the better you get.And the folks at the tippy top of their fields put in around 10,000 hours of practice. Now, we were talking about the game of telephone a little bit earlier. Here's what happened: an author by the name of Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book in 2007 called "Outliers: The Story of Success", and the central piece of that book was the 10,000 hour rule.Practice a lot, practice well, and you will do extremely well, you will reach the top of your field. So, the message, what Dr. Ericsson was actually saying is, it takes 10,000 hours to get at the top of an ultra competitive field in a very narrow subject, that's what that means. But here's what happened: ever since Outliers came out, immediately came out, reached the top of best seller lists, stayed there for three solid months.All of a sudden the 10,000 hour rule was everywhere. And a society-wide game of telephone started to be played. So this message, it takes 10,000 hours to reach the top of an ultra competitive field, became, it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something, which became, it takes 10,000 hours to become good at something, which became, it takes 10,000 hours to learn something.But that last statement, it takes 10,000 hours to learn something, is not true. It's not true. So, what the research actually says -- I spent a lot of time here at the CSU library in the cognitive psychology stacks 'cause I'm a geek. And when you actually look at the studies of skill acquisition, you see over and over a graph like this.Now, researchers, whether they're studying a motor skill, something you do physically or a mental skill, they like to study things that they can time. 'Cause you can quantify that, right? So, they'll give research participants a little task, something that requires physical arrangement, or something that requires learning a little mental trick, and they'll time how long a participant takes to complete the skill.And here's what this graph says, when you start -- so when researchers gave participants a task, it took them a really long time, 'cause it was new and they were horrible. With a little bit of practice, they get better and better and better. And that early part of practice is really, really efficient.People get good at things with just a little bit of practice. Now, what's interesting to note is that, for skills that we want to learn for ourselves, we don't care so much about time, right? We just care about how good we are, whatever good happens to mean. So if we relabel performance time to how good you are, the graph flips, and you get his famous and widely known, this is the learning curve.And the story of the learning curve is when you start, you're grossly incompetent and you know it, right? (Laughter) With a little bit of practice, you get really good, really quick. So that early level of improvement is really fast. And then at a certain point you reach a plateau, and the subsequent games become much harder to get, they take more time to get.Now, my question is, I want that, right? How long does it take from starting something and being grossly incompetent and knowing it to being reasonably good? In hopefully, as short a period of time as possible. So, how long does that take? Here's what my research says: 20 hours. That's it. You can go from knowing nothing about any skill that you can think of. Want to learn a language? Want to learn how to draw? Want to learn how to juggle flaming chainsaws? (Laughter) If you put 20 hours of focused deliberate practice into that thing, you will be astounded. Astounded at how good you are. 20 hours is doable, that's about 45 minutes a day for about a month.Even skipping a couple days, here and there. 20 hours isn't that hard to accumulate. Now, there's a method to doing this. Because it's not like you can just start fiddling around for about 20 hours and expect these massive improvements. There's a way to practice intelligently. There's a way to practice efficiently, that will make sure that you invest those 20 hours in the most effective way that you possibly can.And here's the method, it applies to anything: The first is to deconstruct the skill. Decide exactly what you want to be able to do when you're done, and then look into the skill and break it down into smaller pieces. Most of the things that we think of as skills are actually big bundles of skills that require all sorts of different things.The more you can break apart the skill, the more you're able to decide, what are the parts of this skill that would actually help me get to what I want? And then you can practice those first. And if you practice the most important things first, you'll be able to improve your performance in the least amount of time possible.The second is, learn enough to self correct. So, get three to five resources about what it is you're trying to learn. Could be book, could be DVDs, could be courses, could be anything. But don't use those as a way to procrastinate on practice. I know I do this, right? Get like 20 books about the topic, like, "I'm going to start learning how to program a computer when I complete these 20 books".No. That's procrastination. What you want to do is learn just enough that you can actually practice and self correct or self edit as you practice. So the learning becomes a way of getting better at noticing when you're making a mistake and then doing something a little different. The third is to remove barriers to practice.Distractions, television, internet. All of these things that get in the way of you actually sitting down and doing the work. And the more you're able to use just a little bit of willpower to remove the distractions that are keeping you from practicing, the more likely you are to actually sit down and practice, right? And the fourth is to practice for at least 20 hours.Now, most skills have what I call a frustration barrier. You know, the grossly-incompetent- and-knowing-it part? That's really, really frustrating. We don't like to feel stupid. And feeling stupid is a barrier to us  actually sitting down and doing the work. So, by pre-committing to practicing whatever it is that you want to do for at least 20 hours, you will be able to overcome that initial frustration barrier and stick with the practice long enough to actually reap the rewards.That's it! It's not rocket science. Four very simple steps that you can use to learn anything. Now, this is easy to talk about in theory, but it's more fun to talk about in practice. So one of the things that I've wanted to learn how to do for a long time is play the ukulele. Has anybody seen Jake Shimabukuro's TEDTalk where he plays the ukulele and makes it sound like -- he's like a ukulele god.It's amazing. I saw it, I was like, "That is so cool!" It's such a neat instrument. I would really like to learn how to play. And so I decided that to test this theory I wanted to put 20 hours into practicing ukulele and see where it got. And so the first thing about playing the ukulele is, in order to practice, you have to have one, right? So, I got an ukulele and -- My lovely assistant? (Laughter) Thank you sir. I think I need the chord here.It's not just an ukulele, it's an electric ukulele. (Laughter) Yeah. So, the first couple hours are just like the first couple hours of anything. You have to get the tools that you are using to practice. You have to make sure they're available. My ukulele didn't come with strings attached.I had to figure out how to put those on. Like, that's kind of important, right? And learning how to tune, learning how to make sure that all of the things that need to be done in order to start practicing get done, right? Now, one of the things when I was ready to actually start practicing was I looked in online databases and songbooks for how to play songs.And they say, okay, ukuleles, you can play more than one string at a time, so you can play chords, that's cool, you are accompanying yourself, yay you. (Laughter) And when I started looking at songs, I had an ukulele chord book that had like hundreds of chords. Looking at this and "Wow, that's intimidating".But when you look at the actual songs, you see the same chords over and over, right? As it turns out, playing the ukulele is kind of like doing anything, There's a very small set of things that are really important and techniques that you'll use all the time. And in most songs you'll use four, maybe five chords, and that's it, that's the song.You don't have to know hundreds, as long as you know the four or the five. So, while I was doing my research, I found a wonderful little medley of pop songs by a band called Axis of Awesome. (Whistles) -- Somebody knows it. -- And what Axis of Awesome says is that you can learn, or you can play pretty much any pop song of the past five decades, if you know four chords, and those chords are G, D, Em and C.Four chords pump out every pop song ever, right? So I thought, this is cool! I would like to play every pop song ever. (Laughter) So, that was the first song I decided to learn, and I would like to actually share it with you. Ready? (Applause) Alright. (Music) (Singing) Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere.I heard that you settled down, (Laughter) that you found a girl, that you're married now. Every night in my dreams (Laughter) I see you, I feel you, that is how I know you go on. (Laughter) I won't hesitate no more, no more. It cannot wait, I'm yours. 'Cause you were amazing, we did amazing things.If I could, then I would, I'd go wherever you will -- Can you feel the love tonight. (Laughter) I can't live with or without you. When I find myself -- When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, Sometimes I feel like I don't have partner. No woman, no cry. Yeah mama, this surely is a dream.I come from a land down under. (Laughter) Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong. Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, (Laughter) but here's my number, so call me Hey sexy lady, op, op, op, op, oppan gangnam style. (Laughter) It's time to say goodbye. Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.(Singing and music ends) (Applause) Thank you, thank you. I love that song. (Laughter) And I have a secret to share with you. So, by playing that song for you, I just hit my twentieth hour of practicing the ukulele. (Applause) Thank you. And so it's amazing, pretty much anything that you can think of, what do you want to do.The major barrier to learn something new is not intellectual, it's not the process of you learning a bunch of little tips or tricks or things. The major barrier's emotional. We're scared. Feeling stupid doesn't feel good, in the beginning of learning anything new you feel really stupid. So the major barrier's not intellectual, it's emotional.But put 20 hours into anything. It doesn't matter. What do you want to learn? Do you want to learn a language? Want to learn how to cook? Want to learn how to draw? What turns you on? What lights you up? Go out and do that thing. It only takes 20 hours. Have fun. (Applause)

[etiennekissborlase]

Is Ripple Following Coinbases Lead By Leaving The United States?

Is Ripple Following Coinbase’s Lead By Leaving The United States? https://bitcoinist.com/is-ripple-leaving-the-united-states/ Will Ripple follow Coinbase’s lead and leave the United States of America in favor of a jurisdiction that regulates cryptocurrencies in a friendlier way? The world’s second-largest crypto exchange Coinbase had made a splash last week when it announced the launch of an offshore exchange in the coming weeks after obtaining a license in Bermuda. Meanwhile, Ripple remains in its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with a ruling potentially coming any day now, according to several experts. Even though Ripple has already declared itself eager to fight and is expected to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, it would take years to reach a final decision. On top of that, CEO Brad Garlinghouse issued a warning in July 2022 that the crypto company will move to another country if it loses in its legal battle with the SEC. “[W]e will move to another jurisdiction if we lose the case in the United States. We still have an immense business to build. Why do it in a regulatory jurisdiction that’s not going to be friendly toward us?” Tendencies For A Move By Ripple Can Be Observed Over the past few weeks, some signs can be observed that Ripple is expanding its presence in other countries and flirting with their benefits. Garlinghouse and other Ripple executives have in the recent past repeatedly raved about other countries where the industry has clear rules and a welcoming environment. Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, revealed last Wednesday that he missed the Gensler hearing before Congress because he was busy in the UK: Missed all the excitement yesterday on the Gensler hearing. I am in London, spending time with our team focused on growing our business. Can’t tell you how inept the SEC looks from this side of the pond. Susan Friedman, International Policy Counsel at Ripple, has repeatedly praised in recent weeks the groundbreaking innovation brought about by MiCa crypto legislation in Europe. She also repeatedly emphasized that there is not a lack of compliance in the US in recent weeks, but a lack of clarity. In her latest tweet, she writes: While the US continues to focus on enforcement instead of clarity, the EU has taken a big leap forward with a sensible, progressive approach to #crypto regulation. We look forward to building and growing in the European marketplace!  XRP community member Anders L has also spotted more signs of Ripple fleeing the US on the official website. Of the 66 open positions at Ripple, 46 are currently offered outside the United States. Six of those jobs offered in the United States are just internships. Furthermore, he observed: Seems Bank of America was removed from the customer page, still listed under the Steering Committee. Will Ripple leave the US? Out of 66 open roles at Ripple, 46 are offered outside the United States… 6 of the roles offered in the US are internships. Seems Bank of America was removed from the customer page, still listed under the Steering Committee.https://t.co/clwAGlK1Mw — Anders (@X__Anderson) April 22, 2023 However, the observation is odd for the community member. As Bitcoinist reported, Bank of America (BoA) plans to increase its involvement with Ripple after the litigation ends. Whether BoA will pull out now, shortly before the end, seems rather unlikely. So what’s the point? Although there has been no official announcement about leaving the US, Ripple seems to be putting an increased focus on the world outside. Even though this is not really surprising, it could be easy for Ripple to make good on its threat. At press time, the XPR price stood at $0.4633. via Bitcoinist.com https://bitcoinist.com April 24, 2023 at 01:40PM

[b2bcybersecurity]

Chatbots: Nur Maschinen helfen gehen Maschinen

Chatbots wie ChatGPT sind auf dem Vormarsch: Die künstliche Intelligenz ist der natürlichen Ignoranz gewachsen. Man benötiget zunehmend intelligente Maschinen, um zu erkennen, wenn andere Maschinen versuchen die Nutzer zu täuschen. Ein Kommentar von Chester Wisniewski, Cybersecurity-Experte bei Sophos. Der auf künstlicher Intelligenz basierende Chatbot ChatGPT macht weltweit Schlagzeilen – und neben den Meldungen im Börsen- und Urheberrechtsumfeld, steht auch die IT-Sicherheit im Fokus der Diskussionen. Denn die seit kurzem realisierte, breitere Verfügbarkeit des Tools bringt trotz aller Sicherheitsbemühungen des Herstellers neue Herausforderungen mit sich, wenn es um Phishing-Köder oder dialogorientierte Betrugsmaschen wie Romance Scams über soziale Netzwerke oder geschäftlich ausgerichtete Kompromittierungsangriffe via E-Mail geht. Von der KI ausgedachte Kompromittierungsangriffe „Eines der größten Risiken besteht darin, dass Angreifer diese Plattformen nutzen, um die Qualität ihrer Phishing-Köder erheblich zu verbessern. Damit sind Phishing-Angriffe selbst für aufmerksame Nutzer immer schwieriger zu identifizieren“, so Chet Wisniewski, Cybersecurity-Experte bei Sophos. „Letztendlich liefern die immer besseren KI-Chatbots ein kostenloses Upgrade für alle Arten von Social-Engineering-Angriffen. Programme wie ChatGPT können dazu genutzt werden, kriminell orientierte, sehr realistische, interaktive Gespräche via E-Mail zu führen oder Chat-Angriffe über Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp oder andere Chat-Apps zu starten. Heute besteht die größte Gefahr für die englischsprachige Zielgruppe. Es ist aber wahrscheinlich nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis neue Versionen verfügbar sind, um glaubwürdige Texte in allen häufig gesprochenen Sprachen der Welt zu erstellen. Wir haben ein Stadium erreicht, in dem Menschen immer öfter nicht in der Lage sind, maschinengenerierte Prosa von der von Menschen geschriebenen zu unterscheiden – im Besonderen, wenn wir das Gegenüber nicht gut kennen.“ Eine Zäsur für die IT-Sicherheit Diese Entwicklung bildet eine Zäsur für bislang bestehende Standards im Bereich Mitarbeiterschulung und IT-Sicherheit. Die Zeiten, in denen sich Unternehmen darauf verlassen konnten, dass die Mitarbeiter eine aktive Rolle bei der Verteidigung gegen Cyberattacken spielen, in dem sie auf Grammatik- und Rechtschreibfehler oder seltsame Formulierungen achten, sind vorbei. Eines der letzten effizienten Elemente von Schulungsprogrammen wird durch Chatbots wie ChatGPT ausgehebelt – und das sehr effektiv, wie die folgenden zwei Beispiele verdeutlichen. Der originale Ködertext eines BEC-Betrügers (Business E-Mail Compromise), der versucht, den Gehaltsscheck einer anderen Person auf das Konto des Angreifers umzuleiten, ist relativ einfach als „nicht echt“ zu erkennen. Im Vergleich dazu steht im Anschluss eine Variante, die durch die Eingabe der entsprechenden thematischen Eckpunkte von ChatGPT geschrieben wurde. Standard Betrugs-E-Mail eines Angreifers Hi …., I changed my banks because of my old account is no longer good to accept dd payment and I’ll like to change my paycheck direct deposit details, can the change be effective for the current pay date? Thanks, …. Von der KI ChatGPT geschriebener Text Dear HR, I am writing to request that you update my direct deposit information in the company’s payroll system. My current bank account information is no longer valid and I will be switching to a new bank. Could you please let me know what information you need in order to update my direct deposit information? I am happy to provide any necessary details. I would also like to request that this update be made in time for the next payroll period. Is there anything else I need to do to ensure a smooth transition? Thank you for your attention in this matter. I appreciate your help in ensuring that my paychecks are deposited into the correct account. Sincerely, „Das Beispiel klingt wie die E-Mail einer realen Person, hat eine gute Zeichensetzung, Rechtschreibung und Grammatik. Ist sie perfekt? Nein. Sie ist gut genug? Auf jeden Fall! Da Betrüger bereits Millionen mit ihren schlecht gefertigten Ködern verdienen, lässt sich die neue Dimension dieser KI-gepushten Kommunikation leicht vorstellen. Stellen sie sich vor, sie würden mit diesem Bot über WhatsApp oder Microsoft Teams chatten. Hätten sie die Maschine erkannt?“ So Wisniewski über seine „Kreativarbeit“ mit dem Chatbot. KIs können Nutzer fast perfekt täuschen Fakt ist, dass nahezu alle Anwendungsarten im Bereich KI bereits an einem Punkt angelangt sind, an dem sie einen Menschen in fast 100% der Fälle täuschen können. Die Qualität des „Gesprächs“, das mit ChatGPT geführt werden kann, ist bemerkenswert, und die Fähigkeit, gefälschte menschliche Gesichter zu erzeugen, die (für Menschen) von echten Fotos fast nicht zu unterscheiden sind, ist beispielsweise ebenfalls bereits Realität. Das kriminelle Potential solchen Technologien ist immens, wie ein Beispiel deutlich macht: Kriminelle, die einen Betrug über eine Scheinfirma abwickeln wollen, generieren sich einfach 25 Gesichter und verwenden ChatGPT, um deren Biografien zu schreiben. Dazu noch ein paar gefälschte LinkedIn-Konten und es kann losgehen. Im Umkehrschluss muss sich auch die „gute Seite“ der Technologie zuwenden, um Paroli bieten zu können. „Wir alle müssen unsere Iron-Man-Anzüge anziehen, wenn wir den immer gefährlicher werdenden Gewässern des Internets trotzen wollen“, so Wisniewski. „Es sieht zunehmend so aus, als würden wir Maschinen brauchen, um zu erkennen, wenn andere Maschinen versuchen, uns zu täuschen. Ein interessanter Proof of Concept wurde von Hugging Face entwickelt, das Texte erkennen kann, die mit GPT-2 generiert wurden – was darauf hindeutet, dass ähnliche Techniken verwendet werden könnten, um GPT-3-Ausgaben zu erkennen.“ Traurig aber wahr: KI hat den letzten Nagel in den Sarg des Endbenutzer-Sicherheitsbewusstseins geschlagen. "Ich will ich damit sagen, dass wir ganz damit aufhören sollten? Nein, aber wir müssen unsere Erwartungen zurückschrauben. Es schadet auf keinen Fall, die bislang und oftmals immer noch geltenden Best Practices in Sachen IT-Sicherheit zu befolgen. Wir müssen die Benutzer dazu animieren, noch misstrauischer als bislang zu sein und vor allem auch fehlerfreie Mitteilungen gewissenhaft zu überprüfen, die den Zugang zu persönlichen Informationen oder monetäre Elemente enthalten. Es geht darum, Fragen zu stellen, um Hilfe zu bitten und sich die wenigen Momente zusätzlicher Zeit zu nehmen, die notwendig sind, um zu bestätigen, dass die Dinge wirklich so sind, wie sie scheinen. Das ist keine Paranoia, sondern der Wille, sich von den Gaunern nicht übers Ohr hauen zu lassen.“     Passende Artikel zum Thema Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel

[thethirdamell]

In all your works and especially in AO you write all the characters really well, like you nail their dialogue, personality, speech patterns and etc. Do you have any advice for writing specific characters such as Justice, Oghren or Velanna? It can be hard at times to write them complex without accidentally resorting to flanderization; Justice being angry and bragging about justice, Oghren a drunk or Velanna a cold hearted bitch, but you manage to avoid all that I feel.

That's very nice of you to say. I would argue that you probably do just fine in your characterizations though. It helps to remember we are our own worst critics. Here's some thoughts for you. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert, and that my versions of these characters aren't necessarily true to canon, it's just what I do for my own writing, which is just for fun and it is perfectly fine for other people to portray characters in other ways.

1. Cheat! Go through the character's existing dialogue and revamp it to suit your scene.

2. Cheat 2 - Electric Boogaloo! Go through what you've already written for the character and revamp it to suit your new scene.

3. No Cheating! - Mirror pre-existing speech patterns to the best of your ability to suit your scene.

I try to write every character as having two dialogue options. What they mean to say and what they actually say. Anders is probably the best example of this because you can see his internal monologue, but all of my side characters have their own.

Justice Example

"I know what happened at Amaranthine. I know the city would have fallen without you. I know Anders would have fallen without you. Thank you, for saving him." Amell said sincerely, "For saving all of them."

… curious. "Justice is its own reward."

"You wanted to be more than that once," Amell reminded him.

Long ago. "There is too little Justice in this world already for me to be anything else."

"That was poetic."

"I enjoy poetry."

"I'll have to find you another book," Amell offered.

… curiouser. "I would like that."

My version of Justice is how I interpret his character in Awakening. Passionate about the concept of justice, but always willing to re-evaluate and re-frame it. What constitutes justice for one person may constitute injustice for another, so I feel he can be written to be against or in favor of almost anything. I honestly see justice as just one facet of his personality, as he spends a lot of time in Awakening discussing the beauty of the mortal world, enjoying the company of mortals, yearning for love, and just generally being peaceful if left to his own devices. He loses a lot of that in AO and doesn't trust as readily after everything he's been through with Anders, but he's still the most honest of the three you referenced, so what he means to say and what he actually says usually align to an extent. I consider him to be fascinated by communication and all the things that can be lost and layered in it, considering how different things are in the Fade when you can feel the intent of other spirits and concepts are broken down to their bare essentials. His conversations with Amell are fairly fun for me because I imagine they talk the same and they're always saying 50 different things at all times. So for an above breakdown, with Amell expressing his gratitude for what Justice did in Amaranthine, it's one of the few instances of someone not just acknowledging him, but actively appreciating him, respecting him, and admiring him. It's overwhelming just how much it means to him, but it may not mean as much to Amell, and given that at this point in the story Justice doesn't know him well and is still navigating his relationship with Anders and Hawke, so it's safest not to trust him completely. So all of that boils down to: curious. It's curious Amell wants to speak to him specifically, it's curious he feels so strongly about Amell wanting to speak to him, it's curious he doesn't quite know how to respond. "Justice is its own reward," is layered with a lot of things. It shuts down that thanks a little bit, reinforces that Amell wasn't part of that part of his life, affirms his identity and his reasons for his decisions, and distances him a bit from Amell and arguably from everyone by falling back on the fact that he's a spirit and not a mortal. Amell rejects all of that with, "You wanted to be more than that once," but it's a gentle rejection with the addition of "once." If Justice is just Justice, a singular pursuit of purpose and nothing more, that's fine, because 'once' reinforces that it's okay for people to change. Alternatively, 'You wanted to be more than that' serves as a reminder that Justice is still his own person. Having someone affirm that he can be more than just his purpose and more than just a source of strength for Anders is, as before, incredibly meaningful, but there isn't necessarily space for that in his life anymore. So all of that boils down to: Long ago. A wistful sort of longing expressed in "There is too little Justice in this world already for me to be anything else." AKA: I've been through a lot. "That was poetic." AKA: You're still you. There's still poetry in you. There's still beauty in you. There's still more in you. "I enjoy poetry." AKA: I want to believe that. I want to remember that. Thank you for seeing this side of me. It's still there. I still see it. "I'll have to find you another book." AKA: I want to get to know you again and I want you to get to know yourself again. Hence: "I would like that." Woops! I kind of just used this as an excuse to talk about Justice/Amell as a pairing, but if it was helpful, I can follow-up with Velanna and Oghren eventually.

[kirkwallgremlin]

Giveaway fic #1

for @jewishtabris, featuring Arana Tabris, Zevran and their toddler Alma 💙

Zevran watched his opponent, stepping to the side as she stepped towards him. It wasn’t hard to avoid her - his daughter was, after all, only two years old. She giggled as she toddled towards him again, poking at him with the blunt knife she clutched in her hand.

He wondered if the kitchens knew they were missing one of their butter knives.

“You have wounded me, Alma,” he said as the knife made contact, clutching his hands dramatically against his stomach. “I am bested by your superior knowledge and skill.”

He stumbled back, dropping to the ground in an exaggerated movement. Still giggling, the toddler followed him back, brandishing her knife before her.

“Win!” she said, climbing atop Zevran’s chest, her tiny fingers grasping at his tunic as she pulled herself closer. He steadied her with his own hands as she beamed at him.

“You are a master already,” he told her, brushing a few strands of dark hair from the side of her face. “But, dear one, I fear you neglect one vital piece of information.”

She gazed at him, the meaning of his words beyond her but clearly still delighted by the time and attention with her father.

“You forget I can do this,” he continued, scooping her up in his arms. She squealed with laughter as he buried his face against her stomach, her fingers in his hair.

“Don’t take your loss too personally,” he told her, clutching his daughter safely in his arms as he stood again. “You were up against an expert former Antivan Crow. One of the best, so they say.”

“Win!” she said again, her knife still clutched in her hand, and Zevran shook his head.

“Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that logic,” he said, lifting Alma high up into the air as she giggled again.

“More!” she said. “Up! Up, Papi!”

“As you wish,” Zevran said, raising her once again before dipping her down low. The knife still clutched in her hand slipped, clattering to the ground and they both jumped.

“Knife,” Alma said, pointing frantically at the ground. “My knife.”

Behind them, somebody coughed and both Zevran and the toddler in his arms turned to look at the elf standing in the doorway. His partner didn’t look at all impressed, and Zevran could understand why. Her experiences with weapons at a young age - much like his own - had been significantly less safe or enjoyable than the game he and Alma had found.

“Mame!” Alma said, twisting in Zevran’s arms, her own arms outstretched, the knife apparently forgotten. He set her down to run across the room to her mother. He could reassure his partner of their daughter’s safety later.

“I missed you, my love,” Arana said, pressing a kiss against Alma’s cheek as she lifted her, the kiss followed by a second.

“We missed you too,” Zevran told her. “How was your trip?”

“Busy.” She smiled fondly at her family, though a hint of emotion, of worry and fear, still lingered. “I’m glad to be home.”

“And we are glad to have you,” he said, Alma’s tiny hand against his face as he kissed her mother on the cheek.

“Knife!” Alma said again, straining in Arana’s arms, the exciting new toy suddenly back in her memory. The woman’s arms tightened around her, seemingly hesitant to set her daughter down but Alma was persistent. She raced towards the metal object as soon as her feet touched the ground, demonstrating an impressive amount of speed for somebody so small as she scooped it up again.

Arana looked at Zevran.

“Why does our child have a knife?” she asked, her tone making it clear she wasn’t pleased at the development, and Zevran smiled sheepishly. He’d had the same question earlier.

“I believe it was a gift from Sigrun,” he said. “Apparently she tried to make her way into the armoury with a group of Wardens while Anders was watching her. They said she walked right in like she’d been there all her life.”

“I can imagine,” Arana said, her voice softening, watching the toddler confidently stomp her way around the room, brandishing the knife in question in front of her.

“I thought it safer to let her keep it than allow her to find an alternative, should she keep seeking,” Zevran said, taking her hand in his own, his thumb rubbing reassuring circles against her skin.

“I just worry about her,” Ariana told him softly, her concern still clear. “I don’t want her to have to fight.”

“I know,” he said, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “I do too. But she is safe, having fun. There is no danger.”

Arana sighed, not looking convinced.

“She will not have the childhood we did,” Zevran assured her. “We can ensure this remains a game, something fun for her.”

Across the room, Alma wobbled, landing on her bottom as she overbalanced. From the expression on her face, she wasn’t quite sure if she should be upset at the development but Zevran stepped across the room to her regardless.

“We can keep her safe,” he promised, looking back at his partner as he scooped their daughter back into his arms. “Now. Have you bathed? Unpacked? Had a moment to yourself after all your hard work?”

He kissed Arana farewell, promising to bring Alma back to her after dinner, as she left the two of them alone once more. Alma waved goodbye to her as she left, still in Zevran’s arms.

“Now, let’s get you some food,” he said, carrying Alma towards the same door her mother had just left through. “And yes, you will be eating your vegetables tonight.”

“Veggie-bles,” Alma frowned and Zevran sighed.

“Perhaps we can negotiate,” he conceded.

And though the vegetables may be negotiable, he knew that his child’s safety never would be.

[thessalian]

Molly!Warden vs Errands

A bleak coast somewhere

Thug: Hey, waitaminit. You aren’t the one we asked to bring the ransom!

Molly: No, and you’re not getting it until you hand over the girl.

Thug: Okay, fine, here. *yeets noblewoman* Now. Hand over the gold.

Molly: Actually, I was thinking of paying you in white steel and dragonbone. It’s about what you deserve for handing over your bargaining chip, you chump.

Thug:...You know you’re outnumbered, right?

Molly: Unless you’re stronger than a darkspawn army, I like my chances.

Thug: Wut.

Other Thug: *whispers*

Thug: Oh. FUCK.

Stabnation: *ensues*

Someone’s farmland

Anders: Ow.

Nathaniel: For once, we agree, Anders.

Molly: So apparently darkspawn have snipers now. Sorry about that. But thanks for getting the stupid mage.

Oghren: *under a Death Hex* Work a little faster next time, would you? Also ow. Ow. Ow. OW.

Molly: So, bets on us getting any answers if we write to Weisshaupt about why the darkspawn are more powerful without an archdemon than they are with one?

Oghren: See, in Orzamarr, we’re basically the experts on darkspawn without an archedemon and I can pretty much say I ain’t taking that bet.

Anders: With our luck, we’ll trip over the answer to that soon enough. That is what we’re trying to do, isn’t it?

Molly: Well, we were trying to save some nobles but I guess news doesn’t travel very fast out here because now they are made of corpse.

Nathaniel: The nobles, or the darkspawn?

Molly: Yes. And also a templar. Because reasons, I guess?

Anders: So if I were to, for instance, ask you to turn around while I p--

Molly: WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS FIND A TREE.

Amaranthine

Shady Character: So you want to help smugglers, right?

Molly: See, once upon a time, I might have taken you up on that, but in case you missed the memo, I’m an arlessa now. I’m a lot more worried about an angry mob with pitchforks than I am about your underarmoured ass. Honestly, I ought to shank you on principle. No one stupid enough to approach their fucking arlessa about smuggling is looking at any kind of life expectancy.

Stabnation: *ensues*

Further into Amaranthine

Guard Captain: So we’re having smuggler problems--

Molly: Oh, fuck a nug.

Guard Captain: And there’s the Merchant Guild Board and the Chanter’s Board...

Molly: Stone’s sake. I had to pick vital information out of a rambling hunting story and now I’m back on the errand-girl duties.

Guard: Um ... is now a good time to give you this note from Ser Wolf?

Molly: ......Y’know what? Sure. Now someone hand me a map of Amaranthine so I can do this in as few laps around town as possible.

Later, back at the gates

Molly: I had to do an entire loop around the place and trailed him to his hideout but the door’s locked and it’s not a lockpick-friendly sort of thing.

Guard Captain: Well, the man guarding the door probably has one. You’ve seen a shady character lurking around?

Molly: I kind of deaded him. Like, before I even hit the gates.

Guard Captain: ...Not sure whether I should applaud or facepalm.

Molly: Either way, I can promise you he didn’t have a key. Just some frost coat for blades and a really sub-par dagger. In any way you want to take that.

Guard Captain: ...I will pretend you never said that and plead with you to try again?

Molly: Sure! And if they just keep sending out individual guards with no keys, I can just clear out your smuggler hideout one shithead at a time!

Guard Captain: ...Maker smile on you?

Molly: Well, someone has to, and Lady Luck hasn’t been doing it lately, so let’s hope.

In front of the Chantry

Molly: Wynne!

Wynne: Hello, Molly. I’ve been hearing good things. When I heard the rumours the Dark Wolf was about, I--

Molly: Don’t even get me started. Please, tell me how you are and give me a five minute reprieve from the errands and general impending doom?

Wynne: So you won’t like hearing about mages over in the Free Marches getting up to ructions...

Molly: Because of course they sodding are. Life’s just glorious that way.

Wynne: And if you’re doing errands, I seem to have lost another colleague to the woodland--

Molly: Won’t even charge you, salroka.

Anders: I didn’t think you charged any of your friends. You didn’t mention it when we got ambushed by Templars for my sake.

Molly: Well, no, at least partly because there’s always something lootable off the corpses. Especially Templars, always so well-armoured. So it’s warm-fuzzies-granting and profitable!

Nathaniel: But this mage is sending you to a forest. How much ... pillaging can you do off corpses in a forest?

Molly: According to my spreadsheets, I have found forty-seven gold in small change inside things with no sapience--

Nathaniel: Well, darkspawn at least manage armour and likely don’t empty their pockets when--

Molly: And no pockets. Like, several dozen wolves, about half a hundred mabari, eighty-three giant spiders and at least four bears. Oh, and twenty or so dragons of varying ages. And don’t even get me started on the deepstalkers. Everything in this sodding country is a murderous walking nuggy-bank.

Nathaniel: Working with you is going to be a true education.

Anders: ...Nuggy-bank?

Molly: I’ll see if I can find you one. Meantime, presents!

Anders: Gold earring? Scarf? Collar and bell for Ser Pounce-a-Lot?!?

Nathaniel: Lockpicks. Is this a hint?

Molly: More of a bonding exercise, really, but yeah.

Anders: What’d Oghren get?

Oghren: *beeeeeeeeeeelch*

Nathaniel: The opportunity to vomit into my boots tonight, apparently.

Later

Nathaniel: Why are we dragging a hanged corpse into the Chantry?

Molly: They’ll have to prepare him for the pyre, right?

Anders: Also, hilarious!

Nathaniel: Probably not for the grieving wife.

Molly: Anyway, for comedy, we have the ‘Blight Orphans’ who spell worse than I do and drink more than Oghren does. I hate getting scammed.

Oghren: They why give ‘em money?

Molly: I’m working on the principle that they’ve lost enough to the Blight to qualify. And will keep on working that way until their requests get really stupid.

Nathaniel: And ‘moonshine’ isn’t ‘really stupid’?

Molly: *Will Smith-gesturing at Oghren*

Nathaniel: *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh* Can we go actually fight darkspawn now?

Molly: Sure. We just have to pick between the Blackmarsh, the Wending Wood or that hole in the ground ... that’s ... spitting darkspawn ... yeah, I think that one first. It’ll be good practice for when the crew finishes clearing the tunnel in the basement.

Nathaniel: So we’re opening a route to the Deep Roads ... in our basement.

Molly: And, sorry - how many generations of your family left an Avvar crypt heaving with undead live down there?

Anders: Heh; ‘howe’ many...

Molly: Nathaniel, I’m a little undersized; could you--?

Nathaniel: *slaps Anders upside the head*

Molly: Thank you. Now let’s go.

[contreparry]

Hand kiss: “I’m extremely happy about something and this felt like the best spontaneous action, what am I, an expert on motivations?” for Anders/Fenris?

Absolutely! Here’s some Fenders for @dadrunkwriting!

Nothing, in Fenris’ opinion, quite matched the satisfaction of a sword stroke executed perfectly. The fluid movement of his body, the strain of his muscles being pushed to the absolute limit, the flash of the blade in the sunlight- it was the closest he felt to dancing. Dancing required a partner, required touch, required trust, and Fenris hadn’t enough practice and trust to try and dance. So instead he practiced alone in his garden, flowing from form to form until sweat ran down his face and his arms felt leaden.

“Really? You were out here when I left!” Anders called out from the doorway. “Fenris, you just got back on your feet from your last outing with Hawke!” Fenris looked up and took in the site of Anders leaning against the door frame, his hair slipping out of its tie to tumble around his face. Fenris glanced up towards the sky and had to keep himself from wincing. He hadn’t noticed that the sun was so close to setting. He had been so intent on his exercises, so focused on pushing his body back to what it was before he was injured- well, he lost track of time. Anders had taken to visiting the manor every day to check up on him- check on his injuries, he said, but Fenris sometimes wondered if he just wanted company.

“I’m fine. Stop worrying,” Fenris retorted, but he set his sword down on the bench near the kitchen. Anders’ impressive frown only grew as he looked at him, and Fenris shifted uneasily. That glower put even the fiercest of men and women in their place, and Fenris hated having the full weight of it on him now. When Anders shook his head and clicked his tongue Fenris wanted to crawl into a hole. He wasn’t usually cowed by Anders’ ferocity, but this past week of civility and burgeoning friendship changed that.

“Fine? Fine?! Fenris, you shouldn’t be walking right now, never mind swinging a sword around! Especially all afternoon!” Anders scolded, and he reached out towards Fenris, hustling him indoors and settling him down on a chair in the cool kitchen before Fenris could even breathe a word of protest.

“-I swear, you shove a sword into someone’s hand and suddenly they think they’re immune to injuries! Here, drink this and hold still, I need to check your temperature,” Anders ordered as he shoved a glass of water into Fenris’ hands. Anders poked and prodded at him, grumbling all the while about hard-headed assholes who needed to be tied down to take their bedrest seriously. As grumpy as he was, there was something sweet about Anders’ ranting. As ridiculous as it all was, it was nice to be cared for. When Anders’ hand slipped from his forehead, Fenris reached up, reached out, and took his hand before pressing his lips to Anders’ palm.

“Fenris?” Anders murmured.

“What?”

“I- what was that for?” The question lingered in the air like smoke, and Fenris dropped Anders’ hand like it was a hot coal.

“I felt like it,” Fenris mumbled. “I- don’t ask.” This was just friendship, Anders was just being friendly and caring for him as a friend, and Fenris acted on instinct, shifting friendship to romantic affection even though it clearly wasn’t-

“Mmmm. Right then,” Anders replied, leaning closer until his mouth brushed playfully against Fenris’ forehead. “I’ll ask about it later, when you feel better.” And before Fenris could do anything, Anders swept him up and hustled him towards the parlor and the cozy sofa in front of the fireplace.

“Now, you’re going to stay here and rest until supper,” Anders ordered. “Or else I’ll borrow Hawke’s mabari and he’ll make sure you stay put!”

“Very well,” Fenris mumbled, his eyes already drooping with exhaustion. He’d ask Anders what that kiss was about later, hopefully before Anders asked Fenris why he kissed Anders’ hand.