#i live for dragon age companion drama

[joleneghoul]

Every time i come back to skyhold, Dorian has gotten into a fight with someone. that's my #girl

[drakorn]

Rewriting Veilguard Part 3 - The Grey Wardens

Rewriting Veilguard Part 2 - The Shadow Dragons

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Writing an Origin Story Mission for the Grey Wardens

So before we start, I would like to notify you of three minor changes I made to my previous blog entry regarding the Shadow Dragons:

Varric no longer tells us about Solas straight away. I believe that’s a bomb that would be more effective when dropped later, otherwise poor Rook might just be a tad overwhelmed.

Neve stays in Minrathous rather than accompanying Rook and Varric. Yeah, as much as I like the idea of your chosen faction determining your first companion, I don’t think it’s really doable given the circumstances a few other companions find themselves in at the start of the game.

The Dreadwolf title card does not appear just yet. I found a better spot to use it later.

Now that we have dealt with the Shadow Dragon origin story, let us move on to the Grey Wardens. And here, we are going to have some fun because boy do I have ideas for this one.

The Grey Wardens were kinda the faction I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to playing at first and there’s a reason for that. You see, we already played a Grey Warden in DAO, and I actually like each game’s protagonist being someone very different. However, when I think about it now, there is some narrative logic to it. If DAV truly is the last Dragon Age game (which is very up in the air right now), it makes total sense to have this choice to bookend the story. You started as a Grey Warden, and now you’ll finish as one. Plus, with the Blight giving us its last hoorah in this one, it only makes sense to put the Wardens in a more prominent position once again.

So, without further ado, let us jump into the Grey Warden origin story!

Creating Rook

We start a new game, Varric gives his opening narration about the overall state of Northern Thedas, and this time, we click on the Grey Warden origin. The little blurb reads as follows:

“You are a Grey Warden. An ancient military order sworn to battle the ever-present threat of the Darkspawn, the Wardens undergo secret, unbreakable rites that grant them supernatural powers against the Taint. As the last surviving member of the Dornen outlaws, you joined the order after a passing Senior Warden invoked the Right of Conscription at your execution and gave you the chance to fight another day. But what you will do with it, that is up to you.”

Right there, we have a great canvas to paint with when it comes to sheer roleplay. We are a former criminal, the last survivor of a group known as the Dornen. Our group wasn’t, like, evil, but we were enough of a presence in the area in and around Hossberg to cause some proper trouble. The Anderfels is a dangerous land, the most dangerous one in Thedas. People don’t live, they survive. This means that many turn to unlawful ways to make ends meet. But being a former outlaw beautifully lines up with the theme of second chances the Order gives to so many people.

In DAV, our Warden’s name is Thorne. “Dornen” is the German words for “Thorns”. The Anderfels’ linguistic and etymological side is mostly based on German (“Anderfels” meaning “Other Rock” or “Weisshaupt” meaning “White Head”). So wouldn’t it be a fun idea if “Thorne” isn’t really the Warden’s last name but just the name they ended up going with? They arguably never knew their family name and the Dornen were as close to one as they could have gotten.

Unlike Mercar, your racial choice won’t really have that much of an impact here as the Wardens accept everyone into their ranks, as long as they can fight. However, if you choose to be a Qunari, it will add a few unique dialogue lines about how few Qunari there are in the order. You are probably one of the only ones.

For this hypothetical playthrough, we shall pick a dwarf warrior, and I’m giving him a big ginger beard. Just going full Lord of the Rings here.

Alright, so we just generated our Thorne, and now we get to hear Varric’s continued narration. We get a series of those beautiful tarot-styled illustrations with Varric’s voice telling us what’s been happening with the Wardens for the last decade. The Wardens in the North specifically have been all gradually returning to Weisshaupt Fortress, by order of the First Warden. They have become much more reclusive and secretive than they already were and are sharing practically nothing with the outside world. Something’s definitely going on. And Varric thinks it might be part of something larger.

Weisshaupt Fortress

And now, for the first time ever, we get to see Weisshaupt Fortress in all its glory, a gigantic fortress carved into the very mountains, the great headquarters of the Grey Wardens that withstood for over a thousand years.

I really like the way Weisshaupt is portrayed in DAV, my only gripe is that we never get to actually properly explore it. I was…surprised by that, actually. So what better way to explore Weisshaupt than have it be part of the Grey Warden origin?

This is place filled with such incredibly rich history. Just imagine, this place has existed since the First Blight, an event older than Andraste. This is an absolute field day for lore enthusiasts such as myself.

As soon as Weisshaupt appears, we get a grand reprise of Inon Zur’s DAO main theme, establishing it as the Warden leitmotif. Now that we are able to properly play as a Grey Warden again, we are just eased back into that feeling. We might not be playing the Hero of Ferelden anymore, but we can definitely bring back the nostalgia. Music is such an important part of storytelling, it’s insane how much a well-chosen theme can do.

Meeting High Constable Janos

Thorne arrives at Weisshaupt after a recent patrol through the mountains and we are greeted by High Constable Janos, the second-in-command to the First Warden. For some reason that rank never comes up in DAV, so we’re just going to include that here.

Here we’re going to establish that Janos was the Warden-Commander who invoked the Right of Conscription during our execution all the way back in Hossberg a few years ago. But why would the Right of Conscription even work in a time without the Blight? Well, this is a fair question for any other nation than the Anderfels. But the Anderfels is constantly threatened by darkspawn incursions, making it the only nation where the Right of Conscription still holds weight without a Blight. Given how the First Warden is often seen as an advisor to the King/Queen, one can also say that the Wardens’ whole “no politics” spiel doesn’t really apply in the Anderfels, either.

Janos informs us of an upcoming mission, assigned by the First Warden himself. Thorne is to meet him, Janos, and a few others in the war room later that day. It is something quite urgent.

NOTE: Throughout the prologue, Rook is still referred to as Thorne, given that “Rook” as a nickname does not exist yet.

Exploring Weisshaupt

Before we head off to the war room, we get a chance to properly explore Weisshaupt for the first time. And there are some interesting things to be done here:

Thorne can walk in on a recruit training session hosted by Davrin. Yep, if we’re a Grey Warden, we get to meet Davrin a little earlier than every other origin. We won’t know anything about his secret griffon mission yet, so for now we just meet him as a trainer. We learn that Davrin and Thorne joined the Wardens at roughly the same time and initially disliked each other due to their different pasts. But over the years, they grew to a mutual understanding since that’s just what being part of the order does to you. In this encounter, we get to train the recruits with Davrin for a short while, even do a sparring session between the two of us.

We come across a few recruits who are yet to undergo the Joining. From here, we learn that there hasn’t really been a great influx of Wardens recently as people just don’t see the necessity. And while the Right of Conscription applies in the Anderfels outside a Blight, it does so only when the alternative is a crime verdict. The recruits know about the Joining already, so we can either reassure or prepare them for the possibility of dying.

We learn from the general chatter as we traverse Weisshaupt that many of the older Wardens are getting ready for their Calling. Since there’s such an unusually high number this time, they are organising something akin to a massive group exodus into the Deep Roads. From the same chatter, we also learn that there has been a staggeringly smaller amount of recruits every year. Some of the older Wardens are worried.

We can enter the library and meet Valya from the Last Flight novel. Instead of just leaving the Wardens for an unspecified reason like in DAV, here she stayed, survived her Joining, and has since been promoted to Chamberlain of the Grey, the order’s chief archivist after her predecessor embarked on his Calling. Her role in rediscovering the griffons had a huge part to play here, but we don’t know that yet. She has also entered a relationship with Caronel who has been promoted to Warden-Commander of the Anderfels. From Valya, who is also in charge with gathering reports from Wardens all around the world, we learn how the Wardens in the South are doing, and it’s quite something. Nathaniel Howe is now the Warden-Commander of Ferelden and operates from Vigil’s Keep. Yes, all Wardens have been ordered to return to Weisshaupt, but Ferelden is an exception to this summon as the First Warden deems Amaranthine  being an actual Arling and two Grey Wardens ruling the country as too valuable of an asset to just drop. The same can’t be said for Orlais, though, as we learn that the Orlesian Wardens, currently led by Stroud and Thom Rainier, have fortified the Warden stronghold outside Montsimmard and are currently acting as peacekeepers. In addition, Bethany is currently overseeing the still-standing Griffon Wing Keep. The First Warden looks at them with disdain for refusing to obey his orders, but he also can’t, in good conscience, declare war upon them as every Warden is valuable.

NOTE: Here we see some of our World State shine through. In this playthrough, Hawke was left behind in the Fade, allowing Stroud to be a force for good among the Wardens. Blackwall took back his original name of Thom Rainier and became a proper Grey Warden. Since Hawke took Bethany and Anders to the Deep Roads in DA2, Bethany was made a Grey Warden. Nathaniel Howe was recruited and both Vigil’s Keep and Amaranthine were defended properly, allowing the Wardens to once again maintain a strong presence in Ferelden. As mentioned in the previous post, Alistair and Cousland currently rule Ferelden. And, as we're about to see, Avernus has been left alive and allowed to ethically continue his research.

While still in the library, we get to read a few letters sent to Valya. One of them is from Cousland, dating back a few years now, stating that she is close to making progress on how to stop the Calling but that this is the last letter she’ll be able to send as she’s embarking to places where communication just isn’t possible. Another is from Stroud, stating his regret for how things turned out. Here we get some hints as to what happened when he came to Weisshaupt during DAI. Apparently him and the First Warden clashed on ideals, the First Warden insisting on staying distant and secretive and Stroud being in favour of change. The third letter is from Ramesh, the Warden from Tevinter Nights who discovered one of Ghilan’nains labs and is now searching for the other eleven. The fourth and final letter is a report from Avernus and concerns the progress of his superior Joining ritual. All of these are just codex entries as I doubt we'd get to see this publicly.

Meeting the First Warden

After exploring Weisshaupt, we enter the war room, where Jowin Glastrum, the First Warden himself, awaits us. Joining us in the meeting are High Constable Janos and Warden-Commander Caronel.

Now, let me make something very clear about the First Warden. I like that he’s old-fashioned and traditionalist in DAV, I think it was very in-character of him to act distant and dismissive towards people outside the order. However, he is also a Grey Warden first and foremost at heart, he has Thedas’ best interest in mind. He isn’t here just because of status and standing, no, he clawed his way up the ranks through valiant deeds. We know that many Wardens in the Anderfels come from noble lines and still have ties to those. While the First Warden is of a noble house, he doesn’t use that as something to flaunt over the Wardens. His idea of having ties to noble families is a strictly pragmatic one: the more ties, the more aid, the more recruits. While he might not get along with outsiders, he absolutely respects the Wardens under his command and, while not always agreeable, would never meaninglessly sacrifice them. He’s harsh, strict, often an asshole, but still a Warden at heart.

The First Warden briefs us on a mission: A strange crack into the Deep Roads has opened near the village of Lavendel and a darkspawn horde is gathering for a full assault. Wardens Evka and Antoine are already on-site, preparing the defences.

The First Warden orders us to take charge of the village’s defences alongside Caronel. Under no circumstances are we to abandon post. High Constable Janos will arrive with reinforcements to secure our victory. The idea is to lure the bulk of the horde out of the Deep Roads so that we can slay most of them.

We can inquire why Thorne was chosen for this, since our presence alongside the First Warden, the High Constable, and the Warden-Commander is pretty insignificant, to which the First Warden answers that we are very much due to becoming Senior Wardens ourselves, it’s just this one last assignment left until our promotion.

After the briefing, we leave the war room and encounter Davrin again, with whom you can share in your either excitement or humbleness. In any case, Davrin congratulates us on the soon-to-be promotion, claiming how deserving of it we are and how he would have never thought so upon our first meeting all those years ago.

If we wonder why Davrin wasn’t chosen to head to Lavendel, he’ll tease that he has something else going on, equally important, but won’t tell us what it is just yet as it’s top secret (wink wink caw caw).

Reaching Lavendel

We depart Weisshaupt and leave for Lavendel, a small but significant village not far away from Hossberg. We take a few newly joined Wardens with us, a group consisting of the recruits we met earlier at Weisshaupt.

Upon entering Lavendel, we are approached by Evka and Antoine, who have been busy preparing the defences. From the ensuing conversation we gather that Thorne is very well-acquainted with them, similar to Davrin, having shared in many patrols across the Anderfels with them.

While Caronel takes charge of the mission, he trusts your judgment on matters as it is your time to prove yourself further in the eyes of Weisshaupt. High Constable Janos leaves you be now and heads off to prepare the reinforcements on the other side of the hills.

In the distance, a faint dark red cloud indicates the approaching darkspawn.

Preparing for Battle

Before the darkspawn assault begins, we have the chance to explore Lavendel a little and engage in its defences. During this short segment, we have a few encounters to experience:

Naturally, we can talk to Evka and Antoine and reflect on some of our past adventures together.

We can speak to the new Wardens we’re supposed to co-lead with Caronel, either inspiring them or telling them to be realistic and not too hasty. It’s obvious many of them joined because of the heroic notion surrounding being a member of the order.

We can encounter Mila and her father, Lavendel’s blacksmith. Yeah, I haven’t made them occupants of Weisshaupt just yet, you’ll see why in a bit.

We can inspect the defences, which boil down to barricades, a few ballistae, and, of course, the Warden stronghold just outside the village. If we explore enough, we see a very large and lose rock on a jagged edge right next to Lavendel. Maybe this will be useful later? Since we took the extra time to look around, we can now have that in the back of our head. We can also spot a crack in the stronghold’s basement and encourage quick repairments to be made.

We can speak to Caronel and share in thoughts about the coming fight. All of us Wardens can sense the approaching darkspawn. Caronel isn’t too worried as it’s just a minor skirmish, albeit with a larger-than-usual horde. And why worry? We’ve got Janos swooping in with reinforcements, anyway. We can talk about Caronel’s promotion to Warden-Commander, which was very recent. It is surprising how one so young climbed the ladder so fast, to which Caronel responds that it’s really not so uncommon anymore, given how Ferelden’s Warden-Commander got the title only a year after joining. Well, granted, she took down the Archdemon and somehow lived to tell the tale, but the point stands.

Before we commence the battle, there is one big choice to be made about our position and that of the villagers. While Evka and Antoine suggest to pull all Wardens and villagers into the stronghold and brave the storm there, Caronel would rather only keep the villagers in there while us Wardens head out into the open and prevent the darkspawn from getting to them in the first place. We don’t really have enough Wardens to divide, so we must make that choice now.

Send both the Wardens and the villagers into the stronghold and fight on close and narrow ground. The villagers are at risk from getting into the heat of battle, but the Wardens will be close by to defend them.

Send the villagers into the stronghold and let the Wardens fight in the village itself. While the villagers will be more vulnerable in terms of sheer distance away from the Wardens, the darkspawn is less likely to even get near them.

For the sake of this playthrough, we choose to evacuate the village, and ourselves, into the stronghold. We feel confident but would rather keep our charges close to us. Being a former outlaw in the Anderfels has taught us how one should never leave their goal out of sight. Our aim is to defend, not to gloriously destroy. This shows us that Thorne is willing to cast the pride of glory aside and choose an arguably safer path.

An Old Friend

Our decision made, we deliver a short speech to the villagers, instructing them to head into the Warden stronghold. We shall follow suite immediately and position ourselves on the walls and in the courtyard. Since we’re familiar with the darkspawn’s habit of digging tunnels, we’ll make sure the basement is accounted for as well.

Once the villagers and Wardens head to the keep, we are approached by a most familiar face: Varric Tethras. This is certainly a surprise. While we’ve never met him in person, we’ve certainly heard and read about him. Varric says he was passing through on an errand of his own and figured he might as well aid Lavendel’s defences with Bianca. While we can question the sincerity of this statement, we can use any help we get.

Varric comments how many Wardens would seek out the more daring and glorious path and is pleased to see that we’re not one of them.

The Battle of Lavendel

Right so we’re all hunched up in the fortress, and the atmosphere is intense. Now, all of us sense the evil just outside our doorstep. The dark red cloud is directly above us. Everyone looks to Thorne and Caronel for leadership while Evka and Antoine keep morale up. Varric, while being easy-going, is very much battle-ready now.

The darkspawn slowly creep through the village like a dark carpet of disease and corruption. We hear the deafening screeches of shrieks in the distance and see various hurlocks and genlocks make their way between the buildings. At this point, a thought comes to us, one we share with Caronel. Holy shit, that’s a lot of darkspawn. And no sign of Janos yet. Where is he? Where are the other Wardens? Surely this can’t be less than the bulk of the horde yet. This is almost like a new Blight.

A horrifying thought grips us and we quickly sense into the Taint for any signs of an Archdemon’s song. To our relief, we hear nothing. The relief is short-lived, however, as the darkspawn reach the stronghold and send in a wave of shrieks to scale the walls.

We engage in a properly gritty fight against the darkspawn and can make use of several ballistae on the battlements. But we quickly realise that this place is just not at all well-prepared. Evka and Antoine’s pre-defences, alongside our inspection, are all that’s keeping this place from being overrun. Why is this in such a shoddy condition?

We then hear fighting from the basement. Ah, so the darkspawn did attempt to dig through. Good that we halted their progress by mending that crack, giving us time to respond.

We head into the basement and confront some hurlocks and genlocks. After the skirmish, we sent several grenades into the tunnel below, causing it to collapse without damaging our infrastructure too much.

Returning to the courtyard, we see something strange. A few of the shrieks have reached a group of villagers, but instead of slaying them, they’re trying to abduct them alive. While this wouldn’t be strange if all villagers were female, given that darkspawn need broodmothers to multiply, they are taking the men, too. What…?

We make short work of the darkspawn, and at this point, some of our newly joined Wardens have fallen, but only the Wardens. Now would be a really good time for Janos to show up.

At this moment, we hear loud dum, dum, dum. Huge footsteps approach. We look at each other and have all the same reaction: Ah shit.

The gates to the courtyard break down and a huge ogre walks in. Oh boy, here we go. Now would be a really good time for Janos to show up!

We take down the ogre with great difficulty and see that another large influx of darkspawn follows. After dealing with those, the fighting ceases for a moment.

We head to the battlements and see another group on the outskirts of the village. Then we remember the huge loose rock. Oh yeah, baby.

We quickly load up a ballista and aim across the village, towards the jagged cliff. It takes three shots for the edge to become lose enough, but it works. The huge rock collapses upon the newly approaching darkspawn horde, squashing them all beneath, but taking some of Lavendel’s houses with it.

The relief is short-lived, however, as we can still sense the Taint in our heads. Further away, past the outskirts of the village, we can already see a new horde of darkspawn amassing. And still no sign of Janos.

We gather a quick emergency meeting between the Wardens, and some start speculating that…Janos might not be showing up. Evka and Antoine are of the same belief, while Caronel holds on to the hope that reinforcements are on their way. Why wouldn’t they be? Wardens stick together.

But what about us? What do we believe? Janos personally recruited us all those years ago, he personally saw to our training. Why would he…but where is he then? Why isn’t he coming? Maybe he was held up? But by what? Was there another darkspawn horde on the other side of the hills? But why can’t we sense them? In fact…why can’t we sense any other Wardens in the immediate vicinity aside from us?

Wherever Janos might be, we have to hold out on our own. But if the darkspawn keep coming, we won’t hold out at all eventually. And if the Wardens die, the villagers will be…what exactly? Killed? Or taken? No villager has died so far. Why is that? What’s going on here?

Eventually, Thorne concludes that if we are to survive, we must seal that damn entrance ourselves.

But how will we go about this? Do we take all Wardens with us, or just a few?

Take all Wardens to the Deep Roads entrance. The villagers are exposed but the darkspawn may be largely drawn to us given that they haven’t even as much as injured anyone else yet.

Take Evka and Antoine and leave Caronel and the other Wardens with the villagers.

No matter what we choose, we are going against the First Warden’s orders to not leave Lavendel under any circumstances until reinforcements arrive. And at this point, if we are to survive, we have no other choice. We tell Caronel and the other Wardens to secure the villagers’ retreat from Lavendel, while Thorne, Evka and Antoine head off to seal the entrance to the Deep Roads. Caronel is hesitant at first but comes to agree with you. In Death, sacrifice, true, but the sacrifice has to mean something. Varric offers to accompany us but since he’s no Warden, we refuse. He’s more useful with protecting the villagers without risking getting instantly blighted.

Approaching the Crack

With Evka and Antoine at our side, along with several grenades from the stronghold, we head across the dark hills. A few darkspawn break off from the main horde and try to stop us, but we make short work of them.

After a few short skirmishes, we reach the entrance to the Deep Roads, a very steep crack located between two rocky hills. It is guarded by two ogres. The rest of the horde have already departed for Lavendel. It’s now or never. We might be fewer but two ogres…we can take them. Maybe.

We throw ourselves into a fight with the two giants and slay them after exchanging some fierce blows.

Now that we have a short breathing moment, we must quickly go about sealing that entrance. However, looking at it reveals that we can only collapse it by doing so from below. No use doing it from up here. But this action would cause the Warden who does it to be trapped.

We look at Evka and Antoine and order them to give us the grenades. They initially refuse but we remind them that as Warden Thorne, we have been given charge of this mission. It’s either us or no-one. We take the grenades and bid farewell to our favourite Warden couple, ordering them to return to the others. We then recite the oath of the Grey Wardens between us. “In Peace, Vigilance,” says Antoine. “In War, Victory,” says Evka. “In Death, Sacrifice,” says Thorne.

The Deep Roads

We descent into the cavern and find ourselves immediately struck by an overwhelming sense of the Taint. There are more darkspawn here, and they are coming.

We quickly go about preparing the grenades, when we are suddenly stricken by a strange sense. It is similar to the Taint, but also different, almost…purer. Suddenly, we become incredibly aware of the cavern around us. We can sense each layer, each type, each consistency. We can sense hidden passages, the tunnels the Darkspawn are digging right now. And we feel…whole, strangely so. And this is only something we experience if we picked a dwarven Thorne, for we are experiencing Stone Sense.

At this moment, a figure approaches us from the dark, followed by darkspawn. We look up and see a tall, cloaked being, wearing dark armour that we can’t recognise. We can definitely sense the Blight in it, but it’s…weirdly different in a way we can’t describe. The figure has veins of lyrium writhing all around its form, red lyrium.

It speaks to us, but we can only hear its voice in our head. It asks us to stop, to let be done what must be done. When we ask who and what this thing is, it simply refers to itself as “The Emissary”. While the Emissary won’t tell us exactly why it wants the villagers, it hints at a great and regrettable mistake that has to be rectified before it’s all too late.

Being the Warden we are, we attempt to still go through with our grenade plan, but the Emissary casts a spell of pure, raw magic on us, causing us to be knocked against a wall. But we refuse to go down fighting and challenge the Emissary to a one on one.

Similar with Laskaris in the Shadow Dragon origin, the Emissary is a fight we aren’t meant to win. But if we lower its HP to 0, the cutscene will be a little different.

In our seemingly dying breath, we hurl the grenades against the weakest parts of the crack, which we can clearly determine due to our Stone Sense. The Emissary howls in fury as the rocks descend upon us, sealing the Deep Roads off of Lavendel for good. All turns black around us.

Saved

But strangely enough, this isn’t the end. We wake up back in Lavendel and see Varric. He says he followed us in secret as he had a feeling we might be needing assistance. When Evka and Antoine showed up without us, he increased his pace and the three made it just in time. Varric climbed down and found us in the rubble, saving us from certain death.

Evka and Antoine join us and profusely apologise for leaving our side, despite us ordering them to do so. Well, it seems the Wardens in general have a feeling for disobedience as of lately.

When we inquire about Lavendel, we are told that everyone is save and none have been taken. This is because of the time we took to explore the place before the battle. By sealing the basement and collapsing the great rock, the darkspawns’ numbers were too few for what came next.

But…what came next? We find out the moment we walk outside.

A whole entourage of Wardens hurry about Lavendel. The reinforcements arrived after all. Or so we think.

High Constable Janos and the First Warden approach us. When we remark on the lateness of the reinforcements, the First Warden orders us imprisoned. What? Why? For disobedience, of course. We see that Janos is uncomfortably silent during this exchange.

But we saved Lavendel. We repelled the darkspawn horde and sealed the entrance to the Deep Roads. What could he possibly be so mad about? It can’t just be about disobedience, right?

Well…as we slowly, horrifyingly learn from the conversation, Lavendel wasn’t meant to survive. All who were there, Wardens and villagers alike, were supposed to fall to the darkspawn.

Here we get the context: the Calling has been manifesting in more and more older Wardens. At the same time, Weisshaupt is receiving fewer and fewer recruits. This combination will eventually have the effect of the order facing extinction. And outside the Anderfels, the Right of Conscription means less than nothing now. The world has grown complacent in a world without the Blight, even though the recent one has only been twenty years ago. And the Anderfels doesn’t have a large enough population to feed the ranks on its own.

By using this abnormally large darkspawn horde, letting it consume villagers and Wardens alike, the First Warden hoped to convince the nobility to encourage greater recruitment again. It can’t be a coincidence that the Calling has been manifesting increasingly more frequent now.

But Thorne has been a thorn in this plan’s side and ensured that the First Warden’s plan backfired spectacularly.

Shocked, we turn to Janos and ask him if he was aware of this. Yes, he was. In Death, Sacrifice. In War, Victory. And the war isn’t over as long as Razikale and Lusacan still slumber beneath the surface.

Caronel has been stripped off his rank as Warden-Commander of the Anderfels and Evka and Antoine will be assigned to very far-away duties for the foreseeable future. Thorne, however, as the instigator of this chaos, is to be tried for disobedience and treason.

This is where we can lash out, accusing the First Warden of having lost his way. We can also add that Lavendel’s villagers wouldn’t have died anyway as the Emissary wanted to collect them. When we tell the Wardens of what we saw beneath the surface, the First Warden, as we would assume, does not believe us, assuming we’re using this as a convenient excuse to paint ourselves in a more heroic image. Janos, however, knows us, so he isn’t so sure.

At this point, Varric chimes in and argues against trial and imprisonment, stating it as just a waste of effort. Instead, he offers to take Thorne away for a matter of great importance. The First Warden objects, stating that Weisshaupt’s affairs are to remain its own. Janos, however, in a change of tone, takes Varric’s side. Whatever Thorne’s reasonings are, one can’t deny that we are a true Warden. NO matter the disobedience, we fought against the Blight and won. There will be other opportunities to gather more recruits, but we do not deserve a trial for doing what we joined the order for.

The First Warden eventually relents. Remember, he is still a Grey Warden, with Thedas’ best interest at heart. Him doing this whole Lavendel thing was him acting out of desperation to keep the order alive in the long run. The morality is incredibly questionable, he’s definitely an asshole, but he is not heartless. Rather than putting us in chains, the First Warden suspends us from all Weisshaupt duties and instead tasks us with travelling the lands, searching for new recruits until further notice. Dismissed.

Leaving Lavendel

When the First Warden leaves, Janos makes an attempt at conversing with us, apologising for sending us into death. We can be either understanding, or angry, or just hurt. Despite our rough exterior, we are hurt because Janos was the one who saved us from another execution in the first place. Janos definitely feels bad about it, but orders were orders. Yeah…orders were orders, we respond.

Varric approaches us and confesses that he’s not here by accident. He’s looking for someone among the Wardens to accompany him on a very special mission of the utmost importance. He heard from some of his contacts that Lavendel would have fitting candidates. And he is certain he just found the one. What exactly are we doing, now that we’re stuck with him? Varric promises to reveal everything in good time. Now, he would very much like to get out of this place. We can either go immediately or have some final conversations. Being the completionists we are, we of course choose the latter.

We can talk to Evka and Antoine and just be glad that we’re all still alive, despite being given rather shitty jobs now. Well, that’s a no on the promotion for now, right? But we’re confident we’ll see each other sooner rather than later.

Caronel honestly doesn’t even care about his demotion. He’s just glad he survived and is now able to return to Valya. But if he were still Warden-Commander, he would make us Senior Warden in a heartbeat. Sometimes, one simply has to defy orders.

We can talk to Mila, who excitedly announces that her father has taken Janos’ offer to be Weisshaupt’s new blacksmith, given that the fortress desperately needs one again.

The Wardens who were under our command during the battle look up to us in awe and call us a hero and inspiration, no matter what the First Warden says. They actually pretty much despise him now as he was so willing to just let them die.

Once all of this is done, we head to Varric and and half-enthusiastically announce our readiness to depart. Varric smiles and welcomes us to the team. What team? Oh, we’ll see. But he recommends us going by another name for the foreseeable future as the First Warden might just be petty enough to make our life more difficult by telling foreign Wardens or members of the nobility about our streak of disobedience and conspiracy theories. Well, that’s easy enough, we say, back in the Dornen, the others used to call us “Rook” for that one time we headed straight in and brought down a very well-connected Hossberg nobleman. “The strongest piece on the chessboard,” Varric chuckles. “I like it.”

Now going by Rook once again, we head off with Varric. As Lavendel is nearly out of sight, we turn around and look at the gathered Wardens one last time. This…is not how we pictured leaving the order one day. But no, we haven’t left it. We’re just…taking a vacation. With a heavy heart, we turn back to Varric and follow him into the unknown.

And that’s it for this one! Now we have our Grey Warden Rook origin story. It’s a lot, I know, but the Wardens have a lot of material to work with. And the whole plot surrounding the Emissary will make sense later, I promise.

Next time we shall be heading off into Arlathan Forest to draft a potential Veil Jumper origin story! Stay tuned!

Rewriting Veilguard Part 4 - The Veil Jumpers

[fireboltcrystal]

The Mishandling of Varric Tethras

How Dragon Age: The Veilguard utilized a fan favorite, only for the worst....

Just a little bit more salt. I wasn’t initially going to post anything else, but I kept thinking about all the things that have frustrated me about vg. & the one that just keeps driving me insane, is how Bioware treated and used Varric in The Veilguard. I just wanted to expand/rant a little more about my disappointment and disgust. Both in what was done to Varric and how it shows off the cracks in vg’s understanding (lack) of characterization.

WARING, SALT, BASIC CRITIQUE, WITH BIOWARE/VG BASHING + IT’S LONGER THAN I INTENDED, SORRY)

~

For consideration; first I admit fully I did not play The Veilguard, I watched a friend who is also a fan, play the game from beginning to end, alongside watching others live-stream the game. Re-watching clips and reading story summaries for clarification.

I’m not a lore expert by any means, I will occasionally investigate other parts of the series for fun. But I mostly know about the series from playing the games. Extend universe is fun but should not be necessary. Plus, I should not have to pay potentially $100+ for a game and its extended universe of comics and novels, just to talk about my opinion on disappointing story aspects.

Second, I’m not a professional or semi-professional writer. So, pardon for any mistakes.

Third, Varric Tethras is my favorite character of the Dragon Age series. My bias will be on full display.

Does this all mater, no but I want to be honest just in case other fans find this and think I am trying to ‘stir the pot’ and make people who were somehow able to enjoy vg sad.

Truthfully, I do not care if anyone reads this. I just needed to compartmentalize my feelings beyond trying to only ignore and move on. Also, if you do not like Varric, fine but please don’t waste your time commenting on how you hate him. It is annoying and pointless. I do not care, have a nice day, anyways.

Character Background:

(feel free to skip to the next part, if you don’t want a refresher)

From the song 'Companions',

Varric charms with clever words

Vender of exotic goods

Writer of salacious books

A rogue, a dwarf with ragged looks

Varric Tethras is the rouge, dwarven companion of da2 and dai. Second son and first of his family to be born on the surface. Scion of House Tethras, which once held prominence in the underground kingdom of Orzammar. Which now resides in the Free Marches, city state of Kirkwall after scandal had the family banished. Though Varric does not come off as really interested in the traditions of his family’s homeland or following heavily in the faith of ‘The Stone’.

He is ironically a deeply ‘human’ character; as cunning as he is compassionate. A merchant prince with a decent ‘spy network’ (though has a difficult time not being worried about his agents). Known for wielding his signature crossbow, named Bianca; he clashes with his elder brother Bartrand and the Dwarven Merchants guild and holds a substantial tab at the “The Hanged Man” tavern. He also to extent is Andrastian, though not as pious that is traditionally acceptable. He frames it more so as enjoying an ‘great story’. But he does speak on the life of prophet, Andraste with far more understanding than even some of the most faithful characters can. Could it just be storytellers’ intuition or maybe more…

Segway into the fact that he is also a serial novelist, who writes everything from crime dramas, epics, to romances novels. He is a deeply ‘romantic’ person, loyal to friends and those he loves, at a times to a fault. Varric is a self-described liar but it never feels deeply malicious. Only as way of obfuscating when dealing with painful memories, hiding info to protect his friends from and to optimally fuck with the Chantry. His friendship with Hawke, is so close to point that he was willing to lie to the Chantry guard, and put his life and freedom on the line to protect them.

Another major example would be in his tempestuous relationship, with Bianca Davri; a dwarven engineer of tremendous skill. Though we do not get all the details as it is part of the Bianca, the crossbows naming, ‘the one story he will never tell’.

What we do get is a very complicated affair. Were the two honestly should and in some parts have already moved on from each other. It is mature, messy, and shows a flaw in his character; that though he lives in the present, he can be weighed down by his past mistakes.

-

Game-wise, in da2 he is the unreliable narrator for the story of Hawke and a rouge companion. As his background as a storyteller, he spins a yarn to Seeker Casandra Pentaghast, about the Champion of Kirkwall. Along with has a part in the main quest that ties into his relationship and ultimate the fate of his brother, Bartand. He can potentially become either a best friend or a rival to Hawke.

In dai he is again a rouge companion, initially ‘arrested’ by the Chantry, he joins the Inquisition to help save Thedas. He has a substantial role in the story; he acts as a re-introduction to Hawke (and can affected by their potential fate later in the story) and the main antagonist, Corypheus (featured in da2 dlc). Along with he is a first-hand witness to the dangers and damage red lyrium can cause. This also includes a connecting quest to destroy lyruim deposits, to which we can even finally meet the mysterious Bianca herself. He can become another friend with high approval or he can become disillusioned with the Inquisitor if low.

In Trespasser/post-game, we learn that he has been chosen to become the Viscount of Kirkwall and though the job drives him nuts; he shows a genuine zeal for the position. In the both the power he utilizes to make genuine changes for the city that he loves and to abuse it, as an excuse to give his friends ‘free shit’. Including bestowing the Inquisitor a title, estate, and key to the city (or mechanism to control the giant-ass chains lol).

~

Quick moment of positivity before vg proper, I will say I think Varric’s new design works for an older interpretation of the marksman. He has his fundamental details, the leather coat, ring necklace, obvious flash of chest hair and of course crossbow Bianca. But the new additions like the Inquisition belt buckle and the three, crossed facial scars are nice touches to his look. Minor criticism, a little confused at hair color change, but hair can turn darker as one ages, and the gray does look great on him. A little less okay with is the beard, in part since Varric known to be indifferent to the traditions of Orzammar, like having a longer beard. Prior games his face is shaven or with very faint scruff. But I can also see it as him leaving it to the way side during the hunt for Solas. Also, he is missing his three earrings, Bioware what did you do with the man’s jewelry!

VG Prologue:

Varric’s introduction in the game starts at the beginning of new protagonists Rook. In a nameless bar in Minathous. Rook can choose to react with wordplay or violence. After which Varric, chilling out in corner (which he should, let that old dwarven man rest!) comments on how Rook handled themselves in the standoff/scuffle and how they are his second in command (woof sheesh, tough break Harding). Without any time to spare they are off to find their contact.

Fist off: The bond that Rook and Varric have; is that there's kinda isn't. Normally a player is introduced to character and we naturally grow interest with them, through game play and conversation.

But in vg there is no built up, it’s all a preset relationship. “I know your can do this, you’re the best, Kid,” blah blah. Other than a few half-baked dialogue choices that pretty amount to nothing. There is no moment to talk with him, ask him questions beyond getting the main story into motion (all go, go, go find this person, here, that, there & etc.).

Something separate I bring up, not only to Varric and Rooks ‘relationship’. But an issue that I could have actually help (a little bit) of vg’s starting issues.

Why the fuck are the devs. so terrified of the original Origins.

Because this is the game that probably needed those kinds of intros back, more than ever. Be it for players returning (or first introductions) to the world of Thedas. & no, the half-baked, faction summaries are not enough when most of them barely factor into how you build and detail out your background. Some factions like the Shadow Dragons get just a few scraps to role-play or as everyone I have seen and spoken to has said that the Lord of Fortunes might as well have been cut completely, there is so little.

It feels so hollow to have hardly any dialogue choices to help flesh out Rook as a different character. Instead, they are a carbon copy personality dumpster fire, bland in a way a single-cell hero could be. Quippy and Inhuman.

Now back to Varric; how in the world do they know each other, why did they join in with the Inquisition or what remained of it, how did Varric end up deciding on a chess themed nickname, all these question & more could have been answered with a character Origin! *hooray* (Wow, look at that!)

In this have Varric play the role of recruiter like Duncan. He will meet the players, intro into combat, have quick convos on what the hell is going on, speak to the people and to show off a part of the world.

But in this case to create the foundational bond between the new player character and now mentor, Varric. So that if there are any dramas moments, the player will actually feel, if or when an npc is in peril…

But instead, the dev. team opted to just simply have Varric already know Rook, no build up required. Just a pre-established association with no real input from the player. Which creates a disconnect, new players are not going to automatically know who the hell Varric is. Most will just roll with it, so to finally get to the game proper, but it will not add up down the line…

For returning players, the writers did something kind of nasty on reflection; they used our nostalgia to do the heavy lifting of character development. We do not get to know Varric as a new person, just as extended cameo (which happens to other characters in vg). That one we are only able to understand because of playing the previous games, who though had their own development woes, still had developers with their priorities straight when creating them, its world, and its characters.

So if you are not a fan or feel neutral about Varric. Rook has a casual-esq working relationship with him. Clean, bland, sanitized (like the rest of the game).

But if you are a fan of him, it ends up feeling like an old friend you have lost contact with and now you have become different person (literally) but with the nostalgia strangling you. Varric feels slightly the same, but older, exhausted and one who’s writers should have let gently retire years ago…

It feels sad and lackluster in comparison to how full and interesting his prior introductions were.

Da2 had two Varric intros; first with his arrest and interrogation, he becomes the narrator of the game, though under distress. It creates mystery, why is this guy being dragged around though a dungeon, what has he done, does he know something, or maybe someone…

But in-game proper, after Hawke’s failed meeting with Bartrand. Varric stops a pickpocket from running off with Hawke’s stolen coin purse, he lands a bolt into the thief, taking back the money, punching them out for the trouble and returning the coins with a flourish. They talk about his brother and their plans to venture into the Deep Roads for fame, glory but money for profit.

You get a little taste of both points, Varric brought low and also at the top of his game.

In dai slightly similar but without the framing device, Varric is fighting alongside Solas (oh we will get to you). & after sealing the tear, Varric introduces himself, there is even a dialogue choice where he compares himself to us as we are both technically prisoners to the Chantry, though his arrest by Cassandra is kind of null after the explosion. It helps build a link between him and the prisoner, later Inquisitor. For new players, you get to see peak Varric charm. But also perfect for old players ready to bond with him again, after so long and to a forge a connection with a brand-new protag.

With this we not only see that Varric still has his wicked charm, but that others also react to it, Solas chuckles (heh) with a snide remark, when we say we are pleased to meet him and Cassandra’s frustration at his arrogant charisma is so endearing, for both characters. (Cassandra and Varric, have genuinely some of the best character interactions of the entire series, I will fight anyone on that).

~

Moving ahead since more of the dialogue after meeting Harding and Neve, is mainly, taking about state of Minrathous and needing to stop Solas. We reach the ritual site in the Arlathan forest... Before confronting the Dreadwolf, can either choose to support or convince against Varric talking Solas down. Regardless of choice, he still goes on head.

Varric is a man whose friends have become his family. He feels that he must try at the very least talk with Solas. Though it does go against his reactions to Solas being an agent of Fen'Harel; back in Trespasser (but I think the team kind of forgot most of the character motivations they established…).

Regardless Varric confronts Solas while the team try to stop the ritual and hold off the demons. Though I hate the result, I kind of liked the scene at first, Varric’s cheeky grin calling Solas, ‘Chuckles’ was a great touch. Especially since the two did have slight back and forth friendship in dai.

& the reaction Solas has when he sees Varric is excellent, first annoyance at who would dare distract him, then shock with a little bit of sadness when it sees who it is, but then returns into haughty determination.

But I think this is indicative how better the characters of the prior games and the weight of established relationships are from this scene. Like if Veilguard is your first game in the series, this entire scene means practically nothing other than, a super intense moment between ex-friends (where the world is at stake).

But gravitas of these two characters, the performances of their actors and the tiny shred of decent writing. Probably tricks a lot of newcomers into thinking this will be a far deeper story than it actually is…

So, after a back-and-forth, Solas will not see reason and Varric aims Bianca and Solas destroys the crossbow (I’m still devastated at the loss of such an iconic weapon). During which the ritual is disrupted, Varric attempts to stop it further by attempting to grab the ritual dagger from Solas’s, in turn Solas stabs Varric. He falls, and we are uncertain of his fate. Ancient elves Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan escape the fade and Rook loses consciousness.

The Rest of the Game:

After the ritual Rook awakens in the Lighthouse, to see a bandaged-up Varric. He looks awful and is noticeably in pain. But something is bizarre, something doesn’t seem right, his tone is off, it’s unnatural.

Other companions, seem to speak or react to him. I kept thinking why doesn't any look at him. No scenes of characters visiting him, to see how he's feeling. Nothing.

Let me tell you before I learned the truth, I was so fucking relieved to see he was alive. After all the dodgy trailers, on which Bianca being destroyed. I was just so happy to see him alive, that I didn’t see the signs. I thought maybe we would check in on him over time and watch him heal. Maybe there would be point before the end where we see him hang up his leather duster and return to Kirkwall as Viscount accepting that his adventuring days are at end. & in turn pass on the mantle of leadership to this current party. For Rook to step out and up as the new protagonist… But we will get to the full truth later.

So from now till the end Varric has two functions in vg: narrator again, but without the same wit or gravitas of da2.

& sort of back seat hype man, he is mainly resting in a dark corner of the new base, the Lighthouse. His conversations are essentially recaps of main quests, occasional references to the prior games, what the dev. team must have thought were oh so clever hints to Varric’s death (as clever as a cinder block) and then pseudo-HR training about how “Rook is the leader, and you are a part of team, and you got to work together,” yada yada…

Ultimately meaningless moments, awkward and stilled, hamstrung by vg’s blunt force repetitive dialogue.

Now to his final part in this story, close to end game Rook is trapped in a fade prison by Solas (who fell for the dumbest trick, who also can be tricked in return, wtf) they are confronted by companion(s) that were killed during a prior quest.

And here is the big revel, that Varric had died after being stabbed by Solas at the beginning of the game.

The real Varric died at the ritual site…

So, anytime that Rook spoke to him, it was not actually Varric the man, the dwarf, the living person.

Honestly, I do not know entirely what was talking to Rook.

At first, I thought he was illusion created by Solas to fuck with Rook. Maybe a shade made from a spirit (like dai where a spirit &/or Divine Justinia helps the Inquisitor). Or more likely a figment created by Rook from their repressed grief after Varric was murdered. (Honestly this is all embarrassing, like who ever wrote this, along with anyone else who let it go to print should be ashamed of themselves and then fire their therapist...)

They have an awkward come to Jesus’ moment about accepting grief (um, ok) and a stilted, rushed good bye.

(Oh and there is one moment right before the end credits where Varric appears in the clouds like he’s Mufasa or something idk; just a final slap in face before game ushers you out the door.)

~

Final Feelings and Frustrations:

So most of his inclusion of the game was not even but a hallucination, a mere idealistic interpretation of him, always supportive, always accepting, and empty.

A fandoms interpretation, a wasteful dev. teams idea.

Used as ‘character development’ for a mediocre protagonist.

Rook is as heroic as wet rag and as interesting as a rubber dumbbell.

What a tragic waste of one of the series most iconic characters…

-

Varric being killed off and used a lesson in accepting grief, was one of the most meaningless acts of literal character assassination and emotional manipulation I have ever seen a team of writers pull in some fucking time.

I would not be surprised if that was Bioware's excuse for not wanting to write anything more complicated or interesting. That they only did it for a cheap cameo and had Varric be a sacrificial lamb to create ‘tension’ between Rook and Solas.

Which can I just say for a dev. team as notoriously ‘chronically online’, the fact that they couldn’t see how a loud subset of the fandom, who are willing to forgive literally any if not all of Solas’s actions, including being involved in the death Varric, another fan favorite, is cosmically laughable.

Solas’s could turn an entire box of puppies to stone and he would be forgiven at large; esp. if it was framed as him doing it for the sake of the Elvhenan. Like please be real Bioware, you made a sympathetic villain. Fucking own up to it, you guys could not have been this delusional (though your interviews do say otherwise).

It is sooo bizarre, like does this current team even like these characters (the series even), supposedly in the development in the prior games, Varric was constantly being talked about like his time was up (like why, you made him a charming fella, what are players supposed to do, not want to friends with the guy!). They even had very early ideas for a dlc where you could romance him (I will morn this loss forever), but that he would potentially die at the end… (fml)

Hell, even Solas in this game; that was once titled as ‘Dreadwolf’. has this constant feeling from the writing that the team both adores him but also fucking hates him. Like, “Please keep talking bald elf man you have so many fans willing to pay full retail price; but also shut the hell up and begone to the shadow dimension!”

I mean, I am not a huge fan of Solas personally, but I am genuinely surprised at how many of his actual fans could be okay with Bioware’s meager crumbs. (idk toxic positivity, maybe sunk cost fallacy)

Like at one point this guy was THE main antagonist and beyond! Elven spies, manipulating nations, sowing discord to the create the perfect environment to tear down the Veil! But nope, just nothing really. Stuck in the Fade, being a big sad boy.

Strikingly bland here, esp. in comparison to the real intensity brought forth at the end of Trespasser.

[Bonus: After her threat in dai, I would not be surprised if Bianca found a way of going into the fade just so she could beat the ever-loving shit out of Solas (and all Inquisitors) for getting Varric killed.]

~

An Idea for a Thematic Polarity:

Of clinging to the nostalgic past, how to accept a conflicted present & to move forward into an uncertain future.

Solas is a person fixated on the ideal of a post-Elvenuris past. A past that never actually came to be and desires to bring it to fruition, even if means potentially destroying world. He even dissociates from the people of the ‘Dragon Age’ because, he cannot visualize them a fully fledge people. This can change, but he still goes for it. He knows there will untold death and destruction, but refuses to let go of the world before. In a better written story, he could’ve still becoming one with the Veil. After further being confronted by the reality that you cannot return the past, not like it once was. But let go for the sake of protecting those who live here and now, to go on, learn the past and make a better world for everyone.

Varric also clings to the past; even his place as a storyteller is him dramatizing, sensationalizing events, real or otherwise. He glosses over painful memories, adjusts for the audience (but mostly himself). But he is also a man who has not abandoned the present or even the future. He lives still gathering info. for his next bestseller. He is deeply conserved for the living; friends, citizens of Kirkwall and beyond. And if there is nothing to be done, we might as well take a break for now and play a round of Wicked Grace.

The team could have done things much different in the finale to Varric. They could have Varric be (actually) injured during the ritual. After which he decides to retire, he is not getting any younger and returns to Kirkwall as Viscount. Passing the torch to the next generation of heroes and storytellers.

He has sort of given up on Solas, not his friend, (he will always care about his friends) but in the hunting of the Dreadwolf, the two Elven ‘gods’ and their double-Bight. He could continue working to make Kirkwall into a bastion of the Free Marches, improving the lives of the citizens and the city he takes so much pride in.

(well ignoring the destruction of Southern Thedas, god so pointless and vindictive on the part of the devs…)

He could have still been the narrator but from a tangible distance. Only retelling it from second hand accounts, etc.

Or maybe just a lore drop, a supportive letter that finds it's way to Rook with some words of encouragement.

But all that is for head-cannons, fanfictions and fan art.

~

So with that, moving forward I think I am going to be a little of both, I will go into the future, beyond the disappointments of Bioware and The Veilguard. To different studios and new series.

But I will still continue to always love and enjoy, Varric Tethras and the Dragon Age Trilogy.

Thank you very much, either to the void or to any one for taking the time to read this mess.

[linka-from-captain-planet]

don't have the spare brain cells to actually write for Kinktober this year, but I am a fan of brainstorming elaborate kink scenarios for niche ships, and thus here is my informal offering of

11 Dragon Age F/F Kinktober Rarepair/Crackship Concepts

*not smut writing - just a listing of kinks matched with a ship and a basic scenario

Drugs/high sex, armpit kink - Briala/Celene. Coming in hot with a concept which spake itself to me once the factoid that Celene is apparently a fan of the wyvern drug mentioned in that DA2 DLC entered my psyche and promptly combined with the scene from Portrait Of A Lady On Fire in which that pair of blonde-brunette French lesbians sensually rub drugs into each other's armpits, which rules. Blah blah freedom, flying, seizing liberation where they could find it in this narrow world, impending heterosexual marriage, lesbo-eroticism, etc. Celene is the one more into the armpit part (obviously?), perhaps this is the first time she dares to breach it, and Briala is happily along for the ride. A fun romp as they do deserve a break from the drama and angst sometimes.

All manner of titty play/worship, against a wall/standing, size difference - Neve/Harding. IDGAF what the companion romances turn out to be, their tension is simmering based on the early clips and Harding just so happens to be boob height to Neve. They may never agree on anything except that beating people up is cool, but they can find some common ground when frustration comes to a head and Harding detects Neve's lack of bra and Neve scouts out whether Harding is strong enough to hold her up (she is). If this occurs early enough in Veilguard, then I think Harding would be the bruised-up one, so Neve could look down tenderly and caress her bruised cheek in a moment of sincere connection that she would then reject because she's not open to vulnerability yet and makes it weird (this is also kink).

First time, instruction/talking through it - Bethany/Merrill. Bethany's curiosity about sex with women is frankly cute and hot and I think Merrill would be both an extremely funny and extremely sweet person to share a first time with. Perhaps they're both left out of the Deep Roads expedition and, resenting that the others treat them like kid sisters, they hang out and one thing leads to another. This would also be part of my Merrill Fucks A Relatively Average Amount But Just Doesn't Know Human Social Norms/Slang agenda. Also Merrill's accent is hot and should be recognized for this.

Mutual masturbation, comfort sex - Josephine/Minaeve. This ship lives in my head rent-free for no other reason that Haven is so cold and that little office they shared is so warm, eventually, when they let each other in a little bit. However they don't get very far before the attack on Haven. Rattled, they find each other in Skyhold and find that warmth and comfort in each other again, even if neither of them feels quite ready to touch/be touched by the other. Romantic!

Furs, lingerie/stockings, hand/finger kink - Svarah Sun-Hair/Celene. What if those Avvar furs ARE the shit and Orlesians DO want them? And perhaps there's a demonstration in order? This encounter would in the Frostbacks for a flimsy reason because it would be too cold for Celene's anemic bones. Thus Svarah has no choice but to drape her in sexy furs and perhaps take a tour of her delicates while she's at it (they are beautiful but foolhardy), and her tough calluses would honestly put so many runs in Celene's dainty stockings, but she probably wouldn't mind too much because she's very into hands and Svarah's are so big and strong.

Rough sex, hair-pulling - Briala/Athenril. The main kink here is actually Briala trying to rebound after dumping Celene and finding out what it's like to fuck with someone who's not delusionally obsessed with her. But also I think she deserves the opportunity to get just totally railed by someone who'd be willing to at least slap her ass in public. Hair-pulling is important specifically because Celene loved tenderly stroking her hair. It would be a mixed bag of a semi-transactional situationship with a scumbag kind of like fucking your dealer (this too is kink) but at any rate, she's getting some quality D AND low-cost fenced supplies for her alienage relief project, so it's a win for Briala overall.

Restraints, seduction, flip-flopping power dynamics - Isabela/Cassandra. So what if Seeker Pentaghast caught up with another/different friend of Hawke, who is less cooperative than Varric and thus needed to be cuffed, but that wouldn't stop her from turning that situation around. Isabela won't betray Hawke this time by yapping, but she can deploy her mouth in other ways to distract the Seeker. This is certainly not what Cassandra had in mind, but it's perhaps too appealing of a flimsy porn scenario like in her books for her to resist too much.

Anal play/butt plug, accidental stimulation - Celene/Morrigan. Allegedly butt plugs were touted as a treatment for anxiety/depression in days of yore, and Celene loves woo-woo nonsense, and the civil war/getting dumped is hard on her, and Morrigan probably has an entire grimoire about the magical-medicinal applications of butt stuff. The narrative of this would be that it starts played completely straight (it's not sexual, it's medical care obviously) but it gradually becomes undeniably erotic but neither of them are willing to acknowledge it because Morrigan thinks she's straight and Celene is clinging to a shred of dignity despite the crystal plug in her ass. They leave this encounter feeling weird and unsatisfied, which imo is essential for at least 1 entry in any kinktober collection.

Spanking, "good girl", praise kink - Leliana/Josephine. Leliana NEEDS to be some woman's goodest girl in the world, and in the Inquisition, there's nobody she could trust but her good friend Josie to help fulfill this need. An encounter of vulnerability for them both as this also isn't Josie's comfort zone, but something to learn and explore together. Actually pretty romantic imo.

Period sex - Merrill/Aveline. Take the most and least squeamish women on Hawke's team, shake em up, add in some vague justification like Merrill trying to help Aveline with cramps in accordance with Dalish conventional wisdom (but also Merrill has always wanted to climb that and takes the opportunity).

Sex pollen, grinding/dry humping, not quite hatesex (resentsex?) - Neve/Rana Savas. Back on this ship agenda, the most important question for any ship defined by unresolved sexual tension is, under what circumstance could they have fucked before but STILL have unresolved sexual tension? The answer is obviously that Neve led Rana into some bullshit and they got sex pollen'd. "Fine, but I'm gonna complain about it the whole time" type of encounter where they're so done with each other but they gotta grind it out regardless because the pollen demands body contact even if they keep it above clothes because it's business, not pleasure. But then a hint of caught feelings seeps in after because it's hard to sustain high resentment for a sexy woman once you've smelled her post-sex pheromones and maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if they'd actually touched each other after all. Maybe they scratched that immediate itch but now they're under each other's skin for real... but that's a problem for later.

[pinkartwitch]

Who else is excited for the new Dragon Age game!! We've all been waiting for ten years, and it's finally out next month. I'm so excited for all the new companions, and I'm hoping to do more art of them in the coming weeks I won't be playing, but my roommate will and I'll be there for every second.

💖💖💖💖💖

If you like this, please reblog (it really helps artists out!!), leave a like or comment (I love hearing your thoughts, it keeps me drawing), and follow me for more (I update at least once a week) 💖

Available for commissions! For more information, please check out my post here: https://www.tumblr.com/pinkartwitch/739257460225916928/novas-art-commissions

Come along with me to Ozelea, a world bursting with magic and drama! I'm building the world that these characters live in, and you can learn about it in Blood and Thorns: https://pinkchaosstories.tumblr.com/bloodandthorns

[ewanmitchelll]

Imagine Taylor Swift Songs (XV): Enchanted.

Imagine Lord Aemond Targaryen courts you amidst the rumors he’s been linked to Lady Alys Rivers.

Warnings: drama, fluff.

Warnings 2: alternative universe where no civil war happens, notwithstanding the silent rivalry between the Valeryons and the Targaryens.

***

• (I)

There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles. Same old tired, lonely place, walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy… Vanished when I saw your face. All I can say is, it was enchanting to meet you…

You are an illegitimate daughter of Lord Daemon Targaryen who was promptly taken by King Viserys to live at the royal court. Because you have the same age of Lord Aemond, one his youngest children, you are raised by their side under the careful gaze of his Queen.

Notwithstanding her enmity to your father, whom you see rarely—especially after his marriage to Lady Laena Velaryon—, she’s grown attached to you, a sentiment you reciprocate.

It could not be otherwise. You are great friends with the Greens and as much as you appreciate the fanciful robes and education, like any other dragon whom you share the blood with, you feel locked up at a cage.

You are there when Helaena reclaims her dragon as well as Aegon and even the Velaryon boys—Jacaerys, Lucerys…—but you and Aemond are the only ones without one to ride. This is perhaps what brings you to him.

“You are very quiet”, Aemond muses one of these days where he and you share a lesson under the same tutor designated by Queen Alicent. “What troubles you, Y/N?”

“I am often quiet, Aemond”, you shrug your shoulders.

“This is not true”, he insists, poking your side until he gets a smile out of your lips.

“It is! You know how introspective I can be.”

“No more than my sister Helaena”, Aemond teases you.

You turn at him, in contemplative state.

“Have you ever wondered what’s the world outside like? What lies beyond these pillars of stones?”

“I have… If I had a dragon to reclaim, this question would have been long answered.”

“I doubt it. We are tied to our families, my dear”, and by that you mean your uncle’s since you resent your father has not given you any short notice.

Seeing it through you, Aemond realizes you two have more in common than he’d judged.

“True, but my path is mine”, he says with conviction.

You smile at him, pleased to find in your cousin a proper companion. Aemond, on his turn, is enchanted to think likewise. A bond has formed.

***

• (II)

Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?". 'Cross the room your silhouette, starts to make its way to me. The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy…

Aemond is there to encourage you when the situation to reclaim your dragon presents itself. Both of you are in your late teenager days and it has been a while since your favored companion claimed Vhagar, which resulted in a permanent feud with your half-sisters and the Velaryons. Disregarding it such, at their horror, you stood by his side.

And now the one-eyed prince leads you to Dragonstone where a silver dragon awaits, wild and with no rider to claim it.

“There you have it”, you hear him say. “The key to your aimed freedom.”

You turn at him with a glint of mischief in your eyes.

“Oh, Aemond Targaryen. You are the death of me.”

Hands tied behind his back, the composed prince nods his head before chuckling.

“Hardly, my dear. Off you go. No tips. You must do it yourself.”

It’s when your willfulness disappears and Aemond spots fear taking its place. As he takes your side, the silver haired prince seeks to encourage you like you’ve always done to him.

In this quiet twilight where birds are not singing and no other sounds are heard, it feels as if the world holds its breath. You are remembered of the comparisons made between you and your father by malicious courtiers, the look of disdain perceived in Otto Hightower’s gaze due to your station and whom you are related to.

Aemond knows where this reluctance comes from. He watches you, his lingering gaze capturing the lines of concern that form in your eyes when you narrow your gaze at the wild beast that dangerously sets its pace around the abandoned hill where no peasant nor nobleman sets their foot.

His gaze moves to how you chew your bottom lip, how you barely breathe, paralyzed by the insecurity he too was once familiar to. Wind blows against your hair, wildly loose this day. It is as if nature takes hold of your spirit for you clench your jaw.

Aemond smiles to himself.

“Go on, lass! I know you can do it!”

When you turn your head, not minding the mess your hair is, you and the prince exchange a long look, sharing a secretive smile.

A soul recognizes in another. You and him know it, as if a spell has been casted to charm you to him—and, unbeknownst to you, him to you—, that synchrony is not a proper word to describe your bond.

But encouraged by him this is the time to leave your sentiments aside, that now have become evident to you. Ignoring the fear that flashes before the prince’s good eye, you step proudly to the silver dragon with long, pointed tail and shade of dark silver coloring its wings.

The creature is a young adult with yellow flaring eyes that cast a disdain look at you. It takes little time before it reads your intentions. Aemond watches, frozen, as the flying beast throws its head back and spits fire.

“Fuck!”, he curses under his breath, unwilling to admit he could have followed you closely and helped you in mounting the said creature.

“Y/N!”, Aemond yells. “Be careful! Look at its eyes with no fear!”

Without looking back, you respond something he cannot understand. Aemond pales, giving a look at Vhagar, who doesn’t stand too far. The older dragon opens only an eye as if it’s to say “your problem, not mine”, drifting back to sleep leaving Aemond grumbling to himself.

In truth, the elements of riding this young adult dragon are not in your favor. The creature is a product of wildnerness, and only the Gods can tell how on seven hells it appeared there. Thus, away of human care, it would prove difficult to settle easily with anyone who attempted to tame it.

Regardless, you are well versed in draconian studies to be easily frightened off.

“I am my father’s daughter”, you tell yourself.

Twice, the dragon tries to burn you alive. Perceiving you as a threat, this only makes difficult for you to approach.

Aemond, as a watcher, fears for you. He forgets to breathe when seeing you fearlessly facing the silver dragon.

Two steps he gives, decided to rescue you when he is surprised by your confident yells:

“Lykiri, Silverlightning!”

The dragon hesitates at first, however, understanding the command said in Old Valyrian, promptly bows its head.

Aemond smiles widely, proud of you as you climb the dragon you claimed and start to fly.

Indeed, a thought occurs the prince, you are every inch Lord Daemon’s daughter.

***

• (III)

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew. I was enchanted to meet you…

You and Aemond are flying high this night with nothing but the moon and stars as witnesses. In spite of the great difference between their dragons, harmony is felt, synchronized in perfect balance.

“How on earth do you manage to fly dressed on your gown? This is impossible!”, you hear Aemond muse loud.

He smiles at the sight of you throwing your head back and laughing. Nothing warms his heart more than being the cause of the delight he sees sparkling in your eyes.

“A lady always has her tricks and shares them with no one”, you answer him over your shoulder, winking at him.

Under the moon light, your dragon and Aemond’s pair up like two skilled dancers. There, up in the air, liberty is tasted at its highest. Titles are casted aside, privileges forgotten, obligations neglected…

You and him can be yourselves. Simply dragon riders.

Eventually, though, you two must land. Once you do, Aemond insists in helping you going down. As he does, his hands take a little while around your waist.

It’s when you notice how tall he is in comparison to you.

“You look pretty, lady”, he whispers. “I like when your hair is down like this.”

Wind is still blowing, albeit weakly, against your curls, and you are struggling to keep them down. You smile at his words.

“Oh, lord. I fear you are flattering me…”

“This is not a trait I possess, I’m afraid”, he smiles in his own way and you like the view. “You’ve grown to be a very handsome woman, Y/N. Your wit has sharpened as well, and you possess virtues I admire.”

Aemond can tell how his words affect you. The way your eyes go slight wide, the dimples forming in your cheeks, how slowly your lips twist in a smile that brightens your face. His heart races. But something stops him of moving further.

Yet, whatever occupies his thoughts is distracted of the pink that paints your cheeks and how shyly you seek out of his hand.

“You are an expertise in making any lady speechless. I wish I was poet so I could give voice to how I feel about you”, you avoid his gaze, leaving your bluntness with your dragon. “However, I cannot let you go back inside without assuring you that I have no one to hold dearer in my most deep affections than you, my lord.”

You raise your eyes and meet his. Aemond is bewildered by your words, captivated by the depth of your sentiments that these could at least partially transmit even though he sees it in your eyes.

Drowned in them, the prince is dragged to meet your soul. It feels like home. Gravity pulls him to you. He lifts your chin, holding it still and there is a mutual expectation concerning the next steps.

His lips are short distanced of yours, and you can smell his sweet breath. Your eyes linger to his red-ish mouth as his stare into yours. His long, paled and callous hand strokes your cheek and you are transmitted, in turn, the darkness within that paves bad choices and poorly closed wounds.

Nevertheless you remain.

“How sacred is the bond that links us”, he whispers before finally holding your face dear and kisses you fiercely, but slowly.

You gasp in delight at the clash of your lips against his, at the dragon smell of his body that mixed with the scent of yours, at how close, but not seemingly enough, one is with the other.

Every barrier is knocked down as his tongue snakes in your mouth, pairing perfectly with yours, dominating in a sweet, vicious kiss. You fear to lose your breath, thus holding onto him for balance.

As the kiss deepens, your hands grow confident. Soon, your hands move up to his hair, feeling his locks slipping through your fingers as you hold them tight, earning him a sigh.

The danger posed by this unexpected and secret meeting is the fire that might come out of a spark. Aemond feels it in you, thus parting it before he lets it lose within.

When you meet his gaze, there is no need to speak. Even so you need reassurances.

“Will I see you again?”

Aemond takes your hand and there presses a kiss. Only then he answers, when looking into your eyes:

“Yes, my dear Y/Nickname. How can it be otherwise?”

You smile, completely charmed, completely enchanted to be with him.

***

• (IV)

The lingering question kept me up. 2 AM, who do you love? I wonder 'til I'm wide awake and now I'm pacing back and forth. Wishing you were at my door. I'd open up and you would say, "Hey"…

It so appears that Daemon Targaryen has the bad habit of carrying bad omens wherever he goes. A judgement of his enemies that you cannot not think at times.

He barely arrives and all the distrust between him and his brother’s second wife’s family threatens to disrupt in something worse.

Leaving politics aside, though, he does not look very pleased at the thought of you being courted by Lord Aemond.

“I am nothing but the daughter of a whore”, you snap at him when he comes to you and rather leaves clear his opinions on the courtship—and only Gods know by what means he was informed of your liaison with the prince your cousin since neither had made it official. “Is it not what you have always been told? Is it not why I was left under the king’s piety?”

Your father stares at you in complete disbelief. Now residing at Dragonstone, he’s taken as wife Princess Rhaenyra, who’s been acknowledged only recently as the heiress to the Iron Throne.

“These people have been poisoning your ears. I’ve always told my brother about the danger of having you raised here. Do not speak ill of your mother, she was a good woman.”

“This is untrue. The Queen is kind to me and her children are like my family. At least they are far more like brothers and sisters than the ones I have by full blood.”

Daemon strokes his cheek, reclined against the chair he occupies. You two are at his privy bedchambers and though he appears to be relaxed, you know there’s a tempest forming behind his lilac eyes.

“I admit I should have brought you to be raised with Rhaela and Baela, but my brother, the king, took an especial interest in raising you.”

“And I am not being ungrateful about that”, you scoff. “I love my uncle dearly, but you have not been present when I needed most. You cannot tell me who I may or may not get myself involved with…”

“Oh yes, I may”, he interrupts you, to your consternation. “Especially when my good nephew has been spotted at Harrenhal at the company of a woman named Alys Rivers. It appears that he’s taken a special liking to bastards.”

You blush furiously at this amount of informations, but more so when he highlighted your status.

“If I brought you shame, father, you can say so. But do not offend…”

“Since when speaking truths mean offense?”, Daemon loses his patience at last. “All I wanted was to provide you security, girl! But the Hightowers have turned you in a soft young woman who takes as token the poisonous words of a libertine!”

“And do you think you have the morals to exempt yourself of it?” Part of you refuses to believe in him. “Separating myself from you and never writing me a letter to know how I was fairing… Certainly after the incident where Aemond lost an eye contributed to your getting away. But no matter. The King has been a better father than you ever were!”

You have no idea how high your voice was and how hurt you have become through the years. As you storm off, you recollect how, at the day of Lady Laena Velaryon’s burial, you were looked down by the said lady’s mother. You’ve always felt despised for being a natural product of your father with an old flame.

As you rush to the outdoors, you miss Aemond’s going back from wherever he’d been through. He is following Aegon when he spots a shadow of a storm crossing the corridors.

“I wonder what has left Y/N so upset”, the prince thinks out loud.

Aegon chuckles dryly.

“Oh, haven’t you heard? Our dear uncle has come to bring some more scandals. Like always, set to leave a path of troubles.”

“And what he has done now?”, Aemond inquires in between annoyance and interest.

Aegon gives his younger brother a mischievous grin.

“He took as third wife our sister, Rhaenyra.”

*

Aemond watches as you land with Silverlightning. The bond you two formed has strengthened with the time. Your hair, always lose, is a mess by the wind, but today it looks like a veil under which you hide.

You also notice that you dress an old green gown of his mother, which he thinks that matches you fine, reinforcing your delicate features at the same time that leaves to notice the beauty of your curves.

Clearing his throat to dissipate these thoughts, the prince moves to where you stand. Once wind stops howling, he says:

“I’m sorry.”

“What do you feel sorry about?”

“Your father’s latest scandal has been the talk of court.”

You snarl at him.

“Oh, that.”

It occurs Aemond that something else upsets you, which prevents you to look back at him. He lowers his gaze, ashamed for a moment. Silence hangs awkwardly between the two of you until the prince dares to break it.

“You have not been yourself lately and I was not there to watch over you”, he apologizes, trying to short the distance that has been growing between you.

You cast the prince a look and he sees pain in it, which leaves him in tormented.

“My lady, your silence is like a sharp dagger”, he takes your hand and gives it a squeeze.

Part of you wishes to get him answers. Another one refuses it. Where, however, do you stay? You look at this man, your childhood companion who grew to be the only one you love. Once upon a time these nights flying in your dragons, where you were enchanted in sharing this great intimacy with someone like him.

Now you question yourself whether this had been an illusion you fed.

As you open your mouth to finally inquire about the rumors that have been snaking into your mind and forming a nest of paranoia, you are interrupted by the presence of the Queen.

“My children”, she greets you warmly and you smile instantly. Alicent has occupied the left vacancy post of your mother, something which you are thankful for. “We are receiving guests this evening. The king, your father, wishes you to partake the feast. Better get yourselves dressed.”

Aemond pulls a face, but this is the only sign of displeasure he shows, not being a fan of such ceremonies. But before he protests to have a chance to speak with you, the Queen steals you away.

“I understand the presence of your father here might be delicate to you”, she says as you two step away. “Believe me, dear Y/N, it is delicate to me as well. It was a never a secret that I dislike my brother-in-law.”

Somehow the crude honesty in her words makes you chuckle.

“And yet you have welcomed here, my lady, being the mother I was deprived of.”

The Queen smiles fondly at you, stroking your hand gently as you two walk arm-in-arm.

“The children are not blamed for their father’s sins. And you are not sinful by all means, Y/N. I mean to tell you this because I am playing a good effort in receiving him and your siblings here too. Rhaenyra and I, as you know, are good friends. She has yet to meet you properly, but the princess has confided me the wishes of having you living with her and your father at Dragonstone.”

You stop by the corridors at what you heard. In truth, you hold nothing against Princess Rhaenyra as you hardly had some concept against her predecessor, disregarding some prejudices concerning your illegitimacy. However, this is all new.

“I’ve always assumed I was unwanted somehow”, you confide the queen in a whisper.

The Queen turns at you gently and holds your face with a maternal look. She sees your unspoken wounds and makes sure to amend them. Or try to.

“My darling, you are not unwanted. Do not think yourself as such. You are a dragon, the king ensured to legitimate you for this purpose. You are a great dragon rider. I have heard Aemond telling many good things of you to Aegon”, she smiles widely when spotting a blush creeping on your cheeks.

“Mother…”

“You are loved here. And whatever decision you make…”

“I am staying with you”, you tell her. “I need no other family.”

The Queen beams at you. She places a kiss over your forehead before saying:

“I appreciate my darling. But even so I must insist in that you should tell this decision to your father.”

You find strange that the Queen is playing the peacemaker with her enemy, but this is part of the queenship, so you should not be entirely surprised. Later that day, you two speak no more of it, and you are momentarily distracted of your current issues.

***

• (V)

This is me praying that. This was the very first page not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again. These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you. Please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you…

You are taking a moment by yourself when your father approaches.

“We didn’t start well”, says he, watching as you stand and look at him, surprised to find him there. “I always thought my brother, the king, had stolen you from me. He said I was unfit to look after you, my child. This does not excuse my poor choices, but somehow I wanted the best for you.”

You tilt your head, weighing the words he said. Considering what you know regarding his behavior, you find no lies. Nonetheless, you’ve been in a distrustful mood, considering the whole Aemond’s possibly affair with a lady named Alys Rivers.

“I was raised here. The king and the queen were very good to me”, you find sensible to omit Otto Hightower’s despise.

Daemon studies you. Though calmer you may be, he can still see you like a mirror. The looks, the snarks, the self defense… Every inch like him.

“We can still amend it. The princess would like to spend more time with you. Your sisters likewise.”

You scoff.

“Baela and Rhaena don’t speak to me since I stood for Aemond many years ago.”

“Not the wisest move, but I am hardly a model for anything of the sort.” He snorts. “There is still time to consider… Y/N.”

Daemon watches as you merely nod your head, moving to Silverlightening. He side smirks as you ride graciously, dressed in silk. At times he’s remembered of the woman he first loved, your mother. These are the times he wishes to go back in past and be a more decent man.

But this Targaryen rogue has few—if any—regrets to collect. Even so, as you fly, he knows he will have you back. All he needs is the precious thing he lost: time.

*

Aemond finds you this evening, anxious to resolve all that has to be resolved. He couldn’t find you all day, frustrated for having you removed out of his sight—but never out of his mind.

“Y/N!”, he cries your name out the moment you land with Silverlightening.

You freeze as your Achilles heal comes at you. Aemond has grown to a fine, good looking man who, despite his bad reputation, has been nothing but kind to you, protective and more.

“I fear that I’m losing you”, he doesn’t wait to formalities. “I understand it has reached you the rumors about me and a woman named Alys Rivers.”

Aemond can tell there is much to be said, but none of it reaches your tongue. Nonetheless, he must clear once for all before it’s too late.

“She was once my mistress, I will not deny that”, says he, pained as you flinch quietly. “But this is no more. I am yours, and yours alone. I was never besotted with a woman like her…Her name hardly ever occupied my thoughts.”

You will not deny yourself that for a while you wished he never loved anyone else, that you secretly prayed that no one would be waiting for him as you two danced with your dragons in the night.

But now you are confused.

“What are you telling me, Aemond?”

“I fucking love you, Y/N Targaryen!”

That being said, he takes your face with his long hands and kisses your lips intently so, fearful of letting you slip through his fingertips.

“Oh Aemond”, you sigh in content, a smile set on your face dispersing every fear, every insecurity.

Red is his face. Aemond is usually careful, mindful of his sentiments, which are normally on check. Hardly the one prompted to impulsiveness, to be ruled by his passions—he is the epithet of lucidity amidst his siblings.

Where reason doesn’t see, though, a deep ocean of feelings is felt. And you gleefully dive in as you pull him back to kiss his lips.

“I was always enchanted to be with you”, he whispers, his lips inch away from yours, forehead resting against yours, eyes closed. “I was a fool for never making my feelings clear.”

“Better late than ever”, you smile at him in great contentment. “All is well that ends well with you.”

As he locks fingers with you, there lies the certainty of never letting you go.

“Be my wife”, Aemond murmurs and you are amused by his demanding tone.

“You are not asking”, you giggle.

“No.”

“Of course not. If you vow to me that you are not going back with this woman.”

It’s Aemond who laughs now.

“Clearly not, Y/N. If I shall take the love of my existence as consort, then I best offer you what’s the best of me…”

You throw your hands around his neck.

“Then you better take me away and make me your wife, Aemond Targaryen.”

***

• Epilogue. (Perpetual peace)

With Rhaenyra crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, relations between the Targaryens have altered significantly.

One of which concerns how you and your father managed to overcome obstacles in your relationship thanks to the mediation of the new Queen, who also consented in having you married to Lord Aemond.

This day, thus, is one of the many celebrations the Queen and her consort, your father, are giving on your behalf. There are many tournaments and a great feast is held on your wedding day.

It is curious how by amending his relationship with you, by extent you make peace with your half-sisters and even towards the Velaryon boys. Despite preferring Helaena’s company, soon you and Baela find that riding a dragon is something both of you enjoy—amidst other common tastes.

As for Aemond, he admits that uncle Daemon is one whom he often looks up. Thanks to you, this is a bond that will get stronger with time.

“You better not break my daughter’s heart”, the rogue prince says in a very serious tone. “I have many flaws, but do not underestimate my iron will in protecting my family.”

And then he takes his son by marriage in a tender embrace. You could not have your cheeks any redder after it.

“Dear Gods”, you mumble, all the whilst you watch them exchange amenities.

As you take your seat at the high table and your husband follows you, for the bedding ceremony is about to be announced in that boisterous manner, you both enjoy the last reminiscent of brief silence.

“My lady wife”, Aemond takes your hand to his lips and there presses a kiss. “I don’t think I ever told you how I was enchanted to meet you the day my late father brought you to us.”

Your face is bright red, much to his delight. The one eyed prince side smirks at you, still kissing your delicate fingertips. You tilt your head to the side, eyeing him devotedly.

“My lord husband”, you chew the new word and it gives you butterflies on your stomach. “So was I. The moment I saw you, I knew you were mine.”

“Indeed”, he whispers. “I shall be eternally yours if you have me.”

You lean towards him, lips barely touching his.

“As am I.”

But no word is spoken as the already drunk prince consort announces this is it. It’s time for husband and wife to be… well, husband and wife.

The bedding ritual thus begins.

[itsgameofthronesimagines]

Two Roads Diverged

(Gif not mine)

Fandom: House of the Dragon

Relationships: Rhaenyra Targaryen & Sister!Targaryen!Reader, Daemon Targaryen/Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen/Niece!Targaryen!Reader, Daemon Targaryen & Niece!Targaryen!Reader

Summary: Rhaenyra and Y/n Targaryen were born in this world together, but whether by the will of the gods or the fire and blood running through their veins, the twin sisters would walk down two very different paths.

Warnings: Incest, death, grusome depictions of a dead body, family drama, daddy issues, etc. (to be added)

Words: 8,852

Request by: @ivy-targaryen

Taglist: @gruffle1 @borikenlove

A/N: Another beautiful and creative request by the same one who brought us the inspiration behind 'the Strong Dragon' series! This will be a long one so strap in!

(I do not consent to my works being reposted/copied)

~~~~~~~~~

Viserys Targaryen, son of Prince Baelon and Princess Alyssa Targaryen, wed his cousin, Aemma Arryn, daughter of Lord Rodrik Arryn and Princess Daella Targaryen in 93 AC. In 97 AC, the young couple was blessed with not one, but two twin daughters. The first to scream and cry and kick was Little Rhaenyra, soon followed by her sister, Y/n. Little did the new parents know that their family would be completed after the twins' birth, and a legacy for many tales to come, both good and bad, was set in stone that day.

In 103 AC, Viserys is crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms after his grandfather, King Jaehaerys, passed away in his sleep. The realm was thrown into a new generation of Targaryens and would eventually hold the most living dragons in recorded history. The twin princesses were the first to ensure that legacy when hatching two dragon eggs of their own from their cribs. Rhaenyra, once she was old enough to speak, named her she-dragon Syrax after a goddess of Valyria. Y/n, always trailing after her sister, decided to name her dragon after the Targaryen who foresaw the Doom of Valyria, Daenys.

With the throne secure and Viserys' reign inherited with a full treasury and blessing for his late grandsire, the Wise King, both the new king and his queen held a splendid court with the promise of peace and prosperity. The realm was the brightest and most fruitful during Viserys' reign as he was optimistic and eager to please the people he ruled over. In many eyes, Viserys' had a secure succession. With his brother Daemon at court with him, two daughters to bear him grandchildren one day, and the hope of Queen Aemma to soon bear a son, Viserys was not short of heirs and he did well to teach his daughters the way of ruling a kingdom, not to mention seven of them.  

Princess Rhaenyra was always the Realm's Delight. As for her younger twin, Princess Y/n, no one bestowed her with an honorable title or put her on a pedestal. After all, she was not the eldest and certainly not the heir. Even though she gained and rode a dragon at the same age as her sister, Rhaenyra will always cast the largest shadow. Rhaenyra was quickly named King Viserys' cupbearer at the age of eight and was always by her father's side at feasts, balls, and tourneys. Y/n, on the other hand, tended to her mother and was rarely seen without Queen Aemma.

Despite having different passions, the twins were still just that: twins. They still did practically everything together. As they grew, so did their boldness and ambition. Rhaenyra and Y/n did hunting, hawking, singing, and riding together. And oftentimes, their favorite companion was none other than their uncle. Daemon did many of these activities with the young princesses. At first, he did so to chaperone them at the request of his dear cousin, the Queen, but then he grew to love his little nieces more than anyone and anything, so he gladly joined them without complaint. He spent plenty of time with them, either to tell them stories of his travels, gift them with foreign treasures, or even rode his dragon Caraxes alongside their flying beasts between King's Landing and Dragonstone.

As history plays out in the coming years and when people read the books, it didn't come to much of a shock to learn just how much both of the princesses loved their uncle. Scholars tell us and most agree with each other that Y/n loved him first, but was only bold enough to admit this to her sister. Mushroom, King Viserys' fool and later an entrusted ally to Princess Rhaenyra (or so he claims) tells us that Rhaenyra kept her sister's secret. He says that the eldest twin did so for the same reason why Y/n was always taking the fall for Rhaenyra's misgivings whenever they got in trouble. The sisters loved one another and would do anything for each other. Y/n would take the blame for Rhaenyra's faults, and in exchange, Rhaenyra would keep Y/n's faults a secret.

So yes, Rhaenyra remained the Realm's Delight in the public eye while Y/n appeared to be the nuisance of the pair. Over the years, as she got older, the People had grown to name Y/n many things, but we will get there in time. First, let's return to the story. The twins' dynamic never changed even as the worst of a child's nightmares came to fruition. Queen Aemma dies in childbed and her son, Baelon, only outlives her by a day. The following events are what transpired. Daemon is banished to Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is officially named Heir to the Iron Throne, Alicent Hightower becomes Viserys' new queen, and as a result, she bore him four children. Aegon, the eldest son, Helaena, the only daughter, Aemond, the second son, and Daeron, the third son and youngest.

Princess Y/n was ecstatic to have younger half-siblings, though Rhaenyra didn't share her enthusiasm. Given that Queen Alicent was once her most loyal, entrusted friend, Rhaenyra felt betrayed by her father's new bride and therefore found little love for her half-siblings. The twins continued to confide in one another before anyone else until the time came when Rhaenyra was ordered by their father to find a husband. For once, Y/n was unable to get her sister out of her predicament and thus could not take the fall for what was about to happen.

Rhaenyra made her journey across the realm in search of a prince consort and when she returned, Y/n was rewarded with the return of her sister and her uncle all at once. Daemon had been busy fighting a war in the Stepstones and returned with a crown on his head that he later surrendered to his brother as a sign of love and good faith. King Viserys, therefore, welcomed Daemon with open arms and a celebration transpired. Daemon made time to acknowledge his brother's new queen before taking the time to reacquaint himself with his nieces. He drank and dined with them and even danced with Y/n when she asked. Viserys was drunk and jolly, delighted to see his brother among his family again. All was well.

The following day happened to be the day that solidified the future war known as the Dance of Dragons (or Dying of Dragons) and no one other than a chosen few had the eye to see it.

Y/n was awakened by Ser Arryk and her handmaiden in the earliest morning when the sun had not yet risen. Confused and equally worried, she dutifully got dressed and followed the Kingsguard down the hall. Barely anyone was awake at this hour, she had only noticed a handful of servants beginning to stir and scramble into their morning duties before she had been led to the throne room. As Ser Arryk stepped aside and allowed her through the doorway, Y/n quickly observed her father sitting high upon the Iron Throne with two other silver-haired individuals standing at the base of the stairs, backs facing her. Y/n quickly recognized her sister, Rhaenyra on the left, hair loosely braided down her back, and her uncle, Daemon, standing on the right, hair cut short and wearing only pants and his nightshirt as if he had been dragged out of bed. Confusion was still evident on her face, but dread had begun to thrive in Y/n's stomach as she slowly drew nearer. Even as she got close to the foot of the stairs leading up the Iron Throne, neither her sister nor her uncle turned to greet her. They kept their backs to her, heads lowered as if afraid to even acknowledge her presence.

Y/n finally looked back up at the King and quickly remembered her manners, bending her knees and bowing her head to Viserys in a graceful curtsy. "Father."

"Listen carefully, daughter. Treason has been committed this past night. Word has reached my ears about a certain child of mine seen with my despicable brother at a brothel in the late hour of the wolf. Unfortunately for us, those who had seen this child could not recall which one. Tell me, what do you know of these events?"

Y/n's eyes widen a fraction, though there is doubt Viserys could see it from his high throne. The princess' heart dropped to her stomach as she replayed her father's words in her head. She turns her attention to the backs of Rhaenyra and Daemon, but neither of them turns to her and Viserys speaks again.

"Do not look to either of them for help, child. I have forbidden them to aid you. You will address me and me alone. You will tell me the truth and only the truth."

Y/n wasn't entirely sure how to feel. Grief and betrayal clenched her stomach in a vice grip... but passionate emotions, such as love and rage were set aflame in her breaking heart. She wanted to scream and cry and demand an explanation. She wanted to burn the truth out of her once devoted sister and her uncle who she loved dearly.

Unfortunately, her loyalty as a sister eventually took over, despite the conflict of emotions running in her mind as she lowered her head to the ground, "... It was me, Your Grace."

"Are you certain, Y/n?" Viserys eyed her suspiciously, "You do not have to defend your sister. This is a vile and unforgivable act as you understand. There is no going back if you choose to claim your guilt and her innocence."

"I am certain, Father," she speaks more boldly, "I would not wish for my sister to be punished for my sins. I would not wish that on anyone I love."

Her words are like stone and ice, piercing Rhaenyra's heart. Guilt ebbs and slides deeper into the older twin's skin, her bottom lip trembling as she comes to terms with what she has done to her sister. Unable to see the torment on Rhaenyra's face, Y/n continues confessing a crime she did not commit.

"I crept away from the castle with Daemon last night... I wanted him to show me true acts of love--"

"Enough," Viserys demands, disgust evident in his tone. His hand grips his sword handle, conflict written all over his eyes. He sits in silence, letting it linger throughout the entire room as his brother and two daughters await their King's justice. Eventually, he sighs, exhausted as he decides to lay down the law as a king instead of a father.

"Then you have forfeited your virtue as a maiden and your reputation as a princess. You must travel to Oldtown and surrender your names and titles to become a woman of faith. You will learn to be a septa under the Faith of the Seven. You will never marry and never carry children."

Y/n's heart completely shatters as the two people who had just betrayed her quickly spoke up in rebuttal, trying to defend her.

"What-- no! No, Father! You can't just--"

"Brother, please think before you send your own child--"

"SILENCE!" Viserys slams the tip of his sword against the step below his throne, his booming, enraged voice echoing across the vast room, "Whether or not Y/n confessed, all three of you are guilty in one way or another for this heinous crime! And this will not leave any of you clean of punishments. Y/n will travel to Oldtown. You, brother, will return to the Vale and finally consummate your marriage to Lady Rhea Royce! And you, Rhaenyra. Your time for choosing a husband is over. Whether you like it or not, you will now marry Ser Laenor Velaryon and the two of us will travel to Driftmark to propose this alliance to my cousin and her husband. Tomorrow morning, we will ALL travel to our respective destinations. Your king demands it."

Knights of the Kingsguard emerge and two surround Y/n, taking her by the arms. She wretches one arm away from them as a thought crossed her mind, "And what of my dragon?" One look from her father and Y/n's face falls, the blood in her veins turning cold in realization, "No... No, Father, please!"

The knights now forcefully grab Y/n, having to fight in order to drag her out of the throne room as she fights back, all the while screaming and sobbing, "You cannot part me from Daenys, please! PLEASE!"

He made them each separately return to their chambers so they could not speak amongst themselves. Two knights guard the door outside Y/n's room but it was questioned whether or not the effort was worth it as the princess didn't appear to have the will to leave her chambers. Y/n had completely shut down, refusing to eat or sleep that evening. She sat quietly on the edge of her bed as a handful of servants came in to pack up her things. The one time she spoke, she had whispered for one of her maids to cut her hair.

At one point, Grand Maester Mellos entered her apartment and gently placed a hot tea in her hands. According to Mushroom, Rhaenyra had also been given a special tea, the fool dwarf implying it to be moon tea. He speculated that despite Y/n's confession, Viserys doubted her tale and to be certain that all memory of this night's events will be erased, he had ordered moon tea to be brought to both of his daughters. Whether or not the princesses drank it was not recorded in history, but Mushroom reported that both of the cups were empty by the following morning, regardless.

Said morning was greeted by pouring rain. Daemon was long gone and Viserys had already taken Rhaenyra to Driftmark by the sea at the time Y/n was brought down to the courtyard. Dressed in traveling clothes and a warm cloak, Y/n held her head high with her newly cut silver hair now sitting just a little past her chin. She climbed into the wheelhouse provided to her and waited for her traveling companion to join her. Before long, Otto Hightower climbed inside as their small company departed from King's Landing. The former Hand had been dismissed by King Viserys and was rumored to be replaced by Lyonel Strong, who had disappeared and was likely traveling with His Grace at the moment.

Y/n thought the travel would be mostly in silence, but Lord Otto proved her wrong as the wheelhouse finally left King's Landing, "I didn't believe it was you."

She kept her eyes focused on the road rolling by outside her window as she spoke, "I'm afraid it no longer matters what you believed to be true, my lord."

"I believe in many things, princess. I believe you have been wrongfully accused and I believe that you and I have something in common."

"And what's that?"

"We're both second-born children without the promise of lands or titles. We have both been banished to Oldtown for what our king believes is a fitting punishment. Perhaps he means well, and perhaps this is for the better... but when it is your own father who carries out the sentence, I can't imagine it feels as though this is all for the better."

Y/n's vision instantly warmed and blurred, her voice beginning to shake as she spoke, "He took my dragon from me. I understand stripping away my Targaryen rights in all but name... but my dragon?"

"He means for you to swear into celibacy under the Faith of the Seven. There isn't a septa in history who owned a dragon. You are no longer a Targaryen in the eyes of the gods, therefore you have no need for a dragon. Your father knew that... but he is not here right now... and perhaps he should have stayed in King's Landing a little longer if he wanted to be sure your dragon was properly chained up."

Y/n finally looked away from the window to stare at Lord Otto with a puzzled expression. To answer her silent question, a loud roar broke through the sky, and Y/n's heart soared with hope. Staring back out the window, her eyes eagerly searched until she caught the shadow of a familiar silhouette. Her precious Daenys was dutifully following her.

Turning back to Lord Otto to bless and thank him, she was met with a small smile and a gentle voice, "Your dragon will keep you safe in the sky and I will keep you safe on the ground. You still have allies, Princess. Remember that."

~~~~~~~~~

And thus it was. Upon arriving in Oldtown, Y/n joined the clergy of the Faith of the Seven as a novice and quickly rose in her ranks to become a septa. It didn't hurt that she had friends in high places, such as the lords and ladies of House Hightower. Y/n was no fool. She understood that Lord Otto was using her as a chess piece, but after he had given her back Daenys, she could have cared less what his motives were. She had a feeling that he had spoken with his brother, the Lord of Oldtown, Hobert Hightower, after she had been sworn into the Faith of the Seven so quickly compared to most septas. It was clear to see that most of House Hightower appreciated or at the very least respected her, so she couldn't complain. Other than the Hightowers and her dragon, the former princess didn't converse with many others. There was a moment when she caught a glimpse of someone who could be none other than her great-uncle, Vaegon Targaryen, son of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. If he had recognized her, he didn't show it. In fact, the old man didn't even appear to acknowledge her, let alone acknowledge her as a distant relative.

Other than cordial conversations, Y/n mostly kept to herself, even praying silently instead of verbally. It was clear to most that the princess did not thrive here and even though she has dutifully done everything asked of her, she did not flourish like a true septa. When she wasn't praying or healing, she was flying or reading. Occasionally, she would be summoned to the Hightower to dine with its lords, usually seated beside Lord Otto himself. Even he could see that the child (now technically a young woman) was miserable. A dark shadow passes over her face whenever her royal family is mentioned, but otherwise, she doesn't say a poor word against them. She remains courteous or, at the very least, says exactly what she is meant to say. Otto had spent enough time around Targaryens to recognize that deep, fiery rage within, although Y/n was far better at controlling it compared to her uncle. With that rage was also betrayal and grief. Lord Otto never asked the princess why her heart cries, but he knew, deep down, that it will someday come to light and, hopefully, to his advantage.

That day came years later when a letter arrives from King's Landing. Queen Alicent greets her father before addressing Septa Y/n, inviting her to the capitol in order to become Princess Helaena's septa, who will soon be wed to Prince Aegon. Whatever thoughts were running through her head, Y/n kept them to herself and honorably accepts the invitation. She bid Lord Otto and his family goodbye and her undying gratitude for the hospitality before she climbed up her dragon and flew home.

She descended onto the Dragonpit and was met with a wheelhouse outside, along with a crowd of smallfolk, cheering and welcoming the former princess home. Y/n, dressed in her humble septa robes and hood to dutifully conceal her hair, refused the litter as a means of transportation and instead took to the streets, greeting all who touched her and only smiling when someone addressed her as 'septa'. Her escorts followed at a distance but otherwise didn't disrupt the peace as Septa Y/n carried a toddler on one hip and held another child's hand as she walked the cobblestone streets. It was nearly dusk before she was forced to part from the smallfolk and finally walk through the gates of the Red Keep, her feet blistered but her smile unwavering.

Queen Alicent and her children were there to greet her, and even Y/n was surprised when Alicent welcomed her with open arms. Y/n was reacquainted with her half-siblings and all were quickly reminded of the years growing up when Y/n was completely devoted to them. They remember the twin who loved them and the twin who barely acknowledged their existence. Aegon and Aemond were polite, whilst Helaena smiled and Daeron kissed Septa Y/n's hand. She didn't ask, but Y/n noticed that her father wasn't there to welcome her. That evening, she dined alone with the Queen. She didn't ask, but Alicent could see what her stepdaughter was asking in her eyes and told Y/n that Rhaenyra had moved her family to Dragonstone and would not be returning to court anytime soon. As for Daemon, he had since married Laena Velaryon and their family currently travels around Pentos. Y/n visibly sighed in relief, but she still felt a deep ache in her chest at the mention of those she once loved so dearly. It was clear to Alicent that even after all these years, Y/n still felt the betrayal. Alicent thinks back to the last letter her own father sent her and how Lord Otto wished for her to send an official invite to Oldtown for Y/n to return to King's Landing. Now that she saw the former princess, Alicent understood why her father wanted the young woman back here in court. Y/n clearly was no friend of Rhaenyra.

The day finally came when King Viserys is forced into the same room as Septa Y/n, the day they all gathered to bid Young Daeron farewell as he travels to Oldtown to be fostered by his maternal grandsire's family. Neither father nor daughter acknowledges each other, only speaking to one another when courtesy compels them to, and even then, they only address each other as 'septa' and 'Your Grace'. After that first greeting, they avoid each other as much as possible, the hurt and the betrayal still evident between them.

It was a breath of fresh air for Y/n when the royal family was invited to Driftmark in order to pay their respects to House Velaryon after the death of Lady Laena. The king, queen, their children, the reappointed Lord Hand Otto Hightower and the royal guard had all left, leaving the Red Keep empty. Without the fear of running into her father while he is gone, Y/n roams the palace freely and even takes to the skies when time permits it. Upon the royal family's return, however, so do the dread and horror. Prince Aemond returned with only one eye and Queen Alicent returned with guilt in both of hers.

Scholars tell us of a time when the Queen became devoted to the Seven after shamefully attacking Princess Rhaenyra with a knife in Driftmark. Mushroom said she was so ashamed that she confessed her sins to Rhaenyra's sister, Septa Y/n, the moment she returned to King's Landing. The fool dwarf would have us believe that Y/n forgave the Queen in exchange that Alicent would commit herself to the Faith. The Queen graciously accepted, according to Mushroom, but some sources are not entirely sure if his telling of history is accurate, given that he wasn't in King's Landing at the time.

Nevertheless, only some can be confirmed true. Alicent did indeed confess all of her sins to Y/n as a way to cleanse herself in front of a servant of the gods. She admitted to attacking Princess Rhaenyra in the grief and injustice she felt for the loss of her son's eye. She admitted to conspiring and influencing her sons into believing that Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon were all bastards without any proof except physical. Septa Y/n listened patiently and intently, bidding Alicent to rise as a new, true servant to the gods.

Alicent rose, albeit on shaking knees. She gulped back a sob trying to escape her throat, her eyes red and cheeks wet, "How can you have so much faith after everything that's been done to you? How can you pray when the gods have yet to give you the justice you deserve?"

Y/n only smiled, holding the Queen's face in both her hands, as gentle as Alicent remembered her to be when they were children, "I believe the gods will give me my justice in time. I am a patient woman. I still have a whole life of devotion ahead of me. They will grant me my prayers when they believe I deserve it."

A little time passes and Aegon and Helaena were wed. Twins must run in the family and Helaena soon bore a twin son and daughter, Jaehaerys, and Jaehaera. Septa Y/n secretly doted on her niece and nephew and often cared for them more than the wet nurse did. As much as she was overjoyed by them, they also reminded Y/n of the sour fate her father bestowed on her. With no children of her own, Y/n took to Helaena's, who of which had no quarrel with it.

Viserys was also reminded of this punishment, every day when he sees Y/n with the infant twins. Every time, it is a stab to the heart to be reminded of the shame he brought to his own child, a woman who would have loved her own children if her celibate vows allowed her such miracles. Some say the King's health only worsened after the birth of his twin grandchildren, some tales spreading to suggest that the pain he felt whenever he looked at Y/n was the gods' way of punishing him for forsaking his daughter.

His health would never get better, mainly because he would never truly get enough peace in order to heal. Vaemond Velaryon challenged Lucerys Velaryon's right to rule Driftmark should the Sea Snake fall and therefore, a hearing of rivaling families was to take place in King's Landing. Queen Alicent warns Septa Y/n ahead of time that Rhaenyra will be arriving shortly along with her family. Y/n has been preparing herself for the day she and her sister cross paths again, and nothing, time nor god, could prepare her for when she caught a glimpse of Rhaenyra.

For you see, no one told Y/n of Ser Laenor's death and no one told her that Rhaenyra had quickly remarried and it was to none other than Daemon Targaryen. When Y/n saw her sister and uncle again for the first time in years, the healing wounds reopened and Y/n's breath was taken away when she saw silver-haired children and the round shape of her sister's belly. Y/n could feel her heart and throat tighten, the overwhelming sadness threatening to take over. Luckily, she was observing her sister's family as they arrived in the courtyard from a small perch up on the overlooking balcony, so they had not seen her. Once they were out of view, Septa Y/n was able to breathe again and quickly retreated to Helaena's chambers under the false excuse of wanting to see if the princess had finished a book she was studying under her septa sister's guidance.

She had successfully avoided Daemon and Rhaenyra and purposefully did not attend the court hearing in the throne room the next day. She heard whispers about the King making his sickly appearance and Daemon killing Vaemond for the accusations against Rhaenyra and her children's true parentage. Y/n could only scoff, gripping her hands tightly to refrain from rolling her eyes.

Whether or not Daemon truly loved Rhaenyra is up for debate. Perhaps he only married her because she is Viserys' heir and the only way to get close in his brother's line of succession again was through marriage. Y/n wasn't sure what was worse, that her uncle loved her sister, the woman who betrayed her, or her uncle only married her for political schemes. Either way, both her uncle and sister betrayed her in one way or another, and now, for the first time in years, Y/n could see that they have reaped the benefits of their betrayal... and Y/n was left with the scraps.

The thought struck her with anger and jealousy so she decides to lead in prayer in the royal gardens, sitting down once she was alone and closing her eyes, bowing her head to recite a lovely new prayer she read recently.

"Y/n?"

Her eyes shoot open and she staggers to her feet, stunned and panicked when she spun around to notice Rhaenyra standing before her. Her dress was beautiful, radiant, and complimentary to her pregnant stomach, a lovely, long embroidery of a dragon aligning her collarbone.

Y/n's anger peaks and she quickly shuts it down, turning her face into a blank canvas as she respectfully bows her head and evens her voice, "Princess Rhaenyra. You must be relieved to be home again."

Rhaenyra's eyes flashed in confusion before she smiles what only could be out of relief, "I scarcely recognized you... what are you doing here?"

"I have been graciously invited by the Queen to teach and guide Princess Helaena and her children to devote their ways to the intention of the gods."

The monotone in her sister's voice made Rhaenyra pause. The blank expression and the reciting of words only made Y/n appear more... foreign. A puppet with tight strings. "What... what did they do to you?"

Y/n's eyebrows slightly furrow, "They didn't do anything to me, Princess. I have repented and devoted myself to become the image the gods have always envisioned for me."

It was like talking to a stranger and Rhaenyra refused to admit that. Her sister is not dead. Denial would not be her first stage of grieving when her sister is standing right in front of her. Rhaenyra stubbornly pushes through, determined to see a small hint of the girl she once knew. She forced herself to smile brightly, reaching out to grasp Y/n's hands, "Daemon will be relieved to see you again. And the children would love to finally meet you."

Like a spark of flame, Y/n snatched her hands out of Rhaenyra's reach, stepping away as if the princess burned her. To Rhaenyra's horror, the mask had slipped and all she saw in return was fire and blood behind those eyes identical to hers.

The shadow darkens over Y/n's face, voice lower in feigned respect, "Then I shall see them when they come to prayer in the evening."

Rhaenyra froze, unable to move or form words under her sister's glare. They stood that way for some time before a servant girl approached them, innocently unaware of the stand-off as she bows in respect to Rhaenyra before turning to Y/n, "Septa Y/n. Princess Helaena has asked for your presence."

The spell breaks, and suddenly Rhaenyra recognizes the sweet face of her twin, but it was not directed at her. Y/n turned to the servant girl and smiled kindly, "Tell my sweet sister I will be there shortly."

The words burned Rhaenyra, Y/n could tell out of the corner of her eye, and the hurt on her twin's face almost delighted her in some aspect. The dragon has slowly appeared behind her shield of faith, so she tries to cut this meeting short in order to tame it before it did anything rash. Y/n bows her head, "Beg your pardon, Princess Rhaenyra, but I must go."

Unfortunately, Y/n wouldn't be able to avoid her sister's family forever. The King had ordered all of his direct family members to attend dinner together, but for some reason, this dinner excluded Princess Rhaenys and Septa Y/n, the King's own cousin and daughter. However, Otto knew he had the upper hand with Daemon on this and knew when and where to flaunt. So, the Hand waited until the King was too exhausted to dine any further and when Viserys retired to bed, Otto waved his hand and a servant moved to open the door off to the side. Septa Y/n stepped through, hands folded in front of her and she glided into the room, her entrance silencing everyone at the dinner table. Y/n smiled obediently, nodding to the Princess Helaena as she breaks away from her dance with Prince Jacaerys Velaryon.

"The children are sound asleep, as promised."

"Thank you, Y/n," Helaena smiled.

"Won't you drink with us, sweet sister?" Aegon grinned mischievously, raising a goblet to her, "Plenty of wine to go around."

Y/n allowed a smirk to grace her lips, carefully lowering the cup in his hand away from her person, "As I've said time and time again, my prince, it is against my vows. And if you love your sister, you will value her virtue and refrain from drinking yourself to death in her presence."

Aegon's jaw visibly tightened, rolling his eyes but notably setting his goblet down on the table. Y/n beams at her little brother's obedience and only smiles more when Alicent nods to her in thanks.

"So this is what you reverted my niece into during her imprisonment in your ancestral home, Otto?" Daemon's words were poison, to be sure, but he bore no anger or emotion of any kind when staring down the Hand of the King, feigning curiosity, "A meek little servant girl who follows your orders?"

"You will not speak of my sister that way, Uncle," Aemond stood abruptly and easily stood tall beside Y/n, "She is a loving, caring, faithful servant to the gods and we are proud of all her accomplishments."

"I had no idea Lord Otto has been going around believing to be a god," Daemon scowled, leaning back in his chair.

"Lord Otto had always been kind to me and had every intention of keeping my life in Oldtown comfortable," Y/n spoke up, keeping her voice calm and gentle in the presence of Helaena whilst also staring her uncle down, "He ensured that my dragon would be kept with me so that I may feel safe in a foreign place filled with strangers," she spares a glimpse in Otto's direction, smiling when he met her gaze with a measured fondness, "Daenys kept me safe in the sky while Lord Otto kept me safe on the ground."

It appeared forced, but Rhaenyra smiled at the Hand of the King from down the long table of food, regardless, "We thank you for the protection you provided for my sister, Lord Otto. You have shown her such kindness. It's a debt I am not sure we could ever repay."

"It was my pleasure, Princess."

"It better not have been for pleasure," Daemon's eyes darken, trying to scout out the hidden meaning behind the old man's words.

"Daemon--" Rhaenyra warned.

"I will not have my virtue be questioned in front of the Princess Helaena and the Ladies Rhaena and Baela," Y/n sternly interrupted, holding her ground in front of the dinner table, "My virtue has already been questioned enough in your presence, Prince Daemon."

Daemon had the gull to look down in shame for half a second before correcting his posture, straightening up as he reached to grasp Rhaenyra's hand when Y/n's words clearly distressed her. Y/n watched the act, feeling her nose and eyes warm with a wide range of emotions. Her hands tighten again and her throat closes, only allowing a brief whisper towards Queen Alicent to excuse herself from the room. Septa Y/n darted out of the feast and escaped to her chambers, crying her eyes out as everything boiled over like a volcano. She collapsed into her bed and cried herself to utter exhaustion, her eyes swollen and beginning to close.

Sleep would not find her, however, as her chamber doors opened, and in its wake stood Prince Aemond. Septa Y/n wanted to scream at him, to question why he would shame a septa by coming to her room alone when she is vulnerable. Had he no fear of the gods? Instead, she lay in silence and shook from head to toe, trying to regain composure. Aemond moved out of the doorway and Aegon followed him into the room. Eventually, Helaena entered, but she stood awkwardly by the door, holding her arm in the opposite hand. Both of her brothers decided to let Y/n have her space and sat on the furniture surrounding the hearth on the opposite end of the room.

They all bask in the silence, just listening to Y/n's soft cries and the crackling of the fire. Eventually, Y/n was able to control her breathing again, wiping her face clean of tears before she tries using her breaking voice, "Did your mother dismiss you?"

Aegon huffs with mirth, "No, but I doubt we were welcome to stay. Aemond subtly insulted the Velaryon boys and it earned us a toss-up."

Y/n's accusing glare turned to the one-eyed prince watching her from the hearth, his smile unwavering even under scrutiny, "Aemond."

"Forgive me, Septa Y/n."

It was a jest, clearly, and she barked out a laugh, unable to control it. Both of her brothers laugh in response, while Helaena softly smiles. As they all laugh, Alicent emerges from the doorway and beelines for Y/n, gathering her up in her arms, "Oh, my darling girl."

Y/n sniffs, trying not to appear so small, "Forgive me, Your Grace. I was out of line."

"There is nothing to forgive. Daemon was the one in the wrong. That conversation was hardly one to have at dinner."

Y/n felt like a child again, being coddled by the Queen after her emotions got the best of her. Instead of comfort, however, she only felt shame. As a septa, being comforted by those she had been in charge of felt as though she was a failure of a guardian. On the contrary, having the touch of a mother for the first time in years felt... nice. It could not compare to the ghost of her own mother, but Alicent was gentle and squeezed just right for the touch to be secure. Y/n did her best to peek around her room for each of her half-siblings, all three of them smiling warmly at her. For a moment, Y/n felt as though she was a princess again instead of a septa, and perhaps in their eyes, she was. The thought struck her to a point of realization. Perhaps the royal family didn't see her as a septa first. Perhaps they saw her as their sister first and septa second.

Y/n was a proud septa, but just for a moment, she allowed herself to enjoy the comfort and support of the family. Gods be damned.

~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, she woke alone in her room, but she felt lighter than she did yesterday. Rising in the early hour before the sun rose, she got cleaned and dressed before going out to start her morning duties. She didn't get far before she spotted Ser Criston Cole down the hall and the knight saw her in turn. He turned to her, his voice booming in demand, "Septa Y/n, I'd advise you to join Princess Helaena in her chambers and stay there until someone can fetch you."

The order confused her, Criston's stiff posture screaming all signs of wrong to her, but Y/n dutifully obeyed and retreated to her half-sister's apartments. Helaena was already there with the twins and the wet nurse, embroidering what looked to be one of her favorite insects while the nurse and children played on the floor. Y/n joined her on the furniture and read out loud some passages of the Seven-Pointed Star as the morning sun rises further in the sky. Before long, Queen Alicent and Lord Otto storm into the bedroom, demanding the whereabouts of Prince Aegon. No one had seen him, so Lord Otto retreats back outside and Alicent sits and informs the septa and princess that their father was dead.

Helaena pushed away her mother after stating 'there is a beast beneath the boards' while Y/n sat still, face hard of any grieving expression. Her teeth grind together, eyes focused on a spot on the wall as she addressed the Queen, "Has the King's brother and heir been informed?"

"No. They left last night."

She nods. "May I see the body? I would like to pray over the deceased."

"Of course."

Alicent had Ser Criston bring Septa Y/n to the King's chambers. Incense was burning when she arrived, making her way around the large diorama of King's Landing towards the bed. The incense was not strong enough, unfortunately, and Y/n's nose scrunched up when introduced to a vile smell she could only identify as a rotting corpse. She's dealt with death before when tending to the sick in her studies to be a septa, but it's still overwhelming for the senses. Viserys' body was small, frail, already the proper size of a skeleton. There wasn't enough flesh left of her father to decay, the right side of the face already decomposed and skeletal. He had been a walking, rotting corpse for some time now, and at this point, Y/n could no longer remember her father's face from when she was a child. She had only known this limp form for so long.

Lighting seven candles, Y/n says her prayers under her breath, hardly shedding a tear as the Silent Sisters are summoned to properly cleanse and wrap the body. Queen Alicent, now properly dressed in mourning clothes, fits herself beside Y/n as they both stand over the wrapped body, his crown placed on top of it. Alicent wept, but Y/n remained neutral. Once the Queen had composed herself, she turned to Y/n and grasped her hand.

"Y/n, you must listen to me. Last night, before I retired to bed, Viserys spoke to me. He wished for Aegon to be crowned instead of Rhaenyra and therefore we must find my son before we can send word to Dragonstone. We must plan a coronation for Aegon before Rhaenyra has a chance to react. I know she is your sister and you may not believe that Viserys said this to me--"

"I believe you," Y/n interrupted, her words strong and unwavering as she looked up at Alicent with a stone face, "I believe the King would want his firstborn son to be crowned over his daughter. If you fear my response, there is no need. My place is beside your son and his family as the gods have intended. You have my full support for whatever it is you're about to do."

Alicent visibly sighs, smiling out of relief even behind the mournful tears. Squeezing Y/n's hand, she turned back to the corpse of her dead husband, "Would you like Daenys to burn the body?"

"No. Have his rightful heir use Sunfyre. My father once tried to take my dragon from me. I will not do him the honor of being burned by her."

Aegon is eventually found by Aemond and Ser Criston and is immediately brought to his mother before anything else could be done. Alicent attempts to influence her son into not plunging the realm into war with the Blacks, claiming that negotiating terms with Rhaenyra and Daemon first would be the best thing for all of them. Septa Y/n agreed with Alicent, and that seemed to fully convince Aegon after he had been properly cleaned and sobered up. Septa Y/n stood beside Aemond and Helaena in the Dragonpit as Ser Criston crowned Aegon with none other than the Conqueror's crown and sword. Alicent crowned Helaena and bowed before her, addressing her as 'my Queen' before Aegon raised his sword before the masses and they loudly cheered in celebration. Unfortunately, the celebration is cut short when Princess Rhaenys bursts from the floorboards of the Dragonpit with her large, mighty dragon, Meleys, the Red Queen herself. For a moment, it appeared as though the Queen Who Never Was had every intention of putting a stop to all this, having her dragon roar at the royal family before swiftly escaping.

The royal family retreats back to the Red Keep and Aegon sat on top of the Iron Throne. Lords and ladies scurry into the throne room to pledge their allegiance to him, but the most surprising appearance that drew whispers among the court was Septa Y/n herself, having been summoned by the new king.

"Sweet sister, you have done a great service for my queen and our family," Aegon proclaims with a wide grin, "And it would be an honor to have you as an ally more than a servant. I bid to return all land and titles to you, the same titles our father had once unfairly taken from you. In exchange for your loyalty, I would now pronounce you as Princess Y/n Targaryen once more and name you the Princess of Dragonstone until my heir, Prince Jaehaerys, comes of age to inherit our ancestral home, should you accept to carry my banner."

Y/n's heart soared and her face warmed as if a curse had been broken and a veil had been lifted from her eyes. Slowly, gracefully, the once former Septa Y/n bent the knee before the Iron Throne, beaming up at King Aegon with an uplifting smile, "It would be my honor, Your Grace. I, Princess Y/n of the House Targaryen, First of My Name and Princess of Dragonstone, promise to be faithful to King Aegon of House Targaryen, Second of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. I pledge fealty to him and shall defend him against all enemies in good faith and without deceit. I swear this by the old gods and the new."

The day ends with a small feast among the King's family and council. Y/n sat with them not as a septa, but as a princess, having removed her modest robes and hood in exchange for a black dress to symbolize the mourning of her father as courtesy demands. Her hair is kept short below her chin and braided behind her ears so that no one could possibly mistake her for her twin ever again. From this moment on, Y/n was done defending her sister.

~~~~~~~~~

Otto Hightower sailed for Dragonstone with sails bestowing the colors of Aegon's new banner, the original Targaryen sigil but instead of red, the three-headed dragon was colored green. Y/n waited half a day for Lord Otto to reach her ancestral home before following close behind on dragonback, her mighty Daenys fitted back into a beautiful saddle before taking to the sky.

The wind was kind enough for the ship to make it to Dragonstone before Y/n as she spotted the ship docking at one of the piers upon flying overhead of Dragonmont. She could see how far Otto and his company of knights had gotten before being stopped by Rhaenyra, her dragon, and her men at the long, cobblestone stairs stretching far along the island and leading up to the castle. Syrax had purposely landed to block the Greens' only exit, trapping them between her and Daemon as Rhaenyra stood in front of the company. From a distance, Y/n easily recognized her sister's hair and then noticed Daemon's, her rage only brewing. And since she had been released from her vows as a septa, she gladly embraced her emotions instead of stomping them down with prayer. She let Daenys circle the stand-off upon the bridge once, twice, before finally landing behind Daemon's men, now trapping all of them between the two she-dragons. She didn't take the time to bask in everyone's expressions as she quickly descended from her saddle. Her feet hit cobblestones and Y/n slowly made her way through the sea of soldiers belonging to her uncle. They part for her with the looming beast behind her keeping a close watch on them while Y/n makes it to the center, being met by her uncle and sister.

This time, she gladly took in their expressions as they both noticed her riding dress was a dark, green, and black garb with matching riding pants underneath. Rhaenyra's expression was one of horror and disbelief, while Daemon's hardened into something unreadable. Y/n flashed a thin smile as she passed them, moving to stand directly beside Lord Otto. Only then did Y/n take the time to observe the situation. At the sight of Rhaenyra wearing their father's crown, a flash of anger spread through Y/n like wildfire.

"Sister..." Rhaenyra finally spoke, her disbelief still knawing in the back of her mind, "What are you doing here?"

"Assisting in negotiations," Y/n proudly stated, glancing between her sister and Lord Otto, "I assume that the Hand of the King has laid out King Aegon's terms?"

"King--" Rhaenyra's rage flashed before she reeled it back in, taking her time to breathe in deeply before tightly responding, "Aegon is no king to us. You were there, Y/n when our father named me his rightful heir."

"Our father was a fool," the harsh insult slipped easily off Y/n's tongue, lashing out like a viper with a rage Rhaenyra has never seen in her twin before, "Even a king must obey the laws... and the laws of the Great Council state that a male heir must be put first before the female and even a female's sons, regardless of who of which was firstborn. King Jaehaerys was wise in letting his people decide back in 101 AC, and our father was a fool for believing his word outranked the people who made the very decision that handed him the Iron Throne. King Viserys stabbed the realm in the back for going against the laws they had placed to prevent wars. King Viserys started a war by favoring you over his sons and naming you heir."

"You shame your father's memory by betraying your blood to these pretenders!" Daemon accused his niece from over Rhaenyra's shoulder.

Y/n's eyes dart towards him, the man she once wished to devote herself to. Instead of love, however, there was only hate and mockery as she tilt her head at him, "Are you not the brother he looked over in favor of his daughter? I see no other reason why you would marry her other than to finally have your brother's throne for yourself once you slice her pretty neck wide open."

"Y/n, enough," Rhaenyra's voice cracked under the power of her voice, "You don't have to do this."

The smile grows until Y/n shows her fangs, the sneer, and disdain pooling from her eyes as spoke in a harsh whisper, "Because of your crimes and sins against the gods, I was sent away to atone for them. For every step forward you took advantage of, I was two steps behind, taking the blame. The gods test my patience every time you draw breath or every time you bore a bastard son. You shame me, sister," Rhaenyra's face crumbled under the weight of Y/n's words, "And you shame the gods our dragons fly so close to. You can no longer walk over the laws the gods have placed for mortal men. You can no longer abuse the might and power of your station."

"Why are you doing this?" The Queen Pretender whispered breathlessly, a single tear running down her cheek, "Please, give me an honest answer."

"You're a fool if you think I haven't been honest with every ill word I speak of you," Y/n took one step forward and then another until she was close in proximity to Rhaenyra. Both sisters stood still, as did their respective guardians on either end of this battlefield of words. Y/n's eyes dart behind Rhaenyra to closely watch Daemon as she whispered into her sister's ear, "You have taken everything from me the day you followed the man I loved, the one person who ever made me truly happy, into a brothel. Because of you, I was never allowed to start a family of my own. Because of you, I was sent away from home. Because of you, I nearly lost my dragon. Because of you, I will never feel the love our father had that was bestowed on you. Every warmth I have ever felt, you sought to snuff it out to please yourself. You have taken everything from me, sweet sister... and now you will learn to know how that feels."

Better songs have been sung for twins like Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk of House Cargyll, whether they were believed to be true or not. Songs about Rhaenyra and Y/n of House Targaryen, however, were barely sung and were far from beautiful. Scholars and fools alike can agree years after the event that the sisters had parted from each other on Dragonstone as mortal enemies, vowing vengeance and blood for crimes they had committed against one another in girlhood. Men have fought wars for far less, and the twin Targaryen girls had more reason than most to wish their other half dead.

Rhaenyra had extinguished all memory of 'the Realm's Delight' in replace of 'the Black Queen', whilst others called Her Grace more colorful monikers that shamed her very existence, such as 'the Bitch Queen' or 'the Whore of Dragonstone'. None, however, would ring more true than 'King Maegor With Teats'.

Over the years, the People had grown to name Y/n many things. 'Divine Justice' was one of them, 'the Father's Maid' another... and the least popular title was 'the Winged Stranger', the one many would call her during the Dance of Dragons.

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: If you would like to support my writing, please feel free to donate at my new Ko-fi account here! Personal submissions can be done over there as well if you want something written up more to your liking :)

Otherwise, please like and support this blog! Leave and ask or pm for a request!

[totallyboatless]

I've been avoiding watching the Dragon Age: The Veilguard trailer because I was nervous I'd hate it based on snippets of criticism and complaining I've seen around.

But then I remembered how much I love the other games in the series despite their gameplay flaws and others' criticisms. These characters and the story have me in a fucking chokehold. I feel so much affection and nostalgia for this world.

So I watched the trailer, and truly, I loved it. And when I started and then abruptly stopped watching the 20-minute gameplay video a few minutes in, it wasn't because I was afraid I'd cringe at the playstyle -- the first moments look beautiful and I realized I want to hold off on spoilers. These games have given me so many moments of turning a corner and being immersed in the sudden action. I want to be surprised in the small moments as well as the big ones.

It's a hot take I guess, but I don't care if Dragon Age is good, I care if I like it, and my standards for these games are different from industry standards. I adapt to different gameplay, I know I'll get used to the Mass Effect style in the DA world. I just want more of the story and the fun.

Also some of the comments on the trailer are talking about how it's not dark fantasy enough and, like, babes??? Did you play the same game series as me? The one that's full of puns? The one where you can use a cheese wheel as a shield? The one that has a full cut scene in the first game parodying baby Superman crash landing to earth and an old couple finding him in a crater? The one that literally has a Nigerian Prince-style scam letter show up in your mail?

This game series has always been goofy as hell. Like yeah dark things happen, but it's not a *dark* game. It's a game ultimately about fighting for hope, love, and life. It pulls you in with its goof and charm and then breaks your heart all the better when the drama hits.

Anyway I'm pumped as hell.

(I was going to put a joke here that if I can't gay romance Davrin I will take it all back, but it's been confirmed that the companions are all pansexual so I'm going to be living my best life)

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

To tide y’all over until the bracket is finished, here’s a list of every fandom in the tournament! Sorted by when each got its first submission.

It takes time to make the bracket cuz I gotta arrange all of these to be at least semi-equal in popularity to each other, and then make all the edited photos. I’ve been rather busy lately, but it should be up by tomorrow night :)

Minecraft Diaries

The Outsiders

God of War

Ace Attorney

Bungou Stray Dogs

Murdoch Mysteries

Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Raven Cycle

Lego Star Wars

Sanders Sides

Kamen Rider

Castle Swimmer

QSMP

The Magnus Archives

Lego Ninjago

FNAF

Half Life VR But The AI Is Self-Aware

Pokémon

DC Comics

Critical Role

Romeo & Juliet

Macbeth

Witch Hat Atelier

Final Fantasy

One Piece

Warrior Cats

Sonic

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Trigun Stampede

The Owl House

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Fallout: New Vegas

MCU

Arthuriana

Tokyo Ghoul

Total Drama Island

Nimona

The Cable Guy

Paranatural

Marble Hornets

Marvel Comics

The Umbrella Academy

Life Series SMP

Fire Emblem

Julie and the Phantoms

Persona 5

Star Wars

Young Justice

Fullmetal Alchemist

Hamlet

The Shadowhunter Chronicles

The Young and the Restless

The Untamed // Mo Dao Zu Shi

Cooking Companions

Demon Slayer

John Wick

Pit People

Battleblock Theater

Star Trek

LittleBigPlanet 2

KinnPorsche

Midnight Museum

The Witcher

Teen Wolf

Beast Wars: Transformers

Lost

The Stormlight Archive

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

The Arcana

Jujutsu Kaisen

Ultraman Nexus

Antigone

Angel

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Edward Scissorhands

The Mechanisms

91 Days

Assassination Classroom

Death Note

Repo! The Genetic Opera

Pluto

Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger

Bokura

Mabinogi

Battle for Dream Island

Leverage

Twisted Wonderland

The Iliad

Call of Duty

Tangled: The Series

Team Fortress 2

The Goes Wrong Universe

Harry Potter

Bendy and the Ink Machine

DSMP

Live A Live

Real Life

Stranger Things

Malevolent

Red Dead Redemption 2

Ib (2012)

Spies Are Forever

Madoka Magica

Magia Record

My Hero Academia

Ravenous (1999)

Lifesteal SMP S4

Outsiders SMP

Phineas and Ferb

Empires SMP

Ruse of the TMNT

Origins SMP

Frankenstein

The Otterverse RP

GenLoss

Woe.begone

Danganronpa

Witch’s Heart

Project Sekai

The Silmarillion

The Lord of the Rings

Spider-Verse

Helluva Boss

Greek Myth

Percy Jackson

Limbus Company

Rain World

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Homestuck

Markiplier

Mob Psycho 100

Lord of the Flies

Good Omens

Word of Honor

Just Roll With It

Subnautica

Witchcraft SMP

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

Realm of the Underlings

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Clangen

Hadestown

Rats SMP

Steven Universe

The Hunger Games

Fate Grand Order

Arcane

Everymanhybrid

Nashville

Welcome to Dreamworld

The Dolls of New Albion

Pact Web Series

Brandon Rogers

Ghost Quartet

The Dragon Prince

Steam-Powered Giraffe

Six of Crows

Torchwood

Deltarune

Bojack Horseman

Epithet Erased

Steins;Gate

Casualty

Tale of the Nine Tailed

Cookie Run

Succession

Purple Hyacinth

The Wicked + The Divine

Outer Wilds

Carnosaur

Miraculous Ladybug

Transformers Comics

Legend of Zelda

Breaking Bad

Devil May Cry

Castlevania

Dragon Age

Smallville

RWBY

Undertale

The Locked Tomb

Mystic Messenger

Black Butler

Interview With a Vampire

Death By Dying

Higurashi When They Cry

Transformers Animated

Pirates SMP

All The Bright Places

Chulip

Ride the Cyclone

Grey’s Anatomy

Empire of Exiles

Octopath Traveler 2

Hello from the Hallowoods

The Burning Sands of Ma’ssob RP

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC Questionnaire

Thanks to @willtheweaver here, @theeccentricraven here, @paeliae-occasionally here, here, and here, @the-golden-comet here and here, and @somethingclevermahogony here!

Hey, this is somehow still not all the tags I have for this game but I'm cutting it off at eight again!

Previous questionnaires:

Round one masterpost

Round two: Tyler, Gwen, Liam, Noelle, Akash, Robbie, Sam, Ewan

Round two: Jazlyn, Carla, Wade, Rose, Maddie, Xitlali, Jedi, Lexi

Keep reading for Ash, Kelsey, Atsila, Teo, Carmen, Issa, Raissa, and Gabriel

#1- Ash

What would it take for you to admit you were wrong?

“That's a bit hard because I really don't like admitting it. It sucks. I hate being wrong about things. [Pause] I guess it has to be pretty bad. I am usually sure I'm right about a lot of things, but this drama happened last year with Shelby, and I did admit to Lexi that I was wrong about her. But that was only after this weird thing happened with her dad. I dunno. It freaked me out.”

Are you forgetful? If so, how do you remind yourself to do things?

“Admittedly a little. But I have Lexi to remind me to do a lot of things.”

Do you consider yourself a neat freak?

“Pfft, no. Hannah is. We share a room, so that sucks to be her.”

More Ash: questionnaire one, two truths and a lie, bingo, bag, origin, OC in three, interview

#2- Kelsey

Have you ever gone against your morals? What got you to or would get you to make that decision?

“Can't think of a lot of things. [Thinks] Well, occasionally I'll have a thought I don't like. Like once, when we first arrived in Alium, I got bored and frustrated, then I realized I was super worried about Maddie and my cousins, and felt bad for being bored. I dunno, actually. I like to stick by my morals. I guess I'd put my morals after my family, but I feel like having a family value is a moral. This is stupid; forget I said anything.”

Did you have any speech disorders as a child?

“I had a bit of a lisp, which definitely didn't make me a bigger target for bullying on top of my ticking. And struggling to read.”

Do you carry the popular opinion or unpopular opinion in your society? Or would you say you are on the fence or in the middle?

“I can't really think of an unpopular opinion. I guess I don't like Cheez-Its.”

Other Kelsey: OC in three, Picrew, bingo, questionnaire one

#3- Atsila

Would you do something illegal if you were getting paid a large sum of money? (You can choose the illegal thing)

“Pfft, yeah, who wouldn't? I can choose the illegal thing? Easy: my good friend Gwandoya is a speedster. He'll help me exceed the speed limit, and then we'll get a fine. And then I get a large sum of money, which makes the fine meaningless.”

What is your favourite non-human creature in the world and why? (Gods count)

“I must say dragons. My beloved Custos is a wonderful companion.”

If you were forced to kill one person you have met, who would it be. (Not yourself)

“Raissa Kamanzi, no doubt. I unfortunately have met her.”

Other Atsila: questionnaire one

#4- Teo

If you had a pet, what animal would it be?

“A dog or a fox, easily. Wade and I want to own foxes one day - they're so adorable!! And, like, K'Ehleyr is the best dog I have, like, ever met.”

How long would you like to live? Why?

“As long as I can! I want to, like, grow old together with Wade, and of course Parker. If we can all, like, die of old age, at, like, the same time, that would be just lovely. Sound minds at, like, 99. That sounds amazing.”

When will you be done?

“... Wait, that's, like, the whole question? Done with what? Life goals?? Let's go with that. I want to live a fulfilling life. Make, like, an impact on the world. Start a family. I think becoming, like, a YouTuber would be, like, awesome. And when I'm, like, done with making content, I'll be done. I guess. I hope I understood this question.”

Other Teo: questionnaire one, kiss picrew

#5- Carmen

Why did you leave home?

“Why did I agree to this interview? Ugh, I was a young adult, let's move on.”

What is your ideal job?

“I am perfectly happy where I am. [Pause. Pause. Pause.] Though I'll admit that I have wished I were apart of the Alii Power Database Council. I have a few words about organizing the subpowers alphabetically rather than rarity - since it makes it impossible to find anything unless you have the rarity memorized - but I suppose it is consistent. Working directly with the database council would allow me to gain greater funding to research the powers and certain potential subpowers.”

What will life look like when you complete your main goal?

“Wasn't this question asked to Mr. Attwood's Ceter boyfriend? Whatever, I just wish I was asked more unique questions. I hope to fulfill Atsila's wishes by completing her study on Alii from Ceteri and stopping the Refugae.”

Other Carmen: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, smash or pass, art, interview, questionnaire one

#6- Issa

Would you sacrifice yourself for another?

“Uh, yeah, duh. What kinda silly question is that? It would be wrong not to.”

How often do you daydream?

“Uh, quite often, actually. I find it so easy to be distracted.... Oops, sorry I fazed out for a second; thought of something CJ said earlier. Anyway, uh, my mind is a theater; constantly stuff is just happening up here.”

What is your favorite activity?

“Oh, I'm in musical theater! I love theater! I'm a champion at improv nights. I've also performed comedy skits there. I'm also in the art club and the debate club, and I'll attend book clubs! I also like baseball a bit, though I prefer to watch with CJ and Alex and Wendy. I'm not on a team, but maybe someday! Oh, yeah! Hanging out with my friends!”

Other Issa: questionnaire one

#7- Raissa

How many people have you killed?

“Ha-ha! I'm sorry, I had to laugh - what are you talking about? That's the dumbest way I've ever heard an interview start! How is that the first thing on your mind when you're sitting down with me? [Face hardens] Regardless, the answer to your question is irrelevant, and I find it incredibly offensive.”

Favorite type of drink?

“I am quite fond of green wine. Why do I have to answer such trivial questions?”

Do you smoke?

“... Occasionally.... This was a waste of time; I must get back to work.”

Other Raissa: questionnaire one

#8- Gabriel

What would you say is your greatest weakness?

“Tsk. I don't like to think of myself as a person with weaknesses. Cassidy says I'm too uptight. He's wrong, of course. Jaz sometimes says I'm stubborn. I think Traeger called me rude once. I suppose it is frustrating that I can't adapt to unfamiliar situations as much as I'd like.”

Who is someone in your life that you like but that you don't trust?

“Bold of you to assume I trust anyone.”

If you could magically learn any mundane skill right now (cooking, a particular dance, a language, singing, sewing, etc.), what would it be?

“Part of learning the skill is the learning itself. The process. I would rather not instantly learn a skill. However, if I must answer this question...I suppose it would be nice to just learn how to drive. I find it admittedly frustrating that knowing exactly how cars work and what to do to drive them is not appearing to help me.”

Other Gabriel: questionnaire one

Tagging @sleepywriter00 @finickyfelix @rehnwriter @dyrewrites @talesofsorrowandofruin

+ ANYONE ELSE

Your questions:

1) What is something you spend a lot of time worrying about? 2) Would you prefer to leave where your hometown and never come back or stay in your hometown and never be able to leave? 3) Do you own something to rarely/never use?

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

[embracetranquilityson]

Playing Hogwarts Legacy as an adult, a different POV. (Possible SPOILERS ahead, please beware)

Okay, hear me out:

When the game was announced I was super excited about the Dark Arts path, so of course as soon as I was able to play I immediately headed for that route.

But then that scene where you have to duel Sebastian happened and I thought "damn, OC is an insane duelist!" soooo... I guess my mind kind of spiraled from there because I somehow got this headcanon that OC was actually undercover at Hogwarts.

Oddly got their letter at a later age, mad skillz™️, really polite and mature... Makes sense, right?

But I don't want to be an Auror. I want to be EVIL!

So, how about an Ashwinder? Victor Rookwood is a pretty cool villain: charismatic af, kinda good looking; I can see us chilling while watching dragons fight- no wait, I hate poachers with a passion. I love magical beasts. No way my OC would ever harm one or stand by and watch as one gets hurt.

And theeeeennnnn... I met professor Aesop Sharp. 10/10 "your daughter/son/adultchild calls me daddy too". I'd like to say it was love at first sight but it was the whole "acknowledging responsibility" speech that got me.

And before you call me weird... I'm in my twenties and as much as I love the "companions" that the game lets you have, I can't physically bring myself to ship my OC with a teenager. Big no no. Weirds me the f out.

So behold, the ultimate headcanon that has been living rent free in my head since the release:

OC is a rogue ashwinder who betrayed the - organisation? Cult? Club? Ah whatever you get it - and somehow found a way to disguise themselves as a student to avoid repercussions. After all, hogwarts is a pretty safe place. They could easily stay under the radar until things had calmed down a bit.

Unless... Unless some students decided they were tired of poachers and ashwinders and decided to take the matter into their own hands. So what was oc supposed to do? Just look the other way and hide while kids got slaughtered?

Nope. Their conscience was screaming enough as it was, they couldn't let it get any louder. So they help Poppy and Nat and try their best to keep Sebastian safe while he dabbles in the dark arts (after all, they know first hand how futile it is to try and smother that fire. You need to get burnt to learn.).

Until they go too far, they become a problem. Rookwood is pissed. Avada Kedavra pissed. Life or death. Their young and foolish friends or them.

It's an easy choice, really.

They drop the spell/potion/ancient magic/whatever that made them seem younger, so the focus is on them. Rookwood's rage is on them.

The shock, the drama.

Your trusted hogwarts companion was an Ashwinder all along. Former ashwinder, but does it really matter to a teenager who only sees the world as black and white?

Would it matter to the professor OC fell for? To the other professor, the one who guided them through the keepers' trials? Or to sweet professors Weasley and Garlick, who went above and beyond to teach them everything they knew?

Would it matter to the aurors who would eventually capture them?

Ladies, gentlemen and fine people, this is my headcanon. This would be my OC (if I was a skilled modder).

Thank you for coming to my -delirious- TED talk.

(and if you have similar or opposite headcanon, please drop them below. I would love to read them!)

Edit: I actually wrote a fic inspired by this! It's gender neutral (You POV) and I had a lot of fun with it!

Here's the link:

[mastcrmarksman]

a very brief verse bio for all the verses.

01 // 616, main verse, canon divergent

this one has a post go find it. main verse/blog canon and how i write clint.

02 // Square Enix's Avengers Game

Pretty goes exactly as the game; and game verse Clint will also probably work for the Spidey Games, Guardians game, and Midnight Suns.

03 // Star Trek

this is set mainly in the AOS timeline, but i do know voyager and prodigy-ish. Throughout the timeline of the 3 movies; Clint is a pilot of the Enterprise on the beta or gamma shift. After Beyond, he is a security officer and eventually chief of security. ( this has a post)

04 // Wastelands

Old Man Hawkeye, Old Man Logan, Wastelanders. Verse setting that revolves around the various aus of Marvel's Waatelands.

05 // Old Man

Basically, older Clint maybe minus the wastelands or Old Man Clint from Wastelands yeetede into 616 like Old Man Logan does.

06 // Mass Effect

Clint is a human Spectre for the Citadel/Council. His ship is small crewed ship, intended for stealth, which he has named The Broken Arrow (he very much needs a new ship, hence the broken)

07 // Last of Us (or zombine in general)

Clint's a runner for the Fireflies, and then eventually he's a hunter/patrol man for a settlement. Strictly uses a bow.

08 // Dragon Age

He's an ex-templar; he got out of a criminal sentence by signing up to be a templar. He hated being a templar. Sucks how the Chantry makes all their templars lyrium addicted, isn't it. ha. ha.

09 // Pirate

Pretty straight forward. He's a pirate. My context for pirates is Black Sails, so this was a lot more serious toned.

10 // Cowboy

He's a cowboy. Duh. I'll figure this out later.

11 // Medical Drama (influenced by so many medical dramas i watch)

Clint is an ER Doctor. Yup. This man went to medical school. He likes the varied pace of ER. He's just trying to live his life man. Works way too much. Lives on coffee.

12 // Spy or Assassin

Figure this one out. What the fuck is he doing? Whose side? He works in Internal Affairs :) :) :) [that's a lie/cover made for him by Shield]

13 // Firefighter w/ 911 series influence (both)

Self explanatory. Really

14 // Baldur's Gate

Dex Fighter/Rogue multiclass (yup) // he's a Harper, possibly gonna be a tadpoled companion; he just works in fantasy settings. You know, bad/sad childhood, ran away to the circus, criminal who got into a lot of trouble (circus fault) and then he finds something/somewhere to redeem himself and use his skills for good; The Harpers.... and then if BG3, probably tadpoled and act 2, the harpers you meet are like oh shit that's where you went clint

[chaoshaven]

When I was but a little child I had found in my other bother's collection a books a story.

Tales of Deltora is written by an Australian who's pen name for children's novels is Emily Rodda. This seems like a weird thing to point out, but this collection of stories with monsters and dangers around every corner, seemingly innocent locals hold untold horrors, and, yea, I can see how an Australian wrote this book.

It's written as a collection of fairy tales that are read to the children but in reality, reading these stories in a certain order reveal the true history of the land of Deltora, How the Shadow Lord came to be, and how he was pushed back into the Shadowlands by the first King of Deltora.

And then I found out 10 years later that this is a companion book to a book series called Deltora Quest.

This series starts with the King of Deltora realizing his advisor works for the evil Shadow Lord and the only way to live was to run away. King and Queen run off and give their child to the Blacksmith, his only childhood friend.

16 years later, Lief heads out from home after being given a birthday present (a belt). He is meant to go off on a journey, guarded by Barda, someone who is a renegade castle soldier from the time of the last king. They are meant to head around to the seven territories of Deltora to collect the 7 gems. Only united will these gems of the land be enough to get rid of the Shadow Lord.

Each book focuses on collecitng one of the 7 gems, A topaz, ruby, opal, lapis lazuli, emerald, amethyst, diamond, with the final book being the confrontation against the Shadow Lord. The monsters are great, I loved the puzzles. They find a teen girl, exactly Lief's age, called Jasmine, left in the woods and she lived amongst the forest. Who could the lost child of the king and queen be?

It's Lief, King and Queen switched places with Blacksmith and wife who ran away into the woods, Blacksmith taken to the Shadowlands as s slave but broke out and lead the main resistance. This felt like a familiar fairy tale story but with new and creepy monsters. Not scary but just...a little unnerving.

And in the 2nd series, they go underground!!

Shadowlands drama is brewing, and Lief and the gang need to stop it now that he is appointed king. He feels a duty to do it. And after reading a story which you can also find in the Tales of Deltora book he realizes there is a backdoor to the Shadowlands, and a mysterious object that can stop his control, called the Pirran Pipe. Three troll/dwarf species each have a piece of this pipe, and Lief as King needs to befriend them all to collect the pipe and rid Deltora of the Shadow Lord.

I could talk more about this series but, it's just more the same. If you love the creepy factor of the first series, you'll enjoy the 2nd and 3rd.

Third Series?

Even with the Shadow Lord gone, he has a backup plan. and a backup for the backup. Plans within plans. Famine and Raids are happening more and more often across the country and Lief, once again, decides to deal with the issues himself, as any good leader should.

Heading to the East, North, West, and back South to the capital, he defeats the blights dubbed The Four Sisters.

In Tales of Deltora, there's a story about four singing sisters spread across the four corners of an island, and once a dark wizard came along who hated music and killed them. Once the final voice stopped a giant beast sprouted up from the center of the isle and destroyed it.

In a bit of plagiarism, the Shadow Lord took this story and inverted it, making the Four Blights slowly spread devastation across the land, and if stopped, then a giant ooze would come up from the center and swallow the land. The ooze could only be stopped by the dragons, and thankfully Lief is diplomatic and befriended all of them. My favorite being the Lapis Lazuli one, Fortuna. Kind and caring, seeing all the people in her territory as her children and wanting to protect them, but also being a shit disturber to Honoura, the emerald dragon.

Deltora book of Monster is simply that, an art book written by a person in universe to log the dangerous flora and fauna of the Land.

Secrets is written by someone also in universe who is trying to protect the knowledge that dragons are still alive. In the 3rd series it's said that the Shadow Lord made a monster race called Ak Baba, basically evil dragons, to kill the good dragons, so the good dragons didn't kill the four sisters or the ooze. also propaganda, :your hope has flew away with your dragons, surrender or perish."

Then, they rereleased Tales with 3 new short stories, which directly tie the Deltora books with another series Rodda wrote, The Three Doors trilogy. It deserves another post but he's an edge emo prince who was 2nd in line so he learned magic to try and rule by force then left to take Deltora when that failed.

Star of Deltora follows Britta, of the port city of Del, wanting to win a competition set by a trading company; the last captain of the ship The Star of Deltora is gone, so they set a competition per tradition to find the best new captain. Britta want's to find her dad who is a missing sailor. The book only takes place in Del, and ends with the ship sailing away to sea, ready for the next adventure. There are 3 more books in the series i have yet to read as they're out of print, but, it was a great return to a land I will always cherish.

[umalvie]

Relationships: Azula/Mai (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Zuko, Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Michi (Avatar), Mai/Ozai (Avatar), Azula & Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar), Azula & Ursa (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Ozai (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Li & Lo (Avatar)

Characters: Azula (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar), Michi (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Ty Lee (Avatar), Ursa (Avatar), Ukano (Avatar), Li and Lo (Avatar), Yue (Avatar), Zhao (Avatar)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Early Zuko Redemption (Avatar), Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), Past Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Inspired by House of the Dragon (TV), except i conceptualized this before i knew anything abt that show, Politics, Worldbuilding, Mutual Pining, Friends Who Wish They Were Lovers but Live in a Homophobic Country and Are Repressed to Enemies, Child Abuse, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Incest, No Smut, dyke drama that haunts the narrative (not clickbait), azula might see ghosts. or she might have psychosis

Summary: Azula’s insides felt like they were falling out of her. Someone had sliced her open like an animal, and they were bleeding her out, pulling her organs like meat from the bone. She was little more than a meal to them.

How could Father—no, how could Mai do this to her? She couldn’t be angry with her father. That was treasonous, and she was no apostate. Still, she didn’t understand. How was this possible? She had attended her mother’s funeral, she knew that, but Father had shown no interest in remarrying, had been content with an heir and a spare, had been content with his most prized concubine. There was no reason for him to take a new wife.

Somewhere, in the back of her head, Azula wondered what Zuko would think. His once-betrothed, her childhood companion set to marry their father, thrice her age.

But she found she didn’t care what Zuzu thought. She only cared for the burning beneath her flesh. It hurt her in a way that Father had never managed before, in a way she hadn’t known she could be hurt.

Azula herself was one thing, but Mai was another.

or: mai is arranged to marry to ozai during book 1. everything changes

[ezra-iolite]

Just a Ramble of an Idea for Jokani Lore

Hopefully this can be a good idea I can work with in the future, for my story and for the Pirateformers world...

So first... an introduction to a future new character~

... When Asya was still a young prince in Joka Ardhi, before she was crowned at the age of 16 to become one, she had a lifelong friend since her birth who, for a short while, was also her secret lover...

Azaan Sayyid, a human royal guard or a Kifalme Moran.

Azaan and Asya were undyingly loyal to each other and completely inseparable since the moment they met, since they were usually the only children living in the palace. And due to the cruelty she faced each day as a prince hiding her true identity, Azaan was there to support Asya as much as he could before he was sent away to complete his Morani training, shortly before Asya was coronated as crown prince. And during their years studying in the palace to become their future roles, Azaan chose his that was now a long forgotten tradition of the royal family, in order to be able to truly protect his dearest friend...

For long ago, when the children of Alunnui, the very first Dragon Lord, came of age to be coronated, the warriors of the kingdom were split into two branches of security... the common Morani, who serve to protect the public and the kingdom as a whole (basically the police and knights combined), and the Kifalme Morani, who are all stationed in Oasis, both in and around the palace, and protect the royal family at every hour of every day. But under Alunnui's direct order, there was a third branch split from the Kifalme Morani, consisting of usually three to five members only...

The Kivuli... The Shadow of his heirs.

This branch became a carefully planned out process amongst the most loyal members of the Kifalme Morani, where during the process of an heir's carefully planned out conception, to ensure only the most adequate of Alunnui's bloodline would inherit the crown, a child of a Moran would also be conceived around the same time as the royal child, raised alongside the children of the crown from birth to become their closest ally... their literal Shadow. At first, it was strictly done amongst Opal Dragonkin to ensure the Ruby Throne's heir had a Shadow who could live as long as they could throughout their entire reign and lifespan, while also ensuring every child of royal blood would always have protection and someone they could truly trust, no matter the drama of the court.

But as the eras of each Dragon Monarch came and went, so too did the traditions of the Shadow, to the point that a human could become a Shadow by choice, if they were a sworn ally and a faithful companion to their Dragon Lord, Queen or heir. And soon enough, with the Morani becoming adequate guards and the safety of the royal family no longer being of concern due to the magical strength of the heirs and Dragon Lord... The Shadow programme was eventually forgotten.

Now it is nothing more than a page in the history books... an old mantle a single Moran hopes to revive.

(...... and yes, the Shadow was heavily inspired by Maliketh the Black Blade and Blaidd the Half-Wolf, the Shadowbound Beasts from Elden Ring... I just really think Azaan is a LOT like Maliketh. XD)

[ao3feed-zukka]

Electra

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/X5rzCJK

by maizula

Azula’s insides felt like they were falling out of her. Someone had sliced her open like an animal, and they were bleeding her out, pulling her organs like meat from the bone. She was little more than a meal to them.

How could Father—no, how could Mai do this to her? She couldn’t be angry with her father. That was treasonous, and she was no apostate. Still, she didn’t understand. How was this possible? She had attended her mother’s funeral, she knew that, but Father had shown no interest in remarrying, had been content with an heir and a spare, had been content with his most prized concubine. There was no reason for him to take a new wife.

Somewhere, in the back of her head, Azula wondered what Zuko would think. His once-betrothed, her childhood companion set to marry their father, thrice her age.

But she found she didn’t care what Zuzu thought. She only cared for the burning beneath her flesh. It hurt her in a way that Father had never managed before, in a way she hadn’t known she could be hurt.

Azula herself was one thing, but Mai was another.

 or: mai is arranged to marry to ozai during book 1. everything changes

Words: 5010, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Azula (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar), Michi (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Ty Lee (Avatar), Ursa (Avatar), Ukano (Avatar), Li and Lo (Avatar), Yue (Avatar), Zhao (Avatar)

Relationships: Azula/Mai (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Zuko, Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Michi (Avatar), Mai/Ozai (Avatar), Azula & Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar), Azula & Ursa (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Ozai (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Li & Lo (Avatar)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Early Zuko Redemption (Avatar), Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), Past Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Inspired by House of the Dragon (TV), except i conceptualized this before i knew anything abt that show, Politics, Worldbuilding, Mutual Pining, Friends Who Wish They Were Lovers but Live in a Homophobic Country and Are Repressed to Enemies, Child Abuse, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Incest, No Smut, dyke drama that haunts the narrative (not clickbait), azula might see ghosts. or she might have psychosis, zuko's redemption is not going to be what you expect it to be, also mai/ozai is only tagged bc of the marriage. that is not depicted romantically

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/X5rzCJK