#i've also been busy as hell

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which neither Trevelyan nor Cullen wish to be in.

Canon divergent fic in which Josephine solves the matter of post-Wicked Hearts attention by inviting four noblewomen to compete for Cullen's affections. In this chapter, Trevelyan has a lot on her plate.

(Masterpost. Beginning. Previous entry. Next entry. Words: 2,522. Rating: most audiences. Warnings: discussion of war and death.)

Chapter 29: Ostwick's Calling

It was a wonder how anyone worked in the rookery.

Located at the top of the rotunda, one had to face an excessive amount of stairs to reach it—only then to be greeted with a balcony view of the terrifyingly long drop back to the bottom.

Rumour had it that the Inquisitor had once leapt from this balcony with no means of stopping the fall, yet landed upon the ground with nary a scratch. The claim was dubious. And likely the invention of Varric Tethras.

Height, however, was perhaps not the worst aspect of the rookery—for in this regard, its residents were certainly competitive. The Inquisition’s birds, kept suspended from the ceiling in iron cages, cawed and crowed as much as they pleased. In other words: near-constantly.

Birdsong was not something Trevelyan had heard too much of, in the Circle. But Maker, right now, she did not feel as though she’d missed much. Then again, if she’d become used to the endless cacophany of the Undercroft, then she supposed one could get used to this. The scout she spoke to seemingly had, given his entirely untroubled demeanour as they conducted their business.

“You’ll know as soon as anything changes,” he said, handing Trevelyan a report on the Dales. Agents had been sent to scour the area chosen for the red lyrium experiment, just in case—fortunately, it seemed quite at peace. For now.

“Thank you,” Trevelyan said, adding the document to her collection. “And do you have the location of the clan I asked about?”

“Which was that, sorry?”

She concealed her irritation. “Clan Sumara.”

“Right! Right. I remember now. Your mage friend, eh?”

He referred to, of course, the lie she’d told to get her information. Well, she couldn’t simply out with it that an Orlesian noblewoman was elf-blooded and planning to run away from home. So, instead, Trevelyan had concocted a story in which a friend of hers from the Circle, who’d been taken from the clan as a child, was said to have returned to it after the rebellion. Quite natural, she thought, to wish to seek out one’s friend.

The scout had apparently agreed, though he was limited in his capacity to help: “Sumara was last seen in the Free Marches,” he explained. “Can’t be more specific than that, I’m afraid. They don’t give out locations so easily these days, with what’s been happening in Wycome.”

Trevelyan sighed a little too noticeably, for he followed this with:

“’Spose you could ask about it. Who do you report to? Commander, Ambassador, or Sister Nightingale?”

A curious question, for Trevelyan had never fully considered the answer. Though Dagna seemed to report to the Spymaster—the Sister Nightingale of which he spoke—Trevelyan had barely spoken two words to the woman.

“Ambassador,” she told the scout, unsure even as she said it.

“Ask her about it,” he suggested, “she’ll be able to give her approval.”

Ah, good. Another bloody permission slip.

“Thank you,” Trevelyan said regardless.

“Don’t mean to fob you off.”

“I quite understand”—Trevelyan indicated the thick pile of documents she already carted about—“I’m rather used to protocol, at this point.”

The scout gave a sympathetic nod, and thus, their dealings were concluded. With the cawing beginning to grate, Trevelyan bade him farewell, and made for the stairs. She would not be trying the Inquisitor’s method of departure.

But she stopped. For as she turned to leave, she saw nearby another visitor to the rookery: the Baroness Touledy.

The Baroness had made herself untypically small, standing off to one side, where she would be in no one’s way. One hand rested upon her cane, gripping the handle til her knuckles paled. The other held a note—small enough to have been carried by bird—which she read with a face of stone.

Trevelyan intended not to disturb her (she hardly had time for such diversions even if she wished to), but her gaze must have lingered upon the Baroness for a moment too long. As if feeling the stare, the Baroness looked up.

“Lady Trevelyan,” she greeted, her countenance relaxing.

Trevelyan approached. “Baroness Touledy.”

“How are you? I did not see you all of yesterday, nor this morning—you were not even at dinner last night.”

Trevelyan thought back to the previous night. No, she hadn’t been at dinner. But she’d eaten. Had she eaten? Yes, she’d eaten.

“I have been busy, with the Undercroft,” said Trevelyan, in the understatement of the Age. Between the Undercroft, and Samient, and Sudton, and Ostwick, Trevelyan had not had a single waking moment of peace. Nor a sleeping one, for that matter.

“I quite understand. You are here receiving a message?”

“A report,” Trevelyan told her, “which I should be getting to the Arcanist as soon as possible, so—”

“Val Misrenne is under attack.”

Trevelyan quieted at once. She stared at the Baroness, whose face remained stoic. Desperate for information, her eyes fell, instead, to the note in her palm. Touledy clutched it so tight, it could have crumbled to dust.

Trevelyan stammered, “What—what do you mean?”

The Baroness tipped her head towards the stair. “May I walk with you, to the Undercroft?”

It was hardly a request Trevelyan could deny—and so, she nodded. The Baroness fell alongside, and together, they began the winding descent into the library.

“You recall the bandits I spoke of at the banquet?” she muttered, beneath sounds of whispering scholars and shuffling papers.

Trevelyan nodded. Well-organised, defeated in a skirmish—that’s what she’d said.

“They were not bandits,” Touledy confessed. “They were Red Templars.”

A raw feeling, akin to the sting of a cold dagger, pierced Trevelyan’s chest. The subsequent stumble in her steps she managed to hide, but her gasp she could not:

“What?”

“They struck little more than a month ago,” Touledy explained. “My guard was able to fend them off, but… not without loss. I was unsure of travelling so soon afterward, but we believed, foolishly, that would be the end of it. But after I arrived here, they returned.”

Those urgent letters for the Baroness. Trevelyan had been curious of their contents at the time. She could well imagine what they said now.

“Much of my guard still recovers. Yet the Templars’ encampment, I am told, holds a force large enough to destroy Val Misrenne even if they were standing. I have attempted to entreat my fellow nobility to assist us, but the bulk of their troops remain in the Exalted Plains. The banquet was my last opportunity to muster support. Even so, I do not believe I have enough.”

Trevelyan shook her head—disbelief or denial, she did not know which compelled it. “But—what of the Inquisition? Could they not help?”

The question was spoken as if it had not been considered long ago.

“I confess, I thought I would find enough aid elsewhere,” Touledy mused, as they entered the Great Hall. “My own pride prevented me from seeking the Inquisition’s.”

Light poured in through the stained glass, and scattered prismatic patterns across the floor. Touledy swept her hand through, and splintered the rays.

“Though I do not perceive them as an extension of the Chantry, the Chantry does. They would take it as an invitation to return.”

Principled to the last. It required one with such strong conviction to oust the Chantry in the first place. The weak-willed do not provoke the ire of the Divine.

“Besides,” Touledy added, “that time has passed.”

And so they returned to the message the Baroness had been reading in the rookery. The dagger in Trevelyan’s chest twisted, as she repeated its contents:

“Val Misrenne is under attack.”

“Yes,” Touledy confirmed. “I received word of movement the day after the banquet. It is why I wished to speak to you. But, as of this morning... the siege is begun. Red Templars have surrounded Val Misrenne; they raise farms, and accost travellers. They intend to starve us out.”

She stopped a few paces from the door to the Undercroft, just out of earshot of the guards. Trevelyan faced her, expectant of some fear in her expression, or even sadness. But, most painfully, she was perfectly tranquil.

“What will you do?”

“We will hold as long as we can,” Touledy told her, “and I will keep trying. But… it may come to pass that I return home. I cannot let Val Misrenne fall without me.”

Trevelyan’s eyes widened; her head shook. “But if you do that, you’ll be—”

“I know. But at least I will see my home one last time.”

A single tear rolled down the Baroness’ perfect cheek. It was the first time Trevelyan had seen her cry. And, as it pained Trevelyan to think, it would be the last.

“I am sorry to tell all of this to you,” Touledy said, holding out a hand. Trevelyan took it and gripped it tight, unclear as to whose reassurance this gesture was for. “But I wished you to know, should the worst happen. And I wanted to say farewell—”

Trevelyan bit back her own tears. This, this couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real. Had the lack of sleep finally come to haunt her?

“No—”

“You have been a delightful friend to me, Lady Trevelyan. I am glad to have met you.”

“Please, don’t…” There had to be something they could do.

“I wish you a happy life—and that this mysterious journey you prepare for, whatever its purpose, is successful.”

Trevelyan winced. She looked to the door of the Undercroft, for she could not look at the Baroness—not whilst knowing what slept beyond. Potential salvation, lying dormant. Waiting upon pieces of vellum to be passed around, and for tests to prove what they already knew.

Why couldn’t it have been ready earlier? How many would die before it was?

The feeling of the Baroness’ loosening fingers beckoned Trevelyan’s attention back to the woman before her. Trevelyan attempted to hold fast, but the Baroness retreated.

“I will let you return to your work,” she said.

“No, please…”

But she was already stepping away. “Thank you, Lady Trevelyan,” she said, “and farewell.”

She did not wait for Trevelyan to say it back. She knew Trevelyan had not the strength to. Instead, with her usual confidence and poise, the Baroness Touledy strode away.

Trevelyan watched her to the very last moment, until she slipped through a door, and was truly gone. The world expanded in that instant, and the presence of the Great Hall around her was felt for the first time since she had entered it.

People went about their daily tasks, some milling, some hurrying. The clank of a jug somewhere, the sound of laughter elsewhere. That was the cruelty of life. No matter who suffered, no matter how many—the world kept moving, same as the day before, and every day before that, and every day after.

Trevelyan turned and withdrew, beyond the door of the Undercroft. It muffled the noise, and provided her a moment of quiet, and dark, and reflection. She wiped the tears from her face, and gave a half-hearted effort to pat her apron dry. Her papers she saw into order; her skirts, smoothed. With a deep breath, she straightened her back, and made the descent.

Like the world above, this one below slowed for no body. Air, thick with the heat of the forge and the fumes of potioncraft, filled Trevelyan’s lungs. The sounds of labour and the shouts of many likewise flooded her ears.

In this maelstrom of people, she sought out Dagna. She was not as hard to find as one might expect—for in this place, all chaos sprung forth from her fountain. Like bees swarming the queen, people circled and left her station with the rhythm of a droning hum.

Trevelyan joined their number, and awaited her turn.

“There you are!” Dagna said, upon spotting her. “What did the scouts say?”

“The area is clear, for now,” Trevelyan replied, a shaky hand producing the report she’d been given. “They’re monitoring it. And, the, um, horsemaster says he has the horses ready. The quartermaster said they’ll pack the cart tomorrow.”

Dagna grinned. “Sounds like we’re nearly there! Come with me—we’ve been busy, too!”

She was off before Trevelyan could say another word. There was little else to do but follow.

She led Trevelyan to a chest, one that Trevelyan recognised. They had, mere days ago, escorted this chest to Skyhold’s deepest depths. And, as a result of their success, they had returned it empty.

Yet it was empty no more. As Dagna lifted the lid, a soft blue glow lit her face. A new device, better than the last, lay within. Its metal was smoother than its predecessor, shinier. Lambent runes, familiar in appearance, were carved into its surface. All their work had led to this.

And yet, it was pointless.

“Why must we do this test?” Trevelyan murmured.

“Huh?”

She looked to Dagna, firm in her gaze and voice. “If the device is ready, and we know it works—why can we not test it in the field?” She scoffed. “I am certain we could find a group of Red Templars deserving of it.”

There was a glint in Dagna’s eye at the suggestion. “I wish! But this is the way we have to do it.”

No. Trevelyan did not like this way. This way took too much time. Time she—they—did not have. Speaking with such urgency, she asked:

“Why? Why must we wait? This—this device could save lives. So many will die whilst we wait for ink to dry on forms of approval and pointless reports!”

“I understand,” Dagna spoke softly, one eye glancing to the growing glow of the runes, “but if we do this wrong, and it’s not safe to use, we’ll only put more lives in danger. It’s a hard bargain, but… it’s one we have to make, if we want to make any difference at all.”

Trevelyan shook her head, voice trembling: “It’s not fair.”

For what difference would they make now? There wasn’t enough time to make any difference. All of this would happen and there was nothing that could change it.

Dagna reached for her arm. In what was almost a whisper, she asked, “Are you okay?”

Trevelyan grimaced. Of course not! Of course she wasn’t! How could she be? Lady Samient needed escape. The Baroness faced her death. Their device was useless to those it was created for. And every moment she had spent in this Void-forsaken fortress was worthless, for at the end of it, no matter what she did, she would return home to the loathing and resentment of her parents regardless!

Trevelyan bit her lip, determined not to cry once more. She needed time. There wasn’t enough time.

Not for the Baroness.

Not for Samient.

Not for her.

“Do you want to maybe step out, for a minute?” asked Dagna.

Trevelyan straightened, and wiped her eyes. “No,” she said. No time, even for that. “I need to get back to work.”

[halorvic]

[robyn-i-guess]

people keep following me do you guys even know that i'm chronically obsessed with a minor character from a podcast named gerard keay

[imnotamarysue]

oh, laudna

matching imogen piece!

[beeduoo]

originnssssss who remembers origins i Loved origins

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 24: FFS (Things I Won't Get)

I have something terrible to confess, which is that at first I was not much of an FFS fan, at all. I actually actively DISLIKED most of what I've know from them at that point, which was what the Spotify algorithm seemed very content to throw at me whenever possible until it eventually forgot about it. Well, nothing wrong with that I guess, but I also want to think that most of my initial aversion to this project came from how I was still pretty, uh, close-minded in a sense when it comes to music at the time (and I'm saying all this as though FFS is even THAT much of a departure from Sparks, which it's really not? But maybe I just I saw it differently back then, which I guess is also fair).

But yeah anyway, I had a huge change of heart a couple months later, decided that all these songs are incredibly cool actually and I'm a huge fan now. This is a very solid collaboration and album and I'm so glad this happened. Like, it really is among my very favourite things from Sparks that I barely ever think about in such terms for some reason. Because I've noticed that I treat FFS more like a compliation than an album maybe? Cause yeah I'm pretty sure this is the only album where I have 30-40+ plays on several songs and only around 5 or so on a couple others. And I'm not super attached to the order of the tracklist either, and I'm mostly saying this because I've been a 100% albums over playlists type of person for the longest time. I will listen to the whole album start to end even if I don't like everything on it. It's like, well, if I like the whole thing enough to revisit it, then too bad, I'm sitting through it all until I can enjoy everything on it to at least some extent.

Overall, to me this album embodies that mid-2010s electro pop / indie rock energy that I love very deeply, in the sense that it feels appropriate to think, had I known about it back in the day, I feel like I would have LOVED it and it would have been my personal soundtrack of those early middle-school years of my life (or even earlier, I have this one note of me saying that "FFS is so primary school-core it hurts", so. While it didn't exist in the world yet at that time it still FEELS like that time, and I absolutely love it when music reminds me of a period in my life from around its release even if I was absolutely not aware of it yet at that point. It's like this source of free nostalgia that you didn't know would be attainable from this particular place.)

Also I will just say that it's ENTIRELY because of FFS that I eventually decided to give FF a go as well, and now I'd consider them one of my favourite bands, so, well, heck yeah to that!!

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Johnny Delusional: oh yeah, I think it's important to note that it was especially THIS song that I found annoying as heck in the beginning. I thought it got very schematic and predictable at points (the long pause after the bridge especially I found to be so.... ahhhh come on, I could see this coming from a mile away!!) All of, which... well, maybe that was still a valid point in a way, but who cares since I love this song now, absolutely and completely and it's just soooo replayable. Every day is a good day to listen to Johnny Delusional a dozen of times

Call Girl: huge huge fan of the intro on this one and that whole wobbly synth sound it has

Dictator's Son: I really like that little guitar riff moment during the bridge

Police Encounters: notably the only FFS song among those early ones for me that I really liked from the start. And it's the ultimate jam, it's incredible how instantly happy and energized this song always makes me feel even after so many listens

Save Me From Myself

So Desu Ne: maybe the biggest offender (positively) when it comes to that "primary school-core" sound. Those cutesy synths are so important to me personally

The Man Without A Tan: realized quite regrettably late how much of a banger this is

Things I Won't Get: you know how it is with me and Russell's falsetto

So Many Bridges

[bongosinferno]

Interesting thing with the Bethesda fallouts (I've been playing a bit of Fallout 4 recently) is that they, at least in my opinion, misunderstand the fun parts of the first 2 games. I don't think think the setting is a very important part in those games, it's a part of it but it's just set-dressing for the gameplay and fun quest stories and how the players interact with them. I think there's some potential in say Fallout 4 for interesting quests or stories (I've done a couple of quests but a lot of my knowledge is from the Joseph Andersson video), but the solutions to any story just leads back into the shooting gameplay loop. This is, I think, antithetical to the format of the originals, which were based a lot more in having the format of a TTRPG. If your TTRPG sessions all boiled down to shooting people with basically no alternative solutions to quests I think your players would get bored. Since it's got shooter mechanics this kind of salvages it, it becomes it's very different own thing. But the wonderful gameplay loop of those first two games is lost, and I kind of miss it. Man, I need to replay Fallout 2.

[mwagneto]

gomens fandom having a normal one (take under the cut)

[thelovers-thedreamers-and-me]

the downside to being a sitcom neighbour sort of person is that when rough things happen and emotionally fuck u up a lil bit, it also sounds completely made up

[blitzbuckz]

I'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU🐺❤️🦴

[thatonefreemanversefic]

Happy Cicero Sunday! How are u? ^_^ -⛄

I'm a day late!! Noooo!!!

To answer your question, I am doing fine :D I know this blog has been silent for a while now and the fic has been on a brief hiatus, but rest assured I am working on it still!! My goal is to get an update out sometime between now and this Saturday o7

[scarlettjulz]

Happy (truly late) birthday, my baby!

[washymylifeaway]

hi rye how have you been spending your time LET ME TELL YOU.

kavetham? haikaveh? idk idc but them..

for starters i just want to put out there that if kavetham is my sakuatsu then cynonari is the sunaosa because i love them and if the bestie agenda isn't alive between at least one pair in the four i get so sad. anyways kavetham has taken over my ao3 and it's so bad LOL. this is mostly for me because i like having consolidated lists of fics i've read to go back to but i'll be kind and give the tumblrinas (?) a little taste too. anyways list under the cut also don't follow me for genshin i'm not a genshin girlie (famous last words)

pre warning, i think it goes without saying that there's like alcohol mentioned in like almost every single fic.. kaveh is (apparently but what would i know) not the healthiest when it comes to coping habits so .. forgive him..

check the warnings and the tags before you read!

truck, barter, and trade by Seungshi03 (T) 20.7k // when i tell you if you're going to read one fic on this list it should be this one. the humor. the plot. the kid. this needs to be framed and immortalized. they're so stupid they're so silly THEY'RE SO IN LOVE

rumors, fame, and reputation by rysarium (T) 27k // THIS. READ IT PLEASE. it's so so funny and very entertaining. you go from loving them to wanting to punch them so bad to loving them again. i will say i thought it was so unfair for kaveh to get the movie wrong because technically he heard it from source so what there was an interview 1034209384 years ago let al-haitham lie in peace (ALSO CYNO IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN YOURE SO FUNNY KING SPEAK YOUR TRUTH)

The Fall, the Rise, and Everything In-between by writingrosez (T) 22.9k // i really did dread the divorce arc in this one i knew it was coming but i really was hoping it wouldn't but it happened (when i say i verbally said NO so many times while reading this LMFAO embarrassing.. i'd do it again...) also poor lumine LMFAO

if i wake up and you're still here by alcyonenight (M) 8.4k // no because why did this fic literally have me punching my screen (completely real) while i was reading it. they both are so silly and dear to me (said in tears) but i love the hanahaki trope so bad and this was *chefs kiss*

burn up, burn out by alcyonenight (T) 8.6k AND pockets full of stones by alcyonenight (T) 11.6k // ELEAZAR AU!!! baby's first eleazar fic and it ruined her. miserably. i loved both of these so much, wonderful reads truly (they both made me so sad)

get on your nerves (to get your attention) by acynthe (M) 3.9k // what better way to get to know a character than by reading him pine over one person for way too long? right? anyways this fic really set me up into understanding that haikaveh = watching ice melt in the arctic during winter..

Work engagement by gwendee (G) 3.6k // silly little boys in their silly little parties with their silly little plans.. the line that stuck with me was bringing their love to new heights because cyno was right.. it was funny..

and yet by luminvies (G) 11.8k // this fic was so poetic and eloquent to me it was a wonderful read and kaveh is so silly girlie pop in it HAHA. but really, it was a wonderful read and i loved how fleshed out kaveh felt despite this being written before he was released LMFAO

In a Language He Understands by Maeyari (G) 13.2k // this was so funny and Kaveh becoming a homewrecker is so insane whaat (totally not fake and not clickbait) that aside, it was a very light hearted read and i enjoyed it very much

what are we by lionkeychain (T) 5.1k // if i had to re route you to Kaveh being the silliest dude alive it's this one right here. i would send you here. he is so . i am so . about him. AHHHHHHHHHH. anyways, he's just a dude with a lot of love ykwim?

inertia by smallghosts (T) 3.6k // i think it's funny how al-haitham plays fetch with Kaveh in like 85% of fics (this one included) anyways the summary was so funny i just had to read it and in context it's even funnier to me. Kaveh you're so funny ily king ('being in love with you is gross.' me: HELPDKLNLEEE?GLD>SD>? literal definition of boom roasted).

first love, worst love by caniculeo (M) 11.6k // babe wake up. the circus is back in town. babe go back to sleep. the girlies broke up.. again.. anyways. had to take a laugh break when al-haitham hit on nilou. literally put my device down and had to catch my breath. then when kaveh pointed behind al-haitham. oh god. ALSO highly recommend the second fic in the series with cynonari. cyno i love u my funny king.

Burgeon by gloomyparfait (T) 8.2k // another hanahaki fic rye? really? YES. please i love irrationality. they're so chewable in this fic i love them dearly. i need to blend them. mince them up like beef tartare.

okay this is not an extensive list (def missed some good ones i've read) and i have more i want to consume (!!!) but i haven't gotten around to some of the longer ones just cause my attention span is bad these days. i'm very excited for some of my future reads and so perhaps there will be a part two because i am down in the trenches right now. regardless, i hope you enjoyed this list and now it's time for me to disappear again. bye bye

also if you've written a fic on this list and you would prefer for it to not be on this list/on tumblr, just lmk and i'd be more than happy to remove you!

[autumnoakes]

also i do still love the idea of swapping claire and leon's re2 scenarios but i cannot help but think that the scene with sherry and chief irons would have been a LOTTT worse with leon instead of claire

[talentforlying]

ello ello ello return to your usual sad scouse bastard programming coming next week <3

[tj-crochets]

Hey y'all! I am once again in health insurance hell, and could really use some help. I have a specific US health insurance question, but it might get long so it's below a read more

My employer offers two health plan options, and they are both absolutely terrible. I want to get my own health insurance, but the insurance broker lady I used when I worked part time says I can't, because I can get health insurance through my employer, even if I opt out. I spoke to another health insurance person today, and she said if I get a letter on company letterhead saying I'll lose health insurance on [date], as long as it's 60 days or less from now, it counts as a qualifying event and I can buy my own health insurance. She said opting out counted as losing health insurance. Do you know anything about this? How do I get health insurance as an individual NOT through my employer even though my employer offers it? The plans my employer is offering are Aetna, and Aetna is the absolute worst and I despise them as a company so much one of my long term goals is to warn people against them. They suck! They refused to pay for my inhaler until I got my doctor to fill out a form like three times, and also I had to email them A LOT and fill out a LOT of surveys with an emphasis on how horrifying I found it that they as a company clearly valued profit over their customer's lives, and would in fact prefer their customers die before they could reach the ER in case of an emergency, as evidenced by their refusing to pay for my rescue inhaler, a necessary life-saving medication. They also require I fill that form out every year, just in case I magically stop being in the small minority of people who get severe adverse reactions to albuterol and levalbuterol