#isabela/anyone

[noblemalone]

What if Dragon Age but they all work at Costco

it’s been 20 minutes and I’m already obsessed with this AU

More

[redlyriumidol]

things that would have been cool writing choices for dragon age imo, not necessarily better just interesting:

loghain doing the dark ritual on his own if the warden chooses not to. I'm not sure this is in character really it just would have been wild for a character to make a Decision like that without you. maybe only if you have low approval or something (even though its difficult to get approval either way bc you get him so late)

anders somehow using gaatlok to blow up the chantry. much as i enjoy digging through sewers for poo crystals this would have tied the various plots between acts together so nicely. this one i legitimately think would have been better.

I said this in a different post but not allowing you to go to the circle during the arl of redcliffe because it's a cheap copout and makes no sense. either give us consequences for running off and spending 300 hrs in the fade or force us to make a hard choice.

a fourth secret persuade option for mage wardens to let eamon be possessed instead of killing connor or isolde. I know i've said this a lot. But the deal would be Arl Deamon agrees to act the part until the blight is over and the dialogue is slightly different during the landsmeet etc and ur the only one who knows why. ;) epilogue slide where he's eventually discovered and killed but not before he Wreaks some Havoc

giving thrask and grace more protagonism in da2 and having them survive, and THEY become the mage/templar leaders in dai rather than randos samson and calpernia.

an acknowledgment in the anders romance that justice is ALSO in love with hawke. awakening anders was a fun flirty commitmentphobe whereas justice was an intense weirdo about kristoff and aura's relationship and even expressed jealousy towards them. which was soooo interesting. anders being so intense and lowkey possessive (love him tho) in the romance makes so much more sense if it's actually coming from justice. "justice doesn't approve of my obsession with you" bro justice IS the obsession be fr.

isabela not betraying you in the fade if she has 100% approval and is romanced. i always find this out of character especially since she betrays you JUST for a ship and not anything actually meaningful like the others. or if it was a ship but the demon's offer was more explicitly about freedom/escaping from castillon (which can be read btwn the lines but I think it should have been more obvious) that would have been much better.

[sirguyofdykesborn]

weh

[felondese]

coping by coming up with now-possible world states since our choices won't be referenced one way or another in dav. realizing that actually, i'm not limited now by canon options. the choices can be whatever i fucking want. or don't want. they can be fucking bonkers off the wall and if it's not referenced in game, it can be true and unquestioned!

yea i'm shipping everybody and bioware can't tell me it's not canon in my world state

[ruushes]

as much as i feel like non-mage hawke is under-appreciated and LOVE the backstory of hawke being at ostagar i think im going to replay mage bc ive never romanced isabela with a mage and the idea of single combat arishok duel as a mage goes craaaaazy like. your established and agreed upon zero feelings hookup, for whom you have established and agreed upon zero feelings, has now volunteered on your behalf for a very public fight to the death, the best expected outcome of which if she even survives is lifelong imprisonment, because she refuses to let you suffer for all the chaos and damage you caused even after you came back against your own better judgment to take responsibility for it. what do you even do at that point like i would disappear for three years too

[jacarandaaaas]

GUYS WE GOT AN UPDATED SYNOPSIS FOR THE OFFICIAL ENCANTO COMIC COMING OUT

let me dissect this!!! Ok so it seems it’s not just one storyline like the previous one about the bully? it does say vol 1 making me think it’s multiple short stories slice of life style (COUGH this would make a perfect animated series) secret visions? I cant tell if that’s a reference to the movie or if there’s more secret visions? MAKING NEW FRIENDS AHHH!! this one got me excited I can think of so many characters it applies to like mirabel, camilo, Antonio, luisa, dolores. in my heart I want it to be about isa because hc she doesn’t have any real friends because like Mariano everything was to keep up madrigal image! I want Isa to have friends🙏 talent shows!! is this gonna be rat shows or family shows? imagine the whole family having a talent show stop!!! Felix would win btw! “Tall tales” I’m assuming that could be the bully thing since that refers to lies eg someone lying about a madrigal for personal gain or smth. let me know your thoughts !!!

[antibioware]

I may be bold but we've had enough Morrigan. We're oversaturated with Morrigan in Dragon Age, especially considering she always looks the same or younger. Give me back some other characters.

[toon-tales]

If you're having a bad day, just remember that

Exist

[vigilskeep]

mage hawke and isabela is so insane btw regardless of whether you romanced her or not. she believes she’s “just a lying thieving snake”and they, despite every terror they’ve ever had of being taken to the circle, duelled the arishok, with magic, in front of every noble in kirkwall. for her. because they love her. what!!!

[dani-luminae]

Seeing people resort to AI art to "fix" Wish (with human!Star nonsense bc that's all they can think about) wasn't shocking bc of course they would

but they really think they could just stick a brown-skinned princess-faced girl (removing Asha's freckles, round nose shape, eyebrows and eye shape, and crooked smile) in a generic purple "princessy" dress and say it's Asha, huh?

[miracles-and-butterflies]

And what if I made an Olympics AU?

[princess-aeducan]

I loveeee Handers art where it’s supportive and they help eachother and they’re fugitives together, but anytime I play the Anders romance ingame I have a deep need to make it as unhinged and dysfunctional as possible.

[grapecaseschoices]

so i mostly ship sebris for my polyam agenda but i do think they would be a cute ship. seb is so supportive and encouraging. he's always trying to give fenris hope or like believing in him. this 'banter' of him invitng fenris to come home with him to starkhaven 🥺

[gamerbearmira]

Streamer Isabela AU where her family doesnt know shes a streamer and finds out accidentally :3

Bro where did she get the money for a set up 😭 MATTER OF FACT WHERE DID SHE GET THE SET UP???? Anyway imagine walking in and seeing her playing. Idk Stardew Valley 💀 like where and why and when and HOW

Also reminds me, some called ISMFITLT! Alma "Gamer Alma" a day or two ago and I genuinely haven't been able to stop thinking about it

[jacarandaaaas]

I rewatched the movie last night! here’s a quick summary of my thoughts:

- I MISSED THE MADRIGALS SO MUCH😭😭

- baby mirabel is so so cute she deserves the world

- “open your eyes” theme introduced!!

- the title card is so majestic we need to talk about it more

- yayyy 15 year old mira let’s go!! the silly!!

- mirabel is still my fave disney protagonist ever she’s so fun to follow her personality is great she’s so multifaceted i will always love her !!!

- the way she knocks on everyone’s doors LMAOOO

- “well US” 😭

- her waving to casita <333

- coffee kid needs to chill

- this whole song slaps

- accordion YEAHH!!

- mirabels iconic rap to avoid talking about herself 😭

- dolores casually saying she didn’t get a gift😭

- osvaldo STOP

- camilo telling jose “nice job over there” as he’s standing doing absolutely nothing himself 💀

- did someone say FLOWERS✨

- mirabels eyeroll at Isa 😭😭

- “our angel our angel!!” felix ily

- “I’m not in the way you ar😠” *walks into a pillar*

- ay agustín😭

- julieta & agustín telling her she has nothing to prove <33

- miras handcrafts <33

- “ i actually made these as a surprise! for you oooh oooohh” 😭

- alma trying to nicely tell mira to leave the decorations alone and mira pretending it doesn’t hurt 😭

- julieta saying to alma it’s gonna be a hard night for mira and alma saying if it doesn’t go well it will be hard for everyone :( and mira overhearing this

- how she knew exactly where antonio would be😭

- the jaguar she made him😭

- “what if it doesn’t work” 💔

- him saying to her I wish you could have a door meaning not a gift but just her own room and privacy aww

- “you don’t have to worry about me” ☹️

- the hug !!!

- the way casita pushes them out from under the bed and you can hear mirabel going “ow ow!” In the background😭

- PARTY TIME💃

- how gently she brings antonio down to meet his family

- the entire interaction with warm family !!

- how you see antonio’s smile drop as soon as they leave :(

- camilos posture is ASS

- alma saying another steps into the light when mirabel is shown mostly in shadow😭

- the I need you scene still kills me

- mirabel zoning out of the flashback and you can sense the haziness of it

- antonio’s room!!!!

- it’s bigger on the inside!?

- isas smile in this scene <3

- camilo being supportive big brother!!

- dolores thumbs up is so cute and pepa kissing antonio all over is so cute

- agustín almost falling over because parce😭

- “a gift just as special as you” NOOOOO

- how this song starts as reprise of the family madrigal but when she admits she’s not fine it changes to 3/4 time :(

- comparing herself to everyone else

- open your eyes!!!

- love the fact she ends up achieving everything she sings about

- I AM READY CMON IM READY🗣️

- the high note ahhhh

- the cracks scene camera movement is so interesting

- and the sounds too ahh

- antonio’s got MOVES🙏 felix trying to get alma to dance ahhh

- this scene gives me second hand embarrassment I feel so bad for mira

- casita wtf bro

- mira saying she would never ruin antonio’s night because she knows that’s what people are thinking :(

- corn plate moment but I like the subtle noise of the arepa healing her hand

- julieta coddling her but mira rejecting it :(

- bruno lost his way :(

- mirabel super spy era

- alma actually crying here😭

- praying to pedro for guidance ugh my heart

- mirabel deciding this is now her mission

- mirabel and casita being besties!!

- agustín already getting swarmed by the animals💀

- pepa and her coffee <33

- mirabel trying to act all sweet to Dolores but it’s just camilo💀

- dolores mentioning rats talking in the walls ahh I love foreshadowing

- pepas cloud disappearing as soon as felix puts his arm around her😭

- mirabel yapping to luisa (she just wants to eat)

- mirabel oblivious to the fact she’s meant to be paying attention to alma

- YOU DO!!!🫵

- alma getting casita to move her😭

- “mmhmm I will help luisa!” “Stop😠”

- dolores look over at isa before saying the 5 babies like😭

- isa and mira both not looking where the other is going and then isa acting like it was just mirabel💀

- luisa casually lifting a church

- mirabel falling off a wall

- “you’re gonna make me drop a donkey!” (On you)

- mirabel angry stomping is so unserious

- surface pressure time!!!

- the visuals of this song are so good

- the way luisa is saying “can I somehow preserve this” as she’s adjusting mirabels glasses feels like how mirabel in this song represents the family and how luisa is always trying to preserve them

- how in the bridge the landscape is pastel and free of pressure ahhh!! unicorn donkeys and glitter !! (luisa is a girly girl I will believe this until I die)

- how as they get higher up the pressures in the background start building and getting higher in pitch until the drop omg

- casita imagery here!

- dancing donkeys cause she realized mira seemed scared :(

- luisa starting to have a panic attack and mirabel just silently hugging her :(

- luisa you big introverted softie <333

- alma and isa talking about mariano and isabela petals going everywhere :(

- mirabel being nervous because casita can’t help in here

- falling down the sand💀

- pico being sassy and just leaving her😭

- goofy the family madrigal reprise as she’s climbing the stairs lmaoooo

- BRUNO YOUR ROOM IS THE WOOOOOORRRRSTT😠

- almost dies swinging across chasm u celebrated too early girl!

- pico judging her😭

- pico hiding in mirabels hair aww

- QUITTER🗣️

- alma noticing candle flickering as mira is piecing the shards together

- mirabel almost suffocated in sand because she didn’t use the handle on the vault😭

- all the sand details in this animation

- alma looking at mirabel when luisa said she was talking to her💀

- poor luisa 😭😭😭

- alma assuming mirabel did something and mirabel looking hurt by that assumption

- telling her again to stay out of the way 💔

- wdtab is so iconic

- felix dramatic burst in

- his face expressions as pepa is saying not to talk about bruno😭

- BUT!

- mirabel awkwardly dancing because this song vibes

- I’m sorry mi vida go ooonnnnn

- pepa imitating the mischevious grin shes so silly I love her

- felix spinning mirabel transition is underrated that scene is so cool

- dolores part!!

- footsteps as part of the beat ahhh

- how she’s foreshadowing again!

- “do you understand” she doesn’t but it’s ok!!

- camilo just spitting bullshit to try scare her😭

- his dramatic movements

- the villagers heeeyyyyyy line

- dolores going no noooo!!

- fish lady 🗣️🗣️

- mirabels imagination is so foul wym you pictured him with a wig💀

- everyone stopping for isas dramatic entrance

- the lighting here is so pretty

- isas voice!!

- miras face will always kill me here😭

- dolores “I can hear him now” as double meaning omggg I love this movie

- isa saying she wants not a sound out of mirabel and mirabel immediately starts singing out of spite 💀

- ISABELA YOUR BOYFRIENDS HERE!! TIME FOR DINNERR

- I love the time for dinner line

- the table choreography is iconic

- mirabel looking at her family doing this and thinking “wtf”

- luisa struggling to lift the pot :(

- the whole ending sequence omg

- “miraboo got your party pants on!?” I love agustín and his goofy dance as he enters the room

- just another thing mira inherited from him ig since they both do goofy dances😭

- casita being mirabels bff

- the whole animation of her rambling to him is so well done all the movements ahh

- agustín immediatly going let’s pretend this never happened😭

- “I know” their faces😭 dolores is so funny for that

- dolores and mirabels stare off will never not be funny to me

- alma pouring more wine😭

- this whole scene is so stressful and funny

- poor luisa :(

- those damn coatis are so smart

- miras face as she watches everything go to shit :(

- “I HATE YOU👹” isa is so dramatic 😭

- agustín going to comfort luisa <33

- mirabels defiance as it’s the second time she says she’s not doing anything

- rats!!!

- alma in severe denial to the townspeople

- “MIRABEL” 😠⚡️

- mirabel gets jumpscared by bruno

- brunos parkour

- camilo comforting pepa <33

- that wall slam must have hurt so bad😭

- cool slide under and kick out the stair

- mirabel thinking she’s gonna die

- “you’re very sweaty” 😭

- mirabel gets jumpscared by a rat and drops bruno into the void

- nvm lol

- “bye” 😐 he’s so me when I don’t want to talk to people

- mirabel is stubborn and therefore follows him

- mira slamming her elbow into something and going “ow” in the background 💀

- his real gift is acting!! this scene is even funnier after reading her inner monologue in the book😭

- bruno saying the rats are always hungry never satisfied

- the plate scene killed me

- how when she realizes how similar they are she opens up to him :(

- bruno looking over at her when she talks about wanting to make the family proud because he relates so bad

- “everyone always assumes the worst” poor bruno 😭

- “you left to protect me?” mira in disbelief at this will always kill me 💔

- bruno giving her a light shoulder punch as she’s leaving

- “yeah…. YEAH!!”

- I love how u can see her lightbulb moment😭

- mirabel kicking the door down like TIO HOLY FUCK- love ur enthusiasm but omg girl😭

- bruno gets jumpscared by his 15 year old niece

- miras optimism is cute

- “the rats told me everything” I love Antonio <333

- mira saying that bruno desperately needs to get out of the walls and him going “myeah” 😭

- antonio giving bruno the stuffie 😭😭😭

- “family weirdos get a bad rap!” “you can do this” guys I love mirabel

- bruno wanting to give up because every vision turns out bad😭

- AM I FIGHTING OR HUGGING !??? ISABELA!?👹

- julieta grabbing agustíns arm to show she sides w him <3

- I WAS THINKING OF MY DAUGHTER🗣️🗣️

- Felix angry “yes😠” when supporting Pepa <33

- bruno supporting mirabel same way she supported him ahhh I love their dynamic

- “come visit?” “I’m bringing you home” <333

- with a huuuuggggg

- mirabel looking utterly disgusted as she attempts to apologize to isabela (and her stupid little dance she does)

- go on apologizeee🙏

- SELFISH!?😯

- mirabel trying to get a hug still is so funny😭 girl she isn’t even looking at you

- WECID YEAHHH

- isa reaction to the cactus is so cute

- rows and rows of roses is a banger line

- “it just needed to be and they’d let me be!”

- the way isas voice deepens when she says “what else can I do”

- her room is so pretty

- a hurricane of jacarandas!!!

- mirabel casually upside down

- how mira stops interrupting and starts to listen to isa

- “careful it’s carnivorous” ☹️

- miras verse being same tune as isas wdtab verse ahhh

- mira becomes ultimate hype girl

- isas reaction to when the pollen gets on her

- how isa initiates the hug!

- “you’re a bad influence!” awwww

- the argument scene is so well acted it actually hurts me so bad

- how mira is so enthusiastic and gets shot down immediately :(

- the way isa and luisa look to eachother after alma mentions them

- “I will never be good enough for you” oh my heart

- mira is tearing up for most of this argument

- mira defending everyone

- the way her voice cracks when she says “we all LOVE this family”

- almas reaction when she mentions bruno

- almas face when mirabel says the miracle is dying because of you and mirabel in disbelief she just said that

- casita cracking right down the middle ooh symbolic

- corn plate but the vines isa uses to try grab the candle arent the ones she uses in wecid but the same ones she used when she was perfect isa. maybe a subtle way of saying how after what alma said she’s already reverting back to her old self and doesn’t have the confidence to embrace her new self anymore

- casita being mirabels best friend ever

- casita saving miras life <333

- the whisper of “no” when the candle goes out

- casita waving goodbye to her😭😭

- mira being almost in a state of disassociation after casita collapsed

- alma in total shock and probably relieve that night💔

- “let me help you” I love dolores shes so sweet

- pepa telling antonio to not cry😭😭

- the way julieta holds mirabels face here

- her reaction when mirabel is gone😭

- everyone calling for her and the village kids missing her :(

- mirabel crying at the river :(

- “I just wanted to be something I’m not” oh the way she says this 💔

- the transition into dos oruguitas is so smooth

- dos oruguitas is the most heartbreakingly beautiful thing ever💔

- pedro laughing when alma almost falls aww

- how they spent the whole night together stoppp

- the miracle candle being their wedding candle hurts

- pedro’s reaction to triplets😭

- pedro would have been such a good dad😭😭

- how pedro whispers “I love you” to alma in that scene

- almas apology since a lot of people forget this happened 🙏

- butterfly !!!

- mirabel changing what she said in the argument awww

- how they’re both crying here 😭 (same)

- “he sent me you” 😭😭😭

- almas reaction to seeing bruno ahhh

- horse girl mira lets go!!!

- the kids being so happy she’s back and the bell ringing ahhhh

- the way the entire family was lost without mirabel and had no idea what to do so when she returns they just let her take the lead

- how mirabel guides them all inside whilst singing about how everyone wants to shine

- mirabel helping luisa and luisa tearing up <333

- the townspeople coming to help!!

- mirabel being the one at the front to meet with the townspeople and collect the supplies but not alma

- this and scene with the blueprints indicate to me that alma fully trusts mirabel and is letting her play a bigger role in this project!

- the sisters singing together!!!!

- coffee kid going ham on the hammering

- priest going 👍 when bruno is laying out the sand

- mariano sitting on doorstep like a little loser :(

- how the background noise quietens a bit when dolores shows up

- mirabel and isa successfully set up their cousin and are celebrating their victory🙏

- we need a doorknob🗣️🗣️

- antonio guiding her to the door because she guided him to his door will never not kill me

- the family singing about how loved and appreciated she is (those harmonies OMGGG)

- alma repeating what her very first line in the movie was

- “I see me, all of me” oh no more tears 😭😭

- mirabel on the middle of the door 😭

- casita bringing in mirabel for a hug and her immediate reaction telling everyone else to get inside it’s party time 💃

- antonio and parce reunited!!!

- isas new dress and how happy and comfortable she is

- luisa resting !!!

- pepa dancing and felix going “yeah amor!” I love them

- family picture!!! casita hugging them in the photo and ending on the frame of the photo decorated by mirabel <33

I LOVE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH <3333

[shivunin]

Lock and Key

(Arianwen Tabris/Zevran | 2,298 Words | Hurt/Comfort | CW: Blood, brief references to torture and broken bones)

The torture, Zevran thought cynically, truly left something to be desired. 

Rather, he seemed to recall—when he’d been a young Crow, there’d been racks, burning oil, things hammered between one’s toes…But this? Breaking his fingers? Slapping him around?

It lacked  forethought.

It lacked…panache.

“I do not mean to complain,” Zevran told his torturer, spitting out a mouthful of blood, “But have you done this before?”

“What?” the hooded figure snarled, only their mouth and jaw visible beyond the hood and fabric they were swathed in. 

“Mmm,” Zevran said, peering up at them through one swollen eye, “It is only that you are…how shall I say it? Trying too hard, you understand? Most torturers—they adopt a certain style, a way of getting things done, and you seem—”

The figure reared back and kicked him in the chest. His lungs struggled to inflate for a moment, and when they did Zevran coughed convulsively. 

“Like that,” he wheezed, while the torturer stomped over to a small table of metal implements, “There is no sense of precision. You might have just stopped my heart, friend, and then where would you be? Luckily for you, I am made of sterner stuff than that.”

“Do you ever stop talking?” 

The voice came not from the figure to his left, but from above. It echoed against the far ceiling and the stone walls, spreading until it was almost impossible to tell where it had come from. 

Zevran, beaten and breathless, stretched his bloodied mouth into a crooked smile. 

“Ah,” he told the hooded figure, “I am terribly sorry for what is about to happen to you.”

The torturer, alarmed, snatched a blade from the table and hurled it into the darkness above the rafters. There was no sound; not the thud of the blade in flesh or wood, nor the sound of metal clattering to the ground. Half a second later, the blade whistled back down, thudding into the flesh of the cloaked figure’s arm. 

“Your aim is lacking,” the voice from above said.

“I said precisely the same thing, mi vida,” Zevran said, at long last allowing his head to fall back against the wooden back of the chair he was tied to, “I am sorry to say it, but there is a certain lack of professionalism at play here.”

“You shut up,” she said, and Zevran smiled, “I mean it. The smile, too. Flames, I could kill you.”

“It would not take much doing at the moment,” he told her. 

As they spoke, the torturer ripped the blade from their shoulder with a grunt of pain (a bad idea, that; anyone could have told them that it was wiser to leave the thing in place until a healer could take a look at it). 

“Show yourself, coward,” the torturer snarled, taking several more blades from the table and staring up at the ceiling. They turned slowly, as if trying to spot the shape of their assailant against the darkness of the ceiling.

If he’d been in a more charitable mood, Zevran might have told them it was pointless. 

Indeed, as he thought so, a low laugh came from above, and there was a clatter in the far corner, almost directly behind the torturer. The torturer spun, already throwing a blade toward the source of the noise. As soon as they turned, a cloaked figure dropped from the rafters soundlessly, thrust a dagger into the place where the torturer’s kidney ought to be, and vaulted back up into the ceiling again. 

“You know,” she said above him, “I think it’s more cowardly to beat a bound man. But that’s just me.”

A ring of keys fell from the ceiling and into Zevran’s lap. Of course; that was why she hadn’t killed his tormentor outright. She meant for him to do it instead. Balance, retribution; in her way, his Arianwen was all about balance. If he’d had the energy, Zevran would have thanked her for the effort and explained why he wouldn’t be doing that. It was hard to turn a key, after all, when most of one’s fingers were broken. 

He didn’t hear her move; he supposed the torturer didn’t, either, because Wen swung down, kicked the large human into the table, and vanished again before the fallen figure could get their bearings again. 

Something soft touched his wrist, bound behind him, and Zevran felt a quiet, shuddering breath at his back. She was going to be very cross with him as soon as she took care of their present company; Zevran winced at the thought, then hissed between his teeth when the motion reopened the slice over his eyebrow. 

This time, when Arianwen moved away from him, Zevran could hear her; that could only be on purpose. The torturer heard it too, and turned to face her as she cast off the deep blue cloak, variegated with grey and black around the hem. Arianwen stood before him revealed at last, her long braid hanging down her back, her armor blue and silver and gleaming in the light of the brazier. Zevran smiled; it was a fool’s smile, punch-drunk and high from his own relief, but…well. It was just so good to see her. It’d been too long. Too many days without feeling her at in his arms, too many days fighting himself to keep from returning to her side. 

“I was going to let him have you,” she said, “Or, if he allowed it, I was going to take my time. Fortunately for you, you’ve made me very, very angry. This’ll be quick.”

The torturer didn’t answer; they bent their head and ran, aiming right for her. Wen didn’t move for a long time—almost too long—and stepped aside at the last moment, exerting precisely as much effort as she needed to get out of the way. It looked, Zevran thought, turning his head as best he could to watch, like she simply floated away from him, like a feather in the breeze. The torturer rammed their injured shoulder into a column and let out a strangled shout. 

“Don’t worry,” Wen said to Zevran as she passed, “The building’s empty.”

“There were at least thirty—” he began, and interrupted himself with a cough. 

“As I said,” the Warden answered, casually lifting an iron from the fire and striding past, “The building is empty. Don’t worry. I’ll be quick.”

There were sounds that followed her statement, but he could not see their source. He didn’t need to know what she was doing, and he had the sense that not every time he closed his eyes lasted as long as a blink. Likely, that was not a good sign

“Zevran. Look at me, you fool.”

His eye fluttered open—the other seemed stuck shut—and Wen bent before him, her face beatific in its joy. Blood dripped from her ears and clumped in her hair, but she’d wiped her face clean, if the smears along her jaw were any clue. Zevran tried to smile up at her and was mostly successful. 

“I knew you would come.”

“You’re an idiot. I don’t know why I put up with you. That letter was—” she wound up the sentence with a sharp click of the teeth instead of any descriptors, but after a moment the blissful look crept back into her eyes. 

“Take your health potion like a good boy, hm? And I’ll haul you back to the safe house.”

Zevran might have made a crack about her wording, but as soon as he opened his mouth she pressed the cold glass rim of a vial in between his teeth and tipped it upside-down. The liquid was bitter and cold. Though there was a faint aftertaste of elfroot it was most certainly not a health potion.

“Wen—?” he gasped, and the room faded to black. 

|

Arianwen had been angry very often in her life. She enjoyed it, actually. There was a clarity of purpose to rage that most of the rest of life really seemed to lack. It was like…like crossing rooftops on a wire. Rage gave one a single clear path, and if one had the means to follow it things usually turned out alright in the end. 

But now—now her old friend turned on her, hounded her steps. 

Killing so many had been good enough in the moment, of course, but Zevran had needed to be unconscious for what came next, and she hadn’t wanted to give him the chance to talk her out of it. Now, all she could do was wait; there was nobody left to kill, and Zevran was not awake to argue with. As she paced the room, rage paced with her, shadowing her steps and clouding her concentration.

She crossed the room to open the window now, for the room was more or less empty of personality and furniture save an end table, a bed, and a chair. Zevran slept in the bed, his chest rising and falling easily. Few of his wounds would scar, not that he’d care about such things. He’d gained tattoos since she’d last seen him some…oh, had it been five months already? It felt like years. 

This waiting. 

Wen braced her hands on the windowsill, her fingers tapping out a staccato rhythm, and then she turned back to the bed. 

Maker damn him, she loved the man. She’d kill a dozen times as many for him with pleasure, but seeing him hurt like this was—it was—

“Mi vida,” he murmured to her left, and Wen spun on her heel to look at him, “And here I had thought you were some sort of dream.”

She crossed to the side of the bed, her heart in her throat. She ought to say…she ought to tell him what an idiot he was. She ought to tell him off; she’d certainly thought of doing so enough times. But words escaped her now, and when he lifted his hand from the bed it was to wipe the moisture from her cheek. 

“Ah,” he said, wincing when he lifted himself onto one elbow, “No, my Arianwen, no; do not cry for me. I cannot—”

“Why are you trying to get yourself killed?” she asked, and rage took her hand again, gave her the focus to keep talking. 

“I am not—” he began, frowning, but she interrupted him. 

“When will it be enough, Zev? Do you want to lead the Crows? Kill everyone who hurt you, who bought other kids like you? Do you want to be the King of Antiva? What? Because I can’t keep—can’t keep seeing you like this. If you need help, I will help; if you want me out of your life, then tell me to leave. But I can’t—”

She was crying again—so stupid. She hadn’t cried in years, and certainly never over him. He was staring at her with a sort of stunned horror that she might, if she’d had any sort of composure, have recognized better. It was the same face she was making, after all. 

Don’t leave me, she wanted to tell him; as she wanted to tell him every time he disappeared onto a boat. But she’d been too proud to force him into a cage when he wanted the sky, so she’d always turned away instead.

“What do you think I should do?” he asked. 

The hand wet with her tears fell away to the sheets of the bed. 

For one dizzy, breathless moment, she wished he’d stayed asleep a little longer, given her more time to find the right words. But she…she….

“I want you to marry me,” she said, and it was already too late to take back. His mouth fell open, lips moving as if to speak, but nothing came out. 

“Marry me,” she said again, grasping his hand in both of hers, “Tell me you want to live, and you want to live with me. Travel if you have to, but come home again. Live with me; be mine and let me be yours. I want a life, Zevran. I want a life for both of us.”

She searched his face, her heart racing harder than it had killing an entire house full of Crows on her way to her captured lover. Zevran stared at her, and slowly, slowly, a smile wrinkled the space on either side of his eyes. 

“Yes.”

Wen blinked and squeezed his hand. 

“Yes? You mean that? You’re not just—you aren’t going to take it back?”

“Maker’s pierced navel,” he said, struggling into a sitting position, “You do not believe me? And you were so persuasive, too.”

“No, I—” She clamped her mouth shut again and shook her head, “Yes, Zev?”

“Yes. Yes. Yes, of course, you beautiful murderess.” 

She didn’t mean to lunge for him; would’ve thought better of it if she’d had the wherewithal. But all at once she was in his arms, her own wrapped tight around his neck, and both of them rocked back with the force of it. 

“I love you,” she said into the salty skin of his neck, and kissed him there for good measure, “I love you. I love you.”

“I love you,” he murmured back, and inhaled sharply, “Ah—I should have known you would say something first.”

“I knew you wouldn’t want to force me,” she told him, but without any heat behind it. Her anger had faded away between one step and the next, gone in a breath and only a memory now. 

“If you’d died,” she told him, eyes squeezed shut, breathing him in, “I would’ve killed you.”

His laugh was uneven, a little breathless, and likely that meant she’d need to let go of him soon. But when his words came, they were certain. 

“Yes, I know,” Zevran said, “I love you for that, too.”

(For @14daysdalovers day 10: Captured)