#thank you hivemind for putting up with an Old Person (tm) in your discord

[minrathian]

escapism thy name is tashur (or viperquin, or what have you)-- fanwork recs

Hey listen. It was a shit week and I am about as optimistic as Tarquin about the year ahead. So, as I head into the weekend, I am protecting my peace by metaphorically pulling the covers over my head and building a blanket fort out of fanworks About Them. If you also hate it here and want to go to secret gardens in your mind, here in no particular order is my annotated list of the Tarquin x Ashur/Tashur/Viperquin fanworks that are getting me out of my head, lately.

Obligatory disclaimers: YMMV, there are so many good works in this fandom and this list is not exhaustive/will be updated periodically, mind the ratings, enjoy responsibly, &c.  And, thanks to everyone who's creating things for this pairing and folks who are reading/reblogging stuff about them, too. I'm way out of practice at fandom and mostly lurk, but it's a really lovely little creative community to be a part of even in a low-key way.

Kiss me when you’re done (series– explicit), thismission I haven’t had a single thought in my head any of the approximately 20 times I have read this modern AU series. It feels like your own personal bodyguard has taken you by the hand and is leading you around at a party: your brain is turned off and you are just trusting the process. It’s hot and it’s also such a deeply interesting character exploration of what these people might be like here and now, but without making me actually think many thoughts about the here and now really at all. And, bonus, it really captures the  “get the fuck out of here with these feelings I’m not thinking about” Tarquin vibe and the “oh my god he’s so hot I’m immediately obsessed with him” Ashur vibe, which *I* am personally devoted to for this ship. Anyway I’m obsessed with this.

Most Holy, magemance This is my phone lockscreen and wallpaper and the day I made that decision was not only a good day, but also marks the day I noticed my phone battery was draining faster for some reason? Looking at this never fails to make me smile and so I stare at this and make chinhands and kick my little feet for hours out of a day.  I’m sure that’s no connection to the phone battery issue. Probably. 

Oh No! I’ve Been Hit By Evil Cultist Blood Magic! (explicit), knight0fcups This is immersive, there’s so many little details from Ashur’s POV that it’s just really easy to fall into and live there for a bit. This is sex pollen/fuck-or-die done SO well– I don’t seek out those tropes most of the time but I’m so glad this exists because it is fucking delightful from start to finish, snappy and clever and funny as fuck. There is a line that Tarquin says in this fic that made me laugh so loudly,  I startled my dog. I won’t tell you what it is because you deserve to discover it for yourself. It is perfect, 15/10 no notes. Well, some notes. These notes, that I wrote. You get it.

moments we stole from the blight, rookfeathers One of the first pieces of Tashur art that lured me back to tumblr/fandom, this one has a special place in my heart for that alone, but– WALL KISSES. THE HANDS. THE DESPERATION IS PALPABLE but in a GOOD way.

Won’t you stay with me, my darling, (when my walls start burning down),(explicit), decant This is just. It’s just!!! So good! This hurts in such a particularly good way. It’s the “I’ve escaped to a MORE tragic timeline” kind of escapism. The level of despair is just…pervasive and perfect for blighted Minrathous, and Tarquin dealing with blighted Minrathous and the certainty of losing Ashur. AND YET. There’s just enough of something not-quite-hopeful filtering through the whole thing to really round it out. I don’t necessarily want to escape to blighted Minrathous (a lateral fuckin move in these times TBH) but I do love briefly visiting via this story.

Midnight rendezvous, J0ypatron (joy-jpg) Ahhhh I take one look at this and I am immediately blasting “Come to my window” by Melissa Etheridge. Just, immediately. That, and thinking of the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet, only with a grumpy wet cat of a man yelling “Fuck off,” but like, in a loving way, at his boyfriend, who also happens to be the Imperial Divine.  

Courting Traditions of the Oblivious Soporatus, (teen and up), bendingwind Look, I am super biased about this one because I have so many thoughts about courting traditions in Tevinter, and Z wrote this incredibly rich story that somehow made all my Soporati courting tradition dreams come true??? Miracles happen. It’s SO DELIGHTFUL. Screaming, crying, clutching my face with joy. Also: the strawberries??? Pls.

tarquin sees ashur’s face for the first time, fadesense I love everything about this. The name of the dog. The way Tarquin’s hair looks. Tarquin’s face and general disposition. Ashur knowing it was Tarquin. Ashur petting the dog. I am transported to a world where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. 

Holy matrimony, hesketh This is so fucking fun and also so sweet and those are two things that instantly send me to another planet in the best way. The pace is great and the banter is top tier 110/10 no notes and it also has bonus!Dorian being a delightful, handsome menace, as he is wont to be. Perfection.

Ashur and Tarquin fighting together, archfey-edda Like the artist, I ALSO just wanted to see them kicking ass together in the game, and this is SO COOL. Love love love a little glimpse of Ashur being a badass mage and the thought! Of him fighting back to back with Tarquin! I have ascended.  The movement and the light in this is also just stunning, I could stare at it for hours.

Gnosis, asyouwes You wouldn’t think a story that makes me reflect on my own fraught relationship with organized religion would be on an escapism list but here we are– sometimes it’s easier to engage with those feelings at arm’s length, through someone else’s eyes. And, I’m a big fan of stories that capture a very particular mood or feeling and this one really does that well. 

i have shed my skin, look at me now, (mature) frigid Nothing gets you out of your own head quite like a good werewolf/vampire AU. Really loving the overlay of cryptid stuff with the Shadow Dragons and everything going on in Tevinter.

Quick tashur doodle, loustica-lucia The LEANING. The FOREHEAD TOUCHING. The way Tarquin’s exhale LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE HEART. I live here now. Forward my mail here. You will not be hearing from me, but you can forward my mail here anyway.

Like sweet dreams, (explicit), greygerbil  The absolute best morning-after-we-hooked-up kind of story, where they’re both kinda nervous but then it’s all fine because of course these feelings are reciprocated. Reading this is like one long exhale: my shoulders aren’t pressed up against my ears, that pesky knot of tension in every single one of my muscles has momentarily vanished, everything is fine and lovely. 

Bonus (it’s not art of both of them but it’s a delight to me): Modern Tarquin in a t-shirt being ineffably, perfectly Tarquin, rookfeathers.