#the name has been changed

[faejilly]

Oats, your choice of pairing <3

[flower prompts] Oats: the witching soul of music

For you, my darling, it is of course Adelaide Hawke and Sebastian Vael. (In this case, right after the end of Act III) You are a big part of why I finally managed to write again, so I hope this means even a fraction as much to you as it does to me 💜

She comes back to herself when she hears the singing.

The explosion had knocked something loose in her chest, her heart, her head; she'd felt the Chantry fall apart in her bones and she'd broken apart too. What followed after had been chaos, frenzied and desperate and bloody and aching and fatal.

Not literally, apparently, she realizes as she blinks, blinks, barely stopping herself from rubbing at the grit in her eyes and making it feel worse.

She remembers stones falling, magic flaring, demons, mages. Orsino.

Meredith.

Fatal was right. Too much of Kirkwall died today.

There's smoke in her throat, in the sky, smog so thick she can't even see the moons, much less the stars. But neither the Gallows nor High Town are doing more than smoldering, finally, so she sits on a chunk of rock and tries to remember who she is.

She fails.

She listens to the music instead.

It's not just one thing, no, not just one voice, not even just one song. Not even just one language, one people. There's common, mostly, but not entirely, too many consonants from one direction, too many vowels from another, too high or too low to fit together and yet they do, they do, whispers and melodies from all directions, splintering in the breeze until they're from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Lamentations from on high, dirges from below, a lullaby sneaking out from the shadows. The steady beat of a sea shanty spills out from the docks, keeping time as the sailors work, and there's even a drinking song from somewhere that's desperately failing at being light and charming and instead just reminds the listeners to swallow, refill, swallow again.

Her throat's dry as she swallows along with them, wherever they are.

Kirkwall lives.

There's a grunt, and warmth at her side. There's someone taller and broader than her, smelling like ash and exhaustion, dried blood and something else, something not what she expected, not what she wanted, something almost wrong...

Leather. Metal.

Warden.

Hawke closes her eyes and leans against Carver's arm; she's too short even sitting to hit his shoulder properly. Her eyes still hurt, gritty and burning and too dry despite being closed.

She squeezes them tight, releases.

Again.

She can sense a skirling dancing echo coming through the Veil itself, the demons and spirits gathering and celebrating and mourning and who knows what else, tasting the destruction here as it spills through to there.

She wonders if there's anyone else alive who can hear it the way she does, the Maker's Chant from Beyond, resonating through lyrium and magic and faith in a way she's never been able to explain to anyone.

She wonders if Vengeance is finally free, if he got to be Justice again, if he crossed beyond the Fade to somewhere else, if Anders—

If Sebastian was at the Chantry when it blew.

She gags, hopes the bile burning in her throat stays down, turns and pushes her forehead against the padded gambeson, hard, harder. Hard enough she can feel Carver shift just a little to brace himself against the pressure.

"Surprised you took off your pauldron before you joined me," she rasps out.

Carver scoffs. "Easier ways to give you a headache."

"You are uniquely skilled at that."

Carver leans away, far enough she almost falls over, a sharp jerk before she manages to right herself. She tries to glare up at him, but she can feel the dark circles under her eyes, can see the lines of fatigue across his forehead, tightening his temples.

"Thank you," she says instead.

"Ugh, sincerity." He drapes an arm over her shoulders, pulls her close into a hug even as he mock-complains. His voice cracks and they both pretend not to hear it. "Too tired, stop that."

She sighs in agreement, feels the tears finally start to well up in her eyes, half pain, half relief.

She must make some sound despite herself, because Carver's arm tightens, his voice low and steadier as he speaks again. "I'm sure he's fine. Too blasted optimistic—"

"To be blasted?" She manages when his voice cuts off as he hears what he accidentally said.

He grunts, apologetic and embarrassed and somehow still consoling despite it all.

She tries to smile, feels it wobble across her face and gives it up, but she squeezes him back.

Please, Andraste. Let him be right.

Carver starts humming, low and mostly on-key, slightly slower than usual but still recognizably Trials.

Her eyes overflow, warm and wet slowly trickling down her cheeks. That was the first Canticle I ever heard Sebastian sing...

Her shoulders slump, and she lets her mind go, stops herself from wondering how long it's been since the explosion, how long they were fighting, how much longer it might be until she knows.

Instead she just listens, feels the hum in Carver's chest move through him and into her, loses herself in the familiar rhythm.

She hums along, now and then, hears someone else sing a phrase or two as they pass by, or settle down to rest near them. She's not really listening anymore, feeling the thrum of Kirkwall around her, surviving despite everything, so she's not sure when it changes.

Not sure when there's a familiar voice underneath it all, warm and tired and right here.

She bolts upright, faster even than her eyes can open, and she's wrapped up in Sebastian's arms before she properly sees him. She coughs, sobs, chokes, makes herself breathe. She inhales the same ash and sweat and grief that everyone smells of, and one more thing, incense, faint and sweet and warm, and she's never going to move away, never, not if it risks losing that comfort for real, for ever.

She feels his lips press against the top of her head, huffs out something that's almost a laugh against his chest. There's no possible way her hair doesn't taste terrible.

"Buidheachas do Andraste," he murmurs, voice rough and damp, and she holds him tighter, still crying, unable to stop.

You're alive, you're alive, you're here, she thinks, over and over and over. Thank you, Andraste, thank you.

We're alive.

[bluerosefox]

A DPxDC soulmate au idea

So DCverse is a soulmate world (pick any soulmate way btw, words, touch, drawings on the skin, can't see color(s) until they see or touch them, etc etc)

DPverse doesn't.

Meaning Danny wasn't born with a soulmark BUT he gets one after becoming a halfa because he is now connected to the Infinite Realms.

SO its during another one of Vlad's schemes, he's popping into different worlds and stealing things or something like that (basically like that one ep where Danny chases Vlad through the timeline after he stole Frostbite's map)

During the chase they pop out into the DCverse in one of the hero cities (pick any, not picky on which) and their fight is getting a bit out of hand (Vlad's fault, he's using the stuff he's been stealing, and Danny is doing his best to getting innocent people from getting hurt)

ANYWAYS during the fight, one of the cities hero's come to try to help/find out whats going on when Danny is hit by Vlad and gets tossed at them. The moment they either touch or Danny/Soulmate says something to the other, Danny feels the odd mark on him burn up and is MEGA confused on whats going on but decides to do what he does best.

Ignore it for now. He'd figure it out later he still needs to stop Vlad.

He apologizes to the other hero and gets back into his fight, missing the look of complete smitten awe/shock said hero had on their face.

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[shorthaltsjester]

the mighty nein - critical role

this is a place where i don't feel alone. this is a place where i feel at home.

[ivorysodapop]

(Suibian is also amused)

AU Masterlist

[umblrspectrum]

Can we get more of the murder drone x rain world au?

ok

[serpentface]

A kulustaig bull, the distinctive cattle landrace of the highlands.

Kulustaig have striking differences to other native cattle found across the Imperial Wardi claimed territory. Their aurochs ancestors were domesticated in a separate event from those found south of the Inner Seaways, and the broader cattle population kulustaig derived from may have trace bison genetics. The progenitors of this landrace were brought south across the Viper seaway by the ancestors of the contemporary Hill Tribes, and were gradually shaped into the kulustaig in adaption to the high altitudes, mild but dry summers, and cool/snowy wet seasons.

These cattle are mid-sized and stocky in build with large, broad faces, most distinguished by curly manes and 'beards' and thick, V-shaped horns. Genetically undiluted kulustaig are almost ubiquitously black, white, and/or gray, though breeding with other cattle has introduced a greater variety of coloration in contemporary stocks.

They are adapted to higher altitudes, having larger hearts and a bigger lung capacity than comparable lowland breeds, and grow thick, curly winter coats that allow for superior resistance to seasonally cooler temperatures. They can maintain condition on less food and lower-nutrition grasses than the average cattle, and are excellent instinctive foragers. This particular quality makes them attractive for crossbreeding efforts with cattle stock of the dry scrublands in the south of Imperial Wardin, though most of their other traits are highly unfavorable for hot, low altitude environments, and scrub-kulustaig hybrids with idealized traits are rare (and highly sought after as studs).

These are all-purpose cattle that can adequately fulfill roles as meat, draft, and dairy animals, though the latter role has the most importance in day to day life, and they show the most selection for milk production (though are not as high-yield as pure dairy breeds). Their meat is mostly lean and somewhat gamey, as they rely more on thick winter coats than fat stores to manage cold, and the vast majority subsist entirely on wild grasses and forage.

Most kulustaig have fairly calm, gentle temperaments, and accommodate well to human handling (it is not uncommon for cows and geldings to be passively ridden by herders otherwise traveling on foot). Their herds have strong, well defined, and stable dominance hierarchy structures, which reduces actual fighting and lends to them being more easily managed by their human herders. In most traditions, the dominant female in each herd is regarded as blessed by and belonging to the agricultural goddess Od, and will not be milked or slaughtered (this untouchable status is often maintained even if the cow's rank in the hierarchy is displaced, though traditions vary).

Bulls are almost ubiquitously given personal names by their owners (the honor often belonging to a family or clan's matriarch, who is generally considered the owner of the herd and other familial assets), while other traditions vary between just the bulls and dominant cows, personal favorites, or entire herds receiving names.

These cattle are of tremendous importance to the peoples of the highlands (particularly tribes and/or individual clans living above the river valleys, who fundamentally rely upon them for subsistence). They provide much of the meat and dairy that the core diet revolves around, and are the greatest measure of wealth within the highlands. Non-native cattle can be commonly found in parts of the highlands in the contemporary (and may be bred in to impart unique qualities to established stock, such as improved milk production or fattier meat), but kulustaig are typically prized above all the rest. These cattle are often a source of great pride for individual clans, and one of few agreed upon markers of shared identity and pride for all of the collective Hill Tribes.

Cattle raiding is a near-ubiquitous practice (both as a practical resource acquisition, and a less immediately lethal method of settling larger disputes than open warfare), and most cattle will be branded with a mark identifying their owning clan as a method of dissuading theft (often futile, particularly given cattle marked as belonging to certain wealthy clans may be especially prized). Nose rings are commonly used to assist in the handling of bulls, but have secondary protective functions that lend to their common use in even the most docile of cattle. Rings are usually blessed or have spells woven into their making as a supernatural barrier against theft, or against malicious (or at least devious) mountain spirits such as tiirgranul (who take pleasure in frightening cattle (and their herders) and are known to cause stampedes) or wildfolk (who are known to sometimes steal or curse cattle when offended, or just bored).

The word kulustaig derives from the common word 'taig'/'taigr', which refers to cattle in the contemporary languages of both the Hill Tribes and Finns, and the 'kul' root (heavily antiquated and not used in contemporary speech, most commonly recognizable in the name of the kulys plant), which has connotations of hardiness/robust qualities. The name would have derived from complimentary descriptions of the animals as 'the best and most robust of cattle'.

[cangrellesteponme]

i don't think wonderland is ready for those alices

[tango-but-everywhere]

*rises from the dead* thank you pearl for this behind the scenes/exclusive preview!!

[ID: a minecraft screenshot, taken within a trial chamber. Pearl and Etho are closest to the viewer, standing back to back. The minimal armour texture pack is on. Pearl is drawing a bow in full netherite and Etho is wielding an enchanted diamond sword in a mix of netherite and diamond armour. Between them and further away, Tango is walking somewhat toward us. He’s wielding a bow but not drawing it, and wearing full diamond. There’s a whole bunch of blue flame and skull particles in the air between the three of them. End ID]

[starry-bi-sky]

im having more fem Danyal thoughts. But specifically I've been thinking about Dani in this au. Now, Fem Danyal is just the alt. version of Danny to my other DAG au, which means she follows that lore. that being said. Danyal and Dani already had a pretty rocky introduction in the first place, ANd if we follow canon's setup, Dani in fem!Danyal's world would be a boy rather than a girl. I'm gonna call him Ali for easier difference (my train of thought was Daniel -> Eli -> Ali). While Danny may resemble Talia more than Bruce, Danny and Damian still look very similar to each other. Their blood relation is unquestionable.

You can imagine how fem Danyal might feel, walking into her room one day after school, and finding a little boy on her bed who looks, at first glance, like the little brother she loves to death. If meeting Ellie triggered Kill Bill Sirens in Danny's head, meeting Ali bass boosted them. For a terrifying, fleeting moment, Danny thinks Damian is right there. That somehow, her clever, intelligent little brother found out she was alive and tracked her down.

She slams the door shut, completely at a loss for words. Her heart has nearly stopped a second time. Then she realizes: this boy's eyes are blue. Not green. He looks too old to be her brother. His jawline too narrow, his hair too messy. As he talks, his voice is not the same as the sparse few videos on the internet showing Damian speaking. This is not the child she helped take his first steps with, nor the child she watched utter his first words. This is not the boy whom she taught to pick up a sword; this is not her brother.

Safe to say, Ali gets a knife pulled on him much, much faster than his female counterpart did. He lives, fortunately, but their relationship is unsteady and rocky even after Ali betrays Vlad and joins Danny.

Danny is unsettled by him, not for being her clone -- although that plays a minor part -- but because every time he drifts into her peripherals, she keeps thinking it's Damian. And it spooks her half out of her mind. She gets her hopes up at the same time her heart drops, then she turns her head, and it's not Damian; it's Dani.

It's also why she won't call him 'Dani', it's one letter too close to 'Dami' and she's afraid she'll call him that if she's not careful. So when he brings it up jokingly, she immediately shoots it down; "I'll call you Eli." instead. (Ali thinks she's boring -- he thought 'danny with a y' and 'dani with an i' was funny. Frankly, so did Danny, but she's too uncomfortable with the idea of calling him Dani.)

When he asks her why, she lies and says it's to prevent confusion. When their relationship is better, "Eli" eventually becomes "Ali".

("Why Ali?" he'll ask her, with an ear pressed against her ribs while Danny coils one of his curls around her finger. She's steadily become more and more affectionate; Danny has the impeccable ability of making it seem so forced and stiff and natural at the same time.)

("Do you not like it?" She'll ask him, voice stilted and unsure. She's got her heart in her throat, but she's starting to stop seeing Damian whenever she looks down. "We can keep it Eli if you'd like.")

("No, no. I like it. Just... why Ali? Does it mean anything?")

(Danny will smooth her palm over Ali's forehead, scratching his hairline with her nails, and feel embarrassed. She'll be silent until he looks up at her, and then she clears her throat. "It means eminent; exalted; noble.")

(Ali stares at her in dead silence, long enough that she starts to grow worried. Then tears bubble up in his eyes, and for a moment Danny thinks she said something wrong. "I lied;" he croaks, "I love it.")

(She will hesitate, and then wipe the tears off with her thumbs. "Ali al Ghul," she'll mutter, "but that name is for you and I only. To the world, you're Ali Fenton." Perhaps she shouldn't be giving him her mother's last name, but he is of her blood now too.)

[ofswordsandpens]

I'm sincerely very happy for anyone who is enjoying the show but every time I see takes that the show has improved the book characterizations or that the book characters are underdeveloped in comparison to the show...

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.

[asterwild]

Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) can be found across much of North America and part of northeast Siberia. Most populations migrate south for the winter, forming flocks of upwards of 10,000 birds.

[bugging-around-town]

The idea of Eddie dear and scarecrow are right next to eachother in my head

Might turn whatever the hell I’ve been doing into a au at this point, I think it’d be neat

[doctorsiren]

Made some new refs for some characters for art fight!

[front-facing-pokemon]