#the fic is calling A LOT of Veilguard stuff

[solasyoulittleshit]

rereading Dead Pasts and Dread Futures by youworeblue before Veilguard and I just lol'd at this line

Ixchel Lavellan is being very prescient here lol

Meanwhile in DA:TV --

Great fic by a great author, if you're a newer fan or one of the few who haven't read it I linked it above!!!

[lavenderprose]

currently writing an Emmrook fic where there's A Scare because look me in the eye and tell me that Rook didn't get some questionable BC potions from a Minrathous alley dealer and they can't stop being horny for that old man and they're Bad at math.

Listen I think Emmrich is a very careful guy and would probably use at least some level of protection for himself even if he was ABSOLUTELY SURE he was shooting blanks (Which clearly is not my canon for him--man is fertile as fuck--but might be canon for others. Who knows. We're all just coworkers at the Build Your Own Canon factory) however they are ACTIVELY ENGAGED in saving the world and sometimes things fall through the cracks. For me personally, one of two things happen with Sigrid and Emmrich in my canon imagining of events:

1. She gets pregnant in the sarcophagus. This is poetic on multiple levels. Elgar'nan dies just as a zygote in Sigrid's womb comes into being. The future of the light, assured. Emmrich Volkarin's child, a baby who will be so cherished and loved, is conceived with the death keel of the evil and pestilence of the sixth and final Blight. I think about it all the time.

And/or

2. Emmrich takes Sigrid to his country house in Cumberland after the final battle, where she recovers a bit from the battle and cries a lot and fucks him like it's her job. Shortly after this they are separated for a little while as Emmrich returns to the Necropolis to tie up some loose ends and Sigrid goes on a We Saved The World (AGAIN) tour with the Inquisitor and Morrigan (+Taash for moral support and possibly Davrin because there should probably be a Warden around to explain Blight stuff and Evka is WAY too busy rn) and it sucks because it's essentially an exercise in self-flagellation. They go around to the various governments of Thedas to be Yelled At. Sigrid gets Very Sick during all of this and everyone just kind of thinks it's like. Stress. Finally they touch down in Nevarra after like two months and they're meeting with King Markus only the Royal Necromancer called in sick that day or something and they've asked Emmrich to stand in for a bit of 'Official Kingdom Business'. Nobody in the Veilguard knows each other is going to be there. Emmrich steps into the room to Corpse Whisper the king and sees, to his surprise, his ACTUAL LITERAL WIFE looking like death warmed over and, according to the variances in the Veil around her, pregnant. Emmrich, Davrin and Taash yell at each other a bunch. Morrigan is like. 'Tis unfortunate while gently giving Sigrid ginger tea because oh of COURSE it's morning sickness. It's been twenty years since Morrigan was pregnant tho so do NOT blame a bitch. The Inquisitor wants to go the fuck HOME like hello?? Amatus?? Can you come pick me up?? Sigrid is like 'Pregnant? Moi??' And then passes out.

Those are my top two daydreams about that particular thing, anyway!

[thebookworm0001]

Spoilers for the end of veilguard and specifically how solas’s story is handled under the cut

And seriously I do mean the very end of the game and I’m gonna talk about stuff that happened before then too

You have been warned

I felt satisfied with the ending.

I was able to collect all the solas memories/regret murals and very much felt like the way the ending unlocked by that was handled well.

Solas has always been a man bound by his regrets. And this game spent a lot of time establishing is primary regret is Mythal. Yes, he cares deeply about helping people and wants that world restored, but it’s less to do with the elven people and more to do with him feeling like he’s made mistake after mistake.

He’s been living in a sunk-cost fallacy for millennia and cannot see a way out. He really, really doesn’t want to do this - he knows how many people he’ll hurt to do it, but can’t see another way because if he stops now he feels like it’ll be just another betrayal of mythal when he’s already betrayed and failed her so many times. She’s the reason any of this happened.

That’s why it has to be mythal telling him to stop. He wanted to stop for a romanced lavellan - his letter says that explicitly. But he regrets mythal’s death (and his resulting actions) so much he just. Can’t let it go. What does his life mean if he can’t fulfill the wishes of the goddess that called him to service, to a body? The friend he murdered, in the end, to make up for the first time she as killed.

He was a spirit of wisdom mythal corrupted - it’s another version of Cole and the Templar who killed the human Cole. That confrontation has to happen for him to move in any direction.

And the way he absolutely crumples when he sees her? Damn if that didn’t sell me on how deeply he cares for her, beyond the murals that show how ashamed he is of what he did with and for her.

He’s always needed someone to tell him there was another way, but nobody besides mythal could absolve him of the actions he took, because they aren’t her. It’s not a matter of the nature of their relationship, rather that he cannot untie himself from the way his spirit was warped by her and the actions he took in response to her.

Idk I know people will have very different feelings and opinions on how that went down, but it made sense to me.

And my solas-romanced lavellan acted exactly how I expected her to. Granted, Ellana is the kind of lavellan who would immediately forgive him and would, no questions asked, go with him on his journey to atone. I had a whole fic planned out where she did that exact thing - even if the details weren’t what happened here.

If you have a lavellan who isn’t as sad as mine and who wouldn’t join him, yeah this ending may not work for you. But I went from being pissed at him for trapping my rook and lying about killing varric to immediately being back on my ‘fuck you’re just a deeply sad and broken man please let yourself be happy’ lament when he talked about how he failed both the world and mythal in different moments.

It worked for me. I’m satisfied by how it was handled and think the ending makes sense for the read on Solas I’ve had for the last several years. He’s just a deeply sad man who thinks he has to make up for his failures - and the one person he’s failed more than anyone tells him it’s not on him. She’s the one person he could never get forgiveness from - and he got it. And that’s why it had to be her.

[burntheedges]

get to know your moots

thank you for tagging me @ace-turned-confused @kedsandtubesocks @sawymredfox @iknowisoundcrazy @jeewrites @katareyoudrilling @ghotifishreads 🧡 I freaking love these lol I know it's been a minute but hi, here I am.

what's the origin of your blog title?: username and title are both from a Hozier song, Eat Your Young (because "I'm starving, darling" is how I feel about Joel Miller)

OTP(s) + shipname: alright I've been reading fic since I was 12, here are some of the highlights in vaguely chronological order - Dramione (but like, in the 2000s, lmao), Drarry, Sterek, Johnlock, Arthur/Eames, Stucky, Stony, Sirmione, Wolfstar, Damen/Laurent, 00Q, Spirk, PPCU/reader, Rookanis, DinLuke

favorite color: orange

favorite game: Dragon Age Veilguard, Dragon Age Inquisition, the Mass Effect trilogy, Stardew Valley, BOTW, TOTK

song stuck in your head: Not Like Us, Kendrick Lamar

weirdest habit/trait?: hmmm my husband would say it's no outside clothes allowed on the bed, but I don't think that's weird. probably biting my cuticles. 😬

hobbies: knitting, sewing, writing, gaming

if you work, what's your profession?: let's not talk about work lmao

if you could have any job you wish what would it be?: I don't wish for work lol but maybe owning a book store or yarn shop.

something you're good at: languages, parallel parking, overextending myself

something you're bad at: not overextending myself. feeling my feelings.

something you love: talking to people who love the same things I love 🧡, going to concerts

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: knitting, linguistics, languages, video games, hockey

something you hate: everything going on right now in the US

something you collect: hmm I used to collect a lot of things and then I moved across the country multiple times and got tired of having stuff. books, probably lol

something you forget: anything that's not in my calendar

what's your love language?: fyi the love languages book is fundamentalist nonsense BUT I do feel very loved when my husband does what they call acts of service (which he knows). that's what I tend to do by default, too, but he likes when I use my words.

favorite movie/show: LOTR, Ever After, Deep Space 9, The Matrix, Clueless, Inception, TLOU, The Mandalorian, Skyfall, Pacific Rim, CA:TWS, Andor, so many others lol

favorite food: pasta, a perfect caeser salad, sopes, sushi

favorite animal: cats. also hippos, those big dorks

are you musical?: I was kicked out of band lol but I was in a singing group in high school and another later. I can read music ok

what were you like as a child?: looking back, obviously unmedicated for ADHD, lmao. but extroverted and hyperaware, really

favorite subject at school?: languages, and then history

least favorite subject?: science, but mostly because some of my teachers sucked and I was socialized to think I was supposed to be bad at it

what's your best character trait?: probably my empathy?

what's your worst character trait?: not taking the time to think (I'm working on it)

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be?: I want my cold to be gone lol

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet?: ETA just realized I never answered this one. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and I'm still not sure!

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!):

I have yet again begun to reread Be-All and Endor by @djarins-cyare because it brings me comfort (which I've needed lately) 🧡

A new favorite is The Morning Commute by @iknowisoundcrazy -- speed!AU Javi! god I love it

I think a lot of people have already done this, but in case you haven't, np tagging: @maggiemayhemnj @secretelephanttattoo @schnarfer @the-mandawhor1an @sixhours

@@davnittbraes @wannab-urs @justagalwhowrites @beardedjoel @futuraa-free

[pixiedurango]

"Hatchlings" - an AMOM a murder of misfits fic

read here on Ao3

a murder of misfits is a low pressure and very fun Dragon Age the Veilguard AU-project of @ezriell @alystrin03 @nyx-de-riva @only-slightly-terrified and myself, featuring our Rooks Xander, Alecto, Nyx, Micah and Cara de Riva, set before anything Veilguard related happens. Mostly we explore their journey from being recruited until becoming full Crows and how their lives get intertwined along the way. We are just getting started and this is my first piece. (Very) brief summary: Cara, age 9, decides she wants to follow her half brother Viago and become an Antivan Crow. Reality hits hard, the other children even harder... luckily there is one young Qunari who knows all too well how it feels, being the target of bullies.

Words: ~6,800 rating: none, one some crow-conform violence and bullying (The first part had been posted by me as a teaser in one of our weekly tag games, so some of you will find it familiar, but below the first ~~~ it's all new stuff. Happy reading!

��Listen to me, Caramella.”

Cara knew it was serious by the way how Viago used her full name and not ‘Cara’ as he usually called her. She raised her chin in what was supposed to look as brave and couragous as a 9 year old girl - just a little too small and too bony for her age - could muster. But the way her lips trembled, betrayed her, giving away, how frightened she was.

“I’m listening” she pressed out the words.

Viago was her brother. Her half brother, to be precise. Years older than Cara and the only hero she had always ever looked up to.  Being like Viago - the big, adventuorous, heroic, dangerous and handsome Antivan Crow, was everything the little girl with the untamable fire red curls aspired to be like when she would be big one day. And when they had asked her the other day, whether she wanted to leave Antiva and live the beautiful life of a noble girl - or, and of course you won’t want that… hahaha… becoming an Antivan Crow, Caramella had shocked everyone - including Viago - by choosing the latter. 

They had been questioning her for hours, whether she knew what she was choosing and it seemed - for a child of her age she had been able to give reasonable answers.  Then they had tried to bribe her to choose exile and maybe they even would have succeeded - but the second she learned she would not be able to see her brother again, she was back on her initial choice and nothing made her rethink it from there on out.

Now they had brought Viago in, to talk some sense into her. He had knelt in front of her, to see eye to eye, and told her to listen.

“Look at me, Cara mia,” rarely had he ever used that term of endearment, which worked so well with her name. And yet he gave his voice a serius tone, sounding as stern as he could. “I understand that you think, staying in Antiva and becoming a Crow will be a big adventure, and that you and me will spend much time together as we are learning to become assassins and all will be a lot of fun. Believe me, Cara, it isn’t!” He rested his hands, that were covered by snug leather gloves, on her shoulders and intensly looked into her eyes.

“I know it is no fun.” She boldly objected. “I read many books. We are going to be assassins. It means we kill people for gold. And it is very hard to become a good assassin.” She ignored the part where he had said, they would not be able to see each other much. Cara’s little, very much overwhelmed mind was only able to process so much at the same time.

“You could have a pleasant life, Cara mia.” Viago tried another time. “Living without a care in the world, if only you would be willing to travel somewhere else, out of Antiva.” The last words were hard for him to speak, because only he knew how much he would miss this silly little ball of energy that was his sister. But it was necessary, that he helped her to decide doing the right thing: Choosing exile. 

Because he did not want for her, to face the same hardships that he had gone through on his road to become an Antivan Crow, and was still facing every single day. In order to become a successful assassin, a fledgling had to become ruthless - which often included cruelties against one's peers. From bullying to full on physical or psychological cruelties - nothing seemed off limits for some.

“I don’t want a life without Antiva. And without my family. Without you.” Her voice was small and trembling but even that could not hide, how serious Cara was about it.

“We won’t see each other much.”

“I don’t care.”

“You know, the other children will not always be nice to you. And I won’t be there to help you.”

“They can try! I know how to defend myself.” Her little fists clenched and her face scrunched in a show of what she thought was looking dangerous.

Viago suppressed a sad little smile, remembering just how cruel his own early days in the Crows  - as a royal bastard among literal street rascals ganging up on him - had been. But he  began to realize, that there would be no way to talk her out of it. Thus he continued talking to her, but more like stating facts than trying to convince her to leave. “There is a lot to learn. You will be busy all day and sometimes more than half the night to keep up with the demands of your trainers.”

“I love to learn new things.” this much, he knew was true.

“Will you be able to follow orders from your superior Crows?” this one would be a challenge for her.

“When the orders make sense, of course.”

He had to stifle a grin. Just what he had expected. “And if they don’t make sense? Cara, sometimes you will have to follow orders that don’t make sense to you.”

“If they are good orders, someone will explain me, why they make sense and all is good.” Cara insisted in what was something she fully believed in. But she would have to learn very quick and thoroughly that in reality often no one would bother to explain anything but expected flawless execution. 

“No, listen to me! You will follow orders, no matter how dumb you find them! It is your job and even though I know how much you love to discuss things, you won’t be allowed to do that. And when you ask me ‘why’ now, I’ll carry you out of Antiva myself! Because a Crow arguing for reason all the time won’t survive the training for a week!“

Her eyes clearly told him, that she was working hard to not open her mouth and asking exactly what he had just told her, not to do.  If she would manage to keep quiet now, he would accept her choice. Even though it would make his own life even more complicated as it already was - without his baby sister at his literal heels.

Cara just stood there, almost choking on the urge to ask why there was a rule so stupid, but bravely keeping it in. Pressing her little lips together and nodding furiously as a sign, that she could do anything her big brother would ask of her.

Little did she know…

~~~

Viago was true to his word. Of course he was. Cara had not been in doubt for a moment, that her brother would come and take her to the Crows. Just as he had promised the other day.

Everyone had been bugging her, wanting to tell her what to do - Ever since the question had occurred, what to do with her, now that her mother was… gone.

All the adults had been treading very lightly around her over the past few weeks or so. Did she sleep well? Eat enough? Felt sad? Cara had been pretty much surprised and rather confused over the sudden attention that people were paying her. Of course, it was all new and different. That she wouldn’t see her mother ever again. But Cara already knew that everyone would die at some point. Also, Cara had learned, that obviously her mother’s faible for fine Antivan Reds and other expensive beverages were not particularly healthy, when enjoyed in dimensions like her late mother had. Her little brain had filed that away under: ‘You’ll die if you drink too much alcohol every day!’

Was she feeling sad? Cara knew, she was supposed to do so, so she made herself appear sad when in reality the majority of her feelings were rather indifferent when it came to her mother.

The only person, she was not feeling indifferent about right now, was her brother.  Him and the new life that that was about to start for her.

Thus, Cara was all smiles, when Viago finally arrived.

He carried a bundle with him which he handed her, but not like a gift. More serious and with only a few dry words, he told her that she should go and put on some of the things that he brought her and bring the rest back to him. And quick!

He also demanded to look through the bag she had already packed.  

Viago had told her the other day, not to ask why anymore and so she just did what he asked of her, even though she did not like to have him searching her things. Mainly, because she saw no reason to it. And also it felt weird, to have her brother, or rather anyone else rummage through her belongings. But sticking to her promise, to not ask and argue anymore, she bit her tongue and went to proudly put on her new clothes: The garments of an Antivan Crow.

Simple, dark pants, one pair from a sturdy but not itchy material and a pair of lighter ones. She chose the robust ones and slipped into them, smiling when they fit like a glove. Soft dark boots, that she liked a lot, because of the shiny clasps that closed them. Some equally somber colored shirts and vests and a light padded gambeson with detachable sleeves that seemed almost black but in reality was the color of those eggplants that were on sale everywhere in the markets.

When Cara returned fully dressed and carrying the spares, Viago had thrown out some of the clothes that had been in the bag before, so there would be space enough for her new things.

If her brother had expected her to throw a fit over the things he had sorted from her bundle, he had to be disappointed, when she only shrugged and flatly said: “Nanny Rodriguez packed them, I have no idea why she thinks I would need pastel dresses as a Crow.”

“And what about this?” With a little teasing smile he held up a little stuffed toy in the shape of corvid bird.

“You gave it to me! It’s my mascot!” She made big eyes. Could he really have forgotten that the toy had been a gift from him to her, when she was very little? It was, in fact, her earliest memory. Therefore, Cara loved that little toy very much and for sure she would not leave it behind, no matter how big of a girl she was now.

But Viago made no attempt to take it from her. “Just make sure, you always keep it hidden deep down in your bag, Cara mia.”

“But why?” she bit her tongue, when she remembered that this was the one question, she was not allowed to ask anymore.

“You have to always keep in mind, that no one there is your friend. You can’t trust anyone. Only yourself. And me, but I will not be around much. So, just to be safe that nothing happens to our little crow friend here,” playfully Viago wiggled the toy in his hand, “you better keep him our secret, will you?”

“Yes, Viago. I will do that. No one will know about him.” she nodded in all earnest and watched how her brother stuffed her beloved toy down the bag into the deepest corner underneath her other stuff.

“And now, Caramella.” Her brother sounded secretive and excited at the same time. “I will give you your most important and most valuable possession.” He pulled out a small bundle, carefully wrapped inside a samite cloth. He rolled it inside his hand until a pair of daggers appeared. Delicate work, small enough that a child could hold them in a safe grip right away, but big enough, so they could be used for a few years to come.

“For me? You mean, they are mine?” Her green eyes were big as saucers and her cheeks reddened from excitement.

“Yes, Caramella. Those are your daggers now. You’ll have to take care of them. You’ll learn how to keep them sharp and clean. Never put them back into the sheath dirty, you hear me? Especially not with blood on them. And you’ll watch them, so nobody can steal them from you!”

Cara gulped when he mentioned that there could get blood on them, but was too excited to think further into what he really was saying.  She carefully took one of the daggers, shyly weighing the weapon, setting it into the stiff motion of an untrained hand that mimicked a dagger twirl. Viago let out a small chuckle of amusement. He grabbed the small leather belt with the two sheaths and wrapped it around her narrow waist, to see whether he had guessed the measurements right.

“Perfect!” He sounded content but did not let her keep the holster around her waist but putting it back into the bundle and held it out to her, that she could place the second dagger back, too. “We'll keep that hidden in your bag, too. You will be told, when you are supposed to put them on. Don’t play around with them or show them off, before you are told that you are allowed to wear them, alright?”

“Will do, Viago.” Slowly it occurred to Cara, that she was about to enter a world full of rules, that she would have to follow, as good as she could, while not being allowed to ask as of why those rules were important.

“Good. Now, we’ve got to leave, Cara mia.” He placed the bundle inside her bag and swiftly closed its clasps. Then he got up from his knees, where he had been cowering while checking her belongings. “Ready?” he asked. “Said goodbye to everyone?”

Cara, excitedly stepping from one foot to the other and fighting the urge to bomb him with a never ending flood of questions, was only able to furiously nod, feeling that now finally was the moment she had secretly been waiting for a long time now.

She was going to be an Antivan Crow.

~~~

They stepped outside the luxurious villa, that had been her home for all her previous life. While they were walking down the busy streets of Treviso side by side, Viago did not insist, to help her with her tightly stuffed and pretty heavy bag - and she did not ask him to help either, so proud to carry her own bundle.

After a while of walking in silence, Viago spoke again: “I brought you a few books that you will need to read over time. Notebooks and some parchment and quills, as well. And a few coins. No riches, just in case you need something before you see me again. Remember, to keep them and especially your notebooks always safe and to yourself. At least those, where you write down things that need to stay private. Or things you learn, that others don’t know. Knowing things that others don’t can be useful and you never know when. So be careful who you talk to. About anything. About yourself. Or me. Or who our father is. Can you do this?”

Cara nodded. In her young life always had been things that needed to be kept secret, so this was not a new or strange request to her. Only the urgency that Viago asked all that from her, felt quite unfamiliar. But Cara had pledged her loyalty to Viago. She would do whatever he asked of her. For her, being an Antivan Crow was synonymous with her brother and thus being loyal to the Crows meant being loyal to Viago. This little walk through Treviso now, it literally meant the world to the little girl with the firey red curls in her brand new clothes. Because her brother meant the world to her. And when Viago eventually even took her up to the roofs on a very simple route towards the home, where the youngest fledglings were fostered and trained, Cara felt as happy as she had ever been. He even trusted her to use one of the zip-lines that were connecting some of the roofs with each other, and Cara felt, like already being a true Crow. Cara was still buzzing and glowing, once they finally reached their destination. But it all faded real quick, when she sensed how her brother changed, literally from one moment to the next, once they stepped closer towards the door.

There was no sign telling, that this was a place, belonging to the Antivan Crows.

She already knew, that the Crows were divided into “Houses” and that Viago’s was called “House de Riva”. This was also the name, he went by since he joined: Viago de Riva. Cara expected, to be of that House de Riva from now on, too.  And for sure she  had already practiced her new name in her head and in front of the mirror, saying out loud: "Caramella de Riva." She had decided, that it sounded nice and she was eager to take that name as her own.  

Viago was all serious now and so Cara thought it might be smart, to appear the same. He knocked the door in a complicated rhythm that she was not able to memorize, because she was too excited and overwhelmed from the whole situation. The entrance that silently opened up in front of them, led into a dark hallway and Viago gently shoved her forward.

From there on, everything happened rather quick. No big goodbyes or farewells. Viago just briefly patted her on the shoulder and gave her a last look that seemed to say: ‘Always remember the things I told you!’ Then he nodded briefly and turned to the Crow that he was about to hand her over to.

“Viago de Riva. Soon announced to be a full Crow to the proud House de Riva of the Antivan Crows. I bring you a hatchling to take care of and to form her into a valuable member of our House. Her name is Caramella - in good health, with a swift body and mind. She is 9 summers old.”

“May she be strong and pliable, learning the ways of the Antivan Crows and may she see the age and skill to become a true Crow to our House de Riva.” the Crow still took to the shadows so Cara could not see much of them and only the deep voice made her guess that it was a man.

Viago and the Crow nodded at each other and without another look at her, Viago diesappeared like a shadow.

Cara looked around, trying to take everything in, when the Crow - an older elven man - eventually stepped from the shadows and startled her from her curiosity as he swiftly passed by, heading towards the far end of the house. “Wanna grow roots? Make haste! No time to be idle around here, hatchling!”

Cara hurried after him whithout a word.  Slowly it dawned on her, that she now was all alone and no one was around that she knew and would care for her. Viago was gone and suddely she remembered all the times, when her brother had told her, that he would not be around to look after her.

The realization all in a sudden shook her but she forced herself to move on and - before anything else, to remain silent.

They rushed through a long hallway that led to a backdoor. From there they entered an enormous squarish backyard. All the buildings around the yard were connected and formed an impressive barrier. She saw training grounds of different types and a lot of other children running around, similarly dressed as she was: dark garments of different cuts and qualities. Children obviously from all the different regions of Thedas, light and dark skinned in all possible shades and of several origins, but she saw mostly Elves and Humans like herself.

A big but simple two-story compound building in the middle was where she was led to now. “Find yourself a cot and then I expect you to come outside. If we’d delay our training for every new hatchling that arrives, we’d never get anything done around here!”

“Yes, Sire.” she replied, without thinking.

The slap that hit her in the nape of her neck, came totally out of the blue and she tripped forward, her heavy bag making her almost lose balance and fall. “It is Master de Riva to you from here on out. Let’s see whether you’re still here, when you lot will be allowed to learn my name.”

Cara wanted to object against being slapped - in her opinion for no good reason. Was there any good reason to hit a child? The thought came unwanted to her, but it lingered in the back of her head and it made her angry somehow. She had not been rude or disrespectful and how could she know what to call him without being told? But the look in the old Crow’s eyes made her hold her tongue once again. She just sensed, that he would hit her again, whenever she would act in a way he did not like or expected.

“Yes, Master de Riva.” she parroted and was dismissed by nod, to run up the stairs. She found a huge dormitory with a large number of cots placed neatly in line next to each other, headboards against the wall. A mid sized trunk in front of every bed and a rather small desk with a wooden stool next to every bed. Even though the room was pretty large, the sheer number of beds in it made it feel crammed. It did not help, that there were only a few windows, to let in just enough light that there was no need to light a candle during daytime.

Cara tried to find a free spot. Which was not an easy task, because almost every bed showed some sign of being occupied: A sock forgotten on a blanket here, another piece of garment, hastily but not completely shoved under a pillow there. Books neatly stacked on a desk. A brown apple core on another. Candles. Only a few cots seemed to be eligible and Cara was quite content, when she found one that was situated close to one of the windows, so there was a little more light and possibly a little more air to breathe. This was a good spot and she would claim it as her's.

She recognized a lock on each of the trunks and those that belonged to the occupied beds were all closed. The lock was open with a key waiting to be used. And so she did. Tossing her bag into the trunk and locking it by turning the key. After a short moment of thinking, she stuffed it inside one of the small pockets she had found inside her gambeson. She really liked, when things were practical like this.

Cara turned on her heels and jolted back downstairs, not exactly sure whether she had taken too much time. But the hooded Elven Crow that had taken her in (and had slapped her for no good reason!) was nowhere to be seen.

Cara slowed down her steps and looked around. There was a lot going on. Several groups were scattered all over the yard, doing different exercises like running around the premises or doing some stretches that really looked hard, more like acrobatics.  In one corner, some of her fellow apprentices were throwing wooden knives into a sand pit that was marked with a huge bullseye and another small group was doing balance exercises on wooden beams and other obstacles.

“What are you standing idle, hatchling?” A new voice. Cara swirled around. This Crow looked and sounded female but she could not be sure. They did not wear a hood like the Elf before but a crow shaped mask, that was covering the whole head like a helmet. “Where’s your squad?”

“I… I just arrived… Master… de Riva.” One slap had been enough to not let her forget ever again,  how to address the adults here.  

“Then you start with stamina!” With no hesitation the Crow pointed towards the running group and made a dismissing gesture towards her to set her in motion. Cara hurried to comply and after a short dash she fell into the same even pace as the group she was now the rear end of.

But it took not long until the others noticed her. Side looks under cast eyes were peering on her. No one said anything, no one turned their head to look directly onto her - but what she sensed, was not friendly at all.  Which puzzled her, to say the least, because she had done literally nothing and did not even know these children, so in her logic ther was just no sense in being hostile towards her.

She also was sure, that, once they got to talk and started to get know each other, surely they would not remain mean spirited. They were all here to become Antivan Crows after all. Comrades.

This noble but rather naïve idea of hers was shattered the moment, they were allowed to stop running and get themselves a drink from the well that was situated close to the compound house.

“¿Qué tal?, my name is Caramella, my friends call me Cara.” She smiled a genuine smile, happy to finally meet some of the other Crow apprentices.

“So… Ca-ra-mel-la…” She mockingly stretched every syllable of her name, in a mean mimicry of Cara's was of speaking. A lanky human girl with somewhat blond hair that looked like dirty, wet straw. Having maybe 2 or 3 years on Cara was she taller and probably stronger and she left no doubt: She would never be one who would call her Cara. “What makes you think me care what a stinking noble brat is called?”

The girl and a bunch of others snickerd and stepped closer. Some of them obviously younger and smaller, but at least 3 or 4 of them roughly the same age and size as the blond girl.

Cara felt panic rise up but tried to appear unbothered. Which was not easy but she instinctively knew, that showing fear would not help her at all. She raised her chin and squared her shoulders to look more confident.

“Who stinks? Don’t punch yourself with cour own words!”  She managed to get it out without trembling. Staring the blond packleader in the eyes as if her life depended on it.   “Not only a noble brat but a dumb one that thinks it’s the witty one…” they now had her inside a tight circle, with no way to get away without having to force her way free by bumping into someone.

Cara’s fists clenched. She had no idea, what she did wrong and she saw no sense in what they did to her. “Hey, we are here to become Antivan Crows. Why are you so mean? We all want the same thing!”

Before she even had finished, Cara felt a sudden pain, where the tiny fist of one of the gang had hit her right in the kidneys. Another fist landed on her left eye and she felt countless hands grabbing and pulling and pushing and she instantly knew she would be going down whether she fought back or not.

So she fought back. Because no one attacked Cara, now de Riva, without getting to taste her fierce determination of not having anyone tossing her around. It postponed the inevitable only a little but at least she had been able to hit a few of them. In the face, on their bodies, she had pulled out a few strands of hair and scratched a few wounds with her nails before she went down, falling on her back, instantly followed by the blond girl.

“I’ll show you what I want…” The blond girl yelled, clearly losing her marbles, as she now straddled Cara, pounding down on Cara with both fists, hitting her face, her arms, her body - no matter how much Cara tried to protect herself. “I’ll beat your noble ass and kick your damn teeth in! No one here wants what you want! You think I would be here if I had a choice? Assholes like you and your inbred noble family have put me and my kin on a slave market and your glorified Crows have bought me like damn cattle… ” her words became more and more unintelligble and finally there were only feral noises that the girl made in her rage.

Suddenly the blows stopped hitting Cara and the little crowd that still stood in a tight circle around the two fighters on the ground, literally exploded as bodies stumbled apart and tripped away into all directions. One second the girl was still beating he, the next she was hovering high up in the air, her lanky limps flailing like a rag doll, like she was hitting the air. She was still screaming and yelling, but obviously not at Cara anymore.

Cara used her sleeve to get rid of dust and what obviously was blood that was obscuring her sight, and sat up with a groan. What she saw was a Qunari. One of those huge horned people. This one, obviously not with full growns horns, but there were already pointy stumps of around 5 inchesShe had never seen a Qunari child and adults only from a far, but suspected now, that those horns were just something that grew like hair or nails.

She had heard others call them ox-men, but she did not like that name at all. Cara had been reading about them. They were strong people with great military history and a strange, unfamiliar way to run their society back where they came from. It just did not make sense to compare them to mindless animals!

The least she had expected, though, was that one of those Qunari - who admired strength and detested weakness - would come to her aid, when she clearly had been weak. This, too, did not make sense to her.

But here they were. And she would not be the one to complain about her rescue. Cara took a closer look, but could not say, whether they were a boy or a girl Qunari and it did not matter. Because all she saw, was someone willing to help. And it was more than welcome and rather lifesaving!    

“Leave her alone!” The Qunari’s voice was rumbling and cracking but full and it demanded immediate respect. They were holding a firm grip around the waist of the blond girl, shaking her, as if to wake her up and make her stop screaming. “And shut up, Alessia! The guards will hear you and punish us all!” That seemed to work, as Cara immediately recognized. Good to know! “Now take your party of half-wits and piss off! And if I ever see you around that one…” The Qunari pointed towards Cara with their chin. “You’ll find out first hand how it feels to have your teeth kicked in!”

With that, they let go of the grip around the girl’s, Alessia’s, waist and she fell down like a sack of potato, stumbling but just able to not completely fall down.

She growled at the Qunari and then at Cara, spitting out fisrt to the ground and then a final threat: “Don’t think you’re safe, principessa! Once we find you without your humongous watch-ox, you’re dead!” she moved her thumb across her throat to emphasize her threat.

“Bugger off!” the Qunari roared back and implied a first step into her direction, which was seemingly enough for Alessia and her little gang, to run off in every direction, leaving Cara and her protector alone at the well.

Cara still sat on the dusty ground and tried to make sense of what just had happened.

“You had water already?” The Qunari asked and held out a hand to her.

She was inclined to ignore it, because she did not want to appear as if she needed help to get up. But then instantly decided that it would probably look rude if she did not take the offer and she had just learned first hand that she would not want to end up on the bad side of her unexpected protector. So she took the enormous greyish-blue hand that she was offered and felt herself lifted back to standing as if she weighed nothing.

Cara stepped to the well and took a few sips from the big wooden ladle and used the rest to pour over her head to get rid of the blood, that was running down into her eyes from a cut on her forehead. “Thank you for your help…”

“You’d probably be dead if not for me stepping in… I saw one of her idiots draw a blade.”

“But why?” Cara bit her lips. Her first conversation and she was already forgetting Viago’s most important rule…

The Qunari made a sound that probably was meant as a laugh, but sounded more than another growl. “You’re really new here, are you? And probably that silly cow was right, calling you a noble girl as if it’s a bad thing.” Cara saw at least two sharp canines, as her new acquaintance now pursed their lips to a grin, “Principessa, eh?”

Cara’s shoulders dropped and she looked a bit sheepish as she admitted: “I messed up, didn’t I?”

This time the laughter sounded less intimidating. There was a soft edge in it somewhere. “Yes, you did. But no worries. First days are never easy. Especially not around here. And even lless, when you are different somehow… Look at me… I should know! By the way, name’s Xander.” Ah, a name usually given to males, she recognized.

“I’m…”

“Cara. I know already.” Xander now grinned at her and the pointy canines suddenly did not look that intimidating to her anymore. And it did not go unnoticed, that he had used what she had offered as a name friends called her by. “I get it, no one showed you around and told you, what you need to survive around here.” Not even  a question, just stating facts.

“I read books about the Crows…”

This sound clearly was a derogatory snort. “Nothing against books, principessa, but nothing you could ever read, will help you around here.”

“Don’t call me principessa.” Cara muttered.

“Listen, when you call yourself what they use to hurt you with, it will lose its power. I used to call myself ‘the ox’ for a while. They saw no fun anymore in calling me something that I used for myself and after a while they simply forgot about doing it. It’s worth a try, I guess?”

Cara gave it a thought. She actually saw some logic in it and it had not that much of a bad taste, when he called her principessa. But it still sat not quite right with her. So she only shrugged and lamely echoed: “I guess…”

“Listen, I hate bullies and I saw you were in real danger there. That’s why I helped. I’m not looking for friends or aim to be your watch dog. I’ll show you around and that’s it. You’ll have to learn to fend for yourself.” Xander was back to the daunting, broody demeanor that seemed the Qunari’s default. Clearly trying to avoid that she’d get attached too much.

Sometimes, Cara could exactly guess, what someone intended with how they acted and she needed no one to tell her, that this act of kindness from before was not the attempt to begin a friendship. Especially not one, that would rather benefit her than Xander. The Qunari had made it very clear, that becoming a Crow for her would become a very lonely and very dangerous endeavour. But she was also a very proud and very stubborn girl, that would not bother anyone who did not want to be around her.  Cara rather would suffer all alone, than asking for help.

Yet, for now, Cara followed Xander around and listened carefully to everything the young Qunari told her. She tried to memorize as many details of her new home as possible. Later, she would pin everything down in one of the notebooks that Viago had given to her.

By the time their tour was done, a tower bell began to ring and Cara learned that this was the first call to evening rations.  They were expected to clean up themselves from training. For that they had a very simple bath house near the dormitorium. And as soon as the bell started ringing, everyone seemed to rush towards that bath house to conquer a spot so they won’t end up still dirty. The consequence of not getting clean in time was not being permitted to enter the refectory which was located on the ground floor underneath the dorm.

Despite Xander being so very clear about not being there to protect Cara or wanting to be her friend, the Qunari miraculously stayed close to her the whole time. Wordlessly letting her find a spot to wash herself right beside his large frame so no one dared to bully her around or chase her from her spot. He even patched up the still bleeding cut on her forehead. Later, when she was silently chewing on some stale garlic bread and the end of an air-dried beef sausage in the darkest corner, she had been able to find in the refectory, Xander appeared out of thin air again and sat down next to her, even sharing his large tankard of grape juice, which was watered down to a degree that pure water would have made more sense.

“You’ll have to stop smelling of fear.” Xander mumbled while chewing on the bread.

“I try.” she shrugged back.

“Try harder! And faster! Where are you sleeping, principessa?”

Cara did not understand the question and with a confused look on her face she pointed above her, where the bedroom was located.

“Funny!” a little growl sneaked into Xander’s voice. “Where exactly up there?”

She had to think for a moment, navigate in her memory and allign it with where she was now. “Next to the second window on this side.” She pointed into the direction, the rest of her garlic bread still in hand.

“Vashedan! Quick, swallow down what’s left, we have to relocate you before anyone notices…”

“Notices what?” She had decided that asking questions might be allowed and useful with some people here and so far, Xander was the only one, who would probably not punish her for doing it. But despite wanting to know what was going on all in a sudden, she found it the clever thing to do, as she was told and stuffed the rest of her ration into her face, while they were already on the move.

Xander moved surprisingly swift for a body that large and Cara had to make some real effort to follow without being noticed by anyone. A few moments later, they arrived in the dormatory and she fumbled the key from the inside-pocket, where she had stored it.

Her companion was nervously shifting from foot to foot, never leavig the entrance out of sight. “Hurry up!” barely words but more of a deep growl.

Cara felt like it took her forever, to open the lock and pull her bag out of the trunk, while from downstairs the cacophony of voices drew closer. Dinner time was clearly over and the crowd was heading upstairs. She looked around, searching for the young Qunari who was waiting across the room, almost comopletey covered from shadows, pointing at an obviously free cot.  She sprinted over, diving into the shadows herself, tossing her stuff inside the new trunk and closing the lid. Only the blink of an eye, before the other apprentices started filling the room, the new lock snapped close an Cara fell on her new bed with what was clearly relief as if she had been able to avoid some real danger. Which probably even was the case.

“Mierda, that was close.” Cara realized that Xander’s bed was the one next to her and both were situated in the darkest corner of the already poorly illuminated dormitory.

Meanwhile, more and more of their fellow Crows to be, were flooding inside the dormitory and with a shudder Cara realized, that the cot she had chosen earlier would have been right in the middle of where her personal enemy Alessia and her minions were settled.

She let out a sigh of relief and caught Xander, grinning at her. “You’re welcome, principessa.” the Qunari teased and she stuck out her tongue but could not help but grinning back.

[pinehutch]

Okay so my Thing about Dragon Age is this:

Ten years ago, I was in constant extreme pain as I worked my way towards a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. I had spent the previous year working 12-18 hour days most days, between an unsustainable volunteer job and my daytime career. Sometime that fall, I started noticing that my hands were locking into fists while I slept, and that the fatigue was never getting better, and that walking was really hard, more days than not.

I tried to work through it, that first awful year. I mostly did, too. I had weeks when I couldn't walk unassisted, and months where I was sick all the time because we were trying different meds. I called the rheumatologist in tears more than once, feeling hopeless and like a failure because I couldn't tolerate some of the easier drugs. And in between it all, I worked.

On the days that I couldn't work, and if my hands would let me, I played Dragon Age.

I'm stubborn, and I don't usually watch or read or play things that other people recommend until the time feels right. Spring 2014, I needed something that would be immersive enough that it could distract me from my body but that wouldn't require too much complex problem solving. I needed gaming, and some very trusted people had recommended Dragon Age to me before, so I started Origins in March and by July I had played through Origins and DA2 and all the DLC I could get. Inquisition came out that fall, and I was hooked.

(It also was one of the first ways that I learned to distinguish between healthy pain and warning sign pain: I learned to put the controller down before my hands would be so irritated I couldn't use them at all the next day.)

So there I was, having the worst year of my life (at that point), and I got to fill up my brain with lore and distractions and become a hobbyist expert in the historiography and folklore and religion and politics of something that was entirely made up. I could invest, mentally and emotionally, but I didn't have to fix anything real, including my own unfixable problem. I just had to learn, and to play.

Dragon Age brought me into video games for grown-ups, and it brought me back to fiction writing. The first short story I had written since high school was DA fic. I came back to writing poetry, the love of my life, a couple of years later.

My life doesn't look that different from the outside vs what it was 10 years ago. I'm working out whether or not I'm okay with that; making big changes in your life is hard when you're chronically ill and have adhd and you work a complicated job with a lot of responsibility, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. I had expected that my general weariness would stretch over into a kind of Dragon Apathy - that there would be news and I'd say 'oh, nice,' and then go back to work and the other little agonies.

Instead, I'm delighted? Surprised? Fond? Something I loved and that I needed during a really difficult time is here, again, while I'm anticipating another sea change. The thing that brought me some happiness, some wonder, and some escape can do it still, maybe.

Anyway. I collect my favourite DA stuff at @free-smarcher. I always roll a rogue on my first playthrough. (In real life I'm a giant brain on a giant, clumsy body; my fantasy is being able to go undetected.) I love Varric Tethras because he's a highly-accomplished fuckup with too many responsibilities and because he's bad at his personal life.

When Veilguard comes out I will almost certainly, at least once, play it until my hands seize.

[darkfeanix]

23 for the fanfic ask meme!

Oh, going straight for the throat, I see. 🤣

23. fics you wanted to write but didn't

Well, I've still got the Erino and Shadowheart suggestion from you about the Gauntlet and his feelings about her Shar worship. That was started and has been languishing in the WIP graveyard for some time. I've also got a Durge/Karlach story slowly microwaving in my brain that hasn't quite finished cooking yet despite me best efforts. In addition, I've got an abundance of Dragon Age stories I would like to write. Off the top of my head: More stuff in my Girls Get It Done Dragon Age worldstate. Calpernia gathering a fragment of the Venatori loyal to her and taking the fight against slavery back to Tevinter. Morrigan and Petronella's queer platonic relationship gradually mending over the twenty years between Witch Hunt and Veilguard. A few stories in the vein of the Fenris comics, following a couple of Hawke's companions on their adventures post-Dragon Age II (Merrill being at the top of that list). A Bethany-centric fic (or, ahem, possibly a series of fics...) covering the events of DAII from her POV, with a lot of focus on her time in the Kirkwall Circle. An AU of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, and Until We Sleep, with the trio being Loghain, Zevran and Isabela. Ravenna would live in this AU and join them as they travel to Tevinter. There's a Lavellan/Harding series I've been toying with (which is to say thinking about a lot but not writing anything) off and on for years that I call Elfroot and Wild Plums, which would start a few days after Corypheus's defeat and cover events all the way up to Trespasser and maybe beyond. All the new lore from Veilguard has made me want to do it even more. A newer idea featuring a Cadash Inquisitor that would pick up at the beginning of Trespasser and carry on after, following Cadash, Harding, et al, north to Tevinter where Varric and Dorian would introduce the former Inquisitor to their mutual friend Maevaris Tilani, and sparks would fly between Cadash and Mae. Don't even get me started on the OC Cardcaptors story, or the Dungeon Crawler Carl AU, or the Charmed AU. I am okay and very normal. 🥹

[slothquisitor]

2024 Fic Wrapped

Thank you to @eraserspiral for the tag! This was fun!

What’s been your biggest learning point this past year?

Mostly that I can still write a lot of words if I'm doing it consistently? I was in such a writing slump before BG3. I've been pursuing traditional publication and had some cool wins but not quite...getting there? And then that on top of some personal life shit kind of broke me. It's been fun to get back to writing and let it be fun again and not something I *have* to do.

How has your writing developed this past year?

I think I've tried out some fun and cool things this year. I wrote HORROR! I wrote an homage to Emily Henry. It was fun to push myself into really different directions, and I think it's made me better or at least I hope so. That's the thing about writing! It's so subjective and difficult to really pinpoint the places where you may or may not be leveling up. But I feel like I grew this year, so I'll take it.

Good writing habits?

Writing every day. Even if I'm traveling or even if it's only for five minutes on my phone before bed, I try to do a little bit. It helps me feel connected to whatever I'm working on, but also I'm the type of person who really struggles with feeling productive without clear goal posts. So, being able to look at actual words on a page helps me feel I've done something, you know? Also just generally reading widely. I think being a good writer is about being a good reader too!

Bad writing habits?

Impatience. I have the same issue with my art. My best pieces are always the ones I didn't rush. I have this like...desire to push things out into the world so that they don't clutter up my head anymore, and sometimes I think that means I'm publishing before things are strictly ready. My goal in 2025 is to do this less. But also, sometimes I'm excited!

Favorite thing you wrote?

Probably What Moves in the Dark though Invisible String is a close second. I loved the overall story of What Moves in the Dark, and I think it's technically plotted better than Invisible String where I was just like...coasting on vibes.

Favorite reads?

She's not on here, but TheWyvernRising is my writing partner, and honestly, her work is severely underrated. She's got a great Ghost AU featuring Halsin and her oc Rowan, plus our OCs are besties in every universe. What else is fanfic for?

Biggest win?

Finishing not one but two longfics in a year! Also, the response to Invisible String genuinely surprises and delights me. Someone called me diabolical, and I've never been more pleased with myself.

Goals for the new year?

Just keep writing things that make me happy. I'd like to maybe return to the original work, but I'm also just like...not pressed about it? I'm having fun and I think that maybe that's enough for right now.

Your favorite words of the year, aka the words you check each chapter for, making sure you didn’t repeat them 788 times?

Oh god. I overuse a lot of words or phrases and I know it! It just sometimes is hard to notice until I like...reread after posting and I'm like...whoa Sloth...did you use 'gaze' and 'smile' enough? lol

What are you excited for in the new year?

To not have a fic that's posting on a weekly basis so I can return to my chaos gremlin ways. I've been posting a fic update every weekend since Febraury (with a few exceptions), and don't get me wrong...when I'm working on a longfic I need that structure. However, it's nice to get a break from that. I'll probably let myself get too chaotic in a month or two and return to some sort of schedule, but for now, it's nice. I'm excited to keep working on Veilguard stuff too. I don't have any fic plans beyond that right now, but I'm sure the plot bunnies will find me. They always do.

I've been either skiing or painting my house, and I've been very not here. So I'm not sure who has done this....so if you see this and want to participate, consider yourself tagged! <3

[space-cowboy-101]

🥀 Seventeen x Dragon Age: Origins aesthetics 🥀

ahh dragon age origins. the og. the original. the beginning of all beginnings. one of my favorites.

my list definitely goes: inquisition, origins, veilguard, 2. but we aren’t here for that, we’re here for the one and only s.coups.

this is part of my dragon age au series, formally called ‘Modern Heroes of Thedas: Vol. 2’ (idk why its volume 2 it sounded cool), which is three (now four with the new game) fanfics for three (four) kpop groups that are based on the dragon age games. as of now, only the third installment is posted because it kind of started the whole thing 💀 now it’s gotten out of hand and i’ve allowed myself to drown in the obsession that is this.

dragon age origins, the first game and first fanfic of the series, has (some of) seventeen as the cast.

for our mc aka the warden/hero of ferelden, we have choi seungcheol—son to the teyrn of highever and a new grey warden.

some stuff happens at the start (the human noble origins) and lands him at ostagar, joining the grey wardens and fighting a battle against the darkspawn. when the wardens and the king of ferelden are inevitably betrayed, him and the other two wardens he met are left to pick up where they left off and end the fifth blight using the warden treaties.

unlike the actual mc of origins, s.coups isn’t going to disappear and never show up in another dragon age. he’s mentioned and he’s eventually going to appear in another because it calls for it.

each story, accidentally but now somewhat intentionally, focus on some dark subjects that aren’t as prevalent or just aren’t in the games because of the changes i made.

for the seventeen fic, it’ll lean heavily into the effects of what war does to young people because somehow nearly all of the members in this are under 18/turn 18 during the course of the story. it also goes into slavery and prostitution and some other shit that’s pretty fucked up that’s been hinted at/mentioned in dragon age.

(for example, it goes deeper into how the crows/house arainai literally buys children/orphans to train them as assassins and slavery of elves in tevinter. that’s a warning in itself 😬)

but this is typical dragon age stuff. i think. but there are happy moments! a lot, honestly. they’re a travelling bunch of misfits who don’t really have anyone but themselves.

anyways, if you’d like to read the third part (💀) of the series, it’s got about 20 something chapters to it. it’s ateez and has pirate/antivan hongjoong as the inquisitor.

i plan on posting this sometime soonish? i’ve been writing it quite a bit since the new game released.

[defira85]

Thedas Tuesday

Just over a week to go! And I've done introductions for all 8 of my Rooks (if you fancy, you browse the tag here to see any you might have missed) so today I'm posting my predictions as to who might romance who. This is just a guess, I've been trying to avoid a lot of the early access stuff that went live in September, so I really don't have a huge grasp on the companions' personalities for the most part, and it's entirely possible I'll get wrenched in a completely different direction by the muse once I get into the game proper.

But for now, under the cut because it's long:

Vaaran: Qunari Grey Warden, warrior class. This is actually the easiest one to predict because Vaaran has been a Grey Warden since the siege of Amaranthine in 9:31 and is actively hearing her calling at the onset of Veilguard. Who better to woo the stoic warrior who has embraced her own death and is only lingering to ease her sister's guilt but the charming necromancer and master of death himself? How much will it hurt Emmrich to realise that for once he finds death to be a hindrance, a horror, an enemy ready to snatch his new love away? How much will it hurt Vaaran when she realises she wants to live, but it might be too late?

Kasaanda: Qunari Grey Warden, mage class. Bubbly and boisterous, excited to be alive and to experience everything life has to offer, who else would catch her eye but the equally bubbly Bellara?

Micaela: Human Mourn Watch, mage class. A member of the illustrious and mysterious Gottschalk family on her mother's side, the more common Ingellvar on her father's side. Cousin to the infamous Jo Hawke. As a Gottschalk, Micaela has been raised as a member of the Veiled Brotherhood, and has an intimate relationship with spirits, demons and blood magic. Of COURSE that means I'm going to throw her at Lucanis (and Spite) because they're going to annoy each other SO MUCH it'll be delicious

Hedrobella: Dwarf Lord of Fortune, warrior class. The infamous Captain Brand is a world-weary grump with a heart of gold hiding under many, many layers of scars and snark. She is going to find common ground with Neve, two snarky women fighting to do the right thing for the little guy and finding comfort in each other

Dhraoibhan: Elven Veil Jumper, warrior class. I think I want to go elf for elf, and head for Davrin. We've never had the opportunity to have a Dalish elf romance a Dalish elf before! It's exciting! And with my personal little headcanon that Dhraoibhan is a worshipper of the Forgotten Ones, I can write it as a little antagonistic, a little culture clash, which will be fun. The only problem, it's also warrior for warrior, and now that the party size has been cut down, that makes it difficult to justify having him in the party with them

Luciaane: Human Shadow Guard, mage class. TECHNICALLY SHE'S INQUISITION, NOT SHADOW GUARD. Again, I get why there's not an Inquisition faction as a player background, I do, but I want one. For many reasons that I went into in her backstory post, but also because it'll be hilarious having her romance Harding knowing that Luc, her father, was a member of the Inquisition and a member of Inquisitor Corinne Trevelyan's inner circle, and he'll do fucking anime murder sparkle eyes when he realises Harding is dating his baby girl

Nomi: Dwarf Antivan Crow, rogue class. She's gayer than San Francisco in the spring time, and she's devoutly religious and bound by how important duty is. So of course that means she's going to have a CRISIS over Taash, who has left the Qun and has no loyalties beyond coin and is just the most extraordinary (BIG) woman Nomi has ever seen

Which is all 7 companions accounted for! Which leaves...

Beren: Elf Shadow Dragon, rogue class. Look. We all know my brand. I'm going to go after an unromanceable, it's just going to happen. I'll write a 300k fic about an unromanceable character yet again, it's just what I do. Will it be Solas, now that he's unattainable? Perhaps. It might also be Elgar'nan. Maybe it's Manfred, because Elissa's canon romance is Justice the corpse, so why wouldn't I romance a skeleton in this game? Who knows. We'll see what happens and who my wretched soul latches on to in 2 weeks time....

And in 2 weeks time we'll know just how wrong I am and how badly I messed up these predictions!

[seigephoenix]

20 Questions for Fanfic Writers

Tagged by the lovely @vorchagirl. Thanks for the tag lovely! This was fun even if that last question got me emotional!! XD

1). How many works do you have on AO3?

From my 2 accounts: SeigePhoenix has: 99 HeroAssociation has: 34

2). What’s your total AO3 word count?

SeigePhoenix is around 750k, so almost a million HeroAssociation is around 415k

Together? Over 1 million words written since 2015.

3). What are your top five fics by kudos?

SeigePhoenix:

The Serpent – 345 (Mass Effect Andromeda retelling of if the Ryder twin wasn’t in a coma but instead a mercenary on Kadara) Every Little Thing - 257 (Inquisitor Cadash x Varric Tethras I wrote for BE) Warm Me Up – 197 kudos (Evfra x Female Ryder that I wrote for a friend as a gift)

HeroAssociation:

Boku no Hero Kinktober – 1704 (from way back in the day when I wrote for MHA) Kinktober 2020 – 1564 kudos (I do believe this is self-explanatory) Color Blind – 1302 kudos (Hawks x Female Reader, soulmate AU)

4). What fandoms do you write for?

I mainly write for video game fandoms.  I used to write reader fics for anime fandoms but oh my gods the hate and toxicity was unreal.  So I don’t touch those anymore unless it’s privately written for friends.

I write for Dragon Age (Origins, 2, Inquisition, and Veilguard), Mass Effect (the OT and Andromeda), Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, Skyrim (though that’s mostly just my Dragonborn and Farkas), Stardew Valley, and Avowed.

If we’re mutuals and you like anime, I can be inclined to write anime as well.  So long as I know enough about it.  I’m definitely not closed off from writing it, but I will be sending it via Google Docs or similar programs instead of publishing it.

5). Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to!  But sometimes my brain likes to switch gears and I totally forget.  Then by the time I remember it’s been a month and I’m dying of mortification that I forgot.  The whole dog meme of “SQUIRREL” that’s me.

6). What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That one is easy.

Fool Me Once.  Absolutely does not have a happy ending.  Ryder and Reyes do not ride off into the sunset together.  Celeste Ryder turns her back on Kadara after being tortured.  I always wanted to write a sequel, but I lost a lot of love of writing around that time due to burn out.  I never got around to writing again until much later. If you check this one out, heed any and all tags associated with the chapters.

Darkside is still up in the air if it will be happy or angsty at the end.  We’ll see where Cara and Illario take me. Heed any tags and warnings about this. Their relationship is definitely not healthy.

7). What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The fics I wrote for others for exchanges.

Every Little Thing – Varric chooses the Inquisitor Cadash Color Blind I suppose the Rent A Dom and Waiting on a Hero fics from my other account are happy endings as well.

8). Do you get hate on fics?

Back when I wrote for anime I did.  And most recently I got comments on The Frog Queen (my female Cousland x Nathaniel Howe long fic).  It was more weird than hate?  Because they devoted the energy to leave a nasty comment rather than doing something productive with their lives.  *shrugs*

If I’m in the mood, I’ll troll haters.  My best work is just linking to a Rick Roll.  Most of my mutuals know to not trust any links I post under “hate” comments because I’m intentionally being cheeky.

The hate used to get to me.  It doesn’t anymore.  Now I’m just like: you have that much extra energy/motivation to leave a hate comment?  Get a hobby.  Leave my old ass alone to molder in peace.

9). Do you write smut?

*waves hand at my entire blog* And the anime one too.  On that one I wrote so much darker smut than here.  All tagged appropriately.  I do write darker stuff and monster fucking too.  I have 0 shame in it.

I write smut for f/m and f/f ships.  I don’t write m/m because I’m still a little leery after being called names back in the day.  As I’m a cisgender woman writing m/m ships, I was called fetishizing and so I tend to take a step back.  If someone requests it I will write it, but that’s about it.  I won’t write it on my own.

10). Do you write crossovers?

Not too many.  I have written AUs before, but not really any crossovers.  The only one I can think of was for a Black Emporium fic years ago.  It was a Skyrim x Dragon Age crossover.

11). Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes.  A 14 year old took my Kinktober pieces from MHA and posted them on Wattpad.  It was a headache and a half getting that taken down.  I went through such a blocking spree on that blog after that.  A lot of my stuff doesn’t get stolen which I’m thankful for.  XD

12). Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.  No one’s ever asked me anyway.

13). Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I have not cowritten a completed fic but I do write back and forth stories featuring my and friend’s OCs.  The only fic I’ve been tagged in as a cowriter is more a collection than anything else.  Letters from the War.

14). What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don’t pick favorites.  XD That’s rude.  I just have current fixations on ships.  Right now those are: Elfie x Gale from BG3 Ashia x Halsin from BG3 Senna Thorn x Davrin from Veilguard Cara Valisti x Illario Dellamorte from Veilguard Veronique “V” x Jackie from Cyberpunk 2077

15). What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

New to the Neighborhood.  It’s a Shepard x Kaidan modern AU where Kaidan moves into the neighborhood with a kid and Shepard happens to be his neighbor.  Typically romance novel stuff, but I just wrote myself into a corner and can’t figure a way out of it.

16). What are your writing strengths?

Smut.  Just kidding.  I like to think characterization is a strength of mine but not sure.  I do know that I love writing dialogue and banter.

17). What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything.  I have a lot of weaknesses but I do this for funsies, so I’m not looking to really overcome it too much.  I do keep in mind certain things I’m not good at writing.  Show not tell is a big one for me.  XD

18). Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I mean I have.  If I have a mutual or a friend that speaks that language I’ll go and ask them if I’m doing it right.  Otherwise I do research about the language before I use it.

19). First fandom you wrote for?

InuYasha when I was sixteen.  It’s the first one I really remember writing down because most of the time it was acted out when I was a kid.  I didn’t really write as a kid because nothing was sacred in my house.  -.-

20). Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh jeez.  That one’s easy.

The Serpent

It’s by far my favorite and the first long fic I ever wrote.  It took years to finish it.  I still love it and the characters.  Cerise Ryder is my ride or die gal and will remain so.  She got her happy ending in The Bloody Crown.  It wasn’t all roses and sunshine, everything settled happily.  Her ending was more about acceptance and healing than anything else.  I cried when I finished the sequel.  It’s my good-bye to her.  But that fic will always remain my favorite I ever wrote.

[himluv]

Okay okay okay. While I've been drooling over Lucanis, my brain has been percolating about Riallan in Veilguard.

(this is mostly for me to dump out of my brain so I can put it in fic later 😂)

Obligatory Spoiler Barrier

My biggest question mark was always going to be, what has she been up to for the last decade? She disbanded the Inquisition, her Clan is gone, she's bare-faced and alone after everyone clears out of Skyhold.

So what's she been doing? Veilguard gave me some clues.

1. Her Elvhen in Veilguard is WAY better than it was in Inquisition. She always spoke such halting and broken Elvhen. She spoke the fragmented language of the Dalish. But by the end of Veilguard, she speaks beautiful, lyrical Elvhen. She speaks like Solas. How did she learn ancient Elvhen?

2. She and Morrigan seem MUCH closer than I would have expected from where their relationship left off in Inquisition. They aren't just friendly or civil, they are... Conspiratorial? There's a sense of complete trust between them, which to me means there's complete HONESTY between them. Something has occurred between them in the past decade.

3. When Rook mentions the gods have escaped, Strife and Irelin immediately know that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are bad news. That they're worse than Solas. How do they know that? What's changed in the past 10 years among the Dalish?

4. We also know that, in Trespasser, Varric gave Lavellan a house in Kirkwall (to Bran's dismay). So that's been her home base since operations at Skyhold ended.

So. My little brain has been processing all that in the background and produced this headcanon this morning and I am RABID for it:

After Trespasser, Riallan goes to Kirkwall, where she meets and becomes bffs with Merrill. Meanwhile, Varric and Dorian sort of take point with Inquisition stuff because they think Ria's connection and love for Solas is a weak link he can exploit. She doesn't disagree and steps back from any major leadership responsibilities (such as they are after the Exalted Council).

So, she's got a lot of free time. She starts working on her ability to manipulate the Fade in her dreams. She'll never be a Dreamer, but if Solas visits her in her sleep she wants to be good enough to notice it. No more surprises.

Then, the issue of elves becoming Agents of Fen'Harel starts. And Riallan realizes that, if elves are joining Solas, it's because he's told them something they liked to hear. But she knows him, and knows he would only tell the bare minimum to get people to his side. They don't know the whole truth.

She knows the truth as he told it to her in Trespasser, and she does believe him. But to get others to believe her, she needs a better source of information. That's when Morrigan pays her a visit, reveals that she now carries Mythal, and that she thinks Ria might be the only one who can stop Solas.

So, they team up with Merrill to get her Eluvian working and connected to the Vir Dirthara (c'mon, if anyone can, it's these three). And they spend YEARS learning. Ria learns Elvhen and they piece together memories like archaeologists recovering a shattered pot. They fortify sections to keep it from crumbling further, and they confirm the truth of what Solas told Ria in Trespasser.

My girl got receipts!

So THEN, she starts going to the Clans. She's famous among the Dalish — a Dalish woman who rose to one of the highest stations in Thedas, saved the world, AND fell in love with the Dread Wolf? Come on, she's a huge elven celebrity 😂 — and they listen to her as she shares what she's learned.

The whole truth about the Evanuris, the vallaslin, and the Dread Wolf. About who the People were, what they've lost, and what that means for who they can become.

And it works. The Dalish start calling her Dirth'hahren (her maela called her Dirtha'len 😭), they spread the word, and some Keepers are even brought to the Vir Dirthara. Riallan never got to become Keeper of Clan Lavellan, but she basically becomes Keeper to all Dalish — she gives them knowledge and guides them away from the Dread Wolf. (This makes me so fucking happy I could cry, it's all she ever wanted).

And that's what she's been doing up until Rook disrupts Solas's ritual.

I will be writing all of this in a fic I'm tentatively calling "In Between" (already got to Trespasser so it's actually happening), so I hope you'll read it when it's done!

[somevirtualnolife]

A Tale of a Tower, Chapter 2

Game: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Read Chapter 1 Also on Ao3 Rating: G/T (Some language, fantasy violence) Summary: Aetius and Tsura (Rook) meet a new client that could change their luck around.

Author's Notes:

I think what is both challenging, but also fun about not directly including canon characters, but creating ones that feel like they could be NPCs you meet in Thedas. I wanted Donato Vesuvius to feel like a guy that you're not really sure how to feel and would get a lot of fun dialogue wheel options to choose from. He would probably consider himself forward-thinking because he sees value in working with non-humans, but he's ultimately still a fiscal conservative and a patriot of Tevinter.

Tsura is a rogue, so I also wanted to allude to where some of those skills may have started, but not quite throw her into the fray just yet, so Aetius is not only her father but her mentor in the trade. He's the one with the knowledge, the contacts, the skills. He may not want her to lead the lifestyle he does, but he also knows that it would be foolish not to prepare her.

I've also been meaning to add, but a big thank you to @randomnonsensedragonage who has been beta-reading all my DA fics as of late. Be sure to read her stuff as well!

Happy Reading!

Outside of a Tantervale tavern, Tsura sat on some barrels boredly watching a variety of citizens pass by. None of whom seemed to be the one she and her father were supposed to meet.

“This is taking forever,” she whined. “Why can’t people be on time?”

 “Oh, come on now, Tsu. It’s not even been 10 minutes,” Aetius replied. He was standing beside her, leaning against the building.

“I think you should charge them an extra silver for every minute that they’re late.” She was very matter-of-fact in her statement, which made her father chuckle.

“Wouldn’t that be the dream,” he mused. “Maybe if we did, we could finally buy a place rather than just rent out a room with one bed.”

Tsura sighed dreamily. Now that would be something. She was getting tired of having to switch between a bed and their bedroll every night.   

“Oi! No loitering here!” a human guard barked, sauntering up to the pair.

Tsura’s golden eyes looked at him and then to either side of her. There were plenty of others doing the same as they were, waiting around and chatting. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. She knew what this meant.

“Apologies! We’ll be out of your hair shortly,” Aetius answered, with a polite smile.

Tsura noticed that there was a certain sway to the way the man moved, as though he were slightly off balance. The teen’s body stiffened as she glanced at her father, whose demeanour seemed unperturbed.

“That accent… You ain’t from around here,” the guard continued as he leaned in. His breath was sour and stale.

“Vyrantium. Just here for work is all. My client just seems to be running late.”

Aetius reached into his vest pocket and pulled out crumpled, but official looking, work papers. The guard grabbed them roughly and brought them close to his face, narrowing his eyes as he read them.

“From Tevinter, huh?” he slurred, drunkenly passing the papers back. “Where’s your master, knife-ear?”

“Don’t call him that.” Tsura clenched her fist and seethed, but her father put his arm out in front of her.

“We’re Liberati,” her father continued calmly. “Free people,”

“Bullshit. That ain’t a thing for your kind over there.”

“Like some Tantervale guard knows anything about Tevinter,” Tsura crossed her arms and muttered. Her father shot her a stern look. She knew that look.

Keep the teenage sass to yourself.   

“Is there a problem here?”

Another human man approached, but he had a very different air about him. He was older, wearing violet robes, embossed with a golden Imperium design. His hands were adorned with jewelled rings. Tsura would have considered the display of wealth stupid, as it would make him an easy target for pick-pocks, considering the area. But then she noticed two stern-looking men in armour with swords at their sides beside him.

“Aetius Laidir?” he continued.

The elven man waved at the Tevinter noble. The city guard quickly cowered, realizing his mistake.

“A-apologies Messere.”

Tsura let out a slight tch noise. While she was grateful for the guard finally laying off them, she was annoyed that it took some rich guy to make it happen.

The noble gave her a curious glance. Although she was still a young teen, she was already her father’s height, which gave her an air of maturity to anyone who hadn’t met a Qunari before. The noble didn’t say anything further, however.

*

The interior of the tavern wasn’t anything special. Dimly lit lanterns emanated an orange glow. The tables and seating were dated and rickety, but the bar at the far end seemed well-stocked. A bard softly played their lute in the back.    

“Nice to formally meet you.” Her father extended his hand to the noble as they took a seat at a medium-sized round table towards the back. “I’m Aetius. This is my daughter. I hope you don’t mind. Learning the family business.”

Not quite, but Tsura had learned not to correct him when he was working. She didn’t always follow her father on jobs, but when they were somewhere new, like Tantervale, it was safer for the both of them. Additionally, they both noticed that when it came to new Qunari clients, they warmed up to Aetius much quicker when they noticed his daughter was one of them.

“Donato Vesuvius. Minrathous merchant,” the noble said, shaking Aetius’ hand. “Pleasure is all mine. Drinks?”

“Ale for me. Tea for her.”

Vesuvivus took a seat along with his (presumably) bodyguards, while Tsura and Aetius sat opposite them. Once seated, the Qunari girl felt a small nudge to her side. Right. Eyes and ears.

“I must admit, I was a bit surprised when my contact mentioned you were interested in hiring me,” Aetius continued.

“Is it so unusual for a Tevinter noble to want someone who can translate into Qunlat in this day and age?”

“It is when you are asking an elf to translate for what seems to be a hit on a fellow Tevinter noble.” Aetius shared a wry smile as he leaned back in his chair. “Rather bold.”

Tsura always thought it was interesting how her father was able to immediately shift his demeanour and manner of speaking based on who he was speaking to. To appear meek with the city guard and then as an equal with a person whose ancestors put his own in chains. She once asked him how he knew which ‘Aetius’ to use with which person.

It’s all just eyes and ears, Tsu. What do you see, what do you hear?  

She never found that helpful, as even when she knew what type of person she had in front of her, Tsura never particularly felt the need to change how she spoke to them. Still, she would observe and listen. What did she notice about this particular client? Wealthy and knew it, but didn’t seem to mind being found in a seedier part of town. Perhaps he’d done a rare climb in social status?

“Oh, I would hardly call a member of the Venatori a fellow Tevinter,” Vesuvius replied, waving his hand dismissively. “Cultists clinging to a dead empire instead of looking to what the Imperium could be.”

Aetius chuckled, but Tsura knew that was his way of avoiding saying anything that could lose him a client. Her father had given up on any real change in his homeland ages ago.

“Cinna Abate is a Laetan mage who seems to think himself an Altus,” the man continued. “He’s been sending people to raid merchant ships that have been carrying rather precious cargo from the South. Despite our complaints, authorities have been useless for one reason or another.”

“Hence looking into mercenary companies,” Aetius finished.

“And who is better trained to take down a few Tevinter mages than some oxmen?”

“Qunari,” Aetius and Tsura both said pointedly.

“Sorry, yes. Qunari.” The merchant bowed his head apologetically to the father and daughter duo. “And now you can see why I need you as an interpreter and wanted to meet you first. Work a few things out and make sure you and I are both on the same page so that they are on the same page. Once everyone is in agreement, I’ll send you and Stephan here along with them.” He then motioned at the human guard on his right. A serious-looking man with a bald head who crossed his arms.

“You want me to go? Out west and then Seheron?”

“You don’t send just anyone to Seheron, now do you?” Vesuvius replied. “I was told by a dear friend that is where you worked for a time and honed some of your skills.”

“There’s also a reason why no one stays there for long.” The elf crossed his arms. “You hired me for interpreting, not as muscle. Also, she may be taller than me, but my daughter is barely a teenager.”

“Now, now, don’t worry. I’m not a monster. She is more than welcome to stay at my property outside of Perivantium. No harm will come to her. I would hate to be on the bad side of you and a group of well-trained Qunari.”

Vesuvius then reached into his robe and pulled out a large pouch that made a heavy thud as it hit the table.

“Whoa,” Tsura couldn’t help but let out, leaning over it and peeking through the top. She’d never seen so much coin before. Her father kept in his seat, his face unchanged, but he did keep a firm eye on it.

“I’m a reasonable man, Aetius,” the noble said.  “A high demand doesn’t come without a high reward. The first half for now and your negotiations with the company, and the second half when the job is done. Do a good enough job, and I could find more work for you.”

Tsura knew her Uncle Lioren would not approve of any of this. Fen'Harel ma ghilana, he would probably say.

Then pay me more, dear cousin, would be the response. She never fully understood what either of them meant, but she was starting to get it.

She looked back at Aetius once more, who had now cocked a half-smile and extended his hand across the table towards the Tevinter merchant.

“Where do I sign?”

[tuffgreg]

2024 fic round-up

going by completion date. i'm proud of how much i wrote and, tbh, also find it kind of bonkers that folks are reading my shit lol. it means a lot!!! i like writing all my silly little stories and jumping back into fanfic at the tail end of last year was really a life changer and i'm happy to have met lots of awesome folks and friends!!

january

you might love me to death -- bloodweave, rated e, 23.7k words. this one feels a little like cheating because i posted one half on 12/31 and then the second half on 1/1 lol. this was my bw brainrot secret santa swap for slipintosomethingsoft (not tagging anyone bc that feels annoying lol). my favorite part: the horny orb stuff in chapter three. this was the first time i started to lean into the "backdooring themselves into a relationship with unnegotiated kink" dynamic i enjoy a lot with bloodweave lol

february

you pour and i'll say stop -- bloodweave + voyeur halsin, rated e, 19.8k words. first instance of my fondness for "bloodweave dynamic where you're kinda scared that they like your vibe from across the bar." cheating but my favorite part is that i wrote the first chapter then got several thousand words into the second one, hated it, and deleted the whole second chapter and rewrote a huge chunk of the first one to make something way better. good job past me. nice work

nothing promised, no regrets -- bloodweave + voyeur halsin AGAIN, rated e, 12.2k words. kirbles sent me a garfield t-shirt shitpost and i opened a google doc and wrote 12k of bw humiliation kink and exhibitionism. featuring trans gale!! love u kirbs

if you change your mind -- bloodweave, rated t, 3.6k words. a sweet little fic for the 2024 valentine's exchange in the bw brainrot server! astarion and gale get sent to do some subterfuge at a masquerade party, except gale didn't know it was also a date.

march

NOTHING i was just vibing this month and i had some life changes haha (all good)

april

as the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn -- bloodweave, rated e, 52.6k words. this was my fic for kittencombat as part of the bw tower spring swap. this is probably the best self-contained thing i have ever done. baby's first dubcon tag for misuse of magic and sex pollen. favorite part: the "dubcon for misuse of magic" chapter lol. i also like the bw + implied rolan voyeurism chapter that got tagged on the end; i'm charmed by astarion making up a guy to be mad at, especially if it's rolan.

a fragile thing made of glass -- bloodweave, rated t, 2.8k words. a fic for the bw brainrot spring fling! gale has accepted that practicality to astarion means saving himself first, and an incident in the guantlet of shar puts that to the test.

may, june, july

also just vibing, it was super busy!!

august

call on me for powers clandestine -- bloodweave, rated e, 14k words. "dom astarion sussur dagger knife play." this is the only fic i've ever posted where i was like huh, surprised more folks didn't read this mostly because of such a specific intersection of what feel like very "core bloodweave" tags, but it's also trans astarion, in a well-established series, and the whole first chapter is astarion talking to an oc which is understandably even more niche lmaoo. extremely proud of this one though honestly

september

at one, for once, with the universe -- bloodweave, rated m, 4.6k words. my yet-to-be-completed fic for bloodweave week! i have like a quarter of five chapters started and plan to finish this in the new year. i think it's good and really liked all the bw week prompts!! it's also a testament to why i tend to only post stuff when it's finished haha

october

breeze through the willows -- a slightly melancholy, very sweet apple picking themed fic for pjcole for the bw sanctuary autumn flash exchange. as usual i came at the prompt from left field but i really liked how this one turned out

november

look there was stuff going on

december

shoot the sunshine into my veins -- emmrook (veilguard -- emmrich and my rook merrick), rated e, 10.6k words. merrick accidentally gets high as a kite and whines at emmrich til emmrich fucks him about it. i did some informative reading about mushrooms for this one and i am soooo happy with how this turned out lol. the emmrook flavor i'm aiming for is sweet with weird-horny undercurrents

where art thou? why not upon-eth me? -- emmrook, rated e, 7.7k words. merrick trying desperately to get some privacy to beg emmrich to fuck him and then finally cornering emmrich in his room where everyone can eavesdrop to beg emmrich to fuck him anyway. my fave part is the comment "i want that old man to obliterate him" about merrick" i choked (he's gonna no worries)

stuff i'm trying to finish in 2025

this is for 2024 but i'm finishing up a bw swapfic!

next TWO chapters of by the sea (sex pollen redux, hypnotic pattern + worship kink)

a spite/emmrich/lucanis + merrick fic (this is the cuck chair time out one)

my novel draft lol (contemp romance)

stuff i want to start in 2025

bloodweave traitors au god finally manifesting

davrin/lucanis frenemies to lovers, the empty google doc is just titled what is this feeling (davcanis)

potentially a by the sea rewrite (the og would stay up, i would just update it lol) and long sequel

honestly i said i wouldn't do this because i did it with by the sea but emmrich and merrick are probably getting a silly on-going series of related fics that's just low-conflict kink exploration bullshit because it's fun. i have a whole google doc of ideas. i wanna get weird and silly with them

then also a separate emmrook post-game longfic featuring CLASS BULLSHIT, POLITICAL DISCORD, and MERRICK GETTING ENRICHMENT TIME IN HIS ENCLOSURE (murder)

[offbranddragon]

OffbrandDragon is a independent ~ 18+ ~ non-mutual exclusive viewer discretion advised roleplay blog for Taash from Dragon age the Veilguard. Spoilers will be rampant and canon is my playground. Any misgendereing of Taash is an instablock and a fuck you! Non RP blogs welcome to bother me or follow!!!! Written by local dumbass Mute, 25+, aggressively They. Rules below and tiny bit of necessary Taash info.

Fic links may be posted here intermediately.

Hello! Before I start off the rules I must include a disclaimer that I will absolutely not tolerate any hate towards Taash. Dislike them as you will I don't give two fucks. Come in here with that and you'll be blocked, be a coward on Anon and be flayed. On a lighter note I roleplay Taash as 20 and as 6'7" as well as demi-romantic and pansexualish.

Rules:

Firstly and most importantly, and as a warning, I can be a bit rough. I'm generally pretty nice and well meaning I am just not very talktative and have a low-tolerance for bullshit as well as curse ALOT so I get if I come off as difficult or rude and I'm happy to clarify my tone or intent. I don't do the drama, call outs, bullying, and fandom fuckery so more often than not I will keep myself happily out of that. That being said I will block you if I want and I do not give a single care into how you feel about that. Blocking is how I tailor my experience and keep people I don't like out of my bubble. If you stumble onto my door step on an alt account after being blocked I, typically, will block that one too unless its a VERY benign reason as "I don't like seeing X and you post a lot on that account so I just blocked it". I will also typically block you if you interact HEAVILY with someone I have distaste for simply so I don't have to see or hear about them.

Do not bring politics onto my blog. I am not here to debate or defend myself over meaningless things nor am I here to have philosophical debates.

You can follow me even if you don't plan to interact. I am not mutual exclusive either so if you wanna poke me without following that's fine. You can reblog HCs and resources from me as well and like roleplays if you want. You are also ALWAYS more than welcome to chat on my posts unless its a roleplay and the other person isn't okay with it.

I will respond typically as I can. I have a variety of outside factors that can effect how quick I respond as well as how often. Time zone wise I'm EST however that means little as I will post at weird times. If a drop an RP or wont respond for a while I will try my best to tell you but sometimes I will just ignore it if I'm not in a talking mood. You are always welcome to message me and ask about an RP if its been longer than a month because I do lose them because I am chronically bad and searching on Tumblr

IF YOU WANT TO PLOT LONG TERM SHIT AND MESSAGE ME PLEASE LINK YOU CHARACTERS INFO TAG, SHEET, CARRD, WHAT EVER. This is because, as stated previously, I am SUPER bad at searching Tumblr and also super awful at remembering things since I intake A LOT of information in a day and suffer from memory problems. Because of this I do ask for a bit of grace in reminding me of things. If this is frustrating for you I get it and don't really take offense if its something you don't wanna do. If you still wanna RP with me you are welcome to just pop in and out as you see fit.

I favor one offs more than long story lines because it's easier for me to blip in and out due to my memory problems. As such I welcome you guys to slide into my ask box with what ever you want! For drawn out stuff I prefer being messaged so I can start a roleplay chain and keep track of it.

Lastly (at least for now) my writing may look familiar if you've read fics and that's probably because it is! I have written fanfiction for a variety of fandoms and also do run a fanfic blog that is currently on hiatus. If you want to look at my fics, either to gauge my writing or confirm if you know me, then shoot me a message and I'll throw you my ao3 or my fanfic blog depending on how cozy I feel. If you don't want to do that then to TLDR my writing: I write a lot of long winded stuff that some may call novella. I do this to make your experience better as well as sort my thoughts as I write and have zero expectations of you when it comes to responding. If its a scene with action I would appreciate some direction even if its two sentences but I'm fine with what ever most of the time and will be honest if I simply can't work with it. That being said I can RP none long ass bullshit and am okay going back and forth just talking in character. ALSO I write SMUT (its mostly what my fanfic requests are) and am willing to, just be aware I may not be as worldly as some others.

[solasyoulittleshit]

@dreadfutures on tumblr 💜🐺

rereading Dead Pasts and Dread Futures by youworeblue before Veilguard and I just lol'd at this line

Ixchel Lavellan is being very prescient here lol

Meanwhile in DA:TV --

Great fic by a great author, if you're a newer fan or one of the few who haven't read it I linked it above!!!