#while i was deep in alistair's romance i have a really hard time not reading into the things she says to tabris

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

This. This. This entire conversation with Morrigan actually makes me want to sob. She and my Tabris always becomes close friends over the course of DAO; that, paired with the fact that my Tabris always romances Alistair, makes everything about this hurt so much more when you take DAO's ending into account.

Her confusion over why my Tabris didn't send her away. Why she didn't abandon her after they learned of Flemeth's plans. Why Tabris went out of her way to slay Flemeth and bring her the true grimoire. She asks Tabris why, and is baffled when the answer is, "I did it because I'm your friend," as if it's that simple.

The way Morrigan looks at the warden, the way her voice cracks when she says, "I want you to know that while I may not always prove... worthy... of your friendship, I will always value it."

She knows how this will end; Flemeth sent her with the wardens with the end goal of stopping the blight and obtaining the old god soul through the dark ritual. Morrigan knows that Alistair and Tabris are the only Grey Wardens here, and assuming they don't find more, one of them will have to die defeating the archdemon unless they agree to do the dark ritual.

With that context, her asking Alistair, "And what if a Grey Warden has forced to choose between the Warden he loved and ending the Blight? What should his choice be?" suddenly has so much subtext weaved through the words that I'm gonna start foaming at the mouth. She's practically telling Alistair that a warden has to die. She's scrutinizing his reaction to find any hint that suggests he would agree to the dark ritual in order to save himself and the woman he loves. And when he doesn't choose, she has her answer.

Morrigan made comments to Tabris about him, almost hopeful that their relationship was just a physical thing between them and not actually riddled with feelings... and then gives disapproval when Tabris says she loves him.

She doesn't want the warden to die; hell, she doesn't want Alistair to die, either; whether because she does actually care about him or because she knows it'll break her friend's heart if she loses him, or both!

Things would be so much easier if the only two Grey Wardens left to defeat the blight didn't fall in love, wouldn't they, Morrigan?

She knows that in the end, no matter the outcome, she will lose the woman she called sister and it's devastating.

Morrigan, who has never known true friendship. Who grew up isolated in the woods with an abusive mother and terrible implications for her future. Who discovered said mother planned to take over her body just as she did with her other daughters. Who doesn't understand kindness as it was rarely given to her without a catch. Who isolates herself from the others in camp. Who finally has a companion she cares about... and in the end, if her plan works and the dark ritual is completed, she'll end up pregnant and alone and wearing Tabris' resentment like a tender wound on her heart.

Or Tabris will reject the ritual, and will die to the archdemon.

Or her lover will.

I just- the dynamic between the warden, romanced Alistair, and Morrigan is so good and painful and rich that I'm gnawing on furniture as we speak.

[laurelsofhighever]

So glad you're playing so I can send you Asks too!

I am very intrigued by As The World Falls Down. Does the knowledge of his background change Alistair in any way, do you think?

And for TWC (which I don't write but I love reading about!), could you please tell me about Time Travel? It sounds fascinating!

Thank you <3

Thank you for asking! <3 it's takn me a little while to get to it because Baldur's Gate 3 is eating into literally everything I'm doing.

Alistair's background in ATWFD is the thing that's been giving me the most trouble writing it, because so much of his personality in the game is the result of being neglected and aving his choices stripped away - even with the Wardens, though he is happier with them, he joined through conscription rather than choice. Changing that aspect of his backstory is going to have an impact, and it's been tricky trying to balance the Alistair we're more familiar with against a version that has more confidence and less self-deprecation, and trying to work out his motivations ragarding the Fereldan succession and being in charge. I did this to a lesser extent with Falcon, my other DA longfic, but there he was shuffled off to be an ordinary soldier with Teagan and wasn't acknowledged until the events of the main story. With ATWFD, it's still not a straightforward path to being declared a prince, but under the influence of the Couslands he's actively given an education that would make him fit to rule, and Bryce and Eleanor provide an actively caring environment to bring out his confidence. The aspect of his character that's most similar to the game is his bitterness, his awareness that he's being used as a political pawn - by Eamon, by Cailan, and even by Bryce to some extent - and that the expectations being placed on him mean that he's never going to have a life where he can make decisions for himself. It just comes from a different place now XD All this to say, I'm really hopeful that people won't see him as too OOC as the story goes on!

The time travel story! Several people have asked about this one, so it's hard to say something that hasn't been covered already and isn't spoilers. Apart from being convoluted because Time Travel, it's a story where I've been actively thinking about the themes and the relationships between characters, especially my Detective and Nate. They're pretty deep in the romance by this point, but the events of the plot separate them... sort of. Because of going back in time, Leah gets to see a past version of Nate and it brings up all sorts of questions around identity and consent and assumptions about her place in his life. Should she acknowledge their future connection even if it threatens the timeline? Is he even the same person she's in love with without the extra decades of life experience? Is it fair that she knows all these things about him that he doesn't know about himself, to the point where he might let slip a secret because he thinks she already knows it? And along with all this tension is the fact that he doesn't remember her being in the past so she has no idea how her interactions with past!Nate are going to end. There's going to be some fantastic angstwhen I finally get around to writing it XD

--

ask me about my WIPs

[wyvernscales]

My chapter by chapter analysis of The Calling. Technically spoilers, but not at all.

Ch 1: Loghain’s certainly doing a lot of wife shit for a man not even interested in doing life shit

Ch 2: “the corruption was inside him” feels like a line from a different sort of literature

Ch 3: DOGS CAN BECOME GREY WARDENS!? Also little shit Fiona and slutty thief Duncan rights.

Ch 4: Damn how bad is the mental healthcare system in Thedas?

Ch 5: The next person to insult Fiona faces my blade

Ch 6: Why is a talking darkspawn the best therepist in Thedas?

Ch 7: “I c h o r”

Ch 8: You know, I may not be a Grey Warden, but something tells me that fighting a fire breathing dragon is a little worse than fighting a group of darkspawn.

Ch 9: So the Maker was here? What 

Ch 10: Time for Bregan’s weekly therapy session.

Ch 11: HOLYSHIT!??

Ch 12: Ah, the obligatory Fade section ft. burying the gays before you even announced their queerness

Ch 13: Of course the only elf in the group is tortured

Ch 14: Wait, why are they fucking? Fiona has actively disliked Maric for most of the book, and while her opinions have been shifting on him, it feels so forced and weird. 

Ch 15: Genevieve: “my subordinates will do the sensible thing” The Subordinates: does the opposite of that

Ch 16: Duncan’s focus on how much Genevieve has changed makes me think there’s something else going on. That implies more writing skill than I expected actually. 

Ch 17: NOT THE FUCKING MABAR— WHY ARE THEY FUCKING IN THS MIDDLE OF A DARKSPAWN CHAS— FUCK A CAVE IN— THE FIRST ENCHANTER!?????

Ch 18: WHAT IS GOING ON. THE SHIT HAS BEEN TURBO BLASTED INTO THE FAN.

Ch 19: The Wardens aren’t even gonna question the fact that they can be cured? They’re just gonna speed right past that?

tl;dr: King Maric assists a group of Grey Wardens in the Deep Roads on their journey to Ortan Thaig to find a Warden on his Calling. They uncover a lot of secrets under Ferelden’s soil, and there’s a lot of fascinating lore implications for the Wardens, the Darkspawn, the Taint, and to a lesser extent, the Dwarves.  

Thoughts: Another awkwardly shoved in romance plot with Maric and an Elf. I know it was to explain Alistair’s existence, but it was just so weirdly handled. Also Fiona deserved so much better. Dragon Age has an incredibly bad habit of creating Elven characters who rightfully feel maligned by the humans and “teaching’ them that their perception of humans was actually wrong all along and they’re not all actually bad and this novel is no exception. It’s most of Fiona’s character arc. Also, I know that it was written in what, 2009(?) but the Nicolas and Julian plot was exceptionally bad. And I don’t think the date excuses it.

There’s something to be said for how easily it is for the Architect to convince others of his plan. Maybe. Though if Corypheus can force a preemptive Calling in DAI I suppose convincing Grey Wardens isn’t too hard. But he is implied to have other allies, and I’m unsure how he’d convince them.

Also, we know Fiona is cured of the Taint. I originally thought it may have something to do with being possessed or laying with Maric, but she hears the Calling and is still corrupted after both. This could be an effect of the brooches from the First Enchanter though. It’s certainly fascinating that First Enchanter Remille can use blight magic however. It’s hinted that he is also tainted to an extent, (as his blood is partially black) but he is still indistinguishable from anyone else. With this new form of magic, he can speed up corruption, dissolve mortals into goop, shield people from being detected by the darkspawn, and also protect himself from its effects. 

All in all, I really like this book. There’s quite a bit I take issue with, but the Taint and the Wardens are just too fascinating for me to not like this. I’d definitely recommend this one for anyone interested in learning more on those topics. I’m already planning a re-read because there’s so much to take in.

[justaghostingon]

How to Woo A Cosplayer

In which Gyrus attempts to woo Tori, only to discover that winning over a cosplayer is harder than it seems.

a roseberry fic for brainstealer on the discord

Read on ao3 here https://archiveofourown.org/works/26017633

Or below the cut

This was all Epsilon's fault, Gyrus thought as he stood bewildered in a cheap paper crown while six strangers in infinitely better-thought-out costumes judged him. Well, not entirely, but he was who Gyrus was going to blame for this situation. Him and his stupid ‘girlfriend’ comments. “Hi!” he gave an awkward little wave. “I’m Gyrus!”

The cosplayers all simultaneously raised an eyebrow, and turned their attention to Tori, who blushed and looked down. A tiny bubble of anger rose in Gyrus’ chest. They didn’t find anyone else to play the part who were they to judge her for her choice, and besides, it wasn’t Tori’s fault he didn’t have a proper costume!

--------

“Stupid Epsilion,” Gyrus muttered as he hurried down the school hallway, head still reeling from his older brother’s comment about how he couldn’t keep his girlfriend waiting. “What does he know anyways?” Tori was his best friend, it was only natural that they spent a lot of time together. Everything was completely normal.

Except if there really was nothing to Epsilon's comment, why did it keep running circles around his brain? Why couldn’t he get the concept out of his mind? He and Tori were just friends. Friends who ate lunches together and walked to class together, and hung out after school like friends do. All totally normal.

Well, mostly normal. There were moments... Gyrus quickened his pace as he ducked his head. Little things really. When their hands would linger as they passed a drink or a sandwich, where Tori would laugh at one of Gyrus’ terrible science puns and he would suddenly feel on top of the world. As much as Gyrus tried to deny it, those moments didn’t feel the same as when Sylvia’s hand brushed against his or when she laughed along.

Gyrus wasn’t sure what to do with that.

He was so wrapped up in his own worries that he didn’t notice the uneven title of the school until it was too late, and he was careening towards the ground. Gyrus had just enough time to think, this is going to hurt, before someone caught his hand and pulled him back onto his feet.

“Are you okay?” Tori’s worried face appeared over his, and Gyrus felt his cheeks heat up at how close she was. Tori frowned, and placed her free hand on his forehead. “You’re awfully warm.”

“I-I’m fine!” Gyrus stuttered out, then straightened, sending her a warm grin. “Really Tori. I just got distracted.” He gave their still joined hands a squeeze.

Tori seemed to take that as reassurance. She gave a nod and stepped back, letting go of his hand, and Gyrus could feel the warmth leave him. Okay. So maybe he did have a crush. Huh. That was a new feeling. He wondered if he was supposed to feel this fuzzy.

Tori’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re okay Gyrus? You do not seem like your usual self.” Oh no, she’s noticing. What was he supposed to do? Or maybe a better question was, what would Epsilon not do?

“I really am fine,” Gyrus insisted, because Epsilon never let a chance to be dramatic go to waste. He cast around for another, safer topic of conversation that would let his heart stop beating so fast. “Got any plans this Sunday?”  He said and instantly regretted it.

Tori froze, a hint of red flushing across her cheeks. Gyrus just had a second to wonder if he just accidentally asked her out, before her face fell. “Aye,” she sighed. “Or at least I did.”

“What’s wrong?” Gyrus asked. He placed a hand on her shoulder, worry overcoming any lingering awkwardness.

Tori bit her lip. “You know of my...hobby. Correct?” She cast him a shy glance.

“You mean the cosplay thing?” Gyrus said, confused as to why she would seem so embarrassed.

“Not so loud!” Tori hissed, placing a hand over his mouth. Gyrus raised an eyebrow and she lowered it with a sigh. “But yes, that.” She pulled an arm close to her chest. “My team and I were supposed to go against the biggest opponent we’ve yet faced, but the girl who played our Queen has gone off to college, and we could not find another to replace her, so we will have to forfeit.”

“That’s horrible!” Gyrus exclaimed. He didn’t know all that much about Cosplay, but he knew that Tori had been working hard and looking forward to this battle for ages.

“Aye,” Tori gave him a half smile, trying to play it off, but Gyrus could read the disappointment in every corner of her face.

And because Gyrus couldn’t bear to see her so upset he said, “Then I’ll be the Queen!” And went ahead and signed his own death warrant.

-------

Oh that’s right, Gyrus took a deep breath. He was here to support Tori, whatever else Epsilon got him to do be damned. And if he couldn’t do it with costume... He coughed into his hand. “I mean, I am Prince Gyrus, eldest son of the late Queen.” He gave a slight bow, hoping it looked official. “I’ve been away at boarding school, but the Lady Tori,-” he gestured to Tori at his side, “-thought it would be best if I returned to aid you on this mission.”

“That’s right,” Tori stepped forward. “In the unfortunate absence of the late Queen, I felt the time was right to bring him back, so that our kingdom might see that we are strong in this time of crisis!” She thrust her fist in the air, and the room erupted into cheers. Gyrus felt his shoulders sag in relief as Tori seemed to command the crowd.

She shot him a small smile, private and warm across the cheering crowd. And suddenly Gyrus felt a lot better about coming here today.

“Technically, boarding schools were not yet invented...” a boy in the back began, white blond hair shifting as he moved. The blue-haired girl to his right shoved her hand over his mouth.

“Shut up Sir Knox!” She gave Gyrus and Tori a smile, “Sorry about him. He was cursed by a fae a little while ago, and it makes him spout out random things sometimes. I’m Lady Maria.” She added as Knox began to struggle.

“Ummghff,” Knox said, clawing at Maria’s arm, but her grip remained strong.

“Welcome home your highness!” A short boy ran up, hand grabbing Gyrus’ forearm and squeezing as Gyrus stared at him in numb shock. “And might I just say, you’ve grown so big and strong while you were away!” He pulled closer to hug Gyrus’ arm, and Gyrus shifted uncomfortably, heat rising to his head.

“That’s enough Alistair!” Tori grabbed the boy by his collar and threw him bodily across the room. “His highness is off limits!”

“Of course, of course,” Alistair bounced back to his feet, looking none the worse for wear after being thrown. “I know he’s taken! But you can’t blame a guy for admiring such a fine body!” He gave Gyrus a wink.

“Taken?” Gyrus asked, cheeks heating up. He wasn’t taken as far as he knew. At least, not yet. Maybe Tori had said something? He peaked hopefully over at her.

Tori was still scowling at Alistair. “The prince will be engaged to another royal, he is far above all of us!

“He is?” Alistair pouted.

“I am?” Gyrus tried to keep the disappointment from his voice. Tori’s ears turned red.

“Technically,” Knox said, having finally freed himself from Maria’s grasp, “many royals had affairs with those below their station before and after marriage. It was so popular that there is an entire genre of books and poems on the subject, called ‘Romances.’”

“So what I’m hearing is, he’s not off limits,” Alistair’s grin turned feral. Gyrus felt sweat form on the back of his neck.

“He’s off limits to the likes of you!” Tori shoved an arm between them. “As the champion, it is my duty to ensure his safety!” And isn’t that sweet, Gyrus thought as he admired the determined fire in her eyes as she said so.

Another boy in the back groaned as he uncrossed his arms. “Can we please get to planning our strategy now?”

“Yes, Strategy!” Gyrus beamed. “I’m good at strategy!”

----------

“I need love advice!” Gyrus shouted as he pushed open the door to his brother and Kodya’s apartment. Epsilon looked up from his spot on the couch.

“Really?” Epsilon closed his book. “I never thought I’d see the day when you came looking for my advice.”

“I’m not,” Gyrus scowled as his gaze swept the apartment. “Where’s Kodya?”

“What?” Epsilon cried as Kodya stuck his head into the room, massaging a towel through his still wet hair. “Why would you go to Kodya when I’m right here?”

“Go to Kodya for what now?” Kodya asked, looking at the brothers in confusion.

“Love advice,” Gyrus explained. Then turned to Epsilon. “And I’m going to him because I know you didn’t do any of the work to get into you relationship.”

“He certainly did not,” Kodya added with a smirk as Epsilon pouted. “So you’ve finally found love eh? Don’t worry,” Kodya crossed the room and pulled an enormous scrapbook from the bookshelf, “I have accumulated my experiences into this comprehensive guide on love.”

Gyrus stared at the pretty pink cut out words spelled, “Kodya’s Guide to Loving Oblivious Idiots” on the cover. Gyrus felt a wave of apprehension as Kodya opened it to page one.

“Now,” Kodya said. “What is your relationship with this lucky person, if you have one at all?”

“Uhhh, Its Tori?” Gyrus began, wondering privately just when Kodya’s quest to romance his brother had started. Had he picked him out of a crowd and decided he wanted to date him? That made this book a little creepy.

“I knew it!” Epsilon shouted. “See this is why you should have come to me! I have a knack for knowing these things.” Gyrus glared at him, remembering suddenly how this was all his fault.

“Ignore him,” Kodya advised as he flipped a fourth of the way through the book to a section marked, “the friend zone,” in sad blue letters. “Tori is your best friend correct?” Kodya asked. “Have you broached the subject of dating with her?”

“Kinda?” Gyrus remembered their earlier conversation. “I sort of accidentally asked her out?”

“Accidentally?” Kodya raised an eyebrow, and Epsilon howled with laughter. “Stop that!” Kodya pointed a finger at him. “I’ve filled pages of this book with times you ‘accidentally’ asked me out! You do not get to judge him!” Gyrus really wanted to ask, but he decided to leave that until after he’d fully explained.

“I asked her what her plans were for Sunday,” he said, “And she blushed.” Kodya nodded.

“That does sound pretty straight forward,” then Kodya frowned. “So why are you still coming to me?”

“Because she did have plans on Sunday,” Gyrus explained. “Her cosplay battle needed a new Queen, so I volunteered to help. Which I figured would mean it's not a date, but then after school she told me  that she’s really looking forward to getting to be my knight, and blushed again. And now I’m confused.”

“I see,” Kodya scratched his chin. “So its a maybe date,” he flipped the book through halfway to a section entitled “Maybe Date????” in multicolored letters. “These are a bit complicated.” He began flipping through the pages, and Gyrus got a brief glimpse of pictures of Epsilon and Kodya doing things together.

“Here we go,” Kodya stopped in front of one page with the both of them in renaissance costumes. “Hobbies. So the best thing to do with these is to try and relax and have fun. She’s probably a bit nervous to show you, so you’ve got to be supportive. Treat it seriously. You don’t have to enjoy it, but you shouldn’t be insulting or dismissive. If it goes well, you can ask her to do something different just the two of you, and we’ll make a battle strategy for that date.”

“So I need to take it seriously?” Gyrus said and Kodya nodded. He could do that easily. But then again. “I don’t know anything about cosplaying.”

Kodya sat back with a sigh, wet hair sprinkling water on the laminated pages of the book. “For that I cannot help you. But I do know someone who can.”

“Who?” Gyrus asked, leaning forward eagerly.

“He means me!” Epsilon cackled from behind. “Prepare yourself bro! I’ve got a lot to teach you in a very short amount of time!”

----------

“Well what do you know,” Maria said, sounding impressed as she looked at the detailed plan Gyrus and Alistair had drafted. “You really are good at strategy.”

Gyrus puffed up his chest. “Of course, I’m a prince after all.” A prince with a brother who made him read a book on medieval warfare to ‘prepare.’ He glanced at Tori, to see if she thought it was as cool as Maria did, but she was frowning as she looked at the plan.

“This puts you into battle in the front,” she said. “But as your knight, I cannot allow you to take such a risk. You are our prince Gyrus, we cannot afford you getting hurt.”

“What?” Gyrus felt his face fall. Did Tori not want him to fight with her? He shook his head. “Look, I don’t know what kind of leader you had before...”

“That would be your mother,” Vela pointed out.

Gyrus ignored her. “But hiding in the back isn’t my style. I’m not going to ask any of you to take a risk that I wouldn’t take myself. Because that’s the kind of leader I am, like...” he cast about in his mind, searching for some kind of reference that would work for knights. “...like King Arthur!”

“Technically King Arthur doesn’t exist,” Knox said, and Maria elbowed him.

“A prince handsome inside and out!” Alistair wiped away a tear. “I’ll follow you anywhere. Especially with that few,” he gave a wink, and Maria hit him instead.

“I like it!” Maria grinned, holding up a fist, while Alistair quaked in the background. “You’ve definitely got my ax!”

“And my bow!” Vela held up a hand crafted bow and arrow.

“And my mace,” Bronzo added, lifting what Gyrus seriously hoped was felt spikes on a wooden handle.

“Lord of the rings also doesn’t technically...” Knox started, but Maria lifted her fist higher and he fell silent.

“None of this matters if he gets himself hurt!” Tori protested, and Gyrus realized she was worried. “Don’s team is known for their ruthlessness! Or have you forgotten what they did to Hinju?” Gyrus looked around the room, wondering what could happen in a cosplayer game to initiate such a strong reaction.

“That was an accident,” Vela squared her shoulders. “And we have a referee now, Oli will make sure no one gets hurt.” The others all nodded, and Gyrus was left feeling vaguely uneasy that no one had explained what exactly happened. Maybe Epsilon was right when he said cosplay was a deadly art. But still...

He grabbed Tori’s hand. “I want to fight with you,” he said, voice pleading. “I even got this shield thing!” He gestured to the cheap wooden table top that Epsilon had given him to use. “Please let me back you up.” Tori looked him directly in the eyes, and Gyrus got a little lost in those bright green orbs.

“Fine,” Tori sighed in defeat. “But allow me to be your blade.” She straightened her shoulders. “I vow that no harm will come to you my prince, while you are in my care.”

“Excellent!” Gyrus beamed, and Tori’s cheeks reddened. “But as for the fight, don’t worry too much about me. I have more than one trick up my sleeve.”

-----------

The ensuing battle was interesting, to say the least. They followed Gyrus’ plan for a two pronged attack, the first party of Vela, Maria, and Knox sneaking in the back, while Tori, Alistair, Bronzo, and Gyrus created a bigger distraction in the front by pretending to surrender.

Gyrus tugged at the hood over his head. This was the part of the plan he was most worried about. Alistair had insisted that everyone would think Gyrus was Knox if he kept it up and didn’t talk, but he was less certain. They needed it to work though, if only for long enough for the others to get inside and capture the enemy’s leader.

“Who goes there?” A giant of a woman strode forward, dressed head to toe in what Gyrus sincerely hoped was fake armor. His little wooden shield was feeling  particularly pathetic right now. Tori shifted closer and Gyrus tried to take comfort in her presence.

The woman squinted her eyes. “Is that you fancy pants? You barbarians have a lot of nerve coming to our neck of the woods so badly armed.” Tori grit her teeth and Gyrus grabbed her hand, a silent warning to back down.

Tori drew a deep breath, and then straightened her shoulders. “We’ve come to surrender!” She shouted.

A murmur filled the other players. Apparently this was not well heard. “Surrender?” Ragan raised an eyebrow. “All that talk last we met about honor and you’re going to surrender just like that?”

“If I may,” Alistair pushed to the front. “As you have no doubt heard, things have changed since last we fought. Our beloved Queen, who had fallen to the illness of college, has passed away, and in her absence, two of our own gave up the fight in their grief and disillusionment. What you see before you are the last of the people of Brit, and we wish to surrender to ensure the safety of our people.”

“A likely story,” Ragan sniffed, “but fine. I’ll bite. Just one request.” She pointed a finger directly at Gyrus. “Take off his hood. I want to see all your faces when you surrender.”

Tori tensed, but Gyrus squeezed her hand again. This could still work to  their advantage. With no one knowing who he was, the other side would have to sit through a brief character introduction and buy them at least some time. Slowly he raised his other hand to his hood, and pulled it off.

A gasp ran through the waiting crowd. “Epsilon!” Ragan screamed, hand flying to her sword. “The traitor is among them! Attack!” Gyrus had just enough time to think, this is all Epsilon's fault, again, before the whole area dissolved into chaos.

“What,” Gyrus started as he ducked the swing of a very angry bald man, “exactly did my stupid brother do?”

“He used to be on their team,” Tori said as she blocked a hit meant for Gyrus with her sword. “I do not know the details, just that he left.”

“Typical!” Gyrus grumbled as he raised his shield to block Ragan. “You know I’m not actually Epsilon right?” He asked her as her large face neared his. “He’s like, super old.”

Ragan snarled. “I do not care. If you share his blood, then you are no better than he!” With one armored hand, and oh wow that was real armor, she sent Gyrus’ shield careening to the side, while she raised her sword high above her.

Gyrus had never thought he’d be afraid of a nerf sword, but the way she was holding it, he had no doubt this was going to be very, very painful. He tried to run, but he had somehow gotten trapped in the corner of the old plastic set piece. There was nowhere to run, he lowered his head.

“You hypocrite!” Gyrus looked up to see Tori dive in front of him, catching the great blade with her own. Her feet slipped backwards in the dirt against Ragan’s overwhelming strength, but she held firm. “You claim to have honor, and yet you hold an innocent man responsible for the actions of a brother seven years his senior?” Her hair blazed against the sun, giving her an ethereal glow, and Gyrus could only stare in awe.

Tori slipped back another inch, and the movement caused Gyrus to snap to attention. This was no time to get all mushy eyed. He leaned against the plastic set piece, trying to give her more space. The plastic moved, and Gyrus froze, an idea forming in his mind.

Carefully he pressed along the side of the corner, which had apparently been built with a smooth pole in the middle for easy movement. If he timed this right...he glanced at Ragan, who had managed to push Tori even further forward. Almost...

Ragan gave Tori one final push, lining up exactly with the far edge of the set piece. “Tori! Duck!” Gyrus screamed as he pushed against the other wall with all his might. Tori hit the ground as the top of the set piece spun like a corkscrew inches over her head.

Ragan, who had been standing on her feet, was not so lucky. The set piece collided with her side, sending her flying backwards to land with a thud on the ground. She struggled to right herself, but it was all in vain. The authentic armor she wore was too heavy for even her to lift, and she was stuck on the ground, screaming for one of her teammates to assist her.

“We did it!” Gyrus cried, scrambling to Tori’s side to pull her to her feet. “Did you see that?” he beamed at her, glowing with pride.

“Aye,” Tori said, and kissed him.

Gyrus would love to say that he responded positively, kissed her back, did anything at all really. But the sad truth was, the second after her lips touched his, something solid and hard crashed into his legs, sending him tumbling down the small hill with whatever had hit him.

When he finally came to a stop, he found himself half on top of another boy with brown hair. “Are you okay?” he asked, starting to scramble off.

“Don’t!” a voice called from above and he saw Maria, Vela, and Knox running down the hill after him. “Keep that slippery eel pinned Prince Gyrus!”

“That really isn’t necessary,” the boy under Gyrus sighed. “I don’t have legs, it's not like I can go anywhere.”

“That’s what I thought,” Maria pulled up with a glare, “until you sent yourself flying down that hill in your wheelchair!”

Gyrus blinked, the other boy. “Are you Don by any chance?”

“King Don,” the boy corrected. “Or I was at any rate.” He looked over Gyrus. “And you are...?”

“He’s our Prince,” Knox stated in that flat voice of his. “And by the laws of the game. If our leader defeats you, our team wins.”

“Go brits!” Vela cheered, and the whole team gave a cry of agreement.

Gyrus felt on top of the world. He’d done it! He’d actually won! Albeit by complete accident, but still! He looked towards Tori, eager to share his victory.

But Tori was not celebrating. Instead she stared at her shoes, expression full of woe. Gyrus didn't understand, this tournament had meant so much to her, why wasn’t she smiling. Unless, this wasn’t because of the kiss was it? Had she not liked it?

Or, said a voice in Gyrus’ head that sounded suspiciously like Kodya, is it because you didn’t reciprocate?

Well, Gyrus shook his head, he couldn’t let that stand now could he? He took a step forward, on hand reaching out to Tori. “Will you go out with me?” he shouted.

Everyone stopped to stare at him, Alistair’s face lit up, and Gyrus suddenly realized that he really ought to have put a name in that request. “Tori!” he said and Alistair pouted. “Tori will you go out with me?” And Tori’s eyes widened.

Then she smirked, placing one hand on her hip as she looked down on Gyrus. “I thought ye’d never ask.”

[spicywarl0ck]

Here we are with day two of the AU-gust prompts. The prompt was college for today, so I just had to go with some fluffy romance. This will feature my fiancés Aisling Trevelyan and Cullen, since they are adorable fluff balls. (Also put a hinted male HawkexFenris in there for my own heart :D Oh, and not to mention a hinted WardenxAlistair)

Prompts are coming from @augustwritingchallenge​

There was a light breeze that brushed trough her golden hair. The wooden bench that she sat upon creaked from time to time. It was a nice day with a blue sky, scattered with only a few clouds and the sun shone onto the football field that laid in front of her. Not that she was overly interested in sport, or wanted to watch the ongoing training. No, that she was sitting here in the sun was only because the library had been too crowded for her to find a seat, and the lawn in front of Arlathan college was filled with lovey-dovey couples. She had felt rather uncomfortable in their midst, especially with those kinds of guys that tended to flirt with her, making it obvious that they were more interested in her father than herself. But even if they were honest, she often just shied away, easily embarrassed by brash flirtations.

She had thought about simply returning to the Dorm room that she shared with another girl but the sign that her roommate left on the door had spoken a clear message. In the end she hadn’t even dared to knock and had fled the scene with a flushed face, not even wanting to imagine what the sounds she had heard behind her dorm room meant.

Not that she wasn’t curious as well. She’d glimpsed in the books that her older brother bought and loved to read to a certain point. The things that were described in the ‘Sword and shields’ the series she was currently following, sounded just so adventurous and exciting. It wasn't that she didn't want to do stuff like that as well, to flirt back when someone nice tried, but every time she was just rendered to a stumbling and stuttering mess.

So her last option to find a more or less peaceful place to read had been the benches around the football field. Of course there was the shouting of the training cheerleaders and the yelling of the football players that filled the air. But she actually didn’t mind it that much. It was still better than the other options. If it wouldn't be for the noises in the background it would have almost felt like home and sometimes she missed sitting in her corner of the garden, reading in silence in midst of the plants she cared for.

Not that she couldn’t have lived easily at home and get driven to the college by a driver. She would’ve been able to have every amount of the luxury at home, but she decided to stay in the dorms like everyone else. Especially after her brother had teased her that she wouldn’t make it without her bathtub.

But instead she now sat here, dressed in her favorite fluttery summer dress and a book on her lap, probably out of place because most of the other people here came to watch the ongoing training.

Her eyes shifted to the players on the field on occasion. Especially when she heard loud thuds that indicated that two bodies had crushed against each other. Aisling sat in the last row of the stadium benches, which was why the sound always took her by surprise.

“ALISTAIR! YOU NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR THE BALL FOR MAKER’S SAKE!” someone yelled over the field, causing her to flinch in her seat.

The voice seemed to belong to a blonde haired and sturdy man. He wasn’t the tallest of them all, but he seemed to be the one in the lead. Probably the captain of the football team considering the fact that he stood on the side and observed his players. Not that she knew a lot about the game, but at least she knew there had to be a captain.

The player that had seemingly made the mistake, a guy that actually looked very similar to their captain seemed to apologize in earnest before they retook their formation to begin from start once more. At least he looked quite guilty, as did the redheaded girl in the front rows, who had probably distracted him as he strolled back onto the field.

“HEY, HAWKE! TAKE THIS SERIOUS! THE NEXT SEASON IS STARTING WITHIN A MONTH! IF YOU KEEP THIS UP YOU WILL BE CRUSHED BY OUR ENEMIES!” The captain shouted once more, this time towards a broad and dark haired man that just waved towards a dark skinned elf that leaned against the wooden stands and who seemed to effectively ignore the man.

She tried to concentrate back onto the book she read, but her eyes always flew towards the sturdy men that moved in such a barbaric way, ramming each other with full force. But she’d to admit that it looked fascinating and at least it seemed to be fun for them, even though they were drilled by the captain and her attention got drawn to him on more than one occasion.

The man surely was handsome, with the college jacket he wore, the styled hair and that rough bellowing voice. Of course, she’d only heard him shout so far and that probably didn't say much about him. Aisling found herself to move a few rows closer, and she sat down behind the elf.

But her eyes didn't linger on the slender man for long and fixed on the captain once more. He was only a few seats away, and she was able to study his profile, her eyes travelling over the carefully styled hair, the furrowed brows while he was shouting. He was rough, but that didn't make him less handsome, and she found herself watching more than concentrating on her book. "HAWKE! CAREFULL YOU..." Her head had spun around, at the sudden shout, but she couldn't even see what happened, just heard a loud thud and a pain shooting through her head before everything went black around her.

A low groan escaped her lips when she tried to open her eyes, making her head thrum in pain. Everything around her seemed to be blurry for a moment, the sunlight hurting in her eyes. She felt herself get moved pulled against something warm. “I’m so sorry. ” A deep and gentle voice rumbled right above her and when her eyes focused, she could make out the face of the Football captain. He held her in his warm and broad arms, amber eyes looking at her in concern. “That ball shouldn’t have been thrown into your direction. I’ll let him run 100 Leaps around the field for that.” he continued, his hand brushing through her blonde locks, and he looked at her, his brows furrowing again. "You have been out for a moment, but at least you are not bleeding. But we really should get something for that bruise. Hold on." Her head was spinning with those new informations, and she was barely able to process it with the thrumming in her head. Only when she got easily lifted from the bench she realized that the warmth had been his chest, that she had been laying against his body while he had examined her head. Her heart started to beat faster, and she wanted to say something, thank you at least, but her voice just didn't cooperate. As if she had lost it, like every time she tried to talk to someone she found interesting. That she got pressed against his body, felt his hands carefully holding her against him just made it worse. She wasn't very touchy usually, kept her distance with an exception to her brother but this, this was something completely different.

There was a first aid room right next to the training field, even though no one was there right now, but he seemed to know the place good enough to find the things that he needed, opening the cabinets to get out a few things she couldn't make out.

He returned, stood right in front of her, and when she looked up he smiled, making the scar that cut through his lip twitch. Aisling felt heat raise up in her cheeks, quickly looked down again and flinched when a wet cloth brushed against the bump on her forehead, taking her completely by surprise. It hurt, ached and throbbed, but she didn’t dare to move even one muscle. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest, and he was so close to her that she could smell the aftershave that mixed with the sweat from the training.

“I.. uh.. uhm..” she began to stutter, at a loss for words obviously. This all was just too much for her. From what she had understood she had been hit by a ball and it certainly felt like it, but it couldn't have hit her so hard that her brain just couldn’t function properly, right? She felt just dumb, not being able to talk to him, to not even be able to say thank you to the man that looked after her so gently.

“Sorry… I… didn’t want to hurt you. I’ll be careful.” the smile that followed his words rendered her speechless again, and the way he adjusted the cloth, now softly dabbed on the bruise, it just was so sweet and careful that her heart raced even more. There he was, such a broad guy that could’ve probably beat everyone else to a pulp. Yet, he was so gentle and caring that it made her heart flutter.

“I...uh.. it’s okay. I didn’t pay any attention either so… I guess it’s my fault too.” Aisling managed to get over her lips with a shy smile. “Th… Thank you for taking care of me.” she added, her cheeks completely flushed.

“Uh… no you’re welcome. It was my fault too, in a way. Uh… my name is Cullen Rutherford if you want to report someone. I’m the one in charge of the team.” he replied to her, the smile on his face twitching again, leaving her stare at him in fascination. She couldn’t help but to think of it as adorable.

“Aisling.” she introduced herself, not feeling the aching pain in her head anymore, thanks to the fluttery feeling in her stomach. "I...You don't need to worry, I won't report anybody." her eyes found his and for a second his soft dabbing stopped. The moment broke with the creaking of the door as the nurse entered, but glimpsing at the flushed face of the man in front of her she wondered if that ball was probably what they needed to find together, and she couldn’t help but to feel thankful for the guy who’d thrown it.

[musingmycelium]

god okay i info dumped on discord bc thats just who i am as a person so i’m cross posting it here in case anyone else is curious about my canon world state. under a read more bc its, uh, maybe a bit of a monster.

i've got a dummy complex worldstate for no reason other than i like to make things difficult for the sake of a good story i guess. for origins my canon warden is an apostate, ellanis tabris who in an 'accident' had his leg crushed and it never recovered, causing it to have stunted growth. he uses a cane to get around and his disability helped hide him in the denerim alienage since apostacy is probably one of if not the most dangerous crime for an elf.

he's only one of three, though. his best friends growing up are noure surana and attie nehrios. noure gets taken to the circle when they're 17 (and ellanis and attie are 15) and comes into play a bit later, while attie is a seamstress and budding red jenny.

as far as origins itself goes ellanis' canon route is deep roads - dalish - haven - redcliff - circle - redcliff. fairly standard stuff up until haven/broken circle tbh. in haven during the guardian's first trial instead of shianni ellanis sees noure (whom the alienage presumed dead when arrested bc it wasn't, ah, a clean arrest) as the ghosty thing and during broken circle ellanis finds noure again and 'conscripts' them into the wardens. really he just takes them with him and destroys their phylactery so they won't be followed. (noure's phylactery is stored in kinloch instead of the spire after their fourth escape attempt since it gave them too much of a head start to make the templars wait to get it) theres a lot of Feelings surrounding connor but other than that ellanis doesn't super change things there either. he does, however, not have any idea about the dr. which is the biggest break i have from canon in dao with the exception of my inclusion of More City Elves. instead of morrigan going to ellanis she, as his best friend, knows he'll refuse to do it and instead goes straight to alistair. morrigan actually never tells ellanis anything about the ritual, ever.

during unrest in the alienage ellanis meets up with attie again, who is already working to clear the slavers out herself, and she falls head over heels for morrigan pretty quickly. fast enough that when morrigan sets out on her 'nobody follow me' thing attie does anyways bc thats just who attie is as a person. and besides she can't stay in denerim now that she's maybe or not killed a nobleman for what happened during the wedding.

and now its awakening time 

ellanis meets up with anders for the first time and through him learns a bit more about noure's time in the circle. (noure and anders and karl were lovers for roughly three years before shit hit the fan hard) and fuck canon here because ellanis doesn't have time for this. plus the architect is interesting and yah maybe insane but he's in the place for a little madness. ellanis lets him live and strikes a bargain with him, they share research and any ferelden wardens who prefer to answer their calling not by fighting darkspawn but by potentially furthering the cure are welcomed by the architect. but after awakening ellanis leaves vigils keep in nate's hands and goes on 'offical leave' to work on his own cure..... and to live in antiva with zevran...... lkjkjlkjkjkj

noure, after broken circle and during awakening, goes to nevarra via orlais. it takes them a couple of months to settle but noure finds viuus (yes that viuus) who takes them on as an apprentice of sorts bc he's also in a bit of a jam. it works, sorta, noure learns more spirit based magic and reconnects with a part of themselves the circle tried to beat out of them. it only lasts for about two years, though, because templars find them, one a recent transfer from kinloch and noure isn't exactly a forgettable face. so!

well, its around the same time that anders leaves the wardens for good. and ellanis puts anders in touch with noure. they decide to meet in kirkwall, because rumor has it that's where karl is and thats gonna be the place they need to go first.

attie though, she's just hanging out with morrigan and stirring the pot in orlais as a jenny. she also works with the mage underground and defo either knows or works with briala as a kind of agent. her story is more foggy tho bc i haven't read Super much of TME or played some of witch hunt

da2 comes in and i've Recently, like as of last week i think, decided to swap my canon hawkes. william is now my canon hawke instead of the twins. he's an apostate who's magic is mostly clairvoyancy and a shepherd.. or he was until the blight. bethany dies during the escape and its only the Beginning of the sad times for william.

with his pretty suble magic william makes for a Superb smuggler, and lands the gig with bartrand quickly. he Also, gets a bit of a crush on varric while they're still going around raising money. he takes carver, varric, and isabela with him to the deep roads thinking that keeping his brother close will be safer. and, well, it isn't.

act ii is a bunch of horse shit anyways but william tries to keep out of things until isabela is directly threatened by it and only then steps in seriously. for the most part all of the things which go down with petrice are done with noure and anders. they don't like the qunari being in town either but they, at least, can use the situation to weaken the chantry and by extension the circle. even if its only a bit. during act iii the two of them build up the mage underground and start preparing to take direct action against the circle. william is, still uncertain but he doesn't stop them. his magic has never been a large danger to himself, it's suble enough and under control enough that he's never really had to fear templars. he feared them for his fathers sake, for bethany's sake, but not his own. not really. and well, we know how da2 ends but i hate the retcon of 'hundres of casualties' bithc! where! so no, only the grand cleric and a handful of upper level chantry people where inside when it went up and they deserved it.

ellanis is working on the blight cure during this time and makes it far enough that he and zev are surprised by twins (two girls named adaia and killian) but otherwise ellanis is mostly chillin in antiva

while attie is now definitely working closely with briala both as a jenny and as an agent

and we’re up to dai with my canon quizzy - da'ean lavellan, the clan storykeeper (next in line after his father) who only attends the conclave because idrilla was going to first and they didn't want to loose the clan first. i've got... way more canon deviance in dai than anywhere else bc dai Suxxs but its way too long but basically! 

da'ean romances both dorian and the iron bull bc im poly and i said so, idrilla comes to skyhold as magical advisor and she works where morrigan does in the game (tho morrigan still shows up she's not an offical position as much, which suits her and attie just fine). linayel, da'ean's nas'falon (qp) arrives with her and he slots in as an archery trainer. 

plus, ellanis is the warden contact instead of the many (some really wild??) canon contacts. leliana tries to contact him to be quizzy but he's travelling and misses it, and when noure contacts him on william's behalf and mentions corypheus (ellanis knows about legacy bc william brought noure and anders along) ellanis puts some pieces together and comes to skyhold. he'd already been working to figure out the weird calling (it is and yet isn't the same as the blight he remembered) so he's already a bit aware of the situation. william doesn't stick around for long, basically just long enough to get confirmation ellanis is on his way. even tho he misses varric this isn't his place

adamant goes down wicked different bc ellanis is the fucking HOF. by this time he's developed his magic enough he can pretty much take down all of the wardens within a good 300 foot range just nearly instantly. (a combination of his blight cure research and his natural entropic aligned magic hohohoho) so he makes it to clarel Fast. instead of falling into the fade ellanis (anyone else remember just fucking punching rifts closed in awakening? lol) works with da'ean to open up the rift in the main courtyard and suck the nightmare into the real world. and then he fuckin annhilates it bc he can

WEWH is also different but this time its bc of attie (and morrigan's different now too bc she's been dragged into things by her wife) briala's at the palace yeah, but now she's also got attie waiting in the wings. instead of getting stuck in place by the quizzy attie is able to manuever things to implicate gaspard and celene alone (mostly bc i hate the blackmail on briala it just doesn't vibe well with her character to me). so instead of the shitty options of 'gaspard rules with briala shadowing him' or 'celene and briala end up back together' its 'celene gets put in place by briala and now briala calls the shots'

idrilla romances solas, and as a dreamer she's sure something is fishy but can't figure out what exactly. (until trespasser that is, when she figures it out at the murals) but she provides a good foil to his asshatry and as offical magical advisor steers the inquisition with morrigan's info about the arbor wilds. she knows the rituals and the magic bc she's first and they make it through far faster than in canon, making a quick alliance with the sentinals and beating samson well before the canon battle area. 

(linayel romances cass but their story is still quiet and vague as of yet but linayel mostly remains in skyhold to help train and strategize)

then da'ean kicks corypshits ass soundly becase that fight Sucks Ass.

[kirkwallgremlin]

TELL ME ABT THADDEUS AMELL

WELL, if you insist..... and good timing bc I’m literally in the middle of drawing him for the very first time ever! He was created when I saw a post that was like “which OC would have the hardest time understanding that a pound of feathers and a pound of bricks weigh the same” and I was like huh, none of them would but imagine an OC that was kind of a dumbass and the next day, Thaddeus (Tad) basically walked into my brain, planted himself there and refused to leave.

He’s a total himbo, he’s kind of an idiot but he has a heart of gold and he’s always optimistic. He also has a ton of anxiety but he doesn’t really necessarily realise it. He actually has a huge panic attack inside Orzammar (or maybe when they venture further into the deep roads, I’m still deciding) because he can’t see the sky and it reminds him of the time he spent locked up in the areas of the Circle with no windows periodically as punishment. I haven’t got too far into developing his backstory because I haven’t actually played the Amell (or Surana) origin yet and I don’t wanna plan too much that contradicts the canon in my worldstate that completely contradicts canon.

He joins the party after the Circle because he basically just...follows them. Zevran sees him first and just watches him follow them for a while because he figures this person is clearly not a competent assassin or anything and he’s amused. Wynne’s reaction when she sees him is pretty much “oh no”. In their first fight, he basically tries to hide behind Alistair because he’s “pretty much a Templar” and Templars are there to protect mages. He wants to join the Wardens but they hold off - I’m still trying to decide if he joins the Wardens officially just before the final battle (which allows him to complete the ritual with Morrigan) or after. I’m thinking probably just before (bc then he’s Kieren’s father and Frankie doesn’t have to beg Alistair to do something he’s uncomfortable with) but I need to look into the logistics of the joining more before I decide ���

Morrigan hates him. She thinks he’s an idiot like Alistair but unlike Alistair, who snarks back at her, Tad is just like “HA yeah you’re right” when she calls him an idiot. At one point, it’s discovered that Shayla and Frankie can’t really read and he’s like “I can read!” and then both he and Morrigan say “if I/he can do it, it really mustn’t be hard”. The rest of the party pretend not to notice when they start crawling out of each other’s tents. He doesn’t romance her but they definitely have a thing.

Zevran, Morrigan, Leliana and Shayla all very much enjoy watching him around the camp bc he’s pretty attractive.

[impossible-rat-babies]

DA 20 questions!

I was tagged by @acepavus! Thank you darling!

I’m gonna tag: @apostatetabris, @dirthara-mama, @wicked-eyes-and-wicked-hearts, @star--nymph, @red-wardens, @vvakarians, @trans-aloth, and anyone else who wants to do this! Sorry if I’ve double tagged you all!

--

01) Favourite game of the series?

I gotta go with Inquisition. I love all the maps and the characters I’ve gotten to make through the games. It’s a beautiful game.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

I saw art of Dorian around and figured out he was from dragon age and that he was gay and I was instantly hooked on wanting to play the game. I hadn’t ever seen a video game before with a gay man in it and I was desperate for LGBT content and validation. Dorian has been immensely important to me in helping me realize my identity.

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

I’ve played origins all the way through four times I think. I’ve played da2 three times, twice with my main Hawke and then another Hawke. I’ve played inquisition at least six times with Darva and I’m playing Dimitri for the fourth time. I’ve played that one the most by far.

04) Favourite race to play as?

Elves! I love the elves of dragon age so much

05) Favourite class?

Dual wielding rogue by far along with archers. Rogues are one my favorite classes ever. I do have a soft spot for mages and warriors thought

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

I try to make little sorts of different choices. I’ve both allied/conscripted the templars and mages before on different little games and I’ve both banished and kept the grey wardens. I’ve never put Gaspard on the throne himself, but I’ve done all the other ways Halamshiral can end up. I’ve only ever not drank from the well once and the was because I was playing a human. I try to mix it up a little each play through for variety sake. Plus I love Calperia’s story so much more than Sampson, so I do side with the templars on occasion. But I am a mage loving gay.

07) Go-to adventuring group?

My Origins go to gang for Eth is Shale, Wyne and Alistair and Slivayn is usually Wyne, Shale, and Zevran. DA2 is a whole grab bag of people, but I usually have one mage, one warrior and a rogue + my mage Hawke.  My crew for inquisition depends on who I’m playing. Darva mainly roles with Cassandra, Vivienne and Dorian while Dimitri runs with Iron Bull, Sera and Solas.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

Dimitri and Darva are at a big ole tie with Eth coming in second place. Dimitri is my ever evolving kiddo mainly bc I play a TTRPG with him as my PC, but Darva is like that comfort character where I truly see myself in. Eth is my precious little complicated warden child who I revisit on occasion because I forget how much I do enjoy origins.

09) Favourite romance?

Oooo it’s a hard tie between Bull and Dorian. Dorian was really like that gateway--along with dragon age in general--into me making gay characters explicitly and having them represent me. He made me feel okay with who I am and seeing that blatant love between men was something I had never seen. It was kinda the same with Bull, but he was also like that shattering of men having to preform to a certain degree of manliness to be seen as valid. Bull is manly af, but he loves the color pink. Masculinity doesn’t have to be as society defines it.

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

I have read the Magekiller comic, but that was about it. I wanna read the books, but having the energy to do it. Does reading the TTRPG book count? Or the World of Thedas books? lolol

11) If you read them, which was your favourite book?

I haven’t read any of the main book tbh

12) Favourite DLCs?

I loved the Return to Ostagar DLC. That one was full of a great atmosphere and just generally quite sad. I liked Mark of the Assassin best out of the DA2 DLCs because it was humorous as well as having good drama going on. A very fun time even though it was a bit of a pain. Trespasser is probably my favorite DLC for Inquisition mainly because of the run through the elvhen ruins at the end of the DLC to get to Solas. It’s throwing everything you have because this is the end at the enemy and I love that.

13) Things that annoy you.

Ehhh most of my annoyance come from the lack of mlm romance options in the game and the treatment of characters like Sera and Sandal who are coded as neutroatypical. But, most of my qualms come from fandom and the rampant homophobia, transphobia, racism and white-washing everyone does. Ya shitty fandom.

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Ferelden, personally.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages as always.

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

I have multiple characters across two world states, my canon one being Eth Tabris, my dual wielding rogue warden who romanced Alistair, Bryn Hawke, my force/blood mage, who romanced Fenris and Darva Lavellan, my dual wielding rogue who romanced Dorian. I also have other Lavellan's that go along with Darva like Fisk and Livonah. Then I have an alternative world state with Slivayn Mahariel, an archer rogue who romanced Zevran, then Farlan Hawke, my two handed warrior who romanced Anders, and then Dimitri Enallasani, my mage elf who romanced Bull. Dimitri only has Daniel as his other sort of important character.

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

Eth named her Mabari, Witt, after her brother who was sent to the Circle when she was 16. I cannot remember for the life of my what Bryn named his Mabari, rip. Darva ends up with a Mabari in Kirkwall just named Da’len. Slivayn named his Mabari Tamlen after his clanmate and lover. I can’t remember what Farlan named his Mabari, RIP. Dimitri has an Anderfels Hart he raises later on named Ghilan after his Keeper’s old Hart and he has a great horned owl named Falon who he rescued.

18) Have you installed any mods?

Nope! I play all my games on console, so no mods for me. I do want to get a good gaming computer after I graduate from college so I can indulge in some mods for Dimitri and Darva and learn fly cam. I would really like to have Dimitri’s vallaslin in the game and more dalish outfits for my kiddos. Alas, I am stuck with what I have for now.

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

Wanting to become a Grey Warden wasn’t something Eth thought about wanting or not wanting. She was ready to die for having saved Shianni and that would have been enough. She kept her safe and that was her duty. Duncan thought she was worth the risk and she accepted that if this was going to be her new duty, it was going to be her new duty.

Slivayn didn’t want to be a Warden at all. Duncan had to conscript him and even then he hated Duncan for a long, long time. He didn’t get to see if he could save Tamlen at all so he was intensely grieving and he was torn from the only home he had ever known. Ostagar was his first experience with humans who weren’t out to kill him and his family.

20) Hawke’s personality?

Bryn is firmly in the Purple Hawke camp, but strays into Blue on occasion. Farlan is a firm divide between Red and Purple.

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

Yes, omg yes. My quizzies have their own color palettes I work off of. Darva alternates between Bear Fur + Plush Fustian Velvet + Infused Vyrantium Samite + Blue Vitriol and Great Bear Fur + Darkened Samite + Silk Brocade + Blue Vitriol. Dimitri’s changes from Snoufleur Skin + Drakestone + Darkened Samite + Higher Weave to Great Bear Fur + Darkened Samite + Dragon Scale. aka, Darva wears a lot of deep browns, blues and greens and Dimitri is a lot of reds, blacks and oranges.

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

Eth wishes she would have done more to keep Shianni safe along with the rest of the Alienage. Her biggest regret is that she allowed what happened to happen.

Bryn wishes he could’ve saved his family. He covers up a lot of his grief with humor and deflection, but he hurts a lot for what he did. Part of him wishes he had done better with his mother, but he wouldn't admit it.

Darva wishes he could’ve saved his father; he knows he was only fourteen and that he would have gotten himself killed, but at times he thought that a better fate than having to deal with his mother and her all encompassing, smothering grief. 

Dimitri wishes he could’ve saved his clan. He goes over what happened as much as he can, trying to piece together what he could've done to save his family. It’s his life’s biggest regret.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

Oooo could Darva being trans be one? Idk, that's a headcanon that doesn’t much go again canon. Biggest one for him would be him leaving the clan at 18 and traveling around Thedas. 

Dimitri’s whole origins and magical usage is a big middle finger at the canon for the dalish inquisitor considering he is sort of his own sect of elves who are drastically different than their southern counterparts.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

Ooo Darva leaves Alistair in the Fade because I can’t bear to leave Bryn behind, rip. But Dimitri ends up leaving Loghain in the Fade. I can’t give up my Hawkes.....

25) Favourite mount?

Me personally? I love the Pride of Arlathan mount. Darva mainly uses that mount and it’s his favorite. Dimitri loves his horse, the Amaranthine Charger. But, later on he gets his Anderfels Hart--which is a sandy colored breed of Hart that is larger and tougher than others of it’s breed. They bond with only one rider in their lifetime and will stand their ground, full of as much conviction as the elves who originally bred them.

[bitchesofostwick]

2018 writer review

i was tagged by my dear friend @veridium-bye​ (thank you love!). i really didn’t start writing fic again until about october, so this is really a review of three months out of this year, but i’m still really proud of what i’ve done!

words written in 2018: 73,770

number of short fics/drabbles written in 2018: 39 (thirty-one of these were OC-tober ficlets, four were art trade/gift fics, and the remaining four were miscellaneous stories for my OCs)

number of fic chapters written in 2018: 11 (three for All of My Walls and eight for A World Alone)

number of chaptered fics completed in 2018: just one! All of My Walls, a three-chapter fic of aurelia hawke and fenris spanning the time between the “a bitter pill” quest through the end of the in-game DA2 events. it was really important to me for two reasons: one, aurelia and fenris are a rivalmance pair, but a lot of rivalmance fics i see are basically...just hate sex? and for fenris, and for aurelia, there are so many more layers and personal history that lends itself to their romance and creates these waves of tension and sadness and anger and heartbreak, but never hatred. i tackle the rivalmance in a bit of an easier (and generally humorous) light in their shorter fics, but All of My Walls is much more serious and i’m so proud of both of them for growing into themselves and each other and slowly allowing themselves love and be loved over the course of that fic. the OTHER reason that fic was so important to be is that it’s the first long(er) fic i wrote in a long, long time, and i consider it my way back into writing. i don’t think it reads as seamlessly as fics i’ve written since then do, but i’m still proud of myself for creating it, and i’m thankfully that it brought me back into the writing world.

fandoms: only dragon age this year! i haven’t touched my skyrim fic since 2017, and i toyed around with the idea of a kotor fic in the spring, but it never amounted to anything.

pairings: mainly ellinor trevelyan x cullen, emilia cousland x alistair, and aurelia hawke x fenris; HOWEVER, i’m eternally grateful to @fourletterepithet (velthei lavellan x cullen), @haloneshiral (letheia lavellan x cullen), @frecklef0x (anon trevelyan x dorian), and @gingerbreton (ysabelle dryden x alistair) for granting me the honor of writing about their OCs and letting me explore the dynamics of other pairings/relationships! writing for others is a really great experience to grow and strengthen your own writing, so i’m really glad i got to do those stories.

proudest achievements: i’m honestly just...proud i wrote anything at all? it’s so intimidating to come into a fandom that’s years and years old and put your content out there for people to see, especially when you haven’t written leisurely in a couple years and you’re really self-conscious of your work, like i am. but i took the leap, and people have been so responsive and supportive, and i’m eternally grateful for the very kind mutuals/readers i have that continue to inspire me to keep going and creating. some more minor achievements include

starting art trades. before doing this, i truly, genuinely did not believe that the brilliantly talented artists i see on tumblr every day would ever value their incredible work as equal to a short fic written by me. to me, it seemed like trading down. it turns out, i was wrong, and i’ve so far traded three one shots for three beautiful pieces of artwork, and as i mentioned earlier, it’s so refreshing and also so beneficial (in terms of writing skill and practice) to write for OCs that are not my own, so i’m so glad to have done these!

forcing myself to write action scenes. if you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve probably seen me complain multiple times about how much i hate writing action (i even made a meme about it that somehow went viral within the writeblr community lol joke’s on them it was made as a result of me rage quitting a dragon battle scene). the only thing i hate more than writing action is writing mage action, because none of my OCs are mages and all of my friends’ OCs are mages and i cannot understand the dynamics of mage combat no matter how hard i try. but, you can’t get better at something unless you practice it, so i wrote plenty of action in an attempt to get better. and i think (hope?) i did.

starting A World Alone!! my pride and joy!! my first longfic!! my favorite OC!! it’s a slow burn it’s an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers there’s tension there’s sadness there’s powerful female friendships there will be love eventually and i could go on about it for forever but instead i’ll just shamelessly plug it here because i love it so much and it makes me so happy.

writing goals for 2019

i would really love to join DWC but so far it looks intimidating to me because i’m worried i won’t be able to sit down for a night and keep up. but i’ll probably do it. i have so many good prompt posts saved in my drafts that i want to do.

more art trades! i have three already planned for the new year, and i’m very excited about them!

maybe finish A World Alone? i’m writing it at a good pace so far, so it’s a realistic goal.

more one shots. i love my longfic (obviously, as i blabbed about it relentlessly above), but i think shorter fics are such great opportunities to really focus in on a singular emotion and delve deep into little moments that are so brief in terms of plot but so big in terms of characterization. there are a few in particular i’m really proud of from this year (x, x, x, x, x, x), but i’m looking forward to more.

tagging friends (keeping it to friends who write, even a little!! any amount of writing is good writing!) @inquisitorsmabari @fourletterepithet @dickeybbqpit @trvelyans @a-shakespearean-in-paris @star--nymph @cullenvhenan @daydreamingdragonage @gingerbreton

[sulevinblade]

DA Question

Tagged by: nobody, I just wanted to play

Tagging: @gremlinquisitor​ because I haven’t seen you do it yet

01) Favorite game of the series?

Inquisition, hands down. 

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

Fun story, I first played Origins somewhere between seven and nine years and never got my Brosca out of Orzammar. It was on PC and I just couldn’t get used to the controls. Then I made a friend who is a hardcore Bioware fan. Xe got me invested in Mass Effect first and I marathoned all three games (almost, I haven’t actually finished me3) then got stubborn and refused to play Dragon Age, but xe sent me Origins and I had no reason not to at that point. I still held out till this past summer, but once I started I never looked back.

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

I’m on my second Origins playthough, DA2 only once so far, and uhhhh technically I’ve only finished DAI once but I have three other playthroughs I intend to see through to the end.

04) Favorite race to play as?

I love dwarves, oh my god. There was never a question that my first Warden would be a dwarf, and I only waited as long as I did for a dwarf in Inquisition because I don’t like the Cadash origin. Bring back my Orzammar dwarves!

05) Favorite class?

Warrior, always. I have a couple of mages and enjoy them, but I am a warrior player at heart always, my first protag will always be a warrior, and I tend to love warrior characters too.

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time? 

So far in Origins, my choices have been largely the same, though I think I’ll try to save Conner this time. I have a Hawke right now who I’m trying to play as red but it’s SO HARD, I just like being nice to people and making friends! So far many of my Inquisition choices have been the same, except for romances, but Varevas is going to drink from the Well where Ghilanel let Morrigan do it, Astoria’s going to conscript the templars where both of them recruited the mages, Varevas will disband the Inquisition while Ghilanel kept it going, there are a lot of changes coming when I get time to play through stuff.

07) Go-to adventuring group? 

Origins is always Alistair, Zevran, and Wynne, no matter how hard I try to make myself mix it up. I was warned about DA2 so I changed it up for maximum friendship but if I had my way, it would’ve been Jonah, Aveline, Anders, and Fenris or Varric. Three guards and a healer meant leaving a lot of chests unopened so I tried to bring Varric along when I could. Ghilanel’s go to was Solas, Dorian, and Varric, and so far Varevas’ has been Dorian, Sera, and either Bull or Blackwall.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into? 

Ghilanel has the most time and creativity invested in her at this point. I didn’t put much thought into any of them going in beyond appearance and who I wanted to romance (though Ghilanel was originally going to be a Cullen or Blackwall romance, fucking egg ruins everything) but Ghilanel grew and grew as I played and thought about her. Leohta, Jonah, and Varevas all have a lot to offer, but in terms of being developed and able to support a story of their own, it’s definitely Ghil.

09) Favorite romance?

Dorian, oh man. I just swoon, he’s perfect.

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

I’ve read almost all of the comics (I’m halfway through Knight Errant) and I have many of the books but haven’t actually started any of them yet.

11) If you read them, which was your favorite book?

I enjoyed Magekiller a LOT!

12) Favorite DLCs?

Descent. The Wellspring is possibly the most beautiful environment in any of the games, I almost cried when my party got there, and everything leading up to that was also visually stunning as well as exactly the kind of lore I live for. It also features my beautiful wife Valta and her perfect husband Renn which is just a bonus. I will say, though, Jaws of Hakkon could easily surpass it if they’d like, put out a novelization of Ameridan’s Inquisition. Trespasser was incredible too but sadly I was spoiled and that took a lot of the fun out of the end of it.

13) Things that annoy you.

Little things like not being able to swim and not hearing banter when you’re on a mount. Bigger things like the fact that in order to make an informed decision about Orlais (as a player) you have to have read an entire other novel because the game doesn’t give you the information you need, even if it’s also not necessarily things your character would know. All the sort of stock things, like Cassandra not being bi (among other characters but she’s the one that makes me the most angry), Bioware whitewashing their own characters, no dwarf romances. Not even touching on fandom stuff.

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Ferelden always.

15) Templars or mages?

Templars, to be contrary (by which I mean I have Opinions about this and while in general I side with mages in all things, I still say Templars).

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

I only really have one complete world state right now, with Leohta romancing Alistair and putting Anora alone on the throne, and Jonah romancing Anders and running away with him at the end of the game, but within that Ghilanel is the Inquisitor with Varevas as her clan’s First who survives the Conclave with her; Astoria as a rebel mage who joins up before even considering going to Redcliffe because her nephew is the Inquisitor; and Leohta attending the Conclave undercover as a Carta member and trying to maintain that cover after Haven.

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

Leohta and Jonah both named their mabaris Leon, and Buian named hers Taz.

18) Have you installed any mods?

PS player, no mods here

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden? 

It beat the alternative. Die in the Deep Roads now, or die in the Deep Roads later. Leohta chose later. 

20) Hawke’s personality? 

Blue as the summer sky over Lothering, Jonah is a pure child.

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

Only for their love interests; Ghilanel and Solas were all green and gold until the breakup, then she dyed her armour deep red. Varevas and Dorian are white and red. Leohta’s all warden armour, just like Alistair. Astoria would match Bull if Bull wore more clothing...

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

Leohta would’ve been more careful with Zevran’s heart to avoid having to dump him right before the final battle.

Jonah would’ve investigated the alleged serial killings sooner, to possibly save his mother.

Ghilanel would’ve worked harder to make something of herself before the Inquisition knowing she’d need it later.

Varevas would’ve... I dunno. Probably flirted harder with Cullen, he’s hilarious when he’s all out of sorts over it.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

I’m sure I do but I can’t think of any just now, which is odd.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

JONAH BABY I’M SORRY I DIDN’T KNOW so from now on it’s gonna be Stroud

25) Favorite mount? 

Ghilanel liked the Royal Sixteen and Varevas loves his Dalish All-bred but in general I don’t bother with them, I like the banter more than getting around faster.

[ageofdragon]

DA4 Cameos and Companions

I wanted to address this, since I really liked this post by @quizzy-tielle​ but there are a few more notes that can be added. tdlr at the bottom, under the read more.

Origins

Alistair: Alistair will probably only have a Cameo since he has two different paths (Warden or King), but I could see him being plot relevant. Maybe only a Warden like in DA2, even if it is possible for him to “die” in DA:I. This is because DA:I leaves that open if they want to “retcon” it. The words used in the choice implies you might be leaving Alistair to his death, there is an open end there. Especially since we don’t see his dead body only what looks like him going down. On the other hand, it has been a while since his Joining and unless he is like his mother (or the dragon’s blood theory is true), then he is almost due for his Calling. So if Al is there in DA4, expect him in Grey Warden regalia.

Morrigan: I don’t think Morrigan will ever be a Companion player again, but she will be a major npc no matter where the game takes place. Not only is she headed where we are supposed to be, but she is now carrying some of the last remnants of Mythal whether in her head (depending on who drank the Well) or in her blood.

Leliana: If our game does actually take place in Tevinter, I think she might get a mention at best. Either by reminiscent characters or in the grand scheme of things. I don’t see her playing to much part unless some of the game returns to Orlais, in which case as a Divine she could very well pop up. As well as still being interested/running the Inquisition’s spies against Solas (I believe even as the Divine), so again a peripheral character. That said I’d really be interested to see if Lyrium Ghost Leliana pops up anywhere!

Wynne: Wynne has actually died by Asunder; leaving not a character no one cares about, but one that even if people wanted her she is unable to return. Unless as a spirit of course. That said it is not out of the question to meet her son Rhys and perhaps recruit him as a companion, along with his Templar sweetheart Evangeline.

Oghren: I could have seen Oghren returning when the team consisted of mostly the old writers. But with Weekes in charge and a few new writers around, I agree he is probably too lowbrow and overlooked (even among the writers) to pop up again. At the very most, if at all, it’ll be a quick mention somewhere.

Zevran: I agree that Zevran possibly being dead makes it hard, but honestly if I don’t get to see Zev once in this new engine. I will move to Canada just to stand outside Bioware studios and scream continuously at them till the day I perish. Zevran deserves more and if Leliana can resurrect, why not our favorite elven assassin.

Sten: Sten is actually a pretty popular character, only he doesn’t go by Sten anymore. Well at least not for most people. Which is where the conflict comes in. For anyone who earned Sten’s loyalty, he is Arishok now. Which big Qunari plot means definite appearance by the Arishok. However, I don’t see him being a companion, at best he would be a NPC ally. On the other hand, those who didn’t help Sten left him without the Qun...unless he went back and became Arishok later (after the Warden) which is a very easy work around.

Shale: I could actually see Shale being a companion. I mean they can reuse at least one (even in DA2, Nathaniel was going to be a return companion but they scraped it). Shale was a character a lot of people liked, but being a DLC character was underexplored. She was last seen heading to Tevinter to discover how to be a dwarf again. So golem, dwarven, or a mix of the two, Shale is a huge possibility.

Hero of Ferelden: Bioware has pretty much confirmed the Warden won’t be back in full capacity ever. Mostly because creating a unvoiced major character is very hard, when they once spoke (unable to make canonically mute) and finding a voice is no solution (they wouldn’t be able to appease enough people, no matter the actor). Which pretty much seals it as, if the Warden shows up, it is in a written or spoken about capacity and nothing more.

Dragon Age 2

Carver/Bethany: It would be such a guilt pleasure if they did show up, but I highly doubt they would and certainly not as a companion. They have too many outcomes and possible paths, it’ll probably be like in DA:I where they get a special mention. OR if Bioware was really clever, they’d make an obscure Warden in the background look like them but obscure enough they can handwave it as “no, but maybe”. Either way, might show up in the Weisshaupt storyline as a special mention, but not much more.

Fenris: I agree with the other post, that Fenris is the one person who would be the one most likely to pop up. I still don’t think as a companion, because he can die. But I do think he could be an ally NPC. Fenris either gets sent back to Danarius or has spent the past years hunting down slavers, so he is bound to be in or near Tevinter. I have almost no doubt we’ll see him, physically, at least once. Though I wouldn’t rule out him being a Weisshaupt too, if he romance Hawke and Hawke wasn’t left in the Fade.

Isabela: Isabela has been in every game so far and if they don’t continue this in DA4 I will be upset. Seriously, it’s like an expectation now. Every DA game is like sex, it’s fun, there is depth, and Isabela is there. Maybe as a companion, maybe as an NPC, or a extra to the cause. Don’t care, she just has to be there now. It’s a signature. Which...if we can get her in her sick Captain’s outfit again, more kudos to them.

Merrill: Hmmm, I don’t know about Merrill. She is such a good and well liked character, and I really need her to interact with Solas. BUT she had far more reason to be in DA:I, in a game that most likely will take place in Tevinter and surrounding area...I’m not sure where she’d fit. Not as a companion I don’t think. Maybe a cameo in Weisshaupt or when dealing with Solas stuff, but even then, her investment in those things seems a bit weak. The most likely place for me, would be dealing with the Eluvians or maybe even helping run an elven slave underground...kind of. But it would really depend where the game chooses to focus (on Tevinter, Solas, Weisshaupt, all 3 equally by some miracle).

Anders: I think at this point, everyone who loves Anders wants Anders back and safe, but also doesn’t want him to be touch by Bioware anymore. And anyone who hates Anders has either killed him or hoped that he was dead...so... Mixed feelings and mixed ideas. I don’t think he’ll ever be a companion again, Bioware learned their lesson (kind of considering Sera). But also being the entire world’s [of Thedas’s] scapegoat for the Mage War/Mage Split, I’m 99.9% sure we haven’t heard the last of some saying something bias, pretty much untrue, and absolutely scathing about him.

Aveline: She is helping run Kirkwall, which is where she belongs. If the game reaches out to the Free Marches, a glimpse or mention of her is sure to be heard. After all, she is the biggest badass there at the moment. Her days on the screen are probably over though, she was a good character but not one interesting enough to last past a single game of screen time. That said, I’d love to see her side-story with the Du Lacs actually revisited at some point, give us a deep Investigative story with her.

Varric: I mean I have to agree with quiz tielle, it pains me but his days as a companion are probably over. That said, I absolutely believe he’ll still have a large role to play. For starters, he is still our storyteller. Thedas’ storyteller and I highly doubt he’ll miss a chance to write out all of Thedas’ major historical events into eye-catching adventure novels till the day he dies. He may be a played out companion (can’t relate) but he isn’t dead and he is still an adventurer at heart, no matter how much he complains about the outdoors. All that aside, he is cousin to probably the most important, incredibly attractive magister in Tevinter right now, Maevaris Tilani (Tethras). I can definitely believe he’ll pop in to say hello and maybe scoop up a story or two, during DA4.

Sebastian: I’m not sure, I forget how his War Table mission plays out...but also not to offend any diehard Seb fans or anything...but he is shit and if he returns I’ll want to punch him. I mean he tried to overtake Kirkwall, for no reason than his own pride and probably a political move to strength his own country. It’s a Free Marcher thing, sure. But still, Sebastian Vael can get stuffed. That so awfully said, if he does come back I’ll still have a good time. Which serious for a moment, I don’t know why he would. Unless like I said we return to the Free Marches for whatever reason.

Tallis?: I have no idea if we have seen the last of her or not. I mean according to DA2 we haven’t and she was a War Table in Inquisitiion. So I suppose if there is a Qunari plot in DA4, you’d expect see her there. But I don’t know how there she’ll be...she could even be a companion. It’s a possibility, but I don’t expect it as a strong one.

Hawke: Hawke is definitely coming back, I don’t know when and I don’t know where but they will. I don’t say this as someone who loved their Hawke tho. I say this because Weisshaupt’s storyline seems to weigh on Hawke’s presence (if they escaped, they said that is where they are headed) and again, like I said in Alistair the decision to leave them behind in the Fade wasn’t final. Hell I wouldn’t be surprised in if in the obligatory Fade mission we ran into a Hawke that got left behind, half dead but still trucking along with that Purple Hawke smirk on their face. “You look like wyvern shit, Hawke.”  “You would know.”

Dragon Age Inquisition

Josephine: I think if the Inquisition is there, Josephine is definitely going to be there in some regard. Even if it is a few letters lying around. She’ll be less relevant that she was in Inquisition though, well unless you romanced her. She still has a family to take care of, plus all that new trade and a few diplomatic graces. A lot for her to take on, plus a maybe slave rebellion?

Cullen: Cullen time has come, I don’t think Cullen wants a thing to do with Tevinter cause mages and honestly I’m glad. I mean yeah, he was the white boy version of Isabela’s cameo, but far less entertaining with his anti-mage, but they’re sorta of okay rhetoric. A little salty, yeah. Cause Bioware had 3 chances to get him to a better place (aka make him a great character with growth), but never got there. So as much as I’d love to see them try and fail to make him a better person one more time, it’s time to let him rest. With his slightly changed notions, his lyrium detox facility, and his dog. That rant over, he could be there in the same capacity as Josephine. A few letters and a little something extra for romancers.

Blackwall: A hard one...in theory Blackwall could make a comeback during the Grey Warden plot, Bioware hyped up. He could even be a true Grey Warden companion this time. However, he has a lot of variables and that makes it hard to bring him back as a return character. He could have died, he could have been saved and hidden, or he could have been saved and made a Grey Warden. Not to mention adding romances and whether he got the Grey Warden epilogue or the “prison counselor” epilogue.

Cassandra: I think Cassandra will have the same role/handling as Leliana honestly. She won’t be a companion, but we will see her interacting with the Inquisitor. Divine or not, she is still helping them with Solas. Though we might not actually interact with her, unless Orlais. Again like Leli.

Iron Bull: Another difficult one. On one hand, he could be dead and that is the end of. On the other he could be with Dorian, who I’ll get to in a minute. I think it’ll be a bit easier though, because they can use him like they did Stroud. If he is alive and helping Dorian (or the Inquisitor) then he can show up, be his usual self. Make references to the past game and his Chargers. If he is dead, then he has a blank stand-in that we kind of get to know during the rest of the game, but never to the extent that we know/knew Bull. That said, he is definitely not becoming a companion. Only two characters with a possible death have ever became companions again after said moment, and I think the fact it happens in the same game leaves Carver and Bethany in a completely different category.

Dorian: Alright, if we were ever going to have a returning companion it will probably be Dorian. I have to agree with the assumption. Because Dorian is Tevinter. He’s the good, the bad. The parts that need change, but also the parts that should be praised. He was singled out for this in Inquisition. It was focused on heavily about him being the new Tevinter ambassador. Of him and Mae taking Tevinter by storm. Their reformation of the Magisterium. They even gave him a plot item, that seemed unnecessary and yet provided a link. Which I’m talking about his sending crystal/magic cellphone. It was endearing and also telling. Why need a crystal when letters work too? And I highly doubt it was just to introduce the idea for fun...I’m getting carried away on my favorite boy. What I mean to say, is Dorian, if not a companion, will be a huge player in the next game. Assuming they are still sending us to Tevinter as planned. Not just because he was so loved, which he way. Or because he is an utterly striking, handsome character, which he is. But because Dorian is a major player in Tevinter as is, trying to change his country and you don’t just go to a country and not meet the most influential of them all.

Solas: Oh boy, I have so much to say about this. First off, I don’t agree with the other post. I don’t think Solas will be the biggest villain this game, this time around. Unless Weekes is really enamored with getting that story out of the way, which he might be. I think he’ll be a smaller big bad in the grand scheme of things, whereas he was the big bad in Inquisition (literally all that happened because of him). I think it’d be interesting to see him as a return companion though. Like yes, we all know who he is. But to our new character? Maybe he is just a revolutionist, maybe he was the one who freed them (if they go the slave plot for the PC). Another chance for him to play the PC and we have to watch it happen. But also, we have to figure out why he’d help us with this rebellion (again relies on the slave plot being used) when he has no horses in the race. I don’t know, it is a possibility and a frustrating, but interesting one.

Vivienne: If she is Divine, I don’t see her doing anymore that Cassandra or Leliana in the position. And again, very dependent on if we go to Orlais. Maybe more so, since she wasn’t a founding agent of the Inquisition like Leliana and Cassandra. However, if the Mage College/Circles of Magi issue is more prominent than I think it will be in DA4, then she might show up a bit more than usual. Still don’t think she’ll be a big role or ally to the main character though.

Cole: I don’t agree with Cole not fighting people, but I do agree that he has other things to worry about that the PC in DA4. That said, when it comes to Solas I feel like Cole will be back instantly. Solas and Cole were incredibly close (for a few reasons I can theorize, coughelves=spiritscough), and he was one of the few who actually wanted to save Solas. So if he is there, he is there for his friends and Solas only. Which means no companionship from him.

Sera: I can’t see Sera giving it a try in Tevinter, for so many reasons. Unless the Inky asks her of course. Every thing from the elves, many who just accept their lives. To the magic, to the lack of friends due to brainwashing and fear. It’s just not an environment Sera would enjoy or even want to be it. But if Orlais is still playing a big part in the next game, I’m sure we’ll turn up the Val Royeaux Jenny eventually. Or like I said, if Inky needs her. I doubt she’ll have much to do with the main character though.

Inquisitor: They’ll be there. In some shape or form they’ll show up, that I have no doubt of. How or when will be a mystery. It might be in the form of speaking to Dorian through the sending crystal (removes the need for a CC) or it might be as a Major Ally (i.e. Hawke in Inquisition). I don’t think the story will center around them as much as we think or would like though. Since this isn’t another Inquisitor story, but our new PC’s story.

Tldr: 

As far as I believe, there could be a ton of cameos from almost anybody. Seriously, there are maybe 3 who won’t come back and none of them are the Wardens or Hawkes left in the Fade. 

The only one from DAO I could see being a companion is Shale, but Sten/Arishok deserves a mention if the Qunari War Plot is going to be as important as we’ve been led to think.

From DA2, I can only see Tallis as a companion, again due to the supposed Qunari War plot. But I’m sure we’ll see Fenris, Varric, Hawke, and Isabela again somewhere in DA4. 

Inquisition provides the most likely return companion, Dorian. I could see Solas or Blackwall returning as a companion, but I don’t think they truly beat out Dorian in the amount of importance and content we could get from a returning character by our side. Since Inquisition is the newest game, I especially see most if not all of the characters making some form of cameo.

Some Special Mentions I want to throw out there too. I imagine Calpernia will still be relevant in some way to the story. As she is also someone who wants to redeem Tevinter (in her own way) and could not be killed by the Inquisitor, even being a villain in their game.

Marius, Tessa, and Charter all seem to relevant, recurring characters in the extended media. I wouldn’t be surprised if they roles in the next game. Especially given Marius’s ties to Tevinter and Calpernia

If we don’t have Maevaris Tilani as a companion, after all of this, I will be shocked and scandalized. She has been another character that has both importance in Tevinter and seems to hold importance to the writers (though how this will go now that her main writer, David Gaider has left I don’t know. Weekes still has access to them and he should use it).

We haven’t yet seen the end of Valta...and perhaps Renn. I’m not sure Bioware will approach more dwarven concepts in DA4, but one can hope. Even more so, since I want to see what happened to Valta and just what is happening with the Titans.

[lokidiabolus]

Offline Age - Chapter 1

Fandom: Dragon Age Origins

Pairing: Alistair Theirin x Elissa Cousland

Summary:   Alistair was never really a lone wolf or anything, but having a place only for himself had its appeal. He didn't plan on taking responsibility for anybody in upcoming years, until one fateful night his doorbell decided to wake him up at 2 AM and show him he was so, so wrong.

OR

How Alistair subconsciously harbored mother hen tendencies towards completely unknown person in five minutes and then fell in love so hard it almost broke all bones in his body.

Warnings: Slow Burn, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Tons of overused tropes, Prequel to Online Age

Can be found on Ao3.

Notes: No beta, we die like men!

I blame it all on the so called trailer for Dragon Age 4 that made me: 1) Feel the need to write for Dragon Age again; 2) Realize I left Online Age in disarray; 3) Re-read it and get horrified of the sheer absurdity of the middle part and so many absolutely pointless dialogues; 4) Spend a week editing it; 5) Start playing Dragon Age Inquisition again and romancing Cullen again; 6) Feel a heart ache when seeing King Alistair showing up in Redcliffe being flawless; and 7) Start to write randomly about him while playing Dragon Age Origins (because I hate myself. And Deep Roads).

So yeah, all the trailer's fault. And idk, I just really love Alistair, okay :(

Also a note: so many tropes here. SO MANY.

And another note: This is connected to Online Age, but it's sort of a prequel (aka about uh several years back, 5 or 10 or something), this time about (super young) Alistair and his one-day-to-be-wife-he-would-gush-about-to-everybody

It was precisely 2:12 AM, Alistair checked when Hell called, telling him they want their bad puns back. The coherence of apprehending the situation dropped to its lowest around midnight and dragged onward, he was glad he made his legs and arms cooperate enough to lift his sore, sleepy body off the bed, walk it to the main door of his flat and reach for the handle on the third try.

He didn’t really expect anything in particular, a half of his half functioning brain was still sleeping, so when he opened without checking first and saw a small, head to toe drenched girl shivering on his doorstep, nothing came from him apart from huh?

“Hi,” the girl greeted him with chattering teeth. Her blond hair was plastered over her forehead and around her neck and shoulders and there was an undeniable moment of oh crap, this is why I should not watch horrors late at night before Alistair woke up enough to realize the girl was not a ghost but a real, living person. Standing in a puddle, in pyjamas?

“Are those pyjamas?” his brain farted out and the girl opened her mouth, stopped, closed it, looked at her clothes consisting of plaid pants hanging on her lips too loosely and a shirt with Pooh Bear on it, and then back at him.

“Yes,” she said after. “They had them on sale.”

“K,” his brain supplied unhelpfully. “Hi then.”

“Yeah, hi,” she repeated the greeting and the shivering multiplied. “Sorry to bother you. But didn’t you, um. Left your water on or… your washing machine or something?”

“Not that I know of,” Alistair turned back to the innards of his flat, and the only noise that greeted him back was the clock on the wall, ticking its minute way through the dial. It showed wrong time but he was not able to correct it for about year and half. He looked back. “Why?”

“Why do you think?” she stared at him in the dark corridor, water dripping from her Pooh Bear shirt and Alistair could swear he saw the loading icon in front of his eyes for a second, before he raised a hand and went back to the flat to check on the bathroom.

No leaks, everything was quiet and peaceful. He double checked the taps and toilet and when nothing looked even remotely broken or dripping, he returned back to the door, now almost awake.

“Nope,” he told her with a shrug. “All dry up here.”

“I see,” she stared some more, then slowly nodded. “Sorry to bother you. Thanks for looking.”

She turned around and started padding from her puddle to the elevator, leaving wet footprints in her wake. Back to the flooded flat or something? Alistair shook his head, quickly grabbed his keys and followed her.

“Wait a sec,” he dropped his voice as low as he could to be still hearable but not enough to alert the neighbours, and she looked at him with a frown.

“What.”

“Lemme look at the leak,” he insisted despite her unhappy scowl. “Maybe I can help.”

The frown deepened and the elevator dinged, the light from it when the door slid open almost blinded him. She got in, crossed her arms on her chest and sighed.

“Fine,” she motioned for him to follow her, so he did. “But since it’s not from your place, there’s no point, really.”

“Story of my life.”

She looked even more pitiful under the artificial light and unusually pale, almost sickly. He refrained from commenting on it, but it took lots of his self-control, especially when she looked at him like he had lost his mind.

Her flat was on the lower floor right under his, which made her a lucky lady, since he was rarely at home to make any sort of noise that would bother her, at least from above. The name on the bell read Cousland and when she unlocked the door and opened, the smell of wet paint hit him right in the face. It took them only few steps inside towards the bathroom and he already saw the flood from there, dripping from the wall behind the bath, ruining the red coloured wall and tiles.

“Uh oh,” he let out, stepping in to assess the damage and the water under his feet splashed too loud in the otherwise quiet flat. “The pipe must have broken above there.”

“Oh no,” she walked in as well, her face horrified. “So, it’s not from somebody’s flat, it’s somewhere inside the construction?”

“Yep,” he stood up on the edge of the bath, pulling himself higher to the ceiling to see any cracks. “For now, let’s just turn off the water here. And in the morning, we call a landlord about this.”

“He’s going to kill me…” she buried her face in her hands and Alistair stepped down again to find the water lock hidden in the wall behind the toilet.

“Nah, it’s not your fault,” he said for the record, “This is an old house. He should let it checked anyway, the construction is ancient enough to remember dragons.”

“Are you a plumber or something?” he heard her asking behind him and it made him snort while closing the water with a quiet hiss. The wall stopped gushing out and he closed the lid and looked at the distressed owner.

“Wish I was, I heard the pay is good,” he shrugged, wiping his wet hands to his shirt. “But I know a thing or two about house stuff. And few other things around. And lots of things completely unrelated.”

“Right,” she shook her head and looked around at the mess on the floor. “Thanks for the help. I better start cleaning before it soaks to the neighbours…”

“Want help?” he offered faster than his common sense kicked in and that’s how it all began.

***

“-tair. Alistair!”

He almost fell off the chair when a slam on the table startled him from the definitely-not-dozing-off moment, just sheer luck managed to keep him balanced enough from meeting the floor.

“I wasn’t sleeping!” he announced in self-defence and then Duncan’s unhappy face came to his view.

“Didn’t I tell you not to stay up past midnight?” Duncan crossed his arms on his chest and Alistair realized it was already past eleven when he looked at his watch, and he somehow missed two hours. By totally not sleeping.

“Yeah, sorry,” she rubbed his eyes and fought down the yawn that threatened to overwhelm him. He still must have made weird face since Duncan’s scowl deepened.

“Wipe the drool away at least,” the dark-haired man sighed, handing Alistair a napkin out of nowhere, like an ultimate mum he was sometimes. “I’m making the roster now, you want the long shift this week or another one?”

Alistair was completely sure he did not have drool anywhere, but still used the napkin for Duncan’s satisfaction. For his defence he did go to sleep around eleven, but after the debacle with the flood he didn’t get back to sleep at all. When they were more or less done (actually less than more, the flat was in super bad shape, since apparently the leaks weren’t only in the bathroom) it was already six in the morning, so he just went home for shower and to brush his teeth and then kicked himself out to work. His eyes barely held up open during the morning meeting and he thanked whoever was above him for not dragging it for too long, or continue with a drill. He would fail so hard that Duncan would probably disown him on the spot.

“This week,” he mumbled, but then his hand shot towards Duncan’s forearm to stop him from leaving. “No, next week. Totally next week. Can’t this week.”

“Okay?” the older man glanced on the hand gripping him and then back at Alistair’s face. “Will write you up for a short one then. Something happened?”

Well, to put it mildly. The landlord was going to bark on a wrong tree, he was sure, and the girl would let him, probably, not really knowing where the real fault was. So he had a plan. Or part of a plan, at least, making it up as he went.

“Do we have my house’ construction plans by any chance?” he asked and when Duncan cleared his throat while pointedly looking at Alistair offensive hand, he finally eased off his grip with an apologetic quirk of his mouth.

“In the archive,” his mentor nodded towards the estimated location, then crossed his arms on his chest. “Why?”

When Alistair was looking for his own flat, Duncan helped him with choosing between three possible places by finding the construction plans, because if he could be labelled by anything, it would be precautious. Old houses are the best, he would say. So they dug into plans, found the ones that looked the best in Duncan’s opinion and Alistair moved in with light heart. No problems until yesterday, but then again, not really his problem, so that counted for something.

“Just want to look up the piping,” Alistair dragged himself up from the table. “I’ll be there if anything.”

“Do I look like your secretary?” Duncan hollered after him, but Alistair was already out of the room and only hitting his shoulder against two doors on his way. It was a small, meaningless victory, but victory the same.

***

He got out on the floor under his own because of some strange, unexplainable calling he heard in the back of his mind (or maybe it was his stomach because he was hungry). He wanted to stop home at first, take a shower and eat, but somehow his hand pressed the lower button in the elevator instead of his and he was glad for it, because when the door opened, he heard the angry voice of the landlord all the way to the cabin.

“Here we go,” he huffed, packing the copied plans under his arm and taking long strides toward the offensive voice that rang through the hallway so loud it was probably illegal.

“-for two months and you already flooded it?!” the landlord kept on barking, up until he came into Alistair’s view, standing in front of opened doors of the compromised flat, his stance all wide and up in arms. Alistair internally groaned.

The girl stood in front of him, dry for the first time he saw her, in a hoodie and khakis. Her hair was in a messy bun and she looked even more tired than Alistair felt.

“I didn’t flood anything,” she was saying the moment he finally stepped close enough for them to notice him. “I- oh, hey.”

“Hey,” Alistair gave her small salute and nodded towards the landlord. He saw him about twice since he started living here and kind of doubted the man even remembered his face. “Afternoon.”

“Are you here because of the leak?” the man gestured towards the flat, his eyes a little confused. “I’m sure I didn’t call firefighters though…”

Oh right, Alistair realized. He was still in the uniform, since he shot out of work without changing. Well, that worked too.

“I’m familiar with the situation,” he elaborated, making a show of looking into the flat like he was assessing the damage. He already did yesterday though and could tell it sucked balls for the repairs needed. The landlord was so not going to like it. “Looked over the construction plans, the pipes are damaged in the proximate area of the bathroom and living room. The wall needs to be torn down and the piping repaired.”

“Torn down?!” the landlord probably only by small margin avoided heart-attack, judging from his red face and the vein popping on his forehead. Alistair was glad he had the ambulance on quick dial.

“The bathroom one definitely, the water damaged it. I’d advice to have them checked as it is in the whole house, but of course that can be done through stacks for that part,” he handed one of the plans to the landlord who reluctantly took them and had to applaud himself for actually sounding serious so far. “The piping is old and rusty, random breaks happen all the time. I can point you out to a company dealing with these types of problems, though since the Christmas is coming, I’m not entirely sure how fast it’s going to be.”

The landlord opened his mouth, and then closed it. He repeated it two more times until it was apparent no words were going to come out, and then he settled on a nod.

“Great, glad we came to an understanding,” Alistair gave him a broad smile. “I’ll send you the company’s number in a text, in case you wanted to use their services. Happy to see landlords are taking care of their houses and tenants.”

Another nod from the poor man and then he was out of the hallway like a wind. Alistair wondered if he thought firefighter could actually send him to jail for disagreeing but he wasn’t going to try his luck.

“Huh,” the girl stared after the landlord even after he disappeared around the corner. “That worked like a charm. Good idea with the uniform.”

“What can I say, I aim to please,” Alistair commented and then took a step further to take her appearance in. “You’re dry.”

“Yeah, shocking,” her mouth quirked up in a smile. “I can do that sometimes.”

“I feel like I don’t even know you anymore,” he sighed dramatically but then it hit him. “Wait, I really don’t know you. What’s your name?”

“Elissa,” she introduced herself just like that, in her khakis and a hoodie and looking like she went through hell and kicked her way back, and somehow Alistair expected her to have tougher name, like Boulder or Killer.

“That’s a fine name,” he gestured towards her, to her whole appearance and the abundance of the puddle under her feet. “I’m disappointed it’s not something waterier though.”

“Waterbenders don’t have water names, you know,” she shot back and Alistair crossed arms on his chest.

“Elissa,” he tried her name and she mimicked his posture like a mirror. “As a waterbender… I gotta say, after what I’ve seen tonight, you suck at it.”

“Still learning,” she opposed. “Next time the pipe breaks, I will be ready.”

“I hope there is no next time,” he nodded towards the flat. “Don’t think it can take any more.”

That made her lose the posture as she followed his gaze and her shoulders sagged. It was a sad image, really.

“This suck,” she uttered. “It had been just two months. I have the shittiest luck ever.”

“As long as you don’t wind up somewhere without your pants, you’re still alright.” He took a step closer to the door, the smell of paint still hanging in the air. He noticed a packed bag resting in the hallway with a suitcase next to it and several shirts lying on the floor, soaking the moisture from it. The hallway itself looked super bad, the water completely ruined the laminate flooring, made it look like a skateboard park for snails. “Oof.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” she stood next to him, staring at the mess. “When I need a quiet place, something naturally has to go wrong. And expensive. Hope it won’t take long.”

“Yeaah, about that,” he offered her an apologetic look, even though it was not his fault, or hers, or anybody’s, and she must have understood since the groan she let out had enough frustration to lit up a town.

“You mean it’s going to take long?” she whined so loud he heard a door opening at the end of the hall, probably to look what the ruckus was.

“Well. It’s almost Christmas. And if you take in the state of the flat – and the piping – and the walls… That’s gonna take at least two months,” he checked once more, stopping at the floor. “And the flooring. And tiles in the bathroom.”

The majority of tiles fell off during their night cleaning, and most of them naturally broke in half. Elissa didn’t comment on it back then, but she definitely stomped harder when carrying the empty bucket to fill it up again.

“Okay,” she sagged even more, almost to her knees. “Alright. Okay.”

Alistair didn’t like that. Sure, he saw tons of misfortune in his life already, majority of it tied to his job and some of it not, but he couldn’t really do much about complete strangers losing their homes to fire. All he could do for them was to pat their back and wish them luck. When all of their stuff was gone.

Elissa’s stuff was not gone, but she was in similar situation. If she could at least go back to her parents or something, he’d be able to rest easy.

“You have a place to stay?” he asked in a softer tone and she nodded. Then took a deep breath. Shook her head. He took a step closer and crouched next to her. “Not even your parent’s place?”

“No,” her words were barely hearable. Then she cleared her throat and shook her head again. “I’ll manage.”

“You can stay at my place, if you want,” his mouth said.

Huh.

“What?” she looked at him as if he’d gone mad (rightfully so).

“My place,” his mouth repeated. Huh. “I’m not home that often, it’s better than nothing?”

She had big, blue eyes. She used them in full force now, staring at him so hard he was afraid a fist was going to come out of them.

“You don’t need to do all this,” she said finally and Alistair thought yes, I don’t need to do all of this. But I do. Because you look like somebody just died, good grief.

“You woke me up at ass o’clock in the morning and kept me up all night cleaning, now I feel emotionally invested in it. Sorry, I don’t make the rules,” he responded instead, light-hearted and nonchalant, and it was the first time he saw her genuinely laugh.

[shep-writes]

The Queen for a Kingdom, Ch. 1

Fandom: Dragon Age Character(s): f!Cousland, Alistair Theirin, Nathaniel Howe, Velanna, Bethany Hawke, Sigrun, Oghren, The Architect Pairing(s): Alistair/f!Cousland, Nathaniel/Velanna Rating: T Genre: Romance/Angst Warnings: N/A Language: English Summary:  The Hero of Ferelden is missing. With the Divine Conclave fast approaching, tension is mounting between the mages and templars, especially in Redcliffe where a whole host of rebel mages has taken refuge. However, with the Blight finally starting to take hold of her beloved King, the Warden Queen finds that her fate lies down a different path than that of the rest of Thedas. A/N: N/A Read On: fanfiction, AO3 Chapter: 2/? Chapter Title: N/A

“The King is coming.”

Those were the words that greeted Miri as she threw open the doors to Vigil's Keep, lightning flashing in the distance as the sky wept. It was a cold, dreary rain, the sort that chilled one to the bone and gave them the sort of sickness from which they did not recover.

Breath clouding in front of her thin, colorless lips, Miri cast off the damp hood that shadowed her face, Nathaniel Howe—the man that had spoken to her upon her arrival—jumped, no doubt startled by her ghastly appearance. Miri could only imagine what she looked like—little sleep, dark circles ringing eyes that had once been the deep green of an emerald but now resembled the sickly yellowish hue of dying grass, skin pale and stretched thin over blue-black veins.

“Andraste's tits,” she heard Nathaniel gasp.

Purposefully ignoring the slip, the former Warden-Commander shook her hair loose, brow furrowing. “Of course he's coming. The fool.” There was no animosity in her voice, no real bite, and if one had looked at her for a moment, just that one moment, they would have seen the hard lines brought on by her frown soften.

A flash of golden hair, the echo of innocent laughter, a hawk perched on a branch—

“Miri.”

Miri shook her head, brought back to the present by Nathaniel's voice and the rapidly cooling trickle of something warm leaving her nose. Swiping her hand across her mouth, she wiped away the stark reminder of why she was there at Vigil's Keep, away from her beloved.

“When you said—I had no idea—” Nathaniel broke off abruptly, taking Miri's blood-covered gauntlet in his hands before she could tuck it away behind her back out of sight. His bright blue eyes narrowed in concern as he raised her hand up, exposing it to the light of the torches in the great hall. “Maker.”

Miri fought the urge to squirm, not needing or wanting his sympathy. He would be suffering alongside her soon enough; he'd dealt with more Darkspawn in his life than she had, traveled farther into the Deep Roads, and Blight or not, she'd only really been exposed to the creatures during her brief travels and short stint as Warden-Commander afterwords. But Nathaniel...he'd spent the past decade hunting them while she'd been holed up in Denerim, sitting on a throne.

“Miri...”

Wrenching herself free of his grasp, refusing to meet his empathetic gaze, Miri headed in the direction that she remembered lead to the stables. She must have been correct, for it wasn't long before Nathaniel quietly fell in beside her, shortening his steps to match her smaller stride. It was a mite infuriating to Miri—she was walking as briskly as she could without running and waking the entire Keep with the clanking of her armor, yet the man still outpaced her—but she pushed the irritation aside, focused instead on the larger task that lay before her.

Despite knowing otherwise, that Anders had left long ago, that Justice was now one with him, Miri was surprised that she did not see Ser Pounce rounding a corner with the mage hot on his trail, Justice in turn following with a sort of fascination that such a large being would take comfort from something so small. She half-expected Sigrun to come chasing after the lot of them—cat, man and ghoul—bubbling to the brim with questions, Oghren's drunken bawl of a laugh ringing throughout the Keep's winding corridors.

A smile slipped across the Queen's face.

Velanna, of course, would be sitting in an alcove, somehow never far from the fray she tried so desperately to avoid, her nose in a book, a cross look on her face. Her perpetually down-turned mouth would pinch together unpleasantly, nostrils flaring in annoyance as the bumbling group of Ser Pounce, Anders, Justice and Sigrun wandered by, a caustic remark about their tomfoolery following them as they stumbled into the next room. And yet, when they were gone and the Dalish mage thought she was alone, she would grin to herself before snuggling up comfortably in the blanket Nathaniel had awkwardly gifted her, cheeks painted the lightest rose red.

This was all, of course, before Miri had left and their little family had dissolved. Miri did not miss those lonely nights when she slept alone, devoid of Alistair's comfort and warmth lest the Taint that ran through his veins be sensed by the other Wardens in the Keep and it be known that the King was not only a bastard but a Warden as well, but she did miss the motley group that had become as dear to her as her own flesh and blood.

She felt her hands curl into fists where they hung at her sides.

They—Alistair, Nathaniel, Anders, Sigrun, Oghren, Velanna—were why she could not fail, why she would not. She would save them all, save them from what she had cursed them with—an heirless kingdom, a gruesome death.

Miri's armored footsteps clinked against the stone as they maneuvered passage after passage, Nathaniel lighter on his feet and more at ease with creeping and lurking than she ever would be. There was the occasional flicker of flame, the opening and shutting of a door from far off in the castle, but that was all that could be heard, silence a wedge between the two companions that had shed blood, sweat and tears side by side once upon a time.

“Velanna,” Miri spoke at last. “You've found her?”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the archer flinch and her heart twisted in agony for the raven-haired man. He had loved her—still loved her.

“Yes,” Nathaniel said after a pregnant pause. “Despite her intentions for me—us—not to, we've found her.”

“The Architect?”

Nathaniel nodded. “She's with him.”

“And Seranni?”

Nathaniel shook his head.

“….I see.”

Silence again reigned supreme between them as Miri digested this information. Velanna was alive and so was The Architect. Seranni may or may not be, but seeing as how The Architect was still in one piece and Velanna sighted with rather than against him…

“I wish you'd reconsider,” Nathaniel said, interrupting Miri's thoughts.

Miri blinked, a sad smile stretching her lips, and nudged his arm playfully. “Sorry, Nate. Sigrun's my rogue on this one. Where we're going, blades will be worth more than arrows. Why? Jealous?”

The rogue raised an eyebrow, giving the smaller woman a sideways glance. “Hardly. I've had enough of the Deep Roads to last a lifetime. I'd just feel better knowing you had someone competent with you.”

Miri's smile spread, became genuine, a spark lighting in her dead eyes. “So the truth comes out at long last. You think I'm incompetent, that years sitting on my behind dealing with stuffy nobles has dulled my blade.”

“I—that's not what—Miri.” Nathaniel's expression darkened reproachfully, though a hint of amusement could be seen gleaming in his eyes. “Your blade may have dulled, but your wit is sharp as ever, I see. Thank the Maker Darkspawn can be simply be insulted to death.”

The Queen broke out in laughter, damning the need for secrecy. She had missed this. She had missed him. The pair stopped walking as she broke out in a raucous cacophony of joy, her nerves frayed at the end and welcoming this bit of a diversion. Nathaniel stood still as a statue, only moving to support his former Warden-Commander as she rested her head against his breastplate, tears slipping from her eyes and dotting the floor.

“Nathan...” Her voice wavered.“I want you to know, I—”

“Don't,” Nathan cut her off. “Don't you bloody say it.”

Miri clamped her mouth shut. Not many could get away with ordering her around like that—Queen or not—but there had been too much they had been through together for her to be angry with him.

“Are you sure you can handle him?” she asked instead.

“The King?” Nathaniel scoffed. “If it was the other way around—you coming after him—then I'd be worried.”

Miri snorted. “Yes. I suppose that's true.”

At last they reached the door that led to the stables.

“I'm missing a mage from this little expedition of mine. Too bad you're not a mage,” Miri quipped as Nathaniel put a hand on the wooden door.

Nathaniel grinned. “Not quite. I've got you a mage, from Kirkwall.” Miri raised an eyebrow. “A former Ferelden, no less.”

“Oh?”

Nathaniel pushed open the door and Miri's eyes fell on a girl with long, curly, coal-colored hair that stood by a horse with bags hanging off its saddle, stroking it across the nose comfortingly.

“Miri!”

“Boss!”

At Sigrun's and Oghren's joyous shouts, the girl turned around, her amber eyes meeting Miri's.

“Miri, I'd like to introduce you to Bethany Hawke.”

/ /

Faster. He needed to go faster.

King Alistair spurred his horse onward with a kick. His knee twinged at the act and he suppressed a grimace; an old battle wound, nothing more. Just behind him he could hear his wife's beloved mabari panting hard, struggling to keep up with the stallion upon which he rode, and beyond that the clamor of his guardsmen on horseback. He hadn't intended for this entourage to follow him and he could still hear Bann Teagen's shouts ringing in his ears, commanding him—commanding him, the King of Ferelden!—to come back.

The bed had still been warm when he'd awoken with the gut feeling that something was very, very wrong. The letter he had found had proved his suspicions and he'd barely had the mind to throw on clothes before he'd stumbled out of his chamber with a ruckus that had woken the whole castle. As it was he'd forgotten his smallclothes and his pants were riding up uncomfortably, catching in all the wrong places.

Rain pelted him mercilessly with icy slaps across his face, but he did not slow, did not stop. He had to reach her before she was gone, before she left him and went to what would surely be her death.

She's Miriana Cousland-Theirin, slayer of Archdemons and things that go bump in the night. She'll be fine; she'll make it back from this, he told himself. Just let her go, let her do this. Trust her, as you've always trusted her before you hulking buffoon.

Yet he could not, would not let her go. He trusted her, trusted that she'd do everything in her power to make it back to him, and, Maker, was his wife fierce, but still…!

His heart raced as the landscape sped by, the road alternating between broken stone, grass, and rock. He was soaked to the bone, skin slick with perspiration and the heaven's tears, his breath coming in ragged puffs and gasps as his chest burned with fear.

The galloping hooves of his guards' horses faded as they fell more and more behind their frantic King, and even the mabari's slobbering pants grew distant. The steed beneath Alistair seemed to sense his urgency and feed on his terror, for never before had the former Warden ridden a beast so fast. Still, he feared it wasn't fast enough, and he choked at the thought, tears stinging his eyes.

“My love, wait for me. Please, please wait for me.”

[nerdierholler]

OC Fact Sheet

Originally posted by ecstaticruby

I wanted to do the OC Fact Sheet that’s been going around for some of my OCs (I saw it for @agentkatie‘s Shepard recently) so I’m starting with Ithlen since I’m hoping to do some writing with her soon. And I finally figured out a good face claim: Penelope Cruz

GENERAL Name: Ithlen Lavellan Mahariel Alias(es): Herald of Andraste, Inquisitor Lavellan/Mahariel Gender: Female Age: 32 at the time of DAI Date of birth: 9:9 Dragon, sometime in summer probably Place of birth: Brecilian Forest Spoken languages: Common, elven, smattering of Orlesian Sexual orientation: heterosexual Occupation: Warden Commander of Ferelden, Arlessa of Amaranthine, eventually Inquisitor

APPEARANCE Eye color: Light grey/blue Hair colour: black Height: 5’4” Scars: Lots nut the major ones are the scars on the right side of her face from the Battle of Denerim, a scar on her left calf from slipping while climbing as a teenager, scar on her left forearm from a miscalculation while trying to block a blade Burns: none Overweight: no Underweight: no but she has a small frame. She is surprisingly strong for her size.

FAVOURITE Colour: Earth tones. Navy blues, olive green, things like that. Hair colour: She still has a soft spot hair a similar color to Alistair’s Eye colour: She’s not picky Music genre: She still enjoys some of the traditional Dalish songs and I think picks up an instrument along the way, mandolin or something and can play very basic versions of them. For modern stuff, it would it be folk alternative or instrumental music. Movie genre: Traditional romances. Deep down she’s a romantic. She would also be big into documentaries and maybe some sci-fi/fantasy and dark comedies. Tv show: It sounds so boring but I think she’d be a news junkie. She’d watch a lot of PBS too I think. Food: Simple home cooking, kind of a meat and potatoes lady. Loves soups and stews when it’s cold out. Drink: mulled or spiced wine, ciders Book: In world, I think she likes Genitivi’s writings and has read everything by him. Modern, Austen to go with the hidden romantic thing, mostly non-fiction though, lots of biographies.

HAVE THEY Passed university: no formal education but she’s done her best to keep well read with history, especially of the Grey Wardens, and still seeks out Dalish lore when she can. Had sex: yes Had sex in public: no Gotten pregnant: no Kissed a boy: yes Kissed a girl: no Gotten tattoos: She has her vallaslin for June and has others on her shoulders and arms in a coordinating style. They go all the way down her left arm but are only on her upper right arm. Gotten piercings: Yes, she has two in each lobe, on at the top of her left ear and a nose ring. She keeps a small stud in her nose now, and very small silver hoops that she almost never takes out in her ears. Had a broken heart: Oh yeah (RIP Alistair and then Solas) Stayed up for more than 24 hours: definitely

ARE THEY A virgin: no A cuddler: yes A kisser: kinda, little kisses mostly, she’s rather cuddle than make out Scared easily: no Jealous easily: no Trustworthy: yes Dominant: yeah Submissive: not really, she needs some feeling of control In love: Unless it’s the middle of DAO or DAI, then no. Single: probably, see above

RANDOM QUESTIONS Have they harmed themselves: After Alistair’s death she had moments where she pushed herself too hard or was reckless and it led to some minor injuries. She wouldn’t have said she was doing it on purpose but subconsciously there was something more to it. Thought of suicide: Yes, again, in the months after Alistair’s death but before Awakening when she was feeling lost. Especially since she’d planned on making killing blow instead. Attempted suicide: No Wanted to kill someone: Oh yeah. Probably lots of shems she saw as a threat when she was younger, now it’s mostly just nobles and darkspawn. Drove a car: Does an aravel count? Have/had a job: She was a hunter and scout in the clan, apparently her job now is saving the world (repeatedly) Have any fears: Lots. Fear of failure or letting others down is the big one.

FAMILY Sibling(s): None Parents: Dead, father was the keeper for the Sabrae Clan and her mother was a hunter from clan Lavellan. I’m playing with the idea that her father was older and previously married with no children. Following the death of his first wife he married his much younger second wife after a brief whirlwind romance at the Arlathvhen. It was love for them but the age difference and marriage to a clan outsider brought disapproval from some in clan Sabrae. Children: none Pets: She takes in Ser Pounce A Lot after Anders leaves and looks after him hoping Anders will return. Of course there’s also her faithful mabari Hrairah who sadly passes away shortly before DAI. Finally she does have Amarantine Charger as mount that’s brought to her from Vigil’s Keep. While she is fond of her horse, it’s a little less like a pet because of it’s independent spirit, they have a close bond though.

Tagging everyone else who wants to do this!

[spindlethief]

cold starters - "Just think warm thoughts"

Thank you sweet anon for your prompt, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything fandom so I figured this would make for a good challenge. I’ve been replaying DA:O in an attempt to romance Alistair (since I played an elf in my first ever playthrough and BOY did that backfire something fierce).

Pre-Romance (basically that slow-build anguished-pining trash gives me LIFE )

—-

Alistair had just about run out of patience for this weather. It had been snowing for two whole days now, and it only seemed to get worse the further on they traveled. Of course he knew they had to continue, he was only imagining how much- or rather how little- of his feet would make the journey back. He was certain that he was about to lose a toe, or perhaps the end of his nose, and if he couldn’t get dry to sleep tonight his ears were done for. The cold had sunk deep into his bones and chilled him to the core, threatening to leave a layer of frost on his usually cheery mood.

To make matters worse, he seemed the only one really bothered by it. Wynne and Morrigan had bundled up half as well as he had and seemed perfectly comfortable. Though he was grateful that Wynne seemed to fare rather well in the cold, Morrigan’s smug grin every time she caught him shivering had only rubbed salt in the wound. And Avery? She hardly seemed to notice, and neither did her ever present mabari. The two of them strode side by side through the snow as if it weren’t even there. Always- almost adamantly- keeping a short distance ahead of everyone else. Together they bounded up over a snowbank in a few short steps. Their strides confident enough that he forgot he was hardly half as nimble as the mabari. He managed to get up to the top just fine, but the way down left him sprawled, snow up past his knees. Stuck halfway through his fall between the stiffness of his armor and the packed snow. He stood there defeated as he felt icy water start to work its way down into his boots.

“There must be some trick to this you all aren’t telling me.” Alistair proclaimed, while working himself free and attempting to remove as much snow from his boots as he could in the process. “What is it, some sort of spell? Oh! Or is it a potion? Enchanted socks of ‘Maker please let me keep my toes?’”

Gregor padded over and offered him a reassuring bark, but no other advice followed. Morrigan hadn’t even tried to stop laughing yet. Even Avery was stifling the end of her giggle. Unable to contain a smile that just about made the embarrassment worthwhile. At least someone other than Morrigan found amusement in his suffering. And he was half certain the air got a little warmer when she was smiling.

“It’s really not all that bad.” She teased, strolling over to him as she fished a small steel flask out of the pocket inside her cloak. “I don’t have any potions, or magic socks, but this will help a bit.”

He read to much into the way her fingers lingered on his when she handed him her flask. She was still smiling as he unscrewed the lid and took a cautious drink, hit square in the face with the distinct burn of hard liquor that seared a path down his throat. It sent a shiver right down the centre of his spine, making him shudder and cough to avoid gagging.

“Ugh that’s horrible. You can’t possibly drink that for fun.” He handed it back, this time she hardly let their fingers touch. She knocked back a swig of her own before tightening the lid and slipping it away.

“Not especially, but it does help a bit with the cold.” She teased, a chuckle setting root in her ribs.

Alistair almost resented that being true. It did feel a little warmer. At least in his chest, and he could almost feel his fingers again. Though he wasn’t sure if that was the drink or just her. It has been days since she’d spoken to him like this, having gone nearly silent after leaving Redcliffe, after finding out who he was- and who he wasn’t. He couldn’t blame her really, everyone else changed when they found out, it wasn’t her fault he’d hoped for something different. It was only that, before she knew, he’d really thought they might be friends. 

Now he had the coals that remained of that hope suddenly rekindled to a flame. Just from a smile and a sip of liquor. Wynne and Morrigan had continued ahead, Avery still shifting her weight from foot to foot in front of him, her hands fidgeting and looking for somewhere to rest.

“Any other advice for the cold, my lady?” It sounded more eloquent in his head, out loud it seemed foolish. At first he thought she was laughing at him when the tone of her grin shifted, her tongue could be as sharp as Morrigan’s when she wanted it to be, so he prepared himself with some witty response to whatever cutting comment she was preparing. He’d desperately missed their little duels, so much that he couldn’t possibly have stopped himself from preparing to jump in.

“Just…” she punctuated by taking half a step towards him, so close they could almost touch. “…think warm thoughts.” It rolled out of her throat in a husky purr. The corners of her lips twisted in a smirk. Her affect was almost instant, a fierce heat came to life in his gut and turned his nose and ears a distinct shade of red.

“You- um- I, ah that’s-” what had he been saying? He’d felt prepared just a moment ago. “Rather-ah…”

“Rather what?” Avery opened her eyes wide and repainted her smile as innocent. “I only want to help keep out the cold, Alistair. If you’d like, I could tell you some of the thoughts that warm my bed at night.”

Something between his thoughts and his tongue failed its duty, leaving him unable to string together enough thought to form words. She was laughing, her smile stretching from ear to ear, bright and happy and warm. The snow didn’t stand a chance against his racing heart.

Avery kept her smile as she turned to continue on the road, her eyes staying on him a little longer, long enough that he wondered in the flash of red across her nose was from cold or something else. His mind was still struggling to catch up with the rest of him, while he jogged to catch up with the group.

[thenugking]

The Adventures of Mary Suesland Chapter 1

Here it is start of the worst thing i have ever written

Warnings for abuse from parents (of the “evil for no reason” kind) and cheating, homophobia (gay men are hot, lesbians are gross), unrealistic sex, and just the fact that this fic is really bad.

(Disclaimer: Make all the mary sues and self inserts u want, do not take this as me saying it’s bad. i just wrote this fic bc it was fun.)

CHAPTER 1

“You’re ten minutes late home, Emelerana!” my mum said accusingly.

“I’m sorry,” I told her. “Something really upsetting happened.” I didn’t want to tell my parents, because I knew they’d just make fun of me for it, but I’d discovered that my boyfriend, Chad was cheating on me with my best friend, Kylee. The two people I thought cared about me most in the world had betrayed me! Kylee had always teased me meanly, but we’d been friends since nursery, I never thought she’d do something like this! And I’d thought what I had with Chad was special. He’d seemed such a sweet guy and had told me he loved me. I’d even given him my virginity! It felt like such a waste now!

“That’s no excuse!” my dad said. “You’re grounded for a week!”

I tried to object that most 18 year olds don’t have such strict curfews, but they just glared at me and locked me in my bedroom in the basement. I felt my eyes well with all the tears I’d kept in after seeing Kylee and Chad together, I hadn’t wanted to look weak in front of them, but now I began to sob.

I gazed into my mirror sadly. My violet orbs were filled with tears and they were running down my porcelain skin. I was so plain-looking and ugly compared to Kylee! My cascade of raven locks just couldn’t compare with the golden curls of her hair, nor her big blue eyes. And while I was curvy, my body was petite. She was almost a foot taller than me and had slightly larger boobs. I sighed, knowing I could never be as beautiful as she was.

I raised a hand to wipe the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to be strong, and get through this! I just needed to take my mind off the pain of the betrayal. My parents had cut off my access to the internet the other week, as punishment for doing badly in english literature. I’d told them it was just because my teacher hated me - for some reason she’d always picked on me, ever since I started the class, maybe because I seemed to understand the reading better than she did - and gathered proof that she was marking me badly for no reason, but they’d just laughed cruelly at me. Not that I could have used my computer to contact anyone, without Kylee or Chad I didn’t have any friends.

I decided that instead, I would play Dragon Age Origins. I’d always loved the Dragon Age games, even though I got bullied a lot for being a nerd for liking them. But when I was playing them, it was like I was transported out of my nightmarish life and into the magical world of Thedas, and surrounded by real friends. I decided I’d start a new game, as a human noble. That was always my favourite Origin story.

I was torn between playing a male or female character. I usually played female, and female human nobles were the best because they could marry Alistair and become Queen, which was the most amazing and romantic ending. But on the other hand, maybe I should play a male character for a change. Then I could romance Zevran, because he liked other men, and that would be really hot. I’d never romanced him before, I tried sometimes but then I’d meet Alistair and just fall in love all over again. But before I could make my mind up, but computer suddenly broke down! I gave a cry of despair, today was truly the worst day of my life.

I threw myself down on my bed and fell asleep, sobbing.

When I woke up, something felt different. My bed was really hard and uncomfortable, but not this much, it felt as though I was lying on the floor. And it felt like I was in a much bigger space than my tiny cramped basement bedroom. I opened my eyes and gasped, I really was somewhere else!

I sat up and looked around and realised I was in Castle Cousland! Bryce, Eleanor and Duncan were standing in the Great Hall looking at me. I gasped.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?” Bryce asked.

“I’m Emelerana,” I said. “I come from another world. But I know all about you! You’re Bryce and Eleanor Cousland, and Warden Commander Duncan! And...” I looked around. “Wait a minute!” I gasped. “If Duncan’s here, this must be the night that Howe betrays you!” And maybe that was how I’d ended up here! The betrayal I felt at Chad and Kaylee was so uniquely strong, it had connected me across worlds to the Couslands, who were also about to be devastatingly betrayed!

“Howe wouldn't betray us!” exclaimed Bryce. “I’ve known him too long. He’s my best friend!” I shook my head. “No, his men will attack the castle tonight and kill everyone. Only your child survives.”

Bryce and Eleanor looked at each other. “We can’t possibly believe her,” they said. “But she seems so nice. We must look after her.” They called Ser Gilmore to take me to a guest room. I gasped. He was even more handsome than he was in the game.

“I’m Ser Gilmore,” he said.

“I’m Emelerana,” I said.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Emelerana. If you don’t mind me saying, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

I blushed and kissed him. Then, he took me to my room where we got undressed and fell upon each other in a passion. I gasped when he pulled out his throbbing manhood and moaned as he slid it into my channel of love. Then, I felt it bump against something. I gasped again, in surprise, rather than lust this time. My hymen had grown back while traveling between Earth and Thedas! I would be able to give Gilmore my virginity! He thrust in and out of me passionately and I moaned in pleasure, my breasts heaving. This was my first time having sex and I would always remember this moment, not least because Gilmore was incredibly talented. We cried out each other’s names as his manliness exploded into fireworks inside me, making my heart flutter in my own passion. Afterwards we lay in each other’s arms happily.

Suddenly, I remembered that Ser Gilmore died in Howe’s attack and burst into tears.

“What’s wrong?” he asked me.

“I don’t want you to die!” I said. “I don’t want anyone here to die! Howe’s going to kill everyone but no one will believe me!”

“I believe you,” Gilmore said. “I’ll help you tell everyone.”

I kissed him again happily. Then, we went to tell all the castle’s guards that there would be an attack tonight, and to make sure they were ready for it. While Gilmore was talking to some guards, I looked around and realised Lady Landra and her son and lady in waiting were standing nearby. I remembered that you could have sex with her son. (And with her lady in waiting, but I didn’t do that because I’m not a lesbian.)

“Hello,” I said to Dairren. He said hello back.

“Would you like to join me in my room tonight?” I asked.

“Of course!” he said.

We smiled at each other. Then, Elissa arrived. She was so beautiful, I was sure Dairren would choose to sleep with her instead. I turned away sadly.

But then, Dairren yelled, “No!” and glared at her. He put his arm around me. “I can’t believe she tried to get me to sleep with her!” he said to me. “What a bitch!” 

Elissa glared at me and instead asked Iona to join her in her room. I grinned smugly back at her. She reminded me of Kylee, and I was really pleased she had to have sex with Iona instead of Dairren. 

I was on my way back to my room to wait for Dairren when someone else turned the corner towards me. Oh no! I thought. It was Howe.  He pointed a dagger at me.

“How dare you tell everyone of my secret plans!” he yelled. “Nevermind, no one will believe you, and I will kill everyone here!” He laughed cruelly.

“No!” I yelled back, tears streaming down my face. “I can’t let you do that!” I ran away, hearing him cursing after me.

I ran into my room and collapsed on the bed crying. I couldn’t let him kill all these people! I had to do something! Then, I heard a knock on my door and Dairren came in to have sex with me. I was so happy to see him, and excited about losing my virginity to him, before I remembered that in the game, Howe’s soldiers killed him if you had sex with them.

I put my hand on his face. “I’m sorry,” I told him softly. “We can’t do this. You’ll die.”

He gazed at me sadly. “But I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” I told him. “But that's why we can never be together.”

I kissed him sadly, knowing it would be the last time I could, before running out into the hall to go and stop Howe.

It was night now, and I could hear screams and fighting everywhere. Howe’s attack must have already started! I ran along corridors, throwing open doors, trying to find the Couslands so I could help them. Then, I found Elissa’s room. I cried out in horror as I looked inside, Elissa and Iona were dead! Howe had already killed them. I clenched my fists. Elissa had been horrible to me, but I had to be compassionate to look past that. I would avenge her death!

I ran on, returning to the Great Hall. Ser Gilmore was in there, lying on the ground, with blood running down his chest.

“No!” I yelled, falling on my knees next to him, remembering our stolen evening of pleasure earlier. “Please don’t die!”

He looked at me. “Emelerana...” he said. “I didn’t think I could go on, but you’ve given me the strength to keep fighting!” He stood up and stabbed another of Howe’s guards. I cheered him on.

“I have to find Bryce and Eleanor,” I told him.

“That will be dangerous,” he told me, “But you’re strong and brave enough that I’m sure you can do it!”

I found Bryce and Eleanor huddled together next to the escape route in the kitchen, but they weren’t alone… Howe was with them too!

He was pointing a sword at them and laughing evilly. “Now I will kill you both! And Castle Cousland will be mine!”

“No!” I yelled, running towards them, feeling so angry and sad.

He turned to sneer at me, but as he did so, something happened. Fire shot out of my outstretched hands, shooting towards him. Now that I was in Thedas, I must be a mage! Howe screamed as it wrapped around him and fell down, dead.

“Thank you Emelerana!” said Bryce, running towards me and hugging me. “You saved our lives!” “We’re so sorry we didn’t believe you earlier,” said Eleanor, also hugging me. “We were so stupid and wrong!”

I hugged them back. “I forgive you,” I told them kindly. “But something terrible has happened… Howe killed Elissa.”

“Oh no!” Eleanor said, crying.

Bryce looked at me sadly. “It’s our fault Elissa died,” he said. “If we had believed you in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. But… we’ve lost our daughter and you are alone in this world. Perhaps we could adopt you?”

Eleanor gasped. “That would be wonderful!”

“Yes please!” I told them. “My real parents on earth were really horrible to me, I’d much rather you were my parents instead!”

They beamed at me. “Good!” said Bryce. “Then we should go and celebrate you saving our lives, and our castle!”

We went to celebrate in the Great Hall with everyone else, hardly anyone had died in the attack because Ser Gilmore and I had warned everyone in time! I was kissing Gilmore happily when Duncan approached me.

“I saw you kill Howe,” he told me. “I’ve never seen such powerful magic. And I was very impressed with how brave and resourceful you were, saving everyone. I came here looking for a new Grey Warden recruit. And I would like to recruit you.”

I gasped in surprise. “Oh yes,” Gilmore told me. “You’d make an amazing Grey Warden, you should definitely do it! Although it would hurt so much to lose you.” “It would hurt me too,” I told him. “But Duncan is right. Being a Grey Warden is my destiny.”

I sadly hugged my new parents goodbye, but I promised to come back soon. I remember that in the game, Grey Wardens don’t usually go back to their family after getting recruited, but Duncan promised that I could, since he couldn’t bare to take me away from the Couslands forever. Before I left, they gave me Elissa’s mabari as a gift. He was the most beautiful dog I’d ever seen and when he jumped up and licked me, I knew he’d imprinted on me as his new owner!

“He never actually imprinted on Elissa,” Bryce confided to me. “I think he was just waiting for you to come along.”

I smiled and hugged him and Eleanor again, and kissed Ser Gilmore goodbye. Then, I set off with Duncan to be a Grey Warden.