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barbex · 3 years

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First line game

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors!

I was tagged by @hollyand-writes, and @blarrghe, thank you! 💙

This is going to be fun because I updated some older fics recently and with all the exchanges I did, I have a great mixture of Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Original Fiction and even some James Bond and Mission Impossible here.

1. Destiny's Bite: Zevran is different. Not just in "an assassin who tried to kill the Warden" kind of way and not in the way Alistair's eyes don't know where to look if he's around. Not in the gracefulness of his movements or the way his eyes sparkle under the rim of his hood.

2. The Way Up: "Hello Tali, how nice to hear from you." Liara's face was slightly distorted over the long distance comm. Major comm systems were still down after the galaxy wide Reaper war.

3. A Sin to Seek: "If the gentlemen would follow me, please?" The gaudy dress of the butler stands in stark contrast to his arrogant and slightly annoyed expression.

4. You And Me And He Makes Three: Alistair Theirin has a problem. The problem involves bathing.

5. The Good, The Bad, And The Naughty: "Brother Sebastian?" The Sister's voice is quiet and a bit too high. She is a novice, her eyes still wide in wonder whenever she comes to the statue of Andraste where Sebastian sits.

6. Vanish in Steam: The hall is grand as it is tacky and that's saying something. Its octagon shape takes up all of the front of the building, the ceiling rising high up to an octagon glass window, with balconies and open stairs winding up on every wall.

7. I want Something Just Like This: Being driven by James Bond in a classic car is a pleasure known only to a handful of people, but probably a wonderful experience. Being driven by 007 in a beat up Vauxhall while being chased by faster cars is known by even fewer and also a nightmare.

8. Wisps of Curiosity: "Hey. What are you doing here?" Mina Cadash opens her eyes. At least she thinks she does.

9. Spirit Of My Dreams: Hawke enters the cabin and pushes her hood back. A bit of snow falls from her hair, gliding ice cold down her neck. She's no orlesian flower but by the Maker, she hates this cold.

10. Change Me - Malleabile: Anders looks up from his patient, his hands tingling with healing magic. He is tired, exhausted even, and his magic reserves are nearly used up.

11. A Soft Drop: Ethan drags a dresser in front of the door, one of these old, heavy things that aren't mere furniture but a dedication to the oak tree that took a hundred years to grow just so that someone could make a dresser of impressive style and weight from it.

12. Solid Fluidity: "Garrus - you’re on watch in the Chora’s Den alcove tonight!" Garrus Vakarian gave a friendly, if slightly hesitant nod towards his superior and stacked up the pads that he had been working on.

13. Traipsing Troubles: "I'm taking Lace for a romantic walk in the fields outside of Skyhold and I had a picnic at this little stream prepared — " "Do you think she likes that?"

14. Skewering a Hawke: "So, listen," Varric says after guiding Hawke into his suite at the Hanged Man. "I got a very specific request for the old escort service."

15. Hawke's House: "This is a Hawke house, you know." Sebastian's head snaps around and he sets the tray a bit harder than necessary on the table.

16. Bloodshot: In this city of upheaval and nightmares, The Blooming Rose is a bastion of stability. It looks the same, it smells the same and even the prices stay mostly the same.

17. Arrow's Path: The map doesn't show her anything but she keeps staring at it, willing it to tell her something, anything to untangle the mess of emotions in her heart. She sings quietly, the words telling of the loneliness she feels in her heart.

18. A Daisy in Skyhold: "Hey, Singer," Varric calls to him as he walks rather aimlessly into Skyhold's main hall. It's funny that Varric calls him Singer, even though he has never sung in this hall.

19. Sure Told: "And if you get him killed, I'm gonna feed you your own eyeballs." Bianca Davri fixes her with a stare that might have weakened a man's knee, but not Mina's.

20. Tailoring Touches: "Vivienne? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Lenka Cadash waits at the edge of the stairs for Vivienne to wave her over. She always welcomes her but Lenka still likes to be respectful.

So, that was a fun mixture. Is there a pattern? I like to open with dialogue quite often. If not that, then I open with a description of the situation or the surroundings and I’m not sure I like that, seems kind of weak for a beginning.

My favorite? I really like the James Bond one and the Bloodshot one. Come to think of it, both are descriptive and not dialogue, maybe those are not so bad after all.

I’m tagging: @lauraemoriarty, @elveny, @dafan7711, @pikapeppa, @varghaxa, @hawkeish, @starsandskies, @charlatron, @enigmalea, @wickedwitchofthewilds, @storybookhawke, @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul, @pinkfadespirit, @musetta3, @lesetoilesfous

Stay good friends!

#First Lines #tag game

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theharellan · 4 years

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101 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS | not accepting

for the sake of reducing the number of ooc posts i’m answering these all in one and just @ing the people who asked the questions! thank you for them all!

if you sent me one of these btw and rbed this meme yourself and i didn’t send you something, please let me know! i want to send you things back and must have missed you reblogging the meme. this includes non-mutuals.

1. How did you get into Dragon Age? | asked by @kaaras-adaar & @dreamerlavellan

Sort of by accident, actually. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in university (2011) and summertime is generally a time of inactivity and depression because I cannot tolerate the weather here. My dad happened to own Origins and I picked it up because??? Fantasy? RPG?

Starting the game I saw you could play as a dwarf, who have been my favourites in fantasy since a child as The Hobbit is among my favourite books. Then after that I fell in love with the worldbuilding for dwarves and Gorim, my first actual Dragon Age love. I was more or less hooked after that. DA was actually not my first Bioware game, I was obsessed with Jade Empire as a kid so like Origins appealed to me immediately despite being far less fun to play than literally any other Bioware game I’ve ever played. The characters and world more than made up for it.

I beat it relatively quickly and my dad bought Dragon Age II which had come out earlier that day, actually against my suggestion because I’d heard it wasn’t good. And in this instance my dad forgetting something I said turned out for the best because I ended up enjoying DAII more in some respects. While it took me a while to join the fandom as a content producer I was a consumer and certified DA trash from then on.

2. Have you finished all three games? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

Kskjdfs yes. I’ve beaten each at least 4 times, but probably more like 8. The only thing I haven’t played are some of the Origins DLC because as much as I enjoy my replays I am so ready to be out by the end of the game (and I have the worst luck with Awakening bugs) and I also don’t have Sebastians DLC b/c his never goes on sale individually and I refuse to spend more than like $4 on him.

3. How long did it take you to finish the series? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

I honestly don’t know. I think it took me like a week to beat Inquisition without 100%ing it, I’d say my first playthroughs all probably took about that long. I tend not to do everything in my first playthrough. Like shard collecting didn’t happen until round two, etc.

7. Favorite DA:O backstory? | asked by @dreamerlavellan & @fatefaulted

I’ve played through all of them and I enjoy them all except Cousland, but my favourite is Aeducan. I enjoy the politics, the culture, the aesthetic of Orzammar. I love Gorim Saelac and the surprising amount of depth to this character who is designed to be thrown away after the prologue. I love how it ties you to the Darkspawn threat in a bigger way than any of the origins accomplish. I love how it ties you to the Orzammar plot later in the game, and playing Aeducan first is probably one reason why I adore that branch of the game. It’s a good origin that establishes its world really well and has great characters to boot.

11. Share a pic of your favorite OC from any DA game. | asked by @dreamerlavellan

I just want to share pics of my girl and Solas’ future husband.

Ian Lavellan, non-Inquisitor written by @theshirallen

Thora Cadash, dwarven Inquisitor and default Inquisitor for this blog written by... me lmao.

22. Favorite DA2 party combo? | asked by @fatefaulted

My main Hawke is a mage Hawke, so this party is horrendously imbalanced, but: Varric, Merrill, Isabela. They all just like each other and I think that’s neat. Although in act one my favourite is probably Carver, Merrill, Isabela / Varric. Unfortunately the game doesn’t want me to have a warrior in my party.

24. Favorite main-story quest from DA:I? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

It’s hard to pick between In Hushed Whispers and In Your Heart Shall Burn. I love seeing the red lyrium’d companions and the dark future of Thedas, and speculating on what happened in the intervening year. I love reflecting on what it must do for the Inquisitor to see that and have it be undone. I think it sets up the rest of the game really well, and in ways Champions of the Just doesn’t do quite as well.

In Your Heart Shall burn is a simpler quest but I think the power and emotions in the quest are so raw. Playing this the first time was riveting and I was on the edge of my seat. The triumph of closing the Breach, the strangeness of your first encounter with Cole (whose appearance at the gates is another reason I prefer IHW tbh, I think it’s more tension building than Dorian’s), Corypheus, crawling through the snow. Capping it off with The Dawn Will Come and the journey to Skyhold idk, it’s just such an emotional high point in the series that every time I replay I get goosebumps.

25. Favorite DA:I place? | asked by @fatefaulted

It’s a tie between the Frostback Basin and the Emerald Graves. I love the lore in both, as elf trash I prefer the lore in the graves especially if I can include the Din’an Hanin into that category. But the Avvar lore and Ameridan is also Very Good, and while I adore the giant trees of the graves the Frostback Basin clearly was able to have more resources poured into its design, and as a result the different sections of the map have so much more character.

A close runner-up is the Hinterlands, as I think the quests there are fun and it feels like home. I enjoy returning to it. Which is good, b/c I’ve played through it... a lot... I think loving it might be a coping mechanism, but also I love the vibe of the early game that’s best captured in the Hinterlands.

32. Favorite DLC mission overall? | asked by @fatefaulted

Trespasser is up there with Shivering Isles as my favourite DLC ever produced. Its hits every emotional beat I think it needed to hit, set up the next game with greater detail and intrigue than the initial epilogue, and I’m honestly dying to get to replay it again on Thora despite what it does to my nerves. The first time I played it I could feel my heart beating faster like wtf me.

37. Blood magic: yes or no? | asked by @hopewrought

Would I use it myself? No. Morally I think it can be reprehensible but also neutral, much like any other magic in the game. In certain characters I think even if used for good it may encourage unhealthy habits, but I think it can be learned to be engaged with in better ways.

59. Who was written really poorly? | asked by @theshirallen you can’t hide behind anon I know it was you

Oghren fucking Kondrat. When I think about the reasons Origins is my least favourite game he is among them. With Oghren there was a really good chance to portray an alcoholic abuse victim, suffering from severe mental health issues, and still mourning his wife, with the respect it deserves. Instead he just... is a gross sexist dwarf and his alcoholism is mostly played for jokes. And then he comes back in Awakening and... continues to be a gross sexist dwarf whose alcoholism is mostly played for jokes.

There could have been some really interesting stuff with Oghren, the Warrior caste of dwarves I think would suffer from issues similar to qunari warriors, where when they can no longer fill the purpose society has dictated they must serve, what then? They can’t do anything but fight. There could be comradery with Sten, or perhaps Zevran or Alistair, or any of the companions who have had the path their lives took dictated to them by societal forces they had no say in (even if they are happy with that direction). There are snippets of good stuff in here, the line “let us show them our hearts, Warden, and then show them theirs” is one of the best of the good-byes the game offers us imo. It’s a shame about what came before.

Like there are other characters, such as Sera, who I think were done dirty by their writers, but Sera at least got some growth in the DLC and there were attempts to address criticism of her character. Oghren in Awakening was just kind of a take two of an already poorly-done arc.

60. Who do you wish had been given more story? | asked by @hopewrought

I wish Briala had more, like that she had some impact on the story in universes where Gaspard isn’t crowned with her as his puppetmaster. She and the elves reappears in that but not if you reunite her with Celene or exile her, and I think it would’ve been neat. I also wish she’d had a chance to interact with Solas in some small way given how many parallels were drawn by one of his own agents during Masked Empire.

I also wish we had more about dwarves in general in 2 and Inquisition. We get some great lore in Inquisition that was set up in 2, but with our only dwarf companion being Varric, who honestly has a relationship with his race that at times is comparable to Sera’s, it pulls a few of its punches. I really think they have dwarves set up to be important players in the next game, with their architecture featuring heavily in the dev diary, buuut no dwarves to be seen. So who knows. Just give me dwarves in the next game who aren’t Varric Bioware pls. Let me kiss one maybe.

61. Favorite NPC? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

I’m not going to count advisors even though they kinda are NPCs and I’m going to answer one for each game so uhh...

Origins - Anora

DA2 - Feynriel

DA:I - Krem

Bonus - Lord Woolsley, the only unproblematic DA character

63. Best story moment? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

It’s a tie between the journey to Skyhold and the talk with Solas at the end of Trespasser and the resulting disbanding of the Inquisition (if you so choose). I really can’t separate them because I think the reason Trespasser works so well is how it calls back to the very beginning of Inquisition and that moment with Solas in the snow. It’s triumphant and sad, something’s ending, the fellowship is breaking, but you know all of you will continue to work towards a better world apart.

In DA:O I think it’d be saying good-bye before the final battle and in DA2 I think the moment where you can tell the Arishok he was right to take in the elves who killed that guardmen is good. Probably one of the reasons why I think Hawke-Arishok work so well as a protagonist-antagonist combination.

81. Favorite fanfic? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

I don’t read a lot of fanfic, actually. Save what I read on here, which I do count, but idk if other people do.

My favourite writers to read are @theshirallen, obviously. Joly wants to tweakIan’s personal quest but I think the version they have written now is still very good and you can find it here. I love reading Peace’s stuff and find their smut especially spicy in the best possible way, you can find a Merrill/f!Mahariel piece here! Gaia doesn’t write on Tumblr much these days, but she wrote a wonderful Tug/Sketch (the companions from Leliana’s Song) that you can find here.

I follow so many talented writers and I can’t list them all but here are a few I can fire off real fast: @theshirallen / @ghilannainguideme / @seahaloed / @sabraelin / @valorcorrupt / @mercysought / @hopewrought / @ofrevas / @skyheld have all moved me with their words at some point, be it in fic or rp.

82. Favorite fanart/fanartist? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

Again I just can’t choose jsdfks.

The easiest way is to just link my Solas fanart tag. Obviously this favours Solas artists, however, so also here’s a link to thedaswlw where there’s a boatload of amazing fanart all of wlw.

Of people I’m mutuals with I know @abracafockyou, @kaaras-adaar, @dalathin (currently inactive but I gotta link them), and @syntharts are all very talented artists. I’m also a big fan of destinyapostacy, nipuni, elbenherzart, starscollected (on twitter), and many more.

97. What’s your favorite DA mod? | asked by @ghilannainguideme & @hopewrought

I’ll chose one as many as I want to apparently from each game again, b/c why not?

DA:O - I have to admit I find this game hard to mod because nothing can really salvage the gameplay or look of the game. I need Better Dwarf Model so I don’t have to look at the odd dwarf proportions in the game (the women have arms for days). Mostly I have armour mods. I like Grey Wardens of Ferelden so I can match Alistair in the final batte and have everyone in uniforms in Awakening. I do like Kirkwall Exports because I can put Zevran in the robes of the notorious pirate tho. I haven’t used this mod yet but I also love this mod I retweeted this morning.

DA2 - Again, I don’t mod 2 very much. You could probably make some kind of chart for correlating my enjoyment of a game versus my urge to mod it, with the more I love a game means I want to mod it more. With 2 I enjoy the combat and overall design of the characters more so I mostly use a couple of tweaks, my favourite is Ishs Scarf for Merrill which just adds a cute blue scarf to Merrill and hides the fact that elves in this game have weirdly long necks. Oh and a mod to fix the weird hand dirt.

DA:I - Equal Opportunity Solas mod, I bought the game again on PC just to use it. Being able to play Solas/Ian for screencaps was everything tbh. Other mods I enjoy are More Banter, which while I have better luck with banter it is nice to be able to count on it. I installed it this latest pt and I have heard location comments that have never triggered before. Black Hair for Everyone has changed my life because finally Thora doesn’t have grey hair. No Dirt Buildup is also amazing, as the dirt can cause some really weird blotting on PCs that’s especially noticeable on dark-skinned Inquisitors.

99. Where would you live (Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches etc?) | asked by @heysales

Probably Ferelden. It is fantasy England and hey if I make it past Inquisition maybe nothing will ever happen there again. Somewhere in the Free Marches might also be chill. Not Kirkwall. Maybe Starkhaven? Honestly tho I just want to live in the Frostback Basin. Have a spirit friend. Shake hands with nugs.

101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say? | asked by @dreamerlavellan

If I met Thora I’d tell her I’m proud of her. She’d be confused, but that’s ok.

#( munday meme )#( ooc )#( about me )#( asks )

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hvnterism · 4 years

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1,2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 15, 16, 28, 29, 30

1. is there a muse that you wish gets more attention?

from others? not really, they do good. from me on the other hand.......

2. if you HAD to choose, who’s your favorite muse?

ANSWERED

3. which muse is the trickiest to get into character for?

ANSWERED.

4. is there a muse that not a lot of people roleplay with?

i mean, mostly because of me. all of them get considerate attention. thank you.

5. if you HAD to choose, who’s your least favorite muse?

ANSWERED.

11. is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? who?

ANSWERED.

15. can you sort your muses from youngest to oldest?

CHRONOLOGICALLY, it goes: victoria, nicole, natasha, baird, sebastian, kol, harlow, alistair.

16. which muse is most willing to fight another muse?

HARLOW would fight all of them if she could, and succeed in killing them, except for ALISTAIR and maybe KOL. i can see these two also going one on one with each other or SEBASTIAN out of pettiness, but i don’t think any of them would cause actual problems between each other to actually go kill mode. in addition, i think the only ones who could start a legit feud would be HARLOW with VICTORIA. and to wrap all of this mess, harlow would be the kind of demon NATASHA would try to hunt down.

28. can you sort your muses from weakest to strongest?

PHYSICALLY/POWER WISE-- despite having been half darklighter, NICOLE was pretty weak in every physical aspect. VICTORIA follows at being only human. while she has some skills like endurance/stamina and speed. i doubt that helps her in case she was in danger against a supernatural being. now that he is a warlock, KOL would follow. however, his ability with magic would most likely give him a good headstart against BAIRD ( who is physically stronger than him ), SEBASTIAN and maybe even NATASHA. why i put natasha ahead? because she has the abilities of a vampire and the resources of a hunter. however, her weakness is exactly the same vampirism... and the fact she needs to master the vampire part. next up is HARLOW ( and if i add au!nicole they’d be trading places ) and finally ALISTAIR.

so it pretty much ends up being: nicole, victoria, baird, sebastian, natasha/kol, au!nicole/harlow, alistair.

MENTALLY WISE-- ( including intelligence and emotions ) without explanation because i’d end up having a stroke, it probably ends up like: nicole/sebastian, baird, harlow, natasha, kol, victoria, alistair, au!nicole.

29. which muse are you considering deleting?

in a near future? none of them, tbh. the only reason i’d end up dropping someone its because real-life interferes and i’d have to give some of them up. in the long run, some of you know BAIRD’s endgame. and AU!NICOLE is eventually leaving so NICOLE can come back.

30. most importantly, are you having fun playing each one of your muses?

no.

#ofindcmitability #answered #gaby speaks

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a-tear-in-the-veil · 4 years

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Fanfiction ask meme: 1, 3, 9, 10, 11, 13

Hi! Thank you so much for the asks. My brain really needed this right now <3

I answered 1 and 11 here

3) Describe the differences between your first fanfic and your most recent fanfic.

I honestly have not written very much. I think about writing ALL the time, but its been hard for me to follow through because school, shows/rehearsals, mental illness, etc. I got my work cut out for me if I want to write three novelizations.The first fic I wrote ever was for Divinity Original Sin 2, and it’s laughable. I think I’ve always been fairly decent at descriptions, but I had no idea how to format dialogue, most of it is copy and pasted dialogue with dialogue tags on every line. No depth. Like it’s BAD. After a couple years, wow, I now know how to format, I’ve written more original and thought out things, I spend more time too much time thinking about character development. There’s a lot I’m still learning, but if you saw the first thing I wrote compared to the one chapter I’ve posted on Ao3 or the things sitting in Word/Google Docs right now, it’s a pretty drastic change.

9) What do your fic bookmarks say about you?

I don’t have any modern AU’s bookmarked haha. I have nothing against them, but not my cup of tea. I love romance, so I love fics that expand on the romance in the games I like. I also love long fics because I’m selfish and I like consolidated stories. WIPS and one shots are lovely too :). I mostly live in the fantasy land but there was one Red Dead Redemption Fic that I was interested in reading, but I never played the game so it was hard for me to understand everything.

10) What’s a theme that keeps coming up in your writing?

Sassy Mages hahaha. I’m trying to distinguish my characters more, but that’s what I’m drawn to. My protagonist for DAO, Sol, was not supposed to be as sassy as she is. I wanted her to be more of a “coming into her own,” kinda character but she’s smart and has a sharp tongue sometimes. Also, divinity/the divine keeps coming up too. In Vestige (DAO) there’s not too much of that, but the whole story line of Divinity (Dos2) is around divinity. Also, in Emblem, there’s a lot dealing with goddess too.

13) Name three favorite characters to write.

Ezra/Ara: Ara Hawke is my DA2 Protagonist and Ezra is the same character, but she’s the Dos2 incarnation. They’re just very easy to write because I know exactly who they are, and they are very similar to how I am.

Aside from that, I don’t really know because I haven’t had a chance to write from many other character’s perspectives. I’m excited to write Fane though I’m still deciding on how I want to portray him (I’m imagining him similar to Sebastian from Stardew but with more bite. I can see a bit of Howl in him too maybe). I’m also super excited to write Alistair and Dimitri because they’re sweet hearts. They make me feel warm <3 Also, I’m super excited to write the Dos2 gang because they’re disasters, and assholes, and their interactions are going to be so chaotic.

#fanficasks #DAO #Dos2 #Fe3h #DA2 #lairofsentinel #Thanks for giving something enjoyable to do these asks made my day <3 #unveiled

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mfred · 4 years

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Lots of delicious tension– at least for the first half.

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian

Robert Selby knows the only way to save his sister Louisa from destitution is to arrange for a great marriage to someone important (and wealthy). But Selby is actually Charity Church, the onetime housemaid for the Selbys and now conman extraordinaire, so she’s walking a pretty tricky tightrope by bringing Louisa to London. She goes to Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke, for help introducing Louisa to society, knowing that she just needs one chance to make it big. But Alistair is the most rigid, uptight, snobby man in the world– even if he finds his “Robin” devilishly attractive and amazingly lovely. What’s a woman living as a man and a marquess to do? Fall in love, of course!

I found this book mostly delightful, very charming, and even moving, on occasion. The first half, when Robin Selby is laying out her con and maneuvering through society while Alistair fights his attraction to the supposed man is marvelously well done. There’s a lot of sexual and emotional tension between the two, some of it before they discover who the other really is, that is fun to read. Alistair doesn’t object to Robin because she is a man– no, he’s upset because she is so uncouth (yet oddly charming) and low class (yet so beguiling)!

So we have a bisexual marquess and a nonbinary heroine just dying to fall in love with each other, but being held apart by a myraid of circumstances, not the least of which is that the real Robert Selby is dead and his estate is supposed to pass to his cousin. Once the circumstances start to come together to keep the lovers apart, I started to worry. Even knowing this is a romance novel and happy endings are guaranteed, I really spent the middle part of this book thinking there was no possible way for them to get to that happily ever after. Robin could not live as a woman (or explain away the dead Robert Selby without going to jail) and Alistair could not lose his position and power in society by marrying a cross-dressing nobody impersonator.

The circumstances are impossible! And Robin refuses to hurt Alistair! And Alistair is trapped by his rigidity! And I got a little tired of it and all the self-sacrificing both had to do to keep the other from hurting even a little (even though they totally hurt a lot because they were in love and being kept apart). And then we get to the end, and it’s a magical happy ending!

SPOILER STOP READING NOW—

Alistair just uses the power of his name to declare Selby dead, Robin his wife, and everyone happy. No one challenges him, not the law, not Robert Selby’s cousin, not society at large for having a wife in men’s clothes who impersonated a dead man for years! It’s a very magical kind of happy ending that ties up all the lose ends without any consequences for anyone. It’s satisfying on some levels, but also unrealistic.

OK YOU CAN COME BACK.

Anyway, its a mostly enjoyable book featuring queer representation often missing from mainstream romance and its got some great swoony moments. And a kitten!

4 stars.

#book reviews #romance novels #romancelandia #cat sebastian #bisexual hero #nonbinary heroine

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happywitch416 · 5 years

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for the ask game: Rylen (you knew it was coming) Sebastian, andddd Morrigan.

Rylen

How I feel about this character

In honesty, he’s not a character I get excited about. He's that dude in the desert castle that has corpse water.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

All the fic I have read that involve him have been good. He’s good match for the inquisitor.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I want him to have a sit down with Cassandra because of this line: "when the barracks are on fire, [he] will go and get a bucket of water, not [smite] the ashes for the heresy." Sometimes she needs that jolt of reality amongst the religion and he would be a good option.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don’t think I have one? Unless you count not being as stoked by his existence as others.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

A bit more of him so I wouldn’t have to admit I had to pull up his wiki to finish this.

Sebastian

How I feel about this character

I don’t like Seb. Its nothing personal, I just have an internal bias against the religious and pretty much the rest of his life. I dislike the either you a ho or you're the next pope mentality. You can do both, sweets, and thats a terrible fix it strategy anyway. So much of his story is making someone into an acceptable image. His story hits a lot of...problems for me, personal ones. And while I can set them aside to support my friends, it still can’t make me comfortable with his character. I do like his interactions with the other companions though if you go the friend route. He doesn’t say do this my way or die. He’s chill about it.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Everyone. The boy needs unconditional love.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

That belt buckle… In seriousness, I will also blanket state everyone. Just because he was the life of the party does not mean he had friends, or if he did that they had his best interest at heart or weren’t using him for his title/money/power. He needs people who see him as a people.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I do not dig that whole chaste marriage thing if you friendmance him. Join the church so we can be together forever in the eyes of the maker. Next. I have mostly done rivalry with him and he’s kinda of a dick when you go that direction. That whole kill all mages because of Anders. What would your precious Maker think of you condoning murder. It also makes the DAI thing of attack Kirkwall make so much more sense.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

That someone, anyone had taught him some balance. He goes from party hardy to religious cult faith level. You can have balance. You can do both. Just chill, my dude. I would have liked to have seen a Seb that wanted to be Prince of Starkhaven so he could do good in the world. Not the rivalmance thing either. Just. Balance of the extremes. Less religion. Please dear heavens less religion.

Morrigan

How I feel about this character

Snarky forest witch forced to interact with people is a mood I relate to. I have always loved Morrigan, from my first playthrough of Origins. She is a complex character that tries to balance her real self and this image she wants to portray. She’s mean to Alistair which makes my little black heart feel warm and fuzzy.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I don’t have a set ship for Morrigan. I like pairings that have her with a female warden. Its softer. I do dig Morrigan and Leliana though, they are so different but I can definitely see them in Val Royeaux judging people and buying fancy things.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Shale! They are both outsiders of this world they have been shoved into and both are pretty free with their opinions. Team Ultimate Snark.

My unpopular opinion about this character

All of my unpopular opinions have to do with fandom, cowards and knaves all. Lets just say, I use block a lot in her favor.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

LET HER BE FUCKING BI YOU YELLOWBELLIED COWARDS. You spineless weasels. You opportunity missing sheep. It aint baby makin magic until its lesbians.

#the witch speaks

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loquaciousquark · 6 years

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15th August. Saw one whole cloud this morning--watched as it crept right next to the sun, spied me looking up in hope, and dissipated immediately

For as many lackeys as Meredith keeps at her beck and call, I am surely the most ill-suited to the position. Mostly because she despises the sight of me--which most, I feel, would consider a sign of a poor working relationship--and yet here I am, searching out apostates & running messages back and forth like a pet urchin, because my freedom depends entirely upon her sufferance and I am nothing if not craven when it comes to my freedom.

Poor Fenris. Well, he knew my baggage when he signed on. Maker, between the two of us we’re practically a full suite.

I do appreciate his willingness to stand at my shoulder and glower, though. I told him this afternoon that regardless of his history with Anders, should I ever be taken up by the templars, I expected him to put all differences aside to break me out of the Gallows immediately. He laughed, but his eyes were hard when he said he would. Good.

19th August. So steamy after yesterday’s storm Isabela could hardly get all the innuendo out at once

Do you know, journal, when I was a child I used to go out into the field and pretend to be Queen Rowan at the Battle of River Dane, and Carver would be Maric and Bethany would either be Loghain or Queen Rowan’s previously unknown twin sister, Queen Alabaster, who was the same as Queen Rowan only more beautiful, more beloved, and who more often than not kicked both Maric and Rowan to the streets after the battle and ruled Ferelden alone.

I bring this up because this afternoon (which was remarkable in several distinct ways) I managed to not only insult but also physically injure the sovereign king of Ferelden, His Majesty Alistair Theirin, in the presence of his uncle the Bann of Rainesfere Teagan Guerrin.

To be honest, I thought the letter was a joke. Maker knows I get enough of them now--it’s rarer than diamonds to receive a genuine request for aid lately between all the blind offers for my hand and the blinder requests for the sum total of my fortune to be delivered to the docks at midnight in an oiled basket draped with bunting. I thought Bodahn had let it slip through accidentally--and then I walked through the Keep’s doors and saw Meredith arguing with a man in full plate right there in the entry hall, and so preoccupied was I with rolling my eyes straight out of my head that I didn’t realize I recognized his face from all the printed coins Lirene still takes for trade.

Funny. I always thought it would feel different, standing before someone who rules your country--the place you loved, I mean, the place that was home.

He was taller than me, but not by much, with lines around his eyes, and a wider face than the coins suggest. He laughed more often than I should have thought. He knew my name, too, and all evening I have been imagining him and his queen sitting in a blue salon, opening letters with news of my various exploits, marveling at this wonderful refugee who survived the Blight against all odds and yet managed to still steadfastly ruin Ferelden’s reputation all the way across an entire sea.

Anyway. Aveline was infinitely proper-er than I was, of course, which oddly enough I think embarrassed him more than my inability to muster even the minimally appropriate deference due my sovereign lord. Then--just to make sure the Maker was mocking me directly--on the way out I was so busy looking behind me to see if Meredith was watching that I missed Alistair pausing on one of the Keep steps ahead of me, plowed directly into his posterior, knocked both of us off our balance, and clapped our temples so hard together I saw stars.

I will say the last time I saw Aveline so disgusted with me I was drunkenly weeping into her shoulder about the mayfly lifespan of my dog (comparatively speaking). But again, Alistair hardly minded at all, and once we got out of the Keep we managed the four of us to have a wholly reasonable conversation about imported dairy products and the effects of the latest storms on Ferelden’s grain production, which I honestly cared a great deal more about than Meredith anyway. He says the edges of the Wilds are still enough a wasteland they’ve not counted on its stores at all. He didn’t remember any recent news of Lothering itself, but he said a few places have begun to recover and that Lothering might have been one of them, a bit of growing green against all odds. I’d like to see that Chantry rebuilt someday, with the sun turning colors through its glass windows every morning.

My favorite moment came a little later, though, as Teagan was talking about the trouble he’s been having with one of Redcliffe’s apple groves. I looked over his shoulder and saw Fenris on his way back from the Chantry--visiting Sebastian, I think, since it’s the third of the week--so I waved him over and introduced him. He can be so coolly civil when he wants to be, and despite the leer I have yet to successfully suppress as I introduced “my friend,” he gave that crisp Tevinter half-bow to Alistair and nodded to Teagan and slipped right into the conversation about the apples, easy as anything.

Fucking proud of him. Not even enough words for the joy--I’m bursting every time I think of it. Danarius can twist his bloody mincy little words all he likes. No Tevinter slave ever stood so straight and free before a king.

He belonged there. He belonged there, with us. King Alistair honored him and deferred to him more than once as we spoke, and Bann Teagan admired his sword, and Aveline told the story of our trip to Sundermount and the varterral we fought there, and how Fenris tore two of the legs from the thing before Varric & I finished it off. (She knew, I think, how I felt; I kept stumbling over my sentences, preoccupied as I was marveling at Fenris’s wonderful face so near King Alistair’s stubbly one, so to have her slip in as often as she did and cover for my idiocy was dreadfully kind.)

Alistair asked us, in the end, if we’d come back. Serve our country once more, serve the throne. Aveline...didn’t know. And I said

I said

Yes was in my mouth. I could already feel it, could already smell Lothering’s spring fields and the green ivy that grows on the boulders next to the southern lakes and the thick, crisp cut to the air right before it storms, and...

And then I glanced over his shoulder at the way the afternoon sunlight poured down the silks draped through the Chantry square, and I saw the peak of Fenris’s roof over the wall where I first told him I loved him, and I thought of Pelarie’s and Jule’s wedding next week, and the sticky buns Orana’s promised to make for Wicked Grace after and how Sebastian plans to come help her with the glazing, and I--

Well! I couldn’t.

I looked at Fenris, and his eyes softened, just a little, and I said I would be happy to come visit, and I offered my aid should it ever be needed, but that I thought...I thought perhaps my place was here, at least for now.

Alistair’s face changed enough I think he understood my meaning, and he nodded and said to send word should we ever have need of him. He said he knew our road was difficult, but he thought Kirkwall was in the best hands she might be able to get, even if she didn’t know it yet. Generous sentiment, I thought, considering how near I’d been to abandoning her only a scant moment prior, but I appreciated it all the same.

Then Isabela sauntered by on her way to the Blooming Rose and Alistair turned beet-red and all of us learned a great deal more about a brothel in Denerim than I think any of us expected when we woke this morning.

24th August. Rained all morning, heavier storms this afternoon. Da would have called this a gullywasher

I could die a happy doglord if I never had to run another errand for that woman. If I didn’t know how terrified I was of her assistant (and the implications of that assistant), and I didn’t know she knew, and I didn’t know I didn’t know she knew, well--I’d never help her again at all, so there.

That said, my hands are still cold from the last time we went through. Even Aveline winced at Elsa’s “help,” and I can’t remember the last time she was flappable. Regardless, two blood mages are no more and one mage is safely returned to the Circle, and the blood of at least two more innocent lives has poured through my fingers. Poor Evelina. Poor blessed Nyssa. I led her to her death for nothing more than the misfortune of loving the wrong man and trusting the wrong woman to protect her.

Merrill said Nyssa always kept to herself in the alienage. She’s going to take the cloth and ivory from the market stand to Nyssa’s neighbor, an older woman to whom she used to carry stew on cool evenings. She’s to see to the lease and the apartment as well, though she doesn’t know if the landlord will speak to her. For once, it’s because Merrill’s a stranger and no relative, not because of the blood magic or the tendency to traipse in other people’s gardens without permission. I even saw an alienage elf give her a nod of recognition on our way out after Nyssa died, which is practically an embrace for her by now. She’s still pale and too concerned with that contraption of a mirror, but perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Speaking of directions, there’s word on the winds that Castillon’s floating back into town to claim Isabela’s debt. She’s working on some foolish plan involving the Blooming Rose and a secret trail, and I adore every ridiculous part of it. That woman has more machinations than Varric’s clockwork crossbow.

Damn. I keep thinking about Nyssa’s face when I told her I’d help.

29th August. Stifling. Politically and weatherly, I should say, with the humidity like a wall pressing us down into the cobbles

Sold my soul to get Isabela her ship. Or--if not the whole--at least another little bit of it, as Fenris’s disapproving looks keep telling me every time she starts waxing on about her lovely new beauty. I could have bought her a ship. I could have even paid to have Castillo killed--Maker’s blood, I could have gone and done it myself the moment Isabela was away, but I didn’t, and now he’s free to continue slaving (for now, anyway), and she’s free to take herself off into the horizon the moment the winds call her and tear me apart all over again.

Do you know what the worst part is, journal?

I saw her eyes the moment she stepped on that ship for the first time, knowing her to be hers, every plank and nail and inch of rope, and I’d do it all again for her without a second’s thought.

2nd Kingsway. One orange leaf on the trees in the square before the Chantry today. Don’t make me empty promises, autumn

Jule’s and Pelarie’s wedding today! Jule wore a lovely brown and green dress embroidered in gold thread, and Pelarie wore the same green trimmed in white. I caught a glimpse of her face, right when they met each other at the back of the Chantry to walk towards Mother Natta together, and just for a moment all I could think of was the first time I ever met Pelarie, a tiny thing too young for her taffeta sitting in my parlor, her terrible mother eating Orana’s tea-cakes and smiling at me like she owned me already.

Her mother wasn’t smiling today, but she was there, and Jule’s mother beamed bright enough for both of them anyway. I’d wager she even outshone the little flame they lit in the shared cup afterwards, though now that I think of it, that might have been due to the diamond the size of my fist dangling from her necklace.

Fenris went with me. I’ll refrain from describing my catlike satisfaction at holding his hand (in public even, Bride preserve me), even if it was mostly just between us while we sat in the pews. I never really dreamed of marriage as a girl, preoccupied as I was with keeping the family safe and the mule happy and plowing, but I’d marry him if he wanted. Flames, I’d marry him just to spite Lord Stinton Fucking Forrester, who was also there (poor judgement, Lady Ashbridge!), and whose face pinched so badly when he saw us his mouth practically sucked out the back of his head. A less lofty reason, perhaps, but since Fenris refuses to permit me to shout my affection for him from the Hightown rooftops, I find I must be satisfied with taking his hand in public and watching people I dislike wither on the inside for it.

It helps significantly that he looks like some stern foreign lord in that Tevinter dress tunic and the black trousers that fit him all the way down. Most handsome man in the room, and he didn’t even know it.

Which isn’t to say he didn’t look infinitely better out of them later, though. Ha!

9th Kingsway. There was one whole single breeze today, I swear it

Toby has, I think, become overly familiar with the neighbor’s grey hunting bitch. I told him he was under no circumstances to make any rash decisions, and he licked my nose and ate a metal pie tin in answer, so I may or may not have broken through. We’ll see if any puppies emerge with iron stomachs and a penchant for stealing fowl, I suppose, though I can’t deny they’d be heart-stealingly adorable.

It’s been quiet all week. It makes me uneasy.

14th Kingsway

Marethari’s dead, and Merrill’s shattered the mirror. Fenris was cruel to her after. So was Anders. I lost my temper at both of them and upset Merrill even more in the doing.

Flames and pyre!

I wanted that thing gone, but not like this.

17th Kingsway. Cool

Went back to speak to the Dalish today. I went by myself, which probably wasn’t wise, but Merrill’s lost like a kit in the snow and I didn’t want anyone else’s judgement or catty remarks or -- or over-kindness to get in the way.

Master Ilen says Marethari told no one what she was going to do. Her--First isn’t the right word, I know, because it was different elvhen and Merrill said she hadn’t been replaced yet anyway--some student of hers that she was close to suspected she’d done something foolish. He said the girl followed us up the mountain and came down again when we went into the cave with the idol.

He supposes he’s the elder now, until the clan comes to a choice on who will lead them next. He said they won’t kill Merrill if they see her--bitter thanks to me--but she’s not welcome alone any longer.

I asked if I could take Merrill something from the clan to remember Marethari by. I told him she loved her still and grieves her death. He said they’d left Marethari’s body in the cave where she’d sold herself to save something not worth the selling, and that I was welcome to anything left that hadn’t been taken by birds or the earth.

I was so angry! So angry, and I told him so, and I told him Merrill loved her clan more than her own life and everything she did was for their sake, and if they were still too stubborn to see it after all this time they might as well be heartless.

He looked at me, and he said that it would be better to die than to have his heart killed in the saving.

I wanted to pretend I didn’t know what he meant. I wanted to keep my righteous anger for Merrill’s sake, and for all the lost sods in Kirkwall who’ve had their families turn away from them for--for Maker knows why, but...

All I could see was my mother’s face, and the peace in her eyes when she told me not to save her.

I went up the mountain to the cave and took up Marethari’s staff, and then I walked to Merrill’s home in the alienage and knocked at her door. She wouldn’t let me in, so I tucked the staff in against the doorjamb and went to visit Gamlen. Charade was there too, so we played cards and drank until the sun went down and Gamlen started snoring, and then Charade took me home with her on account of me not being fit to walk Lowtown alone in my state.

So says she. A bandit pissed himself at the sight of my face two weeks ago. I didn’t even have to say anything.

She’s laid me out a pallet on her floor and she’s very studiously ignoring my burning down of all her candles, but I think I’m finished with this. As much as I’ll ever be, anyway, until Merrill lets me back in through the cracks.

I remembered to send a note to Orana this time. At least I managed that.

25th Kingsway. Warm again, but in a desperate sort of way, as if the season knows it’s on its way out, finally, Maker

Fenris apologized to Merrill today. He didn’t know I heard him; we were getting ready to go after a band of blood mages that’s been taking young women from Lowtown, and he was down the stairs at the Hanged Man as I was coming out of Varric’s suite. He didn’t quite apologize for the sentiment, but he did for the tone, and the timing, and he said he knew he’d hurt her in the saying and regretted it.

Merrill thanked him, because she’s the most generous person I’ve ever met, and he hemmed and hned and extricated himself from the conversation as quickly (and gracelessly--I knew there had to be something he wasn’t superb at) as he could. By the time I came down the stairs he was standing across the bar at one of the sooty windows, but Merrill was still there, and she saw me, and she smiled as she lifted Marethari’s staff. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes were shining.

28th Kingsway. Rained all day in Kirkwall, the puddled streets just about empty of life

The Followers of She have been ousted at last, and all the girls living that they still had captive have been returned to their homes. There was one girl, a little older than the rest (sixteen? seventeen?) who’s a mage & the oldest of five (all girls, Maker preserve that family). She seemed familiar, somehow, but I couldn’t place her. Her name was Gloria. It’s also worth noting that every single woman in her family has the most blazing golden hair, and even the rain couldn’t keep their spirits dampened as she bounded through the door to her home in Lowtown. I must have seen her around Gamlen’s place, I suppose. Maker, it’s such a precious thing when someone can be saved!

There was a demon at the end of it, a corrupted desire named Hanker, and she spoke to me before she died. She said she could see the heart of me and she could give me what I wanted, if I’d spare her, if I’d become a vessel for her power.

I told her I was too prone to breaking crockery as it was, thank you very much, and she’d have to look elsewhere to meet her quota. Then Fenris stabbed her right through the heart from behind, and she turned into embers and purple ash that reeked of rotten eggs.

Varric says he’s going to turn it into a new chapter of Hard in Hightown. I told him if I featured in it at all, I’d hire someone else to write my authoritative biography, and he only laughed and shook his head. I don’t trust him one inch.

2nd Harvestmere. Guess what lucky sod got to get a cape and scarf out of the coat closet this morning

There are things I’ve been discovering lately that I never knew I didn’t know. For instance, I’ve learned that having Fenris’s fingers resting on the side of my neck as we sleep is more important to me than breathing. I’ve learned there’s a very specific way to bother his ears that’ll have him bothering me in an equally excellent way in less than a handful of minutes. I’ve learned that the slightly puffy-eyed glare he gives with one eye when I wake him too early in the morning is more precious to me than a fistful of rubies, even the ones the size of quail eggs Lord Ashbridge wears every Firstday.

I have more scars than he does. The Arishok helped with that, certainly, and it does bother me a bit there’s a stripe along my ribs where I can’t feel his fingers, but the few he does have are marks of worse stories than mine, so I think we still come out more evens than odds.

And yet...

There’s something I’ve noticed, mostly when he’s tired but sometimes when he’s just had a difficult day, or a long one, and I don’t know quite how to say it. It’s almost as if he--craves touch. To be touched, I mean, or to just--just cuddle, if that weren’t wholly the wrong word for it. To--to--sit close and--

Andraste! If even I don’t know what I mean, how can I expect anybody else to understand?

After dinner, in two glasses of whiskey, loose, articulate, devilishly attractive to all who see upon me. Look upon me

What I meant to say earlier is that last night, when we came home from the Coast, after we’d both had (tragically separate, but we were ruined with ichor) baths, and I’d gone to the library, Fenris came in and sat down beside me closer than he ever does usually, and over the course of the next twenty minutes (or thereabouts), via the deep secret signs of sideways glances and a half-opened gesture or two, and my asking, his head ended up directly in my lap.

He trusts me. How terrifying!

His eyes were closed and his hair was damp from the bath, so it was more grey than white, and he was warm and heavy and the lyrium sang as I brushed down his neck. He was wearing no armor, only a soft green shirt and linen trousers for sleeping, and his eyes were closed, and one hand was on his chest and his fingers were curled into the fabric, just a little, and gently, and every now and then as he breathed he’d thumb absently across the seam of his collar.

My heart might have broken every rib in the beating, it hurt so badly.

I have to stop for tonight. I’ve been so caught in the memory it’s taken me half an hour to write even these few lines, and Fenris has turned away from the candles and gone to sleep. His back has pressed up against me, though, and I can feel him breathing, slow & deep as the way the tide pulls at the docks in the evening.

Maker. This whiskey’s stronger than I thought. Lest I berate myself later for maudlinism, I will remind myself that today I kicked Toby in the ribs by accident, nearly smashed one of Fenris’s fingers in a door, and discovered I no longer may eat fish after sundown (indigestion).

There. Humility!

#fenris #hawke #fenris/hawke #dragon age #quark writes #hawke's journal tag #goodness it's been a cough #hahaa remember when i used to do this

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