#fenris reads poetry

[tea42]

Thy Fearful Symmetry

Thy Fearful Symmetry a Fenris one-shot. Thanks to @rakshadow because i was inspired by the back and forth posting earlier. There is violence and gore. I intended to do Fenris introspection but pretty much the opposite came out of my brain lol.

“Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 

In the forests of the night; 

What immortal hand or eye, 

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

Fenris said in an even tone as he leapt through the group of slaver’s with an ease that was seemingly at odds with the size of the blade he chose to wield.

“In what distant deeps or skies. 

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?”

He spoke as the points of his gauntlet plucked the offending eyes of an archer before phasing away yet again. 

“On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?”

He seemed to fly through them, a voice without form. Then he was suddenly solid before a mage, his hand within the slaver’s chest. Fenris pulled his ghostly hand from the chest, a bloody mess of beating heart in his fist. 

“And what shoulder, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?”

He threw the heart into the face of the nearest warrior with a battle hammer, swiping low to take out his leg.

“And when thy heart began to beat.

What dread hand? & what dread feet?”

He said as he dodged the man’s desperate swing in just such a way that it struck another enemy. The man had been helmetless and his skull burst with the blow, brains falling on sand before the body. He grinned with a dark delight.

“What the hammer? what the chain,

In what furnace was thy brain?”

The few remaining slavers looked hesitant to approach. The nearest one quaked in fear. Fenris jumped to him, holding him high by the throat.

“What the anvil? what dread grasp.

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?”

He could see a spear-man take aim and he used the man in his grasp as a shield. He watched his look of shock as he was pierced then discarded him to the ground to attend to the now unarmed spear-man, neatly lopping off his head. He turned to the few remaining slavers.

“When the stars threw down their spears 

And water'd heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?”

They ran and Fenris laughed. It would do them no good. As he hunted them down to finish them off he recited.

“Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night:

What immortal hand or eye,

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?”

#fenris dragon age #fenris #the tyger #fenris reads poetry #tw violence and gore #this was a very fast one shot so it probably has errors #i think i might do the introspection as a second part

[perlen-gold]

A fenhawke inspired poem

Once upon a night ashore

In the dunnest of the dark

The moon in shroud, its glance so bore

No silver arch upon its spark,

Gloom’ness veiled its eye so bright

In the darkness of the night.

  Shadows roamed the air around,

Ghostly wraiths upon my heel

Hieing swift, obscured, unbound,

Thralls to blackness’ endless weel.

Thus I stumbled sought of sight

In the ponders of the night.

  Sudden, as of lightning clapping,

As of thunders whispering far

Came a rustling, raking, racking,

Embers written into scar –

this I harkened, stone and bite,

In the pitches of the night.

  Wary closer drew my soles,

Coal-cool curtains slith’ring by

T’where midnight deeply spun its shoals,

Threads to strings to noirest dye,

A tipping, tapping, recondite

In the silence of the night.

  Halting twixt the webbing woven

Stepped I stepping into nil

To behold gloom all but cloven

By a knife-beaked pennon will,

He whose wings the skies would smite

In the fetters of the night.

  As in shattered minds I stood

The ink-glossed bird with flaming coin

Released its stare, seared down its hood

Where forging sun and waters join

For fell and beaut’ous deadal light

In the trembles of the night.

  Fending I recoiled, for light

And I had parted paths, and sworn –

Thunderstrokes, of theirs and mine, despite,

Grazing each embowering thorn –

Thus I stumbled but in fright

In the irons of the night.

  Yet, as soon his spear of gold

pierced my lashes’ blinking flight,

His wings began to beat the hold

Against dark knots and not a mite!

Near I stepped his bonds to fight,

In the velvet of the night.

  Yet, asudden, just as my

Obisidian hand would touch his prison

He burgeoned wild and with a cry

His wings in hurricanes had risen –

Gasping I beheld his flight

In the spirals of the night.

  And then, as flotsam floated onto

Shore in night-tide, pitch-tormented

Surf-shade-scented sea, he, drawn to

me, my right arm, fluttered,

Flew the hawk, to settle tight

In the tossing of the night.

  To my skin his talons clasped,

His eye of auric keenly set,

Flinching did I view what grasped

This brazen bird for me to fret,

And flung my arm to hurl his might

Into the blackness of the night.

  His claws but held, his hold unbroken

No matter how I fought to free

From his grip, his gilt-etched token,

Furnace, fire, jesting me,

And in his gold my scars burnt bright

In the tempest of the night.

  Last, at last my strength prevailed

And I flung it from me wide

Up the eesome peril sailed

Into depths’ and darkness’ hide!

Running ran I from its sight

– The foeman of my heart, abide –

In the pursuit of the night.

  Long I wandered, night ashore,

Soul, mine seared with gold and ghost,

Ever, anon, shadows bore

A feather’s shadow at the most.

Till finite, ignite, to aright

In the blindness of the night

  Did rise through midnight’s sea my hand!

And swift, so swift he came to me,

Caressed his gilt-gold my maimed land.

And we wandered, firm and light,

In the darkness, waning night.

#fenhawke #poetry #a fenhawke inspired poem #fenris #hawke #Dragon Age II #dragon age 2 #my writing #da 2 #da II #thank you to all my writer friends here who encouraged me to share the whole poem #I know most people aren't into poetry #but we are! #still you really don't have to read this #Omg I can't believe I’m actually sharing this #Usually I keep my poetry all to myself so I'm terribly nervous about this #It's also the first poem I've ever written in English (except for a crappy school project in 10th grade) #.I also tend to work on a single poem for months and months up to a year once the first draft is finished ... #ignore me

[cullenakingirog]

Finally finished the outfit lineup for Sebastian Isandro "Bastian" Hawke y Amell!

He's in my verse I call "The Stick-Together Families" aka a Warden Amell and twin Hawkes as Champion and Inquisitor!

TLWR:

29 y/o

Warrior

Romances Fenris and Orana (doesn't sleep with either until Act 3 for Fenris and a year later for Orana)

Leaves Bethany behind in Kirkwall (Circle Mage Bethany)

Kills Anders

Sides with the mages

Interested in commissioning me? Click the source! 💗

Sebastian was separated from his twin brother who allowed himself to be taken in after distracting templars with his magic when Bethany's own magic manifested.

This led to him being resentful towards her and his parents. He got close to Carver who let him feel his bitterness amd anger instead of going be glad Bethany's still here or your brother did the right thing. So when Carver died he did not handle the loss well.

At 17 he helped his twin brother escape Kinloch Hold with the help of Teresa Amell, his brother then leaves his medical book behind to Bastian with a decoder for the code he wrote it in.

Agustino Hawke sailed for the Free Marches with Bastian giving him all the coin Sebastian had on hand along with new clothes and papers.

He worked as a mercenary and chose to not nteract with others much outside his work but come Act 2 where he could afford indulgences, he bought a small library's worth of books. Most of them being books on philosophy and poetry and medicine (to compare notes to his twin brother's medical notes)

Fenris learned to read with Bastian's help, at one point Sebastian indulged Fenris' request for him to sing from the Chant book he had on hand. Orana learned to read and write with Sebastian and Bodahn's help.

There's more to Sebastian's story but that's all I could write atm so far!

#dragon age #my art #marh art #dragon age 2 #dragon age oc #da2 #da2 hawke #hawke dragon age #dragon age hawke #custom hawke #da ocs #outfit lineup #outfit #filipino #filipino fashion #philippines

[trillscienceofficer]

I firmly believe B'Elanna divorced Tom not long after getting to the Alpha Quadrant and set off to have her own ship building business or went with the Rangers. Or both, in varying order. Not only she would be happier than ever when she was with TP, no one would be belittling her and she could just be the brilliant poetry reading Klingon-Human engineer that she is. Probably banging Seven too. Or other Fenris Ranger ladies. (Because I'm a lesbian B'Elanna truther)

Secret handshake of lesbian B'Elanna truthers!! But seriously, I completely agree with your vision here. It's pretty much what's behind the really long fic I wrote over the summer—what I want for B'Elanna first and foremost is to be free of the weights a lifetime of racist harassment left with her, and for her to find a path that's not what anyone thinks she should do but rather something she can believe in and be proud of. I want B'Elanna to live her life rather than desperately grasp for the approval of the people she cares about (and who often don't seem to appreciate her affection in the slightest). I don't think letting go would be an easy process for B'Elanna, I'd wager it would be painful to discard coping mechanisms she's relied onto to survive for so long, but I hope she would do so eventually. I honestly believe that the Federation's failures with the Romulans and the synth ban (and Icheb's death) might be exactly the kind of events that would make B'Elanna take stock of her life, and make her really consider if what she wants is really fitting into the mold of mother, wife or Starfleet officer; if that trying to fit in so much hasn't accomplished anything other than making her smaller. It would be interesting to see her reach such a transformative breaking point, and return to the message of her vision in “Barge of the Dead”—perhaps what B'Elanna needs to be is just herself, and not what anyone else thinks she should be.

#askbox #b'elanna torres #voy #closeted b'elanna conspiracy corkboard #<- mostly for fun but i think it fits #anyway this is my 15000th post. glad it's a programmatic one

[abidethetempest]

Rise and Fall Ghosts

was inspired by @/shaxxuality to do this ask game for the Ghosts of my OC Fireteam! Spoilers for my fic, rise and fall, will be below (mostly character's names/personalities). Also this got insanely long so rip if youre reading it on mobile.

Haedriks, Fenris's Ghost

legendary shards. What is your Ghost like? What character traits do they have? Haedriks is pragmatic, cynical, and sardonic. They care about Fenris more than anything else in the universe.

glimmer. Is your Ghost a loner or has a friend group? Do they hang out with other Ghosts or Guardians? Haedriks is a loner. They do warm up to the other Ghosts in Fenris's fireteam and are casual friends with Sundance.

ascendant shards. How did the Ghost find your Guardian? How long did it take them? They found Fenris fairly soon after the Collapse, early-mid Dark Age (I hesitate to put a solid date on this bc the Destiny timeline gives me hives). She was found dead outside an Awoken ship; Haedriks doesn't know why she was there and has no interest in finding out.

enhancement core. How does the Ghost behave in combat? Do they help the Guardian in any way? Haedriks is quite cautious during combat and only emerges to heal Fenris if she is dying or unable to continue fighting. They talk to her telepathically a lot, giving updates on where everyone else is or any threats she needs to be aware of.

bright dust. Is your Ghost stylish? Do they like different shells or do they stick to one? Do they have a unique or recognizable feature? Haedriks saw little point in fashion during the Dark Age-- after all, being pretty just draws attention, and attention gets you killed. However, Fenris does recieve a gift in the form of a Ghost shell from a ✨certain someone✨ later on, and Haedriks likes it very much. I haven't quite settled on the design yet but the placeholder in my head rn is the Totem Shell.

silver. Does the Ghost have their own space wherever the Guardian lives? What does it look like? Not really. Haedriks only comes out to sleep and they do that by just snuggling into Fenris's hood.

exotic cipher. How does the Ghost feel about the Crucible and Gambit? Crucible is a good chance to hone your skills against other Guardians in preparation for their inevitable betrayal, nothing more. They don't trust the Drifter enough to like Gambit.

spoils of conquest. What is the Ghost’s attitude towards the Darkness powers? And the Guardian if they are using it? They're more open to them than Fenris is, since they've seen all sorts of atrocities commited by those who weild the Light. Fenris would sooner cut her own arm off than use it, but Haedriks would still support her if she did.

enhancement prism. What was the Ghost’s life before finding their Guardian? Rough. The Dark Age was, well...... dark. It almost broke their spirit, watching other Ghosts die and seeing Lightbearers, the ones supposed to fix this mess, turn into petty tyrants and killers.

upgrade module. What does the Ghost like to do in free time? Do they have hobbies? Haedriks really likes writing poetry. Fenris is the only one who will ever see it, though.

Vesper, Niamh's Ghost

legendary shards. What is your Ghost like? What character traits do they have? The ideal Ghost for a Warlock, quite inquistive and nerdy. Has a lot of Opinions (tm) about academic subjects and is not afraid to voice them.

glimmer. Is your Ghost a loner or has a friend group? Do they hang out with other Ghosts or Guardians? Associates with a lot of other Warlocks' Ghosts bc I headcanon that there are Ghost book clubs and academic conferences.

ascendant shards. How did the Ghost find your Guardian? How long did it take them? Vesper found Niamh on the moon after the City had been founded. He wanted to wait until he knew things would be safe for his Guardian.

enhancement core. How does the Ghost behave in combat? Do they help the Guardian in any way? He hates seeing/feeling Niamh hurt and will insist upon healing her as much as possible.

bright dust. Is your Ghost stylish? Do they like different shells or do they stick to one? Do they have a unique or recognizable feature? He likes to coordinate with Niamh, which usually means wearing lots of orange and red. She buys him lots of shaders.

silver. Does the Ghost have their own space wherever the Guardian lives? What does it look like? A corner of Niamh's desk is reserved for him. He has a lil cushion to rest on and a stand to hold books open while he reads.

exotic cipher. How does the Ghost feel about the Crucible and Gambit? Both are fun! Vesper is a very competitive lil guy and loves to win.

spoils of conquest. What is the Ghost’s attitude towards the Darkness powers? And the Guardian if they are using it? It's a new frontier of knowledge, so Vesper has an interested academically... but he's worried about the effect it could have on Niamh. There's a line between curiosity and recklessness (not that either of them are good at knowing where it is).

enhancement prism. What was the Ghost’s life before finding their Guardian? Pretty okay, all things considered! He spent time with other Ghosts, helping out with research or learning about whatever interested him. It was a little lonely until he found Niamh, tho.

upgrade module. What does the Ghost like to do in free time? Do they have hobbies? He loves reading, both nonfiction and fiction. He also collects pretty rocks!

Sweetpea, Sigil-3's Ghost

legendary shards. What is your Ghost like? What character traits do they have? As the name implies, an absolute sweetheart. She's very shy and quiet, but had a secret protective streak when it comes to Sigil. She just wants everyone to get along and be okay.

glimmer. Is your Ghost a loner or has a friend group? Do they hang out with other Ghosts or Guardians? She's well-liked by pretty much everyone she meets, but Sweetpea is too introverted to spend a lot of time with others before she gets overwhelmed. She does like to hang out with Haedriks, who tends to be blunt enough to say what Sweetpea is also thinking 90% of the time.

ascendant shards. How did the Ghost find your Guardian? How long did it take them? She set out to find Sigil right away, worried that he would be lonely or sad waiting too long for her. She found him in the very late Dark Age and they immediately went to the fledgling Last City to help protect it.

enhancement core. How does the Ghost behave in combat? Do they help the Guardian in any way? Sweetpea is the Ghost with the best hacking skills on the team and so is deployed to open doors or such things most.

bright dust. Is your Ghost stylish? Do they like different shells or do they stick to one? Do they have a unique or recognizable feature? Sweetpea loves feeling nice or pretty, and Sigil often buys her new shells whenever he has the funds. Some of her favorites are the Star Map shell, the Adonis shell, and the Dreamer shell. Her most recognizable feature is her that her eye color is pink.

silver. Does the Ghost have their own space wherever the Guardian lives? What does it look like? Sweetpea likes being close to Sigil, so she usually just hangs out on his shoulder no matter where they are. He did insist on giving her the space by one of his windows to grow her flowers.

exotic cipher. How does the Ghost feel about the Crucible and Gambit? Crucible is okay, she doesn't like Sigil playing because watching Guardians fight brings back bad memories of the Dark Age but she tolerates it. Drifter gives both of them weird vibes, so they're in agreement on not playing Gambit.

spoils of conquest. What is the Ghost’s attitude towards the Darkness powers? And the Guardian if they are using it? Big old nope. It makes Sweetpea feel physically ill just thinking of it. Probably the only thing she could ever blow up at Sigil about would be him using the Darkness.

enhancement prism. What was the Ghost’s life before finding their Guardian? Scary but not without good moments. Sweetpea traveled with other Ghosts the whole way since it was safer, and she still knows those Ghosts well. They kept each other safe, and more importantly, they made sure nobody lost hope.

upgrade module. What does the Ghost like to do in free time? Do they have hobbies? Sweetpea likes to grow plants and learn about different kinds of flowers. Her favorite, of course, is the sweet pea plant.

#destiny 2 #destiny #destiny rise and fall au #destiny oc #long post

[blackjackkent]

4, 12, and 22 for Fenris

(Character Ask Game)

Ooh, some DA throwbacks. :D

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

My brain is going completely blank trying to come up with a good answer to this question so I'm going to just go ahead and say Sense and Sensibility, because I think it would be funny as fuck. XD

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

After Hawke helps Fenris learn to read/write, Fenris absolutely writes poetry. It's very bad at first - but gets better over time. It's a good outlet for him. He doesn't show anyone for a long time, except maybe Hawke and only then after considerable encouragement.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

The truth is I haven't read a ton of Dragon Age fic. But I think a good representation of Fenris would be one that is very restrained. Even in a relationship I don't think he's ever effusive, and he doesn't always know how to handle the really strong emotions when they come up.

#ask meme #man now i miss writing about him and elliot #that was such a good relationship #the-night-wizard #ty for the ask! :D

[ghostwise]

i didn’t say zev because i thought someone else would LOL.. sending you zevran! and isabela :) !

Zevran

First impression: Genuinely such a good guy. A test of the Warden's willingness to trust; he comes in as an antagonist, after all, and so much hinges on what the player's reaction to this is. I think the way his backstory is revealed is perfectly executed; glimpses, here and there, between the jokes and the innuendo.

Impression now: WHAT CAN I SAY I FIND HIM COMPELLING… truly a character that tackles some universal questions about the human condition. What can you do, when you feel you've failed yourself so completely and so thoroughly that not even running to another country to die can fix it? How do you define yourself when your identity was purposefully manipulated and subjected to horrific abuse your whole life? How do you stay whole? Do you even need to stay whole? Do you need to be whole to love? To do good in the world? To be worthy of it?

Favorite moment: Antivan poetry convo is a classic, it's just so sincere. He knows he's being a bit of a fool, but it's a good exchange, if it makes the Warden smile.

Idea for a story: MMMM listen. Gestures to the entire Everything. But I will say there is a very far-off story where he accompanies Hamal in finding his mother's clan. Don't know if I ever will write it, but!

Unpopular opinion: I've said it before but I find it distasteful when people act like he was all over the Warden right away from their first meeting. Buddy, he just survived a suicide attempt.

Favorite relationship: Besides Zevran/Warden, I'd say Zevran/Isabela, Zevran/Alistair, and his friendship with Leliana is so good.

Favorite headcanon: I think it's contextually supported but I really DO think he's primarily a creative soul, I think I've written him doing poetry (canon), tattoos (canon), drawing (canonically tattoos, so he must know how to draw), and jewelry + metalwork (supported by the metal rounds, which the item description states he made himself; plus the gifts of silver and gold he receives). Sign that boy up for some art therapy is what I've done.

Isabela

First impression: She has one of the coolest intros of any DA character, honestly. But that's very much what the setup is supposed to be right? There's complexity behind that, there's a person who's suffered a ton, and doesn't have her shit figured out, and she's beautifully vibrant and relatable bc of it. She's not agonizing about it, either. Over time she comes to be patient with the questions within herself. She extends that to others. She's just lovely.

Impression now: She deserves the entire world… and a ship to sail it. <3

Favorite moment: Her convo in Act 3 when she and Hawke reunite, only because knowing they were apart for a while is so harrowing to my heart.

Idea for a story: A story where she and Merrill enjoy a festival day at the alienage :)

Unpopular opinion: Not sure if this is unpopular? But I really feel like her backstory in the comics is so out of character. I don't know suddenly I can't read…

Favorite relationship: This one is genuinely tough. But I have to say, Isabela/Fenris and Isabela/Merrill.

Favorite headcanon: I like to think she helped Kirkwall's mages escape by ship, and some of them stuck around as members of her crew.

#thank you hehe :3

[shivunin]

15 for the get to know your fic writer ask game please?

Ooooh great choice! I have a lot of thoughts about this. Thanks, Anon c:

Obviously, I'm going to be talking about sex here, so if that in any way makes you uncomfortable I recommend giving this one a pass.

(Fic writer questions)

15. How do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic?

Okay, so! Background information in order for me to answer the actual questions coherently:

I think the first thing is deciding the point of the smut scene I'm working on. I notoriously struggle with just writing straight-up PWP, but usually the idea has to do with the positioning of the characters and their relationship with sex/intimacy.

Some of that (often a large part) has to do with each character's relationship with their body, or in other words how much they "live" in their body versus how much they "live" in their head. A character who's distant from their body will have a totally different perspective of sex and touching than someone who doesn't think very hard about that relationship and so on

Secondary to this is the character's relationship with sex. Are they inexperienced but curious? Experienced and uncomfortable? Untrusting, but willing to be vulnerable with their partner/s? Are they coming into this scene with any expectations of the experience or their partner/s? Have the character/s in question been intimate in this way before, and if so how do they expect this round to go?

<- all of that is something I would have in mind before I even begin to start plotting something out. It's not necessarily something I'd write down, but if you have a good feel for the character these are things you'd probably be considering about them...If that makes sense.

Now for the actual questions!

Often, the precipitating "seed" for smut winds up being something like "how might Fenris's alienation from intimacy/physical touch be expressed in a moment centered around intimacy and physical touch?" or like, "how does Cullen express complex feelings about jealousy and loss when he really doesn't have the experience/language to do that?" They usually wind up being questions about how a character relates to someone close to them and the expression of those questions takes the form of exploring sex/intimacy.

And yes, sometimes it's just "someone needs to peg that man and by golly I may well have to write it myself," which is also perfectly valid

I've read a lot of sex/smut/erotica/romance novels etc. so I have very strong opinions about what I enjoy/don't enjoy in this sort of prose. I think the most important thing, for me, is finding a balance between concrete and abstract. "Purple prose" is just not my thing, so overuse of metaphors or very mixed metaphors are something I try to avoid at all cost. I love poetry, but sometimes it just drags me out of the moment.

If my reader doesn't know where their legs and arms are, it's going to pull them out of the emotional heart of the moment (whatever it is).

If my reader only gets, you know, body parts and flesh and fucking, that's all well and good but there's already porn out there for that. Which I have no specific objection to, but like---the point of fic is that it's a representation of particular characters. I want all of my fic to feel like a true representation as much as possible, smut or no smut. I don't think I can do that without some reference to their personality traits/emotional characteristics/etc.

So, again, it's a balance for me. I want it to be easy to visualize what they're actually doing while still holding onto the thread of the emotional/plot part of the scene. For some characters, touch is an easier and clearer way to communicate than words. How are they showing that? If touch is hard, how are they showing that? And so on.

Is it important to be realistic? For me, yes. God. There is so much awful smut out there (I read a list of lube stand-ins a while back and like....please, please, if you ever think of using motor oil or peanut butter for lube, please just stop and go to a sex shop instead) and inaccuracies like that, again, pull me right out of the moment. If I want to feel totally drawn in by the scene and the characters couldn't physically be in the position they're in, I am going to be so focused on trying to figure out how they're doing it that I've already stopped caring about what they're doing.

Idk I just really enjoy writing smut. I feel like it can be such a fun microcosm of a character's personality and beliefs and it's just!!! so fun to delve into. I have a whole bunch of wips that I may never post about it, because I find some questions so compelling but don't necessarily want to get into figuring out if it's a misrepresentation to say that, for example, Fenris is into consensual voyeurism or w/e.

I think the TL;DR here is that with smut, I like everything in moderation: clear physical details balanced with emotional motivations, powerful visuals intermixed with internal considerations, and, of course, I have to be having fun doing it or there's really no point in writing smut at all!

#ask response #ask game response #writing #lmk if i need to tag this differently or stick a label on it or w/e

[loquaciousquark]

34.what do they get each other for gifts? (I would never pass up the opportunity to read you talk about fenhawke! hope your day gets better)

Hawke's gifts to Fenris are ruthlessly practical. Especially in the beginning of their relationship, I don't think his discomfort at sentimentality would be outweighed by...well, the sentimentality itself. I just read him as so private with his feelings, even to himself/Hawke a lot of the time, and anything that forces him to confront those feelings straight out in the open is going to be super hard for him at first. If it's known, it can be harmed, you know? If someone realizes a slave loves something, what better way to hurt them than to take that thing and shatter it? He doesn't want Hawke to be hurt, sure, but he's also deathly afraid to open himself up that kind of pain.

But hey, no one's going to look twice at a new penknife. No one's going to wonder why he got the Champion a new blade for the end of her staff. But flowers? Jewelry? Books of poetry? Oh dear, what a lovely exposed heart ripe for bursting. No one could look at that kind of gift and think he'd be anything but vulnerable there.

(I wrote a little about this here.)

Eventually, she coaxes him to accept the finer things--not just sentimental things, but gifts worth a great deal of money too. She's such a generous person by nature and finds joy and fulfillment in meeting the needs of her friends (emotionally, mentally, and physically, and occasionally when she's not even wanted in the first place), and if she's given half a chance she'd spoil Fenris rotten. It takes a long time for them both to get there, though, and he's not a very materialistic person, so when she does buy things for him (cloaks, weapons, books) it's often expected to be used for years and years, and the initial quality would reflect that.

Fenris's gifts to Hawke are practical as well in the start, but that's for lack of inspiration rather than outright unwillingness to experiment. For as reticent as he can be, once he starts really feeling safe/secure, I think he would be willing to pursue softer gifts sooner than Hawke expects. Again, he has so little experience with this, and there's probably some panic at the start for occasions where ceremonial gifts are expected (holidays, birthdays--women like...what, perfume? does Hawke want perfume? Is that a thing she'd use? I've never seen her wear perfume in her life, why would that occur to me), but small spontaneous gifts of the was-thinking-about-you-today sort I think he'd be quite fine with quite quickly.

I wrote about this over here in a response to Jade (second fill).

I don't think he'd ever be comfortable with public gift-giving or public adulation--he ain't the one suggesting all the Applebee's waiters come out with cake and sparklers on Hawke's birthday, is what I'm saying. Hawke loves things like fresh flowers, edible treats, going on a trip together--for her the gift is as much the experience of receiving and enjoying the thing as it is the fact that she now owns some item--maybe even more so. I think she'd really value the sentimentality of the gifts over their functionality, unless she had some very specific need.

This also, belatedly, makes sense with the wealth disparities; she would value the thought and affection more because post-Act-One she can buy anything she needs without thought. Plus, knowing someone spent a lot of money on her, who by every measurable metric has more than they do, would make her hideously uncomfortable.

#quark replies #domesticity meme #anonymous

[victoriousscarf]

sorry if this is out of the blue, but i was wondering how you come up with your fic titles? they're always so excellent

Aw, thank you! This is so sweet!

The basic answer is I spend a lot of time muttering to myself and writing multiple lines into the title until I have one I don't hate hahaha but usually I like starting with either a couple of words or images I want to try and use, and put them together until something looks right. (I joke I used to write poetry and now I get those instincts out in fic titles lol). Sometimes I'll pick out a line or image from a poem or quote and mess around with those, sometimes it's just a single word or two I want to have.

Longer answer with examples/thought process below.

For example, for "covet not the feel of gold or taste of blood" I wanted the words "covet" and "gold" but not together. (Not the least because this image). Then I was like oh let's toss in a third main word and see how it feels when arranged. I think that one only took me about 3 tries, which isn't too bad for me. Sometimes I'll take a few goes at like the first half, and then the second half takes longer but that one got pretty cohesive once I figured out "blood" was the third word.

"leave your secrets and kiss the whiskey from my lips" was the same: I wanted secrets and I wanted whiskey and I played around until I got it. Then the second one "Secrets are in the Whiskey and the Barrels are Rolling Out of Bound" was the same idea, using secrets and whiskey to tie it together.

Then there are some quotes that are pretty straight forward, like "Starlight from the Gutter" is a play on Oscar Wilde: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Other times I just straight up quote a play or poem but usually I try to do a play on it instead.

"Amethyst Should Not be Set in Gold" was perhaps one of the most straight forward too because I knew I wanted gold and amethyst and the negative in there so it was really easy to be like oh that. And of course the story prominently features exactly what it says should not happen lol.

How lyrical I'm trying to be also depends. Some series are pretty basic titles and some are like well I've started being all dramatic on them so I have to keep it up.

For "the forest is dark and deep and ive seen you here before" I based the first story off a Robert Frost poem+the imagery of "seen you before" to reference the time travel bits, (the second time I've used "stopping by the woods on a snowy evening" actually) so I also used Robert Frost (with a side of Jean Rhys' alternate title for Wide Sargasso Sea because I had just read that book the first time and was feeling obsessed) for the second story, "the ancient sea returns to where we have wrecked upon the weeds." I knew I wanted ocean imagery for the 2nd story for symbolic reasons after using the forest for the first one, and that was probably the longest it took me to come up with a title because I have a whole page of alternate versions.

However for all the side stories in that series I'm winging it, though I'm trying to capture the same sort of rhythm as much as possible. "there's tumbleweed in my heart where love was supposed to be" might be my favorite because I was trying to capture the way Fenris feels in Act 3 right after "Alone" and have that really melancholy longing. That his heart feels like tumbleweed, alone and unmoored across the great plains sort of feel. But also that where there is one thing of tumbleweed, there's often a whole pack of it just over the horizon and you're not quite as alone as you think--

So yeah, it's basically image, line, or word, and playing around with rhythm and combination! Reading a ton also probably helps. Shout out to the poetry teacher in the art camp I went to in 7th grade for making me obsessed with that all.

Hope that helps at least answer my thought process a little! A ton of people also use song lyrics instead of poetry, which I will sometimes do too ("Only Break What's Yours" from Apres Moi "You can't break that which isn't yours/I (uh) must go on standing/I'm not my own, it's not my choice") so it's just I think about finding what sort of vibe or words you want to use and trying to act like you're writing a free verse poem with them.

#vs does an ask #i really need a fandom tag

[tea42]

Dragon Age Question: What does Fenris like to read when he learns?

I think he likes poetry- distilled feelings that echo in his thoughts. He eventually likes to write but shows nobody.

Maybe history as it is different outside the Imperium.

#fenris dragon age

[perlen-gold]

As ever, a thousand thanks to the ever-wonderful @cleverblackcat​ for tagging me  🥰

Not tagging anyone ‘cause it’s once again after midnight... 🌙

Once upon a night ashore

In the dunnest of the dark,

The moon in shroud, its glance so bore

No silver arch upon its spark,

Gloom’ness veiled its eye so bright

In the darkness of the night.

  Shadows roamed the air around,

Ghostly wraiths upon my heel

Hieing swift, obscured, unbound,

Thralls to blackness’ endless weel.

Thus I stumbled sought of sight

In the ponders of the night.

  Sudden, as of lightning clapping,

As of thunders whispering far

Came a rustling, raking, racking,

Embers written into scar –

this I harkened, stone and bite,

In the pitches of the night.

(Excerpt from a FenHawke inspired poem)

#fenhawke #poetry #a fenhawke inspired poem #fenris #hawke #dragon age 2 #dragon age II #yeah I know most people aren't into poetry #so you really don't have to read this #but I am! #wip wednesday #my writing #da 2 #da II #dragon age #poem

[makerscockandballs]

You don't talk much about your Hawke, Orev tbh... so! OC question time!

Priorities in his life?

Minor Favorites? (Food, color, weather, etc)

Passions, interests, and specialties?

Weird Quirks?

Preferred Affection? (to receive or give)

Priorities: His loved ones. It's all he cares about. Read his thoughts and it's a loop of "I haven't seen Fenris in days, has he holed himself up again? Did Anders eat today? Merrill's cut from that last fight looked deep, should check up on her...." etc. But he does tend to get tunnel vision and forget that people exist aside from them, and tends to become a bit "us vs. them" about it.

Minor favourites: Loves spicy food even though he can't handle it. Favorite color is a bright sunny yellow. Favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate-mint. Favourite weather is thunderstorm.

Interests: He experiments with magic a lot, but it’s less scientific and more intuitive and for fun. Often it’s useless things like making fireballs purple, other times it’s genuinely clever like subtly working in blood magic with regular magic so people don't notice he uses it. Likes to test his abilities and tends to overdo it, which is why his arms are covered in various scars and Anders has to heal him often (Orev sucks at healing)

His big specialty is primal magic, especially anything to do with electricity. Also he has a few books of suggestive antivan poetry. Isabela stole borrowed some of them ofc.

Quirks: Sneezes like a kitten. Does voices and accents when he tells stories, and gesticulates a lot while talking. Cares a lot about his hair and it shows, it’s very healthy and shiny. Is very proud of the tongue piercing he got during his first year in Kirkwall, even though he almost threw up with disgust while getting it. (Yes, he got it as a dare. Yes, Carver had to hold his hand for brotherly support & reminds him of that when he needs to be humbled.)

Preferred Affection: To give, acts of service. To receive, words of affirmation.

#its been ages i thought i had responded already! imagine my surprise seeing this still be in my inbox. sorry mate #loved doing this. my specialest little guy orev #thank you! #i got mail :D #orev hawke

[quillinthedas]

I just want to write a few cute things, because I can.

1. Mariana Hawke and Fenris hold hands when they sleep. Doing more can be iffy because of his chronic pain, but they hold hands. It is nauseatingly cute.

2. Natia Brosca learned how to read sitting beside the fire with Leiliana, Wynn, or Alistair on quiet nights during the blight. Leiliana was the best teacher. Alistair got distracted by his romantic soul and Wynn had less patience than advertised.

3. Aethan Aeducan could and did carry Keirin in one big hand when he was a baby. Keirin is a generally human shaped boy, but almost half size. Some people look at his human mother and dwarf father and still decide he's an elf.

4. Mahliel Cadash keeps a journal that reads like a somewhat sarcastic book. She is surprisingly sappy about falling in love. She tries to write poetry from time to time, but it's a bust. Thom, on the other hand, can write poetry.

5. Jury Adaar's cousin Herah, who joins the Inq and falls for a certain elf, has three moms (two Tal Vashoth and a dwarf), and all three adopted Sera in .5 seconds as their own. Jury won a small bet with Varric that this would happen.

Jury's parents are politely fond of Josephine, but Josie's siblings are thrilled the perfect daughter came home with a 7 foot girlfriend.

6. Darren Hawke is in a relationship with both Justice and Anders, and likes to have chats in the Fade with Justice, which Justice was very shy about at first.

Alfred the Dog basically worships cats. Which works well when Anders moves in with a couple in tow.

7. Rian Hawke finds out she's pregnant a couple of months after Corypheus. She shows up at Skyhold and Sera is so mischievously pleased that she begs to be the one to tell Varric. It goes as one might expect.

8. Krem approves of Elayn Lavellan for Bull, and secretly played a little matchmaker. Bull knew instantly, of course, but Elayn still has no idea.

#dragon age #suddenly headcanon #my stuff #mariana hawke #rian hawke #darren hawke #natia #aethan aeducan #jury adaar #mahliel cadash #elayn lavellen

[nk-blackwolfangel]

A small overview of why I might need a little longer to write or rather why my second book of poems isn't out yet. #Poems arise from certain situations and emotions, from real life and feelings. #Feelings that can even show that a person has long been broken & still wants to bring courage that others who are going through the same thing don't lose themselves. but especially: hey, I don't just write #poetry . I'm trying to override „Wolfangel“ . I don't think anyone would want to read my writing style, which I had when I was 12-16 years old. Also, the book would be extremely thin. 😅😂 Tj de nuit and the fanfiction story Luna danvers (as an addition to season 3 of the series of #bitten ) can be read on #Wattpad and are not quite finished either. with tj i can't get any further and luna is from time to time whereby the next chapters are already in my head. The Bitten story is also the only story that is available in two languages (English and German) All other stories like "sanguis wolf of fenris", "mysterious sinner ahena" and "Alpha Gregory Haven" are stories I'm still writing. "Greta und elfriede" is supposed to be a children's book. i only have this script so that i can draw the pictures for it, because this is from a friend and not mine. So you now know what will be created for the future and that first of all books of poetry will follow rather than a story, but I still work full-time and the creative side is on the side. "The Magic Cave" (die magische Höhle) is for an ASMR recording and my idea is to finish some scripts for ASMR roleplay videos. I also have a partner who doesn't want to be neglected either. But I hope you're looking forward to what's to come. And as I said, otherwise I would be happy if you would read the stories on wattpad and give an honest opinion. I would be happy if I could read an opinion on my book in amazon "shadow and light of the soul", then I would know who was nice enough to give me stars. 😏 Otherwise, thank you all for your support. It's really not easy as a freelancer #author but I'll do my best and keep you posted. Thanks to everyone who bought my book and the courage you gave me to continue with it. https://www.instagram.com/p/CglxJ5_AN4d/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#poems #feelings #poetry #bitten #wattpad #author

[manonblaqkbeak]

Everything Will Be Okay

Hello, hello. Hope you’re all having a good weekend. Here I am again with yet another Rowaelin fanfic (what a surprise lol). It’s on my ao3 under the name of novicewriter94.

“With their eldest child being eight and the anniversary of Aelin's parents death coming up, Aelin is worried that history will repeat itself. Rowan tells her that everything will be okay, and that they will spend the night as a family. “

2102 words

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Aelin was about five seconds away from setting the stupid shoe on fire. At twenty weeks pregnant with her forth child, Aelin's feet were well and truly swollen. She tried one more time to get the rutting shoe on her foot, failed spectacularly, and threw it at the closest door just as Rowan came out of it.

Her mate merely blinked and picked up the offending shoe, glanced at it and left it in the closet and crouched in front of her, taking her tender foot in his warm hand and began to message it gently. It was a familiar and welcome sight, but right now Aelin was too grouchy to appreciate it.

After long minutes, however, Aelin sighed as the tension in her feet faded away as did her grouchiness. When he was done, Rowan placed her slippers back onto her feet. “I have to go to a meeting with a Melisande adviser, I can't go wearing slippers,” Aelin told him. Although that meeting was the last thing she wanted to go too. She had been exhausted this last week and right now all she wanted was to go to sleep.

“You're four months pregnant and the Queen, I think you can wear slippers wherever and whenever you want,” Rowan said casually.

“Well, when you put it like that,” Aelin said, a small smile on her face.

Glancing at his wife, Rowan's eyes were open and understanding and he took her hands in his own, running his thumbs against her knuckles soothingly. “I know that the anniversary of your parents death is coming up,” he started to say and Aelin tensed up again. “But nothing will happen.”

“You don't know that.”

“No, I don't, but I'm confident that nothing will happen.”

After a moment, Aelin said, “Elentiya is eight, Rowan.”

“I know.”

“She's eight years old,” Aelin said, “and she's scared of worms, Rowan. She loves gardening, but hates worms. She nearly punctured my ear drums last week when one touched her. I was placed in Arobynn's hands at eight and Elentiya is just the complete opposite of me at that age.” Not that she resented her daughter for that, not at all, but just thinking of how different their lives were at that age just hurt like hell.

At eight, Aelin's whole life changed—and Aelin was terrified of the same thing happening to her family. Everything in Erilea was perfectly fine, she knew that, but Aelin could not shake this dreadful feeling that something was going to happen.

“Nothing will happen,” Rowan promised again. Removing his hands from hers, he placed them on her belly, their baby kicking. Another small smile graced Aelin's face at the movement and Rowan moved forward to kiss her stomach.

Pulling back, he gave her a smile and told her the one thing that would calm her frantic thoughts. “For our forth child, I see a fine-boned daughter with silver hair and clear blue eyes.”

A wide smile broke out on Aelin's face. “Another girl?” Rowan nodded. “I don't mind either way, but I would really like another girl.”

Rowan kissed her stomach again. “I'm sure Elentiya will be excited, she was complaining the other day how about her brothers 'stink'.”

Aelin's answering laugh made Rowan smile, happy that he could help her in any way.

When Aelin's laugh faded, she kissed Rowan's cheek. “You still haven't told me how you know what our babies look like.” Each pregnancy, he told her what he envisioned—and each time he was correct.

At first, Aelin thought it was just strangely accurate guesswork when Elentiya arrived with her golden hair and pine green eyes, she was too ecstatic about her arrival to think much about it, and when she gave birth to Norrin and his silver hair and Ashryver eyes shined brightly in the early afternoon sun, she did wonder but again was far too ecstatic to question it too much. However, when she gave birth to their third child, Alder, and he came out with Rowan's silver hair and pine-green eyes, she knew that there was more to it then guesswork.

Rowan gave her a bright smile, the one that crinkled his eyes. It was one of her favourites. “It's a secret.”

Aelin rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything about keeping secrets from her, considering that she used to do the same thing—not anymore, however, but still.

Aelin did feel a little better, but her dread didn't disappear completely. Rowan knew that too and kissed her lightly on the lips. “On that night, we'll have the kids with us, and they'll keep you distracted with all their stories and terrible, never-ending jokes—”

“Their jokes aren't that bad,” Aelin interrupted.

“They are, and I love that about them,” Rowan finished. “And you'll be too distracted to let those thoughts through.”

“Will there be cake?”

His smile brightened even more. “Of course.”

Aelin smiled and kissed him, knowing that everything would be okay, even though the feeling of dread still lingered. She would not be afraid. She would tell herself that each day until the anniversary passed.

X X X X X X

The day of her parents death arrived and Aelin had been on edge all day. She didn't go to any meetings, instead she spent most of the day in the library that Rowan gifted her years ago with Alder. Her current youngest child was two but would be a little over three by the time that his newest sibling would arrive.

Tucked away on a window seat, Aelin read aloud to him. He was her little bookworm, he loved books and often wanted to go to the library. Her son would often ask Aelin to read to him and not just the children's books, but history, mathematics, poetry, the arts, anything. She knew that when his reading skills grew more that he would always have a book in his hands.

Aelin finally left the library in the afternoon, Alder on her hip with a thick history tome that he wanted her to read to him in her other arm, eager to see his Uncle Aedion. Her cousin had arrived (for “no apparent reason” which she knew was bullshit) to stay here for a few days, so she left to get ready for an early dinner with him, listening as Alder babbled on about his favourite parts of the stories she read him, how he couldn't wait to see his Uncle, with Aelin listening with rapt attention.

Aelin found Rowan walking to the library and took Alder from her when their youngest stretched his arms out for his father to carry him, saying that he would bathe him and for Aelin to enjoy a nice, quiet bath before dinner. Linking her arm with Rowan's, Aelin thought of which tonics she would use for her hair for tonight, Aelin truly was happy that Aedion was here, shit excuse and all.

X X X X X X

After bathing Norrin and Alder, Aedion arrived at Elentiya's room and Rowan's heart swelled at how excited all his children were to see their uncle, but when Aedion started towards his and Aelin's chambers to have dinner on their balcony, Elentiya stayed behind, a curious look in her pine-green eyes.

Rowan tucked a stray hair behind her pointed ear and before he could ask if she was okay, she surprised him by saying: “Mama's been sad all week.”

“She has.” Elentiya was more observant than most eight year old's should be, her observation skills reminded him of Elide's.

“Is it because of her mama and papa, because they're dead?” Rowan remembered clearly the day that Aelin had to tell Elentiya why she had no grandparents, how that even though her parents were gone, Evalin and Rhoe loved Elentiya wherever they were. That Rowan's parents loved her, too.

The how and why Aelin's parents were dead was not known to any of their children, not yet.

“It is. They've been gone for a long time as you know, but she still misses them dearly. She was your age when they passed,” Rowan told his oldest. “So tonight, she'll be a little sad, and will probably smother you with all her hugs and kisses.”

“That's okay, I like mama's hugs and kisses.”

Rowan smiled. “Good, because you're probably going to get a years worth tonight.”

Elentiya surprised him even more when she raised her arms, silently asking him to carry her. She had stopped when she was six and a half, claiming that she “wasn't a baby anymore” and that she no longer wanted to be carried.

So with a full heart, Rowan lifted her up, his firstborn tucking her head into the crook of his neck. Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, Rowan went to his chambers and tucked Elentiya closer to him.

X X X X X X

Elentiya-Fenrys, Norrin, and Alder got more than a years worth of hugs and kisses, and Aelin still had plenty to give them as they all snuggled in for the night, the quilt and blankets tucked up high against them. Rowan stayed atop of the bedding, dressed in leather armour, ready to stand immediately in case of action. He knew nothing would occur, but his plan tonight involved staying awake to keep a watchful eye on everything.

The kids had spent the night drawing, playing Aelin's pianoforte (a little badly, if Aelin and Rowan were being honest, but they had fun, and that was all that mattered), dancing around, singing (again, a little badly), playing at hand shadows, playing whatever games they made up on the spot. An argument had broken out between Elentiya and Norrin about who Uncle Aedion loved more (Aelin had to tell them about half a dozen times that he loved them equally before they finally decided to listen). It certainly was a loud night—but he knew that it worked; he did not see any fear in his Fireheart's eyes.

Elentiya was cuddled against Aelin's right side, her head tucked underneath Aelin's chin. Alder on Aelin's left, with Norrin cuddling him, his shaggy silver hair sprawled on Aelin's bare arm. His wife's arms were wrapped around them. Their children talked to Aelin's swollen belly, all three excited to meet their newest sibling—with each of them giving name options.

And Norrin provided the perfect distraction when he asked his mother how babies ended up in women's bellies. Aelin turned to Rowan for that, a coy smile on her lips as she innocently asked Rowan if he knew the answer to their son's question, claiming that the details were a “little foggy”.

Truthfully, Rowan wasn't expecting to be asked that question for many years. Aelin looked ready to start laughing as Rowan took a minute too long to respond. Eventually, he gave a basic answer without giving too much away—and without the sordid details.

Since none of their children looked scarred from his answer, he supposed that he was successful—until the time to give a proper answer arrived.

But now it was time for bed and as Aelin lowered the flames in the hearth, Rowan reached over and kissed his children on the forehead goodnight, telling each one that he loved them very much. He kissed Aelin on the lips, promising him that she would see him in the morning and that he loved her, to whatever end. He kissed away the few tears that fell, the first of the night, telling her that everything would be okay. Kissing her once more, and pressing a kiss to her covered belly, he wished her a goodnight and Aelin finally closed her eyes and tucked their children impossibly closer.

Soon, her snoring filled the room and Rowan sat up straight and did not leave their rooms for anything.

X X X X X X

When the sun rose on the new day, Rowan gently woke Aelin up and as she saw that all of them were unharmed, she smiled brightly, even as tears filled her eyes.

Aelin kissed Rowan fiercely, her happiness a song in her blood.

She kissed their children awake, even as they grumbled at the rude interruption, and when Elentiya asked if they could have hot chocolate for breakfast, Aelin promised a mountain's worth of the drink.

Neither Aelin or Rowan attended their royal duties for the day, and instead spent the day with their children, and invited Aedion along, since he would be leaving the next day. Aelin's eyes were bright and full of love.

#rowaelin #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin fanfic