#i think thedas is my favorite setting | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dragonagitator · 6 months

Text

I started out just wanting to write a "Modern Girl in Faerun" author self-insert fanfic of BG3 in the tradition of all the "Modern Girl in Thedas" fanfics I've enjoyed over the years in the Dragon Age fandom. You know, someone who has played the game gets transported to the world of the game and uses her foreknowledge of events to steer for the best ending and pursue her favorite romance, yadda yadda yadda.

And then I thought, oh, I should also write a sequel from Gale's perspective that runs parallel to the first story that's about him trying to figure out if she's just crazy or what.

I decided that while my MGIF character will be successful in using her foreknowledge of events to achieve the best or even better outcomes for the main events of the game, it would be hilarious if that same foreknowledge of events also led to her inadvertently flubbing every single scripted romance progression scene with Gale so that it ends up being an even slower burn than canon.

Meanwhile, most of the companions (including Gale) don't believe her story about how they're fictional characters in an interactive story she's played as a game because there are so many other plausible in-world explanations for why someone would have her foreknowledge of events. So Gale thinks she's mentally unwell, and he struggles with the ethics of pursuing a romantic relationship with someone whose interest in him is at least partially predicated on (what he believes to be) delusions.

It works out in the end, but Gale's perspective of what the fuck is going on is so divergent from hers that it would be a fundamentally different narrative.

And then as I was researching Forgotten Realms lore for the first set of stories, I realized it would be hilarious if I wrote a post-canon sequel about Gale and the MCIF trying to plan their wedding in Waterdeep while the events of the D&D modules Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage are unfolding in the background.

And then while I was researching stuff for that, I learned that it's Forgotten Realms canon that Elminster knows about Earth, has a portal to Ed Greenwood's house, and regularly visits Ed and few other D&D authors to give them more lore to write about.

So then I realize that while the Elminster we meet during BG3 is actually a Simulacrum and thus wouldn't be privy to anything Elminster didn't think it needed to know for its mission, presumably the real Elminster would show up for Gale's wedding. So if Gale happened to mention his new wife's unfortunate "delusions" to Elminster, Elminster could rock Gale's world by confirming no she's been right all along. Thank you, Elminster, for the best gift a bride could ever receive: the opportunity to say "I TOLD YOU SO!" to her husband. Lol.

And then I thought if Elminster has a portal to Ed's house in Toronto, what if Gale and the MCIF eventually used that portal to flee to Earth for some reason? Either to escape the reach of Mystra, or maybe because their child has a condition that's treatable on Earth but not with Faerun magic/medicine ala Outlander?

Then we could have another story in the series that's a reversal of the first story's trope -- a "Faerun Character in Modern Earth" story of Gale going through culture shock while also losing his connection to the Weave and thus losing all his wizard powers AGAIN. Mmmm angsty.

This is my first time writing fanfic, I've only written a fraction of the first story so far, and I've already come up with at least three sequels I need to write too.

What.

The.

Fuck.

I now fully understand what fanfic authors mean when they cry about "the plot bunnies are multiplying."

#it's a lovely morning in faerun and i am a horrible author self insert #i need to take my plot bunnies to the vet and have them sterilized because this is ridiculous #BG3 #baldur's gate 3 #forgotten realms #gale #gale bg3 #bg3 gale #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #elminster #elminster bg3 #bg3 elminster #modern character in faerun #modern girl in faerun #writing fanfic

99 notes · View notes

bluerose5 · 2 months

Note

[sticks leg out] may we see ur warden(s)/custom hawke(s)/inquisitor(s)

and if u feel like it how would any of them fare if dropped into Faerun (with or without Fenris/Zev)

Ohhh don't get me started!

Garrett Hawke, my beloved, although I hc him as elf-blooded. Ironic enough, in Thedas, "half-elf" or "half-blood" is used as an insult iirc, so imagine his expression to hear people use the term half-elf so casually in Faerûn. Just a little aside.

For him, he is your typical purple mage Hawke, so I'd definitely say he'd bring that type of energy to Faerûn, no matter what time in his life he's in. He'd be excited as fuck to be in a place where he can use his magic openly without worry, and he would take the adventure in stride, even while he's screaming on the inside. (Still, none of this is as bad as Kirkwall in his opinion. 😆) Somehow gets everyone to fall for him without even trying. Not his first merry band of bi/pan misfits that he's had to deal with.

Then, there is HIM.

Darrian Tabris. My Warden. My Warden-Inquisitor. Love of my life. My angry rebel. The Dark Wolf himself! I djdbdhsbdfkf 😍💖💞💖💞

Sorry, but he was a character I loved writing so much. Maybe I'll return to his story one day, but my energy has been more devoted to one shots and shorter works these days. It just suits my current habits and lifestyle better than going full multichap.

Darrian is a rogue/mage multiclass thanks to my setup on pc where I utilized the game's console commands and such. He's faced a lot of hardship in the Alienage and puts his people (elves and mages) first. He's also not above using less than savory means of achieving his goal (ex. the power of blood is a badass concept, coating his blades in his tainted blood to seriously fuck up his enemies, this is one of my favorites). He's also not above committing crime to get what he wants, but he grows into being a leader. In one AU I have, he even serves at Alistair's side as king (a poly relationship in this one). He also becomes Inquisitor and demolishes the status quo by encouraging rebellion where he can, so there's that too. 😂

So, with that in mind, how does he fare in Faerûn? Probably thinks it's too cushy compared to Thedas. His temper is his biggest flaw because he's so damn passionate that anything that angers him can set him off. Will be ready to fistfight any oppressive gods or former masters at the drop of a hat because he values freedom above all else. Could probably take Cazador out on his own ngl 💀

And of course Zevran was his romance (surprise, surprise). I don't think they'd necessarily act different around each other in Faerûn, but Zevran’s opinion would hold a lot of weight for him.

Also, semi-related, but I have so much art commissioned of these two. I didn't have my thoughts organized for this post at all so if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

#dragon age #crossover #dao #da2 #garrett hawke #darrian tabris #my ocs #bluerose answers

16 notes · View notes

shivunin · 5 days

Text

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Tagged by @daggerbean @ndostairlyrium @inquisimer @greypetrel and @plisuu - Thank you for tagging me! I fear many of you have already done your thing for the week, but for whenever @dreadfutures @pinayelf @zenstrike @dungeons-and-dragon-age @vakarians-babe and you!

Not fandom things, but I am still working on my yarn project (shawl? lap blanket? idk, I'm having fun).I had to pull a bunch of lines to fix something, but I'm making progress again and loving how this is coming out.

Writing-wise, I just finished a first draft of an Exchange piece (hard-won) and I've been looking over a Zevwen thing I started a few months ago. The research bit is the reason I set this aside instead of finishing it a few months ago, but the heart of it is steady.

This is part of one of my favorite scenes so far (700ish words):

Water sloshed in the tub behind her. Zevran’s fingertips brushed her elbow when he stepped past, and she adored the comfort of it even as she silently willed him not to ask.

“Do you know,” he said. “I know that we were convinced to leave the alienage, but—what do you think of find a way into that clinic in the morning?”

Wen turned to look at him, running the cloth through her wet hair, and he smiled at her.

“I do think we can take them, should we bring the correct people,” he added. “These words about some sort of illness are clearly all lies, whatever they say.”

Oh—the realization had hit her more than once, swift and unerring as an arrow to the chest, but she had it again now: she loved him. Perhaps she would explain the feeling away later, perhaps she would shove it off for some other day. It didn’t matter. But right now—right now his hair clung to his face in a distinctly unattractive way, he was making an odd face while he dried his neck, and the skin on his hands was wrinkled with water.

He was the most beautiful thing in the whole of Thedas and she loved him unequivocally.

“Alright,” she said, and turned away again. “Yes. We should.”

Her hand ached when she pressed her thumb to the wound, but at least it had stopped bleeding. Wen bound it before she climbed into bed. She’d hesitated to ask Zevran to stay—after all that, she’d no idea what she might say or do next—but he’d followed her to the massive bed anyway and she hadn’t had the heart to tell him to leave her. Instead, she twined her bare legs with his and wrapped her arm around his waist. If she laid her head on his chest, she couldn’t see him looking at her.

They’d doused the lights. Only the warm light of the fire remained, dancing over the fine golden hairs over his chest. Wen watched them, listening to the steady beat of Zevran’s heart. His hand lifted and stroked through her hair after they’d been lying still for several moments. It felt nice, soothing, relieving some of the ache at the base of her neck. Just as she’d begun to doze, he spoke again.

“I will not ask,” he said, and she tensed. “I said that I will not, mi vida, unless you tell me otherwise. But—why did you not tell me?”

One of Nelaros’s eyes had been open. She remembered that. One open, one missing. You could see all the way through it to the stone floor beneath. When she’d taken the ring from his hand, she’d wondered if it would fit perfectly inside, as if it had always been meant to frame a wound rather than adorn a hand.

“I didn’t know how,” she said, and it was the truth. She still didn’t know how and she’d already done it. But—it wasn’t the whole truth. She’d gone this far without outright lying to Zevran; there was no sense in stopping now.

“I—didn’t want you to see me any differently.”

“Truly? After everything I have told you?”

There was a rumble of a chuckle in his chest. Wen steeled herself and lifted her head to look at him. His eyes glinted in the firelight, flashing gold, and as hard as she searched she could find no recriminations in them.

“Alright,” she said at last. “It was stupid.”

“I did not say so,” he pronounced, pressing a hand to his chest.

Wen bared her teeth at him and he laughed at her, tipping his head back against the pillows. She loved his laugh, even when he was laughing at her; she loved the long line of his throat and the way he smiled at her when he didn’t think she was watching and she loved his grace, loved the way he wove through a battlefield like he anticipated every move of his opponent. She loved his hand in hers and the way he smelled and she loved him.

She loved him.

“I hate you,” she said, and tucked her face against his neck so she could nuzzle the soft skin there.

#wip wednesday #arianwen tabris #zevwen #shivunin scrivening #i love them your honor #i need to either replay the fight w loghain or find a decent video reference for it so i can finish this piece lol #because i love how it's framed #and i think so many of these parts are beautiful and worth sharing

9 notes · View notes

theluckywizard · 7 months

Note

OC SITUATION PROMPT, for Rose and Thalia (cousinverse Trevelyan interaction?): "A relative passes away, and you inherit their creepy, isolated mansion." from the spooky prompts + "A basket full of embrium and blood lotus" from the Artifacts of Thedas?

A double prompt OC/ OC prompt for @nirikeehan and @melisusthewee for @dadrunkwriting! Please enjoy Chapter 1 of my yet to be named Spooky Castle fic featuring Rose Trevelyan, Thalia Trevelyan and Quinn Trevelyan, the oddball cousins chosen by their oddball Aunt Lucille to inherit her sprawling estate in Highever. Set in Niri's Temperance and Templars AU! WC: 2615 Rating: Mature CW: Some spooky body horror Characters: Rose Trevelyan, Thalia Trevelyan, Quinn Trevelyan, Cullen Rutherford

They stare at each other curiously across the dim span of the carriage, two practical strangers bumping and jostling toward a peculiar shared destination. Velvet curtains in Trevelyan colors buffet against the grasping clutches of a Fereldan Harvestmere. And though the carriage is opulent enough to be afforded sizable windows, the sun is oppressed under a layer of gloom and the pair sit in a darkness that defies the hour. A cumbersome silence lurches between them, their glances doing the bulk of their conversation.

The two women had been the unwitting beneficiaries of a dreadful mishap involving a flower arrangement, a step ladder and a pair of pruning shears. The victim in question was their mutual relative Lucille Trevelyan, an eccentric, abrasive woman who had retreated from the Free Marches to Ferelden on the remains of the substantial fortune her dead husband had left her. There she reveled in a brazen sort of freedom and isolation that made her the subject of savage speculation. Mysterious parties with unsavory guests. A predilection for non-human companions. Morsels of truth that grew into bombastic, indulgent tales on the lips of horrified relatives.

Through some miraculous oversight of property law, Lucille’s sprawling estate in Highever tumbled into the hands of her two unmarried nieces who, having only seen each other as children, now appraise each other with wary glances.

Nobody could doubt the relation. Though Lady Rose’s face is long and angular while Lady Thalia’s cheeks are nigh cherubic, they both bear striking red hair, eyes as blue as the bottom of the Waking Sea and a spray of freckles that betrays their shared appreciation for the outdoors.

Thalia rankles that her cousin appears to have dodged the infamous Trevelyan nose, a pronounced little bend in the bridge that marks most in the family while Rose envies the perfect oval of Thalia’s face. Thalia’s hair is pinned in carefully organized plaits, the kind of elaborate arrangement that requires a second set of hands while Rose’s streaks in a long braid over her shoulder, strands of her hair wildly mismanaged. Indeed, the whole effect of Rose’s look and countenance is one of having given up, an impetuous disregard for all the expectations carefully bred into Thalia in her tidy capelet and proper frock.

“Did you know Aunt Lucille well?” asks Thalia after lightly clearing her throat.

“Mostly in the abstract. Speaking in hushed tones about her was one of my mother’s favorite past times,” replies Rose, stretching her leather-clad legs across the carriage. Thalia regard’s her cousin’s rather dashing hunting outfit with a twinge of jealousy. If only she had the nerve to exist with such forcible disregard.

“I assume our mothers could have entertained each other for hours,” Thalia answers, a smile emerging tentatively. “Though never around our fathers, I suspect.”

“It’s true, Father had a soft spot for his renegade sister,” Rose says, laughing softly into her lap. “And from what it looks like, Lucille had a soft spot for renegade nieces.”

Thalia’s head jerks up at that, trying to assess what Rose could mean, what she might be able to detect. Rose tilts her head slightly, amused by the strength of the reaction.

“Come, you didn’t think I couldn’t figure out what that that strapping bodyguard was all about, did you?” asks Rose. “I won’t tell.”

Thalia isn’t sure if Rose is picking up on the truth or suspects her of something far more salacious. And to some degree of surprise, the latter doesn’t bother her in the least.

“I— he’s— father thought we could use some protection,” fumbles Thalia, but her cheeks betray her. Rose smiles out the window, peeking at Thalia’s guardian who rides dutifully alongside the carriage, her knowing smile landing on Thalia with such force that she finds herself staring at her lap.

“Suit yourself. I’m just happy there’s something pleasant to look at other than this dreary, blighted countryside. Your father did us a favor,” she says with a smirk. Thalia can’t help but match it as her eyes fall upon him with a flutter of affection. Ser Cullen bobs along at a trot, his handsome features tied up in an expression that is somehow both resigned and exasperated. The soggy weather could do that all on its own though the task itself, an unanticipated jaunt across the Waking Sea to a strange estate might be a contributor as well.

“What if we don’t want any part of this estate?” Rose asks.

“From what I understand we’re stuck with it.”

“We can’t sell it?”

“I don’t believe so. But the lawyer is meeting us there and we can ask him.”

“Well. Let’s hope it’s interesting at least. If it’s nice enough maybe we can leave our dreadful families behind and live like a pair of queens,” Rose says. “I’m nearly thirty and my mother is still trying to marry me off to the highest bidder.”

It’s a fairly novel thought to Thalia, deviating from her prescribed path, though her own circumstances have forced her to consider what manner of prosperous marriage she could possibly secure. Perhaps Lucille was onto something, living her best life as an independently wealthy woman away from the suffocating scrutiny of her own family. Maker knows Thalia would like to break from hers.

oOo

Rose snorts as they rumble into view of the estate, the kind of ancient country refuge with hollow little windows that watch them from its soulless depths. How Aunt Lucille spent so many years in darkness is bloody beyond her. She watches her younger cousin marvel at it, her blue eyes wide and searching, following the crenelated edge of the parapets and up the little towers that punctuate the line of the roof.

“Maker, it looks several ages old. Have you seen any documentation on it? I’d like to know the history behind it,” Thalia says, puzzling it out like studying it could make it less hostile in its impression.

“I’m sure there will be a steward to enlighten you on such matters,” says Rose, her lips turning softly at Thalia’s genuine curiosity. “Maker knows they can ramble on.”

“Oh I’d be delighted if they did,” Thalia answers, her continued enthusiasm defying Rose’s cynicism. “And with any luck, Aunt Lucille kept up with her library!”

“Let that be our first incursion then. I suspect she had more interesting tastes than our own parents.”

The carriage rumbles and crackles to a stop on the gravel drive and Thalia and Rose are both startled to see a man clad in deep red and gold stretched long across a garden wall, his feathered cap pulled low over his eyes as if sunning himself pointlessly beneath the heavy stratus of the sky. If it weren’t for a pipe bouncing slightly in his teeth, they might believe him dead. The carriage seems to have barely stirred his interest.

“What do you think? Is that our lawyer?” asks Rose, tossing a secret smirk to Thalia. Thalia wonders if this is what it’s like to have a normal sister.

“You there, Ser,” calls Ser Cullen in his honeyed tenor. “Are you expecting the Ladies Thalia and Rose Trevelyan?” Rose’s knowing smile finds Thalia again.

“Nice voice,” she remarks. Thalia bites her bottom lip and then lets a tiny laugh pop through her nose at last.

“It really is,” she says, the admission spilling from her like a dam breaking.

They watch as the lounging man’s leg falls from the wall, swinging gently and he lifts himself languidly, emerging from under his cap, squinting at the carriage. He laughs, shaking his head as Cullen rides closer. Their discussion is muffled but the women can still see him.

“Oh no,” says Thalia, almost reflexively. “It’s cousin Quinn.”

“Quinn? The Quinn? No. It can’t be. I thought he was in Markham living off the dregs of the tourney.”

“Not anymore. From what understand he is a tourney knight now. Look— the rosettes at his waist. Those are the sort won in the archery tournaments. And the feathers in his cap are those of some manner of exotic bird from Seheron. An Ostrich I believe? They’re only given to those with enough points in the Grand Tourney.”

“You gathered that from all those bits and bobs he’s wearing?” asks Rose, her brow high. “Well if he’s wearing them all at once the rumors about him being a shameless showboat are true.”

They emerge from the oppressive darkness of the carriage, their maladapted eyes wincing at the light diffusing through the gloom. Thalia shakes out the rumples in her skirts and reorganizes her capeand then glances around appraisingly. Rose takes a few brash steps out behind her and draws her shoulders high around her ears, pulling her wool cowl up over her chin.

“I think Ferelden is trying to burrow its way inside me,” she mutters with a little shudder.

Ser Cullen dismounts from his handsome black Forder and makes his way back to the women with the third Trevelyan. Cousin Quinn makes a foppish bow before them, removing his soft cap from a head of golden locks with a flutter of Ostrich plume. His smile is thrust to one side in such a way that both women are sure he must be at least some measure the impish layabout they’d heard he was.

“I can think of several things worse than sharing an estate with my two beautiful young cousins,” he declares as if it’s a great compliment. Rose raises her brow at his cheek. Thalia gapes. They each catch a whiff of brandy on his breath. He winks at them both. “Quinn Trevelyan, at your service.”

“Do you always wink at your relations?” asks Rose tartly, folding her arms.

“If you’re afraid I’m singling you out, I do it to everyone,” Quinn says, his smirk outstripping Rose’s own in its utter brazenness. His blue eyes shine like the only bit of open sky in this cursed place and he turns to Thalia’s scowling bodyguard and pitches him another cheeky little wink. Rose’s eyebrow raises high again. Ser Cullen’s handsome features vanish under a cranky glare, the set of his mouth a rebuke all its own. He reaches for the back of his neck and paces anxiously back and forth beside the three Trevelyans.

“So you’ve inherited as well,” remarks Thalia, impatient to get down to business.

Quinn flashes an inscrutable grin and reaches into the breast pocket of his velvet doublet withdrawing a haphazardly folded bit of paper of the same expensive heft as the ones that each Thalia and Rose received. The women look it over together, exchange a glance and then shrug. Little has changed for them. What’s one more stranger to quibble over a castle with?

“Splendid. I wonder who else we can expect. Aside from all the grasping imps who will soon hear of our fortune,” quips Rose, her eyes sweeping up a stretch of mossy masonry, eerily verdant, seemingly the only pop of color in the whole of the estate save the new arrivals.

Ser Cullen, whose pacing has grown only more frenetic stills himself long enough to inform the three of his intention.

“I’d like to sweep the perimeter. Lord Trevelyan informs me—“

“—there’s no one home,” finishes Quinn, replacing his cap and glancing up at the castle.

“No steward? No lawyer?” asks Thalia, a tic of consternation marring her brow. “No staff? No housekeeper? Who is maintaining the grounds?”

“Do they look maintained?” asks Quinn, sipping placidly from a small flask he’d withdrawn from his interior pocket.

“Perhaps Aunt Lucille liked things a little wild,” Rose remarks, making her way toward the entry with leisurely, tentative steps, waiting for the others to follow.

“Her reputation is a sterling testament to that,” remarks Quinn. “I heard her Qunari lover was a Ben Hassreth spy.”

“Really, Quinn,” huffs Thalia.

“Certainly no more shocking than absconding with one’s fetching Templar guardian, I should think,” he says, his eyes brimming with delight. Rose’s eyes dart to Thalia’s so quickly that the youngest Trevelyan fumbles for an answer. She tugs her gloves onto her hands more firmly. “Don’t worry,” Quinn says, turning a sly glance from Thalia to Cullen who is striding away at a forceful clip. “I won’t tell.” Thalia rolls her eyes and grumbles softly to herself, applying herself to the situation at hand to stuff down the fluster inside her.

They approach the great oaken door that’s broader than all three of them abreast, all amused by the comically small keyhole that secures it. Quinn braces both hands against the door and jostles it but the lock holds fast. Shocking neither Thalia nor Rose, he breaks out a tidy little set of lockpicking tools and sets to work feeling for the pins.

“You’re a mage?” hisses Rose, pulling Thalia aside pointlessly. The secret is out.

“Don’t worry, my keeper is here. You’re in no danger,” Thalia answers and there’s an edge of bitterness to her tone that most might miss, but Rose nods slightly, her expression soft. Not the sympathy Thalia expected, but then neither cousin seemed to be cut from the same stiff cloth as the rest of the family.

“I’m just— surprised is all,” she says quietly, memories of her older brother drifting in wraith-like. Rose wonders passingly if Thalia knew anything of their dark secret.

“Bastard of a lock, this one, but I think—“ Quinn eases his hand gently in a rotating motion. “—that should do it. Rusted probably.”

“Rust? She can’t have been dead that long,” says Rose.

“Perhaps there’s a side entrance she used,” suggests Thalia.

“At any rate,” Quinn says, standing to give the door a stiff shove. It swings inward on a deep and contrary groan, the laden air of Highever rushing in as if the dwelling yawns. “Shall we?”

They step in tentatively, simultaneously, surveying their inheritance side by side. A pair of staircases curl and cling along the back wall of the grand foyer, a space so suffocated by dust and cobwebs that it’s no wonder the castle inhaled. The center of the space is marked by an unusual table made from the twisted trunk of a great tree. Spread over it are dried leaves and stems. At first glance it appears haphazard, as if someone had left their herbalism workbench in the midst of a project. But a closer inspection reveals patterns, intentionally arranged. The three stand over it, shaking their heads, marveling at it even as their skin prickles. Even as their breath freezes in their lungs.

“Perhaps Lucille is playing a prank,” says Rose, apprehension nibbling at the edges of her mood. The whole atmosphere of the place feels hungry, having drawn them in. The door finally shuts again, the long moan of the hinges silencing with a thunk, closed in behind teeth.

“Blood lotus. Embrium,” mutters Thalia, hovering her fingers, tracing the shapes in the air. “These symbols— I’ve seen things like this before. In my books— the ones I had Father secure for me.”

“Maker’s breath!” cries Ser Cullen, his boots scuffling as he hurries into the gaping foyer behind them from some manner of side room. “Lady Thalia, come back with me. All of you— step back.” They stumble back, submitting automatically to the authority that steels the Templar’s voice and they follow his gaze up. Cullen loops an arm around Thalia protectively, his sword singing as it unsheathes.

They all stare, transfixed. Swinging gently on the residual breath of Ferelden air, hangs a man in the sort of staid finery one might expect of a professional. His bloated face gray, his eyes unblinking.

“Well then,” says Quinn swallowing. “This must be the lawyer.”

#Trevelyan cousinverse #Dragon Age Fan Fiction #Cullen Rutherford #Temperance and Templars #cullen x trevelyan #Thalia Trevelyan #Quinn Trevelyan #Rose Trevelyan #Spooky Fic #Gothic Mystery #cullenmance

8 notes · View notes

anneapocalypse · 10 months

Note

1, 6, 8, 22 👀

For the 🔥choose violence 🔥 ask game!

Disclaimer: provocative name aside, I am not actually trying to be mean here, these are just my opinions offered for Entertainment Purposes™️, and I'm not mad at anyone who has a different opinion.

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Trick question, it is not possible for everyone to be wrong about anything in Dragon Age fandom because that implies that there's something everyone agrees on. 😉

jk jk that's a cop out. But seriously, for any question that says "everyone" just assume I'm making a wobbly-hand gesture next to it and we all understand hyperbole. Okay.

I think at this point I'm probably at least somewhat known for spreading the good word of Sera. 😉 And at this point I really don't think most misconceptions about her are malicious--I remember a day when Sera was much more widely hated, but she isn't anymore, which is nice! I think some of the more out-there takes on Sera (and about the Friends of Red Jenny) just come from that fact that she actively deflects personal questions until she trusts the Inquisitor, and not everyone looks past the surface-level answers she gives to realize there's more to it. My go-to example is the idea that she magically knew archery from birth and no one ever taught her anything (she didn't, and someone did). Between her dialogue, and World of Thedas, it's possible to put together a fair amount about the timeline of her childhood, when Lady Emmald died, the history of Red Jenny, etc.

But it does take some close attention and some digging and some math (ugh), and let's be real, none of us can know everything about every character! I'll just keep writing about her, because I love her.

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

Honest to god, for me personally: no one. Maybe that'll change one day, but I hang with a lot of people who ship a lot of ships and none of them bother me. I have like one NoTP in the vast canon that is Dragon Age and you probably don't even know who it is because I don't care enough to talk about it. Hell, I have mutuals who ship it, and it doesn't bother me. You guys are cool.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

This isn't like One Opinion, but a more overarching Thing: in general I think it would be great if there was more understanding of like, How Video Games Are Made, in general. I think it would lead to more focused and productive criticism of games better targeted at where the problems in development actually are. I feel like I see a lot of things that are almost certain attributable to Process Issues attributed instead to Active Malice. On the flip side, it's frustrating to point out something cool and have people always respond with "Well Bioware is too stupid to have done that on purpose," like there aren't writers and designers in this industry who are incredibly passionate about their work and the themes they can weave into it even at the level of chaos they're forced to work within.

idk. I think perspective is a good thing. Read Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier. Check out Mark Darrah's YouTube channel.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

I think because they're such wonderfully complex and well-developed characters, and because romances, the companions are always the juggernauts in the fandom and they always will be. And I love those characters, too. But one of my favorite things about the Dragon Age universe is the many wonderful minor characters where we get to see just enough of their story to make me feel like they do have a whole life they're living just offscreen somewhere, and set my imagination off running. CAN I HEAR IT FOR MY BOY SLIM COULDRY AND HIS FIFTEEN COUSINS 💖

#ask meme #choose violence ask game #ask anne #breninarthur #dragon age stuff

15 notes · View notes

persephoneggsy · 1 year

Photo

Warden | Hawke | Inquisitor

and finally, my Warden! Fiora Cousland! the Hero and later Queen of Ferelden!

as per usual, details are under the cut:

Underwear: Fiora starts out as a very spoiled young woman. Having grown up noble, she is accustomed to the finer things, including silk underthings. She knows how to be practical, of course, but she still has expensive taste.

Pre-Origins: Most of her time before the start of Origins was spent either flirting around, playing with her beloved nephew, or practicing with her longbow in the training yard. As such, she was usually seen wearing her training gear. If you couldn’t tell, her favorite color is purple.

Ostagar: After becoming a Warden, Fiora couldn’t think too much about her clothes. She had a family to avenge, a usurper to kill, and a Blight to stop (in that order). She just took the armor Duncan provided her at her Calling and went with it, caring little about appearance or alterations.

Landsmeet: By the time the Landsmeet comes around, Fiora is much more levelheaded. She’s upgraded her gear quite a bit. She’s put more of her noble roots into her armor, and made it easier for her to maneuver around in.

Queen: After the events of Awakening, she’s more than happy to trade darkspawn and dungeons for nobles and politics, at least for a little while. She gets to wear her beloved purple instead of the Grey Warden blues, so that’s a bonus. And of course, she proudly displays the rose from Alistair at every opportunity (and i like to headcanon that she asked Morrigan to enchant the rose so it wouldn’t wilt. Morrigan wanted to say no bc ew, that’s sentimental and also it’s from Alistair, but Fiora did kill her mom for her. so.)

Inquisition: Now determined to save her husband and herself from the Calling, Fiora sets off and travels the far corners of Thedas looking for a cure. She keeps the rose with her as a reminder of what she’s fighting for. She doesn’t fully don her old Grey Warden regalia, however; she’s grateful for the chance the Wardens gave her, but after knowing the cost of the Joining, her view of the order has dimmed considerably. And just an extra unrelated headcanon: Oghren went with her. He has a family to live for, and his child is named after Fiora herself -- of course he’s gonna help her find the cure.

#my art #fiora cousland #dragon age #dragon age origins #hero of ferelden #ahh fiora my beloved #i've never actually fully drawn her before and she turned out SO CUTE #my dad said her queen look had real sansa stark vibes lolol

18 notes · View notes

funkypoacher · 2 years

Text

saw the We would like to ask you to recommend us 3 of YOUR fics: 1 that is "most popular" and 2 that are "hidden gems”! meme posted by @captastrastra. I wasn't tagged, but fuggit -- I do what I want (and am trying to build up steam to do some writing today). tagging @damejudyhench @kourumi @biggreenfeet @juniper-tree @fandomn00blr @serial-chillr @curiousartemis @the-laridian @jackalgirl @ktyxdovahkiin @paraparadigm @polymorphic-basket @togepies (srry if you've been t agged already, most of you prolly have been)

Rules: We would like to ask you to recommend us 3 of YOUR fics: 1 that is "most popular" and 2 that are "hidden gems”!

1 - "L'habit ne fait pas le moine" (The Outer Worlds) is probably (??) my most popular (tho Steamy Thedas Nights might be comparable). But seeing as I posted it as a series who knows what the overall stats are. 19 bookmarks, 850-ish kudos, 13000-some hits combined between the 9 parts. I really wish there was an actual stats-page for series on Ao3. It's definitely the better way of posting fic. Sure, you get bloat your Works page, but posting as a series actually gives you proper insight into how many hits one chapter gets, how many kudos one chapter gets, etc, plus, as a reader, it allows you to multi-kudos fics, which we all wanna do. 2 - I think The Illusion of my being Self-Conscious, or Even Conscious is a hidden gem. It's Mass Effect/Shenko, and once in a while it gets a lovely, lil life-affirming comment, but that's about it. It's one of my favorite things I've written, though, definitely. I uhhh should finish it.

2 - Practice and Practicality (The Outer Worlds) is my literal child whom I adore, admire, and cherish. Who doesn't love a Reed Tobson deep-dive set against the backdrop of work-place romance in a pro-Board setting? Just me? Plus Miss Spacer's Voice 2342 is an absolute peach... Margaret is definitely one of my favorite OCs.

#now if I could only get my ass in gear #and OFFICIALLY publish some of my Honest Hearts fic #which I've only been poking at for a friggin decade #then I'd have my hidden gem and most beloved piece of writing ever

12 notes · View notes

isk4649 · 2 years

Text

2022/5/16 Fic Author Self Rec

Thank you for tagging, @morganlefaye79, @kittynomsdeplume, and @noire-pandora! I will take this opportunity to shamelessly plug my fics. Because I have to be my own champion, amirite?

When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you’ve written, then pass them on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread some self-love.

1. Where the Waves Crest (FFN)

Rating: E

Pairing: Cullen Rutherford/Male Trevelyan (Tharin Trevelyan)

Length: 98,634, complete

The first fic on the eponymous series. Thoroughly modern AU, shamelessly m/m with smuts. Cullen Rutherford is an enlisted sailor for the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. Tharin Trevelyan is an English teacher aspiring to become a U.S. diplomat. They go on many dates in and around Tokyo. It’s a meet-cute that develops into a relationship that’s angsty and passionate.

This one is my absolute favorite because (1) I got to relive my experience living abroad in Japan and (2) I really did truly enjoy writing the entire thing from the beginning to the end. Heck, I was writing around 1,450 words per day for about three months with this baby. I don’t think I will ever be able to replicate this almost hypnotic, manic writing experience.

2. Honor and Will (FFN)

Rating: E

Pairing: Cullen Rutherford/Male Inquisitor (Tharin Trevelyan)

Length: 192,408, ongoing

The first fic on the eponymous series as well. It is a retelling of the DA:I story with some significant tweaks.

Not only is this my first fanfic, but it is also my first writing project. And I do love tormenting Cullen, the already tortured Commander, and Tharin, the reluctant Inquisitor, with many angsty turns. If you are looking for a canon-compliant romance longfic with a plenty of twists and turns, try this one out!

3. Where We Want to Be (FFN)

Rating: E

Pairing: Cullen Rutherford/Male Trevelyan (Tharin Trevelyan)

Length: 29,323, complete

My first holiday fic and a continuation of Where the Waves Crest series. Tharin’s training as a new U.S. diplomat begins in January, and so Cullen and Tharin decide to visit Cullen’s family in New Hampshire - a.k.a. middle of nowhere - for Christmas before traveling down to Washington, D.C. As they interact with Cullen’s family and their neighbors, the two men start to envision somewhat different futures for themselves.

I really like this one because I got to explore in depth the new dynamics in Cullen and Tharin’s relationship. As they mature and advance in their careers, their wants and needs start to diverge, and it all comes to a head in the end.

4. Jarikki (FFN)

Rating: T

Pairing: Cullen Rutherford/Male Trevelyan (Tharin Trevelyan)

Length: 1,316, complete

Once again, a part of Where the Waves Crest series. A quick one-shot exploring Cullen’s thoughts on his relationship with Tharin in an early morning. A bit of a surprise ending. It is possibly the fluffiest, most decadently sweet story I’ve ever written. My beta and I both agree this is very enjoyable, so if the longfics are not your cup of tea, try this one out.

5. Royal Cullen x Commoner Tharin Love Story

Pairing: Cullen Rutherford/Male Trevelyan (Tharin Trevelyan)

Length: ~2,000, complete

Based on the asks received at the end of January 2022, this fic is another modern AU meet-cute that’s set in actual Thedas. Cullen is a Fereldan prince and Tharin is a middle school teacher from Ostwick. They bump into each other on a crowded subway train in Denerim.

Ok, I realize now that I lean heavily toward modern AU romance with lots of angst. Does that make me a one-trick pony? Uh... No regrets.

Tags under the cut.

I am tagging @jonogueira, @kemvee, @a11sha11fade, @enigmalea, @raflesia65, @retrowondergirl, and @tessa1972!

#Fic Author Self Rec #self love #fanfic #writing #favorites

19 notes · View notes

mochiflxwer · 1 year

Note

what's dragon age

AHAHA....HAHAHAHHAHA....AHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHA

so I'm not well versed in all three of the games that are out right now since i havent played through the other two besides inquisition yet so my explanation will be based on what i know through that game and just gen knowledge BUTTT

the dragon age series is a fantasy RPG made by bioware (they made mass effect and like a million star wars games) and each game is set at different times, each going in choronological order, which is IMPORTANT!! because the dragon age franchise has a feature called "tapestries" which are something seperate to the games where you choose all the choices you made from your playthrough in the games, and these choices once exported will actually EFFECT the next game in the series which is really fucking cool

the games are set in a world called Thedas, and there are four main races of people which are dwarves, elves, humans, and qunari. you can play as three different class types: warrior, mage, and rogue, which all let you specialize in their own skilltrees with perks that you slowly gain over time by doing quests around thedas (in inquisition at least, this is all very classic rpg game stuff)

the world of thedas is VERY written out and developed, with almost every character you find having their own story and opinions on everything around them. there are a few main groups of people in these games: the mages, the templars, the chantry, the qun, the dalish, as well as different districts of people based on race. theres also the Circle, the Divine, etc. theres a LOT!!! And as you wander through the games you can unlock a lot of books , journal entries, notes, etc. that let you learn EVEN more about the world around you. There are also several books that go into HEAVY detail about specific and non-specific characters, regions, foods, wildlife, etc. (i happen to own two :]) there are also story-specific novels based around certain characters.

the most recent game, inquisition, has you set in the Frostback Mountains in Haven, where you have been captured as a prisoner after being caught at the scene of the murder of the Divine, who was killed by an unknown evil creature. You awaken in the prison with a bright green mark on your hand, which you find out can seal "rifts", tears between the living world and what is known as The Fade. You then go on a journey of rebuilding what is known as "The Inquisition", a group of people to bring peace to Thedas if something were to happen to The Divine. You learn about your past, make new companions, fight against demons and deal with the rising fear and lashings out of both sides of a mage versus templar war.

The games each are about 30-40 dollars roughly with DLCs included, which i personally believe are ESSENTIAL to playthroughs of these games as they are packed to the brim with lore as well as amazing cosmetics like armor.

allow me to find gifs of all my favorite characters from inquisition

THIS IS COLE. THE BLORBO. THE BABYGIRL. YOU KNOW HIM. YOU WILL LOVE HIM. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE.

this is The Iron Bull everyone loves him you will too it's just a thing everyone agrees on

this is The Iron Bull's little boyfriend Dorian he's an asshole but everyone likes him as well and he's fun

this is sera shes funny and silly and annoys everyone

this is cullen hes severely traumatized and is scared of love

this is. solas. anyways

THIS IS JOSEPHINE !!! YIPPEEE !!! EVERYONE CHEER !!!

this is cassandra men fear her everyone else wants her

this is leliana i lov eher shes so lovely

this is morrigan everyone agrees shes hot and mean

this is varric hES so special and fun hes an author of smut books cassandra reads all of them

thats everone i think im very passionate about this

6 notes · View notes

vivispec · 1 year

Text

so. absolution. i watched it last night and boy howdy am i a fan. i’ll give my non-spoiler thoughts above the read more, and then some more spoilery thoughts under the cut, keeping in mind i’m pretty easy to please. like golden retriever levels of easy-going.

first of all, can i just say what a wonderful surprise? when I first heard netflix was in charge of this, I was not exactly hopeful. the team did great, though. the whole thing was very respectful to the world bioware built, while still being unique and interesting. they used the lore to build a great story, and didn’t seem smothered by it.

honestly my high point? the action scenes. they were incredibly well-animated, and had an amazing flow. easy to follow, but still packed with movement and stunning. i usually don’t give two fucks about fighting scenes but these were mesmerizing. the dialogue was quirky, but i didn’t find it annoying. honestly, felt pretty da to me, like banter. characters were well-written (though it felt a bit rushed. like everybody else I wish there had been more time to set them up, but they did a lot with the 6 eps they were given) and there were lots of twists and turns, but they weren’t surprises for the sake of surprises. i feel like everything was foreshadowed pretty well, kinda in the vein of solas’ whole deal: hard to see it until you know, but once you do its so fucking obvious. still, might bother some with how much whiplash you get.

as said by many before, the pace is a little wonky in the first episode, but the rest of the series really smooths it out. they had to estabilish already built relationships and characters in a way that made you care for them from the start, and they did it pretty well, if awkwardly. but i can’t see it working any other way.

my stepdad, who only ever played origins all the way back when it came out, seemed to enjoy it with very little context. most of the episodes seem to be enjoyable for people who don’t know a thing about dragon age, but the final reveal of the series will not be very impactful if you haven’t played/watched da2. it’s such a small portion of the series, however, and i would still recommend it for anybody who wants to watch it before playing da:d, but who doesn’t want to play da2.

okay here’s my real actual spoilery thoughts yippeee

i am so sorry fairbanks you and your wife deserved so much more

can i just say how chilling the conversation between rez and hira is after we know the truth? like got damn. that was....something holy shit.

i actually really like rezaren as antagonist. i was kinda rolling my eyes at his whole deal when they set him up like he was going to be sympathetic but...then he just. turned, when miriam didn’t do what he wanted. and it was chilling. he is an evil, evil antagonist in a series that loves moral middle ground and i love it.

and that one line he says, oh my god. something like ‘how many lives taken to control one beast’. and you can’t tell if he’s talking about miriam or the dragon. chilling. maybe one of my favorite moments for that reason alone.

and i loved that neb turned away from rez like that! and towards miriam! he knew!

which btw....spirit neb was so pretty. god i wish he wasn’t a corpse.

speaking of middle ground antagonists, i won’t claim i saw her betrayal coming from the getgo but i was getting strange vibes from hira from the start. i think they handled her really well, all things considered? you can tell she legitimately cares for miriam, but that her desire for revenge is just. too strong. not unlike a couple other mages i know and love.

like, does being a mage just make you the most passionate motherfucker on thedas by default or?

i was going to ask if it was the oppression but she’s still a tevinter noble so. not quite the same as somebody like, say, anders. who really went through it huh.

on that note, because everybody has opinions about miriam wanting to stay with hira....i really do think its in character. they seem to legitimately love each other, and miriam hasn’t known love like that before. she’s desperate, and so very hurt. she just lost her brother a second time. i think it’s very in character

that doesn’t mean i want to see them together again. hira trying to sell her back into slavery is something you don’t get over. even if sapphira gets some kind of ‘redemption’ (next season? in da:d?) and they’re friends again...i think that trust should be gone. but that’s just my two cents.

i maybe possibly am on the qwydion/miriam train though so i am possibly maybe biased. legitimately don’t know yet if i ship them romantically or platonically though, either way i just. want them to be together and supporting each other. i love them i love their hugs.

i love love love seeing their interpretation of the demons and shades. memory was super cool, too. and the fact that you could tell what spells the mages were using? they could’ve opted for just ‘ah yes fireballs and lightning’ but they chose to use abilities that are pretty specific, like crushing prison.

going back to what i said before, where you can’t tell if rez is talking about miriam or the dragon, i really like them releasing the dragon like that at the end. you can tell just how painfully euphoric it is for her, to see something that had been shackled and chained and used as a weapon be recognized as simply a living thing that wants to be free. to be treated with kindness, and understanding, and love when all to often it is instead feared and hated. i wanted to cry, such a beautiful scene.

and the fact that its qwydion doing the healing, and releasing. the fact that she was the one who freed it in the first place? foreshadowing maybe? not my lil wlw heart jumping on this ship and setting sail. romantically platonically i just.....want them to be together holy shit

and finally, that fucking ending. holy SHIT. i was watching it with my stepdad (who only ever played origins, back when it came out) and i could not stop yelling. i think i scared him. when i heard her voice i lost my shit. like it makes sense: lyrium has a connection to the fade, red lyrium has some restorative abilities, and if i remember correctly there have been reports of regular lyrium holding onto memories, so...i could see it being that the red lyrium trapped her spirit before it could make it into the fade and restored her over the years, or a number of alternatives. but damn i did not think that i’d see her ass. poor hawke and varric. can the tyrants they kill just. stay dead, pls.

bioware seems to be acknowledging da2 a lot more and can i just say i am living for it.

i do think it was very evil of the writing team to make me think that we were going to see varric when hira said she had a contact in the hanged man and i do not forgive them.

and lackland? holy shit. i didn’t say anything about them here because what more can i say. their dynamic is so good, i love how roland teases and flirts but is seemingly just as invested as lacklon is. despite how little time they get the team did such a great job of building up their chemistry with the training and fighting scenes, which isn’t easy when there’s so. much. action going on. really, truly, they used what little time they were given so efficiently. they heard that we wanted a dwarf romance and boy did they deliver.

#dragon age #dragon age absolution #dragon age absolution spoilers #all spoilers are under a readmore #the mayor is speaking

4 notes · View notes

redinkofshame · 1 year

Text

One of my favorite scenes I've been saving forever. It was supposed to be the Epilogue of the Marigolds sequel, then I moved it to Prologue of the post-canon fic. Now it's here.

Keria commits many stupid drastic, desperate things in her effort to stop Solas and save the world. It takes a lot to take down a god.

content warning: faint suicide ideation, drug addiction (lyrium)

The Oncoming Storm

Keria stepped out of the Fade and into the Storm Coast, immediately buffeted by wind and icy rain. This was easily one of her favorite discoveries during her time as Inquisitor; a place where it stormed more often than not. She loved a good storm.

She tilted her head back to the skies for one peaceful moment, listening to the comforting rumble of thunder overhead.

Then she got back to work.

Down she went, into the Fissure she’d once explored when she still held that title, though after they had defeated Corypheus. After he had left.

She put thoughts of Solas out of her mind. The important part was that he had not been there to see the Inquisition seek out the source of an earthquake and find themselves inside a titan.

Not that his spies wouldn’t have reported as much, of course, and no doubt he knew more about titans than anyone else alive… But he wouldn’t know the particulars, and with any luck wouldn’t have sent anyone to watch over it.

As she passed the encampment where once an expedition table had been set up the flashes of memories that came with it made her blood run hot then cold with betrayal — not Solas that time. Cullen. She’d thought they’d been finally starting to understand each other when he’d proposed a mission: to have troops patrol the area to ‘keep the Sha-Brytol from becoming a threat to the Inquisition’s interests by taking the area over completely’.

For years she and that human had worked to build a tentative trust, all for it to shatter when he thought nothing of using troops to slaughter people protecting their home from invaders, all because they were inconvenient — as if he’d learned nothing from when his troops had surprised Clan Lavellan, leading to bloodshed.

Interesting. When had she started thinking of them as ‘Clan Lavellan’ and not just ‘her clan’?

She reached up and brushed her lone hand over where her vallaslin had once been and moved on. Moving as silently as possible she moved down, down, and down further still, following the scent of lyrium and brine, only skirmishing with a handful of darkspawn in Thaig Heidrun before she reached her target.

In the uncharted abyss she found it: the Bastion of the Pure.

She was equally awed by it as she had been last time she was here. Electricity hung in the air from the lyrium veins that looked like blue lightning frozen in time, and a vast underground sea crashed endlessly against the rocks. At least she assumed it was vast; darkness swallowed it up, making it too hard to guess how deep or wide it might be. The waves didn’t move like the tides of the ocean pulled by the moons. The air was full of mist but no wind, and yet the waves surged, high and erratic, a dangerous storm strong enough to sink a dreadnought with ease.

The phenomenon had not been studied, but she could feel the distilled lyrium in the ancient waters, as if they’d become more saturated with mana with each passing century. If she had to guess she’d say it was simply too much energy to be contained calmly.

She’d been eager to get a closer look when they’d been here before, but her party, knowing how she was with water, had kept her firmly away, citing that it wasn’t safe to get close to the edge. Which is wasn’t. But they weren’t here to stop her this time.

It was a stupid thing to do — what if she fell in, never to be seen again? She was the best chance they had for saving the world. Again.

Well, if she died and the veil fell and swallowed up all of Thedas she wouldn’t be around to care. Besides, it would serve him right, always wondering and never knowing what had happened to her, in the end.

‘I will never forget you.’

The first thing she did was tie a rope around a stalagmite and then around her waist. She wasn’t completely suicidal. Then she pulled out her satchel of empty vials and approached the surging waters carefully, hearing Cassandra’s warnings about how slippery the wet stone was, and Varric’s complaints that it wasn’t worth it. She was pretty sure Dorian would be secretly pleased over the samples, though. She would send him some.

She was soaked head-to-toe before the first vial was full, and she could feel the energy seeping into her skin. It wasn’t as cold as she’d expected.

As far as they could tell, he could watch them from anywhere, at any time. Perhaps he was scrying… Or perhaps he simply visited her allies in their dreams and pulled out their memories just as a demon would, the dream fading away upon waking so they’d never suspect a thing.

Whatever the case, she couldn’t let her beloved watch her. If he knew where she was and what she was planning at any given time, there’d be no point in even trying. She’d grown increasingly strong in her awareness in the Fade and ability to traverse it — in fact she was quite pleased with how she could Fade-step for miles now — but she couldn’t rely on that alone. Instead she relied on shrouds of protection and obfuscation spells. Layers of them.

They were a constant draw on her energy, but she didn’t dare ease up on them for a single moment. Which meant she’d come to rely on mana potions to keep her going. Which meant ingesting lyrium.

It had started with just one every couple of days, then every day, then several times a day… She knew she was so in so deep the withdrawals would probably kill her now. Another reason, perhaps, that she avoided her former commander. She didn’t need the lecture. What was a little lyrium addiction when it came to saving the world?

Mana potions and the raw lyrium to make them were expensive, though. During the days of the Inquisition they had a steady supply that they used only sparingly, leading to a surplus that she’d refused to give up when the Inquisition had disbanded and Skyhold had been abandoned. That has been nearly a year ago now, though, and the surplus was long gone. There was only so much Varric could do to keep her supplied.

And so, when her hands started shaking with need as the water seeped into her skin and hit her blood stream, she decided she wasn’t going to wait for Dagna to analyze it. The first vial she filled she immediately emptied, swallowing it down before she had a chance to second guess herself.

It was even saltier than she’d expected, but the saline taste was easy to ignore when the energy flooded through her. It was good. Really good. Better than anything the Carta had. Keria felt better and more awake than she had in months.

She could tell it was strong enough to cause an overdose in anyone else — if she hadn’t been building a resistance for the last year it probably would have killed her. At least she wouldn’t have to share. She eagerly bottled more, using the satchel of empties she’d saved, only taking another sip here and there. It was a relief that they weren’t going to have to find a way to mine the stuff, or find a way to go without.

When her soggy satchel was full she used the drenched rope to pull herself back to relative safety, belatedly remembering to look out for the Sha-Brytol. The coast was still clear, luckily, and it was time to go.

But…

Her feet stilled before she reached the entrance to the tunnel that led up. She stared up at a large vein, shining such a bright blue in the relative dimness that she had to squint past the stars in her eyes. Then her glance drifted to a much smaller one beside it.

She tentatively ran her palm against it, and it sang beneath her hand.

She tilted her head, and focused on the voices that haunted her. In the time since she’d drank from the Well of Sorrows she’d barely improved her ability to understand them, though she was much better at shutting them out so they wouldn’t drive her to madness at least. Still, she tried to consult their wisdom, listening close and trying to parse the whispered words of her nearly-forgotten language.

She wasn’t sure if she was hoping they’d talk her into it or out of it, and when the answer was not forthcoming she pushed them back in disgust. Useless. If she was a better mage, a better elf, maybe she could head their advice…

But she was a broken shell of a Dalish First, and she had only her own hard-won wisdom to guide her.

Fuck it. She’d come this far.

Her hand shot out and wrapped around the small vein.

Whether she’d screamed out loud or only in her mind she could not say, the energy in the vein lancing into her, drawn to the excess that already swam in her blood, overwhelming her senses until all she knew was blinding light and pain. She fought to release her grip and it felt like an eternity before she managed to stagger back.

It felt as if her heart was struggling to beat in her chest but she forced her eyes open. Immediately she saw a pair of shining blue eyes of the Sha-Brytol reflecting off the wet stone in front of her and she whirled, hand raised… And saw nothing. She could hear nothing past the uneven pulse of in her ears and she felt dizzy as she turned back.

She blinked, and the reflection of eyes blinked back. It wasn’t the Sha-Brytol; it was her own eyes shining back at her.

She blinked several more times, expecting the glowing to fade, but it remained steady. She dug in her pack for a rejuvenation potion and swallowed it, just in case. As her heart and her breath steadied as well she realized that she felt powerful. It no longer hurt, and it didn’t feel like a foreign substance the way mana potions once had. The strength had become her.

She’d never become a god, an evanuris, would never be as powerful as her adversary… but she could certainly see why the assholes had let it go to their heads.

The small vein was now dim and lifeless, but she still heard no footsteps in the distance, so it seemed the titan didn’t notice such a small injury. So one more couldn’t hurt, right?

She reached for another vein.

#That *repeatable* war table/expedition table mission to kill Sha’Brytol in their own territory pissed me off soo bad #like wtf man #keria lavellan #my writing

2 notes · View notes

bluerose5 · 1 year

Text

Sharing a little snippet of this WIP because why not, this is one of my favorite parts right now because it sorta explains their dynamic. I think Reyes would've done well in a setting like Thedas, especially DA:Origins & DA2 era Thedas.

“You’re dangerous,” he breathed, teasing his lips against Zevran’s, light enough to leave the latter chasing after him for more. But Reyes kept his hold on him firm, refusing to let him budge even an inch. “And we’re more dangerous when we’re together.”

“Reyes,” Zevran gasped, arching into his grasp.

“So eager,” Reyes praised, his stare but a gentle caress that roamed along the length of Zevran’s body, drinking in the sight of him. “We have the potential to set the world aflame, and perhaps that should scare me, but it doesn’t.”

#dragon age #zevran arainai #reyes vidal #zevreyes #crossover ship #bluerose rambles #bluerose writes

3 notes · View notes

shivunin · 1 month

Note

aaaaand one for Elowen :3 something written by one of the advisors about your OC?

happy writing friend <3

Thank you again for sending all of these in! I've been rather more the tortoise than the hare with them, but we got here in the end c: Thanks, friend!

(Codex Prompts)

A Missive to the Deep Roads

(991 Words | No Warnings)

A letter tucked into a leather belt pouch. The paper was once fine and creamy, but now dirt smudges the surface and there are large splotches of blood on one corner. It is addressed to the Warden-Commander and reads:

My dear Arianwen,

I do hope that this letter finds you well. This thing you have undertaken is a dangerous task indeed, though I do have my doubts that even an army of ogres could keep you from doing what you’ve set your mind to.

No doubt you have heard about our troubles here on the surface. Surely you must have heard tales about the sky splitting open, no matter how deep you have delved in the Deep Roads. If matters were any less dire, I might say that it amuses me to think of you being safer below than we are above for once. As matters are very dire indeed, I will instead say only that we need your help.

I know what you will say, and I know better than most what I am asking of you. The Inquisition is not the sort of organization you might be inclined to trust. For good reason, I suppose. The Chantry has not been the friend to you that it should have been. We both know this to be true.

Our networks, our might, and the faith of those who have pledged themselves to us will not sway you. Let me instead tell you of our Inquisitor and what she has already done.

Several weeks ago, there was an assassination attempt on your favorite king. Many such attempts have been made before, plenty of them averted by your personal intervention, but this one involved an especially troublesome faction of mages from Tevinter. The Inquisitor sent our people to intervene—and just in time, too, it would seem. To hear him tell it, he was all but frozen solid before our people intervened. I have requested a contingent remain nearby in case there is any more trouble.

There are many victims of this war between mage and templar, no shortage of bloodshed. Even so, Lavellan has reached out her hand to the refugees and the downtrodden at every turn. I have watched her haul children from the muck of a ruined street with her own two hands. I have seen her hunt for supplies for the same families even when she was ill or out of sorts. I have seen her clear the roads for people to move freely again. It is not so light a thing, as you very well know, for people to be able to escape when they are besieged.

I have known Elowen to sit alone on the hills, the better to watch the pale hares move through the brush. I have watched the wild wolves heed to her call as if listening to a dear friend. I know that she would leave us for the wilderness and the roads if she could. I know that she stays because she feels there is no other choice—rather like somebody else I once knew well, if you will forgive the comparison.

A teller of tales I may yet be, but I have related only the truth here. You already knew how dire our battles have been. Know, too, that the Inquisition follows one who leads with neither iron fist nor hope of recompense. Know that the woman we follow is worthy of the title in many ways beyond naming.

Know that Thedas—that Ferelden—still needs you, just as it did all those years ago. If ever there was a time to take up the banner of the Wardens and lead those who remain to a worthy cause, it is now.

If you will not come, Warden-Commander—and I hold no real expectations that you will—perhaps you will consider committing what resources you can to the fight in the world above. I cannot overstate how much that help is needed.

Do give my regards to your Antivan beau. I would say that I hope to see the both of you very soon, but I hold no such expectations. Instead, I will say only that I will look for word from you, in whatever form it might come.

Your friend, then and now,

Leliana

A letter, wrapped in several layers of oiled leather and otherwise untouched by the elements:

Leliana,

You’ve always been good with stories. I’ll give you that.

I’m too busy to come myself. You know that. However great a mess the surface is right now, I cannot spare a single blade for your fight. I have more pressing things to turn them against at the moment.

I wish you all the luck I can spare. I’ll throw in a few tokens for good measure, though I am sure you can find better on your own. You always were clever like that.

You are my friend. It has been many years since I have said so, but it is no less true now than it was then. Be well, Leliana. You are greater than your words, however many of them you insist on tossing in my direction.

The enclosed is for your Inquisitor. If even half of what you’ve said about her is actually true, I don’t mind her having it.

Zevran says hello.

—Wen

P.S. I did not say hello. I said that you will either have a grand tale to tell, Bard, or you will find yourself on the other end of a rather sharp knife. For your sake, I hope that it is the former and not the latter. How dreadfully dull it would be to leave all of this grandeur behind to attend a funeral and seek vengeance. You have no idea how often our adventures are interrupted to do silly things like that.

Do take care of yourself. There is something here from me as well—have a glass by the fire and think of your good friends, yes?

—Z

#prompt response #ask response #shivunin scrivening #elowen lavellan #arianwen tabris #zev over here like 'hand me the letter do you have no manners' lol

10 notes · View notes

amatres · 1 year

Text

got tagged by @demandthedoodles, thank you! I only filled out Surana for now because I think way too hard and also little on these sort of things and I couldn't do this for all three of my mage girls off the top of my head lol.

I switched between stuff that's her favorites and what represents her because I wasn't quite sure what I was doing :') still I hope it makes sense lol.

putting it under the cut because it's... too long

Unusual OC Associations: Surana Edition

Seasoning: Tragically as someone who grew up in the tower, which definitely doesn't feed the mages more than easy to mass produce food, lived in the middle of Ferelden, and never left Ferelden before she died, she doesn't know anything about spices and probably doesn't have that great a tolerance for them. One more crime the Chantry has done unto Thedas; deny mages knowledge of seasonings.

Weather: Rain and Snow. She never got to interact with it in the tower, so she took every chance to savor it, much to the occasional set back to the group. Especially loved thunder storms, and had to be held back at least once from cast her own lightning during one.

Colour: She likes anything not blue. I associate her a lot with the color yellow.

Sky: She likes watching the sky change at sunset or sunrise, again because she never really got to see it so clearly without having to strain her neck to look up at the windows.

Magic power: Out of the magic she can cast, her favorite is probably shapeshifting. It's old magic, she gets to be sneaky, gives her more freedom to escape from situations, and also she got to spend a lot of time with Morrigan to learn it.

House plant: Herbs for her potions. Don't get me wrong, she's happy to see nature, plants just aren't something that hold her attention much.

Weapon: A dagger, because it's easy to hide, and Zevran and Leliana were nice enough to teach her how to fight with them before she got her Arcane Warrior specialization. Always good to be able to defend yourself without magic when you encounter a Templar.

Subject: History in a broad sense, she doesn't find much interest in war, but studying cultural and religious history is interesting to her. She was very excited to find the Temple of Sacred Ashes, sorry Sten, she totally dragged you guys there just because she wanted to see it, not to heal Arl Eamon. Entropy Magic and Spirit Magic, she's the origins version of a necromancer and she enjoyed studying it. Poisons, and was very excited at Zevran's offer to describe the effects of poisons to her.

Social media: Surana, even in a modern setting, has the inner peace granted only to those who never have a social media account.

Make-up product: Face cleanser and moisturizer, if that counts lol.

Candy: She never got to try them, but I imagine she would have loved any numerous types of candies from Orlais Leliana would have given her.

Fear: Being confined with no way out.

Ice cube shape: Crushed.

Method of long distance travel: Flying as a bird.

Art style: Baroque and Rococo. She can't escape the chantry church aesthetic, but she would have had fun with the elaborate styles of Orlais with Leliana had she lived to see it.

Mythological creature: Very standard option but a ghost, both because her grief haunts her until it leads to her own death, and also because her death haunts many different characters after she is gone.

Piece of stationery: The little journal she was given shortly after being conscripted by Duncan. She wrote down much of her experience and thoughts during the Fifth Blight there, and Leliana kept it after Surana passed away.

3 emojis: 💀💍🔮

Celestial body: Sagittarius, for the zodiac symbolism. They're known for being curious and crave freedom, which suits her well.

#surana (oc)#amas ocs #long post #tag game

1 note · View note

theluckywizard · 11 months

Text

WIP Whenever

Tidying up the last bits of the next chapter of my longfic In the Shattering of Things so I will share a bit for funsies!

“She has a point. At the very least you could entertain me,” I remind him. “Might distract you as well, to be honest. You can tell me true stories about Hawke.”

“I’m not sure I could do that to the Seeker. She’s heard them all before,” says Varric, leaning around me to glower in her direction.

“Yes, and I’m certain you told the Maker’s truth,” says Cassandra. “Something tells me you know exactly where that man is.” Varric glances at me like I might have given something away but I just peer back out of the corner of my eye with an almost imperceptible shake of my head.

“Well I want to hear about this Hawke fellow,” says Dorian, “I’ve heard the legends of course– ended a Qunari invasion in single combat against the Arishok… Stopped the mad Templar woman trying to annul an entire circle…” Varric sighs.

“And I was there for all of it,” he says. “The infiltration of Chateau Haine is my personal favorite escapade.”

“Mine too,” I remark automatically, though I feel foolish immediately as I've had it from a book. “A whose who of Thedas’ Very Important People? Near death experiences with Wyverns? Ham and cheese jokes? What’s not to love?”

“You’re a real fangirl, you know that Freckles?”

“I know. I can’t help it.”

“It tickles me that’s all,” he says.

“Maybe you should gift Dorian a copy,” I suggest.

“I wouldn’t believe everything you read,” says Cassandra, her ire piqued.

“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” says Varric. “Adding a little hogwash here and there sells it though.”

“I stand by my love of it no matter the veracity,” I answer, remembering how I’d curled up in my window seat on a pile of cushions and devoured every word, immersing myself in the embellished exploits of a crew of very real people. And now I’ve had my own exploits with my own crew including the illustrious author of the very book. How sharply my life has turned and for the better in so many ways. It's a shame it might end in a towering torrent of magic this morning.

“I don’t deserve you,” chuckles Varric. As if responding to my momentary fatalism, a streak of white blinds me as the mark awakens, hungry, pulling at threads I can’t see, suddenly humming, buzzing, singing. I collapse forward against Juniper’s mane and then push myself back up.

“The mark?” asks Cassandra, the set of her features grimmer than usual, concerned.

“I think it’s just… waking up,” I explain, fumbling with my mitten to take a look. The tendrils of green look more luminous, pulsating, the Breach tugging at the energy within it like it’s tethered.

“Does it hurt?” asks Dorian, his expression suggesting reminders of our time in the future as each rift spurred the mark’s expansion.

“Not yet,” I tell him, but I know what’s coming. I steel myself for it.

Tagging: @mogwaei, @demarogue, @warpedlegacy, @plisuu, @doomhippy83, @monocytogenes, @bluewren, @nirikeehan, @rosella-writes, @crackinglamb, @ar-lath-ma-cully, @kiastirling-fanfic

#dragon age fanfiction #cullen x trevelyan #hawke x trevelyan #In the Shattering of Things #Rose Trevelyan #Closing the Breach #The Tale of the Champion #Enter Hawke #wip whenever

5 notes · View notes