May 21
Still on my post-mini-bang bethabela garbage
For this weeks @thehangedmancreatives drawalong. Ref below jump
seen from Netherlands
seen from Belgium
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Indonesia
seen from China
seen from Japan
seen from Russia
seen from Belgium
seen from Australia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from India
seen from Israel
seen from China
Still on my post-mini-bang bethabela garbage
For this weeks @thehangedmancreatives drawalong. Ref below jump
THM 10K Mini Bang 2026 — Flotsam and Jetsam
Since the promo post is now shared, I wanted to post here too.
The @thehangedmancreatives 10k Mini Bang was my first time participating in a (mini) bang, and I couldn't be happier with this experience.
Please check out my two talented teammates: @softeasun, who wrote this banger post-DA2 Bethabela fic (over 40k words of it!), and @whatsanap, who also created an incredible evocative illustration for this.
a couple people have tagged me for various wip weeks, so have a befny/isabela:
Something flickered in Bethany's expression, but she looked away before Isabela could pinpoint what it was. "Everyone has opinions on my decision, but it won't change anything. It's just changing the curtains when everything else outside of your room has been swallowed up."
"That's a pretty specific metaphor there, sweetness."
This earned her a shrug. "It's the truth. After this adventure, the world outside of the Gallows may as well be bedtime stories told to the youngest apprentices, or a beautiful dream destined to fade."
If you can’t wake up in the morning with pillows strewn everywhere and stare lovingly into your wife’s eyes for ten minutes straight are y’all even married
(isabela x bethany)
on a more serious note, i wanted to talk about a concern regarding them. i know i was setting myself up for pain when bethany/isabela became my otp, they’re a rare pair after all. i come across new content or ones i haven’t seen before once in a blue moon. however, i’m worried it’s not right to ship them because of the huge age gap which is a maximum of (and most likely) ten years. since the twins were born in 9:11, bethany is 19-20 in act 1 (9:31). we know that isabela got married to luis a few weeks before her 19th birthday and according to the wiki, she’s been a captain for approximately 10 years by the time she got stranded in kirkwall so she’s probably 29 then or even older. we could say that bethany wouldn’t have been a minor anymore and for those like me (i guess there are only a few of you out there) who want or would love for them to end up together in their canon, i don’t really see them getting together or ‘doing the do’ until the last few years we spend with hawke in-game, around act 3 in the da2 timeline. if anything, i think that’s gonna happen after the escape from kirkwall. also, as much i enjoy the fics i’ve read where it’s act 1 and they flirt or hang out and then prove their amazing chemistry, isabela won’t go there and ignore the fact that sweetness might be too young for her. there’s just something about their dynamic that i can’t resist [sigh]. maybe one reason is how bethany always makes it a point to be cautious and careful, but isabela, while not really careless because them rogues place much value in being calculated, most likely believes in making it up as you go (and absolutely kicking ass anyway). i myself know what it’s like to hide and hold back (especially more than friendly feelings) so much that you’ll start to feel like whatever it is will explode or make you explode. idk, this is kinda breaking my heart lmao
WIP Wednesday
Thanks for the tag @fiannans!
I'm working on another Bethabela short fic for Femslash Feb! Enjoy a snippet:
A sound in the corridor behind her made Bethany jump and she hastily folded the letters and slid the precious bundle into her pocket again. The sound was of heavy boots, and she did her best to calm her racing heart as they approached, folding her hands and bowing her head in prayer.
"Here is the Chapel, Revered Mother, as you requested."
Bethany's head shot up. That was Carver's voice. She looked back over her shoulder to see his short cropped hair peeking from between the massive pauldrons of his Templar armor. He was flanked by another Templar and between them stood a woman dressed in the customary white and red garb of the Chantry, including the impressive headpiece that marked her as a Revered Mother. She saw the second Templar notice her and swiveled back around, returning to her feigned prayer with her heart pounding in her throat.
"Hey, you, mage." He called to her. "Clear out."
"That isn't necessary." The woman spoke, voice velvety and soft. Bethany's heart nearly stopped. She knew that voice, and it was decidedly not that of a priest. "She can remain as I perform the blessing. As long as she can remain quiet while I work."
Silence followed this statement and Bethany belatedly realized that she was meant to respond. "Yes," she squeaked. "I can be quiet."
"You see, Sers? She won't be any trouble. Now please, leave me to my work."
"As you say, Revered Mother." Carver replied. "We will keep the halls clear until you have finished, as ordered."
"Thank you graciously, Sers. Blessings of the Maker go with you."
The loud stomping and clanging of iron boots signalled the departure of the Templars, but Bethany held her breath, eyes squeezed shut and hands clasped tightly against her brow until the sound faded into nothing. Then she sprang to her feet, fearing she had misheard or misremembered, that her hope was a lie based on longing.
"Hello Sweetness." Isabela's shapely lips curled into a smug smirk. "It's been a while."
Tagging @piecesofsolaswriting @beaubashley @hezjena2023
Never Let Me Go (Part 1 of 3)
Fandom: Dragon Age Pairing: Bethany Hawke/Isabela, background Fenris/Hawke Rating: T Notes: Please applaud my restraint I wAITED until I was done with this whole thing before I posted it! THis is possibly because I was in the wilderness and also assaulted people with previews they did not ask for BUT!!! Thanks to @rocket2saturn for introducing me to the beauty of Bethabela, feeding me ideas for this fic, and generally enabling my DA2 trashfire!
It's not so bad.
That's what she tells herself. Repeatedly, under her breath, throughout the day and late into the night—her own personal prayer. It's not so bad. It could have been much worse.
Sometimes, late at night when she can't sleep, she wishes Hawke had taken her along to the Deep Roads. Resents being left behind, a little. Maybe a lot.
Her older sister wouldn't have let the templars take her, not in a million years, not over her dead body, that's what she'd always said. People listen to Hawke. One can say as he pleases about her character, but people listen to her, or they wish they had. That's what she's always thought, anyway. Or believed. Or hoped.
Read More (AO3)
After months of work, my mini bang fic is live. 40k words of Bethabela - the longest thing I've ever written, with incredible art from @whatsanap and @socia-arandil.
Thanks to @armoredinmoonlight and @mylosingdogs for cheerleading and beta reading 🥰
Flotsam & Jetsam
Isabela sauntered over - Maker, she always sauntered, didn't she? - a bottle of amber liquor in her hand.
"Thought you could use a drink."
Bethany paused for a moment - she hadn't had a drink since, when? Chateau Haine, probably - before accepting the bottle.
"You thought right." She took a swig, grimacing at the bitter, astringent taste.
"Out of practice?"
"Contraband," Bethany said, raising the bottle and taking another drink before handing it back to Isabela.
"To contraband, then," Isabela raised the bottle in turn.
They drank in silence for a while, looking out at the red haze that coloured the skyline even as the city itself sunk out of view.
"Maker," Bethany said, "What a mess."
"Mmm," Isabella agreed. "But you're free now." She turned as she spoke, leaning against the railing with her back to the open ocean.
Bethany thought on this a moment.
"Am I?"
"Are you what, sweetness?"
"Free."
Isabela looked at her contemplatively, head cocked to one side.
"Freedom is what you make of it," she said, with that almost infuriating simplicity of hers, before taking another swig from the bottle and passing it to her. "So. What would you make of it?
Read here:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/85047061/chapters/224547241