anyway the shadow dragons have an ongoing bet on when the viper and tarquin will finally confess their feelings to each other. it lasts so long that it stops being about the money, and they start actively trying to get the two together through increasingly ridiculous schemes.
tarquin and ashur have actually been married for years, but they think it’s funny to see the dragons trying so hard to get them together so they don’t say anything.
plus they hardly ever have to plan dates now since the dragons keep setting them up.
Ranking the factions by whatever the hell the two quest givers have going on:
6. Veil Jumpers. Irelin, even after a break up, is still down bad as fuck for Bellara. Strife has dialogue about keeping Emmrich out till morning, despite this they aren’t boning each other so they’re only at 6.
5. Antivan Crows. Teia and Viago never actually stop boning, they take prolonged breaks in between. Despite this they still somehow don’t seem as freaky as everyone else.
4. Mourn Watch. What Myrna and Vorgoth have going on isn’t romantic or sexual at all, it’s this odd deeper third thing that’s probably closer described as spiritual. When they get down they don’t think outside the box; they think inside the coffin.
3. Shadow Dragons. Tarquin and Ashur. They gotta be doing it. Too much anguish in Tarquin’s voice when Ashur is hurt for it to be platonic. Do I think they bone? No, I think they share disgustingly longing glances and slight touches that are definitely not under the no homo category. (Types of dudes to be mid pulling their pants down and go “no homo dude” “your looking at my di—“ “it’s not gay if we say no homo”)
2. Grey Wardens. Evka and Antoine know one another inside out. Not just emotionally. In between blowing things up, single-handedly being the only competent adults in a thirty mile radius and near death experiences they do anything and everything they can think of in the name of science.
1. Lords of Fortune. Isabela on her lonesome holds this title. She does not need a second quest giver to help her win freakiest quest giver award.
Yesterday I’ve found a Modern AU Tashur series, kiss me when you’re done by @thismission , and got totally OBSESSED WITH IT!!!! It’s crazy gooooooddd!!! So, my fingers slipped and doodled this pining Tarquin 🥺
Hi!!! Happy Friday <3 You are so right about Tarquin/The Viper, so! For those two! "For you? I will be any believer you want me to be." from the religious imagery prompts?
i have no excuse for how down bad i wrote the viper here. @dadrunkwriting spoilers.
my personal andraste
rating: t
words: 502
notes: copious amounts of chantry/religious imagery. channeling my catholic guilt here. tarquin worshipping in this house. few more spoilery notes under the cut
spoilery notes: deleted dialogue and fan theory has ashur as the black divine. he might be the head of the faith but he found a new religion :)
There were very few times Ashur was tempted to throw everything away. He worked hard to become the Imperial Divine, to fight for a better Tevinter. He supported Dorian and Mae, then quietly supported them as the Viper on occasion.
Then Tarquin joined. He was quiet, but his hard work quickly earned the respect of the alti in the movement. That man then had the audacity to endear himself to Ashur, and he had to pretend to be wholly unaffected. Being with him would be wildly inappropriate on so many levels: as Divine and templar, as altus and soporatus, and as leader and right hand.
The frustrating part was that Ashur still really wanted him. He grew to trust him, rely on him. Showed the Shadow Dragons that the soporati had so much to offer a rebellion against the status quo. That overthrowing the magisterium needed pressure from outside of it.
Keeping his distance was easier when he was just the Viper. But over drinks he shared his name with Tarquin. Since then, all Ashur imagined was his name in Tarquin's mouth, crying it out. How perfect it sounded on his tongue. How grateful he was that he wore a mask because everyone would see his stoic affect shatter the moment Tarquin called to him.
It was pathetic. He should be better. And yet...
Even though he knew the Chant of Light by heart, he never understood Andraste's devotion to the Maker. A pure love, a fire that burned in her heart to share the truth with the world. Tarquin was his Maker, Ashur his Andraste. He'd never felt such passion for the Chant as he did gazing upon Tarquin. Because then he understood that fervent love, the desire to make the whole world see.
Talking to Tarquin was approaching his altar, and at any sign of affection he wanted to shout for joy. The True Divine, experiencing the euphoria of worship and ecstasy of truth from the words of another man.
Despite his silent adoration, Tarquin knew. Maybe someone told him, maybe not. In any case, the bliss of Tarquin pushing him into a corner and kissing him -- Maker, how he kissed him! -- was worth any wait. Wanting, needing, and uncertain kisses. In those moments, he knew love in the racing heart beneath his hands and desire from grasping hands searching for any bare skin.
Tarquin had a believer in him. A follower, an apostle. Whatever he said had to be true by virtue of the way his lips insisted on exploring the skin they could find and the way his body pressed Ashur against the wall. He was Tarquin's truest believer, his first worshipper and greatest advocate. Even if he never said it out loud. Even if the only way he knew how to express it was to kiss him, hold him, and share his body.
At least for the time being, Tarquin wouldn't know that the True Divine would be whatever kind of believer he wanted Ashur to be.
Tarquin: Nels is mad at me right now, if I tell them it's an order they won't go.
Ashur: Don't worry, I've got a plan.
*Later*
Ashur: Hey, did you know you have vacation days?
Nels: I have vacation days?? You mean I can leave anytime I want and I won't get yelled at by Tarquin?
Ashur: Yup.
Nels: Fuck yes! I'm going traveling✨
Ashur: Yeah, you can go anywhere you want. Except Nessus. Tarquin was very clear that you're not allowed to visit Nessus.
Nels: ...
Ashur: ...
Nels: Anyway, I'm headed out! See you in a few weeks!
*Two Weeks Later*
Tarquin: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY BLEW UP THE ENTIRE FUCKING BUILDING???
Happy Friday! For DADWC, I took a prompt from one of your lists, for a pairing of your choice:
⇴ person a and person b are partnered up together in some context, and they try their bests to act as normal as possible (hint: it fails hilariously)
Have fun!
thinking about tarquin and ashur for this. so veilguard spoilers abound! written as a part of @dadrunkwriting.
business as usual
rating: e
words: 709
additional notes: e for i am describing sex but not in graphic detail. tarquin is my favourite whiny bitch
Ashur was lucky he wore a damn costume, because after last night Tarquin's not sure he could look him in the eye. Not because he was embarrassed or wanted to break things off. No, his mind would simply drift to last night, which meant he would cease to function and would try to steal the Viper for himself.
And if he had him? They could recreate the events of the previous night. Ashur's face between his legs, until they shook so hard they gave out. Fucking Ashur's stoicism out of him, until he was babbling and whining. For his own sanity, the templar needed to hold himself together until there was a good time to talk about... whatever was going on between them.
Never that easy though. If it was, he certainly wouldn't trust it. Mae needed backup today, and even if he trusted Ashur to keep her safe, he didn't trust Ashur to keep himself safe. Leave it to a singular guy to protect two important Shadow Dragons.
"Good to have my two favourite men with me," Mae purred, leading them to the Shambles. Officially, it was liberati housing. But everyone knew that liberati barely scraped by in Minrathous. They'd be lucky to land a job with the templars, and a military salary wasn't enough to support a family here. Often the kids were working and so were the parents. And most missing people cases originated from here.
"I don't trust the two of you on your own," Tarquin complained. "I take my eyes off either of you for a minute and then you're playing in the rafters." To accentuate his point, the Viper dropped down from a roof beside him.
Mae laughed, drawing Tarquin close beneath her arms. "You two have gotten quite close since I last visited," she remarked with a wink. Tarquin knew he was blushing bright red. Ashur was a bastard for wearing a mask. "I have someone to talk to in their shop. Be a dear and don't let anyone in for me," she instructed, planting a kiss on the Viper's cheek before ducking into the building.
The pair leaned against the door frame, blocking the door. A small awkward gap was between them, while they waited. The silence wasn't comfortable, at least for Tarquin. He could scarcely look at the Viper, much less think about what being this close meant. Or what it reminded him of. Maker, he needed Ashur back in bed after this.
"You can talk to me, you know," the Viper commented. Asshole. Bet he was looking down at him wearing that ridiculous hat. Talking would make him want other things, and a safe place for that was far away.
He shook his head. "You know better," he replied curtly. Short. Succinct. Hopefully he'd get the hint.
The small rumble of laughter beside him suggested no. He had not gotten the hint. "She just likes ruffling your feathers. Her way of saying she appreciates you," Ashur explained, a smile in his voice.
"We have a job, unless you forgot," he stated, imbuing his words with all the vitriol he could muster. It wasn't much, and if the sparkle in Ashur's eyes were any indication, it came out more petulant and whiny.
"Was it the kiss?" Ashur teased.
"Stop it."
"It was, wasn't it."
Right. The Viper needed to shut up. He plunged his hand into Ashur's shirt and pulled him closer. He closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against where he hoped Ashur's were. That ugly mask made it impossible for the templar to find his lips, but that was more Ashur's problem than his.
Even through the fabric, he found Ashur's lips with ease. Tarquin surprised himself when he moaned into that kiss, the brief peck that it was. "Don't try me," he grumbled, looking into Ashur's eyes. Damn him.
"Save that for when you don't have an audience, boys," Mae tutted, walking out of the building. She pressed a piece of paper into the Viper's pocket and shook her head. If he wasn't flushed from kissing the Viper, he certainly was now.
"I hate you," the Viper complained, before wrapping an arm around Tarquin's shoulders and leading the trio back up to Dock Town.
