#dragon age

[lifaria]

[lifaria]

[ammoniteflesh]

@fenhawke-week Day 2: Reading Lessons/Grief

I am away for a big chunk of July but I managed to churn out a little drabble!!! My first bit of Threnody fic (kind of), aaaaa

676 words, teen

The thing in his dreams is not Hawke.

His Hawke - his Threnody - was a storm folded in on itself - a large, unruly body and heart doing its best to stay within the lines. It had taken him so long to see that, in the beginning - the constant effort, all the ways she hated herself for the overflow. He had only seen the spill - the swagger, the affected selfishness, the magic that burned so bright it hurt to look at - not how much it had cost her.

After Kirkwall, with the help of years and time and a life that the stories knew nothing about, Threnody had begun to learn how to flow. She had gone quiet, for a while, and slowly learned a different kind of loudness - a truer, less self-conscious kind. She had begun to laugh at their own jokes, so hard it made them snort and tears run down their eyes. She never would have done that before; it would have interrupted the performance.

The thing in his dreams never laughs.

He never thought, when Threnody taught him to read (one of the only times he had ever seen her unguarded - her finger poking hesitantly at the letters, glancing at him nervously, biting her lip and focusing for fear of teaching it wrong) that he would learn to hate the written word.

The thing in his dreams is a parody. The swagger is there, and a little of the affected selfishness, but the magic grows dimmer every night. The thing in his dreams is neither large nor unruly - in body nor in manner. Every joke is perfectly timed. Every movement fluid and smooth. She holds her head up high, even when she doesn’t know who’s watching. Worst of all, when the thing in his dreams speaks, the voice is Varric’s, not Threnody’s, not Hawke’s.

It is worst when she remembers.

One moment she’ll be sweeping him off his feet, having just saved the day, with a cheeky wink and a grin on her face - and something will curdle in her expression. Her face will fall. Her movements will slow. She will look at him - really look - and say “Fenris? Is that you?” He will say “yes, Threnody, I am here,” and his voice will be thick with tears. She will say “oh, Maker. Where am I? Where did I go?” He will say nothing, only reach to cup her face with his hand - but before his skin meets hers, she will be gone again, lost in the lie they told.

Merrill explained it to him, once, while he sat bedraggled at her fireside, trying not to hate himself for accepting a maleficar’s comfort. The Fade is a realm of belief - and Hawke has been trapped there a long time. Physically there, not just in her dreams - and nobody knows what that does. But the theory goes like this: anything that stays long enough in the Fade eventually becomes like the Fade. A product of belief. And, well, what most people believe about Hawke is…

“The Tale of the Champion,” he had finished for her.

Varric sends him a letter, every once in a while. They all go in the fire. The thing in his dreams would hate him for that. Maybe Threnody would too, just a little.

It has been a decade since Threnody taught him to read. When he puts pen to page, the letters come steady and even - although he cannot help but worry, sometimes, that a reader could tell how late he learned. It does not matter. He will be getting plenty of practice, soon.

A fresh roll of parchment. A full pot of ink. He has made a desk of his dining table, set everything else to one side. Threnody’s mabari snoozes by the fire. He closes his eyes, takes a breath, sets his feet flat against the floor. He steadies himself, and he begins.

The Champion of Kirkwall was a storm folded in on itself.

Belief is a thing that can change - and for a beginning, it will do.

[brennacedria]

I was waiting to turn this in, because I wanted to put the Shadow Dragon template with it, but I can't get that to work so I guess I'll post this by itself, and late. >.<

Unfortunately, I did not get a bingo with Kaela. She had faith in the other Shadows when it came to the dragon, and that turned out badly. That's the closest I got to a bingo here, and she missed it.

She has a pretty happy life, so no traumas, dramas, or issues apply. She doesn't like fish at all, fried or otherwise (including just swimming around in the aquarium in the meditation room). And she's not a mage.

So... yeah. No bingos for Kaela. Unless the multiple checks on destruction of property count as bonus points?

Oh, well. Maybe next time.

@shadow-dragon-week

[clergyofpeaches]

Lords Lost Weekend

While I'm not participating in the LoF Weekend (silly work commitments), I did make Bryn an AU LoF profile. I think Bryn Laidir would be really interesting, even if she isn't the most adventurous Lord of Fortune ever.

also here's some fun photos I took of her <3

I'm excited to see everyone's work for the @lof-weekend

gentle tags: @andromeda-xyz @kogarashi-art @jukkaricity @lycheecatee

[seracadash]

Dragon age worldstates dont have this prepared cause it will too much to program, BUT it's still fun to think about how... characters change depending on the context of the world, even if they are programmed exactly the same.

For example, a Vivienne from a pro-mage worldstate is not the same from a pro-templar worldstate.

There is a world where the hero of Ferelden is a mage, saved the Kinloch circle from abominations, and is now either a lover or friend with Alistair, the king of Ferelden, wich means they have some political power. Hawke, who might be family with the hero of Ferelden, could also be a mage who fought for them to not all get killed in the rebellion. This means Cassandra deeply admires a mage who protected other mages, even if they are not considered "perfect". It means she knows that if push comes to shove, Varric will fight to defend mages against the templars. It means that Cullen, after living a tower full of abominations, and then lived Kirkwall, took side to protect one mage who killed half his templar coworkers so Meredith didn't kill them, cause he considers them the hero of the city.

In this world, Vivienne knows that an heroic mage, an example for all, might save themselves, but this doesn't change the public opinion of magic. People are still afraid of magic, people hate the mages in the rebellion cause they are now a personal problem to them. They might admire some mages but they are The Exception, and she has to fight to be one of the exceptions. In this world many could say "see? fighting back works!" but even a mage hero of ferelden ends up walking alone to try to find a cure of an illess that affects them, and can't change much the fate of the mages even with direct contact with the King of Ferelden and the Left Hand of the Divine. Hawke was a noble and hero of the city and still had to run away from it. And did they help mages, when many died in the rebellion? So it makes sense she tries to fix thing in other way.

NOW... There is a world where the hero of Ferelden is a Cousland that is now the ruler of a kingdom, annulled the Kinloch circle and killed all the mages. Then a pro-templar Hawke also supported the annulment of the Kirkwall circle and killed all the mages. Now this means Cassandra admires this Hawke a lot and wanted them to be the Inquisitor. It means Varric is best friends with them and admires them a lot and also killed a fucking ton of mages and helped kill them. This means Cullen lived a circle full of abominations and the only solution was killing them all, and then lived another problem with mages and the solution was killing them all. 2 of these people are high ranking people of the inquisition. And include Leliana who may be pro mage freedom but still be best friend or lover of someone who chose to kill them all. She gets disapproval for this but is not a deal breaker.

Now you can imagine how fucking horrible is being a mage in this worldstate, and you can understand perfectly why Vivienne acts the way she does. Rebellion means demons and is death for everyone. She has to be perfect and she and Morrigan would be the only mages alive that are seen favorable by society, and they are both disrespected and feared anyways! It's lonely and it's bleak as fuck.

And you can do this with every chara! A Dagna that was ignored by an Aeducan who told her the circle of ferelden was destroyed, with Harrowmont ruling Orzammar so it's more closed of, is more lonely and far away from her hometown, while a Dagna that had a Casteless Brosca helping her (when she is not also technically Casteless), and Bhelem rules and Orzammar is more open, has more chances of making her dream come true of a cultural exchange with orzammar and surface mages. A Sera in a Tabris HoF worldstate is not the same as one with an Amell HoF selling elves from her alienage as slaves to Tevinter. An Anders besties with Surana pro-mage is not the same as an Anders who was lucky enough to survive the Kinloch annulment and lost every single mage he was raised with, etc etc the possibilities are endless and it's super interesting to think about

[mediocremillie99]

My sexuality is the hottie blasting the doors open and both gorgeous men strutting in behind her.