Just sticking this here to find it later; discord logs for plotting fic for the AU. Also a reminder that this is what you sign up for by adding me on Discord and actually talking to me about shit.
‘Cause I’m thinking, like. It’d start a month or two after the play in which Celene, in canon, then decides to burn Halamshiral. Start with her PoV thinking back on the declaration and setting the scene
So starting with a flashback?
yeah, that way I don’t have to actively write her whole downfall, but I can give enough information that people know what happened and where I’m diverging from
That or do the flashback from Briala’s PoV because that’d be interesting but I feel like that should come later
But that way Celene, Michel, and Briala are already together with the rebellion, get to toy with how Felassan does things, toy with how the Eluvians are found and used to help reclaim the Empire. I feel like it wouldn’t end until, like, WEWH? So that instead of Gaspard being the unruly party you’re fixing a different civil war. 'cept then I don’t think Gaspard would have thrown a ball
But like, if I write it with Elgara she could be part of the rebellion, sent to the conclave to seek the Divine’s advice or help, end up Inquisitor and in an even better position to help Orlais
Corypheus would have to have a slightly different plan for Gaspard than he did Celene tho
Gaspard may have thrown a ball because that’s just How Things Are Done In Orlais, but it would have been a much more restricted affair. Much more restrained.
Also I dunno, I imagine “manipulate Gaspard’s sister into killing her brother and framing the Inquisition” makes sense as a plot.
It does but I don’t know if that would get him Orlais. Like, wasn’t the point supposed to be get Gaspard in power and manipulate the throne through Florienne to help Corypheus? The the level of rebellion and chaos that an actual elven uprising would cause that plan would need at least a little tweaking
Oh no, the plan was chaos.
Like.
The plan was absolutely upheaval in Orlais - remember, the idea was to kill Celene and frame Gaspard for it.
true. And said chaos could be means for Tevinter to come in and take
Leliana even points out that what Corypheus wants is chaos, because it means Orlais can’t effectively unite against him/Tevinter.
so yeah, the same plan for chaos could still work, more so because there’s gonna be more chaos
Exactly. Reframe it as “Kill Gaspard and frame Celene for it,” and it still works.
Or even just kill Gaspard. Like the nobles of Orlais aren’t gonna unite behind Celene after this even with Gaspard out of the picture and if Celene did assassinate the tyrant then the elves might be even more loyal to her and that could be unifying and stabilizing on that front
No, but the problem is that with Gaspard dead it won’t matter, the succession would fall back on Celene. Killing her ensures a) Florianne is technically the heir and b) no one can look to Celene to lead Orlais.
BUT obviously we don’t want Celene dead for the purposes of the fic, but that would make the most sense as a plan of action
So, in other words, the plot of WEWH could be a double assassination, is what you’re saying. And Elgara gets to choose if she’s saving Gaspard, Celene, both, or neither
So Elgara could, feasibly, let Gaspard die, let Celene back on the throne, and then it’s her and Briala working the shadows of Orlais
Yeah, though of course it would have to be very careful, because Celene’s rule will be even rockier than it is in canon.
oh absolutely and even then it might not matter. Michel could never leave Celene’s side because she would constantly be at risk for assassination
Yeah. Yeah.
…Lord, things will get messy if the truth about his past gets out, too.
I figure the truth bout his past will be shared with Celene, Briala, Elgara, and Thren. But possibly not further than that. Definitely not to the human nobility
But it could mean Michel comes to be at least a little proud of it instead of ashamed like he seems in TME
As he works to help the elves
He and Celene get to actually spend time among the elves and realize that they are people who are struggling, Briala gets to really be confronted by the difference between “palace servant” and this and Elgara and Thren facilitate all of that by being born and raised in the slums and having gone two different directions with it
Thren probably hates Elgara at first
Oh almost definitely
There’s bitterness there
She willingly became a noble’s pet I figure they’ll warm to each other, but Thren hates her at first. Elgara only gets as high in the rebellion as she does because of favor from Briala and Celene
Which… doesn’t do her a lot of favors, necessarily, but she proves her worth
Yeah, she’s probably significantly doubted by a lot of the rebellion up to WEWH if not continuing after
She keeps proving herself but it makes sense to doubt
Yeah. It’s kind of a question of how much of her rise is from favor and how much is merit, and everyone questions that.
And yeah, her initial rise is probably mostly favor but it’s based on potential and she keeps proving that
She doesn’t mind the doubt, really, she understands
but Elgara’s one of the one that knows violence isn’t going to solve everything in the civil war and is quick to point out when violence isn’t the best solution. It’s why she gets sent to the Conclave
She’s important enough to represent the rebellion but low enough that it can survive without her and civil enough to not get heated
And then she becomes Very Important
she sides with the mages and then Rhys and Evangeline hear the rebellion is supporting mages and they come join
Evangeline and Cole could come to warn Haven
I… hm. I dunno if Cole would be up to seeing them at that early a juncture?I feel like if they do join the Inquisition it’d have to be after it moves to Skyhold
I mean, yeah, I more mean they could both come running about “Hey the Templars are gonna attack” because they could have been investigating that together. Send Rhys back to Orlais for the rebellion
Or vice versa
I feel like Rhys and Evangeline would be more help to the rebellion tho so they wouldn’t stay with the Inquisition(edited)just pop in once in a while with messages if they’re in the area
My main concern is that Cole might disappear if he sees them that early on
I think it really depends on the circumstances, but that’s definitely a chance
He very strongly doesn’t want to see them again early on
Could be Cole comes to warn and after the relocation Rhys and Evangeline are sent to Skyhold to make sure the rebellion knows where it is and make sure Elgara’s okay, relay information and then head on back. So Cole can hide easily from them and stay with the Inquisition
eventually probably towards the end of Inquisition, Elgara might piece together the three know each other and ask Cole why he avoids them but there’s more important shit going on for a while
Yeah, early on it just slips through the cracks
and it’s not exactly obvious that Cole is Hiding From These Two In Particular
After the Inquisition Elgara would disband it and keep it just the inner circle and go back to Orlais and help keep Celene on the throne. Leliana as Divine and helping where she can
It’d help that some of Leliana’s decrees match Celene’s decrees before she lost power initially
well “help”
Elgara’d be a rogue and bard in this AU but she’s a warrior and Champion in actual canon
