#valorcorrupt

[reedraws]

A commission for the wonderful @valorcorrupt featuring their character Inara and Nathaniel Howe during an intense moment. I can't wait to see the fic you pair it with!

❀ Comissions / Ko-Fi / Store / Bsky

[inevitableking]

@valorcorrupt:

Alistair blinks back the immediate onslaught of tears that threaten to fall, begging them silently not to come. This isn't the time to cry or to be weak or to do something so absolutely, ridiculously like him that he regrets it amongst all the other regrets he has with Inara that he'll hold until the end of his days.

He knows that he must look an absolute sight in the moment, cheeks read and lip definitely wibbling pathetically and eyes bright, but it suddenly doesn't matter. All that matters are those words.

"I would have gladly received them," Alistair replies, hoping against hope that she can read that what he means is he will always receive them from her, that there was never a time he wouldn't.

He can't say it out loud. There is so much they should be saying be saying to each other even still, so much they never have and likely never will.

But this confession? This he'll hold forever in his heart even if nothing comes from it. "Why..." he dares, knowing another regret is quickly forming, "Why would you tell me now?"

[pcrseverance]

|| @valorcorrupt asked: ❝ well, i do feel a little better now that you’re here. ❞

The sentiment is a surprising one, Cullen has to resist blinking stupidly at Inara because he can't quite comprehend that he would be able to offer such a thing to her. Not to the Warden.

"You know, that's something I often think of about you," he admits. "You were the first face I saw after- well. You were there." He shifts a little, almost embarassed at the thought because he's certain such a significant moment to him was insignificant to her, how many people did she save in that time?

"But whatever reassurance I can offer is yours."

[selfishisuppose]

late night knocking meme here // @valorcorrupt asked : “Do you know what time it is?”

He did actually have a vague idea of the time. Vague meaning that the moon was up, had been so for a while, and they were hours away from the sun coming up. But it was late, he couldn't argue against that, and Dorian huffed at the implication that he could be impolite. Of course that was a talent of his, but he'd be damned if he actually acknowledged that.

And maybe he had a little too much to drink, but hey, how many former Wardens, and heroes at that did one man get to meet? Sure, she was an agent now, and she was at Skyhold, and after everything that happened in the Fade he was a curious curious man. "I brought wine," he said, grinning at her, holding up the bottle and two glasses with a charming smile. "I heard you're quite the accomplished agent, and.. I brought wine," the mage said, swaying a little before leaning against the doorframe.

[thanflowers]

feeling a random swell of appreciation for @valorcorrupt in this chili's tonight. merc does so much to promote community around here, and i've watched her craft inara's character over YEARS on and off in the rpc (mainly bc i drifted into other fandoms whilst merc remained a p tried and true figure in the da rpc). anyway, i love that they designed a unique origin for their warden and built her up reflecting that, exploring different facets of the lore that are oft neglected in the games. i love the way she's explored inara's relationships with her various companions both with partners and in a general "blog canon" sort of way. so shout out to merc and inara!! this rpc would lose so much if we lost them tbh. <3

[calenheir]

Does Cailan stay conscious enough to watch his army fall and Duncan die?

╰┈➤ˎˊ˗   MERC QUESTIONS.  queued.

oh this is a good question. cailan's vision goes black before he hits the ground, tbh. the initial clash with darkspawn means he did watch soldiers present die; he knows going down that the phase of battle involving him has been lost, but the last ditch hopeful optimism in him (that cannot afford for them to lose, really) is that the warden and alistair will light the tower (of which he never had any doubt), and the battle will turn in fereldan favor. but he ofc does not understand the full reality of the loss + that duncan died until he is fully conscious and aware of his surroundings. 

this made me consider possible hallucinations cailan might have while comatose in flemeth's care. love guilt ridden nightmare fuel in this house. saving that for another post. rubs my hands together like a fly. 

[deathlieg]

munday meme

Who was your first muse? / (@aetherianxarchive / @valorcorrupt / @quiisquiliae)

i'm pretty sure i've answered a similar question at...some...point, but it was auron from ffx, and my baby ass had no business trying to write a grown ass man (this is what squeenix thought was "old" at thirty-five, y'all). this was back in the ye olden days of livejournal and greatestjournal rp, and how and why i got approached by the final fantasy house cult (if you don't know, you don't want to know, i promise) which was a ride, let me tell you.

OTP for your muse? (@intothewildsea) outside of strife? (i'd give my eyeteeth for a strife to write with.) canon-wise, probably neve or davrin, actually. with a side of zevran, but that was based on jokes and a vibe and while it counts to me, i'm not sure it does to anyone else. neve is very much the pragmatist to his idealist, and davrin is...i mean you've seen davrin, right. you've seen him. also the single dad meetcute has a vibe, you understand. in either case, it's generally people who live exciting lives (whether they intend to or not), and by extension pull him into that chaos. so i guess when you boil it down like that, my otp for emmrich is having a life outside of his weird culty bubble.

What’s one random headcanon about your muse that people mightn’t know? (@aetherianxarchive / @archaeval) emmrich's been snatching cuttings of native plants everywhere he's been in thedas and water propagating them in empty ink bottles. part of it is pure curiosity and they serve as a souvenir of the places he's been and the things he's seen, but partly it's academic curiosity, because the herbariums he's seen have been woefully under sourced and has toyed idly with creating his own in more depth once, you know, the whole stop the blighted gods business is taken care of.

Who is an author that inspires you? (@knifesharps) generally, the answer is tolkien, no one's ever gonna world build quite the way he did, tho i'm forever salty we only got bits and pieces of khuzdul, could have thrown me a frickin' bone-

no, seriously, he's an influence, for sure, but my tone and the way i write changes so drastically between both my characters, what has inspired me for those tones and structure are things that are kind of...subconsciously pulled from very different places, i guess? like, for tony i lean on more...conversational, informal prose, for the most part, and i promise you that definitely comes directly from all that stephen king baby me read like it was going out of style. there's also some...philip k. dick and carl sagan in there, too.

for emmrich, it's more...purplely. you know what i mean? so things like...we have always lived in the castle, carmilla, the castle of oronto, etc etc, but also faulkner (as i lay dying in particular), welty - i do like a little touch of southern in my gothic, don't @ me - and right into cosmic horror like ambrose bierce and chambers. it's the vibe for me.

What do you look for in a rp partner? / (@valorcorrupt / @inevitableking) my biggest green flag for other rpers are those that, yes, take their characterization seriously, but aren't pretentious about it. like, we're playing paper dolls on the internet, you have to be able to be silly (because i will not stop the dilly dallying or shenanigans and if that ain't for you we aren't going to vibe) i fully understand digging into something to build something, but at the same time, i'm not gonna be super serious about 90% of anything i say, so people who get that and can bat the ball back are my favorite. if you can't joke about your blorbo, it ain't it. i will bust this man's balls until the heat death of the universe. i'm going to invest time into the minutia of things, yeah, but i don't expect anyone else to take that shit as seriously as i do. we're here to have fun, right, so people who are having fun, i'm gonna go sit at their lunch table.

Favourite trope? (@intothewildsea / @valorcorrupt) slams the buzzer mutual pining. with a side of mutual obsession. honestly, this is probably because i've been writing tony stark for way too goddamn long, and his and steve's mutual obsession / pining has permanently warped my brain, but there's honestly something 🤌about the it's requited, they're just idiots concept to me. or the idea of chances to say something being passing ships in the night. bonus points if the pining and navelgazing continues even after they get together.

Least favourite trope? (@intothewildsea / @valorcorrupt) god i have so many (ask me how i feel about angst for no other purpose than the angst - bzzt wrong answer i hate it i need an emotional payoff), but for the sake of brevity and to keep it strictly emmrich-related here, i really, really am squicked by the teacher/student thing. like...by a lot. it is not for me. i also don't think it's for emmrich, which i've...talked about at some point, but i think it's a no-no for his ethical standards. he gets uncomfortable at the idea of what i literally cannot envision even being that big of an age gap (am i the only one who - unless stated otherwise - sees rook in their thirties? no?), can you imagine? how he would not handle the student thing? even a little? also the power imbalance kind of makes me uncomfortable just...overall.

Are there any AU’s you’d like to explore but haven’t had the chance to yet? (@mastcrmarksman / @inevitableking) warden emmrich. warden emmrich. and listen, i do mean au in the loosest of senses, there's no synopsis for it or any real details, just vibes and a need, one day i'll sit down and actually flesh it out, but the bare bones (heh) of it is like...if emmrich had been an option for getting snatched (i mean, he is a mage) and got blighted. joining happens, blah blah blah, yeah he might not have to be a warden (and honestly i think he would think he's not warden material, but this ain't about what he thinks), but you know...it being a case of going from being afraid of death, to knowing you have about x amount of time left before death comes for you in the form of the calling. and what he would do about that. accept it gracefully? or start thinking doing what johanna did (and not fucking it up) looks real good.

And any of the spicy aus you haven't even mentioned ever on the dash or havent quite worked out the gory details :) come on theres gotta be some niche in there for emmrich :) (related bonus from @mastcrmarksman) i...may have considered a starfield verse for him. nothing concrete, nothing set in stone, but i was leaning toward him being part of a group within house va'ruun. really thought heavily about some technomancy on his part (manfred being a robot, etc). but i haven't put any meat on it at all, just rotated it slowly a little.

Do you listen to music whilst writing? If so, what kind of music? (@aetherianxarchive) yes? and no? depends on how overstimulated i am; most of the time it's, you know, fine, but there are times where if there is even the slightest noise out of place in an otherwise quiet room i feel murder enter my heart. as for what, it really depends on who i'm writing? like, if it's tony's turn to have the x-box controller, tony's workshop playlist (built from songs mentioned specifically by him in iron man comics from 1963 - present day, with some extrapolation to round it out) is my first most-reached for, since it gets me in a good headspace for him, since he's that kind of guy, that'd have an internal backtrack to his life. emmrich's a little harder, because i still haven't made a playlist for him i'm particularly pleased with entirely (i'm working on it), but i have been known to put this on repeat and just go.

Are there certain characters that you gravitate towards? (@nekrotisch / @quiisquiliae) characters who understandably could have turned their backs on the world and gone back to their special interests and nothing but their special interest with a not my problem attitude but don't. that...seems to be the trend, because even hector barbossa falls in that range. true, in his case it was more about saving his own ass, but that man has never been asked to do something he didn't say fuck you to, just saying.

What about your muse are you most proud of? (@aetherianxarchive / @inevitableking) i'd like to think - i don't know if i'm ultimately managing to do so, but we've got the spirit - i've done a good job fleshing both of them out a little more in things canon hints to in both cases, or that i find a grounding in canon to build that headcanon, some...throw away line that maybe didn't mean much but given what i know about them actually leads down a rabbit hole (tony having similar distichiasis as elizabeth taylor, for example, because there's a whole issue where people do nothing but talk about how beautiful his eyes are, or knowing what kind of nib emmrich probably prefers on his pens - semi-flex fine). and while i'm not proud of it, actually, my disturbing ability to name comic issue by nothing more than a crop of iron man's ass.

[theodosiani]

thinking about ghil yoinking emmrich as a gift for inara.