call me "wannabe content creator" because YES i did just update my non existent youtube channel, created a new pinterest account, AND posted a little something on substack
Thanks @sorrygoldfish for the tag and for the excuse to talk about Taash/Harding in On Matters of Inertia.
Goldfish's spin on TMT this week:
Pick a background relationship (platonic/romantic/whatever) between two characters in one of your fics who are not your main characters. Tell me about them! What's going on there? Does that relationship impact or influence the main characters' relationship? How does it add to your world? How does it support the themes of your fic? Whatever else you feel like adding!
Once upon a time, I toyed with maybe writing this all in its own fic, but (and never say never) I do think I'm pretty settled on not writing it. I'm happy enough with how I left things within the fic itself BUT! I did have some ideas. So here they are, beyond what is merely hinted at in the end of the fic. Obviously, spoilers for Inertia lol.
So, when I started planning Inertia, I knew Harding was the one who was going to "die". I wanted this for a few reasons: 1. I felt that I had a better, more realistic idea for explaining away her survival that would, 2. Allow me to dig into some of what is going on with Titans, and 3. I simply liked the tragedy of Harding "dying" before Rook knows Varric is dead.
What I hadn't considered when I made that decision is Taash. Like, holy shit. Taash loses both their mom and their girlfriend really close together. AND THEN Rook comes back! So does Bellara/Neve and, of course, they'd wonder, where's Harding? And while it's really mean, I did really like that sort of emotional chewiness it added to Inertia. I hope it's clear throughout the fic that our background characters are still having lives and things happening to them, rather than being set dressing for the main pairing.
So, with all of that, Harding is dead, Taash is mad, and Rook feels guilty. And none of those things change when Harding comes back! Perhaps it's because I just played a multiyear D&D campaign surrounding this same sort of question, but Harding being gone for almost eighteen months is a lot for all parties involved to deal with.
There's even some acknowledgement of this in fic. With Lucanis being the one to actually have the conversation Harding needs to have. The GROWTH THIS SHOWS:
Her answering smile is a fragile thing. "Everyone missed me…and I worry that I'm not…I'm not the same person now."
He nods. "You're not. And neither are they. Time and grief have shaped them just as your time with the Titans shaped you. I think we all know that."
The thing I loved about this whole exchange is how perfectly positioned Lucanis is to be the one to sort of…help Harding through this entire process because he's been through it already. He knows what is like to be gone for a year and then come back to his life. Or try to, and uh, kind of fail at it. I mean, it worked out for the better in his case, but still rough, buddy!
Ultimately, Harding makes what I think is a pretty mature decision to take a step back from everyone and try to like…process everything that's happened. It's obviously hurting Taash to do this, but I think she's also just…not feeling like she can really take on those feelings in any real way either. But there's even this exchange with Taash and Lucanis, too:
"I think I'm going to head out in a minute," Taash says, word pitched low.
It doesn't surprise Lucanis. They've been more subdued tonight than usual. It's not hard to guess why. "You going to be the first to leave?"
They shrug. "Might make it easier."
Lucanis nods. "It's not you…you know that, right?"
Taash nods. "Yeah. Might make it easier if it were, though. Can't do shit about this. And honestly, I'm just glad she's alive…and I want her to be happy. Whatever form that takes."
"Even…" He's not sure how to finish the sentence.
They seem to understand anyway. "Even then."
He wonders if he could be so generous. He knows that it would not be a kindness to assure them that it will all work out, that they'll find their way back to each other when he doesn't know that will be the case. "That sort of love is a credit to you, Taash. I'm here for whatever you need."
If we could all be so generous, Taash. You lose your person! And then they come back! And they're being distant! And it's so, so sad, but it also shows us how Taash has grown and grieved, and to see their willingness to just…let Harding go if that's what needs to happen? That's love!
And ultimately, that's not what happens! But it is the very act of giving space and not pushing that allows Harding to heal.
I think Harding goes with her Ma back to Ferelden, and I think she spends time reconnecting with nature and healing and getting her footing after having her body forcibly taken over by the Titans for a year and a half, and she sends little clumsily embroidered gifts to Taash and invites them to come visit.
In my head, it's absolutely Hallmark movie-esque. Taash arriving for a visit and unsure if this is a romantic thing or not, but just happy to be there. Harding unsure how to breach the distance she's put between them. Cue the montage of walking around newly rebuilt Redcliffe and being grossly, stupidly in love but both being afraid to do anything about it. They almost kiss like four times, but they keep getting interrupted in increasingly exasperating but adorable ways, but when they do finally kiss, Taash fully panics. I think they go home to clear their head and realize this is something they're going to do on purpose and not just something that is going to happen, you know? And then they send the letter to Harding we see in Inertia, and they plan a massive date with a million activities that they absolutely do not get to half of them because they're too busy making up for lost time. I think they have an absolutely massive wedding that lasts for at least three days and leaves everyone so hungover, and they are happy forever and ever. Amen.
Dear Kevin, I respect your decision, but if I'd had to choose between suffering in the dungeons of Evermore or sitting in a disco listening to EDM I'd be on the next flight back to West Virginia.
