#the way she turned out is that she's basically a friendly happy go lucky mage who laughs at her own misery but hides | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amratsu · 4 years

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alright these girls have haunted me for about a whole month now time to break it all down for anyone vaguely interested in them

hololive/vtuber 101 below the read more

THE FUCK IS HOLOLIVE?: An idol agency except all of its roughly 20 or so girls are youtube streamers who have their identity protected by a live2d avatar. They recently had a very fun live concert and all of them have or will have 3d models, but the majority of content is just them streaming whatever's their fancy at the time. (As of 2/17/2020 a lot of them play a lot of ARK, thank Coco for that) Therefore, they're part of the new form of niche culture called Vtuber.

THE FUCK IS A VTUBER?: Virtual youtubers. Like a normal streamer but, again, live2d portrait instead of their actual face. That's basically it. Content is about as varied as any other youtuber.

ALRIGHT, WHO WE GOT?: Hololive's split into OG Tokino Sora, the girls alongside her who are also primarily 3d, and then 'generations'. Just plug in their names and you'll find their channel easy. Again, variety differs between all the girls, but expect a lot of Nintendo games, chat streams, karaoke, and Minecraft across the board.

-Tokino Sora OG mom slash idol, debuted all the way back in 2017. Probably the only proper idol in all of Hololive. Warm, friendly, relaxing. She mostly does 3d variety streams and song debuts so she's hard to follow without advanced japanese.

-Roboco(-san) Pose happy killer robo with a notably smokey voice and calming demeanor. Plays a large amount of minecraft and first-person games in general; recent streams include ARK, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon remaster, Apex, and Fortnite.

-Sakura Miko ELIIIITE MLG miko idol with a tendency to swear a bit. High energy, fully embraced 'press f', gives herself sunglasses during streams, great friends with Pekora. Also notably into eroge. Did a full playthrough of Papers Please lately and is one of the most addicted to ARK (21 streams at around 4-5 hours each.)

1st Generation -Yozora Mel Sleepy vampire with the occasional killer instinct. Soothing, gentle, kind of lewd. Very much into nintendo games with Smash, Ring Fit, SwoSh, and Mario Kart being her latest content, but she's a little slower with the output. Part of the lewd blonde club with Aki, Haato, and Choco, who were demonetized until recently.

-Aki Rosenthal Cyber elf with detachable twin tails. Pretty similar to Mel in disposition, though less sleepy and more...I want to say 'fantastical'. Recently gained popularity due to her buck naked superhuman beefcake character in ARK, with Kerbal, Go Home, and some ASMR rounding out the rest of her content.

-Natsuiro Matsuri Eternal 17 year old cheerleader from the class next door, Matsuri is a high energy raging lesbian who's also a complete sweetie. Her infamous bandaid clip is what got a lot of western fans into Hololive. Plays a wide variety of games but also twitcasts at random times of the day like when she's in bed or in the bath, just to chat with her viewers about what's on her mind. Well loved.

-Akai Haato The ESL transfer student, girl next door, Haato is, well, exactly that. Commonly traveling for studies, Haato is a bubbly girl with a fine sense for aesthetics; you'll catch her making elaborate builds in Minecraft or playing visual novels during streams, along with a smattering of other games. Notable in that she's the only girl that'll do purely English streams, likely to help with her own education. Also kind of a baka.

2nd Generation -Minato Aqua Disaster masochist maid who's actually stupidly good at video games sometimes. She's both mischievous and hard working, massively popular in China, and, again, stupidly good at games. Soulsborne speedruns, PUBG, ARK (also one of the most addicted), Minecraft (seeing a pattern?), League if you catch her bilibili streams...but she's also the one who will spend a stream calling the other girls and asking them to bully her. Wild card gremlin.

-Murasaki Shion Genius mage who doesn't do a lot with her magic. Pretty well known for her 'neeeeeee', with a distinctly smug avatar/voice. Pretty good at games too, with a variety of Pokemon, retro games, Minecraft, Smash, horror, Mario Kart, etc. Excellent singing voice too, would recommend her covers.

-Yuzuki Choco The totally-not-a-succubus demon nurse at your highschool, Choco embodies :sweating:. Obviously she's lewd, but there's also a silly and petulant side to her that's fun to watch too. ASMR is her specialty. She's also, surprisingly, really into Dead By Daylight, so if that combination sounds fun to you hit her up.

-Oozora Subaru If Haato is the girl next door, Subaru's the bro next door. A very down to earth but energetic and sporty tomgirl, she recently spent three streams and sixteen hours on trying to take down Sans. Other recent things include Live A Live, The Witch's House, and GTA. Refreshingly easy to relate to compared to the other girls sometimes.

-Nakiri Ayame Hello, honored humans~ Hololive's millenium old oni. Has a peculiar way of speaking, especially in her pronouns, which lends a certain charm if you can got on board with it; happy go lucky, easy to like, and really cute on top of all that. Recently recovered from sickness (as of 2/26) so was the last to get on the Ark craze, she's actually very fond of multiplayer games as a way of 'getting to know mortals'. Apex Legends, Mario Kart, Splatoon, etc.

GAMERS: A sort of generation on its own, and also a kind of weird designation when all the girls game so frequently. Oh well!

-Shirakami Fubuki Fox. Not a cat. Super cheerful, makes a lot of weird noises that people turn into youtube poops (that she encourages), and also a helluva gamer. Plays plenty of battle royales, ARK, and of course Nintendo/Minecraft stuff. Infamous for her absolute feral hunter instincts in Project Winter, where she commonly massacres the entire map on her lonesome when she's the traitor.

-Ookami Mio Mom wolf who has to play tsukkomi (straightman) to basically all of Hololive sometimes. Which makes it all the more hilarious during her semi-common charisma breaks, like during Haato's recent English Exam stream. Has been into EDF, Pokemon, Ghost Trick, and Splatoon lately.

-Nekomata Okayu The sleepy smug cat with the most chill personality. Notably very, VERY close with Korone, and in general kind of a playboy in general. Never denies it or any of her myriad transgressions though. Her Mother 2 run has been fun recently, but really you could just tune into her frequent chat streams and relax that way.

-Inugami Korone Dog. An oddball who kind of just goes at her own pace, playing all sorts of weird games like Nyanpo (the pokemon prototype) and weird PS1 retro games. Shows a disturbingly violent side sometimes; her ongoing Blasphemous run and recent RE4 runs have shown how much she's into that kind of stuff. But also she's still a dog, so really don't worry.

Inonaka Music: -AZKi AZKi is closely associated with Hololive but is really more of her own thing, being even more idol than Sora is. Doesn't stream much if at all, has her own album out, does music collabs more than anything else, etc. Helluva singer though.

-Hoshimachi Suisei The vtuber idol who's totally not a psychopath, and totally a goddess at tetris. Like Fubuki, made a name for herself with her psychotic rampages in Project Winter, and also very much unfazed by horror games. Really fucking good at tetris too, doing 98v1 streams lately in Tetris 99, and a godly songstress too. Her karaoke streams are to die for.

3rd Generation: Also known as Hololive Fantasy. These girls are particularly close to each other. If you can find translated clips, I definitely recommend their host club streams where they compete in seducing other Vtubers. (Yes. That's serious)

-Usada Pekora AH^HA^HA^. You'd think she was a cute rabbit, but no! It's a Tewi level shitposter combined with some legit video game skills. She likes playing the heel deliberately just for shits and giggles, like when she nearly walked off with Miko's Nether Star. She's in fact very close to Miko, their relationship being both great friends and great rivals. Definitely one of the most addicted to ARK too; she's been making headway in conquering the ocean.

-Shiranui Flare Handsome half-elf archer, Flare's the designated tsukkomi of the third generation. She's definitely the most down to earth of them, charismatic to boot, and does as she pleases with a relaxed personality and husky, smokey voice. Very very VERY close to Noel. You'll find some really fun playthroughs of various action games like Dark Souls, Bayonetta, and Sekiro on her channel, and thanks to her picking up game mechanics fast they're fun to watch for anyone.

-Shirogane Noel Knight Captain of the Shirogane Knights, Noel's...kind of an airhead, actually. But she's definitely a pleasant, softspoken sort of person who's incredibly relaxing to listen to. Also a big eater, you'll hear her talk about beef bowls and muscles a lot. Just try not to stare too much at her 'pectorals.' As mentioned, VERY close to Flare (they just had a two day long date to a ryokan). Plays whatever with no focus in particular.

-Uruha Rushia The cute, soft, innocent apprentice necromancer, Rushia occasionally comes out of the gates roaring with rage filled screams before chilling out. An absolute cutie though, who loves her fans very much (though really every Hololive member does), her attempts to be cool and reliable lend to some great comedy. She's got a great singing voice if you can find one of her bilibili streams, and otherwise plays a wide variety of things.

-Houshou Marine A~hoy~. The completely safe for work, modern, not-cosplay eternal 17 pirate...and everything I just said was a lie. Most of it anyways. Marine's a riot of a lady with an incredibly dirty mind and dirtier motor mouth, great voice acting ability, and knack for art that she'll happily show off (among other things). Definitely one of my favorites, you'll find plenty of chat and art content on her channel, along with some of the most Ark addiction and a full array of Touhou game playthroughs.

4th Generation: Hololive's newest five girls, it's been a month and change since they debuted. They're notable for working together on some of the most wild content Hololive's put out so far, all helmed by a certain dragon. But we'll get to that.

-Tokoyami Towa The little devil that does whatever she wants, Towa's known for a couple of other things at this point: refreshingly honest personality, Pokemon playthroughs with an eclectic choice in team comp, and her charmingly atypical tomboy voice (though her mic's not amazing). Great singer, super funny if you can find the rare translated clip of her, and was an absolute menace at the recent Hololive werewolf/mafia game. How she managed to fake being a Seer from day one and nearly win, I'll never know.

-Tsunomaki Watame Hololive's bouncy sheep. Ram? Something like that. A very girly, friendly, lightly ara-ara personality, she's an honest and open with her feelings sort of girl. Earnest laughter at chat and games, real emotional tears while watching the live concert with her generation mates, Watame's a total sweetheart who streams a bit of music everyday as the pre-show to Coco's Morning Shitposts (official name). She's also gotten very close to her senpais in some regards...but above all she likes singing, chilling out in Minecraft, and recently playing through a couple Kirby games.

-Himemori Luna If you want to see a completely innocent cinnamon roll looking character say things like 'ass' and 'don't f*cking take crystal m*th', Luna's your gal. Her high pitched, almost childlike voice takes a bit of getting used to but she's a sweetheart that just has fun no matter what she's doing. But she'll also say a bunch of really funny shit while doing it just from sheer juxtaposition of her voice/appearance and the vocabulary. Surprisingly good at video games too.

-Amane Kanata PP Tenshi. Perfect Pitch, Powerpoint...Kanata's a bit of a sheltered honor student sort of girl who has an incredible vocal range, so much you'd be forgiven for thinking she was a professional voice actor or singer. She loves playing along with jokes even if she doesn't get them some times, and is really close with Coco. If not for said dragon she'd be the biggest memelord in the 4th generation, but alas; her channel has lots of collabs with fellow members and a series of cute 'research' videos on the various generations of Hololive. Unfortunately untranslated though.

-Kiryuu Coco The one, the only, the President of Nishinari herself, Coco has been a force of nature since she debuted. Her vulgar sense of humor, rapid fire jokester nature, fluent English speaking, and complete conversion of Hololive to the wonders of dinosaur taming in Ark has made her one of the most subscribed girls in a matter of weeks. Every day at 6am JST or 1pm PST, she does a quick 20 minute gig called Coco News (officially translated as Coco's Morning Shitpost) where she reports on the various ongoings in Hololive. This ingeniously brings attention to the silly crap everyone's been up to, really fostering a sense of community between the girls you don't see elsewhere, while also being a riot to watch as she roasts everyone for their silliness (with full permission). Other notable memes include her stalwart boycotting of Nintendo Switches, her desire to fund a Hololive house, and her recent Hitman 2 run.

#Hololive #Virtual Youtuber #Inonaka Music

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elfrootaddict · 4 years

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HERALD OF ANDRASTE - Chapter 4/4

DESCRIPTION: El'lana’s entire world is turned upside down when she, a proud Dalish elf, is bestowed the title “Herald of Andraste”.

SERIES: Halla & Wolf

VOLUME: 3

Lana bursts into her cabin, slamming the door shut behind her and drops to the floor. Releasing her belongings from her tense grip, she allows them to fall where they may. Her breathing is heavy as her heart thrashes wildly inside her chest. With so much adrenaline surging through her body, her hands begin to shake uncontrollably as she brings them to her face.

Lana is all too familiar with having a temper, but the pure rage she’s feeling from this outburst has never happened before. Not ever. Especially towards someone she barely knows. How is it that possible that only moments ago she was laughing and enjoying his company. But now? Now she feels like a wild, savage beast wanting to claw Solas’s face off.

How dare he say such things? How dare he have such hatred towards people he’s never even met before? People, who I love more than life itself!

And yet, how can she allow herself to get so provoked? He was only expressing his opinion. Is she to get this enraged every time somebody vexes her? Shouldn’t she be used to the notion that the Dalish are ostracised, perhaps even by her own kind?

Lana brings her knees in towards her chest as she scrapes her fingers through her hair. She closes her eyes and takes several minutes to try and calm herself down; taking in deep breaths through the nose and exhaling out the mouth, just like the Keeper always instructed her to do.

Except this time, it isn’t working.

Resting her arms on her knees, she drops her head and quietly begins to weep. Her chest pounding at a rapid rhythm until finally she takes in one deep breath and releases a much louder, desperate wail. She brings her head back, hitting the cabin door, and brings her trembling hands up towards her face to help quieten down the volume of her cries.

And the tears keep falling. And falling. And falling.

Is she really that angry at Solas? No, not particularly. She is indeed offended towards his tackless accusations but when it comes down to it…

Lana is terrified. Beyond belief.

“Blend-in as best as you can mir da’vhenan, and discover the nature of this meeting. Return to me and report what has happened. Nothing more and nothing less. Ar lath, ma da’len. May the gods guide your steps.”

Lana realises that once word of the Conclave got to the Free Marches, and then to her clan, the Keeper would logically assume Lana had died with all the rest. In fact, Keeper Zatlen of clan Alassan has probably already sent word to the Keeper, and the clan has already planted a tree in Lana’s memory somewhere in the forest. Knowing the Keeper’s cautious behaviour, she would most likely move the clan to the safest location she knows because of the anticipated chaos between the mages and the templars.

And Lana knows that once they move, there would be no possible way of finding them again on her own. She is no scout or hunter, and only just managed to get here by following the Keeper’s strict instructions. Sure, she could go back to Kirkwall’s harbour somehow and travel through the cravis in the Vinmark Mountains, but then where would she go? East? West? North?

I will never see them again. The Keeper. Lhoris. Tamara. My home. I won’t be there for Lhoris and Tamara’s bonding ceremony. I won’t be able to see them raise their little ones. I won’t even be there to help the Keeper as she ages.

Lana looks down at the papers scattered around her with the ink spilled across the floor, and quietly whimpers as she begins to clean up the mess.

Lana wipes the tears from her face and looks around the cabin. With the sun almost completely set, the cabin is nearly pitch dark, and she can hardly make out much, save for a single candle’s silhouette on the windowsill. With only a flick of the wrist, Lana murmurs a spell and lights the wick. The small flame fills the room with a warm, soft glow which is when she notices a large bowl laying on the table.

Taking in a long, deep breath, and feeling somewhat calmer after that much needed cry, she forces herself up as she wipes her dripping nose with her sleeve, and slumps towards the bowl.

Lana murmurs a basic enchantment and fills the bowl with cold, fresh water. She then cups her hands in the liquid and splashes the water against her blotchy and tired face.

Lana leans against the table, hands placed on either side of the bowl and stares at her distorted reflection in the water’s rippling surface. As the water slowly begins to settle, Lana leans in closer and notices a large, dark line across her mouth. And with a quick gesture, she stills the water to get a better look.

“Creators…”

Still struggling to see under the current light, Lana glares at the meek, little candle light and significantly enhances its flame size.

Now satisfied by the more sufficient lighting, Lana uses one hand to hold her hair back as she leans in even closer to the water’s surface. And that’s when she gasps.

Using her free hand, Lana slowly glides her fingers across the massively brazen laceration starting from the left corner of her top lip and all the way down to her chin.

By the dread wolf, how long have I had this?

Lana turns her face from side to side and notices another laceration across her right cheek. This one is not as large, but it's deeper and also new. She’s grateful that at least her vallaslin is still intact.

Suddenly, a knock at her cabin door startles her. Lana whips her head around, stabilises the candle’s flame, and pretends she isn’t there. She is in no mood for any company.

“Lana?”

Nope.

“It’s me... your friendly neighbourhood dwarf.”

Funny. But, still no.

And for a short while, neither one says anything until…

“I have food...”

Lana’s stomach instantly grumbles. Releasing a soft sigh, Lana realises that she needs a warm meal more than pretending to not exist at the moment.

Desperate to appear nonchalant, Lana quickly brushes her fingers through her hair and straightens out her clothes as she walks towards the door. Taking in a deep breath, Lana opens the door by only a few inches, and peers through the small gap, as she is still in shock and deeply insecure about the scar across her lip.

Standing in the cold on the cabin’s porch is Varric, with two steaming bowls of Fereldan’s typical, hearty stew; chunky vegetables in a broth, and if the hunters had been lucky, there would be a few pieces of animal meat, too.

Varric stretches his arm out with one and Lana takes it gratefully, “Thank you, Varric. That’s really nice of you. I could have helped myself, you know? You didn’t have to come all the way here.”

Varric huffs with a playfully dismissive hand wave, “It was no trouble. And I figured with everything going on, you most likely haven’t eaten anything today, have you?”

Lana releases a gentle smile and sways her head from side to side.

“Thought so. Well, now that I’ve fulfilled my neighbourly duty for the day. I’ll see you ‘round, El.”

Lana smiles sheeply at Varric for calling her El, as it reminds her of Lhoris, and as much as she wants to wallow in self-pity, she could really talk to somebody who isn’t in the Inquisition's inner circle, a Chantry priestess or Creators-forbid… Solas.

She could use a good evening with somebody who could potentially be called a friend.

“Varric...” calls Lana, and Varric turns around to regard her with a gentle smile, “You can come in if you like? If you want to, of course. I don’t want to intrude on your evening plans or anything.”

“If by ‘plans’ you mean waiting around for the world to end?” and shrugs his shoulders sarcastically. “I think I can push that back.”

Lana laughs and lets Varric in.

Once Lana closes the door behind them, she frantically looks about the room for a place to seat her guest, “You can sit... here.” and quickly puts her evening meal down on the table as she drags the only chair in the cabin out for Varric.

“Hey, don’t worry about me, I’m happy standing.”

Lana stops moving the chair towards him as she is unsure of what to do next. She isn’t used to entertaining “guests” and doesn’t know what the “rules” are. So instead, she settles for an awkward stare down.

“Come on,” persists Varric as he moves himself to the corner of the table, placing his bowl down. “I insist.” and gestures for Lana to take the chair.

Lana releases a sheepish grin, brings the chair in towards the table and sits down, “Thank you.” and brings her bowl in closer as they both dig into their meal.

“So,” begins Varric. “Now that Cassandra’s out of earshot, are you holding up alright? I mean, you go from being the most wanted criminal in Thedas to joining the armies of the faithful. Most people would have spread that out over more than just one day.”

Taking a big gulp of her stew, “I have no idea what’s happening anymore.”

Varric chuckles, “That makes two of us. For days now, we’ve been staring at the Breach, watching demons and Maker-knows-what fall out of it. ‘Bad for morale’ would be an understatement,” Varric pauses and looks down into his steaming meal. “I still can’t believe anyone was in there and lived.”

“If it was that bad, why did you stay? Cassandra said you were free to go.”

Lana brings a spoonful of hot broth up-to her mouth and then slowly sips at the edges of the spoon.

Varric stops stirring his vegetables around and sighs, “I like to think I’m as selfish and irresponsible as the next guy, but this,” shaking his head and looking mournfully at Lana. “Thousands of people died on that mountain. I was almost one of them! And now there’s a hole in the sky? Even I can't even walk away and just leave that to sort itself out.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, thank you for staying. The Breach needs to be sealed. The sooner the better.”

“If it can be sealed,” Varric leans against the cabin walls and looks at Lana for a moment as he contemplates something, and then moves in closer to whisper. “You might want to consider running at the first opportunity. I’ve written enough tragedies to recognise where this is going,” and leans back to take a spoonful of stew. “Heroes are everywhere. I’ve seen that. But the hole in the sky? That’s beyond heroes. We’re going to need a miracle.”

Lana looks down at her bowl and begins to lose herself in the bobbing vegetable chunks in her stew, “I wish everybody else saw it that way. I’m just... me.”

Varric pushes away his empty bowl and sighs. “Look, I’m just going to say it…” and Lana looks up at Varric puzzled. “That stew was... terrible!”

Lana relaxes and laughs with a light and pleasant sound, “It’s not the best, is it?”

“Are you kidding?” Varric fans his fingers across his chest dramatically. “Even I could make a better stew than this nug-shit, and that’s saying something.”

“Yeah, I’m not a very good cook either. I suppose I never had to really learn. We always had at least two people dedicated to preparing the meals back home.”

Varric leans against the cabin wall again and crosses his arms over his chest, “You’re from the Marchers, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Pointing his thumb up towards himself, “Kirkwall.”

Lana smiles widens as she cries out, “I had no idea! What a small world! I’ve only been to Kirkwall once, although I’ve only been in the harbour mind you. Up until recently, I had never been anywhere else. Only Tamara would go to the towns or cities to trade with the shems.”

“Tamara?”

Lana shakes her head at her foolishness, “Oh right, sorry. Tamara is one of my clan’s merchants,” and pauses before murmuring. “But to me, she’s more like a sister.”

With kind and caring eyes, Varric attempts to console Lana. “You must miss her. Has Liliana managed to contact your clan yet?”

Digging and fumbling around in her almost empty bowl, Lana looks up at Varric with confusion. “No?”

“Maker’s breath!” cries Varric. “Okay, first thing tomorrow morning, find Liliana and tell her you need to contact your clan.”

“That’s sweet Varric but news of the Conclave would have reached them by now. They probably think I’m dead and moved on. I wouldn’t know how to find them.”

Varric leans across the table and looks at Lana with a confidant grin. “Trust me, Liliana can find them. Don’t you worry about that, kiddo.”

“Really?”

Varric stands up straight, crosses his arms over his chest and simply nods.

Lana quietly judges Varric’s confidence, and realises that if Liliana really can find her clan, then that means she can allow herself to hope to be reunited with her family once everything is over.

“I would be truly grateful! Thank you, Varric.”

“No problem,” Varric drops his arms and scratches the back of his head, “Man, I’m glad to have a warm meal but Maker’s breath, that was just awful.”

Lana releases another carefree laugh but is instantly interrupted by another sudden and unexpected knock at the door.

Varric turns his head towards the door and looks back at Lana with a cheeky smile and raised eyebrow, “Expecting someone?”

Realising his carnal insinuation, Lana blushes and cries out, “Creators! No!” and Varric laughs wildly while she calls towards the door, “Who is it?”

And a quiet, soothing voice answers back, “Solas. Apologies for the intrusion, but I was hoping for only a moment of your time?”

Lana's pleasant mood visibly dissipates and she slumps into her chair, rolls her eyes and releases a loud groan. Which causes Varric to raise both eyebrows in surprise at her sudden, dramatic shift in mood. She then shoves the chair back, causing a loud screech on the wooden floor and marchers over to the door.

With one swift motion, Lana opens the door wide enough to clearly indicate she isn’t alone and that Solas is indeed intruding on her very pleasant evening.

“Oh,” gasps Solas as he looks at Varric, who waves back at him awkwardly. “I didn’t realise you had company.”

With one hand on the door and the other resting on her hip, Lana snaps. “Is there something you need, Solas?”

Solas looks back at Lana, “It’s no matter. I will find you-”

“You know what,” mutters Varric from inside the cabin as he grabs both bowls. “I was just about to leave anyway,” and walks towards the door, and past the two very clearly, upset elves. “So if you don’t mind me El, I think I’ll be heading off. It was good catching up.”

Varric staying is the only reasonable excuse Lana can use to dismiss Solas. But with her excuse literally walking out the door, Lana desperately cries out, “Varric, there’s really no need-”

“It’s no problem,” insists Varric. “I need a few mugs of ale to wash down this stew anyhow,” and begins walking questionably fast as he shouts without looking back, “See you kids in the morning!” and leaves Lana and Solas to watch him disappear into the darkness.

Eventually Lana murmurs, “Good night...”

Shit.

With his arms behind his back, Solas turns back around and looks down at Lana, who is still blocking the entrance to the cabin.

Feeling his gaze on her, Lana ultimately looks back at him in return. Neither one says anything.

Well, this is just GREAT.

And as if they were in one of Varric’s cheesy romance novels, they both speak up at the same time.

Lana releases a forced, awkward laugh and averts her gaze while Solas holds his own without managing to break eye contact.

Clearly uncomfortable and wanting to get out of the cold, Lana attempts to speak first, “Do you... do you want to come in?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lana steps aside, allowing Solas in and closes the door behind him. Still lingering at the entrance, she turns around and watches him stride to the middle of the room and then turn back around to face her. His shoulders pulled back, standing perfectly poised and straight.

Lana isn’t sure what to do now, so she folds her arms across her chest and looks around the room awkwardly.

Why is he just staring at me?

With a calm and controlled voice, Solas finally breaks the tension, “I wanted to apologise. Again. It seems I am constantly finding new ways to offend you,” Lana flicks her gaze back at him, visibly surprised. “I should not have allowed my previous experience with the Dalish to cloud my opinion of your clan. I regretfully admit that I have indeed ‘painted you with the same brush’ so to speak. And for that, I’m sorry.”

By his mannerism and delivery, it is clearly evident that Solas really means every word. He truly is regretful and Lana finds herself shamefully surprised.

After their confrontation, she had decided that he was an arrogant, selfish man who relishes in being superior in knowledge, intellect and rare experiences as a dreamer.

But now?

Lana visibly relaxes her tense shoulders and feebly murmurs, “Thank you.”

Solas turns his gaze away from Lana and walks towards the window, the candle’s light subtly highlighting the edges of his silhouette, “You see, I have wondered many roads in my time, and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion. I have offered to share my knowledge, only to be attacked for no greater reason than their superstition. Most care very little about improving their lives. They already consider themselves perfect, the sole keepers of elven lore,”

Solas drops his head and closes his eyes, “Liar. Fool. Madman. There are endless ways to say someone isn’t worth listening to,” and he turns his head around with his eyes giving away his pain. “Over time, it grinds away at you.”

Lana can’t stop herself from staring at him as she left completely lost for words. His misery and suffering tugging at her empathic heart.

Lana takes a small step forward, “Solas-”

“Until today,” interjects Solas as he turns around fully with a gentle smile. “You are the first of your people to ask me about my travels, my stories,” and awkwardly tugs at his sleeves. “It’s been... a long time since anyone has shown genuine interest in what I have to share. And if you’d like, I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions, to the best of my ability.”

With a subtle nod, Lana smiles sincerely, “Thank you, I would like that very much.”

Solas smiles back and moves closer to Lana, his tall and broad physique blocking the candle’s light.

“Before I take my leave, I have something of yours,” and removes a rolled piece of parchment from his belt, and hands it over to Lana. “I believe you might be missing this.”

Confused, Lana takes the parchment, looks at Solas for a moment, and proceeds to slowly unravel it before him as she gasps. It’s her unfinished sketch of the Keeper.

“I had no idea I dropped it!” and looks up at Solas with a sincere smile, “Thank you.”

Solas nods with a gentle smile in return, “You’re welcome. And I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

Solas walks towards the door as Lana follows him. He opens the door, steps outside and looks down at Lana with a sincere smile, “I will see you in the morning.” and begins closing the door.

Impulsively, Lana leaps forward and grabs onto the side of the door and calls out, “Solas, wait...”

Solas lets go of the door handle, turns around and stares at Lana curiously.

Lana opens the door a little further and looks down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Solas with remorse, “I would like to apologise for my behaviour, too. I said a lot of things to you which were unkind and hurtful, and I let my temper get the better of me... ir abelas, lethallin.”

Solas releases a heartfelt smile and nods, “Thank you.”

After hearing Solas’s tragic story about how the Dalish have treated him in the past, she cannot help but feel embarrassed and ashamed, and feels she needs to apologise on behalf of her people, too, “And I’m sorry for how the Dalish have treated you in the past. I truly had no idea,” and with her deep set frown and pale, lavender eyes peering up at him, she bravely declares, “It isn’t right and if I am ever in the position to change things, I know exactly where to start.”

“You are a rarity amongst your people, da’len. And thank you for allowing me to speak with you this evening. I look forward to our many academic discussions moving forward.”

And with that, Solas turns around and walks away. Only once she can no longer see him, does Lana slowly close the door and look down at the unfinished picture of Keeper Deshanna. A bit crinkled, but no matter. She’s just happy to have the Keeper back with her.

Unbelievably exhausted, Lana decides to call it a day and puts the Keeper back with the others. She then takes the candlestick from the windowsill and places it in the middle of the room.

She then proceeds to take apart her nicely made bed and apologises, in her mind, to whomever makes her bed for her as they will find everything on the floor. Again.

Using the thin cotton sheet, she lays it neatly on the cabin floor next to the bed. Then, taking her loose wolf fur, she lays it down on the sheet and immediately follows with laying out the softer, stuffed blanket on top of that.

Once nicely centered, she visually divides the blanket into thirds, folding the right-third inwards and then the left-third over that. Then she tucks the bottom of her makeshift cocoon underneath itself and stands back to admire her work.

Well, if this is the closest I’ll get to what I have back home, then that's fine with me.

Satisfied, Lana grabs the last crucial element of her creation - the pillow.

Once changed into her sleepwear, Lana wiggles her way into her bed and turns around to face the candle, and stares into its dull, dim glow as it reaches the end of its wick.

First thing tomorrow I will find Liliana, so that she can try to contact the Keeper before Cassandra keeps me busy all day.

Then, I’ll find Solas in the evening to learn more about the ancient elvhen.

Lana closes her heavy, tired eyes and its not long until the flame of the candle runs out.

Oh, and don’t forget to ask him about that strange shoe-thing across his neck.

Oh wait, it can’t be a shoe - doesn’t it have teeth?

Elvish to English Translation:

“Mir da’vhenan” = my little-heart

“Ar lath, ma da’len” = I love you, my child

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

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Halla & Wolf Series

#ElfrootAddict's Halla & Wolf Series #ElfrootAddict's Herald of Andraste #ElfrootAddict's El'lana Aemma Lavellan #Solas #Varric #Lavellan #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dalish #herald of andraste #fanfic

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ever-searching · 4 years

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Companion piece to FFXIVWrite #30

Since my writing for the FFXIVWrite prompt #30: Splinter (which can be found here) included a lot of different AUs which I’ve never talked about, I thought that I could write a companion piece which tells a bit more about them. I decided to also add short descriptions of each character's “main universe” versions for clarity.

Short summaries can be found below. Be warned that the text may contain minor story spoilers for the FFXIV main scenario story line until the early bits of Shadowbringers, though.

(MU = "main universe" (roleplay-verse), WoL = Warrior of Light (canon storyline), First = Norvrandt version)

Cain

MU Cain: An adventurer/odd-jobs from Thanalan who is trying to make his mark and struggles with impostor syndrome a bit. Lived on the streets from Calamity until roughly 7th Astral Era. Somewhat snarky at times, but at his core an awkward nerd. Thaumaturge with basic knife-fighting skills.

WoL Cain: Starts off very enthusiastic but gradually gets tired of everyone expecting that he solves their problems and nobody giving him even a small break. Got off the streets a year or two earlier than the MU Cain but still inherited his self-negligent ascetic lifestyle. Possibly snarkier than the other versions. Black Mage / Dark Knight.

First Cain / “Kayneth”: Son of a miner couple from Twine who left to seek better life in Eulmore; he either wasn't taken along or didn’t manage to become a bonded citizen. Eventually, his path lead him to Crystarium, where he became an adventurer. Lost his eyesight at some point when something clawed him in the face but navigates using aether.

Narangelel

MU Narangelel: A wanderer/hunter from the Azim Steppe who came to Azeroth to sate her wanderlust and find something that would fill the emptiness she feels. Placid and polite but sometimes a bit apathetic, perhaps. Lancer, though also somewhat effective with knives.

WoL Narangelel: Leaves the Steppe a few years earlier than MU Nara. Still hasn't found what she is looking for, but although her work is hard, she feels oddly at peace with it. Possibly fascinated by dragons after acquiring a dragoon soulstone. Represents Kha tribe rather than Mol during the Naadam (possibly negotiating a temporary alliance between the two tribes beforehand) and turns down Magnai’s proposal, though politely (because he'd definitely make one). Dragoon / Rogue.

First Narangelel / “Naldia”: Adventurer who hunts monsters and sin eaters as her profession. Has traced her origins to the Kingdom of Voeburt but hasn’t yet managed to visit Il Mheg. A bit more world-weary than the other two versions.

Storm

MU Storm: Former magical murder machine / Garlean conscript from Gyr Abania, current book merchant / artisan living in Ul'dah. Nicknamed ‘Stoneface' for a reason. Aether sensitive. Has a fairly strict code of honour. Helps the downtrodden when he can, particularly if they are magically capable. Arcanist with elemental spells and no carbuncles.

WoL Storm: Ends up helping Momodi with something, and somehow that leads to Storm becoming the Warrior of Light. Has a lot of conflicted feelings for a very long time, particularly when the events take him to Gyr Abania; eventually, the Ala Mhigans (some of who might recognize him) forgive him for his past deeds. Possible dad figure for some Scions. Summoner / Gunbreaker; still rarely uses egis or healing spells.

First Storm / “Forgiven Remorse”: An unfortunate Hume who got turned into a sin eater. Might have been a powerful mage and/or a powerful soldier, but he is doomed to get struck down. (A short post about this version can be found here.)

G’ilas

MU G’ilas: A cheerful adventurer/treasure hunter from Abalathia’s Spine who served the Maelstrom as a field medic until Cartenau. Usually an optimist and even something of a joker, but dislikes being pressured and doesn’t take it well if he is unable to save someone. Conjurer, though he does carry a knife.

WoL G’ilas: As the MU one, except that his adventuring path lead him to meet with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. While he remains fairly cheerful and smiles often, the losses and failures he has suffered in the course of his journeys have given his optimism a slightly desperate edge at times: he might not have met any of his closest companions in this timeline, which gives him a shakier foundation. White Mage, and possibly a Samurai.

First G’ilas / “Gae-Satt”: A relaxed Mystel living a life of luxury in Eulmore. Still friendly and happy-go-lucky, but doesn’t seem to be interested in adventuring in the least.

Merces

MU Merces: Allagan bodyguard/soldier clone who slumbered in Azys Lla for millennia before getting freed by a band of adventurers (namely G‘ilas and his friends). Chose G’ilas as his new master, but is slowly learning to live without constantly serving someone. Still sometimes feel like a fish out of (temporal) water. Polite, somewhat curious and very serious-minded. Gladiator, but adequate with more or less all melee weapons.

WoL Merces: Rather than having been forgotten or left in Azys Lla, this version of Merces was placed in the Crystal Tower and awakened after the beginning of the 7th Umbral Era. As he never found a master, he might feel and act even more detached from the world than the MU Merces. Gladiator / Lancer / Samurai.

First Merces: Doesn’t exist. Allagan Empire never existed in Norvrandt, and the person he was based on probably lived and died centuries earlier.

Sasameru

MU Sasameru: A Dunesfolk researcher with a passion for studying magic, though his own aetherial capabilities are almost non-existent. Amiable but a bit absent-minded at times. Runs a bookshop. May or may not do some shady business as an informant and a code cracker as a side-business, encouraged by his family.

WoL Sasameru: Doesn't exist. Would require Sasameru more capable in manipulating aether, and if that was the case, his backstory might have taken quite a different turn.

First Sasameru / "Samugg"?? "Samsard"??: A researcher working at the Cabinet of Curiosity in Crystarium. While I originally intended to keep his race the same, Lalafells/Dwarves are quite rare and reclusive, which made me reconsider... so it's also possible that First Sasameru would in fact be a Galdjent (as their naming scheme would work well with his name).

Lumien

MU Lumien: A soft-hearted, somewhat clumsy and insecure Elezen from Gridania who struggled and failed to become a Wood Wailer, then ran from home and tried to become a Gladiator in Ul'dah, and then became a retainer. Has some aptitude with conjury but doesn't (yet) know how to utilize his potential nor fully believe in it. Writes poems and likes cats. Gladiator / Conjurer, though both only on very basic levels.

WoL Lumien: Didn’t give up on Gladiator training before he encountered Thancred and so remained one. After he gets introduced to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, he doesn’t initially realize (or accept) that he is the Warrior of Light. Learns to control his nerves to a degree, which makes him less clumsy in battle, and that in turn helps him to become a bit more confident; still writes poetry and remains fairly shy. Knows that he can't save everyone but still tries, even though it hurts. Paladin / Conjurer.

First Lumien / "Lyriath": The son of bandits/poachers who has been dragged into the life of crime; hates what he is doing but doesn't think he can escape it. Insecure and downhearted, and has an occasional tendency to make a martyr of himself.

Haldswys

All three versions follow roughly the same theme of "boisterous bruiser", though the WoL version and particularly the First version have probably gained quite bit more scars than the MU version.

Chaz

MU Chaz: Self-proclaimed "wisdom hunter" who left Ishgard after he wasn't allowed to study in the Scholasticate. Loves books and does anything and everything to get them, including stealing. Somewhat bratty and arrogant, but still probably a jerk with a heart of gold. Rogue with some improvised Astrologian skills.

WoL Chaz: At some point, his paths crossed with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and one thing lead to another until he found himself being the saviour of Eorzea. Still sometimes puts an act of a know-it-all, speaks snarkily and/or refuses to do things that he doesn't like, but he is surprisingly dedicated to saving the world. Besides, being a hero has given him a way into some restricted libraries, so he can't really complain, can he? Astrologian / Ninja.

First Chaz / "Sawes": A guard defending Crystarium. While he doesn't exactly love fighting, has become somewhat nonchalant about fighting over the course of years, at least as long as he isn't in mortal danger. Visits the Cabinet of Curiosity on his days off and has probably read a large number of the books there.

Brenda

MU Brenda: A travelling minstrel who carries their father's Red Mage soulstone in the hopes that it will either react to them or that they will find someone worthy of it. A bit awkward but strives to look and act like a hero. Archer.

WoL Brenda: Runs into the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and accompanies them, thinking that one of them might be the worthy holder of the soulstone. In general, they probably spend a good while thinking that they're just accompanying the real heroes to record their story or being the replacement hero until the real one is found; they are convinced only when the soulstone ends up choosing them. Red Mage / Bard.

First Brenda / "Brinaette": A citizen of the Crystarium known to perform at the Wandering Stairs. Probably very knowledgeable or at least interested in the history of Norvrandt. Might also be an adventurer although singing and playing guitar are their biggest passions.

#FFXIVWrite 2020 #Cain #Narangelel #Nara #Storm #G'ilas #Merces #Sasameru #Lumien #Haldswys #Chaz #Brenda #(tagging all characters for possible future reference)#(also using the FFXIVWrite tag so I can find this with the prompt if needed)#hopefully this clarifies at least something #as this turned wayyy longer than I exptected #no pictures because I ran out of energy //orz #I guess I'm not that invested in Haldswys's AU ahaha...

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pikapeppa · 5 years

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WIP first impressions

Thanks to the lovely @obvidalous for the tag! This is a neat little meme! I wasn’t sure what to pick for it, since I’ve been doing a lot of oneshots, buuuuut let’s for with FenHawke because I’m trash.

Tagging forward to @aban-asaara @buttsonthebeach @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul @charlatron @iarollane @sepia-ink @thevikingwoman @galadrieljones @sun-and-shadow-aloy @oops-gingermoment @alyssalenko @athenril-of-kirkwall @aban-asaara anyone else who wants to play!

This is for A Tantrum and A Know-It-All Grin.

1. The first sentence of your WIP: ooh, it’s the same as the first bit of dialogue. I’ll leave that for question #4.

2. The genre: ... smutty literature? HA no really I guess it’s romance. Just good ol’ romance with some angst and smut.

3. The name & age of your main character(s):

Rynne Hawke: canonically 24 at the start of DA2

Fenris: [in his words] “I... don’t know for sure. Perhaps I am twenty-eight. That’s what I was told, but who can trust the veracity of a magister’s words?”

4. The first bit of dialogue in your WIP: The whole chapter is basically dialogue, and it’s quite short. Read below the cut.

“Hellooo! Anyone home aside from the rats? They’ve got white hair too, but I daresay they’re not quite as handsome as their host.”

Fenris emerged from his makeshift bedroom and made his way toward the foyer. “Hello, Hawke,” he said wearily.

The Fereldan mage folded her arms and smirked as he approached. “Good morning sunshine,” she said jauntily. “Ready for another day of adventure?”

“Indeed,” he grunted. He nodded politely to Varric and ignored Merrill as he picked up his mace.

Varric raised an eyebrow as they emerged from his dank mansion and stepped out into the buttery sunshine. “What do you even do in that gigantic house all day?” he asked.

“I dance, of course,” Fenris replied.

All three of his companions turned to stare. Varric grinned. “What, really?”

“Yes,” Fenris deadpanned. “I run from room to room choreographing routines.” He smirked.

Varric guffawed. “You’re actually joking!” He elbowed Hawke. “Alert the Chantry. They need to put this on the calendar.”

“And you thought I was always serious,” Fenris drawled. His gaze drifted up to Hawke.

She was beaming at him. There was no sarcastic lilt in her expression for once, no hint of a joke behind the little curl of her raspberry-red lips. Hawke was simply beaming, her face shining with happiness and her bronze eyes surprisingly… soft.

Fenris swallowed. There was a bubble in his belly, a rising of heat like the starting simmer of a cooking pot. It wasn’t the usual boil of rage, though - it wasn’t that, it was -

“Oh look!” Merrill squealed. “He’s even smiling! Quick, someone draw a picture!”

Fenris immediately wiped the unwitting smile from his face and scowled at the little witch. “I am not smiling,” he snapped.

She wilted in disappointment. “Ah, not anymore. It was too good to be true.” She sighed and pranced away.

Annoyed, Fenris watched her go, then glanced at Hawke again. She was still smiling. “Dancing, hmm?” she purred. “I knew that body was good for something more than swinging swords and ripping hearts out.”

Fenris ignored the warmth at the tips of his ears and shrugged casually as they continued in Merrill’s wake. “You are a wise woman, then. Perhaps I’ll show you a move or two sometime.”

Her smile turned wicked, her bronze eyes flashing with familiar humour. “Ooh, I should be so lucky. I’ll hold you to that.” She gave him a friendly punch in the arm, then jogged off to join Merrill.

Fenris huffed in amusement, then realized that Varric was still walking beside him. And that Varric was quiet.

Unusually quiet.

“Can I help you?” Fenris said flatly.

“No,” Varric said. The dwarf blinked innocently up at him. “Don’t mind me. I’m just watching.”

Fenris grunted. “Sorry to disappoint, but you are not my type.”

“I can see that,” Varric said.

His gaze was sly, and Fenris didn’t bother to respond. Hawke’s little group were such a bunch of busybodies. Sometimes Fenris wondered if having companions was more trouble than it was worth.

A tinkling laugh drifted back from the two women walking ahead, and Fenris watched surreptitiously as Hawke gave Merrill a playful little push, her hips swaying jauntily as she led them to the market.

Trouble indeed, he thought.

#tag meme #fanfic writer's life #tumblr game #ask me anything #fenris #fenris fic #fenhawke #fenris/hawke #fenris x hawke #fenris/femhawke #fenris x femhawke #fenris/f!hawke #fenris x f!hawke

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