#baby mage: i can’t do it on command | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hybrid-the-folf · 6 months

Text

The Broken King

This will be the first part of my book, The Broken King. Characters that will be used in oneshots will be introduced in here. For those interested, enjoy.

TW: Mild Gore

Another cry rang out from the blood soaked battle field as another life was lost to the living and was joined with Valhalla. The soldiers and dragons helped all they could, though it seemed like with each punch that was struck, their enemy only laughed at the painless blow. “These creatures are called the Blight. They came from the void era as a punishment from Odin to the majestic altars and smaller gods. In His mind, he was the only one allowed to create, anything else must be destroyed.”

His father drank some of his whiskey as he continued on. “Me and my mages have tried everything we can think of to destroy them, but nothing seems to help. Their black slime trailing down their corrupted bodies only contaminates the ground. There hasn’t been a single fresh harvest for weeks now.” Sule took a deep breath, he knew as prince of his people that if the need should arise he would be sent out on a quest for help.

As a young kid he had loved the idea of it, to take up grathule, his sword, and brave the world beyond, but looking at his father, his gray hair, the black mark on his arm that seemed to spread by the hour, and the thinning of such strong arms, Sule wanted to stay home, if only to be with his father during his dying moments. “You can’t ask this of me. Not when the kingdom is like this!” Sule begged, tears in his eyes.

“Alright, I won’t ask, but the people will. It is our job as royalty to protect our nation. You can turn me down, but can you turn them down when they start asking?” His father looked out the stone window to a mother clutching her baby, before performing the death rituals that would ensure safe travels to the other side. The king looked back at Sule, serious as steel, but with the undercurrent of worry that almost no one would notice.

“There is a tale of an artifact so strong that the securement of it would promise life to everyone here and godlike powers to the wearer. It is called the Cat’s Gold. It is a large golden hoop that lies in the kingdom of Cathen. The inhabitants are catlike titans, with a step so light only the trained ear can hear them, night sighted eyes, impeccable hearing, smell better then the average human, and claws and fangs so sharp that they can slice through bone like butter. Their intellect when it comes to hunting, tracking, fighting, and magic is almost like they have been blessed by the gods themselves. While the people themselves are dangerous, it is their king that you should be most afraid of. King Tobias is said to have been alive for so long that he has absorbed the power of the very universe. He is precise with his actions and knows exactly how to command his people.”

Sule stared in shock, not only was his father asking him to go on a quest during active warfare with the blight, but he was also asking him to steal from King Tobias. The very same Tobias that legends say is the last of the all powerful altars, whose very word brought the stars into existence. Not only this, but many people had tried to take the Cat’s Gold before, and if Tobias was as deadly as his father was saying, then there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to walk into a death trap. “Your saddle, stead, and bags are already packed and in the stables, all you have to do is grab anything that would be useful against such a being, and set off.” His father leaned in close, grabbed Sules head, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “May the strength of Valhalla be with you my son. Let us hope not to have our next meeting there.”

Sule brought his fathers forehead against his. He briefly considered where they would truly meet again, before brushing the dark thoughts away and enjoying the final moments he had with his father. “You better not be dead when I get back you old sack of bones,” Sule whispered under his breath when the two finally broke apart. “I’m not ready to be a leader, not yet.” With a final look back, Sule set off to the potion making room in order to grab some worsnine. This was a reed (Sule always forgot the name of said reed) that had been enchanted so that its locked magic could come to the surface.

One of the first lessons that any mage would learn was that there was always some kind of innate magic to each plant in existence. One could unlock this magic by using their own to override the barriers that kept the innate magic at bay. Worsnine had the ability to cause someone to fall into a deep sleep rather quickly, granted one gave the other person the proper amount. Considering this fact, Sule decided to grab a bundle of worsnine with the knowledge that cats were particularly sensitive to this kind of plant, it being a part of the family of catnip plants. If the worsnine worked well with normal cats, then surely a humanoid cat as big as a mountain would also be greatly affected by the plant. That is if said cat didn’t crush him first.

With a deep sigh, Sule went off in search of his next item, bravule tipped arrows. This type of venom was deadly with even the slightest touch of it leading to an untimely end. Sule didn’t want to kill Tobias, a great king like that was needed by his people. This was supported by the fact that the cats of Cathen were not known for going out of their way to kill others, rather they preferred to be left alone. Still, going up against an altar meant bringing everything to the table, even items that one hoped not to use.

The final stop was to get some rope, a hook, climbing shoes, a dark cape so that hiding during the night, the time that Sule planned to strike, would be easier, and makeup in case he needed to become camouflaged within the woods. When everything was packed up, Sule mounted his stead, looked back once more at his kingdom, and set off. The first few nights weren’t so bad as he and midnight, his stead, made their way through the woods. He would hunt and eat what he could so that he could keep his provisions up for the time he spent in Cathen. He’d rather be prepared for food that he couldn’t eat then accidentally poison himself. Trouble began to occur on day six with the introduction of nightmares.

This was nothing new, he’d been having nightmares all throughout his life, but he really didn’t need the extra stress that they would bring him. Most of the time the nightmares would involve the dead coming back to life, the blight dripping down from their skulls, or they would consist of combat and misery. The second type of nightmares gave Sule the weirdest of emotions, an almost familiar, friendly feeling accompanied by the feeling of eyes being on him. This was made worse when he paired the fact that the form he took was that of a decaying cat, part of his own skull even being exposed.

This time, he dreamed that he was a mouse hiding in the tall grass. He would sit there, trying to figure out what he was going to do for his pups who were hiding in a nearby burrow. They needed food and they needed it quickly. One had already died within the previous days. As he tried to look for some new source of scraps, he would hear the sound of a bell growing closer and closer to his location. He would sit up, and the bell would stop, but if he idled for too long, the bell would continue to get closer and closer. This cycle would continue until he saw the cat. The cat had long, pitch black fur, and bright, sharp fangs. When he saw the cat, he would run as fast as he could back to the pups. When he reached the pups however, all he would find was a pool of blood.

It would be at that moment that the cat would catch up and sink its teeth into his throat. When Sule woke up, he would be in a panic, usually needing to take an hour just to calm down in order to carry on with his journey. The dreams would only get worse from there though, with maggots being added to the pool of blood, chunks of flesh missing from the cat, and maggots being found within those wounds. The blight would even cover more and more of that damned bell as time went on. The dreams didn't help his current surroundings at all, as the trees and even grass kept growing around him each day. Oftentimes when he woke up, he would promptly need to vomit. His sleep being cut short, he was unprepared for day twenty-five. This day promised rain, and lots of it. Sule tried to do everything he could to protect Midnight and his precious supplies, but only managed to protect his supplies by climbing up one of the trees. He still remembered the whinny of the horse as the floodwaters came down, sweeping the body to who knows where.

It took a full thirty days of travel in the wilderness before Sule was able to reach the kingdom. Though it was not the kingdom proper, it was a start as Sule stared at the farm before him. Giant cows, birds, and what looked like a giant species of rat, even to the Cathar, the name he had begun to call the giant cats. The name had just come to him, feeling right as he thought it. As he looked at the barn, his first reactions were ones of awe, relief, and horror. He realized that the people were not as big as he was expecting, only standing at sixty to seventy feet instead of the hundreds of feet that he had been imagining. This would both hinder and help him in his pursuit. On one hand, they weren’t as terrifying as they had seemed days earlier, but on the other hand, this meant that they would be more likely to notice him. Stealing his nerves, he tried to think of a plan to get into the main city. Staying out here in the countryside would do him no good, but what if he went the wrong direction from here?

What if reaching the city cost him more time then he had wanted to spend?If either of these options were the case, then it would be clear that the blight would take over his kingdom before he ever got the chance to bring them salvation. The idea that came to his mind while he walked did not bring him any comfort in the face of these foreboding thoughts. If he could make it to the barn, then there should be a waggon or a carriage. If he could stay on the wagon or carriage while the farmer delivered his crops to the city, then he would have an easy way to get in. While it was true that this would not bring him to the castle itself, any day saved on travel was a day that Sule was happy to take. The only danger that Sule still had to figure out was the farmer himself, but that would have to wait until Sule saw what he would be transported on.

As he continued to walk, Sule suddenly felt off, his nerves kicking up as he felt something behind him. His body tensed up, prepared to run as quickly as possible before a thought occurred to him. If he could grab ahold of the farmer, then when the farmer went back to the house or, hopefully, the barn, he could go with a lot faster then he could have otherwise. Looking around, he found the farmer, and was confused as to him being barefoot. Surely, the rocks and thorns would hurt the feet, but maybe these cathar had pads under the foot to help protect against injury. In any case, they were coming closer to him, and with a leap to the side and a grab of the pants, he had boarded.

Luck must have been on his side as the farmer headed back to the barn, more than likely to grab supplies for the harvest of crops that Sule could clearly see starting to grow. Most of the food was unknown to him, but a few sparked interest in him. He had assumed that the growth of the plants that he passed by was normal, especially since he knew that some trees grew to be thousands of feet tall, but with plants he knew being a definitively smaller size than him, something magical had to be happening. Not many people from his kingdom went far away from said kingdom so not much was known about the neighboring lands, but something clearly wasn’t right here.

The ride from the field to the barn was uneventful, if you didn’t count the times where Sule had almost choked on dust clouds or the time when he had been banged against a rock. Sule was almost caught then as the farmer took time to examine his ankle, but climbing up a little more on the pant leg kept him just out of sight. Sule didn’t know how good a cat's sense of smell was, he had heard things ranging from just as good as a dogs to worse than a humans, but if a Cathar couldn’t smell him while he was just underneath their nose, then clearly this heist was going to be easier than he thought. Sule was careful not to underestimate Tobias just yet, too many tales of wannabe adventurers had been circulated about him and the tales they told about what happened to the people were horrifying. Most said that if caught then the thief would simply be crushed, while others said that they would be eaten alive, human flesh tasting similar to rats, or fed to the war beasts. Sule shook his head as he dropped down into the barn.

He’d been panicking enough as is, and with the final stretch of his journey ahead of him, he needed to keep going no matter what. He hid out in the barn for a few days, the farmer harvesting crops all the while. During this time, he found the waggon and decided that the best way to travel was on one of the supporting beams. If he was found within the vegetation then he risked being crushed when they were removed, and the wheels just weren’t a good ride either. While it was true that he could have ridden on the side of the wagon, he doubted he’d be quick enough to hide if needed. It took a few hours to get to the kingdom proper with Sule trying to memorize every landmark along the way. He needed to keep a mental map ready for the next chance he’d have to rest. As it was now, the road was too bumpy for him to do anything other than hold on.

Eventually, they reached a wall with a gate formed into it. Sule looked at it in wonder, it made for a great landmark and an excellent way to protect the city, but it also made Sule wonder just how many more gates he’d have to go to until he reached the center. Thinking it over, if there were more walls that Sule would have to deal with, then it made sense to stay as close as he could to this one until dark, climb it, and hopefully figure out where the castle was from there. Surely, the castle had to be in the center, and if it wasn’t, then he wasn’t sure what he would do. Sule took a moment, trying to find some place to camp for the night as well as watch how the Cathar interacted with each other and lived. Having as much information as he could was beneficial if he was going to take the Cat’s Gold.

He chose a house close to the outskirts of town, as that allowed him to have easy access to the wall and a good rest for his tired muscles. Luckily for him, there was also a small hole leading into the house for him. There was only one problem for that particular entrance, the owners of the house were already trying to patch up said hole. Even if the people weren't there right now, the hole would still be patched up by day's end.

Sule decided that he wasn’t quite comfortable with that, and thus went around the house in order to find a door. If there was a crack under the door, then he would be able to squeeze himself under it without fear of being trapped. Luck was on his side as this was exactly the case. He took off his bag, pushed it under, and then went under himself.

He had to catch himself from gasping loudly at the interior. It looked almost exactly like one of the houses within his own kingdom. The only differences were the ledges and the kitchen. There were many different ledges that looked like they were used for sleeping, and the kitchen was at least double the size of one that he would have been used to. He had seen some of these ledges inside the barn, but had thought that they were there only to allow for extra storage space.

At this point, he assumed that the ledges were almost like a game to the Cathar, where they would choose to sleep in unusual spots for the fun of it. The size of the kitchen clearly meant that cooking was one of the many passions for the Cathar. One thing that he wasn’t quite sure of were the many weapons that lined the walls. If one of the poorer subjects had this many weapons, then what would it look like when he got to the nobility? Just how much security would be within the palace walls? Sule decided that he had learned all he could from his spot on the ground looking around for a good place to camp.

He decided to try the pantry, as he was sure that there would be enough smells to hide his, especially with his past experience with the farmer. He ran up to it, pleased that it opened with relative ease. Going through the pantry with a complex spell that he had learned from the mages in preparation for the journey, he was happy to find that he could eat most of the food there. Curious as to what the taste was, Sule carefully went into the bread bag and stole a few “crumbs” for dinner.

Going to the back of the cabinet, he was excited to find that the back was only covered with a thin sheet of wood. Sule took out his trusty sword, and cut his way into the back. ‘Here,’ he thought, ‘will be a great spot to camp’. Hours passed as he listened to the sounds of the house. He learned that a family of Cather lived in the house, with two parents and a son. The banter between the three of them was nice to listen to, but also reminded him of his own family, of his mother. He had never known her. In fact, most if not all of his childhood memories were unable to be recalled. His father said that he had been hit on the head during a rockslide as a kid, but sometimes Sule wondered differently. All he knew was that while the other people around him enjoyed the company of their parents, and memories of their childhood, Sule was left on the sidelines, alone. He hated being alone, but, as he had done so many times before, he shook his head and focused on the here and now.

After all, it was because of his train of thought that he barely registered the words, “Does this pantry smell strange to you?” Every muscle in Sule’s body tensed up. He had thought he had done well to hide his scent from these cats but clearly he had thought wrong.

“It doesn’t smell too bad to me,” said a male voice, “wait, I’ve got the scent now. It’s just some of the materials I have outside in order to help repair the hole.” Sule breathed out. That had been close. He didn’t want to be this close to being caught again just because he had misjudged the cathar. On the next breath the answer for what to do came to him, catnip. He just hoped that his guess that many cathar had catnip was correct. After a bit more waiting, Sule decided to tuck into his “crumbs.” They were the most delicious thing that he ever had. Even better than the lambas that his family was known for making.

It took all of his willpower not to go back out into the pantry and steal even more bread, that was a task that he would do when he left to scale the wall. Finally, every cathar was asleep, and Sule left his hiding place, trying in vain to not fill up his bag with only bread. The catnip was just on the shelf above where his hiding place was, but with a simple toss and tug of his hook, Sule was up within only a few minutes. “Now, for the fun part,” he thought as he slid down the rope to the bottom of the pantry and opened the door. No one stirred as the door opened and shut. Sule quickly ran to the door outside noting with amusement that he was right, the cathar did sleep on the weird ledges for what seemed like fun.

A quick run to the wall and a quick observation led to the wall being fairly easy to climb, to Sules delight. He only had to rest a few times during his climb up, taking time to appreciate the view each time he had to. While the cathar were terrifying, it was clear that whoever was leading them was doing a great job at it. This fact couldn’t have made itself more evident as he finally reached the top, overlooking most of the kingdom. Even the poor seemed to be living in luxury, and the higher you got in the social structure, the better it got as well. While his father had always strived for the kingdom to be like the one he was looking at now, his father had always failed. Whether that was from not knowing how, to not having the resources, Sule never knew, but it was clear that his father had, was, trying to do all he could for the kingdom, and when Sule thought about it, that was all that could be done.

Sule took a moment to appreciate the kingdom laid before him, noting the location of the castle, and while yes the kingdom would never be his, it was still a beautiful work of art. The quickest route to the castle would be to go straight through the city, a ten to twenty day travel on foot. Sule took one last moment to admire the kingdom before climbing down the wall and starting up the last stretch of his journey. He figured that the best time to travel would be at night as there would be next to no one there, and he could camp out in houses during the day. After about fifteen days he was finally at the castle. He had dealt with a few problems on his way over to it however. One of these issues was the pets. Giant cats with wings were kept as pets and were usually very eager to hunt him down.

There was only one who wasn’t and he was a fat old tom who didn’t really care about Sule too much, so long as Sule wasn’t too close to his food. The other cats weren’t too bad either, so long as he had enough catnip, which would then require him to find more catnip. Another problem was the fact that the closer he got to the castle, the more he realized that these were the houses of the higher command. Since these people were higher up in the military they therefore had harder senses to get around. At one point he was almost caught because he had been making too much noise while climbing up onto a nightstand for more catnip, but after waiting it out, he was free to go. The final problem was that he had to sleep in the streets at times because he simply couldn't find a good house to rest in.

This wasn’t too bad of an issue on its own, but over time it had sapped Sule of some of his strength. All that was behind him though as he cleared his head, heart racing, and started at the castle. He had watched as guards went in and out of it all night and day afterward, there wasn’t much else he could do with the adrenaline pumping in his veins. ‘Now!’ he thought as another guard went into the castle, racing after him but careful not to get too close. He wasn’t about to be crushed, not when he was this close to the Cats Gold. As soon as he entered the castle, he looked for the bedroom that would hold Tobias as well as the treasure room. His gut told him that something that powerful couldn’t be left too far out of Tobias’ sight, but he also wanted to keep all his bases covered, just in case.

This wasn’t too hard as the guards seemed to be more cautious of larger intruders, though there were still a few guard cats on the loose. Sule eventually found the treasure room, and looked through everything as the night went on. Nothing matching the description was there. Cursing to himself, he looked for the bedroom, but didn’t find it in time as the sun was slowly lifting into the sky. Sule climbed his way to the window, unlatched it, and hid out with the gargoyles for the rest of the day. He did take a few looks into the castle as the day went on, just to make sure that he didn’t overlook anything as he kept an eye out for clues as to the whereabouts of the Gold.

It was in the last place he expected it to be. Directly on Tobias’ left ear was a solid hoop of Gold. It fit the exact description that his father had given to him. If Sule was to get it, he would have to lift it off of Tobias’ very ear without being heard somehow. He didn’t even know if the reed he’d brought with him would make Tobias’ fall asleep that deeply. If that wasn’t enough, there was also a nicely shaded blue cat with him. His wife. His Queen. Yet another obstacle that would prevent him from getting the Gold, as if the fact that the damned thing was a fucking earing wasn’t enough.

It was as if Odin himself was laughing at Sule. As night came, Sule’s panic started back up again. He had to get the earring, he had to or else his entire kingdom was dead. Shaking, but determined, Sule went back into the castle. He followed guards until, at last, he found the bedroom he had been trying to look for what seemed like a lifetime. Now the only thing left was to strike while the guards were away. He raced towards the bed, staying in the corner next to Tobias’ head, a hard thing to point out with such deep black fur. Luck be with him, the earring was at an angle that Sule could take if he just got close enough.

When the next guard left the room, he struck. He took the reed out of his bag, and held it in his teeth while he climbed. He was going to be forced to use one half on Tobias and the other half on the queen that Sule had nicknamed Blue. Hopefully, that would be enough. He was quick, but bristled as Tobias’ rolled over yet again, this time with the earring being right in the air while the other ear was shoved into the pillow. Pressing forward, Sule raced to the point in between the pillows, throwing the reed over both Blue and Tobias. It had seemed like Sule’s luck had run out when Tobias opened his eyes and fixed both eyes on him. They stared at each other for only a split second before Tobias’ eyes fell shut. The reed had clearly worked better than expected.

Sule stared at Tobias for a few more minutes, before jumping into action, wiping the tears off his face, and climbing up to the ear. The moment he touched the earring he had a severe reaction. Memories of torture, death, and misery flashed through his mind so fast he couldn’t catch his breath. Looking down at his hands, he breathed deeply. Shaking his head, he carefully took off the earring. Memories or not, he had a job to do and a people to come back to. It took a few attempts and a fuckton of concentration, but he used the earring to teleport back home. He knew the cathar would be after him soon, it was only a matter of time at this point, but he was left in despair at the state of his home. The blight had destroyed everything. It was as if a comet had struck the earth and had left everything black. He quickly teleported into his castle, desperate to find his dad. He found what was left of him on the frontlines, a sword sticking out of his corpse.

Sule stared at him for hours, processing the fact that he had come too late. Hoping against hope, he used the Cat’s Gold to animate the dead, wishing that everything would be alright. While the corpse did rise, it wasn’t alive. More of a mangle pile of parts then anything else. He screamed, using the earring again to lay the body to rest. Heaving heavy breaths, he took a look at the earring, then at his kingdom, then at the earring again. He’d have to return it.

Better for a king that has an actual kingdom to have it then one that just has ashes. Even if he was to go after the blight, he wouldn’t know how to. A giant thumping sounded in the distance. Sule didn’t move. If Tobias wanted to kill him, and he was more than sure he did, then why run. At least this way he could return the earring to him. A thump sounded from just off to his side. Sule didn’t react. “I’ll give you just this one chance to return the-”

“Take it. I have no need for it. My people are all gone now, you still have yours. Lead them well. And please, just make it quick.” A pause sounded above him.

“I’m going to give you a choice, you can either come back to Catheen with me or I can leave you here.”

“Why the mercy?”

“All you wanted the earring for was your people, right? Now that you can’t do anything, you're giving it up. You should have just come to me in the first place, but I’m willing to let you live for now.” Unease grew as Sule continued to stay close to Tobias. Those memories he saw from just holding that earing, he wanted to know more.

“Fine, I’ll come with. There’s nothing left for me here anyway.” He wasn’t about to let any information slip about what had happened, but gaining some understanding would definitely be nice.

“Alright, let's go.”

#g/t #g/t scenario #g/t community #the broken king

3 notes · View notes

anderstrevelyan · 1 year

Text

Hi. It's Wednesday, so here's a WIP! (Thanks for the tag @mxkelsifer!)

(Does anyone want to be tagged in these when I post them? I'd love to be tagged in yours.)

I've shared chunks of this in different places, but not yet on tumblr and not woven together, so here's the tentative first part of Ch. 11 of Force of Nature. Anders is newly a Warden and really not used to this people being kind to him thing.

Am I going overboard with this newfound freedom of no space limit? Absolutely, here's 900 words or so:

When Anders first puts on the uniform, carefully pulling all the buckles into place and staring stock-still for a moment at the mirror, he isn’t quite sure what to think.

It had fit well enough at first, better than most of the robes the Circle had passed to him over the years—those always took the careful cinching of a belt and a determination not to wonder what had happened, to the mage who’d owned it before. But that hadn’t been good enough, apparently, for the woman charged with outfitting the new lot of them. She’d taken in the shoulders, found a pair of trousers long enough at the ankle, polished all the silver bits, insisted on taking his earring to do the same.

And now, after brushing out his hair and tying it back, after sliding the piece of gold back into his ear—well, now he looks like a Warden.

They treat him like one, too, as he winds through the keep at the break of this day, the first they’re set to travel into the city. Quick nods of acknowledgement, of respect, from whoever he passes, whether they’re hanging up fresh tapestries and polishing the decorative suits of armour, or heading outside with a serious face and a sword for training drills. Cheerful greetings that he tries to return in kind, reaching to remember such a long list of new names, still not used to the sound his boots make as they click against the oak floors.

He almost wants to just sit and watch, let the rhythms of the place wash over him as he memorizes their patterns and sounds and shape, but he has a mission this morning. One he’d assured Amell he wouldn’t forget.

It takes Anders a good fifteen minutes to find her, weaving through the halls and poking his head through doors, but the woman before him—grey hair primly pleated, eyes flanked with creases clearly deepened by holding this very same frown for far too long—this has to be her.

“Mistress Woolsey?” He takes a step into the small office, dimly lit with the curtains still half-drawn, and ventures a smile. “The commander sent me. For the treasures. From the treasury?”

“You mean the coin.” Her voice isn’t any friendlier. Matter-of-fact. All business. No fun at all, really. She unlocks and opens a drawer—Andraste’s flaming knickers, that’s more money than he’s seen in his entire life—and starts slowly counting some out. She’d been expecting him then, as Amell had promised. By the time she’s passed ten gold sovereigns, he can’t believe he’s being trusted with this at all.

“Soooo.” He flips idly through the ledger on the desk, then stops when she shoots him a look. Pushes a few spare coppers around through the dust instead. “What are the Anderfels like?”

“I was sent by Weisshaupt, I didn’t come from Weisshaupt. But aren’t you…you mean, you’ve never been?”

Oh. She knows who he is. Specifically, beyond the uniform. Well, he supposes it’s not too hard to keep four Wardens straight. “What makes you think I’m from the Anderfels?”

“Your features. Your colouring. The way you’ve named yourself for their people. I can’t imagine that’s a given name.”

“How would you know? Maybe my parents said the exact same thing about my tiny baby features.”

“…Right.” She doesn’t look up, watching herself work as she starts dropping the sovereigns one-by-one into a pouch, each with a satisfying clink.

She doesn’t ask.

“I was born in Ferelden,” he offers anyway.

Though he’s definitely not going further down that particular thread.

“And no, I’ve never been,” he adds. “The Circle of Magi doesn’t really approve vacation requests, I’m afraid. What about the Wardens? Do you think I could get permission to go lie around somewhere? I’m not sure the Anderfels would be my first choice, though, Maker. A little far. Maybe somewhere nice and temperate—”

“Alright, alright.” She seals the pouch, then adds a note to the ledger in perfect penmanship. “Take this. Tell Commander Amell there won’t be much more where this came from, if he’s going to keep dragging his heels on clearing that trade route.”

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he says with a wink.

He swings through the kitchen then, the pouch of sovereigns clinking merrily in his pocket, on his way to the courtyard. They hand him a bowl of oats as he passes, warm and wonderful, mixed with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon, and he holds it close to his nose as he walks, trying to savour the sweetness and the anticipation. It’s the same as yesterday’s, much like many of the Vigil’s meals—probably the fault of that blocked trade route, if he were to ask Mistress Woolsey—but it has flavour, and they use garnish, and such beautifully fresh ingredients—

He devours at least half by the time he gets outside. He can’t help himself.

Nathaniel’s already in the yard, bag neatly packed at his feet, a full quiver of arrows leaning against the wall. He’s finished with his own breakfast, clearly impeccably and annoyingly early to their morning meeting point, but then Anders notices the other small bowl on the ledge beside him. Berries.

Nathaniel acknowledges him with a lift to his brows, then nudges the bowl his way. “They were almost out earlier,” he says. “I thought you might want some.”

“Oh, Maker, do I.” He dumps the fruit into his bowl, mixing them in with what’s left of his meal, entirely unsure how to respond to such a gesture. So he doesn’t.

#wip wednesday #my writing #dragon age fanfiction #anders #nathaniel howe #mistress woolsey #dragon age awakening #dragon age

25 notes · View notes

halsinsbiggernaturals · 3 years

Text

Oops - SHOH fanfic

So, I am completely obsessed with @shepherds-of-haven and I read an ask a while ago about how in Lena's original story, Halek was the one who told Blade that his SO was pregnant. And I asked Lena what Trouble's reaction would be, and ended up deciding to write a short little drabble based around it! Except I added Mimir to be a little obvious, since I was afraid Trouble might not have gotten the implication otherwise...

Staring my OC Aerys--a battle mage who loves her idiot cowboy sniper--and set several years after the events of SHOH

It's a warm, lazy summer day, the heat sitting heavily in the air. Most Shepherds who don't have to be working have retired to enjoy some leisure time, and Trouble is no exception. He's elected to take a few minutes to himself under a tree in the yard--or more accurately, to himself and Halek, as he lounges next to the dozing man, charch in hand.

It's peaceful like this, smoke from the charch winding its way into the air, as lazy as the drowsing Hunter next to him. They often spend time together--if you can call it that--like this, neither speaking to the other. It works well for them, and is why Trouble is surprised that Halek is the one who breaks the languid silence.

"Do you know if it's a boy or girl, yet?"

Trouble looks over, confusion etched on his face.

"What?"

"The baby. Do you know if it's a boy or girl, yet?"

"What baby?"

Halek opens one eye, turns to inspect Trouble's baffled expression, then quickly shuts it again.

"Never mind."

"Halek, what b--"

"It's a boy."

This proclamation was brought by the last person Trouble would have expected to wander over to their chat--Mimir, the odd Diviner that Trouble could rarely understand. Still, Aerys seemed to get along well enough with her, which meant that Trouble tried his best, as well.

Tried being the operative word, at the moment.

"What boy? What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing." Halek replies quickly.

"Your boy." Mirmir replies, almost as quickly, earning a wrathful look from Halek, which she ignores with the same serenity that she made the proclamation. "Do you not know about that yet?"

At the look on the Norm sniper's face, she smiles.

"Oh, you didn't."

Aerys, oblivious (for now) to any chaos happening outside of the lounge, is busy attempting to beat Chase at an arm wrestling match. It's a difficult task, not just because of the innate strength of the thief, but because Chase is always keen to employ underhanded tricks to ensure a win.

Next to them sits Blade, watching the two calmly, and waiting to challenge whoever wins. The Commander of the Shepherds observing the fight doesn't reduce any risk of dirty fighting, though--Blade would simply tell her that she should have caught it and mitigated the trick.

So Aerys is focused on the match, enough so that she doesn't even look up when Trouble barges into the lounge, breathing as heavily as if he'd run a marathon before showing up.

He's quick to catch her attention, however.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?"

Now, Aerys generally believes herself to be an intelligent woman.

The look that she gives Trouble (slack jawed and eyes wide) is anything but.

"I'm wha--Ow!" Chase, much quicker to gather himself than Aerys, is quick to take advantage of her break in concentration, cheerfully slamming her fist into the table. The battlemage opens her mouth to protest, but by this time, Trouble has crossed the lounge and grabbed Aerys by the shoulders.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why in Hael did you tell Halek first?"

"I'm--I'm what--?" The pink-haired mage rises to her feet, desperately trying to piece together the ridiculous situation that has fallen at her feet. "Wait. Halek told you that I was pregnant?"

"Yeah! So--Why did you tell him first?"

"I--I haven't told Halek kak! Especially about--what do you mean, I'm pregnant?"

Trouble may not ever be accused of being a particularly bright man, but if he knew anything, he knew his wife. And after staring at her face, as bewildered as his own, it suddenly dawns on him.

"You didn't know?"

"It is said," Blade informs them, face stolid as he shoos the two of them a few feet away, that he may sit where she'd been, holding out his hand to Chase. "Hunters can tell these kinds of things. They can hear the heartbeats of those around them." He pauses meaningfully for a moment. "Even the smallest of hearts."

"Supposedly, they can also tell if you're lying or not." Chase supplies, a smug look on his face. "Terrifying, huh? Good thing Halek's too lazy for that." He hums for a moment. "Usually."

"Wait, so--" Aerys' hand goes to her forehead, desperately trying to keep up with the conversation. "--So Halek can hear if someone is pregnant, and he told you that I was..." Something clicks in her head, and Trouble flinches from the look in his wife’s eye. "And you thought I already knew? That I was hiding it from you? You think I'm gonna go around telling everyone else first?"

"Ow! Stop smacking me! I didn't--I thought you'd have known--"

"You think women just know these things!?"

"How was I supposed to know!?"

"And then you just busted in here and told me like this! I'm gonna kill you--"

"You can't kill me! Who'll be the baby's father?"

Aerys stops swatting at Trouble at this, and takes some time to contemplate the question, before pronouncing: "Blade."

"It would be my honor," Blade solemnly replies, face as serious as the grave, even as he pushes Chase's hand into the table.

"What? Hael no! No son of mine is gonna be named Dagger, or--Polearm, or something dumb--"

"--Dagger was the name of my--"

"--Your son!?--"

"--Cousin, actually--"

"--Oh yeah, Mimir said--"

"--MIMIR TOLD YOU THE GENDER--!?"

"Hey," Chase's voice rings out over the arguing couple (and Blade), silencing them as they turn to look at him. "Congratulations on the baby, you two." His face beams, even as he rubs his wrist, where Blade had just handily beat him. "I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you--" Aerys' reply is automatic, until her brain catches up with her ingrained manners, and she pauses, the entire conversation/argument finally catching up with her. If the look on Trouble's face was any indication, he was going through a similar revelation.

Chase and Blade calmly watch the couple as they start crying, hugging, and proclaiming their adoration for each other, a content smile on both the mens faces, before they turn to one another.

"That's sweet. Anyway, best out of three?"

"You're on."

#shepherds of haven #aerys wildegarde #ema writes a thing

74 notes · View notes

musetta3 · 2 years

Text

Writing Prompts, Pairings, and AUs

I’m excited to announce I am part of the Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle! Send me a writing prompt (@dadrunkwriting or general) and I’ll do my best to fill it. Check out the list below for character pairings, prompts, and AUs on offer. <3

Update 12 February 2022: I have included a list of completed prompts, and prompts that have been sent to me already, so you can know which ones have or will be filled

Note: Please refrain from sending ‘for anyone’ prompts, if you can. The more specific, the better I can fill the prompt!

Another note: no smut prompts at the moment, but that might change later on. I’ll make an announcement, when that happens. <3

Behold, OCs on offer (I don’t mind writing generic Hawkes or Inquisitors or Wardens, either. But I do like writing my OCs because they’re my babies <3). Click on their names to learn more about them on my Tumblr blog.

Valena Cousland, my warrior Warden who wants to be queen

Solona Hawke, my mage Hawke who just wants a book. and her dog.

Revka Cadash, my non-protagonist, middle-aged dwarven OC who’s the Carta’s leader in Kirkwall. And a ball of chaos. With arrows.

Aranehn Lavellan, my super-reluctant Inquisitor that gets lost in the Hinterlands often and prefers her herb garden over Orlesians. (I don’t blame her <3)

Rana El-Khoury, my modern girl in Thedas. She’s a Lebanese opera singer who hit her head and woke up in Kirkwall. While she can’t fight, she can sing, and quickly establishes herself as a bard in Kirkwall. Likes bringing modern inventions to Kirkwall. Actively searches for a way back home. Love chocolate.

Keep reading under the cut for Pairings, Prompts, AUs and Completed Prompts!

Generic Pairings on Offer/no world-state attached

Romantic (my favorites are bolded)

Fenris x Hawke

Sebastian x Hawke (bonus: Fenris x Sebastian x Hawke love triangle)

Varric Tethras x Hawke, Cassandra, or Inquisitor

Varric x Revka Cadash

Josephine x Inquisitor, especially a Trevelyan (the politics! the drama! the dinner parties with the in-laws! how fun!)

Hawke x Merrill

Morrigan x Alistair

Alistair x Warden

Aveline x Donnic

Hawke x Anders

Cullen x Inquisitor

Solavellan

Platonic/Friendship

pretty much any of the DA2 crew being buddies

Hawke & any of the DA2 crew

Varric & Hawke

Fenris & Sebastian Vael & Donnic

Dorian Pavus & Inquisitor

Varric & Inquisitor

Revka & Inquisitor

Revka & her cousin Edric ‘Dasher’ Cadash (a friend’s Inquisitor, the head of the Fereldan Carta)

Revka & any of her numerous family members

Josephine & Inquisitor

Warden & pretty much anyone from the Origins crew

Warden & Anders

Warden, Hawke, or Inquisitor & a pet of your choice

Revka & a pet of your choice (including her messenger crow, her dracolisk, her pet nug, and/or her terrier)

Songstress and the Swordsman Universe:

Set during my fic, The Songstress and the Swordsman. Songstress takes place during Act 3 of Dragon Age 2, but extends out into pre-Inquisition territory. Sebastian Vael moves to retake his throne, with Fenris as his commander. Much court intrigue, political scheming, assassinations, political marriages, and council meetings ensue.

Romantic

Fenris x Rana El-Khoury

Marian Hawke x Anders

Sebastian Vael x Cecily Seymour (my OC, the Teyrn of Ostwick’s daughter; starts as a political marriage that becomes a love match)

(past) Merrill x Tamlen (this would technically be set in Origins, before the Dalish Warden origin)

Platonic/Friendships

Rana El-Khoury & Varania

Fenris & Sebastian Vael

Fenris & Varania

Fenris & Varric

Fenris & Merrill

Hawke & Isabela

Rana El-Khoury & Merrill

Fenris & Varania’s son, Leto

Girls night with Rana, Cecily, Merrill, and Varania (or any combo of them)

Boys night with Fenris, Donnic, Sebastian, and Varric (or any combo of them)

AU fun!

Modern AU

Band AU (want to read about Fenris playing bass guitar? me, too <3)

Historical AUs like 18th century, Regency, Ancient Greece or Rome

Pretty much anything with Tevinter, Seheron, or Antiva also makes me happy, so if you ever think of a prompt with that setting, that’s cool.

Prompt Lists

Please copy + paste the entire prompt in the ask, so I know exactly what write for you. :) And feel free to elaborate/specify/expand!

Blue’s Epic Scarlet Pimpernel Prompts

Miscellaneous Dialogue Prompts

Nonsexual Acts of Intimacy

Dragon Age Specific Dialogue Prompts

Trope Bingo

Hand Holding

50 Kisses

Prompts with Children

Sensory Prompts

Short and Angsty Prompts

Florence + the Machine Prompts

Winter Holiday Themed Prompts

Completed Prompts:

Scarlet Pimpernel: Hiding from the enemy in a hollowed-out tree (Cullen/ my Inquisitor, Aranehn Lavellan); Coming Soon: Disguised as the enemy agents to escape through the front gates (Hawke/Anders); ‘Lud, madam!’ (Revka Cadash); Coming Soon: "Please, you move too fast." "My heart dictates the pace" (Inquisitor x Josephine Montilyet)

Sensory Prompts: Aloe being slathered on a sunburn (Anders & My Warden, Valena); Fireworks close enough to feel in your chest (Revka Cadash); a shimmer of water droplets in the sun (Fenris / Hawke)

50 Kisses: Coming Soon: "Forehead or cheek kisses" (Hawke x Varric)

Non-Sexual Acts of Intimacy: Holding hands across the table (Sebastian Vael / F!Hawke); Coming Soon: one falling asleep with their head in the other’s lap (Sebastian Vael / F!Hawke); One falling asleep with their head in the other’s lap (Fenris / my oc, Rana); Sharing a dessert (Fenris/Rana El-Khoury, my OC); Coming Soon: Finding the other wearing their clothes (Varric / my oc, Revka Cadash); Coming Soon: Modern Band AU version, adjusting the other’s necklace/accessory (Fenris x Hawke)

Hand Holding: Coming Soon: cold hands in warm hands (pairing TBD); Coming Soon: not really paying attention, both doing something else, but still holding hands (Varric x my OC, Revka Cadash)

Florence + the Machine: I’m not calling you a liar, just don’t lie to me (Cullen / my Inquisitor, Aranehn Lavellan); Coming Soon: ‘It’s a fine romance but it’s left me so undone’ (Fenris / Hawke)

Misc. Dialogue: “You’re supposed to talk me out of this.” (Hawke/Anders); Coming Soon: ‘I will if you will’ (Fenris & Isabela); Coming Soon: ‘You’re supposed to talk me out of this’ (Hawke & Isabela); Coming Soon: “No one has a heart of stone.” (Varric x Cassandra)

DA Dialogue Prompts: ‘I think I’m going mad’ (Anders & my warden, Valena); Coming Soon: "This is why the Maker left.” (Varric x Hawke)

Short & Angsty: ‘You don’t mean that’ (Fenris / my oc Rana El-Khoury); Coming Soon: ‘because I care about you, okay?’ (Varric x my OC, Revka Cadash);

Modern AU: Coming Soon: Varric / Cassandra

Modern Band AU: ‘and there was only one (tour bus) bed’ with Fenris, adjusting the other’s necklace/accessory (Fenris x Hawke)

I can’t find the prompt list for it: Coming Soon: ‘Right now, the only duty I care about is to you’ (platonic Aveline & my OC, Solona Hawke);

#writing prompt #prompts #inbox open #dragon age #dragon age fanfiction #dadwc #da drunk writing circle #send me a prompt #if you'd like #<3

15 notes · View notes

aria-i-adagio · 3 years

Text

Fourth Try’s Not the Charm

for @autumnofanders Day 3: Kinloch

Wordcount: ~2100 Rating: T

CW: templar abuse, imprisonment, hurt/comfort

Anders didn’t plan his fourth escape from Kinloch Hold. It was a crime of opportunity. About two months after his Harrowing, some of the senior enchanters talked the Greagoir into letting them take the recently harrowed mages outside to teach them some spells that could be used with water - in the water. Supposedly, they could be trusted now. Allowed a bit more leeway.

He wasn't planning on doing anything except enjoying the sun, but once he's mastered a spell that creates an artificial current - intended to propel a boat - well, it only made sense to see if the same spell would work for a human body.

Yes.

And by the grace of Andraste or some other power, no one notices when he takes as deep of a breath as he can manage, ducks under the water, and reemerges a good fifty yards closer to shore.

Anders hides out on an overgrown bank for the rest of the day, then steals some clothes from a line and a handful or two of carrots from the ground in the little village beside the docks, and then he's gone.

It takes them one month and five days to find him in Amaranthine.

Anders is already pretty beat up when they get him back to the Tower. Greagoir is infuriated - angrier than Anders has ever seen him - and orders a public whipping to get his point across. Thirty lashes. Anders tells himself that he’ll live through that... he thinks. After about ten or so, his mind just sort of drops out, floats away, to nowhere in particular. Just somewhere very, very far away. He’s not really conscious again until someone tosses a bucket of salted water across his back, then two knights are hauling him down the steps and dumping him face-first onto a thin mattress.

The next time he’s aware of anything there’s a woman arguing with the guards outside the door.

“Sorry, ma'am, but the Knight-Commander wants him to be an example.”

“He won't make a very good example if he's dead, will he?” A very stern, determined woman. Wynne. Just what he needs. A warm, maternal tongue lashing. “Let me through. I won't do anything other than drive out infection.”

“Let her pass. Drop the dampening wards for her as well.”

The door creaks open. Anders can’t tell if the light in the cell increases. His face is too well hidden in his arms. Wynne touches his bicep and shakes him until he groans and turns his head to the side. “Hi, Mom.”

“You are the damnedest fool I’ve ever met.” Wynne tweaks his ear. “Don't you realize how much trouble you create for the rest of us? How worried some of us were about you?”

“I'm not the problem. If they didn’t -”

She sighs. “I’ve heard all of this from you before. You’re old enough to know better.”

Heat radiates from her hands as they hover over Anders’ back. It’s not a full healing spell, but it will keep the open welts from getting infected. And possibly calm the fever that Anders can tell is running dangerously high. Might get an interesting dream or two out of it to pass the time.

“That’s all I’m allowed to do.” Wynne gathers his hair at the base of his neck and brushes the back of her hand over his temple and cheek. “They're leaving you down here for two months and ten days, Anders.”

“Ah, I'll get caught up on my sleep.”

“Don’t jest. I suggest using the time to pray for some wisdom.” She pats his cheek and stands up. “You're smarter than this. You have a lot to offer if you would just learn to accept reality.”

***

Light. Even the limited light of Kinloch Hold’s entry hall is more than Anders can hand;e after two months and change in the dark. An unsympathetic Templar shoves him toward the door that leads into the library. They’re done taking him apart. If any of the other mages want to bother putting him back together, he’s their problem now.

Karl grabs him almost as soon he staggers into the library and shakes him by the shoulders. “You moron.” Then he leans close and kisses him. “You fucking idiot.”

Anders winces at the contact. A kick in the side is about as much human interaction as he’s experienced in the past... however long. In the dark, time collapses and expands in unpredictable ways.

Dark. His vision goes dark around the edges, and his knees give up.

Karl catches him and pulls Anders’ arm across his shoulder, holding him up. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Anders hadn’t had the time to fully explore the quarters where the mages who had survived the Harrowing but who weren’t yet enchanters slept. The baths off to the side are about the same as the ones in the apprentices’ dorm though. Cast iron tubs with chips in the enamel and a few folding screens to approximate privacy. Hand pumps for water. A drain in the floor for the same.

They’re on the second tub of water, and Anders is beginning to worry about just what Karl used as a bribe to get this much water and time. “I’m going to have to cut these out.” Karl has been trying for what seems like hours now to work loose the mats in Anders’ hair. Or maybe they’ve only been here a few minutes; Anders isn’t sure.

“Go ahead,” he mumbles.

“Maker, baby...” Karl pushes lightly on the back of his head. Anders lets his chin fall forward onto his chest. The sound of metal scraping together grates against his ears as Karl begins snipping clumps out of his hair. Karl is careful, working slowly and pushing his fingers along Anders’ scalp to keep from cutting the skin by mistake. It’ll grow back. Just like skin does.

He rests his elbows on the edge of the tub and lets his fingers dangle in the water. It’s warm, he knows, but he can’t really feel it, any more than he could really feel the rough fabric of a washcloth scrubbing across his skin.

“What are you humming?” Karl is still trimming, maybe trying to even out the length.

“Am I humming?” Anders started singing to himself maybe a week, maybe two, after he was left alone. Then it turned to humming. He doesn’t even think about it now.

Karl leans around him, scoops up a double handful of water, and rinses out his hair. “There we go.” He presses his cheek against Anders, beard prickling against freshly shaven skin. “Let’s get you dried off and dressed. Do you want to try to walk a bit? The garden is still nice.”

Anders can’t find the energy to respond or even to raise his hand and investigate the feeling of short hair. Karl decides for him, guiding him to the kitchens and begging a bowl of soup and a thick chunk of bread from one of the Tranquil cooks. He sits across from Anders, watching as he eats. Anders doesn’t finish the food, his stomach starts to feel tight and painful before he’s even halfway through. He stares at the surface of the thin soup and stirs it absently.

“Can’t eat more? They’ve starved you too.” Karl reaches across the table and touches his face, frowning when Anders reflexively pulls away. “I’ve never seen your cheeks so hollow.”

“Shoulda left the beard then.”

Karl almost smiles. “Let’s try to stretch your legs a bit then.”

Even though the autumn day is overcast, the garden is almost too bright. Anders has to pull up the hood of his robe to shade his eyes before he can bear it, and he isn't able to walk far before he has to sit down on one of the stone benches. So much for running.

The walled garden is busy with mages trying to catch a bit of sun before winter sets in, but everyone except Karl gives him a wide berth. Anders has no complaints, he can barely manage to not cry with delight from hearing other human voices - or to panic because he’s no longer accustomed to hearing the sounds of people interacting with each other and going about their business.

How much he can stand to be touched comes and goes, but after the first several times Anders flinched away, Karl waits for him to initiate anything, not even daring to hold his hand. It’s probably safer for Karl if that remains the case. Anders just creates trouble for anyone who cares about him.

“You should go. They’ll be watching anyone with me.”

“Fuck that. Besides, I’m already marked.”

“I’m sorry, Karl.” Anders slumps against his shoulder, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to not start crying. Maybe it’s just the light causing his eyes to water.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.”

“Can we go back inside? I’m tired.” He hadn’t expected to be tired after spending so much time sleeping.

“Yes. If that’s what you want.”

***

Anders’ bed is just as he left it. No one had taken the opportunity to steal a desirable lower bunk tucked into the corner. A sign of respect? Or just Karl zealously guarding it? Who knows?

Anders crawls in and lays down gingerly on the mattress. His back is finally whole as of an hour or two ago when Karl peeled the filthy shirt off him, squeaked in dismay, and healed the one or two remaining welts that had been stubbornly refusing to close up. But Anders has gotten accustomed to moving with care to avoid reopening them. It’ll be some time before he’ll be able to bring himself to move carelessly, freely again.

Anders curls on his side and lays his head down on the large pillow, wrapping his arms around the much smaller one his mother gave him. The threads of the artful needlework are beginning to fade, much like the memory of her face.

Karl shakes out a blanket, drapes it over him, and starts to pull the curtains around the bed.

“No.” All the muscles in Anders’ body tighten, and his right calf spasms painfully. “Stop.”

Karl freezes. His eyes widen then soften with something between pity and pain of his own. Anders reaches out to him. “Will you stay with me? Please. Please don’t leave me alone. And not in the dark.”

Karl sits on the edge of the bed and strokes Anders’ hair. The short length transfers more of the sensation to his scalp, and Anders chokes back the sob that the gentle contact elicits.

“Do you want me to lay down with you?”

Anders nods. His throat is too tight to speak. Karl crawls into bed next to him and pulls the curtains around it partially closed, leaving at least some light streaming in. He folds one arm under his head and continues stroking Anders' hair and cheek.

“I’ve missed you,” Karl whispers.

Three, nearly four months, counting the time Anders was on the run and if in fact, Greagoir had only left him locked up for the time he first named and hadn’t conveniently forgotten about him for a few days or weeks more than promised.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not the problem. It’s this miserable place.”

“Keep talking.” Anders hasn't heard voices that weren't gruff commands in so long. “Please. Anything. Tell me what happened while I was...” His voice trails off.

“Hmm... Amaury finished his thesis. He’s got two apprentices now. One accidentally set a tree in the garden on fire last week. He let the Templars scramble for a minute or two before extinguishing it.”

Anders smiles, even if he can't quite find the strength to laugh.

“Speaking of Templars, two were caught at it in a stairwell the other day, and dear Knight-Captain Maude is furious because she'd been tupping one of them, but she can't say anything of course, because you know Greagoir frowns on cross rank relationships. So that's been a bit fun to watch.”

“Ah, so much honor and self-restraint from our selfless protectors.”

“As always. Let’s see... The Formari were asked to up their production of goods. I guess the Chantry didn’t get enough donations this year, or some Revered Mother wants new drapery for her halls. Pity that increased speed increases mistakes. Exponentially, of course.”

“Of course.” The Tranquil within the Formari might not care about being asked to do more, but the enchanters would find subtle ways to indicate their displeasure.

“Enchanter Ines managed to arrange another research trip, so every mage with any training in botany or herbalism is jockeying for a position. Have you ever seen what happens when a growth spell is cast on a fly trap?”

“Please tell me the overgrown carnivorous plant caught a Templar.” Anders manages a chuckle. “I should ask to go. Ines loves me. Maybe I could take a vow of silence."

"Now, now -” Karl kisses the tip of his nose. “Don't make promises you can’t keep.”

#autumnofanders #dragon age fanfiction #anders #karl thekla

40 notes · View notes

fannishcodex · 3 years

Note

How does Shadow Weaver factor in your Spacebat Adora AU? Is she still a terrifying influence over Adora and does she control her by using her ability to hurt Adorda's childhood friends over her - to secure her compliance? Or is her influence minor, only as a shadowy scary lady in the background?

I've been brainstorming a third option. :3 @soranis-sunshadow

Thanks for asking! I have been writing up a longish post sharing more of my current brainstormed thoughts about the Spacebat!Adora AU and how it further diverges from canon, but I think I want to share part of it now, the part that concerns Shadow Weaver in the AU (though this is a big AU-specific change so I'll just bring up some other aspects that relate to it).

Shoutout to @revasnaslan for inspiration from her great take on Hordad AU. (Will link below in a comment.)

More under the cut:

Due to Mara's DNA, Adora has a sort of high magical power level that Shadow Weaver can sense. Instead of canon where Hordak (disappointed that the portal wasn't a chance to go home--I more think that deep down Hordak just wanted to go home to Prime and his other brothers [tbh I keep thinking of season 1!Lapis from Steven Universe] and earn Prime's acceptance/love/permission to live and not be sent to the frontlines to die--and with his other issues) at first intends to leave baby Adora in the infirmary and then just lets SW have her when SW essentially volunteers to take her in--instead of that, Hordak keeps Spacebat!Adora along with Imp in the AU. But SW still wants Adora in the AU, she can still sense the potential of great power from her.

So while Spacebat!Adora's still a baby, SW tries to kidnap her, and is willing to try to overthrow Hordak and take over the Etherian Horde for this. SW in the AU is also backed up by the fact that in another divergence (probably part of her plotting to kidnap Spacebat!Adora/overthrow Hordak) she actually manages to find and take the Sword of Protection from the Whispering Words in a lone excursion (on her own, she's able to get into the forest), and then manages to extract power from the Sword/the Sword's runestone like she does with the Black Garnet, increasing her power.

With power from both the Sword of Protection runestone and the Black Garnet, along with her own manipulation/intimidation of a number of Etherian Horde members, private recruiting/manipulation of other dissident Mystacor mages, etc. in her planned coup, SW is actually pretty successful--she seizes control of the Etherian Horde, but fails to kidnap baby Adora. Hordak escapes with baby Adora and Imp, prioritizing his younger clone-hybrid kin before everything else when push comes to shove. Some Etherian Horde members reject SW and escape with Hordak, chief among them Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt, who escape with a very young Scorpia (I have specific thoughts on my fix-it for timeline with her, but that's another post). Huntara also joins them. (I headcanon that in canon, it's actually partly SW manipulation that drives Huntara away from the Horde. But this doesn't happen in the AU because Hordak is sent into exile before that can happen.)

So, an internal civil war splits the Horde apart when Spacebat!Adora's a baby, and it partly started because Hordak wanted to keep Adora along with Imp, SW still wanted her and the power she sensed from her, and SW decided to try kidnapping her and seize control of the Horde:

-The Shadow Horde: The larger part of the Etherian Horde SW now controls. They stayed in the Fright Zone, and possess both the Sword of Protection and the Black Garnet. They continue the major fighting against the royal kingdoms of Etheria and also attack the rival Horde faction that was forced out with Hordak. SW still wants Adora. SW and her Shadow Horde are the ones to launch a major assault on Castle Bright Moon, and sooner. SW's assault is more successful--both Micah and Angella are exiled to Beast Island, SW captures the Moonstone and takes a baby Glimmer. SW raises Glimmer as her own, and later C*tra too. In this AU, it's Glimmer largely in part of canon!Adora's situation, and C*tra fixates on Glimmer instead, especially when Glimmer eventually abandons the Shadow Horde after she gives the Sword to Spacebat!Adora.

-The Renegade Horde: The part that rejected SW and escaped the Fright Zone with Hordak, Imp, and baby Spacebat!Adora. They largely flee to the Crimson Waste (since in canon Huntara was an ex-Horde member that fled there, and it seems like a place where a lot on Etheria escape to; also again draws inspiration from @revasnaslan 's take on Hordad AU, even with SW's role). They fight more with SW's Shadow Horde than Etheria's royal kingdoms. (Tbh got the idea for using "renegade" from some old original '80s She-Ra promo material----it mentioned the "renegade Horde"----I found online somewhere, think still have the link somewhere but I'd have to find it ^^;)

Hordak does a lot of rethinking/revaluating, as does the Renegade Horde in the Crimson Waste. Hordak continues to prioritize the safety of his younger clone siblings, and starts questioning his past life under Horde Prime more and sooner (e.g. how will Prime really react to Adora and Imp?). Hordak's vulnerabilities are more exposed to Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt, and rather than them rejecting him/taking advantage like he feared, they prove truly trustworthy.

Power and command between Hordak, Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt becomes more balanced both in public and in private among the new Renegade Horde. And they really do become friends. (Headcanon that in canon Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt had more power and sway with Hordak, but they actually thought maintaining Hordak as a more singular authority would be better in the long run, and Hordak feared exposure of his physical weakness to them and others/had his giant Prime issues.) Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt advise going back to techniques pre-"things escalated" (going back and forth on my own internal view/fix-it AU of how past events went, like if Hordak was actually there for this part or not)--more effort to negotiate/more efforts at diplomacy to recruit people/get allies.

The Renegade Horde's more focused on surviving in the Crimson Waste, and eventually actually start improving the Crimson Waste overall and uniting the region more as a community. Again, the Renegade Horde end up fighting more with SW's Shadow Horde than Etheria's royal kingdoms. This does eventually lead to some reluctant partnerships with the Etherian Royal Alliance against the Shadow Horde, and it's a relationship gradually changing and in flux for a while.

Spacebat!Adora largely grows up in the Crimson Waste with her brothers Hordak and Imp. In this AU, Adora and Imp are like equivalent to Hordak meeting Entrapta sooner--his Prime-induced views are challenged sooner and he's exposed to something more positive that he ends up prioritizing more. (But Hordak and Entrapta do get to meet sooner when the Renegade Horde has a diplomatic mission in Dryl.) Protecting and caring for Adora and Imp becomes the first priority for Hordak. Adora and Imp are very close as the younger siblings in their clone family; they were playmates since they were very young and have become close companions as the years pass, even if Adora is the only one to visibly age/get taller. (But Imp is happy to point out she can't fly.) Adora and Imp both love Hordak dearly, and he reciprocates with them. Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt are even more uncles and aunt to Imp and Adora. She and Imp make friends with Scorpia, who's largely raised by Grizzlor, Octavia, and Cobalt. Adora hero worships Huntara, and Huntara remains a part of the Renegade Horde. There's no SW or C*tra in her childhood and they're not there for most of her life until she's in her late teens. SW's just a distant danger Adora is warned about; Adora is unaware of C*tra's existence for a long time. Spacebat!Adora largely grows up happier and more free/less restricted.

Spacebat!Adora knows the Crimson Waste well and feels that it's beautiful and a wonderful place to explore--I keep seeing Spacebat!Adora in the changing Crimson Waste with vibes of the games Sable and Journey, even Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (and those vibes are still just felt throughout other parts of the AU still, especially Nausicaä which I need to rewatch/reread).

A devastated Castaspella is wary of anything Horde-related, but over the years becomes a more stable ally with the the Renegade Horde against the Shadow Horde, and grows very fond of Spacebat!Adora and Imp. Castaspella likes sewing toys for Imp and desert clothes for Adora. Castaspella is relieved when she finds Glimmer, and hopes she can become friends with Spacebat!Adora and Imp.

#spacebat adora #spop #shadow weaver #hordak #adora

39 notes · View notes

shepherds-of-haven · 3 years

Note

Hiii Lena how are you? Okay now I have a FEW bebé-adjacent questions. Fist off: Anything you can tell us about Arainia and Blade’s kiddo?? I’m so soft for the thought of babies born into the Shepherds 🥺🥺(or just soft for beebies in general) Also is there like,,,any precedent set for pregnant Shepherds? Paid family leave 😅? I’m assuming they’d have to be upfront to their superior about it if they choose to carry to term and are probably put on desk duty? What about the other parent, assuming it’s a Shepherd-Are they like,,able to request assignments close by/shorter assignments later in the pregnancy? (for example I’m guessing all ROs would be pretty adamant about sticking nearby) In the original novels, were there separate setups in the compound for married shepherds/ ones with kids ? This is a LOT lololol 🙈

Hi kingdom, I’m doing great, and I hope you are, too! And yes, I’m all for bebé questions!!!

Anything you can tell us about Arainia and Blade’s kiddo??

Yes, their first child was a boy named Tamwyn, Tam for short! He was the spitting image of his father, but with Arainia’s eyes and Elvish ears, and he was a very serious little baby, peering around at the world with silent gravity befitting a Bronwyn. Arainia was kind of like “...is our baby okay” but it turned out that Uncle Chase and Uncle Trouble could always make him laugh! Thus, they were always on babysitting duty whenever both Arainia and Blade had to go out of town for a mission...

(This isn’t necessarily canon because it was written when I was like 15 maybe, which was before I knew Riel was going to blast off and commit treason and I’m pretty sure it’s an AU where Junoth didn’t die or I hadn’t done it yet RIP)

Anyway, as you can tell, it was a slightly chaotic but very loving infanthood for him! The official books stop when Tam’s about six months old, but I always had plans for him to grow up to become a strong Battle-Mage like his mother. He’d be a quiet, sensible, somewhat sensitive boy who had to dig deep to access his latent power in his youth. As a young adult, he would have been more confident and possibly headstrong--I feel like he would have had an intense teen rebellion phase--and eventually would grow into a powerful leader with a measured way of seeing the world, but still with a strong sense of empathy and emotional intelligence! He would have been very close to his uncles; would have had a teen crush on Kana, Halek and Wintry’s kid, that probably would have faded quickly; and I feel like he would have an academic side and would want to help Uncle Red with his magical research as a kind of intern, which would annoy Blade deeply, though of course he’d never say so!

There was also always the plan for them to have a second kid, a daughter four years younger than Tam named either Lyra or Amaya, who would have been more Ket like her dad and would have had an unusual mix of both arma and a little magic! She would have been more spunky and energetic than her brother and probably would look totally different from the rest of her dark-haired family due to the weird Mage genetics!

Also is there like,,,any precedent set for pregnant Shepherds? Paid family leave 😅? I’m assuming they’d have to be upfront to their superior about it if they choose to carry to term and are probably put on desk duty?

In the books, relationships were very strictly forbidden within the Shepherd’s Order, more so than they are in the game; it was a rule that had been carried out for hundreds of years, since the founding of the Order, so there wasn’t really a precedent set for both parents being Shepherds when one got pregnant! In the old days, you’d most likely be fired if you revealed that you got another Shepherd officer pregnant... 😅

Prior to Blade assuming command, there was paid family leave for a Shepherd officer to take time off and raise their children, but it was always expected that their spouse, partner, or what have you was from outside of the Order. Most were put on desk duty until closer to their due date, but some chose to take time off immediately upon discovering their pregnancy. Lunar Corps division officers (those who took on more urgent, specialized, or dangerous missions) were paid both a base salary as well as extra for most missions, which were graded according to risk. (The higher the grade, the more you’d get paid for taking that mission.) If you got pregnant and planned on having the child, you could take time off pretty much indefinitely and just keep the base salary, with bonuses thrown in if your superior liked you and thought you deserved it, of course. However, it was considered unethical to collect this money if you didn’t actually plan on resuming work with the Order after your baby was around three (though of course you could request to extend leave); so long as you actually came back to work afterwards, this was all legitimate.

However, things got messy once Shepherd couples got into the mix. Could both parties take leave, and for how long? Couples weren’t even allowed until Blade assumed command: he immediately changed the policy so that couples were allowed within the Order, but typically placed on different teams or missions, to avoid distractions during fights or work in the field. (This also applied to him and Arainia, though there were sometimes exceptions that had to be made.) He also allowed both parties paid leave with base salaries, but with the stipulation that one party should return to work after ten months to one year, unless they requested to extend that leave.

Halek and Wintry’s child, Kana, was the first real “Shepherd baby”. Wintry chose to take the paid leave for the first year and a half of Kana’s life; they had also bought a restaurant as a side investment for whenever they retired, so there was income coming from that while Halek continued work as a Shepherd. And they were already on separate teams, so when she returned, it wasn’t that much of an issue!

What about the other parent, assuming it’s a Shepherd-Are they like,,able to request assignments close by/shorter assignments later in the pregnancy? (for example I’m guessing all ROs would be pretty adamant about sticking nearby)

If the Shepherds in question are Lunar Corps agents, it depends on their ranks! Lower-ranked agents were always placed on squads of seven and were assigned 80% of their cases and missions by higher-ups. But there were always missions placed on a roster that were “up for grabs” until a certain date, at which point they would be assigned to whatever team was available at that deadline. 20% of team missions could be one of those free missions, and if you were a higher-ranking agent no longer grouped into a team, you could also take on those missions of your own volition about 50% of the time. In short, you could choose about 50% of your own missions, because there were so many requests and petitions floating around all the time, so a Shepherd parent could just choose the missions that were close to home and pass on the ones that weren’t.

For the missions that they couldn’t choose and were assigned, you could always put in an unofficial request to your superior; they would usually do their best to accommodate you, but there were simply some times where there wasn’t any choice, especially if you had a specialized position that few others could replace. That duty comes with being a Shepherd, and I imagine it would be the same in the game! You can make the request and people will try their hardest to accommodate, but it's not a guarantee and if you can't meet the demands of the job, you'll probably be moved over to Solar Corps, which handles things like local patrols.

In the original novels, were there separate setups in the compound for married shepherds/ ones with kids ?

The Shepherds’ Tower in the books was actually more like a workplace and police precinct, so there were actually no living quarters or dormitories there! It was more like a skyscraper, and Shepherd officers lived in their own personal apartments or occasionally shared houses in Haven. There were some buildings that the Order rented out entirely just for Shepherd officers to live in, but these were few and far between.

In the books, most of the protagonists lived in small apartments in the Market Quarter; Blade and Arainia lived on the same floor of their apartment and the other team members lived close by or even on the same street; there was an ill-fated move where all seven (ten?) of them shared a big house in Whitestone (which in the books wasn’t just for aristocrats, it was just a nicer neighborhood) for like a year for some reason; and then Blade and Arainia lived in a house in the Market Quarter (I even remember their address, 771 Bomba Street) after they got married!

Thanks for your questions, I had fun answering them! 🤗

#Shepherds of Haven #<3 #original novels #original novel #novels #novel #novel MC #marriage #pregnancy #pregnant #worldbuilding #child #parent #Tamwyn #kingdom-dance

68 notes · View notes

vigilskeep · 7 months

Note

Okay the Cassandra and Inquisitor divorce arc has me LOSING IT. what do you think the other companions would do?

because this divorce arc is set largely after cassandra becomes divine, i would imagine most of the companions aren’t even around anymore, which is part of the hell because i always think that there must be a specific kind of depression for video game characters right after the big quest ends and the party starts peeling away

sera is the main one i was thinking abt bc i was imagining this inquisitor as a red jenny and i think it’s so funny for schemes with sera to be, like, right in the middle of your divorce. especially when it’s sooooo the antithesis of cassandra’s restoration of order. also because one of my favourite Scenes In My Head for my inquisitor was the bit where sera drags you along to do a meaningless tiny prank on cullen and my poor guy starts verging on having a panic attack as they move cullen’s desk two (2) inches to the left because his brain gets stuck on screaming that this is a kid messing with a fucking knight-commander’s office and he’s going hey sera please could you stand behind me and let me do it yes i want to stand between you and the door yes i know this is an empty room yes i know it’s just cullen yes i know my hands are shaking— because he is, ahem, not well. and she’s like ooooooookay you freak (bemused, affectionate), baby steps i guess. i give you leave to imagine what this man’s reaction might be to getting templar silenced by the woman he’s in love with even after actively goading her into it, and also slightly less depressing leave to imagine sera seeing a little bit of the delayed reaction and being like nope okay we’re out of here and just, sort of, i imagine her absconding with him out of a window with no further thought as to planning ahead. she doesn’t rlly get the mages thing but she knows what power looks like and that he has less now. also if you can’t treat her friends nice then they’re hers now and she’s not sharing bye cassandra be normaller or fuck off i guess

58 notes · View notes

destielharlequinchallenge · 4 years

Photo

The Destiel Harlequin Challenge Master Post: 2020 Mega Bang

Participants in the 2020 Destiel Harlequin Challenge completed an amazing 20 fics and 3 sets of artwork! You can learn all about those here!

Spectre (fic by a_dusky_gold, art by aceriee)

This whole thing… this was supposed to be a fucking farce. A way to keep Nicholas Vaught occupied until the deadline he’d given Dean would run out, and he’d still get the money to send Dad to the Town Hall rehabilitation for alcoholism, because that was the goddamned deal.

There were no such things as ghosts or magic or a Book of Life. Dean knows, okay? He wasn’t the Army’s goddamned Mystery Raider for nothin’; he knows history, he knows artifacts, and he knows that the Book of Life is an ancient myth that is about as real as werewolves or vampires.

And yet.

“The Book of Life,” the man had said. Dean can’t even remember his name.

Shit, shit, shit.

Dangerous Ground by Amethystaris

Special Agents for the Department of Diplomatic Security, Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester have been partners and best friends for three years, but everything changed the night Cas admitted the truth about his feelings for Dean. And when Cas was shot a few hours later, Dean felt his reluctance to get involved was vindicated.

Can a camping trip in the High Sierras save their partnership?

Honour Undressed by andimeantittosting

Among his friends, Castiel, Lord Milton is everyone’s confidant and, along with his trusted valet, the fixer of problems. But there is one secret Castiel has never shared: he is in love with his valet and has been for years.

Born in the gutters, Dean Winchester was assigned as Castiel’s batman in the war, and when Castiel travelled home to take up his title, Dean followed him as his valet. To assist Castiel, Dean is not above a little burglary or blackmail. But the one thing he wants for himself is Castiel’s heart.

When Castiel’s closest friends become the target of a blackmailer, certain truths come out. But while Dean determines to seduce Castiel, Castiel is adamant that he must resist, for if there is one rule a gentleman must follow, it is never to dally with his servant.

Havenport by BlueMasquerade

Castiel cleared space on his desk by the expedience of sweeping the previous contents to the side. He set the bundle down in the center of the surface and studied the knots in the rope before expertly untying them.

The book was old, its leather bindings cracked and crumbling. He carefully opened the cover to reveal the pages within, each hand cut, the edges beautifully deckled, the text written in pen and ink.

“This is written in ancient Enochian.” Castiel looked up, gaze narrowed. “Where did you obtain a book written in ancient Enochian?”

“Is that what it is? All I could tell is that it sure as hell isn’t English.” Mr. Winchester grinned, a dimple flashing in his cheek.

an aching in my heart by contemplativepancakes

When Dean’s best friend dies, leaving behind her daughter, Dean knows he has what it takes to give Claire the life she deserves. The problem is, they’re not related by blood, and Claire’s long lost uncle gets called to take her in. Castiel Novak was bad news when he was in highschool with Dean, and judging by his blue hair and tattoo sleeves, nothing’s changed. Castiel ran out on his family once before, and there’s no way Dean’s going to let that happen to Claire without putting up a fight.

Fools and Fate by Danica_Dust

Castiel Novak fled his coven to escape the rigid, predetermined Fate laid out for him within its confines. Desperate and alone, he took shelter in the city of Sacriloga, forsaking all magic and living off whatever he could steal. There, witches like Cas are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

When Jack, a young witch also on the run from his own coven, seeks out Cas’ aid, however, Cas finds that he cannot reject the boy, leaving him to his sure destruction. Especially after the newest visitor to Sacriloga makes his presence known: the legendary Hunter, Dean Winchester, who has been following Jack’s trail.

Sworn to the Men of Letters, Hunters live by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Dean’s path was never meant to cross with Cas', but a desperate stunt and a single mistake forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between the witches and the Men of Letters is an ancient one and Cas' most dangerous enemies bring a Fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore his growing feelings, yet powerless to change what he is, a choice must be made.

A suffocating Fate on one hand. A precarious freedom on the other. And in between, the kind of love that makes fools of us all.

Ozone by Deancebra

A young magic user who wants desperately to live. A jaded recluse who has forgotten what living means. They’re each other’s only chance.

Dean’s wild magic is killing him. The mage guilds have given up on him, and it’s only a matter of time before he dies in a spectacular, catastrophic bang. His only hope is an exiled wizard who lives in seclusion—and is rumored to have lost his mind.

The years alone on his hilltop estate have not been good for Castiel Novak. After the magical accident that disfigured him and nearly destroyed the village, he drifts through his days, a wraith trapped in memories and depression. Until a stricken young man collapses on his driveway, one who claims Castiel is his last chance. For the first time in fifteen years, Castiel must make a choice—leave this wild mage to his fate or take him in and try to teach him, which may kill them both. The old Castiel, brash and commanding, wouldn’t have hesitated. Castiel the exile isn’t sure he can find the energy to try.

A Demon Like Him by EllenOfOz

Dean Winchester doesn’t want to be a warlock. The idea of working in a lab, channeling demonic magic into enchanted batteries is not what he wants to do with his life, but it’s a dangerous opinion to have—his father was a powerful and well-connected warlock, and Dean is expected to follow the family tradition.

His only way out is to fail the demon summoning class—failure means expulsion from the Warlock College. Despite Dean’s best efforts to fumble the summoning, it works. Although not the way anyone expects.

Dean’s demon, Castiel, is an incubus, but also a powerful mage on a mission to rebalance the magic that is being stripped from Demonside by warlocks.

Dean must choose: fail out of his final exam and turn his back on becoming a warlock, or help Castiel and graduate. But he doesn’t count on how hot the incubus is, or how close they have become in just a few days.

A Working Relationship by fangirlingtodeath513

The homes that Castiel Novak designs for Angelic Houses are to die for. They’re pristine, perfectly designed and organized, and they’ve caused more than a few bidding wars. It’s the perfect job—he’s organized, good with math, and he’s able to pick up on design trends relatively quickly. The only thing that isn’t perfect? His obnoxious older brother, Luke. Castiel’s been vying for a position on a flipping team for years now, but Luke has never even considered it. When a lecherous gossip reporter overhears an argument, they receive an offer they can’t refuse.

They’re invited to compete on Flip Off, a competition where two people flip houses and compete for the highest profit. Castiel wants the leverage a win would bring him, but he also wants to prove himself. Enter Dean Winchester, a contractor with his own team and one that’s blissfully unconnected to Angelic Houses, allowing Castiel to prove himself without any help from the family company.

The undeniable attraction between them certainly doesn’t help matters, but Castiel is resolute in his decision to make a move only after they’ve finished working together. At least, that had been his plan until Dean made him an offer he simply couldn’t refuse.

Crashing In by followyourenergy

Castiel Novak is convinced he’s the last unwillingly single person in Lupine Cove. Even Gabriel, his perpetual bachelor brother, has found love. It’s probably because Cas leads the most boring life in existence. He’s a gay man living in a rented, one-room cottage in the same small coastal town he grew up in, just getting by as the owner of the same convenience store he was practically raised in. The most excitement he gets is chatting with the locals or maybe, if he’s unlucky, oversleeping and rushing to work. So when a baby is left at the Safe Haven drop-off at the local fire station, he takes the opportunity to step in for the child temporarily, at least until suitable parents, plural, can be found.

Life certainly gets more interesting.

And it gets even more interesting when a handsome man comes crashing—literally—into his life.

Make Me Believe by GhoulsnHalos

Ten years ago, Castiel Novak’s stepfather disowned him, taking from him his place as hereditary heir to the head of the Hunter and Warrior Guild. Now, he’s a self-made, and celebrated, master gem and metal smith. Castiel doesn’t believe that the God’s decide your soulmate. Until he designs what can only be a gift fit for his soul mate, who in contradiction to the etiquette, if not the laws of Neffroen, must be a man.

Dean Winchester is convinced that he is a lowly, dumbass, no magic hunter who couldn’t possibly be on the same social scale as a Novak. So, why is it when he spots the jewelled torc in Castiel’s shop, Dean develops an obsession over the neckpiece and its creator? It can't be anything to do with the will of the Gods, no matter what anyone says, because that's baloney and Dean's not into men.

When Castiel’s long-lost brother turns up and suggests he ought to challenge their stepfather and that Dean is destined to help Castiel rule the clan, Castiel takes some convincing. The real problem is Dean. Can Castiel with the help of family and friends convince Dean of his place by Castiel’s side? Can Dean play the part everyone expects of him to help Castiel regain his rightful place in society?

Shielded Heart by JuniperJones

Arthos, the Infinite City, is a place of alien wonders and indescribable beauty—and, most importantly for Dean, it’s also halfway across the universe from his abusive ex-fiancé. He came to the city desperate for a fresh start, but he finds himself downtrodden on a world of aloof alien beings with little hope of finding his place—and a good chance of being kidnapped or killed before he can even settle in.

At least until he is saved by an irresistible alien with piercing eyes and a seductive smile.

Castiel is the living embodiment of temptation, and he makes no effort to disguise his desire for Dean. But when his past threatens to drag Dean into a dangerous underworld, Dean discovers Castiel isn’t who he claims to be. After enduring so much suffering, can Dean bear to take a leap of faith with this mysterious alien? Can he trust Castiel with not only his life, but his heart?

Stumble and Fall by Kitmistry

Castiel was raised to do one thing: serve his country, whether that was fighting a war or becoming an expert spy. But when his lover is charged with treason and executed Castiel defects. He has evidence that can destroy the KGB’s entire spy ring in New Mexico, he has names of scientists involved with atomic weapons who send information to the Soviets, and he won’t stop until he has revenge.

Putting all his trust in the Americans, Castiel finds himself under the protection of U.S. Marshal Dean Winchester, who is too cocky and attractive for his own good, but at least seems to know what he’s doing.

When a routine transfer to a safehouse goes horribly wrong, Castiel and Dean narrowly escape with their lives. With the Marshals compromised and Castiel being framed for murder, he and Dean are on the run from KGB and law enforcement alike. They have no one to trust except each other, and nowhere to go that their enemies can’t reach.

The Shots We Don’t Take by MandalaRose

Still nursing the tatters of a broken heart and trying desperately to stave off the terror of his impending graduation, college senior Cas Novak decides it’s time to blow off a little steam. Not just any hook-up will do, however. The last thing Cas needs right now is a distraction. On the lookout for someone he can enjoy a steamy night of passion with before leaving them behind entirely, Cas thinks he’s found exactly what he needs in cocky university hockey star and well-known playboy Dean Winchester.

Dean is gorgeous, doesn’t date, and is the singular most infuriating person Cas has ever met. He’s the perfect one night stand...that is, until Dean decides he wants an instant replay of what was supposed to be a one-time event. Will Cas’ offer of friends, sans benefits, convince the arrogant love ’em and leave ’em hockey defenseman to find an easier score? Or will Dean wear down Cas’ defenses and lure the sexy nerd in the dorky trenchcoat back to his bed?

Bullets Over the Bayou (fic by mattzerella_sticks, art by dontbelasagnax)

Everyone wants Castiel Novak to quit the force, including Castiel. But he stays on despite the toxic work environment he’s surrounded by. Still believing he can do some good despite the many lines of red tape impeding him. Luckily, a pair of scissors by the name of Dean Winchester drops into his hands, and he finally feels like he can do some good.

Dean Winchester thought he would be in New Orleans for a day or two. Identify the body of his deadbeat father and then move on. No one knows he’s here. His mother and brother are blissfully unaware of the danger his father roped him into. With a parting gift of a journal, delivered to him the same day he received word about his father, Dean has become the target of a group of people who want him dead. The same people who killed his father.

Racing against the clock, can Dean and Castiel figure out what is so important about John Winchester’s journal that someone would kill for it?

Masquerade by noxsoulmate

It had begun as such a good plan; one that benefitted them both. And masquerading as Castiel Krushnic's boyfriend during the weeks of balls, galas, and charity events certainly was no hardship. With the impending end of their arrangement, though, Dean Winchester must admit that behind the mask of an aloof CEO lies a man he could fall in love with. Or maybe, he already has…

The Medium by raths_kitten

Detective Dean Winchester hates it when his Chief sends a medium to consult on his cases. But this time, the murder is closely linked to Castiel’s world and they both need to work together to solve it.

Any Semblance of Touch (fic by saltnhalo, art by c-kaeru)

1925, New York.

Dean Winchester’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric… and the only one available has sworn off the magical world altogether.

Castiel Novak’s gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he’s become a recluse, redirecting his magic into museum research. But with the city’s fate hanging in the balance, and faced with the power of Dean’s charm and persuasion…

He can’t force himself to say no.

The Love of a Righteous Man by SargentMom573

Five years ago, Captain Dean Winchester defied his father, Senator John Winchester. With his brother Sam, and his spaceship Impala, Dean found his place among a ragtag fleet of pirates and smugglers. Their latest mission left him with a price on his head and a scar on his heart. When a surprise attack separated him from Sam and revealed a Sith weapon, he would do whatever it took to bring his brother back – even sacrifice his own happiness.

After Emperor Michael’s death broke the psychic link between them, Emperor’s Hand Castiel Novak spent years drowning his sorrows at the bottom of a barrel. Mostly sober, three years ago he found a new purpose as the Impala’s Chief Medical Officer, and Sam Winchester’s guide in the Force. And a good friend in the Impala’s gruff but kind Captain.

Dean and Castiel must work together to bring Sam home alive. But when Castiel’s last mission is exposed, will Castiel complete it and destroy any hopes Dean had for a family? Will Dean forgive Cas’ horrific purpose before it is too late? And give them both what they really want — the love of a righteous man.

SKID by spnsmile

Dean Winchester swore off love after getting dumped and fired from his job the same day. Badly drunk, he ended up balcony-hopping until a pair of hands snatched him inside a darkened room. But it's no hero, it's someone with deep voice whispering threats with a gun pointed at his back. Dean’s too drunk to deal with life but one good look at his hot assailant plus enough beer sold him to his accursed fate. The next morning, he found himself engaged to the most notorious leader of a powerful clan, Castiel Novak.

Married life in the compound for a month was not as blissful so when he could, Dean fought for that freedom. Castiel relented and as Dean tried to put the pieces of his normal life together, getting a bike messenger job and dealing with pain in the ass clients, he now also needs to deal with the dangerous presence of his very jealous and very protective husband watching over him.

Is his life ever going to get back to normal?

#2020 masterpost #destielharlequinchallenge #destiel harlequin challenge #destiel fanart #destiel fanfic #destiel

259 notes · View notes

dalekofchaos · 3 years

Text

Why Voldemort is a terrible villain and how I’d improve Voldemort as a villain

As much as I like Voldemort, when you look back on the books. Voldemort is a terrible villain. Yes he has the Horcruxes and has loyal followers...but that’s it. In this post I will be examining why Voldemort is a terrible villain in Harry Potter and how I would improve Voldemort as a villain.

Let’s look at Voldemort’s track record

No clear motivations. The movies do absolutely nothing to flesh out Voldemort, but that's understandable, they're the movies. But even in the books, there is no clear reason for Voldemort doing any of the things that he does. During the flashbacks in the Pensive, Tom is a disturbed child who has a tendency to torture animals, lure other children to creepy caves and steal stuff - all of this is bad, yes, but why? Why is Tom Riddle "evil"? I know the explanation that the canon somewhat provides: that Voldemort doesn't know love/friendship/connection because he was conceived under the trickery of a love potion, and his mother was abused But, even if you accept that explanation, that does not justify Tom Riddle being innately evil and monstrous. Why is he racist/supremacist? If he really is a natural genius with a detachment from human emotion, shouldn't he also be detached from things like blood supremacy, ancestry and mortality? Just because he's a sociopath doesn't mean he will automatically turn into Hitler.

Wages a Wizarding war, but couldn’t even conquer his own Wizarding Nation

He couldn’t become Minister Of Magic. Instead he dicked around in Borgins And Burkes and instead wanted to become Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor.....for reasons. He could’ve used his power as Minister Of Magic to gain followers, especially the fanatic pure blood families and the impressionable Slytherins and cover for his Horcrux murders. But nooo.

When Voldemort DOES take power by force during the second Wizarding War, he does barely anything with it. Voldemort owns the government and has an army of evil. Where does he plan to launch his attack on the world? At a god damn highschool. Yes I know he attacked Hogwarts because of the last Horcrux. Didn't need to get that far if he didn't act like the world's worst Bond villain and monologued for enough time to let Harry either escape or for the Deus ex machina to arrive on que. The first two times it happens, yeah I get it. You're a villain who is up himself, shit happens. But by book 5 when he is still doing dumb shit it's unforgivable. How hard is it to issue a kill on sight order to your hordes of evil? I mean FFS you have legit werewolves on your side, who can sniff out a drop of blood miles away and yet you do nothing with them? Not only do you fail to kill a defenseless baby but you can't evil kill the kid when he's locked up in your second in commands basement.

He isn't particularly charismatic or a decent leader. He does have tons of followers, for reasons. Seriously, except for fear and opportunism I can't understand why anybody would want to fight for him. I mean, I get that he is basically magic!Hitler, but actual Hitler could at least hold speeches. Actual Hitler had arguments why his rule would be good for the German people. Voldemort doesn't. Voldemort treats his followers like shit and tortures or kills them if they aren't useful any more.

He didn't do his homework and doesn't knows the magic lore good enough. He manages to kill himself two times because of lore he really should have known about. The first time he fails to see the magic love-charm, the second time he doesn't recognizes the arcane rules of wand ownership. Those are stupid, avoidable mistakes for somebody that is supposed to be the greatest dark mage of his time.

He isn't even a particularly good mage. He manages to get statemaled by Harry and defeated by Dumbledore. He never does anything truly remarkable with magic that we haven't seen other characters do the same or better (the cave in book six is pretty good, but that's already has best showing). All we see is “AVADA KEDAVA.” Cool, I’ve seen every damn villain use that stupid fucking spell and yes it is a terrible spell.

His plans are... well, they are shit. If your plans get permanently foiled by a bunch of meddeling kids, you should think about retirement, not world domination. The plan in "Goblet of fire" only works out because of dumb luck. "Orden of phoenix" works out because of Harrys incompetence. The plan to kill Dumbledore only worked cause Voldemort used logic and had one of his followers do the work for him. The rest of his plans fail gloriously.

Voldemort's goals. He... wants to be immortal, but why? Because he's afraid of death? Why is he afraid of death? He literally spent his childhood cutting open rabbits. He excelled in all fields of academia and is arguably very intelligent; intelligence tends to negate superstition. Okay, fine; let's assume he's afraid of death. But even if we look for another explanation: maybe he wants to live forever in order to stay in power.

Voldemort wants power...Why does he want power? Why does he want to, quite literally, take over the world? It makes no sense. He has no reason to care about any of that. Even if he's prejudiced against Muggles, what exactly gives him the willpower to actually gather followers, build a legion of darkdoom evil squad and kill everyone? His motivations are never explained, and he is introduced to the story as a 2-dimensional "bad guy". Even from the 4th book onward, Voldemort is never actually fleshed out. He simply goes from bad guy to "extremely bad guy/"super fucking evil". It's shallow. It's a bad character. He isn't even a character. He has no depth, nuance, relatability or layers to him. He's just a textbook douchebag who exists simply to give the protagonists something to do, because otherwise the stories would just be about magic school.

Let's look at the closest and most obvious reflection: Adolf Hitler. It's painfully obvious that Voldemort's movement is based on Nazism. But if you read Mein Kampf, Hitler actually believed what he was doing was justified, and provided reasons for it which he thought made sense. Even if it was objectively flawed, he believed it. That's what makes a good character in fiction; even if they're actually batshit fucking insane and critically evil, you can make them relatable if you go inside their head and show the audience why they're doing what they're doing. Even if the audience doesn't agree with the character, the audience understands why the character thinks this way. Unlike Hitler's diary, Voldemort has no level of self-introspection, no actual justifications. He's a walking plot device, and that's ridiculously bad for a 7-book-long story where he's the main antagonist. I don't remember a single interaction, scene or exchange where Voldemort is shown to have any degree of self-awareness. The youngest we ever see him is when Dumbledore visits him in the orphanage, and by that point he's already evil as balls, for seemingly no reason. Even when Harry is talking to him in their final fight, Voldemort only hisses and spits out superficial threats and a shallow understanding of the events around him, and actually has no idea who he is, or why he's doing what he does. . If he were a realistic character, this lack of self-awareness would build up over time, would create self-doubt in him, and he would go through a character arc where he "found himself" and learned what he really wanted. And then, maybe he comes back and does some crazy shit, but this time he does them with glorious conviction, and has no shame in admitting it. The audience knows him now, and he's a great villain. But that's not what we got. Remember the 13-odd years Voldemort spent floating around like a puff of gas, possessing rats and squatting in Quirrel's turban? Why did his character not develop? HE HAD THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS TO REFLECT ON HIMSELF. He literally had nothing else to do. He could've become such a complex character. Think about it: a bland, textbook villain gets cucked into infinity and now can't actually do anything but bide his time. It would clearly affect his personality, especially if it lasts 13 goddamn years. But when Voldemort is revived in book 4, he's still just "look how evil I am.exe". He had literally no character arc of any kind. That's actually impossible. No sentient human being can have the same personality, goals and motivations after over a decade of exile. He's a badly-written villain, plain and simple.

It seems like a very poor decision to make the antagonist of 7 thick books this unrelatable and bland. It also makes no sense because Rowling has written consistently excellent characters throughout the series. Why not make Voldemort a real character?

So here is how I would improve Voldemort as a villain

Motivation. So since it's universally accepted that Salazar was against Muggleorns because he grew up in a time where Wizards and Witches were being burned at the stake. What if Voldemort had similar intentions cause he grew up in a time during WWII and the Cold War and saw how powerful and dangerous the Muggles were becoming with their nuclear weapons and wanted to protect magic kind from the Muggles and viewed the Muggles invading a possibility. So he became Lord Voldemort and formed the Death Eaters to finish Salazar Slytherin’s work to protect magic kind against Muggles and Muggleborns. It could’ve started out as noble, but turned racist and evil in the end.

As Tom Riddle, he becomes the Minister Of Magic or given a position of power secondary to the Minister Of Magic. The Lord Of Magic. It’s important that prior to becoming Lord Voldemort, he should hold a position of political power within the Ministry Of Magic. In Hogwarts, it is said as a student Tom was charismatic, charming and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. So why not use all that for politics? He could use his charm and political power to turn the Ministry Of Magic against the Muggleborns and against the Muggles. He would write a book explaining in detail why he believes in what he believes and that gives him the following he needs. The Book in question would be called “Magic Is Might!” The old Pure Blood magical families and impressionable young Slytherins would follow him like moths to a flame. He could use his newfound political power to research all forms of magic and even the dark arts. He could make Horcruxes in secret. As Voldemort he would gather allies who were rejected by society like Werewolves and Giants. But despite what the Horcruxes do to his face, he could use magic to keep up appearances. He wouldn’t just be seeking to wage war with the muggles and muggleborns. First Voldemort has to take over the Wizarding world.

Treats his followers like allies. Voldemort does not use fear and the threat of death and torture on his most trusted allies. Tom Riddle’s the Knights of Walpurgis hold key positions in Tom Riddle’s administration and then the Death Eaters are born and Voldemort treats them with respect and admiration. In a sense, he treats the Death Eaters like family.

The First WIzarding War should have been about Voldemort waging war on the other Wizarding nations. This would truly show how terrifying and powerful Voldemort really is. Would also explain why the other nations did not interfere in the second war, cause they were that terrified of Voldemort. The Order Of Phoenix was barely able to win and drive Voldemort from power.

Voldemort’s fall was because he was desperate. He was ousted from power and Dumbledore, the OOTP and Aurors are on his trail. His body is failing him, so he desperately needs to create a new Horcrux. So he kills The Potters. He fully knew that Lily used the love charm to shield Harry from him. So He saw a way out. Voldemort purposefully destroyed himself so he could gain a new Horcrux.

Plus, we can have Voldemort hide the Horcruxes in the nations he conquered. So Voldemort can hide them in -Russia -Germany -America -Hogwarts -France Obviously Nagini would be by his side at all times and well Harry is the last one. For context of how Voldemort conquered these nations. Imperio, subterfuge, and mass hysteria. He took out the Wizarding governments and implanted them with his thrawls.

Make Voldemort as hated as Umbridge. Here’s how.

In my hypothetical scenario where Voldemort hides the Horcruxes in different Wizarding Nations, make 8 books. Book 7 ends with everyone graduating from Hogwarts and the fall of the Ministry.

This way, after graduation, the Ministry has fallen and it ends with the Big Seven on the run. In Book 8 they are all on the hunt for the Horcruxes. Not just for Horcruxes, but international allies to unite the Wizarding world against Voldemort. It ends with the final confrontation being at the Ministry. Voldemort's endgame plan is not just to wipe out the Muggleborns, but wiping out the Muggles. He has the Magic equivalent to a Nuclear bomb. Voldemort wants to destroy the Muggles and recreate the world in his image. Magic Is Might! He plans on using it and Harry has to stop him before it's too late

Voldemort fails because the Horcruxes are failing him. It isn’t immortality, it is only temporarily longevity and every time one of his Horcruxes gets destroyed, his body breaks down and his soul is in an even worse shape. When Nagini is destroyed, it is over. Voldemort thinks if he can kill Harry, he will live forever as the prophecy states “only one can live forever.” so he believes if he could just kill Harry, he can win. But Harry deflects his curses and sends it right back at him. Voldemort dies as he did in the book. Powerless, alone and human.

#Harry Potter #Lord Voldemort #Tom Marvolo Riddle #Anti JK Rowling

47 notes · View notes

shieldmaiden19 · 4 years

Text

This is a gift for @ladylingua on the occasion of her nuptials. I was going to write something brand new, but I rediscovered an AU I’d been writing where Thom survived Lioness Rampant, and one of those snippets seems right up your alley.

Or, Trickster’s Choice in Shield’s Thom Lives AU

Now there was her uncle.

Aly knew from experiments run the instant he realized she possessed a new variant of the Sight that his glamours were powerful enough that maybe six people in the world could see through them, all of them black robes, Sighted, or part of his extremely small circle. And since there were not any known mages in the Copper Isles more powerful than a mid-tier red robe and he was dressed in the clothes of an itinerant scholar rather than the majestic robes of Lord Thom of Trebond, black robe and chancellor of King Jonathan’s Council of Mages, he was here for her.

Aly settled in her bones, the serpent in her shifting in anticipation. Her uncle appreciated bluntness and was never shy about using it himself, but to get the answers she wanted, she had to play his game. And Aly had played Thom’s verbal chess since learning the word “knife” and demanding one of her own.

“How’d you find me?” she began. Nothing like the easy questions to throw a mark for a loop.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I set a hook in your core the day you and your brother were born.”

Only her uncle could sound blasé about an ethics violation so immense it would have had her university friends collapsing in hysterics.

He noted Aly’s raised eyebrow and shrugged. “Your mother never would have approved, so I didn’t tell her.”

Yeah. Uncle Thom, everybody.

“Does she know you’re here?”

He shook his head, a fringe of silver-reddish hair flopping into his eyes. “That conversation would have gotten—messy. And don’t worry, your mother has never done anything of the sort to you. I wouldn’t have let her.”

It paid to play people’s games sometimes, Aly thought with satisfaction and not a little bit of relief. This was important. So hostile territory and a limited timeframe notwithstanding, she pushed the game a little further. “Why would you stop her?”

“Because I knew Alanna would eventually give in to her nosiness and you would pay the price.”

“And you are different how?”

“I care about you – about all three of you – but I don’t care about you.”

Aly found herself nodding, her lips moving up of their own accord. To anyone outside their family, he would have sounded cruel, but Aly knew the difference. Her uncle would have plunged into Chaos itself to protect them, but their normal-person squabbles and day-to-day dramas had never interested him, and what he had put up with he’d complained dramatically about (except Cora - he could muster the bare minimum and no more when it came to his apprentice and favorite niece, and everybody knew it).

He shrugged again. “I put the trace in for instances like this, and I can’t bring myself to regret it.”

He rolled his neck and stood with a little more of the command she saw him wear at court functions. “Now. What do you need?”

Aly quirked an eyebrow. “You’re not here to carry me back like a damsel in a Players’ romance?”

“Of course not. I learned the hard way not to stand between Alanna’s spawn and what they want.”

Aly smiled brightly. It was so nice to be understood. “I’ll need money in a variety of coin values, then hairpins, knives, and thigh sheaths. And I need you to reassure my mother I’m not dying or in danger-- at least no more than usual.”

Thom’s grin was as sharp as the first day he helped her pull a swift one over on her mother.

An anonymous wooden box was on her bedroll six nights later. And when she unloaded the contents, Aly found herself laughing long and hard.

Beneath the knives of various thicknesses, the hairpins, the colorful hairbands, and the small pouches of Copper Island, Yamani, and Tortallan coins, was coiled a small toy snake of many wooden links.

Hope you liked it!! May God grant you many years, my love <3

P.S. The toy snake at the end is a quick, miniature version of the one he carved for her when she was a baby. That’s why it’s such a surprise for her. Junai is also judging her hard for being a crazy white lady.

#tortall #tortall series #alianne cooper #trickster's choice #tortall au #thom of trebond #thom lives au #shield shares her shit #og shield content #shieldmaiden19 #tamora pierce

67 notes · View notes

blackbriarsparrow · 3 years

Text

The Ballad of Shimura Danzo (taken from: Born from Winter Ash)

The Ballad of Shimura Danzo Arc I (Born from Fire)

No mercy.

It is the phrase that Shimura Danzo grounds into the malleable skulls of his burgeoning army of adolescents. Danzo walks tall with his hands clasped behind his back, squinting through the noonday sun as he watches the young boys in the training arena. He has a favorite. An indomitable youth with moonlit hair; a trait, no doubt, given to him by the gods. They have a habit of marking their favorites and Danzo has learned to recognize the signs.

The boy is naught but nine years old, and already he is fast and strong. He listens with eager ears and watches with careful eyes. His movements in the arena are meticulous, and he has yet to be defeated by an adversary. He is a tolerant warrior, and Danzo is most impressed with the youth. He watches him use the bamboo Shinai to knock his opponent off his feet. Obito lands on the ground, the air whooshing from his lungs as he stares up at Kakashi and holds his injured ankle. “Breathe, Obito,” Kakashi reminds him. “On your feet.” He offers his comrade a hand.

Danzo strikes Kakashi on the back of the wrist with the flat edge of his dagger. The crack is loud enough to draw attention from nearby sparrers. Kakashi inspects the smarting welt on his wrist. He looks up at Danzo with a frown on his face and anger flaring behind his lucid eyes.

“We do not help our enemies, Hatake Kakashi. Why are you offering this boy your hand?” Danzo slides his dagger back into his holster and looks at the boy expectantly.

“Obito is not the enemy, Hersir. He is my comrade.”

“And how will Obito become the best warrior he can be if you are always there to carry his weight? Obito relies on you too much. You only think you are helping him Kakashi, but you are indeed enabling him to be weak.” Danzo leans forward, leveling his gaze with Kakashi. “If Obito is to become strong, you must show him no mercy.”

Kakashi frowns at Danzo, and Danzo sees the wheels of thought turning in his mind. Danzo thinks he is getting through to the lad, but Kakashi believes in a different code and no amount of manipulation on Danzo’s part will cause Kakashi to change his mind.

“Finish him,” Danzo instructs.

Obito, lying on the ground with his elbows propped beneath him, looks up at Kakashi with parted lips.

“Hersir?”

“Make him fight for his spot, Kakashi. The Black Army does not tolerate weakness. Make Obito prove that he belongs here.”

Kakashi does not move. His hand tightens around the Shinai.

“I said,” Danzo repeats, “finish him.”

“He’s wounded–”

Before Kakashi can finish his sentence, Danzo lunges and reaches for the boy’s Shinai. He wrenches it from his hand, but Kakashi leaps when Danzo swings. He rolls to the ground, scooping up Obito’s abandoned weapon and uses it to parry off Danzo’s swift attacks. Kakashi is very small compared to the Hersir, but he is fast and strong for his age. He manages to block each of Danzo’s strikes, but Danzo leaves no room for Kakashi to present a countermove.

Danzo means to teach the boy a lesson. If he will not do as commanded, Danzo will break him until Kakashi’s will bends to his authority. He strikes the boy hard in the ribs, and Danzo is sure he hears them crack. Kakashi’s face pales, but he does not let go of his weapon. The boy plants his feet, leaving his right side wide open for the strike. Danzo sees the opening and he means to take it.

He would have taken it, that is to say, but the boy pivots and brings his Shinai down hard over the side of Danzo’s head, right above his ear. Danzo’s vision blackens at the edges and stars crackle and sputter like fireworks in his head. He feels the ground beneath his knees. Suddenly, Kakashi is the same height. The boy is looking at him with wild fury and Danzo knows he has struck a chord.

“No mercy,” Danzo pants, wavering on his knees.

Kakashi cries out and brings the Shinai across Danzo’s mouth. He manages to break a tooth and the taste of hot copper spills over Danzo’s tongue. He falls to the ground, laughing as he spits blood onto the dirt floor of the arena and smiles.

The Hokage sees everything from her window.

Arc II (Born from Ash)

Malodorous smoke spans across the night sky and shouts and cries from the burning village are heard through the blackened trees. The white-masked man thrusts a small bundle into Danzo’s arms and he expects the thing to cry. Ash from the stable fire rains down through the gnarled bare branches of the surrounding trees, settling like freckles on the babe’s small, heart-shaped face.

Danzo looks at the girl; the crown of her head adorned with soft pink curls. He thinks her family named her adequately; for her hair is the exact color of Sakura blossoms. Oddly enough, the girl’s pink hair is not her most notable feature… She is gazing up at him with eyes so green Danzo is forced to think of the spring-time forest after a rainstorm. They are the eyes of a witch; so wide and so bright – undoubtably given in favor by some infernal siren goddess. The child’s birth was prophesized by the gods, after all, and Danzo seeks to use her gifts to exact his revenge on the accursed Black Army.

He thinks only of his success as he climbs into the saddle of his war horse, tucking the babe within his cloak as he rides out into the night with his men following close behind.

The baby never cries.

Arc III (Forged by Iron Will)

Sakura is ten years old when Danzo begins training with her. He looks for signs that her powers will manifest, but he sees nothing. She is a good warrior. Smart and capable; a force in her own right. She is small and works hard to prove her worth in the training field. The boys don’t take it easy on her, but Sakura never yields and she does not complain. She shows determination in the face of adversity. Danzo cannot help but see the parallels between she and his former favorite prodigy. It is for that reason Danzo chooses to watch Sakura from a distance. He does not wish to be reminded of Kakashi. With any luck, it won’t be his blade that cuts Kakashi down when he takes his final strike against Konoha.

His plans are shaping up nicely. His army is growing, and he is building allies outside of Kumoga borders. It will still be years before his army is ready to take on the Konoha elites, but he will test their strength and determination before he sets his plans to motion. Sai shows promise with his mage abilities; a very useful trait that Danzo can’t wait to exploit. He trains more careful with these Kumoga’s warriors. He can’t risk getting ejected from Kumoga before his plan comes to fruition.

The Raikage knows nothing.

Arc IV (The Birth of a Phoenix)

The night sky turns red, a mirror of bloodshed, from all the lives that were lost in battle. There is a thick haze, choking out the stars so that no light shines through. It is a cold, unforgiving night. The wind howls with the death mourners and smells of frozen copper.

Danzo counts the warriors that return home and he notices that Sakura is not with them.

Sai is injured. Omoi supports most of his weight as he carries him through the village gates. “What happened to Sakura?” Danzo asks.

Sai’s face is a ruin of blood and tear tracks. He works his jaw, but he cannot say the words that are stuck in the tangled nest of his throat.

“She fell,” Samui answers beside them. “I saw a warrior from the Konoha village stab her in the side. She’s… gone…” Samui’s words are barely a whisper.

Danzo clenches his fists and thinks of what a pity her wasted life was. She never came into her Healing powers and yet Danzo feels her loss like a swift punch in the gut. He tells himself it is because he won’t get the chance to use her against Konoha.

His mind involuntarily conjures images of the babe with big green eyes and he remembers that she never even cried when he took her from her home…

Arc V (Born from Retribution)

The warriors from Kiri are heedless. Danzo admires their stamina and thirst for blood. They are a savage nation, behind the progression of time, and easily persuaded with gold and marauding. They lack a strong figurehead and Danzo effortlessly slips into the role. They follow him without question and are eager to strike the Black Army.

Danzo does not tell them that most will not return.

The Black Army is strong. They will survive this particular attack.

Danzo tells the Kiri army how to get onto the mountain without being seen. He instructs them to take whatever strikes their pleasure in the raid. “Burn the village to the ground if you must,” Danzo tells them. “You will only have a chance at penetrating the barracks if you draw out the warriors. Our goal is to weaken them.”

“Lord Hersir,” one of his men addresses him. “Our attack will only serve to anger them. They will come looking for us when it’s over.”

Danzo presses his lips into a thin line. This one is smarter than he looks. “We want them to attack Kiri,” Danzo says, enunciating each word with careful articulation. “The rest of the Kiri army will be here waiting for them. My allied forces will join in and the Konoha elites will be severely outnumbered.”

Danzo doesn’t say this aloud, but he is uneasy that he hasn’t received word from the clans surrounding Konoha. He suspects The Spy of the North has intercepted his messenger hawks. No matter. Danzo doesn’t need the alliances of those neutral clans. With half the Kumoga army under his wing, the warriors from Kiri, and allies from Waves, the Black Army won’t stand a chance against him. As long as they march on Kiri, Danzo will take them at the river crossing.

The Black Army will be his for the taking.

Arc VI The Down-spiral of a Hersir

After the fallout, Danzo leads his newly split forces into the woods as night falls like a cloak behind him. They left so many wounded, but it is of no concern to him now. Those who stayed behind in Kumoga are now his enemies. Danzo made himself perfectly clear: join him, or forever be ostracized. After he takes the Black Army, he will eradicate what’s left of the Kumoga warriors and leave the nation completely defenseless.

Danzo works his hands into fists, grinding his molars.

Sai chose to stay behind.

Years of training flash through Danzo’s mind – all the effort and special attention he paid the boy was all for nothing…

Danzo has never feared the gods, but he wonders now if this is his punishment for taking the child prodigies from their cribs so long ago… Sakura died in battle and Sai, his most notable progeny, had chosen to stay behind with the wretched, poor excuses of Kumoga warriors. Sai wasn’t even Kumoga! Perhaps he should have been honest with the boy about his true lineage, but Danzo could not tell him of his interference… After all, he had needed Sai to trust him.

All for nothing, Danzo repeats over and over, like a poisonous mantra that coils through his mind.

It is of no matter, Danzo tells himself… their losses will be of no consequence; the plans of attack are already placed in motion. The Black Army will be his in a fortnight.

Danzo’s hand trembles as he leads his army through the woods.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13781683/1/Born-from-Winter-Ash

#naruto fanfiction #danzo shimura #sakura #Kakashi #obito #sai #kakasaku #viking theme #sakura and kakashi #kakasaku AU #kakasaku fanfiction

18 notes · View notes

kessielrg · 3 years

Text

[DA+KH] It Will Get Better

Summary: An experimental fic for @chibi-mushroom‘s Dragon Age AU for the Kingdom Hearts series. Exploring a HumorousHawke!Xion, sedatephobia, mild trauma, bunny children infiltration, and hope. Mild spoilers for after Act 2 of Dragon Age 2. I want to apologize now for how easily startled Xion is, it’s not intentional. ^^;

Rating: K+

Word Count: 2,978 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

The estate was just too quiet. Of course, anything would seem quiet after the Qunari uprising. A few months after, and life at Kirkwall was back to its usual chaos. And yet, Xion found herself staying at home away from the business of the city. Even more so, it gave her time to think about a lot of things.

The Qun. Her mother. Her siblings. The Fifth Blight. Events and experiences that have passed but still insisted on festering in the darkest part of her mind. Was it all her fault? Did she make any good choices in the past five years?

Silence made it worse. Silence made Xion want to hide in a corner, cover her ears, and scream ‘you can’t find me’ like when she was a child. She couldn’t keep doing this. Today she’d go for a walk. Not a long one, but long enough to redirect her thoughts. At first, just getting out of the house had been the harder part. After that, she just followed her feet. Her mind was numb to her surroundings as she walked. It wasn’t until she reached the edge of Kirkwall -to where the walls surrounding met the outside leading into the Free Marches- that she stopped.

Run.

Run as fast as you can and never turn back.

Xion shook her head. No, there were still things in Kirkwall that needed to be sorted out. She was the city’s champion, after all. She had to stay. If not for the city, then for what family she did have left. Her uncle was debatable, but Cloud? Cloud was… safe. Safer where he was than in being here with her.

But she didn’t want to stay. She wanted to get away from this draining city before it ate her up alive. No, she'd rather die than stay to help the people here. They didn’t need her. Knight-Commander Sephiroth was doing a decent job at keeping peace. Kirkwall didn’t need a champion. It did not need her. If anything, things would probably be a lot more peaceful if she just-!

The sound of a small squeak caught her attention. Blinking (and quickly wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye), Xion looked around for the source of the squeak. She looked down to give a jolt of bewilderment. There, almost at her feet, was a small blue rabbit. The blue creature looked back up at her with wide, almost completely black eyes. Despite its odd appearance (and Xion’s own questioning if it was mortal or not), it didn’t seem to be much of a foe. It just looked at her with its big eyes and wide smile. Nothing else of real note beyond that, really. When it finally decided to bound away from her, Xion jumped back in surprise.

“Wait!” she found herself saying, “Where are you going?”

The blue rabbit paused for a moment before turning back to her. It titled its head from side to side in thought. A grin came across its features again as it waved for her to follow it.

“You’re not serious.”

She was given another grin before the creature started back on its original path again. Xion could feel the hairs on her arm stand up. Something about this wasn’t right -she’d seen too much in Kirkwall for it to be anything but- and yet…

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” she mumbled to herself before finally taking the steps outside Kirkwall’s walls.

That little bunny had been very sure that Xion would follow it. It would go a certain distance before pausing, looking back at her (sometimes even jumping to make sure she knew where it was), then starting back on its trail again. Something about this little game felt surreal; like a part of her was just sleepwalking and she was actually back at home, and still in bed.

She didn’t stop following that bunny, though.

The two of them travelled further and further away from Kirkwall. The imposing walls around it fading from view as they went on. They did keep to the established roads, though, so that was worth some amount of hope to work off of. Eventually, they started to see a caravan along the roadside. Seeing it made the little bunny hop faster- Xion was still too numb in her senses to match its speed. Outside of the caravan were more of the blue bunny children; three were playing some card game where one bunny was being absolutely smug about winning, another two were trying to feed the caravan’s horse a carrot, and one other was with a human young man. It was in noticing the young man that Xion paused.

He didn’t look much older than Cloud- maybe a year younger, but not by much. His clothes made her think he was a lesser noble that ran away from home, with his cleaned black jacket, vest, and pants. Not a wrinkle to be seen. Something about him seemed faintly familiar, as if Xion had seen him around Kirkwall, but not for long periods of time. Was it the hat? It certainly was a style all its own, featuring a long white and red feather for accent. The brim was long enough in the front to hide his upper face when needed, and at the moment it was hard to tell just what kind of face he was making as the bunny child vied for his attention.

The bunny child that had been guiding Xion let out a very loud shout of “I’m ba-ack!” that nearly scared Xion out of her wits. The noise also brought about the attention of the young man. He adjusted his hat a bit before giving a wide grin.

“About time.” he replied. “Did you find Sabi or not?”

The blue bunny just let out a happy squeal before continuing to the young man’s side. Xion had started to come forward again, her feet guiding her to be within arm’s distance of the young man. The two looked each other over- the feeling that Xion had seen this young man before was even more prominent than before.

“Well, you’re not my baby sister.” the young man noted, tilting his hat up a bit to get a better look at Xion. To the bunny child, he got down to about its height before saying, “And did you forget what Sabi looked like? Our sis has brown eyes, not blue ones.”

The bunny child looked back up at him, crossing its arms and giving him a stink eye.

“You are a bit too short to notice that, huh?” the young man then mused before ruffling the top of the bunny’s head. “Don’t worry, I still got a treat for you. It’s in the back of the caravan.”

The small creature gave a sound similar to an ecstatic squeal before heading toward the aforementioned caravan. This just left the two humans to themselves -for the most part- and the silence was starting to weigh on Xion again. If it wasn’t for the sounds of the bunny kids in the card game apparently picking a fight, Xion would have backed away from this odd caravan and straight back to Kirkwall. But did she really want to make that walk back up alone?

“Are you looking for someone?” Xion finally asked, if only to distract her own thoughts. “I could help if you really needed it.”

“Nah.” the young man said with a wave of his hand. “If Junior can’t find Sabi, then Sabi doesn’t want to be found right now. She’ll show up in her own time. Always does.”

“And Sabi is…?”

“My baby sis, of course. Don’t worry- she’s human too.”

A moment of confusion hit Xion, but then it rolled over into good humor.

“Oh good,” she mused, “For a moment I thought she was a Behemoth.”

“With that tenacity of hers, it wouldn’t surprise me if she was part darkspawn.” the young man cheerily replied, tipping his hat toward her in goodwill. “But that’s younger siblings for you; get in all the trouble and think us older kids are gonna bail them out. Not that my sister needs the help, truly. But it’s nice to always be there. You know?”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that.” Xion told him with a smirk. “I was the youngest in my family.”

“Pardon if I’ve offended you, then.” the young man replied. “But you know it’s true. I’m sure your older siblings are down right jealous of how often you get away with things.”

Despite herself, Xion let out a small chuckle. “That’s what my brother would say.” she agreed. “Our father was a mage, and my brother was the only one of us siblings that wasn’t, so he didn’t get to spend much time with him.”

After saying this, Xion froze. Maker, being Kirkwall’s Champion or not, she had forgotten that there was a prejudice against mages. The young man didn’t seem to notice her bluff, or even indicated he thought of it as one, instead giving her a light laugh.

“Now I’m jealous.” he said. “Our old man left sometime after my fifth birthday. He probably never even knew my sister existed.”

Still recoiling from her mistake, and realizing that she had not been listening to him, the news gave Xion a small jolt. She fumbled over her words as she mumbled, “Must have been hard for her. Your sister, that is. There are still days when I wish I could have my father by my side.”

And the rest of my family. It’s too quiet. Too lonely. Too… too…

“Mom was sweet on her.” the young man said, taking Xion out of her thoughts for a moment. “Definitely had a solid reason why she gave her a name meaning ‘princess,’ that’s for sure.” But then a frown appeared on his face. “I think she gave her too much affection, actually. Sabrina doesn’t realize that the version of our mom she saw wasn’t the whole thing. She wouldn’t listen even if I did tell her.”

“Why can’t she see it in your mother herself?” Xion wondered, thinking back to her own father and the times he did something slightly worrying her mother didn’t approve of when she found out about it.

The young man’s expression only darkened. “Mom died when Sabrina was 11, and I was 16. How old were you when you started to question the image you had of your parents?”

Admittedly, it took her a moment to consider it.

“It was probably when my sister’s magic started to manifest,” she carefully decided. “We moved to Lothering to protect (or, I guess more accurately, hide) her. I must have been…?” That was when a realization hit her, and she looked back up at the young man in mild surprise. “I wouldn’t have been much older than Sabrina. Maybe even younger.”

“Exactly.” he affirmed. He let out a long, conflicted sigh before giving a small shake of his head. “But where have my manners gone? We’re talking about family, and we don’t even know each other’s names yet.”

The young man adjusted his hat once more, pushed up his sleeves a bit, then held his hand out to her. “The name is Brain, madam.”

For a moment, Xion just blinked. Her thoughts went on pause from this young man’s change of topic.

“Xion.” she carefully agreed. “Xion Hawke.”

“So that’s why you’re familiar.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve seen you in Kirkwall.” he explained, as simple as day. “I used to operate a pop up store in Lowtown, then moved out to the Gallows by request. Well, it wasn’t so much a request than it was to help out a little wallflower. Either way, I come around every now and again. Circuit around Orlais, Ferelden, and the Free Marches to get the word out.”

“I do recognize you, then!” Xion marveled, speaking more of a thought out loud than actually talking to him proper.

“Nice to know I’m recognizable.” Brain mused, tilting his hat toward her. For a split second, he looked like he was going to say something more, but decided against it. Instead, he gave her a soft smile. “Things have gotten a lot better for us since then. Since Mom died, anyway.”

Returning the conversation back to the original topic made Xion’s heart stop for a moment. “They have?” she carefully asked despite this.

Brain gave her a confident nod.

“Sabi won’t admit it, but they have. Months after our mother died, we were adopted by an Orlesian merchant. He and his wife had been trying to have kids for years, but never could. (And it’s particularly hard to tell for how long they’ve been trying, since they’re one of those who are not quite human, but not quite animal. For some reason the Maker decided those folks could outlive us normals for at least a solid age or two.) So now I pay my dues helping him operate the most successful business this side of Thedas. Sabi also has her own little mission to repay the old rabbit. Although I must warn you- if you ever see a pretty girl with a rabbit mask on; run.”

“Noted.” Xion agreed with a little chuckle.

Brain gave a smile of his own before joining in the laughter. The sound echoed through Xion’s heart and filling her with a relief she didn’t know she needed until now.

After awhile, Brain collected himself to gently slide a finger across the brim of his hat.

“Things will get better for you too.” he then carefully told her, jolting Xion out of her joy. Not for the first time, the sudden shock feeling more like a slap to the face. It was rather concerning that this young man had that kind of power. “It might be something small- like buying yourself something nice, or meeting someone new. Maybe it’ll happen ten years from now. Who really knows? It’s hard, but it is possible to focus on the good coming, rather than the bad that’s already happened. It won’t be easy, but you seem the type to never back down.”

“Like your sister?” Xion asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“A lot like my sister, actually.” he laughed in return. His sincere humor toward the topic was enough to send Xion in a light laughter as well.

Not wanting the small joy to end, Xion let her laugh naturally die down before looking him over again. Brain only stopped laughing because a bunny child was biding for his attention. As he talked to them, Xion further studied the young man. You couldn’t tell it at first glance, but Brain did have a genuine worry for his little sister. He hid it well behind clever remarks and an unbridled confidence. She wondered for a moment if Cloud felt the same way about her. It didn’t cross Xion’s mind that she had been staring for too long until Brain brought his attention to her. He didn’t say anything, but he tipped his hat in goodwill.

“It’s getting late.” Brain noted, taking half a glance up at the sky before looking back at Xion. “Would you like an escort back to Kirkwall?”

Xion smirked. “It would be the smarter choice, wouldn’t it?”

Brain offered back a rather bemused chuckle. He then let out a shrill whistle. Not long after, a blue bunny child came out of the caravan and happily bounded over to them. The bunny kid nuzzled against Brain for a moment as he likewise gave them a pat on the head.

“Junior, do me a favor and take Xion back home.” he said with a smile. “It’s getting late.”

The bunny child looked up at him with a wide grin, nodded in agreement, then happily went to Xion. It happily bounded into her arms, looking up at her with an innocent gleam in its eye. A thought came over Xion- one that she spoke out loud in mild bewilderment.

“That’s… not the same one from before.”

Brain raised an eyebrow in time with tilting his hat forward a bit. “Wow, I’m impressed. How’d you guess?”

“A hunch.” Xion carefully admitted. A comment from before came back to Xion in that moment. Brain had mentioned that his adoptive caretaker was a rabbit, right? And these blue bunnies were likely from him, right? She felt a bit dumb in just now asking the question. “Didn’t you say that your adoptive parents were not able to have children of their own?”

A rather mischievous glint flickered in Brain’s eye for a moment. “That’s still correct.”

“So how’d this little fella come along?”

Brain smirked. “Their luck changed, just like yours will.”

For a moment, Xion didn’t know what to think about that. She idly looked back down at the bunny child. It looked up at her with a wide eyed curiousness that only children knew how to pull off. The raw innocence of the creature almost made her recoil. At the same time, something in her clicked.

There was still hope.

Xion hugged the bunny kid for a second before waving Brain goodbye. The walk back to Kirkwall wasn’t filled with heavy thoughts. If anything, she was almost skipping. Once she and the bunny child got back to Kirkwall’s gates, they waved good bye and Xion made the walk back to Hightown. She saw a lot of blue bunnies on the way there. Each time she saw one, she remembered what Brain told her. When Xion got home, quietly shut the door behind her, and started to make a cup of tea. She slept incredibly well that night. It felt nice.

After that day, Xion started to notice just how many blue bunnies hung around Kirkwall. Each time she would see them, she’d smile and remember Brain’s advice with clarity.

It will get better.

7 notes · View notes