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mozart-the-meerkitten · 3 years

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*almost forgets to post the whumptober story she did for today*

But I did not! So here’s the next installment in the adventures of Oliver, the main character from my sci-fi story. Takes place shortly after the last one, ft. Oliver and the captain of the spaceship, Nancy.

Warning for past child abuse.

“Scars Come with Living”

“Captain, I need to speak with you about that little boy.”

Nancy looked up from her most recent report and regarded her chief medical officer. “Ah, Tracy. Yes, I was going to ask you about him anyway. I only saw him for a few moments when he was brought on board. How is he?”

Tracy looked concerned and Nancy’s heart sank a little. She hoped the boy was alright. He was a ragged, scrawny little thing, hardly more than a skeleton, but she had seen fire in him, even if had been buried under layers of abuse. She had liked him immediately.

“He is… doing well, considering his condition,” said Tracy. “He shows severe signs of malnutrition, and he is dehydrated and completely exhausted. Beyond that though he shows obvious signs of… physical abuse.” Nancy stiffened. “Such as?” Tracy took a breath. “Scars. On his back, chest, arms, neck and legs, new and old. There are also some fresher wounds that seem to have been given to him no more than three days ago, not to mention bruises and injuries from his escape. Additionally he has recently bruised or broken several ribs and they have not been healing well.” “Ah,” Nancy forced her jaw to unclench. “Anything else noteworthy?” “There is the emotional mental side of things as well,” said Tracy. “He is very shy and reserved, he frequently flinches as if expecting blows, and he seems to fear authority figures,” Tracy tilted her head. “So I think you should come and visit him as soon as possible to start allaying those fears.”

Nancy took a deep breath and nodded. “When would be a good time?” “Tomorrow morning, I think, if he’s awake. He needs rest, he’s clearly exhausted, poor thing. He’s been too nervous to sleep though, and when I tried to get an IV in him he had a panic attack. I sent Milo to him with some broth, I thought a familiar face, and another child, might help.” Nancy nodded. “Thank you for the update, Tracy. I will plan to come by late tomorrow morning.”

****

Nancy slipped quietly into the medbay. Tracy stood at the far end of the room organizing some shelves. Closer to the door was a bed that had been pressed up against the wall with a tiny figure sitting on it. The boy was every bit as ragged as Nancy remembered; torn clothes, bone-thin frame, dirty face, and hair that was still bright orange in spite of the abuse it had been through.

It was like looking back in time at her younger self, except she had been scrappy and angry instead of timid and scared (at least outwardly, inwardly she had been just as afraid as this poor boy was).

He hadn’t noticed her yet, so she took a few more steps into the room, letting her boots hit the ground a bit harder than normal, and giving a small cough as she walked.

His head whipped around toward her. Wide eyes regarded her with something like terror, and he shrank back against the wall.

Nancy walked over to him, keeping at least four feet between them, and knelt down. “Hello,” she said in her softest, gentlest voice. He was no longer looking at her face, instead staring down at the floor and shooting nervous glances at her. “My name is Nancy,” she said. “Do you have a name?”

“O-ol-liver,” he managed after a moment. Nancy’s heart broke a little. “It is nice to meet you, Oliver. Do you like our ship?” “I-it’s big,” he said quietly. “And c-clean.” Nancy smiled. “Good. That means my cadets are keeping it in order. You met a few of them, didn’t you? Milo and Weston, was it?” Oliver nodded. “Were they kind to you?” Nancy prompted. “O-oh y-yes, they- yes,” Oliver nodded quickly, and looked up at her for just a second, which Nancy counted as a victory. “They were v-very kind. M-Milo brought me f-food.” “Good, good, I’m glad to hear it. Now, Oliver, I have a question for you.” He looked worried again. “Y-yes?” Nancy took a breath. She hadn’t discussed this with Tracy, but after seeing the boy like this she couldn’t just leave him in such a state. “Would you like a bath?”

Oliver tensed a little. “A b-bath?” “With warm water, and soap,” Nancy clarified, fully aware of what kind of baths he had probably had in his life. “O-okay.” Oliver eased himself off the bed and stood quivering in front of her. To see what he would do, Nancy laid a hand on his back to guide him, and he flinched. She shut her eyes and gathered herself as memories slipped unbidden into her mind of wild hair and kind green eyes and gentle hands and loud laughter, and a soft voice reserved just for her.

Someone had cared about her then, when she was wild and angry and scared. And now her chance had finally come to be the carer instead of the cared for.

Dora would be very proud.

****

Oliver had never had a bath with warm water and soap before, but he decided it was the nicest thing that had ever happened to him- even better than the soup yesterday. Nancy talked and hummed as she helped him scrub the dirt away, and gradually he felt calmer around her. He had been terrified to strip down (nothing good ever came of that) but she had simply stared at him a moment, then helped him into the bath.

And the water was wonderful. It made all of his aches and hurts fade away. He wanted to stay in it forever. Even when Nancy cleaned his hair she was gentle, not like Stormy’s mother who scratched her fingernails against his head when she combed the dirt out. Nancy even helped him clean his face without getting soap in his eyes.

He didn’t ever want to leave, but, still unsure of boundaries and consequences here, he got out when Nancy asked. He stood shivering for only a moment before the softest thing he’d ever felt was wrapped around him.

“Is this a blanket?” he asked, regarding the blue fabric in awe. “It’s a towel, sweetheart,” said Nancy. “A towel?” Oliver gaped at it. He had never had a towel before, only rags and old blankets and burlap sacks. He hugged it around himself and decided that, even if they did decide to beat him, this place was much better than the slave compound.

“Now we need to find you some clothes,” said Nancy. “I’ll send Tracy to dig some out, we have lots of extra children’s clothes with all the cadets on board, and the children of the crew. Might not have anything that will fit you just right, but it’ll be better than the rags you were wearing.” “Th-thank you,” said Oliver, trying not to let his mouth hang open. Clothes?? He got clothes too?? This place was amazing! Maybe if he was very, very good they would let him stay.

He hoped so.

****

It was all Nancy could do not to stare when she got Oliver’s ragged clothes off him. Tracy had been right, he did have a lot of scars. Far too many scars for so young a child. Along with that he had bruises around his ribs, and along his arms. There were still-healing cuts that looked like whip lashes on his back that she was very careful of as she cleaned him off.

He didn’t play in the bath like most children would, but he did sink into it and gradually relax. He ran his fingers through the water and poked at bubbles experimentally. He seemed genuinely peaceful, and she hated to make him get out, but the water had turned brown from all the dirt she’d cleaned off him and it would start to get cold soon. And Nancy was certain that the last thing this child needed was a chill.

She got him out and wrapped a towel around him, which fascinated him just as much as the bath had. He rubbed it between his fingers and hugged it around himself, eyes wide.

“You can sit down, if you’d like,” said Nancy. He looked at her nervously again, but slowly sat.

Nancy thought for a moment, trying to discern how to pry without upsetting the boy. “Did you have a family where you came from, Oliver?” “N-no. Just my friends,” he said. “S-Stormy’s m-mother said we’re orphans.” “I see,” Nancy nodded. “Do you remember your parents?” Oliver looked down. “N-no.” Nancy had expected as much. “But you had friends?” “Y-yes. S-Stormy and Silas. Silas is my best friend, w-we take care of each other.” “That’s good, it’s good to have someone to help you when you need it.” At least the poor child had friends. Sometimes that was all one needed to survive.

Oliver seemed to be steeling himself for something. He shot worried glances at her and grew tense again. Nancy waited, afraid that if she tried to prompt him he would freeze.

“A-actually,” he said finally. “I r-r-ran away s-so I could g-get help for him. I h-have to g-go back and r-r-rescue him or he’ll, or h-he’ll…”

Oliver shut his eyes and squeezed himself together, shuddering. Nancy felt her heart sink.

“H-he’ll die,” whispered Oliver. A sob escaped him and he curled himself into an even tighter ball. “I n-n-need- I h-h-have to g-go back.”

Nancy leaned forward and gently, firmly, rested a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. The boy jerked and looked up at her with wide, tear-filled eyes.

“Oliver, little one, I will do everything in my power to help your friends,” she promised. “If I could turn the ship around this second and go back for them I would, but we have just been called out on a mission some ways from here, and I don’t know how long it will take us to complete. It is- it’s an emergency, a ship has vanished and we have been called to try and find out why.” Because we’re considered the most expendable ship in the fleet, she added silently.

She wasn’t sure how he would take this news, and was a bit surprised when his mouth fell open and his eyes started to fill with hope instead of tears.

“Y-you’ll help us?” he asked in an awed whisper. “As soon as I am able, yes,” said Nancy. Mentally she was cursing the commanders in charge of the fleet and their politics. If it weren’t for them a faster, closer ship could have been sent to investigate, and she could have easily turned her ship around and mounted a much-needed rescue mission (she would have anyway, but if she disobeyed such a direct order her ship would be taken from her, and then she wouldn’t be able to help anyone).

But Oliver didn’t seem to care. His eyes were filling with tears again, and he was shaking. “Thank you, thank you thank you thank you!” She smiled at him. He looked very much like he wanted to hug her, but was too anxious. For her part she didn’t want to startle him, so she moved her hand around and rested it on his back, gently pressing one arm against him.

“You are very, very welcome, little one.”

#whumptober2021 #no. 16 #scars #recovery #oliver #nancy #past child abuse #sci fi story #oliver's friend has a name now!#everyone on this ship meets oliver and immediately adopts him

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anjuschiffer · 3 years

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Maribat Prompts/Au/Ideas That Live Rent Free in my Head

A while ago, I said I would share a few things that I’ve been wanting to write...

Damigami (platonic)- Damian decides to make a fencing team at Gotham Academy (because he’s bored) but couldn’t make a team with the minimum amount of members to apply to competitions. Damian decides to venture into competitions on his own, going as far as entering the Cadet World Championships (or juniors...I don’t know much about fencing pls bare with me). While waiting for his match, he decides to check the women’s division and sees Kagami utterly defeat her opponent. He wants to approach her to ask if they could have a match of their own, but is called for his own. After winning his own, he sees Kagami and asks for a match. She tells him that she will be up for a match after winning her next and final match. BOth end up winning their final matches and Damian asks her for that match. She agrees. They become good sparring partners and friends.

Jasonette - Jason and Marinette are neighbors, but have never actually met each other. Mari often works during the day at her boutique while Jason is a stay at home dad with two adopted kids nicknamed Xol and Matt. At night, Mari sometimes checks on the kids because she knows that their father works at night. (The kids like Mari a lot, especially her cooking and baking.) One day, while with the kids, their father comes home early and Mari forgets to breathe. Jason wants to scream at the kids for letting someone in but after getting to know her, he’s okay with Mari looking after the kids while he isn’t there. A week later, Jason is asking Mari for help. To pretend to be the kids’ mother for a home-visit from their school (a nosy parent told the school she often saw the kids by themselves). Mari agrees and chaos ensues (because these kids want their favorite people to stop beating around the bush and get together already).

Luka and Cass (platonic) - Luka (as Viperion) finds Cass during patrol one night and discovers she’s in Paris as an undercover agent for Batman and Co™ for the Hawkmoth situation. (They got their distress signal a week late.) Cass is surprised that he got it correct, Luka explaining that her song told him as much. While Cass remains in Paris, the two share each other’s interests with each other

Adrijon - Clark is wandering around the house, cleaning up the place while Lois is off out of the state to get the scoop on the latest national incident. While picking things around, he starts to notice how pricey and how nice these items look, wondering if they were Kon’s. After all, Kon was dating Tim and Tim always paid for whatever caught Kon’s eye. However, Kon doesn’t recognize any of the sweaters, coats, scarves nor trinkets as his own, leaving Jon as Clark’s only answer. As he enters Jon’s room, he’s met with Jon wearing the latest Gabriel piece from that week’s fashion show in Paris. Clark only then finds out that Jon’s boyfriend was yet again another rich boy. What was it with his sons dating millionaires/billionaires?

Wally x Mari x Jinx - The JL is still young, still getting used to getting requests, especially international ones. So when they get an SOS from Paris, the JL want to send the Teen Titans but can’t so they send Wally and Jinx who meet Chat on one of his solo patrols. They get along well but when they meet Ladybug, the couple immediately click with her. The trio often spend time together, Wally and Jinx always there for Ladybug/Mari (Chat always complaining that Wally and Jinx stole his bff from him). Even after the defeat of HM, Wally and Jinx continue to be there for Mari.

Corpse Bride inspired Au, Damigami - The Tsuguri’s have an arranged marriage with the Agreste's, but Kagami isn’t exactly on board with the idea (sees how uncomfortable Adrien is to marry her) and wanders through the woods to clear her head. While saying her vows (in hopes of trying to find a way to clear her head), she ‘weds’ Corpsebride!Mari. Mari is shocked at first but whole-heartedly accepts Kagami as her groom. Kagami tries to tell Mari it was a mistake, but Mari doesn’t listen. Kagami finds a way to return to the land of the living for help, only to find out her mother is now marrying her to the Wayne heir Damian. Kagami is then found by Mari and Mari confronts her on ‘cheating’ on her. MIsunderstandings and drama later, Kagami is about to marry Mari when Adrien crashes the wedding. Mari confronts Adrien (they were supposed to get married/had eloped) and ends up clearing the misunderstanding (someone had murdered her on her way to the wedding). Adrien drinks the poison to be able to be with Mari, leaving Kagami by herself. Or at least she thinks so. Damian had called off the wedding, and instead told her if it would be okay to just be friends and get to know each other. She agrees.

No Miraculous Au, BFF Adrijon- Adrien is on a fashion tour and ends up in Metropolis. He meets Jon but as Jon gets to know Adrien, he finds out about his situation. One thing leads to another and with the help of Bruce, the Kents have a new family member.

Juleka x Rose x Cass (platonic or romantic) - Juleka and Rose meet Cass on one of Prince Ali’s charities in Paris, a charity where Bruce and Oliver are at. Bruce brought Cass while Oliver brought Artemis. Rose quickly tries to befriend the two but Juleka reminds her to tone it a bit when she notices that the two are having trouble trying to handle Rose’s energeticness. But the girls find themselves getting along, especially Cass. Cass is intrigued by Juleka and Rose’s dynamic, how Rose is able to understand both her and Juleka with little to no words. She finds herself accepted by the two, keeping in touch with them and visiting them (with the help of zeta tubes)

Roynette - While visiting Titan Tower, Speedy meets Red Scara, a new teen who recently wanted a change of pace after defeating her villain in her hometown. While at first he didn’t pay much mind to her, he started to like her after being paired up with her on missions. He couldn’t help but enjoy their missions where they would have to go undercover. He gets to see Red Sacara in so many pretty outfits. He always compliments her, but Scara never fully accepts it. When Roy asks why, Scara says it's because she’s nothing like this. Roy calls bs and when Scara reveals her face, reveals her eyes, Roy couldn’t help but fall in love with her even further. “Who doesn’t love eyes as bright as sapphires and stars freckled across such a loving face?”

Big Sister Mari - Flash brings in a child who he found lost in Central City to the JL. Robin (Dick) watches Barry get scolded by Bruce, only for Barry to tell Mari to tell everyone why she was there. Mari shows off the ring she was wearing, that allowed her to transform into Noir. That it was the last magical item from her Earth, as she had used said magical item to destroy the others (after freeing the Kwami). How she used the knowledge as Guardian to move to another Earth to hide the last miraculous and was looking for a place to live. Bruce takes her in, earning Dick an older sister.

Cassette (I blame Phi for making me have a new fav ship) - Cass was looking through Marinette’s scrapped designs, designs that Marinette loved but others didn’t. Seeing her upset, Cass commissions her to make them for her and she adores wearing them. (Cass always shows them off to her brothers and family)

Cassette - Cass teaching Mari ballet just so that she can always catch Mari.

Cassette - Cass wants to bring a date to the gala. She chooses Mari and practically goes around the Gala to show off her very cute date.

#maribat #anju's concepts #anju's ideas

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the-wotog-collection · 4 years

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true canon: an explanation

True Canon is set in a typical High Fantasy D&D ye olden age world, with monsters and magic and dragons galore. It started out focused entirely on Eve and Viktor and a few others’ travels through a country called Witherhurst, and as we made more characters and stories and kingdoms, we expanded the scope of WotOG (the original D&D game) to cover all of them, until we had a nice world built up around the characters. Since not all of the stories related to the events of WotOG (and WotOG part 2: Electric Boogaloo), we decided to change the name to True Canon, so we knew which universe for sure was the foundation upon which our Many AU’s Stand. Here’s a quick n dirty timeline, for reference:

(much more under the cut)

-Eve, Viktor, and a few others that aren’t relevant to the story travel around Witherhurst on a job or something from a lady who’s Definitely Not Important At All (Her name is Prenella). At some point Prenella ditches the party and they’re stuck without a cleric for a while

-They make it to a big city, and through shenanigans that include travelling the city for fun and also almost dying to a pack of rabid dogs, Eve convinces Intem to join the party.

-Eve, Vik, and now Intem (plus one more pc) unravel a cult plot, something about the end of the world, blah blah nothing really important there. They end up taking out the cult and fighting Prenella, the cult’s leader, who also happens to be a dragon. Neat.

-After that horrifying ordeal, the party reconvenes and decides, ‘fuck it, let’s go find a new place to travel together’ and thus board a ship that they then steal from the captain (after Intem’s “pet” eats said captain).

-So begins the few years the party spends as pirates.

-Things happen, they end up fighting an eldritch god for world-ending rights, and go on their merry way.

- Intem falls into the role of reluctant (but no less ruthless) pirate captain, with vik as his first mate and eve as navigator (despite the fact that she can’t read. they figure it out)

-This is around the time Intem goes from lilac-haired sunshine boy to disgruntled cynic who’s Done With Your Shit, Viktor.

-Eventually the crew docks, and picks up Therai and Pippin for a while. Eve also brings up the idea of reviving Vik’s old travelling companion, Dante (two bros, chillin in a tavern, no feet apart ‘cause they’re so gay), and Intem’s like “Sure why the fuck not” and they set off to find his grave or whatever.

-Hatch and Xander are in the area and end up getting picked up by the crew.

-Dante gets revived, and for the next year or so, everything is fine.

-Eventually the crew docks near Therai’s old home kingdom, and he dips, taking Pippin, Xander, and Hatch with him (he really only meant to take Pip). They spend a while travelling to his kingdom, Aer-Vinn, and encounter Hatch’s long time (boy)friend Aerglo. He joins the party, at Hatch’s request.

-A little while later (vague time frame I know but exact years don’t matter here), there’s some Good Therai Angst when- Shock! Horror! - they end up stumbling upon Tal, who shares ~history~ with Therai. Not the good kind, mind you. They leave soon after meeting Tal.

-There’s a few more encounters with Therai’s old companion before Tal eventually softens up and joins the party, hell yeah. Warren joins too, because he was nearby and Also shares ~history~ with Therai and Tal. (They were all in a party together before this)

-AT THE SAME TIME THIS IS GOING ON: Rain sets out on a holy mission from their church to prove themselves worthy of being a Paladin of the Church.

-They meet Rosemary along the way, and after a small adventure together, they decide to help Rose out and find Catherine with her, because a while back Rose accidentally turned Catherine into, well, a cat.

-They do find Cat, after she’d gone through some Shit in an alternate dimension featuring a Sun Goddess and her complete mental breakdown. Cat Killed A Goddess (or two, we’ll see how the campaign goes), and made friends with the cousins Mikhail and Valentine. Mikhail doesn’t matter to the timeline right now.

-Anyway, Rain and Rose find Cat, and settle down in a little seaside village where they work together to turn Cat back into a human.

-They Succeed!!!

-Uh-oh there’s a stranger at the door- Oh! It’s just Rain’s Cleric friend from their church, Rahon! Turns out Rain kinda went MIA and everyone back home is having a Panic, so Rahon’s here to make sure Rain is alive and well, or collect their belongings if they’re not-

-But they’re alive, so Rahon calms down and decides to stay (after sending a message back home, of course), to keep an eye or two on Rain.

-Rain is Delighted :)

-The party (minus kal) were traveling somewhere, kal ended up going the same way, and they ended up in the same city for a while. rahon saw her Up To No Good, so he kept an eye on them and saw them getting stabbed, and decided to nurse her back to health, and thus Kal Joins The Party. Rahon is an absolute sweetheart to them

-Eventually Rose, Cat, and Rain head out to a nearby cave system bc of Reasons, and end up kinda sorta stumbling into a system that leads to this world’s version of the Underdark. They need help navigating, because Fuck These Tunnels Are Confusing, and come across a little hermit drow who’s living his “best” life in his underground hut with tattered clothes and ratty books and cracked glasses.

-He just wants to see the surface but is terrified of how the world will treat him if he goes up alone, so he offers to guide everyone through the Underdark in exchange for them taking him up to the surface. Everyone agrees

-Astralus, little hermit drow lad, does so, and soon finds himself stumbling out into broad daylight. He’s got light sensitivity and everything Burns, but he’s so fucking happy oh my gods. Also he’s crying but it’s okay, he’s kinda really emotional.

-Aster joins the party! And they find out he’s cousins with Rose, who practically adopted him as a brother anyway let’s be real.

-Somehow Val learns of Cat’s whereabouts, and pops by to say hi to his trauma buddy. Cue shock as he sees her as human for the first time. Aster develops an immediate crush, and takes to following Val around like a lost puppy.

-Val is having a Time because, Aster looks just like a person he knew in an alternate universe and things didn’t turn out well for them. Yikes.

-Val joins the party, if only to tease Cat and finally have a place to be for a while

-MEANWHILE: Bree finds an abomination living in the abandoned mineshafts near her village. She decides he could probably use a friend, since the entire village is pretty scared of/hostile towards him, and becomes that friend. She finds out his name is Ve, and he’s a sweetheart. She makes immediate friends and he teaches her sign language, because he Literally Doesn’t Have A Face, he can’t speak.

-A few weeks later, either Ve or Bree decide to leave bc Fuck This Town, except they don’t say Fuck because they’re both softe beans (they both legally cannot say fuck. and i actually had an idea for how they leave ovo). Either way, they leave, and through shenanigans, they pick up Three More Tieflings, what the hell, which is kinda funny because previously, Bree didn’t think tieflings existed at all.

-Tarvaii and Trancey are travelling together as a Chaotic Mischief Duo, and end up joining the party because Bree made friends

-Same situation with Chaym, though he was alone and depressed because his entire village got massacred. Bree made friends, and Chaym joined the party

-Chaym also ended up teaching Trancey magic, specifically Necromancy, which is kinda really stupid dangerous but it’s fine, Chaym survived, why shouldn’t Trancey? (flawed logic but okay Chaym)

-Cut to a few years later, back with Eve and Co.

-They’re in a tavern, Eve sees a depressed tiefling at the bar. What does she do? Immediately go try to cheer him up.

-She finds out he’d left his pregnant girlfriend on a mission to go help out somewhere, and ended up stuck in a weird place where time passes differently for him. It’s been 26 years, though to him it felt more like a handful of weeks. He’s scared and confused and would very much like to find his family, but he has no idea where he is.

-Eve’s heart breaks bc! he’s so sad and his girlfriend is pregnant and he’s got a family and just wants to get back to them, how could she not want to help? and thus she decides to help the tiefling, Viren, find his family.

-Through a series of events, the find out Viren’s family was living in a beautiful city built into the mountains, that fell quite a few years back. Luckily, his girlfriend left beforehand, and moved to a small mining town, where she gave birth to, and briefly raised, their son. She named him Ve, after his father, who she assumed was dead.

-There was a fire at one point, and Angelica, Viren’s girlfriend, died saving Ve. Viren is absolutely devastated when he finds out, and Eve offers to resurrect Angelica, y’know, bring the family together again, even if for just a short time.

-Vi agrees, and they do so! Woo! Also Eve and co. meet up with Ve for a while so the family really is back together.

-Intem, doing a sneaky trick, makes it so Angelica’s soul keeps the body and just, lives until the body dies, be it natural or unnatural causes. He only tells Eve and Angelica about it, and waits to see how long it takes Viren to realize ‘oh shit I’m not losing my fiance so soon’

-Also Viren and Angelica get engaged! Woo!

-A little while passes, Viren and Anne join the party, and Eve gets pregnant with Intem’s kids. At this point the party’s stopped adventuring, and they all settled down somewhere nice. Anyway Eve’s pregnant and gives birth to twins, Olive and Evergreen (Evan for short), but Olive looks more like Therai than Intem and it’s kinda weird, but nobody really minds because the twins are just, so cute. Also Therai (and co) came back and built the party a nice house, so, yeah.

-Olive and Evan grow up, and Evan takes an interest in Druid Magic. Vik lets Evan access his Giant Library and teaches him general magic stuff. Olive scares her whole ass family by taking an interest in Necromancy, and eventually someone gets in contact with Chaym (and by extension Trancey), and has him come over to teach Olive.

-Olive becomes a necromancer! And then heads off with Evan in tow to start their own life of adventuring.

-Eve has another kid, Avery, with Therai

-Olive befriends a Whole Ass Dragon, gives him the nickname Jade, and introduces him to Evan. By the time the trio make it back to Jade’s hoard, Avery’s taken on the role of Fighter and heads out into the world to do her own thing. She also meets Clover, another fighter, and they travel together for a while before joining Olive, Evan, and Jade.

-That’s it, that’s where we stopped on the timeline of True Canon. It’ll go on, of course, but, here’s the general timeline in 4 pages

#long post #true canon #so! there's the Entire true canon timeline #with some stuff missing here and there but i'm sure we'll get there #anyway this took an hour to write and took up four entire pages on our google doc #so. yeah #mod ash

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jules85 · 5 years

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This is the scene where my feelings went from 'Aw they're cute' to 'I will ship these two with my dying breath.'

First of all, did Oliver meet her there thinking this was a date?

Secondly, the dork smiles and waves at her when she arrives. Then shakes his head catching himself in the moment. It's like he's thinking 'what am i doing? Scary vigilantes don't smile and wave at cute, blonde IT girls.'

I think Oliver always just found something so disarming about Felicity. She was never what he expected her to be, and it threw him off his 'lone wolf' agenda.

I love how at first we think she's going to tell him that she likes him, then she goes in an entirely different direction.

She asks if she can trust him. She tells him that she knows he's been lying to her, but that she still feels that she can trust him.

Then we get the moment that just sold their entire relationship to me. Oliver adopts his 'Ollie' persona and tries to charm her. It works with everyone else in his life, but Felicity sees through it. She has always seen through him. She has always seen him. Go back to the head tilt in 1x03. And Oliver knows it. He drops the schtick immediately and is honest with her.

I love that Felicity brings him the book. She has always been forthright with him. And as much as Oliver tries to hide his reaction, she can see how it affects him. The scene becomes so much more emotional than it was probably ever intended to be and that is because of the chemistry between them. They just create layers and layers between them. I'm so glad we got to explore those layers.

#olicity #oliver x felicity #the moment i started shipping them #arrow 1x12 #i never looked back

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thesynthesist · 4 years

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Put 2000 words into a reasonable second part last night. I wanted to get it finished but there are more words... Take part one in the mean time. If you don’t want to click through, read below the cut

Earth was not a place for impatience. It had been three days since Silas had made landfall after replying to the message he had received from what he assumed to be the only living relative of Dr. Hull, father of androids. Violet still had not contacted him again. What’s more, she wasn’t on the planetary network so there was nothing Silas could do but wait. He didn’t mind that. Earth was the cradle of human and AI civilization, and even so many years after humanity left for the stars, it was still considered a hub of culture for the solar system, if not the wider universe. Colourful buildings of stained glass solar panels and rugged biodegradable plastics sprouted from the ground wherever he looked. Wrapped in plant life that had evolved to tolerate co-habitation, it was beautiful. Here and there if you knew the right places to look, you could find houses from the old prefab subdivisions, with their brick walls and plastic sidings. Buildings older than that were rare and practically on the other side of the planet from where Silas had landed. It was a small thing to bridge that distance these days but he didn’t want to be far from his ship. Instead he was content to explore the immediate area and he was deciding whether or not he should sample some of the regions cuisine despite the fact it would force him to clean out his calorimeter, when a message popped up in the lower right of his vision. Heard you were planet side, little bro. Let’s meet up. I’d rather not. Silas shot back the message with barely a thought, adding after a moment of consideration. I’m strictly here on business. And as if to back up his claim, he turned and went back to his ship. Suddenly, he had no desire to ingest anything at all. Sid showed up the next day while Silas was watching his mechanical fish. “Woah, you make these?” Silas sighed, “You know it’s rude to come onto someone’s ship without asking.” Sid slung an arm over Silas’s shoulder and Silas got a glimpse of his face int the reflection from the fish tank. The family relationship was strong by human standards. They had the same broad jaw, the same fine black hair -- though Sid’s was wild, and causally styled with gel while Silas kept his cropped to something a little more practical. As model mates they were based off the same base specs. There were plenty of members from their fabrication group, but Sid and Silas had been finished at around the same time near the end, and Sid had decided, not even an hour after he was operational, that Silas was his little brother and that nothing could break the bonds of family. Silas found it all very tiresome. “Well you weren’t coming to see me,” said Sid as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “So I had to come see you.” “I told you, I’m strictly here on business,” replied Silas. “It’s always business with you,” said Sid. “It wouldn’t kill you to loosen up. We’re series one, we’re practically human. Live a little! Even Series 4 get out more than you and they don’t have a social drive.” Silas set his mouth in a firm line and met Sid’s gaze in the glass, but he said nothing. Between his anxiety to make progress on his investigation to justify the time off, and Sid’s sudden appearance, his patience was wearing thin. They stared at each other like that, fish swimming behind their faces, until Sid raised his hands and took a step back. “Alright, I get it, I get it. It’s important stuff you’re working on. Big time shit. But I don’t want to hear about you burning out your circuits and having to be hauled off to a repair satellite ahead of schedule because you refuse to take some time off.” He closed his eyes, the pupils darting back rapidly beneath the surface. Silas found the display amateurish, with a little practice it was possible to run functional societal programming and searches at the same time. When Sid opened his eyes again he said, “Let’s try this. There’s a culture festival tomorrow in the next city over. I know you like that sort of thing so we should go. I’ll meet you outside at 10 in the morning, in case you decide to go. If you’re not out by 11, don’t worry I’ll see myself out.” Sid waved with forced cheer, and left. Silas watched his fashionably distressed clothing disappear in the reflection. He stared at the fish for a while before burying himself in auxiliary work for the rest of the day. Fielding small requests, connecting missed messages, digging up archival information. Most of it a faxi could have done without the help of a proper AI but it felt good to be busy. At midnight local time, his faxi politely reminded him that it would be beneficial to spend at least an hour at the recharging station. It wasn’t that he needed to sleep as such, but it was common practice for Series One to spend at least a few hours inactive to reduce wear on their joints and back up their memories. Begrudgingly, Silas agreed and plugging himself in, lowering his awareness to the most basic levels. He opted not to spend his time on the net or the local chat serves, and instead spent the time drifting. As usual, since his encounter, Silas found himself thinking about Ayoura. It had been shocking to learn that she had children, had a family. It had sent a thrill through Silas’s central processes. What Sid wanted was just make believe wasn’t it? Playing house like children, what Ayoura had was real, truly, painfully real. Sid hadn’t been far off when he said that they were practically human. All humans wanted a group to belong to, it only followed that the first series did too. Many of the same urges, the same feelings flowed through them, and so they had adopted the human model without a second thought, or when that was impossible just resigned themselves to having nothing. After all, everything else about Series One mimicked humans. Perhaps Sid was onto something. Despite all Silas’s companionship work, despite all the time he had spent with humans, he had never once considered how human concepts might related to himself. He had always held himself apart from them, but considered himself to be under the same psychological directives. He was Series One. Not quite human, but not quite robotic either. Series 4 were a complete mystery, and the other series only slightly less so. There was no place where he fit and understood so he had just adopted the best model that came along. The rage and bitterness that coloured many of Ayoura’s memories were beginning to make sense. He searched his personal database for the memories of Ayoura’s family. Not the one’s of her father, but the ones of her husband, and her children, loved with a fierceness that put a red super giant star to shame, even as they were stripped from her. Silas dwelled on that memory trying to understand. She hadn’t known her children, not really. They had been born as humans were, small and read and squalling. That was the only way she had known them, hardly alive, hardly aware. In some sense what Sid had endeavored to create between the two of them was more real than that. There was no reason, Silas realized, he had to oust himself from things he could not emulate perfectly. Sometimes things had to be changed to make sense. At 10 AM local time, Silas stepped outside of his ship. Sid was already there waiting, dressed in what Silas assumed were his best clothes; if ripped red jeans and a sleeveless black turtleneck could be considered best. “You look like you’re dressed for a funeral,” he said. Silas looked down at his white suit. “Not appropriate?” “Dude. No.” Side Ushered Silas back into the ship and made a beeline for his room. “Don’t you have something a little more casual?” Silas watched helplessly as Sid ransacked his wall closet, flipping through the clothes with practiced ease. He pulled out a pair of grey cargo pants and an olive drab tank top from the back triumphantly and held them up. “That’s just for ship wear,” Silas protested. “Hush, it’s very casual military chic, I like it,” said Sid, completely ignoring the look Silas was giving him. “Not quite as bright as most people will be wearing but it’ll do.” He draped the clothes over Silas’s shoulder and clapped him on the back. “Well, get dressed.” “You are incredibly meddlesome,” said Silas, loosening his tie. “And you’re a stick in the mud in public,” Sid replied fondly as he left the room. Silas changed quickly, slipping on the clothing with practiced ease. The fabric was soft from use, but thankfully unstained and therefore met the very minimum requirements of presentation. He tried to ease the tension in his shoulders as he made final adjustments. It seemed despite his revelation in the early hours of the morning, the adjustment wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. Sid made it look easy. The crowd practically parted as he led the way off the ship, down the street, onto the train and to the festival. He smiled at everyone, and seemed completely at ease, introducing Silas to strangers that he admitted he didn’t know. Silas was tired by the time they arrived, but the air of the festival soon revitalized him. It was already in full swing and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It wasn’t a human only affair either. They passed the brightly coloured and patterned chassis of the second and third series. There were even a few multi-limbed inhuman planned, series four in the throng. The miniserver for the neighborhood was awash with talk of events and merchandise. The excitement was palpable. “There are so many people here,” remarked Silas when they stopped for a moment to watch someone swallow a sword. He claimed to be all organic, and Silas knew it was possible, but it was still a sight verging on miraculous. Sid laughed, “It’s nice to have your boots on the ground eh? You spend so much time on those corporate ships and security tours of yours. Come on, we’ve got more to see.” Silas let Sid lead him through the blur of novelty. There were street musicians, contact jugglers, dancing and the smells of food Silas couldn’t name. It was overwhelming. It was amazing. They stopped at anything that caught Silas’s eye, Sid offering a running commentary. It wasn’t particularly illuminating but it was still, somehow, nice. “Consider,” said Sid, handing Silas an iced treat made of what seemed to be seaweed and avocado, “you would have let all this pass you by holed up in that ship of yours.” “Consider,” replied Silas, “you’d get more work done if you let a little bit more pass you by.” “Touche.” Silas tried a spoonful of his treat. The flavor and the chill sat heavily on his tongue but not unpleasantly. Belayed by the creamy texture it tasted the way reentering orbit felt. It left an earthy taste on his tongue when it was gone, and a surprisingly empty feeling feeling in his mouth. He had some more. “What’s this?” “Ocean ice,” said Sid. “most humans don’t like it. Says it tastes like the ass end of a fishing trawler but some like it, and it’s popular among the first and second series.” “Not Series three?” asked Silas. He didn’t know much about the other series besides the basics. In the small microcosms he inhabited they were usually far away from him or perpetually busy. Sid stirred his Ocean ice contemplatively, turning it into a thick slurry. “They’re wired to detect chemicals so they don’t tend to eat a lot of human food.” “We go more for galactic ice, it tastes like cyanide and motor oil.” Silas looked over and found that they’d been joined by a stocky unit with patchwork synth skin in reds, yellows and oranges. Her hair was short, and so red it was almost brown. “Lee!” Sid swept her into a hug, which she endured patiently. When he finally released her, he turned. “Silas, this is my friend Auralie. Auralie, this is my brother Silas.” “Charmed,” said Silas, holding out his hand. Auralie looked at it for a moment before shaking it firmly. “You can just call me Lee,” she said. “Figured I’d just tell you now, since I can tell you’re one of the corporate types, not like this idiot.” She elbowed Sid, who beamed at the casual abuse. “He’s a walking disaster no matter where he is.” “Ouch! That hurt more than the elbow.” “Tough,” Lee grinned. “Anyways, someone said they saw Sid wandering around with his model mate who’s never been planet side proper before, so I came out as sort of a welcome committee.” “That’s very kind of you,” said Silas. “Don’t thank me yet, Proxy. By this time tomorrow you’re going to know what a hangover is.” Lee winked and spun around threading her way through the crowd with practiced ease. What’s a proxy? Silas asked, as he and Sid followed the rapidly disappearing bob cut into the crowd. Best not think to hard about it. Silas glanced over sharply at Sid but he wasn’t paying attention. Instead he looked like the proverbial cat, and Silas hoped, all things considered, this did not make him the proverbial canary. But no matter what happened Silas had the sinking feeling he was in for an experience.

#writing #sci fi #part two is so long over due

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omgkatsudonplease · 6 years

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Another Love by Tom Odell and Viktuuri

day 4, part 1!

The meeting ends with Mila and Christophe arranging for Seung-gil to be transported onboard the Firebird. Sara relays a request for ship logs from the spaceport, while Phichit keeps an eye on transmissions from Nevan law enforcement.

Yuuri feels a bit like an extraneous appendage as the other crew members spring into action. He tries tagging along with Phichit, but as soon as Christophe finishes the arrangements, he and Phichit delve into the transmissions together. “Maybe take our guest around the ship?” Christophe offers as a strange sort of olive branch. Yuuri sighs, but acquiesces readily.

“I’m excited!” Viktor exclaims as Yuuri leads him down the corridors of the ship. “How many people are in the crew?”

There are twenty-four beings onboard, answers NICA before Yuuri can respond, twenty-three of them are regular crewmembers onboard the Firebird. Would you like the ship’s roster?

“NICA, no,” says Yuuri, shaking his head. “Yeah, there’s 23 crew members, though I think Mila officially added Christophe’s Kotchka to the roster after she got her shots.”

“Ooh, you have one of those?” Viktor raises an eyebrow. “I think Yura will be more inclined to come with you guys, then, if you tell him he could play with her.”

“He likes Kotchki?” asks Yuuri.

“Yeah, he has three back in Moyka,” replies Viktor, shrugging. Yuuri pulls up a map from NICA, trying to calculate the best route for a tour.

Might I suggest showing him the observation deck? asks NICA innocently. Yuuri sighs.

“Want to see the observation deck?” he asks. Viktor claps his hands.

“It would be an honour,” he says. Yuuri feels his cheeks heating up as he starts to head towards the starship’s aft.

The observation deck is less of a deck and more of a small room with a large viewing panel and several comfortable chairs. It serves primarily as a breakroom for the ship’s engineers as well as a popular date location for the ship’s couples on designated weekends. Sure enough, as they enter the room, the ship’s head engineer snaps to attention.

“Your Highness!” he exclaims, bowing deeply. Viktor bows back.

“This is Emil Nekola,” Yuuri says. “He does most of the mechanical repairs.”

“Except the crazy genius ones,” says Emil, shaking his head. “I just listen to the Terrans when they start spouting their ideas. I recommend you do that, too, Your Highness.”

Viktor chuckles. “They can be stubborn otherwise,” he agrees. “What brings you away from Neva? I know why Captain Babicheva is here, but…”

“She picked me up from a spaceport cantina in the Outer Quadrant,” says Emil, shrugging. “Protip: Never accept a ride from a Weyr.”

Yuuri shakes his head. “Emil, have you given Mila the list of supplies we’re going to need? We’re heading out at 0800 tomorrow.”

“Already ahead of you,” says Emil. “My crew’s all planetside; apparently there’s some sort of new nightclub in Moyka that’s opening tonight. I hope they make it back in time.”

Yuuri laughs. “You’re not going to go make sure they behave?”

Emil shrugs. “Maybe I should. You’d know better than most how Nevan liqueur can get with non-Nevan biologies.”

Yuuri winces, but Viktor’s interest seems to have sparked based on the way he leans in closer. “Tell me more,” declares the prince. Emil’s grin gets positively shit-eating.

“Well, there was this one time a couple standard months ago when I’d come back from my leave with a flask of Moykavino –”

“Triple distilled, right?” asks Viktor. Emil nods.

“Yes. The kind that gets you absolutely polluted after three shots,” he says. “But you know, the grade of intoxicant is apparently very close to lethal levels on Terra, which of course means Terrans are always challenging one another to take a shot, right? Anyway, Yuuri decides, because he’s really quite the daredevil if you push his buttons, to try some –”

“Oh god.” Yuuri sits down in one of the seats, turning towards the observation pane. “Call me when you’re done recounting my embarrassment.”

“It was not an embarrassment!” exclaims Emil, reaching out and ruffling a heavy gloved hand through Yuuri’s hair. “It’s impressive a Terran can even drink one shot of triple-distilled Moykavino, let alone six!”

“Six!” exclaims Viktor, his eyes wide. “Wow, Yuuri, how are you not a galactic legend yet?”

“Phichit keeps trying to make that happen,” Yuuri mutters. “He has musical numbers about this incident, too. His favourite part is the a capella portion that’s all me having to be tied down in the sickbay for a week afterwards while Dr Minami detoxed me.”

Viktor’s laughter makes the mortification almost worth it. Almost. “Travelling with Terrans sounds like something exciting,” he remarks. “I know there are Nevan companions with the ICU, but everyone wants Terrans instead because they’re so hardy and…”

“Mad scientist?” Emil’s smile is fond. “And they’re even more intense when they’ve already bonded with each other like Yuuri and Phichit are – no, not official,” he adds, as Viktor seems to have gone very still at that, “it’s… an official camaraderie, I guess.”

“Licensed friend-bond,” Yuuri mutters. “You invite one of us, you invite the other automatically. Otherwise there are legal repercussions.”

“Ah, similar to the Beta Allegrian companions who take their mating pairs with them,” Viktor says, nodding. “I’ve looked it all up.” He comes to take a seat next to Yuuri, looking out at the stars. “You wouldn’t believe how close I keep coming to filling out the companion applications every year.”

“But you’d have to surrender your place in line,” Emil says. Viktor nods.

“It caused instability for a couple years when Gosha was forced to do so after being rejected by all of the Candidates,” he says. “I’ve had better luck; a lot of them want the bond with me, but… I couldn’t reciprocate.”

Yuuri can hear Emil slowly backing out of the room. He sighs. “I’m sorry, this is probably a stupid question, but since Mila rarely talks about Neva and the interneb doesn’t have any reliable information about the Royal Family – what are Candidates?”

“High-empath Nevans who were discovered past childhood,” says Viktor. “The institution of the Royal Family wants only the most powerful empaths to be rulers, so they adopt the precocious ones and raise them as potential heirs, and they compel the late bloomers to bond into the family.” His tone is a little dry, a little brittle. “If someone in the direct line of succession is unable to secure a bond with a Candidate by their 30th birthday, they must give up their place.”

“And Mila was one of those Candidates before she fled,” says Yuuri.

“It’s an act of treason,” agrees Viktor. “Only the monarch and the heir apparent are allowed to grant royal pardons to forgive those who flee their duty to Neva, but not every border guard knows that.” He laughs a little drily at that, before looking over at Yuuri. “Neva doesn’t make that sort of information easily searchable on the interneb, and the Searchers never confirm anything to the outside press.”

“I can imagine the uproar,” says Yuuri. “Or maybe not imagine – Phichit says there’s a social media conspiracy that the Nevan government rounds up high-empath Nevans. There’s usually a ‘FreeNeva’ nonprofit or two trying to send an investigative journalist planetside to see if it’s true, but then they all get discredited or disappear, or worse.”

“I don’t think…” Viktor sighs, looking out at the stars, at the ringed blue sphere that his homeworld is from up here. “It’s not right, but it’s also not something I can control, even as the Crown Prince. The Searchers are an institution now, and the industry surrounding them is so big. I don’t know where I’d start dismantling it, if they don’t immediately execute me for trying.”

From up here, Yuuri also feels small. Just a speck of human dust floating in the vast dark vaccum of space, insignificant in the grand scheme of the galaxy. But there’s some comfort in insignificance sometimes – it means not every decision is life or death, not every choice will affect the structure of the universe. Viktor, on the other hand, looks down on the planet like a weary guardian, larger than life, able to determine the fate of everyone on this ship and everyone else on the planet.

But then Viktor looks at him, and Yuuri realises that no, the prince is small, too. Bowed over already by his responsibilities, chained to this planet out of duty. A puppet dancing on the end of the string, a child afraid of the dark spaces between the stars. His fingers find Viktor’s, seek the now-familiar comfort that they seem to bring. Viktor kisses their foreheads together, his breath exhaling softly between them.

“Thank you, Yuuri,” the prince says after a moment. “For all you’ve given me so far.”

“I haven’t given you anything,” Yuuri says, confused.

“You gave me a taste of the universe,” replies Viktor. “A sample of the life I could have led, at the eleventh hour of my freedom.”

Yuuri pulls back, brows furrowing. “What do you mean –”

“When this is over, I must return to Neva and be bonded,” replies Viktor. “It’s what I must do, in order to start changing the culture around Searchers.”

Yuuri swallows. “What would you do?” he asks, somehow speaking around the lump in his throat.

“I’d no longer make it treason to refuse,” replies Viktor. “It’s an opportunity, if someone wishes to take it. And many – especially those who who are poor – will take it for the chance at stability, at prestige, at privilege. But for others, it’s little more than abduction and captivity in a gilded cage.”

It’s a promise. It’s a good start. And yet the price feels too high for Yuuri somehow. The idea that he’ll have to say goodbye forever to this extraordinary prince from the stars wrenches at his heart in a way that he still doesn’t understand. Viktor looks at him, evidently sensing the pain; Yuuri turns away, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat.

“You’re very… honorable,” he chokes out.

A pause. “That is high praise from a Terran,” Viktor whispers, one hand reaching out for his cheek. Yuuri leans into it readily, savouring the contact, the little peek into the supernova of Viktor’s emotions.

Maybe this is what heartbreak feels like – knowing that the dutiful path is not the same as the right one, and knowing he must choose it anyway.

#yoi #viktuuri #victuuri #lily's dabbles #yoiroyaltyweek #day 4 #rewrite the stars #kazliin #ask #kidnapping mention

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worldevoured · 3 years

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ALISTAIR THEIRIN B. 9:10 DRAGON || COMPANION

STATISTICS

FULL NAME Alistair Theirin.

DATE OF BIRTH 9:10 Dragon.

PLACE OF BIRTH Unknown, suspected near Redcliffe.

RACE Human.

GENDER Cisgender man.

PRONOUNS He/him/his.

SEXUALITY Bisexual.

NATIONALITY Fereldan.

RELIGION Agnostic.

POSITIVE TRAITS Compassionate, good-natured, honorable, resourceful.

NEGATIVE TRAITS Indecisive, insecure, naïve, passive.

PHOBIAS None.

MENTAL HEALTH PTSD.

AFFILIATION Grey Wardens of Ferelden, Fereldan Court.

TITLES Grey Warden, King ( conditional ).

SKILLS & ABILITIES

CLASS Warrior.

SPECIALIZATION Templar, Champion.

WEAPON Longsword, shield.

COMPANION STATS

Follows most Origins canon regarding approval and disapproval.

CONNECTIONS

FAMILY Maric ( father, deceased ), Fiona ( mother, unknown ), Cailan ( half-brother, deceased ), Anora ( former sister-in-law ), Eamon ( adoptive uncle ), Teagan ( adoptive uncle ), Goldanna ( half-sister, incorrectly identified ).

WANTED SHIPS Alistair/Warden, Alistair/Leliana, Alistair/Hawke, Alistair/Inquisitor.

NOTES

ON ALISTAIR’S FACE CLAIM, AND ALISTAIR BEING WHITEWASHED IN-GAME AND IN FANDOM I completely agree with and 100% support the argument that Fiona is a woman of color. She is very clearly intended as a woman of color in The Calling, and I agree that Inquisition did whitewash her. Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s father is Egyptian and Jewish, and his appearance fits Alistair’s well as portrayed in Origins; as far as I know, this doesn’t go against any canon besides Fiona’s skin tone in Inquisition, but if I’m mistaken, please please please let me know and I’ll fix this immediately !! Please know that Alistair is very deliberately being written as nonwhite, with a face claim who, as far as I know, is not himself white.

ON THE DARK RITUAL Morrigan is not entirely responsible for the Ritual, but she is responsible for how she chooses to present it. While I am willing to write the aftermath of the Ritual as if Alistair has taken part because he is either unaware of the full implications and ramifications, or because he’s been guilted or coerced, this will require extensive plotting and a close writing relationship, and this will be treated as an assault. Coercion is not consent. There are ways for Alistair to complete the Ritual without the Warden using the persuade option once — I’ve done it, I know it’s there. Alistair will complete the Dark Ritual willingly and with all the information if the Warden says that there is a way for them to avoid dying, and if the Warden says that they believe this is the right choice. In this case, the two are sharing their thoughts on an impossible situation, and the Warden is not coercing Alistair.

ON SHIPPING If the Warden lies to, guilts, or coerces Alistair, their relationship, whatever its nature, will be destroyed. Alistair will not like or trust them, and will not engage with them except when strictly necessary. I will not ship Alistair with Morrigan. He associates her with the genuinely traumatic and uncomfortable events of the Dark Ritual. He’s not up for a romance with her as a result, and neither am I.

CANON DIVERGENCE

HARDENED / UNHARDENED Alistair can be hardened after meeting his ( incorrectly identified ) half-sister, Goldanna, as in canon; however, unlike in canon, there are two. The first is canon – to tell him that everyone is out for themselves, and he should learn that. Following this conversation, he will say that he has thought about it, and should be more assertive, and think for himself more. The sole dialogue choice to harden him always seemed a bit unnecessarily unkind, and so there is a second option – to simply say, “You didn’t deserve that.”

Alistair is not particularly conscious of having a low opinion of himself, though it’s clear he does – he routinely undermines himself, he gets defensive when Morrigan questions his measurable skills, and unless hardened, he routinely defers to others and explains this as his inability to make good decisions. Challenging his perception of himself, and his low self-worth, will prompt a conversation on the topic, in which Alistair asks what was meant by the Warden’s comment. See conversation here. Triggered upon a return to camp.

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