#thiefbird writes

[thiefbird]

Zero Context Tag Game

If you’re tagged, make a new post and share 1-2 (a few) sentences from your most recent unposted WIP(s) with zero context – Let your followers guess!

Tagged by my dearest @glowing-blue-feathermage - thank you friend!

Here's an excerpt from chapter 3 of Thy Heart Torments, my transmasc!Stephen Maturin AU!

They had been sitting together on the starboard lockers of Surprise's great cabin enjoying each other's company in relative silence - Stephen with a Malay phrasebook he had picked up in Bombay and Jack writing in his serial letter to Sophie - all that afternoon, the sun shining into the cabin as it sank towards the horizon behind them. Stephen had dozed off, it seemed, for he awoke in slow stages in that honey-coloured heat belowdecks to find himself using Jack's bosom as a pillow, pinned to the larger man's side with an arm about one shoulder and resting on his waist.

Tagging @aurpiment @sesamie @chiropteracupola and anyone else who would like to play! (Pls do not feel pressured to, and please please please tag me if you do play - I want to see!)

#tag game #wips tag game #thiefbird writes #aubreyad #aubrey maturin #we're tackling the HMS Surprise canon cuddling fellows

[dreadfutures]

Rules: If you're tagged, MAKE A NEW POST and showcase one fanartist or fanfic you recommend (with links), and tag someone to give their recs next! Don't forget to reblog the rec you were tagged in!

Let's bring back rec posts, and share some love for the creative work we get to enjoy every day in our fandoms! For ANY fandom, highlight either a fanartist or a piece of fan writing (or both) you love and tag some friends!

FANARTIST: @yolebrat

Today I'm highlight @yolebrat - an amazing artist who I first found through painterly Dragon Age fanart. Since then I've enjoyed commissions, and cute little doodle replies that make me smile!

One of my favorite pieces is a commission yole made for Mel (below) Give it a reblog and follow yole for more art of all kinds. Or buy a commission and get an amazing painted piece of your own!

FANFIC: Cheating the Dread Wolf by cartadwarfwithaheartofgold

I read this story long ago all in one sitting. It absolutely gripped me, tugged at my heartstrings, and wouldn't let me go. A Cadash/Solas/Varric Tethras rare pair, you have to give this a try.

Rating: E Pairing: Female Cadash/Solas, Female Cadash/Varric, Varric/Solas Chapters: 13/13 Length: 42,657 words Summary: Maria Cadash hung up the Inquisitor's mantle for the Viscountess' crown, but she's unable to stop her desperate and impossible struggle to stop Fen'Harel from destroying the world both her husband and daughter inhabit. The fact Varric, Maria, and Solas are all madly in love with each other just means she may have enough of an edge to win this game.

Tags

I'm tagging a lot of people on this one because I want to get this KICKSTARTED. Dragon Age is coming BACK this summer, and I'm trying to get twitter refugees who don't know anyone on tumblr to realize that there's a thriving DA fandom that has been here the whole time. But feel free to recommend from other fandoms! I love finding new fics and new artists to follow.

Dragon Age FanFic server tag list: @warpedlegacy | @rakshadow | @rosella-writes | @effelants | @bluewren | @breninarthur | @ar-lath-ma-cully | @inquisimer | @crackinglamb | @theluckywizard | @nirikeehan | @oxygenforthewicked | @exalted-dawn | @melisusthewee | @blarrghe | @agentkatie | @delicatefade | @leggywillow | @about2dance | @plisuu

People I Love In My Notes: @fiadhaisteach | @shivunin | @greypetrel | @littlewitchbee | @wildbasil | @peforby | @sucrosesorcery | @layalu | @beebundt | @neonteeth | @galadae | @thiefbird | @mel-0n-earth | @alienturnip | @ndostairlyrium | @v-arbellanaris | @demandthedoodles | @wailing-willow | @the-rebel-archivist | @thedreadblog

(There is a tag limit of 50 people on posts so I'm pushing it lol)

#dragon age fanfic #tag meme #consider this fic rec friday #long post #fanwork friday #fic rec friday #fanart friday #fan work friday #remember to make a NEW POST and tag me

[dadrunkwriting]

DWC Housekeeping - Team NA/AUS/Asia

Hi all!

It's time for some DWC housekeeping - the headcount list for Team NA/AUS/Asia is about to exceed Tumblr's limit for user mentions, so we're updating the active/inactive members list. We want to make sure that everyone on the regular headcount is still interested and make life a little easier for the admins.

If you are interested in staying on the headcount list, please reply to or reblog this post with a message by Thursday, 2/22, at 11:59pm PST. If your blog name has changed, please let us know that as well!

If you want to be inactive, you do not have to do anything. If you do not reply to/reblog this post, we will assume you want to be taken off the headcount.

Reminders:

You are not required to write or participate any set number of times, so if you think you'll want to participate in the coming months, feel free to stay on the active list.

Inactive writers can become active again at any time! Just message an admin and we'll add you back to the regular headcount.

Inactive writers can always opt in for the occasional Friday! You will not be tagged in the headcount, but if you reply to the post before 4pm Pacific Time on Friday, we'll include you on the kickoff.

Regardless of whether you're active or inactive, DADWC members are always welcome to post and tag us on Friday nights. If an old prompt inspires you, write, post, and tag! (Note: please do NOT do this if you are not a DADWC member. If you'd like to sign up, message an admin!)

Our Discord is open for both active and inactive writers. Message an admin for an invite if you'd like to join!

We will reblog/tag people on this list throughout the week to make sure everyone sees it. Changes will go into effect this Friday, February 23rd.

Thanks all!

@about2dance

@anatidae-dragonage

@ar-lath-ma-cully

@biowares-little-meow-meow

@blarrghe

@bluewren

@breninarthur

@broodwolf221

@contreparry

@demawrites

@dreadfutures

@exalted-dawn-drabbles

@fade-touched-shenanigans

@fatale-distraction

@favorofthewater

@for-the-ninth

@galadrieljones

@ghoulsbeard

@glowing-blue-feathermage

@highwayphantoms

@hunnybadgerv

@inquisimer

@kiastirling-fanfic

@melisusthewee

@nebulas-dragon-age

@nilesdaughter

@nirikeehan

@ocean-in-my-rebel-soul

@oxygenforthewicked

@plisuu

@ponticle

@potatowitch

@queenaeducan-writes

@replicatortrash

@rosella-writes

@rowanisawriter

@samseabxrn

@sharpe-teeth

@sulky-valkyrie

@syrupwit

@theluckywizard

@thiefbird

@warpedlegacywrites

@wildercrow

@zenstrike

#dwc housekeeping #team na/aus/asia

[inquisimer]

I was tagged by @dungeons-and-dragon-age and @shivunin to create my OCs in this picrew, and their swords in this picrew! Thank you both - this was super fun! I love a good item picrew :3

these are definitely a mix of Actual Swords and Vibes, even for the OCs who actually use swords

Siobhan Hawke - no actual sword use, completely vibes, I just love her so much I couldn't leave her out. All black for Kirkwall, dripping with blood and chains for Symbolism and more Kirkwall

Nika Brosca - a dual wielder, so actual sword use! But the design, particularly the glowy lyrium blade, is all vibes. The hilt wrapped up in fabric with scraps hanging off the end is allllll dust town though. My scrappy Carta girl :3

Ariya Tabris - sword use Optional™️, only when she can't get her hands on proper daggers or an axe, until she has Vigilance. The design here is mostly vibes, especially the black vines up the blade for the Blight.

Ciel Andras - (everyone: Andras? me: the orlesian warden commander that bioware forgot ;-;) my Actual Sword user, a sword and board warrior! The sword here is literal, silverite for the blade and blue on the hilt and grip for the Wardens. Plus the hilt that I thought was close enough to Wing Imagery without being butterfly wings, and the black veins in the blade for, you guessed it, Blight Symbolism.

Ember Cousland - another dual wield sword user (sensing a type here hmmmm) and it's definitely with her family's sword no I don't care that the stats bottom out so fast. The hilt design here is to represent that, with the mirrored wheat design of the Cousland heraldry, but the on-fire blade is 100% vibes, a representation of her vengeance against the Howes.

tagging forward to: @leggywillow | @exalted-dawn | @rosella-writes | @wheat-and-wheat-by-products | @midmorninggrey |

and @thiefbird have fun friends!!

#tag game #oc: ember cousland #oc: ciel andras #oc: nika brosca #oc: siobhan hawke #oc: ariya tabris #sorry for the weird tag formatting tumblr is still being dumb about it #long post

[gaychocolatehomicide]

People You Want to Get to Know Tag Game

I was tagged by @inquisimer !

Hello new friend!! Sorry for the delay, this is the second time I'm typing this out because Tumblr ate the first one! Thank you so much for tagging me! (Also, I have no idea how much enthusiasm is appropriate here, so I'm just gonna go for "a bunch" and you can let me know if I need to back off lol)

So! Into the thing!

Last Song: Top of My School by Katherine Lynn-Rose -- This one has had a grip on my spine since I first heard it. Gotta love that kid burnout 👉👉

Favorite Color: Purple! I also love seafoam/mint and like 85% of my stuff is one of those colors. My brother says it makes it easier to buy stuff for me!

Last Movie/Show: I've been watching Dimension 20's Fantasy High and I'm 4-ish episodes into The Seven, which is also in that universe. Cannot recommend it enough! (Also, Persephone Valentine is in it so there's another reason for any girl likers to check it out)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: oh boy so I've got a ton of sensory stuff that makes food Complicated for me, but if we except all the stuff I can't eat, sweet > savory > spicy. Salty should go between sweet and savory tho imo

Relationship Status: happily coming up on 3 years with my wonderful partners! They both have tumblrs but I'm not gonna tag them for privacy reasons (their preferences). I just refer to them as my boyfriend and my noodle associate, respectively.

Last Thing I Googled: Thorn (letter) -- I needed it for a thing I was writing lmao. Fun fact, I have the long s (this guy: ſ ) saved as a text shortcut in my phone so I can use it to harass my friends

Current Obsession: I've been playing BG3 and Pathfinder: WOTR, but I can feel the Fire Emblem obsession creeping up on me again. I've been working on a couple old fics from 3 houses and some more recent stuff from engage and I can just... Feel it.

Last Book: I'm reading and annotating a memoir for my boyfriend, and I'm reading the Alana the Lioness books by Tamora Pierce for my noodle associate (very important part of their childhood). On my own I'm reading the Federalist Papers because I'm that kind of nerd (and I teach history but thats beside the point)

Looking Forward To: it's about to be AP season at my tutoring job and I'm so freaking jazzed to get to teach my favorite subjects instead of just SAT Reading/Writing all day every day. Like dgmw I love teaching grammar as much as the next language nerd, but I miss talking about the absolutely out of pocket things historical figures got up to.

Tagging Forward To: @fuitgummybat | @offbrandcrisis | @thiefbird | @satanic-fruitcake | @thevanillahorizon | @transfenris-truther | @bimyheel | @eye-of-yelough | @mirthcrowned

If we're mutuals and I didn't tag you, I still love you, but the template said pick nine so I grabbed folks off the top of my notifs

No pressure to anybody, but I'd love to learn stuff about you! 💜💜

Blank template under the cut

Last Song:

Favorite Color:

Last Movie/Show:

Sweet/Savory/Spicy:

Relationship Status:

Last Thing I Googled:

Current Obsession:

Last Book:

Looking Forward To:

Tag nine people whose answers you're interested in!

#tag game #entirely too much text - another novel by Tad #new friend new friend new friend!!! #sorry this took me literally like a week #im indecisive and also my memory is Not Helpful lmao

[transprincecaspian]

a little WIP… technically for WIP Wednesday I am starting early.

tags under cut etc etc this is really unfinished I just wanted to prove I’m working on something

Fenris felt the lightning before he saw it; the air churning around him and changing, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. The smell of sulfur enveloped the room as he turned to see sparks fly from the tips of Jurian’s fingers, crackling down the length of his arm. The mage clasped his hands together like a prayer, but there was no divine intervention to save his opponent as Jurian slammed his hands into the helmet of the Templar. The resounding crack of thunder as the other man crumpled to the floor, spasming. The nauseating scent of burning flesh.

The hot red blood seeping through Jurian’s armor. The studded leather tunic ripped open along the length of his torso, the bloodied sword that fell next to the Templar. Jurian’s horrified expression as he pressed a hand to the wound, and pulled it away only to find blood dripping between his fingers. The horror in his eyes as his gaze lifted to meet Fenris’s own.

“I’m bleeding,” he whispered.

Trystan shouted something but Fenris didn’t hear it as he lurched forward, throwing aside his greatsword just in time to catch Jurian before he hit the ground. Fenris tried not to think how dangerously light he was, he tried not to notice how pale he’d turned so quickly.

“Anders!” He roared over the din of battle. Anders turned—or rather, Justice did, fending off another Templar—but the second he saw the blood, the spirit fled.

“What in the Maker—?!” Anders exclaimed, tearing off through the length of the cave to join them.

“Fall back!” Trystan snapped, picking up Fenris’s greatsword along with his own as if it weighed nothing to him. “I’ll hold them off! Don’t let him bleed out here.”

As the four of them made a hasty retreat out of the cave, where Merrill and Isabela waited at the entrance to chase off any stragglers, Fenris tried to ignore the warmth of blood against his hands and trailing hot on the stones as he ran.

@beastofmoss @bog-mummies @daggerbean @dragonologist-phd @flashhwing @greypetrel @hannahrama @idolsgf @jellydishes @midnight-coffee94 @nightmarist @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul @oopsalltes @rustythorns @rosella-writes @thiefbird @vahingoniloinenlapsi

not even gonna apologize for going through alphabetically

#this will probably end in Anders’s clinic #jurian comes to and mumbles about how the wound better not scar #Anders scoffs and reminds him to be grateful that he’s even alive #begrudgingly gestures to Fenris and says jurian should be thanking him #Fenris doesn’t ask for thanks but lingers at the end of Jurian’s bed #jurian thanks him anyway #genuinely and perhaps a little flirtatiously #jurian apologizes for frightening him #to which Fenris insists that he wasn’t frightened #and Anders #overhearing this #scoffs and says his whinging implied otherwise #Cas writes #wip wednesday #dragon age #da2 #jurian amell #Trystan hawke #Fenris dragon age #Anders dragon age #jurian meta #Trystan meta #Cas meta

[papercranesong]

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?

T: Any fanfic tropes you can’t stand?

Love these questions, thank you! 

Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

I think it’s an A-Team one I wrote called When the Clouds Catch Fire - I really wanted to try and tell the story from multiple view points, so one chapter is Hannibal, then it switches to Face, then Murdock, BA and it just keeps rotating. I thought it would be cool to see how they would all interpret the story from their different perspectives and trying to capture their individual voices - the Rashomon effect. I didn’t think I would be able to do it, so I’m proud of myself that I actually wrote it and finished it, and also it was really nice that some people told me they enjoyed it so that was cool! 

T: Any fanfic tropes you can’t stand?

This is a personal one but I find it really upsetting when a solo character gets caught in a time loop (like Groundhog Day) and no one believes them and things keep resetting and the character keeps trying to explain what’s happening to the other characters and trying to convince them of what’s happening - but then even if the other characters believe them, the whole thing just resets all over again. For me it’s like a temporal form of gas lighting. Even though there are some amazing time loop fics out there!, I just find the trope too distressing to read 😭

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?

So in secondary school I went through this stage of attempting to read all the classics, and when I got to Ulysses by James Joyce I didn’t really understand it but there’s this chapter where he doesn’t use any punctuation for like 30 pages or something and the effect of it was like, “whoa!!!!” I think that was the first time I realised that the way words are put together and how they sound together and the rhythm etc. can be just as powerful as the actual words themselves. So probably him. 

Plus I just think fanfic writers generally writing at the moment are really inspiring to me, it’s so cool that there’s these cross-overs and AUs and playing about with  the canon and fantastical elements etc. I’m not very imaginative or original so when I see what people are coming up with, even just reading the summaries of stories as I scroll through the latest ao3 feed or Tumblr, it’s so cool and inspiring and freeing for me!

Thanks for the ask @thiefbird ☺️🖖

#Ask game #Ask #fanfic

[ao3feed-fenders]

Past and Present Loves

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/0teURyO

by Thiefbird

Fenris's and Nathaniel's thoughts on each of their relationships with Anders, past and present.

Words: 1988, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Anders (Dragon Age), Fenris (Dragon Age), Nathaniel Howe, Isabela (Dragon Age), Hawke (Dragon Age), Varric Tethras, Merrill (Dragon Age)

Relationships: Anders/Fenris (Dragon Age), Anders/Nathaniel Howe, Pre-Anders/Fenris/Nathaniel Howe

Additional Tags: Dragon Age II - Act 3, Dragon Age II Quest - Finding Nathaniel, Post-Dragon Age II Quest - Finding Nathaniel, Lack of Communication, Drinking, drunk Anders, Angst, Broody Elf Nonsense, Broody Archer Nonsense, Mourning, Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/0teURyO

#ao3feed #fanfic #fenders #Anders #Fenris

[thiefbird]

Thy Heart Torments (9943 words) by Thiefbird Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin, Stephen Maturin/Diana Villiers Characters: Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin, Diana Villiers, Richard Canning, Preserved Killick Additional Tags: Trans Male Character, Trans Stephen Maturin, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Sexism, Period-Typical Racism, Period Typical Bigotry, Internalized Transphobia, Transphobia, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Sexual Tension, NOT Resolved Romantic Tension tho, Duelling, the homoerotic tension of watching the man you love dig a bullet out of his chest, which is slightly ruined by the knowledge that he got shot duelling for your shared ex's honour, Poorly Considered Proposals of Marriage, Poorly Worded Proposals of Marriage, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, HMS Surprise is POB's Stephen-Centric Whumptober and the author is leaning into it, transmasc character written by transmasc author Series: Part 3 of So long lives this Summary:

Finally beginning to recover from his trials at Port Mahón, Stephen Maturin and Jack Aubrey journey towards India, and toward Diana Villiers. A rash proposal turns Stephen towards Jack while he waits for a reply.

The next chapter! And finally some realisation of feelings between Jack and Stephen!

#thy heart torments #aubreyad #aubrey maturin #jack aubrey #stephen maturin #thiefbird writes

[thiefbird]

Can I ask about "Granby Pining™"?

Yes!

This is one of the ones that I only have notes for, sadly, but here are my Thoughts:

a handful of unconnected scenes starting with their first meeting and going thru the series

1) Laurence is hot and Granby does not find out he's "That Navy Guy >:(" until after he's had a good chance to appreciate that during the game of football(?)

2) "Oh my God this man is so stuck up. he needs to remove the stick from his ass. how is he still so hot?? ;-;"

3) "oh shit he's actually a decent person too?" *cue gay pining for many. many years*

?) touch on Granby's thought process on letting Iskierka abduct him to Australia to stay with Laurence and Temeraire (Iskierka wants Temeraire to give her an egg. Granby has Similar Wishes)

(also a random bit from Little's perspective because I feel bad for the guy. your fuckbuddy's got it down bad, Captain Little, and not necessarily for you)

Poor Granby's perspective on Laurence's masterclass "How NOT to respond when your best friend is forced out of the closet in the 1810s by his chaos-monger of a dragon"

Granby (maybe now over his all-encompasing Laurence Crush, maybe not) learning that Laurence IS bi and is just an IDIOT and had to be hit over the head with it by Tharkay

#thiefbird writes #temeraire #poor poor granby

[thiefbird]

ALRIGHT SO @umarthiels asked for elaborations on my Courtly Romance!Clarissa/Diana brainworm. have some stream of consciousness my dear

Honestly i dont know why the idea popped into my head i just suddenly got Parallels shoved at me. I am many years past my Arthurian period so i would need to reread some things to do it justice just. Courtly Love imposed on the Clarissa/Diana framework

Diana, to me, reads like someone fully convinced that their soul is ugly and poison. She feels like she contaminates the things she touches, she ruins everything important to her just by existing. This of course is a self-fulfilling prophecy that leads to her running away with Canning, and with Johnson, and with Jagiello, and to Ireland after Brigid's birth - especially after Brigid's birth; I think it is Important that she was staying with an elderly relative of her first husband after abandoning Brigid and Clarissa (tho don't ask me to explain why right now it is four in the morning) <- parallels to the classical Ill-Formed Knight Lancelot

Clarissa as Guinevere is a little less direct, but as Stephen notes repeatedly, there is something very innocent about her; she is not Of The World, which is something I at least associate with Guinevere?

I think Diana would be convinced that she will ruin Clarissa as she has everything else, and yet still be irresistibly drawn to her.

Le Mort d'Arthur was republished in 1816(sadly after Diana's death, although one could argue that in the world of the Aubreyad it might have been republished during one of the myriad 1813s) and set off the Arthurian Revival. I think there is something here. maybe??

#aubreyad #clarissa oakes #diana villiers #diana maturin #arthurian legends #thiefbird writes #i would love to hear your thoughts @umarthiels

[thiefbird]

for anders and justice? 'one person meticulously doing something entirely for the other’s benefit without expectation or need of reciprocation'

JustAnders, talks of current Handers/JustHanders and past Kanders for @dadrunkwriting

Anders and Justice had a rhythm, after nearly seven years as one. Wake up with the sun, or before it, heal anyone who needed it until they ran out of mana (a rare occurrence, with Justice augmenting their connection to the Fade), chug a few lyrium potions, and continue until there were no more patients or no more lyrium. Then they would sit at the desk Anders had cobbled together out of rotten boards and work on the manifesto until it was too dark in the clinic, even with a candle.

Their routine had changed, somewhat, since Anders moved into the Amell estate. They awoke later, ran out of lyrium less, and usually ate at least one meal a day. They went out with Hawke, to the Storm Coast or whatever mercenary work he'd picked up that day, more often than not, and slept in a real bed instead of a cot in the corner of the clinic. The desk in the clinic's back room had been replaced, and there was a second, grander one in Anders' office at the estate.

But still, Anders slept little, and slept peacefully less.

Justice had considered it an inconvenience at best, in the beginning. An indulgence at his worst. A luxury they could ill afford. But even with Warden stamina, three months of little to no sleep had caught up with them, and Justice had realized just how important sleep was to mortals, and he'd begrudgingly accepted that Anders would need at least six hours of downtime a night.

Anders had always had nightmares; life in a Circle was more than enough to trigger them, and the Joining hadn't helped, although Blighted dreams were something Justice couldn't touch, much as he tried. But ordinary nightmares were of the Fade.

And so Justice had begun his blueprint.

It had started small; even before he was thrown from the Fade, he had not had his own demesne, so he had nothing to build from. He hadn't needed one, seeking out instances of justice to draw from instead of pulling them to him as most of his brethren did. Tethered so firmly to Anders, re-learning to manipulate the Fade as he had was slow work, but time passes differently in the Fade.

In a few months of Anders' time, he had constructed a facsimile of the clinic, a perfect replica down to the mice and rats that occupied its mortal realm inspiration. He drew from Anders' memories for the next rooms: the quarters he and Karl had shared with two other mages after Anders' Harrowing, a field of wildflowers from his childhood, the chapel in Vigil's Keep (it was so much more vibrant to Anders' living eyes than Justice had realized through Kristoff's).

He drew from every instance of peace he could find, few as they were, finding the justice in his mortal's safety from his oppressors. Hawke's bedroom; Hawke's library; their office at the estate; the place at the Storm Coast where Hawke had given Anders the Amell signet ring and a promise.

Once each room was finished, as closely as he could with the changing nature of the Fade, he filled them further: Anders' lost kitten; a pressing of Andraste's Grace he'd sent Karl, before the night in the Chantry; the soft scarf the Hero of Ferelden had given Anders; the signet ring; his mother's pillow; any sign Anders was loved he could find.

And then, once he deemed himself finished, he waited for Anders to fall asleep, pulling his resting mind gently from the Fade at large and into his finished demesne.

#justice #anders #justanders #justice dragon age #anders dragon age #kanders #handers #i love the idea of Justice building a safe place for anders to dream so much #dadwc #thiefbird writes

[thiefbird]

Accidentally published this way too early, whoops!

@midnightprelude thank you for the prompt!

Wow so this one got long and kinda convoluted! We've got Fenris watching Nathaniel and Anders, we've got Nathaniel watching Fenris watch him and Anders, we've got two broody men brooding a lot!

For @dadrunkwriting

Anders laughed, big and bold in a way almost completely unfamiliar to Fenris, at something the Warden-Archer had said. As was tradition at this point, they'd all ended up at the Hanged Man once they'd arrived safely back in Kirkwall. And to Fenris's great, if unexpressed, displeasure, 'all' today seemed to include the Howe.

It wasn't that he had any specific complaints about the man himself; it wasn't his fault Hawke had been hired by his sister for a rescue mission. Nathaniel Howe was an good fighter, and an excellent strategist; for all that he was the reason they'd entered the Deep Roads this time, he was also the reason any of them made it back out again. He was a prickly, standoffish man until he had a few pints in him, but Fenris shared those traits with him.

No, the problem was the way Anders had completely lost his mind the moment the archer's sister had begged Hawke's assistance. The man, who had spent their month or so in the Deep Roads miserable and vomiting from claustrophobia, had all but demanded they leave that very moment, without even stopping for supplies.

And the way he'd nearly thrown himself into the arms of his fellow Warden the moment they'd spotted him, darkspawn ambush be damned. He'd only been stopped by Fenris grabbing him by the collar, and had clung to him for long minutes once the fighting was over, murmuring to each other too low for anyone to hear.

All while Fenris watched, miserable and steadily more irritable. He'd thought himself above petty jealousies when he'd accepted that Hawke would always have a piece of Anders' heart, but watching his mage fawn over someone not part of their little group of misfits stung like his brands in the sun.

And yet...

He'd not seen Anders smile so much, so widely, in years. Maybe not ever. Had so rarely heard of his life in the Wardens or before Justice, just that he'd killed a Templar who joined the Wardens to hunt him, and his spirit had possessed him to save his life. But between Nathaniel's reminiscing, and Anders egging him on, Fenris felt he'd learned more about Anders' life before Kirkwall in the last day than he had in the past five years.

He hadn't even known Anders had a lover in the Wardens, but it was clear to everyone who watched them interact how deep their history ran. It was clear in the shock and heartbreak on the Howe's face when the battle ended and he realized Anders was the mage he'd been fighting alongside, in the way he mumbled, stunned, that he'd thought Anders dead. In the way they clung to each other for the day's hike back to Kirkwall, and in the soft way Nathaniel watched Anders on the rare moments they separated.

And Anders, as usual, seemed oblivious to the tensions building. Varric was using the three of them for inspiration, ink smudges staining his fingertips as he scribbled frantic notes. Isabela looked ready to pick up her friend-fiction once more. Even Hawke and Merrill, usually the last to pick up on social cues, were watching them cautiously, as if they were a keg of gaatlok. But Anders was too busy being happy, truly happy, for the first time in a blue moon.

... Happy in a way Fenris didn't make him. In a way he'd never made him. He simply couldn't justify taking that happiness away. He knew when to accept defeat, and how to bow out gracefully.

~~~

Being found in the blasted Deep Roads had been a wild stroke of luck, Nathaniel mused as he sipped his ale. Being found by a rescue operation Delilah had staged by hiring his former lover's best friend was something else entirely. Especially considering he'd spent five years believing said former love was less 'former' and more 'late'.

Maker and Maferath, he was alive. Leave it to Stroud, the great lout, to miss an entire Grey Wardens in the same part of the Deep Roads at the exact same time as him. Five years of thinking Anders had died to a templar's blade, of beating himself up over becoming complacent to the threat Roland had posed, and Anders had been just across the Waking Sea, barely a few days easy travel.

... Leave it to him to not have noticed there was a Warden in Kirkwall at all, but in his defense, there was something flaming wrong with this city. Near every fourth citizen he met felt Blighted, and nearly every Templar.

But that was a matter for the morning. The only important thing now was that Anders was alive. Alive, and apparently possessed by Justice, which was a surprise only because Anders had barely been able to stand being in the same room as the spirit, back at the Vigil. Possessing a willing friend had been Nathaniel's own idle suggestion, all those years ago, and he was glad to have made it, having learned how it saved Anders' life. They were joined, here and whole and hale, and not twisted up upon themselves like every other abomination Nathaniel had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Anders smelled the same as Nathaniel remembered, as if he'd just stepped out of a memory or the Fade: herbs and healing potions, elfroot smoke and the minty, numbing sweetness of too many lyrium potions. A good, familiar smell that spoke of safety and affection.

He looked good, too. A little older, a little sadder; too thin, too tired. But still so beautiful. And Nathaniel was no longer mired in the leftovers of Rendon Howe’s shame, so he could admit it now, how beautiful Anders was.

He could admit it, now that it was too late to say. Anders hadn't said anything outright, he never would with how the Circle had twisted him, but every third word from his lips was about the Tevinter elf with the nightmarish tattoos, of what couldn't be but definitely was lyrium. And if that wasn't enough, the miserable glares Nathaniel kept catching from the elf were their own evidence.

It had been five years. Of course Anders had moved on, and more fool Nathaniel for not having done the same. But Anders had been dead, and Nathaniel had never managed to say anything of import to him, and maybe those words, those feelings, had died along with him. Burnt to ashes beside Kristoff's suddenly empty corpse and what few of Anders' possessions they'd managed to keep hidden from the Orlesian bastard.

The only issue with that being that Anders was not dead, and all those secret, painful feelings were rising from his ashes like the metaphorical phoenix, and Anders had moved on.

He deserved it. He deserved happiness and love, in whatever form they took. Even if that form was a broody, spiky elf determined to stay as far from Nathaniel as possible while remaining in earshot, and who was currently glaring daggers at him.

... thank Andraste that Sigrun was not here, or Brosca, to quip about Anders having a type. (Thank the Paragons? The Stone? Thank someone, anyhow.)

He tried to bow out after a few drinks and a shared meal, claiming exhaustion from his long stay underground and the hike back, but Anders had grabbed his arm and begged him to stay a while longer, and Maker damn him, he'd never learned how to deny the man anything even before he died.

"What's Warden stamina good for it we can't use it to stay up too late and drink too much?" Anders joked once Nathaniel sat back down beside him.

"I can think of a few things," the Rivaini pirate said, waggling her eyebrows at Nathaniel in case her tone hadn't been clear enough. "Mmm, I had your Commander, once, during the Blight. Definitely worth the cursed blood."

Anders had burst out laughing at that and the elf's -- Fenris's -- ever-present glare had changed to something more sad and contemplative.

"What do you say, Sparky?" the pirate continued once Anders had caught his breath. "Why not let me compare before and after? Determine once and for all if the rumors are true? I still get shivers thinking about your little electricity trick..."

So did Nathaniel. It was a good trick.

"'Bela, you couldn't afford my new fees," Anders had shot back, and Isabela had feigned scandal.

"You'd charge a friend?!"

"I'd charge you, at least."

The conversation moved on, eased by the heady combination of cheap, bad booze, and the raw relief of finally being above ground, but Fenris made no attempt to join it, even as his glares ended and were replaced with resigned, thoughtful staring when Anders leaned against Nathaniel.

Apparently, Justice was less than fond of alcohol, even if he didn't seem to mind Anders' elfroot habit, and Anders had become a bit of a lightweight, even with a Warden's metabolism.

And he was still an overly affectionate drunk, curled into Nathaniel's side with his head on his shoulder in between glances at Fenris as he began to process the elf's reticence. "'Bela, he's sulking again," he complained, his words just starting to slur together.

Isabela chuckled, patting his knee. "Don't think he's too fond of your choice of pillow, sweet thing. Not that I can blame you; I do love an archer. You can pluck my string any day," she added, turning her gaze to Nathaniel with a wink.

"I prefer 'string my bow'," Anders mumbled into Nathaniel's neck as he tried to push himself upright. Nathaniel shivered at the hot, wet sensation on sensitive skin, and then flinched near hard enough to knock over their bench when Anders' flailing hand brushed against his crotch in its search for leverage. He grabbed Anders' wrist and directed him to the safe territory of his knee, and prayed his cock wouldn't start taking more of an interest in the proceedings than it already had.

Anders managed to get to his feet with only a slight struggle, but almost immediately tripped over Nathaniel's foot. Nathaniel instinctively caught him with an arm around his hips, nearly pulling him into his lap in an attempt to stop them both from toppling off the bench and into the rushes.

He made certain Anders was stable on his feet and without obstacles, and gave him a gentle push in Fenris's direction before turning back to his ale, and to Isabela, who gave him a calculating look before pulling a face.

"Oh, that's no fun," she complained cryptically.

Nathaniel huffed out something at least related to a laugh. "'Fun' is not something I've often been accused of, my lady. You will have to elaborate."

"My, my, you are something. I don't hear 'my lady' very often. More usually 'whore' or 'slattern'. 'Wench' if someone is looking to have a few teeth knocked out." She paused, looking over at Anders and Fenris staring awkwardly at each other. "You're in love with him, aren't you."

It wasn't a question, and Nathaniel felt no need to deny it, certain Anders was paying them no mind. "What of it? I thought him dead these last five years. I love a memory, a ghost of what used to be. He's happy. I'm glad he's happy."

Isabela mimed throwing up into her bet before tossing it back. She stood up and vaulted the table, landing on the bench where Anders had been moments before. "Well, you know what they say, Archy: the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, and I'm someone else!"

Nathaniel chuckled. "Thank you for the offer, but I think I will just head to bed. I... don't think I want to be 'over' him, just yet, now that I know he lives." He threw back the rest of his ale 26th a grimace, and stood to leave.

#dadwc #dragon age drunk writing circle #oooof owie apparently i am Angsty this week #i broke my own heart writing Nathaniel's perspective here tbh #nathaniel howe #anders #fenris #nathaniel howe x Anders #nanders #fenris x anders #fenders #thiefbird writes

[thiefbird]

The Time That Passes By (2297 words) by Thiefbird Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Master and Commander - All Media Types, Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Stephen Maturin/ Characters: Stephen Maturin, Mona (Aubrey-Maturin Series), James Dillon, Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Trans Stephen Maturin, Trans Male Character, 18th Century Gender Identity, deadnaming, Misgendering, Childhood Sweethearts, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Period-Typical Transphobia, Period-Typical Surgical Practises, what happens when the author gets attached to a character mentioned twice in twenty-point-five books, and also reads more than two academic papers for research purposes, transmasc character written by transmasc author Series: Part 1 of So long lives this Summary:

Prequel to Too Hard A Knot, focusing on Stephen Maturin - née Sonia Niamh Maturin i Domonova - and his childhood friend and sweetheart, Mona O'Callahan, both in Ireland and Catalunya.

#aubrey maturin #aubreyad #jack aubrey #stephen maturin #trans stephen maturin #aubreyad fanfiction #aubreyad fanfic #master and commander #master and commander fanfic #thiefbird writes

[thiefbird]

Too Hard A Knot (3709 words) by Thiefbird Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Master and Commander - All Media Types, Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin Characters: Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin, Preserved Killick, Barrett Bonden Additional Tags: Trans Stephen Maturin, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Transphobia, Aftermath of Torture, Set during HMS Surprise, outing of Trans character, Jack doesn't get it but he's Got The Spirit, despite the title implications this is not omegaverse, I just thought Twelfth Night was a good idea Series: Part 1 of So long lives this Summary:

After the daring rescue from Mahon, Jack learns Stephen's longest-kept secret.

*walks into a new fandom 20 years late with an iced matcha latte*

#aubrey maturin #aubreyad #jack aubrey #stephen maturin #trans stephen maturin #stephen maturin/jack aubrey #aubreyad fanfiction #aubreyad fanfic #aubrey maturin fanfiction #master and commander #hms surprise #age of sail #i have not been so anxious about posting a fic in a new fandom in ages lmao #i have no idea if this is any good or anything so. idk have fun ig #i had fun writing it and thats what matters! ^_^ #thiefbird writes

[thiefbird]

Thy Heart Torments (4058 words) by Thiefbird Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin, Stephen Maturin/Diana Villiers Characters: Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin, Diana Villiers, Richard Canning, Preserved Killick Additional Tags: Trans Male Character, Trans Stephen Maturin, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Sexism, Period-Typical Racism, Period Typical Bigotry, Internalized Transphobia, Transphobia, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Sexual Tension, NOT Resolved Romantic Tension tho, Duelling, the homoerotic tension of watching the man you love dig a bullet out of his chest, which is slightly ruined by the knowledge that he got shot duelling for your shared ex's honour, Poorly Considered Proposals of Marriage, Poorly Worded Proposals of Marriage, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, HMS Surprise is POB's Stephen-Centric Whumptober and the author is leaning into it, transmasc character written by transmasc author Series: Part 3 of So long lives this Summary:

Finally beginning to recover from his trials at Port Mahón, Stephen Maturin and Jack Aubrey turn towards India, and toward Diana Villiers. A rash proposal turns Stephen towards Jack while he waits for a reply.

~~~

The first chapter of Thy Heart Torments! HMS Surprise but gayer and more trans continues

#aubreyad fic #aubrey maturin fic #stephen maturin #jack aubrey #age of sail #thiefbird writes