#feedback friday

hey y’all! so, as per the target audience of one disclaimer (it’s not a disclaimer. i’m just floating around in the abyss too shy to interact), i decided i should start interacting more with the writeblr community and making an effort to become more of a member. this includes starting my own themed week, which i’m going to list now!

please note, these were Not my ideas. with the blessing of some of these wonderful people, i’m going to partake in some of these events :) i hope you’ll all enjoy and please be sure to pop me a message regarding anything and everything, i’m around <3

starting with monday: meet and greet monday by @manitamuerte 

- this revolves around a writer’s OCs and who they are as people in your wips! it can be questions regarding their childhood, backstory, random facts or thoughts, and i’ll post an open ask or two in the next few weeks (on monday hehe). i’ll also be sure to send some writeblrs these as well. (shout-out to @nana-writes for introducing me to this)

tuesday: truth-be-told tuesday by @hannahs-creations

- this revolves around the behind-the-scenes of a writer’s novels or wips! anything from concepts to the meaning behind a character names or even some juicy, juicy backstory (!!) as for most of these days, i’ll have some open asks n interactions x

wednesday: worldbuilding wednesday by @incandescent-creativity

- as the name suggests, this is some worldbuildin’ schtuff! questions about a writer’s world, new features or languages, creatures n creepies, whatever suits your fancy! i have a few fantasy pieces in the works, but there are some liberties i’ve taken for my earth-based worlds, too! feel free to send me an ask y’all <3

thursday: nothing, as of today! i haven’t found something that piques my interest here yet.

friday: feedback friday by @abalonetea​

- made by the wonderful abalonetea, i have seen this floating about for ages and may have partaken without realising it! i think it’s so important to create a culture of care and constructive criticism within a community like writeblr, so! i’ve decided to recommend and rant about the wonderful members of this community and my new thoughts as i develop through this wonderful place hehe. (aka the love/ rant day)

saturday: and here we get to the beloved storyteller saturday by @lonely-pages-of-ink and @drist-n-dither !

- storyteller saturday is about all sorts of things regarding stories! ask away when it comes to writing, wips, fun facts, little things you’ve been itching to know <3

sunday: one of a lil ooc ones i have decided to start, feel free to use it should you please! spotlight sunday by @lefttigerobservation​ (aka me!)

- this is when i’ll be recommending all of my favourite fanfics and ranting about the wonderful people on archive of our own or wattpad or any other platforms i find! i’m super excited, since this is where i first started finding my love for writing so i hope i can give back just a little :)

It was our very first Feedback Friday in The Hanged Man on our discord server, and after giving thoughts on other pieces, figured I’d share the little sample I provided here too. From my new project (still unnamed) hawke/varric da2 & onward rewrite. As always, things aren’t always quite as Varric has told them.

"See that woman over there?" 

"The scary blonde one burnin' two holes into your brother's back?" 

"Yes, kid, good eye!”

“Sure -- ”

“Well, that's the one I need you to rob."

They both peered out from the corner of the square, a lanky, ginger urchin alongside a blonde-stubbled dwarf, half-hidden by the shadows cast from the high city walls. Stumbling over each other’s feet -- the dwarf cursing quietly to himself -- the mismatched twosome kept their sights on the bustle of the early morning marketplace. Conspiring, barely. There was a reason for their gathering at least, if Varric's information came through. And so they eyed, from a safe distance, the dwarf’s older brother and the two humans accompanying him, as they stormed the street, addressing their matters hotly. And there she was, in tow.

All things considered, she was pretty damn easy to spot, Varric thought. Long golden hair blazing, skin as pale as Kirkwall’s sun bleached stone. A head taller than the dwarves around her, glaring defiantly, face like thunder, her presence combined with his brother’s, they passed through with ease as they parted the crowd. And her accent, Varric caught as it echoed -- loud, brash and lazy compared to the clipped Kirkwall tongue (and not to mention far more colourful). Well, if this wasn’t the Ferelden refugee turned mercenary madwoman he’d heard so much about, Varric would retire right there on the spot.

This had to be Hawke.

The Hawke.

And giving his brother Bartrand a run for his money -- like any Ferelden -- conveniently ignoring anyone’s sense of self importance. Good for you. Neither of them budging -- their voices growing ever more heated, ringing off the great dwarven statues that loomed above their heads. His brother barked “NO!” for what felt like the fiftieth time, but Hawke refused to take that as an answer, clearly determined to make her case known. Rather you than me, Varric thought idly.

Shrugging his shoulders, satisfied with his find, Varric turned to the kid pressed at his side, flashing a most encouraging smile. “So, how about it?”

The young man’s face had fallen, his sallow cheeks had lost whatever little colour they had, like curdled milk, he swallowed hard. The cogs slowly turned, realising the dwarf’s proposition in full. He glanced down at the heavy pouch of coins Varric was offering, and winced as it gave that nudging clink. 

“And you’re gonna stop me before anythin’ goes bad?” The kid reiterated the basis of the plan, his eyes fixed on Varric’s full palm.

“C’mon, do I look like the kinda guy that’d let anything bad happen?”

The kid appeared to be entirely unconvinced. Shit.

Varric sighed and tried again. “We just need it to look like you robbed her. You make it back here with her coin and I’ll handle the rest. Easy! You get paid, she’ll get her money back, no one has to --”

“Alright...”

He wasn’t buying it. Fine.

Varric couldn’t blame the kid, honestly. Sure, Hawke looked like she could snap your neck with nothing but a glance, what was even more off-putting than some graphic, violent death at the hands of a Red Iron merc, was entering the vicinity of his older brother Bartrand.

Still, Varric was confident enough that this would work. This was a rookie job, at best. Hawke was startlingly Ferelden (and farmland Ferelden, at that) her purse tied to her belt in plain view. Animated as she spoke, her hands pointing fingers at his brother instead of clasped around her coin -- hell, an actual kid could swipe her shit without a problem. “I’ve got you covered,” Varric reassured, stepping back into full cover of shadow. Giving a final thumbs up to the pale urchin, who in turn rolled his eyes, slipping without another word and disappearing into the street.

It didn’t take long. It wasn’t long enough. Varric had barely passed the pillars when he heard the commotion, unhooking Bianca from his back at the signal of disturbance, waiting for the kid to come charging, panting round the corner. Finger on the trigger of his crossbow, eyes fixed on the point of his arrow. 

“YOU!”

She was ferocious. Feral. Her voice so cutting, even Varric was shaken from his concentration. The kid was running alright, practically clawing his away around stone to avoid her -- as she raged after him. Blonde hair billowing behind her like a flag hoisted in the midst of war.  Andraste’s ass, she was pissed! And she was gaining on the urchin, fast. Her armor did little to slow her down, fueled by utter contempt, apparently.

Shit --

Varric had ballsed up his aim -- why did he do that!? -- drawing Bianca up to catch the kid at just the right moment. This was crucial. Bianca could send arrows blasting through him, all the way and out the other side. Concentrate.

“COME BACK,” Hawke was yelling in fury. “LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS!”

She was making it pretty hard to concentrate...

Varric’s finger twitched and he hesitated, spotting the kid and the look of horror plastered on his face. He came racing past, flushed from his neck to his forehead, eyes wide and wired. He’d have to pay him double for this. Raising Bianca again, Varric fired. One swift shot that sliced through the air with a whistle and --

The kid screeched.

Oh, shit.

Pinned by the arrow into the stone at his shoulder, blood was billowing against the urchin’s dirty white shirt. Shit. Shit Shit. Varric hurried to reach him.

And then there was Hawke.

“I’m assuming it -- wasn’t supposed to go -- quite like this?” She stood there, breathing hard, watching the boy squirm, clearly taking the abrupt pause to catch her own breath. Cheeks hot and pink beneath a smattering of freckles. Okay, so she didn’t look terrifying, at least not up close. It was the slightest relief. 

Varric considered his options quickly. Taking immediate note of the staff strapped to her back now that she shared the small space in the alley. It was some sort of make-shift weapon, sanded wood bound in crimson leather, tipped with a sheet of metal and sharpened to a gnarly edge. Fashioned to look something like a lance… A scythe, even? Some nondescript farmers tool, well, of course, that would be it. There was absolutely nothing suspect about that in the walled off, cramped and crumbling city of Kirkwall with not a ear of wheat in sight, or smell of shit for – nevermind, the latter was everywhere.

An unlikely choice for a renowned mercenary under the Red Irons. No matter how Ferelden she was. That is, unless you considered the underground mutterings of thug corpses found in warehouses, alleyways, the dockyards... all having been so curiously burned up and blackened to cinder… In that case, since those rumours appeared to be true then, the unremarkable stab-stick was a smart choice for her indeed. Varric needed this plan to work now more than ever -- let’s hope he wouldn’t make kindling.

And he hesitated, one hand clamped tight around Bianca’s grip, he smiled at her disarmingly, pulling out an arrow to flick between his fingers, ready to bullshit this problem away. Only, it slipped from his gloves and came clattering instead, to the ground, at her feet. 

“Right, then,” was all Hawke said.

Varric was sure he’d just died a little on the inside. 

How had this gone so terribly, shittily, badly in the span of  --

“Is anyone gonna help me!?” The kid bleated, thankfully having only been nicked by the onyx head, and was now struggling profusely where he was stuck. Desperate to tear away from them. At the very least, the sudden whining distracted Hawke long enough for Varric to recover from his mild embarrassment, and he shook it away to make room for a confident smile. 

Hawke, however, made no attempt to move toward them, standing back to watch him work, arms crossed and waiting, her hand outstretched. With some more whining from the kid, and some serious wrist wiggling, Varric was finally able to pull the arrow free of the brickwork. And as the kid flashed one final furious look at them both, he took off down the path hurriedly, clutching his grazed shoulder tight, offering one particularly crass hand gesture as a way of goodbye.

With the young man’s sudden absence, there came a lingering, awkward silence that followed whatever had just happened, until Hawke’s voice piped up -- the fury in her tone had ebbed away, at least. To tiredness, it sounded like. “He still has my money, you know?”

Varric closed his eyes, brows furrowed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know.” And resigning himself, cursing wildly under his breath, Varric reached into his coat to offer her more. He dared not look as he dropped the purse into her pale palm, shaking his head. This one far heavier than the one they had taken from her. “I’ve just paid the same woman I robbed,” he stated, as both of them stared down the empty alley. Well, there was really no use in denying it now.

“You can rob me again, if you like,” Hawke replied, taking the money and patting her pocket, appearing most pleased with the end result.

Despite himself, Varric smiled at that, let go a breathy laugh and glanced up at her. She was still gazing off into the distance. All things considered, she was taking this pretty well. Perhaps he still could save this plan of his. For all it was worth, he’d have to lay on the charm, of course. “I’ve got a better offer if you’re interested, messere?”

The smallest simper flickered at the corner of her mouth. “You’re in luck," she said, "I’m always interested.”

Hi there! I’m gonna be trying something new. I get a fair amount of asks that aren’t strictly J2-related and I’ve been thinking about how to handle them. So from now on, I will occasionally release a few asks in a separate post tagged as “feedback friday,” so you, my darling reader, can blacklist them if necessary. 

Hello, dear!

I’m really glad to hear that and it’s not weird at all. I’m not here to turn anyone into a J2 believer, but it sure warms my heart whenever my humble blog is among the reasons someone comes to see reality for what it is. Welcome back to the fandom and thanks for telling me this!

Hey there, darling!

Gosh, you’re making me blush. Trust me, I’m not all that great once one gets to know me. ;) I’m really glad you enjoy reading my blog, cos I absolutely love writing it and miss it when I don’t have the time to focus on it. But it’s the readers as much as the J’s that keep me at it. Anyway, I hope your autumn isn’t as freezing as mine! Thank you for remembering me with this message. :)

Hello, sweetheart!

Thank you for alerting me! I’m totally okay with people linking to my posts on the Internet - it’s a public blog, after all. The reason I don’t really advertise the blog outside of my private Twitter is because I want to avoid attracting the wrong people. Basically this means staying out of the main tags and being thorough with censorship of certain words. I don’t want to intrude or be aggressive, people will have to find the blog on their own if they're so inclined. It’s alright, anon, you don’t need to send me the screencap. Thanks for your wonderful words and take care!

Have a very pleasant weekend, you all! And apologies for the delay in responding to you all. 

Your feedback is highly appreciated, won’t you send us some~? <3

Thank you!