Chapter 12: Old Wounds

Summary: Thalia confronts her past with Blackwall while she considers her future with Cullen.

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“What about the Commander?” Blackwall’s voice was low and gravely in her ear, almost an accusation.

She forced herself to turn her face toward his. She could just barely make out the chiseled lines of his cheekbones, the crooked nose, the immaculately groomed beard. Only his eyes shone in the dim light — that intense, unyielding grey. “What about him?”

“You’d have to be blind not to see he’s been through the wringer.” Blackwall crossed his arms. “Seems you and he left out quite a bit at dinner.”

Thalia shut her eyes. Their account of past events had been truncated at best, outright deceptive at worst. But it had been evident Cullen didn’t trust Blackwall, nor the entire gang of Red Jennies. Thalia, improvising, had been careful to keep the details sparse, at least until they were rested enough to regain keener judgment. “It’s a long story. We’d planned to tell it tomorrow, at the meeting.”

“Well, if you want to commandeer my men for a suicide mission in order to further your science experiment, I think I have a right to know now.”

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Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Cullen Rutherford & Raleigh Samson, Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan, Raleigh Samson & Female Trevelyan, Female Inquisitor & Raleigh Samson, Female Inquisitor/Raleigh Samson, Raleigh Samson/Female Trevelyan, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Minor Blackwall/Female Trevelyan Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Raleigh Samson, Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Female Trevelyan (Dragon Age), Vivienne (Dragon Age), Thalia Trevelyan, Delrin Barris, Original Elf Character(s), Rylen (Dragon Age), Sera (Dragon Age), Blackwall (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: The Inquisition loses, Complicated Relationships, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Role Reversal, Alternate Universe - Dark, Moral Ambiguity, Whump, Angst, Lyrium Addiction, weird tension between Thalia and Samson that I did not plan for, Non-Consensual Touching, Samson is a creepy sad sack, and I am very sorry, Suicide Attempt, Sort Of, this started as a oneshot but now i'm on board for the whole hideous ride, Canon-Typical Violence, Red Lyrium, Psychological Torture, Spooky, Horror, Obsession, Unrequited Lust, Cullen in peril, Red Templars (Dragon Age), Eventual Smut, Cullen Rutherford Smut, Tent Sex, the shadow of cullen's ass, Unprotected Sex, Birth Control Failure, Pregnancy Scares, kind of, Accidental Exhibitionism Work Summary:

What would happen if the Inquisition lost?

Months after a disastrous defeat, Cullen Rutherford and Thalia Trevelyan are imprisoned in Skyhold, the one-time beacon of the Inquisition's power. It is now under the control of Corypheus's triumphant general, Raleigh Samson.

Caught in a cat and mouse game with Samson, Thalia and Cullen must make a desperate bid for escape. Yet even as they search for a glimmer of hope in an unkind landscape, the question remains: what is left of the world, and can they survive there?

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Tagging DAFF crew:

Imma Troy to color Eclipse and a few OCs for the AU too

HHHH THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY FICS!!!! 💖❤️💙💕

AND YES THE NIGHTMARE!AU !!!!!!!! To be completely honest I forgot about it until you sent this to me.

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So the basic plot of the Nightmare!AU is that before a week or even up to man th before Ash leaves to go on his next journey, the corresponding Regional League get horrible nightmares until Ash finally arrives to that Reagion.

The “Nightmares” are actually Ash’s memories, the League members are just experiencing it through Ash’s eyes. It’s like Arceus just shoved their entire being into Ash’s during the nightmares. So unlike Ash, who has a very high pain tolerance, they feel everything he feel with their own tolerance. Though not enough to kill them, bc then a lot of League members would have died such as Opal and Drayden from a heart attack, but enough to leave them completely numb and mindless. Their anxiety and what ever Ash feels at the end of the memory is just 10x worse for them.

How bad the nightmare is depends on their status and how important they’ll be to Ash on his journey. Like how Raihan, Leon, Chairman Rose, and Oleana have very bad ones (Zero and Giratina, Pokélantis, the entire Hoenn or Kalos show down, etc.) because they’re a section of really important people in Ash’s journey.

No, other travelers don’t get them. So Gou and Hop don’t end up getting them. Neither do Bede and Marnie even if they end up becoming League members at the end of the journey like Hoo does with Professor Mongolia and Sonia. The Professor and the Professor in training also do go through Ash’s memories, but their much of the lesser kind like dealing with Mew and Mewtwo on a normal Sunday dinner night with Ash’s mom and such. Their still conflict (bc their still Gods and cat type Pokémon) but not as “heading into battle, I may not survive. YOLO!!!!” Type of bad.

But here’s the catch! Absolutely no body knows it’s Ash until the final battle that saves human kind. Absolutely fucking no one. Lance doesn’t figure it out even though he’s Ash’s Uncle in this AU. Alder doesn’t, but that’s mostly based because he’s a H I M B O. Even Dianthas and Cynthia didn’t know it was Ash until the final fight for their lives. Olympia has her suspicions but they weren’t sound proof enough for her to act on it, so she just suggested to keeping a close eye on Clemont and his friends.

Professor Kukui gets the closest to figuring it out before the final battle. So in the memory he got, Kukui did see Ash’s face, but it was so dark that he only saw Ash’s eyes. Which were a mix of red (Articuno), green (Moltres), brown (Zapdos), and a bright icy blue (Lugia) so he didn’t really figure-figure it out. He just had more proof it was Ash because the Alola Gods took Aha in like their little human God duckling. The Kahunas do get the nightmares though way much less intense to Professor Kukui who, technically speaking, was the last person who fights Ash in the Alola League. So therefore that makes him the untitled “Champion” of Alola since he was also supposed to fight Ash while being the mask royal. 

The only difference this time around is that Leon got a full look at Ash’s face during his last nightmare, the morning before the beginning ceremony where he was supposed to duke it out with the new Alola Champion who’s coming to travel Galar instead of his Rival Raihan. His nightmare was with Zero and Giratina. Leon got a full good look of Ash’s face off of the metal of Zemos ship where Ahs has jumped on.

Sun kissed skin, sharp jaw, fluffy black hair, and glowing red eyes.

Frankly Leon still didn’t actually know it was Ash because he’s never met the other Champ before. (Even tho they met up a few times at Champion/International League Christmas parties bc Ash is still also the Orange Islands Champ.) until he was walking out onto the pitch to greet a good chunk of the new gym challengers that were able to make the trip up to Wyndon.

Leon almost tripped on himself once he recognizes Ash, in the middle of line up no less with that Houndoom sized Pikachu standing next to/in front of the young man (Ash is around 20-23 in here Bc I made his character take a good two year break after the Alola league), because the bright stadium lights made Ash’s hazel eyes glow a bright deep red.

Leon ends up not indulging to anyone why he looked so panicked for a couple of seconds on the pitch. Hell! He keeps the information of who’s memory their seeing from the other League members until half way through Ash’s journey when Leon realized that the boy was going after Oleana and Chairman Rose.

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@jelsa-week day 4- Nightmares

I love the nightmare AU! It’s one of my absolute faves. Nightmare!Elsa design inspired by the old Evil Elsa concept arts!

NightmareXKiller

ship3

THANK YOU I LOVE THIS. this is the start of a scene between Samson and Vivienne in nightmare!au, but I promise Thalia does factor in. The Red Templars have captured Vivienne and Samson intends to grill her for info on where she let Cullen and Thalia escape to.

WC: 542

For @dadrunkwriting

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The cells in Comte Cock-For-Brains’ dungeon were down too many bloody flights of stairs. Circular stone stairs that wound and wound, leaving Samson dizzy once he reached the bottom. He took another surreptitious shot of red while his retinue were collecting the keys from the gaoler, a fat old bastard who had two teeth and was partially deaf. He’d manned the lord’s dungeons for nigh on fifty years, and was going to make them wait fifty more out of sheer incompetence. 

The swallow steadied Samson, at the least. He looked to Barris. “And she hasn’t been forthcoming under questioning?”

“No, ser.” In the damp dark, Barris’s one red eye gave off an unsettling glow. “She’s stymied three interrogators thus far.”

Samson sighed. “If you want anything done, you’ve got to do it yourself. Come.” 

At last the gaoler produced the keys, inserted one into a comically large lock, and swung open the circular dungeon door. Beyond lay a row of cells, dripping and smelling of mold. Only one sconce was alight, down near the end where the prisoner awaited. 

“Wait here,” Samson told Barris and the other guards. He took the key, took the torch off the wall, and approached the cell. 

He paused by the door. A faint scent hung in the air, sweet and floral. Samson’s pulse quickened, for he was once again transported back to the cave, with Thalia so near. He looked around, knowing she could not possibly be here, but hoping all the same. The reverie vanished like the mirage it was; before him, through the bars, sat a different woman entirely. 

Days in the bleeding dark, and she still smells like her perfume. It made sense now. She’d had Thalia in her clutches, dressed up, they said, like a doll. She’d probably lent the girl her fragrance. In the corner of the cell, she sat with regal posture, watching him like a cat on the prowl.

“General, darling, you look dreadful,” said Madame de Fer. 

Got an incredible "couples" comm from the extremely talented @chimeowrical of Thalia and Samson! 👀

Meant to be an illustration of their relationship in my ongoing WIP Through a Glass, Darkly.