#ungenue

How does your OC show they love someone without words? Are they the touchy sort, with lots of hugs and cuddles, or do they have another, less obvious way?

Oh man, this actually gets into some sad headcanons for Bethany. I think the way she cared for her family was by making herself as small and unbothersome as possible for so many years. Her magic affected the family so profoundly, that she tried not to be a burden in any other way. It was out of love and consideration for them, but it is a bummer. 

Romanced, though, I HC Bethany as very physical. I think after spending so many years hiding, her love is a bit loud and she doesn’t care who sees her happiness. She likes hugs and snuggles and holding hands, and frankly she deserves all of that. 

I also HC that when Alistair wakes up too hot in the middle of the night which happens every night, she cools him down with ice magic. It happens so often she barely even wakes up to do it. He starts fussing and she covers him in a layer of frost.

OMG. GUYS.

26. What would be their theme song?

I have a whole playlist saved with songs that make me think of these two and choosing one song is difficult as hell, so I’ll settle for two T-Swift songs Holy Ground/ False God-- the religious allegory just screams at me, you know? 

If we’re talking Noir AU, it’s Tequila by The Champs hands down. They’re up to some mischief and dancing (with some murder mystery on the side). There’s a reason it’s listed as one of the inspiration songs. 

Hey there Lucyrne! ❤️ Thank you so much for sending these! 

For the “Fanfic Reader Asks” meme – feel free to send me an ask! 

13: Do you read author’s notes usually? 

I absolutely do! And then write a ridiculous amount of my own, LOL! 

17: Canon-compliant or Canon, what canon? 

I prefer canon-compliant, but honestly, a well-done “canon, what canon?” fic can work too, depending how it’s done. I mean, I’ve definitely been known to throw canon out of the window in some of my own fics 👀  well, it didn’t fit the story I wanted to tell, so it had to go! 

20: What something that immediately makes you exit out of a fic? 

LOL, gosh, so many things... let’s see, here’s some of them: 

if a fic has very few or no paragraphs and is just a wall of text; 

if a fic has so many spelling mistakes, grammar errors and/or typos that it renders it unreadable (and worse still, doesn’t have a good writing/storytelling style to make up for any of it); 

if something in the fic squicks me; 

characters and dialogue that are OOC or weird with no good reason for it (I adapted this one from you LOL)

self-inserts / reader-insert fics (even if an author’s obviously used a canon character rather than an OC their own personal/idealised self-insert. People can and should write them if they want! But they’re not for me)

if I feel like I’m being lectured at, rather than having a story told to me. 

this was…planned?!!

Oh yes, after it was aired the showrunners were very proud of the fact that they’d planned Ted/Robin from the beginning, and had the teenage actors who played Ted’s kids record their last scene (where they are basically like “ENOUGH about our dead mom WHEN will you fuck aunt robin”) years in advance so that they didn’t age

“How much of that did you hear?” 

Brynjolf x Fiona 

609 words | Ao3

It wasn’t everyday that Fiona left the comforts of the Cistern or the Ragged Flaggon, but for once, she needed to escape the Ratways. That evening she had accepted Delvin’s invite for a meal and drink at the Bee and Barb, not caring that the Breton most likely had ulterior motives for bringing her topside. But that thought quickly left her mind as she settled at the bar, Keerava’s freshly made lamb stew warming her body and soul. Of course, the tall tankard of Nordic mead helped her mood as well.

“So…” Delvin drawled after taking a long sip of his ale. Fiona braced herself, thinking through all the possible questions he was about to ask. “You and Bryn are gettin’ awfully close.”

“And what about it?”

She hadn’t meant to sound so defensive, but she was getting tired of this line of questioning from Devlin, from Vex—from everybody in the Guild. Sure, she and Brynjolf had gotten friendly in the last few months while they went on more jobs across Skyrim together, but that wasn’t anybody’s business. Then again…the two hadn’t really made their…flirtations (though she hated calling them that) less than discreet.

“Well,” Delvin shrugged, taking a sloppy spoonful of his stew. “I was only curious if it was headin’ anywhere interesting is all.”

Fiona eyed him, never knowing if she could fully trust the man. Sure, Delvin offered the best and honest advice most of the time, but he was a thief. Then again, so was she. After a moment, she sighed—it may have been the alcohol buzzing in her mind, but for once, she felt like speaking freely.

“It might,” she finally answered. Delvin’s expression told her he was actually genuinely surprised. She nursed her drink a little. “Brynjolf would have to act on some of his words though. He paints a pretty picture, offering all these grand gestures of romance and adventure.”

Delvin was grinning behind his raised tankard.

Fiona faltered when she realized she had inadvertently revealed too much. “I mean, all that would be nice, I suppose if that happened…wouldn’t it?”

Delvin’s eyes glanced for the briefest of moments over her shoulder. “Sure would.”

Startled, she turned around and found the man in question leaning against the tavern wall, that signature smug expression of his something she recognized all too well. Fiona was flabbergasted as Brynjolf approached the small distance, standing to her right, so she was forced to face away from Delvin.

“How much of that did you hear?” Fiona rushed, heat radiating across her cheeks and down her neck.

Brynjolf grinned, resting his cheek in his palm, elbow against the bar. “Oh, all of it, my dear lass,” he winked. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t repeat it.”  

Fiona could hear Delvin chuckling behind her—she half expected him to have disappeared by now. Still, she took Brynjolf’s words half as a dare, half as confirmation that she wasn’t completely out of her mind when it came to how she felt about him—about them.

“And if I don’t?” she teased, despite the embarrassment still radiating through her. She noted the way Brynjolf faltered, which gave her some encouragement, but before he could respond, Delvin groaned.

“Oh will you two just get a room and get it over with?” he flung his hands up in frustration, walking away from them and towards Sapphire instead. The two shared a nervous chuckle and a lingering glance.

“So,” she started with a smile, grabbing Delvin’s leftover tankard and giving it to Brynjolf. “How ‘bout a drink, and then I can tell you some sweet words?”

He returned the smile. “I’d like that.” 

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

Already answered - it’s the final chapter of All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird. (Though many scenes in Beyond Heroes would be strong contenders too!)

19. any new fics to start next year

Doubling Down, the sequel to All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird, is a high priority for 2020.

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

I did already answer this, saying that I wanted to finish my wips and wasn’t able, but another one comes to mind. I have a very fuzzy plan for a Modern Girl in Thedas story starring my most blatant self-insert ever - I mean super blatant, like it’s very obviously me. While I have started it, it hasn’t gotten very far. What I have written is pretty funny, though.

5. Where did you draw inspiration from?

GAH, WHERE TO START. There isn’t that much information about Rivain, and some of it is contradictory, so I had to fill in the blanks as much as I could. For the native natural order religion, I drew inspiration from West African religions, Voodoo and Santería (and a little bit of Hinduism, since the natural order is pantheistic). These religions have spirit possession, divination and ancestor worship in common, so I tried to reconcile these elements with Dragon Age lore and come up with a worldview that felt authentic. Piecing this together was a lot of fun and I’m really proud of the worldbuilding, so I hope I can convey all this properly in the story!

My father’s family is Berber, so that was another big inspiration, namely for fashion and jewelry, food, and tattoos with ritualistic, magical and healing properties (which all came into play in my wedding night one-shot Song out of Seashell). I was also inspired by Indian and the Caribbean for food, fashion, and architecture, although my main source of inspiration for architecture was Moorish Spain, at least for the capital city of Dairsmuid. I was also inspired by traditional Japanese architecture for another settlement that I don’t want to talk about too much just yet!

And lastly, Black Sails is one of my favourite TV series and was definitely a huge inspiration for everything involving pirates in the story. The port city of Llomerryn is under pirate control, so I drew some inspiration from the way Nassau is portrayed in Black Sails (just ... much more colourful). And I would say that Isabela’s arc in general is definitely an ode to Black Sails -- I was definitely looking to recreate that same atmosphere and tension with Isabela and her crew, and she also takes a page out of Charles Vane’s book at some point, as far as naval strategies are concerned. :D

12. What part is the hardest to write in your WIP?

Answered this one here!

17. Post the last line you wrote in your WIP

Very rough, but here goes:

Whatever she had done left her so hollowed out she fell down onto the patch of bloodied sand next to him, and she only barely felt the hands clutching her.