3049 réponses à ce sujet

[Sable Rhapsody]

I have gone one day without writing an Abelas fic. I am on my way to healing. 

 

I think Abelas+Cole+cookie time still counts 

 

Also, you realize you're basically daring the rest of us to yank you back into the dumpster.

[Kestrel]

I want to be gently coaxed with writing ideas.

 

I'm still living in the dumpster, no worries. I'm just not... writing on the walls of it.

[Sable Rhapsody]

OK, gonna try my hand at Abelas and Varric:

 

Spoiler

Varric: Goldy, I once knew a guy with armor almost as shiny as yours.  But he had Andraste's face on his crotch instead of your weird...knee faces.

Abelas: I was warned about you.  Am I about to hear a long, rambling story about how this person killed a dragon?

Varric: Choir Boy?  Hell no, he couldn't be that interesting if he tried.

Abelas: I see.  I will endeavor to be less shiny and more interesting.

Varric: ...did you just try to make a joke?

Abelas: That is for you to decide.

Varric: I like you better already.

 

Abelas: Your crossbow.  I have never seen its like.

Varric: She's a beauty, isn't she?

Abelas: "She" is unique.  I expected the shemlen to take advantage of a weapon capable of such rapid fire.

Varric: ...we made sure that didn't happen.  There are enough ways to kill s*** out there.

Abelas: That is...not the sensibility I saw from the durgen'len.

Varric: That is none of your damn business, Goldy.

 

Varric: So.  Now that Chuckles is gone, are you our new expert on weird s***?

Abelas: What you consider strange, I consider part of my heritage.  Part of a past lost to those who call themselves elvhen now.

Varric: Ugh.  Forget I asked.

Abelas: Too "weird" for you, durgen'len?

Varric:  No.  Too damn depressing.  Tragedy is all well and good, but a good story needs high points to balance out the low.  From the way you and Chuckles talked, you'd think the world was ending.

Abelas: Not ending.  Our world is already gone.

[Caddius]

OK, gonna try my hand at Abelas and Varric:

 

Spoiler

Varric: Goldy, I once knew a guy with armor almost as shiny as yours.  But he had Andraste's face on his crotch instead of your weird...knee faces.

Abelas: I was warned about you.  Am I about to hear a long, rambling story about how this person killed a dragon?

Varric: Choir Boy?  Hell no, he couldn't be that interesting if he tried.

Abelas: I see.  I will endeavor to be less shiny and more interesting.

Varric: ...did you just try to make a joke?

Abelas: That is for you to decide.

Varric: I like you better already.

 

Abelas: Your crossbow.  I have never seen its like.

Varric: She's a beauty, isn't she?

Abelas: "She" is unique.  I expected the shemlen to take advantage of a weapon capable of such rapid fire.

Varric: ...we made sure that didn't happen.  There are enough ways to kill s*** out there.

Abelas: That is...not the sensibility I saw from the durgen'len.

Varric: That is none of your damn business, Goldy.

 

Varric: So.  Now that Chuckles is gone, are you our new expert on weird s***?

Abelas: What you consider strange, I consider part of my heritage.  Part of a past lost to those who call themselves elvhen now.

Varric: Ugh.  Forget I asked.

Abelas: Too "weird" for you, durgen'len?

Varric:  No.  Too damn depressing.  Tragedy is all well and good, but a good story needs high points to balance out the low.  From the way you and Chuckles talked, you'd think the world was ending.

Abelas: Not ending.  Our world is already gone.

I love that last line.  (And the rest.  ) There's the Doomed Hometown, and then there's Arlathan...

[Sable Rhapsody]

I love that last line.  (And the rest.  ) There's the Doomed Hometown, and then there's Arlathan...

 

Seriously.  Arlathan is the doomed hometown on tragedy steroids.

 

And I'm really glad you guys like these.  It's odd trying to find the voice for Abelas who has...maybe a few paragraphs of dialogue total.  I think there's a bit of Fenris grump creeping in there 

[BoscoBread]

OK, gonna try my hand at Abelas and Varric:

 

Spoiler

Varric: Goldy, I once knew a guy with armor almost as shiny as yours.  But he had Andraste's face on his crotch instead of your weird...knee faces.

Abelas: I was warned about you.  Am I about to hear a long, rambling story about how this person killed a dragon?

Varric: Choir Boy?  Hell no, he couldn't be that interesting if he tried.

Abelas: I see.  I will endeavor to be less shiny and more interesting.

Varric: ...did you just try to make a joke?

Abelas: That is for you to decide.

Varric: I like you better already.

 

Abelas: Your crossbow.  I have never seen its like.

Varric: She's a beauty, isn't she?

Abelas: "She" is unique.  I expected the shemlen to take advantage of a weapon capable of such rapid fire.

Varric: ...we made sure that didn't happen.  There are enough ways to kill s*** out there.

Abelas: That is...not the sensibility I saw from the durgen'len.

Varric: That is none of your damn business, Goldy.

 

Varric: So.  Now that Chuckles is gone, are you our new expert on weird s***?

Abelas: What you consider strange, I consider part of my heritage.  Part of a past lost to those who call themselves elvhen now.

Varric: Ugh.  Forget I asked.

Abelas: Too "weird" for you, durgen'len?

Varric:  No.  Too damn depressing.  Tragedy is all well and good, but a good story needs high points to balance out the low.  From the way you and Chuckles talked, you'd think the world was ending.

Abelas: Not ending.  Our world is already gone.

This is me right now.  This stuff is so good. I can hear it in his voice. 

Spoiler

 

[TanithAeyrs]

OK, gonna try my hand at Abelas and Varric:

 

Spoiler

Varric: Goldy, I once knew a guy with armor almost as shiny as yours.  But he had Andraste's face on his crotch instead of your weird...knee faces.

Abelas: I was warned about you.  Am I about to hear a long, rambling story about how this person killed a dragon?

Varric: Choir Boy?  Hell no, he couldn't be that interesting if he tried.

Abelas: I see.  I will endeavor to be less shiny and more interesting.

Varric: ...did you just try to make a joke?

Abelas: That is for you to decide.

Varric: I like you better already.

 

Abelas: Your crossbow.  I have never seen its like.

Varric: She's a beauty, isn't she?

Abelas: "She" is unique.  I expected the shemlen to take advantage of a weapon capable of such rapid fire.

Varric: ...we made sure that didn't happen.  There are enough ways to kill s*** out there.

Abelas: That is...not the sensibility I saw from the durgen'len.

Varric: That is none of your damn business, Goldy.

 

Varric: So.  Now that Chuckles is gone, are you our new expert on weird s***?

Abelas: What you consider strange, I consider part of my heritage.  Part of a past lost to those who call themselves elvhen now.

Varric: Ugh.  Forget I asked.

Abelas: Too "weird" for you, durgen'len?

Varric:  No.  Too damn depressing.  Tragedy is all well and good, but a good story needs high points to balance out the low.  From the way you and Chuckles talked, you'd think the world was ending.

Abelas: Not ending.  Our world is already gone.

You have done it again!  You have nailed Varric's voice, after reading this I'm not sure he wouldn't be better for helping Abelas figure himself out than Cole.  Fantastic banters.

[Sable Rhapsody]

You have nailed Varric's voice, after reading this I'm not sure he wouldn't be better for helping Abelas figure himself out than Cole. 

 

Varric is amazing at helping other people figure themselves out, and crap at doing it for himself 

[Giton]

Abelas and Zev, II, III:

 

Spoiler

 

Zevran: Abelas, you lived within the confines of that temple for a long time. Years! What was it like?

Abelas: We lived ordered lives devoted to an ideal of holy military service, and under a regime of spiritual training, meditation, and personal asceticism. But, when the holy laurels withered and fell from the shrines and all was silent, we turned inward and prepared for deep sleep. But, we remained ready.

Zevran: Didn't you get bored? Didn't you feel . . . stirrings? Perhaps in your loins?

Abelas: I gave myself into service. And yes, I gave up something of my will. But it was a proud service. Even when we could only touch the echoes. For through our service, we remembered. Through our meditations, we journeyed towards the divine, and by our poetry, we traveled within the divine. Why do you ask?

Zevran: I was just thinking, I know something of the cage.

 

Zevran: You know, Abelas, I have met your god before.

Abelas: Doubtful.

Zevran: Well, what was Mythal like for you? Was she beautiful and ravishing? She must have been for you to pledge yourself to her service.

Abelas: The divine has many colors and infinite layers. When you truly meet a god, you will find yourself mixed with the divine, both bound by one desire.

Zevran: Well, that was not quite my experience. When I met her, she was an old woman who I tried to kill. She did turn into a dragon. So, that was something.

 

 

Here's to Zevran, the most stable boyfriend in Thedas.

 

Also, Sable, your Abelas and Varric--so gooooood.

[Kestrel]

I'm now so torn between Varric/Abelas as my brotp or Zevran/Abelas. both so good you guys.

[TanithAeyrs]

Abelas and Zev, II, III:

 

Spoiler

 

Zevran: Abelas, you lived within the confines of that temple for a long time. Years! What was it like?

Abelas: We lived ordered lives devoted to an ideal of holy military service, and under a regime of spiritual training, meditation, and personal asceticism. But, when the holy laurels withered and fell from the shrines and all was silent, we turned inward and prepared for deep sleep. But, we remained ready.

Zevran: Didn't you get bored? Didn't you feel . . . stirrings? Perhaps in your loins?

Abelas: I gave myself into service. And yes, I gave up something of my will. But it was a proud service. Even when we could only touch the echoes. For through our service, we remembered. Through our meditations, we journeyed towards the divine, and by our poetry, we traveled within the divine. Why do you ask?

Zevran: I was just thinking, I know something of the cage.

 

Zevran: You know, Abelas, I have met your god before.

Abelas: Doubtful.

Zevran: Well, what was Mythal like for you? Was she beautiful and ravishing? She must have been for you to pledge yourself to her service.

Abelas: The divine has many colors and infinite layers. When you truly meet a god, you will find yourself mixed with the divine, both bound by one desire.

Zevran: Well, that was not quite my experience. When I met her, she was an old woman who I tried to kill. She did turn into a dragon. So, that was something.

 

 

Here's to Zevran, the most stable boyfriend in Thedas.

 

Also, Sable, your Abelas and Varric--so gooooood.

Ah, Zev      .  Still the best (most loyal, sane, and practical) boyfriend, husband, lover - depending on your head canon.  Not that the other love interests don't have their strong points, but Zevran will always be my favorite.  

 

Spoiler

Warden: Zev, what should we do today?

Zevran: Hmm, stay in, make love?  I do not believe we have thoroughly tested the banister for sturdiness.  It is worth investigation, no?

Warden: There's no food in the house.  We at least need to go to the market.

Zevran: Excellent idea!  Passion fruit, grapes, wine, oysters.  Then we check out the banister.

Warden: races Zev to the market

 

 

Inquisitor:  Abelas, what should we do today?

Abelas: continues polishing armor

Inquisitor: There's no food in the house.  We at least need to go to the market.

Abelas: Whatever you purchase will suffice.  

Inquisitor:  Nothing you would like? No special requests?

Abelas:  Vegetables, meat, wholesome grains.

Inquisitor:  No frilly cakes, confections, chocolate covered strawberries?

Abelas: Do as you wish.

Inquisitor: 

 

 

 

Seriously, I love these banters.  Perfect for Zevran.  And poor Abelas, I just think our Antivan assassin would be too much for him on so many levels.  From the little we know of him I do think Abelas has the potential to be the second most stable boyfriend in all Thedas (he's mature, not possessed, not recovering from years of slavery and abuse, not tied to Chantry apron strings, has no secret identity , no addiction problem, and (I do love Bull) but he's not wrestling with betraying his people and their philosophy).

[Kestrel]

Well, with the one little problem that he's spent god knows how many years of his life in service to Mythal and the well, and he's due a monumental crisis of being with both of those gone from his life, and that he's thrust out into a world that's no doubt changed drastically since the last time he ventured outside. 

 

I bet he really likes grapes though. He's spent so long locked up that he's forgotten how grapes taste, so he eats them individually and slowly, rolling them around his mouth and enjoying the taste and texture in a way that borderlines obscene. He only does this in private. 

[TEWR]

OK, gonna try my hand at Abelas and Varric:

 

Spoiler

Varric: Goldy, I once knew a guy with armor almost as shiny as yours.  But he had Andraste's face on his crotch instead of your weird...knee faces.

Abelas: I was warned about you.  Am I about to hear a long, rambling story about how this person killed a dragon?

Varric: Choir Boy?  Hell no, he couldn't be that interesting if he tried.

Abelas: I see.  I will endeavor to be less shiny and more interesting.

Varric: ...did you just try to make a joke?

Abelas: That is for you to decide.

Varric: I like you better already.

 

Abelas: Your crossbow.  I have never seen its like.

Varric: She's a beauty, isn't she?

Abelas: "She" is unique.  I expected the shemlen to take advantage of a weapon capable of such rapid fire.

Varric: ...we made sure that didn't happen.  There are enough ways to kill s*** out there.

Abelas: That is...not the sensibility I saw from the durgen'len.

Varric: That is none of your damn business, Goldy.

 

Varric: So.  Now that Chuckles is gone, are you our new expert on weird s***?

Abelas: What you consider strange, I consider part of my heritage.  Part of a past lost to those who call themselves elvhen now.

Varric: Ugh.  Forget I asked.

Abelas: Too "weird" for you, durgen'len?

Varric:  No.  Too damn depressing.  Tragedy is all well and good, but a good story needs high points to balance out the low.  From the way you and Chuckles talked, you'd think the world was ending.

Abelas: Not ending.  Our world is already gone.

 

Perfect! I love how you wrote Abelas and Varric. Any tips and advice for other people looking to write in their voice?

[TEWR]

All right.  Have some non-canon Cole and Abelas banters because I have too many feels.

 

Spoiler

 

Cole: You call yourself sorrow.

Abelas: Did Inquisitor Lavellan tell you that?

Cole: No.  You sing it in dreams, whisper it to the heavens.  It drags behind you like chains, but it keeps you steady.  It reminds you of your duty.  

Abelas: The vir'abelasan is gone, and my duty has ended.

Cole: Then why is it still with you?

Abelas: Not all of us can forget as easily spirits do.  Be grateful that you do not carry memories such as mine.

Cole: Do you want to forget?

Abelas: No. Never.

 

Abelas: You are a rarity in this age.  In the days of Arlathan, the People communed freely with spirits.  We saw your kind differently from how the shemlen see you now.

Cole: Harmony and color, ringing through spires that stretch to the sky.  The echoes call us from the Fade, seeking and listening to an endless song cut short into silence.

Abelas: The Temple of Mythal was home to a spirit of Justice.  It helped guide each of us into uthenera when our time came.

Cole: I didn't hear anyone when we went to the temple.  It was too quiet.

Abelas: Without Mythal's judgment, Justice had no reason to stay.  It departed when she died...as did so much else.

 

If Cole is a spirit:

 

Abelas: Why do you linger when you could return to the Beyond?

Cole: They need me.  Thousands of little hurts wait inside the bigger ones, worrying them until they fester and open.  So many voices, so much that I can do.

Abelas: There will always be suffering in this world.  You will never be able to ease everyone's pain.

Cole: But I can help.  Where would I go but where I'm needed?

 

If Cole is human:

 

Abelas: I have never met a spirit in your circumstances.  What changed you?

Cole: My friends.  They showed me I could be more without losing me.  You could be too, if you wanted.

Abelas: I am not like you, and I would not change my nature so easily.

Cole: But you did.  Long ago, there was another you before the darkness, before the sorrow.

Abelas: That man is no more, and I do not know how to be any other way.

Cole: You can still learn like I am.  I learned about baking cookies yesterday.

Abelas: *smiles slightly* I suppose that is a start.

And more Cole and Abelas banters.  THESE FEELS I CAN'T STOP THEM HELP

 

Spoiler

 

Cole: Do you miss the music?

Abelas: I'm sorry?

Cole: A chorus, golden, gleaming, raised in worship and reverence.  The singers come and go, but the song is the same.  It reaches for the heavens, for the mother, and sometimes her melody thunders in answer.

Abelas: ...the temple had been silent for so long while we slept.  I had almost forgotten what it was like to sing Mythal's praises.

Cole: Mother Giselle and the sisters sing in the garden.  It is softer, sweeter, but it still reaches for heaven.

Abelas: It is not the same, nor could it ever be.  But thank you anyway.

 

Abelas: How do you bear it?  Living a world where you could never truly belong?

Cole (if spirit): I came here to help.  That's all I need to stay me.

Cole (if human): My friends are my anchor.  Warm, holding, helpful.

Abelas: If it is truly that simple for you, I envy you.

Cole: You sound like Solas.  But you don't have to be like me in order to stay you.

 

Cole: A pearl of pain, a tangle to gently unwind.  But you're different.  The pain is part of you now; it echoes and grasps and flows through your veins.  I can't shake it loose.

Abelas: It is unnecessary.  I came to terms with my fate ages before you existed.

Cole: I want to help.

Abelas: And I, for the moment, wish to be left alone with my thoughts.

Cole: But--

Abelas: Please.

(if Varric is present)

Varric: Let Goldy be, kid.  You can't force people to change.  It'll only happen if they want to.

 

(And a bonus established Abellan romance one)

 

Cole: She wakes you from the long sleep, shakes the heavy shadows loose, and it's almost too much.  Too bright, too warm, fire and force cracking the armor.  But then she laughs, and the sound brushes away the centuries.  Everything is lighter when she laughs.

Abelas: *chuckles*  

Cole: You're...not upset with me for saying it?  Everyone else shifts and hides.

Abelas: I have reason now to smile.  Why would I be ashamed?

Cole:  I don't know?

Abelas: I do not know if it is the same for spirits, but someday, I hope you find the sort of joy that she brings me.

 

 

FEELS. My Abelas FEELS are going into overdrive mode now, thanks to your wonderfully painful and amazingly written banters.

[Kestrel]

That gives me /ideas/. I could kiss you. I won't, because kissing chest hair seems disgusting, but I could.

[Kestrel]

You're totally welcome to pick my brain via PM whenever you want. I'm in a weird headspace right now for reasons that don't need to be elucidated in thread, so I probably won't actually do any writing today, but feel free to pick my brains. 

[Sable Rhapsody]

I bet he really likes grapes though. He's spent so long locked up that he's forgotten how grapes taste, so he eats them individually and slowly, rolling them around his mouth and enjoying the taste and texture in a way that borderlines obscene. He only does this in private.

WHERE IS MY SENSUAL GRAPE FIC. I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED.
 

Here's to Zevran, the most stable boyfriend in Thedas.
 
Also, Sable, your Abelas and Varric--so gooooood.

Thanks! And I agree, all the love for Zevran. He, Kaidan, and Garrus can form the Stable Boyfriend club and give the other LIs advice. Or just physically pummel some sense into them, I think that'll work too   
 

Any tips and advice for other people looking to write in their voice?

This is going to be a little long, so I'll put my rambling in spoilers.

 

Spoiler

So banters are IMO both easier and harder to write than normal fanfiction. You don't have to monkey about with description or anything, but all of the inflection and feeling has to come through with just the dialogue.  My suggestion is to go back and listen to the character's actual dialogue and banters.  What kinds of words do they use?  Are their sentences typically long or short?  Do they have a particular pattern to their speech?  (For example, Solas's "Hallelujah" rhythm or Cole's word salad.)  It's easier for canon characters like Varric who have a lot of material.

 

For characters like Abelas with limited canon material, you'll have to do some extrapolation.  I'll freely admit to cribbing most of my headcanon of Abelas's character from Path of Sorrows' wonderful post a few pages back.  The way I write his dialogue borrows elements of Solas and Fenris.  He shares Solas's melancholy wisdom and weight, but he's not as wordy as Solas.  He's more to the point like Fenris.  For example, after the decision comes to drink from the Well, he simply says, "Our duty ends.  Why remain?" 

 

My last piece of advice is to try and hear the banter/dialogue you write in the characters' voices.  Listen to their in-game dialogue, then read your dialogue with their voices and inflections.  This is IMO extremely valuable, because if you've got a good sense of how the character should sound canonically, any OOC stuff that slips into your dialogue will "sound wrong" to you when you play it back in the character's voice.  

 

Hope that helps!

[Kestrel]

Ahaha, give me a few days and I'll see if I can come up with anything, though I can't actually see how I would utilize it and stay true to the spirit of his character. We'll see. 

[Sable Rhapsody]

You never know he may actually like it once he experiences freedom. I think with the right support he would be fine. I mean even though he was in a temple since Aralthan fell he obviously had some contact with the outside perhaps via scouts. How is it he can communicate to Inky and crew in common and the others are still speaking ancient elvish? Plus, he knew about the Dalish hiding in the forests. Somehow, I guess by exploring the fade while he slept he learned. Maybe the world isn't so foreign to him after all. That doesn't mean he has to like it. 

 

OK, this is going to sound a little weird, but bear with me.  (BTW, new home thread on the BSN.  Y'all are awesome.)

 

For those of you who played Mass Effect, does Abelas remind you of Vigil?  The Prothean VI on Ilos back in Mass Effect 1.  I know Vigil can't really think or feel in the same way as a person can, but I got the same sense of melancholy loss from both of them, and Vigil was meant to express the personality of the head scientist of the Ilos project.  They were both keepers in a sense for a repository of knowledge, and passed on that knowledge to the PC.

 

Or maybe this fandom has completely devoured what remains of my sanity.

[electricfish]

OK, this is going to sound a little weird, but bear with me.  (BTW, new home thread on the BSN.  Y'all are awesome.)

 

For those of you who played Mass Effect, does Abelas remind you of Vigil?  The Prothean VI on Ilos back in Mass Effect 1.  I know Vigil can't really think or feel in the same way as a person can, but I got the same sense of melancholy loss from both of them, and Vigil was meant to express the personality of the head scientist of the Ilos project.  They were both keepers in a sense for a repository of knowledge, and passed on that knowledge to the PC.

 

Or maybe this fandom has completely devoured what remains of my sanity.

I'm not going to lie, having Abelas troll people like Javik does to Liara would be hilarious. He and Cassandra would go punch bears together like that Zaeed human who Javik thought was cool.

 

<edit> Top Abelas, about to drop a sick beat

 

[BoscoBread]

OK, this is going to sound a little weird, but bear with me.  (BTW, new home thread on the BSN.  Y'all are awesome.)

 

For those of you who played Mass Effect, does Abelas remind you of Vigil?  The Prothean VI on Ilos back in Mass Effect 1.  I know Vigil can't really think or feel in the same way as a person can, but I got the same sense of melancholy loss from both of them, and Vigil was meant to express the personality of the head scientist of the Ilos project.  They were both keepers in a sense for a repository of knowledge, and passed on that knowledge to the PC.

 

Or maybe this fandom has completely devoured what remains of my sanity.

I had so many Vigil feels back in the day.  I was like 'who is this sad computer???' SOMEBODY GIVE HIM A HUG!!! So yes, Abelas does remind me of Vigil much in the same way.  Oh man...it's like almost exactly the same...minus Abelas is not a robot(AS FAR AS WE KNOW). 

 

Accept the loss of your sanity. Mine left the day I started an RP Tumblr devorted to craft loving June...so yesterday??  craftyjunebug.tumblr.com