lost myself and I am nowhere to be found

[fightingale]

WHO: catch-all for Leliana, Ruby & Herc
WHAT: all sorts! some open prompts for each, as well as closed starters.
WHEN: throughout Bloomingtide
WHERE: various
NOTES: Depression, discussion of death, alcohol, potential violence, others to be added as necessary. If we're threading and something comes up in a tag, feel free to add a warning to the subject line.

Starters in the comments! If you'd like a personalised thing then just prod me via pp (@karmacharging) or pm and I will whip something up C:

Comments

[fightingale]

"That," she begins, rather bluntly, "is more than a little simplistic." One eyebrow is ticked upward, considering for a moment how to explain. "How many things that are known to us are terrifying? How much worse can things become, and it is worth the cost of things becoming more terrible? To say that the unknown is intimidating only if you do not face it dismisses the very valid reasons people have for their fear, and undercuts how hard it is to fight against that." No, she shakes her head. "Many people have good reasons to be afraid and to shrink away from causes that might worsen it."

Leliana amongst those reasons, for some.

"The very concept of the Council is a strong beginning, although there are those who consider it far too akin to a Circle to support it, and others who feel it is not close enough. I think if you want to build something that lasts... it should focus on the similarities between people, rather than highlighting differences. Finding the common threads between mages, and between mages and non-mages is key."

[gatheringstorm]

Perhaps it is simplistic, but for Korrin, who admittedly has had resources to counter threats that the common person just doesn't, it just makes sense. Whatever she fears, no matter how terrible, always seems to diminish when she faces it head-on. Having learned that from a young age, she's simply stuck with what works. So, the notion that others might not gain strength from such confrontation is an alien one to her. But Leliana sees more angles than she ever will, as spymaster or Left Hand, so while Korrin doesn't look as though she agrees with all that's said, she at least seems to be considering it. "I said the unknown is more intimidating unconfronted, not that it isn't to begin with. Personally speaking, not facing it seems to give it more power over me, and that's a thought I can't stand. But...I admit it's a lot easier to do it with magic and a shitload of training. I suppose it's worth remembering that many don't have that."

And she'll need to keep that perspective in mind, especially when the current crisis is over and the question of what happens to mages comes back to the forefront.

"Commonalities...that's a good point. Banding against our enemy is a nice start, but there need to be more such ties, or it'll be prone to falling apart afterward. If we stick to Fade training, work with each other to resist the usual pitfalls of being a mage, then it's a start...and a way to show that we can all be capable, Circle-trained or not." And, yes, a way to stick it to Circle hardliners by showing them that their way isn't the only valid one, but hopefully it can be done in such a way as to encourage rather than provoke. "Mages and non-mages working together on projects, like the construction in the valley, would be very helpful. More chances like that might give people the exposure needed to see those commonalities for themselves."

[fightingale]

"You and I are of a like mind," Leliana agrees, "but there were times when I believed that I could live and let a great threat to me live as well - that living peacefully would be enough, and I was one with considerable training. Something bigger, for those with no such experience of battle, or the world we live in beyond their hometown?"

She shakes her head, and the memory of the scared girl hiding in the Lothering Chantry is swept away.

"Precisely so. Focusing on opportunities for such projects will be key, I think. Do you have anything in mind?"