Jannifer's Journal

Many thanks to 1smut_princess for her beta reading!

We all know that Mabari are intelligent and that they bond with their human partners. How would a Mabari react to getting the news that her partner was dead? Would she have sensed her partner's passing? In the case of Adria, would her Mabari know what was happening to her? I looked at these questions, made some decisions and wrote the following drabble.

( The Mabari the Wardens found in the Vigil's basements had been in bad shape.... )

The following two little pieces are just tidbits which floated up through my consciousness during a couple of my recent playthroughs in DA:O. They're just little drabbles, so enjoy!

( Oghren gets Dragonbone Cleaver )

( Maric's Sword for Alistair )

I love the English language. It's rich, diverse and very expressive. In the days before pop culture spread so widely via radio and TV, it was quite possible to tell where someone came from simply by her/his turn of phrase as well as his/her accent.

For example, here in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, I grew up with a variety of expressions that I haven't heard anywhere else. My grandmother had completed the eight years of schooling common in her day (turn of the 20th century), but she still used certain words and phrases in ways which are now unexpected.

"He doesn't look too pert." Here, "pert" is pronounced as if it were spelled "peart" with the -ear- pronounced the same as the English word "ear". Her meaning was that someone looked tired or a bit sick, as if they might be coming down with something or just recovering from it.

"I'll get to it directly," where "directly" means "after a while" rather than "immediately." To start something is to "commence" it, for example "I commenced to digging." "Smart" often accompanied by the adverb "right" is used to indicate speed rather than intelligence as seen in, "Go do as you're told and be right smart about it." "Stout" is often used to mean that something or someone is strong as in, "The coffee is pretty stout this morning."

If someone is angry, they might "rare up at me." In this case, "rare" is a form of "rear," possibly a holdover from an older pronunciation, and is used in a similar context to the rearing of an angry horse. However, this phrase isn't used to refer to a physical attack, but a stream of angry words.

"Who're her people?" is a common Southernism and means "Who is her family?" rather than "Who are her staff?". In an area where many families are deeply related going back several generations, it's a way of placing where someone comes from.

Mine is an area where a Primitive Baptist minister will use the word "hope" in the sense of looking forward to something that will come to pass rather than wishing for something which might not happen. This meaning is reflected in the words of a traditional burial service as seen in the line, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the coming resurrection."

In a recent post over at the People of Thedas community, ScaryLady offered some turns of phrase from her British roots. "My personal favourite is completely unique to cotton towns. Up here, if you can't get on with a task, cos you are waiting for someone/something else, you say that you are 'stuck for bobbins'. It goes back to the cotton mills, and I *think* is when the spinning room was waiting on the carding room for their bobbins of cotton." A little further down the thread, she noted that "Weirdly 'bobbins' also means 'crap' or 'a mess'."

So, share with me your tidbits on the English language. What are the phrases that you've loved? Have they been funny? Poignant? Pithy? Or just plain odd?

Another gut wrenching decision leading to another fan fic. This one is longer than "Abomination." I wanted to look not only at a Warden who made the decision to burn Amaranthine, but also at a woman who's in love with Zevran and enjoys a special relationship with Anders and Nathaniel. Not that kind of special! Get your mind out of the gutter. They are her family for Pete's sake.

( Sometimes the choice is between bad and worse. )

I set up accounts here and on LiveJournal so that I could have access to some of the Dragon Age communities I'm interested in. However, it doesn't make sense to have an account and not post anything, so I thought I'd post some of my own work. I'm much better at academic writing than creative writing. While I can manage plot and place, my dialogue needs work as do my descriptions. I tend to write a very lean prose, but that's not necessarily what's needed in fiction. In any case, here's one of my pieces.  The authors mentioned in the author's note below may be found at fanfiction.net.

In memory of my father, one of the best daddies I’ve ever known. As always, I wish to thank Erynnar and LadyAmesindy for encouraging my literary efforts and beta reading for me. You ladies are “awesome sauce.” (My take on Dog was inspired in part by callalili’s and Crisium’s works.)

---

 

“How would you like to be a daddy?” his Warden asked.

 

Dog cocked his head to one side and thought about the question for a moment. He gave an inquiring woof which his mistress quite correctly interpreted to mean, “You mean with some of the Mabari at the castle?”.

 

“Yes, I do mean in the kennels at the castle,” his Warden answered. “You remember that the kennel master at Ostagar called you a ‘promising member of the breed,’ right? Well, Alistair’s kennel master sees that you are indeed a special Mabari, and he’d like for you to sire some pups. What do you think?”

 

Dog thought that the kennel master was really smart to recognize what a good dog he was and that having some puppies would be a very good idea. He knows a lot he could teach puppies about fighting and darkspawn and the best way to beg for treats and how to protect their humans even when not fighting.

 

“Yes, you can teach your pups a great deal about protecting their humans,” the Warden giggled, “but don’t teach them to bite Alistair just because he dumped me, okay?”.

 

Dog grumbled a bit at this because he still believed Alistair deserved another bite or two, at least, but he’d obey his Warden. Then he perked up because he remembered that his warden was now involved with the sneaky elf who smells like leather and spice and poison, and who is very good at protecting her and makes her happy.

 

“That’s right, Zevran makes me happy,” she smiled. “I’ve looked over the females at the kennels, and there are some very pretty and intelligent bitches there. I’m sure you’d find at least one who would be a good match for you.”

 

Dog likes that idea too (he’s actually checked out the kennels himself, and there’s a particularly lovely black Mabari there who seemed very interested in having his pups), but he wonders who’ll look out for his lady while he’s off being a daddy. Even though the sneaky elf is very good at seeing things, his sense of smell is nowhere near at good as Dog’s. On the other hand, even Dog must admit that his hearing is almost as good. And, the sneaky elf is very clever with his weapons and uses poison to help make his weapons more effective. Dog isn’t sure he approves of poisons, but it’s the way the sneaky elf fights.

 

“You know that Zevran would give his life to protect me, just as you would. I believe that I’ll be safe enough with him until you come back.”

 

Dog thinks things over a bit longer. Yes, he’d really like to be a daddy, and if his Warden believes she’ll be safe, then he won’t worry about her too much.

 

“Good. I’ll let the kennel master know that you’re willing to sire a litter of pups. Alistair has promised us the pick of the litter so that we can begin a kennel at the Keep.”

 

Dog really likes the idea of starting his own kennel and wags his stubby tail so hard his entire rear end waves from side to side. He’ll be the best daddy ever, and he’ll be sure to tell his Warden which pup to pick. Who would she bring to be the pup’s human?

 

“Well, of course we have to let the pup choose, but I thought I’d bring Nathaniel and Phillip. Nathaniel has been around Mabari before, and Phillip once had his own Mabari, but lost her while fighting darkspawn in the Deep Roads.”

 

Dog approves of these choices. These are men who will care about and take care of his pup. Yes, being a daddy is going to be a very good thing indeed.

 

“\o/”

 

“Alistair, you know you can’t come between a Mabari and master. Once they’re imprinted, it’s a done deal,” the Warden laughed.

 

“Yes, I know that, but I never thought Nathaniel and Phillip both would imprint,” Alistair huffed.

 

“Ah, Alistair my good friend, your hounds have simply recognized two very superior men,” Zevran chortled. “While I am also a superior man, I would not be nearly as good a master for a pup. The Mabari know this.”

 

Dog opened his mouth in a silent laugh because this is exactly what he and his mate had planned. He’d told her about the humans the Warden would be bringing, and she’d agreed that both of them should have pups. The two pups they picked were very excited about these nice men. They would be the best Mabari ever and protect their humans very carefully! Right now, both of them were yipping and tumbling around Nathaniel’s and Phillip’s feet while the two men laughed at their antics.

 

Alistair glared at Zevran for a moment, sighed, rubbed the back of his neck and replied, “The kennel master may have my head, but there’s no going back. He’ll just have to get over the idea of sending off two pups instead of just one.”

 

The Warden and Dog shared a look. Yes, things had worked out very nicely. They both grinned.