Messaging you for one word answers
I almost wish you blocked me
Reaching out feels like a test designed to lose
A catch - 22
No one believes in us now
Day by day I start to think of you less
And maybe in another year I’ll get over it
Text
Miranda (1875) by John William Waterhouse RA (1849 – 1917), oil on canvas, height: 76 cm (29.9 in) x 101.5 cm (39.9 in), Private Collection
Text
“Thank you for helping us.” Sofia thanked, as Lauren heaved the last box into the truck. “It’s a shame that you’re moving away but after all that happened… how could i blame you.” Lauren philosophied. Sofia looked around the neighbourhood as she took in Lauren’s words. She was right. It was sad. This town seemed just perfect. The close and good paying jobs, the close school, all shops in-town and never really having to leave. It was a dream come true. If it just hadn’t been for those incidents. “How is Officer Lopez coping?” Laurens words ripped Sofia out of her nostalgia. “Oh. he’s doing fine… still looking for a Therapist near our new place.” Sofia aswered, a bit reversed, not wanting to reveal too much about her Husband.
“I’m sorry, you know…”
“Huh? For what?”
“Everything actually… if my father didn’t… if i would’ve just…”
“Lauren!!”
Both Lauren and Sofia’s head snaps into the direction of the sound and they see Jake slowly walking up to them. “Ah, I’m sorry i have to…” Lauren awkwardly excused herself. “No worries.”, Sofia reassured her, “Go on, i can handle the rest myself.”. Lauren gave a small smile before turning and jogging up to Jake, who happily caught her into a tight hug. Sofia smiled at the sight of them, before she busied herself with other tasks. “Ay dios… ALEJANDRO! Did you give your daughter’s marshmellows again?!”
——————————————————————————–
Everyone, i am so obsessed with the Ghost Tree but there is literally no one in this fandom. I feel so alone, please i need someone to yap about this book with.
Answer
2. Did your Warden match Zevran’s lighthearted attitude or were they more serious? What sort of relationship did they have?
miranda’s usually serious and polite and they do contrast w/ each other very nicely bc of that. zevran’s grounded matter-of fact attitude and his humour truly does a lot to lift miranda’s mood and ease her mind while miranda’s straight-faced compassion and grace she gives him rly do a number on the guy who never seen either of those things. and like, both are aware that the other one is not entirely genuine in their attitude. both are keeping up friendly appearances and trying to figure each other out for the sake of their own safety, but the thing is that the orphans dont care why you decide to build an orphanage. kind words, acts of care and all that still matter, they still get through to you and you end up appreciating them even if you have to be wary of where they’re coming from. and over time, as you go through a journey of saving the world together and get to know each other a little better you might find out that those acts of care become less and less counterfeit but don’t worry about it, it’s clearly bc you’ve gotten too good at pretending.
ofc their relationship is not exactly even. important to mention here. obviously for miranda being nice and compassionate is a choice she makes whereas zevran giving her a peace of mind is yet another way he tries to make himself useful. it also leads to some other things like zevran for instance tries to avoid annoying her at all costs (difficulty level: nightmare) and stops making any flirty or sexual remarks for a time when she tells him to, which is a gesture he never does for anyone else. that makes miranda appreciate him more, but it’s not exactly a foundation for a good relationship, to say the least. so that changes when miranda chooses to let him go and he chooses to stay, and she’s so happy that he chose to stay that from that moment on zev becomes pretty much the only person in the world thats Allowed to annoy her and poke fun at her and pull an occasional prank and she stares at him lovingly and sighs for the things that would get anyone else incinerated.
4. Did Zevran betray your Warden? How did they feel in the aftermath of Zevran’s decision?
have you ever heard that advice about tossing a coin when you’re not sure what you want because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what outcome you are hoping for? that’s where miranda finds herself during the taliesen encounter. she and zev spend the whole time doing their best to keep their relationship strictly casual and keeping each other at arms length and miranda was firmly of opinion that getting into a committed relationship is a very stupid idea for a warden anyway so she’s completely fine with that arrangement. or so she thinks until all of a sudden she finds herself hoping desperately that zevran chooses to stay by her side and when he does, with a completely uncharacteristic for him seriousness and sincerity vowing to protect her, well. all hells broke loose, so to speak. overwhelmed by sudden emotions, miranda completely abandons their usual game of pretenses and innuendos and basically demands zevran to confirm that he actually wants to stay with her. she’s just like. i want this to be real so much. i will only accept it if i know for certain this is what you want too. hence, ‘if you want to go you should go’. it really is the highest declaration of love you can get from miranda, the Known Enjoyer Of Using People For Her Own Goals, when she surrenders control and is willing to let people go and make decisions on their own, thus opening herself to the possibility of rejection and pain that comes with it. only her favourite people morrigan and zevran ever receive such luxurious treatment.
anyway, it’s a good thing all this happens in the middle of the mission to rescue the queen herself and miranda has something to focus on, lest she might’ve just exploded from all these pesky feelings, eh?
3. Was Alistair reunited with his sister, Goldanna? What did your Warden think of her? Did they relate to Alistair with their own familial struggles?
miranda spends that entire encounter mostly annoyed. annoyed at alistair asking her to hold his hand, annoyed at goldanna being catty to her for no reason whatsoever, in general annoyed at alistair for thinking this woman would accept him just because they share blood. miranda herself knows all too well that familial relations don’t mean much, her own family all but disowned her and bribed templars to whisk her away to ferelden when her magic cost amells a viscountcy. and she’s definitely normal about it and absolutely doesn’t hold a massive grudge and for sure she won’t consider alistair’s desire for a family a naive idiocy he must overgrow.
5. What became of Alistair after the Landsmeet? How did your Warden feel about their decision of Alistair’s future?
miranda asks him to marry anora. she rly doesn’t want to leave anything to chance when it comes to the landsmeet so compromise seems like an ideal solution and alistair starts to come around to the idea of taking the throne since he’s hardened and it’s just a nice little bonus that alistair, unlike anora, is a familiar variable and is not a keen political player, that is to say - potentially manipulable. this, of course, blows up in her face after she decides to spare loghain.
what follows is two people, who used to be friends, both completely certain that the other one horribly betrayed them, have to work together to rebuild the country and keep appearances in public. miranda remains involved in his marriage, basically a third wheel but for arguments to the point that it is kinda weird for everyone but both alistair and anora are like well this was your brilliant idea wasn’t it.
unexpectedly for everyone around him, alistair handles his new role and responsibilities well, learning quickly and establishing himself as someone who doesn’t want to be blindly pushed around anymore. meaning that all the people who were counting on that - mainly eamon and miranda - were instead forced to work with him as partners. he establishes a productive partnership with anora (eventually. as i said miranda has to help a lot and those first few months are rough. but they get there) and the two grow to respect each other a lot (and honestly i go back and forth all the time abt whether or not they fall in love for realsies bc both of those outcomes are juicy in their own right and i just. cannot pick lol.) with miranda his relationship is obviously strained but they work together well too, due to their time together during the blight and also because their mutual betrayal ironically establishes a weird kind of trust between them, where it’s like 'now i know exactly what you’re capable of. and because of that i can trust you.’ if that makes sense. later on they become staunch allies in supporting growing mage liberation movement and with time their old grudges seem to matter less and less but neither is willing to swallow their own pride and reach out. i think miranda tries eventually, she feels a sting of guilt upon seeing just how lonely alistair is in the snake pit of politics, but she gets instantly rejected and never tries again. i think it’s safe to say they don’t reconcile until dav era.
and like, you can tell miranda did a somewhat of a c+ job on her resolution to not use people for her own gain. she vows not to do what she did to jowan to anyone else but the thing is that trying to grow as a person is not exactly like flipping a switch and boom, you’re a good guy now. it’s all too easy to slip into your old patterns given the chance and miranda is someone who spent most of her life completely powerless and at the mercy of other people, so when she gets a chance for a power grab, she simply can’t let it go. she tells herself that it’s fine because she convinced alistair to go along with it rather than going behind his back, but is it enough when deep down you know it’s not exactly true? in any case, her thirst for power comes back to bite her eventually. sword of damocles and all that. shame they dont have greek mythology in thedas.
1. What did your Warden think of Wynne’s views on the Circle? Did they have different experiences regarding the Circle?
they start out in the same place, roughly. both believe circle to be the necessary compromise to ensure the survival of the mages. there is a way in which their experiences differ, though. wynne, being an orphan, adopted but never loved, comes to greatly appreciate 'better’ sides of the circle, like the community of peers and the roof over your head; unlike miranda who was torn from the life of privilege and immediately disregards the system as soon as it fails to live up to it’s promises. there’s nothing like seeing a bunch of mages barely surviving behind closed doors where they can do nothing but await their inevitable execution and viscerally understanding that if it were not for blind luck, you would’ve been stuck here with them and nothing would’ve saved you - not your perfect behavior, not the spotless record, not even the willingness to stab your best friend in the back. the fact that wynne continues to stubbornly insist that the circle can be improved afterwards really drives miranda up the wall, like, wynne please, there’s nothing to improve when the fundamental promise of the system - the right to exist on a condition of good behavior - is a lie. this clearly doesn’t work, how can you not see it when you were one of those actually stuck there instead of having to imagine it?! miranda sees mind-boggling stupidity in what really is the same survival instinct that was driving her during her own decade in the circle, the one that simply runs deeper than hers.
4. Did your Warden go with Wynne to meet Aneirin, her one-time apprentice? What did they think of the encounter?
they do meet him but i think they just like, bump into him among the dalish. miranda wouldnt go out of her way to try and find him otherwise. i personally think aneirin is very funny for being like 'um lady you got someone else to bother now please leave me alone. im not angry at u i swear. peace ✌’ miranda however does not find this funny bc now she has to deal with wynne seriously suggesting for her to go back to the circle and she has to over and over be like 'i cannot stress to you how much i would literally rather die.’
1. What was your Warden’s position on the Chantry? Were they wary of Leliana due to their religious beliefs or lack thereof?
miranda was more wary of her due to her popping up out of nowhere and all of a sudden being all friendly and helpful and really wanting to join a group of people with the bounty on their heads for some reason. so she turns leli away initially but after asking the innkeeper about her and when she pops up again offering to lockpick sten’s cage miranda reluctantly accepts her help realizing no one else on the team has the same kind of skill set and it seems like it will be useful. she does it on the condition of leliana never saying anything from the chant of light though, which is just her being like look i had to listen to that shit every day for god knows how many years and i Do Not Want To Do It Anymore.
4. Did your Warden believe that Leliana was telling the truth about her vision from the Maker or were they skeptical?
definitely skeptical. i think this story caused miranda’s paranoid brain to become suspicious of leliana again, like there’s no way she actually believes this bizzare story, right? she must have some ulterior motives? right?!
3. Did your Warden retrieve Sten’s sword? Did your Warden’s choice to give it to him or withhold it affect their relationship with Sten at all?
asala was indeed retrieved and their relationship did change but that change was… rather one-sided, shall we say? for miranda i think it’s safe to say she doesnt fully grasp the importance of it all to sten. she understands it from a purely practical perspective - he needs a sword to go home. she thinks that sten calling his sword a soul is something of an elaborate metaphor, she doesn’t understand that he can’t really consider himself a person without it. for sten on the other hand this moment marks a switch from 'well, you’re alright to work with’ to that line he says in the epilogue 'i will not seek you out in battle’ which if you know sten you would know how huge of a difference it is coming from him, but due to him being not the most expressive guy and miranda being somewhat culturally ignorant abt his whole deal it does get lost in translation. she does deeply appreciate his epilogue line though and considers it one of the highest praises she’s ever been given.
5. Was your Warden amused by Sten’s love of cookies?
not really. his loving a sweet treat he never known before is honestly one of the most understandable traits for miranda. she herself constantly finds wonder in things other people find mundane after all the time living in the tower, so they bond over that sometimes.
3. What was the fate of Branka? If she was killed, was your Warden regretful? How did they act around Oghren afterwards?
miranda initially tries to keep branka alive bc she believes her necessary to secure ozrammar’s throne. again, a bit of cultural misunderstanding happening here where miranda straight up doesn’t realize that caridin is also an option, its like who the hell is ever going to believe that long dead paragon was actually alive? so in her mind she has no choice but to deal with branka but she doesn’t intend to let her use the anvil, for reasons that are very close to that of caridin’s. after all the horrors of the deep roads, it’s simply… too much. she shuts down any rational deliberation she would normally do and doesn’t even want to entertain the idea of having that kind of sin weighing on her soul. that’s not to mention meeting branka is like staring into a distorted ugly mirror of herself and it scares miranda shitless.
so they fight against caridin and then branka makes her the crown and miranda’s like okay im gonna try to talk her down and if it doesn’t work, well. nothing a gratuitous amount of violence won’t fix. luckily talking works. words come easy because talking to branka is just talking to herself, to her own guilt about ruthlessly using people to further her own goals. and then completely unexpectedly for everyone branka commits suicide, leaving only awkward ugly silence behind.
talking to oghren after all this is extremely weird for miranda. oghren, despite his complete inability to express it, appreciates her trying and successfully bringing branka back to her senses and miranda can’t find the strength to admit to him that she didn’t do it for her sake but instead was motivated by her own pragmatic interests.
5. Did your Warden stay on good terms with Oghren after the Blight? If Oghren got back together with Felsi, did your Warden ever go to meet Oghren’s child, who was named after the Warden?
miranda was… less than chill about oghren abandoning his kid. i think she did notice something was off about him immediately upon meeting him in vigil’s keep but decided not to press matters since her plate was already full with… everything and she didn’t get to know oghren all that well during the blight. after felsi arrives though, that’s when oghren suddenly found himself with his commander towering above him with the fury and electric sparks in her eyes. needless to say, she very much encourages him participating in tiny miranda’s life in any way he can, proofreads his letters and yeah, i think they visit together sometime.
2. Did your Warden agree to help Morrigan kill Flemeth? Why or why not?
initially, miranda agrees to help - she can tell that morrigan’s distress over the contents of the grimoire is genuine. when she actually meets flemeth though her old survival instinct creeps in for a moment. she can feel that flemeth is infinitely more powerful than her frail old body makes her look and miranda generally doesn’t like to mess with powers she can’t comprehend. so she is tempted for a moment to accept flemeth’s deal and lie to morrigan but changes her mind when she hears flemeth’s answer to that question about what will she do. the way that flemeth speaks about watching what morrigan does with her freedom, sounding like a predator that wants to play with their prey, giving them a glimpse of hope just to mess with them before catching them, that absolutely infuriates miranda. she’s like Hey That’s My Friend. and then she throws hands.
so here, unlike alistair’s situation, miranda actually does act on her desire to do better by her friends. she almost chickens out, again, old habits die hard, but she pulls through at the end.
3. How close was your Warden to Morrigan? Did your Warden respect her abilities as a witch of the wilds?
love at first sight. profound fascination, on both sides. morrigan’s abilities are a pretty big curiosity point for miranda as someone brought up in an academic environment. she was taught that she only magic that exists outside that environment is evilbad blood magic and gets to find out almost immediately about, in a way, a third dimension to this duality - magics that are not of blood, yet still shunned because they might make mages a touch too hard to control. she doesn’t pass an opportunity to add those abilities to her repertoire, of course.
3. What did your Warden think of Loghain’s suspicion and dislike of Orlesians? Did they consider it to be ill-founded or accurate?
miranda thinks that loghain’s suspicions are not unfounded. celene’s letters to cailan make it abundantly clear that the empress has her sights of ferelden and miranda is a learned scholar, she knows her history and she knows of that time orlais invaded nevarra under the guise of help against the blight. that being said, miranda is an outsider in ferelden, so the intensity of loghain’s hatred is a touch amusing for her. or rather it would be amusing if it didn’t cause so many problems. ultimately she thinks that his strategy of dealing with it was a ridiculously self-destructive one. if ferelden is taken over by orlais, she thinks, it can be taken back. if it’s destroyed by the blight - well, no going back from that, is there?
not that she ever voices any of that to loghain himself, of course. antagonizing a last-minute ally on the eve of the final battle is also unwisely self-destructive, she thinks.
Text
The Arts Teacher
Jason Davenport had never had the organizational skills required for a really successful teacher, but his arts credentials were openly admired and the parents loved the fact that he was on the prestigious school’s staff, even if his example for his students was far from ideal.
Around the middle of Fall term, two things happened seemingly simultaneously. One, he had the tragic misfortune of developing a back problem and could no longer sit at his desk. Apart from his easel, he had to resort to using a stand-up writing desk for grading papers or lecture from behind a podium. He also leaned against the front edge of the desk, but no longer sat atop it as had been his habit.
The second thing was a miraculous, though not total, improvement in his work habits. Punctuality, proper attire (including, most of the time, an absence of untucked shirts), and more conventional methods in the classroom eased the day-to-day life in the school without dimming his students’ creativity, such as it was.
It was noticed by the most sympathetic of the staff and students that Mr. Davenport’s back troubled him less as the week went on, barring a relapse, but tended to worsen over the weekend, leading to speculation that he was doing something wrong at home. They provided advice and suggestions accordingly, sometimes conflicting and almost unfailingly useless, but always with his own best interests at heart.
What was noticed by almost no one was that Jason was spending his free time with Miranda Atwater, the History Mistress and Assistant Deputy Head. While her students found her less than strict in a general sense, she was well-known as an absolute artist with the cane, able to get more effect out of six strokes than even the Deputy Head, who was believed to be literally a witch.
What was never noticed, or at least not ever mentioned, was how Ms. Atwater would, from time to time, chide Mr. Davenport while at school (and presumably other times).
The results of these chidings were most often addressed on Sundays (if not on Saturdays and Sundays, or even Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) not long before Mr. Davenport reported for duty to stand before his easel or behind his podium.
Text
writing damons journal is so hard because i have to time things out with exact dates which means some events are So rushed like damon and mirandas friendship starts and ends within ~4 months. and that’s sort of insane. but damon is also a highly abused guy with bpd and miranda quickly becomes his fp because. well they’re the only person who gives him the time of day and doesn’t look at him like he’s gum on the bottom of their shoe. sniffles
Text
kinda embarrassed it took me so long to come up with a way for miranda to get into blood magic since the canon way is closed off to her until it dawned on me that avernus is right there. and it does the double duty of providing the suitable ‘push’ towards that decision. which is avernus telling that story abt him using blood magic to get nobles to the side of the rebellion would rly speak to miranda’s anxiety abt the whole 'we will need to convince the landsmeet’ ordeal eamon lays out. 'well we can’t really afford to have all our efforts be for naught just because we didn’t manage to convince a bunch of dumbass nobles to let us save them, right? it’s for their own good, after all. it’s fine, really. source: trust me man’ - words the wretched woman utters to herself and only to herself for i don’t think she will ever admit to any living soul that she actually got into blood magic with the explicit intent to manipulate people’s minds.
Text
Bibi: Wood doesn’t actually burn.
Miranda: That’s insane.
Bibi: What burns is the gas released when the wood gets hot. Therefore the reaction would have to be gasification, through oxidation reduction, then combustion.
Jon: It is so cool that you know that.
Answer
A giggle, Miri always texts so formal and victorian. Always a funny shock.
What did you have in mind, my dearest princess?
Being silly as well, as what else would a clown do?
Text
Bibi: Isn’t it weird how we pay money to see other people?
Miranda: You mean transponder snail theatre?
Kusu: Concerts?
Beckman: Prostitutes?
Bibi: Wha…N-no, I mean glasses, what the fuck-
