wrote a #FieldsOfMistria fic centered on a farmer who moved there to start a new life after top surgery and unexpectedly fell in love with the blacksmith who (ostensibly) wanted nothing to do with him.
getting to use they/he pronouns in game & in fic felt good.
archiveofourown.org/works/92545441
![AO3 header screenshot for the linked fic with the following text:
Rating: Mature
No Archive Warnings Apply
Fandom: Fields of Mistria (Video Game)
Relationship: Farmer/March
Characters: Farmer, March, Reina
Additional Tags: Romance, Getting Together, Gender Dysphoria, Family Issues, background Reina/Celine, many townsfolk appear but most appearances are brief, March being March, Nonbinary Farmer, Top Surgery Scars, Shooting Star Festival, Wedding Night, Eventual Smut, Communication, Acceptance, LGBTQ Themes, lore details sprinkled throughout
Title: the best of me loves the best of you
Summary:
Ash left behind their adventuring days—and their past self—when they departed the Capital for Mistria in search of a fresh start. He didn't expect to find a place he could call home, let alone fall in love with the person least excited for him to be there. [This fic spans multiple years, concluding with their wedding night. Note that Ash uses they/he pronouns.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreidc3fpd6hvp2apftuzvvyppxtpli6td65y4pmithmw2qhysptfhvq)
![The Brooklyn 99 meme with text that reads "I've only had [Lune] for a day and a half, but if anything happened to [her], I would kill everyone in this room and then myself."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreigr7ivoytnjr6d27fsrdzcbgfrh3f6pzshwgvrzs5p6ftle64qi5e)
![Screenshot of the AO3 header for the fic linked in the URL.
[Rating] Mature
[Warning] Graphic Depictions of Violence
[Category] Multi
[Fandom] Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
[Relationships] Anders/Warden, Anders/Surana
[Characters] Warden Surana, Nathaniel Howe, Anders, Jowan, Oghren
[Additional Tags] Angst, Love and Loss, Grief, Self-Doubt, Agender Character, Vigil's Keep, Past Warden/Alistair (one sided), King Alistair, Queen Anora Mac Tir, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Friends With Benefits, Cousland is Not a Grey Warden, Explicit Consent, Consensual Infidelity
[Summary]
A simple mission to investigate reports of darkspawn activity ends in disaster and changes Neri's life forever.
They never named how they felt for Anders. They thought they had more time. Now, it's too late. Yet Neri must somehow continue serving as Amaranthine's arlen and Ferelden's Warden-Commander despite their soul spiraling into despair.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreidlqyve2wyat6jma56u2qlevdoimgs7jig4gf3iked5lfqf3tokwq)
![[screenshot of the below text, which is a snippet from chapter 7 of "An affliction I can't cure"]
I wrinkle my nose. “Let me have these moments. I don’t get many.”
“I know.”
There’s something in his voice that I don’t want to identify. “Why are you here, Nathaniel?”
“I was hoping a friend would share their burdens with me.”
Maker, I can’t tell him that I’m terrified of the growing expectations I must carry as arlen and warden-commander, that I’m fucking the king, that I’m in love with someone I’ll never see again.
“Maybe you aren’t up for it right now, but know that I won’t think less of you for talking about your struggles, Neri.”
I can’t. I can’t. Instead, I spring for the tankard. But this blighted archer is ready for me. Then again, he didn’t need to evade since I ruin my attack by tripping over the uneven stonework that serves as the floor in this room.
I tumble headlong into his chest.
“Oh, how the mighty Hero of Ferelden has fallen.”
I can’t help but burst out laughing. He quickly joins in, the sound reverberating through his body and into my ears. It’s a nice sound, a really nice sound.
He gazes down at me as I slowly straighten to my full height. I might blame his intent eyes, his soft expression, his earlier words, the alcohol, everything that happened in Denerim… really, any number of things, but the actual blame lies with me refusing to think before I kiss him.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreid3u6yp4zywptcfz5vaqvrr6ssntpxv5xbt4waomhfbhlq3vlj6ve)
![[screenshot of a snippet from the linked fic]
I jolt awake at the sound of drums. Dammit, I forgot today was Vertumnalia.
A grunt sounds next to me. I snuggle up to Dys, wishing the action could send him right back to sleep.
Actually, he is still asleep. That’s unusual.
I resist nuzzling his neck for about ten seconds.
He mumbles something before rolling over to face me. As he blinks away sleep, softness transforms his expression. “Hi, gorgeous.”
I can’t help but smile. “Right back at you.”
“I’m glad you’re still here.”
I’m about to playfully remind him that we’re in my room when I stop myself. Something in his eyes implies that he doesn’t mean here in the literal sense. I kiss him instead.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreifqgewrgqbtwlw5ke7zjwyictwwyhdipgnk53iix4kkgxc6etsxnu)
![[chapter 40 snippet screenshot with its text pasted below]
The queen’s efforts above and beyond exercising her authority are being noticed. If only that could ease the growing worry in Shion’s chest as high-ranked officers gather for a meeting.
Because General Zackly looks like he’s about to explode. “Explain to me why I should ever let you out of my sight again, your Majesty.”
“Are you afraid I might realize that I don’t need you, Zackly?” Historia retorts, her eyes bright. “My soldiers were able to handle this situation without your input, after all.”
“You were lucky. Such reckless behavior will get you killed.” His tone carries the threatening weight of a general berating a soldier, not one speaking to his queen.
“Bold of you to make such a statement in front of these witnesses.” She gestures at the others gathered in this room, most of whom helped install her as ruler: Commanders Erwin and Pixis, Hange, Moblit, Levi, Sasha (who looks ready to fight), Armin, Jonas, and Thomas.
The fury in the general’s expression fades but doesn’t vanish, like flames turning to embers. “I do not fear offering advice to my queen in front of my subordinates.”
“You swore an oath to serve me. I expect you to uphold it.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreidotyp434aqkdds37i3kxedayfqbmrzeenm2bvoqhbkmxrrppklom)
![[screenshot of text that reads as follows]
We’ve barely settled on the nearest stone bench when Heather turns to me. “Are you Alistair’s lover?”
Perhaps I should’ve expected this question, yet it still prompts a surge of energy to course through my body. “No, I’m not, and I never have been.”
“Oh?” Her gaze pierces me for an uncomfortable moment. “You’re telling the truth, aren’t you.”
“I am.”
Tension bleeds from her shoulders as she slumps forward. “That changes things.”
“What things?”
Heather exhales. “I had hoped to have an honest conversation, lover to lover.”
Many pieces fall into place. “You’re the one sleeping with Queen Anora?”
She barks a humorless laugh. “So you were aware of those rumors.”
“I was aware of the rumors but not the truth behind them.”
“You didn’t immediately assume they were valid?”
“I know better than that—Alistair can jump to conclusions before he has all the facts.”
This time, Heather’s laugh carries a bit of warmth. “I see that you aren’t blind to his faults.”
“We stopped a Blight together.” I carefully choose my words. “I had plenty of opportunities to encounter his strengths and his shortcomings.”
“Yet you didn’t become his lover.”
“No, I didn’t.” She doesn’t need to know more.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreie5rpcjxz75o6ggc7s6zrfz7rlsubkr43laesnlap5ik5iz7k3kn4)
![Screenshot of the AO3 header for the fic linked in the URL.
[Rating] Mature
[Warning] Graphic Depictions of Violence
[Category] Multi
[Fandom] Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
[Relationships] Anders/Warden, Anders/Surana
[Characters] Warden Surana, Nathaniel Howe, Anders, Jowan, Oghren
[Additional Tags] Angst, Love and Loss, Grief, Self-Doubt, Agender Character, Vigil's Keep
[Summary]
A simple mission to investigate reports of darkspawn activity ends in disaster and changes Neri's life forever.
They never named how they felt for Anders. They thought they had more time. Now, it's too late. Yet Neri must somehow continue serving as Amaranthine's arlen and Ferelden's Warden-Commander despite their soul spiraling into despair.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreievx6uwnil5bafvuwdtp3kzbb64q7ov5rvjoiadqgq5opqdqkqbai)
![[screenshot of most entries' summary, rating, and song inspiration]
"The Child You Were"
After a long day, fifteen-year-old Sol notices the star-filled night sky and decides they want to share it with Dys. When he doubts why they’d want to hang out with him, Sol works hard to convince him otherwise.
"Bittersweet Sixteen"
Sol’s sixteenth year begins with a birthday surprise. Later, a spontaneous adventure while exploring gives them hope that Dys might someday return their feelings. Then Sol’s plan to confess goes sideways, though its conclusion ends up a little better than they feared.
"Epiphany"
After sixteen-year-old Dys is caught trying to leave the colony, he’s forbidden from expeditions for a month and assigned stupid colony tasks like shoveling dirt or going to classes. These restrictions give him lots of time to wrestle with Sol having revealed that they’re in love with him.
"When Universes Collide"
Compelled by something they can’t resist, Sol seeks the center of the wormhole observatory while nearly breaking Dys’s lack of fear. Then the colony hosts the Vertumnan Youth Ball right before Sol’s seventeenth birthday, a party which takes multiple turns they didn’t expect.
"Cruel Summer"
Sol and Dys finally discuss the alien they’ve each been meeting while exploring Vertumna. Their quest to find him doesn’t go as planned.
"High on Life"
Dys takes Sol on a delightful date beyond the colony walls. Later, the two of them guide the insatiably curious Nomi-Nomi on their first expedition in the Prosaic Plains.
"On Top of the World"
Sym tries to learn more about human romance during an all-too-short chat with Dys while he’s on an expedition. Back in the colony, when Sol helps out their dad by working in the barn, their conversation takes an unexpected turn. Then Sol sets up an opportunity to sleep with Dys for the first time.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreih3rqey6zsid244txzwzybbwjea5nab6hka4zjr4cefy4jyvtmijy)
![[Screenshot of text from "Bittersweet Sixteen," a Sol/Dys fanfic for I Was a Teenage Exocolonist]
But when I put my weight on it, I slip thanks to some dirt—
“Got you!” Dys easily hauls me over the edge to safety.
When did he get so strong? My heart’s absolutely thudding in my chest, but not because I almost fell. In the process of rescuing me, Dys pulled me on top of him. We’re both breathing heavily. My face is so close to his. I rigidly keep eye contact because if I don’t I’ll look at his lips and—
“You all right?” he asks.
“I’m… yeah, I’m okay, thanks to you.”
“Good.”
He’s smiling and he’s holding me and he hasn’t pushed me away and I am so in love with him I don’t know what to do—
“This is the life, you know?”
Uh, yeah, it is, but I can’t say that.
He gazes at the cloudless sky above us. “Here, we aren’t dealing with classes or gossip or bullies. No one’s telling us what to do or what to think. I can just be me.”
“I like seeing the real you.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreif5doiugzkmgodzzpnwmqvmwhnevrenwrtd56bbsz2iftxomxzlcq)
![[screenshot of white text on a dark gray background]
As we grab bread and cheese and fill our bowls with a thick stew, I inadvertently make eye contact with Anders. The intensity within his gaze nearly overwhelms me. We haven’t had a moment alone since our confrontation with the templars, and frankly, I’m afraid of it.
I take a seat next to Nathaniel and focus on devouring my food. We’re all too hungry to talk, much to my relief. I’m debating yet another helping when Velanna strides into the room. “You’re finally back. We were starting to wonder about you.”
“Busy day!” Sigrun responds.
As usual, Velanna doesn’t disguise her exasperation. “Any trouble on the roads?”
“Not on the roads…” Nathaniel murmurs.
“What happened?”
“Templars in Amaranthine tried to take Anders.” Sigrun waves a half-eaten bread roll at me. “But the commander talked them down.”
“Talked?” Velanna purses her lips. “You talked templars into walking away?”
Nathaniel’s mouth twitches. “Neri was very convincing.”
“But they hate mages.”
I swallow my mouthful of stew. “You don’t have to remind us.”
“Right.” Velanna arches an eyebrow. “You’ve been quiet, Anders.”
“You generally dislike talking to me.” He grins. “I’m doing you a favor!”
“Seems like the commander was the one who did you a favor today.”
Mirth fades from his face. “That’s true. And I’m not about to forget it.”
I set down my spoon to hide the sudden trembling of my hands. His tone sings with unspoken emotion. I can’t be the only one who noticed.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreic6fs3gu3i7kixdh6dyik7ueufmdy7b2b5yxnau2w3izfjb5nvf3q)
![[screenshot of white text on a dark gray background]
“I need to know what happened! Talk to me, Anders. Please.”
“I don’t know! This wasn’t what I wanted. I never—” He groans, clutching his blood-stained hands to his head.
Nathaniel extends a hand toward him. “Take a deep breath. Walk me through it. When we report to Neri—”
“No! I won’t… I can’t go back.”
What is Anders saying? Vigil’s Keep is his home, their home. This is an unmitigated disaster, but there must be an explanation for it. The time they’ve spent fighting side by side demands that. Nathaniel scans the corpses again, swallowing the bile that rises at the stench of burned flesh. “Where’s Justice?”
Anders stares, swallows, slams his palm against his chest. “Here.”
Nathaniel blinks. “What?”
“Justice is part of me now.”
The memory of a casual conversation with Justice about switching bodies punches his gut harder than an armored fist. “Maker, Justice possessed you?”
Anders nods.
“Why?”
“Rolan wouldn’t stop calling him an abomination. He drove the others to raise their swords. They—” His voice hitches. “They cut Justice down. I couldn’t stop them. I had no choice, I had no choice!”
“Maker’s breath. And then… and then this happened?”
“I didn’t want it to! But they looked at me with naked fear, they raised their weapons again, and I…”
Shit. Shit. Shit. “There must be some way we can… What if Justice enters another body? Then—”
“It’s too late, Howe! Too late. Far too late.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreictpht4foivzwp7wof7u2a2i32flqkmfrkqw6jcir64fki5yjpw3m)
![[screenshot of light text on a dark background]
Shion slowly wakes, bone-deep fatigue resisting consciousness. The curtains remain open, but it’s dark outside. Odd, considering—
She bolts upright, her exhaustion temporarily forgotten. She grabs her nightrobe to stave off the early spring chill and rushes into the hallway. There, the sole illumination is soft light spilling from the doorway leading into their living room.
Her panicked steps slow as a faint melody reaches her ears. She tiptoes the remaining distance and peers around the corner.
Levi sits on one end of the couch, his wheelchair parked nearby, humming a tune to the tiny swaddled form nestled in the crook of one arm. His free—still intact—hand plays with a lock of hair that’s fallen across Hange’s sleeping face. They’re splayed across the rest of the couch, the back of their head resting on his thigh, the journal on their chest rising and falling with each breath they take—the journal they’ve spent the last few months filling with notes on how to care for an infant. Two empty bottles are on the floor nearby, one fallen on its side.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreice3t5etgkkzrkdbs55zqsyukmcvagsz4z5hfcwz7gg3nd2q7qeqa)
![[screenshot of light text on a dark background]
Shion’s heart swells with affection.
Levi finally glances up.
She smiles, silently crossing the room to sit on the armrest next to him.
“You should be asleep,” he murmurs.
“You let me sleep long enough. Looks like you two worked hard.”
“Hange did most of it—the feeding, the burping, the diaper changing. I just got her to sleep.”
“That’s important, too.”
“Mm.” He glances fondly at their daughter.
“What song was that?”
“Something my mother taught me. Hadn’t thought about it in years. Just came to me when I was trying to soothe her.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreidmfaifruqer65bb2m37phjt26asr6hp5iqxnp6fd55swsgghlzke)
![AO3 header for the fic linked in the URL.
[Rating] Mature
[Warning] Graphic Depictions of Violence
[Category] Multi
[Fandom] Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
[Relationships] Anders/Warden, Anders/Surana
[Characters] Warden Surana, Nathaniel Howe, Anders, Jowan, Oghren
[Additional Tags] Angst, Love and Loss, Grief, Self-Doubt, Agender Character, Vigil's Keep](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreieoymgjlo5eor5ah6dw6vsorem4co64f4wst5oegczb3d7k26kexq)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 25]
A weight I’ve always carried has lifted from my shoulders. It’s far too soon to celebrate. We have no proof. Yet the loss of freedom I felt just moments ago has vanished, in its place a tenfold helping of hope.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreidaxpqlw52co4ec3bgxdjnrtdv34gf7ja6pajduq4qaiij7yto3ci)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 24]
“I may not always grant it, but never hold back a request you wish to make of me.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreihjpzmi2sdal3qmukpniisvlrvwgammzahgplakfekwlxmeybxqgq)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 23]
She bites her lower lip, desperate to ask a question, terrified of its answer.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreictge62qwz4e4ow3bcrxqtgjjhh5vnpjbbizrxkiiionr4rhofuzu)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 22]
The formal suit accentuates her curves, an appeal magnified because she’s comfortable in it: head held high, shoulders squared, a smile playing on her lips, almost no evidence in her gait of her recent injuries.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreibdep3x2zjnji3qukerpgplecazyhg2d7hsytol6qbcx5ynujx2oa)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 21]
“Now get out of here before someone else decides this is a terrible idea.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreiawqpviyvnsx7izqlbs6vyc3gx2f5ozmkr7yqdjxradk7kg5atufa)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 20]
She has to break eye contact but she doesn’t want to break eye contact but she must—](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreif5jpspfctsxargvq3fqaxsadz3rfgllqhgs7he3vvrpf27dps63u)
![White text on a dark gray background that reads
[Day 18-19]
No one’s around, yet I decide against kissing him here out in the open. He ought to praise me for my self-restraint.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wfcepdhjvajg3ocrawnh5dve/bafkreicmmw52yoiuz7wgvgg6ehsnbrtpxmvk7q7ezc325eachqewasod6i)