#Kirkwall Museum

[catebees]

@eurekq I'm answering in a post on its own cause this got a bit long. First of all, thank you so much! I try to take inspiration from medieval and early modern fashion but in no way am I an expert. That's why I mix in a bunch of fantasy/anachronistic stuff as well. Most of the references I used I found on Pinterest actually, but it took a lot to make the algorithm understand that I was not interested in the "Halloween costume" type‬ of medieval costuming. A good way to deal with that is to search for a specific year for clothing (1450s is always better than late medieval), or even the name of a specific garment worn at the time (houppelande, tabard, hennin...). Wikipedia has some pretty exhaustive explanations of what people used to wear, century by century (example). You can also check out museum collections, some let you browse by era and location (the MET and the Victoria and Albert Museum are two that come to mind rn). Other resources I used for this were: Priorattire's videos on YT (they often show all of the steps to getting dressed, so you can see all the layers） CrowsEyeProductions's Tudor royal household video (same thing, especially centered on royal servants and nobles in early/mid 1500s England） Robinswords's shorts (big fan of the guy, knows a lot about swords, sometimes makes special vids for artists posing with certain weapons.) (For armor I mostly just look for cosplayers/reenactors who seem to know what they're doing, and try to find something that may look like a realistic version of the in-game ones. I'm also really partial to the ones from the Witcher III).

I also think a big thing I do to stay somewhat consistent is to pick an era of fashion for each region of Thedas and stick to it. Ferelden is 1300/1400s Britain and France (ironcally), while the Free Marches are 1500s/early 1600s depending on the city. Kirkwall is also a pretty steampunk place, so if an Amell is wearing accurate Tudor era clothes‬, a pirate or a Crow may lean more towards a bodice-ripping, audience-pleasing tight leather fit.

I think this is all, I wish I had a more exhaustive reference list but it's mostly stuff I absorbed through the years and pure imagination. Hope this was helpful!

[lavampira]

OC MASTERLIST

last update: 02 september 2024

ORIGINAL

.

INTERACTIVE FICTION

ANGEL PAVON

alias: operative vesper

age: 28

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 6’2

specialization: infiltration

romance: nash, evie thierry (ex, au), seb ariti (au) [belongs to consulaaris]

verse: project hadea + original

BENJAMIN “BENJI” FINCH

alias: sunset bird resident

age: 23

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

occupation: guitarist + freelance artist

romance: cove holden, rowan hill (au) [belongs to consulaaris]

verse: our life + original

DAVINA VIRAC

alias: the painted phoenix

age: 25

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 6’, phoenix mythosi

weapon: double-bladed scythe

romance: syfyn javall (ex), amilia von clamile

verse: the exile

LEOVIC “VIC” RANE

alias: omen, commander-legate

age: 29

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’4, hunter-raised mage

specialization: circle-trained diviner

romance: red antiqua (ex), trouble alder

verse: shepherds of haven

LINDEN “LUX” KENNEDY

alias: lead vocalist of saint reverie

age: 26

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: 5’11

occupation: alternative rock singer

romance: seven lawless (ex), orion quinn

verse: infamous

RIVER LOVELL

alias: rivlaughluv

age: 27

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

occupation: private lab technician

romance: olivia santos (au)

verse: blooming panic + original

TABITHA ABRAMS

alias: the preacher

age: 26

identity: she/they, lesbian

appearance: 5’7

occupation: vampire-hunting swindler

romance: celina sokolova

verse: larkin

VERONICA SCARLET

alias: the wayward scarlet

age: 25

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’8

occupation: biology grad student

romance: avery belle

verse: scarlet hollow

YANA ROMANUS SEVILLA

alias: white company mercenary

age: 29

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’4

occupation: mercenary + latin translator

romance: hadrian

verse: the golden rose

TTRPGS

ELAITH NATHAIR

alias: the druid

age: 32

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’7, half sun elf

class: circle of spores druid

romance: none

verse: dungeons & dragons

LON LAURIER

alias: the investigator

age: 33

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’3

occupation: wwi veteran + museum curator

romance: ethan ripley

verse: call of cthulhu

DC COMICS

OLIVIA SANTOS

alias: the lawyer

age: 27

identity: she/her, demiromantic bi

appearance: 5’5

occupation: defense attorney

romance: dick grayson, river lovell (au)

DRAGON AGE

GABRIEL COUSLAND

alias: hero of ferelden, hound of highever

age: 23 in 9:30 dragon

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

class: duelist + shadow rogue

romance: leliana

ALTHEA “THEA” HAWKE

alias: champion of kirkwall

age: 25 in 9:30 dragon

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 6’

class: reaver warrior

romance: merrill

ARACELI “CELI” LAVELLAN

alias: the inquisitor, first to the keeper

age: 30 in 9:41 dragon

identity: she/they, bisexual

appearance: 5’5

class: knight-enchanter mage

romance: TBD

TBD

alias: rook

age: # in 9:52 dragon

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: TBD

class: reaper warrior + mourn watch

romance: davrin

THE ELDER SCROLLS

ARISE VALEN

alias: the vestige

age: 33 in 2E 583

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’9, dunmer

class: dragonknight

romance: fennorian

TORA THE DOVAHKIIN

alias: the last dragonborn

age: 29 in 4E 201

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’8, nord

class: conjuration warrior

romance: farkas

FALLOUT

MARISOL REYES

alias: courier six

age: 29 in 2281

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’6

skills: speech, guns, repair

romance: none

FINAL FANTASY XIV

D’ALIA LIVEQ

alias: warrior of light

age: 28 in ARR

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’4, seeker miqo’te

job: summoner, dark knight, dancer

romance: minfilia warde (ex), sidurgu orl

MASS EFFECT

MALENA SHEPARD

alias: the commander

age: 29 in 2183

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

class: vanguard

romance: kaidan alenko

SONORA “SONI” RYDER

alias: the pathfinder

age: 22 in 2819

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’8

class: sentinel

romance: vetra nyx

PATHFINDER

MERITHIA DE CHARON

alias: queen of the stolen lands

age: 29

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’7, aasimar

class: celestial line sorcerer

romance: tristian

RESIDENT EVIL

EVELINE “EVIE” THIERRY

alias: the detective

age: 28

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’1

occupation: private investigator

romance: jill valentine, angel pavon (ex, au)

STAR WARS - KOTOR

SHIVA AMHI

alias: the jedi exile

age: 31 in 298 BTC

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’5, mirialan

class: consular + master

romance: atton rand

VANNA PHY

alias: revan

age: 33 in 303 BTC

identity: they/she, bisexual

appearance: 5’9, human

class: scout + sentinel

romance: malak (ex), canderous ordo

STAR WARS - SWTOR

ANA MAITE VICARI

alias: the wrath

age: 21 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’3, human

class: marauder + shadow

romance: jaesa willsaam

ANDAN VICARI

alias: cipher six, sith intelligence commander

age: 24 in 10 ATC

identity: he/him, demiromantic bi

appearance: 5’11, human

class: operative + gunslinger

romance: rysandor riel [belongs to consulaaris]

CADRIEN TIRAI

alias: lord tirai, claw of the empire

age: 19 in 12 ATC

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’1, miraluka

class: juggernaut + sage

romance: minaiph tirai [belongs to hythlodaes]

EDELIE LOK CADERA

alias: champion of the great hunt

age: 18 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, bi demisexual

appearance: 5’2, human

class: mercenary + powertech

romance: torian cadera

JORANI RHA

alias: captain of the fortune’s favour

age: 24 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’7, twi’lek

class: scoundrel + mercenary

romance: blaire myrrho [belongs to consulaaris]

KAIZEN “KAI” AMHI

alias: jedi battlemaster, the outlander

age: 20 in 10 ATC

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’2, mirialan

class: guardian + sage

romance: theron shan

MITTH’ALIA’MIURANI “THALIA”

alias: CEDF infiltrator/biochemist

age: 25 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, bi demisexual

appearance: 5’9, chiss

class: sniper + operative

romance: saganu

MITTH’ASTON “THASTON”

alias: cipher nine

age: 23 in 10 ATC

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: 6’1, chiss

class: sniper + powertech

romance: kaliyo djannis (ex), hunter (ex)

SARAJAH RIZAS

alias: jedi barsen’thor

age: 23 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, bi demisexual

appearance: 6’, cathar

class: shadow

romance: felix iresso

VIN KHARU

alias: havoc squad commander

age: 25 in 10 ATC

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 5’8, nautolan

class: vanguard + mercenary

romance: elara dorne

WYLAN ORIAS

alias: ex-padawan mechanic

age: 20 in 20 ATC

identity: he/him, bi asexual

appearance: 6’4, echani

class: shadow + guardian

romance: jase bralor

ZOYAH KALLIG

alias: darth occlus

age: 26 in 10 ATC

identity: she/they, poly bisexual

appearance: 5’, rattataki

class: assassin + sorcerer

romance: andronikos revel

VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE

INES DELAROSA

alias: the fledgling

age: 25 at embrace in 2004

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’2

clan: toreador

occupation: metal singer

romance: ash rivers

THOMAS REAUX

alias: the sire

age: 28 at embrace in 1919, final death in 2004

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 6’2

clan: toreador

occupation: jazz pianist

romance: none

[dknuth]

Last Update from Shetland

I skipped a couple of days on the tour. The first day, I woke up with serious sinus congestion and realized I had not refilled my supply of pseudoephedrine after the last trip. With a bad sinus headache and no exciting itinerary for the day, I decided to skip it. That night I learned that another person on the trip had tested positive for COVID. The next morning I got a COVID test kit, and I was positive too. By that point, it wasn't a surprise, but it hadn't occurred to me earlier. So, I skipped that day, too.

By that night we had six people knowing they had COVID.

The next morning was our last day on Shetland, and we were catching the ferry that night, so we really needed to go. They put us in a separate van from the rest of the group, and we all wore masks. By this time, I was feeling pretty good again.

The major stop for the day was Jarlshof on the extreme south end of Shetland. Jarlshof was continuously occupied for over 4,500 years, from the Neolithic through the Vikings and to the Middle Ages, so all the buildings of all ages were there beside and on top of one another.

It's amazing to me that in this part of the world, the basic building design has stayed the same for over 4,000 years. They went from ovalish buildings to round buildings and changed the interior dividers, but the only real innovation was the incorporation of corbelled roofs over the partitioned parts of the circle.

The Orkneys, especially, were very developed at 3,200 B.C., but they fell further and further behind after that. Maybe it was due to isolation or the lack of bronze ores, but when the Vikings came around 850 AD, the locals must have looked primitive to them. There were iron deposits, and the technology to smelt iron made it to the islands, but it doesn't seem to have had a huge impact that is visible now.

There are basic Neolithic buildings, with only the outline remaining.

Roundhouses with simple dividers.

Wheelhouses with rounded interior spaces with corbeled roofs.

The remains of a broch mostly disassembled and remodeled, and extra stones reused for other buildings. There are Viking longhouses.

And a medieval Earl's house.

Why was this spot used for so long? It was on the coast in a protected bay with good fishing and shellfish, good farmland, and freshwater, and on the south end, closest to the Orkney islands.

In fact, there is a newer large house that is now a hotel next door.

Then it was to Lerwick, where we had time in the local museum and to wander around. Some people went to see locations from the TV series, Shetland. I went to the High Street, named Commercial, although no one called it that; it was just the High Street, except on the maps where it was Commercial. There I found a cafe/bar serving local mussels, FINALLY! They were excellent!!! Then I stopped in the bookstore and got one of the Ann Cleves books that were the basis for the Shetland series. I got Red Bones since it features an archeologist and a dig site!

Then it was to the overnight ferry to Dundee.

In the first part of the trip, it was 20 mph north winds with 40 mph gusts and 2 meter plus waves. So the boat was rolling a bit. I skipped dinner, a good call. My preferred place on a boat in weather like this is outside in the fresh air with eyes fixed on the horizon, but there aren't a lot of good such places like that on these ferrys, so I spent the evening in my cabin. I was fine lying down, but just a walk across the room was enough to make me lose what little I had eaten.

But after that, I was fine and slept through, except for the stop in Kirkwall at 11 PM with the lifts and chains. I doubt anyone slept through that. After that, the wind may have died down; I don't know. I slept until we were pulling into Dundee.

Once I solid ground I I grabbed some coffee in a local shop and caught the 8:23 train towards Buckie where I'm spending the night.

I know this probably is more photos of the countryside than I showed in Shetland, but the train windows were cleaner than the ones on the bus, and it was easier to move around.

Buckie is a pleasant little Scottish town on the north coast.

Tomorrow I start my solo Speyside walk! I'm looking forward to that.

[downthetubes]

In Pictures: The Life and Times of Orcadian Artist Jim Baikie Exhibition

In Pictures: The Life and Times of Orcadian Artist Jim Baikie Exhibition

Art for “Twilight World” by Jim Baikie, a strip first published in Warrior

Comic artist Tony O’Donnell was lucky enough to explore The Life and Times of Orcadian Artist Jim Baikie exhibition hosted by the Kirkwall Museum on Orkney last month, and shares some of its delights and his own memories of the artist… let’s hope someone picks this up for a mainland outing!

Tony has also provided a…

[penthesilea1623]

A friend of mine is in Kirkwall in the Orkneys,and sent me this from the Orkney Museum. 

THE KIRKWALL BA’ GAME:

The Kirkwall ba’ game is the only survivor of the mass football games that were once played throughout Orkney during the Yule festival. It was recorded around 1650 as being played on the Ba’ Lea, the rising ground to the East of the Cathedral. It moved onto the Kirk Green in front of the Cathedral around 1780 and from there to the streets by 1800. At this time it was still played like football, but the streets were too smalll for this type of fast moving game. The ba’ was first picked up and carried around 1850. That was the birth of today’s ba’ game.

Games are held on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. There is the Boys’ Ba’ at 10:30 am, and the Men’s Ba’ at 1:00 pm. Theba’ itself is made from leather panels, sewn toether, and stuffed with cork dust. It is thrown from the Maarket Cross in front of the Cathedral to the waiting crowd. It has then to be taken to the goal by whatever means possible; there are no rules in this game. The ba’ can be carried, kicked or even smuggled under a baggy jumper or coat.

“There are no rules in this game...”

Apparently all Kirkwalls, whether here or in Thedas, have the same chaotic energy. 

And if you think I’m not putting this into my Dragon Age writing you would be wrong.

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Duchess of Cambridge’s Year in Review: May

May 5th - Kensington Palace released a video of the Duchess of Cambridge speaking to Harriet Nayiga. Kensington Palace also announced the official YouTube page of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

May 6th - Kensington Palace released audio of the Duchess of Cambridge speaking to Hold Still finalist, Mila Sneddon and her mother. Catherine also held a video meeting for Action on Addiction

May 7th - The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Royal London Hospital and the National Portrait Gallery

May 10th - Kensington Palace released audio of the Duchess of Cambridge speaking to Hold Still finalists, Romy and Niaz

May 12th - Catherine held an Early Years meeting

May 13th - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Wolverhampton, starting at the Way Youth Zone. William and Catherine then visited Base25, before visiting Hugglepets

May 17th - Kensington Palace released audio of the Duchess of Cambridge speaking to Hold Still finalist, Haley

May 19th - The Duchess visited a Lewis Carroll exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum

May 20th - Catherine held an Early Years meeting

May 24th - William and Catherine began their Royal Visit to Scotland. They started at Turning Point Scotland, before visting Heavy Sound, then travelling to Sikh Sanjog. The Duchess also appeared in a video released for the Nursing Now 2020 campaign

May 25th - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opened Balfour Hospital. They later visited the European Marine Energy Centre at Kirkwall Harbour

May 26th - William and Catherine were spotted arriving in Fife and enjoying a private meal. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Blown Away and met representatives of Fife Young Carers. They then visited the University of St Andrews. The Cambridges met fishermen at Pittenween Harbour. William and Catherine a Drive-In Cinema for the premiere of Disney’s Cruella

May 27th - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Starbank Park. Next, they visited Craiglockhart Leisure and Tennis Centre. The Cambridges received the Rt Hon Gordon Brown and Mrs Brown. Catherine also received Lynda and Mila Sneddon. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the Closing Sederunt of the General Assembly, before they attended Beating Retreat

May 29th - Kensington Palace shared a photo of the Duchess of Cambridge receiving her first Covid-19 vaccine

May 31st - Kensington Palace released audio of the Duchess of Cambridge speaking to Hold Still finalists, Jason Baird

[dontcallmeshirley]

Top 10 Sunmer 2022

1. Our trip to Kintyre in May also taking in Arran, Gigha and Loch Fyne.

2. Last of the mumma Mondays with my boy before he started nursery full time. We had a lot of fun locally and I’ve really enjoyed my time with him.

3. The new, giant, slide on the Forth ‘ Clyde Canal at the Hamiltonhill Claypits Local Nature Reserve.

4. Family holiday to Orkney in June. Kirkwall and Stromness were lovely. Highlights include: St Margaret’s Hope, the Churchill Barriers, Skarra Bear, Scapa Flow Museum, Birsay Tearoom and Herbie getting over his fear of swimming.

5. Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, Orkney. Absolutely beautiful. Such a tiny building with an enormous amount of hand-painted murals.

6. My new 35mm camera. The Minox 35PL. Small, black, compact camera that looks slightly like my poor, old, broken LC-A. Bought from Ffords Photographic near Beauly. The test shots were great!

7. Embracing my unruly waves and somehow managing to get an appointment at Curlach. New ‘do is lovely!

8. My well-being journey is ongoing and I’ve started a weekly fitness class and have the motivation to go to the gym again. ‘My thighs are burning!’ has become my new catchphrase 😂

9. Mumma Mondays now have a new meaning as I took the decision not to go full time and keep Monday as my day off. To recharge. To relax. To do whatever the hell I want and not feel guilty for it.

10. My husband. So supportive and encouraging and the best dad to Herbie.

[docholligay]

Highlands: gorgeous, may not be super interesting to a mountain girl though. Orkneys: friendly, prosperous island life. The kirkwall wireless museum was the funniest museum experience of my life: one small room, old guy at the door handed us paper tickets, then he took 2 steps inside the room and asked to check the tickets he'd just sold to us 10 seconds earlier! Hilarious. The Hebrides may be more interesting though: scenic, rough island life, great whiskey. 2/3

Orkneys is my BIG wish if we're going to Scotland anyhow, and it's definitely a binary choice between that and the Hebrides given the time we have, but that does look like a cool as fuck place.

And yeah, we basically live near the Alps but in America though. People think the Alps are higher but that's not true--it's just that the treeline in Europe is EXCEPTIONALLY low, so they 'look higher' because their trees aren't as adapted. American conifers can grow at 10,000 feet before slumping off, European are closer to 2,800.

ALL THIS TO SAY I EXPERIENCE A MOUNTAIN. So the highlands hike may be a sacrificial lamb for the sake of time, though I have since discovered the Calendonian Sleeper which might be able to save us time.

[lethendralis-paints]

A pair of old oil painting inspired portraits, featuring Eris Hawke and Fenris, who take up 95% of my brain space these days :D

Imagine an art museum in Val Royeaux, 300 years after the events in Kirkwall. Its visitors walking into a large hall, spacious and empty, save for these two portraits, delicately illuminated, hanging alongside each other. Author’s signature faded and barely legible, pigments darkened with time. But the onlooker can still make out the proud gazes of the Kirkwall’s Champion and her mysterious life partner, still together, even though centuries have passed.

Now I made myself cry...

**************************************************************************************

Full size versions of both portraits are on my Patreon, along with a short step-by-step process for the Eris one! (https://www.patreon.com/lethendralis)

[dismalzelenka]

Dawn

Heyyy! I'm breaking my DA hiatus to submit this brief moderately lengthed ok maybe it got a little out of hand fluff idek anymore anyway it’s for @dapolyshippingday!

Takes place as sort of a postlude in the Your Arms Feel Like Home universe. Cullen/Amell/Jowan, 4500 words. Explicit. AO3 Link Here.

Enjoy!

There was always something otherworldly about seeing the dawn through the skylight windows. Solona was plenty used to seeing those telltale streaks of color from the other end of the day, usually following hours of binge drinking or manic painting.

Waking up to them was much, much rarer.

It took a minute or two to shake the sleep from dream clouded eyes, transfixed as she was on whatever weird liminal feeling this bizarrely early morning instilled in her. Piece by piece, memories of last night returned.

For once, she had agreed to keep the apartment booze-free for a full twenty-four hours. Jowan had insisted. She'd protested thoroughly, of course. "Come on, it's my birthday!" she'd begged through pleading, sparkling eyes, but he'd remained firm.

"Cullen? Back me up here!"

He'd merely shrugged, carefully adjusting the glasses her flailing had knocked askew. "There's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

His flat response drew a rare chuckle from Jowan, who up til that point had been nervously smoothing the front of his blue and black striped button up with unsteady hands.

This was new territory for all of them.

"I swear, love, you'll be happy to have remained sober for this," Jowan promised. The quickly masked wince on his face further highlighted the unprecedented nature of the situation. An unfamiliar familiarity. A pet name she hadn't heard in months, one that felt as foreign now to her ears as it seemed to taste on his lips.

Cullen cleared his throat and broke the uncomfortable silence. "Shall we be off then? Wouldn't want to be late."

"Says you," Solona grumbled. She grabbed her signature leather jacket and bent down to finish lacing up her boots. "Neither of you have said where you're taking me."

"That's what surprises are," Jowan said, affectionately ruffling her hair.

There it was again. A telltale stiffness to a familiar motion, a measure of distance to something that used to flow as naturally as moving water.

The cab ride was silent, but not entirely uncomfortable. Cullen had passed the driver a crumpled slip of paper that presumably contained the address, muttering an awkward thank you in broken Orlesian before clambering into the back seat.

Jowan sat to her right, plaid green and brown scarf clashing horribly as usual with his shirt, shaggy hair unkempt alongside what was at this point a perpetual five o'clock shadow. He had a way of looking thoroughly uncomfortable in almost every setting imaginable, but the warmth of his hand on her thigh told her he was trying his best today.

Cullen sat at her left, curly blonde hair styled back neatly with gel. He'd chosen a maroon sport coat to wear over a black polo with a golden lion stitched onto the pocket. Tucked into dark grey jeans, naturally. Solona doubted the man had ever owned a nice pair of slacks in his life. She'd seen his wardrobe. It was one set of dress blues, two officer uniforms, a single, raggedy set of khakis, and fifteen identical black shirts next to exactly three pairs of jeans: blue, grey, and black, all cut the exact same way.

Maybe she'd get him a suit tailored for his birthday next year.

His boot knocked softly into hers, and when she looked up he was smiling softly at her with something strangely close to adoration, and now it was her turn to shift uncomfortably in her seat.

“Everything alright?” Jowan murmured.

There was an odd sort of energy in the cab between the three of them. It was as though no one wanted to be the first to speak above a whisper, like the slightest increase in volume would shatter these small and tentative beginnings slowly unfolding across their laps. There would be no first kiss tonight; no, it was far too late for that. There had been a myriad of kisses over the years, a plethora of just plain fucking with the occasional lovemaking sprinkled in, all punctuated by explosive fights and violent nights alone. She had words for all of those things, but this? She didn’t know what to call this. There was nothing in her vocabulary that described the kind of energy that surrounded them.

“I think so,” she said, the words barely a whisper by the time they made it to her lips.

“Alors...” the cab driver began tentatively. “Lequel de vous est l’amant?”

Solona’s head shot up, the suspended stillness shattered by his gravelly voice as the words sank in. “Um,” she began. “I don’t...what...” She felt her cheeks turn pink and she elbowed Jowan in the ribs for confirmation. “Hey, did that mean what I think it did?” she whispered.

Jowan’s face was beet red. “He...ah...yes, probably,” he stammered. “He wants to know which of us is...you know. The um.” He lowered his voice to an even quieter whisper. “The lover.”

A nervous giggle shot out from her lips. “Oh. Oh! Right. Yep. Hah, I um.” She scrambled for both of their hands. She didn’t even have to look at Cullen to see the flush of crimson on his cheeks.

Maker’s balls, how old was she, twelve?

The driver, to his credit, seemed to pick up the implication. “Ahh,” he said, eyebrows waggling. “Ménage à trois, eh?“

Jowan sank further into his seat. “Maker,” he muttered.

“Yes?” she squeaked.

“Ah, très bien,” he nodded sagely as he pulled the cab into a cramped parking space. “Bonne chance!”

“Maker’s breath,” she heard Cullen mutter. He clambered out of the cab the second the driver parked it. Jowan quickly followed suit, offering her a hand to help her out. He refused to meet her eyes.

“So...” she began, fighting the laugh toying at the edge of her breath. “Who’s supposed to be paying him?”

“Oh!” Cullen dug through his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled wad of bills he then promptly thrust in through the open window. “Um. Yes. Right. Thank you.”

The cab driver laughed. “Merci!” he said. He winked, rolled the window up, and drove off, leaving the three of them standing, rather flustered, at the curb.

“Well,” Solona said finally. “Alright then, where the fuck are we--”

She trailed off as she looked around. In front of her stood the spiraling marble columns of the Musée de Montsimmard, carefully chiseled marble steps rising elegantly to a massive glass entryway where crowds of well dressed people milled about. A smile broke out on Jowan’s face. “Well,” he said finally. “We’re here.”

She’d been to the museum plenty of times already, of course. Between research for her coursework and the occasional casual tour, she was intimately familiar with its layout. Lately, however, embroiled as she was in her writing, she hadn’t been in quite some time, and the familiar delicate wire structures gracing the front pavilion felt like a warm welcome home.

“I hope you like the exhibit we’ve come to see,” Cullen said. She was suddenly aware of him standing behind her, warmth radiating across her back as he gently rested his chin on her shoulder. She glanced tentatively at Jowan, bracing herself for his reaction, but for once, he seemed oddly content, not even a whisper of a grimace on his features. He simply extended his hand again, smile never leaving his face.

“It is quite striking,” he said, eyes crinkling with mischief as he laced his fingers with hers.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What the fuck have you two been up to?”

“Patience, my dear,” Cullen whispered into her ear, sending a warm prickle straight down her spine. He enveloped her other hand with his, a much rougher grip than Jowan’s but no less gentle, and the two of them tugged her forward.

The foyer awaited her, the familiar cream colored walls, plaques, paintings, and sculptures welcoming her in with soft familiarity. She paused for a moment to take it all in, drinking in the comfortable, muted stillness with an almost desperate sort of need. She could come here every day and never tire of it.

Cullen and Jowan, however, had other ideas. “Come on, this isn’t what we came here for,” Jowan said with a grin.

Solona pouted but relented as they tugged her toward the reception counter. Jowan strode forward, and Solona took a moment to appreciate the uncharacteristic amount of confidence he had gained since they’d moved to Orlais. She spoke the language, yes; she had to, for her degree, obviously, but Jowan was the only one of the three of them who was comfortably, conversationally fluent so far.

It was nice, seeing him like this. He’d never been particularly confident in social situations back in Kirkwall. Neither of them had been, really; she was always just better at hiding it behind humor and dismissive indifference, but it was hard to relax in a city filled with the ghosts of so many of her worst memories. Montsimmard was a fresh start for them all, and Jowan was beginning to thrive in the freedom of it.

She and Cullen approached the counter after him. The woman behind the desk, a willowy, freckled, mousey-haired woman with soft brown eyes and an even softer voice stared at her for a moment, wide eyed. “Madam Amell!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “We are so excited to have you here with us today! Please, follow me!”

Solona felt her eyebrows climb her forehead. “Okay, seriously you two, what the fuck is going on?” she said finally.

Cullen said nothing, simply nodding his head after the woman with a faint smile playing on his lips. Solona pouted but relented.

The main exhibition hall branched off to several smaller rooms. They followed the receptionist into one of them, and what Solona saw knocked the air straight from her lungs.

“Thank you all for joining us today!” a guide announced from the podium. “As many of you know, the Musée de Montsimmard rose from the ashes of what was once, for centuries, the largest Circle of Magi in Orlais.We are forever grateful for the patronages that have allowed this incredible undertaking, and continue to allow it to this day.

“For centuries, our city has shined a beacon for anyone with magic shimmering in their veins. In recent decades we have stood firm against countless onslaughts against the personal freedoms of those once caged within these walls. Today, we are showcasing works by a remarkable woman, an artist of incredible talent who has overcome so many of the very challenges this city has striven to eliminate since the Circles were first dissolved. This exhibition is a tribute to mages everywhere: the celebrated, the hated, the many survivors of untold tragedy, and the memories of those who never saw the sun rise on their liberation.”

“Jowan?” Solona felt tears in the corners of her eyes. “Cullen? What is this?”

Cullen said nothing and simply wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulder. Jowan stood at her other side and slipped an arm snugly around her waist.

“Everyone, in honor of the survivors of the horrific Tranquil Solution, in honor of mages everywhere, we present: Liberté!”

“That’s...I...”

In the center of the exhibit was a painting, her painting. A crumbling tower rose in the background. A girl in the foreground stood in rags, a girl with dark curly hair, a girl that represented everything she wished she could have had in her childhood, stood in the forefront, one arm outstretched overhead, triumphantly shooting a beam of light to the heavens as the sun peeked over a horizon of brilliant blues and purples and twinkling stars.

The guide was now reading a brief biography of the artist, of her, but his voice faded into static as she stood in shocked silence. She could recall every moment of painting that image with sparkling clarity, every sleepless night and lyrium binge and emptied bottle of liquor swept to the wayside in manic obsession.

The finishing touches had been done without electricity, by candlelight and mage light, in despairing silence while the streets of Kirkwall burned.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand, we left all of that behind, I thought it was lost forever, how did you--how did either of you--”

“The rest of the precinct helped,” Cullen said wryly. “We went and salvaged it all from your old apartment after the dust settled. It came over with me when I finally packed up and met the two of you for good, and the rest of it was all him.” He gestured at Jowan, who was beaming.

“I may have pulled some strings with some colleagues here,” he admitted. “I was hesitant at first, and certainly not very hopeful, but the director here was, ah, quite enthusiastic about the collection once she saw it and heard your story.”

Solona sniffled and leaned her weight into their arms. “I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.

“Would you like us to give you some space?” Jowan asked softly.

She shook her head. “No,” she sniffed. “No. Don’t go.”

The rest of the evening passed in a daze. At some point, the curator approached her and had a conversation that must have been coherent, given the business card that went home with her after the fact, but she would have been lying if she said she remembered what sorts of words were exchanged.

The cab ride home was an equally hazy affair, one with much less decorum than the trip there. She watched the street lights tick by as she lay in Jowan’s arms, feet propped up in Cullen’s lap, taking solace in the weighty feeling of his hands on her calves. It was strange, this feeling settling into her limbs. It was intoxicatingly euphoric, whatever this was. It felt like sinking into a warm bath at the end of a long day, like putting on a familiar, well-worn sweater that smells faintly of someone you love--

The soft edges slammed into focus.

She sat up immediately. “Stop the cab,” she said abruptly. “Stop the cab, I have to get out, I have to--”

The cab driver shrugged and pulled over, and she scrambled out over Jowan’s lap, almost tripping directly into the pavement. The world suddenly felt too small, the walls were closing in and her chest was gripped by an alarmingly familiar ache and an equally intense, crippling fear.

This was wrong. This was wrong, because there was no way, no way on this earth this was the correct version of her life.

She felt her knees hit the sidewalk and squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t open them. If she did, she would be standing in Kirkwall again, and she wasn’t sure if that was something she could bear the weight of right now.

“Solona.”

Jowan’s voice tugged at the edges of her consciousness. She shook her head. She felt her chest heaving with sobs. Distantly, in the back of her mind, she was aware she was making a scene, but she didn’t know how to hold any of it in. She never had.

“Solona, what’s wrong?” Cullen’s voice this time, floating over her, filled with a familiar confusion.

“I don’t want to wake up,” she gasped through the splitting ache in her chest. “I don’t want to go back. I can’t.”

“We don’t have to, love.” Jowan wrapped her hands in his and helped her stand as Cullen supported her from behind. “This is home now.”

Solona opened her eyes. She could see the street lamps reflecting on Jowan’s cheeks, also wet with tears as he brushed her cheek with his fingers. “This is home,” he repeated, more firmly this time.

“He’s right,” Cullen murmured behind her. She turned and met his gaze, the air slowly returning to her lungs in tiny increments. “Last I checked, we’re all here to stay.”

She nodded slowly, incredulously, looking around at the shops and traffic lights, and at the handful of onlookers glancing over in apparent concern. The air smelled like lavender and magnolia and nothing at all like Kirkwall’s murky blend of industrial smoke and stale saltwater. The signs were all in delicate Orlesian script with the occasional translation beneath here and there. Somewhere to her right, a woman unlocked her car with a dismissive wave of her hand and not a single other person seemed to take notice.

“This is home,” she murmured.

Jowan wiped the tears from her face as Cullen planted a kiss on her forehead. “Home,” Jowan repeated.

“Which, incidentally, is only three blocks away, if you both fancy some fresh air,” Cullen pointed out. “At least, I hope I’m reading that sign correctly.”

The laugh exploded from Solona’s chest, so suddenly she almost didn’t recognize the sound. She turned and planted a kiss square on his lips, then whirled around and kissed Jowan in turn. Reality was shifting again, as it so often did for her, but for the first time in her life, it didn’t feel so bad. 

Her shoes were off before she even made it to the front door. Cullen helped her out of her jacket as her fingers made hasty work of the buttons on Jowan’s shirt. Jowan’s lips met hers, softly at first, with only the slightest hesitation, as Cullen slipped her blouse off of her shoulders. The sounds of two more pairs of shoes hitting the floor rang behind her as she leaned into the kiss. She scraped her teeth across Jowan’s lip and drew a weak moan from his throat that sent shivers of anticipation shooting through her core.

She felt Cullen’s stubble graze her shoulder as he planted a string of hot kisses down her shoulder. Her bra came undone, and she flung it clumsily away from her without a single care for where it landed. She almost tripped over her pants as the three of them stumbled to the bedroom, and she cursed quietly as she kicked them away.

Cullen’s hands trailed down to her hips, then back up to her chest, his touch rough and warm as Jowan buried his fingers in her hair. Cullen rolled a nipple between his fingers and she gasped into Jowan’s mouth, every nerve on overdrive as her body craved more.

Her body crashed onto the mattress. Cullen clambered on the bed with her, cradling her head in his lap as Jowan pulled away and positioned himself between her legs. It was Cullen’s turn to kiss her now, fervent and passionate. He smelled like mint and aftershave and for a moment all she could focus on was the way his tongue felt against hers.

Jowan parted her gently with his fingertips. Solona shuddered and gasped when he closed his lips around her clit, warmth blooming between her thighs with the sweet ache of arousal.

Cullen swirled his fingers around her nipples as he cupped her breasts with both hands, pinching with just enough pressure to send lightning through her spine. She reached up, blindly, to touch him, any part of him, but he pulled his hands away and closed them over hers. “Not yet,” he whispered into her mouth. “This is for you right now.”

She could only moan in assent, eyes squeezed shut as Jowan’s tongue between her legs sent her spiraling higher and higher.

“There we go,” Cullen murmured, gently stroking her hair. He shifted his legs slightly as he leaned in to kiss her again.

“Fuck,” she whimpered. The static began to build. “Please.”

“Let go,” Cullen whispered.

And she did. She hit her peak and cried out, body trembling under wave after wave of euphoric bliss as Jowan gently brought her back to earth. She slumped back in Cullen’s lap, letting her fingers trail up his torso as he ran his fingers through her curls.

Jowan kissed his way up to her navel, cradling her trembling body with his arms as he planted delicate kisses along her stomach, trailing upward until he gently captured one of her nipples between his teeth.

Cullen slipped out from his position beneath her head and took Jowan’s place at the foot of the bed as she writhed under Jowan’s touch. “Kiss me, please,” she whispered. She could taste herself on Jowan’s lips, was drowning under his touch, losing herself in the sensations of hands and fingers and lips.

She gasped when Cullen entered her, agonizingly slowly, both hands gently grasping her by the hips as he sank into her with deliberate, measured intensity. The friction made her body sing, and she felt her hips moving almost of their own accord, begging him to move faster.

She would have asked out loud, but Jowan’s fingers trailing down her collarbone, his lips ghosting hot kisses down her ear and across her neck, had left her incapable of finding words for much of anything.

“In my mouth,” she finally managed to gasp, fingers closing around Jowan’s wrist. “I want you in my mouth.”

“Anything for you,” he whispered.

She tipped her head back and let her lips close around the tip of his length. It was his turn to shudder as she swirled her tongue around the head. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his shaft, closing them just tight enough to slowly pump him as Cullen drove into her, each stroke intentional and methodical and filling her with a need so intense it was almost painful.

Where her end was vocal and filled with explosive fireworks, Jowan’s was gentle and quiet. He instinctively moved to withdraw, but she tapped him on the thigh and shook her head ever so slightly, mentally pleading for him not to move. She needed to taste him, needed it so badly it was driving her frantic with desire. She caught his hand in hers and squeezed it, gentle and reassuring as she met his eyes a split second before he gripped back tightly, eyes closing, hips bucking into her mouth as he came.

And Maker, was he a beautiful sight when he did, the way his tousled brown hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, his freckled chest heaving as he caught his breath. The way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he squeezed them shut, the faintest shy smile blooming across his face.

He was breathtaking, and in this moment she wondered how she had ever pushed him away. She prayed she never would again.

Cullen paused then, withdrawing from her and drawing a whine of protest from her lips. He held out a hand and pulled her gently upright into a deep kiss. “Sit on my face,” he murmured teasingly against her lips. “I want to taste you too.”

She wasn’t sure what possessed her to ask it. She’d never really speculated overmuch on the nature of their relationship with each other at this point; she’d never seen them be particularly affectionate with each other without her involved. Part of her, truthfully, feared the answer, feared what it would do to this fragile sense of tranquility she’d finally managed to grasp, but the question slipped from her love-drunk lips before she could hold it in:

“Can you kiss each other?”

Cullen’s eyebrows raised, and she heard Jowan shift on the bed behind her. Anxiety gripped her suddenly, and she nervously began to shrink into herself. “You don’t...you don’t have to,” she stammered. “It would...I think it would...”

“I think it would be nice,” Jowan finished. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“As do I,” Cullen murmured reassuringly. He took her hands in his and squeezed them, and when she looked closer, a shy flush had crept into his cheeks.

She scooted back on the bed then, equal parts reassured and transfixed as their lips met. Jowan’s kisses were always tentative at first, each brush of his lips a question softly begging for an answer. Cullen kissed back firmly, decisive and precise, one hand nestling gently along Jowan’s jawline, the other winding into Jowan’s hair.

It was one thing to kiss Jowan. It was another thing entirely to watch Jowan be kissed. Jowan melted into Cullen’s arms, gripping tightly to his back as Cullen claimed his lips, then pulled away and nipped gently at his jaw, trailing kisses down his neck. The way they moved together, hands seeking purchase, bodies aligned, filled her with a need she didn’t even know she had, and she reached between her legs and slipped two fingers into herself with a breathless moan.

She pumped in and out of herself, rubbing furiously at her clit with her thumb, letting out an audible gasp when Jowan disengaged and slowly sank to his knees, hands gripping Cullen’s hips and thighs as he slowly took Cullen’s cock in his mouth. “Oh, fuck,” she whispered. “Fuck, that is. Maker. You’re both so beautiful.”

“Wait,” Cullen murmured. He ran his fingers through Jowan’s hair before reaching down and gently tugging him to his feet. “I want both of you.”

Solona couldn’t keep her hands off of him as he positioned himself on the bed beneath her. Jowan knelt between Cullen’s legs, and when he looked up at her through sweat soaked hair she almost came right then.

How was he so beautiful? How were they both so beautiful?

How close had she come to losing them both?

And then Cullen’s tongue swiped her clit and her thoughts sank into blissful surrender. She fought to keep her eyes open as she rode him, shuddering when he moaned into her. Jowan’s head bobbed up and down on Cullen’s cock, one hand wrapped around the base of it, the other pressed into the mattress. Her breathing quickened as Cullen traced shapes into her slit, teasing at the tip of her clit until she felt her limbs would catch on fire.

She couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. It was too much, everything was too much, and she was lost without an anchor in a wash of sensation and emotion. She searched for Jowan’s hand on the mattress. Jowan laced his fingers into hers and squeezed, and she wondered if it were possible for her heart to explode with the intensity of it all.

“Please,” she murmured again. She clung to them both, Jowan’s hand in her right, Cullen’s gripped tightly to her left, thighs aching as she climbed into the stratosphere. “Please, please, please.”

She felt Cullen shudder and jerk beneath her, moaning into her as he came, and the vibrations sent her teetering over her peak, plunging into a wave of color and sound and oh, Maker, oh fuck--

When she opened her eyes again, she was cradled between them both. She lay there for a moment in disbelieving silence, listening to them breathe on either side of her, drinking in the warmth of their chests as Cullen nuzzled her forehead with his lips and Jowan whispered soft “I love you”s into the nape of her neck. Twinkling orbs of mage light danced lazily on the ceiling.

This was home, she realized. It was home on a level that shook her to her core, in a way she’d never, ever experienced, because this was a home that would be here when the dust settled. This was a home that could exist for good, a home that came with so much more than the desperate but empty promises of a morning that had never before been guaranteed.

But morning would come.

Morning would come, and she would still be home.

Fin.

Thanks to my partner in crime @laraslandlockedblues for creating this particular AU with me, and an extra big thank you to all of my new fandom friends who gave me the space to let this muse out. I love and appreciate every single one of you.

[dknuth]

Orkney - Day 4

Today, we visited Skara Brae, the most famous Neolithic site in the Orkneys, located on the west coast of the main island. This village was discovered in 1850 when a storm blew away the sand covering it.

The site provides one of the best views of Neolithic life in the Orkneys. Visitors can enter a small museum displaying artifacts found and reconstructions of the houses. They used the local stone, which readily splits into slabs, making shelves, room dividers, store rooms, hearths, and beds in addition to the actual houses.

Today the houses appear to be dug into the ground, but they were built on the surface. However, it appears that over time they became partially buried in the midden of their own rubbish. Before becoming grossed out by that understand that most of that rubbish was ashes from the peat fires that they used for heating and cooking. This material around the houses provided insulation, much as if they had dug them into the ground.

It's easiest to understand in this plan of the village.

The village started life around 3,000 B.C. and was occupied for about 500 years. Erosion has claimed some portions of the village, but it is impossible to know how much.

We do know that they farmed and fished, raising grain and cattle,

Wood was, and still is, scarce in Orkney, so they used it to make tools and possibly roof beams, but not regularly for fires.

The largest building does not have beds, shows more signs of worked materials, and is believed to have been a workshop.

Looking at the village, I realize how much it shows us about the people who lived here and how much it doesn't. How was the society organized, did they have contact with other villages, how was work divided, did they have a religion, etc.?

There are no signs of defenses or weapons so it is believed they led peaceful lives.

No one knows how many such villages there were at the time, and so the population of the islands. The people here would have had a slight impact on the resources so a large population would have been possible. Perhaps further discoveries will shed more light.

From Skara Brae, we walked about a mile down the coast to an Iron Age broch with indications that by 3,000 years later, conditions were quite different.

This broch is greatly deteriorated with less than one story of walls standing, but it's location on top of a cliff is still clear.

To me the defensive nature of brochs is clear, but were they forts, fortified houses, watch towers, or some combination of functions? Their location indicates some threat from the sea, but from who? Again our lack of knowledge about their society is obvious..

After eating lunch at the broch ruins, we headed on down the coast. Nearby there was a small sea stack, which we dubbed the Young Man From Hoy.

We stopped to look at stromatolite fossils, 3 billion year old remains of some of the oldest life on earth.

Ahead in the distance we could see the Scottish mainland.

On the way back to the hotel, we made a brief stop in Kirkwall, our only stop in the capital.

[scotianostra]

On 30th September 1813 John Rae, surgeon, trader and Canadian explorer, was born at Clestrain, Orphir, Orkney.

Rae Senior was the factor of Sir William Honeyman's Orkney estate, so while most Orcadian families faced a harsh life of near-poverty, the Rae family lived in comfort in affluent surroundings.

But forsaking the pleasures of hearth and home, the young John Rae thrived on the outdoor life. Making the most of the rural location, Rae spent most of his boyhood sailing, climbing, trekking, hunting and fishing – activities that served him well for his future exploits.

Then, in 1819, John Rae Senior was made the Orkney agent of the Hudson's Bay Company.

As a boy, Rae would accompany his father on the short sea crossing between Clestrain and Stromness, where the HBC had their offices. Here, the young Rae would watch the company's many supply ships visit the town – their final port of call before crossing the Atlantic.

After qualifying in Edinburgh as a surgeon young John served on a Hudson's Bay vessel travelling to Canada. Ice forced him to over winter there and he loved the area and the wild type of life so much he remained as surgeon at the Moose Factory post on Hudson Bay.

He studied the ways of the local Cree Indians, gathering knowledge and skills from them. The Inuit called him "Aglooka" meaning "he who takes long strides" as he was the best snowshoe walker of his time.

In 1849 he took over the Mackenzie river district at Fort Simpson and charted unknown territories on the north Canadian coast. He succeeded in proving the existence of a North West passage (a navigable route across the Arctic from the Atlantic to the Pacific) and searched for the lost Franklin expedition, who were also searching for the passage.

Information from the Inuit given to Rae showed that Franklin's men had all perished and the bodies showed signs of cannibalism. This report made Rae unpopular and his achievements were rather ignored.

He retired in 1856 but continued exploration and work for telegraph companies to find routes through Greenland, Alaska and British Columbia. In 1860 he married Catherine Thompson. He died in London on 22nd July 1893 and his body was taken by steamer to Kirkwall for burial.

The second pic is part of a display on John Rae at Stromness Museum, Orkney. Find out more about John Rae on a dedicated web page here https://www.johnraesociety.com/

[midnightprelude]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @nug-juggler, thanks friend! Tagging @dalish-rogue, @faerieavalon, @serial-chillr, and @lethendralis-paints for whenever you want! I hope you all are doing well! <3

A little modern AU reminiscing. :)

Motes of dust sparkled like thrown glitter in the waning sunlight streaming in from the open windows to Rilienus’ studio apartment. Not a soul had set foot in the place since they’d hopped on the plane to Kirkwall nearly a month before. Dorian stood in the doorway, breathing in deeply the mingled scents that had lasted even in Rilienus’ absence. 

The cookie sheet was still on the drying rack.

Their museum of completed puzzles lay in front of the couch; one depicting the Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux sat unfinished on the coffee table.

The box that contained artifacts of their relationship, painstakingly collected and filed away, sat on the kitchen table as though it had been waiting for him. 

Dorian scooted the box across the table to where Rilienus would’ve sat if he’d been there.

[mass-effect-galaxy]

Elissa Shepard - Virmire

I can’t recall when I last had Ashley kill Wrex. Usually, my Shepards do the necessary killings themselves. Of course, to a snob like Elissa, brutes like Ashley only exist to kill rouges liked Wrex.

One of Elissa’s ancestors is said to have been made "Champion of Kirkwall" for killing an "Oxman" - whatever that is supposed to be. Today, ancient Kirkwall is underwater off the coast of Saint Sundermont. Only a few relics of the Thedas Period can be seen in Starkhaven's National Museum.

[gaymingbinosaur]

Dragon Age coffee shop Au

@athena1138 here’s the au you asked for.  Also I’m willing to take more suggestions for au head cannons if anyone is interested. Also @herald-divine-hell I know you like inquisitor x leliana and thought you might be interested.  If not just ignore it no pressure.

I’m willing to do dragon age (no character critical), also a bit rusty with da2.  Still do it but it might take longer and no promises with da2.

Skyrim-  suggest specific characters or guilds

And galavant, just need an au

Also I’m chill with most ships unless it somehow triggers me

Also this has inquisitor x leliana, inquisitor x vivenne and inquisitor x varric since I did a ship headcannon for everyone mentioned. Also if this sounds really spaced out, I just finished typing it so I feel blech. 

ao3

The cofee’s shop’s name is Skyhold and its downtown, Haven.

Cadash, Adaar, Trevelyan and Lavellan are the baristas.  The 4 of them always try to help each other get their love interests.  My headcanons on how each origin would flirt with the LI. You can mix and match to fit your inquisitor, it just forced me to make four romance scenarios just for the inquisitor. I will also reference these flirting headcanons using their names because it’s easier than re-explaining the headcanon. 

Lavellan draws flowers and hearts on their LI’s cup and the LI keeps all of the cups because they always felt that they would be destroying actual art throwing their cup away.  (Too pretty for the trash).

Adaar wrote love poetry on a napkin and was embarassed as fuck when their muse finds it

Trevelyan always tries to serve their LI and tends to make a fool of themselves. They spill coffee on themselves multiple times around their love interest.  Sometimes on said LI.  Trevelyan just finally got fed up on embarrassing themselves and wrote their number on the cup of coffee they just made for their LI.

Cadash I think would be more upfront then the other 3.  They would make horrible coffee puns when they flirt until they just get fed up and ask their LI on a date, using more coffee puns.

Joesiphine owns the coffee shop and is the reason that it is so successful even if it is in a very small town. 

Lelianna is her roommate and checks in on her as often as she can.  She tends to stay and people watch if Josephine doesn’t need help. 

Varric is an author that moved to Haven because Kirkwall was bugging him too much to write in peace.  If you ship him with Bethany or Hawke, they got married and came here too.  Skyhold is his favorite place to write.

Sera is a college drop out and she and her old college buddies meet up at Skyhold for coffee every week.  She also got really talented at spray painting murals.

Solas is the professor of the nearby university.  He would either teach philosophy, art or history.  He comes for coffee before and after classes.  

Cole is studying psychology and sometimes people watches with Lelianna.  He tries to help people if he spots someone struggling during these people watches.  

Iron Bull volunteers as a highschool football coach.  He is a mechanic and he brings donuts from Skyhold for The Chargers (the football team).  He makes a living as a mechanic and when he gets coffee just for himself he people watches  with Lelianna and Cole.  He also sometimes fixes things at Skyhold.

Dorian goes to the shop after visiting the library and drinks coffee and reads.  He sometimes gets a pastry after he’s done reading.

Vivienne currates an art museum and tends to order large quantity of coffee for her coworkers.  

Blackwall goes on early morning fishing trips and gets coffee before hand.  He invites some of the people in the shop.  He can sometimes get Bull to go.

Cassandra and Cullen work together and carpool.  They get coffee before work. 

Ok how romances work with everybody including non romanceable companions. 

At first Cassandra would roll her eyes as the inquisitor flirted with her as they made their coffee, but as time went on they grew on her. Cassandra sometimes after dropping Cullen home after work will return to Skyhold to see the inquisitor.  After the inquisitor noticing this bought a bouquet of fake flowers (so they don’t die) and starts giving her a flower with her coffee.   Cullen thought it was amusing when he first saw this happening. It took several months before the inquisitor managed to get the courage to ask her out.  They wrote a poem on her cup to ask her out and bought a real bouquet of flowers to give her.

Cullen is a blushy mess every time he goes to Skyhold.  Though when he practically drags Cass to the coffee shop, so they can get their earlier, you would have thought he was going somewhere where he won’t embarrass himself.  If any of the other three that isn’t Trevelyan is who he has a crush on, Cass is wary because Cullen keeps spilling coffee on her when he sees them.  If it is Trevelyan, Cass just goes to the other side of Skyhold, because they both keep spilling coffee on her.    And I have a couple theories on how they would date.  Cassandra gets fed up getting coffee stains on her clothes and forces Cullen to ask her out, saying she won’t drive him to work anymore.  Or a barista sick of cleaning up spilt coffee will tell Cullen about the inquisitor’s crush or the same barista gets creative and makes an elaborate plan with Cassandra to get the two of them to confess their feelings. 

Vivenne can’t stay overly long during her visits because she has to get back to work but she will show up more frequently and sometimes she shows up to buy coffee for herself and she stays to talk to the inquisitor.  She invites the inquisitor to all the museum's events she helped make and of course the inquisitor can go for free.  She will come in one day and just ask point blank if they want a date, wearing her fanciest clothes and they go to five star restaurant. 

Dorian comes in with a book and after work the inquisitor would find a copy of the same book.  And the next time they saw Dorian they would talk about the book they just read and making a note of the book he was reading now.  This will go on for a bit and Dorian would get suspicious.  He will find out when he finished a book quicker than usual.  He comes to the coffee shop and saw the inquisitor reading the book he just returned.  

Sera fell for the inquisitor the moment she saw them spit in the coffee of some jackass screaming for his coffee to get done quicker.   She stayed until Skyhold became less busy and strikes up a conversation with them.  The two of them became quick friends and Sera and them will have a small prank war whenever they see each other.   Nothing to get the inquisitor fired but enough to make their work more fun.    The inquisitor asked her out when Sera fell asleep.  They wrote their number on her face with the word “Date?”.

Blackwall and the inquisitor always had a quick chat  in the mornings and talked about how they have been.  But when their feelings became romantic they became less talkative.  The inquisitor would be the first person he would go to when he wanted to go fishing with a friend and they would always try to go on their days off.   He would also carve little wood trinkets for them and the inquisitor had shelves of tiny wooden sculptures in their home.  When he confessed his feelings he carved them a little wooden heart to give them.  

Iron Bull,  so many bad puns, so much pain.  It’s worse if it’s Cadash and their puns.  The Iron Bull and them would start with a friends with benefits situation.  After he noticed the barista checking him out a few too many times.  Though it doesn’t take long for them to catch feelings.   I think one of them would be able to confess before bluritng it out drunk or during sex.   But after that they would be chill and The Chargers love the inquisitor and thinks they make the coach happy.

Solas normally would just go in and out quickly, not saying a word to anyone.  But if he falls for the Inquisitor that would change.  He would visit more frequently and stay for long periods of time.  He would sometimes bring tiny flowers to stick behind their ears, giving him a chance to touch them. He would say things that would make the inquisitor swoon if they weren’t at work, instead they turn red and have their knees feel weak.  He also has a sketchbook full of drawings of the inquisitor.  During slow days the inquisitor would chat with him.  Solas had to go to the bathroom on one of these days and forgot he left his sketchbook on the table.  When he returned he found the inquisitor flipping through his sketchbook, looking absolutely shaken to their core.

Josephine is hesitant about starting a relationship with the inquisitor.  Because technically she’s their boss.  It would be inappropriate.  It doesn’t stop Lelianna from shipping it.  Lelianna befriends the inquisitor and invites them to go places with her and Josie.  Then Lelianna would get sick everytime.  Josephine asked Lelianna to stop.  Lelianna promises to stop if Josephine asks the Inquisitor out.   Josephine refuses to go on anymore of these trips, so Lelianna wrote a note asking the Inquisitor out and to meet Josie at their house.  Josephine was shocked when she opened the door and found the Inquisitor said that they were supposed to go on a date.

Lelianna and the Inquisitor got to know each other during the times when Lelianna would visit and Josephine was busy doing something else.    It started off innocent enough but soon both of them found out they had a lot in common.  Which soon made them realize that the other is very cute.   As time went on their conversations became more flirty and heated, until one day Josephine caught them kissing when she decided to come to work on a day off to fill some paperwork.

Cole noticed during one of his people watching days that the cheerful barista who was always nice to him looked like they have been crying.  He went up and ask them what was wrong and they just smiled and said nothing.  Cole dropped it until the next day he brought a movie that Lelianna said always made her happy.  When he explained this to the inquisitor it caused a smile to spread to their face.  He found out the inquisitor’s boy/girlfriend just cheated on them. Cole kept bringing stuff he knows makes people happy at first because he wanted to cheer them up and after because he liked their smile.  One day when he was planning to give a teddy bear to them the inquisitor held up a movie and asked if after work he would like to watch a movie with them.

Varric wouldn’t even have to order anything, he spends so much time there all the baristas knew what to get him, so the fact that a barista knows what he wants before he tells them isn’t unusual. What is unusual is the same barista for months being the one to give him his coffee.  He didn’t say anything, afraid that he would spook them.   They would talk about Kirkwall and where the inquisitor was from.   One day as the inquisitor was closing up shop,  Varric asked if them if they wanted to go on a date.  He later took them to Kirkwall to meet his friends.

[ramblinganthropologist]

Writober 2020 Day 3 - Sculpture

Summary: The cast of Champion have arrived in Kirkwall for filming. Costars Briala and Malcolm decide to explore the city and find some less than impressive statues along the way. At least Malcolm knows how to take pictures.

(That Dragon Age Actor AU, DA2.)

---

There was something about on-location filming that made Briala's heart beat a little faster. Or maybe that was the jet lag?

It was overcast in Kirkwall – it often was. Something about the whole damn place being cursed fucked with the weather patterns. Of course the weather man would never say that, but it was something the locals believed. When Anders sent Elthina to hell, he forever angered the weather gods. Apparently, they were Chantry supporters.

Dumbasses.

“Well, here we are in Kirkwall. It's not raining, this is just the perpetual gloom of the city.”

Briala swirled her phone around to catch the view of the city from where she was standing. Once, they called where she was standing Hightown. It had been pretty much burned down after the mages had broken free of the Gallows, so eventually a lot of set design was going to have to happen. Right then, it just looked like a city.

And she looked like a one-armed punk rocker with a purple mohawk, so she couldn't exactly complain about accuracy.

“No wonder your Shadow Empress' lyricist.”

A voice from above boomed out quietly. Briala didn't aim her phone upward as she broke gaze. By now, she had learned better than to catch Malcolm on camera. He wasn't a big fan of social media to say the least, and she could respect that.

She stuck out her pierced tongue anyway though. “I save my best stuff for the band, you're getting my b grade shit.”

“Well, I'm honored.” Malcolm's Antivan accent probably made all the men weak in the knees, but it was doing nothing for Briala's Ferelden sensibilities. “So, we have time before we have to go where we need.”

They did. She had half expected him to wander off once they had gotten to Kirkwall, but for some reason the giant was sticking by his gremlin. They were definitely getting looks and more than a few whispers from the locals as they walked through the remains of Hightown, picking their way through the bleached rib bones of what had once been the city of chains. It was probably the height difference, given the city's history. Once you saw a pairing like that, there wasn't much else it could be.

Briala shrugged her shoulder as she stowed her phone in her pocket. “Want to check out the Hanged Man? I heard they rebuilt it.”

“Can you handle yourself in-” He stopped. Smart move – she had played in more than a few dive bars since she had started running with Shadow Empress. “No. We'll be there soon enough for shots with Varric anyway.”

Well, boo. Wasn't like she wanted a drink or anything anyway.

Briala fell into step behind Malcolm as they threaded their way through the streets. It certainly didn't feel like they were in Kirkwall, but it wasn't like she knew what it was supposed to be like anyway. Even with the gloom, it just seemed like a regular city. Maybe she had expected abominations or something, or the ghost of Meredith herself to wander the streets at night, still glowing from corrupted lyrium. Kirkwall was supposed to just be... something... and to actually be standing there was kind of a let down.

Ok, maybe she had built it up a little in her mind, but whatever.

“Blooming Rose then?”

“No.”

Briala snickered as she threaded her arm behind her head – the gesture would have been cooler with two, but she didn't exactly have a leg to stand on there. “I was kidding, Malcolm. But since you're shooting me down, how about you make a suggestion?”

“There.”

He had stopped moving, and was pointing a finger towards where the courtyard of the Gallows had once stood. Here, if history served her right, had been where the Hawkes had watched as the Chantry blew sky high on one of Kirkwall's darkest days. Now it was just a plaza, with benches and shit, but there was still the sculptures someone had erected there.

That's when she got the feeling in her gut.

“Yeah... let's go there.”

Together, Briala and Malcolm made their way to the plaza. Here, tourists were gathered with their cameras to take pictures of the statues erected by the city to tell the story of how the Mage Rebellion had gotten its start – you know, besides when Head Enchanter Fiona actually set the whole thing off. Excuse her for being a little sensitive towards elven accomplishments, thank you very much. Still, Anders was important too... though not as much as Fiona was in her mind. Again, see above.

The statues were cast in bronze and stood in battle poses. Each one had a plaque at the base of the podium explaining who they were and why they were so important. The one that represented Meredith was particularly fierce, though Briala half wish they had embedded some LEDs in. The red spotlight was nice, but it would've been better if the damn thing glowed like she had. Still, no doubt it was spooky during Halloween.

“Look, it's you.”

Malcolm was pointing at the second shortest figure in the garden. Briala walked over to it without thinking, stopping at the podium. Cast in bronze and with her sword raised was the likeness of Avery Hawke. Her mouth was open, showing off a pretty impressive fanged grin. That came from the reaver blood, or so the stories said. Her sword should have been glowing too, but apparently bronze wasn't the best medium for that.

They were close to the same height. Maybe the famous hero had a bit more height on her, but everything else was pretty close. If Avery hadn't been wearing her armor, they probably would have had similar builds as well. She had seen plenty of pictures of the woman, but standing next to a sculpture of her was something else altogether.

She brought her phone out without thinking and tossed it to Malcolm. “Can you get our picture?  You just have to hit the button in the middle when you've got it all lined up.”

He caught it – no surprises there – and she got into position. Avery's posture was a little hard, given she had two arms in it. Still, Briala did her best as she mimicked the shot and expression. No doubt with her bright purple mohawk and facial piercings she looked a little silly, but it didn't matter. She was there, that was enough.

Malcolm didn't take long to take the picture. Once he was done, she relaxed and hopped down. At least they hadn't attracted much attention – the tourists were still doing their thing, the locals were giving people the stink eye. All in all, it was a normal day in the former city of chains as people went about their day, no doubt preparing for when traffic was going to be fucked up during filming.

She felt like she should have apologized for that, but it wasn't exactly her fault. She hadn't been the one to decide on on-location filming anyway.

“Thanks, man.” Briala grinned as she inspected the image. “Nice. That one's going on Instagram for sure.”

Honestly, she wasn't sure if he even knew what it was. He was kind of a hipster that way, but she wasn't about to call him out on it. If he wanted to run without social media, that was his choice. Actors were weird like that.

Briala hummed to herself as she fell behind Malcolm – he had said something about a museum to visit. She was working on posting the picture to her social media after doing some mild editing. A few more clicks, and everything was up.

And then she felt the tug on her vest.

There was a tiny hand there, attached to a kid that couldn't have been more than 5. Their little baby horns hadn't even erupted yet – they were just little nubs waiting to become impressive one day if their parent was anything to go by. Either way, they were looking at her with big purple eyes that made her long dead antinatalist heart flutter a little.

“What's up, big guy?”

They let go of her vest and stepped back to a respectful distance. Maybe they were thinking of retreating behind mom's skirt. Said parent had a camera, so they were probably tourists too. What a lovely vacation – come see the city of chains where qunari got their shit rocked by Hawke.

Sounds like the shit her parents would've dragged her to, and that was why they didn't get holiday cards anymore.

“Why aren't you riding on Moses?”

The little one pointed a chubby finger towards Malcolm, his hood still drawn up as he tried to look inconspicuous. The math was floating above Briala's head as she started to put the pieces together. Even she knew she didn't look like Avery just yet, but apparently that didn't matter to the kid. See a tiny gremlin, see a fucking giant human, and presto. You got Hawke.

Well, shit.

Her brain whirred through possible responses as she grinned at them and ruffled their hair. “I gotta stretch my legs, you know. Can't have you outgrowing me before you're 6.”

“I'm 4!” They giggled as she messed with their hair.  “Is there metal in your tongue?”

Briala stuck her tongue out for emphasis. “That's why you don't bite down too hard on your fork when you're eating. The doctor said he could get it out, but I would've had to keep my mouth shut for a couple months and I couldn't even make a day.”

Their eyes went wide as if she had just told them the secret to everlasting life. Mom on the other hand held a chuckle behind her sleeve. Briala mentally sighed in relief at the reaction. For some reason, parents had strange reactions to her tongue piercing.

“Daddy's waiting for us, Adan. Let's leave the nice lady alone.”

The little qunari nodded their big head and turned back to her. “Bye-bye, Hawke!”

They were waving as their mother took their other hand and guided them away. Briala's hand went up without thinking as she also waved goodbye. Then they were gone, and her shoulders slumped in relief. Talk about on the spot acting. Wouldn't Shadow Empress be proud?

“Maybe you should switch to chopsticks.”

Malcolm's deep voice rumbled across the open space as she returned to the fact he was still here. His face was blank, but she knew that tone anywhere. Her smirk gave way to a loud laugh as she fell into step behind him once more.

He had jokes, alright. And that was better than a smart phone any day.

“What, I was working on my feet. Couldn't actually tell the kid I keep fucking beefing it.” The bruises on her ass were proof of that. “Come on, we got museums to look at. First one who finds the best dick pic wins!”

“You're on.”

And then they were off with time still to kill before their next meeting. Briala had a spring in her step as the likes already started to roll in from Instagram, but that was besides the point. Maybe the gloomy city wasn't so bad after all.

She would probably change her mind about that in a few weeks, but hey. Let her live in her delusion a bit longer.