#branna cadash

[rainwolfheart]

i had started a little non-canon branna/krem fic a while back and i picked it up again and oh man. oh boy. i might make this at least a little bit canon.

at least for most of inquisition, i think krem is a good choice for a secondary partner for branna. he's not looking for something long-term and is just kinda there for a good time and to get paid yknow? and branna is super chill about krem's dysphoria hang-ups. (i feel bad projecting that mostly on krem but he's the only transmasc i write about who isn't on magical hormones so he gets to be the outlet...) they start as just a hookup between friends but then krem asks her on an actual date and she immediately catches feelings.

now the question is: do they break up when branna moves to val royeaux or do they just become ldr? part of me wants them to break up bc i never write breakups and they'd be mature about it, but the reason i never write breakups is bc i'm a romantic and this is about me writing stuff i enjoy lol

[anidragon]

Awww, Dorian doesn’t hate Assquisitor Cadash enough to get the scene where she punches him. :(

Couldn’t get Cole to leave, either, which is baffling. Like no, Cole. You should not be in any way approving of this Inquisitor. She is terrible.

Ah, well. Got Solas and Blackwall to hate me, and Varric wasn’t too crazy about me either, so Assquisitor mostly successfull. 

[rainwolfheart]

Dragon Age worldstate and OCs

This is just an app-friendly version of my characters page so I can link it don't mind me.

Worldstate

Warden sided with the mages, Warden brokered peace, Warden sided with Caridin, Bhelen is king, Kieran is an OGB, Anora is queen, Alistair is a Warden, the Architect was killed.

Bethany is a Grey Warden, Hawke killed the Arishok, Hawke sided with the mages, Orsino isn't actually dead Varric made that up.

Inquisitor recruited the mages, Briala rules through Gaspard, the Grey Wardens were banished, no one was left in the Fade, Morrigan drank from the well, Leliana is Divine, Inquisition was disbanded, vowed to stop Solas.

Characters

❤️ current partner(s) 🖤 ex-partner(s) ⭐ best friend(s) All ages are as of 9:45 Dragon First six (Hawke to Rafael) are primary characters, others are secondary, sorted alphabetically by last name.

Hamish Amell Hawke

tag

Champion of Kirkwall

Hamish or Hal (if you're Leandra/the twins) · Hawke (if you're anyone else including Anders)

he/they · transmasc nonbinary

Fereldan half-elf · warrior/mage

Force Mage/Spirit Healer

9:06 Dragon · 39

bisexual

❤️ Anders Hawke

❤️ Justice

🖤 [QP] Varric Tethras

⭐ Fenris

⭐ Isabela

⭐ Varric Tethras

VO: Nicholas Boulton

ADHD bisexual disaster par excellence, has never sat normally on a chair in their life. Be gay, do crimes, punch templars. Currently on a mission to cure every Tranquil in Thedas.

Branna “Mason” Cadash

tag

Inquisition agent

Branna or Mason

she/her · cis woman

Orlesian surface dwarf · rogue

Tempest

9:13 Dragon · 32

bisexual

❤️ Lace Harding

⭐ Bram Kenric

⭐ Dorian Pavus

⭐ Rafael Trevelyan Roldán

VO: Laura Bailey

Uses her stone sense for party tricks. In a tense competition for “the Inquisition's biggest nerd” with Dorian. Forever salty about the Titan choosing Valta over her.

Kit Ivish

Lilah's Second

he/him · cis man

warrior caste Orzammar dwarf · warrior

9:14 Dragon · 31

gay

❤️ [QP] Lilah Hirmot

❤️ Dorian Pavus

VO: Travis Willingham

Kindest gentlest softest boy. Somehow manages to keep himself out of politics in spite of being married to an ambassador and in a relationship with a magister. His love language is food and so is his cat's.

Dael Mahariel Sabrae

tag

Warden-Commander of Ferelden

she/her · trans woman

Dalish elf · mage

Spirit Healer/Keeper/Arcane Warrior

9:08 Dragon · 37

bisexual

❤️ Alistair Mahariel

🖤 Merrill Alerion Sabrae

⭐ Sigrun

⭐ Velanna Tillahnnen

VO: Nia Roberts

All about repressing the angst and regret from the hero's journey. Fereldan in spite of herself. Not-super-subtly using the Grey Wardens to fight for mage and elf rights.

Marfisa Trevelyan Roldán

mage rights activist

Marfi or Mari

she/her · cis woman

Antivan-Marcher human · mage

9:09 Dragon · 36

straight

❤️ Gaël

⭐ Tyrdda Hildsdotten O Sunhold

⭐ Rafael Trevelyan Roldán

VO: Stephanie Beatriz (I don't actually know if she can do the right accent but w/e)

Her little brother cured her of Tranquility but she still embarasses him in front of his friends to keep him humble. They team up to keep the rest of the family humble, so it balances out. Has no time for Vivienne's Loyalist bullshit.

Rafael Trevelyan Roldán

tag

Inquisitor

Rafa or Raf · Lucky (if you're Varric)

he/him · trans man

Antivan-Marcher human · mage

Knight-Enchanter

9:11 Dragon · 34

bisexual

❤️ Dorian Pavus

❤️ Josephine Montilyet

⭐ Branna “Mason” Cadash

⭐ Lace Harding

⭐ Marfisa Trevelyan Roldán

VO: Harry Hadden-Paton

Did so many crimes for the mage underground at Ostwick it's not even funny. Peace was never an option. Scandalizing the nobility 24/7 by being in a poly marriage (but nobody is brave enough to argue with Divine Victoria over the definition of marriage).

Tyrdda Hildsdotten O Sunhold

Inquisition agent

she/her · trans woman

Avvar human · mage

9:03 Dragon · 42

straight

⭐ Marfisa Trevelyan Roldán

VO: Abigail Thorne

Augur who joined the Inquisition to help close the Breach, stayed because she's a nerd about learning from other mages. Spent like a month at Kinloch Hold as a kid before her dad broke her out. Sworn enemy of Solas for absolutely petty reasons.

Lilah Hirmot

Ambassador of House Hirmot to Minrathous

she/her · cis woman

noble caste Orzammar dwarf · warrior

9:13 Dragon · 32

aro-ace

❤️ [QP] Kit Ivish

⭐ Maevaris Tilani

VO: Ashley Johnson

Girlbossed her way into an inter-caste lavender marriage so her family would get off her fucking back and let her get back to work. Too powerful to go to the surface, she and Mae would just steamroll Tevinter politics, they had to nerf her. Lies for fun and profit and to annoy her husband.

Marijke Kader

Grey Warden

they/them · nonbinary

Orlesian surface dwarf · rogue

9:10 Dragon · 35

bisexual

❤️ Bethany Amell Hawke

⭐ Nathaniel Howe

VO: Erika Ishii

Grey Warden courier who has set and beat their own records for fastest times across Orlais and Ferelden. Loves horses but never learns their names because they don't want to get attached. Did not know that their girlfriend's brother was the Champion of Kirkwall until far longer than they're willing to admit.

Milo Surana-Amell

enchanter-turned-farmer

he/him · cis man

Fereldan city elf · mage

c. 9:10 Dragon · ~35

straight

❤️ Solona Surana-Amell

VO: Liam O'Brien

Survived Kinloch Hold without getting recruited to the Grey Wardens because he is a cringefail terrible mage. Proposed to Solona as soon as they heard the news that mages could get married in Ferelden and now they have a farm and 3 kids. Thinks he's good at haggling when he goes to the market, is actually terrible at haggling.

Solona Surana-Amell

enchanter-turned-farmer

she/her · cis woman

Fereldan-Marcher human · mage

c. 9:10 Dragon · ~35

straight

❤️ Milo Surana-Amell

VO: Erica Lindbeck

The “excuse me he asked for no pickles” meme but it's Solona standing in front of Milo. Is vaguely aware that her second cousin blew up the Chantry in Kirkwall or something and thinks that's dope. Is so excited to embarass her kids by being a “cool mom.”

[rainwolfheart]

“Dream and idea, hope and fear, endless possibilities” for Dorian and whoever you fancy!

I’ve written a ton of Branna lately but not nearly enough of her and Dorian so here’s that. @dadrunkwriting​

rating: T

trigger warnings: anxiety, strong language

-

“I think there’s a Rivaini proverb about this. ‘As difficult as trying to talk to a dwarf in the Fade.’”

“An idiom.”

“What?”

“An idiom. Not a proverb,” says Branna, through gritted teeth. She grips his hand even tighter.

“Mason. Focus on something. Focus on me,” says Dorian.

Branna squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, then looks up at Dorian. He’s smiling in that contagious way, and her face relaxes. She swallows. “The spinning is stopping.”

“Don’t let it come back. It creeps up on you.”

“I want to look around.”

Dorian nods, and takes a step back to let her look. They’re standing on as familiar a surface as Dorian could find, a chunk of Deep Roads floating in the emerald sky. A Grey Warden banner flutters without wind above them, attached to nothing, while rusted weapons with griffon-headed pommels litter the ground. There are no bodies, no other signs of a battle. An ochre spirit of valour flits about the scene, mumbling words in Ander that neither of the travelers understand.

“Are you alright?” asks Dorian.

Branna swallows again, and nods. “Can we walk around?”

“The Fade is the realm of dream and idea, hope and fear, endless possibilities,” says Dorian, rolling his eyes. “Of course we can walk around.”

“Don’t sass me,” says Branna. She takes a tentative step onto the next flagstone. Nothing happens, so she brings her other foot to join it. Dorian has to follow closely, since she still hasn’t released his hand.

The Deep Roads section ends abruptly a few metres ahead of them, turning into what for all appearances is a stretch of Fereldan farmland. Branna walks to it at a snail’s pace, unsure of every step she takes. She pauses for a moment to watch the nearby spirit as it reenacts the highlights of a battle to no one but itself.

“Can we talk to it?” she finally asks.

“Hm. That one seems a little preoccupied. I’ll find you a better one,” says Dorian. “If we can get anywhere else.”

“Sorry. I feel like I’m walking on nothing. I hate it,” says Branna.

“Fascinating.”

“What?”

“I can feel the ground. I know where it’s safe to step. You don’t.”

Branna turns to him, her eyes wide. Dorian seems to realize it at the same time. “You feel it like I feel the Stone!” says Branna. She fumbles for her pockets before remembering she doesn’t have a real notebook. “Don’t let me forget!”

Dorian grins. “As long as I get an acknowledgement.”

Branna lets go of his hand for a moment to give him a hug around the middle. “Fuck an acknowledgement, we’re writing this together!”

[rainwolfheart]

Welcome to the DADWC!! How about “Why are you smiling?” “Because you’re here.” For anyone you like?

I know this was probably intended as a ship prompt but I felt like writing some family stuff, so here’s Branna Cadash and her aunt/adoptive mother :) @dadrunkwriting

rating: G

trigger warnings: none

-

“Oops! Sorry, dear, not used to having someone else in the kitchen,” says Hatha.

“Don’t worry about it,” says Branna, laughing as she brushes the crumbs off of her shirt.

Hatha grins. “You’ve always been light on your feet.”

“Don’t know where I would have got that,” teases Branna.

Her aunt’s smile widens. “You look more and more like your father every year.”

“I meant you,” says Branna.

Hatha shakes her head and turns back to her cutting board. “He would be proud of you. Your mother, too.”

“I hope so…”

Branna glances at the sandglass on the windowsill. It’s stopped. “I think the soup’s ready,” she says.

“Have you tasted it?” asks Hatha.

“I would never serve anything I haven’t tasted,” assures Branna, dipping a spoon into the pot. She waits for it to cool for a moment. “Perfect,” she says.

“Then serve it up!”

Branna ladles the soup into two bowls, and sets them on the table just as her aunt finishes slicing the bread.

“I’ve missed this soup,” says Branna, as she tears a piece of bread in two and dips half of it into the soup. It soaks up the broth.

“It’s nothing special,” says Hatha.

“Nobody makes it like you,” insists Branna. “Lace and I tried to make it once, when we had a day off. Turned into more of a stew. We had too many vegetables.”

“I always make more broth than I think I’ll need,” says Hatha. Her eyes twinkle, anticipating Branna’s teasing about age and wisdom. She lets it slide.

They don’t speak much as they eat; Branna is too enamoured with the soup, and Hatha is rarely one to break silence. She smiles throughout the whole meal, and as Branna clears the table and starts doing the dishes.

“Alright, Auntie, why are you smiling so much? Is there food on my face?” asks Branna.

Hatha laughs. “No. I’m smiling because you’re here. I’ve missed you. I can’t help it.”

Branna bites her lip. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“Well, thank the Ancestors for that! I was worried you only missed my soup.”

“Your soup is a close second,” says Branna. She can’t help but smile, too.

[rainwolfheart]

Welcome to DADWC! I'd love to see your Cadash! Masquerade Ball in Orlais with either Josie or Harding ❤❤

thank you for the prompt!! I love all these opportunities to develop Branna I’ve gotten lately <3 @dadrunkwriting

this is really only tangentially related to the prompt it’s mostly just smut lmao

rating: E

trigger warnings: explicit sex, semi-public sex

-

“There you are! Knew I’d find you here,” says Lace.

Branna laughs and puts a book back on the shelf. “I’m not doing a very good job of being a spy, then,” she says.

“Good thing we’re on the same team.”

Lace winds an arm around Branna’s waist and lifts up her own mask. Branna’s is already discarded on a table.

“Need me for something?” asks Branna, leaning into her.

“Yes,” says Lace. She kisses her.

Branna pulls back for a moment. “I feel like this is the moment where we miss witnessing something very important.”

“You read too many novels,” says Lace.

“I’d read more if you weren’t here to distract me.”

“Well, good thing I’m here.”

Lace kisses her again, hard and intense, and pushes her back to sit on the edge of the table; Branna pulls her closer.

“Leliana’s gonna kill us,” she breathes, against Lace’s lips.

“Not if we’re quick.”

With that insinuation, Branna slides a hand down to unbutton Lace’s trousers. It takes her a moment, and a second hand, but an instant later Lace lets out a happy sigh as Branna’s fingers find their way through the layers. Her smallclothes are already damp from arousal.

“Can’t believe you waited this long,” says Branna.

Lace giggles. “It was hard. Came as soon as I could.”

“You already came?”

“No!”

They both laugh, but Lace’s is cut short by a gasp as Branna’s finger starts to circle her clit. Branna kisses her and tugs at her lower lip with her teeth—gentle, but intense. She knows how to get Lace going, and there’s no time to tease right now.

Branna speeds up her circles, and Lace lets out a soft moan. Branna kisses her deeper to try and quiet it, but she knows it won’t really help. She abandons all hope of being quiet when Lace bites her lip, and Branna lets out a soft moan of her own. With Lace’s body between her thighs like this, sometimes brushing just the right spot, Branna wonders if she’ll even need to be touched.

Lace breaks the kiss to press their foreheads together for a moment.

“Need more?” asks Branna, breathless.

Lace shakes her head slightly. She’s already well into the rhythm, so Branna doesn’t change it, and instead tilts her head to kiss her neck. A moment later, Lace’s breathing changes, and she stops moving as much. The first time this happened, Branna thought she had done something wrong, but now she knows better.

All the tension in Lace’s body suddenly releases as she comes, and Branna keeps going to get her all the way there, until Lace is peppering her face with kisses. She only rests for a moment before going for the button of Branna’s trousers.

A bell rings somewhere in another wing of the estate—the first of three.

“Think we’ll make it back in time?” breathes Lace, as she works her other hand under Branna’s shirt to cup her breast.

“Let’s find out.”

[rainwolfheart]

Hello!! For the DA DWC: Dragon hunting in the Free Marches, maybe with Lace Harding? <3

thanks for the prompt! :D I’m trying to get better at writing narration so I tried something with minimal dialogue this time. @dadrunkwriting

rating: G trigger warnings: blood

-

Sera whoops and giggles, signaling the end. Lace lets the arrow sink into the ground with a thunk and lets her lungs catch up to the rest of her body. Below, the others are cheering, high-fiving each other, and Bull has helped Sera climb on top of the dragon’s head. Across the gully from Lace, Branna slides down the slope with a short cheer of her own. Lace grins. Her fingers ache from the cold wind and the new bowstring. The scrape on her elbow burns. But they did it, and everyone is standing.

After another moment to catch her breath and slow her heartbeat, she grabs her quiver and scrambles down the slope, aware of every grain of sand that digs into her palms as the adrenaline fades and starts to slowly give way to exhaustion.

Branna rushes to meet her at the base of the slope, laughing and reaching to help her stand up. Instead, Lace pulls her down into a hug, searching for the warmth underneath the wind-beaten leathers.

“Hi,” says Branna, softly.

“Hey.”

Lace cups Branna’s frozen cheek with her bruised hand and pulls her down into a kiss. Both of them have dry, cracked lips, and the kiss is both a reminder and a salve. Branna’s breath is still short. After a few kisses, she sinks down against Lace’s shoulder to catch her breath properly.

“Are you coming?” shouts Krem, a minute later. He and the others have gathered their weapons and obligatory dragon scales, and seem ready to leave. Lace helps Branna to her feet and they join the group.

Rafael hovers next to Dorian as they walk to make sure he’s not upset about being dragged into another dragon hunt, but even Dorian seems happy. Everything went according to plan, for once. Sera surreptitiously adds a face to Krem’s shield in dragon’s blood as she walks behind him.

Branna squeezes Lace’s hand. “Alright?”

“Yeah. Tired.”

“Me too,” says Branna. “And starving.”

Thoughts of fish and chips, a warm hearth, and soft sheets give them both enough energy to make it back to town, but Lace’s legs are aching by the time they hit the floorboards of the tavern. Bull is, somehow, still wired, and he offers to order for everyone. Lace sinks down against Branna’s shoulder in the booth.

“Wake me when the food is here,” she mumbles.

Branna agrees, but in the end, it’s Rafael who wakes them both up.

Lace barely remembers eating (though she’s pretty sure it’s delicious) by the time she’s closing the door to their room and throwing off all her armour. The sheets are cold but soon warmed by the two of them, and all Lace has time to do is pray that nobody asked for a wake-up call before she’s out again, with Branna pressed against her back and the first hints of moonlight coming in through the window.

[rainwolfheart]

prompt from @floralprintshark in this post: "branna/harding first kiss" @dadrunkwriting

I was thinking today about how Queer as Fact has determined that ruining your eyesight reading ancient languages is queer culture and so I had to lmao

for context here, Branna's desk is in that room near the kitchens in Skyhold with the dwarf statues

rating: G

trigger warnings: none

-

“Go to bed, Mason!” scolds the cook, as she locks the door.

Branna looks up from her desk and finally notices how much her eyes have been straining to read the ancient Tevene. The oil lantern is on its last legs. And if the kitchen is closed, it must be well past midnight.

“I will,” says Branna. She yawns. “Night, Winnie.”

“Goodnight.”

The little voice inside Branna, however, says just finish this chapter! She stands up, stretches, and fumbles around in the drawers for a fresh wick.

About six pages later, she hears footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Branna! Go to bed!” says Lace, chuckling.

“How did you know I was here?” asks Branna. She lets the book fall closed with her notebook to save the page.

“Winnie told me. Said you would probably need another reminder.”

Branna laughs. “Every day I’m a little more convinced she’s the long-lost sister of Revered Mother Romilda,” she says. “‘Mais Branna, ma chouette, you’ll lose your eyesight before you’re twenty if you keep reading in the dark,’” she imitates, in a spot-on Orlesian accent.

“How are your eyes?”

“Fine,” says Branna. Better now that I see you, she thinks, but she’s not cheesy enough to say it. “What are you up to?”

“Looking for you,” says Lace, with a shrug. She leans over Branna’s chair to look over the scattered papers and books. Branna’s heart leaps as she feels the warm presence of Lace behind her and catches the scent of her: worn leather and something slightly floral.

“Am I in trouble?” asks Branna.

Lace giggles. “Depends if you’ve done anything bad. Other than ruin your eyesight, I mean.”

“I guess I should stop for the night.”

“For the morning, you mean.”

Branna rolls her eyes and puts out the oil lamp. Lace moves some papers aside and sits on the desk while Branna gathers her coat.

“Do you want to go for a quick walk?” asks Lace.

“Right now?”

“Yeah!”

Branna smiles. “Sure.”

She reaches behind Lace to grab her keys, and brushes against her shoulder.

“Sorry,” mumbles Branna. Lace hops down from the desk, suddenly much closer to her. Branna’s breath catches in her chest.

“Do you want to get going?” asks Lace, after a beat too long of just looking at each other, standing too close.

“Yeah,” breathes Branna. Lace turns; Branna touches her arm. “Wait.”

Lace turns back. There’s another moment of looking.

“I want to kiss you,” says Branna.

She sees Lace smile for only a moment, until she’s too close to see anything at all and Branna’s keys hit the floor. Lace is all warmth and soft lips and breathlessness.

“I wasn’t sure…” said Lace, softly, pressing their foreheads together. She traces her thumb along the bottom of Branna’s brand.

“Been wanting to do that for weeks,” laughs Branna. “Still want to go for a walk?”

Lace hums, and kisses her again, quickly. Then a third time, for good measure. “Okay,” she says, finally.

Branna picks up her keys, shoves them in her pocket, and offers her hand.

[rainwolfheart]

First Line Game

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors!

I was tagged by @ser-thirst-a-lot - thank you!!

I have a couple fics that open with a text message or that are in script format, so I went with the first sentence in a text/line of dialogue.

A Sensible Man [LL]: MC Before you go, can I ask another question?

Vegetable Soup [DA]: “Oops! Sorry, dear, not used to having someone else in the kitchen,” says Hatha.

Friends in Small Places [DA]: “Down here!”

Nothing Sweeter [DA]: The bolt rebounds off of Rory’s shield and back towards Bethany’s head.

Keep Going Straight [DA]: Nathaniel We’ve definitely passed that carving already.

Borrowing [DA]: The bann requested formal attire.

Picking Fights [DA]: While trudging back to Hightown, Anders thinks about how he’ll tell this story to Varric.

Favourite Scars [DA]: Anders traces his fingers along the thin lines that Phoebe clawed into Hawke’s skin, and the wounds vanish.

Elfroot [DA]: After the world’s most awkward breakfast, Nathaniel catches Velanna in the hallway.

Arbor Blessing [DA]: “‘Ma’lath, where is the jar of arbor blessing?” asks Dael.

growth/decay [CR]: Wild flowers/tame people (favourite line! is it cheating to pick poetry?? lmao)

Entr'acte [DA]: Hawke ok i’m lost.

Une distraction [DA]: “You seem distracted,” says Josephine, sinking down onto the couch next to Rafael.

Stick Around [DA]: The Hanged Man.

A Story Told to Expositor Pentaghast [DA & CR]: The Expositor paces in front of him.

Words of Power [CR]: “Fjord, what is a lesbian?” (runner-up/favourite prose line; also my most popular fic!)

Frumpkin's Quest [CR]: Frumpkin headbutts Caleb’s shoulder.

three funerals and a wedding [CR]: Caduceus knew there was a lot he didn’t know about these people.

Celebration [SW]: General Organa had suggested she take some time off to mourn and process, after all that happened at Takodana, Ilum, D’Qar, and Crait.

The Hitchhiker [SW]: Chewbacca We have to go.

Patterns: I don't start with dialogue quite as often as I think I do, but I definitely like to get right into a conversation or inner monologue. Let the evidence show that I have a degree in theatre... lmao. You can also tell I've gotten more comfortable varying my verb tense—I used to write exclusively in past tense, but I default to present tense now.

Also, I've written a fuckton this past year!! There's just the last two on this list that are more than a year old! You can see the evolution of my hyperfixations: Star Wars at the start of 2020, Critical Role over the summer, and Dragon Age since the fall. Lovelink is definitely a short-term one lol.

Tagging: @floralprintshark @nobloodneeded @rakukajas @joycrispy @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold @potatowitch @goldenroses13 @juliafied @mageunderground @tieflingapologist (some of y'all are mutuals I've never talked to; hi!! also sorry if you've been tagged before I don't know that many people)

[rainwolfheart]

prompt from @floralprintshark in this post: "any mage resistance shenanigans, bonus if tranquils are involved and or saved". I went a leeeetle off prompt because I felt like writing Branna, sorry lol. @dadrunkwriting

rating: T

trigger warnings: canon-typical violence, slavery mention, strong language

-

A series of letters found in Skyhold’s rookery.

Charter,

We arrived in Kirkwall safe and sound. Rion’s been trying to track down old underground contacts but most have been smart enough to go really underground (cue dwarf joke, har har) or stupid enough to get killed. No one Lucky and H told us about is still here, anyway.

Please don’t tell T I said this, but her “just cover your brand with makeup” idea was brilliant. I went to a bar in the dwarven quarter V recommended and nobody glared at me, not once. And I got a lead. This merchant claimed he crossed paths with two templars and five or six Tranquil heading north, Starkhaven-ish, on his way into the city. He was pretty sure there was someone matching her description but he also couldn’t remember the name of the friend he was sitting with; that’s the best we’ve got. Rion’s going to stay and keep poking around. I’m going to find a fast horse at the crack of dawn and head towards Starkhaven. Hopefully other people saw them go by.

I’ll keep you posted.

Mason

-

Charter,

Fuck you, and tell T I owe her a drink…

Really though, thanks for sending Thornton to meet me, he saved my ass. We ambushed the camp. Five Tranquil safe and sound; none of them are M unfortunately. From the bucketheads’ notes and the conversation I can get out of them, seems like these guys didn’t want to flee when Jainen fell, so a local innkeeper took them in and fired her staff. The chattiest of them, a man named Yannick, says it wasn’t slavery and they were free to go, but… Buckets straight up paid for them. Bastards. They were headed north, as suspected, unfortunately didn’t get an exact location out of them before Thornton got antsy. They didn’t have red lyrium on them but some of their notes mention the Elder One, so if they weren’t red templars it seems they were about to become them. Maybe the Tranquil were their membership fee. Gross.

Anyway, it sounds like Rion got into a bit of trouble back in Kirkwall. We’re moving as fast as we can but one of them has a twisted ankle, and it seems like torture to walk in those robes anyway. I would offer them a quick hem, but it’s too cold, really. None of them know where they want to go, but they seem Fereldan. One of them knows she’s from the Bannorn and thinks she still has family there—family name Cloverhead, have anything? Thornton and I agreed that the best thing to do for now is get them to the motherland and hope that someone recognizes them on the way back to Skyhold.

We’ll keep looking for a lead on M. Tell Lucky I’m not giving up.

Mason

-

Charter,

Got your message just in time. The boys are going alone, I’m on the road to Starkhaven again. Handoff went smoothly. Would you believe the contact was the guy from the bar the other night?! And he remembered me. Didn’t mention anything about the brand, at least.

I’m mostly sending this because I have a letter for Harding. Don’t fucking read it, Charter.

Mason

[rainwolfheart]

after several years I FINALLY finished DAI (including Trespasser) and have some thoughts. controversial opinions? maybe? does anyone still care?

Tresspasser as an adventure kinda sucked, the puzzles were really hard, the close quarters were really annoying for my archer rogue Inquisitor, and I hated the Winter Palace as a home base

I did not catch a single one of those harlequins

the plot however was pretty good. I would have enjoyed a bit more political crunch and really getting to debate stuff with your advisors at least, if not companions. felt especially weird to not be able to have a more in-depth conversation about it with Josephine, my LI

I hate Solas so fucking much. like I get why he made the Veil in the first place, no issue with that slavery is awful. but now he wants to do genocide of everyone who isn't an elf because it might bring back the culture he destroyed? not to mention return the possibility of the Evanuris enslaving elves. and he says all of this with a straight face to a dwarf Inquisitor. what the fuck Solas. my people can't even do magic or experience the Fade (normally).

that said the whole twist with the Evanuris really fucking sucks, Bioware. stop doing terrible things to your Indigenous-coded fantasy people.

the post-slideshow ending makes me think the next game's PC has to be an agent working in Tevinter for the Inquisition/former Inquisition (I disbanded). find people Solas doesn't know? dagger stuck in Tevinter near a place called Solas? c'mon.

also Scout Harding!! my love!!!! I missed her so much I'm glad she showed up for that final scene

some more general thoughts on the endgame/DLC stuff:

maybe I was just over-levelled and forgot all the buildup cause I spent too much time dicking around finishing sidequests first, but the Corypheus fight was so anticlimactic. it wasn't challenging and the cutscenes weren't very good. my archer Inquisitor killed the dragon with a dagger for some reason? let me do cool archery!!

I fucking LOVED the Descent. I know the Deep Roads is a divisive thing but I love playing dwarves and the implications of the Titan are so so interesting to me. I hope Valta comes back and we learn more about them.

Jaws of Hakkon was also very good, I loved all the extra Scout Harding content, the new NPCs (Kenric, Svarah, Storvacker) were really good, and the Hakkon fight was fun

I don't know why they kinda missed the mark on making Trespasser fun? JoH and Descent were so much fun. Trespasser was kind of a slog just getting to the cutscenes.

why was there narration in the main game epilogue but not the Trespasser one? also both should have been Varric, why did Morrigan have such a big role.

whyyyy do they keep doing the "DLC reveals the villain of the next game" thing?? with the others you could probably skip it and only miss a bit more depth to the villains, but if it's gonna be Solas they have a lot of 'splaining to do for people who didn't play Trespasser. also there's some major decision making in Trespasser, what will the default answers be?

[rainwolfheart]

man, rain, you keep reblogging these thingies that make me go "oh i better send rain 3475345 prompts" :'D have some made up titles: Birds of a feather / here there be dragons / step by step / steel and lace / blessed are the peace keepers (heh)

took me a while to get them all figured out! a few of them are ones I might actually write... 👀

Birds of a Feather

Fandoms: Dragon Age II

Relationships: Anders/Hamish Hawke, Bethany Hawke/Marijke Kader, Bethany Hawke & Hamish Hawke

Characters: Anders, Bethany Hawke, Hamish Hawke, Marijke Kader

Tags: Angst, Grief/Mourning, Lothering, Sibling Relationships

Summary:

It’s been more than ten years since they left Lothering, since they last visited their father’s grave, and since they had to leave Carver behind. Hawke and Bethany, along with their partners and a vial of their mother’s ashes, return to the remains of Lothering to reminisce and reunite their family. As they travel through once-blighted lands to visit a family they never met, Anders and Marijke reflect on their lives as Grey Wardens and their relationship to the Hawke family.

Here There Be Dragons

Fandoms: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Relationships: Dorian Pavus/Rafael Trevelyan

Characters: Dorian Pavus, Rafael Trevelyan, Varric Tethras

Tags: Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons, Exandria, Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Modern AU

“Someone’s coming up the path, what do you do?” says Varric, tapping his pencil on the table. Rafael panics, flipping to his spell sheet again. “Shit,” says Dorian. “I grab Ruggiero and kiss him. Make it seem like we’re just here to make out.” “What? Oh! Yes! Good plan! I— We do that!” says Rafael. He’s unable to hide his blush as the others laugh. Varric rolls a die, and grins. Rafael can’t tell if the flirting is just in the game or not, anymore. It’s all well and good for the wizard and the warlock to confess their feelings to each other when it seems like the world is ending, but he sees Dorian every week and they take the same train line home after. Asking him out would be way more dangerous than double-crossing a member of the Cerberus Assembly—which, unfortunately, they just did.

Step by Step

Fandoms: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Relationships: Marfisa Trevelyan & Rafael Trevelyan, background Josephine Montilyet/Rafael Trevelyan, background Dorian Pavus/Rafael Trevelyan

Characters: Marfisa Trevelyan, Rafael Trevelyan

Tags: Angst, Mage-Templar War, Tranquil, Trauma & Recovery

Summary:

Reversing Tranquility certainly wasn’t simple, but it was the easiest step in the process—all Marfisa had to do was sit there. She would happily trade places with Rafael, some days. Relearning magic is like relearning how to walk, only fifty times more dangerous, and even with Val Royeaux’s best psychologist staying at Skyhold, some of the world’s most talented mages to tutor her, and her brother and best friend by her side, Marfisa feels like every day is a trial.

Steel and Lace

Fandoms: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Relationships: Branna Cadash/Lace Harding, Josephine Montilyet/Rafael Trevelyan, Dorian Pavus/Rafael Trevelyan

Characters: Branna Cadash, Lace Harding, Josephine Montilyet, Dorian Pavus, Rafael Trevelyan

Tags: 20th Century AU, Historical AU, Modern AU, University AU

Summary:

London, 1921. Classicist Branna Cadash fought tooth and nail to make it to King’s College, where she brushed shoulders with the Bloomsbury Group and contributed to a major translation project on Greek poetry in the Roman era. Gender and class have condemned her to always publish second to her colleague, Dr. Dorian Pavus, and even then, neither of them are taken very seriously. It doesn’t help that Dorian is rumoured to be involved in a torrid love triangle with American stage actor Rafael Trevelyan and Josephine Montilyet, daughter of the Spanish ambassador. Which is more or less true. While sorting through the results of their colleagues’ recent findings in Greece, Branna rescues a tiny scrap of fabric. It’s in miserable shape, but she recognizes text on it: two legible words that match a fragmented poem by an unknown poet. Convinced that more can be rescued and that this could even be a new fragment of Sappho, based on the other documents found, Branna takes the train to Oxford to seek the advice of Lace Harding, an adventurous seamstress-turned-art historian specialized in textiles. (The “what if they were a more racially diverse and maybe even queerer Bloomsbury Group” AU nobody asked for)

Blessed Are the Peacekeepers

Fandoms: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Relationships: Rafael Trevelyan & Trevelyan Family

Characters: Rafael Trevelyan, Trevelyan Family

Tags: Angst, Lyrium Addiction, Mage-Templar Conflict, Sibling Relationships

Summary:

When one storm ends, another begins. Melissa Trevelyan, ex-templar and recovering lyrium addict, relapses when her mage siblings come home from the war. Old wounds and new ones are laid bare.

[rainwolfheart]

Post-Trespasser Solas hunting for any of your pairings/groupings, BONUS if two of your pairs meet (e.g. hawke and Anders meeting up with Aeducan and Leliana). Welcome to the DWC!

this was a great prompt, thank you! Hal and Feryn are from different worldstates, so here’s a different dwarf rogue and her girlfriend ;) @dadrunkwriting

rating: G

trigger warnings: fantasy racism

-

“Down here!”

“Mason?”

“Shh!”

“I thought you were in Orlais!”

“Shut up and crouch!”

Hawke scrambles to their knees and pulls Anders down with them. The alcove is barely big enough for two adult humans, let alone two humans and two dwarves.

“Nice to see you, Hawke,” says Harding.

“Shut up!” says Mason, again.

The four of them hold their breath as Bann Fiala and her servant turn the corner. They’re in the middle of an argument.

“The oxmen are too many. We cannot spare soldiers to defend the alienage,” insists the bann.

“Then let the able-bodied elves bear arms, ser!” begs the servant. “Let them defend their children!”

“You ask me to overturn the Queen’s law?”

“I ask you to do what is right!”

Bann Fiala pauses, an arm’s length away from their hiding spot. She sighs.

“I will send word to the quartermaster. Do not make me regret this. Should these elves raise a blade against any human in these lands, or should a single blade or bow not be returned to the quartermaster’s care, I shall not stop my men.”

“Maker bless you, ser,” says the servant. She rushes off in the opposite direction. The bann remains for a moment.

Hawke stops themself from breathing completely, though their lungs are burning. Finally, after what feels like an entire age, the bann continues down the hall, and her footsteps fade.

“What are you doing here?” asks Mason, finally.

“We’re here to break a friend out of the bann’s prison. What are you doing here?” asks Anders.

“Got a tip that some of the bann’s elven servants are working for the Wolf, and using the Qunari as pretext to pull something,” says Harding. “Think we just got some evidence.”

“Who are you looking for?” asks Mason.

“Rion,” says Hawke.

“Rion? He’s here?”

“You know him?”

“Of course I know Rion. I thought he was dead.”

“Bastard would never die without anyone hearing about it,” says Hawke.

“Why didn’t Charter tell us?” asks Harding.

Hawke grimaces. “I didn’t tell Charter we were coming.”

“She’d have our heads,” says Anders.

“Wait, why is Rion in Bann Fiala’s prison?” asks Harding.

Hawke shrugs.

“My guess?” says Mason. “Same reason as us if we don’t keep this quiet. Don’t get in our way.”

“And here I thought we could all work together,” says Anders.

“Drinks are on me if we get out of here!” says Harding, as she and Mason slip out of the alcove.

“I’ll hold you to that!” says Hawke.

Anders lets out a soft laugh.

“What?” asks Hawke.

“Saving mages, fighting Qunari, just like old times,” says Anders. “Where’s Varric when you need him?”

“Don’t say that. You’ll summon him.”

“The more the merrier, at this point.”

Hawke rolls their eyes, and helps Anders up. “To the dungeons!”

[rainwolfheart]

more prompts! branna/harding first kiss / anything with branna and her thoughts on why dwarves are severed from the fade / “I didn’t expect you to be into cuddling.” “I’m not!” “Then what is this?” “Just… close skin-to-skin contact.” “Uh-huh.” for hawke/isabela/merrill / any mage resistance shenanigans, bonus if tranquils are involved and or saved

Here’s the second one! I kept wanting to write an excerpt from her book but I’m being too much of an academic with it lmao. so I wrote up some more gut-reaction stuff for immediately after Here Lies the Abyss. @dadrunkwriting

rating: G

trigger warnings: none

-

Branna rolls a copper coin along a groove in the table and flips back and forth between pages of her journal. She wrote down everything after Adamant, but it’s still not enough.

“Is it true that you saw the Fade?”

Branna jumps. She didn’t hear anyone come near. There’s a young dwarf hovering at the other end of the table.

“Sorry!” they say. “I— I overheard you talking to Krem, is all.”

“I did go to the Fade, yes,” says Branna. “Sorry, who are you?”

“I’m Rat. Sutherland and Company.”

“Right,” says Branna. The name vaguely rings a bell. “I’m Mason.”

“I know who you are. You and Varric Tethras are the first dwarves to ever see the Fade.”

Branna smiles. “No, but we are the first to go there physically. Not that there are many humans and elves who have done it, either.”

Rat bites her lip. She’s avoiding direct eye contact with Branna, but is unable to look away. “What was it like?”

“Dizzying,” says Branna. “Like vertigo and seasickness at the same time. And it’s… Beautiful. I don’t know if I have the words for it.”

“Can you try?” asks Rat. “I asked Voth and I didn’t understand a thing.”

“Everything’s kinda green. Like the Breach but more of a stain. Everything’s bright and dark at the same time. And there’s floating islands, and places where up is down, and sometimes things change when you look away from them. And I felt… Lost. The ground was solid but I couldn’t feel the Stone at all, and I could see lyrium in a few places but I couldn’t hear it. It felt wrong. I kept worrying that the ground would fall away or that I would fall into the sky. But the humans—the mages especially—they knew exactly what they were doing. They walked through there like a Shaper in the Deep Roads.”

“Wow…” says Rat. “It sounds scary.”

“It was,” agrees Branna. “But I’d go back in a heartbeat. It gave me so many more questions than answers.”

Rat looks at her expectantly.

Branna smiles, more to herself than anything, and continues. “I felt like I was missing one of my senses. You know how when it’s very dark and your eyes are open but you can’t tell the difference?” she asks. Rat nods. “It felt like that. Only with my stone sense.”

“So your stone sense was blocked?”

“No,” says Branna. “Maybe. But it felt more like there was nothing to sense.”

“Weird. Why?”

Branna inhales. She normally loves this question, but she’s not sure of the answer anymore.

“I think we used to be connected to the Fade, or something like it. I don’t know why, exactly, it’s just a gut feeling. I told Dorian how I felt and he said he had never heard that before—but Varric felt the same. He used more similes. He said something like… ‘It’s like trying to remember a food you’ve never tasted.’”

Rat furrows her brows, looking at the floor.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“The Fade doesn’t make sense,” says Branna, with a shrug.

“Thank you,” says Rat. She hovers for a moment longer, then dashes away to the second floor without a goodbye.

Branna smiles to herself for a moment, before going back to worrying.

[rainwolfheart]

Writing prompts

2021-10-31: Not actively taking prompts. I'll update whenever that changes! Just been way too busy to write fic lately.

I'm currently accepting writing prompts! If you send me a DA one, it'll likely be filled on Friday for DA Drunk Writing Circle.

I write in English and French, and I'm comfortable-ish writing dialogue in Spanish. (if you're looking for a french-english translator for a fic, hmu?)

I take any kind of prompt. If you need inspiration, here are a few lists I like: classical literature prompts, DA prompts, DA dialogue prompts, DA codex prompts 1, DA codex prompts 2, Trans Bingo cards, fic title prompts (send me a new title and I'll write a summary, or send me one I've already written a summary for and I'll write an excerpt)

I post prompted fics on Tumblr and repost them on AO3. Please let me know if you want to be credited anonymously on either platform, otherwise I will credit you for the prompt :)

Main DA pairings and topics

Feryn Aeducan x Leliana

Alistair x Dael Mahariel

Anders x Hamish Hawke

Anders x Nathaniel Howe

Branna Cadash x Lace Harding

Branna Cadash x Josephine Montilyet

Gaël x Marfisa Trevelyan

Bethany Hawke x Marijke Kader

Marian Hawke x Isabela

Marian Hawke x Isabela x Merrill

Marian Hawke x Merrill

Nathaniel Howe x Velanna

Isabela x Merrill

Dael Mahariel x Merrill

Josephine Montilyet x Rafael Trevelyan

Dorian Pavus x Rafael Trevelyan

Sigrun x Velanna

Marfisa Trevelyan & Rafael Trevelyan

The Bull's Chargers, Inquisition agents, multiplayer characters (Dalish/Skinner, Charter/Tessa, open to other ships)

Gen: team bonding (especially DA2 cast)

Gen: mage resistance/rebellion stuff

Gen: post-Inquisition Solas-hunting shenanigans (Tevinter Nights vibes)

Gen: crossovers and AUs (I've written Exandria AU and modern AU stuff before, feel free to suggest others)

More details & other fandoms under the cut

I can also write other people's OCs or a generic/ambiguous PC, and certain other characters and ships; don't be afraid to ask! A few notes:

I won't write anything focused on Aveline, Cullen, Oghren, or Sten (unless it's critical of them), or anything pro-templar, sorry.

I'm also not very experienced writing certain characters, such as red!Hawke, Sera, and Vivienne. But I'm up for a challenge!

I am always, always down to write characters as trans. I write Fenris as transmasc and Hawke as AFAB nonbinary unless otherwise specified. My Hawkes, Mahariel, Trevelyan and Kader are all trans.

I headcanon Josephine as ace, so I'm not comfortable writing smut for her.

If you send me a NSFW prompt, I may tone it down to my comfort zone. I'm new to writing smut and prefer vanilla stuff.

Other topics I'm currently open to writing

Check, Please! (Bitty/Jack, Holster/Ransom, Lardo/Shitty)

Critical Role (Allura/Kima, Beau/Jester/Yasha, Caleb/Essek, Caleb/Molly, Fjord/Jester, Keyleth/Vax, Percy/Vex; used to write Caduceus/Fjord and always down to write them as friends or queerplatonic nowadays; OC blood hunter siblings Sol & Hala)

Lovelink (MC x Adam, Ana, Blake, Charlie, Cpt. Muffin['s human], Dahlia, Dominic, Dr. Vile, Jake, Keanu, Milena, Nicholas, Rose, Ruby, Sage, Tiros, Vitoria, Zayn)

Star Wars (Finn/Poe/Rey, Finn/Rose, Greer/Joph, Black Squadron fun times)

The Witcher (maybe? I'm familiar with TW3 and started watching the Netflix show. Geralt/Yennefer or Geralt/Triss)

Bullet-point/short paragraph meta or headcanons (things like "headcanons about the M9's favourite foods" or "which DA story choice do you prefer out of these options and why")

Poetry (free verse or haiku; you can try sonnet, blank verse, etc. prompts, but no promises lol)

Short original fiction (especially high fantasy, fairytale-inspired, historical fantasy, near-future sci-fi, space opera, dystopian)

Very short plays and monologues (I tend toward postmodern/postdramatic/poetic stuff)

[rainwolfheart]

my current hyperfixation is dragon age and if you feel like indulging me pls ask me questions about my OCs, headcanons, or DA opinions. I will answer all of them (feel free to ask on anon)

Worldstate 1: The Supplanted, the Dissenter, and the Faithful (or, the one where I can't resist romancing cute girls with cute dwarves)

Feryn of House Aeducan, Commander of the Grey, dwarf noble rogue, romanced Leliana, named mabari Dog, made Harrowmont king, sided with the mages, made Alistair king, Alistair is Kieran's father, survived the Blight.

Marian Amell Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall, green/purple human mage, romanced Merrill and Isabela,* killed the Arishok, sided with the mages, Carver became a templar, supported Anders.

Inquisitor Branna First-Thaw Cadash, dwarf rogue, romanced Josephine and Harding,* denied being chosen by the Maker, allied with the mages, kept Celene on the throne, rebuilt Wardens, Leliana is Divine, vowed to stop Solas, disbanded the Inquisition.

Worldstate 2: The Second, ???, ??? (or, the one where I try to make different choices but will never not side with mages)

Dael Mahariel of Clan Sabrae, Commander of the Grey, Dalish elf mage,* romanced Alistair, named mabari Iloren, made Bhelen king, sided with the mages, made Anora queen, Dael is Kieran's mother,* survived the Blight.

*(some of these non-canonical things were achieved with mods, others are just headcanons)

I just finished the main campaign in my second playthrough and will probably start Awakening within the next couple days. Not sure yet what my next Hawke and Inquisitor will be like!