#cadash clan

[andrewknightley]

just 3 dwarves hanging out. nature is healing

[britcision]

Another ficlet for our Four Heralds AU! This one is mostly about our dear wet cat of a Lavellan, Lluciano. It’s pretty early on while everyone’s getting to know each other in the Hinterlands.

Just some first little hints at our collection of backstories

Also, cooking head canons for the early companions 👀

—————

Foraging 

Things were… well, settling felt optimistic with the Breach still in the sky like a jagged green scar, but at least it had stopped growing. 

The Andrastians’ Chantry was trying to kick up trouble in Val Royeaux, and as much as Cadash would have enjoyed pretending they didn’t see why it mattered… yeah, a lot of people followed the Chantry like they had their heads in a bag. 

Blatantly refused to accept that not everyone else did, which was great when you had three “heralds of Andraste”, none of whom believed in the prophet, but hey. 

When someone asks if you’ve been touched by their god, you say yes. 

Not that they, Lavellan, or Adaar ever agreed to it. But they could see the wisdom in Leliana’s gentle confirmations, and it made their own denials seem more like humility than “why the fuck is everything about your god”, so that was a win. 

For now, even as much as Josephine fretted, the budding Inquisition had bigger problems than the Chantry coming up with a united stance. They had mouths to feed, too few horses, and roads completely swamped between rogue templars, flighty mages, and just regular bandits out to make everyones’ lives worse. 

Frankly, if they left for Val Royeaux now, the Inquisition’s forces just might melt away behind them. Pure coincidence that this meant flipping off the Lord Chancellor’s self importance every day they rode out to take care of the people, not a bunch of overinflated egos. 

The one thing they were probably never going to have to worry about though? Supplies, especially things like elfroot. 

You couldn’t put Lluciano Lavellan into the woods and expect him not to disappear off every thirty seconds apparently, chasing down a familiar looking leaf or bush. 

And to be fair, Cadash had been a broke ass blacksmith too long to let an accessible ore deposit pass them by, even if it wasn’t enough to make a nail on its own. 

Shit added up, and they’d smelted their own bar stock enough to know what iron could be used. No matter how much Varric or the others bitched, free beat trying to ship through bandit hell. 

They were on their way to scout locations for watch towers, one of their first missions out from Haven when it first came up. 

Corin had asked Lavellan to do his thing, forage around and rustle up something they could turn into a meal. Kid did damn well too, coming back with wild carrots, onions, and even some potatoes. 

Probably half a dozen new strands of elfroot too, but who was counting. 

Cadash had enlisted Varric and Cassandra in to help wash and peel, and been about to start themself when they saw Lluciano just. Bite the fucking potato. Raw. 

They damn near knocked it out of his hand. 

“What the hell are you doing with that?” They snapped, and Lavellan pouted back, clutching his raw. Fucking. Potato. To his chest. 

“It’s not green, it’s fine!” He snapped back, like that made a lick of sense. Corin stared at him for a long moment. 

“You know not poisoning you isn’t a sterling recommendation, right?” They asked dryly. Lluciano rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, but what else am I gonna do? Boil it?” He asked with a huff. 

Corin stared at him a while longer. 

“Yes? Maybe? To make it fucking taste good? Or you could bake it in the fire, cut it up and fry it, literally anything except eating a fucking raw potato?” They demanded. 

Varric scooted away, quietly taking over the stew pot to add his potatoes and water. Cassandra was staring at both of them like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. 

Varric also stole the potato she’d been peeling, but she didn’t seem to notice. 

Equally unaware of their audience, Lluciano rolled his eyes again and went to take a bite from his potato. 

“Yeah, right, and maybe I’ll rub leaves on it.” 

This time Corin did knock the potato out of his hand, just as Cassandra finally broke and asked, 

“Have you never had cooked food?” 

All three were now trying to remember if they’d seen Lavellan eat over the week and a half they’d known him. There must have been something. 

Nothing came to mind. 

The elf huffed, glaring at Cadash but not daft enough to try and arm wrestle a warrior. 

“Of course, that’s how I know it’s gross!” 

“You just bit a raw fucking potato!” Cadash threw both hands into the air. 

Varric quietly relieved them of the bitten potato. It joined its brethren in the pot. 

“I’d rather bite it raw than as a pile of dissolving mush!” Lavellan shouted back, reaching mutinously for a raw onion. 

Cassandra hurried to grab them and pull them away from him. At least it got her back into helping Varric, peeling off the skins and cutting them. 

He gave her a companionable nod, most of his attention still on the show the two heralds were putting on. 

“It isn’t mush if you cook it right!” 

“How else are you supposed to cook it!” 

“Bread.” 

Varric and Cassandra turned sharply, the word their first indication that Solas had returned from his wandering. He set down an armful of wood for the fire and gave them both an inscrutable smile. 

“I have seen Lavellan eating bread.” 

“Absolutely zero chance this is a weird Dalish thing then?” Varric asked with a hint of hope in his voice. 

Solas shrugged, taking a seat and looking over their preparations so far. He pulled a handful of herbs from a pouch, pulled out a frying pan, and tossed the herbs and some oil in before placing it over the fire. 

“Nothing is zero chance. Onions, please.” 

Cassandra carefully scraped the cut onions into his pan and he nodded his appreciation. 

“I’m gonna hope anyway,” Varric muttered, turning his attention to some of the dried meats they carried… and looking thoughtfully at Bianca, “I know some great Dalish cooks. It’d be a tragedy to think a whole clan missed out.”  

It wasn’t like they hadn’t already seen wild goats. 

Solas made a noncommittal noise, stirring carefully at his aromatics with a wooden spoon. 

Cadash and Lavellan were still yelling at each other, and a few minutes later the dwarf stomped over and scowled into the fire. 

“We’re teaching the little fucker what actual food tastes like,” they declared bluntly, casting a decisive eye over the food preparations thus far. 

Apparently everything met with approval, since they turned and just glared back at Lluciano. 

“Empty your pack. All your edible herbs and shit. I cannot fucking believe you grab all of them and never tried them.” They ordered flatly. 

“I have tried them, I chew mint all the time. Most of them are gross though,” Lluciano grumbled, but didn’t hesitate to tip out his pack, “I just grab them for other people.” 

“I wish I were surprised you’d just shoved them in your mouth,” Cassandra said with a sigh, fighting a smile. 

Varric shot Solas a quick look, nodding to the potatoes still boiling away. 

“You good to keep an eye on those?” He asked, hand sliding towards his crossbow. Solas glanced over, noted the gesture, and nodded. 

“Certainly, if it means we’ll get something fresh,” he agreed, glancing from Varric to Corin. “Did you have something specific in mind, Cadash?” 

The other dwarf glanced over at Varric too and nodded. 

“Whatever you can find. I’m not thinking too fancy, whatever you guys were doing’ll work, I just want to make a point.” They shot another glare over their shoulder at Luci. He stuck his tongue out at them. 

Solas nodded, pointing his wooden spoon at Cassandra as Varric headed into the woods. 

“Seeker, I’m sure an educated woman such as yourself knows thyme and yarrow?” He asked. 

Cassandra gave him an odd look for a moment, trying to find some kind of insult, but she was never quite sure with Solas. She was just so used to looking for them. 

“Yes; of course.” She nodded, about to rise and join Lavellan, who had obediently dumped out his pack and begun sorting plants. 

The elf interrupted her with a raised hand, thrusting the requested herbs her way. He did not look impressed. 

“They’re both gross,” he told them bluntly, eyes narrowing when they landed on Solas, “and yarrow is a medicine. It’s not for food.” 

“You think raw potatoes are food,” Corin reminded him, and he huffed but gave Cassandra the requested herbs. 

She gave him back all but a single leaf of the yarrow, glancing at Solas for approval as she returned with her bounty. She got it too, a slight flush rising in the firelight as he smiled broadly. 

“Perfect, Seeker. I admit, I’m increasingly curious to see your own cooking,” he said innocently, sprinkling thyme into the aromatics and not looking at her. 

Cassandra immediately backed up a full three feet, arms wrapping around her knees. 

“Yes. Well. Perhaps you will.” She said awkwardly, glaring into the fire. Solas’ smile took on a smug little edge, and Corin very nearly joined him. 

If ever you wanted Cassandra to back off, a single compliment was usually all it took. 

“We’re all gonna taste each other’s cooking at some point,” Cadash said instead, settling by the fire and taking the attention back off their dear shy warrior woman. “Except Lavellan’s.” 

“Cooking sucks,” Lluciano huffed, sitting as well and folding his arms, pretending he wasn’t sneaking peeks at Solas’ pan. 

It was starting to smell really good. 

“Cooking sucks unless it’s done well,” the elven mage offered as a compromise, pulling out a thin metal fork and stabbing it delicately into a potato. He then transferred it to his hot pan. 

Cadash and Cassandra watched with interest as he carefully moved each cut potato, the oil in the pan hissing and spitting but apparently never touching him. 

“Doing a hash?” Cadash guessed, and got their own little approving smile. 

“Something similar. After all, we don’t want dissolving mush, do we?” He asked innocently, his eyes shifting for a moment to Lluciano. 

Who scowled into the fire, pretending he hadn’t been looking. Sniffing. 

Solas was just about done by the time Varric returned, carrying a nug by its feet. He was grinning too, holding up his prize to show them. 

“Should be plenty for all of us, and some left for tomorrow too. That smells fantastic, by the way. I almost stepped on the damn thing sneaking closer for a sniff,” he added with a nod to Solas, sitting and pulling out a skinning knife. 

Lavellan was watching with more interest than sullenness by now, the smells from the pan at least peaking his curiosity. Varric’s return didn’t do much to distract him. 

Solas gave the dwarf a companionable nod, stirring his pan and expertly flipping it. 

“If you can do a quick filet, I’ll keep the pan hot and do them in the last of the oil and we can add them to the hash. Cadash, plates?”  

The other dwarf scooted theirs and Luci’s over, nodding to Varric as well. 

“Thin strips’ll cook faster. If you wanna take the legs off I can break two down to go in?” They offered. 

Cassandra rose for a moment, going into the packs to retrieve her, Solas, and Varric’s plates as well, bringing them back to the fire. 

“I can do the other two, and we could roast the body instead while we eat?” 

It was a very domestic scene, in stark contrast to the day’s travel and multiple fights. Even Lavellan’s sulking didn’t quite break the mood, although he still looked sceptical when Solas handed him a full plate of fried potatoes, onions, and carrot, seasoned with a tiny sprig of fennel. 

Cadash glared at him until he grabbed his fork and took a reluctant bite. And waved their own fork menacingly as he swallowed it straight. 

“Chew it, you animal.” 

Shooting them a token glare, he took another forkful and chewed as over dramatically as possible. 

His eyes widened. 

Solas, now frying the nug strips Cassandra and Corin had prepared, looked unbelievably smug. He dropped a finished strip onto Lluciano’s plate as the elf took another hesitant bite. 

“Try with the nug,” he prompted gently, the soft side that usually only came when talking about his travels in the Fade briefly visible. 

It startled Varric and Cassandra, who hadn’t really bothered talking to him about magic much. 

Lavellan obediently stuffed the whole strip into his mouth along with the veg, now chewing harder because his mouth was overfull, not to be a little shit. 

By the time he finally swallowed his expression was open awe, staring at his companions in real, genuine disbelief. If any of them thought he’d been lying about not eating cooked food before… 

“But… but how did you do that?” He asked, staring from Solas to his plate. “Those were just the potatoes I brought you, and you made them all…” words failed him and he gestured vaguely with his fork. 

Cadash’s worry-disguised-as-irritation melted away into still worried amusement. 

“Delicious, thanks Solas. Seriously though Luci, you’ve never seen cooking before?” It was a little hard to imagine, but easier than any other possible explanations. 

Lluciano shrugged, shovelling in another big bite of hash. He seemed more sheepish than upset now, and more than happy to eat. Which made it all more genuine.

“Well I saw my parents boil everything, and I knew other people in the clan cooked but I thought they must be getting different food,” he explained quietly. 

That answered a few questions, really. Varric grimaced in sympathy, reaching around to pat Lavellan on the shoulder. 

“Sorry to be the ones to break it to you, kid… boiling just doesn’t get the same depth of flavour,” he offered, and Lluciano frowned at him in confusion. 

“You boiled the potatoes,” he pointed out. Varric glanced over to Solas. 

“It’s a good way to get them started cooking, so the middle is ready before the frying burns the outside,” the older elf explained magnanimously, dishing out more slices of nug. 

Lluciano nodded slowly, taking careful spoonfuls at a slightly less breakneck pace now that people expected him to talk too. 

“So… could you show me? This is a lot better than raw,” he asked hesitantly, just the most adorable puppy hope in his eyes. 

“Which is why we’re making sure you don’t just raw dog your dinner again while you’re with us,” Cadash grumbled, pointing at him with their spoon. “I can show you a few things.” 

“I believe we all could,” Solas agreed genially, nodding to the group as a whole. “Perhaps you’ll be ready to make us dinner in turn by the time we return to Haven.” 

That definitely brightened Lluciano up and he nodded earnestly, digging back into his food with vigour. 

The others followed suit, possibly thinking about what they’d like to try and teach an elf whose previous options had been “boiled” or “raw”. 

At least it’d give them something else to do while they got those watchtowers set up. 

—————

And a link back to the master post for organisational purposes

[brekkie-e]

This is a PSA: Wycome is on the border of Antiva.

Don't believe me? Look:

My bestie @dalish-kunoichi and I went through the trippy experience last month of discovering our perception of Northern Thedas's map was in no way based in reality. This lead to many fun geographical discoveries, not the least of which was the proximity of Wycome to Antiva. Quick disclaimer, I have a lot of headcanons, but I am in no way an expert on language. Nor am I claiming to be the keeper of all DA lore.

:readmore:

Now, upon further scouring over the map, I think this really hammers home how much the British accent (in its' varying forms) for the Free Marchers simply does not make sense. Yes, they are North of Ferelden. They are also across a sea. Every country bordering the Free Marches is shown with a thick accent in some capacity. Are they consistent? Not always. Do they make sense? Perhaps not. But for the most part, accents all around.

This is my justification for arguing that characters from the Free Marches should for the most part be bilingual at the minimum, and have more diverse accents than simply "insert fantasy British stereotype." This extends to Trevelyan, Cadash, and Adaar mostly but also many of the people we meet in DA2.

For a Lavellan, the situation becomes a little trickier. There are so many ways for Dalish accents to be developed. The base is Elvhen, but after spending years in Tevinter the dialect would grow into something new over time.

I have a selfish little headcanon that Dalish vs Elvhen is essentially Yiddish vs Hebrew. Considering the other Jewish influences in the Elven storyline, I feel like Im justified, and will continue to run with it. Also I dislike the fact that the vast majority of Dalish clans in the series are only given snippets of Elven language because they "lost it" over time. That would make sense if they had completely assimilated back into Orlais after the Exhaulted Marches. But they didn't, and remain seperate to this day. So the fact that their primary language is "Thedas common" feels like a gap in the lore that I headcanon away. There are many arguments for their language now being a combination of Ancient Elvhen and other languages, but for it to be widdled down to nothing but a few phrases feels unrealistic.

That being said, considering Clan Lavellan travels as far as the Antivan border, there is nothing to say they don't migrate even further through the years. They roam. They could spend years in the Free Marchesnand also years in Antiva. There is a good chance they atleast learned the languages of the surrounding areas if they were indeed trading with humans as frequently as canon suggest. Therefore, consider, bilingual Lavellans who's primary languages are Dalish Elven and Antivan.

I think it would be really interesting both on how that frees up a lot of room for cool headcanons about your characters accent, but also because it would change the politics of the game. It briefly touches upon the "Inquisition is a foreign power sitting with an army on the border" in Trespasser. However, the impact it could have on the player's perception of the situation if the Inquisitor is walking through Fereldan, and sounds like Josephine and Zevran. For role-playing purposes, there is now another visible element of your characters story to connect with. They have travelled a long way and are far from their home and loved ones. Sure, that is true regardless of the presence of an accent. But it is an element that is pretty much untouched in the narrative. And it would be a huge emptional impact for many characters to be trapped in a foreign land, forced to become the "great savior of the world" while so far away from all you know and love. I mean they go into how homesick Josie, Dorian, and Varric are. Why would the Inquisitor feel any different?

It also helps raise the stakes of the Winter Palace. For many Inquisitors, the writers relied on the racial issue to make your character be seen as "other" in that mission. But with politics, your place of origin can be just as much of a setback. So doing things to highlight the many ways the Inquisitor is a foreigner at this ball would have added missing depth.

To a lot of new players, the scenario presented in the game almost encourages you to miss the fact the Inquisitor is just as much from a different country as Josie, Cass, and Dorian. Despite having more in common with them geographically than anyone in Fereldan. Now, I get that there is a responsibility to the fan to educate yourself on the other games if you are coming in to a series in the 3rd installment. But things like this fall to the wayside often even for long term fans, like myself. There's areas of the game that could help reinforce your lore and foster an understanding of the setting better, and this is an area that I think fails to do that.

Also, I just think elves and dwarves and qunari with Spanish accents are amazing. I want more of them.

[dragonagekeeper]

Dragon Age Inquisition Polls

See choice descriptions from Dragon Age Keep below

Adaar

You are Tal-Vashoth, a Qunari who has rejected the Qun and never even lived in Qunari lands. As part of the Valo-kas mercenary company, you have earned a living by your own wits and the strength of your blade, ignoring the fearful looks you receive from those around you.

2. Cadash

A cast-off "surfacer," unwelcome among the dwarves or most humans, you have scraped by as part of a criminal fraternity known as the Carta, smuggling magical ore known as lyrium. As part of the ruthless Cadash crime family, you spent your life on the streets of various Free Marcher city-states.

3. Lavellan

If Mage:

The Dalish are nomadic wanderers who strive to keep the ancient elven religion and traditions alive. You grew up in the wilderness, a member of the Lavellan Dalish clan and apprentice to its leader and guide, the Keeper.

If Rogue or Warrior:

The Dalish are nomadic wanderers who strive to keep the ancient elven religion and traditions alive. You were raised in the wilderness to be a hunter, relied upon by the Lavellan clan for food and protection.

4. Trevelyan

If Mage:

Born to the Trevelyan noble family of Ostwick in the Free Marches, you were originally intended for a life of privilege—until magical abilities surfaced at a young age and you were forced into a life of confinement within Ostwick's Circle of Magi. Protected but stifled, educated but isolated, the Circle would have been your entire future had the mages not rebelled against Chantry rule.

If Rogue or Warrior:

As the youngest child of the Trevelyan noble house, you grew up in the Free Marcher city of Ostwick and have enjoyed a life of privilege. With close family ties to the Chantry, and many relatives among the priesthood and the templars, you were always expected to follow a similar path in service of the Maker.

[choccy-zefirka]

We previously had a whole Discourse Session about x reader fic on this blog, but I just saw this in visual form on my dashboard (Blorbo hugging/kissing a greyed-out silhouette instead of the artist's OC), and I am back to thinking how being expected to insert my OC into the author-prepared slot is not my thing (and makes me a bit sad, actually) because... all my OCs fall for their love interest, even if it's the same person, for different reasons.

Isk and Wyll are childhood friends who keep being torn apart by circumstances but inevitably find each other. Mariposa and Wyll are gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast; he is the radiant guiding light that inspires her to rise above her Dark Urge. Wilhelm is a classic sad dad, so his partners Wyll and Karlach help him find joy and whimsy in life again. Or, for example, Alyrr stirs Halsin's heart because she is kind to him, while Cinder falls for Halsin because he is kind to *her*; same goes for Niamh and Zevlor vs Dee and Zevlor.

Likewise, in other fandoms, Azelma Cadash and Blackwall initially despise each other because she thinks he's a boring straight-laced fuddy duddy, and he thinks she's a spoiled princess luxuriating in her father's crime spoils and wearing a Stop Being Poor T-shirt, but as their friendship progresses, each discovers that the other is a more nuanced person than their first impressions might suggest. While Naali Adaar teams up with him as Protector of the Small, and Adiba Adaar turns his head with her incredible Nerd Powers (Nana Lavellan is somewhere at the intersection of that, because she is both a nerd and a professional babysitter in her clan). Thraer Aeducan bonds with Morrigan like a golden retriever excitedly following her around; and Revas Mahariel sits across the room from her like they are a cat and she is also a cat, slowly getting accustomed to each other. Nella Amell gets to Zevran with her sweetness and faith in people, and Zevran gets to Brianna Cousland with his roguish charms, even as she appears to have hidden herself behind a wall of ice and grief.

Alisa Shepard is a neurotic perfectionist, Natalie Shepard is an enthusiastic, confident space adventurer; Garrus loves each of them. And in my newest obsession, Cyberpunk, my current rough and tough but secretly artistic street kid V is going to employ different tactics when convincing Takemura to ditch Arasaka through the power of love (shhh, let me have my headcanon) compared to a hyper-stressed, disillusioned corpo V and a happy-go-lucky nomad V I also have planned. And so on and so on and so on.

Can all these different love stories truly be expressed through x reader fics? Even if x reader is mostly focused on smut, I am not sure how much maneuvering you can do while leaving it generic. Again, going back to my own OCs, Arryn Lavellan, a hot-headed 20-something Dalish First, is a virgin who pretends to be sexually experienced to win Respect Points, and then learns the lesson that he did not have to do that; while Elgara Lavellan, a Circle mage and ex-Tranquil, is also a virgin due to her life circumstances, and her lesson is that there's no shame in having a "first time" after 40. Cinder the Tav is a half-Orc, half-Tiefling, used to being fetishized by intimate partners because of her appearance, so she gets her mind blown when Halsin worships her body as a great gift of nature. Laulu the Tav is a half-Orc, half-Halfling, a humble farm girl with dreams of someone who will love her for her, not her glamorous elf bard persona (courtesy of Disguise Self), so she gets *her* mind blown when Gale takes her, the real her, on a journey through the stars. But Amaya, a full Halfling this time, is a vengeful paladin who used to be married to an evil wizard that entrapped her in illusions of love and bliss in order to manipulate her to do his bidding, so she opts for the humble tryst in the woods, blowing *Gale's* mind this time as he realizes that he can be wanted for more than his magic. So for all of them, even smut will flow differently.

Some anons I got argued that inserting your OC into a love story focused on a canon character is too self-centered; you have to give other people a chance to imagine *their* OCs in this blank spot! And I guess it works for some people (a lot of people, in fact), but I would rather write stories and make art about specific OCs and read stories and admire art with *your* specific OCs and all the endless ways they can kiss that Blorbo.

[thiefbird]

Prompts!

Hey guys, I've decided to start taking writing prompts (read: please dear god send me writing prompts i love you all)!

Here are a list of prompt sets:

Unreal Unearth prompts

Smutty One-Liner prompts

Tarot Whump prompts

Angry Confession prompts

Sex Tropes prompts

Jealousy Dialogue starters

Breakup/Dramatic Dialogue prompts

Kiss prompts

Enemies To Lovers prompts

Boat Guy Shibari prompts

Or just send me lyrics to songs you like!

Things I'd love to write:

Temeraire

Jane Roland & Will Laurence or Jane/Laurence

Emily Roland & Will Laurence

John Granby/ Will Laurence

Tenzing Tharkay/Will Laurence

John Granby/Tenzing Tharkay (or Granby/Tharkay/Laurence)

Hornblower

Sir Edward Pellew/Horatio Hornblower

Hotspur Husbands

Renown Trio (platonic and/or romantic and/or sexual)

Horatio Hornblower & Maria maybe? I love complicated marriages

Aubreyad

Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin (or Jack & Stephen)

Jack Aubrey/Sophie Williams

Stephen Maturin/Diana Villiers

Sophie Williams & Stephen Maturin

Diana Villiers & Jack Aubrey (or possibly Diana/Jack)

Diana/Stephen/Jack maybe?

DIANA VILLIERS/CLARISSA OAKES

General Aubrey-Maturin clan domesticity

Also someone suggested this in a thread I was reading and I am Intrigued: Horatio Hornblower/Stephen Maturin

And my other nonexistent rarepair, Jane Roland/Diana Villiers

Dragon Age

Anders/anyone (but especially Fenris, Justice, Karl, Nathaniel, or Hawke or the HoF, whether one of mine or one of yours)

m!Solavellan

Bull/Lavellan, Bull/Cadash, or Bull/Adaar

Alistair/HoF

Alistair/Zevran

Morrigan/HoF

Morrigan/Leliana

Send me your weird rarepairs! I will at least give them a shot

Mass Effect

Shepard/Garrus

Shepard/Thane

Shepard/Garrus/Thane

Shepard/Liara

Ryder/Jaal

Ryder/Vetra

Jaal/Evfra

Doctor Who extended universe

Nine/Rose

Nine/Jack/Rose

Jack/Ianto

Jack/Ianto/Gwen

Ten/Rose or Tentoo/Rose

Also Hannigram and Symbrock!

[antiqua-lugar]

there has been a bunch of posts recently about the inquisitor being erased by the narrative and a bunch of posts about how this means that the inquisitor can never come back from "being the inquisitor" and I agree

BUT

like it's not going to happen because in the end this is bioware's sandbox and if they decide that the inquisitor is gonna be in veilguard then the inquisitor is going to show up in veilguard even if you think your inquisitor would let the world burn and good riddance

BUT

one could make the argument that because the inquisitor is a symbol, because the inquisitor is so much larger than life, because the inquisitor as an individual doesn't fucking matter, they can leave, because no one knows who they actually are. like it's not without risks but if lavellan paces out and goes back to their clan (or any clan) is anyone going to find them? do people even know what lavellan looks like? did anyone in this chantry-led, shamlen-run institution even bother to pay attention to their vasillin? when cadash or adaar was the herald of andraste in haven all bull had to do was throw some shitty clothes on them as camouflage. when you get to the winter palace, people are surprised about who the inquisitor actually is.

once you disband the inquisition and peace out, how many people can actually pick out cadash out of a line-up when so much about the inquistion has been about erasing everything about them except some vague "idk some dwarf. i think he's a ginger"? like when josephine interviews you she's not doing it to get the story straight, she's doing it to know what to hide, what to emphasize, how to rebuild your whole identity to someone who is not you anymore.

[anneapocalypse]

1, 2, 4, 8, 19 for the dav meme!

Veilguard Hype Ask Meme!

What was the first Dragon Age game you played?

Origins! I've been here since the beginning. Alongside Fallout 3, it was one of the first RPG video games that absolutely ate my brain. I have fond memories of sitting on my futon playing DAO for like 16 hours straight, forgetting to eat and destroying my back.

2. Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

This is always such a hard question for me to answer, because the three games are all so different, and I have deeply fond memories of all three of them, and I can also look at all three pretty frankly and see their flaws even as I still enjoy them. I think if I have to name a favorite though, it's still Dragon Age 2. Something about its structure and scale, the creative and unusual use of place and time, and its themes, really appeals to me. I've also come to really like the personality lock-in feature even though it does place some limitations on role-playing, and I love the friendship-rivalry system. I love it so much. I think it makes for much more interesting character relationships than simply "Does this character approve or disapprove of my actions?" Are there things about the other games that I prefer, of course. I want to be able to play as an elf or a dwarf or a qunari, for one. But even after all this time, DA2 still hits me a certain way. I love the other two games as well. There's just something about Kirkwall.

4. What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

So I have like five or six world states and I don't consider any one of them more canon than the others, but I will be going into Veilguard for the first time with Rogues Gallery, which is exactly what it sounds like (and which means the one thing I know about my Rook is they'll be a rogue), featuring Jolene Cousland, Mallory Hawke, and Calla Cadash.

Basic rundown:

The Circle was saved, Connor and Isolde both lived, Zathrian broke the curse, and Harrowmont is King of Orzammar.

Jo romanced Alistair and convinced him to do the Dark Ritual.

They stayed Grey Wardens and rode off into the sunset together.

Anora is Queen of Ferelden.

Nathaniel is alive.

The Architect was spared.

Vigil's Keep and Amaranthine were protected.

Jo went off alone to find a cure for the Calling, and Alistair was left in the Fade.

Carver is dead, Bethany is alive and a Grey Warden.

Mal romanced Isabela. (In my headcanon, they later become a polycule with Merrill but of course that's not in the game.)

She rivaled everyone except the rogues and Merrill.

Bartrand is dead. Varric kept a piece of the idol.

Aveline did not marry Donnic.

Feynriel went to the Dalish, and then to Tevinter.

Clan Sabrae was killed.

Merrill did not destroy the Eluvian.

Mal refused to take any kind of a stand until the very end of Act III where she heaved a big sigh and sided with the mages.

She disapproved of Anders' actions but spared his life.

Mal is still alive and kicking.

Calla romanced Josephine.

She conscripted the rebel mages and the Grey Wardens.

Alistair was left in the Fade.

I left off with her right before Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, so I am not sure of her decisions from her onward! But I do plan to finish this playthrough before Veilguard comes out. :)

8. What faction are you most excited to learn more about?

I'm pretty hype about all of them, but I'd say the Lords of Fortune and the Veil Jumpers the most since we know the least about them!

19. Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime?

I do plan to finish my current playthrough of Inquisition (Calla's playthrough) which is still incomplete. Beyond that, maybe I'll re-read some of my favorite Tevinter Nights stories. I spent about three years (2020-2023) playing the whole series on repeat like 5-6 times and reading and watching all the side content I could get my hands on, so... I'm probably good on that front. ;)

Final Fantasy XIV is getting a new expansion, Dawntrail, in just a couple weeks, so that should occupy a good chunk of my summer, and I expect I'll be ready to play some more Dragon Age in the fall in preparation for Veilguard! (Would love to get an actual release date, though.)

[queenaeducan]

Questions for Thora: 4- attitude towards Andrastianism? 18- do they have any irrational fears?

Questions for your Hawke: 6- attitude towards the Qun? 16- do they get sentimental about their weapons or armour?

Questions for your Warden: 13- their thoughts on the Grey Warden order? 23- do they have, or want to have, children? 23-a: if they want to have children, what do you do with the obscure lore that wardens have impaired fertility? (obviously "I ignore it as the Maker intended" is a valid response according to me)

DA Worldstate Questions!

Thora Cadash

4. attitude towards Andrastianism?

Thora is Andrastian- or rather, she believes in both the Stone and the Maker. This is based on some lore that I believe is from Orzammar discussing how the two don't contradict each other (so really Cass should be asking Cadash if there's not room for the Maker in their lives rather than Lavellan).

Her attitude towards Andrastianism is different from her attitude towards the Chantry. She believes in and finds strength in Andraste and her story, perhaps in many ways more than in the Maker. The Chant gives her strength and she loves to sing it. When it comes to the Chantry, she has always felt excluded from it. She might have joined it had she been allowed (and in her companion verses if Leliana is Divine she may serve her), but over time she comes to be more critical of it. Kirkwall taught her to question the Circle, and Inquisition drives those questions to the root of the problem. She does want to believe it can change and supports Leliana in pursuit of that change.

18. do they have any irrational fears?

Not really. She's afraid of deep water and dogs. In the Nightmare she doesn't see spiders, but her companions as they appeared in the Red Lyrium future. All of those fears have some pretty solid basis. Her biggest thing that impacts her day-to-day is that blood/corpses make her ill despite death being part of her job, but again I can't really call that irrational, just unusual for adventuring fantasy protagonists.

Sylvia Hawke

6. attitude towards the Qun?

Definitely not for her. She is more or less the Arishok's foil, undisciplined and chaotic to his control and order.

Her attitude to it at large is less negative than you might expect, in part due to the grudging respect she comes to hold for the Arishok. She also can't say she's a fan of the natural conclusion of its enforcement, which is to say: the conquering of the south. While she had sympathy for the situation of the qunari, after she discovers why they really stuck around so long she found them a little pitiable. She'd fled her home because of the Blight, they were in exile over a book.

16. do they get sentimental about their weapons or armour?

Not at all. She likes to add little touches that she carries from one piece to the next, but isn't attached to any kind. Ironically, in her playthrough I do end up having the same robes through most of act 2 and 3 (robes of the notorious pirate) because there are only a handful of pants for mages in DA2 and Sylvia just isn't a dressy robe person. So she isn't sentimental, but she is picky.

Tamar Aeducan

(Tamar isn't my OC, but my spouse's, but she is my worldstate Warden and the one I'm carrying to DA4).

13. their thoughts on the Grey Warden order?

Tamar is realistic about it. She takes her duties seriously, but finds a lot about the Order to criticise. She had a poor relationship with Clarel when they were both still alive, and is more likely to grant Solas his due in his criticisms than Ian, who holds the Order up on a pedestal. Tamar also is willing to play a little loose with the rules- for example, during Ian's recruitment in DA:O she "recruits" him with no intention of having him Join, letting him go back to his clan after the Archdemon's defeat.

23. do they have, or want to have, children?

She doesn't have any. Tamar has issues conceiving even in verses where she isn't a Warden, like our Modern Thedas verse. She does want them, as does Gorim, but there isn't room for one in her life as Warden-Commander. In Modern Thedas they do adopt, though!

[the-cryptographer]

Alternate pitches for the da3 with extra mage rebellion, elf and dwarf focused respectively:

You are playing as a member of Clan Lavellan, either as First or a non-mage in an unofficial position of junior administration. Your clan is trying to move their herds and wagons to better grazing pastures, but there are unexpected difficulties, as some stupid mage rebellion has made the land you must cross into a battlefield. And, worse, through some series of shenanigans, you’re starting to empathise with some of the stupid people involved. It's a resource management survival game, with adventuring portions where you go exploring for ruins and resources. And where you have to make decisions about whether your clan can afford to take in mage refugees, or templars going through drug withdrawl, and then manage and judge personal conflicts that happen between members of the clan and those you've taken in.

Alternatively-!

You are playing as an ex-member of House Cadash and current member of the Carta, again in a position of junior administration. The Carta of course makes its money smuggling lyrium. And the official side of Orzammar makes a significant amount of money on comparatively legal sales of lyrium to the Chantry. But the mage rebellion and collapse of the circles has essentially collapsed current infrastructure. The chantry and circles are no longer in a position to be a stable trade partner to Orzammar, because they are in massive states of upheaval. But there is an extreme increase in the demand for lyrium from the templars and rebel mages, but organising and maintaining trade routes and supply lines through dangerous war zones has become both increasingly risky and profitable. A liaison from the legal side of Orzammar's lyrium trade approaches you with an offer to work together, in light of the changing political and economic situation. Again, it's a resource management survival game, with adventuring portions where you have to personally see to the arrangement of supply lines. And similarly, you run into destitute rebel mages and templars suffering drug withdrawls that you must decide whether to take the risk of helping.

[crossdressingdeath]

The way DAI doesn't really acknowledge how important the Conclave would've been for everyone in southern Thedas drives me nuts. It's very much treated as something that's just about the Circle and the Templars, but... it's not? It's not, though.

The Chantry controls basically every aspect of life in Thedas. People outside of its direct influence (the Avvar, the Chasind, the Dalish...) have to live on the fringes of society and frequently run from or fight Chantry people just to stay free. A Divine Conclave deciding whether or not mages deserve to be free is something that everyone would care about the results of! The only group without a personal reason to be very very invested in the Conclave are the dwarfs, and even then the lyrium trade with the Chantry means that they still have very good reason to care about what happens, since if the mages win the system would absolutely change (and even if the Templars win that'll only delay more problems rather than solve anything seeing as the Circle system is fundamentally untenable, but whatever). Cadash is a lyrium smuggler there to keep an eye on the outcome for the Carta specifically because of how important this is (and if Bioware had gotten into that we could've had an interesting moral struggle for Cadash where it would be better for them for the Templars to win in terms of the lyrium trade that is a huge chunk of their livelihood but they might morally prefer the mages to win what with them being objectively in the right and all, but noooooo...). Mage Adaar also has a very good reason to care what happens: as an apostate mages being given the right to live freely would change a lot about how they live, but as far as I'm aware that doesn't really... come up.

But the best example of this is Lavellan, because the game treats Clan Lavellan sending them to spy on the Conclave as a sign that Clan Lavellan is unusually keyed into politics (by which they mean human politics, the Dalish would absolutely have their own politics that no one outside of the Dalish ever so much as acknowledges the existence of in-game, but whatever), but... no! The fuck! The people whose clans are run by mages have a deep and pressing reason to want the Circle to come out on top in the Conclave that has very little to do with politics, because if it's recognized that mages have the right to live freely then the Dalish don't have to live in fear on the fringes of society! ...Or at least not as much. If the Templars can't drag mages away from their family and lock them in a cage forever just for being mages, the Dalish don't have to worry about their Keepers being seen by outsiders and don't have to limit the mages in the clan as much because the fact that the Templars can just kidnap and murder their people with zero repercussions absolutely has shaped a huge amount of how they live! Of course the Dalish care about the outcome of the Conclave; they have an extremely good reason to want the Templars to lose! I feel like if nothing else Lavellan should've been sent following a decision by the Arlathvhen rather than just their one individual clan, because again: this is something that all the Dalish would absolutely be aware of and want to keep an eye on, and possibly want to interfere with to ensure the outcome is beneficial. Plus that would allow for some fun characterization re how they feel about having potentially the future of their people placed on their shoulders; that's a huge thing that would impact how Quiz sees both the outcome of the Conclave and their role as Herald of Andraste and Inquisitor. And see again my idea that it would've been really good to allow for the possibility that Quiz was sent with the intention of them assassinating Justinia to shake things up, or even potentially destroying the Conclave itself, if it looked like the Chantry was coming down on the wrong side. Even mage Adaar—despite being there because they were hired—has a good reason to want to sway the outcome in the mages' favour! In fact I can't see why they'd take the risk of coming to a place full of Templars if they didn't want to try to do something, because that's... y'know, insanely risky, especially since the lack of any Qunari in the Circles we see suggests that Qunari/Tal-Vashoth/Vashoth mages don't tend to survive getting captured.

And the way Justinia didn't involve any other factions except for the Templars and Circle mages says a lot more about her than I think Bioware intended it to, because again: all these people have very good reason to want one side or the other to win, and Justinia refuses to let them so much as have a look in to the point where the Carta and the Dalish have to sneak people in as spies to so much as know the outcome ahead of the general population. Hell, the fact that there's no mention of either side having allies is a massive oversight! Maybe it's because most of the people of Thedas who aren't the standard Andrastian would actually be more likely to side with the mages and Bioware didn't want to admit that...

Basically at the end of the day, Adaar, Cadash and especially Lavellan have just as big a reason to care about the mage rebellion and the Conclave as Trevelyan does (and potentially more so; non-mage Trevelyan might not have any personal stake in it depending on how firmly they believe in the cause they were given to)... but only Trevelyan's opinions on it are ever really treated as important. And that's a huge problem, because it misses the fact that the Chantry's power over Thedas means that no matter how much Quiz hates the Chantry and how non-Andrastian they are, the Conclave would have a huge impact on their life. How do you write a fake Christianity that controls everything and fail to recognize that that means all of this is going to matter to every potential protagonist?

[mightymizora]

Self-indulgent post ahead but the more I write Glim and Gale the more I get why they're so complimentary. Under the cut because it's long and who is actually interested in that XD

I never go into my first playthroughs with a goal of who to romance (Blackwall was the bottom of the pile for my Cadash which seems wild now!) but usually I click in pretty quickly into what makes the dynamic interesting. Alistair being a new Second for my Aeducan and the tension of her being his first love vs him being a replacement for Gorim, Hawke dabbling in blood magic from a place of cynicism and falling for Merrill who is an expert and full of light, Meroia and Aloth being friends for years and slowly realising that they both need to be more chill about duties and the past and enjoy their lives in the present, Gennol actually ending up hunting Fen'Harel after fifty years hunting for her clan.

But the threads between Glim and Gale are finer. There's the surface things; they both love poetry and reading, they have natural talents, and bards and wizards are lovely foils. But the thing that interests me about them are their differences. Gale is all expectation. He comes from a wealthy family with connections. He has every opportunity, living in Waterdeep and having access to all that being from a wealthy house in the city brings. He becomes an Archmage, and a Chosen. His life is a trajectory up. But Glim? She is constantly fighting the expectations forced on her. Deep Gnomes don't have cultural landmarks like humans do; their existence is survival. To even be a bard is ridiculous. They have no shared songs, no libraries, and their greatest city has been destroyed. She lives in one of the most culturally significant cities in Faerun, Silverymoon, and has the access to the university there, but lives a community of less than 1000 people who are only 100 years into being a community there, and only have real connections to each other and the other communities forced up from the Underdark. She fought for her right to her education, literally, by paying for tuition by running dangerous missions back into the place they fled. People think she's from the Underdark, that she must be cruel, calculating, a trickster. Or worse, that she is completely expendable, just like all gnomes. One of the forgotten folk.

Everything Gale has been praised for, encouraged in, is seen as an indulgence or a silly quirk in her, but he takes her seriously. He holds her up and says no, you are a remarkable person, just as you are. And then, when she learns about what happened with Mystra, she has the opportunity to do exactly the same thing back to him.

And they fight about this! She hates that he is willing to throw everything away because he feels defeated! He loathes how careless she can be with herself when she feels like she doesn't matter and lets herself fade into darkness.

And just as he is a mix of, in his eyes at least, arrogance in his craft and a deep lack of self-worth, she is a mix of a deep love for the beauty that music brings her and the ever-present sense that she can never be anything but the nature of her people, that she will always default to a cruel, brutal way of life. They constantly pull each other from the edges of the void, just by seeing something beautiful and simple in each other.

[breadedsinner]

I am getting a very vague idea where Rota, in order to get Thom out of Orlesian prison, does something she never wanted to do; go back to the Carta for a favor. They can pull some strings, they always can, but this above just her clan. So she has to do a number of dubious "tasks" to earn such a big favor.... not sure what those would be yet.

This of course has almost everyone else in the Inner Circle flabbergasted. Understandably Josephine would be pulling her hair out trying to prevent a PR nightmare; this idea that Cadash is as bad, or worse, than people first believe.

Then of course everyone is asking why would you something like this. This is late game, too, you risking destroying your good reputation for a liar and a murderer. Thom does not deserve all you're doing.

And she would simply say it's not about deserving.

Maybe it could go back and forth in time, as Tether does. While the "present" keeps moving, it will go around, from Rota's past in the Carta, to her important events and conversations that are slowly changing her perspective.

Idk what do you think? is this anything?

[choccy-zefirka]

I remembered that I had once made Yvie and her parents (and also her sister Julie, not shown here) in the Sims!

Yvie's dad is city elf called Fabian Lavellan (in this case, his last name is supposed to be derived from the Old French word villein, meaning "peasant tending the fields for a feudal landlord"). And her mom is Arielle Kader, a dwarf whose family basically adopted Fabian when he came to their village seeking farm work away from a big city alienage.

That's why Fabian took Arielle's last name when they got married, and both Yvie and Julie are officially referred to as Kader (in fact, Julie is The Warden Kader in Awakening, the Hero of Ferelden Revas Mahariel having fucked off into the sunset with Morrigan and Kieran). I do sometimes tag/refer to Yvie as a Lavellan for convenience; and also, on rarer occasions, as a Cadash, to reflect her half-dwarf heritage, but she really has nothing to do with the Cadash clan.

[thiefbird]

Prompts!

Hello my dearest friends! Just updating my prompt list a little!

Here are a list of prompt sets:

Unreal Unearth prompts

Smutty One-Liner prompts

Tarot Whump prompts

Angry Confession prompts

Sex Tropes prompts

Jealousy Dialogue starters

Breakup/Dramatic Dialogue prompts

Kiss prompts

Enemies To Lovers prompts

Boat Guy Shibari prompts

Or just send me lyrics to songs you like!

Things I'd love to write:

Aubreyad

Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin (or Jack & Stephen)

Jack Aubrey/Sophie Williams

Stephen Maturin/Diana Villiers

Sophie Williams & Stephen Maturin

Diana Villiers & Jack Aubrey (or possibly Diana/Jack)

Diana/Stephen/Jack maybe?

DIANA VILLIERS/CLARISSA OAKES

General Aubrey-Maturin clan domesticity

Also someone suggested this in a thread I was reading and I am Intrigued: Horatio Hornblower/Stephen Maturin

And my other nonexistent rarepair, Jane Roland/Diana Villiers

The Terror S1

Francis Crozier/James Fitzjames

Francis Crozier/Thomas Jopson

Francis Crozier/Sir James Clark Ross

Cornelius Hickey/[pick your poison] (it will be fucked up ofc)

Temeraire

Jane Roland & Will Laurence or Jane/Laurence

Emily Roland & Will Laurence

John Granby/ Will Laurence

Tenzing Tharkay/Will Laurence

John Granby/Tenzing Tharkay (or Granby/Tharkay/Laurence)

Hornblower

Sir Edward Pellew/Horatio Hornblower

Hotspur Husbands

Renown Trio (platonic and/or romantic and/or sexual)

Horatio Hornblower & Maria maybe? I love complicated marriages

Dragon Age

Anders/anyone (but especially Fenris, Justice, Karl, Nathaniel, or Hawke or the HoF, whether one of mine or one of yours)

m!Solavellan

Bull/Lavellan, Bull/Cadash, or Bull/Adaar

Alistair/HoF

Alistair/Zevran

Morrigan/HoF

Morrigan/Leliana

Send me your weird rarepairs! I will at least give them a shot

Mass Effect

Shepard/Garrus

Shepard/Thane

Shepard/Garrus/Thane

Shepard/Liara

Ryder/Jaal

Ryder/Vetra

Jaal/Evfra

Doctor Who extended universe

Nine/Rose

Nine/Jack/Rose

Jack/Ianto

Jack/Ianto/Gwen

Ten/Rose or Tentoo/Rose

Also Hannigram and Symbrock!

[anneapocalypse]

All my Inquisitors and the state of their arms:

Eleanor Trevelyan: No prosthetic; she was offered several, tried them all, and wasn't physically or mentally comfortable with them. Her right hand is her staff hand, off-hand casts with her residual limb. She experiences mild to moderate phantom pain.

Lorien Lavellan: No prosthetic. After Trespasser, Deshanna dies and she returns to her clan to take her place as Keeper and protect them from the Dread Wolf. She leaves her arm un-augmented and very visible, which is a deliberate choice and a statement on her part. Right hand is her staff hand, off-hand casts with her residual limb. She experiences a lot of phantom limb pain. Certain types of magic seem to make it worse. She does not know why.

Astaarit-Asaara Adaar: Left hand was previously his staff hand, but he had already been re-training to use his right because of pain and other issues caused by the anchor. Has experimented with a few types of practical prostheses for specific applications, but uses them infrequently. He experiences moderate nerve and phantom limb pain; it comes and goes.

Theodore Trevelyan: Had to completely re-train as an archer after losing his arm, which was a painful and difficult process. Experimented with a custom-built bow that connected to a prosthetic grip, but due to the length of the residual limb, the positioning was difficult to get right and it put extra strain on his shoulder and caused pain in his residual limb, and he had a lot of difficulty until it was suggested that his bow be runed to reduce weight. This eventually worked, though it was a frustrating process to get right and re-adjust his body to the changes in balance and coordination. Out of combat, he sometime wears a prosthetic for cosmetic reasons, but does not find them especially useful. He is still very self-conscious about his arm.

Calla Cadash: Uses a prosthetic with a dagger attachment exclusively for combat. She uses that side mostly to parry, as direct impact and pressure on her residual limb can cause bad nerve pain. Out of combat, she doesn't use a prosthetic. Will always show off the arm upon polite request, or better yet, buying her a drink.