#Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange 2017

[dragonagefanevents]

Dragon Age Fan Event Listings

The beauty of fan events is that they are run by fans.

Including you.

▸What are the types of fan events? - #education

▸Start a new event! - #how tos (volunteer to write for us!)

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Below is a list of all Dragon Age fan-run events we can find. The links should bring you to the most recent iteration of the event. Where possible, the time period the event covers is listed next to the event.

Want to get an event listed? Check out the link and submit. Look here for multi-fandom events, or more events in general.

Event Masterlist - #compendium

Bangs

25k Big Bang (July - November)

10k Big Bang (March - April)

Dragon Age Reverse Bang

Exchanges

Arlathan Exchange (April - June)

DA Polyshipping (August - November)

Handers Exchange (March - May)

Templartations Exchange (March - May)

Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange (June - September)

Platonic Ideal Gen Fic Exchange (December - February)

Smutquisition (January - March)

Theme Weeks/Months

Anders Week (Feb 3 - 9)

14 Days of Circle Mages (Feb)

DATV Companion Weeks (Multiple)

Kink Memes

Dragon Age Kink Meme (Dreamwidth) | DAO | DA2 | DAI

Zines

Dragon Age Flower Zine (Processing Period)

Wanderers Zine (Creation Period)

Dragon Age OC Zine (Mod Apps Open)

Alistair Zine (Creation Period)

Faith: A Leliana Fanzine (Interest Check)

Grave Gold: A Mortalitasi Zine (Interest Check)

Special Events

Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle

Dragon Age Annual (2025 Digital Orders Open)

Dragon Age Create-A-Thon

Reddit Weekly Dragon Age Writing Prompts

Unofficial Dragon Age Day (Dec 4)

Solavellan Day (April 11)

Thedas Weekend Tag Games (Ongoing)

Past Events

Retired Bangs

DragonAgeBB (last: 2015; formerly on LJ and elsewhere)

Retired Exchanges

Demands of the Qun (Qunari)

A Paragon of Their Kind (DA Dwarves)

Solas Lovers

Hightown Funk (Varric/Hawke)

Retired Theme Weeks/Months

Autumn of Anders (Anders Appreciation Event)

Dalish Week

30 Days of Dorian (Dorian Appreciation Event)

Dragon Age Fan Week (2013)

City Elf Week (2024)

Cullen Appreciation Week (2019)

Cullen Week (2021)

14 Days of DA Lovers

Fenris Appreciation Month (2017)

Krem Week 2024

Leliana Week (2024)

Rylen Appreciation Week (2018)

Sera Appreciation Week (2019)

Sera Appreciation Week (2024)

Sub!Solas Week (2016)

Tranquil Week

Zevwarden Week

Past Zines

Adoribull Fairytales

Age of Romance Zine (Incomplete)

ApprovesGreatly (Incomplete)

Andoralis Zine

Arcana: A Dragon Age Zine

Arlathvhen Zine (Incomplete)

Beyond the Veil Zine (Zine)

Bring Down the Sky Bioware Fanzine

Dragon Age 2 10th Anniversary Zine (Zine)

Dragon Age Codex Zine & Myths and Legends Zine

Fortitudo Dorian Artbook

Good for Each Other (Adoribull Zine)

In Peace, Vigilance Zine

Insufficient Skill Fanzine

Legend Mark Zine

Lotus and Root OC Zine

Love Across Thedas Zine (Zine)

Na Via Lerno Victoria (Fenris Zine)

Patron of the Arts Zine

Rebel Hearts Handers Zine (Zine)

Road to the Imperium Zine

Solasmancy Zine

Sunlight (Anders Zine)

The Coming Storm Zine (Ukrainian Zine)

The Dragon Age Zine (Russian Zine)

The Keeper's Codex Fairy Tale Zine

The Unsung Dragon Age Zine

The Zevran Zine (incomplete)

Thedosian Archives (incomplete)

to be happy (FenHawke Zine)

Wicked Eyes: A Dragon Age Finery Zine

Year of the Mabari (Incomplete)

Other Past Events

Dragon Age Calendar 2018

Dragon Age Calendar 2021

For Fans by Fans - Fan Forge

[black-emporium-exchange]

Updates and Changes for 2017

Welcome to The Black Emporium 2017! We’re so excited to get started on this second round of Dragon Age rare pair goodness. There’s a few changes and updates that we’d like to highlight:

Regretfully, Mod B’s schedule is not allowing her to participate this time around. @keita52​, aka The Spreadsheet Wizard, is stepping up to help Mod A with running this exchange. Please give a warm welcome to Mod K!

The number of nominations per person has been reduced to 5 (from 10 last year).

Only one relationship is allowed per offer and request, meaning that you can offer and request a total of 10 pairings. Having 5 pairings per offer/request field was too confusing for a lot of people last year, so we’ve elected to simplify things.

The offers field now has a comment section, so you can give more detail on what you will and will not write.

Betas are optional, but we still hope that many of you will take advantage of your fellow writers’ services! Sign up for our beta reading list to find a beta or offer your services.

We had an unfortunate number of people in last year’s exchange that failed to leave a comment on gifts written for them. As such, we have added the rule that anyone who does not leave a comment on a gift for them will be banned until they leave at least a two sentence comment on their gift(s).

We also have a couple of brand new features for this year!

We have a Discord server for everyone to hang out and chat about rare pair goodness with fellow authors. Discord is a free service, so get an account and join the Black Emporium server!

We also have a Dreamwidth community where our Tumblr posts will be mirrored. This will also be a place to post letters, questions, and tips for your fellow writers.

Important posts (both here and on Dreamwidth) will have “beannouncements” as a tag to ensure a way for people to very quickly go through posts on the most important topics (schedule, important deadlines, etc).

We will be officially opening nominations shortly, so get your thinking caps on!

[keita52]

Black Emporium Wrapup

First of all, thank you so much to the folks in the @black-emporium-exchange discord for being supportive and sending hugs because Maker knows I needed them.

I got two very lovely femslash stories featuring customized protags, which is just fantastic. 

Prank Wars by @seigephoenix (Sera/F!Cadash): Sera and Vari Cadash have a prank war going on in Skyhold, much to everyone else's amusement. Sera will always be there for Vari when she needs her.

There Is Always Time For A Talk by @floranna2 (Morrigan/F!Amell): Ahh, pillow talk but no sex. Boo. (Inquisition-era fluff)

And I was able to sneak in two treats at the end, giving two of our fantastic writers some extra rare pair love -- which was also satisfying because it showed I was starting to come out of the depression fog.

Acceptance for @uchidachi​ (Vivienne/M!Trevelyan): A Vivienne character study in a Soulmate AU. 

Only if for a night for thegreatandpowerfultoaster (Loghain/F!Tabris): When Morrigan comes to Beleina Tabris with the proposal of the Dark Ritual, it makes Tabris confront her own feelings about Loghain Mac Tir.

[aurlyn]

A Year In Review 2019

Tagged by @cullenlovesmen. Thank you so much!

I’m not going to tag anyone directly, but if you haven’t completed one of these yet and feel the desire to, please consider yourself tagged! :)

Published

AO3 says I posted 303,179 new words last year - I’m a little shocked, to be honest. There were 14 Completely new pieces and I added on to 4 others. All of these are Alistair/Cullen pairing unless otherwise noted and I enjoy writing Modern AU’s (sometimes with magic, sometimes without) as well as the original in-game settings. 

Cocktails and Cheese: Updated Chapters 44-59 Mishaps and Misfortunes story arc. (50,523 words +photos added to this story in 2019. C&C is currently 224,133 words long.)

Alistair is the owner of a cheesy bar in downtown Denerim. Commander Cullen is a police detective from the other side of town. Both men go through the motions of their day-to-day lives, not realizing that something essential is missing.

After a chance meeting and some casual flirting; will these two find that little spark of attraction enough to break free from their humdrum existence and lead them down the path toward true happiness?

One-Shots in the C&C Universe (3891 words total added):

Weirdest Father’s Day Ever (1912 words ): A glimpse into a Father’s Day of the future. Kieran is back from College, Emily is five with a few surprises of her own, but all in all, it’s the best Father’s Day these two have had… so far.

Wouldn’t Change a Thing (1979 words): All good things must come to an end. Here’s a look into the future for our two boys, the day we close the doors to Alistair’s House of Whine and Cheese for the last time.

Change of Plan (5006 words): What would happen if Cullen became the Hero of Ferelden? @jellysharkbat wanted to know, so I began this little adventure. It is intended as a WIP with no set schedule for adding chapters.

All the Kisses (3600 words): Updated Chapters 47-83 - of these 100 word drabbles of varying Cullistair kisses. One of my favorite quick post past times! I loved them so much, I did TWO 31 day challenges of them last year on top of this set.

Fictober 2019 (3100 words): Thirty-one days of Cullistair Kisses following along with the Fictober prompts for the month. 31 prompts in 31 days. What is this insanity?!! Not insanity, just another excuse to bring more Cullistair kisses into the world.

December Kisses (3100 words): I sent out the call for Prompts in November and was given so many amazing ones, choosing only 31 wasn’t easy. Each Cullistair kiss followed along with the holiday/winter theme.

Worth Fighting For (2323 words): A prompt fill for @tatteredleaf where the Inquisitor slips a note to Cullen in the War Room from a certain Warden.

Beautiful Sacrilege (1364 words): Written for @cullenlovesmen & @bexterrr. Cullen/Sebastien/Alistair. Sebastian's envoy has arrived at Skyhold. Cullen is very happy to see him. (Alistair probably sees more than he was supposed to, but he honestly doesn’t mind.)

Something Beautiful and New (1172 words): Written for @bexterrr. Chantry Boys - Fic-or-Treat exchange. Alistair has never carved a pumpkin before, the new boy at the Abby takes him under his wing and shows him the ropes. (not a euphemism for anything sexual... I swear). Not this time at least.

Antici… pation (2172 words): Written for @bexterrr. Rocky Horror-ish Modern Crossover Fic-or-Treat exchange. Halloween is Cullen’s least favorite holiday, but he endures, because it happens to be his husband’s favorite holiday -- and there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do to make Alistair happy.

Sweet Halloween Anniversary (100 words + Photo): Created and written for @bexterrr  Fic-or-Treat exchange. Cullen arranges a little something special for Alistair for their anniversary.

Tainted Love (1666 words) Written for @andrastini: What if the Calling isn't exactly what we've been led to believe? What if it's not a battle to the death at all... what if it's sexual? This is not my usual fluff with a side of angst! Please read the tags before diving in. I will not be offended if this is not your cup of tea, just keep yourself happy, healthy, and safe.

Everything Will be Better Tomorrow (1851 words): Cullen is having a lyrium withdrawal kind of day. With duty pushing him forward, he endures as best he can… until he doesn't have to anymore.

Orchestrated Machinations (11,529 words): Written for @rhovanels / Black Emporium Rare-Pare exchange. Alistair/Zevran pairing. Alistair has been invited to another dreaded masquerade ball. Leliana arranges for this event to be not so dreaded, after all.

My Dearest Mia (431 words): Cullen (FINALLY) writes home to Mia.

Something I can never Have (added 2 more chapters - 1902 Words): When I first wrote, "Something I Can Never Have" in 2017 for the Sadness Appreciation Society weekly prompt, it broke my heart. From that first moment Alistair walked out of the room, I knew I'd have to come back and FIX IT!!! And thanks to the 2019 Cullen Appreciation Week, I've been given the motivation to do just that. :)

Chapter Two - gives us Cullen's perspective of that little impromptu visit.

Chapter Three - Our Conclusion. Finally our boys get their Happily Ever After. :) Anyone who knows my work will know that I love these boys to the moon and back and believe they always deserve a happily ever after!

Cuts, Colors & Curls (1823 words) - Pride Piece: Cullen moved to a new town and is looking for a place to take care of his unruly hair. What he finds at Alistair's Cuts, Colors, and Curls is so much more than he ever dared to hope for.

Exactly What I Need (613 words) For @earlgreyer1 (Picture prompt): Alistair's not feeling like being jovial with the family. He needs a few minutes alone to reflect. Cullen finds him and won't let him mourn alone.

Written

In addition to posting just over 300k words to AO3 in 2019, I completed a double NaNoWriMo in November totalling just over 106k words between two totally different stories. One of which will join my AO3 collection in a few months, the other is an original piece of the urban fantasy variety.

Future

I’m currently working on  my final rounds of edits on the next story arc for C&C titled Promises and Proposals, as well as a stand alone piece called The Royal Tantrum.

I have so many things that I can’t wait to work on! More Cocktails and Cheese (because, apparently I’m addicted) which means there will also be more one-shots in this world as well. I would love to do another Supernatural/C&C crossover someday maybe add another chapter to Tainted Love and Beautiful Sacrilege and of course, continue adding onto Change of Plan! :) There’s a piece I’ve been pondering for the last couple of years with Alistair and Dorian (not my usual pairing, but I don’t mind stepping outside of the box I built around myself occasionally.

Conclusion

2019 was an insanely productive year for my little writing fingers. I’m hoping I can keep up even half that momentum for this upcoming year. Only time will tell… for now, I need to get back to my edits.

[carvermerrill]

Title: The Making Of Carver Hawke   Author: @amarmeme   Rating: Explicit     Chapters: 8/8   Word Count: 19,427    Pairing: Templar!Carver/Merrill   Other pairings: F!Hawke/Sebastian Vael, F!Amell/Alistair Theirin   Other characters: Female Hawke, Female Amell, Alistair Theirin, Isabela, Sebastian Vael, Varric Tethras       Other Tags: Alternative Universe - Modern, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Weddings, Blood Magic, Templar Carver, Smut, First Time     

Summary: 

Carver Hawke thinks he's an adult now, working for the taskforce in Kirkwall's Lowtown, catching rogue blood mages and keeping everyone safe. A chance encounter with Merrill leads him to realize he still has some growing up to do, particularly where Merrill is concerned. 

Seeing Carver again reminds Merrill of what their friendship was once like, and begins to question whether that's all there ever was. If that was the case though, why has it been three years since they've last seen each other? 

Written for the Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange 2017.

[hunnybadgerv]

Making Their Re-acquaintance | Dragon Age

Summary: Siobhán’s long-awaited, yet unexpected, arrival in Starkhaven offers she and Sebastian a quiet, intimate moment together.

a/n: A special holiday gift for Lady Norbert. I had wanted this to wind up a treat for the 2017 Black Emporium Rare Exchange, but it took a little longer to get around to it. She asked for some reunion fluff between Sebastian Vael/F!Hawke. I do have to caution, this is kind of canon divergent. I recently started work on a series where Sebastian’s parents rather than investing him in the Chantry, granted him to the templars. The poor fool also happened to fall in love with a mage.

Inspired by a flashback scene I saw in Outlander while I was writing this pair for something else. It was the intimacy of their relationship that I really wanted to try and capture here.

Links: AO3 | FFnet

Making Their Re-acquaintance

The buttery morning sun crept into the room through the open window. The spring breeze carried the aroma of early blossoms with a slight chill down from the mountains and nipped at Sebastian’s bare chest. The red silk of Siobhán Hawke’s robe, warmed by her bare skin beneath, brushed across his shoulder as she drew the razor blade down his cheek with concentrated care and precision.

“I haven’t been pampered like this … well, since—” he mused. He didn’t want to finish the thought. They both knew of the moment he meant; when she disappeared mere weeks ahead of the Seeker who turned up in Starkhaven looking for her with Varric in tow.

“As it should be.” she said with a quiet laugh. Humor always had been her shield of choice.

His relaxed chuckle of agreement joined hers as she rinsed the blade. When she returned to his side, her thin fingers grazing his skin, his neck tingled—every touch threatening goose bumps as the sensation seemed to roil across his exposed skin. She brushed her hair over one shoulder and loomed over him. She bent so close he could kiss her, but her attention focused upon the lather on his face rather than his eyes or his lips, as his focus was.

“I’m the only one allowed to pamper you,” she told him with a smirk. Her eyes met his as the blade skimmed his cheek, then moved along the curve of his jaw. “And don’t you forget it,” she warned with a mischievous grin.

“You’ll get no argument from me,” he replied calmly, then he flashed her a boyish grin. “Especially when you are holding a blade to my throat.” She laughed with him, and his hand smoothed along the curve of her leg, reacquainting itself with the familiar terrain it had not encountered in far too many months.

Sebastian watched the way the silk wrinkled beneath his hands. With each flash of her skin beneath, the corners of his mouth tugged upward.

“Behave, Bash. I don’t want to nick you,” she said, inching away when the backs of his fingertips swept along the inside of her knee.

“Then perhaps you should be a bit more careful,” he said, with a quick glance at the tool in her hand. “That razor holds quite the edge.”

“Do tell.” She stood, back to him again at the rinsing bowl.

“It’s a family heirloom. One of the few which survived the coup. Overlooked by the sticky-fingered among the mercenaries.” His tone softened, but his smile returned gently when her fine fingers grazed his temple and inched into his hair. Glancing upward, his found her inspecting his countenance. Sebastian detoured her fingers, wrapping them up in his own and bringing them to his lips.

Siobhán gave him a playful glare, narrowing her gray-green eyes. “It certainly is quite keen.”

“It’s not the blade that makes the difference, it’s the lovely and skilled hand that wields it,” he said, placing another kiss on the inside of her wrist. Pressing his lips to that thin skin, he could feel her pulse beneath. “Come here,” he added, pulling her hand toward him and lower to get her to close the distance between them. Stretching his neck, his lips met hers in a tender kiss. His free hand sneaked toward the slit of her robe.

Siobhán broke the kiss, pulling away. “Do you want me to finish shaving you? Or should I leave you half hairy?”

A rather voracious grin curled across his lips, as he let darker memories fade once more. “Well, as I recall you always did prefer a clean-shaven face betwixt—”

Twirling behind him with great dexterity, she tipped his chin back. The blade came to rest at the top of his throat, which silenced him. “You do not need to finish that sentence.”

His vibrant aqua eyes flashed toward hers as he weighed the risk and reward. When her brow quirked in warning, he relented with a smile, holding his tongue. Siobhán leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, her velvety lips lingering against his skin. Despite their strained beginnings, his trust in her proved unshakable. He knew his safety to be more securely assured there with her, razor in hand, than anywhere else in all of Thedas, even Starkhaven.

The blade caressed his skin with a muted scratching sound; staring up at her, he let her continue the shave, content to let his fingertips roam wherever they might when she stepped into arm’s reach. He ached to touch her, to hold her close. She had arrived late the night before—a hot bath and a warm meal did her in after the long, hard ride from hither and yon. As she slept, Sebastian basked in the feeling of having her in his arms again, refusing to leave the bed until she woke.

Her task completed, she stepped back to the table near the window, rinsing the blade and snapping it closed. Unwilling to exercise anymore patience, Sebastian leaned forward and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his lap. He held her close, resting his chin on her shoulder. “I’ve missed you, my clever mouse.”

Siobhán chuckled, and he knew it was because of the nickname, which stemmed from when they first met in Darktown. For years, she had remained his most elusive prey. Her hands smoothed through his hair. “And I you,” she agreed, pressing her fingertips through his hair as she held his gaze.

“I’m glad you came,” he said like he was admitting a secret.

Her fingertips grazed the shell of his ear, then along his jaw. “As if that was ever in doubt.” He remained quiet for a time. Siobhán’s strong brow creased, drawing tight over her pale eyes. Her hands rested upon his shoulders “Sebastian?”

Her gaze searched his for an explanation, and eventually his blue eyes darted toward the window as the guilt rose like a bubble in his chest.

“You doubted me?” she asked getting to her feet and backing away from him with a glaring look of surprise etched into her face. “And just how long have you questioned my devotion to you?”

Sebastian followed her, standing and taking her face in both his hands. “That is not what I doubted. I never doubted you, or your heart. And never doubt my love for you,” he begged. “But I recall the way you chaffed beneath your title here and before, in Kirkwall. I worried that the lure of your, our, old life—that as adventurer, Champion might have been … too much temptation away from this, as princess.”

Siobhán groaned, her forehead falling upon Sebastian’s bare chest. “You just had to mention that, didn’t you?”

He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I assure you it is not completely horrible. Things here are far more settled. Stable even, in spite of the tensions.”

“I know. And it was never all that bad,” she said, looking up at him with a shrug and a smirk. “Plus, I’ll have you by my side.”

“Aye, you will. For as long as you’ll put up with me.”

Siobhán chuckled, her arms slipping back around his neck. “Well, you’ve only been a wee bit of trouble—”

“Trouble, huh?”

“Don’t play innocent with me,” she said, the tip of her nose brushing against his. “I know better.”

In a quick tip of the head, Sebastian captured her mouth. His fingers traced the length of her neck, catching the edge of her robe. His hand slipped beneath the silk, skimming her skin—soft in places, marred in others by a patchwork of scars, but warm everywhere. His lips teased down her neck sliding the delicate crimson down her shoulder.

Thunderous knocking rang through the room, causing Sebastian to groan against her skin. “Yes!” he called, tipping his face toward the ceiling. Exasperation dripped from his tone as Siobhán chuckled against his chest.

The door opened with a rambunctious clang. “My Lord,” a young male voice called. “Oh, and my Lady. Apologies, I didn’t realize.”

“You can realize later, Corrum. What do you require?”

“Ah, yes. Right, my lord. Seneschal Marcuse sent me to remind you that the Lord Chancellor of Tantervale should arrive shortly and will expect to be greeted in proper fashion.”

“Dismissed,” Sebastian said. he looked down at her, his thumb brushing across her cheek.

“Remind me how not horrible this is again,” she asked him with narrowed eyes and a look of consternation.

Sebastian chuckled, a low rumbling sound that filled the room. “Perhaps, we should take dinner here tonight. Alone,” he suggested.

“With visiting dignitaries here?”

It was his turn to narrow his eyes. “You’re being far too practical, my bonny love.”

“One of us has to be, don’t you think?” she asked, pressing a kiss to his lips as she pulled her robe back on.

“I’m sure Marcuse would agree with you.”

“Well, you’re freshly shaven, so you’re better than halfway there.”

His laughter rose again, but he didn’t let her go. In fact, he embraced her tighter. “Now that you’re here again, I don’t want to let you go, even for a moment,” he said, burying his face in the curve of her neck in an evanescent bid to extend their serene occasion.

Siobhán did not help him toward his duty. Her arm remained draped over shoulders, as she petted his hair and stared up at him wearing a gentle smile. No, there was no place else he wanted to be. His hand slipped behind her neck and pulled her lips to his. Maker give him strength. “Perhaps a special dessert then. By moonlight.”

“As long as you remember to bar the door.”

“I swear it by the Maker himself.”

Siobhán pinched his chin and stretched up to place a gentle peck on his lips. “I’ll be here with bells on.”

“Oh,” he cooed. “Now, that does sound novel.”

She pushed at his shoulder, her eyes rolling as she laughed—a bright sound that made his heart feel like it might burst. Her unbridled laughter, oh, how he had missed that sound, he realized in that moment. Indulging in one last kiss, or so he told himself, he finally let her slip from his arms to dress for the day. He’d don the same armor his father had commissioned all those years ago, though it no longer bore the sign of the Order; the flaming sword of the templars had been covered with the crest of Starkhaven.

[timesorceror]

Anders Week 2017 #3

Greed // Charity

The theme could be a side of Anders to explore, or something that has been inflicted/gifted to him by someone else in his life.

@teamblueandangry In which there is some crying about pastries, and the benefits of having sex on rugs with unfortunate patterns is hinted at.

Anders saw the pastries in the window as he walked arm in arm with Hayden through Hightown one evening. His feet slowed as he caught sight of the daintily placed powdered sugar on top and he remembered a once beloved pair of hands picking some up and throwing it playfully in his face.

“Anders?” Hayden’s voice cut in through the bright gloom of his musings, “Is something wrong, Anders?”

He shook himself and suddenly realized that he’d stopped them right in front of the display. He opened his mouth, quite ready to tell Hayden that it was nothing, that he was absolutely fine… until he felt the wetness of a few tears roll down his cheeks. He sniffled a bit and furiously wiped at his eyes to try to blot away his shame.

“What’s wrong?” Hayden’s voice came again, low and quiet. Soothing.

Anders felt Hayden lean against him a little more heavily, their grasp on his arm briefly tightening to a gentle squeeze. 

“Those madeleines are important, aren’t they?”

Ah, Hayden. Such a kind, clever soul they were. 

Anders sighed deeply, and once he felt that he’d sufficiently blotted up his tears, he nodded. “Karl used to make them,” he replied, clearing his throat after hearing his voice croak from tears he was still trying to hold back.

“He’d make them, in the Circle. We didn’t have them often because we were, you know, filthy mages who didn’t deserve anything good in life but… the kitchen staff liked him and sometimes… sometimes…” Anders sighed again, running a hand through his hair and staring forlornly at the pastries.  “I don’t know why this bother me so much. It’s been… four, five years now?”

“You loved him,” Hayden reminded him. “You lost him. I know how hard that is, to lose someone you love. I still miss my father deeply when the leaves start turning just before Harvestmere, and Bethany… well, I suspect that she was Mother’s favorite child, and she speaks of her often, still. I often wonder if there really was more that I could do, and thinking back on my memories of her…”

They trailed off, shrugging. “Would it help if we purchased some?”

Anders stared at Hayden, stunned, before turning back to look at the elegantly arranged pastries in the window. 

“I don’t know if they’ll soothe the ache in my heart,” he said at last, biting his lip a little and licking it, “but sharing some with you would be lovely, I think.” Hayden hummed in agreement, tugging him along gently towards the shop’s door. “Let’s not tarry then,” they chirped brightly, “it’ll be dark soon.”

They walked into the shop and Hayden bought an assortment of two dozen decorated madelienes, even going so far as to feign an interest in taking up baking to ask for a beginner’s recipe. 

Anders’ heart felt overfull as it swelled with love for the other mage.

They took the pastries home and waited to eat them until after enjoying the dinner Orana had prepared, and Anders surprised himself when he greedily consumed nine of them in one sitting. Hayden had actually been the one to draw attention to it by pulling the boxes away with a grin and teasingly insisting he not make himself sick by eating all of them at once.

“Do you feel a little better?” Hayden asked as they dressed for bed that evening. Anders paused to search his heart, sighing contentedly. 

“A little,” he answered honestly. “Though I’m uncertain how much of it stems from my actually feeling full for once.” A chuckle escaped him as he slipped into one of the pairs of silk sleepwear that Hayden had had altered just for him. “It’s such a rare occurrence.” 

Hayden hummed noncommittally, climbing into the bed and burrowing under the covers. “It makes me feel so content to know that you feel content.” They flashed a smile up at Anders when he slid under the covers to join them. “So, what are we reading tonight, darling?”

“More from that rare book about spirit healing that you picked up at the Black Emporium–Maker, this was such a good find.”

“Sounds lovely,” Hayden murmured, curling up against his chest, arranging themselves so that they could comfortably follow along as Anders read aloud. Anders reached over and pulled the book from the nearby nightstand and began to read, relishing in the twin feelings of contentment that stemmed from both himself and Justice at the thought of the great care that Hayden took to keep them safe and fed. 

He read until Hayden’s yawns became too frequent, and then he marked their place before setting the book back in it’s place on the nightstand. Anders fell asleep, spooned against Hayden’s back, his arms gently holding tight to the other mage.

A little over a year later, Anders would be walking down a familiar Hightown thoroughfare on a cool autumn evening with Hayden on one side and Fenris on the other. He paused again, catching sight of the pastries arranged in the window of a shop they had been to many times before, and his companions took notice when he did so.

Hayden, who looked a little less distraught than they had in weeks prior though still in the midst of recovering from the horrific death of their mother, frowned at him curiously. “Anders?” They asked again, “Is something wrong?”

Anders shook his head. 

“Nothing more than usual,” he answered, jerking his head towards the shop window. “I just saw those pastries and thought to buy a few for you. I know you’re very fond of the savory buns they sometimes sell. Would you like to take a look and see if they still have any in stock?”

Hayden blinked at him, their stunned expression likely mirroring whatever had been on his face the first time Hayden had offered to purchase two dozen madeleines for him. Anders could even see the beginnings of tears forming at the edges of their eyes and he began to fuss a little, wiping them away.

“Oh, don’t cry, it’s alright… have I said something wrong?”

Hayden sniffled, smiling as they shook their head. “No, no, I’m alright. It’s just… I… I would very much like to see if they still have some, yes.”

They sighed, taking one of Anders’ hands in one of their own. “They might not ease the ache in my heart, but a warm dessert after one of Orana’s meals will certainly be enough to fill my stomach.” Hayden giggled, and Fenris frowned, not understanding the reference.

“Am I missing something?” he asked curiously, but Anders just waved the question away. “I’ll tell you later. For now though… would you like something? Some of those apple tarts, perhaps?”

Fenris flushed and Anders couldn’t keep the grin from his face at the sight. The elf really was quite adorable when embarrassed, though Anders knew he would never admit it.  “You want to… to buy something for me?” Anders nodded, reaching to gently grasp one of Fenris’ hands. He wasn’t wearing his gauntlets today; a rarity for the elf. Anders was glad for it however, as it helped him emphasize his next words all the better.

“Everyone should be able to enjoy a sweet treat or two every once in awhile,” he said seriously. “And while I don’t recommend trying to drown your pain with them, sharing such things with the people you care about can be just as fulfilling as the treats themselves.” He smiled, squeezed Fenris’ hand, and was rewarded when the elf gasped and flushed a few shades deeper.

“I… very well. If you insist.”

Anders’ smile widened and he led his two lovers into the shop. He wasn’t able to buy two dozen pastries like that first time, but when they took their treats home and shared them with one another while cuddling on the library sofa after dinner, the quantity of the treats hardly mattered.

“I think I see the appeal of this exchange,” Fenris mumbled, his words muffled by one of the sweet buns filled with sausage and cheese that Hayden had offered him. “This is… nice. I feel… warm. Full. Content.”

“And not just with food,” Hayden added, smiling shyly, biting gingerly into a chocolate dipped madeleine. “Thank you for this, Anders.”

Anders ducked his head, feeling his own cheeks flush with a heat that did not come from the fire in front of them. He attempted to cover up the motion by taking a few nibbles from the apple tart he held perched above his fingers, though from Fenris’ resulting grin he suspected he had not been successful.

“Well, I’m glad you liked them. You’ve both been helping me take care of the clinic lately, and I just… wanted to take care of you in return.”

The last bit he tried to mumble unsuccessfully into his tart, but he only succeeded in getting apple jam on the tip of his nose instead, causing Hayden to nearly fall apart with laughter and Fenris to pull him close so that he could lick the jam right off. 

Anders shifted a little as a suddenly thrill of arousal pulsed down his spine.

“Now, now,” he chuffed, “that’s enough of that. I’m trying to eat here.”

Fenris snorted. “It looked more like you were trying to literally inhale your food instead of eating it.” The elf chuckled, and Anders couldn’t help the little moan that escaped him at the sound of Fenris’ sinfully sultry voice.

“Fenris,” Hayden scolded playfully, “he’s right. That’s enough of that. If you really want to involve… our treats in another sort of treat, we should probably move to somewhere or something we don’t mind staining if we make a mess. We already make things difficult enough for Orana as it is with our sheets, we don’t need to add this sofa to the list… and besides, I’d personally not like to stain this sofa either.”

They grinned, and Anders felt gooseflesh raise all along his arms at the sight of the very indulgent, very predatory once-over they were giving him.

“You know,” he began, pausing to clear his voice after he’d squeaked a little under their deeply arousing stares, “there’s a perfectly good rug right here in front of the fire… and it’s not even a very pretty one.”

Fenris hummed, polishing off his sweet bun before pressing close against Anders’ back to press his lips against the flesh at the nape of his neck.

“Mmm… sounds like it’s quite replaceable then.”

“It is definitely replaceable,” Hayden grumbled. “It was a gift from one of the Hightown noblewomen at that last soiree we had to attend… you know, the very Orleisian one who was obsessed with all things cow printed?”

The three of them stared at the rug, which was not terrible in construction but definitely a little out of place with its… interesting color scheme and patterning.

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy helping you get rid of that,” Anders snorted. 

Yes, sometimes being a little self-indulgent in the name of charity wasn’t such a terrible thing after all. Especially if it got rid of terrible rugs and heartache in equal measure.

[hollyand-writes]

Top Five/Bottom Five

Rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!  

I was tagged to do this by the wonderful and talented @stitchcasual ❤️  

What are your five most popular works? 

Due to my habit of writing rare-pairs, I don’t have as much kudos as some of you guys, but here’s my list! Firstly, from AO3: 

A Growing Lack of Disgust [123 kudos] -- M!Hawke/Arishok one-shot I sort of wrote as a joke, and I still laugh when I get comments/kudos on it. Good to know other people are as thirsty for the Arishok as I am! LMAO  

The Courtship of Daisy and Junior [117 kudos] -- Carver/Merrill longfic, 23 chapters, first novel-length work I have ever successfully completed in my entire life LOL. Features Templar!Carver, which got me some criticism for writing a templar/mage pairing, but honestly? Don’t like, don’t read -- and: write your own content.  

Local Man Returns From Trip, Discovers Boyfriend Adopted 25 Cats [88 kudos] -- M!Hawke/Anders one-shot. Written in response to a kinkmeme prompt. I had SO MUCH FUN writing this one. 

Bright Lights, Big City, Blind Date [74 kudos] -- M!Hawke/Fenris one-shot, Modern!AU set in London, UK; written for a fic challenge.  

Major Arcana [72 kudos] -- DA2 ficlet challenge with various canon (or almost-canon) pairings, using the major arcana of the tarot as prompts.  

I don’t have many Tumblr-only fics, so I’ll just name all three of them: the one where Carver takes Dog for a walk (Carver/Merrill); the one where Carver buys Merrill blackberries to go with a fanart (Carver/Merrill); and Anders crying because he thinks Hawke doesn’t love him, also for a fanart (M!Handers).  

What are your five least popular works? 

Cupcakes [16 kudos] -- Carver/Merrill, Modern/Baking!AU one-shot. It also has fewer than 100 hits, so this isn’t surprising.  

Hook Hands Make For Awful Penmanship [16 kudos] -- Merrill/Isabela, post-DA2 one-shot. Currently has more than 200 hits, epistolary fic written for the Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange 2016.  

Do You Wanna Build A Snowman? [17 kudos] -- Warden!Carver/Merrill one-shot written for a Carver-related Christmas fic exchange.  

Tax Doesn’t Have To Be Taxing [19 kudos] -- M!Hawke/Seneschal Bran drabble written for fun, and for a friend who requested it.  

Touch [21 kudos] -- M!Hawke/Anders, short ficlet that I wrote for @dorianpink‘s birthday.  

Are you surprised? Why? 

I am not surprised about the bottom five, because they are mostly rare pairs. The one popular pairing (M!Hawke/Anders) fic in the bottom five is probably because the fic is only 200 words, and I’m not very good at writing short fics 😄  Short and sweet is not one of my writing strengths! (To be honest, I think that ficlet did better on Tumblr than it did on AO3 -- go figure!) 

I am surprised at my most popular, though? Most people’s most popular fics tends to be for a fandom’s popular pairings, so I’m really surprised that my most popular fic is a humorous M!Hawke/Arishok fic -- especially as it got waaaay more hits than I ever expected. My second most popular is that Carver/Merrill longfic, which is not only for a rare pair, but it also had barely any readers until I posted up either Chapter 9 or 10. 

Optional: If you want to calculate this, what are your works’ average number of notes? 

I have no idea how I would calculate my Tumblr-only notes because some of the notes on those are likes and reblogs of the fanart/asks that were already there before I added my fic to them. So I’ll just do an AO3 “average”. 

Total hits-to-kudos ratio of all fics on AO3 = 14.83 (or 6.74%). 

Today’s date, so you can see how your results might change if you do this again in a year. 

27/7/2017 

Tag six people to do this next! 

I’ve already tagged @dorianpink, so I’m also tagging: @therealmnemo, @pikestaff, @tearsofwinter, @barbex, @ungenue and @fauxfires (although don’t feel like you have to do this, obviously!)

[black-emporium-exchange]

ONE DAY LEFT TO NOMINATE!

You’ve all been doing some great work, nuglets! We’ve got 329 nominations already approved. The full list, for easy browsing, is here.

Nominations will close TOMORROW. If you’ve got any last minute rare pair ideas, now’s the time to send them in!

We’ll have a detailed “how to sign up” post to help everyone out before signups open, so continue to watch this space.

-Mod K

[black-emporium-exchange]

Ineligible Pairings

We’ve had a few nominations come through that had to be rejected, and so far there have really only been two reasons:

1) The pairing has more than 300 completed works on Ao3 and thus is not considered rare (Example: Cassandra/Varric and Isabela/F!Hawke);

2) The pairing includes “Warden” or “Inquisitor” instead of a specific background.

So, please, when nominating, remember to specify a background. The following pairings could have been accepted if they had been more specific:

Male Inquisitor/Dorian Pavus (M!Trevelyan and M!Lavellan are ineligible; M!Cadash has been approved and M!Adaar is eligible.)

Alistair/Zevran Arainai/Male Warden (M!Surana has been approved; all other backgrounds are eligible)

Anders/Female Warden (Anders/F!Surana has been approved; all other backgrounds are eligible)

Female Inquisitor/Isabela/Leliana (All backgrounds are eligible)

Female Inquisitor/Leliana (F!Trevelyan and F!Lavellan have been approved; F!Cadash and F!Adaar are eligible)

Leliana/Morrigan/Female Warden (All backgrounds are eligible)

A non-comprehensive list of pairings with over 300 completed works on Ao3 is below the cut. The mods tried to grab them all, but there may have been one or two that slipped through the cracks, so we’ll keep checking as they come in.

-Mod K

Origins

Alistair/Female Cousland

Dragon Age II

Fenris/Female Hawke

Fenris/Male Hawke

Anders/Female Hawke

Anders/Male Hawke

Anders/Fenris

Isabela/Female Hawke

Varric/Female Hawke

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Solas/Female Lavellan

Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan

Cullen Rutherford/Female Lavellan

Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus

Dorian Pavus/Male Trevelyan

Dorian Pavus/Male Lavellan

Cassandra Pentaghast/Varric Tethras

[carvermerrill]

Title: Getting Lost With You   Author: @amarmeme  Rating: General/Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 1,287 Other tags: Fluff, First Kiss  

Summary:

Merrill and Carver get lost on the Wounded Coast, but maybe it's not all bad. 

Written for the Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange 2017.

[carvermerrill]

Title: If At First You Don’t Succeed... Author: @acequeenking​ Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 1,527 Other pairings: Female Hawke/Isabela

Summary:

Carver and Merrill both seek outside advice for their first time, but the advice they're given is ....decidedly mixed.

Written for the Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange 2017.