#Cadash backstory

[vultures-and-scavengers]

Murin versus the camera continues to be a losing battle

[ladyhighever]

a collection of inquisitors from my screenshots folder

pyrrand cadash, talan adaar, aelinor trevelyan

[vigilskeep]

if i don’t understand crime can i just stuff my hazy memories of peaky blinders into cadash’s backstory

[daisymeade]

Reintro: Meridis Cadash

Canon Inquisitor

2-H Warrior (Champion)

38 years old in 9:41

Backstory:

The only child of Regnar and Kelazda, she never had a good relationship with her father due to his desire for a son.

Regnar relegated her to bookwork and selling to rich customers after the failed expedition that killed his brother, Einar. He believed her grief over the deaths made her soft and incapable of doing "the hard work."

She was sent to the Conclave with her cousin, Baivin, and one of Regnar's favored thugs, Hulda. Vinny escaped death by snooping around in Haven during the explosion. Hulda did not.

Major Choices:

Allied with the mages. She believes the Templars' are lunkheads high on their own farts (and the lyrium) and either way, mages need lyrium too. More even. Profits Restored.

Blackmails the trio into a public truce. She's sick of the fighting and if they want to kill each other after this is all over with, that's on them. Not on HER time, though. You work for her now.

Marion Hawke threw himself at that spider like he was made for it (he was). Meridis didn't get a choice and Stroud strode from that Fade moustache intact. (Loghain is off with the HoF)

Allied with the Wardens. She's had great respect for them since one saved her life during the failed expedition. Meridis also understands their importance and wants them to have a chance to right themselves.

Allied with the Sentinels. Morrigan drank from the Well. Meridis already has dreams and an anchor; she doesn't need elf ghosts in her head too.

Disbands the Inquisition.

Vows to redeem Solas.

Other:

Romances Blackwall. He becomes a Warden and they maintain their relationship.

Deeply respected Solas and considered him a friend. Was devastated by his betrayal but wants to save him from himself.

She empathizes with Dorian about wanting to make the world a better place and the vilification they receive for who they are. They become best friends and his voice from her necklace keeps her centered.

Sees Sera as a friend and sister. Meridis joins the Red Jennies after the Inquisition is disbanded, and uses her newfound nobility to help. ;)

Finds kinship with Bull and their shared excision from everything they knew (Qun and Carta).

Gives the title of Comte and her seat on the Merchant Guild to Vinny.

Develops Stone Sense following The Descent. Tries to hide it but Gatsi Sturhald has a keen eye.

[anneapocalypse]

Well, I think I've officially decided I'm changing my world state for my first playthrough of Veilguard!

I decided against using Rogues Gallery, for two reasons:

I still haven't finished Calla Cadash's playthrough. I know, I'm terrible to this girl. I swear I will eventually but I don't want to have to rush through it.

Solas... hates Calla. lmao. I'll be shocked if she even gets the redeem option in Trespasser, with how low his approval is. And I think that's interesting and I'll really enjoy playing with it for a future playthrough... but for my first, I really do want to play with an Inquisitor who wants to save him. Doesn't need to be romanced; I just want to play a worldstate where the Inquisitor thinks there's hope for him, an option I love with Solas friendship (I actually prefer the friendship redemption dialogue in Trespasser to the romance dialogue).

That makes Eleanor Trevelyan the perfect Inquisitor. She was also the first Inquisitor I actually finished! And honestly I love her world state, and I think I'll really enjoy building on it. She romanced Sera, disbanded the Inquisition and all other things being equal would really rather settle down with her wife--except that she swore to show her friend Solas that this world is worth saving, and she hasn't forgotten that promise. I think that however big or small the Inquisitor's presence in the actual game, I can make it work for her.

I will probably have to play a little loose with the theme of that world state to make it work, because previously it was romancing city elves (Zevran, Fenris, and Sera) and aside from the fact I don't want to pick a romance ahead of time, I don't think we even have a city elf romance option (Davrin and Bellara both seem to be of Dalish origin). The option I see is to simply play a city elf Rook. With Rook's origins focusing on factions, and not culture of origins, that should work. So it's looking like my first Rook will be an elf!

In that world state, Ilana Tabris is a rogue, while Alessandra Hawke and Eleanor Trevelyan are both mages. I think their Rook will probably also be a rogue. As for origin, I've been leaning toward Lord of Fortune as they just sound fun. But we'll see if anything else catches my eye. Still not making any major decisions about personality or backstory until I have the character creator in hand! I haven't even picked a gender; I do usually play a female character first, but I might not this time; we'll see.

[cosmik-homo]

Im really getting attached to my spunky firecracker of a rook- the character just Emerged from the backstory, classing (im terrible at blocking so it's. A lot of jumping in, getting my ass handed to me while i chip at them, jumping out last second) and Dialogue. Like, when solas asked why did I think I was the one good enough to stop the gods Ethel went umm? I love punching up? I kicked ur ass, right? Trouble is my middle name, man. And Solas was like wow. Between that and the elf to elf talk you remind me of myself when I was a baby rebel... and. Ethel's runinating on that but. Yeah he is suchhh a little Go Getter and a fun way to do the- cuz the thing with a dragon age protag, it's like a dnd game- if you don't at the core want to play your character as someone who wants to be here doin this stuff, or at least has a powerful reason to be interested or compelled in it in some way, you're setting yourself up for a miserable time. So. My warden was a mix of Naivete and Duty Incarnate, Hawke was. A messy pile of psychological issues, political causes and protective instincts, Cadash was looking for an out from her life of crime and rose to the occasion and the need, Ethel... firecracker! Scoundrel! Not going gentle into that good good might he was gonna be placing sticks in the wheels of these beings that lied to his people and just unleashed destruction on his home even if he wasn't paid for it, so... added with the need to get the job done for the best?

[niofo]

thinking about recreating my inky jadwiga as a shadow dragon rook, i feel like this backstory would fit her better than cadash. the plot i have in mind is that her mother dobrawa was a member of the ambassadoria, the family having escaped to tevinter back when thaig zygmunt fell, so they never really had a close connection to orzammar. now they were lobbying for an attempt at reclaiming thaig zygmunt, after warden-commander successfully reclaimed kal'hirol in 9:31. they never managed to convince orzammar so they decided to leave to the surface and find a military support on their own - and that's why they went into the contact of mercar family. jadwiga got a bit distracted with tearing down the corrupt magister government, but she just considers it the same old bs as the ambassadoria and hopefully having get rid of them they'll get the support to reclaim thaig zygmunt.

[thievinghippo]

hi hippo!!!!!!!

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

Hiiiiiii!

🌈It took me for-freaking-ever to figure out how I wanted to write my Blackwall backstory fic, Demons, A History. Normally, I'm a outline once, write a draft, check for spelling, and post kinda gal. But this fic didn't want to get outlined. It refused. So finally I made two columns. Past and present. Wrote a sentence for each 'demon' (chapter) and said Let's Fucking Go. It finally worked though, and I'm happy with the result

🧿I have been doing this for a very long time. I posted my first fanfic in 2004, back before there were kudos or hit counts. And the only way you knew anyone was reading your fic was if they left a comment. That helps a lot. It also helps knowing that with a few popular exceptions (hello Wangxian) I'm usually writing more unusual pairings. Like Django/Builder? SEVEN FICS TOTAL AND FOUR OF THEM ARE MINE. Or I'm choosing OCs that get overlooked. I'm very aware that I'd be a much more popular DA writer if I didn't main a Cadash. But I refuse to change that. When it comes down to it, if I'm cooking my own food, I'm not going to be upset if you pass because you're not a fan of of the seasoning I used!

💌I am working on a post-game Gale/Penny fic where Penny can't answer Gale's proposal yet, because it's written into her warlock contract that her patron has final approval on anyone she chooses to wed. Her patron is going to make Gale work for that yes

[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

[illusivesoul]

OC Tag game!

Was tagged by @seraandthebees Thank you :)

I'll tag @imakemywings @breadedsinner @goldencadash @mxkelsifer and @drelldreams Only if you feel like doing this, of course.

I'll post the blank here and my answers under the cut.

Favourite oc:

Newest oc:

Oldest oc:

Meanest oc:

Softest oc:

Most aloof/standoffish oc:

Dumbest (affectionate) oc:

Smartest oc:

Horniest oc:

Oc you’d bang:

Oc you’d be best friends with irl:

.

Favourite oc: My canon warden, Serena Brosca. This lady has given me all the feels since I played with her 2 years ago. Art done by Annidoesart on twitter.

Newest oc: This lady that I made in awakening to test some mods.

Oldest oc: My canon Shep, Katerina Shepard. She wasn't my first Shep, but she was the first one that I really developed and put effort into making a backstory for back in 2017 when I first played the OT. And she was my first oc ever too, cause I had never been involved with fandoms or making ocs or fics before I played ME.

Meanest oc: My Irene Hawke. She tells people what she thinks of them straight to their face and doesn't hold back. Art done by _J00L on twitter.

Softest oc: Boromir Aeducan. Life has chewed him up, but he always still has a smile and kind words of comfort to whoever needs them.

Most aloof/standoffish oc: Irene Hawke

Dumbest (affectionate) oc: Valentina Shepard. Samantha, her wifey, once told her that if James had been a woman, he'd be Valentina.

Smartest oc: Tie between Inra Cadash and Irene Hawke.

Horniest oc: Manuel Rodriguez Shepard

Oc you’d bang: Same as above.

Oc you’d be best friends with irl: Boromir Aeducan

[vultures-and-scavengers]

"im going to finish this playthrough" *actually makes a new inquisitor*

annette trevelyan (she/her), the politics snob and artificer rich bitch suffering from a crippling terror of being known, the canon inquisitor whos a rogue and we're ignoring that that screenshot definitely has her wielding a staff bc its from her mage AU

murin cadash (they/them), the legion of the dead member who keeps surviving increasingly impossible odds and thinks the Stone is out to spite them denying them their glorious death like this

miranni lavellan (she/they), the dalish hunter who joined the dalish to get away from a life in the Crows but now has to work with leliana

coryn cadash (she/her) the carta lyrium smuggler who considers mages v templars a business decision and is wondering which faction will pay her more

rilwyn amell (she/her), arcane warrior who likes to brag her sword is always bigger

thalia cousland (she/her), a warden who was in the free marches when the blight started and only returned two days after her younger brother died killing urthemial

sora trevelyan (she/her), my first inquisitor and the one missing a backstory entirely. shes a knight enchanter? i guess? fuck, idk. sora exists.

harold trevelyan (he/him), bless his heart, thought they were all calling him 'harold of andraste' and was rolling with it as an andrastian templar, took two months to figure out otherwise, lost his faith at haven and then fell in love with the tevinter necromancer

ashanaan adaar (she/her), tal vashoth engineer trying to figure out gaatlok and is really hoping the conclave wasnt one of her explosives experiments gone wrong

ive got a few others in mind, too. an avvar inquisitor, a lavellan who was a city elf for most of their life and that was why they got chosen to come to the conclave (or a circle mage), a pro-circle mage that goes the templar route (with fun parallels to internalized homophobia, bay-bee, as an interesting headspace to explore) etc.

[vigilskeep]

what’s ur cadashs backstory!! I know ur making it up as u go but is there anything concrete ?

the broad strokes i am attempting to solidify into a coherent narrative for you are that toram’s father was, in his idolising childish eyes, a roguish hero, a dashing leader, and a brilliant inventor, capable of anything. he told magnificent stories about his escapades, in which the lyrium the carta families liberated was the gift of the stone, awarding wealth and glory and dwarvenkind’s ingenuity to whoever was daring enough to take it

unfortunately, his father couldn’t live up to his own self-created myth. a faulty invention, never properly tested, caused a massive explosion that not only left himself with permanent brain damage but also ruined the extensive carta operation he was working on and killed important members of several families. half the carta in the entire free marches came looking for a price to be paid. toram’s father wasn’t in a fit state to answer them, and he hadn’t left house cadash in a state to do it, either. it turned out he’d already quietly spent all their fortunes: on his inventions, on gambles and gambits that never worked out, and on his own entertainments and luxuries. the families took their payment out of toram’s hide—naturally, the scar on his face is one of the reminders of that day—and demanded the rest in crippling debts

for the rest of his life since, toram has been trying to pay those off. the cadash family is currently run in name by his father, but in reality by his human “stepmother”, sister magdalene. (she’s a disgraced chantry sister who became a sex worker and eventually toram’s father’s mistress. after the explosion she pretended to have been his wife so she could take over the situation, being far more suited for it than a teenage boy. neither of them are ever sure how much she did out of ambition and how much was to protect him, but she at least never lies to him. she’s still, prior to inquisition, the only one in the world he trusts.) over the years, toram has taken on increasingly ugly dangerous work, with the goal of finally relieving sister magdalene and the rest of the clan from his father’s debts and then leaving carta life behind. his attempted deal at the conclave was a massive risk to finally cut himself free

as you might imagine, in his role as inquisitor, he’s characteristically very wary of buying into larger than life stories. especially the ones about himself. he knows exactly what that kind of misplaced belief leads to

[mogwaei]

non-Lavellan OC love? happy to share! this is my DA darling, loml, Jannah Cadash (they/she) <3

Before the Conclave explosion, Jannah was the Dasher's most reliable lookout for tricky deals and "business matters". They're calm and capable with a steady hand and keen eye, and they're more than happy to turn their skills to something less seedy. A certain Gray Warden found in the Hinterlands is the one to capture her heart, and he and Sera are her two closest companions in the Inquisition. Sera's determination to do right by the little people above the institutions and nobility inspires them to do the same.

A DWARF OC YEEEEEEESSSS *sets off fireworks*

Jannah is both gorgeous in design and backstory. Not to mention, a Blackwall lover and Sera friend? YES PLEASE ASFFHJKG. I want to read a fic about them if you ever write one or have!! Thank you so much for sharing, this is everything I wanted XD

[choccy-zefirka]

🍓 for Una!!

Her sneaking around to read books despite being a Carta Smuggler TM was originally part of another Cadash's backstory, but since that other Cadash is a WOC, I felt it would be stereotypical to give her ties to organized crime, so I made her a bona fide student at the University of Orlais with no ties to the Carta, while all the criminal elements were heaped on Una.

[cumbiazevran]

[Belated] End of the Year Fic Writer Round Up

tysm @aria-i-adagio for tagging me! I’m tagging @nightgnome and @transfenris-truther but also anyone else who wants to jump in.

Overview. I need to get better at posting things and being consistent with my own writing.

During 2022 I begun two different Dragon Age related works: And The Lovers, Do They Dream? which is a retelling of how Arviraven Lavellan, Inquisitor and Dorian Pavus fall in love in my own canon. I also began writing, and have posted updates, of The Song of Dirthalath. It shouldn’t be news that I’m compelled by the Elvhen Pantheon, so I decided to write an explorative piece that follows an unrecognised member of said pantheon (Dirthalath, a companion of Dirthamen).

For that piece alone I can’t not mention @atypicalacademic: Kani, my beloved, I hope the day I stop learning things from you is the day I day. Long live to our federated republic of Bharata-America brand of dialogue we have going on for both the ancient elves and current Thedas. Love that for us.

My Nanowrimo project is not DA related, however, but if you like my writing please give it a shot. It’s called “As The Covered The Sun With Swords They Had Bloodied, I Found Your Eyes Like A Worship Song of Old”. This is a spin-of of a pirate au by @ilyamatic but it is meant to stand on it’s own as a completely original piece. It is, in fact, the first original narrative piece I publish/post anywhere. It is also a gift for my friend @valhallanrose.

The story follows Aelius Anatole Radosevic, Inti Ankuwilla, a mixed Quechua man who works as an accountant for several Pirate clients and falls in love with Tamryn Olenev, a Polish, Ashkenazi inventor and chemist.

Other finished works include (those which have been posted will include a link):

Death in the Family, the backstory of my DND oc Frazier Arnell

Nettle, for Cruelty, a Charlie Hawke fic

Words written (published or not, WIPs included!): I tried to count them and I failed miserably. I want to think they’re around the 75,000 mark.

Smut scenes.  Unsure of the number but my favourites to write in 2022 have been:

Anything I’ve written for Anatole and Tamryn.

There’s one particular fic I have not published about Tia (@atyipicalacademic’s) and Dirthalath that lives in my mind rent free

There’s a particular scene in The Song of Dirthalath, between him and Dirthamen where the latter Redacts the living hell out of the former bc they’re neurodivergents in love  

I wanna write this year one of June and Sylaise, tho

New things I tried. Publishing something lmao (Worship song of Old), Nanowrimo, “And The Lovers, Do They Dream?”. This one because the writing style is gothic romantic and has a lot of magical realism which is NOT my strongest suit, but on God I will write it.

Fic I spent the most time on. The Song of Dirthalath and Worship Song

Fic I spent the least time on. Audacious Hearts or The Tale of the Champions, and anything that involves my Wardens. I just spend more time on them

Favourite thing I wrote. A WORSHIP SONG OF OLD. THIS IS LITERALLY MY FAVOURITE THING I HAVE EVER EVER WRITTEN.

Oh, and this epistolary from Dirthalath to Dirthamen

Favourite thing I read. Making me choose is violence but I’m gonna be hyper specific here. Kani Atypicalacademic wrote a bit of his Navin Cadash meeting my Arviraven, where the guy straight up kisses his hands, anchor and all, within the first 10 minutes of knowing him bc he’s thankful about Arviraven helping his brother and BROTHERS IN DRAGON AGE IT HAS NEVER LEFT ME.

[wootensmith]

So this is probably all covid brain delirium, but since I can't sleep anyway, thought I'd write it down (plus it's a good distraction from the absolute existential dread of the past few days helping my kids and now my husband through this all while feeling awful myself). Anyway...

Is the Inquisitor actually... the person they seem to be? Like, are we sure they aren't something like Cole and just don't know it? So here's why I wonder:

They are a blank slate at the start. In Origins you had-- well, an origin. You had a life before you joined the Gray Wardens, a family you could interact with, people who knew you. A history. In 2 you also had a family and lots of backstory. It didn't just start that way either. Your family history kept coming up throughout the game. In Inquisition, you just-- don't. I mean, sure, you have letters from your family and friends but they never come to check on you even when they think you might have been kidnapped by the Chantry. You don't even have memories before you fell out of the Fade-- you have to witness them in the Nightmare section. It's been a while since I played Cadash or Trevelyan but I don't think you ever talk about your own family really with your companions. You're just-- there. And maybe that's just because of game budget stuff, or maybe there's another reason.

2. We know there are several examples in the series of spirits either inhabiting bodies (Justice and Cole) or semi-interfering or helping in someone's life (Wynne, Anders, Cassandra to an extent) or maybe just impersonating someone (the spirit that appears as Justinia in the Fade is never clearly established as actually her or something impersonating her-- I tend to think the latter based on the context), maybe the Cadash, Trevelyan, Lavellan or Adaar who arrived at the conclave didn't survive the Breach. Maybe something used the Breach to come through and try to stop it using their body. I know the theory is that the Anchor let the Inquisitor survive, but maybe it didn't. Maybe something else took their place.

3. The Spirit of Command in Crestwood specifically speaks to the Inquisitor (even rejecting your companions' interjections) and says they felt your coming and wonders if there is something alike between themselves and the Inquisitor. And the spirit that seems to be Justinia says that: "After Haven, I hid here. I watched quietly, learned what I could, and searched for a way to help. And then you came." At first I thought "And then you came" meant when the Inquisitor arrives in the Nightmare. But the Inquisitor says, "I don't know what that means" which makes me think that what Justinia really means is different. Maybe she means she (a spirit) was trying to find a way to help when whatever would become the Inquisitor arrived and became the way to help. Later in the conversation, if asked about what she truly is, she responds: "Our world is never that simple. What if the answer is none of those things? Or all of them? I am what the Maker made me. The question is: are you what the Maker made you, Inquisitor?" and if you respond confidently, she'll continue: "You believe in your purpose, and that is good. That is your power." We've been told that spirits embody purposes, both good and bad, and they only lose themselves by losing that purpose or being forced to go against those purposes (for example Wisdom being forced to fight)

4. What Cole says if asked about the Inquisitor always struck me as slightly odd. It bothered me that I couldn't figure it out. He has definitive things to say about all of the companions, but for the Inquisitor he starts with: "You're too bright. Like counting birds against the sun. The mark makes you more." and I can never tell if he is saying he can't tell WHAT you are or if he is trying to tell you exactly that you aren't like the others.

5. The dream of Haven with Solas happens even with a dwarf and qunari inquisitor and there is no real commentary that this is unusual though we know that both dwarves and qunari claim that they don't enter the Fade (though how true this is I don't think is very well established based on the past games), is this because the scene needed to happen that way for gameplay or because the Inquisitor is not entirely as they appear?

6. Two times in Solas's romance (yeah, you knew I'd end up on that one, I know) we get hints that Lavellan may not entirely be what she seems. And credit for these ones goes to a few tumblr posts I saw last month about this possibility, I apologize I can't seem to find them to attribute them correctly (covid brain, sorry. If anyone knows what I'm talking about please let me know and I'll put them in) First his balcony scene where he says  "You show a wisdom I've not seen since my deepest journeys into the ancient memories of the Fade" which I know there have been all kinds of theories about but what if he really is trying to tell her that she's akin to or IS a spirit? And the second, during the breakup scene where he says they might have worked in another world. I always took it to mean "if circumstances had been different" but maybe he literally means "if we were in the Fade instead of here" I'm sure there are more I am forgetting (probably in Trespasser) and when my brain is a bit better, maybe I'll add some more.

For now, anyway, I just wanted to write it down.