#Ness Cousland

[enderevynne]

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS ➤ SHIP GIFS: Couslainai (???)

NESS COUSLAND x ZEVRAN ARAINAI

I’m okay... 🥺😭

[lavampira]

ngl I think I might change gabriel to my canon warden 🧍‍♀️

[keldae]

Tagged by the incomparable @dingoat -- thank you! <3

3 ships

Right now, to nobody's surprise, Gale/Devi is eating my soul. On paper, they shouldn't work -- he's an educated, wealthy, powerful mage (who makes very poor life choices), and she's a much-younger-than-him thief who grew up as an urchin on the streets of Baldur's Gate, whose only "acceptable" skill is playing a violin (apparently pickpocketing and stabbing people aren't considered widely acceptable or desirable skills?). But in all the ways that really count, they are compatible -- they're protective of each other and their friends, and Devi's street-smarts balance out Gale's book/arcane knowledge, and her feisty-ness is another counter to his more balanced way of dealing with things (read: he's 90% of her impulse control). I suppose opposites DO attract! ;)

Theron/Xaja has lived in my brain ever since Shadow of Revan dropped, in canon-verse and in at least two AU's. Theron definitely brought out a side of Xaja that isn't necessarily a proper Jedi side to show, but it's definitely her -- she's also feisty, and protective, and she's got a snarky streak to her that sings to Theron's soul. And she loves Theron's devotion to the cause, and his intelligence, and his wit.

(also, looking at Xaja and Devi... apparently I've got a TYPE when it comes to my main characters in RPGs. You should take a look at my canon Warden from DAO sometime, Lynaen... who ALSO is a redheaded dual-wielding rogue with a healthy dose of snark. At least she was raised a Cousland and didn't spend time learning how to pickpocket on the streets like the other two? #roguelifeFTW)

And I gotta talk about Reanden/Mairen too. They started on a bit of a whim when @andveryginger and I decided to throw them together for a couple of one-off kiss prompts, annnnnd now they run a good chunk of our respective brains (Reanden likes to hang out in Ginger's head a lot). Mai (Ginger's) loves Reanden's intelligence, and his dedication to his kids and the Republic, and the compassionate, caring streak he has under his sociopathic facade. And he's got a type for snarky redheaded Corellian Jedi ladies -- the fact that Mai loves his kids like they're her own, and doesn't think less of him for his rare moments of vulnerability, means the galaxy to him.

First Ship

Oh man -- my very first OTP was Faramir/Eowyn from LOTR, ever since I first read the books at the ripe old age of 12 years old, and it's STILL one of my favourite ships. I think, even 20 years ago, I was seeing myself in Eowyn (as a female character, as one who wanted to fight and seek out renown, as one who, as I would discover later on in my own life, had a bucketload of mental health problems to the tune of depression), and wanted my own Faramir (gentle, noble, compassionate, intelligent). So a bit of projection there? ;) The first ship I wrote... well, I'd started a girl-falls-into-Middle-earth fic in high school, and the endgame goal was my OC with Legolas, but looking back on it now, I think my OC may have had more chemistry with Boromir. Either way, that fic has been abandoned for like 15 years -- I ain't bringing it back out to resurrect it. ;)

Last Song

According to Spotify, "Master Of Illusion" by Battle Beast! If/when I come up with a Gale playlist, that song's going on it.

Currently Reading

"Tress of the Emerald Sea" by Brandon Sanderson. I'm not too far into it, but so far I'm enjoying it! (Also, I LOVE Sanderson's writing style, and the little bits of snark he peppers in there. Current favourite line: "... he had a jaw so straight that it made other men question if they were.")

Last Film

In theatres -- "Argylle", which I enjoyed! I wouldn't class it as a "favourite" movie, but it was fun! At home (read: at Chez Boyfriend), it was "RED" -- that's one of my favourites. Bruce Willis and Karl Urban snarking at each other... =D (Karl is also my faceclaim for Reanden, and that movie was a big inspiration!)

Currently Craving

Nothing at the moment! I have my coffee and I have a big-ass Costco-sized muffin that I'm working on before I go for my tattoo appointment. (Also, Part 1 of my tax return came in last week... I could get ALL the groceries, thank God! Part 2 is dropping on Thursday, for all the backpay after the CRA applied the ADHD disability credit to my previous years... I legit cried when I saw that number. I can afford to get my car fixed, AND get this new tattoo, AND a haircut, AND maybe, I don't know, throw something into a retirement fund!)

Tagging, if you wish: @greyias @storyknitter @nayci @elveny @abysskeeper @auroraesmeraldarose

[mxanigel]

OC tag game

tagged by @mxkelsifer, thank you! no-pressure tagging @milesmentis, @galfrey, @spindleweedss, and @dr-paine to play

favorite oc - They're all special to me, but current favorite is a tie between Shion Miller and Neri Surana

newest oc - Winter Shepard-- wait, no, Ria Hawke

oldest oc - Neri, albeit not in their current form

meanest oc - Hmmm. Probably Winter. With Dana Hawke a close second.

softest oc - Every OC has at least some steel in them, but Aryn Lavellan and Shion can be quite soft

most aloof/standoffish oc - Winter

dumbest (affectionate) oc - Dana, though say that to her face and you'll end up very hurt (tbf I tend to write intelligent OCs, making this a somewhat challenging pick)

smartest oc - Uhhhh… Aryn and Shion, perhaps?

horniest oc - Winter, though Heather Cousland is up there

oc you'd bang - none of them; this thought has never crossed my mind before 😅

oc you'd be best friends with irl - I really don't know! I expect I'd be friends with most of them, but best friends? Shion and Neri and I might get on each other's nerves too much for that. Or just be a trio with raging imposter syndrome. Lynn Shepard's a good candidate, though I'd struggle with her military-ness.

[ell-vellan]

who out of all your ocs is closer to you in terms of personality and who out of other fictional characters is also closer to you?

This is such a cool question, thank you for asking! I've been thinking about it all day and it got me on a tangent on how I make characters, so I hope you don't mind that I rambled.

So, I'll start off saying that part of my process of making new characters is to give them one or two characteristics of my own that I'm very familiar with and dial them up to 11, or I infuse characters with opposite traits that I have. First because I have to have something relatable about my characters to write them, and also it's just kind of impossible to fully avoid when you're spending so much time with them. You're either writing them going through stuff which passes through the filter of your imagination and your experiences, or you're literally role playing as them in a game. It's easier to either go "this is what I would do" or "this is what I would NEVER do" and then go from there, especially when starting out with a new character you're just starting to get to know.

Eventually their paths diverge from yours, but you gotta start on common ground. Or I do, anyway.

A character's upbringing, religion, philosophy, culture, etc is a huge part of what makes them who they are. So because I don't share those same background experiences, my characters act how I would extrapolate someone with those experiences to act given the traits we share. That's sort of my "in" to that character's mindset, helps me see their very different life through their eyes. Especially when it comes to Dragon Age OCs, lol.

So with all that said, I think because I've spent the most time with Ellawyn while writing nearly 200 thousand words with her, and because I set off with the plan of making an insecure Inquisitor who struggles with it, and also crafted her as an opposite to Iron Bull, I've probably given her more of my own traits than anyone. The anxiety, Eldest Daughter Syndrome, and earnest do-gooder-ness, but way more intense. Her anxieties are different, but I understand that part of her, which helps me figure out how she feels about all the other stuff that goes on in her story. I can't imagine how it would feel to have magic or kill in self-defense, but I can relate way more to anxiety about being in charge and trying to do a good job.

Growing up I really didn't see a lot my personality in fictional characters because I was a quiet, shy kid who was scared of doing stuff, and those aren't main character traits! Because of course the confident, powerful character is the one that affects change, they're the ones driving the plot, and they're the interesting character to follow. Main characters can't reject their destiny and decide to stay home where it's safe, because then there's no story. So I like to write more unassuming characters who typically wouldn't be the hero. Ellawyn having been accidentally Inquisitor and feeling like she isn't up to the task but having no choice was interesting to me.

For my Cousland, she's the absolutely typical hero, because I always want to be the Lawful Good character in games and get everything right and help everyone have a happy ending lol. So that was my in with her. But Cousland gets an added dash of bloodthirsty revenge goals and a sheltered, privileged, ignorant origin story.

Mahariel is most my opposite - the cold orphan who has never regrets anything and is looking only to selfishly survive, without bringing his people down with him. He's the character is fed up with an unfair world and just says "Fuck it, I'm gonna watch it all burn." Sometimes it's fun to play as someone who doesn't give a shit about anyone but themselves, lol.

There are characters I've written that I've given negative traits of myself from past or present. It's fun for me to explore character arcs for people with similar traits but who took different paths. I've written a main character with agoraphobia, a mom-friend, bookish loners, cheerful optimists, headstrong rebels, Type A honor roll overachievers...because it's what I know. (Side characters are different because they often serve a narrative purpose to support the main story so they tend to be more a mix of different archetypes.)

But I definitely try not to fully put myself on the page because, again, I'm boring and wouldn't make a good main character, lol.

I did relate to Jane Eyre, especially her as a child. But one of the first characters I really felt like I saw a reflection of myself in was Cath from the book Fangirl, because she was a writer who was too scared to eat in the college cafeteria by herself, so she lived off food bars in her room. Which is something I literally did.

Those are the only ones I can think of! There are characters I admire for being the kind of person I *wish* I was, but that's a different question, lol.

Probably why I write the types of people I do, because I'm drawn to write what I want to read.

Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox and explore this super interesting question! You always have such insightful ones, too!

[black-emporium-exchange]

Clarifications Needed - Time Sensitive

Please edit your nominations and/or email mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com ASAP as nominations phase close in two hours!

We require the gender and background of each player character (e.g. Warden & Inquisitor) as each is evaluated differently as far as its rarey-pairy ness. Please edit to specify backgrounds and gender of the below:

Anora Mac Tir/Female Warden

Which background? Please note Female Cousland has already been nominated and approved.

Female Inquisitor/Flemeth

Which background?

Flemeth/Female Warden (Dragon Age)

Which background?

Flemeth/Inquisitor (Dragon Age)

Which background and gender?

[indigoraen]

My main HoF (Rhona Cousland) has always had Carn as her mabari. I don't know where I first heard the name; I just liked it. Once I eventually looked it up, it also felt fitting for the Cousland origin, and I headcanon that the irony is not lost on Rhona. She named him for the "pretty rocks" scattered throughout the highlands as a child, not realizing exactly what many of the "cairns" denoted after the Orlesian Occupation.

My main Champion (Alyn Hawke) was the first time I tried to swing with a more in-game lore name. I eventually settled on Hafter, though I've always been "meh" on the name. Figured I'd run with the "meh-ness" for story purposes, and I headcanon that Alyn let Carver name the mabari in a rare show of childhood sibling solidarity, because he was the one who found Hafter, and was genuinely upset when the puppy imprinted on her instead of him.

edit: typo

in the tags tell me what your warden and hawke named their mabari and why 👀

[queen-scribbles]

Owap and J22??? 👀✨

OWaP is the Dragon Age joined canon for my Trinne and my friend Alex's Harvey(Amell and Cousland, respectively). It's going pretty slowly just bc shorter fics keep jumping the line (rip), but I am very invested and love them dearly so I am GOING to FIINISH THIS.

I don't have anything written right now, but the next chapter I'm gonna get to explore Trinne's bff-ness with Jowan and her massive blind spot/hypocrisy streak where he's concerned, so that'll be fun, and Harvey and Alistair are off to the Circle tower to collect mages for un-possessing Connor, which will also be fun. BONDING TIME. (Alistair is Trinne's romance and Harvey's best friend, eventually, but she's been hogging his time recently. rn they're annoyed at each other and he's on assignment with Harvey, so I'll get to build their friendship some and I'm so looking forward to that.)

J22 is my sister's Christmas present(her first initial + the year is my identifying system). It's about a character(Ros) v loosely based on said sister, who's handmaiden/undercover bodyguard to a princess (Qhel, the one I got art of yesterday). They're currently in a foreign country as the younger prince there is seeking a marriage alliance with Qhel. She decided to accept his offer to visit so she can feel him out as a suitor. THAT part is going well. But a local group tried to kill her. And kidnapped one of her guards. They rescued him(joint operation with the prince's men), and are now trying to thwart the group's attempt to frame Qhel's entourage for assassination by preventing the assassination. Trouble is, they don't know who all the targets are.

[inquisimer]

My OCs (for mobile)

Dealing with desktop links on mobile is a pain, so for people who are exclusively mobile users, here are links to mobile-friendly versions of my OC pages. 

For links to which OCs exist in the same world state, check out the desktop versions

Dragon Age: Origins

Nada’sariel “Sari” Mahariel

Ember Cousland

Ariya Tabris

Solona Amell

Nika Brosca

Dragon Age II

Léan Hawke

Mari Hawke

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Inquisitors

Neria Surana Lavellan

non-Inquisitors

Aliyah 

Ness

Acacia Trevelyan

[bisexualryder]

OC Voice Claims

Tagged by the lovely @daydreamingdragonage, thank you, hun! Not sure who has or hasn’t done this yet, but gonna tag @bosmerie, @sunshinemage, @sidestepsbutt, & @halfblood-fiend if any of y’all wanna do it! And if anyone else has been wanting an excuse to do this, consider yourself tagged! c:

Origins

Lanariel Surana - Anjali Bhimani

I’ve always imagined Lana’s voice is bright, but also with the ability to be subdued and soothing when she wants. A voice where she can be loud and mouthy, but turn around and coo softly to someone she cares for. Something in Anjali’s voice just clicked for me when I was listening to that vid once with her and Chloe and here we are, lmao.

Rylee Tabris - Cara Gee (à la Camina Drummer in The Expanse)

There’s nothing soft about Rylee. She has a rough, throaty voice that commands attention when she speaks no matter how loud or soft she is. I also love the idea of city elves sounding distinct from the humans. Not like the Dalish, but there’d be this pride, almost, to not lose your “elfy-ness” and start sounding like a shem. Tbh part of it is also that she brings a nice counterpoint to Ise’s bright, lilting voice.

Isethari Mahariel - Joanna Page

Ise’s voice is very bright, high, and... distinct to her. There’s usually a sing-song tone behind her words when she’s in a good mood. It can drive her companions crazy at times, but she still manages to bring a sunshine mood wherever she goes.

Eleri Cousland - Alex Wilton Regan (à la the femquisitor in Inquisition)

This one has taken me forever and a half to fucking figure out. Eleri has such a, idk, distinct voice in  my head I guess that’s made it difficult to pin down an actual voice about it. But something about Alex’s performance as the Inquisitor just feels so much more accurate to Eleri that anyone else I’ve found. I actually tossed around the idea of it being like Rebecca Ford in how she portrays the Lotus in Warframe. There’s a similar... tenor? I guess? To their voices that just fits Eleri. She doesn’t have a higher pitched voice, but it’s also not overly low and sits right in that space between.

DA2

Rayna Hawke - Jamie Murray & Ashley Hawke - Jo Wyatt

Can’t get away from the default voice for Ashley. It’s just... her to me, but also why I felt Rayna needed a voice all her own, but still something somewhat similar. Her voice, however, is definitely on the more haughty side compared to Ash. Where Ashley usually sounds bright and playful (and flirty), Rayna often sounds like she’s talking down her nose at people (she kinda is tho, to be fair).

Inquisition

Olivia le Blanc - Chloe Hollings

Being from Orlais, I naturally wanted to have someone that sounded French for Olivia, but not too French. Olivia’s been away from home for quite a while and her accent has definitely faded (except when she gets angry, then it suddenly pops up again and usually it’s quite thick an accent at that point, too). While she can carry a commanding tone if she desires, her voice is much more soft and subdued than most expect of her - not just because of her templar background, but her position as Inquisitor. A few nobles have even commented on how honeyed her voice was after meetings with her.

Nathra Lavellan  - Paula Burrows (à la Rayla in The Dragon Prince)

She has that Dalish sound, that accent, but not as strong as, saaay, Ise. It’s an accent she picked up from her parents, and one that fades in and out at times the more she’s around the Inquisition. Her voice is generally pretty mellow and soothing.

Anika Ramsey  - Shirley Manson

Anika always has been, and always will sound blatantly from Starkhaven, lol. Something about Shirley’s voice just seems right for Anika to me, I dunno. There’s kinda this warmth to it? And that’s definitely something key to Anika being the warm and nurturing type she generally is.

Talonia Adaar -  Shohreh Aghdashloo

Tal has somewhat of a lower toned voice, and she’s more on the soft spoken side. There’s a roughness around the edges, some of it from simple disuse - she doesn’t talk much and when she does there’s a frayed sound around the edges. Shohreh’s distinct voice just... something about it seems to work for Tal unlike anyone else I’ve been able to find.

Bonus

Aela’Shar nar Moreh - Gal Gadot

I’ll honestly say I haven’t thought that much about finding a voice (yet) for Aela, and I wasn't planning on doing my ME OCs at the moment (would have been way too many for me). Buuut in hunting for Eleri, I was listening to an interview with Gal and idk man, something just clicked and I went "that's Aela". So, here we are, I have no better description than this lmao. 

[tauristar]

Alright, well I’m new to the DA fandom, but I have to say...

I always wondered if Alistair was really straight or just a closet bi. Don’t get me wrong, I love Alistair and I will definitely look at romancing him with a Cousland or even Tabris, but I’ve been trying to decipher once of his in-game dialogues and how... Defensive(?) he seems with any mention to a male Warden romance with Morrigan. Maybe it’s a brotherly thing, but hmm.

Alistair: So what's the deal with you and him, anyway? Dare I ask? Morrigan: Him? Him who? Is this supposed to mean something to me? Alistair: You know exactly who I'm talking about. Mister Let's-Make-Kissy-Faces over there. Morrigan: My, my. You are jealous, aren't you? Did I take your favorite Grey Warden away from you? Alistair: What? I'm not jealous! I'm horrified. Morrigan: Those blushing cheeks of yours tell a different tale.

And it doesn’t stop there with Morrigan:

Morrigan: Perhaps we should go and tell him together of your touching concerns? Perhaps he'll pay more attention to you if you ask nicely. Alistair: Uh-huh. I think we're done here.

Now that’s my main case (the link to the dialogue is here), but let’s continue.

It’s also kind of funny and amusing to see he’s the one that initiates idle gossip with Leliana about a relationship between the Warden and Morrigan:

Alistair: So have you heard? Morrigan and him are... you know. Leliana: Have you nothing better to do than to spread idle gossip? And besides, he can probably hear us both. You're not being very discreet. Alistair: No, look, he's not even paying attention.

AND THEN, if that wasn’t enough to solidify his possible Closet Bi-ness, I present to you this wonderful dialogue between Alistair and Zevran, probably the Ultimate Bi Awakening for those who didn’t know before:

Alistair: So those... designs you have all over your back... Zevran: They're called tattoos. And I have them in many more places than just on my back, my friend.

Can we safely assume that Alistair had, at least once, stared at Zevran’s back? Maybe simply staring at his tattoos, but there’s no way one can simply stare at only the tattoos without also looking at muscle definition. In my opinion, this is more than just curiosity at tattoos, but also a slight bashfulness one would have in staring at someone... Especially when they don’t want to admit it.

I mean, if you hear the dialogue (which is here), he seems really hesitant to ask and kind of embarrassed. And then, in the follow-up dialogue (which is here), he gets extremely flustered about the idea of the ritual.

Now perhaps that is assuming too much of Alistair, but I feel like it’s something that someone might go through if they might be questioning themselves. Truly, Alistair only wanted a tattoo from Zevran. But he knows how Zevran is (though Zev has many layers to his character, which is a whole other subject for another time). So, if he were to get a tattoo, could he have found someone else more experienced in the art, maybe someone he’d trust more?

I mean, surely there are people in Ferelden who know the art of tattooing?

Yes, so Zevran is in the immediate area since they’re both on the same team, in the same group, with the Warden as their leader, but if this is something that Alistair really wants -- and he still has distrust in Zevran, as the assassin hired to kill not only him but the Warden too -- wouldn’t he have sought someone else out? I don’t know. Maybe it is a sign of trust towards Zevran, but... 🤔

Zevran: Not so fast, my friend. There is an entire ritual to how this is done, do you not know? First I need to bathe you in a mixture of olives and rosewater. Alistair: You need to... bathe me? That seems... odd. Zevran: No, no, no, not at all. It needs to be worked into your skin, preparing it to receive the ink. The massage is quite pleasurable, do not worry. You are in good hands. Alistair: The... massage? You're... having me on, aren't you?

(This is in the follow-up dialogue section, the link is earlier in the post.)

In the end, in my heart, I feel like Alistair is a closet bi. Of course, I happily oblige with the canon choice to have him as straight, for more believable purposes if anything considering the ratio of cis straight people to LGBT+ people in reality, but I do think it would have fit him just as well if he was bi in-game. He gets incredibly flustered when he’s being called out by Morrigan through her teasing, after all, and he doesn’t hesitate to gossip to Leliana about Morrigan and the Warden. It’s dancing the fine line between brotherly and not-so-straightly, but I feel like ultimately it’s up to the player how they perceive Alistair.

Either way, I love that dork.

Next up on character analysis (maybe) (hopefully): Alistair vs. Cullen featuring Other Beloved Characters; what makes them different from each other past the surface?

[enderevynne]

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS ➤ SHIP GIFS: Nessistair

NESS COUSLAND x ALISTAIR THEIRIN

↳ Battle of Ostagar

this absolutely broke me

[lypreila]

OC 3 words meme!

Tagged by @lavellanlove (Thanks!🤗)

Rules: Say the first 3 words that come to mind when you think of your OC!

Kyana Hawke: Ice, fierce, underestimate

Min Lavellan: Mad(ness), adventure, lonely

Kalazar Amell: Ambition, blood, manipulation

Clementine Shepard: Booze, bullets, freedom

Anya Trevelyan: Tragedy, empathy, library

Lilibet Cousland: Whoops, blades, fur

Kyanite(SU): Truth, longing, moon

Lia(Skyrim): Flesh, sly, indulge

Thanks for the tag, this was super fun! Whomst to tag....hmmm..... @jawsandbones @rannadylin aaaannnd @nitewrighter

[draganimation]

Back on Track!

As you may know I go off and on this project depending on what’s happening with my life.

But me and my friends who are also my story editors recently visited Edinburgh , half the reason so I could get inspiration for Highever and boy did I!

I took so many pictures of the Edinburgh castle which is very much going to be Cousland Castle! We didn’t exactly get further than the cityscapes - I would’ve loved to have gone to Loch Ness for insp for Lake Calenhad, but it was still a really fun trip!

Also speaking with my besties, I’ve been told by my main editor that I must dedicate at least 3 hours a week to Draganimation so it’s not forgotten about so every Monday I’m going to do just that. I may not be able to promise alot of content, but it will mean Episode 1 will be out sooner.

And because of my silence and your patience, I’m going to upload the opening soon after this post as a gift for you guys! (it’s not much)

So just a little update! 

Now I have lots of backgrounds to draw!!

Maker be with you, Wardens!

[galpalaven]

Thought Exercise: Space-Time junk happens and Sun and Kira Shepard plus LIs end up in Thedas (timeline your choice, and let's imagine there's a source of Dextro food somewhere). After initial culture shock, how do they react to the world?

i always thought it would be funny to see Kira Shepard meet Kira Cousland, who is literally just her, because Kira is the character I drop into every universe at least once

“Why do you look like me? Both of you?? Where do you come from?”

“Earth. I guess. You got, uhh...swords. That’s cool.”

“You have magic?”

“No, biotics. So, are you a Commander? ‘Cuz I am, too.”

“Warden-Commander.”

it would be just a lot of questioning that ultimately led to “Asexual?” “Asexual!”

i imagine there would be some interesting issues with the Aliens and with the Biotics and the anti-magic-ness of Thedas

[black-emporium-exchange]

Clarifications Needed

Morrigan/Female Warden (Dragon Age)

We require the gender and background of the Warden as each is evaluated differently as far as its rarey-pairy ness. Please edit to specify background of the Warden (i.e. Aeducan, Amell, Brosca, Cousland, or Tabris — both Mahariel and Surana are already nominated!).