#adahla lavellan

[loquaciousquark]

Eleven years of happily ignoring literally every single thing to do with Solas and now I have TWO FICS in the pipe before I'm letting myself start the new game.

Uuuugggghhhhh.

[rilakkatie]

📚🌿 my baby girl adahla and @haverdoodles's lavellan, te'lise in a funky lil regency au!!

just a lil art trade with my fellow regency loving girlie! :'))))

[okasanart]

In addition to posting some Dragon Age art, here are some older drawings of two of my Inquisitors. Adahla Lavellan (my original design for her) and Aoibhann Trevelyan.

[nug-tiddies]

A soldier, a savior 

A hero, a leader

[patheticnugbaby]

Hi! Sooo this is my very first fic of literally anything. I initially romanced Solas not exactly on accident. I made an elvish Inquisitor because I wanted to romance Cullen and I stumbled upon the flirt option for Solas and I was just “Wait, you can do that?” because he just seems so different from the usual kinds of romances Bioware throws at you.

So I ran it and I fell into hell. It’s been a very long time since I’ve written literally anything at all ever so I’m exceptionally rusty. Anyways! I hope you like it.

“I have distracted you from your duty. It will not happen again.”

Adahla chuckled a little, tilting her head slightly to look at him better, “I’m sorry?”

“I have-”

“No, I heard you, Solas; I just don’t understand,” She reached for him, to touch his cheek. When he stepped away from her she cradled her hand to her chest, like she had been burned. "Why?"

"I did not wish to hurt you. In another world-" He stopped, as though just for this one moment, words failed him. He stepped back further, lacing his fingers behind his back. "Just not this one."

A sharpness rose in her chest and pricked at the corners of her eyes. She blinked rapidly to stop the hot tears welling in her eyes. She would not cry, not here and not now. She took a long, deep breath, closing her eyes for just a brief moment.

When she opened them again she was no longer Adahla Lavellan. Now, she was the Inquisitor.

Looking at him, she knew he recognized the change. It was in the way his eyes creased, where his eyebrows drew close, and his mouth curled down. There was hurt and pain in his eyes, she almost wanted to laugh, or cry, or scream.

But she wouldn't, the Inquisitor wouldn't.

"If this is what you want, so be it," He opened his mouth as though to speak and she held up her hand to stop him. "Don't speak, Solas, I-I need some time."

He inclined his head, just a little, "I will see you back at Skyhold."

Then he left.

She stood with her fingers laced behind her back, impassively watching him leave. She waited until she could no longer see him through the night fog, then she waited a little longer. It must've been at least an hour before she allowed herself to collapse into the wet grass.

She clutched her stomach tightly like she could squeeze all the hurt out. Tears spilled onto her cheeks, leaving hot trails that felt like they were made of fire. Her chest felt tight, her ribs squeezed with a vice. She curled in on herself, bawling into her knees. She managed to catch her breath, just for an instant, to raise her head and gently trace the pattern of her vallaslin over her left eye.

Or rather, where it had been.

She tried to hold back another sob and failed. The brief memory of magic washing over her face, the warmth of his eyes. It felt like years ago, like a dream.

By the time she finally managed to exert some control over herself she was shivering. The seat of her trousers was wet from the grass, her skin felt clammy from the fog. She stood, her legs ached from sitting for so long. Adahla rubbed her hands over her face in an attempt to scrub away the evidence of her pain. She took a long, shuddering breath and tried to roll some of the stiffness out of her shoulders.

When she left the clearing she didn't look back to it. She didn't look at the trees, the rocks, anything except exactly where she was going.

She even missed the shadow of a man, his back pressed tightly against a tree, his hands clenched so hard that his nails bit into his palms.

Ir abelas, ma vhenan.

[wintercourtart]

Adahla Lavellan dancing, probably alone out on the snow in the moonlight. Just a little escape from being Inquisitor.

[yourdragonageocs]

I love the coloring on this so much! And I love all the freckles on her! Great job!

More Adahla Lavellan.

[loquaciousquark]

Not me having feelings ten years late.

[loquaciousquark]

you have been my #1 favorite fanfic author of all time for like 7-8 years now for your fenhawke and ive always thought "god i would give anything for quark to write solavellan" but i respected that it wasnt your thing. so imagine the pure unbridled euphoria of checking in on your blog this week to see that he finally got to you. i actually screamed. whatever you come up with i know it is going to absolutely change my life and i am so excited <3

i’m so. sad. i'm SO sad. i was so happy for a decade just being mildly annoyed every time he crossed my dash and now i am having feelings and opinions and i don’t WANT THEM and the only way to get rid of them is to write them out of me, this is why i don’t love fenris or astarion at all anymore obviously

and like, I still don’t love Solas! I still think some things he does and some goals he has are really, really stupid! but this character I created to love him really loves him, and I really love her and want her to be happy even though she lives only inside my head, and that means I need to lay down some structure around her romance to get the shape of it, to build something I can make sense of. I may not love him, but I like him much more than I did, and I certainly understand him better than I did the first time around.

And to be honest, there’s a part of me glad I’m coming to it as late as I have. I don’t think I’ve ever read a single Solavellan fic in my life (I actually had to pause here to check the spelling). I have NO idea what tropes are popular with him or what interpretations are the biggest. I have a lot of opinions on how his personality and identity work in a romance with this particular character I’ve created, but because I’ve been so siloed I have no idea if I’m bucking the grain or not, which is fine by me.

Plus, it helps I’m not going to have ten years to build up a lot of personal headcanons and jossable thoughts before playing the new game. I’m not someone who easily ignores canon when it clashes with my imagination for the major things, so I think this will (hopefully) keep me from major disappointments.

It's kinda funny; earlier today I was going back through my DAI tag and reminding myself of all my impressions from the first time I played the game. Some of them I definitely still stand by; others have completely changed. I even said twice that a Lavellan/Solas romance would be my next playthrough, which was true if ten years late.

But it's things like: apparently the first time through I loved Solas and Sera, both of which certainly were not true going into this replay. (I barely even have a memory of Solas and Priory ever being in the party together, though the historical records say I took him to Adamant.) I apparently had a lot of hopes Gideon Emery would be voicing Fenris. I originally thought Priory was going to romance Bull, which is very ?????? after all this time. (I did still, even then, know Here Lies the Abyss completely broke her as a character, and ten years on I never could fix her for good.)

I really did not expect to change my mind on Solas going into this replay, I guess is the point. I replayed because knowing the story of DAI and Solas, I felt it was a story most personalized to elves and specifically a Solas-romancing Lavellan, and that was the worldstate I wanted to take into the new game. I played it out because that's the kind of person I am (I can't just invent characters wholesale in my head) but I really thought it was going to be a perfunctory playthrough as a stepping stone to a different game and a different PC and (presumably) a different romance. I didn't expect to love this character as much as I do, and even if I don't have ten years to write her out the way I did Hawke, I feel like I still owe it to her & her doomed romance to give her a little time in the spotlight. Lucky girl!

[loquaciousquark]

[Fic] Lavellan, A., Pavus, D. [1/1]

Rating: G Characters/Pairings: Solas/Lavellan, minor Dorian/Bull Fandom: Dragon Age Word Count: 6.2k Summary: Dorian and Adahla exchange letters and write an academic paper. Set post-game, pre-Trespasser.

—

Dear Dorian,

I’m glad to hear you’ve arrived safely in Minrathous. Leliana’s scouts informed us some of the caravans north had been waylaid by bandits, but I should have known with Bull and the Chargers along, nothing could delay you. Everyone sends their love except Sera, who’s instead defaced every page in this sheaf and then run laughing up to the roof. The rude gesture in the corner is from her.

Varric has asked twice now in his offhanded way if the Inquisition might be traveling along the Imperial Highway in the next few weeks. He’s eager to return to Kirkwall, even if he’s allergic to saying it straight out, and Vivienne has wished to speak with a band of Aequitarian mages in Val Royeaux for some time, so I expect we’ll bivouac our own way north shortly. Please post your next reply to Halamshiral and we’ll pick it up on the way.

As regards your last letter: I appreciate your concern, but I’m quite all right. I know I was unlike myself on our recent adventure into the Deep Roads, but your forbearance with me (and my uncharacteristic impetuousness) was very generous. I’m fully recovered now, I assure you, and have put all distractions behind me. My solemn oath to stop jumping off ledges without looking is inscribed here for your approval.

Speaking of approval, please look over the changes I’ve made to the Ameridan paper (enclosed). The green ink is addition, the red revision, and the blue strikethroughs have been cut. In particular, please review the section on Ameridan’s known—and most incontrovertible—history, especially the citations from Renaures and Bescond. There’s a Genitivi monograph I’m trying to track down which would do a great deal to preempt Chantry objections, but I’m having difficulty laying hands on an unaltered original. I have high hopes one might be hiding in a University of Orlais library, but until I can coax the librarian to pack it in goosedown and ship it east, Renaures is our strongest advocate.

—

Links: FF.net, AO3

[loquaciousquark]

DAI Update

I haven't forgotten Tav's BG3 playthrough (I have the pictures put together, just need to assemble the posts), but now that I've gotten through the first Solas romance scene, I felt the need to share some DAI screenshots to mark my progress.

This is Adahla Lavellan, electricity/spirit mage. She likes history and religious study and puzzles and, much to my chagrin, Solas.

She's got the vallaslin of Dirthamen (secrets, knowledge) and a hunger to understand the roots of major historical & legendary events. I'm still learning her as I play, but so far I know she's very self-assured and has almost no regrets; once she commits to a path, she lets go of wondering what else might have been and completely focuses on the decisions still ahead.

I've been trying to lean into the spy stuff mentioned in the prologue & in her codex. I know she was a foundling left with the clan at birth by non-elves, and she has a fascination with other cultures and especially with the various theologies scattered across Thedas. (I'm pretty sure she devoured every Genitivi text she could find growing up.)

While she does worship the elven gods, she doesn't disbelieve in any of the others; rather, she's deeply curious about finding ways where the elvhenan tradition and Andrastian tradition can both be true, or where the legends of the Old Gods and Tyrdda Bright-Axe might have overlapped at their religious root.

Her familiarity with these cultures made her the most suitable to represent the Lavellan clan at the Conclave. The mark is more of an exciting mystery to her than a painful burden, and though she does believe in the diplomatic efforts of the Inquisition and is firmly comfortable in her place leading the charge against Corypheus (since he wants to kill specifically her), she's secretly most invested in the Inquisition's acquisition of ancient texts, access to libraries, and uncovering of secrets. For her, "Inquisitor" is a decidedly literal title.

Romance stuff under the cut.

I was very unsure of how the Solas romance would go with a character like her. As @silksieve said, I'm coming at the romance from the wrong end; I already know who Solas is and yet know literally zero of the romance structure. I needed to create a character who could survive a heartbreak, and I think I've done that, but I'm fascinated to see how the intermediary beats shake out.

However, the romance ended up sparking naturally due to lovely happenstance. I've been keeping Solas in the party almost constantly so I can learn to like him, which meant he was present as I worked through all the astrariums and ocularums in the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, and most of the Emerald Graves. (Yes, even here, I'm still a completionist.) This led to a nice bit of headcanon that Adahla & Solas worked through a lot of the star puzzles together, which meant that later in the Graves, when I stumbled upon one without Solas in the party, Adahla & I both had a moment of seriously missing him and wishing he was there.

It felt natural, therefore, to examine (logically and methodically) why she was missing him so much, and after bringing him a copy of the unsolved map so she could watch him solve it and judge the number of tries it took him, I think she realized she was growing interested in more than his stories of Fade wanderings and legends out of time.

Considering this whole relationship started with him being grabby and rude while she felt like death, I'm amazed they've gotten this far. She may not have always liked him, but she has always respected him, and I the player was surprised at how smooth the change in her opinion felt.

Also as a player, I'm still a bit unsure of Solas myself. I like the deep wealth of history and knowledge he provides, but there's a...a sort of rigid pride to him that I personally still find off-putting. As I mentioned on stream, I'm going to need to see some chinks in the armor to really buy into the romance in any major way. Plus, he's just so...blandly designed! I dunno. Bald, beige, and a boring dresser? I know this is a me thing, but dang, seeing the concept art with dreads...well, a girl can dream.

Adahla, however, is having a great time. Once she decides on something, she commits with her whole heart, and now that he's admitted to being thrown off-balance during the Fade scene, she's made it her mission to keep him on that back foot as long as possible. I again have no idea how the romance plays out, and please God don't spoil me, but she & I are both hopeful that she'll keep him guessing through the end.

In terms of gameplay, I've about finished the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, the Emerald Graves, and the Forbidden Oasis. I plan to do Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts (or whatever it's called) next, followed by Crestwood, and then will keep working through the maps one by one. The level gating isn't quite as bad as I remember, though still annoying, and my few QoL mods have shaved off the worst of the gameplay irritants (thank you @bettydice!).

All in all, I'm having a really good time! Like I said, I'm still a little doubtful about Solas myself, but the character concept coming into shape for Adahla feels sound, and I think she's resilient enough to weather some of the revelations that Priory wasn't. I'm excited to keep going and find out! :)

Also, my girl, because I still love her best:

[loquaciousquark]

Adahla Lavellan Stream Archive

Mostly for my own reference. The two playlist links at the top should update automatically; summaries will likely be updated in bursts rather than after every stream.

Master Playlist Link

Part 1: Features character creation, the prologue, arriving in Haven, meeting the advisors and Haven NPCs (first flirt with Solas 3:05), exploring the Haven map, reaching the Hinterlands, exploring the southeastern portion of the Hinterlands, getting very stuck on a Fade rift, reaching and clearing the fortress in the west, exploring the central/western portion of the Hinterlands, getting very frustrated with a misplaced map marker for a refugee cache (6:58), returning to have more conversations with advisors and companions (7:15), first war table missions, talking with Varric about Hawke, talking to Solas about the Fade and about himself, talking to Cassandra.

Part 2: Features a renamed PC, more exploration of central/north Hinterlands, first glimpse of the dragon in the northeast, collecting shards, especially one after ten years (0:53), exploring the northern Hinterlands and hitting a leveled rift, making a round of the companions at Haven (Solas at 2:32), exploring and then immediately leaving the Fallow Mire (2:50), exploring and then immediately leaving the Storm Coast, arriving in Val Royeaux for plot (3:10), meeting Sera and Vivienne (3:52), another tour of companions at Haven, war table missions, speaking with Solas about himself (4:57 - 2nd flirt).

Part 3: Features collecting Bull, exploring the Storm Coast, returning to the Hinterlands southwest area (2:30), picking up Blackwall, more clearing of southwestern Hinterlands rifts.

Part 4: Features talking with Blackwall in camp, talking to Krem and Bull, finishing off the southwestern Hinterlands. Immediately continued in Part 5.

Part 5: Features returning to the leveled northern Hinterlands, a lengthy discussion of the portrayal of religion in western RPGs (0:28-1:15), exploring the Deep Roads thaig in the Hinterlands (1:02), discussing change in characters (1:15-1:30), looping convos with companions at Haven, reaching Redcliffe for the first time (2:26), struggling with Lord Woolsley (2:34), In Hushed Whispers, companions at Haven (Solas at 5:29) & discussion of Adahla's changing opinions of Solas, the Fallow Mire, a failed attempt at the Hinterlands dragon, In Your Heart Shall Burn, arriving at Skyhold, my hot DA takes (8:55), beginning and then immediately abandoning a talk with Solas.

Part 6: Features exploring Skyhold, war table missions regarding Lavellan clan, meeting Hawke (1:30), more war table missions, exploring the Emerald Graves, exploring expanded Skyhold (3:30), picking up some companion quests.

Part 7: Features selecting beige clothing replacement, sitting in judgement in Skyhold for the first time, war table missions, another take at the Hinterlands dragon, exploring the northern Emerald Graves, struggling with the haunted villa, doing the first astrarium without Solas (1:50), continuing to explore the Emerald Graves, returning to Skyhold (3:58), war table missions, sitting in judgement of Alexius, Cassandra reading schlock (4:25), Sera's personal quest, the first Quizquisition question, introducing the specializations, the first Fade conversation (and first kiss) with Solas (5:34), some minor upgrades to Skyhold, returning to the Emerald Graves (6:07), arriving at and exploring the Forbidden Oasis (6:11).

Part 8: Features defeating the Emerald Graves dragon, war table missions, arriving at the Emprise du Lion (0:48), discussion of hobbies (1:24), returning to Skyhold for companion conversations & war table missions (2:51), drinking with Bull (2:57), picking up Solas's personal quest (3:13), crafting, war table missions, back to the Emprise (3:51), fighting Imshael (3:06), fighting two dragons (4:35-5:10), Dorian's personal quest.

Part 9: Features wrapping up Dorian's personal quest, elven serving man (0:40), Solas's Halamshiral conversation (0:55), then a long, torturous, and eventually fruitless attempt at the Winter Palace, including a discussion of level design at 3:16 and the most tragic realization at 3:50; then backing up to the Exalted Plains at 3:52, Solas's personal quest at 4:08, a loop of conversations at Skyhold, exploring the Exalted Plains, returning the golden halla, and one attempt at the Solas romance lock-in conversation at 5:27.

Part 10: Features exploring the Exalted Plains, the official Solas romance lock-in convo (1:04), the Temple of Dirthamen, fighting the Exalted Plains dragon (3:26), discussing the length of the games (3:53), returning to the Emerald Graves for some wrap-up quests (4:04), conversations at Skyhold including meeting the Chargers (4:10), playing chess with Cullen, committing to the rift mage specialty, war table missions.

Part 11: Features the actual final end of Wicked Hearts, the Solas Halamshiral dance flirt (0:04), the Solas dance (0:38), replaying to temporarily judge the box that is Florianne (0:51), war table missions, returning to the Storm Coast for small missions for Blackwall and Varric, struggling again with shards in the Forbidden Oasis, war table missions (including the next Lavellan clan stage), landing at the Western Approach.

Part 12: Features exploring the Western Approach, Adahla realizing she's interested in becoming a scholar (0:23), discussion of DAI romances (1:00), horse adventures (1:09), taking Caer Branach (1:14), discussion of college academics (2:00-2:22), the Still Ruins (2:03), Skyhold companion convos including ruminations on the Divine (2:32), meeting Kieran (3:19), upgrading to the mage tower, war table quests, agonizing over the number of war table quests (3:51), returning to the Approach & fighting the dragon (4:07), exploring Coracavus, solving the Fenrir astrarium (5:06), backing up about an hour to fix a broken quest, returning to Skyhold after completing the Western Approach and sitting in judgement (6:08), war table missions, turning in some shards, the Cradle of Sulevin (6:28), Bull's personal quest (7:00), Vivienne's personal quest (7:19), Da'nan Hinan (7:24), more war table missions, exploring the Hissing Wastes (8:26), getting physically sick at an ocularum (8:28), a discussion of Hot Fade Ladies In Your Area (9:03-9:08), horse movement (10:01), a discussion of open world travel mechanics (10:02-10:08), discovering the dog merchant (10:19), discussion of Dorian having a bad time (10:43, 10:52, 10:56), fighting the dragon outside of hunting season (10:59), leaving for Val Royeaux for Josephine's quest (11:28).

Part 13: Features discussion of collections, review of videos finishing the Western Approach missing areas, receiving the prize from the […] woman in the Hissing Wastes, war table missions for mounts, turning in the last shards (0:35), more war table missions, wrapping up Vivienne's personal quest (0:53), rescuing Sutherland (1:07), wrapping up Josie's quest (1:12-1:22), fighting the Highland Ravager & discussing how characters react to tragedy (1:26), finding Maddox (1:53), talking with companions at Skyhold (2:04), arriving at Crestwood (2:08), Dorian having a bad time (2:50), the conclusion of the chess game (3:02), taking Caer Bronach (3:03), restoring the dam (3:48), fighting the Crestwood dragon (3:52).

Part 14: Features the Quizquisition (part 2!), companion conversations at Skyhold including a discussion of Adahla's gardening & childhood (0:28), picking up the nug mounts, returning to Crestwood (0:45), meeting Hawke & Stroud (0:55), discussion of game design (1:10-1:22), Plants vs. Zombies codex (1:12), more discussion of the Divine (1:30), exploring Old Crestwood (1:36), discussion of persuasion options in games (1:40), backing up about an hour for a broken quest, discussion of Merrill's nationality and Nevarra (2:06), discussion of MMOs (2:21), stopping the rain (2:36), meeting Hawke & Stroud in the Western Approach (2:42), starting Here Lies the Abyss (3:00), Dorian having a bad time (4:07), Nightmare challenging Hawke (3:15), gravestones (4:49), Virmire-lite (5:04), discussing why (5:07), deciding the fate of the Wardens (5:19), briefly replaying to check the other Warden option, a round of companion conversations, Morrigan taking Adahla through the eluvian (5:42), extremely frustrating conversations with Giselle (5:49), meeting Bianca (6:06), discussing the Divine with Leliana (6:22), Bull, Cassandra, Sera, Cole/Solas, Cullen, Blackwall, sitting in judgement, talking with Blackwall again in a very depressing bar scene (6:46), falling down in jail (6:54), saving Lavellan at last (6:58), war table missions, collecting the last mosaic pieces, Dorian continuing to have a bad time (7:18), review of completed collections, picking up Blackwall's personal quest (7:25), the third and final Quizquisition (7:27), the Boon of the Spoon (7:29), official stream end (7:39), recap for Silk.

Part 15: Features the personal quests of Varric & Blackwall, the WIcked Grace game (1:07), meeting Vivienne's friends, picking up Cassandra's personal quest (1:23), war table missions, wrapping up with Blackwall, pranking with Sera (1:45), discussing Adamant with Cole, Cole's personal quest (1:54), Cassandra's personal quest (2:12), Solas and Adahla's very specific form of flirting (2:26-2:32, esp. the last three minutes), picking up Leliana's personal quest, a letter from the HoF (2:44), Leliana's personal quest, a round of companions (2:58), and arriving in the Frostback Basin (3:13).

Part 16: Features an introduction to the Frostback Basin, exploring the southern and western portions of the map, astrariums (0:31), closing rifts, Dorian/Bull banter (0:41), meeting the conspiracy theorist and other Avvar tribesmen (1:30), a tough fight against despair demons on the southern island (2:20), Tilana's death (2:28), another astrarium (2:50), exploring the Tevinter ruins & solving puzzles (3:06), exploring the tomb (3:23).

Part 17: A night of bad internet. Features following Ameridan's trail, exploring the northern edge of the basin, freeing Storvackr (0:54), discussion of Adahla's possible future (1:10), the last astrarium of the game (1:28), first reaching of the Old Temple (1:35), Solas being a DPS Mercy (1:45), a lengthy discussion of political organizations in Thedas, reading some very bad poetry (2:09), reaching the astrarium cave. Internet drop, then a bit of exploration and a continued discussion of Solas. Internet drop, then a jump to hotspot internet, completion of Sigurd's quest (2:40), turn-in of many quests to the Avvar hold, discussion of god-runes with the augur (2:51), Varric meets a fan (3:00), picking up Finn's quest for his father (3:09), the Avvar trials (3:12), disappointment at the lack of verse trials (3:20), discovering that falling won't kill me has changed gameplay + wasp/leech discussion (3:38). Internet drop, then banter, completion of the Nox Mortua quest, returning to the Avvar hold to turn in several quests (4:16), beginning the DLC conclusion (4:28), entering the Old Temple (4:41), reaching the heart and final fight of the Old Temple (4;59), beginning the conversation with Ameridan (5:06), unpacking what just happened (5:13), me losing my mind at the parallels (5:25), and again (5:34), beginning the dragon fight (5:45), thinking about the relationship between Ameridan and Hakkon, finishing the battle (5:55), marveling at the events of this DLC, discussing the outcome with the Avvar, judging Storvackr (6:04), wrapping up with Kenric, a loop of companions including Cole's post-quest wrap-up, war table missions.

Part 18: Features What Pride Has Wrought with Dread Corgi part one (1:25) and Dread Corgi part two (1:31), culminating in Adahla drinking from the Well of Sorrows (1:35), a loop of companion conversations including cutscenes with Cullen and Cole, then the final romance cutscene with Solas (2:19). Internet drop, then multiple replays of the Solas cutscene, the judgement of Samson (3:11), following Morrigan into the Fade and meeting Flemeth (3:17), the Altar of Mythal, wandering around for a little banter in the Emerald Graves, replaying the Solas scene for additional dialogue options (4:04).

Part 19: Features a little Cole banter about the Solas breakup, thoughts about Adahla's relationship with the others going into endgame (0:05), a final round of conversations with all companions, Silk FREAKING ME OUT about someone getting arrested (0:14), beginning endgame (0:24), the defeat and explosion (0:37), discussing the outcome with companions (0:41), making myself laugh really hard about Solas (0:44), balcony and epilogue (1:03), thoughts about the game, Solas and Mythal (1:17), quick discussion with Cole, more thoughts on Solas & the breakup as well as the narrative going into VG, accidentally banning stealthflower for 10 minutes (1:33), me laughing the hardest I ever have on stream (1:44-2:02), entering the Deep Roads fissure (1:57), establishing the first camp (2:17), Towers of Hanoi!!!! (2:40), discussing viscerally disturbing video games (2:49), Adahla coping badly with Solas leaving (2:51), exploring the second level, breaking the darkspawn siege (3:41), setting up the second camp (4:07).

Part 20: Features continuing down the Deep Roads, exploring the expanded bridges & getting Spooked (0:35), Renn's death (0:41), discovering the road to His Majesty (1:20), fighting around a lake of blood (1:41), game crash, collecting the last gears, entering the final area (2:32), final boss battle (2:44), aftermath (2:46), final Expedition Table missions (3:00), back to Skyhold, one final round of Skyhold companions and discussions of their friendships, discussion of choice of Divine (3:16), one final war table surprise from Dagna, final base game & romance thoughts, starting Trespasser (3:53), briefly jumping back to talk to Morrigan, Josie & Varric's reunions.

Part 21: Features speaking to all companions about their last two years (including the most hilarious spa day ever at 0:54), reading several Hard in Hightown chapters, struggling for fifteen minutes on a jump puzzle, beginning negotiations with Ferelden and Orlais (1:25), going through the eluvian (1:31), exploring the Crossroads, me losing my mind at an incredibly dumb codex joke (1:39), defeating the blue fire my own way (1:47), discovering elvish history and thinking about Tevinter parallels (1:57, 2:04-2:20), discussions of throwing Varric (2:20), me forgetting what fruits palm trees make (2:26), examining a mural & Adahla half-realizing who Solas is (2:29), me making a puzzle much harder than it has to be, first Dread Wolf codex entry (2:33), discovering the back treasury entrance, me laughing at Solas again (2:36), more elvish history, returning to Halamshiral (2:47), talking with friends again, back into the Crossroads (3:15), a lovely codex entry (3:17), into the Deep Roads (3:27), second Dread Wolf codex entry (3:40).

Part 22: Features concluding the Deep Roads, returning to Halamshiral & remanding the Inquisition guard (0:18), discussions with companions, very dumb easter eggs (0:45), multiple books about the Evanuris, Sandal's diary (0:53), discussing the library's fall with the spirit (0:56), getting clues about who she's chasing (0:59), more spirit convos (1:07), third DW codex entry along with another key mural & discussion of Adahla's feelings on now knowing who Solas is (1:09 through 1:22), Hard in Hightown chapter ??? (1:28), meeting the Viddasala (1:44), returning to Halamshiral (1:55), fireworks (2:18), alimony (2:27), me being holy jumpscared by a puzzle (2:46) and then moved by the prize, beginning the final approach (3:13), the last DW codex and the last mural & Adahla's thoughts, the last last astrarium (3:20), Adahla coming to terms with who she's chasing (3:21), Adahla thinking about death (3:27), Adahla writing her will via yelling it at Dorian (3:39), freeing the dragon & meeting Viddasala again & discussing Solas (3:46), entering the final map section (3:50), the final battle (4:10), stepping through the last mirror (4:18), returning to Halamshiral (4:31), epilogue slides (4:41), initial discussion (4:56-5:17), back through the mirror, discussion of Solas's motives, third trip through the mirror and discussion of new hobbies for Solas (5:37), discussion of Adahla's feelings (5:53), watching the low approval version of the scene (5:58), discussion of how unbelievably dumb Solas can be, one last replay (6:07), discussion of ramifications of tearing down the Veil (6:26-6:36), reflections on Adahla's narrative, reflections on gameplay (6:45), final reflections on Solas & the romance (6:57), brief discussions of Veilguard, wrap-up, and thanks.

[rilakkatie]

[rilakkatie]

bliss  — adahla&bram

[patheticnugbaby]

Solas. Cuddles in tulip fields, soft sunshine, "you hold my heart" MAKE MY DAY BB

“We should do this more often,” Adahla smiled, reaching over to interlace her fingers with his.

He was quiet, smiling with his eyes just barely closed. Adahla wrinkled her nose, letting go of his hand and nestling herself up against his side with her head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, idly playing with her wild hair. She let out a soft, happy sigh, turning her head to look at the flowers.

Tulips, that’s what he called them. Their colors were so bright they almost didn’t look real. The sky was almost a fairytale blue with the fluffiest clouds. Even the sunshine seemed softer here.

“How did you find this place?” Solas stirred then, of course, always ready to answer a question.

“An accidental discovery some time ago,” He paused and she felt him press his head against her hair, “I wasn’t sure it’d still be here.”

“Unusually optimistic for you,” She teased him, sitting up to rest on one of her elbows, her other hand resting on his chest, over his heart.

He laughed and she cherished that sound. It seemed that he laughed so rarely she hoarded that sound in her heart, right next to the butterflies. Adahla rested her head on his shoulder again, lightly tracing little patterns over his chest, watching him breathe.

It was several long, lovely moments before she became keenly aware of his eyes on her. At first, she didn’t look, feeling her cheeks and the tips of her ears heat up. She chanced a sideways glance at him, unconsciously biting her lip.

He hadn’t really moved much, just tilted his head to watch her. His eyes looked warm, almost heated but not quite. If she hadn’t spent an embarrassing amount of time just looking at his face she’d have missed the tiniest curve of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

To hide her embarrassment she kissed one of those corners. She felt him sigh before he turned to kiss her fully. An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her on top of him, the other tightly braided in her hair. Their kisses were so few, especially kisses like this. She treasured them, placing every single one the same place she kept the sound of his laughter and the butterflies.

“You hold my heart,” She whispered, resting her forehead on his.

It took her just a moment to register that she’d said this to him. The butterflies roared up in her stomach and she let out the tiniest gasp of mortification. She didn’t dare meet his eyes.

He kissed her again, this time softer, slower. The kind of kiss that melted her too-full heart.

“I will treasure it, always,”

Okay, wow. Thank you, I didn’t know I needed to write this.

@solemis

[patheticnugbaby]

Ink

Have some more Solavellan fluff, instigated by Cole because he absolutely would. I don’t think there’s any elven that needs to be translated in the tags so I hope you guys enjoy.

Adahla sat at her desk, trying to bandage her fingers. Her left hand was bandaged fairly well if a little lopsided. She growled as she gingerly tried wrapping her right hand again, cursing whichever god had decided that in order to be right handed her left hand had to be absolutely useless. She held up and twisted her hand a little, knocking over an ink vial.

“Fenedhis!” She hissed, scrambling to tip it right side up before it completely ruined all of her letters.

Ink spilled over the half-wrapped bandages on her hand, staining her skin pitch black. After she put the stopper in and set the inkwell aside on her bookshelf she used her ink-free left hand to carefully pick up the letters. Most of them were still alright, it was the bottom three which had been irreparably blotted with the ink so that only a fraction of the words were still legible. On the bright side, they were letters she’d written instead of letters she hadn’t read yet. She threw the ruined letters into the hearth, then used the rest of the bandages she’d intended on wrapping her right hand with to mop up the ink. She rolled her shoulders in an attempt to relax as she walked back around to her desk.

Intense pain stung her toes as she stubbed them on the corner of her desk, “Fenedhis lasa!” she snarled, angrily smacking the side of her fist on the offending desk.

“... Inquisitor?” A soft, hesitant voice floated through her door, followed by a little knock, like an afterthought. Solas.

“What is it?” She growled with a little more venom than she’d intended, “I’m sorry, come in.”

“Cole said you needed my help,” Solas elaborated as he opened the door, cautiously peering into the room as he came up the steps, “through the door, it sounded like you needed someone’s help.”

Adahla shot him a little scowl that wrinkled her nose, “Just a trying day. I can’t imagine why he’d specifically ask you.”

“I imagine because you’ve got ink on your face.” She froze, ears flicking tersely as she slowly turned on her heel to the tiny mirror she had above the dresser.

She had a few long smears where she liked to pinch the bridge of her nose when she was frustrated, two more along her right cheek and a few flecks around her lips. Heat suddenly flared in her cheeks and at the tips of her twitching ears as her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Mmhm,” She heard him laugh, which only made her blush more and she whirled on him, flicking her ink-stained hand at him, making him jump back with a small, indignant yelp, “Not so funny now!”

“Unfortunately, vhenan, it’s still funny,” He chuckled a little more before clearing his throat and nodding down at her hands, “What happened to your hands?”

“Oh,” She gave her fingers a surly look before she folded them behind her back, “still practicing with some of the alchemy Kihm’s been teaching me. It’s more... Volatile than I’m used to, just some minor burns and things. Teach me to be more careful next time.”

“May I see?” Solas held out his hands like he was expecting to take hers.

She grumbled a little before she held them out to him, trying to stay at least a little bit angry with him while he carefully examined her fingers.

“I assume that binding them yourself is what caused the accident with the ink?”

She gave him a curt little nod.

“And the colorful curse I heard through the door?”

Adahla felt her blush creep a little higher in her ears and cheeks, “Ah, no. I also stubbed my foot on the desk cleaning up.”

He smiled like he was holding back a laugh before he let her hands go, “Would you like some help?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decide if the soft, sly turn of his mouth was worth it, “What is this ‘help’ going to cost me?”

“I didn’t say it would cost you anything,” That slyness became just a little more obvious, something in his eyes, or his eyebrows, “but if it were then I’d say it’d be a promise.”

“What kind of promise?” She wrinkled her nose a little bit.

“Only that if you need help with your hands again you ask me,” He paused, inclining his head at her desk, “if only to prevent you from ruining more letters.”

“I think that’ll be acceptable,” She over-exaggerated the gracious nod she gave him, making him chuckle a little as he went to her desk.

“You have more bandages in here?”

“Bottom drawer on the right,” She held her hands up as she sat on her bed, careful not to drip ink on the bedding.

He pulled a few more bandages and a cloth from the drawer, taking a seat next to her, “Let me redo your left hand, first.”

“What’s wrong with my left one?” She scoffed, but she allowed him to take it and start to unwrap her hand.

“Nothing, if you don’t mind it coming off inside of an hour,” He quipped with a soft smile, looking a little harder at her hands, “what burned you?”

“Oh, that one,” She tilted her hand a little, “that was my first attempt at bottling lightning this morning.”

“Bottling lightning?”

“Mmhm. As far as a first try goes I’m told I did well,” She grinned, a small swell of pride in her chest.

“What is it that this Kihm’s been training you to do that requires that you bottle lightning?” He asked with a soft, skeptical tone as he spread an acrid-smelling paste on the burns.

“He calls it Tempest. Here, I prepare alchemical draughts and explosives for various purposes, most of them involving throwing them at things, or drinking them.” She replied, wiggling her fingers a little as he started to wrap them.

“Hm,” He wrapped all the way up to her wrist, leaving her thumb still mobile, “too tight?”

“No,” She flexed her hand a little with a smile, “thank you.”

“It’s no trouble,” He replied with a soft little smile, unwrapping her left hand and throwing the ink-stained bandage into the fire, “why ‘Tempest’?”

“I’ve always liked alchemy, as much of it as Clan Lavellan knew, which wasn’t much,” Adahla admitted, watching his slender fingers as he scrubbed gently at the ink stains on her hand, “and there is something enticing about seeing just how far you can push yourself, or seeing how far you can push the rules,” her ears flicked a little, “when I actually use the things I’ve made it feels like I’m running in the eye of a storm. I’m sure that to anyone else it looks like chaos, glass, and fire everywhere, but there’s a rhythm to it. Like a dance.”

“Magic can have a similar feeling,” He replied, gathering some of the harsh-smelling paste in his fingers and gently rubbing it into her hands, “I expected that you’d be more... Measured in what path you chose.”

“You of all people should know that I am only a ‘measured’ woman when it is necessary. If there is a freer, wilder path that can be taken then I should like to take it,” She said, giving him a little, feline smile that she almost wasn’t sure he saw.

Solas started wrapping her left hand, eyebrows furrowed a little with concentration. Struck by impulse, she leaned in and pressed a feather-light kiss on the scar on his forehead. He smiled, glancing up at her as he finished wrapping her left hand.

“What’s that for?”

“Do I really need a reason to kiss you, vhenan?” She smirked, flexing her left hand a little, “Can I not kiss you only because I like to?”

He laughed softly, picking up the cloth again and gently tilting her face by the chin, “Hold still.”

Solas gently dabbed and scrubbed at the ink smears on her face, starting with the ones on her cheek. His brows were drawn down slightly, eyes intent on the streak he was currently working on. Despite the fact that she knew he wasn’t intentionally meeting her eyes there was something about the intensity in his eyes that made butterflies roil in her stomach and up to her chest.

“Is something the matter, vhenan?” He asked, a little smile playing on the corners of his mouth, still not directly meeting her eyes.

“No,” She frowned a little, “why?”

“Your ears are twitching, and you’ve been biting your lip,” There was that slyness again, in the way he smiled, she wasn’t sure what about the smile made him look any more sly than usual, but it was there.

“Oh,” She made a conscious effort to still her ears, a blush creeping on her cheeks again.

“What’re you thinking?” He asked, changing what side of the cloth he was using and starting on the bridge of her nose.

“Ah- sorry, what?” She wrinkled her nose a little, blinking a few times.

“What’re you thinking?” He repeated a little slower, dabbing at the side of her nose, “You’re usually a little more talkative.”

How much I’d like to kiss you, She thought, ears flicking a little, or that I’d like to nibble at your ears and drag my nails down your back so you’ll make that delicious little sound.

“Just entertaining ideas,” She answered with a coy little smile.

“What kinds of ideas?” His eyes flicked to hers for a moment, a knowing gleam in them.

“I think you could find out, if you had a mind to,” Adahla gave him a nearly predatory smirk, her tongue running along the edge of her teeth.

His ears gave a sharp little flick as he finished dabbing the ink spots from around her lip. There was something heated and dark in his eyes as he lightly traced the outline of her lips with the tips of his fingers. His ears flicked again and he cleared his throat, slowly, almost reluctantly moving his hands away.

“Another day, vhenan,” Solas pressed a tender kiss on her forehead.

“Vhenan’ara,” She answered, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, “thank you.”

“You’re most welcome,” He squeezed her hand back before replacing the bandages in her desk, “was there anything else you needed assistance with?”

“No, though you’re welcome to stay if you’d like to,” She smiled, standing as she came over to her desk, “I still have a lot of work to do today but you’re always welcome up here.”

“Thank you,” He gave her a warm smile before he started to step out from behind her desk, only to be blocked by Adahla, “... Vhenan?”

“You don’t need to sound nervous, Solas,” She chided him with a little smirk as she brought her arms to snare around his waist, “May I kiss you before you go?”

He didn’t answer, just brought his hands up to tenderly cradle her face and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was warm and gentle, only the barest touch of his tongue that she suspected was more of a habit than anything else. She treasured his kisses, the taste of him, the softness of his lips against hers, how after almost every kiss he took the extra time to run his thumb along the outline of her lips, like the ghost of a kiss. He pulled away from her, only to place a softer, quicker kiss on her lips again, followed by the feather-light touch of his calloused thumb. She smiled up at him, something about the warmth and adoration of his gaze made her feel like she was melting.

“Ar lath, ma vhenan,” He murmured smiling a little wider when she grinned up at him.

“Lathan na,” She replied, pulling away a little to let him pass, “Should I come by later tonight?”

“I look forward to it,” He said, tucking her hair behind her ears before he left.

“And if you’re asleep?”

He stopped before he started down the stairs, looking over his shoulder at her, “Then you should wake me. Time spent with you is well-worth lost sleep.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” She smiled, rounding her desk and sitting in her chair, pulling over a stack of letters, “Until tonight, ma’arlath.”

“Until tonight.”