#and on solas's end - he does not want to admit it but i do think he likes it. he likes having the bonds of friendship and kinship

[attractthecrows]

yeah yeah trick weekes says whatever about it not making sense that solas couldnt sneak off THEY FAILED TO CONSIDER that maybe he just is ass at it when he gets invested. much like. the whole fucking rest of the romance where he COMPLETELY fails to resist until the breakup.

anyway.

im personally of the opinion that he's more liable to slip up - fail at sneaking, accidentally reveal details, contradict himself - when he actually makes bonds with people. which is why after trespasser he goes and lives alone in the lighthouse for ten years but i digress.

and i think "that", the bonds tripping him up, should be reflected in his exit from the Inquisition. you're enemies or neutral, yeah he just vanishes. there's nothing to keep him there, nothing to interfere with his plans and intentions. you're (ex)lovers? i think he still would pull back purposefully and probably vanish, but there would be definite hesitation. he would have to force himself to do so, because fuck, he wants to stay. he wants to be close to you. but he also, crucially, knows that you have a dangerous sway over him, so he MUST disengage. if you're friends, it takes him some effort. because he does like you, he doesn't want to do what he has to, it's been so long since he had people who were friends to him, and he doesn't have to force himself away because he's in too deep. he knows you would worry about him. he might not be willing to give anyone the truth - but he would owe you a goodbye, at the very least. especially if you weren't the type to try to convince him to stay.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

DAI x BG3 matchups I need to see. I’m not good at writing crossovers nor am I clever at all. This is very much non-exhaustive and very much not the end point of these characters’ potential interactions with each other.

Karlach + Sera + Iron Bull

The absolute chaos. The absolute CHAOS. A powerhouse. Putting aside Karlach’s demon heritage aside, she and Iron Bull tossing back tankards and swapping war stories as vets that have been dealt shitty hands but continue to chug along despite it. Karlach and Sera connecting over growing up mainly on the streets and having soft spots for little ragamuffins. Plus they all talk about women’s tits a lot. I feel Sera would find Karlach sexy and funny.

Wyll + Cole

Like Solas and Varric, Wyll would take to Cole because he recognizes Cole’s desire to help others, even if his methods are a bit unorthodox. He would recognize Cole’s soul as gentle and kind, and his efforts to atone for the murders he committed in the Tower as proof of his humanity. He will join the Uncle-Dad Duo and complete the Uncle-Dad Trio. Cole would gravitate toward Wyll’s goodness in turn, and probably tell Wyll that him making a contract wasn’t foolish because in the end he saved a city, and if that was his desire, then he committed no sin in doing so.

Solas + Astarion

The messiest shit can only occur, and my messy bitch self wants to see it. Watch as Solas’s upright and stiff demeanor utterly bores Astarion. Watch as Astarion’s selfishness, penchant for violence, and casual disregard for the well-being of others utterly pisses Solas the fuck off. Watch as Astarion yawns or interrupts Solas’s lectures with a “yes, yes, we get it” or the most dramatic eyeroll and overwrought “ugh”. Watch as Solas and Astarion immediately sniff each other out as liars and schemers from first jump and hold each other at a distance, the tension spiking at random moments early in them knowing each other where the other prods at their falsehoods. Watch as Astarion is dumbfounded by Solas expressing his condolences to Astarion upon learning of Astarion’s enslavement to his master, because how could a man who holds such reproach for him still manage to feel pity? ‘It is not pity, but compassion, which you are at liberty to reject. That is your right as a free man, just as it is my right to feel it.’

In the best case scenario, Astarion calms down eventually, teasing Solas but still treating him like that friend of a friend that you grudgingly admit is useful. I think a part of Astarion would find Solas’s penchant dislike of him funny.

Vivienne + Astarion + Dorian

We are all doomed. The haughtiness will be scarcely contained. Dorian and Astarion are definitely flirting. Fucking? Not sure. But definitely flirting and enjoying killing bad guys, playfully arguing over wine, snickering over Solas’s shabby dress.

Shadowheart + Leliana

Tools forged to serve a religious order? Check. Crisis of faith? Check. Subterfuge preferred? Check.

Lae’zel + Cassandra

Soldiers recognizing soldiers. 🫡 ‘Why are the men around me so annoying.’

Minsc & Boo + Cole

Cole might be able to understand Boo! If not his speech, then his little hamster feelings. Minsc might be wary of Cole for the information that he manages to glean from Minsc’s head, but his unquestioned understanding of Boo would probably smooth that bump in the road, right?

Solas + Gale

A friend remarked that Gale would remind Solas too much of himself (prideful, ambitious) and thus they would not get along. There is that. I think that Gale would get a small smile out of Solas every now and then with his quips, because Solas himself is clearly a fan of banter; Gale would provide more of the energy in the same way Dorian does with his and Solas’s more civil banters. Gale and Solas also both hold a great measure of respect and adoration for magic as a force, an element, a piece of entirety that is beautiful for its own existence. Not simply just what magic can do for them as wielders of magic, but what it is and how it does so much to enhance a person’s understanding and interaction with the world, as precious as sight or sound.

Minthara + Iron Bull

Oh she will have him cowed in a goddamn minute. Oh man. Oh no. ‘Yes ma’am’, ‘no ma’am’.

Minthara + Cassandra

Oh this would be so interesting. Disciplined, serious bulwarks with little time for silly little men—Minthara would share Cassandra’s frustration and lack of amusement with Varric, though Cassandra would consider her suggestions to maim him.

Solas + Halsin + Iron Bull

I see potential here. Iron Bull and Solas already have a dynamic of Iron Bull’s “I have a pretty good idea of who you are, and it’s a liar” toward Solas, while Solas grudgingly respects Iron Bull’s strength and mental acumen in the same way you would respect a very intelligent bear—do not draw attention more than necessary, but stand tall lest it smell fear. Halsin feels like a softer Iron Bull, a mediation between the two. Like Iron Bull, his stature and build belies a thoughtful and sharp mind. Like Solas, he sees everything as connected, feeding into the other as part of a system, and would too feel a sense of loss at magic and mundane being so dramatically split as it is in Thedas—an aberration against what is natural. Also like Iron Bull, he’s frank with his sexuality. I’m certain the two would swap stories over booze. The trio would be arguably the three most mature and experienced in a room in any given situation. Not only that, but Halsin is far more actively in touch with his heart and honest with his feelings than Solas or Iron Bull. The latter two very much care about their loved ones, but with Solas it is under the surface and with Iron Bull it’s mixed up in cultural trappings of romance not being a “thing” in his culture, and thus both struggle with their feelings. Halsin however is very much in touch. There is next to nothing obstructing what his head and heart wants. He listens to his heart and he follows it. Solas and Iron Bull could learn a thing or two from him, tbh

Also I feel like Iron Bull, Halsin, and even Solas have a bit of a brat tamer streak in them so there’s that

Also Astarion would outright reject the notion of drinking Cullen’s blood cuz it smells like battery acid.

[arlathvhenan]

There’s something to be said about the fact that Solas is able to and does empathize with the people of Thedas even early in the game when he supposedly doesn’t see them as real. This is made evident in both his dialogue with the Inquisitor and companions, as well as his approval milestones.

Similar to Cole, approves when you show care and compassion for people. People whom, by his own admission, he isn’t certain are entirely real at first. Even so, he can’t bring himself to ignore their suffering. Even when he knows deep down he’ll have to destroy their way of life in order to make Thedas whole again, he feels compelled to make the years they have left as comfortable and painless as possible.

It would’ve been easy for him to let the Qunari follow through with their plot. An all out war between the North and South of Thedas can only have made his operation easier, especially once he has the Eluvian network. He could have used that chaos to his advantage. Who’s going to have the time to track him down when everyone is too busy fighting off Qunari invaders?

Instead he not only foils that plot, thus making himself a direct target of The Qun. He also tells the Inquisitor what his own plans are, which is also going to make his job much harder. Why give himself up like that? Why jeopardize the mission he’s apparently willing to sacrificed everything to accomplish?

Unless maybe he isn’t.

There’s a great post by @vlaakithstits positing that Solas wants us to stop him, or at least part of him does. Even if you have the Low Approval ending, it’s clear he isn’t really ok with what he plans to do, but just as it was when he made the Veil, he sees the alternative as a greater evil. To quote the man himself:

“Every alternative was worse.”

Another quote from Trespasser I dwell on frequently is one of the lines he says to the Inquisitor just as he’s about to leave:

“I would treasure the chance to be proven wrong once again.”

Obviously we know he’s referring to his plan here. He wants desperately to wrong about the Veil. Not the part about it coming down—that’s a must—but rather the means by which it must be accomplished.

Solas is an expert on magic and the Fade, and by extension the nature of Thedas itself. Even then, there are things he doesn’t know, and things he can’t foresee. He couldn’t fully predict the consequences of raising the Veil any more than he can fully predict the consequences of tearing it down. All he has are his expertise, and his past experiences. And most of what he’s experienced throughout his life has conditioned him to always assume the worst.

And so he does.

He assumes that there is no way to save his people and restore Thedas that won’t come at the expense of the modern world. Previously, that dilemma didn’t bother him so much, because he hadn’t yet come to see the value in the modern world. It’s why he says he wants to be proven wrong ‘once again.’ He’s admitting here that the Inquisitor has already changed his mind once when they changed his opinion of Thedas. He no longer sees the modern world as valueless, and that makes everything worse.

When Solas says that he’d love to be wrong again, it’s not that he wants to give up on saving his people in favor of modern Thedas. It’s that he wants to be able to save both. He wants to save his people—Elves, Mages, Spirits—AND spare the people living in modern Thedas. He just doesn’t think it’s possible, because he’s never experienced a situation that didn’t involve sacrificing something he loved for the greater good.

[lokiina]

I wasn't gonna do it. But I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna kjhdkfjghdkfjg

If you don't want character spoilers I'm slapping this under a readmore but I need to cry a lil about Gale.

So many people just think he's annoying or Solas 2.0 and that's kdghdfkjgh

if it's not coherent I apologize I need to word vomit.

!! also some mental health related TWs ahead as a warning !!

THIS MAN IS SO DEEPLY DEPRESSED. His self worth is so low and it's so heart wrenching to listen to and the writing is incredible.

(A lot of the characters in this game deal directly with like Gods and the abusive relationships they have with them but this is for Gale specifically. Everyone's got their own mess that's it's own thing. )

Holy fucking shit. I don't know if you get some of the dialog options I have gotten if you don't actively romance him but omfg. Man openly admitted to being suicidal so you talking him out of blowing himself up while everyone else including the last love his life is saying "kill yourself" is such a big big deal. Even if the end result is being framed as help. It's not. It's more manipulation and down right fucking EVIL.

His relationship with Mystra is messed up, the power imbalance is fuckin wild and if anyone out of this is expecting a goddess to be the victim when she was clearly a manipulator is unreal. Their situation he was just trying desperately to prove his worth to her and her essentially stringing him along until he wasn't of any use anymore. He wanted Mystra to see him as equal to her, and nothing he ever did was enough for her. Cuz she did not care about him. If it was a proper relationship and she actually loved him back he wouldn't have had to try to continuously prove himself.

He was taken advantage of through his relationship and his entire self worth has been shattered. Now he's not entirely without fault through some of it and acknowledges where he screwed up himself.

When you offer to find another way for him that doesn't end up in him exploding, you kick a lil spark back into him and as someone who's fuckin struggled with self worth and depression. I feel for him so hard. Sometimes it does take another person simply acknowledging your worth to be that lil spark. It doesn't even have to be in a romantic sense.

This man is high key autistic coded. Everything about the way he loves so purely, misses cues on certain things and misunderstands and needs direct clarification on stuff. Ask him about his special interest, magic. The gloom drops in these moments. It's fuckin precious as hell to see him light up.

The writing in this game is fucking phenomenal and I just. I have a lot of deep feels on this whole thing. Every character has so many lil layers to them and I wanna just smooch the whole dev team.

Anyway. He's my fav character out of this chaotic game and I just. I will protect this silly wizard with my life. He deserves good things. Fuck his haters.

I wanna go get some comfy fluffy art of him and my boy.

[eff-plays]

every time i remember that astarion has 4 extra hours of dialogue compared to wyll, i get so sad... before i got to the end of the game, i was like "ah. wyll must not be in any fandom posts i saw because of predictable reasons, but surely he still has cool scenes and an equivalent level of care in the canon writing!" RIP. he does not. it's like a self-sustaining vortex of the fandom and the writing team both being way more excited about the pale elf than any other character.

it's a shame because astarion is otherwise a well written and acted character, but it makes me dislike him on principle if i feel he's the authors' Favourite Little Boy, hah.

God YEAH. It's so fucking frustrating!

Like he's my favorite little boy! He fully is! But I would give up HOURS of his content if it meant the effort was equal across the board! Because that's good game design, that's good writing! That's what they should have done!

And it's so so fucking frustrating to see how Larian are basically leaving the other companions in the shitter just to cater to a small and annoying minority of rabid fangirs who shit themselves silly at the mere mention of him.

Y'all know that pretty post with all the companions' eyes? Well someone added some shit about how Astarion's eyes have micromovements that are faster than anyone else's because he's always looking for threats.

And I'm just sitting here like. This is the Dragon Age fandom again. Y'all are here overanalyzing insignificant shit just because it pertains to your favorite crusty white man. It's giving "let's pretend that BioWare's shitty canned animations are worth of deep frame-by-frame analysis". I think in general it's fine to analyze animations in the case of BG3, because there's mo-cap and actual acting involved, but c'mon, y'all. Derailing a beautiful gifset of EVERYONE'S eyes with some sappy addon about only Astarion?

I honestly HATE the fact that I like Astarion as much as I do, because it means sharing a fandom with the type of people who think Cullen is a gift to all women. Which, yeah, a lot of parallels there, in that he also got a hugely inflated role because of a minority of extremely horny idiots who saw a pretty white boy (though the pretty part is debatable in Cullen's case) and all other thoughts flew out the window. I literally initially didn't like Astarion because based on what I'd seen from the fandom, he'd be another unrepentant asshole that people woobiefied like they did Cullen, and to some extent, Solas. And I was right! I just ended up liking him in the actual canon enough to make my own judgment in the end.

It's also why I am filled with glee whenever another Astarion-centric blog blocks me, because the more of those guys I keep away from me, the less I want to shoot Astarion point-blank just by association.

So yeah. He's my little guy but I also fully 100% understand disliking him because of the hype. It's 100% justified and I fault nobody for doing so. His being so well-written as a result of poor management, crunch, and fandom pressure isn't something to celebrate. The ends do not justify the means here. Either extend dev time to give everyone the same amount of love, or don't fucking bother with extra content at all. It's that fucking simple.

Also the optics of admitting all of that in a Discord server just to satisfy a bunch of dipshits looking for a pat on the head for making the Canon Choices. Just ... bleh.

[yanderes-galore]

Oof, I'm here now! Better later than never, so first request is concept/HCS for Solas from Dragon Age Inquisition, please -🐈

I'm really hoping I don't mess up this character because he's so damn important. But if I do... I apologize as my knowledge on the topic is still not the best. I appreciate feedback since this character is so complex.

Adding "V1" to this since this was written when I'm very new to Dragon Age... also DA4 isn't out, so that may change things.

Spoilers for Dragon Age: Inquisition/Trespasser

Yandere! Solas Concept V1

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Deception, Overprotective/Possessive, Isolation, Kidnapping, Solas thinks he's doing the right thing, Somewhat lucid yandere, OOC Solas most likely, Dubious companionship/relationship.

I personally feel, due to his origins, his obsession is more likely to lean platonic.

He is capable of feeling love but he may feel more like a mentor towards his obsession.

After all, he's really an ancient elf that's lived for thousands of years.

He is a man who wants to do whatever he can to help, just like he wanted to do for his people.

Yet his efforts probably isn't always the right thing.

He is a wise being who would first concern himself with watching over you.

Especially if you are an Inquisitor.

Solas does care about his obsession despite what he does, just like in his romance.

He's surprisingly honest, sometimes admitting things you don't quite understand.

His obsession makes him falter in his goals.

At first he isn't sure what to think of that.

His goal is to take down The Veil to restore Ancient Elves to their former glory.

Solas is loyal to his people and would sacrifice anything to achieve his goal.

But he begins to hesitate when he thinks of you.

Maybe he really does just see your bond as mentor and student.

That or he catches himself having genuine feelings for you.

Either way, the obsess he has over you makes him wish he could ignore it.

He cares about you... he knows his goal may end up hurting you in the end.

By the point he really starts to focus in his goal you've both known each other for a few years.

Which is why his decisions hurt him more.

I feel most of Solas' feelings and obsession are bittersweet.

It feels like yet another tragedy between him and his obsession.

He's torn between his goals that he's been focusing on, and you.

He feels you're both victims of fate in this situation.

He's always cared about you... even if things aren't meant to be.

Solas found the missions you did together enjoyable, your chats being a welcome form of entertainment for him.

He feels horrible that he's deceiving you and soon going to betray you in the end.

But when that eventually happens and you two cross paths... he'll find a way to compromise.

I imagine until his plan is fulfilled... Solas does not plan on letting his obsession go.

He's a powerful ancient elf mage who is extremely intelligent.

Solas may outsmart his obsession, he's seen a lot as an ancient elf.

Once you meet him again, years after the events of Inquisition, he has a plan.

He hopes you will forgive him when he constructs a trap for you.

By the time of Trespasser Solas has proven to be very strong with his magic.

The moment he gets you close enough, he embarks on his plan.

You'll stay beside him while he prepares to collapse The Veil...

Somehow he plans to safe you while sacrificing all the rest.

He never liked others around you while in the Inquisition.

He felt in a way they were unworthy, since the start Solas has felt a connection with you.

So... who cares what happens to the rest when he collapses The Veil?

He just cares about you... even though he hates to admit it, he wants you.

If he has to trap you beside him with a spell, so be it.

You may look at him with such betrayal in your eyes... but he tries to soothe you.

He says he's sorry... yet this is how things are meant to be.

He'll keep you beside him for as long as he can.

Even if he fails to save you... he'll never forget you.

Solas is a very tragic yandere... one who seems like he's your friend and companion...

Only to betray you in the end in many ways.

He wants to soothe the pain you feel... all while he keeps you trapped by his side, away from all you know.

You may be a friends... you may be lovers...

Regardless of what you are... you're his... and that's all that matters to him right now.

[imdoingaokay]

Would Romanced!DAI Companions Duel for their Inquisitor?

It's heavily implied that the Inquisitor is female, so skip if that ain't your cup of tea. I have included Krem, Dagna, and Harding in this but left out Cassandra, Dorian, and Solas since... it's implied that the Inquisitor is a female... and a human one at that.

Sowwy.

Blackwall/Thom Rainer: It depends on whether or not his identity was released. Before, he’s more hesitant, but once he sees how upset his lover is with the news, he’s pissed. He fights for his lover, but not just to take their hand, more so to free his lover from the binds of an arranged marriage. After his identity is revealed, he’s worried that his claim will be even more scrutinized. But once again, if he sees his lover upset, he immediately challenges The Inquisitor’s betrothed. The fight may take a while, as he gets pretty upset when the man Blackwall/Rainer is dueling starts taunting or insulting him. 

Cullen Rutherford: Yes. So much yes. He’s furious. Especially when Josephine initially explains that there is very little they can do. The whole process would take a few months at the least, and there’s no guarantee that The Inquisitor would get out unscathed. It’s Leliana who drops the hint that if he duels The Inquisitor’s betrothed, Cullen can speed up the process and be home by sunset. He’s furious while fighting the betrothed, and it only gets worse when the man begins to taunt Cullen by claiming that such a country bumkin shouldn’t marry or interact with The Inquisitor. Cullen somehow keeps his cool long enough for The Inquisitor to arrive. After that, he’s angrily pouting and telling The Inquisitor that “you can’t marry them” and all that. He gets so upset that he ends up proposing right then and there.

Dagna: No, because she doesn’t think she can. She wants to help, but her area of expertise isn’t… that.

She turns to Josephine and asks for help, and within a month or two, The Inquisitor and Dagna are back together.

Iron Bull: He’s all over that. And he’s certain he can make pretty good work of this noble. Until he finds out he has to fight honorably and “can’t just rip the nobleman apart.” Which is kind of stupid.

He doesn’t realize it himself, that he’s fighting for his kadan just yet. He lies to himself and says that he’s only doing this so that The Inquisitor doesn’t have to worry about “more bullshit” and that he just really wants to fight. But if that was the case, he wouldn’t be practicing how to properly duel, and he wouldn’t be researching clever one liners to throw in every once in a while. It’s as the Inquisitor appears in the crowd, pushing away the nobles that block their path, that’s when Bull realizes two things.

He’s in love.

He did this whole thing because he loves The Inquisitor.

And he’s speechless when The Inquisitor asks him why he did this, and it takes a good lot of effort for him to finally choke out, “because I love you, kadan.”

Josephine Montilyet: Absolutely not, she would help the Inquisitor out of the engagement ASAP. But she wouldn’t dare pick up a sword. Not because she can’t fight, but more because she knows there’s a peaceful solution to this, one that doesn’t involve swords.

Krem: Yeah, in fact, it’s one of the first things he does. The second he finds out all he has to do is duel the bastard that’s taking away his lover. It’s done. Of course, if The Inquisitor barges in, Krem’s all apologetic so he’s just spewing apologies but he’s able to confess his love for the Inquisitor while he’s at it.

Scout Harding: Yes. Like Krem, she sees this as the best way to take care of this engagement. She hates to admit it, but she ends up getting some sword lessons from Cassandra, who finds out and is all over the romantic idea of dueling for someone’s love. If The Inquisitor ends up arriving at the fight, Harding ends up confessing, completely red in the face while she explains how she couldn’t let her lover go to someone else other than her.

Sera: Yes, but she does it dirty. She messes with The Inquisitor’s betrothed, puts itching powder in their breeches, grease on the sword handle, and somehow knows all the damn gossip about their entire family. It’s sort of funny, watching the poor sod trip over himself because Sera tied their bootlaces together… wait how did she do that?

She’s unapologetic, even to Inky. She explains that some prissy pants noble wasn’t gonna take away her sweetness.

Varric Tethras: Yes, and he lies to himself and everyone else by saying some bullshit about how “amazing this would be for the story.” But he’s very upset. He already had someone taken away from him for the same damn reasons, but he had no power the last time. This time, he can do something, save the girl (or guy,) and he doesn’t have to back down. He hates to admit it, especially out loud, but if The Inquisitor stops the duel halfway through, Varric can’t help but give some sappy “they can’t have you because I love you” speech. 

[miracles-and-butterflies]

When will Camilo's friends get a proper slap and some poisonous plants?

Maybe at some point.

Not now though.

Kinda hard when the rest of the family don’t have their names.

~~~~~~

“—And the rest of us are all left walking on eggshells. I couldn’t stand it a moment longer.”

“Well, you can stay here for as long as you like,” Mariano offered.

Dolores smiled in gratitude. “We both know I can’t. I’d rather be here though. But I have to go back… they are my family at the end of the day.”

“You could always go spend time with Antonio and your grandparents. I’m sure they’d let you.”

“I doubt it. If anyone is going to be needed over the next few days, it’ll be me and my gift.” Mariano opened his mouth and Dolores shook her head. “It’s been too long, Tía Julieta can’t heal her.”

He winced. “Ah, that’s… not great?”

“Mirabel will get over it. It’s not like she does much beyond sewing and reading. She won’t notice much difference physically.”

“I’d send her some ‘get well soon’ flowers, but I don’t think it would go down well with Isabela.”

“Just buy her some wool. She’ll be much more amused.” Dolores chuckled. “Or you could read to her for an hour. Luisa’s already shattered her voice.”

“What? Again? Didn’t she do that last week?”

“Yes. To prove she could sing higher than Isabela. She couldn’t. It was not pleasant.”

Mariano laughed.

Dolores did too.

“It can’t have been that bad. Your cousins can both sing.”

“No. It is like nails on a chalkboard.”

He shook his head, sighing.

“How are your parents taking it?”

“My parents?”

“It’s their son who… you know?” Mariano prompted. For all his poetry, he was struggling to put the action into words.

“I don’t think they know how to handle it,” Dolores admitted. Drumming a pencil lightly against the desk. “Mama thinks he is completely innocent, of course - he can do no wrong in her eyes. And Papa clearly doesn’t want to believe it but can’t argue with the evidence, nor is he sure what to do himself. And the focus somehow always falls back to Antonio because he’s the youngest.”

They didn’t say anything for a while.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Mariano asked.

“Of course.” Dolores asserted. “Just a bit stressed is all.”

“…But?”

“But… why didn’t I hear it?”

~~~~~~

“What noise do you think a doe makes?” Lorenzo asks, turning to his sister.

“They bleat, don’t they? Like sheep?” Rebecca responded.

They glanced back at Mirabel, who kept her elsewhere. Trying hard not to let it show how terrified she was (though knowing she was failing on that front).

She sniffled. “You can’t hurt me.”

“It’s not like you’re going to stop us.” Rebecca shrugs.

“You think we’re just gonna let you skip off and tattle on us?” Mateo asks, looking sincere for a moment. Then he cackles, “God, this isn’t the school playground, you idiot!”

Felicia steps forward, “Even if we did, it’s not like anyone is gonna believe your side of the story. You’ve already proved to be a pretty unreliable witness.” She reaches out, grasping the back of Mirabel’s hair and tilting her head up. “Don’t remember? Let’s see… it was a child’s fifth birthday party, someone cried the building was breaking and the miracle was dying, but when we went to look there wasn’t a crack or any rubble in sight. Ring any bells?”

Mirabel didn’t say a word, not daring to look away from the leaves on the ground.

Something is forced into her earlobe. It snaps in place painfully, burning against her skin and heavy. She wails. Turing around in wild confusion - when did Ignacio get there? But what catches her eye the most is the bright yellow thing hanging there.

“There’s something real for you to cry about,” Sola taunts. Felicia and Rebecca laugh.

Ignacio moves again, going for her opposite ear.

Mirabel tries to curl in on herself, away from the onslaught of pain, away from this torment, but her body is soon being held taut by Lorenzo and Felicia.

There’s nowhere to go.

“What’s the matter? I thought you Madrigals were so brave and invincible,” Rebecca comments, trying to get a reaction.

Felicia thought for a moment. “Then again… she was never a real Madrigal, was she?”

Ignacio shoves the other tag and clips it in. She thinks he caught some skin as he did, there’s a nip that didn’t happen the first time.

Mirabel is dropped, landing on her hands and knees briefly, then collapsing onto her side. She doesn’t attempt to stand, but she tries to sit up and adjust her glasses.

Rebecca harshly swatted her hand away, pinching the glasses at the bridge and pulling them away.

“Animals don’t get nice things,” she explained.

Mirabel doesn’t see where the glasses go but she assumes from the giggling between Rebecca and Mateo, they are definitely broken.

Lorenzo cooed at her suddenly, looking down and petting her head. “What a pretty, little doe you are!”

“And now that you’re all marked up, everyone will know what an important deer you are.” Felicia added. “It must be nice for you to finally be worth something now, isn’t it?”

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 4, MATCH 2

Propaganda under the cut!

Shuu Iwamine

Propaganda

This damn partridge kills you CONSTANTLY, regardless if you romance him or not. One of them is literally at the START of the school year, he beheads you then uses your head to pilot this grotesque horror movie android thing! Completely unprompted, you can just die immediately! Horrible school doctor material, even worse boyfriend material, but alas, he's my favorite character.

[hatobf spoilers and also gore / violence kind of ?] he literally kills the mc in both of his endings, and in the true route he uses her best friend to kill her . and chops her body up and puts them in boxes to his student . and he puts her brain in a strange scarecrow machine . its insane hes so undateable man <//3

Decapitates protagonist and puts her head in a jar. Kills multiple other characters. Just generally an unpleasant person . My favorite character btw

He hates your species, sees you more as a science experiment than a romantic partner, and also kills you in his ending. Plus he has just, the worst attitude about the whole thing.

Bad End with him the government takes you out. "Good" end with him he cuts off your head, sticks it in a jar, and talks to it while on the run from the government. (Spoilers for hatoful BBL) True End of the whole game that ties up all the characters' stories, he kills you again but this time sends your head to your childhood best friend and takes your brain out to make basically robo-frankenstein. Was also an adult when the MC was a young child, and is the school nurse at MC's high-school. He's also a partridge. 

Literal birderer (bird murderer) 

It also turns out the (unrequited?) love of his life was the father of the MC's childhood friend. AND HE DOESN'T PULL ANY OF THIS SHIT WITH HIM. HE EVEN BECOMES A SLIGHTLY BETTER PERSON FOR HIM IN HOLIDAY STAR. It even turns out that everything thing he did in the true route of Hatoful Boyfriend was to fulfill a promise he made to that man on his deathbed (ALTHOUGHT RYOUTA'S FATHER NEVER ASKS HIM TO COMMIT ANY MURDERS, FATBIRD JUST THINKS MURDERS ARE A GREAT SOLUTION TO MANY PROBLEMS). So like, he's not just a murderous sadistic partridge who is also kind of a dick. He could not be one. Just NOT FOR YOU. OR ANYONE ELSE. JUST THIS ONE SPECIFIC PIGEON.

Solas

Propaganda

He believes all mortal beings deserve to die. He is bald but in a very unsexy way. He exudes zero chemistry and talking to him about romance is like talking to a boiled egg. 

Described by major media as "elf hitler," he dumps you to destroy the world

He is a smelly know it all, and that's before you find out he is a deity in disguise who caused the rift you spend the game trying to fix in the first place and he betrayed you and chopped off your hand

Breaks up with you, disappears without saying anything, plans to destroy the world

Look. I’ll admit I have not personally romanced solas. I am baffled that anyone would WANT to romance solas. I know we all love a waify little elf wizard with questionable motivations but jfc look at him like im trying not to say anything demeaning about bald dudes but he does not wear it well. Also iirc you can only romance him if you’re also an elf and then he’s weirdly rude and dismissive if your character is Into Elf Culture. Look im a huge lesbian but Iron Bull is RIGHT FUCKING THERE why would you do this.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

<3 Ooohhh ok hm... honestly i do not post much fic (checked AO3 and only 18), for the amount that i start writing and then leave in various stages of completion in drafts on my computer, oops. Unfortunately at least 1 favorite is in that category, but here we go!

Fallout from the Fade (Dragon Age: Inquisition): Hawke is left in the fade during the events of DAI's Here Lies The Abyss, but manages to fight her way back out. However she's left to recover from the severe side effects and trauma that come along. Ok my confession here is while i have not updated this fic since 2020, i have in fact written more of it. But since i kept going so long (months... and then years...) between chapters I decided it'd be better if i just finish writing the rest myself (at least roughly) so i know how much more there is to go and can update it on a more regular schedule in the future when i start posting again. Alas i am very slow at this bc of grad school and also bc i get distracted easily and... have less motivation to work on it when not actually getting feedback as i go. So i may change my mind about this approach eventually but it's where the fic stands now.

Like Teeth Against His Heart (Dragon Age: Inquisition): After Solas wakes up from uthenera, he has many conversations with a variety of spirits over the course of DAI. Sometimes they tell him what he wants to hear, and sometimes they don't. I typically like the recent things I've written the most and this is that. It's a prose-poem style that plays with formatting, aka its kind of Weird, and weird is my favorite. I wrote it for a charity zine which also meant i had to have a Final Version rather than endlessly tweak it forever which was irritating at the time but also good for me.

Unposted, No-Finalized-Title fic, with the file jokingly named 'Sam I Am' (Mass Effect: Andromeda): pre-Andromeda and game timeline but from the perspective of your ship's AI, who also lives inside your character's brain, and in the game admits to altering your brain/body, and hello??? the game did NOT let me respond to that to the degree I desired? One of my literary obsessions is the combination of AI (the sci fi kind not... generative art etc) plus human augmentation... what that does to both parties sense of self, their relationships, how they view and function in the world, etc. In the vein of Silently And Very Fast by Cat Valente, Imperial Radch by Ann Lecke, Murderbot by Martha Wells... and I spent soooo much time wishing Andromeda had gone deeper into that angle/thinking about it myself I wrote. Quite a long fic about it. But i only played the game once and there wasn't much fan love/fanworks for it so I never posted it or any other Andromeda stuff I wrote, it was more just for myself. I'd like to go back and finish this fic but I estimate it'd be in the 40-70k word range and i'd need to replay the game to refresh my memory so it's like, a project for when i have a bunch of free time at some point in the future, since it's mostly just for Me.

the people you love become ghosts inside of you, and like this, you keep them alive (Mass Effect trilogy): Snippets of a variety of Garrus' thoughts and memories of Shepard, and a growing realization about the nature of love like theirs. I don't expect anyone to love this one but me, because it's just a self-indulgent thing I wrote specifically to figure out the flavor of grief involved in the relationship between my personal Shepard and Garrus. It's not as poem-formatted as my Solavellan one but the prose leans hard in that direction, and they came from the same place for me. I wrote it after finishing the trilogy because I (unlike a lot of fans, i know) felt very adamant that the correct ending for my Shepard is that she is dead now, and not coming back, and needed to cry some more about that.

like the leaves after a long winter (Dragon Age II): It's the first Christmas/Satinalia since Leandra's death, and Hawke is not in the mood for festivities -- until she realizes that everyone else will be spending it alone and finds herself hosting a party without even meaning to. I'll be honest #5 spot was kind of a toss up between this one, Less A Man Than A Wild Cat, and Grief. But I've decided on this one because 1. it covers my favorite thing to write about aka grief, but is actually written as a story/proper narrative unlike others i've already put on this list. With fanfic the most important thing to me before anything else is self-indulgence. While I love writing for prompts (like this one was!), my specific joy in that is taking an idea from someone else and figuring out how to cram all the things I care about into someone else's plot summary. Fanfic for me is like... it feels weird to call it 'writing exercises' because that implies i don't care about the final project when i very much do. Writing challenges? Maybe? Idk i just really enjoy having limitations to work within. Having NO boundaries is where I do my original content writing, so writing within the bounds of an existing franchise already means there's some limits (like keeping to characterizations, plot, etc) and then adding more on top makes it a fun experience and keeps me engaged.

While these are my top 5, I definitely don't think most of them are what other people would pick as a favorite from my (admittedly very limited) amount of posted writing, Fallout from the Fade being the exception. I think my friends probably like the one where I turned Fenris into a cat best (and that was VERY fun it's just also more lighthearted which i struggle to write sooooo bad), and then every one else is in my inbox about the single Solas x F!Travelyan fic I wrote largely as an experiment in writing sex scenes. sorry to everyone who read that and then tried to read my other fics and discovered its mostly blood and loss and Yearning...

[vivispec]

Happy Friday! For DADWC: "I had no choice..." for Viera Lavellan / Solas?

thank you for the prompt! ngl i got super sleepy halfway through but hallelujah it is finished.

i went for post-game, concerning their dreamer daughter. since vie isn't a mage, i like to play around with her dreams a bit. now, it is time to sleep.

@dadrunkwriting Viera'vun / Solas words: 1010

She was pigment and plaster, dried and cracking where once she’d been gold.

  This…it was familiar, brushstrokes she knew. Her eyes followed the length of the blade beside her, up into the sky, where at its haft a lidless eye bore down upon her. Wolves howled, and she stumbled back into jagged mountains. 

Looming, winged and fanged, shifting just beyond sight. From the clouds there came a head, and that one eye opened into many—six, red and glowing, centered upon her. A shadow fell upon her, feet bloody where they stepped upon broken peaks, but she could go back no further. She pressed against the barrier at her back, and faced him with chin raised. She faced him, and straightened.

Something brushed against her fingers, and when she looked they were solid no longer, but soft; flesh, where before she’d seen stone, and at their tips was a figure she recognized. A wolf, gray with eyes of blue like lyrium. He stepped back as her eyes cleared, and so did she.

Then, the wolf shifted and changed, until a man stood before her. Viera hardened herself.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised you actually came.”

Solas tucked his hands behind him. “No more so than I,” he said, appraising the room her dream had composed for them: his rotunda with its frescoes, somehow breathing and alive. “I figured, however, that you would not call me as you did, if not for good reason. I was quite surprised, to hear such a request from your daughter.”

How easily, he admitted his fault. Out of the corner of his eye he watched her, gauging her response while maintaining that placid air he used like a shield. It almost made it easier to think he cared so little, even if she knew the truth.

Almost, but not quite. She sought the words she’d practiced while waking, the questions so carefully tailored to pick him apart, but found they all failed her here. This, all of it, was too near her heart to be scripted. Viera pushed breath through her nose, and shed her pretense.

“Solas,” she landed on as she found again her voice, “what is it you think you’re doing, truly, hanging around her dreams?”

He didn’t answer right away, mulling over his words carefully. “It was my intent only to watch over her, until she could navigate the Fade on her own.”

“And yet she wakes in the morning to tell tale of the wolf in her dreams, as much a friend to her as the wisps and Curiosity.” She scoffed, and shook her head. “Tell me, how does this possibly end?”

“I had no choice.”

“No choice? You’ve always had a choice.” With the rising of her voice the walls seemed to ripple, like raindrops disturbing otherwise tranquil waters. “Even if that choice is to stubbornly turn away from any option that might bring you happiness, and then covet the very thing you left behind. If you wanted to be her father, her mentor, there was a place at our side, even so long after you turned your back on me. You made the choice to never share your burden, and walk your path alone.”

“And it is a choice I must stand by,” he uttered, eyes locked still upon the roiling pictures before him, shaped by his hand, maybe, but given life by her thought. “Regardless, she is a Dreamer. There are dangers within the Beyond for one such as her, should she lack proper guidance. In this, I had no choice.”  

“I know this. We’ve taken steps to protect her, she’s in good hands—”

“Hands that protect, maybe, but do not know. Ones that cannot fathom to teach.” Finally, he looked down and away, and though he held his voice steady still she saw the hollowness within him. He’d seemed to overflow with passions, once, even before they’d lain beside one another. Such spirit had since been drained. “Viera’vun, do not think I’ve deluded myself into believing I can walk beside her any longer than I have. Already she knows the pathways well, and has found fast friends to lead her down it,” he clarified, “but she is young still, and trusting. Had she not called for me, I’d have never stepped from the shadows where I watched her.”

“But where does it lead?” He blinked, eyes flicking away to find stone again. “Already your charm protects her. Can’t it be enough, that she carries a piece of you? Must she, too, carry the pain of knowing the wolf she called ‘friend’ is the same who’d break her world?” Silence. She breathed, deep into her core, and placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense beneath her. “There isn’t any hiding, I know you see it. She’s bright. Observant, and stubborn, too. Let the lessons you’ve taught be enough a foundation, and let her find her own path.”

“And if the charm is not enough? If she were to wander into a danger it cannot fend against, on her own?”

“What ifs and chances, whereas I know all too well where the path at your side leads.” She squeezed, and the figures etched onto the wall seemed to slow, and deflate. Its luster dulled, as if aging eons in mere breaths. “Please, Solas, for both your sakes: don’t come for her again. In her dreams, at the very least, let her know peace.”

He had fully turned away from her, now, as if so much as looking at her pained him. Her grip loosened, lingering before it freed him, and fell back to her side. She’d wanted for an answer, or any sign that he’d taken her words to heart; as it was, she’d little indication that he hadn’t turned to plaster and pigment himself, outlined as he was by the many eyes of the fresco, boring down around him.

It couldn’t be helped. Viera turned, and left him there amongst the ghosts of their past. She only hoped her words would echo there in the rotunda around him.

[ell-vellan]

12, 28, and 38 from the oc relationship asks!

Thank you for asking! <3

I'm just gonna do every relationship I currently have rotating in my mind, lol.

OC Relationship Asks

12. What is something their S/O does to make them flustered?

Ellawyn/Bull: Anytime Bull flirts or touches her in public. She's not used to it - since their relationship started as a secret - and doesn't know how to react in a way that's still becoming of the Inquisitor. But she likes it anyway, and Bull likes unraveling her sense of decorum. Bull would've figured the ability to get flustered had been surgically removed from him at birth - but when El uses her abilities as a mage to ease his pain, or her command role to take care of him in ways that isn't necessary to the war effort, he doesn't know what to do or say.

Anera Lavellan/Solas: I think anytime Anera touches him, Solas finds it unexpected. For her, it's so easy, but it's been so long that he's let anyone this close. It takes him by surprise each time, and he can't hide how much it makes him melt.

Alistair/Auriel Cousland: It's too easy to fluster Alistair; Auri finds it endlessly amusing. She's far more confident in her seduction skills than Alistair. He hates it when Auriel and anyone else - but especially Zevran or Morrigan - talk about their romantic experiences so easily. But, in private, Alistair has a way of saying the most gentle, genuinely beautiful words of love to her, and it stuns her into speechlessness at last.

Zevran/Lathlen Mahariel: Mahariel is un-flusterable. He's a rock. He never smiles, never blushes. Zevran tries to rile him up by being outrageous in public, but...nothing. Mahariel doesn't care about other people and can't be embarrassed. But he enjoys making Zevran flustered with subtle touches. Because Zevran acts so suave, but he's unused to real, intense affection that zeroes in on him and claims him entirely. So Zev might flirt poetically, grandly, for all to hear - then Mahariel will grab him by the belt or his chest plate, pull him close, and murmur something possessive with low, quiet confidence in his ear. Zevran makes a half-hearted attempt to laugh it off but he's shocked, actually how someone found a way to make him blush, after all this time. He's had many people in his life who's claimed to own him, but with Mahariel, he finds he isn't opposed to the idea.

28. Do they trust one another? Are they comfortable discussing their fears with one another?

Ellawyn trusts Bull with her life; she's learning, with some difficulty, to trust that he will stay. They're both very open about their fears, though Bull has a harder time admitting any vulnerability at all.

Anera trusts Solas...about 99 percent. She can tell there's something he isn't saying, but the things he does tell her, she believes. I don't think Solas talks about his own fears at all; if he does, it's very vague and in general terms. Anera freely admits the few things she's afraid of.

Auri and Alistair are completely open books with one another, and trust each other above all others.

Zevran and Mahariel are as well, but it takes them both much, much longer to get there. Neither of them trusts easily, but by the end, they trust only each other.

38. What would be their ideal evening in?

El and Bull - Bull really wants to see El drunk. At least once. Just because he doesn't think she ever has let loose enough. So, a party with the Chargers, where Bull can see El safely back to her room, take care of her, and she no longer feels the need to be so very guarded. But El would probably prefer not to ever drink Qunari booze again.

Anera and Solas would be in front of the fire together, each reading different books, and occasionally telling the other something they've read, either to debate the merits of it or just to share fun facts.

Auriel and Alistair passed out asleep, cuddled together with their dog after a feast and no need to get up early the next morning.

Zevran and Mahariel - probably a target competition (Zev's daggers vs Mahariel's arrows) with some kind of sexy consequence for whichever one loses. Then the nicest room at whatever inn they're crashing at. It likely involves blindfolds and ropes and maybe hot candle wax.

[kaija-rayne-author]

Finished the main game with my qunari. (Again, 3rd time, this series has me so hard.) I'm very ready for this run to be done.

The 'make Solas hate me' thing wasn't even remotely easy for me. Though, I gotta admit antagonizing him was fun for a while. 😅 I'm only playing Trespasser with this character, (not the other DLCs) because I'm having painful dysphoria issues with the curvier female qunari form.

There's a reason I usually play male elves. Skinny little twinks are pretty androgynous and don't bother my dysphoria so much. Even female elves don't bother me. They're all pretty androgynous. If only I were.

Plus pointed ears. My entire family has slightly pointed ears so it's just fun.

I actually only gave Sera a Romance chance because of a tumblr post I saw. I'm glad I did. It was the hardest Romance of all for me, but it’s actually really sweet and happy. Good brain chemicals.

As soon as I finish Trespasser to get angry Solas end lines, I'm going to take another run at modding Frostbite. (Seeing bitchy Solas in game was way more powerful for me than a YouTube watch would be.)

I've been modding games since modding became a thing, so it wasn't fun to realize how bloody difficult Frostbite is to mod.

But because I really want to play DA:I with some of the mods, and because DA:DW is built on Frostbite too, I gotta figure it out. It was mostly an ADHD patience/frustration thing, I think. I expected reasonable levels of difficulty in modding Frostbite and it is an absolute monster.

I'm actually tempted to play the whole series again since I'm almost done with reading the books and comics. They added so much depth to the games and characters that I'm curious about how it'll change my perception of them.

And I've heard there's art and references to 'The Dread Wolf' in all games. Curiousity absolutely gets me into trouble, frequently. 😅

It's how I ended up on the Solavellan Hell train. I knew who Solas was 'cause I'd already played DA:I, but I still did a Solavellan playthrough out of curiousity.

Being a writer/editor/literary analyst, I didn't truly think that Weekes would snag me, much less snag me so fucking hard!

So, yeah. A day or two, depending on how much time I have to game, to finish Trespasser, and then I'll be trying again to mod this beast of a game engine.

Once you're an insider in publishing, it becomes more and more difficult throughout the years for stories to capture you. I know all the tropes and can see where things are going so easily because I've been working professionally in this field for close to a decade.

Even with that, Weekes grabbed me by the heart then proceeded to rip my heart out. (He did it in Masked Empire too, great book.) Gotta love star crossed lovers. It's one of my very favourite tropes and I'm actually grateful that Weekes reached me. So little does anymore. And to think I got into this field after leaving STEM because I love to read 🤣, oh... sweet summer child.

Once I get it successfully modded, I'll decide on a full series replay (it would give me more to write about) or not.

Right now, I'm so stressed out by my job search that I'm clinging to DA as my only real stress relief. Usually special interests aren't this chronologically long lasting for me. I tend to cycle through them more quickly.

But with the job search being what it is, and my stress levels being through the roof, I'm just grateful this one hasn't abandoned me yet.

You really wouldn't think finding a decent job (something I'm good at, salary with good benefits, ideally remote because I'm more productive from my home office) would be so difficult, would you?

Anyway, enough of me jawing about DA for now. I need to make an online portfolio for my graphic design stuff. I've been doing it as long as I've been doing editing & literary critique (24 years), and writing for 33 years, but having an online portfolio hasn't ever been a priority because my clients have always found me by word of mouth.

Sigh. I'd rather be doing many other things. I just want a job I can be good at that I'm paid a living wage for that actually uses my skills and maybe pushes me a little to increase my abilities. One that doesn't require my autistic/ADHD ass to do social things because that's probably around the 7th layer of hell for me. Why is that so hard to find?

[instantlightpeanut]

A vague idea for mbit.

Valdemar didn't know what the fuck to do. Well he actually knew, he's read about this over and over, but, standing in the reality of it, he truly wanted to yeet himself of the nearest tower. But that would require him to walk trough the Mage Templar battle zone towards that wierd red lyrium castle, or that other broken castle with a fade rift. Honestly it should be amazing he remembers this, but it's not really. The hinterlands have always been his favourite map, although the general consensus is that it's horrible.

2ish weeks ago he was just merilly walking home from work, deciding to take a shortcut trough the woods, at night, because let's admit it, he's at least partially mental. And well he walked, and walked what he definitely knew was too far, and tried using Google maps, which refused to work. And once he finally exited the forrest and saw that wierd circular hut and the rams, he knew immediately where he was. Which he probably shouldn't since it's been at least a year since he played the game, but hey, while he was playing it was a pretty damn strong hyper fixation.

Going back to the current situation he was currently as good as a refuge, except everyone looks at him funny because he's dressed in modern clothes. After considering his options, his final choice is ultimately stay here and wait for the inquisition to come then pretend to be a seer and hope he can get into good enough graces with Solas so that he may help him get home. Well that or go actually insane and fuck up Thedas, he's not too good at thinking that far ahead.

As it is he's managed to kill two rams by traps and after making a deal with the hunter, he has a decent amount of meat on him and got to keep the fur. In return for showing the hunter where the traps are and explaining how to build them. Finally, that offline survival guide he downloaded ages ago is useful. Oh, how does he still have his phone? Because loathe he to admit it, the solar battery, battery bank his mom got him during her ' the world is ending' phase, is useful as fuck. There he said it and he'll never say it again. So he's got a survival guide, and some games to entertain him. In his backpack, which is like his version of a woman's purse because he has far too much shit in it. He's got, two books, one change of underwear and socks. Panodil, plasters, hand disinfectant (thank you and fuck you covid) and a swizz knife (thank you grandpa). And some other knick knacks.

At least the inquisition is arriving soon, he's already been seeing the scouts out and about. Now should he join with the scouts or wait for the actual inquisitor. Damn, he hopes the inquisitor is an elf, he's only ever played as an elf, barely remembers the other races backstories.

(as far as I've thought out the intro, I want to be a more lighthearted shenanigans story, and Valdemar with his knowledge of events just throws the story on its head and Solas and Valdemar become friends with Valdemar dropping hints that he Knows. And the romance would be Valdemar and Dorian, although I have cute ideas for that I don't really have any planned out scenes.)

[totentnz]

for the alternate love intrest ask game: athras and iron bull? >:)

Send me an OC + an alternate love interest for them and I’ll tell you what I think of the idea

ok let me preface this by saying i have NEVER played the iron bull romance and did i just watch a video to get a grip of it? absolutely (side note: i hated hearing the inquisitors voice again bc athras! does! not! sound! like! that!) but anyway: (this turned into somewhat of a liveblog so i'm putting it under a cut lmao

my initial thoughts before watching it are: i cant see a romance happen, i have never had bull high up on my approval list but they might fuck casually (she would totally peg him) HOWEVER

ok after watching it (and clearly losing my mind and track a few times) the answer is basically the same: romance? no. casual sex? maybe

this was a fun thing to do!! thank you so much for asking bunny 💜💜💜

i have always appreciated it when bull pulls the inquisitor to the side and shows them what the soldiers think of them and athras would appreciate that as well (not that she would ever admit to it)

the tavern scene after the dragon fight? hell to the nah, i enjoy that scene personally but it always frustrated me because athras would not act like any of the options lmao but you know she might take the first sip and after that? who knows! winky face

ok the scene on the battlegrounds? where you hit him with the stick? she'd indulge him at first but would be dismissive towards the end (not good for romance is it?) she understands people deal with their fears differently but that whole scene has a weird (to me) sexual undertone (even before the flirtation) and i don't vibe with that (though "you like it rough huh? only from you" is pretty s tier i gotta admit and athras would like it)

being introduced to the chargers? love that (like many lavellan players it annoys me to hell and back that bull tries to explain the dalish to me, but that's not really his fault) she also appreciates that he took a dalish in after they were cast out (funfact: dalish and athras have the same vallaslin ingame (my hc is that each clan has different ones but dirthamen yes) i also love that interaction with stitches, athras is a self proclaimed potion expert so they would get along (or they would hate each other - her and the guy where you brew potions at the start of the game had a bit of a feud going on bc she thought he didn't know shit about potions) "it's a poltice, ser, you're not supposed to drink it" is ENGRAVED into my memory (ok now im just talking about athras instead of the romance, i apologise lmao)

sidenote: since bull keeps talking about redheads, athras has a sister (also with the inquisition) who is a redhead so that's actually pretty funny to me and i have never thought of it before

SO the dreadnought huh? ofc athras saves the chargers - she's not as loyal to the inquisition as she should be but she never wanted the position as inquisitor anyway (much like she didnt want to be first and eventually keeper to her clan) also hissrad meaning keeper of illusions/ liar and athras having dirthamen (god of secrets) vallaslin??? iconic maybe i do need this romance in my life lmao

god that fucking fight on the battlements?? where bull gets poisoned? another memory that's drilled into my skull, very iconic also that scene made me realise that maybe solas and bull aren't all that different (we know this but sometimes it's good to experience it again)

ok i see we are getting to the actual interesting parts that i never got to see lets gooo OH BOY OH BOY we don't like that one LMAO "you don't know what you are asking for" and him being all dominant? athras is not into that but we will see, we will see 👀

OH NO not legit admitting to manipulate people (i know what he means and this is all flirty but bad vibes bad vibes (don't get me wrong im into it personally but athras sure as shit isn't (yes as a solasmancer i'm putting on my clown makeup right now)))

i do like the setting rules and a safeword interaction though HOWEVER if it ever got to that point athras would laugh in his face ("don't quote the old magic to me, i was there when it was written")

OH I LOVE that dragon tooth thing, that's cute

BRO DID HE JUST-- i like that sneaky romance and so does athras but BOY does she hate pda

CULLEN i remember this from back in the day, athras loves bullying him so this is amazing all of their reactions are so fun i love it I SEE YOU JOSIE BUT YOU ARE TAKEN (by fisara, athras' sister, which makes this even more awkward lmao) OH THE BOSSINESS FROM THE INQUISITOR i am stanning so hard right now

also this fucking portrait has me cackling

NAH BRO NAH BRO not kadan meaning "my heart"

YES YES YES BALCONY SCENE HERE WE COME ok that scene was kinda underwhelming but i guess that scene was always better in my mind

i will never get over the fact that at the end of the game you are actually on the balcony with your LI like AAAA can you imagine my face when replayed it for the cullen romance (i dont wanna talk about it) ??? complete and utter shock

ok that scene was good, the lovebite? the compliments? chefs kiss (though athras wouldnt be into being "marked" like that she's usually the one marking others)

oh god it's trespasser time oh no

oh i always liked the dragon skull scene and i gotta admit it works better with the romance! but again.... athras would be even worse at this than the lets her be

bro not the exchange of "i love yous" in the face of uncertainty!! im gonna combust (once again not athras style, she'd rather leave things unsaid than say them in a situation like that)

god im so glad they didn't show solas in this video, i would have gone insane

he kept the necklace! ofc he did but that's still a good thing :) sure hope he won't betray us or hasn't betrayed us before :)

[randoimago]

May I request some very brief headcanons on the Dai companions when they realize that a skittery rogue inquisitor has been sneaking like, sweet goofy little doodles, encouraging messages, and maybe like, some cool little trinkets they think the companions would like into their pockets cause inky doesn't know how to actually interact. Like... reverse pick pocketing? Thank you!! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

Inquisitor Sneaking Thoughtful Messages in Companion's Pockets

FANDOM: Dragon Age

Character(s): Sera, Ironbull, Dorian Pavus, Varric Tethras, Cassandra Pentaghast, Vivienne, Cole, Blackwall

Type of Request: Headcanons

Word Count: 580

Note(s): This is really cute though. I really miss the gift giving mechanic from Origins so much. I want to give my companions all the cute trinkets.

Companions

Cassandra is very confused when she finds things in her pockets because she has a good memory of what she keeps and doesn't. She's ready to just throw it away until she reads the heartfelt messages that she's doing great and is appreciated. Probably doesn't realize it is The Inquisitor doing it, but when she learns then she'll have a nice talk with them over tea or something.

Cole is the one that usually sneaks people "helpful" things. To be able to sneak something into his own pockets is an achievement. He does accidentally read the Inquisitor's thoughts so he knows how they're feeling and he lets them know that he likes the trinkets he gets.

Dorian is always so clean and such so he tries not to have much of anything in his pockets. Reaching in and finding a fancy trinket or a nice message is always fascinating to him. Gifts for him were usually to buy affection, he knows that's not the case here. Might figure out it is the Inquisitor that leaves them and will jest with the idea of a secret admirer. They are very much appreciated and valued, he will admit.

Iron Bull always has some crumpled up notes or small bits of trash in his pockets that he means to throw away at another time. Has accidentally thrown away some of the notes left in the past, but when he gets to a trinket of a metal dragon, that gives him pause. He knows the Inquisitor is the one behind this because they're always sneaking around. With time, he'll confront them about this and thank them, but for now he'll let them think they're sneaky.

Sera also has many crumpled up things and knick knacks that she herself has taken. So to find something given to her instead gives her pause. She honestly thinks it's a trick at first. Or something showing off that they can put things in her pockets. When she learns it's The Inquisitor, she takes it as a challenge to put things in their pockets! It suddenly becomes a game of giving you the weirdest present without you noticing.

Solas doesn't have much on him so he instantly knows when something has been added to his person. He also realizes it's The Inquisitor, but also knows they're not a people person so he'll end up slipping his own thank you notes into The Inquisitor's room as his growing collection of trinkets (and guilt at the friendship) grows.

Varric probably catches what you're doing right away, but he's curious as to why you're doing it so he lets it happen. It's good material for his books anyway, "The Inquisitor sneaks around putting things in people's pockets". His stories don't mention how he can't help a smile at the tiny, toy crossbow he finds in his pockets. Or the book recommendations that he occasionally gets.

Vivienne has been given many trinkets and messages from admirers in the past but to receive something from The Inquisitor is new. She knows it has to be them because everyone else tolerates her appearance and wouldn't give her a gift. She fully accepts her title of Queen Bitch and will tell The Inquisitor that sneaking gifts to her could leave the wrong impression. She does thank them for the messages and such before talking about how in another city, people would have their hands cut off for reaching into the pockets of someone such as her.