#asexual inquisitor

[vangold]

I finally managed one I had on my pride flag list for a while. So while I am playing my dorky Rogue Fereldan in our Dragon Age Pen&Paper Group SteampunkCyborg is playing this Dingus here, who happened to end up the Inquisitor in our campaign. Just your regular snakeoil- uh I mean humble, fair-minded merchant from Orzammar. Some call him durak, some call him dingus and his parents call him Dolph UU

Did way too less art with him so far. I'm always a bit worried I screw up the proportions when drawing dwarfes. Tho I think I finally managed it alright with him on this one. :D

[larkaloke]

Yara Trevelyan, human mage (she/her)

Yara Trevelyan is the second character I played through Dragon Age: Inquisition, and her concept was originally just that she was someone who was actually going to believe the whole 'Chosen of Andraste' thing. Which, it turned out, she did. Completely. Even through the end of the game.

Aside from the slight detachment from reality that allows for that belief, Yara is a fairly grounded individual, and fights hard for what she thinks is right.

And since this is part of my yearly Pride Month queue where I post art of my various LGBTQ+ characters, it's worth mentioning that Yara is asexual and aromantic.

[bloodycyrano]

Who are your 'cannon' romances in the Dragon age games, and their dynamics? Because for me, it goes like this

Warden: Dalish fem x OC, tragic love story consisting of the Warden being very very toxic but slowly getting better for their lover to give him the best version of herself- Tragic ending, the S/O has to watch their strong, intelligent Warden go mad with the darkspawn taint as they slowly turn into a ghoul and hear the call in their mid 40s, like 15 years into their marriage.

Hawke: Mage, nonbinary and asexual Hawke, romantically involved with Varric as they both sort through their trauma and emotional issues.- They do not enter an established romantic relationship until years after the events of DA2. Ending- Pure fluff ship. Varric was their strongest support system, and now they're even cracking jokes with one another at the hanged man well into their old age.

Inquisitor: Dalish rogue, romanced Fenris (Twisty turny backstory involving being a side character during the events of DA2.) Started very love/hate and very will they won't they. They only enter an established relationship during the events of DAI, because of their extreme awkward slowburn with several love letters involved- except they were both too autistic to realize they were love letters. Ending- Complicated.

[scarfacemarston]

hi i saw that you write for pride month and wanted to ask for a asexual female reader/Inquisitor with either arthur morgan or cullan rutherford. Maybe their reaction to it or just some fluff idc. If you decide to write something i'd be very happy but understand if you're not familiar enough with it :)

Happy pride month! ❤

I WAS SO EXCITED TO GET THIS. First of all, I'm ace so seeing someone interested in Ace representation was great. Second of all, you're the first person who has requested Cullen! I've been asking for requests about him for months! So thank you. : D This turned out way longer than I meant to, but I hope you enjoy!

Time passed agonizingly slowly as Cullen tried not to pace in his office, awaiting your return.  How utterly embarrassing for him, but in his defense, he had never felt this way about someone else before. Sure, there was his crush years ago, but that paled compared to how he felt about you.

He kept himself busy the best as he could, pouring over documents, attending meetings, and training recruits, all while ignoring the call of the lyrium on those lonely nights. He would keep his vow to you. He paused as he heard footsteps leading to the heavy wooden door.

"Ser? Commander? The Inquisitor has returned." the carrier said through the door.

"Good. Dismissed." Cullen called. He tried to mask the delight on his features. Yes, he could live without you, but now that you were in his life, he saw what he was truly missing out on.

He chided himself on the virtue of patience…for a moment before making his way through the battlements, trying to appear nonchalant. He struggled to hide the grin from his scarred lips as he saw you riding your horse into Skyhold. Cullen had no idea how you remained so composed even after such a long journey. Cullen made his way towards the gates to meet you when you gave him a tired but pleased smile, which Cullen eagerly returned.

"Inquistor. Welcome back." He breathed. He could have kissed you right then and there, but he hated the attention it would bring.

You reached your hand down to his, giving it a quick squeeze.

"Thank you. I've missed you. Sure, I was in good company with Dorian, Iron Bull, and Varric, but you're the one who was on my mind." You said sincerely, enjoying the hint of pink that spread across the Commander's cheeks. He cleared his throat.

"And I you." He said, squeezing your hand in return.

"Let's catch up tonight in your office? I really need a bath and something to eat." You said. Cullen blinked,

"Oh, of course. I'd imagine you're exhausted, but if you truly wish to meet tonight -" Cullen started.

"I do." you interrupted.

"Then I shall eagerly await you," Cullen said softly as he returned to his office, feeling lighter than he had in days. Still, time seemed to creep by, and the anxiety began to knot in his stomach when he heard the knock on his office's door……..

Later that evening, you crept across the battlements with a robe covering your body. Blessedly, only a few guards were on duty that night, and you were skilled at moving silently.

You knocked on the door lightly, hearing a warm voice on the other side telling you to come in.

Cullen looked up from his papers and smiled.

"You came! I mean, you came." Cullen exclaimed before attempting a more casual demeanor.

You stifled a giggle at the confident Cullen's dorkiness. Seeing him flustered and unsure but so utterly sincere was utterly precious.

"Oh. You're wearing your…night clothing. I see." Cullen trailed off, looking away.

"Of course, I came, but yes, I came in my night clothes; it's late, you know," you said, smiling softly. You paused.

"There was…something I wish to discuss with you," you hesitantly said, playing with the sleeve of your nightshirt.

Cullen's heart dropped to his stomach. Were you going to break it off with him? Well, he couldn't blame you for coming to your senses. It was too much to hope for, but he would do his duty to -

"Can we talk up there? It feels more private there," you said, pointing to his loft. You had been there several times before to care for him while he was recovering from his lyrium withdrawal.

Cullen blinked, confused. At least he tidied there earlier today.

Cullen made his way to the doors, bolting them both shut as he made his way up the ladder, offering you a hand.

Cullen sat on the bed and waited.

"I want to share a bed with you, but I don't want to have sex with you." you blurted out.

Cullen paused before nodding slowly.

"I see. I was unsure whether our relationship would lead to …that. We had not discussed it. I don't know, do people discuss this? Or do things just happen? As you can plainly see, I'm not the most experienced in relationships. My templar and Knight Commander duties left me too busy, and I was too …broken to pursue relationships. I still am, but you see past that, miracle that may be.

But I had my dalliances in the past, but nothing significant." Cullen attempted to explain. He paused, thinking.

"Is this a religious matter? An avoidance of sex until marriage?"

You shook your head negatively.

"No, it's not you. It's me. I just… don't have any interest in sex with anyone. You're handsome, and don't think I'm not attracted to you; I only don't feel any sexual attraction. I have never had one with anyone, and I know myself. I never will feel it with anyone. I know that must feel like a blow to you, but it's who I am. I've always felt this way." You revealed slowly, glancing up to his face. His expression was unreadable but not negative, either.

Cullen shook his head.

"Not every templar has had sexual relations. Some had taken vows of chastity. It sounds like this is a different matter." he said slowly; he took your hand in his.

"And that's okay. I myself had only felt some attraction to someone in the past but to no one else. Not really. I occasionally dabbled, but that was on infrequent occasions. It felt like something I was supposed to do, but honestly, sex wasn't all it was cracked up to be." He said, gently massaging your hand. He pat the bed beside him.

He sighed,

"Forgive me. I'm not used to discussing such intimate matters. I am trying, though." He paused.

"I had hoped that we could share such experiences. I was interested in seeing the difference between what I had experienced in the past compared to what I might feel now."

"I'm so-"

"No. Don't you dare. Don't you dare apologize. This is something that matters to you and as you said, is a part of you. You have accepted me - all of me, and I thank the maker for that every day. Who am I to turn you away?" He interrupted softly.

"I thought you would be upset with me. I've told people in the past, and they always thought I was crazy, a prude, or broken," you whispered.

"They were wrong. A relationship is more than sex. People have sex without relationships, why can't people have relationships without sex? Does this surprise me? Yes, but I've only had sex a handful of times in my life. You matter more than sex." He said, tilting your chin to face him.

"Thank you. You are an incredibly brave woman. I know it musn't have been easy to tell me. I can see the tension leaving your shoulders already." Cullen nodded.

You laughed quietly.

"You have no idea."

Cullen yawned.

"I'm sorry. I know you had a longer more tiring day than I have." Cullen apologized - but really, Cullen had hardly slept at all since you had left.

"Let's both get some sleep…if you're okay with that. I do enjoy our cuddling," you said, shly. Poor Cullen blushed again but said nothing as he removed his boots and armor before ending up with his tunic and breeches. You had laid down already, eager as he climbed into bed. You grinned before immediately snuggling to his chest, sighing in relief. Cullen wrapped his arms around you, feeling bashful all of a sudden.

"Do you …., are you still okay with …kissing? You never seemed to mind."

"Oh, I quite enjoy them, Commander." You teased.

"Is that so, my lady?"

You nodded, trying not to squeal as Cullen pressed his lips slowly yet passionately to yours.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it." he grinned before yawning again.

"Now, let's go to sleep."

"A wise idea. Good night, Y/N." He said, blowing out the candle.

"Good night, Cullen." With that, you fell asleep, feeling lighter than you had in days.

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Sword gays showdown, round 3, bracket two

Propaganda:

For Ahsoka:

Girl weilds not one but TWO lightsabers! Look at her go! I know a lot of her fans headcanon her as LGBTQ, especially cuz there's some episodes (especially episodes 5-8 of season 7) where her interactions with other women really give off those vibes. Anyway, back to her swordiness - she kicked Maul's robotic ass even tho he's older and has more experience than her, she demolishes the Inquisitors when she's older in Rebels, and just. Her cute little tricks and quips! I love her.

For Olivier:

She is only female general in her nation, and guards the northern border. She fights with a sword even though there are other people with guns. Olivier is unmarried despite being older (not sure how old exactly, but she is a general, and that takes time). To the best of my knowledge she shows no interest in anyone, thus making it possible to interpret her as aromantic and asexual, or as a lesbian. The bit where Mustang offers to take her on a date and she threatens to eat so much she will bankrupt him is funny.

[theharellan]

Canon Divergences / Interpretation Notes

This is a non-comprehensive of my canon divergent headcanons, divergent worldstate options, and headcanons I would classify as "canon compliant but not explicitly stated so people have come to completely different conclusions than me."

As said, this won't be every headcanon I've ever had or we'd be here hours. Most people I roleplay with don't need to know Solas shaved his head due to sensory issues/grief, that he didn't name his hart but it's now called Elvhen for "fool" just out of habit, etc.

Spoilers for The Veilguard under the cut.

Solas is biromantic/asexual. If you know Solas and Ian (@theshirallen) the former is obvious, the latter is likely unknown.

Solas is agender. He is more likely to out himself to people who speak Elvhen (he doesn't care about pronouns outside of his native tongue), where he'll use any pronouns. Most everyone who knew him in Elvhenan would know this as it is an inherent part of his nature then.

Solas told the truth in Crestwood. No one but Ian knows exactly what was said in Crestwood, although ancient elf agents like Miraen (@ancientimpudence) would know the gist of what happened. Obviously, Solas and Ian never breaking up would be common knowledge (although the fact that it almost happened wouldn't be - even to Solas, honestly). After the reveal of Solas as Fen'Harel, exactly what Ian's nature was (and has been) to Solas may be suspect: was he Solas's agent from the beginning, did he join during Inquisition, etc. Ian also follows Solas through the eluvians, although in verses where the Inquisitor is friendly with them Ian has to make himself an enemy of the state to force Solas's hand.

Dwarves and the beginning. I'm disregarding the idea that the first elves were copying humans, as the game didn't address the idea that the humans being around before the elves being a significant diversion. So unless I'm writing with someone with strong opinions to the contrary, they aren't around until after Solas begins his rebellion. Regardless, Solas was born of burgeoning dwarven wisdom.

Solas and names. After the Titan War, Wisdom is no longer his name, and he cycles through others in a desperate state to find who he is (Fen'samahl, Fen'amelan, etc). He became Pride not out of hubris when the world wasn't exactly as he wanted it, but as an act of rebellion. He rebelled not out of spite for the evanuris declaring themselves divine, but in protest of what they were doing to the people. He named himself as an example of what the elvhen people must do to stand against them: Solas, to stand tall.

Mythal and Solas had an abusive friendship. This post explains well why. I will write with Mythal who have a differing interpretations, but the default is that while Solas still shoulders responsibility for what they did together (and this portrayal note is in no way a means to excuse him) she betrayed him long before he killed her. He also possessed her vallaslin from the period of his physically manifestation to his rebellion.

Solas isn't bringing down the Veil for Mythal. While I think he believes she would agree with him, it is a choice he's making for the people he feels he has failed (living, dead, and metaphysical).

Agents of Fen'Harel are still around. Solas does not conveniently dismiss them right before the plot starts, although given the decentralised nature of them they are not always acting predictably. Those controlled and headed by people closest to him continue to act against the gods, and are available as a faction to Rook's party at the mid-point of the game (the most central figures being Miraen @ancientimpudence and Bruno @ourdawncomes).

The Veil can fall. The default endgame for this blog will be for a Veil-less world. Although, as Solas vowed, it is not his hand that brings it down, but Ian's. In our default verse with Thora Cadash (@ourdawncomes) as the former Inquisitor, offers her own aid through the Titans. Solas, for his part, was nearly talked from the path by Mythal and having a breakdown in the corner. I will eventually do a full write up for this divergence, so I'll leave it here for now, but suffice it to say default canon Solas isn't in fade jail.

[theheraldsrest]

MASTERLIST

Rules

Wills and Wonts

(TBA) DA Companions

(TBA) DA2 Companions:

-Gruff Reader confesses crush to Varric

DAI Companions and Advisors:

-Compliments Before/After Romancing

-(Romanced) Cullen, Blackwall, or The Iron Bull seeing The Inquisitor come back after a long journey

-Companions receiving/giving gifts

-(Romanced) Companions being asked to hold something for Inquisitor, then the Inquisitor holds their hand

-(CONTINUED)Non-romanced Companions being asked to hold something for the Inquisitor, then the Inquisitor holds their hand

-Companions reacting to Inquisitor jumping off the balcony at Skyhold

-Companions in a snowball fight

-Varric, Cullen and Solas comforting Lavellan!Inquisitor after they wake in a panic from nightmares

-Companions reacting to an Inquisitor who touches very casually

-Inquisitor bringing back a dragon egg and claiming it as their own child

-Companions (+Scout Harding and Varric) when they realized they were in love

-(Romanced) Companions reacting to Asexual Inquisitor

-Companions asked to watch over your drink

-(Romanced) Companions with a Flirtatious Inquisitor (booty grabs)

-Companions react to a Blind Inquisitor

-(Romanced) Companions proposing to the Inquisitor

-Companions reacting to an Inquisitor who covers their burn marks

-(Romanced) Companions walking in on the Inquisitor changing

-(Platonic and Romanced) Companions (+ Varric) reacting to an exhausted Inquisitor falling asleep

-Companions reacting to Sub-Human Species

-(Platonic and Romanced) Companions reacting to Female!Inquisitor saying she's pregnant

-(Romanced) Companions react to Inquisitor's awkward flirting attempts

-Companions (Romanced Dorian) react to the Male!Inquisitor adopting a child

-Companions reacting to Inquisitor's trained mounts

-(Romanced) Companions react to a drunk Inquisitor celebrating their victory against a dragon

-Companions (+Scout Harding and Krem) react to a rubix cube

-(Platonic and Romanced) Companions reacting to a very loquacious Elf!Inquisitor being silenced

-Companions react to the Inquisitor flying

-Companions react to Teen!Inquisitor

-(Romanced) Companions switching bodies with Inquisitor

-Companions react to Inquisitor losing their arm

-Companions being Competent, Badass, or Admirable

-(Romanced) Companions reacting to the Inquisitor's death

-Companions react to Inquisitor hiding their newest injuries

-Companions react to Mute/Deaf!Inquisitor

-Companions react to Mage!Lavellan!Inquisitor coming out as Trans(Male)

-Companions reacting to sick Mage!Trevelyan!Inquisitor

-(Romanced) Companions reacting to Secret Baby Nug/Mabari Pup

-Companions react to Inquisitor dating Yvette (Josephine’s Sister)

-Companions (+Romanced) reacting to Inquisitor turned into a cat

-(Romanced) Companions react to Inquisitor walking in on Companions Changing

-Companions react to Inquisitor drawing/sketching them

Headcanons:

-Josephine and Fem!Lavellan Headcanons

-Josephine romance with Genderfluid/Non-Binary Inquisitor Headcanons

-Krem Romance Headcanons

Companion Conversations:

-Sera and Dorian are friends

-Mass Effect: Inquisition

NSFW (18+, MINORS DO NOT ENTER):

-NSFW Alphabet for Blackwall

-NSFW Alphabet for Varric

-NSFW Alphabet for Cullen

-NSFW Alphabet for Solas

-NSFW Alphabet for The Iron Bull

-(SLIGHT NSFW)(Romanced) Companions reacting to Inquisitor being extremely flirtatious and wanting some "alone time"

-(SLIGHT NSFW)(Romanced) Companions reacting to Chubby Inquisitor with their first time

-(SLIGHT NSFW)(Romanced) Bull, Cullen, Blackwall and Dorian reacting to Inquisitor flirting

Other:

-Lex and Cabot Inquisitor Introductions

-The Inquisition was your family

-Solas is an Egg

-Cabot questions (Leliana)

-Solas Holmes

-No one likes the The Royal Court

-What goes through Lex's head when writing NSFW

-Lex answering asks

-Cole appreciation post

-Predictions for DA4

-Lex regretting the blog

-Lex remembers we have a blog

-Lex remembers we have a blog Part 2

-Lex remembers we have a blog Part 3, electric boogaloo

[im-out-of-it]

season 1, episode 11 “blood calls to blood”

aka guess who are “siblings” 💀

1. it’s almost funny that Valentine tricks jace this way. like jace thinks it’s his father and he’s so happy but all Valentine is doing is taunting jace and tricking them just so he can have the cup. just like Alec predicted lmao

2. you don’t have to heal jace. you can let him die. we would all be better off

3. I know I post a lot of anti jace stuff but if the writing actually had him being held accountable and he was a decent person, I could get on board. but I can’t. he’s insufferable, toxic, and self involved

4. well, we are back with Alec and Izzy. one shadowhunter trial about to come up 👏🏼

5. “I can’t find jace because I weakened our bond”- yes Alec did weaken it but let’s not just put it all on Alec. parabatai are supposed to have each others back and I haven’t seen jace do that for Alec at all. anytime Alec needs him, jace isn’t there. we don’t know their relationship before episode 1 so maybe he was there but knowing jace, I fucking doubt it lmao

6. “what am I supposed to do, sit here and play solitaire while they find something else to blame me for?”- Izzy. I’m just surprised she knows what that game is 😭 but honestly it’s kind of messed up that clary and Jace got to run off with the mortal cup while Izzy is here almost about to lose her being a shadowhunter. it’s not fair at all. and I think the treatment of jace and clary vs Alec and Izzy is something that doesn’t get discussed much. they hardly are held accountable for anything. they’ve ran off and who is to blame? ALEC. Izzy may have had a hand in helping meliorn but she didn’t do it alone so why is Izzy the one paying the consequences?

7. literally jace could go out and kill a bunch of downworlders and say they attacked me first! and he still would be fine. oh because jace is supposedly the best of us all except he always needs rescuing. Alec has paid the price for so many of jace’s actions.

8. “Izzy, I’m your big brother, please let me help you”-Alec 😭

9. I love that Simon has people helping him out. Luke in season one, Magnus in season two. Magnus had to deal with being a warlock all on his own. Luke had Jocelyn but no one should have to go through their changes on their own ☹️

10. LET JACE DIE! LET JACE DIE! LET JACE DIE!

11. I know Raphael is asexual but I would have been 100% okay with a Raphael and Simon pairing. THEY HAVE CHEMISTRY

12. but I love the importance of the showing making representation matter. we have Magnus who is bisexual, alec is gay, Raphael is asexual, and I can’t think of her name but that officer in season three who is a lesbian as well as aline and Helen. so nice to see 🥹

13. “Funny how those rules for downworlders stop being such a big deal when you need our help.”-ok Raphael tell her off 🔥 literally, what I have been talking about!!!! shadowhunters can break the accords = it’s okay! downworlders breaking accords = they’re evil and must be executed and punished!

14. having Camille only being on the show as temporary was a mistake in my opinion. I’m not saying she needed to be there the whole time but I think she’s a very underrated character who could’ve been more. she didn’t have one entire scene in all of season one that was terrible

15. ah blackmailing, how original

16. how I feel everytime jace gets away with something lmao (I always try to do shadowhunter gifs but I couldn’t resist)

17. Raphael: blackmailing me? how unkind, now stick around new advisor 🥲 raphael doesn’t play any games

18. ah, inquisitor herondale. what a cold bitch she is

19. well jace lives so yay I guess?

20. “this is real clary”-jace. ugh not them putting their whole mouths all over each and making cringe facial expressions 🤢

21. not sorry, I find them so cringe

22. ah, Valentine being Michael wayland being highly suspicious (shit I hope I didn’t ruin this for anyone, SORRY)

23. I love how “Valentine” sees jace following whatever clary says and is thinking hmmmm interesting

24. Izzy is all like if Jocelyn can be on the run then I can, but she had runes and weapons and Luke for starters so it’s not like Jocelyn was alone

okay so this isn’t going to be in order and this post will be more than likely go towards the trial 😌

45. I love the way alec says done and he just stares at Magnus like this man is going to take me for all I’m worth and I’m going to be happy about it 😭

46. the struggle is real for alec because not only is he denying a man who he is most likely having feelings for but he has have the audacity to go back to that same man 😬 and literally ask him for help while also trying to fight his feelings

47. like it’s just got to be hard for alec to be around magnus. I know he’s gay, we know he’s gay, literally the whole world knows he’s gay but alec doesn’t feel comfortable being gay in the shadow world. this is more of an assumption on my part when it comes to Alec. because he’s never dated and we see him “secretly” eyeing other men. which he is rightly validated in because the shadowhunters (more clave) are such oppressive ass judgmental prejudicial dicks who would rather control a being to their mold than have someone be comfortable in who they wish to be. they have this my way or no way thinking of how a shadowhunter should act and be

48. and the show doesn’t really touch up often on what it means to be gay in the shadow world or just different (I mean the books barely did and I would rather cc stay away from all matters because she burns everything she touches so no thanks)

49. also can we talk about how fucking gorgeous Magnus is???????

50. HE KNOWS HE IS FINE AS HELL

51. like how is Alec not drooling over him?????? man he’s got to be using every strength to hold it in and fight it 😭

52. also kind of funny how we’re introduced as jace being the one without emotions and clary as the emotional feeling one and the fact that clary is the one ending valentines reign, and Jace can never handle it

53. I sympathize with Jace losing his parents and having a messed up childhood but I don’t sympathize with someone who has this and uses excuses to be a shitty person. I’m sorry but I never once saw a change in either jace or clary in the show or the books.

54. “You don’t trust Alec so clary means more to you.”- “Michael wayland” ayyyyyy isn’t this what I have been saying this whole time????? dude is reading my mind I swear

55. and now he’s trying to act as though he trusts Alec. “Valentine” is right about something. he has put clary first since she arrived and Alec last. fucking Izzy is about to get deruned and jace and clary are out here basically having the time of their life. I know it’s an exaggeration but what did they think would happen after they saved meliorn????

56. MAGNUS THE LAWYER IS HERE

57. HES IN A SUIT AND TIE ALL READY TO FIGHT FOR THE LOVE OF HIS LIFES SIS AND HE IS ABSOLUTELY THE HOTTEST PERSON IN THE ROOM!!!!!!!!! this is who I need to represent me at any time!!!

58. Magnus: excuse me, your honor but this bitch is irritating the fuck out of me (magnus having to be near Lydia lmao)

okay, so part 3 coming soon 🥰✨

[lovelyelbowleech]

(Feel free to post publicly)

I put War Games on my text to speech instead of a podcast or w/e while I'm working around the house or whatever.

I am so obsessed.

I've reread it in its entirety twice, for a total of three times. And I relisten to my favorite chapters... yeah, I don't even know how many times.

I love Shen and Kazuma's dynamic so much.

Shen has a line somewhere, about how his dynamic with men is different from his dynamic with women. He feels as if his sexuality has been fractured, that his preference for commanding  women *feels* like something born of the coercive honey pot experiences of his youth. And he hates it.

I really, really, really relate to that.

--

There are a few other thoughts at the end, if you (or anyone else) wants to skip this bit. Find the "--"

So, to get personal, and CW: (unsuccessful) child abduction, fictional physical child abuse (spanking), and fictional sex trafficking.

I was almost abducted when I was in late elementary school.

I had a hard time understanding how the lingering trauma impacted me because *nothing* happened, and therefore it couldn't actually have been traumatic. Vampire Apologist now WizardArchetypes wrote briefly about going through something similar and it was the first time I've heard someone else talk about it.

I treasure finding something that resonates with this in fanfiction, even if (and probably especially if, and because) the events themselves are only emotionally similar instead of actually similar.

There's a fic where the main character is spanked as a girl. It doesn't escalate to CSA, but her underpants are pulled off her. As an older teenager, years after escaping that situation and in the process of healing, she realizes that while her caregiver never touched her in a sexual manner, he could have, and in hindsight, she has the sense he wanted to.

Yeah, that hit. That hit so hard.

In another one, (Dragon Age), a desire demon is the inquisitor. Memory and being split is part of the plot but also a major part of his internal struggle.

He knows he was imprisoned by a magistrate years ago but managed to escape. In doing so, he somewhat inadvertently laid an incredibly strong curse. On occasion throughout the story, he thinks to himself about how he's lucky to not have been used for the things magistrates summon desire demons for.

Only to find out, he was. He just chose to erase those memories. But he thought he was the kind of person who would never decide to alter himself in such a way. And how can he seek support from other desire demons when he doesn't know what happened to him?

Yeah, that hit. That hit so hard.

There's a folder in my head, and there has been for a long, long time: "Here's everything that could have happened to me".

And your story is a treasured gem to add to that collection.

I never had the chance to grow into a sexual person without the memory of that threat. (It was terrifying at the time but the actual attempted abduction did not involve threatening me).

And you're ask game? You shared about how Kazuma thinks of Shen as safe.

I'm making myself tear up.

I'm asexual, I'm non-binary. When I was in high school, someone dear to me, who knew about the trauma, questioned me, if my identities was born from the trauma I went through, that I was going to extremes to avoid sexual attention.

That's not how that works, of course. But hey, maybe my subconscious doesn't know that. It hurt, it hurt so badly to hear that. Maybe. But it hurts most that I don't think I'll ever fully know how it affected me. Not just my sexuality and gender identity.

I've never felt the way Kazuma does, about Shen being a safe person to be attracted to. But it reflects my relationship with fiction. I love the love of fictional characters. I think that might be the closest to attraction I've ever felt.

I love being able to see the world through their eyes.

I love Shen's almost compulsory sexuality towards Kazuma. I love his care for Zuko and Sokka. I love him using his past hurts to guide and support them. (I wish I could do the same for someone.)

I love the fear and the shame Kazuma has because of his internalized homophobia. I love Itchika telling him the law is stupid. I have the sense she would also tell him she doesn't find sodomy disgusting, but that Kazuma was too overwhelmed by Itchika and Azula both not having a problem with it in oneday to be told that this part of himself he struggles with and represses isn't something she sees as dishonorable. I feel those same emotions, not because I'm disgusted or afraid of my own sexuality, but because I'm disgusted and afraid to think of myself in the context of an intimate relationship.It's a blessing to see characters overcome that.

Stories like you're writing are hugely important to me, I feel like I'll never be able to express how much.

Thank you.

--

Okay, a few final thoughts.

(joking) IT'S BEEN 17 FUCKING DAYS SINCE YOU STARTED THE ASK GAME, WHEN ARE YOU UPDATING?!?!?!?! THE TEASE IS TEARING ME APART.

In seriousness, I've been working on a Kazuma/Shen fanfic. I'm having so much fun with it because I can't imagine posting it at all, despite the fact that I know "works inspired by this" are a thing. I'm over here with a bunch of bullet point notes and so much telling instead of showing, and then in the NSFW parts I'm so explicit and I'm finding beautiful gems and I'm like, "I strung those words together???? ME? HOW?"

It's also amusing, that I'm speed running to the sex but the setup is turning out to be surprisingly tricky! I know the events I've thought up aren't AT ALL going in the direction you are, on account of my goal is KISS ASAP, but I'm surprised by just how much it's tripped me up. The emotional / mental place the two of them are in is incredibly important and even if I don't explain it in the fic itself I need to know!

I mean, otherwise, it's not much more than bodies coming together. I love Shen and Kazuma as character, and like all characters, who they are and how they act is based on what they've been through and what they are going through (also known as: plot!)

Finally: I'm dyslexic too. :)

You're incredible, thank you for enriching my life.

I’m so sorry its taken so long to respond >.< I was sick for a week, and things have been a bit full on since.

Thank you for writing such a thoughtful ask, it’s amazing to see how much this fic means to you.

The impact of trauma and how it manifests can be so different person to person, but it feels like there are often beats that are the same, and people’s accounts (real or fictional) can resonate hard, and people can often really relate to them even when the circumstances are so different. I think that’s why it’s so important for people to be able to write about these things. It’s so helpful to share those experiences safely through fiction or people’s own stories.

You talk about the impact an attempted abduction had on you, I had a very similar experience that caused me lasting issues. I developed ptsd and ocd as a kid as a result. A lot of what you describe rings true for me also, including the questioning of my asexual identity. Its interesting how fiction can resonate so strongly with people and show them they are perhaps not alone in the experiences they carry with them.

I am very excited to hear you are writing fic of the fic! Seriously, that just blows my mind and makes me very happy! I would love to read it if you ever post it (although that is entirety up to you of course, just knowing someone is writing it is really awesome!) And it sounds like you are having fun writing it – although as you say, some times the set up to a scene ends up being surprisingly tricky, and then you have written 500k by accident 😂 I hope you continue to enjoy writing about them - It’s great to know someone is enjoying these characters as much as I am!

(also dyslexic writers! 💪)

Thank you again for this ask, I am really glad this story, and the characters I am writing have given something to you, and thank you very much for sharing it with me.

[katjapetersart]

Some Queerhammer for all of you!

My inquisitor Basalt and her acolytes.

Basalt: Lesbian

Gil: Sapphic (top), Genderqueer (bottom)

Dust: Lesbian

Luka: Non-binary (top), Transgender (bottom)

Bensi: Agender, Asexual, Aromantic (left to right)

[winterhartarts]

YOU HAVE A TORUNN TOO? :D

I DO LMAO I’ll share about mine if you want!!! And please feel free to share about yours!!! 😍

Sharing a current ongoing WIP of her (she’s posing with three of my other Inquisitors) & also a snapshot of her from a finished piece I did for the DA Createathon this year 🥰 And her original (more or less) design from Inquisition I definitely tweaked over the years of having her as an Inquisitor OC 💖

Also have a write-up about her I also shared with that server, which I’ll quote here!!! (Note that I originally wrote this info about her pre-Veilguard!)

Torunn Adaar (she/her) is technically a Tal-Vashoth by birth, and she’s keenly aware of what her parents went through during their time in Par Vollen while living under the Qun. One of her biological mothers was a Saarebas, had her mouth sewn shut, and she was controlled similar to how we see Ketojan/Saarebas in DA2, except she only managed to escape when her partner, an until right then devoted member of the Antaam (at least, she seemed to be on the surface to most people, anyway) managed to kill the wielder and free her from her bonds (insert Pirates of the Caribbean quote here).

Torunn’s got two moms, the Saarebas and the former Antaam. Saarebas is a trans woman, and the two decided to conceive Torunn (so she’s not adopted) post-escape from the Qun. This is also why the magic flows more easily into her via the bloodline connection to her Saarebas mother, but Antaam is also why she’s really decent as a mage merc while fighting in battles.

I haven’t figured out a name for either Torunn’s Saarebas or Antaam, but I plan to, because part of her (Torunn’s) story is learning that they chose a name to give her with the intention of breaking the Qun norm of not naming anyone officially, and also the unofficial add-on about that that we learned in Inquisition regarding taking up a nickname (instead of a series of numbers) as a “name.” But, it’s ALSO to do with the idea that she (Torunn) is freely able to decide to change her name at any point, because it’s HERS and that’s her right as an individual (rights and freedoms both her parents did not have before leaving the Qun). Her parents aren’t anti-collectivist either for the record, but they also like being able to be autonomous individuals as well if able. Freedom and self-expression is a major theme in their relationship and desire to break free from the Qun, as well as in wanting strike out in a new life together outside of Par Vollen & their assigned roles in the Qun. Outside of it, they feel they can all be happier and do whatever they want without being beholden to strict laws governing their “place in the world.” This, however, does leave Torunn with some intrigue regarding the culture she is connected to, and she has conflicting feelings regarding her own identity as a qunari born outside the Qun with parents who left the Qun (and not on the best of terms).

Also, Torunn eventually specializes her magic into necromancy, as she finds spirits and the dead a lot easier to learn things most of the living world would rather she never even hear about. That, and she has a very sweet and strong connection with the spirit who inhabits her skull she carries (info on whom & which I’m still figuring out).

Torunn is an asexual lesbian, as well, and eventually falls in love with and marries Josephine Montilyet, with whom she has the sweetest relationship 🥹 They support one another while allowing each other the space in which to grow and understand the world better, and never let work fully separate them. After Trespasser, Torunn moves with Josie when she moves back to Antiva, and lives with her as she manages her family’s estate (and does underground Inquisition business here and there, as in my over-arching world state, the Inquisition officially disbands but remains an underground secret organization, of which Josie and Torunn do still have some hand in aiding). Josie’s family adore her, which was a relief to Torunn, as after hearing what high society elsewhere (Orlais and Ferelden, specifically) referred to her as during her time as joint Inquisitor with the others, she was definitely concerned her beloved’s family would be just as racist and unwelcoming. It’s been a wonderful surprise, and a nice life they both lead together.

[annelise-draws]

OCtober Day 19- Inspiration. I joke about Isidore and Cassis being pretty obvious Heinwald and Curran ripoffs, but there's an important part missing from that equation: they're actually ripoffs from a role swappy AU that @carolmaclaine and I discussed. Curran is an alchemist in this AU because his goddess was an alchemist, a statement that the church does not approve of (I always hated how eventually everyone in DL just sort of accepted that Ilia was an alchemist, so that's why we did that). Heinwald was murdered after catching his brother-in-law killing his father, being done away with so he wouldn't snitch and then being resurrected as a church inquisitor tasked with investigating Curran's heresy. Once Dragalia Lost EoS'd, Fowl and I joked about making Curran and Heinwald into our own characters and they brought up this AU, then one thing led to another and now... original characters donut steel. Despite being created from a template, they have changed a lot. Their married couple bickering has been exchanged for being disgustingly in love with each other, we usually write Heinwald as being asexual-ish while Isidore uses sex as a substitute for talking about his problems, and Cassis is a lot goofier and sweeter than Curran is. Also, Isidore tops which we never wrote Heinwald doing. Since his sister didn't die in this AU, we kept her around as her own character, and streamlined Heinwald's canon past into being his father murdering him instead. That's also why Heinwald has short hair in this AU and why Isidore has short(er) hair (than when he was alive)--they both had a case of getting decapitated. Cassis is also french for black currant, so if you ever wanted to know why he's named that... there you go.

[grandwitchbird]

Usually I’m real focused on narrative strategy when I talk about experiences with narrative-driven games. It’s my jam. But I also just love RPGs. And I’m a woman (so you know, like roughly half the planet, in a group of people games were not ‘for’ until recently). One of the great things about my experience with crpgs has always been the ability to play as a woman. I am old. So gather ‘round and understand that back in the 90s we had some great heroine protagonists outside the crpg sphere. And by some I mean like. 2. And mainly I mean Terra from FFVI.

It was just ‘common sense’ that girls didn’t play games. That this was a self-fulfilling bad-marketing prophecy didn’t become apparent until sometime in the 2010s really. And then it only became apparent because companies realized that all the men who were going to play games were already playing games. It was a saturated and dead market. And they realized that RPGs and other narrative-driven adventures would never outcompete co-op games for sheer numbers amongst that male player base. So the sudden interest in writing actual female leads like Ciri and Aloy and Ellie was a byproduct of realizing 1. We need girls to play games if we want to keep making games; that’s just math, and 2. Oh girls actually have been playing games this whole time and they are STARVING and also like stories.

Crpgs had the luxury of being ahead of this curve, even if not in any particularly meaningful way. Lady!sprite vs dude!sprite is hardly an investment in some kind of sexual equity. But we did have lady!sprite. And we had Terra (never forget Terra). It kept us going until the more robust options, and these days those more robust options are also in the crpgs that were holding us over all this time.

Romances in crpgs, of course, stayed very player-sexual and the player was presumed male. We take our wins where we get them, but it was a sticking point.

Now imagine my delight when I was able to recommend Outer Worlds to one asexual friend who gets frustrated by player-sexuality existing at all, and has always wished they could have a romance-free character experience that didn’t write romance out of the world entirely. Imagine my further delight when Veilguard took a real stab at giving everyone* a flexible experience wrt gender/sex/sexuality represented in the player character. And it’s a funny attempt that also (probably accidentally) features an ironic route where lady!rook and lady!inquisitor are in a fairly poignant comedy of the sexes if players happen to have that set up. A comedy that really reflects all the banging on the wall female gamers have done for decades.

And I remember the days when all we had was Terra and the occasional lady!sprite. And I’m really happy we’ve come so far, and it’s not all cynical marketing to boot.

*the perfect version of veilguard has a non-binary path where rook and taash just go ham on the plot and succeed on sheer chaos. Don’t at me you know I’m funny.

[vodkacheesefries]

If you saw this when I posted it the other night before I decided to clean it up a little and deleted it, no u didn't

Continuing to try and fight off the art block with a fast, sketchy comic. Once again featuring my Dragon Age PCs, but in some sort of modern AU setting using a TikTok audio. (I didn't wanna draw armor or fantasy clothes lmao) From left to right - Tabris, Hawke, Lavellan.

Info dump below the cut for fun~

By Veilguard, Tabris would be around 42, Hawke would be 46/47, which would make Emrys like. 28. (Math is hard so if I'm wrong whatever lmao) Hence him being "4."

Emrys Lavellan wasn't my first inquisitor and was actually my then current inquisitor's little brother. I think he was originally 16. He's still the little brother, but he's now 18. Inquisition is not my favorite game, and I don't usually care for teenage protagonists these days, but in order to make the game more fun in my head I really love the idea of a Dalish teenager leading the inquisition in a moderately chaotic manor.

Back home in his clan, Emrys helped with the hunting but much preferred the art of making bows and arrows and was actively working in an apprenticeship with the clan's Fletcher.

Emrys is young so he likely wouldn't have romanced anyone anyway, but he is also aromantic and asexual so he isn't interested anyway.

His best friends in the Inquisition are Varric, Blackwall, and Dorian.

Minerva (Minnie) Hawke romanced Isabela, andis a red/purple personality. Unless you're Merrill. Then it's green answers only because Merrill doesn't deserve anything less and she can't bring herself to be snarky or mean. (She reminds her of Bethany a little.)

She also incorporates pieces of Isabela's clothes into her wardrobe, including her earrings, her scarfs, and her shoes. Basically the Dragon Age version of the 'boyfriend hoodie.'

She named her mabari Ares.

Tabris wears the earring Zev gave them and treats it kind of like a wedding ring, but I don't think either of them are really that concerned with making it legally "official."

Tabris uses he/they pronouns and slowly started transitioning during the tail end of the blight. He was obviously a little preoccupied with other things, but he started going solely by his last name and cut his hair with Leliana's help.

He named his mabari Barkspawn at Alistair's suggestion.

And I swear to God he better still be alive or have found a cure, Bioware--

[plazmafields]

Alright, since the discourse has started, let me restate a section from my "Thoughts on Kerry" post a while ago so everyone knows where I stand on the debate:

Tldr at the end

"I do support the idea that Kerry should have been bisexual like in the source material. I absolutely get that bi erasure is a big problem, ESPECIALLY with male characters. However, I respect that in the game you can only romance him with a masc V; I'm not going to mod him to he bi, I'm not gonna ship him with women. I see it the same way I see Cullen from DAI: he is canonically bisexual, just not attracted to my male Inquisitor (in Kerry's case, fem V). Maybe Kerry had such a traumatic divorce from his ex-wife that women just kinda scare him right now. We can see high heels and bras and blush littering his house, so we can assume that at the very least women are still getting naked for some reason or another at his parties. Maybe he prefers men romantically, or maybe he's just not ready to date women again, and we as players should respect that just like we would a real person."

Adding to that, I'm not saying you can't ship Kerry with a femV, but I myself don't.

So let's talk about how attraction can work IRL: Bisexuality is NOT always a 50/50 split. I always just assumed this was the case with Kerry. We see women's clothes and underwear scattered around his house, and I took that to mean he was still having sex with women, just not interested in dating them. That could be due to his unresolved trauma from his divorce, or the unresolved trauma from never processing Johnny's death. Both of those things could make him more inclined toward men.

I feel like the romantic attraction angle is something most people have been overlooking thus far. Just like how there are asexual people who aren't aromantic, there are bisexual people who aren't biromantic. Even if he wanted to have sex with femV, he doesn't want to date women at the moment, for whatever personal reasons. At the same time, he seems to want something more than casual sex.

So, it stands to reason that if Kerry is sexually attracted to either gender, but only wants to date men at that time, and is looking to have sex with someone with the goal of forming a romantic connection, Kerry would only have sex with a man.

Kerry has been with women before, so I'm not saying he never wants to date women. What I'm saying is that DURING THE TIME FRAME THAT THE GAME TAKES PLACE Kerry doesn't want to date women. So, if femV met him before the time of Cyberpunk 2077, then yes they could reasonably end up together.

TLDR: It's not about IF Kerry is sexually attracted to women, we know canonically he is. It's about respecting that he's not looking to date a women romantically at the time of Cyberpunk 2077.

[britcision]

Okay it’s time for the primer for the Four Heralds AU cuz I’ve got so much to post and some of it only involves the heralds tangentially so other people might read it.

SO!

As the title suggests, there are four heralds of Andraste:

Tavi Adaar - a qunari mage woman, she/her pronouns, bisexual, mostly blind (late stage retinitis pigmentosa), 23

Corin Cadash - a nonbinary dwarf warrior and blacksmith, they/them pronouns, sex positive asexual, ADHD and arthritic as hell, 42

Lluciano Lavellan - an elf rogue, he/him pronouns, femboy, omnisexual twink, seizures both of the motor and absence variety, AuDHD cranked up to eleven, 25

Séamus Trevelyan - a human warrior, trans man, he/him pronouns, gay as hell, chronic insomnia and hard of hearing (binaural, moderately severe), 37

Only Séamus was actually supposed to be at the Conclave, but Lavellan is our game protagonist and victim of most major plot events

(A different group from Adaar’s mercenary troupe were supposed to be sent, but got waylaid on the road so Adaar’s group subbed in since they had the shortest travel time

Lavellan was actually specifically told to stay as far away from the Conclave as possible with his scouting, walked over a single hill, and said “hmm where was I not supposed to go again oh well can’t be important” and went to check out the Conclave

(He was hiding from the other actual Lavellan spy when he came across Justinia and Corypheus)

And Cadash is a menace to society, entirely stealth free, chronic pain bitch who is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but an unforeseen flu ravaged the local branch of the Carta and since dwarves very rarely get sick, none of them knew what to do about it

Corin, being a blacksmith, at least had a semilogical reason to be carting a large load of lyrium, and no one who talked to them for five minutes would believe they were capable of being a spy, which was close enough at the last minute

Trevelyan is the oldest son of the Trevelyan family in the Free Marches, who hoped he would eventually become a templar right up until this whole “rebellion” thing made it a bit unsexy

He’s a knight instead, and actually prefers living and training with the knights to being at home so he did get himself one whole non-nepotism promotion

Most of his friends and all of his subordinates went to the Conclave with him to keep the peace and be a bit more impartial. Oops.)

This whole thing mainly started with me looking at Cole and going “you know what would be funny and extremely counterproductive? An Inquisitor with ADHD hanging out with Cole”

So now we have four beautiful, disabled, queer heralds because why stop at one?

(Tavi has also been fucking around with time magic, mostly around Slow spells, and it got weird with what Corypheus was doing and accidentally replicated the anchor they were all playing Keep Away with

Lluciano got hit in the face with at least one, he didn’t used to have the green face tattoos but so many Dalish do that no one has asked and he hasn’t noticed yet

None of them are at full power, but they’re not quite even quarters and can combine when focusing on the same rift to speed things up

Corypheus only needs one)

The full herald rundown will be linked here when it exists!

Fic (by me) and art (by @ekwolfwood) will be added in reblogs

Lluciano and Corin are staring in most of it so far, by dint of Luci being the main character and Corin being A Problem On Purpose slightly harder than the other heralds