#but i do love to think about zev maybe using it as a necklace too at times and just. kissin it for good luck when he needs it

[sotc]

I MISS HIM ALREADY SO MUCHHH. HOW DO I BREATHEEEEE WITHOUT YOUUUUU. Apparently the timelapse between the end of Origins and the beginning of Awakening is 6 months and I am so upset that the honeymoon travel between Zevana was cut short! THEY DESERVE LONGER. Traveling as Milana did in the year facing the Blight was the most of the outside world she's seen considering her entire life was within the confines of the Alienage and parts of Denerim. Now with the threat of an Archdemon gone, I imagine her and Zev went traveling abroad towards the Free Marches and Antiva City (perhaps even a bit of Orlais? hmm, not sure tho) I think Zev was delighted to show her his city but also lmao so very dangerous of them to do so - but who are they if they aren't finding the thrill in a bit of danger anyways :3c I'm sure at some point though an assassination attempt may have been too close of a call in Antiva to their liking. Duties called her back to Ferelden anyways and Zevran assumed it was time to finally stop running and actually go after the Crows, as noted in this letter. Afterall, now he has a life of his own and a love worth fighting for. 🫶 I always think back to that line when he mentioned the fortune teller in the whorehouse he grew up in told him he would live a long life (much to her surprise) and for as long as he's been an assassin and the years ahead for them both.... SIGHS LOVINGLY. CHIN HANDS. KICKS MY FEET. It's what he DESERVES!!!! Now if only we can find the cure to the Calling for Milana huh...

[heniareth]

Henlo lovely friend :3 I am nyooming into your askbox with all due speed and urgency regarding the OTP questions for Astala (my BELOVED!!) and Zevran (ALSO MY BELOVED!!). If I may enquire:

3: Do they wear the other's clothes? (Sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

4: Which one is more protective? Who needs to be 'protected?'

57: Who's the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random things in the cart?

60 (if it's not too personal): Who pulls the other closer when they're sleeping?

You take care and enjoy yourself!! No pressure on any of this, just whatever you fancy, whenever you fancy it. Have yourself a gorgeous day!!!

Hello Plant! :D The ask you answered yesterday inspired me to sit down and answer this one apparently, because I wrote the bugger up in one go!! Never happened before XD XD You do magic with those words. Before I get into the questions, a littel prelude:

These questions make me think about a potential modern AU. Astala probably would've dropped out of school as soon as it was legal to do so and started working whatever jobs are available. Maybe cashier? Waitress is still a possibility. She'd definitely have been juggling two jobs plus a few odd bits of work to make ends meet. Then she gets fired one day and lo and behold, Duncan offers her a place with the Grey Wardens. I imagine they'd pay well, which is why Astala would take the job. Zevran is still an assassin for hire, and eschews guns in favor of knives for his assassination attempt. To kill somebody with a knife, you have to get close to them and expose yourself to harm. A gun makes people way too easy to kill. A knife attack can also be written off as a mugging gone wrong or something. The party camp turns into an empty office building where the Grey Wardens had their HQ. The group would transform it into one big apartment. Cubicles are turned into rooms (walls between several cubicles are broken down for more space). There are sofas and rugs and a fully functioning kitchen and bookshelves and plants. Rascal is still a big dog. Shale is... a robot? A person in a very cool exo-skeleton suit for someone a la Iron Man? Oh and magic still exists. After the whole thing with the Blight is over Zev and Astala would have enough money for a tiny but cozy apartment in a quiet part of town, with enough space on the balcony to fill it with plants. Please feel free to picture what scenes are described in the answers as happening in said apartment. Other alternatives are Vigil's Keep, where Astala has a tiny portion (study + room + entrance) to call her own. Or a house in Antiva with white walls and a roof with red shingles with a porch where flowering vines creep up the walls. Also in the modern AU Astala would be finishing school after the Blight and discover that studying for exams is so much better than a night shift or killing darkspawn.

And now, off to the questions!!

3. Do they wear each others' clothes? (Sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

Yes they do! Astala does this particularly often, especially when Zevran is away, especially at night. She will wear something of his until it no longer smells like him, and then she'll pick something else. It makes the missing him a bit easier, but at the same time a bit worse because something of his is there but not he himself. She gives it back once Zevran returns, however. Most of it, anyways. One or two shirts might get lost among her things. How curious indeed XD Zevran I think would also wear things of Astala's, but it'd be because it's become a somewhat accidental habit. Maybe there's a scarf she has lent him so often it's as good as his (he did happily accept it every time she offered it of course). Or a bandana that Astala used once to tie his hair back and he finds it a year later in the pockets of the trousers he was wearing. And by that point Astala would insist he just keep it, since he's evidently using it more than she is

4. Which one is more protective? Who needs to be 'protected?'

Well now. This is quite the question 👀👀👀 They are both quite protective of each other, Astala in a more physical "I'll literally stand between you and harm" way and Zevran in a "stand aside and observe and be ready to strike if necessary" way. So during the Blight, they both do their fair share of protecting. Then of course Astala gets injured in the fight with the archdemon and just can't hold her own as well as she used to. Their roles are now inversed: Zevran is the more physical one because he can be, while Astala has to keep away from danger and can intervene only from a distance. But intervene she does, and she makes up for her lack of movement and her vulnerability with a quick and cold ruthlessness. If there's somebody an attacker could convince to stop and talk it out, it's Zevran now.

As far as being protected goes... Astala only catches glimpses of it, but Zevran works very hard behind the scenes to help her navigate Fereldan politics and later also the Antivan merchant guilds (I am playing around with the idea to have Astala give up Amaranthine and to settle close to Antiva as a merchant, at least for a time. She'd try to create a market for artisans from the Fereldan alienages in Antiva and the reverse in Ferelden, and I think she'd do pretty well). He'd suss out business practices, potential customers, do networking, all of that. And Astala would shield him from his own demons. It's hard to live with yourself when you've let yourself down so often. Astala would remind him when he's being too harsh with himself, pull him back when he's starting to slip into old patterns and habits, just be something solid around which to reorient himself and remember that he's not the kind if man who'd kill his love for the Crows anymore. So yeah. They have each others' backs pretty consistently

57: Who's the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random thing in the cart?

At the beginning of their relationship there's a very notable difference. Except when she's in a serious need for something to lift her mood, Astala will think every purchase apart from the bare necessities over thrice. Very expensive things she doesn't even look at, because they're firmly in the category of not in her budget. Zevran is much quicker at buying and wanting things if he has the coin for it, tomorrow be damned. He's mostly succesful at pulling Astala along, unless it is a veritably silly thing like a gigantic nug pillow or an outright luxury item (like the expensive kinds of jewelry or some rare foodstuff from Seheron or whathaveyou). In those cases Mistress Woolsey is a surprisingly adept negotiation partner. She will show Astala the numbers and will assure her that she can afford it and once doesn't hurt, it's an investment rather than a frivolous purchase and, if the arlessa will allow it, she will point out that the jewelry Astala already has just doesn't cut it for an occasion like the 5th anniversary of the slaying of the archdemon. I imagine Zevran learns budgeting skills rather quickly, while Astala takes a bit longer to shake off the compulsion to hoard money for emergencies. But she relaxes with age, and in their senior years they can often be seen snooping around the market for interesting knickknacks and curiosities, maybe some new food to try or something small for each other. Sometimes Zevran will play the part of the frugal husband to tease her. It's worth stopping and watching these two bicker like the old married couple they are

60. Who pulls the other closer when they're sleeping?

(Not personal, don't worry ^^ I'm okay talking about fluff, smut is where it can get a bit too personal for my liking. Depends on the question and if there's ever a particular item in an ask game i'm not comfortable talking about I'll write it in the tags when I reblog said ask game)

Zevran, I imagine. Zevran seems to be the kind of guy to briefly wake up, drape one arm around Astala, cuddle up and fall back asleep. Or he straight-up doesn't wake up and reaches for her on instinct. I already told you, but physicality is important for Zevran. I imagine pulling Astala in is an unconcious reminder that she is there. I also imagine he'd crave closeness the most when he's just come back after a time of being apart, and would thus pull her in more frequently. It helps that Astala sleeps like a log: she doesn't move much and somebody pulling her in doesn't wake her up. In fact, her sleep is too deep to pull someone closer, which is an action that requires a lot of steps done right. If she seeks out Zevran, it will be via rolling over the bed until she bumps into him, and where she bumps into him she settles. Sometimes it makes for a terribly sore neck in the morning, sometimes it even wakes Zevran up (who I headcanon to have a very light sleep due to his experience as an assassin). The only time she'll actively pull him in is when he's being restless, either because of a nightmare or because he just can't sleep. Quick movements by her side is something that will reliably wake Astala up enough to do that. And it bears mentioning that both of them are very given to sleeping close to one another (although they do change from glued to one another to wothin comfortable arm's reach over the years) except during an Antivan summer. Nobody could endure any kind of body heat during an Antivan summer

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And that's that! I hope you enjoyed the answers and the glimpses of them both as much as I enjoyed writing them XD They are so very close to my heart. Thanks for indulging me and I hope you have the most gorgeous of days yourself!!