#companion!cullen

[saltyowlets]

Companion!Cullen DAI Fake Banter

Solas: Cullen, how invigorating it must feel to fall from such heights to now a foot soldier. Or is it not so different from when you were at Meredith's whims?

Cullen: What I did was all to protect the people of Kirkwall

Solas: Ah yes, I forgot 'mages are not people and should not be treated as such.' You truly are the people's protector

Varric: When I gave you that copy, Chuckles, I didn't imagine you'd use it for...this...

Cullen: I do not need my words used against me. I know my faults and I am trying to amend it

Solas: That remains to be seen.

-------

Varric: Curly you-

Cullen: Maker, stop calling me that!

Varric: Come on Curly, you don’t have to get all uptight. It's not like the Order is still sticking a lyrium stick up your ass anymore.

Bull: Actually, why do you call him that?

Varric: You think that blonde hair gets nice and smooth like that naturally?

Cullen: What are you-

Bull: Well, I'm not exactly a judge of hair.

Varric: Ah, right, bald.

-------

Bull: So why not Blonde?

Cullen: For the love of- are you both still on about that?

Varric: *sighs* Taken. Actually, it's kind of ironic given- ah, nevermind.

-------

Blackwall: Cullen, I've noticed you've been switching over to a greatsword?

Cullen: Yes, I've been so used to using shield since Kirkwall that I fear I may have forgotten how to use anything but.

Blackwall: Well it's clear you have. Swing that sword around like that again and you'll be lobbing my head off.

Cullen: I- sorry. Maybe I should just *sighs*

Blackwall: Maker's balls, if it's that important, I can give you a few pointers.

-------

Cullen: *sighs* Yes, Vivienne?

Vivienne: Of all places to be, why did you ever think to choose to be here?

Cullen: What are you going on about?

Vivienne: My dear, the Inquisition. With your exhaustive experience, you should have been our military advisor. And yet here you are, on the front lines with us. Knight Captain, what has become of you.

Cullen: I am no longer Knight Captain nor am I a Templar. I have made it clear I am no longer bound to the Order because I believe in the good the Inquisition can accomplish. Do you disagree?

Vivienne: Hm, very much so. You abandoned such a position, for this?

Cullen: Are you not stepping on the same dirt as I am?

Vivienne: Please, do you think I have not enchanted my own boots. What do you take me for?

Cullen: *scoffed* Of course.

Vivienne: If you truly wanted to do good, you should have stayed in Kirkwall as Knight Captain. You had every resource to reverse the damage former Knight Commander did, to reign back in the apostates and templars that have run amok there. To lead by example. Yet here you are. Oh but what do I know, my dear. I am not a person, if I am recalling that correctly?

Cullen: Maker's breath, you are the last person I would have thought to have read the damn book.

Vivienne: Book?

[PT2]

[zevrain]

DRAGON AGE INQUISITION: The Advisors

[cherriesforheaven]

got this insane urge to become a keyboard warrior when i saw someone say samson and cullen could've easily swapped places in DAI and that we never see cullen's character growth ect. - which is...imo the dumbest take i've ever heard. Samson...the lyrium addict in dark town that was selling mages into slavery for his addiction...Samson who thinks meredith is a mad dog hawk should put down....samson the guy who if u get him back into the templar order regresses back into his addiction... you think Cassandra would pick HIM to be the commander of the Inquistion back when it only existed to mediate the conflict between mages/templars when Cullen was de-facto Knight Commander of Kirkwall for two whole years???? How would corypheaus - a TEVINTER MAGE magister (who mind u, is portrayed as being akin to the serpent in the garden of eden according to the chant of light) be able to manipulate someone who is off lyrium, a devout andrastian, so ferelden he probably named his kids after his favorite mabari, and hated mages with a burning passion for a large chunk of his life. Be serious....his character arc isn't even about addiction its about what it means to seek redemption for for all the self hatred he allowed to grow inside of him after Kinloch Hold, how atonement is found through REDEMPTIVE ACTS instead of karmic punishment. Even his scenes where he struggles with the philtrum of lyrium aren't actually about his addiction they are about his self loathing- and why he needs to get away from the chantry because he did not like the man he became when he served under it- I DIGRESS but typing this out made me realize none of the companions in DATV have this kind of pull, they're not interesting to talk about or hyper fixate on 😗 its been like 6 months since I first played DAI and im still in love w cullen, but I can't remember the plot of datv anymore

[atarial]

part 2 of the inquisition sketches :D

one more page to go

[the-rebel-archivist]

The reason Lucanis’s romance falls flat to me is not because I expected Zevran 2.0. It’s not because I wanted to go on many fluffy little dates. It’s not even because he’s generally missing content and his lock in scene is reused from when he tells you about his interest in Neve in a non-romance.

It’s because of the type of content that is missing. It’s lacking the development of emotional intimacy and vulnerability. He goes from 0-100 with nothing in between. A light, fluffy date would never have fit him, but a difficult, hard hitting conversation in which he could explain how he feels about you and what’s holding him back from you where you could support him? That’s what’s missing.

“But Inner Demons?” you might protest. No. That is not romance specific, it’s a good insight into him but it should have been the jumping off point for an honest conversation that never happens. Inner Demons doesn’t explain why he ran after nearly kissing you. You can headcanon a million reasons for that, demisexuality, fear of inflicting Spite on you, fear of lack of control, but the fact remains that he never, ever explains it and it has to remain headcanon.

Imagine if you will a scene where he asks that you stay near him because he’s afraid of falling asleep, maybe after that codex where Spite blows out his time-tracking candle. Would you sit with him? Of course. He would have expressed a moment’s vulnerability with his own mouth to your own physical ears, and of course you would be there. The romance didn’t need grand sweeping scenes of passion, it’s missing the simple intimacy of the quiet moments where you get close enough to discuss feelings and fears.

You have to headcanon how he might feel about you the entire time, since the only clarity you gain about the state of the relationship is when he says that “whatever this is” he likes it. That would be fine if he talked to you at all about what you wanted out of the relationship and you were on the same page about it being a little new and scary, but you don’t. It makes the passionate declarations of love at the end of the game fall pretty flat for me since I didn’t feel like I’d earned them, every “You have me” reminder throughout the bulk of the game felt shallow and like it was begging to be let in to his thoughts, which is… not great when it’s for 90% of the romance and not just the very early beginnings of it. It’s another instance of telling and not showing.

The moment at the end of the game when he tells you that he didn’t say anything because he thought you knew? That’s nice, but it should have been earlier, it should have been lock in content, because what do you mean we’ve been locked in to a committed relationship all this time and this is the first time you’ve expressed that you actually care when given new word of god context emotional intimacy should have been the top priority to develop and explore? The optics of the confession when we’re all probably going to die trope are pretty great, I won’t pretend they aren’t, but when you take a step back and ask yourself why then, and what were you two doing before? You end up with a lot of questions and holes.

But that’s the entire romance in a nutshell, really. Questions and holes that you have to fill in. It’s great for people willing to do the heavy lifting in headcanon to establish emotional intimacy, but it does not do that on its own and you have to connect the dots yourself.

[fantalpacca]

I probably should be sorry but I am not.

Also I haven't slept in 40 hours 😎

[adoribullpavus]

i know his VA sucks but it also sucks that we aren't gonna randomly bump into cullen for the fourth time, this game isn't going to be complete without a rutherford encounter

[kirkwallguy]

i will never buy official bioware merch unless they do an anders plushie at which point my resolve will probably break

[girlwithadragonheart]

“This part, what you have now, I just miss the banter about friends.” — The Inquisitor in DAV

This line made me so sad. I fear when the Inquisition disbanded (if you so chose), she lost a lot of the people she had grown close with. We get to experience that again with Rook, but we don’t see our Inquisitor’s side of that. One thing I do wish is that Inky brought up her partner (if they had one) because I want to know that she’s doing well with Cullen despite the world once again going to shit. I love this game but I miss the Inquisition, it was just as much of a home for me.

[companionjones]

Your Thoughts

Pairing: Edward Cullen x Reader

Fandom: Twilight

Warnings: Anxiety, self-hatred, one curse word

*******

    He first heard them off in the distance. Then, they got louder, and louder, and louder. He finally realized who all the thoughts were coming from as you entered the room.

    Sadly, you immediately walked right in front of a fan. Edward had to physically hold himself back from attacking you as soon as he could smell you. Your blood was like his own personal brand of heroine.

    Aaannd Edward had to spend an entire class with you sitting next to him. He thought that after hundreds of years he was finally going to snap and lose everything.

    What made things worse, was that he could read your mind. All you could think was that you badly reeked and everyone could smell you. Your thoughts only got worse from there.

    By the end of the class, Edward needed to get out of there, but he couldn’t without telling you, “It’s not your fault,” before leaving.

    Edward tried to get out of Biology. When he couldn’t, he was gone for about a week, trying to get his shit together.

    Although you were no longer around him, Edward couldn’t get your thoughts out of his head. He felt horrible that he made you feel like that. Changing your thoughts was the only reason he went back to school.

    When Biology rolled around, Edward headed for the seats in which you and he had been sitting, only to find that you could not have been sitting farther from them.

    Along with your overwhelming scent, Edward heard all of your thoughts again, and they were just as dark and lonely as before. Edward fought past his vampire instincts and sat next you you again. He offered a light smile in your direction.

    Your thoughts responded accordingly. If Edward had to put one word to them, it would’ve been confusion.

    He tried to levee your thoughts with conversation. “Hello.” He cursed himself for sounding so rehearsed. “I’m sorry for not introducing myself last week...I’m Edward Cullen.”

    “I’m Y/n L/n,” you introduced.

    You were scared of him, that much was obvious from your thoughts. But you weren’t scared of Edward in the way he expected. You were scared of him like you were scared of everyone, and you wondered why he, why anyone, would talk to you.

    Edward hoped those thoughts would leave you as he talked to you longer.

    “Do you like the weather here?” He decided that was a normal enough question to ask.

    Perhaps it was too normal of a question, because you thought it a bit odd that he had asked. You replied anyway, “Yeah, I do. It has been raining a lot, though. I miss the sun.” You hoped you hadn’t talked for too long.

    Edward wished you hadn’t thought that. He couldn’t remember ever reading a mind that had as much anxiety as yours did. He wanted so badly to lighten up your mind that he found himself agreeing with you about the sun. It wasn’t untrue. Edward did miss the sun, just maybe a little less now because seeing it would mean he wouldn’t be able to see inside your mind for the day.

    You and Edward talked for the rest of the class. He asked you many questions: How long you had been in town, what was the farthest you’d been from home, etc. He just couldn’t get enough of you or your mind. He had also succeeded in getting your mind to stop thinking such terrible things about yourself. Well, he did, at least until the bell rung.

    Thoughts started flooding your head about how you didn’t want him to go because this was the best interaction you could remember having.

    Who was Edward to deprive you of that?

    He knew he shouldn’t have, but he kept talking to you. When the bell rang and you both had to go to your next class, Edward exchanged phone numbers with you so you could text during class. The two of you did so for the rest of the day.

    “You should really let me drive you home today. It’s still raining.” Edward texted after the final bell.

    You texted back, “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

    “You’re not asking, I’m offering. Let me drive you home,” he said as he approached you from behind.

    Edward had just made you smile for the first time. He felt his long-dead heart flutter. Edward also felt the eyes of his siblings on him. He knew they had heard what he had just said because everyone’s thoughts were heavily cautioning him to just leave you.

    Everyone’s thoughts except Alice’s. “Just go. It’ll be fun.”

    Maybe it was because she was thinking very clearly, or maybe it was because Edward wanted to hear that the most, but either way, Alice’s thoughts came through louder than the rest of his siblings. It was what convinced him to get into his car with you.

    And so, Edward drove you home that day. He also drove you to and from school the next day, and the next day, and every day for the rest of that week.

    When Friday rolled around, you got into Edward’s car with questions rolling around inside your head.

    “Why are you being so nice to me, Edward?”

    He shrugged. “Because I think you’re kind, and amusing, and beautiful--”

    A few things.

    One, surprisingly, Edward didn’t often think of the words coming out of his own mouth because he was often so occupied by other people’s thoughts inside his head. That was why he had admitted that he thought you were beautiful.

    Two, you had been thinking that question so loud and so repetitively that Edward didn’t hear any of your other thoughts as you got into his car.

    Three, you thought of something else so quickly before acting that Edward didn’t have time to react accordingly.

    But Edward has super speed. Shouldn’t he be able to react fast no matter what? Well, not with what you had in store for him. With what you thought, Edward needed at least a second to think before reacting.

    You had kissed Edward.

    Yes, he needed that one second to process what was happening. Edward also needed another second to get his body to react.

    He pulled away from you and got out of the car. Edward tried his best to get your scent out of his system.

    You got out of the car too. “I am so, so sorry. I think--I guess I misread the messages and assumed--I’m so sorry.” You started walking in the school’s direction.

    Your thoughts were a mess. Never had Edward heard as much self-hatred that wasn’t aimed at himself.

    He used his vampire speed to catch up to you before you turned around. “Y/n.”

    When you faced him, you briefly wondered how he had gotten to you so fast. But, just as you had done with Edward, he didn’t give you time to think.

    He placed both hands on either side of your face (avoiding your pulse) and leaned toward you.

    Truthfully, Edward was leaning in a little slow in fear of his blood lust, but then he heard your thoughts.

    “He’s going to kiss me! Yes!”

    That made Edward fully smile before he pressed his lips to yours.

    The kiss lasted about seven seconds.

    When you separated, you commented, “This is insane.”

    “Sweetheart,” he smiled, “You have no idea.”

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time, if you would like to read more, check out my masterlist over on my page. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

[saltyowlets]

Companion!Cullen Precursor: Romance

I know I haven't touched Companion!Cullen for a long bit, mostly cause I've been thinking about my own Cullavellan and tackling his redemption in their story but I do want to comeback to it, especially now.

So heres a small tidbit of what I eventually want to tackle: Companion!Cullen romance.

I know it's a small point of contention, whether Cullen should have had a romance or not, with all there considering his lyrium addiction and his PTSD. I am on the side that a romance is possible, but to have a satisfying and redemptive end for Cullen, it would require some leg work for that romance that we just aren't provided in game.

So, in order to mitigate this, I propose that in Companion!Cullen's romance is similar to a secret romance that is only accessible by very specific and pro mage means.

For starters, I do not think him being a romance while still being pro Circle or pro Templar is healthy, if anything, it may even be a detriment to his growth. Cullen is a man who needs to be challenged to fully change. I'm not saying that he couldn't change to be better on his own. He definitely has the ability to. However, we are looking for full redemptive Cullen in the DAI narrative. How does this work with Companion!Cullen specifically?

Approval system. Or rather, something similar to the rivalry system.

I think in order to access Cullen's redemption and subsequent romance, you have to challenge him, gain disapproval. There would be prompts that involve choosing pro mage choices, conversation prompts with Cullen that challenge and maybe accuse him of the things that happened in Kirkwall. This becomes the precursor to Cullen's deprogramming. If you keep gaining approval and do not challenge him, this only just leads to Cullen on the path of feeling justified by his pro Circle sentiments. He will still sympathize with the mages/apostates and will lament and regret how he acted but he will still remain adamant that the Templars are necessary or, at the very least, a justification.

Continuous disapproval will lead to specific scenes, depending on choices, that allow you to get Cullen to open up and discuss what happened in Kinhold and Kirkwall. There may some flirt lines but nothing that would seem like you forgive him but reach an understanding. Eventually, you gain approval with Cullen from these scenes as it becomes reflective that 1. He is changing, 2. He appreciates that you are challenging and not just excusing his actions because that is who Cullen is. He is a man who knew he did wrong and does not want to be easily forgiven.

Anyways, this is what I have so far but I'll eventually write more. Feel free to let me know what you think!

[ndostairlyrium]

The more the furrier 💛

Bonus:

[asexuallucanisdellamorte]

if bioware do make a dlc for veilguard i will only accept a mass effect citadel style one. Rook and co can't go back into the fade so the inquisitor gifts them skyhold and the entire dlc is just inviting every single one of dragon age's previous characters to a massive party

[sunlight-shunlight]

thinking about them (the sheer amount of care and specificity that went into dai companion/advisor designs

[brain-rot-central]

wtf is Solas doing with these abs

[barnabeetheraven]

Companion Reactions to the Inquisitor waking up from a nightmare

Cassandra: When she stumbles on the Inquisitor outside, she can tell from their face that they are having a rough night. Cassandra asks them if they’d like to do some training, maybe it would help take their mind off of things; she knows that works with herself sometimes, and the two of them spar until the early morning light begins peaking over the Skyhold mountains. If Romanced: When she feels them startle beside her, she is instantly on high alert for any threat. But when she notices the Inquisitor shaking and breathing heavily, she takes a deep breath and leans over to wrap her arms around them. When the Inquisitor remarks that they dont want to go back to sleep, Cassandra gets up and grabs one of her favorite books, and they spend the rest of the night in each others arms, with Cassandra reading softly to her love.

Varric: He can tell instantly that they are having a bad night; he’s seen his fair share of that look from Hawke, Fenris, and Anders before. He starts off with some of his favorite jokes until he can see just a hint of a smile on their face, before he tells the Inquisitor that they can always come and talk to him if they need to. Not that he’s any good at doing anything about it, but hell, sometimes you just need a shoulder. Afterwards, to break the emotional tension, he has them sit down and they spend the rest of the resting hours playing Wicked Grace.

Solas: He knew even before he saw the bags under their eyes, as he had felt the intense emotions from the Inquisitor’s nightmares in his own dreams. He offers to help them with the problem, not wanting to overstep his boundaries but also wanting them to know he can help chase the nightmares away. He also makes sure to send them with a decent sleeping drought, one that is designed for dreamless sleep. He prefers not to use it, as he enjoys his nighttime adventures, but he also knows that most people cannot control their dreams as he can. If Romanced: The Inquisitor begins to notice less and less nightmares, but in each dream they see the same thing; a large, dark wolf, always at the edges of their sight, as if watching or guarding them. The Inquisitor goes to sleep at night wrapped tight in the arms of the Dread Wolf, who chases away any nightmare that might harm his Vhenan.

Sera: As she was sneaking her way across the courtyard from the kitchens, arms full of cookies and pastries she had nicked when no one was looking, she almost knocked over the Inquisitor in her hurry. After making a joke about how they look like shite, and seeing how it hit home, Sera offers to share her bounty of stolen goods, and her and the Inquisitor spend the night on the rooftop, munching their goodies and talking about all manner of silly things to take the Inquisitor’s mind off of their night. If Romanced: There are all manner of ways for her to distract the Inquisitor, late in the night hours away from prying eyes. But when she can see in the Inky’s eyes how badly they are hurting, her favorite form of love comes out; SHARED PRANKS! Skyhold spent the next two weeks being terrorized by any and all manner of joke and prank, while Sera and the Inquisitor have never looked happier or more rested.

Vivienne: She cannot help but make a comment about how terrible the Inquisitor looks, and how important appearances can be, especially when dealing with the Chantry and them being the Herald of Andraste, after all! She makes them sit down for a spa day, and sends them back to their quarters with arms full of different sleeping aids, lotions for their face and eyes, and a book that Vivienne swears will put ANYONE who reads it to sleep, because of “how unbelievably droll” it is (It might or might not end up being Swords and Shields)

Blackwall: He has his own nights like that, where you wake up and just dont want to go back to sleep for fear of the nightmare returning. He asks them if they would want to help him with the horses, as it relaxes him taking care of them, and the two spend the night brushing the horses and harts, feeding the nugs and drakes, and talking about the universe and old war stories. If Romanced: After they get done taking care of the animals, Blackwall makes a nice, roaring fire, and he starts teaching the Inquisitor how to carve and whittle, making sure to touch and brush against them as often as possible, so they know that he is always there.

Iron Bull: He has a lot of nights like that on his own, and he’s seen the Charger’s experience more than a few. He offers to buy the Inquisitor a drink, and openly talks to them about how bad his are sometimes. He and whichever of the Chargers are awake end up sitting around in a circle, playing Wicked Grace and sharing stories, until everyone is smiling and looking more content as the sun comes up. If Romanced: When he feels them shaking next to him, Iron Bull rolls over, wraps his long arms around the Inquisitor, and pulls them to him. He rocks them just like that, with their head cradled against his chest, and begins to him an old song he remembers his Tamassran singing to him when he was young, and he feels the Inquisitor slowly fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat, feeling more at home and loved than either of them ever has.

Dorian: He scoffs jokingly, talking about how much work it is to keep their eyes looking young when they dont sleep, but he steers them to his favorite chair in the library and makes sure they get comfortable. He pulls out books left and right, criticizing or complimenting, joking and laughing until the Inquisitor falls asleep, softly dozing in the chair, and Dorian cant help but smile as he pulls up a chair of his own next to them, determined to defend the rest of his friend. If Romanced: When they wake with a start, he rubs their back, speaking comfortingly in his language, and when he gets the Inquisitor calmed down, goes and grabs a book off of the table. He cradles them against his shoulder and begins to read to them, softly stroking their hair until they fall peacefully asleep, nestled against Dorian and listening to the rise of fall of his chest.

Cole: Fear, building and building, until all that’s left is a cloud of hurt and fog of pain. He can feel the Inquisitor’s pain, so he begins softly patrolling their dreams. Sometimes he and Solas trade off, but Cole is always watching to see if he can help the Inquisitor with their stress. They dont always know when he is doing it, but Cole makes sure to give that little push every now and then to help ease the Inquisitor’s stress and anxiety, that way they can sleep easier at night.

Bonus:

Leliana: She has many of her own nightmares, and she remembers how bad the Warden’s would get, especially when they got closer to ending the Blight. She offers to get the Inquisitor whatever they need; coffee to stay awake, or tea to help with sleep. But they spend many nights taking care of the ravens, letting them take their fears and worries up into the sky as they brush and feed them. It isn’t much, but it’s a strange sort of relaxing.

Josephine: She tuts softly, mentioning how the Inquisitor has way too much on their plate, and she begins shuffling meetings and tasks, trying to only bring things to the Inquisitor’s attention if it is absolutely necessary. The hope is that if she takes more off the Inquisitor’s mind, maybe they wont have as much to stress about before they are going to bed. If Romanced: It’s hard for her, but she tries to intentionally put down her own work and cuddle with the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor finds it relaxing to run their fingers through Josephine’s hair, so every time a nightmare happens, she softly brushed her hair and lets the Inquisitor run their fingers through it, sighing softly as the vestiges of the nightmare vanish into the night.

Cullen: He has a lot of his own, especially as he is going through Lyrium withdrawals. Often, he and the Inquisitor spend many nights walking the grounds, unable to sleep, or sparring to help get their tension out. The two became good friends, where they can go to each other in the middle of the night and the other will wake instantly and get up to walk and talk with them. If Romanced: He startles when the Inquisitor flips up, but he wraps his strong arms around them and murmurs to them how they are safe, they are here with him, and nothing is going to hurt them. Over and over, he softly whispers his reassurances against their soft skin, until he can feel their shaking subside and he can get them to lay down on his chest, cradled safely in his arms.