#crackinglamb

[anneapocalypse]

32, 36 and 40 for the fic writers asks? Plz and thank.

Sorry I'm like days late with this one, oops. For this ask meme!

32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?

I don't know that I have one, really! I will read a pretty broad variety of fic lengths, from a true 100-word drabble to a novel-length fic. At any length, I am more likely to pick up a fic if it's complete, or at least has a planned chapter count. I know that feels unfair to a lot of people who want feedback along the way and I'm sorry, but my bad memory means that I am really going to struggle to keep up with a story dropping serially and remember what happened in between updates. I will certainly make exceptions sometimes! But I'm also just going to be a better reader and commenter when I'm reading a complete story.

36. Do you visualize what you read/write?

I do, but my visualizations tend to be rather vague, because I do not have a visual brain. When I'm reading I think my visualizations tend to be composites of things I have seen irl, and I appreciate vivid descriptions because they allow me to build better composites, if that makes sense. (Tamsyn Muir is an author whose descriptions I really love; I have some very clear pictures of Canaan House in my head despite how complex it is because her descriptions are just so good.) When writing, I draw a lot from visual references and memory for my descriptions.

40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

I don't often re-read fics, and I wish I did! I hate to admit this but I am not as fast a reader as I was in my youth, and so with the time and focus I have to read, I do tend to prioritize getting in new works. Still, there are definitely old beloved fics that I have revisited.

[solavelyan]

14 and 20 for the 'choose violence' asks? Plz and thank.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

that thing where the central couple is in the early stages and cole pops up to be like "GUESS WHAT YOU'RE HORNY" or spout poetry about the relationship in a way that is more Shipper Brained than following cole's internal logic and drive. obviously he does comment on a romance in canon, but he usually has a specific type of information he zeroes in on: he digs into insecurities and sorrow with the purpose of relieving it or reassuring someone.

cole just being misdirected in general is annoying, but the trope of using him to talk about the central characters wanting to bone while everyone is in public together is what makes my eyes roll. i feel like there are more creative ways both to use cole and rope other characters into helping a couple get together if that's a trope you enjoy. maybe get varric in on the parent trapping or something, you know?

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

i really like a lot of the story elements of wicked eyes and wicked hearts, especially the companion dialogue and the combat bits, but i find the sidequests a real pain in the ass to complete. the halla statue thing is annoying, not being able to get into certain areas if you're not playing a rogue just makes me feel like i'm missing things (even tho it's just loot), and i got the maximum amount of court gossip one time and never will again. god, all the court whispers dialogue is so irritating to get. the jerky idling animation, the tedium of finding the spots to stand in, the fact that moving even a little bit once the official gossip starts will interrupt the audio and then you can never hear it again, having to try the same spot over and over and over and over until you hear something new. the reward for it is just not enough. blech.

[ from the choose violence ask meme ]

[ir0n-angel]

trick or treat!

[lilbittymonster]

trick or treat!

I offer you some tiny friends!

[fiadhaisteach]

Hiii!!!🥰🥰🥰Send this to all your favourite moots and pass the pumpkin round! KEEP THE PUMPKIN TRAIN GOING 🎃🖤🎃🖤🎃

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

REMARKS ON A MAJOR PROLOGUE SPOILER BELOW THE CUT! 🐺💜

I agree with the theory floating around that Solas [did what he did to Varric] for a reason, because the way he says his name? Need I harp further on the biggest shadow following this man around? That’s the sound of regret. Hope and worry all at once. This is a tactician backed into a corner who still cares for arguably one of his closest friends caught in the crossfire. He chose to do that to him, yes, but I think there’s a reason. Did he need to get the dagger to them knowing he’d be trapped in the Fade without tipping off Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain that he’s connected to Varric (and thus, indirectly, the others)? This is not a man who lashes out in anger, who hardly ever allows his temper to get the better of him. He’s playing chess. In seconds, he realized everything was going wrong and he had to put the pieces into play to do damage control, just like he did with his Orb.

Also. The emotion written into his face. He’s upset and frustrated and gauging Rook as a new player, an outlier, just as he did once with the Inquisitor. Can this person be trusted? Will this person be reasonable? Are they going to see reason? (How am I able to handle this situation for the best possible outcome?) He’s got his wolf face on, calculating, scrutinizing. But there, for the briefest of seconds, a crack in his facade—he blinks rapidly, eyes glistening. His voice falters. He steps away and to the side to recollect himself. When he next looks at Rook, he’s remorseful but resolute. Not denying the dubiety of his actions, but not pleased about them either.

I don’t know man. His expression when he first sees Varric, as well as this one, are the first glimpses I’ve really noticed of Solas, not the Dread Wolf. I am going insane. He’s caught between conflicting aspects of himself in more than one way. Now he’s having to help this complete stranger while he’s for the most part helpless to do anything. The world will fall apart around him once again and he is powerless to stop it unless he can win the trust of this stranger after hurting someone close who believed in him.

I’m fine. I’m okay I’m fine I’m all right. *chewing on the bars of my enclosure*

[breninarthur]

Looking for a name for your Elf OC?

Elvhen Names of Thedas is a project I've been working on for over two years with the intention of creating a naming resource for the fandom!

75+ unique, canon-compliant names, 350+ variations, and even more still on the way very soon!

Tag List:

@warpedlegacy @rakshadow @rosella-writes @effelants @bluewren @ar-lath-ma-cully @dreadfutures @ir0n-angel @inquisimer @crackinglamb @theluckywizard @oxygenforthewicked @exalted-dawn-drabbles @melisusthewee @blarrghe @agentkatie @delicatefade @leggywillow @plisuu @hekaerges @queenaeducan

[effelants]

Sanguine

is a loosely canonical chronicle of the events of Dragon Age: Origins featuring a canonically impossible Warden and a F!Amell/Alistair pairing, which results in some familiar situations resolved in unfamiliar ways.

It is fully pre-written (by myself, over the course of the past seven years) and fully illustrated (by the exceptional @vjatoch), and is being published in a serial format with weekly updates.

CHAPTER 4

in which the Grey Warden recruits complete their first mission and embark on the next: undertaking the Joining.

Read chapter 4 on AO3!

Start from the beginning!

Sign up for the tag list by commenting below to get tagged on weekly update posts on tumblr! Alternatively, you can follow the tag #ssfp sanguine!

Tag list:

❀ @warpedlegacy @rakshadow @rosella-writes @bluewren @breninarthur

❀ @ar-lath-ma-cully @dreadfutures @ir0n-angel @inquisimer @crackinglamb

❀ @theluckywizard @oxygenforthewicked @exalted-dawn-drabbles @melisusthewee @blarrghe

❀ @agentkatie @delicatefade @leggywillow @plisuu @hekaerges

❀ @skinwalkingxana

[dreadfutures]

Rules: If you're tagged, MAKE A NEW POST and showcase one fanartist or fanfic you recommend (with links), and tag someone to give their recs next! Don't forget to reblog the rec you were tagged in!

Let's bring back rec posts, and share some love for the creative work we get to enjoy every day in our fandoms! For ANY fandom, highlight either a fanartist or a piece of fan writing (or both) you love and tag some friends!

FANARTIST: @yolebrat

Today I'm highlight @yolebrat - an amazing artist who I first found through painterly Dragon Age fanart. Since then I've enjoyed commissions, and cute little doodle replies that make me smile!

One of my favorite pieces is a commission yole made for Mel (below) Give it a reblog and follow yole for more art of all kinds. Or buy a commission and get an amazing painted piece of your own!

FANFIC: Cheating the Dread Wolf by cartadwarfwithaheartofgold

I read this story long ago all in one sitting. It absolutely gripped me, tugged at my heartstrings, and wouldn't let me go. A Cadash/Solas/Varric Tethras rare pair, you have to give this a try.

Rating: E Pairing: Female Cadash/Solas, Female Cadash/Varric, Varric/Solas Chapters: 13/13 Length: 42,657 words Summary: Maria Cadash hung up the Inquisitor's mantle for the Viscountess' crown, but she's unable to stop her desperate and impossible struggle to stop Fen'Harel from destroying the world both her husband and daughter inhabit. The fact Varric, Maria, and Solas are all madly in love with each other just means she may have enough of an edge to win this game.

Tags

I'm tagging a lot of people on this one because I want to get this KICKSTARTED. Dragon Age is coming BACK this summer, and I'm trying to get twitter refugees who don't know anyone on tumblr to realize that there's a thriving DA fandom that has been here the whole time. But feel free to recommend from other fandoms! I love finding new fics and new artists to follow.

Dragon Age FanFic server tag list: @warpedlegacy | @rakshadow | @rosella-writes | @effelants | @bluewren | @breninarthur | @ar-lath-ma-cully | @inquisimer | @crackinglamb | @theluckywizard | @nirikeehan | @oxygenforthewicked | @exalted-dawn | @melisusthewee | @blarrghe | @agentkatie | @delicatefade | @leggywillow | @about2dance | @plisuu

People I Love In My Notes: @fiadhaisteach | @shivunin | @greypetrel | @littlewitchbee | @wildbasil | @peforby | @sucrosesorcery | @layalu | @beebundt | @neonteeth | @galadae | @thiefbird | @mel-0n-earth | @alienturnip | @ndostairlyrium | @v-arbellanaris | @demandthedoodles | @wailing-willow | @the-rebel-archivist | @thedreadblog

(There is a tag limit of 50 people on posts so I'm pushing it lol)

[theluckywizard]

Kiss Me Moonstruck, Ch. 6: Incorrigible

Hawke x Trevelyan | DA2 | Matchmaking Mischief | Fluff and Smut | Fish out of Water | Romantic Comedy

Gif by @lazysunjade

Chapter Summary:

Garrett and Rose trip deeper into this Maker-damned game they're playing.

Fic Summary:

Smashed together in a matchmaking scheme cooked up by their enterprising mothers, Garrett Hawke and Rose Trevelyan are forced to endure one another for a whole week over Satinalia at the Hawke Estate. Rose hears he’s a swashbuckling treasure hunter, as wild as he is handsome and as ill-bred as he is rich. Garrett suspects she’s a brat of an ingenue by the string of rejected marriage proposals behind her. Determined to prove to the other that they could not be less compatible, they quickly find their mothers’ plot might be working better than they thought.

Excerpt below the cut 👇

A few short blocks later they come upon a narrow street laced with vibrant banners in scarlet and amber. Painted signs with provocative names. The Crowing Cock. The Blooming Rose. The Sheath and Dagger. Taverns, Rose suspects, since the street is all but deserted at this relatively early hour save for a few workers sweeping. Rose looks back into the barouche to see a little war playing out between Leandra and Garrett—  Garrett urging the driver to stop while Leandra furiously waves him on. The driver stops.

“And this is the—”

“Tavern row! Where people come to relax after a long day!” hurries Leandra.

Garrett’s eyes twinkle at his mother. “A kind of relaxation anyway. And I suppose they’re technically taverns.”

Rose’s brow lifts as she takes his meaning. Houses of ill-repute stacked one on top of the other and so near to the fine homes of Hightown. She cranes her neck and assesses them with a curiosity that pops and snaps inside her. The potted topiaries seem a bit out of place she admits, and all the signs seem finely carved and painted— though she detects the vestiges of mischief, the scrubbed off remnants of a G on the The Crowing Cock . By her mother’s twitchiness she must also have her suspicions but Leandra begs the driver to continue and the barouche lurches to life once more. 

“And this is the Guild Quarter! It’s where Dwarven merchants negotiate and tra— is that blood on the cobbles? I think it is! Looks like the city guard had their hands full last night.”

Indeed, here and there the crevices between the cobbles pool with drying blood. Alsatia draws a handkerchief over her lips. Leandra shoots her son a stony look. Rose makes a show of stroking her chin and then speaks. 

“Well, I think that shade of red really sets off the banners,” she says, daring a glance at the man across from her. She’s practically drunk on the little game between them, her pulse thumping in her wrists as she folds her hands across her lap.

Garrett bites down on a sudden grin and shakes his head.

“Really, Rose,” hisses Alsatia under her breath. Rose smiles knowingly to herself.

“It’s not as violent as everyone makes it seem ,” insists Leandra. “If you read the broadsheets I’m sure it must seem like Kirkwall will collapse under the weight of all the crime. But I assure you that is anything but the case. Viscount Dumar has a firm grasp on the reins of our dear city!”

Garrett slowly looks over at his mother with a cocked eyebrow.

“I won’t pretend that the reports of elevated criminal activity haven’t given me pause,” says Alsatia. “But surely the gates of Hightown will hold against the riff raff.”

The blood on the cobbles might suggest otherwise, but Rose bites her tongue.

Read the rest here! | Start the fic here!

DAFF Tag List:

@about2dance | @ar-lath-ma-cully | @blarrghe | @bluewren | @breninarthur

@crackinglamb | @delicatefade | @dreadfutures | @effelants | @exalted-dawn-drabbles |

@hekaerges | @inquisimer | @ir0n-angel | @leggywillow |

@oxygenforthewicked | @plisuu | @rakshadow | @rosella-writes | @warpedlegacy

[fadedsweater]

WIP Whenever

Thank you for the tag @inquisimer 💛💛

Tagging forward @darethshirl, @broodwolf221, @rosella-writes, and @crackinglamb

I'm slooowly getting out of my writing funk. I tried to pick a wip that has a slighter higher chance of actually getting done. So here's some mid-relationship solavellan 😊

Eira wanted very badly to ask him what his home was like. If he had people he could share his blanket with. If he had a family to hug. If someone was there to rub his shoulders or make him soup when he was sick. 

Instead she asked, “Do you miss home?”

In the scant firelight, Solas looked suddenly wistful, and older—the shadows darkened the lines of his face, the tiredness under his eyes. “I think of it often,” he said at last. 

It was one of his side-steps—the kind of answer he gave when he didn't really want to answer at all. But it was revealing enough, even if he hadn't meant it to be. 

She could hear the grief in that handful of words, and so she decided not to ask him anything else. Eira knew what it was to grieve, even if she did not know what it was to grieve all alone.

“Back home,” she said, watching the fire curl and flicker, “my pae's a halla-keeper. When I was little, he would show me how he took care of them—how he'd check their hooves for rot and brush out their hair in the spring.”

Solas was watching her, listening; he was a good listener, she thought idly. Whenever he listened to her she felt so listened to, like he was taking in every word and placing them somewhere, like he was arranging treasures on a shelf. 

“I was not aware the halla required so much keeping,” he said. 

“They don't, really,” she said. “The keepers make sure they're healthy and harvest their wool and milk, deliver their babies. Halla are too smart for much more than that. They don't do anything they don't want to do.”

Solas's mouth quirked, just a little. “A difficult job, then,” he said, “one imagines.”

[ir0n-angel]

💝☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. it’s time to spread positivity!! ☆💝 ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡ 🐝💕

Thank you!! 🌼 *bonk bonk*

[lilbittymonster]

Lilac, of course. 😘

Why do you follow me?

[fiadhaisteach]

🌄 - tell me something good about your day

I had a really good nap & a successful sewing test/experiment that I'm going to use larger scale, later. 💤🪡

[pikapeppa]

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

Oooh don't mind if I do since I'm on a kick of rereading a bunch of my own writing currently! 🤣 First off: tagging back to you, lovely @johaerys-writes, and forward to @crackinglamb @alyssalenko @sinsbymanka @vorchagirl @chloefraazers @mwasaw @himluv @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul @contrivedchaos and anyone else who would like to play! Please, anyone and everyone, join in!

So okay. I thought wayyy too hard about this and had A LOT of difficulty choosing because I actually really enjoy rereading my own fics 😅 but I did my best! Answers below the cut for anyone who wants to keep reading:

- Fall Into The Tide: Dragon Age, Sten/f!Mahariel, ~54k words. The premise of this fic is that Mahariel decides on a whim to follow Sten on his maritime journey back to Par Vollen. This was actually the first fic that came to mind as a favourite, and to date, I feel that it's the best thing I've ever written; I'm really proud of Sten's characterization and the emotional beats. I still cry like a baby every time I reread it LOL.

- Lovers In A Dangerous Time: Dragon Age, Fenris/f!Hawke, ~525k words. This is my Fenris the Inquisitor fic. I just finished rereading it and I had a lot of "wow I wrote this? Good job me" moments while reading it! 😂

- Until We Meet Again: The Witcher, Geralt/f!Reader, ~250k words. The point of this fic was that I personally want to fuck Geralt so I made it everyone else's problem BAHAHA. This fic completely mutated from self-indulgent smut to accidentally-falling-in-love in a totally unplanned way, and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out!

- Just Hold On, We're Going Home: Samurai Champloo, Mugen/Fuu/Jin, ~38k words. SamCham is my favourite anime, and the end of it is so heartwrenching to me, even though it's a happy ending. So I wrote this fic to heal myself 🤣 This fic was entirely a gift I wrote for myself on the assumption that no one would actually read it, and it's been lovely to see how many people were craving a poly happy ending like I was!

- The Love That Grows From Violence: Dragon Age, Felassan/f! Lavellan, ~181k words. This is a post-Trespasser fic where a bitter Lavellan falls in love with Felassan, who was made Tranquil rather than killed in the Fade. This fic holds a hugely special place in heart partly because the idea was BRILLIANT (it was suggested to me by a wonderful reader-friend!), and because writing this became my cozy escape during the worst of COVID. I'm really proud of some of the emotional beats in this fic and the lore aspects, and I really hope that Veilguard will not end up proving me entirely wrong or I might just die LOL. 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS (I CAN'T HELP IT, THIS WAS REALLY HARD):

- Even The Hardiest Desert Blooms Need To Get Wet Sometimes: Horizon Forbidden West, Drakka/Aloy, ~365k words. I JUST REALLY LOVE DRAKKA, OKAY? I JUST LOVE HIM. A LOT. I had a ball writing every chapter of this fic just because I adore the disaster Desert gremlin, and I always love the opportunity to write texting in fics, which I got to do here a lot, so this fic makes me a very happy girl 🥰 The only reason this didn't make my top five is that I don't actually reread it very often!

- Inadvisable: Dragon Age, triple romance for Solas/f!Lavellan, Abelas/f!Lavellan, Felassan/f!Lavellan (different Lavellans LOL), ~668k words. This is my modern AU university fic collaboration with my beloved friend and artist Elbenherz. IT WAS SO HARD NOT PUTTING THIS FIC IN THE TOP-FIVE; the only reason it didn't make the cut is because it was either this one or The Love That Grows From Violence, and I just have such cozy-fuzzy vibes/memories of writing TLGFV. 

If anyone decides to check out any of these fics, I hope you enjoy! 🥰

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika xoxo

[crackinglamb]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: The Iron Bull (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s), Female Inquisitor/The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Female Inquisitor & Solas (Dragon Age) Characters: Mira Foret, Leliana (Dragon Age), Male Lavellan (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Modern Girl in Thedas, Established Relationship, Open Relationships, Aromantic spectrum, Mira Is a Charger and a Healer, Mira Has Some Knowledge of Events, Explicit Sexual Content, Size Difference, Service Top Bull, soft domming, Aftercare, Just Because Bull is a Masochist Doesn't Mean He's a Sadist, Eye Trauma, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Found Family, Childbirth, Background Relationships, Platonic love is important too, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Additional Characters to Be Added As They Show Up Series: Part 2 of Driftwood Summary:

Mira Foret has left behind her life with the Chargers. But that was only the beginning of her tale. The Inquisition awaits.

 Beta'd by Iron_Angel. NSFW will be marked**

Updates on Mondays.

Chapter 1 - In the Service of the Greater Good

The realization that it would be soon settled on her shoulders like a lead weight.  She was tempted to run, to get as far from Haven as she possibly could.  Leliana wouldn't know in the aftermath.  She could just leave, save herself. Find a way back to Jader and throw herself at Bull's feet.  He would take her back.  It would be the smart thing to do, the self-preserving thing to do.  She didn't wholly understand why she hadn't.  Why she wouldn't.  Maybe because she wasn't a coward.  

Maybe because she was.

She darted up the path that led to the Temple, keeping ahead of a group of ostentatious nobles who'd come to hear the Divine speak and add their two coppers to the arguments that were sure to erupt.  They mingled, albeit sourly, with the Templars marching in formation and the mages huddling together for safety in numbers.  They would all of them be dead in just a few short days.  Perhaps even hours.  The few who escaped the blast would be injured, in mind and body.  Maybe that was the real reason she hadn't left.  She knew what was coming.  She was a healer, first and always.  She couldn't run, not when there would be need of her.

DAFF Crew Tags

@warpedlegacy @rakshadow @rosella-writes @effelants @bluewren @breninarthur @ar-lath-ma-cully @dreadfutures @ir0n-angel @inquisimer @theluckywizard @oxygenforthewicked @exalted-dawn-drabbles @mogwaei @melisusthewee @blarrghe @agentkatie @delicatefade @leggywillow @plisuu @hekaerges