#olive lavellan - oc

[elu-is-reading]

I've wanted to do the SixFanarts challenge for a long while, but didn't have any good reason for it. Very much late to the trend but after getting one more player character from playing Baldur's Gate 3 I now have enough recent-ish favourite game OCs to do an actual good idea with this without reusing specific games (game series obviously don't count). Template by @mcapriglioneart and I found it on Brushwarriors.

Character models in game and individual comparisons below.

[flashhwing]

I got tagged by @v-arbellanaris to make some OCs in this picrew, and @daggerbean make some OCs in this one, so I decided to combine them in one post

from top to bottom: Fabian Tabris, Oliver Hawke, and Mahonan Lavellan. none of these are too accurate to how i see them except the fabian on the right lol

I'm not gonna tag anyone coz I have no idea who to tag lol. if u see this and wanna do it consider urself tagged

[foresthavens]

gosh i love this picrew. might make & post even more ocs from it

atheya lavellan (da:i) // silana lavellan (da:i) ashe ingellvar (da:tv) // rose forrester (fo4) oliver wallace (fo3) // aurelia inculta (f:nv)

[greypetrel]

OC Questionnaire 1

Thank you so much @brother-genitivi! As I stare respectfully at how tall Destan is, I'll do a first roung with the elves, and a second for the rest of my blorbos (I was tagged twice). If you were interested in another blorbo, let me know and I'll tag you later, for the second part :)

Part 2 here

Tagging: @ndostairlyrium @salsedinepicta @melisusthewee @shivunin @rowanisawriter @dreadfutures @blightbear and YOU!

NAME: Radha Deshanna Lavellan

NICKNAME: Ra. Varric calls her "Sharp".

GENDER: Agender (she'll go with she/her, doesn't really mind if you mispronoun her)

STAR SIGN: Scorpio

HEIGHT: 5'8" (177 cm)

ORIENTATION: Asexual, Demiromantic

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Dalish elf and proud, she was born somewhere around Starkhaven.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Apricot, particularly dried and in savoury dishes.

FAVORITE SEASON: Autumn

FAVORITE FLOWER: Crocus, Lily of the Valley

FAVORITE SCENT: Cedarwood, olive oil

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Coffee. Black, unsugared.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 8, very regularly.

DOGS OR CATS: Cats.

DREAM TRIP: Solas' den to punch his face. Going back to Mythal's Temple in the Arbor Wilds. Or the Arlathan Forest to see the ruins.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 2

RANDOM FACT: She's more than a decent dancer, but is extremely picky when it comes to dance partners. She hates being the centre of attention, so she actually go and dances if she's in a group, or is asked by people she knows and actually likes.

NAME: Aisling Deshanna Lavellan

NICKNAME: Ash. Shrimp. Varric calls her "Lucky", Dorian "Sleeping Beauty".

GENDER: Female

STAR SIGN: Aquarius

HEIGHT: 5'1" (155 cm)(she's travel-size)

ORIENTATION: Bisexual

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: As above, Dalish elf. Not that she knows, but she was actually born in Ferelden.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Lemon, citruses in general, and peaches.

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Tiger lily, Forget-me-not, Elfroot

FAVORITE SCENT: Lemon, citruses, Elfroot

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot chocolate. Put marshmallows and orange in her chocolate and she's your best friend.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 3-6, plus naps during the day.

DOGS OR CATS: Horses.

DREAM TRIP: Going back to Mythal's Temple. After spending enough time with Dorian, Minrathous keeps being the forbidden dream.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 3 and she'll hug you in her sleep to keep warm.

RANDOM FACT: Outside her working station, she's terribly messy. Won't put half-dirt clothes back in the wardrobe, there's The Chair™️for those, and when it's overfilling everything can stay on the floor if it feels like it.

NAME: Alyra Mahariel Sabrae

NICKNAME: *stares at you without blinking if you try to nickname her* *-10 approval if you do*

GENDER: Female

STAR SIGN: Capricorn

HEIGHT: 5'6" (170 cm)

ORIENTATION: Pansexual, polyamorous

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Dalish elf. Born near the Tirashan forest.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Apples, anything that can be dried and conserved.

FAVORITE SEASON: Winter

FAVORITE FLOWER: Roses, Foxglove

FAVORITE SCENT: Lily of the Valley

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Herbal tea.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 7

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs.

DREAM TRIP: She'd love to see Par Vollen and call Stan "Kadan". Anywhere Morrigan is.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1.

RANDOM FACT: She knew the Blighted Orphans were a scam from the start. She snorted a laugh and did all their mission to reward their fucking audacity *affectionately*. If they'll ever show up to her door, she'll welcome them with open arms. (she's pretty silly if you get to her VERY HIGH approval. And between all the blorbos, once you befriend her, she's the one that will forgive you the most and will actually help you to bury a corpse. She'll help you making that corpse too if you need, don't be shy, she's glad to help. It only takes way longer to get in her good graces.)

[etdraconis]

Updated Muse List

Bold denotes primary/main muses, underlined denotes secondary muses, Italics denotes tertiary/low muse, * denotes request only

Dragon Age Canons:

Cremisius Aclassi

Anders

Zevran Arainai

Blackwall

Eleanor Cousland

Fergus Cousland

Fenris

Bethany Hawke

Carver Hawke

Nathaniel Howe

Thomas Howe

The Iron Bull

Anora Mac Tir

Loghain Mac Tir

Josephine Montilyet

Dorian Pavus

Cassandra Pentaghast

Cullen Rutherford

Varric Tethras

Alistair Theirin

Cailan Theirin

Maric Theirin

Dragon Age OCs:

Arden Aclassi

August Amell

Elizabeth Amell

Julian Amell

Oliver Amell

Rosalie Amell

Pyke Brosca

Elysia Caius

Amara Cousland

Brennon Cousland

Lauryl Cousland

Victoire Ducet

Callum Hawke

Kenton Hawke

Leanore Hawke

Hava Lavellan

Theron Mahariel

Kalva Sabrae

Alim Surana

Aurelia Tabris

Claire Trevelyan

Declan Trevelyan

Evelyn Trevelyan

Everett Trevelyan

Maxwell Trevelyan

Persephone Trevelyan

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Elain Archeron

Feyre Archeron

Nesta Archeron

Azriel

Cassian

Jurian

Kallias

Rhysand

Tarquin

Eris Vanserra

Lucien Vanserra

Bridgerton

Sophie Beckett

Benedict Bridgerton

Colin Bridgerton

Eloise Bridgerton

Francesca Bridgerton

Gregory Bridgerton

Hyacinth Bridgerton

Felicity Featherington

Penelope Featherington

Gareth St. Claire

Gwendolyn Sinclaire

Kendall Sinclaire

Alexander Thorne

Charlotte Thorne

Lillian Thorne

Sebastian Thorne

William Thorne

Crescent City

Aidas

Juniper Andromeda

Fury Axtar

Baxian Argos

Ariadne

Hunt Athalar

Lidia Cervos

Ruhn Danaan

Declan Emmet

Hypaxia Enador

Danika Fendyr

Tristan Flynn

Connor Holstrom

Ithan Holstrom

Tharion Ketos

Bryce Quinlan

Rigelus

The Empyrean Saga

Andarna

Jack Barlowe

Imogen Cardulo

Ridoc Gamlyn

Aaric Greycastle

Liam Mairi

Sloane Mairi

Rhiannon Matthias

Brennan Sorrengail

Lilith Sorrengail

Mira Sorrengail

Violet Sorrengail

Grishaverse

Kaz Brekker

The Darkling

Jesper Fahey

Inej Ghafa

Matthias Helvar

Fedyor Kaminsky

Tamar Kir-Bataar

David Kostyk

Nikolai Lantzov

Zoya Nazyalensky

Genya Safin

Alina Starkov

Wylan Van Eck

Tolya Yul-Bataar

Nina Zenik

Percy Jackson

Annabeth Chase

Nico Di Angelo

Jason Grace

Percy Jackson

Piper McLean

Will Solace

Leo Valdez

Throne of Glass

Aedion Ashryver*

Sam Cortland

Lysandra Ennar

Aelin Galathynius

Evalin Galathynius

Dorian Havilliard

Fenrys Moonbeam

Chaol Westfall

Rowan Whitethorn*

The Witcher

Jaskier

Geralt of Rivia

Yennifer of Vengerberg

Other Book Muses

Daniel Arlington V (Ninth House)

Aziraphale (Good Omens)

Crowley (Good Omens)

Alexander Clairemont-Diaz (Red, White, and Royal Blue)

Arthur Delacey (Gwen and Art Are Not in Love)

Galaxy Stern (Ninth House)

Greek Mythology

Aphrodite

Apollo

Ares

Aristeus

Artemis

Asclepius

Hades

Hera

Hermes

Patroclus

Persephone

Poseidon

Zeus

DnD/Fantasy OCs

Jalana Astorio (human warlock)

Tarquin Auglathia (sea-elf rogue)

Nedri Autumnblaze (half-orc ranger)

Azure (water genasi monk)

Anders Brightwood (human bard)

Caerlin (tiefling arcane trickster rogue)

Drake (Wild Hunt shifter ranger)

Elianis Galonodel (half-elf druid)

Naivara Galonodel (half-elf mastermind rogue)

Taron Galonodel (wood elf bard)

Rhys Le'Quella (eladrin wizard)

Makaria (tiefling paladin)

Reya (tiefling storm sorcerer)

Alwyn Sulian (sun elf paladin)

Auryn Sulian (sun elf fighter)

Cerys Sulian (sun elf celestial warlock)

Emrys Sulian (sun elf shadow magic sorcerer)

Cloak Timbers (gnome cleric)

Hollis Tremaine (human fighter)

Other/modern OCs

Destin Michaels (merman)

Novah Michaels (mermaid)

Cassian Sage (werewolf)

Sophie Sage (werewolf)

Reina Solace (werewolf)

Hazel Thatcher (werewolf)

Nicolai Voss (vampire)

[ambrosykim]

my oc index

listed by how much they're on my mind, with some exceptions. bolded ones are especially dear to me.

mind blind

oc: alex wiseman (alex x rosy) (art) oc: evelyn wiseman (evelyn x noh) oc: frankie baker (frankie x nick)

the exile

oc: alva kalesko (alva x vethna, alva x syfyn) oc: zora hanak (zora x vethna, zora x vethna x nikke)

body count, infamous 

oc: angel andrews (angel x vinh, angel x august) (art) oc: noah nelson (noah x charlie, noah x seven)

a tale of crowns

oc: jêla teyran (jêla x delal) oc: niyan goran (nîyan x azad, nîyan x xelara)

the wayhaven chronicles

oc: charlie reyes (charlie x adam, charlie & felix) oc: lauren greene (lauren x mason) oc: del newman (del x farah) oc: simone moore (simone x nate) oc: kiki mori (kiki x ava)

dragon age

oc: ysolt cousland (ysolt x alistair) oc: alden hawke (alden x varric) oc: helle lavellan (helle x solas) oc: iola lavellan (iola x cullen)

thicker than

oc: day arthur (day x marcel) oc: aimee young (aimee x tracy)

baldur’s gate 3

oc: saffron carnavon (saffron x astarion) oc: zia lhalabar (zia x minthara) oc: sindri silversong (sindri x rolan) oc: nahza sunsvalor (nahza x shadowheart)

other ocs

oc: con silva (con x nightowl) (blooming panic) oc: noa sano (noa x sergi, noa x marco) (blood moon) oc: day arthur (thicker than) oc: mia kovacs (mia x blane, mia x kai) (the midnight hours) oc: ben anderson (ben x bautista x nazeri) (greenwarden) oc: jade foster (jade x oliver) (scout: an apocalypse story) oc: orion wright (speaker)  oc: thom dawson (the golden harp)

[squeakedout]

16! ;D

16. Something written to your OC by an older member of their family.

“Circe - 

First, we receive news that the conclave that you were attending literally exploded. Then, we don’t hear word of you for weeks. Just before Mother was about to demand special permission from Keeper Istimaethoriel to seek you out herself, a raven arrived with a note that simply read “alive”, which you didn’t even bother signing. Mythal’enaste, I’m glad I can recognize your handwriting from a mile away. 

I expect your next letter to at least be a paragraph detailing where you are and if you’re safe. You owe us that, at least! I understand you’ve always done things your way, but to keep (here, there is a small scratched out portion, where you can faintly see the word ‘me’ underneath) the entire clan, your family, in the dark is unacceptable. 

If we do not receive word of you within the next month, I will assume the Dread Wolf has taken you.

p.s. I’m glad you’re alive. Father burst into tears when he heard. Mother has still demanded special permission from Keeper Istimaethoriel to seek you out herself.

Your Brother, Always,

Oliver”

-A letter found in Spymaster Leliana’s rookery, with a note attached in her handwriting. The final two words are heavily underlined. “Herald - This letter was delivered alongside a letter from your Keeper. Please let your clan know you are no prisoner of the Inquisition at once.”

(Oliver Lavellan belongs to @paragonraptors!)

[kissingwookiees]

embodiment of love

i wasnt tagged but i saw this uquiz on the dash a couple of days ago and i'm insane about my ocs so i'm doing these for my dragon age babes (and then my fallout ocs)

finnola tabris - hero of ferelden

love as tenderness

[ love as gentleness after a lifetime of cruelty ] when ocean vuong said "sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you've been ruined" and when pablo neruda said "like a jar you housed the infinite tenderness and the infinite oblivion shattered you like a jar" and when anais mitchell wrote "all i've ever known is how to hold my own, and now i wanna hold you, too”

thatcher hawke - champion of kirkwall

love as violence

[ love as bloodshed, crimson as a knife slipped between your ribs ] when ocean vuong said "to arrive at love, then, is to arrive through obliteration" and when franz kafka said "you are the knife i turn inside myself; that is love" and when ada limon said "how do you love? like a fist. like a knife" and when richard siken said "sorry about the blood in your mouth. i wish it was mine"

brendan trevelyan - herald of andraste

love as light

[ love as a luminous force—warm, radiant, and golden ] when mary oliver wrote "light of the world hold me” and when charles bukowski said “I look at her and light goes all through me” and when david viscott said “to love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides” and when e. e. cummings said “lovers alone wear sunlight”

rava lavellan - inquisitor

love as being known

[ love is knowing all of someone and loving them anyway ] when tim kreider said "if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known" and when joe wright said "the idea that these two people know each other, knew each other when they first saw each other. that they recognized each other from their future" and when micah nemerever said "it was a relief and a horror to be known so perfectly"

[merrybandofmurderers]

OC Associations Meme

Mahanon Lavellan

(art by @artharakka)

Seasoning: Basil

Weather: A crisp wind tossing newly turned leaves

Color: Olive green and maroon

Sky: Cloudless sky at dawn

Magic power: Fire and plants

House plant: Creeping fig

Weapon: Wooden staff with a red crystal and half-moon blade

Subject: History

Social media: Academic forums

Make-up product: None, though he can be persuaded to paint his nails

Candy: Milk chocolate

Fear: Losing his family

Ice cube shape: Sphere

Method of long distance travel: Hart, aravel

Mythological creature: Dryad

Piece of stationary: Cream-colored parchment, lots of annotations in the margins

3 emojis: 🌲🔥📚

Celestial body: Blue star

Tarot card: The Magician

tagged by @calicostorms

tagging @mrs-theirin, @fade-and-loathing-in-thedas, @ringneckedpheasant

[veilrook]

Master Post

THIS BLOG IS STILL A HEAVY WORK-IN-PROGRESS, both in content, theme and this masterpost, and will probably continue to be a WIP until I've finished my first playthrough of DATV.

Side-blog created on october 22, follows back from @rhonuscorner

I use the tag #datvspoilers for my posts!

🌟Hello hi! Welcome to my little corner on tumblr. I created this blog specifically for everything Dragon Age (and to not clutter my main blog and its followers with it).

Ask Box: Open

MY ART (#my art) SCREENSHOTS (#my screenies)

✨Useful OC Stuff✨ Timeline for my canon worldstate

Dragon Age Inquisition Taerel Lavellan Biography Taerel Lavellan Backstory Taerel Lavellan and the Anchor

Dragon Age 2 Oliver Matias Hawke Biography

Additional OCs Jarvaarim Biography (companion OC, qunari pirate) Samuel Anselm

[rhonuscorner]

The acronym DAD is just the best thing. Anyway~

- The warden will probably be one of the default options, or I’ll use my old Solana Amell who romanced Alistair (who stayed a warden) but I barely remember my choices in that game. Been too long and the warden is my least favorite of the bunch.

- But I do care lots about my Hawke! Oliver Matias Hawke, Ice Force mage, romanced and ran away with Anders because in this house we respect Anders. Oliver did stay behind in the Fade, sad to say :( but that did give me an excuse to bring Anders into my Inquisitor’s story.

- Lastly, Taerel Lavellan, Storm mage and Knight Enchanter, romanced Bull. He fully converted to Andrastanism (sp?) after Trespasser, kept the Inquisition around as a peace keeping force and vowed to stop Solas at all costs, even though it will pain him to do so. He and Anders briefly met shortly before the events of DA2 but neither one remembers this until way later.

- And of course I’ll be bringing back Jarvaazim (companion OC), a qunari pirate/smuggler who worked with the Inquisition for a while until after Corypheus’ defeat, after which he returned north. I imagine it won’t be too difficult to work him into the story of whoever my DAD protagonist ends up being, but I’m looking forward to it 👀

What's the world state you are going to play first when DAD comes out?

Mine will be:

Warden Solona Amell, Alistair romance, mistress

Champion Marian Hawke, Sebastian rivalmance, became Viscount for a short while

Inquisitor Charlotte Trevelyan, Cullen romance, disbanded the Inquisition

Please tell me about your OCs!

[scionshtola]

i was tagged by @reyesvidals to make some ocs in this portrait creator which was very cute and a lot of fun thank you!!

mercy shepard (mass effect) | leo shepard (mass effect)

nova shepard (mass effect) | ava ryder (mass effect: andromeda)

briar lavellan (dragon age: inquisition) | olive brosca (dragon age: origins)

im gonna tag @officialwylanvaneck bc i would like to see your shepard if you want to do it! but don't feel pressured if you don't want to :) and anyone else who wants to do it!

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

Relativity (f. Oliver Pentaghast)

Emma Sparrow pays a visit to a friend during a difficult time, and he is not the only one surprised to learn the extent to which another can know and understand what troubles him.  Oliver Pentaghast and Thalon Lavellan belong to @ourinquisitorialness.  ~3300 words.  TW for past trauma and emotional difficulty/breakdown.

-----

Once, Emma handed Cassandra Pentaghast a sack of skulls, and received a promise in return.  Now, the Inquisitor saw to it the Seeker kept her word.  

The letter sat heavy in Emma’s pocket, threatening to burn right through it as she stepped out of the carriage.  Just as those skulls, the skulls of murdered Tranquil mages collected from dismantled Venatori constructs across southern Thedas, sat heavy in that sack as she thrust that burden, that responsibility on a woman whose order could’ve prevented it - and, for centuries, had chosen not to.  A request from the Inquisitor himself, asking for her help in bearing that responsibility, as though she had anything to offer in that regard.  Or any obligation beyond what she’d done already.  Nevertheless, she’d answered that request, and she’d come.  Following several practiced breaths braced against the closed carriage door - two short inhales through her nose, one long exhale through her mouth - to quell the sick in her stomach, she finally turned to face the looming Seeker fortress.  

Thalon Lavellan stood in front of the large wooden doors, wearing a kind, welcoming smile and ready to offer kind, welcoming words as she approached.  A momentary twitch at the corners of her mouth was all the reciprocation she offered, and she followed him inside without a word.

“You should be speaking to Sala.”

She did not look at the Inquisitor directly when she finally spoke, walking the fortress’s dark stone halls, but she felt the furrow of his brow and the stare out of the corner of his eye long before she bothered to return it.  

“And when, exactly, was the last time you saw him?” 

She didn’t answer.  Thalon cracked a tiny smile, the smugness of which told her unequivocally that he already knew what she would say.  “I seem to remember being told that ‘there is no finding that man if he does not wish to be found’.”  His face turned slightly towards her, gentleness returning to the way he looked at her alongside a strong sense of confidence that he did, indeed, know what he was doing.  “In any case, our purpose here today requires skills and knowledge you possess, not him.  That’s why I asked you to come.”

Thalon’s next step brought his feet to rest beside each other.  He turned to face the window beside him, gesturing pointedly with a nod for her to look out into the open courtyard.  Flowers and herbs grew in abundance on either side of a winding stone path, along with some small trees.  A dark-haired man in simple robes tended to them.  Or, rather, stood on the path in front of them, and every so often crouched down and held out his hand to cradle the petals and leaves with the kind of appreciation - no, the reverence one has for something precious and new.

She recognized him the moment he stood, with a wayward glance in their direction.  

“Oliver…”

Thalon glanced over at her, a half smile spreading across his face.

“Ah, good.  You do remember him.”

“Of course, he...we spoke often, in the library where he studied.”  

As often as she could spare the time, at least.  Where others found the Tranquil strange and unnerving, Emma found their calm and objective focus intensely soothing.  Oliver spoke to her of things that made sense, and asked questions with definitive answers.  Truthfully, since the fall of Corypheus sent most of the Inquisition on new paths, she’d missed their conversations a great deal.  That was where she’d expected him to be now: a library, studying, finding purpose and fulfilling it, not...watching over plants as though he’d never seen them before.  

Puzzled, she turned squarely to face the Inquisitor.  “You asked me here to assist Seeker Pentaghast.  Oliver was meant to return to the university once his service with the Inquisition was complete.  He should not be here unless…”

Emma drew in a shallow gasp, and her eyes widened with the realization.  Thankfully, Thalon confirmed her suspicions before she needed to say it.

“Yes,” he replied, noticeably more somber now.  “Oliver volunteered to be the first to undergo the reversal process, which...has been more difficult for him than we expected.”

Sala coalesced in her mind, his gentle, clouded eyes and old hands offering soft reassurance that he’d be right there with her, the whole time, he’d be there to help, and everything would be better when it was done...she would know the reasons behind other people’s smiles, she herself could be happy...and then her heart had raced, forcing her to draw more, faster breaths that never seemed enough to rid herself of the sensation that something was wrong...terribly, utterly wrong, feeling for the first time in her life that intense fear of things she neither knew nor understood.  That first, petrifying loss of control she’d been struggling to remedy ever since.

Like learning to walk, but on legs that have never worked before.

It wasn’t the same.  Not exactly, not for him.  Once, Oliver had been able to use his.  He knew what he’d been missing.

Staring blankly into the courtyard, the memory manifested in little more than a simple analogy, and a steady, rhythmic tapping of her fingers against the outside of her thigh.  

“Would you not find it difficult to walk after a decade with broken legs?”

Thalon offered a sympathetic nod.

“True enough.  I don’t imagine there is much about Tranquility or its reversal that could be considered otherwise.”  He gestured to the far side of the window, where an open door led outside, to a path that would take her to Oliver’s side.  “Given his familiarity with you and your own...experience with such things, I thought you might be our best chance of helping him.”

Shit.  It seemed she could tell Lavellan nothing about herself without coming to regret it later.  

Noting her hesitation, Thalon took a step backwards, nodding towards the door with a stern curtness that contrasted with the warm smile on his face.  Both encouraging and demanding.

Go on.

Slowly, she moved the few steps in front of him to the door, but stopped in front of it for a moment.  Her eyes dropped to her feet.  He was right, after all, loathe as she was to admit it.  Though certain she was anything but the right person for this, who would do for him what he truly needed if not her?  Who else would bring the same comfort now that he could actually feel such a thing, without also understanding the way it felt to have not had the luxury? With a gentle nudge from Lavellan at her back, Emma drew in a long breath, and lifted her eyes as she stepped forward.

Thankfully, Oliver heard it latch behind her, and was already watching from across the courtyard.  At Skyhold, Emma would approach Oliver with the knowledge that she would not easily sway his focus from his task, and simply wait patiently beside him until he was ready to acknowledge her presence with a polite nod and a trained smile she knew very well.  The sort built into routine because it is expected.  

The sort she gave him as he drew close enough to resolve details on her face.

To think, this time the smile that spread widely across his was the genuine one between them.

“Oh, Agent Harper!  It’s you!” he called out, and offered her his hand.

She hesitated to return his greeting, as earnest in its cheerful tone as it was, unable to tell him he looked well with a straight face.  The sunburst emblazoned on his forehead struck her differently now.  He wore a genuine smile now, yes, but where his old smile lay flat over placid contentment, this one masked nerves like old ropes left slack for too long, frayed and straining now that something - anything - pulled on the other ends again.  

“Oliver,” she finally said, quietly, nodding as she took his hand, “I am glad to see you.”

His smile brightened for a moment, and he broke the handshake to usher her towards a carved stone bench nearby.  “Yes, it’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

She nodded again, a fond smile hiding the debate raging in her mind.  For all her previous conversations with him, this one presented an entirely new factor she’d not considered before: subjectivity.  The simplest of pleasantries were no longer so simple.  No definitive answers.  Additionally, in all likelihood no one had performed this ritual to purposely cure a Tranquil in ages, if anyone ever had.  She’d not been there when it happened, nor had she seen it done to know what to expect from it.  Whether or not it would be appropriate to ask.  You are certain of this, Sala?

Not at all.  Never tried before.  Can’t be certain if I never do, though, can I?

In memory, her father’s smile was not as reassuring as he’d wanted it to be.

“Will you be here long?” Oliver asked, breaking the silence before she could. From the look on his face, it wasn’t the first question he’d asked her, either.  “This place can seem somewhat dreary at times, but...this courtyard is nice, and there is a library here, if you’d like me to show you.  Not so extensive as the one at Skyhold, but it’s quiet, and they care for the books well.”

Emma smiled, and Oliver quickly returned it.  “I would, but there is no hurry.  As you say, it is nice here, too.”  

He nodded in agreement, over and over, and turned his head to look out over the courtyard, as if to reinforce his own belief of that statement.  His smile had faltered by the time he looked back.

“I...do not read as often as I did at Skyhold, I’m afraid,” he muttered.  “I try to, of course, but...anymore, the words are so...I lose track so easily…”

Oliver’s hands wrung in his lap, as if with a mind of their own, and it sent gooseflesh cascading up her arms.  Words seeming to lift and float across pages, glancing away for a moment only to find herself completely lost when she turned her attention back to her books again, and the unfamiliar tightness in her chest and flush in her cheeks at the fact that this shouldn’t be happening, it never happened to her before...

“It seems...every little thing is a distraction, anymore.  Which is...frankly, ridiculous…”  He glanced up at her with a look she supposed was meant to be reassuring, though whether to her or to him was anyone’s guess.  It was anything but.  “I was never, even before…”  

Knowing full well where that statement would lead, Emma attempted a reassuring look of her own.

“Oliver, it...”

He stood abruptly, without warning and notably without anything resembling any kind of smile.  

“No, no, it is not!  I am so tired of people telling me that when it is not ‘all right’.”  Frantic, he paced back and forth along the path, one hand clenched into a fist at his chin and the other arm pressed tightly across his body, breath seething out of him in rushed hisses.  “I thought I wanted this.  I thought this would fix everything, that if I could just be whole again it would all be...but there’s just so much...it’s too much, too much everywhere all at once and I can’t...I can’t…”

Oliver trailed off, silent for a haunting split second before he collapsed to his knees, sobbing into his hands.  Petrified, Emma could only watch.  The familiarity of it stung in a way she hadn’t expected.  His words may as well have been hers, and she may as well have been watching herself, all those years ago.  Her fingers tapped again at the outside of her thigh, harder and faster now in cadence with her heartbeat, and she silently cursed the Inquisitor for this.  For asking her here to watch as her dear friend fell to pieces while the world crumbled around him, and herself for coming to him with nothing - no empty assurances he would be all right, no insistence he was making more of a simple frustration than he needed to be.  Just...nothing.  Nothing to say, nothing to do but tap out her own heartbeat on her leg while she, too, cried out inside her mind, it’s too much, too much everywhere all at once.  I can’t…  

You can.  Let me show you.  

Another moment, and a long exhale.  

She could.  She knew how to help him.

Emma rose to her feet, knelt on the ground in front of him and reached out, waiting to see if he recoiled before laying her hand softly on his shoulder.  The other cradled his jaw a moment later, as she quietly coaxed him to look at her, then let her hand settle over his wrist.

“Here.  Focus here,” she cooed, gently guiding his clenched fist down over his chest, and stopped when she felt the pulsing artery there.  “Can you feel it?”  

Oliver blinked hard a few times.  Ragged breath still spewed out of him at a steady, brisk pace, but his eyes began aimlessly trailing around the courtyard, following some invisible thing, the outward manifestation of him searching for what she wanted him to find.  After a few moments, they fell shut, and he whispered a shaky but quite certain “yes”.  

Good.  

Emma gave a quick smile and a nod he wouldn’t see, and gently pried his hand open; not forcing his fingers apart, but gently nudging, waiting patiently for him to allow her to move them.  Trembling, he acquiesced enough for her to press his hand flat against his shirt, and laid her own over it.  Two fingers tapped along with the rhythm of his blood pumping beneath it - t-tap, t-tap, t-tap - in quick, strong strikes of the pads of her fingers against his knuckles.  

Listen, ma’eha.  Listen.

Listen.

“Listen, Oliver,” Emma continued, Sala’s words returning in her voice over the dull, muted sound of t-tap, t-tap, t-tap.  “It feels louder on the outside.  Like despair feels louder on the outside.  That is how it will help.  This means something very simple.  This…” 

She paused, pressing her palm against the back of his hand, drawing his focus.  Making it louder.  

“...means you are alive.”

After a few moments, she began to slow the pace and soften her strikes, only just, and Oliver, although he barely recalled deciding to do so, relayed them onto his chest.  “And this,” she explained, as their fingers fell over and over in time with each other, “is something you have always been able to feel.” 

With each minute decrease in pace and intensity, so too did the heaving in his chest slow, and his breath began to steady once more.  She found hers steadying with it, both in that moment and in memory.  

“You will always be able to feel this.  It is there through any pain, any sorrow, any joy, any despair, any anger...and it will be there still when all of that has passed.  Nothing else you will ever feel can be anything at all without this.  That means any time you feel something you don’t want to feel, you can feel this instead.  All you have to do…”

She lifted her hand from his, letting his hand tap out his heartbeat on its own now, and leaned forward to rest her forehead on his. 

“Is make it louder.”

Oliver breathed a heavy, but quite a bit closer to contented sigh, and his eyes flitted open.  Emma sat back on her heels, and offered him a small smile as she helped him to his feet.

“Better?”

“I...apologize, that...was terribly embarrassing,” he said, and breathed deeply once more while scanning the courtyard for anyone else who might’ve seen before returning to his seat on the bench.  When he circled back to Emma, he forced himself to smile.  “Though, I suppose I ought to be pleased that I can be embarrassed at all.”

“I know.  I know how you must feel.”

It only just occurred to her, seeing the confused and almost insulted way he watched her as she sat next to him, that he didn’t know.  That of all the times she’d spoken to him before, she’d never told him she’d once been like him.  Why would she?  The Tranquil did not speak of their conditions beyond confirming their status as Tranquil, so it had never come up, and it never would have were he not here, now, like this.  The idea that this would have been easier for him if she had dug hard into her skin.

“How?” he spat.  “How could someone like you possibly...”  His eyes widened, and he shrunk away.  He pulled his arms tightly around himself, and shook his head, quietly tutting at himself.  “Ah, that was rude of me, wasn’t it?  Forgive me, Harper.  Regardless, I should not discount your capacity for empathy; I am terribly glad to see you and you have always been...so kind.”

 Emma turned her head, moving her hair away from behind her ear.  A small, old and long scarred-over oval, like a thumbprint, rather than a prominent sunburst, but a lyrium burn was a lyrium burn, and it meant the same thing regardless of the shape of scar it left.  

From the look on Oliver’s face when she turned her head back, he knew.  He understood.

“How long?”

“A long time,” she said.  “Years ago, now.”

Hope lit up his face.  “Then you were cured, as well?  Was it...was it like this for you?”

“Not exactly.  My condition was...somewhat different, but...it did hurt.  A great deal.”  She stopped herself there, both unwilling and unsure how to say more, and well aware her purpose here was not her own comfort.  Realizing that may help less than she wanted to, however, she continued.  “I know it hurts you, now.  But...that hurt is part of what it means to be whole.  The headaches that came with my reversal still remain, but...so do a great many things I have gained since then.  Things I know now I would not give up to be rid of the pain.”  

Oliver scoffed.  Dismissively, she thought at first, but a bit of a smile found its way through shortly after.  

“Is that your way of telling me it will get easier?”

“No.  Not without effort.  Like...standing on once broken legs.”  She shifted on the bench to sit squarely towards him, one leg folded across the bench between them.  “I do not know exactly what pains you, but...I do know I would not walk so well now if I had not had help.”  Her head tilted, and she shifted again, slightly closer this time.  “I am here, Oliver, and I am willing to listen.  If you are willing to speak.”  She reached towards his hands in his lap, and curled her fingers around the one nearest to her.   “When you are ready to speak.  I will be here.”

Perhaps, the longer she had to consider it, she would soon be ready to speak, too.

After a long pause, staring at their clasped hands in his lap longer than anyone but the two of them would have been able to remain comfortable, longer than Thalon Lavellan had to spend watching through the window across the courtyard with that pleased little smile on his face before duty called him elsewhere, Oliver’s lips parted. He drew in a long breath, and held her hand tighter as he lifted his eyes.

[shannaraisles]

Oh, THAT’S Amore

A commission fic for the lovely @anywaffle​, who requested a little fluff for Iron Bull and Inquisitor Lavellan.

Oh, That’s Amore

“Horns up!”

The roar of the Chargers’ celebration after a good fight echoed across the Herald’s Rest, heads tipping back to down the contents of whatever they were drinking that moment under the benevolent eye of their glorious leader. Iron Bull chuckled as his men, his band, his friends, fell to bantering over the fight they had just come from, the victory they had won in the name of the Inquisition and Inquisitor Lavellan herself. It was impossible not to feel proud of them, even after everything he had given up to keep them living. 

A part of him knew he should have resented them for his own attachment that had made that decision on the Storm Coast impossible for him to make, but Olive had been right - in all but name, he had been Tal Vashoth for a long time now. But he was not a Grey One, not an outcast incapable of controlling his baser urges. He was the Iron Bull, and never did he feel more proud of the name he had chosen for himself than when a certain diminutive elf called him by it.

Speaking of that elf ... His head turned with unerring focus at a familiar dip in volume across the tavern, knowing even before his eye found her that Olive had entered. The residents of Skyhold were so in love with their little Inquisitor that she was always preceded by a brief moment of hush, a sign of the respect and awe they held her in given for just a heartbeat before they resumed their business, knowing her well enough now not to linger in those moments. But no one knew her like he did. 

No one else had seemed to notice her tension and discomfort in those early days in Haven, but the Iron Bull had. No one else had noticed the nightly tears and banked terror in her eyes, but the Iron Bull had. He could still remember the look on Krem’s face when he had requested one of his second’s hand-made nugs, refusing to offer up why he had asked. He was still pretty sure Olive only suspected that the soft little thing had found its way into her cabin by his hand, though she had never called him on it. He knew exactly where it was now - on her pillow, high in her tower, one wing rubbed smooth from all those tears shed in silent anxiety over the position she had found herself in entirely by accident. She loved that nug, he was sure of it. Just thinking of it, set in a place of such honor, was enough to make him smile. 

And that smile was met by hers, even across a crowded taproom, the dewy sweetness of her eyes softening above a grin that belonged entirely to him, displayed openly for all to see. There was no hiding her affections; there never had been. No one was in any doubt that Inquisitor Lavellan was definitely saving her kisses for the Iron Bull. 

As he watched, she broke away from Varric and Sera, all but skipping across the taproom to plant herself in his lap with a wide grin. He couldn’t help himself - he chuckled fondly at her exuberant display of unconscious affection, inwardly delighted that she always chose to sit here, with him, no matter who she had entered with. 

“Well, hello, boss,” he greeted her, grunting a little as she squirmed on his lap, pulling something from her pocket as she did so. “What’s got you so sparkly tonight, hmm?”

Olive’s grin never wavered as she met his gaze. 

“I made you something,” she informed him, setting a little pot into his large palm.

Curious, he raised a brow, uncurling his palm from her waist to reach around her and open the container. What he found there was something he had not come across in these lands anywhere but in the hands of some extortionate merchants.

“Horn balm?”

Olive nodded happily.

“You said you had trouble finding it, and all the merchants who have it charge ridiculous prices for it, so I wrote to my cousin in Wycombe - he knows a couple of Qunari - and he asked them for the recipe, and he sent it to me!” she said, the words coming out in an unaccustomed rush, displaying the barest of lisps that she usually worked so hard to conceal. 

That she was excited enough to forego her usual careful speech spoke more than volumes to him; it wrote an entire series of compendiums on warmth and affection and caring that might otherwise have passed him by, were it not for her. Touched, he raised the pot to his nose, sniffing delicately, and there were the old familiar scents - of beeswax and coconut, the soft green scent that clung to his lover’s hair, the barest tang of the leather mortar used to mix it all together. It was something she would not normally turn her hand to, preferring to knit and crochet, to make soft things that could be used or treasured by those she gifted them to. That she had gone so far out of her way to make this for him was ...

“Bull?”

“Mmm?” He lifted his head, his eyes finding her slightly worried gaze barely inches from his own. 

“Does it smell bad?” she asked, and though likely no other would notice it, he saw the tension ripple through her frame at the thought that her gift might not be as good as she had hoped it would be. 

He smiled, curling his palm to her waist once again, hugging her into his chest to breathe in the scent of her wild silver hair. 

“Best gift anyone’s given me, kadan,” he assured her, feeling that tension ease out of her frame as she cuddled into him affectionately. 

It wasn’t until later, when she was cajoled from his lap to dance with Krem in an ill-fated attempt to get the bard’s attention, that he suddenly realized what he had said. Kadan. A word filled with so much meaning, yet a word he had never before given to another. A strange tightness gripped his heart as he followed her movements, admiring her lithe form, her bright smile, the warmth that radiated from her whenever she was surrounded by those she called friend and family. 

“Ah ...” 

He chuckled to himself, his fingers curling around the little pot of horn balm still held in his palm, wondering how it had taken him so long to put a name to what he felt when his little Lavellan was anywhere near his thoughts. 

So that’s love.

[etdraconis]

( okay I’ve decided that for the sake of RP and me trying to actually get organized for once in my life I will have three main Dragon Age world states!

Default/main state: Amara Cousland as Hero of Ferelden, Leanore Hawke as Champion of Kirkwall, Evelyn Trevelyan as Inquisitor.

Or as I like to call it, my Bad Ass Lady Trio state. Unless otherwise discussed or requested I will default to these three with any other Warden, Hawke, or Inquisitor OCs of mine being companions for their main verses. The other two world states however include:

Secondary state, or as I like to call it the “Feral Hobgoblin Trio”: Aurelia Tabris as HoF, Callum Hawke as Champion, Declan Trevelyan as Inquisitor

The world of Thedas may get saved. Or it may end up burning instead. It’s yet to be determined.

Lastly the “Gay Mage Boys” trio: Oliver Amell (actually pansexual but we’ll forgive that technicality), Kenton Hawke, and Maxwell Trevelyan.

They’ll get the shit done, kiss their handsome men, and mostly avoid fucking shit up. … mostly.

A couple of my wardens also have HoF verses, and my Lavellan does as well. But for the most part they are all simply companions for the Warden, Hawke, or Inquisitor :) )

[anywaffle]

Here I am once again with another batch of ocs, the biggest batch in fact. My DA:I crew is v large and I love all of them dearly so I had to make them each~ Here we have Olive "Ollie" Lavellan, her big sister Lennana "Lenna" Lavellan, Elodie Trevelyan, her big brother Phire Trevelyan, Nesbit "Nes" Mahariel, Holli Adaar, Gilias "Gil" Saan, Demonya "Mony" Cadash, and Quil Brosca~

This picrew has been an absolute delight to use! I will probably make other ocs with it at some point but for now I have made all my DA babes!