shivunin

[shivunin]

I wonder if she’s ever had a portrait done because she’s a delight to draw

Ko-fi

#josephine montilyet #dai #q

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I'm incapable of sticking to one hobby at a time, so I crocheted a snuggly little halla. Dragon Age brainrot is forever

#oh this is so delightful!!

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Inquisition version of this poll can be found by clicking here!

It'd be interesting to see who your wardens/hawkes actually romance vs. who you'd romance in the tags if you wanna share!

#merrill #like. hands down haha #polls

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The DAO/DA2 poll can be found clicking here!

I'd be interested to hear if they're the same person as your inky romances or not if you'd like to share!

#josie #dai #polls

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Madame Vivienne

#vivienne de fer #dai #oooh this is gorgeous! #q

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something something devotion

sketch under the bridge

#cullen rutherford #this is so beautiful T.T #q

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✨The Lyrium Ghost ✨

I miss Fenris so much, I hope he's in Dreadwolf

(if you like my art and want a print of this guy or just a print every month you should check out my patreon!! Patreon.com/levandjackcreate)

#fenris #da2 #love the light in this op! #q

[shivunin]

fuck therapy i wanna beat the shit out of someone

#arianwen tabris #q

[shivunin]

dragon age character study fic recs

I'm back with another fic rec list, this time focusing on character studies! There were so many more than five that I flagged as interesting 👀 when I was putting this together, so there's definitely a chance that this theme makes a repeat in the future.

Check these awesome fics out! And leave a comment + kudos to let the author know you did💜

Vote in this poll to help me choose a theme for next week's rec list (:

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New Tricks by Penknife (@penknife)

Dorian Pavus & Cullen Rutherford, Josephine Montilyet & Cullen Rutherford & Leliana | G | 1968 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: Five times Cullen found that he didn't have to do everything the hard way. Mer's Rec: If you're into Cullen & Dorian friendship, or really any Cullen friendship, this fic will be right up your alley. Penknife does an excellent job of contrasting Dorian as a beleaguered academic (beloved) with Cullen's quieter intelligence. They also highlight Cullen as a strategist and commander, not just the "send the troops" guy, and the advisor interactions resonate with coworker friend energy, which I loved. I always adore fics that explore Cullen's habits and traits leftover from so many years as a Templar and this story seamlessly weaves in those details, which brings a real depth to both Cullen and his interactions.

Names Are Cloaks by EllanaSan

Female Adaar & Josephine Montilyet | G | 2963 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: They can’t have that, she supposes, the Herald of Andraste being called names behind her back… The only way the situation could have been worse is if she had been an elf. She could tell the ambassador that there are people in this very camp disrespecting her at every turn but she is far too used to it to care. They call her oxwoman. They call her witch. They call her chosen or your worship. They call her Tal-Vashoth. Names are weapons. For the bearer to hold and to wield. Names are cloaks. For the bearer to wrap themselves in and discard when outgrown. Mer's Rec: With Bioware's scant lore about Qunari and the Qun, I was impressed by how this story immersed me in Adaar's history. Tidbits from canon interwoven with fascinating-slash-heartbreaking details about the Qun, Vashoth, and Saarebas, plus her introspective musings on the past and her identity make this Adaar stand out from the cookie-cutter protagonist in the best way. I want to know more about her! From Josephine's dialogue and mannerisms to the uncertainty, fear, and alienation the Herald can experience in Haven, everything about this story feels like it could be straight out of the DAI canon.

I have outlived the night by lilith_morgana (@senseandaccountability)

Loghain Mac Tir, Minor/Background Relationships | T | 2106 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Author's Summary: He's five, he's eighteen, nineteen, twenty, forty-six, and fifty-five, he's fifty-six, fifty-seven and ready to die. Instead, he lives. Mer's Rec: The emotion in this fic is so palpable, so visceral, and it slaps you in the face the way careful consideration of complicated characters should. With repeated contrasts between Loghain in his youth versus his later years, the author takes us on a journey from hot-headed kid to weary veteran, and it just makes your heart ache😭 It features strong exposition on Loghain's motives, feelings, and regrets during the Fifth Blight, which I love to see since it's fairly absent from the game itself. Their portrayal of Loghain in Inquisition also felt fresh and different, including a conversation with Cullen, which is a dynamic I hadn't considered before and found incredibly interesting to read. And of course it ends on a bittersweet note, as it always does with Loghain.

To Yield Is Not Weak by disasterhawke

Alistair/Anora Mac Tir | M | 4018 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Author's Summary: She may not like her new husband, but Anora Theirin is not about to let the world treat him like it has treated her. She will do whatever it takes to earn his trust. This is not quite what he expects. An Anora character study that explores her arranged marriage to her husband's bastard brother. Mer's Rec: this 👏 was 👏 everything I wanted out of an Alistair/Anora fic! While I think antagonism between those two has a place, this fic explored their relationship through the lens of teaching and working together, rather than animosity. It works SO well and there was a definite give-and-take, with Anora running the show immediately post-coronation, but gradually softening her harsher edges and highlighting Alistair's strengths while they grow as rulers. Anora's internal monologue, not only about Alistair, but also Cailan and Loghain, does a fantastic job showing the humanity she usually has to hide, without diminishing her competence in the least.

when the bough breaks by gummies (orphaned)

Morrigan, Flemeth | G | 1124 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: In her hands, the mouse is kept still. The only movement Morrigan feels from it is the beating of its tiny heart. With her eyes closed, it almost seems that she is holding in her hands its heart alone. Tiny, vulnerable, and so stutteringly fast. It must be afraid, Morrigan muses. Something twinges in her chest. Empathy. She cannot help the flare of protectiveness inside her. For now, the mouse is hers. Plucked from the world from whence it came, tucked away and safe. She wonders if this is how Mother feels of her. Mer's Rec: What struck me most about this fic was the author's grasp of character voices. Flemeth is just as cunning and calculating as she comes across in game, but I was beyond impressed by their young!Morrigan. I could see and hear so clearly how Morrigan would get from the childlike hope she has in this story to the harsher, bitter Morrigan we meet in game. I don't even know how they did that, but it was incredible to read, even as this slice of Morrigan's childhood and her abuse at Flemeth's hands was breaking my heart.

Don't forget to get your fic and art recs lined up for tomorrow's Fan Work Friday!

#when the bough breaks is sooo good #fic rec list #ty for these suggestions!

[shivunin]

Dragon Age Fic Recs

In honor of the Just Leave a Comment Fest, and with no particular theme, here are a few of my favorite Dragon Age Fics:

(If you wrote one of these fics and want me to tag your blog, please let me know and I'm happy to do so!)

**Always check the tags before jumping in; this list is no exception.**

Origins: 

be my mirror by ella_vellan: (T; 5,798) Alistair & Morrigan. Alistair meets Kieran for the first time in Orlais. The dialogue in this feels so well-paced and authentic, and it really navigates a fraught situation with grace. One of those fics that feels bittersweet in the most cathartic way. 

a gentle, beating heart by rynleaf: (M; 5,115 Words) Warden/Zevran. The Warden finds out she is pregnant sometime after Origins and puts off telling Zevran. The epistolary pieces of this frame the underlying story so well, and the flow of the fic itself is extremely well-paced.

A Man’s Word is His Bond by howlsmovinglibrary: (M; 35,135 Words/9 chapters) Zevran/Warden Soulmate AU. Honestly? This Surana cracks me up and I adore this fic. She is just having absolutely none of his nonsense. No thank you. Also, the implications of a soulmate-identifying mark are really well-explored here.

Dragon Age II:

see me bare my teeth for you by calypsid: (T; 2,978 Words) Fenris/Hawke vampire AU. This one has really good pacing and Fenris’s POV is really effective. Would absolutely read way more about the dynamic between this Hawke and Fenris. 

to hold you by the edges by vesperics: (T; 4,059 Words) Fenris/Hawke wound-tending set sometime in Act 1. I am a sucker for wound-tending anything, but I really enjoyed the way this fic explores Hawke and Fenris’s early dynamic and the way she navigates his boundaries about magical healing. 

River Stone by loquaciousquark: (M; 45,633 Words) Fenris/Hawke. Hawke is captured and subjected to a botched Rite of Tranquility. Hawke survives by pretending it worked while Fenris tries to find her. The pain in this fic is so delicately and thoughtfully depicted; it might be my favorite hurt/comfort fic ever. There is an art to writing something that hurts like this while still making the catharsis of resolution feel earned, and this author absolutely knows how to do it right. 

Inquisition: 

Portrait of a Man by Dulcidyne: (T; 3,136 Words) Cullen/Inquisitor. Cullen sits for a portrait. Love the dynamic of person vs. role here, and the idea of how someone is depicted potentially outliving who they actually are. A fic I would hug if I could. 

Truth-Telling by todisturbtheuniverse: (M; 3,988 Words; CW: Fantasy Racism) Adaar/Josephine. Adaar tells several stories about how she lost her horn, but saves the truth for Josie. There are so many great pieces in this about the faces shown to people we trust vs. people who pry for information. Love the almost-but-not-quite together state of their relationship here, too. Yearning, my beloved. 

Port in the Storm by kvella: (E; 89,445 Words/19 Chapters) After nearly hooking up, Cullen and Josephine navigate their tensions while trying to build a memorial for Haven. A lovely slow burn! Characterization is enjoyable and consistent, smut is well-written, and the tension is palpable. The sections involving Josie’s family were some of my favorites.

#fic recs

[shivunin]

asma in the bird Thobe

#asma lavellan #asma!!!! #how gorgeous!!

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Ossuaries, Dionne Brand

#q #tav tag

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I was tagged by @vakarians-babe (hi O:) & @greypetrel 💛✨ thank you so much!!!

I'm working on um, different things I can't show here (or yet lol), so I'll just present you with the things I'm carrying forward at the moment, among the moltitude of wips I'll finish after the armageddon, probably :'D

Hopefully I'll finish Ankhie's outfits before the next artfight ;; send help

So! Here we have:

A back! Which I'm trying to render correctly (along with the rest). I was looking through my old notes of Anatomia Artistica 2, but everything looked very off because that sketchbook has um, almost 15 years of existence lol so I had to make new studies from scratch. tl;dr: it's taking me a while. From the skintone alone, you know who the subject is :' also it's the base I'm using for her new outfits so you already saw the front

A stranger! O: you'll get a small post before the weekend 👀

Two familiar idiots <3 I'm trying to finalize it but I went for another approach on some sections and I think at this point this picture can be used under the definition of self-sabotage hahah <3

Cassandra being all cute and fancy <33 I'm not super sure on that palette, maybe I'll ditch the greens (argh)

I'm tagging (no pressure, no obligation <3): @daggerbean @shivunin @underneathestars @alienturnipp @magspy & @herearedragons

#oooo what a fantastic smile!! #i love all of this!!

[shivunin]

wip wthursday

tagged by @hollytree33 and @greypetrel this week, thank you friends! <3 I wasn't originally going to have anything new that I could share, then I was possessed by "Divine Cassandra with Cullen as her Right Hand + sooooooo much knight/lady devotion" and I threw this out in my notes app as I was falling asleep

tagging forward (for this week or next, I know I'm a day late!) to: @midmorninggrey | @dungeons-and-dragon-age | @shivunin | @dragonologist-phd | & @ammoniteflesh

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He looked radiant in the red and silver of the Knight’s Divine armor. Neither it nor the sword at his hip were ceremonial and he knew how to use both, as Divine Victoria is well aware.

His new vows fell from his lips confidently, assured, taking the place of the shattered purpose leftover from his years with the Templar Order. Before the assembled clerics, nobles, the remnants of the Inquisition, he swore himself into her service: by Andraste’s grace, by the Maker’s will, up to and including the cost of his life.

He dropped to one knee before her and bowed his head so that she could place the wreath of prophet’s laurel around his neck. She offered him one gloved hand and only narrowly kept her composure at the whisper of heat through the fabric where his lips brushed against her knuckles.

“Rise, Ser Cullen Rutherford, Knight-Commander of the Divine Order!” Thank the Maker her voice did not shake. She was better at that, these days. “May the Maker guide your duty, your purpose, and your path.”

His eyes did not leave hers as he stood. They both knew, of course, that is was not the Maker who would guide his path, just as it was not the Maker who brought him here. Not really.

It was her.

It was always her.

#ohhh 👀 damn i am looking #oaths of fealty are so very my jam #cullen rutherford #cassandra pentaghast #this is extremely intriguing #it was not the Maker who guided his path.....like. *damn*

[shivunin]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Tagged by @salsedinepicta and @hollytree33, thank you very much! <3 It's the next day, but Glaze didn't want me to post yesterday apparently. And yes I toggled all the options but "to trust is good, not to trust is better".

Some expression chart of Aisling, this time in Whale AU shores. Top right one is my favourite, and it isn't really her if she's not crying in at least three ones.

Going on with the symbolism one, I'm kinda stuck over the object for Miss Trash Raccoon. I'd put a trashcan but I already painted one in the chart.

A collage from my sketchbook: I was in the dukedom of Prosciutto last week for some work, and I scribbled something. Always Whale AU themed. I am very upsed there's so few paintings themed around the Orlando Furioso, I referenced the possibly one I found. Raina in this iteration has more themes taken from that poem (lost her wisdom upon the moon). Some smooching as I listened to Hozier's I, Carrion (Icarian), which quickly became their love theme. And some random storyboards which I don't know if I'll keep. I found a piece of lore which gave me an idea for some comic pages to start... but it was in a book whose authors wrote for a broadcast notorious for featuring conspiracies and being very historically inaccurate. Think history channel, but worse. (Sì sto parlando di Mistero.)(I bought some books in a rush and didn't check the authors in the store). It needs to be double checked: I haven't found anything on the internet, but I have other books on lore from Alghero on which I hope to find a confirmation. Meanwhile, it's there.

Oh wow it's another wall of text! :"D Sorry, oops.

Tagging! @shivunin @ndostairlyrium @underneathestars @pinayelf @blarrghe @dreadfutures @inquisimer @dungeons-and-dragon-age @daggerbean and YOU!

#ohhhhh look at her face(s)!! #i also adore the ones on the top right! #aisling and raina in this au (not au) is everything to me #friend art

[shivunin]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Tagged by @daggerbean @ndostairlyrium @inquisimer @greypetrel and @plisuu - Thank you for tagging me! I fear many of you have already done your thing for the week, but for whenever @dreadfutures @pinayelf @zenstrike @dungeons-and-dragon-age @vakarians-babe and you!

Not fandom things, but I am still working on my yarn project (shawl? lap blanket? idk, I'm having fun).I had to pull a bunch of lines to fix something, but I'm making progress again and loving how this is coming out.

Writing-wise, I just finished a first draft of an Exchange piece (hard-won) and I've been looking over a Zevwen thing I started a few months ago. The research bit is the reason I set this aside instead of finishing it a few months ago, but the heart of it is steady.

This is part of one of my favorite scenes so far (700ish words):

Water sloshed in the tub behind her. Zevran’s fingertips brushed her elbow when he stepped past, and she adored the comfort of it even as she silently willed him not to ask. 

“Do you know,” he said. “I know that we were convinced to leave the alienage, but—what do you think of find a way into that clinic in the morning?” 

Wen turned to look at him, running the cloth through her wet hair, and he smiled at her. 

“I do think we can take them, should we bring the correct people,” he added. “These words about some sort of illness are clearly all lies, whatever they say.”

Oh—the realization had hit her more than once, swift and unerring as an arrow to the chest, but she had it again now: she loved him. Perhaps she would explain the feeling away later, perhaps she would shove it off for some other day. It didn’t matter. But right now—right now his hair clung to his face in a distinctly unattractive way, he was making an odd face while he dried his neck, and the skin on his hands was wrinkled with water. 

He was the most beautiful thing in the whole of Thedas and she loved him unequivocally. 

“Alright,” she said, and turned away again. “Yes. We should.”

Her hand ached when she pressed her thumb to the wound, but at least it had stopped bleeding. Wen bound it before she climbed into bed. She’d hesitated to ask Zevran to stay—after all that, she’d no idea what she might say or do next—but he’d followed her to the massive bed anyway and she hadn’t had the heart to tell him to leave her. Instead, she twined her bare legs with his and wrapped her arm around his waist. If she laid her head on his chest, she couldn’t see him looking at her. 

They’d doused the lights. Only the warm light of the fire remained, dancing over the fine golden hairs over his chest. Wen watched them, listening to the steady beat of Zevran’s heart. His hand lifted and stroked through her hair after they’d been lying still for several moments. It felt nice, soothing, relieving some of the ache at the base of her neck. Just as she’d begun to doze, he spoke again. 

“I will not ask,” he said, and she tensed. “I said that I will not, mi vida, unless you tell me otherwise. But—why did you not tell me?” 

One of Nelaros’s eyes had been open. She remembered that. One open, one missing. You could see all the way through it to the stone floor beneath. When she’d taken the ring from his hand, she’d wondered if it would fit perfectly inside, as if it had always been meant to frame a wound rather than adorn a hand. 

“I didn’t know how,” she said, and it was the truth. She still didn’t know how and she’d already done it. But—it wasn’t the whole truth. She’d gone this far without outright lying to Zevran; there was no sense in stopping now. 

“I—didn’t want you to see me any differently.” 

“Truly? After everything I have told you?” 

There was a rumble of a chuckle in his chest. Wen steeled herself and lifted her head to look at him. His eyes glinted in the firelight, flashing gold, and as hard as she searched she could find no recriminations in them. 

“Alright,” she said at last. “It was stupid.” 

“I did not say so,” he pronounced, pressing a hand to his chest. 

Wen bared her teeth at him and he laughed at her, tipping his head back against the pillows. She loved his laugh, even when he was laughing at her; she loved the long line of his throat and the way he smiled at her when he didn’t think she was watching and she loved his grace, loved the way he wove through a battlefield like he anticipated every move of his opponent. She loved his hand in hers and the way he smelled and she loved him. 

She loved him. 

“I hate you,” she said, and tucked her face against his neck so she could nuzzle the soft skin there. 

#wip wednesday #arianwen tabris #zevwen #shivunin scrivening #i love them your honor #i need to either replay the fight w loghain or find a decent video reference for it so i can finish this piece lol #because i love how it's framed #and i think so many of these parts are beautiful and worth sharing

[shivunin]

Update: kissing the commander was, in fact, gay. (They’re in love now, sorry.)

#cullen rutherford #inquisitor trevelyan #dai #oooh i love the style of this! #q