#Not now Vhenan.

[anemoflower]

What if... I start playing Dr.agon A.ge Inquisitio.n again and create Elias as Inquisitor

#;babbling phia #I haven't played this game since FOREVER #it's one of my most favorite games AGH #of course I could also romance So.las again but- OUGH NO #I did that too much by now (shame on me) #Elias could be an elven rogue maybe :] #nyehehehe #So.las step aside Elias can Ar lath ma vhenan' me instead (elvish for 'I love you my heart' <3)

[kcwriter-blog]

Has anyone ever considered the possibility that when it comes to Inky, this is the first time in Solas’ life he’s actually been in love?

I mean the flirting and the great kisses could have more to do with playing whatever version of The Game went on in the court of the Evanuris. I’m guessing flirting and sex were just tools there. Solas is very sexy. I’m sure he was popular. I’m not sure love played a part in anything though.

He’s more than capable of love. He loves Mythal (who is probably using him). He loves his people. But romantic love? I’m not sure he’s ever experienced that before.

He has an easy time with flirting and innuendo but not real feelings.

Whether she is telling him she will protect him anyway she has to or that he doesn’t need to grieve alone he’s always flustered when Inky lets him know that she cares about him. This is not a man used to having the support of a loving partner.

His “ar lath ma, vhenan” really seems to come out of nowhere. In my experience that quick of a declaration is usually made by someone who has never been in love before.

He kisses the Inquisitor differently in Crestwood. Before it’s all bend her back and kiss her passionately. In Crestwood it’s gentle and measured. His eyes are closed. He’s lost in the moment. That’s the kiss of a man in love.

Even in Trespasser he seems to be barely in control of his emotions. He says he wouldn’t wish his fate on an enemy much less someone he “once” cared for - implying those feeling are in the past - but I don’t buy it.

Depending on where you fall on the “did they or didn’t they line” his saying he would not “lay with her under false pretenses” is meant to reassure the Inky that he loved her then, he loves her now and he did not use sex as a tool to manipulate her.

I just get a “this is the first time I’ve ever felt this way” vibe off him in every scene.

Anyway. I would be interested in other people’s thoughts on the matter.

#solas #solavellan #solasmance #dai #dragon age inquisition #fen'harel #solas dread wolf #dragon age #solas x female lavellan

[dragonagecompanions]

DAI: What is going through the minds of the Inquisition and the advisors, especially the romanced ones, upon realizing that they are going to lose the Inquisitor to the anchor?

Cassandra: Even the greatest fairy tales have an ending, but somehow Cassandra had always hoped that theirs would be happy. Their love was so unexpected, so sudden, and yet she had known from their first kiss that in him she had found a love for the ages.

Her uncle told her she was unlovable, her oath made her unlikable, but beneath it all her herald had seen the woman within the warrior--and still called her his own. He did not forsake her, even when she was unsure of herself with him. If these are to be their last hours together, she will not forsake him.

And she wishes now he had proposed.

Solas: He is not even sure he has the right to grieve, and yet he mourns every minute she is in pain and far from his side. This was always coming, of course-- he knew it from the first moment. And yet that cannot offset the suffering his Vhenan is undergoing.

It is another regret on his shoulders, but he must perservere.

Blackwall: Warden or wanderer, Blackwall or simply her Thom, the news brings him to his knees. How can a woman who has saved so many others be beyond salvation now? For all the power their inquisition has garnered, how can it fall short of saving their leader? How is that any kind of justice? Where is the Maker, when Andraste's herald needs him most?

There are no answers, of course, and in truth he does not wish to waste the time looking for them. As the mark sputters and sparks and threaten to consume her he rarely leaves her side. Through the eluvians or simply through politics he is her strong arm when pain makes her weak, a bulwark against a pain no man can truly fight.

And if he only leaves her side once while she fights for uneasy sleep, to seek out the dark alley shop with its nervous proprietor, no one else need know. The bottle of Quiet Death sits in secret in the bottom of his traveling pack, the most honest choice he has ever made. There is no world, for him, when she is gone. Let them accost the Maker together.

Sera: She knows.

She knows before anyone, knows when her honey tongue's hand starts burning like a green candle and she stops sleeping as well. When you grow up little, grow up afraid, you learn to expect the worst so that the worst doesn't surprise you. And so Skyhold's Red Jenny is braced for the blow for a long time, but it still hurts. Shite, it hurts to know it for real, to see it for real.

She never loved anyone, not like the Inquisitor. No one ever believed in her like the Herald, nowhere felt like home like the Inquisition. She can't do without it, without her, and part of Sera wants to leave before it hurts more. But even thinking about not being there hurts too, hurts like someone is stomping on her heart.

And so she stays. Stays to make her love laugh, stays to make the bad days better. Stays and impulsively drags her honey tongue off to get married, to promise to love each other for ever even if thats not very long anymore. But Sera isn't going to run, and if this is how it ends...she wants the world to know who her herald belonged to, and for her herald to know how much she was loved.

Dorian: It was supposed to be him. Maker's breathe, it was supposed to be him! It was supposed to be him that went first, a martyr to a better Tevinter, a beautiful profile cast forever in marble for his amatus to weep beautifully over and curse Dorian for ever leaving him behind. Even before his father's murder he expected such an eventual fate, and in truth had stayed so long in Skyhold so as to make those memories before Tevinter took her blood price for trying to change her.

But it was not supposed to be the Inquisitor fighting a losing battle with his own sodding arm, not Dorian left to only wring his hands and hold the man he loved close while he suffered. He is the product of a thousand years of careful breeding, graduate of the finest academies in Tevinter, a Maker's damned magister, but it's not enough. The anchor is taking its price, almost right before his eyes, and there is nothing he can do.

He'd always known the inquisitor would break his heart. But...kaffas, it was meant to be him.

The Iron Bull: Katoh.

#dragon age inquisition #solas #dorian pavus #blackwall #sera #varric tethras #cassandra #trespasser #dragon age #the iron bull

[misculenica]

A love letter to the facial animations... And Solas's design.

I just love that first encounter with Solas, and how telling it is if you really pay attention.

We all remember how giddy he is, perhaps he even has a playful nature to some. He seems utterly delighted that you're there (of course he is - you're going to fix all his problems).

Knowing Solas, he always came across as someone who is very bad at hiding his true feelings about things (he can't help but declare everything/point out how clever he is/how wrong everyone else is) - he's an awful liar. He's quick to correct himself, but not quick enough to not let you know exactly how he feels about something.

Looking at in in more depth with hindsight of who he is and what's really going on, it's just that extra layer of ohhhh that's interesting. Praise to the creatives involved in the storyboards/animation/facial expressions, because hot damn it's beautiful to look at.

So let's go frame by frame like manaics. (yes, it's because I'm writing fanfiction and wanted more insight into his thoughts/character)

The first closeup we get of him is this;

This is not a happy man XD

I would suggest he's just unhappy with you (I believe I mentioned in another post that Solas throughout the game has a sort of grudge against you for being the cause of all this - besides himself + Coryphidkfdfsdfus), but given the situation, I don't blame him for being on piss-mode.

But just... The way he stares at Inky just hits so hard. Imagine this guy you don't know grabs your arm and gives you this stare - it'd scare me more than the demons XD

That, and the fact that when he does the thing, he looks at you

It just- whether it's my writer/artist heart or just my solavellan heart hitting me with this idk. Just nnnf how come I never noticed this.

And the first rift is sealed, and Inky stares at him all like O.o "What did you do?" And he responds "I did nothing. The credit is yours." But there's this second/half second pause of interesting aniimation from Solas that I think deserves attention/applause.

Here's his immediate response to "What did you do?";

He's staring at the mark - with such intensity - before his brain catches up to 'oh right, respond solas respond'

And as soon as he makes eye-contact with Inky, it turns to this;

The difference in these expressions hits me right in the vhenan. I really want to congratulate the animators for this, because holy crap that's a lot of information about a character and their mindstate in the space of a couple seconds - pretty much a 'blind and you'll miss it'.

And then the rest of the scene, he pretty much has the same head tilted to the side, vague smile on his face, 'I'm just going to twiddle my fingers in front of me' look happening - and it kills me.

(Also it's slaying me that Solas is leaning down as if he's speaking to a child)

All humble and appeasing, until you look away.

I particularly love this next part, where Varric tells you Solas kept you from dying in your sleep. And he just has this;

Like; "yes, what do you think about that?" turn to look at you, instead of any verbal confirmation.

They rest is pretty much similar. Though I just adore the contrast of his expressions when he's 'in the moment' and then 'in character' - it's so goddamn telling from the very beginning.

I would kill to install flycam - if anyone can give me details on how to install a flycam for Inquisition (I've tried before, but any links I get taken to have dead sites/pages)

And I just want to share a happy egg.

Part 2

I now have flycam installed and it works, however- controller isn't an option and i don't have a numpad on my keyboard XD gonna have to dig out an old keyboard!

But overall the software works and i've been able to use it! Success!

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dragon age spoilers #dragon age inquisition spoilers #solas #fen'harel #dreadwolf

[felassan]

DRAGON AGE: SOUNDTRACK 4LP BOX SET - DISC 4 SIDE A (BONUS DLC TRACKS) 1. I AM THE ONE (DARK FANTASY VERSION) [DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS] (4:10) 2. MAIN THEME [DAI DESCENT DLC] (2:58) 3. AFTERMATH [DAI DESCENT DLC] (1:29) 4. DARK SOLAS THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:01) 5. QUNARI ATMOSPHERE [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (2:41) 6. LOST ELF THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:58) 7. D'READ KODA (1:08) [HIDDEN TRACK]

I find the arrangement of the tracks on Disc 4 Side A "Bonus DLC Tracks" in the Dragon Age OST vinyl interesting. it's called "Bonus DLC Tracks" but the first track it features is "I Am The One (Dark Fantasy Version)", which isn't from DLC, it's from basegame DA:O, and ofc the last track is new. this disc is the only one of the discs to include songs from multiple games (and not even just two, but three: DA:O, DA:I and DA:D, assuming that "D'Read Koda" is from or tied to DA:D). and the order the Trespasser tracks are included in is different to the order they appear in on the Trespasser OST, at least going by the Trevor Morris album (on there it's Dark Solas Theme, Lost Elf Theme, Qunari Atmosphere). I wanna say that the way it was arranged was intentional, like the specific arrangement of the tracks on this disc is like hinting at telling a sort of a story or a tease. he's lost, and then things come to an end (his story and.. something else?). a passage of music that brings the music to a close (coda), that brings a piece or movement to an end. I think of when Flemythal said

Alas, so long as the music plays, we dance.

and when Solas said

 I walk the dinan'shiral. There is only death on this journey. [death is an end, and it can be a metaphor for the end of something too]

my eye is also drawn to:

I am the One (Dark fantasy version) [...] Dark Solas theme

especially since there's a different version of I Am The One ("High fantasy version") that could have gone in there instead (which as the second song on the DA:O OST, the high fantasy version is more of a 'where this all began' song).

the idea that "I Am The One" is about Solas/Fen'Harel and what happened in ancient Elvhenan (and what his intention is in the future) is a common fan theory, and not a new one. [link to English translation of the lyrics] the lyrics could be applied to a lot of things, or nothing at all, but back then there was a war (both within the Evanuris and one they fought before that), a divide between the gods, the sky was held back/there was great destruction when the Veil was raised (but despite that there was a flicker of hope in that the elves were freed from the Evanuris), the nature of time for the ancient elves was changed (elven immortality/mortality), he references the potential for the world now to burn in the raw chaos if he succeeds, In Your Heart Shall Burn/From The Ashes etc. he ended up being one of the only survivors who lived on from the event and fears dying alone, is one of the only elves in modern Thedas who remembers, he's asked for and turned to for guidance at various points (Lasa ghilan / Ma ghilana mir din'an / Ma ghilana, vhenan / Fen'Harel ma ghilana), he believes he's the only one who can fix it now in the modern day, etc.

listening again to D'Read Koda, the echo-y, pulsing aspect and how it rises to a crescendo reminds me of the music in the Dread Wolf Rises teaser (which is still such a banger). and the discordant notes remind me of the same here and here in the 2020 trailer music. the 'discordant note' hook is also present here in the in-game cinematic (also at the start and throughout it sort of underpinning it), and the general ominous atmosphere of the 'koda' also echoes that of the various bits of music we've heard in trailers and the in-game cinematic before.

anyways, since I don't have a vinyl player I made the tracks as a lil playlist for myself on Spotify and have been listening to that then playing one of the videos with the D'Read Koda audio in it (since ofc it isn't on Spotify rn) to have the same effect, and it's interesting.

#dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #solas #mj and the world #dragon age: dreadwolf spoilers #(tag due to the bit of comment on the sound of d'read koda) #long post #longpost #mj meta #just speculation for fun :) #btw someone pls post photos of each page of the album/booklet art pieces pls 🕯️🕯️

[bluerose5]

Zevran & Astarion Banter Pt. 21/?

A longer post, but these two could have some deep conversations once they open up to each other. Can't convince me otherwise.

[First] [Prev] [Next]

...

Astarion: You mentioned before that you are "Dalish", something similar to the wood elves here, correct?

Zevran: Hmm... I technically am in some people's eyes, I suppose, but I personally see myself as Antivan first and foremost. My mother was one of the Dalish, but I grew up in the city. I know very little of their ways, even after the time I spent with one of their clans.

Astarion: And how did that go?

Zevran: About as well as one would expect. I figured out quickly that such a life was not for me, hence why I do not relate to them all that much. In their eyes, of course, that is a failure on my part.

Astarion: I'm... sorry to hear that.

Zevran: I'm not. Perhaps I feel some sort of distant connection to them, enough to come to their aid should they need it, but I hardly feel as if I belong with them. You know?

Astarion: Given how different our worlds are, I won't claim to know the feeling, but I can certainly try to imagine it. You said that much of the elves' history and culture is lost to them?

Zevran: Ah, yes, it is not like here, my friend. In Thedas, the majority of elves are little more than second class citizens, most of them living in slums.

Astarion: Oh, uh, how charming.

Zevran: No need to walk on eggshells about it. Every place has its downsides, some more than others. If anything, I believe the elves of Thedas are more than capable of taking back what is owed to them if they put their minds to it. "Will they?" is another matter entirely.

Zevran: ...

Zevran: May I ask, what brought on this line of questioning?

Astarion: *shrugs* I don't know. I was just thinking about how our "common tongue" is not that different from yours, frighteningly so. You have adapted well to our variation, though.

Zevran: Why, thank you, but I assume this is leading somewhere.

Astarion: Well, I was just curious about how your Elven —or Elvish, I suppose— compares to ours. Or is that, too, lost to the elves of Thedas?

Zevran: Most of it is from what I understand, yes, although the Dalish try to preserve the old ways more than others. I happen to recall enough phrases from my time with them to know that, compared to what I hear from you and Shadowheart, ours is definitely different.

Astarion: Interesting. Would it be too much trouble to ask to hear a little of it?

Zevran: No trouble at all, my dear! Although, I must warn you. I am a bit rusty. It does not come as easy to me as my native tongue.

Astarion: Please, with a tongue as talented as yours, I think you can manage.

Zevran: Ha! When you put like that...

[Zevran looks up and meets Astarion's eyes. His expression softens at the joy he finds there.]

Zevran: I— Ar lath ma, vhenan.

Astarion: ... And that means?

Zevran: That you look stunning tonight.

Astarion: Now, why don't I believe you?

Zevran: Easy, because I'm lying, but it's a mystery for you to uncover in time.

Astarion: Heh, you tease.

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #dragon age #dao #astarion ancunin #astarion #zevran arainai #zevran #zevstarion #crossover #bluerose writes

[possessedopossum]

I didn't want to romance Solas at first bc of all the angst but the more I played the more I realized how fucked up the inquisitor Lavellan is even without romancing Solas. Especially in case of a mage...It feels like the game is punishing you for siding with mages and elves or being one yourself. Your companions don't like you, you lose your faith, your entire history is one big lie, you can even lose your entire clan. Both the mage rebellion and the dalish are constantly demonized. You have to listen to racist or pro templar bullshit. No one understands you except for Solas who leaves in the end. I gave his romance another try and oh god. This is like ultimate loneliness and isolation. I had no idea why would someone like Solas fall in love with a modern elf but now I know why. Because Lavellan is like the only one who can see a real person in him. In modern Thedas, he is nothing but another pair of pointy ears. An apostate. An elven hobo. During the days of ancient elves he was nothing but a title. The Dread Wolf. A symbol, not a real person. And literally the same thing can be applied to Lavellan who is being crushed by the weight of their title. Who is being devoured by the narrative until there is nothing left of them. They are so alike, damn. Inquisition companions mostly act like a group of coworkers and Solas doesn't trust even his own agents (hi Felassan). The game ridicules a player for certain opinions and Solas conditionally says he was called a liar, a fool, a madman by both his enemies and his allies alike for trying to share his knowledge. I used to think Solas romance was kinda empty and unsatisfying and holy shit how wrong I was. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Solavellan to me is about finally finding a person who understands you under the shittiest circumstances possible after accepting that you will probably die alone. And then...Being completely destroyed by your own sense of duty. With all the Solas hate in this fandom I kinda forgot he actually...Cares about Lavellan? It wasn't an easy decision to leave. And it was even harder for Solas to not let Lavellan join his cause. He had to get rid of his own humanity for the sake of other elves and he doesn't want his vhenan to do the same. And the most tragic thing about this, that there is not much humanity left of Lavellan anyway. They are tired and lost and alone. Inquisition has changed them, they can't go back and pretend that nothing happened. They are not the same person they used to be. Solas greatest fear is dying alone but in the end of the game my Lavellan felt like they are the one who is slowly dying alone.

Also Solas is bisexual to me I don`t care what bioware say.

#dragon age #dai #art #solas #solavellan #m!solavellan #solas x male lavellan #dread wolf #inquisitor lavellan

[inquisimer]

happy friday mer!!! for your mahariel/alistair, "❛ if only the time and space between us wasn’t lonely ❜"

happy dadwc kia and ty for the prompt! it's sad mahariel hours in my house (it's always sad mahariel hours in my house) ;-;

for @dadrunkwriting

-

Sari used the cover of darkness to sneak back into Denerim. When she left, months ago, she’d planned to stay away forever. Even now, with corpses cleared and buildings repaired, ghosts lingered on each and every cobblestone.

But she had to come. Her heart beat against the scrap of paper in her breast pocket, an unsigned message in loopy writing: it is built.

When she rounded the corner up Queen’s Row, Sari’s breath caught. Alongside the palace gates stood a new structure, gleaming in the moonlight. A proud, silver-plated griffon perched on the roof, wings unfurled, about to take flight. Piles of flowers and coin and ribbons cluttered the entrance where a magical flame flickered, blue and undying to honor the one who gave his life to save them all.

Sari kept her hood drawn, past the lone guard and all the way up to the shrine. A few pieces of armor (that she knew to be fakes), a glass case over a polished medal, and a sword affixed to the wall above it. That was real—there could be no mistaking the dried flecks of the archdemon’s Blighted blood.

A smooth inscription in the marble read:

Alistair Theirin Warrior | Grey Warden | Hero of the Fifth Blight In Death, Sacrifice.

She placed her hands over the words so that she wouldn’t have to see the terrible code that condemned him to die. As soon as her palms touched cool stone, her knees gave way; she sank to the floor and pressed her forehead to it instead, tasting salt on her tongue as tears made their lonely, inevitable journey to the floor.

I miss you, she cried, silent. I cannot do this alone.

She had not been allowed to grieve for Tamlen. But there was no one in this world or the next, no quest or crisis that could keep her from anguish now. Not when her love was gone to ashes.

They should have been heroes together. Or he should be here, and she in the gilded urn, just a legend, a myth. That’s what she would be, anyway. The people who claimed to exalt her did not recognize her pointed ears or tattooed face—their eyes glazed over her where they would have latched on to Alistair.

You should be here.

She could feel the tears ending, for now. Just as well—she could not linger, lest she invite Leliana to descend her perch from the palace. And she could not bear the presence of her friend, not now, no matter how dear, no matter how she’d covered for Sari’s absence with both the crown and the crowds. Her touch was too gentle and forgiving to survive the barbs that Sari would stake into her if they met now.

With shaking hands, she loosed the leather cord from her neck. She felt off-balance without the weight of the tiny vial at her throat, but she set it alongside the other offerings at the shrine. The dark, sludgy concoction within oozed and warped as it settled.

Sari knelt before the shrine once more and pressed a kiss just over his name. How cold the stone was beneath her lips; the hardness sealed itself in her heart as she stood and wiped her face.

Ar lath ma, vhenan.

With each step she took, pieces of her fell away. A myth, a legend, a cautionary tale left in her wake.

The Hero of Ferelden left Ferelden behind.

#my writing #dadwc #mahariel #alistair theirin #dao #dragon age fanfic #dragon age origins #mahariel x alistair #warden x alistair #sari x alistair #oc: sari mahariel #ws: the old life haunts the new

[iamclarex2art]

“Ir abelas... Vhenan”

A fanart I made a year ago! I’ve had this idea for quite some time now. It’s a scenario where what if the Inquisitor arrived too late and was engulfed by the mark 😞

I had this idea after replaying the ending of Tresspasser multiple times and just stood by the mirror for so long, the mark just went boom 😅

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #Tresspasser dlc #bioware #DAI #DA #Solavellan #Solas #Lavellan #procreate #artwork #illustration #digital illustration #my art #digital art #iamClarex2 DA art #iamClarex2Art

[plisuu]

Happy friday Sterling!!! last week I got some Revalas/Bull out of you, howabout some Revalas/Dorian this time? or not if you are stricken with a different inspiration. "i dunno who taught you that love comes with conditions and limitations, but mine doesn’t. not when it’s you." from the emotionally charged sentence starters.

Ooookay, man Kia you've been coming in clutch with the prompts.

This one kind of got away from me, I just started writing with a bolt of inspiration and ended up here ahahah

Here's something a bit more established for Revalas and Dorian :)

wc: 1.2k @dadrunkwriting

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Revalas swore the sound of Dorian’s ring against to bar-top was the only thing keeping him sane. Like a metronome, a steady beat against the backdrop of the busy chatter and clinking glasses and Bull shouting something behind them to a group of very drunk Chargers.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The pace was increasing, just slightly, and Revalas finally peered up from where his gaze had been fixated on the gold that glinted against dark skin, just a few shades darker than his own. It looked good on him, on Dorian’s hands. Jewelry always did, and Revalas had spent more than his fair share of time haggling with merchants and using Leliana’s contacts to get this particular ring smuggled out of Par Vollen—a yellow-gold that stood stark and bright against the more muted, deeper golds of Tevinter jewelry.

“Yes yes, I love it,” Dorian muttered, waving his hand loosely, the word a slurred assurance that he did, in fact, realize Revalas was staring at it.

“That’s not… I’m not worried about that, vhenan,” Revalas chuckled in reply, leaning over to place a kiss on Dorian’s cheek, missing, and planting one on the mage’s collarbone instead. He could feel the warmth of his drink beginning to spread through his face, to the tips of his ears, and left his forehead resting against the perfumed linens and cool skin of Dorian’s shoulder. Patchouli and sandalwood, something smoky and a little spicy, something a little musky and human… He breathed in deeply before continuing, his voice muffled by the fabric. “You don’t even have to wear it. You could hate it for all I care, I just wanted you to have something so you’re reminded of me when you’re out,” he gestured vaguely, “doing whatever it is you do.”

“I’m always reminded of you, amatus,” Dorian said, his voice sounding a little distant, a little watery, still slurred and slow. Revalas heard the soft clink of gold against glass as he reached for his drink again. “It’s rather ridiculous, really.”

“What is?” Revalas looked back up, suddenly alert, an eyebrow raised, his hand darting out to catch Dorian’s wrist before more booze could hit his tongue. “What’s so ridiculous?”

Dorian chewed his lip and looked away. Krem and Skinner had begun to sing loudly, drowning out the music they were trying to sing to. Sera’s delighted squeal cut through the ruckus and Revalas felt the slow drip of a sloshed ale soaking into his pant leg from the bar.

None of it mattered though—they may as well have been alone in the Herald’s Rest as he gently pried the drink from Dorian’s hand and interlaced their fingers.

“Ar lath— I love you,” Revalas huffed. “Talk to me. I can see the smoke coming from your ears.”

“As astute and clever as ever,” Dorian replied, still turned away. He heaved a heavy sigh. “This seems… unwise.”

“What does? How so?”

There was silence between them. The chaos of the tavern had all but fallen away as Revalas watched the gears turning quietly, his gaze piercing, knowing exactly what Dorian meant but waiting for him to piece together the words to say it himself.

Dorian finally met his gaze, brows drawn in a way that he would have never allowed were he sober.

“Emotions are so… messy,” he finally said. “I never meant to let it get this far, you know.”

“But here we are, so now what?” Revalas pressed his lips to the back of Dorian’s hand. “It’s okay to be messy, Creators know Bull and I are just as bad.”

Dorian frowned. “Yes, but—”

“But you aren’t allowed to be? Why not?”

Revalas swore he could see the words turning over in Dorian’s head, the mental gymnastics he was putting himself through to try and justify his hesitance.

“Vishante Kaffas, you Ben-Hassrath are truly the worst,” he eventually snipped. “Perceptive asses, the lot of you. Yes, fine! Let’s make Dorian confess his feelings in the middle of the tavern, what fun! Surely he wants to share his deepest fears in public, or—no, wait—let’s make it in front of an audience! Of course!”

Hs voice cracked, and he pressed his palms into the scratched wood bar, staring at it as if trying to study a reflection that wasn’t there. Revalas brushed his thumb across Dorian’s cheek, unsurprised at the wetness he found there, and pulled Dorian to face him again. Grey eyes glittered with brimming tears, and Revalas wiped them away as best he could without smudging the khol that streaked down tanned cheeks.

“Dorian. Vhenan. You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Yes… I…” Dorian shook his head. “I simply hate that I care so much. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it, to receive so much… attention? When I don’t even do anything, when I have so little to offer but these petty, drunken outbursts.” He slumped over, defeated. “There. You’ve pried it out of me. May I have my drink back, now, if you're satisfied?”

“Vhenan.”

The scrape of wooden stools across the floor seemed deafening in comparison to their conversation, but Revalas knew it was all drowned in the sea of late-night drunken chaos as he scooted himself closer to Dorian and pulled him into his arms. It was awkward, and likely an awkward sight, but Revalas held him tightly, as if his grip could quell his partner’s hitching, uneven breaths.

“Vhenan, you don’t need to do anything. You’re allowed to just care. Hell, it’s really not like Bull and I are any more practiced at this. We don’t even have relationships under the Qun.” He sighed, kissing the top of Dorian’s head, the styling oils tingling his lips. “I think about you constantly, and I don’t do anything but drag feelings out of you kicking and screaming, but you wouldn’t say the same about me, that I’m not allowed to care, right?”

“You shouldn’t” Dorian muttered, and Revalas hugged him harder, just uncomfortably so, so that he heard the air whoosh out of Dorian’s lungs.

“That’s stupid. You’re too smart to say stupid things like that. This isn’t conditional. There’s no rule that says any of us have to do anything.”

There was a long pause while Dorian finally hugged him back, fists clutching the back of Revalas’s shirt and face buried in his neck, until his shaking subsided and his breathing settled.

“I… I do like the ring.” he eventually said, pulling away. His eyes were puffy and red, but the shimmer of tears was replaced with a glint of his usual sarcastic mirth. “It’s rather fetching on me, don’t you think?”

Revalas kissed his hand with a smile.

“Ar lath. Yes, vhenan. Absolutely stunning. I bet you could even charm the pants off a Qunari with your fashionable jewelry alone. No one would even notice your dashing good looks.”

Dorian flashed him a smile before tipping his drink back and draining the glass.

“Ah, and don’t forget my unmatchable wit and irritable charm.”

“Oh, Creators, I don’t think I could if I tried.”

#dragon age #dorian pavus #pavellan #dadwc #my writing #dorian x lavellan #revalas lavellan #does this even make sense? #who knows! #but i like em #this is also the first time ive written dorian since 2019 djfgsksgakgdna

[exalted-dawn-drabbles]

Happy Fridayyyy~ For DADWC, I'm thinking either "I didn’t know where else to go" AND/OR the classic "who did this to you?" for Saeris/Talenna? c:

I have nothing else to say to you except you asked for this u_u

for @dadrunkwriting

Rated G: Post Trespasser, Angst, Hurt In Need Of Comfort, ~460 words

Home | By Exalted_Dawn

“...Who did this to you?”

The question was quiet and cold as death. It promised death. 

Talenna was too tired, too weary, to answer him. And, in truth, part of her feared what he might do if she did. Numbly, she shook her head. She did not want to discuss this now.

But Saeris did not seem to care. “...Was it him?” 

Another ice-sharp question. “Saer, sathan, don’t.” Everything she had wanted to say, every threat she had dared promised to deliver onto him, had already been made. She clutched tighter at her arm, hugging it close as if to shield it even from him. As though, to hide the sight of it might calm Saer’s rage. She wanted nothing more than to collapse into him and sleep. Because then maybe, when she woke up again, she might find that everything had been some sort of shitty dream. She could pretend, just for a while, that none of this happened.

That she hadn’t stepped through that damned eluvian, and hadn’t found him waiting there on the other side. 

“I just…” She pressed further into him, until her brow rested snuggly against his neck. The both of them were sticky with sweat and covered in dirt. Viscera. But the sound of his heart, no matter how thunderous, had always been a comforting one. And even now, on the verge of simply breaking down, in it she found the strength for words and dry eyes. “I just want to forget about this.” I want to go home. 

The fact that she couldn’t loomed somewhere on her periphery, a grey-clothed spectre in the form of the yet unresolved Council. And behind that, a bigger monster. One shadowed, with sharp fangs and a dripping maw. A new foe. Another war to fight. The life she wanted with Saer- their children- 

Talenna bit back a sob so violently that her teeth ached, and dug in further. “Please.”

She could feel his anger. His hunger for vengeance and restitution. They had both faced the brink today, and neither had come out unscarred. Or whole.

I just want to go home.

To him. To his arms. To Salean and Hanehn. And to feel like, for once, the entire damn world wasn’t falling apart around her. But it would seem that she had been right in all her snide jokes and comments. The Creators themselves sought to see her ruined. 

And to think, she had called one of them ‘friend’.

She could have laughed. She had been a fool.

Blood stained arms closed tight around her, shaking and scared but strong. Forceful, even; as if by holding her tight enough, he could pack her tight against his heart and keep her there. Safe. “...Alright. Ma nuvenin, vhenan.” 

‘Let’s go home.’

#dadwc #talenna ethera #saeris lavellan #talearis #solas dragon age

[kcwriter-blog]

15 Lines of Dialogue

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

Thank you, @broodwolf221 and @kierarhawke for tagging me in this. 🥰

This isn't going to be easy. I just started writing fan fiction and most of it is Solas stream of consciousness stuff in which my OC doesn't speak. So much of this is coming from my WIPs. Given that, here's an introduction to Theneras (Her name means Dreams in Elvhen).

“Was it prepared here? Because I am not eating anything that came out of that kitchen. I’m positive I saw a rat getting drunk on the bar. He had his own little tankard and everything.”

“No? I’m their bloody Herald of Andraste and they still butchered them. Regardless, I made a mistake and they paid for it.”

"“That was my choice to make, not yours!"

“How was I supposed to know? It’s not like he was wearing a sign that said, ‘Elvhen god planning to destroy the world. Under no circumstances fall in love with him.’"

“Ir abelas, vhenan, if I could add your grief to my own, I would."

“When I wake up, they will still be gone. I will still be the last of my clan. I will still be alone. Dreams offer cold comfort."

“I can’t talk about this. I can't even think about it right now. Why not just say no one trusts me and be done with it. Maybe that’s why I never leave home."

"There are always choices, Solas. You may not like them but they are there."

“I don’t know if I am safe, but I assume I’m not dead – yet. I have you to thank for that, I take it?”

“I don’t understand you, Solas. Do you want to succeed in your endeavor or fail, because I can’t tell.”

“What experience? If I want to fuck a carpet, there’s a perfectly good rug in my sitting room.”

"I don’t want to wake up alone. Do you?”

“And you thought a wolf was the appropriate response to a Crow assassin?”

“I never like your answers anymore.”

“That you still love me? No. That I still love you? Yes. I just don’t want to.”

Tagging, but with no pressure to accept (if you've already been tagged, my apologies. 😊): @arlathvhenan @an-established-butt-dent

#solas #dragon age inquisition #solavellan #tag games #current wips #wip #dai solas #solasmance

[broodwolf221]

was talking about solas going to 'work' by going to sleep to document memories in the fade and thinking about his partner being fondly exasperated at times like yes you go take your work naps then... this happened. nessa and solas all happy and at peace together after everything and he goes to work and she asks what he saw

She watched as Solas rolled his shoulders, leaning back from the record he’d been working on to rub at his face. “Time for more studies?” She asked lightly and his exhale spoke to his amusement as he nodded.

“I think so, yes. There are details I am still missing...”

“Of course,” she said agreeably. “But don’t be all day - you know I’d miss you.” She had approached as she said it until she stood behind him, smiling as he tilted his head back to meet her eyes.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Nessa,” he replied facetiously and she rolled her eyes at the pun.

“Of course not. Go to sleep, my love.” He hummed his agreement and rose, moving towards the bedroom. She watched him go with a small smile, then grabbed her sword. She still liked to get some practice in every day, but she would stay close enough to hear when Revas woke.

*

It was late when they crawled into bed together; she stroked across his face and brow and he closed his eyes, smiling faintly. “Tell me what you found today?” He made a small, thoughtful noise as she continued to touch him, then nodded.

“I found a small village, long since abandoned. What became of its people was not clear, but there was a family that had moved into one of the empty homes. They explored every day, perhaps trying to find what-”

“-became of the prior inhabitants?” She interrupted and he frowned, opening his eyes. “Vhenan,” she began, amused, “you’ve told me this story before.” She felt him flush, felt the heat beneath her hand.

“... ah,” he said simply.

“So what did you see?” She pressed, more curious now than before. Especially when his blush intensified.

“Well. Something far less useful for historical preservation, and far more interesting to myself, personally.”

“Oh?”

“It is, perhaps, something that would be better to show you than to tell you,” he offered, voice suddenly low. She shivered.

“By all means.”

#solas #lavellan #solavellan #nessa lavellan #uwu #broodwrites

[edda-grenade]

Menace

Saar smirks. “Who says that isn't the plan?” “The plan,” Solas says, leaning forward and bracing himself with one hand on the bed beside her chest, “is that you relax and do not aggravate your injuries, vhenan.” He cranes his neck to kiss her without putting pressure on exactly one such injury on her left shoulder. “Now, will you let me ride you until you cannot come any longer?”

on AO3 3k words, dragon age: inquisition, adaar/solas #pegging, teasing, praise kink

solas bottoms and is a menace about it that's it that's the fic

#soladaar #inquisitor x solas #saar gets her own tag #adaar #solas #dragon age inquisition #da:i #dragon age #inquisitor #fic tag

[daitranscripts]

What Pride Had Wrought: Deleted Dialogue

Various snippets of dialogue that didn’t make it into the final cut of the game - listed in scene order.

What Pride had Wrought Masterpost

—

At the eluvian in Skyhold:

Morrigan: That would be unwise.

In the crossroads

Special: The energy here is strange.

PC: This place isn’t natural. It almost seems… constructed. It’s as if someone made a pocket within the Fade, with its own rules of reality. If the ancient elves could do this… Morrigan: It seems remarkable that the magisters of Tevinter could ever challenge them, yes. PC: It’s deteriorating. Eventually this place will simply collapse on itself. Morrigan: Who can say how old it is? For now it stands, and thus retains its value.

—

PC: Our our allies prepared to march with the Inquisition?

Josephine: Emperor Gaspard has sent his chevaliers. His scouts have gone ahead to meet Leliana’s people in the Arbor Wilds. Josephine: Ambassador Briala has dispatched her elven hunters. They’ll meet with Leliana’s scouts in the Arbor Wilds. Josephine: Empress Celene has sent imperial soldiers. Her swiftest archers will meet Leliana’s scouts in the Arbor wilds.

Leliana: They’re trapping and harassing soldiers of Corypheus. Our own should catch up soon.

Josephine: Lady Morrigan will help us find this eluvian within the forest.

Cullen: It will be bloody, Inquisitor, but our men and women understand what must be done. The time to rout Corypheus is now.

—

Morrigan: A question, soldier, before you are lost to the din of battle. The elven ruin of which you spoke… where is it located?

Captain: The scouts say it’s to the northwest, Lady Morrigan.

—

LaMarche: In times such as these, I wish I was meant to be a chevalier. What finer work is performed today than that of our knights?

Josephine: I have seen Corypheus’s wrath, Lord LaMarche. It is even more terrible than his agents’. May the chevaliers be as fortunate as they are brave.

LaMarche: Yes, of course. Maker guide them.

—

Briala: Be on guard, Inquisitor. My scouts caught glimpses of Corypheus heading toward the temple.

—

Gaspard: Maker willing, we’ll see more fighting before the day’s end.

—

Leliana: The temple is close. I pray you find it before Corypheus.

—

Cullen: I’ll be fine! Keep going! Cullen: Onwards! Cullen: The temple’s ahead, Inquisitor. Cullen: Maker keep you safe. Cullen: Go on. We’ll hold things here.

—

Sentinel 1: Fenhedis! Ma halani! Ma halani! Sentinel 2: Dareth shiral vhenan! Ara— (Gasps.) Sentinel 1: (Screams.)

—

Vivienne: What was that? Sera: What was that? Varric: You hear that? Iron Bull: You hear that? Cassandra: The temple’s guardians, perhaps. Blackwall: What was that? Cole: Worried, wary, watchful, and we are unwanted. PC: What’s that?

Dorian: Is it the elves watching us, or the Venatori? Solas: Our movements here have not gone unnoticed. Cole: Someone’s watching us. Blackwall: Wonder if we’re being followed by elves or Venatori. Cassandra: Who goes there? Show yourself? Varric: Don’t waste your time, Seeker. Nobody ever answers that. Iron Bull: Gotta be elves. The Vints aren’t this quiet. Varric: If we’re being stalked, I’d rather they get it over with. PC: Who’s there?

—

PC: Closed, as if it’s sealed.

Morrigan: If this door is anything like the previous, only completing the rituals will open it.

—

Morrigan: You missed one of the steps. All of them must be touched to proceed.

—

Party comments:

Cassandra: The path is blocked. Perhaps you can jump over the rubble?

Iron Bull: I think you gotta hop over the rubble in the middle.

Blackwall: I don’t think you can finish walking this ritual without jumping over to the other side.

Morrigan: The intended path is ruined. Leap over the rubble if you wish to proceed.

—

Sentinel (guide): Awell!

—

Abelas: And we will defend the vir’abelasan, as we ever have.

Morrigan: With what? These few warriors who remain at your side?

—

Abelas: The shemlen are as poor at keeping their word as reputed.

Morrigan: As you assumed, else why would you have fled to destroy the Well?

—

Morrigan: What about one trained, prepared in your arts?

—

Dialogue options:

Is the Well dangerous?

Is the Well dangerous? PC: You said the knowledge inside the Well might be “too much”… is it dangerous? Abelas: No being so young has ever partaken of the vir’abelasan. I cannot know. You could never prepare as Mythal’s true servants did, in the scant years granted a shemlen. Morriga: Your vast lifespan did not ready you to drive off the Venatori. It has limits, clearly. Ableas: That is true.

—

PC (at the Well): Is that so?

—

Dialogue options:

Amazing. PC: There was… that was power like nothing I’ve ever felt. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

I’m not sure. PC: Ask me again once I’ve a chance to think about it. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

Terrifying. PC: I think I nearly died. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

I’m fine. PC: No permanent damage, I think.

Scene continues.

PC: The next thing to do is—

#dragon age inquisition #dai transcripts #dragon age #dragon age transcripts #dragon age dialogue #dai #long post #what pride had wrought #wphw #deleted dialogue

[ghostwise]

ZevWarden Week 2023 - Day 5, Bodies and Minds

🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

Trust :: 460 words tags: vallaslin, dalish culture, zevran arainai/male mahariel

"I hope I still remember how to do this," Zevran says, and he checks his tray of supplies carefully: ink and needles, clean washcloths, boiled water with a splash of disinfectant, and soap, all neatly arranged.

"It would be easier, of course," he continues, "if we had a healer with us. Alas! We shall simply have to heal it the old fashioned way: with time and care."

Across the room, Hamal regards him with a raised brow.

"Zevran, you are not worried, are you?"

"Not at all!"

Zevran sets the tray on the bedside table. He looks down at his hands, inspecting them carefully.

"Maybe I should wash my hands again," he mutters.

"They are clean," Hamal laughs. "Washed three times already."

Zevran smiles at him. "Of course."

"It is just a touch-up."

"I know. But this is important."

He takes Hamal's face in his hands then, and brushes his fingers over his skin; graceful vallaslin swoon and sweep across Hamal's cheekbones, around his eyes, his forehead. They have faded over the years... faster than they should have.

Hamal thinks it is the Grey Warden Taint. The same force that pushes his body to such extremes—stronger and faster, yes, but enhanced in inconvenient ways too; quick to fevers, always hungry, and fighting to heal old wounds. Which, of course, the vallaslin are.

Zevran holds a different view. To him, it is the sunlight that's to blame. Antiva gets so much more of it than Ferelden, after all, and even with Hamal's diligent use of sunscreen he's burned more times than either of them can count.

Whatever the case, the vallaslin look like trees in the autumn.

"I need to make sure I get it right," Zevran murmurs. "The right color. The right depth. The right shape. What if I make an error?"

He draws his thumb across his lip. Hamal smiles.

"And I… I do not know the proper rites, the prayers… braska," he sucks in a breath of air. "I need to wash my hands again!"

"Vhenan…"

Hamal laughs. Perhaps there is nothing for it. The vallaslin does matter, after all. Some level of anticipation is only proper.

"If it helps, I feel a lot better than I did when I first got them," Hamal says after a moment.

Zevran returns to his side, his hands freshly cleaned. He looks at him, eyes wide. "You do?"

"I was beyond nervous the first time. But I'm not nervous now. Not at all." He smiles. "You're the only I'd trust to do this, Zevran."

Zevran relaxes, dropping into a nearby chair. He considers it, easily drawing from Hamal's confidence.

"Very well, then," he says. "If you are not worried then I suppose I shouldn't be either. Hold still, amor. Let's begin."

#rinnywrites #dragon age #zevwarden week 2023 #zevran arainai #zevran x warden #mahariel #oc: hamal mahariel #just a few left <3 faster fading tattoos is one of my grey warden hcs unfortunately the sunlight doesn't help.