#zevwarden week 2022

[zevraholics]

ZevWarden Week 2022

What is it? A week (this year, September 4th - 10th) of creating new fan content, sharing it, and celebrating the wonderful relationships between your favourite Grey Warden(s) and Zevran Arainai. How to participate: Feel free to follow the daily prompts as inspiration for whatever ZevWarden-related content your heart desires. Fics, art, meta discussions - everything goes! Remember to tag your works appropriately (ie. #nsfw or #zevistair) and most of all, have fun!

Prompts:

Sunday, September 4: Culture

Monday, September 5: Gold

Tuesday, September 6: Fights and Reconciliation

Wednesday, September 7: Alternate Universes

Thursday, September 8: Promises

Friday, September 9: Death

Saturday, September 10: Seasons

Like previous years, we took each prompt and gave it two different spins. Choose whichever inspires you, or take the base prompts in your own direction!

Tag your content with #zevwarden week 2022 or tag us on your post and we’ll reblog it here. *Any art found to be whitewashing Zevran will not be shared.

Day 1 - Sunday, September 4 - Culture

Culture shock "Now, if it is all the same to you, I would prefer not to speak more of Antiva. It makes me wistful and hungry for a proper meal." What does Zevran think about life in Ferelden that we don't get to see in-game? If your Warden and Zevran ever travel anywhere else, what's familiar and what comes as a surprise?

Cultural exchange "Loving a place is not the same as never desiring to be elsewhere." Either at home or abroad, do the Warden and Zevran experience new foods, festivals, or traditions together? How do Zevran and the Warden deal with their cultural differences and similarities?

Day 2 - Monday, September 5 - Gold

Trinkets "You do seem to stumble onto treasure on a regular basis, somehow." Between the infamous earring and all the looting the Warden does over the course of the Blight, it’s easy for the pair of them to accumulate quite a few trinkets. Are there any things in particular they each collect? What kinds of things do they save for each other?

Money "Ah, the bustle of a market district! The pickpocket's home away from home!" We know a little bit about Zevran's relationship to money, but what about the Warden's? Do Zevran and the Warden have enough of it, post-Blight? Do they have more than they know what to do with? How do they make a living and how do they spend what they've got? Also fun for this prompt: stories about stealing or bartering.

Day 3 - Tuesday, September 6 - Fights and Reconciliation

Arguments "You are a very frustrating person to deal with, do you know that?" Do the Warden and Zevran ever fight, either verbally or with weapons? Perhaps your Warden or Zevran (or both) get into a disagreement with somebody else. How do they resolve it or fail to resolve it?

Kiss and make-up "Running a bit hot and cold, are we? Fair enough. Let's get back to business." What helps the Warden and Zevran deal with tension after a tough moment? Are they quick to forgive or does it take them a little longer to work things out? Do they prefer to work things out with conversation or more physically?

Day 4 - Wednesday, September 7 - Alternate Universes

Variations on DAO "Taliesen offered to come to the ambush with me and I said, 'Taliesen, I don't need any help. This Grey Warden is a new recruit. How hard could it be?' But then, if I had been more open-minded to his help, either you would be dead or I would be. So it was better I refused. Huh." What would happen if Zevran met your Warden before the contract? Does your Warden end the Blight in a way the game's endings don't allow? This version of the prompt is for reimagining the story of DAO in a new way.

Completely new setting "I feel like we've just entered a Grand Cleric's bedchambers, where no one has gone before." Got an idea for the characters as vampires, mermaids, or living in a painstakingly historically accurate Qing Dynasty, China? The crew playing D&D in a college AU? Go wild.

Day 5 - Thursday, September 8 - Promises

Promises kept "In truth, for the chance to be by your side, I would storm the Dark City itself." Which promises do Zevran and the Warden make to each other? How do they come to make those promises? Are there ever moments when there is a price to be paid for keeping a promise?

Promises broken "What are promises? There are many kinds, spoken and unspoken, and yet we break them all the same, yes? They do not matter." Do Zevran and the Warden ever break a promise made to each other? Why do they break it—is it for a good reason? How does the other party react?

Day 6 - Friday, September 9 - Death

Near-death experiences "I landed in the river and nearly drowned. I was fished out by some urchins who robbed me blind. Made off with my boots, too. At least they didn't cut my throat." Zevran and the Warden meet for the first time in a failed assassination attempt. Whether dramatic or humorous or some of both, Zevran and the Warden have had many brushes with death in their adventures. Share a moment from one of those times.

Laid to rest "It's unfortunate, but death comes to us all. If not me, then some wasting disease. Or a fall down the stairs.Or at the hands of a darkspawn. It's all relative, in the end." No one escapes death. This is the prompt to share a moment of triumph after a battle, complex feelings after a successful assassination, or offer a character a peaceful death at home.

Day 7 - Saturday, September 10 - Seaons

Seasons of the year "In Antiva it rains often, but the flowers are always in bloom... or so the saying goes." Do Zevran and the Warden celebrate holidays together? Which, and how? Does Zevran struggle with Fereldan winter, and the Warden with Antivan summer? What specific activities do they enjoy doing in each season?

Seasons of life "It's true. I live a charmed life. One of the prostitutes that raised me was a fortune teller. Said I wouldn't die young. She was rather startled by that." As characters hit new life milestones and grow older, what is a significant event that happens in their lives together? Did either of them expect or even wish for that milestone to happen in their life?

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevwarden week #zevwarden #zevran x warden #zevran arainai #zevran #dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age fanfiction #dragon age fanart #zevraholics anonymous

[juneondraws]

ZevWarden Week 2022 Day 2 - Gold

Hey guys, its my first time ever posting for the zevwarden week (also my first time ever posting artwork here so im exciteed) Since the prompt for day 2 is gold, i couldnt help myself drawing zevran and my mahariel adorned with golden jewellery. Hope you guys have a wonderful zevwarden week !

@zevraholics

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevran #dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age fanart #art #myart #zevran x warden #zevran x mahariel #oc:marevas

[m-m-m-myysurana]

ZevWarden Week 2022

Seasons

Neria and Zev with their daughter Carena enjoying an Antivan summer. I could never really make their ending anything but happy. <3

#zevwarden week 2022 #seasons #neria and zev #Carena Surana #dragon age fan art #my art #this is extremely sketchy but it was fun #yeah so I'm sorry to anyone who had their heart torn out by my last drawing :3 #no I'm not >:3 #But I still hope this makes up for it #wholesome goodness

[disturbedbutgorgeous]

Late as always but I wanted to try @zevraholics ZevWarden Week 2022 as I'm dry of inspiration and prompts of my fave ships are exactly what I need rn. 👌 Posting a WIP in case I never end up finishing it.

Day 2 prompt: "Gold/trinkets". Zevran and my warden Lucien having fun in someone else's a treasure room.

#zev is meant to be holding the One Ring coz I'm in a LOTR phase #dragon age #zevwarden week 2022 #zevwarden #dragon age zevran #dragon age origins #zevran x m!warden #wip #dragon age warden #grey warden #elf #elves #oc #my art #art #zevran arainai #dragon age fanart #zevwarden week

[jadewing-realms]

just a bonus, a final send off to zevwarden week 

it’s been a long time since i did a fic challenge and boy did i miss it. uwu and it was cool to write something for this fandom, which i’d never done before, so a nice experience all around. makes me wanna play dragon age again jsfklfd

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevran arainai #zevran x salem #zevran x warden #zevran x surana #salem surana #myart #dragon age #fanart #warden commander #mage warden

[demigoddessqueens]

tell me lies, sweet little lies

Day 5 of ZevWarden week with angst 💔 also read here on ao3

Cw: canonical character death

You promised.

He holds the fresh bouquet in his hands. He was not present when the rest had gathered. It wouldn’t be real to him.

You promised.

The king was commended for such a lovely speech, albeit the words he chose gave rise to whispering rumors that Alistair beheld her in a certain light.

You promised.

She was a force of nature. Determined. Fierce. Cunning. Strategic, and never yielding. To see her fight reminded Zevran of why he joined the Warden against the Blight.

You promised.

It was going to be a new life for them. A new start for him, and a new chance at a love he never felt that he deserved.

You promised.

Zevran stood before the memorial, the likeness captured intimately in her statue and the memorabilia still left in her honor. Placing the floral display down, he stared at the Warden for what felt like the last time before he tried to have some semblance of living without her here.

“You lied.”

#dragon age #dragon age x reader #zevran x f!warden #dragon age zevran #zevran x warden #zevran arainai #warden dragon age #female warden #character death #fanfic #writeblr #zevwarden week #zevwarden week 2022

[bumblerhizal-art]

Zevwarden Week 2022 Day 6: Death

Novhen’s life was on the line when he met Zevran. It follows that his life would have to once again be in Zev’s hands for him to begin to trust him.

Or: The Groundwork for their Approaching Relationship

(The last speech bubble is supposed to be Novhen. I am just only now realizing it's not perfectly clear, but it's too late to go back and rearrange it.)

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevwarden #zevran x m!warden #zevran x tabris #fanart #comics #death #pre-relationship #novhen tabris #zevran arainai #anyway i spent 19hr on this canvas apparently so i hope it's half as good as it was in my head please enjoy

[darethshirl]

Entry for zevwarden week (@zevraholics), Zevran/Male!Mahariel, 760 words

Day 1: Culture

                                                      —

Mahariel fell in love with the sea from the moment he first saw it.

It was obvious in his expression, in his posture. Even when Zevran urged him forward through their linked hands Mahariel always paused to stare out at the horizon, his dark eyes wide and searching. It didn’t matter if the sea was calm or frothing with waves, if it shone blue under the morning sun or if it was painted the indigo-black of midnight. He was spellbound each time, drinking in his fill as the water stretched out infinitely from side to side to meet the sky.

Right now Mahariel was once again gazing at the far distance, his feet caressed by the waves. Zevran had brought them both to the swimming hole he’d used to frequent as a child, a tucked-away cove known only to the locals too poor to travel far. It looked nothing like the beautiful coastlines Antiva was famous for, with their azure waters and sandy beaches. This place was wilder, rawer, with black rocks and pebbles rather than sand and sheer, sharp cliffs hugging the shore. Still, the water was warm, and the currents safe. The sea welcomed them both, as if they were always meant to be there.

Zevran stretched his pleasantly tired muscles—swimming was more of a workout than he remembered, his body moving in ways he wasn’t used to anymore—and breathed in deeply. The approaching evening leached out the late summer heat, and Zevran felt his wet skin pebble from the chill.

“Ready to leave, mi amor?” he called out.

“In a minute,” Mahariel said absentmindedly, without even turning around. He was standing completely still, backlit by the sunset, his long hair out of his usual ponytail and plastered down his back. It was a beguiling sight, Zevran freely admitted… but perhaps not one worthy of catching a cold over.

With a fond chuckle, he came closer and hugged Mahariel from behind. “Such adoration for the world’s cruelest mistress,” Zevran teased. “It’s almost enough to make a man jealous.”

Mahariel huffed a laugh, reaching up to loosely hold Zevran’s arm. “As if you could get rid of me that easily.”

What a thought. Zevran hid his smile against Mahariel’s shoulder, tasted the salt of his skin as he pressed a kiss there. He gazed at the dying sun sinking into the sea, the bright crimson disk painting the sky in pinks and mauves.

“I didn’t think you’d love this place so much,” he mused out loud, without exactly meaning to.

It was this of all things that made Mahariel react, turning his head with a slight frown on his face. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you’re a child of the forest, are you not? I figured your clan would always have the first place in your heart.”

“It does,” Mahariel agreed, with all the confidence of someone who knows is loved, who will always have a family to return to. “And we’ll return there eventually. But there’s no rush, not now that they’re all safe.” He turned back to look at the sea, his face calm and relaxed. “I like Antiva,” he added decisively, the words as simple and honest as ever. “It’s… bright.”

“Any place would be brighter than Ferelden,” Zevran joked, but privately he felt inordinately pleased by the compliment. He never realised how much he’d wanted Mahariel to approve of his birthplace, how a worry he didn’t even know he was carrying was now lifted. “But on behalf of all Antivan citizens everywhere, I accept your compliment.”

Mahariel hummed, his mouth curling up in a smile. “Perhaps we could stay here longer.”

“Oh?” Zevran felt his heart beat faster, a warmth spreading through his body. “You mean longer than we already planned to?”

“Sure. Like for a year or two? And then we’ll see.” Mahariel squeezed Zevran’s arm, then caught his palm and kissed it. “I think it will be good for us.”

“Yes,” Zevran said, not even bothering to hide his grin. He’d already noticed how well Mahariel fitted in, with his brown skin and black hair, as they walked down Antiva’s streets. Even his vallaslin weren’t recognisable this far north, the designs too different from the local customs. Without his warden armor he looked like any other normal person, living a peaceful, uneventful life. “Yes, I think so too.” 

Mahariel turned to embrace him properly, his eyes dancing with joy. “So. Have we reached the end of all the secret places you wanted to show me?”

“Fear not, amor,” Zevran laughed, so happy he could burst. “We’ve barely scratched the surface.”

#zevran arainai #zevran x warden #zevran x mahariel #dragon age #dragon age origins #zevwarden week 2022 #fanfic #zevran x m!warden

[salaisi]

Zevran: "Happy anniversary!"

Hurme: "It is not our anniversary, though?"

Zevran: "Not for the wedding, no. But it was ten years ago today when we met."

Hurme: "Oh? Isn't that a little bit odd thing to celebrate?"

Zevran: "Maybe, but it was certainly memorable."

Hurme: "Hah ha! True enough."

Zevran: "And to be perfectly honest, I am reminiscing more than celebrating. So much has happened that it feels like a lifetime ago."

Hurme: "I see. - But you are still happy with how everything worked out, right? No regrets?"

Zevran: "Of course. And that feeling is mutual, yes?"

Hurme: "Absolutely."

ZevWarden week - Seasons

I was thinking this from seasons, or time, passing by approach.

#zevwarden week 2022 #fanart #seasons #zevran x m!warden #zevran x mahariel #this is my last entry for this years zevwarden week #this was my first year participating #it has been really fun to see everyone's works through the week! 💖 #also thank you to zevraholics for organizing the event! #dragon age #da:o #zevran arainai #hurme mahariel #zevwarden

[heniareth]

ZevWarden Week 2022

Day 5: Promises - How to Raise Children When You've Never Had A Childhood

Words: 2412 | Rating: General audience | Zevran x f!Tabris

WARNINGS:

mentions of stabbing

mentions of past abuse and neglect

Zevran's children have grown up with him telling them tales of his past. Now that they're eight--older than he was when he started to use a dagger--they only think it fair that they get to play around with weapons as well. Zevran has a minor crisis about this.

Read on AO3 or under the cut:

“Promise you will be careful,” Zevran said.

“I promise!”

“Me too!”

“Alright.”

Zevran held out the sheathed daggers. The twins went to grab them. But Zevran, who had apparently just changed his mind, pulled them out of reach again.

“And how are we careful with knives and other sharp things?” he asked.

“Always cut away from ourselves,” Rinona said very earnestly.

“Never point them at another person,” Astolfo added. “Or do as if we were cutting them, even as a joke.”

“Always hold them downwards, like-” Rinona reached for the dagger.

“Like how?” Zevran asked, holding the daggers higher.

“I was gonna show you!” Rinona protested.

“We hold them downwards with the tip pointing to the ground,” Astolfo recited.

“Very good,” Zevran said.

He hesitated for the fraction of a second before lowering the daggers. The twins went to grab them, but again, he pulled them away.

“You will also not let your sister have them.”

“Yes, papá,” Rinona groaned while Astolfo nodded so vigorously his head looked like it was about to fall off.

Once again, the daggers were lowered.

Astala only just managed to bite back a laugh when they were pulled away again.

“You know, I don’t think-”

“Papá, you always do this!” Rinona said. “It’s not funny!”

“We will be so careful!” Astolfo added and looked at his father with the biggest pleading eyes he could manage.

Rinona meanwhile was far from done. “You said you got your first dagger when you were seven, and we are already eight, you never let us touch any weapons and you never let us out at night even when all the other kids are outside and you never-”

“Eidala won’t even see them,” Astolfo begged. “We will hide them whenever she’s there and will only use them where you can see us and-”

Zevran looked positively cornered and like he was about to curse. Instead, he exhaled sharply and pressed the daggers into his childrens’ hands. Quickly. Almost as if he wanted to get it over with before he changed his mind yet again. The twins immediately stopped talking, stared at the daggers, then at each other and ran off, not without a victorious whoop and a thank you, but fast enough that their father would first have to catch them to retrieve the daggers again. Careful indeed. Ah, these two! Astala looked after them and still had a smile on her face when she turned towards her husband. Judging from the expression on his face, Zevran was now definitely doubting the wisdom of his decision.

Astala sidled up to him and followed his gaze out of the kitchen door. Rinona and Astolfo were long gone.

“What’re you thinking about, love?”

Zevran sighed and threw her a quick glance.

“Nothing joyful, I’m afraid.”

“Hmm.” Astala took her husband’s hand and started drawing her thumb in slow lines across its back. “You do have a look on your face, yes.”

Zevran let out an almost amused huff. His eyes, however, were still lingering on the corner around which the twins had disappeared.

Astala kept drawing soothing lines into the back of Zevran’s hand and leaned against the table. It was a beautiful morning. The early spring sun, which surprised her every year anew with how much stronger it was here than in Ferelden, painted the dancing shadows of the garden’s trees onto cupboards and walls. Somewhere out there, a bird was singing. It smelled of wet grass, warm bread from the breakfast still sitting on the table, and if the wind blew just right, she could smell the faint scent of blooming peach trees. Astala closed her eyes and let the sun warm her skin.

Suddenly, Zevran let go of her hand and marched out of the kitchen. His steps sounded almost angry.

“Love?” Astala called after him.

“I will tell Virel to keep an eye on them,” Zevran called back from the hallway.

Astala clicked her tongue, grabbed her cane and followed him. “Virel’s not here. He stayed at a friend’s house, remember?”

“Perinella, then,” Zevran said. “Or Carlo.”

“Zev.”

Zevran stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to her. There was a stubborn determination on his face. Behind that hid a storm of emotions.

Astala approached him and tilted her head up to look at him.

“What’s troubling you so, my love?”

Zevran exhaled sharply and his shoulders dropped. “Those are my oldest daggers, blunt as a stone, and they could still loose an eye. Or there might be a residue of poison on the blades. Or they might trip and impale themselves. All of these are very painful, very gruesome ways to go.”

“I can only imagine,” Astala nodded.

“Then why did I let them have these daggers?”

“That’s not a question I can answer, love,” Astala said with an apologetic shrug. Then she bit back a smile as a thought occurred to her. “Was it maybe because Astolfo made big eyes at you?”

“Che occhi grandi!” Zevran leaned against the stairs’ railing and pressed his fingers over his eyes. “He has that from you.”

“Me?” Astala looked at him in surprise. “You’ve always said Rinona was the one who took after me.”

“She has your righteous anger, no doubt about that,” Zevran said. “But I am the one who argues you into something like she just tried to do. The big eyes? That is your strategy, amore mio.”

Astala laughed quietly. “Well, he certainly has figured out how weak you are to them.”

“Weak! Defeated, more like. Defenseless even!” Zevran pushed himself away from the railing and started pacing the one stair he was standing on. “There is nothing, not a thing, I can do against those eyes! They confuse me, amore! Am I too soft for giving in? Am I spoiling them? Am I being too restrictive for not allowing weapons, am I neglectful for letting my children play with daggers?”

“When you put it like this…” Astala said. “But what else are you supposed to do? Wait until they steal them because you won’t give them freely?”

“A thief I had to be to raise a band of smaller thieves. The whores made it look so easy.” Zevran sighed and underlined his words with forceful gestures. “Make the children work so they are busy and cannot get into trouble. If they don’t work, they get a beating for dinner and another one on top if they cry. Every now and then you indulge yourself and dote on your favorites, and if anyone got sick or was making a fuss, you gave them something to put them to sleep.”

Astala raised her eyebrows. She’d guessed growing up in a brothel hadn’t exactly been rosy, but Zevran had never summarized it so succinctly and yet with so much detail. Suddenly, him agonizing over his children made much more sense.

“That’s some fine parenting,” she finally muttered.

“Indeed!” Zevran nodded emphatically. “I promised myself if I ever had children, I would do none of those things. And now I am giving them daggers to play with!” He slumped down on the stairs and stared into the hallway, shaking his head at himself in utter disbelief. “Andraste benedetta, what am I doing?”

“Having a minor crisis.” Astala slowly ascended the stairs and sat down next to him, one arm on his back. “Want to know what I think, love?”

“That I’m being ridiculous?” he asked miserably.

“No, not that.” Astala wrapped her arm all the way around his waist and drew him closer. “I think you’re an amazing father.”

“Am I, now?”

“Yes. And that sarcasm won’t help you,” Astala said. “You really are the best father I could wish for my children. Remember arl Eamon? Remember Howe, Loghain and Flemeth?”

Zevran let out a huff of air, evidently not convinced.

“Think of… think of the Maker,” Astala said. “Think of my own father. Andraste knows I love him and he’s been a great father, but I told you what happened after my mother died.”

“That is not the point.” Zevran shook his head. “I don’t know how this works. What is the point of trying if I don’t know how to do right by them?”

Astala looked at him, at the frown on his handsome face, and rested her chin on her hand. What was the point in trying when one didn’t know how to do right by someone?

“Love, I don’t know how to raise these children either,” she finally said gently. “I’ve never had kids before. Would you say I’m doing alright?” She smiled slightly to herself. “Despite the fact that I lost Eidela on the market yesterday?”

Zevran abruptly lifted his head. “I thought she ran away.”

“She did, but I didn’t notice and then got too focused on my errands,” Astala said. “Listen, love: I see how much you care about our kids. And how hard you try to keep them safe while allowing them the freedom to grow and learn and become their own person. And you know them. You know if you can trust Rinona and Astolfo with blunt daggers.”

“Do I really?” Zevran said quietly. “Accidents happen.”

“Accidents can always happen,” Astala hummed in agreement. “Doesn’t mean they will.”

She brushed a strand of hair out of Zevran’s face and then let her hand rest on his cheek. “We can’t keep them away from weapons forever, love. Not with lives like ours.”

Zevran nodded and heaved a big sigh. “Maybe it is time to train them.”

“With daggers?” Astala asked.

“Whatever they will have.”

Astala gave the idea a moment of consideration.

“It might help lessen their fascination with sharp things,” she mused. “And they’ll know how to handle them.”

“Agreed, then?” Zevran asked.

Astala nodded. “Yes. Yes, I think we should do that.”

Zevran let his head drop against Astala’s shoulder and heaved another heavy sigh. A few strands of hair were tickling the skin of her cheek that had not been scorched by the archdemon, and Astala lifted a hand to comb them away. When Zevran leaned heavier on her and hummed in approval, she dug her fingers into his hair, which had grown wonderfully long, and gently combed them through his golden strands. There were a few white hairs on his head. At some point, he'd be crowned with silver, and he'd look damn good in it.

They sat on the stairs for a while, enjoying the silence and each other’s company. From time to time, Astala could hear a muffled shout or laughter coming from the garden. From the way Zevran’s ear twitched, he could hear them too. The twins were probably breaking one rule or another already. Yes, some training would do them good.

“You know what I heard the other day?” Zevran said.

Astala brushed out a stray knot in his hair. “Something interesting?”

“Something very interesting,” Zevran answered, a grin climbing onto his face. “Did you notice how handsomely our son was dressed yesterday when he left for this friend’s house?”

“Virel? He was,” Astala answered.

“And you are sure he was going to a friend’s house?”

“That’s what he told me,” Astala said and frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“Because what I have heard, my Warden, gives me reason to believe he went somewhere else entirely.” Zevran lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “I have heard, from donna Irina at the docks, that she saw him with another young person the other day, hand in hand, strolling along the beach at dawn. Now I think the beach is a fine location for a date, but the hour-”

“Zevran!” Astala looked at him, wide-eyed. “Virel has a someone he fancies? Who?”

“Ah, if only I knew,” Zevran said and stood up from the stairs. He offered her a hand and pulled her up. “Alas, donna Irina’s eyesight is not as sharp as yours or mine, amore.”

“But-” Astala interrupted herself. “Can we ask him who it is?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so,” Zevran said. “As strong as our curiosity is, we would be well advised to let Virel pursue whoever he is pursuing in peace.”

Astala looked at him with the biggest eyes she could muster.

“Oh no,” Zevran said. “Do not even try it.”

“Zevraaaaaaan,” Astala pouted.

“No, no, no. I will not fall for this twice in a day,” Zevran answered and walked past her as Astala descended into giggles.

They made their way into the kitchen, where the remnants of their breakfast still laid splayed out of the table.

“Exciting bit of news, don’t you think?” Zevran asked with a big grin.

“You don't know half of it. If only we had more information…” Astala cast a glance up the stair. “You think Perinella knows something?”

“With all the hours she spends studying?” Zevran shook his head. “Not likely.”

“But maybe-”

“MOOOOOOOM!”

The mighty shout of the six-year old made Zevran jump and bolt out into the garden. Astala followed as fast as she could. Outside, the sun was still shining, the birds were still singing, and in the middle of the green stood her three youngest.

They looked… fine?

Astala slowed her steps. Astolfo was carefully backing away from his sisters, eyes wide, both daggers behind his back, while Rinona desperately tried to get Eidela to shut up. Above them, on the first floor, the window to Perinella’s room fell shut with a loud bang. Eidela kept shouting, her arms crossed and a very determinate look on her face, and then she saw her.

“Moooooooom, Astolfo and Rinona won’t let me play with them!”

“You can play with us later!” Rinona shrieked.

Zevran was heavily leaning against on of the columns that supported the balcony on the first floor. Astolfo quietly creeped over.

“She’s not seen the daggers,” he whispered over his sister’s shouting.

“Well done,” Zevran said weakly. “I need to sit down.”

“I’ll take care of this,” Astala said as she passed the two of them by. “Good job on keeping your promise.”

Astolfo raised his chin, looking mighty proud of himself. Now if that wasn't a gesture unique to Zevran... Astala threw a questioning glance at her husband, who’d sat down on the bench under the balcony. He returned the look with a deep sigh and a helpless shake of his head. The sight made Astala break out into a smile as she turned towards her daughters.

Maker preserve her family. She loved them all very much.

*

I am quite happy with this one, actually XD XD XD Lighthearted stuff is somehow harder for me to write than the serious stuff, but I think this did the trick! In case anyone wants a quick rundown of Zev and Astala’s children, there’s:

Virel, former Crow recruit, who snuck into Zev’s house and wouldn’t leave until they rescued his younger sister,

Perinella, said younger sister, who is a mage and had been abducted by a Crow to be a part of that Crow’s own mage entourage,

Carlo, sometimes Carlito, a street kid who doesn’t talk but has the most brilliant smile and who I will be eternally sad I didn’t get to feature more extensively in this story

Rinona, twin sister to Astolfo, with a big personality and a very, very strong will,

Astolfo, twin brother to Rinona, who is quiet, sly and the responsible one,

and Eidela, the youngest and coincidentially the one I know least about. I do know she seems calmer and more level-headed than Rinona, but her will is just as strong as that of her older sister.

Then there are Zevran’s ex-Crow associates, who are almost family, and I’m constantly considering the idea of having somebody from Amaranthine join the band as well. But, in order to keep the story manageable, they couldn’t make it into this story. I hope you enjoyed it and enjoyed this 5th day of ZevWarden Week as well!

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevwarden #fanfic #promises #zevran x f!warden #zevran x tabris #dad zevran #children #past abuse #fluff #minor angst #astala tabris #zevran #dao #dragon age #my writings

[juneondraws]

"It is a warm place, not cold and harsh like this Ferelden. In Antiva it rains often, but the flowers are always in bloom..."

ZevWarden Week 2022 Day 7 - Seasons

Hi guys, i wish i could also participate for the the other days but life happened. Anyways, here's my mahariel and zevran enjoying a spring day in Antiva, wind on their hair and scents of flowers in the air.

@zevraholics 

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevran #zevran arainai #zevran x warden #zevran x mahariel #dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age fanart #art #myart #oc:marevas

[m-m-m-myysurana]

ZevWarden Week 2022

Death | Alternate Universe

What if Neria committed the ultimate sacrifice...

I hurt myself by combining these two prompts into one with a deadly amount of angst. So now you all have to suffer with me. There’s another version under the cut (tw blood), and a little fic to go along with it. Enjoy?

Words: 1330 | Rating: M | f!Surana/Zevran  Warnings: Character death, blood, grief.

Zevran stood at the top of the tower, heart pounding and legs trembling. 

He'd held the gate. He'd obeyed his commander's order, even as it had torn him in two. He'd stood his ground, right up until he'd heard it. An explosion from the tower. 

An explosion where Neria was. 

Zevran had hesitated only a moment, long enough for Sten to meet his eyes and nod. 

Then he'd run. 

Alone he'd run hellbent through the city, taking to the rooftops to avoid the worst of the fighting. The tower was a different story. He couldn't climb it, not if he wanted to be able to use his arms ever again. He'd had no choice but to fight his way up. 

Now that he was standing at the top, staring out across the blackened and bloodied mass of bodies, flames rising from all sides, his own battle was a blur in the back of his mind. He had no memory of how he made it up, he only knew one thing. 

He had to find her. 

Across the tower he spotted a familiar figure screaming something. Alistair wobbled on his feet, and then Zevran was running again. 

As he got closer, Alistair screamed it again. Zevran heard the word this time. But his mind refused to accept it. 

He watched as if in slow motion as Alistair sat in front of what could only have been the corpse of the Archdemon, head sinking into his hands. They'd done it. She'd done it… But that meant…

Zevran's feet stopped working and he skidded to a halt. It couldn't be... she couldn't be…. She'd promised!

He took a few clumsy, shaking steps forward, ears ringing louder the closer he got. There, behind the head of the dragon. Her sword, covered in something black and oozing. And next to it, her hand. Still. Lifeless. 

No. 

No, no, no, no. 

Zevran's legs abruptly gave way and he fell to his knees. The sharp pain that should have come never did. His entire body felt numb and cold despite the fires that spewed ash and smoke into the air around him. 

He crawled the rest of the way. Every breath he took a knife to the lungs.

She was staring up at the sky, eyes unseeing, snow and ash mingling with the blood that had run down the side of her face. 

Zevran scrambled the rest of the way over to her, panic taking over as he reached for her shoulders and shook her hard. 

"Wake up," he tried to say, his voice breaking so that it came out as no more than a whisper. "Amore… Neria, please." 

Those blind eyes simply stared at him in response, and the ringing in his ears became louder and louder.

Instinctively he reached out and closed her eyes for her, then immediately regretted it as he realised that she would never open them again. 

Suddenly it all caught up with him, and he couldn't bear it. He curled in on himself and clutched her to him, pressing his forehead to hers. Still warm, but so still.

He stayed like that with her for maker knows how long. Long enough that all his muscles began to ache and cramp. His throat and lungs burned. He must have been screaming, but he didn't remember. He didn't remember anything. He felt as though he'd died with her.

At some point Alistair rested a hand on his shoulder and said something, but Zevran didn't reply. He didn't even hear it. Words meant nothing to him now. 

What is there left to say when your heart has been torn from your chest, and your soul along with it. 

The next few days passed in a dark haze. They buried her with little ceremony, Alistair insisted on allowing only her companions to be present. It didn't stop the rest of them from bothering him at every waking moment. 

They promised him she would be remembered. A memorial, they said. A statue three times life size. The finest marble they said. It didn't mean shit to him. It wouldn't bring her back. 

He spent days in his room in the keep after that. No one came to kick him out as he expected, and no one protested when he stumbled out to find something to eat.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?"

Alistair stood in his path, blocking the way between the bedroom and the kitchen. How long had he been waiting for him to emerge?

Zevran hadn't actually considered leaving. He had barely even considered the next few hours of his day. But the suggestion made sense. He had never been able to stand Ferelden, and now there was no reason for him to stay in the forsaken country. 

Zevran didn't look up at the warden, he simply nodded.

"Where will you go?"

Zevran sighed. Why must the man prod him so? 

"Back to Antiva, I suppose," he said finally, his voice rough from disuse. "There are people there that have an appointment with my blade." 

Alistair bent to force Zevran to meet his eyes, and frowned. He had no idea what he saw. A dark eyed mess, he expected. He hadn't looked in a mirror for days. 

"I suppose that's one way to distract yourself," the warden said finally. 

Zevran just nodded again, then turned to leave. Alistair's hand heavy on his shoulder stopped him. 

"Don't get yourself killed," he said. "She wouldn't want that." 

"How do you know what she'd want?" Zevran spat, turning to look the man in the eyes for the first time. "How can you speak for her?"

"I, I can't," Alistair stumbled, "I just meant… because she loves-"

"She's dead, Alistair!" Zevran yelled, and watched as the warden flinched away from him. "She can't love anything. She's dead!" 

He froze, and for a moment he and Alistair just stared at each other.  

That was the first time he'd ever said it. To himself or anyone else. 

Until now he'd been in some sort of limbo. Some grey in between where if he could just not think about anything, not say anything, not even look at anyone, maybe he could pretend that it hadn't happened. That she was just away for a while. 

But she wasn't coming back. 

Zevran's vision blurred for some reason, and he slowly lowered his eyes. It wasn't until the first, big droplet crashed to the floor that he realised he was crying.

"She's dead," he whispered brokenly. "And it's my fault." 

He was crushed suddenly, and the air was forced out of his lungs. Alistair's arms wrapped around him, too tight. And yet not tight enough. Zevran reached up and gripped a handful of the man's shirt in each one of his fists, holding on as if his life depended on it. And perhaps it did. 

He cried into Alistair's shoulder, great, wracking sobs that shook the both of them. The warden didn't say anything, only held him together. If it weren't for that solid weight, Zevran could have sworn he'd have torn himself in two. 

When he'd finally run out of tears, he released Alistair's poor shirt and stepped back. 

"I apologise," he murmured. 

"Zev," Alistair said with a shake of his head. "We're friends, right?"

Zevran nodded slowly. 

"You never have to apologise to me."

Zevran sighed, and stared down at his feet for a long moment. With nothing left to say, he turned and began walking back to his room. He would leave tonight. There was no point in delaying. 

Alistair seemed to sense his resolve. "Perhaps I shall come visit you some time," he said to his retreating back. 

Zevran turned and managed one weak smile. Neria had been the glue that held them together once. Now she was gone, but Zevran knew that he now had friends that he could never truly abandon. They wouldn't let him.

"I think I should like that."

#zevwarden week 2022 #death #alternate universes #dragon age fan art #ultimate sacrifice #please don't hate me #this is absolutely not canon I promise! #akjfhajkdghkagd #Ok I'm going to go cry for a bit now #tw: blood #my art

[periwinkle-warden]

Zevwarden Week 2022 Day 2: Gold

Zevran x male Surana

@zevraholics

Eirian sat in his lover's lap, gazing into his eyes. A blissful, sleepy smile on his face, his eyes just a bit foggy.

The liquor was getting to him.

"Enjoying the view, querido?"

Zevran leaned in to kiss his mage, the taste of peach brandy still fresh on their tongues.

He giggled in delight, nuzzling Zevran and leaning up to kiss his ear, the one pierced with his favorite earring.

"You're made of gold." He whispered, fondness in his voice.

"Am I now?" He quirked an eyebrow, lazily tracing a finger along the tattoos on the Warden's face.

"You are! Your hair, your eyes, your jewelry," he gently rested his head on Zevran's chest "and your heart…"

Zevran stiffened, going quiet for a moment before letting out a laugh.

"Are you usually so saccharine when drunk?"

Eirian didn't answer, already asleep on the other elf's chest.

#zevwarden week 2022 #fanfic #zevran x m!warden #gold #zevran arainai #zevwarden #eirian surana #not too happy with this cuz i had more elaborate stuff in mind that i couldn't execute properly or finish in time #this was originally going to be about Zevran stealing Eirian's phylactery for him

[snarky-bee]

Zevwarden Week Day 1: Culture Shock “I never thought I would miss the endless sea of grey skies as much as I do right now,” Zevran said, staring ahead into a pool of lava. Kallian’s face was ashen, she took deep gasping breaths hoping to hold onto her stomach’s contents. With hands braced on the railing of the fence she closed her eyes and hung her head. “Need… fresh air.” “Well I suppose we could always walk all the way back down those many stairs, and then through the long corridor and up the stairs to make it out of Orzammar. If you are feeling up to it.” She couldn’t see his face but she could tell he sported a shit-eating grin from the way he said the words. Her stomach rolled and she swallowed roughly. Then forced herself to turn and look at him. “Fuck off,” she rasped. He laughed, throwing his head back enough that the orange glow of lava reflected like a sunset on his golden hair. “How come you’re not as sick as I am? You had the same ale,” she accused. “Because, my dear warden, I stopped drinking much earlier while you insisted on playing that drinking game you were doomed to lose. One of us has to be sober enough to watch out for the assassins that apparently run all over these streets.” Feeling like her stomach had stopped churning, Kallian turned around and slid down the fence until she was sitting on the ground. “You should feel right at home then.” “Funny you should say that,” Zevran said, joining her in sitting, “I had thought Ferelden was the strangest land I encountered. But Orzammar is both very similar to and very different from Antiva. For one, I am not used to being so tall.” Kallian snorted a small laugh, and allowed herself to lean on Zev’s shoulder. “I miss the sky too,” she said softly. “I can’t ever tell what time it is. And the fucking rivers are made of lava.” “It is funny that. I keep thinking, ah yes it must be the middle of the night. And then I look up and see nothing but stone!” He shook his head. “I rather thought I would never miss camping but now, here I am, in a proper city, and I find myself missing the night sky.” “And I’m gonna-” Kallian abruptly stumbled trying to get up. What she managed was to crawl a couple paces away and found a random pot to throw up in. With sweat dotting her forehead she sat back against the wall. “I swear… I can hold my liquor… normally.” “Dwarven ale does not even taste good enough to be worth drinking so much to get this sick. At least if you come to Antiva I can show you the kind of wine her vineyards produce, with grapes so sweet.” “You want me to come to Antiva?” Kallian latched onto that one sentence. “When this is all… over.” Zevran caught her eyes, this time looking strangely shy for someone normally so boisterous. “I suppose, ye, I do want that. If you are of a mind. I think you would greatly enjoy the views of sunsets on the rooftop.”

#zevwarden week 2022 #zevran arainai #zevran x tabris #zevran x f!tabris #kallian tabris #zevlian #snarky writing #culture shock #zevwarden

[wild-houseplant]

ZevWarden Week 2022- Day 1

I can’t believe it’s that time again! Thanks again to the amazing Zevraholics mods (and volunteers) who put this amazing event together <3 Day 1: Culture- Cultural exchange. In which Zevran and Rhodri attempt to touch on cultural differences regarding honeymooning. Rated T because it’s laden with raunchy innuendo but nothing actually happens. Link to the AO3 here if you fancy language notes. Otherwise the story is here with the rest under the cut :D :D Happy ZevWarden Week to us all!

§

“Mm?”

Zevran looked over at Rhodri. Her arm was half-extended toward his shoulder, hovering in mid-air, and she was watching him with a careful, neutral expression.

He smiled. “Oh, I think we can do even better than that, don’t you think?”

“... Better?” she echoed blankly. “How–?”

“I’m glad you asked!” With a little strategic shuffling, his own spot beside Rhodri on the lounge had been abandoned in favour of her lap.

Rhodri grinned and put her book down, wrapping her arms around him. “You’re right, you know,” she murmured warmly. “Brilliant idea on your part, dulcis.”

“Oh, I know, believe me.” He let out a luxuriant sigh and curled into her embrace. “Wasn’t it a stroke of genius on my part, my love, suggesting we take a honeymoon?”

Her chest rumbled in his ear as she hummed in agreement.

Zevran chuckled. “Truly, I am still shocked your countrymen do not believe in them. Of all the people not to have one…”

“Mmm, so am I. You’d think the workshy Tevinter Altus would leap at the chance for a getaway, wouldn't you, even if nobody really cares much about marriages. Though…” she frowned softly. “Does this count as a honeymoon?”

“Hmm? Why would it not?”

“Well, we’ve been married for years now, haven’t we? Isn’t it a bit late for one?”

He kneaded her waist with his fingers. “Is there a deadline for taking a honeymoon, my love?”

She shrugged. “There might be? But maybe Tevinters just don’t know the real reason Antivans do that sort of thing. You know, not having it ourselves. We think we know, but perhaps we’re just living off a popular rumour at this point.”

Zevran bit his lip. “Well, now. I would be very interested to know what rumour Tevinters have subscribed to on this matter.”

His wife eyed him archly. “I think you know perfectly well what that rumour is, dulcis.” 

“Do I, though?” He gave a flourished one-handed shrug. “I am no mind reader. How can I be sure unless you tell me what it is?”

Rhodri tsked playfully. “My stars, but you’re brazen this evening! All right, all right… as I understood it, the married couple uses the short period after the wedding to… well, spend time together alone.”

“Mmm…” Zevran hooked a finger under Rhodri’s jaw and guided her head until her ear was by his mouth. “And what is it they get up to alone, hmm?”

“Aeya-a-a-a… truly?” 

He pressed a kiss on the soft spot under her earlobe and was rewarded with the sound of her swallowing thickly. “Mmm, truly,” he purred. “Don’t spare the details, my love. We are sharing our cultures, and I intend to fully integrate into my new homeland.”

After a short sequence of laughingly exasperated sighs, Rhodri’s arms curled in to bring him firmly up against her torso. She cleared her throat.

“As you wish. Well, they use that time to reveal things to each other, is the idea. Most people do these things, but even so, the individual usually considers them very private, very personal." Her voice dropped to a murmur, "And very enjoyable, you understand.”

“I have an idea of what you might mean…” he took one of her hands and guided it onto his belt buckle. “But tell me a little more, just so I can be certain.”

Rhodri’s low chuckle was enough to prompt his hips to curl encouragingly into her hand. Her fingertips slipped far enough under his shirt to stroke the skin above his waistband. “They’re pastimes many think of constantly. Plays on their mind all day.”

“Mmm…”

She pressed him to her a little harder, coaxing a shudder out of him as she ghosted her mouth up his neck and along his jaw. “And it means a lot to them, sic?,” she whispered. “Brings them great pleasure, and it feels good to have someone to share it with. Lernis? Comprendis, mi Zevran?”

He sighed and nodded. “Sí, sí.”

“And so when they’re away from prying eyes for a few weeks, they can take the time to thoroughly divulge these things to each other.” She nipped his cheek, thumbing at his belt buckle. “Indulge themselves, indulge each other. Combine their passions, even.”

Zevran swallowed back a moan. “More.”

“More?” Rhodri husked. “What ‘more,’ hmm? Is it examples you want, my love? Of what they share? I can oblige there, let’s see… The first that comes to mind is warm-water fish.”

“Oh-h-h— eh?” He squinted at her. “Did I hear you correctly? Warm-water fish?”

She grinned, watching him like she had just swallowed a bowlful of explosives. “Oh, yes. You know we Vints love our tropical fish. We could spend all night showing our aquariums to the special people in our lives. And for the very close ones, we might even combine them to build one big aquarium.”

Her smile began to wobble. A soft wheeze leaked out of her and rapidly crescendoed into a loud, bell-clear laugh forceful enough to bounce him against her rib cage.

Zevran let out a long, loud groan. With two fingers, he took the hand that sat on his belt buckle and unceremoniously dropped it down by her side. 

A panting Rhodri wiped her eyes and pat his back. “Ah, dulcis. No good? You don’t want to go to some secluded, dark place with me and see my fish collection?” She sucked in her cheeks and puckered her lips at him, guffawing again as he rolled his eyes and– gently– pushed her face away.

He smiled in spite of himself, making sure to tut with enough force that she could hear it. “And you think me incorrigible.”

She beamed. “I do! Ah, Zev. Tesorus. Oh my word, I do love honeymoons. We should take one every year.”

Zevran chuckled. “If only, mi sol. Unfortunately, only one per marriage.”

“Ah? Truly?”

“Unless you wish to divorce and then remarry.”

She shuddered. “Certainly not. But that’s terrible logic! People celebrate their birthdays every year even though they were only born once.”

“Mmm… I suppose we need some sort of anniversary honeymoon, no?”

Rhodri eyed him hopefully. “... I don’t suppose that’s an Antivan custom, is it?”

“If it isn’t yet, I think it certainly should be.”

“Then it’s settled?”

He smiled and nodded. “It is. Well, my love, in case we are too late for a honeymoon: atiya aniversario.”

“Atiya aniversario,” she echoed through a smile before looking around. “Mm, no drinks to clink glasses with– ah, I know! If I could just borrow your head a moment…” 

Zevran blinked in astonishment as his wife took hold of his head and carefully bumped it against hers. “Ah… what was that about?”

She smiled like she had found the cure for the pox. “Well, our heads hold water, you see, around the brain. So knocking heads is like clinking two glasses together, don’t you think? Ah… Zev?” He heard her fingers rub intently against each other. “You… don’t think so?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Rhodri, you will recall that it’s custom to take a drink from the receptacle that was just clinked, yes? Where will we drink from, my love?” Zevran folded his arms and watched her expectantly. 

“Well, we… ah. Hmm.” She chewed her lip. “We could– no, that’s too violent… and cannibalistic… oh, dear…”

Zevran sighed a laugh and tapped her cheek. “Amore? I’ve no wish to be unadventurous on our honeymoon, my darling, but perhaps we could eschew the toasting and tropical fish and you could just… take me to bed?” He caught her eye and nodded emphatically at the enormous four-poster behind them. “Antivan style honeymoon, no?”

Rhodri followed his gaze to their bed and joined in with a round of her own fervent nodding. She shot out of the couch with him in her arms. 

“Praise be,” she burbled, “that topic was getting odd. Kick your shoes off and let's go. Maker bless Antiva...”

#ZevWarden Week 2022 #In which Rhodri is a horrible tease and positively exults in it #I love depicting her being a little shit #Zevran needs a turn to be the one sick of the other's antics #he really did just say 'please can we leave this topic and do it instead' #Rhodri Amell #Zevri #Zevran Arainai #Dragon Age: Origins

[demigoddessqueens]

wining and dining

Meant to post this yesterday but got a little busy. Day 7 of ZevWarden and dad it’s already over. Big thanks to @zevraholics for hosting this event.

Fic here

It had been five years since their adventure had ended, but there was still so many new aspects of life that Zevran got to explore with her. That is to say, some destinations were better than others.

Lounging along the shores of the beaches, the summer rays beat down furiously on the two of them as they sipped some frothy concoction of sorts along with the wine.

“Such a perfect spot, for a perfect woman. Wouldn’t you say, amore?”

She smiled to him, with a bit of a feigned expression.

“Anything is better than the time we took a winter holiday back in Ferelden. As I recall someone thought it a good idea to warm up with as little clothing as possible. And then hog my blankets!”

He placed his hand over his heart with a faux gasp.

“Is that such a way to tell the one who wanted to do something special for his third anniversary?”

She laughed as her foot flicked towards him, splashing droplets against the tanned and toned calves.

“Hhmm. Then make it up to me, my love. There’s always time to plan for a sixth one.”

His lips were on hers, tasting the salt air and the sweet spiced wine that flowed from her cup.

“Perhaps, a place more secluded, my love. Where not one can hear us as we indulge each other for hours.”

#dragon age #dragon age x reader #fanfic #writeblr #zevran x f!warden #zevwarden week #zevwarden week 2022 #warden dragon age #female warden #zevran ariani