#cold red light

[not-poignant]

Stuck on the Puzzle meant the world to me and it's still one of my favourite works of yours and probably fics EVER to this day, so it's super exciting to hear that there is a possibility of you revisiting Cullen and Bull in some way. It's a pairing with such a quiet tag that every possible new work by a great author feels like a celebration 😻💖

I actually have a whole fic idea and concept and title (Cold Red Light) and playlist for the other Bull/Cullen fic I want to write.

I would never rule that one out, every now and then I think about it and get really excited about it. It’s just that... it would be another like 250k fic and they can be hard to commit to in advance lmao. That’s like a long-term relationship.

Anyway, I don’t know how DA4 will influence that, I don’t think Cullen will be in it, and I do really love Dorian too, but as it stands, I do have a fic idea that’s been floating around for years now. But anyway, I can’t make any promises, but it’s definitely not something I’ve forgotten about, since I did a lot of work on it back in the day and it’s one of those mostly ‘ready to go’ stories. Plus it features a lot of tropes I like, including ‘damselled character being saved from forced prostitution.’

[i-pour-t]

[iamxlove]

IAMX SAN FRAN 2016

[not-poignant]

Would you ever write Dorian in a DA fic?

YES!

Aha, I’d really like to. I’ve been intimidated in the past because some of my fave authors have really great Dorian voices and I just don’t even want to try and fuck it up.

And then also like, no story idea featuring Dorian ever called me more loudly than Stuck on the Puzzle did (I did have other ideas, my first fic was meant to be a post-Trespasser abducted-by-Venatori Bull/Dorian recovery fic but a thousand other people wrote them and I got more interested in Bull/Cullen because people were sort of meeting my angsty fic needs in other arenas lol.) 

But if I ever get around to Cold Red Light, Dorian is slated to be an important part of the cast, and possibly part of a polyamorous relationship with Bull and Cullen (but I haven’t decided yet, or more properly, Dorian hasn’t agreed to it yet, because he thinks Cullen is pretty fucked up tbh).

(From this meme!)

[not-poignant]

on the topic of AUs... are you still going to write Cold Red Light after TGATNW? :D :D !!!

About a month ago I was like a solid ‘hell yeah’ - but since then I’ve come up with an idea for an original series featuring firebirds (and the angsty men who hatefuck each other while dealing with firebirds lol) and so now it’s more likely a precarious ‘I’d really like to but we’ll see.’

I also need to sit down and play some Dragon Age but there’s some issues with my computer not liking to without dying, which is something it only does for Bioware products and not for any of the other supercharged games I occasionally play.

But that makes research very hard.

[not-poignant]

I've just finished re-reading Stuck on the Puzzle and AHHH. Such a gorgeous, marvellous fic!!! Even through Cullen's POV, you show glimpses of Bull's feelings and thoughts incredibly well, but still - any chance of some Bull POV snippests? When Cullen proposes to him in ch1? When Bull accidentally calls him Kadan? The end of ch27? Any scene you particularly like? No worries if not, and THANK YOU for all your amazong stories. They give me life!♥

Hiya anon!

I have always been in two minds about sharing Bull’s perspective. (Though I’ve mostly leaned towards ‘no’ as well - which was a conscious decision I made before starting the story). It’s not that I don’t know what it is, it’s more that...for Cullen, there is a mercurial aspect of Bull that he never fully understands and I don’t want to give that to the reader and not give it to Cullen in the process.

It’s...hard to explain. Some of my stories I’m so happy to alternate viewpoints, but then others, I will stick really hard with one character, and I usually have like...reasons for doing that beyond just ‘I felt like it.’

In the case of Stuck on the Puzzle, and specifically Cullen as I write him, I like and appreciate his evolution from ‘character that tries to second and third guess every little thing about Bull and makes assumptions about what he’s thinking’ to ‘actually I can let this go and relax about it a bit because he’s a solid fellow and I’m in love with him.’ It doesn’t mean that Cullen isn’t still a tad neurotic about it, but yeah. So sadly the likelihood of sharing Bull perspective chapters is really minimal. Maybe one day once I’m done writing the pair entirely (which I’m not yet), and I can go back into it and do a character study of The Iron Bull.

I actually spent a lot of time in Bull’s character, because I had to know what Cullen didn’t, to make sure Bull was...following his own bliss / thoughts / ideals / making mistakes with Cullen at the same time. So I do know that Cullen sometimes really overestimates how much Bull is thinking about a thing, and sometimes really underestimates how much Bull is thinking about a thing, lol.

I also really like the reader being able to just imagine what Bull is thinking and feeling through his reactions. He has pretty strong, obvious reactions to being called Kadan (and then hearing that Cullen thinks it only means ‘comrade in arms’) and so on. I think for some folks, some of the fun of reading these kinds of stories is in letting your imagination fill in the gaps (it’s one of my favourite things to do, anyway).

But anyone else is welcome to write what they imagine for Bull! :D And it’s awesome that you’re invested in his thoughts and feelings so much too, he’s really such an interesting character <3 I’m so glad you enjoyed Stuck on the Puzzle!

[not-poignant]

ok, now I need Bull too :D C, K, O and W please!

For now, I’m only answering for Cold Red Light Bull if I have an idea of an answer, rather than saying ‘I don’t know’ a lot because I’m still figuring him out, heh. He’s proven...elusive.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically)

SotP Bull - People look at him, see his size, and sort of expect he’ll come a lot? But he always comes a little more than what people expect. Like, there’s usually too much for anyone to comfortably swallow down, unless they’re also Qunari. And even then, you know, Bull’s loads are...generous. Lol. And he’s a big fan of making other people absolutely filthy with it.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks) 

SotP Bull - This Bull had a huge preference for corporal punishment / impact play, even over sex sometimes, though he enjoys that too. Obviously size kink (I don’t think he’d enjoy interspecies sex as much if he didn’t, tbh, in this AU). There’d be others too. :D

CRL Bull - I think this Bull will be more into ropes, bondage and possibly obedience or D/s, but we’ll see.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

SotP Bull - He enjoys giving / receiving. He’s aware that most folks that he sleeps with can’t deep throat him properly or anything like that, but he certainly likes it when people are willing to try. His horn placement can sometimes affect the angles at which he can give oral, but he’s learned how to work with that, instead of against it.

CRL Bull - See above. :D

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

SotP Bull - Bull was never really one for any kind of pet play until he met Cullen. He knows a bit about it, and is familiar with the basics, but it was meeting Cullen that blew a previously unexplored kink wide open for him. Except he can’t rush it as much as he wants to, so you know, he’s taking that slow.

CRL Bull - This Bull is a little more cynical, since the events of Inquisition and Trespasser, and is going through a bit of a self-imposed dry spell. He’s had sex a few times, but given he’s on the road a lot, he’s finding it’s just not quite hitting the spot like it used to. It pisses him off, and he often wonders if it’s connected to him being Tal Vashoth. (It’s not, but, you know, he doesn’t know that yet).

[not-poignant]

F, H and S for Cullen please :D

You know, don’t hate me for this, but I’m actually going to answer for Cold Red Light Cullen instead of Stuck on the Puzzle Cullen, since I’m actually thinking of CRL Cullen a lot lately even though I haven’t started that story yet.

Actually no fuck it, I’ll answer for both :D (my headcanons change per story).

Mild spoilers for Cold Red Light.

F = Favourite Position

SotP Cullen - You know, probably the position of their last sex scene in the story which I’m pretty sure was Cullen sitting on Bull’s cock, but facing outwards. The lack of control in that position, especially with his legs spread, and being able to feel Bull’s arms around him, pretty much was perfect for him.

CRL Cullen - This Cullen has been taught to basically hate any position that leads to penetrative sex, so he mostly prefers on his knees, looking up, preferrably while his pimp isn’t in the same room. *coughs*

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

SotP Cullen - Carpet is darker than the drapes, as is typical for most blond men. He doesn’t manscape, but he values hygiene and he values keeping his beard closely trimmed. I’d say the first time Bull introduces him to the idea of trimming his pubic hair, he is both outraged and super into it provided Bull does it and Cullen doesn’t have to do it himself.

CRL Cullen - At the beginning of the story, he’ll probably be clean shaven, including his chest / pubic hair. By the end... I’d say he’ll mostly just enjoy having his body hair back and it being his choice. As above, carpet darker than the drapes, lol.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

SotP Cullen - It’s not bad, if he’s not coming out of or going into a withdrawal episode, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Bull’s stamina, which is honestly the way they both like it, lol. His pain threshold stamina is amazing.

CRL Cullen - *thinks* Simultaneously both good and bad. He can handle a lot of sex, but he mentally checks out really early, and in that sense, his emotional stamina is really low. In terms of how long he lasts, a long time, though not necessarily intentionally. As in SotP, I’m keeping the headcanon that lyrium use has messed with his ability to ejaculate in what he might consider a ‘timely’ manner.

From this kink meme.