#culavellan

[spacerschoicepropaganda]

that smirk

[chernychnyi]

culavellan sketch sheet for vic_toodles

[elfyroot]

FIVE FAVORITE CHAPTERS

I love these sorts of tags, thank you so much @virshiral 🌿💚

This is a great activity in procrastination (but I am currently working on chapter 3 of A Witness to My Crimes and chapter 69 of The Theory of Being, I promise.)

I am going to try and choose one chapter of a few different fics, which is a little difficult to narrow down on some more than others (looking at you, The Theory of Being).

From The Theory of Being, Chapter 8 (To Break Chains):

The song continued and began to crest. A buildup of emotion and sound at its peak. Wait, no. This wasn't right. This never happened. The song was new to her, one that never rang through the halls of the Forgotten.

I chose this chapter for my longfic because it was the scene that popped into my mind that sort of inspired the entire story.

I was driving down the road and a song (Theory of Being by Audiomachine) came up on my shuffle, and I had a daydream-y kind of moment with Fen'harel at a masquerade and the thought of 'what if Lavellan was a Forgotten One?'

So reaching that chapter and writing out that vision, it'll probably remain as one of my favorites.

Dragon Age - Explicit - Solas x Lavellan

From A Witness to My Crimes, Chapter 2 (Payback's a Bitch):

More flashes. Like an old film running off its tracks. Screaming. Riley yelling his name as she clawed at the ground. He never felt helpless before and he fucking hated it.

Granted there are only two chapters to choose from in regards to this one but c'est la vie.

I had been mulling around dabbling outside of the Dragon Age fandom for awhile, and had done some one-shots here and there but this one is turning out to be one of my favorites. The tone change in terms of what I am used to writing has been fun, leaning into a toxic dynamic and playing around there has been great.

I am really proud of how I meshed the past and present in this chapter, along with the fine line between intimacy and possession later on in the chapter.

The Boys - Explicit - Soldier Boy x Cataclysm

From One Nug Short of Sensible, Chapter 3 (A Nug Worth Keepin'):

Her palms felt cold against his clammy cheeks. All he could think was how pretty she was. A light, purposeful pat refocused him, bringing his attention back to her while a weak chuckle dropped from her lips, "You can tell me I'm pretty later. Can't check out on me now, cowboy. Gotta let me gloat about this later."

The first of my Rhela / Geldauran stories in a multi-chapter. There is something about these two that has captured my heart so so much. I am decidedly not normal about them in any way (gods, look at how much commissioned art they have now...) and had low key made me the 'cowboy person' in a few writing circles which is... endlessly hilarious to me for a variety of reasons.

I wanted their attraction to be instantaneous but both of them trying to ignore it for as long as they can. This story was meant to be a one-shot, turned into 3 chapters and is just about my god reincarnation modern AU Geldauran (as a Texan-style Sheriff) meeting his eventual Undersheriff and love of his life.

Dragon Age - Teen - Rhela Ghilain x Geldauran

From This Forgotten Binding, Chapter 8 (Banal'rasen or Mien'harel):

Hope that began to crawl underneath his skin. Hope that was broken, and bruised. Like a soldier who could only pull themselves forward with their fingers. Clawing at the dirt beneath them. But that hope was there, alive, and refusing to surrender to the idea that the course of his life was already decided.

I love this entire story for so many reasons and I truly wish I could share it with more people. It's from my first fandom event (summer DABB 2025!) and it was my first dive into a true AU.

Forgotten Gods, god reincarnations, modern Thedas (with magic!), museums, universities, archaeology, the works. It had so many things crammed into it and I am so immensely proud of it.

This chapter (much like my chapter chosen for The Theory of Being) contains the scene that sort of kicked off the entire idea. A walk through a museum of relics owned by the Forgotten Ones.

Dragon Age - Explicit - Solas/Fen'harel x Isathe/Aseradiva

From Mending Strings of Loss, Chapter 2 (Confronting Fears):

About ten minutes after their arrival, as Cullen was passing a message to a scout, his door swung open violently. Ellana standing in the doorway, both the Commander and the scout jumped at the noise. The Inquisitor pointed to the door, "Out, I need to speak with Commander Cullen alone." Maker's breath, she is still mad. She also had him cornered. The scout made a swift exit and every part of Cullen wished he could follow.

I chose this one as it appears to be the first one I finished for the Dragon Age fandom? It was a short, 2 chapter piece. Some of my early early work but I also love it as something to look back on and see how I have changed in terms of my story telling, and own writing ability.

It also isn't Solavellan, which is fun! And I truly enjoy torturing Cullen (affectionately).

Dragon Age - Mature - Cullen Rutherford x Inquisitor Lavellan

Tagging people I know have a few works they can choose from, and that I think would enjoy this?

@vanillastrange @theriothag @dayntee @fadetouchedlurker @iamsuperconfused @mishwanders @prettypavus @crittadownunder @magicalmysmalin @exia-1 + anyone I definitely forgot and wishes to do this. <3

Just tag me because I want to see them all. 🫠

[sacredembers]

Letter from the Front

[An official report from the Inquisition military front in Emprise du Lion arrives accompanied by a modest, nondescript letter, privately addressed, in the Commander’s handwriting]

My Dear Annan, Today marks the first chance I’ve found to sit and write to you like I promised. This letter comes later than I would have liked, but know that in that time you have never been far from my thoughts. They are a comfort to me, in a place where there is little other comfort to be found. Your last letter made me laugh. The drawings are very good, I keep them with me to look at when I could use something to lift my spirits. What can I say about Emprise du Lion? My report will have told you much already: it is cold, we struggle against the terrain and the unfavorable season as much as we do the Red Templars. The fighting is heavy, and the enemy is desperate, dug in but with nowhere to run. It will be a hard fight to win. And win we must. For now, I am safe and well. Our forces will prevail, and they say they will do it for their Inquisitor. Although I admit, I find myself smiling when I hear that, and they have no way of knowing why. They fight for a cause– a worthy one. And I believe in what we are doing, here and across Thedas, but it’s different this time. [There is a dot of ink where the pen rested thoughtfully]. I am different, because now I’m not just fighting for a cause. I’m fighting for the woman I love. For a future where this doesn’t have to happen anymore, all the absences and the waiting, catching each other in stolen hours and minutes between one crisis and the next. I'm not gifted with words like some are. Another man might court you with better grace. But if there is some virtue to be found within that flaw, it is that when I say that those moments sustain me, that the thought of you is my warmth and light in the long nights, you may trust that I mean it with all that I am. I won’t look too far ahead. It’s better to remain focused on what’s in front of you in a place like this. For now I keep your letter close, and trust that a day is coming when I will take you into my arms, and there will be nothing to hurry either of us away again. I trust in us. Until that day, I remain Faithfully Yours, Cullen

[the-greyest-warden]

Cullen Rutherford and Maevani Lavellan

I’m very pleased with this! Wanted to draw myself a new Icon since the one I had is now VERY old art.

[rogue-elf]

Its been too long since ive read a good long cullen fanfic please send me recs

And yes the hornier the better

[elellan]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 19/? Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age (Video Games) Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Female Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford

CHAPTER 19. THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED

"Commander, you were saying something?" If Josephine had already noticed something, Riwan couldn't tell: the Antivan Ambassador surely knew how to bluff. Nonetheless, she kept her eyes locked on the map of Thedas in front of her, biting her lips in order not to laugh. The war council that day was perhaps the most excruciating and absurd experience of her life: forty minutes had already passed and they had both clumsily acted as if nothing had happened between them and though she could sense an air of expectancy and amusement rising from Leliana’s part, she thought they were doing great. She had managed to cover her blushing cheeks soon enough after she saw him standing behind the table, but now she couldn't stop grinning. The Commander, on the other hand, looked like a marble statue, staring into his reports, unable to raise his gaze for more than a few seconds, if not to meet her eyes and then hastily avert his gaze while blushing uncontrollably. "...Commander?" Cullen snapped back to reality. He was staring straight in front of him, fixed on Riwan's smirk and gleaming eyes for at least the tenth time that day, though for all that Josephine could see he could as well be looking at the door behind her. "Ah-Yes, I was- I was talking about our successful- I mean-" "Cullen, you are allowed to breathe, you know that, right?", Leliana said. "Yes, thank you", he growled, "Our scouting expedition in Haven's ruins was successful, Inquisitor."

"The Inquisitor has come back from the Exalted Plains." "So I've heard." "They saw her wearing an elven armour, you might want to ask her if-" "Ask what? Me? Ask the Inquisitor something?!" "Yes, you always complain that the clothes from your clan were more comfortable than these ones..." "And have the Commander slain me because I do not wear our official armour?" "You are a Dalish just like her, I'm sure she'll listen to you." "Of course, as if the Inquisitor meddled with us..." "I just wanted- Look! There she is!" The two soldiers stared at the figure walking briskly through the barracks, directed to the archers' field. "Man, the archers surely are lucky." "Pfff. I really don't understand you, she just looks... Plain. Totally normal." "Plain? How could you say that she is plain? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror... knife-ear?" "Oh, easy there, orlesian scum." "Even if she were plain, last night, when she returned with her party, Kaara told me that she stopped at The Herald's Rest and offered a round to everyone inside!" "We should ask Kaara to put on those Dalish robes. See if they fit." "Ha! I bet five silvers that she can't even put one of her thighs inside them!" They burst out laughing. "Soldiers! It is sparring time, not chatting time!" They froze, looked at each other as their faces gradually turned white. It was the Commander. He got near them with a look on his face resembling that of a wild beast ready to strike its prey. "Ten laps of the field. Now!" "Ser, with our armour on, Ser?" "Yes, with your armour on! Go!" He crossed his arms and looked at the two poor sods who started to clumsily run around the field, causing a stir among the other soldiers. "Can I leave them to you for a minute?", he asked lieutenant La'Nen. "Of course, Commander. I'll keep them in check." "Thank you." He jogged towards the archers' field, headache pounding accordingly to his paces. He stopped for a brief second and looked at her from behind: she had a leather thick skin ornated with Dalish motives and leather gauntlets, her arms tense and muscles flexed in pulling the bowstring. Her hair was growing so long that she had started carrying it in a high ponytail whenever she practised. She was so focused that she barely heard him coming. "Have you come to distract my soldiers, Inquisitor?", he said in a low voice, flanking her with crossed arms and looking in the distance towards the dummy she was aiming at. "Fenedhis!" she yelled, as she released the bowstring and sent the arrow inches higher than its intended destination. "Have you come here to distract me?" She lowered her bow and looked at him. A smile immediately surfaced in her eyes and on the corners of her lips. "Perhaps...", he smirked in return. They stood awkwardly one beside the other. Many things that he wanted to say to her stirred inside his mind, but he felt not able at all to voice them. "You came back yesterday night and didn't even come to greet me..." "We stayed away for merely a week. Besides, if you stopped putting your soldiers guarding your tower and impeding me to enter..." He chuckled. "You're right... But you can- you can enter whenever you want. I mean-" She laughed, “I don’t believe you!”. Maker, he wanted to kiss her so badly. "You-you've finally found Dalish armour..." "Yes, the clan in the Dales was so kind as to giving several pieces of clothing to me. I paid them dearly. You should've seen Cassandra's look..." "I can imagine... It looks good on you." "I know", she teased him. Her ears looked even more pointed and long with her hair held back. "Stop it,” he said, averting his gaze from her smiling lips, though he couldn’t stop smiling himself, “will I- See you tonight?" "Yes, if you don't lock yourself up in your tower..." "I won't." "All right." "Goodbye then." "Goodbye." He stood there, unable to move. She moved her head questioningly, hair floating in the breeze, the smile still on her lips. "All right, I'll just- go" Her laughter rang behind him as he paced away. Maker, he felt so stupid.

CONTINUE ON AO3

[hopeandfirewrites]

day 04: kiss

30 DAY PROMPT CHALLENGE (DRAGON AGE). LIAWYN LAVELLAN//CULLEN RUTHERFORD. WORD COUNT: 2196. 

There was something calming about the meditative silence that hung over Skyhold’s gardens in the early hours of evening. Most of the pilgrims were attending the daily evening services at the Chantry. Proper members of the Inquisition had stumbled off in search of food or company. Liawyn’s companions and her advisors rarely looked for her there and, if she was careful, she could blend into the shadows and effectively find solitude for at least an hour or two. As the sun set in the sky, the shadows of the battlements stretched over the trees and grass and flowers, fading away nature’s colors until it was impossible to tell that they were even there.

Until it was impossible to tell that they were already fading away to begin with.

Liawyn pulled her knees into her chest, huddling further into a dark corner with a good view as she watched the doors to the Chantry. What must it be like, knowing the teachings of your religion instead of aimlessly chasing wisdom that had long since been lost? Was it easier? Would it be enough to ease her ever curious mind? Could the Maker bring color back into her world?

Or was she doomed watch what had once been brilliant fade until there was nothing left.

“Inquisitor-?”

It was a soft voice that rescued Liawyn from her thoughts, gentle and laden with concern. The Chantry service had ended and the gardens were silent. Cullen stood in front of her now and she was suddenly very aware of tears in her eyes. She chanced a look at him, terrified that the comforting brown of his eyes and brilliant gold of his hair had faded away as well but they were still there and so was he.

“What’re you doing here? I want to be alone.” She spoke into her knees, her voice muffled and heavy. She never had been very good at lying - she choked on ‘alone’ as it passed her lips, accompanying it with a barely concealed sob as she pulled her knees tighter into her chest.  

“Someone mentioned I might find you here,” Cullen replied. He tried very hard not to sound wounded, using the same tone of voice he did when they attended meetings with Leliana and Josephine instead of the more delicate tone he usually reserved for her. As he gestured to the open space next to her, Lia bit back her desire to apologize, “May I?”

“No.” She shook her head, but still made room for him to sit down next to her, moving back towards him once he’d settled down. He was warm and the fur at the top of his coat tickled her cheeks as she leaned against his shoulder. As their shoulders touched, she remembered the soft yellows of the sun in the Fade and the way those colors faded into pastel blues in the sky.

Thinking of the Fade only made it worse. Her heart clenched in her chest, threatening to stop entirely, and she set her hand down in the last bit of empty space between their thighs as a sort of emotional barrier. It wasn’t even because she didn’t want to be close to him but because her own naive openness had caused so much trouble in recent days.

“Cassandra mentioned you had some difficulty in the field.” He tentatively rested his hand over hers, looking back across the garden, “Do you-”

“I am the Inquisitor. I don’t have difficulty in the field. I’m not allowed such a luxury.” Liawyn spoke before he could finish his thought, with a very certain tone to her voice.

“Liawyn,” He laughed, forced and awkward, “No one’s here. Tell me what happened?”  

“I-”

I was disobeyed. I failed. I couldn’t stop pointless slaughter - of an innocent spirit or of innocently ignorant mages. No one deserved to die. If we had been there sooner, I could’ve stopped them from performing the summoning to begin with. If I had been there sooner, I could’ve helped and Solas wouldn’t-

“I didn’t stop Solas. I lost him.” She finally concluded.

“You lost Solas?”

“Not-” Liawyn shuffled, “Not properly. Not permanently. But he was so hurt and there was nothing I could do to stop him and he just- he killed them and left. He’s back but- He just killed them, Cullen. He didn’t even give them a chance to redeem themselves. He killed them and I let him. What am I supposed to do now? I wouldn’t have let one of my soldiers get away with something like that and Solas- Solas knows I’m against senseless violence. But he-”

Cullen listened. He was good at listening. He took in the information she offered without correction or objection or unwanted input. When she stopped to wipe tears off her face, he didn’t offer a sarcastic remark or quip about how childish it was to cry. He remained steady through her rambling, fingers tightening around her hand just enough to remind her that he was there. And when she’d finished, he stayed quiet for a very long time, staring up towards the slowly darkening sky in contemplation.

If it was anyone else, it would’ve been uncomfortable, but with Cullen the silence was soft. A sort of gentle peacefulness to steady her racing thoughts. She was about to break down her boundaries, shift just a little closer and chance another small bit of intimacy, when turned to look down at her.

“Do you love him?”

Green erupted back into her world, so blindingly vivid that it made her stomach churn. It washed out everything in it’s path, even the soothing color of Cullen’s eyes as they stared hopelessly across the garden, leaving nothing but searing neon green in her vision. The color of the Rifts. The color of the Breach. Everything shimmered in that horrifying shade of green for what seemed like an eternity and Liawyn’s only anchor was the way Cullen’s hand turned to grasp hers more firmly when he realized she looked ill.

When the world was finally normal again, the proper meaning behind his words registered in her mind. He was frightened. To him, Solas must’ve seemed steady - available and free of complications. It probably seemed inevitable. He knew her language and her culture and his endless wisdom was a perfect match for her thirst for knowledge. And what did Cullen have to offer, especially when he had such a terribly negative view of himself to begin with. Especially when he couldn’t see how much of a comfort his presence was without it being spelled out for him.

“No.” She felt frantic, speaking with a firm certainty that might’ve seemed intimidating to someone who didn’t spend most of their time with her. If she did love Solas, it wasn’t in the way that Cullen feared. Admiration and attachment and something sort of platonic and hopeful, certainly, but love- the kind of love that Cullen meant- it wasn’t something she’d experienced before that day Cullen had kissed her on the battlements and set slowly fading world ablaze for just a little while longer. “No…”

“Could you-” He spoke with uncertainty now, quiet and embarrassed, like a little boy dancing around a taboo subject. As if to prolong the inevitable, he pulled her close and slowly wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin atop her head and exhaling softly. “I mean- Do you-”

Love you?

Yes.

“I-” She knew she was blushing, but she still wasn’t certain either of them could properly see the color - just a telltale darkening of her cheeks. To her, it would’ve been dull but the shades of red would’ve been there still. What would he see? They hadn’t really discussed it yet. It hadn’t ever been important.

They say only children and lovers can see every color.

“When I’m with you- when I think about you-” She struggled with the words, “I can still see yellow. Brown too, y’know? Always.”  

“Brown?”

“Your-” She made an uncomfortable, almost distressed sound, clinging to the back of his shirt, “Your eyes. They’re- They’re brown. And your hair. It’s yellow- Golden really. And no matter what- even right after Haven. Even- even when everything’s lost. I can still see see shades of brown and yellow.”

Cullen was quiet for a long moment, breathing steadily into her messy hair as he processed his thoughts. It must’ve been more personal for Fereldens. It was a common topic of discussion for Orlesians, she’d been told, and Leliana and Josephine had always been relatively forthcoming with what they could and couldn’t see. For the Dalish, it was tradition for your primary color to be represented in your vallaslin, and it was often mentioned but never a matter of consequence. But for Fereldens-

Even Sera had been relatively private about what shades she could see, in a way that was shockingly uncharacteristic of her.

“Blue.” He finally whispered, pulling her gently into his lap as the word escaped his lips. “It was…blue first. I saw it in your eyes, back in Haven, but I didn’t…know what color it was until- I saw the sky.” His hands slipped under the hem of her shirt, warm fingers pressing against her cold skin in an attempt to pull her even closer. “I haven’t seen colors since…sometime early in my Templar training but- When you are near I can- I see colors I don’t even remember the names for.”

Each word passed his lips with just a hint of uncertainty. He was speaking against her neck now instead of into her hair, his breath rolling along the length of her ear and pushing strands of hair out of it’s way. She could feel goosebumps rising along her arms and legs, but didn’t find the sensation uncomfortable. It was more of a tingling just under her skin - something she’d only felt when they were like this. Relaxing into his embrace, Liawyn rested her head against his shoulder, pressing a soft, encouraging kiss against his neck.

“Leliana’s hair and Varric’s shirt…they’re the same color.” He picked up again after a short pause, his body putting off more heat than usual. If he could see red, could he see the way her flush raced up to the tips of her ears? “Did you know-? At night, the sky it’s not black it’s this- deep blue and- I mean, you probably did know that and-” His words stumbled, focus roaming away from the conversation as it dawned on him exactly how close they were. “Grass and trees…I can see that now too. It’s everywhere…even…the mark on your hand…”

“That’s green-”

She closed her eyes tightly, afraid the color would envelope her world again as it had just moments ago. Instead, the hand that had been pressed against her back reached up to cradle her face and Cullen kissed her with with such intensity that it knocked the wind out of her. She moved like she’d been struck with a bolt of energy, fingers lacing together behind his neck as she pulled him closer in a motion that felt desperate and delighted and right. They stayed like that for a moment and the whole time Liawyn kept her eyes shut tight, but she knew if she opened them, color would bloom into the world.

Bright. Oversaturated. Delightful. Only to fade as quickly as it had come to the dull monotone she had to live with now.  

“It’s green-!” She tried to say when he pulled away for air, only to but cut off when he kissed her again, both of them laughing through the kiss now. She squealed softly in protest. What if someone saw? What if people started talking? He’d said he wanted to avoid something like that, but here he was kissing where anyone would see. She finally managed to catch his attention when he pulled back again, both of them breathing heavy puffs of air that streamed into the night.

“Come upstairs with me.” The words left her before she had a chance to think them through. Was it a question? It didn’t sound like one. Was it supposed to? She didn’t normally bark orders at him, but this didn’t seem like an order either.

“I thought we agreed-”

“I don’t care.” She whispered, breathless and desperate and burning for him. “If they wish to talk then let them talk. What business of theirs is it if we-” She blushed, gesturing instead of finishing her sentence. The gold in his hair seemed to shimmer like actual bars of metal. The soft almost auburn patches of fur in his cloak burning more brilliantly than any fire. “I don’t know much about politics and I don’t understand the reasons Orlesians gossip or why it’s bad that they do, but I can’t bare the thought of you leaving my side tonight.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. If this feeling, the way the world brightens when I’m with you, is love, then please…” Her face still burning red, Liawyn gently shifted so that she was straddling him, her warm core brushing against his as she eased all her weight down, “I want to drown in it.”