#cullinquisitor

[thegeminisage]

1. her hair is growing out 2. forehead to branded fucking forehead i made myself ILL (mod list)

[pb1138]

The Perfect Moment

A quick warning:  There are depictions of injuries, wounds, bruises. I also make mention to my Inquisitor’s backstory which includes slavery, but it’s not explicit. 

Anyways, a summary for this:  The Inquisitor is back after 2 months away, and Cullen has been considering proposing. Unfortunately for him, Jim fucks it all up. Again. It’s fluff, pure fluff. Fluffier than a bunny’s ass on Easter. 

This piece now has a short little sequel-ette (Cullen’s journal about asking her.) It was sent as an ask to my main tumblr, then I misunderstood what I was writing and ended up writing a piece for this story’s main story (Faded to be Together) that won’t be there for like. A longass time yet. But the actual diary piece won’t be included in the official story at all, I don’t think. So. Here. 

XXX

She’s in the bath. He can hear the gentle sloshing of the water as she adjusts herself, smells the gentility of the fragrances imbued in the soaps throughout the room. He pauses at the foot of the stairs, papers held between atypically gloved hands, and stuffs them back in his pouch. It is rare that they get to spend time alone together without the looming evidence of their positions, just as a man and woman in love. The proposal is always on his mind, a thousand fanciful plans involving romantic dinners, maybe a dance, maybe beside the lake where they’d once shared pieces of themselves, surrounded by her friends or alone, under the stars or upon a hill at dusk. Would it be tonight? He shook his head and smiled to himself. No, not yet.

He was about to address himself, maybe with a clearing of the throat or a soft, “My dear,” but instead thought against it. A gentle surprise, then. She had been away for nearly two months, travelling once again to the Western Approach to investigate rumors of breaches. Two months with nary more than a handful of letters—not that he considered her thoughtless or cruel. Quite the contrary, every letter sent was in fact several pages long, one even as long as 25 pages back to back, every inch filled with her words of love and longing for him, with tales of their adventures. He had hoped they might be allowed to spend more time together before she had been dragged into a meeting with Leliana, but as it was she was only allowed enough time to fling her arms around him and kiss him fervently—in front of his men, which had caused an uproarious chorus of “aww”s and whistling. He couldn’t be mad, though, as he’d kissed her back with just as much passion and fervor, held her so tightly he worried her tiny Elven body might actually snap in half in his arms.

But here they were. Finally alone, and finally at peace. He walked up the stairs to her quarters—their quarters, a change he’d once worried might have caused a stir in the ranks but which only seemed natural to everyone around them. A fire crackled in the fireplace, it’s gentle glow casting across the room, giving it a warmth that had been as absent as she. Her staff stood proudly against the wall behind the desk, her traveling cloak folded neatly over the back of the chair, boots sat lovingly against the wall. He smiled to himself, their battles over his excessive tidiness returning to his mind, this small gesture of cleanliness all the reassurance he needed that he was on her mind.

The tub sat near the flames, steam rising lazily off of it, her curled chestnut hair sitting over the side several inches longer than he remembered, a pointed ear decorated with nearly a dozen rings poking out amongst the spirals, one arm draped over the side of the tub closest to the fire. He set his things down on the couch near the staircase and crossed the room to her, steps muffled by the large rug. What was he going to do once he got there? Would he join her? Pull her from the water and ravish her? Sit beside her and listen to her lilting voice as she told him about her time away? He smiled to himself. Anything would suffice, so long as it was with her.

As he drew nearer the tub, he paused, the smile sliding off his face. When she’d come to see him earlier, she’d been fully dressed, all evidence of those two months hidden from him. He could see them now, however. She sat in the tub, her head against her shoulder, eyes  shut. Her face had been unchanged, that much he knew. Still scarred from her difficult life, vallaslin dancing across her cheeks like tree branches, lips still full. The only new thing had been a scar down a cheekbone, something he’d seen as they were parting ways that day, and that one small injury had been enough to boil his blood. But this?

She was thinner. That was to be expected, as nutritious food is difficult to find that far west. He’d anticipated it, had been prepared for it, and he’d felt it in their embrace. But the scars, the bruises. She’d had some from before—from her time in the Denerim alienage climbing the tree and getting into alleyway scraps, more than a handful from her brief time held as a slave by a Hightown nobleman, some from her time in the Kirkwall Gallows (one which he ruefully remembered turning a blind eye to as Knight Captain,) some from her time with Marethari’s clan then finally with Clan Lavellan. She’d told him stories of most of her more dramatic scars one night, as they lay together in bed, his chin resting on her bare stomach, his arms around her waist. She’d gathered a few more within her time as Inquisitor, as is obviously expected, but now posted along her skin like canon-wounds on a battle field stood shockingly dark bruises, some on the verge of healing. There were several stitched cuts along her leg, a barely-healed gash along her arm, frighteningly dark bruises along her ribs.

Tears prickled in his eyes as he took in the sight of her, this woman who had so easily captured his heart. Part of him panged with guilt as he recalled how tightly he’d held her earlier, though she had given no protestation.

He must have released a heavy breath because her ear twitched, and she bolted upright, covering herself, the Fade around them tensing with unbidden magic. She relaxed as quickly as she reacted, her expression softening as she realized who it was. She smiled brightly in such a way that caused his heart to ache, and she put her hand on the side of the tub. “Cullen.” His name comes from her lips like it has a thousand times before—welcoming, breezy, filled with warmth and familiarity. There must be something in his expression, because worry fills hers, and she rises from the tub with ease, an arm lazily across her chest in an attempt at needless modesty. She is reaching for a towel sat upon a chair near the fire, but before she can grab it, his arms are around her. One hand is pressing her head into his shoulder, his face buried in her hair, not caring that his tunic is getting wet. She squeaks with surprise but is quick to relax into his surprisingly gentle embrace. A soft laugh is evident in her voice. “I missed you, too,” she whispers.

He wanted to hold her tight, to crush her into him, but the fear of hurting her was too much. Instead, he pulled back, a hand going to gingerly cup her cheek, urging her to look up at him. He looked into her eyes, the same eyes he’d stared into for hours on hand, so gently warm and sweet like honey. They looked back at him with such emotion, such love. He looked down at her naked body, and another pang of guilt flashed across him. He bit the inside of his lip before looking back into her face. “You are injured.”

Realization hit her after a moment, and she rolled her eyes, a breathtaking grin stretching across her face. She waved her hand, stepping out of his arms to grab her towel and wrap it around her body. “It’s nothing. It looks much worse than it really is.”

Cullen frowned, watching her as she crossed the room to her dresser and begin rooting around for clothes. He couldn’t help but notice the small splotch of blood upon his shirt where her stitches had touched him. “How can you…” He sighed, shaking his head. He crossed over to her and dug in his own drawer before producing a tunic for her, one of her favorites owing to its large size. She watched him struggle for words as she slipped into it, sliding a pair of smallclothes up her legs after a moment. Finally, he sighed and took her hands in his, dragging her to the bed where he sat down. She stood before him a moment, eyes catching the light, setting them strangely aglow as she observed him. Cullen is a learned man, educated in many things, but verbosity is not his strong suit, a fact she was acutely aware of. She had learned quite early on to be patient with him, to allow him time to formulate his thoughts. Finally, after a long moment, he just hung his head, pressing his lips to the backs of her hands. “It worries me when you are so far away from me. You must promise me to endeavor to be more careful. I don’t know what I would do if…”

She shushed him, her hands moving to cup his cheeks, his own hands gently cupping her wrists. “Cullen, you mustn’t think like that.” She moved so she was straddling his hips, her weight and warmth surprising given her small stature. “I’m not going anywhere.” Another brilliant smile flashed in front of his eyes as she brushed a curl from his face. “You’d be positively lost without me.”

He snorted, arms moving to slip gently around her waist. “Who said anything about me? I’m only thinking of the good of Thedas.”

She laughed then, a surprisingly deep-bellied laugh given the weakness of his joke, but the sound was music to his ears even still. It filled the large room and washed across his body as comfortingly as the sound of the waves against the docks at Lake Calenhad. As the laughter settled in her, she ran a hand through his hair, her head tilted as she appreciated him, the smile softened on her features. After a long moment, she leaned down into him, her forehead pressed against his, eyes drifting shut as they shared their breath, their warmth. Painfully slowly, their lips finally found each other, the kiss sensual and unhurried despite the two months of anticipation.

This could be the perfect moment, he thought to himself. The ring was sitting in his drawer in the desk, hidden in the bottom between some old training reports. What words would he choose? “Marry me” seemed too rushed, too impetuous. Could he give a speech? Would she allow him the time to get the speech out? Would she even say yes? His inclination was to think that yes, she would. She’d given him no reason to doubt that her feelings for him were genuine, but perhaps…? No. That’s stupid. The woman in his arms is many things, but cruel is not one of them. She would never toy with anyone in such a manner, no matter what they may have done to her in the past.

A pang of guilt shot across him again as he thought back to those days. Part of him still couldn’t believe he’d been too hopped up on lyrium to truly notice her, to remember her again all these years later. True, she’d not had vallaslin in those days, and her hair had been kept different and dyed to black. But her laugh. It was a sound he was sure could pull him from the brink of death.

Bitterly he realized that nobody laughed in those days. Not in the Gallows. Not like that.

“Cullen?” His name was a whisper on her lips, the warmth of her hand pressed into his cheek again.

“Mm?” He blinked, suddenly back in the moment, back in their quarters, in their bed. Her expression was one of concern as she brushed her thumb across his skin, but he smiled gently at her, shaking his head. “I was just wandering.”

She scoffed, leaning back on his knees, arms folding across her chest. “Oh, I see how it is. Well in that case, I’ll—” she made a move to get off him, but shrieked as he suddenly lifted her up and tossed her back onto the bed. “Cease! Fiend! I require assistance!” she called lightheartedly, laughter rolling off of her as she playfully tried to scramble away from him.

He was laughing, too. He’d almost forgotten the feeling, the way his gut hardened and ached with the exertion. When she was gone, laughter like this was rare for him, though their friends did their best. The Iron Bull in particular was quite good at almost getting him to lose himself like this (no, not like this, per se, but like the weight of the world was no longer an issue,) though nothing compared to the way she eased him out of his shell.

Their laughter died down after Cullen crawled over her, the two of them panting softly, smiling gently at one another. She was a vision, her curls splayed about her head in a sort of halo, the darkness of it complimenting the tanness of her skin in such a way that she almost looked as though a wooden carving, flawless and beautiful, the scars upon her face no more than the passage of time. Her glowing  eyes looked up at him through thick lashes, a hand moving to slip beneath his tunic and caress the hair on his chest, her touch like electricity upon his skin.

No. This is the perfect moment. He smiled down at her then leaned down to catch her in a kiss, this one much deeper than the one before. It was an attempt to wordlessly convey the absolutely ineffable depth of his love for her, even though he knew such a feat could never be possible. Part of him hopes she understood that. The hand in his shirt grew more insistent, moving to urge him to push the shirt off, their breath quickening. Perhaps the moment can wait. He barely leaned up to pull the tunic off, the only time their lips parted was to allow the offending material to be ripped from his head where it was cast aside.

And a yelp from across the room drew their attention.

The heaviness of the fade was back, the electricity in the room at her command as the two of them turned to the intruder.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Cullen was filled with rage so strong he was surprised he didn’t burst into flame himself. “Jim. Get. Out.”

The squire stood there, gaping, stammering to find words, Cullen’s tunic in his hands, eyes flickering from the Inquisitor to Cullen to the ceiling to the floor.

Cullen threw himself off of the bed and rounded on Jim so fast the poor man barely had time to register the impending danger. He yelped again, throwing Cullen’s tunic to the floor as he turned tail and threw himself down the stairs, shouting apologies over his shoulder. Cullen slammed and barred the door behind him, fists clenched against the wood, breath ragged as he struggled to calm himself back down.

And then he heard her laughter, coming in bursting, erratic shrieks and gasps. Incredulously, Cullen poked his head up over the bannister as he made his way back into the room. “I fail to see what is so…”

She was practically rolling, doubled over, clutching her stomach as she fought to breathe. Tears were rolling down her cheeks with the force of her laughter, and upon seeing his shocked expression she shrieked again and laughed even harder, cheeks darkening with the effort.

Cullen stood there a moment longer before he, too, began laughing. He walked over to the edge of the bed and plopped down so their heads were at the same level. They laid like that for a long time, just waiting until the other settled down. At some point, they joined hands, and she pulled his into her chest, eyes drifting shut as she smiled. It didn’t take her long until she had fallen asleep, her breath becoming gentle and even. Cullen lay with her for a while, basking in her presence, a soft smile upon his face. After an hour or so had passed, he slipped out of her hold and crossed over to the desk. As quietly as he could, he dipped his hand into his drawer and pulled the ring out. Turning it about in his hands, he took in the delicate pearl that sat neatly upon the silver band, the softness of the jewel reminiscent of the warmth of her eyes. He looked over to her sleeping form, now stretched out, an arm to her side as though searching for him. He smiled to himself and leaned back in the chair, tucking the ring back into the desk.

There will be no perfect moment. Every moment with her is already as amazing as it could be. I’ll know when it’s time.

[thegeminisage]

(mod list)

time for a BIG evie update. we met maddox, went to the winter palace, and finally locked in the mf romance

on the subject of maddox:

(warning for very minor discussion of sexual assault for second to last paragraph of this section re: it being a common thing that happens to tranquil mages)

so obviously cullen and samson are meant to be foils (even though i think there's flaws with this) which accidentally makes maddox and evie foils by proxy. so evie watching maddox fucking kill himself right in front of her obviously upset her quite a bit. i think she and cullen had a huge fight about it actually that almost ended their relationship 🥰 

essentially cullen expresses surprise that samson was nice to maddox and that maddox was grateful about it firstly because he thinks samson has no soul (if the inquisitor suggests some of the samson he used to be might still be in there, cullen instantly rebuffs this suggestion with "or maybe he thought maddox would be a powerful tool, tranquil are great with enchantments etc" or some bs), BUT ALSO because he was sort of under the assumption that tranquil didn't like. experience pain. like if you kicked a tranquil in the head and they might politely ask you to not do that anymore because it was unpleasant but they're not gonna scream and cry about it

and i think when cullen was in kirkwall's circle and telling himself that he was the only sane man there because HE was being way nicer to all the mages than for example meredith, he would prioritize "protecting" mages who were not tranquil because the tranquil don't care if they're being abused! right? when in reality, they needed protection more than anyone. (let us never forget tranquil were canonically the easiest target for sexual abuse, and specific mages were canonically made tranquil because templars had fixated on them and wanted the opportunity to sexually assault them without repercussions. i'm not making this up THIS IS IN DRAGON AGE 2)

FURTHERMORE, i think cullen, who did vocally (and canonically) express support for the "tranquil solution," said all of that because he thought it was the kindest solution to an unfortunate problem? i'm not saying this in a "cullen did nothing wrong uwu" way i'm saying it in a "this guy's trauma response led him into a crazy fucked up belief system." like, in da2, he seemed outright bewildered that mages found it no better than execution. in his mind, yeah it sucks when you're about to be made tranquil, but AFTER you're made tranquil, you won't be upset about it because...you're tranquil. and you get to keep being alive and you get to be safe from demons and you get three hots and a cot and if you're maybe not as safe from templars, well, at least you won't be upset if they abuse you! 

in FACT, i also think actually wielding the brand is usually reserved for the highest-ranking templar in the tower, but sometimes meredith delegated because 1. she was grooming cullen to be like her 2. there were SO many made tranquil at her command 3. cullen himself would advocate, repeatedly, for making mages tranquil over killing them because he thought that made him The Good Guy (or like tranquility vs repeated instances of punishment for misbehavior - let's just make that problem go away!), so meredith figured he ought to get in on it. i don't think he would've branded maddox himself because meredith KNEW what things would be "too far" for him (such as lobotomizing a guy over a few love letters) and turned up the temp gradually like boiling a frog, but he has definitely branded his fair share of mages and felt like that was a nice thing he was doing for them. his delusions <3 

meanwhile evie who was tranquil for 10 years is like what do you MEAN they don't experience pain we obviously experience pain! what do you mean you advocated for tranquility! what do you mean you branded mages! and he's like whoa wait what babe we talked about this. we are both former evil people. you knew exactly what i was and what i've done and you still gave me the world's most awkward pep talk about moving forward and trying to be better no matter what lay behind you and it made me fall madly in love with you and has really meant a lot to me over these past weeks and she's like YEAH (crying) BUT YOU JUST SAID THE TRANQUIL DON'T FEEL PAIN

and they're both valid because it is kind of hypocritical that evie has this huge speech about a bad past being something you can redeem yourself of and overcome and then she starts yelling at him out of nowhere (it feels like out of nowhere to him, it's not really), like they quite literally did hash all this out and she went into this with eyes wide open and NOW she's freaking out about maddox which is one of the few things cullen had very little to do with and taking it out on him for (again, what feels like to him) no fucking reason! he was vulnerable with her and she's throwing it in his face!

on the other hand yeah evie DID say and mean all that and she DID know going into this that he abused/allowed the abuse of mages but this is the first time she's really had to confront it properly (maybe she didn't know he specifically advocated for tranquility or that he specifically wielded the brand) - it's also less about what he did THEN than what he's doing NOW - unlike his other crimes, which he has stopped doing, this belief that tranquil don't feel pain has persisted into PRESENT DAY - it is a belief he holds right now and has held during the entirety of their relationship, which is what's actually upsetting her, because he has been DATING a former tranquil, did he really believe this whole time that in 10 years she felt no pain??

anyway, as i've said, i go back and forth on whether or not evie was assaulted while she was tranquil...i think as a very beautiful young woman who had no means of fighting back it's kind of insane that she WOULDN'T be, but also i wouldn't want to include something like that without a Reason - a theme or a point being made or a deeply held belief etc. probably i will never truly land anywhere on it since i have no need to, as i have no plans to write evie fic (knock on wood), but if she did, it would come up in this argument, and it would shut him up so fast

and on the trip back to haven when they sleep (in separate tents) they both have nightmares <3 in evie's dreams the templars who branded her look like cullen and in cullen's the desire demon looks like evie <3

on the subject of the winter palace:

they're DEFINITELY still on the outs when they go, even if they're struggling to get over it. and she's ALL dressed up too and cullen is like how can i argue with a woman that looks like this. what the fuck was i thinking. and he has a bad time there obviously because everybody is groping him and being rude and he hates nobles so so so SO much

meanwhile evie is ALSO having a bad time because she used to BE a noble and she is so so so SO good at the grand game. she doesn't want to be good at it but she is. it's the first time she's worn makeup since before being branded and she has a whole crisis about whether or not she should cover her scar (much crying on josephine's shoulder about this). in the end she decides not to cover it because she is not going to pretend to be anything other than what she is. court approval -1000000

i don't really like any of the quest outcomes for evie...blackmailing all 3 of them is a little mean, considering her history with the elves and how badly she wants to make up for those mistakes...but in order to let briala be in charge, she has to ORDER cullen to allow celene to die. which, even after learning what celene did to the alienage, is just not her style - she wants to believe bad people can change, no matter how bad they are (over-empathizing with scumbags is a deliberate character flaw and an unfortunate side-effect of the un-lobotomy). i didn't get the ending i wanted because i fucked up the quest but it doesn't matter anyway because in my mind palace there's an ending where you blackmail CELENE and let briala rule from the shadows, and.....exile gaspard? idk. i think blackmailing all 3 is closest to what she would do because even though briala is an elf she also sent that other elf to die just for knowing her secret. so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ANYWAY, evie has, all NIGHT, dealt with people who are exactly like she used to be, and she has remembered 1000000 crimes she committed against elves. and at some point during the evening leliana mentions by mistake (or "mistake") that cullen made arrangements for maddox to be properly laid to rest himself and he's made PERSONALLY checking on the tranquil part of his evening routine. no one is gonna be abusing them on his watch.

(i struggle to come up with what more, practically speaking, cullen could be doing to Atone before a new divine is elected because most of the rebel mages are being kept safe by the inquisition and no laws can be written/changed until the chantry gets its act together. if you can think of something better pretend hes been doing that without seeking evie's recognition for it)

and so at the end of the night, cullen comes to evie outside and apologizes for everything, and she tries to extend him a little grace. because she did mean what she said about it being important to keep trying and she has been remembering her own crimes all night. sometimes it's just hard! she gets upset!!! anyway his apology is so nice she almost cries and ruins her makeup even though josephine was smart enough to get her the thedas equivalent of that super waterproof eyeliner movie stars wear

so, before the mission started (before they fought), evie asked if cullen danced, because as little as she was really able to feel joy in her old pre-brand life (this woman was a demon with no soul, remember), she did like dancing. (she also took care of her own hair rather than have servants do it - she found it meditative and soothing.) she got a very firm NO and was a little hurt/disappointed...but he surprises her with a dance now. she obviously DOES know how to dance so she makes up for his having two left feet. she holds hands that used to hold a brand and remembers how he threw himself between the mage and templar in haven. and she's happy.

on the subject of the romance lock-in:

i decided i dont think they fucked yet even though we're 4/5 through the game. it's definitely a minefield for cullen and potentially also a minefield for evie and so they just carry on not doing that even though pre-brand evie was trying to arrange opportunities for strapping young templars to blow her back out at all times and post-brand evie's libido has not changed. they just do a lot of kissing and then when things get serious theyre like WELL OKAY TIME TO SAY GOODNIGHT because they dont trust themselves and/or each other. potentially maybe they have tried to go a bit further a time or two and for one reason or another it went poorly and left them gunshy

after almost losing her to his own stupidity re comments about the tranquil cullen is pretty hesitant when the subject of The Future comes up but he says he doesn't want a future without her in it (and she is trying not to remember red lyrium cullen from the bad future who she mercy killed lol) and hes like AAAAA im worried im gonna scare you away again and shes like no no im committed i wanna be with you i want to change With You and hes like omg <3 and then there's more kissing but at the end of the night they DONT split up to go their separate ways and they finally fall asleep in each other's arms

and then after they WAKE UP cullen touches her FOREHEAD where the BRAND IS with HIS FOREHEAD!!!!! and i go insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thegeminisage]

big evie updates!!!

did champions of the just (just for funsies, evie would neverrr), in hushed whispers, and in your heart shall burn. quests of all time. ihw -> iyhsb is like. EASILY the best part of this game and they're both some of my favorite quests in the entire series, so.

first of all, the entire templar quest ofc gave evie hives. nobles being weird! comparing this to conquering the dales! templars everywhere! vivienne being really normal about it all! (of course i brought her - cass too.) this quest has it all

i really, really don't like this quest - the bits in the fade/the inquisitor's head/whatever that was are SOOO fun, and cole's introduction is way WAY better in this one, but every other part of it sucks. you're running around doing shit that's either boring or stressful or somehow both and also it's like...are the templars really this stupid they questioned none of this? are they this pathetic they can't hold the hall without me for five literal minutes? and the answer is always yes. 

like, at least when fiona was being stupid she 1. got tricked into it by time-traveling shenanigans 2. was desperate and had children in her charge. the templars were just like hell yeah red cocaine i hate asking questions and i love abusing mages let's goooo

that said, i do love that you can straight up disband the templar order. in some ways that's more pro-mage than recruiting the mages as equals, in the same way that enslaving the mages is more anti-mage than recruiting the templars as equals

ANYWAY this is about evie, not me, and she definitely chose to disband the order and when she got back cullen yelled at her and here is the thing. evie loves to cry. it's like her third favorite thing to do after apologizing to elves and asking, "can't we all just get along?" i think there's only so many times cullen can disagree and get shouty with her before she cries in front of him which will mean SOOOO many evil looks from everybody else but josie in particular, who i have decided is probably evie's bestie. and then cullen would have to apologize and be like SORRRYYY for upsetting you sorry you can totally [grits teeth] disband the templars...it's fine..............

adding context to this conversation is that she saw the illusion of him getting his throat sliced open and then getting up to menace her. like of course she'd cry. come on.

i think depending on the way evie meets cole she's either his bestie or really scared of him at first. meeting him during champions of the just = he's friend shaped! he saved me! meeting him during in your heart shall burn = WHY IS HE SO UNSETTLING WHAT DOES HE WANT FROM ME? once she figures out he wants to Help, like she does, she will calm down, but spirits are a little scary!!! she didn't eve pass her harrowing!!!! she has no idea if she can get possessed now or not. not enough research

anyway then i reloaded and did in hushed whispers because of COURSE. my favorite thing about ihw aside from all of it is when you bring solas he's like...this is terrible we cannot allow this. with all due respect my guy you spend all of veilguard trying to do this. but you can't tell him that cuz you're not supposed to know.

also, i've always felt cheated by no cullen in the bad future when his evil self is in cotj so i'm taking a leaf out of lj fanfic's books and decided evie killed him in the bad future. not sure if he was a red templar and she had to fight him or if he was full of red lyrium like fiona and she had to mercy kill him...leaning towards the former because if he was on red lyrium he could silence her and dorian. yum. and then she got back and she was like i recruited the mages as equals and he's like what the fuck is wrong with you! and they have to have the "i'm a mage do you have a problem with me" conversation and he's like "NO" in a voice that means "yes and because of that my burgeoning crush on you is starting to seriously freak me out" and she's like "well i have a problem with you too!" in a voice that means "after ten years of tranquility i also got my libido back and it's making me unwise" and also "if you don't keep a minimum 6ft distance i will zap your ass i'm not kidding" and also "i wept real tears of bitter grief when i watched you die in the bad future and i don't understand why yet"

cullen falls first evie falls harder. i think he likes how much she genuinely wants to help people (it reminds him of when he used to be like that), he's annoyed but also endeared by her general hysterics and antics (crying all the time, unable to be normal around elves, shit talks nobles but can still use her karen voice on them, generally quite hapless). but he's like well i will Not be developing feelings for another circle mage woman that was really fucked up last time and so he doesn't say shit because he's still half-afraid of her lack of control. meanwhile i don't think evie really thinks much of him besides FERVENTLY wishing she found him less handsome until the stuff about his past comes out. and then she realizes they're kindred spirits - both of them used to be such horrible people and they are trying to be better they're just not very good at it. 

anyway you can't experience the bad future together and not become instant besties so evie's two besties are josephine and dorian. varric a close third just because he's so likable and chill and doesn't judge her and also because he let her cry all over him that one time.

in your heart shall burn..............cullen thought evie was doing a suicide mission and it's not like he wasn't fond of her before but that rocketed his respect up several levels. i like to think he led the efforts to search the mountainside for her (seriously, it was the middle of the night in a blizzard, this man's guilt must have been eating at him!!) and of COOOOURSE he carries her down the mountain bridal style as per every fic and art ever made about this moment

that said. i like to think evie wakes up after her near-death experience (i think being cold reminds her of being tranquil, because of how owen in da:o talks about it feeling like being plunged into cold water) all freaked out and she looks up and sees a templar and she starts thrashing and flailing and he gets scared and drops her in the snow

like in my ideal scenario she also injures him first, either deliberately or accidentally...a broken nose, a black eye...something minor in the grand scheme of things but still serious enough to be annoying. and he's like what is wrong with you i saved your life and you broke my nose! and at the time she is unrepentant because How Dare He Touch Her While She's Unconscious but later once they reach skyhold she's like 👉👈 sorrryyyyy...how's the nose..........

she did not like being made inquisitor. or when everybody bowed to her after that song. she doesnt like that kind of attention. she's in a weird place where she DOES think she was chosen by andraste but doesnt WANT it to be true, which is the opposite of how i've played inquisitors in the past - they didn't think it was true but secretly wanted it to be. i think she'll be 99% relieved when she finds out, but 1% disappointed - at least her being chosen would mean there was some meaning to all her suffering, but there was none. her second chance at life was a total accident, which is kind of scary.

also, her arms are TOO skinny to lift that big sword. until getting her magic she had never lifted anything heavier than the silver spoon that was in her mouth from birth. she did menial labor as a tranquil, but she is NOT out here lifting this bigass weapon. she had to use all her concentration to make sure she didn't drop it and ruin the moment. also very scary.

ALSO, varric brought hawke to meet her and she got a huge case of the starry eyes. i like to imagine this is how every da protag would meet their predecessor in my worldstate. rook starry-eyed to meet evie starry-eyed to meet hawke starry-eyed to meet tabris. tabris, of course, would attempt to kill evie with hammers. and evie would be like yeah i deserve that

anyway this concludes my evie updates ty for reading.

[thedasses]

Hmmm a mix of 4 and 5 with drunk Cullen and your Inquisitor XD

Send me two or more characters and a number and I’ll write a drabble / ficlet.

4. “I’m flirting with you.”5. “Are you drunk?”

Okay so, I’m setting this pre-them getting together, and post-Here Lies the Abyss (I usually do Here Lies the Abyss first, and have them get together between that and Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts)

—

Another day, another great victory for the Inquisition. Sure, they had lost Hawke - the Champion of Kirkwall, and Varric’s best friend. The pain on his face was as clear as day. But that didn’t matter, right? They’d won. And so they celebrated. Creators, Lythana needed a drink. The excited mood only served to make her guilt worse.

So, she put on her happy face, and celebrated. It wasn’t a huge affair, not even close - it was just the Inquisition and its soldiers crowding into the tavern and making merry. Bull had her drinking that Qunari liquor again - the stuff they got drunk on after they had killed their first dragon together.

“Come on, Inquisitor!” Iron Bull exclaimed as he shoved a tankard of the liquor into her hands. “Lighten up! You’re too sour! We just won a great victory!”

Lythana blinked at him, and then let out a huff of laughter. “How could you tell? I was using my best party face,” She said, accepting the tankard gratefully.

“Ben-hassrath,” he said. “You learn to pick that shit up. Now drink! Got nothing to lose, at least not tonight!”

She shook her head at him, but took a swig of her drink anyway. Just like last time, it made her throat burn like someone had just set it alight. She was at least able to keep her coughing and spluttering to a minimum this time.

“Atta girl, boss!”

It wasn’t long until she was dancing and laughing along with everyone else, her woes long pushed out of her mind by the alcohol. She was so careless that she barely noticed when she danced straight into a suit of armor. A suit of armor with wonderfully warm hands that steadied her by her shoulders. She looked up to see Cullen standing there, his cheeks just a touch pink and an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Are you alright, Inquisitor?” He asked.

“Pfff- ‘course I am. Never been better ‘nfact,” she grinned, saluting at him. “Commander Handsome.”

He laughed at that. “Inquisitor, are you drunk?”

“Me? Never.”

“Bull gave you that Qunari liquor again, didn’t he?”

“It’s the best stuff,” she said, and then patted him on the chest. “You’re the best stuff.”

“Are you sure you’re alright, Inqusitor?”

“I’m flirting with you,” she blurted. She saluted again. “Commander Handsome.”

He let out another laugh. It was such a nice sound. She must have said that aloud, because he was smiling at her fondly. “Let’s get you to bed, Inquisitor.”

“Only if you’re there with me,” she slurred. He just nodded along as he guided her from the tavern.

The next morning she woke up with a pounding head and a note from Cullen.

I hope you aren’t feeling too bad this morning. I asked a servant to bring you a remedy when you awoke. –Commander Handsome

She thought that if, just maybe, the ground opened up and swallowed her whole - it wouldn’t be so bad.

[captconfused]

I Forgive You

Title: I Forgive You

Summary:  And the last thing she said was, "I forgive you."

Rating: T

Warnings: Major Character Death

Pairing: Female Inquisitor/Cullen

AO3

basically i wrote this when everyone was writing depressing cullinquisitor fics and just never got around to posting it

He’d seen it—seen her disappear into the rift in the sky. He was certain he had lost her.

But when he saw the others jumping out of it sometime later he had hope. He rushed over and upon finally seeing her he nearly fell to his knees and praised the Maker.

The entire way back to Skyhold he refused to let her out of his sight—much to her annoyance. She had insisted that she was fine numerous times but he feared that another rift would swallow her up and this time she wouldn’t find her way out.

And now, as he held her sleeping form in his arms he tried to rid his mind of those thoughts. Life without her was something he couldn’t bear. She had become his lifeline; she was what kept him grounded.

The anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach wouldn’t fade. They had made love and it had been desperate and needy—she had seemed happy to oblige, whispering against his temple “I’m here.”

And she was.

But it was doing nothing to stop his mind from racing. The need for lyrium hit him hard in the gut, drawing out his breath until he was gasping for air.

How long had it been since he last slept?

The trip back to Skyhold hadn’t been the most relaxing. The itching for it had started soon after leaving Adamant. Now its song was loud and drowning out everything else—even her steady, deep breaths.

She’s here. She’s alive, he told himself.

“Do you wish to live, Templar? Give into me. I will take you from this place.” Memories of demons and the Circle trickled in through the cracks.

Templars shouting.

“The tower has been overrun!”

“Blood magic—all of them.”

“All of your brothers and sister have given in. Submit to me and you will no longer know pain.”

Scratching, clawing, tearing at his flesh, his mind.

“I must endure it.”

“You cannot endure it.”

“Kill the mages, Warden. They deserve to die. They all deserve to die!”

“Cullen!”

He was brought back to the present by her screaming his name.

It took him a moment to take in his surroundings.

He was standing, sword in hand. She was backed against the wall, hands out to show she meant no harm. He could see the tears in her eyes reflected in the moonlight.

From the darkness behind her slunk a desire demon, one clawed hand on her neck.

“She’s mine now, Templar. Join us,” it held a hand out towards him.

“Never.”

Her eyes changed. Her and the demon were one.

He could faintly hear someone calling his name, pleading with him. But the growl of the demon was drowning it out.

“Unhand her, demon.” He pointed his sword at her.

“Never,” it laughed, mimicking him.

Her body was changing, twisting. Her eyes were completely black and they were swallowing him whole.

“Submit, Templar. All of your friends did.”

“No!” he shouted and with a thrust of his sword he had run her through the chest.

That’s when a cry broke him from his trance and he looked down to see his love, blood already staining her thin nightgown. His sword was still in place and she was looking down at it in shock; almost as if she didn’t understand how it had gotten there.

“Oh no…oh Maker no…” He was shaking and he felt tears slip from his eyes.

She fell to her knees and he caught her, sinking down so they knelt together.

“I will get someone—a healer!”

She stopped him with a shaky hand on his cheek.

“Shh…” she smiled, attempting to calm him. It was a sad, broken smile, tears streaming down her face, but it was beautiful.

“It’s too late,” that smile said, “I’m dying.”

And it was his fault.

He wanted to apologize—but what good would that do? Words wouldn’t heal the wound in her chest.

Don’t go… he wanted to beg her, but he stayed silent.

And then, with her hand still on his face, she looked into his eyes and whispered,

“I forgive you.”