Prompt (Self-Assigned): Beauty
Word Count: 858
Featuring: Jesi Cadash/Dagna
Jesi Cadash sat still on a stool in the cave that housed Skyhold’s forge. With the cave opening behind her and the waterfall flowing slowly due to the winter storm that was blowing over the mountain, the forge was almost chilly for once. Although that meant it was still warmer than most of the rest of the castle. Skyhold was a wonderful fortress, but warm it was not. But it could have been freezing in the forge and Jesi would still happily sit here all day. Her tightly curled hair was growing out a bit, just enough to start tickling her ears. But it helped keep her head warm, so while she preferred it short she was letting it go for now.
Besides, Dagna said she liked that it was getting longer. The perky smith was currently at her forge, crafting something. Harritt was nearby, hammering loudly on a glowing red brick of metal. Dagna’s work was quieter, but far more prone to sudden eruptions, explosions, freezings, or sometimes just disappearing into thin air. Jesi had found that particular piece three days later in her bathtub. Watching Dagna work was always entertaining, but while others would sometimes filter down to see what minor disruption the dwarf was going to cause next, Jesi was the only one who came down here regularly. Because she just wanted to watch Dagna.
Ancestors but she was so pretty. From her pretty red hair to her bright brown eyes to the way her tongue sometimes stuck out of her mouth a little bit when she was concentrating on something. Jesi was a little bit obsessed with every inch of Dagna. She did not want to miss the way Dagna would light up when something worked correctly, or when it blew up. No matter how badly something blew up, or fizzled out, or physically snapped in half, Dagna seemed to always be delighted. Jesi had asked her about it once and Dagna had said something about how she could learn from it even if it was a failure. There had been more to the answer, but there had been a lot of words Jesi could barely understand. That was okay though, because Dagna’s voice was also pretty, and she could listen to her all day.
“Hey, she’s at it again,” Harritt complained loudly.
“What?” Dagna’s question caught Jesi’s attention and she blinked. Dagna had stopped her work and looked over at her. Jesi smiled brightly. “Sorry, Harritt,” Dagna apologized. Jesi did not feel sorry at all. Harritt just liked to complain. But she watched as Dagna carefully put away whatever it was she was working on, remove the heavy leather apron she wore for protection and lay it over the end of the worktable. Her smile got brighter as Dagna walked toward her, smiling back at her. That sight alone was enough to make her whole day no matter what else happened. When Dagna reached her, the pretty smith reached up to cup her face and then pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. That small kiss was enough to make her head dizzy.
“Were you waiting for me?” Dagna asked. It was a common enough question. Dagna was prone to getting so wrapped up in her work she would forget everything else. But not this time, and Jesi shook her head as she reached out and wrapped her hands around Dagna’s waist. She loved the way Dagna felt in her arms.
“No. I was just watching,” Jesi answered easily. She certainly had the time now. With Corypheus defeated and the Breach sealed it felt like there was nothing left to do. Lavellan was all worked up about Solas disappearing, and Trevelyan was focused on turning the Inquisition toward helping to rebuild what they could. But she and Adaar just seemed to be hanging around. And she did most of her hanging around down here, no matter what Harritt had to say about it. Jesi tugged at Dagna’s waist a little, pulling her in closer against her. She grinned happily up at Dagna’s face, marveling at her beauty. From the moment she first saw her, she had been completely struck by Dagna. If Orzammar ever needed a paragon of beauty there was one right here. The whole city was mad to have let her go.
“That’s sweet,” Dagna smiled back.
“It’s creepy is what it is,” Harritt grumbled loudly from behind Dagna. His back was to them, but obviously he could still hear them. “Take it to your chambers like respectable people.” His complaining just made Cadash laugh a little, but she let Dagna step back so she could stand up. Her hand slid into Dagna’s easily and they walked together past Harritt toward the door. Cadash was pretty sure he complained more than he was actually bothered. He had complained quite a bit when Dagna first showed up too, and now he loved her. But if his complaining helped get Dagna out of the forge once in a while so she could receive her full attention, then she was certainly not going to stop him.
“It’s not creepy. Beauty should always be admired.”
A hypothetical god tier for Harritt from Dragon Age: the Knight of Void.
A Knight of Void is among those who use knowing and perceiving. They are motivated by themselves to utilize the unknown. (x)
The Knight of Void puts on a front to hide an insecurity and is very independent. (x)
They are the Defender Spy, defined by guarded secrecy. (x)
Their opposite is the Page of Light. Their inverse is the Rogue of Light.
They share their personality with the Thief of Doom.
The Knight of Void would quest on a planet similar to the Land of Haze and Void, reigned over by Nyx (Goddess of Night) or Poseidon (God of the Sea). They would rise to ascension on the wings of bats. (x)(x)(x)
you guys. Harritt, the blacksmith from DA:I, is from Honnleath and I'm guessing he's at least 10 years Cullen's senior... do u think he has some embarrassing stories abt bb cullen 👀
Honnleath is basically three farms in a trenchcoat so there's no way they don't know each other. Also, I agree with the headcanon that when Cullen drinks or he's tired, his accent starts slipping so I imagine he sounds much like Harritt then :'D
Confession: I wish i could romance harritt. I love him for being so average, not some horsecock-wielding mage or beefjuiced warrior with a dark past of murdering innocents. Just a plain man with a good voice and a nice mustache.
How well does Olivia get along with her advisors and companions? Dorian and Solas not so much apparently, but how about the others?
That’s definitely a loaded, mixed-bag question! And I’m grateful you asked ❤️ Playing again with her has made me realize, and remember, things aren’t wholly what I thought they might be when I was planning her out.
Also… uhhh, putting a cut halfway thru cause this got long.
Case and point on that is Sera. They have this playful relationship that’s friendly and flirty, but also gets quite strained at times. Olivia’s faith and her strong belief in the templars is a huge problem with Sera. The strain gets a bit much for Olivia and she begins to distance herself to cut out the complication.
Cole is another interesting one. Olivia is so very torn about Cole. In her heart she knows he wants to help, that he is helping and did help her with Envy. But everything she’s learned in her life as a templar has taught her to fear what he is, to cast away (if not kill) what the Chantry has told her is a demon. It’s her compassionate side that allows Cole to stay, but the wary templar in her keeps him at a distance.
Cullen she knew before the Inquisition. He was her superior in Kirkwall and while they didn’t know each other well, they ended up bonding in Haven about shared experiences there and talking about what brought them to the templars, etc. By the time she becomes Inquisitor, their friendship has grown into “bff” territory. They argue like siblings, on occasion, not always seeing eye to eye, but they’re always supportive of each other.
With Leliana it’s friendly professional? Olivia would like to know her and be closer, but after she catches Leliana in her moment of weakness in Haven it quickly becomes an uphill battle. She also manages, though not entirely intentionally, to send off mixed signals? Like, her attitude toward a lot of things, and how she views the world and what they’re doing ends up translating to Leliana closing herself off more and going colder. Leliana’s want/need to be more effective for what the Inquisitor ultimately requires of her closing off that door Olivia hoped to pass through some day.
On the flip side, we have Josephine, who Olivia admires. While unsure of someone so adept at the Game and keen on politics at first, Olivia doesn’t take too long to warm up to Josie. She also develops quite the crush on her, but oh Maker is Olivia bad at flirting. And we all know Josie isn’t the best at picking up on those flirty signals to begin with. As much as Olivia wishes it, that avenue ends up going nowhere, but they do become pretty good friends.
Other than Cullen, probably one of her closest friends is Vivienne. Having only experienced life as a templar in Kirkwall, Olivia’s keen to learn everything she can about Vivienne’s experience. That curiosity leads to many evening discussions between them about how both the Circle and the Order should be and how that change could be implemented. Vivienne is also the one, along with Josie, that helps keep Olivia… presentable to the masses. The outfit she wears in her downtime was a gift from Vivienne, and she even has special armor commissioned just for Olivia once she becomes Inquisitor.
And we, of course, know that Solas and Dorian definitely dislike Olivia - and she them. After a bit of time passes, she and Dorian come to tolerate each other. But it never passes more the chilly professionalism stage between them. He’s there to help and she appreciates that, for the sake of saving the world, but also struggles to look past both the man of Tevinter and the mage. With Solas they just disagree on every fundamental level. She also despises his holier-than-thou arrogance (as she sees it) and takes every opportunity to make sarcastic jabs at him and, whenever possible, prove him wrong.
With Bull, Olivia is wary. They’re generally friendly, but she tries to keep her distance from him. The idea that he’s a spy, even that he willingly shared this information, puts her ill at ease. After the issues with the qunari in Kirkwall, she’s more than a little gun shy, as it were, when it comes to dealing with the Qun. She’s friendly with Krem as well, and has no issues with the Chargers on a whole, just doesn’t spend much time around them. And Krem is usually around when she’s interacting with Bull, acting as a bit of a buffer sometimes to ensure things stay friendly.
At first, Blackwall cannot stand Olivia. He thinks she’s arrogant, can’t see past her own faith, and is too stubborn to accept dissent from others when they disagree with her on whether it was truly divine intervention that saved her at the Conclave. She proves him wrong, however. Helping everyone she can in the Hinterlands, he realizes that she’s not just focused on closing the Breach by “whatever means”. Also when he watches her interact with non-rebel mages (aka those that don’t attack them on site), he realizes she’s not just another templar. And also maybe most importantly she expresses an interest in learning about him, beyond just being a warden, and he realizes she sees him as a man and not a tool. I’ll have to revisit how things go after the… reveal. Not sure I can judge right off hand how that’ll go tbh. She’s been growing more as I’ve been playing her beyond how I planned her out.
Uhh, let’s see, I think that leaves Cassandra and Varric. They’re… interesting ones. Cassandra she mostly gets along with, but sometimes they’re so much alike that Olivia gets… hm, not bored but… I can’t put my finger on the word I want. At any rate, for as much as they can be alike, they also disagree. Or well, mostly when it comes to the purpose of the Inquisition and what can be done with it. Olivia feels Cass looks too much to the past, and even hates when Cass goes off about being among the “few women that have shaped the world”. Olivia wants to be her own person, but also realizes that Cass isn’t really wrong about that and that bothers her. Also Cass totally gets Olivia reading Varric’s books and it’s dreadful for poor Varric.
And speaking of, Olivia and Varric have a tense relationship. He’s much in the same boat as Blackwall was at the start, but doesn’t offer Olivia as much opportunity to… “right” that viewpoint. Not that she particularly tries with him. Like many others, she appreciates that he’s there to help, but they simply disagree about how to go about things and how she wound up where she is. He also may or may not hold past prejudices for her being not simply a templar, but one of Meredith’s. He sees her and fears the chance that red lyrium could somehow wrap itself around her, to steal away their once chance at saving the world.
Bonus round!
I need to think it out a bit more, but Olivia has a good chance of romancing Dagna :3 And along that line, she actually gets along quite well with Harritt and enjoys learning about crafting arms and armour from him.
She also befriends Adan and always goes to him when she needs to resupply on her personal lyrium stores. She usually hangs around for a bit, lending a friendly ear for him to bounce ideas for new recipes off of. He knows she’s bored to death by it, but the fact that she even tries warms his heart. But hell if he’ll ever tell her that.
And lastly Ashley Hawke. They are a bit unsure of each other at first. Ashley thinks Olivia looks vaguely familiar and the fact of the matter is they probably ran into each other once or twice in Kirkwall, but never much interacted. They end up getting along decently enough - friendly, for sure. More than Varric expected, if one were to ask him about it. They end up enjoying laughs about stories from Kirkwall and Ash enjoys telling stories of growing up in Ferelden. Annnd they do also 100% bang once before going to Crestwood. No strings attached and while Olivia can’t help but feel that extra flutter in her chest later on when talking to Ash or hearing about her, nothing ever happens beyond that. They remain friendly for as long as Ash hangs around to aide the Inquisition.
SO THERE YA GO. I’m sure at some point some of this may all change, lmao, she’s ever shifting but this was fun to answer! And I apologize it took me so long, I was noodling through it while at work (and also just didn’t get a chance to sit and work on it till well after getting home). And also that it’s so damn long lmao.
