#ironlion

[sic-sempervirens]

Gravity assist [ARTWORK] by sic_sempervirens

You wanted Cullen getting the D. You got it. Click on over to see the full version *fingerguns*

[shutupaboutandraste]

Welcome to the DADWC! Here is a prompt for you! Restaurant AU, with the characters of your choice!

Thank you so much for the prompt! I hope the drabble is to your liking. 

Word Count: 1655

Pairing: Cullen/Bull

For @dadrunkwriting

Going to restaurants was an added benefit of being friends with Vivienne. Madame De Fer’s Critiques was the formal review column that she ran, seemingly dictating the future of upper echelon restaurants. This was not one of those restaurants. A greasy hole-in-the-wall bar and grille had been Bull’s desired stop of the night. She had dragged her friend around all day from place to place all weekend. Now out of reviewable restaurants, Bull had desired food with fat and grease and everything else bad for you.

“Couldn’t have picked a place a little cleaner?” she asked, her nose turning up as she sat down at the bar with Bull. 

The place was smoky with dark lighting, harsh yellow incandescent lamps hung from the ceiling and came out of the wall at each booth. The ones at the booths had a dirty stained glass look to them, mixes of the deep yellow with rich reds and blues. The cushions were worn red leather. Booze wafted around them, mixing in with the scents of mouth-watering food.   

A gleeful smile crossed Bull’s face as he shook his head, “Absolutely not. You dressed me up for your fancy shit, now we get to eat where I like, Ma’am.” 

Vivienne tutted, “I’m a fine dining connoisseur. This bar food won’t impress me unless it tastes like gold.”

“I hope not,” Bull told her, “I think gold food would taste pretty shitty.” Vivienne groaned. 

From behind the bar, a curly-haired blond man approached, shaking a martini mixer vigorously. That certainly caught Bull’s eye. Firm fingers held the silver cups, curling at the tips to keep the glass in place. A wry smirk came over Bull’s lips as the man’s rhythm slowed before he poured the drinks before carefully sliding them to another couple of patrons. A tired, but gentle smile was turned his and Vivienne's way, reaching beneath the bar and pulling out two menus, placing them before the duo. “Welcome to Herald’s Rest,” he said, “My name’s Cullen--” 

“Bull,” he interrupted with a wink. 

Cullen seemed taken aback, no doubt trying to figure out if that was deliberate or a blink, but did his best customer service smile. Bull avoided cringing. Okay that was the wrong move for this guy, then. 

 “Nice to meet you,” Cullen said before diving into the specials for the evening as well as the unique drafts they had that night. 

Vivienne actually looked almost impressed at the selection, which was probably the best this place would get from her. Both of them ordered their meals in quick succession-- a whiskey bourbon burger for Bull and a salmon salad for Vivienne. She wasn’t sure she should trust the fish here, but Cullen assured her that they always bought their fish fresh every morning. The owner would allow nothing less than perfection when it came to quality. 

“I will be the judge of that, dear,” Vivienne had told him. 

And, to Bull’s surprise, she judged it quite well. Much to his delight, he watched her sneak out her phone, quickly tapping away some notes in the folder that held her restaurant reviews. As Cullen made his way back over to check on them, she quickly slid it back into her purse. Her shoulders rolled back into a confident smile while Bull leaned forward on the bar. 

“I hope everything is to your liking,” he said, taking away Bull’s empty glass, “And you’d like a refill?” 

“Please,” replied Bull. Cullen quickly got to work mixing a cocktail for Bull. Normally, he went for straight liquor, but oh what those hands could do. 

Vivienne told him that everything most certainly was. They chatted pleasantly while Bull watched, silent and studying. Their bartender was certainly well-kpet-- firm stubbled chin, a lip scar that seemed to enhance his face rather than detract, perfectly curled and styled hair, even his shirt-- a black tee that had ‘Herald’s Rest’ emblazoned on it in bold letters-- was fitted to perfection. Eventually, of course, a crack had to show. As Cullen finished pouring the drinks, he set down the shaker to clasp his fingers. To the naked eye he might have just been trying to crack his knuckles, but Bull could see that they were shaking. 

“You alright, man?” he asked, with a mark of genuine concern in his voice. 

A real smile crossed Cullen’s face this time as he nodded, “Yes, my apologies, I’ll have your drinks in a moment….” True to his word, Cullen was able to give them their drinks, though Bull watched as the man kept his eyes trained on his fingers, as if waiting for them to betray him. Thankfully, they lasted long enough to deliver them safely. He nodded, “Let me or Sera know if you need anything else.” 

At hearing her name, the other bartender, a blond elven woman with hand-cropped hair, looked up. Cullen gave her a nod which she nodded back to before moving to handle her customers again. Bull turned to make sure his good eye watched Cullen slip into the kitchen. A small frown took over his face-- Vivienne would say he was pouting, but he didn’t pout. 

Though, instead, finishing her meal, Vivienne slipped out of her chair, “Unfortunately, I need to use the powder room.” 

“Have fun with that,” snickered Bull, casting her a wry glance before turning his attention back toward the door. 

He stayed like that for a while before he heard someone huff. He turned to see the elven woman--Sera-- looking at him, grabbing some empty dishes and glasses from the couple next to Bull and Vivienne who had just left. Instead of speaking, he just shrugged at her. 

“Don’t worry ‘bout ‘im,” she said, “Takes a bit ‘fore he can come back. Shakes and all.” 

“He okay?” asked Bull. 

“I jus’ said don’ worry ‘bout ‘im, right?” she told him, “Yeesh.” 

True to her word, Cullen did reappear just as Sera said no more than five minutes later. Vivienne still hadn’t come back from the bathroom, which was concerning. He hoped that fish had been up to quality despite how the bar looked. Bull watched Cullen flex his hand, leaning against the wall as he looked nervously at the bar. Bull slipped out of his seat, taking Vivienne’s purse with him. Mainly, because she’d kill him if he didn’t. 

“You gonna be okay?” he asked. 

Cullen looked up at him like a deer in headlights, his fist curling up protectively. That was good-- the man had fighting instincts from somewhere. Layers laid beneath that pretty face. It wasn’t unusual for Bull to flirt with a bartender, but Cullen had been a fun puzzle to figure out and Bull wasn’t quite done. No… He might need a few more visits before he had completed it. 

“Yes,” he replied, sighing, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you unattended.” 

“You’re good,” Bull rumbled, “Ma’am’s at the bathroom anyway.” 

“...You call her Ma’am?” he asked, head tilting as though he were a young Mabari and not a full grown man. Bull couldn’t help but stare openly, a smile echoing on his face. 

“Friend of me,” he clarified, “She hates Viv and Vivienne is too long to say.” 

Cullen actually let out a soft chuckle, “Ah, I see. Well, I hope she finds our restrooms to her liking as well. Not every day a critic walks into our bar.” 

Now that had caught Bull’s attention. Vivienne made extra precautions to make sure no one discovered that there was a food critic in her midsts at any restaurant. It came with the territory of getting an honest review. Yet, her Cullen had stated her profession like it was plain as day. Bull crossed his arms. 

“You figure that out on your own?” he asked. 

Cullen shook his head, “No… Someone like her doesn’t normally walk into The Rest for… obvious reasons. I mentioned it to our assistant manager, Leliana. She’s the one who said she was, uh, oh… that Orlesian blog I can never remember the name of. Madame something. Made sure to treat her as anyone else. Leliana believes special treatment gets you caught once you know.” He chuckled nervous, reaching up a hand to rub the back of his neck, “I.. should get back to work.” 

“Let me do the honor of escorting you,” Bull said, motioning toward the step toward the bar. That little jibe managed to get Cullen to snort a little before hurrying over back behind the bar with a quick, yet confidant gate. That was a military man’s walk. Just who was this bartender? 

Bull followed, taking his seat again and resting down Vivienne’s pocket book. Behind him he heard her starting to walk up.

“Of course!” a woman with a thick Antivan accent said, “We’d love to be featured! I can get an interview with our owner, of course. I’ll call Ms. Cadash right away.” Bull and Cullen shared a knowing glance, but pretending as if Cullen was simply cleaning a glass from the dryer. 

Vivienne took her seat, smiling at Cullen, “Feeling better?” 

“Yes,” he said, “Thank you. Refill?” Vivienne nodded. 

“A new drink, please. Fanciest you have, dear, for me and my friend,” she ordered, “I’m not sure what it will be, but surprise me. I don’t get to find such diamonds in the roughs, often.” 

“Because you never go to them,” laughed Bull. 

Cullen quickly got to work going through what they had until he actually managed to find a nice bottle of champagne which Vivienne said would do nicely. Vivienne toasted Bull for his find, though she admitted she was not going to be kind about the décor. Still, no matter how a place looked, good food would always be good food. 

They made sure to tip Cullen handsomely. And, if he found a slip of paper with a string of digits on them, well… Bull would leave it up to him to call.

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

sketch for the cover art for my WIP that is the prequel to the Vampire Western WIP  The plan is to make this a fully painted piece so like pray for me and my ability to complete things.   Cullen is the new sheriff in Skyhold and has to clean up some supernatural unfinished business and some unruly dragonlings eating livestock, but the man he’s investigating for murder has hired The Iron Bull and his chargers to solve the exact same problem.  Is this grounds for Rivalry? Collaboration? Bull’s only in town until his contract’s up....

[redxluna]

Saw a while back you put “ok this but with Cullen and bull” on a joke about The Iron Bulls lap and “is this seat taken” and like first off 👁👄👁 yes but second off I feel like that either happens when they’re alone bc that’s when Cullen is more flirtatious OR thats the way he announces their relationship at like wicked grace night or around a campfire or something

The more I thought on this one, the more I realized that Cullen probably only gets more open and or forward about things once its understood that, yes, this is a relationship.

Cullen is almost a little too desperate to have all of that at last, which is no doubt exactly why Bull holds off on anything serious until after the experience with choosing between the Chargers and the dreadnought.

Cullen does it then to show all those that keep trying to make passes that, nope, no longer an option. He has little to no idea how much Bull views it as a way of showing him off too (because Bull is damn proud of his boy, let’s be real).

[callili]

The One

A collection of my favourite fanfic per pairing. The One, if you will.

Loki/Thor (Marvel) 

Rebuild all your Ruins  14K, Explicit

Post-Ragnarok, feels like everything my Thorki heart hoped for and built up to.

Alistair/Zevran Arainai (Dragon Age)

Off Label  64K, Explicit, BDSM

Technically this is cheating, cause it’s a series. BDSM with a new and learning dom, beautifully emotional.

Angel/Lindsey McDonald  (Angel)

U Turn  33K, Explicit

Peeta Mellark/Katniss Everdeen  (The Hunger Games)

Ashes and Flame (Every You and Every Me)  4K, Mature

I read this every time I finish the books, cause it feels just like an epilog, really perfect closure for the canon.

Superman

Empty Graves  6K, General

Perfect story focussing on the amazing Martha Kent, no pairings.

Bruce Banner/Tony Stark (Marvel)

Irreconcilable Differences  130K, Explicit

Team bonding, perfect characterization, Pre-Winter Soldier

Kylo Ren/Hux (Star Wars)

Anyone But You  14K, Explicit

College AU, from sex-to-love, lightside Kylo, because he is friends with socialist!Rey :D

Rick Grimes/Daryl Dixon (The Walking Dead)

Rome Wasn't Built In a Day  10K, Explicit

Story is set after the cure is found, in a wold trying to recover. Pre-Season 5

Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)

Stand Fast in Your Enchantments  76K, Explicit

Magic!Stiles AU, they are both kidnapped, locked in a cabin and try to escape. Oh, and Derek is locked in beta shift. Realistic realationship building after trauma.

Iron Bull/Cullen Rutherford (Dragon Age)

Stuck on the Puzzle  235K, Explicit

BDSM, maybe the best kink negotiation and healthy relationship building story ever. Two broken characters, whose edges fit deliciously together.

Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus (Dragon Age)

Keep moving in opposite directions  12K, Explicit

What if, could be canon compliant, pre-canon. BDSM, A Tevinter party with a special centerpiece.

Iron Bull/Cullen Rutherford/Dorian Pavus (Dragon Age)

Exit Light  77K, Explicit

BDSM, OT3

Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (X-Men)

Anarchy In The U.K.  162K, Explicit

British Royalty AU. You never think this could work, but oh boy does it.

[midwrites]

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

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: The Iron Bull/Cullen Rutherford, The Iron Bull & Cullen Rutherford, Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi & The Iron Bull Characters: The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Cullen Rutherford, Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi, Leliana (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Modern Thedas, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Summary:

Since his arrival at Haven, Bull has had little to worry about aside from deciding how he gets his coffee from the handsome barista who works at the Herald’s Rest. But after a particularly nasty hunt which results on him coming face to face with a werewolf, Bull will have to decide if his reaction to the beast is purely survival driven, or if he truly has found something familiar deep in those haunting golden eyes.

@redxluna I told you I would somehow some day manage to get it done 🧡

Infinite kudos to @sic-sempervirens and @gangsterbee for cheering me on!

[midwrites]

This is entirely @sic-sempervirens' fault, who started talking about Bull and Cullen going away to die as old soldiers on Twitter and my first thought was to say, but WHAT IF, and this piece was born.

Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition

Pairing: The Iron Bull/Cullen Rutherford

Trigger warnings: Main character death and dementia.

You can also read it on [AO3]!

Cullen doesn’t know the other man. The other man has always been here, in the farm, and he does not question his presence anymore. The other man, well, maybe he shouldn’t call him a man, has a pale grey skin, and thick flaking horns that scrape the top of the ceiling if he’s not careful when he’s helping Cullen up from bed. His hands are big and gentle, as well as his body, and they seem so out of place handing him delicate pearlescent cups full of deep smelling tea, painted with the prettiest of flowers.

The other man calls Cullen a deep sounding two syllable word in another language. He always says it when they are on their own, having a meal, or when Cullen is taking the goats back into their pen. He feels his breath close to his neck sometimes, two hot puffs of breath and a slow vibration. Other times he says it from further away, his only grey-green eye fixed on him with an unbidden sadness Cullen cannot understand. “Kadan,” he says, and Cullen usually smiles, because he doesn’t know which word in Trade would be appropriate to reciprocate.

He must have known him, he thinks at nights, when he barely gets three or four hours of sleep, on a good night, as he hears him snore on their bed; maybe in another life. It is not weird that they share a bed, he thinks. There’s only one in the entire farmstead, and he’s not going to make the other man sleep in the hay. It’s big enough for the two of them, and when the nights are cold, or the tremors get bad, the other man gets close, never touching without permission, hands tightening against his chest as he draws him close, keeps him warm.

There are days when he has to help the other man. When his joints hurt him too much and he sits on the enormous log someone’s fashioned as a bench in the entrance of the house, as he watches Cullen chop wood, or milk the herd in silence. Those days, Cullen offers him comfort in return, uses his hands, which maybe are too strong for a farmer, and massages tense expanses of muscle covered by thick grey skin. He doesn’t know why the other man has so many scars, nor does he ask. Out of all the things they do, that one feels the most inappropriate, talking about the past—their past.

He sometimes cries because he doesn’t remember. He doesn’t remember who he was, or what he’s doing here. It pains him not to remember how old the mabari who comes to him every morning is, or who this stranger he shares his life with is. He remembers small things, stupid things; he remembers he likes pink, his meat almost raw and sex the same way. The last one makes Cullen blush—he doesn’t know why he has this information, but it is very easy to guess, even for him.

Sometimes people he doesn’t recognize come to visit. They come from all over the world, with different clothes and faces, and they all seem to have kind words for him, and a gentleness that even after all these visits feels misplaced.

“I don’t think I deserve this,” he tells Cassandra one day.

Her hair, like silver threads of moonlight braided together, glints under the sun as they watch the other man and young Krem fill a barrel with water from the well.

“You’ve told me this before,” she says tentatively, her brows creased.

“I know…it’s just, I feel that I should be paying for something I did, a long time ago—maybe in another life.” He echoes the phrase.

Cullen’s aware that it is something he thinks about a lot. Maybe because he first heard it from the other man, as they slowly danced to a fiddle that was playing far off, in the town’s main square during Summerday, their bodies pressed close, the other man humming a tuneless melody Cullen was able to follow with clumsy legs and too tired feet, as they dragged over the soft packed earth.

One morning, the other man is crying by their bed. Young Krem is there too, along with a woman and a man he doesn’t recognize—he’s very tired, but they seem good people, kind people. The other man places his lips against the back of Cullen’s hand, they are very gentle, almost feather-like, so different to how rough his hands feel or how sharp his teeth look. Cullen realizes that he has never thanked the other man for what he does for him, or at least he doesn’t remember. It feels important to say something now, to force the words past his sluggish feeling brain and lips.

“You’ve always been kind to me,” he says. The other man doesn’t stop crying, though he blinks in wonder when Cullen’s hand slowly rises to caress his craggy cheek. “I don’t remember who you are,” he manages to say with a small chuckle, though it feels hoarse and rough against his weak throat, “but I do believe you were important to me, in another life.”

“Kadan,” the other man says, hands searching for Cullen’s, his voice breaking.

“Kadan,”he answers with the most gentle smile he can manage, eyes closing as he feels another soft kiss pressed to his weakening pulse point.

He might have loved this man, he realizes, as sleep pulls him back down. Cullen will be sure to tell him, if they ever meet again in another life.

[midwrites]

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

Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: The Iron Bull/Cullen Rutherford, The Iron Bull & Cullen Rutherford, Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi & The Iron Bull Characters: The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Cullen Rutherford, Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi, Leliana (Dragon Age), Varric Tethras Additional Tags: Modern Thedas, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Slow Burn, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Past Drug Use, the inherent homoeroticism of tending to wounds, Mid describes another sunset.jpeg Summary:

Since his arrival at Haven, Bull has had little to worry about aside from deciding how he gets his coffee from the handsome barista who works at the Herald’s Rest. But after a particularly nasty hunt which results on him coming face to face with a werewolf, Bull will have to decide if his reaction to the beast is purely survival driven, or if he truly has found something familiar deep in those haunting golden eyes.

Please send @redxluna some love if you enjoyed this fic, it would not have been possible without them <33