Happy DADWC day Ro :D For Cass and Solas may I suggest this excerpt from On the Beach by Mary Oliver:
"When the sun broke / it poured willingly its light / over the stones / that did not move, not at all / just as, to its always generous term, / it shed its light on me, / my own body that loves, / equally, to hug another body."
Oh this one is BEAUTIFUL, one of my favourites and favourite poets, thank you Jacs!! Decided to write a bit of the Forbidden Oasis for @dadrunkwriting
Pairing: Cassandra x Solas
Rating: T
Words: 583
Tags: slight nudity (swimming), romantic tension, pre-relationship, pining and yearning, armour removal
There is use, Solas supposes, to this form of his. Though his mortal body suffers, that suffering often gives way to blessed relief.
After sweating and toiling through the desert, they all but collapse at the edge of the pool in the Forbidden Oasis. What was once torture is now balm — he almost sobs aloud at the sensation of the cool water on his skin as he sheds his layers and slips in.
He stays beneath the surface a moment, breath held — he is suspended, among reeds and darting fish, as if the world has paused to allow him a perfect moment in time. He rises to fill his lungs, just in time to remember he is not alone.
Cassandra Pentaghast still stands at the edge of the pool, struggling fruitlessly with a buckle on her elbow.
Without a thought, he surges up, out of the water, and puts out a hand. "Allow me —"
"Pah," she scoffs, allowing it. She offers her arm to him, and his nimble fingers set to work despite being sopping wet. "Sand, it... it has jammed the buckle."
"Or rust, from how you've sweated under the sun," Solas murmurs.
She groans, frustrated, and squints up at the sky. The skin over the sharp angles of her face, drawn with discomfort and weariness, has deepened to a rich tan. Her cheeks and nose are reddened, perhaps burnt, and sand has indeed worked its way into every crevice, every fold, every chink of her armour. As each piece of it falls away under Solas's hands, she seems to grow lighter.
Finally, the breastplate comes loose when Solas unbuckles it beneath her arm — he helps her shrug free of it. She rocks back, as if the loss of its weight is equal to being struck, and looks longingly at the water.
"Come in," Solas says softly, "you are weary, Seeker. Rest."
She gazes at the pool, something inscrutable in her expression. She looks across to where the Inquisitor lounges alongside Iron Bull, both men's bodies utterly bare to the world, then to Solas, who wears only smallclothes.
"Turn around," she rasps, and he immediately obeys.
He slips back into the water, facing resolutely forward. He focuses his gaze on a particularly fascinating lily, taking the time to count its petals and its floating leaves. He does not listen to the soft sound of Cassandra's clothes on her skin, or the sound of those clothes hitting sand. He does not listen to the murmur of water around her body as she comes into the pool.
"Alright," Cassandra says, and Solas allows himself to look.
He draws near to her, and she seems happy for the company. She has sunk deep into the water, her body but a tan shape under the surface. The murk hides her powerful form, the deceptively soft curve of her hip, the strength of her thighs —
"This almost makes the trip worth it," she sighs, eyes blissfully closed. "Has water always felt this good?"
His shoulder touches hers. She drifts closer, as if glad for the contact.
"Perhaps," Solas muses, "or it could be that the relief of our ended suffering has deceived us."
Cassandra dips her face beneath the surface, then submerges completely. She comes back up and smooths back her hair, eyes closed — her breasts rise in the water with her raised arms, giving a brief glimpse of dark tips. Solas glances away.
"What sweet deception, then," she sighs, then dips under the water once again.
i have sooo many solas ships. as yall know. but the thing is, i am obsessed with all of them
solas/cassandra?? (yes this is bc of that gifset that popped out of my queue what of it) they are SO GOOD
cassandra's faith in the maker and her deep willingness to question her own beliefs and assumptions and learn more; the questions she poses to everyone, and the way she listens to and learns from their answers and takes the time to consider all of it
all of this would fascinate solas, lbr. he lived in the time of arlathan, and then entered uthenera, and then woke up in a world of mortals. while there is canon evidence that dwarves existed during the time of the elves, afaik there is no canon evidence that humans did. they might have! but it's also possible that they did not, that they as an entire race came later
in either case, i think it's safe to say that, prior to waking (a year before the events of inquisition! one! year!!!! that's all! still wild to me) he'd had little to no experience with humans. and then he sees how modern elves are treated by humans, and i'm sure he develops some Strong Opinions about them as a people, just as he develops Strong Opinions about the "fall" of the dwarves and Strong Opinions about the qunari
but unlike the dwarves and unlike the qunari (unless you're playing an adaar, and even then tbh, bc adaar is a tal-vashoth), being part of the inquisition gives him constant exposure to humans and he's going to realize they're not all cut of the same cloth, no more than all elves are the same
(and then the tension comes in because he is forcing himself to be willing to do what he's planning to do and it's easier if he's less attached, if he doesn't examine the rich depth of modern lives, etc)
but learning to value humans and then falling for a woman who embodies faith, yes, but also a deep and abiding morality, one that drives her to question that which her faith teaches her - which would, i'm sure, hit very close to home for solas re: the elvhen learning to question the evanuris - like.... help??
and he sees her adapt to cole, a spirit. he sees her willing to admit when she was wrong. and, as in that gifset, she asks him questions, offers her thoughts without insistence, and clearly listens to his answers, all of which is - as evidenced in dai by what kind of interactions he most approves of - something he loves
so, yes. solas/cassandra is so real to me forever and always
Alice ran up behind it and slammed the shovel onto its head. ((Not sure if it's ok for her to intervene while Splatter is already helping, but I'll just put this here just in case.))
/yeah sorry! I’d rather avoid that, but as an apology, please have this little animated gif of her getting to hit them!
Photos for @regnum-plantae :) This is the Solandra they had at the Esquinzo Playa resort on Fuerteventura back in November. I thought I had taken photos of the entire plant, but those where the only ones, unfortunately - you can see how massive this one was on the second photo, though.
The guide says that the Jandia Playa resort also has Solandras, did you visit that resort, by any chance?
