What is the life that I should live?

Cassandra rests against Josephine on a couch, she has a bandage on her arm. Josephine kisses her head. Both have their eyes closed and are lightly smiling. Drawn for lecriteuse for the Black Emporium Dragon Age rare pair exchange.

Every one of lecriteuse’s prompts was great but the idea of Josephine and Cassandra seeking comfort after a battle was one of those OMG ideas I had to do right away. I imagine this set just after the final battle with Corypheus.

This is a Painter paintover of a 3D render, created in Blender using models extracted from DAI by Padme4000 and Blender+ XPS tools by johnzero7.

and I am SO EXCITED about all the awesome art and fic I’m going to be procrastinating with today, but especially the two (TWO!) gorgeous pieces of art I was gifted:

A Chance to Rest is a beautiful, intimate portrait of Cassandra and Josephine resting, comforting one another, after the battle with Corypheus. I shed actual tears over how lovely this is.

Leaning Up For a Kiss shows Inquisitor Cadash bending over in the saddle of her nuggalope (!!!) to clasp her beloved Josephine, who rises up to meet her kiss. It’s such a charming and poignant scene, sweet and romantic.

I Win Again, Isabela/Josephine, absolutely stunningly gorgeous, go feast your eyeballs NOW!!

and I am SO EXCITED about all the awesome art and fic I’m going to be procrastinating with today, but especially the two (TWO!) gorgeous pieces of art I was gifted:

A Chance to Rest is a beautiful, intimate portrait of Cassandra and Josephine resting, comforting one another, after the battle with Corypheus. I shed actual tears over how lovely this is.

Leaning Up For a Kiss shows Inquisitor Cadash bending over in the saddle of her nuggalope (!!!) to clasp her beloved Josephine, who rises up to meet her kiss. It’s such a charming and poignant scene, sweet and romantic.

Now that nominations are over, it’s time to SIGN UP for Black Emporium 2017! 

The mods are providing a guide to this process under the cut in hopes that it will make the process smoother for everyone :)

Now that nominations are over, it’s time to SIGN UP for Black Emporium 2017! 

The mods are providing a guide to this process under the cut in hopes that it will make the process smoother for everyone :)

Miles of burnt-out farms, today.

and

Your alarm doesn’t go off.

I seem to have written a new story. Pentilyet, for a change. You can find The Dance up on AO3. 

“I do not dance,” said Cassandra firmly.

“Oh, come now” said Josephine, sighing. “Can you expect us to believe that Nevarran princesses are not taught such elementary skills?”

“I went to the Seekers when I was twelve years old,” said Cassandra, scowling. She did not mention that the seekers also taught dancing, believing it to be a useful diplomatic tool. That was not relevant.

“If Cassandra cannot or will not dance, she doesn’t need to,” said Lavellan impatiently then. “I’m not certain why I need to, either.”

This is so wonderfully, deliciously romantic. Reading it is like eating expensive, sophisticated chocolates, one by one, out of a beautiful box: each bite different, complex, deeply satisfying, extravagantly enjoyable, masterfully crafted.

They’ve drunk their way through the Hanged Man’s brews and all of Isabela’s cheerfully stolen bottles. Fenris grumbles about the theft, but Merrill knows Fenris is never quite as cranky as he pretends; he lets them leave, after all. And he smiles, even when he pretends not to, cracking right back into a scowl if he thinks she’s noticed, so Merrill always pretends not to either. It’s only polite, after all.

Tonight they’re in the Hanged Man, full moon dipping low and peeping through the door in brightwork slices. It’s the kind of cool-dank night where they sag against one another like fallen trees, Isabela’s laughter rippling the air as she sweeps her winnings into her arms.

“Ooh, I’m feeling lucky tonight,” Isabela purrs, stroking Merrill’s hair. She twists and teases, fingers playing along the edge of Merrill’s ear, and Merrill arches into it like a sunflower tracking the solar swing.

Anders rolls his eyes, throwing his cards on the table. He makes a face as his elbow lands in a puddle of beer, sopping up his sleeve. “You’ve gotten better at cheating, you mean.”

Isabela flashes a bright-knife smile. “Ah-ah, you know the rules. If it’s not caught—”

“—it doesn’t count,” he finishes wearily.

Hawke presses herself against Isabela’s bosom, all squished cleavage and pleading eyes. “Now that you’ve taken my coin, buy a lady a beer?”

“For a lady? Of course.” Isabela chuckles, squeezing her arm around Merrill. “Corff! A raspberry wit for the lady! And whatever you scrape off the bung for this one!” she adds, thumping the top of Hawke’s head.

(Continue reading on AO3.)

Or: ‘how did a fisting prompt hit almost 14k words?’

But it’s also about how people come together and fit together and help to fix each others’ weak and broken bits. It’s about how love can look like all kinds of different things, how family can look like all kinds of different things. It’s about Merrill, and who she is, and how she is, and how she is becoming.

Written for @flore-purpureo as part of Wintersend this year. I had the pleasure of filling an excellent prompt. I… definitely forgot to post this after we did the reveals last week. But if you’d like a bunch of words about Calpernia and Leliana, featuring weird lyrium ghost stuff, heated debates, awkward sex, enemies to lovers, and a pretty treacherous world state–this might be your bag of apples, I guess. (s/o to @sunspeared for looking this over when I was lost in the wilderness.)

read on AO3

“Skyhold is empty.” Calpernia let the silence fall expertly after the statement. The air chilled. Havar rustled a wooden dish at her table. “The ink on your treaties—dust. Your armies stand at attention, but the pilgrims? They no longer come.”

“Light reaches far.” Leliana gave a little shrug. “When it exists at every outpost across Thedas, there’s no need to journey all the way to the sun.”

The corner of her mouth curled with interest. “Fascinating,” she said, “how you do not deny it.”

No words then—but Leliana watched her eyes move as they searched her face, as though caught by distraction. The mood in them changed, curiosity giving way an intrusive, prying look—one she’d recognized in Josephine’s eyes often, once, when they spoke more frequently.

It reminded her of servants trying to open oysters at one of Celene’s more ostentatoire parties. How they ran a tiny, curved knife along the jagged edge, until they found the precise spot to crack the shell open. She had watched a young elven girl do it, once, and find a dirty river pearl inside to pocket.

This year for @wintersend-exchange​ I wrote about Cassandra and an avvar mage inquisitor, exploring religion & Avvar worldview & Cassandra’s Feelings About Andraste. Also, sexy wrestling. For @nomorecaffeineforyou​.

Morrigan: dreams, hungers, and Leliana.

My Wintersend fic for @lecriteuse! I really love this ship and honestly the prompt was an excuse to write the fic I always dreamed of for them. ;-; Thank you for the lovely prompt, I had a lot of fun writing them!

We’re approaching the home stretch! I can’t tell you how excited we are to see all the incredible work you’ve been creating all month. Just a few reminders for your benefit: 

Today is the default deadline. If you won’t be able to complete your fill for Wintersend this year, please let us know at wintersend.exch at gmail. No shame or judgment! Life happens. Tell us ASAP so our pinch-hitters have plenty of time to work. (And if you still want to pinch-hit, sign up here!)

The deadline for submitting work is Friday, March 17 at midnight EDT. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us sooner rather than later! We don’t bite, and we’re happy to help.