#cullentine

It's a Rutherfest Valentine!

The mods of Rutherfest cordially invite you to be our favorite commander's Valentine this February 13th through the 15th! Before this year's main event, we wanted to give all Cullen fans an excuse to shower our proud lion with the love—and maybe even kisses—he deserves. This will be a casual event to kick off the new year and celebrate all the reasons why Cullen stole our hearts!

We all know that passion, intimacy, and commitment are the magic to making romantic love last. And the magic of true friendship is found in positivity, vulnerability, and consistency. While lyrium nullifies magic, it never nullified Cullen's penchant for loyalty and devotion—in both romance and friendship. With that in mind, here are a few prompts to help you shape your submissions:

Guidelines:

Have fun!

The prompts are free for you to interpret as you wish. Feel free to do as many or as few as you'd like. Do separate prompts or combine them!

You can choose to do any of the prompts for any day during the event.

Creative freedom is encouraged! This is your Valentine to create as you please.

If your submission is a fanfic, you can post it to the Cullentine 2026 Collection on Ao3.

While this event may lean towards romance, it is open to all Cullen fans, not just those who romanced him.

Tag your submission with #cullentine so we can share it!

Rules:

Always be kind and courteous to each other.

Please refrain from using the #cullentine tag for any "anti" content towards other characters, ships, or fellow fans. We will not accept it. Let's keep this positive for all.

No AI content, please. Share what you create.

Any mature/explicit content MUST be tagged accordingly. Previews are acceptable, but any explicit content must be featured under a cut to keep our archive safer for a wider audience's viewing. We understand some tags can make posts disappear, so if you do not see your contribution during the event, please message us and let us know. Please give the moderators at least a few hours to respond prior to submitting a second message.

Use the #cullentine tag in order to have your contribution reblogged during the event.

We will accept submissions from February 13th through the 15th to give everyone who wishes to participate ample time.

Finished my Cullentine @rutherfest piece for this week. I present to you Tyria holding Cullen and soothing him through withdrawal symptoms.

Safe and solid, protecting and proud. He feels like quiet, stronger when you hold him. — Cole

This was...a ride.

So I originally was trying to do this as painting practice with a limited palette, and experimenting with how I painted it. It really wasn't working out. I overworked it while trying to push and pull it into something I liked, and I considered scrapping it back to just the sketch at least twice. I ended up turning off (and then deleting) a few of the overdone layers and landed on something that was...fine. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

The picture above is not that picture.

The picture I ended up with after the first attempt was this one:

Like I said, I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

But I wasn't going to mess with it further, so I went to bed. Woke up the next day still disappointed, and spent the bulk of the day largely dissatisfied with it. So I decided that yes, I was, in fact, going to start over from the sketch phase again.

This time, I went with a method I'm more used to. Laid down the flat colors (in a warmer palette this time), shaded on a layer above that (using the flats to keep my shading in set areas with the magic wand tool, and keeping the shading softer and simpler), then colored the lineart and applied a handful of adjustment effects to unify the final product a bit better. And I'm much happier with the new one. The mood of it has changed too, with the different color scheme.

So, I guess this is a lesson in perseverance (fitting for this pair), and being willing to try again when something doesn't work. And also letting it sit for a day first.

Anyway, for comparison, sketch and the two painted versions below so you can see them side-by-side.

Because I don't have enough to do between OC Kiss Week, Bellara Week, my exchanges, and everything else (Mafia AU and Pirate AU) here goes a Cullentine piece for @summergreen009

Thanks for the tags @archduchessgortash and @redaresss

“Cullen…is today a bad day?”

Endara's voice is soft as she speaks, green eyes pinched in worry as a deep frown crosses her lips. His hands are shaking. And she knows it is more than just the upcoming Exalted Council that plagues his mind on this day.

“Um no… not really.” He stumbles over his words, though the awkward neck rub as he blushes relieves some of her concern. Withdrawal looks like haunted eyes and sweat soaked pale skin. And even his scent is altered when those rare times come now.

But this is something else, though maybe just as concerning. He's hiding something, but not lying. A fact that is a relief and yet not as she steps forward with a slight tilt of her head. They agreed long ago to no secrets between them, and she isn't about to start letting him hold out on her now.

For @aetherflowers her Yvette and Cullen for day 2: warm embrace

Since it's Valentine's Day, what better occasion to share them?