sarasa_cat | Entries tagged with f: dragon age

I'll get my Final Fantasy list and original fiction list done by monday.

MY COMPLETE WIP LIST OF SHAME FOR DRAGON AGE/THEDAS

This is why my Scrivener file has far too many words of story drafts and notes and meta but so little posted.

…orz…

If anything interests you, let me know. This list should be 100% complete.

Organized loosely by amount done, from lots of words drafted to plot bunnies and premise bunnies. When text exists in a public location, I’ve included links.

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Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/203963.html

Title: Ink and Lavender
Fandom: Dragon Age
Length: 3000 words
Characters: Cullen, VL's Neria Surana (assumes prior Cullen/Surana, current Alistair/Surana)
Summary: Knight Captain Cullen runs into Warden Surana in Hightown's market. Their reunion is bittersweet at best.

Read here on A History of Lies (on tumblr)

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/191647.html

2013 is my year of getting (far too many) Thedas-based fanfic WIPs posted and done. I knew work would force me to take a writing break from the end of March through early May but that's all behind me now. Whoo. Now I just need to remember WHAT I WAS WRITING!

This is the first of a few 2013 WIP Round-up posts for me so I can keep track of active projects.

Here are a few new WIPs that were added to my pile WHILE I was on a writing hiatus. ;)

(The old WIPs are all still active and will be mentioned in upcoming posts.)

Three Andrastian stories/story sets: Bethany Hawke's Diary (story title TBD, novella? shortish novel?), Victoria Hawke's Universe (story series title TBD, multiple short stories, Sebastian-focused) and Andraste's Story (title TBD, novella).

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Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/188172.html

What He Wants - Chapters 1 & 2 (approx. 1/6 of the planned story)
Dragon Age 2, Cullen/f!Hawke (not my Hawke -- inspired by kmeme prompt)

Apostate Marian Hawke hides an unintentional pregnancy from the templar father, a man quite different from herself. After Hawke gives birth, Cullen attempts to reconcile. (Written for a Dragon Age Kink Meme prompt)

Read on AO3
Read on ff.net

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/185292.html

A History of Lies - Chapter 1: A Kiss to Save the Day

Dragon Age: Cullen/Mari Hawke, cast

Rated R

Summary: As political stability in Kirkwall decays, Knight Captain Cullen must learn to provide leadership in an impossible situation. Meanwhile, he forges an unorthodox relationship with an apostate named Mari Hawke.

Chapter 1, “A Kiss to Save the Day,” opens in the middle, less than a week after Hawke battles the Arishok and is declared Champion of Kirkwall. Cullen has been told to accompany Hawke on an official visit to Cumberland. Unbeknownst to Cullen’s commanding officer, Meredith Stannard, the beginnings of a romantic relationship between Cullen and Hawke have been secretly blossoming. Now, on their trip to Cumberland, everything is about to change…

----

Throughout the day, Cullen rehearsed the barefaced lie he would write in his evening report.

Starting early in the morning, when he and Hawke set sail, heading west out of Kirkwall Harbor, alone on a tiny, single-masted boat, Cullen shuffled words in his head, moving them like pieces in a puzzle. He sought out innocuous patterns. Simple statements that read as unquestionable truths. He sprinkled in details to add touches of realism. Stock phrases to confirm what his readers already thought. By noon, he had composed his evening report more than a dozen times. Each time he felt satisfied with the picture his words would paint, he chided himself for creating a premeditated lie. After all, nothing worth hiding had occurred. At least, not yet. And then Hawke would catch his eye as she brushed back her windblown hair. She’d flash him a smile far warmer than his templar title should invite. In his head, he refined his fiction one more time, building the shield of words that would protect him while he sought out what he knew he wanted. She gave him strength, and everything about him and Hawke was a matter between himself and the Maker. This time, Cullen refused to feel shame.

[Read on AO3 or Read on FF.net]

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/184960.html

Master post for A History of Lies

Dragon Age 2, Aveline and Mari Hawke think about Wesley

A is for Apprehension: Apostate, Keep Your Distance (part 1 of ?)

While we sat near the edge of the dock, waiting for our contact to arrive, I thought about Wesley while Aveline thought about Bethany for me. Not that Aveline and I had agreed to mull over each other’s concerns. In fact, we rarely discussed our losses and neither of us had time to grieve. Yet, during the slowest hours of the day, as we waited for Athenril’s contacts to bring us to the back of a cargo ship, Aveline and I silently swapped our concerns, alleviating both of us of our reluctance for dwelling on what we had lost.
[READ MORE - on tumblr]

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/180566.html

Well, I don't have a good track record for completing bingo cards but unlike the others,

trope_bingo is the first bingo challenge that is designed for the type of stories I write. So, I signed up.

Aaaannnnnndd I already have a couple thousand words of notes for my plans. :D

Card #1:
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Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/179219.html

Another set of entries, cross posted from my tumblr account.
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Currently doing the 30 Day Dragon Age Warden Challenge (character development exercise) over on Tumblr. I'm posting archives over here with a few days batched up into one. Here are Days 1 through 4 (Describe Your Warden's Background, Describe Your Warden's Appearance, Detailed Description of Warden's Personality, Descriptions of Warden's Relationships with DA:O Companions).

Fearliath's 30 Day Warden Challenge Master Post

Day 1. Describe Your Warden

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Sorry to not keep on schedule with my NaBlo posts yesterday and the day before. I started writing this post on Tuesday morning but a combination of a deep lack of sleep, a 12-hour workday, and all of the hullaballoo with the U.S. elections squarely got in the way of finishing this post. By the time I got home, the 6^th of November had come and gone, and I was a crazy mix of drunk (wheee, alcohol), wired (wheee! Great election results!), and exhausted (booo… no solid sleep for days…). Yesterday, I decided to take a MUCH NEEDED “fall off the face of the earth” day. I slept until early afternoon (yay! Sleep deficit resolved!) and then I sequestered myself in a coffee house with a book. Dinner somehow ended up involving a lot of tequila as my dinner-mates monitored state and county election returns (at that point, only 60ish% of our state’s vote had been counted, and less so for our populous county). I finished writing this post late last night (after sobering up) but was too tired to post it. Clearly I need to catch up with my NaBlo posts by doing double posts over the next few days.

Today’s post is about one of my WIPs, This Bird Has Flown (Alistair/Surana, Cullen/Surana). A 500 word excerpt from my draft of the first chapter is at the bottom of this post.

This Bird Has Flown grew out of the first DA:O fanfic that I drafted almost a year ago. The story hasn’t yet seen the light of day because the idea needed a lot of time to cook. Along the way, it merged with a few other story ideas until one day the whole thing just *CLICKED* and I could see the entire novel. At that point, I only needed to sit down and write it. (Harharhar.)

While TBHF is narrated entirely by Alistair, the story is just as much about Neria’s friendship/relationship with Cullen in the Circle and Alistair’s prior friendship with Cullen as monastic brothers as it is about Alistair/Neria, Alistair’s relationship with his royal-blooded family, and Alistair feeling unsure about what he wants out of life.

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Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/176469.html

Each week during NaBloWri Mo, on Mon/Tue I’m posting recommendations for fan made graphic novels that include Ser Cullen in a major or supporting role. (Each Tue/Wed for NaBlo I’ll blog about my Cullen WIPs before going back to blogging meta for the rest of each week).

This week’s reco is “In Peace, Vigilance,” by Abadir — a buddy adventure with romance subplots (featuring Cullen/f!Surana).

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Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/176261.html

NaBlo #3. Which Ser Cullen is in your canon? (And how might that change your expectations for Cullen in DA3?)

Am I looking forward to the possibility of Ser Cullen making an appearance in the DA3? Yes. Definitely yes. If Cullen ends up as a companion character, I’ll hunt the game for clues to figure out how to recruit him as early as possible. If a little Cullenmancing is available, I certain that my PC will lay out the welcome mat for that templar, no matter the roller coaster ride the romance provides. Flaws and all, Cullen’s characterization has interested me so far and I love how Greg Ellis brings this character alive.

But, despite all of that, I actually have doubts about Cullen playing a major role in DA3. Why? If Cullen is brought back as a companion character, the breadth of his prior history makes him a difficult and polarizing character to write.

( read more... with lots of character arc graphs! )

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/176120.html

In yesterday’s essay I wrote about Cullen being one of Dragon Age’s best kept secret. In it, I mentioned how Cullen has a character arc with a “fall and rise” plot structure but the player’s choices will reveal more or less of his story, providing either a richer or weaker variant of his arc. Today’s essay takes a look at what is arguably Cullen’s most interesting and most complete arc—the arc that gives him the most screen time, the most personal growth, and the greatest explanation for his on-screen actions.

( Read more and see pretty character arc graph! )

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/175864.html

The funny thing about being a fan of Ser Cullen is that when other Dragon Age fans say they don’t understand why Cullen has fans, they have good reasons.

Although Cullen has a satisfying story arc with a “fall and rise” plot structure, many of his lines in DA:O and DA2 are missable or skippable. Furthermore, most of his required scenes show him at his very worst. Cullen’s arc begins in the mage origin story and ends during the final quest in DA2, but the player’s choices influence which parts of his story will be seen. In my opinion, the most complete arc requires exploring the mage origin in DA:O, visiting Cullen regularly at the Gallows, outside of required DA2 quests, and making certain choices during the templars ending in DA2. Overall, this makes Cullen’s story an easter egg hunt, and one that requires unpopular player choices.

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Also x-posted on tumblr

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/175528.html

Templar Cullen might be bashful but according to my calendar it is now November which means that it’s NaCulWriMo! Get ready for a month of Cullen meta, headcanon, and random reviews of Cullen-centric fan comics. Maybe even some random bits of short fic?

I'm also posting to tumblr where you can track or savior #vl’s-month-of-cullen-meta based on your tastes.

First real post will come sometime later today.

(meanwhile, I will attempt to write my DABB wave two story, if possible. Hard to say. October ended up being a life-disaster so I am very, very behind.)

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/174614.html

I posted on Sept 9th about a month-long writing productivity experiment that I'm doing this month in which I count the number of words I post (or archive) per month. Given that I'm on vacation (which is rapidly ending), my count is a bit higher than I expect it would normally be.

All of the details for how much I wrote plus a list of all fiction and essays during the first 9 days of September: are linked from this post.

As of today, I'm my count for September looks like this:

Words Archived: 0 (must make archival versions of two DAkinkmeme stories before end of month?!)
Words Posted: 23561 (definitely higher than my target)
Number of Posts: 14
Days when no writing occurred: 2

Fiction, Headcanon & Meta posted from Sept 10 - Sept 20:

DA2 Meta: Thoughts on the Anders Rivalmance - 625 words
DA2: Fenris/fem!mage!Hawke - "Close" - 2150 words (very NSFW, for this prompt)
DA2: Cullen/Mari Hawke - Chapter from "A History of Lies" (drunk Cullen has something he must tell Mari) - 2350 words
DA2: Cullen/Mari Hawke - Headcanon in 15 Question Domestic Meme - 3850 words
DAO: Cullen/Surana "Accidental Baby" - 650 words
FFXII: Vossler/Basch "Telepathy" - 430 words

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/174552.html

Yet another domestic meme! This has a big section of thinky-thoughts at the end (question 15) with music/poetry from Leonard Cohen and why Cohen’s juxtaposition of sacred and profane imagery is absolutely perfect for a Hawke/Cullen ship. I’ve included links to four songs for your listening pleasure.

01. Who is big spoon/little spoon?

Him. Her. Neither. The dog. Depends.

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(Crossposted on tumblr)

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/174217.html

I want to get Alistair's relationship with my canon warden, Neria Surana, back into my head so here's a detailed version of a 15-question domestic meme, complete with a few songs to listen to while you're reading (if you are so inclined -- scroll down to the end for music).

01. Who is big spoon/little spoon?

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(Cross-posted on tumblr)

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/173514.html

Peaches and Gin
Dragon Age 2
Mari Hawke, Malcolm, Leandra, Carver, Bethany
2100 words (rated R for some obscene language)

Written in response to pixelnyx’s question about “Mari’s relationship with Malcolm and Leandra. And because I imagine this might make a difference, how Mari might moderate her behaviour when it’s Leandra and Malcolm in the same room vs what Mari might say to them one on one.”

———

Family matters flowed easily when father was alive. My youth was full of joy. Me laughing until my sides ached, bare feet kicking in the air as I rolled backward on the floor, hands clasped as my elbows locked, index fingers pushed together and pointing up as I shot sprays of frost into the roof beams.Father threw peach pits into the air for me to shoot. Whenever I hit one, it would plummet to the floor, falling as an icy hailstone. PLONK! I would roll fast and dodge out of the way under the table. Another peach pit would loft into the rafters and, just as fast, I would slide on my side, fingers taking aim. KE-PLONK! CRASH! A peach pit hailstone knocked a cooking pot from a shelf and our old mabari jumped to his feet, barking at the sudden clatter. Carver yelled at me and Father to ‘knock it off, would you?’ He was trying to read. Bethany rolled her eyes and smirked behind her needlework. All the while, Father and I howled just as loud as our barking dog. Side-splitting laughter forced me to clutch my side but Father tossed another pit into the air. The pit careened straight toward the little glass window on our front door, leaving me no time to take a breath as I took aim. I forced out a bolt of ice that knocked the pit from its trajectory. The ice-bound pit crashed into the door-jamb just as Mother walked in.

“Oh, Maker!” Bethany shouted. Eyes wide, she clasped her hands to her mouth.

[Read on AO3]

Crossposts: http://vieralynn.livejournal.com/173024.html

During my semi-vacation, I'm trying to post one fic-bit per day. No minimum word count but at least one page (250-300 words)? If I skip a day, oh well. Life is life. Sometimes I'm nowhere near a computer or the intertubes.

Fic bits are going up on my tumblr account under the "my fic" tag: http://vieralynn.tumblr.com/tagged/my-fic

Today's fic bits are both from my canon Dragon Age universe: