Dorian Pavus & Cullen Rutherford, Josephine Montilyet & Cullen Rutherford & Leliana | G | 1968 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: Five times Cullen found that he didn't have to do everything the hard way. Mer's Rec: If you're into Cullen & Dorian friendship, or really any Cullen friendship, this fic will be right up your alley. Penknife does an excellent job of contrasting Dorian as a beleaguered academic (beloved) with Cullen's quieter intelligence. They also highlight Cullen as a strategist and commander, not just the "send the troops" guy, and the advisor interactions resonate with coworker friend energy, which I loved. I always adore fics that explore Cullen's habits and traits leftover from so many years as a Templar and this story seamlessly weaves in those details, which brings a real depth to both Cullen and his interactions.

• be my mirror by ella_vellan: (T; 5,798) Alistair & Morrigan. Alistair meets Kieran for the first time in Orlais. The dialogue in this feels so well-paced and authentic, and it really navigates a fraught situation with grace. One of those fics that feels bittersweet in the most cathartic way. 
• a gentle, beating heart by rynleaf: (M; 5,115 Words) Warden/Zevran. The Warden finds out she is pregnant sometime after Origins and puts off telling Zevran. The epistolary pieces of this frame the underlying story so well, and the flow of the fic itself is extremely well-paced.
• A Man’s Word is His Bond by howlsmovinglibrary: (M; 35,135 Words/9 chapters) Zevran/Warden Soulmate AU. Honestly? This Surana cracks me up and I adore this fic. She is just having absolutely none of his nonsense. No thank you. Also, the implications of a soulmate-identifying mark are really well-explored here.

• see me bare my teeth for you by calypsid: (T; 2,978 Words) Fenris/Hawke vampire AU. This one has really good pacing and Fenris’s POV is really effective. Would absolutely read way more about the dynamic between this Hawke and Fenris. 
• to hold you by the edges by vesperics: (T; 4,059 Words) Fenris/Hawke wound-tending set sometime in Act 1. I am a sucker for wound-tending anything, but I really enjoyed the way this fic explores Hawke and Fenris’s early dynamic and the way she navigates his boundaries about magical healing. 
• River Stone by loquaciousquark: (M; 45,633 Words) Fenris/Hawke. Hawke is captured and subjected to a botched Rite of Tranquility. Hawke survives by pretending it worked while Fenris tries to find her. The pain in this fic is so delicately and thoughtfully depicted; it might be my favorite hurt/comfort fic ever. There is an art to writing something that hurts like this while still making the catharsis of resolution feel earned, and this author absolutely knows how to do it right. 

• Portrait of a Man by Dulcidyne: (T; 3,136 Words) Cullen/Inquisitor. Cullen sits for a portrait. Love the dynamic of person vs. role here, and the idea of how someone is depicted potentially outliving who they actually are. A fic I would hug if I could. 
• Truth-Telling by todisturbtheuniverse: (M; 3,988 Words; CW: Fantasy Racism) Adaar/Josephine. Adaar tells several stories about how she lost her horn, but saves the truth for Josie. There are so many great pieces in this about the faces shown to people we trust vs. people who pry for information. Love the almost-but-not-quite together state of their relationship here, too. Yearning, my beloved. 
• Port in the Storm by kvella: (E; 89,445 Words/19 Chapters) After nearly hooking up, Cullen and Josephine navigate their tensions while trying to build a memorial for Haven. A lovely slow burn! Characterization is enjoyable and consistent, smut is well-written, and the tension is palpable. The sections involving Josie’s family were some of my favorites.

1. Some expression chart of Aisling, this time in Whale AU shores. Top right one is my favourite, and it isn't really her if she's not crying in at least three ones.
2. Going on with the symbolism one, I'm kinda stuck over the object for Miss Trash Raccoon. I'd put a trashcan but I already painted one in the chart.
3. A collage from my sketchbook: I was in the dukedom of Prosciutto last week for some work, and I scribbled something. Always Whale AU themed. I am very upsed there's so few paintings themed around the Orlando Furioso, I referenced the possibly one I found. Raina in this iteration has more themes taken from that poem (lost her wisdom upon the moon). Some smooching as I listened to Hozier's I, Carrion (Icarian), which quickly became their love theme. And some random storyboards which I don't know if I'll keep. I found a piece of lore which gave me an idea for some comic pages to start... but it was in a book whose authors wrote for a broadcast notorious for featuring conspiracies and being very historically inaccurate. Think history channel, but worse. (Sì sto parlando di Mistero.)(I bought some books in a rush and didn't check the authors in the store). It needs to be double checked: I haven't found anything on the internet, but I have other books on lore from Alghero on which I hope to find a confirmation. Meanwhile, it's there.

Traveling from Haven to the Crossroads was far more unpleasant than expected. The creak of brittle wood and clatter of uneven wheels was not what Cassandra would have considered ideal transportation, but there was little else in Haven that could ensure their passage to the Crossroads would be as swift as possible. A lack of mounts was high on the list of shortcomings the Inquisition faced, topped only by ‘leaderless’ and ‘labeled heretics by the Chantry.’ Unfortunately, while they could avoid the Chantry’s ire for the time being, travel was unavoidable, and she had begrudgingly forgone her own horse in favor of a spot on the floor in a rickety cart full of supplies while a scout rode ahead to survey their path. Their progress was slow-going, but there was little she could do to speed their journey through the mountains and she had grown tired of fretting over it, so she propped herself on a crate to keep look out over their small caravan. Solas and Varric had taken up a separate cart, and she could faintly hear their voices over the clamber of travel and scouts’ chatter. Part of her wished she could hear their conversation—Varric had no end of captivating, if not questionable, stories to tell, and Solas was strange and interesting in his own right, but she was also grateful for the slight distance. Her restlessness was quickly becoming irritation, and the sound of the others’ voices grew grating as they continued into hours. She let out a huff as she shifted, wondering if she should have brought a book to pass the time. It wasn’t as if her present company would mind, as she let her gaze drift from their surroundings to the man across from her.