Secret Swooper Gift for arysani: Fic: Right Here

[tarysande]

Title: Right Here
Author:tarysande
Giftee: arysani
Rating: T
Characters: Cullen/Bethany
Summary: Even before Wilmod transformed into a demon, Cullen was certain the lovely, dark-haired girl was a mage. He’d have to take her in. It was his duty, after all, and duty couldn’t be shirked, no matter how pretty and pleading the dark eyes.

Comments

[arysani]

Oh my goodness! This is simply splendiferous! The slow evolution, Cullen's constant awareness of the deeper & deeper waters he's treading, it all flowed so wonderfully. Bethany and her quiet acquiescence, and her secret skills! That part made me giggle - imagining Varric teaching her is hecka adorable. I am just so full of fuzzy feelings right now I am not at my most articulate. Thank you for a truly lovely gift! <3

[tarysande]

Oh, I am SO HAPPY you liked it!! And I'm so happy it gave you fuzzy feelings <3

I so love Bethany's banters with Varric and Isabela in-game; it makes sense to me that they might pitch in to make sure the apostate has as many secret skills as possible to call on ;D

[tersa]

The writing in this was wonderful. I love the slow build, all the interactions outside of the game or the stuff with Bethany, the everyday stuff with the other templars and Ser Alrik.

I kept waiting for him to ask Cullen how he knew the name 'Bethany Hawke', because I didn't see Alrik or his note mention Hawke's sister's name. Would've been a helluva way to catch him out. :>

[tarysande]

Thank you SO much for the feedback!! I tell you, at one point during the writing of this, I emailed a friend and said "I didn't mean to retell the game from Cullen's POV but he has SO MUCH TO SAY," so I am glad you enjoyed all the outside-of-the-game interactions.

Alrik DID mention Bethany's name before Cullen said it, actually, (You know, the mess with Wilmod. Shame this Bethany wasn’t with Serah Hawke then, isn’t it? You could’ve salvaged something out of that debacle.) although I did have to go back and check and would totally have edited it if I'd messed that up. Because you're right; that would have been a good way to catch Cullen out!

Thank you again for the lovely feedback. And also? Your ICON. Yum <3

[tersa]

I tell you, at one point during the writing of this, I emailed a friend and said "I didn't mean to retell the game from Cullen's POV but he has SO MUCH TO SAY," so I am glad you enjoyed all the outside-of-the-game interactions.

LOL. I did ! (and I'll admit it reminded me of my own fic I wrote from Cullen's POV, like, a lot, for the same reason of retelling the game essentially :)

Alrik DID mention Bethany's name before Cullen said it, actually

*facepalm* Apparently when I looked back, I didn't look back far enough. Bad me!

Heehee. I wish I could take credit for it, but no, I just heart it. Because everyone needs to have a Cullen icon. :>

[scary_lady]

DA2 didn't light my fire, and as a result I rarely read DA2 fic and even rarer are the ones I truly enjoy.

But this is fab. It's so beautifully written, flows like silk, the pacing is spot on. And I find your Cullen wholly and entirely believable.

And my favourite lines:

All he needed was the stutter and he’d be that callow boy from Ferelden’s Circle all over again.

The stutter, and a night’s sleep unplagued by nightmares.

Sums him up to perfection.

[tarysande]

Thank you so much for this lovely feedback, and for the lovely compliments.

Perhaps because I first played DA:O as a female mage, I think I've always had a soft spot for Cullen, and it makes me so happy to think I wrote him believably. (Especially given how little we're actually told about him in the context of the games; mostly I think I write fanfic to fill in perceived holes, or to flesh out characters I want to know more about... and Cullen falls into both those categories.)

Thank you again!

[tarysande]

True story: this fic was going to start with the Wounded Coast scene. Everything leading up to it was meant to be a three-paragraph intro. Then Cullen was all, "Hey, actually, I'm kind of going to need some backstory before anything resembling making out starts happening and three paragraphs isn't going to cut it." And then he kind of wouldn't shut up... so I'm glad the slow, careful build up worked :) Because that was ALL CULLEN'S DOING.

And I absolutely think Bethany has some layers of sassiness <3 I love the idea of her feeling comfortable enough to let them come out.

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback!! <3

[bananamae]

This was excellent! I haven't read many Cullen fics that seem to round him out as a person and you've really brought him to life.

That kiss & their convo at the end-very sweet!

I may now have a new headcanon for why Bethany doesn't seem to mind the circle that much. ;D

[tarysande]

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! I have a big big Cullen soft-spot and have spent some time trying to work him out and round him out in my head, so I'm so glad that came through in this story!

Honestly, I think this story came about because I needed headcanon to explain why Cullen didn't bother saying anything when my Hawke brought Bethany along on that first meeting!

Thank you again!