Adaia Tabris - Blog Posts
headcanoning war vet/night elf adaia with the line "[Adaia] wanted [Tabris] more than anything. It’s sad she never got to see you all grown up." and "Valendrian and [Duncan] have known each other for almost twenty years… since the time I tried to recruit your mother, in fact." [...] "I never made the offer. Valendrian convinced me that it was better for her to remain here with her family. As there was no Blight and thus no immediate need for recruits, I deferred to his wishes." really adds severe psychic damage of adaia simply wanting a peaceful life with her family after the war and im shattering like glass
the description of adaia's boots has me in its grip..
some mothers knit booties for their unborn babes. adaia, who was much more practical, made leather boots adorned with patterns of vines.
Dilwyn and Gethon’s Camp Supper
Adaia’s old friends knew her from her adventuring days, and often shared food and stories around the campfire. The menu is nothing exciting: whatever they caught, brought, or foraged, but for Dilwyn and Gethon, the memories lasted forever.
Menu:
“Rabbit” Stew with Dumplings
Roast Apples
Shopping List:
flour
apples
onion
parsley
sage leaves
8 ounces mushrooms
butter
3 pound rabbit or chicken
Gethon’s “Rabbit” Stew
It’s a little bland, but it keeps body and soul together. Rabbit can be purchased from larger markets or specialty provisioners, but substitution and improvisation form the backbone of this recipe, so chicken or Cornish hens will do just as well. Odds are good that Gethon himself made it with chicken plenty of times, or squirrel, or any other small game they had on hand. If you don’t have eggs to make the dumplings, add ¼ cup more water and accept that the dumplings will be very dense.
1 3-pound chicken or rabbit
1 large onion
2 whole sage leaves
handful parsley
8 ounces mushrooms
salt to taste
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
½ cup water
Cut the meat apart at the joints, skinning the carcass, but leaving the bones in. Arrange in the bottom of a pot just large enough to hold the meat without stacking it. Cut the onion into a ½ inch dice and toss it and the remaining ingredients on top of the rabbit. If you have leeks or greens, toss them in, too. Add water to within half an inch of the top layer of vegetables. Cover the pot, put over the hottest part of the fire and bring it to a boil, then move it off the fire slightly (or turn down the heat) and simmer until the meat is very tender and the vegetables are soft, at least 1 hour. The vegetables will sweat out their juices and contribute liquid to the stew, and the longer this cooks, the more flavor it has. Season to taste with salt and continue to simmer while you prepare the dumplings.
Combine the flour with the salt and rub in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the eggs and the water and mix to form a dough. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the surface of the simmering stew, cover, and cook until the dumplings are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Dilwyn’s Roast Apples
Dilwyn was never as fond of cooking as her husband Gethon, so she leaves the bulk of the meal preparation to him and contents herself with making a little something to round things out. Quantities are rather pointless, as the procedure is the same whether you are roasting one apple or a dozen.
Core apples, wrap in kitchen foil, and roast in the embers or on the grill until the apples are soft, about 30 minutes. Serve with honey, if desired.
headcanoning war vet/night elf adaia with the line "[Adaia] wanted [Tabris] more than anything. It’s sad she never got to see you all grown up." and "Valendrian and [Duncan] have known each other for almost twenty years… since the time I tried to recruit your mother, in fact." [...] "I never made the offer. Valendrian convinced me that it was better for her to remain here with her family. As there was no Blight and thus no immediate need for recruits, I deferred to his wishes." really adds severe psychic damage of adaia simply wanting a peaceful life with her family after the war and im shattering like glass
i know bros had no money for a portrait but please let the tabris finally be happy,,,
the fact that you start the Tabris origin by literally stepping into your mother's shoes. the fact that what you get is a wedding outfit and your mother's worn boots, kept carefully intact for years, tucked away for this exact moment. the fact that you then immediately take the path she never could, leaving behind the alienage and the wedding and following Duncan (who would have recruited Adaia first, if not for baby!Tabris) to what ought to have been death.
And Then!! instead of fighting and falling as she did, cheating death and becoming the fighter she always intended you to be instead??? Reliving and simultaneously subverting the story of her life??
The Red Admiral
What if Adaia Tabris was never killed?
Kallian stopped still to stare at him, completely baffled. "What are you doing here?"
"Um. Well… rescuing you," he stammered in return, blushing. "Or more, y'know, just… standing here."
She stared at her betrothed, dumbfounded. Of all the possibilities she'd considered, stressing in that dank, dripping dungeon; Nelaros was never a variable. Her mother; yes, Soris even; yes, the guards killing them all; of course.
Nelaros? Who wrote to her, timid and polite, to ask her ring size as if inquiring to a nobleman where he hoarded his gold? Who smiled at her warmly when they met in person, earnestly telling her how he would spend his whole life learning how to make her happy?
No, Nelaros had never been a part of it.
Mama Tabris: probably at least half the reason Tabris gets into so much trouble, but also the reason she can handle herself so well once she's in it.
AND I ALSO COME BEARING MORE PROMPTS BECAUSE YOU KNEW I'D BE CHUCKING DING DONG DADDY INTO YOUR INBOX SO HERE IT IS: "it wasn’t just about needing someone tonight. it was you i needed." for Adaia x Duncan also if you need me I'll be in the corner being all :eyes: emoji af
dingdongdadaia? adaiaddy? much to think about.
thank you for the prompt, effe!
rated m. adaia/duncan. 828 words. @dadrunkwriting
*
The gates of Denerim were fearsome in the moonlight. Shadows played tricks across the wood making them look ever taller; staunch watchmen who promised to keep their secrets.
"Here," Adaia said, holding out her daggers.
Duncan turned to her with a frown.
"Elves who have swords will die upon them," she smiled wryly, shaking the weapons insistently.
"I know," he muttered. He always hated stripping her of her own blades, and his mouth was a grim line as he slowly reached for them.
His hands carefully closed around the hilt of the first, the metal cool against his skin. Adaia didn't let go right away. They held each other's gaze for as long as they held the dagger, before Adaia's small hand slid off and she looked away.
He secured the swords on his hip as she walked towards the gates. He needed to follow, to flash some Grey Warden authority to the guards and explain away why they had been out so late. But he stood rooted; transfixed.
Adaia had always been beautiful. She was beautiful when they'd met, a cut on her face and a snarl on her lips. She was beautiful each time he invited her on a mission, each time she skipped out of the alienage with a laugh and a wave. But in the night, lit by all the stars and the moon, the torchlight bathing her in an amber glow...
"Are you coming?" she smirked, looking at him over her shoulder.
He swallowed, clearing his throat before following her.
As they stole through the quiet streets, Duncan couldn't help but wonder how long they could keep it up. It had been a year since they'd met, fighting their way out of the Brecilian Forest together. How much longer could he ask her to go with him on his less important missions? How much longer would she want to?
The looming alienage gates always sent dread burrowing into his stomach – though he had to assume it was significantly easier for him than Adaia. This time, though, it felt worse somehow. He couldn't pinpoint why. Perhaps it was his closer brush with death than usual that night, or Wintersend knocking on his front door. But Duncan knew that this night couldn't be the same as all the others. He couldn't just say goodbye, watch her head home, and sleep alone in a grim little camp he'd sleepily set up on his way back to the Wardens.
"Well," Adaia smiled, leaning against her front door. They looked around quickly before he gave her back her blades. "Thanks again!"
"Thank you," he replied earnestly.
Her smile widened in a quiet laugh as her hand reached behind her for the door handle.
"If you need anyone again, you know where I am," she grinned.
He heard the door start to open.
He couldn't let it happen that way again.
"It wasn't about needing just anyone," he rushed out, for once not letting his brain filter out what he wanted to say.
Her smile faltered, and the door clicked shut.
"It was you I needed."
She blinked up at him with her big brown eyes, like autumn leaves in the sun. Her dark skin looked flushed in the candlelight that streamed through the window.
He held her gaze, as he could do nothing else.
Adaia was looking at him in a way he'd never noticed. Her eyes flicked between his, down to his lips, and back. Her breath was shallow, her chest quickly rising and falling. He shuddered.
"Good," she whispered.
She was on her tiptoes before he knew it, and he quickly bent down to meet her halfway. He could feel her breath on his lips as they neared, neither daring to push farther just yet. Duncan could feel her mouth against his, the barest brush as they danced around each other.
When the pounding of his heart and the rush in his ears was too much to bear, he brought his hands up to either side of Adaia's face, easily threading his fingers into her hair... and they kissed.
It built up quickly. A year's worth of tension overflowed from both of them, bruising and tender. Passion thrummed in his veins as he felt her tongue against his lips and he opened, deepening their kiss. It was hard, fast, and desperate, and her trembling hand blazed a fire under his skin as her nails dug into the back of his neck.
Her other hand fisted into the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, and he gladly obliged. Duncan pushed Adaia against the door, his hand trailing down her body, grabbing at her helplessly as she gasped into his mouth, tugging him to the present. They were being loud. Soft moans and gasps, the rustle of swords and daggers as they desperately gripped onto each other.
Adaia pulled away suddenly.
"It's getting late," she panted.
"Yes," he murmured, blinking nervously.
"D'you want to come in?"
"...Yes."
I headcanon that as Dalish elves marry into clans, city elves marry into families in the same sort of way. They take on the surname of whichever family they're primarily joining (which usually entails moving in with them as it's more affordable).
It's not gendered either! Adaia married into the Tabris family and became Adaia Tabris, and as Nelaros was moving from Highever to Denerim, he would have become Nelaros Tabris too.