This is a redraw of a picture I did in 2015 of my Dragon Age: Origins Warden Meriana Cousland with Bann Teagan Guerrin. If you followed me back then you might remember Meriana and Teagan. They were my OTP and I still have mostly fond memories of them (not of the DA fandom experience though... but that's in the past). I recently felt nostalgic about the two of them and somehow decided to draw them in my current style. This is the moment when they both mutually acknowledge that their romance between them can't happen (yet). In my headcanons they worked things out. But with the Blight and everything, then was not the time or place. And yes... I always drew Teagan with longer hair than he canonically had 🤷‍♀️ So... tomorrow work on commissions resume. I am already behind (my own) schedule.

Hai I'm still creative and not just reposting stuff. lol I'm just a bit tired of tumblr (i.e. of my art and especially OC posts reaching barely anyone). But hey, maybe you people care to see my Dragon Age project I'm working on? After all that fandom is why many people on here followed me originally, right? :) Anyhow, it's going to be a huevember-ish project, where each painting will have a main color as a theme. The characters (and their colors) from left to right, starting from the top: Teagan (Yellow), Wynne (Green), Leliana (Blue), Jowan (Violet), Sten (Red) and Alistair (Orange).

"Everything I have done has been to secure Ferelden's independence"

do you guys remember teagan’s “did he also do what was best for your husband, your majesty” line. i still remember the first time i saw that cutscene. lost my mind

Reading up on some npcs in dragon age really is like a cruel joke. Like what you mean so many have such cool backstories?

And since no one has asked for it, I deliver to you a young Teagan!🫵💜 Because I love that silly guy

why did they make bann teagan so hot and mutually flirty and then make it lead nowhere

let me climb alistair’s uncle right in front of him BioWare you cowards

Teagan coming back to himself after the demon forced him to attack a rogue warden and wondering why his balls ache so fuckin bad

Yeah Origins Teagan can still absolutely get it

CONFESSION

I was so mad that none of my wardens could call out Isolde on what she did to Alistair as a child that I wrote a fanfic where my warden got to call her out on everything she did. And in my fic my warden called out Eamon too.  It was not only fun to write it was cathartic.  

On Ferelden Love

So I just found out that Arl Eamon had two dads, and as I’m replaying the games I’m getting the sense that Ferelden just has no stigmas around relationships that other nations seem to have. Like certainly LGBTQ+ people exist everywhere, and nowhere in Thedas do they seem to be actively persecuted/harmed on account of sexuality, but most places seem to treat same-sex attraction as more of a “character quirk” than anything. Tevinter and Orlais seem to be in the same boat that a person, especially in the higher classes, is to marry an opposite-sex partner first and then take care of “personal tastes” on the side. Orlais also seems to have the Social Status of “mistress,” i.e., “officially recognized extramarital female lover of a wealthy/titled man,” but it seems unclear if there is an official equivalent for the lovers of wealthy/titled women. In any case, Orlais certainly has Rules for How Things Are Done, even extramarital affairs; the role of a mistress has a certain set of behaviors and expectations associated with it.

Then, Ferelden. Kingdom of Dogs. At the very least, we know that exclusive, monogamous same-sex partnerships are not strange enough to remark upon; i.e., Wade and Herren in DA:O. Are they married under Chantry law? I don’t think it’s ever confirmed, but I don’t think they couldn’t be. I think it’s notable that Sera, being the only same-sex romance option you can explicitly marry, is Ferelden.

Back to Arl Eamon tho. So yeah he had one mom and two dads, who seemed to all be mutually involved, and he referred to both men as “Father.” The non-nobility father, btw, was named Connor and is the person after whom Arl Eamon named his son. All this leads me to believe that this poly triad was common knowledge, and, like Wade and Herren, was something no one considered strange because Fereldens just Don’t Care About People’s Business. There is even some evidence that King Calenhad, the one who made Ferelden into Ferelden, had a “special friendship” with his advisor Aldenon the Wise. So “special,” in fact, that Calenhad ended up abandoning his life as king and going off into the wilds to search for Aldenon, never to be seen again.

And let’s also note that Bann Teagan, Eamon’s brother, has the option to flirt with a female Warden regardless of origin. The way it’s worded seems to imply he is, at the very least, not opposed to the idea of marriage -- even with a non-human, even with a mage. While we tragically cannot pursue any romance, it does tell us something about the world: while Ferelden royalty is bound by obligation to marry opposite-sex humans of appropriate social caste, it seems that middle-nobility is a bit more flexible.

Since society is still society, and heads of government in a monarchy are expected to produce more heads of government, I would guess that Bann Teagan is expected/required to marry a human woman to carry on the noble line. I would also expect him to be fully aware of this, and so I believe that his flirting with a female Warden, even the playful inquiry about marriage, does not interfere with Teagan’s duty to marry someone else. He was, after all, raised by three parents just like his brother; the remarkable thing here is not the implication of a possible triad, but the implication a possible triad where the word “marriage” applies to multiple partners. Coming from a Bann. Coming from someone in line to be the Arl of Redcliffe.

Could Bann Teagan and his family be outliers? I mean, I guess it’s possible. But also consider, nobility is ALWAYS held to a higher standard than commoners when it comes to “official” relationships. They are expected to keep producing heads of state, after all; they tend to get married younger, have less control over who they marry, and their behavior reflects more on their family. Also consider that the Guerrin bloodlineis highly influential -- the previous Queen of Ferelden was Eamon and Teagan’s sister! While they certainly have the influence to sleep with whoever they like in private, Eamon and Teagan must absolutely marry within acceptable the acceptable social norms of Ferelden. And if the nobility can form triads, including common-knowledge same-sex relationships, that means commoners can probably do all that and more besides.

All this together leads me to believe that the Ferelden definition of love, and even of family, is much more flexible than most nations. While hetero, monogamous marriage is what we see the most of, I’d guess that it’s not the normal relationship type so much as the most common one. I’d go so far as to wonder if maybe there just isn’t such thing as a “normal relationship” in Ferelden; that there are just relationships, and that’s that.

I don’t share WIPs often because they are a Patreon thing mostly. But here I like the outlines a lot already. There are a few minor adjustments that I need to make before coloring, but other than that… I’m quite happy with this so far.

It’s a redraw of a picture from 2015. My Grey Warden Meriana Cousland and Bann Teagan. The moment they realize that time and circumstances are against them after the battle of Redcliffe.

(I won’t return to the DA fandom, but I felt nostalgic.)

Dragon Age 2 Scenery - Chateau Haine

Chateau Haine was constructed as a fortress in 4:90 by Lord de la Haine. He tried to seize power in the Free Marches and was sentenced to be executed. He fled to Fortress Haine, pursued by his enemies. The siege lasted for 100 days before the besiegers hired the services of the Antivan Crows. The Crows entered the fortress and slit the lord's throat while he slept.

The castle sat empty for 30 years before being used as a stronghold by the Grey Wardens during the Fourth Blight. Caves and an artificial lake were constructed under the mountain to house thousands of refugees from nearby Marcher cities.

After the Blight, Fortress Haine was granted to Ser Gaston de Montfort, a chevalier who distinguished himself by leading the cavalry at the Battle of Ayesleigh. It's the current vacation villa of Duke Prosper de Montfort.

I usually keep my Teagan nonsense to tiktok but I do consider this to be my magnum opus

back on my dragon age bs

No one asked for it but have more young Teagan! I would give my kidneys not just to see him in Dreadwolf again but also to see him in his prime during one of the duels. 🙏💜