For Small Fandom week, I'm pleased to be able to present a rec in another of my favorite fandoms, one that hasn't been recced here before.

Title: The Great Outdoors
Fandom: Dragon Age
Pairing: Fenris/Female Hawke
Categories: Established Relationship, Humor, Fluff, Romance
Length: Medium (5,838 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: N/A -- fourthage @ tumblr
Author Website: fourthage

Author’s Summary: Hawke decides to leave the wyvern hunting to the Orlesians and have fun her own way. Kinkmeme fill for Mark of the Assassin DLC.


Review:
Given that BioWare is known for rich storytelling and developing complex characters with whom the player’s character can interact in a variety of ways, it’s unsurprising that the Dragon Age series provides such a fascinating world, rife with fanfiction possibilities.

In The Great Outdoors, Hawke is a funny, amiable rogue with just enough of an edge to keep things interesting. The author has done a brilliant job with all the voices, portraying each character’s personality so flawlessly that I could almost hear them speaking as I read. Varric is all smooth charm, urbane and pitch-perfect as he employs his wit and never-ending supply of words on Hawke’s behalf. Fenris is low-key, smoldering, but not so brooding that he can’t enjoy a little steamy, sexy, well-written fun with Hawke in the woods. While the main focus here is on a delightful interlude between Hawke and Fenris, the Varric-Hawke friendship shines too. It especially comes through when Hawke and Varric banter and place bets.

Speaking as someone who really loves this game, this story evokes the feeling of playing it in such a delightful way. It takes the events of the Mark of the Assassin DLC and offers an alternate scenario for this Hawke that I wish mine had been able to choose. (And not just because Fenris is my favorite companion.)


The Great Outdoors