Cullen/Inquisitor

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Pairing
Pairing: Cullen/The Inquisitor
Alternative name(s): Cullavellan (Lavellan!Inquistor), Cullvelyan (Trevelyan!Inquisitor), Cullen/Lavellan, Cullen/Trevelyan
Gender category: Het (canon)
Fandom: Dragon Age
Canonical?: player determinant
Prevalence: popular
Archives:
Other:
Arill and Cullen by hyperionwitch.
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Cullen/Inquisitor, also known as Cullavellan (Cullen/Lavellan!Inquistor) and Cullvelyan (Cullen/Trevelyan!Inquisitor), is the canonically het pairing of Cullen Rutherford and The Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition.

In the Game

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, Cullen acts as the Inquisitor's military adviser, and is a potential romance option for female human and elf Inquisitors.[1] According to the game's creative director, Mike Laidlaw, he was not originally intended to be a romance option, but was added as one (along with Solas) when development was extended by a year.[2] Fans have speculated the inability to romance Cullen as a female Qunari or dwarf in the game may have been the result of time and budget constraints.[3] Cut dialogue suggests Cullen may have also been planned as a romance option for male Inqusitors at some point in development.[4]

There is a fan-made mod which allows players to romance him as any race.[5] However, this mod does not alter all character animations to account for the different sizes of the Qunari and dwarf models, producing unintentionally humorous glitches in certain cutscenes. One notable example causes Cullen to motorboat the Inquisitor's breasts when he is supposed to be kissing her.[6]

Fandom

Ship Variants

Cullen/Inquisitor is one of the most popular pairings in the Dragon Age: Inquisition fandom. The Cullen/Trevelyan (human) version of the pairing appears to be somewhat more popular than the Cullen/Lavellan (elf) version. Cullen/Adaar (Qunari) and Cullen/Cadash (dwarf) also have small followings. Cullen/Male Inquisitor is fairly common and has inspired numerous fanworks.

Statistics

  • In 2019, Cullen/Inquisitor was the most popular ship for Cullen in a survey of FanFiction.net, with the pairing's variants collectively accounting for 70% of sampled fics. Cullen/Trevelyan individually accounted for 36% of the sample and Cullen/Lavellan for 16%, while 18% of fics used the catch-all "Cullen/Inquisitor" label.[7]
  • As of 2020, Cullen/Female Inquisitor is the most popular Dragon Age: Inquisition pairing on Archive of Our Own, and also the most popular Dragon Age pairing overall.

Common Tropes in Fanworks

  • Friends to Lovers: Some fics focus on the progression of Cullen and the Inquisitor's relationship from comrades-in-arms to lovers.
  • Happily Ever After: Fics sometimes show Cullen and the Inquisitor settling down to a quiet life after retiring from the Inquisition.
  • Height Difference: Cullen/Adaar fanworks often emphasize their significant height difference.
  • Hurt/Comfort: Many Cullen/Inquisitor fics feature this trope in some form. Some play the trope straight by having the Inquisitor or Cullen tend the other's injuries after they are wounded. Others have the Inquisitor supporting Cullen through his struggles with lyrium withdrawal or helping him find healing from the trauma of his experiences at Kinloch Hold and Kirkwall. Alternately, Cullen may be the one comforting the Inquisitor, helping them bear the pain of the Anchor, the trauma of being the sole survivor of the Conclave, or the general strain of leading the Inquisition.
  • Love Triangle: Some fics place the Inquisitor in a love triangle with Cullen and another character, generally Solas or Blackwall, but less commonly The Warden.
  • Mundane-Mage Romance: Cullen/Mage Inquisitor fics often explore the complex and fraught dynamic of a former Templar and a mage falling in love. This sometimes involves Cullen having to reckon with his involvement in mage persecution and overcome his latent anti-mage views.
  • Rude Interruption‎: During the first kiss cutscene in the game, Cullen and the Inquisitor are interrupted when an Inquisition recruit, named Jim by the fandom, delivers a report. This has lead many fics to feature humorous scenes of Jim barging in on other moments of intimacy. Some fics even characterize him as a voyeur who intentionally spies on the couple.
  • Second Chance at Love: A significant number of fics feature the Inquisitor finding love with Cullen after experiencing heartbreak or loss. Generally, this involves the Inquisitor having been jilted by Solas or Blackwall, but some fics feature the Inquisitor grieving for an OC spouse or lover who died (typically at the Conclave). Since it is possible to romance multiple characters in the same playthrough, it is not uncommon for Cullen to be an in-game rebound after a player romances Solas or Blackwall. Some fics also feature Cullen learning to love again with the Inquisitor, which typically involves overcoming his unrequited feelings or grief for the The Warden.
  • Substance Abuse/Recovery: Some fics focus on Cullen's lyrium addiction or the difficulties of withdrawal after he decides to stop using it. In the game, the player, as the Inquisitor, can encourage Cullen to stay strong and remain off lyrium, or ask him to start taking it again for the good of the Inquisition. The Inquisitor is generally portrayed as supportive of Cullen's decision in fics, although some fics explore the fallout of the request to start taking lyrium again (which may result in Cullen breaking up with the Inquisitor in the game). A smaller subset of fics focus on the Inquisitor starting lyrium (usually due to choosing the Templar specialization) and how this impacts their relationship with Cullen.
  • Table Sex: This is a common kink in Cullen/Inquisitor fics as a result of the couple having sex on Cullen's desk in the game (or at least being implied to have done so).

Terminology

  • Cullenlingus: Term used to refer to Cullen performing cunnilingus on the Inquisitor in smutfics.
  • Cullenmance/Cullenmancer: Terms used to refer, respectively, to the Cullen romance story in the game and to players who romance him.
  • Cully-Wully: Sera uses this as a sarcastic nickname for Cullen when teasing the Inquisitor about her relationship in the game. Fans have adopted it as a general nickname for him.

Fannish Reception

General Opinions

Fans of Cullen/Inquisitor often cite what they see as the sweet and wholesome tone of their romance arc in the game as once of its main appeals. Some have also praised the romance as having depth, emotional maturity, and believable character growth, finding that it manages to explore themes of trauma and addiction while avoiding negative stereotypes.

Cullen is hands down best romance in the game for me. Cullen's romance is my absolute favorite in the series. It feels emotionally realistic. Cullen is so awkward and sexy and he's just a great character.

leapoffaith24[8]

Cullen, Cullen, Cullen.

I really loved Dorian's romance arc too, but Cullen's relationship is so wonderful because it's a mature adult relationship that doesn't fall into the trope of "oh I will FIX THIS MAN and then he will be MINE". Cullen fixes his damn self, and lets the Inquisitor take care of herself as well. Neither Cullen nor the Inquisitor are fully dependent on their significant other, and yet they come together and help one another succeed in whatever trials they face personally because they're in love. Because that's what adults in healthy relationships do. They let each other be individuals while being together.

And that may be a bit boring and not-enough-drama for some, but I respect the hell out of it. <3

troyatistic[9]

Where do I even start? For one, he's (in my opinion) one of the most attractive romance options in the game. But I can mention a few other things:

1. I love his character growth. He goes from naive and well-intentioned at the beginning of DAO to traumatised and broken at the end of the same game. He starts DA2 with a terrible hate of mages because of his experiences, but by the end of the game he manages to grow beyond that. If you side with the Templars, there is a scene where a group of mages surrender and you can decide what to do with them. If you ask Cullen for his opinion, he tells you to spare them, because a Templar's job is also protecting the mages and giving them the opportunity to prove themselves. By DAI, he recognises his former prejudices and makes an effort to grow past that. All of this speaks, to me, of an enormous strength of character and ability to confront his own flaws that I find incredibly attractive.

2. Along with Cassandra, he embodies the positive aspects of the Chantry. This is a character who has gone to hell and back, and uses his faith as a positive force to sustain him during his hard times. I'm not a religious person at all, but I can respect people who use religion as a force to motivate them toward good. And (again, like Cassandra), he is tolerant of people with differing views, so that speaks to me of open-mindedness.

3. His romance is incredibly wholesome. He has deep, personal issues, but manages to leave them away from the relationship. If you romance him, he is protective, sweet, caring and supportive. All of the romance scenes are incredibly sweet, and he shows that he cares deeply in every one of them.

4. There's something absolutely endearing in the way he changes around your Inquisitor. He's portrayed as this serious, unapproachable man, someone who takes action and is respected by all his men, who follow him unquestionably to battle. And yet, around your Inquisitor he turns all sweet and bashful and kind of insecure. The contrast between the man yelling "Inquisition! With the Herald! For your lives! For all of us!" while leading his men into battle and the man saying "It's a... uh... nice day..." while trying to talk to your Inquisitor is just adorable.

5. His snarky sense of humor is amazing. This doesn't come out too much while talking to him, but some of his War Table reports and responses are hilarious.

permanentthrowaway[10]

Fans who dislike the Cullen/Inquisitor romance sometimes criticize it as bland or wish fulfillment, but some Cullenmancers have said they enjoyed it as a sweet, straightforward "fairytale" with a happy ending that feels earned to them.

Cullen's, meanwhile, is probably my favorite of the fairytale romances in Dragon Age, not least because it doesn't end with the hookup, but instead actually explores Cullen's journey across the entire trilogy. It's especially satisfying if you romance him with a mage, since Cullen's story back in Dragon Age: Origins began with a traumatic experience that left him with a bias that he was still working through even in Dragon Age II and on into Dragon Age: Inquisition.

In DAI, Cullen is therefore wrestling with a search for redemption based on over a decade of backstory if we've played the entire trilogy. His emotional inner conflicts result in a romanced relationship with the Inquisitor that can be really rich and poignant, as his feelings for her are depicted in a lovely and often wordless progression of simple, believable little moments (both funny and sexy) that genuinely communicate intimacy. As his romance evolves, we're shown Cullen's more vulnerable side, as well as how deep his sense of religious faith really is. I remember being surprised and moved at a simple scene near the end in which Cullen simply embraced the Inquisitor and held her, expressing for the first time how deeply he feared losing her.

There are plenty of other happy romances in Dragon Age, but they're not as straightforward. These romances, however, meet the basic needs of the formula and provide a general prospect of romantic happiness for those who make the right choices.

Angela D. Mitchell[11]

I think the romances in DA were written based on certain relationship archetypes in mind.

Cullen, I think, is that wholesome knight-in-shining armor romance, with a happily-ever-after waiting for you at the end. Throw in a tragic background, good reformation arc of "saving" him from his lyrium addiction and you have the picture of this sweet, good, wholesome couple, who help each other become better people.

Cullen generally is shy and awkward around women he likes, which is a huge draw since it's an adorable vulnerability. Also, on a surface level, it helps that Cullen is very handsome, has a pleasant speaking voice, and is the Commander of the Inquisition army, which are all things that add into that "golden knight" image.

Cullenmance draws the sort of people who love those cute, uncomplicated romances that end happily. Not everyone loves high drama and I respect that. I get that it isn't your thing, which is also totally fine.

cappyfish[12]

I always end up going after Cullen no matter how many times I tell myself I won't. Some people will say it's vanilla and boring but I love it. It's the most satisfying to me because you're with this character for three games, you get to see him turn into the man he is and your Inquisitor can finally bring him the happiness he is long overdue for. If I wasn't playing a male Inquisitor for my current game I'd go after him again!

Princess_Thranduil[13]

Sometimes you just need that damn fairytale. That's what I call the Cullenmance.

SardonicVampire[14]

Mage!Inquisitor Discourse

Fans have expressed reservations about the way the game handles the Mage!Inquisitor version of the romance story. Some see the Mage!Inquisitor's relationship with Cullen as inherently problematic given Cullen's history as a Templar. In particular, they argue that he has not rejected and grown beyond the anti-mage sentiments he openly expressed in DA:O and DA2, but simply come to see the Mage!Inquisitor as a special exception.

Even returning characters were strangely divorced from their previous selves, in ways that made them less interesting. For example: I chose to romance Cullen, a former NPC who has grown so drastically over the first two games that he basically got promoted to semi-playable in this one. Now, Cullen's got issues, for those of you who don't remember him, and I like that about him; it made him complex, believable, even if he wasn’t always a good person. In the first game he was an idealistic young Templar who dared to have a crush on a mage — whose infatuation was poisoned when he got mercilessly mind-tortured by some evil mages and desire demons. The result: in DA2 he became the harsh, paranoid captain of the Kirkwall Circle of Magi, where all sorts of atrocities (e.g. systematic beatings, rapes, magical lobotomies) were illegally inflicted on mages in the name of protecting them from evil. Effectively Cullen’s a former Nuremberg officer who was "just following orders: back then. And yeah, I went there. It's an appropriate analogy given the oppression of mages in the DAverse; DA:O and DA2 went there too, and I respected those games for doing so. DA:I unfortunately handwaves the situation with a blithe "both sides are bad" argument that doesn't really work, morally speaking. We’re left with the knowledge that Shit Went Down on Cullen’s watch in the last game — and all the evidence suggests that he (at best) looked the other way while it happened. I romanced him with my mage character in hopes of exploring this issue with him, but there's no answer to this crucial character question in DA:I. Cullen expresses a vague regret for his feelings back then, but not for what he did, or allowed to be done. Worse, we have no idea whether he's changed, since. So now in DA:I he's willing to have sex with a mage — a mage he says he doesn’t think of as a mage, which is pretty much on par with "I don't think of you as black" as pick-up lines go. (Hint for those of you who might be thinking of approaching a black person with that pick-up line: don't.) Still, I guess this is supposed to indicate progress since he wouldn’t in DA:O… but ya know, lots of Templars in Kirkwall were all too happy to have sex with mages.* Given that context and without any development to suggest otherwise, Cullen suddenly being down with the mage chicks is… not cute. Kind of disturbing, actually.

N. K. Jemisin[15]

Then the romance with a mage Inquisitor. Sure, the Inquisitor is the one pursuing him, but Cullen lacks the insight to wonder why a mage would want to be with him.

If he really felt as bad about Kirkwall as the game keeps telling (but never showing) us, then he would be concerned about what she thinks of him, of the things he has been apart of. There is no “are you sure about this? About me?” scene with Cullen. Fenris is concerned about a mage Hawke being with him. Anders and Isabela are both concerned about Hawke being with them in general. Merrill worries her blood magic would put Hawke in danger. Sera warns a human Inquisitor that being with an elf can cause her problems.

No, with Cullen its all about him. How he feels. The line “whatever I fear of mages, I see none of that in you” is not sweet. Its disturbing. Mages are still horrible, but you….you are a unique breed of mage! Anyone who’s ever been “othered” because of their skintone, religion, sexual orientation or gender knows exactly what the problem with that line is. Its similiar to Solas backhanded compliment to the Inquisitor.

lafayettesdick[16]

If you romance Cullen as a mage and ask about him being alone with a mage, he says he doesn’t see danger in you: you’re the exception to the rule, but mages are dangerous and to be feared. How a mage Inquisitor talks about herself here is a problem! There are NO other dialogue options, NO other ways for her to view herself. No “I am a worthy, free person and magic is not bad, so deal with it.” Cullen says he feels bad that he wouldn’t have held romantic feelings for you if he’d met you before the Inquisition. Yet his knee-jerk reaction remains mages need oversight, “there will be abominations,” and militant oversight is for the protection of mages and everyone else. In Cullen’s view, other than the Inquisitor, mages still aren’t full people with free will and the right to self-determinate.

dafan7711[17]

Some see objections to the Cullen/Mage!Inquisitor romance as an example of metagaming since they may be based more on a player's feelings about Cullen from the previous two games than their Inquisitor's in-universe experiences or knowledge.

The Inquisitor is told *nothing* about Cullen. He tells the Inquisitor himself about his service under Knight-Commander Meredith, but it's unlikely that the Inquisitor will have heard of him previously. A human mage Inquisitor hails from the Ostwick Circle, but we never learn the name of the Knight-Commander there, let alone the names of any of the Knight-Captains. Do we know the names of any of the Fereldan Knight-Captains? (Yes, two of them, thanks to a Mages' Collective quest.) In short, without meta-game knowledge, Cullen is a complete unknown.

berelinde[18]

Also the inquisitor doesn't know the Cullen from before, the Templer that we players met in Kinloch Hold/Kirkwall. She's not going to know that things he said and did (things he regrets btw), all she knows is the man she's met and talked with, joked with, found common ground with, and possibly fallen in love with. She may be wary about their relationship and his acceptance of her being a mage, but that actually only comes up twice in the romance despite what people say.* Once in the beginning when you first start the romance with him when she asks him if he could see past her being a mage and see the woman that she is too. And then again at the lake after Perseverance when you found out that he was tortured by demons summoned by mages. It stands to reason that a mage in this situation would want a little reassurance that he is okay with her being a mage and wants to know what he thinks of her as a mage. And this is just headcanon but I get the feeling that part of the reason Cullen "didn't think it was possible" was because she is a mage and he was a templer and that she wouldn't want to be with him because of it. The majority of their relationship though is boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl likes boy, boy and girl start relationship.

Exile Isan[19]

Fanworks

Cullen/Inquisitor fanart. While the Inquisitor's appearance is highly customizable, her backstory and reactions within the narrative are limited to a handful of pre-set choices.

Fanart

With Lavellan

With Trevelyan

Unknown Inquisitor

Fanfiction


Zines

Art Gallery

  • Cullen with a male Lavellan Inquisitor by the-ALEF.

  • True Love by Aracton

  • Commander by Beautiful-Doubt

  • Strength by Taylor Cobb – Tarot-style art with an out-of-frame Inquisitor touching Cullen's face.

  • Tarot-style art by Eamikkir with an out-of-frame Inquisitor embracing Cullen.

  • A moment of peace by hellenys

  • The Conquest of Fort Longdale by hellenys

  • Cullen and Mara by hellenys

  • Delylah and Cullen by hellenys

  • Mara Trevelyan and Cullen Rutherford by hellenys

  • Michaela Trevelyan and Cullen by hellenys

  • Trevelyan and Rutherford by LadyKalynne

  • Cullen and Lavellan by Lynxina

  • Art by maXKennedy

  • Cullen x Trevelyan by misi-chan

  • Cuddles cuddles by morbidcookie

  • Oh my by morbidcookie

  • Fate by Myunna-sama

  • Fell in love with a girl by pythonomorph

  • Anyla by Ravietta – Tarot-style art with a female Lavellan holding Cullen's lion armor.

  • Love by ReelLifeJaneway2

  • Val Royeaux by Rina-Li

  • Cullen Appreciation Week entry by stacie-draws

  • Wedding by StrawberriPaopuJuice

  • A Cullen Crush by SoulCentinel

  • The Cursed by TalviEnkeli

  • Cullen x Asha Trevelyan by YoungGirlBlues

Archives & Fannish Links

References

  1. ^ Dragon Age Wikia
  2. ^ Post by Mike Laidlaw on the official BioWare forum
  3. ^ "So... Why is Cullen race-gated?" thread on the Fextralife forum
  4. ^ "Dragon Age Inquisition Dorian & Male Inquisitor (involved Cullen)" on YouTube
  5. ^ Bi Cullen Mod on Nexus Mods
  6. ^ "Cullen & Female Qunari Kissing on the battlements (Bi Cullen Mod) Dragon Age Inquisition" on YouTube
  7. ^ Phantom Statistician: Cullen's FanFiction Shipping Chart 2013 - Present
  8. ^ "[No Spoilers] What's the best romance option for female inquisitor?" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  9. ^ "What is the best romance option in DA:I in your opinion?" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  10. ^ "Who is your favorite romance option? - For the Dragon Age research [Spoilers All]" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  11. ^ "From Alistair to Cullen: Fairytale Romances and Dragon Age" by by Angela D. Mitchell
  12. ^ "[Spoilers DA:I] Cullen Romance" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  13. ^ "[DAI Spoilers] Your favourite romance?" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  14. ^ "[DAI SPOILERS] Let's talk Cullenmance" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  15. ^ "DA: Inquisition Story Review" by N. K. Jemisin
  16. ^ Meta by lafayettesdick (reblog by mademoisellegush)
  17. ^ "Why I fell out of love with Cullen Rutherford" by dafan7711
  18. ^ "Should a mage Inky want to romance Cullen?" thread on the Fextralife forum (berelinde's comment)
  19. ^ "Should a mage Inky want to romance Cullen?" thread on the Fextralife forum (Exile Isan's comment)
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