Work Text:
Marian Hawke was six feet tall, strong enough to heft a two-handed greataxe like it was a pillow, and loved to knit.
Naturally, that last skill was put to good use in her favorite pastime: smothering her loved ones with affection.
Isabela got piles of sweaters, comically large gold coins knitted along the hems and shoulders. One sweater had lovingly rendered tits across the front, which Isabela was very proud of. When she returned after the Arishok fiasco, Marian handed her a masterpiece -- dark blue with a golden ship writ across it, a forgiveness and a promise. Isabela didn’t really understand why she cried over it in secret that night, why she felt like the ground was loose and she was falling.
Varric also got a tit sweater, but he preferred to wear the one with fake chest hair stitched loosely down the front. It also had a simple pattern of Bianca on the back, and tiny crossbow bolts along the bottom.
Fenris had garish red yarn strewn across his otherwise plain black sweater, because Marian said he wouldn’t look the same without bloodstains everywhere. He declared that he would use it as kindling, but when the Kirkwall winters became too much he wore it around his mansion.
Like Isabela, Merrill got mountains of sweaters, many of which she handed out to people in the alienage. She kept the one with clumsy-looking halla marching around it, though. Her vhenan had spent a lot of time on that one, and she delighted in the look of pride on Marian’s face when she wore it to the Hanged Man. She also kept the one with a very fluffy griffon on it, which she felt was equal parts ferocious and adorable.
Sebastian was very proud of his grey sweater with a white griffon on the breast, though when it was presented to him he insisted it wasn’t his place to wear the Grey Warden insignia. Still, he wore it to the Hanged Man often, a bit puffed up to show off a symbol of affection that felt a little bit alien to him still.
Aveline also got a tit sweater, which she promptly handed over to Isabela. Her favorite was a simple brown one, otherwise unadorned. She wore it around the barracks, the yarn soft against her skin, wondering if Marian had made these sweaters back in Ferelden for her mother and siblings. If this was what it felt like to be part of a family.
Anders had a misshapen black one with a blue feather stitched down the front. It went well with the hideous scarf the Commander had gotten for him, years ago. He wondered if that was deliberate. He wondered if the two most important women in his life would get along, and decided their taste in fashion would be a good starting point if nothing else.
Bethany technically wasn’t allowed to receive gifts in the Gallows, but as her sister rose to prominence so did her ability to skirt the rules -- and that had always been Marian’s favorite thing to do. She got far too many sweaters at once, with a thinly veiled suggestion to hand them out among the other mages. Many were confiscated, but her sister’s stubborn nature matched (Bethany would dare say it exceeded) the knight-commander’s. They were all replaced almost as soon as they were taken. She got one too, black with the blood-red Amell crest across the front, a reminder of her past and a promise that she was not forgotten.
Bonus:
Knight Commander Meredith got a pile of tit sweaters and a letter saying ‘for our hard-working templars!!! your work is SO appreciated!!!!’