History Fanfic / SkyholdAcademyYearbook

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: The penultimate variant is seen when Leliana subtly slips it into the morning announcements that [[spoiler:Varric's getting married]]. PlayedForLaughs when Rocky, of the Chargers, pretends to get excited about the ''last'' item on the list - that there will be pudding at dinner.

* TakeThatUs: The authors have a bit of fun at their own expense.

* TakeThat: When Jim first presents the idea of doing a vampire story, Rory immediately wants clarification: [[Literature/{{Twilight}} "They wouldn't sparkle, would they?"]]

*** MysteriousWoman: Hawke is this at first.

* MysteriousWoman: One of these pulls Evelyn out of her wrecked car after the accident, but then disappears before police can question her. Her identity is never confirmed.

* HangingJudge: Judith Stendahl.

* LadyInRed: Constance is this when the detectives first meet her.
* MysteriousWoman: Falcon is this at first.
* NiceGirl: Constance.

* UnclePennybags: Nobody knows just how Varric obtained his ImpossiblyCoolWealth, apart from his writing and teaching, because every time he answers questions about it he changes the story. But he could easily be a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob if he so chose, and he uses his money to buy special treats for the students and things that the school needs. He also insists on [[spoiler:paying Bethany's medical bills as much as Hawke will let him]].

* LineOfSightName: A variant comes into play during the trivia contest, when the University professors' team is struggling to remember the name of Emperor Florian's daughter who died in infancy. They're stuck for a moment - until one of them catches sight of [[NamesTheSame Evvy]], and remembers that the princess was also named Evangeline.

** In ''I Must Be Going,'' he dubs Rory "{{Sonnet}}," Jim "Bishop" (after the chess piece), and Nessa "Lyric." This prompts Rory to remark that "Bishop and Sonnet" sounds like TheyFightCrime.

-->"[[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex Wait, wait, I just realized this is a question that does not need to be answered. Carry on.]]"

* IllGirl: After several months of reasonably good health, [[spoiler:Bethany]] being one of these suddenly rears its ugly head once again - this time compounded by [[spoiler:her being in the second trimester of pregnancy]].

* IllGirl: It's eventually revealed that the real reason Hawke has taken a sabbatical is [[spoiler:because Bethany has the potentially fatal North Llomerryn virus and has been quite possibly SecretlyDying]]. Gender flipped with Cullen, who has a touchy heart condition from his time in the military.

* [[AllThereInTheManual All There in the Fanfiction]]: Jim and Rory have written quite a collection of fic about their teachers, but only a couple plot-relevant pieces appear in the series; they do, however, make references to some of the other stories, and ''Bright Jewels, Chained City'' is a collection of their work. The authors confirm that some of the other stories also exist. See SpiritualSuccessor on the Trivia page.

** In the assorted sequels, it's revealed that Solas is a skilled video game player and also that he is a gifted ''mime''. Both talents were basically a case of ThrowItIn on the part of the authors.

* HypotheticalCasting: The authors have come up with a live-action casting for almost every character who gets mentioned by name in the series. Because everyone is human in the series, they don't look ''exactly'' like their video game counterparts, but they kept it as close as possible. Most of them can be found on the character sheet.

* IllBoy: As Chief Corin reveals, Colin is this, suffering (much like the real Cullen) from hypertropic myopathy.

* NiceHat:
** Varric wears a couple of these at different points throughout the series; his "fangirl in chief" heartily approves and even occasionally requests them.
** Cole is very fond of hats, to the point where it's an affectionate running gag for the adults in his life.

* AccidentallyAccurateWriting: An in-universe example. Jim and Rory don't know about the existence of Bianca Davri; they just know that their writing teacher calls his typewriter Bianca. In the stories, Varric's {{expy}} Eric has a typewriter named Gwen, after his old girlfriend who broke off their plan to elope - just as Bianca did to Varric.

* FilkSong: A pair of them are seen here as part of the ongoing joke war between Varric and Dorian. First, Varric rewrites the lyrics to "Coat of Many Colors" (from ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'') to be about Dorian; Dorian turns it back on him by rewriting the lyrics to "Blunt the Knives" (from ''Film/TheHobbit'') to be about Varric.

*** CorruptCorporateExecutive: The BigBad of the story. Possibly also the BiggerBad, although this is left somewhat vague.

* ChekhovsGunman: The BiggerBad turns out to be [[spoiler:Silas Harel, the owner of the Bread Wolf bakery mentioned in the previous installment]].
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The BigBad of the story. Possibly also the BiggerBad, although this is left somewhat vague.

* TheNicknamer:
** Varric, as usual. In addition to the nicknames from the game, Evvy is "Siren," Mahanon is "Lockpick," and Michel is "Champion." When Cullen's siblings visit, his big sister Mia is "Curly-Girl" and their younger brother Branson is "Curly-Two."

** Subverted. InUniverse, the teachers are very ''surprised'' to learn that Rory and Jim have been writing RealPersonFic about Cullen and Evvy, but no one minds. In fact, it becomes a RunningGag and they're all highly amused by it. When the kids turn in "Accidentally in Matrimony" for a writing assignment, Varric gives them an extremely good grade in part because the story made everyone laugh so much; he also requests a sequel. ''Seasons'' later reveals that not only have there been other fics submitted as assignments, but the teachers have occasionally taken to ''acting them out'' in the staff lounge. They get outright asked to write one as a wedding gift in ''Disorienuptials''.

* OrphanageOfLove: Skyhold Academy's big secret is that it basically functions as this. It's not really a secret from the reader, as there are hints dropped throughout the narrative, but it's a very big secret in-universe. Even among the school staff, only the senior teachers are aware of the truth. It finally gets explicitly stated in-story when they decide to tell Evvy, and in ''Ordinary Chaos,'' it gets explained just why this is a secret.

* PlatonicLifePartners: Jim, Rory, and Nessa, who are collectively known as "the Partners in Crime." They later somewhat adopt Cole and Seamus into the group, as well as Jim's friend Doug, although Jim is very protective of their "brand" and doesn't want the term to apply to anyone but the original three.

* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: The first story has a fair bit of drama and dark aspects. From there it gets progressively LighterAndSofter, with the main emphasis being humor and fluff; some of the later stories do have dramatic plot twists, but as one reader put it in a review, it's guaranteed to work out happily in the end.

** It's well known that although he's the democratically elected President of Ferelden, Alistair is the last surviving member of the royal family who once ruled as its hereditary kings. [[LastOfHisKind The line will die out with him.]]

* SickeninglySweethearts: Once Cullen and Evvy are engaged, it's a RunningGag among some of the teachers that they're "so cute it's stupid." This continues long after they're married.

* StateVisit: The President and First Lady of [[Franchise/DragonAge Ferelden]] occasionally visit the eponymous school. It's almost always treated with an incredible amount of importance (as Krem puts it in the first story, "it's all official outside"), which they frankly wish it wouldn't be since the school is so important to them personally.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: More commonly, the staff members have favorite drinks. Evvy's is hot chocolate; Cullen's is coffee (until he has to give up caffeine), and he's also very partial to blueberries. Leliana has a particular tea blend, which Varric introduces to Bethany at one point. Dorian is very partial to Antivan brandy. As noted under SweetTooth, Solas in particular loves cake.
* {{Troll}}: Varric, when the occasion permits, especially toward Dorian and Cassandra. They frequently give as good as they get, although his trolling is often much more elaborate and planned out than theirs.

* CinderellaPlot Played with. Evvy is by no means impoverished (she belongs to the old aristocracy in the Free Marches), but an odd series of events leaves her with nothing appropriate to wear on the teachers' outing to the nightclub, prompting Dorian to call her his Cinderella. They continue to call each other "Cinderella" and "Fairy Godfather" for years afterward.

-->"Solas, Evvy, Michel, and Blackwall have their money on a girl. Josie, Leliana, Cass, Dorian, and Cullen all say it’s a boy. Bull hedged his bets and put his money on twins, [[UntoUsASongAndDaughterAreBorn one of each]]. I already know I won, though - I bet coin that [[MathematiciansAnswer you’re having a baby]]."

* ItsAWonderfulPlot: The December holiday chapter, "It Could Be a Wonderful Life," is a blending of this with a light sprinkle of YetAnotherChristmasCarol. Cullen [[AllJustADream has a nightmare]] in which he never accepts the invitation to teach at the school, and Solas is the guardian spirit who shows him what life there would be like without him and what his future will be if he doesn't go.

* {{Asexuality}}: In "The Review Saga," Rory mentions that she and Jim are "teenagers on the asexual spectrum." The authors confirm that Jim is asexual and Rory is demisexual.

* CutenessProximity: Pretty much everyone melts at the toddlers' performance during the "Masked Skyhold" intermission.

* RunningGag: In "Masked Skyhold," Bull guesses that nearly every participating singer is Varric. This is despite the fact that Varric is in ''Kirkwall'', and a member of the judges' panel via livestream.