#Bethany: *dead or a warden or in the circle*

[death-rebirth-senshi]

"I don't need to level HP my boyfriend's a spirit healer"

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I'm back on my bullshit thinking about the Hawke siblings again and how much I love a "both twins live" AU... but y'know what I love just a little bit more? An AU where all three Hawke siblings are alive, but one of the twins still get attacked by the ogre in Lothering and is presumed dead when they actually survived.

I like to think that since the narrative in DA2 is framed as a story Varric's telling Cassandra, we can play around with the fact that he's an unreliable narrator. Varric wasn't there in Lothering. He only knows what Hawke told him. It makes for a better story if Leandra, Hawke, and the surviving twin get to huddle around the dead twin and say their goodbyes... especially if they didn't actually get to do that. I mean, a lot of us already have that train of thought when it comes to Leandra's death and Hawke getting some closure through her final words telling them how proud she is. Whose to say Varric didn't do that for the lost twin, as well?

All that to ask what if the ogre attack happened, but the group was so overwhelmed by darkspawn they had to flee further and couldn't check the twin who "died?" Flemeth still showed up, but it was too late to go back and say goodbye.... so Hawke made a deal with the Witch of the Wilds and they all pushed forward to Kirkwall.

Imagine Bethany, left behind with broken bones and bleeding in the sand, fading in and out of consciousness as the remaining darkspawn surround her. She knows how to heal, how to fight back, but she's weakened. Her staff lays out of reach. Air shakes in her lungs. She tries to call for help, but only wheezes come out. Where's her mother? Her siblings? Did the ogre get them, too?

At this point, we all know what happens to the women darkspawn take, and Bethany could've met that fate; she doesn't have the strength to fight back as they drag her away. But before they can bring her underground, she's saved by another group of survivors. Perhaps they're more soldiers fleeing Ostagar, or townsfolk who recognize her from Lothering. They do what they can to treat her wounds but she needs a healer, so they bring her with them to seek refuge in Redcliffe... except they eventually realize she's an apostate. Well, she doesn't seem dangerous, but they still contact the templars.

Bethany wakes in a warm but unfamiliar bed with skilled healers tending to her. Templars hover by the doorway. First Enchanter Irving greets her, gentle in explaining she's safe inside of Kinloch Hold and that she's going to survive. When Bethany asks about her family, he gives her a sympathetic smile and says they only found her.

Bethany, who never took to embracing her magic the way her older sibling did and always felt like it burdened her family... has lost that very family. Could they survive the ogre and darkspawn? Or did the ogre tear them apart, too? How did she survive... but not them? Did the Maker really have such a sense of humor? How else would she end up in the Circle, a place her family went to great lengths to keep her safe from?

She doesn't want to think about it. She hopes they made it to Kirkwall, but the prickle of dread that crawls up her spine knows how unlikely it is. Bethany finds comfort in speaking with the mages who rotate in to heal and bring her food. Some feel trapped by their magic just as she does, but others remind her of her older sibling in the way they embrace their magic, a gift from the Maker. The younger apprentices who aid the mages ask her questions about what lies beyond the walls. The templars mostly keep their distance, but one is friendlier than others. A man with curly blonde hair and a sympathetic view of the mages bothers to speak to her more than his fellows do.

She's still in recovery when Uldred and his blood mages attack the tower, but she survives. Bethany heals, even as she's haunted by nightmares of the ogre wrapping its tainted hand around her body to crush her, flinging her aside to lay among the limp bodies of her family... haunted by the horrors the blood mages unleashed on the tower. She aids in restoring the tower the best she can, and accepts her new home, her new life. When she's well enough, she lights a candle for each of them; her father, mother, her eldest sibling, her twin... she even lights a candle for the family mabari, and prays to the Maker to give them her love as they stand at His side.

The Blight ends. Years pass. Bethany settles into her new life, becoming a fine example for the younger apprentices she mentors. She witnesses wrong doings against her fellow mages, loses friends to their harrowings or tranquility. She accepts what she is, even if bitterly. The Chantry's teachings about magic scar more than enlighten; she sees it in some of her fellow mages, feels it in herself. Secret meetings. Whispers of escape, of freedom. More escape attempts. Harsher restrictions.

Around this time, back in Kirkwall, Knight-Captain Cullen stands where he always does in the Gallows courtyard. He notices Hawke appear with some of their companions. It hurts to think back to Kinloch Hold, but something occurs to him: he knew of another Hawke who was brought to the Circle while he served there. They only spoke once before... well, before. He wonders if there's any relation. When Hawke wanders over to speak to him, as they always do, Cullen brings it up.

Hawke pales. A beat of silence. Cullen recognizes heartbreak; he sees it unfold in their eyes and swell in their throat as they realize that all this time, their baby sister was alive.

Then the day comes where new whispers float among the mages in the Circle. A visit by a Grey Warden. Most, including Bethany, assume he's here to recruit... until Irving comes to her. He says this warden's requested, though more like insisted, he see her now. But then Irving smiles; the warden in question said his name is Warden Carver. He received an urgent letter that his sister is here, alive, and he demands to know if that's true.

Bethany nearly collapses when she sees him.

While the reunion can't last; she can't leave the Circle and he has his calling; the twins embrace, sobbing out apologies and exclamations that they thought the other was gone. Carver tells her of Kirkwall, the expedition that led him to the Grey Wardens, and their older sibling's status as Champion. With a gentleness she never knew her brother to have, he tells her what happened to their mother, and more tears flow freely. Their sibling learned about her from a templar, though Carver grumbles that the bastard could've said something sooner.

There's the Maker's humor again.

...Now flip the script: imagine Carver being left behind instead.

For as strong and passionate as he is, that ogre still picks him up and slams him to the ground. Bones crack. Black splotches flood his vision, agony exploding across his skin. His sword flies from his hand. The soulless bastard tosses Carver aside like he's nothing, and he's left to lay there. His mother's cries muffle in his ear as though he's stuck underwater, sinking slowly into the dark.

It figured, honestly... that he'd survive Ostagar while his fellow soldiers were cut down all around him, that he and his eldest sibling would flee the field when all hope was lost... that he'd make it home to get his family out of Lothering... only to die protecting his mother. And why not? He is a protector. A warrior. It's a honor to die saving those he loved... so why didn't it give him peace?

Carver eventually wakes in the night among the bodies of fallen darkspawn. Everything aches painfully hot and his thoughts reject coherency. He knows his family is gone; they're dead, or they've fled... either way, he's alone; left behind. Something's broken inside of him, but he has just enough will to pull himself up at the sound of approaching footsteps. A group of survivors find him- funny enough, the same group who aided Bethany in an alternate timeline. Imagine that.

That's how Carver ended up in Redcliffe's Chantry with an overworked healer tending to him. He doesn't even flinch when the mage works their magic on him, knowing all too well the sensation of healing magic seeping into his skin, mending the flesh. He tries not to think of Bethany, or what might've happened to her.

The Chantry's overwhelmed with townspeople hiding from a danger outside that he can only assume is darkspawn... except it's not. He wonders how hard he hit his head when he hears the undead have come from the castle to slaughter what they can of the town every night. But then he sees it with his own eyes when one breaks in, taken down by a templar, and never before has he ever felt so useless.

Then the last two remaining Grey Wardens arrive. They're crucial in the final fight against the undead, swearing to enter the castle to stop the attacks at the source. While Carver couldn't participate in the final fight, something he complained loudly about, he did what he could in his condition to help like sharpening swords and handing out supplies. Mostly to keep his sanity and quite his thoughts throughout his recovery.

When the time came, he took up his sword again in the name of all those he lost.

An archdemon was said to be on the horizon, and the Grey Wardens needed everyone they could get to fight. Carver fights in the battle of Denerim where the Hero of Fereldan defeated the archdemon. He cuts his way through every darkspawn he sees. Ostagar flashes red behind his eyes. Lothering clutches at his heart. So much anger and sorrow built up inside him, flooding out in his tears and screams. Blood everywhere. Fire and smoke.

Then it's over.

In the aftermath of the Blight, like so many others, Carver has no home to return to. No family. He thinks to go back to Lothering to help rebuild, only to hear the lands were too tainted. These tainted creatures took everything from him... That's what eventually brings him to Vigil's Keep, standing before the Hero of Fereldan themself, asking to be made a Grey Warden. He already dedicated nearly two years of his life to killing darkspawn, and he had nothing else. Even when faced with the Joining, holding the chalice of darkspawn blood and being told to drink, he didn't flinch.

Life as a Grey Warden isn't as simple as he assumed it would be, but Carver finds purpose in his calling. Over the years, he grows to view his fellow wardens as family. He travels all over Thedas, venturing down into the Deep Roads to help clear out hoards of the darkspawn. But then comes the day he finds himself in Kirkwall, and it doesn't take long before he hears the name Hawke on the lips of the townspeople. His eldest sibling was not only alive, but they're quite popular among the people. But what about Mother? Bethany? He doesn't have to snoop too far to learn templars took Bethany away to the Gallows, and that Leandra Hawke was the final victim in a string of murders committed by a blood mage.

Carver finds himself standing outside the estate, glaring at the door. Furious. Heartbroken. Bitter. He wants to scream. This entire time, they lived. He's torn between wanting to reunite with his older sibling again, to get the truth from them, and wanting to barge into the estate, demanding answers to how they could let the Circle take Bethany... after what Carver sacrificed, how could they let Mother die like that? Was it all pointless in the end?

He leaves without knocking. He can't bring himself to see them. Not that it mattered. Before he could leave Kirkwall, the tensions with the qunari finally overflowed, and chaos fell upon the city. He's forced face to face with his older sibling again, but he wasn't prepared to watch the recognition slowly bloom on their face, or for all his anger to turn to mush. Carver's the first to speak.

"Somehow, I knew it would be you."

.............So, yeah. I really like this idea.

[sha-brytols]

non-mage hawke being taught since they were a young teen that their only duty in life is to protect their sister with their life and never let the templars take her ❤️ the way bethanys only possibly fates are "dead" "despairingly miserable" or "you failed her" ❤️ the way she might be happier in the circle but she still faces constant danger and exploitation and also that was literally the One Thing you were supposed to never let happen ❤️ but also if she's a grey warden she's forced to learn sacrifice (that's supposed to be your job) and constant fighting (thats why you should have left her) and she all but outright blames you for not just killing her ❤️😄🤗⚰️

[broodwoof]

Bethany Hawke: Warden, or Circle Mage

while I've heard really good arguments for why she would do better as a circle mage, I definitely lean warden for her

of course, the key thing is that both options are bad ones. her arc, is she survives, is always going to end in a kind of layered tragedy

circle:

the biggest issue I see with the circle is the fact that bethany was in combat for so long. being in sustained danger, being in combat, can create a reactivity. if a templar grabs her, even innocuously, she might react - and that might lead to her being killed or made tranquil

another big issue is that she may be punished in lieu of hawke, particularly if hawke sided with the mages

essentially, bethany is deeply vulnerable as a circle mage, the very act of defending herself a crime punishable by death or tranquility, and may be used as a bargaining chip/threat/punishment for her sibling. she has absolutely no recourse in this situation besides playing The Good Girl and hoping it works... and that it keeps working

she's also going to live with constant guilt. bc hawke is still out there. everyone she cares about is still out there. while she's... here. fed. has a bed. educated

she knows how to help, and she's forbidden from helping. she has to sit back and wonder if the only surviving member of her family will be killed; and, if so, if her presence would have prevented it

i think that this is a unique misery, one that she has no real distraction from, no real way to alleviate. it is a helpless mystery, with her family put on the line to protect her while she's safe ("safe")

but, she's bethany. everyone did everything for her, and she never felt right being anything other than small and grateful

wardens:

in the wardens, her reactivity will not be punished. in fact, it will be understood, familiar, and it's entirely possible that some of her fellow wardens will be able to help her navigate it

in many ways, it will be terrible. she will be fighting darkspawn. she will be losing people. there's no gentling that

but i think the ability to take action, to be in control of her own life, her own fate, and to not have to hide - because with the wardens, she wouldn't have to hide her magic, wouldn't have to make herself appear weaker than she is, lest she be seen as a threat - would be cathartic

and i do feel that over time she'd grow close with some of her fellow wardens, and be able to have a familiar sort of dynamic of fighting at the side of someone she trusts

to the wardens - as an organization, i mean - she's just another tool. she's not special for being hawke's sister. they've had kings and queens in their ranks, they've had prisoners and murderers, they've had cruel and kind people, they've had and have all sorts. and we've never seen the wardens use any one member as a bargaining chip. at the level of the organization, bethany is already dead, in a way; the same way all the wardens are already dead. killing her to punish hawke would not only be useless, it would be an actively bad idea, as there are never enough wardens and always too many darkspawn, and bethany is a deeply capable mage

and i think bethany would take some solace in the fact that she is fighting smth "truly" evil (in her view, at least; i have more complex thoughts about darkspawn, but y'know) and helping the world. she's not having to hide, she's not having to make herself small and palatable, she can be exactly who she wants to be without reservation, and she can help protect people - this, from the woman who spent her entire childhood being protected and seeing how that hurt her family

[gyrovagi]

34 & 43 for ur hawkes!

(hawke questions)

34. If Bethany/Carver is alive, how is their relationship after so many years like? And how is it after Leandra's death?

quick context: seongmin is not literate. (quite possibly dyslexic but he just never learned. early parentification in generally unstable family circumstances will do that to you.) pre-leandra's death it was bethany and leandra writing to each other while bethany had very little to say to seongmin, and seongmin never knew what he could say to her in a letter that might possibly Fix It. he loved her and wanted to keep her happy more than anything and this was exactly what made her resent him, so maybe the best thing to do for her now is just to let go (< guy who is now sister-projecting onto merrill so much it's embarrassing).

after leandra's death they almost entirely fell out of touch, it was varric receiving the sporadic bethany updates (she's not writing to gamlen.), though at some point on bethany's end it was more force of habit than genuine resentment. she didn't know how to reach out again, it feels impossible to Get Into It through letters especially when she'd have to make varric act as intermediary. nightmare. their relationship does eventually recover, post-game - bethany fully goes awol from the wardens to accompany anders and seongmin on the run and i don't think she ever looks back. they really are just glad to be alive and with each other again, after everything.

something crazy is happening in rina and bethany's relationship always. when leandra dies rina basically shuts down, she blames herself and redirects the blame onto aveline and lashes out at everyone else (regression into her act 1 aggression my beloved <3). and bethany is horrifically isolated in the circle, with rina kind of incapable of even thinking about her, as cruel as that may be. rina eventually refocuses on bethany as her last family member and Her Responsibility after being named champion, though this is not necessarily a good development. she operates as meredith's right hand and leverages the position to ensure bethany's treated well while refusing to see any problem with how other mages are treated.

they never talk about it but bethany Knows that there's a moment at the end where rina considers letting meredith run her through and finally freeing herself of the burden she's carried her whole life, the little sister she loves and loathes in equal measure. and the fact rina defends her is as much out of love as it is rina trying to justify it all to herself - she's not a monster. she still loves her sister. she does this for her <3 and then rina becomes viscountess and the exceptionalism gets worse!! bethany can't afford losing rina's protection. she would be dead or worse without her sister. how could she not love the sister who saved her. how could she love her sister who's done all this. I don't know what happens to bethany after rina dies and if i think about it too much i might throw up

(carver thoughts pending because i need to actually replay the game with a mage hawke and like. Remember him. before i get into it. my so-min playthrough in high school is just blurs in my mind)

43. How does Hawke react when Varric publishes the Tale of the Champion? Have they read it?

so seongmin DOES start learning to read by late act 2, in my mind it's him and fenris going okay i guess we're doing this fucking thing together and making sure the other actually commits to it. however post-game he is actively a fugitive so it takes a while for word of the insane rpf varric's published to reach him, and i don't know if he ever gets his hands on a copy of it. his reaction is equal parts 'why would he do this? when did he even get the time??' and 'of course he would fucking do this.' i don't think he ever seeks out a copy - i think he understands and appreciates it as varric's effort to set the record straight/cast seongmin as the Hero of the story, but he'd be way too uncomfortable trying to read it.

varric sent rina his first draft and she sent it back with comments on every page like 'i did not fucking say that. keep it in it sounds cool.' circling and underlining any time she gets straight-out described as attractive or if varric is just dedicating a little too much time to making her sound hot. occasionally writing something flirtatious in the margins (< she just got married to sebastian). the sincere or emotionally vulnerable annotations in the tragic parts were scratched out so intensely she nearly tore through the page. later she asked him if she could get that first draft back as a keepsake ('i think i wrote enough in the margins to be counted as co-author') and varric refused.

i'm assuming varric publishes the tale of the champion a year+ after the end of the game, by which point so-min's emotions about the whole thing are somewhat more... settled and i think she mostly views it as funny. it's a little bit of a deflection thing to avoid dwelling on any lingering regrets or resentment from kirkwall, but she does also genuinely think it's funny. she gets very drunk with isabela at one point and they read it through together and she doesn't actually remember any of her thoughts on it afterwards.

bryn rivals varric ^_^ and so i think finds out about the tale of the champion and is not especially impressed. like seongmin, they're capable of understanding it as well-intentioned on varric's end, but they're a lot more skeptical about its effectiveness. it's another biased narrative in a sea of biased narratives. i do think they're more likely than seongmin to seek it out at some point just out of curiosity - they're more capable of emotionally distancing themself from Varric's Hawke and they do want to know what bullshit he said about them, though i don't think they finish it. either they tap out after leandra or realize they actually can't handle confronting varric's opinion on their killing anders (as much mercy kill as genuine judgment and execution and as intentional martyring)

[stonesense]

Considering DA protags are referred to by either title or surname, got any headcanons about that?

i’m going to be real with you i’m not sure i understand what this ask means or if it’s in reference to something i’ve forgotten but i’m going to give it my best shot anyway? and simply proceed to ramble. it’s late so i’m going to be very rambley

i’ve always taken particular notice of duncan’s codex entry saying it’s commonplace for wardens to drop their family names as a sign of abandoning their ties outside the wardens. so the warden being known by their family name is an act of defiance against warden tradition. it’s a good representation of how many warden codes they had to break to do the job, and what firm ties they tend to still have to their respective origins. reminds you that the warden is very often the ultimate anomaly. it can be something of a rallying cry for those whose names arent the type to ordinarily be heard across thedas

as for the ‘hero of ferelden’ title, there’s a couple great things about that one. firstly, it directly mimics loghain’s title, the hero of river dane, which is delicious. who knows how long yours will outlive the death of his, when the wheel of history turns once more! otherwise, i’m super interested in it tying the warden to ferelden especially if the warden is not from ferelden. if you’re dalish, how do you feel about nationhood being applied to you? if you’re a dwarf, are you paragon or hero first? if you’re a city elf or a circle mage, how do you feel about this being the moment they finally suddenly want to decide you’re ‘of’ the same people, rather than pushing you aside? etc

‘hawke’ is so great. love how it depersonifies them. love how they’re the one who doesn’t rlly get a nickname from varric; hawke is the nickname, the false persona carrying the story. love that malcolm probably went by ‘hawke’ too and they stepped right into his shoes. love the genderlessness. love the flavour it gives to the names carver hawke and bethany hawke, the twins who can never be the hawke and struggle to get out from under that shadow, but also are in some ways freer in getting to have their own unique names appended, not made into a lifeless symbol

i’m very fond of ‘champion of kirkwall’. there’s a great beautiful confusing dead tradition of referring to nobles simply as their place name, which would be like for example referring to sebastian himself as starkhaven or anora herself as ferelden, and i would love that to apply to hawke in this case. it’s more relevant if they go dark and become viscount but i think all champions should get it as a treat. you don’t even get to be hawke; you are kirkwall. you clawed your way up it and now it’s a part of you, caked under your fingernails. i like how kirkwall claims them as its champion no matter if they were just fighting for their friend. in da2 everything is narrative, decided after the fact

i wish we could get more into herald of andraste because to me it screams end-of-days cult. a herald arrives ahead of someone, a herald announces them. the implication of a herald of andraste is that they have been sent to cry that she is coming

[thorinoakenbutt]

As the Moth Sees Light

Anders x Hawke Also includes Varric, Carver, and Aveline SFW, pre-relationship, meet cute

---------------------------------------------

“Maker’s Balls, and I thought Uncle’s house smelled bad.”

A sound halfway between a snort and scoff answered Hawke as she bent to pull her dagger free of the corpse with a sickening squelch. Straightening, she twirled the blade in a tight circle, only just managing to resist the temptation to wipe its bloody edge on the sleeve of her father’s old coat. A quick glance down at herself confirmed that the worst of the arterial spray from the poor, dumb sod had missed her. Good. One less argument to have with Carver later that night while she did the washing in the tiny room they shared. Maker forbid she get blood on her clothing, as though she hadn’t spent the last fourteen years having to do that exact task on a near monthly basis. 

“Must be behind on my payments,” Varric muttered beneath his breath, nudging the Coterie thug with his boot. Another half dozen bodies littered the ground behind them, half of which were skewered with crossbow bolts. Hawke had to hand it to the dwarf - he and Bianca were handy in a fight. Without their addition, she likely would have had to find a dank corner of the already dank sewers in order to use her magic to heal their wounds.

“Are we certain that that Lirene woman isn’t giving us the run-around?” she asked idly, glancing back at her brother and Aveline. Carver hovered close to her, his familiar, grouchy presence at her back providing a comfort she could never voice aloud. He had a smear of blood on his cheek that she had to bite down the urge to lick her thumb and smudge away. He’d always hated her fussing, even when they were children. At least it didn’t look like the blood belonged to him. “I know that Grey Wardens like to while away their hours in the Deep Roads, but surely even those don’t reek this much.”

“Even with the taint?” Aveline scoffed, expression pinched. She lingered at the rear of their party, protective as always, with her hand resting on the pommel of her sword in a white-knuckled grip. The end of their scuffle with the Coterie didn’t put her at ease, gaze shifting quickly around the cistern’s passageways for other threats. The shadow that flitted across her face as she spoke sent a dagger of guilt twinging through Hawke as she remembered the good Ser Wesley. 

The one who threatened to drag the Hawke sisters before the templars for the crime of apostasy. Lips quirking into a wry smile, she shoved the feeling deep down into the mental box where she kept every other troublesome emotion. He was dead, and Bethany was dead, and now her priority was ensuring Carver and their mother had a roof over their heads. Preferably one nicer than their uncle’s.

As they turned a corner, Hawke hop-skipped over the legs of yet another corpse - or perhaps this one was simply sleeping, judging by the snoring - whose legs jutted out into the walkway from an alcove. Varric walked in step with her, drumming his fingers in an off-beat rhythm against Bianca’s wooden stock. He was the only one of them that looked more or less at home in the sewers. His ambling gait brought to mind a casual stroll through Hightown’s Garden rather than the crime-riddled shithole they waded through. “Stink or not, this would be as good a place as any for a mage to hide,” he mused, eyeing the way Hawke sashayed down a flight of stairs in time with his tapping. 

“You hear that, Cat? Maybe you should move down here,” Carver teased, lightly kicking the back of her knee as she reached the bottom step. He laughed when it buckled beneath her, though his hand shot out to catch her elbow before she could pitch face first into the dirt. 

“Ha, you’re hilarious,” Hawke deadpanned, shoving her dagger back into its sheath before she could decide in favor of ‘accidentally’ letting it ‘drop’ straight into her baby brother’s thigh. The little voice in her head that precluded every bad decision she’d ever made tried to reason with her that it wouldn’t be anything she couldn’t heal herself. Probably. They were meeting with a magical healer, anyway. Hopefully. 

They came to a second set of stairs that she took three at a time, bounding up them with renewed energy. A door was set into the wall with a conspicuously lit lantern, just as Lirene had promised. A crowd of refugees gathered around the door in a loose circle, most of them with varying degrees of injuries or illness. Coming to a half, Hawke chewed her lip and considered how best to proceed. 

“Where there’s injured members of the Carta and sick children standing in a queue without it devolving into a brawl, there must be a healer,” she whispered to her companions. Drawing the still wet dagger back from its sheath, she approached her brother. “Quick, Carver - look pathetic.”

He scowled down at her, eyeing the blade warily. “What? Why can’t you play the damsel for once?” Hawke ignored him, plucking the leather away from his skin to stab a hole through it without risk of harming him. Then she smeared the blood down his front, frowning thoughtfully at the end result. It didn’t look bad. Perhaps the dim light filtering through Darktown would hide just how fake it was. Carver hissed angrily at her, but no matter. She’d stitch it together again later in lieu of an apology. 

“Because,” she explained, patting his chest in a pantomime of comfort. His already impressive glower deepened and she huffed. “Listen. When a big, strong man like you goes down, you know it’s bad. They’ll let us through.”

Carver rolled his eyes, placing his hand on her shoulder to shove her away. “Carver,” she whined, drawing his attention back down to her. She pouted, unafraid to pull out all the stops. Add a little quiver to her lip, some mistiness to her eyes, and… “Please?”

He wavered. The stubborn set to his jaw loosened before he clenched his teeth again. Hawke let a single tear roll down her cheek, internally exulting when he sighed in certain defeat. All but collapsing against her, Carver moaned as if in pain for good measure. She wasn’t the only good actor in the family. Varric joined them, drawing Carver’s arm across his broad shoulders for support, leaving Aveline to watch them in reproachful judgment at the lie. 

“Out of the way! The kid needs a healer!” Varric bellowed. Dozens of eyes landed on them at the commotion and Carver let his head loll forward, playing the part to perfection. The crowd parted, faces drawn with worry as they rushed by. Aveline darted ahead of them, propping the door open with her hip as she glanced back to ensure no one moved to stop them. 

The door shut behind them, blocking out the cacophony of Darktown with a thud. Hawke surveyed the interior with interest, breathing deep of the scent of magic and herbs that lingered heavily in the air. It was strangely homey, in a dirty kind of way, strangely reminding her of their father. Fighting back the wave of homesickness, her eyes were drawn to the hunched back of the man who could only be the healer as he bent over the prone form of a child lying on a table. 

His hands wove creation magic like he was born to it, drawing the healing energies into the boy as naturally as breathing. There was a bone-deep weariness in the slope of his shoulders and that made something inside of her ache. Hawke bit her lip hard enough to feel the skin split, the copper tang against her tongue providing enough of a distraction to strengthen her resolve to do something. She’d march straight back to Lirene’s shop once their business was finished to donate some of her meager earnings with strict instructions that it go toward a meal for the man. Maybe a nice sandwich with all the trimmings. 

The magic snuffed out as the boy stirred, his parents rushing to his side as the healer staggered away. Hawke followed him with her eyes, frowning as he caught himself against the wall and swayed on his feet. His blonde hair had half escaped a tie he’d used to hold it back from his face, letting the strands fall into his face and obscuring it from view as he bent to suck in deep breaths. He’d overdrawn on mana, Hawke realized.

Her hand flew to her pack, fingers searching for a lyrium potion before she stopped - another refugee, perhaps an assistant, rushed to his side with one at the ready. He pushed the glass into the healer’s hands and he nodded his thanks before tossing the blue liquid back like a shot. 

Carver’s impatience got the better of him and he cleared his throat, drawing the Warden’s attention. His amber eyes snapped to them, meeting her gaze for the briefest of moments and Hawke froze. He was handsome.

His was a narrow face with shadowed eyes, tired but kind with lines that crinkled at the edges even as he frowned at them. Hawke admired his long nose, her imagination running away from her with thoughts of what it might be like to sit on that lovely face and missed the way he dropped his gaze to the daggers at her waist. She did notice his eyes narrowing, darkening with righteous fury as he looked to Carver, then Varric, and finally Aveline. 

The Warden lunged for his staff, his long, slender fingers wrapping around it like - Hawke snapped out of her daze, inhaling sharply as she realized she’d been holding her breath. She took an instinctive step in front of her brother, laying her hand on his arm as he reached for his own weapon. Heart pounding for a wholly different reason than being faced with a pretty man, she knew she had to diffuse the situation before it got ugly. The other refugees were sure to take poorly to their sole doctor being threatened. 

It was an easy enough task once she got the man talking about his cat. The Grey Warden - Anders - didn’t let his guard down entirely as he ranted about the order he’d left behind, allowing her a moment to examine him more closely. He was thin, painfully so. There were dark circles beneath his golden eyes that spoke to sleepless nights yet there was a fierceness to him that drew her closer like a moth to flame. “Maybe I’ll double it and get him a nap and a sandwich,” she mused quietly, thinking about her impending donation. 

The sharp jab of an elbow to her ribs brought her back to the present, and she stepped on Carver’s foot in retaliation. When she dragged her gaze back to the healer’s face, she flustered as they locked eyes again. “So if you’re not here for healing or to cause trouble for me…what do you want?” he directed at her. He’d clearly decided that she was the leader of their merry band, like so many before. 

‘You,’ is what she absolutely couldn’t say no matter how desperately she wanted to. Anders blinked in surprise before his mouth curled into a warm smile, exhaling a chuckle. And Lirene said he wasn't a smiler. Maker. Her earlier words about marrying him rang in her ears, taunting her. Carver groaned in disgust and she felt her stomach drop into her feet as she realized that she’d said it after all. “Ah,” she said stupidly. Staring at the dirt floor beneath her feet, she willed it to open and swallow her whole to save her from her mortification. 

“Somehow I doubt that’s why you came all this way,” Anders said, his smile turning wry. Hawke felt her face heat at his light-hearted tease and tried to hide the way she faltered by clearing her throat. Carver’s impatient shifting beside her reminded her of the real reason they came. It was no time to flirt with handsome healers. 

Clearing her throat a second time, she decided to try again. “We need to know how to get into the Deep Roads.”

That wiped the smile off Anders’ face, his lips curving into a deep frown the moment she said their intended destination. “No,” came his firm reply, planting his hands against his hips to add to the sternness of it. 

Hawke grimaced at the finality in that single word. "We have good reason for wanting to go," she tried to reason, taking a step toward him with her hands raised palms up. She wasn't above going down on her knees for him to beg, though she'd rather not have an audience for that. Her eyes dipped to his hip region unbidden at the thought, wondering what he'd look like out of his robes. "My mother's an Amell and-"

"Amell?" Anders perked up at the name, as did a small number of the patients still in the clinic. Ah, good. If the family was still known within the city, then perhaps the name still held some leverage after all. Having them in his debt would be a powerful gambit. "I knew an Amell once, back in Kinloch Hold." 

Hawke wracked her brain for the stories Mother used to tell of her family. Magic had shown itself in the bloodline before she ran off with an apostate and had two of them herself. "That must have been our dear cousin…two times removed?" she stated, glancing at Carver for confirmation. He shrugged, shifting from hip to hip in anxiousness at the eyes on them. "Why Anders, that practically makes us family already!" 

The healer pursed his lips at that, fighting back another smile. He gestured for them to follow him further into the clinic, leading them to a far wall that held a few scant boxes filled with bandages and herbs. Reaching into one of the boxes for a bunch of dried embrium, Anders plucked the petals before dropping them into a mortar atop a table a short distance away. "The answer is still no," he said at last, eyes sliding to her face. 

Hawke threw her hands up in exasperation with a huff. That drew a true smile out of him, one that darted across his face before he was able to temper it back into a look of stern neutrality. "I don't know what sort of 'get rich quick' scheme this is, but the Deep Roads are dangerous. They aren't a place to go traipsing around for treasure." 

"That's a rather bold assumption to make, isn't it? What if we're simple sightseers? I happen to have quite the interest in history and Varric here-"

"Is a member of the Merchant's Guild," Anders finished for her. He gave the dwarf an appraising look before turning back to her. "If you're going to lie to me, at least make it believable." 

"It's not a lie," she pouted, not missing the way he glanced at her lips. "I do like history. When it's not boring, at least." 

"We're funding an expedition," Varric butted in, interrupting their banter. He idly tugged on the straps of one of his bracers before looking up at the healer with the same winning smile he gave Hawke when they met. "You know, Blondie, if you provided any assistance at all - even something as simple as a map or two - we'd be more than happy to offer you compensation. Coin. Protection. Supplies for this clinic of yours." 

Anders hesitated. "I'm sorry, but I just can't take that risk," he replied, shaking his head slowly. Pulling out a pestle, he began to grind the red petals into a fine powder. "I may not be with the Grey Wardens any longer, but memories of the Deep Roads and the darkspawn are fresh enough that I can't in good conscience send anyone foolish enough to risk the taint to their doom." 

"We're getting nowhere," Hawke heard Carver complain from behind her. "Listen here, mage-"

She panicked. Flailing for another tactic, whether to calm her brother or convince the Warden, she exclaimed, "Wait!"

Carver ignored her, brushing her aside before she could decide which man to handle. She watched anxiously as her younger brother squared his shoulders and the way Anders tensed his own, not turning away from the poor flower he was in the middle of pulverizing. She saw the electricity crackle over his fingers, though, and her mind went blank. 

"You can tell us how to get there, willing or not," she heard herself say before Carver had the chance to. As her brother spun to look at her in surprise, she went pale. So much for peaceful solutions. Well done, Hawke, you've threatened the healer after all.  

"Hawke," Aveline hissed in both disapproval and warning. Varric simply shut his eyes and gave a long, suffering sigh. 

The troubled expression that had marred Anders' handsome features morphed into one of anger. He spun to face her, stepping into her space to bring himself chest to chest with her and Maker he was tall. Hawke squirmed in the face of his fury, pressing her thighs together and hating that she found that attractive. There was probably something very wrong with her, but she couldn't bring herself to care with him close enough that she could see the golden lashes that framed his eyes. 

"Don't threaten me, little girl," he growled down at her. How was that fair? Hawke pressed her thighs even tighter together as a stab of heat speared her. She was transfixed. 

Oblivious to her internalized shame spiral, Carver scrambled for his sword in a much more normal reaction to the threat. Just as quickly as he'd approached, however, Anders stepped away, breaking the spell. Hawke threw out her hand to keep her brother at bay. 

"You can't imagine what I've gone through to get here," the Warden spat bitterly as he returned to his work table. Bracing his palms against its surface, he slid his gaze between the two siblings. "I'm not about to-"

"I'm sorry," Hawke blurted, desperate to salvage things somehow. She quickly moved to his side, hopping up on the table and ignored the way it creaked precariously beneath her weight. Anders didn't move away, though he watched her warily. Crossing one long leg over the other, she knit her fingers atop her knee and affected a look of contrition. "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot. We haven't even introduced ourselves!" 

Anders followed the line of her leg with his gaze before exhaling slowly. He turned and leaned against the table, facing away from her. "You already know my name," he pointed out, refusing to look at any of them. 

"So does the whole of Darktown and half of Lowtown, it seems," Hawke replied in a light tone. She dared to reach out and gave his feathered pauldron a ginger pat. "I'm Hawke," she continued brightly, watching some of the surliness melt off of him. 

Emboldened, she gestured to the rest of her companions. "You know Varric by now, of course. That's Aveline - she's a guard here in the city. And the tall glowering fellow is my brother, Carver." 

Her brother's brows impressively furrowed deeper at the change in tactics. "Her name is Cat. We're both Hawke." 

Anders' animosity disappeared entirely at that. "Siblings? That explains the way he's stood over you like a guard dog this whole time, I suppose." He paused. "Your name is Cat?" he asked, granting her a curious look.

"It's short for Catelyn. Mother's sense for irony - I'm a dog person, believe it or not," she breezed past the query, narrowing her eyes at her brother for his big mouth. Two could play at that game. She grinned at the way Anders' nose wrinkled, his interest quickly giving way to disgust. "Regardless, it's not my fault that everyone simply calls me Hawke." 

"Of course not. It's not at all the fact that you never bother correcting them," Carver replied with a roll of his eyes. Hawke stuck her tongue out at him, resulting in a series of rude hand gestures that rapidly flew between them until Aveline broke their line of sight of each other. 

"Enough! You're both worse than children," she barked, pulling them both up short. "The man said no. It's time to find another way."

Chastened, Hawke ducked her head while Carver crossed his arms and glared at the wall. She shot Anders an apologetic look and hopped off the table. "No hard feelings, I hope," she sighed. "My own grasp of creation magic is…shaky at best, and you never know when you might need a healer in a place like Kirkwall." 

"Cat," her brother gasped, voice strained beneath the special kind of angry he became when he was scared. He grabbed her arm to haul her away from the Warden, fingers pressing painfully through the fabric of her sleeve. "Shout it from the rooftops next time, why don't you? I'll watch Mother cry while the templars drag you away."

Anders had gone deathly still, eyes rounding in a surprise that brought a giggle bubbling up out of Hawke's chest. "You're a mage?" he asked in a voice that was little more than a whisper. His hands fluttered like he wanted to draw her back to him then wrapped around his middle. 

"As my father before me," she confirmed airily. Carver shook her for her foolishness, scowling as she wriggled out of his grasp. Once free, she stepped closer to the healer. Close enough that he could reach out for her if he really wanted to. She wanted him to. 

No. Bad Hawke, her brother was already furious with her. She batted away her sudden desire to be held by a near stranger and wrestled it into her mental box alongside the other Bad Thoughts. When Carver pulled her away the second time, she let him, quirking her lips at the way he placed himself between them as though Anders himself wasn’t an apostate. But he was stubborn, like their pet mabari. The Warden gave an oddly wistful look at the two of them that made her heart ache anew. 

“Carver, it’s alright. He’s hiding from the templars too, so he’s not likely to turn me in.”

“Never,” Anders affirmed with a vengeance, a steel edge curling along his voice. His eyes took on a strange light, almost looking blue for a moment. Hawke frowned but he was turning away from them to pace agitatedly, muttering to himself beneath his breath. Glancing at the others, Varric caught her eye and shrugged. ‘Mages, right?’ his expression read. She gave a half shrug back. She liked to talk to herself sometimes too, so she had no room to judge. 

Taking the Warden’s distraction as their cue to leave, Hawke gave an awkward wave of her hand. “Alright, well…very sorry for disturbing you, Anders.” He paused in his pacing to look at them, eyes widening again. “If you ever need some muscle, or a sandwich, or a night off…well, we spend most evenings at the Hanged Man.” She turned to go, gesturing for the others to follow when his voice stopped her. 

“Wait.”

Hawke half-turned, twisting at the waist with her lopsided grin already in place. “Missing us already?” she teased, faltering when he retained his serious expression. Not so much as a smirk or an amused snort in response. Her smile slipped in turn. 

“You can have my maps, though not for free,” Anders said in a rush. He took a step towards them, and then another. “A favor for a favor. Does that sound like a fair deal? You help me, I’ll help you?”

The sudden shift put Hawke on edge. He’d refused when offered payment, protection, and supplies, so what would make the man change his mind? “I don’t do anything involving children or animals,” she replied reflexively. 

His lovely lips turned down at the edges in confusion. “What?”

She shrugged in response. “We also had to go through a lot to reach this shithole of a city, including selling ourselves to a mercenary company for a year. I found that it’s good to have standards for jobs you might take.”

“Ah. It’s nothing quite so dire, I assure you. Compared to traveling into the Deep Roads, it shouldn’t pose an issue,” Anders continued, edging ever closer. Hawke inclined her head in acknowledgement, indicating for him to continue. He locked eyes with her and she knew she’d agree to anything he asked. 

“I came to Kirkwall to aid a friend.”

[baejax-the-great]

For the character ask game: 2, 3 & 21 for Bethany? c:

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

The fact that Act 3 she's the most powerful playable mage in the game. What were they feeding her in the Wardens/at the Circle?

But also I love her little sister energy.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

The game seems to imply her happiest situation is being a Circle mage. Also, and I understand why, but post-DA2 there is never an update on what could happen to her. The Circle falls, the Wardens are in disarray... where is my little sister??

I also don't particularly like that most people play a hawke mage and so she's canonically dead for most fans. That's my little sister!!! You should all get to know and love her!!

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Bethany is a lot shier and more soft-spoken than Hawke, but she's still a Hawke who grew up with Hawke, so I like having those moments where she channels her big sibling and is a little insane. Especially for other characters who don't know Hawke or her whole situation, it could seem pretty out of left field for Bethany to have a wild idea or an insane bold streak.

Something I don't like writing for her... I don't really know how to answer this part. If I don't want to write it, I won't.

[jb-nonsense]

Okay, so, you guys voted for this so

JB's Intricate List of Dragon Age OCs

Under this, you will find a slightly more detailed than normal post about my extensive Dragon Age OCs and how they all exist in one universe and how that all ties together.

First we'll start with DAO and the one who started it all - Eliana Mahariel

This is my Warden. She was 18 years old, a baby, when everything went down. And she's got a natural skill at getting shit done (fake it til you make it mentality), and despite being very stressed, managed somehow. Also romanced Alistair but he became king and they both survived the Blight so...Angst. She goes on to be Warden Commander for Ferelden but will eventually step away to try to find a cure, which leads us to the next guy.

Arik Tabris - I pushed the city elf origin up a few months so he's a warden with Alistair and Duncan at Ostagar, but junior enough to be left behind. Why doesn't he take command?? Because he has too many issues to sort through with his attitude and gruff, impulsive fight everything act so he needs to cool his heels a bit before he's leader material. Which he eventually becomes. What's he doing by Inquisition? Well, he tried to talk sense with the Orlesians, but he got locked up at the fort but can be rescued and recruited for Inquisition. Also his romance plan was Morrigan, and they've basically gone their separate ways by Inquisition. Still feelings but knowing it is what it is.

Next we have one of 3 Amell siblings I made - Zoria Amell. The second youngest of five, she and her younger sister were both at the Fereldan Circle. There is a huge ass plot with her siblings, which involves her older 3 brothers coming to the circle to plot an escape and them having Northern family but...I feel like that deserves it's own post. What you need to know about Zoria is she very much is a fuck you let's go, I want to do what I want type. And she romances Zevran. Runs off with Zevran after the game, and is not a warden. So she becomes an apostate.

Dimetrea Brosca - Sadly I didn't get to develop as much as I wanted for the Leliana romance due to computer issues. But the plan was for her to escape, go to the surface and work as a mercenary and is recruited to the party when you help her protect a caravan from darkspawn. She'd probably continue various mercenary work afterwards, but always be on call to help Leliana.

Finally, Lir Cousland, because I made him to try the Cousland origin and got attached. He has no romance, he's just a noble to use to tip the scales at the end in my character's favor. He is the middle child, with older brother Fergus and a younger sister. He was at Ostagar but his sister arrived, terribly wounded, and told him what occurred at home before dying. Fergus had already left to scout and Lir, blinded by rage, left Ostagar to find Howe and get revenge. You meet him in the village after Ostagar and can recruit him if you agree to help him get justice for his family.

Moving on to Dragon Age II, we have the champion, a warrior named Atena Hawke.

Atena Hawke is a trained soldier, who lost her girlfriend at Ostagar, barely escaping with her and her brother's life. She's highly protective of those close to her, and can be a mix bag on personality (I broke the game with overlapping dialogue with aggressive and humor once). She's not afraid of a fight and she 100% was going to punch Cullen when he came to take Bethany to the circle. She romanced Anders, sided with the mages, and obviously, fled with Anders after sparing his life. She has attachment issues.

Next we have Atena's cousin, Dazbo Amell. The only Amell son to escape the events at the Fereldan Circle in that thing I need to make a separate post about. Definitely relies on his wit, humor, and charm to get out of things as well as mask his severe survivor's guilt and other issues, he's just trying to figure out what he's going to do with his life now that he can't be tracked by the circle, they probably think he's dead, and so decides to hang around his cousin and others. He also romances Fenris because...it fits to me.

Speaking of mages, let's talk about my templar OC. Katarina Anhalt. A Free Marcher and twin sister of a mage, Katarina is a nobleman's daughter who became a templar with noble intent, but a grave misunderstanding of what the templars actually do. She really wants to change the system from within and willingly turns a blind eye to apostate mages if they're not causing problems. But she will have to come to terms with reality sooner or later. Also romances Sebastian.

And since we mentioned criminals, let's discuss Sasha Fritz, a half elf human who was raised by his elven mother, who had been abused by his human nobleman father in Kirkwall. This boy is a Robin Hood; steals from the rich, gives to the poor. This, obviously, puts him in a place where he could join up with Hawke. Definitely gets a crush on Merrill and they romance each other.

more seedy undergroundness, is the apostate Selena Porter. Born under a different name, at ten years old, Selena realized her true self and that she had magic. She ran off, joined a smuggler ring and learned the tricks of the trade. She specializes in smuggling arcane items right under templars' noses. She romances Isabela.

And now we get to Inquisition.

We'll start with the Inquisitor himself, Rajmahel Lavellan

The First of his clan, Rajmahel was sent at 27 years old to the Conclave to see what he could find out as he had some connections which would enable him to get in. This, of course, changed the course of his life. He was torn from his daughter and his clan to become the leader of the Inquisition, trying to protect the world and make it better for his daughter. When they get to Skyhold, he sent for his sister to bring his daughter, Elera, there for safety. He romances Dorian.

Speaking of the Inquisitor's sister, we have Idrilla Lavellan. She joins the Inquisition at Skyhold after bringing her niece. And she does the work her younger brother might not want to dirty his hands with. But she also has a fascination with the tear in the sky- she had encountered an artifact in her youth enabling her to walk in the fade in her dreams, and she is concerned as it seems more restless than before. She romances Solas.

And as for the Inquisitor's connections, he is friends with members of the Trevelyan family. Specifically, Seigfried Trevelyan, the middle son. Maxwell, a templar and the youngest son, died at the Conclave where Seigfried was meant to be as well but was detained from arriving. Seigfried started to work as a scout for the Inquisition, having a strong huntsman skill and history as a city guard. He romances Cassandra.

Do you recall the Amell siblings? Here is the baby one, Aurora Amell. A talented spirit healer even from a young age, after contending with abuses and then studying as an apprentice to Wynn, she ended up joining the mage rebellion, eventually becoming engaged to an Orlesian mage. He was killed at the conclave while Aurora was helping a local woman with a difficult labor. She readily joined the Inquisition, only to meet someone from her past. She romances Cullen.

Hildegard Cadash is a respected and feared name within the Carta. After the murder of her husband and son, she had torn down her rivals, whether through assassinations or ruining them financially. When a member of her family (niece/nephew/nibling) was killed at the Conclave, she decided to do what she did best - seek retribution by aiding the Inquisition with her extensive underground connections. If you don't cross her, she's warm and friendly, glad to share a drink and story. If you cross her, though, that could be a problem. She romances Blackwall.

When their older sibling went to the Conclave and Inatar and Shamut Adaar stayed behind, they thought it would be a routine event. They didn't expect their sibling to die. Now, Inatar keeps an eye out ofr her mage brother, and they decided their best bet was to join the Inquisition. Protection under an organization headed by a mage as well as be able to avenge their brother. Inatar romances Sera and Shamut romances Bull. Didn't get to delve into these two much due to computer issues.

Next is a wholly companion OC, a Crow from Antiva. Sergio di Vasco. Sergio had learned of a hit set on the Inquisitor and, deciding he wanted more than being a crow after his alcoholic father sold him to them, he betrayed them and offered his services to the Inquisition. A bit aloof at times, he merely wants to sus out the people around him. If you earn his loyalty, though, he won't waiver in it. He ends up romancing Josie.

Another fully companion OC, Shalelan Amalasis is a Dalish elf from Antiva. A skilled warrior, he was sent by his clan to offer his services to the Inquisitor upon learning they were Dalish as well. They hope was to help them in their struggles in Antiva. Shalelan is a quiet, albeit easily flustered man. He knows how to fight, and focused on that for so long, some of his social skills are lacking.

This one is just a fun one. Antoinette de Ghislain, the cousin of Seigfried Trevelyan, is an Orlesian noblewoman very tired of her life and with little means of her own. And thus, she decided to write novels. But what kind of novels? Usually risque novels involving notable figures from across Thedas for her patrons. It gives her some independent income from her husband and a bit of freedom, even if at times, she can't help but roll her eyes over what some of the requests she receives are.

And now we'll get into DATV, with my Rook, Ogden Thorne

Working on his history, but he's around 37 years old. His last name wasn't originally Thorne, but he was called Thorn in the circle due to his habit of standing up to the knight commander and other templars more than they liked. He was recruited to the Wardens in his early 20s by the Hero of Ferelden herself, because she liked his fire and attitude. Of course, this eventually gave him issues with the other wardens as the order dwindled and here we are. No idea who he romances; we'll find out. He is the staple sad blond human man for this Dragon Age game since that's not a romance option.

And a bonus:

Others not listed here

AU where Atena had a twin brother named Alric (I wanted to play in CC)

Son of Idrilla and Solas named Fenvir

Ancient elf seer named Mathras Myriani

Ancient elf servant of Ghilan'nain named Dalineva who is...a piece of work.

A Tevinter blood mage magister designed as a villain named Vincentius Titus

Emrys Moysten, who could have been my Rook, that I made for a tabletop game. A Fereldan mage who just wants to be left alone but gets dragged into various situations.

[thewardenisonthecase]

Elizabeth Hawke

Character Tag

Fenliza // Elizadith - Shipping tag

Lineage: Human Class: Mage Personality: Purple-Blue mix Specializations: Force Mage, Dreamer, Shapeshifter Date of Birth: 9 Bloomingtide, 9:06 Dragon Parents: Leandra Amell and Malcolm Hawke Siblings: Carver and Bethany Hawke Partner: Fenris Children: none Height: 1,65 m/5'4 Physical Description: White, green eyes, brown hair, idk how to describe her body but she's like. idk curvy? thick? what im trying to say is that she is not that skinny and she has some curves. Current Status: Alive

Pre-DA2:

Elizabeth Hawke was born and raised in Ferelden, as the oldest daughter of Malcolm and Leandra Hawke. When she was still very young, her magic manifested and soon, the family began to move around, as they had two mages in the family.

Growing up, Elizabeth was a really happy child and she was extremely close to her father, especially after her magic manifested. She struggled with nightmares a lot as a child, along other sleeping issues that she eventually dealt with thanks to Malcolm.

When she was 6, Leandra gave birth to twins Carver and Bethany, and Elizabeth had a big role in helping raise them. When she was 10, she killed a templar which led the family to move once again. She was closer to Bethany as she helped her sister with her magic.

It's when they arrived in Lothering that Elizabeth begans developing a more charming personality, as she soon figured that saying the right thing to the right person could get her out of trouble, or get them to do what she wanted. Becomes really good at lying and flirting, and basically begins masking who she really is.

Malcolm dies on her 21st birthday, and Elizabeth becomes the head of the family. This is also when she begins repressing a lot of her feelings.

When Carver comes back from Ostagar, he brings a Mabari with him, named Barkspawn. The family immediatly leaves Lothering as the hoard approaches.

Post DA2:

After the Chantry explosion, Elizabeth helpes Anders hide for a time before bringing him to Ferelden, as he reunites with the Warden-Commander. She continues to go from place to place with Fenris to avoid the Chantry, learning how to shape shift along the way as a way to hide better, until she goes to Skyhold.

During Adamant, she and Carver are reunited, and Carver sacrifices himself in the Fade to save his sister.

Main Choices:

Act 1: - Worked for the Red Iron, Meeran still alive - Sent Feynriel to the Dalish - Lied to Karras about the Starkhaven Mages - Idunna dead, Keran back in the Templars - Defended Ketojan - Took 50% of the Bone Pit - Took Carver to the Deep Roads Act 2: - Helped Feynriel and sent him to Tevinter - Gascard dead - Killed Brekker - Did not ally with Petrice/The zealots - Gained the Arishok's respect - Killed the Arishok in single combat Act 3: - Sided with Meredith in the market - Helped Zevran kill the Crows - Found Nathaniel - Sent Emile back to the circle - Found Charade and got her and Gamlen to meet - Killed the High Dragon and took over the Bone Pit - Keran lives - Sided with the Mages during The Last Straw

Companions:

Has Friendship with all companions Bethany - died in the prologue Carver - became a Grey Warden Aveline - helped become Captain, married Donnic Varric - Did not kill Bartrand, and did not keep the red lyrium Anders - Did not kill Ella, helped Anders with the bomb Isabela - returned with the tome, and killed Castillon Merrill - Received the arulin'holm, Eluvian intact, Sabrae clan alive Fenris - Romanced, did not kill Varania Sebastian - Told to follow his heart and maybe take back Starkhaven

DLCs:

Legacy: Found Malcolm's will, sided with Larius Mark of the Assassin: Helped Tallis and they parted amicably

Other Stuff:

If Elizabeth were a spirit, she'd be Hope

Her tarot card association is Strenght

Her biggest fears are forgetfulness and being forgotten, as well as aracnophobia and a general fear of bugs

Favorite color is blue

Discovered she was a dreamer during act 2, learned how to shape shift post game

One of the consequences of the Arishok battle is that she had to have an emergency hysterectomy performed by Anders, which means she cant have children (which was one of her dreams)

Is scarily good at math

Pretends to be bad at cards because she has more fun seeing others win

Is very self conscious of her hands since they have a lot of scars from using magic without a staff, so she wears lots of gloves

Gets into an affar with Meredith post act 2 that keeps on going until the very end

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Uhhhhh.... hmm.

Switch around the protags and the parties for the plots of the Dragon Age games, maybe? Like the Dragon Age II are in the position to deal with the Dragon Age Origins plotline instead of the normal characters of that game.

A headcanon style answer. I spun a wheel for this:

Veilguard to Origins

Okay so- Davrin is now the experienced Warden helping the newbie (Rook) when Ostagar is overun by Darkspawn. Since he's an elf we don't have the subplot of 'secret prince'. Instead we have him struggling with the same sort of 'I should be dead' thing.

Bellara is the daughter of Flemeth who is still Bellara and low key so nervous about the whole Old God baby but as time goes on she wants to as she becomes friends with the others, and is scared to lose them.

Lucanis is the Antivan Crow sent after the wardens. Here he wants to die as he was recently posessed by a demon and just wishes things to end. Illario is sent after him, but instead of a fight to death it's Illario faking Lucanis is dead.

Taash is here but as a Vasoth warrior who is struggling with their identity after their mother was killed for hiding a firebreathing Qunari and Taash was taken by the Antaam however they escaped in Ferelden. It's a struggle for them.

Neve is a mage hiding in the Chantry after she trusted the wrong person during a case. She is facing her past as Aelia is after her.

Harding is the dwarven companion picked up in Orzammar who is lost in her own regrets after the woman she loved went looking for the Anvil of the Void, but Harding refused to follow. She was to scared to.

Emmrich is an older mage whom was visting the Circle from Nevara when it was over taken. He decides to assit in defeating the Blight.

Origins to DA2

HOF is now a refugee from Ferelden. Can be human, dwarf or elf. Things do change depending on it, with either the Alienage, Lowtown or Hightown their final destination.

Alistair is the Chantry Brother who is a prince. He is struggling with his feelings of duty to his country Ferelden which needs a king vs Elthina who he sees as a mother. This plotline is more focusing on identifying Elthina as abusive and deciding what he truly wants.

Zevran is the elf hiding from his former owners the Crows while trying to find the book he stole.

Leliana occupies the space of Bethany/Carver, being a friend of the HOF though here she is a romance option depending on what you do. You take her to the Deep Roads without Wynne, she dies. With Wynne, she becomes a warden. She stays in Kirkwall, she is a romance option.

Morrigan is the mage trying to rebuild a mirror she views as a piece of history.

Wynne is the Grey Warden posessed mage who is being corrupted by the lack of justice in the world.

Sten is a Qunari who ends up joining the HOF from time to time while while searching for the thief. He ends up leaving no matter what after act 2.

Loghain is the new guard captain who is trying to keep this city together.

Oghren is our dwarven companion, recently exiled to the surface as he tries to regain his glory alongside his wife Branka.

Shale has recently escaped Tevinter and wants revenge for how they treated her.

DA2 Becomes Inquisition

Hawke is the sad bastard in the wrong place at the right time.

Sebastian takes Cassandra's role as the right hand. He wants to help save the world while strugglign with the revelation of Chantry corruption.

Varric is a scout who joins the team from time to time. He and Oghren who is back as a compaion do not get along.

Oghren as said is still in Varric's canon roll so he is here.

Merrill is an elf mage who joins hoping to right the world. Or so she claims as she hides the secret she is behind this being the Dreadwolf herself.

Fenris is both Dorian and Bull, a veteran from Seheron. He is still an escaped slave.

Bethany is a mage who has high power in the ranks, and is invested in keeping her place. Her sibling may be the Inquisitor, but she wants peace more then anything.

Carver is a Templar companion who kind of takes the place of Blackwall, as he has some dark secrets and a few deaths he hasn't admitted on his hands.

Anders is Dorian kind of? He's a mage who joins to help the world but he's got his own issues going on.

Isabela is Sera really. She joined to get things profitable again. Why the FUCK is there ancient gods around?

Inquisition to Veilgaurd

Inquisitor was picked up by Oghren to save the world.

Vivienne is a Fade expert picked for her expert mind and knowledge of the beyond. She also is struggling with her lover's death which has left her fighting with others about his estate.

Bull is a Mercenary captain known for killing dragons, who wants things to go back to normal. As time goes on, he comes to terms with his own feelings about the Qun and how he is torn between two extremes in his life.

Sera is from Tevinter here, helping the Shadow Dragons stomp down on the bullies as she views them aka the Venatori.

Solas is our veil jumper who is very invested in the truth of his people.

Cassandra is from Nevarra, having been in the Necropolis her whole life, and struggles with her secret revulsion of death magic due to how her uncle raised her.

Varric is our companion from the third game, now unhappy to have magic.

Dorian is also from Tevinter, having teamed up with Sera to work with the Shadow Dragons.

Cole is a spirit being controlled by the Crows to kill. His story is about freeing him.

Blackwall is actually Thom here and a real grey warden who is looking after the griffins. His life is much better.

[sulky-valkyrie]

[ AWAKE ]:     the sender, unable to sleep, gets up to go for a walk, and finds that the receiver is also unable to sleep for Warden Anders and Warden Carver. What do you mean that doesn't make sense? I'm putting them in the same timeline you can't stop me

happy Friday! It's not romantic because they didn't feel like kissing, but here's some Warden!Carver in Vigil's Peak bonding with Anders somewhat against his will for @dadrunkwriting

Carver couldn’t sleep.  It hadn’t been a problem when he’d been walking miles every day across Ferelden; the exhaustion and worry had been enough to knock him out most nights, but now, when he wasn’t in fear of his life and had joined the order properly, he never could seem to get tired enough to fall into bed.  Either the darkspawn dreams woke him, or he stared at the ceiling for hours.  He’d taken to patrolling at night just for something to do.  Other Wardens seemed to have the same issue, and more often than not, they’d nod as he passed, lost in their own thoughts, or treating their sleeplessness with questionable remedies and variable results.

It was an unspoken rule that they didn’t talk about it.  Not during, and not after.

But, of course, there was always one.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Carver stifled a groan, then shrugged.  “Oh?”  

Anders stepped out of the shadows and sighed.  "You're supposed to say something witty.  Joke about the decor, pretend we’re in some grand fete, or something.  Or just insult me."

"What would be the point?" he asked gruffly, praying he’d get bored and find someone else to bother.  “You’d run circles around me no matter what I say.”

He cocked his head, like one of those strange water birds.  Maker knew he was tall enough, and, with the feathered pauldrons he’d taken to wearing, the resemblance was increasing every day.  “Is that a mage pun?”

Carver groaned inwardly.  “Not on purpose, and this is exactly what I mean.”

“You’ll never get better if you don’t try,” Anders said, voice somehow both encouraging and condescending.  “Why, when I was at the Pearl, we had all kinds of first timers there.  Education and thrills, all at once!  So try it, yeah?”  He beckoned at him with both hands then patted his chest, like he was trying to provoke a fight.  “Hit me with your best shot, big boy”

Did he ever shut up? It was like being stuck with Garrett again, only Anders wasn’t shouting.  Come to think of it, he never raised his voice, except in a fight, and even then, it wasn’t loud so much as it carried. A spell perhaps?  Regardless, no matter how annoyed he was, no matter how many gibes and jabs he threw out, they were never shouted.

Was it a Circle thing?  Wynne hadn’t spoken more than a dozen sharp words in the entire year she’d been with them, and nearly all of those had been directed at the dog.  Velanna and Morrigan were both strident and opinionated, but they’d grown up as far from the Circle and Templars as was humanly (elvenly?) possible.  Bethany had never been loud, even before her magic manifested; who could be, compared to Garrett?  And afterward, she’d tried to make herself as small and quiet and unnoticeable as possible.  

“You know a lot of apostates?” he asked, refusing to rise to the bait.

Anders pursed his lips in irritation.  “Other than being one?”

“You’re a Circle mage,” Carver sighed.  “You got out, but you’re still -”

“What, just a, just a fucking a pet?” he snarled, voice raised for the first time Carver had ever heard, then danced a tiny jig before taking a scornful bow.  “A bird singing a little tune, throwing pretty little lights for the amusement of all the rabble who’d rather see us dead than let us have a singly bloody moment of sunshine and peace?”

Carver took a shocked step backward.  “What?  No, my sister’s an apostate!  My –” don’t think about Morrigan “– father made himself one!”  He pointed toward the barracks. “Look at Velanna, for the Maker’s sake!  But you’re the only one who’s been both.”

Anders froze mid-tirade, all puffed up and indignant, then let a breath out, deflating against the wall.  "And?" He asked warily.  

Why had he asked that?  “Forget it.”

“You can’t - you can’t just throw that at me and not mean anything by it,” Anders retorted.

Carver glanced away.  “Bethany was – is a mage.  We had to move a lot.  After she threw someone into a tree.  And after she accidentally iced the mayor’s – it doesn’t matter.  She did her best to hide it, and Father did his best to teach her, but… there were mistakes.  A lot of them.  I’d be furious we’d need to uproot our lives again and Bethy’d cry and feel so guilty about it.”  He wiped his eyes; damn things always seemed to get dust in them or something whenever he talked about her.  “I just… it was hard.  I want to – I guess I want to make sure it was worth it.”

Anders’ sour expression melted into concern, then sympathy.  He pushed himself off the floor and rolled up his sleeves to hold them out in front of him.  “You tell me.”

At first, in the dim lamp light, Carver wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking for.  It’s just an arm.  A pair of them.  Certainly, the pattern of the shadows looked strange but - wait.  He squinted down at them as a sickening realization began to dawn.  “Is - are those manacle scars?”  He knew the answer already but still prayed there was another explanation.  The deserters at Ostagar had the same marks, but how could a mage get them?  Not just a mage, but a spirit healer?  Anders had damn near brought people back from the dead, Carver included; how could he have ever let something like that go… unaddressed?

“Unsupervised magic is discouraged in the Kinloch,” he said flatly.  “Forbidden among apprentices.  Learning to control powers you barely understand with a faceless suit of armor that you know has the authority to kill you for no reason at all standing over you and waiting for you to slip up.”  He tugged his sleeves down.  

“Sometimes, they’re ‘lenient,’” he continued quietly.  “A few nights down in the cells where they keep the maleficar before branding them.  To remind us of our place.  Sometimes, a few nights turns into a few weeks.  If you cast anything when you’re down there, you’re dead.  Doesn’t matter if it’s creation or primal or entropy.  And once it’s healed over, there’s no making it pretty again.”  He took a long slow breath and stepped back.  “So.  You tell me: was it worth it?”

What could he say to that?  How could he possibly convey the terror he felt at the thought of anything like that befalling his sister?  “I –” I’m sorry could never be adequate, and Carver had never been eloquent enough to manage anything more than the most banal of platitudes.  He met Anders’ eyes.  “How can we stop them from doing it to anyone else?”

[highwayphantoms]

happy friday! i think it'd be fun to see the hawke siblings for "aw, did you miss me?", maybe for a holiday family thing?

Whoops, this one went a little more angst than fluff, but OH WELL

For @dadrunkwriting!

Words: 1104 Rating: G

-

Winter in Kirkwall was always a milder affair than winter in Ferelden, and this year was even warmer than most. Or, at least, it seemed that way. Cal was willing to chalk that up to the stark contrast of having just returned to Kirkwall after spending the better part of five years in the south. In truth, they had never really planned to return to Kirkwall. The city they’d come to call home after the Blight was, well, a terrible place to live, and full of bad memories to boot—but the Inquisition had changed things. The Inquisition had treated its mages as equals rather than as prisoners or things to be feared. The new Divine, too—one more sympathetic to the plight of mages—had abolished the Circles once and (hopefully) for all.

Kirkwall was not a safe city to be a mage, but it was safer than it had been, and that was good enough that when Varric asked them to return, Cal had agreed. They had arrived in Kirkwall just before winter started to take hold of the Waking Sea, and both Varric and Merrill had greeted them at the docks. It was almost like old times.

Almost.

Anders had declined to join them right away; he was in Amaranthine for the first time since he’d fled the Wardens, and planned to stay there while Cal got a sense of whether or not the people of Kirkwall still wanted him dead. Fenris, on the other hand, had gone north months ago with the intention of finding and killing anyone who might still be able to make a claim for the Danarius name. Cal would have gladly gone with him, if not for the fact that he’d asked them not to.

Isabela had left Kirkwall, too, and though they had crossed paths at Skyhold, Cal did not expect her to ever return. She had a ship again, and a crew—what use did she have for Kirkwall? Sebastian had long since returned to Starkhaven. Carver was with the Wardens; the last Cal had heard from him, he’d been on the road to Weisshaupt. Bethany had stayed in Ferelden, having adopted a small cadre of kids just starting to come into their magic who needed guidance and training.

But Varric had returned to Kirkwall. Merrill and Aveline had never left. That was… enough, Cal supposed.

In the first few days after their return to Kirkwall, Cal was busy. Hiring new staff for the manor—if only so the estate didn’t feel so empty—and getting reacquainted with their neighbors filled much of their time. They wrote a letter to Carver, on the off chance that it might actually reach him. Wrote another to Anders, tucked inside a separate letter for Warden-Constable Nathaniel Howe. They spent time with Merrill in the alienage, visited both Varric and Aveline at the Keep—the idea of Varric being Viscount was still so strange and yet right—and on one particularly restless evening, Cal walked the city streets on four paws like they’d once done so often.

They settled into a new routine, and the weeks began to blur together. Before Cal knew it, First Day was upon them. It was not quite the grand event in Kirkwall that it was in Ferelden, but Cal had nonetheless received at least a dozen invitations for dinner and entertainment from the noble families of Kirkwall. Though they appreciated the gesture—and recognized the societal risk of their decision—Cal politely declined each and every invite. First Day was a day of celebrating the past year, and they hadn’t been in Kirkwall for the overwhelming majority of the year. It seemed… wrong.

Then, sometime around midday, the young doorman Cal had hired dashed into the library to find them. “Excuse me, serah,” he said, rushed. “There’s a Grey Warden and a woman at the door. They claim to be family?”

For a few seconds, Cal stared blankly at him. That was simply impossible. Their siblings couldn’t possibly have both come to Kirkwall just for a minor holiday. Then, finally, they got to their feet and said, “They are. Invite them in, please.”

Evidently startled, the doorman hesitated for a moment before bobbing his head and turning on his heel to dart back to the front door. Cal watched him go, still bemused, and ran a hand through their hair in a wan attempt to make themself more presentable. A silly concern, really, when one’s guests were your younger siblings, yet they still felt compelled to do it. By the time Cal emerged into the front hall, as presentable as they were ever going to get without a bath and a change of clothes, both of their siblings were standing in the middle of the room. Bethany shot them a small, tired smile—traveling from Ferelden to Kirkwall was no small endeavor, after all—but Carver was busy looking around, studying the room. Distantly, Cal remembered that while Bethany had spent a year or two living in the estate, Carver had never gotten the chance. Aside from breaking into the basement, had he ever actually seen it? They couldn’t recall.

“Happy First Day, Cal,” Bethany said warmly as they approached, stopping just a few steps away from the twins. “Sorry for not warning you we were coming—someone insisted on it being a surprise,” she continued, none-too-subtly elbowing Carver in the ribs as she spoke.

Though he still wore the blues and grays of the Wardens, he wasn’t in full plate, and as such got the full force of her elbow. Muttering a curse as his attention was yanked back to the middle of the room, Carver finally met Cal’s eyes and shot them a shit-eating grin. “Yeah. Surprise!”

Part of them was pleasantly surprised. Another part was suddenly grappling with the realization of how lonely they were, living more or less alone in an estate that had been built to house an entire family, serving staff, and guests. Torn between the two emotions, all Cal could do was fight back a sudden influx of tears.

Ever the observant, empathetic one, Bethany noticed first. She immediately moved to wrap Cal in a tight hug, and murmured into their ear, “I figured you might need some company. Guess I was right, huh?”

A half-sob, half-laugh burst from their chest. “Yeah. Little bit,” they managed to get out.

“Aw,” Carver joked, “did you miss me?”

Cal lifted their head from Bethany’s shoulder just long enough to glare at him and retort, “I will not dignify that with an answer.”

Carver only cackled.

Finally, almost two months after returning to Kirkwall, Cal felt like they were home again.

[courtjester69420]

hello codex entries 17 for the mahariel lavellan situation... and/or 2 for your hawke :3c

17. a description of your OC’s family by a future historian

Hailing from Clan Sabrae of the Dalish elves, Warden-Commander Lark Mahariel has left a complicated legacy behind him. After his involvement in the Fifth Blight, for which he was named Hero of Ferelden, it seemed his role in saving Thedas from darkspawn threats was over. It was not discovered until much later, how untrue that was.

Inquisitor Wisteria Lavellan was raised by the Keeper Deshanna of Clan Lavellan as her First after her mother passed. That is the story most people know, however, her story starts before that--as a member of Clan Sabrae. After Mahariel was recruited by Warden-Commander Duncan, her mother, Amaranth Sabrae took the young Inquisitor and left to seek another Dalish clan to live amongst. A strange twist of fortune, as Clan Sabrae was destroyed outside Kirkwall in 9:36 Dragon by the Champion of Kirkwall and her companions for reasons that are to this day unknown.

It seems Inquisitor Lavellan and Warden-Commander Mahariel never met again, after their initial parting. At least, not in recorded history. The Inquisitor herself only learned of her father's famed deeds some years after the darkspawn magister Corypheus was defeated, quite by accident when searching through unsent correspondences penned by Warden Loghain Mac Tir. At that point, the Hero of Ferelden had not been heard from for some years.

The Inquisitor was not the only notable child the Hero of Ferelden had, it is rumoured that the witch Morrigan's son, Kieran, was also his progeny. Strange family indeed, I wonder if Morrigan ever noted the similarities between her son and the Inquisitor during their work together.

-- In the Pursuit of Knowledge Volume XXIV, by Brother Ablativi

2. a letter written by your OC’s family member

Hey sister,

Did you know you can just, ask people to run messages for you? And they do? Well, only sometimes, but if you're reading this obviously the elf I asked to take it to you listened. Unless you found it on my dead body or something.

This is stupid. Not the note (I mean that's stupid too) but the waiting around for the battle to start. I know, I know, you're going to say some shit like "ohhhh Carver it's soooo important to have patience it's a virtue blah blah we need the Grey Wardens blah blah I'm just like mother blah," but if Teyrn Loghain says we don't need to rely so heavily on the Wardens... The man's never been wrong before has he? It's not like this is a real Blight.

Ugh, whatever, you're not going to agree with me. Even if you did it's not like we have any power to change anything, it's just so boringgggggg. I wish Bethany was here, she could actually learn how to do some real magic from the Circle mages here. Ooooo do you think the Templars would teach me some tricks, not that I'd tell them why I need to know how to subdue a mage, obviously. I'm not stupid. It'd just be nice to know. (don't worry the guy I'm getting to deliver the note can't read) (that's what he says anyways) (i believe him)

I hope the Wardens arrive soon, I want to win this battle and go home and have a real, hot bath. I think I'd be owed that much as a hero coming home from a victorious fight against savage monsters.

Okay, I'm going to finish this note up the elf is getting impatient with how long I'm taking to write.

I love you see you at slop dinner

Carver (you knew that)

[anneapocalypse]

1, 2, 4, 8, 19 for the dav meme!

Veilguard Hype Ask Meme!

What was the first Dragon Age game you played?

Origins! I've been here since the beginning. Alongside Fallout 3, it was one of the first RPG video games that absolutely ate my brain. I have fond memories of sitting on my futon playing DAO for like 16 hours straight, forgetting to eat and destroying my back.

2. Which Dragon Age game is your favorite so far?

This is always such a hard question for me to answer, because the three games are all so different, and I have deeply fond memories of all three of them, and I can also look at all three pretty frankly and see their flaws even as I still enjoy them. I think if I have to name a favorite though, it's still Dragon Age 2. Something about its structure and scale, the creative and unusual use of place and time, and its themes, really appeals to me. I've also come to really like the personality lock-in feature even though it does place some limitations on role-playing, and I love the friendship-rivalry system. I love it so much. I think it makes for much more interesting character relationships than simply "Does this character approve or disapprove of my actions?" Are there things about the other games that I prefer, of course. I want to be able to play as an elf or a dwarf or a qunari, for one. But even after all this time, DA2 still hits me a certain way. I love the other two games as well. There's just something about Kirkwall.

4. What does your worldstate look like going into DAV?

So I have like five or six world states and I don't consider any one of them more canon than the others, but I will be going into Veilguard for the first time with Rogues Gallery, which is exactly what it sounds like (and which means the one thing I know about my Rook is they'll be a rogue), featuring Jolene Cousland, Mallory Hawke, and Calla Cadash.

Basic rundown:

The Circle was saved, Connor and Isolde both lived, Zathrian broke the curse, and Harrowmont is King of Orzammar.

Jo romanced Alistair and convinced him to do the Dark Ritual.

They stayed Grey Wardens and rode off into the sunset together.

Anora is Queen of Ferelden.

Nathaniel is alive.

The Architect was spared.

Vigil's Keep and Amaranthine were protected.

Jo went off alone to find a cure for the Calling, and Alistair was left in the Fade.

Carver is dead, Bethany is alive and a Grey Warden.

Mal romanced Isabela. (In my headcanon, they later become a polycule with Merrill but of course that's not in the game.)

She rivaled everyone except the rogues and Merrill.

Bartrand is dead. Varric kept a piece of the idol.

Aveline did not marry Donnic.

Feynriel went to the Dalish, and then to Tevinter.

Clan Sabrae was killed.

Merrill did not destroy the Eluvian.

Mal refused to take any kind of a stand until the very end of Act III where she heaved a big sigh and sided with the mages.

She disapproved of Anders' actions but spared his life.

Mal is still alive and kicking.

Calla romanced Josephine.

She conscripted the rebel mages and the Grey Wardens.

Alistair was left in the Fade.

I left off with her right before Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, so I am not sure of her decisions from her onward! But I do plan to finish this playthrough before Veilguard comes out. :)

8. What faction are you most excited to learn more about?

I'm pretty hype about all of them, but I'd say the Lords of Fortune and the Veil Jumpers the most since we know the least about them!

19. Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime?

I do plan to finish my current playthrough of Inquisition (Calla's playthrough) which is still incomplete. Beyond that, maybe I'll re-read some of my favorite Tevinter Nights stories. I spent about three years (2020-2023) playing the whole series on repeat like 5-6 times and reading and watching all the side content I could get my hands on, so... I'm probably good on that front. ;)

Final Fantasy XIV is getting a new expansion, Dawntrail, in just a couple weeks, so that should occupy a good chunk of my summer, and I expect I'll be ready to play some more Dragon Age in the fall in preparation for Veilguard! (Would love to get an actual release date, though.)

[thedragonagelesbian]

Hi! Hope you are okay, I was thinking about more ways to hurt my hawke, got sad, and Im curious about how Cyrus would react

What if in inquisition, the warden that went to the fade was one of Hawke's sibilings?

How would it go? 👀

Hi anon!! Im honored that you thought of me in association with making hawke's life worse ajfowjgh

Canonically, bethany ends up in the circle because cyrus' protectiveness and deference to leandra prohibit him from bringing her into the deep roads. This ofc destroys him, having failed one of the first duties ever given to him which was malcolm telling him to keep her safe from the templars. He nearly dies trying to rescue her, to her great distress

And cyrus would still shoulder a great sense of failure if bethany ended up in the wardens instead, but with her further away & the wardens not being an institution he feels he has to save her from, he would also forgive himself for it much sooner, which is interesting to consider for the rest of his arc! His fight with Anders that leads to them breaking up, for example, began because cyrus realized bethany's proximity to ser alrik & immediately went into 'i have to die to save her' mode. If he hadn't...? If he accepted his own incapacity re: Bethany joining the wardens and in doing so also began to unlearn his default impulse to self-sacrifice as the only action he's allowed to take........? Much to consider!!

...that said. Under no circumstances should he & Warden Bethany be allowed to fight or travel or be in stressful situations together, because alllllll of that character growth will be undone in a heartbeat and he simply would not accept her staying behind or the Inquisitor making that decision for them (even one he likes, which is interesting bc in my head otherwise cyrus will ONLY volunteer to stay behind for an inky he likes)

It's also interesting to consider whether Bethany would volunteer to stay behind/how she would feel about it. In the ~decade since she joined the Wardens, has her bitterness about it tempered? Does she still feel resentful, like she's already dead? Does this sacrifice feel like one she can meaningfully choose? Is it better than the inevitable Calling that this same demon twisted inside her?

And if this is a sacrifice that Bethany not merely wants to make but is adamant that it's hers instead of cyrus'. Well. She knows her brother well enough to know that you trick him into being selfish by convincing him that it is in fact in service to someone else-- in this timeline, most likely Anders. One he still needs you and i think cyrus folds.