#Especially since Amell is a Warden

[sablleward]

modding dao is such a pain in the ass I JUST WANNA SEE MY GIRL AGAIN

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I need to gush about Origins and discuss Duncan okay, listen- DAO is so good for a plethora of reasons but it’s the origins, the thing that it’s literally named after. Which origin you play is the important decision on the players part that has an impact on everything you do, especially if you go hard into the roleplaying of it all, it makes me want to scream. I adore it so much.

So Duncan, right? Great character, love that dude. I read The Calling and he's one of the best parts of that book. If you haven't read it, I recommend it just for Duncan alone.

I enjoy reading opinion pieces on Duncan, especially when the poster mentions which origin their warden is. I find it so interesting because your origin can change your entire perception of him.

Playing as Aeducan or Brosca? Duncan has great respect for dwarves just as the dwarves do for the wardens. Duncan’s your hero. He saved your life. You would’ve been executed or left to rot in the Deep Roads if not for him. And since the wardens are so respected, it’s honestly an honor to join them, no?

Playing a Cousland? You’ve lost everything. Duncan not only does what he can to keep your father alive long enough for you and your mother to find him, but he saves you and gives you a shot to avenge your family by becoming a warden.  

Playing as Amell or Surana? Your best friend lied to you about being a blood mage and chances are you tried to help him escape rather than turn him in, and now he’s gone and Greagoir demands you be punished. But here comes Duncan to conscript you, to take you away from the prison known as the Circle of Magi.

And I know this can vary depending on how you play or what kind of character you’ve created, but I believe you’re waaaay more likely to have a better opinion of Duncan in these origins… but if you play as Mahariel or Tabris?

Mahariel’s more obvious, here. You’re Dalish, and odds are, you and Tamlen are on the same page about humans. Duncan, a human, dragged your ass back to your clan after the eluvian gave you the blight, and sure, that was nice of him… except when you go looking for Tamlen and Duncan destroys the mirror, he’s so dismissive. He doesn’t care about Tamlen. There’s no point in going looking for him, he’s dead. Also you have the blight and Duncan’s taking you away from your family to make you a warden and no, you have no choice in the matter. He'll force his hand if he needs to. Say goodbye, forget about Tamlen, you’ll never see your family again, you’re a warden now. Hope you have fun involving yourself in all these human affairs while everyone points out how different you are!

First off, I think most Mahariel players would agree that they’re still not over Tamlen. How many of you had the thought, “If we look just a little longer, we could find Tamlen and make him a warden, too!” only for Duncan to ruin that? I don’t blame any Mahariel for throwing a fit when he and the Keeper agree you need to go, nor do I blame them for any ill feelings toward him.

And Tabris? This one is personal; my canon warden is a female Tabris, Rosalie, and Duncan really gets to me.

Rose's already being made to marry a man she's never met, some human nobles made their first attempt to crash the wedding, and now here’s this other human waltzing in. Duncan is such a little shit here, too. When you try asking him to leave, he actively tries to push your buttons just to see what you’ll do. But that’s nothing. When Rose and the other women are taken by Vaughan and his buddies, Soris and Nelaros go to Duncan who pulls his bullshit “wardens can’t get involved, they must remain neutral, best I can do is give you a sword and crossbow, good luck.”

Duncan KNOWS what will happen to those women but nope, can’t get involved. Wardens must remain neutral, can’t upset the nobles. I firmly believe that if Duncan had gone with them, Nelaros wouldn’t have been killed and maybe they could’ve made it to Shianni in time, and that infuriates me.

And yeah, in the end it’s Duncan who saves Rose from the guard, but you expect me to be okay with going with him? Alone? After everything that just happened?

It almost feels like Duncan was more interested in testing you, to see if you COULD get out of that situation or what you’d do when the guard showed up. That gives me a lot of complicated feelings about Duncan, and the way the Grey Wardens do things in general. Because let me tell you, Rose hurls that “Wardens must not involve themselves, they must remain neutral” out the fucking window, even post DAO after the blight is over and things return to “normal” for the wardens.  

Side note, I like to think that the wardens out at Weisshaupt or wherever contact Alistair at some point like "What the hell is Warden-Commander Tabris doing over there??? She's breaking every rule we have??" and Alistair's just shrugs like "My wife killed an archdemon to end the Blight and survived, she gets to do whatever she wants forever and honestly, I love that for her."

But anyway-- I get it, Duncan. The Grey Wardens were booted outta Fereldan once before and we don't want a repeat of that. Sure. Fine. Makes sense...but also Rose doesn't give a shit about that? She may come to understand it eventually but that doesn't mean she accepts or forgives it, or would ever be willing to adapt the same attitude.

And I'm not even going to get into everything with the Joining and Ser Jory, because oh my god.

Everything Duncan does influences Rose's views on the Grey Wardens and their duty, like if there was ever anything she and Alistair have straight up argued about, it's Duncan and the concept of "being a warden is an honor."

And I think that's neat. Duncan's a consistency in every origin and even though he dies so early on, his influence remains with the warden no matter who they are.

[anakliro]

In my narration, Solona and Hawke are acquainted and keep in touch. Leandra told her son that the Hero of Ferelden is "one of ours", i.e., she is an Amell, and since Garrett is also an Amell on his mother's side, this makes them relatives, even if distant. And considering that Hawke's family has been scattered across all corners of the world, there can be no “extra” sister for him.

Garrett did not hope to meet Solona for quite some time — it is very difficult to find a single individual, especially the one that is constantly traveling. But at some point he bumps into Alistair. And we can assume that if there is Alistair, then there is Solona somewhere nearby. Alistair tipped Garrett off about Solona’s approximate location, but warned him that she probably wouldn't stay in one place for long. And it turned out just so. Hawke couldn’t get to his sister in time, and when he arrived, Solona’s trail has already gone cold. Grey Wardens disappear as quickly as they appear, and most often they themselves do not know where their duty will lead them next. For a while, it was almost useless to look for either Solona, or Alistair.

However, eventually Solona found Hawke herself, without knowing it. Her investigation led her to a Grey Warden prison, where something big and powerful was being held, and it was bound by magic and the blood of a certain Hawke. And so this very Hawke, or rather his son, in alignment with the Maker’s strange sense of humor, appeared right in front of her that day.

And after a few minutes of investigation and identification, Hawke had another real sister. And quite a sister she was! The conqueror of the Blight!

They got along very quickly, Solona herself was pleased to expand her family circle, and her brother turned out to be a nice lad. Heavy-built, big-nosed, smart, and as kind as he is loud. And a mage, too.

They dealt with the Wardens and the Corypheus together then. After that, Hawke persuaded Solona to stay at the family estate for a while. Every day, taking breaks reluctantly and only, perhaps, to sleep, they talked. About life, about their family, about the events in the world and about magic, of course. Solona taught her brother a lot, learned a lot herself, and most importantly, agreed to get Garrett tattoos similar to her own.

He asked Solona for incantations to help him control magic better. Hawke is a collected man, but he’s passionate, temperamental, and his magic responds extremely easily to emotions, even controlled ones. Although Garrett had lived with this all his life and learned to control this feature, he was looking for an opportunity not to walk on blades every time he draws a spell.

Solona saw his magic in action. What impressed her the most was how powerful a force Hawke could deliver, and how little time it took him to cool off. How magic wanders around him at first, how the ground around him sways and vibrates, and before the moment of impact, even the air does not move. Such flow of magic is difficult to control, indeed, but Garrett was honestly doing great. Objectively speaking, Garrett could have coped without the incantations, but the Maker has gifted him the power, which, as Hawke thought, was exhausting him and which at some point might become overbearing and beyond his capabilities. He insisted, and Solona did not object further. On top of everything else, she also added strong protective and binding sigils to the whole composition. One to Hawke’s spine area, the other to his solar plexus.

Garrett was not mistaken in his decision. After getting the tattoos, he no longer had the feeling that his magic was trying to live a life of its own. It did lose a little in strength, but it became, let’s say, compliant. And thanks to that, Garret was able to further develop telekinesis, the calling card of the Amell mage sub-branch, which just vanished after first manifestation and returned to Hawke only rarely.

[salsedinepicta]

OC(s) Questionnaire

Tagged by @greypetrel - and her characters are just beautiful, so I'd highly recommend to hop on her blog and read her version :> 💜 Thanks for the tag!

Tagging: maybe @coloricioso could be interested? No pressure as usual ✨ +plus anyone who is interested!

Everything under "Read more" after the first one, of course.

NAME: Gwydion Hawke

NICKNAME: Hawke, of course - the firstborn can take dibs on the family surname. And then Gideon, since 1. that's how most people misspell his actual name and 2. Varric uses it in his stories (it's “more suited for the hero”). He doesn't mind.

GENDER: Male, although he takes it easy. In a modern AU he would be the Hakwe sibling most likely to experiment with gender presentation - and in every universe he just knows he'd look good in a dress/corset.

STAR SIGN: Libra

ORIENTATION: Gay

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Literally a random human born on a ship – 100% conceived in Kirkwall though.

FAVORITE FRUIT: All the citruses

FAVORITE SEASON: Early Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Forget-me-not, snowdrops, zagare (orange blossoms).

FAVORITE SCENT: Crushed elfroot, rain, lyrium potions - and why must lyrium be toxic when it clearly smells like raspberries and tangerines? UH? Templars are gatekeeping it. He is literally the only one saying this. At some point he’ll think fondly of sewage.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, preferably cold.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Around 7, but not consecutive.

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs AND cats AND also every single animal willing to be pet - why would you deny a centipede some love? And did anyone actually tried to raise a baby dragon? Cowards.

DREAM TRIP: Antiva, or Rivain – it sounds fun, from Isabela’s stories, and he is intrigued by their religious customs (and generally different approach to magic). Not without 50+ SPF though, have you seen Anders' skintone?

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: Just a few, he doesn’t particularly suffer the cold – and he’s a cuddly sleeper.

RANDOM FACT: Extremely tactile, hands must be occupied (almost) all the time. He makes his own bows and then whittle silly little figurines with the scraps of wood - usually they all end up looking like chunky animals of debatable identification.

NAME: Maren Hawke

NICKNAME: Mari (used only by selected people – Bethany can, Carver may or may not find nettles in his bed the next day) and various epithets by Varric (he finds her difficult to pin down, to his extreme annoyance). When she’ll get into Kirkwall’s politics people will start to call her Lady Amell, to everyone amusement.

GENDER: Female

ORIENTATION: Official not-so-mean lesbian

STAR SIGN: Scorpio

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Human, born in Ferelden, even if she doesn’t feel a strong national connection to it.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Pears, quince, pomegranates

FAVORITE SEASON: Autumn and Winter

FAVORITE FLOWER: Wild violets, daisies

FAVORITE SCENT: Parchment and ink, ambergris, wild roses’ oil, metal.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Black coffee in public, hot chocolate with lots of spices (and something sweet to eat on the side) in more private settings.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Better not to ask. Around 5, to avoid dreaming – she will slowly get better during the years.

DOGS OR CATS: Birds, obviously.

DREAM TRIP: For political reasons, all the cities of the Free Marches. And Weisshaupt/the Anderfels to pester the Wardens about griffin’s eggs – because what Merrill wants, Merrill gets.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: At least 4, because half of them will be stolen by Merrill during the night.

RANDOM FACT: Does she care about fashion? Not particularly, but she is highly aware of the power of appearences, and how to convey certain messages through clothes. She prefers small and significant jewelry over flashy one, but absolutely loves a nice statement headpiece, especially with some kind of drapery or veil – so she can literally put behind a curtain annoying people with a subtle turn of her head.

NAME: Malva Surana

NICKNAME: Irving’s pet, Surana, debatable variations on her name when Jowan wanted to be annoying – after the Circle, she is just Malva and then the Warden Commander.

GENDER: Do you have a gender if the circumstances of your birth make you less than a person in the eye of society? Ahaha, anyway, female.

ORIENTATION: Very queer - preference for women, but willing to experiment for the sake of it, if she fancies so. In another world, her and Gwydion would be the monsterfuckers, let’s be real.

STAR SIGN: Aquarius

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Definitely a city elf (the tattoos are random lines, made by someone who wanted her to remember but had no idea how a vallaslin really looks like, or how and when they are done) – maybe from Denerim’s alienage? But as far as she knows, there is no past before Kinloch Hold.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Blackberries

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: The kind of question that would trigger a half-an-hour-long aswer. For brevity sake: nightshade, hellebore, wisteria, ivy (not a flower, but impossible not to mention), and mallow.

FAVORITE SCENT: Burning wood, moss and damp earth, rosemary, wildberries.

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Definitely tea. She is the mistress of the most absurd herbal infusions. They are great and they'll cure your cavities and other various ailments - but you don't want to know the ingredients. Don’t.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Between 6-8, can wake up every day at the same time without any alarm of sort.

DOGS OR CATS: If really pressed she'd say dogs (“They are great traveling companions”) but immediately regrets it because of all the fond memories of Ser Pounce-a-lot.

DREAM TRIP: The Thirashan forest, Arbor Wilds, Arlathan Forest – pretty much an elven history roadtrip to try to reclaim that part of her identity.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: Just one or two, wrapped all around her chrysalis-like because her subconscious still believes that the other apprentices will steal them.

RANDOM FACT: For a moment, she was Justice's first choice for a possible living host - she never knew it, though.

[thedastrash]

OC Tag Game!

Ooo thanks for tagging me @kittynomsdeplume & @cleverblackcat!! This took a while to get to but it was very fun!

Favorite OC: Evil question to start. I can't possibly choose unless I set some limits for myself so I'm going to cheat and say my most popular OC. I have the most art of her by no fault of my own. Velaneth Surana is my canon HoF and Warden Commander. Vela is a very open person: never lies, has no body shame, and loves to learn about other people and where they’ve come from. She walks into every hostile situation with her best foot forward trying to make friends and allies.

Newest OC: I’m slowly congealing my ideas about Orlagh Trevelyan because I’ve been imagining what the different cultures of the Freemarches look like - especially on the coast where trade is frequent. She’s from Ostwick of course and trained as a Templar as a youth but spent summers at a monastery with her aunt in Wycome which I imagine a bit like Morocco. I’ve been staring at my Pinterest boards imagining her lonely days growing up and what it means for her to leave her walls behind and be thrust into this new organization with all these people and their differing ideals. I'm particularly interested in exploring her being a templar but having some latent magic that has been tied up in her templar abilities so long she didn't realize it was ever there.

Oldest OC: In DA my oldest OC is Topaz Brosca from my original run of origins. The one where my save got deleted right before the Landsmeet lol rip. I've recently revisited her and I'm falling in love with her again. She's a hot trans girl and stabby rogue and she falls in love with the surface world immediately. My oldest OC ever though... might be a self insert hobbit character I made for myself as a child before I knew what fandom or fanfiction was lol! I think her name was Charlie? my memory is BAD but I know that's a name I loved as a kid.

Meanest OC: Szadrine Aeducan is my final origin from DAO to get an OC and I'm slowly growing deeply obsessed. She’s involved in (literal) cutthroat Orzammar politics and ends up skipping the warden bit after the whole betrayal and exile thing. She simply deserts at Ostagar. I think she should end up kicking ass in Orlais because she would be so good at the Game.

Softest OC: Bearnard Cousland is a soft, sweet, bookish baby-gay who would rather bury himself in his research in a library than seek glory or fight battles or do politics. Bearn is the second son so he’s gotten away with avoiding some of that but of course he has to attend his lessons and participate in the tourneys. His scholarly work lends him some political savvy since he’s intimately familiar with Ferelden’s history, but he’s most interested in lost texts and translating ancient works. He never had good gay role models growing up and thinks of himself as homely and forgettable, so he never felt like that was an option for him, but Maker does he ever pine lol!

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Gotta be Irene Amell. She's a real bitch with resting murder face. Incredibly unapproachable, intimidating Domme energy. Tends to default dislike people and keep to herself, prefering to slink around and eavesdrop than talk to people for info. She’s very protective and loving toward her close friends and lovers, but it’s hard to get close in the first place.

Dumbest OC: Myrna Hawke is a smart woman, she's an accomplished mage, enjoys reading, quick witted, but she has zero self-awareness and has a very hard time even understanding how she feels, much less how other people feel about her. She’s absolutely clueless and fully blindsided by anyone’s interest & gets tongue tied and stupid when she’s horny. She’s also very impulsive and acts before she thinks things through which leads to getting into a lot of dumb shit.

Smartest OC: There are excellent contenders here: Bearn with his book smarts and Topaz with her street smarts, but I want to say Ithadhea Mahariel because even though they are incredibly dense when it comes to interpersonal relations, their wealth of traditional knowledge from their clan is incredible. They are not really a people person, usually quiet and solitary, but they took to hunting like they were born for it and eagerly learned everything in the realm of woodcraft and survival. They know all their clan's stories by heart and and know resources by seasons in a way that is part of their internal clock. I think this kind of generational knowledge probably outstrips the scope of any of my other OC's knowledge.

OC I’d Be Friends With: Edric Cadash is so laid back and friendly I think he’d be one of the easiest to make friends with. I want to have tea and gossip with him and have that turn into late night drinking and telling stories by the fire. Vela would be an instant friend as well; she wants to befriend everyone and she'd have an easy time with me!

no pressure tagging some of my DA OC enjoying friends: @sinquisition, @highwayphantoms, @lets-get-brave, @sandalinbohemia, @dismalzelenka and anyone else who wants to share! Feel free to @ me so I can see your post! <3

[carnalapples]

Happy Friday! For DADWC, how about a three word prompt for Glass, Bliss, & Gesture!!!

Happy Friday!! I have some M!Amell/Cullen mutual pining (that got out of hand) for @dadrunkwriting !

WC: ~1500

As he scales the steps to Enchanter Uldred’s office, Cullen can’t help but take his time. It’s a slow day, syrupy in the way time moves. Dismal weather. It’s been storming for days now. The whole tower is damp, the smell of mildew creeping into the templar quarters, rising off of the carpet. This kind of weather always has him thinking—of the past, of home. All the things he’s trying to forget. And since he left, of Amell, who’d spend long hours in the library on these wet days, catching up on assignments, he assumes.

He gestured gracefully. Like a noble. Cullen was fascinated with the tilt of his fingers through the air. And it happened a lot, when Amell explained something to his friend. Cullen’s never met a noble, but he’s read about them. Knows they’re elegant, or they should be, and that’s what Amell was. Is.

And he’s in the library again. Rain pattering against the window glass as Amell talks to Jowan, hushed tones and Cullen stares ahead at the wall across the room trying to ignore the low twinge in his back.

“And the last ingredient is…” Amell traces the blank in the air, long fingers carving out space.

“Witherstalk.”

“Good, Jowan. I told you you’re getting it.”

He should be thinking of them as Apprentice, talking to another Apprentice, he knows. The capitalization is important. Like characters in a stage play, enter left, exit right. Cullen loves stories. That’s why he looks forward to library duty.

“Right, ser?” His eyes snap back to the boy, his own eyes shining out of his face and his mouth set serious.

He doesn’t say anything and the smile starts to form, something unleashed from behind his lips. And Maker, it’ll be over for him now if he catches that glint of teeth, brilliant in the low light.

“Did you need something?” he asks, but he can’t quite keep the smile out of his own voice, and Amell’s eyes crinkle.

“I was saying to Jowan that the weather has been beautiful. And wouldn’t it be nice to go out for a walk?”

The knight-commander has been talking about the physical activity courses. Been getting riskier to hold them outside, especially after the last boy who ran. But he can’t bring himself to say any of this to the boy, for some stupid reason. “It’s windy,” he says. And then he imagines it, the two of them on a walk, and perhaps Jowan there too, why not. Cullen wouldn’t have to watch him, but he would anyway, he knows.

He’d wear the sunlight well, the fractions that come through the painted windows a pale imitation. He’s tall, lanky, and he’d look at peace among the trees, solid and stocky. They’d stretch up against the wood and climb and they’d get to be children again, not nineteen and grown the way the knight-commander scolds him. It’s a familiar sight, this daydream.

He’s placed Amell in the tree on his family’s farm. Sturdy wood. A swing his father made, rope dangling by his legs. He shouldn’t be thinking of this.

“It’s also raining,” Jowan says flatly, and Amell laughs at that, something about how he meant earlier in the week, obviously not now, and Cullen is still thinking about the way his hair falls into his face and how it would be ruffled by the wind, and how the image is perhaps the most natural thing to him, Amell in the woods with the wind in his hair and his deep skin tanned deeper by the sun.

“Even yesterday it was sunny,” he adds.

Greagoir came in then, and a door slams now, and Cullen comes back to himself, worried by how long he’s spent dreaming in this corner of the stairwell, by how big a part Amell played in his life before he left, and by how still he cannot seem to shake this selfish urge to miss him even if he is better suited out there, to the grass and the dirt and the unselfish life of a Warden.

Five hundred miles away, Amell cannot decide if it’s nerves or fear or even some strange sort of pride that has his palms sweaty as he reads The Circles of Magi across the top of the Grey Warden treaty he’s uncovered.

"It’s my home, Morrigan. We’ll go first.”

“It’s not wise. You would do well to go after your big man instead.” She turns her attention back to her robes, and Amell pushes down the rising frustration in his temples.

“You have an opinion?” he asks Alistair, but the other boy simply shrugs. And so they go to bed in the hopes a decision will appear in those clean hours of the morning.

For most of his life he has had the same dreams in rotation: that he’d run away, or that the Circle itself was gone. And most often, that he never had his magic at all. And he wondered which one the demons would tempt him with when he was Harrowed, yet it was something he never would have foreseen.

Tonight, he’s finally out, but he’s not free; still, he dreams of his only home. The grass is damp and cold like the walls of the tower, and Morrigan’s mana rubs up against his as she starts her fire, wild and shameless in a way he can’t understand, and Alistair is half a templar snoring lightly by his feet. All different and yet familiar.

It is the morning after his Harrowing and he thinks, of course. Isn’t that always what dreams are supposed to be about? The things you want and the things you couldn’t change. The carpet is soft under his feet, soft with the security of survival.

He goes to the chapel, one of the few places he can go this early without someone seeing it as suspicious. He only ever went there to work before, but in the days before his Harrowing he would go to pray, consumed with a sensation that the walls were narrowing around him and perhaps he could claw his way out.

It’s so early that no one is up, the tower is quiet and still. He trails through the halls and lets his feet drag on the carpets, pausing at the windows to let the slants of stained sunlight paint across his face.

He’s probably not going to pray today either, as his eyes fall on the far edge of a pew in the front where the other sole occupant sits, templar armor harsh against wood, his head bowed in thoughtful contemplation, golden curls like cornsilk in the night. Even in this half-real world, Amell is hit with the rush of kind words and flushed cheeks and soft stutter, feelings washing over him in a cascade as he nears him.

“Did you have night duty?” he asks, and Cullen looks up.

He opens his eyes and looks around and when his eyes light in Amell for a moment he sees something like joy there, comparable to the pure bliss on his face when he comes in from a shift outside, from a trip across the lake. And it’s eclipsed, slightly, like a shadow falling.

“No, I…” He swallows thickly. “I’m glad to see you doing well.”

Clumsy, artless they both are.

“You weren’t there, were you?” In his bones he knows and he’s not sure why he asks. It is a long moment before Cullen respond, a moment that’s heavy, waterlogged.

“I was the one assigned to strike you down. If you fell.” he rasps. A confession, in the low light of the chantry when the sisters stepped out for a moment. He’s the only one left to hear it.

Amell doesn’t know what to say to that. Because he would have done it. That’s the way things are.

“I believed you would be strong enough, but still I prayed,” he continues, and that sounds like a confession too. It’s not a dream, it’s a memory, he sees, because he’s a mage and he can’t dream right. Not even now. He remembers this, that this was when he saw it: that there was a hole in Cullen that matched the one in him. The edges would catch. The hole could get bigger, or maybe they could close it up between them.

The walls are narrowing still, he wants to tell himself. Wants to rip away this fixation, this security that he will stay. It’s a poor attempt, this trip into the Fade. He aches for the days when he thought freedom was a real thing, withheld from him. For the days he wasn’t a real boy.

He bumps Cullen’s knee with his. Clumsy. Artless. And Cullen does it back, after a moment. The sister walks back in. Cullen stiffens, but he doesn’t move away. Amell looks down, and he’s forgotten his shoes.

He jolts awake then, upset in a thousand ways he can’t put into words.

He could have met him in a hundred different lives; why did it have to be this one? Amell could have been the barkeep at the Singing Maiden or a lay brother in the chapel or a merchant’s son in Ferelden, and it wouldn’t be armor and robes between them.

He will go to Redcliffe, he decides. Perhaps it will sting less with time and distance, all a balm to his wounds. To let that gap heal up. To make something of himself. It can all keep.

[aelkurai-art]

Fanart dragon age ( romance DA)

Two illustrations that I had made in 2023 during the February Kiss Challenge of 2023. The woman is my Grey Warden Elayne Amell. During DAO, she has a romance with Alistair, but since he can't marry her, they pursue their romance in secret (Alistair is married to Anora). But between each other's obligations, Elayne will be more and more attracted to Nathaniel, and their story will be quite complicated. Elayne having killed his father (DAO/ DAO-A). I never had the courage to write this whole story (I had a big writer's block), but there are still a few drawings like these to illustrate it.

I hope we will finally have news of the old grey wardens. Especially since it would be 20 years since DAO. So will corruption get the better of them? ><

[whoisnotmyname]

I'm glad y'all like Drysten!! I made him specifically bc of who I'm planning on trying out DAV with, which is a little wordy and I haven't really shared here so imma do that lol (under the cut this might get Long)

SO I made my Hawke triplets a year or two ago, but kinda dropped them once I realized their story as a whole kinda fell apart after inquisition. BUT you can play a warden in dav so it's gonna work out and also how Fucked it would be™️ if Kestrel was the Champion, Harris was Inquisitor, and Cooper ended up being Rook.

Kestrel, a mage, is the oldest out of the 3, and took more of the Champion role in da2, so she was obviously THE champion. Cooper went with Carver to join the wardens bc they Could Not just dump baby brother alone (especially if the joining didn't work. How awful would that be to send your blighted little brother to die alone. Coop and Carver are the two warriors and definitely had a closer relationship bc of that. He was not going to just leave Carver. ) with the wardens.

Harris ended up picking up the mantle wrt the inquisition to give his sister space (also her being a mage and the possibility of an exaulted march or whatever tf they thought the chantry was gonna do to kirkwall after da2 was not... lookin great for Kestrel). He's way more suited for diplomatic events than the other two, so going to the conclave made the most sense!

So that leaves Cooper without a big boy thedas-shattering tittle. And all I really know (until we learn more about Weisshaupt anyway) about his whereabouts is that he's been afk for the most part with the wardens doing Warden Things™️. It'll be fun to play around with The Other Other Hawke sibling lol. Especially since Cooper never got to really have as solid of a friendship with Varric the ways that Kestrel and Harris have. Big fan of whatever that leads to in dav tbh!

I literally made Drysten to make sure that no no, thedas has truly fucked up one very specific family line.

Amel georg, who lives in ferelden, and has to constantly deal with insane amounts of horseshit, is an outlier adn should not have been counted.

[niofo]

canon compliant amell-hawke family tree. feel free to use it as a base for your own. characters we don't know anything about and i named for my uses are revka's husband and their 5 children, that are all mages. (kinloch hold amell would probably be a bit younger than 22, as they're only getting their harrowing, but it wasn't fitting my timeline otherwise)

under the cut some background on the characters in my worldstate:

marian started as blue hawke, then aften death of carver in lothering and bethany in the deep roads she moved to red hawke. she's still kind to everyone she considers her family, but very protective of them, and often rude to outsiders. supports mage rebellion and anders' actions. she's a lesbian in a poly relationship with isabella and merrill. her weapon of choice is two handed ax, but she's proficient with all melee weapons.

lucas marin, son of antivan small-scale pearl merchants. his parents went into conflict with a competitor who had contacts amongst the house nero of antivan crows, who were then contacted to eliminate marin family. lucas managed to escape antiva fearing for his life, and in kirkwall met revka amell and tried to start a new life. when his eldest daughter showed magic potential and was taken by the templars, and soon after his wife's family collapsed and revka herself disappeared, he took remaining four children and kept moving: first across the marches, then to ferelden and finally orlais, but every single one of his children showed magic potential and ended up being taken by the chantry no matter how he tried to protect them. when he lost the youngest, twins, he decided to stay in orlais, not seeing the point of running any longer.

aderyn, eldest amell daughter, was taken into the gallows at some point in 9:10. by the time of 9:30s she was an enchanter specializing in force magic, she was also involved with the mage underground, helping other mages escape, especially ones that had the biggest threat of being made tranquil. she had the opportunity to escape herself, but stayed to secure a few more escapes, and was killed in the templar raid in 9:37, soon before anders blew up the chantry, at the age of 42.

yorath, the 2nd child, was brought to the ostwick circle where he befriended idris trevelyan and vivienne. unfortunately he was not skilled with magic enough for the circle's high standard and the templars decided him not able to attend his harrowing. he was made tranquil in 9:16 and worked in different circles since then. in 9:41 he was the first person to have his tranquility reversed by the inquisition, using the knowledge found in seekers' book of secrets.

gareth was early showing an impressive talent for spirit healing and learned under the tutelage of senior enchanter wynne even before taking his harrowing. yet soon after he helped his friend jowan escape, which marked him as a potential blood mage. knight-commander was still undecided whether to sentence him to tranquility or sent to aeonar along with initiate lily, but he decided to wait for the return of the templars and mages dispatched to ostagar. as soon as that happened though, uldred rebellion started, templars locked the tower until the arrival of the hero of ferelden. as tabris cleared the tower he encountered gareth fighting for his life, and learning about the situation, he invoked the right of conscription to get him away from the tower. gareth didn't go through the joining, but his close friendship with the warden and his actions during the blight granted him temporal immunity from the accusations. later he joined the rebellion alongside most of kinloch mages, and then became inquisition's main healer.

hefina was sent to the white spire and studied elemental magic under senior enchanter adrian, who also recruited her into libertarian fraternity. after the rebellion started hefina was dispatched to look for any displaced or abandoned mages andtranquil around the free marches. she was ambushed by a group of templars, but surprisingly saved by two passing antivan crows. the crows had an ulterior motive as they needed a help of a mage in their current mission and traded her life for assisting them. incidentally she also learned that her father was not, in fact, hunted in antiva, the hit was just for his parents and there was nothing personal going on. hefina helped the crows and then decided to stay in antiva to work with them more, giving the mage rebellion useful ties to the organization.

merfyn, twin bother of hefina, went to montsimmard circle where he aligned himself with the loyalist fraternity. he was progressing in his studies to become a knight-enchanter when the rebellion started and he joined first enchanter vivienne as a part of loyal mages staying with the chantry. he encountered a group of antivan crows who first took him for his sister hefina, which was when he learned that she is with crows, but he assumed that she was kidnapped. he asked vivienne for permission to go rescue his sister, hoping to recruit her to their cause, which vivienne allowed. when the twins finally reunited hefina explained that she is actually working with the crows willingly, and more than that, she is also a part of the rebellion. they were in the middle of a political argument when the news of the conclave explosion reached them, pushing their discussion to a later date.

[thesummerstorms]

No game engine is gonna reflect the weird complexity of my imagined world state though.

Evanna Evandre Trevelyan, my gentle, overly cautious but angry pro-mage scholar of an Inquistor is the third of four children born to a man who's had five wives and loved none of them.

She has complicated political ties Antiva and Orlais through her step-mothers, Ansburg through her maternal family, and Antiva again through a paternal cousin.

Her living stepmothers are generally sympathetic. The youngest is terrified and hoping Evandre will hide her younger half-brother. Her father, however, despises her. So does her older sister. Her oldest brother is weak and doesn't care about Evandre one way or the other.

She was raised in the Ostwick Circle, then sent away to Markham when her presence in Ostwick became a barrier for her half-sister Catareen's Templar training. She preferred Markham, given its link to a major university, but was sent back just before the mage rebellion broke out. Markham is where, through the University, she became part of the Mages' Collective.

Niamh Amell, Warden Commander of Fereldan, and her husband, Zevran Aranai, showed up to take command of the Orlesian wardens, enabling Alistair to be left in the fade and Hawke to escape.

(Alistair's choice to stay is actually the final moment of his and Niamh's reconciliation, post dark ritual.)

Anora Mac Tir is Queen of Fereldan, with two daughters by Fergus Cousland, who she has an affectionate political marriage with. One of them is secretly a mage.

Cecily Cousland survived Arle Howe, badly injured and disfigured, and has become Anora's unofficial liason with the Wardens due to her under-the-table marriage to Nathaniel Howe. Their marriage purposefully childless, with the idea that Amaranthine will pass back to the younger of Cecily's nieces, and thereby the crown, after both their deaths.

Nathaniel Howe is in charge of the keep in Amaranthine because politics, but Therasenn Mahariel is Niamh's true second, and the one running things for most of Amell's wardens. Nathaniel's oversees the day to day, but listens to her orders.

Therasenn's remained single/considers herself a widow since Tamlen's death. If she had been in the fade, she would've insisted on taking Alistair's place as she sees herself as stuck in a holding pattern. It sets off some bad mental health moments that don't pass until Hawke connects her with Merrill.

Cattilara Tabris is put forward by Amell as the genuine liaison from the Wardens to the Inquisiton and is eventually in charge of overseeing a Blackwall who is sentenced to join the Wardens properly. She's dating Herah "Echo" Adaar. She oversees the Orlesian wardens in the day to day, whereas Therasenn has command of the Fereldan ones, and Amell outranks them both.

Herah "Echo" Adaar is literally just a merc who signed up with the inquisition to make things stop exploding and gradually gets promoted to help integrate the Inquisiton's other "non-standard" fighting forces and keep the Chantry-esque folks noses out of it.

Mahvirehn Lavellan was sent as a spy by his keeper and is now the Inquisition's formal liaison with the Dalish, a role which puts a target on his back from the beginning, especially as he's also a Keeper in training. That's fine though, because Dorian will absolutely explode anyone who tries to kill his boyfriend, and doesn't mind using the "big bad scary Tevinter mage" rep to keep it from getting there.

Rowan Hawke escaped Kirkwall, showed up in the Inquisition, and might possibly be dating the Inquisitor, Evandre Trevelyan. (If so, Varric is thrilled! But I haven't decided.)

Carver Hawke did not, in fact, go to Weishaupt. He's actually the one who finally managed to make contact with his cousin, Niamh Amell, and he's present at the battle for the Keep.

Later, he gets put in charge, and is pissed at Therasenn for making it about his name rather than his abilities and for forfeiting the role despite her experience levels. She mantains that she needs more flexibility than the role would entail. Appealing to Niamh makes it worse, not better.

Therasenn and Merril get an off screen reunion and cry about it because they both miss home. Merrill doesn't become an Inquisition agent, but Therasenn forwards bits of her letters as war table operations sometimes.

Rowan Hawke might go back to help throw Sebastian Vael out of Kirkwall, idk. But she's largely decided against living there. (Unless she romances Evandre, in which case Varric offering Evandre a title and estate in Kirkwall becomes a lot more of a calculated gesture lol.)

[heniareth]

Twins AU (Round 2)

Since our original post exchange got a tad bit long, @bumblerhizal I’m starting a new one here ^^ First, a few things on the doodles: I’m still cackling XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD Especially about Amell (Pavle) going all “woe is me! 😩😩😩” over the dirt on his favorite robe while these two Alienage kids with probably multiple patches and mends on their clothes just look at each other like “can you believe this guy” XD XD XD XD XD XD XD It’s sooooooooo good and I am now imagining Pavle coming face to face with Sigrun’s particular brand of cheerful dead inside XD XD XD The official Grey Warden merch is amazing and our guys are great models. I really want that on a shirt now (and I could, now that I think of it. Ooooooh it’s tempting). I love Valendrian’s grey hair counter. The expression is on point XD XD XD The Plum of Peace should be a Feastday gift. And it’s very good to see reference for Radka, Pavle and Mr Andras (Who looks so kind!!!!!) Mousevhen is absolutely adorable. I want to give him all the pickled beets in the world

Next, onto the further building out of this AU:

You say Novhen is not able to realize that they’d work better as a team until they’re both neck-deep in the Blight. Is there a key moment when he’d realize? I wonder if they ever get to talk about the different conception they have of themselves and each other and their role with regards to one another or if it eternally stays as this sort of undercurrent until Novhen leaves to join Morrigan. I like the fact that Novhen sees himself as the lone wolf. It’s juicy and it makes a lot of sense given the backstory we’ve given them. And really, before becoming wardens, they have both been doing their own thing in pursuit of the same goal: Astala was working, and Novhen was criming. Astala would probably be between surprised, shocked and hurt if she ever found out (“What, am I not good enough to stand next to you now?”; not that she’d say it like that unless thoroughly provoked), but this is (partly) on her. IF she ever finds out she’s gonna have to chew on that. And it’s funny, bc when I got around to the Landsmeet and Denerim in my latest playthrough, both of Astala’s blades were better than Fang (yay for Starfang--also a fang!--and Topsider’s Honor). Kinda sad that I didn’t get to use Adaia’s Fang in-game. If this sticks in this AU, she’d be at a bit of a loss what to do when Novhen offers it to her, bc on one hand it was her mother’s, on the other that’s a weapon with a whole lot of emotional baggage and expectations attached, and on the third Novhen is giving it to her and what will he think if she says no? Will it be further rejection of Adaia and the cult and everything that tied into it?

She might just give the dagger to Novhen after the battle of Denerim as a side weapon. Everybody needs a dagger, and she’s already made good use of it. Funny how these two have feelings of inferiority with regards to each other, huh? Astala about not being rogue-y enough, Novhen about not being a dual wielder. Welcome to being siblings

And now I’m imagining Novhen at the docks, looking out over the ocean where they’ve taken half of the Alienage. Oh he’s gonna blame himself again T_T T_T

Let me jump to Broken Circle real quick, since we’re already talking about Astala and Novhen’s relationship with regards to Adaia. First of all, MOUSEVHEN!! HECK YEAH!! But also it might be Astala as well who’d ask him to stay in elf form for a bit so she isn’t alone with their ma. I think the reunion would on one hand be tough on Astala (depending on if she got the chance to apologize to Adaia after her outburst or if she held on to the grudge too long and then boom! Adaia’s dead), but on the other hand also awkward. By this point Astala’s had time to drift further from the cult and Adaia’s teachings. Seeing Adaia again would confront her with exactly how much she’s distanced herself. This and the fact that she’s left Novhen all alone to carry Adaia’s legacy. She may not believe in the cult or Fen’Harel, but she recognizes the need to keep traditions alive, and it’s not fair to expect Novhen to do all the work because she was angry. That said, she still does carry a grudge. Idk how or if she’d reconcile that, but she might come to the conclusion that she owes Novhen an apology. And, as far as I understand, meeting Adaia again is primarily going to bring a reassurance and some healing for Novhen, right?

Does Adaia have a temper? I somehow imagine her as having one, although she’d have a firm grasp on it

And Astala will definitely take Novhen up on doing target practice! They’re both bad at it now, so it’s fine XD XD Ilanlas and Nathaniel will be explicitly banned when these two are practicing

Oh, and Ilanlas will definitely say something insensitive about the city elves at some poin, count on it. Astala’s got a big shirt permanently within reach. How she’ll catch two very dextrous rogues is another question (maybe she waits until they’re busy arguing and thus distracted). Or she’ll tell Ilanlas he’s being an ass, Ilanlas will first put on airs and then mumble an apology through his teeth. Novhen seems like the type to hold grudges, right? Depending on the grudge, probably, but there’s already the thing with Nelaros’ ring. Things aren’t looking too good for Novhen’s opinion of Ilanlas. In that case, Ilanlas will have to content himself with them simply being companions. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s alienated potential friends because he was being an ass. He does warm up to Astala tho ^^ Ilanlas and Novhen might then be “that guy I’m only associated with bc I’m friends/siblings with this one very social person” to one another XD XD XD

I love the idea of Novhen telling the story of the Dread Wolf slow arrow around the campfire! Ilanlas would be all ears. Stories about Dalish gods from an Alienage are not something he comes across every day. He would, however, definitely go “the moral of the story OBVIOUSLY is that you shouldn’t trust the Dread Wolf”. And yeah, it’s not so much that Ilanlas invokes Fen’Harel for help, but rather that he expects the Dread Wolf to twist the words of a Dalish elf’s prayer to another god, because That’s What Trickster Gods Do.

Ilanlas will share his arrowmaking techniques, and he’ll definitely show him some heavy arrowheads the clan uses against fully armored templars. I feel like Novhen would be interested in that. As for pointers on stealthing in a city, first he has to not get overwhelmed by the noise. Then he has to hide his vallaslin XD XD Tramaking would be good bc Ilanlas knows traps for small game, but not for humanoid creatures. Tips will be welcome. As for quiet time during arrow repair, Ilanlas would love that. He needs his quiet time to wind down. If Novhen’s the one to walk over to him, or Creators forbid, invites him, Ilanlas might be a bit surprised that Novhen would want his company. If it’s been a good day, he’d count it as a win, if it’s been a bad day, he’d keep turning it round and round his head why Novhen would seek him out. I do have to note that Ilanlas sometimes starts humming to himself or singing really really quietly while he works. I hope Novhen isn’t bothered by that

Perinella is going to drag Kieran around with her if he’ll let her XD XD XD At some point they’ll sneak out and raise mayhem in the market (without outing themselves as mages, obviously. They’re smart kids 😌😌😌). Also, if Morrigan teaches her to shapeshift, her favorite form WILL be something with really pretty colors. She’s got Astala’s taste for fine dresses ^^

That Soris is already married to a human woman might work in Novhen’s favor, then. Let’s hope it does. Let’s cross our fingers real hard. Realistically, Cyrion probably won’t know too much about Soris and his family, right? Sounds like he broke off contact when he moved. Maybe Astala and Novhen should visit. Try to see how he’s doing. Try to reestablish contact

The question about the bann is a tough one because a) I don’t want Shianni to die but b) Novhen and Astala don’t know that Shianni will die if they make her bann. Astala agrees that Shianni is still young, but give her a few years and she’ll make a terrific bann. But also, Astala’s kind of wary of placing responsability like that on Shianni’s shoulders. Look what responsability is doing to her! I think keeping it tied to the position of hahren is a smart choice, even after it turns out Valendrian has disappeared. After all, the hahren already had most of the duties a bann would have. Maybe the title of hahren as a title could be preserved and given more of an alienage-internal role (Maker and Dread Wolf know there are enough problems, disputes, and people who need help inside the Alienage to give work to several hahrens at the same time). In that case tho, I think Shianni would make a better bann than a hahren

Also, good! I like that Kieran gets to have a bit of point to his ears XD XD XD Agreed, I don’t care for the “all half-elves look exactly like humans” either. That’s not how genetics work and having half-elves looking like hal-elves, elves and/or humans makes things much more interesting

We’re then having Khêd, Sulri, Ilanlas and Wynne arrive late at the tower, earliest when Astala’s already on top of the archdemon’s head ready to slice down. Maybe Zevran could be with them as well (although three rogues for one group that’s going into the market with all those ogres seems a bit much), and thus be greeted by a truly horrifying sight 😈 Or he’s already there. Kudos for Pavle for not wanting to cross Irving’s path, he’s a smart man and will get far

Also yes on the horror stories of jobs on ships turning out to be traps leading to enslavement. It makes a ton of sense and feeds right into that spirit of “stay with your own, don’t make trouble, and you might make it to the age of 70″.

Regarding Ostagar: yeah, I figured the newbies wouldn’t be allowed to the big ol’ warmeeting. Totally unfair. I’m currently laughing at the image of Novhen’s eyes flashing over to the group and the four of them going “oh shit oh shit” internally XD XD XD Good on him for not snitching!! Everybody appreciates that. Khêd probably especially so

Sulri might indeed run with Novhen to the tower. She prefers to keep away from darkspawn (not that Khêd does so any less, but Khêd’s also a softie) and I’m considering having her develope feelings for Alistair, so she might want to check in on him. Khêd and Ilanlas would attract a few looks at the very least if they made it to Ostagar. A dwarf and a Dalish elf make for a weird pair. Fortunately, as far as I know Khêd so this may be subject to change, Khêd grumbles only when he’s comfortable. When he’s not, he’s got a cheerful thing going on that‘s not always entirely convincing, but will definitely offset Ilanlas’ snark (“Nothing personal, salroka :)” before he attacked Oskias). They could find Pavle and their small group would get even weirder! A dwarf with missing teeth and a fake cheerful smile, a Dalish elf with the most obvious vallaslin you could imagine, and a guy who’s very very clearly a Circle mage in a town full of templars. What could go wrong?

I also do agree that Lothering is the more easy place for a reunion. Especially with Astala’s head for navigating forests U_U

Khêd would probably keep a close eye on Radka until the fight with Jarvia. Then she’s okay in his books. He’ll definitely want to know how Leske got to be Jarvia’s right-hand man and what happened to her though. He understands the Carta being done with someone. They wouldn’t have rescued him during his origin either. Her pledging himself to Khêd would definitely make him raise his eyebrows. “You mean I’ve got some authority in this dump now?” *gestures at the Carta hideout* Once Radka gets to the surface and turns into her jester self, Khêd will probably definitely think the shock of the surface (and the sun!!) is being too much for her. Astala will probably be delighted though ^^

It’s a shame Novhen doesn’t get to dance during the ball at the Winter Palace, but yeah, a public dance together would be far too dangerous. Later in Morrigan’s quarters seems a good compromise ^^

Many of Astala’s recipe modifications will probably center around making the pastry more hefty (“It’s gotta feed you, not just taste good, y’know?”) and also putting in fun new ingredients (“Have you ever tried this chocolate thing? It’s amazing, have a piece”)

Astala’s definitely going to appreciate Novhen having her back during the infiltration of the arl of Denerim’s estate. I think she kinda knows as soon as they get to the room where Nola died that she could’ve maybe chosen a different, better moment to confront the past than the extraction of the imprisoned queen of Ferelden. But, here she is. Novhen’s support is gonna be a huge thing for her just to remind her where she is and what she’s doing and help her focus. And he also gives her the safety in knowing that, should she be out of comission at any point, there’s somebody competent she trusts wholeheartedly to take over. The two big bad spots for her are where Nola died (right at the beginning of the route) and where Nelaros died (at the entrance of the estate). The second one isn’t good bc they’re gonna be in the middle of the estate. Apart from that, I think she’ll manage just fine except for sounding a little off. She processes things slowly, which comes in handy here. No sudden shutdowns or anything like that 🙌

Also, I like the idea of ser Cauthrien having them surrounded. Otherwise people might be tempted to try and fight their way through. Between being surrounded and the need to keep the diplomatic route open, I think it’s quite plausible for the team to surrender the wardens. And ser Cauthrien does let the other companions go as promised, which speaks to her character. But damn that guard. It does sound like Novhen to try and sneak away as soon as he thinks he can get away with it. If Novhen’s getting concussed, you’ll have Astala struggling against whoever’s holding her back and trying to get between Novhen and those guards. And telling ser Cauthrien off for allowing that. That’s how Loghain treats his prisoners?? What the hell??

And oooooh, so mechanically speaking they reduce Novhen to 0 hitpoints? Damn, that’s rough O.O Especially if at that point he already has that one rogue talent that lets you play dead available and tries to play dead, but the guards don’t let themselves be deterred by that (although idk if you like that idea. Might be a bit much gratuitious violence?) As far as cleaning Fort Drakon goes, it’s very tempting. But there is still a need to keep the diplomacy route open. Right now, the Blight has priority, and they will need all the men they can have. That includes the blighted bastards at the fort.

But it really is tempting to have a shem massacre 2.0

Also, back to Anroa and the negotiations: Astala would want to be there after UITA at the very latest. She’s torn on whether or not she believes that Anora knew nothing about the slavers’ presence (and will probably consult Novhen on his opinion on the matter). I think she’ll let Novhen lead that conversation, with the occasional follow-up question or voicing of her opinion. He seems sure as to what to do, and he tends to do these things very, very well. She’s going to take the opportunity to observe Anora and try to figure out how she works. I could imagine Anora being a bit unnerved at these two city elves in whose hands her position of power (and maybe also her life?) lies; and that straight after her father sold half the Alienage into slavery!

[pavus]

can you give us more info about your warden :c and maybe about your other dragon age protagonists as well?

oh, i'd NEVER turn down an opportunity to talk about my warden! i'm playing origins currently, and i cannot stop thinking about her. so, ecgwynn is her mother's stormy daughter. bryce teases sometimes that she was born from a raincloud and not from him at all, that she's a cousland by name alone. (which ecgwynn hates, but she refuses to speak up against her father. eleanor is more vocal about her displeasure.) she is the most dutiful daughter anyone could ask for, right down to putting her bow aside to learn gentler arts if it's requested of her, right down to wordlessly accepting her father's efforts at marrying her to nathaniel howe. but despite that, she's always been rainy. she's always had a rumble of thunder in her voice. we all know how everything turns out, except... she nearly didn't make it out of castle cousland alive. two of howe's men managed to grab her while she and eleanor were trying to find her father, and they hauled her to a man with a great, gleaming axe, one already dripping with blood. they meant to kill them both, and it's a miracle that they didn't manage to do just that. still, the axe came down, burying into her shoulder, and giving her a wound that would stick with her through the remainder of the campaign against the darkspawn. (i love wounds in a narrative. i eat that shit up.) it was duncan who saved her.

just as it was duncan who offered her a place among the wardens. just as it was duncan who invoked the right of conscription on the bloodied floor of the larder and tore her away from her resigned mother and dying father. just as it was duncan who died shortly after, leaving her alone and aimless with a horde of darkspawn and an archdemon to contend with. she proved to be a soft-spoken, but mercurial leader, prone to flying off the handle in combat and putting herself into increasingly more dangerous situations for the sake of their tasks at hand. all the while, still suffering from the wound in her torso that refused to heal, no matter how much effort silas amell or wynne put into closing the wound. her relationship with the companions is complicated, but none more than alistair. i'm thinking about writing A Fic About Their Relationship, so i won't include many of the details here, but she isn't a good partner to him in the beginning. it's such an easy thing for a wound to spread to others, especially when it has proven impossible to heal. but god, their dynamic is so fun. and messy. and painful. i just. ah. i love her. I LOVE HER. and i should use this opportunity to talk about sage and naiya, as well, since i don't often get asks of this sort. but ECGWYNN.

[crossdressingdeath]

Jowan: They'll take everything that I am from me—my dreams, hopes, fears... my love for Lily. All gone...

It must be a real kick in the teeth for Surana/Amell, to hear Jowan talking about what he'll lose if he's made Tranquil and learn that he deems his love for his girlfriend of a few months more worthy of mention than his relationship with his best friend, who he's known since he was six or seven (since he arrived at the Circle when he was five or six and the Warden showed up about a year after that). Especially bad with the followup of "Please put yourself in serious danger of getting caught helping a supposed blood mage escape so I can run away with Lily", given Jowan's complete failure to mention the Warden leaving with them. I don't think Jowan necessarily means anything by it, but it still must sting.

[my-dumb-obsessions]

3 codex, 9 life, and 1 character-specific for Tahj :3

From Dragon Age Character Questions:

For those who don't know, Tahj Amell is my Inquisitor, Cariane's eldest brother who went to the Gallows before she was born. He becomes a close confidant of Fiona and is sent to the Conclave in her place. "Trevelyan" is an assumed name.

3 How do they feel about the Grey Wardens?

Tahj's baby sister is a Grey Warden, and she took him and several other Gallows refugees in when they fled the Marches and found themselves in Amaranthine. He knows they are secretive, and at least the Fereldan branch is somewhat antagonistic to the Chantry, which he finds as entertaining as it is dangerous. He spent almost a year at the Vigil and met a lot of Carie's Wardens, a lot of mages who were very happy to be part of her group. Some of his fellow mages even opted to join. Overall he respects them and what they do.

9 What do they do with their free time? Do they have any vices?

Varric's nickname for Tahj is "Professor." He is a big magical theory and history nerd so he always loved reading. He was in line to become a Senior Enchanter when the Kirkwall rebellion started, and was working on a paper for publication. As for vices, very few pleasures are available to a Circle mage, especially in the Gallows, but when he got out, he picked up smoking elfroot - socially only, but he found this weird, southern Fereldan deathroot blend that's his favorite. Couldn't find any after Haven, though.

1 Does your Inquisitor believe they are chosen by Andraste? How do they feel about people worshiping them as such?

Tahj is very logical and practical, but at first, when everything is just batshit crazy he does kind of believe it. Stranger things have happened, right? Fiona sent him to the Conclave for a reason, maybe it was some divine plan. Being worshiped is just so unfathomable to him. He's a mage. A Gallows mage. They pushed the self-loathing hard, and he was in for nearly 30 years. He comes to resent it, actually, especially when the truth (that he isn't chosen) comes out, because they're still doing it. He hasn't been "a person" since he was 10 years old, and just when he was starting to feel like he could leave that behind, he becomes a symbol...and a fake one at that, but everyone needs him to go along with the ruse.

[fade-and-loathing-in-thedas]

do any of your other amells have romances? also what are the deets for akroma leaving cullen 👀

Hahaha omg you've unlocked the beast.

I'll start with the Akroma/Cullen break-up. She really only just began her romance with Cullen when she ended it. Alistair is King in her playthrough, so since she recruited the mages she encountered him at the end. It was awkward for everyone involved. Alistair kinda lingers in her mind afterwards. She pursues the relationship with Cullen with incredible speed and a level of fixation that was a clear indicator she was trying to avoid something else (specifically her residual feelings for Alistair). It's after encountering Avacyn, and hearing her story, she kinda has to reassess how well she knows him. Then throw in her cousins getting involved, Kaalia Hawke (the Champion) and Kalum Hawke (the warden contact) and their relationship with the former Templar. Then you have the moment she wakes up in Cullen's arms, after dreaming of Alistair, and thought it was Alistair she was with. After a deep and meaningful conversation with Leliana, she kinda realised she'd been using him as a place holder and that she might need to work on getting over Alistair before trying to have a new relationship (she is very much avoido girl when it comes to dealing with her own actual emotions, and not just urges, so progress). She tells Cullen she can't be with him, cue his brooding, and then she heads to the Western Approach to avoid any awkwardness (okay, so not that much progress lol). That's all I've got, except they eventually kinda become friends again (leaning towards over protective brother in law now lol)

I've actually seriously been thinking a lot about romances for the siblings, which is how I ended up here lol

For Roman I have been leaning heavily towards Dorian. Roman has a weakness for pretty men and especially pretty men with major smarts, confidence, bordering on arrogance, and can be drama. I've got some stuff to work out here. He's kinda already in a casual thing with someone in his mercenary group, but the guy's an Orlesian and a complete dick (which has kind of been Roman's type/dating history). It's gonna take him a while to realise everyone he dates doesn't have to be an asshole. He doesn't have to be dirt for others to shine ya know.

I have also been tossing around a Jowan romance for Roman, only because the squick factor for Akroma would be hilarious. And Jowan is totally the kinda drama Roman's attracted too.

I haven't decided if Avacyn is having a relationship, but I could see her with the Iron Bull. Especially given his strong feelings around consent, understanding of power dynamics, and ability to read people. I could see him being her friend. Helping her let out the rage, setting up dummies for her to set aflame, and getting her to socialize more. He's also very much not someone who would pursue someone without explicit interest, which she would appreciate. I also think he is the kind of person who understands sex, romance, and relationships aren't all synonymous. You can have any of these by themselves, or in conjunction with any number of others and it doesn't make them any less meaningful. Idk I think they could click. What that will look like is still swimming around in my head.

Remus is straight up crushing on Leliana. Her skill with both a blade and a bow, not to mention how she could/would murder a man in his sleep. Yeah, she's his kind of woman.

As you are already aware Arcadia is currently trying to seduce Cullen in my head lol and failing dismally.

Oh and for the Amell cousins: Kaalia Hawke romanced Isabela, and Kalum romanced Anders.

[fenrisisms]

i have always wanted to know more about riva but didn't know where to start, so riva for oc questions if you're down to answer them? pick your own adventure (questions to answer) version though. what's rotating in your brain that you want to textually chew on?

HI!!!! THANK U FOR THE ASK!!!!

honestly where to start for any of my ocs is just "tell me now" i can talk about my ocs for hours completely unprompted and prompted? oh boy. as riva is one of my most specialist little meow meows in the world this will probably be super long <333 soz in advance the mental illness is about to be unleashed

does your oc have siblings or family members in their age group? which one are they closest with?

yes :) amell warden canonically has four siblings but for character theme reasons i fridged them all offscreen, which riva knows because he spends the years after the blight and in between warden business hunting down any family he has left because he's curious. he got records of the hawkes in lothering pretty early on but just assumed they died at ostagar (he was there, he knows lots of people Did That and hes sooooo so mad that he was in proximity and missed them) until several years later when he gets a letter from zevran that's like My Man You Are Never Gonna Fucking Believe This

anyway for like. age group. he's born in 9:11 dragon which makes him the same age as his cousin carver hawke, but younger than his cousin graham the champion of kirkwall hawke, which is a fact not known to graham the champion of kirkwall hawke until after he has spent like two years following this guy around on the assumption he is in fact older and thus wiser than him. graham does not take this news well.

anyway all of that to say he is very close to both gray and carver because they are the only family he has left and he really, really treasures them. he and gray have an especially close relationship as people who have taken on tremendous burdens and who feel alone in carrying them.

what kind of childhood did your oc have?

so he's the youngest amell sibling right [ignoring bioware's implications to the contrary] and so he's just a baby when amell sr dips from kirkwall with the kids and he's also quite a bit younger than his older siblings (he's 19 at the start of origins, his siblings are edith [30, kirkwall], ewan [27, ansburg], caspian [25, ostwick] & pippa [23, starkhaven]. yes i have thought about this a normal amount) so he's still just a toddler when the last of his siblings manifest their magic and his dad goes okay. ive had enough of this dude. rows his ass across the lake and dumps him at the tower because of course That One Is Going To Be A Mage Too and then he just. disappears.

so anyway riva doesn't really remember a life outside the circle because he's been there since he was like. three. and that has impacted his life in sooo many ways. on one hand he gets a lot of leniency because like. half the people in that tower Raised him, yknow? he was there for at least five years before his magic manifested and even after the switch the templars who were already grooming him for templar training still can't quite let go of the child they remember from Before. ofc that doesn't win him any friends because everyone he's supposed to be like is aware that if he hadn't been one of them, he'd be one of them. he's genial enough to fit in everywhere but he also belongs nowhere. i could talk about this specifically for hours but tldr same idea as sending a gay kid to catholic school to make them less gay. doesn't work at all how u think it's gonna <3

what relationship/s have had the most influence on them?

1000% irving is the single greatest influence on riva. greagoir can claim a little bit of credit as irving's opposite. whatever they are. but a lot of the way riva approaches life is from having witnessed how irving does it. irving is a surrogate father to riva and he is one of the best examples riva has of a mage who lives a successful (relative) life so of course he's going to emulate whatever the fuck he's doing and well. he is a prodigy after all :)

there's plenty of other people who had influence on his life. wynne. zevran. leliana. anders, even (the anders relationship is so. So. but there's not really any questions where i can discuss whatever the fuck was happening there) buuut the only one i really want to mention is cullen <3

i fell into the trap of trusting bioware to have their once per game banger moment and i. should not have. but unfortunately for me i love to look at bad writing and go "i could fix her" even if the character should NOT be fixed. anyway somtimes ur thirteen and you meet some random blonde kid while you're breaking into the templar libraries and you don't even know this meeting is going to irreversibly shape your beef with the chantry and also you're going to be hung up on this pathetic wet rat of a man for the next ten years despite being ferelden's most eligible bachelor. he is the most normal and well adjusted hero of his worldstate. i would say sorry to riva for inflicting whatever this is on him but i'm not really. i would say sorry to RIVER who has to endure me going insane about quite possibly the biggest L of a ship i have. but i am also not <3

how quick is your oc to trust someone else?

deceptively slow! he is really personable and charming, but he's also grown up in an environment where loyalty is transactional and he operates on the basis that the second he is no longer useful to someone, in whatever way he quantifies being useful to someone, then he is no longer in a position of power. so as you can imagine him and zevran interacting for the first few months is a Trip for both of them. and that is why they are now best friends forever <3 he gets better after being free of the circle for a while when he realizes some people are not having to play 8 dimensional chess to stay alive but in general he is very good at making people feel close to him even though he has thought of 16 escape strategies, at least 9 of which involve outright murder. he contains multitudes.

opinion on the chantry?

kind of combining multiple questions here but he understands the importance of religion or at least some conviction or belief in your life. something to bring you comfort when times get hard. something you can turn to when nothing else makes sense. he also thinks the chantry as an institution needs to be systematically dismantled and ground into the dust below his heel. he also grew up in a position where he watched the chantry change people he knew and cared for in irreversible ways. he is very sympathetic to anyone he views as victim to chantry exploitation (extremely broad category) and his preferred method of destruction is violent kindness. he is so nice and empathetic. even when people do not deserve it. if he can make people feel conflicted about being a cunt to him he wins. he will haunt your narrative for the rest of time. this is a threat and a promise. you meet him once you will think about him every day for the next 15 years and maybe THEN you'll have a chance at getting better, but probably not. he has staying power like that.

in what situation was your oc the most afraid they’ve ever been?

absolutely fighting the uldred abomination. there is just so much going on. uldred was one of the senior enchanters that riva didn't particularly like, but he's always been a part of riva's life. irving's life depends on him. in many ways, cullen's life depends on him even though he knows cullen wants him dead (and that hurts in ways he can't even begin to process). wynne, who has also been a staple of his life is depending on him. so many people he knew and cared for are dead, and all his prodigal talent couldn't stop that. he has a scar from getting fully run through in that fight because he was dealing with So Much. everyone assumes it's from the archdemon and he just lets them because he has so many Feelings about that whole thing and honestly he's fine with no one knowing how personal that is to him.

and that is all i will answer for now because i am. afraid of the size of my scrollbar in my peripheral vision. thank u so much for asking again. made my day! <3