#I see I'm back on my morrigan bullshit

[sapphim]

so I see two common threads in takes on alistair performing the dark ritual with morrigan, the first being alistair romancers making it All About Their Warden and how Sad they are that their man slept with another woman, which. ok. (sometimes they take it a step further and like, take it out on him for doing it? which. you're the one who talked him into it. girl. cope. but I digress.)

the second take is to make it All About Alistair and how Sad they are for him that he's coerced into having sex he doesn't want with a person he doesn't particularly like and! genuinely, yes, that's awful.

but I so rarely see even a moment of consideration for morrigan's position in the proceedings, how she was... also? coerced into the dark ritual? by her mother, and by the knowledge that she alone has the power to do something that could prevent the deaths of her friends and companions?

"how terrible for alistair, he doesn't WANT to have sex with morrigan" granted! but. well. morrigan doesn't WANT to fuck alistair either, obviously. so can we just like. have a shred of consideration for the girl who was raised for the purpose of being nothing more than a womb. as long as we're feeling sorry for people in a bad situation. I'm so tired.

[shift-shaping]

I think this is a really important part of the article from yesterday that people are overlooking. I absolutely understand the frustration people feel about the lack of choices brought over from Inquisition, I'm also frustrated. However, they have said not just here but I believe during the dev Q and A a while back that some choices are consciously being saved for future games.

Rambling thoughts below cut, feel free to ignore

I get the sense that Veilguard is going to be a very focused game, and the focus is on Solas and the Veil.

Here is my suspicion.

I think that this game is going to set up Mythal to be a major force in the next game by decisively finishing the roles of Solas and the Inquisitor, and by tearing down or at least significantly altering the Veil. That game is when we'll see the Well of Sorrows and Kieran and the payoff for whoever we left in the Fade during Here Lies the Abyss.

Veilguard doesn't necessarily need to address any of those things if the writing is careful enough. Maybe we don't actually see Morrigan for very long, maybe the Well hasn't actually done anything yet, maybe we just don't get a chance to talk about who was left in the Fade.

This is not without precedent. DA2 carried very little over from DAO, and easily could have given us a much more stripped down list of choices than what we had. Did it matter if we sided with or against Zathrian in DA2? No. I don't think that one even got a one-liner. They easily could have asked us 3-5 questions about our choices in Origins and the game would have been functionally the same.

That all being said: what frustrates me personally is that while you can strip out many of these choices and have what is functionally the same game, the subtle continuity of your decisions from one game to the next has always been a big part of the appeal of the series for many fans.

For example, there's a minor quest early in DA2 that involves Renvil Harrowmont, the last member of House Harrowmont still alive if you chose Bhelen to lead Orzammar. This is a very small quest that, like most quests in DA2, kind of just results in you fighting more random bad boys in the streets.

But that's not the point, is it? The point of tiny cameos like this isn't the overall impact they have on the plot of any specific game, it's about the continuity they create for your world state. The little one-liners and brief cameos and bullshit quests actually do matter to fans because they reinforce that this is the same timeline they've been playing in, and give the impression that your choices are affecting people. Knowing that even these little things won't be present in Veilguard is frustrating and a bit sad.

[ham-of-despair]

Dragon Age Origins Spoilers I LOVE LOGHAIN

I recently started playing Dragon Age again. Back on my bullshit / cringe / I should up my buspirone dosage lest I become a full-time dragon age blogger.

Anyway I'm making some choices I've never made before in my DAO playthrough. I decided to spare Secret Companion, just to see what it's like.

AND I LOVE HIM!!!

I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM

Ok, YES he sold elves into slavery, and YES everyone should definitely hate him for that, as well as for how he continues to justify it afterwards. And all the other shit he did.

But IGNORING ALL THAT, he is my favorite Dragon Age character ever. I love him so fucking much. I can't explain it, I just find him so compelling and funny. I ended up sacrificing him to the archdemon (I've never not done Morrigan's ritual before but now that I've really thought about it, there are a lot of good reasons not to) and I was genuinely sad that I couldn't hang out with him at the coronation. I love that they built a statue of him facing the Orlesian Embassy in Denerim. I think that's perfect and the (second-) best ending for him.

As for Alistair wandering off and becoming an alcoholic in Starkhaven, I know it's sad and fucked up and everything, but I honestly think it's a kind of poetic outcome for him. Because he was always placed into certain roles; Templar, Grey Warden, King (potentially); basically against his will. Now that he's free to do as he chooses, this is where he ends up. And it's not his fault, his upbringing didn't prepare him for this at all. But it's sort of interesting to see what happens to this chronic follower when he has nothing to follow.

Anyway I enjoy Loghain so much more than Alistair. I love him so goddamn much. I want to get drinks with him irl. Not in a romantic way, he's a major uggo and anyway I'm gay. But like we should hang out sometime bro... you down??

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

some more incorrect quotes, cos they're fun xdd

---

Dorian: We can bake these cookies at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or 4,000 degrees for 1 minute

June: How about 4,000,000 degrees for 1 second?!?

---

Varric: I hate the countryside. It’s dirty. It’s unclean. And what is that smell?

Liam: That would be grass.

Varric: Disgusting.

---

Liam: Honestly, I don’t even play an active role in my life anymore..

Liam: Things just happen and I’m like “Oh, is this what we’re doing now? Ok.”

---

Noya: What doesn't kill me better start running, because now I'm fucking pissed.

---

Liam, texting Fenris: Fenris there’s a spider on the outside of the bathroom door can you get rid of it?

Liam: Pls hurry because I’m going to cry

Liam: Fenris

Liam: Fenris?

Fenris: Fenris is dead. You’re next. Love, Spider.

---

Addie: Can we go out to get icecream?

Liam: Did you ask Pa?

Addie: He said no.

Liam: Then why did you ask me?

Addie: He’s not the boss of you.

Liam, internally: It's a trap, it's a trap, it's a trap-

---

Noya: Are you busy?

Sten: Yes.

Noya: Cool, listen to this-

---

Zevran: We’ve been conducting an ongoing study to see what Kala will and will not eat.

Alistair: Grass? Yes!

Zevran: Moss? Yes!!

Alistair: Leaves? Ohh, yes!

Zevran: Shoelaces? Strange but true!

Alistair: Worms? Sometimes!

Zevran: Twigs? Usually nah.

Alistair: Rocks? Usually!

Zevran: Morrigan's cooking? Inconclusive!

Wynne: How did you… test this?

Zevran: You just hand her stuff and say ‘eat this’ and if she eats it, she eats it.

Wynne: ... I don’t know how to feel about this.

Morrigan: IS THAT WHERE ALL MY SPARE SHOELACES WENT?

---

Kala: You are an absolute sodding dork.

Alistair, singing: Yeah, but I'm your dork!

Kala: *sighs* Yeah, you're my dork.

---

Ari, to the party: And remember, if I get harsh with you it is only because you’re doing it all wrong.

---

June, trying to comfort Cullen: What's the problem? Anxiety? Low self-esteem? Obsessive thoughts of random arson? I've been there.

---

Liam: I dunno if I'm ready to process the ramifications of this bullshit.

---

Cullen: So, June is no longer allowed to take the trash out at night.

Cass: Why?

Cullen: Because I've caught her trying to train raccoons to fight five times in a row.

June: You'll be thanking me when the third raccoon battalion saves your ass.

---

Var'Renan: *raises eyebrows*

Noya: Put those back down!

---

Kala: That's ridiculous, Alistair doesn't have a crush on me.

Zevran: Yes he does.

Leliana: Yes he does.

Alistair: Yes I do.

---

Ari: Do you ever get pre-annoyed? Like you already know someone is going to piss you off?

Josie: What? No, I—

Solas: *enters room*

Ari: *jaw clenches*

---

Neira: Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices.

Neira: Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

---

Morrigan: Ugh, there’s always that weak bitch in the group who isn’t down with murder.

Morrigan: *glares at Neira*

Neira: Well, sorry I have morals!

---

Jowan: You’re overthinking this.

Neira: You don’t know the appropriate level of thinking, Jowan. What if I’m underthinking?

---

Alistair: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it.

Kala: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out.

Alistair: Th-that's not how that works-

---

June, reading a recipe: Beat three eggs?

Sera: It means like in hand-to-hand combat.

June: Ohhhh-

Cullen: Both of you get out of this kitchen.

---

Liam: Fine! I don't give a shit!

Merrill: You seem to give a lot of shits for someone who claims not to give a shit.

---

Neira: My expectations are low, but they can always go lower.

---

Ari: Who hurt you?

Sera: *snorting* What, do you want a list?

Ari: ...Yes, actually.

---

Krem: Welcome to Fucking Applebees, do you want apples or bees?

Cass: Bees?

June: SHE HAS SELECTED THE BEES!

Cass: Wait-

*Sera approaches, shaking a jar of bees menacingly*

---

Liam: Swear words are illegal now. If you say one you'll be fined.

Addie: Heck.

Liam: You're on thin fucking ice.

Liam: Oh no-

---

Solas: This is a very powerful artifact. You’d be messing with forces you don’t fully understand.

June: That sounds like a dare to me.

Solas: Oh my god.

---

Neira, making coffee: This is going to fix everything

---

Cassandra: Yesterday, I overheard June saying “Are you sure this is a good idea?” and Dagna replying “Trust me,” and I have never moved from one room to another so quickly in my life.

---

Lilian: I love the term 'partners'. Are we dating? Are we robbing a bank? Are we the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies and are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit? Who knows.

---

Zevran: Hey, can I get a sip of that water?

Kala: It’s not water.

Zevran: Vodka! I like your sty-

Kala: It’s vinegar.

Zevran: …What?

Kala: It's vinegar, PUSSY.

---

Ari: *closes a cabinet*

*a crash is heard behind the cabinet door*

Josephine: What was that?

Ari: The sound of someone else's problem.

[insert dejected Trifles Minutiae noises]

---

Lilian: I need to dye my hair.

Lilian: Or get another tattoo.

Lilian: Or a new piercing.

Sebastian: ..... Why?

Lilian: To, you know, appease the mental breakdown gods.

---

Merrill: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 million gold?

Liam: You stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a big-ass house.

Varric: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 million.

Liam: Good thinking.

---

June: *makes Cullen a cup of tea but puts salt in it*

Cullen: *sips tea*

June:

Cullen: *finishes tea*

June: Didn't it taste bad?

Cullen: Yeah, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings so I drank it all.

June, tearing up: Oh, okay.

---

Random Orlesian at a political dinner: How many kids do you have?

Ari: Biologically, emotionally, or legally?

---

Var'Renan: Creators, give me patience.

Noya: I think you mean 'give me strength'.

Var'Renan: If the Creators gave me strength, you'd be dead.

[acourtofthought]

Does anyone else find this strange?

Based off what SJM has said, CC3 is the next book she'll be releasing and it most likely will take place 6 - 9 months after the ending of SF.

But in SF, we have these things happen:

Gwyn laughed hoarsely. “The Illyrians are going to be furious about our winning, you know. Especially because I have no intention of being called Carynthian. I’m content with being a Valkyrie.”

Az gives Gwyn the necklace

Feyre tells Rhys let's help one sister before helping the other.

Koschei said, “Tell my Vassa I’m waiting.”

With a new war possible and Briallyn up to her bullshit with Koschei, we need a strong ally. We need the Spring Court’s forces.”. “We need to tell him the news, and permanently station him (Lucien) at the Spring Court to contain any damage and to be our eyes and ears.”

My father is furious that his ally is dead, but he’s not deterred. Koschei remains in play, and Beron might very well be stupid enough to establish an alliance with him, too. I hope that whatever Morrigan is doing in Vallahan will counteract the damage my father will unleash.”

Cassian’s heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien’s face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing.

We don't even know whose book will be next in the ACOTAR world but if CC3 doesn't happen for 6 - 9 months then I'm guessing if the next ACOTAR book happens after that, it would take place (at the very least) 7 - 10 months after the end the end of Silver Flames.

That means at least 7 months where the Illyrians were pissed but there was no immediate fallout.

11 months since Solstice where the necklace sort of becomes meaningless (which maybe was the authors intent all along, that the necklace was never meant to stir up drama but simply to demonstrate the difference between him giving it to Elain versus Gwyn).

11 months since Solstice where Elain was rejected and we never find out how she dealt with what went down.

7 months since Koschei told them "tell my Vassa I'm waiting" but where he's obviously made no attempts to call her back.

7 months since Beron was furious that Briallyn was killed but not deterred and will possibly ally with Koschei but hasn't actually done so since we'd most likely see that happen in the next book.

11 months since Lucien was still looking at Elain with longing and we have no idea where they stand.

Over a year since they talked about needing Springs forces to be up and running so they stationed Lucien there but apparently nothing will have happened in that whole time since I can't imagine the next book will begin with Springs forces in play.

She made a lot of things sound like pressing issues in SF but if she picks up the next book months to a year in the future, it doesn't seem to flow very well.

[cassynite]

OC Tag Game

I was tagged by @dujour13 and @spyridonya for this, thank you both for thinking of me!!

Favorite

PWOTR

This one is so hard...like choosing your favorite child...and also it just tends to be who I'm thinking of the most at that particular moment.

I guess the one I love the most is always going to be my Knight-Commander, Sparrow--captured and sold into slavery at a young age, she became a body double and guard for a Cheliaxian family and goes to Kenabres to try and find escape and freedom.

She is a deeply reserved and quiet individual, keeping her feelings and thoughts close to her chest, and cautious to a fault. But underneath that is someone with deep feeling and passion, an incredibly warm and loving person who is desperately lonely and just wants to find someone who won't leave her, as every person who she has loved has done in the past. She romances Daeran Arendae and they both work through their shit together <3

Newest

The Wayhaven Chronicles

The newest OC is technically still cooking, but he's my latest detective in the IF The Wayhaven Chronicles! His name is Bastian Roche, a nervy little man who would just like everyone to get along, please, and who has a tendency to fail upwards, much to his chagrin. He loves his little town and loves his mama, and is very upset at the recent murders going on and then the supernatural bullshit that ends up crawling out of the woodwork as a consequence.

He's gonna romance Felix and I'm pretty sure is going to be the only detective I've played who doesn't become friends with Adam or Mason by the end of book 2 because he has a spine made of wet tissue paper.

Oldest

Dragon Age: Origins

I might have had older OCs but I don't remember them--the one that still exists in any form would be Dannia Tabris, my canon warden in DAO. She's a daggers rogue, duelist and assassin specialties.

She's the first real Specialist Little Snowflake I ever made, but like in the worst way--I made her as I played the game and headcanoned that while not a mage, she was born a little "closer" to the Fade than others, and because of that she can see the future. This was to accommodate the fact that I always had a game guide open because I hadn't learned that you can't really play an RPG wrong by that point.

Dannia puts up a good front and tends to present herself as funny, warm, and cavalier in front of friends and family, but inside she's a melancholic, vicious, calculating person who is desperate to ensure the safety of people she loves by relying on her frequent visions for guidance.

She lost her mother by ignoring her visions and she refuses to lose anyone else, so of course in the process she does lose everyone--she becomes a Warden and is permanently separated from her family, a vision showing Alistair's execution makes her put him on the throne which he does not want and which ultimately causes the end of their relationship, and she sabotages basically all of her friendships and relationships in general because she sees visions of herself dying to slay the Archdemon.

Then Morrigan comes along, offers the Dark Ritual, and she takes it out of blind hope...and survives. And has to try and live on past her own self-imposed expiration date, now knowing her visions can be false and that her sacrifices up to this point might have been for nothing.

Meanest

PWOTR

I don't really do mean OCs honestly lol. But I'd have to say that the one who is most willing to say mean shit is going to be Kallesto "Vonzi" Voness, my mercenary OC for PWOTR!

Vonzi is an oracle whose patron has given her powers over extreme cold--and, more significantly, powers over time. Vonzi has the ability to time travel, but with a major caveat: jumping back in time forces her to "hold on" to the timeline she creates by changing things, something that takes her very life force. She can either let go, undoing the changes she has made, or die in that time, cementing it as the new reality.

In-game, her main quests revolve around the fact that she is suffering from going back in time to save her family. The KC must either let her die, convince her to let go of the timeline and allow her family to die again, or a Secret Third Thing.

Despite all the shit she goes through, Vonzi is a very confident, very cavalier person. She does not suffer fools lightly and isn't afraid to speak her mind even if it means rocking the boat, and she will tell people what she thinks of them regardless of how unflattering it is. If she likes you, she might be more circumspect, but especially in game she doesn't have the time or energy to be nice. Despite her being a genuinely good person and good friend she puts a lot of people off wit her abrasive attitude.

Softest

Dragon Age Inquisition

Softest OC would have to be Phaedre Lavellan, my canon inquisitor from DAI! Phi is a mage, though not a very well-trained one; when she tells people she was the clan's first, she's lying.

Phaedre like so many other OCs suffered tragedy when she was younger, with her childhood friend and intended--the clan's First at the time--dying to maleficar when Phi, desperate to prove she was grown up enough for vallaslin, goes out on the honorary hunt to earn it and gets in way over her head. The event deeply traumatized her, as it was her fault Ghandriel was out there to begin with. It causes her to retreat from any and all responsibility. Her clan enables this, as she's always been seen as a bit of a baby, and the tragedy causes them to close ranks in an effort to protect her. By 9:40 Dragon, Phaedre is 25 years old and has still not gotten her vallaslin.

News of the Conclave and the spies clan Lavellan plans to send is the last jolt needed from a long-growing feeling of guilt and stasis Phaedre has been in. Sneaking away ahead of the actual spies, Phaedre gets sloppy fake vallaslin from a city elf and joins the Conclave in an effort to prove to herself that she can be useful to her clan and an adult in her own right. And then the Conclave explodes and suddenly she needs to grow up real fast.

Phaedre tends to try to be bubbly and optimistic. She's a little naive but tends to appear even more so because her conflict-averse nature makes her avoid giving out her opinions on anything, which makes it seem like she just doesn't know a whole lot. She's deeply empathetic and emotional, laughs when she's nervous, and wants everyone to be her friend--and it's hard not to be, even when she starts gaining confidence and making decisions that cause disapproval. Phaedre romances Sera.

Most aloof/standoffish

PWOTR

Another non-KC OC, Ophenia Thwait, is going to fit this bill! She's a dhampir that's going to enter her second century soon, and she lost everyone she ever cared about already, including her entire family and her first wife, who she loved more than anything. She wrote books with them as characters to deal with her grief, those books took off, and she spent the next several decades establishing herself as a varied and talented author in several genres. She's currently made a name for herself writing pulp novels of the romance and adventure variety, earning her wild fame and derision in equal measure.

Ophenia keeps all of life at arm's length, looking at it with the clinical mind of a writer that's trying to put together a plot for her next story--because she is. Any character read in an Ophenia Thwait book is based on someone she has met. She considers it the greatest compliment to write using another person, immortalizing them in a story while they age and wither and die. They will at least live forever in her books and the minds of those who read them, but it gives her a tendency to think of people as little more than props for a story that's brewing in her mind, and she will do awful things on purpose just to see what the reaction ends up being or what the consequences are. Gotta get more inspiration, and keep her stories interesting.

Dumbest

PWOTR

Dumbest OC award has to go to Evaethi Arvanxi, Sparrow's "original copy"--the young woman she acted as a body double for! Evaethi means well, mostly, but has learned through a painful childhood that the only real thing she's good at is horses and, later, fighting on them. She fled her noble life of luxury and duty the first real chance she gets, leaving the far more impressive and competent (in her eyes) Sparrow to deal with the aftermath, and joins the Pathfinders, where she will hopefully get some wakeup calls about the way she lives her life. No matter what though, she will never gain the common sense that god gave a goldfish.

Smartest

PWOTR

Isore "Crow" Cygnarus, Sparrow's biological brother who maybe-probably dies in her canon when she was young. I can't even describe how smart he is because "waaaay smarter than me" is about as good as I can get, but he was a savant, a child genius who excelled in mathematics and engineering, who rose to prominence at an astonishingly young age in Alkenstar as an architect and artificer.

He had a lot of ideas, many of which he hoped to spread and see implemented throughout the world--ideas about how society should be run to ensure as little waste, pain, and chaos would be generated, ways that he felt the ills of the world could truly be solved. But before he could do any of that, he had his younger sister with him, who needed to be raised, and he recognized that wandering the world and focusing on your own ambitions was insufficient for rearing a young child. So he settled in the idyllic country of Dehrukani, helping them improve their crystal towers and develop new and interesting ways to store magical energy, and waited for her to grow up right to the point where he is murdered by slavers.

Crow's personality was whatever he needed it to be to get the most out of the people around him--Sparrow remembers him as a kind, patient, perfect older brother, because that's the mask he put on around her. In reality, he was an extremely distant, cold, and ambitious individual. His brilliance came from his natural ability to see things broken down into parts working together as systems, and ultimately that's how he saw people--as parts within the system of society. The closest he ever came to love was the mix of responsibility and interest he had in his little sister.

OC you’d be best friends with IRL

I feel like I would be intimidated by most of my OCs lol. I think I'd get along with Evaethi but would find her self-absorbed nature incredibly grating and honestly she'd be tiring to be around.

The person I'd be best friends with is Vonzi! I'd find her funny and her confidence inspiring.

[your-sovereign-ruler]

Witchcraft update

Took a LOOOONG break, for mental health/living arrangements reasons.

However, I've been back on my bullshit for about a month now, and I feel like the next step in my journey is Irish folk magic, and connecting with my family history.

A few days ago, a deity reached out to me, and I'm 99% certain they're the Morrigan. I'm very excited, they're super cool. I went to the local thrift store this afternoon to grab some stuff for their altar. While I was in there, I tried some shufflemancy to see if they wanted anything in particular.

For those of you who haven't heard of it, shufflemancy is a modern divination technique. Basically, you ask a question and then put your music on shuffle. Whatever song comes up should have a response to your question. Typically, this works very well for me, but today I was so confused about what they wanted. I rephrased the question a few times, but I still had no clue what was happening.

On the fourth try, Silent Night started playing, which I took to mean that they wanted me to stop talking lol. I'm very sorry, but I'm an obtuse creature. I hope they are kind about their frustration because I never pick up on signs. Apologies, my queen, but I am a dumbass.

Anyway, I got them an altar cloth, a candle and an offering bowl, as well as some crystals from the shop next door. My roomies should be out of town this weekend, so I think I'll set it up then.

So, that's what's new with me, blessed be my friends <3

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

Hey so you've posted a bit about replaying DA and I wanted to know if you have a canon run through

I do! I'm currently replaying through my canon run right now [with a few deviations here and there] because every time I finish a run, some time passes before I'm like, ".........I miss them." It makes doing an alternate run harder, too.

For DAO, I play as a rogue lady Tabris named Rosalie, or Rose. Dual-wielding ranger and dualist. Her most used party dynamic is Alistair/Morrigan/Zevran. She named the mabari Griffon after the tales of Grey Wardens and their griffons. Rose romanced Alistair, kept him a warden and made Anora queen. She considers Morrigan one of her closest friends until Morrigan reveals her true intentions for coming with them. I've written about that whole thing before. Honestly, as far as companions go, Rose becomes close friends with most of them... except Wynne, they tend to butt heads in a lot of ways.

Rose didn't want to become a warden and thinks most of their rules and secrets are bullshit. Duncan's excuse for not coming to help her and the other elven women Vaughan took is a driving force for her to defy that "we can't get involved" rule as much as she can during and post-blight. She sided with the mages in Kinloch and with their help saved Connor, made Bhelen king of Orzammar, and settled things between the Dalish and the werewolves peacefully by convincing Zathrian to end the curse. She executed Loghain at the Landsmeet since, y'know... he sold city elves, nearly including her father, to Tevinter slavers to fund his war so... in her eyes, he doesn't get to live after that.

This playthrough I did make a save to reject Morrigan's dark ritual to see what happens when the warden makes the ultimate sacrifice and it's the most unsatisfying ending. It's such a, "No no noooo we didn't deserve this! After everything we went through! Just for it to end like that??" hopeless feeling... which was then fixed when I went back and made my canon choice of begrudgingly accepting the deal [even though it mostly goes against Rose's character but I'm weak and selfish and want her and Alistair to live].

In DA2, I play as a male mage Hawke named Edgar, or Ed. Force mage and blood mage. His most used party dynamic is Carver/Merrill/Anders until Carver goes to the Grey Wardens, then it's Isabela/Merrill/Anders. He's mostly purple in personality, but occasionally dips into blue, and I can count the number of times he's gone red on one hand. He named his mabari Fleabag after Malcolm bought the pup from a traveling merchant who failed to mention he was flea ridden. Several baths later, the mabari was finally flea free but Ed decided he should never live it down and named him Fleabag.

Ed maxes out the friendships with everyone [yes, including Carver, Ed tries so damn hard with him] except Aveline, he maxes out her rivalry. They all side with him and the mages in the end. He romanced Anders. I once did a run where I romanced Fenris with Ed and even though I liked it, the whole playthrough felt wrong because romancing Anders is, like... a fundamental part of Ed's story now... Even though they break up in the end.

I've done all three options across different playthroughs when it comes to Anders; I've spared him, I've killed him, and I've told him to leave. My canon choice is to tell him to leave, and then let him join my party later after we've sided with the mages. It's hard to explain without writing a full essay, but Ed and Anders are pretty much life partners at this point. Even if it's no longer romantic because a huge amount of trust was broken, even if they never get back together in that regard, even if Anders will now be on the run for the rest of his life, whether or not Ed agrees with him [he does and he doesn't, it's complicated] like... Ed loves him and he'll always love him, y'know? He won't abandon him even when everyone tells him he should.....but then DAI happened uhhh

Finally for DAI, I play a lady mage Lavellan named Ashalle, or Ashlaen, or just Ash. She's a knight-enchanter who mostly does storm magic. I'd say DAI is the game where I have a pretty even party use that I rotate between; Cassandra/Varric/Vivienne, Solas/Sera/Blackwall, The Iron Bull/Dorian/Cole. She sides with the mages in Redcliffe and left Hawke in the fade [sorry Ed, and sorry Anders... and sorry Carver... and Varric]. When it came to picking a ruler for Orlais, she figured all options sucked but went with Celene and Briala. Ash drank from the well, and then disbanded the inquisition in Trespasser.

I dislike how DAI just kinda plops your inquisitor into existence with only a small paragraph explaining why they were at the conclave; I wish it had a DAO approach so that's what I did for my inquisitor. Before I start the DAI playthrough, I boot up DAO. Before she was Ashalle Lavellan, she was a circle mage named Ashlaen Surana who escaped with Jowan after he lied to her about being a blood mage. In the ten years pre-DAI, she lost Jowan. In her grief, joined the Dalish, changed her name, and eventually ended up at the conclave. It just adds a lot more meat and spice to the choices and interactions with companions and advisors since she keeps that part of her backstory a secret. After all, she helped a blood mage and then was accused of being one herself before fleeing; she doesn't want the inquisition to know that. All of her crafted staves are named after Jowan while her crafted robes are usually named after her conflicting identities and pieces of her past, too..... Oh, speaking of past, she romanced Cullen. Because of course.

With the context of all this, it becomes them reuniting after they may or may not have had a thing going on in the circle, but then she escaped and he believed she was actually a blood mage for ten years. Cullen sees her like "Ah. Yes. You. Whom I haven't met. Hope they're right about you. We've lost a lot of people to get you here. Glad you survived." when internally he's screaming "I know who you are, those tattoos fool me not! Why are you here?? To torment ME specifically??" Then there's Ash who takes a little longer to recognize him, and when she does, it solidifies that she needs to run after this because he knows who she is and why she fled, that's not good, she's not going back to the circle after all this is done.

But y'know... they work it out. Eventually.

That's my canon run through of all three games. I keep trying to talk myself into doing a full alternate canon run, but the only game I've successfully done a different route in is DAI with my male rogue Tristan Trevelyan whose backstory was that he's a pro-mage ex-templar. That was fun to see how different things play out, but I haven't managed it for the other two.

I'd like to play DAO as a more cutthroat warden who, unlike Rose, won't go out of their way to do kind things; they'll do what they deem necessary. I'd like to do a lady warrior Hawke run with Bethany as the surviving sibling, and I've tried before but every time I hit a point where I'm like ".....I miss Carver so much" and abandon the run. Like there's always something that makes me abandon the run. I almost abandoned Tristan's run, too, but somehow I pushed through and got invested. I dunno. One day I'll put on my big girl pants and just do it.

[seriouslyseravellan]

I hate how some rpgs will let you have relationships, but then those relationships will completely exclude ace/aro spec people.

Like... I'm so tired of seeing narratives that are like:

"person A was only interested in having sex with person B at first, but now that their relationship has developed further, person B has helped person A realize that they've 'actually been in love this whole time,' and now person A is having Complicated Emotions about it"

Don't get me wrong, I do really like this trope... in some cases. But often, rpgs won't give the player an option to say "no, I don't want a romantic relationship, I'm not interested in that," or if they do, it's seen as "breaking up" or the relationship "isn't as powerful/strong/important as it could be" (you see this with Zevran, Morrigan, Isabela, The Iron Bull, and Sera in Dragon Age).

As an arospec person, I just want to say: Let us have strong, important, meaningful relationships that aren't always tied to romance! Non-romantic relationships aren't any less valuable!

Likewise, I'm also tired of seeing the "we've been dating for a while and now sex is the next step in our relationship" narrative (where again, if the player is like "no, sex isn't really my thing," the relationship is seen as less valuable, meaningful, etc).

Not all relationships need to involve sex! It's not always "the next reasonable step in a relationship," despite our bullshit society presenting it that way.

I actually really like Leliana's romance in Dragon Age: Origins because it doesn't do that. If you romance her, there's a point where Leliana is like, "hey, I'm going back to my tent, wanna join me?" and you can be like "nah, not interested, thanks" and it literally doesn't affect your relationship at all.

Unfortunately, that's usually not the case.

So in conclusion, I have a long list of "things I want to see in future video games" and this is one of the things on that list. LET US HAVE ACE/ARO SPEC INCLUSIVE GAMES!

Also, the references I've provided for this post are all from the Dragon Age series, but I've seen this kinda shit in other games too. I'm mostly using Dragon Age references because I'm autistic and my special interest is Dragon Age, so my DA references are likely to be more accurate than references to other games that I've played.

[teknicianwrites]

PC Intros

Rhiannon Amell

Love Interest: Alistair

Spirit Healer/Arcane Warrior.

She's a good egg. She wants to help people. She's a little confused how she ended up in charge of the war but she's doing her best.

Alistair remained in the Wardens with her and they spend quite a few years just being Wardens together.

Probably the OC I know least well, been years since I played her but I remember loving her so any prompts sent her way will help me relearn her.

Elijah Amell

Love interest: Morrigan

Blood Mage/Arcane Warrior

I'm just going to be honest with you, he is a terrible person. If there is an unnecessary, horrible choice to make but it makes his life even slightly easier, gives him more power, or lets him fuck with someone he hates, he's made it.

Cares about exactly two people who are not him, and they are Morrigan and Kieran.

There are some ways a Morrigan romance could bring out the best in her, and he Did Not Do That. Heard her talk and thought "this is the woman of my dreams." If anything, she brings out whatever is good in him.

(Seriously, he's a bad man. You ever seen a mage annul the Circle? Elijah hated Irving just that much. I still like him anyway, don't hesitate to send prompts, just know what you're getting into.)

Galena Surana

Love Interest: Zevran

Blood Mage/Spirit Healer

This girl is so tired. She is cranky and exhausted and has zero time for shem bullshit, help me save the world or get out of the way

Sees a lot of herself and her time in the Circle in Zevran's time with the Crows.

Spares Loghain for the practicality of it all. Surprises herself when he becomes someone she considers a friend.

Jonah Hawke

Love Interests: Anders and Justice

Spirit Healer/Blood Mage

Mostly Red, but can go Blue with people he cares about or when dealing with innocent victims

His spirit is Perseverance

Mage rights or mage fights. An active member of the Mage Underground. Hates the Chantry. Absolutely knowingly, willingly, and actively helped with the Chantry boom.

You would think the biggest arguments he has with Anders are about the blood magic, but they're actually Jonah getting annoyed that "Blows Up A Chantry" Anders is... too sympathetic to the Chantry.

Marinda Hawke

Love interests: Merrill and Isabela

Spirit Healer/Blood Mage (I have a type and I'm not sorry)

Purple

Her spirit is Joy

She just wants to survive this crazy town, and hopefully bring happiness to people as she does it. How in hell did she end up Champion?

She's another good egg. She doesn't go looking for trouble, but it seems to find her anyway, and somehow she's the most competent person in the room so she deals with it.

Akeelah Adaar

Love Interest: Sera

Knight Enchanter

Listen guys, she's 19. 19. Shokrakar taught her to contour with Vitaar and everyone thinks she's older and more experienced because she is tall, and it is a lie. Please help she's begging.

Her parents: A Problematic Ship. Her mother was a Saarebas and her father was her Arvaarad, they fled the Qun together. (Slightly less horrific than it sounds, they were childhood friends before her magic manifested, feel free to send prompts about them as well because I have a lot of feelings about them)

Hates and fears the Qun because of what they did to her mother, only recruits Bull because Cassandra said it's probably best if Leliana can spy on him back. Terrified of Bull until he goes Tal Vashoth. She helps him through it after.

Illassan Lavellan

Love interest: Cassandra

Knight Enchanter

They are funny when they want to be.

Small, even for an elf, and humans think they are pretty. They are aware of this and play into it. Makes the shems underestimate them.

Wary of shemlen as a whole, cautiously open to trusting them as individuals. Very limited patience for shem bullshit, but has a decent poker face about it.

Dirthamen vallaslin, taken in acknowledgment that it is a Keeper's task to keep the history they know alive.

Well, probably their Keeper would be better equipped to save the world, but they're the First. Slightly above their pay grade but they'll make it work.

Don't have a full worldstate for Rhiannon, but the others are

Elijah-Jonah-Akeelah

Galena-Marinda-Illassan

[flowerflamestars]

Heyyy have you seen the acosf live? I've read a cut down version of it where it lists what Sarah has said and answered and I honestly have no idea what to think? With Eris and all... I'm stuck in a limbo on whether or not I should well, like his character? Not exactly what I would like to say, more of a how do I put this, should I even sympathise with his character? And with how Sarah seems to say that Eris is her favourite character from Autumn, well, nothing I can do but sigh. How dare she pass off Sorcha like that. And just overall, I - I really don't know whether I will like the book? The way Sarah describes it? I really am unsure. In my mind sometimes, I really do feel like your fics will always be more true to the characters, more canon in so many ways, but alas. There is nothing we can do but wait to see.

I also only read the summary! 

I’ve kind of gone from cold dread to interest to looping all the way around to like, tired humor? I’m going to read the book, I might even like the book, but I think I just...don’t love the author?

And not to super get into the stories belong to their readers, but canon is canon discourse, I think that’s okay. I don’t stan, but I love some of the characters SJM has created. 

Because, seriously, I cannot imagine writing the Autumn Court and Eris being your chosen favorite. Is she...not counting Lucien as an Autumn boy? Does the High Lady of Autumn (I love you for using her Daylight name!!) just... never get characterization or freedom? What about the other three living brothers who don’t even get names? 

But like I said in other asks, the more I look back, the more I can see it. Not as necessarily what I like about the story, or what I’d like to see in the story- but as the EXACT thing SJM loves to do. 

She loves to rehab a bad boy! To soften a man the world hates except for this small, chosen audience who “sees” him despite the hatred. 

Eris is...not a choice I saw coming? Because of Morrigan, primarily. But let’s be honest, aside from making her rep, the narrative has no idea what to do with Mor, and even that made...no sense in her story. Very carefully we have no direct account of what Eris ever did. 

I find him COMPLETELY unsympathetic. He’s not even a dick in an interesting way. Calling Morrigan a whore? It’s always the shitty AND dumb men who think that’s the worst possible insult. And wanting his fathers power? It’s classic bullshit.

 We don’t need a Rhysand 2.0. So I totally get what you’re saying...like, is it going to be so out of character it colors the rest of the story? why would we want that?

And let me tell you, the body fluids joke?? No. just no. Maybe it was better live, but I swear my eye twitched. Cannot really even explain it well- Daylight!Nesta is absolutely blowing Cassian, among other things- but like. It’s Nesta. They are SO horny for each other and yet, the primary focus on sexystuff with how sjm talks about the story really bothers me?

This sense of ‘earning her happy ending’???

So I come full circle- acosf is not a fantasy novel, it’s a romance novel in a magical world. I think it’ll be fine to enjoy- I hope?? because I love these characters with my whole heart- but not, probably, much like the rest of series, hold up critically? Who knows, I might be absolutely screaming in a month.

I do know that I’ll still be writing about them. Thank you for your kind words! Nessian fanfic is going no where, even if canon goes weird, maybe? terrible, places. 

[lunchador]

I am trying to be normal levels of excited right now bc I had no idea you were so far in DA:O (i forget tumblr exists oops) so now I'm just!!! 8)))))) so thrilled you liked it I wanna know everything & I'm definitely gonna finish scrolling through what you already posted but!!! i wanna ask about your ending i Do Not See It anywhere and I'm curious wrt loghain & hazel (please tell me she survived 😭😭)

Bro, some shit happened.

While I’m pretty sure no one is like “Wow Raspa really had  spiraled down into DA, I’m now interested in playing”, spoilers I guess??

SO MANY CHOICES AT THE END OF THE GAME

SO

Let me tell you, I had a plan.

The second I learned of Alistair being bastard son of a King and had the potential to be the next one, I knew in my heart, we had to break up for PLOT reasons. I knew he’d be a genuine one, and while my characters backstory was she was eager to be in a position of leadership back when she was daughter of an Arl, she realized she liked being a soldier on the road helping people so she definitely would not want to be Queen, she’s never been elegant and did not want the attention.

So we get to the awkward moment I knew was coming. I convinced Anora to enter a political marriage with my boyfriend. Awkward. I talk Alistair into it, he breaks up with me. Ouch.

LOGHAIN. Man, I said FUCK THAT GUY. He ain’t my homie. I’ve grown very proud to be a grey warden and fuck him for trying to taint them. So, I beheaded him. In retrospect, pretty shitty for your future husband/kings current girlfriend to kill your dad after she just asked you to go into this political tie to keep your royal status idk. Maybe it would have been more just to make Loghain be someone who serves for the greater good after everything he pulled.

Riordan drops the bomb that a grey warden has to kill the Archdemon and that grey warden has to die. GREAT. I decide, He offers himself to do it after I state i will sacrifice myself and I go ok I guess he has a point he’s much older and doesn’t have much longer.

Morrigan puts her offer on the table. She needs Alistair to dump a creampie in her. Awkward cuz I didn’t work on her relationship enough (idk she hated me) so I’m like, ah, you want me to ask my boyfriend who you hate and who hates you to fuck you? I tell myself I can’t do it, not because I’m jealous and the only girl for him, but because I just bullied him into a marriage and now I’m gonna push him to have sex with a woman he despises on my behalf? Literally what the fuck from his perspective. My friends chewed me out for this, said I should have let Alistair “give her that soup can dick”. Alistair’s soupcan dick is now a reoccuring joke.

Riordan dies. Just fuckin dropped by the Archdemon. Did I fuck up or does that happen regardless?

So there goes plan A. And I’m thinking, fuck it, I had a good run. We are going to pull some Fallout 3 ending bullshit. I will die to save everyone

E X C E P T

Alistair, who JUST dumped me  mind you, tells me he’s not going to let me sacrifice myself, not while he has the opportunity to stop it, cuz the stupid bitch loves me.

SO

I watch in fucking horror as my video game boyfriend, the only person Hazel has ever had feelings for, leaps up and sacrifices himself, mostly on my behalf, because this fucker who wanted nothing more in his life was to have a family who loves him, and he said he wasn’t ready to be king, so instead he’s throwing it all away to protect the one person he’s loved.

So, true to me as a person and my usual experience in video games, I royally fucked up.

So yeah, Hazel survives. But, it sucks.

The canon ending I got: Alistair died on my behalf, Hazel continues on with the grey wardens with Zevran and Oghren on her side. The canon ending I wanted: Alistair Marries Anora and every meeting between future King Alistair and little ol’ Hazel are painful as hell full of yearning and full of what ifs til the end of their days. The ending I heavily considered: Alistair becoming king and Hazel being his consensual side piece. But Anora mentioned yet another husband who had other women behind her back and i felt guilty.

The ways I fucked up: Didn’t ‘harden’ Alistair, whatever the fuck that means. I should have recruited Loghain and used him as the sacrifice. Got Riordan killed? Again, not sure if that’s automatic or me. I guess I could have let Alistair do cummies inside Morrigan but GOD would he be fine knowing he has a bastard son whos a fucking hellspawn, literally?????? oh my god.

I am very pleased with the overall lore and writing of this game and how decisions genuinely feel like they’ve got weight. I do wish I took more time with the game (i didn’t get to do several companion quests and i wanna know more lore).

Also I didn’t save I guess?? At the end of the game? Idk, it only showed me my save from before the archdemon battle and wouldn’t let me load my Origins file onto 2. So HAHA BITCH, ALISTAIR LIVES. My friends are ripping on me to go with Alistair being dead because the fun of all 3 games is having your decisions cross over but FUCK THAT.