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trans-ruffboi · 2 years

Note

feel like talking about your characters? I’ve been cruising your blog and seeing a lot of posts about dragon age ocs you mention once and never again, and the curiosity is eating me. anyone anything I just want to know stuff about them.

oh I actually had something in my drafts for this! I love talking about my OCs. I make problematic transmascs and hot dangerous women, as a rule

- Adrian was actually engaged to Nathaniel Howe when they were children! (he's trans) He liked him and all but it got cut off bc Nathaniel preferred Fergus, which is also the reason he was sent to the Marches. I bleed this for some drama in his Awakening scenes but also he just partially makes up similarities between Fergus and Anders to tease Nate for his taste in men

("Well you know Anders, my brother was tall, a bit of a trickster-"

"Commander."

"-liked the whole wine, women, and song thing, though not always women, clearly-"

"Commander"

"-had a scruffy face, light hair-"

"Adrian now you're just lying")

- Renlin was being trained to be Fereldan's Court Mage before the events of the game happened. Fereldan might not have a big Court Enchanter position like Orlais but they do have a king's healer and Kinloch Hold intended to send Renlin once it became abundantly clear that Anders wouldn't work out. Renlin says it was lucky that he got conscripted, because "Cailan’s pet mage died at Ostagar, poor bastard."

- Also Renlin is straight up incapable of fire magic, and it is embarrassing. He excels in ice, electricity, and healing, but can't produce a candle flame to save his life. His Rod of Fire request form was met with sad little cringes from his teachers.

-She's not one of my Wardens but I think that Solona Amell was the girl who died in the one Harrowing that Alistair was forced to attend, and she was Renlin's friend, despite being a bit older. Once he finds out Renlin hates Alistair for it, for a while. And it isn't until he's had his revelation that neither of them really had a choice in anything the Chantry put them through that he starts to forgive and be able to grieve properly.

- Aberion adored and admired Merrill when they were kids, but was also a little jealous of her for having so much of his father's time. (Mahariel's father was Keeper before Marethari) When they go together to look for Tamlen in the ruins it is a bit tense, but he lowkey trusts Merrill more than Marethari, and keeps a fucking death grip on her hand the whole time whenever they aren't fighting enemies.

-Aberion also had the childhood nickname "little bear" which eventually graduated to just Bear, because "Oh, well, it's a bit silly, since we're grown now, but Aberion used to be so little, when we were children. Tamlen would just pick him up and he would growl and sputter like a little bear cub." He is decidedly not a bear of a man, which makes it at least partly ironic.

-Jenna Hawke gets attached to Anders pretty early on because he reminds her of Malcom. They bond over the Malcom's Honor staff, as well as her reminding him of Adrian with her fussing. ("Oh I remind you of the Queen of Fereldan? Maybe people should show me more respect" "The Commander was raised a noble, but I think if you called him the Queen to his face he'd stab you")

- Finn Trevelyan, whose full name is Finnegan Amari Trevelyan, is the youngest of six siblings and apart from one they all fucking suck! His eldest twin sisters are scumbags and his two brothers are templars; the only one of his siblings worth knowing is Rosalyn, who was also a mage, but weak and subtle enough that noone noticed and she wasn't sent away, which Finn didn't learn until much later. He came into his magic reaching for her and throwing a barrier around her when she fell from her horse. She was also the one that gave him the childhood nickname 'Tiger' because he used to be really energetic and feisty before they sent him to the Circle, where he became more reclusive and quiet. He met her again once right before the events of Inquisition and she was so sad that he was hardly the same kid anymore.

-Finn also has a couple ticks from the Circle, which are mostly shared by Renlin, though the context is different because he remembers life before the Circle, arriving at the age of 9 or 10, while Renlin doesn't, arriving at the age of 5. Such as: an appreciation for weather and being able to be in it, a lack of real knowledge on what a lot of animals look like outside of illuminations, and a poor understanding of money and value. (Finn might have been a Trevelyan but inflation really got to Thedas)

-Alraan's parents were a Tamassran-turned-Saarebas and and a Sten, who left the Qun separately for different reasons and found each other afterwards. When he meets the Iron Bull his first instinct is to recruit the Chargers just to make sure he keeps track of the Ben-Hassrath, but he gradually falls in love with him once he realizes how far Bull has strayed from the demands of Par Vollen and how they could grow together.

- Elgara'len, or El for short, is very much in agreement with Merrill that 'A Keeper's job is to remember, even what we don't like or is dangerous.' She thinks that to truly regain what makes them the People they need to get into the gritty and ugly parts of their history and learn what's at stake and what they should grow into. Look back but also move forward. The song Suledin is very near and dear to her.

Let me know if you wanted to know anything about anyone else specific! I love to talk about them even if renlin is clearly my favorite son.

#adrian cousland #renlin surana #aberion mahariel #jenna hawke #finn trevelyan #alraan adaar #el lavellan #asks

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dragonagecompanions · 4 years

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I just found your blog and I am loving it! If you are still doing the ASOIAF! verse, can you do the DAI companions reacting to Ned's death and realizing for the first time that no character is safe?

Cassandra: Of all the events of the first book, the rise and fall of lords and the history that roiled around the main characters, this shakes the Seeker the most. It is a decided victory for the Lannisters - who are certainly evil- and such a blow for the Starks and the North that she is not sure how they could recover. In the books she loves good triumphs and evil falls! She is not happy about this, but more importantly she is suddenly terrified for every character she loves— for their author is without mercy.

Solas: He did not see that coming, and he sees everything coming. The mage had actually assumed the plot of the book would be somewhat predictable, with the loyal and stalwart Edward Stark striking down the treasonous Cersei and saving the day. Another insipid moral victory that is certainly in some way allegorical for the Chantry. But then the king dies, and Ned dies, and suddenly Solas is very much intrigued. This world stretches out suddenly anew, full of possibilities and stories and an ending he cannot possibly define— and he wants more.

Varric: Damn it, he’s a famous author, renowned for his books of daring and adventure, and he never saw this coming. And if the Inquisitor is willing to keep hacking main characters apart without warning then what else are they planning? And have you seen the book sales? His editor is going to have a conniption fit.

Shit.

Blackwall: He hates it. Ned Stark is a hero, and should win the day. And if he is sick after reading it, too full of memories of his own men who had died equally betrayed....that is no ones business but his own.

Vivienne: Like Solas she is surprised and delighted by the sudden and unusual twist in the plot. Good men are often naive, and there is no faster cause of death or destruction in Orlais than naïveté. And while she does not mourn the dour unimaginative mindset of the former Stark patriarch neither is she a fan of the Lannister queen— and is now more than ever intrigued to see what their dear inquisitor has planned for the rest of his cast.

Dorian: He’s almost homesick, it’s such a familiar song in Tevinter. Change the charges of treason and incest to blood magic and he couldn’t tell you how many ‘righteous’ defenders of the Magisterium had had their own accusations turned back against them— and suffered for them. But aside from the familiar, it has opened a whole range of possibilities for the Seven kingdoms— and he can’t wait for more.

The Iron Bull: Ned Stark was never cut out for politics, and the qunari had seen this coming from the moment he and his wife had heard the news of the former Hand of the King. Robert Baratheon is a weak ruler, and Ned Stark is too good a man to be able to do what is needed to save him. This was inevitable.

But if the Qun doesn’t stop asking him for updates on this book series of all things he’s going to write the next chapter himself just to get them off his horns.

Sera: She hates it! Friggin’ Cersei and her weird brother and their awful little brats and and....this was supposed to be different. This is why she doesn’t like the big people stories— nobles are always killing each other and the little people suffer.

Cole: People are so upset and also happy and scared and curious and it’s not real but it is to them. He doesn’t know what to do with it, so the spirit simply avoids the books as much as possible.

-Mod Fereldone

#mod fereldone #cassandra pentaghast #solas #warden blackwall #madame de fer #sera #the iron bull #dorian pavus #cole #companions react #dragon age inquisition

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dgcatanisiri · 5 years

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As bad as I feel about how much I hate Dorian, I honestly feel worse that I can’t stand bringing Sera into my Inquisitions anymore. Mostly because with Dorian, his writing paints a character who I wish I could punch, but I take enough major approval gains at the plot developments to make that impossible, but with Sera, I see a character who I want to help but her writing won’t let me.

Like in over a dozen runs of Inquisition, I have only gotten her rooftop cookies scene ONCE, which was in my ‘for variation’s sake’ siding with the templars run. I just cannot make headway with her approval metric.

But the bigger thing is that... Her writing pretty much actively hates her. It is filled with the Inquisitor talking down to her, and treating her in the most juvenile ways, rather than respecting her. And, in return, we don’t actually get to HELP Sera come to terms with her self-hatred, with the crisis of faith she has, with anything that she struggles with. It’s not that Sera’s a stagnant character in Inquisition’s narrative, it’s that she’s a stagnant character and her writing calls that a feature, not a bug.

And it gets worse when I remember that... Gaider defended this, back when he was with BioWare. Her writer made a fratboy’s image of a lesbian, created a romance dynamic that is borderline (if not over the line) abusive, and when actual lesbians were calling it out, said he thought that she was fine, and that he liked that she would be “divisive.” In addition to this, there’s the fact that she’s the only character who can be kicked out of the Inquisition at any time, plus the fact that within the Inquisition itself, most of the companions don’t seem to care for her (side note, this is a frequent problem I have with characters written by this writer, that he continually makes characters who no one gets along with for no apparent reason). Oh, and then there’s the classism implied with a lot of what done with her, where she “doesn’t make sense” because she uses a boatload of slang that’s common on the street level of Thedas.

Just... I’m not gonna argue that characters shouldn’t be divisive. That characters shouldn’t be opinionated and such. But... Okay, the post I wanted to link to is from a long-deactivated blog, so the short version is that people who have legitimately worked with abuse survivors could use a checklist against her - there’s the way she blames the Inquisitor for HER OWN dreams, there’s the shitty way that she treats Lavellan for being Dalish, hating them in the name of doing it to them before they do it to her, and then, of course, there’s the ultimatum: “Dismiss your entire heritage and culture to make me feel better or we’re breaking up because you think I’m stupid.”

All of this could be interesting depictions of a character, places to go with her development... But they’re presented wholly in isolation, existing no where but the brief conversations with her. The extent of her “growth” in the game is restricted to the time jump between the base game and Trespasser, where it happens not as character development but as “well, we made her a little TOO divisive, let’s smooth those edges out here!” Except if you can’t do more than break even on her approval metric (like in my case), you don’t even get to SEE that.

And while racism inherently doesn’t make sense, it still makes no sense, in terms of connecting the dots, that her reason for hating the elves is that she was adopted by a noblewoman who told her a baker didn’t serve elves, making her hate herself, and turns it around to hating all elves because that makes them different from humans, only to learn that the noblewoman lied, so... she still hates elves and while she’ll kick some the big knobs around, her approval at Halamshiral is geared to approve of Celene, the biggest big knob in Orlais, over Briala, who is championing the rights of the lowest of the low, purely because Briala is an elf.

I mean, where’s her breaking point with Trevelyan, with the human noble? No talk about how this noble lady is “slumming it” with her, in a year, she’ll laugh about it with her friends at fancy dinner parties and such, right? Or how the Friends of Red Jenny have been called upon in the lands owned by her family, and gee, how exactly DO you view the “little people” you deal with? Like, this stuff is entirely reasonable things to argue about and break up a relationship over. But it never happens. Her anger is reserved for the elf Inquisitor.

You can’t even blame that on the “race variation was added at the extension,” since human Inquisitor would have been the baseline for all this. And it’s just not there.

All this, and I haven’t touched on the “...ew” factor of having a lesbian character basically say about mages what IRL people say about gay people, that she’s “fine” with their “freedom,” so long as they take their “freedom” and be “over there.”

Sera could have been a fascinating character - a city elf, whose perspective has sorely been lacking, an elf determined to look at the world as it is, not as it was, a champion for the poor and downtrodden in a world that steps on them without looking. And instead, she’s basically reduced by her writing to... honestly, the equivalent of an extended fart joke.

Dorian I hate for the characterization he has, a characterization I find unpleasant to be around, and a story that hammers homophobia into a world that I had been able to view as being free of it, particularly doing so in a fashion that both could be transplanted to or from just about any other source and require barely a rewrite of the scene to make sense, AND in a way that reduces this to the only thing that Inquisition really cares for you to remember about him as a character. Sera’s problem is that she doesn’t even GET characterization. She’s just a caricature within the game’s presentation.

#dg rambles #dg gets pissed #sera critical #dorian critical #bioware critical #dg plays dragon age #dg rants

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sworntoprotect · 4 years

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent (the mere existence of a post-canon verse is diverging from canon) / fandomless / complicated

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. He started off as a tertiary character in the mage origin/Broken Circle quest in DAO, then ended up becoming something of a staple tertiary/secondary character in DA2 and DAI.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. I’m not entirely sure how people feel about DAO Cullen’s appearance but DA2 and onwards he got himself a glow-up and an unwitting thirst trap reputation. What made ramen boy appealing in DAO for some is that if you played a female mage Warden, he’s “the one who got away”... because he literally booked it down the corridor if you got too flirty.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. Perhaps? If you take a stroll through his tag, despite being a Templar, he’s not often portrayed as someone who’s fighting (*winkwonk*).

Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK. Some in the fandom might even call him overrated, depending on who you ask.

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO. In DAO he begs for you to kill all the remaining mages in the Circle Tower, and you can accept or decline to do so. In DA2 he solicits a few quests and eventually sides with you to defeat Meredith. In DAI he’s the Commander of the Inquisition and a vital part of the war council. Overall, he’s there to provide a pro-Templar outlook for the character.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. He’s met every game protagonist thus far and had some level of personal/professional relationship with them.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. In DAO he was a newly minted Templar. DA2 he was elevated to Knight-Captain very quickly which got his name floating around Kirkwall, and of course by DAI he’s the head of the Inquisition’s forces so he’s even more well-known throughout (at the least) Ferelden and Orlais.

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. Both. The common people and fellow Templars would look up to him, whereas mages and pro-mage sympathisers would absolutely have an issue with the role he’s played over the years.

How strictly do you follow canon? — As closely as I can, without lingering too deeply into the “problematic views” part of his character. I don’t seek to erase them or ignore them, and I don’t have too much issue writing them for the sake of being genuine, but I also don’t want to write him as if he’s some mustache-twirling villain because he is not.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — Since he was 18 years old, Cullen has suffered and struggled through adversity after adversity (torture, sexual assault, brainwashing, night terrors, drug abuse, and a healthy spoonful of “all my friends are dead”), and yet maintained a soft heart underneath the steel wall of being a warrior. His goal since childhood has been to serve and to protect, and his self-awareness, loyalty, intelligence, and drive to make himself a better and more caring man is what sets him apart from others of his ilk who in his shoes would’ve broken a long, long time ago.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — He’s a man who’s allowed atrocities to occur by not standing up to speak against them, has perpetuated the cycle of mage abuse by the hands of others, can be callous, closed-minded, and aggressive, and has a strong prejudice against mages that wasn’t properly resolved in his “redemption” arc – nor was his lyrium addiction/withdrawal.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — He’s the type of muse I gravitate towards: bookish, devoted, protective, a softy under all the stone, endearingly awkward. More than that, though, his story intrigues me. Cullen has gone through a lot (he’s either the luckiest or unluckiest person) and watching his trajectory throughout the series has been really interesting. I’d like to provide him proper growth and development that he wasn’t entirely given in the games, or that wasn’t explicitly shown.

What keeps your inspiration going? — My amazing roleplay partners with all the good work they put into their characters and the love they have shown me and my character so far. I love you guys <3 (<-- keeping that answer bc agreed)

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? i have my doubts sometimes, but i think i do ok. Still, I would love to have more feedback to see how i can improve even more. (<-- keeping bc agreed)

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO / SORT OF I write quite a few of them that never see the light of day, and I constantly and randomly sling little thoughts at my rp partners as they come to me. As for this blog itself, I’d prefer to have my headcanons evident in my writing, so I don’t post things about Cullen’s favourite colour or what he likes to eat for supper every night (and that’s absolutely no shade to people who do post headcanons that way; I honestly wish I operated the same way lol)

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO. There’s a few on the blog already, hidden in plain sight.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO. Even when I don’t want to think about him, I end up thinking about him. But I like thinking about him, so...

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? I’m still fairly new to the fandom and I’ve been learning a lot about Cullen, what people think about Cullen, what Cullen thinks about himself and others, etc. etc. Plus there are other, more well-established blogs for him out there. I’m honestly surprised I got more than 20 followers tbh.

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO / SOMETIMES. I'm my own worst enemy with this one. Like, I know I’m alright but I’m not good enough for myself.

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO / SORTA. Some things do bother me a lot more than others, but any annoyance I feel is pretty quickly done after I vent about it. Then I typically forget after a while.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — I’m always open to constructive criticism that both highlights what I’m doing well and considerately points out what I could improve upon.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — Of course! I enjoy delving into his character and wondering the “what ifs” of various situations that may or may not occur. And if we can write it together in a thread? Even better!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — No one owes me an explanation as to why they have an opinion, but yes I would like to know why. Maybe I misinterpreted something, or overlooked something. Maybe I made a mistake. I’m human. It happens.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — same as the above.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — It only bothers me if it’s directed at me. I fully acknowledge that Cullen is controversial and has a very contentious past (or present) that rubs a good amount of people the wrong way. You don’t have to like him, but I do take some issue with people purposely twisting facts to make him out to be worse than what he actually is. I’ve considered writing a post about it truthfully but I don’t want that unbridled hatred to come to my doorstep if/when someone who’s not a fan of him reads it. It’s not worth it. Might do it anyway though. I don’t know.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — Please do. Politely. English is my native language but I’m still out here making mistakes. smh @ myself

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — I’d like to think so, yes. I have a very high tolerance level for a lot of things, don’t get easily triggered, and I’m always willing to chat about character stuff or irl stuff or... anything, basically.

tagged by: @orsino-the-enchanter tagging: did you read this? then it’s you

#a quiet inquiry (memes)#// long post #// still hiatus but this looked fun

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theharellan · 5 years

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UNNECESSARILY DETAILED DISLIKES

MUSE NAME. Solas. LEAST FAVORITE NICKNAME. Don’t make me say it None, he dislikes being called names that are no longer his own, though will tolerate “Fen’Harel” from his allies who find the name inspiring. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR. If he had to choose, it would be an orange-brown colour similar to that of Dragon Webbing, but he thinks any colour if put in the right context can be appealing. He knows he looks terrible in the bright yellow plaidweave, but Sera doesn’t. LEAST FAVORITE SEASON. Summer in the north, winter in the south. As a young elf he especially hated winter for how quiet the river and world became, but as his world expanded his appreciation did, too. LEAST FAVORITE – HOT OR COLD. Hot. It’s easier for him to warm himself with magic than to keep himself cool. LEAST FAVORITE HOLIDAY. Of the Thedosian holidays celebrated during his time with the Inquisition, Summerday would be his least favourite, especially if they are in Orlais at the time as it is an especially holy day there. It’s a holiday he probably doesn’t engage with at all. LEAST FAVORITE FOOD. Fereldan stew. Given he doesn’t need to eat he doesn’t see much point in food that doesn’t taste of anything. LEAST FAVORITE FLAVOR. Bitter, think specifically the flavour of unsweeted tea, rather than a citrus bitter or dairy sour. In modern Thedas his least favourite would be coffee bitter. LEAST FAVORITE DRINK. ... I mean. If I had to pick a specific type of tea it would likely be oversteeped Jasmine or an unsweeted black tea. LEAST FAVORITE SCENT. Stagnant water or overwhelming perfumes. LEAST FAVORITE SOUND. Spell Purge, even when it’s an ally such as Cassandra or an Inquisitor, it sounds like thunder that scatters the Fade and has a physical effect on the air, to boot. LEAST FAVORITE TV SHOW. I guess Friends? Of current shows he probably wouldn’t have been fond of Game of Thrones or potentially Stranger Things. I forgot about Ancient Aliens that’s his actual least favourite show he has a special angry place in his heart for it. LEAST FAVORITE AREA OF SCHOOL. Of the core subjects Solas has an appreciation for most, even if his strongest areas would be history and language, his poorest subject were you to force him through the system would likely be music, but since that’s an elective he’s good. Of course, if you put Solas through a Thedosian high school history class he’d probably start a fight. LEAST FAVORITE ASPECT OF THEIR JOB. Sealing Rifts. It’s hard seeing the demons pour out, torn through against their will, knowing it’s his doing. LEAST FAVORITE TRAIT IN OTHERS. It’s a tie between pointed ignorance and pointless cruelty, but from his perspective they go hand-in-hand, anyway. LEAST FAVORITE PLACE. Of the places they go in Inquisition, Mythal’s Temple. There is no situation where he walks out of that happy, not to mention the baggage that comes with returning. The closest he has to a silver lining is if Abelas is allied with, but even in that case it hurts him to see how many guardians fell (some by the Inquisition’s hands). LEAST FAVORITE THING TO TALK ABOUT. Himself, especially if it concerns his history. LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THEMSELVES. His talent for failure. LEAST FAVORITE DAILY CHORE. Waking up and getting dressed. LEAST FAVORITE TYPE OF CLOTHING. Shoes. Particularly closed-toe shoes. LEAST FAVORITE SUPERPOWER. Templar abilities, if they count. If he were to choose what mage ability he dislikes the most, it would be any magic that controls the mind. LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING IN LOVE. The vulnerability. LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT DEATH. That he will face it alone.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘. i stole it from @lonerebor 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆. @theshirallen, @mercysought (priestess), @hopewrought, @fractalmind (merlin? or anders if you’d prefer!), @deathsreflection, @lupuspopuli, @lathal, @ofrevas, @ghilannainguideme, @gracebroken (or if you’d prefer another blog just pretend i tagged that one), @longmayshereignxcersei, @ anyone! im literally just going through my dash and tagging people so feel free to take this

#( headcanons )#he calls himself Pride ( about )#( dash meme )#v; what are we going to do with all this future? ( modern )

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wyvernscales · 5 years

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25 Dragon Age Questions

YI was tagged by @lelibela and I’m tagging @veridium-bye @swoleas @zeesqueere @faderifter @sunwarden @minaethiels @norroendyrd @amatusheart nd @arlessaofamaranthine (Don’t feel pressured! I understand if you don’t want to <3)

01) Favourite game of the series?

I always prefer the first game/song/book/whatever that I am exposed to, so I have to go with DAI.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

I was in a GameStop and asked an employee for some suggestions. After I said I liked Assassin’s Creed, he recommended DAI

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

Too Many. I’ve played through DA2 once, DAO twice, and DAI five times though. I’ve started wayyy more than that though.

04) Favourite race to play as?

I gotta say that I like my Qunari babes.

05) Favourite class?

I’m quite fond of rogues, bows and daggers alike. DAO archery was horrific, so I really liked dual wielding warrior. If I’m playing as a Qunari, I have to be a mage. I don’t know why that is, but I just can’t play them as a warrior or rogue.

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

I make different choices each game because I want to experience all that the game has to offer. Siding with the werewolves in DAO made me feel like a shit, so that’s the only one I refuse to make.

07) Go-to adventuring group?

DAO: Zevran, Morrigan, Alistair/Shale

DA2: Isabela, Aveline, Anders/Merrill

DAI: Vivienne, Blackwall, Sera. Such bicker, much fun.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

Brielle. I plan on doing more work on my canon pcs though

09) Favourite romance?

Zevran, Sera, Josie, Blackwall

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

No, but I want to. I know a little about their plots and would like to learn more

11) If you read them, which was your favourite book?

I am most interested in reading Knight Errant, The Masked Empire, and The Silent Grove

12) Favourite DLCs?

Awakening, Jaws of Hakkon, and Trespasser

13) Things that annoy you.

Mostly the fandom. Solavellans, Fenris Stans, and Cullenmancers can get a bit much. Not to say that Anders and Mage supporters can’t get wild too; people really go Off(C) on Cullen and those that like him. I like a hefty dose of discourse and analysis, but there’s zero (0) need to threaten others for disagreeing. There’s a lot of the plot that irritates me, like Hawke not being able to support Anders in DAI, Sebastian threatening to invade Kirkwall if you support Anders, the whole “fuck or die” thing that happens for the Dark Ritual (and the coercion is uncomfy), Anders approving of giving Fenris to slavers, blaming the Elves for the Exalted March, whitewashing like every poc character (I fear what Bioware will do to poor Dorian), Solas, the fact that you can boot Sera out at any time, etc. etc.

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Even though I hate a lot of the Nation, I have to go with Orlais. Something about the masks and aesthetics of the place just work for me.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

I have three worldstates. All the characters in one worldstate exist in one universe, but each worldstate is separate. I do have a few companion ocs that are present in all of the worldstates however.

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

Talani just named the mabari “Dog” because of course she did, and Cian named the mabari Max.

18) Have you installed any mods?

I played on xbox for the most part, but I’ve abused my laptop into running the games with mods. I think I broke it because of that.

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

(I don’t know how many are familiar with the Brosca origin) Talani never pictured herself becoming a Warden, but comparing her previous life to the potential one made the decision for her. She’s always one for logic and practicality.

20) Hawke’s personality?

Cian is diplomatic

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

Sometimes. I always make sure to dye the armor and pick aesthetically pleasing upgrades

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

Talani Brosca: Been able to protect Rica better. She’s done many things she regrets while on the surface, but that’s the biggest one.

Cian Hawke: He regrets every mistake he’s ever made. He’s a master of catastrophizing, so he makes everything way bigger than it actually is. Picking one thing would be impossible for him, but Bethany’s death hit him the hardest.

Brielle Lavellan: Prevent the accident that took her leg. While she has come to terms with it by Trespasser, she knows that her life could have been a lot easier without the disability.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

I rarely diverge from canon, but there are a few things that I’ve adjusted. The HoF is alive, but the Hero of Amaranthine is Elias Lavellan, Elara Lavellan is the Dalish Advisor for the Inqisition, and a few minor things.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

Cian Hawke. There’s some bad blood between Brielle and Hawke from before the Inquisition, and she feels that he should pay. If you’re curious about it, you can find more info on Brielle’s character page. Just go my blog, click on Inquisitors, and click on “page” by Brielle’s nam

25) Favourite mount?

I’m quite fond of the Oath Bound Steed and Dracolisks

#junk speaks #tag game

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bornpariah-a · 6 years

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SO JUST REALLY QUICKLY —— this is essentially 4.5k words of rambling and ridiculousness and i honestly don’t know why it’s this long, but it is, and i guess we’re just going to have to live with that. this, like anything else on my blog, is canon to my blog, and as such i ask that you don’t pull anything from here without my permission. admittedly, this reads as a the final conversation rewrite, and in many ways i suppose it is, but it’s worth it to note that THIS IS HOW I’VE IMAGINED DORIAN’S HOMECOMING FOR A WHILE. before tfc came out, and before i read it ( which was literally a week ago ) and you can chose to not believe that if you wish. though i did take some funeral stuff from that cause i’m clueless sometimes. nonetheless !! here’s this utter mess, enjoy an official introduction to dorian’s mother. and his other mother.

Magic disperses over his forehead and he breathes —— Dorian has always hated sea travel, but there were precious few options to get from Orlais back to the Imperium, regrettably. The headache has fled but his stomach still turns in spite of the boat being docked and his way off being cleared : he attributes it heavily to the fact that this is his HOMECOMING. A sense of finality lurks around the edges of his awareness. He knows ( Maker, does he know ) that he may not spend the rest of his life in Tevinter, but it feels as if there is something constricting around his chest as he steps off of the ship.

It does not lessen upon seeing a familiar face.

❝ Master, ❞ Shora is waiting for him at the road with the family carriage, a dauntingly black form with golden accents down to the family emblem and it is elegant inasmuch as it screams WEALTH / POWER / SECURITY : WE ARE THE PAVUS FAMILY. She bows : she carries age well, and despite being some sixteen years older than him ( he guesses ) she moves with grace. ❝ Welcome home. ❞

❝ Thank you, Shora, ❞ a stiff tone : being called master does not sit well with him. The word winds around his throat and he thinks of Ahvir as he steps into the carriage and she follows, close behind.

They begin moving, pulled by magic, and he looks at her and she looks nothing like Ahvir but he cannot stop thinking about her. His best friend.

❝ ——— Shora. ❞

❝ Yes, Master Pavus? ❞

❝ I’d much rather you call me Dorian. Lord Pavus, perhaps. ❞

❝ But —— I have never called you that, ❞ it’s true. When he had been young and she had been practically raising him, it had been young master.

❝ Yes, well, now’s as good a time to start as any, ❞ he should have done this ages ago and it occurs to him again, sharp and bright as a lightning strike, that he is the master of the house, now. All of the power lies with him, more than it lies with his mother. ❝ You are not my family’s slave any longer, Shora. You aren’t anyone’s slave. ❞

❝ Master?” her eyes, already so wide, have widened further and there the sort of terror residing in them that he had only seen once before : when she had helped him escape from his parents’ plans to use blood magic on him. ❝ Master, please, I —— I can do better, you needn’t remove me from your household, I’m begging —— ❞

His stomach is roiling.

❝ I’m offering you employment, not kicking you out onto the street, ❞ he tries for a soothing voice and thinks that he misses it by several ticks, but the intention is there nonetheless. ❝ That is to say —— I don’t wish for you to be my slave, and certainly not anyone else’s. I’m freeing you from slavery. You are welcome to stay within the Pavus family and be paid for your services, if you’d like. ❞

She stares at him and he thinks that her eyes have gotten remarkably more watery and he forces himself to keep looking at her, rather than looking away in discomfort. This is the woman who had far more of a hand in raising him on a day-to-day basis than his mother, and she deserves to be free. All slaves deserve to be free. This is a barest of starts, but still, it is a start.

❝ Master —— I wish to stay with the household and serve you, ❞ her voice is wavering and she blinks hard, her cheeks and pointed ears coloring. ❝ This —— this is my home, despite everything, ❞ she takes a deep, shuddering breath and smooths her hands over her skirts, staring down at them for several long moments before looking at him once more. She, of all of his family’s slaves, had been one of the few to look at him properly. A side effect of raising him, he thinks. ❝ I’m not... not sure about being paid, but. If you insist, then I will accept it. ❞

The carriage takes them to the Pavus mausoleum. He adjusts the pure black robes that he wears, smoothing an invisible crease and wiping off non-existent dirt as Shora leaves the carriage and holds the door open for him. He breathes and feels spirits of death press near to him.

❝ Ma —— my lord, ❞ Shora bows as he steps out of the carriage and he stares at the pristine white of the mausoleum. He had been here twice before : once for his grandfather’s funeral, and then again to pick out where he would be laid to rest. Macabre, for a ten year old, some may claim.

The Pavus family mausoleum, much like other familial mausoleums, is entirely made of marble, and in this case : white marble. It lays approximately a league to the west of the city of Ventus, the Tevinter city where the family estate resides, and it is imposing and beautiful and cold. He had been fascinated with it when he was young and he remains fascinated with it to this day and he wonders, abstractly, if his father wiped his name from the empty room where he had chosen to be laid to rest : near where Halward Pavus would be laid to rest.

Just beyond the entrance is the viewing room, so to speak. It is a vast, spacious room with no apparent exit beyond the one he stepped through moments ago. Columns line the room, spaced several lengths apart, and there are statues between each column : silent sentinels. And at the middle of the large room, there is a dais, and upon that dais is a large bed of marble.

And upon it is his father’s corpse.

There are near two dozen people in attendance and they had not quite fallen silent upon his arrival, but there had been a hush which settled over them all. They stare and whisper behind their hands and he stands at the maw of the beast and pays no attention to the onlookers. His father’s body holds his attention.

As do his mother’s eyes.

Her eyes are his, and he has never been so aware of this fact. Aquinea of house Pavus stares at him, a breathing statue that has been pulled from the wall, standing guard over her husband’s body. And staring into her son’s eyes, from behind the black veil.

She is angry.

Dorian knows his mother’s anger because it is the same as his, because he adopted her anger and took it into his own and it became his own and they are the same and they are different and she burns with her anger, here. He looks at her and knows. He looks at her and understands.

The person who murdered his father is in this room, and it could be any one of them.

Not to mention : her son has arrived.

❝ Mother, ❞ he says and he bows : it is RESPECT and it is a SHOW because they are surrounded by the enemy and he approaches the dais as he comes out of the bow and is acutely aware of the gazes upon him as he approaches. ❝ I see that I am fashionably late, as always. ❞ His voice echoes in these cold walls.

He : the prodigal son / the disappointment / the disowned / the man who ruined generations of careful planning / careful breeding / RETURNED HOME ONCE MORE.

She does not speak because she cannot, not that she does not wish to. It is tradition, that the widowed stands watch over the deceased, and she does it well. She plays the part perfectly, as she always did. Well, almost always.

The steps leading to the dais seem infinite though there are only a few and he stands upon the platform and looks over the body of the man he had once idolized and adored above all others and he sweeps his long black cloak to the side and kneels beside it : as he is meant to. His father has been dead for weeks, has been dead since soon after his departure to Orlais : this is an objective fact that he had known, before.

But now? Now he can feel it.

It is strange to see his father like this. Lifeless and cold and dead. Preserved only by magic, and looking as if he is merely asleep. As if he will awaken soon and look at Dorian and call him a disappointment once more. You are not my son. Yet he knows, as he reaches out for his father’s wrist and curves his fingers around it and feels that stiffness, that chill, that deadness : that his father will never awaken.

They will never speak to each other again.

They will never yell at each other again.

Halward of house Pavus will never smile at his son again.

Dorian breathes : and adds another layer of protection to his father’s dead body. As he is meant to do. As he must do.

There are whispers all around him / his mother’s piercing eyes / he looks only at his father / who is dead.

It feels as if the sky should be bleeding.

Guests leave and they, which is to say : he and his mother, open the entrance to the belly of the mausoleum. It is enchanted to respond only to an heir of PAVUS BLOOD —— blood magic, in essence, but he cuts his palm nonetheless and watches as if from a great distance as the floor near the back center of the room shifts. All families have designed mausoleums differently, and it is always a secret as to how to get to the heart of it all. Something about people trying to steal bodies and treasures, a long while ago.

That it is blood magic sends a pang of sharp discomfort through him but —— but it is the only way. And it is tradition. And it is what his ancestors chose, for some Maker forsaken reason.

Together they levitate his father’s body down and into the room that he had chosen long ago with his father. It is not an empty room, because they are never empty rooms. Rather, it is full of treasures and gold and beautiful things that had meant something to his father, once upon a time, surrounding the platform he will lay on for the rest of the time.

Together they seal it with their blood, mixed. Mother and son, for the father. One day, Aquinea’s body will join Halward’s —— that is by tradition, not choice.

Dorian’s chosen room is just to the left of this one. That is by choice, not tradition.

When the door shuts and their blood is shed he returns to his body with such abruptness that he feels the sudden need to vomit. He’s not certain if it is the blood magic or the fact that he has buried his father which is causing such a visceral reaction —— or perhaps it is his mother’s presence, instead.

❝ Mother —— ❞ his voice is choked and sounds WRONG and echoes bizarrely in the belly of the beast and she turns abruptly and makes her way back up and he follows her.

He follows her up the long, long stairs and across the large, large room as the entrance seals behind them once more and out of the mausoleum into the darkness of the nighttime and into the carriage and Mitha, his mother’s personal slave, appeared at some point, ever her mistress’s shadow. Shora joins them and sits beside Mitha.

❝ Mother, ❞ he tries again, but is cut off by the look that she gives him. ❝ In case it has escaped your notice : I’m not a child any longer, ❞ irritation begins to wear away at the devastation.

❝ Anyone could be listening, you stupid boy, ❞ her voice has always been commanding and absolute and without room to argue and he can feel his hackles raising but knows that she is right. Anyone could be listening.

Including the people who murdered his father.

The last time he had been at the Pavus family estate in Ventus, he had been a prisoner in his childhood home, collared and bound and trapped and only able to escape because of Shora. Returning here causes his heart to seize and he breathes around the abrupt panic that grips him and he stares at the vast building with its vast doors and vast windows.

Windows which had not helped his panic, back then.

He walks up the pathway to the doors half a step behind his mother and the doors open for them with the unique feeling of his mother’s magic, always sharp and crackling and a thinly veiled threat.

They make their way up the grand staircase where he had fallen once when he was six and had been caught due to his mother’s magic and down a familiar hallway where he had first set something alight to the delight of his parents to a familiar door where he had often lurked, listening to his father speak business with others. The interior of his father’s office has always been grand and luxurious and the room is, quite frankly, far too large for what it is, but they enter it nonetheless —— and he stops short.

Blood is splattered across the desk and floor and carpet and it has been preserved that way, he knows. There are signs of a struggle in the way that the blood is scattered / in the way that books have been shoved off the book shelf / in the way that papers are thrown across the ground. How strange, to see his father’s normally pristine office, a wreckage. A murder scene.

His father died fighting, evidently.

❝ Assassins stole into his office near the midnight hour. They brandished blades reinforced with magic, but they were not mages themselves. He fought them, but ultimately was overwhelmed because there were two of them, and he was out of practice, ❞ it’s amazing, how she speaks of her husband’s death with so little emotion and so little care. CLINICAL. Horrifying. The chasm in his chest grows.

She has walked several paces into the room and removes her veil with a flourish as she turns to face him, throwing the flimsy fabric onto the ground. Dorian half expects her to step on it. ❝ Well, Dorian? Speak, as you were so eager to. ❞

❝ Did you even try to save him? ❞ a voice that has tied itself into knots and he feels his eyes burning. He hasn’t cried in front of his mother in years. Decades. Eons.

He is angry.

The accusation rings in the room and hangs there : lingering. She stares at him and without the veil there is nothing protecting him from the sharpness of her gaze and he finds himself wondering if she has ever looked at him with love or care.

( she has : long ago. when he was born she held him in her arms and loved him in spite of the lack of a maternal bone in her body and she had been PROUD OF HIM, as proud of him as his father, when he had passed those tests and shown his dominance over his peers and she loved him. she did. she just utterly despised parts of him. )

❝ I loathed your father, a great deal of the time. ❞

❝ Truly? I never would have guessed !! Should I have known from the way you stayed on the other side of the estate? Or, perhaps, from how furious his mere presence made you? All this time, and I should’ve known that you throwing an empty glass at him was a sign, ❞ anger / anxiety / fear / despair warps themselves into venomous sarcasm in his chest / throat / mouth and he could choke on it.

❝ Dorian, ❞ Aquinea of house Thalrassian snaps and Dorian, for all his bluster, is still her son, and he had long ago learned to fear that tone of voice. Words die in his throat but his skin still crawls and he stares at her : daring her to say that she was part of the reason why his father was dead.

Silence reigns once more, for too long.

❝ Your father and I loathed each other, a great deal of the time, ❞ she starts again, her voice more measured and he notes how she places the blame on the pair of them and he can’t quite withhold the bitter laugh that slips, in spite of the cutting look that she gives him. ❝ I would not have chosen him, as he would not have chosen me. ❞

❝ These are things that the whole of the Imperium knows —— ❞

❝ I hated him, ❞ her voice has raised to overwhelm his and he falls silent once more, ❝ with every fiber of my being. But. ❞

Another pause and they stare at each other and he has always looked more like her, than like his father. Her, with her smooth skin and her long, dark hair and her sharp eyes that she had given to him and her angular, beautiful face that has been touched by age but maintains the elegance she has had since she was young. Many said that Aquinea had been beautiful, in her youth. He supposes that she is beautiful, still.

Bitterness and anger line her face, now.

❝ Halward was your father, and he was my husband, ❞ it’s as if she is gathering herself up, her spine straightening and her shoulders squaring and she has always been commanding —— he has never once dared to look away from her, when she’s like this. ❝ Do not ever dare to insinuate that I did not do everything in my power to try and save him. ❞

Several beats pass. His anger wanes. ❝ I apologize, mother. That was unworthy of me. ❞

She scoffs, audibly. ❝ The south has softened you more than your father ever could. I’m surprised you returned. Did you not once say you would never return again? ❞

And there go his hackles, raising all over again. ❝ Well, I have always excelled at appearing where I am unwanted, ❞ scorn curls around his tone and he is weighed down with grief and despair and ANGER and the inability to forgive : his father / his mother. ❝ Perhaps I should see myself out, preferably before you place another collar on me and try to use blood magic to change me more to your liking. ❞

❝ Stop being dramatic, Dorian, ❞ if it were in his mother’s nature, he’s sure that she would be rolling her eyes.

❝ Dramatic? ❞ volume raises and he finds himself abruptly full of a RIGHTEOUS FURY that burns away his grief, for the time being. Anger is like a poison in his veins / it makes him mean. ❝ Oh, yes, so dramatic of me to remind you of what you did to me, last I was here. What you tried to do to me. Tell me, mother : had it been father’s idea? Or was it yours? ❞

And sometimes —— sometimes silence is answer enough. Silence, and the accusing stare she is giving him.

❝ Typical, ❞ tone like an arrow set aflame and he breaks into movement, pushing past her and pacing further into the office / catching sight of HIS FATHER’S BLOOD / pacing in the other direction. ❝ You always encouraged extremes. Prove your worth, Dorian, prove that you are stronger than your peers, Dorian, prove that you are the most powerful in the Circle, Dorian. Change who you are, Dorian —— oh, you don’t want to be miserable, like I am? I suppose that we will merely have to use blood magic on you, since you won’t play along. ❞

❝ I will not apologize, ❞ his mother slices across his ranting and he turns sharply towards her and they glare at each other once more and he knows that their gazes are a mirror of each other. ❝ Your father may have been weak enough to apologize to you, but I will NOT. I was doing what I thought was best for you, my son, damn the consequences. ❞

❝ Even if the consequence is your son? ❞ accusing / accusing / please say no.

❝ YES. ❞

His mother has always been cold. She lacks a single maternal bone in her body, in truth. It has always been this way. Dorian knows that she loves him, or perhaps she loves the concept of him, or perhaps she loves only parts of him : he hasn’t decided yet which would be worse.

His anger and despair are choking him.

❝ You are your father’s son, ❞ she sounds no less cold, no less angry, but she is not shouting anymore, and the intensity of her glare has lessened, ❝ as much as you are my son. I should remember that. ❞

❝ Your way of saying that I am weak, I suppose. ❞

❝ We will continue this later,” she moves towards the door without answering his non-question and he knows what her answer would be, regardless. She pauses with the door cracked open and half turns back to him, face shrouded in shadow. ❝ I believe your father left you something, in that chest of his. It’s yours now. ❞

And then she is gone.

The chest she referred to was the Pavus family chest. It is small, though it is charmed to hold far more than it appears to be able to, and traditionally holds deeply important documents, keys, and other notable trinkets. It is kept, magically locked and protected, in his father’s old desk. The only way to open it is with the Pavus birthright.

Inside of it lays the same documents that his father once showed him, kept pristine through time with magic, along with a family ring that had not seen the light of day in at least an age ( meant to be given to the betrothed of the heir : it should be his mother’s, strangely enough ), and a few other trinkets. On top of all of that, however, is an envelope addressed to him written in his father’s sprawling handwriting.

His hands shake as he cleans up most of the blood and open the envelope and he takes a shuddering, deep breath as he begins to read.

Dorian,

If you are reading this, then I am dead, likely slain while you were away at Val Royeaux for the Exalted Council. As I am sure you have realized, I knew that there was a plot against your life, as well as mine, and I had to send you away as quickly as possible. For your safety.

I suspect that you have questions. You have always been inquisitive, since you were a child. I will try to answer as many of them as I think you would ask, were I still alive for you to speak to.

I sent you away for your own safety because you are my son. That should be as clear as day to you, but I assume that you would have asked why I put your name forward for ambassador nonetheless. If only to hear it from me, personally, to prove you unquestionably correct.

With regards to who killed me, I am not certain. All I know is that it was going to happen, not who was intent on seeing the Pavus name buried in our mausoleum. I have ideas, of course, and a list of names that are attached to this letter. Please, don’t look at them yet. Finish reading this letter first, so that you can understand.

I know that you thought yourself disowned permanently, and at one point you were, I cannot lie. I had been looking for someone else to take my spot in the Magisterium when you ran away from home that last time, those eight or so years ago. However, I have reconsidered since then, and as you were never formally disowned, you are my heir in all ways from my fortune to my seat.

Yes, you have my seat in the Magisterium. You are the only one who I could give it to, and not simply because you are my son, but also because I feel that you could do great things, in a position of power. I know well of your attempts at founding your group of revolutionaries, the Lucerni, with Magister Tilani —— we do not see eye to eye on all subjects, Dorian, but even now I agree with you on this : the Imperium cannot keep moving in the direction it has been going. It will lead to sure ruin. I had not the vision nor the will to see this, early in my life, and I regret that to this day.

I know you may not believe this, or believe that I have written this, but I believe that you will be able to bring great change to our homeland. That you will be able to start it. You, with your Lucerni, and that would be greatly eased with a seat on the Magisterium. That is why I have given you my seat. I know that you can be a far better leader than I ever was, and ever could be. Age and time made me shortsighted, in all regards.

And finally : I wish for your forgiveness, Dorian. I know I may not deserve it, but I hope that one day you can forgive me for a great deal of things. For the past, the present, and the future. I have done terrible things in the name of doing what I thought was right, and I have shouldered you with a great responsibility that I know you will take on because it is what is right, but it may not make you happy. This is the final request of a selfish man, but I hope that you can forgive me, for all of this. For everything.

You are my son. Never forget that.

His heart trembles / his ribs rattle / his lungs heave / he finds himself GASPING FOR AIR and wonders, briefly, if the people who killed his father have returned to him and are using force magic on him and causing him to bow over the desk of his deceased father and he tries to breathe, he tries to ——

He gasps, wet. And begins to cry.

The thing is this : he is made of grief / sorrow / despair / anger / ruination / and he is the living crypt of his family’s hopes and dreams and wishes and he is the PRODIGAL SON to his father / mother’s tyranny.

The thing is this : he is the HEIR TO THE PAVUS FAMILY / the newest magister to the Magisterium / the necromancer who is respected as much as he is despised / the man who cries out for reformation who the masses want to silence in the name of TRADITION THAT CAUSES OTHERS TO SUFFER.

The thing is this : he accepts this mantle willingly / unwillingly / it is it the right thing to do / it is what he must do / change will not begin unless a catalyst exists / he grieves for the life that he had, what feels like an age ago.

The thing is this : he may never be able to forgive his father. He may never be able to find the will in his heart to forgive him. He may never be able to see past all that has happened. He may never be able to find peace with what his parents tried to do to him. He may never be able to truly think of his father fondly, ever again.

The thing is this : HE LOVES HIS FATHER / MOTHER / COUNTRY.

And so he will remain.

❝ Shora. ❞

❝ ——— Yes, ma —— my lord? ❞

❝ Begin preparations of the estate in Minrathous, if you would. I believe a change in scenery is in order. ❞

She’s smiling, he thinks. ❝ Yes, my lord. ❞

#( ∞ ┈┈ headcanon ) SOMEWHERE IN THE HISTORY BOOKS.#[ i don't have a tag for this to go on oh my GOD ]#[ i'll make up one later ]#[ if anyone reads all of this i'll be amazed ]

26 notes · View notes

rosykims · 6 years

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DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS

tagged by: @nordxz thanks so much !!! *heart emoji*

favourite game of the series?

origins! although inquisition is very close as well. inquisition was my favourite for a very time, but like midway through last year i replayed origins and it just felt.....so good. i really struggled with enjoying dao because of the clunky fighting system but an amazing mutual introduced me to a mod that lets u skip fights basically lol, so i was just able to focus on the story/characters/exploration of the game, which just....made me realize how immensely beautiful the game actually is, and i fell in love all over again aaaaa

how did you discover dragon age?

i was a huge mass effect fan ! mass effect was the game that motivated me to make this blog, actually, and obviously through following people i saw a lot of posts from the da community as well. so i bought origins and inquisition (i had NO idea there was a da2 until half way through awakening lmao) and tried to play origins but HATED it gtrhutgrhugtr and then eventually gave it another try like a month later and completely loved it and now here we are

how many times you’ve played the games?

not as many times as some people on here have - i would say origins maybe four times, da2 maybe twice, inquisition three times. but that also doesnt count all the timesw ive created new games and then abandoned them lol bc theres too many to count

favourite race to play as?

love me some elf booty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

favourite class?

at first it was rogue dual wielder ! i played as a rogue in every single first-time playthrough and idk i felt that class has always been the easiest/most op. but in the last maybe 2 years it’s changed to mage. ive always been super intimidated by magic classes in every game i play but i LOVE inquisition’s mage classes/specializations and i can never go back now

do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

im so so so bad and i usually end up making very similar choices, but usually bc i just......replay the same characters every time hgtuhgtruhgtrui. i REALLY need to make more da ocs to explore more choices but....i dont want to lol i already have to many. i still havent sided with the templars in a playthrough like i just cant do it

go-to adventuring group?

i always bring my characters love interest with them no matter what, just bc its cute, but usually i try to evenly cycle the other characters around that. i always try to have a warrior/rogue/mage in every party. but sometimes i’ll go warrior/warrior/mage/mage especially if i need to focus on straight damage and a LOT of healing lol

my favourite parties would probably be:

dao - alistair + zevran + wynne (wholesome and also funny)

da2 - anders + fenris + merrill (SO much chaotic energy)

dai - solas + cassandra + cole (i just love them ok)

which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

ashara lavellan, my canon inquisitor who was never supposed to be canon tghtgurhtrg. my original canon inq was a trevelyan rogue, who was super nice and good. i made ashara so that i could actually play as an evil/mean character without feeling bad lol, oh and i also wanted to see what the deal with solas was bc i had heard his romance was good ;;;;) anyway that backfired and i ended up completely falling in love with her, and i STILL couldnt make the tough choices with her so i was like ok maybe she isnt THAT evil and now shes just..... the way she is now i guess lmao

favourite romance?

trhhtruih okay u guys KNOW its solas. u know. i dont even have to say anythiing about it bc...u fucking know

(alistair’s is very close tho)

have you read any of the comics/books?

i havent :(((( im such a bad fan but i cannot deal with ordering online and thats the only place ive been able to find them. im planning on reading asunder and the masked empire as soon as i get the chance (and the money) tho !!

if you read them, which was your favourite book?

nope

favourite DLCs?

trespasser ! its pretty simple and very plot-driven like u didnt have to worry about side missions as much as u would with other dlcs so idk that was... refreshing. but obviously i loved it just bc it was so beautiful and intense and sad (since my chara romanced solas obviously) and that music score????? unbelievable i’ll never be over it

things that annoy you.

can i say the fandom trghuitgrhutrhui

mostly the thing that pisses me off the most is the grey morality. writers trying to make everything deep and Thought Provoking like..... no jerry, slavery IS bad theres no alternative viewpoint lol??????? also the fucking whitewashing makes me see red.

orlais or ferelden?

ferelden!!!!! (*blows a kiss* for highever)

templars or mages?

mages <3

if you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

i only have like 3 protag da characters and they’re all canon, although emeraude is an au. so ella is my canon warden and ashara is my canon inquisitor, but emeraude does exist in that universe, bc i hc she befriended the warden and alistair when they visited the alienage, and she was very outspokenly angry and didn’t really give a shit that alistair was going to be heir. which alistair really,,, appreciated i guess? so emeraude is made his official elven adviser after his coronation but she also kinda helps out as a royal protector because she’s one of the only people in court they both trust completely lol. also she is....stronk.

and the only other characters i have for da are obviously side characters who are related to my canon protags so. they’re all canon as well lol

what did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

ella named her dog ser bark gthutgrhutghruihtr she thought it was cute ok

emeraude just went with barkspawn since alistair came up with the idea as a joke but she thought the joke was so bad she made them keep it as punishment vjhuightui

i dont really have a hawke oc but.....he named his dog shepard in my playthrough ! like from mass effect ;;;;)))

have you installed any mods?

origins is modded to hell and back and i genuinely couldn’t play the game without mods at this point. inquisition is slightly modded but im in the process of removing them all, and only keeping a few because my game runs pretty terribly with them installed

did your warden want to become a grey warden?

ella did ! but it was kind of,, a naive childhood dream, she had a really romanticized view of the wardens and she wanted a life of excitement and bravery and adventure, not really taking into consider all the bad things about it (and obviously not knowing the full truth about what it means to be a warden)

emeraude did NOT want to be a warden. she basically had to be dragged out of the alienage because she wanted to stay and protect her community. she never really enjoyed being a warden, although her friendship with alistair was its one redeeming quality

hawke’s personality?

uh i cant remember the colour/personality thing but he was a combo of funny/ethical. mostly there for memes tho.

did you make matching armor for your companions in inquisition?

for origins i do ! i always make sure alistair and ella wear the grey warden armour, as well as every warden in awakening. thats like, all theyre allowed to wear lmao.

if your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

ella would obviously change her family’s murder lol, and emeraude would at least try and change what happened at her wedding, to prevent shianni and the others from being hurt.

ashara would change romancing solas :((( she was so angry at herself after discovering who he was, and she felt weak and foolish which she HATES more than any other feeling, so she definitely wishes she had never met him for a long time. after she kind of processes it though, and learns to deal with her anger, her answer would be that she wishes she had saved the chargers. it’s the one move she made that actually keeps her up at night sometimes.

do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

ghuitrhuigtrhugtr so many. canon? dont know her.

the biggest example would be that i hc king!alistair was at the winter palace during the wicked hearts level. because uh..... celene and the fereldan monarchs had been corrosponding for over 10 years, trying to build up rapport, of COURSE the king would be there to see who the potential ruler/s of orlais would be and whether or not he ought to be worried. like. im sorry but alistair was there lol you can’t change my mind. i also hc he helps ashara with information about the grey wardens during this chapter, because ???? it just makes sense??? im so angry i wish this was canon

are any of your characters based on someone?

ok it was unintentional but ashara reminds me of an english teacher i had in highschool who was very scary but also....really cool and i loved her. it was an accident but,, still counts.

who did you leave in the fade?

gtiturghtugh okay at the risk of pissing off EVERYBODY who reads this, i left hawke in the fade, even though it was a toss up between hawke and stroud. it was ashara’s fault tho !!! she would have 100% prioritzed an alliance with the grey wardens over like,, some guy. it broke my heart but yeah That happened.

favourite mount?

i like all the elk mounts mostly ! but i never use them bc they sound ugly af

tagging : @trvelyans @f3nharel @allisondraste @ensevens @tethraas @talizorah @fereldun if u are up to it <3 and whoever else wants to do this !

#/ long post #sorry this is so long i got carried away oops #dai #dao #da2 #personal

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fandom-rants · 2 years

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@mywitchcultblr said: "I can understand her background but i cannot agree with her politics, an ex mutual blocked me simply because I'm critical of her lmao

"I love dragon age and all of my fave, im still passionate but it's just i have no interest to interact with the fandom too much"

I feel the exact same! Dragon Age is my favorite game series, and yet the fandom is hands-down one of the most toxic I've ever had the displeasure of interacting with. Don't like Sera? Lesbophobe. Don't like Vivienne? Racist. Don't like Solas? Misogynist, for some reason. Don't like fandom's favorite fanons because they go directly against known lore? Gatekeeper. What's that? Fandom can enjoy fanon, but you dislike it and block any mention of it from your eyesight because you love the original world and lore of DA? Still a gatekeeper, apparently.

Worse, the fandom has a handful of favorite blogs that are Always Right And Best, and everyone else had better toe the line while also being forced into obscurity. This is something I've always seen, both in fandoms and in life - the popular people are right, always, and the unpopular people need to be quiet "and let people enjoy things" (by not speaking about what they enjoy, of course). But it's the demanded silence that really does it to me. The Dragon Age fandom barks and howls about inclusivity, but the instant you don't fall in line with their reinvented fanon DA, you get attacked as if by rabid wolves.

Have you ever mentioned that, while the fics and pics to the contrary are fun and interesting, Solas made it clear in Trespasser that he was never one of the Evanuris, so he was never considered a god before he started the war? I don't recommend it; Solas stans get really upset when you point it out.

Hell, I remember someone posting about how Solas' eyes are canonically brown, not blue, and someone telling them they don't want to know that. Like???? The fandom is INSANE.

It's the height of the "woke" crowd, and I put "woke" in quotation marks because they aren't woke so much as they try to make everything about marginalization and demand everyone agree with them, even if it means deliberately ignoring canon. The creators who wrote Orlais and Ferelden are racist against the French-speaking people in Canada. Making a corrupt Chantry led by women is misogynistic. Cullen getting an okay ending is abuser/racist apologism. Vivienne is a black woman girlboss with no bad features hated simply for being black. The Ancient Elves are evil and selfish like boomers. And on and on!

It's exhausting. If these people want to enjoy Dragon Age in this way, even though I can't imagine how, they are free to do so. But anyone who wants to enjoy it in any other way - by reading the side books and knowing Vivienne is a corrupt liar, by learning the history and cultures of the games and knowing the plight of the Ancient Elves is far more complex than boomer rhetoric, by enjoying the complexity of characters enough to say Cullen and Solas are morally grey, by tackling the complex political world of Thedas and seeing how religious extremism is the problem with the Chantry and would be the problem no matter who led it... all of these are unacceptable interpretations by 99% of the fandom, and any time a person sticks their neck out to say something that goes against the status quo, fandom will jump them like slavering beasts in an effort to shut them up.

If ever there was a fandom that I never, ever wish to interact with again, despite how much I love the original source and have even created art and fic, it would be the Dragon Age fandom. I have written several stories and drawn countless art pieces that will never be seen online, because I don't want to hear these people praise my works - nor do I think they deserve to enjoy them - while waiting in the wings to jump my shit because I mentioned that the vallaslin was unwittingly culturally stolen by modern elves from the Ancient elves.

#mywitchcultblr #response #long post #damn every time i think about the da fandom i get upset all over again #i can't tell you how many times i've said something and gotten people screaming at me #you think i had it bad with the anti-terraven crowd? you haven't seen anything #just mention that elves aren't any real group of people and you'll get countless idiots screaming that you're wrong and a disgusting person #even though they are ELVES. in a fantasy world.#watch them slaver all over themselves to jump in your inbox about how you're antisemitic or something #tw: racism mention #tw: antisemitism mention #tw: misogyny mention #tw: homophobia mention #dragon age rant #da:i rant #fandom rant

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captainderyn · 6 years

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“I can’t do this on my own.”

Hello, welcome to captainderyn’s blog, it’s time to get on the angst train again.

I’ve mentioned before that there’s been at least once where there’s been an attempt on Baraneth or Alistair’s life while they’re on the throne.

This is one of those times.

Baraneth/Alistair (+a bit of Ruinel)

The day wasted away in a flurry of well-mannered actions and double meaning words, nobles filing in and out of the throne room and into the wider royal palace of Fereldan. Anyone representative from Orlais, to Antiva, to the Free Marches, was here for the negotiations, even a few representatives from the Grey Warden branches of both Orlais and Fereldan.

Baraneth handled it all with the grace of the queen she was, smiling and nodding when appropriate, sharp-witted as always even as the day dragged on and the sleepless nights of hers began to show. Alistair envied her poise and dedication to the Crown’s image. Somewhere after the third round of negotiations his attention had started to drift, and by the time dinner passed and there were still nobles milling around, milking out as much of the Crown’s hospitality and offerings as they could, he was all but exhausted and at the end of his rope.

Warden Commander Ruinel, at the very least, seemed in the same position. The head representative of the Fereldan Warden branch she had been stuck in the negotiations as long as he and Baraneth had, and was currently seated in one of the extra, knarled wooden chairs at the long table with her cheek propped on her fist, seeming to have dozed off. Had she not glanced over from time to time Alistair would have assumed she was actually sleeping. In fact, her eyes had been snapping to the queen holding it together better than the both of them combined more and more often in the past few minutes, concern starting to etch in the lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes.

Baraneth rested her forehead against his shoulder, letting out a sigh that drew his attention back to her. “Tired, love?”

“Quite,” Baraneth lifted a hand to rub at her temples, then let it plop back down into her lap. When she tilted her chin up to smile at him her eyes were glassier than normal, even with the tired nights that had been spent awake and restless instead of sleeping. “I’m pretty sure I’ve hit the end of my energy for the talk of nobles.”

Tucking a hand under her chin and brushing his thumb across her cheek, warm to the touch, his brows knitted in concern. “Are you sure you’re alright? Maybe we should call it a day.”

She brought a hand up to brush across his, taking a long breath. “Is that something we can do?”

Of course, beneath her quirked brow and softly amused voice, there was a bone-deep wariness and beneath even that, uncertainty. Nearly a decade into their rule and they were still learning, still questioning the limits of propriety and what lines they could push. He offered a soft smile. “They’re here for us, if we leave then they have to as well, right?”

She gave him a secretive, sly smile, though her eyes didn’t quite focus on him and when they stood he held out his arm for her, in line with formality but more so to steady her. He watched her face pale slightly and stepped closer and gratefully she seemed to sink some of her weight into the support of his arm. Maker, he hoped she wasn’t coming down with something, any illness was treated as the plague by their staff and Baraneth hated that almost more than she hated dealing with the trivial questions of nobles looking only to steal a moment of her time.

The usual formalities, thanking everyone for coming to offer their two cents into the negotiations, wishing them safe travels and the best for their well being, promises that they would see the results of the terms they had come too quickly. Then they stepped down onto the main floor and time seemed to skitter and slow.

From the corner of his eye he saw Ruinel’s ear twitch, then her head whipping around, body already out of her chair even as he felt Baraneth stumble, her weight leaning heavy on his arm before peeling away.

On instinct–Maker how many times had they pulled each other from the ground during the Blight after an unlucky catch of the sword but by all Andraste’s flaming weapons this wasn’t the Blight and there weren’t any darkspawn here–Alistair wrapped his arms around his wife, sinking to the floor with her even as his eyes were already across the hall and the chaos that had taken over.

Nobles were shouting, some for healers, some just shouting from the sheer shock of watching their patronness fall to her knees, laid limply across the King’s lap, others were running. She was still, too still, the heavy skirts of the finely embroidered dress she had been complaining about wearing all morning before putting it on pooling around her, bearing no obvious link to the force that had buckled her knees and closed her eyes.

Bowing his head, breaths coming in rapid spurts he brushed his hand against Baraneth’s pale face, voice hoarse. “Bara, Bara come on, open your eyes.”

No response, a slight shake earning nothing but the motion of a body moving with a force, where were the healers? Then there they were, pulling the limp figure from his grasp and whisking her away, batting at his hands unwilling to release her.

There was an enraged shout, pulling shell shocked eyes back to the main floor, the lithe form of the young elf in Warden navy and silver darting towards the entryway. A glint in her hand and time seemed to slow further, the crowd parting as just across the threshold of the large oaken doors a shadowed form began to convulse, dropping shuddering to the ground.

A guard in armor emblazoned with the Fereldan royal crest rushed forward, slamming their shield into the Warden Commander’s shoulder, throwing her to the ground in a heap and a pained cry, pinning her with a sword at her throat. Smartly she let her head drop back onto the floor, chest heaving and the arm not clutched to her chest laid across the floor, blood pooling in her palm and spilling across the stones.

Something in him snapped back and his voice cracked across the chatter. “Enough.” All eyes fixated on him, and despite his hammering heart, shaking knees and thoughts scattered far enough across Thedas that they may never be found again, he stood to his full height, the spot to his left unfamiliar in its emptiness. Pointing towards the shuddering heap of a person by the threshold, scrambling to their feet and trying to cross into the shadows, he shouted. “Detain, alive. Now!”

Then, as guards scurried towards the failed-assassin–his heart dropped straight into the floor, but there was little else this could be. Not with his wife dropping like a stone in the middle of an event designed to unite the uncertain peoples of Thedas in the face of a brewing war. Anger started to coil in his gut, setting his jaw and hardening his eyes.–he turned his finger to the guard, still holding the Warden Commander at sword point.

“Release Fereldan’s Commander of the Grey, now.”

The guard must be new, there was nothing else that would excuse the sneer on their face or the argument they threw back at him. How they ever made it into the guard was above a question Alistair could answer at the present. They, with the helmets obscuring almost all of the face and the heavy plate making any and all people little more than lumps beneath metal, yanked Ruinel to her feet, pushing back faded ginger hair that had been carefully laid over ears to seize a long, elegantly pointed ear as if that was the answer to all their troubles of the night.

“Sire, the knife-ear is the culprit, did you not see her run as soon as our Ladyship fell?”

Of course, some people in this castle would rather use the elf as a scapegoat rather than the culprit that was right in front of their eyes. Of course, they’d rather seize an ear and state it as fact rather than the hand holding the poison. Alistair had no patience for this, he wanted nothing more than to have the real culprit in their custody and then hurry back to Baraneth’s side, where he belonged.

Ruinel beat him to a scathing remark, even with her delicate ear twisted between the meaty fingers of a guard, an arm hanging limply while the other spilled crimson onto the floor. “Andraste’s blighted ass! I would put a poisoned blade into my own chest before I’d see her Lady Cousland fall to it!”

Alistair gritted his teeth and stepped out into the open, even as the other guards tasked at protecting their lord and lady–and failing quite miserably tonight, though he couldn’t exactly blame them all for what must have been a sneaky attack..if it was even an attack at all, he was still holding out on the hope that it was something completely explainable without going so far as an attempt on the queen’s life.–scrambled to surround them. Ruinel looked up at him, chin high even in this grievous slight, though her eyes were wet, whether with instinctual fear or pain. His voice was a low growl. “Release the Warden Commander.”

Reluctantly the guard dropped their hold on the elf woman, who stumbled forward to position herself close to Alistair. Immunity next to the ruler of Fereldan, he supposed. Not that he blamed her if Ruinel wasn’t being accused on the grounds of her being an elf then she was going to get accused for being a blood mage. Despite holding multiple titles, despite saving Fereldan, quite literally in the end, it was her hand that slew the archdemon. Fixing a concerned look on her for a moment he could spare he asked, “Ruinel, are you alright?”

“Fine,” She spat, though the venom was directed at the guard, who at least had the sense to hang their head. “I just need a few healing spells, but I wouldn’t want to offend any delicate shemlen sensibilities.”

Very rarely did she note the difference between human and elf so verbally, and gently Alistair laid a hand on her shoulder. “Go, I’ll send for you when I…hear more on Baraneth.”

Ruinel dipped her head and in the brief breath he saw the glint of tears in the corners of her eyes before she turned her cheek away as she shifted to the door with a soft, “See that you do.”

Then she was gone, and it was just him, the guard, and the scrambled remains of the royal guard milling around him like they weren’t sure what to do with half their numbers going after the soul that Ruinel had dropped. “You,” he fixed his eyes on the guard, who bowed their head further as if they could somehow will themselves to disappear. “What the hell were you doing?”

It wasn’t a question that really warranted an answer but they still offered an uncertain shrug. Alistair took their silence as an answer alone. “You blatantly ignored the situation to attack not just anyone, but the Warden Commander.” He raised his hand to ward off the argument. “Her being an elf and a blood mage is irrelevant, she’s the Hero of Fereldan and dropped a potential suspicious figure, I don’t care about your prejudice.”

“Yes ser,” The guard’s shoulders dropped against whatever argument had steeled their resolve.

Eyes narrowing, Alistair stepped closer. The guard recoiled from what must have been tangible anger. Any of their royal guards had been vetted by Baraneth or him personally after a resurgence of the mindset that Baraneth was the only hero worth noting from the trio, something she had refused to deal with in the people that would surround them most all day, every day. “You’re new.”

It wasn’t a question, but the guard still answered. “Yes ser, appointed by the guard captain in haste.”

“You’re dismissed until further notice,” Alistair said shortly, without delay, promising to himself that he would need to speak to the guard captain as soon as this mess died down. Simmered down. Died down…Maker’s breath that brought back the fear chewing at his gut. Three more guards appeared in the archway, an unconscious, manacled figure hanging between them. “Cell, I want them alive for questioning,” Alistair called, stalking over, eying the now unmasked figure with disgust.

Then, turning towards his head guard he forced his thoughts and face back to a neutral, composed even-as-the-seams-frayed expression. “Can you handle the cleanup? Sweep the castle, lock it down, make sure that no one that could have caused issue can get out. I need to go check on the queen.”

“Already started, sire.” The head guard inclined her head, adding quietly, “Maker bring the queen back to us safely.”

Indeed, if the Maker could be so kind. He dipped his head at that and pushed through the doors, walking only until he was sure he was far from the inquiring eyes of lingering nobles, where he then broke into a run, bounding up stairs two or three at a time in a race to get to where he hoped Baraneth would be. He took a gamble on her being in the technical queen’s chambers, adjacent to his own, though in the grand scheme it was only a few steps difference. She was never in her own designated chambers if she could help it, and its where the healers always deposited her when she was sick.

Mercifully he remembered to pause long enough to knock, otherwise, the main healer, a wary old mage with a fondness for the queen that was far more than the irritation she directed towards him, may have kicked him out onto the Denerim streets. When the reedy voice called for him to enter he opened the door with a gentleness that had been a rarity ever since Baraneth had fallen, careful that the door didn’t rattle or squeak on its hinges.

When he saw the three mages gathered around her bedside, the blazing hearth casting deep shadows, his heart dropped even without hearing any news first. “Is she…?”

Alana, the elder healer, held up a steadying hand. “She is alright, my lord.” At his relieved, heavy sigh and dropping of his shoulders, she gave the slightest of smiles. “Thankfully whoever attempted to poison her didn’t do a very good job. She’s ill, but she’s a stubborn woman.”

“Thank…” The Maker, Andraste, even the Creators, everyone. Then, the cause caught up to him and his sigh turned weary. “So it was poison?”

“I’m afraid so,” Gesturing for the other healers to follow her, she stepped towards him, resting a weathered hand on his forearm. “But worry not about that tonight, see to your wife. The guards will do their duty.”

She rattled off some instructions for him, both in the interim when they would be alone, and should anything change and he nodded numbly. Before she left he looked over his shoulder. “Alana, please let Ruinel know that she’s alright.”

“Aye, I will.” As she retreated from the room he swore he heard her mutter that if she didn’t then the elf would probably scale the wall and come through the window to find out herself. That earned a small chuckle from him before the door shut softly, leaving on him and Baraneth in the quiet, the crackle of the flames mixing with the quiet, raspy sounds of her breath. Shrugging off his doublet, suffocating in the warmth of the room and tainted far too much with the events of the night, he laid it across a chair and crossed to the bed, sinking down onto the edge of the mattress.

Somewhere between her being carried away and now they had taken away the heavy, tightly laced dress in favor of a loose nightgown, crooked in the neckline to leave one shoulder bare by accident and on habit he reached to fix it, feeling the feverish heat still rising from her skin. She didn’t stir when he replaced the cloth on her brow either, even some lingering cool droplets traced their way down the lines of her cheekbone.

He should have noticed something was off sooner, surely it hadn’t struck in the blink of an eye. Maybe if he had picked up that something was troubling her than she wouldn’t have collapsed in front of the entire assembly and he wouldn’t have a mass panic on his hands. Or maybe it never would have happened in the first place.

“Oh Andraste’s flaming sword,” Alistair cursed softly, wrapping one of Baraneth’s slender hands in two of his own, bringing it up to press a lingering kiss on her knuckles. “If you were awake you’d be berating me for being so dramatic, I just know it.” His words weren’t met and he shook his head, shifting so that he didn’t feel ready to fall off the edge of the bed, and started to talk just to fill the silence.

“Alana said you’d be alright and all, and I believe her, you’re too stubborn to let some bastard take you out the easy. But..well..I need you to wake up and..and not scare me like that again, love. I can’t do this on my own, this whole ruling thing. You’re kind of the brains of this operation and leaving Fereldan to the big oaf with the fancy hat is honestly such a horrid idea.”

Even after Ruinel had checked in and left them to peace they had company, Baraneth’s ancient mabari that had seen her through everything, lifted onto the bed by Alistair after the old hound had put his paws pleadingly on the edge of the bed and rested his thick head on Alistair’s knees, curled up at his mistress’ side. “Even your hound is worried, Bara, that’s truly a Fereldan crime. If only you could see his big, sad look. Oh, don’t look at me like that Ailwife, I can’t do anything.”

He let out a watering laugh, not having intended to let the emotion get the better of him, but that’s what assassins did, left him blubbering at his wife’s bedside with little more to do but wallow in what-ifs until she woke up and slapped him upside the head for doing exactly that. He found himself unable to continue, settling for stroking a thumb across her hand in idle thought.

Neither of them had asked for the crown and the cost that had been promised to come with it. He desperately hoped that they wouldn’t have to pay it now, or the flash of a blade or drip of poison later.

#dragon age #king alistair #alistair theirin #warden cousland #warden cousland x alistair #oc: Baraneth #oc: Ruinel #otp: A Warden's Rose #sometimes I go to write something #and it spirals out of control #this is one of those times #ru and bara are super close and you guys can fight me on this #(please don't fight me on this)#file alistair under canon characters I'm not terrified to write #im okay with him #and Risha #so thats....two...out of the like four that I deal with #4k of bullshit later

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dalishious · 7 years

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@briannamorley Well I wasn’t going to respond to all your replies, but then I figured hell, if you felt the need to go through all my anti Celene shit to leave messages saying you disagreed, you must really value my opinion of your opinion, so who would I be not to?

briannamorley replied to your post “What ending should I take in WEWH? Last time I played I hadn't read...”

Love the page; disagree about Celine and Briala's relationship being toxic--save for her killing Bria's parents. I personally always reconcile them even if you weigh her over Gaspard, she's the lesser of two evils. Gaspard would do way more killing then a 1k elves plus, as far as the abuse we don't know the extent all Bria says is on days she was cruel, she imagined them being amongst the Dalish with Celine having to serve her.

So like... if having her parents murdered doesn’t cross a line for you into toxic territory, what does, then?

And re: “We don’t know the extent” of Celene’s treatment of Briala...

The black curls lightened to grey with the pre-dawn light, then slid to the light brown of cinnamon as the sun brought colour to the room. Dirt-brown, Celene had called it, when Briala had waited upon her as a girl. Horse-dung brown, an ugly shadow of Celene’s spun-gold locks. -pg 27

Briala, a WOC, grew up serving Celene, a white woman, comparing her hair to horse-dung. And had to just grin and bare it because that was her job, and her mother instructed her to be Celene’s friend.

“Maker, I envy you sometimes.” She knew immediately that she had said something wrong. She felt Briala stiffen, though her arms didn’t move, and Briala’s voice was light as she said, “The empress of Orlais envies an elven handmaid?” “You know what I mean, Bria.” Still holding her, Celene patted Briala’s back. “You could leave here, become someone else.” “As long as that someone is an elf,” Briala said with a dimpled smile, but Celene knew she was still hurt. “Yes, I know. But I... I was born to sit on that throne. I can’t do anything else. Since my parents and Lady Mantillon...” She trailed off. This time, Briala pulled away. “You would make a wonderful scholar,” she said as she stood and pulled her robe on, “at least until Emperor Gaspard made a decision you found objectionable. Then, I believe trouble would ensue.” She smiled over her shoulder. “You are probably right, my love.” Celene rose as well and pulled her own robe on, as if nothing were wrong. “And... I will consider Remache.” Briala nodded and slipped her mask into place, then left through the passage behind the mirror, and Celene sighed and fetched her little magical pot. She would be making her own tea this morning, it seemed. -pg 59

Celene hurts Briala, and her thought is how she’ll have to make her own tea.

Briala sat. “...The elves in Halamshiral are angry. Lord Mainserai killed a tradesman without justification, and the elves are calling for mien’harel.” At Celene’s silence, Briala added, “It is an elven word. When the humans go too far, the elves remind them that even a short blade must be respected. They—” “They will rebel,” Celene said, the words cutting through the chilly autumn air. “Against me. Now.” “It is not rebellion, Your Majesty.” Briala bowed her head and took a shaky breath, clutching at the griffon-head arm of her chair. This was exactly what she had feared. “The elves of Halamshiral have never seen you. Their grievance is with neither you nor Orlais. They only wish justice for a man of your empire who died without cause.” “What they wish is irrelevant.” Celene turned and stalked away from the window. “I am already fighting a war on two fronts. I cannot be seen to fight a war on three.” “Then don’t.” Briala rose, putting herself in Celene’s path. “Give them justice.” “A lord for the death of an elf? I... damn this thing.” With a quick jerk, Celene tore the mask from her face. Her face was flushed beneath, her eyes red from another night of little sleep. “Shall I declare the elves equal citizens before the Maker and the throne as well, while I’m at it?” “Why not?” Briala took her own mask off, stealing a quick moment to steady herself. “Unless you don’t believe that, and I’m just a jumped-up kitchen slut you haven’t tired of yet.” Celene turned away, tossing her mask onto an overstuffed couch and stalking to the great amber wall. “You know I cannot do that, Bria. I might as well engrave Gaspard’s initials on the throne.” Against the wall of gold and red, Briala’s empress and lover looked pale and wan. Celene had always seen sleep as an enemy, or at most a necessary evil, from what Briala could tell, and since the events in Kirkwall the stress of rising tensions had her awake before dawn almost every morning. If it were early enough, Briala could sometimes coax her into lovemaking, and the warm and drowsy bliss afterward would let Celene steal a few more hours of rest. Lately, even that had not been enough. Briala sighed. “I do know.” Instead of going to Celene, she went to the small table where Celene’s teapot sat, forever just shy of boiling. She poured Celene a cup of tea, brought it over, and gently touched Celene’s shoulder. It was not quite an apology. -pg 62

Briala fears having to ask Celene to enact justice. Celene says what the elves want is of no care to her. She then mocks the idea of elven freedoms. And “It was not quite an apology” my ass - Briala has nothing to apologize for.

What had happened at Halamshiral was a still-painful ache, but the elves had rebelled. Celene had done what she had to do. Had Briala been there, she might have been able to turn Celene to a different course, but Briala herself was the one who had left. It was not Celene’s fault that she had been manoeuvred into doing what she had done, any more than it was Briala’s fault for leaving Celene without the guidance she had wanted. -pg 167

Celene even has Briala convinced that she’s to blame for Halamshiral, because she wasn’t there to tell Celene otherwise. If one person in a relationship relies solely on another to guide their morals, yes, I would indeed call that toxic.

But anyway, these are just a few samples of Celene’s dismissive behaviour towards Briala. She only does the bare minimum to keep Briala at her side; she does not truly care about the elves.

briannamorley replied to your post “What ending should I take in WEWH? Last time I played I hadn't read...”

Also Bria has accepted that neither the city or Dalish elves see her as part of them; letting her rule with him as her mask--much like forcing them to work together--while interesting in theory, wouldn't last I don't think anyway. Ppl would get suspicious; Gaspard is a military strategist not an adept ruler

Briala goes from this:

Briala could not afford to spare tears for inevitable deaths. In that respect, she supposed that she was more like the nobles she served than the elves in the marketplace. The thought sometimes sickened her, but again, not as much as the thought of deaths she could have prevented. -pg 61

to this:

She had been in Celene’s court for too long. Too many years being called “rabbit,” too many years ducking her head and working from the shadows. Too many years of being proud of who she was, a feeling she could cling to like a floating log in a rushing river. It had kept her head above water, but it had never let her steer her own course. She would fight for her people, because nobody else would, and Fen’Harel take whoever got in her way. -pg 144

Briala’s whole character arc is about discovering who she is as her own person, and reconnecting with her people. Unless “has” was a typo for “had.”

Also, why is it unrealistic for Dalish and city elves to work together? Dalish elves go to the city, and city elves go to the Dalish all the time. In some cases you have clans that have very strong relationships with nearby alienages, such as Clan Boranehn and the Edgehall alienage in Knight Errant, for example.

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: I don’t hate Celene because she’s a woman. I...”

Disagree not about the genocide or lying to Bria but everything else

...K?

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: That’s it. Until proven otherwise the Masked...”

Nope to each their own though

...K?

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: Celene is a straight guy’s idea of a lesbian....”

Stop... I can see if you were equating this to RR Martin but really???

Yes really lol

briannamorley replied to your post “I just read The Masked Empire and even though I knew how bad Celene...”

Theres disliking something and then there's bashing it to the point it becomes infuriating

Sorry guess we never received the guidelines one has to follow in terms of disliking something. Tell me, does it include going through a blog’s tags and leaving reply after reply that says basically the same thing?

briannamorley replied to your post “mllemaenad: jocelyntorrent: mllemaenad: … Okay, I don’t get it. ...”

Disagree but crazy tired so to each their own

Good thing you left another just plain ‘disagree,’ otherwise I might have gotten confused.

briannamorley replied to your post “So this by no means excuses Celene's actions whatsoever, but I noticed...”

Love orlais but again, to each their own

Cool cool I hate Orlais but to each their own. Perhaps I should find some random Orlais fan and spam their email notifications with replies saying as such, to make sure they know!

briannamorley replied to your post “lmao no, about 300 elves were brutally slaughtered, sweet summer...”

More than 300 but it does border on bashing

WTF does this one even mean?

briannamorley replied to your post “grandenchanterfiona: Celene has absolute power; she does not have a...”

If so say that from jump don't go on and on going from legitimate gripe to bashing... like damn I like both of y'alls pages but FUCK me this is exhausting

Then why are you reading through all this? And seriously, what is with this “bashing?” Is there some kind of internet slang I’m unfamiliar with? Because if you just mean bashing as in criticism that hell fucking yes I am critical of Celene. She has a lot of reasons for me to be.

briannamorley replied to your post “Remember that time when Michel de Chevin partook in the Academie des...”

Sigh... y es it was an oversight by them that shouldn't have happened but goddamn

“But goddamn...” what? Why is there a but? Why is there a but goddamn? Just... why, period?

Anyway, TL;DR:

#briannamorley #anti celene #anti brialene

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