#also da2 has anders and merril and i would die for those two.....................

[mysunshine-youremoonlight]

dragon age 2 the loml

[emerald-amidst-gold]

Ohh maybe 1, 2, 3, and 28? 👀

*takes a sip from my can of soda* Ahhh~! Caffeine for the soul~ >:3

But you know what's better for the soul? Questions! Curiosity! RAMBLING ABOUT CHILDREN! >:D Let's GOOOO!

1. What would your Warden generally think of your Hawke and your inquisitor?

Rylen: 

Now, I kind of see Elise eventually meeting or at least, reaching out to Rylen after the events in Kirkwall. After all, she’s an Amell, and so is Hawke. They’re literally the only family each other has (that’s not ‘found’ family, that is.). So, I think Elise would reach out through a letter or somehow manage a visit to her cousin and...connect. She would see him as inspiring; Rylen always manages a smile and a quip. However, if they were to spend more and more time interacting with each other, Elise would see that Hawke isn’t very well put together, especially after the Chantry explosion. She would question why Rylen chose the templars, why he executed Anders who was a like a brother to her, but eventually she would come to understand the whys. Elise would see it as no different as when she decided to spare Loghain at the Landsmeet; they did what they believed to be right and what would be best in that very moment. Both Rylen and Elise sacrificed their own happiness for the benefit of others, and were still blamed for future complications and there’s something comforting in a finding another who can relate. :3

Fane:

So, I actually have some later fic ideas for a confrontation between Elise and Fane (after Trespasser, kind of Pre-DA4 shenanas~), and suffice it to say, these two have similar ways of thinking, but their methods are entirely different. Fane is rash, prone to barreling head first into conflict without thinking about those around him. Elise is analytical, always assessing and placing the pieces in her head to make sure everyone comes out alive. This isn’t to say Fane doesn’t care about his comrades; he does. There’s countless, countless times he takes a blow for someone else without batting an eye or thinking that he could die. He just doesn’t plan; he acts. Fane can get lost in the moment of battle, in the heady scent of chaos and blood. Elise, at first meeting him, would see him as any typical warrior; eager for battle and a garden of death. But if they were to sit down and talk...I think she might find him endearing and fascinating. More or less she would think, ‘He’s so mature for someone so young. I mean, he’s twenty-four, but...he speaks as if he’s older. His speech is manicured, measured as if decided upon carefully. And his eyes...there’s pain, a deep, deep pain. Like some of the older Wardens, those just hearing the Calling. But also...hope? Conviction? Who are you, Inquisitor? What has the world done to you?’

2. What would your Hawke generally think of your warden and your Inquisitor?

Elise:

Rylen would probably have the same opinion of Elise as she does with him. They’re family, split apart due the misconceptions and fear, and my Hawke cherishes family. He lost everyone else he could rightly consider family. Fenris, Varric, Sebastian, Isabela, and Merrill are the only people he can call family now. (Anders and Aveline are complicated. I won’t go into that can of worms. For now~ >:3) He would definitely feel a level of guilt for what he had to do in Kirkwall with Anders, with the mages, with...everything, but Rylen just tries to make it through another day. If he and Elise started to interact I think it would be extremely beneficial to Rylen. Elise is patient, sometimes stern, and not afraid to lay all the facts out. Rylen would admire that since he’s had to go through life wearing a mask, a smile, a facade just to placate someone else. He would see Elise as another sister and his opinion of her would probably be along the lines of, ‘I won’t let another member of my family be torn from me. Father, Bethany, Carver...Mother.. I failed them. I won’t fail her. I won’t fail her. She’s bright and she keeps her head held high. Heh, now I see how she killed an Archdemon and lived to tell the tale. ...Bet the lightning has something to do with that, too.’

Fane: 

Rylen and Fane, in my head, actually hit it off from the get go. They’ve both had to take mantles of power, even though they never, never wanted to. Though, for different reasons, of course. But Rylen would find Fane inspiring and wholly capable of doing what must be done. He’d be kind of put off that most of his well thought out jokes and pokes would fall flat on Fane, but eventually, Rylen would see why that is. (Draconic nature withstanding.) Also, once my Hawke found out Fane is dragon?  OHHHH, BUDDY. There would be yelling and screeching and cries of, ‘WHY DO I KEEP MEETING DRAGONS, FENRIS?! FIRST THE WITCH, NOW THE INQUISITOR?! ..I’m done. I’m putting my daggers down and stealing away into the mountains. Varric, you wanna come with? I know you’re fed up with this shit, too! Don’t lie! DON’T. LIE.’

3. What would your Inquisitor generally think of your warden and your Hawke?

Elise:

Fane would probably think of Elise as...interesting. Not in a bad way. Just...interesting. Fane isn’t comfortable with Wardens after Adamant. He learns that he can hear the corruption inside of them and that terrifies him. And confuses him. And makes him go, ‘What the fuck am I? I don’t even know anymore. Why do I try?’ But, if he were to get over that and, like I said with Elise, talk? He would have another perspective of the men and women that had let fear take them by the throat. It wouldn’t change his feelings regarding the Wardens entirely, but one level mind, one open mind, is enough to make Fane tap into his nature and consider other sides of a very, very large cube.

‘She’s more...quiet than the others. Maybe because it’s just her? No...Loghain was still loud as fuck when it was just him, so why? Ugh, I’m so sick of these puzzles. At least she’s more stable, but I can see the pain in her eyes; green like mine, but missing the gold. Maybe the Taint is stronger than she thinks? Perhaps, but still she fights, still she claws her way towards something that may be impossible. ...Hmph. How typical. A similarity. This world continues to confound.’

Rylen:

Fane respects Rylen after spending some time to feel him out, know his cues, and piece together which is his actual face. Once that happens, Fane can move into respect with my Hawke. These two have a fairly similar moral compass; pragmatism regarding most decisions. Again, they both have been thrust into a position without asking for it, so that would be a stepping stone upon the bonding path. All in all, Fane’s general opinion of Rylen would be, ‘He’s worn that mask of smiles and bright, grey eyes for too long. It’s cracking at the edges, wearing down to mere mortar. Then again, I have my own mask. I’m in no position to judge and condemn, but...it’s worrying. Even the strongest wings can be torn and all that greets is the earth below. I hope your wings don’t falter, Champion. It would be disappointing for the world to lose someone who cares when those who should are content to point the finger towards anyone but themselves.’

28. What is their favourite location within their own game and what would be their favourite in each others?

Fane: The Emprise du Lion! Snowwwww! Coooold! Ice dragooooon! >:3 ...minus the red lyrium. *snorts* 

Origins: Hmm, I think Fane would like the Brecilian Forest. He enjoys forests as much as he enjoys the cold, the ice, and the snow. He likes the animals, even though he tries not to interfere with them, and he likes the quiet. No chattering, no demands. Only trees, leaves, and the occasional whistle of wind. Also, Fane likes to investigate ancient ruins. He’s not interested in the history, really. He just wants to see if he can find any remnants about his kin that the elves may have left behind. :3

DA2: Probably Sundermount since again, wilderness. Fane doesn’t do too well in crowded areas and Kirkwall would make his heart rate sky rocket. Not just because of the people, but because of the size. Those cramped streets of Lowtown would just make him...eugh. *shivers*

Elise: She adores Orzammar! Especially the Shaperate! The dwarves fascinate Elise since not many tomes in the Circle went into depth about them! :D And if we want to with Awakening areas, I would saaaay...Amaranthine. She’s always like towns and cities due to not being able to experience them until the Blight! :3

Inquisition: Elise would adore the Frostback Basin. Like, really enjoy it! All that flora and Avaar culture and wilderness? MMMM!

DA2: Definitely the Wounded Coast. Hands down. My daughter enjoys the sea so much. The salt in the air, the feel of sand, and the pretty, pretty shells and rolling waves? Every Circle mages’ wet dream. *waggles eyebrows*

Rylen: So, if we’re not talking like open world areas in the game, I would definitely say Rylen’s favorite place is the Hanged Man. The man needs a drink to deal with Kirkwall. Just saying. It’s also where he can just...be himself with the people who know him. 

Inquisition: Hinterlands. He’s a FERELDAN. He wants his MABARI to RUN in native land! He wants to...go home. ;3;

Origins: I like to think the Hawke family went all over Ferelden before settling in Lothering. I mean, they kind of do, but maybe for more than a few months at a time? So, Rylen would enjoy Denerim. He likes to go where people are, where life is. He likes crowds because he can blend into them and not be tracked down until he wants to be tracked down. ...My Hawke just wants to live in peace with his glowy elf husband and run a mabari ranch. Is that too much to ask, Bioware?! Let Hawke REST!

Woo! That was FUN! It really got me thinking, too! X3 Thank you so much, friend! <3

[lesetoilesfous]

For the DADWC: “It’s really not that complicated.”

It took me SO long to decide what I wanted to do with this prompt but I think I figured it out so I hope you enjoy!!

(If you want me to write you a dragon age fic, send me a prompt from here!)

@dadrunkwriting

Pairing: gen, FenHawke, pre-FenHanders

Characters: Varric Tethras, Anders, Fenris, Garrett Hawke, Isabela, Merrill

Tags: post-DA2, canon divergence, I haven’t played DAI yet I’m sorry y’all, my canon now I do what I want, what if Varric and Anders were still friends and Varric is doing what he does best, pro-Anders (including the chantry boom), anti-Sebastian (nothing against him I just needed a villain), mage rights

Rating: Teen and Up

“It’s really not that complicated.”

It wasn’t often that Varric Tethras allowed himself to look visibly impatient with anyone - and even less often than that when it came to Garrett Hawke. But he looks annoyed now. 

He also, Anders notes to a feeling a physical relief, has not moved from where he is standing between Anders and their former companions. Next to the door, Merrill looks like she’s about to start crying. Isabela and Fenris are differently unreadable. Isabela is wearing an expression of wry amusement that doesn’t reach her eyes, and Anders thinks all of them know her well enough to notice the way she has tilted her hips - prepared to fight if she needs to. Fenris is as poised and impassive as he ever is, elegant as some ancient Tevene statue,  though his countenance is far better suited to the imperial dignity of the magisters than the wracked suffering of the slaves. Anders doubts that he’d appreciate the comparison.

Hawke looks like he’s been slapped. His expression of shock, however, quickly darkens into thunder. Anders takes a step back without entirely meaning to, and sees Fenris catch the movement. A very slight frown appears on the elf’s brow, quick and brief as a breeze on still water. 

“It’s been two years, Varric!” Hawke is raising his voice now, and Anders feels the way Varric and Isabela’s weight shifts, poised for movement like puppets in a show. Next to his side, Hawke’s mabari watches them mildly. Anders resists the urge to pick up his staff. Hawke’s poker face was seemingly perfect. His dog’s was not. Anders tellls himself he has no reason to be afraid yet.

His heart does not seem interested in listening.

Even as he registers the rush of his own frantic heartbeat, Anders feels a wash of cool magic spread across his chest, soothing his body as Justice murmurs in the back of his mind. 

I will not let them hurt you.

Anders curls his fingers and tries to school his features into impassivity - a feat that’s harder to do when he notices Fenris staring at him again. There is no mabari to warn him of Fenris’ intentions, and Anders feels his heart jumping into the back of his throat despite Justice’s efforts as he tries to read anything in the elf’s face.

Then Hawke flings his hands into the air and Anders jumps as he begins to pace back and forth across the soft, scarred woon floor of the tavern in which they’re meeting. “I’d expect it of the rest of them, but you! Varric, I trusted you.” There’s a terrible fracture in Hawke’s voice then, and all of them flinch. Garrett hasn’t been this audibly upset - that Anders knows of - since the death of his mother. Varric’s shoulders relax as he begins to lower Bianca, and Anders tries not to let that scare him.

He will not betray you.

Justice’s voice is firm in his conviction. But Justice is a spirit, and knows little of such things. 

“Hawke...” Varric’s voice is soft, conciliatory.

Anders glances at the window - it’s boarded shut, a storm had come in not long after Hawke and the others had arrived. It’s hardly the best weather in which to make a quick getaway, but the rain will at least cover his tracks. And one of the benefits of spending eighteen months half starving is that he’s pretty sure he’ll be able to fit through it, once he gets the bolt open.

“We’re not here to hurt him.” All of them turn to stare at Fenris, whose eyes are stil fixed on Anders. Anders resists the urge to step back again, feeling the wooden bench behind him barely brushing his calves. Fenris meets his eyes, and he is as handsome as he was the blighted day he’d met him. “You. Anders. We’re not here to hurt you.” Fenris’ voice is soft, as if he’s speaking to some wounded halla. 

Anders bristles. “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe.” He has his staff in his hand now - he’s not sure when he picked it up - but the weight of it is reassuring and the way it responds to his magic is better. He feels his panic ease as the detached kind of confidence he’d learned from war replaces it. He wouldn’t win a fight, not with all of them - but he’s sure he’d manage to stay alive long enough to get out the window. As quicky as he dares, Anders begins to slide his foot in the direction of the wall. Fenris’ frown deepens.

“What would you have me do? To prove it to you?”

Anders laughs, once, and it’s more of a reflex than humour. His hand tightens hard enough around his staff to hurt. “Put down the giant sword?”

Fenris reaches up and takes the greatsword off his back, laying it carefully on the table beside him and stepping back and away from it. 

At the same time, Hawke slips the daggers from his back with the same deadly, dextrous ease Anders has seen him use a thousand times. For one thick, painful heartbeat he half imagines he can feel his heart at the back of his mouth. He’s seen how quicky Hawke can kill people with those things. He knows how quickly he could kill him. He knows how close he’d come before.

(”You cannot let him live! After what he’s done!” Sebastian’s accent is thick with his anger and despite himself - despite everything - despite his certainty, and his desparation, and his fury and his grief and his resignation - a stupid, foolish, too loving part of Anders half expects Garrett to answer him immediately. To defend him, as he had so easily defended Isabela to the Arishok.

Garrett says nothing.

The last time Anders felt like this, Karl was begging him to kill him.

He waits to die.

When Hawke speaks, his voice is ragged. “Go.”

Anders doesn’t question it. He runs.)

Hawke meets Anders eyes, and lays his daggers carefully beside Fenris’ sword. Then he steps back and away from them.

Anders blinks, and the room blurs.

Merrill swings her staff off her back and places it beside the other weapons. She meets Anders’ eyes with a gentle smile. “Just for safety.”

Isabela looks at him. “Well, kitten?”

Anders takes a deep breath, and steps back and away from the window. Fenris and Garrett’s shoulders slump. Varric chuckles, and lowers Bianca. “Not that I don’t love a good old fashioned Antivan stand-off, but now we’ve got the pleasantries out of the way - can I buy you a drink?”

He looks up at Hawke with a small smile and a hand raised. Hawke frowns. “Why? Why didn’t you trust me?”

Varric’s eyes narrow. “Not sure if you remember, Garrett, but your fingers were looking mighty twitchy the last time you saw Blondie.”

Outside, thunder crashes across the sky and shivers through the tavern’s thick walls. Anders jumps. When Fenris speaks, he does so softly. “Perhaps we should move away from the window?”

Anders grins at him, and it’s mostly just baring his teeth. “Why? Worried I’ll escape?”

Fenris’ eyes are green and lovely and unreadable. “Just worried, mage.”

Anders falters, and for a moment he could swear the elf...smiles at him. But he blinks, the fire in the torches on the walls flickers, and then the expression is gone. Hawke, meanwhile, continues to be focused on Varric. 

“ - you’re the one who wrote a book making him out to be a bloody Maferath! Or worse, Hessarian!”

Varric pinches the bridge of his nose. “Well I could hardly make him Andraste, now could I?”

Despite himself, Anders sniggers. Isabela smirks at him, Fenris only raises an eyebrow. For half a moment, with the distant music of the tavern’s minstrels starting up, and the smell of cheap ale rich and savoury in the air, Anders can almost imagine they’re back in The Hanged Man again, and the worst he has to fear from these people is whatever creative payment they’ll come up with in lieu of coin when he inevitably loses to them at cards.

But then Fenris moves towards him, and Anders’ body tenses, and the illusion shatters. Before Fenris can reach him, Hawke looks up, and with easy familiarity slips his arm around the elf’s waist. Fenris falters, dropping a kiss on Hawke’s head where he’s sitting now, on a bench beside Varric. Anders tries hard to ignore the way that twists a coil around his heart, even after all this time, even after everything. He still isn’t sure which of them he envies more.

He speaks without thinking. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. It’s not like any of you bothered to find me.” Anders notices Varric opening his mouth, and reaches out to squeeze his shoulder through the thick leather of his coat. “Except you, Varric.”

“Hey!” Isabela scowls and Anders grins at her, moving to press a kiss to her cheek that she accepts with a tilt of her head and a grin. “Thank you.”

Anders folds his arms across his chest when he looks at the rest of them. “Merrill I can understand.” He meets her eyes, then, “I know - well, I don’t know, but I can imagine how important Dalish culture is to you and...what I did.” Anders stops, and swallows, and tries to ignore the prickling ball of guilt tearing at his insides. “I can see how that would have made things more dangerous for everyone.”

“Would you do it again?” Again, despite the softness of his voice, Fenris’ question cuts through the general noise of the tavern like nothing else. Again, he meets Anders’ eyes, and Anders cannot read his expression. The firelight shimmers strangely against the lyrium in his skin.

Anders lifts his head, and tightens his fingers around his staff, feeling the magic pulling at him like a magnet. “I would.”

He expects Fenris to rage. He expects Hawke to say something. But Fenris only nods, once, and says nothing. Hawke looks down at his hands for a moment - still big and hairy and calloused as a Fereldan farmer’s - though far more scarred. Then he looks up and meets Anders’ eyes, and Maker help him it’s as difficult to look away now as it was nearly a decade ago, when he’d waltzed into his clinic with stolen armour and borrowed knives asking for a Grey Warden.

“We’ve been looking for you. We never stopped.” Hawke’s voice is quiet, and his hands curl into loose fists in his lap. “I...” He shuts his mouth, and swallows, and Fenris’ hand curls around his shoulder and squeezes it once. Hawke doesn’t look away from Anders. “I’m so sorry.”

Anders forgets how to breathe. “You’re...what?”

Fenris squeezes Hawke’s shoulder again before stepping away from him, and lifts his chin to meet Anders’ eyes. “We both are.”

Anders is seized by the vicious, sudden fear that he is dreaming - that this is some cruel trick of the Fade, and soon he’ll wake and be alone again, on the cold hard earth in some templar-infested wood. 

You are awake.

Justice’s voice is calm, but Anders knows him well enough by now to hear his curiosity. Neither of them had expected this.

Anders doesn’t know what to say.

On the other side of the tavern, a group of men break into a raucous chorus of cheering and laughter - some gamble won and lost, cards probably. Merrill turns in the direction of the noise, before looking back at the rest of them. “Remember when we used to play Wicked Grace? That was nice.”

Isabela smiles at her, and touches her tattooed cheek with the familiarity of a lover. “Of course, sheereen.”

Hawke looks at Varric. “I cannot believe you knew where he was this whole time and you didn’t tell me. I thought you hated him! Maker, I thought you were rallying Thedas to hate him, the way you wrote about him in that blighted book.”

“So that’s why you returned your copy.” Varric says, thoughtfully, stroking the thick gold stubble on his chin.

“He is right here, you know.” Anders says, a little waspishly, though he sits as he does so and, cautiously, sets his staff down beside him. It takes him a moment to peel his fingers away from the shaft and the safety it offers. When he does, Hawke is looking at him with an expression that Anders can only describe as sheepish.

“Sorry.” 

Anders tries, hard, not to smile, and finds the expression pulling at his lips anyway. “I mean, you’re not wrong.” He lowers his voice, “I would drown us all in blood to keep you safe.” He giggles, and slaps Varric on the back when he scowls. “Seriously, where do you come up with this stuff?”

For a moment, Hawke’s expression doesn’t change - then, slow and bright as a sunrise, he starts to grin. Anders’ heart clenches. Maker, he’d missed that smile. 

“Fenris still hasn’t forgiven him for the poopy line.”

Fenris rolls his eyes, but another smile is pulling at his lips, even as he folds his arms. “It is not the joke I take issue with. It is simply not how I speak.”

“In which language?” Anders finds himself asking, lullled into the old familiar rhythm of their conversations. Fenris raises both eyebrows at him. If Anders didn’t know him better, he’d swear the elf looked pleased.

“The trade tongue. Its..slang is nonsensical.”

Hawke laughs, and it’s a great booming thing. At his feet, his mabari lifts its head to lick his hand and he scratches it behind its sandy ears. Its tail thumps against the wooden floorboards. “Says the man who mastered Orlesian verlan.” Hawke looks at Anders, and there’s a bright humour in his eyes that Anders had only glimpsed, briefly, when he’d stepped into the tavern and seen him alive. But then Anders had stepped back, and Hawke’s face had fallen, and Varric had lifted Bianca...Anders blinks, and returns to the present as Hawke finishes. “You know it’s Orlesian backwards. I swear, that brain is wasted on a warrior.”

Fenris huffs, and he’s still smiling when he leans into Hawke’s side. “At least one of us needs to understand the principles of strategy.”

Hawke grins, and slings an arm around Fenris’ shoulders. To Anders’ surprise, Fenris lets him. Hawke looks at Varric and Anders then, and the firelight glitters over the raven-black silk of his hair. “Speaking of which. Where do we sign up to free the mages?”

Anders stares at him. “Sorry, what?”

Fenris shifts, then, leaning easily against Hawke’s side. “We did not come here to hurt you, Anders.”

Merrill grins, and sits forward, eyes bright and smile brighter. “We want to help!”

They do.

[fandomn00blr]

5 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @johaeryslavellan! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing about your own writing and for letting me share about mine, too!

I’m going to focus on my super long and angsty, post-DA2 eventual fenhanders series, Lost and Found: The Misadventures of Marian Hawke and Everyone She Meets, because I have been writing it since I first started publishing my fan fic and probably will be writing it until the day I die (it’s just one of those forever-WIPs, y’know?)

1. What was the idea that started the story?

Ha! Well, I selfishly just wanted to be able to marry both my DA2 husbands. And I wanted to give them an opportunity to be in love with each other, too. Actually, I see Fenris as the one who really makes the OT3 work, and his POV becomes sort of central in this series. There’s some non-canonical drama (because canon just wasn’t dramatic enough), but I wanted everyone to take some time and process some heavy emotions, y’know?

2. Did you make an outline? Have you stuck to it?

Yes. I have made hundreds of outlines. On napkins and scrap paper and in Google docs and in emails to myself. For the most part, once something goes into the outline, it has stayed, which is why this transformed from what I thought was just going to be a single long fic into a huge series with a main storyline in multiple parts and several planned spin-offs and prologues and epilogues.

3. What’s your favorite part of your story?

The eventual happy ending! Haha...it’s already up on AO3, full of spoiler warnings and disclaimers. I’m the kind of person who reads the end of a book or spoils the end of a movie before getting too invested. I’ll still read or watch the whole thing, but I just tend to enjoy it more if I know where it’s heading. And I think the same goes for my own writing. I had a scene that I really wanted to happen, and everything else has been backpedaling to figure out how to get there in a way that makes sense and isn’t just...POOF! Magic! There is still a TON of poofy magical stuff happening in this series that brings everyone together incrementally over time, but then there is a lot of confusion and anger and grief and guilt and stuff that they have to work through, and THAT is way more interesting to me.

4. Who is your favorite character and why?

Fenris! No, Anders! No...wait...Fenris! Seriously, though, Anders has a really special place in my heart, but due to *SPOILERS,* he’s sort of...physically absent...for a big part of what’s been published so far in the series (which is why I started dumping Handers drabbles and flashbacks into the Prologue). I think Anders is wonderful and tragic and so passionate and he and Justice are just trying so hard and the world sucks and Anders was right and...gah! Fenris is also wonderful and his survival story is so triumphant and I definitely head canon him as the smartest, funniest, most self-aware person imaginable. I see them as two really complementary people and my Hawke is really just me getting in the way and being a jackass.

5. Did anything happen that surprised you as you were writing? A plot point, or character’s actions, etc?

I realized somewhere along the way that Merrill and Isabela were going to get together, and I get so excited whenever I can work in some cute little side banter or affection between or about them.

Tagging (only if you want to share!) @factorykat, @barbex, @tryvyalsynnes, and @jenniferhawke (whose fenhawke stuff I just saw today and OMG!), and as always, if you see this and think “oh man...I wish someone would ask me these questions!” please feel free to consider this a tag for you, too!

[antiqua-lugar]

Why Hawke's LIs excuses for not being in DA:I were complete bullshit

Premise: I already think that Hawke feeling guilty for whatever happened with Corypheus is complete bullshit. Hawke had no fucking agency in Legacy. They had no choice to do anything. They were tricked into everything. If they had to feel guilty about anything, they would have felt guilty about THE ENDING OF DA2.

But apparently the Mage/Templar civil war is not a thing in DA:I. Because why would it be? Nevertheless I am trying to approach this as if Hawke feeling guilty for Corypheus is not the issue here. ISABELA’S EXCUSE : SHE DOESN’T BELIEVE IN BEING TIED DOWN I am adressing Isabela first because her excuse is COMPLETELY STUPID. It’s so stupid that it goes against EVERYTHING IN HER ROMANCE IN THE FIRST GAME AND EVERYTHING IN DA:I INQUISITION ITSELF. Not only Isabela deciding to stand WITH Hawke and friends against EVERYTHING is THE FUCKING POINT OF HER CHARACTER ARC IN THE FIRST PLACE, LET ALONE HER ROMANCE but SHE JOINS THE FUCKING INQUISITION AS AN AGENT. AND YET SHE’D RATHER DO STUFF FOR THE INQUISITON AND “HAVE FUN” THAN GO WITH THE LOVE OF HER LIFE ON A SUICIDAL MISSION? FENRIS’S EXCUSE: HE WOULD HAVE DIED TO PROTECT HAWKE This is only slightly less stupid than Isabela’s, because the game hints that Fenris was going to come anyway but Hawke run off into the night. Because Corypheus is their responsibility, blah blah blah. Guys, I don’t know about you, but I think that any love interest would have put themselves before Hawke. And viceversa, Like, this is not a Fenris’ specific issue. LIKE, NO SHIT, ALSO HOW IS THIS NEW INFORMATION? HAVE YOU SLEPT THROUGH YOUR OWN GAME, HAWKE? WE NEARLY DIED WITH EVERYONE THOUSAND OF TIMES. AND THOSE TWO IDIOTS ARE HUNTING DOWN TEVINTER SLAVERS ALONE. It’s not like they retired to the country side to rise goats, they still risk their lives daily.  Also, Fenris is not the one claiming that he would drown them in blood to keep them safe. Fenris is the one who really wants Hawke to stop doing dangerous stuff because one day Hawke will get killed, then sighs and tags along anyway. Also Fenris’ entire character arc is about him growing as his own person and he hates when people pity him or don’t let him have agency. So Hawke running off in the night is even more dumb. And Fenris would have expected that and tagged along anyway. MERRIL/SEBASTIAN’S EXCUSE: THEY HAD BETTER THINGS TO DO Both excuses are sort of good because they both hinge on the fact that Merrill and Sebastian feel like they are responsible for other people and so on, which ties with their arc in DA2. (UNLESS SEBASTIAN IS A PRIEST, THEN HE HAS FUCKING NOTHING TO DO). BUT IF THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE WENT ON A SUICIDAL MISSION, WOULD YOU GO “SURE THING HONEY,  SEE YOU WHEN YOU COME BACK, HOPE YOU DON’T DIE” ?! EITHER THIS MISSION IS SO FUCKING DANGEROUS THAT HAWKE LEAVES FENRIS FOR IT OR IT’S NOT DANGEROUS SO SEBASTIAN AND MERRILL DON’T FEEL THE NEED TO TAG ALONG ANDER’S EXCUSE: HE WAS ALREADY POSSESSED ONCE First off, I am in awe of how much the writers really wanted to pretend the whole Mage/Templar thing never happened. Because THE IDEA OF THE INQUISITION AROUND ANDERS WOULD HAVE WORRIED ME MORE THAN CORYPHEUS. WHAT IF CULLEN WANTS TO IMPRISON HIM AND THE HERALD OF ANDRASTE APPROVES? Second, CAN’T HE JUST STAY AT SKYHOLD? Sure, maybe Mister “I would drown us both in blood to keep you safe” agrees with Hawke that it would be better for him to NOT run into Corypheus and crazy Grey Warden bullshit again BUT HAWKE GOES TO SKYHOLD FIRST. AND THEN FUCKS AROUND SOME MORE. AND ONLY THEN THEY AGREE TO TAKE ON THE WARDENS. Are you telling me that Mister “I would kill for you” cannot just put on a fake beard and chill at Skyhold for a bit?! TL;DR ALL THOSE EXCUSES ARE STUPID AND HAWKE’S CAMEO WAS INCREDIBLY CONTRIVED.

[musingmycelium]

da 20 questions

i was tagged by @goblin-deity thanks dear <3 and i’ll tag @lyrium-lovesong @raymurata @pegaeae @veridium-bye and @crystal-grace <3 no obligations of course <3

01) Favourite game of the series?

ooooghghghghghgh Origins is my Favorite, the Story........

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

i recieved a copy of inquisition as a gift, became immediately immursed but i didn’t dig more into the series for a good half a year or so? at which point i discovered the other two games and went Oh Fuck

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

oh, uHHHHHHH, Far Too Many. i’ve sunk over 1k hours into dai alone, origins and da2 probably have about 1k combined?

04) Favourite race to play as?

i’m always a slut for elves 

05) Favourite class?

me, a staff wielding bisexual: i’m Mage, all the way. though i don’t mind rogue if i mix things up [which is like, i think i have three or four rogue play throughs out of all of them?] i NEVER play warrior bc i’m a bottom i’m not about that life

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

i play in character! so i’ve got some Wildly different world states depending on which playthrough/oc i’m on

07) Go-to adventuring group?

for my Canon world states i’ve got origins gang: sten, zevran, morrigan. da2 gang: fenris/aveline, anders/merrill, varric. dai gang: dorian, bull, solas/sera  i sense a theme...... 

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

oh god, ellanis and noure are my most fleshed out origins kids, wren and galahad are less fleshed out, sorta, but i Love them, idrilla and da’ean are pretty fleshed out as well -though linayel and mithra are also fairly fleshed out i just never write about them 

09) Favourite romance?

ZEVRAN -god i love him so much hhhhhHHHHHHHH he’s got Everything, everytime i play ellanis and he goes ‘the grey wardens die here’ i’m Fucking Lost Already man. hhhhhoooohhghghghghghgh i’d go on but i’m running on cough syrup and midol so it would be even less coherent than ususal

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

lmao i own all the books but i haven’t been able to finish them because My God are they poorly written. LIKE good Characters, good characters, shit prose.

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

the one i’m furthest along in rn is stolen throne so i’ll go with that one

12) Favourite DLCs?

jaws of hakon -holy shit as an archaeologist grad student i cannot tell you how much i Fucking Loved the lore dump in site form that was jaws of hakon JUST OH MY GOD it was AMAZING the first time you talk to professor what’shisface with the hot accent and he starts talking about chronologies via buckles i was fucking lost in nerd heaven

13) Things that annoy you.

homophobia and transphobia and racism. the games are Rife with bad correlations between real people and grey morality and poor handling of sensitive contents, though i don’t know if it was all done for ‘woke’ points or if some came from legitimate good intentions, most of my problems lie in those areas. fandom also hits a lot of my annoyances but that’s what block is for

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

antiva bitch

15) Templars or mages?

mages

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

same one! ellanis is my canon hof but noure is a part of his backstory and they meet during the blight [ellanis frees noure from a sentence of tranquility and conscripts them, uh, temporarily] noure leaves the group after like a week?ish and goes to nevarra. wren and galahad are twins, wren being the older one and the main rabble-rouser hawke. da’ean is the only quizzy but idrilla, linayel, mithra and a handful of other lavellan ocs all exist within the clan -idrilla and linayel and a few others come to skyhold after clan lavellan handles the unrest in wycome with da’ean’s help [my canon there is a bit wonky as of yet as i’m still working out the kinks]  

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

this is the part i suck at, i think ellanis named the mabari something after the flower that saved him? but i don’t remember tbh, and that’s the only one i cna think of rn too lkjlkjlkjklj

18) Have you installed any mods?

oh yes. ohhh yes i have an extense amount of mods on all three games, mostly cosmetic ones but a few gameplay ones

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

ellanis didn’t no, he thought warden’s were a bit of reality mixed with myth. when duncan shows up he’s more skeptical and curious than anything else, and his joining is less than enthusiastic but he makes the most of it for a good five years, before he fucks off to do his own research in antiva in seclusion -he just leaves, with an encripted note for nate making him warden-commander of ferelden while he’s gone and tells him not to tell anyone where he’s gone. only nate and velanna know where he is in the wardens

20) Hawke’s personality?

wren is a purple hawke! she knows what she wants and she is not afraid to go after it, although she does care deeply and shows her affections loudly. she’s a fucking chaotic stupid mess and i love her.

galahad is blue throughout. a natural big brother, super loving and patient and caring. he’s always looking to help, though when things go wrong he tends to blame himself only, he’s more together than wren though. 

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

....yes.......  my inquisition is a fashion disaster, everyone has a palatte but i do complimentary colors for my parties and lis Of Course

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

yes, ellanis would go back and kill the shems before they could crash the wedding -to prevent shianni from ever having to live through what she did. he would still have probably been conscripted by duncan soooo not too big a change for him but, for shianni it would be huge. 

ellanis has another but it’s tied up with noure’s: noure would go back and ambush the templars before being captured and then run for their life. without ever having lived in the circle i don’t, know exactly how noure would come out -probably happier, less jagged, less terrified and paranoid. but probably not by much if they had to live their life constantly looking over their shoulder. they may have ended up in nevarra this way too, but they wouldn’t have ever made it to kirkwall and they never would have met anders or karl, they may have never fallen out of love with ellanis via distance/assumed death, it would be far different than what happened.

wren and galahad both would go back and save bethany. doesn’t matter how, or what the cost to themselves would have been that’s their little sister and they would do anything to save her if they could.

da’ean’s is much the same. his biggest regret, the thing which haunts him the most is ashalle’s [not dao ashalle lmao] death. he was supposed to protect her and after what happens in that field and that month, da’ean blames himself for how his sister died. though he isn’t the one to blame, and later [far, far later] he is able to come to terms with what happened. though he never Truly shakes the guilt.

linayel would probably try to save his mother’s sight. he would tell her to stay with him by the fire, or would try and find a cure faster for her. the illness wasn’t his fault and he knows it wasn’t but given the chance he would save her sight if he could.  

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

lmao canon? never heard of her, a shitton of what i write is either me taking canon and making it Good/Useable or me shitting on it and saying this is My Castle Now

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

this choiice always pissed me off, or it did after i knew who they were. when i first played i had no idea who hawke was or who the grey warden contact was [stroud for my first couple of play throughs] at all. so i would flip flop between them without care really. 

now, in my canon alistair stays behind while hawke physically drags da’ean out because he was going to stay and fight or find a different way out. i still think its shit and a naratively piss-poor meta punch though

25) Favourite mount?

i’m a dirty gatherer so i don’t actually use any mount. the only time i Have used a mount was the royal 16 for screenshot purposes, which i lost when my harddrive crashed a couple months ago D:

[mahalzevran]

DA 20+ Questions

Tagged by @antivan-surana​ thanks! Tagging @situationnormal​ @the-dread-doggo​ @acepavus​ @aroundofgwent​ @lakambaeni​ @kxnways​ @fuckbioware​ (no pressure ofc) and anyone who wants to?

The rest is under a read more because it’s long

01) Favourite game of the series?

Origins, only because you got less and less op as a mage as the games went on. I love all the games tbh.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

My friend got my sister into it. They kept talking and talking about it so finally I was like “ok lets see what the big deal is” and here I am now

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

I’ve done Origins twice fully, DA2 four times fully (omg I didn’t realize this until now lol) and DA:I just once fully. I have one unfinished playthrough of Origins with a Cousland, and I’m in the middle of maybe two of DA:I. I think I’ve gone back and replayed certain parts of both Origins and DA:I plenty of times.

04) Favourite race to play as?

Elf I guess? Though I’ve only fully played as a human and elf. I’m in the middle of a dwarf playthrough and I’m thinking of doing a qunari one in the future. It might change idk.

I just really liked playing as an elf in Origins so that’s why I got into elves. But the funny thing is, I wasn’t even thinking of playing as an elf when I played for the first time. I wanted to play as a human. I just did it on a whim.

05) Favourite class?

Mage, hands down. Realistically, they’re the most versatile class. They can do range and melee since anyone can learn how to fight with weapons. But the last two games won’t let you so :)

Also, this stems from the fact that I’ve been a harry potter fan since I could remember.

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

In my full, proper playthroughs that I’ve finished, it’s slightly different but still the same basic ideas. Sided with mages, agreed with Anders, etc.

But I am planning to try an evil playthrough in the future so

07) Go-to adventuring group?

DA:O (I have two)

Leliana, Wynne, Shale - the OG crew; they were my main crew in my first playthrough and it was a pretty even party

Zevran, Leliana, Alistair - the elf crew; esp. with Rhian they’re all elves because I saw a theory that Leliana is half elf and I’m down

DA2

It’s a mixed bag. If I’m not playing as a mage, I usually take Anders a lot because we need a healer and Merrill can’t heal. I tend not to take Sebastian as much after I max his friendship. After Sebastian, I take Aveline the least. Other than that I just mix it up. Unless I’m romancing someone, then I take them every time.

I’d love to take Anders, Fenris, and Merrill out more often but I hate how mean they all are to each other (looking @ u bioware 👀)

DA:I

My first playthrough, I mixed it up a lot in the beginning but then I ended up bringing Solas, Cole, and Blackwall a lot near the end for some reason?

I love taking Vivienne, Dorian, and Solas out, especially if I’m playing a mage, because it’s such a pretty fireworks show

In general though, if I’m romancing someone I take them with me almost always.

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

I think it’s a tie between Rhian and Lu.

09) Favourite romance?

To no one’s surprise, it’s Zevran :3

Solas is second because I just really like that angst.

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

I’ve read The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, and Until We Speak (because someone gifted me the Omnibus) and The Calling.

I also have Hard in Hightown, which I should probably read lol, and the art book of inquisition.

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

The Calling solely because of my mom Fiona and my dad Duncan. 

12) Favourite DLCs?

Awakening because I love everyone and its also really funny that Rhian, who is 19 at that point, had to basically babysit people older than her and also run a whole arling.

I love both Legacy and Mark of the Assassin. Mark of the Assassin was really funny (though I hated the stealth part). I love Legacy specifically because when I was fighting Corypheus, both Varric and Anders K.O.’d and it was just me and Carver. It was a special family moment bringing down a whole entire magister together. I also hc that that was canon and it brought Kaia and Carver closer together.

13) Things that annoy you.

I’m gonna talk about the game bc if this is about the fandom, then that’s a whole other thing.

Anders’ writing for one. It doesn’t make sense that he’d approve of giving Fenris back to Danarius. And also that he wouldn’t tell f!Hawke that he’s bi? Then there’s the fact that Anders, Fenris, and Merrill all don’t get along when they have a lot in common.

Anything that was written by Lukas Krisdkjsdhkdk. Aveline, Sera, etc. he did a really bad job.

Also didn’t like that mages got less OP in the last two games.

There’s also the tone-deafness? Dorian, a brown man, saying slavery is ok. And also there’s the dialogue between Solas and Vivienne where Solas supposedly “owns” Vivienne. I think he says something like “may you learn”? Solas, a white person, saying this to Vivienne, a black woman, when there’s obvious colorism in Thedas? I think not.

There’s probably other but I can’t think of them right now.

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Orlais is too snooty and Ferelden doesn’t season their food. I pick Seheron and Laysh because that’s where the Asians are at.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages

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

Originally, my canonverse was Rhian, Kaia, and Luwalhati. Alden and Bolin were part of an AU. Then Alden finagled his way in there, then I decided to have Bolin in there too. So now i have twin Hawkes and Bolin is part of the Inquisition (if he’s a companion or not, I haven’t thought about)

I have plenty of other OCs that I’m planning on, but they’re currently sorted into a different universe.

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

Pikamon for the Origins mabari. It’s a mix between the names of my two dogs, Pikachu and Cinnamon

Cinnachu for the DA2 mabari, also a mix of Pikachu and Cinnamon.

Lu’s mount is the royal sixteen (hart), which is given to you by Clan Lavellan if you manage to keep them alive iirc, and its name is Luntian, the tagalog word for green which is her favorite color. (In a teen!Lu AU, her mount is the bog unicorn bc she’s an edgelord)

18) Have you installed any mods?

It would be more surprising if I didn’t. How else would I manage to have my characters look like the’re poc?? And also get rid of whitewashing and have some continuity. I usually just do cosmetic mods if it’s my first playthrough. Then I do like “cheats” after I finish the game fully.

Fun fact, I once spent like 2+ hrs modding Origins to have the Zev romance the way I want. I also stayed up until like 5am trying to make Solas look like his concept art lol (it didn’t really work)

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

Rhian didn’t not want to become a warden. She read about them and thought they were an honorable order, but she didn’t expect to ever have a chance to become one. Her goal was to just go up in the Circle hierarchy, maybe even become First Enchanter. Then when the time came, she didn’t really have much of a choice.

20) Hawke’s personality?

Kaia is blue and Alden is purple

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

At first, I didn’t get what the big deal was with crafting. It didn’t seem fun at all lol. Then I tried it and was hooked. I don’t have them matching, but I do tend to try to match my Inquisitor with their LI in some way.

My usual procedure for armor in Inquisition is like this. I make everyone wear heavy armor and pick the materials that have the highest attributes, not caring how ridiculous the colors are. Then I go to tint them using a guide for each companion’s color scheme. This is the same for helmet but I usually have them turned off or have no one wearing one.

The only exception is Varric, Cole, and Blackwall. I have Varric wear the rogue armor that looks like his DA2 outfit, and Cole and Blackwall wear the Grey Warden heavy armor. I tint the grey warden armor using a guide for its color scheme.

I have Bull, Vivienne, and Cole wear their unique helmets.

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

Rhian - She’d probably want to re-do how she told Zevran that she wasn’t exactly dead.

Kaia - Taken Quentin’s threat more seriously and killed him before he got to Leandra

Alden - He has no regrets

Luwalhati - wouldn’t have taken Sam and Wis with her so they wouldn’t have had to have died in the conclave explosion

Bolin - None, all of his decisions led him to Dorian and he’s happy with that.

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

They’re all at least part Seheron?

I also hc that neither Carver nor Bethany die because Kaia was able to cast a barrier on both of them before the ogre got them. Then they both became Grey Wardens because Carver contracted the taint in the expedition and wouldn’t join the Wardens unless Bethany came with him too.

Another hc I have is that Sebastian didn’t leave when Anders was spared and stayed to help out. But he went his separate way after because he still didn’t approve of sparing him.

Oh shoot, I almost forgot. The most against canon thing I’ve done probably? Rhian didn’t do the Ritual but she did slay the archdemon without dying. Rhian’s an arcane warrior, so when she slayed it, she was partway in the fade. Being partway into the fade was enough for her essence, I guess, to survive it. But she’s not mortal anymore and kind of a spirit now? So she periodically has to chill in the fade because being in the real world takes a toll on her.

25) Who did you leave in the Fade?

In the game, it was Stroud. I killed Loghain and no way is Alistair gonna be trapped in there. Fiona will be sad. So I made Alistair king in the game only, so Stroud was the one that was left.

This is another off canon thing I did. In my actual canon, Alistair is the warden contact. The Hawke that comes to the Inquisition is both Kaia and Alden. Alden brings Fenris with him because he doesn’t go anywhere without his Boo-Boo. Bethany and Carver also come because Weisshaupt was being weird and it seemed like they would be safer in the Inquisition. Lu + her party, Alistair, Kaia, Alden, Fenris, Bethany, and Carver all come to Adamant. Because there’s so many people, everyone was able to escape the Fade. No one is left behind.

26) Favourite mount? The nugs! All of them :) 

Though I don’t really use the mounts lol

[ageofdragon]

DA4 Cameos and Companions

I wanted to address this, since I really liked this post by @quizzy-tielle​ but there are a few more notes that can be added. tdlr at the bottom, under the read more.

Origins

Alistair: Alistair will probably only have a Cameo since he has two different paths (Warden or King), but I could see him being plot relevant. Maybe only a Warden like in DA2, even if it is possible for him to “die” in DA:I. This is because DA:I leaves that open if they want to “retcon” it. The words used in the choice implies you might be leaving Alistair to his death, there is an open end there. Especially since we don’t see his dead body only what looks like him going down. On the other hand, it has been a while since his Joining and unless he is like his mother (or the dragon’s blood theory is true), then he is almost due for his Calling. So if Al is there in DA4, expect him in Grey Warden regalia.

Morrigan: I don’t think Morrigan will ever be a Companion player again, but she will be a major npc no matter where the game takes place. Not only is she headed where we are supposed to be, but she is now carrying some of the last remnants of Mythal whether in her head (depending on who drank the Well) or in her blood.

Leliana: If our game does actually take place in Tevinter, I think she might get a mention at best. Either by reminiscent characters or in the grand scheme of things. I don’t see her playing to much part unless some of the game returns to Orlais, in which case as a Divine she could very well pop up. As well as still being interested/running the Inquisition’s spies against Solas (I believe even as the Divine), so again a peripheral character. That said I’d really be interested to see if Lyrium Ghost Leliana pops up anywhere!

Wynne: Wynne has actually died by Asunder; leaving not a character no one cares about, but one that even if people wanted her she is unable to return. Unless as a spirit of course. That said it is not out of the question to meet her son Rhys and perhaps recruit him as a companion, along with his Templar sweetheart Evangeline.

Oghren: I could have seen Oghren returning when the team consisted of mostly the old writers. But with Weekes in charge and a few new writers around, I agree he is probably too lowbrow and overlooked (even among the writers) to pop up again. At the very most, if at all, it’ll be a quick mention somewhere.

Zevran: I agree that Zevran possibly being dead makes it hard, but honestly if I don’t get to see Zev once in this new engine. I will move to Canada just to stand outside Bioware studios and scream continuously at them till the day I perish. Zevran deserves more and if Leliana can resurrect, why not our favorite elven assassin.

Sten: Sten is actually a pretty popular character, only he doesn’t go by Sten anymore. Well at least not for most people. Which is where the conflict comes in. For anyone who earned Sten’s loyalty, he is Arishok now. Which big Qunari plot means definite appearance by the Arishok. However, I don’t see him being a companion, at best he would be a NPC ally. On the other hand, those who didn’t help Sten left him without the Qun...unless he went back and became Arishok later (after the Warden) which is a very easy work around.

Shale: I could actually see Shale being a companion. I mean they can reuse at least one (even in DA2, Nathaniel was going to be a return companion but they scraped it). Shale was a character a lot of people liked, but being a DLC character was underexplored. She was last seen heading to Tevinter to discover how to be a dwarf again. So golem, dwarven, or a mix of the two, Shale is a huge possibility.

Hero of Ferelden: Bioware has pretty much confirmed the Warden won’t be back in full capacity ever. Mostly because creating a unvoiced major character is very hard, when they once spoke (unable to make canonically mute) and finding a voice is no solution (they wouldn’t be able to appease enough people, no matter the actor). Which pretty much seals it as, if the Warden shows up, it is in a written or spoken about capacity and nothing more.

Dragon Age 2

Carver/Bethany: It would be such a guilt pleasure if they did show up, but I highly doubt they would and certainly not as a companion. They have too many outcomes and possible paths, it’ll probably be like in DA:I where they get a special mention. OR if Bioware was really clever, they’d make an obscure Warden in the background look like them but obscure enough they can handwave it as “no, but maybe”. Either way, might show up in the Weisshaupt storyline as a special mention, but not much more.

Fenris: I agree with the other post, that Fenris is the one person who would be the one most likely to pop up. I still don’t think as a companion, because he can die. But I do think he could be an ally NPC. Fenris either gets sent back to Danarius or has spent the past years hunting down slavers, so he is bound to be in or near Tevinter. I have almost no doubt we’ll see him, physically, at least once. Though I wouldn’t rule out him being a Weisshaupt too, if he romance Hawke and Hawke wasn’t left in the Fade.

Isabela: Isabela has been in every game so far and if they don’t continue this in DA4 I will be upset. Seriously, it’s like an expectation now. Every DA game is like sex, it’s fun, there is depth, and Isabela is there. Maybe as a companion, maybe as an NPC, or a extra to the cause. Don’t care, she just has to be there now. It’s a signature. Which...if we can get her in her sick Captain’s outfit again, more kudos to them.

Merrill: Hmmm, I don’t know about Merrill. She is such a good and well liked character, and I really need her to interact with Solas. BUT she had far more reason to be in DA:I, in a game that most likely will take place in Tevinter and surrounding area...I’m not sure where she’d fit. Not as a companion I don’t think. Maybe a cameo in Weisshaupt or when dealing with Solas stuff, but even then, her investment in those things seems a bit weak. The most likely place for me, would be dealing with the Eluvians or maybe even helping run an elven slave underground...kind of. But it would really depend where the game chooses to focus (on Tevinter, Solas, Weisshaupt, all 3 equally by some miracle).

Anders: I think at this point, everyone who loves Anders wants Anders back and safe, but also doesn’t want him to be touch by Bioware anymore. And anyone who hates Anders has either killed him or hoped that he was dead...so... Mixed feelings and mixed ideas. I don’t think he’ll ever be a companion again, Bioware learned their lesson (kind of considering Sera). But also being the entire world’s [of Thedas’s] scapegoat for the Mage War/Mage Split, I’m 99.9% sure we haven’t heard the last of some saying something bias, pretty much untrue, and absolutely scathing about him.

Aveline: She is helping run Kirkwall, which is where she belongs. If the game reaches out to the Free Marches, a glimpse or mention of her is sure to be heard. After all, she is the biggest badass there at the moment. Her days on the screen are probably over though, she was a good character but not one interesting enough to last past a single game of screen time. That said, I’d love to see her side-story with the Du Lacs actually revisited at some point, give us a deep Investigative story with her.

Varric: I mean I have to agree with quiz tielle, it pains me but his days as a companion are probably over. That said, I absolutely believe he’ll still have a large role to play. For starters, he is still our storyteller. Thedas’ storyteller and I highly doubt he’ll miss a chance to write out all of Thedas’ major historical events into eye-catching adventure novels till the day he dies. He may be a played out companion (can’t relate) but he isn’t dead and he is still an adventurer at heart, no matter how much he complains about the outdoors. All that aside, he is cousin to probably the most important, incredibly attractive magister in Tevinter right now, Maevaris Tilani (Tethras). I can definitely believe he’ll pop in to say hello and maybe scoop up a story or two, during DA4.

Sebastian: I’m not sure, I forget how his War Table mission plays out...but also not to offend any diehard Seb fans or anything...but he is shit and if he returns I’ll want to punch him. I mean he tried to overtake Kirkwall, for no reason than his own pride and probably a political move to strength his own country. It’s a Free Marcher thing, sure. But still, Sebastian Vael can get stuffed. That so awfully said, if he does come back I’ll still have a good time. Which serious for a moment, I don’t know why he would. Unless like I said we return to the Free Marches for whatever reason.

Tallis?: I have no idea if we have seen the last of her or not. I mean according to DA2 we haven’t and she was a War Table in Inquisitiion. So I suppose if there is a Qunari plot in DA4, you’d expect see her there. But I don’t know how there she’ll be...she could even be a companion. It’s a possibility, but I don’t expect it as a strong one.

Hawke: Hawke is definitely coming back, I don’t know when and I don’t know where but they will. I don’t say this as someone who loved their Hawke tho. I say this because Weisshaupt’s storyline seems to weigh on Hawke’s presence (if they escaped, they said that is where they are headed) and again, like I said in Alistair the decision to leave them behind in the Fade wasn’t final. Hell I wouldn’t be surprised in if in the obligatory Fade mission we ran into a Hawke that got left behind, half dead but still trucking along with that Purple Hawke smirk on their face. “You look like wyvern shit, Hawke.”  “You would know.”

Dragon Age Inquisition

Josephine: I think if the Inquisition is there, Josephine is definitely going to be there in some regard. Even if it is a few letters lying around. She’ll be less relevant that she was in Inquisition though, well unless you romanced her. She still has a family to take care of, plus all that new trade and a few diplomatic graces. A lot for her to take on, plus a maybe slave rebellion?

Cullen: Cullen time has come, I don’t think Cullen wants a thing to do with Tevinter cause mages and honestly I’m glad. I mean yeah, he was the white boy version of Isabela’s cameo, but far less entertaining with his anti-mage, but they’re sorta of okay rhetoric. A little salty, yeah. Cause Bioware had 3 chances to get him to a better place (aka make him a great character with growth), but never got there. So as much as I’d love to see them try and fail to make him a better person one more time, it’s time to let him rest. With his slightly changed notions, his lyrium detox facility, and his dog. That rant over, he could be there in the same capacity as Josephine. A few letters and a little something extra for romancers.

Blackwall: A hard one...in theory Blackwall could make a comeback during the Grey Warden plot, Bioware hyped up. He could even be a true Grey Warden companion this time. However, he has a lot of variables and that makes it hard to bring him back as a return character. He could have died, he could have been saved and hidden, or he could have been saved and made a Grey Warden. Not to mention adding romances and whether he got the Grey Warden epilogue or the “prison counselor” epilogue.

Cassandra: I think Cassandra will have the same role/handling as Leliana honestly. She won’t be a companion, but we will see her interacting with the Inquisitor. Divine or not, she is still helping them with Solas. Though we might not actually interact with her, unless Orlais. Again like Leli.

Iron Bull: Another difficult one. On one hand, he could be dead and that is the end of. On the other he could be with Dorian, who I’ll get to in a minute. I think it’ll be a bit easier though, because they can use him like they did Stroud. If he is alive and helping Dorian (or the Inquisitor) then he can show up, be his usual self. Make references to the past game and his Chargers. If he is dead, then he has a blank stand-in that we kind of get to know during the rest of the game, but never to the extent that we know/knew Bull. That said, he is definitely not becoming a companion. Only two characters with a possible death have ever became companions again after said moment, and I think the fact it happens in the same game leaves Carver and Bethany in a completely different category.

Dorian: Alright, if we were ever going to have a returning companion it will probably be Dorian. I have to agree with the assumption. Because Dorian is Tevinter. He’s the good, the bad. The parts that need change, but also the parts that should be praised. He was singled out for this in Inquisition. It was focused on heavily about him being the new Tevinter ambassador. Of him and Mae taking Tevinter by storm. Their reformation of the Magisterium. They even gave him a plot item, that seemed unnecessary and yet provided a link. Which I’m talking about his sending crystal/magic cellphone. It was endearing and also telling. Why need a crystal when letters work too? And I highly doubt it was just to introduce the idea for fun...I’m getting carried away on my favorite boy. What I mean to say, is Dorian, if not a companion, will be a huge player in the next game. Assuming they are still sending us to Tevinter as planned. Not just because he was so loved, which he way. Or because he is an utterly striking, handsome character, which he is. But because Dorian is a major player in Tevinter as is, trying to change his country and you don’t just go to a country and not meet the most influential of them all.

Solas: Oh boy, I have so much to say about this. First off, I don’t agree with the other post. I don’t think Solas will be the biggest villain this game, this time around. Unless Weekes is really enamored with getting that story out of the way, which he might be. I think he’ll be a smaller big bad in the grand scheme of things, whereas he was the big bad in Inquisition (literally all that happened because of him). I think it’d be interesting to see him as a return companion though. Like yes, we all know who he is. But to our new character? Maybe he is just a revolutionist, maybe he was the one who freed them (if they go the slave plot for the PC). Another chance for him to play the PC and we have to watch it happen. But also, we have to figure out why he’d help us with this rebellion (again relies on the slave plot being used) when he has no horses in the race. I don’t know, it is a possibility and a frustrating, but interesting one.

Vivienne: If she is Divine, I don’t see her doing anymore that Cassandra or Leliana in the position. And again, very dependent on if we go to Orlais. Maybe more so, since she wasn’t a founding agent of the Inquisition like Leliana and Cassandra. However, if the Mage College/Circles of Magi issue is more prominent than I think it will be in DA4, then she might show up a bit more than usual. Still don’t think she’ll be a big role or ally to the main character though.

Cole: I don’t agree with Cole not fighting people, but I do agree that he has other things to worry about that the PC in DA4. That said, when it comes to Solas I feel like Cole will be back instantly. Solas and Cole were incredibly close (for a few reasons I can theorize, coughelves=spiritscough), and he was one of the few who actually wanted to save Solas. So if he is there, he is there for his friends and Solas only. Which means no companionship from him.

Sera: I can’t see Sera giving it a try in Tevinter, for so many reasons. Unless the Inky asks her of course. Every thing from the elves, many who just accept their lives. To the magic, to the lack of friends due to brainwashing and fear. It’s just not an environment Sera would enjoy or even want to be it. But if Orlais is still playing a big part in the next game, I’m sure we’ll turn up the Val Royeaux Jenny eventually. Or like I said, if Inky needs her. I doubt she’ll have much to do with the main character though.

Inquisitor: They’ll be there. In some shape or form they’ll show up, that I have no doubt of. How or when will be a mystery. It might be in the form of speaking to Dorian through the sending crystal (removes the need for a CC) or it might be as a Major Ally (i.e. Hawke in Inquisition). I don’t think the story will center around them as much as we think or would like though. Since this isn’t another Inquisitor story, but our new PC’s story.

Tldr: 

As far as I believe, there could be a ton of cameos from almost anybody. Seriously, there are maybe 3 who won’t come back and none of them are the Wardens or Hawkes left in the Fade. 

The only one from DAO I could see being a companion is Shale, but Sten/Arishok deserves a mention if the Qunari War Plot is going to be as important as we’ve been led to think.

From DA2, I can only see Tallis as a companion, again due to the supposed Qunari War plot. But I’m sure we’ll see Fenris, Varric, Hawke, and Isabela again somewhere in DA4. 

Inquisition provides the most likely return companion, Dorian. I could see Solas or Blackwall returning as a companion, but I don’t think they truly beat out Dorian in the amount of importance and content we could get from a returning character by our side. Since Inquisition is the newest game, I especially see most if not all of the characters making some form of cameo.

Some Special Mentions I want to throw out there too. I imagine Calpernia will still be relevant in some way to the story. As she is also someone who wants to redeem Tevinter (in her own way) and could not be killed by the Inquisitor, even being a villain in their game.

Marius, Tessa, and Charter all seem to relevant, recurring characters in the extended media. I wouldn’t be surprised if they roles in the next game. Especially given Marius’s ties to Tevinter and Calpernia

If we don’t have Maevaris Tilani as a companion, after all of this, I will be shocked and scandalized. She has been another character that has both importance in Tevinter and seems to hold importance to the writers (though how this will go now that her main writer, David Gaider has left I don’t know. Weekes still has access to them and he should use it).

We haven’t yet seen the end of Valta...and perhaps Renn. I’m not sure Bioware will approach more dwarven concepts in DA4, but one can hope. Even more so, since I want to see what happened to Valta and just what is happening with the Titans.

[carabas]

Dragon Age: Inquisition!

Top five things I’d change about Inquisition:

1. The mage rebellion should not have been resolved in this game. Not while we’re playing as the Inquisitor. Look, I love being able to help Fiona, and I love seeing Leliana declare the mages free. But.

Two games and a novel showing us the struggle of the mages, fighting this uphill battle, winning boons only to have them taken away again, people like Anders going to great lengths to show the world the abuses going on, people like Fiona struggling to unite the mages behind her because only when they are united do they have a chance to change anything-

And then it turns out the key to freedom was to be the messiah.

Just wake up one day and find you’ve been declared messiah.

How can you convince the Chantry to let the mages go? Easy! Just be the person in power! Be the person who gets to choose the new leader of the Chantry! Gosh, it’s so simple, how did we not see that before?

2. More plot-relevant side quests dealt with in person, less running errands that your agents could and should be handling for you.

Break side quests into categories like DA2 did, with the fetch quests separated out to make it clear what’s optional (literally EVERYTHING, NONE OF THE SIDE QUESTS MATTER, THEY’RE ALL FETCH QUESTS, GET OUT OF THE HINTERLANDS), or stagger them so that they're not available until after certain main quests have been completed, so that the story’s pace isn’t bogged down so much in the first half of the game. There are so many side quests and war table missions that I’d like to swap.

3. The possibility of failure.

Awakening did this perfectly: you have to choose how to use your limited resources, you can’t guard everything at once; and you have to build up your defenses if you want to keep your people alive. But for all the constant warnings about consequences for your actions in Inquisition, the Inquisitor’s only real chance of failure is in war table missions with no emotional impact.

So at minimum, if I screw up a war table mission badly enough, then I want a cutscene afterward, I want an NPC I can see and talk to. If Clan Lavellan dies I want the chance to say something about it.

I want an assault on Skyhold. There has to be an assault on Skyhold. I want Skyhold to be able to survive where Haven didn’t, I want to see the agents I recruited protecting it, I want it to survive because I made alliances and built up my defenses, I want being the Inquisitor to mean something more than just a title and a throne and a power trip.

4. Remove Hawke.

Let them send a letter like the Warden did, let us know that Hawke and their LI are still alive and safe, acknowledge the role they played in freeing Corypheus and red lyrium and the start of the mage rebellion, and that’s it. There are just way too many variables here; no matter what dialogue they put in, Hawke-as-an-NPC was always going to seem OOC to some portion of the audience. It’s not just one bit of dialogue, not just the way Hawke feels about blood magic or the Wardens or the Inquisition or Anders or Kirkwall or their willingness to sacrifice themselves to a Fade spider - it’s everything combined.

And the sacrifice option in the Fade actively irritates me. It undermines everything I loved about DA2, and Flemeth’s message to Hawke in particular. “We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment… and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly.” That’s gorgeous! The hope that the uprising at the end of the game is flying, not falling! That for all the tragedies you go through, you survive!

Or, alternatively, she could have been saying, “Go feed yourself to a demon and die,” I guess.

And the timing. The timing’s the worst part. Hawke shows up when you’ve just gotten to Skyhold. I would really like to like Skyhold. It’s my new base, it’s filled with my team, I want to enjoy it. But in practice, when you first arrive in Skyhold, you’re treated to a ton of dialogue in which your companions insult each other, and then you top it off with the frustration of trying to make not-Hawke look vaguely like your custom Hawke, which I STILL haven’t managed. I’ve tried nine times! Three per playthrough! I can’t do it! I wind up giving up in frustration and listening to someone who looks nothing like my Hawke say things that my Hawke would never say. WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME, ISN’T THIS FUN.

So. Yes. Remove Hawke. I love Hawke’s brief conversation with Varric in the hallway, but I am willing to sacrifice that. Remove Hawke, and instantly improve my ability to feel something positive about Skyhold.

5. Admittedly this is several things crammed into one but let’s go with the theme of making this game feel more personal, that counts as one thing:

Add a pre-Conclave prologue. Show us who our Herald was before they became the Herald. Show us the people that we hear about later in those war table missions. Give me some clue what my mage Trevelyan was doing during the war instead of forcing me to puzzle it out along the way from contradictory dialogue.

Add at least one more personal quest for each companion.

Add a reason to go to your quarters in Skyhold more often. Give the Inquisitor a pet, put their collections on the shelves, give them gifts from their companions and display them there - possibly this would be that extra companion quest I just suggested - let their companions visit them there, let their LI move in with them there, SOMETHING. Give the Inquisitor a place to relax and feel at home. Because Skyhold isn’t a home, it’s a place of business.

The Warden got to huddle around a campfire with their companions, and you spent time there, you had conversations there. Hawke had an estate where their friends would come over just to play with the dog, where Isabela doodles in the margins of the books and Merrill (and I suspect Anders) has named the statues Finnegan and Messere Pointy-Face. But my Inquisitor Trevelyan just has a room he never sees, decorated with a banner bearing the symbol of the templars who’ve been hunting him down over this past year of war.

…since I mostly post about DA2 and not Inquisition so much, I also want to point out the things I wouldn’t change - the Temple of Mythal, the encounter with Flemeth, Solas, the ancient elves, the eluvians, Trespasser, wandering through elven ruins, a story told primarily through desolate landscapes, through music and atmosphere…

Inquisition is a three-act story of faith and personhood revolving around the Herald’s ties to Andraste, Mythal, and then Fen'Harel, and I’m in love with the second and third acts. That first act, though.