#and ari goes with a warden i have in reserve that i haven't even played yet (his name is dunks he's a dwarven rogue i love him)

[flashhwing]

i. feel like rambling about my hawkes. under a cut to spare y'all

so they're all pro-mage obviously because I can't uh. stomach a playthrough otherwise fjkdls but the way they are is different in a way that i think is interesting

Matt, my first Hawke, is a purple rogue who's pro-mage in a kinda. labrador retriever kinda way. he supports mages because so many people he loves are mages, why wouldn't he advocate for their freedom? there's not an argument in the world that could sway him because this belief isn't built on any sense of logic or right and wrong, it's built on love. when Anders asked him to distract Elthina he did so without question, and while the chantry boom scared the shit out of him of course he fights for the mages, and he trusts and supports Anders in everything

Oliver, my canon Hawke, is a red mage who's pro-mage in a selfish kinda way, but also in a "I don't trust any authority" kinda way. in the early game, this manifested as doing whatever the guard or templars asked of him, as a way to avoid suspicion. as time goes on, and especially due to Anders' influence, he starts to come off of that and by act 2 he's very openly, aggressively pro-mage. he is cross with Anders for lying to him and for refusing to divulge his plan, but he goes along with it anyway, and the most upsetting part of the chantry boom is realizing that Anders fully expected him to kill him, and why

(sidenote, Oliver's pro-templar actions in act 1 are a direct result of me wanting to get Carver to 100 friendship by the end of act 1. i did not succeed, but i got an interesting character out of it so y'know)

Ari, my current Hawke, is a blue warrior who's pro-mage because he has sat down and thought it through. he knows mages deserve freedom and equal rights and he will put his money where his mouth is -- to an extent. he doesn't support blood magic and he doesn't support abominations, and he knows that mages don't need the circle to prevent those because he had his father and bethany as examples. he's still early in act 1 so we'll see how his character progresses, but I know that he will romance Anders (and Isabela) and then, in the end, he will kill Anders, and he will see it as an act of mercy, the same as Aveline killing Wesley or Anders killing Karl