#and i would literally die for fenris

[the-cryptographer]

Fenris's anger towards Danarius in act 1 is so deceptive. Not that it doesn't exist - it definitely exists, is very real and all-consuming. And Fenris definitely creates a very logically sound argument for why it exists and why Danarius deserves to die and why it would be incredibly insulting to just pay Danarius for his own freedom - ie. the institution of slavery is evil! after everything he's taken from me, why does he also deserve my money?! (Absolutely a fair point. But nevermind that Fenris knows perfectly well that Danarius is already extremely wealthy, and already expending a far greater amount of money having him tracked and hunted and brought back alive than Fenris could ever hope to match.) And I think it all distracts from the fact that Fenris is just not a very ideological person and isn't actually motivated by ideological ideals. Which is what makes him a sensible and reasonable and pragmatic person (unlike Anders who is 100% fuelled by outrage against injustice in the face of every practical impossibility to his plans, and is thus insane (i say this affectionately, please keep your Anders hate/salt off my post)).

There's just a very practical reason that Fenris is so angry in Act 1 and I think it's that his anger is one of a very few things that's keeping him from going back to his abuser. Like, Danarius has gone out of his way to make as sure as possible that Fenris's time as a man free is as miserable and uncomfortable as being his slave, if not more. When you meet Fenris, he's being chased across the filthy backwaters of Southern Thedas by bounty hunters, hounded and paranoid and unsafe at every turn, without access to adequate food or housing or medical care, incredibly lonely and entirely without allies (and who would want to ally with him, when it comes with the strife of becoming a target of those bounty hunters too??). He is living a miserable grimy existence, and he knows that the easiest way to make it stop is to give in. To go back to Danarius - let Danarius be the solution to the problem that Danarius created in the first place, entirely with the intention of bringing Fenris back under his control. And the only thing stopping Fenris from doing that is him reminding himself at every inconvinient moment that he's furious with Danarius and the guy made his life hell and deserves to die miserably. And you think so too, right, Hawke?! Tell him you think so too!

So that anger is important, but the things that Fenris said in it also can't really be taken as a literal understanding of his thought process or his actual desires imho. It's just pretty obvious by the time you reach acts 2 and 3, when Fenris has far more in the way of resources and allies and security, that all his conviction and outrage in act 1 about how he'd go and hunt down Danarius and kill the man himself was an extremely empty bit of hot air. His grand plan for dealing with Danarius in act 3 is 'hope that guy has moved on and forgotten about me so I can meet my sister in peace'. Frankly, he doesn't want to kill Danarius - doesn't want to have to. Much in the same way he didn't want to have to kill Hadriana. He doesn't give a shit about revenge or whether or not they deserve it for their magical crimes. It's just that none of these fuckers will leave him the fuck alone to move on with his life.

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜

Corinne Busche celebrates 5 years at BioWare! [source]

Devs Michelle Flamm and Gabe Graziani: "feels weird that 'the last game informer cover game is a game I worked on' is a thing I can say now" / "And all of the exclusive coverage we did with them is just... gone." [source, two]

Jon Renish: "It's just a coincidence but, the last cover for Game Informer is 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard', the last printed Prima strategy guide was 'Anthem'." [source]

John Epler: "christ. seeing game informer shutting down is awful. seeing them shut down literally three months after spending time with them is fucking me up. hope everyone lands on their feet. unbelievable." [source]

Jay Ingram (on GI): "Oh my gosh. It was always so exciting to see what the cover story of a month would be, and then even more so as a dev when you showcase games I've been privileged to work on. This is so sad. Thank you for everything. I wish you all the best. Truly the end of an era" [source]

Derek Wilks: "Seriously hate to see Game Informer go. They’ve been my go to for years. Always loved their magazines. They will be greatly missed. It’s a bittersweet honor to have our game as their last cover story. Wish they could have continued forever. 💔" [source]

User: "Will Briala make another appearance in the future (not necessarily in Veilguard)?" Trick Weekes: "Anyone who didn’t die onscreen could potentially show up again someday." [source]

[Here] is the link to costume builder Ladytoxie's SDCC V-log! Ladytoxie was invited to the DA:TV@SDCC Fandom party, at which they cosplayed Bellara. In the vlog, they discuss their Bellara cosplay, the process of creating it, their experience going by the BioWare booth at SDCC, and their Fandom party experience with the devs. The vlog also includes a bonus short interview with the devs from SDCC. In the vlog you can see that, along with the dragon screenshot, an alternative option for the background of the DA:TV photo booth pic was this tavern screenshot that we've seen. Ladytoxie also mentioned in the vlog that it's clear how much love and work the devs have put into the game [source]

^ The devs talked a bit about DA/the game & characters in the bonus interview. I'm not 100% sure if I heard all these details right, so apologies/correct me if I misheard, missed or misunderstood any of it (listening to the original source first-hand is of course always most advisable!!), but it sounded like: Corinne Busche feels most connected to Maevaris Tilani. Corinne Busche loves the qunari and would cosplay as Taash, as she loves the scale, armor and Rivaini gold. Her favorite companion is Emmrich. John Epler would cosplay as Lucanis, calling him so stylish and suave. It sounded like he said he wrote Bellara and a few other characters. Ashley Barlow would cosplay as Neve, saying that she has [awesome] dialogue, quick wit and is sassy. Parrish Ley would cosplay as Davrin. He said that Davrin has some awesome armor pieces, with the hands and feet being lots of interlocking pieces of metal. Parrish Ley is a big face and hands animator, so when he's animating Davrin's armor, his hands and feet get a lot of focus, so that he looks great in any pose from any angle. [source] <- Check out the vlog here!

User: "bioware, it is now the second of august." Dev Jess: "Soon 😄" [source] User: "On my knees groveling for more information on Taash" Jess: "soon :)" [source]

User: "Coming back to say Thank you so very much for Veilguard! Coming back to Thedas feels like Home!!". Derek Wilks: "It’s absolutely our pleasure. We’ve truly made something that we love, and hope you all love it too. 🧡" [source]

User on Fenris in DA2: "coolest character introduction ever". Derek Wilks: "So far 😊" [source]

[miraculan-draws]

whoever wrote hawke was not a true Eldest Sibling or else i would have the option to indulge in compulsive Tending to My Loved Ones so here is the tenderness with which i imagine the aftermath of the act 2 companion quests

1. Merrill immediately turning to Hawke for help with Pol is so heart wrenching let me hold her please

2. “Descent” is a horror story- not only should I be allowed to tell the companions to take the apostate girl and head back, I should be allowed to address Justice by name because he is a person who deserves comfort after witnessing a horror.

3. Fenris’ “What has magic touched that it doesn’t spoil?” is the most cutting line in the act, friend rival or romance, but his APOLOGY is so well-spoken and thoughtful that i think it would have evoked more emotion from hawke than we got to see. this is a friendship level up moment. this is a game-changing dynamic shift for both of them. ride or die for the BOI

4. Varric should not be left alone for the night after seeing Bartrand literally driven to madness, like let me spend the night with him to make sure he is okay and to make him talk it out, he will brush it off if i do not take the shot you WILL talk about your feelings, king

[baphometsss]

solas is canonically bi and i will die on this fucking hill.

trick talking shit about it on twitter in 2015 or whatever means nothing to me. oh you wanted to avoid the depraved bisexual trope, did you?? you mean depraved bisexuals like iron bull who will literally betray and try to kill you in trespasser if you sacrifice the chargers? depraved bisexual zevran who tries to kill you and will try again if your approval isn't high enough in dao? depraved bisexual anders who commits an entire act of terrorism? depraved bisexual isabela who will run off with the qunari artefact in da2 and never return if your approval isn't high enough?? i could go on and those are just the depraved bisexuals. there are plenty of good, non-depraved bisexuals in this game too (leliana, josephine, fenris kinda depending on how you play it), so it's a moot point anyway

esp since as far as depravity actually goes, he's fairly good about the romance. like, his ultimate goal aside, he makes a point of saying in trespasser that he wouldn't sleep with lavellan under false pretenses. that's more than can be said for blackwall, who doesn't think twice about the potential consent issue of sex with someone who doesn't know who you really are

if it wasn't the fact that a good chunk of solas's romance lines were voiced with the male VAs in both base game dai and trespasser, i would be inclined to believe that this was an intentional choice, but given that and the fact that both solas and cullen use gender neutral language in their romances, and only cullen has a line which specifically turns the inquisitor down for being a dude, i find it much more believable that they literally just ran out of time

iirc neither solas nor cullen were going to be romancable to begin with but then they had a bit of extra time and they decided to do it, only to run out of time before finishing the male VAs lines

honestly i'm just frustrated by the fact that we have inconsistent writing and weird cop-out answers that people cling to bc they're offended that their precious straight boy might not actually be straight. i actually saw someone complaining on reddit about how 'refreshing' it was to see a straight character in dragon age like?? what. are you playing the same game? blackwall, cassandra, cullen (who was meant to be bi too but ig had either the same issue or his va was just too much of a bigot to do it), morrigan and alistair all spring to mind lol you're not short on straight people

in any case we can retcon our inky to be nonbinary, so unless they fuck it up by deciding that he's only into female elves and lock out all the nb solavellans who had to choose between male and female inky in dai, which is unlikely, it seems like it won't matter much.

just let me be gay with my silly egg man and i will be happy

[ocyriss]

Have any of y'all ever made the choice to give Fenris back to Danarius?

I saved, then did it to see his dialogue and I don't think I've ever recovered from the way he looks at you and says "I need you, Hawke." or the way he proceeds to lose every fight in him when he slowly walks towards Danarius, like this betrayal had finally broken him to the point where he no longer has the energy to run. He thought he found someone who truly understood him, a friend, a partner. He thought he had something and someone he could finally call his own, but in that moment, everything crumbled away so fast he barely had time to fully register it. Fenris looked like he had utterly and completely succumbed to his fate as Danarius' slave when the man he loved gave him away just like that.

I'm so sorry my sweet angry little twinky elf. It won't ever happen again-- I didn't think I'd be so upset witnessing that scene-- I couldn't forget the way Anders was delighted about it as well. (I love him but idk, as much as they both hated each other, I didn't think he's the type who would approve of literally giving someone back into slavery)

It's been years, it still hurts me at the most random hours and sometimes I just want to keel over and die. It's true when they say curiosity kills the cat. 😔

Andraste has cursed me 🧍🏻‍♀️

[privatebooth]

I was never a fan of the idea of protective family members intruding into a character's personal life and "threatening" their love interest. If you hurt them I'll kick your ass and all that... Meh.

Still, if even Varric got to voice his friendly concern, how could Carver - the only warrior and protector in the family remain silent?

No, this would be nothing like Ross/Chandler pre-wedding warning

Carver was there when they first met. Fenris had made his stance on magic very clear, and it would be perfectly understandable for Carver to make some inquiries once he learned about this new relationship. He hasn't been part of this team for years, and doesn't really know much of the development. How did he even find out? Did Hawke write about this in his letters? Did any of the friends feel the need to share this vital information with him? Anyway, he knows now. And he ought to say something.

-So, my brother. You're together now? -We are.

Short and simple. What more could be said? Maybe Carver has to wonder if Fenris's opinions changed over the years. No they didn't. Well, this is awkward. How do you go from there? I can only imagine that Carver voices his hope that Fenris won't ever feel inclined to break his brother's heart (that he saw him do literally to some other people).

This is not a threat or a warning... just prodding? Carver already gave his warning upon first meeting him, and Fenris hadn't forgotten. You'll have a problem with me. Ah, they are so similar with their big swords and reckless combat behaviour...

I think Fenris might be a little amused. The idea of him deliberately hurting Hawke. The imagery of Carver protecting Hawke from him. Of Carver hoping to overpower him?

The kid has no idea what they mean to each other, but his words come from heart. Fenris respects that. We know how lonely he was and how much he yearned for his own family. I like to think that watching Hawke and Carver bicker and care for each other in their first year together played a part in his warming up to the entire group.

So he doesn't mock him or take offence. He tells him very seriously that he would die sooner than let any harm come to his brother.

And Carver accepts it and believes him, because this annoyingly cool brother of his always had a way of winning people over.

Do they even realise that they are all family now? This will take some getting used to.

I was dying for some Carver/Fenris interaction, but, honestly, I just wanted to show off more of my grown up little brother.

[borderline-culture-is]

BPD culture is I would literally cut out my own heart for her, but shd would get scared off if I told her that and I can't live without her so I can't tell her how willingly I would kill and die for her, so I have to settle for telling her I love her more than Fenris Wolf loves destruction

.

[witchthewriter]

@seasmokes-rider.

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠! He is the kindest man out of the characters. And I truly believe everyone can agree on that. He's protective and open and devoted. He would be the most balanced choice - it would work even in reality.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

Loves playing with your hair, hands, stroking your face and placing gentle kisses to your body. His Love Language is definitely Physical Touch &

Harwin is known for his loyalty. In a relationship, this loyalty would translate into a deep and unwavering commitment to his partner. You could count on him to stand by your side through thick and thin, offering steadfast support and protection.

Likes to make you laugh; loves hearing the sound. Harwin enjoys sitting by the fire, on the floor with you in his lap. He slowly rocks back and forth, talking to each other about your days. Jokes and comments are traded back and forth; laughing at the quips.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Would That I by Hozier

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 

Aggressively Supportive & Protective

Tol x Smol

Constantly Trying To Make You Blush In Public (Harwin) x Worked At First But Now You're Used To It (You)

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

Your creativity, your opinions, intelligence, and idealistic yet practical nature. Your whole personality is a highlight for him. That's why he will never wish to leave you - you just fascinate him too much.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅  

I think Helaena Targaryen would be such a brilliant friend to you especially. Because I think you'd be the type of person to take their time to understand her. It takes a while for her to open up but once she realises that you have no other motives; she starts to see you as an older sister.

Over the years, when you and Harwin have left court and go live on your large land. Helaena comes with her children and stays for a few months. It's where she feels the most at ease. And most definitely brings Dreamfyre with her as well.

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲𝐬! Your personalities have similarities. Fenrys puts on a face, he's bubbly and charismatic - the star in a lot of people's lives. And you always had a crush on him (who didn't???) But never thought your feelings would be returned...

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

You are his literal sunshine. The light in his darkness. You pull him out of sadness every. single. day. He does the exact same for you. While also holding a safe space for you. Understanding your introverted nature. A mated pair. Linked with an invisible golden thread.

It's very hard for him not to have you physically near him. Like a piece of him is lost. A definite trauma from Maeve and his twin. He feels like you're his close family now. And as close family, he needs to be able to know where you are at all times.

Is always able to make butterflies erupt in your stomach, your cheeks blush and nose crinkle. He gives you little nicknames like 'twinkle toes,' 'sweetheart,' 'pretty girl.'

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

As Pure As Driven Snow by Rachel Zegler

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 

Soulmates

Found Family

You Fell First, But They Fall Harder

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

Your kindness. Your empathy. Your compassion. He admires you so innately. Watching you with other people ... he just cannot explain the overwhelming warm-love that erupts inside him. The first time this happened; he realised he would die for you.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅  

Yrene and you absolutely click. You really remind me of her, but the differences make a big change in how I view you. For instance, she is a healer type, and while I think you're capable of anything - I think you're more creative than scientific.

𝐕𝐈𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐯𝐚𝐫! Okay so I was going to match you with Ubbe but I had this feeling that you could also be with someone who is different from you. Who isn't the nicest person in the group. But still holds space for your feelings and well ... the whole of you. Because when you love someone, you treat them differentally from the general public.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

THIS IS AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS STORY BABY. A dark romance. Grumpy x sunshine. Anyone touches you, THEY'RE DEAD. No one can say a bad word about you lest it gets back to Ivar somehow.

Ivar is known for his intense passions, whether in battle, politics, or personal relationships. This intensity would translate into a deeply passionate relationship.

As his partner, you would likely find his intellect stimulating and engaging. Conversations with him would be intellectually enriching, and his resourcefulness would often lead to innovative solutions to problems.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Please Please Pleased by Sabrina Carpenter

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 

Enemies to Lovers

Opposites Attract

Stuck Together

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

Is that you're a ride or die when you come to trust someone. And that same loyalty is reflected in him...so it's a double ride or die. You know neither of you will betray the other - no matter what.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅  

Your best friend is Torvi. She just understands people in so many different ways. It's like there's no judgement - like an apparent knowingness of the human experience or human logic. And I guess that's how you would relate to her - because she isn't loud or extraverted. She likes to sit back and observe.

[liltaireissocute]

DRAGON AGE THE VEILGUARD PREDICTIONS

I don't usually do text posts here, but I want to write down my predictions about DAV just for fun

We will meet Dorian and Fenris because they both kinda in Tevinter and their arcs from previous games could be relevant (also: slave uprising, please) + i will literally scream if those two will work together because the banters would be truly hilarious

No Hawke, Warden, Anders or any other character who can be optionaly dead because it's bioware guys

MEREDITH will be important or at least we will have couple of quests connected to her, Absolution exists gor a reason (or not and it will be completely ignored)

Crew from DA Absolution will be at least mentioned, maybe Miri will show up

We will have a chance to ruin Tevinter's political and/or social system because why not this shit should be ruined

Varric will die in the beginning of the game

War with the Qunari

Josephine as a powerful ally

Gray Wardens will be influenced by some shit again but not us and not our Warden companion

Mages can hit things with their staff PLEASE IT WAS GOD LEVEL RETURN IT TO US ALL I'M BEGGING YOU BIOWARE

Elven religion will be crazy important to the plot

This antivan killer guy is secretly dead, possessed or some third secret thing

Zevran gets mentioned

Isabella has a ship and is a captain

Flemeth will somehow return or we'll find out she had done some very important crazy thing in the past that will affect us during the game

Inquisitior as our mentor

[anarchyatthesupermarket]

HI i am having Thoughts about your necromancy au and i need to talk about it. i was trying to convince my sister to read it so that i could have someone to talk to about it. but then i realised. yknow who definitly also has Thoughts about YOUR necromancy au? you. feel free to delete this ask i just wanted to ramble(about the later chapters specifically)

Call this my toxic trait buttt I dont think Rae did anything wrong in raising his mom from the dead. LIKE why the fuck shouldnt he?? His mom(and grandpas) didnt deserve to die, why the fuck should he let them, when he HAS the power to bring them back?? like??? Also not Momboo being a massive bitch telling Isla her son deserved to die. LIKE GIRL. i know you have issues but that is NOT how you talk to a grieving mother. ABSOLUTELY DESPICABALE behaviour. ALSO im pissed off at Fenris, Caspian and Aax. Like not them confirming Rae's worst fears when he actually tells them about Momboo and sends HIM away. and blah blah blah its their magic reacting badly but they dont even TRY to sympathise with him. Als.o like Fenris you are literally dating another necromancer. You cannot give Rae shit for being a necromancer without then applying that to your BOYFRIEND???

ALSO funny how when Rae raised HIMSELF from the dead, taht didn't trigger their magic or whtv, but when he was revived by Momboo it DID. ���🤔🤔🤔 (I dont think this will go anywhere but. thats beside the point.) Actually wait no maybe im onto somethign here. Maybe its because momboo fucked him up while reviving him!! maybe she did this on purpose!!! wait no i think im wrong. whateverrrr im being silly 😋

i cant wait to see how other characters react to Rae's new situation. I think(hope) that Athena and Jamie will still eb on his side.... actually maybe not. But i will hope.

At least Rae has Isla, even though everyone thikns hes a monster(THE EPIC PARALLELS ARE REAL) at least his plan didnt fail and his mom;s alive. slight consolation.

If i was Isla i would be HOSTILE to the afformentioned people (Fen,cas,aax momboo) if the situation gets resovled and doesnt end with Rae's eternal death. Hell id be hostile the entire fucking time. I want to see ISla kick someones shit for Rae because how DARE they call her son a monster for saving HER. do you think that would cause her guilt though? since she kinda maybe sorta ruined her sons life? that he ruined his own life to bring her back?

OKAAY ANYWAY thats most of my thoughts. can you tell that Rae is my favourite character no matter the universe? Can you also tell how unwell i am about this au? i think about it..frequently.... again feel free to delete this i just needed to share my thoughts ad feelings with SOMEONE

I also have so many thoughts about my necromancy au, it's just rotating in the back of my brain 24/7. I'm really hoping this all makes sense.

I agree with you, there's very little reason that Rae shouldn't bring his family back and Momboo's reaction (while coming from a place of trauma and fear) was unreasonable. However, I raise this to you, Rae is dead, he can not age or die. At this moment with how it stands he is going to watch Isla grow old and die, if he brings Raemond and Everett back the same thing will happen. He brought Isla back and he's going to loose her again and why would he be any better at processing his grief. Necromancy can not stop old age.

As for what happened with Momboo bringing Rae back and then Aax/Fenris's magic reacting badly to that, I have so many thoughts about it bc it's also how I imagine magic working in this au. I'm going to try to make this make sense.

I imagine that everyone's magic inside them is like a well, you can take water out of it (to perform magic) and more water will flow in to replace that lost water. You can deepen the well to increase how much water can be taken out of it without it running dry (strengthening your magic) however, if you try to deepen the well too quickly then parts of it might cave in (think exercising without warming up leads to hurting yourself, you try to perform too much magic that you're not ready for and you get weaker because you pushed yourself too far). The thing is is that you don't want your well to collapse or run dry. Rae bringing back Isla caused both to happen. When Momboo brought him back she just refilled his well with water so he could rebuild his well (bring himself back to life because Rae relies completely on his magic to live, other people can survive their well of magic being emptied but he can't). Because of that there was life magic in a well meant for necromancy, it was like dumping a bucket of muddy water into a mountain spring, and it will take days for Rae's magic to replenish and wash out the life magic. Fenris and Aax sensed the life magic in him (magic that wasn't supposed to be there, magic that was wrong for who Rae is) and it set alarms bell off in their heads because that's Rae's body but that's not Rae's magic that's reanimated his corpse. That's what Len's magic and reanimating the hordes felt like, that was a necromancer's magic filling bodies not meant for that form of magic.

The same thing didn't happen when Isla or Centross were brought back because they are both necromancers and so is Rae. That is necromancy magic filling wells meant for necromancy. I don't think Momboo felt as much "wrongness" with bringing Caspian back either because of a combination of Caspian not having magic and Momboo being a life witch.

Rae being called not human is a correct statement because he's dead, he's a corpse that's walking around. He's an abomination/unnatural because he's "living" off of magic that is nothing like his own.

Rae is an abomination, he is a monster. He is both Len (the traitor, the monster, the original sin) and the hordes (the horror, the grief, the terror) that marched on cities. He is a reanimated corpse with the singular goal of bringing his family back no matter the cost.

This is not because of what type of necromancer he is (because there are types, I just haven't been able to talk about them yet), he brought Centross and Isla back with both of their desires being completely separate from his own. He has no control over them. His situation is a bit more like Len and the horde which Len has/had complete and utter control over. Rae didn't have enough magic to bring himself back to life completely (hence the no heartbeat/breathing/just being alive) but he did have enough magic to bring himself back as one of the "mindless undead" which have singular goals according to the necromancer who raised them, his goal being bringing his family back. He's not being rushed into doing that/given the illusion of free will because his "soul" inhabits his body since it was reanimated. Think of it like Rae's soul/ghost is possessing his body, if that helps, but ghosts usually are formed with some goal in mind like revenge, in Rae's case that goal is simply bringing his family back.

Anyways, I could keep talking about this but I feel like I'm making less and less sense as I go on. I'm always happy to answer asks about this series bc I am unwell about it. I hope this made sense and I'm glad you're enjoying the series!!

[fatale-distraction]

Canon World State

Decided to compile my main world state for Dragon Age in anticipation of The Veilguard.

This world state is mostly compatible with comics/novels, with the exception of Alistair. I figure events are basically the same, except instead of king, he’s just a Grey Warden. *BIG SHRUG*

Massive post under cut. Feel free to steal this format, I literally just listed all the choices in The Keep and added a few extra things.

EDIT: Added some major companion choices for Inquisition, still missing Blackwall’s resolution. Will update that later.

Edit: Added screenshot of Hawke, some Judgement results from Inquisition; still working on this one.

Halina (Hal) Mahariel

Dalish archer, Ranger spec, she/her, b. 9:09

Status as of 9:54 - Presumed alive, age 45

Recruited All Companions minus Logain

Killed Logain

Returned Sten’s Sword

Zevran alive & well

Wynne alive & well

Leliana alive & well

Dark Ritual completed with Alistair

Killed Flemmeth & acquired grimoire

Prologue -

Fed deserter

Cured Mabari (recruited)

Broken Circle -

Supported Mages

Irving Survived

Did not agree to Cullen’s request

Nature of the Beast -

Brokered Peace

Brought Camden & Gheyna together

Saved the Halla

Returned Deygan to camp

Brought Ironbark to Varathorn

Told Athras about his wife

The Arl of Redcliffe-

Helped Redcliffe Fight

Helped Redcliffe Prepare

Freed Bevin & Paid for sword

Helped Owen’s Daughter Escape

Bella owns tavern

Connor Alive, not possessed

Isolde is alive

Paragon of Her Kind-

Killed Branka and Destroyed Anvil

Dagna left to study

Bhelen rules Orzamar

Said Ruck died, but spared him

Didn’t help Burkel

Helped Zerlinda reconcile with family

Proved Legion of Dead connected to noble house

Completed Rogek’s lyrium deal

Helped Orta join Assembly

Denerim-

Ser Landry alive

Told Bann Sighard about Oswyn

Brought scroll to Sister Justine

Helped clear customers out of the Pearl

Handled the Crimson Oars

Completed Slim Couldry’s crime wave

Gave Alfstanna Irminric’s ring

Returned amulet to beggar

Completed Master Ignacio’s assassinations

Sent Marjolaine away (softened Leliana)

Helped Alistair find Goldana (softened Alistair)

The Landsmeet-

Anora rules Ferelden

The Battle of Denerim-

Halina killed the Archdemon

Awakening-

Allowed Architect to live

Nathaniel alive & well

Oghren & Felsi reunited

Keep & Amaranthine protected

Witch Hunt-

Halina did not go through the eluvian

Warden’s Keep-

Didn’t drink concoction

Slayed Avernus

Stone Prisoner-

Shale is alive and well

Matthias & Amalia both alive, neither possessed

Above: Ashe Hawke and Halina Mahariel

Ashe Hawke

Mage, Primal & Elemental Spec, she/they, b. 9:11

Status as of 9:54 - Presumed dead, would have been 43

Recruited all companions; friends with all but Sebastian

Humorous

Slept with Isabela & Fenris

Flirted with Aveline at every chance

Romanced Anders

Friends with Varric

Bethany died leaving Lothering

Carver became a templar

Carver did not die in final battle

Bartrand not killed

Helped Varric discover cause of haunting

Varric did not keep red lyrium idol

Isabela returned the tome to the Qunari

Didn’t give Isabela to Arishok

Fenris alive & well

Spared Fenris’ sister

Helped Merrill fix Eluvian

Gave Merrill Arulin’Holm

Merrill alive & well

Sent Feynriel to the Dalish

Encouraged Feynriel to train his powers

Supported Mages

Approved of Anders’ actions at Chantry

Anders alive & well

Aveline married Donnic

Aveline stayed with Hawke

Merrill’s clan was not killed

Sebastian became Prince

Didn’t make Tallis angry

Kissed Tallis

Ellanasha (Ellana, El) Lavellan

Dalish archer, Tempest Spec, she/her, b. 9:17

Status as of 9:54 - Alive and mostly okay, age 37

Emotional

Recruited all companions; friends with all

Romanced: Solas

Cole - Spirit*

Vivienne - Gave her the Snow Wyvern heart

Josie - Resolved contract peacefully

Solas - stopped him from killing the mages

Varric & Cassandra - reconciled

Dorian - encouraged him to reconcile with his father

The Iron Bull - Saved The Chargers

Sera - pulled pranks with Sera

Cullen - Helped him quit lyrium

Flirted with Cassandra at every chance

Judgement:

- Alexius works for Inquisition mages

- Mayor of Crestwood conscripted to Grey Wardens

- Armed Avvar and sent to Tevinter

- Recruited Bear

Allied as partners with Mages

Left Hawke in the Fade**

Conscripted Grey Wardens

Celene reconciled with Briala***

Destroyed Samson’s armor

Drank from the Well of Sorrows****

Supports Leliana (softened) as Divine Victoria

Disbands the Inquisition in a fit

Vows to convince Solas of this world’s value

*Later wonders if this was the right call, in spite of assurances by Cole that he is happy

**Constantly struggles with this decision. Alistair is technically her family (second cousin once removed by marriage), so there’s no other choice she would ever have made, but it still kills her.

***Ellana regrets this when she learns more about their past, expresses that she would have put Briala in power with Gaspard as a puppet ruler instead.

****Names the dragon Butterpat

Prior to DA:O

NOT CANON TO GAMES:

In an unknown year, Felassan is awakened after an indeterminate amount of time by the Fade spirit of Fen’Harel in order to prepare him for reawakening. His primary duty is to track down magical artifacts to help Fen’Harel regain his power and to discover what changes have occurred.

Above: Althera and Miriam Lavellan

In 9:10 Felassan meets Althera, Keeper of Clan Lavellan at the Arlathven. She introduces him to her wife, Miriam and they invite him to travel with Clan Lavellan to learn how they’ve kept a clan full of mages safe for the last several generations. In 9:13, Evelyn is born to Felassan and Althera. In 9:17 Ellana is born to Felassan and Miriam. Fen’harel has become suspicious of Felassan over the last seven years, and although Althera has been using her significant power to protect him, Fel knows he must return eventually. He uses Ellana in an ancient ritual to wipe the Lavellan clan from Fen’Harel’s memory in an effort to protect them, resulting in the loss of her magic. Ellana is the only non-mage in Clan Lavellan in four generations.

In 9:18, Felassan leaves Clan Lavellan. Ellana’s memories of him are limited to a smell, a voice, and a smile. Evelyn remembers and hates him for leaving.

Ellana meets her 2nd cousin once removed, Halina Mahariel and idolizes her. Mahariel is Miriam’s 1st cousin’s daughter.

In 9:24, Althera (40, F) and Miriam Lavellan (35, F) are presumably killed defending their clan from Tevinter slavers. Miriam has just given birth to twins. They leave behind their children Levas, Susan, twins Pallas and Peras, Litha, Seryl, Lethas, Evelyn, Ellana, and twins Aneth and Athim.^ Deshanna Istimaethorial becomes Keeper.

In 9:29, Ellana (age 12) falls extremely ill. Her sister (18) Evelyn travels alone to find a rare herb to cure her sister and is cornered by Darkspawn. She is captured by templars and brought to Kinloch after using magic to defend herself, where she spends several months. An older brother and sister come to rescue her and Cullen helps her escape with her phylactery while the remaining siblings stabilize Ellana. Ellana’s growth is stunted from the months she spent being ill.

After Ellana is captured by the fledgling Inquisition in 9:41, Evelyn, as the First of Clan Lavellan, deposes Deshanna Istimaethorial as Keeper. Once she determines that Ellana is safe, she leads clan Lavellan to Haven. Clan Lavellan stays with the Inquisition until the defeat of Corypheus, at which point they move on and settle near Wycome to form a permanent Dalish township called Lavellanlea. The town becomes a haven for elven slaves fleeing Tevinter, and for elves from alienages all over Thedas who oppose the Agents of Fen’Harel but seek to better the lot of their race.

Above: Evelyn and Ellana, post Inquisition, prior to Trespasser

In 9:44, Cullen proposes to Evelyn and she accepts. They are married in 9:46.

^Lavellan Siblings listed in order of age.

Althera’s biological children:

Levas (he/him)*

Susan (she/her)

Litha (she/they)**

Evelyn (she/her)***

Miriam’s biological children:

Pallas (he/him) and Peras (he/him)*

Seryl (they/them)**

Lethas

Ellana***

Aneth (she/her) and Athim (they/them)

* shared father 1

** shared father 2

*** Felassan

[tothestarsinvelaris]

(please no spoilers if interacting w/ this post. i have somehow avoided all TOG spoilers and know nothing more than the lil blurb on the back of the book and what i have read so far. thx <3)

{Finished reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn}

hahahahaahaahaah!!!!! nobody told me I would be sobbing!!! I should have known, but instead I blindly and happily danced through these books until my heart was ripped out and thrown on the ground!!

(major spoilers below bc I need to write it out in order to begin processing what the hell happened?!)

Maeve is so evil I literally cannot process it. The entire scene with her on the beach with Aelin, Gavriel, Fenrys, Lorcan, Manon, Elide.... oh my heart.. I don't think I breathed during that entire scene. I literally had to stop reading to ready myself when Aelin took those lashes...

Rowan getting to the beach and growling out "where is my wife" actually shattered my heart. Maeve talking about how she faked the mating bond with Rowan and Lyria, and that Rowan and Aelin were actually mates?! ughhhhh His Fireheart. His equal, his friend, his lover. His wife. His mate. stopppppppppp i'm sobbbinnngggg

Lorcan realizing what he had actually done, what he didn't do for Aelin and Rowan.. him sobbing because he realized he destroyed everything and betrayed them... the way I know his heart just shattered over and over at Elide saying she wished he suffered forever and then completely ignoring him. the way he goes to Rowan and says he will go with him to save Aelin... oh my gosh idk why I love him so much, but I really do and I'm gonna need a Lorcan redemption arc in the next book or I will create a headcanon that nobody will ever be able to convince me isn't real. fix it bro!!

Lysandra being willing to pretend to be Aelin, to take Rowan as her king and sire children with Aedion to keep up the guise if needed.... ohhhh... to willingly give up her freedom for Aelin, for the world, after everything she went through... that woman is amazing.

I'm so mad that I like Aelin and Dorian so much bc I don't want either one of them to die for this stupid bullshit Elena pulled 1000 years ago!!! I'm so mad that I love all these damn characters so much!!

Chaol and Yrene getting married is honestly so damn cute okay!?! The life-bond?! ugh I love them so much. such a cute little bright spot in these books. the way that she's the light for his darkness is so fucking cute (and so elriel coded). Chaol seeing the note that Yrene carries with her and recognizing the handwriting!! ohhhhh man

All the favors that Aelin called in, everyone showing up for her like the damn Avengers movie?! Literally everyone, every single person she showed kindness to over her life, everyone showing up and being there to fight for her and with her to save the damn world.. Ansel, Ilias, Galan, the thousands and thousands they brought with them... and Aelin doesn't even know it. Rowan's cousins turning on Maeve's fleet in the battle?! ohhhh my heart is made of tears.

The 13 showing up because Abraxos (sweetest lil flower sniffing bby) went and found them, and they all followed bc they knew he would bring them to Manon. And how they fought instantly, and fell into step with Rowan, Dorian, and Aedion!?

How when Gavriel was called to Maeve, he left his shield around not only Aedion, but also Lysandra because he just knows and cares about them even if Aedion wants nothing to do with him. :( The way Gavriel has been kind of a sweetie the whole time and I just want to hug everyone in this damn series.

and the godsdamned ships in these books!!! ohhhhh my gosh!!! (idk any ship names bc I'm desperately avoiding spoilers still holy shit) Rowan x Aelin | Dorian x Manon | Lorcan x Elide | Chaol x Yrene | Nesryn x Sartaq | Aedion x Lysandra oooooooohhh myyyyy goodness!!

gosh, the way that everything is just connected, even the gods are represented in so many of them. the way the threads are there and always have been, pushing everyone along, pushing the plot along and putting all the puzzle pieces together slowly and perfectly and now it's all coming together. Ugh a series in which a re-read is well worth it so you can pick up on all the little bits and pieces throughout!! I can't wait to read theories and breakdowns and everything that people have connected and figured out over the years once I finish Kingdom of Ash!!

[deusexlachina]

Wannabe Warden Part 4 (Anders, Fenris and Isabela): Make good impressions by setting half my friends on fire

In which I exploit my police connections to safely recruit fugitives so I can get strong enough to convince a Grey Warden to come out of a retirement he wasn't allowed to have in the first place.

With Other Aveline in charge of the police and in my pocket, she gives me a bag of money and looks the other way to the numerous very illegal things I am about to do, all to get the muscle needed to get into the Deep Roads and become a Grey Warden. I take the money and tell her I look forward to working with her.

I use the money to pay a visit to Xenon the Antiquarian, an apostate with eternal life but without eternal youth, so unfortunately he cannot help me in my quest. At least, he can't accompany me. In fact, he helps me tremendously. In exchange for Other Aveline's "thank you money" to fund anti-aging research so he can not be a husk, he sells me the Anderfels Cleaver, an axe that deals fire damage. I don't mean it has some bonus fire damage. I mean all of its damage is fire. That means it's not affected by armour. Conventional defences mean nothing to the Anderfels Cleaver. Best of all, mabari are immune to fire, so me and my obscenely large hurtbox can safely swing away without killing my own dog. (Nightmare Ultra mostly doesn't have friendly fire, except for allies - only your squad is safe!).

I hear my mom's family home is now a front for Tevinter slavers, so I serve them an eviction notice in the form of the Anderfels Cleaver. Slavers are not immune to fire - in fact, they take extra damage, I guess because racist people can go burn in hell. All their heavy armour just serves as a shell to cook them in. Having cleared the slavers out of the family home, I scrounge up every penny, getting over 7 gold - a 140% return on the axe. This makes the Anderfels Cleaver a sounder investment than venturing into monster-infested tunnels and hoping to find treasure instead of monsters and diseases. But I'm not in this for the treasure. I'm in this to become a Grey Warden.

I invest the new gold into Maker's Sighs, a potion that resets all a character's skill choices so you can give them good ones instead of the literal garbage they were saddled with by default. I ditch Pommel Strike to get Cleave, a balanced skill that nearly doubles your damage for ten seconds on a twenty-five second cooldown. Bethany becomes a deadly ice mage. Other Aveline gets sick of tanking for me and goes offence by jumping on the Cleave bandwagon. Varric learns how to hit things when he shoots. My squad is an efficient fighting force, armed to the teeth and with Antivan Crow-level tactics. Unfortunately for Anders, he isn't part of my squad yet, so he hasn't learned to STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE MAGIC AXE THAT SETS PEOPLE ON FIRE. Anders Cannot Die Here because he is animated by a demonic version of Justice, which is good because otherwise I would have burnt him to a crisp several times over.

Anders' boyfriend, Karl, was already made Tranquil, which is like a whimsical equivalent of the lobotomy. Anders' possession by Justice temporarily unlobotomizes Karl, suggesting that there may be a cure for Tranquility. However, Anders unilaterally decides that There Is No Choice But To Kill Him, and Karl agrees, because being Tranquil falls in that Thedas euthanasia threshold between a stomachache and immediate death.

After this harrowing ideal, I flirt with Anders, hoping that being a Grey Warden can be transmitted sexually. He's impressed that I'm brave enough to flirt with a demon-possessed mage who just killed his last partner.

Unfortunately, he's not impressed enough to immediately induct me into the Grey Wardens, not least because he quit being a Grey Warden after they made him give up his cat.

To be clear, you're not allowed to quit being a Grey Warden. You're so not allowed to quit that Duncan stabbed a guy to death when he backed out in the initiation. This doesn't stop Anders from quitting, just as it doesn't stop Alistair from quitting if you hire Loghain, who doesn't attempt to quit the Grey Wardens despite his being recruited at least partly out of sheer spite for previously trying to kill them all.

In any case, Salrokka! Anders is back in the game. And with a Grey Warden in the party, replacing currently-weak Varric, things are starting to go in our favour. I help Fenris, a fugitive from Tevinter who was enslaved until sometime after his master infused his skin with powerful lyrium enchantments that make him a living superweapon who is especially resistant to magic, because sensible people don't own slaves in the first place. To put it mildly, Fenris has had a hard life, so I give him some shiny dark armour like he has in Blue Wraith. It's the least I could do.

With my help, and with Guard-Captain Other Aveline pointedly looking away, Fenris storms his old master's house to try and kill him. Unfortunately, instead of metaphorical monsters, all we find is literal monsters, who are not as cathartic to skewer. Because Fenris joined my squad, he is coordinated enough to stay out of the way of the friend-slaying Anderfels Cleaver. He is KO'd anyway because there's an Arcane Horror, but I save the day.

With Fenris, my squad is even stronger. I meet Isabela, who, just as she did years ago, single-handedly defeats several armed men in a cutscene. This is a nod to how overpowered she is. Trained properly, she's extremely deadly but also difficult to hit. Just like Good Queen Morwen.

Isabela has more mods than any other companion, but in accordance with Sturgeon's Law most of them are for making her white, because they were made by the real-life equivalent of Tevinter. Fortunately, you don't mind digging for treasure through piles of literal garbage like Hawke & Friends, you can find some neat stuff for Bela. One of my personal favourite looks is a combo that makes her heavier and armoured instead of her default look with a corset and a buttflap. ("That's just silly," I say, one run after making yet another goth girl PC) I could be sly and argue it's to reflect her amazing potential as a tank, but honestly, I just think this look is rad as hell.

Isabela is challenged to a duel by another pirate, but she expects him to cheat, so she hires me to protect her. This I sort of do. She is attacked, and I do engage her attackers, but she is not safe at all because I am using the Anderfels cleaver and repeatedly set Isabela on fire, with the Anderfels Cleaver, in the Chantry. I could make some laborious joke about Isabela being hot, or the fires of hell, but this is not a blog that makes cheap jokes. This is the caviar of Dragon Age 2 Let's Plays. You and me, we're refined people, and you deserve better. We don't laugh at cheap puns. We laugh at Isabela getting hit with a flaming axe and set on fire again and again and screaming and still not thinking to move away from the fire.

Isabela is a jolly good sport about this, perhaps because she lives in a world with powerful healing magic, making full-body burns the equivalent of a sprained ankle. After discreetly leaving the mass grave with a roast pirate aroma the Chantry has become, Anders patches her up and, I assume, gives her a sympathetic "first time?" smile. Who's to say he doesn't? I'm telling this story, and I can embellish as much as I please. I see why Varric does it. It's addictive.

[found-family-tournament]

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 25 Group 121

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

Greil Mercenaries: Greil, Ike, Mist, Soren, Oscar, Boyd, Rolf, Titania, Rhys, Mia, Shinon, Gatrie

Hawke's Squad: Merril, Isabela, Hawke, Carver/Bethany, Varric, Anders, Fenris (& Sebastiane)

Submissions are still open!

Greil Mercenaries:

The OG Greil Mercenaries from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance contain; Team Dad Greil and his two biological kids Ike and Mist, Team Mom Titania (who has been called Mom by at least one mercenary), a cranky wind mage named Soren who is literally only with the group because Ike gave him a sandwich once, a priest Rhys who Titania found sick and dying by the side of the road and proceeded to adopt, Mia who for reasons known only to herself decided to make Rhys her eternal rival, an asshole archer Shinon who only likes two people (Rolf and Gatrie) and would sell your soul to the devil for one corn chip, Gatrie who thinks he's smoother than he actually is, and a trio of brothers Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf who are trying to make their way in the world after the death of their father.

Can you get any more found family than this motley crew of Ride or Die?

Hawke's Squad:

the babies that had nowhere to go and they all suck so badly i lovbe them. i mean anders is literally a terrorist, merril can kill her whole family AND uses forbidden magic and is still the most naive and cute person ever, isa is just so H O T and she has no idea how feelings work but she tries her best ok???? also a literal pirate????? fenris is cool too i guess. he was a slave or smth idk.

[poetryofyouth]

the last few weeks i have been obsessively playing Dragon Age, in preparation for the veilguard release of course.

Dragon Age: Origins is still a work of Art and I would die for her and every companion

Dragon Age: 2 is not as bad as I remembered it? Sure it has it's issues but the story is genuinely so fantastic. Like, the story, the characters, Hawke's relationships with the companions - the combat is almost an annoying obstacle to get to the heartbreakingly tender moments between Hawke and their damaged, broken, hurting friends

For that reason I would love for an option to just skip combat alltogeter and turn it into a walking simulator.

In both Origins and 2, the male love interests are so so so much better holy fuck

Like the first time I played as a lesbian (of course) and romancing Leliana in Origins. Which is... sweet and everything, but the relationship with Leliana always felt... hollow. Love without any true base in Friendship. If that makes sense.

This time, my warden was a bit of a slut and romanced Leliana, (also Isabella), Zevran and lastly Alistair. And holy fuck, the relationship between Warden an Alistair is just perfect. Me playing a female elf only added to the perfection. Sad I couldn't marry him at the end, but hey, staying as the King's mistress is fine with me, Anora's cool with it, mostly, and nothing can get in between true love. I mean, the relationship between Warden and Alistair starts off with pure banter and friendship, you can feel them acutally caring for each other way before you even start any romance. They feel like two people who just fit like puzzle pieces. Jokes, support, bleeding together, either one would not think a minute before sacrificing their own life for the other. and finally, after weeks of pain and suffering and drinks in taverns and jokes around the campfire and horribly traumatizing deaths all around, they both realize that they aren't just friends anymore. Fucking hell that is literally the perfect fictional relationship omg i have never shipped a straight couple harder.

Also I found the thought of being a slutty warden who bedded every available character before finally taking the future king's virginity, then arranging a marriage between her boyfriend and another woman and then also arranging for her boyfriend to get her other friend pregnant just... incredibly funny ngl

And in DA:2 on my first playthrough I romanced Merril. Which was... fine. Though I find it kinda difficult because I didn't like the idea of Hawke just being completely fine with blood magic and all that. Merril also isn't that interesting a character. I mean, comparing her to many other games she is fantastic!! But in this game, she just kinda pales in comparison to everyone else.

Now I'm playing a male gay Hawke and I first romanced Fenris. And I am just a sucker for a sad, hurting man learning how to feel again. Fenris is just such a good character. Of course he is horribly racist agains mages, which i mean, not that i / Hawke condone it, but anyone would need years of therapy to get over what the magisters did to him, so i love the thought of Hawke being patient and slowly trying to show him they are not that bad.

So I love to kinda torture Fenris and run around with him, anders and merril, their companion banters are so great.

But Fenris of course dumps Hawke after the first time and sure you COULD wait for him to come around in act three but screw that, I will not have my feelings played with like that.

Especially when there is an even sadder, more broken man waiting for me. Anders is probably my favourite character in DA:2. Even the last time I played, without romancing him. But now I startet DA:2 right after finishing the Awakening DLC and I just LOVE the difference and the similarities between the two Anders versions. Some might say it's inconsistent. But I choose to believe that in Awakening, even if Anders had seen so many horrible things already, he was still able to keep a more happy-go-lucky facade. I imagine between the end of Awakening and Hawke first meeting him, Anders has seen many many more horrible things while being with the wardens. So he is just extra-traumatized in 2. And of course, his character changed with the whole spirit of justice thing. But even if he is a lot more serious and a lot sadder, he still has that Anders-Charm. I love his love for kittens and his need for justice for the mages

And even if the DA:2 love interests (apart from Sebastian) are all bisexual, I love that they are not just default staights that can just also be romanced by same gender Hawkes. Like, when Anders confesses that Karl, who just died, was his first boyfriend??? I think I cried. The PAIN the HURT the HOMOSEXUAL ANGST. I will burn down all of Kirkwall if that makes Anders feel even a little better.

The rivalry / rivalry romance aspect is really cool and I love it exists but unfortunately i am incapable of not being liked by everyone.

Seriously how does a game that was pretty much universally considered a disappointment by the fandom (i previously didn't like it either!! Idek why!!!!) have storylines that trump pretty much any movie of tv show made in the last 5 years. Please let me play this just as a story game/walking simulator i need to look into mods i want to see every possible conversation and fuck everyone (tenderly and with love. and also as hateful rivals)

Also I have played the games so much recently I hope I don't accidentally say "by the maker" in public lmao

[notebooks-and-laptops]

I have finally read Blue Wraith and Dark Fortress and I literally do not understand people who think Fenris was out of character, or had regressed in his character development throughout the comics.

Firstly; mages. Yes, when Fenris first meets Francesca he is weary of her, but I wouldn't say Fenris ever truly got over being weary of mages in da2. He came to understand that some mages can be trusted (Hawke, Bethany) but was willing to fight for the innocent circle mages (dependent on Hawkes choices) but he ALSO saw a close member of his friendship group blow up a chantry, and he perceives that what happened to Merethari (and possibly the whole clan) as Merrill's fault for her blood magic.

Besides which, Fenris is shown to be WAY LESS weary of mages than he used to be!! He begins to trust Francesca almost immediately, is telling her she has a good heart by the end of Blue Wraith, defending her when she needs it. He does not look at her and see "evil mage" or even "dangerous mage" like he would have about a mage of her power from TEVINTER no less, at the beginning of da2. Instead he gets close to her rather quickly.

Secondly; I know people get upset about this panel:

But Fenris has legitimate reasons to feel prickly about joining a new friendship group. In his old friendship group, he found love and friendship in Hawke and Isabela, in Varric, Aveline, Donic, Sebastian, Bethany and even perhaps Merrill, Carver and Anders. And then that friendship group ripped itself apart from the inside out. It exploded into chaos taking Fenris's home which he had built for himself; the first true home he could remember, with it. Fenris has every right to feel anxious about getting involved with new people. He has every right to feel "used" in some ways, particularly if he was brought on any of the "Justice" quest lines in Act 3 of DA2.

Fenris isn't a static character who's fully healed by the end of da2. He deserves to feel upset that he and his friends had to go their separate ways. He deserves to feel betrayed by what happened, by the destruction of his home.

And besides that, Blue Wraith and Dark Fortress both showed all the ways Fenris has grown. He has the same emotionally maturty he would display in da2, quickly apologising when he needs to. But he ALSO directs that sort of emotional maturity outwards now. He is not directly antagonistic to mages, or to those who defend them, like he was with Anders and Merrill. He offers comfort to those who need it, particularly at the end of the book, and seems to fill a "tired Dad/Older Brother" energy.

Also I cannot believe people don't see what happened with the Person He Does Not Kill in Dark Fortress as showing his character development throughout the end of da2 and blue wraith, when its basically an exact parallel to what happens in A Bitter Pill except he MAKES A DIFFERENT DECISON THIS TIME. like!!! Come on!!!

Overall this duo of comics was wonderful! I haven't even touched on the extra characters who I would 100% die for (particularly Sir Aaron and Francesca). I seriously recommend it and am just ??? At anyone who thinks it does Fenris dirty. I thought it was a perfect depiction of Fenris, I could even hear his dialogue in Fenris's voice it fit him so well.