#anders: what abt spirit healing :(

[vigilskeep]

Minerva and the Amaranthine Wardens: "Anders?! You're ba- what is that?"

Anders, with a baby sling (including baby) and a gruff blood-stained mercenary: "Shit happens."

minerva taking two seconds to process before jumping into explaining why if velanna stole HER baby for an apprentice to teach it dalish magic and entropy then by all rights she can thieve anders’ baby to make it an elementalist battle mage arcane warrior. sharing is caring anders

[rosykims]

act 3 cillian hawke listening to shelley duvalls he needs me he needs me he needs me he needs me he needs me on repeat <3

[slipperyskell]

tell me abt tulvakka omg i love their design sm

* rubs hands together * okay, SO - They love frogs. SO MUCH.

- Their favorite colors are blue, green, and orange.

- Tulvakka's initial concept was entirely inspired by Kulve Taroth, a gold-mantled Elder Dragon that can be encountered in the game Monster Hunter: World.

- Some of their initial concepts actually took the same horn design from Kulve Taroth, but A. those horns are SUPER hard to draw, and B. after a while I felt kind of weird directly copy/pasting the horn shape, so I ended up going my own route with them while still keeping them being made of gold/other valuable metals. Tulvakka is also very fond of jewelry, all things shiny, and is definitely a character of mine that would start a rock collection.

- They've been possessed by a spirit of Tenacity (a kind of spirit I came up with as, like any franchise I tend to look at [cough cough FALLOUT cough cough], I imagine there's more types of spirits or demons than we see in game). The spirit had been wandering around Par Vollen, seemingly lost, when they came across a Qunari giving birth to a child prematurely. The spirit, sensing the infant fighting to stay alive, possessed it, allowing them to survive. Their parent, unfortunately, did not. This aspect of their character is kinda meant to explore how a spirit and a person could exist without it becoming a situation like Anders and Justice.

Basically, my thought process was this: Justice was ultimately corrupted by Anders's immense dislike of the Circle/templars. BUT, when Justice had possessed Kristoff's body during DA:O: Awakening, they had no emotions tied to the memories within Kristoff's mind. Therefore, Justice could look through his memories with a neutral outlook, for lack of a better word. Tulvakka is kinda meant to explore how that may be possible for a living person, as since Tulvakka hadn't technically even been born, they wouldn't have any memories or emotions for the spirit to go off of, and therefore be warped by.

- Without getting into too much because it's a LOT that'd prolly need to get thrown into its own post, Tulvakka along with their group of Saarebas were set free by their Arvaarad, who also abandoned the Qun. Understandably, this put them all very high on the Qun's shitlist. While most had settled in a Vashoth village that their Arvaarad had ties to (again, it's kinda complicated so I'll have to get into it in another post probably), Tulvakka ended up going their own way for a while before making their way to the village themselves (which then leads them to find themselves at the start of Inquisition, but I'll get into that another time when I've actually played Inq).

- Tulvakka and The Iron Bull were childhood friends, as they had been under the care of the same Tamassran. For a time, Tulvakka found themselves in Seheron, where they and Bull - then Hissrad - had encountered one another. And ofc they ended up coming across each other during Inquisition as well. Honestly, I could probably make a whole post about these two's dynamic because there's a LOT.

- Even though the specialization doesn't exist in Inquisition, the best way I could describe what Tulvakka is is something akin to a battlemage, where they can effectively heal themselves during combat n stuff like that. Very aggressive fighter, but a surprisingly resilient one, too. Their weapon(s) are two swords that can magically interlock to make a big sword. Why? Because I think it's cool.

[trans-ruffboi]

some concepts for my surana as an inquisition companion

recruited along with a bunch of tranquil that got left behind at kinloch hold ("somebody has to look after them and it might as well be me")

recruited as a warrior, becomes optionally a mage after companion quest (I've had this idea for a while. bc contact with a spirit can cure tranquility, what would happen if a spirit tried to intervene during the rite? and my surana is a spirit healer, so I have this idea that it like, mostly prevented tranquility, but he cant really do anything with his mana anymore until later)

so basically, they tried to make surana tranquil after the whole jowan situation, but they fucked it up, and then when uldred happened things were chaotic and he ran

a lot of dialogue where he kinda brushes off knowing things abt magic by just having worked for the circle for a while ("I was a ward of the chantry, so I worked in the hold" "oh, so did cullen" "haha that's weird what a coincidence I dont know that guy at all. totally dont have a long-standing grudge against him or anything bye")

before his main quest, whenever you have cutscenes with Cullen outside his office, theres a chance that he'll like, walk into the background, see Cullen, then turn around and walk away really fast

after the companion quest, you can listen in on the messenger dialogues and theres a few where he's telling the messenger stuff like "tell cullen he can go ask forgiveness from his Maker, because he's not getting it from me"

I picture post-quest, his combat works kind of like how anders has panacea and vengeance modes in da2, but depending on what weapon you equip it's like, arcane warrior mode that works like a warrior, and mage mode where he gives off a healing aura and does spells

I could probably write several pages of party banter and I might later

[hifntasy]

suddenly Really Mad abt the Inquisition rewrite of the Chantry Explosion in Kirkwall. i get that ppl roll with the whole ‘kirkwall was detroyed in the explosion, soooo many ppl lost their lives’ bc u know that’s what we were told in the most recent game but um. consider this: no. like, kirkwall may have been destroyed and loads of ppl may have died but the blast itself didn’t actually do that damage. u rly think anders ‘im gonna risk my life to save a friend and let this spirit possess me, im gonna risk my life to help and heal the poor and this city’s refugees and while im at it im gonna help sneak mages out of the prison they’re held in, and im not gonna be all that secretive about any of it’ rly set out to intentionally kill 100s, even “just” dozens of people?? just. normal ppl? who happened to be there? jdsf ok lol. ur wrong but ok

[arcenergy]

30 days oc challenge: arcetri tabris

Day 30: Free Day!

Is there anything about your character you wanted to say but didn’t? Their favorite outfit? What their Pokemon team would be? Which Hogwarts house they’d be in? Tell everyone about it! (Can be anything at all, serious or not!)

im gonna talk abt arcetri’s magic in this last 30 days challenge. 

she gets her magic from her mother, adaia, a dalish apostate. ever since she was a child she was able to manipulate the fade, at least, partially. she had never interacted with spirits because her magic was too weak to draw the attention of spirits, let alone demons. 

arcetri wouldnt realize that this was only something mages could do until anders told her, and that would be around the time of inquisition. she would realize she  had magic until after an attack from tevinter mercs that had given her her lyrium brand. a blast of raw magic from one of the mercs knocked her unconscious, but when she awoke she was not the same. it would have killed any ordinary person that could not defend themselves from magic, unless if they were able to control it. 

before she realized that she was a mage, there was some odd things about arcetri. most people wrote it off because arcetri’s whole story is just odd in general, from going quite literally to rags to riches. the only person who might’ve suspected her magic would be morrigan, but she kept it herself because she had just assumed that she either had very minor magical abilities that would never amount to anything, or that she was just overthinking it. regardless, morrigan wasnt about to drop a bomb on arcetri with only just some hints that perhaps arcetri would have magic.(morrigan would come to regret this later on, but arcetri insisted that it didnt matter) regardless, it was just strange to her friends about how her body would always feel incredibly hot or cold at random times, even if she wasnt sick. it could be a hot sunny day and her hands would feel like ice itself, or how she was rarely bothered by the cold, and if one would reach out to press their hand against her forehead then it would feel like a warm campfire. her wounds would always be the first to heal, no matter how grave. not to mention some of arcetri’s drinks/food that she held and would hand off to other people would feel strangely hot/cold as well. but the thing is that those things are very minor and people sort of just accepted them as one of life’s unsolved mysteries (not to mention arcetri is an awful cook, so having food that was cold was sort of common LMAO). only morrigan would be the one to really pull the pieces together when she got the news. 

for a while, her magic was unpredictable and acted strangely. she had trouble controlling it. it had festered itself for years, waiting to be unleashed to the world. it was more powerful than a young mage who had just realized their abilities, but with how chaotic it is it seemed to do more harm than good. with her turbulent emotions about her magical abilities fueling it she accidentally started fires, froze her hands whenever she touched water, and there was one instance where she accidentally broke a vase just by looking at it. 

eventually, she did learn to control her magic and she became pretty good fighting with it. arcetri was already an experienced fighter and with anders and other advice she got from other apostates on the road she was able to hone her skills pretty quickly. magic was natural to arcetri. she was surrounded by it her entire life in more ways than one. she became mainly a pyromancer and using ice magic as a back up, and became a good healer with anders guidance. but it’s worth noting that she would learn a bunch of easy spells in all fields of magic that she could use to her advantage in battle, like small barriers, making rocks move, and using other elements of magic. she becomes more of a jack of all trades instead of investing all of her time in one field of magic. but, she prefers pyromancy, as it felt the most natural and easiest for her. her magic isnt anything too special, though. it would become about average after years of work because of her incredibly delayed start and having it lie dormant for a long time. but she made it work bc she’s a good fighter.

and that’s it for the 30 days oc challenge! thank you everyone who took the time to read one of these posts, they were actually really fun to make even though sometimes tedious. if you’re thinking about doing one of these then i highly recommend it! most of these dont take too much time out of your day and they help get more info on what your oc is like to your followers and help define character traits a little bit more. 

[wifihunters]

so I’m just gonna shove all the cas asks under a readmore in one post--

also for anyone’s amusement if you want not-so-serious things on my characters I run this blog as a trashy inspo thing. the tagging is a little cryptic but cas’ is #c and it’s 90% dogs. 

How sensitive is she to darkspawn dreams?

Not terribly more than anyone else. She’s good at sensing darkspawn awake and telling what type they are. 

Where/when is she the happiest?

Split moment in time--directly before Ostagar, wandering around the walls. In general, she’s happiest making visible improvements on things. Fixing a roof, seeing a crop sprouted, organizing a bookshelf. Unfortunately that concept carries a little to people and relationships.

if she could go back and save one person who would it be? 

Seranni. Cas’ friendship with Velanna never recovered after abandoning her, and of all the people she feels like she wronged, she felt Velanna most personally. 

I remember u rejected her searching for a cure plot in inquisition, what was she doing instead?

I get that Inquisition couldn’t include much, but the chances of the person who personally stabbed the last darkspawn magister not being involved with the second one is... unlikely. She doesn’t like the Inquisition at first (or really ever), but she would offer what information she could.  

Post inquisition she’s attempting 1. find Anders, 2. find Jowan and 3. somehow convince them to work together and find if curing a blighted object is possible through spirit healing or blood magic (specifically for use on red lyrium or--spoilers for the last flight--griffon eggs, should they get sick again)

Did dog go with her when she does finally go for the calling? 

Yes!!! because mabari live 50 years right?

How did cas feel about jowan after she found out abt his blood magic stuff?

Pissed, but she actually took it less badly than hearing about Anders and Kirkwall. 

Is there anything u always wanted to say about her but was never asked?

It forever amuses me to stick her in modern settings. This mysterious  figurehead instantly turns into a single mom just trying to pay off her college debt and make that new health recipe off pinterest while her daughter wants macaroni for the fifth time that week. Take off the indoctrination and worldly pressure, and she’s a very domestic person. 

[vigilskeep]

thoughts on handersbela? just in general, since you’re so good at thinking about dragon age

this is VERY good timing... i have been thinking lately of Them

i read a little snippet of andersbela fic the other day that wormed its way into my brain... theyre so interesting. putting them in a terrarium to study. with isabela’s avoidance of causes and anders constantly dwelling on his, they’re natural foils who can be lighthearted with each other and also have genuine discussion that brings out a unique philosophical side in isabela plus anders’ humour and slips of i think mixed frustration and admiration at the life she leads. their approach to relationships would create so many sparks (and not just in the bedroom. okay ive made my obligatory joke about them canonically having sex) with anders’ desperation for attachment while he can get it and isabela’s desperate avoidance of the same, and isabela’s need to take care of herself first and foremost and anders being self-sacrificing to the point of self-destruction. with my preference for red hawke i like hawke as a fierce solid support for anders and isabela as someone to lighten and distract; hawke to defend and stand by isabela as no-one has and anders to be gentler and affectionate with her as no-one has but also to challenge her to be everything she’s capable of. but with other hawkes there’s so much you can do too. the POSSIBILITIES

the idea of hawke holding onto them and them both convincing themselves they can risk having this one thing just for a little while... um some assorted thoughts. i think the classic arishok duel aftermath with anders desperately trying to save hawke’s life afterwards and isabela with her heart in her throat knowing it’s her fault is peak drama of all time. i think anders moves in and isabela always leaves in the morning and one time she can’t move because the stupid great big dog got in and laid down on top of her and she likes waking up with them so much and the whole day is full of light and she doesn’t come back for weeks after. i think isabela insists on anders’ terrible lute playing. i think anders doesn’t wear a hawke favour bc he has malcolm’s honour but one day he finds a hole in his coat skilfully patched with a square of blue and gold that doesn’t match at all. i think isabela never fights with as much brash cackling confidence as when she knows anders will heal her before she even stops to realise she’s taken a hit (obligatory “my hands look like this (glowing spirit healer magic) so my girl can look like this (sexy armour)” joke) and anders never feels as safe as when he knows he can count on her to appear out of nowhere to watch his back. i think she’d fascinate justice. i think anders is so bitchy abt her act break disappearing act and isabela snaps right back and that they always make it up to each other repeatedly. i think anders doesn’t understand why isabela keeps leaving and she doesn’t understand how he can bear not to keep moving

they both love hawke so much and they’re both so terrified of what it’s going to do to hawke, is the thing. i was vividly imagining them the other day (i really do mean it when i said this ask was good timing) and there was this rough wistful act 3 dialogue in my head that went like... isabela out of nowhere tells anders he should marry hawke and get out of kirkwall and have a dozen glowing children who talk too much. and he’s vaguely amused and disbelieving as they chatter through the hypothetical (“who’s going to marry us, then? the chantry?” “ship’s captain! right here! you get any old revered mother instead of me and i’ll scratch her eyes out”) but eventually he shakes his head, and says quiet, tired, “if only i could run away anymore.” and then he raises an eyebrow, and says, you should marry hawke. yeah? yeah, marry hawke, get out of kirkwall. have a dozen pirate children with no manners. win each of them a dozen ships to sail. and they laugh through the hypothetical and she says, “it’s almost a shame i’m not the marrying type.” and they both kind of sit there with the knowledge that hawke has lost so much and they’re inevitably going to leave them alone

and then because i’m a sap the last straw is isabela’s chance to step up and fight for what’s right and what’s hers without running away, and anders isn’t cast aside like he always expected but fought for no matter the odds, and hawke gets out of kirkwall and onto the open sea, sailing off with their loves to free the rest of the mages and to learn how to laugh again. and then corypheus rises and hawke is the one to leave them behind after all

also the champion of kirkwall and their bf and gf who can’t stop getting kirkwall burned down is, like, so funny. can’t you three do this at home.

those are my thoughts sorry it got long and silly and embarrassing its late and i love them both so much

[vigilskeep]

Do you think there’s a reason why blood mages always have to learn from spirits? I mean, wouldn’t mages who know how to shapeshift be feasibly able to use blood magic? What’s so different from manipulating the form of your entire body versus blood?

The only way I can justify it as that, since blood magic thought so poorly of, mages can only reach out to spirits…just for lack of other options. For some reason the thought of a group of blood mages but only one has ever purposefully interacted with a spirit feels funny to me

i mean it’s hard to say when to my knowledge we don’t have a solid answer on even what demons actually teach to give access to blood magic. like, i can’t say that x other method would work when i don’t even know if demons give multidimensional fade knowledge or just scribble a few extra spells in your grimoire and tell you where to cut

some characters do seem to imply it’s possible to learn blood magic another way—anders has a line to merrill hoping she didn’t actually deal with a demon and just stumbled upon it, though it’s up for debate how knowledgeable anders is abt blood magic—and it seems like you could learn blood magic from another blood mage, though i don’t know if this is confirmed. obviously finding a blood magic tutor is not the easiest thing in the world and the chantry makes it as difficult as possible. congrats chantry you’ve now created a scenario where a little demon summoning ritual here and there is actually safer

i would say blood definitely always seems to be its own category of magical nonsense that goes beyond shapeshifting and healing. it’s probably true that the entire school of spirit works similarly and takes some level of contact to unlock? and it’s worth saying that demons can also unlock abilities for non-mages this way, like reavers. though that definitely can be passed on secondhand

[vigilskeep]

I mean, 100% if The Gallows was known for Force Magic, then I hc Kinloch Hold was Spirit Healing, I'm with you there. I just meant in terms of Spirits. 🤣

Wynne had Faith. I wonder what Anders had before he got possessed by Justice?

AH i see

yeah i mean i’m not super educated on spirit healers but wynne’s personal relationship with one spirit doesn’t seem like something she talks abt super freely or is really encouraged? iirc? nor does awakening anders seem like he’s had extended chats with a spirit before—he asks questions w the blatant implication he’s never had the opportunity to ask, “i’ve always wondered—”, though that may just be writer oversight, there’s a lot of missing implications in awakening

it would be my assumption that prior to justice anders worked with several spirits rather than one in particular, and not really closely. i’m never really clear on how much communication a lot of mage to fade interactions involve. it’s not like spirit healers have to open up the fade and chat with spirits every time they draw on their abilities but maybe they have to idk make arrangements prior to that

i wonder if anders still has those or if they’re all gone now he has justice

[vigilskeep]

Listen... LISTEN... my boi Keir deserves two wizard lovers AND his spirit bf too. He is fascinated by magic isn't he?

Also, side note. How's DOES keir view magic? What sort of emotions and actions has he grown up associating with it?

he appreciates your dedication to getting him the maximum number of boyfriends

keir loves magic. loves loves loves magic. not in a way where he’s jealous, he’s never rlly the jealous type. he just associates it with his favourite people in the world, with his family, and he knows it as something precious, something beautiful, something to keep safe. others can think what they like about magic, but he’s not so easily frightened, and to him, it will always be his father’s pride and his sister’s strength and anders’ healing and merrill’s brilliance. he wouldn’t feel at home in a house empty of magic and he doesn’t feel confident on a battlefield without a mage ally. he knows a lot abt magic too! he grew up around magical training and he’s smarter than people (including himself) give him credit for; he loves just listening to his mages talk theory and if encouraged to contribute he can generally hold his own in that kind of conversation and be surprisingly helpful

i like to hc that those who grew up around mages sometimes have a little sixth sense for magic, whether it’s from long experience or a trace of it in his blood. nothing special, but he’ll react to oncoming spells before anyone else, he has a knack for seeing magic done and immediately knowing exactly what kind of mage cast it, that kind of thing