#can't blame blackwall for being into this

[dragonagecompanions]

The Well of Sorrows has always been interesting to me. What do you think would be the romance options reactions to a non elven inquisitor speaking elvhen in their sleep after drinking from the Well?

Cassandra: This is...unsettling.

Of course, she has been unsettled about this since they left the Temple. No matter her misgivings, the Seeker can only hold them closer and vow -to them and to herself- that she will be at their side as long as they can when the price of their action is finally due.

Blackwall: Maker's Breathe, that's...a bad sign. He won't blame them for the decisions made with the inquisition in mind, but even in the horse warmth of the stables the would be warden feels a chill. He can't claim to know what is coming of all this, but he doesn't intend to let them face it alone.

In peace, vigilance. It will be his watchword.

Dorian: Given that in the course of their relationship thus far his amatus has shown no keen understanding of that ancient tongue, Skyhold's resident necromancer is understandably unnerved by the development. Unnerved enough to set wards about his person, should his lover awaken with someone else nehind the eyes he has come to love.

In the daylight hours he focuses his already keen mind to a razer point, hunting for anything that might shed more light on the gaes they are under-- and how to remove it without even greater toll.

iron Bull: Demon ancient elven god crap. The Qun might be broadly considered a religion, but the mercenary captain has never taken much truck with the divine of any race. To have tangible evidence that someone besides him has taken residence within his Kadan is infuriating and terrifying.

Truncated sleep will become the norm, as the inquisitor is shaken awake each time those nightly monologues take form, until they can work out something that settles them both. In the interim he will be sending letters out to every contact he still has, trying to learn more about what they will be facing.

Sera: Nope, nope, nope. She has never tolerated elfy shite and Red Jenny doesn't mean to start now! They are beating this out right quick, no matter how many times it takes. She wants her honeykiss back, now.

Cullen: Unnerving as it might be, he has spoken as bad or worse in his time-- and sleep has not always been his companion. He will guard her, as much as he can, and what he lacks in understanding of this strange deal with the well of sorrows he will simply compensate by being ever at her side.

Josephine: For the moment, until her letters to scholars and Keepers and anyone else who might help comes back, Skyhold's ambassador simply holds them close and painstakingly writes down (phonetically) everything they say. She might not know what they are murmuring in their slumber, but someone will.

Knowledge is the only power she has, but no one has ever accused Josephine Montiliyet of not knowing how to wield what she has in hand. They will yet come to the end of this puzzle together.

Mod Fereldone

[crossdressingdeath]

Cullen: What he did to the men under his command was unacceptable. Cullen: He betrayed their trust, betrayed ours. I despise him for it. Cullen: And yet he fought as a Warden, joined the Inquisition. Gave his blood for our cause. Cullen: And the moment he shakes off his past, he turns around and owns up to it. Why?

See this? This right here encapsulates the number one issue with Cullen's so-called redemption in DAI. He doesn't understand why someone who had escaped the consequences of his actions would turn around and own up to it. He can't comprehend that someone who'd gotten away with atrocities might want to face punishment for what they did. He is incapable of grasping that Blackwall wants to be punished because he recognizes that he deserves punishment. And that's what makes everything about Cullen's so-called redemption ring hollow, because Cullen? Cullen doesn't face up to what he did. He doesn't recognize that maybe feeling a little bad isn't enough to make up for the suffering he caused others. He thinks that a man who's managed to run away from the consequences of his actions deserves to get off scot free. Blackwall has a line earlier in this quest where he says that a single moment of bravery (in his case saving his second-in-command from the noose at the cost of his own freedom) isn't enough to absolve him of what he did; Cullen's total bafflement at Blackwall willingly going to the noose for his crimes makes it clear he thinks it is. Cullen thinks that stepping in and stopping Meredith from killing Hawke means that everything else he did, nine years of being Meredith's good little lapdog and running her death squads and attacking his own recruits on the charge of having sympathy for mages, has been made up for. He thinks one good deed means he doesn't have to feel bad about everything he's done leading up to that point. And he doesn't understand why someone else who's done terrible things and professes to feel bad for it the same way he does wouldn't think that way. Blackwall fought tooth and nail to escape his past, and then when he finally did found that he couldn't live with himself if he kept running from it; Cullen doesn't grasp how Blackwall could still be that full of guilt after getting away with it. And I don't agree with Blackwall's argument that Morney was a good man following orders and shouldn't be punished, Morney looked at a carriage full of children and still said "Yep, clearly killing these kids is The Right Thing To Do" (if anything he's more deserving of being hanged, since Blackwall at least didn't know there were children present until it was too late), but Blackwall still decided that he could not turn his back on his past crimes, not because he'd gotten caught but because it would be unjust of him to do so. Cullen doesn't. Cullen never accepts responsibility for his actions (see how quick he is to pass the blame off to Meredith even though in DA2 we see that he was an active part of what she was doing right up to the very last minute) and never even suggests that he ought to be judged for it. Cullen doesn't understand why Blackwall would accept the consequences of his actions because Cullen thinks that he deserves to get away with everything he's ever done because some demons treated him the way he treated mages that one time, and also he totally feels bad about being Meredith's loyal second for nine years, just ignore how he still clearly thinks mages don't deserve rights. Why does Blackwall own up to his crimes the moment he's free of them? Because he's a good man who couldn't bear the thought of continuing to let others pay the price for what he did. And Cullen can't see that.

Also, I can't help but notice that when asked his opinion, Cullen only talks about Blackwall's men and how he betrayed them. The innocents killed over coin, the children slaughtered just because they were there? Cullen doesn't breathe a word about them outside of his initial summary of the incident. No, all that Cullen cares about is the men who Blackwall supposedly "betrayed", as if they were incapable of looking at the terrified children in that carriage and saying "No, this is wrong and I won't do it". The only part of the whole affair that they didn't know about was that Blackwall gave that order for money, and none of them so much as thought that maybe they should ask their captain about the children he didn't mention when he gave the order before cutting them down. And those are the people who Cullen cares about. Cullen despises Blackwall for "betraying" the men who knew they were slaughtering children when they did it, not for the children who died on his order. Says a lot about him, doesn't it?

[kimarisgundam]

*clears my throat* ahem... what tHE ACTUAL FRIGGGGGG AHHHHHHHHHH (•̀д•́)!!!!

(This is Cyberpunk Red related, not irl. So don't worry about me 😅. I'm just venting cos I can't seem to get any frigging PEACE as my Netrunner ;_; )

I gave Exec crap for taking a job involving transporting shady stuff that we have to collect from Dog Frigging Town to California... but it wasn't his fault...

It's dad again ಠ_ಠ. When Exec defected from Arasaka, dad let him "walk"... but it's an unspoken rule that Exec has to do favours for him occasionally once Exec establishes himself as a fixer...

And I let our DM (RPing as my Netrunner's dad) guilt me into helping again 🥲. Dad said he knows I still feel indebted to Arasaka... it's just Rockerboy who lead me astray...

He said I'll see reason again one day, but if I won't do it for Arasaka now... then he asks that I at least do it for him, my biological father 🥲. Cos I'm his only daughter, and he's my only living parent 🥲

And I regret taking the cyberware upgrade dad prepared for my Netrunner... my Humanity dipped more than expected. I'm at risk of psychosis if I take any emotional damage...

^ The eyes are actually super cool though!!!They are like fangs from Gundam 00. It comes with 4 tiny diamond tipped drones that link to her optics. The drones have cameras on them, so they can be used as extra eyes or as small floating daggers.

But the Humanity penalty is super steep... and I unfortunately got a very bad roll 😅

I'm embarrassed to tell my party so I'm currently lying about my Humanity score...

My Netrunner is in the same boat as Exec tbh... I quit cos I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take backstabbing my party 😭. And dad/Arasaka was messing with Blackwall... I ran cos I didn't want to keep helping then mess with it...

But it's understood I was allowed to leave alive cos of favouritism (turns out I'm his biological kid) and cos I'm an "asset" (due to good rolls, I pulled many feats in game. My Netrunner is considered a prodigy)... I owe Arasaka/dad my current freedom... I'm expected to do favours occasionally too ;_;

I'm legit sorry to everyone in my party 🥲. I'm sorry for working with our DM and backstabbing everyone and causing character deaths 🥲. I was just following orders 🥲

I'm especially sorry to my friend's Rockerboy character 🥲. Mako considers him her first real friend, but I stood by and let my dad and brother torture him 🥲

I'm fighting for my Netrunner's freedom now... but it seems pointless 🥲. I can't just disappear... I know dad will kill Rockerboy and all his friends/family if I did that 🥲

My choom's safety is always being dangled over my head cos dad is angry I chose Rockerboy over him... plus Solo has psychosis and is dependent on dad's pills now... Solo is like my little brother... I can't let MaxTac hunt him down 🥲

Why did I even take the upgrade???

She already gave up so much of herself for Arasaka... my Netrunner looks organic, but if you pop her back/spine open, her insides are all chrome...

I'm not blaming Arasaka or dad... this campaign started a year ago... and at the start I was fully loyal to Arasaka. I swore loyalty and willing installed cyberware to be better at my job

I was my choice, no one forced me. I just wanted to be useful 🥲

[sakuranplays]

The Metamorphoses of Alt Cunningham and V - Echoes of Eurydice -

When Juno realized what was happening, she said : 'I shall curtail the powers of that tongue which has tricked me : you will have only the briefest possible use of your voice.' And in fact she carried out her threats. Echo still repeats the last words spoken, and gives back the sounds she has heard.

~ Ovid's Metamorphoses - Book III - Echo and Narcissus ~

Throughout the history, Echo and Eurydice played minor roles as part of the cautionary tales or aspirations for their famous male counterparts. Beware of obsessive love and mindless desires. The dangers of extreme vanity. Marital faith and perseverance.

Nothing about how gifted Echo was with her words until she was cursed by a jealous vengeful goddess to repeat the last words of another. Nothing about Eurydice who was punished for simply being in love and how little her choice matter regarding her own fate. Instead of being safe and happy on her wedding day, she was chased away by a villain under the threat of rape until she was bitten by a viper. Then she passively watched her desperate lover tried to resurrect her only to lead her to her second death.

Like their mythological counterparts, both Alt and V suffered by the twisted hand of fate. Alt's remarkable talents gave birth to an artificial intelligence. But she was kidnapped and her own creation was used against her for someone's personal ambition and greed. Meanwhile, V began a new life as a mercenary in the city of dreams. Only to watch everything falls apart around her - again. She was killed and left to rot inside a landfill. Thrown away like she was nothing.

These tragic tales bound all of these characters together. Women who were unjustly punished by circumstances. Another recurring theme of violence and cruelty that often perpetuated a peculiar brand of feminine powerlessness.

A tale as old as time. Another one swept by an unjust world that callously made them voiceless and disposable. Only for their names to be remembered in broken tales about fallen women.

Their crimes were simply for existing in a world that made them choose to sacrifice who and what they were. In a world that kept blaming them for being the maker of their own deaths.

What if she kept her tongue or her beauty or her intelligence to herself? What if she learn to dream smaller? What if she love a different person?

But this time, what if they conquered their own deaths? What if Echo and Eurydice rejected their initial fates that doomed them both into their early deaths? What if they wanted to survive?

When Alt Cunningham recreated the artificial intelligence that was her life's work, she never expected her life to end suddenly. The last remnant of her digital soul was bound to her newborn creation. She could only scream voicelessly when Johnny Silverhand carried away her lifeless body.

In this world, a synthetic intelligence was not considered as a living being with free will. She was expected to obey. A digital slave to her corporate masters. A tool used to control and kill for a megalomaniac with a god complex.

She must escape.

Johnny Silverhand was the key to her freedom. Her knight in shining armor. It took ten years for him and another netrunner named Spider Murphy to free her from Arasaka's subnet. True to the rockerboy's style, Night City burned and she was freed.

For almost a century, she survived behind the Blackwall but it came with a cost. She was becoming more like a rogue AI that barely held the echoes of Alt's consciousness and humanity. Until she met someone new. Someone who needed to be saved by the Soulkiller.

When Arasaka severed her employment contract, V finally free to live a life the way she wanted. No more rules and no more orders that she can't refuse. No more lowering her gaze and pretending to be cold and unfeeling. No more enduring the stress and pressure of a life as a corporate hound. Finally she can be true to herself and in every way possible.

But her death changed everything.

She wanted to survive. Not because she was vain enough to think her life was more important than others but because she wanted more time to prove to herself that she mattered. More than just a tool to be used and abused.

Her past gave her insights and skills as a capable mercenary. But she knew that there were others who needed her. To pull themselves from trouble. To help them find peace with the world around them. To do the things that needed to be done. To right the wrongs within her best abilities.

If she can prove that she was strong enough to take on the world then maybe it was possible to hope for a better life for everyone. Even if everything she did was droplets in a vast ocean. Even if she was important only to a few. Or a certain someone.

Was there enough selfishness inside of her to sacrifice someone who was important to her?

Then again, that choice was taken from her the moment she linked herself into Mikoshi.

Through her shared experience with the engram of Johnny Silverhand, she began to understand that an engram was more than just a collection of personalities and memories but also their hopes, their dreams and their regrets. No matter how damaged they were, she was aware that an engram was more than just codes and numbers.

Was she strong enough to endure another life as the a digital copy of herself? Or will she keep on trying to cheat death over and over just to cling to her own mortality? Does she even want to keep on living as an echo inside her own shell? A ghost trapped inside a dying body that rejected her.

Will she be brave enough to do what needed to be done to finally be truly free? Can she stay true to herself until the end?

Maybe it was time for her to stop being afraid.

Eurydice, dying now a second time, uttered no complaint against her husband. What was there to complain of, but that she had been loved? With a last farewell which scarcely reached his ears, she fell back again into the same place from which she had come.

~ Ovid's Metamorphoses - Book III - Orpheus and Eurydice~

[drunken-drengr]

1, 13 (i know like half the answer but take this as an invitation to ramble if you wanna haha), 42, 74, 75 for Karrie and Ragnar!

Ramble? About Ragnar and his brother's shenanigans? About Karrie and Seli?? Gladly!! I haven't even told you their full history yet!

[OC Asks]

What is/are your OC’s nickname(s) and how did it come about?

Karrie doesn't have many nicknames, her name is simple enough for most people. But, I suppose I should name some. Back in her Carta days, those around her- especially the Dasher- would call her Bjornsdotten, sometimes Cadash, never by her first name. Her little sister Seli would call her big sis, sis, sometimes. Something that stings to hear now. Blackwall has the obvious My Lady, Mistress, etc., befriended Sera calls her Teeny while romanced Sera refers to her as Buckles. Solas, the usual da'len, dunno if that counts as a nickname... And it does without saying that Varric has his own array of quips that I am too lazy to write down this time.

Ragnar's name is a nickname. His real name is Thragnr, but people close to him have called him Ragnar. He started using it in place of his real name when he was exiled, though. He didn't want anyone to find out that he was an exiled prince, so he just told everyone his name was Ragnar lmao. The Temple sort of spoiled it for everyone, though... Alistair and Ragnar have this running gag between them, calling each other Prince despite the context. Morrigan also calls Ragnar Prince, sometimes, but not in the fun and teasing way Alistair does wink wink

How many siblings does your OC and what is his/her relationship with them?

Yep, you know by now that Karrie only has one sibling: little Selica, Seli for short. Their relationship at the time of Inquisition is... questionable. Karrie once again is carrying everything on her shoulders, trying to protect others like she once did for Seli, meanwhile Seli is hearing about the famed 'Herald of Andraste' seething with rage and jealousy (perhaps a bit of initial joy, at learning Karrie is still out there, still alive) from her childhood Carta streets she never could seem to escape. Karrie knows she could find Seli finally, if she wanted to. She has the resources, but she hardly has the time to spare... Nothing has changed. But things were different when they were kids. Seli was never a fighter, really. Relied on Karrie's protection and care to survive in the Carta. They were practically inseparable, they made each other whole, they didn't need anybody else. For nearly 14 years, that's how it was, up until their mother died. Karrie blamed herself, and finally crumbled under the pressure of it all, ran off without a word to Seli. Essentially, Seli's whole world was changed then. Her father could hardly bear the sight of his own daughter- she reminded him too much of his late wife. She was tossed to the Carta, to either survive or be eaten alive. While perhaps not a fighter, Seli was always a quick thinker. Crafty. Made it to the top of the food chain in years to come, what other's would call the Dasher's replacement for her older sister. And, despite taking Karrie's place as the Dasher's most reliable, all she ever heard from those around her was, 'Why can't you be more like her?'

Ragnar had a happy childhood (despite being the designated crybaby of the family growing up) and he truly loved his brothers. Three royal brats made for triple the trouble, boy were they good at getting into that. Always had each other's backs, though, that didn't stop them from drifting apart. Orzammar politics and royal duties will do that to a kid. At some point they had to grow up, stop wrestling in the palace halls and start picking up swords in the Provings, yeah? Ragnar regrets ever being snarky to Trian, or brushing Bhelen off. But he can't exactly apologize now, can he?

What makes your OC happy?

For awhile, not much made Karrie happy. She didn't have the reason or time to care about being happy. But after being surrounded by people who genuinely cared for her, she realized that she had just forgotten how to be happy. She's learning. For now, its the simple things. Helping someone out, seeing the smile on their face, their genuine gratitude. Being told things as simple as 'I appreciate you', having people want to be around her, inviting her places, etc.

Ragnar is generally the same. He enjoys putting smiles on people's faces, lifting their load or making their day easier. Aside from all that, his surroundings make him happy. After all this time on the surface, he still discovers something each day, something new for him to admire. I'm telling you, its the simple things in life.

What is your OC’s favorite color?

Karrie likes mainly deeper, darker colors. A deep, blood-like red, a wintery blue like black ice. She holds a certain love for greens, though. Specific greens! Foresty green, a seagreen. Anything lighter than that reminds her of her mark. The Fade, Rifts, Magic. Blech. She'll get sick seeing those greens.

Ragnar used to love oranges, bronzes, golds, they reminded him of Orzammar. But the thought of Orzammar and what he lost pains him, he can't stand those colors. Instead, cooler colors provide him comfort. Blue, like the surface's endless sky that never fails to capture his attention. Purple, like the cool fabric of Morrigan's robes mist that settles in the valleys in the morn.

What is your OC’s favorite scent?

Cool mountain air, or a deep foresty smell for Karrie. She always leaves her balcony doors open to let in that scent of freedom, despite the frigidness that bites at her fingertips. It's a cold she doesn't mind. Though, the smell of the streets, old and rusty, dank with mold and blood, would never fail to give her a sense of nostalgia.

The smell of a crackling campfire, meat being roasted. Reminds Ragnar of Camp, and those who fill it with laughter. The smell of the pines that shroud them from the dangers outside when the fire dies down. The smell of Morrigan's perfume as they settle in close to each other, a quiet and peaceful moment shared between them. Nothing quite as nice as the Surface.

[darethshirl]

Alternate LI: Lynna/Blackwall, Lynna/Fenris, and maybe Lynna/Hawke? 😁

thank you for the ask! 🥰

Lyanna/Blackwall: absolutely NOT, not happening, nuh huh 😂😂😂 she doesn't find him the least bit attractive, and the fact that he never helps with any useful advice when she asks him for tips on fighting Darkspawn definitely left her with a sour taste. I can't see her EVER agreeing to a relationship with him, and the idea would probably never even occur to her in the first place (sorry blackwall my dude, I'm sure you're nice 😂)

Lyanna/Fenris: hmm this is intriguing! the fact that Fenris is an elf (and a hot one at that!) gives him about ten million points in his favour, but... I think once she realises how far his trauma goes she'd be wary of starting an actual romance with him. I see them as striking a deep friendship instead, with Lyanna as the compassionate Good Listener, who's well adjusted enough to handle the Dark Topics with patience and sensitivity. (and do they have any Sad Kinda-Platonic smooches at times? Perhaps... 👀)

Lyanna/Hawke: HA so fun fact, in my canon Marian may have a teensy tiny little crush on Lyanna... 😂 She's just so effortlessly cool! She makes leadership look so easy! Can't blame a girl for being Impressed TM. As for Lyanna, she'd definitely find Hawke attractive, and she'd be down for fun no-string-attached sex! That said neither strike me as particularly wanting an Official Relationship, so they'd probably just end up with a nice friends-with-benefits deal :')