#devari kader

[anneapocalypse]

! in light of that oc post you rb'd. consider this an opportunity to talk about ur ocs. basics, dnd alignment, ur fav things you've come up for them, what makes you/their LI deranged abt them, top moment living rent free in ur head for them, (free space here) hehehe

You are too kind. 💙

Truly, when it comes to player characters I have too many. Rather than one "canon" world state I have an ever-growing pile of them, which I sit atop like a dragon on its treasure hoard.

So today I think I'll take this as an excuse opportunity to talk about Noble Hearts, even though I don't currently have any fic written for any of them. Generally for each world state I pick a theme, and each character is a variation on it, so the theme of this one is nobility.

Brenna Aeducan

How it started:

How it's going:

Brenna Aeducan starts out in full Noble Asshole mode, does not speak to commoners, etc. Over the course of her journey, she falls in love with Alistair, puts him on the throne, and sacrifices herself to kill the archdemon.

Her arc is about learning the true meaning of nobility. It's a journey from Lawful Evil to Lawful Good.

Favorite Brenna moments:

She puts Bhelan on the throne.

Bhelan, you outplayed me. You won. I will not allow House Aeducan to fall simply to spite you. I will see you on the throne. But never forget who put you there.

Connor dies. Brenna knows nothing about magic. She takes the Knight-Commander at his word when he says the Circle is lost. She accidentally reveals Morrigan as an apostate and Wynne attacks them, forcing Brenna to kill her and leaving her no further reason to consider sparing the mages. So when they subsequently go to Redcliffe, there is no third option, and she's not about to do a blood magic ritual, so the child has to die. (This ends up being a very rough patch in her relationship with Alistair.)

Favorite romance moment: When she realizes that Alistair's destiny is to rule his people, and she will never be his queen... and puts him on the throne anyway. And Alistair's goodbye in Denerim, where he knows damn well what she's about to do: "I won't forget you. I'll make sure they don't forget you."

The Warden for Awakening is also a dwarf, Devari Kader, who was born casteless before leaving and becoming a Grey Warden. She finds it absolutely bonkers to be not only a noble but a noble ruling humans. Also baffled by the fact that everyone keeps calling her "Orlesian."

Emilia Hawke

The one I call Terrible Hawke (affectionate and derogatory).

How it started:

How it's going:

Emilia Hawke starts out protective of her little sister, though maybe with a bit of resentment brewing under the surface. She loses Bethany in the Deep Roads. Over the course of her arc she slides toward more and more extreme pro-templar behavior until Leandra's murder just sends her completely off the rails. By Act III she is a full-on anti-mage fanatic who believes that magic is a curse and it was a blessing from the Maker that he called Bethany back to his side before she could fall to corruption.

Emilia was an exercise in "Let's make a Hawke who sides with the templars at the end and fully believes they're doing the right thing."

If you ask her, she's Lawful Good. (I'd call her Lawful Evil, lol.)

Favorite Emilia moments:

Bethany's death truly is the beginning of her long downward spiral, because she really did love her sister. With Bethany gone, over time her memory in Emilia's mind is twisted into an idealized portrait of the "Good Mage." One who was meek and righteous (neither of which accurately describe who Bethany really was), never gave into temptation, and most importantly, died young and pure. That distorted image of Bethany helps her rationalize things later that Bethany would never have approved of, without ever admitting to herself how deeply she has dishonored her sister's memory.

Romance: She romances Sebastian and ends up taking those Chantry vows with him. They're a chaste and devout religious power couple who enable some of each other's worst traits and mutually cockblock each other so hard (Emilia constantly encourages him to keep his Chantry vows despite clearly wanting to bang him) I have to say that both of them on some level get off on denying each other and themselves. They deserve each other. 💙

Incidentally in addition to taking Chantry vows, Emilia has the Templar specialization. Which means that for a brief time, Kirkwall has a Viscount who is an actual Chantry Sister and "unofficial" templar. Love that for them.

Theodore Trevelyan

How it started:

How it's going:

Theo is "the spare" of his family, and he knows it. So when this "Herald of Andraste" thing drops in his lap, he seizes it with both hands. Why yes, I am the Chosen One! Thank you for asking!

And he wants so badly to believe it.

Alignment: Lawful Stupid. Would in theory like to be Good but is completely unpracticed at any kind of complex moral reasoning.

Favorite Theo moments:

His confidence takes its first big hit at Halamshiral, where he makes a fantastic cock-up of it and ends up with Gaspard as Emperor not by choice but because he can't make a decision and just stands there gawping while his people are waiting for orders, and Celene gets stabbinated in front of him. And then everyone praises him and acted like he made this happen on purpose. He does not walk away feeling good about this.

And then the Fade is like "Yeah you weren't saved by Andraste lol."

Incidentally, Emilia's anti-mage fanaticism unnerves even bland milquetoast pro-templar Theo to the point that it contributes to him leaving her in the Fade, even though he feels really guilty about it because of Varric.

Also a big fan of the scene where he gets yelled at by Solas, who is deeply unimpressed with him.

Romance: He falls hard for Cassandra, which really makes things awkward when he starts to doubt his Chosen-ness because deep down he knows there's nothing else remarkable about him and he's not handsome or charming enough to get by on that alone, and what if she only ever liked him because she thought he was chosen by the Maker?

Probably his greatest moment of character growth is when he learns that Cassandra is a candidate for Divine, and realizes that if he supports her, he's probably going to lose her. And he decides to support her anyway because he loves her and can't stand in the way of her calling if it's the Maker's will.

Thanks for letting me introduce you to my awful children!