#does not get along with leliana but gets along with morrigan much the same as he does with beau

[flashhwing]

suddenly had a vision of warden molly and now I’m sad there’s no tieflings in dragon age

[dalishious]

Dragon Age: Origins is still great today, and you should give it a try

I want to preface this post with an important disclaimer: I am not about gatekeeping, and I think that ultimately, you should play or skip whatever Dragon Age games you want. If even after this post you feel like Dragon Age: Origins just isn’t for you, that’s fine! That doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the Dragon Age media you do want to consume, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’re any less valid a fan. But I personally adore Dragon Age: Origins to this day, and I would love to see more modern gamers give it a chance, despite it being from 2009.

It’s a great introduction to the world of Thedas

Dragon Age: Origins had the tall order of being the first in a potential franchise, yet it climbed those heights and beyond. It perfectly balances the need to explain the world setting and tell a story within that world at the same time, by organizing the plot into puzzle pieces. You, the protagonist, have to recruit different factions into your cause to save the kingdom of Ferelden, so each piece of the game has a different focus on those factions. It spoon-feeds the player information at an easy to understand and absorb pace.

Dragon Age: Origins also makes good use of codex entries for those of you who are big lore buffs and want even more information. Yet at the same time, it does not overly rely on the codex; all the most crucial parts of the lore that you need to know are included in your interactions with characters and plot.

The player gets to shape the story

The nature of those puzzle pieces also means that you have huge control over the story from start to finish, because the puzzle itself is shaped by you! The outcomes of each piece form the blueprint of the climax. The end of the game is reactive to the choices you make in the story throughout. (Mind you, a lot of those choices have been retconned in later games, but still, within the confines of Dragon Age: Origins itself, it’s still fun to see the outcomes of your decisions.)

The story itself is great

I would consider Dragon Age: Origins to have the most straightforward premise of all the Dragon Age games released thus far, with a strong identity linking the different main quests all together. You are a newly recruited Grey Warden, left to unite Ferelden against the big bad Blight after 99% of the Order within the nation is wiped out in a catastrophic battle. You may get caught up in dwarven politics, ancient curses, demonic possession, and plenty more along the way, but no matter where you find yourself, your motivation always falls back to that ultimate responsibility.

The characters are also great

Almost all the companions you’re able to collect along the way are very easy to love, or at least appreciate them for what they are.

Alistair is also a new grey warden. He is struggling with grief over the loss of his mentor, and the weight of having no control over his identity his whole life.

Morrigan is a witch who grew up isolated in the woods with no one but her abusive mother for company. Now she must learn to interact with others, and dependant on the player, perhaps even make a friend, lover… or enemy.

Leliana is a bard from Orlais, whose faith told her to assist the grey warden plight. But beneath the demure outward appearance, she has a much darker past she’s running away from.

Sten is a Qunari warrior who was taught that outside his culture, everything is backwards and nonsense, but he cannot return home until he has restored his soul by recovering his lost sword. Along the way, he may learn to appreciate or despise Ferelden.

Zevran was enslaved by the Antivan Crows as a child and made into an assassin. If the player can chip away at his nonchalant mask, they will find his past has left a lot more scars on him than he thought it safe to admit.

Wynne is a mage from the Circle who is struggling to deal with the nature of age, death, and life purpose.

Shale is a golem who was once under complete and total control by her former master, now learning what it’s like to be free, and wanting to uncover her forgotten past before losing that freedom.

Oghren is there too, unfortunately.

And the player character really feels like they are of your own creation. The choices you make, little and small, offer a lot to shape whatever kind of protagonist you want. Additionally, the benefit of starting the game with a different origin, and playing out that origin before getting recruited into the grey wardens, offers a lot of prompting to get into the roleplay!

The datedness can be easily upgraded with modding anyway

Do you find the combat clunky? There’s mods for that. Do you find the graphics too bland? There’s mods for that. Do you wish you could kiss Alistair as a man or Morrigan as a woman? There’s mods for that, too. Dragon Age: Origins is very easy to mod; most of them you just drop the files into your override folder and start playing. Otherwise, you use the DA Modder app for DAZIP files, which is also not that complicated.

A lot of people consider Skyrim to be dated without mods, too. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with appreciating the ability to mod a game, as a positive point.

If you want to play, make sure you use LAA though!

Large Address Aware is a must-have on PC for Dragon Age: Origins.

For GoG or EA App/Origin users: You can just run LAA like normal!

For Steam users: You need THIS first

[pricemarshfield]

wrote a little fic for @gwynbleidd since they made the loveliest lae'zel gifset for me! so here's a little thing for alistair and your surana. i hope i did her justice <3

The first time Neria fights at the front rather than casting from the back nearly gives Alistair a heart attack.

It’s a little embarrassing. He can’t recall the same blood-curdling terror in any of their other recent fights, even when Morrigan decided to reveal she could shapeshift by turning into a giant, monstrous spider and spitting poison at the darkspawn Alistair had locked swords with, the stench of the thing almost enough to make him miss the weird chittering that he’s certain was her laughing. Sure, that had freaked him out, and it’s an experience he would prefer not to repeat, but it was more an irritation than anything.

When Neria had taken the phylactery and freed the spirit, Alistair had smiled at her. It wasn’t a surprise, exactly, she’s been kind to everyone deserving of it they’ve come across, along with quite a few that weren’t. When she’d been suddenly much more comfortable moving in armor, Alistair had been proud, a little reassured that she’d be alright even if someone managed to slip past him to take out the mage keeping them all up. When she’d started wielding a sword, Alistair couldn’t remember feeling much of anything other than his cheeks being so warm even Shale had noticed.

Somehow, he hadn’t connected that to her joining him at the front, leaving Leliana and Zevran to slip through the weak spots in their enemies' forces and attack them from the back. It’s not that she does badly, or anything. Sure, her fighting style’s a lot less “polished” than his, but she manages to take out a few of the bandits who’d somehow taken their motley crew for easy targets, still managing to spare a quick healing spell for Leliana when one of them smacks her with a shield.

All-in-all, the fight takes maybe two, three minutes, and Leliana’s injury is the worst of it. Still, Alistair’s hands are shaking. He can’t stop replaying the image of the one bandit clearly taking her for the easier target and lunging forward, quick enough that Alistair wouldn’t have been able to stop them, only for the blade to get caught on her armor and for Neria to smack him with the hilt of the sword hard enough for the man to crumble to the ground in an undignified heap.

Neria looks a little shaken, too. “Is everyone alright?”

Leliana smiles at them, already retrieving what arrows she can from the bandits. Zevran, ever-showy, spreads his arms and says, “More than! You would think they would run away once they realize they are hopelessly outmatched by us, no?”

Neria smiles back, just a small one, and says, “Alistair? What about you?”

“I’m fine,” he says, though it comes out all wrong, too shaky and wholly unconvincing. “Didn’t get hit or anything.” He holds up his shield and waves it a bit. “You?”

“Fine,” Neria says, just as quickly. “Still, we should make camp soon. We’re a long way from Denerim yet.”

So they do, the process quick after this many nights travelling with each other. As always, Morrigan’s off in the corner doing her best to ignore them all, Zevran's needling Wynne to see if he can get a reaction from her, and Leliana's half-singing, half-humming Orlesian songs as she works. He can’t see Neria anywhere, though.

Alistair walks a little away from the fire, the noise of camp fading a bit to the noises of the forest. He finds her there, lying back on a little hill facing away from camp, looking up at the stars with an expression he can’t quite read on her face.

He feels like he’s intruding, suddenly, but she turns to him before he can leave and smiles at him. “You can stay. I don’t mind.” She shifts so there’s room to lie next to her.

He does. They don’t talk for a bit, just looking up at the stars. He used to do this, back when he was first made a Warden and shaken by how much freedom he had at last, or even before, when he was still in Redcliffe and spent more time with the dogs than with any actual person. It’s peaceful, and he feels a little of the tension from the battle before finally bleed out of his shoulders.

Maker, he’s exhausted.

But Neria’s been a good friend to him--more than, if he’s being honest--and deserves more from him than just falling asleep here, so he says, “So, uh. You sure you’re okay?”

He expects her to say she’s okay and have to joke his way to them talking about it, but she just sighs and says, “Well. Mostly.”

“That’s something, at least!” Alistair says, trying for his usual cheer.

Neria huffs out a laugh before going quiet again. Alistair doesn’t push; this silence feels more companionable than stifling. Sure enough, a minute or so later and she says, “I was worried you’d get hurt. Earlier.”

“Oh,” Alistair says, because that hadn’t been what he was expecting at all. “Uh. I didn’t.”

“No, I know,” Neria says, turning to look at him. “I just don’t ever want to see you hurt.” Her face goes a little pink. “Or, you know. Any of us getting hurt. I want to keep everyone safe.” There’s a moment of silence; Alistair catches himself holding his breath, not quite sure why. “I want to keep you safe.”

“That’s supposed to be my job,” Alistair says, voice a little croaky.

She elbows him. “Hey, don’t pretend I didn’t do well today.”

“You did,” Alistair says. “It, uh, wasn’t the easiest for me, to see you at the front. But you--I mean, you clearly learned a lot from that spirit.”

“And from you,” she says, like it’s nothing.

“Right.” He should give her the rose. He’d been thinking of her when he picked it, weeks back now, but the urge to is almost overwhelming, suddenly. 

“Anyway,” Neria says, after what could be only a moment or hours, for all Alistair’s paying attention. “We should probably get back to camp before the fire burns out. We should be reaching the city tomorrow.”

Alistair nods, though he’s reluctant to leave this little moment of peace they’ve found. Neria must be, too, because she just lies there with him for a few moments. He feels her hand brush his, and he takes it, their fingers interlocking.

Eventually, they stand up and make their way back to camp, Neria distracting Zevran from where he’s irritating Wynne and Alistair helping Leliana with taking account of what they’d collected today. But when he finally heads to his tent to get some sleep, Neria catches his eye and smiles at him, cheeks still a little pink.

And, like he always does, he smiles back.

[crossdressingdeath]

I read somewhere that if Alistair was exiled, he reappears in Inquisition as a Grey Warden but from the Orlesian branch. This means that an Alistair who protested Loghain being spared gets a taunt from the Nightmare demon which basically calls out his refusal to take charge of anything. I think it fits with your post perfectly.

Oh, that's very fun.

Honestly, the impression I get with Alistair is that he does want the power of being in charge! He just doesn't want the responsibility. You can see that in how he immediately freaks out the second you do something he doesn't like; he wants you to be the one making all the tough choices, but he expects you to make choices he agrees with. He gets his way, and you have to carry the weight of all those moral choices!

I'm tempted to call it cowardice, actually. Alistair wants someone else to make all the same decisions he would've made so that he can get his way without any of the agonizing moral questions and guilt of actually making those decisions or taking on the blame for anyone who gets hurt or worse by them. He clearly doesn't have enough moral qualms to not go along with fucked up shit if it doesn't negatively affect him personally; remember that in Darkspawn Chronicles he has werewolves and golems in his army, meaning he slaughtered the Dalish and kept the Anvil intact, and he also released Vaughan from his cell. Whether he did those things because Morrigan pushed him to do them (which is a theory I've seen floated around) or just because, he's clearly perfectly willing to do terrible things, even if only on someone else's urging! But he doesn't want to be responsible for the bad things the group might do. He wants to be able to blame someone, anyone else. ...Which might play a part in why he's so against becoming king, come to think of it; there's no one to blame if you're the one on the top, after all.

And I don't think he's doing it entirely deliberately, but... let's be honest here. If someone is willing to do basically anything someone asks up to and including sacrificing his young relative or his stepmother (for lack of a better thing to call Isolde here, although it is important to keep in mind that Alistair disapproves twice as much to you sacrificing Isolde as he does to you letting the entire village except Eamon's family die, which... probably says something about him) and only ducks out when they make a decision that blocks him from fulfilling his personal grudge? That says something very very bad about them. Wynne, Leliana and Shale will all fight to the death to stop you from doing something they consider unforgivable, Sten will fight you for control of the group if you drag the group well out of the path of the Blight to visit Haven unless you've earned his trust, and Zevran will straight up turn on you if you haven't won his loyalty, but Alistair? If he abandons the group it's basically him throwing a hissy fit over you obeying the senior Warden present instead of him (despite him actively giving up leadership) and storming out, and it is explicitly his personal vendetta that causes it rather than him believing you've crossed a moral line. It is pure selfishness. Alistair clearly has some morals (he's firmly on the mages' side and only doubles down in later games, for one), but... a lot of the time his morals come down to what benefits him and his family, and he clearly expects the Warden to play by those same rules.

[musamulta]

Opinions on DA:O companions.

Alistair: Helena adores Alistair. Of all those she could have survived Ostagar with, she's glad it was him. She enjoys his gentle heart and his attempts at jokes, defends him when others call him dumb or mock him. Whether she romances him or not, Helena quickly considers Alistair her best friend.

Dog (Bear): How can you not like Dog? She spoils her mabari, named Bear, to death and always makes sure he's presentable! Bear stays with her for his whole life as she travels post-Origins. Though, he was being kept elsewhere in Awakenings.

Leliana: They may not always have the same thoughts and ideas, but Helena appreciates what Leliana brings to the group. Unfortunately, they have very different takes on both religion and fashion as the former-Circle-Mage-turned-Grey-Warden loses what faith she did have in the Maker steadily.

Morrigan: Truthfully, Helena doesn't dislike Morrigan in the slightest. They get along fairly well. Helena doesn't share the witch's 'everyone for themselves' mentality, but she's very good about trying to understand Morrigan's reasonings for all she says and does. The main point of contention, however, is Alistair and how Helena defends him from Morrigan.

Oghren: Helena doesn't dislike Oghren, but she's not particularly fond of him, either. He's crass, crude, drunken... she doesn't like these aspects of him. Still, she's thankful for his help and kind to him, but he's not someone she would ever choose to spend time with.

Shale: Truthfully, Helena doesn't have much of an opinion on Shale. The golem just never particularly swayed her one way or another, bringing an equal balance of good and bad. Lena does take great amusement in Shale's hatred of birds, though.

Sten: Another person Helena has no strong opinion on. The parts she doesn't like about Sten aren't things she blames him for. After all, she would feel wrong to judge him based on cultural differences. She does her best to sway him towards understanding that women and mages are just as good as warrior men.

Wynne: Wynne is mom. Or grandma. Whatever she is, she is someone Helena looks up to. She's someone Helena goes to for advice or when she's upset. Wynne is an important figure in Helena's life.

Zevran: Though Zevran can share some of those crass traits like Oghren, he's smoother about it all, making it easier to stomach. Helena still doesn't appreciate a number of things that come out of Zevran's mouth, but she likes the assassin well enough. Once comfortable, she might even banter with him.

Loghain: Never a companion. In her main verse, she spares him and manages to calm Alistair about it by reaffirming that Loghain has been spared to fix his own problems and that the man will never be a companion of theirs.

[lords-of-fortune]

Life 6 for Lavellan

Party 3 for the Wardens

Codex 4 for Halen

6. Which aspects of the culture they were born into holds the most significance for them?

I think for Nennril it's very much just the community and the freedom? Being Dalish is hard, it takes a lot of teamwork, with the other elves, with the halla, with the places they travel to. And that sense of working together to build a life even if it is difficult is really important for him. The inquisition isn't exactly the same but it is still a bunch of people working together towards the same goal so that helps them not be quite so homesick. They do miss sleeping under the stars and they get very restless at Skyhold but traveling around to all the places he does helps a lot with that as well. It's not the same but it's as close to home as he's going to get for a while so he'll make do.

3. Which companions (or advisors) do they like to spend time with when they’re not travelling?

Alding- he gets along with everyone, but aside from Zevran, he ends up spending a lot of time with Wynne just talking about the world. I've said before she kinda reminds him of Eleanor and he could really use a maternal figure throughout his travels so they get really close. He's also really close with Alistair and trusts him deeply. Also I feel like during awakening once he and Nate have really hashed things out, they get very close.

Rodaine- again, I'm assuming this means aside from love interests but. Morrigan. And though I mentioned he's not keen on the Qun, Rodaine really respects Sten and is fascinated with his perspective. He also got along with pretty much everyone but when he's not chatting magic with Morrigan (or doing other things nudge nudge wink wink) you can usually find him picking Sten's brain. He also hangs out with Leliana a lot even though their relationship is. Really weird ajdkfk. He also likes Alistair and considers him a close friend but can't help but keep his distance sometimes since he's A, former templar even with his negative views of the chantry, B, has foisted all responsibility on him post-Ostagar and C, turns out he's the son of the source of his bi awakening so that's. Awkward. They still hang out though and get along well.

4. How do they feel about the Fade, spirits, and demons?

Uhh they definitely freak Halen out a bit lmao. He's not a mage so it's not quite an everyday part of life for him. Going physically into the Fade was: fucking terrifying even without all the spiders crawling everywhere. He hadn't had much cause to consider these things before he became Inquisitor so he tends to rely on others' expertise in that area (mostly Solas since he seems to know what he's talking about, though he did make Cole more human against Solas's advice.) Spirits freak him out less than any of the other items in that list but he does find Cole often unsettling. Demons are both horrifying and also fucking annoying (looking at you, terrors)

[heniareth]

I was really curious about what your opinions on the DAO companions are :) I know we have talked about some, but I'd love to hear more and about the others as well :D I hope it's ok to pose this as an ask :)

Sure! That sounds like a ton of fun. This might be a long one tho. Mind you, this is not the finished version of the answer. I'd like to link stuff and add a cut, but rn that's not possible. I'll update it when I can.

Edit: I have updated it ^^

Let's go alphabetically bc why not.

Alistair:

Sweet guy. So sweet. There was a moment when I was hard pressed chosing between him and Zevran (alas, Zevran won). Also, he's weirdly tall according to the wiki? How did I not notice that before?

Let's get a bit more serious now, Alistair is a great guy. The only reason he's not the hero of the story is because he doesn't want to. He has all the qualities of a leader: he's good at dealing with conflict (as evident with the conversation with the mage at the beginning. He gets where he wants to get without antagonizing the mage, but without allowing him to trample all over him). He's a solid tactitian and knows how to make allies (he suggests to use the Grey Warden treaties, after all). I bet if he was in the leadership position, he'd even not bicker with Morrigan. His moral code is pretty tight; some might say too tight, but I think it's less about the moral code and more about learning to judge people by their actions, not by the labels they fit into (Morrigan is a proud apostate and therefore bad. Wynne is a humble circle mage and therefore good). He also has a bit of a black-and-white way of seeing the world. I empathize a lot with Alistair, especially with his experience with the Chantry and his subsequent reluctance to deal with it. I really wish I had gotten to know more about concrete experiences he had during his training as templar, but he seems reluctant to talk about it (gee, I wonder why).

Since I've only played the game once, I haven't really picked up on Arl Eamon's abuse towards him, which apparently exists (Isolde, however... I mean, even if he were Eamon's illegitimate son, he's a kid, ma'am, he didn't exactly get to chose his parents. So that's so not okay). Alistair's way of speaking about them both, however, is either sign that he has not come within a hundred miles of acknowledging how much it hurt him, or that he's already gone through the whole process and has decided to forgive them. The latter shows a very strong character; yes, he relies on the approval and leadership of others, he has his issues, but he's already started working on them.

That being said, irl Alistair would be like a little brother to me. I'd tease him relentlessly (all in good fun and I promise to stop if it makes him uncomfortable, but he's just so teasable). I still wish the videogame gave him the chance to take important decisions for himself. But that, of course, would somewhat defeat the point of the game.

Leliana:

Another sweet, sweet person. Her singing voice is amazing. Her belief in the Maker inspires me (I'm a religious person and seeing religious characters represented in a positive light is Very Cool. It's also sometimes a source of discomfort, because the Church has done a lot of very messed up stuff and positive representation can sometimes veer into apologetics for things that should not be excused, but that's a whole other can of worms. The bottom line is that religious characters sometimes work for me and other times don't and Leliana works for me very much bc she's an outsider inside the Chantry).

Leliana is best friend material, tbh. I'd love to get to know her irl, discuss theology and philosophy and maybe even politics? She makes mistakes and has prejudices, but, tbh, so do I. And I do get the feeling that she tries her best to learn. From the times she intervenes in a conversation between the Warden and an NPC, she shows herself to be compassionate and open to the needs of others. What I get from her character is that she genuinely wants to help, which is something that I adore of her. I suspect that she sometimes has a hard time deciding wether she's a good person or not. She has killed and seduced and worked for a morally dubious person, and she doesn't show the same nonchalance about it as Zevran (though they both do discuss their line of work in very... professional terms). This is, however, more of a headcanon than actual factual canon.

I also very much enjoy her girly side, like her interest in shoes and dresses. She's one badass woman who also looses her cool about the latest fashions in Val Royeaux. I like that. Between her and Alistair, a non human noble Warden has as good a help to navigate the Fereldan court as they're going to get. Leliana is also, I can't forget that, clever and insightful. It'd be easy to write her off as the innocent chantry girl, but she's so much more than that. Her kindness is paired with foresight, I think. She knows that taking on the trouble to help now can go a long way in the future. I just have a lot of respect for her.

Loghain:

This one's gonna be short bc I didn't recruit him. He's an amazing villain and would probably be a great Warden as well. He reminds me of Denerhor from LOTR; once a hero/stewart of his people, ambition and desperation have driven them both down a terrible path. I have also only little idea about his past. People say he lost a lot, and I believe it wholeheartedly; it doesn't excuse the fact that he plunged the country into a civil war in the middle of a Blight. I don't have a lot of sympathy for short-sighted politicians. I wish he hadn't made himself regent. That's what I take away from his character.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention that really impressed me was his death. I had Alistair duel him (that was a rough duel), and then it kinda just jumped to a cutscene of my Warden nodding and Alistair executing him. That didn't sit well with me. I didn't want to kill Loghain, and less so in front of Anora. But what impressed me was that Loghain just accepted it. That takes a whole lot of guts. Compare that to Howe's death, and how he screams out that he deserved (more, probably, or anything but death) and it's crystal clear who the more noble of the two is. Loghain strikes me as very lawful neutral, and any neutral alignment has the particularity that it can be dragged towards good or bad, sometimes without the characters noticing it (which is interesting from a DnD perspective; neutral is often concieved of as just as stable as good or evil, but that may not be true. But that's a different post). Anyway, Loghain's death was impactful.

Morrigan:

I could kick myself for not maxing out her approval in the first play-through. I got to enjoy a bit of her friendship by the end of it and boy was even that little bit worth it. Friendship with Morrigan is something that is hard-won. It's all the more precious because of that.

Morrigan is full of paradoxes, I think. She's incredibly wise in some ways, yet also very short-sighted (”just kill them, don't solve their problems”. Morrigan, dear, I'm not going to gain a lot of allies if I kill everybody who poses a problem to me). She is so intelligent, but emotionally... not so. She knows so much about some things, and very little about the next. She's incredibly wilful and knows what she wants, but follows Flemeth's orders all the time through. She hungers for power and independence, yet craves closeness, but won't allow herself to have it. She asks you to prove yourself to her and is extremely critical of your actions, I think, because she's afraid. She bites the hand that feeds her because it might hit her next.

Like with Eamon, I haven't managed to catch the undercurrent of abuse that seems to permeate Flemeth's relationship with Morrigan. Except there are signs, because there must be something Morrigan is scared of and who has instilled all that rage in her, and that's Flemeth. Also, she clearly hates/does not care about her and wants her dead (unless killing Flemeth was part of Flemeth's plan as well? Hm.)

Morrigan is that one person who you are nice to, continuously, because nobody else is. And suddenly she becomes less cold. And then friendly. And suddenly you're asking yourself why everybody hates her, because she's a really good friend! I just wish the other companions came to a similar conclusion, especially Alistair and Wynne.

Oghren:

They did this man dirty. He has such great lines and I'm convinced he was a great person before Branka disappeared. He has that dwarven warrior spirit, and while he looks like Gimli, some of his most impactful lines remind me of Dwalin or even Thorin Oakenshield himself. He could be so noble had he gotten some character development, damnit!

Oghren as he is written is somewhat disgusting. I hate the lechering comments and the drunkenness. And still, I don't hate him because of those amazing lines he has when he's actually sober. It's frustrating and I'll give him that character development myself if the game won't. I strongly associate the song Whiskey Lullaby with him, bc that's how he would have ended up if the Warden hadn't taken him along (warning: the song talks about suicide and alcoholism). Like I said, they could have done such cool things with his character. As he is written now... it's just sad. Moments of lucidity drowned in alcohol and creepy jokes. As you can see, I don't blame the character for either. The alcoholism happens all too often irl. The creepy jokes... I put that one on the writers' tab.

I actually think Oghren could have been a great mentor figure (I know, I shock myself as well sometimes). Next to the Grey Wardens, the ones who know most about fighting darkspawn are the dwarves because they have to deal with them constantly. Especially a warrior caste dwarf like Oghren could have brought a lot of that invaluable knowledge to the team, especially since there are no Grey Wardens in Ferelden but two extremely green recruits. Next, you get the chance to give Oghren the command of the teammates you leave behind in the battle of Denerim with the reason that he has lead men into battle before. Where did that suddenly come from? Oghren should have been right up there telling my Warden that they were doing this wrong, that they needed more food (and booze) and a confident leader to keep the armies they've called together going. Oghren should have been able to tell my civilian city elf who got recruited into the Grey Wardens a six months ago how one leads an army. How one presents oneself to inspire confidence, how one doesn't crack under the pressure, how one gets the leaders of said armies (some who hate each others guts i.e. Dalish elves and humans) to work together. And, last but not least, Oghren could have had a great story about grief. This is a man who has lost most of what made him (and what he hasn't lost he's spilling down the drain with every mug of ale). This is a man who, if you take him into the Deep Roads, has to see what his wife did to his family, how his wife got absolutely obsessed, and can be forced to kill said wife or watch her die. All Wardens loose their home and families at the start of the story. It would really have rounded the whole narrative out if the Warden and Oghren could have recognised their grief in each other and hashed it out somehow. Such as it is, Oghren is a depressed drunkard and there is nothing we can do about that. I find that frustrating.

Rascal (a.k.a. Dog):

Best boy. 100/10. I wish we had gotten to see the reaction of the different origins to the mabari (because elves probably have a whole different experience with them from mages or humans. And dwarves just... I think they straight up have none? XD). Other than that, no complaints. The name Rascal was the one I gave my dog because you have to be a right rascal to survive what he did and play the pranks he plays. Smartest breed in the world indeed.

Shale:

Shale is one of those characters that I recruited rather late in the game, so I haven't had the chance to explore their personality and worldview, really. I didn't even get to take them to the Deep Roads (this will be ammended in playthrough nr. 2). As such, I don't have particularly strong opinions on them (or her? The wiki refers to Shale as 'it', but that sounds weird). But, because I know so little about Shale, I have a lot of questions. First, what were they like before they were a golem? Shayle, as she was called then, was the best warrior of her time if I remember correctly. Why did she become a golem? Was it to be able to eternally protect her people? Was the sarcasm the golem Shale exhibits also part of the dwarven warrior Shayle or did that come later (if for thirty years you have nobody to talk to but yourself, you better be entertaining. And I can imagine how it could make somebody terribly jaded as well).

Next, how attached is Shale to their golem form, exactly? According to the banter, they infinitely prefer it to a squishy fleshy form. If that is the case, however, why go to Tevinter to try and become a squishy dwarf again? It's not like that process could be reversed if they wanted to become a golem again; if Shale survives to the end of the game, the Anvil of the Void is destroyed and Caridin is dead. Was the whole spiel about their indestructible form a façade? It might have been, but not because Shale actually disliked their form. I think it would have more to do with the loss of their memories and with the very invasive experiments and alterations of Shale's body made by the mage Wilhelm. The loss of memories means that Shale is unable to remember life as a fleshy creature. They might be deflecting by pretending that they didn't care for that experience anyway because of the superiority of their golem form. The modifications made to their form by Wilhelm would have alienated them from their body. In light of this, it's significant that Shale asks the Warden to decorate their form with crystals.

All of this is, of course, pure speculation. I may have easily missed or forgotten details that would disprove the above thoughts. All in all, I like Shale and I hope we meet them again in DA4 (given that it's mostly set in Tevinter). It's a liking from a respectful distance, because Shale is tall and made out of rock and also way more experienced than I will ever be (they are literally the oldest member of the Warden's little Blight fighting squad).

Sten:

Sten is another person I'd keep a respectful distance from physically. That seems to be the what he would prefer, at least. I've enjoyed his character a lot, especially because he seems pretty clear-cut at first, but slowly lets the nuance of his person show (gruff and stoic, but then he has an eye for art, a sweet tooth and he likes cute animals). It's also very interesting that there's no moment when you learn "the truth" about him the way you do with Zevran or Leliana. There's no big reveal about his life under the Qun before coming to Ferelden. He says he was sent to monitor the Blight, but honestly? If neither Ferelden nor Orlais knew there was a Blight, how could the Qunari know? I think he's lying, and he takes his secrets back with him when he leaves Ferelden. And yet I think I know him enough to say that a Warden who has become friends with him has nothing to fear from Sten.

One thing I find very interesting about Sten is how he thinks. His conversation about how women can't be soldiers has been analysed a lot on this page I think. He seems to be arguing based on a different paradigma than the one the Warden has. He also seems to have a very clear-cut view of the world. What is fascinating to me is that, when arguing with the Warden and learning about their culture, he is not necessarily becoming more lax about his worldview. I think it's more likely that he is expanding his paradigma, the structure of thought through which he understands the world. I don't think that he is now convinced that women can be warriors as well. I think he rather understands that, in Ferelden, the relationship between occupation and gender is different than under the Qun. Which of the two he thinks is more right or more agreeable, I have no idea. I'm also not very interested in that. But I find it fascinating how he always seems to be looking on quietly, gathering data, classifying it and trying to fit it into his understanding of how the world works. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his original party was a scouting party to see how vulnerable Ferelden was at that moment to outside forces. One thing I don't understand with all of this is why he urges the Warden to meet the Blight head on. No smart soldier would suggest that, except if they are foolishly proud (and Sten doesn't seem like that kind of guy tbh). I get that the Warden takes way longer to gather allies than expected because they first have to solve all of their allies' problems. But surely Sten sees the need to have allies? Is he just that impatient? Does he have a death wish (à la, I lost my sword and am without honour, better to die sooner than later and in glorious battle)? Was he his group's previous commander and is he now having trouble following somebody else's orders? Or maybe it's his way to make sure the Warden knows what they are doing? To push them into becoming the self-assured commander their allies will need once they're all gathered? I really don't know. I like the last option best, however.

For me, Sten is my fellow, more experienced soldier. Like Alistair, he can potentially be the Warden's brother in arms, but he's definitely the older brother here. He probably doesn't take kindly to tearful confessions of how hard everything is, but I feel like he's otherwise a solid rock to lean on. I feel like the Warden can trust him to do what is necessary and count on him no matter what, especially after they get his sword back. His devotion from that point on is honestly so powerful.

Wynne:

Wynne was such a support for my Warden (except with the whole conversation about love vs. duty and that she may have to choose between Zevran and ending the Blight and that she should therefore break up with him. Wynne had a point. Astala was so not willing to sacrifice her relationship with Zevran. But the whole conversation came at a point where she was already so disillusioned that she blew up in Wynne's face (”can i please just have one (1) nice thing????”)). But all in all, Wynne is great.

She has a lot of flaws. She was very marked by her life in the Cricle and, for all her age, she has little experience living outside of it. She is also a conformist despite her strong moral core. In a way, her ability to find peace with her lot in life impresses me deeply because it speaks to a lot of strength of character. Sadly, however, strength can be ill applied and used to suppress. I think she has convinced herself that the Chantry is right under (almost) all circumstances to be able to rationalize the life that mages live. She's had her son taken away from her as a baby and an apprentice killed. Her reaction seems to have been to convince herself that this was right, or for the greater good (and now I'm thinking about the Guardian's question at the temple of Andraste's Ashes; are you wise or do you just repeat what others have told you? The answer is not as clear-cut as it might be). This is why she is so irritated by Zevran and Morrigan. By aligning herself with the Chantry, she is, in her eyes, good. Zevran and Morrigan are not; they do not conform to Chantry morality and they defend themselves tooth and nails against somebody who would try and convert them. This is something Wynne never allowed herself to do; she always did the "right" thing and it has cost her so much. I'm not saying she was right (it would probably have done her some good to rebel from time to time, and to trust her own gut instinct more), but in light of this, it hardly surprises me that she's so judgamental. She has to be, or she would be forced to confront all the evil she has not fought against all those years and all the hurt that has been caused to her by the very institution she protects (and thank God she only tries to argue and can appreciate it when people have found a good life outside of her comfort zone. If she tried to convince by force or, for example, drag her former apprentice back to the Circle... boy oh boy that would get ugly). If you think about it, Wynne really is a good example for what happens if you live by a philosophy of always choosing the lesser evil.

Something that I keep forgetting over her grandmotherly and dignified character is how damn powerful she is. She has escaped the carnage at Ostagar; HOW!? She protected those mage apprentices in the Circle tower for God knows how long. In the battle of Denerim, she wades through an army and comes out alive on the other side. The wiki lists her age at 40, I think, but that doesn't make a lick of sense unless 75 years of age are the Fereldan equivalent to 100. This lady, about whom people make grandmother jokes, did all that. It's impressive.

Zevran:

You know, I would really love to know what Wynne thinks about the events at Kirkwall in DA2. It might be a disaster for her, or it might pave the way for one last bit of character development. She certainly didn't want to return to the Circle after fighting the Blight. That may be an indicator of some change in her stance on the Circle of Magi.

Edit: I forgot that she is what the Circle considers a literal abomination! Holy cow, how could I forget that?? Anyway, her conversation about what being an abomination means is so... heartbreaking, actually. It's so tentative. So careful. "Am I an abomination? Am I the same thing that has killed my students? The same thing as Uldred? Am I lost and damned? Did I invite this spirit in? Is this my fault?" Like wow, Wynne is going through something huge right there. I love it. I have to continue playing the game to see what it ends up as, but it's fascinating and such a huge thing that she allows the Warden in on that.

Ah, Zevran, my beloved (he has stolen my heart so much it's not even funny anymore). He's funny, he's charming, he's so so loyal and it breaks my heart. Zevran is the one about whom I've read most meta: these three wonderful posts for instance, as well as this one about his possible lack of scars, and this one about his lack of freedom. All of these have influenced my opinion of him and they are great reads.

I have talked about Zevran with you before, so I'll just skip to the new stuff. I have come to conclusion that Zevran is an artist at heart. This is totally not biased by the fact that I also do art, but hear me out. One of his preferred gifts are bars of silver and gold. While those have the obvious utility of basically functioning as money (they can be sold to any silversmith or goldsmith and their value is pretty stable through time and in different countries), there's also this from his codex: "Zevran shows an affinity for the finer things in life—hardly surprising for an Antivan Crow—but his appreciation can be more poetic than he lets on. A simple bar of refined silver or gold, uncomplicated by a craftsman's hammer, is elegantly valuable." Tell me that is not an artist's eye that sees that gold and sees the beauty in it. Then, there's also the meta about Zevran the Seducer which I linked above and link here again. It talks specifically about how he lets himself enjoy the target and be seen in his enjoyment. Tell me that is not an artist's eye that beholds the beauty of something he is set out to destroy. Even his talk about his assassinations show this. He talks about it as an art, the way somebody would talk about the brutal intervention in stone that produces a sculpture. Yes, it's a rationalization of the act of killing and yes killing is still wrong. But he doesn't go on about it on a moral tangent the way Alistair or Wynne would (”this person was bad, killing them was necessary”) or even through the argument of survival like Morrigan would (”it was either them or me and it sure as Hell wasn't going to be me”). He talks about the pleasure of a job well done, of the satisfaction of striking the precise point and executing a plan to the perfection so as to minimize chances of discovery and to make a clean death possible. And pleasure in seeing and in doing, this I firmly believe, is absolutely fundamental for an artist.

My favourite part about my Warden and Zevran as a pairing is that Zevran precisely brings out that ability to take your pleasures as they come and to really savour them. Fighting the Blight is tough; it's so important to find good things amidst the chaos to stay sane. If Astala saves Zevran from himself by offering him a place to stay and a purpose, Zevran saves Astala from herself by keeping her from running herself into the ground trying to save the world.

There are some things I don't like about Zev. The incessant flirting, for example, sometimes makes me uncomfortable (it becomes enjoyable for me once the Warden and him are in a relationship, but before that? Nah, no thanks). I wish he would also leave the other female characters alone (and there's so many more shameless comments of his aimed at Morrigan, Leliana or Wynne than at Alistair or maybe even Sten).

---

And that's my take on the Origins companions (this was rather long. Whew ^^' I hope it was still readable and that you enjoyed it!!) Thank you so much for the ask!! It's been a joy thinking about this. I was worrying at first that the less prominent companions like Sten or Shale wouldn't get as much content but... well XD

[felassanis]

I wish the characters like Alistair, Leliana and Morrigan and Hawke and Varric interacted more.

I know there’s some dialgoue between Alistair and Morrigan in Skyhold if he’s a warden and ITS FANTASTIC SEEING THEM BEING YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY FRIENDLY WITH EACH OTHER. And Morrigan telling Kieran his father was a good man because she genuinely believed Alistair deserved that much and Alistair commenting that Kieran has changed her in a good way with that lovely little chuckle he does.... We can really see that these two people, despite not getting along in the slightest, are just happy to see familiar faces and with the shit they went through together during the Blight and now being much older they can just...be happy to see each other. ITS FUCKING GREAT. They have a little catch up and there’s just...a lot of love there? In a way? That you almost forget they hated each other in Origins...

And yeah there’s the thing with Varric and Hawke outside the war room but considering their chemistry in DA2 it did feel a little flat. I liked that Hawke was reassuring him and you can tell Varric feels so much better for having Hawke there...

BUT I WANT MORE.

Like the only time Leliana and Morrigan talk is a brief snappy bit in the war room where Leliana is like “We don’t trust you,” and Morrigan is all “Why not I’m clearly the most trustworthy person ever,” and that’s it! Where is their little dialogue catching up and Leliana...while maybe not trusting Morrigan still, is...idk? A little happy to see her? Even tho its been so long she is glad that Morrigan is alive? OR even Morrigan commenting on how she misses the old Leliana? And commenting how she’s changed? OR hell, maybe Morrigan even likes the new change in her old friend? IDK SOMETHING.

Same with Alistair and Leliana these two were actual friends WHY DON’T THEY TALK IF ALI IS STILL A WARDEN and turns up to skyhold??? Let Alistair and Leliana hug you fucking cowards. She calls him bitterly “That wonderful boy,” if he dies in the fade..there’s a lot of love there too! THEY WENT THROUGH THE BLIGHT TOGETHER WHY AREN’T THEY TALKING?!

And why the fuck didn’t I see a scene where Hawke and Varric are catching up via Wicked Grace? Like, Blue Hawke thinks they can win but Varric beats them anyway. Purple Hawke actually beats Varric at Wicked Grace and with Red Hawke they don’t even play because Varric says “They start breaking tables when they lose,” Varric inquiring about why the fuck they aren’t with their LI and Hawke giving their reasons and confessing to him that they miss their LI’s so much it’s killing them to be here without them...

I would have just liked to have been wondering around Skyhold and to have been able to peer into these moments with these characters who we have been on so many adventures with interacting...

[syrupwit]

happy friday to you!! for DADWC, how about some Cullen/Surana or Cullen/Amell + "Oh dreamer, I swear I’ll regret it for the rest of my days"?

Hello and happy friday, thank you so much! This fill became something that could fairly be subtitled "Surana Turns To Blood Magic," which I didn't intend, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Under the cut, please find ~1100 words of f!Surana/Cullen for @dadrunkwriting.

-

On the road one night from the Brecilian Forest to Redcliffe, in the tent she shares only with herself, Neria goes walking in dreams.

This magic is still new to her. She’s wary, afraid. The place where she took blood sears like a fresh burn, and her heart hammers as if she’s back in the tower, caught out of bed after hours.

But demons don’t materialize to leap on her; corruption doesn’t burst from the ground to engulf her. No classmates appear to sneer, nor Templars to smite her. She can walk the strange paths of the Fade without much difference, except that the paths are more numerous, longer, winding without end… and their navigation is easy.

Where will she go?

Her companions’ dreams are close by and largely uninteresting. The dog dreams of rats. The Qunari dreams of the dog—running with it, fighting beside it, giving it scraps of meat—and each simple scene is saturated with loneliness. Alistair dreams of some childhood heartbreak, the scene in its dream-recurrence attended by an animate, opinionated wheel of cheese. 

Leliana dreams of a former lover with her lovely face covered by a death-mask. Zevran Arainai dreams the same, but the dream is half memory. Morrigan dreams of life as a bear, exhaling steamy breaths as fur grows and disappears on her skin, her hands flexing into paws and back again. 

Morrigan’s dream, Neria might like to enter, but Morrigan would find her and kick her out. There would be conversations, judgment, and perhaps even advice. She doesn’t want any of that. So she points her feet in another direction, and lets the path lead her along.

-

Someone is dreaming of her.

It’s one of the Templars from the tower. Neria recognizes him, though she’s not sure of his name. He’d been shy, hadn’t he? He’d been at her Harrowing. She has a vague impression of fair hair, blushing and maybe stuttering. Not someone who bothered her often, or who she paid much attention to.

Apparently he paid attention to her.

“Um, hello,” says Neria, and immediately feels stupid. The Templar keeps staring at her dream-self with a moony expression.

He doesn’t react to her, although she circles around so that she’s in his line of sight and standing across from him. The double between them is absorbed in mimicking spell drills. 

She inspects the double critically. It’s detailed, and prettier than her, if not in a way that's wholly pleasing to her. 

Is that really how her hair used to look? She’s glad she had to cut it off after all those bereskarn guts got in it. And the way the double hunches her shoulders as she casts, cringing, as if anticipating an order to make herself smaller or stop altogether… This is a spirit play-acting at the Templar’s concept of her, so she shouldn’t take it to heart. Oh, but her ears!

“My ears don’t look like that,” she complains. “Do they?”

“I can’t remember,” says the Templar, sounding far away, and Neria’s heart lurches. But he doesn’t start shouting about maleficarum or even look at her.

She flees anyway.

-

Neria tries again after the first time. She tries again and again. Dream walks get easier. If there’s a toll besides blood, she hasn’t paid it yet. She meets plenty of demons, but they don’t follow her back, and the darkspawn nightmares leave her more exhausted in the morning than dream-walking does.

She is exhausted. Morrigan notices, but says nothing. The others probably think she’s just fragile, a pet bird experiencing a troubled adjustment to life outside its gilded cage, which is what they thought anyway. Probably.

Neria leaves their dreams alone, but sometimes she feels—smug, that she could intrude and steal their secrets or worse, and they’d never know. Not that she would. But she could.

She tests the boundaries. The barmaid at an inn doesn’t remember her in the morning, even though they have a conversation in her dream. A traveling merchant gives her a discount after she suggests it in his dream, and she’s so flustered that she turns it down. 

The same merchant speaks to her like she’s a servant, though, so she goes back to his dream again the following night and thinks about doing something. She doesn't, but she could.

Though she might be an elf, and a mage, and now cursed with the Taint, she has power over people like this who look down on her, who might try to hurt or scare or humiliate her. When she chooses not to use that power, it's a mercy.

Jowan had studied a little, but ultimately turned to blood magic out of desperation. Neria is doing this because she wants to, and it feels good. No wonder the Chantry and the Circles forbid it. 

-

That Templar is dreaming of her again. Neria has visited him a few times now, often when she grows homesick for the tower. He’s still there, and his memories are clear and vibrant.

It’s a shy dream. His always are. That disappoints her, honestly; even the Qunari’s dreams have a racier side, and it makes her face heat to remember the glimpses she’s caught of Leliana’s dreams. But this Templar is alone in the Harrowing Chamber with dream-Neria. She’s lying unconscious on the floor, a flatteringly posed elven ragdoll… and everyone’s clothes are still on, and he’s just looking sadly at her.

She tells him, “If you’re really this boring, I’m glad you never talked to me.”

“But I did talk to you.” His voice comes quiet and unhurried, trusting, and his gaze stays fixed on her double. “I remember every time I talked to you.”

“That’s”—uncomfortable, more unsettling than the idea that a Templar might be having sex dreams about her—“sweet.”

A darker note enters his voice, and he shifts his weight, leaning harder on his sword. “It’s wrong.”

“Why?” Neria knows why, of course, but she finds herself curious about his specific reasoning. Is it because he’s a true believer? Because she’s an elf? Because he resents pleasure and thinks mages are wanton, and channels his jealousy over her imagined indulgences into hate? Because his childhood mabari got possessed and he’s never forgiven mages in the aggregate? She wants to know. 

He says, “It gives you power over me. If you know how I feel, you’ll manipulate me into letting my guard down, and then you’ll hurt someone.”

She laughs a little at his self-seriousness. So he is a true believer! “You think I’m that dangerous?”

The Templar turns and looks at her—the real Neria, not her prettier, passed-out double. Although she’s come to bother him a few times now, she’s never found him interesting to look at. This eye contact, unfocused as it is, is making her rethink that.

He confesses, “No.”

-

(and then neria proceeds to prove him wrong in the future by engaging in additional and more egregious blood magery D:D)

[aarongoldenwrites]

I have some thoughts and additions. 

Adaar washes when they can. When they meet the Bull and especially Vivienne, they begin to wash more frequently. If Adaar romances Sera, Sera joins them whenever possible. 

Alistair likes to wash, he just forgets. If you remind him, he stammers and gets embarrassed. Although she will never admit it to anyone, Morrigan starts using magic to wash him without him knowing, especially if he is part of the dark ritual.  

Amell and Surana (Warden) likes bathing because it’s the only time they can be reasonably sure that the Templars will leave them alone. 

Anders is a successful medic working out of the dirtiest places in the world while also having been locked away in solitary confinement for a good chunk of time. Dude is probably *obsessively* clean, like all the time. 

The Architect is fascinated by bathing practices but does not, himself, partake. 

Bethany likely does her best to wash the magic off her, and is always a little disappointed when it doesn’t work. 

Blackwall begins bathing regularly once his secret is out. He punished himself with his stench. Punishing everyone around him was an unintended consequence. 

Carver’s got a typo that I kind of love: I really like the idea that he’ll just keep washing his hands until you tell him to stop. He stares at people when he washes his hands, too. He does it specifically to annoy Bethany. 

Cousland washes every chance they get, and will demand the same of their lover if they take one.     

Dorian is a big user of essential oils because they smell nice and make him feel pretty. Vivienne is initially put off by his Tevinter scents, but the two of them end up talking about (a) where to get or buy the most subtle perfumes and (b) how to use them on Solas without him noticing. For his part, Solas likes bathing when he has the chance to relax (he uses magic to keep himself clean), but none of the scents he was used to exist anymore and he doesn’t know how to tell anyone that. The first time Josie finds something really old and he recognizes it, he cries. No one ever knows why. None of the Inquisition mages believe the oils do anything other than smell nice. 

Hawke likes to wash to get the blood off. Even Aveline can only do so much to keep them from being arrested when they walk everywhere covered in other people’s entrails. Sandal has an enchantment created specifically to unclog Hawke’s drains. Hawke does not know this, but, if Anders is romanced, Anders does and quietly pays to have a similar enchantment added to his clinic.   

Isabella loves to bathe in streams and rivers, and does so whenever possible. She eventually gets Fenris to come along, and he learns to love it.   

Leliana is obsessively clean. 

Lavallen, Merrill, Mahariel, and Velanna are all clean people. One thing about the Dalish camps we see: they are all neat and organized, and tribal peoples tend to be pretty big on cleanliness and hygiene. They probably know more about keeping clean than any of the city folk. 

Meredith is fastidiously clean. She needs to wipe the disease of magic off her in the morning and the evening. She’s more of a shower person than a bath person, and while she uses deodorant she never uses perfume.

Morrigan smells nice because she knows exactly what herbs to combine to give her unique and subtle scents and uses magic to wash the dirt from her body (it’s a trick Flemeth taught her). It drives Vivienne insane because she does not have the skill. Dorian trades her candy for small samples that he utterly fails to reverse engineer. Josie and Leliana get their hands on Dorian’s stash and manage to make reasonable copies. 

The Mother does not bathe. 

Nathaniel Howe is used to washing every day and feels dirty when he doesn’t. The first thing he does if you let him out of prison is have a bath. 

Oghren doesn’t really bathe, but that’s not representative of the dwarves as a people: they need to be cautious of darkspawn taint and lyrium poisoning, so they’re probably pretty clean as a people. It’s the one thing Varric actually likes about Orzammar, is the common use of soap and plumbing. This applies to Cadash, Brosca, Aeducan, Sigrun, Harding... pretty much everyone but Oghren.   

Samson was probably as clean as any of the Templars but stopped being clean when he became homeless and stopped caring when he became a red templar. None of the red templars wash; the Inquisition’s forces can smell them from a mile off, which makes tracking them easier.

Tabris would love to wash more often.  

Zevren loves to bathe, but hates to bathe alone. Perhaps you will keep him company...? 

[dalishious]

hihi i was wondering how vesta gets along with the other companions??

Morrigan mentioned here.

Alistair and Vesta do not get along. Vesta initially distrusts him because of his past as a templar, though as he reveals he didn't actually want that life and is (for the most part) not like the templars she knows, this lessens. But Alistair's dislike of Morrigan starts to flood into Vesta too, since the two become so close, so fast. Then Vesta agrees to Jowan's ritual sacrifice of Isolde to save Connor, followed by becoming a blood mage herself, and this severely sours their relationship. Alistair is disgusted these choices, but there is a part of him that wonders if maybe he will be able to keep her from becoming an abomination, if he can only lead her away from what he considers a dark path. Because the thing is, Vesta has goodness in her, and that's something he didn't think blood mages were capable of having. Vesta, in turn, finds Alistair's fears annoying, but is too considerate to actually voice it (most of the time). So, they have this really unspoken unease, masked by polite banter.

Vesta enjoys Leliana's company, especially hearing her stories. Leliana finds Vesta to be a curious case; she's so used to being able to read everything about a person, but because Vesta had personhood denied from her so long, there's not much to read about her when they first meet. Like Alistair, she doesn't approve of a lot of the choices Vesta makes, but unlike Alistair, she is far more forgiving of these choices, believing that the good in Vesta outweighs the bad. And also unlike Alistair, she is far more gentle with voicing her opinions, so Vesta is a lot less annoyed.

Zevran and Vesta are best friends. She observes fairly early on that their upbringings had quite a lot in common, the only major difference being she was owned by the Chantry, and he the Crows. So, she sees a kindred spirit in him, someone to vent to, and listen to when he does the same. When Zevran talks about the nasty aspects of his time as an Antivan Crow, he is surprised with how compassionate Vesta remains, rather than either looking down at him. Zevran has always been dismissive of the tragedy he's experienced, but with Vesta, he slowly starts to allow himself to feel grief, especially for Rinna. She also helps him come to terms with having a future he can decide, seeing Vesta confronted with the same question for the first time, just like him. Zevran is one of the few in the party to always support Vesta's decisions, believing she has the right to live her own life. This kind of support means the world to Vesta. To sum it up, they help each other realize they deserve and want to live.

Wynne is a horrible reminder to Vesta of the life she wants to leave behind. She sees Wynne as someone she would have grown up into, had she not been recruited into the Grey Wardens, and that horrifies her. When Wynne tries to offer advice, Vesta usually does the exact opposite of whatever it is she says, and this frustrates Wynne greatly. When Wynne learns that Vesta has become a blood mage not long after joining the party, she is horrified. They fight about it constantly, because Wynne never quits bringing it up. And when Wynne eventually shares that she is hosting a spirit inside her, Vesta laughs in her face and calls her the biggest hypocrite she's ever known. They are bitter and hostile towards each other right to the end, only travelling together because Wynne refuses to see the warden's plight go unaided when she sees herself as a necessary part of stopping it.

Vesta pities Oghren, but every time she questions if there's more to him than she sees, he reminds her of what an inappropriate gross bastard he is.

Sten was not recruited. (Sorry, Sten fans - I usually do recruit him, but I didn't feel like it was in Vesta's character at the point of Lothering to go against the Chantry's wishes yet.)

I haven't really given thought to Shale, yet. It'll emerge when I recruit her, I guess.

[ezrisdax-archive]

bioware

send me a fandom and I'll tell you my rare pairs and tell you why you should ship them

Mass Effect

Kaidan/Ashley - mostly I blame @omegastation for this one but I liked the idea of them cause in game if you bring them along on the citadel sidequests they have a lot of flirty lines like Ash teasing Kaidan he knows nothing about women and if you're a femshep then you interrupt Ash's call with her sister where she's saying Kaidan's cute and she should date him. and then you get the tragedy of them in ME3 going to the memorial wall and remembering each other after the bomb mission. like I just feel it's a fun potential ship but also carries a lot of potential angst and I love them a lot for it.

Kaidan/Thane - I'm gonna blame @rannochs for this one cause we were joking about it and Kaidan and Thane talking already while they're at the hospital in ME3 and how the two of them would get along and then that became an 'oh no we can ship this' but I would need the AU where Thane lives and also it'd be cool to imagine Thane getting to the councilors before you and talking Kaidan down that time?

Tali/Sam - both rambling science nerds who love technology maaaaybe a little too much. I think they'd just gel a lot and it's a shame we never got a talk between them or at least if there was I never got one that wasn't Sam pushing Tali to talk to Liara after that one mission in ME3. They only talk a little at the Citadel party but again I need more because I think they'd be cute girlfriends.

James/Ann - So like in the Leviathan DLC when you take Ann back to her dad's lab and James is there it's just really sweet how much he seems to care about Ann? Like he asks if she's okay and then holds her while the Leviathan takes over her mind and asks again if she's okay and begs Shep to stop the process when it hurts, it's really cute! James deserves some love.

Ashley/Liara - With how much Ash distrusts Liara in ME1 to going to how much faith they have in each other in ME3 I really like the dynamic. I think also after ME3 the two would end up leaning on each other in a grief kind of way and I have this idea of Ash ending up helping Liara reset up the Shadow Broker network because bad things don't end just cause the galaxy didn't and the two of them know that and want to help. They both went through a lot of growth over the games and came to appreciate the other so it's about the respect to me.

Mass Effect Andromeda

Sid/Vederia - so I don't know how this idea came to me at all but one day I just thought, oh Sid/Vederia would be cute. Like first of all you know Sid would brag to Vetra now she has a pathfinder girlfriend too (cause in my head it's always Vetryder time) and Vederia and Sid going off on a mission together to help find a new path would be really cute. Like they're both young and Vederia's now in a position of power and Sid is stepping out from her sister's shadow so I like to think there's some common ground there.

Dragon Age

Morrigan/Leliana - Leliana literally spends the game complimenting Morrigan on her...assets and enjoys teasing her I'm sorry but that's all it took for me! plus I like the differences between them and that Leliana would round out Morrigan a little by helping her understand the world around her and Morrigan would bring Leliana back to earth and ground her a little in reality, they both want to be soft and sharp in different ways and want love, what's more compelling than that?

Alistair/Zevran - I am not immune to Zev being flirty with Alistair either, I'm the type of person that does like the side ships better than the PC ship usually and I can't help it. I think they work the same and Morrigna/Leliana in helping each other see another side of the world the other has been missing for a while

Cassandra/Varric - okay listen, she reads his romance books! Their banter slowly softens over time! I'm not immune to this okay! god the height difference is also hilarious to me.

[wlwaerith]

omg i must ask what the relationship dynamics are like between elarys and her companions 👀

i’m going to keep this brief bc i woke up like 30 minutes ago hdhgsdhgdgdg but thank u for asking!

- garahel (mabari): good boy best boy perfect boy. elarys’ ride or die. he stinks but that’s ok bc he’s warm. very good blanket

- morrigan: the bestie! elarys poisoned the ashes and morrigan thought it was funny

- zevran: the other bestie! he and ela aren’t as close as she is with morrigan, but they still get along like a house on fire

- sten: they get along very well too. sometimes elarys does things that annoy him (like poisoning the ashes because he thought it was unnecessary, telling him to get back in line in haven, etc) but overall they get along

- leliana: she and elarys aren’t the best of friends, but they manage to get along somehow. they only really become properly friends after they encounter and kill marjolaine & elarys gives her a pep talk (she steeled her)

- wynne: didn’t recruit

- alistair: he’s dead so i mean they were on okay terms. he liked her a lot more than she liked him, but that isn’t saying a great deal. she didn’t bring him with her a lot because she knew a lot of what she would choose to do would piss him off, so he had this kind of idealised version of her in his head

- oghren: their relationship gets a lot more friendly in awakening. during the blight, she didn’t take him with her much because she’d already had to deal with alistair’s moping and half expected she’d have to deal with his as well if she brought him along. if it wasn’t obvious, she’s not very sympathetic most of the time

- loghain: a part of her will never fully forgive him for what he did to the city elves, but she does eventually come to respect him just as he comes to respect her. they have the same dry sense of humour and emphasis on pragmatism, and without elaborating too much (bc it’s early and my brain is mush) i think she ended up seeing herself/a version of herself that she wanted to be in him & he saw something of anora in her

didn’t include the awakening companions but if u want to know abt how she gets along with them too i shall answer mwah

[sage-nebula]

I’m pretty sure I’m nearing the end of DA:O now. I’m not quite at the landsmeet yet, but I’m at the part where I finally get to go find out wtf is up in the elven alienage in Denerim, and I feel like the story is ramping itself up to either wrap up or pull another wild twist out of nowhere. So that being the case, I figured now would be a good time for me to share

Dalish Elf Warden Lyra’s Thoughts, Feelings, and Opinions on Her Companions

Alistair: 

Initial Impression: Cocky, smarmy, aggravating. Alistair didn’t seem to take anything seriously and helped Duncan in tricking the other Grey Warden recruits into the Joining without telling them what the risk was, and then seemed to have no sympathy for the one that Duncan killed when he tried to back out. Combine that with Alistair’s needless hostility toward Morrigan, and later outburst over the choice made with Lady Isolde in Redcliffe (that Lyra allowed Isolde to sacrifice her life for her son, which was her choice, rather than taking that choice away from her like Alistair wanted), and Alistair seemed to be everything that Lyra disliked about humans. 

Current Opinion: Funny, honorable, brave. A doofus, but a good one. Initial clashing aside, Lyra and Alistair agree more often than they don’t and even though he can still be annoying sometimes, he’s annoying in an endearing way, usually. As the only other Grey Warden, there is a sort of kinship there considering Lyra can never return to her clan. She sees him like a brother, much like how she saw Tamlen (which in turn has helped ease the ache of losing Tamlen just the tiniest bit). This did get a little awkward when Alistair tried to give her a rose and confess feelings and she had to tell him that she didn’t feel the same way, but things have been okay since then.

Pan the Mabari:

Initial Impression: A good boy, such a good boy, the highest ranking official in the camp, outranking even her.

Current Opinion: The bestest boy, just the bestest boy, the highest ranking official in the camp, outranking even her.

Morrigan: 

Initial Impression: Sexy and hot as hell. Smart, sharp, powerful. Relatable in that, having grown up in the swamp, Morrigan doesn’t really understand humans any better than Lyra does and also has short patience for dithering and human politics. Lyra never thought she’d be interested in a human Like That, but Morrigan changed her mind real quick.

Current Opinion: As attractive as Morrigan still is, her tendency to be stubbornly bullheaded about Not Helping Anyone Ever even when it’s the pragmatic choice to do so dusted away the stars initially in Lyra’s eyes, as did her tendency to be mean to Pan for no reason sometimes. Additionally, Lyra is compassionate even if she thinks that a lot of human bullshit is just that—bullshit—and if she can help, then she wants to . . . which again puts her and Morrigan at odds. However, even though there’s no romance between them, Lyra still likes Morrigan a great deal, and tbh would not say no to a romp in the tent if Morrigan was up for it.

Sten:

Initial Impression: Someone who was (seemingly) imprisoned by humans and left to be eaten by darkspawn, defenseless in a cage. A murderer . . . but he still didn’t deserve to go out like that. He deserved the chance to fight for his life. He was curt and rude and sexist (“women can’t be fighters”) and tbh Lyra didn’t want to take him along, but he refused to leave the cage unless she gave him the go-ahead to follow. So she did, even though she didn’t want to.

Current Opinion: Still kind of weird, but she knows him a little better now. He’s opened up more now that she’s gotten his sword back for him and gave him a gift of Qunari funeral rights. He likes cookies. He’s nice to Pan. In fact he’s probably the nicest to Pan out of anyone in the group, so honestly, that won him a lot of points in her eyes. He’s not so bad, that Sten.

Leliana:

Initial Impression: Pretty and surprisingly adept at handling herself in a fight for a woman of the chantry. A fellow rogue, which means Lyra appreciated her fighting style more than she did her other companions at the time. The fact that she was a woman of the chantry and was so focused on Maker this and Maker that was baffling at best and annoying at worst for a Dalish elf like Lyra, but also she helped out in a fight and introduced herself while all covered in blood and seemed to think nothing more of it, and also she wanted to help against the darkspawn so hey, welcome aboard, cutie.

Current Opinion: Still favorable enough. Leliana’s devotion to the chantry / Maker, plus the fact that she sees nothing wrong with how city elves are treated by the humans around them, snuffed out any romantic attraction that might have once been there. But Lyra likes to listen to the stories she tells and learned a thing or two about being a Bard from her, and appreciates that Leliana appreciates what it means to be a rogue. They’re friendly, even though not super close.

Zevran: 

Initial Impression: Thank the ancients for another elf, even if he is an assassin who tried to murder her. Though she spared him out of both compassion and pragmatism (compassion because he was surrendering, pragmatism because it’s best to keep assassins where you can see them), the truth is that having another elf in camp helped ease the pain of having to leave her clan a little, even if he was a city elf rather than a Dalish one. That he has a fun sense of humor and was easy enough to bed also made him a welcome distraction from everything else going on.

Current Opinion: Just as Lyra herself was forced into becoming a Grey Warden against her will, Zevran was forced into becoming a Crow against his will (more or less anyway). He was never a bad person, just a person who was born into bad circumstances and raised within them and did the best he could with what he had. He’s smart, attentive, and underneath it all devoted and awkward. Guarded, but not without reason. If they survive, and she ever gets to see her clan again, she’d like to bring him home with her. Even if her life is limited due to the Grey Warden taint, living among the Dalish would be better for him than going back to Antiva, probably.

Wynne:

Initial Impression: A bit untouchable, in that Elderly Authority Figure kind of way. Impressive, in how she was willing to stand up and fight alongside Lyra and the others not only to help free the Circle Tower, but also fight the darkspawn. (But then again, she was also at Ostagar, so the fact that she wanted to fight darkspawn wasn’t too surprising to Lyra.) She knew how to heal, which was a welcome relief considering they were always running low on poultices in the party before Wynne joined up. It was nice to have a mage that would actually use her magic to heal.

Current Impression: Reminds Lyra a lot of Keeper Marethari, which both makes her feel warm toward Wynne, but also sometimes pushes a bit of her rebellious streak as well. Often seeks out Wynne’s advice and thoughts on matters, because even when they disagree and Wynne goes on about the Maker the humans believe in, it is still nice to have someone she can go to for advice, and again, someone who reminds her of Keeper Marethari, which again eases the ache for her clan a little bit, in an odd way. However, although she does like to ask Wynne’s advice and talk to her, she is also very aware of Wynne’s condition and is afraid of losing her just as she lost her clan and everyone there, which makes her keep her distance a little bit as well.

Oghren:

Initial Impression: Rude, abrasive, smelly drunkard. Did not want him to come along at all, even less than she wanted Sten to come along at first, but he was the only one who knew anything about what Branka was looking for, so it made sense to bring him even though she really, truly did not want to. Almost lost her mind when Oghren suggested they give Branka the anvil because “she probably won’t actually enslave anyone with it.”

Current Impression: Pretty much the same since he was the most recent one to join up. It’s nice to have muscle against the darkspawn, but he’s still lewd, crude, and all around kind of gross. She wingmanned for him with his old flame if for no other reason than she was hoping he’d leave to go be with the old flame instead of staying in the camp, but alas. 

[morganaseren]

WIP Meme (Warden Inquisitor Niamh/Warden Bethany)

Tagged by: @illusivesoul Many thanks!

Tagging: @this-is-something-idk-what, @noeldressari, @jellydishes, @w-h-4-t  As usual, I suck at telling who has or hasn’t been tagged yet.

So this WIP is from prompt #3 I made off this list. It doesn’t tie into the other Warden Niamh/Warden Bethany AU I’ve already written; this is something wholly separate. No knowledge of it is needed to read this.

Granted, this is a much rougher draft than what I’d normally post here, but given I’m already more than a month behind on updating OtSttCA, I thought you guys would appreciate the treat. :)

Things you might want to know:

As with any AU where Niamh is a Warden, she’s the one who undertakes the Dark Ritual with Morrigan in order to spare anyone from being sacrificed once the Archdemon is slain. Through magic, Kieran is born as a result of their union. While both women carry a great deal of respect for one another, they aren’t and were never in a romantic relationship although there’s gonna be a whole separate AU for that once I get around to writing it.

Niamh is the Warden-Constable for Ferelden while her sister Saoirse is the Warden-Commander and Hero of Ferelden. Saoirse and Leliana are married sometime after the end of the Blight.

As a result of going on the Deep Roads expedition with her sister, Bethany contracts the taint and has to undergo the Joining in order to save her life. She is transferred to the Fereldan branch of the Grey Wardens by Stroud not long afterward.

Niamh and Bethany are in an established relationship by the time the events of Inquisition begins.

While Niamh would normally be off searching for the cure by then, I'm just going to headcanon that she and Morrigan weren’t able to find a suitable lead in their research until much later—enough that they start hearing about the mass disappearances of Wardens across Ferelden and Orlais.

Out of concern, Niamh and Saoirse convince the remainder of their comrades (except for Bethany obviously) to head toward Weisshaupt for help, but Niamh senses that's enough wrong about the situation that she also tells them to journey there in secret. Vigil’s Keep is pretty much closed down at this point until they can figure out what’s going on.

Niamh and Bethany head out toward the Hinterlands to follow up on reports of some Warden sightings in the area. It's when they're stopped in the Crossroads area (where you meet Mother Giselle) that Niamh has Bethany to ask the villagers for any leads while she heads up to the Temple of Sacred Ashes to follow up on a tip there. The usual stuff happens, and she ends up waking up in Haven's dungeons, where she gets interrogated by Cassandra.

Honestly, this follows pretty closely to how OtSttCA unfolds as far as the major decisions being made within it goes. However, because she wasn’t in self-exile for a decade, Niamh’s a lot more laidback and confident in her ability to lead, especially with Bethany by her side.

Along that same vein, Bethany is also more self-assured in her abilities as a mage now that she no longer has to fear hiding from Templars. As such, she’s much quicker to speak about what’s on her mind rather than bottle them up as she used to in the past. She confronts Cassandra like an absolute badass several times during the beginning of the story in defense of her lover, which you can check out below the cut with the rest of the content. ;)

Like in her canon world state, Niamh isn't treated well when she’s imprisoned. The guards merely know that she's a mage, so they're operating under the assumption that she caused the explosion at the Conclave. It doesn't help that Niamh's been essentially undercover to search for the missing Wardens, so she's not wearing her usual uniform to signify her status. Cassandra does her whole intimidating interrogation as per usual when Bethany—in all her Warden regalia—bursts in with Leliana.

---

"She leaves with me," she leveled at the Seeker coldly before turning to Leliana with a deep frown. “Why did you not put a stop to this?”

“I arrived here at the same time as you. I didn’t know she was here until she was already imprisoned.”

Niamh couldn't help but chuckle under her breath, utter relief filling her. “I think you may invited utter ruination upon your heads with those two."

Cassandra frowned. "What? Why?"

“What do you mean why?” she parroted with a roll of her eyes, unimpressed with what she had seen of the woman and her colleagues thus far. "Leliana’s my sister-in-law, and the Warden next to her is my fiancée, whom—might I add—you've actually succeeded in making angry.” The corners of her lips turned up into a languid smile. “Not an easy feat, and not a fate I would normally wish upon anyone.”

“Hush,” Bethany muttered as she brushed past Cassandra—all but shoving her aside with a pointed shoulder—as she knelt at Niamh’s side to begin healing the wounds she’d received from her captors. All the soldiers began backing away uneasily, especially as Leliana walked alongside her. “I’m already upset that you sent me down to the Crossroads while you went up to the Conclave alone.”

“It was the easiest way of scoping out the area," Niamh defended even as she sheepishly shrank back beneath her lover’s glare. "If the individuals we were searching for were still down in the village, you would have seen them, and if they were up at the Temple…Well, I suppose that’s a moot point now, given what our new acquaintances have just revealed to me.”

“Do you remember seeing anything at all?” Leliana asked then in concern.

“I can’t recall much of anything before the explosion.” Niamh admitted with a frown. “I thought I remembered someone screaming, but then there’s just... nothing.”

“And...” Leliana gestured toward her hand. “That mark?”

She shrugged as much as she was able to, especially given her heavy shackles. “It certainly wasn’t there when I went to the Temple.”

“What is going on here?” Cassandra demanded then, perhaps confused as to why their supposed prisoner had proven so much more forthcoming with Leliana than anyone else thus far. 

“You’ve met my wife before, yes? This is her younger sister Niamh Cousland. She is also the Constable of the Grey here in Ferelden, Cassandra,” Leliana stated gravely. “While the Wardens may not regularly involve themselves in politics, Niamh’s high enough up their chain of command that this country’s branch would fight to the death to get her back, and that’s not even involving what Saoirse herself will do once she finds out her sister's been hurt.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily. “Not to mention the Teyrn of Highever…”

---

After the demons upon the frozen lake had been defeated, Niamh felt the brush of a warm hand in the crook of her elbow gently pulling her back before all she could see was Bethany’s back as her lover marched right up toward Cassandra, heedless of the obvious height difference between them.

"Point your sword at her again, Seeker! Kindly test my patience right now, and see what happens!"

Niamh was mildly amused when Cassandra actually appeared to be a bit startled and had to move back a step so as to not accidentally stab the woman. The Seeker’s dark brows furrowed in confusion. "Are... Are you threatening me?"

"Only because you’ve threatened her repeatedly!” Bethany scowled. “Niamh's very life is in danger so long as that portal in the sky exists; she has no reason to put yours in harm's way. She’s made it more than abundantly clear she’s willing to cooperate even after the mistreatment she received from you and your colleagues." Amber eyes narrowed, and despite their bright depths, there was little mistaking the ice within them. "I haven’t, however, and I’ve no reason to if you’re going to blatantly ignore your own words to the contrary simply because she’s a mage."

Cassandra sheepishly sheathed her weapon. "I’m—"

"If you ever think of drawing a sword on her again, your friendship with Leliana or no, I swear it will be the last time you ever draw breath," Bethany spat, tilting her chin up defiantly. "I’ve lost enough. I will not lose her too." She turned then to hold out her hand for Niamh, allowing the first bit of tenderness to enter her expression as she called out to her. "My love..."

Niamh chuckled quietly even as she weaved her fingers through Bethany’s. “Still so quick to defend me?”

Her lover smiled. “Always.”

Afterward, Cassandra was left to follow behind the two women, who proceeded to lead the rest of the way up the mountain.

"I did tell you not to make her angry," Niamh quipped to Cassandra later upon reaching the first outpost, grinning when she earned a soft sound of disgruntlement.

---

Nothing had really prepared Bethany for the sight that greeted them upon reaching the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

There were so many bodies scattered across the immense crater, expressions twisted in permanent states of terror as they tried to guard themselves against a danger beyond all earthly imagining. Horrified with such evidence of the Breach’s power, it was then that she realized that if Niamh hadn’t somehow received the Mark, she likely would have—

"Bethany?"

She jerked in place, turning to see her lover’s concerned eyes watching her.

"It's nothing,” she mustered up with a weak smile. “I'm right behind you." 

Bethany saw, however, that Niamh couldn’t be convinced, as was evident in the tender way the other woman had taken hold of her hand. Niamh said nothing else, as was always her way. She never pressed her to offer anything more than she was ready for. She sighed.

"I should have been there with you," Bethany murmured at last, looking at the strange mark still glowing upon her lover’s palm. It was nothing that even with all her healing magic can hope to fix, but Niamh merely shook her head.

"No.” She brought Bethany’s hand up to her lips to press a kiss reverently across her knuckles. “Were you there with me, I fear you would have died with everyone else," she admitted solemnly. "My heart would not have survived such devastation."

---

Bethany was beside herself with worry when Niamh fell unconscious upon the first, unsuccessful attempt to seal the Breach. Niamh was brought back to Haven to recover, but Bethany refused to leave her side despite Leliana's attempts to get her to take care of herself as well.

"Bethany—"

"You know as well as I do that your colleagues would have killed her down in the dungeons if we hadn’t arrived when we did," Bethany said flatly from where she sat by Niamh’s bedside. "Everyone in the village knows she’s a mage now, and I don’t need to remind you of how well-liked we are on a regular basis..."

"I’ll have my agents watching her. What nearly happened outside the chantry will never happen again."

Bethany bristled instantly at the memory.

---

She’d still been inside the building to relay some information regarding Saoirse to Leliana when they heard the first outraged cries beyond the doors. As the uproar grew louder in volume—all demanding the death of the one who had supposedly killed the Divine—Bethany had rushed outside immediately just in time to see civilians and more than a few soldiers attempting to stone Niamh.

Infuriated by the blatant injustice, Bethany reached over her shoulder for her staff and immediately slammed its point into the ground. At the moment of impact, a wave of force magic traveled violently across the ground, taking the mob entirely off their feet. She had been mindful to curve the energy away from Niamh—and inadvertently Cassandra, who had sidled up to aid the other mage, just as she unleashed her magic—so her lover had remained unharmed and even grateful for her arrival if her relieved smile was any indication.

Still, Bethany steeled her features to utter impassivity as she coolly strode through the crowd. Those within it seemed to be in various states of bewilderment as they tried to regain their bearings, but she took note of the many widened eyes that recognized the blues and silvers of her Warden regalia.

“You will show Ferelden’s Constable of the Grey the proper respect she is due,” Bethany said lowly as she placed herself alongside her lover, her gaze searching for any signs of rebellion to her words. “Anyone who would dare accost her in spite of her title will sorely live to regret it...”

---

"Can you really make such promises?" Bethany asked dryly.

"I can certainly try. Niamh’s family. Saoirse would never forgive me if something happened to her, especially if she knew there was anything I could have done to prevent it." She sighed. "Nor would I be able to forgive myself for that matter. Niamh’s a kind woman, and much like you—and any mage—she’s so undeserving of the treatment she often receives from others.”

---

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE mages; thus, it should come as no surprise that I always go to get the mages at Redcliffe as allies.

It should also go without saying that Bethany also would have gone with Niamh to deal with Alexius and the Venatori. Per the events of In Hushed Whispers, it's canon that the companions who went with you there become prisoners in the twisted, future version of Redcliffe.

While Warden mages are more susceptible to Corypheus' influence, I headcanon that Bethany was so furious with the loss of Niamh to Alexius that she fought against the mind control even to the point of torture like Leliana. When Niamh sees her in the future, Bethany's so pained, broken, and exhausted but so very thankful to see her lover again.

There's hope again—no matter how small—and Bethany's determined to help her set the world right again.

What little happiness they have at their reunion obviously doesn't last long, especially with Alexius’ death. With the Elder One beckoning at their door, Bethany goes off with the other companions to stall the demons and Venatori outside to give Dorian time to cast his spell.

I’ve always headcanoned that mages have auras unique to the type of magic they specialize in and that they’d be able to subtly influence the world around them based on their emotions. You see evidence of that a lot in OtSttCA, especially in those moments where Niamh’s angry or upset.

In any case, per my headcanon, mages would be able to sense one another although the distance at which they could detect such magic would be dependent on the senser’s overall power or their relationship with the other mage. As close as both women are, Niamh absolutely feels the moment Bethany dies... :(

---

She felt the absence of Bethany’s magic like a dagger to the heart.

It had been there, burning as bright as the sun, and then it had stuttered—dark clouds eclipsing its light—until it simply settled inside her like a dead weight. Left bereft of that familiar, constant presence that had been her very reason for breathing for so long, it was as if water had pooled into her lungs, threatening to drown her. The sensation immediately brought her to her knees, leaving her gasping for breath.

"No..." Niamh whispered out brokenly, anguish and horror overtaking her even as Leliana tried in vain to urge her back up to her feet again. She couldn't hear the other woman's concern past the shattering of her own heart. In its place was simply an aching emptiness that slowly began to consume her whole...

---

Let’s just say that Niamh’s not happy with Alexius when she and Dorian manage to return to the present...

---

The fighting between the Inquisition and rebel mages against Alexius and his Venatori was brought to an abrupt halt by the presence of the Fade rift that appeared overhead. The force with which it easily tore space and reality asunder was enough to take everyone within the audience chamber off their feet, especially as stifling heat and wind spilled from the portal along with two figures.

“Give her back..."

Bethany blearily looked up when she heard Niamh’s familiar voice, and relief filled her when she saw that she was standing beneath the now sealed rift. Even with its disappearance, however, she realized all too soon that it had done nothing to quell the storm that had now taken residence within the room, sending banners and tapestries flying with whipping gusts of wind. At its center was her lover, who was standing so still amidst the chaos around her, regarding Alexius with such apathy in her expression.

“What?" the old magister uttered in confusion, shakily rising to his feet only to have his progress nearly undone as lightning struck the ground next to him with a deafening peal of thunder.

Bethany saw how his throat undulated as he swallowed in nervous regard of the mage slowly making her way toward him. His fingers trembled with the effort to form flames between them.

"...Who gave you the right?” Niamh asked, voice as low as the rumbling thunder, as she strode toward the dais.

The pressure within the room escalated once more as an aura of absolute fire surrounded her. Like vines, they rose from the floor up in spiraling patterns before enveloping her entirely with almost playful licks of flame. Nothing in Niamh’s expression indicated the display of power was in any way exhausting to maintain whereas Alexius was already weakened from his initial spell to destroy her along with his efforts to keep the Inquisition at bay.

But it was not a woman who sought to meet him.

It was death.

As if aware of the sudden danger he was in, Alexius threw forth several barrages of fire at Niamh, but her smooth, relentless advance couldn’t be stopped. She made no attempt to even bat away the bursts of magic. If anything, the flames just seemed to absorb themselves into her. Her aura flared higher, burning more brightly beneath each attack, and as Alexius tried to back away, he inadvertently tripped himself into the throne behind him. He flinched as another peal of thunder made itself known, and as he reflexively turned his gaze to the dark storm clouds coalescing above them, he didn't see Niamh Fade-stepping forward to close the distance between them until he was choking from the fingers around his neck. With her enhanced Warden strength, Niamh was able to lift the magister off his feet entirely, leaving him to dangle helplessly.

“Who gave you the damned right to take her from me?!” she demanded.

With her cry, the fires along the sconces and the hearth behind the throne went out entirely, gone with the sudden gale of wind. As such, the only light to be seen came from the flashes of lightning above them and the fiery aura surrounding her. In the sporadic moments the room illuminated itself, there was little mistaking the utter hatred in Niamh’s eyes.

She was going to kill Alexius.

It would have been well within her right, given the magister had attacked her first within their meeting, but Bethany’s eyes widened when she saw how the staff on Niamh’s back began to rattle violently. Against the sheer heat emanating from her body, the silverite wolf head adorning the top of the staff began to melt entirely onto the floor in thick dregs of liquid while the shaft bowed and arched until it creakily bent in the middle, angling itself with the sharpness of an arrow.

Oh, no... With dread, Bethany scrambled to her feet and darted over toward Niamh. Without her staff to act as a catalyst, if Niamh burnt too much of her magic away, she could cause irreparable damage to herself and those around her.

Upon reaching her lover’s side, she placed her hands on Niamh’s face, desperately trying to draw her attention from Alexius. For a moment, nothing could sway her from trying to squeeze the life out of the magister, and she winced when she felt Niamh’s magic already begin to fluctuate erratically against her own.

"No, no, no! Look at me!” She jerked her lover’s head toward her. “Look at me, Niamh! Please!"

And as Niamh did, she watched in confusion as the woman’s expression froze. The lips that had been pulled back in a sneer of bared teeth slowly went lax, forming an ‘o’ of awe and disbelief, as recognition began to dawn in her lover’s gaze. With it, Alexius gradually slid from her grasp to collapse at her feet with desperate gulps of air, but Bethany paid him little mind. With relief, she saw Niamh’s fiery aura dissipate along with the glow of her eyes until they returned to the pale grey she adored.

"That’s it. Come back to me,” she encouraged. “Just breathe." Bethany took one of her lover’s hands in hers, placing it over her own chest, allowing Niamh to feel her breathing. “Slow and steady. Just like that.”

As each breath fell into sync with her own, Niamh's expression gradually softened into something so reverent and sweet that it almost hurt to see—as if salvation had finally blessed her—but Bethany smiled when she saw the battle rage finally leave her.

“There we are."

Niamh used her other hand to gently cradle the side of Bethany's face. “You’re still here…” she breathed, utter relief in her voice.

“Yes.” Bethany frowned in concern at her reaction. “Always."

---

When they returned to Haven, where Niamh gave her official report to her War Council, Bethany was horrified to learn all that her lover had endured from Alexius’ spell.

Afterward, Niamh suggested they spend the evening in their cabin together rather than explore the trails out the village as per usual, and Bethany didn’t object. She understood her lover’s need to reassure herself that she was still there with her—that she wasn’t simply caught in a dream that she could never wake from.

“Is... Is this okay?” Niamh asked quietly, wanting permission to seek such comfort.

Niamh was always thoughtful in everything she did for her—in bed or otherwise—and while she never treated her like glass, Bethany could count on one hand the number of times she saw her magic unfettered like in Redcliffe. She had felt subtle traces of it occasionally with their intimacy although it was usually with purposeful design—heat, ice, and tickling traces of lightning—that were meant to tease.

But rarely was it ever so close to the surface like this—a conduit of power coiled so tightly within mortal form—waiting to burst beneath Niamh’s skin.

“It’s okay,” Bethany said, gently lacing the fingers of Niamh’s marked hand in hers.

The other woman had been reluctant to let her touch it although it hadn’t shown any notable effects toward anyone—or anything thus far—save for its ability to close rifts. Still, Niamh had been skittish all the same, fearing that it might harm her.

...Or perhaps she believed it was a damning mark of shame—of guilt—much like it had been when the people of Haven had attempted to stone her to death.

---

“There’s no denying that this mark is tied to the Breach. You saw the wreckage at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. You saw how many people died, and I still can’t even remember what happened before or after that moment beyond waking up in the dungeons. What if I did do something to cause that explosion?”

“If you had, it would not have been intentional,” Bethany insisted with a frown. “The mark is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, yes, but that you bear it all does not mean you were the one who created it.”

But Niamh couldn’t be swayed as she paced back and forth before the hearth of their cabin. “How can you be so certain?” she murmured.

“Because I’ve known you for years, Niamh. You would never purposely hurt anyone without provocation. Trust in me if you can’t yet trust in yourself.”

---

With permission given, Bethany found herself gently laid out against their bed as Niamh sought to touch and bring her pleasure all throughout the night.

Over the years, she’d become remarkably acclimated to Niamh’s magic that felt so much like a forest caught beneath a winter storm of ice and lightning. It was normally as calm as it was now—crisp as the first intake of breath beneath a cool dawn—but there were times where it could be provoked. The incident in the audience chamber was proof enough of that, where it had settled over them all like the tolling bells of judgment—an inevitability inviting the nascent danger of death.

Bethany had been beyond concerned when she had seen the first bits of viridian energy springing across her lover’s eyes then. There had been an almost disturbing beauty to them—a ring of vines gathering just at the outside perimeter of silvery irises—but that they had pulsed in time with the mark upon Niamh’s hand...

Bethany had feared for her, especially when it seemed to flare all the brighter with the fury that had overtaken her.

She was glad to see no evidence of that now as Niamh laid contentedly next to her. Even though Niamh was sated at last—the burning, restless energy within the other mage having finally simmered down to faint embers—she seemed reluctant to drift off into sleep. Winter-grey eyes continued to lazily rove across her face and form, as if cataloguing every detail less she forget later.

In response, Bethany reached out to tangle her fingers through the dark mane of tousled hair, letting her nails gently rake across her lover’s scalp. Pale eyes had widened imperceptibly at the sensation, but like always, they soon became half-lidded with the soothing nature of it. She heard the quiet hum of disgruntlement, as if protesting the notion of Bethany’s attempts to lull her to sleep against her silent vigil, but she merely shushed her.

“Shh… Rest, my love. I’ll still be here in the morning when you wake.”

---

And that’s basically it.

Again, since this is still in its rough draft phase, it’s not as polished as I’d like it to be, but I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, leave me a like, comment, or send some love to my inbox! Until next time, dear readers!

[emerald-amidst-gold]

Hi! For the Dragon Age Asks: Warden + Companions :)

What did your Warden think of Wynne’s views on the Circle? Did they have different experiences regarding the Circle?

What was your Warden’s position on the Chantry? Were they wary of Leliana due to their religious beliefs or lack thereof?

What became of Alistair after the Landsmeet? How did your Warden feel about their decision of Alistair’s future?

How close was your Warden to Morrigan? Did your Warden respect her abilities as a witch of the wilds?

What was the relationship between your Warden and Oghren? Were they friendly or merely reluctant companions?

Was your Warden amused by Sten’s love of cookies?

Why, hello there! Sorry for the lateness of this! Some of them I had to sit on, but I got it now! Let's gooooo! >:D

What did your Warden think of Wynne's views on the Circle? Did they have different experiences regarding the Circle?

So, Elise and Wynne were acquainted with each other before the Blight, of course. However, Elise was the kind of apprentice that dutifully listened and only asked questions when she was truly lost. The two women got along for the most part, but Elise had...views regarding the Circle that would greatly challenge Wynne's.

Elise sees the Circle as a good 'idea', something that could work in theory. What I mean by that is, Elise sees the foundation trying to be built, but the materials of what makes a sturdy foundation a sturdy foundation are lacking. She supports the idea of mages having an institution of learning, a place they can feel safe and proud of their powers, but she doesn't believe the Chantry should have a say in anything that anyone does; mage or no. Elise thinks more in lines of how Tevinter operates; Circles being academies that mages can go to and from without a templar on their heels.

'People fear us because they've never been taught not to. They've never seen the beauty of magic, the healing and the benign rituals. They only hear of fireballs, arcs of lightning, and a man being encased in winter's embrace. They only hear of the gluttony of demons, not the kindness of the spirits. They don't know because the Chantry won't let them." Elise sighed, gazing down at her hand as she ushered forth a sliver of magic. It glowed a faint blue, soothing and calm. "...The Circle was my home, Wynne. Not the Chantry. You might see them as one and the same, but they're not."

What was your Warden’s position on the Chantry? Were they wary of Leliana due to their religious beliefs or lack thereof?

So, to reference the above question, Elise's position with the Chantry is shaky. She doesn't believe in the Chantry. She believes in the Maker, his creation and his gift, and in Andraste, her role and her tenet. Elise sees the Chantry as something that needs harsh reform, but she knows she's not the one that can technically do that. The people, she believes, need to make their voices known. Not just the mages or the elves or any lesser rung person. The nobles, others in the hierarchy, those of empires, need to speak. Elise wants the Chantry to stand for what it began with, she wants people to find safety in it; mages and commonfolk alike. But, she knows it'll take a long time and a lot of work to correct poisoned mindsets.

And regarding Leliana, Elise isn't uncomfortable with her views. She respects them, and she's happy that Leli was able to find comfort where she couldn't while still retaining her own views on the matter.

What became of Alistair after the Landsmeet? How did your Warden feel about their decision of Alistair’s future?

Alistair became King with Anora. *laughs nervously*

Elise was already for Alistair being King, and she did actually speak to him about many times. Like, what he wanted, what he thought was best, if it could help Ferelden as much as everyone hoped, etc. Alistair was wary, but in my playthrough, I had hardened him. In my mind, Alistair and Elise find middle ground with the whole situation and the idea was to...continue their relationship after the fact. They wanted to stay together, to make it work.

GUESS HOW THAT TURNED OUT?

When Elise spoke to Anora alone, heard her side and saw her love for her father, she...faltered. She realized that she was being selfish, that she was doing what was best for her, not for Ferelden or the people suffering due to the Civil War and the Blight. In that moment, Elise's whole world shifted and she knew that she had to give up the one thing she wanted this one time.

And she did. It broke her heart, stabbed a knife in her chest, but Elise pushed through it and tore the blade out without flinching, even when the Landsmeet reached its climax and she made her decision. This time, without speaking about it to Alistair.

How close was your Warden to Morrigan? Did your Warden respect her abilities as a witch of the wilds?

Elise and Morrigan were literally sisters by the end of the Blight. It was rocky at first due to how quiet and seemingly meek Elise was and how that bothered Morrigan, the mage thinking it was purely from subserviance, but they grew close once Elise began to open up. Honestly, Morrigan was surprised that Elise had actually tip toed around her because she wanted to learn. Elise wasn't too keen on shape shifting, but she was eager to learn about more offensive spells since she was a bit shaky on them at the beginning. She did enjoy seeing what forms Morrigan could take though! Which again, made Morrigan go, '...What is this creature?' XD

I already have it in my head that Elise will meet Kieran one day, and it won't hurt her as much as she thought it might. Because really, she doesn't see 'Alistair and Morrigan's child', she sees 'her sister's' child.

What was the relationship between your Warden and Oghren? Were they friendly or merely reluctant companions?

Elise and Oghren were friendly! She did sometimes get annoyed with his more...bleh remarks or his drinking, but she knew why those things happened. If anything, she tried to help Oghren work through them bit by bit. When Elise saw him at the Vigil, she literally cried. Not lying. XD

...She also made sure he was going in the right direction during battle. That happened a lot.

Was your Warden amused by Sten’s love of cookies?

Elise did find it amusing, but mainly, she found it warming! Here was this seemingly harsh, aloof, and intolerable Qunari warrior, and he liked cookies. Let's just say, Elise enjoyed the look on Sten's face when she'd offer a tiny satchel without a word, but with a knowing smile. She likes to make people feel welcome, even if she's unsure of how to do that sometimes. :3