#i have also never made anora or loghain a ruler of ferelden

[mouthtotheclouds]

today i am learning I have unpopular opinions about companions, and romance options 💅

[fereldanwench]

started thinking about what worldstate i wanna create for my first run in veilguard because of course i have.

we can't import past saves and we won't be using the keep anymore, so I'm not sure how detailed we'll be able to get with it but I've got a few possibilities to play with:

the first and most likely is my mostly canon-compliant worldstate with these bbs:

lorelei cousland [rogue; double-wield] warden / queen of ferelden / li: king!alistair

daphne caron [rogue; double-wield] warden commander / ruler of vigil's keep / li: warden!bethany

ansley hawke [warrior; board & sword] champion of kirkwall / pirate / li: isabela

melisande trevelyan [rogue; archer] herald of andraste / inquisitor / li: cullen

rosalind hendry [mage; knight-enchanter] former chantry scholar / inquisition agent for leliana / li: blackwall

the second is my slightly less canon-compliant worldstate that i never brought into inquisition because i didn't want to have to choose between alistair and my favorite hawke in the fade lmao:

karina amell [mage; i do not remember her spec] warden-commander / li: warden!alistair

rhiannon hawke [force & elemental mage] champion of kirkwall / temp viscount of kirkwall / li: cullen or fenris*

*last summer i did replay da2 with an iteration of rhiannon that actually romanced fenris and i loved it and I've complicated shit for her, lmao. rhiannon x cullen were my goro x valerie of 2013-2014 and making her officially with someone else feels wrong bc i loved them together so much. but i just can't enjoy cullen anymore. so do i do i give rhiannon a boyfriend upgrade? do i make a whole 'nother hawke inspired by her? do i just let rhiannon x cullen and rhiannon x fenris exist in different AUs? i don't know!

and the third is kind of the opposite of the second one: a worldstate i made just for inquisition in the keep with some choices i had never made in the previous games. i don't even have the worldstate in the keep anymore so i don't remember everything but i think it was like this:

default f!mahariel [rogue; archer] no li / recruited loghain / made alistair marry anora

default m!hawke [mage] li: anders / sided with mages

keagan trevelyan [mage; knight-enchanter] herald of andraste / inquisitor / li: cullen (although i headcanoned a polycule with her, cullen, and josie)

one of my conundrums with all of these is, as i mentioned, i can't enjoy cullen anymore. he was obviously a big fave, i think his arc is fascinating especially in da2 and especially if you side with the templars and he has to contend with the shit he's done for meredith, and i enjoyed all the different shipping dynamics with all different kinds of ocs. but i can't separate him from his dipshit VA at this point. hearing his voice is just an instant NOPE for me now

i am 99% positive cullen will not be in veilguard for 2 reasons: 1) the writers said during inquisition that they were no longer trying to work in characters whose fates could be too varied depending on player choice and 2) that twitter shitstorm a few years seemed to guarantee ellis will never work with bioware again lmao

now i suppose there's a possibility that ellis could have recorded lines before that happened and somehow they would be able to be used despite all the changes that happened, but I'm trying to be an optimist here

nevertheless, all of the inquisitors i played were with him, and it sounds like we'll be able to engage with our inquisitors in some capacity in veilguard so do i even want to have a passing mention of cullen? idk. i mean, my disdain for his VA isn't so bad that this would ruin the game for me or anything, but i also feel like this is an opportunity to enjoy another character

between keagan and melisande, melisande was definitely my more developed OC, but i just loved playing as a knight-enchanter gameplay-wise so keagan is actually the only one of the two who did trespasser and jaws of hakkon. i never did the descent--the only DLC in all the games that i haven't played. I've been debating firing up my inquisitor!valerie game again to play that with her but i know the descent recommends a pretty high level and i can't remember how far i got in the story with her (I think i just reached skyhold that last time i played)

so anyway, i've got some decisions to make!

as for what i'm leaning towards playing in veilguard: at this point in time, i'm pretty sure my first rook will be a mage of some kind and lucanis sounds like he was made specifically for me lmao so odds are looking good that'll be my first ship

[vigilskeep]

(1/3) Hi Harker! You know a lot about Dragon Age and its politics, so I'd be grateful if you'd help me out with the following matter: I made a non-Warden Cousland who joins my HoF during DAO events and whose personal quest is to take revenge for Howe's betrayal and crimes. She romances Alistair.

So in the Landsmeet, a visibly elf-blooded (hardened) Alistair is supported by the HoF (not Cousland) and the power-hungry Eamon but that's not enough and Fereldans are also quite racists, so I feel like Alistair is going to need marrying Anora or Cousland in order to get more votes and become the next king.

hmm okay so the breaks from canon here are visibly elf-blooded alistair and non-warden cousland. and the question is which outcome would be best for ferelden?

even as a younger child, cousland is the daughter of a teyrn. if anything happened to her brother she would have been the future second most powerful figure in ferelden, and the people raising and training her would have been aware of this. anora has the exact same background as daughter of a teyrn, and both would have been trained to govern. while anora has experience with actually ruling the whole of ferelden, cousland is from a more established family and has no associations with loghain for those who consider him a traitor. i would say cousland’s actual fitness to rule is up to you; i can’t make that judgement on your character, it depends on who she is and what she’s like! anora is characterised as a capable ruler devoted to her country, a layered character whose dedication, practicality, and skill are equally her ruthlessness, her ambition, and her determination that she alone is the right answer. i would consider looking at your HOF’s background and considering what their idea of a good ruler is, what their perspective is on how ferelden looks under anora’s rule, etc.

considering this rule is a partnership, you may want to think through whether alistair/cousland or alistair/anora would work together best. the epilogue slides claim hardened alistair and anora work well together, a “surprisingly effective pair” who both take an interest in ruling. cousland still being around while that’s happening is a weird and interesting power dynamic; i imagine anora would feel very threatened by her overall especially if they’re still in a relationship. as for alistair/cousland, how they work together and how good cousland is at the job is again up to you, but since they’re in love i’m assuming they’re a good team. as you mention, anora would be imprisoned—i actually didn’t know that, i ran through the landsmeet dialogue for this—but i have no idea how that turns out in the long run and there doesn’t seem to be any canon information on that. anora does point blank refuse to publicly abandon her claim and i think it’s unlikely rebellion would never be raised in her name. her claim is just too good of an opportunity to miss for anyone who wanted to rebel and i don’t think anora could resist the chance if offered. possibly matters could be brought to a compromise, perhaps where she settles for the teyrnir of gwaren, but that’s still a very dangerous and powerful position to leave her in. her claim and experience will always look good whenever alistair/cousland do anything wrong, and that goes doubly if alistair’s visibly elf-blooded. frankly i could see anora being executed, eventually, if compromises didn’t work out. that’s the game of challenging royal claims and it’s what she would have done to alistair; hardened alistair very much doesn’t disregard it as an eventual option in his landsmeet dialogue, either. i think all that’s true of any version of events where she isn’t queen

personally to summarise i think it would be an odd choice in this circumstances not to put alistair/cousland on the throne because the HOF knows and presumably trusts them personally, it’s a good political solution, cousland isn’t even a warden here so those problems (with the question of heirs and with warden neutrality) are removed, and they’re in love so why actively ruin it for them. but if your HOF has a very high opinion of anora, or (accurately or inaccurately) considers your cousland personally inappropriate for the throne in comparison to anora, they might be set on the other choice. the former is more obvious but the latter may be a stronger character decision

[glamfellens]

Im new to dragon age, but i just finished the "deciding the ruler" quest and,,, why would anyone choose Alistair to be king??? I love him, a lot, & that is 1 of the many reasons why I know, nobody in their right mind should choose him as a king jdjskskd

The guy made someone who only had one (1) day of experience as a Gray Warden to lead the group; he finds it difficult to know what foot goes in which shoe,, he's a himbo.

And you got Anora right there,,,

i think alistair has potential to be a good king, but he definitely needs to do it either with anora or queen cousland, just so he isnt left at the mercy of eamon’s advice, since i think everyone can agree that eamon has his own agenda that he would push through alistair. alistair is kind and compassionate and personable, but i think he needs someone with him to help him along with the politics, the administration, the actual ruling. which if you think about it, maric had that in loghain, and cailan had that in anora... so... yeah. personally after reading the stolen throne and the calling, the narrative i like to take away from it all when it comes to whether or not alistair becomes king, is that by letting him remain a warden, he’s getting to live the life that both his father and brother wanted, but never got to. he gets to live a life unburdened by the duty that made his father miserable and that just feels right to me! i also like to interpret ferelden’s succession crisis as anora’s own story. she spent the last five years taking care of the duties her husband shirked, under his name, and now she finally gets to be acknowledged for doing the job and doing it well. She gets to come into her own and continue taking care of the country and the people she loves so much edit: i just wanna clarify that i agree with not making him king but i do it more based on the fact of what he wants rather than what he’s capable of. he tells you at several points during the game he doesnt want the throne, so! yeah. obviously this is if you dont harden him, which i dont. i have my own idea of his development into a more confident person which ive talked about here

[giottoren]

Time to tell y'all about my angry bean of a Warden

Galivar is /very/ proud. Throughout the Cousland Origin you get told that many expect the Warden Cousland to take the terynship once Bryce passes, and of course, he takes this rumor to heart. Don't get me wrong, he loves Fergus but just can't imagine him stepping up to the challenge.

Galivar is also extremely stubborn. I headcanon that Duncan had to knock him out in order for them to escape Highever since Gal wanted to face Howe that very moment for everything he had done. And he probably still has nightmares over how he left his parents to die like a coward instead staying his ground.

But the thing that made his playthrough most fun was how cold and harsh he could be at times. When Flemeth told Morrigan to join him and Alistair he straight up told her that she better make herself useful. Every time Alistair tried to crack a joke he had half a mind to punch a straight answer out of him. He and Leliana never got along because of how preachy he thought she was. Wynne always had a lecture ready for him and the only thing that he considered her useful for was how there was a blighted spirit in her to aid them in battle. The only people he seemed to get along with was Sten because Gal agreed with the Qun's practicality over things and with Zevran because of their shared enjoyment over violance and killing while he's mostly indifferent torwards Oghren. I'm pretty sure that Leliana and Alistair would have a talk regarding his leadership if it were possible. And that's the thing, because for the most part Galivar seem to endure their petty comments and demands because they aimed to help him stop the Blight.

I can already picture Alistair feeling uncomfortable over how eager Galivar always seemed at the field of battle, each drop of blood making him hungrier for more, whether it was his or his enemy's. Little examples of how much Alistair disapproves of such ways made me imagine it, just like how he reacts when you straight gut that prisoner in Ostagar for the key instead of feeding him.

He didn't make Alistair King, but not because Alistair himself told him how he doesn't want the crown but because Gal thought he'd made a poor ruler.

At the Landsmeet he spared Loghain, exiled Alistair, made Anora Queen and convinced her to become her Consort (convince is an overstatement because he's not the best with politics but he knows there's nothing more for him after the Archdemon dies, but thankfully enough Anora got notion of how much stronger her claim would be with this betrothal).

I like to think that he has matured in the Epilogue and honestly wants to try and rebuilt Ferelden because, yes, this land took everything for him at the start of the game but it's still the land that his parents fought to liberate. And fighting your way to your potential Death does that to a man. He had indulged in Morrigan's ritual, but who's to say it would actually work?

He didn't romance anyone throughout Origins. And even with their rocky start, he and Anora got past their differences, learned to appreciate each other and eventually fell in love (Loghain still threatens to check on them from Orlais if he hears something is amiss).

Galivar may get frustrated with the schemes of court, curse at how fake the nobility seems in their intentions, but still there's no other place in Thedas he'd rather be than his Queen's side.

[couslcnd-blog1]

Mobile: About

I trust my Warden’s more than I trust myself.

Basic About

FULL NAME: Eiric Cousland

NAME MEANING: Scottish Origin: Meaning Ruler

NICKNAME: Eir, Iri

AGE: 28 at Inquisition, 18 During the Blight, 33 in Main Verse

BIRTH DATE: Winter 9:12 Dragon

ETHNICITY: Human

GENDER: Female

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Demi-Romantic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual

RELIGION: Tevinter Old Gods: Lusacan (Archaic)

SPOKEN LANGUAGE: Common Tongue

CURRENT LIVING CONDITIONS: Depends on Verse; Main Verse: Nomadic, Found often in the Free Marches or Near Ostagar

OCCUPATION: Warden Commander of Ferelden, Warden Commander of Vigil’s keep, Hero of Ferelden

FACECLAIM: Janina Gavankar

CURRENT RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single as of 9:31 Dragon

relationships

PARENTS: Gallus (Father, Biological, Deceased) & Elenor Cousland (Mother, Deceased)

SIBLINGS: Fergus

SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None

CHILDREN: Bryce and Cailan (Twins; Deceased: 9:34 Dragon; Born: 9:31 Dragon; Reason of Death: Darkspawn)

physical traits

EYE COLOUR: Gold

HAIR COLOUR: Black

HEIGHT: 5’ 1"

BODY BUILD: Athletic

TATTOOS + PIERCINGS: None

NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Single scar down her chest: Starts at collar bone and stops right under ribcage. Minor scar’s across her body

OTHER DETAILS: N/A

phobias and disorders

PHOBIAS: Claustrophobia, Arachniphobia,

MENTAL DISORDERS: None

WHEN WAS THIS DIAGNOSED?: NEVER

Personality Basics

INTELLIGENCE: High

LIKES: Tending to her horses, Offering help to those who need it, Reading, Singing.

DISLIKES: Chains, Being told rather bluntly what to do, People who think they know everything

DISPOSITION: Mostly kind and giving but she does have a temper that is slow to flare up.

TRAINING: Light Armor, Bow and Arrow, Tracking, Minor Sword training

Decisions During DA:O

Companions:

ROMANCED: Alistair

RECRUITED: Everyone and Completed their trust Missions

LANDSMEET: Loghain Lived, Offered to Wardens

THRONE: Alistair & Anora

MISTRESS?: No

MORRIGAN’S RITUAL: Did not Complete

FLEMETH’S GRIMOIRE: Aquired Peacefully

FOLLOWER’S STATUS: ALL ALIVE AND WELL

Missions:

CIRCLE: Kept Irving Alive, Did not take Cullen’s Advice, Gained the Mages as Allies

DALISH: Brokered peace between Elves and Werewolves, Brought the two elven lovers together, Saved the Halla, Told Athras about his wife, Brought Deygan back to the Dalish, Brought Valthorn Ironbark.

Dwarven: Branka was Defeated ; Dagna went to the Circle, Told the Truth about Ruck, Bhelen Rules Orzammar, Helped Burkle create a Chantry, Helped Orta join the Assembly, Helped Zirlinda reconcile with her family.

HUMANS (Denerim): Brought the Scroll to Sister Justine, Ser Landry is Alive, Told Bann Sighard about Oswyn, Let Alistair find Goldanna (Left Unhardened), Dealt with the Crimson Oars and cleaned out the Pearl, Returned the ring to Alftsanna, Returned the Necklace to the Beggar in the Ailenage

URN OF SACRED ASHES: Untainted

REDCLIFFE: Isolde and Connar are alive (with Mages help) Helped Redcliffe Prepare, Surivived the night (No deaths recorded), Owen’s daughter escaped and is safe, Beven was found and returned with sword, Bella started a brewery.

BATTLE OF DENERIM: Warden killed the Arch Demon (survived)

DlC’S:

WARDEN’S KEEP: Power of blood gained,Sophia dead, Averneus continues his reserch

STONE PRISIONER: Shale Recruited and is Alive and well (friendly), Matthias and Amalia are alive, Daughter is not controled by the demon

WITCH HUNT: Did not follow Morrigan through the Eluvian

AWAKENING: Nathaniel is Alive and well (Friendly), Oghren was reunited with Farsi, Keep was protected (Amaranthine was destroyed), Architect was kept alive (Close ally of Eiric)

Personality in Depth

Eiric is slow to temper, being the last child born from her mother the young woman was raised to act like a proper noble. Eiric hated every second of it to be frank. She was more or less found in the stable tending to her horse Lus than learning how to properly curtsies and the formal in and outs. During the blight Eiric was very welcoming and easy to please but after the falling out of a relationship and the stress of fighting off an archdemon hardened the girl.

Eiric never made Alistair complete the ritual with Morrigan, Little did she know that she was with child at the time of the Battle of Denerim. She Placed Alistair on the throne and believed that he could do some god within the world. What she didn’t expect was for him to break it off. For years the woman didn’t date but she did come to terms for what happened. Eiric is prone to self loathing and becoming melancholy. She’s also prone to closing everyone off and dealing with her issues alone.

History

Eiric was born out of a forced interaction between her Tevinter father and her Mother, while the details are unclear as to what had happened, Eiric was the result of the coupling. She had a fairly easy lifestyle as she was the youngest Cousland, Being the only girl her mother dolted over her, wanting to make sure that her child was ready to become a Tyerna when she was of age. When the blight happened, Eiric was scared but she didn’t let it show. Often she would find herself becoming melancholy after knowing what had happened at Castle Cousland with the death of her mother and father. She had grown rather attached to Alistair, encouraging him to find his real family and staying with him no matter what. Eventually she had fallen in love or so she thought at the time. At the time of the split and the end of the blight she willingly tried to sacrifice herself; knowing that Ferelden could loose their king if she didn’t step up. Taking all her pain and anger the woman was severly injured as she killed the Archdemon, Consuming his Taint but not his soul. Urthemiel managed to step on her chest, causing her lungs to collapse under the pressure. First Enchanter Irving managed to stablize the young woman, but it would take months for them to fully heal her chest and lungs. While healing Eiric knew about Lus and who her trusted mount really was. He was her protector, She was the start of the second generation of Disciples to the old gods. While he is awake, Lusacan tends to stick with his equine form, mainly so he doesn’t draw attention to himself or his charge. Eiric became Warden Commander of Vigil’s keep not 5 months after the blight, Having been rather heavily pregnant the woman sent out one of her wardens to greet the king. Her time as Commander was rather troubling for Eiric. Having to deal with 2, 3 year old boys and commanding her wardens was a challenge. Ultimately she sided with the Architect and Saved Vigils keep but regretting heavily that she couldn’t save Amaranthine as well. Sadly, the Assult on Vigil’s Keep brought the death’s of her Sons as well. She was never the same after their deaths, Only telling her wardens that she was going to be gone for a while before leaving in the middle of the night. Between the time of the Blight and the Inquisition, Eiric has been scarce; The first Warden is out for her head, thinking that she had spread lies about the Fitfh Blight. She had been seen in Tevinter with a large man following her around as she searched for a cure to her taint. Concerning her companion Lusacan, He helped develop Eiric into something more than just a Warden Commander. Lusacan gently guided her to become the second generation of Disciples, Although there was no desire to get into the Black City, Lusacan helped her realize that Dumat’s first Disciple was alive and kicking. That his elder brother was back. Eiric is unsure as to where the remaining 5 Disciples are, All she knows is that they are Grey warden’s like her. She resumes her search after the Inquisiton, where she had offered her help and minor guidance under the name ‘eri’ in the beginning. She claims No Glory, No Title, She see’s herself as just a warden and nothing more.