#imagining a blood magic conversation with the mages is so funny they're always like oh the ethics the implications my approval level

[potatoesandsunshine]

they couldn't put my warden in the da:i era bc she would just start killing people

[shivunin]

gently tosses you Fenris and Sebastian for the character meme

Carefully catches them both, but Fenris is kinda prickly and I fumble him a lil bit.

(Thank you for asking! c:)

(Character Ask thing)

Fenris

First impression: oh fuck did he just rip that dude's heart out through his back 😳(i am absolutely projecting this reaction onto Maria haha)

Impression now: I mean. there's no going back at this point lol. Dude altered my brain chemistry permanently. He is an asshole, he is deeply flawed, he is so hurt and angry and funny and so shockingly poetic. He is gorgeous and so unsure about anyone caring about him (platonically or romantically). He is loyal to a fault. He is still figuring out how to be his own person. He's the reason I got back into reading fic, and thus the reason I started writing fic and participating in the fandom at all. I don't even know what my opinion is anymore because that is how much I have thought about Fenris. I am rotating him in my mind at shocking speeds.

Favorite moment: It's a tie between the moment after he rips out Danarius's heart and turns to look at Hawke like 🥺-and- his final monologue. I also think his conversation w the mabari is really sweet. Or lol his "I was just glad. To see you. That's all." from the Legacy DLC

Idea for a story: *gestures to fic idea mountain* haha. But as for ones I have not written, my favorites are my "worst road trip with my future sister-in-law ever/fenris gets kidnapped" story (which i am writing very slowly rn) and one where there's some sort of double of Hawke and he has to determine which is the real her (I love this trope)

Unpopular opinion: Oh man. I have no idea. I guess that I enjoy the Bitter Pill -> Questioning Beliefs quest order version of the romance scene, but I also like the other one. There are painful pieces to both of them and that's what it's all about for me.

Favorite relationship: Fenris and Isabela. I love that they're constantly needling each other.

Favorite headcanon: The bodies in his foyer are practice dummies dressed in robes.

As funny as "Fenris lives in a literal mansion of corpses is," that level of squalor does, in fact, make you sick. Also...after six years, there are no signs of decomposition? With how many rats are sure to live in Kirkwall? I don't think so.

I like to imagine someone broke in at some point, saw the corpses on the floor, said "oh, no thank you, actually" and dipped, and Fenris went "Hmm. Now wait a moment, maybe I'm onto something."

So: that's my headcanon. The bodies are fake and he lets everyone think they're real/everyone jokes that they're real because it's a good bit. Now, does he leave his bedroom a hot hot mess always just because? Yes. But I think the bodies are fake.

Sebastian

*With the caveat that I have only started one pt with Sebastian because my console hates me (has to be plugged into an internet port directly to run the Exiled Prince DLC and there isn't one in the room with the TV) and most of my initial information was based on the fandom:

First impression: Ah, he must be the designated Religious Character for this game as a counterpoint to the dude who hates the Chantry. Got it.

Impression now: I am shaking him in a jar. He is such a wild study in contrasts?? When you do the quest in the Hahriman's mansion and one of the dudes is getting with the maid and Sebastian apologizes to Hawke for exposing them to it---I said "Excuse me, sir???" out loud. Like what? In a ~dark fantasy~ game, this guy is apologizing for you seeing some slap and tickle?

I think he wants so badly to believe that the world is black and white so he can do the right thing, and when confronted with all its variegations instead he creates exceptions. Lots of other characters do this, too (see: Fenris and Hawke/Bethany being "good" mages because they are stronger than the others and thus not tempted by demons/blood magic) but I think Sebastian particularly plays in the grey spaces in an interesting way.

Also, I think the running theme of him wanting vengeance/wanting to not want vengeance is fascinating in the light of that final scene at the Chantry. He's talked about trying to forgive before, but when it comes down to it he wants to kill Anders or march on Kirkwall if you won't let him. That is fascinating to me. I do really want to finish this playthrough with him so I can see the rest of it play out, but...we will get there.

Also, I think it's a bummer that he frequently gets left out of companion round-ups and lists. I get that he comes from a DLC, but love him or hate him he's a really interesting character in 2.

Favorite moment: I don't have a favorite, but anytime he's talking tbh. He has a really lovely voice

Idea for a story: I have a half-written thing about Sebastian and the role that faith plays in Hawke recovering from Leandra's death. A lot of it is coming to terms with the fact that Hawke doesn't really believe in Chantry doctrine...but it does genuinely help her to know that someone who shared Leandra's faith is praying for her in the way she would have wanted. He also does the service for Leandra even though Elthina offered (it was like. the only thing Hawke asked for: Sebastian has to do the service).

(A lot of this is inspired by the fact that he is one of the few companions who has lost his parents---not "never knew them" or "hated them and now they're gone" but actually lost them, complicated as their relationship was. And I think it's something that would help her in that moment)

Unpopular opinion: I liked bringing him on Anders' act 2 quest. Not only because of my own internal narrative (Maria asks Sebastian to kill her if it seems like the templars will take her because she is terrified of being made Tranquil and because she knows he'll do it if she can make him promise; all of which I find delightfully angsty) but because I think the conflict between Anders and Sebastian is exceptionally interesting if you've taken them on this quest together.

Favorite relationship: Sebastian and Fenris. I think they each challenge each other's ideas about the world and I like the way Sebastian treats Fenris. It feels nonjudgmental to me.

Favorite headcanon: Sebastian wanders Lowtown trying to help people in his off time. I refuse to believe that he actually hangs out in the Chantry all the time, and it seems like something he would find noble. I like to believe he spends time with the refugees after befriending Hawke, trying to connect them with the resources they need to find stability.