#the other characters i like him with being merril and fenris

[flashhwing]

now i don't really ascribe to the whole "every character needs to be paired off in the end" but i DO feel kinda bad in warden!hawke verse giving garrett and bethany loving partners but not carver. unfortunately the only person that i like carver with who isn't already in a relationship is alistair who is king in this world and also in a political marriage

now i'm not saying carver CAN'T be king alistair's mistress but it does take some wrangling to make it work

[dalishious]

About Davrin's little blurb on the official website for Dragon Age: The Veilguard...

"Though he was raised in a Dalish clan, he craved excitement and adventure. He'd rather make history than reflect on it."

There's actually a lot to unpack about these two sentences.

First off, placing the word "though" in front of being "raised in a Dalish clan", gives such a thing a negative connotation. The word "though" is used in a way that sounds like "despite", as in, somehow wanting excitement and adventure must go against being Dalish. This correlates with sentence that follows. "He'd rather make history than reflect on it." The word "rather" is yet again used to separate Davrin from his Dalish origin. All together, this promotional description of Davrin is insisting that he is "not like other Dalish".

Now, obviously the game is not out yet, so we do not have total confirmation on what the nature of Davrin's relationship to his culture is really like. But there is absolutely something to be said about promoting the character this way, regardless of however he actually turns out in game. There is absolutely something to be said about how, as @/the-eldritch-it-gay put in their tags here, why do writers feel the need to make fantasy minorities hate or distance themselves from their culture? As a selling point?

Maybe this is completely misleading bullshit, maybe it isn't. All we have to go by, is what BioWare chose to say here, and their past track record with elves:

Zevran may talk about his mother in a font way, but he still has the line, "Too many of our kind think we deserve pity simply because we have failed to defend ourselves."

Velanna is one of the two elves we've had who is overtly proud of her culture, yet she is treated like she is unreasonable and too angry because of it.

Merrill too, is proud of being an elf, and of being Dalish. The story punishes her left and right for this, treats her like a child, and in the end she is either ostracized from her clan or they end up dead because... she cared too much?

Fenris has pretty much zero engagement with elven cultures, and spends his time ridiculing Merrill for being proud of hers.

Solas complains about the Dalish from the start, and says plainly that he does not see himself as having anything in common with elves of current time. "Oh, you mean elves" he says, when the Inquisitor asks how he feels about his people; the thought does not even occur to him.

Sera is... Sera is a character who could have been a really interesting examination of overcoming internalized racism, if she was written by someone competent with the subject. Instead, she just cringes at everything "too elfy" through the entire main game, and only has a single line in Trespasser that hints that she may have a personal struggle going on. But it's still left unresolved.

That's a lot a lot of negativity. So of course seeing a suggestion that more is to come with Davrin has people wary and tired.

Let us also consider the fact that Davrin is overtly Black as well, and what that means. Acting as if one must disregard history in order to make it, as his description so claims, is bullshit. It sounds too much like promoting gentrification/assimilation in my opinion; the idea that you cannot keep your culture if you want to be successful.

I also think that it goes even deeper, on a meta level - I think that BioWare is afraid people will not be able to like or relate to Davrin, if he is "too ethnic". I think that BioWare is taking this Black character and instead of questioning how he can best represent marginalized fans - particularly Black fans - they are questioning how to make him more relatable to white fans. And the only answer to that is to, of course, make him seem like he is an exception to marginalization through separating him from his people.

I am still holding onto hope that Davrin will overall be an interesting, well-written character. And I sure as hell will still be defending him from the people who are already hating on him or ignoring him completely because of their racialized biases. But that does not exempt BioWare, and specifically his writer, John Dombrow, from any criticism. This is not about Davrin the character, this is about BioWare the company's handling of Davrin the character. And in that regard, they're not off to a great start with this.

[vigilskeep]

how likely are the da2 party to have other friends, a discussion

varric: his character is the guy with lots of friends. or contacts, at least. obviously he’s not emotionally honest or vulnerable with any of them but that’s by nature of it being varric so it’s hardly news

isabela: similar to varric, knows a lot of people, likely not close with them. also knows a lot of people, wink wink, that she might consider friends. there’s zevran :) also worth saying that she looks out for marginalised women who seem to look up to her, because she’s that cool

fenris: several comments are made that he does not have a social life. also lives in a manor full of dead bodies, which is not conducive to hosting guests unless your friend is hawke who is apparently cool with this. however, has his own mercenary contacts, points out to merrill that some elves are willing to chat to him that will not with her, and by the end of the game is having regular game nights with people like donnic. we’ll call it a work in progress

merrill: it seems like it takes the alienage a while to warm up to her and that she doesn’t spend much time socialising at least at first bc of the mirror situation, but people are generally fond of her and there is canonical material to suggest this was true in the alienage eventually, not to mention that she took a leadership role among them after the end of da2, which is really cool

sebastian: probably, but they’re priests and, like, chantry-going old ladies who think he’s a sweet boy and try to marry their granddaughters off to him. does not seem like he gets out much otherwise these days except with hawke

anders: i don’t know that i would call them friends exactly but he does have entire circles (haha) of people that he knows outside the game npcs, like the mage underground, and all the darktown refugees who are apparently just up for killing for him whenever. there’s people like lirene. characteristically probably tries to hold them at a distance, may not realise he is considered a friend

aveline: canonically if you are like “why the fuck are you asking me” during her act 2 personal quest, literally outright says she has no other friends

[kcwriter-blog]

Thanks for Thinking of Solavellan

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts directed at Solavellans by kind, caring people who want to make sure we temper our expectations. After 10 years of being treated like dirt by the fandom, it’s so nice to have so many people take an interest in us, to the point of compassionately telling us that we aren’t going to get much content, as sad as that may be. I can’t speak for all Solavellans but I wanted to let everyone know why they don’t have to worry about me at least:

We are grown ups

We are adults, well versed in managing our expectations. In fact, most of us hold down jobs, take care of our families and live our lives. Are we excited that our Inquisitors will be in the game? Of course. Do we expect them to be the central character? Of course not. We understand that Rook is the star of the show. We are busy planning our Rooks and deciding which romances to pursue. We are trying to decide what class and faction to play just like everyone else. Are we excited about what we know about Solas so far? Yes. If Dorian is announced to be in the game, as seems likely, I’m sure people will be equally excited and talking about what they hope to see.

We know Solavellan content will not be the focus

See above but also, we are used to having less content. We have the least amount of romance content in DAI. In Trespasser everyone got to talk to their Lis throughout the game. We had a 15-minute conversation at the end. Most players got a resolution to their romances. Like all Inquisitors, our Lavellans are kind of in limbo where Solas is concerned. The fact that we are making Inquisitors in the character creator tells me that all Inquisitors will have at least one confrontation with Solas and Rook will probably be part of that. Those will differ depending on whether you want to stop him at all costs, redeem him or want to redeem him and romanced him. This was done in Trespasser. If they can find the time and money to put three paths of 15-minute conversation in a ten-hour game, they can do the same for a 70-hour game. That’s not a lot of content but it is sure to be impactful and we will be happy with it.

We are no different in voicing our hopes than anyone else

I have seen plenty of posts where people that romanced Dorian want to have a tender moment between their Inquisitors and him. I fully support their hopes. I want that to happen for them. Other hopes expressed are the return of Cullen, the return of the Hero of Fereldan, Fenris and Merril cameos, etc. All are expressed in terms of “I hope” or “I will riot if it doesn’t happen.” To be honest, I feel sad for those poor souls because no one is telling them to temper their expectations. Does the fandom not care about their health and well-being? We are expressing our hopes and wishes. Do we think we will get all of it? Of course not. We are, as I said before, adults.

We Think We Will Rescue Solas

Honestly? We hope we can be a part of that, but it is just hope. It is more likely that Rook will break him out of prison. Maybe the Inquisitor will get to help – the way Hawk and the Warden Companion did in DAI – but if not, there will probably be some sort of confrontation. Rook may ask the Inquisitor’s opinion about Solas and the answer will depend on the Inquisitor’s relationship with Solas but that may be all.

We have too many unrealistic expectation

Please don’t think that we expect everything we want to happen to be in the game. We are aware that a lot of our hopes are not going to be realized. To be honest, we are already surprised that some of those hopes are figuring in the game. Keep in mind that for 10 years we thought our only interaction with him would be to make sure he didn’t die alone. We recognize we are a small group and so does BioWare. Yes, we have indulged our brain rot and obsession with art and fiction but that’s just us. We don’t expect it to show up in the game. If it does, we will be excited. If it doesn’t, we will shrug our shoulders and go back to drawing and writing.

We are talking amongst ourselves

We are talking to other Solavellans. Solavellan has become a tight-knit community over the years because of what we’ve had to put up with. Anders fans can probably relate. We are not talking to the DA community at large. Most of us don’t interact with the larger DA community because of everything that has been said over the years. We talk to and support each other. If you aren’t a Solavellan, feel free to scroll past our posts or even block us if you think we are too loud or annoying. You won’t hurt our feelings.

I’m sure other Solavellans can add to this or mention things I’ve forgotten. Again, don’t worry about us. We will be fine.

[tossawary]

I mentioned before that I think DA2 is perhaps the most appealing to me for a Time Travel AU. This is in part because Hawke as a protagonist doesn't have to worry about an impending apocalypse in the same way that the Warden and the Inquisitor do, so there's arguably more space for slow-moving character work, and I think it would be fun to explore Hawke's relationship to Kirkwall.

You can take Inquisition-era Hawke, sacrifice them in the Fade, and then handwavy magic happens there that sends Hawke back for a Time Travel Redo. (If it's irrelevant to the rest of the story, let's skip going into depth on the time travel method! It does not matter!) If you want to avoid time paradox concerns, given that time magic actually exists in this series, this can actually be a Dimension Travel AU as well, sending a Garrett Hawke back in time to another dimension where there's a Marian Hawke instead or something. Two Hawkes!

I prefer sending a mage Garrett Hawke "back" into this alternate dimension because he is absolutely going to look like his own father, Malcolm, to the young Hawke family trying to escape Lothering. And that's some delicious angst.

Another reason that I think Hawke in particular would be interesting is that I think it would be interesting to have a time-traveler (dimension-traveler) be upfront about what had happened to them. A tired Garrett Hawke reveals at least the basics of the "future" to his friends and family (all of whom are strangers to him and it hurts) because he wants to keep them safe, and then the butterfly effects of canon divergence ripple out from there.

There are so many time travel fics where the protagonist confides in no one or only does so very late in the story. There are often reasons for this. 1) They will not be believed. 2) They are surrounded by enemies. 3) They are focused on changing a very specific event and do not want things to change before that. 3.5) They are unwilling to share their knowledge and give up some measure of control over the future. (These control issues are often in-character!)

Sometimes, I am persuaded by these reasons and find them compelling and sympathetic. Sometimes, I find the protagonist's insistence on doing everything alone frustrating and even cruel.

I think that if Hawke had the chance to do a Time Travel Redo, it would be incredibly cruel if they did not at least TRY to share some of their knowledge with their companions. I don't think Hawke's companions would believe them immediately, of course, but they live in a world with strange magic. If Hawke was willing to be calm and vulnerable, they could at least give their future friends some potential leads in their individual quests (being open about the fact that this world may be different to their own).

Like, let's look at Fenris. Fenris would not trust some strange mage talking about fucking time magic, of course. But after knowing each other for a month or so, Hawke might be able to approach Fenris and say, "Hey, I have a really weird story to tell you." And then Hawke could share what they know about Fenris' past according to their own world, so that Fenris can maybe look into that and prepare himself. Because keeping that information away from Fenris is a dick move! Fenris deserves to be able to decide what to believe, what to investigate, and what to do for himself.

I also don't think I could suspend my disbelief if Hawke let Anders and Justice just... play out again over the course of years. I think most Hawkes wouldn't be able to resist confronting Anders in some way! Even Hawkes who end up saying, "I'm going to personally murder Meredith this time." Is a mage-friendly Hawke just going to let characters like Karl Thekla be made Tranquil and be killed again?

Do Merrill and Isabella and Varric and Aveline not deserve to try and avert some of the tragedies in their own lives?

Like, it is totally reasonable for Hawke to be focused purely on their own family or the companions they like, rather than try to save every person in the city. I think it's more than fine if there are tragedies a protagonist just doesn't care about averting. Hawke is not even going to remember everything.

And it is VERY normal for people not to want to give up some measure of control over their lives, especially someone as traumatized as Hawke. I do often find it realistic that a lot of time traveling characters in fanfiction are kind of "control freaks" who don't want to be vulnerable, even if it's "safe" to be. I'm imagining that this future-sharing from Hawke would stem in large part from 1) exhaustion, 2) loneliness, and 3) Hawke being used to celebrity, due to the "Tale of the Champion", and somewhat blasé by this point about all the fucking shit they've been through.

And I think that spilling everything (or even just the basics) would not necessarily go well for a Hawke. I think Varric would take even limited information about Bartrand's future very badly. As strangers to Hawke, I think all of the companions would be upset and disbelieving. (I'm currently imagining a mage Garrett Hawke who previously romanced Merrill, so that he and Past!Fenris were barely friends, because Fenris didn't like this mage Hawke hanging out with a blood mage and Hawke kind of thought Fenris might turn him in to the Templars someday. Past!Fenris was more Isabella's and Varric's friend.) I think these new companions might go on to make some BIG mistakes trying to avoid the future that Hawke has described, as much as they might avert tragedy.

I also imagine that Hawke's relationship with this new Hawke family might be very strange and awkward, even if both Carver and Bethany live. Garrett looks like Malcolm and everyone thinks it's weird; Leandra is probably the happiest and most practical about it, but Garrett can't forget how his own mother died horribly and also blamed him for his own Bethany's death. Neither Garrett nor Marian know what to do about each other; Marian doesn't like some new person waltzing in and taking control of situations. Garrett unconsciously treats this Carver as older and Carver loves it, but Marian doesn't like it. Bethany likes having a mage sibling, but Garrett is awkward because he's used to Bethany being the Hawke family's perfect dead sister. And Leandra's shitty brother is not fucking helping any of this!!! And what's that about Leandra maybe getting murdered by a serial killer in the future???

By saying all of this, I mean to make clear that I really don't think "communicating" would immediately fix every problem for a perfect "Time Travel Fix-It". I do think it would fix SOME problems. Emotional conversations and immediate canon divergence also appeals to me because I like reading those things.

What I mean to make clear is that I think it would be fun to write something that explores autonomy, authority, agency, and control. There are many issues in the world that stem from people unwilling to give up control of a situation for a variety of reasons, and other issues that stem from people believing they have the authority to dictate other people's lives.

What right would a new Garrett Hawke have to withhold information and try to manipulate all of their strangers' lives? Especially from people like Anders and Fenris, whose stories are so deeply concerned with freedom of choice? To conceal backstory information from someone with amnesia, like Fenris, is a choice, and I think it's a cruel one, even if Fenris might not like what he hears and might react badly. Can Garrett Hawke really claim that he "knows best"? What if he doesn't know what's going on with this version of the world? What do you do when freedom means standing back and allowing some of the people you like and love to make "bad" choices?

Some time travel fics seem to me to be incredibly lonely. The protagonist trusts in no one. The other characters can be written as predictably following a timeline to the point of being shallow caricatures of people. It's just not to my taste.

It could be nice to explore Hawke finding new sides of companions that they missed in their previous "run" (which was very much not perfect and full of strife). It could be nice to explore an exhausted Champion learning to trust in other people and have them step up to help solve these shifting problems. DA games are so much about making choices for everyone around you: on behalf of your companions, on behalf of entire kingdoms, on behalf of the entire world. It might be fun to explore an exhausted older Hawke giving up some control and being pleasantly surprised on some fronts as paths diverge.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

just curious-- do y'all have romances in DAO/DA2/DAI where it completely elevates the experience you want from the game? And when you don't romance that character, the overall experience is actually weakened?

I want to know if others have this "If I don't romance this character this specific way, my game is ruined" thing like I do and over which characters.

I always consider branching out by making a separate timeline from my canon just to explore new choices and romances, and the only game I've been successful in doing that is DAI. But I try to romance someone new in DAO or DA2? I get maybe a few hours into the playthrough before I abandon it because I can't do it, it doesn't feel right!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Morrigan, Leliana, or Zevran, but if I don't romance Alistair as my Warden Tabris, I feel like DAO is just not nearly as impactful for me. Even though I know I would adore those paths!

Then there's Anders in DA2. There's lot about that route that upsets me, but does my Hawke always end up with him anyway? Yep. But, I've actually completed Fenris' romance, too, and honestly? Highly recommend it. Sometimes I think I should do it again or consider making it my canon- but it doesn't feel right.

My Hawke being involved with Anders elevates DA2 to an entirely different level that I don't feel I can get from the other love interests. And it's not like Fenris, Merrill, Isabela, or Sebastian aren't good options for my Hawke, but they're not Anders. Like what's even the point of DA2 if my boyfriend doesn't blow up a Chantry in the end?? Why am I even here, y'know??

Seriously, I want to know. This is a free pass to gush about that romance and why they make your game better.

[thatrandombystander]

Personal tier list of how likely I think past companions are to make a proper on screen appearance in Veilguard

S tier: Morrigan, Varric and Solas are already confirmed.

A tier: We're going to Tevinter, Maevaris Tilani is confirmed to be making an appearance. Dorian has connections to both, is well-liked among fans, and there's story room to explore with him especially in relation to the Shadow Dragons faction and his mission to better Tevinter. If he doesn't appear I will be legitimately shocked.

B tier: All three are fan favourite and I would be surprised if none of these three appear, although I don't expect to see all three. - We're going to Antiva and the Crows are involved in the game, Zevran fits in perfectly. - We're going to Rivain and the Lords of Fortune faction sounds incredibly suited to Isabela. - We're going to Tevinter and Fenris provides perspective as a character directly impacted by slavery in the Magisterium and he has been well featured in comics.

C tier: I think these characters have a good chance but I would still be pleasantly surprised to see them. - I can see Leliana, Cassandra or Vivienne appearing in-game as the Divine, although they may just be referenced via a letter or dialogue. If the Divine doesn't make an appearance I doubt any one of them would appear at all. - Shale has been in Tevinter and I can see them making a brief cameo appearance. - Merrill I think could appear in Arlathan Forest with the Veil Jumpers, but at the same time I feel like the devs might want to avoid including her especially since they've hinted at our protag having good reason to dislike blood magic? Although would love her Dalish perspective on the awakened Elvhen gods - Cole I can see making an appearance (maybe with the Inquisitor) as one of the only characters sympathetic to Solas as a person at this point

D tier: I think these characters appearing is unlikely but could still happen - Alistair has too many possible current states that feel like they'd be difficult to incorporate at this point. King? Warden? Drunkard? Trapped in fade? - Maybe Sten could appear among Qunari but I don't see any particular reason for him as the current Arishok to appear. - I would LOVE for Velanna to make an appearance. She would be SO GOOD to appear in Arlathan Forest as a Dalish perspective with her respect for their stories and history. Unfortunately being an Awakening character lowers her chances. - Anders my beautiful favourite is just too controversial and risky to include, plus I'm not sure how much he relates to the new game. This bad boy needs to be deployed when The Themes are right. - Blackwall, Iron Bull and Josephine all could easily make an appearance depending on what sort of direction the devs go with plot and events, but at the moment I don't have a reason to believe they would

F tier: I would be shocked to see any of these characters in game. - Wynne? Canonically died in the novels. - Loghain? Already had pay-off for keeping him alive via Inquisition appearance. Too many current fates (Dead, Warden, trapped in Fade) to make the effort worth the result. - Oghren? Do I even need to explain. - Nathaniel and Sigrun as mere Awakening companions (thus not as popular or well known) with little connection to the Veilguard story makes me doubt they will appear (even though I love them both dearly.) - Aveline and Sebastian are busy with their respective jobs, have little to do with the Veilguard plot, and are not very popular. - Bethany and Carver have too many current fate options and feels kinda pointless to include them in game unless Hawke is somehow relevant - Cullen... lol only if they recast him but I think Greg Ellis dug the character's grave. - Sera isn't that well liked by the fandom as a whole compared to other characters and I feel like she'd be avoiding any of the current veil related nonsense

[hungee-boy]

Feel free to ignore if you’re uncomfortable with or just don’t want to answer but how would you change isebela to not be caricature without changing the whole character? Would it be more fashion changes or physical or something else?

Kinda like: how would you change her if you were her character writer/designer for the new game?

isabela at her core i think is a very compelling character and is relatable to a lot of romani experiences, especially with her doing whatever she has to to survive

i would definitely keep her stealing as castillion's responsibility, him making her steal the tome of koslun under threat of death for example would be fine because if he wasnt in the picture, chances are she wouldnt have stolen it in the first place

other forms of thievery besides just like looting bodies and picking chests (as those are gameplay mechanics for all characters) shouldnt be for her enjoyment or greed, only for her survival or just not done at all

her staying a pirate is fine imo and i like the idea of her being an ethical pirate (like her freeing the slaves castillion had her transport) but we all need to look at how pirates are depicted in fantasy and how much of that is anti-roma racism and caricatures

her being so sexualized and her comments on "life back home" are where i have the biggest issues honestly

like romani women have always been targets of fetishization and sexual violence, as well as many women being sterilized without consent to prevent more romani children being brought into the world

getting some damn clothes on her would be a great start, like some pants at the very least. i would like to incorporate more romani clothing in her design tho like maybe a traditional blouse instead of her usual top

maybe a romanced isabela can have her replace her blue dikhlo with red, since wearing a dikhlo is usually reserved for married women of certain vitsas (most common with eastern european roma if im not mistaken) or giving her a red hipcloth (again specific to certain vitsas)

romani dress is usually modest and loose fitting, with women commonly wearing long skirts and blouses with jewelry and adornments to symbolize her wealth and status and im not saying isabela should be covered head to toe, shes an open person and not every romani woman should be expected to dress one way over another, its just her look is way too impractical for the sake of being sexy and again romani women are very often sexualized regardless of what they wear

isabela's attitude towards sex and being open to intimacy is not an issue on its own, what is the issue is how the writers make fucking jokes of her sexuality at every chance they get (like the std joke in anders' clinic, aveline's slut shaming, etc. etc. etc.....) and this is just my personal opinion but there are times that she comes on too strong to like hawke or carver or fenris that seems unrealistic and just like an attempt for the writers to further hone in on how horny shes supposed to make you feel

like yes have her be open and not ashamed of being intimate but put more love and respect on it. i love an isabela that is repressed in her own feelings and the only way she knows how to have meaningful connections is through sex cus thats what was expected of her. like oh my god do you know how many people relate to that, if its done right it could be a very compelling arch to her character and maybe something she learns isnt concrete the more platonic/romantic meaningful time she has with everyone in da2 and beyond

as for her comments about rivain and the people there, like the phrase "even deny a fortune teller and theyll run you out of town" to merrill, just makes rivainis out to be greedy and shameless swindlers and that projection is obviously also put on romani people since that is a VERY common stereotype

like the phrase "getting gypped" literally means to be cheated and comes from the word gypsy. theres no denying the intention the writers had when they wrote that line for isabela

and honestly i love the idea of rivain (i say the idea cus we only hear accounts of the nation, we havent seen it in person yet) i love the idea of a matriarchal society that is religious and spiritual but does not tolerate the chantry's bigotry and openly accepts society's outcast such as mages and qunari

romani culture irl is patriarchal and often anybody who is not romani is typically not trusted, but if rivain was treated as an idealistic fantasy romanistan, where our values and traditions are implemented and we make a better world for ourselves and other outcasts then it could be very compelling

thats the thing with representation, sometimes it doesnt have to reflect reality 100%, but it still requires knowledge so that you can make new ideas based on the facts and reasoning of the group youre representing

[anneapocalypse]

Why Anders and Fenris can't be friends (in the game)

Recently I made a short post that was supposed to stay that way, but instead it took over my brain for several days so I'm going to expand on it. In that post, I said:

"Why can't Fenris and Anders get along? Why can't they see what they have in common?" Because it's a story about how people can be practically and philosophically correct about a specific thing, and also get so mired in their own pain and trauma that they can't relate to people whose pain and trauma comes from a different source and who are right about something else, especially if trying to reconcile those two things would threaten their sense of self. And that is, imo, both more interesting and more true to the human experience than if they simply looked past all that without any difficulty.

So, with that as our starting point, why don't Anders and Fenris find common ground by the end of the game? Wouldn't that be a strong character arc for both of them, and aren't both characters lesser for not getting there? Is this an oversight, rushed development, bad writing?

I think the answer to these questions lies in the journeys that Anders and Fenris are each on over the course of the game, and in this post I'm going to explore both of their arcs a bit, where they’re both going and why their paths are divergent in the game. Specifically I mean to argue here that they cannot find common ground during the game because Fenris spends the game finding safety, while Anders spends the game becoming progressively less safe.

Disclaimer time! This post is not meant as a refutation of anyone’s ships or headcanons! You do you. What I hope to explore here is why things go the way they do in the game itself.

I’m also aware that this game has been out for over a decade, that there is nothing new under the sun, that both of these characters provoke strong feelings in a lot of us, and that some fans are just tired of hearing about them in general. If the latter is you, please feel free to scroll right on by; no need to inform me.

This analysis will necessarily involve discussing both characters’ flaws as well as their strengths (as well as those of some other characters), but it’s coming from a place of love and appreciation for these characters as complex and multi-faceted. Please refrain from expressing character hate on this post.

Content warnings: discussion of slavery, the Chantry explosion, abuse and trauma generally.

Anders' Journey

It has been said that Anders' character arc in DA2 is a downward spiral while Fenris is on a slow road to recovery. And I basically agree with that, but I don't think of it as a downward spiral in terms of negative character growth, precisely. While I do think there are ways in which Anders becomes less able and willing to empathize with others over the course of the game, I consider that more of a side effect of what's happening to him than a sign of him being on some kind of moral downturn.

To me, the downward spiral is that Anders spends the entire game losing hope.

As an apostate in Kirkwall (and a possessed one at that), I think it is important to recognize that Anders is never truly safe. It seems likely to me that the only reason he remains free for so long is because he happens to befriend some very powerful and influential people in Kirkwall—most notably, Varric Tethras, who is known to pay people off to keep his friends safe from the city's various criminal organizations, and I don't think it's unlikely that he's payed off templars as well.

Even in his closest circle of friends, Anders isn't completely safe. And it isn't Fenris who poses the greatest danger to him! The one character who actively suggests they turn in Anders (and Merrill) to the templars is Sebastian in Act III—and it's Fenris who brushes him off, telling him to "work it out with Hawke." I don't think Fenris would lose any sleep if it happened, but he actively declines to be a part of it. While Fenris is not above turning in mages generally (he will rat out Emile de Launcet to the Knight-Commander if brought along for “On the Loose”), there's no evidence that Fenris has ever made an active attempt to turn Hawke's mage companions over to the templars; if nothing else, he has too much respect for Hawke.

There's another companion who we know has turned mages in. Aveline and Anders get off to a pretty sour start right in Act I when Aveline asks if she can "consult" with him, and Anders guesses (rightly, it seems) that she just wants information on how to fight and kill mages. Needless to say, he is not forthcoming with help. Their Act II banter begins with Anders pointing out that she isn't a particularly mage-friendly Captain of the Guard, where Aveline counters that she’s only turned “a handful” over to the templars. Between Act II and Act III, there is a mounting tension between the two of them, with Anders in the final act doing his best to nudge Aveline away from defending the templars. Not even ideologically—he knows that's a losing battle with Aveline—but by bringing up Meredith's overreach and the fact that even Donnic doesn't agree with the Knight-Commander. When explaining to Hawke why he hasn't included them in the Mage Underground, Anders cites Hawke's connections to the nobility and to the Guard. It's no mystery who he's talking about.

There are people among Hawke's companions who pose an actual danger to Anders—and Fenris is not at the top of that list, no matter how much they may despise each other. And I think Anders' interactions with Fenris are especially vitriolic, not in spite of that fact, but because of it. I'd say similar of Merrill, the other companion Anders arguably has the most acrimony with. Neither Fenris nor Merrill poses any true threat to Anders. They are both elves who do not benefit from drawing attention to themselves; Merrill is a blood mage and Fenris an escaped former slave. While both of them hold views that make them philosophically or potentially dangerous, neither has ever actually acted against Anders.

Now, Anders does argue with Aveline and Sebastian. Repeatedly. He's not shy about stating his opinions and questioning theirs. But notice how the way he argues differs with each character. With Aveline, he appeals to her sense of order and propriety. With Sebastian, he appeals to his sense of righteousness. We see this particularly in Act III, once things have gotten especially dire. And he does start out similarly with Fenris, trying to draw a comparison between mages in the Circles and slaves in Tevinter—a tactic which utterly fails to move Fenris, and Anders drops it pretty quickly.

I think Anders' dialogue with Fenris gets especially nasty a) because Fenris is a rival against whom Anders can afford to vent his anger with less restraint, and b) because Fenris's existence makes Anders feel threatened in an entirely different way than Aveline and Sebastian. Anders knows that the Captain of the Guard and the noble-turned-Chantry-brother are not on his side, and it is in his best interest to be persuasive toward them, but also philosophically they're opposed to him in a way that he finds easy to refute. He is very firm in his convictions that the Circles are unjust and that they are a corruption of what Andraste taught and fought for. He may have little chance of actually persuading Aveline and Sebastian, but he's also in no danger of being persuaded by them. In other words, they may threaten his physical safety and that of other mages, but they do not challenge his core beliefs, his sense of self.

But Fenris does.

Anders has spent most of his life locked up for being a mage, running away and being caught, and subject to profound abuses. Since his final escape and joining with Justice, he has found purpose and hope in fighting for the cause of mage freedom. If his cause is just, then it is worth living for and fighting for, what he has lost he can endure, and what he’s had to do for that cause is justified. If he admits to himself that magic is itself a power that can be abused, that magic has anything to do with the atrocities Tevinter, that calls his purpose into question. If the unchecked use of magic has the potential to create a society just as unjust as the one he knows, that unravels his present idea of justice, which is quite literally part of his identity!

And maybe if this were a different story, Anders' arc would be about confronting those challenges and deciding how to move forward with them. But this isn't that story, because this is a story set in Kirkwall, where the templars' abuses of power over mages are happening right now, right in front of him, and every effort he makes to change that is systematically crushed.

This is really critical to Anders' arc! He is not a character who has spent the whole game achieving his goals and then escalating those goals. Almost everything he has tried to do has failed. And it's really not due to any strategic failing on his part; the Circle is just too powerful. His attempt to save Karl introduces this theme right at the beginning. Anders does his best; he does everything he can. But he is up against forces he cannot stop. Karl is doomed by the narrative so that we can understand what Anders is facing.

And it does not get any better! There's another tumblr post out there about how every companion quest for Anders is basically you go to see how he's doing, and he's doing bad. And it's true! Because things just keep getting worse. His Act II quest "Dissent" gives us a firsthand glimpse of the abuses taking place inside the Circle. "Dissent" is sometimes read as an example of Anders' paranoia, because both the Knight-Commander and the Grand Cleric had rejected Ser Alrik's plan to make all mages tranquil. I don't fully agree with that reading. Anders knows that such a proposal has been drawn up, and he is absolutely correct about that. He just doesn't know it’s been rejected, and frankly from where he’s standing, he has every reason to worry it might not be. Furthermore, Anders tells Hawke that there are templars within the Circle, most notoriously Ser Alrik, who are misusing the Rite of Tranquility even by Circle standards and who enjoy torturing and abusing mages—and then we see exactly that firsthand with Alrik and Ella, so Anders was entirely correct in that case.

By Act III, the Mage Underground has been completely dismantled, the Knight-Commander has openly seized control of Kirkwall, and half of Anders' own social group will still barely admit there's a problem. His ambient dialogue as early as the end of Act II is "I can't go on like this." It's hard not to feel the sheer despair radiating off Anders by the third Act.

His attack on the Chantry is not something he was always planning and working toward. It's a last resort he undertakes because every other avenue has failed. In seven years, he has helped to free individual mages, but he has made no progress toward dismantling or frankly even improving the Circle as a whole; in fact, it's only gotten worse. Now the lives of every mage in the Circle are threatened as Meredith seeks the Right of Annulment for little more than suspicions of blood magic. Individual rescues are not a solution. His written appeals to the public have had little practical effect. If he wants to save Kirkwall's mages, he has very few options left.

And if you listen to the way Anders speaks—if you look at his face after the explosion as he waits for Hawke's response—he is not happy about this. He is not dancing on the ashes. In fact, he looks heartbroken. There is collateral damage from the Chantry explosion and Anders knows there will be and he does not take that lightly. This is foreshadowed very well in a piece of banter with Isabela:

Anders: There is justice in the world. Isabela: Is there? You want to free the mages. Let's say you do, but to get there, you kill a bunch of innocent people. Isabela: What about them? Don't they then deserve justice? Anders: Yes.

Anders accepts this justice. He leaves Hawke out of his plans regardless of whether Hawke would have supported him because he means to accept the consequences for himself. He accepts whatever sentence he is given without resistance.

Regardless of how you feel about Anders' attack on the Chantry (and I'd prefer not to fight with anyone about that here), I recount all of this to make the point that his arc in the game is a long slide into despair and desperation, and for what I think are very understandable reasons. And over these seven years, it's pretty clear that Anders feels increasingly alone in his efforts. He feels like everyone is against him. There are things he feels he cannot tell even Hawke, no matter how supportive Hawke may be, because of Hawke's connections.

These are basically the worst possible conditions for a person to be able to extend patience and empathy to someone of very different experience with whom they are ideologically at odds.

Anders straight up doesn't have any energy, or emotional bandwidth, or whatever you want to call it, left for that. When he says, "I am the cause of mages. There is nothing else inside me," he means it. He is drained—emotionally, spiritually, probably physically, in all possible ways. He is particularly caustic in the back half of the game, and at times says some truly mean and petty things to and about other characters and I will not defend those things, but it is so understandable to me why he gets like this, stretched absolutely to the breaking point and ready to snap.

Anders' journey in Dragon Age II is a tragedy. Depending on the choices Hawke makes, it may not be the end of his story; there is still the possibility that he lives to see a changing world in which he himself can begin, after all these years, to breathe easier, to heal. I think that's going to be a long process, but it is absolutely possible.

Within the timeframe of the game itself, I don't think it is possible for Anders to go on the journey he's on and also figure out how to get along with Fenris. In fact I think those two things are antithetical to each other. Post-game, the world is wide with possibility. But not in the game itself. "Learn how to play well with others" (especially others who are diametrically opposed to everything he believes in) is so emphatically not the story being told with Anders in this game, and the entire climax of the game is built on top of the story it's been telling us with Anders. Because of that, I cannot see "Anders and Fenris become friends" as what could have been or what should have been. It's not just an add-on in this case; it's a change that rewrites the whole story.

Fenris's Journey

Upon arriving in Kirkwall, Fenris's history does at first glance share a lot of commonalities with Anders: he is an escapee who's managed to evade his captors for a few years now, and in Kirkwall he finds reason to settle down, though he is not out of danger yet.

But their paths start to diverge pretty much immediately.

First, let's just acknowledge that Kirkwall is, objectively, a safer city for Fenris than it is for Anders. That's not to say it is truly safe; Danarius is still hunting for Fenris and has connections in Kirkwall, and no human city is particularly safe for elves. Fenris finds himself pursued at some point in every act, culminating with Danarius himself in Act III.

Fenris is, however, much more able to defend himself against hired mobs of slavers operating illegally in the south than a lone apostate is able to defend him against an army of templars who have the backing of the city guard should they decide to actually come for him. Fenris's pursuers do not rule Kirkwall, and they don't have the guard on their side; they do not have a base of operations just a short boat ride away, and they are not sending troops to daily patrol the streets and look for a person of his description.

Had Fenris stayed in Tevinter, that would be exactly his situation, and if Anders had fled north, the templars tracking him would likely have faced more difficulty apprehending him. But this story doesn't take place in Tevinter, it takes place in Kirkwall, and Fenris has some advantage here just by nature of have escaped to the south.

Is Fenris truly safe in Kirkwall? No, and that's the setup for his whole character arc. The critical difference is that Fenris's arc is toward finding safety, while Anders' is not.

Let us note also that there is no one in Hawke's immediate friend group actively threatening to sell Fenris back into slavery. The Captain of the Guard, while she needles him about squatting in Hightown, also does not take the side of slavers. Even the pirate is against the trafficking of people. The only one in that group who has the potential to do such a thing to Fenris is Hawke, and only if Hawke decides to recruit Fenris, pretend to be his friend for seven years (even rivalries are still fundamentally friendships, just more challenging and complicated ones), before selling him out for, at most, a sum that should frankly be an insult to Hawke at that point in their career.

Hawke’s mage companions feel like threats to Fenris, yes, because his life experience has led him to conclude that no mage is truly safe. Anders and Merrill in particular represent the additional dangers of abominations and blood mages, respectively. But Anders’ core convictions pose a particular challenge not only to Fenris’ worldview, but to the very sense of safety he has only just begun to have.

Fenris spent most of his life enslaved and subjected to profound abuses. Since his escape to the south, he has found a sense of safety in the black-and-white concept that mages are dangerous and only non-mages can be trusted. If this is true, it means that in a world where mages are locked up, he can be safe. If what happened to him is, even in a broad sense, not unique to a land ruled by mages, then it could happen anywhere. (And unfortunately, that’s true. The slave trade is alive and well in the south, illegal though it may be, as we see in our many encounters with slavers.) If he admits to himself that many mages are just like him–subject to profound abuse and deserving of freedom—that sense of safety he is building for himself as a free man in the south is shattered. While he is still on the run, actively evading capture, this is not a possibility he is emotionally able to entertain.

It may be said that Fenris’s arc is about learning to let go of his anger; I disagree with that reading, or at least I think it is a very incomplete one. For one thing, it misses the very important point that the person his anger is for is still alive and actively pursuing him for most of the game. It’s easy to take Flemeth’s remark to Fenris, “The chains are broken, but are are you truly free?” as like, a philosophical statement, but no! He literally is not truly free so long as he still has to live as a fugitive, always looking over his shoulder, always waiting for the inevitable. He tells this to Hawke right in Act I: he will never truly be free until Danarius is dead, and if Danarius doesn’t show up eventually, Fenris will go hunt him down himself.

He is angry about this. He carries a deep rage not only for what has been done to him, what has been stolen from him, but also that even now Danarius is still taking from him and fucking up his life. Listen to the fury with which he says, “I was a fool to think I was free,” during “A Bitter Pill” in Act II.

And he needs that anger. Right now, that anger is still protecting him. It gives him the courage, as he says, to “turn and face the tiger.” His hatred of Hadriana compels him to seek her out and kill her rather than running again. And killing Hadriana is absolutely the right decision! There is nothing to be gained from leaving her alive, she certainly doesn’t deserve his mercy, and taking her out of the picture eliminates one more tool Danarius can use against him.

Where this scene shows Fenris’s need for growth is when he then lashes out at Hawke, regardless of their response. His anger isn’t the problem; his anger is valid and necessary. The problem is that it sometimes targets the wrong people: mages generally and his own friends in specific. But until Danarius is dead, Fenris cannot let go of that anger because it is necessary for his survival.

If you’re a Fenris fan, you know that moment in Act III in the Hanged Man, when he’s come to meet Varania and he sees Danarius. The expression on his face when the camera zooms in is nothing like the way he looks at Hadriana, with unfettered rage. The look when he sees Danarius is pure horror. He’s been waiting for this confrontation for ten years, but I think in that moment we realize he has also been terrified of it. He remembers what happened the last time he had a taste of freedom and Danarius came for him, and though he knows he has grown since then, those emotions are still there—the horror of having turned on the people who sheltered him, the shame of realizing how deep his conditioning was, the revulsion at what Danarius had made him. Anger has kept those feelings at a distance, but now, with Danarius before him at last, he must confront them all over again. Only this time, with friends at his back, he will fight.

With Danarius dead, it’s finally over. And whether Fenris chose to kill or spare his sister, he is now forced to confront the person he’s had to be to survive until this point.

The point of Fenris’s restlessness and dissatisfaction following his victory isn’t that killing Danarius was wrong or pointless. On the contrary: we have seen throughout the entire game that there was no other way for him to truly find freedom. At the risk of getting too clinical here, trauma (which includes long periods of unrelenting high stress) tends to leave people with emotions and coping mechanisms that were necessary for their survival at the time but become maladaptive once they are away from their trauma stressors. We have already seen this with Fenris, in the way his anger sometimes targets the wrong people, and Fenris himself is aware of this, at least in his interpersonal relationships: on his own initiative he seeks Hawke out to apologize after lashing out at them. In Act II, I think we even see the early stages of Fenris beginning to extend his circle of empathy after “Dissent,” when instead of calling Anders a monster, he suggests that Anders realize his limitations, adding that it was a suggestion, not a condemnation. I think it helps in that moment that Anders seems to take responsibility for what he did, or almost did, to Ella, even if he understandably does not react well to Fenris’s “suggestion.”

And now that Danarius is dead, Fenris is beginning to realize that while his fight for freedom is over, his path to healing has really just begun. There’s a reason he isn’t ready for a romantic relationship with Hawke until Act III, and it isn’t just that intimacy was triggering or the brief recovery of his memories upsetting. Until Danarius is dead, Fenris’s emotional growth really can only go so far, because he is still at least partly stuck in survival mode, and the anger and the blanket concept of “mages dangerous” are coping mechanisms he has developed in order to survive.

With Danarius dead, now Fenris can begin to let go. Now he can go further in examining who deserves his anger and who does not. Now he can begin to truly heal. And can he learn to sympathize with mages one day and stop seeing magic as the ultimate evil? I actually do think the answer is yes. But that’s at least a five-step plan, and his arc in the game is mainly concerned with accomplishing step 2. Step 1 was “Get out of Tevinter.” Step 2 was “make Danarius dead.” The next few steps are a lot less cut and dry, involving a lot of difficult emotional work. He has begun that process, but it’s a work in progress.

With friends to support his journey, I do think Fenris can still come a long way. I just don’t think he could possibly have gotten there before Act III.

Conclusions

Fenris and Anders are on very different journeys over the course of Dragon Age II. They cannot be friends or sympathize with one another in the timeframe of the game, not because they have nothing in common, but because neither of them are in a position to let their guard down in the ways they would have to in order to connect with each other. Neither of them have reached the level of healing they would need in order to do that, and it’s not possible for either of them to reach that point in the journeys they’re on during the game, with the stories the game is telling.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s not possible for them to reach that point in the future. Under the right circumstances, both of them may have the rest of their lives to heal and to grow.

[an-excellent-choice]

I was recently gushing at a friend about bg3 but didn't want to spoil her in the romance and the characters backstory.

So, I started comparing everybody with Dragon Age companions to give her an idea on everybody's personality.

Now I need to complete this list just for the sake of it.

Astarion: Zevran, Isabela, Morrigan

I know a lot of people compare Astarion and Fenris but honestly, I personally don't see them being similar enough( yes even with the slavery and white hair) they are just two different flavors especially in personality. They are similar in broad strokes but in the details not really.

Now with Zevran and Isabela, I can see. These two very sexual characters both use their sexualities and their daggers to manipulate those around them.

They both cope with their trauma with putting a mask of light heartedness and sexual freedom. The main difference of between Zevran and Isabela to Astarion is that Astarion is more upfront with his trauma.

The Morrigan aspect is his pragmatism. Astarion's killed or killed is similar to Morrigan. They both hate helping people as they don't see anything beneficial it. They are so used to the absence of kindness that any they see from the protag is seen as naivety or even fakeness because if there truly kindness in the world why did they never experienced themselves.

Gale: Anders, Merril, Solas

So the common trait I established from these characters that I see in Gale is them being blinded by their goals. These 3 all kind and mean well but they think their way is the only way to fix things. All these three are self serving to their selfish desires to the point it overwrites any kindness they have. They want to do something drastic to help others. Solas with elves, Merril her missing friends and Anders with mages but in the price of themselves.

Personality wise,Merril is also similar to Gale with her akwardness and naivety. Gale has a tendency to do akward moments in his enthusiasm and lackk experience in socializing. While the Solas is love information and informing others, he's very welcoming in sharing experiences.

Now, Anders. Specifically Anders dao and da2 Act 1-2 because Gale would never justify the means justifies the end mentality in act3 of da2. The basics commonalities: cat dad, mage, time bomb but the most damning similarity is that both Gale and Anders thought that they know better even though they were already warned. Gale with the piece of weave and Anders with Justice. They both essentially shot themselves in the foot by ignoring the warning signs.

(I'm not including Merril in the shooting of foot because her ritual was tampered she knew her risks and had actually prepared a kill switch just in case)

Wyll: Cassandra, Merril, Varric

The main thing I focused on this trio is responsibility. All these 3 has certain responsibility or expectations set upon them with a main conflict of whether they should just follow expectations or do their own will even at the price of losing support or their people

Wyll has heavy expectations on him and he himself always tries to put the well being of others before him even at the price of his soul.

Now personality-wise, Cassandra is an old romantic. Just like Wyll they both enjoy poetry and wooing. They both live for the romance even though they try hard to focus on only their duty they cant hide their soft squishy hearts.

Merril is kind and is always torn with her abandoning her duty to do what she thinks is needed to be done. She loves her people so much she will bear being seen as a monster to try to help them. *cough* wyll is the same*cough

Varric is charming as fuck but he also is kindaa running away from his responsibility until finally he was forced to take a stand. He accidentally helped start aspects of the mess but he will be damned if he doesnt try to help.

Okay, I'm running out of steam now. I'll do a part 2 for the ladies as this is also too long now.

[ndostairlyrium]

62 How would outside characters describe their relationship? For fenris/hawke?

Hey! :D thanks for asking <3

El Memo

I'm going with the format I used for Ankh and Cullen

Superficial; a mismatched couple, sunshine and grumpy, "I don't know how Hawke can bear with Fenris' attitude / how Fenris can handle that drunkard with the ego of a god"

On Hawke's side, we have Carver (for once, but he's the one who knows him best); "Brother looks unbothered only for show. He sulks, he thinks asking for help is too out of character, and he somatizes even the smallest things. Whenever Fenris is around, the mask falls and he turns into the patethic human being that he is. Which is good, he needs to be humbled. This relationship is the best thing that could happen to him. Fenris, on the other hand..." sighs "the poor thing."

On Fenris' side we have, surprisingly, Merrill, who's probably their #1 cheerleader; "Oh, Fenris is totally another person when Hawke's around! He laughs more, his sarcasm is less abrasive, and he stops at every dog to pet it. You have to see him, he checks on Hawke constantly. Like a bodyguard, but a bodyguard in love, A LOVEGUARD, and that's super cute! I'm worried for him, tho. Sometimes when they look at each other I can see a shadow of sadness lingering on Fenris' face, as if in front of him there was a gate nobody has the keys of. I think not all the things can be solved with love."

[godsgamefreak]

After 1354 saves and just over 60 hours, I finally finished my Dragon Age II re-play, the first of its kind since the game came out 13 years ago. I toyed with it for a bit longer, I know I bought the Mark of the Assassin DLC and I think I even finished it, but I barely remembered it. But not a single proper playthrough in 13 years.

In that time DA2 of course got ripped apart by the media for the glaring issues of developing a massive RPG in 16-18 months, like the re-used assets (particularly in dungeons) but I had remembered enjoying it well enough as I played. Though, I also had issues with a lot of the Companions at the time too.

After being quite soured in my playthrough of Inquisition a few years later, I had fully dropped the series, with little to no interest in anything it was doing (granted it wasn't a lot, with Veilguard only just recently being properly announced) outside of the animated series on Netflix which was neat. But with Veilguard around the corner, and over 10 years of life under my belt, I thought... why not give it another try, see what's different?

Turns out both not much and also a fair bit. The not much was how much I enjoyed it - while certain mechanics don't work the way I'd like or aren't communicated as well (I'm very sad I couldn't truly be a proper tank, since enemy threat was constantly all over the place) I still had FUN with it. Since I remembered being meh on a lot of the Companions, I made sure to keep a particular eye on them this time around and I came to realize I understood them all a lot more this time around.

Merrill held a conviction, though a dangerous one, and while commendable to hold to it despite understanding the dangers... was completely blind to so much more. A great comparison to Anders, who was so much WORSE than I remembered, finally coming to a head if you question him during his Act 3 companion quest. I literally had to get up out of my chair in anger when he tries to threaten your friendship over his cause ("trust me even though I lied to you" like fuck off man).

Fenris was still overly grumpy about so much, but the reasoning is still solid, and it was nice to see him loosen up a little here and there. Agreeing to drop the mage freedom topic with Isabela and deflecting with a game of "guess my undergarments colour" was wonderful. Speaking of Isabela, I'm definitely older and care less about her darker side than I did as a "young and pure paladin" of 20 years old. I even romanced her, due in part to a similarity to one of my wife's OC's. Her romance story ends so sweet too, and her story is quite interesting. I wish the game had more time to expand on both Fenris and Isabela's stories and personal growth.

Varric and Aveline are still great, I love how they individually check in on Hawke through the game. They feel like the closest friends you have, in that they check on you just as much as you check on them, with no other major goals taking up their time and attention. Though the Aveline vs Isabela lines feel like they get a little too catty, there was one scene of them laughing over a drink once that made me happy to see they could get along.

My biggest regret is that Bethany is so absent from Act 2 and most of Act 3, not even making an on-screen appearance over your mother's death - the quest of which still hits pretty hard, though I didn't fully realize it until afterwards.

All in all, it was wonderful to re-play it, re-experience it, and play it in its complete form start-to-finish, and did exactly what I hoped: re-ignited my desire to care about this dark fantasy world, and make me excited to play Inquisition again. This time with less faffing about, more paying attention, and spending more time with Companions (and other major characters). I barely remember what happened in the game, so it's almost like finishing a re-play of DA2 before the big new game comes out. I hope I really find something I missed in my first DAI playthrough that makes me love it after hating it for 10 years.

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Hey there! From the OC ship asks: 6, 14, 62, and/or 97 for whatever ships you'd like!

[ask game]

Hi, thank you for the ask! :] I'll just. Answer for all where an answer comes to mind xd

6. Who would ask the "would you love me if I were a worm?" question? How would their S/O answer?

Merrill would totally ask this when tipsy. The three of them would then get into a drunk sort-of-philosophical discussion about ethics and the intricacies of being a worm

Liam would ask it as a bit, Fenris would play into it, and Liam would have some silly punchline lol

Kala would ask it of the blue with no context, apparently 100% serious (probably??) Alistair would be totally stumped by the question and Kala would not elaborate on it or anything

June would ask this randomly too and Cullen would start sweating and frowning and asking why she is asking. No for real June why are asking WHAT are you planning?? She shrugs and says it's nothing (it was literally just a random thought said out loud)

14. What is something they argue about constantly? Is it a deep-seated issue or something small?

For Kala and Alistair one more serious disagreement that comes up now and then is about the Grey Wardens, since Kala doesn't feel much attachment or loyalty towards them and Ali, well, does. It never fully escalates but it's something they don't quite see eye to eye on.

Fenris and Liam occasionally have tension because of both of their overprotectiveness, which makes the other nervous, and gets Really Bad in the time after leaving Kirkwall for a while. They also have plenty less serious recurring arguments like how many pillows should be on the bed or whose turn it is to bathe the dog

Ari and Josephine sometimes get caught in a loop of "no you" of trying to get the other to take it easy, which sometimes gets both riled up, but at least when it comes to that they are both forced to admit that they are over-strained lol. Also post Trespasser they start disagreeing about Inquisition (?) (however that's called then) matters more often which uh. may or may not stem from disagreeing on more fundamental levels more often as well.

They do also love bonding by having tiny ridiculous argument about trivial things xd

June and Cullen start out arguing constantly about. practically everything lol. Even once they get civil-to-friendly they still argue about a lot of the same things, only now they're actually Getting Somewhere and Working Through Shit.

Later, one recurring argument is about June saying Cullen doesn't trust her enough vs. Cullen saying June is being too inconsiderate re: her tendency to get into Situations TM. He's overly anxious, June is quick to feel caged, it's something they gotta figure out together.

62. How would outside characters describe their relationship?

answered here :]

97. How do they wake their S/O up? Is it difficult to rouse them?

Liam has a habit of opening the windows in the morning which does wake Fenris up but does not make him get out of bed (cold! blankets nice and cozy!). By the time he's back from walking Skip though Fenris's had enough time to Actually Wake Up. With Liam the problem tends to be that he wakes up too easily rather than the other way round, and has trouble getting back to sleep once he's awake.

Lilian is a terrible morning grump but if you wake her after breakfast is ready then she will only be grumpy a little bit and will even do the dishes after (nothing like food to get you in a good mood u.u). If she's being extra crotchety or refuses to get up though then a cold wet cloth thrown in the face also works 👍It's rare that Lilian gets up first but when she does she usually doesn't wake Bela up.

June isn't easy to get out of bed but not too hard to wake up. a "good morning" and a lil shake on the shoulder will suffice but she Will need 3-5 business days (~20-40min) to actually get out of bed. The other way round, June likes getting one of the dogs to wake up Cullen lol. It's the quickest and the least likely to result in Lasting Grumpiness

Ari and Josephine are used to working on a schedule, so when they have time to sleep in they won't wake the other. But when they have trouble getting up cos they're sore or exhausted then Ari likes to bring Josie coffee (and pastries) to bed and Josie will sometimes give Ari shoulder massages

[thedragonagelesbian]

The Cyrus Extended Universe

I love one (1) elf very much. How much? So much that I can't stop putting him in scenarios, spawning an intricate web of AUs, LIs, and slight variations that, while perfectly sensible to me, is a lot for anyone else to keep track of.

This chart & the liner notes under the cut sketch Cyrus Hawke's development across DA2, as well as how I've reinterpreted the character in BG3 with links to fics & character & ship tags uwu

And, of course, there are some things that all versions of Cyrus have in common:

A lover AND a fighter

Sword & shield tank

Loyal as a pup and twice as pretty

Duty comes first, and his first duty is to protect & care for his loved ones

Struggles with his sense of self beyond that duty

Feels like he's always falling short of being good enough & constantly trying to make up for it

Difficulty connecting with his body as more than a line of defense

Sensitive about having his body modified with magic, including benign healing

Fears being made a symbol-- reduced to his armour, his weapon, his title, and made to be the instrument of someone else's will

Has had his kindness and eagerness to serve others taken advantage of

Can't sit still to save his life

Loves nature, gardening, and lavender especially

Stubborn, determined, bad at letting go

Despises injustice and abuse of power

DA2!Cyrus

Playable Elfs Mod

Start of DA2 (25)

Blue!Hawke. Defined by his cheerful, trusting, and giving nature, Cyrus' unwavering commitment to his friends, family, and community make him the brightest light in Kirkwall's Alienage.

But there's a dark side to his selflessness, which his new friends are quick to notice: his overprotectiveness, his willingness to sacrifice himself recklessly and needlessly, his singular regard for the well-being of others at the expense of his own, even the pride he seems to take in his ability to endure pain...

End of DA2 (32)

Red!Hawke. Bearing the weight of Kirkwall on his back has left Cyrus bitter, disillusioned, and tired. As the title of Champion has eaten away at him, he has had to fiercely guard his heart and sense of self, only ever softening for those he loves, to whom he is still ruthlessly devoted.

When Anders asks to pay the price for the Chantry explosion, Cyrus feels he has no choice but to oblige him.

Romancing Varric; QPPs with Merrill and Fenris; besties with Isabela; complicated mutually requited mutual martyrdom exes with Anders

Fics: Little Prince; if i was any closer i could only lose me

Pallybarb!Cyrus (~120)

Oath of Devotion/Oathbreaker Paladin & Wildheart (Bear Heart) Barbarian

Romancing Karlach & Halsin; ending in Avernus with Karlach and Wyll

Cyrus' oath was born out of pure, unadulterated, selfless commitment to those around him-- first the other orphans in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate, and then to anyone he came across as a young adventurer.

Initial unfazed by getting tadpole-d, Cyrus is devastated when he breaks his oath in the Shadowlands, viewing it as a profound personal failure and a sign of worthlessness. With Karlach's help, he comes to understand that neither he nor his value are defined by his oath, and he decides to remain an oathbreaker, despite the heavy absence in his soul.

Fic: h-llowed

Ranger!Cyrus (~250)

Gloomstalker Ranger & Champion Fighter

Romancing Wyll; ending as Grand Duke Wyll's husband

A century and a half ago, Cyrus was a selfless and naive paladin. He swore his Oath of Devotion to the exiled heiress of Iriaebor. Seeing the potential of his blind loyalty, she named him her Champion, and while he helped her reclaim her city, the two became lovers. As a ruler and a partner, however, she was despotic. Kept caged by her for decades, Cyrus eventually broke his oath to kill her.

He fled the city and made a new life for himself as a hunter in the Wood of Sharp Teeth, but he lived there in self-imposed isolation, determined never to let his guard down or let anyone into his heart again.

...Until he meets Wyll :)

Fic: The Cicatrix: The Functional Stage of Wound Healing

Durge!Cyrus (???)

Harbinger Aasimar (mod + head); Ghostslayer Blood Hunter (mod) & Ancestral Guardians Barbarian (mod)

What if you took a guy who has trouble defining himself outside of his ability to bleed and to make others bleed in order to protect his friends... and you obliterated every other reference point by which he might construct a sense of self. Would that be fucked up or what.

He is the sacrificial lamb he is the wolf in sheep's clothing he is the dog guarding the flock

Romancing Astarion & Wyll

[vigilskeep]

Hiya, do u have a carrd or anything with info on your ocs? I love reading about ocs n all that crap but the tumblr search function is like actually evil. Keir seems super interesting but it’s like killing me trying to find posts to recap his lore 😭

i don’t i’m afraid!! it’s just his enormous mess of a tag as the lore built up... i might make something sometime??? i hadnt thought abt it tbh. in the meantime feel free to ask me any and all questions even if it’s something i’ve probably already said, i love going over this stuff and will do so forever if even slightly prompted. on that note, if it helps, here is a briefly condensed version:

keir is a red personality (aggressive/direct) non-mage hawke. i did his full playthrough as a warrior, i sometimes talk about switching him to rogue, but the only really important thing is that he’s a reaver and will bite you for real

he’s a man of few words, extremely blunt and threatening to the point of being absurdly over-the-top with pretty much all strangers, and much softer but still bluntly earnest with the small group of people he considers his own. he considers himself first and foremost a protector and would do anything to keep those people safe. his father malcolm was a strict man who raised him to do this and he accepted that wholeheartedly. consider him a guard dog. killed his first templar in defence of the family aged 15

he adores and idolises magic and fiercely supports mage freedom, though ultimately he would absolutely sacrifice a wider “cause” if doing so would keep his mages safe. fortunately or unfortunately, he can’t do that because the two are inextricable

he’s a proud fereldan and cares very little for kirkwall (hates kirkwall. hates kirkwall. someone please get him out of here) and its nobility, which tends to show in his appearance and behaviour. long braided hair, the streak across his nose is kaddis, and takes his mabari, silla, absolutely everywhere

he’s elf-blooded via his father, who was the bastard son of a fereldan elven servant girl and an orlesian chevalier who was with the occupation

his playthrough has circle mage bethany. he adores her and he would do anything for her but her acceptance of her fate and disillusionment with his overprotectiveness meant they had an increasingly strained relationship. it was because she was trapped that he couldn’t leave the city. once he was champion, meredith essentially had a knife to his sister’s throat whenever she wanted his compliance, not to mention the looming threat to anders and merrill, making those three years the worst and most terrifying in his life

he romances anders! friendmance and they escape kirkwall together in the end. not always easy but he really loves him, justice half included. there’s a lot of lore here ummm if i mention the “and they were housemates” timeline, that’s my silly mutual pining alternate version of events where anders moves into the amell estate for safekeeping before he and keir actually get together. if i mention aura hawke, that’s the potential daughter i occasionally hc for them

he had previous relationships with morrigan (in lothering as young 20-somethings) and merrill (during act 1). you cannot keep him away from those romanceable mages

he’s still close friends with merrill. isabela is his best friend. he has a complicated, semi-antagonistic friendship with varric, who was really closer with anders but now after the fact doesn’t want to remember that. he deeply respects and is friends with fenris. he did rivalry with sebastian, but in an agree-to-disagree way where they considered each other friends nonetheless until All That happened. he had a more genuine rivalry with aveline though still coloured by their trauma bonding

i THINK those are the main beats of his lore but he’s my most discussed and developed dragon age character so i’m sure i’ve missed some of the assorted junkyard of thoughts

[scarfacemarston]

Fenris and Astarion are NOT the same character! No Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3

This is in my response to a post I made recently about how Fenris' tag is being taken over by Astarion. People think they're the same character. They're not. Far from it. I do not hate Astarion and I'm actually playing the game now. He's fine as a character. Sure, I could block the tag, but why go that far? I'm not tagging Astarion because why get into that mess? It's bad enough that I'm making this post considering how volatile fandoms can be. In common: White haired Elf Both have an evil bastard they want revenge on. Abused Intelligent Cunning Have character growth including relationships. Fenris: Blunt Stoic Commitment to promises (see his "debt" with Hawke.) Pessimistic Dry sense of humor Overall truthful - only uses deceit in the most extreme cases. (Twice.) Fighter Only wants to be left alone Formerly enslaved Dedicated to a cause - freeing enslaved people and enslaved elves. Dislikes touch Rarely speaks /makes friends - considered quite broody Loner Doesn't believe he deserves love Will die for his love or any of his friends Actually quite transparent about his love Desperate for family even when he knows it could hurt him in the end. While he dislikes mages, he can come around to being more lenient or even more accepting. Ex: Falling in love with Mage Hawke, being kind with Bethany, but Anders and Merrill are no go's. Extremely polite overall. (With the exception of a few.) Hiddenly Cultured /hidden skills-ex: history, culture, wine, books, talented with multiple languages and diplomatic. Overall has moral standards / lines he won't cross. He is cautious about helping others due to worries of manipulation - He worries Hawke will be taken advantage of, but again, is moral overall. Lives in a dilapidated mansion with hardly any possessions at all Astarion: Devil May Care Attitude Aristocratic / Fop Rogue Quest for power and dominance. Is overall fine with touch More willing to betray or trick someone. Broods some - FAR more social than Fenris. Very selfish Very morally gray to almost dark gray. Hates altruism in almost all forms. Theatrical Overexaggerated responses A liar A thief Possessive Obsessed with luxury Approves of some atrocities.

Please realize that my comments are character traits. This isn't about liking or disliking character. You can play DA 2 or Baldur's Gate however you like! There is nothing wrong with liking either character or playing Baldur's Gate as a grey to morally dark character.