#there's lots of inquisitors too I'm just in a warden place more often. only a few get mentioned usually but they all live in my head.

[thedastrash]

OC Tag Game!

Ooo thanks for tagging me @kittynomsdeplume & @cleverblackcat!! This took a while to get to but it was very fun!

Favorite OC: Evil question to start. I can't possibly choose unless I set some limits for myself so I'm going to cheat and say my most popular OC. I have the most art of her by no fault of my own. Velaneth Surana is my canon HoF and Warden Commander. Vela is a very open person: never lies, has no body shame, and loves to learn about other people and where they’ve come from. She walks into every hostile situation with her best foot forward trying to make friends and allies.

Newest OC: I’m slowly congealing my ideas about Orlagh Trevelyan because I’ve been imagining what the different cultures of the Freemarches look like - especially on the coast where trade is frequent. She’s from Ostwick of course and trained as a Templar as a youth but spent summers at a monastery with her aunt in Wycome which I imagine a bit like Morocco. I’ve been staring at my Pinterest boards imagining her lonely days growing up and what it means for her to leave her walls behind and be thrust into this new organization with all these people and their differing ideals. I'm particularly interested in exploring her being a templar but having some latent magic that has been tied up in her templar abilities so long she didn't realize it was ever there.

Oldest OC: In DA my oldest OC is Topaz Brosca from my original run of origins. The one where my save got deleted right before the Landsmeet lol rip. I've recently revisited her and I'm falling in love with her again. She's a hot trans girl and stabby rogue and she falls in love with the surface world immediately. My oldest OC ever though... might be a self insert hobbit character I made for myself as a child before I knew what fandom or fanfiction was lol! I think her name was Charlie? my memory is BAD but I know that's a name I loved as a kid.

Meanest OC: Szadrine Aeducan is my final origin from DAO to get an OC and I'm slowly growing deeply obsessed. She’s involved in (literal) cutthroat Orzammar politics and ends up skipping the warden bit after the whole betrayal and exile thing. She simply deserts at Ostagar. I think she should end up kicking ass in Orlais because she would be so good at the Game.

Softest OC: Bearnard Cousland is a soft, sweet, bookish baby-gay who would rather bury himself in his research in a library than seek glory or fight battles or do politics. Bearn is the second son so he’s gotten away with avoiding some of that but of course he has to attend his lessons and participate in the tourneys. His scholarly work lends him some political savvy since he’s intimately familiar with Ferelden’s history, but he’s most interested in lost texts and translating ancient works. He never had good gay role models growing up and thinks of himself as homely and forgettable, so he never felt like that was an option for him, but Maker does he ever pine lol!

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Gotta be Irene Amell. She's a real bitch with resting murder face. Incredibly unapproachable, intimidating Domme energy. Tends to default dislike people and keep to herself, prefering to slink around and eavesdrop than talk to people for info. She’s very protective and loving toward her close friends and lovers, but it’s hard to get close in the first place.

Dumbest OC: Myrna Hawke is a smart woman, she's an accomplished mage, enjoys reading, quick witted, but she has zero self-awareness and has a very hard time even understanding how she feels, much less how other people feel about her. She’s absolutely clueless and fully blindsided by anyone’s interest & gets tongue tied and stupid when she’s horny. She’s also very impulsive and acts before she thinks things through which leads to getting into a lot of dumb shit.

Smartest OC: There are excellent contenders here: Bearn with his book smarts and Topaz with her street smarts, but I want to say Ithadhea Mahariel because even though they are incredibly dense when it comes to interpersonal relations, their wealth of traditional knowledge from their clan is incredible. They are not really a people person, usually quiet and solitary, but they took to hunting like they were born for it and eagerly learned everything in the realm of woodcraft and survival. They know all their clan's stories by heart and and know resources by seasons in a way that is part of their internal clock. I think this kind of generational knowledge probably outstrips the scope of any of my other OC's knowledge.

OC I’d Be Friends With: Edric Cadash is so laid back and friendly I think he’d be one of the easiest to make friends with. I want to have tea and gossip with him and have that turn into late night drinking and telling stories by the fire. Vela would be an instant friend as well; she wants to befriend everyone and she'd have an easy time with me!

no pressure tagging some of my DA OC enjoying friends: @sinquisition, @highwayphantoms, @lets-get-brave, @sandalinbohemia, @dismalzelenka and anyone else who wants to share! Feel free to @ me so I can see your post! <3

[elvhenprince]

621 words revanni and sulevin, the herald and the inquisitor, hanging out together in the time after sulevin was given the Big Promotion

After all that happened in the last few- fuck, three weeks? Maybe a bit more? Things were just. A lot.

She can't get the image of Corypheus' ugly mug out of her head when she falls asleep, and Sulevin had been helping her by actually controlling what they got to see in dreaming. Useful, having a dreamer friend like that. But he had been there with her, and just as affected, so sometimes- sometimes in the distance of the dreams, she saw that figure.

Better than seeing that mug up close though, she'd still take it.

This morning they agreed to wake early and meet in the courtyard for a bout of friendly sparring. Sometimes, just hitting things is what they needed, and especially after the entire Official Promotion of Sulevin being the Inquisitor and herself being everyone's damned Herald.

Revanni's always been able to let people think whatever the fuck they wanted, but having a whole damn group of faithful worship your ass when they didn't care about you just a year ago-

Yeah. Well. Even that's a lot for her.

Maybe it's just easier for the both of them to still see each other as just a bunch of fuckers trying to stay alive and do the right thing, because they knew each other from way before.

Sulevin was still just a very well-trained mage and leader to her. It wasn't divine intervention or anything, for either of them- Revanni's seen how he managed his clan, and how his Keeper taught him before. It's all years of training on how to keep a bunch of elves alive and away from human trouble, now applied to an entire Inquisition.

For her, it's years of being a pretty damn good merc, and learning how to talk in place of Shokrakar. She loved her merc leader, honestly, but Shokrakar's gruff and extremely direct way of talking often prickled their clients, and Revanni had to soothe things over often.

They wind down, and headed into the tavern once it's open to just drink. Shitty ale for her, passable unburnt tea for Vinny.

"Look at us," Revanni said, gesturing between them with her tankard. "Bunch of weirdos now with too much on our heads."

Sulevin just sighed, and downed his tea, shaking his head. "They do not seem to care what we say for ourselves. Whatever we do inspires more Andraste talk."

"If it helps, I've always just believed in you cause I've seen how you were like with your clan."

That drew a smile from Sulevin, and Revanni always was happy to see that. The man was stern enough most days, and he really needed to smile more. "I know. I feel the same. You and your group."

Believing in people, instead of unknown powers. That's something Sulevin had mentioned once, and Revanni felt the same.

"Hey," Revanni spoke again, after another swig of ale, "If.. this is all over, do you think we could just.. live our lives?"

"No," Sulevin said quietly. "As much as I wish to, I do not think so. Mahariel - the Warden - has not returned to the People. I expect matters may end up similarly for me."

Revanni grimaced, despite knowing that it was the only answer. "I'm gonna still try and get a vacation, anyway. You should come with me before getting into whatever other shite the world's gonna throw at us. They probably don't know what we look like somewhere, right? I'll get Dagna to make something to cover up this hand, and we can go somewhere. Maybe Antiva. We can hang out with the Montilyets, get a taste of their vineyards."

Sulevin laughed, and it's a nice sound when he actually did. "I'd like that."

[aqueouserbium]

I'm feeling like having a word vomit regarding Dragon Age romance.

So, like, a few weeks ago now I finished a replay of Dragon Age: Inquisition with a Solas romance (wanted to see what all the hubbub was about). I also struggled and struggled and eventually got Dragon Age: Origins to play on my computer, so I started that (still crashes but can sustaibably play for a bit if I don't tab out). Since I couldn't start at DAO, I spent time reviewing stuff in Dragon Age Keep.

I've already ranted about how I got cucked twice on PS3 from a Leliana romance, and how that first time led me to romance Morrigan (didn't finish the second one out of spite), but that led me to experiencing moments in my first (and, for a while, only full) DAI playthrough to have tidbits of Warden×Morrigan dialogue, so I didn't get to experience anything from what I had hoped to experience with Leliana. I thusly proclaimed in DAK that the Warden romanced Leliana. And every moment Lady Nightingale shared with the Inquisitor about the Warden was just about everything I needed. It was great. 10/10 will do again.

Regarding Hawke and the Dragon Age 2 romances, I've always been enamored by Merrill. She's so damn cute and driven and studious and ajhsvrosj. Naturally, I set her as Hawke's romance in DAK. Unlike Leliana's dialogue, though, I didn't get much about Merrill. You don't spend enough time with Hawke for the Inquisitor to become friends with the Champion, and I yearn for my powerful blood mage.

In DAK, I maintain a "This Is My Ideal World State—My Personal Canon" option, and it changes every so often if I care enough to review it. Naturally, this replay and re-dive into Dragon Age led to me caring, so I went through it all again after finishing DAI. All the art I've seen on here and the continued excitement of the fandom despite only having blips of communication and non-game media from BioWare helped push this, too. Despite my absolute love for Leliana and Merrill, I think my headcanon for the overall story has changed.

I think it's become Warden/Morrigan and Champion/Fenris.

For the former, a male Warden being Kieran's father sends me to a place in my mind that I haven't yet explored, and I love that. I don't remember much of any of the connection being deeply regarding in my first DAI playthrough, but I want there to be more for it, and I think this situation will be incredible. I'm sorry for taking the love of your life away, Leliana. I still love you.

For the latter, I've seen some amazing art depicting Fenris finding Hawke in the Fade, and there's something about it that just fucking slaps so damn good. I don't doubt that Merrill would do the same, but Merrill has a lot of responsibility that she's taken based on what I know from the games—she has other people she needs to protect. I don't know—maybe I just feel like it'd be garder for her to pursue Hawke with all that. (NOT TO MENTION THAT BIOWARE FORCES HAWKE TO BE VERY AGGRESSIVELY ANTI TO BLOOD MAGIC IN DAI WHICH EITHER MAKES THEM A HYPOCRITE ABOUT MERRILL OR FUCKING ABUSIVE TO HER.) Again, I don't fully know, but Fenris going after Hawke in the Fade is just a powerful image that I love so much. Merrill I absolutely love you, and I would never talk shit about blood mages in a general sense that would have to include you because it's said so generally.

In regards to DAI romances, my first was Cassandra, which was partially accidental because I was kind of flirting with a lot of people but would often talk to her first. I really liked it, too, especially when she and my Inquisitor would hide away with each other once she was the Divine. There's something so sweet and powerful about that. However, I feel like the Solas romance will end up being my ideal canon. I don't know. It wasn't that it was exceptionally fantastic to play through, but I think it has the greatest potential for intrigue in future games, especially Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (obviously). Like, The Iron Bull is hot, but his romance is weirdly lacking after climax, with sex being one of the only obvious elements of it. While I love Cassandra as the Divine and romancing the Inquisitor, I think I want Leliana as the Divine, so that plot intrigue becomes limited. And the other romances, while often enjoyable, just don't have the power of plot driving them for me. (I desperately want to romance Scout Harding, though. So bad. I know she can get with Sera, but I'm down for a throuple.)

All the romances (except Sebastian) have their merit and fun, but Morrigan–Fenris–Solas will probably keep as my canon. Kind of sucks because I normally like with queer ships but I see my Hawke as female.

[becky-helene]

Random video game wondering. Long post, sorry mobile app doesn't allow for "read more" and I'm too lazy to post this via means that do have ability to insert "read mores".

I have a question for people who play rpg games (specifically Dragon Age and Mass Effect since those are the particular games I’m more so thinking of, not to mention the only ones I’ve played….or played a bit of and plan on playing more of in ME’s case…but question also applies for Fallout, Skyrim, or any sort of game that allows for character creation and multiple playthroughs so as to experience different story outcomes)

Do you generally consider your first go through of the game/first created character as your main or “canon” game/character? Or do you hold off on really thinking about canon or main until you’ve found the “type” of playthrough (character, romance, story choices, etc) you like the most? (Or don’t think about canon/main at all and are just like “hey, chill, you’re overthinking”, which is a valid avenue to take too lol).

----(cue contemplating own Ryder options, feel free to scroll past if uninterested)----

I’m all bouncing in my seat waiting for Andromeda, and in that excitement I’ve been contemplating on my Ryder. For now, all I’ve really come up with is that I know it’ll be sisRyder, most likely she’ll embody the “precious cinnamon roll, with the occasional snark” archetype since I tend to gravitate towards that a lot, if hairstyle options include any curly or at least wavy options I'll most likely be using them, cause well duh lol, and….that’s kind of it. Well, there’s also practically a folder full of possible names that I either need to trim down or at least settle on some finalist for first Ryder while holding onto the rest for future sisRyders.

I’m still flip flopping on who she’ll romance. Partly because we don’t really know who is romancable by sisRyders…..but mostly because I can’t decide between Liam and Jaal (assuming they’re romancable at all, let alone by sisRyder). Liam is adorable and my Death in Paradise and Downton Abbey fan self is all “yes plz!” at Gary Carr voicing him (though good god I was not prepared for full Brit accent Gary/Liam. Oh god send help I’m dead).

And Jaal….well, Iron Bull is my #1 Video Game Boyfriend, and I’ve developed serious Garrus love even without playing the whole trilogy for myself. So, clearly large nonhumanoids (and sporting some sort of eye covering apparently, since they’ve all got that in common….oh, and scarring of varrying degrees) that invoke feelings of “fuck, I’d climb him like a tree” is my video game boyfriend type. I’m not discounting the idea of Vetra being my video game girlfriend for a later Ryder regardless of who she’s romancable by, but for now my indecisive ass can only handle two candidates.

A part of me is wondering if I should come up with in depth character study, personality, and what not, and really make Ryder to be like….the best and most (at least to me in my own head) fleshed out as she can be, as I've seen other people doing in preparation for their Ryders. But then another part of be is like “why are you obsessing? She’ll just be your first Ryder, who knows if she’s your main”. Which is true. None of my “main” Dragon Age characters have been my first.

---(long drawn out oversharing of Inquistors/Hawkes/Wardens, again, feel free to scroll past if uninterested)---

For Inquisition, what would be come my canon type of game (f!Adaar mage romancing Iron Bull, mage allies, Wardens stay, I think Orláis outcome that would later become my canon was first used here being reuniting Briala and Celene, Inquisitor drinks from Well, Leliana as divine) was my second ever playthrough.

But it wasn't until I'd played through different characters, romances, choices, etc, before I realized that was my absolute favorite. And it wasn't until my I think 20th/5th (if counting both current games and the games I lost when my PS3 had a meltdown and I lost all my save files/only counting that which I've played since upgrading to ps4) game in total that I declared Yasema Adaar (I think 13th/3rd of f!Adaar mage Bullmances) as my main/canon. And the only reason she beat out previous f!Adaars for "canon" title was because she was the first character (f!adaar and otherwise) I stuck through the entirety of all dlcs with, as supposed to giving up on JoH and/or Descent halfway through and moving on to Trespasser. So, that feat alone deserved the title of main/canon character.

As for my main Warden and Hawke, Hawke is somewhat similar---my favorite "type" of Hawke (f!Mage Fenris rivalmance) was maybe my 2nd or 3rd ever DA2 game (2nd was maybe mage and Fenris friendshipmance, 3rd was when I was like yeah I'm kinda liking the rivalmance). The particular Fenris romancing mageHawke that inevitably became my canon Hawke was just the one of many other mageHawke Fenrismances that I happened to have used in putting together Yasema's world state. So she became canon by default.

Ditto on my Warden. My first ever DAO playthrough was an f!Cousland rogue romancing Alistair and became his queen, my second was f!Amell romancing Alistair and became his mistress when he became king. My Amell became canon because, again, by default due to making the Yasema world state triple dose of mage ladies.

Although, if going by what type played most often.....I guess DAO stands apart from DA2 and DAI in that while those two my most played type became canon, I only have 1 Amell playthrough verses like....3 or 5 Couslands, if counting one that I was in the middle of when playstation had its meltdown and I lost saves thus incomplete game, and another that's from me trying to recently revisit DAO on a computer and I gave up on and is therefore also incomplete unless my console gaming preferring self returns to it at some point.

If we're counting only complete plays, then it's about 3 Couslands, 1 Amell, (also have half of an f!Aeducan that was meant to serve as the third Alistair romance outcome of the two remaining Wardens together, but that got cut short due to PS3 having a second and this time fatal meltdown halfway through playing).

And as for Mass Effect, well I'm still in the middle of attempting to play the original trilogy on PC. It's slow going due to my aforementioned dragging my feet when it comes to PC gaming. So, my Shepherd will automatically be my canon since she'll be the only one most likely lol.

----(okay, enough blather, back to the actual point)----

Okay, this got a lot more long winded and ramble-y than originally intended. Sorry about that.

Anyway, so yeah, just curious about anyone who does declare specific portags as their canon/main in any of these sort of games. Is first automatically canon to you, or do you take a wait and see approach before declaring what is your main play through?

Oh and somewhere in all my rambling I think I lost the reason by I started this post in the first place, which is that I'm treating my first Ryder as if she'll be my main/canon, when really my history has shown first ever play through=\=main or canon down the road. Isn't it fun when your ADHD makes you easily distracted *and* hyperfixated? :/ lol