#wade and herren

[my-dumb-obsessions]

Prompt:

“You know, I bet you I could make some amazing armor out of that archdemon’s hide.”

“Wade, no.”

“WADE, YES!”

Ladies and Gentlemen, Warden Commander and Enabler-in-Chief, Cariane Amell:

Commander Amell circled the mannequin at the smithy, holding up the silverite chain or brushing fingers over the plate as she went around, pretending to know what she was looking for. Herren had insisted she inspect the first model of the new guard uniforms before Wade began producing the rest of the order, though she thought it completely unnecessary. They were good materials and Wade was a genius, an eccentric one, but aren’t they all? 

Nathaniel watched her intently, doing his best to hide his amusement. The armor was obviously top quality, but Cariane being a mage (albeit one who could wield a sword) clearly had no idea what she was supposed to be appraising. As she crossed between him and the mannequin he touched her waist and bent to quietly offer rescue, “Shall I take over, Commander?”

She smirked and made a face that suggested ‘that obvious, is it?’, but responded generously, “By all means, Constable Howe.”

“This is excellent work, Master Wade.” Nathaniel called out to the armorer before addressing Herren, “You certainly did not exaggerate his skill, my friend…”

She stepped aside and let them discuss the finer points of metalwork, and turned to the courtyard to check on Voldrik’s repair efforts when a sharp sound interrupted her.

“Psst!... Psst! Commander!” Wade beckoned her with a stage whisper, quickly glancing back at his partner before gracing her with a charming smile.

“What can I do for you, Master Wade?” She approached and added, “The armor looks wonderful, by the way.”

A look of confusion crossed his face momentarily, “What? Oh, that. Yes, of course,” he dismissed the compliment. “I was wondering…” he had the look of a child about to ask for an extra cookie, “what did you do with the archdemon’s carcass after Denerim?” 

“The carcass?” The question took her aback. No one had mentioned the archdemon in months, except in the most abstract, heroic retellings of the battle. What does one do with an old god’s carcass, anyway? In fact, she knew exactly what Wade would do with it. “I…well, it was broken up and sent out for study. Wiesshaupt got most of it, I think the some of it went to the University of Orlais-”

“Did you keep any for yourself? Scales, hide, bone, perhaps?” He interrupted, clutching at her wrist with a hopeful grin on his face. “I could make you the most amazing armor from it!” The Commander glanced back towards the shop counter, where Herren was now watching their conversation with concern.

“Why, no, Master Wade…” she answered measuredly, and more loudly than she needed to, “of course not. Why would I keep a blighted dragon’s hide here in Vigil’s Keep?” She gave the armorer a conspiring look. Herren, seemingly satisfied, returned to his conversation with Nathaniel and Dworkin, who had joined them to discuss ways to incorporate explosive shielding into Wade’s pieces.

It wasn’t clear if he had picked up the subtext, “Oh that is a shame.” He crossed his arms and leaned back against his anvil, “What color was it?”

“Hm,” Cariane thought for a moment, “a sort of dark, pinkish violet, you could say.”

“Oh! That would have looked perfect with your complexion!” Wade lamented, reaching out to pick up a lock of her hair, “And with these beautiful brown tresses…like dark chocolate and raspberries!” She shook her head and bit back a grin, taking a spot next to him against the anvil and mirroring his posture. He had absolutely understood her meaning. Wade casually continued his - ahem, hypothetical - probing. “Did it breathe physical fire, or magical fire?”

“Oh, it was definitely magic fire,” she nodded, remembering the black and purple gouts she’d exhausted herself avoiding.

“Excellent!” He exclaimed, under his breath.

Cariane leaned closer and cautioned in a low voice, “Wade, you do know it’s blighted?”

“Yes, I’m aware.” He answered matter-of-factly. “I know how to handle dangerous materials.” He gasped to himself, “Can you imagine? The Hero of the Blight girded in the Blight itself, like an ancient horror out for vengeance!”

His excitement made her smile, “You’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you?” He only grinned and shoved her playfully with his shoulder.

Nathaniel approached the pair on his way out, “Master Wade, brilliant work as usual,” he declared, shaking the armorer’s hand. He turned to Carie, “I’m sure the Commander would agree.”

“Indeed, this is more than sufficient for our soldiers.” She asserted, “Thank you, Master Wade.”

Nathaniel subtly brushed her fingertips with his, “Shall I await you in your office, Commander?”

“Yes, Constable Howe, I’ll be there shortly.” She answered with a small smile. He nodded to Wade and headed back to the Keep. “Well, Master Wade, I’m sure you and Herren can take it from here,” she announced. “I’ll need our soldiers outfitted in the silverite as soon as possible.”

“At your service, Commander. Master Wade will get right on it.” Herren gave his partner a sharp look, “Won’t you, Wade?” 

Wade sighed dramatically, “Yes, yes. I’m a veritable machine.” Herren rolled his eyes and spared him a snicker before turning back to his inventory. 

When he was out of earshot, the Commander turned to Wade and advised, quietly, “Eastern cellars, second sublevel,” the armorer’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead as she continued, “first door on the right.” He allowed himself a small, giddy squeak before clasping her hands and thanking her profusely.

“Wade,” she warned, “this is a side project.” She looked up at him sternly, “Side. Project.”

He beamed and dropped her hands, “Yes, of course, Commander.” 

“My soldiers need outfitting.” She stated plainly.

“Understood.” He nodded, practically buzzing with excitement.

Cariane gave him a fond smile before turning back to the Keep. “Have fun.”

[bronsautracks]

So y’all just weren’t gonna tell me that Herren is a desire demon??!

[aces-to-apples]

Lmao I think Wade summoned Herren for assistance with making a special kind of armor, maybe for a commission, and Herren looked at his disastrous business sense and just went "well I can't let this continue" and stuck around Thedas to be his business partner. And then he fucked that old man.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Herren the Desire demon.

So one of the best minor twists in the original Dragon Age Origins, is the reveal that Herren is a desire demon, a reveal you will only ever learn if you play through the alternate timeline campaign Darkspawn chronicles where the main PC Warden dies and the darkspawn wins.

I love how this one, simple revelation completely turns over everything that the first game tells you about demons and spirits on it's head, something which would be expanded on in later games, but also how it fits in perfectly with everything else shown in the game.

While abominations creates absolute hideous monsters when formed, Desire demon abominations march to a completely different drum, as we see with Connor, where the demon leaves him perfectly physically healthy.

Desire Demons also are the only ones in game who flat out does not need an outside body at all to function, as shown with Kitty not having possessed a cat, but instead taken the form of one.

They also have far more well thought out and logical plan making than any other demons, capable of making plans that could actually work in the long run.

Which brings us back to Harren, the lover and business partner of the genius blacksmith who forges your best blade in awakening, and dragon armor in origins.

Here we see a Demon that has integrated completely into human society, has found an actual relationship with a human that satisfies his needs, and as shown with the way he acts exasperated by his lovers eccentric nature, he has clearly grown beyond the basic nature of a desire demon, into a human who at the end of the day, still retained his demonic powers(as we see in the darkspawn chronicles.

In other words, he is a demon version of Cole, introduced long, long before Cole was a thing.

I love how you can go back to the start of Dragon Age, and realize that they really had figured out the rules of this universe from day one.

[wylldebee]

Dragon Age Inquisition AU where Wade and Herren temporarily join the Inquisition at Skyhold. That's it. That's the AU. You get to see and interact with Wade and Herren again; you get to hear how things are going at Vigil's Keep and Amaranthine; and you get to hear tidbits of your old Awakening companions plus a bit about your Warden before leaving with Morrigan/leaving to find a cure.

[salemcantupdate]

Anyone remember Herren and Wade from dragon age origins/awakening?

Well first of all, they’re married

Second of all, herren’s, as in the bird, wade in the water. Which means…

Herren does Wade

Ship has sailed let’s go baby

[magerightsmagefights]

On Ferelden Love

So I just found out that Arl Eamon had two dads, and as I’m replaying the games I’m getting the sense that Ferelden just has no stigmas around relationships that other nations seem to have. Like certainly LGBTQ+ people exist everywhere, and nowhere in Thedas do they seem to be actively persecuted/harmed on account of sexuality, but most places seem to treat same-sex attraction as more of a “character quirk” than anything. Tevinter and Orlais seem to be in the same boat that a person, especially in the higher classes, is to marry an opposite-sex partner first and then take care of “personal tastes” on the side. Orlais also seems to have the Social Status of “mistress,” i.e., “officially recognized extramarital female lover of a wealthy/titled man,” but it seems unclear if there is an official equivalent for the lovers of wealthy/titled women. In any case, Orlais certainly has Rules for How Things Are Done, even extramarital affairs; the role of a mistress has a certain set of behaviors and expectations associated with it.

Then, Ferelden. Kingdom of Dogs. At the very least, we know that exclusive, monogamous same-sex partnerships are not strange enough to remark upon; i.e., Wade and Herren in DA:O. Are they married under Chantry law? I don’t think it’s ever confirmed, but I don’t think they couldn’t be. I think it’s notable that Sera, being the only same-sex romance option you can explicitly marry, is Ferelden.

Back to Arl Eamon tho. So yeah he had one mom and two dads, who seemed to all be mutually involved, and he referred to both men as “Father.” The non-nobility father, btw, was named Connor and is the person after whom Arl Eamon named his son. All this leads me to believe that this poly triad was common knowledge, and, like Wade and Herren, was something no one considered strange because Fereldens just Don’t Care About People’s Business. There is even some evidence that King Calenhad, the one who made Ferelden into Ferelden, had a “special friendship” with his advisor Aldenon the Wise. So “special,” in fact, that Calenhad ended up abandoning his life as king and going off into the wilds to search for Aldenon, never to be seen again.

And let’s also note that Bann Teagan, Eamon’s brother, has the option to flirt with a female Warden regardless of origin. The way it’s worded seems to imply he is, at the very least, not opposed to the idea of marriage -- even with a non-human, even with a mage. While we tragically cannot pursue any romance, it does tell us something about the world: while Ferelden royalty is bound by obligation to marry opposite-sex humans of appropriate social caste, it seems that middle-nobility is a bit more flexible.

Since society is still society, and heads of government in a monarchy are expected to produce more heads of government, I would guess that Bann Teagan is expected/required to marry a human woman to carry on the noble line. I would also expect him to be fully aware of this, and so I believe that his flirting with a female Warden, even the playful inquiry about marriage, does not interfere with Teagan’s duty to marry someone else. He was, after all, raised by three parents just like his brother; the remarkable thing here is not the implication of a possible triad, but the implication a possible triad where the word “marriage” applies to multiple partners. Coming from a Bann. Coming from someone in line to be the Arl of Redcliffe.

Could Bann Teagan and his family be outliers? I mean, I guess it’s possible. But also consider, nobility is ALWAYS held to a higher standard than commoners when it comes to “official” relationships. They are expected to keep producing heads of state, after all; they tend to get married younger, have less control over who they marry, and their behavior reflects more on their family. Also consider that the Guerrin bloodlineis highly influential -- the previous Queen of Ferelden was Eamon and Teagan’s sister! While they certainly have the influence to sleep with whoever they like in private, Eamon and Teagan must absolutely marry within acceptable the acceptable social norms of Ferelden. And if the nobility can form triads, including common-knowledge same-sex relationships, that means commoners can probably do all that and more besides.

All this together leads me to believe that the Ferelden definition of love, and even of family, is much more flexible than most nations. While hetero, monogamous marriage is what we see the most of, I’d guess that it’s not the normal relationship type so much as the most common one. I’d go so far as to wonder if maybe there just isn’t such thing as a “normal relationship” in Ferelden; that there are just relationships, and that’s that.

[corys-clutter]

Enchanted Blacksmithing, Unbridled Chaos, and Learning to Love: A Handbook

By aelfricofeynsham

Dagna/Sera | enemies to friends to lovers | slowburn

Cory's very professional review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

majorly recommend this fic!! it's amazingly well written and the plot is so compelling!! other features I love are:

Wade/Herren and big found family vibes

Bodahn and Sandal!!

trans!Sera and she's so carefully and thoughtfully written

excellent characterisation of both Dagna and Sera, plenty of realistic introspection and development

banter and humour is spot on, lots of funny moments!!

give it a read, you won't regret it!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48372643

[inquisimer]

all up in my DA awakening feels once again

[tevinterdays]

i cannot emphasize enough how much roland and lacklon mean to me

ofc i expect queer characters in da, but in film and tv etc, i'm so used to queercoding or accidental tension. this applies across the board, but it's being fulfilled more often as time goes on. so infrequently with mlm relationships.

i wasn't surprised when miriam and hira kissed - it was a pleasant affirmation that the series wasn't chickening out or being pressured out of rep for purposes of the show. and we've had a handful of canon wlw relationships in da, of varying visibility and relevance. celene and briala (ech), vaea and charter, sera and dagna (conditionally/in the bw canon timeline), branka and hespith, maybe others, that's just what's been in the media i've consumed.

mlm-wise, with named characters, there's dorian and bull (conditionally), karl and anders, and zevran and taliesin (and rinna).

out of these, branka and hespith, karl and anders, zevran and taliesin are are completely off-screen, all being in the past, and the latter two are conditionally revealed to the player.

anyway i fully expected roland and lacklon to just be awkward teasing through the end, one-sided and miscommunicated, maybe lacklon was actually straight, whatever. and they actually fucking kissed and . sdkghsdkgsdhf. jesus christ. jesus CHRIST

meaningful. i can't do analysis or anything here i'm forgetting how to type. your honor i love them they are so important

[belleropheon]

I want Wade and Herren to make an appearance in DA4.

I want o see Herren with white hair while Wade still talks about his ultimate masterpiece he crafted so long ago for the Warden Commander

[nebulousmistress]

A Master's Work

Chapter 8: The Dragon's Heart

Chapter 8 of 9 and hot damn I'm almost done with this fanfiction rewrite of Dragon Age Awakening. Fuckall I am glad I didn't do this with the rest of the series. Nooo, those are merely being flooded and expanded and developed with a hundred little stories.

I'm not sure that's an exaggeration either. The series is already at 56 separate stories and I am not done. I keep finding more. And more.

And more.

The Dragon's Heart, the crafting of Vigilance and Justice's Oath to Aura. The final chapter before the endgame and the assault on Vigil's Keep. One more chapter after this.

[trans-ruffboi]

what if Herren was also annoyed at the Warden bc they brought Wynne along to the emporium, and Faith was being so damn smug about Desire settling into exasperated domesticity

[ustalav]

i don’t want sandal back but i DO want wade and herren back

[danielnelsen]

TO BE FAIR……..if sketch and tug were canonically a couple, id be mad at the bury your gays. they’re still obviously a couple, but..idk that would have sucked too. but it still probably would have been better..?

[sugarbubbleslove]

Deep Roads Part 2

So I'm finally getting around to doing the deep roads with Damien Amell (I ended up redoing him because I wasn't too happy with his set up and since Origins doesn't allow you to respec...well, I'm just glad I kept a save in Ostgar and I've been feeling crappy thanks to my hayfever so it took me a while to feel up to playing Origins).

And it's fun with mana-clash.

But this time I killed both Avernus and Sophia...it was an interesting change but I feel it's more in line with Amell because he doesn't really like demons nor does he think Avernus should get away with that.

(I spared Avernus with my Cousland but I might change it, I don't see her being happy that most of her family was slaughtered because of Avernus and Sophia...hmm).

and did you know that if you go to Wade after collecting one scale, you can talk to Herren about the scales and Wades tells you that you need to collect more, either find it or kill more drakes and Herren freaks out saying that if the Warden and co kill more drakes will make them unstoppable.

That was so funny and I really wished/hope that we get more Wade and Herren because they are awesome.

But here I go, let's take down the Broodmother (urgh) and take Branka's head (again).

I kind of hope that Deep Roads makes an appearance in the next DA game but no more broodmothers, I hate the damn things. And I wonder if Golems will make a reappearance.