#warden iris amell

[runespoor7]

recently started a new DAO playthrough on the heels of my friend who we got playing it for the first time

Warden Daphnis Surana, details under the cut

female Surana meant for an Alistair romance (there's at least two more variants of the Alistair romance I want to hit, and my Aeducan playthrough left me feeling weirdly Iike feelings-wise she should have broken up with Alistair and ended up with Zevran; she was very much not a romantic playthrough but it left me a bit unsatisfied looking back). This time around I'm thinking of starting to date Zevran+getting a romance flag of Alistair and breaking up with Z down the line to romance Alistair (Zevran is so perfect for the role of "fun bf for an elf who wants adventure and doesn't like the system, before that elf realizes they want sth else than what Zevran has to offer"). Hopefully this works out; I've identified a couple possible entry points to initiate romances with vibes that I like.

What I have about her backstory so far is this:

- spent her childhood in the Denerim alienage with loving parents and a sibling

- when her magic became apparent, her parents tried to hide it, had a lot of late-night discussions Daphnis wasn't supposed to hear, tentatively probed Daphnis asking how she'd like to live with her aunt near Amaranthine

- the plan was to get her out of the city before the templars caught on, and to her aunt; there was a vague idea that they should get her to a Dalish clan, where the templars couldn't reach. Better she be with the Dalish than stolen and locked up in a tower.

- Daphnis and one of her parents started the journey, travellers in a merchant caravan.

- unfortunately someone must have sold them out because templars definitely showed up looking for her, and her parent got killed

- she hasn't been to the alienage or seen her remaining family since then

- it was traumatic and she hates the Circle, even if she also loves it, even if it's home now

- she wanted out and to DO STUFF! She was jumping up and down asking Duncan "oh me me me!!!!" when he showed up CLEARLY looking for a new mage Warden ("take me! take me!!!!" but you know, trying not to sound uncool about it)

I'm at Broken Tower, and it's been very fun to see how this Surana is reacting differently to Greagoir than my Amell did. Daphnis Surana is much more outraged at Greagoir on the grounds of Greagoir admitting that he ran and abandoned every mage behind. She never liked templars, but what good are templars if they won't even do their job (stop abominations)? Greagoir is a coward and there is no justification to templars existing if they can't be bothered to do their job. (She also took the part where Greagoir calls non-mages "innocent people" pretty badly, but less so than Iris Amell.) Iris Amell, when she entered the Tower, meant to murder every templar she could, get every mage out, and was planning on how to deceive Greagoir as needed. Daphnis is really hoping to find Irving, but her view on demons and blood magic is a lot less indulgent/approving than Iris's. Which is interesting, because she's supposed to learn blood magic after Redcliffe!

[curiouslavellan]

NEW HAWKE NEW HAWKE!!! 👀👀

Lol hi Moss, yes new Hawke! I still need to make her properly in game and I might try DA2 mods for the first time so no screenshots or anything rn. But I've been thinking about this character a lot, especially in making different choices than my main Hawke, so she's mostly blue, very conflict avoidant (especially in Act 1) likely to the point of helping the templars, and I'm going to see how much I can make a mage Hawke more like Leandra than Malcolm. And I know for sure that she's very anti blood magic right up to (and after) All That Remains, where she becomes a blood mage herself

[gayhawkelatehomicide]

Updated Protagonist List

I'm going to add images to this, so it's going beneath a readmore for length reasons

Wardens

Aridhel Mahariel - bow rogue, romanced Zevran, straightforward dalish who neither understands nor cares about shemlen (or durgenlen) politics, blood magic is probably fine as long as you use it responsibly, anxious and blunt. "Let's focus on stopping the world-ending plague of darkspawn first, and worry about the rest of this bullshit later, hm?"

Saffron Cousland - sword and shield warrior, romanced Alistair, noble in every sense of the word but cheerful and friendly, Queen of Ferelden, Arlessa of Amaranthine (and Highever), killed Rendon Howe with her father's sword, fixated on duty. "Because it's the right thing to do."

Theodore Amell - arcane warrior mage, romanced Morrigan, bastardization arc powered by Morrigan whispering bad ideas in his ear, loves his terrible witch girlfriend, blood magic is fine and the chantry is oppressive, ambitious. "I am no longer baby, now I want power."

Renan Tabris - dagger rogue, romanced Leliana, exactly zero patience for shem politics, raised Andrastian (derogatory), canonically kind of a bitch, evil sense of humor, loves her stupid new shem baby brother, harden everyone, distrustful. "Like dogs, Shianni."

Valda Aeducan - two handed warrior, romanced Leliana, honorable and serious, trusts no one, girl raised in harsh political nonsense learns to trust her found family and forgive her bio family while unlearning bad lessons simulator, sneaky/quiet sense of humor, intense loyalty to her people, values tradition but values compassion more, genuinely regrets what happened with Trian. "For the honor of my house, though I myself have neither house nor honor."

Emmaera Surana - blood mage spirit healer, romanced Alistair, fey and strange, sweet but a little out of it, she and Merrill would get along so well because they both just say what they mean, falls for Ali like a ton of bricks after trusting him exactly 0% at first, has a council of spirits that advise her, definitely more than a little possessed, Templars aggro on sight, besties with Morrigan. "The Chantry won't tell you anything useful about the Fade, but I could. If you want."

Ashaterylen Mahariel - champion fighter, loves Morrigan but it's complicated, aggressive and no-nonsense, adopts Alistair as her comic relief to fill Tamlen's shoes, Not Okay™ but doing a good job regardless, my only warden who straight up dies, but we still get Kieran because magic, rather laconic, probably my most heavily headcanoned origins character. "Duty trumps sentiment. Every time."

Hawkes

Iris Hawke - knife rogue, romanced Anders, diplomatic but also way too intense for her own good, loves mages so much, circle mage Bethany, will do anything to protect what's left of her family, noble impulses but awful sense of humor, fanatic, very angry underneath her shell of politeness, diplomacy as a tool. "Why don't we try asking the Arishok nicely?"

Ian Hawke - elemental mage, romanced Fenris, sarcastic, sided with the templars because magic is an essential part of him but it's brought nothing but grief to him and his family, templar Carver, quip for every situation, never loses his positive outlook for long, self-loathing but doing his best not to make that everyone's problem. "Dad did WHAT for the Wardens? Why am I not surprised."

Kiera Hawke - two-handed warrior, romanced Isabella, sarcastic → aggressive, sad bastard warrior Hawke, everyone who gets close to her dies, Bethany dies, good attitude wrecked by the wear and tear of life, loves her buddies who are also terrible, angry and broken. "You tell me where Bartrand is, I'll help you wring his fucking neck"

Alice Hawke - knife rogue, romanced Merrill, circle mage Bethany, p much pure diplomatic, diplomacy as a way of life, mom friend central, no one is irredeemable, far too trusting, kind of a busybody, always thinks she knows best. "Clean your blades, watch your purse strings, don't be a dick."

Delilah Hawke - entropy mage, in love with Varric, pure sarcasm, sends Carver to the wardens, adores her stupid chaotic bisexual family, beat down by this world but stubbornly clinging to joy, flat refuses to talk about her problems. "Where would I be without my trusty dwarf?"

Quinn Hawke - blood mage, romances Anders, red from the beginning, low-key an asshole but also high-key he just doesn't know how to communicate, oldest sibling syndrome turned up to 11, inspired by Harker Zevsurana's Kier, fuck you mage rights. "Well, shit."

Andy Hawke - force mage, romances Anders and Fenris (it's complicated), strong purple laugh-or-cry type, so many canon alterations but the twins both live, grows a lot over the course of the campaign, big fuck the chantry, uses their staff as a polearm bc they're not great at magic, easily my most headcanoned Hawke. "Have any of you guys considered having a normal reaction to anything? Ever? Didn't think so."

Inquisitors

Miriani Lavellan - assassin bow rogue, romanced Solas, confused hardass Dalish girl doing her very best to navigate suddenly being in charge of all of this stuff, cares so much about everyone all the time, terrified but resigned to her responsibilities, self-sacrificing, sense of humor buried under all that sincerity. "I am the Inquisitor, through no virtue of my own. Vir suledin nadas."

Asher Adaar - two-handed warrior, romanced Sera/nobody (bc I meant to romance Sera but didn't know the right dialogue options so I kept waiting for it to pan out and it just sorta didn't), blunt and direct Tal-Vashoth mercenary who gets persuaded that maybe she actually is the herald of andraste, but honestly just wants to handle the things with as little religious and/or political nonsense as possible, blunt and violent. "We save Thedas TWICE, my hand wants to kill me, we save the exalted council specifically, and this is what we get?"

Stephan Trevelyan - rift mage, romanced Cassandra, a good sweet Andrastian boy, true prophet who has a meltdown when he finds out about Solas, best friends with Dorian, keeps the inquisition and wants to really save the world, a genuine idealist, stubborn AF. "Faith is a choice. The Maker set these events in motion so long ago we can no longer see His hand in them."

Samahl Lavellan - tempest knife rogue, romances Dorian, cheerful, sarcastic, and overwhelmed, insanely competent but good at hiding it, terrible little bastard, hates responsibilities, laughs in the face of danger (and Cassandra), keeps insisting he's not the Herald, kinda lazy. "I guess I'm learning now, aren't I, Mother?"

Riska Cadash - artificer knife rogue, romances Sera, direct and sometimes brutal but ultimately caring, criminal upbringing noble fashion sense, besties with Blackwall, andrastian and confused, consistently astonished by how easy it is to get things when you're the most important person in the world, one of my younger inquisitors but she doesn't act like it very often, really only when she's with Sera. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Dahlia Trevelyan - mortalitasi lightning mage, romances Blackwall, cheerfully irreverent young noblewoman flexing the edges of what she's allowed in this new role, filled with chaos and violence and entitlement. Fully does not believe in the Maker. Classically beautiful but with blue-gold eyes that go past "striking" into "genuinely unsettling" and, she caught some shrapnel from a spell gone wrong with her face a few years back so she's got distinctive scars. "Hey, look, at least dragons are real."

The Trio (all of whom have individual playthroughs but also come as a set)

Isene Lavellan - fire/rift mage, romances Iron Bull, primarily jokes and asks questions, basically a horrible mix of Miriani and Samahl. Sweet and a bit of a brat but ultimately up to the challenge. A disaster at the winter palace. Her general response to her workload getting heavier is to adjust the straps that hold the world on her back and carry on with a smile. "Bull, remind me why I accepted this job? Oh, right."

Harea Lavellan - knight enchanter and ice mage, romances Cullen, open minded and sweet, a bit naive but genuinely wants to make the world better, distressed by the mark and the everything but willing to bear it to keep others from suffering. Self sacrifice is a big theme here. Just a little (read: protected like Wynne) possessed by the actual spirit (of Wrath) who was attendant upon andraste, so she is quite literally the Herald. "No one is irredeemable!"

Rogelan Lavellan - sword and shield warrior, romances Josephine, kind of a hard-ass but willing to be romantic, would rather talk than fight but won't give up his ideals, careful and deliberate in everything he does but bold when he's made a decision. Stoic and pithy, but can be eloquent if he needs to. Understands shem bullshit better than most, because he's the kind of guy who studies the things that scare him. "Tell me how to help."

Continuities

Primary "Cannon" Continuity - Aridhel, Ian (or Iris), and Miriani - Protector, Catalyst, Survivor

Strong code of honor - Saffron, Iris, and Asher - Shield, Dagger, Sword

Fucked Up Andrastians - Theodore, Kiera, Stephan - Ambition, Sorrow, Faith

Terrible Senses of Humor - Renan, Alice, Samahl - Vengeance, Kindness, Laughter

Wrongest Choices - King, Viscount, Divine (I haven't actually made this playthrough but is a male rogue cousland, probably a guy Hawke as well and obviously not a mage but idk what class, and fem warrior Trevelyan)

Dwarf Run - Valda, Delilah, and Riska - Honor, Love, Trust

Definitely Not Possessed - Emmaera, Quinn, and Harea - Council, Temptation, Authority

Three Inkies - Ashaterylen, Andy, Rogelan/Harea/Isene - Sacrifice, Victory, Vigilance

[m-m-m-myysurana]

My ever growing list of Dragon Age OCs, made using This Picrew

Neria Surana | Elior Surana | Leah Amell | Olinda Aeducan | Rhian Mahariel | Iris Brosca | Amika Tabris | Eira Lavellan

I was tagged by @icy-warden and @scribbledquillz (thank you lovelies 😘)

And I officially tag anyone who wants to join in. This is a gorgeous picrew! I've had a lot of fun playing in it 🥰

Bonus Zev and Neria 😚

[lyntergalactic]

DA DRUNK WRITING CIRCLE PROMPT INFO

i'm one of those writers who delights in reading and writing all kinds of things. i love all the DA NPCs and am a huge multishipper so feel free to get creative in my inbox. i prefer prompts that aren't dialogue/sentence starters, but other than that... go ham.

also if you're nabbing a prompt from a prompt list, please copy paste the entire prompt into my inbox so i don't have to have the list open in another tab.

if you want to learn a bit about my PCs, check out this dreamwidth post or scroll further down for a very brief run-down on some of their canon relationships. i'm also cool with writing default protags though they... may grow into new PCs, i make no promises lol

specifics i'm especially feeling this week:

ships: juniper/solas, iris/sebastian, hadley/cullen, alistair/zevran, blackwall/inquisitor, blackwall/the warden

platonic pairings: blackwall & alistair, bull & solas, varric & solas, cassandra & solas, linden & solas (it's a solas kind of week, okay...) hadley & alistair, hawke & varric, iris & fenris, fenris & sebastian

prompt lists/types: h/c tropes, a softer world, non-sexual intimacy, things you said, prompts from poems

canon character relationships:

hadley amell - romanced leliana but they break up a few years pre-inquisition; eventually gets together with cullen; very close friends with alistair, zevran, and nathaniel; was close with anders and misses him muchly; adores shale and sten and the feeling is... potentially mutual??

iris hawke - romanced sebastian and they've got a queerplatonic thing with fenris; has another weird queerplatonic thing with anders; loves carver to bits and pieces and has an... Interesting relationship with him; pretty much considers varric family; surprisingly friends with cullen.

juniper lavellan - romanced solas; adores her little brother and tag-along linden; very close with dorian, cole, and bull; has a bit of a fraught relationship with sera; admires cullen, cassandra, and varric.

linden lavellan - seriously looks up to bull and varric; has Mixed Feelings about solas; wants to be a little like viv when he grows up; he and more human!cole have a cute puppy crush thing on each other by the end of the game timeline

laoise cousland - romanced alistair; besties with leliana and zev; surprisingly close with nathaniel? and is friends with oghren after he sobers up; has a weird relationship with anora that blossoms after laoise and alistair take the throne

catherine trevelyan - romanced cullen; looks up majorly to vivienne and cassandra; loves hanging out with varric and dorian and solas because she's a nerd. started off slightly intimidated by bull but now they're bros.

the mega prompt list dreamwidth post

[feeshies]

my dragon age characters and their love interests for my third worldstate

joyce amell/aminah ihsan | lena amell/merril | iris amell/sera

world states 1&2

[pinayelf]

I'm a bit scared to ask this off anon (idk, dont wanna bother ya!), so here we go! Can you talk a bit more about your HCs for Seheron? I'm super curios :0c (-☣️)

Nope it’s not a bother at all lol, I could go on about my Seheron headcanons all day lmao

Disclaimer: These are all headcanons used in my personal canon and not official canon, nor is it the only right way to headcanon Seheron.

In my headcanon, Seheron is the Thedosian equivalent of the Philippines, which disclaimer is my own headcanon so anyone is free to have their own since there is no official Bioware canon

The reason I headcanon Seheron as the Philippines is because a lot of the lore regarding it reminds me of or parallels to the Philippines. There’s rice terraces there, there’s rainforest and from the looks of it a tropical climate

Seheron has also been occupied for some time by both Tevinter and Par Vollen, the Philippines has a long history of being colonized and occupied and I saw parallels

In fact from the wiki: “The fog dancers tell stories of the land Seheron once was. They say that the griffons of the Grey Wardens came from Seheron. They speak of the ancient Curse of Nahar that brought the fog, and the promise that will one day lift it. They tell about the March of Four Winds, about the lost people who fled to the northern islands and about the heroes who learned from the elves.“

That reminds me so much of how much pre-Colonial Filipino history has been lost or how things from then have been changed and shaped so much from the different countries that colonized and occupied us

A lot of the architecture in Seheron is largely based off Tevinter styles, which means Tevinter culture is now rooted in modern Seheron society, much like how Spanish and Western things are prevalent in modern Filipino society

Now heading off that - if you ask Bull about Seheron he talks about how there are ports and towns and civilians - these would be the people who live in ~modern (or more or less the culture that assimilated with Tevinter and Par Vollen influences) Seheron society. Then there are the Fog Warriors, who in my take are people who stick to the old ways of Seheron culture long before Tevinter took over.

Some general Seheron headcanons:

Seheron is not an Andrastian country. Even with outside influences, the constant warring between Tevinter and Par Vollen wasn’t enough to influence one singular religion. The main religions would be the Qun, Andrastian, and native Seheron beliefs

The main exports are rice and fish

Many native Seheron people have fled and moved elsewhere due to the war tearing the country apart (hence why my Amells, Couslands and Trevelyans have Seheron origins)

The fish sandwich thing Bull mentions a merchant sold is something like lumpiang sariwa, which is different ingredients wrapped in a soft spring roll wrapper.

The language they speak is based off Tagalog (and maybe some Ilonggo if I can figure out how to do it)

People from Seheron typically have Malay and Austronesian features - brown skin, black hair and dark eyes. So similar to people from Southeast Asia. 

Fog Warriors

The Fog Warriors use both magic and melee in their fighting, that’s why they seem to slip in and out so easily without detection

They have their own religion

They are humans and they are friendly towards elves - in fact in my personal canon The Fog Warriors and Clan Bahaghari (the clan my Lavellans and Marikit’s mom originated from) cohabited with the Fog Warriors as they both sought to keep each other safe from slavers and the war. 

The Fog Warriors have a leader with the title “Lakan”, which is also the title of a leader back in pre-Colonial Philippines around the Luzon region. 

The leader of the Fog Warriors was named “Ilao” and she led her troops to save Clan Bahaghari from an Tevinter slaveship and died protecting them, so Imryll’s middle name is “Ilao” after her. She then names her daughter after her as well. 

The Fog Warriors also speak Seheron

They treasure their mages and have their own schools of magic, much like the Dalish and the Chasind. Also like the Dalish they are attuned with nature magic, similar to keeper magic (like Velanna’s specialization)

Seheron elves

It’s extra dangerous for elves in Seheron due to the large Tevinter presence as well as the number of elven slaves on the Island

Like how Dalish elves from the South can speak common Dalish elves from Seheron can speak Seheron.

Most Dalish clans have long left Seheron due to the danger, Clan Bahaghari was the last to leave

Seheron elves have a distinct type of eye, which is that their iris is black and there’s no pupil, just a ring of white there. It sets them apart cause I think in some canon text it’s mentioned that dark-eyed elves are rare? I dunno lol, but I made this trait specifically because of that factoid.

So far that’s all I have! There’s more little details but this post would be 700 miles long lmao, but if there’s anything else I think of I’ll add something!

[thethirdamell]

I'm this close to selling my soul for more AO, but I would settle for more music that inspired it. Pretty please. No pressure, tho.

This is definitely not all of it but I spent a couple hours trying to sort out my playlists so here’s … some. None of them are hyperlinked because. I don’t have anything neat because half is on YouTube, half is on Spotify and none of it is neatly organized. I just really hope the read more works. Make Ready.

Fan Playlists

Amell / OghrenAfterlife - Ingrid MichaelsonCups - Anna KendrickI Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab For CutieToast to Tomorrow - Blackmore’s NightFollow - Crystal FightsOne Last Drink - Enter the HaggisHeroes - AlessoOne Bourbon One Scotch One Beer - George Thorogood

Amell / Zevran (Amell’s Perspective)Ship To Wreck - Florence + The MachineDarkside - Alan WalkerAmellControl - HalseySticks and Stones - The PiercesIcarus - Bastille / Icarus - ChristonAll The King’s Horses - KarminaWhite Flag - Rose CousinsWarrior - Paradise FearsPlay With Fire - Sam TinneszBlack Magic - Digital DaggersShort Change Hero - The HeavyFar Too Young to Die - Panic! At the DiscoJokes About EyesEyes - Kaskade Look at Those Eyes - Alexz JohnsonOpen Your Eyes - Snow PatrolHawkeHey Brother - AviciiLuck - American AuthorsI’m So Sorry - Imagine DragonsGame - Smash MouthGuilty Filthy Soul - AwolnationRed Eyes - The War on DrugsAre You Ready - Distant CousinsWarrior - Paradise FearsSinners - Barns CourtneyFire - Barns CourtneyHome - American AuthorsChampion - Fall Out BoyLosing My Religion - R.E.M.Bartholomew - Silent ComedyBeliever - American AuthorsDavid - Noah GundersenAmen - HalestormSail Away Sweet Sister - QueenBusy Earning - JungleHero - Family of the YearThe Other Side - SireniaAndersLocking Up the Sun - Poets of the FallStill Frame - TraptRun Boy Run - WoodkidBattle Cry - Claire GuerresoAll on Fire - Cut OneMy Demons - StarsetBurn the House Down - AJRHopeless Opus - Imagine DragonsMelanie Martinez - SoapBe Okay - Ingrid Michaelson Whistle (While You Work It) - Katy Tiz Blackout - Breathe Carolina Make Them Hear You - NineFight Song - Rachel PlattenSentimental Scar - IrisJusticeGlitter and Gold - Barns CourtneyAnders / KarlNot Gonna Get Us - t.A.T.u.Yours Truly - Paradise FearsAnders / Amell (From Anders’ Perspective)Apple - Joe BrooksHold On - Chord OverstreetRun - Snow PatrolDreaming Wide Awake - Poets of the FallSay You’ll Haunt Me - Stone SourFlesh - Simon CurtisTrust You - Rob ThomasWorld Spins Madly On - The WeepiesCan’t Feel My Face - The WeekndDo I Wanna Know? - Artic MonkeysWon’t Let Go - InMeSay You’ll Haunt Me - Stone SourPlease Don’t Say You Love Me - Gabrielle AplinAnders / Amell (From Amell’s Perspective)Bad Romance - Jay SmithYellow - ColdplayYou Owe Me Nothing in Return - Alanis MorissetteFor Your Entertainment - Adam LambertCut Your Teeth - Kyla La GrangeDesire - Meg MyersAnders / Amell (Either Perspective / In General)Spectrum - ZedMagic - Mystery SkullsIrresistible - TemposharkBruises & Bitemarks - Good With Gernandes American Beauty / American Psycho - The Whole Album - Fallout BoySuper Psycho Love - Simon CurtisAnders / Hawke (From Anders’ Perspective)Sweet Nothing - Calvin HarrisHeavy In Your Arms - Florence + The MachineThe Peasant’s Promise - Blackmore’s NightBetween Wind and Water - HaelSave Me - GotyeWhen You Say Nothing At All - Ronan KeatingAddicted To You - AviciiAppetite - IrisRoses - Poets of the FallAnders / Hawke (From Hawke’s Perspective)Love You Madly - CakeHuman - Gabrielle AplinMy Obsession - Cinema BizarrePainkiller - Three Days GraceSpit It Out - IAMXDevil’s Backbone - The Civil WarsWith You - Dan Gautreau & Wolfgang BlackOn Your Side - Gabe DixonLast of the Real Ones - Fall Out BoyLift - Poets of the FallAnders / Hawke  (Either Perspective)How Do You Feel Today - Gabrielle AplinBattleships - DaughtryA Lot Like Love - The VoyagersIris - Goo Goo DollsHow Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harrris Beautiful Now - ZeddAnders / Justice (In General)Phantom & Justice - Old Man CanyonI Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie War - Poets of the FallDark Doo Wop - MS MRJekyll and Hyde - Jonathan Thulin, Rapture RuckusHearts a Mess - GotyeKryptonite - 3 Doors DownTrip the Darkness - Lacuna CoilSuit - Boom! Bap! Pow! Sad Song - We the KingsEverlong - Foo FightersThree Wishes - The PiercesEmpire - Of Monsters and MenForever and Ever - Royal WoodBattle Scars - Paradise FearsRenegades - X AmbassadorsThe Wardens - AwakeningHeaven Knows - The Pretty RecklessThis Is Gonna Hurt - Sixx: A.M.DOA - Foo FightersWicked Ones - DorothyCitizen / Soldier - 3 Doors DownThe Other Side - PendulumCompassion / Anders (From Compassion’s Perspective)Count on Me - Bruno MarsVelanna / Nathaniel Sarcasm - Get ScaredObsessed - BoAFire and the Flood - Vance JoyOghrenProblematic - Get ScaredSigrunAlone Together - Fall Out BoyQuentinBones - MS MRMeredith / LeonieYou Should See Me in a Crown - Billie EilishKingdom Fall - Claire WyndhamLead on Losing Control - Corb Lund

[obsidiancorner]

52, 57 and 59 for Skyrah Amell?

Hey, Bear. Thanks for sending in an ask!!!

52: How does your OC feel about insects?She is completely indifferent to them. She didn’t care much for them in Kinloch, but she had to get used to them in a hurry once Duncan took her to join the Wardens. 

57: Would you call your OC adventurous? At the start of it, yeah. She definitely was. Then, she went on a few too many adventures for her own liking and by the end of it all she just wants to retire and hide in a cave somewhere where no one will bother her ever again. 

59: What is the first thing that someone would notice about your OC?Hair and eyes. 

Her hair is a pink champagne color... Pale blonde with a hint of pink (most of the art I have for her, I colored her hair too dark because I have zero chill when it comes to color saturation).

Her eyes look kind of like cognac in a tumbler with back-lighting so you can see a range of color. The ring on the outer part of her iris is red but the iris itself is brown.

[runespoor7]

Iris Amell’s Precious Little Life

- Romance with Zevran get. In the middle of a conversation about whether Zevran enjoys being an assassin. (Dem’s Neria would be horrified again, I think. With good reason, the flirt option is in terrible taste.) 

It’s interesting to me, because Iris is my second time trying to romance Zevran; my Inez Tabris was supposed to end up with him, but between Leliana and her occasional reluctance at Zevran’s moral limits, she broke up with him and romanced Leliana pretty far in the game. I remember that during this conversation, Inez had said she enjoyed violence (and she did; my idea of “enjoying violence" comes from a line about Stephanie Brown through Bruce’s eyes that I am practically certain is from a fic by Rubynye or Katarik and I can’t find anymore *cries*; it’s the enjoying violence because it’s movement and because it’s applying order through your body to a world that would make violence upon you, more or less). Iris straight up admitted that yeah, she does like feeling that she has someone’s life in her power. I can’t remember what Plum said, if she even had the convo. 

I’d say D&D alignment-wise, Amell is chaotic neutral, Tabris is chaotic good, Aeducan is a variety of lawful good, and Mahariel is still unclear, but probably something neutral.

- Merchant who gives us the control rod is objectively only slightly less suspicious than Levi Dryden, but about him, Iris isn’t so suspicious. He seems superstitiously afraid that the golem rod will attract the same darkspawn that swarm the village where the golem is kept. (Or, he knows the rod is stolen goods. Also possible.) He’s giving the rod for free, and a map. Good enough for Iris!

[curiouslavellan]

Oops All Wardens as Whose Line identities

Harriet Cousland

[ID: Heroic fireman determined to rescue everyone. End ID.]

Phaeron Surana

[ID: The world's most tactless man. End ID.]

Caradoc Mahariel

[ID: Gets turned on by danger. End ID.]

Iris Amell

[ID: Overzealous woman at a church revival meeting. End ID.]

Rendri Aeducan

[ID: Glamorous Russian female spy using older brother bullying techniques to extract secrets from the others. End ID.]

Dorach Brosca

[ID: Series of the world's dumbest criminals caught on tape. End ID.]

Yulita Tabris

[ID: Bloodhound trained to sniff out complete idiots. End ID.]

[gayhawkelatehomicide]

Dog Post

So my noodle associate consumed one (1) full bottle of soju and started coming up with dog names, so here are my various Dragon Age protagonists' dogs.

Buppies under the cut for length

Wardens

Aridhel Mahariel (serious, stressed, blunt) - Titanius, the most adorable fuck-up of an animal. He has a dignified name because you call him and he trips over his own paws and flops on the floor in his enthusiasm to come receive scratchies. He's so big and so dumb and so sweet. Full blooded mabari but got more Big genes than smart ones.

Saffron Cousland (earnest, noble, cautiously optimistic) - Teryn, the only point of consistent stability in her world. Originally a gift from Rendon Howe, he saves Saffron's life on a couple of occasions, much to said asshole's distress.

Theo Amell (ambitious, daring, prickly) - Hammer, a difficult creature to control, who immediately rolls over and does whatever Morrigan wants, just like his master.

Renan Tabris (ruthless, suspicious, protective) - Teacup, the incredibly polite and well-trained war dog. Probably the only thing in Renan's life that she never has to fight.

Valda Aeducan (honorable, loyal, politically traumatized) - Small Chip, an unapologetically affectionate sweetheart who loves everyone and gives Valda the first uncomplicated physical touch in her whole life up to that point.

Emmaera Surana (strange, cerebral, difficult) - Arnold, the most relaxed dog in Ferelden. Truly, this fella is the only dog who can be within 15 feet of Mae without freaking out because there's Something Wrong With Her and animals can sense it. Hint: it's the 6+ spirits in her head.

Tery Mahariel (tough, laconic, safe) - On'dhar, literally "good dog" in Elvhen, the most tenacious boy in the world. He's the type of dog who gets An Idea in his head and will NOT be dissuaded. Sad thing, apology in advance: he's how Morrigan finds out Tery is dead, because he hunts Morrigan down and she knows he would never leave Tery.

Hawkes

Iris Hawke (kind, ruthless, cunning) - Couscous, the half-Mabari half-wolfhound. He's goofy and playful but also fuckin HUGE and has such a high prey drive it's not even funny. He needs to run and chase things, he NEEDS to. Luckily, you can take him basically everywhere. He enjoys biting the Arishok.

Ian Hawke (complicated, stubborn, self-justified) - also Couscous because look, Ian was originally a dude mage version of Iris because I wanted a mage to gay marry Fenris and then I had to change a bunch of stuff because Iris and Fen never got along. So they have the same dog.

Kiera Hawke (angry, sad, violent) - Mel, the sleepy old warhound who will still bring you dead burglars until his last day. I take everything from Kiera so Mel unfortunately dies towards the end of the game, but he has a long rich life in which he is loved fiercely up to that point.

Alice Hawke (trusting, outgoing, somewhat overbearing) - Pokshie, the overprotective mother hen. You know those dogs who adopt like, baby geese or whatever, and their owners just have to get used to it? That's Pokshie. He decides who he's going to take care of and that is that.

Delilah Hawke (snarky, positive, gleefully chaotic) - Tosus, the dignified gentleman. Man of the house for years (eat dirt, Carver) and straight man to a great many shenanigans, Tosus has one of those doggy faces that just looks like he's judging you most of the time. Kinda the droll butler archetype, but a dog.

Quinn Hawke (grouchy, unrelenting, burdened) - Schnuffles, the friendliest animal you ever did meet. Truly this one is just corgi software running on mabari hardware. Needs so much love and attention all the time, but will mirror it back to you threefold.

Andy Hawke (unique, funny, a bit prescient) - Wendy, the disappointed mom. As if Leandra wasn't enough, Wendy is the epitome of that "I just want you to know, you have disappointed all three of us" meme but it's a dog standing between the twins and everyone is giving Andy the same disapproving expression. It doesn't even slow them down, of course, because Andy doesn't have a lot of the losses that my other Hawkes have to cope with.

The inquisitors unfortunately do not get dogs, because a good hound would out Solas in seconds, but some of them have favorite mounts. Those get their own post tho.

[runespoor7]

Leliana's Warm Approval convo

Leliana: Have I ever told you I really like the way you do your hair?

Iris: ...Leliana is hitting on me. wtf?

Leliana: It suits you. Simple.

Iris, who spends some time on her hair every morning: -_- nvm. *annoyed, insulted*

Leliana: still talking. about some noble who didn't have the quaint haisrtyle Iris wears apparently.

Iris: ...Why are you telling me this? *polite way of asking 'why are you still talking'*

Leliana: ...I have no idea, I was trying to say something nice to you.

Iris's mind: *goes back to the start of the conversation and the way Leliana apparently grasped at the first compliment she could find before running with it* you are awkward af girl but I'll admit it.

Leliana: I feel so comfortable talking to you, like I could say anything and you wouldn't judge me.

Iris, who hasn't had one conversation with Leliana where she didn't judge, tartly: Maybe I just keep it myself.

Leliana: You see? You play along with me, not many will do that. I haven't felt this close to anyone in a long time. I really enjoy your company.

Iris: *back to the square 'is Leliana really awk af or is she hitting on me'*

Iris: and do you often enjoy the company of other women.

Leliana: and what would you do if I said I do?

I: have played myself, because there's no way Iris isn't going to reply with the following flirt, and I quote:

Iris: I think I might giggle, maybe look coy?

Leliana: *flirts back*

Iris: oh so Leliana is a flirt option after all. When she's not talking about retiring to the Chantry to live a life of quiet and devotion.

Me: well I hope I'll enjoy the loss of approval when someone confronts Iris on what she's doing here.

[runespoor7]

Is Iris Going To Abandon Redcliffe to Its Fate

RP part of me wants to say “...yes”, because: selfish, etc. (Thrills are nice but dying isn’t.)

Worldbuilding part of me wants to say: “but you leave more people alive if you do save Redcliffe! Richer world!”

...Also I brought Morrigan along and may I just say yet again how silly it is from a gameplay perspective to have a companion whose approval lowers when you basically choose to engage with the game??? because that’s very silly and I’m quite glad it never showed up to the same extent in later games.

Okay so the Keep makes a difference between “helped Redcliffe prepare” and “help Redcliffe fight”, which makes sense... Also you can save Owen’s daughter hether of not you talked to her father... BUT that requires killing him, and urgh, really, no.

which means a total of -4 Morrigan approval. ;_; and we were getting along so well too.

[runespoor7]

Lies the Circle taught me

Morriga, upon entering Irving's office: “books, books, books. Is that all these mages do with their time, here?”

Well, no, but it is the thing you can talk about in front of the templars without bringing down the fury of the order upon you. (now isn't the time, but one day Iris will tell her “can you help me look up a book” is Kinloch Hoch Code for a booty call.)

Irving's not in his office. Neither is his body.

There is his journal, though.

...I don't think Iris says anything, when she reads it. She makes a noise, not quite choking or gasping. Then she rereads it several times, flipping pages to confirm what she's just read. But the context doesn't change the meaning, and soon enough it becomes clear that Irving's been entrapping apprentices. And so did Uldred.

Is that what happened to Jowan? Wouldn't Jowan have said something, if he had? No, in the Tower he was pretending he wasn't a maleficar, and after, in Redcliffe, he was concerned with other things... But he was busy with Lilly, too. Uldred must have approached him, but Jowan was spending too much time with Lilly. He wasn't quite as easy to manipulate as he should have been. Maybe that's why he was even supposed to become Tranquil, because he'd been too unpredictable for Irving and Uldred.

Iris' mind flashes back to Wynne telling her Uldred had never taught, never taken an interest in the apprentices (too busy advancing his own interests), and that was why Iris barely knew him. Nausea roils in her stomach. According to Irving's journal, she's-- she was just the kind of apprentice who could have got herself caught like this. She was just too good at spellwork to present a target. She wouldn't have been tempted with power, like Jowan had been. If Uldred had come to her and tempted her with whispers of freedom...

[at this point I don't remember well enough the rest of the dialogues elsewhere to know if Iris shares the knowledge with the others or not. I think she does, because after hearing her gasp and watching reading the journal with attention, someone would ask. Iris has an odd when she answers, a tone she couldn't describe. She couldn't describe what she's feeling, either. Again, I'm not sure this is canonically coherent, but I imagine Wynne would be shocked and disapproving, which would be pleasant if Iris wasn't too numb, I imagine Morrigan would let out a loud laugh and commend Irving on his traps in a bitter tone, which would both hurt Iris and make her feel better, and I also imagine Zevran whistling.]

Morrigan then breaks Iris out of her silence on the next floor, by talking about a grimoire that was stolen from Flemeth, which she's sure must have found its way to the Circle. Until recently Iris would have said Morrigan overestimates the Circle's ability to retrieve and estimate precious knowledge, but reading Irving's journal showed there's a lot about the Circle she was too naive to imagine. She always knew you couldn't really trust authorities, even if they wore mage robes, but she never imagined they were being screwed that hard.

The rest of the floor confirms that everything that's being taught in the Circle system as far as demons and templars and Tranquils is a lie. Lots of templars fall to demon spells, and Tranquils can become abominations.

[runespoor7]

Broken Circle: downstairs

Fun fact if you bring Zevran to the Tower, when Wynne unseals the barrier she made, he talks up your competency at felling people sent to kill you.

After talking a bit with Wynne, Iris has a better grasp on the situation. In particular she knows that when Wynne last saw Irving, he was in a very bad position. Still, once they're here... Finding Irving is their only hope to keep the Templars from killing everyone. If Irving's dead, then... The Templars forces were thinned out, but was it enough that she and the others can take them on and win? Maybe, if they can trap them deep enough inside the Tower. Jumping down the Tower is also a possibility. Morrigan can't turn into the kind of giant bird that Flemeth did to carry Alistair and Iris to safety, but if they combine their ice spells they could try and make a slide to the lake.

Of the people you meet with Wynne, I get the sense that Petra used to be someone who looked over the apprentices and explained their homework when she was an older apprentice herself. Jowan used to look up to her and he did kind of the same thing (but probably with the younger kids, he wasn't as academically accomplished as Petra), but as Iris only came to Kinloch Hoch six to eight years ago, she was never in a position to be close to Petra herself. 

Still, Petra treats Iris as Iris saw herself, returning, if that makes sense. As an accomplished, competent, bad-ass adult, who happens to have links with the Circle, in the distant past.

Kinnon – the male mage apprentice – keeps talking to Iris like they're buddies. Keili definitely became more unhinged since Iris last saw her, and the others are far more patient than Iris is. If Iris was in a siege and there was among their rank someone wailing that it would be right for all of them to be killed so as to be cleansed of the sin of being born with magic, Iris isn't sure she wouldn't look for an opportunity to throw her at their enemies. It's also a bit disquieting, because like so Keili's definitely a risk for possession, but Petra and Alistair will know what to do if she changes. (in case they have to run into the Tower to escape from the Templars, if Iris runs out of lyrium, there's Keili.)

Summoning exercises in the library: there's been slight changes in the angles between focus points but on the whole now that she's been outside Iris gets that they're basically impossible to replicate in non-Circle conditions. (and the times she did try to replicate them in her dormitory she failed, maybe because magical exxercises are more often done in the library than the dormitories and so the Veil is thinner in the library.)

She puts the glyph – as asked by a customer in the Mages' Collective – in the middle of the room leading to the Senior Enchanters Quarters. Vindication. She was sure this room would amplify that kind of things (and that's without taking into account the Veil being thinned, because she hadn't taken it into account when she'd done her calculations – now she wonders how much of an influence the Veil being thinner makes, and what kind. She's been too busy since she left the Circle to check how her calculations hold out out there, but when she does get the time it might be cool and/or good to know. It might explain why Shock is a bit less reliable than it should – she'd chalked it up to nervousness, or enemies moving in ways she's not used to compensate for yet, but what if the lightning doesn't reach the way it's supposed to because the air's different? Something to keep in mind once the Blight's over!) /I bet you didn't know Iris was a big nerd. It's okay I didn't know until recently either. It's okay Iris doesn't consider herself a nerd, she's just a girl who can make numbers do wicked things in the name of moar power in her thunder.

Semi-lore notes: when you take the stairs, Morrigan comments that “can't you feel the charge in the air? Great power was unleashed here.” self congratulations are in order because what I decided Iris tasted last time meshes pretty well with that, imo! Also, on other semi-lore notes, it's worth noting that there's no mention of blood magic at all during this questline until Owain mentions the Litany of Adralla, and Wynne says “it protects from mind domination. Is blood magic at work here? I was afraid of this...” Worth mentioning because aside from this quest there's usually not far to go to find one being linked to the other. Here the characters don't jump to the conclusion that blood magic is involved until now. I don't know what I make of it, except that I find it cool.

Owain's insistent wishfulness for “the way things were” is terribly creepy to Iris, who's never considered the past a comfortable place to inhabit. “The way things were” sucked.

Then we meet the sympathetic Blood Mage! I wish she had a name, I love her, she's great. The bit where she says she used blood magic because it gave her the power to fight for what she believes, and Wynne goes “fighting for what you believe is commendable but the ends do not always justify the means”, and she replies “you don't really believe that, do you, Wynne? Change rarely comes peacefully. Andraste waged war against the Imperium; she didn't write them a strongly worded letter. She reshaped civilization, freed the slaves, and gave us the Chantry. But people died for it...”. She's written as being sympathetic, we also know she's sincere in her belief that things went too far (when we meet her she's fighting against former allies who disagree with her on that point, and when I say fight I mean casting spells). Iris would have found her sympathetic even without the mention of Andraste. “Don't you remember what it was like living here? The templars watching... always watching.” So she recruits her. “You have power. I have use for you.”

The Blood Mage does not actually appear after this scene again, which is a shame if I can say so myself, as it gives the idea that she got herself killed before she could reach the apprentices. (this is where we send her after recruiting her. “Join the apprentices downstairs. Do not say who you are.” I love this, Iris Amell for the protection of blood mages who mean well and just want to be free and don't want everyone in the Tower to die.)

I love Broken Circle so much.