#▐ ❛ANSWERED. / letters to the inquisitor.

[shivunin]

16. Something written to your OC by an older member of the family and 3. Writing found in your OC’s trash can (Elowen Lavellan) from this prompt list:

A letter delivered along with three near-identical versions, each dated one day apart and signed with the same signature. Appended to this letter is a plea from an Inquisition agent stationed in Wycome requesting a swift response.

Ara da’ean,

I am certain you must know exactly why I am writing to you, but I will make my reasons quite clear before I continue:

When I heard you had taken up with a human, I accepted it. You have done what you can for the clan from the other side of the sea, and I understand your role is unusual. You must make whichever choices will help you survive amongst the shems. I understood that. We all understood. 

But ‘ma’asha'lan, a Templar? How could you?

We have heard so little from you directly. After the fighting was over and your army arrived to fortify Wycome, I had assumed you were simply too busy to send your mother a letter. News reaches us here as well as it reaches the rest of the shem lands, so I know they have dragged you from one end of the continent to the other. I was not upset. 

Only now do I see that it was cowardice, not official business that stayed your hand. 

Respond at once and explain yourself. I intend to speak with this fool scout every day until I receive your reply. 

—Fen’ghi’lan, Halla’amelan of Clan Lavellan

Mother to the Inquisitor, not that she seems to recall

A series of notes emptied from the Inquisitor’s desk-side rubbish bin:

Mother,

Mamae,

Fen’ghi’lan, 

As I am sure you are aware, I am fully grown and perfectly capable of choosing

Fenedhis, she’ll kill me. 

Mamae, 

I am well, thank you for asking. As you can imagine, my time remains quite short. 

You are right. I should have written earlier. I can only say that there is too much to say and I have no idea where to begin. This life is so different from the one we lived together with the clan that I scarce know what I can tell you without leaving out too much information entirely. I had hoped against hope that I might find a way to visit should the Inquisition have need of me in the Marches, but such things have not come to pass. So: there. I am sorry, and I mean it. 

Now, with regards to Commander Cullen: 

Yes. The rumors are true. This, like most things that have happened to me over the past year, is something that I believe will require more explanation than can fit in a letter. He is a kind and good man, Mamae. Trust that I know when something is wrong and when something is right, and this is right. He has nothing to do with what happened to Papae all those years ago and I wish you would just—

Fenedhis fenedhis fenedhis this is impossible

This line is followed by a series of scribbles that loosely depict a woman being trampled by halla. There is an Inquisition symbol on her breastplate and she is holding a staff.

Elvhen:

Ara da’ean: my little bird

‘ma’asha'lan: my daughter

Halla’amelan: Halla-keeper

[miaowmelodie]

i love wikipedia and i think it is good and right to give them money but all their funding drive messages are “well… we’ll be killing ourselves tonight. we asked so little of you and yet it seems that simply nobody cares about lil ol wikipedia anymore….sad…”

[vuulpecula]

✖ @scoundrvls​​​ inquired: spotify 55 for fives!

✖ spotify wrapped: send me a number, 1-100 and i’ll write you a starter (or some long dramatic piece of trash) <3 | accepting, posting slowly      ↳ 55. Wildflower - Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers

       Blue, purple, pink, and red. They grew out of the pavement, defiant of the rule of the Empire. Fox was thankful for the mask covering her face as she could look freely at the wildflowers creating cracks in the stone. Pushing against what had tried to smother them. She wanted to kneel before them, remove her gloves, and touch at the petals. Anything to feel the life surging beneath the planet. Free and wild. They would destroy it for its resources one day, after it had been searched and sacked and whatever else they did under the orders of hunting Jedi. She had asked for a smaller group of purge troopers for this specific fact. Because massacres could be bloody and although they were expendable, they still held a spot in her heart. Some soft, hidden piece of who she used to be before they tried to burn it out of her, that valued the life of others over all else--regardless of how they were born or made.

      “Trooper,” she commanded, turning to look at the darkly clad clone nearest to her. “Accompany me. The rest of you, guard the ship. The natives are hiding a jedi in their ranks, I do not want to waste your skills before we are ready.” She nodded toward the closest trooper and stepped forward, crushing petals beneath her feet. “Let’s hunt.”

[halla-hunts-the-wolf]

Veilguard Spoilers @ The Inquisitor:

How do we feel about our three choices in the Veilguard character creator? I won't lie; this is the first thing I've heard about the game that's taken some of the wind out of my sails. I understand that keeping the choices as simple as possible was probably easier for making a new story and that most of what occurred in Inquisition only impacted southern Thedas, but at the same time -

If our Rooks can speak with the Inquisitor, they can't ask detailed questions about specific events, like what happened at the Winter Palace, without the Inquisitor having vague answers. It's not a big deal, but the Inquisitor went through some stuff, and even though ten years have passed, I hope those events still feel like they shaped and impacted the character.

I would have liked to receive a letter or a codex about my Hawke's whereabouts or for Varric to mention how Cole is, as I made him more human, and other nit-picky things like that. Still, even faint mentions of their characters, especially when their fates were player-dependent, would be hard to implement without a system similar to DA Keep.

I don't want to be overly critical. I'm excited for Veilguard; I know this is Rook's story, and I don't expect the Inquisitor to play a monumental role, but I do hope they receive a satisfying ending, whatever that may be.

[bellamer]

Hot Take: Some people project their hatred of Greg Ellis onto Cullen and it’s obvious. Like I can semi get it because he did that shit in character but BioWare basically fired him in the basis of “He wouldn’t say that shit”

And people bring up the mage circle or whatever but I feel like he already answered for that in Inquisition especially if you romance him as a mage like I did and in his little rant when he’s talking about not taking lyrium he basically was like “You of all people should be questioning what I did, why do you still love me ?” Like it’s obvious he has regrets and remorse about what happened, even in the first hour of the game when the knights and the mages are arguing and they refer to him as head Templar or whatever he was like “You don’t call me that shit anymore, leave them alone”

Like I’m not saying he has to be brought back as a full fledged character for Veilguard but if my Inquisitor married him I at least expect a cameo because she fucking married him. I’ll take a wedding band, an offhand mention, a fucking letter, something just don’t ignore the fact that she married him because that’s what I bought the fucking DLC for

[nadas-dirthalen]

I Chose the Wrong Romance in a Game About Regret, and It Made the Game Better

A love letter to BioWare about Dragon Age: the Veilguard.

I don't have the thoughts in me for a formal review of all the aspects of gameplay at this time, nor do I have the brainpower for dissecting my every theory just yet.

But tonight, I want to write to you about the thing that stuck with me the most about Dragon Age: the Veilguard. And that is... I chose the wrong romance for my Rook, and it made the game unforgettable.

Veilguard endgame spoilers below the cut.

(I just liked this tiny screencap, okay. This specific dialogue isn't what I want to talk about.)

For a few days now, I've been trying to think of how to phrase what I want to say. The emotions I felt in the endgame of Veilguard were massive—to the tune I became dehydrated. To convey why that was, I think I have to start at the beginning.

This is the story of Winged Death: the party, the romance, and the headcanons that formed a nightmare combination to break me emotionally.

Meet my Rook: Thenera Sa'renan Aldwir, or Nera for short. A Veil Jumper who lost her mom to blight sickness when she was a teen; who tried to find the Wardens at Skyhold only to learn they'd been exiled; who joined the Veil Jumpers to protect people, but also honor her mother's memory. (Yes, all of this becomes relevant.)

Her name is taken from elven: Thenera from theneras (dream), and Sa'renan from sa (one; one more) and renan (voice). I used the patronymic system outlined in Project Elvhen: Sa'renan was her mother's name. I chose all this in late August, long before I'd really theorized anything substantive about Veilguard.

I did not know how much it would hurt.

All through the game, I got more and more into Nera's head. This was helped out a lot by how much footage I'd seen in September, how I knew Nera would be the "throw a chair while beating up an entire bar" Rook rather than try any attempt at diplomacy. How I knew she'd punch the First Warden without second thought, despite not knowing what the First Warden had done before Weisshaupt. She was always the "hit things with rocks to fix them" Veil Jumper to me, just like Bellara's dialogue references.

It also meant that I felt a lot of her insecurity in the early game: her doubt in her own intellect; her insecurity in her Dalish identity from being kicked out of her clan as a child and living in Wycome as a young adult; her acute awareness of her own trauma and fear around all things blight. To mirror my Inquisitor, who had Dirthamen vallaslin, I gave Nera Falon'Din vallaslin, to signify that she had seen too much death at far too young an age.

I even picked a party for her "default" group: Lucanis and Davrin. Because of Nera's Falon'Din vallaslin, Lucanis' demon wings, and Assan's battlefield presence, I gave my group a name: Winged Death.

And I loved them.

But just like I'd headcanoned a lot of Nera's backstory, I also hypothesized a lot about the Lucanis romance. And, to put it briefly... the game did not match what I expected, and the Lucanis romance was not to my enjoyment, personally. (If you like it, good! I'm glad you do! This post is about Nera, though.)

Right away, Lucanis asked about Nera's favourite drink. When she said tea and he made a disgusted noise and nothing else, I reloaded, choosing the "better" answer of liking the same coffee as him—something that prompted more dialogue. For me, in hindsight, this was the first moment I should have seen that for all Lucanis' charm, he would not fit my gruff, chair-throwing Veil Jumper. But I'd committed, and I was determined to see it through just once.

I didn't want Veilguard to be the story of an elf romancing an elf—for me, that was my Inquisitor's story. I wanted a new flavour.

Only... Lucanis' romance, for Nera, did not pick up much from there. Almost the entirety of act 2 was silent—and that was after saving Treviso. Lucanis seemed to care more for Neve and Minrathous than he did for Rook, in my perception. By then, I'd sunk into Nera's headspace, and I could feel her feeling neglected. I could feel her insecurities rearing their ugly heads: was she too blunt? Not intelligent enough? Somehow too elven, even for a Crow, whose organization is made up of so many elves?

You know who she constantly found acceptance in, though? Whose approval triggered almost every time Nera answered a question honestly, in the stern way that she was predisposed to do?

Davrin. The other half of Winged Death. The one who, now, was bickering with Lucanis almost nonstop in party banter, each constantly jabbing the other about how death would come for them, death would claim all they'd known, their choices would bury them.

Lucanis had precious few opportunities to discuss Nera being an elf; an elf Rook facing down their own gods. But Davrin? Davrin talked about it so much, he would know the horror of being called Da'len by Elgar'nan.

Together, they survived the Cauldron. And where did they shelter? In the ribcage of a slain archdemon. But not just any archdemon.

Zazikel. Who has been confirmed now, in a Veilguard codex, as Falon'Din's archdemon.

And where were the griffons allowed to go, at the end? Arlathan.

I could never have foreseen those parallels, and yet? There they were, piling up too late. I'd already made Nera's choices for her, and I'm not someone who would normally attempt a love triangle.

(She's so pleased with their shenanigans. Just look at that totally carefree and happy face.)

Lucanis' content dried up for Nera, but stayed pretty consistent for Neve—to the point that she had begun to feel sincerely cast aside. I began playing her with that mindset: as if she'd been set adrift, even as she locked in Lucanis' romance.

Around 45 hours into my ~60 hour playthrough, I found myself thinking... maybe I try the Davrinmance next game. Maybe I reroll Nera, even as a Veil Jumper again, to see those griffons in Arlathan. To see two Dalish elves haunted by the same ghosts, and see how they grow. I talked to friends about it. I even headcanoned some more, trying to see how Nera's narrative and personality might slot in with Davrin's questline.

In my head, that looked a little like Nera realizing she felt stronger kinship and connection with Davrin, but denying that to herself. She was, after all, locked in with someone else.

I let myself laugh at this, taking more screenshots of Nera and Davrin than of Nera and Lucanis, right up until the beginning of act 3.

And that's how BioWare got me.

If you're here, you know what comes next. I didn't.

I thought I needed Harding to potentially face down Solas, thanks to her line about wanting to look him in the eye after one of Solas' memories. I thought, maybe, some dialogue would unlock by having Harding in the party during any potential final confrontation.

This was the second time I went against Nera's own character: I chose to keep Harding at Nera's side, rather than Davrin. I did it for my Inquisitor.

And at first, I thought Davrin was surviving my choice.

I even felt happy—proud—that I freed him during the Ghilan'nain fight. I thought if I delayed too long, he might die to the fight's mechanics. But he survived that, too.

Then, the worst played out before my eyes: Lucanis going to take the shot at Ghilan'nain. Being caught. Davrin, racing in to defend. Being impaled. Lucanis hitting Ghilan'nain, only to appear suddenly dead—dead, somehow, how could he be dead, I'd just seen him?—seconds later.

Because of Arlathan, I'd thought this was just another Elgar'nan trick. Solas would come to save us soon. He had to. This was just fake-Solas, conjured by Elgar'nan to make Rook lash out or feel lost. Right?

It didn't hit me until I was in the Fade, and Solas was gone. Until Neve's statues were everywhere, because Nera had chosen Neve to risk that dangerous magic. Neve, who was her very antithesis; who was human enough and sophisticated enough and eloquent enough in ways my spellblade had struggled with reconciling since her teen years.

Saying it was my fault, that my Rook chose this for her—and she had. Her decision was motivated by her favour for Bellara.

I think this is when my Rook stopped denying things to herself. Right here.

This was the person she was closest with in her own party. This was the person who shared her feelings on both her culture and the blight. This was the person who brought joy to her days, with more meaningful dialogues (in Nera's opinion!) than Lucanis had had since act 1.

It is hard to put into words how hard this moment hit me. She had chosen wrong—and I had chosen for her. I was reminded of Taash's line from after Memory #2: "There was stuff he wanted to tell her. But he waited too long. And then she was dead."

And then she was dead.

My Rook knew why Fade Jail held her so well, in that moment. Even before the Varric reveal that had my tear ducts begging for mercy.

The game's mechanics had done that to her. Locked her into a romance with Lucanis (my choice, hellbent on seeing it through), didn't let her leave, didn't allow for her to say anything akin to, 'Hey, Davrin, not in this worldstate... but how about the next one?' (and all of those, for the record, are 100% understandable, and just the nature of video games!)

Lucanis continued to have little in the way of content that fit Nera, and was First Talon, to boot. Nothing in the game could change that; games aren't designed that way. He was destined for a life she was never going to enjoy, locked in to that choice—and she, and I, should've figured it out sooner.

We didn't. Varric was dead. Everything had been a lie. We'd been duped; played. We were never smart enough; together, we were doomed all along.

Every insecurity I'd imagined for Nera came crashing down. And all of them, I'd gleaned from hints in Companions Week. From the footage that released on September 19, showing Rook's backstory choices. From the overall tone of the promotional material we saw, and the strong emphasis on companions, and the declaration of the theme of regret.

And it culminated in me crying harder than I have at any piece of media.

Ever.

Ever.

BioWare gave me every hint I needed to make a fitting Rook, and every single choice they showed me I could make was a weapon. That's why I not only accept, but appreciate the 'spoilers' that we got from Bioware beforehand. That's why I am so far from jaded about the Lucanismance. I could not denounce this experience if I tried, and you know why?

Because through Lucanis' continued flirtatious banter with Neve, the way he stays continually animated so close to her, and the way he gives the same mid-combat praise to Neve as to Rook, my Rook felt like a woman scorned. And it made the game BETTER.

I wouldn't have cried so hard, for so long, if Nera was allowed to be happy. I wouldn't have been shaken to my core as a Solavellan, wondering if there really could be a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.

The game wouldn't have hit me like it did if Lucanis hadn't come to Rook to declare his feelings only after she had spent time mourning Davrin and Assan. It wouldn't have hurt so good if Lucanis' dialogue afterward never mentioned his worry for exclusively Neve, and not the loss of Davrin—who he'd travelled with all game long.

But Solas had done it: he had molded Nera into a creature of pure regret.

And I, through my determination to try a romance that turned out not to fit my Rook, had let him.

The way it was structured, Lucanis' every sweet word rang hollow after Nera was freed from the Fade, and it made Davrin's, Varric's, and (what I thought was) Neve's deaths hurt that much worse.

There was nothing that could fix the pain in Nera's heart, the pain of her wrong choices not just in failing to romance Davrin, but failing to question Solas, failing to notice peculiarities about "Varric" in the Lighthouse. She felt like she failed, and she had. Undeniably. Because no matter where the conclusion of the game would take us, she'd never end up happy. She'd never want the life of a First Talon's spouse.

Every piece of her character lined up with regret, all at once. It all clicked into place, all in two soul-crushing hours.

Her name is Thenera Sa'renan Aldwir—and she was the victim of a dream of just one voice. She wears Falon'Din vallaslin, and was given a moment to spend time alone with the many, many dead.

Falon'Din: friend of the dead. That was what Nera had become, wasn't it? Because her closest party member—and what might have been her truer love—would not be coming back. Because I could feel that a part of her did not want to leave Fade Jail, and that Emmrich really did have to pull her out.

Winged Death destroyed her.

She rained down fire and lightning all through parts 13 and 14. She became Wrath and Thunder. I let her hit enemies harder than she had to, wasting her mana at every opportunity. Let her vent her every frustration. All I could think of, through the hurt, was this codex.

Elgar'nan, Wrath and Thunder, Give us glory. Give us victory, over the Earth that shakes our cities. Strike the usurpers with your lightning. Burn the ground under your gaze. Bring Winged Death against those who throw down our work.

Nera became all that was left of Winged Death, having let Lucanis fight with the Crows, taking Taash and Harding instead.

Elgar'nan was resistant to all her magic in that final fight. She was weakest at the end, and I didn't want to change her specialization to avoid that fact. She was broken, deep down. Solas' happy ending did not fix what the game had done to Nera's heart.

She, the other half to my Inquisitor, ended up with the opposite fate. Where my Inquisitor's journey on the din'anshiral was ending (or at least, was no longer alone), Nera had thought she had the companionship she wanted, only to wind up on the din'anshiral alone, with no way of recovering Davrin.

Which brings me to her last parallel: Solas' devotion to Mythal. Saying that if he did not tear down the Veil, then "I—she would have died for nothing."

To love someone and say nothing; it twisted them both up inside. Rook and Solas, always intended to be mirrors. One death, enough for each of them to bring the Eldest of the Sun to his knees. To change the elven pantheon forever.

I don't know how I managed to stumble upon this level of pain, but I could not be gladder that I did.

So, at the end of this extremely long post, here is my praise for BioWare. You mad geniuses, if any of you ever, ever see this... you wove regret into this game so well, so deeply, that my own passing thoughts about romance beats and game mechanics wound up stabbing me an additional time in Fade Jail, just as deep as the wound of Varric's death.

So well was this narrative constructed that I found my Rook in every corner of this story, even its tiniest references twining with every headcanon I had made.

Veilguard is so good, so profound, that a romance that did not work for me made the game better. That, to me, is the mark of a kickass narrative: one that fits almost any headcanon while still delivering on a deep, resonant theme.

BioWare couldn't have known that my party would be "Winged Death." Couldn't have known Nera, or her position as a Veil Jumper, or her doubt in her own intellect and her own ability to love. Yet, that is the beauty of Veilguard and of Dragon Age in general: they don't have to know. The writing is brilliant enough that it fits as much as one single story can in terms of possibility, while still hitting home with the same theme for everyone.

So thank you, BioWare. Thank you to every writer, to every animator, to every amazing, talented human whose hands and minds touched this game.

I needed the cry after a hard year, and you all delivered in the best way. I'm doing the Davrinmance now—because I think it's right to try it, and I think Nera deserves it—but this run will always hold the dearest place in my heart. The one where the regret bloomed, in part, because of jokes and headcanons I had made in the middle of a romance I did not enjoy, wishing for a different second playthrough.

The one where it all stabbed me, all at once. You bastards. (affectionate)

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 44

Tw: suicide, lots of alternate universe stuff where the Doctor is generally being unDoctorly

According to Ruath, Time Lords and Vampires share 98% of the same genes. (Novel: Goth Opera)

Before graduating from the Academy, the Doctor lost a game of chess to Savar so badly that he almost cried from the humiliation of it all. (Novel: The Infinity Doctors)

A version of the Doctor from an alternate universe (who resembled the Sixth) was targeted by Braxiatel (who was Lord Burner, the personal assassin to the President) for erasure from history, so the Doctor killed Braxiatel. He fled Gallifrey, was eventually found and put on trial, and then became Lord Burner himself. (Audio: Disassembled)

The Master once helped deliver a baby just so he could convince the parents to name him Edward, so he could make a joke about "Ted with the tech." This would make their name T MEARS, which is an anagram for MASTER. (Audio: The Auton Infinity) As you can tell, this was a very normal thing to do.

The Third Doctor was forced to fill out an application when he started working with UNIT. This displeased him greatly. He kept telling them to ask the Brigadier for the answers and admitted to having no idea what a national insurance number was. (Novel: The Time Lord Letters)

The Doctor once lost a bet with Oliver Reed and subsequently had to swim naked in the English Channel. (Comic: The Betrothal of Sontar)

In an alternate universe, the Doctor committed suicide to escape being captured by the Time Lords after stealing the TARDIS. The new incarnation called herself Susan Foreman and drank heavily. She was captured eventually. Originally, her punishment would have been exile, but it was elevated to death. She was sent to the TARDIS, where she was supposed to stay for the rest of her life, and if she attempted to dematerialize, she would dematerialize permanently as though she never existed at all. She was eventually told via letter that this is not the case and dematerialized, but she had no idea if this letter was true or not. (Audio: Exile)

The Sixth Doctor's trial on Space Station Zenobia was arranged by Vansell. Vansell also played a role in appointing an Inquisitor and a Valeyard for the trial. (Novel: SynthespiansTM)

In another alternate universe, the Doctor killed Eric Vollmer for the greater good and to cover up super-soldier experiments. The Doctor promised he would take care of his daughter, Ruth, as a surrogate father, but twenty-seven years later, Ruth found out the Doctor had killed her father. She also found out that this Doctor planned on killing her as well as she began to learn more about these experiments. She let one of the still-surviving, mutated experiments named Flint shove the TARDIS key down the Doctor’s throat and break his neck. (Audio: Full Fathom Five)

What followed this was regeneration. Confused, the new incarnation introduced himself and asked who Ruth was, so Ruth also introduced herself and said "goodbye" before shooting him, causing him to regenerate again and leaving Ruth wondering how many more regenerations he would have until he was dead. This incarnation of the Doctor has the shortest tenure - 11 seconds. (Audio: Full Fathom Five)

Griffin manipulated the Eighth Doctor’s biodata to a point where he could no longer perceive UV or violet. He later claimed to fix it and have "his violet back." (Novel: Unnatural History)

This was a lie, obviously. The Eighth Doctor would eventually admit he still could not perceive violet and was thus immune to mind-controlling paint. (Novel: To the Slaughter) This biodata abnormality was never fixed in canon (to my knowledge), so the Doctor was probably unable to perceive violet at least until his regeneration.

The Time Lords are incredibly strict on their policies on non-intervention (with, of course, some exceptions...). This policy is ingrained in the mind of every Time Lord, and breaking this conditioning will typically result in memory loss, the shutdown of parts one's personality, and potentially madness. (Novel: Time and Relative)

The Obverse is a pocket universe where time and space never was and never will be. (Novel: The Blue Angel)

In the Obverse, the Doctor's mother is a mermaid. 🧜‍♀️ (Novel: The Blue Angel)

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[shouldaspunastory]

Thank you @saladruiner, for @dadrunkwriting

Cullen Rutherford x Dorian Pavus (SFW, Post-Trespasser, Established Relationship) 731 words.

--------------------------------

"Cullen," Dorian begins softly, but Cullen shakes his head.

"No, I heard what you told the Inquisitor," Cullen interrupts, crossing his arms. "You have unfinished business in your homeland, I understand. I've always understood that. And someone like Lavellan, they've too much notoriety. The attention they'll bring will cause more harm than good, however great their desire to help and well-meaning their intentions might be. But I'm not the Inquisitor," Cullen protests. "And I'm not letting you go back there alone. No one in Tevinter knows who I am or would give a damn about me. If I can't help you make your homeland better, at least let me watch over you while you're doing it."

Dorian's throat feels dry, his heart hammering in his chest as Cullen swallows, not waiting for a response before he continues.

"You don't have to tell anyone about us. I know you said things between two men... that's- not how things are done there. You could say I'm your bodyguard," the Commander offers with a shrug, though there's a hint of pleading, perhaps even desperation in his voice that betrays the suggestion is not as nonchalant as he might wish to make it seem. Dorian shakes his head and Cullen's face falls.

"Dorian, please," Cullen whispers, and he's definitely begging now. Maker's breath, the man actually drops to his knees in front of him, clasping Dorian's hands in his.

"Amatus," Dorian says gently, waiting until those gorgeous amber eyes lift back up to meet his own. "I'm not telling my friends and countrymen that you are my bodyguard."

"But I-" Cullen begins, but Dorian shakes his head, and the former soldier bites his lip and tongue obediently.

"You can watch my back," Dorian continues. "I doubt I could stop you doing that if I tried," the mage smiles fondly. "But I'm not going to pretend you're just someone I employ," Cullen's eyes are wide, full of hope and disbelief, as he continues to stare up at Dorian.

"Then you'll- you'll let me come with you," Cullen whispers.

"Vishante kaffas," Dorian mutters with a chuckle, shaking his head, tugging at their joined hands and urging Cullen back to his feet, rocking up onto the balls of his feet to loop his arms around the taller man and crush his lips to his. "Of course, I want you with me, Amatus," Dorian whispers fondly, a hand gently reaching up and caressing his lover's cheek. "But your friends, your family, they're all here."

"You're my family now too," Cullen replies, as if this is the most obvious and simplest thing in the world. As if these simple words don't shake Dorian's own world to its very core. "And I can still write them, and visit," Cullen replies undeterred.

"And if you hate Tevinter," Dorian asks softly with a small frown.

"It can't be all bad. You'll be there." It's an oversimplification and both of them know it, but Dorian can't find it in his heart to protest any further, and Maker knows what positively mortifying public display of affection and devotion Cullen will try next if he does. Dorian sighs, and Cullen's answering smile says that he knows he's won. As Cullen wraps his arms around the mage and pulls him in close, Dorian allows himself to melt into the embrace and nuzzle into his lover's broad chest.

"Festis bei umo canavarum," Dorian curses under his breath, there's affection in his tone, though, as Cullen's answering chuckle vibrates through him. "You'd best hold yourself to writing those letters," Dorian says finally, lifting his chin to meet Cullen's gaze, but remaining flush against him, happy to hold and be held by his lover. "I wouldn't put it passed Mia to storm Minrathous to come find you if you don't."

"You're probably right," Cullen laughs shaking his head. "Perhaps we should stop by South Reach before we head back."

"Might be safer," Dorian nods with a wry smile, before his bravado slips ever so slightly, hugging Cullen for the briefest of moments just a little bit tighter. "You don't think they'll resent me? A man? A mage? A Vint stealing their brother from them?" Cullen shakes his head, before gently tucking Dorian's beneath his chin, and offering him a reassuring squeeze.

"They're going to love you, almost as much as I do," Cullen promises, kissing the top of his head.

[leliwardens]

Answering the Anon question about the South under the cut so big Veilguard spoilers are hidden + neg.

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Understandably, there is a quantum nature to The Warden and Hawke that got uh, fucked over when they wiped worldstates. I assume the vague nature of scene (and as I discovered, letters from the Inquisitor also I believe?) are so you can "headcanon" whoever is alive in your worldstate is running around (outside non-quantum like Aveline).

But the kicker to me is they run with what is a common worldstate, despite their previous claims about it. Like Isabela talks about Kirkwall and mentions Merrill, Harding talks about everyone in the Inquisition.

So the assumed timeline is one where everyone was recruited and lived throughout the three games.........you're saying all of them went down like bitches??? Just like that??? That's what 15 years worth of characters and stories end up?????? Thanks for being invested in the franchise, now we won't ever mention the fate of your favorites/MCs again and they're probably dead now, or not, up to you!

Bitter af about this lmfao.

[venvellan]

i routinely think about the horrible torturous waking nightmare it would be for lavellan to find inquisitor ameridan. you've spent weeks chasing after his trail under the assumption that he's human and only just discovered that telana was elven after historians/the chantry tried to erase her existence entirely. it's only by breaking his spell over hakkon and un-freezing him out of time that you realize he's– dalish? "andaran atish'an. i am glad drakon's friendship with our people has remained strong." oh, god, no.

you can tell the world he was dalish. you can try to correct history and give him the rest he deserves, but would they even believe you? the dalish inquisitor lavellan finds the only other inquisitor in chantry history and he was also dalish? you have to try, and some will believe you, but the human lords don't care. you'll find the most resistance in "educated" circles of historians, where they'll likely be whispering that you made it all up.

you may have spent your entire career as the inquisitor questioning how you'll be remembered, and the answer lies in finding ameridan. one day you'll be lost to time, and the few who remember you will do it incorrectly. public perception of you now is that you're a tool and servant of the chantry, despite not being andrastian, despite direct opposition from the chantry, but hundreds of years from now? some of the dalish may remember who you really were, but in a future under the chantry, they'd be fighting an uphill battle trying to keep that version of you alive. your only chance is to catalog your life, your identity, as dutifully as possible. write journals and letters reminding the world of who you are. leave little pieces of you behind, in hopes that it'll make a trail through time straight to you. the real you.

that's what my lavellan does, anyway. finding ameridan awakens such dread in him that he starts recording as much of himself as possible. the weeks after have him holed up filling journals with who he is, where he's from, his beliefs, his family tree. the choices he's made and exactly why, the people he wants to fight for. he keeps up that habit in the months and years afterward, writing as much as he can fit on the page about any relevant topic. varric could write about the inquisition, and he'd do his best, but a good story — a story that sells — is about fighting the templars and the demons and defeating corypheus. being elven would take up a paragraph at most in varric's story, and it's just not enough. people could forget him regardless, no matter how hard he tries, but he'll fight it as long as he lives.

and if all else fails, mythal forbid, hopefully the name 'lavellan' sounds elven enough.

[v-arbellanaris]

so!!! i've talked a bit abt why i think rook might be part of the executors, but let me elaborate some more:

FIRSTLY, i thought that harding and varric were actually in kirkwall in the teaser - based off the architecture, and things like that - but thinking on it a day later, i think the little slave statues + the qunari architecture i noted here does support the idea that this is minrathous...

the first mentions of the executors as a group that we hear about is in inquisition - there's a whole wartable questline that, if you follow with leliana, shows the inquisition tracks the executors to a location in tevinter (though not minrathous specifically) until the executors ask the inquisitor to call leliana off.

BUTTTTT. absolution ended on kirkwall, and red templars in kirkwall having a new red lyrium source, and these guys in the beginning of the teaser are carrying red lyrium weapons and wearing red lyrium-embedded armour, so it COULD (to me) still be kirkwall and rook could STILL be an executor....

there's also another mention of the executors in varric's wartable questline in da:i, where you investigate someone who is writing sequels to the hard in hightown books, who is not him. in the process of investigating this hack writer, you find that a magistrate is the courier getting these books out of kirkwall - but by the time you investigate him, he's found dead and stuffed in a closet with a knife in his back, just like out of a scene in varric's book. investigating the murder further leads to a break-in at skyhold where someone leaves a letter like this:

'YOU ENCROACH UPON THE DOMAIN OF HIGHER POWERS. YOU WILL ANSWER TO US.' The letter is unsigned, except for a wax seal depicting six crossed swords.

leliana investigates the scene in the book and cross-references it with the murder and finds inconsistencies in the scene. it's at this point that we find out that there's a mention of the executors in varric's hard in hightown:

"Well, this doesn't look very interesting at all." Maysie frowned, disappointed. " 'What you have claimed belongs to greater powers. You will answer to us.' That's a lot of rubbish." ... "Oh, it's the Executors, of course!" Maysie peered excitedly at the wax seal, holding it up to the window for better light. "I should have guessed it from the silly 'great powers' nonsense. There's only been one example, on the letter claiming responsibility for the assassination of Queen Madrigal in 5:99! And this one is so much better! Just look at that imprint!" "Any idea how I'd contact these 'Executors'?" Donnen asked. "Oh, they're not real, of course. Everyone knows that."

additionally, the rip-off book consists of a lot of errors, and these errors seem to be a double-encrypted cipher. eventually, you crack the code, and it leads you to worthy, the runes guy in hightown, and it seems to conclude that he was both the killer and the author. HOWEVER, worthy himself says he didn't send the letter to skyhold, and i do wonder WHY worthy would lead a trail back to himself - especially since he has a whole little scooby doo villain line abt how he would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for the inquisitor. so what if he didn't, and the executors really had gotten involved somehow and possibly assassinated the magistrate, and this whole thing was a ruse to cover up that murder? AAAAAAA

edit: as i'm writing this post, i just saw a sneak peak of the trailer which does seem to confirm early-game minrathous setting! i don't think this EXCLUDES rook from being an executor at all, nor does it necessarily mean he is not a kirkwall-based executor, but either way, the executors seem to have a presence in both areas!!! so!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA continues!!!!!

DOUBLE EDIT: I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION i think it's kind of weird we keep running into this faction and bioware keeps writing ways for us to NOT find out more about them as a group of people and i dont THINK we've actually seen them as a group in the trailer yet (i feel like ive seen venatori and POTENTIALLY red templars, unless im horribly wrong BUT I DONT THINK I AM because of the templars/andruil parallels around hunting!!!!!!!! and the probably link between andruil and the origins of the blight!!!) which makes the most sense if WE'RE GONNA FIND OUT ABT THEM AS AN EXECUTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[theladyofravenclaw]

My Rook with his companions: "Hey, it's okay. We all make mistakes, none of us are perfect. Just know that I've got your back, and so does everyone here. We're a team. 🥰"

My Rook with Solas: "Wake up fuckhead! I just found this old letter while I was rummaging through your garbage and I need answers! Also, did you fuck the Inquisitor!?!?"

[daitranscripts]

Hi! I really love the project and all the work you've been doing so far. <3 I wanted to ask if you knew what Leliana's HoF dialogue is if you defiled the ashes but she's still alive and if it changes at all if she's romanced with doing the same? I'm not sure if it's possible in-game but Keep allows that worldstate. I would assume it's the typical "trusted friend" and "my love", but I was curious.

Hello! This is actually my canon world-state, and it is possible in game. If Leliana is with you when you defile the Ashes, you can either kill her or intimidate her. Intimidation does not end the romance - it only lowers approval (that can be regained with gifts!). If she is not in the party at the Temple, when you return to camp she will either leave or be persuaded to stay (I think the Warden can lie to her? I'm hazy on the details).

The DA:I romance dialogue only requires the plot flag of "Leliana romanced" to be true, and "Leliana died" to be false. When you ask her about the Hero of Ferelden, she has 6 possible responses:

romanced, Warden died (and Leliana was not killed by the Warden) We were in love. Even in the midst of all the chaos, I was happy. Truly happy. And then [they]… I’m sorry, I’d rather not talk about this. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

romanced, Warden alive (and Leliana was not killed by the Warden) [They are] always in my thoughts, even when we’re far apart. My love is on a quest of [their] own. When the Inquisition has no further need of me, I will join [them]. For good, this time. I have lost enough. I will not lose [them] as well. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

killed by the Warden The “Hero of Ferelden.” (Laughs.) There are no heroes in real life, just people. And people can do terrible things. Like striking me down, for example. It’s hard not to bear a grudge. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

left the party due to low approval/crisis The Hero of Ferelden was not what I expected. We traveled together in the early days of the Blight, but joining was a mistake. We never got along. I was young and had silly ideas. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

any other approval level, Warden died I had the privilege of calling [them] “friend” before [they] died. The world seemed much duller after that. It still does. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

any other approval level, Warden alive I count her among my closest friends. She’s probably the only person I trust completely. I haven’t heard from her in some time. She just… disappeared. I try not to think of what might have happened. or I count him among my closest friends. I still write to him for advice when I can. He hasn’t replied to my letters in some time. I try not to worry about it. He can take care of himself.

Interestingly, the plot flag ID for "Leliana died" is not the same as "Leliana was killed at the Urn." Using the plot flag editor, there are two different flags for her death:

Did the Warden kill Leliana after destroying the Sacred Ashes? - Did the Warden kill Leliana after a crisis unrelated to the Urn of Sacred Ashes?

Both of these plot flags are found in in the DA:I files, but her conversations with the Herald/Inquisitor about dying at the Temple of Sacred Ashes use the flag for "Did the Warden kill Leliana after a crisis unrelated to the Urn of Sacred Ashes?", and not the one that is... actually about the Ashes. I don't actually know if it's possible to kill her in any other way in DA:O, honestly.

Hope this helps :)

Edit: Sorry looking back at the question, I never really answered. If you defile the Ashes and do not kill Leliana, the game will go based off the romance/approval flag - DA:I doesn't read the "Warden defiled the ashes" flag, only Leliana's fate.

[toastandjamie]

The Heroes of Thedas

The Warden, Aisling Tabris, a city elf with a criminal record, miraculously survived defeating the Arch demon and became Warden Commander of the Fereldan wardens but disappeared a few years later after searching for the Witch of The Wilds Morrigan- his current location is unknown though the Inquisition received a letter from him indicating that he was alive.

The Herald of Andraste, Inquisitor Lyonel Lavellan. After defeating Corypheus and helping Lelianna become Divine an Exalted Council was called- in order to find Solas the Inquisition became the Divine’s personal guard. The inquisitor may or may not have become a member of the Friends of Red Jenny pulling pranks with Sera in order to bring a little levity to the world- and perhaps allow himself to relax after taking on the weight of the world. He is sometimes seen sneaking into Tevinter to see his beloved Dorian.

The champion of Kirkwall Lyra Hawke was an apostate mage. Known for her humor and general inability to mind her own business she saved Kirkwall from the Qunari but went on the run as a pirate with her partner Isabela after assisting the mage rebellion in Kirkwall- though she had apparently personally executed the mage Anders leaving many to wonder how involved she truly was with the rebellion. Her brother Carver was one of the few Templars who avoided the Red Lyrium Incident and Corypheus’ control likely due to her friend Varric’s intervention. She was last seen in Kirkwall assisting the new Viscount Varric Tethras- and answering the letters of the Starkhaven Prince on the Viscounts behalf…

Finally we have Rook, name unknown, appearance unknown. An elven spell sword mage of the Antivan Crows, they were hired by Varric Tethras to assist in stopping the mage Solas from tearing down the veil- no other information is available at this time.

[corffiser]

i know that my feelings about this are amplified by my routine being disturbed ( nothing i can do about that ) but i just need to rant about this , to get it out of my system and not think about it later .

honestly when i first heard that we were going to have a new protagonist for da4 , my biggest fear was that they'll feel disconnected from the world as a whole and from the decisions i made in the previous games . and idk , it's one thing to say that things like , side quests in denerim don't matter when it comes to a bigger picture . nobody up north is going to know or even care if my warden helped the mages' collective or if they told the soldiers causing trouble in the pearl to leave . but to claim that the bigger things don't matter ?? or that the references to the past events are just " one - liners " ?? what ??

one of the bigger reasons as to why i was able to connect so much with my hawke / inquisitor , was because they felt like people who lived in this world . i know that this sounds cringe but at the time , it really felt like this to me .

like i'm sorry , seeing fergus send me a letter and seeing a little table mission attached to him wasn't just a " one - liner " . in my world state , he's not only the teyrn of highever but he's also the queen's brother . huge for human noble enjoyers like me .

but even then , if you get rid of small references to the previous games , what am i left with ?? those big , supposedly important choices , i guess . but then , it really doesn't matter if i put gaspard on the throne ?? or if i make briala blackmail him ?? or if celene stays in power ?? you know , the choice that was supposed to have such huge consequences on thedas as a whole , that alistair was writing me panicked letters about a potential war with orlais ( that mission was like 20 hours irl , no way i'm forgetting it any time soon ) . my head is hurting from even thinking about it , how ridiculous it sounds . and the divine ?? you know , the religious figure that all of the kingdoms ( with exception of tevinter ) answer to ?? the divine could be a mage . the divine could be allowing elves , dwarves and qunari to join the chantry . and that has no impact here ??

actually baffled by this logic . truly amazing . fascinating even .

and don't even get me started on the whole " your inquisitor feels guilty because they didn't stop solas " , the fuck you mean by that lmao . you gave me an option to ask if my inky could join him and he refused . if anyone should feel guilty it's him because if the inquisitor joined him , maybe his lame ass plan would work .

[vigilskeep]

Sorry if you've answered this before, but how do Arthur's remaining family react to the news of... the whole Inquisition and Herald of Andraste thing?

politically, i don’t think arthur’s branch of the family even has the reach to do anything. losing three out of four children was devastating both to their reputation and to the head of the family’s health

more personally... i think arthur’s father (what did i CALL him) is guilt-stricken. this is a man who had to tell his beloved son that he could no longer protect or contact him, after a scandal when his bribes to the templars on arthur’s behalf was revealed. a man who failed to summon the courage to insist on taking that son in during the mage rebellion. and seeing and hearing of arthur as a leader when he once pinned all his hopes on arthur as his successor is quite a punch to the gut. i think there’s a twinge of hope in here that maybe arthur can finally return after this is over, but after all that’s happened, neither his pride nor his shame will let him broach the subject. i think what he does is write a short, woefully inadequate letter on hearing of helena’s death

arthur’s mother has far less problems over the whole thing! she flutters around to all the friends and cousins who are suddenly willing to hear from her again, and tells them that she just knew everything was going to turn out alright, that her boy was blessed after all! she writes eagerly asking when she should come to skyhold and is somewhat baffled by the swiftness of the response from the inquisition that, in no uncertain terms, skyhold is a fortress at war, and the inquisitor’s mother should not endanger herself by travelling. with a personal note from her sweet dutiful boy to please, stay home and be safe, and yes, mother, lady montilyet is here and she has very graciously avoided the subject of the betrothal, and no, mother, there is no need presently to be looking for a new match for him now this “horrid mage business” is over, and no, mother, andraste has not cured him of his curse yet

his brother maxwell writes him a normal human letter that basically says hey what the fuck is going on what do you need, and his little sister cat makes the sound decision not to bring up her surname to the current band of mage rebels she’s with until further details arrive

arthur himself would strongly prefer to keep them all out of it. he’s already taken them down crashing and burning with him once, and now he’s running the biggest most dangerous scam in thedas. and if not having to talk to them is an added bonus, then, well... his advisors and half his inner circle understand more than most