#Adaia Tabris

[shivunin]

the fact that you start the Tabris origin by literally stepping into your mother's shoes. the fact that what you get is a wedding outfit and your mother's worn boots, kept carefully intact for years, tucked away for this exact moment. the fact that you then immediately take the path she never could, leaving behind the alienage and the wedding and following Duncan (who would have recruited Adaia first, if not for baby!Tabris) to what ought to have been death.

And Then!! instead of fighting and falling as she did, cheating death and becoming the fighter she always intended you to be instead??? Reliving and simultaneously subverting the story of her life??

[sympateawithsugar]

Young dad and mom Tabris. I like to think Adaia was taller than Cyrion and had Dalish ancestry.

(the hair jewelry is a gift they gave each other)

[moghedien]

the timeline of Leliana’s Song vs things said in the city elf origin leave wiggle room for interpretation of exactly when Adaia died and there’s no clear answer for that which I love because I go feral for the potential there

like I’m obsessed with the idea that maybe Adaia did escape the dungeons and maybe she did tell her teenage child that there was a good human that saved her. And that child got their mother back for a little while and was old enough to consider that maybe their mother wasn’t lying and there might be a few decent humans. And then more humans caused trouble and Adaia was killed and there was no “good” human around to save her this time.

And the idea of this random good human becomes like a bitter thing in her child’s mind because the child has seen no evidence of this. They’ve only seen the evil humans can commit in them. They took Adaia twice. But that doesn’t change the fact that a human DID save Adaia from being tortured and killed in a dungeon. They got Adaia back for a little while because of a good human and it becomes a sort of nagging bitter feeling they feel conflicted about.

And then that child grows up and has a wedding that humans use as an excuse to hurt them and their family. They’ve never met a good human. Maybe some (like the priests) will tolerate them enough to perform chantry rituals for them. Duncan may have only helped them because he wanted to conscript them into the Wardens and take them from their family when they’re needed the most.

So Adaia’s child is taken from their home because they’re useful to humans. They end up getting burdened with responsibilities because they’re useful and because of the skills Adaia taught them. They end up traveling with a number of humans. They get exposed to the world outside of the alienage for the first time. Things probably change slowly for them, as they’re getting closer to people and experiencing more. Some humans will like them because they’re needed to save the day. Some humans might just be nice to them for no reason. Then again, a lot won’t and will resent them regardless. Some will just pretend not to notice that a knife ears is leading the Wardens, but it’s clear they do. It’s both validating and complicating their worldview. Maybe their mother wasn’t lying about a human saving her because they were just good. Then again, maybe the human just saved a random elf by happenstance and not from goodness.

They probably get close to number of their human companions in a variety of ways. The fact that the humans are all different and get along to varying degrees is probably complicating their worldview. The fact that they might try to get closer to an elf for no obvious reason instead of sticking together probably complicates it more. Everything is probably very confusing for a very long time.

Maybe Adaia’s child recruits a strange Chantry sister from Lothering, another human. Maybe they find themselves getting closer to her in ways they never expected possible with a human (or with another woman even). And then they find Leliana more and more complicated the more they get closer to her. She’s Orlesian and Ferelden. She’s a spy and a killer, but a Chantry sister and the most earnestly devout person they’ve probably ever met. She’s says offensive things about elves to their face and then actually apologizes to them and thanks them for showing her it was offensive. She will talk big about her seduction skills and then stumble every step of the way as she’s trying to flirt with them. Information about her history and her life trickles in slowly as she gets closer to them and is willing to reveal more.

By the time they’ve learned much about Leliana, Adaia’s child probably realizes how complicated the world actually is for everyone. Maybe they’ve met the dalish and found themselves being looked down on and treated either as human would be or as a child. Maybe they’ve gone to Ozrzammar and realized that oppression can exist outside of human and elves and the Chantry. Maybe they’ve returned home. Maybe they’ve tried to return home and found they weren’t allowed in, to protect them from the rioting elves within. Maybe they’ve saved the queen. Maybe they’ve killed Logain. Maybe they’ve slayed the archdemon and saved the whole damned world by the time it comes. It could be never or after these or anywhere in between when it happens.

But imagine Adaia’s child who is not an adult with a very complicated and shifting worldview, who used to only have the concept of there being at least one good human to complicate their world. One good human that gave them their mother back for a little while at least. And now they’re close to a human. They’re in love with a human who is extremely complicated and who won’t tell them honest truths about her past until they’re very close and much time has passed. Time in which their worldview has probably shifted a great deal and got much more complicated.

Imagine how it would go for Adaia’s child in this circumstance when the details of Leliana’s past finally come out and she’s willing to talk about them. When they find out that the same estate where she was betrayed and tortured was the estate they rampaged through, slaughtering humans to save their family and themself.

And it isn’t even pride that makes her reveal it. She isn’t bragging. She didnt feel like she was a good person in the moment. She struggles to feel like she’s a person now, even when she knows her actions are for the greater good. So imagine Adaia’s child when Leliana almost offhandedly mentions saving other prisoners from the dungeon. Including an elven woman who said she’d tell her child about Leliana and the fact that there are good humans like her.

[rammota]

i know bros had no money for a portrait but please let the tabris finally be happy,,,

[breninarthur]

been thinking so much about duncan and the city elf warden recently.

duncan being a mysterious family friend who knew the city elf's mother and wanted to recruit her, but has never been mentioned before.

duncan, who was conscripted by his warden-commander just as he was about to be executed for murder.

the city elf warden, conscripted by duncan; their warden-commander, just as they have been told they will be executed for murder.

it's so juicy

[jemandthesingalongs]

insaneeee insaneeeeee that for leliana meeting adaia was essentially a footnote in what is her lowest point in her life, a blip on the radar, not really even going out of her way to save her or anything, just happened to be in the direction she was going only for this chance crossing paths to lead to someone else having one of the lowest points in their life

and she can meet them and fall in love

[gabs-magical-abs]

Adaia: alive

Tabris: dead via the ultimate sacrifice

Leliana: getting yelled at by Adaia for not protecting Tabris

[bluerose5]

Not a new playthrough or anything but wanted to try my hand at creating my Warden, Darrian, in the BG3 character creator. Not 100% perfect, especially since I had to use a half-elf preset instead of the elf ones, but I think I'm satisfied with it (especially since this is without mods). 😊

Also, bonus, Adaia Tabris' form (based on my hcs at least) as his guardian:

[bumblewarden]

ok but there had to have absolutely been at least one time growing up when tabris had snuck out, so adaia or cyrion goes to soris & shianni and asks in a parent voice "where is your cousin", meaning of course their own child

and soris and shianni answer by pointing at each other because you've gotta put in more effort than that to make them snitch

[blightmage]

trying my best to recreate Adaia's morph, left is an unedited morph, right is my recreation. Also gave her some tucked hair. It's not prefect, but I'm pretty proud of how things are turning out. I still need to make some adjustments. Couldn't get the screenshots at the same angle though.

[heniareth]

Nightly Vigil

Words: 536 | Rating: Teen and up

A quick character study of Astala Tabris as a teen, and her changing relationship with her mother. The hanging mentioned at the beginning refers to the hanging of one of Adaia Tabris's fellow smugglers, which Astala witnessed with her mother (lotta headcanon material in this one)

On the fourth night after the hanging—that is, as soon as the appropriate time for a wake had passed—her mother was out running the streets again. And Astala couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed. She tried to find rest, but all the while she listened to every creak of the house, every brush of the wind against its crooked frame. She listened for steps. She listened for the dull roar of a mob.

Finally, she gave up, and climbed out of the bed. She hesitated, wrapped a shawl around herself to ward off the cold. Then she quietly approached her father sitting in front of the hearth.

Her mother could approach her father unheard. But her, he heard her. He smiled when he saw her, and pulled a chair up next to his. She'd long stopped being small enough to share a chair with her father.

"Can't sleep, little one?" he asked.

Astala shook her head, and leaned against him.

Her father wrapped an arm around her, and they both sat in silence, trying to look past the cover of darkness Adaia Tabris had disappeared into.

For as long as Astala could remember, her mother had done this. A few times, Astala had even gone with her, now that she was old enough to do so. And for as long as she could remember, her father had stayed up and waited for her.

"Will Ma come back?"

Her father sighed. "Well, she has always come back."

Astala didn't like that answer one bit. She could feel her father wasn't happy, either.

"What if she gets caught?"

"We can only pray that that doesn't happen, little one." Her father ran a hand over her hair. "I fear-"

He feared. What he feared, Astala never knew. He stopped himself before he could finish the thought.

"I want her to stop doing this", Astala mumbled into the resulting silence and pressed her head against her father's shoulder. "Why does she do this?"

It took her father a while to answer.

"Your mother..." he began, haltingly, "has always loved her freedom. It's important to her to be out, carrying her weapons. Even if..." He took a weary breath. "Even if it puts her in danger."

While Astala mulled this over in silence, her father continued speaking.

"Your mother also cannot stop doing what she thinks is right. It will drive her up the walls, and right now she thinks it's right to go out and work like every other night." Her father shifted, and as Astala looked up at him she found him looking at her with a smile. "You do that as well, you know?"

Astala looked away. Then she shook her head.

"I would never do this."

"My little girl." There was pity in her father's voice, and Astala didn't lean against him as much as he pulled her closer. "Don't be too harsh on your mother. She is trying to do her very best. For all of us."

Astala said nothing, and settled against her father's shoulders once more because she knew it would make him happier than arguing. She stared into the low flames of the hearth, jaw locked and tense, eyes stinging.

[starlightchocolatecookie]

Adaia Tabris (city elf's mom) Headcanons:

an extrovert, funny and witty

brings life to every party

mischivous, loves to troll people

best mom ever (according to her daughter)

used to work for Eleanor Cousland as a spy

[moghedien]

CRUMBLING because I’m thinking about how the entire Tabris family knew about Leliana years before the Blight, they just wouldn’t have known the name of the “Orlesian she-devil” that broke Adaia out of prison

[cyanorhis]

Ever since I found out about Adaia I have been so obsessed with her that I started tweaking Aria's design bit by bit with the only caveat being that I still want to keep her weirdly similar to Fiona bc I'm sick in the head and I like to put Alistair in ridiculous situations he cannot possibly control.

so I changed her skintone and eyecolor (darker and lighter respectively) but honestlyy? idk what I'm doing, every doodle of her looks different it is becoming annoying

[breninarthur]

I headcanon that as Dalish elves marry into clans, city elves marry into families in the same sort of way. They take on the surname of whichever family they're primarily joining (which usually entails moving in with them as it's more affordable).

It's not gendered either! Adaia married into the Tabris family and became Adaia Tabris, and as Nelaros was moving from Highever to Denerim, he would have become Nelaros Tabris too.

[jemandthesingalongs]

headcanoning war vet/night elf adaia with the line "[Adaia] wanted [Tabris] more than anything. It’s sad she never got to see you all grown up." and "Valendrian and [Duncan] have known each other for almost twenty years… since the time I tried to recruit your mother, in fact." [...] "I never made the offer. Valendrian convinced me that it was better for her to remain here with her family. As there was no Blight and thus no immediate need for recruits, I deferred to his wishes." really adds severe psychic damage of adaia simply wanting a peaceful life with her family after the war and im shattering like glass