#I get that some people are really attached to their Inquisitors and sure they could have polished that dialogue a little more.

[heliomanteia]

I'm honestly so glad they introduced a new protagonist. Not just because Rook is a darling, but also because Inquisitor would have been a horrible choice for the story they wrote.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being another displaced Padawan with Cal Kestis

Cal Kestis x jedi!reader

warnings: angst, STAR WARS JEDI SURVIVOR SPOILERS

a/n:

prompt:

you and cal went way back

like, jedi padawan back

so after the purge, about five years later, you guys reunited by chance. thanks to cere junda, no less

and, god, seeing someone so familiar after trying to get by on your own, someone who knew the feeling of the trajectory of your life being thrown off before you were ready, that wasn’t easy to come by

“you’re here” -cal

“i’m here” -you

“we survived” -cal

“just barely” -you

cere was delighted that the two of you could have lifted each other’s spirits so much, which was very much needed in desperate times, as you two were just given a very important mission by a former jedi master in your order

you and cal kicked some serious ass together, helping one another relearn old lessons your masters had taught during your youth

“i think running across walls was the hardest thing i was ever taught” -you

“it took me forever to get that right! i could only get two steps in before i plummeted to the floor!” -cal

you shared a lot of stories and emotions during travels, in private

and not all of them were positive, but this was the first chance you’d had in five years to face these emotions, to air out your feelings

“do you miss the clones? i was so fond of our battalion, they were always so kind to me” -you

“i think…i think that was the worst part. the people who defended us in battle, gave me pep talks before training, always there, that same face at every turn suddenly behind the blaster that was meant to put me down” -cal

“i miss them” -you

cal and you had your missions together…and separately. you’d be on one planet and he on the other, trying to race the empire and inquisitors to the holocron

“it could happen all over again” -you

“it could be the key to saving the galaxy” -cal

“or we’d be creating a generational tragedy” -you

“so would the empire” -cal

“you’ve got me there” -you

cal gifting you ponchos from his travels (lol)

“any chance you like pink?” -cal

“well…” -you

braving zeffo alone while you knew cal was somewhere far more dangerous, you had a bad feeling about it

but your teachings from the order were always the same, no attachment. mission first, feelings second…no, last

but on cal’s adventure, he found merrin, a nightsister from dathomir

you hadn’t seen any nightsisters since ventress, which did happen to make you feel a bit off

“cal…you sure?” -you

“trust me, y/n. things have changed. merrin is just like us” -cal

“cal told me much about you. another survivor. a pleasure” -merrin

you and merrin grew quite close actually

she was truly spectacular, and swapping stories with her was sort of educational

“wait…the jedi responsible for the nightsister genocide? you said lightsabers, plural? how many?” -you

“four” -merrin

“two green, two blue?” -you

“precisely. how did you know?” -merrin

“hang on, no way—” -cal

“my master killed him shortly before we were split up…when the clones turned” -you

“grevious? really? master kenobi finally got him?” -cal

“who is this ‘grevious?’” -merrin

“general grevious, he was a separatist general—a cyborg. he wasn’t a jedi, he stole lightsabers from his kills. he ordered the attack on your home” -cal

“i’m so sorry, merrin” -you

you three were still healing from many scars, but doing it together was much more achievable than trying alone

it was a wonder you even made it to fortress inquisitorius

you, cal, cere. all three of you fought like hell to save those kids.

now, cal and you, you two had much different perspectives than say, cere or trilla

displaced padawans. little guidance. cal was barely old enough to even be a padawan learner, but times were desperate and the order called upon the youngling to start quite early. you were in a similar boat. it made you two see eye to eye better than most

trilla, a padawan with much more training and insight, one who was failed by the order that she was most loyal to. failed by her own master.

cere, a devout jedi master who failed many people who were counting on her. who lost herself to a side of herself that every jedi is supposed to fight.

and just before any resolution could come of all of you together, the famed and feared darth vader showed himself

and the sinking feeling you felt before he arrived froze you

“what is it, y/n? y/n?” -cere

*ominous breathing sounds*

you shook off the feeling, fleeing instead

cal and you were split up when you swore vader made a point to hold you back

“run cal! get out of here!” -you

“y/n l/n, i was hoping i would see you” -vader “where is obi-wan?!”

“i thought you were dead” -you

“is that what he told you?” -vader

“you’re going to kill me to get back at him? i haven’t seen him since the purge, anakin! i left!” -you

“there is no anakin!” -vader “did you leave, or did he leave you?”

“are you just going to let cal get away?” -you

“he can’t get far” -vader

“my journey is not important to you” -you

“you are like me, y/n. obi-wan failed us. these inquisitors are weak, impressionable, disposable. but i know how you think. i know how he thinks. i give you the opportunity to join me. fight with me.” -vader

“i saw the holotapes, anakin. i saw what you did to the younglings and i will not let you do it again. we are not alike, obi-wan did not fail me. i took a page out of ahsoka’s book, i found my own path. and it is not beside you.” -you

“this is not over, y/n. i trust you’ll find your way out” -vader, force pushing you off a ledge

you did find you way back out and merrin was quick to save you before going back for cal

you were left completely unharmed, as well, which was quite the surprise to everyone else

“what happened back there, y/n?” -cal

“nothing i’d like to relive” -you

cal nodded and let it go, focusing on the holocron floating before you all

your mind kept replaying memories as they discussed what to do with it

memories of anakin’s massacre. vader’s speech. younglings you couldn’t save. luke and leia somewhere across the galaxy. the inquisitors.

“destroy it.” -you

in one quick swipe, cal took his lightsaber to the glowing blue cube. no questions asked

and from there on, it was no longer about the order. you remembered why you left in the first place. the purge, the politics, your master couldn’t contain himself. your troops turned their blasters on you. everything you were taught was bantha fodder. and you were just a padawan

it was now about disassembling. scaring the people in power while giving the little guy some hope.

“this is a much better gig than obi-wan playing by the rules” -you

“from what you told me, him and anakin never played by the rules” -cal

the name made you shudder, but you pushed past it

“well, anakin was known as the rulebreaker. obi-wan always tried to reel him in. but, i’ve noticed a rule or two that master kenobi had bent” -you

“anakin has a padawan too, right?” -cal

“he did. she was also a rule breaker. when she left the order, i almost followed her. last i heard, she went to mandalore with half of the 501st. i, uh—” -you

“right…” -cal

you were still haunted from the encounter on nurr. still hadn’t told cal and it was eating you up inside.

but the fighting made it feel better

dismantling, stealing, helping

and then merrin left. and cere. and greez settled down. and you and cal were just two makeshift jedi knights with your tragic pasts and your need to keep your place in the galaxy

and keep each other close

but not too close

those rules you followed, the one’s obi-wan followed, you threw them out a long time ago. the jedi order was corrupt. you examined each council master postmortem and decided that they were all flawed despite their rank. you hated them for it.

but decided the one teaching you would follow would be to lose hate, a step to the dark side.

you didn’t really even know at this point, what was the difference between right and wrong anymore

cal and you continued fighting. joined up with saw gerrera. never left each other’s sides

which…sparked feelings you’d never really been taught or told how to deal with

only aversion, really. but it wasn’t like you didn’t really talk about it

“i don’t really see the problem with it. look at everything else we do, that’s not exactly the jedi way” -you

“it’s dangerous” -cal

“love is dangerous?” -you

“attachment is” -cal

“i figured you already had attachments. we were all a crew before this” -you

“i let them all go” -cal

“and you’d let me go?” -you

you began constantly questioning these ways and trying to fight for a new future with cal, without pressing too hard

but it was hard to ignore those feelings and harder to constantly be denied by your old life

and it was harder when the new crew always teased you two

“come on, kestis. if you don’t, i will” -gabs

“yeah, just go for it. who’s it hurting?” -bravo

“i’m just not ready to go there” -cal

you were more bothered than you let on

but you always put the mission first

up until your trip back to coruscant

“this is just a reminder of how little it all matters now. there’s no one left.” -you

“that’s why it matters” -cal

the intensity of this mission made it so it was just the two of you again

and maybe that would spark something…but you doubted it

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @locke-writes // @sweetheartlizzie07 // @queen-destenie // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @gabile18 // @sweetjedi // @retvenkos // @swanimagines // @randomfandomimagine // @dontyousassmeok // @dindjarinsspouse // @zoeyserpentluck // @summersimmerus // @scarthefangirl // @sheridans-dynamos // @lady-violet // @simsrecs // @xoxobabydolls // @ruvaakke // @simp-legend // @evilcr0ne // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @your-local-simp0 // @elenavampire21 // @pheonixfire777 //

[mellidee]

….okay the more I think about it, the more the rationalization of wanting a clean slate for Veilguard and decreasing the choices of the worldstate so drastically makes less sense.

Nerd ranting under the cut.

I’m one of the many who started with Inquisition, and yes, I was a little confused. Yes, I did feel like my enjoyment of Inquisition felt a bit lessened because there’s a lot of cameos and references I was completely blind too. But you know what I did?

I went back and played the rest. And all the games felt so much better knowing that this was my world, this was MY Thedas. I grew attached to characters. I finished Inquisition with my custom worldstate and I loved it. And there’s so many people who finished with the default worldstate and loved it. I feel like BioWare is kind of regretting ever doing the concept of worldstates because I get it, it’s so hard to keep track of and when you want to attract new players, having a grand narrative connecting games is really intimidating. But you can gain new fans that way! People might go back and play the rest to see how bad they can screw up their next run of Inquisition and fall in love with the setting even more. Some may just forever love the default state and never play the rest! It doesn’t have to be so one or the other!

They keep stressing that this is Rook’s story and it’s their time to shine; Origins’ is the Warden’s story. DA2 is Hawke’s story. Inquisition is the Inquisitor’s story. But all four of these stories make up the tapestry that is the story of Thedas. I love the Keep, and I adore the Mass Effect Archives just because I can build the tapestry and see everything laid out. To remove elements of past stories, to not hear characters reference their own histories is removing the cohesion of the story of the world itself, and breaking player immersion. Yes, the characters still exist offscreen and we have our headcanons, we can “make up” what happened next: but even as someone who lives for headcanons, I still like seeing tangible things. I want more moments like my Warden threatening my Inquisitor to keep Alistair safe. I want Morrigan to mention her son. I really wanted to see how Vivienne as Divine would have any ramifications ten years down the road. They didn’t need to be huge cameos, but it made the world feel so lived in, so personalized. But nope, I just have to make it up I suppose.

I’m sure the game will be great, I’ll still play it. But on a scale from 1 - 100 on the hype scale, I plummeted from a 90 to a 45. I was a bit bummed with the combat because I like the overhead tactical pause and I love taking control of companions, but I could live without it. This was a major hit. I’m scared for Mass Effect, because I love it more than Dragon Age. I don’t want my favorite sci fi setting to get watered down.

[bloodyshadow1]

just my feelings on the bad kids and their class levels/classes right now. It's just my opinion, I am not bashing the multiclasses or the players choices

Adaine- Love it, she's an 11th level wizard, i get that multiclassing can be fun, but for some classes it's just better, imo, to just stay the course because having access to upper level spells can be more useful than a multiclass. I'm sure there's a broken wizard multiclass, but I think it just fits her better to stay a wizard throughout. Sometimes with full casters, I could see dipping into monk or Barbarian for the ac buff, but neither would help her so It's probably best for her to stay a wizard since she has access to 6th level spells since leveling up

Kristen- Same as Adaine, I personally like full casters to stay the course and keep on keeping on. again I'm sure there's a broken cleric other class build, like Saccharina from ACOC, but I'm not sure anything other than paladin would fit Kristen. A lot of her issues are mental and Tracker was right about her not wanting to do the boring stuff. I like her having to discover what she wants out of being a cleric rather than her dropping it because it's not exactly what she wants for something new.

Riz- 11 levels of rogue, though from the beginning of the season he's now an arcane trickster instead of an inquisitor which I think is more helpful and just a better fit. He's still a detective, but he's also kind of a secret agent so having access to magic helps and fits his character growth. Also he never really used a lot of the inquisitor abilities that often and his perception wasn't that good to justify the subclass. I'm also glad he is staying a full rogue so far, I think given the mechanics of Junior year so far, it would put a lot of strain on him to try and do more than just a single course track

Now for the multiclassers

Fabian- I think both taking levels of bard and going from champion fighter to battlemaster was the best choice for him. I think overall he was a fighter because he was taught to be one, but overall the boy is a bard at his core. The flourishes the spells, the charisma proficiency, they're what Fabian wants more than what he gets from being a fighter. Fabian has always wanted to be popular and stand out while being a great warrior and a swords college bard fits that better than being a fighter, a class he seems to have very little attachment to. Currently he is a 6 fighter 5 bard, since he was a level 8 fighter and gave up 3 levels to take in bard when he was depressed he has boosted up 2 levels in that class vs 1 in fighter. After the initial class level trading he hasn't decreased his levels in fighter, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does in the future.

Gorgug- this is where I get a bit critical, I don't really know if Artificer Barbarian is a good multiclass. I've seen some people say it's amazing while others say it's terrible, I have no clue. from what I can tell it doesn't look like it's super good, it's a support class and a tinkerer so it does fit Gorgug, but I don't think it really is that efficient with the Bad Kid's party comp. Fabian and Gorgug were the front line fighters, Gorgug being the tank and DPS while Fabian was a striker dps with a good hp pool and ac, but Barbarians soak up damage better than any class. It's also hard to be a caster (even a half/third caster like Artificier, and be a barbarian because you can't cast spells or even concentrate on them when you rage which is obviously a problem. It's just hard to imagine gorgug as an battlesmith, which I assume he is, since other than the steeldefender it doesn't give him anything he doesn't already have as a barbarian. We also don't know any of his infusions so it's hard to really be attached to Gorgug as an artificer when we don't really seem him artifice. That being said, he's Zac's character so whatever he wants is gonna happen. Since Gorgug has been trading an additional level in barbarian for artificer (6 barb/5 art) I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually drops barbarian all together. I think a barbarian is more useful, but I can understand why Zac would want Gorgug to go down the artificer path instead and I support it.

Fig- Honestly, Fig's multiclassing is the strangest to me because I can't really wrap my head around it. She so far only has 2 levels of warlock to her 9 of bard, even last level up she took another level of Bard, the two levels she took of warlock were in freshman year and she never really looked back. That being said, from the recent eps, it seems like she likes the warlock classes better, she isn't even sure if she wants to be a bard anymore. which I find kind of a shame because she also liked the 1 bard class she took. Emily is a master multiclasser so I'm sure Fig is gonna be great whatever and will be who Emily wants her to be. I'm hoping she doesn't become a paladin because, even if it's to replace her levels in Bard, despite hexblade being one of the best combos with paladin. It just feels like Fig as the character took levels/are planning to take levels in other classes to make other people happy. She became a warlock because she found her devil father and wanted to be closer to him, she offered to become a paladin for Cassandra to help out Kristen, but I think that's selfless, but it doesn't help her as a person. Sometimes you can be too selfless to a point where it's bad for you. Emily can of course do whatever, but I'll be a bit sad if has Fig giving up on being a bard. Like with Kristen it seems like Fig just doesn't want to do the uncool stuff and that's gonna be with anything she tries. I think she's running away from what she wants herself to be to make things easier/more exciting and I think it's going to backfire.

I will also say, it's not exactly fair for Brennan to poison her bardic abilities. I'll say more on the topic on another post but it's still how I feel.

[sleepymarmot]

My reactions to the Veilguard character creator stuff released yesterday. No story spoilers.

I hope we'll get choices for the Inquisitor's prosthetic, because wtf is this:

Just looks like a normal hand with a slightly glossy texture. At first I even thought she grew her hand back somehow. This can't be it! If they don't let the Inquisitor be very visibly an amputee I'm going to riot.

Also, I wonder why the Inquisitor is wearing the same clothes that in other clips are confirmed to be the Shadow Dragons casual outfit.

---

A combat video confirmed that Spellblade is electricity and Evoker is cold damage. Disappointing. And do you have to play a Champion to have a fire-themed character?

---

I wanted to play a rogue Shadow Dragon. Then I wondered if a mage Spellblade Shadow Dragon could fit the concept.

This is the "aspirational armor" for a female mage Shadow Dragon:

And this is for a female rogue:

The mage armor is immeasurably better than the rogue! The same is true for Mourn Watch and Antivan Crows. I don't want to wear this! I was so excited to see the first Shadow Dragon armor, only to realize later that it was for the wrong class. I wonder if transmog works between class variants... My Inquisitor was a mage, so I want Rook not to be one.

Why does rogue get the worst armor in a faction where your backstory is about stealth :(

---

I'm still not sure who to play: elf or human.

Initially I wanted a city elf rogue, to contrast my Dalish elf mage Inquisitor. But I wanted her to think of Tevinter as her homeland, like Dorian does. And for an elf, the Mercar backstory would make that a bit sinister, wouldn't it? Adopted by a human family and assimilated to the point she wants to redeem their human empire built on enslaving elves and appropriating their culture?

On the other hand, this worldstate hasn't had a city elf hero yet. Another strike against humans: one of my main candidates for romance is Neve. Two brown human Tevene Shadow Dragons women together — that's too similar. (Human Shadow Dragon Rook is more or less South Asian in my mind.)

This problem could be solved if we could play as an elf-blooded human... But it's not very likely that we'd have dialogue confirming that. Just as well we could have dialogue that would contradict the idea, stopping me from playing it even as a headcanon.

There's also qunari: I haven't played one in this worldstate, so they would be the most obvious option, if not for the faction. A kossith baby getting adopted by humans in Tevinter and "fighting from the shadows" to abolish slavery? Way too much going on at once, and too implausible. A qunari in Tevinter would be so conspicuous they'd compromise any secret operation by their presence alone.

(Looks like I'm not alone, some players on reddit who also planned elf SDs are also disappointed.)

---

We can have top surgery scars, that's nice. But what do we attach them to? Can we have a body with a flat chest but wide hips? I didn't see one on the thumbnails in people's videos, they all seemed either fully masculine or fully feminine.

---

That's the second darkest skin tone with 95% melanin? Looks really light. Maybe the lighting here washes out? My Inquisitor's skin is about as dark as Davrin's, this looks nowhere near.

[danielnelsen]

The Veilguard Q&A thing: Which location are you most excited/hoping to explore in-game? Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have? Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far?

answered the first one here

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

only very broadly. definitely a grey warden, but i havent decided between elven mage and dwarven rogue. every time i think im leaning more towards one over the other i realise im actually not lmao. i think there'll be the most extra dialogue and story content for elves and i dont wanna miss out on anything (obviously it will be a complete story either way, but yknow), but dwarves are my favourite race. the only reason i dont play dwarves very often is because i love playing as a mage. i think my choice will probably come down to what the actual backgrounds of the characters are: if we can play a dwarf with like..a dwarfy background, rather than a surface dwarf from a mostly human population, then that might tip the scales. i dont think i could resist playing a dwarf from the ambassadoria or kal-sharok (not that the latter is gonna happen).

i think my rook will be nonbinary, but i havent decided between he/him or they/them. im interested in how well the game will handle neutral pronouns, but my characters are also always somewhat an extension of myself, especially on my first playthrough. i'll most likely stick with a default name and face, but i'll definitely play around with the body customisation. hopefully you can be real-life fat, not just popular-media fat (aka not fat). today's article also revealed that you can adjust 'glute and bulge size'. so. we'll see where that takes me. if im already making the rest of my body bigger, then.........

im going into the game expecting to romance davrin, but we know nothing about anyone's personalities yet so that's very easily subject to change. second choice is emmrich. i think my rook will be a bit more serious than i usually play my dragon age characters, especially since we're starting out already having had some real-world experience (im a grey warden, after all), but who knows, maybe once i start picking dialogue options i'll just feel the need to be sweet to everyone.

this is all very surface-level stuff, which is the only planning im gonna do. maybe i'll be more sure of my race option by the time the game releases, but everything else will just evolve based on how the game goes. i dont wanna get too attached to a character that wont end up fitting well into the story.

15. Do you have any unpopular opinions about DAV so far?

ok it took me a while to think of something because whenever i see a lot of people disagree with an opinion i have, i also see plenty of people who share my opinion... but i dont really want the inquisitor to have too big of a role. it makes sense for them to be there, and i especially understand people who romanced solas feeling like their inquisitor should have an important part in the story, but i think this is a bit of a limitation of having the plot directly follow from the events of dai. it wouldnt make sense for the inquisitor not to show up, but this isnt their game, it's rook's. id argue that it would make sense for them not to show up much because solas knows them already, but we've got harding as a companion, who solas is also very familiar with. that said, i expect the writers have probably learned from the reaction to hawke's cameo in dai and will do a better job of writing the inquisitor than they did with writing hawke lmao

[high-dragon-bait]

Once, on my main blog, I posted a big long thing about a theory involving possible advisory roles for companions in Dragon Age 4. Since it was on my main blog pretty much no one saw it. But now I have a Dragon Age blog, and people who care about Dragon Age follow me for my theories. I don’t wanna just reblog it here because it won’t show up in the tags, so I am verbatim copy/pasting it, slightly amended, here.

Here you go once again: My theory for advisors you could have in Dragon Age 4

____

I’m far from the first one to suggest this but I cannot stop thinking about the possibility of Dragon Age 4 having advisors similar to how it worked in Inquisition. They could do missions, recommend certain quests, and give you…well advice. I am, again, not the first person to suggest this but it would be FASCINATING if two of these advisors were Dorian and Fenris (which is why I’m so Big on Fenris having a major role EVEN IF he can technically die in Dragon Age 2)  

The reasoning for this is pretty obvious, Dorian is a Tevinter Magister and Fenris is a freed Tevinter slave. They’d both have very different but very helpful advice and both have just as much stake in Tevinter as you. It’s also fun because these are both beloved characters in the fanbase so you’d want to hear them both out.

They’d also both be extremes on a spectrum, Dorian would want you to rebuild the Magisterium system into one that’s good and just and doesn’t sell children into slavery and Fenris would say it is irredeemable and want you to burn it to the ground.  

We’ll talk in a bit about how we put these two in the same room without hands being thrown but for now

There is a discussion over who the third advisor would be, and honestly I don’t think a third advisor is really needed, Dorian and Fenris could be plenty especially if DA:4 is a smaller scale than Inquisition which I think it will be (and I’m glad for it) BUT the main contender for the third advisor for awhile was your own Inquisitor which…I liked at first, but, I’m not as sure. I DO think your Inquisitor will make an appearance but having them be a full on advisor might be kinda…iffy.

Think about it. People are VERY attached to their Inquisitors so I understand why you’d want this but also…remember what Inquisition did to Hawke? I remember so many people complaining about how their Hawke wouldn’t do or say that, never be so hateful towards blood magic or leave their LI behind to help the wardens, and those complaints are valid but the game is doing the best it can. It’s taking a character that is yours and trying to make them another NPC that you cannot control. The game can’t read your mind, and it only has so much to go off of from the info you plugged into the keep, so the version that appears is always going to be imperfect.

For that reason, I don’t think the Inquisitor would work as an advisor because to be that involved, they would just SCREAM those imperfections at you until this character is completely unrecognizable as your own (which already happened with some people’s Hawkes in a very limited amount of screentime.) Like I said before I think the Inquisitor WILL show up, I think that’s kind of required, but if I had to guess they’ll be mostly mentioned, send a few letters, and then a cameo towards the end, not heavily involved the whole time.

So, who’s the third advisor?

Again, the game doesn’t need one, Fenris and Dorian would be plenty, but if it had to have one, I think the answer has been given to us

Varric

Varric would be the middle ground, the peacekeeper. He knows both these people well and would probably be able to keep them from killing each other. Also while Dorian or Fenris might want you to go with their extreme, Varric would offer the compromise. The solution that appeases both sides at least partially, and would also be there with a dad joke to break the tension so Dorian doesn’t get his heart ripped out whenever he suggests appeasing to the magisters. He’s also a spymaster, while Dorian and Fenris can give you the perspective of the rulers and the slaves, Varric would be the perspective of the citizens who might not have stake in either groups’ plight, but they still need to be considered.

So yeah, there is my ideal “war table” (it probably won’t be a war table) for Dragon Age 4. I say it won’t happen, and it probably won’t, but fuck it, I’ll get attached now and complain about it later. I have the time!

[lesbiankrem]

Watched Ep. 1 of Dragon Age Absolution

of course I'm generally excited to see something dragon age, to see different places and people

the animation style is usually pretty fun, especially the way they do magic effects, and there is a good amount of detail in the look of buildings, clothes, expressions. their intro sequence is nice.

i am not sure why they chose that blocky weirdly modern/characterless sans serif font for the location overlays. I liked the use of the inquisition map to show they were traveling... why not use that font?

i wish they drew some actual strap or other staff-holding mechanism for the mage characters. this isn't the damn video game you can make it make sense. if the mages really are doing some continual spell to float their staff an inch away from their backs, you would think they would talk about it sometimes, so I don't really accept that's the explanation. it would also be great characterization through costuming! have poorer mages using cumbersome, rough and ready straps and fancy mages having a whole garment with a click-in attachment for it that they can use magic to operate, but don't have to continually expend magic for.

i am usually someone who gets most irritated over time with plot that is written for the convenience of the writers and not with edits done to make sure it makes sense. like if you have your characters get into a fight with a mage and his crew in a bar that mage should use magic to fight!! You should have to deal with a fireball or telekinetic weapons or something. If you defeat him anyway it better be because you had some effective counter, not because he conveniently and inexplicably only uses magic for theatrics (burning the bartop to scare someone) and nothing else (idk fighting for real).

Also why bring the plans to a public place!?!?!?! Don't do it! Just say no to reading your heist plans at the bar in Tevinter as an elf who escaped slavery!!! the writers did not NEED to make her that dumb (and the rest of the team implicated too). They could have just had that guy recognize her or pick her out for harassment because of course you can harass any elf with the claim they "must be a runaway" in Tevinter.

on the positive note with Qwydion pretending to be a slave for a magister, it seems they are explaining how bull (as a qunari) got to walk around Tevinter without being attacked -- they have some qunari slaves and servants and possibly even other free travelers and citizens, which provides a cover. I can see why Tevene society/government would opt to not ban them, either because tbh the Qun can just send elven, human, or dwarven converts or pay off people to get spies. It's not like it would slow them down too much for Qunari/kossith to be banned from Tevinter. Meanwhile all the labor from captured or defected qunari would be valuable, and so is all the time and resources they save not trying to enforce a ban.

other plot & character thoughts....

I don't remember Fairbanks being that competent or confident in DA:I. Maybe they will explain that with what happened to him from when the Inquisitor first meets him until now.

I don' think we actually met a mage named Hira in DA:I -- which is fine it makes sense, no problem... just if someone wants to contradict that and say we did, I do want to know

as I suspected even in context the "people like us can't change the world!!!" "people like you never try" exchange just seems......... bad. though this may be showing a flaw in their dynamic together or like, character flaws on both parts, but wow what a both obviously false statement and horrible way to try to motivate someone. of course people from rough backgrounds try to make things better. of course lack of trying isn't the big, main reason why formerly enslaved elves and other people like that don't tend to effect lasting changes in society that everyone knows to credit them for. but to be fair the writers, it's believable to me that Hira might think and say that... and i can't say they meant for the line to be taken as truth.

i don't think people usually call it a "cheese farm".... there are dairy farms... and cheesemakers. may b wrong i'm not a cheese farm expert. very cute anyway for Hira and Miriam to want to farm cheese <3

they really are relying on Miriam having moodswings to explain her choices. not yet sure that is a problem, makes sense that she might have moodswings, but if they keep it up for when their plot asks for it even if she has Character Development to manage them I am going to complain about it

i kind of don't get why the mages couldn't bust down a grate or two or clear the rubble the "blocked" tunnels. i guess we can imagine they are REALLY filled in with rubble and the ones with metal grates are also enchanted and trapped to hell and back but if it were me i would have written that in with a line to make it clear

[qqueenofhades]

Hi, I’ve been wanting to ask this for ages. Do you have any good book recs for queer history pre-20th century? I don’t have much of a preference on whether they’re popular or academic press, or if they focus on individuals or a larger scope. It’s just so easy (for obvious reasons) to find stuff about more recent history and I’d like some variety.

Also since you asked for prompts while you have the plague, I’d love anything that comes to mind with more Leia.

Do I have any recs for pre-20th century queer history? Ahaha. Ahahaahaha. Aha. Hah. I, uh, may have a few. The best place to start is in my queer history tag, which will contain the various books, topics, and questions that I have discussed over the years. There are many recs for all periods of premodern queer history, which is one of my chief academic specialties. If that is not sufficient for your purposes, DM me and I can email you my bespoke 10+ page bibliography on medieval and early modern queer history.

As for Leia, please enjoy this small snippet of feelings set after the end of Kenobi episode 4:

-------

If she's honest, Leia Organa still does not know for sure why any of this is happening.

It started so simply: running away from the palace on Alderaan, as she's done countless times and which she is usually indulged by doting nannies and droids, even though they have to give her a stern scolding for the sake of form. Her parents are also resignedly used to it, though Mother has started to make more noises about how this won't be tolerated as much when Leia is older and has real responsiblities. As for Senator Bail Organa -- well, he adores her, he always gives her a secret smile when he hears that she's shown up some interfering bureaucrat or officious minor relatives, and Leia would shrivel into dust if she ever really disappointed him. But still, that shouldn't have ended like this. She's been kidnapped, rescued, kidnapped again, fallen off a building, seized by strange people who really aren't polite, almost tortured, interrogated by the frightening Inquisitor Reva who told her that Ben was dead, and she almost believed it until he appeared and saved her again. Lifted her down from the rack, fought his way through endless hallways like a real Jedi with a real lightsaber, and has promised to take her home. Home.

They're sitting side by side on the transport, Lola safely tucked into her bag, the little droid's presence a familiar and comforting hum that Leia can feel at the edges of awareness, the way she can with everyone she knows well, or even those she's just met. She has never had a name for the strange things she can do, the way she can look into someone's eyes and know their entire history and their deepest fears, and Bail and Breha have warned her that it's not something to talk about with anyone outside the family. Leia isn't dumb, stupid -- she knows that the Empire hunts Jedi and anyone who might be attached to the Jedi in any way at all, and she's snuck away to the library at odd hours and called up all the holo-records she can get her hands on, either with her own clearance or by faking her father's. She isn't sure, not entirely. But she thinks it's called the Force.

Leia has never known how to feel about that, and even less so now. She's known from a young age that she is adopted; the Organas have always been honest about that. But they turn considerably more evasive when she asks who her birth parents are. One of them, she's deduced, must have been a Jedi somehow, or connected to the Force. That was why she thought Ben must be her real father, when she first met him. He was so concerned about her, but he's never met her, and he can do the things that the Jedi used to do. She saw him fight, the searing blue glow of his lightsaber, the way he kept battling off all those stormtroopers and tried to hold back an entire ocean for her sake. Who else could love her that way, but her father?

And yet, he's said he's not, and Leia can sense that that's the truth. It makes no sense, but maybe now is not the time for mysteries. He looks so tired and so sad, and he sits as if he's still in terrible pain. Inquisitor Reva told her that he burned to death, and maybe that part wasn't entirely a lie. Just then, Leia desperately wants to be a grownup, a full diplomat and not just a little girl playing at it, being trained for an important destiny that she doesn't fully understand. She can't think what else to do. So she reaches out and takes his hand.

Ben -- she's heard people, including Tala and Reva, call him Obi-Wan, but in her mind, that's who he is -- looks at her, startled. Leia's briefly afraid that she's done something wrong, since it's clear that he's been alone for so long and doesn't know how to accept the simplest of comforts, but then he takes hold of her small hand with his large, rough one and squeezes. They sit there like that for what feels like forever; it's hard to tell in hyperspace anyway, and it doesn't matter. Then he exhales raggedly and says, "Thank you, Leia."

She bobs her head awkwardly. She isn't sure what to say. He's the one who rescued her from an obviously terrible fate, and she still doesn't know why Reva and the rest of the Empire want her so badly. Yes, she's a princess of Alderaan, she's the daughter of an important Republic politician who the Emperor still doesn't trust -- but maybe there's something beyond that. She will understand that one day, Leia vows to herself fiercely. She will.

"Thank you, Ben," she says back, quietly. "For saving me."

"No." Obi-Wan Kenobi looks down at her, weary and gentle, an old broken-down man who loves her so much for reasons she can't fathom, and Leia doesn't care at all for why. "You saved me."

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Hey! I literally love your last post so much but I'm confused about the rebels bit (never watched it). How does Rebels criticize the jedi? Thanks!

Aw, thank you! (Lol, this is such an old ask I don’t remember what that post was, but here goes).

Well in s2 Ahsoka, Kanan (a survivor from Order 66) and Ezra (his Padawan) all go to an old Jedi Temple to talk to Yoda about Vader and his Inquisitors (Darksiders who hunt the few remaining Jedi and kidnap Force sensitive kids). Yoda is only there spiritually and the three of them get different visions. Ahsoka sees Anakin as Vader, and Kanan has to fight several enemies and eventually admit he can't protect his Padawan from the world, only guide him (which prompts the vision to finally make him a Jedi Knight, as he survived Order 66 as a Padawan.)

And Ezra... Ugh. Ezra had a previous encounter with Yoda, in which he got his lightsaber crystal. Basically Yoda asked him why he wanted to be a Jedi, and Ezra had to do some self-examination and eventually realized that helping and protecting people made him feel alive, which greatly pleased Yoda who told him he might become a Jedi after all. That's a really great exchange and I love the character development Ezra gets, as he starts by saying he wants never to feel powerless and eventually realizes that's not the right answer.

But in this second encounter, as Ezra asks how they can defeat the Inquisitors, Yoda basically says that fighting is rarely the right path. And to illustrate that, he says that line about the Jedi being arrogant and joining the war swiftly "in their arrogance," which really bothers me. He also says they were "consumed by the Dark Side", which is why they're now gone. In all fairness, he also mentions that they were motivated by fear, which is partially true. 

Now, I write analyses and I try to be intellectually honest about them, because ignoring contradicting stuff weakens your argument instead of helping you. Except this time, I really can't accept this quote. I have an excuse, Lucas wasn't involved in Rebels so it's not the highest canon in my opinion (the 6 movies + TCW are, here are the quotes justifying my position), and I feel like that assertion is out of character for Yoda, ignoring his ST ghost appearances, and also plainly factually incorrect.

I understand that Ezra really needed to be taught not to always seek to fight. At this point, he's still an emotional kid who occasionally struggles with the Dark Side. Not fighting is important to a Jedi's path, so I can understand Yoda's intention. But the example he uses? According to Lucas, the Jedi were drafted in the war. That's not jumping into a conflict out of arrogance, that's literally being dragged there against your will. And sure, there’s Geonosis, but how exactly is rescuing a bunch of your people that’s getting slaughtered by a Sith Lord the same thing as arrogantly jumping into a fight? Like, what’s the option here? Not go, and let an innocent Senator and a bunch of Jedi be murdered?

It's like Rebels!Yoda isn't acknowledging that the war was fake and that a Sith Lord engineered it as the perfect trap (which is recurring problem in Rebels; at one point Ezra, Kanan and Rex have to fight an old Separatist tactical droid and Ezra "solves" the Clone Wars by pointing out that nobody won except the Empire, so really they were on the same side all along, and he gets praised for doing what "a bunch of Jedi, senators and Clones couldn't do," ie getting both sides to talk to each other – except wtf??? setting aside that the Jedi and Rex were aware of the war being fake by the end of it, and that the Separatists were openly led by a Sith Lord and attempted to commit genocide several times in TCW and did commit mass murder, and reduced like several worlds to slavery or starvation and were backed by the worst big corporations you could imagine, the war would NOT have ended if the two sides had tried talking it out. 1) The Senate made it illegal 2) the big corporations arranged for terrorist attacks on both sides the one time they tried to negotiate so the war would drag on and they'd get more money out of it 3) Sidious. Was. Controlling. Everything. What. The. Heck. Would. Have. Been. Accomplished. By. Negotiating.)  Plus the question of whether or not the Jedi should even fight is like... constantly raised by the Jedi during TCW, so I really can’t see it as “oh wow we didn’t even take the time to think and we got killed because of it, we really sucked.” 

Seriously, there’s this S6 quote: 

MACE: Are you sure we are taking the right path? YODA: The right path, no. The only path, yes. Designed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, this web is. For now, play his game, we must.

Like yeah, totally rushing in and being eager to fight lol. Nothing to do with being boxed in and having no alternatives. 

So yeah that's bothers me and I don't think it jibes with the rest of canon. I don't remember Yoda telling Luke (who, in the beginning, is as eager to fight as Ezra is) that the Jedi "disappeared" because of some fault of their own, or because of an eagerness to fight. (Seriously, pussyfooting around the fact that the Jedi were slaughtered grates me.) The OT never, ever, ever implies that the destruction of the Jedi Order was their fault - and unless you assume that the OT is “pro-Jedi propaganda” (*laughs in dumb youtube comments*) then I don’t see Rebels weaving it into its narrative as legitimate.

Again, choosing alternatives to fighting is a great lesson on a personal level, but it doesn't work on the scale of the Rebels/Empire conflict - or the Jedi/Sith one. Ezra should often choose not to fight because of what it'll do to his soul. The Rebels should not stop fighting because there is no cohabitation with something as evil as the Empire. Imo Yoda is always presented as wise enough to know the difference. 

The last thing that makes me think it's out of character is Yoda's spiritual journey in TCW s6. He gets all of his flaws thrown into his face and has to conquer them – he has to face his literal Dark Side and he wins. And yet at no point during that arc is he ever made to conquer his ‘Jedi arrogance’ or whatever. He has to face his worst fear (first vision, all the Jedi dying), let go of his attachments (second vision, him having to accept that he can’t live in a perfect world where everything is beautiful and no one is dead), and reaffirm who he is as a Jedi (third vision, refusing to give up on Anakin and trying to save him rather than to kill Sidious) but at no point is he ever made to recognize that wow, the Jedi are the worst for fighting. 

I’d argue that the very purpose of the visions showing him Order 66 and Anakin falling are to make him accept that these things are completely beyond his control - and as such, not his fault. He doesn’t get to fix things, because the fate of the Order is not in their own hands. It is, in fact, in Anakin’s (from a thematical/narrative standpoint). Yoda has a hard time with it (actually he almost shuts down when he first sees everybody dead and his first reaction is to say that he failed them, so I can’t accept Yoda blaming his grandkids for dying) but he accepts it in the end, when he tells Mace and Obi-Wan he’s not certain one ever wins a war, but they might still find ‘victory for all time’ (referring to balance aka Sidious’ death in RotJ). 

So anyway that’s my beef with Rebels!Yoda. Not hate on Rebels though, there are many parts of it that I really, really love - but some of them kinda infuriate me, and this is one of them. 

[holydragon2808]

Thoughts On Dragon Age II after Replaying (Massive Spoilers)

Hello fellow DA fans! It's been quite some time since I last posted anything here on Tumblr. Hope everyone has been safe during all of the world's craziness. Figured I'd post something to let people know I'm still alive.

Anyway, DA2 was first released back in 2011. I was 20-21 years old at the time. Back then, while I still acknowledged the lack of genuine player agency with Hawke (in comparison to the Warden before them), I did belong in the camp of people believing that people went way overboard with the DA2 critiques regarding those complaints, at least back then.

Now though? After replaying the game again a decade or so later, and also in light of the Inquisitor and DAI, I now personally believe that Hawke's story stands out as (overall), all the more unbalanced in comparison to both the Warden and Inquisitor.

Massive Spoilers for the franchise abound beyond this point. Last warning.

Despite a lot of the old critiques leveled at DA2, it isn't a 100% terrible experience, and despite the oncoming rant, I do love the game overall.

Even though I've personally always thought that DA2 story was centered around tragedy a bit TOO much, in light of the growing franchise and the directional tone of the other protagonists thus far, it unfortunately stands out even more to me, and not in a good way.

A shame really because DA2 could have been a better and interesting contrast to DAO in tone and direction had it been more balanced with meaningful successes and failures for Hawke as a character rather than veering too far over into angst and tragedy.

For example, in DAO, your Warden character is railroaded into success against the Blight no matter what. Regardless of the origin, regardless of what sort of allies you acquire, no matter if you live or die in the end or which warden gets the final blow, you succeed.

This sort of narrative framing gave the writers a much easier way to balance genuine tragedy and success throughout the journey without veering too far in one direction or the other, and also without making nearly everything the player does seem like an exercise in futility.

In other words, there were failures and successes more properly balanced throughout, from experiencing meaningful failures and heartache during the chosen origin stories, to failure at Ostagar, to having more balance with the party members and their struggles (they weren't too boring or too dysfunctional), romances that stood out as a light for the Warden amidst all the fighting and death and their massive burden, to succeeding with building the army to take on the Darkspawn, to potential personal sacrifice to save the world and so on.

The option to play a more tragic, angsty or "evil" character who alienates everyone around them and then ultimately dies in the end is there too. The point is that the game largely gave the player the reins and let THEM decide what sort of story they were interested in shaping within the confines of the narrative railroading.

This balance just isn't there with DA2 as the player progresses. Hawke is railroaded into failure in almost every way from start to finish, whether in their personal life or with the massive political struggles in Kirkwall.

I'm sure most people would have been fine with the main plot between the mages/Templars spiraling out of their control in the end (thanks Anders), the Qunari rampaging no matter what, and even the Hawke family being forcefully separated as the story progressed.

However, to me some of the railroaded bleak tragedy should have been offset by Hawke (and by extension the player) at least having the OPTION of being able to keep their family alive.

I'm fine with the tragedy of losing the whole family being ONE POSSIBLE option in the game, but when this tragedy along with the main plot failures, the dysfunctional party members that are too problematic to help ease Hawke's burdens (in fact, they all add to Hawke's worries, which if Inquisition shows anything, that it finally takes its toll on Hawke) is THE ONE AND ONLY OPTION in light of everything else wrong in Kirkwall, then that's a potential writing issue and could potentially alienate the player more than make them care about anything that happens and wonder why they aren't given the option to just nope out and leave Kirkwall to its fate.

Tragedy can be fine, don't get me wrong, but not everyone wants to role play a COMPLETE AND UTTER tragedy from start to finish with no option to deviate in any way from that narrative. Options in the way people progress (especially where people can break the story down and see the holes in the narrative where it COULD have possible but just wasn't allowed), should be presented in a ROLE PLAYING game.

I personally find it more realistic and relatable when a character experiences a nice blend of both MEANINGFUL success and failure. However, the writers seemed intent on railroading Hawke into just being at the mercy of the main plot with little to no agency.

In stark contrast to DAO, planning for the entire story in DA2 (or just in an RPG period) to end in failure no matter the player choices is already a bold enough risk on its own. It can definitely work with the proper balance of both positive and negative experiences along the way though in both the political and personal aspects of the player characters life, to keep the player actively engaged in a way that doesn't leave them thinking that their presence in the story amounts to little more than the equivalent of holding a book and simply turning the page rather than actively doing something.

But combining an already planned bleak ending with a very corrupt setting where the leaders on all sides are either completely moronic or passive, party members where the majority of them have too many burdens of their own to give Hawke a genuine sense of a reprieve from the madness even if romancing one of them (except for Varric, Aveline, and Bethany, if alive, everyone else is either a whiner or dysfunctional. It's very telling that Hawke's PET DOG gets more no strings attached visits from the party members than Hawke does. Just saying), railroading Hawke to lose the majority of their family in some way, AND having what little success and influence Hawke DOES acquire to come back and bite them in the ass in the end (Hawke struck it rich and became Champion of Kirkwall?! Awesome!.....right up until its revealed the red lyrium idol they found in the deep roads played a part in screwing up everything), then at that point, a serious argument can be made that the writers veered far too heavily into tragic overdone melodrama for some people.

How cool would it have been to be able to leave the game with "Well, okay, I couldn't do anything about the corruption in Kirkwall or the mage/Templar tensions spiraling out of control, but at least my whole family is alive and well"? There could have even been an achievement/trophy for this very outcome called "The pride of the Hawkes" or something.

Just one possible example of how the railroaded political failures could have been offset by giving Hawke, (and by extension the player), the OPTION for personal success in a more meaningful way. The option for extreme tragedy with some or even all of the Hawkes dying can still be there of course for people who want that degree of angst, but again having multiple OPTIONS is more likely to accommodate more people and their preferred play styles or stories, and thus, give more reasons to play the game multiple times.

As it stands now, sure, Hawke can save the life of one sibling, but they're still railroaded into losing one of them before the prologue is over, the other is either killed by the Blight or forced from their side in act 1 because the game said so, and the mother is forced to die in the most shock value induced way possible (nevermind not even being able to warn Leandra in act one or follow up on this quest until it's too late in act two or the guards and Templars being forcefully incompetent for this to play out like the writers want).

Those have just been my thoughts as of late. Some people argue that in a way, this is the entire point of the game. That sometimes only REALLY crappy choices exist and there may not be a third option. I agree with that to a point.

But "there might not be" and "there NEVER is" an option for an ideal third way are two very different things and IMO, DA2 suffered in veering far too heavily in the direction of the latter, often being too focused on heartbreak and shock value (looking at you "All That Remains") to really work as well as it could have.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts a decade later. Make no mistake, I still love DA2 for what it is, love the general concept and idea of DA2, just not the execution. It's just sad to me that this game could have been so much better with more development time, more options to shape Hawke's story on a more personal level (whether with an ideal outcome of everyone in the family living, or a semi tragic one where some can die depending on choices, or everyone dying), and not being railroaded into tragedy to nearly nigh ridiculous levels to the point where a giant spider nightmare residing in the Fade in a whole other game mocks Hawke for their "failure is the only option" status.

And just to further clarify my point here, true, Kirkwall was a ticking time bomb with or without Hawke being there. They made the tensions between the two factions apparent as far back as DAO. A Mage/Templar war was all but inevitable, as was Anders eventually losing himself to Justice/Vengeance and after exhausting all peaceful options, finally doing the unthinkable and "forcing everyone to choose a side". That part was fine. And it makes sense for this part of the story to remain static and unchanged no matter what (as I said before, the issue isn't necessarily that DA2 had a planned tragic ending or was framed as a set story within a story).

The issue is that, at the end of the day, regardless of whether this is framed as a recounting of events already played out, Bioware still chose to present this part of the story to the world as an RPG, not a novel. It's just too easy to pick apart the current execution of the narrative and find too many holes and inconsistencies, far too easy to see that Bioware wanted tragedy and completely railroaded the player into it regardless of whether or not it made sense to do so at times. Part of it is definitely that it was rushed, but not all of it.

" Genuine inevitable tragedy" (example: the mage/Templar rebellion) and "railroaded and just never given the option to question/change anything because the game/developers said so but still forcefully insisting and trying to frame it as an inevitable tragedy" are two very different things (outright confirming in Act 1 that the remains of the serial killer's vicitms did indeed belong to one of the missing women (Ninette's wedding ring) and he gave them white lilies but conveniently never given the option to bring any of this up to the guards/Templars or pursue the quest or warn Leandra until it's far too late). Leandra's death isn't the only example of this problem, but it definitely is one of the most prominent and IMO, takes away from the intended story of a good woman who met a bad end with their oldest son/daughter being unable to prevent it when the game failed to let them (and by extension the player) truly try.

DA2 could have been a great contrast to DAO. Rather than having the influence to shape the fate of the world like the Warden and succeed in their goal, they could have compromised in DA2 with having the fallout of the Kirkwall Chantry destruction and the rebellion still happening no matter what (i.e. Hawke "failing" to stop any of the madness and still ultimately forced to flee Kirkwall in the end after finally dragging the Amell line back into prominence) but still given the player the option to save their immediate family members across the story if certain choices were made throughout. I'm sure most people would have been fine with a more "bittersweet" option being presented for Hawke, (and by extension the player) in the game, especially where again, one can pick apart the narrative and see where it could have been an option, but just wasn't allowed for no other reason than seemingly because of the "True art is angsty" trope.

Bioware could still have their own canon (similarly to how Alistair is shown to be king in their canon no matter what as an example) of the ultimate tragedy if they wanted, but again, DA2 is still an RPG where players expect to have more meaningful choices reflected in how they progress, even with an inescapable darker and downer ending.

Complete and utter tragedy is fine, but I just don't think it was the best decision to have it as THE ONLY option in an RPG.

[potatowitch]

Hawke as Companion

Template by @little-lightning-lavellan

Is your OC a Companion in the Dragon Age series? What would it be like for a player to select them to join their party for quests (or romance them, perhaps? 👀)

I did originally plan on doing this for my Inquisitor but, as always, I've got Hawke brainrot instead, and I figured writing some companion interactions would be so much more interesting with her as a companion than my Lavellan. This got .... very long.

You have selected RIAN to join your party!

Race: HUMAN

Gender: FEMALE

Class: MAGE

Specialization: BLOOD MAGE

BACKGROUND

Marian Elaine Hawke, known also as “Rian”, “Chuckles”, “Champion of Kirkwall” and “Hawke, NO” was born in 9:06 Dragon to Malcolm and Leandra Hawke. Despite having to keep her father's magic a secret, she was never led to believe that magic was anything but a gift. Therefore, she spent much of her younger years experimenting to see if she could produce magic, eventually managing at age 9 to light the fireplace with a tiny fireball.

Growing up, she was attached to Malcolm at the hip - the two of them shared not only their magic but their senses of humor and general chaotic energy.

After the Hawke family fled Lothering during the Blight, Hawke joined Athenril’s smugglers to pay off her entry into Kirkwall. As soon as she met Varric at the start of Act 1, they became inseparable best friends - Hawke often cites Varric as her soulmate and the platonic love of her life. During the Deep Roads expedition, Carver became infected with the Blight, and with the help of Anders, Hawke was able to lead him to the Grey Wardens so he could join their ranks.

Over the years, she developed close relationships with most of her companions except for Aveline and Sebastian. Her friendship with Merrill eventually developed into a committed romance, and Hawke started to practice blood magic after recognising that Merrill could do so without being "evil". The two of them eventually also developed feelings for Isabela, and as such she joined their romance as well.

By Act 3, Hawke had become a staunch supporter of mage rights, a dedicated member of the Underground, and wholeheartedly supported Anders’ choice to destroy Kirkwall’s Chantry.

Following the destruction of the Chantry, Hawke and her friends fled Kirkwall, splitting up despite Hawke desperately wanting them to remain together. Isabela and Merrill chose to remain with Hawke, and the three of them traveled across the Free Marches, occasionally running into Anders and assisting him in rescuing mages from rebelling Circles. Eventually, Isabela managed to acquire a new crew, and her partners were more than happy to sail with her as she established herself once again as the Queen of the Eastern Seas.

INQUISITION

Depending on the player’s choices in Here Lies The Abyss, Hawke can be convinced to stay and help the Inquisition further instead of accompanying the remaining Wardens to Weisshaupt, becoming a full companion. She will move to sit with Varric by the fire in the main hall. Hawke will also be present in Varric’s companion cutscene where he invites the Inquisitor to play Wicked Grace.

Upon first being recruited to the Inquisition, Hawke’s specialisation is not available - when automatically leveled, she will put points primarily into the Inferno and Storm trees. Her unique specialisation, Blood Mage, only becomes available if the Inquisitor has allied with the mages at Redcliffe. At that point, Hawke will initiate a conversation with the Inquisitor about their opinions on blood magic, and if the Inquisitor states that they have no problem with it, her specialisation will open. Otherwise, she will refuse to admit her use of blood magic to the Inquisitor.

At this point, Hawke will also speak more openly about her support of Anders. She will eventually admit that they are still in contact, though she won't tell the Inquisitor anything that could give them an idea of Anders’ whereabouts.

Her specialisation is not open to the Inquisitor, however Hawke can offer to teach a mage Inquisitor "a neat trick", which will give the player the choice to replace their current Focus ability with Hawke's.

BLOOD MAGE

Upon unlocking Hawke's specialisation, she will gain a large increase to her Constitution but her mana bar will become considerably shorter, and conventional healing effects will only operate at 25% efficiency. If she is out of mana, she will automatically revert to using her health pool to power her spells instead.

Her spell tree is very similar to the Dragon Age 2 Blood Mage tree, however it does not include the Blood Slave ability - it is instead replaced with Blood Bomb, which is a variant of Walking Bomb. Instead of applying a damage over time curse to a target, Hawke channels a spell that corrupts the targets' blood from the inside until the target dies - at which point they explode, doing damage to nearby enemies. This spell continually consumes Hawke's mana and health while it is being channeled.

Her Focus ability is Major Sacrifice, a variant of the Knight-Enchanter's Resurgence. Instead of healing the party to full health and providing an ongoing healing aura, Major Sacrifice will instead heal the party to full health but take 25% of Hawke's current health, and will provide an aura of ongoing damage to nearby enemies, converting their health into health for the party.

VARRIC'S PERSONAL QUEST IN VALAMMAR

If the Inquisitor brings Hawke to Valammar, she will be suspiciously quiet throughout the quest - though she will pipe up to complain about the Darkspawn. Following the reveal that Bianca shared the location of the thaig, Hawke will be furious and will argue with her.

Upon returning to Skyhold and speaking to Varric, the cutscene will begin in the middle of a conversation between him and Hawke.

HAWKE: You deserve better, you know. VARRIC: Yeah, you've said that before. HAWKE: It bears repeating. As many times as it takes to get it through your thick head. You deserve so much better. VARRIC: *sigh* Thanks, Chuckles.

APPROVAL AND ROMANCE

Hawke is not romanceable, though she welcomes playful flirting from a female Inquisitor. She will eventually initiate a conversation where she makes sure the Inquisitor isn't expecting the flirting to go anywhere further, as she is already in a relationship.

RIAN APPROVES OF: Supporting mage freedom, open-mindedness with magic and spirits, sarcasm, humor, stealing from nobility, pranking nobility, loyalty to your friends, being nice to Varric, terrible puns.

RIAN DISAPPROVES OF: Chantry rhetoric, the Circles, Templars, Tranquility, authority, betraying your friends, ignorance, pomposity, being mean to Varric.

Hawke will not leave the Inquisition, even if her approval is at Hostile. When questioned about this, she will say:

HAWKE: Did you miss the part where Corypheus is my responsibility? I’m going to fix my fuck-up, Inquisitor. If I have to put up with you while I do it, then, well … I’ve always said the Maker has a sick sense of humor.

TRESPASSER

Following Corypheus' defeat, Hawke leaves the Inquisition to rejoin Merrill and Isabela.

Once Trespasser is started, Hawke can be found accompanying Varric and Bran to the Winter Palace.

During exploration of the Eluvians, if both Hawke and Varric are in the party, they will briefly discuss how excited Merrill would be by all this, and Hawke will say "You'd better be writing all this down, Varric."

She will approve of redeeming Solas, though she won't disapprove if the Inquisitor decides they would rather kill him.

High Approval

If Varric has chosen to give the Inquisitor an estate in Kirkwall, Hawke will pipe up during the conversation saying she's excited to be neighbors, offering to give the Inquisitor the key to her wine cellar - though she will complain that Varric has never given her control of the harbor, to which Bran will mutter "thank the Maker".

Regardless of the Inquisition's fate, Hawke will return to her lovers, occasionally keeping in touch with the Inquisitor via letters.

Low Approval

If the Inquisitor has low approval with Hawke, they will be informed that she left as soon as the Inquisitor stepped back out of the Eluvian following the final confrontation with Solas. The epilogue slides will state that her whereabouts are, once again, unknown.

COMBAT COMMENTS

Killing an enemy

And stay down!

One more for me. We’re keeping score, right?

Have at you!

How’s my hair looking? (COMBAT ENDS)

I wonder what’s in their pockets. (COMBAT ENDS)

Oh, ew. I’m not cleaning that up. (COMBAT ENDS)

Low Health

This is going badly!

Little help, maybe?

Why are none of you healers?

This hurts! This really hurts!

Low Health (Companions)

INQUISITOR: You good over there, boss?

VARRIC: Varric, that blood better not be yours!

COLE: Help the kid!

CASSANDRA: They’re swarming the Seeker!

BLACKWALL: Hang on, Beardy!

IRON BULL: Bull’s in trouble!

Fallen Companions

INQUISITOR: Shit! Trevelyan/Lavellan/Adaar/Cadash is down!

VARRIC: Don’t you dare leave me now, Varric!

COLE: Cole! No!

CASSANDRA: Seeker is down! How did they manage that?

SOLAS: Come on, Solas!

DORIAN: Help Dorian!

SERA: Awful quiet, isn’t it? Oh shit, Sera!

LOCATION COMMENTS

(first time seeing a High Dragon) *laughing* "Oh, this will be fun!" IF VARRIC IS IN THE PARTY: "Hawke, the last time you fought one of these you nearly died." "Yeah, but I didn't die. That's the important thing."

(approaching a campsite) "Well ... I've slept in worse places."

(when collecting a Shard) "Let me guess. We have to collect a stupid amount of these for a really stupid reason, and they're all going to be in really stupid, hard to reach places. *sighs* I love adventuring."

HINTERLANDS

"Have we been here before? Feels like we've been here before."

(upon unlocking the cabin in Redcliffe with the Tranquil skulls) "That's ... fucking Maker. Tranquil have always made me uncomfortable but ... they were still people. They were still... shit, I need a second."

FALLOW MIRE

"Eugh, that smell! Worse than my dog when he's eaten cheese, and that's saying something."

(upon killing Widris) "Something, something, crazy mages ... "

"Oh, walking corpses. That's nice."

STORM COAST

(upon seeing the dragon vs giant fight) *laughing* "Oh, that's brilliant!"

"Not to sound like Varric, but why are there so many bloody hills around here? My legs hurt."

EXALTED PLAINS

"Maker, I hate Orlais."

(finding Valorin's corpse) *sighs* "Might sound a little hypocritical coming from me, but ... blood magic is not for the careless."

(seeing the ruined bridge, if Varric is in the party) "Hey Varric - " "Don't you dare, Hawke." "C'mon, please?" "You are not tossing me!" "Spoilsport."

EMERALD GRAVES

"I've always thought it was beautiful how the Dalish bury their dead under a tree sprout. Like ... I don't know, maybe death doesn't have to be the end."

HISSING WASTES

"There's sand in ... places. So many places."

"Have I said I hate sand? Because I hate sand."

EMPRISE DU LION

(seeing Red Lyrium) "Maybe don't touch that. It'll do all kinds of weird shit to you."

"I'm fucking freezing. When can we go home?"

(seeing Red Lyrium giants) "What the fuck?"

(Elfsblood River rift - near the lady with titsicles) *giggles*

SHRINE OF DUMAT

"I'm getting the weirdest sense of deja vu." IF VARRIC IS IN THE PARTY: "You're not the only one."

DEEP ROADS (THE DESCENT)

"Why do I always end up back in the Deep Roads? Am I cursed?"

COMPANION COMMENTS

VARRIC: "I was worried about what would happen if I brought her here, but ... it's nice to have Hawke around again."

CASSANDRA: "I have to admit, I do admire the Champion. A woman who built herself up from nothing to defeat the Arishok ... there's a certain romance to Varric's stories about her."

SOLAS: "I've been informed that Varric also calls Hawke "Chuckles". I ... don't see how we are similar."

DORIAN: "Hawke? Oh, I like her. She's not as daft as she acts."

BLACKWALL: "The other night, I found her getting teary-eyed in the tavern over how much she misses her dog. Don't quite know what to make of that, really."

VIVIENNE: "She is a powerful mage, I'll give her that, but she's also a naive fool. No wonder Kirkwall fell to pieces around her."

IRON BULL: "She's fun. Got a lot going on in that head she doesn't talk about, though."

COLE: "Fleeing, fighting, falling. Failed father, failed mother, failed Beth and Carver too. Fire and freedom, and she knows it's right but it still feels wrong. Old wounds that never healed, sometimes she can still taste the blood in her mouth. You chose to save her. She wishes you chose differently."

SERA: "Thought she'd be scary, but she makes me laugh. Hasn't let owning a mansion get to her head, either, and have you seen those arms? She's strong."

CULLEN: "I'd ... rather not talk about her, if you don't mind. We've a less than friendly history."

JOSEPHINE: "Lady Hawke is charming, certainly, but I cannot imagine her being popular amongst her neighbours in Hightown. She throws the very concept of decorum bodily out of the window."

LELIANA: "I knew her when she lived in Lothering. She didn't seem to like the Chantry much, but she was always sweet, and her jokes made me laugh. It's a little odd to see the woman she's grown into."

TRIVIA

Malcolm also made sure he trained Hawke in using a sword. She's not very good at it, preferring instead to use her staff as a melee weapon if an enemy gets too close.

She has a mean right hook.

Her and Varric have matching tattoos on their left buttcheeks.

Despite being Ferelden and adoring her own mabari, Hawke has a preference for cats.

She's awful at singing. She sings a lot anyway.

[crackinglamb]

Chapters: 50/? Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Solas (Dragon Age), Solas (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Solas|Fen'Harel, Rogue Inquisitor, Varric Tethras, Cassandra Pentaghast, Vivienne (Dragon Age), Sera (Dragon Age), Fiona (Dragon Age), Gereon Alexius, Felix Alexius, Dorian Pavus, The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Blackwall (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Cullen Rutherford, Josephine Montilyet, Lace Harding, Cole (Dragon Age), Sky Watcher (Dragon Age), Wisdom (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Modern Girl in Thedas, not a self-insert, Non-Canon Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Diary/Journal, Alcohol, Swearing, Snark, Pining, Emotional Slow Burn, Explicit Sexual Content, Repeated Poor Life Choices In Bed, Solas Being Solas (Dragon Age), Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Additional Characters to Be Added As They Show Up, NOW WITH VISUALS Series: Part 1 of Wicked Things Summary:

Imogen McLean is glad she's played the series before. She's read all the novels, she's flipped through the comics. She knows what's going to happen. She's got secrets to keep and canon to break. Now if she could just keep her hands off the Dread Wolf, this might all go a bit easier. Besides, he's got plans of his own. He's not the staying kind, and she knows better than to get attached.

You hear that, Thedas? She's not going to get attached. She's not.

 Beta'd by Iron_Angel. NSFW will be marked with **.

*This fic now has embedded images. More will be added as I take/receive them. Most chapters have something in them, some have several. Screenshots were taken by me, any art is credited to its artist.*

Chapter 50 - It’s a Lovely Day In the Fortress...

“Inquisitor McLean, meet Eliana Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall.”

“Not that I go by that title much anymore.”

The two women sized each other up for a moment.  Hawke was not an imposing figure, for all that her legend preceded her.  She was thin – too thin, really – and her face was narrow and angular with it, crisscrossed with scars from a decade of keeping Kirkwall from utterly imploding.  Her glossy black hair was threaded through with gray and she wore it short, manageable for a life on the run.  Grief seemed to cling to her, and Imogen's first impulse was to pull her into a hug and never let her go.  

Hawke had been assessing her too, and she wondered what the mage saw.  Finally, she looked away from Imogen to nod her chin at the Mage Tower.  “You've built something here I never thought to see.”

“I believe in the freedom of mages,” Imogen said.  Hawke focused back on her and her gaze was piercing.  Her eyes were dark, almost black.  There was weight in them, too many things seen, too many things lost.  Too many people lost.  

“Varric tells me you already know about Corypheus.  And that you've already dropped half a mountain on the bastard.  I'm not sure what I have to add.”

[shadowglens]

1, 3, 10, 28, 48 & 58 for Lyssa & Nuala 🤓

ASK ME ABOUT MY OCS!

1. what’s the one thing they would save in a fire?

lyssa — herself, or any of her loved ones. lyssa has never been a very sentimental person and doesn't feel very attached to her physical belongings (not that she has many to begin with). she might save some of her more expensive clothes i guess.

nuala — her books! she loves reading and has a small collection of ancient tomes and the like in her quarters, and would die before they got burned up (most of them are first editions).

3. how would they fare in a zombie apocalypse?

lyssa — amazing. lyssa is well practiced at surviving, and even if reverting back to old habits would be hard at first, she'd fall into a routine quickly. she might get roped into helping a resistance of sorts though.

nuala — quite well too. she'd disappear, isolate herself in nature somewhere far enough away from civilisation that no one (alive or undead) would ever find her. she spent years alone in the wilderness in her late teens, and so is used to sustaining herself in the wilds alone. it would be a lonely, quiet existence though.

19. how’s their financial situation?

lyssa — pretty good. i'm not sure if superheroes get paid (?) but i always imagine her being quite comfortable financially.

nuala — money has always been of little consequence to nuala, even if she does amass quite a substantial amount of wealth as inquisitor. she is quite possibly one of the richest people in thedas by the time of corypheus' defeat, but nuala has never carried herself as snobby or arrogant (about money, at least).

28. who, if anyone, do they dislike most?

lyssa — she always had a love-hate relationship with most of her dark elven peers, and was never very fond of any of them. she also dislikes tony, but that's out of spite more than anything.

nuala — cole, because he makes her Very uncomfortable (not because he's a spirit, but because he has a tendency to voice her thoughts when she'd rather them remain hidden). also cullen. ironically, solas is now on her list.

48. are they a good kisser?

lyssa — yeah!

nuala — not really. she tends to be a little too rough, a little too sharp, but she's not that bad.

58. if they could change one thing about their life, what would it be?

lyssa — part of her wishes she’d never been taken by malekith and that she could have been raised by her parents in peace, but then she’d be an entirely different person to who she is now and that’s an .... uncomfortable thought for lyssa. she likes who she’s become, all things considered. 

nuala — she wishes she could’ve learnt the truth (or at least, solas’ truth) about the dalish sooner, wishes she could’ve convinced him to stop and wait for her to catch up, wishes he would’ve given her a chance to voice her opinion before he disappeared through that eluvian. she wishes, above all, that she could’ve done more with her reign as inquisitor besides being propped up by other people. 

[wanderingstormjen]

Little piece about my Quiz and her favorite (and only) Tevinter brother.

******

Dorian woke to a dull, throbbing headache. His body felt tingly and weak and faint nausea rolled across his stomach. His mouth was dry and felt gritty, as though he’d inhaled sand, and he was assaulted by a bitter, acrid taste and smell that did nothing to help his nausea. He couldn’t quite recall how he’d come into this sorry state and, after a moment of trying to remember that only succeeded in making his headache worse, he decided the best course of action was to see if there was someone around who could tell him.

He was relieved at least to see he was laid out on his bedroll in an Inquisition tent, a warm blanket half tossed over him. He could hear the usual sounds that accompanied the camp, the footsteps and low voices of the guards, the crackle of the fire, and the soft nickering of the horses. Beyond it, he could hear the sounds of the world around them, the Exalted Plains if he remembered correctly.

“Well its about time, Sparkler.”

Dorian looked over to find Varric sitting on his own bedroll, tinkering with his crossbow. The dwarf pushed the weapon off his lap and picked up a water flask. Dorian took it and drank a few swallows, clearing the dryness from his throat so he could speak. “What happened?”

“You don’t remember? Figures. Happened so fast I’m not surprised. We were headed out to see if we could find that Templar Cassandra’s been trying to track down. Pretty sure we were on their trail when we were attacked. Couple guys with swords and one fast little prick who popped up out of nowhere and tossed this at you.” Varric picked up a small leather pouch with a strange mechanism attached. “Poison bomb near as I can tell but it’s not a design I’ve seen before. Hit you in the chest and you caught a load of powder to the face. You were down before we could make a move.”

“Poison?”

“Yeah. Nothing deadly at least. I think they were trying to take you alive. Well...not you actually. Her. They messed up. Someone hired them but we’re not sure who yet. We found a note that said to watch out for us and that the Inquisitor was a mage. They must have seen you and figured you to be the one they wanted.”

“Lucky me,” Dorian huffed, “Is the Inquisitor okay?”

“She’s fine. Worried about you.” Varric chuckled. “Damn if Sunshine doesn’t have one hell of a right hook since she learned that Rift Punch spell or whatever it is. She’s quick too. I think the guy would have flown twice as far if he hadn’t slammed into those rocks. Anyway, he’s dead. She doesn’t mess around when she’s pissed off. I think the Seeker’s rubbing off on her.”

“Where is she?”

“Outside. She watched over you until about an hour ago. Finally convinced her I’d keep an eye on you so she could get some rest but you know her. She’s not going to relax until she knows you’re okay.”

The sun was nearly touching the horizon as Dorian stepped from the tent. It meant that, based on the last thing he could remember, he’d been out most of the day. Cassandra stood with one of the camp guards by the makeshift table, discussing something on the map. The Seeker inspected him silently, nodded, then motioned with her chin.

“Quite the view,” he said a moment later as he joined the Inquisitor under a tree at the edge camp. The Plains stretched out before them, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.

Solana turned from where she’d been watching several wild halla as they grazed along the riverbank. “How are you feeling?”

“Perfectly fine, thank you.” He decided that as the headache and lingering weakness would be likely gone by morning, he could let her think it was true. “Are you all right?”

“Fine.” She sounded anything but. She turned back to the halla.

“Now, now. Enough of that. You keep frowning like that and Varric’s going to have to come up with a new nickname for you.”

It managed a half-smile, for a moment at least. “I was...worried. It all happened so fast. You...I thought you were...”

A surprising surge of affection coursed through Dorian. She really had been worried about him. It was still an unfamiliar feeling to him.

“It’s going to take a lot more than some half-rate bandit with bad aim to take me out, I can assure you.” He caught a flash of green from her palm as her mark sparked to life for a second. “It does that a lot, does it?”

“A little. It’s all right. It doesn’t hurt.” She closed her hand. “The guards said they got word there’s a rift not too far away. I suppose it’s reacting to that. We’ll have to take care of it tomorrow.”

“Delightful.”

She finally turned to him again. “You’re sure you’ll be up to it? If you’re not-”

“Solana, I’m fine. Certainly well enough to go traipsing off after a few demons. Must earn my keep, after all. Besides, I’d rather think a certain former Templar would be rather cross with me if I let anything happen to you. Especially now when he’s finally managed to do more than stutter any time he’s in your presence.” He grinned. “You really are adorable when you blush, you know. Your cheeks almost match your hair.”

It finally earned him a laugh. He stiffened as she leaned up against him and laid her head against his shoulder. He glanced back at the camp, sure he’d be on the receiving end of a few disapproving glares for daring to allow or encourage the Inquisitor to be so relaxed and at ease around him. A second later, he decided he didn’t care. He shifted and draped his arm around her shoulders.

He’d never had friends. Not really. He supposed he could count Felix as one, but he was gone now. He’d had few others. Just like everything else in Tevinter, Dorian had always seen friends come with a price. Friendship was a commodity you used to get what you wanted, to get ahead, or to see someone else take a fall. Friendships lasted only as long as it took to outmaneuver or outgrow someone and then you moved on to the next. Maker forbid you embraced pariahhood as Dorian had for much of his adult life.

He’d never expected to find friendship here of all places. He’d expected to be treated with distrust and suspicion. A lot of people did, of course, though he was surprised at the number of people who didn’t seem to care. About any of the things that had made him an outcast in Tevinter. He’d expected to be used as a resource, a tool, a font of knowledge, an extra staff when needed but nothing more. And when whatever this was was over, he’d be sent off with a thank you at best.

Yet, here he was. Sitting on a hillside watching a sunset with the last thing he’d expected: a friend. This impossibly sweet and kind, charming, and brave woman, thrust into role she hadn’t asked for but had somehow managed to embrace wholly without losing any of her grace and compassion. Who asked for and expected nothing from him save perhaps his friendship in return. And what was more? He found himself wanting to return it. He just hoped he could remember how.

“Dorian? Are you all right?”

“Quite all right. Sorry. I was just...thinking.”

“About anything in particular?”

“Nothing of consequence. Shall we enjoy this sunset? Who knows when we may get another chance.”

[dragonagecompanions]

hi there, so in love with your works. Seriously *bows head* thank you all so much. If its not too bad, I wanted to know how everyone in DAI from the advisors to the companions would react to a teen inquisitor who is brilliant at cooking? Yet the inquisitor has no idea about people from Leliana's agents to everyone else pinching her food.

Cassandra: She thinks she is being sneaky and subtle, insisting that because of their age and responsibility it is better for their young herald to stay close to camp and not take a watch when they leave Skyhold. There will be time for that when they are older, and bearless of a burden. If they will take on the difficulty of closing the rifts, then the most they should have to do is help around the camp, and after a long day nothing is appreciated more than hot food.

No one contradicts her, and the Seeker is left to silently congratulate herself on enjoying the absolutely divine way that their young leader has with rabbit and Hinterland herbs without making the Inquisitor feel worthless.

(And if everyone else lets her take a lead on that because she has mattered the speech, well...it’s really good stew.)

Varric: Damn, this is the stuff. Its like being back in the Hanged Man, except the bread is trying to actively strange him, and the pies aren’t staring back and.. 

It’s nothing like the Hanged Man, really, but the sheer comfort of phenomenal food at the end of the world? The same kind of warmth as sitting with your friends as the city goes to shit and laughing at a joke no one else gets. Their young protagonist has a good skill set on their hands, and If Varric’s writing table moves a little closer to the door into the kitchens, well.

Keeps the ink from freezing.

Solas: It had been a passing comment about the frilly cakes in Val Royeaux,  some exchange of banter with Varric about time passing and philosophy and the unending banal that one takes on to keep the miles from turning monotonous. He’d had no idea the Herald was listening, and so it makes it all the more touching when- after waqving to them as they take on the climb to the library- he comes down from his painter’s perch to find three petit fours waiting for him on his table. 

It drives home that they are a thoughtful young person, so different from the rest of this world, and if he uses the sweetness of the frosting and cake to drive away the twinge of guilt that his plans still move at speed....it does not take away from their talent, or their kindness. He will be content with that.

Blackwall: Food is food, particularly on the road. Hard tack and sausage has kept many a soldier alive, and he is the last person you’d hear complaining that he can’t put his pinky out eating meat from a spit. Luxury is for soft handed nobles, not men and women striving to make the world better. Let them have the best cuts-- Blackwall would starve before he robs true heroes of a hot meal.

And yet the first time he comes back from gathering firewood to find that the reason the inquisitor was tying so much string around the side of a wild hog was to make a porketta, and he got a good whiff of roasted pork slowly spinning in it’s own drippings....It would be a harder sacrifice. It made the Inquisitor so happy to watch their work be enjoyed and help people though, that it would the crueler not to take some. 

And if he dreams about the tender meat and crispy skin all perfectly seasoned and roasted for days afterwords, that’s no one’s business of his own. 

Vivienne: She cuts an imposing figure, and for the Madame de Fer is quite proud. It has cowed more than one recalcitrant novice into place with only a long legged stride alone, and for that she is a legend in her circle. Of course the stories do not tell how she would never be cruel or unfeeling to a child, and particularly not one far from home and frightened of every shadow like the ones that the Templars rip from families and depost in a new and strange place.

She expects a similar attitude from the young Herald, particularly after her (rahter stunning) entrance on their first meeting. And perhaps they were a bit overawed, but before it could become something she needs to address Lady Vivienne is pleasantly surprised to find their young leader coming to her for advice from a letter from some minor Orlesian lord. And while surely it will be up to Josephine to craft the response Vivienne is delighted that the Inquisitor wants her input.

That they went to the effort to bring beignet’s with them as a bribe...For that, she will give them every secret of the author’s well kept family scandals. 

Sera: Their Bitty Herald can make cookies better than Sera can make cookies, but they aren’t the kind that you throw at people as a prank or that come out all rock hard and brown and blegh. They are the soft gooey kind that make you want to steal the whole plate and eat them on your roof but also throw the plate at their Quizznitor because....because cookies!

She will trade pranks for cookies, who ever her Jenny in training wants to see doused in water or flour or...or...pudding! Pudding for cookies is the most fair.

Dorian: Southern food is bland and tasteless, and Skyhold’s resident ‘Vint will endure it for as long as he must to help defeat this ancient magister and get things on the right track. And the beer isn’t the worst, much to his own dismay as his delicate palette accepts the swill. But the food is all friend or brown or smothered in gravy, and he’d just as soon not.

So when they finally stop for the night under the endless web of branches that keep the sky from meeting the Fallow Mire, the pond water full of dead people sounds more appealing than one more night of Varric’s nug stew. Which makes the fact their valiant young Herald just ladled him a bowl of Minestrone so much more impressive. Their shrugged explanation of ‘I’ve always wanted to make it and the merchants had actual artichokes on the way here and you can tell me if I got it right’ does nothing to take away the warmth and delight the gesture brings to him. 

It would be like coming home, if anyone had ever made sucha rustic and delightful soup for him without strings and hooks attached in Tevinter, and for the first time on the whole mission Dorian isn’t chilled the rest of the night. 

The Iron Bull: He isn’t sure which one of the Chargers talks to the Herald (lies, it was  Krem), but one night half the fortress is piled into the Rest and the Inquisitor is waiting with four bowls of unreadable origin. The explanation that these are four kinds of curry and each is hotter than the last is the best gift he’s ever gotten, but the wager of a single coin (he won’t steal more than that from the kid) that the Iron Bull can’t finish them for the spice is even better. 

Three hours later finds him chewing on one of Stitche’s poultices for a burnt tongue (and throat and stomach and probably ass in a few hours) but one coin richer and hoarse voiced from the roaring laughter he’d gotten after a straight face convinced Krem to try the last bown and he’d literally wept.

Good times. 

Cole: The nug is made of bread, and it isn’t a nug but it looks like one. And it’s wearing a tiny hat! ‘Roll the dough out, has to be thin so it rises to keep the shape, he likes nugs so much and doesn’t ask for anything and Sera bet me I couldn’t.’ You made it for me. Thank you! He says hello back!

Josephine: When their ambassador hears that not only does the Herald have an aunt who married into a merchant house in Antiva but the inquisitor spent a summer there and learned to make authentic Paella, Lady Montiliyet’s mind is a whirlwind of plans and thoughts of just the appropriate bribe that would spare her from getting down on her knees and begging a fifteen year old to make her favorite dish. Eventually Leliana gets tired of little doodles of steaming bowls on all their meeting notes and sends a raven  three windows over, Josie, really with an ‘anonymous’ request to make it and leave it in the war room in exchange for a trade of equal value. 

And when Josephine finds out that all the Inquisitor wants is the creepy love letters from young  Orlesian nobles to go away, she takes great delight in her strongly worded letters to their mothers in between heaping mouthfuils of white wine rice and shrimp and the warm bite of saffron that will always be home.

Leliana: It is written on no report or schedule, and her agents will go to the grave without speaking of it to another soul, but the Inquisition’s spymaster has a man in the kitchens whose only role is to fetch firewood and water and try to one day recover his shattered after a terrible mission in her service. It’s easy work for a man who gave so much, and somewhere he is able to do good work until the tremors and the nightmares stop. The kitchen staff is kind to him and treat him well, but his true mission is known only to himself and his mistress.

The second the herald starts making  Cassoulet he is to fetch her immediately. She won’t be caught in a meeting and miss her favorite food again, damn it.

Cullen: It’s hard for the Inquisitor’s commander to be at ease with someone who is both a child and at least nominally his leader. They are someone he wants to protect, but also the key to stopping the world and someone who must be on the front lines. That is gift alone to the world, but when the rumors begin to swirl that they will also go out of their way to make things that people like it brings a small smile to his face. The world would be better if had more people like the herald in it. 

Especially if they could all make little crocks of shepards pie like the one that sits on his desk after a day of long meetings and a lyrium migraine. That might make everything right again.

-- Mod Fereldone