#IT MAKES ME LOWKEY HATE SOLAS

[marimomo]

listen. sarcastic rook and solas have insane chemistry. im about to be blogging things that sol*vellan stans are gonna crucify me for

[kissingwookiees]

rava lavellan

[el-bellanaris]

The lack of treatment of Solas as a human being in Veilguard lowkey drives me wild. I didn't really think about it until after finishing the game but the Veilguard really just take over his house?? Rook is sleeping in his meditation room, the room he uses to spend time in the fade and where if you made certain choices is his place of connection to the Inquisitor. He does have a bed upstairs in his office but I personally see that room as his bedroom due to how accessible it is.

Regardless of the exact details, one of the first things we do is move our stuff in as Rook into his room. We're supposed to feel a sense of belonging to the Lighthouse as shown through how the companions will make their rooms into their own. Adding new decorations, turning an empty shell into a home. But how audacious of Rook, of us, to believe our cause so good and important that we can take some man's house because he is "bad."

And I understand the themes at play, Solas originally stole the Lighthouse from Elgar'nan and used it as his base for the rebels who fought against the Evanuris. So now it's time for a new generation to take on this mantle but there's a huge difference from taking a fort from a king who has a palace somewhere else and likely has multiple temples and places to live in then taking away the literal home of a man who has nowhere else.

Solas is a god in the thematic sense yes, he is powerful and revered by many out of fear but he is still a person. Becoming the self-declared heroes of the world does not grant one the freedom to literally rob a person of their house.

And now at the end of the game he's basically no longer welcome in his own home. Everyone in the Veilguard basically hates him and then squat in his house making it their home when they all have homes and just expect him to take it cos hes a "bad guy." I remember thinking how sweet it was that Neve started to think of the light house as her home, how she and other people would start to invite others over to have discussions showing how this is now where others know to reach them.

But the fact that none of them feel any remorse about it is crazy, especially coming from Neve, Bellara and a Dalish Rook. You have Neve who works with the Shadow Dragons, an organisation that is founded upon the beliefs of freeing slaves and wanting to work underground to help those who are being oppressed. And she takes the home of a man who has no where else to go? A man who has lost his entire world? The Dalish know about how the world has mistreated them and how much they've lost so why do they not feel any remorse for literally stealing someone's home.

I was also thinking about sad it is that my Inquisitor or generally any Inquisitor was never able to visit the Lighthouse in game but now all I can think about is how sad of an experience that would be for her. For my Inquisitor who loved Solas who has chased him down for years to stop him and is finally able to see into his heart, his mind more intimately through seeing where he lives and it's taken over by a group of people who hate him with such a passion that they barely see him as a person anymore. They all want to put him on trial for his crimes whilst sitting on their high horses inside of his house.

Back to my Inquisitor, she's been to Halamshiral, she knows the haunting feeling of walking through the halls of a place taken over by those who did not build it. She's walked the Emerald Groves and the Exalted Plains, she has seen the graves of her people overrun by humans who just desire power and war and want to burn the Elves from their history. To make the world think of them as savages to justify violence and destruction.

Now thinking about her walking through the halls of the Lighthouse that is so intrinsically Solas's and seeing it become the homes of other people would seem so gut wrenching. To hear them talk about his most wretched memories and dissect his thoughts just so they can figure out how everything is the way it is whilst also just taking everything from him. They're stripping him of his humanity for their own personal gain and it would seem so ignorant, so cruel. They take his table and remove his seat and then expect him to be live with it because they can blame the world's suffering on him.

We play as Rook, we are the hero of this story. The one who chose to step up and take down the last gods that remain in this world. But can we truly be good as Rook if we are just allowed to treat this guy like a stepping stone. To treat his entire life, the only things he can say he owns after a couple thousand years of his world decaying, as a means to an end with no remorse. How are we different from Solas who betrays Rook over and over when we just sleep in his bed, when we just steal from others to get to the "good" ending. Taking his Lighthouse was just an inconsiderate move not too dissimilar to how Solas will only consider his actions as a means to an end. But we're the good guys so it doesn't really matter right??

[crancisfrozier]

Okay I just finished Dragon Age the Veilguard after about 100 hours and I have SO MANY thoughts I need to get out of my system.

First, the positives; 1) This game was FUCKING GORGEOUS. It is lightly stylized and I can see what people mean when they say it’s a little sims or Disney like, but overall I think they made a really bold choice to not look like every other game that’s coming out now and I think it paid off. I’ve never cared about photo mode in games before but I found myself stopping to take a screenshot every 5-10 minutes. Even in boss battles!!

2) The combat. This the first time ever in a DA game that combat is genuinely fun and not kind of a slog you have to get through to advance the story. Playing as a mage has never been more enjoyable.

3) The major story points. I won’t go into spoilers right now but Weisshaupt and the entire last act of the game were phenomenal. Peak Dragon Age. I was crying. I was shaking. I was scared for my companions and the state of the world. These battles were enormous and epic and world changing.

Okay putting the rest under a read more because this post is really getting away from me. There will be spoilers under the cut :)

4) The Solavellan content. I fully expected to have their story lowkey ignored because of how much time had passed and how much was going on in the world. At best I thought there might be one or two lines of dialogue about it. I was not expecting to get a conversation with my inquisitor solely about him that so beautifully sums up exactly why me and my inquisitor fell in love with Solas, or to be able to get the happy ending with them that I have yearned for this past decade.

Before I go into the negatives I want to state that I really enjoyed this game. It’s probably a 7 or 8/10 for me! But enjoying it does not make it immune from criticism. So, the negatives for me:

1) The writing/dialogue. I know this has been a massive point of hate for a lot of origins-only crybabies and I don’t want to necessarily validate them but I think we have to admit that the writing was…shall we say inconsistent perhaps? As I mentioned above, the pinnacles of act 2 and 3 are Dragon Age at its best imo, but in between that? There is a lot of tell not show going on and modernization of dialogue that can take me out of the immersion, which has never happened for me in a DA game before. My theory is that they overcorrected from inquisition, a game that is not very new player friendly (I say this as someone whose very first DA game was inquisition and I wouldn’t change that for the world) and ended up simplifying, excessively repeating, and underutilizing themes and parts of the story.

2) The companions. I enjoy them as characters don’t get me wrong (Emmerich Volkarin my beloved I will romance you every playthrough)! But they feel much flatter than in any other DA game. There is not a lot of tension or realistic personality dynamics between them. I’m not saying every game needs to have a Fenris/Anders level rivalry but when a group of people come together in a situation as stress-inducing as stopping the end of the world, they are not going to immediately be happy and love each other and give found family vibes off the bat. That has to be earned, they have to actually go through things together! They will have people they like and don’t like, people they get along with and don’t get along with! Consider the dynamic in inquisition: Sera and Solas do not get along. She hates his arrogance (and his “elfyness”) and he dislikes but mostly pities her. But Sera and Blackwall are best friends! Blackwall and Solas have a super interesting dynamic given their *ahem* personal identities. Solas and Bull have a mutual respect as strategists (I will always love their mental chess match in banter). Bull and Dorian have a whole enemies to lovers thing going on! Vivienne hates Cole because she sees him as a demon, But Cole is basically Varric and Solas’s adopted son who they have a minor custody battle over. I could go on and on! This drama, these personality clashes are what flesh the companions in previous games out so well. Everyone joining the team and then having next to no internal conflict (or if they do it is basically immediately resolved) makes it boring, I’m sorry! And on that topic, I have to mention their approvals and disapprovals. They mean nothing. There are not really any consequences for doing something a companion hates. They will typically immediately forgive you no matter what. Thinking back once again, what would the inquisition companions be without the approval/disapproval system? Without Vivienne changing around the furniture out of spite? Being able to punch Solas? Having companions leave because they disagree with you so much or straight up telling them to leave?? Not only does this give characters agency and flesh them out, but it provides the perfect role playing opportunities in what is supposed to be an action RPG!

3) The world state/choices from previous games. These were essentially non-existent and boiled down to “did you romance Solas in Inquisition or not”. It feels like they were trying to kind of soft reboot the universe which feels incredibly disappointing after a legacy of choices that can leave so many unique world states. A lot of them even conflict with some of the storylines in the game. For example, I always romance Alistair in Origins and keep him a Grey Warden. Where the hell was he in this game?? Multiple times they say every single Warden has gathered at Weisshaupt, you’d think you might want two veterans of the fifth blight (counting my HoF) to help fight an archdemon??? Are they dead then? Did you kill them bioware??? Also Morrigan, not only does it seem like Kieran doesn’t exist but it’s heavily implied that Morrigan drank from the well of sorrows, a choice that I have agonized over for these past 10 years because I am firmly in the “my inquisitor drinks from the well” camp. I also feel bad for anyone that romanced someone other than Solas in Inquisition because it seems like you get a little note from your beloved and that’s it.

4) The soundtrack. I don’t dislike all of it, there is some battle music I like and the dread wolf and end credits music were great! But a lot of this music felt disconnected from Dragon Age and almost like it was for Mass Effect. Like why are there weird futuristic synths in ancient Arlathan Forest? I was very worried about this the first time I heard Trevor Morris wasn’t coming back for the OST. And when I heard that he was being replaced by Hans Zimmer I couldn’t help worry that they were replacing high quality and understanding of the source material with a big name. The first time I heard the title music it sounded like Starfield. Or like generic epic action movie soundtrack. There has been nothing as truly memorable as the Inquisition theme. Nothing that I will cry in my car to like the lost elf theme.

5) The sanitization of some of Thedas’s darker parts in what feels like an attempt to not upset anyone. Tevinter is known through Thedas for its slavery, for its abhorrent treatment of elves. But we are in the capital of Tevinter and see none of that? The main story of the game unravels the central religion of the world and there is not a single religious person in your group or near it that can feel the full effects of this unraveling? If you play as a dalish elf, gods that you likely worshipped your entire life are proved to be real but not only are they callous and cruel they are trying to kill you personally? And all we get is a few lines of dialogue just saying “oh wow can you believe this”? Where is the mourning for your misplaced faith??? For people’s lives given to devotion for nothing???

6) The state of the world at the end of the game. There is a certain hollowness in preventing the end of the world but having possibly millions killed in the process. And about having places we have loved so dearly, and worked so hard to save in previous games, being completely destroyed offscreen. Then treating the protagonist like this is a great triumphant victory! There should have been a post battle scene at the end, like in origins and inquisition. A breather after all the hard work, but a more melancholy one this time. To register and convey how much of the world has been lost, what the price of this victory was, and the work it’s going to take to recover from.

I know I’ve listed more negatives here than positives but I want to again express that I did really enjoy this game! Not only did I put 100 hours into it, I’m literally already planning my second and third playthroughs. But it does have some major flaws that I think need to be pointed out. We can’t pretend this is a perfect game. For me, Inquisition is still the best DA game and that’s okay! I still have Inquisition, I can go back and play it whenever I want. And if anything, it’s a miracle that this game came out at all. We came very close to living in the Bad Place where it didn’t come out or where it came out as a live service game. I am truly so appreciative of all of the love and effort that went into DA4 and my hope above hopes would be that they do something like Larian where they identify and fix the major issues, but I know that likely won’t happen :(

[randoimago]

I have a request for dragon age but I'm going to split it into two asks;

So firstly, could i have relationship headcanons for fenris, garrett hawke from dragon age 2, morrigan from origins/inquisition and solas from inquisition with a mage s/o who can shapeshift and likes to take on animal whenever they can. Which is how they managed to avoid being caught by templars... and they absolutely love scritches so they take advantage of peoples love for cute things.

Having an S/O That Shapeshifts Into Animals

FANDOM: Dragon Age

Character(s): Fenris, Garrett Hawke, Morrigan, Solas

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): I was a bit confused with which Morrigan you wanted me to write for (timeline-wise) so I went with Origins for her.

I also decided to just combine these two requests to make it easier!!

Fenris

Fenris is pretty wary of magic no matter how controlled it may be. So you shapeshifting does have him wondering.

He just likes you as you and doesn't like the idea of you possibly losing yourself to the animal you become. So for his sake, please don't become an animal when he's around because he doesn't like it.

Is very wary with the thought of you becoming a High Dragon. Yes, it's useful when you help out, but again what if you lose yourself to the dragon? 

What if he ends up having to cut you down at some point because you can't tell ally from enemy? Promise him you'll be okay all you want, magic is untrustworthy in his mind.

Garrett

Has very mixed emotions about this. Sure, it's cool that you can shapeshift into various animals. 

But he wants his S/O. What if he wants cuddles and kisses? He can't have that if you're a mabari, that's weird.

Is lowkey jealous that you can become a dragon. I mean first Flemeth and now you? He would like to be come a dragon, please and thank you.

Absolutely uses the fact you can become a dragon as a way to threaten or intimidate people. Someone doesn't listen to him or tries to start a fight? Well he has a dragon so you better rethink that!

Morrigan

Much prefers the company of animals to people so she is appreciative that you seem to have the same mind as her on this matter.

Would gladly become a spider with you and just hang out in a forest. Or maybe see if you both can scare Alistair as giant spiders. Now that is an amusing thought.

Becomes very wary with you becoming a High Dragon. 

That is very powerful magic that her mother has and she can't help but wonder if you were sent by her to keep an eye on Morrigan.

Solas

Solas much prefers spirits to people, so he understands the appeal of becoming an animal instead of a person.

Likes to hear about your adventures as the animal and what instincts you may have had. In return, he gladly speaks of his spirit friends and different things in the fade.

Is very impressed with the fact that you can become a High Dragon, but he can't help but be a tad worried. 

There are a few on the team that like the idea of killing dragons and so he would hate for someone to aim an attack at you on accident.

[americankimchi]

for the fandom ask: critical role! (or dragon age if thats taken lol)

the first character i ever fell in love with: alistair theirin!!! baby boy. BABEY.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: anders rip what they did to him in dragon age 2..... awakening anders i care u

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: every single ship in the game is like your oc/npc aint it??? aside from one or two in inquisition....... oh i know one: canon handers. fandom handers is great though

my ultimate favorite character™: i can and would die for zevran “insufficient skill” arainai

prettiest character: i’m trying to think of who this would be. it’s a tie between josephine and zevran. dorian and morrigan are close seconds however

my most hated character:

me @ solas whenever dragon age 4 finally drops

my OTP: warden/zevran :’)

my NOTP: do not speak to me about solavellan i simply will not engage. same goes for cullenquisitor.

favorite episode: origins is so fucking good but honestly i have so much more playtime in inquisition and it’s solely because i can jump in it. the second they remaster origins it’s over for you hoes

saddest death: yours in origin lolol. oh and i guess duncan’s?? everyone else’s death happens bc you let them die so that’s less sad and more unfortunate

favorite season: i have no idea how to answer this as dragon age is a game and not a show.... so i guess i’ll answer this as if i’m talking about a dlc??? so mark of the assassin in da2 was pretty fun. awakening was a WHOLE ASS GAME like honestly who did it like origins...... who could ever MATCH

least favorite season: remember when they made you bUY THE ACTUAL CANON ENDING TO A GAME THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO ALREADY HAVE BEEN FINISHED LIKE WHY THE FUCK DID I HAVE TO PAY TO SEE THE ENDING OF INQUISITION WHY THE FUCK WAS THE LEAD IN TO THE NEXT GAME BEHIND A PAYWALL @ EA AND BIOWARE I HAVE SOME FUCKING QUESTIONS

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: y’all already know about solas but like. cullen lmao.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: idk man loghain i guess. not so much as a fave but more as an interesting character

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: merrill.... baby ):

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: like i said most of the ships in fandom are your oc/in game npc so idk about this one. i don’t really like anything that’s not that so??????

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: umm..... blackwall/josephine??????? ghfjkdgh i dunno

[spell-struck]

dwagon age :3

yeehaw let’s go!!! nothin you don’t know probably ajkhfgdsg

the first character i ever fell in love with: Fenris. Minute I saw him, my first playthrough ever, I was like “yes. him. I must kiss him.”

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Hm, an excellent question. I’m not sure if there are many characters who fit this? Everyone has their thing that makes me love them to some extent, even if I don’t like them? If that makes sense… I used to really love Leandra, but my feelings on dear mother have shifted a bit.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Okay so I don’t typically have ships beyond my oc and their romanced option, and the ones I do have I still really like! So I have to leave this one empty.

my ultimate favorite character™: shit okay impulse answer is Fenris, but I’ve got to say, Solas is pulling up behind him. 

prettiest character: Morrigan!! Especially in Inquisition! AHHHHH

my most hated character: Oghren lmao

my OTP: Solavellan and Fenhawke…………. don’t make me choose between them

my NOTP: Alistair/Morrigan, Anders/Fenris, Cassandra/Varric…. those dynamics squick me :(((

favorite episode quest: Here Lies the Abyss + Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts. I always do the latter first, and they’re just so… Ahhhhhhh! That’s how I’m going to describe things I can’t describe with words 

saddest death: If you don’t save your sibling in the Deep Roads ;-; that shit hurted

favorite season game: Dragon Age 2. It was my first, and the characters are all so, as someone once put it, crunchy

least favorite season game: I just do not like the combat system in Origins. I love everything else more or less tho!

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I’m… not sure. I don’t think I hate anyone significantly?

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: like… Morrigan? I feel like it has to be Morrigan, but like she has reasons. To be trash sometimes

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Merrill :((((

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Thinking emoji uhhhhhhhh idk. I imagine none of the ships are that bad sjdhfgsfjh

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Merrill and Isabela.

Send in a fandom and I’ll tell you my responses to these questions!!

[no-zaku-boy]

Dragon Age!

OH BOY OH BOY. Ty, anon, I’ll try not to ramble too much about this hell from which I cannot escape.

the first character i ever fell in love with: The worst bug in any Bioware game was my f!Warden not being able to romance Morrigan for some reason?? Pretty unacceptable.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: NONE. ZERO. I LOVE THEM ALL. Maybe Solas? I still like him, but that liking has probably cooled somewhat since my first playthrough of Inquisition.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Hmm, I don’t think I have one?

my ultimate favorite character™: A MYSTERY TO BE SURE. I don’t remember ever having a 2D crush as strong as the one I have for my husband, Zevran Arainai, who needs to be returned to me immediately, Bioware.

prettiest character: Zevran and Isabela~~

my most hated character: Broodmothers because they make me physically ill. Giant spiders for the same reason.

my OTP: Zev/Warden(/Alistair), Nathaniel/Velanna/Sigrun, and Merribela (with a side of f!Hawke).

my NOTP: Sera x male characters or Dorian x female characters, some parts of the fandom should be stopped.

favorite episode: I’m gonna turn this into favourite area and say Orzammar from Origins. Everything about the dwarf lore in that game was intriguing imo.

saddest death: Here lies Zevran’s beauty, DA:O - DA2. No, but really, any of the party deaths in Awakening are a bummerrrr except maybe some of Justice’s outcomes.

favorite season game: Origins. On a very personal level, it’s the game that helped pull me out of a severe depression by making me kind of care about something for the first time in a long time and also the game that rekindled my love of video games in general after several years of shying away from playing them. But I also think it has the most well-written characters and compelling story line of the series.

least favorite season game: Hmm, probably Inquisition. DA2 had plenty of problems, many of which made the game anywhere from significantly less enjoyable to almost unplayable for me, but it also had a cast that I adored overall. I truly like the companions in DA:I, but they’re the ones I’ve remained the least attached to overall, so it loses big points from me there, despite having some solid quests and beautiful terrain. Idk, it’s hard to pick; they’re both very good games, despite their respective issues!

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: Fenrisss. I don’t hate him, but he made it very hard for me to like him during my first (pro-mage) run. Cole is also pretty popular, but I just straight up forget exists sometimes whoops.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Sera. She’s so stubborn and abrasive, but I love her.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Let Aveline have some god damn peace and quiet in this city. Also, Vivienne re: fandom.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Architect/The Mother; make love, not war, you abominations. (This is a joke, and I have made myself Upset.)

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Oh, lots. Various Warden/companion pairings, same with Inquisitor, Anders/Nathaniel, Aveline/Isabela, Krem/Harding, Blackwall/Josephine, Josephine/Leliana. I’m all over the place, really.

[soulcluster-moved]

@knightsvows​ asked: dragon age 8)  ⤷ send me a fandom and I’ll tell you… ⤐ accepting!

the first character i ever fell in love with: ZEVRAN ughhhh I played dao a million times just for him. fun fact i used to write him

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: this might be sacrilegious lol I used to like wynne well enough but I replayed recently and didn’t really tbh. like not hate or anything but a definite decrease in liking

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I have ships ive grown more ambivalent toward but I still like them/dont really mind them

my ultimate favorite character™: hawke uwu

prettiest character: bethany

my most hated character: leliana, im so sorry but not really

my OTP: *looks at my 53 song, 3hr hawke varric playlist* well u hhh uhhhhh

my NOTP: personally, i guess, cassandra varric, but *gestures at OTP* it’s more a fandom thing tho, but i dont really mind it and others that ship it are valid af

favorite episode quest: probably cause tabris is my fav origin but I’ve always loved doing the alienage quests when you return to denerim. the whole landsmeet is fun

saddest death: I personally did not do this but I was watching my friend play and he sacrificed hawke in the fade and omg varric’s reaction killed me. I was dead. so either that or leandra’s is close too. cause it does not matter how long it’s been I cry on that quest

favorite season game: da2 !! idk if that’s unpopular but it’s honestly my favorite. i love it despite its flaws

least favorite season game: dai tbh. It felt more like an mmo to me and I didn’t even visit most of the places cause..I didn’t need to...it’s so short and soulless to me...

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: i feel like leliana falls under that. also, i am not fond of solas

my ‘you’re a piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: loghain, sorry not sorry

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: MERRILL only a cinnamon roll in looks but she deserves better in writing

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: hmmm uhhhh I can’t think of what would fall under this? I’m pretty shameless tho so idk

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: I always thought carver and merrill was funny. idek how that would work but it’s funny to me

[dartheames]

Writing questions!

Tagged by @galadrieljones, thank you so much, I’m lowkey sobbing over here :’)

1. How many works in progress do you have?

I’d say I have two. A Christmas project and trippy Myr and Solas thing nobody really wants to exist. I wrote like two sentences and have been in denial ever since. 

2. Do you/would you write fan fiction?

Of course, that’s basically what I do. I’m not strong enough to come up with something on my own.

3. Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

I prefer bying paper books and reading ebooks. It’s more convinient this way given I can only read at night or on my way somewhere. Hovewer some of my favorite Harry Potter books were given an honor of travelling around Mother Russia :D 

4. When did you start writing?

As far as I can recall the first time I tried writing something was when I was in my early teen years I think? It was very cheesy and very bad and had my actual friends and vampires in it. 

5. Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

Hell yeah! I trust @motherofgriffins with my life, my headcanons and my horrible second language grammar. Sadly any of my close proximity friends are either not interested in Dragon Age or not intrerested in reading anything in English so Im trying not to push them. 

I shared the first actual text I was proud of with my English teacher and she said it was good and I ascended. It was that dream sequence with a lot of drama and creepy Solas. I still like it somehow.

6. Where is your favorite place to write?

My work desk at the office on a Friday night when all of my collegues had left already so I can dim the lights and me all mysterious about it.

7. Favorite book as a child?

I used to like Puss in boots when I was like a “child” child :D And a Russian take on Wizard of Oz, it was this very long series and probably my first ever character crush on a bad guy. Mind you, not in a romantic way, I just really liked that he existed. 

8. Writing for fun or publication?

For fun? For being able to get the drama machine rolling? For making other people give me power through hate and suffering? One of them is a lie, take your pick :3c

9. Have you taken any writing classes?

Nope. I think the closest thing I had to the writing class is a couple of seminars on how to write an essay or a science paper. My degree doesn’t really require any creative writing unless I have to wiggle my way through the letter about what the client did wrong without actually insulting them in the process. 

10. What inspired you to write?

Honestly? The fandom and all the emotions I was honored to share with it. I’ve been doing volunteer editor work and translating fanfics from English for a couple of years before I stepped into Solavellan and found out @galadrieljones existed with her encouragement and advice, and then DWC came along so I though - why the hell not? Even if it resulted in a little garbage pile of boring texts, it was at least fun to be a part of the comminity. 

So thank you for a chance to prove to myself I still can do something :)

Tagging @motherofgriffins, @knifeofdaudwall and Actual Writer @1nfiltratrix (if you want) :D

[cassiuslonginuss]

for the fandom ask thing, dragon age? c:

. omg why am i only seeing this now? damn you tumblr mobile!

 the first character i fell in love with: definitely Alistair! i fell for him the second i heard him talk to that mage in ostagar.

a character i used to love/like, but now i do not: teagan! inquisition really made me hate him, ew

a ship that i used to love/like, but now i do not: Varric/Hawke. i still think it’s a cute ship, but i prefer seeing them as best friends.

my ultimate favorite character™: SOLAS. i didn’t care much about him at first, but he grew on me. he’s the best written character in my opinion.

prettiest character: Isabela, definitely!

my most hated character: Meredith. fuck that bitch.

my OTP: adoribull and cullen/trevelyan

my NOTP: Alistair/Anora. it’s a no from me, sorry.

favorite episode: Origins!

saddest death: Hawke in Inquisition and the Couslands in the noble human origin. i’m still bitter about all of them.The next two are really show-specific so I’m just gonna adapt them

favorite quest: the entire Trespasser DLC. i love everything about it

least favorite quest: the deep roads in Origins. ughhh

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: i’m really really sorry, but Vivienne. i always play nice with her and all, but i do not ever agree to a single thing she says.

my ‘you’re a piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Anders! 

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Sera

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Varric/Bethany. damn.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Cullrian and Fenders

thank you for asking (and sorry for my late reply)! i hope you have a nice day ❤️

[gavillain]

Dragon Age: Inquisition

the first character i ever fell in love with: Besides my Inquisitor, Cassandra

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Solas

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: None

my ultimate favorite character™: Dorian Pavus

prettiest character: Dorian again, naturally

my most hated character: Sera

my OTP: Dorian/Evan Trevelyan

my NOTP: Dorian/Iron Bull *barf*

favorite quest: Dorian's romance quest, naturally

saddest death: Stroud

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: Again, Sera

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Corypheus XDD

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Dorian, Cassandra, Josephine, Leliana, Cullen, Cole, and the Inquisitor

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: None

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Also none

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Lay these trash kid ships on me Roddy.

-pulls out extremely large and far too heavy scrapbook-

me: Mahariel is going to be my token straight dude.Zevran: -exists-me: I mean I guess we could always use more bisexual representation don’t romance him again don’t romance him again

Cata of course romances Alistair but Cata’s Obligatory Angst AU is the one where she refuses Morrigan’s offer and Alistair dies killing the archdemon rather than let Cata sacrifice herself. The main version of this AU has Cata say “fuck the wardens” after this and disappear from Ferelden. She goes to Antiva with Zevran, they eventually fall in love, get married, and continue to systematically dismantle the entire hierarchy of the Crows, as you do. I drew a thing of this once

The alternative of this AU has her stay with the wardens, and she and Nathaniel eventually get together, like, several years down the road post-Awakening.

also in the dark shameful caverns in my brain I ship her with Anders don’t look at me don’t talk to me about this

-

Gretchen’s canon romance is Anders, but for an AU I had with a friend where all of our Hawkes existed at once, we had two Hawkes who had romanced Anders and none with Isabela, and her Andersmancing Hawke was gay and Fenris and Sebastian were already taken so I was like “eh, Gretchen and Isabela, I can go with that”. I like the contrast of Gretchen, who doesn’t know how not to take responsibility for everything, with Isabela, desperately trying not to be tied down in one place, and them somehow figuring out how to meet in the middle.

Also one day randomly I went “Gretchen and Merrill would be cute” because I don’t know why, I guess something about “cute girls who will murder the shit out of you with fucked up blood-magicky stuff” is fun. (with Gretchen being a Reaver.)

-

Ra I can’t fucking see with anyone but Josephine. I can’t. Can’t do it.

-

Avrian is with Morrigan, as the sole reason I first created him, but there is definitely some AU where he learns to let go - it has to be a non-Dark Ritual worldstate because there’s no way in hell Avrian wouldn’t go chasing after his kid, idk maybe he kept Loghain alive and threw him at the archdemon, who knows - and he and Zevran get together, because Zevran, and also because canonically Avrian and Zev took a six-month vacation together between Origins and Awakening. This clearly writes itself.

There’s also some concept that exists in my brain of Avrian getting together with Velanna. Because something about “grumpy bitter world-hating mage girl” is Avrian’s type.

Also, canonically, I have decided that Avrian and my Essa Lavellan had a fling when they were teenagers. They met at the every-decade meeting of the clans and then after it, Clan Sabrae and Clan Lavellan were heading the same way for a while, so they had a casual summer romance and moved on. (The AU where Avrian is an Inquisition Advisor to Essa’s Inquisitor is.... I need to consider that. Consider that. It’s hilarious.)

-

Iveta is with Zevran, but I could see her, for whatever reason I dunno, with Leliana. I like the way their character arcs work together - Lel’s personal quest being her trying to figure out whether she can be more than what Marjolene made her into, about if you can choose, is something that I thought about a lot as part of Iveta’s character arc. Like Howe had a line in their confrontation, “the monster I helped create,” referring to Iveta. I like the parallel a lot.

Also lowkey, her and Nathaniel, because what better way to spit on Rendon’s grave than that.

-

Essa romances Solas, and then probably, like a female praying mantis, murders him. She had a fling with Avrian when they were young, like I said, but otherwise I haven’t fleshed out Essa’s character enough to figure out who else she would click with.

-

Esti had a bunch of increasingly out-there ideas I toyed with while trying to lock in what her actual romance would be. In-game, she romanced Cullen, because I wanted to play that romance. I’d thought about Sera, but didn’t think it would work considering the disparities in their levels of “elfiness”. I enjoyed how awkward a lot of the flirting with Cullen was but otherwise wasn’t super sure that it fit Esti. 

I considered Josephine, but I didn’t like the idea of two of my Trash Kids having the same love interest in their canon worldstate. (AUs, as you see, I have no issues with. But main canon.) I considered tossing game possibilities out the window and pairing her with Cole. I completely tossed game possibilities out the window and put her and Carver together in my Warden Contact Carver AU. I still like that idea a lot.

But Esti’s character developed differently than how I thought at the beginning and I came back around to Sera and said, yeah, I like this.

(also super lowkey Brennan but them going on double-dates killing Venatori when he’s with Dorian and she’s with Sera is so much better. Also them giving each other shit over those relationships. like. so much better that way. but still a little.)

-

and Genevieve and god just lay me in my grave because she and Fenris might be canon and might be super cute with Gen being flighty and commitment-averse finally finding something worth waiting for, but god do I fucking love her and Sebastian together. Like, everything that I love about their friendship and Gen’s character arc in relation to their friendship gets even better and more of a mess as a romance and this post is long enough and if I don’t cut myself off now I’ll double the length banshee-shrieking about Gen/Seb. I might have to make a separate post about them because I started thinking about them and have so many thoughts and feelings that I cannot contain I want to die this was never meant to happen they were supposed to be strictly platonic the most bro of bros AND THEN I GOT TO THE END OF THE GAME and Seb just had this one line that made me stop and go “fuck that sounds like he’s been quietly in love with her since forever and can’t even manage to make the confession when they’re lined up about to fight a battle they might not win” and that killed me and I went to hell and hell is GenSeb FUCK I have a lot of feelings about these two

[impossible-rat-babies]

#30dayDAchallenge

Day 18: Companions!

This one is gonna be hella long folks!

Darva Lavellan: 

He’s got his handy dandy relationship chart!

Darva has a lot of feelings about all of them and he’s honestly one to love a lot folks and be close to a majority of them.

(Also that is how he writes his name. He can’t read or write worth shit.)

(This chart also came from trashwarden who is a great individual yo.)

Josephine: She’s really smart and clever to him. She’s really good at her job and makes dealing with nobles a much easier task. He thinks the Inquisition would be long gone if they didn’t have her to make sure they had a good appearance to the nobility. She taught him a great deal with social graces and dealing with people since he wasn’t very good at it beforehand. He also just loves her a lot too. (Assassins to deal with the contract on her life.)

Cullen: He’s good at what he does and he respects and trusts his ability to lead the troops. He’s probably a little more serious than Darva is used to, but he still jokes with him and teases him. He has a very lowkey crush on him that wouldn’t get anywhere for a whole host of reasons. (Cullen isn’t interested in him like that and they’re two different people that wouldn’t work well together like that.) (Cullen stopped taking Lyrium.)

Leliana: He has a ton of respect for her as an accomplished spymaster, bard, and Veteran of the Fifth Blight. Her knowledge is invaluable and they Inquisition would be nowhere without her. He also thinks she’s of her as a close friend and confidant. They can also push aside the professionalism and joke around with each other and have a good time. There’s also a level of mutual respect that makes their relationship that much stronger. (Softened Leliana)

Cassandra: He’s closest to her next to Dorian and Sera. She’s hasn’t always agreed with him, but she’s supported him nonetheless. She always has faith in him and that they’re going to succeed. She sees what they must do when he gets hung up on the details. She motivates him to do better and be better. He’s also there to help her when she needs it and be her confidant. They both helped each other so much and are very close as a result. He will unashamedly tell people that he loves her; it’s a very close and queerplatonic relationship between the two. (Tracked down the missing Seekers and left their fate in her hands.)

Solas: He never really liked him. He always was very aloof and pompous to him; he always seemed to look down on him in a really negative way that made Darva’s skin crawl. They were cordial to each other when needed, but they never end up close. When Trespasser happens, it just turns to utter hatred. He’s destroyed the Inquisition and undermined his faith in them doing good, he’s vaguely the reason his hand is trying to kill him, and he’s going to destroy the world. He hates Solas a great deal for good reason. (Didn’t save Solas’ friend; didn’t even get the quest.)

Varric: He’s friends and has a lot of respect for him. His stories make him laugh and he’s always willing to play Wicked Grace with him. I think when he gets too fidgety with his hands, he looks for Varric so they can play. He messes with the cards rather than his hands. After Trespasser, they end up much closer. Varric spends a lot of time looking out for him and his recovery despite his duties as Viscount. They’d play cards a lot. After Darva recovers from scarring his face, he spends more time helping Varric out around. Darva is technically a Comte, so he can stick his nose in all of the business to help. (Helped Varric track where the red lyrium was being smuggled from.)

Sera: They have a complex relationship as the whole business moves forward with the Inquisition. They do grow very close to each other; Darva understands how her thoughts work when other’s don’t really get it or don’t bother to understand it. He wants to be friends with her because he likes who she is; her network is useful and she’s has good skills that he respects, but he likes who she is. However, after the Temple of Mythal they have a falling out. He’s upset that she sees it all as demon rubbish when it’s his culture and his past staring them in the face. They got some very important information not only to defeat Corphyeus, but elvhen history. She doesn’t see it that way and they get into a nasty fight. (It’s also not long after Darva has lost the clan, so her being all gross about it is just another log on the fire of him feeling Utterly Awful.) They do make up after taking down Corphyeus and they aren’t quite the same as before, but they are better. They’re much better off by the time Trespasser roles around and there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other. (He let her kill Harmond.)

Vivienne: He thinks she’s a powerful mage who has done much in politics for herself and her fellow mages. He has a great deal of respect for her even though they don’t see eye to eye on politics. He doesn’t entirely trust her and their relationship is certainly a more professional one. (Gave her the Snowy Wyvern heart.)

Iron Bull: Darva thinks he’s hilarious and that he’s the tallest person he’s ever seen. Like Darva is only five foot two, so most people are taller than him, but Bull is by far the tallest. Like wowza so tall. He’s actually kinda terrified the first time he picks him up purely for the sake of picking him up lol. They do get closer after dealing with the alliance with the Qunari and saving the Chargers. I think they grow more into a personal relationship rather than one of professionalism. Darva can always use his gross, self deprecating humor around Bull because he knows he’s just being funny about it and that if he has actual issues, he’ll seek them out. Also, Darva has a lowkey crush on a lot of people, including Bull. (Saved the Chargers.)

Dorian: Tomorrow we’ll get a whole day of me screaming about the two of them and their relationship, so we’ll save that for then!

Blackwall: He has a great deal of respect for him as an accomplished fighter. Their relationship is a little awkward since Darva’s humor comes out the most when people are trying to be serious, which is in conflict with Blackwall being all serious. After Revelations, Darva does feel lied to and cheated. But he didn’t lie for a bad reason; he had good intentions. But what he did in the past was awful. However, Darva knows from personal experience that he’s saying worse things to himself than he ever could. (He frees him to let him make up for his mistakes.)

Cole: Darva finds Cole really, really interesting. How he thinks and looks at the world is bizarre, but not bad. He isn’t particularly keen when Cole looks to him to start trying to help him solve his issues. It’s a source of conflict, particularly with difficult issues that Darva would rather shove under the rug or not deal with with Cole being all in his business. Ofc, Cole doesn’t always let him do that, so conflict. Still, he wants to help Cole and be close to him. (I made Cole more human.)

Eth Tabris: 

Alistair: We’re gonna have a whole day about their relationship tomorrow!

Dog (Dorrun): She would die for her dog and she loves him so much. She loves Dorrun so much. He’s her first love and she HATED leaving him at the gates knowing they’d never see each other again. With Awakening, she misses him and Alistair the most. It’d be a lot better if she could have her dog with her.

Morrigan: They were close to each other despite their differences and Eth’s tendency to go out of her way to help those in need when there were more pressing matters. Still, I think Morrigan admires her strength and tenacity to get things done. Eth is understanding and fulfills her requests because they’re friends and that’s what friends do. Their relationship falls apart after Eth rejected the ritual and they never get to say goodbye or make up for what happened. I think Morrigan really regrets what happened with that.

Leliana: They are super close and kinda gay. Like very queerplatonic with each other. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other. With Awakening AU, they grow very close and Eth spends a lot of her time with Leliana after the darkspawn mess is dealt with. They’re inseparable for many years after the Blight until Leliana’s duties took her away and Eth left to deal with her own mess. With Inquisition, they spend much of their time together and Leliana is a bit of a mediator between others and Eth when things aren’t working out. She was next to Eth the whole way through Halamshiral, talking to nobles on her behalf and making sure she didn’t make a fool of herself.

“You’re awful at this Eth…” “Well, last time I was in a courtly setting was Vigil’s Keep, but we don’t like to talk about those days. And before that, I cut off a man’s head and chose the Ferelden throne. I’m just not used to so little bloodshed.” “The night is still young.”

Sten: He’s even taller than Alistair and she’s astounded. She also doesn’t understand the whole Qunari way of life, but she tries to understand and maybe get Sten to understand her way of life. Although, when he calls her badass she just swells up and is all like: “DAMN STRAIGHT STEN!” Everyone is worried the darkspawn are going to find them because she said it so loudly. Sten is kinda impressed such a loud voice came from such a tiny body.

Wyne: God, Wyne becomes such a motherly figure with all the trappings of a motherly figure. Wyne supports her, cares for her, trusts her, respects her, loves her, worries over her and Eth is just one big ole teary eyed “SAME.” She actually makes her think a lot about between her and Alistair and ending the Blight. She thinks about it a fuck ton and it comes crashing down on her again after Riordan tells them how an Archdemon is killed. She has to sacrifice herself to save them. She has to make that choice that she said she couldn’t make. It’s really, really tragic.

Zevran: They are bound in sass, bad jokes and the shared struggles of city elves. They’re really close to each other from early on despite that he did try to kill her and Alistair. He can’t be that bad and she knows if he tries and kill her, she will kill him first, no doubt. But, that never happens and they will make jokes at Alistair’s expense and the expense of each other. Deep down, they really do care deeply for each other.

Shale: So big, much sass. God, Eth loves them even though Shale doesn’t call her by her name and thinks she’s just a pile of squishy goo. Albeit, a strong piece of squishy goo.

Oghren: A whole lotta nope. She helps him with his transition to the surface and other such issues, but other than that he can stay the complete other side of camp. He can give her bad reminders of her days in the Alienage. She still tries to be civil however hard it is to do.

[chupacabrasmustdie]

DRA- I mean...*acts all cool* Dragon Age

LOL of course ;)

send me a fandom and i’ll tell you…

the first character i ever fell in love with: Alistair

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Anders (his stans sort of ruined him for me)

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Anders/Hawke. I don’t hate it, but it’s definitely lost some of its appeal for me

my ultimate favorite character™: Samson

prettiest character: Isabela

my most hated character: Danarius?

my OTP: If I have to choose… Samson x inquisitor

my NOTP: From the top of my head, Alistair x Cullen? Any ship where the characters have about zero interaction in canon and where the writer/artist cba with build-up tbh

favorite episode: I’m gonna read this as “quest”… the Halamshiral ball in Inquisition? 

saddest death: 

favorite season: Inquisition, I guess? I really liked DA2, but the generic environments annoyed me

least favorite season: Origins… I guess. I loved it, but I enjoyed Inquisition and DA2 more. Maybe because I did only one run, wasn’t familiar with the lore, years after it came out -- the graphics were really dated already

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: Solas. I don’t hate him, but I have no sympathy for him either

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Livius Erimond

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: 'Metri? No canon character is a beautiful cinnamon roll lol.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Florimond

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship’: Adaar x Sera? Merill x Isabela? Hawke x Varric? Not invested means I don’t remember lol

[njadastonearm]

Dragon Age, for the fandom asks? :)

It’s been a while since I played this, but I’ll give it a shot!

the first character i ever fell in love with: Gorim! I started with the Aeducan origin, so…. yeah. Gorim. Out of the companions, Sten was actually the first one I really loved.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: I’m not too enthusiastic about Anders anymore, tbh. I don’t hate him, but my love for him kinda died after Awakening. 

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Alistair/Warden. Again, I don’t hate it. It’s just not something I’m that excited about it.

my ultimate favorite character™: IT’S A TIE. Zevran and Isabela. They were the only ones I continued to care about when I took a step back from the fandom for a while.

prettiest character: Also Zevran and Isabela. AND VIVIENNE.

my most hated character: Beyond people who are just villains, Eamon and Isolde- I really have zero respect for them. I also really don’t like Solas, but it’s more that he just irritates me in a way that I can’t articulate well.

my OTP: Zevran/Warden, Isabela/Hawke (are you seeing a pattern here), Cassandra/Inquisitor. Also I really like Carver/Merrill and Sera/Dagna.

my NOTP: Alistair/Morrigan, Solas/Inquisitor, Cullen/Inquisitor (the latter two aren’t inherently bad or anything, I just… avoid them whenever I can and generally don’t ask people about them)

favorite episode quest: Either Haunted or The Long Road from DA2. I also really enjoy playing the different Origins openings. 

saddest death: Hmmmm…. Probably Leandra or Bethany/Carver. 

favorite season game: Awakening. I know it’s a DLC, but… Awakening.

least favorite season game: Inquisition. There are a lot of things I liked about it, but there were also a lot of things I really didn’t. I only bought one of the DLCs and I still haven’t bothered to play it.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I guess not everyone loves them, but Solas and Cullen both. I can appreciate some things about both of their characters and I get why people like them, but I avoid talking to either of them for the most part.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Carver

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Zevran

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Samson/Inquisitor.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship’: Hmmm, most canon romances (except the ones I’ve already mentioned). Also, idk if I’d say I ship it necessarily, but I don’t hate Alistair/Anora like a lot of people do and I think it can be done well. Heck, let’s also throw Nathaniel/Anders on here.