#Thrask

[librivore42]

hiii i am here to talk to you about lux <333 tell me how you built her character and what inspired her and if there's anything about writing her voice that was very easy or very hard? (this is about the fic ask thing btw :'D)

Cactussssssss thank you for asking about my favourite girl!

So funnily, the inspiration came entirely from a banter Anders has in Dragon Age Awakening where he says, and I quote

[I escaped] Several times. But they always found me using my phylactery. Not that I minded being caught much. They always assigned the same templar to track me down. Or perhaps she asked. I hope it's the latter. On those long trips back to the tower -- I in manacles, she glaring silently -- the air practically sizzled.

Whether this was true or not it was funny enough for me. And I always felt like the Templars weren't being explored enough. The actual good Templars you meet are rare but so compelling! Alistair is NOT a Templar and not wanting to be one says so much. But then there's the one in the Alienage who can't see but he can 'feel evil' and is determined to save the Alienage from whatever it is even if nobody believes him. There's Thrask in da2 with his mage daughter and his compassion, and the idea with Raleigh that the Chantry is controlling the Templars with propaganda and addiction. There's Cullen feeling so much trauma and hatred and feeling like he's not worth coming out the other side, perhaps another reason Templars feel safer near the Chantry and the Order. So I really wanted a character who was both a Templar but a genuinely good person struggling with how she'd been raised and conditioned, to explore those aspects of guilt and compassion and fear a little.

After that, things seemed to just fall into place! She was waiting for me to find her, I think! Her voice was mostly very easy to write, there's a lot of sudden stops and starts and she's very literal and precise with her words, but the hardest part came when I had to take her through her process of learning about her needs and wants. At some point she had to communicate that very clearly to Anders without even having the correct words, which was tricky! I had to go back and add a whole chapter before the 'confession' so I could have her build towards the message.

[silver-horse]

^^ “friendship/rivalry point allocation should not be taken at full value of who characters are, but rather sometimes simply added for the sake of game mechanical benefits and consequences of choices” 

a very good point

also interesting that Anders constantly gives approval for the kind and moral and helpful choices during both Awakening and DA2. If you keep him in the party constantly and you never do anything shitty, you will literally never lose friendship points with him. I don’t know if there is another character like that.

But people cherry-pick that 1 single instance where he gives friendship points for an evil choice as some sort of proof that he is bad. With this logic all the above listed characters would be hated ( many fan favourite characters in DAO as well. If friendship points is anything to go by then Morrigan is irredeemable and I say that as someone who really likes her).

And even in this one instance if you don’t do the evil thing, you won’t gain rivalry with Anders, so my point stands that you can always do the most moral thing and you will never lose friendship points with Anders. That’s not the case for the other companions.

(Oh and other characters also give mild disapproval if we turn down their flirting, even if they are politely turned down. For example Zevran. It’s actually kinda realistic, people in the real world also don’t feel warm and fuzzy when they experience rejection. That doesn’t mean he “took it as an insult” this is again just an approval thing. Of course the developers thought it’s logical to not gain friendship when you turn someone down. However the actual dialogue is polite when they are rejected. They accept it immediately and don’t throw a hissy fit like real men often do.)

why is Anders like. so liked in the fandom. I don't get it he's voiced support for tevinter slavery and is just. downright cruel to fenris about everything. and if you try to not flirt with him and say you aren't interested just after apologizing for his friend being made tranquil he takes it as an insult

Some of the main reasons I like Anders:

His multifaceted advocacy for equal rights for mages, including going as far as risking his life to help mages escape the Gallows and get out of Kirkwall

He himself has gone through a lot of trauma in the Circles, including but not limited to an entire year of solitary confinement, and yet he gave up the only protection he had from them (the Grey Wardens) because he couldn’t stand him having freedoms that other mages didn’t

He does nothing in half measure, and is so full of passion for the people and things he cares about—and this isn’t just special with Hawke, lest we forget he travelled all the way to Kirkwall in the first place because of Karl, and even before that lest we forget the very reason he merged with Justice was to help his friend

Speaking of Justice, I really like how much his personality and Justice’s personality in Awakening blend together in his character in DA:2; it truly is a matter of showing what is told in the way you can pick pieces of both characters as they were separately now merged together, and I find that to be a really interesting and unique piece of character progression that not only builds him as a person, but adds to and reflects the worldbuilding with how magic and spirits work

He’s super open with affection in his romance, and just like Merrill, declares his love for Hawke without hesitation

When he’s not with Hawke, he’s providing free health care for Kirkwall citizens and refugees that the rest of the city openly shuns and attacks, and in return they protect and love him; he is at the same time showing people mages aren’t scary, but people just like them just by doing what he does

As a ���Zillennial” I can’t help but like and relate to his nihilistic sense of humour

And to respond to your points:

“He's voiced support for Tevinter slavery”

...Where? Show me where in the game that Anders says slavery in Tevinter is okay actually.

If you are only referring to the allocation of friendship points if Hawke is an evil motherfucker who gives Fenris back to Danarius, then I would like to counter this with the fact that the friendship/rivalry point allocation for all the companions is messed up at times. And in fact in regards to that specific scenario, they should all openly attack Hawke for doing such, in my opinion. Leliana and Wynne attack the Warden for poisoning the Sacred Ashes, but apparently no one even tries to stop Hawke selling Fenris back into slavery? Really, Gaider?

Anyway, some other examples of the friendship/rivalry point allocation being really morally messed up and/or OOC:

Fenris gains +10 friendship if Hawke threatens to expose Thrask having had a mage daughter unless Thrask pays them, and +10 rivalry for promising to keep Thrask’s secret

Aveline gains +10 rivalry for attacking Varian the slaver

Merrill gains +5 friendship for accepting Torpor’s bargain to possess Feynriel, and +5 rivalry for killing Torpor

Aveline gains +10 friendship for turning Keran over to Meredith, and +10 rivalry for letting him go

Aveline gains +10 friendship for allowing Isabela to negotiate with Castillon the slaver, and +5 rivalry for killing him

Varric gains +5 friendship for allowing Isabela to negotiate with Castillon the slaver, and +5 rivalry for killing him

So lets look at that last point as a similar example to Anders’ friendship/rivalry change during the quest Alone. Varric and Aveline gain friendship points for letting a slaver go free, and rivalry points for killing him. Are you going to say Varric and Aveline support slavery too, then? Or are you going to acknowledge that friendship/rivalry point allocation should not be taken at full value of who characters are, but rather sometimes simply added for the sake of game mechanical benefits and consequences of choices, and don’t make sense?

“He’s downright cruel to Fenris about everything”

Yeah. They’re rude to each other. They have a hostile relationship and it’s not good, but the way you’re phrasing this is as if it’s only a one-way street. Fenris is also rude to Anders about everything.

This isn’t to say that either negates the other, but that they are on the same level of antagonism. It’s not just Anders bullying Fenris, or just Fenris bullying Anders. They are both at fault.

“If you try to not flirt with him and say you aren't interested just after apologizing for his friend being made tranquil he takes it as an insult”

I do agree that the dialogue here is messy.

I would like to point out though, that it is entirely possible to get through it without flirting and without him trying to initiate anything. I know because I literally just did it with my new playthrough I started.

Anyway, this blog loves and supports Anders. ✌

[thedragonagebigbang]

Butter Biscuit

Written by: Izzy Illustrated by: Ascindio

Rating: Explicit Content Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Fandom(s): Dragon Age 2 Major Pairing(s)/Character(s): Male Hawke/Cullen Rutherford, background Anders/Fenris/Isabela; Male Hawke, Cullen Rutherford, Isabela, Anders, Fenris, Varric, Mia Rutherford, carver Hawke, Meredith Stannard, Orsino, Elthina, Ser Thrask

In an attempt to resolve the rising tension between mages and Templars in Kirkwall, the Grand Cleric decides to marry two of its most influential figures: the Champion and the Knight-Captain. But Cullen actually has feelings for Hawke, and he can't tell if it's serious when Hawke keeps flirting with him. To make it worse, Meredith orders him to spy on Hawke. When everything goes wrong, will the Kirkwall they were meant to unite ultimately tear them apart?

More from Izzy: @twist-shout-and-shells | ao3 More from Ascindio: @mortalitasdeeznuts

Full art by Ascindio:

[bookishnewt]

I haven't watched much dnd but its funny that a few of my favorites are in a similar ballpark. Not to mention two of them are played by the same person.

[flashhwing]

amazing how quickly Fenris dialogue brings you from “shut the fuck up about mages” to “fuck YES eat his heart out baby” back to “man we get it you hate magic”

[midmorninggrey]

Me (Six Months Ago): I'm proud of myself for practicing restraint and intentionally leaving my OC's parents unidentified. Never getting closure is an unfortunate and tragic reality.

Me (Today): What if an NPC that you can interact with once is actually my OC's mother. What then.

[vulptilla]

It's Hawke/Blackwall hours in this household tonight, so I just have to rave a little about how cathartic it feels that Katla, after enduring so much loss since Lothering, outright refused to let Blackwall to be consumed by his guilt. It's so deeply fitting to her personality and past experiences that she'd resort to questionable means to save him—because, unlike the countless times she'd been powerless to save those she loved, this time, she actually had the power to act.

And she did act. No questions asked.

[sapphim]

very funny how playing through dragon age with Carver and a non-mage Hawke turns Carver into thedas's biggest #acab advocate. Carver watched one viral video about how you shouldn't talk to cops and immediately made that the basis of his entire personality. you so much as breathe in a templar's direction and your baby brother immediately starts giving you the stinkeye.

[trans-ruffboi]

night terrors makes so much less sense with feynriel in the circle

[miraculan-draws]

Meredith...is such a good villain. She's so perfectly nasty. She's real but she's just campy enough. She dresses herself to look like Andraste. The god complex of it all.

And Hawke by act 3 being so...not COCKY bc that implies some falsehood. Apostate Hawke, in act 3, knOWS, has PROVED time and time again, that they are Apostate Number One. There is no bigger fish to fry. Hawke knowing, with every conversation, that it will come down to them vs Meredith in the ring. And they are SALIVATING for it. And Meredith can't do anything!! Money is power. Hawke is backed by the nobility. Hawke is backed by the Fereldans. Hawke is backed by the Underworld. She can't move against them like she would any Lowtown apostate. And HAWKE KNOWS OHHHH THEY LOVE RUBBING IT IN HER FACE THEY'RE PRACTICALLY FLAUNTING IT. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WAR FARE. The "We'll catch up at the Gallows, knight-commander, I've been eagerly awaiting a duel with you." THE FUCKER THAT KILLED THE ARISHOK IN SINGLE COMBAT??? fuck I love them. One of the tastiest rivalries in the series is Meredith vs. Mage Hawke.

(And while Meredith is too busy being pissed at Hawke for being King Bitch, Anders and Thrask are basically emptying the Gallows right under her nose. He is being a cunt for the People.)

[redlyriumidol]

things that would have been cool writing choices for dragon age imo, not necessarily better just interesting:

loghain doing the dark ritual on his own if the warden chooses not to. I'm not sure this is in character really it just would have been wild for a character to make a Decision like that without you. maybe only if you have low approval or something (even though its difficult to get approval either way bc you get him so late)

anders somehow using gaatlok to blow up the chantry. much as i enjoy digging through sewers for poo crystals this would have tied the various plots between acts together so nicely. this one i legitimately think would have been better.

I said this in a different post but not allowing you to go to the circle during the arl of redcliffe because it's a cheap copout and makes no sense. either give us consequences for running off and spending 300 hrs in the fade or force us to make a hard choice.

a fourth secret persuade option for mage wardens to let eamon be possessed instead of killing connor or isolde. I know i've said this a lot. But the deal would be Arl Deamon agrees to act the part until the blight is over and the dialogue is slightly different during the landsmeet etc and ur the only one who knows why. ;) epilogue slide where he's eventually discovered and killed but not before he Wreaks some Havoc

giving thrask and grace more protagonism in da2 and having them survive, and THEY become the mage/templar leaders in dai rather than randos samson and calpernia.

an acknowledgment in the anders romance that justice is ALSO in love with hawke. awakening anders was a fun flirty commitmentphobe whereas justice was an intense weirdo about kristoff and aura's relationship and even expressed jealousy towards them. which was soooo interesting. anders being so intense and lowkey possessive (love him tho) in the romance makes so much more sense if it's actually coming from justice. "justice doesn't approve of my obsession with you" bro justice IS the obsession be fr.

isabela not betraying you in the fade if she has 100% approval and is romanced. i always find this out of character especially since she betrays you JUST for a ship and not anything actually meaningful like the others. or if it was a ship but the demon's offer was more explicitly about freedom/escaping from castillon (which can be read btwn the lines but I think it should have been more obvious) that would have been much better.

[grapecaseschoices]

the difference between noah's convo with anders and maior's convo with anders is so fufcking funny.

maior shutting down convos before they get anywhere.

so they have subtitles in this game

[vigilskeep]

insane how if you say you’ll kill thrask you get completely different behaviour from the templars who immediately try to kill you despite not having heard any of that

[teddywesworl]

cullen fic is basically just a character sketch but it is also an exercise in unreliable narrator (telegraphed, even: "The Seeker looks at him with sharp, impatient eyes and tells him that he does not see himself clearly.") because, surprising no one, one of my absolute favorite flavors of blorbo is "hypercompetent pathetic meow meow"

sorry to keep going on and on but he coulda been such a good character if someone had just committed to and elevated everything about him. bro says (and DOES) some nazi shit in da2!!! and he means it!!!!!! but he got to that point bc he was Literally Tortured for... do we know how long he was in that cage, actually??? days, at minimum. and then the warden frees him and secures mages for the war effort and ties all that neatly up with a bow except cullen's angry and traumatized and a church cop and NINETEEN YEARS OLD and the templars don't have a mental health department so bro radicalizes himself and gets his ass transferred to kirkwall (INSANE MOVE, GREAGOIR) and for some fuckin reason he gets promoted to knight-captain, literally second in command to Meredith, at the age of TWENTY-ONE

like it's easy to see that last bit and go hmm. weird choice, writers. why would meredith do that. but it's way more interesting to put on ur thinking cap and ask: why would meredith do that. what possessed her to look at this spitting mad wet cat from a dumpster and elevate him to SECOND!!! in command. and the first and most obvious reason is: that boy vulnerable & impressionable & Will Not Question Her. and the second more fun to think about reason is: what if he's actually that good? what if he's actually that good. what if he can fuckin toast alrik and thrask and karras and all them with a hand tied behind his back. what if he can snuff out the mana pool of a room full of senior enchanters without breaking a sweat. what if this traumatized little alt-right church cop dumpster cat plays urban warfare like it's chess. now he's dangerous. now he's less a cameo background character and more a black cloud on the horizon labeled 'future villain material.'

but he ignores a mage hawke for like six years. but he doesn't chase the rumors of a spirit healer in darktown. but he sides with hawke against meredith in the end, even if hawke keeps Anders at their side. and then, and THEN, the next time we the audience meet cullen, he has chosen to voluntarily stop taking lyrium, thereby stripping himself of all the power of a templar and potentially damning himself to madness and/or death.

hello????????????????????????????

[mirandaputsherbestbuttforward]

"I defended you when Thrask started whispering you were mad... but this is too far."

whispered madness - playlists for a mind lost to red lyrium's influence part i || part ii

[idolbound]

Anyway in writing in my Redemptive AUs (DAI and DAV), yes, Meredith is finding a way to redeem herself by offering her sword to the cause (because fighting and being in service to others is all she knows), but I also like to allot Meredith some softness, particularly in her relationships because as I’ve talked about before, she’s never had a chance at a “normal” life as a Templar and as a high ranking official.

She’s always been in service to the Chantry and the Order, and has only lived within those constraints, always putting her obligation to duty first and foremost above all else, including those she cares about.

So in the context of being “free” from that, despite what she has done and the crimes she has committed, I like to think she has the means to allow herself to love just as freely, to experience the romance she has only ever read about, and in turn, get to discover herself as a woman first, rather than as a Templar. It takes time and it doesn’t come easily; she has a lot of repression to reckon with, but to be able to express it in however small a way, is a big step for her finding some kind of personal happiness despite the weight of guilt that rests on her shoulders.

This also extends to friendships, in some ways. Not to say she didn’t have friends in say, Ser Thrask, but when she became Captain and then Commander, it became harder to be friendly with rank, seeing friendship as favouritism and so on. So at least, if someone is brave enough to approach her (and she moves as a ghost within the halls of Skyhold with her head down, avoiding others), she would be more inclined to speak and to find human connection with others, even if it is tentative or awkward. But it would be something.