#bioware thinks that my warden my hawke or my inquisitor would just roll over and let the south fall

[sodaequalsbubbles]

Wait, you're saying my choices from the past 3 games actually mattered?

Nice try Bioware, but I know the state of Southern Thedas better than you do.

First off, it matters if the Hero of Ferelden is alive or not. When the First Warden recalled all wardens, our hero knew that was a bad call and refused, finally splitting off from Weisshaupt after years of mismanagement and taking scores of wardens with them. Their presence and leadership makes all the difference, rallying southern Thedas once more against the blight. If you have only an Orlesian Warden Commander in Amaranthine they’re less inspiring, but as long as you’ve done Awakening they are a boon nonetheless. There is someone to lead the fight against the darkspawn while other focus on the Venatori.

If you 100% completed Awakenings and also Soldier’s Peak, the Ferelden wardens have never been so prepared. They’re organized, they’re outfitted and they’ve been ready for this for years. Also, if you allied with the Architect then you have scores of strange research to give you an edge.

If Merrill completed her Eluvian then she moves south once again and joins the effort. She’s managed to cleanse the blight before and she’s ready to try it again. And her knowledge of the crossroads gives the south an edge on their movement and supply lines. If Hawke’s sibling is a Warden they accompanied her.

If the Inquisitor let Briala have power in any way, the Dales become the leaders in the war against the Venatori, forming a formidable alliance with Ferelden, Orzammar and the Marches, the likes of which have never been seen. And if you completed Jaws of Hakkon then their alliances with the Avvar and Chasind are stronger than ever.

Of course, if the Inquisitor kept the Wardens around after Here Lies the Abyss then their numbers are bolstered. It may cost Wiesshaupt later, but that’s Rooks problem. And if you completed the Descent, then the Inquisitor and Warden had a much better idea of what was coming and spent ten years getting ready.

They will not be broken.

They will weather this storm.

[tealenko]

Ooh I want to hear more about your Dragon Age fics/head cannons!

Sure... I feel I don't talk about them enough lol... This will be long btw.

Ermmm, let's begin.

DAO: Alistair

- First videogame character I ever obsessed with

- Married to my Human - Rogue : Melissa Cousland

- King and Queen of Ferelden, of course

- I still cannot believed I forced this sweet cinnamon roll to have sex with his worst nightmare (upss)

Headcanons:

They always say "I love you" before going back to sleep

No matter how hard DA2 and DAI tries I DO NOT CARE!! This two are not separating no matter what -> they have so little time left together, I'm not going to send her away while he stays on Ferelden

She 100% cuts his hair... even when he is king

They won't have an heir, the crown will go back to Anora once he dies

Fics: Not many... I created a lot of stuff in my mind but I don't remember most of it... I know I did the wedding, but apart from that there isn't more I can talk about.

DA2: Sebastian (?)

The oficial LI in my universe is Sebastian, but this game is the only Bioware game where there isn't a romance that really catches my attention to obsession level.

I rotate between: Sebastian, Fenris and Isabella (But I'll focus on Sebastian here)

- Still mad I could not get into his pants

-Seriously Bioware... you take the 2 most beautiful men in this game and one is celibate and the other... well... the other will have the next game section all to himself.

- Married to my Warrior: Kyla Hawke

- Prince and princess of Starkhaven (duh...)

-You better bet I'm breaking his promise to the maker in order to make an heir (double duh!)

Headcanons:

He's the only thing keeping Hawke from doing crazy stuff

My Hawke goes back to him safe and sound after DAI

They love to read together

They hardly ever argue

At the beginning she's more passionate than him... that changes with time

Fics: None, as I said I quite liked it, but not enough to make me obsess.

DAI: Cullen [1][2][3]

- BEST. BIOWARE. ROMANCE. EVER. MADE (along with shenko of course)

-Thankyouthankyouuhtjanhkyoujjashdhflasdlifihals Bioware for finally giving me the chance of having A FREAKING NORMAL OFICIAL HUMAN ROMANCE THAT ENDS SO F~ING GOOD... give me just a second to calm down please.

- Married to my Human - Mage: Sybil Trevelyan

- No matter what happens in Thedas -> They'll always be happy... I'll make sure of it.

Headcanons:

They live in Ferelden after DAI

Have a daughter: Cassandra Rutherford (Cassie)

In DAI she always goes to give him a goodbye kiss before going on a mission and whenever she comes back (...and by she I mean me lol)

If they have the chance they are ALWAYS together... like always always...

Things they like to do together: read, take long walks, cook, play chess (of course), take care of the garden... you just have to think of things a cute married old couple would do XD

It was love at first sight for both of them (and I never do this... I prefer feelings developing little by little...)

Mage situation in my universe:

Cassandra as divine

Reform of the circles

Control over the mages but not imprisoned

Some sort of merit system -> the longer you work for the circle, if you don't have incident, if you do extra work, etc -> you earn more freedom

Sybil spends a few years only being able to see Cullen at weekends, until she finally gets to go home after work every day

Fics: Way too many, I love this man with all my heart since I set eyes on him in the Ferelden circle with my first warden mage (yeah... this obsession has been here for A WHILE lol)

My inquisitor origin story -> Never got much attention from her family (because she was a woman and they wanted a man to inherit the title) only close to his uncle. Her parents cut ties with her when her powers showed for the first time, they only wrote her once to the circle to tell her the uncle died and that she should stop bothering them with letters for him.

DAI (filling voids and that kind of stuff) -> Sybil developing a lovely friendship with Dorian and Varric / She falling hard for Cullen and terrified he'll never feel something for her because she's a mage / Dorian convincing her to confess her feelings, even though he doesn't know who are they talking about / her family trying to reconnect now that she's important and she sending them to hell / a lot of additional fluff to complement the canon / and a lot of additional angst in trespasser (I mean, they are 100% sure she isn't gonna make it) / a more elaborated wedding scene / her family disowning her for marrying Cullen (and she's like: I'm not even bothered by it)

Fave fic: Dorian, Varric and Vivienne finding out she's in love with Cullen -> omg I love this one lol, the 3 of them are at Vivienne's balcony and they get to see Sybil fight with herself and hesitating (going back and forwards until she finally enters into his tower) and they see the whole declaration, Jim's interruption and their first kiss from there (and of course, they bet about the possible outcome while they are it ehehehe)

They adapting to their new life together in Ferelden

She getting along with his siblings (Not a problem except for the younger sister, but they end up being good friends at the end)

Cullen getting in touch with Dorian and Varric to give her a surprise in a time she's feeling down

Cullen works just to fill the time he's alone (they're like super rich after everything my inquisitor stole in DAI lol)... so he works in construction for almost nothing, helping rebuild what the war destroyed

They end up presenting an initiative in Ferelden to build villages near the circle for mages and their families (I'm still working in this one)

The two of them building their forever house together (aw my heart)

Sybil finding out her uncle isn't dead and meeting him again after almost 20 years

She meeting my warden and (without even telling she's the herald of Andraste) fully going into "thank you for saving the love of my life during the blight" mode.

My warden finding out who she is and fully going into "thank you for saving the grey wardens" mode.

I'll stop here... for everyone's sake, but I could keep going lol

[emerald-amidst-gold]

Ohh maybe 1, 2, 3, and 28? 👀

*takes a sip from my can of soda* Ahhh~! Caffeine for the soul~ >:3

But you know what's better for the soul? Questions! Curiosity! RAMBLING ABOUT CHILDREN! >:D Let's GOOOO!

1. What would your Warden generally think of your Hawke and your inquisitor?

Rylen: 

Now, I kind of see Elise eventually meeting or at least, reaching out to Rylen after the events in Kirkwall. After all, she’s an Amell, and so is Hawke. They’re literally the only family each other has (that’s not ‘found’ family, that is.). So, I think Elise would reach out through a letter or somehow manage a visit to her cousin and...connect. She would see him as inspiring; Rylen always manages a smile and a quip. However, if they were to spend more and more time interacting with each other, Elise would see that Hawke isn’t very well put together, especially after the Chantry explosion. She would question why Rylen chose the templars, why he executed Anders who was a like a brother to her, but eventually she would come to understand the whys. Elise would see it as no different as when she decided to spare Loghain at the Landsmeet; they did what they believed to be right and what would be best in that very moment. Both Rylen and Elise sacrificed their own happiness for the benefit of others, and were still blamed for future complications and there’s something comforting in a finding another who can relate. :3

Fane:

So, I actually have some later fic ideas for a confrontation between Elise and Fane (after Trespasser, kind of Pre-DA4 shenanas~), and suffice it to say, these two have similar ways of thinking, but their methods are entirely different. Fane is rash, prone to barreling head first into conflict without thinking about those around him. Elise is analytical, always assessing and placing the pieces in her head to make sure everyone comes out alive. This isn’t to say Fane doesn’t care about his comrades; he does. There’s countless, countless times he takes a blow for someone else without batting an eye or thinking that he could die. He just doesn’t plan; he acts. Fane can get lost in the moment of battle, in the heady scent of chaos and blood. Elise, at first meeting him, would see him as any typical warrior; eager for battle and a garden of death. But if they were to sit down and talk...I think she might find him endearing and fascinating. More or less she would think, ‘He’s so mature for someone so young. I mean, he’s twenty-four, but...he speaks as if he’s older. His speech is manicured, measured as if decided upon carefully. And his eyes...there’s pain, a deep, deep pain. Like some of the older Wardens, those just hearing the Calling. But also...hope? Conviction? Who are you, Inquisitor? What has the world done to you?’

2. What would your Hawke generally think of your warden and your Inquisitor?

Elise:

Rylen would probably have the same opinion of Elise as she does with him. They’re family, split apart due the misconceptions and fear, and my Hawke cherishes family. He lost everyone else he could rightly consider family. Fenris, Varric, Sebastian, Isabela, and Merrill are the only people he can call family now. (Anders and Aveline are complicated. I won’t go into that can of worms. For now~ >:3) He would definitely feel a level of guilt for what he had to do in Kirkwall with Anders, with the mages, with...everything, but Rylen just tries to make it through another day. If he and Elise started to interact I think it would be extremely beneficial to Rylen. Elise is patient, sometimes stern, and not afraid to lay all the facts out. Rylen would admire that since he’s had to go through life wearing a mask, a smile, a facade just to placate someone else. He would see Elise as another sister and his opinion of her would probably be along the lines of, ‘I won’t let another member of my family be torn from me. Father, Bethany, Carver...Mother.. I failed them. I won’t fail her. I won’t fail her. She’s bright and she keeps her head held high. Heh, now I see how she killed an Archdemon and lived to tell the tale. ...Bet the lightning has something to do with that, too.’

Fane: 

Rylen and Fane, in my head, actually hit it off from the get go. They’ve both had to take mantles of power, even though they never, never wanted to. Though, for different reasons, of course. But Rylen would find Fane inspiring and wholly capable of doing what must be done. He’d be kind of put off that most of his well thought out jokes and pokes would fall flat on Fane, but eventually, Rylen would see why that is. (Draconic nature withstanding.) Also, once my Hawke found out Fane is dragon?  OHHHH, BUDDY. There would be yelling and screeching and cries of, ‘WHY DO I KEEP MEETING DRAGONS, FENRIS?! FIRST THE WITCH, NOW THE INQUISITOR?! ..I’m done. I’m putting my daggers down and stealing away into the mountains. Varric, you wanna come with? I know you’re fed up with this shit, too! Don’t lie! DON’T. LIE.’

3. What would your Inquisitor generally think of your warden and your Hawke?

Elise:

Fane would probably think of Elise as...interesting. Not in a bad way. Just...interesting. Fane isn’t comfortable with Wardens after Adamant. He learns that he can hear the corruption inside of them and that terrifies him. And confuses him. And makes him go, ‘What the fuck am I? I don’t even know anymore. Why do I try?’ But, if he were to get over that and, like I said with Elise, talk? He would have another perspective of the men and women that had let fear take them by the throat. It wouldn’t change his feelings regarding the Wardens entirely, but one level mind, one open mind, is enough to make Fane tap into his nature and consider other sides of a very, very large cube.

‘She’s more...quiet than the others. Maybe because it’s just her? No...Loghain was still loud as fuck when it was just him, so why? Ugh, I’m so sick of these puzzles. At least she’s more stable, but I can see the pain in her eyes; green like mine, but missing the gold. Maybe the Taint is stronger than she thinks? Perhaps, but still she fights, still she claws her way towards something that may be impossible. ...Hmph. How typical. A similarity. This world continues to confound.’

Rylen:

Fane respects Rylen after spending some time to feel him out, know his cues, and piece together which is his actual face. Once that happens, Fane can move into respect with my Hawke. These two have a fairly similar moral compass; pragmatism regarding most decisions. Again, they both have been thrust into a position without asking for it, so that would be a stepping stone upon the bonding path. All in all, Fane’s general opinion of Rylen would be, ‘He’s worn that mask of smiles and bright, grey eyes for too long. It’s cracking at the edges, wearing down to mere mortar. Then again, I have my own mask. I’m in no position to judge and condemn, but...it’s worrying. Even the strongest wings can be torn and all that greets is the earth below. I hope your wings don’t falter, Champion. It would be disappointing for the world to lose someone who cares when those who should are content to point the finger towards anyone but themselves.’

28. What is their favourite location within their own game and what would be their favourite in each others?

Fane: The Emprise du Lion! Snowwwww! Coooold! Ice dragooooon! >:3 ...minus the red lyrium. *snorts* 

Origins: Hmm, I think Fane would like the Brecilian Forest. He enjoys forests as much as he enjoys the cold, the ice, and the snow. He likes the animals, even though he tries not to interfere with them, and he likes the quiet. No chattering, no demands. Only trees, leaves, and the occasional whistle of wind. Also, Fane likes to investigate ancient ruins. He’s not interested in the history, really. He just wants to see if he can find any remnants about his kin that the elves may have left behind. :3

DA2: Probably Sundermount since again, wilderness. Fane doesn’t do too well in crowded areas and Kirkwall would make his heart rate sky rocket. Not just because of the people, but because of the size. Those cramped streets of Lowtown would just make him...eugh. *shivers*

Elise: She adores Orzammar! Especially the Shaperate! The dwarves fascinate Elise since not many tomes in the Circle went into depth about them! :D And if we want to with Awakening areas, I would saaaay...Amaranthine. She’s always like towns and cities due to not being able to experience them until the Blight! :3

Inquisition: Elise would adore the Frostback Basin. Like, really enjoy it! All that flora and Avaar culture and wilderness? MMMM!

DA2: Definitely the Wounded Coast. Hands down. My daughter enjoys the sea so much. The salt in the air, the feel of sand, and the pretty, pretty shells and rolling waves? Every Circle mages’ wet dream. *waggles eyebrows*

Rylen: So, if we’re not talking like open world areas in the game, I would definitely say Rylen’s favorite place is the Hanged Man. The man needs a drink to deal with Kirkwall. Just saying. It’s also where he can just...be himself with the people who know him. 

Inquisition: Hinterlands. He’s a FERELDAN. He wants his MABARI to RUN in native land! He wants to...go home. ;3;

Origins: I like to think the Hawke family went all over Ferelden before settling in Lothering. I mean, they kind of do, but maybe for more than a few months at a time? So, Rylen would enjoy Denerim. He likes to go where people are, where life is. He likes crowds because he can blend into them and not be tracked down until he wants to be tracked down. ...My Hawke just wants to live in peace with his glowy elf husband and run a mabari ranch. Is that too much to ask, Bioware?! Let Hawke REST!

Woo! That was FUN! It really got me thinking, too! X3 Thank you so much, friend! <3

[pikapeppa]

Pikapeppa wears a tinfoil hat: The Arishok in post-Trespasser times

[Warning: this contains spoilers for Trespasser and for Tevinter Nights. Proceed with caution.]

For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m a HUGE FAN of Sten from DA:O. While doing research for my current fic, I was reviewing Tevinter Nights and the Dragon Age Wiki, and I pulled together some threads regarding the qunari and their activities during the time of Tevinter Nights. 

In a nutshell: I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT ARISHOK-STEN’S SAFETY AND WELLBEING.

Read more below the cut!

A quick refresher of qunari rulership

Just as a reminder, the qunari are ruled by three leaders:

The Arishok: the military leader. Leads the antaam, i.e. the army.

The Ariqun: the leader of the priesthood, who are also the scholarly branch of the qunari. 

The Arigena: the leader of the craftsmen and support workers of the qunari people.

Together, these three leaders are called the salasari. The salasari are supposed to make decisions jointly about how the qunari people proceed at advancing their own culture and bringing the uneducated bas into the wisdom of the Qun.

A summary of what we know 

Sten becomes the Arishok around 9:34-9:35 after Hawke kills the current Arishok in Kirkwall. By the time the Inquisition rolls around in 9:41, he is still the Arishok as confirmed by dialogue between Bull and Varric. 

In Trespasser, in the Darvaraad, we find a letter from the qunari to Josephine stating that the Viddasala was acting without the qunari leaders’ official sanction — an indication that their citizens are not as well-controlled and orderly as they would have the rest of the world believe. Of particular note, this letter indicates clearly that “military action has not been approved against the Inquisition. No one in Par Vollen has authorized actions of any kind involving the Exalted Council. Nor will they.” To me, this speaks of an Arishok who is being quite conservative in his actions. Similarly, in world states where Bull becomes a Tal-Vashoth, the qunari did not send military action against the Inquisition even when the Inquisition reneged on their hoped-for alliance.

All but one of the stories in Tevinter Nights take place post-Trespasser, and the qunari feature heavily in these stories. The book opens with Three Trees to Midnight, which tells of the qunari making a bold and unprecedented attack on the Tevinter city of Ventus. Importantly, it is mentioned that the antaam (i.e. the qunari army) are acting without the support of the priesthood or the workers:

Usually the other Qunari were there to support the Antaam—the workers crafting the gear and managing supplies, the Tamassran priests making sure the Antaam were healthy in mind as in body, the Ben-Hassrath spies scouting behind enemy lines and removing any Antaam who might forsake their training and abandon the Qun. This time, the Antaam had attacked the bas of the south without the blessing of the other Qunari, and little things were not working as well as they should. Supplies were late. Ships were not in good repair. 

When I read this, alarm bells immediately went off in my mind. It seems odd to me that the antaam would suddenly attack Tevinter on what feels like an impulsive move, without the support of the two other branches of the Qun. Importantly, the antaam is under the Arishok’s (i.e. Sten’s) rule, and I thought it was VERY out of character that he would do something so anti-qunari as to basically go rogue without the support of the Arigena or the Ariqun. 

Another relevant story is Brother Genitivi Dies At The End. In this story, Brother Genitivi, Philliam, a Bard!, and another lesser-known but infamous writer named Formerly Sister Laudine form a reluctant team to recover books from an elvhen library that, for some reason, has “fallen” underground in the Silent Plains in Tevinter. The mission is cut short by a qunari named Rasaan, and the three writers manage to snatch a small number of elvhen tomes before narrowly escaping from Rasaan and her soldiers. It very important to note that in this story, Rasaan refers to the army as being “my antaam”, and it is emphasized and pointed out that she called the antaam “hers”. 

I should say now that I haven’t read any of the DA comics. On a whim, I decided to look up Rasaan in the Dragon Age Wiki, and I discovered that Rasaan is a prominent character in the comic Dragon Age: Those Who Speak, and that she belonged not to the military branch of the Qun, but to the priesthood/scholarly branch, and that she was next in line to become the Ariqun. The wiki says the following: “Rasaan was stranded in the Qunari city of Qunandar, unable to perform her duties. Since a new Arishok was chosen in 9:34 Dragon, Rasaan has been at his side almost constantly.” It’s also interesting to note that Rasaan has a particular interest in people’s ‘true names’ and believes that a person’s many names or titles are indicative of their character, their triumphs, and their failings. 

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego Sten???? 

OKAY. To sum up, then, the qunari situation in the post-Trespasser Tevinter Nights era is as follows:

The antaam, usually governed by the Arishok, has gone rogue, and it would be very out of character for Sten-Arishok to sanction this without the okay of his co-leaders.

Rasaan, a higher-up of the priesthood, is in mainland Thedas chasing down information about Solas and referring to the antaam as hers. 

From this, I can only conclude that Arishok-Sten is not fully in charge of the antaam anymore, and that Rasaan plays a major role in this. Maybe Rasaan has pulled a coup and is trying to take over as the new Arishok, believing that ‘Arishok’ is supposed to be her true name. If this is the case, WHERE IS STEN? Is he a prisoner back in Par Vollen, perhaps? Stuck working in a labour camp? Or… Maker fucking forbid, is he dead?

Personally, I don’t think Arishok-Sten is dead, and this is not just my undying love for him that’s talking. There are indicators in Three Trees to Midnight that, even though the antaam has gone rogue and some of the qunari are acting extremely cruel, there other qunari who are still trying to maintain the integrity of the Qun. One example is the character named Saarbak, a Ben-Hassrath agent who has been tasked with removing threats to the Qun such as the overly cruel qunari. Characters like Saarbak make me think that the qunari are divided within themselves: there are those who have been impatient to move on Thedas, leading to the hasty attack on Ventus, and there are those who are trying to maintain the integrity and order of the Qun, such as Saarbak. And it’s my belief that Arishok-Sten is one of these honourable qunari, and that he is still alive and may play a significant role in DA4. 

Fen’Harel ma ghilana: Solas’s interference

There's one other piece of qunari involvement that should be mentioned. At the end of Trespasser, Solas says that “in stopping the Dragon’s Breath, you have prevented an invasion by qunari forces. With luck, they will return their focus to Tevinter. That should give you a few years of relative peace.” It does not seem coincidental to me that a year or so after Solas says this, this is exactly what happens — particularly in light of the story called Half Up Front. In this story, it is discovered that Fen’Harel’s agents are purposely trying to fan the flames of the war between the qunari and Tevinter. 

Why would Solas be trying to do this, though? Especially after telling the Inquisitor that he wants the people of the Inquisitor’s time to “die in comfort” free from the Qun? My conclusion is that Solas is trying to prevent the former Inquisitor from allying with Tevinter or the qunari. If they’re caught up in a war with each other, neither Tevinter nor the qunari will have the resources (or fucks to give) to invest in military efforts against an alleged elven god. I also think that Solas has no qualms about screwing Tevinter over by throwing them under the metaphorical bus of the qunari, given their longtime treatment of slaves and spirits. (Please note that I say all of this with great love, as I also have undying love for the Dread Egg.)

DA4 hopes: allying with the qunari 

Based on the above, it’s my hope that a big part of DA4 will involve stopping an all-out war between Tevinter and the qunari, and then gaining the cooperation of both groups to help The Group Formerly Known As The Inquisition™ to stop Solas’s plans. It’s my even greater hope that the qunari portion of this will involve finding Arishok-Sten, restoring him his place as the rightful Arishok, and thereby securing his alliance to stop Solas. It’s my even greater GREATER hope that the Hero of Ferelden will play a role in this and have some ACTUAL FACETIME in the game by helping us to broker an alliance with Sten. 

Of course, it’s a Bioware game so there has to be choice, so the choice here might be between helping Sten vs. helping Rasaan, but I’m sure you can all see where I would stand on this. (I just want Sten and his kadan to have a sweet sweet reunion, okay?? My tender heart is soft and weak for him.)

Okay, that’s it! Them’s my thoughts! Sorry if this has already been laid out before by somebody else – I just had to word-vomit my thoughts because of STEN FEELS. 

Feel free to comment or reblog, but please do not use this as a forum to discuss the pros or cons of the Qun. I am wholeheartedly middle-ground on the Qun and can see both sides, so please refrain from that rhetoric here.

Finally, a little self-promotion: I ship Sten with my Warden Yara Mahariel, and have written a relatively short fic about their romance, which takes place during the ship ride from Denerim to Par Vollen after the Fifth Blight is ended. It’s called Fall Into The Tide, and you can feel free to check it out on AO3!

- Love from your friendly neighbourhood Pikapeppa xoxo

[happywitch416]

More because I can: Dorian, Solas, Dennet, Varric, and Sten.

Got Dorian already! Also, Solas is last and under a cut because I am Solas Critical and I know that’s a touchy subject for some. I think its cool other people enjoy his character so much! But I don’t and while I am a happy witch, I don’t want to be subjected to a witch hunt. Again.

Dennet

How I feel about this character

The man with the horses. He's blunt but most horse folks are. I like how his coming to Skyhold is basically you children don't know horses ill save them from you. And he just rolls with the nugs and dracolisks? That's a funny-looking horse? I guess? I like him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

His wife of course! They are a good team, he ie the horses and she is more the farming and its a good match.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Blackwall. They are stable buddies.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don't have one?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Hm. More reactions to the strange rides. I want to know how he reacts to feeding differences. How does he hire stablehands? Stablehands needed, must be good with raw sheep.

Varric

How I feel about this character

Varric is the worst. Terrible awful.

Ha

I love Varric. I love how he tells Hawke's story, never mind it's his story, he would never admit that. And not just Hawkes but the stories of each of these ragtag nightmares he wrangles to a table for drinking and wicked grace. I like how he is a good person, that does bad things. He lies, but is honest about his lying. I dig that he's with the merchants guild and just doesn't do any of it. And I love that he's a storyteller. Anything and everything is a story. Also, I find his arms, shoulders, and back to be aesthetically pleasing. Holy shit. Just stand there and flex pls ill die happy.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Hawke, with him and Rose being the otp. Admittedly when I read other Varric Hawke pairings I go this is good followed by sticking my nose in the air and going but mine is better. I am that person, but I think everyone is allowed to love their version of their OTP best.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Cole, I dig that whole found family thing. I dig his and Bull's distrusting trust too. Like they get along but definitely give each other the suspicious look. And Viv! He's gonna write a book about her!

My unpopular opinion about this character

LET US ROMANCE HIM BIOWARE. Also the relationship with Bianca, the dwarf, sucks. Like. Thats not his or hers fault but it is so bad at this point. I also don't dig the ship with Cassandra. I just….its got problems for me.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Ending it with Bianca, its no longer good for either of them. Romance him. Cowards. More games of wicked grace. The inquisitor gets to hug him if Hawke dies, why can't we hug him more. More hugs.

Sten

How I feel about this character

Sten. My murder child. You become friends over a sword. He's sarcastic as shit. You have found a wastebin. He's just the best.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I don't. I just. I cant. He does not strike me as romanceable. He's gotta job to do and it ain't you.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Friend Warden and Shale. Team snark. And how many of your friends would rip someone's arms off for you. (If you are my friend, you can name one.)

My unpopular opinion about this character

Don't think I have one?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

More Sten! All the time. He's Arishok in dai yeah? Interaction! Delegation! Get me the hell out of Ferelden!

Solas- FYI This is Solas Critical, if thats a prob, feel free to skip! No hard feelings from me.

How I feel about this character

Immediate dislike. He's arrogant and a know it all. The Dalish were mean to me once. Well with that attitude I wouldn't take you seriously either. And the I don't like how things are so I'm going to destroy the world is just. Wtf dude. Fucking chill. Maybe. Take a normal nap and have a cookie. Extremes don't fix shit, which you should have already learned by now, the King of Mistakes. Also, he was my first Bioware Romance. I am Bitter. Especially since my next romance was King Alistair, as a dwarf. He dumped me too. Throw them into the fire.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

...no one. The lying, about where he's from why he's there who he is. The absolute ripping he does on the Dalish. Oh yeah, your culturally important face tattoo is a sign of slaves and I'm dumping you. Like. Sigh. It's not healthy. And I will leave it at that.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Varric. In their conversations, the man at the end of the world to be specific, they have two very different perspectives. Solas is pessimistic to his core. Varric is the one who sees someone surviving in spite of the odds and sees that survival as something worthy in of itself, as winning against the dark. Solas needs more influences that arent so doom and gloom. Flemeth/Mythal is the other. I think if she actually knew his end goal she wouldn't have handed over her power like what appears to have happened. She's spent how many years subtly guiding the hands that save the world? Why would she do that to let him destroy it? Unless of course, she knows things we don't. Or her spirit is laying in wait to possess him. Which I'm cool with.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Look, I dislike Solas and that's a dangerous opinion to have in fandom. My entire opinion is unpopular. Lol the one thing that probably irritates me the most is his treatment of Cole. Its all about what he thinks is best, not about what Cole wants. An important distinction. Cole wants to grow and do better and he's no its a spirit. While yelling that spirits need better treatment. Mmkay buddy

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

For someone who bitches about the black and white ideologies of the world, he's awful black and white himself. I would like someone to point it out. And I want the option to make him actually listen to the elves of the current time, the Dalish and the Alienages. Moping about in the past is good for exactly zero things. I mean apparently, he does in the books at some point? Masked Empire I think is what I have heard, I haven't read it yet. And we know he has this massive spy network. But does he actually pay attention to what his people are saying or is he so caught up in a million years ago? If you friend him, you see hints of it. But I want more damn it.

I understand why some folks love Solas, I however can’t. Its all good.