#but zevran and him? chefs kiss

[merrilldidnothingwrong]

me playing bg3: fuck i hate combat

also me: fuck theyre all so hot. whats the deal with astarian why do i love him?

me: *thinks of zevran*

great googly moogly ive cracked the code!

[bishicat]

"Would you be offended if I said I fancied you?"

[acommonanomaly]

Zevran is probably my favorite Dragon Age character, and he's definitely my favorite romance out of all the games I LOVE HIM TO BITS AND PIECES. <3

[iniziare]

Just so that everyone knows the menace that is Zevran Arainai that will join my blog soon. The music that was added is also oddly perfect for him.

[the-kings-strumpet]

In a lot of Zevran’s epilogues from the first game, he’s hell bent on dismantling the Antivan Crows by just. Slaughtering every one that tries to come after him. And I’m kinda daydreaming about the possibility of helping him finish the job in Veilguard, esp if you have the Antivan Crow background!! Him preventing the Crows from ever abusing children again would be a phenomenal and satisfying ending to his overall character arc.

Or. What if they incorporated the epilogue where Zev, after a romanced warden dies defeating the archdemon, continues the cycle of abuse and becomes the new leader of the Crows, then the Veilguard and co. have to kill him? That would be emotionally devastating, but also just. Chef’s kiss tragic arc

[v-arbellanaris]

Re: rarepair Hell. I would like to know how many pits we mutually occupy, so. Could I get a list of like, idk, your top ten (based in enjoyment level) rarepairs? And/or headcanons but I would prefer "and".

okay i'll assume you mean dragon age specifically MFDSKJFSDKJF but okay, i'll list some!!!!

the obvious ones:

fenders (fenris x anders) : i love a good narrative foil

zevistair (zevran x alistair) : idk if this counts as a rarepair but!!! their canon flirting banters always make me go sooo insane. that you can include zevran in the foursome w alistair if alistair is hardened (lol) makes me INSANE. they are basically canon aND YET!!!!!!

warden x loghain : ive written so much abt them already. you get the idea

nanders (nathaniel x anders)

the less obvious ones:

anders/merrill (bonus: anders/merrill/isabela): for all the same reasons i ship fenders (which i would argue is still relatively a popular pair, so not quite rarepair??); they're such good mirrors, they're both encapsulate what the other fears. anders being 100% okay to hurt people despite being a healer vs merrill being a blood mage who has never wanted to hurt anyone is just *chef kiss*. you can take a look at this for more compelling reasons to ship them.

fenris/merrill: for all the same reasons as above. i think if u dont ship each individual LI of the kirkwall polycule w each other, u shouldnt say u ship the kirkwall polycule.

solavelyan / soladaar / soladash / solas x non-lavellan inqs: i still think it should've been a romance option for all inqs tho i suppose they didn't really have the time to develop a non-lavellan route for them, but i love thinking about it, and i love the vibes for it so much. again, i love narrative foils, and i think it's so natural to be drawn to someone who could understand you like that.

alistair x bethany: a not-templar and a not-circle mage, in the wardens together. i think they'd really like each other and have a very interesting kind of energy!!! they've both got these secret bitter/spiteful sides to them, there's a lot of parallels (like alistair thinking warden conscription is a good thing bc it was for him and bethany having v different emotions abt being a warden in general). i've also really enjoyed most of the fics i've read for them.

nathaniel x f!cousland: UNFORTUNATELY THOUGH i dont think i've been able to find the kind of fic i want for them in the tag. i've got too many wips as it is, but maybe one day i'll write the nathaniel/f!cousland fic of my dreams...

nathaniel x anora: this one is admittedly @rosella-writes' fault, but they've got me by the THROAT as a concept

m!hawke/cullen: LIKE ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ONE-SIDED FOR CULLEN it's something that can be SO fascinating to explore (esp in an amell worldstate). [shaking cullen] babygirl what is WRONG with you!!!!!!!

m!hawke/sebastian: sebastian grappling with his admiration for hawke vs his chantry vows but THIS TIME make it mlm..... i think this is probably baby vee coming through w how hard i used to ship d/estiel in the early 00's LMAO. fsr they hit the same beats in my skull.

morrigan/leliana: noooo girlies don't fight haha <3 they should dump the warden and kiss instead <3

josephine/the iron bull: i read a few fics for them that admittedly captured my interest. i think their dynamic is something that could really be interesting to delve into for so many reasons. i've read the evidence and i find it compelling enough to put on this list

[veylia]

The voice acting of this character is just chef's kiss. Fantastic!!

Also, I keep comparing Asterion to Zevran and Gale to Anders: Awakening Edition. No wonder I fell for Asterion so quickly, hahaha

[iemaki]

top 5 elves

fug uhhhhhh

5)- estinien ffxiv. socially maladjusted rat man. pressure hoses him

4)- medicine seller from mononoke. technically not an elf but has the ears, thus counts.

3)- arioch and nero from drakengard. obscure elves. both deranged. both beloved

2)- fenris da2. another socially maladjusted rat man with trauma but this one is to blame for my appreciation of elves in general, however not as much as...

1)-zevran dao. beloved smug assassin with layers. ambiguously spanish. traumatised. chef kiss

[thelaughingmerman]

Literally the theme of CHOICE gets me so much in DAO. I run with it a lot for my Warden.

I don’t think the recurrence of the idea of CHOICE is an accident. It’s an RPG with a lot of choices to make. The reigns are yours. You have a freedom to act with mercy or not. But it’s present in so many conversations and I don’t have them memorized so I can only introduce small snippets.

Everytime one of your companions mentions not having a say in an important part of their lives I lose it because the necessity for people to have a choice in their lives is SUCH an important thing for my Warden so like when it’s mentioned I’m like hell yeah. Coversations with Sten about the Qun and how those that are a part of the Qun don’t really have a say in who they are. Alistair constantly goes on about him not having a choice when it comes to being sent off to the Chantry, or the whole business with being king. A lot of conversations with Wynne about your responsibilities have her mention how you may not have a choice. I don’t remember the exact context or quotes but I remember once Zevran says something along the line (it’s not like he had a say in becoming a Crow).

In some cases companions will ask you as the Warden what you want them to do and you can ask them what THEY want to do, giving THEM the choice. And even again in some cases the Warden can mention how THEY don’t exactly have a  choice with this Grey Warden business. (I always play my Mage character so even there, they didn’t have a choice to be gifted or cursed with magic, they didn’t have a choice about being sent to the Tower).

It really gets me man. It’s just *chefs kiss*. (I’m not eloquent I don’t have my sources lined up or a proper analysis you just gotta trust me man).

[unreadpoppy]

DAO Final Thoughts/Review (I guess)

So overall, this game was fucking good. Choosing your origin which will determine the small prologue you play that sets you up for the whole thing was a really good concept and it made me immediatly hooked with the plot (and it made me want to replay the game with the other origins to see how things are). Also, I like that the other stories in those origins happen even if you didn't pick them (like the whole wedding situation of the city elf origin still taking place and you seeing bits and pieces of it when you get in Denerim as another origin).

I went with Cousland warrior mainly because I knew nothing of this world so I went with the one thing that felt familiar: human warrior (cause I didn't want to mess with spellcasting without having a grip on how things worked at first). And let me say, I usually don't play with warrior type characters but this game made it very enjoyable to do so.

(under the cut cause it's long)

I loved all of the companions. Each one was so unique from the other and I did get a sense of like cammandery (idk how to spell this word) from them, especially with their banter (which, btw, fucking top tier banter). Wynne, in particular, was probably my favorite companion solely because of her wisdom. Like, almost every interaction I had with her, I got tears in my eyes because of her words of encouragemnt and advice and i just i love this "old" woman so much.

I romance Alistair, and let me say, this dude got me hooked ok. He's just so fucking sweet and his rose speech was so fucking special and I just AAAAAAAA. Since I was playing with a Cousland warden, I did marry him in the end. I just, I love him so much your honor it's hard to explain.

Quests wise, I focused more on the four main ones and did a few side quests. My favorite was probably Nature of the Beast solely because of the ending, with the spirit and the elf dude whose name I can't remember making peace and dying together, it made me emotional. My least favorite was probably A Paragon of Her Kind because I cannot begin to explain how much I H A T E D the Deep Roads. I hated it so much, I ended up enjoying the Fade, and I did the Fade first. It was just...such a slog to get through, and I felt like I was walking around aimlessly. At least in the Fade, I had a sense of progressing and it gave some insight into Zevran's background with the Crows.

Another quest that made me emotional was during the Urn of Sacred Ashes, when Bryce (Cousland's dad) shows up again....aaah the flashbacks to a dnd game of mine were huge.

I also liked the sense that the choices you made were actually affecting the world around you. It gave everything a sense of importance, and I really enjoyed that, especially with the aftermath of the Landsmeet.

Speaking of which, I'm sorry to everyone who likes Loghain, if I see this dude on the streets I'm fighting him. But good on Bioware for creating an interesting antagonist, as I wanted to murder him every step of the way.

I actually enjoyed the path to Fort Drakon before facing the archdemon. I like that halfway through, you cut back to the 4 companions you left at the gate and get to put them to work too. Idk how to explain, but fighting those darkspawn really gave a sense of like damn this is the end, we're getting to the final boss battle. Also, having all your armies there really came in to help, and first enchanter irving, bless you for being there to kill the Archdemon.

Killing the Archdemon also felt realllly satisfying and seeing the big light while the darkspawn retreat was *chef's kiss*. The epilogue was quite nice, thought it did make me a bit sad that it was like 'all your friends are leaving' but I understand why it was that way. Also, Fergus showing up was nice. I liked the ending cards showing what happened after and althought I'm not the biggest fan of DLCs, at least they had the sense of saying like 'that's a sotry ofr another time, this is the end.'

My biggest issues with this game were all on the more technical side - I struggled HEAVILY with crashes and bugs after leaving Lothering, which made me have to spend days without playing so that the issue could fix itself. I hope this game gets remastered one day just so that it runs smoothily on nowadays computers. My other struggle was the map, but that's a more personal issue than anything.

I loved this game, loved the world and its characters and it's definetly one I'll want to go back again in the future.

[lethalhoopla]

okay wait you're a Zevran enjoyer too?? Excellent taste.... gotta ask do you like him for light-hearted no-consequence romance or as serious romance? either way love to see it

I am absolutely a Zevran enjoyer, sweet anon, so high fuckin' five there. I polyromanced but consider him my canon (and play a nonbinary Warden).

As for what kind of romance... why not...... all of the above?

Listen. Just. Dragon Age itself refers to Zevran as a laughing lover, who, if made into canon romance, is himself caught by surprise and - you can see it in his romance - a bit overwhelmed by it.

The way that it starts so naturally, the way that it's comfort and friendship and pure attraction, simple and openly stated as such without judgement and in fact with pleased invitation - but as you spend the dawning Blight together, fighting through thick and thin... getting closer, and for all his charm and self-confidence, his walls are still cracking as you prove that you're not just into him for his, well. Skillset, hah. Sure - his abilities in bed are definitely a side-benefit, but - that you enjoy his company, period? That you want him by your side, and to be by his side? You truly listen to him, you bring him the Dalish gloves brought up just the once (possibly even months ago, depending on your playthrough), and boots like the ones he spoke of longingly/nostalgically from Antiva, and despite how even your closest companions still months in consider him a possible turncoat and largely still just the 'would-be assassin' that you happened to have a strange amount of sympathy for...

you still want him, regardless?

He's so used to playing a role, at all times, whatever it may be. It blends with his personality, and he embraces it. But that makes it stickier, less simple when everything starts to mean more with his Warden.

The fact that for all his experiences and adventures and loneliness, he wants you, and in spite of the fact that it may all end far too soon, he places his trust and hopes with you. That even still, around the too-big feelings growing in him, he can joke and be deadly yet wittily serious in spades, hell, at the end-

Zevran is so much more than the sum of his parts and that is the whole point of his arc, whether romance or friendship - and stars help me, I love him so gd much for it.

[spacerist]

ultimate dragon age meme | five rogues [ 5/5 ] - zevran

[exantivancrow]

For the NSFW OC Asks: 4, 15, and 28 for Rohan, Cody, Nicolas, and Eluvia? 😉

ty for the ask!

disclaimer: these characters are bi and demi so keep that in mind

4. What's their favorite position?

Rohan's an ass man, so any position where he can grope Zevran is okay in his book. Giving, it's doggy, because he's a basic bitch. Nicholas loves a good 69- means he gets to put Fenris in his mouth while he gets pleasured. Win-win. Cody's favorite is anything that puts her legs over Cullen's shoulders, because it makes him feral. Eluvia likes laying on her side, with her back to Solas' front.

15. What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to them during sex?

The tent collapsed on Rohan and Zevran once. Alistair saw much more than he ever needed to see. Rohan was embarrassed, but Zevran literally could not have cared less. Nicholas finished way too early his first time with Fenris. Well, the first round. Thankfully, Fenris thought it was hot, which was Nich's saving grace. On Cody and Cullen's wedding night, Cullen forgot to lock the door to their honeymoon suite (I refuse to believe they got married in Orlais) and the dog interrupted them. It was more funny than embarrassing in Cody's opinion but Cullen refuses to let her tell Dorian about it, so I'm saying it counts. It has to have been the one time with a boy from clan Lavellan where she farted really loudly just before he finished. He didn't laugh. They haven't made eye contact since.

28. What's their favorite body part on the opposite sex?

Rohan's an ass man, which translates to women, even though he's never actually met a woman he wanted to sleep with before. Nicholas is attracted to women in theory, but has never been able to practice. That doesn't stop him from Paying Attention to Isabela's thighs though. If Cody had to pick one thing about men, she couldn't. The breadth of a man's shoulders, the dexterity of his hands, a strong jawline, thick thighs, the quirk of Cullen's a mouth. Chef's kiss. Eluvia would choose hands. Specifically Solas'. How they look wrapped around a paint brush or a staff, turning a page, etc.

[zevzevarainai]

and now, YOUR top 10 fav characters? 👀

I'm going to try to avoid using more than one from a single piece of media or else it would be like yakuza and dragon age and thats it.

1. Majima

I feel like I don't have to explain this one anymore. Very deep and well-written character that is easy to misinterpret if you don't think critically.

2. Zevran

My url namesake... Another character that people misinterpret because of how they act on the surface level. People who don't take the time to talk to him or think about him at all think he cares about nothing but seggs, as the tikkytoks say, and is cold-hearted. But oh my gawd could that not be further from the truth. This boy... the most... loyal companion you will ever get and the most loyal lover... also he's fucking hilarious

3. Sebastian SDV

Ok hear me out. I love this bunch of pixels to no end. And you may be thinking, Carly. He's the town emo and he is kind of rude. No you do not understand. This boy is so good. First of all, I relate to him so much, if you held a gun to my head and said pick a kin it would be him. The biggest reason is that he has anxiety/depression, but it presents itself in anger instead of the stereotypical panic/hyperventilating/etc which is how mine is too. His social anxiety/introverted nature is handled SO WELL especially if you romance him; literally tells your character that he doesn't feel anxious around them which is a gigantic compliment when people like him tell you you arent draining to be around... tells you about things that remind him of you!! When you are living together he literally says multiple times that he needs to go do whatever by himself-- which in one bit of dialogue he says "I need to stay independent, even though we're married. That's just how I am. I still love you, though." and also “I may be a reclusive guy, but I'm always happy when you're around.” and “Hey. I couldn't sleep last night so I took a walk to the caves. I found this ...want it? I just have trouble sleeping sometimes, it has nothing to do with you. I love you.” ????? THIS MAN IS SO PRECIOUS also he loves frogs and loves his mom's cooking and says she deserves to be happy listen there is a reason i have written so much him and my farmer fanfic

4. Sera DAI

I've mentioned multiple times that the writers handled her horrendously in the eyes of the main character and some of the companions but god damn the rest of her is *chefs kiss* I, myself, want to marry her, but I do not like her romance. HOWEVER, her friendship is SO GOOD!! I'm going to try not to go into my Sera defense essay, but it's important to note that she is flawed and also very neurodivergent. A big argument against her is that she hates elves, which, kind of, but its not her fault, and she grows as a person to the point in Trespasser when she goes out of her way to make sure a Dalish inquis is mentally/emotionally okay with [SPOILERS]. At the beginning, she's very stubborn and set in her ways but she grows if you let her!! I also love her Red Jenny stuff though she fights for "the little people" and I LOVE THAT!! Even without a romance, she loves her best friend inquisitor so so much!!! Her journal entries are so cute and funny and charming, she also has bits about how much she loves being the inquisitor's friend and the heartbreaking bits in trespasser!! Also she's fucking hilarious. Her VA did such a good job too, her laugh is so authentic. Anyway, if you want the sera defense essay, send me an ask.

5. Enid (OK K.O.)

If you haven't seen this show I highly recommend it and it was such a shame that it got cancelled. It has moments of being serious but its mostly very fun and genuinely hilarious and you can just tell so much love was put into it... anyway Enid is the main girl of the show. One of the things I love most about her is they do not bother trying to make her pretty all the time-- the art style in this show is so goofy and in a lot of cartoons that make wacky expressions they only do it on the boys but not here... she makes the same ridiculous expressions and poses but she is still perceived as very cool and pretty. Also her entire character is just so fun; she's born a witch but she wants to be a ninja and she works in retail, tries to act cool all the time and learns to own the parts of herself she is embarrassed about... i just love her so much and also this show

6. Princess Peach

The champion of being the one the sister/girl cousin has to pick in Mario Party/Kart/etc. but we love to see it. I love her because, as we can see, she is super feminine but (at least in the side games) still does everything the boy characters are doing and is capable of kicking their ass. It would have been very easy for nintendo to not include her because shes too dainty or whatever but she ISN'T and she can HANDLE HERSELF she beats the shit out of people in smash and races karts/motorcycles and is playable in games like 3D world and rabbits and anyway I'm waiting for a sequel to Super Princess Peach in which she has the same moveset as in smash

7. Tali'Zorah

So I'm still mad I couldn't smooch her because kissing an alien is okay but being a homo is too much. But anyway I love her she is so cute and smart and purple, emotionally vulnerable and kicks ass we love to see it

8. Seto Kaiba

Yes this is a serious answer is it heavily influenced by 6-year-old me who was in love with him and made a self-insert oc to marry him? yes but I also made a 50 slide powerpoint for a ppt night my friends and i did with the theme "defend your problematic fave" and that powerpoint presentation was entitled "Seto Kaiba is Deeper Than You Think." He's so emotionally constipated and stupid I love him so much

9. Rapunzel

Yes this is the disney character but i love her ok it is another example of a feminine and kind character still being an extremely strong individual also i relate to her guilt complex

10. Pearl SU

Ok so I do not care about this show as much as I used to but I still really really love Pearl. There was just so much about her that you didn't see in media unless it was villainized... What I like most about her is the stuff that a lot of people had a problem with. She was very flawed, the way she handled her grief was not pretty, her jealousy was enormous but she still swallowed it to take care of the people she loved, her thought process was so interesting and different, just. So well written. I also relate to her a ton. And finally, big nose we love to see it.

Honorable mentions that are mostly down here because i did not want to repeat the same source of media: Kiryu, Makoto Makimura, Penny (sdv), Entrapta (she ra), Daigo, Ichiban, Leliana (dragon age), Fenris (dragon age), Axel (kh), Wei Wuxian (the untamed), Marina and Pearl (splatoon).

[fusrodie]

there’s this bit of plot for a dragon age fanfic that’s been living in my head for a while now, but i haven’t played the game in so long i don’t trust myself to write it

it’s angsty warden x alistair. angsty as in alistair is king, dumped the warden and then the warden dies killing the archdemon. or so everyone thought. she’s actually alive and kicking, completely heartbroken, probably heavily scarred, but alive. she chose to have her friends believe she died because once the archdemon was gone, she’d no longer be useful, and the gang would split up so it saves everyone the heartbreak of seeing her sulking over the whole alistair ordeal, feeling completely unimportant. plus, she needed time. and it’s been ten years and she’s met her long lost family, traveled around thedas looking for a cure to the taint, probably made anora rule amaranthine in her stead somehow, spared loghain and he’s become her right hand in warden business. likely became revered as a warrior goddess somewhere, as an unnamed hero some other place, made some friends, some enemies, but no lovers. once bitten, twice shy and all that.

but solas is bringing things to a head and she can’t afford to not be around to help, to share the likely vast amounts of knowledge she has amassed over the years. to fight if she needs to, to finally die for ferelden and its people like she was supposed to way back when. she can’t stand knowing about her best friend’s son and not being able to meet him, can’t stand not being able to congratulate and hug leliana after she’s come so far. she misses zevran’s zest, oghren’s bawdiness. she misses having friends.

throw in some “king is finally set to marry some noblewoman” drama, divine victoria has freed the mages, the amell family has regained their status as nobles in kirkwall, an untimely meeting even though she was trying to avoid alistair, and there we have it *chef’s kiss*

[antivan-beau]

dao companions ranked by how deliciously angsty their urn of sacred ashes guardian questions are

8. Morrigan - There was so much the Guardian could have asked her. Anything about how she pushes people away and is super standoffish? Some witch-god Mom angst? Some vague foreshadowing for the dark ritual? But alas - the DAO writers truly never take an opportunity to care about her inner life. I guess some people find it funny or badass how she ignores the Guardian? I think this was just lazy writing. Morrigan ranks lowest because she was robbed.

7. Shale - The Guardian essentially tells her, “you’re too cool for me to fuck with you” and tbh I respect that. But it’s a very cursory exchange, so Shale’s gotta rank low on this list.

6. Sten - Tone-wise, I was never sure how seriously I was supposed to take Sten’s crime. Besides ‘going a bit apeshit and killing people that one time’ he seems like a pretty cool dude. Your Warden kills people literally all the time? But I appreciate Sten’s simple, “I have never denied that I failed.” Glad to see him admit some fault. But alas, the man is temperamentally unsuited to angst, plus angst is a non-issue under the Qun, so he also has to rank low.

5. Wynne - Wynne is an overbearing busybody and the Guardian’s callout is hilariously reasonable for her. “Do you wonder if you spout only platitudes, burned into your mind in the distant past? Perhaps you’re only a tool used to spread the word of the Chantry?” My circle-hating, Zev-romance Surana was setting off goddamn airhorns in the background. And Wynne even admits to a little self-doubt! In the most boring and mild-mannered way possible. This level of angst is acceptable for an eighty year old woman barely kept alive via magical spirit.

4. Alistair - He’s sad about Duncan and wishes he could have saved him - or perhaps died instead. This is solid angst. Not too heavy-handed, but it could easily be explored further. Feels very in-line with his character progression as he wrestles with his responsibilities. Alistair’s devotion to Duncan is honestly very sweet. This is the level of angst I baseline would have wanted from anybody.

3. Zevran - That transition from, “Oh, is it my turn now?” to “...how do you know about that?!” is (chef kiss). At least in my playthrough, this was the first hint I got that his character was gonna be any deeper than sex and murder jokes. After this exchange, I was like a bloodhound, sniffing out that good good angst, constantly bothering this dude to find the next dialogue tree where I learned the details of this story. Now *that’s* delicious angst.  

2. Leliana - “Why do you say the Maker speaks to you, when all know the Maker has left? He spoke only to Andraste. Do you believe yourself her equal?” God, this was so brutal!!! I was obsessed when I first heard it and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Was she just lying to feel special? Why would she persist in telling the lie to the Warden, then? Why such an unlikely lie? Maybe her vision was real and God actually talked to her? Maybe she truly believes in her vision, but actually, she’s just magically-addled, or perhaps just a regular insane person?? And she 100% fights the Guardian on it!!! Everybody else who gets a real question offers a bit of confirmation of his criticism, but she’s like, “I know my vision was real, fuck you.” I’m still gonna write fic about her reaction to this...

1. Oghren - ??? Who saw this sincerity coming??? How the fuck is Oghren the most interesting character to take with you through this challenge? He’s candid and self-aware? The biggest surprise of all was realizing what a great character Oghren could have been, if the writers didn’t think that alcoholism and misogyny were hilarious personality traits. Oghren, my man, you deserved better. But ugh, I hate havin’ you in my party.