#dalish elf origin story is still my favourite

[homiest88]

Ho boy haven’t posted anything in Tumblr for two weeks mostly due to College. So here is a a Dragon Age fact for you did you know if you choose the Dalish Elf Origin you’re actually a descendant of an Emerald Knight. The name Mahariel is actually the name of the Emerald Knight who founded Clan Sabrae as Dalish Clans are named after noble houses from the Dales and Emerald Knights would found these clans with their descendants keeping their last name.

[dalishious]

Veilguard Companion First Impressions

So, I’ve finally recruited all the companions for the Veilguard! And as such, I thought I’d share my initial thoughts on them each.

Please keep in mind that as the title says, these are just my first impressions. I am nowhere near finishing the game yet. My thoughts very well may change after getting to know the characters more as the story progresses. Also, please do not take any opinions you do not share as a personal attack against you.

Bellara

Bellara might be my #1 favourite.

I’ve seen some people just say Bellara is “a Merrill rip-off” but I don’t think that’s fair at all. If all it took was a few similarities to say a character is a rip-off of another character, than I can think of so many boring white cishet male characters who would be guilty of that. But heaven forbid we get more than one elven woman who is passionate about her people’s culture and history!

Frankly, I think Bellara is a breath of fresh air in terms of Dalish characters specifically. Finally, a Dalish elf who isn’t punished for being proudly Dalish by the narrative.

I also really appreciate that so much of her can be easily understood by her backstory, too. Like, her feelings of never being good enough is reflective of the very realistic grief she is experiencing.

Lucanis

If Bellara isn’t my #1 favourite, then Lucanis is. They really both dominate that spot neck in neck. I can’t decide if I want to put him in a jar and shake it to see what happens, or wrap him up tight in a quilt and give him some good coffee.

I’m just a sucker for Lucanis’s character archetype, is the thing. I love taking him out simply because he’s so much fun to have around. And in terms of companion arcs, his is the one I am most intrigued to see where it goes.

Taash

(While I haven’t personally gotten to Taash’s non-binary plot yet, I am aware Taash switches to they/them pronouns, so that’s what I’ll be using.)

The moment I met Taash felt my heart skip a beat. The only thing hotter than their appearance is their voice. I know BioWare probably left Taash out of a lot of the advertising because they wanted to keep Taash’s gender stuff a surprise, but oh my god, because of this I was taken by quite the surprise. And so far Taash seems to be the type to keep a hard outer shell to protect a much softer side, and that is yet another character archetype I really love.

Davrin

My initial gripe about Davrin’s writing being so exclusively about Assan rather than Davrin himself is slowly peeling away, I hope. While I still think its bullshit that you can welcome Assan into the Veilgaurd but not Davrin, at least I’ve finally gotten a few bits of dialogue to get to know more about him finally. I just want to keep this momentum! Because Davrin as a concept has so much potential, in my opinion, and what little bits I have gotten from him have captivated me. But I can’t tell yet if it’s intentionally part of his character that maybe he’s just a closed off person who takes a while to trust others, (a little like Taash?) Or if the writer just cared more about griffons than the actual guy. I’m really, really holding out hope for the former.

Emmrich

Emmrich is so much more charming than I expected, and I found him instantly endearing the moment we met him. I also really like that we’re finally hearing some different stances and insight on death and necromancy than we ever had before from a companion! It makes him feel so fresh and completely new!

Harding

I’ll be real with you: I was not anticipating caring about Harding so much. She was who I was originally least interested in, when the companion line-up was announced. But the direction they’re taking her in has me questioning so much about bigger lore questions.

Unfortunately, I still don’t see much in her except being a vessel for those bigger lore questions, though. Like, Harding as a person has me mildly curious at best.

Neve

I’m really sorry Neve fans, but I just find her really boring so far, in comparison to everyone else. She doesn’t have a lot going on, and what she does have going on, doesn’t really captivate me much. Maybe I was just hoping she’d have stronger stances on things than she does? I don’t know.

It could be that I just really fucked up with Neve, and it won’t be until another playthrough that I’ll get to experience more that will change my mind. Because I will admit I am very good at picking choices she disapproves of, with my first Rook.

[cumbiazevran]

I remembered by some some of divine grace, but today is Arviraven’s birthday!! happy birth to the he/they with rosewood eyes, gothic romance lover, best baker in Skyhold, life crisis giver with his insight, and incidental political schemer!! have some fun facts

God knows how I’m calculating his age, but I think they should be like 39 this year

One of his mom’s (Sitasahlin) is Dalish, the other (Mireva) is a runaway city elf from the southern coast of Antiva, who ended up taking refuge with the Lavellan

He’s a Taurus Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Sagittarius Rising

Utility belt wearer, they need their tools and trinkets? 

His favourites are gardening, veil research, gothic romance stories, the colour brick red and that one red of the leaves in autumn, tomato soup, chamomile and mint tea. A good silk and cashmere blend shawl. Oh, and marigolds, aside from Roses. Drinks of choice are cider, malt ale and flower liquors.

He can play the flute, speaks Elven (dialect, modern and ancient), Common, Antivan some conversational Qunlat, and rolls the best elfroot joints

His least favourites are sewing (he’s terrible at it), piss brown-yellow as a colour (why would you make jaundice an aesthetic? when was your last check up?), and being cold. He likes the cold, the problem is being cold, like when he discovered stone halls cold like Skyhold’s are a very different type of cold than Forest cold. Also, in general, being taken advantage of and when they’re not being listened to

His tarot card is Judgement

Forgoing DA:I mechanics so I can stay true to him, he’s closer to a Nurse - Physicist combination of mage. Their main area of research is the Veil. Had they had the time and lab access to do it, he would’ve developed the equivalent of the Strings Theory for the Veil

He still formalises his research, who do you take him and the elves for

His hobby is gardening and loves cultivating roses because they grow wild and messy, and refuse to be killed

In my worldbuilding (honorary mention to @atypicalacademic​ because we develop most of our worldbuilding together, if not all) the Dalish have different naming customs which derive from Elvhenan’s Imperial days. The Lavellan, having originated in the annexed province of the Tirashan, their naming custom is Clan Name (formerly House name) + Given Name + Secondary Clan/House name + Patronymic/Matronymic/Filiation name, so he would be “Lavellan Arviraven Tirashan Sitasahlin’den” - Sitasahlin is his Lavellan mother, so she gets to claim the matronymic as a way of identifying where they come from.

The other three naming customs are the North-Western (Elvhenan’s territory in the Anderfels with Public Name +  Greater House/Clan name + Personal name + Secondary House/Replaced with place of birth or a parental allusion sometimes but mostly disappeared with the modern Dalish), the Arlathan Imperial (Personal/First Name + Middle Name + Filiation name (a combo of both your parents name and the suffix ‘len) + Family name); and the Dalish Modern which Name + Clan (aka Arviraven of Lavellan, so in elven it would be Arviraven vhenas’Lavellan, sometimes abbreviated to vhen’Lavellan or v’Lavellan)

The Lavellan also kept the Tirashan ancient custom of Nickname vs. Name only the Nickname is something everyone can call you and only people of your clan, or people you’re close to call you by your given name, which is why most people call him River

If I could do whatever I wanted with skill trees, this would be Riri’s

More under the cut so this doesn’t look massive in everyone’s dashboards

Arviraven has a younger brother called Vieradhalen Lavellan, “Viera” for most people. His brother is perhaps the most important person in the world to him

His favourite way to annoy him was casual blackmail (they do this to each other still). Also, despite Viera is a Reaver and a Knight, River knows how to tackle him which is terrifying bc Viera’s a powerhouse

It’s bc he knows physics lmao

If I had to pick a DND class for him he’s somewhere between a Monk and a Sorcerer, but he’d also make a great Cleric. Viera would be a Paladin

River can use his staff both as a staff and as a melee quarterstaff

However, his greatest weapon is his capacity to make friends or allies wherever he goes, which is honestly terrifying to me because I don’t think I had ever had an OC which is this emotionally stable and mentally not that unwell. River is genuinely well adjusted which I don’t know what to do with

Bisexual and poly as fuck, he’s Merrill’s teenage/early young adulthood ex

Man’s** very perceptive, he pieced Solas was an ancient elf quicker than anyone realised, its that he just never talked about it. They didn’t think fucker was Fen’Harel but that’s on the moments that keep them humble

His inquisition besties are Cassandra (my favourite hc about their friendship is that not only they would’ve gotten together if they both realised that was an option, and that they constantly give her identity and belief crisis even if they don’t get anywhere. It keeps her humble) and Josie because they bond over the diplomacy first, scaring people shitless second and they both care about everyone being settled and taken care of

Dorian and him are physics boyfriends. Aside from it being an emotionally jarring experience, in terms of academic investigation, the two of them being blasted into the dark timeline by Alexius in In Your Heart Shall Burn was an absolute field trip (positive)

He also gets along with Vivienne really well even if it makes her uncomfortable that they can tell how fear driven she can be. They give her grace so it works. Its something similar with Varric, because he sees too much for him to be comfortable, and they’re too resolute to fictionalise

Bull thinks he’s insane in a way he does not understand but respects to an insane degree. It’s mutual. Also, Arviraven holds their alcohol like someone thrice their size and is terrible with most animals bc he spent all his skill points in plans, biological tissue and physics, which means they always walk straight into the dragons which is always a perk for Bull

Sera’s a bit of a raw spot because despite how much grace River has, they’re so notoriously communitarian and “little people” driven. Their normal mood is a warm, welcoming, cheeky cheer that makes them get along, until Sera remembers all those things about River which does not, and perhaps will not ever, make sense to her. Their cookie baking sessions have monthly breaks

Cullen and them do NOT get along personally, just professionally, and its because River puts his entire worldview into question, without any of the things River’s relationship with Cassandra have to soften that blow. Also Viera’s he’s co-general of the forces bc he’s a First Knight of Elgar’nan which means the Dalish and other elves which have come to aid their own answer to Viera, not to Cullen, and while Viera is a softie and a cry baby at heart, he looks like he could kill you and he can also kill you, so its River’s change-driven force making the way and his shorter, RBF having, petty as fuck, reaver brother guarding his back

Cullen respects him more than what River respects Cullen, he thinks the man needs to retire to keep some bees and calm the fuck down, not lead anything

River, however, does not like Cole which has nothing to do on whether he should be more or this and that, but on the no being with that little understanding of the physical world should be out there wielding knives. First we learn the tools to handle ourselves, then we choose a style of combat

His positives are that they’re gregarious, committed, kind, cooperative, protective, dutiful, fair minded, principled, patient, wise, nurturing, hopeful, observant, charming and generous. His negatives or hardships are that they’re more distrustful and temperamental than his usual demeanour suggests; can be obtusely headstrong, it’s hard for River to relax when he has something on his mind. His openness to help people can play against him, sometimes. Can be sacrificial

To them, two wrongs will never make a right, and again forgoing game mechanics, his biggest take on the “it can be or this people, because it’s either this way or chaos” is some of the biggest bullshit he had ever heard, and he knew the shems were unwell but this is more dire than he thought. Let them get this right: so they created a socio-historical system that they dominate, and that is completely unsustainable and refuse to help anyone about it? So if they’re in a sinking boat, they don’t build a better boat for next time, they just think “well, we fucked up we’re all sinking sorry not sorry”? Do they hear themselves. This is nonsense, they want XYZ information, and they’re investigating solutions so HELP him Mythal. You people being wrong and making him conform to their mistakes is a them problem, not River’s

Which made him an incidental political schemer and he never course corrected, because why would he. His people recognise him as something akin to Thedas’ Keeper, the Chantry is a negative externality for them at this point, give him like, five to fifteen years if something else doesn’t kill him first, which is likely, but moving on

Never mistake his serenity, gentleness and generosity for passivity. The flame inside him is imperishable, a Scholar without passion and a Keeper without drive are oxymorons

Which means the moment he learns Solas ruined their life, and their people’s lives, and literally everyone’s lives because he was displeased about being born an Ancient Elvhen Kardashian and had mommy and daddy issues the size of the Fade, who refuses to learn, is ontologically incapable of being honest because he’s the God of Lies and what is truthful will always be against his nature and thought he was some hick to be brought into enlightenment, River becomes so angry that you could’ve created Thedas’ first nuclear reactor powered with that anger alone

He never forgot and he will literally never forgive

That said his prosthetic in a bio-alchemical finery work. It’s made of a hardened dragonbone exterior, an iron wood middle layer and a fade touched alloy combination that allows it to connect to his tendon and nerves. However, that also means he needs to use mana to make it functional

Insanest thing he’s done in the name of the scientific method and his newfound circumstances is training his resistance to holy blasts after experiencing the first one in his life, which left him vomiting and useless for several hours. Cassandra was the only person who is equally insane that would holy blast him into oblivion as he made his research notes

It worked tho

[elvesofnoldor]

kinda weird how hell-bent i am at making my canon warden a mage when mage origin in da:o is probably the weakest origin out of, what, all 6 of the origin stories for the warden? it’s so flavourless, there is very little that makes the mage character super emotionally engaging, and the mage warden is the most blank slated out of all the possible warden. Plus, since the very first game in the series most of the mage origin story is just the protagonist asking lore-related questions that they should already know the answers to. but idk it’s just so much more fun making a mage/magic based builds, i do not have time to read and digest shits like “cry of valour: cooldown decreases by 75% when you are staggered and your health regenerate 0.5 second faster on each critical hit (stacking)”, cause bro that’s the kind of shit i have to read when i choose which abilities to unlock for a warrior or rogue and that’s just too many numbers and math and not enough texts about setting people on fire. 

that being said, i have been feeling pretty lukewarm for my male!surana for a very long time. i didnt like my female!surana at all, and my m!surana is basically a projection of my desire to romance morrigan and have kieran with morrigan and also a projection of maglor (the one in my head aka a vast expansion on what tolkien has written on paper, which is pityingly little). Also, considering that my canon lavellan is already an elf dude and a mage, do i need another elf mage??? i think i met the quota for elf mages. listen, i made my surana a detailed backstory that has nothing to do with maglor in any capacity (and the flexibility of mage origin to adapt to any sort of backstory you might want for your mage warden is one of its few saving graces), but appearance and personality wise he’s just...he’s just so maglor (the one in my head). Also, i could just spent more time fleshing out maglor (in the fanfics i still haven’t written--partially because the chapter outlines kept changing) if this dragon age elf player character is just maglor 2.0. personally, i pick established canon characters over my ocs and anybody else’s ocs any day. plus, i want my original characters to be actually, you know, original. 

i’m seriously considering having a female mahariel as my canon warden right now. in my opinion city elf origin is THE best warden origin, hands down, but merrill’s presence as a npc and the explicit connection and introduction to the eluvian (which is important across all three games) in dalish elf origin makes me prefer the dalish origin more from time to time. i always want leliana to be my canon dao romance and i think just yesterday i had the idea for the right gal to romance her. someone who’s original enough and someone who’s satisfactory enough of a character that can make that wish come true. i can’t even play da:o right now but i already looked at rogue builds for da:o lol (the best build is dual wield assassin, coincidentally my favourite rogue build in dai). my “canon” da2 and dai protags are both mages, it’s time for a change. 

[aymayzing]

For the WIP ask, can you talk about "well well well what have we here?"

Of course I can, thank you for the ask! Well well well what have we here was the first thought that crossed my mind when I figured out how to piece together a fic about my Inquisitor Lys Lavellan's origin from a few scenes I've written before. And I am super excited about this one, though I still have to figure out a few things. It's about how Lys ended up in clan Lavellan and what ramifications it has during his time in Inquisition. It also has my DA OCs who I love so much and yet haven't written much about them - there's Lavellan siblings, Nehnis and Revassan. Max is also bound to show up later. (If you've read Four Weddings, Revassan is auntie Rev, the most interesting person in Thedas ;))

Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan was an adventurer when she was young. All the kids in clan Lavellan looked up to her and wanted to be like her, no matter how many times she told them “Be careful what you wish for”. They all heard stories of her exploits - how she broke into a duke’s castle with a mage from Nevarra and a knight from Orlais, each of them with an agenda of their own - and how they became best friends and travelled together for years, fighting fantastic creatures and killing evil men. How she retrieved elven artifacts from ancient ruins. How she fell in love with an elven mage, one born among the Dalish but taken to the Circle - and how she helped him escape, so they could be together.

For all the fantastic stories Deshanna had, her favourite was always the one about how unpredictable the gods are, how twisted fate is - how people must feel pain and loss, to gain happiness and certainty. How Lys’s mother died but also brought him to the People, to his people, to his father. Lys knew this story by heart. His grandmother told it every chance she got, she loved this story to pieces. She always said that Lys was not meant to freeze that day - the Creators guided Nehnis to him, so they could form a family. How it was all meant to be.

Lys believed it for years, up until now. Now, when he was waddling through thigh-high snow, freezing wind blowing snow into his face, rendering him unable to see further than a few feet ahead, cold biting his exposed skin. The only light was the sick, green glow emanating from his aching left hand. Tears streamed down the elf’s cheeks as bitter laughter bubbled up in his chest.

His father didn’t save him from freezing to death, he just bought Lys more time, that was the conclusion he drew. Lys was clearly meant to die in the snow 28 years ago. By taking him away from his mother’s cold arms, Nehnis interrupted some divine plan and now the deity behind it, whether it was Falon’Din, the Maker or whatever, made sure the plan was fulfilled. It just had a cruel sense of humor, first dragging Lys through this whole Inquisition business.

A hole in the sky, a glowing, hurting mark on his hand, the title of ‘Herald of Andraste’, the burying of Haven - it was just divine retribution for Lys not dying when he was supposed to. And it brought him back to where he started - a pile of snow, his death sentence.

[ghostwise]

Dragon Age Questions

@dirthara-mama tagged me for this! Thank you!! <3 I’ll tag @mabarihounds @antivan-surana and @vlwv 

01) Favourite game of the series?

Origins! It’s the first one I played, and each time I pick it up I find something entirely new in the experience. The characters feel like old friends, and the dialogue is really charming. It also has a ridiculous high-fantasy vibe that I love, which seems to be lacking in later games. I know it’s silly, I know it’s absurd and dated... but you just can’t beat that possessed rhyming oak tree npc…

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

When Inquisition was announced, I started seeing a lot of it on my dash, so a friend and I started playing the series! I was hooked pretty much right away.

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

I’ve finished Origins three times, DA2 twice, and I’m currently playing Inquisition for the first time!!  Exciting!

I also have a handful of unfinished playthroughs on Origins, which were attempts to create new Warden characters, but none of them got past the first quest. I just love my Mahariel too much… 

04) Favourite race to play as?

Elves! I love the worldbuilding behind them, the city elves, the Dalish, and the ancient elves. I hate pretty much everything about how these issues are handled in game, though.

05) Favourite class?

Mage!

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

Pretty much. I have tried to play as different characters so as to explore different outcomes and decisions, but again… I love my OCs too damn much.

07) Go-to adventuring group?

Origins: Hamal, Zevran, Morrigan, Sten. DA2: Renata, Varric, Anders, Isabela. Inquisition: Neluayo, Varric, Blackwall, Sera—so far!

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

Listen, I love creating OCs and putting ridiculous amounts of thought into them. It went from being a coping mechanism as a newly immigrated depressed and anxious child, to something I still love as an adult. I have a hard time picking one OC I put the most thought into…

But because I’ve played Origins the most, and played it first, Hamal has a lot more content in his tag than my other Dragon Age OCs. He’s my baby and I adore him.

09) Favourite romance?

Zevran’s, no question. I think he may be one of my favorite characters in the series, romance or no! I love his background and his personality and his character arc. My boy...

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

Nope!

11) If you read them, which was your favourite book?

Didn’t read any of them but I do own World of Thedas v1 and v2, and it seems each time I open it I find something new and surprising about the world. I love it!

12) Favourite DLCs?

I really enjoyed Return to Ostagar for Origins, and Legacy for Dragon Age 2. I know Inquisition has some amazing DLC content so I’m looking forward to that!

13) Things that annoy you.

The constant retconning, and rewriting of issues to suit a certain agenda in game. Especially regarding treatment of the mages or the elves. Like, I know this is a fictional narrative, okay? But it’s annoying to watch the story go from ‘Templars are unequivocally abusing their power and oppressing this group of people’ to ‘well they have good reason for it, sometimes you have to massacre an entire population because of one incident, it’s Gray Morality™ sweetie!’

Nah, it’s just bad writing! And it’s okay to admit that lol

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

I have no strong feelings on the matter. Would love to hear more about Antiva or Seheron!

15) Templars or mages?

Mages!

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

Same universe. I don’t have an interest in having multiple Wardens or Hawkes tbh, I... I get too attached lol

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

Hamal calls his mabari D’alen. He is the most spoiled mabari in all of Thedas, typically guarding the camp, never fighting or being placed in danger. Renata calls her mabari Nicolo, and she loves putting warpaint on him. The dog accompanied Carver at Ostagar and takes care of the family over their years in Kirkwall. I still need to name Neluayo’s hart!

18) Have you installed any mods?

A few for Origins (different robes for Morrigan and the realistic appearance mods for companions), and several for DA2 (dialogue tweaks and new hair/appearance options). But Inquisition seems kinda complicated to mod, and I don’t want to break the game hhhh

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

No, he wanted to find Tamlen and go back to his clan. He actually did take off after Ostagar, driven by anger and fear and homesickness. Alistair was devastated. Morrigan had to go and fetch him, convincing him to return.

20) Hawke’s personality?

A good mix of purple and blue, but let’s be real, Renata is pink. Whimsy, whimsy, whimsy.

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

I haven’t played around with armor creation yet… sounds fun though!

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

Hamal would have gone after Tamlen. It’s his greatest regret. Even before encountering him as a ghoul, Hamal was never able to shake the feeling that Tamlen had survived. But Duncan shot down every hope, and there was so much going on after Ostagar… there came a point where Hamal accepted that Tamlen was gone. 

When he shows up again, too far beyond any help but a blade between his ribs? It’s not something he ever gets over.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

Oh I love breaking canon.

Hamal never becomes Warden Commander. His political influence by the time of the Landsmeet is as perilous as you might expect of an angry and traumatized Dalish elf whose interest was more on surviving and defeating the Blight, than, say, being on any noble’s good side. The only reason he isn’t immediately executed is because he and his allies called in many favors and made many concessions. One being that he would leave the Wardens and not remain politically involved. Frankly, the crown and nobility hoped he would perish against the Archdemon. But here we are! 

Alistair becomes Warden Commander instead. Receiving the boon comes with challenges of its own. The Dalish receive all the land that was most tainted by the Blight. Reconstruction takes years and is still an issue during Inquisition era.

To that end, the political influence of the Dalish during Inquisition leads to a lot of changes for Neluayo’s canon too. Because the elves have a hold over much of the south, the Inquisition needs to ally with them to even gain access to those regions. Neluayo being Dalish herself smooths things over some, but she is really in a complex position, with the Dalish, with the Chantry, with the monarchy… being stationed in the Free Marches, Clan Lavellan is one of the clans that has yet to join the southern Dalish. It’s a huge stressor for her.

As for Hawke, I keep both her siblings alive. Renata needs her little sister ;; <3 They do all go their separate ways after events in Kirkwall though. Orsino is also alive. Varric was clearly covering for him!

And I know Hawke already has a VA buuuut I headcanon Renata’s voice to sound more like Brittany Howard’s! Because it’s adorable.

24) Are any of your character(s) based on someone?

Not really. I never create them with any one source of inspiration or influence in mind.

25) Who did you leave in the Fade?

I’m gonna leave Stroud in the Fade! Makes my life a lot easier lol

26) Favourite mount?

I’ll agree that the harts are amazing! And they’re just so TALL. Love those majestic Thedosian megafauna. The bog unicorns are cute too, they’ve grown on me, surprisingly. Ha!

[theharellan]

// Dragon Age Questions

Tagged by: no one but i stole it from @dalathin​ Tagging: @hopewrought, @apocryphorum , @shiftysmugglerlook, @andrastegraced, @felandaristhorns,@deathsreflection,@ghilannainguideme, @snowmcid, @youriinquisitorialness,@nxthero​,@willbeshot, , @ofrevas, @theshirallen, @pentaghasted​, @valorcorrupt​

01) Favourite game of the series? Inquisition, without question. I love all the games but the themes and characters of Inquisition are most important to me.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age? I’ve been playing Bioware games since Jade Empire, although Dragon Age I picked up just b/c it was summer break from university and I was bored, and then I got hooked. I originally wasn’t going to play DA2 b/c it was the same year it came out that I picked up DA:O and it wasn’t getting great reviews. Luckily my dad’s a terrible listener and bought it for me, and unlike the time he bought me AC:Unity despite me saying I didn’t want it, it worked out.

03) How many times you’ve played the games? At least six for DA:I, and then somewhere between 4 and 5 for the other two.

04) Favourite race to play as? Dwarves or elves. I came into the series as dwarf trash and the writing for the elves was rly interesting for this series so I also became elf trash.

05) Favorited class? Mages, except in DA:O where I hate playing anything, but mages the most. Between the spell effects being ugly (why does rock armour look like ur flaking dry skin???) and the AOE effecting everyone even on casual (who decided it was ok to shake the screen THAT MUCH during earthquake) I’m............. not a fan. But I love it in DA2 and DA:I, although in DA:I archer/rogue is a close second.

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time? I make different decisions based upon which character I’m playing. So like, Thora will make the same decisions (with slight divergences like I’ll break up with Thom so I can experience Josie’s romance) and then Ruth, my pro-Templar Inquisitor, will be designed to make different decisions from her. Same goes for my Hawkes and Wardens, although I have a significantly harder time justifying some of the alternate decisions in DA:O/DA2. I let the Dalish clan die in DA:O for one jerk Warden and I’m still like “this is a bit overboard.”

07) Go-to adventuring group? DA:O - Zevran, Alistair, Wynne. DA2 - Carver, Varric or Isabela, Merrill in Act 1 and then after that either Aveline in place of Carver or I’ll take Varric, Isabela, and Merrill just so I have a party that likes one another. For DA:I - Solas, Sera or Cole, Blackwall. Although like with my decisions I vary companions, except for Solas who I keep around even when my Inquisitor is doing everything he hates.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into? Of my PCs, Thora. I don’t tend to develop them much unless I’m writing them, beyond really basic motivations and reasons for their decisions. Since I’ve been writing Thora for a while now tho she’s obviously gotten the most development.

09) Favourite romance? Zevran, probably, which is a shame b/c I’ve only done it once.

10) Have you read any of the comics/books? I’ve read Masked Empire and some of the comic issues.

11) If you read them, which was your favourite book? I rly enjoyed Masked Empire.

12) Favourite DLCs? For its drama, Trespasser. Overall, Mark of the Assassin. I may not like Felicia Day (sue me) but oh my god that DLC is fucking gold.

13) Things that annoy you. In-game uhhh... the writing for Oghren and some banter for Zevran, I’m glad Bioware improved the writing for their more sexual characters b/c the banter with Iron Bull is overall less uncomfortable. At this point tho half the time I’m more annoyed by the fandom and its like relentless negativity or misuse of the word “plot hole.”

14) Orlais or Ferelden? Ferelden.

15) Templars or mages? Mages.

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? With Wardens, there’s the assumption they died with their origin story if Duncan isn’t there. For my Inquisitors, Thora has a companion verse that I pretend is in effect if I’m playing not-Thora. Obviously Hawkes are a parallel universe. I would not wish four Hawkes onto Carver or Bethany.

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc) I remember only a couple of my mabari names but uh... Fenrir was one, Butters was another, and then one was just Dog b/c i downloaded the dlc half-way through DA2 and it didn’t let me name it at that point, but it was IC for that Hawke so it fit. Thora has a war nug named Moroc.

18) Have you installed any mods? Yes god. A few key ones are Skip the Fade, giving me Warden armour in DA:O, giving Merrill’s romance armour a scarf so I don’t gotta look at her neck, and then the Bi Solas mod.

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden? Most didn’t, no. I think the only one with positive feelings about it was my Brosca, whose life was kind of over at that point anyway.

20) Hawke’s personality? My main Hawke (Sylvia) was Purple with some Blue, b/c it’s just not appropriate to joke in front of the Viscount when his son’s body isn’t cold, and after Leandra died she got Redder but still overall Purple. My second most developed Hawke, Leland, was mostly red unless Fenris brought up slavery or he was talking to Merrill. Or Anders. Basically he was just grumpy when he had to talk to strangers.

21) Did you make matching armour for your companions in Inquisition? I sometimes try to match colours, but also have preferences for different characters so don’t always.

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? Thora already went back in time and changed one thing, next question. I have no answers for anyone else.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon? Not particularly, at least not for my PCs, obviously I have some for Solas. At worst Thora’s status as a Beserker is non-canon, but there’s no lore-reason why she couldn’t become one so it’s more that they just didn’t program it.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade? Depending on the pt. Thora leaves behind Alistair and let me tell u I cried a lot. I think I tend towards the Warden in most pts, the only one where I didn’t was my pro-Templar Hawke vs Loghain. Loghain was saved. I actually have only had Stroud once so it’s always been a choice between former companions and Hawke

25) Favourite mount? I like the Wild Hart and the Nuggalope.

[thenugking]

Hi! For Amity's worldstate, please, 3, 9, 14, 17, 25

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

I haven’t played my Inquisitor for that worldstate yet but her concept is Nice Vashoth girl who makes good decisions and brings a lighter mood than Amity’s bullshit. She does Not like Amity at all, and finds the things she hears about her terrifying. I’m not sure about Griffon (the Warden in that world state yet). I suspect they’d get along and generally approve of each other.

9. Would your warden or Hawke have actually accepted the role of inquisitor if Cassandra had located them as she’d planned to? Would they have been a good leader for the Inquisition?

Griffon would absolutely not have agreed. Their whole story in Origins is about people attempting to force them into the role of Leader in a Social Setting and they’re incredibly uncomfortable with that, because it means a lot of trying to be cis and allistic and failing even apart from that, feel extremely unqualified and uncomfortable with leading the miserably while not being able to be themself either. They’re not going to go for that again, and Inquisition. They’re not Andrastian and while they support the mages, they feel like they’re too far removed from the situation to really try to bring a peace about here.

Amity would have jumped at the chance, with her number one goal being to become the most powerful person in the world. Her own personal army dedicated to stopping the mage war however she wants sounds great! She would have been a good leader in that she’s charismatic and skilled in leadership. But like, she would use the Inquisition to either enslave or genocide mages and conquer half of Thedas. Which is not so good.

14. If they’d been in each other’s places would they have made the same or different choices? And who would they have romanced, if anyone?

I don’t know about Vashoth yet except that yes she would very definitely have made different choices to Amity in DA2 because she is a decent person, and would possibly have romanced Merrill? Griffon is also a decent person and would have supported mages (and Anders and Justice) in everything and would probably have romanced Fenris or Isabela. They’re not really into any of the Inquisition romance options. Their main choices in Inquisition would be ally with the mages, recruit the Grey Wardens, have Briala rule Orlais, and find an elf to drink from the Well of Sorrows. They also wouldn’t kill any of the dragons because dragons are good and wonderful. I think they actually get the Pools of Sun turned into a wildlife sanctuary sometime before Inquisition. No hurting dragons there allowed.

It is really fun discussing Amity in other games though, so have a Lot of rambling about that. Apart from trying to take over Thedas, Amity as Inquisitor would go to the mages because she wants them, rather than the templars, under her control and would conscript them into the Inquisition. She’d recruit the Wardens to have them under her control too, and set up the alliance between Celene, Gaspard and Briala and try to use the blackmail information she had to control them all, while playing them off against each other. I’m not sure about the Well of Sorrows, if possible, she’d get someone she felt was harmless and who she could easily control to drink.

Regrettably, Amity is attracted to Solas and Dorian. She’s not interested in Blackwall at all until after the Reveal, when he sits in his cell full of self loathing and feeling very easy to manipulate and abuse, and then he’s really hot. Whatever “romance” she goes for will Not go well. Also, Amity would never see Cole because he takes one look at her and goes “NOPE”. He sticks around at the Inquisition and helps all the people she’s abusing see they still have worth and don’t deserve to be treated like this. And now I really love this idea and want to make a villain Inquisitor to do this with and I’m struggling to come up with a concept that’s as awful as Amity without just being Amity 2.0, oops.

Her decisions in Origins are harder because she can’t really see a reason to make many of the “bad” decisions. She’d save Redcliffe and be a Hero to them and then let Isolde sacrifice herself for Connor so she can tell Connor all about how his mum’s death and the shit that happened in Redcliffe was all his fault and make him hate himself. She’s swaying towards Harrowmont for Orzammar, because he’ll keep the casteless down and seems easier to manipulate, but she’d easily go for Bhelen instead if she thought that would make her look better, because she’s not intending to come back to Orzammar, so it doesn’t really matter what’s going on there. She also doesn’t see any reason to keep the Anvil of the Void, sure, it could make people suffer, but she doesn’t need to visit Orzammar to watch people suffer, so it’s better just to kill Branka to watch Oghren suffer right now, and be able to guilt him over his part in it.

I’m really not sure what she does with the werewolves and elves. Like, sure, she’s racist towards elves and would like to kill them but she also feels the same way about the werewolves. I think it comes down to whether she thinks she can’t justify genociding the Dalish enough to make her companions not realise she’s awful, or whether she’d rather hurt Zevran a lot. It could go either way. Amity wouldn’t desecrate the Urn because there’s no benefit to that. She’d kill Loghain because he could be dangerous and she wants to keep Alistair onside, and she’d make Alistair king, if possible with herself as queen.

She thinks Alistair and Zevran are both very good romance options (by which we mean very easy to abuse) but in the end I think she’d go with romancing Alistair, but fucking Zev because he did swear an oath to her. And then, presuming she treats Alistair the same way she treated Anders, things get Interesting, because there’s no way she’s going to let someone who belongs to Her fuck Morrigan. Which, in Amity’s opinion, means there are four ways the end of the game could go.

Alistair kills the Archdemon and dies. Amity loses both her favourite toy and her shot at being queen, while Alistair is remembered as a great hero.

Alistair kills the Archdemon but Riordan is wrong. Alistair survives and is held up as a great hero, surpassing Amity.

Amity kills the Archdemon and dies. This sucks for her, but she’ll be remembered as a great hero and if she guilts Alistair about it before she goes, he’ll hate himself for ages and potentially never get over her. So all in all it’s about as bad as option 2.

Amity kills the Archdemon but Riordan is wrong. She survives and gets everything.

So that’s how the actual worst person in the world would end up doing the Ultimate Sacrifice. It’s also how the Blight doesn’t actually end, because like the Darkspawn, Amity doesn’t have a soul.

17. If Origins and Inquisition had the 3 personalities (Diplomatic, Sarcastic, Aggressive) which would your warden and inquisitor have predominantly been? And what one did your Hawke have?

I suspect my Vashoth is going to be mostly diplomatic. Griffon would likely be a mix of diplomatic and direct-red. They’re not very aggressive but they don’t understand why they can’t just say what they mean. Amity was almost exclusively sarcastic; she’s just everyone’s good mate who tells shitty jokes and doesn’t take anything seriously, and not a total monster at all!!

25. What is/was their relationship with their family like?

I don’t know about my Vashoth yet. Amity gets along well with her family to make her life easier. She doesn’t give a shit about Leandra and Carver though, because there are very few people she actually gives a shit about at all. She’s delighted when Leandra gets kidnapped by a murderous blood mage because this gives her an excuse to be even grosser to mages, and wastes time looking for Leandra to raise the chance of her being dead by the time Amity got to her. She hates Bethany probably more than she hates anyone. Bethany got magic that gave her power Amity didn’t have, and their parents’ desire to protect their mage daughter dragged Amity back for years.

Griffon’s relationship with their family is not great. At the start of the game, they’re trying to be a good daughter but not even managing to be a daughter at all, and their parents aren’t willing to consider that their child isn’t allistic or cis. There’s a lot of stuff like having to wear fancy dresses that give Griffon dysphoria and unpleasant sensory stimulation, and then Griffon has a meltdown and their parents get disappointed in them for behaving like a child and embarrassing everyone.

Griffon loves their family though and is distraught about their deaths. They continue to try and be a Good Noble Girl to honour their family’s wishes, letting Eamon arrange for them to be married to Alistair (so that he can rule through Two easily manipulated politically un-savvy people) until the end of the game. At the end, they let themself free of what their parents and Eamon and everyone else wants, and go to rebuild the Wardens and marry Zevran. They’re very happy to discover Fergus survived, as well as relieved that he can now rule Highever instead of them, but let him know that they’re Griffon and they/them now, and if he can’t deal with that then they’re not going to get along anymore, sorry.

[steampoweredstrawberry]

Is it too much to ask you all those questions?

*Rubs hands together*

1. Your first OC ever?

I probably had OCs as a kid. Probably a Sailor Moon one or a Harry Potter OC (Most likely had a Harry Potter OC. The only one I can name for certain though was a witch named Caroline with an affinity for fire magic.

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

Right now? Claudia Hawke. I love talking about her and drawing her and writing her. Plus, she has a super cute boyfriend who I also love talking about and drawing.

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

Lol. Yeah. I have a few of @mikagesshoku‘s OCs now. The first was an ancient vampire named Mark (not his real name, but what he goes by in modern times). She liked how I wrote him and characterized him, so he became my son. Her Hawke, Quentin, is also now my Hawke (and Claudia’s big brother). She also prefers how I write her Mahariel.

4. A character you rarely talk about?

Of my DA OCs? Aeducan and Brosca. Nothing against dwarves, I just haven’t fleshed them out very well.

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

Claudia Hawke. Her being popular and people wanting me to write/draw her would come with the ulterior motive of getting to write/draw Anders.

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?

Claudia Hawke and Elira Bassat. Elira’s a bit taller and her hair is straight, but they’re both sassy, dual-wielding red heads. My old RP buddy actually confused one of my first drawings of Claudia for Elira (Claudia’s since had some cosmetic changes to make them look more different).

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

Yes! I write for Claudia a lot.

You can find her here, here, and here. (Note: All of these contain graphic depictions of sex, so read at your own risk)

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!

Elira Bassat was my OC that I RPed the longest as, but don’t anymore. She’s a sassy, dual-wielding red head, she’s nb, but generally prefers she/her or them/they pronouns (occasionally he/him). She’s also a big fan of vigilante justice.

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

Hypothetically, yes. I couldn’t name which one, but if their new parent was going to treat them well, I would.

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design?

I generally try to keep them toned down or believable in appearance. But, there’s Rhyann Tabris, my tiny elf baby with snow-white hair (I say the quickening still effects elves and it made her hair go white as a child). She’s got a billion freckles and carries around a big sword.

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a "sunshine"?

So, an optimist? I don’t know if I have any of those with my DA OCs. Probably Solona Amell. She’s the most likely to keep her chin up and try to cheer up the others.

12. Name an OC that isn't yours but who you like a lot

I absolutely love @kirkwallgirl‘s Jay Hawke and @misterwiggums‘s Mads Hawke. They’re both super cute and love the mage!

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Claudia Hawke. She’s best friends with Isabela. They get into lots of trouble.

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory

I think of my DA OCs, I think Rhyann Tabris has a very tragic backstory. I relate to it on a personal level, which was why I chose her (they’ve all got super sad backstories, hers just resonates with me).

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

YES! Oh my God, if you guys want to ask me about my OCs, please do! I’d love to hear about all of yours, too!

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)?

Solona Amell. She’s a healer.

17. Any OC OTPs?

With other OCs? I don’t know. Neria Surana and Solona Amell (as part of a polymance with Jowan, but he’s not my OC). With non OC characters, Claudia Hawke x Anders and Rhyann Tabris x Alistair Theirin.

18. Any OC crackships?

I don’t have any with just OCs. With OC x canon, I’m planning on writing a Claudia Hawke/Karl Thekla/Anders bi polymance in the future. Not really a crack ship (though I guess it is if you HC Karl as being gay; I’m in the he’s bi/pan camp), but I never thought I’d be pairing Claudia up with Karl before the idea struck me.

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

Rhyann Tabris means a lot to me because she was my first OC in a Dragon Age game, my first playthrough, and her origin really resonated with me.

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Originally, Elira Bassat was a singer and she was supposed to sound a bit like Sara Taylor/Chibi from The Birthday Massacre, but I scrapped that.

Claudia Hawke enjoys singing, but she isn’t particularly good. I imagine she sings a little bit of everything, though I like the idea of her dramatically singing along to Helena by My Chemical Romance.

21. Your most artistic OC

Probably Elira Bassat. She isn’t an artist, but she’s pretty damn good at costume makeup.

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

I don’t think anyone mischaracterizes them.

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

Sophie Cousland. I was originally going to romance Alistair with her, but I was too attached to Rhyann x Alistair, so Sophie became Aro/Ace.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

Claudia Hawke, because she’d bring Anders with her.

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

Elira Bassat shared my build, height, and hair color at the time (I’m no longer a red head). But, I’ve given Rhyann Tabris a lot of my facial features.

26. Have you ever had to change your OC's design or something else about them against your will?

I’ve renamed OCs in the past. Can’t think of any off the top of my head, though.

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

Like, did I base them off a song? I don’t think I have any OCs like that.

28. Your most dangerous OC?

Claudia Hawke or Rhyann Tabris.

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they're going?

Probably Solona Amell. She wouldn’t want to trouble anyone with her curiosity. Claudia would go too, but half of Kirkwall would know she was going.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

Rhyann Tabris. In a modern AU, she probably saves every stuffed animal Alistair has ever gave her or won her at a carnival and loves them all.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Solona Amell’s would be a lot of quotes from book, pictures of pretty cups of tea/coffee, plants, and the occasional cute animal. Mostly aesthetic.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

In a survival/horror, Rhyann Tabris because she fits the personality archetype they use for those sorts of games (timid female protagonist).

33. Your shyest OC?

Rhyann Tabris. She’s extremely shy, and tends to avoid most human men until they earn her trust.

34. Do you have any twin characters?

Sophie Cousland has a twin brother named Jarak. He’s a bit flirty, but is overall a good person.

35. Any sibling characters?

Claudia Hawke has an older brother named Quentin. He’s a mage and she’s extremely protective over him.

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Rhyann Tabris is the cousin of @mikagesshoku‘s Lyna Mahariel and Misali Mahariel. Claudia Hawke is also friends with Lyna.

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

All of my elves/dwarves/qunari? I’m in the mood to mention Thaliah Lavellan, though, given she’s a Dalish elf. She also hooks up with a Qunari.

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

I say Claudia Hawke is a former ballet dancer in a modern AU. Though, I imagine Sophie and Jarak are pretty light on their feet, given they’re nobles.

39. Introduce any character you want

I’m world building for an original story in some of my free time, and the main character is named Lilika, though she goes by Lily for most of the story. She’s a seer raised by a wlw couple since she was around 10 years old and she’s blind in her right eye.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

Whenever anyone leaves nice comments/tags on artwork I do of them! I’ve had a couple people comment that Claudia and Rhyann are very pretty, and it makes me so happy (especially with Rhyann because I gave her some of my features that I consider ugly).

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)

I sadly don’t have any pictures on my current phone of it, but my nephew drew Claudia Hawke and one of his characters from the comic books he likes to draw hanging out. It was really cute.

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods?

I’m really tempted to say all of them and leaving it at that, but I’d bet money that Neria Surana went through a very intense Greek mythology period of her life.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It's time to confess

YES. I like tall girls with red hair and who are also the more dominant partner in a relationship. I’ve been getting better with it. But I do have at least five red heads, most of which are tall, and most of which are the more dominant partner in a relationship.

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

I love them all and how they all have various facets of me. I try to make them all a little bit like me.

45. A character you no longer use?

I used to RP as Nikolai (a vampire) quite regularly, but I haven’t in years.

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?

Yes. My old RP buddy used to tell me all the time that I was being mean to our OCs, but in a you’re being mean, but it makes the story so good way.

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child?

The same RP buddy from number 46 did. He’d call our OCs our “children”, so his were my children too.

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure

Solona Amell. She’s a precious child who deserves love.

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

Claudia Hawke, Quentin Hawke, Neria Surana, Jarak Cousland, Elira Bassat. Most of them.

50. Give me the good ol' OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

Claudia Hawke and Sophie Cousland are named after characters from The Chipmunk Adventure. Claudia was the name of the villain and Sophie was the name of her dog. Quentin is named after a character from a book and his appearance is based somewhat off the same character.

[vertaveli]

11 facts about myself? Thanks for tagging @arctic-urpo 

1. My hobby as a child was riding. I was 7 when I started at local riding school. When I was 10 my mother married a man who owned horses and competes at trot races. Currently my mother and stepfather still owns horses and are racing. Horses (and riding) have been big part of my life. 

2. My first Dragon Age: Origins warden was female dalish elf Lyna, roque archer. A made a lot of mistakes with her. I tried to romance Alistair but if I remember correctly, I failed. 

3. Me and my dad’s little cousin have same birthday. Literally. We were born at the same hospital, few hours apart. We were best friands as kids but now we don’t even talk anymore. 

4. Last August I had occupational accident at work. One patient held my wrists too tightly. After that my right wrist hurt like hell, but Doctor only ordered me some painkillers and that’s it. Half year later, it still hurts but Doctor aren’t doing anything about it.

5. I’m currently moving to live on my own from my father’s house. It’s really exciting and nerve wrecking! But I can’t wait to have my own little place where to live happily. 

6. I have a dream that someday I own a dog. Just like horses, dogs have always been part of my life and after moving to my own place I hope that one day I’ll have my own cute dog. :3

7.  I like fruits and berries a alot. Pinapple and mango are the best. 

8. Currently I’m writing a story about albino vampire Philo Cosmas. He’s about 2000 years old and has ability to see people’s minds. What I’m trying to tell people trough to story is that immortal life is not that fun. It’s painful and boring. 

9. I love white hair. Anime/book character with white hair are almost everytime my favourites just because of it. Red eyes are cool too. 

10. I like assassins creed games, because I can just randomly jump on the roofs and play assassin, but I also love the horses. Its so much fun to just ride :D 

11. Mercy main btw

I’m tagging no one, but if you want to do this, feel free to pick it from me :3 

[jadednightwing]

Into Thedas - Insecurity

Title : Into Thedas

Chapter 3 - Insecurity

[Ao3 Link]

I slowly picked my way through the cavern, hoping the elves had managed to disable any traps that had been set. I was thankful that the Dalish origin had been my favourite, so the path was vaguely familiar to me. Still, I continuously double checked every step I took until I reached the steep incline that led to the mouth of the ruin. Blinking rapidly in the muted sunlight, I climbed up and took a deep breath, fighting to ignore a tide of rising fear. While I loved the games and any sort of adventure books, living an adventure was very different.

A part of me still wanted to just laugh it off and say ‘this is just a dream’, but I’d had this debate with myself ever since I’d first played the series - if given the opportunity, could I change the course of events, and would I even want to?

The answer had always been the same. Yes, I would want to if I was able to. Now it was time to find out if I was all talk but no show...

Following what I could make out as the curving path from the game, I eventually came across the Dalish camp. As expected, there were sentries posted near the entrance to the camp and they eyed me curiously, and I hesitated. The Dalish are inherently wary of spirits, and with good reason. I couldn’t just waltz into their camp and announce to the Keeper that while I may look exactly like her hunter, I was not.

“Da’len?” a soft voice questioned, and a lovely older elf looked at me with worry, “What happened? Where is Tamlen?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came. Swallowing hard, I tried again, “He’s gone. I need to speak to the Keeper. Would you bring her here? I...I would not wish to impose upon your clan.”

The realization of what happened seemed to ripple among the elves who were within hearing distance, and many reacted as I’d expected. The sentries notched their bows and others backed hastily away, but I remained as still as possible. This was the first test among many. If I couldn’t convince the Keeper, I had little hope of convincing anyone else.

Marethari hurried forward and briefly glanced over me before she, too, realized what had happened.

“What have you done, demon? Why possess a host with no magical gift or any significant talent?”

I bowed my head and lifted a hand to cover my heart, “Andaran atish’an, Keeper. As far as I am aware, I have not possessed anyone. I am not a spirit nor a demon, though I have no way to prove that to you. An ancient artifact that was filled with the same taint as that which corrupts the dark spawn exploded, and somehow drew me here. I cannot tell you any more than that, because I am unsure of anything more myself. As for your other hunter... I’m sorry, Keeper, he was gone before I awoke. I had hoped he’d returned here for help, but if he was somehow corrupted by the artifact... if he isn’t dead now, he will wish he was in a few days. As it is, I am unsure whether or not I have been affected by the taint, but I know where to find someone who would. But I need your help, if you’re willing.”

Marethari studied me for long moments, “What is it you ask?” she asked hesitantly. “Your first, Merrill. I ask that she guide me to Ostagar, where the human king is gathering an army to fight the rising blight. The Grey Wardens are there, and they have the ability to sense the taint, and they have the knowledge that could save my life if I was exposed.”

The camp erupted in anger and shouts to have the Keeper refuse and kill me, but I saw the timid elf look between me and her clan, clearly torn.

The Keeper raised a hand, and the camp fell into an uneasy silence, “This is no simple thing you ask. Merrill is a valued member of our clan, and you say you are all but walking into a war-zone.”

“I know, Keeper,” I sighed, “However, consider this; I come from a world far beyond the fade, and in that world - your story has already been told. I was never able to change events, but this is a rare and unique opportunity. I want to help protect your world, but I need help to do so.”

I saw the Keeper jerk at the mention of another world, and Merrill’s eyes light up in interest. I closed my eyes tightly, “I would submit myself to whatever tests you would wish to conduct, but I don’t have the time. I must set out before sunset - with or without your help.”

“I will go.” The soft declaration had the entire camp turning to look at the young elf. Merrill looked almost as surprised as everyone else by her words, but met my gaze and tentatively smiled, “I don’t know why, but believe her...it. Besides,” she looked at the Keeper with an almost defiant tone, “If a blight is starting, we have ancient treaties with the Grey Wardens to help. It can’t hurt to have someone there to represent the Dalish in this time.”

Marethari seemed to be struggling with the decision, so I decided to use my last ace, “I cannot promise you safety, Merrill, but, should we survive, I know someone who can help return you, and hopefully this hunter, to your clan. But we must hurry.”

That seemed to be the deciding factor for the Keeper. With a hesitant nod, she turned to Merrill, “Dareth shiral, Da’len. We shall pray to the ancestors that you return to us.”

[homiest88]

My top 4 origin stories in Dragon Age Origins

1. Dalish Elf

2. Magi Origin

3. City Elf

4. Human Noble

[elvesofnoldor]

i was thinking abt tal voshoth mage inquisitor’s possible backstory and now i really wanna play as the rift mage female inquisitor Adaar i was always planning to create. 

She also has the prettiest name I found--Fiadh. I never thought abt mage adaar’s backstory, I just always found mage adaar interesting cause it makes the most sense why their parents in particular would have left the Qun and I think their unique identity--a qunari mage but not a saarebas--offers the most interesting insight to tal-vashoth/qunari culture. Not to mention I always like  characters who’s never quite fit in with their people and their culture for some reason and explore what that experience is like, cause idk, #self projection? Anyways, the way I have always imagined it is that mage adaar’s parents wouldn’t be mages themselves, but now im really into a mage adaar with an ex-saarebas mother? It would be very tragic, yes, but imagine the bitter sweet joy she would have felt when she found out her daughter has her gift, knowing that her child doesn’t have to go through the horrific abuse she went through? Imagine her realizing that her daughter can learn and grow without being treated as a “dangerous thing”, a thing less than a slave, less than an animal? Yeah......also fuck the Qun.  Im not so sure if i wanted to go down that route though, i might make some changes and come up with how her father met her mother, but it always saddens me when I encountered that saarebas from da2 and he’d have die either way, believing that there is no life outside the blood soaked nightmare that must have been his life under the Qun. It’s nice to imagine maybe some of them can co-exist peacefully with people outside the Qun and have a normal life. Anyways, a tal vashoth mage inquisitor and a dalish elf mage inquisitor are literally my two favourite kind of inquisitors, both of them can also easily specialize in either rift mage or knight enchanter (although this spec is more suitable for an elf, since the school of magic did stem from their culture), and im most interested in their perspectives. I guess ppl can say that they prefer a human mage inquisitor, since them being a cirlce mage makes them more relevant to the conflict at the beginning of the game since it directly involves them, but i never found circle mages interesting lol i was always kinda piss that circle mage is the only kind of mage u can play as in da:o, esp after i found out how boring (though informative) their origin story is.  i was planning to use my female mage adaar to romance sera too, whose romance i wasn’t too enthusiastic to do, unfortunately. First of all, sera and I almost never agree on anything so it’s already hard to get her approval high enough to initiate the romance asap. I’d have to lie to get her approval and say things i don’t wanna say, and I dont wanna do that, lol. Also I didn’t think that a qunari/tal-vashoth inquisitor can help sera to come into terms of her heritage and racial identity--which was, uh, very important to me since her pissing on her own heritage for just cause she didn’t fit in with her people was THE reason why i still have a lot of troubling liking her (no, the game didn’t show other elves treating her badly cause she’s different, we never see that kind of behaviour from alienage or dalish elves in any of the games, and she certainly didn’t accuse anybody of that, so no she just didn’t fit in and started pissing on her people to show how she isn’t like “the other elves”, lmao. Now, I’d actually very much sympathize with the frustration over not meeting certain expectations that people have of you because of your racial identity, like hello i know what thats like? but i have VERY little patience for any characters who straight up piss on their heritage and their people just to prove that they are different and they are special lol). Sera was a good friend, and she’s funny and kind hearted, i recognize these virtues from her and its why I always imagine that my female lavellan--yet another lesbian lol--is very close, but a romance with her??? oof, no. i was pretty disappointed that sera’s romance just isn’t suitable for a lavellan and i really wanted to romance her with a female lavellan, but i don’t want to straight up lying out of my ass just to gain her approval lol i dont think thats fair for my lavellan tbh. Esp her asking a romance inquisitor lavellan at the end of “what pride had wrought” if lavellan didn’t COMPLETELY denounce their culture, Sera’d plead to them saying “please move on and look forward, for me?”, that fucking, infuriates me. Moving on how, bitch? Like, please bring merrill back i can’t deal with this bullshit! “Move on”, as if you can move on if you don’t know what made you who you are and what shaped the experiences of your people, that’s called “running away from who you are”, not “moving on”.  I hate that I have to almost baby her while romancing her and I don’t think that’s how a romance relationship with an adult should be like that, but now that i think about it, maybe an adaar can have a chance to romance her while not babying her too much on this topic? while still being able to help her come in terms with things? I’d think a lavellan would have been put off by her bullshit too much to have romantic feelings for her, but an adaar can recognize some of whats going through for they too don’t “fit in” with their people (although that’s an entirely different story since their people would have treated her worse than a slave, thats not the case with sera), and talk about it without irritating sera too much that she’d cut off the conversation early. 

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, my female mage adaar would have gotten along with the Gay Team (iron bull, sera and dorian) SO WELL. all my other inquisitors don’t really fit in with them cause they always end up not liking one or two of them so much, but ADAAR? they are all her BEST FRIENDS (one of them being her gf lol). With my sera-romancing adaar, this team would have been Team Double Date (djsjds), its like 3/4 of lgbt community is out tonight shanking you ass! You get the G (Dorian), the L (sera), the B/P (Iron bull) and uhhh another L (my adaar lol), boom! boom! boom! boom! Quadruple rainbow threat! like, smh, i will see how it goes but if my adaar vibes well with sera, there is a chance she might replace my mage lavellan to become my ‘canon’ inquisitor dsjdsjsd. it’d be funny if i do actually pick sera over dorian at the end.