#doesn't trust iron bull (qunari + spy) but he wins her over eventually

[zahra-hydris]

the amazing @camelliagwerm did this for their inquisitor, arthur, and I couldn't stop thinking about how some of the lines would go for daewen so I *had* to do it too

template from HERE

explanations/notes/etc:

cassandra and daewen do not get along right from the start, and their relationship only disintegrates further throughout act 1. daewen is open about her hatred for the chantry (as an institution), her disdain for andrastianism (as a faith), her distrust of humans, and her rage at being labelled the herald of andraste. having being given power, she wields it against a lot of what cassandra holds dear. she literally drives cassandra to drink. daewen, meanwhile, sees cass as dogmatic, rigid, and ultimately just yet another chantry stooge. yet, after the destruction of haven, both of them soften a bit. daewen allows herself to finally consider the perspectives of those she previously dismissed. cassandra recognises that the chantry and andrastianism more broadly have made enemies for valid reasons. with this opening, they start to see that they're more similar than they thought. they're both passionate and fiercely loyal. they both believe in doing the hard work of bettering the world themselves. they're both unlikely romantics. they come to respect each other and - as cassandra moves into daewen's tank spot after blackwall is kicked out of it - they eventually become close friends.

blackwall is a tragic story. initially, he's daewen's Good Human. she likes him in spite of her distrust of humans in general. she can't help it. he's grounded. he's funny. he seems to give a shit. and he likes her: she's funnier than she initially appears, she's passionate, and she gives a shit. she inspires him to finally come clean. but coming clean completely ruins their relationship. she's furious. she's vindictive about it. she's grown enough by this point to accept that he truly is repentant, so she lets him stay (but insists he join the wardens afterwards) but she completely ices him out.

act 1 is really daewen's antagonism tour, but some relationships (see cass, above) improve while others are simply soured beyond repair. she immediately argues with dorian with slavery and does not trust him in the slightest. but dorian - to his credit - does not let this deter him and through those daewen does trust more quickly (solas, varric), he slowly builds up a rapport. he eventually wins her over through humour, his knowledge of magic, and his insistence on working to change tevinter.

she also immediately argues with vivienne, but this relationship only worsens. vivienne simply will not play daewen's game (nor should she), and daewen won't play viv's. so they become increasingly antagonistic towards each other over the course of the game, with vivienne being much more subtle in her shade and daewen just openly insulting her.

in contrast to dorian and viv, daewen actually tries to get along with sera. she knows that the relationship between the dalish and their city brethren has been tense, but she believes that reaching out will overcome it. it's honestly partly a very arrogant perception that city elves are just waiting for a chance to join the dalish. sera, of course, is not that kind of elf. daewen doesn't write her off entirely until the end of the game, still hoping that maybe she can bring sera around. but sera's response to the temple of mythal is daewen's breaking point.