#dorian and varric also seem to have some common ground when it comes to mothers which like. amazing. thematic mirrors

[vaguely-concerned]

from the vibes you get from him in the short stories I don't think emmrich would ever do this (he seems very sweet and personable, honestly), BUT it would be extremely funny if over the course of the game he met dorian and made subtle fun of him for being a mooaboo (mortalitasi weeaboo, to be clear).

dorian really went to nevarra on holiday with his family once as a teenager, saw the goths there doing their locked tomb flavoured fuckery with all the bells whistles and bones, and then made that his entire personality and professional expertise for years even after he returned to tevinter. he's a nerd. he's a second hand goth. he's gay. he broke the fabric of space and time as a side project in university. he has alcoholic tendencies apparently inherited from his mother and immaculate fashion game. he cheats at chess. he loves fereldan beer but would rather die than admit to it publicly. he's a magister now. he's allergic to stripweed. I'm in tears I just love him so much

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Wait, something occurs to me, Esti takes a while to warm to Dorian, but he was Ena's bestie? Please elaborate on this, I am very curious.

Yep!

First, Esti again. Part of the problem for her is how insecure she is, especially pre-Skyhold. She can't stop second-guessing herself, which includes her judgment on people. She has her Traumatic Time-Travel experience with Dorian, which sees her put some trust in him - she has to trust him, he's all she's got - but once that is over and they're back in Haven, I think she's upset with how much she let him see her lose her composure, and then they have a conversation about slavery that goes ass-up, and she kind of goes oh, it was stupid of me to think we could be friends - and she very much tries to puff herself up to look bigger. And I think Dorian would see that (and her, in a sense) as ridiculous.

After the battle of Haven, after Esti manages to survive that, to manage on her own, to chase off Corypheus and make it out, by the time they've settled into Skyhold - like, she's not comfortable with this Inquisitor thing, but she's past her initial fear responses and is trying very hard to pull herself together instead of letting that fear and anxiety keep getting the best of her. Part of that includes working on her relationships with the inner circle - trying to get to know Vivienne and Bull despite being intimidated by them, trying to get to know Sera better despite the nothing they have in common, trying to have a functional working relationship with Dorian... And then Mother Giselle comes to Esti and asks her to lie to Dorian, and Esti's like "I'm not fucking doing that", and that whole thing means that Esti has to spend some time with Dorian and work her way back to stable ground with him. And having to see Dorian vulnerable when they meet his father and he tells her what happened does actually help Esti feel more comfortable with him, knowing that there's more to him than what he outwardly shows, and knowing that she's seeing him at what might be his worst, the way he saw that of her in Redcliffe. They do become friends, and I think are quite close by Trespasser.

All that and I haven't even gotten to Ena yet.

Ena is a lot more secure and confident in herself, even in this incredibly bizarre and unstable situation she's found herself in. Though, when she's uncomfortable, depending on the situation Esti either shrinks or puffs herself up; Ena goes flat and transforms herself into the most featureless, inoffensive version of herself. The Inquisition is on rough footing with the Chantry and indeed the whole world, and Ena is walking a tightrope within that. She determines the best way to survive this is to not piss anyone off - she denies being the Herald of Andraste, because she doesn't believe it, and also because she has the hope (in vain) that the Chantry will be a little less of a threat to her and the Inquisition if they're not riled up about that heresy. Of course, nothing Ena says in that regard really makes a difference. But through the early game, she defers to the Inquisition's experts, argues politely with the likes of Mother Giselle and Chancellor Roderick if she must argue at all, and tries to be nothing more than the hand that closes the rifts, in the hope that she'll get out of this soon and this "Herald" nonsense will stop.

Varric and Solas get to see a little more of her actual self, beneath that plain facade she's throwing up, because they're at the edges of this "Inquisition" thing. They're not the ones with power. Varric's a dude who got dragged here and doesn't seem a whole lot more comfortable with the likes of Cassandra and Leliana than Ena is; Solas might have a poor opinion of the Dalish and not consider Ena one of "his people", but he's an elf and an apostate, and Ena is still going to consider him as one of her people no matter what.

But that said, they're just two people of many, and Ena is well on her way to smothering most of herself by the time she meets Dorian. And he's easy to banter with - Ena has a wit and a sense of humor that she's been swallowing - and that makes her feel a little more like a person than she does much of the time, nowadays. And then they have their Traumatic Time-Travel experience that bonds them together, and when Dorian says afterwards that he'd like to stick with the Inquisition, Ena is genuinely happy to hear that, because she felt they clicked pretty well and she is not going to turn aside someone she felt comfortable with in this whole mess. She's only got a few of those.

They still have a conversation about slavery that goes ass-up, of course, but Ena, being more confident in herself, her judgment, and her ability to handle problems than Esti is, tells him he's stupid, and then she thinks to herself, still, what the fuck's he gonna do? If he was malicious, I never would have made it back alive in Redcliffe. If I ever find out he's done - what's he gonna do? Say some stupid shit to the servants? I'll smack him if he does. That conversation sticks in her mind, of course, but there are so many things that so many people have said to her that stick in her mind. She is willing to accept that Dorian means well, which she is not willing to accept of everyone. (She's so fucking sick of the Chantry hemming and hawing.)

The other thing is that Ena, past her muscles, her protective streak, and her big sword, is a nerd. She wants to know everything she can about everything, and she's especially interested in magic, history, and creatures. That's another part she's start to smother out of herself even before the Conclave; she was taught a lot about magic from an early age with the expectation that she would be a mage and grow up to follow her mother to become Keeper. But she is not a mage, she will never be Keeper, and much as she loved learning about magic, there was no point to continue teaching her. So she buried that part of herself, focused on being a good hunter and warrior for the clan, and used her little free time to continue absorbing all she could learn about Dalish history. That at least would be relevant to her.

Then she ends up in the Inquisition, with a strange magic mark on her hand, a hole in the sky, and tears in the Veil, and she has a reason to know more about magic again. There are mages around who have not been taught in the traditions of Clan Lavellan. They have different areas of expertise than her Keeper, they know things about magic that would never have been relevant to the clan, and Ena pounces on this opportunity. I think Solas, Vivienne, and Dorian would all have things to criticize about the way she was taught, but they could all agree that she keeps up very well for someone who is not a mage and was generally taught about magic with a specific focus on practicality. (The Arcane Knowledge perk was one of the first ones I picked up.)

And Dorian is the guy who helped Alexius figure out theoretical time travel that the Breach allowed to be put into practice, Dorian was able to open a portal to send them back through time, and that is all so far afield from anything Ena ever considered was possible - anything that any Keeper of Clan Lavellan would ever consider possible, because that kind of crazy academic theoretical is not what they are concerned with - that she spends a lot of time picking his brain about how that worked. She isn't able to grasp a lot of it, but she really tries to. And he would be more than happy to let her tell him how smart he is in exchange for some time spent trying to explain things to her.

And then when he needs a break, he shoos her off and she goes to ask Solas about the Fade.

So, between "sense of humor that she likes" and "also a nerd even if he thinks he's very cool", Ena spends a lot of time with Dorian, enough for them to become close very quickly, and for Mother Giselle to very quickly become concerned.

[persephoneggsy]

Rambling about Inquisitor Sebastian and his inner circle

Basically one of my favorite aspects of the Inky!Seb au is having him form strong friendships outside of the Kirkwall crew, especially since he always seemed like the outsider among them. To me it was very much “these are my girlfriend’s friends and I’ll make the effort to get along with them :)” not that a lot of them reciprocated the effort, Varric

But anyway, just some random thoughts on what Sebastian’s relationship is with the other members of the Inquisition (spoilers for DA:I below)

Cassandra: There’s a mutual respect there, and eventually he comes to view her as like an older sister. They share a common ground with their faith. I imagine she starts insisting he get better with close combat so she starts training him (with varying results). (aaaaand because she’s the most similar to my Hawke, in another world where Sebastian and Hawke never met, Cassandra could’ve been his love interest.)

Solas: Sebastian felt an immediate debt of gratitude towards him for saving his life after the Conclave, and refers to Solas as his foremost magical expert. He’s not 100% down with his… enthusiasm for the Fade and spirits, but he eases up after meeting and befriending Cole. Solas meanwhile admires Sebastian’s commitment to his faith, yet willingness to show curiosity about the world outside of it. When the truth about Solas comes out, he’s determined to try and save his former companion.

Vivienne: He very much respects her and often seeks her advice on many things, but mostly politics. In a way, she reminds him of his mother… not that he’d ever tell her that to her face. On Vivienne’s side, she’s utterly charmed by the delightful and savvy young prince.

Sera: She’s like the little sister he always wanted. She calls him Princey-Pants and other variations thereof. He likes that she’s blunt and unrepentant, and relies on her to keep himself and the rest of the Inquisition humble. For her part, she thinks he could relax more, but is delighted that he’s always down to pull some pranks. Sebastian radiates his chaotic littlest brother energy the most around Sera. 

Iron Bull: Sebastian’s a bit wary of the Qunari after what happened in Kirkwall, but Bull has been nothing but honest with him, so he gradually warms up to the big guy and asks him questions about the Qun. Bull thinks he’s a good guy, but maybe too idealistic. Sebastian gets along extremely well with the Chargers, too, so that’s another point in his favor as far as Bull’s concerned.

Blackwall: Being the Grey Warden fanboy he is, Sebastian was so excited to meet Blackwall. He accompanied Sebastian on a lot of the early missions, where they shared a warm and easy camaraderie. After the “Thom Rainier” revelation, Sebastian was deeply hurt. Ultimately he let Blackwall back into the Inquisition, but he was distant, if not outright cold to him. Blackwall, being the self-deprecating guy he is, totally understands and doesn’t push for forgiveness. Sebastian does eventually warm up to him again by the time Trespasser rolls around, but their friendship is never quite the same. 

Cole: Sebastian was EXTREMELY wary of Cole; if the spirit hadn’t saved his life at Therinfal Redoubt, he would’ve had a much harder time letting him join the Inquisition. But after spending some time together, he comes to see Cole as an awkward puppy of sorts, perhaps even a little brother. I imagine Cole brought up some memories of Sebastian’s family that ultimately helped Sebastian get over his survivor’s guilt, and as a result, he and Cole became closer. Would be cool if Cole could stop telling all of Skyhold all the rambly poetic thoughts he has about Hawke, though.

Dorian: Dorian is Sebastian’s best friend. Partially because I’m biased and love Dorian, but also I think they would genuinely get along. Both pariahs of their family, both have complicated relationships with their fathers and desperately wanted their approval, both are determined to do the right thing. Maybe there’s even a tiny crush on Dorian’s side, because Sebastian is both sweet and gorgeous. 

Varric: This one surprised Sebastian the most, but he and Varric actually grew very close during the fight against Corypheus. I’ve decided that my RedHawke rivaling Varric is my canon, so while Varric respected her, they weren’t exactly besties. His frustration with Sebastian was just residual annoyance from having to deal with Hawke, but once he gets to experience Sebastian Minus Hawke, he finds out he’s actually… not so bad. He’s exactly the kind of hero he’s always wanted to write about. After he apologizes for being such a dick in Kirkwall, they’re thick as thieves. He and Dorian have a (lighthearted) fight over who gets to be best man at Sebastian and Hawke’s (public) wedding. 

Cullen: They barely knew each other in Kirkwall, with Cullen really only knowing him as the “nicest” of Hawke’s merry band of misfits. Sebastian always liked him, and after the fight against Meredith, thought he was a model templar. After joining the Inquisition, they bond more closely over their shared stresses. Sometimes they both grab a drink with Varric to reminisce about their time in Kirkwall. 

Josephine: Sebastian finds her a calm and reassuring presence. Josephine, for her part, is pleased that the Inquisitor is not only of noble birth, but also royalty, which makes her job exponentially easier. He’s also charming and diplomatically-minded, so you can usually catch the two working together to sweet-talk whatever grandstanding noble is causing trouble for the Inquisition. Sebastian’s remarked that had the Vaels still lived and he wasn’t sent to the Chantry, his parents would’ve likely picked Josephine to be his wife. 

Leliana: Sebastian knew her from her earlier trip to Kirkwall back in DA2, so he was relieved to see another familiar face helping shape the Inquisition. Though she was a tad more… ruthless than he expected. Though she disagrees with his idealism and more than a few of his decisions, Sebastian ends up softening her.

and for funsies... in terms of who Sebastian is closest to it’s probably: Dorian > Varric > Blackwall (before Revelations) > Sera > Solas > Cullen > Cassandra > Iron Bull > Vivienne > Josephine > Leliana > Blackwall (after Revelations; he probably gets bumped back to around Cassandra/Bull’s level by Trespasser)