#dragon age 2 spoilers

[nerywen]

little terrorist activist

[possessiveandobsessive]

When people ask me what's so special about Dragon Age 2, I like to remind them that it's the most hard-core and unhinged game in the Dragon Age franchise. This game has:

A serial killer

A major act of terrorism performed by a main character

A hostile takeover/occupation of a city

Corruption amongst the city guards

Corruption amongst the templars

Slavers/slave trade

A slave confronting the trauma and pain inflicted on him over his entire life

Overt racism against elves

Gang violence

Attempted genocide of every mage in the city

Intense grief and loss over every person in the main character's family

Oh and I almost forgot:

FINE DWARVEN CRAFTS DIRECT FROM ORZAMMAR

[silent-words]

*end of Dragon Age 2, Chantry exploded, Anders is sitting miserably on a crate*

Sebastian: How can you forgive him? You should kill him! What if I was in the Chantry? I thought you were my friend! Hawke: Who are you, again? Varric: It's the DLC guy, who you never took anywhere apart from his quests. Don't bother yourself.

[lagebu]

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad it’s you. It was nice to be happy… for a while.”

[the-northern-continent]

Love that theory that everyone killed by the dagger is now inside it, because just imagine the sitcom-level shenanigans happening inside that dagger right now.

Aside from the obvious, there’s got to be some rando Kirkwall mages hanging out in there. Sitting there thinking yes, yes, this all tracks, Knight Commander Meredith was getting pretty stabby, and then trying to piece together why THE ELVEN GOD GHILAN’NAIN suddenly showed up.

[i-think-i-should-go]

There’s been a tragedy in the club Kirkwall community

[lostiel]

catching up with fenris in the veilguard x

[dietcoffee]

DA Hero Profile: Theron Mahariel

to begin my official tumblr posts about my DA heroes, why not start at the beginning with my canon warden; Theron Mahariel!

Full Name: Theron'Nehn Mahariel

Name Meaning: "Theron" is the default name for a male dalish warden and then I added "Nehn" at the end to make it sound cooler

Age: 42 (as of DATV)

Birth Date: 1 Harvestmere, 9:10 Dragon (Oct. 1st) [Libra]

Origin: Dalish (Clan Sabrae) / Ferelden (Brecilian Forest)

Gender Identity: Cis Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Class: Rogue (Archer)

(backstory and game-based lore under cut!)

Dalish Origins

Theron was the second child of Keeper Athelen Mahariel and Sulevin Lavellan, born three years after his sister Ellana. A year after his birth, he and his sister would be orphaned after their father was murdered by human bandits and their mother abandoned Clan Sabrae in the aftermath, leaving them to be raised by their paternal uncle, Amerlen. Under the suffocatingly-traditional upbringing of their uncle, Theron and Ellana would be educated in every aspect of Dalish life, as well as being shown the ways of archery and hunting. The siblings were prodigies in the ways of the bow, flying past other apprentices and always rising to the expectations set for children of a late Keeper.

in 9:22 Dragon, Clan Sabrae had the misfortune of crossing paths with a band of human bandits, leading to a clash between them. At the end of the conflict, the humans lay dead while the clan only seemed to lose five of their own. One of these fallen was that of Amerlen Mahariel, thus leaving the then-twelve-year-old Theron and then-fifteen-year-old Ellana orphaned once again. However, after examining the state of Amerlen's injuries, it was determined that the arrows used to end him were Dalish made, leaving Keeper Marethari to believe that one of his wards was his true killer. Only a week after the tragedy, Keeper Marethari announced that Ellana would be expelled from Clan Sabrae for murdering Amerlen, an accusation she never vocally denied. This would be the last Theron would see of his sister for the next ten years.

The Fifth Blight

When the Fifth Blight broke out in 9:30 Dragon, Theron was conscripted into the Ferelden Grey Wardens after contracting blight from a corrupted Eluvian. Theron would be led to the ruins of Ostagar by Duncan, the then-Warden-Commander of Ferelden, where he would undergo the Joining and later partake in the Battle of Ostagar. As it is known, the battle was a devastating failure, leaving only Theron and his fellow warden Alistair as the only Grey Wardens left in Ferelden. Over the next year, Theron would lead his ever-growing party of friends to make deals and alliances with the multiple factions across Ferelden before finally facing the archdemon Urthemiel in the Battle of Denerim.

At some point during the blight, Theron would gain the attention and eventual love of Morrigan, the illusive Witch of the Wilds. It was a match none of their friends expected to happen, but it was bond deep in adoration and true mutual respect. Morrigan found true affection and companionship in the Dalish archer, two things Theron was more than willing to give her. It was thanks to Morrigan and her "dark ritual" that Theron even survived the final battle, allowing him to follow after her when she fled Denerim.

Tying Up Loose Ends

In the year after the blight, Theron was tracked down by his warden comrades and sent to Amaranthine to investigate the reports of sentient darkspawn. It was in Vigil's Keep that he was officially proclaimed the Warden-Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens, a title he took bittersweetly in remembrance to his predecessor. After establishing a new team of wardens, Theron established Vigil's Keep as a true fortified stronghold and leads the charge against the Architect. After vanquishing the remaining darkspawn, Theron leaves the care and leadership of Vigil's Keep to the team before returning to his original journey; finding Morrigan.

Almost a year after the events in Amaranthine, Theron is successful in tracking down his lover, who he confronts just before she disappears in a fully-functioning Eluvian. After much persuasion, Theron and Morrigan reconciled their romance and traveled through the Eluvian, leaving no trace as to where they or their child had gone.

Helping the Inquisition

At some point after their reunion, Theron would follow Morrigan and their son Kieran to Orlais, where Morrigan had become arcane advisor to Empress Celene. In 9:41 Dragon, he would then reunited with his estranged sister, the now Inquisitor Ellana Mahariel, during a masquerade ball in Halamshiral. After Ellana saves the empress from an assassination plot and helps compromise peace in Orlais, Theron and his family follow the Inquisition back to Skyhold, where he begins helping with the threat of corrupted Grey Wardens performing blood magic rituals to build Corypheus's demon army. It is also during his time with the Inquisition that Theron not only reconnects with his sister, but also meets her husband, the Champion of Kirkwall Garrett Hawke, their young daughter Sylvia, and Garrett's warden brother Carver.

Theron is present when the Inquisition lays siege to Adamant Fortress and later when his sister and brother-in-law fall into a fade rift alongside Ellana's companions and Warden Stroud. Theron unofficially takes control of the remaining Grey Wardens and orders them to defend the Inquisition from any betrayers or remaining demons, praying for his sister's return. Ellana does eventually return with Hawke and her companions, but bears the bad news that Stroud stayed behind to prevent The Nightmare from harming them.

Theron and his family remain with the Inquisition until Ellana defeats Corypheus, ending the threat towards southern Thedas.

The Blight to End All Blights

When the Sixth Blight suddenly erupts across southern Thedas in 9:52 Dragon, Theron does not hesitate to follow Morrigan once more to Skyhold, where Ellana reestablishes the Inquisition and leads the southern forces to combat it. Theron also ignores the First Warden's call for all wardens to return to Weisshaupt, choosing to stay with his family and indirectly saving his own life in the process. At some point, Theron travels to Lavendel to offer assistance to the remaining wardens, allowing him to reconnect with his now adult niece Sylvia.

Theron is among the Grey Wardens present during the final battle against Elgar'nan. After the defeat of the gods, it is implied that Theron formally retires from service, hoping to live out what remains of his conscious existence with his family.

for more in-depth relationship/personal lore information, check out Theron's page on my Notion site!

[sscaredssheep]

Hawke turning to look at Fenris after defending Anders the whole game and Hawke sees Ander's big surprise goes to flames.

I love Hawke

[ninedigitninja]

I've been playing Dragon Age 2 for the first time (super late to the party I know) and I think it's probably my favourite of the series. The combat is a definite improvement on Origins but still a bit of a slog. However I feel the writing makes up for this. I love the story and the banter between the companions, I just wish you could have conversations with them outside of quests. The characters are complex and there is no inherent expectation that Hawke will get along with all of them. That's why I like the friendship/rivalry mechanic, it makes them feel more real.

My biggest complaint is that you can't romance the man, the myth, the legend, Varric Tethras.

So I'm gonna wax lyrical about the things that I think make Dragon Age 2 an excellent rpg.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I like that the companions have agency. For example, in All That Remains, if you have Varric and Gascard with you when you confront Quentin, Varric will suddenly shoot Gascard before there is any chance for him to turn on you. He sees which way the wind is blowing and acts accordingly. Isabela will always run off with the relic but whether she returns is down to the strength of the relationship you have. If you refuse Merrill the arulin'holm she becomes furious, even if you explain you have good intentions, and kicks you out her home. The fact that she doesn't leave your party for any length of time does make this less impactful though.

The companions also have agency in how they interact with each other. Fenris pulls no punches when verbally eviscerating Merrill, Aveline calls Isabela a whore, Anders asks Fenris if he's ever considered killing himself, Varric criticises Sebastian for being boring. They are a messy bunch but although Hawke is their leader they aren't expected to mediate. It's not your responsibility to ensure everyone gets along and they also don't have to approve of everything you do.

I really enjoy that your actions affect other areas outside your companions feelings towards you. For example, if you take steps to show the Arishok respect you then get the option to duel him in the Act 2 finale rather than fight all the Qunari because you've proven yourself to be basalit-an.

I'm also a big fan of characters from Origins showing up and not just because I got to see Zevran and Alistair again. It makes the game feel connected to its predecessor and also what's happening in Kirkwall connected to events in the wider world. Who ended up ruling Orzammar and Ferelden has an impact even if it's just the case that there is a small extra quest. It emphasises the ripple effect that choices have.

The thing is, despite having an impact on the world around them Hawke isn't the chosen one, they're just a refugee who happened to run into the right dwarf at the right time. They aren't the dragonborn, they aren't the one who was foretold but they are the catalyst in a chain of events that culminates in your friend/rival blowing up the Chantry, the Circles falling apart and civil war.

However, even though they are the catalyst there is a feeling of inevitability to it all. Regardless of if you help Anders or not in the quest Justice he still enacts his plan. Again he has agency, he was always going to find a way. Hawke is a powerful driver of the story but at the same time powerless to affect its outcomes. Nearly everything they become involved with is part of something bigger than they initially realised. They are an unwitting agent of fate but despite this it does really feel like your choices matter even if the overall outcome remains the same.

[jazzajazzjazz]

I always find discussion of All That Remains to be super interesting. I see so many people describe it as the saddest moment in DA2 or even the whole series but I couldn’t disagree more.

[silent-words]

Bioware criticism and HEAVY SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE II under the cut.

Bioware can't release a remake of Dragon Age II now, because this game clearly shows people how a fucked up society makes a terrorist out of the kindest and most compassionate person.

I think right now, in 2024 people finally realise how it may happen. How it's happening right now.

Like, when I was playing the game, I knew exactly how the characters felt when the pressure of templars became worse and worse. And that always brings a counterattack. I only wished I could do this WITH Anders. My Hawke would even burn the whole city to the ground.

That's why no company would draw attention to DA2. And that's why it was so good to play now.

[rielzero]

My thoughts on DA2 ending

Anders blew up a church. What the fuck, Anders?

Anyway... Sided with mages.

At least game didn't make me kill Carver or Cullen, woo!

Think at this point Valentine was 100% done with the Templars, Chantry, and Religion- As well as Kirkwall itself, fuck this entire town, it took his mother and put him through hell seeing Mages turn to their worst selves.

He's probably conflicted about Anders for a while, or about his morals in general. Think Fenris would follow him still.

Not sure what my ''canon'' ending is yet, definitely with the mages, but I intend to replay this game at some point.

I felt pretty disappointed at a lack of epilogue with companions, but maybe baldur's gate spoiled me rotten on that.

What I do think is that Valentine is probably going to be off the grid for quite a while, just hanging with the boyfriends and figure out how he could help Anders recover from this.

He's probably staying the fuck away from the chantry conflict even as the Seekers are trying to find him.

So, Merrill was forced to kill her entire clan.. That sucked. Fun fact: Sparrow would probably not care. To him, his clan was dead to him for a long time. When Tamlen dies, and they kind of exile him to become a Grey Warden, he blames them for it. Then, when he's finally killed the archdemon, only one elf visits him. The rest moves out of Ferelden and don't even send a letter or anything. They don't care. So neither does he. He's not given closure on his parents, and he's honestly too used to living in the rest of the world that he can't care enough to go back to living in tents among people he can barely call family.

Should they meet, Sparrow would probably laugh, but also kind of look down on her for resorting to blood magic to repair the item that killed Tamlen and forced him to eventually become a Grey Warden.

I'm not sure yet if this is the only outcome for Merrill, I might change my canon when I replay this game.

[maintitle]

I’m a big fan of the dialogue option in Inquisition where you talk about Orsino with Varric.

Inquisitor:  “In the book, you say that First Enchanter Orsino turned himself into a giant monster made of corpses.  How?  Why?”

Varric:  “Do I look like an expert on magical weirdness to you?”

VARRIC SLIGHTLY DISAPROVES.

Now, this could be read in a few ways by Varric himself, but I don’t see it like that at all.  It’s always felt like the writers tilting their head toward the camera and staring directly into the lens.  At the time people were entirely confused by Orsino’s actions, forcing a confrontation with the guy you’re siding with for what can be amounted to as no reason.  

Now, granted, there is in fact an in-game letter that can be found during your chase after your Mother that infer’s Orsino is dabbling in more than he lets on.  

My dear friend, I have obtained the books you requested. I'll leave them at our usual hiding spot. Please collect them as soon as possible. I would hate to see them in the wrong hands! Your last letter was fascinating! You have proven me wrong, once again, by doing the impossible. I shouldn't have doubted your resolve, and I hope you will keep me apprised of further progress. Your friend and colleague, O

This is a Codex found just before the confrontation with Quinton in Act 2, one that’s overshadowed by the horror Hawke goes through in that quest.  I, personally, feel like it was an afterthought put into the game in order to explain why the seemingly straight arrow First Enchanter is suddenly using necromancy to make a person meat shield.

The biggest thing that makes me think this is the Inquisition writing team acknowledging this, however, is Mark Darrah’s wrap-up video on his memories and the lessons he learned leading the project.  

Mark Darrah:  “We’ve talked about the level reuse, which I think is probably one of the weakest things in Dragon Age 2.  The thing that actually makes me feel the most regret for Dragon Age 2 is the way that the endings go.  So, I guess spoilers... but you get to the end of Dragon Age 2, and you have to deal with the mages and the Templars, there’s the whole question of the mages and the Templars.  But regardless of the choice that you make there, you end up fighting both Orsino and Meredith and the mages end up going all crazy regardless.  You’ve made a different choice, you’ve come down on this decision in a very different way... and yet the game has you play through basically the same content, in a slightly different order, but it’s basically the same content.  I think that’s a mistake... I mean, I’m pretty sure that was my decision, but I think that’s a mistake because it undercut the mage/templar question quite a bit.”

Mark Darrah:  “Now the reason why it is that way in Dragon Age II is that the games under incredibly tight constraints.  Orsino isn’t worthy of being an end boss all on his own, so the decision is that you gotta fight Meredith no matter what.  Okay.  So... that’s actually, I think, defensible, you could say.  Meredith has been corrupted by red lyrium, you gotta fight her no matter what.  You can still make the choice.  I think the place where Dragon Age 2 crosses the line is that we also make you fight Orsino no matter what, and I think that’s the mistake.  And the reason we do that is, it’s content, we want players to consume as much of our content as we can, because it feels like waste if we have content that isn’t seen by a player.  And I think that is a mistake, and I think that’s a lesson that maybe video game studios are just waking up to now, that actually it’s NOT waste, content that isn’t consumed by the player ISN’T a problem, that actually you should WANT that.”

Now, that summarization to me covers a lot of DA2, and I’m glad he’s had that reflection, even as the man that pulled the trigger.  DA2 deserves a bit of grace considering they had to take an idea for an Origins DLC and make it a full game because EA demanded it, and I’ve certainly been far more forgiving of the game as time has passed.  But that’s STILL a decision that drives me bonkers.

Now, that leaves us back at where we began.  It’s a FASCINATING moment with the writers, when we get that disapproval at the question.  It almost feels defensive.  Had they learned the lesson Mark Darrah later learned at that point, or where they still a bit upset by how badly that fight was received by folks who sided with the mages?  I’m really not sure, but I love it just because it has such sass attached to it.  It’s a moment in Inquisition where Varric once again becomes the voice of the writers, telling the plot of their previous game in a really defensive manner.  It’s a unique little moment that stands out so much to me.

[bendyboisquashup]

my hawke be like