#edit: some of tht opening paragraph was repetitive af sorry its the adhd

[v-arbellanaris]

the same way that i wish we could’ve gotten some evolving complexity with the party banters in da2 for a lot of the companions, TODAY!!!! i’m having THOUGHTS about what an anders and merrill progression could look like. i know ppl are always doing this for fen & anders and don’t get me wrong... i love them but i’d absolutely run them over to defend merrill bc she deserved BETTER, from the writers and the writing, and from the other companions (except isabela, love them, merrilbela should’ve been canon if neither of them were romanced idc).

like!!!!! some considerations:

anders still obviously struggling with the idea of needing to be a ‘good’ mage in order to be ‘worthy’ of freedom, and merrill representing everything he thinks SHOULD make her a ‘bad’ mage (talking to demons, blood magic, etc) but like... she’s not. she shows him all the kittens hiding around in lowtown and lets them bite her toes. she fixes the feathers on his coat when they’re turned the wrong way without ripping any of them out. she’s the only one who talks TO justice like justice is a living being separate to anders.

and how does anders reconcile that? does merrill deserve to be in the circle “just because” she’s a “bad” mage (according to andrastian standards)? knowing what the gallows are, what’s done there, does anders REALLY THINK “bad” mages “deserve” to be in the circle? ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHITE BOY

bonus points for anders going on about blood magic and merrill literally being like. THAT’S where your line is?? JUST the circle?? that’s where your line is with the chantry?? everything the chantry says about magic is designed to oppress us EXCEPT the stuff about blood magic?? what about the stuff about elves?? what about all of that nonsense?? like are u serious and he’s like ....... oh. i have to think about this

+bonus: surana/amell who chose a blood magic spec or if you gave anders one in awakening. merrill asks about the Rumours and anders either defensively saying wardens use blood magic to fight the darkspawn OR that they’re just rumours (if its him) but it wouldnt matter anyway bc it’s to fight darkspawn. merrill asking why it’s okay to use blood magic to fight darkspawn but not ok for her to use it for the blighted mirror/pointing out that if there’s THAT many rumours about it surely there must be some truth to it. and anders just not being willing to talk abt it or confront it.

ALSO!!! more banters about mahariel!!! positive ones where they can share their memories of them instead of just anders going well the hero of ferelden is rather private (i get they did it to preserve whatever your hc was of your hero but STILL). PRE-BLIGHT STORIES ABT MAHARIEL!!!!

more banters for the dissent quest but instead of it painting anders’ views in the correct light abt how he’s an abomination and merrill could become one (fuck you for that one, writers), it could be more an attempt to understand justice between the two of them. 

or just more exploration/acknowledgement of how becoming an abomination IS merrill’s fear. how anders is maybe being antagonistic to her initially out of WORRY for her too (not just his fucked up andrastian thoughts abt blood magic and “bad mages”)!!!!

follow-up banters where they Discourse about the idea of an abomination maybe? that would be SUCH interesting lore...

MORE DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN ELF AND MAGE. violence against elves in the alienage under the pretext of “looking for apostates” or “hiding apostates”. violence against mages, tracing it back to arlathan and pointing out that the “fear” of magic (in a non-magical ancient tevinter population) could be inextricably linked to the “fear” of elves. elves being more likely, maybe, to be mages???

!!!!!! merrill talking about how more templars are patrolling the alienage or going into it, looking for “”apostates”” in act 2 or act 3...... anders grimly saying he’ll look into it... updates on this situation in some more banters... leading to the implications that merrill and anders may have killed some templars on patrol... love that for them

NO MORE OF THAT NONSENSE about how elves and humans don’t have any differences in the circle. NONE! OF! THAT! that’s some BS. the chant is telling ppl that elves are furthest from the maker and yet they’re trying to convince me there’s no fantasy racism in the circles from the templars or the mages. absolute BULLSHIT imho

anders asking merrill about how mages are trained by the dalish! the role keepers play! merrill mentioning MULTIPLE mages in the clan and anders being surprised because its “common knowledge” that dalish like... give up their mages when there’s too many per clan and merrill coldly debunking it bc FUCK YOU dai, you’ll pry this from my cold, dead fingers. 

anders growing to respect the way dalish mages are trained, instead of seeing it as inferior, & wishing that the circle could be that supportive. thinking of how many mages he knew would’ve benefited from that kind of upbringing. thinking about how the way dalish mages are trained could be something for people to learn from, after the circles are dissolved.

BANTERS LIKE THE ONES IN DAI BETWEEN DORIAN AND SOLAS. because merrill is a fucking scholar (LOVE her approach to the ruins in dao) and anders thinking he knows so much about how to cast magic and merrill knowing better. LMAO follow-up banters where merrill is like :) i noticed you casting that spell differently today :) and anders aggravatedly being like YES ok you were right it DOES conserve more mana to cast it that way and merrill being like :^)

MERRILL KNOWS HER SHIT. anders has got rigid circle training and whatever training (if any) the wardens gave him. INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE. something something anders respecting merrill as a formidable mage who KNOWS WHAT SHE’S DOING even if he doesn’t always necessarily AGREE with what she’s doing, he can at least respect that she knows her shit

romanced merrill stealing anders’ book for sex magic. i know that one is canon but i wish anders had been more amused and obliging about it. isabela going “OOOOOH you could show her the electricity thing” and anders being like “HMMMM i could. and maybe the fire thing too.” and isabela going “you never showed ME the fire thing :(” also anders going like “ooooh do you do that magic vine stuff?? i knew a dalish elf who did it and i really did have some.... ideas...” and merrill going “oh yes, love doing that” (listen. merrill is not like. innocent. she just doesn’t understand human culture. she’s absolutely kinky in bed, no one who isn’t would go through anders’ grimoire, specifically to look for sex magic spells. sorry not sorry about it). 

OK HEAR ME OUT. ANDERS AND MERRILL ARE ABSOLUTELY COPARENTING SOME OF THOSE STRAY KITTENS IN LOWTOWN. NO. I WILL NOT BE TAKING QUESTIONS.

if taken on mirror image, anders asking whether she really thinks its worth it to talk to this demon for the mirror and merrill saying yes and anders sighing, obviously thinking it’s a bad idea, but going well alright i’ll back you up, i know you know more about this stuff than i do

anders calling marethari an idiot for not having faith in merrill :^)

OK ALSO MERRILL SHOULD NOT HAVE FALLEN FOR THE DEMON IN FEYNRIEL’S QUEST. THIS ISN’T EVEN ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP, IT’S JUST BULLSHIT THAT THEY HAD HER GIVING INTO PRIDE. GET FUCKED, MERRILL KNOWS WHAT’S SHE’S DOING

i think a lot of these are anders-centric bc bias and i feel like merrill IS v sweet to him anyway (UNDESERVINGLY! he’s so fucking mean to her, most of the party members are) but my adhd brain is so fucking scattered rn and i can’t think beyond this so PLSSSS add more if you want to !!!!