#fenris and sebastian my absolute beloveds <3

[dacompanionreactions]

If you get a chance could you do DA2 companion reactions to receiving baked goods from Hawke please? I loved that post about Inquisition so much. Thank you for your time!

Varric is surprised at first, though he's quick to not to let it show. Hawke actually baked him something? Hawke who slayed an ogre, who kills people for a living, bakes? Any normal person would probably fall in love. "If I ever write a book about you, I'm definitely including this."

"Oh. Thank you, Hawke." Aveline is a little awkward. She has work to do, reports to file and patrols to oversee. She doesn't have time to stop and gawk at the plate of... baked goods? Ah. It won't do to just leave them there, uneaten. Perhaps she can snack while she writes those reports.

Anders isn't sure what he's done to deserve the biscuits in front of him, but he won't say no to them either. It's hard to find joy these days, but today he has found it in a plate of baked goods. Anders allows himself to smile. "Hawke, I really, really appreciate this." To make his point, he tucks right in.

Bethany accepts the plate of pasties with a small smile. Carver's favourite. For a moment, her joy is mingled with stabbing grief, a feeling she's all too familiar with now. But pasties are pasties, and they smell really, really good. Bethany gives her sibling a quick hug and wraps one up in a cloth for their mother. "Hawke... thank you." One day she'll be able to eat these without being reminded of the day her home fell apart.

Carver raises a brow at the pasties. They're just like the ones their father used to make. A peace offering, perhaps? It'll take a lot more than pasties to soothe his strained relationship with Hawke... but he appreciates them nonetheless. Carver takes the plate and says a simple, "Thank you," but a thousand more words are said in the look he gives. You remembered how to make our father's pasties. You even remembered how I like the filling. You care. I'm sorry. Thank you.

"Oh, Hawke, you shouldn't have!" Merrill is besides herself with happiness. She grins from ear to ear as she accepts the plate of baked bread rolls. She takes a moment to admire all the little details, like the leaf patterns cut into the dough, before tucking in. After all, it's not everyday she's presented with baked goods. Now all Merrill needs is a few table mats, some new plates and it'll be perfect.

"Now, isn't that just adorable!" Isabela is utterly endeared by the plate of cinnamon rolls in front of her. It's funny - she wouldn't think someone like Hawke, who's probably killed more people than those in Kirkwall combined, would take the time to bake something for her. She just needs a mug of ale and her evening will be complete.

Sebastian takes the Starkhaven fish pie and holds it up to the light. It's actually real. And made just the way he likes it! He offers a piece to Hawke and insists they eat with him. They should get to try their own handiwork, after all. "Maker, Hawke, you'll have to teach me how to make this as well as you." It tastes like home, and Sebastian retires for the night with thoughts of comfort and pie.

Fenris isn't sure he's heard Hawke correctly. They made baked goods... for him? He's never had anything gifted to him without the other person expecting nothing in return. "That's... very kind, Hawke. Thank you." He spends more time thinking about the fact that they just gifted him something. Perhaps this is what it means to have a friend.

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

In case it wasn't clear I'm replaying Inquisition atm and still thinking about my DA2 companions, 😔.

DA2 was always going to appeal more to me because it's about the mage/templar conflict from the perspective of the powerless, while DAI is about the mage/templar conflict from the perspective of the power structure itself and I do miss my beloved ragtag murder of broken bisexuals (+ Sebastian).

The companions of Inquisition are fine, and I don't hate the worst parts of them like others seem to (Viv's politics are bankrupt— I don't want her anywhere near power— but oddly enough I like her more than Cassandra. She's self aware and makes me laugh). Their flaws are fairly understandable, though it's indicative of where BioWare was in 2014 that DA's first Black companion is Thatcher adjacent. These games, so close and so far... Just, argh, the two-sidesism of the 2010s videogames era drives me crazy. Bioshock Infinite was the same. Though, I still think Anders and Fenris were the most egregious example in the Dragon Age series.

Anyway, here's my three controversial opinions of Inquisition:

1) I don't hate Dorian's slavery apologism at the start when his experiences in Thedas lead to him becoming an anti-slavery Magister (canon as of the DLC and comics). He's young, careless, privileged, and it's his first time out of Tevinter. However, apart from his conversations and failed attempts to connect with Solas, we never see that journey and we should've absolutely seen that journey.

2) Solas as an entity kinda comes out of nowhere and is a bit off theme. It's interesting, he's interesting, and it builds the lore and history of Thedas in interesting ways. But the meta connotations are troubling because DA keeps doubling down on disproportionately punishing Thedas' oppressed groups without letting the player meaningfully choose to help them. It's always "there's no real helping their suffering and it's half their fault anyway".

3) (This one is going to get me exiled, I know) Cullen should've been your Brutus. It's thematically relevant, he hates mages, and his experiences in DA2 would've strengthened the prejudices he had because of his trauma in DAO. It's still complicated and gray because he (and all Templars) have been used cruelly as meat shields, drugged by the state into compliance, and mages are the scapegoats for Templar suffering. He's a veteran and his (Templar) betrayal would've bookended activist Anders (Mage) betrayal in cool narrative ways.

Okay, please don't hate me too much 🙏😭.