#i really need to actually romance her past me2 lmao

[fthechantry]

@queer-amann​ So this is going to be a kinda lengthy reply and I had to copy and paste your original reply to answer some of it, Sooooo I am putting it under a cut for space’s sake.

In regards to what you said about Fenris and Blackwall, does it mean you play more as self-insert than roleplay/can't roleplay characters with values that are very different from yours? (that's all valid, it's just interesting to see how different people play the games and how many play styles these games actually allow)

So, I don’t intentionally self-insert when it comes to these games. (I know I end up doing it though) I have played through DA2 with a Pro-Templar agenda, which is the complete opposite of me, and romanced Merrill and hit on Anders as a Red!Hawke. It was difficult though, because I didn’t agree with my own decisions.

As far as romancing Fenris or Blackwall, my roommate said that she doesn’t think I can romance Fenris because he is too like me? which I think is only part of the issue. If it was the whole issue, I wouldn’t be able to romance Anders and I adore him. I think it really is just that I can’t roleplay an anti-mage stance. Even in my Pro-Templar playthrough I romanced Merrill, so I still had mage love in there. Blackwall, he just doesn’t interest me at all. I also don’t think he is bisexual? I usually play as a male!Inquisitor and don’t change that. The only thing I change is my race. I also usually play as a mage, but have played as a M!Rogue Lavellan before. He was one of my faves.

I see what you mean with Josie and Alistair. They're cute when you want some fluff and that's definitely some people's jam, but it's not for everyone and not at every moment of your life. (though you CAN have intense psychological damages from Alistair's romance if you make bad decisions. Not that it happened to me or I'm salty or anything 🤡)

I definitely pissed Alistair off by killing Isolde one time and he went off, but he was super easy to calm down. I felt like I was gaslighting him or something.

Sera's romance is very complicated if you don't want power play or abuse from one hand or the other. It sucks that their first lesbian character fits the toxic sapphic trope Bioware loves so much and you have to headcanon your way out of it so much, like with many DA2 LIs.

The best thing I saw about the Sera romance though is going through and telling everyone that you are dating her and Dorian, Vivienne, and Cullen’s responses are *chefs kiss*

I refuse to believe anyone in the Circle is straight tbh (yay toxic representation with the Templars). He would've definitely been more interesting if he had been bi. He *ahem* needs to open up more. Kinda reminds me of Tali in ME2, who is very intense with femshep and they hug and then she goes "no homo tho" lmao that's cold. Maybe it's my chronic consumption of queer medias that give me a brainrot, but yea, I think you're good and he's indeed hitting on M!Inquisitor or having a small crush and then they cut it short because they didn't have the time to make him bi or something (funny how they always have the time to make their characters a straight option tho).

RIGHT He definitely did then. He is all like “as I was saying” all sultry-like to the M!Inquisitor. 

I also don’t think anyone who came from the Circle is straight. I got that idea when they brought Anders back in DA2 and he was pansexual. The fact that he was a womanizer in Awakening and then this HUGE shift to falling for Male Hawke the second he saw him and Cullen just being Cullen in DAI, I was like… oh they all gay in Kinloch at least.

What happened with Solas that put you off and how come it didn't work with Bull, if I may ask? (I mean I definitely see how a certain Tevinter being around and stealing the spotlight doesn't help lol. We all have a bunch of characters we're Very Normal about)

So, when it comes to Solas, I have an extreme dislike of him. His story and his interactions with the Fade are interesting for sure, but the romance bored me to death. The chaste romances are always super boring for me. I kinda need the “implied” sex haha.

Bull… I was having issues flirting with him. Every time I hit on him he would just say like “uh huh” or “why” or he would get offended that I was protecting him and stuff.

Zev was like, the most unexpected character of the list tbh! I would've thought he would have caught your attention! Did you just got bored with him?

With Zevran I actually just had no interest in progressing his romance past sleeping with him. I have since learned that his romance is actually incredibly interesting, but like the game mechanics for DAO are bad for me now. The fighting kinda takes you out of the game (by not controlling each swing of your sword etc) that I just can’t really replay it. I have tried since then. I can only replay Awakening, much shorter.

I like the mental image of the Warden trying to stealthily get out of Leli's grip and thinking she's completely insane, it's beautiful.

I had a fight with Morrigan and broke it off with her and went after Leliana. Leliana told me she loved me after sleeping with me and then like.. was trying to say we would be together forever and stuff. So I broke it off with her and talked to her again and she was saying the same things! I couldn’t get away from her. I actually had to reload a save and get my relationship with Morrigan back.

The Isa approval fuckery definitely didn't happen to me last playthrough djfjfkf. Though there's a vibe about Hawke being dumped by their wife on front of everyone and divorced but nobody has done the legal papers and now you need a court order to get back the overpowered items you gave to her before she left

Based. There's a mod that fixes that on PC, thanks the Creators.

I play on XBOX so no mods. I just lost Isabela and couldn’t get her back in that game. I frequently forget about her approval level and think of her as Varric and everything is just kinda cool with them. So I lose her a lot.

I'm a sucker for Hawke who have a very unsubtle and unrequited crush on Cullen. Garrett-dear likes Circle sandwiches and we stan. What is your HC about it? Did Hawke flirt with him? If so, how did Cullen react? How does Garrett react to Cullen in DAI (and the DAI companions, if you want to expand on it and still need some distraction)?

My HC about Garrett having a crush on Cullen is that he and Anders would have a competition for who could get Cullen to crack/blush first. Hawke would show up with his biceps exposed for Cullen to see and try flexing to get his attention. Anders would just be as provocative as possible towards Hawke and like try making out with him in front of Cullen to get his attention. What finally gets Cullen to crack is Garrett showing up in just his smalls and shoes and he catches Cullen’s lingering glance. Cullen never outright acknowledges the crush, but he definitely is not opposed. He’s the Champion of Kirkwall for Maker’s sake!

Garrett actually didn’t realize until super late that Cullen was even with the Inquisition. When he joined Varric outside the War Room is the first time he found out that he was there. At this point, his crush has subsided and he is totally comfortable with his relationship with Anders while on the run, so Cullen no longer has an effect on him.

Garrett’s reactions to Companions:

Dorian- Good guy to get a drink with, very attractive, loves his confidence. He has stories for days and he thinks Dorian needed to meet Fenris and Anders and watch the debates that follow.

The Iron Bull- Not well received considering he is who killed the Arishok. He is very weary of the Iron Bull and the Ben Hassrath because of his interaction with Tallis. He slowly begins to notice that Bull is different from the other Qunari he has encountered and by the end of his time there, he is on okay terms with him.

Vivienne- Hates her. He thinks she is a bitch and that she is just using the Inquisitor to further her own political goals. He doesn’t trust her and doesn’t like her love for the Circles, especially since it is my HC that he actually did help with the Chantry Boom and Varric lied to cover it up on Anders’ behalf.

Solas- He has a feeling that Solas has ulterior motives, he just isn’t sure what they are. The way he speaks is off from the other apostates/Dalish he has encountered and he writes to Merrill with a description of the man with both of them feeling nervous about him.

Blackwall- He thinks he is a good man. He knows he isn’t a Warden though because he doesn’t answer any of his questions that he got the answers to from Anders already.

Cassandra- He basically hates Cassandra because she kidnapped his BFF and wanted to beat the shit out of her. He would lose that fight though because he is a mage, and she can basically light him on fire from the inside out.

Varric- He knows Varric lol

Sera- Thinks she is annoying and she doesn’t trust him and his mage “shite”. He stays away from her.

Cole- He sees Cole as a potential option for Justice. If he can find a way to separate his love from Justice, then Justice could be his own sentient being outside of Anders. Seeing Cole gives him hope for his future.

Are there any LIs you never romanced in the DA franchise? If so why?

Also does any of your OC has a unrequited crush on a character?

Oh there are plenty @queer-amann, like a shocking amount considering how many times I have played these games. I am adding a 3rd option to this because there are quite a few that I have just... failed.

Never romanced:

Origins~

Alistair- I couldn't really tell you why except that maybe it is because I had already seen the romance? My roommate, and best friend, played the games first while I watched her. She is a strong Alistair-mancer and so I don't need to see it again? If that makes sense. Overall, I think his romance is cute, but boring.

DA2~

Fenris- I like his character arc. I think it is really interesting. I am very pro-mage though, so we clash on opinions a lot.

Inquisition~

Sera- I have watched her romance on Youtube to see how it was. It was cute, but she annoys the shit out of me. I couldn't do it.

Blackwall- I can't get behind romancing someone who's entire identity is based on a lie. I also clash opinions with him.

Josie- Another one that is too fairytale. Much like Alistair, I find it boring. Not enough at stake. I like my people slightly insane.

Cullen- I have only played as a female one time and that was to play a Solas romance so I could see what other people were talking about. My roommate has romanced Cullen before. The entire thing is cute, but not for me. I probably would be more open to romancing him if the bisexual coding had been left in. I mean he hit on my Inquisitor? or maybe I misread his intentions, idk.

Failed Romances:

Solas- I got bored. Not gonna lie, I cannot stand Solas so that is probably why we didnt work out.

The Iron Bull- I was having issues getting him into the romance phase. Eventually I gave up and went after Dorian again before abandoning this playthrough.

Zevran- I honestly just wanted to sleep with him to see what he said. I didn't take it further than that.

Leliana- She got super clingy in Origins which skeeved me out. I backed away slowly on this one.

Isabela- I was romancing her, but then forgot to get her approval high enough and she left after Act 2. Whoops.

Sebastian- I hated playing as a female Hawke. The animations for her walk was way to feminine and it drove me insane.

(Edit: forgot a failed romance)

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As for unrequited crushes, the only one who comes to mind is Garrett. Garrett Hawke has a huge crush on Cullen and wants to destroy him. He wants him and Anders to let him "Know why mages are feared" if you catch my drift.

(Send me an ask to distract me!)

[queen-scribbles]

For the "send me a character," Tali'Zorah from Mass Effect!

Yeeeee my best tech nerd friend <3

My favorite line ”When do we get to stop reacting to our parents and start living for ourselves?” or [Shep: It’s not worth getting angry about.] “My brain agrees with you. My gut says i should jack his suit’s olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse.” My favorite moment Making ship noises during the Citadel party, hands down My favorite strength Her adaptability. Or her tech nerdery. Or her playfulness. All are great. My favorite weakness That she's unsure sometimes. She has doubts, she wavers, she's not unflappable. My favorite personal headcanon Whether romanced or friend, she does some special tweaks to trick out Shepard's omnitool, more so for a tech-inclined Shep, since you'll rely on it more. (I'm also quite fond of the one Jade put in my Holiday Harbinger present, that she'll act more drunk than she is to get people to open up/let their guard down. :3)

[irikahkrios]

okay i’ve been thinking about this nonstop for the past two hours and i just gotta say,,,, bioware didn’t need to kill irikah off for thane to have the same character development as in canon,,,, 

like, picture this. irikah is still attacked, and almost dies, and she’s fucking pissed. after years of being patient with thane as he grew more and more distant and was around less and less, after years of trying desperately to get him to really connect with kolyat, after trying her best to look the other way when he went back to killing people so they could make ends meet, this is the last fucking straw. she’s not going to allow herself and her son to be put in danger. so she takes kolyat and leaves. thane still gets the Angst of “oh my wife and son aren’t in my life anymore because i fucked up and failed them,” but irikah has actual agency in the narrative, she has motivations and does things and gets to be an actual character instead of just an object that existed only to give thane redemption with her love and then die for his pain. she gets to be complex, she loves her husband and truly doesn’t want to leave him, but she refuses to put herself or her little boy in harm’s way by staying with him and feels that this is what she has to do. she’s tired of waiting for things to get better and for thane to decide to change. she can’t take it anymore, and she doesn’t want kolyat to have to either. so she leaves. 

so basically instead of Sad Widower thane in me2 we get Sad Divorcé thane who opens up to shepard about how his wife left him ten years ago, taking their young son with her, after he was a fuckup of a husband and almost got her killed. it’s irikah who messages him in a panic that kolyat is on the citadel trying to follow in his father’s footsteps to vent his confused anger, and shepard and thane meet up with her on the citadel and it’s the first time she and thane have seen each other in years. they end up trying to talk kolyat down together, and it’s really emotional, and when thane tells kolyat that he’s terminally ill and doesn’t have much time left irikah is shocked, because she had no idea either. anyway things end well (if you play the mission correctly lmao), and thane slowly starts to reestablish contact with both of them. 

from talking to him about irikah and seeing their interactions on his loyalty mission it’s very clear that he still carries a torch for her (side note i’m not sure if thane would still be a romance option in this au), and i know this is gonna sound out-of-character for me since thane/irikah is literally my mass effect otp but they don’t end up getting back together or anything. i think it’s actually very important that they don’t. it shows that some things can’t be fixed completely; thane has his ex-wife and son back in his life, and they’re going to spend time with him throughout the time he has left (supremely awkward new mexico family vacation!!), but things are never going to be the way they were. he and irikah aren’t going to get back together, and his relationships with both her and kolyat are still going to be strained. that’s just the way things usually are. but they love him, and they’re both by his side when he dies in me3. 

my only real issue with this au is that knowing how a large chunk of the gaming community treats women, i can definitely see Gamer Dudebros missing the point completely and probably saying some gross things about irikah. i can already see the Hot Takes being written online about what a “frigid bitch” she is, or whatever misogynistic bullshit they would probably say about her. but like. i would honestly take this over her just being Sad Dead Wife Plot Device any day. i dunno i just!!! i love irikah with all my heart and i don’t want her to be dead!!!! and bioware didn’t need to have her get violently murdered in order to give thane a satisfying character arc!!!!!!