#i really saw the parallels between l/uthen and a/nders and felt like this was... right. and it would explain a lot.

[v-arbellanaris]

🔥 anders

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

well...

i think... sometimes... i have ended up with a little bit more of a utilitarian take on anders than most (but not all) anders fans do? i mean, yes, the chantry boom happened because the circle was going to be annulled anyway, and yes, the mages were going to die anyway, and yes, if it was going to come to violence in any case, anders didn't really have a choice.

but. but. the idea that he did it with the intention of saving the kirkwall circle is what makes me go hmmmm sometimes. i've talked abt it with other people on here (u know who u are, i wont tag u in case u dont wanna get dragged into this) but anders repeatedly states that his ultimate goal here is the freedom of all mages, everywhere. and even with a romanced, pro-mage hawke, he's still unsure whether or not hawke would continue to side with him, or help him, or help the circle. so i actually kind of think that pushing the circle and the templars into open & violent conflict with each other - he tried to set it up so mages could still win either way. if the mages successfully defended the circle from the templars, it would serve as an inspiration to other circles to rise up. but i think he calculated and accepted the possibility that the kirkwall mages wouldn't successfully defend themselves from the templars. especially if he was convinced hawke wouldn't side with the mages. he considered and accepted that the circle would be annulled, for nothing. and it would serve as a warning to mages everywhere - you are not safe. i think he considered the potential loss of the kirkwall circle, weighed it against the potential freedom of every single mage in southern thedas, and decided it would be an acceptable loss. which is cutthroat, admittedly, but. well. justice is hard, as anders says.