#i remember I had some dialogues between my hawke and the arishok

[vaultofthebeloved]

Man, thinking on the Arishok meeting with Hawke and if you choose purple and pretend you want to leave he halts you like he WAS READY TO CONVERT HAWKE LISTEN TO ME HE WANTED TO CONVERT THEM, YOU CANNOT TELL ME OTHERWISE

[felassan]

Some DA trivia and dev commentary from Twitter

There’s a lot of different tweets, so I’m just pasting and linking to the source rather than screencapping them all or making several different posts or something. Post under cut for length.

User: Was dragon age 2 your favourite in the franchise?

David Gaider: DA2 was the project where my writing team was firing on all cylinders, and they wrote like the wind- because they had to! Second draft? Pfft. Plot reviews? Pfft. I was so proud of what we all accomplished in such a brief time. I didn't think it was possible. [source] DA2 is, however, also where the goal posts kept moving. Things kept getting cut, even while we worked. I had to write that dialogue where Orsino turned even if you sided with him, because his boss battle had been cut and there was no time to fix the plot. A real WTF moment. >:( [source]

Mike Rousseau: I remember bugging that! And then being told it wasn't a bug, and being so confused. Doing QA for DA2 was an experience. Trial by fire. [source]

DG: So I think it's safe to say DA2 is my favorite entry in the DA franchise and also the sort of thing I never want to live through ever again. Mixed feelings galore. [source]

User: (I personally blame whoever it was for ruining most romance arcs in other games for me; they don't live up to Fenris's romance storyline)

DG: I wrote Fenris, so uh - me, I guess? Or maybe his cinematic designer, who put in the puppy dog eyes. [source]

User: If DA2 had just been an expansion, do you think it would have been better received? There was a lot of great stuff in there, and I think my initial dislike of it was because of the zone reuse. If it hadn't needed to be a full game, would that issue not have arisen?

DG: Hard to say. It was either going to be an over-scoped expansion or an under-scoped sequel. If it had stayed an expansion, it might never have received the resources/push it DID get. [source]

User: I'd love to visit the universe where you had an extra year or so to work on it. You did a very good job as it stands, but it definitely had rough edges. Not just the writing team either. The whole game had hit and miss moments, that just a little more dev time could have fixed.

DG: On one hand, DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards. DA2 was originally planned as an expansion! On the other, if we had more time, would we have started doing that thing where we second guess/iterate ourselves into mediocrity? [shrug emoji] [source] 

Jennifer Hepler: This is what I love about DA2. Personally, I greatly prefer something that's rough and raw and sincere to something that's had all the soul polished out of it. Extra time would have helped for art and levels, but it would have lost something too. [source]

DG: Right? I think we could have used some time for peer reviews (and fewer cuts), but I think the rawness of the writing lent a certain spark that we usually polished out. [source]

JH: Definitely. I think the structure (more character-driven) and the tightness of the timeframe let each individual writer's voice really come through. Polish can be very homogenizing. [source]

DG: I should add I'm not, by any means, against iteration. Some iteration is good and necessary. The problem that BioWare often had is that we never knew when to stop. Like a goldfish, we would fill the space given to us by constantly re-iterating on things that were "good enough". [source]

Patrick Weekes: I appreciate your incredibly diplomatic use of the past tense on "had". :D [source]

User: DA2 was my gateway into the series and I’m so happy it is. I love the game the way that it is. It’s one of my favorites of all time. But I am also aware of everything that was said here. If it were remastered, do you think it would change?

DG: I'd be surprised if it was ever remastered. If it was, do you really think they'd change things? Do remasters do that? No idea. [source]

User: Both sides got undercut as I recall. Didn't that whole sequence also end with the mage leader embracing blood magic? It was very much "a plague on both your houses" moment, at least for me.

DG: Yep. Orsino was supposed to have his own version of Meredith's end battle, which only happened if you sided with the templars. That got cut, but the team still wanted to use the model we'd made for him. So... that happened. [source]

DG: I would personally say that DA2 is a fantastic game hidden under a mountain of compromises, cut corners, and tight deadlines. If you can see past all that, you'll see a fantastic game. I don't doubt, however, that it's very difficult for most to do that. [source]

PW: I love DAI with all my selfish "I worked on this" heart, but DA2's follower arcs and relationships are probably my favorite in the series. [source]

User: As I've expressed many times, I love the game, especially it's writing and characters but, for me, the most impressive aspect of it, in consideration of it's lack of time for drafts and revisions, is the 2nd act with Arishok.  What amazingly complex character and fantastic duel

User: Just played it again and I have to agree. Though he is bound by the harsher tenants of the Qun, he makes valid points about free marcher society. Though it is obvious that he and Hawke will come to blows eventually, the tension builds gradually and understandably

DG: Luke did such a fantastic job with the Arishok I found myself sometimes wishing the Qunari plot had just been THE plot. [source]

User: What do you think would have changed, story wise, if you had more time for DA2?

DG: I would have taken out that thing where Meredith gets the idol. It was forced on me because she needed to be "super-powered" with red lyrium for her final battle. Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that. [source]

User: I deeply lament that there wasn't/couldn't be some sort of DA2 equivalent of Throne of Bhaal's Ascension mod.

DG: I'd have done it, if DA2 had allowed for anything but the most rudimentary of modding. ;) [source]

User: I mean, and I think I understand where you were trying, but how much legitimacy did the Templars and her as top Templar have after they're keeping the mages locked up against their will in the old slave quarters? Feel free to not reply.

DG: I think it's the kind of discussion which requires nuance, and which discussions on the Internet are not prone to. [source]

User: Was a compromise that the quest lines don’t branch? It felt like it was supposed to be that way but then you end up in the same place later regardless of what you pick. Like I hoodwinked the templars so good to help the apostates escape but in Act II they were caught anyway.

DG: I remember us having a lot more branching in the initial planning yes. Most of this got trimmed out in the first or second wave of cuts, in an effort to not cut the plots altogether. [source]

DG: "If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you change?" Wow. I'm willing to bet Mark or Mike (or anyone else on the team) would give very different answers than me, but it's enough to give a sober man pause, because that was THE Project of Multiple Regrets. [source] I mean, it's the most hypothetical of hypotheticals. It's never gonna happen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA considered DA2 its embarrassing red-headed stepchild. We'd also need to ignore that in many ways DA2 was as good as it was bad BECAUSE of how it was made. But that aside? [source] First, either restore the progressive changes to Kirkwall we'd planned over the passing of in-game years or reduce the time between acts to months instead of years... which, in hindsight, probably should have been done as soon as the progressive stuff was cut. [source] I'm sure you're like "get rid of repeated levels!" ...but I don't care about that. All I wanted was for Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city. Way more crowded. More alive! Fewer blood mages. [source] I'd want to restore the plot where a mage Hawke came THIS close to becoming an abomination. An entire story spent trapped in one's own head while trapped on the edge of possession. Why? Because Hawke is the only mage who apparently never struggles with this. It was a hard cut. [source]

User: I would LOVE to hear more details about this! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a short story?

DG: I don't even remember the details of the story, sorry. There was a fight, and you caught the bad guy and then realized none of it was real and woke up idk [source]

DG: I'd want to restore all those alternate lines we cut, meaning people forget they'd met you. Or that they knew you were a mage. Or, oh god, that maybe they'd romanced you in DAO. So much carnage. [source] I'd want to restore the Act 3 plots we cut only because they were worked on too late, but which would have made the buildup to the mage/templar clash less sudden. Though I don't remember what they were, now. Some never got beyond being index cards posted on the wall. [grimace emoji] [source] As I mentioned elsewhere, I'd want to restore Orsino's end battle so he wouldn't need to turn on you even if you sided with him. And I'd want an end fight with the templars that didn't require Meredith to have red lyrium and go full Tetsuo. [source] Heck, maybe an end decision where you sided with neither the mages nor the templars. Because it certainly ended up feeling like you could brand both sides as batshit pretty legitimately, no? That was never planned, tho. No idea how to make that feel like an actual path atm. [source] Maybe an option to go "umm, Anders... what are you DOING?" 👀 [source] And, of course, a Varric romance, because Mary took that "slimy car salesman" character we'd planned and did the impossible with him. I can feel Mary glaring at me for even suggesting this, tho. [source] Lastly, the original expanded opening to the game which allowed you to spend time with Bethany and Carver BEFORE the darkspawn attacked. And, um, that's about it off the top of my head. Zack Snyder, WHAT PANDORA'S BOX HAVE YOU OPENED. [source] Shit, I remembered two more things: 1) Restore the "Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story" at the beginning of every Act, until Cassandra calls him on it. Yes, that was a thing. 2) Make DA: Exodus. Yes, I am still bitter. [source] God damn it, I meant "Make DA: Exalted March". The DA2 expansion, NOT Exodus since that was DA2's original name and makes no sense. Because the expansion ended with Varric dying, and that will always be on my "things left undone" list. [source]

User: Whaaaat?

DG: Well, you know that scene in Wrath of Khan where Spock goes into the dilithium chamber because he's a Vulcan? Well, imagine that but with Varric and red lyrium and because he's a dwarf. ;) [source]

John Epler: I distinctly remember referencing the bit from MGS4 where you crawl through the microwave corridor in the split screen, while cinematic battle rages on the other half. [source]

DG: It would have been glorious, John. Glorious. [source]

JE: I don't think I've ever been so certain what a shot should look like as I did Hawke coming in and finding Varric in the broken throne, just like when he was telling Cassandra his story. [source]

DG: It would have come full circle! Auggghh, it still kills me. [source]

User: Lord, you folks are a little too good at this.

JE: The true secret behind videogame narrative is knowing how to make yourself seem a lot more clever than you actually are. [source] 'Oh, we TOTALLY planned that.' [source]

User: Ok, this thread [the DA2 regrets thread, which is the big chunks above] but Inquisition.

DG: My regrets about Inquisition are, more or less, the normal kind. Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid. [source]

User: You can keep your Varric romance, I want a Flemeth romance goddamnit!

DG: I would allow for one flirt option, and then a recording of Kate Mulgrew laughing for three minutes straight. [source]

User: I had a hypothesis about the repetitive caves in DA2. They're repetitive because it's Varric telling the story and he didn't consider them important.  They're like sets in a play.  (Okay, I really suspect it was a time/money/resources thing but I like my fake explanation better.)

DG: Hang a lampshade on it, maybe? Cassandra: "But that's the exact cave you were in last time?" Varric: "Whatever. They all look the same, I'm not THAT kind of dwarf. Can we move on?" [source]

User: that makes sense, hypothetically to make Varric romanceable and keep his arc—that had to happen for the main plot—I imagine you would have to make double the content (or more)? which would've been a tall order given the time/budget constraints the game was under

DG: Right. When it comes to "romance arc" vs. "follower story arc", we generally only had time to do one or the other. Never both. Romancing Varric would have meant not getting the story of his that you did. [source]

Mary Kirby: The one exaggeration I really, REALLY wanted, that we never got to do was Varric narrating his own death scene with Hawke weeping over him, then cutting to Cassandra's pissed off glaring at him. [source]

DG: Haha! The one I wanted was Varric's plot where he takes on the baddies single-handedly, sliding across the floor like Jet Lee, action movie-style, until finally Cassandra gets irritated and he has to admit Hawke & the rest of the party showed up to help. [source]

MK: We did that one! (He didn't do any Jet Lee moves, though.) Jepler gave him letterboxing to get The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly showdown vibes while he shot a ton of mooks single-handed. [source]

DG: Wow. Shows how much I remember. [source]

JE: I found it! I remember seeing this sequence as my treat for doing a bunch of much more challenging work. It was fun to see how far I could push our limited library of animations. [link] [source]

DG: Heh awesome. I could have sworn it was cut, honestly. I think I was even in that meeting. [source]

User: no disrespect but that’s surprising and rich of Mary “Hard in Hightown” Kirby to think DA2 shouldn’t have had a Varric romance when she wrote an entire book of Varric’s self-insert character pining over his Hawke insert character… HIH is the reason we had VHawke Summer 2018

DG: I can't *really* speak for Mary, or how she feels about it now compared to back then. I only know how she felt about it back then, and I'm not sure it was as much the concept of the romance but that Varric's entire story would be bent to "romance arc" ...a very different thing. [source]

JH: I remember pushing to have the first DLC start with Hawke having an option to ask Varric, "Did you tell Cassandra about us?" and if you picked it, Varric would answer, "Of course not, baby. I told her you were sleeping with X..." and then proceed as if you had had a full romance. [source]

DG: I still wonder how that would have gone over. x) [source]

JE: Okay, one more DA2 thing. Putting together the cinematics for this scene was a blast. [link] [source]

MK: These lines are my greatest legacy. I want "Make sure the world knows I died... at Chateau Haine!" inscribed on my tombstone. [source]

JE: I was so glad no one said 'no' to the crane shot. [source]

MK: It needs that crane shot. It's the perfect icing on that cake made from solid cheese. [source]

DG: The designers were all "we need more combat" and I think we were all "I think you underestimate just HOW interesting we can make this dinner party". [source]

JE: And finally. I think @SherylChee wrote the one-liner. I think we had a collection of like, 20. [link] [source]

Sheryl Chee: Yeah! Something like that! I remember submitted a whole bunch and Frank said you only needed one. Wish I'd kept the other fifteen. [source]

JE: A random chooser where, each time through the scene, you get a different one-liner. [source]

JE: DA2 is the project I'm the proudest of. I also absolutely get that it didn't land for a lot of people. But I don't think it's inaccurate to say that, in a lot of ways, DA2 defined my career. [source]  Everyone spent a year working at their maximum ability. I was a fresh cinematic designer and was given all of Varric's content, as well as the Act 1 Finale mission. It was a lot for someone who had been doing the Cinematics thing for literally 6 months. [source]  There's some stuff in there I can't look at without wincing. And there's some stuff I'm genuinely proud of. Not to mention, it was my introduction to most of the writing team. Several of whom I'm still working with today! Albeit in a different capacity [source] Also, weirdly, one of my most enduring memories of Dragon Age 2 is how much Bad Company 2 we'd play at lunch. It was a LOT. [source] Every game I've worked on has a game I played attached to it. ME2 is Borderlands. DA2 is Bad Company 2. DAI is DayZ. I, hmm. There's a progression there. I don't know how I feel about it. [source]

User: Is DA4 going to be tarkov then?

JE: I've kind of churned out of Tarkov for now. Probably Hunt Showdown, at least right now. [source]

User: I think people also don't take nuance into consideration -- like I FULLY acknowledge the flaws in my favorite games and will openly criticize them, but that doesn't mean they're not my favorite games anymore??? You can like and thing and still be critical of it.

JE: A lot of my favourite shit is deeply flawed! I acknowledge it and I think it's interesting to dissect the flaws. [source]

User: I still wish Justice was an actual character in DA2 rather than a plot point.

DG: There was a moment during DAI where we *almost* put in you running into Justice with the Grey Wardens, and he's all "Kirkwall? I never went to Kirkwall" [source]

User: Does that imply that Justice was shoehorned in to DA2?

DG: Nah, it was an in-joke where we thought it'd be fun to suggest that "Justice" was simply some demon that tricked Anders in DA2. Wooo those tricky demons! We didn't do it, though. [source]

User: [about templars]  except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves [source]

User: Can you shed some light for us on how DA was able to do multiple same-sex romance options for different genders but the Mass Effect team treated them like the plague? What process existed for your team that just wasn't their for the other tentpole franchise?

DG: Different people making the decisions, almost different cultures. I don't know what it's like now, but for many years the Mass Effect team and the Dragon Age team were almost like two different studios working within the same building. [source]

User: It truly boggles the mind. Kudos for doing demonstrably better on consistent queer representation than the ME teams. Y'all never needed us to make petitions to try to get the studio's attention and ask them to do better by us. That's the fight we're once again embroiled in now.

DG: Honestly, I don't feel like tut-tutting the Mass Effect team. They did their part, and if they were a bit later to the show than the DA team they certainly did more than almost every other game out there -- and willingly. [source]

Updates begin here

User: So what was the reason for naming Dragon age 2 "Dragon age II" and not using a subtitle?

DG: As I recall, that was purely a publisher decision. I think they wanted to avoid the impression it was an expansion. [source]

User: Is there no chance of ever remaking DA2 under better circumstances? -Somehow remove the repetitiveness of gameplay by making changes and updating the tech and adding much more to the storyline. It could almost be a new very exciting game.

DG: I'd say there's zero chance of that. Let's keep our hopes up for the next DA title instead. [source]

User: I am a little confused here, help me out here please! How exactly was the cut boss battle with Orsino supposed to work out? How it would've kept him from turning against the player?

DG: It means that, if you sided with the templars, the entire boss bottle at the end would have been against Orsino and the mages. No fight against Meredith. The end decision would have been more divergent. [source]

User: I do remember that one of the reasons going around for that, was that resources were going to the transition to Frostbite. I'm still not fully sold on that having been a good choice. I felt that more time should have been given for that transition considering it was made for FPSs

DG: We didn't transition to Frostbite until DAI. Given our time frame for DA2, I don't think we *could* have transitioned to a new engine. [source]

User: Since your talking about the what could have been for DA2. Could you say what your script was for Anthem? Cause I remember reading that you wrote the plot on that game.

DG: I created a setting for Anthem and scripted out a plot - but, as I understand it, almost none of that ended up being used. So it's a bit pointless to talk about what I'd planned, as that'd be for some completely different type of game. [source]

User: [in reference to the exchange above where DG said “Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that.” re: Meredith] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves. [source]

If I missed a tweet, got the wrong source link or included a tweet twice, feel free to let me know and I’ll correct.

Edit / Update: Post update 22nd April

[athena1138]

DA Question Meme

Literally nobody asked for this but I don’t wanna do my homework so HERRRRRE WE GO! edit: doing this made me realize just how attached I am to the same 4 names lmfao. #creativity i guess. 

01) Favorite game of the series?

I like a lot of things about all of them. I like the companion interactions from Origins, the story from DA2, and the character creation and map of Inquisition. But they all have things I don’t like, too, so I’m not really sure I have a favorite. I think DA2 and Inquisition are tied, tbh.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

My roommate had been (trying) to play Origins for a while so my interest was piqued. Then, I was sitting in my Spanish class and realized PSN was having a hella sale so I went looking for some games. Inquisition GOTYE was on sale for like $70 with all the DLCs so I was like, “Hm. Yeah. Aight.” I then proceeded to get 89 hours banked in the course of like...5 days. It was insane. There was much coffee and little sleep. (I said trying because her Xbox 360, both of them, absolutely refuse to let her finish it before the console corrupts something in the data.)

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

Origins 1 1/2 times. I got all the way to the end with my elf before Alistair broke up with me to be king so I said, “AW HELL NAH” and literally started over just so my Warden could be queen. 

DA2, 2 full times and I’m on my 3rd for “fanfiction research” purposes. 

Inquisition, once all the way through the main storyline, started again, then started again. 

04) Favorite race to play as?

Ya girl loves her some elves. I was a Dwarf as my first ever character, but the lack of romance options in Inquisition turned me off to them. I do like them a lot, though. 

05) Favorite class?

Rogue. Seriously, lockpicking should be a universal thing. Otherwise, mage. 

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

I try. Most of the more personal decisions I have a hard time changing. Like, should Cole be human or more spirit-y? I can’t. I always make him human. But I intentionally try to change major story arcs. Both my Hawke mages and my mage Inquisitor have supported the Templars where I supported mages 100% before. 

07) Go-to adventuring group?

Origins:  Alistair is almost always a must. My first playthrough, he literally went on 100% of my quests with me. Then usually Wynne and Zevran, but I try to switch it up where I think I can spare having a healing mage. Shale and Oghren are my buds. 

DA2:  Vikara Hawke--Fenris, Anders (li,) then either Varric or Isabela. Belladonna Hawke--Fenris, Carver then Avaline, Varric (hc li.) Titania Hawke--Fenris, Bethany then Merrill, Isabela (li.)

Inquisition: Oh boy. I just. I just love them all. Just so fucking much. Picking my group is painstaking, man. Gemma Cadash--Iron Bull (li,) Dorian, Cole. Vikara Lavellan is tricky because she’s a mage, but Dorian is my literal best friend and she romanced Solas so?--Solas (li,) Dorian, Iron Bull or Blackwall. If it’s a tricky area or I need a lock picked, I’ll usually switch Dorian with Cole. Vanaya Adaar--Blackwall, Dorian, Vivienne or Sera. (Josephine LI)

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

So, I had no fucking idea what Inquisition was about. You can go find my “first playthrough” posts for proof, so I was just going with the flow. But starting completely from the start, I think I put a bit more effort into my Wardens, and most definitely my Hawkes and now my new Inquisitors. 

09) Favorite romance?

Cullen. #1, always. Honestly. I know, basic, but you know what? He’s a goddamn tormented cinnamon roll. I also really love his v.a.. Like I’ll listen to the romance while doing homework to keep me focused. Is that creepy? Shit. That’s creepy. But in Origins, idk. Alistair is adorable, but Zevran is just...damn. I want to try Leliana’s romance sometime. Da2: Fenris, but I’m just so goddamn in love with Varric, man. I know it’s not a romance but IT FUCKING SHOULD BE. 

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

Bruh I don’t even read my homework.

11) If you read them, which was your favorite book?

12) Favorite DLCs?

For, like, functionality? The Black Emporium lmao. I like to change my appearance as the game progresses. But for fun? I like the Deep Roads DLC for Inquisition, the Legacy DLC for DA2, and tbh I haven’t played many DLCs for Origins yet, just the one for Shale and the one for Morigann. I think I’ll like Leliana’s, though, and Awakening. 

13) Things that annoy you.

Can’t change companion armor in DA2

No voice for Origins. (I understand it, but starting from Inquisition, it’s frustrating. Plus, I’m blind, and the biggest subtitles are still hella small.)

You can’t just go strike up a conversation with companions in the field aside from Origins. 

Dwarves can’t be mages

THERE ARE NO DWARF ROMANCES

The Qunari just felt really..underwhelming til Inquisition? Like. Sten is just a large, stoic human essentially. All the Qunari in DA2 have the exact same face, and nothing about their titles or names are explained. They’re a giantass plot point and you’re telling me not even the Arishok could get some different horns or maybe a face lift or something? 

When your companions break up with you. Like goddamn. Rude. 

The Dark Ritual. 

Forcing Alistair to be King so I don’t have to choose between him or my Hawke. He’s so unhappy as a ruler, but it’s better for his safety. Such a dick move, guys, really. 

Leandra just straight up forgives Gamlen for blowing the entire fortune? Nah, Ma. He’s dead to us now. 

Carver’s such a dick, man. 

Caves,caves,caves,caves,caves in DA2. Like goddamn. 

I have soooo many more but I have to get up in 4 hours lmao

The dog in Origins counts as a companion

Even if Hawke is a mage, Fenris doesn’t cool it with his anti-mage shit. Ever. 

Anders is a dick, man. A beautiful one, but a dick. 

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Kirkwall.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages, always. Supporting the Templars makes me so frustrated with myself. 

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

So, cross-games, they’re in the same universe. But as for, like, all my Inquisitors? Idk. I’ve never really thought about it. I don’t HC that I have like...6 Inquisitors or even sibling Inky’s running around, but I don’t see a reason why they wouldn’t keep existing just because one of them got the Mark. I do try super hard to connect all my main characters as closely as I can, just for funsies. 

Like, my new Lavellan was from the same alienage as my Warden except she got swept up in that slave-trade business at the age of like 10. Then she lived as a slave in Kirkwall til she ran away at 15 and was taken in by Merrill’s clan. She and an older hunter were out hunting when the massacre happened, so he ends up taking her up north to meet up with another clan he knows is fartin’ around there. (Lavellan.) So, she remembers Varric and Hawke from their few trips to visit Merrill’s clan on Sundermount. 

Shit like that, y’know? 

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

Random things, usually. My current Hawke’s mabari is called Wrex, last one was Oberyn. I don’t remember any of my Wardens’ mabari names.

18) Have you installed any mods?

I fucking wish I could. Console only over here my dude. 

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

Vikara Tabris--No, absolutely not. She just wanted to stay in her alienage and take care of her family. She didn’t want to get married, and when the noble dude kidnapped them all she just straight up wrecked them, so she didn’t have a choice. She’s pretty bitter about it all, but Alistair makes it better. 

Titania Cousland--Hells. Yes. From the moment she heard Duncan was coming, she was like a fucking dog with a bone begging that her dad let her join. 

20) Hawke’s personality?

Vikara Hawke:  Kind, peaceful. Blue? I think? The colors represent the dialogue wheel, right? Idk, man, the nice shit. 

Belladonna Hawke:  Sarcastic af. 

Titania Hawke: Agro to others but not her friends. 

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

Look, fam, there are only SO MANY GODDAMN PIECES OF LIGHT ARMOR AVAILABLE. AT SOME POINT, WE ALL FINNA LOOK ALIKE IT’S NOT MY FAULT so like yeah

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

oh jesus

ORIGINS-        Vikara Tabris--so much, man. The most important thing? I think she would’ve put Anora on the throne instead.         Titania Cousland--She would’ve tried to use her connection to the king to make him see reason, make him see that the war was suicide. 

DA2        Vikara Hawke--She would’ve tried to sway Anders away from the terrorist side of things more, had she not been too blinded by love to see what he was doing.          Belladonna Hawke--Would’ve rather taken Bethany’s place with the ogre because she can’t live with the guilt.           Titania Hawke--Corypheus. If she’d have just paid fucking attention, she might’ve noticed how weird Larius was acting, she might’ve been able to do something before the literal sky opened up. 

Inquisition          Gemma Cadash--She straight up wishes she was never at the fucking Conclave. If she’d have just stayed in the Carta, doing what she’s good at, this all would’ve been someone else’s problem. She has a hard time dealing with all the pressure and the stress and constantly fears she’s doing the wrong thing. The only thing that gets her through it is Bull.           Vikara Lavellan--Loving Solas. She wishes she’d seen the signs more clearly, seen where they were going with it. But, loving Solas lead her to Cullen, so in the end? She guesses it was worth it.            Vanaya Adaar--She would’ve tried harder at Haven, to save more lives than she did. If she’d have just been a little faster... 

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

For my Inquisitors, usually something will be anti-canon, but my Hawkes are usually pretty satisfying to me, and the Warden has enough options I think it’s alright. But like...Vikara Lavellan has almost no faith to the Dalish despite being one. She got her vallaslin because she had to to stay in clan Lavellan. I also sometimes HC that she spent time in the Circle so when Vivienne gets all snotty about it not being so bad, she can be like “uhm, scuse you.” Same with Hawke and Anders, but Idk how it would work. Maybe she was there during his solitary confinement but broke out with her phylactery and that’s when her family moved to Lothering? Oh. Shit. Yeah. That works. Hey, new headcanon! 

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

First, Hawke, because I hadn’t played DA2 yet, but then I saw how hurt Varric was and I died inside. So, Stroud usually. 

25) Favorite mount?

Cadash--the Avaar War Nug Lavellan--Tirashan Swiftwind Adaar--Hunter Shade Dracolisk