#idk it was my romance route for my first play of inquisition and yeah it sure made me go WHAT

[gikairan]

Everyone losing their minds over the Solavellan ending and im just here like....

girl, its been almost a decade since you last saw him. Move on! You deserve better than chasing the guy who broke it off with you ten. years. earlier.

[sewerpigeonart]

literally no one asked but that’s never stopped me before; my inhibitions are low bc i’ve been awake since 4am and idk if any of this is even going to make sense when anyone reads it but i want to talk about my 𝑓 𝑒𝑒 𝑙 𝑖 𝑛 𝑔 𝑠

having to choose between hawke and alistair in the fade is literally like the most stressful video game decision i have had to make—and actually, considering i’ve done alternate playthroughs where i choose each of them, i still technically haven’t “chosen” because it’s. so. hard.

if Loghain or Stroud are the warden, they’re obviously the expendable option because loghain has no rights and stroud simply isn’t a character the player was given the opportunity to emotionally invest in.  unless you make a specific party decision in da2, you never even meet him. but when it’s between alistair and hawke, now the emotional stakes are astronomical, because not only is it hard for me to pick on an emotional level, even when thinking in terms of narrative for each of these characters it’s hard to decide which is the better option.

we’re invested in both these characters; we traveled with alistair through origins and either romanced him or became his best friend through our wardens, our wardens with whom i think most players have also developed an emotional attachment to because they’re our own characters.  and hawke was our character in da2, and you could sort of “mold” him into one of three general personalities, he’s still a pretty strong character on his own, regardless of if he’s snarky or angry or benevolent.  and sort of opposite the case with alistair, we know that hawke’s friends are attached to him.

so now it’s down to the wire and you gotta pick one. there’s no other way out. it sucks. and i think on one hand i can actually appreciate that because it means the games did a good job of making me care about not only both of these characters themselves, but their impact on the characters around him.  when i think of sacrificing hawke, my mind at once goes to varric, the living hawke sibling, and the love interest.  with alistair, my mind goes to my warden, who in terms of the game itself isn’t a strongly defined character because like most custom protagonists a lot of the emotional investment comes from our own imaginations and projections. but in that regard it’s like the relationship to alistair is more personal to the player themselves, in my opinion.  when choosing who to sacrifice, i think about who is going to hurt.  i literally burst into tears when i played the hawke route and varric comes up to you in adamant and says, “where’s hawke?” like i fuckin lost it man lmao, and when you talk to him later and he tells you the story and they play hawke’s theme sadly in the background?????? im like im going to pass away now but ANYWAY

so not only do i think about the emotional consequences on hawke and alistair’s companions (and myself), i struggle to choose which option is better narratively. because i feel that both of them have a very strong reason to stay behind. for hawke it’s obvious: with corypheus, it’s personal—way more personal than it even is with the inquisitor who is meant to defeat him. it’s literally in hawke’s bloodline. not only did his father cage the magister, but hawke is assuming the responsibility of “releasing” corypheus upon the world. of course he would give up everything remain in the fade and deal this huge blow to corypheus. it’s more than playing hero, it’s about vengeance for him, and you could even say it’s about protecting his family, if his sibling is a warden and if you romanced anders, protecting him too.

alternatively with alistair: all through origins alistair is characterized as believing himself expendable. “i wish i had died instead of duncan, i’ll kill the archdemon so you don’t have to,” etc. and yes he is young and insecure in origins, and it’s clear when we see him again in inquisition or even the cameo in da2, we can see him more confident, more assured, capable of making his own decisions. but—and i acknowledge this is largely headcanon, but this whole post is explaining why it’s hard for me to choose—i think especially with the romanced hero of fereldan still alive, in that pivotal moment in the fade i would assume alistair would be thinking of her, sorry to leave her and knowing she’ll be hurt but confident she could be the capable hands the wardens would need to recover, even if she is sort of in the shadows by that time, i project that the HoF would assume a sense of duty in helping them recover, even from the background somehow if she insists on kind of staying in “hiding.”

i think characterwise, alistair is always going to have some degree of innate self-sacrifice, that when it comes down to it, he’ll be the one to take the blow. so it would make sense that in the fade, he’d say “no, hawke, you go,” maybe no longer from a place of lower self-esteem like in origins, but i think in his mind, especially since he’s literally been a fugitive from the wardens, he makes the decision in a fairly rational state of mind. he acknowledges the wardens have messed up, and maybe this sacrifice can even be the start to redeeming their honor because he cares such a great deal about them. even hawke changes his tone in the final moments, saying yeah the wardens fucked up but they’re not beyond saving. so even then i think alistair would take comfort in knowing whether it be hawke or the HoF or the Inquisitor or whoever, the wardens will be left in good hands.

i know a lot of the alistair stuff is more headcanon than anything, but going off my own world history with the games and my own role play ideas and stuff, these are the associations in my head and how i interpret the cost of his sacrifice alongside hawke’s.  and i’ve even tried jotting some fic ideas exploring so many different post-fade concepts depending on which was left behind to see if i could construct some mental narrative to help me “commit” to sacrificing one of them, and in honesty, i think in the end i would go with hawke, because even though it’s more of an immediately impactful death (VARRIC IM SO FUCKGIN SORRY), it is personal, and i think that motivation is beyond alistair’s more “honorable” motivation. i think alistair could be convinced to help the wardens before hawke could be convinced to step back and let someone else take care of corypheus “for him,” for lack of a better term.

HOWEVER. it may be wishful thinking in order to cope, but i would be willing to bet that in da4, we find out whoever was left in the fade is not dead after all, because if it is hawke you leave behind, or even with alistair, these are both two protagonists that would have rather unceremonious deaths. narratively, that’s kind of lame writing if we were to forgo the closure of their actual deaths. even in the choice tree it says the person will “most likely” die; in the cut scene as the inquisitor and the non-sacrificed character run toward the rift, you see in the background the other character fight the monster and hit the ground under an attack, but we don’t see an explicit “death.”  they are then, understandably, assumed dead.  but there’s no actual confirmation. and i don’t know the writing team personally, who am i to say they’re indisputably above this, but i would like to have enough faith in them to expect they would not commit to such an unsatisfying ending for that character’s story. even with a more “expendable” character like stroud, i think there’s too many questions left behind. 

the introduction of walking physically in the fade and surviving is a huge revelation in-game. it’s reiterated that that literally hasn’t happened since the first magisters entered the black city.  that’s ENORMOUS. and if they’re only going to explore that twice—or more like one and a half times because we get the vague opening cut scene of escaping the fade, then the adamant sequence—it again feels very inconsistent and sloppy. dorian even says that essentially once people realize it is possible to survive the fade physically, they are going to try it, however unwise and irresponsible.  i think the da4 teasers alone (i haven’t followed da4 updates very closely tbh bc i haven’t been able to play trespasser yet bc i only have a ps3 and i’m trying so hard not to get too spoiled beyond the main inquisition ending asjkfd) imply our experiences with the “real” fade are so far from over.  and thus, i feel “comfortable” leaving hawke in the fade because i would like to believe he’s going to come back. i mean, he’s hawke right? and if hawke’s character can come back, that would then further suggest if you left the warden in the fade, they would have to come back too for whatever the da4 narrative might be.

ok sorry this is rly long and disorganized im bad at communicating ideas effectively but i have been thinking about this lately way more than i care to admit lmao

[doriansbutt]

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 19, 20, 25 for whoever you feel like talking about!

For Nicos :) under a cut for length wowzers bowsers 

3. What would some of their cutscenes look like?When you talk to him right after getting to Skyhold, he’s cheery and excited about the new base, though he does express his regrets about Haven and will ask how the newly named Inquisitor is holding up.  He’ll be really shaken after Adamant, especially if he was brought along and experienced the Fade. After Halamshiral, he’ll talk about how he really hates the Game and the Inquisitor will have the chance to joke with him about it…4. What would their romance route look like? Would they be romancable?He’ll be available to a male of any race.  He can be just a casual fling or it can become more serious.  It’ll be slow going at first bc of his past and the big kinda setting off point/locking in the romance will be initiated when the Inquisitor tells him he loves/thinks he loves him.  Nicos is gonna freak out and leave.  The Inquisitor can go after him (if he wants the romance to, yknow, be a thing…also if he wants Nicos to still be a companion) and talk to him.  If he chooses to let Nicos stay gone, he’ll do just that and will not be a party member anymore.  If the Inquisitor goes after him, they’ll talk.  Nicos will express his fear about relationships and that he just needed some time to think on his own (and to have his sister tell him he’s being a butthead for running away) and he’ll ask the Inquisitor if he still wants a relationship.  Here’s where the romance gets locked in (or out).  If the Inquisitor says yes, Nicos will say he’s not ready to say the L word yet, but maybe soon.  And shortly after, Nicos becomes more affectionate and open about their closeness and is just a big dork in love.5. If they romanced someone as Inquisitor, would they still fall for that person as a companion? How would that play out? How would they react to that person being romanced by the “new” Inquisitor?If both Nicos and Dorian remain unromanced, they’ll become a thing.  It’ll start on missions and stuff as they share a tent and whatnot (see next question for a lil banter) and yeah that’ll just be a thing.  Cute background boyfriends.  If the Inquisitor romances Dorian, Nicos doesn’t really grow in the relationship sense–meaning he just only has one-night stands and kinda just sleeps his way around Skyhold.

6. Write some of their party banter (in reaction to major events, scenery dialogue, or just shitting around. Askers can specify for which character/event, or leave it up to the writer).Cassandra:                     N: So, Seeker of Truth.  That sounds impressive.                     C: Perhaps.  It is not without merit.                     N: Can you do any cool tricks?                     C: Tricks?  I do not think I would call them tricks, but yes.                     N: You can do tricks, but it’s…not magic, right?                     C: No, the Seekers do not use magic.                      N: Got it.  No magic tricks, then.  So you can’t, like…pull a rabbit out of a hat or anything?                     C: I fail to see how that would be useful.                      N: What if a mage pulled a rabbit out of a hat??                     C: I would like to stuff you into a hat right now.Cassandra (romanced):            N: Ah, isn’t it nice out today, Cassandra?                     C: It is rather warm for once, yes.                     N: The sun is shining, the bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming. [sighs]                     C: …yes.  It is a lovely day…                     N: And love is in the air.                     C: I don’t know what you’re talking about.                     N: Oh, please.  Look—that flower over there is the color of his eyes, right? C: Stop that….and no, it is not.                     N: See?  This is why he and I could never work.  I can’t even remember the color of his eyes!                     C: [pause, then quietly] that flower there is closer to his shade…Cole:                     C: Why do they call you Nat?  Your name is Nicos.                     N: My initials are N-A-T.  It’s just a nickname.                     C: You wear it like a mask.                     N: That’s…uhm…                     C: Hiding, hoping they don’t ask, it’s simpler if—                     N: Yeah, Nat is simpler than Nicos.  Yep.  That’s why they call me that. C: You’re scared, but they’re your friends.  They won’t hurt you.N: I’m more scared of getting eaten by a bear right now.  Let’s just…focus on the task at hand, okay?Dorian (if Inquisitor is not in a romance with either):                     D: I heard you fell asleep outside again the other night.                     N: Oh?  Oh, yeah.  It was comfortable, no worries.                     D: Truly?  Is that why you kept stretching your neck the next day?     N: No one disturbed me.  No one shoved me out of the tent in the middle of the night.  No one complained I was taking up too much space and he simply had to look his best so ‘let him get some beauty sleep’.                     D: I was drunk and you rolled on top of me.  These tents are small enough without your bulk taking up half of it.                     N: Uh, huh, right.  If you hate it that much, you can sleep outside next time. Dorian (romanced by Inquisitor):                     N: You know—                     D: No.  Don’t want to hear it.                     N: What?  Oh, come on.  I’m sure there’s some things you haven’t tried.       D: No, this is not up for discussion.                     N: Why?  You never know!  He might like it!                     D: I appreciate the offer, but I can do just fine on my own, thank you.             N: Fine, fine, have it your way.  I just think there’s more ways to—                 D: Sweet Maker…Cassandra: Please…stop talking.                      Bull: I liked where this was going.                      Sera: You can tell me, Nicos!                      Blackwall: Someone muzzle him…                      Varric: [chuckles] Time and place, Pup…                      Vivienne: Like a child…                      Solas: Some things should remain secret…                      Cole: …He was talking about your hair.

7. What would be on their tombstone in the fade (what is their greatest fear)?idk how to really phrase it but he’s just afraid of his father being proven right in his beliefs about Nic’s “lifestyle” aka his dad is horribly homophobic and so nic deals with a lot of internalized homophobia and he’s scared his dad was right about everything?8. What kind of Inquisitor would drive them to leave the Inquisition/confront them about their actions (what gets their approval low? what does that scene look like)?Someone cruel, someone who doesn’t care about the little guys, someone selfish…also someone who keeps prodding again and again about his past and not respecting his privacy in that situation. And the scene is just the Inquisitor finding out that Nic and his merc company just up and left without word.  They’re just gone.9. Where in Skyhold would they be found? (e.g. Cole is in the tavern rafters, Leliana in the top of the tower, Varric in the throne room, etc.)In the tower that later becomes either the mage or Templar tower.  Before it’s fixed up, he’ll be up top, watching the horizon.  Afterwards, he’ll be inside interacting with desks or bookshelves, etc.11. How would they grow as a person? How would they compare at the end of the Inquisition as a companion to who they were as the Inquisitor?As a companion, he learns that he’s not wrong.  He meets and befriends all sorts of different people, some a lot like him, and that really helps him.  There’s people just like him and there’s people who accept him for him and they’re all living their lives and doing good so he can too.  There’s not much difference between romanced companion!Nicos and Inquisitor!Nicos.  If he wasn’t romanced (or there’s no background romance with Dorian), he’s kinda a little more hardened.  He believes that he’s never gonna be more than a one-night stand in the “romance” department, that he’s just kind of a plaything so if there’s no romance, he keeps that attitude.12. Do they believe the Herald of Andraste is really the Herald of Andraste?Nah.  He doesn’t really believe in the Maker, so by extension he doesn’t really believe in Andraste?  He won’t like discourage an Andrastian/faithful Inquisitor, though.16. What would the Fear Demon say to them in the Fade to try and discourage them?Basically just anything about his father or the people who really messed him up when he was 18…just telling him he’s wrong for who he is.19. Once Corypheus is beaten, what do they do during the party? Do they stay with the Inquisition, or go somewhere else? What could the Inquisitor do to convince them to stay?He’ll stay with the Inquisition for a while (permanently if romanced). His merc company will move on eventually, once they find a new job now that they’re done helping save the world and shit.  If he’s not romanced, he’ll plan to join them when they leave.  If he is romanced, by either the Inquisitor or Dorian, he’ll stay and follow them wherever.20. How do they react to learning abominations can retain their consciousness and identity, and even live peacefully with their spirits/demons, as seen in Stone-Bear Hold?He’s definitely confused.  He doesn’t understand like basic magic, it’s just not something he can easily wrap his head around, so finding this out really just kinda leaves him very confused.25. In the alternate reality, if they were corrupted with lyrium, how do they act? What’s their attitude about the end of the world/their inevitable death?He feels an odd sense of bravery.  He knows he’s gonna die soon, one way or another.  There’s no hope for him, but he can go out guns blazing so to speak, so he’ll do whatever it takes.

[tavis-of-bannorn]

dragon age: inquisition relationship scale

the scaling goes from one to five, with a heart indicating potential romantic interest (or sexual partner) repost // don’t reblog!

blackwall ★☆☆☆☆

//He is indifferent towards blackwall really but they don’t really dislike one another. Blackwall finds Tavis to be ungentlemanly, slimy and doesn’t really trust him. The mysterious and misleading aspects of Tavis make Blackwall wary. Tavis knows Blackwall is lying about/hiding something but he doesn’t really touch on it... and he may poke fun at Blackwall far too often. He may think every opportunity to mess with him is fucking hilarious.XD

cassandra ★★★☆☆

// At first their relationship is full of a lot of scowls and smirks. Tavis likes to make really bad jokes just to get a reaction... or flirt just to get a reaction. Cassandra is really too easy to get reactions from for Tavis to resist teasing and being a total dork around. She doesn’t like this of course... she finds him to be skeezy, impulsive and untrustworthy, at first. Over time though... he starts showing his more serious sides and she realizes that Tavis isn’t all jokes and flirtation. He likes her well enough too. He actually comes to like Cassandra a lot the more they interact and god he finds her groans and scowls to be adorable. I think I can go as far to say they have a weird adversarial relationship similar to her and Varric? Eventually it becomes a bit cute and he gets to see what people like her are like... her faith and he grows from it.

cole ★★★★☆

//Tavis is one of the few people that really likes when Cole goes off on one of his mind reading things (unless it’s about his blood magic stuff which he promptly informs Cole to be careful with because he doesn’t want to be... y’know... murdered on the spot). He really really likes Cole and moreover Tavis is extremely curious about him. He has never really had the chance to just... chat with a spirit before so he seeks Cole out a lot. Cole tries to heal his hurts and he is like “NO NO NO like... just tell me about bunnies and kittens... it’s fine”. He spends most of his time asking Cole how he can help while picking Cole’s brain. He just wants to know EVERYTHING about this kid.

cullen ★☆☆☆☆ 

//Cullen is an ex-templar who still somewhat adheres to the order... Tavis doesn’t even try to get to know him... he avoids Cullen as much as he can. He likes his personality, he thinks Cullen is nice but he doesn’t risk his safety in getting to know him better. It is too dangerous... considering Tavis is y’know... a secret blood mage and also does super illegal stuff that the Templars would kill him for and destroy all his work if found out. So... nope... he isn’t going to try. Cullen can stay over there with his pretty face and Tavis will politely ignore him and flirt with him when they happen to play wicked grace.

dorian ★★★★☆ ♥

//Potential romance. In our main verse canon they have done it and gotten pretty close to... romance-ish? But... it isn’t really a romance like Dorian would have with the inquisitor. It is odd tbh... I wouldn’t call them fuck buddies they actually become pretty close emotionally and then it trails off. Tavis cares greatly for Dorian and Dorian him but it doesn’t end up going with the route that Dorian probably wants. Tavis can’t be that... Tavis is a blood mage and has a life of his own where he pretty much needs to hand his life over to to it and involve no romance (especially of a potential Tevinter magister). And... once he finds out about Dorians father and Dorians problem with blood magic... Tavis distances himself for Dorian’s sake alone. It is... actually really sad... it makes me sad because they get on so well. But Tavis doesn’t want to hurt him after that and Tavis just... does his whole... ‘they will forget about me’ thing. It makes me so sad GAHHHH He cares about Dorian a lot but it just... doesn’t work out in the successful romance spectrum. It is full of pain. Maybe with a muse it would work but... in our headcanon it is sad and doesn’t work. They go their separate ways and only converse on occasion as good friends. But there is always that... what came from the troubles of life and social constraints thing.

iron bull ★★★☆☆

//I don’t put him down as an LI because idk!!! Tbh... they have this kind of casual relationship. Tavis might eventually get kinky with Bull but it wouldn’t really go anywhere... it would just be fun because... that is how they are as friends. They don’t get that close emotionally. That being said!... They are really good friends! They get along so well! Tavis loves picking Bull’s brain for info about Qunari and getting his perspective because it’s so incredibly different from his own. He just wants to learn all of the things but Bull hits on him all of the time because he is well... because he is Tavis lets be honest... XD The change in perspective actually excites him and he wants to learn pretty much everything there is about Bull’s people and the Chargers and about Bull himself.On the field he just asks Bull loads of questions concerning Qunari and also flirting with him shamelessly. These two won’t ever stop flirting with each other... it is just how they interact. That doesn’t mean they’re fucking... this is just their banter rofl. Tavis + Bull banter ... Other companions = are you guys doing it... Tavis and Bull... no... but we should. Raise your horns!!! *high fives*

josephine ★★★☆☆

//Poor... poor Josie...Tavis kind of has her wrapped around his lil finger. At the same time he really likes her but haha he is so good at getting her to talk and so good at getting her to consider his requests. He really does take advantage of his charms with her sometimes and it is god damn shameless. Leli see’s this and threatens to beat the ever living shit out of him. (I don’t blame Leli.) But Josie isn’t an idiot... she see’s the genuine aspects within him. She is good at that and they work together a lot actually. They... actually become pretty close.

leliana ★★☆☆☆  

//Legit the ONLY person in the world that scares Tavis. Tbh... he would probably be one of her secret agents just from that aspect. He RESPECTS Leli... so much omg. He thinks her work is underestimated and constantly... (quietly) tells her how he respects her efforts. She still scares the shit out of him though. They could never be friends but business partners. Leli is the only one who knows about his work in the Inquisition btw. He has considered asking her to be one of her confidants as she is the only one (depending on verse) that really knows what his work entails. She still supports him. That was enough to gain his support in turn. But srsly.... She has said multiple times if Tavis leads Josie on she will literally chop his parts off and send them to his best friends. He applauded her for gusto and smirked of course. ... He still flirts with Josie because he can’t help himself. XD But he tries to tone it down because Leli scares the shit out of him.

sera ★★★★ ☆

// Hahahaha it’s hilarious later on. Sera ignites the childlike wonder in him and he gets to just be... an absolute dork with her at all times. It is refreshing and he can just be silly. She really thought some dumb elfy elf would be more elfy. But... Tavis is the least elfy of all the elves in the Inquisition. He doesn’t even shout random nonsense at her like Solas does. When Solas does spout random elven at her ... Tavis knows what it means and quips back giving her a high five. Then promptly plans pranks on Solas with her like lizard bedrolls and putting whipped cream on his head when he falls asleep at his desk.

solas ★★★★☆ 

//Alright so they have some differences at first. Tavis thinks Solas is a pompous asshole even though he himself eschews the traditional Dalish way of thinking it really irritates him how Solas speaks against the Dalish and most elves in general(from his perspective). Of course... this makes it really interesting. Because Solas assumes Tavis is Dalish and Tavis doesn’t deny it because he finds the assumption amusing. That is literally his reasoning. He simply doesn’t deny it and then later is like... no I’m not actually Dalish. Eventually... Tavis is like... yeah I don’t really follow Dalish practices and have do things to actually help my people not just the tattoo’d ones. Then it gets really awkward and Tavis is like jfc Solas... I also can understand pretty much all of the elven you speak... Tavis: "I lied... I can actually understand nearly every elvhen thing you say" Solas: "Truly? I doubt that." Tavis: "You are very sassy." Solas: <sighs> Tavis: <smirks> Like that time you told Sera to stick her lizards up her ass. Solas: <silent> Tavis: <is pleased with himself> Tbh their relationship is one of my favorites because Solas’ biases really get to him but at the same time they can have really interesting conversations. They both have inquisitive and philosophical minds.They love going on about philosophy, history and stories once they get past the personality difference.

varric ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

//Hahaha omg they have so much fun! THEY HAVE SO MUCH FUN! They play cards a lot actually. They hang out a lot. Tavis pretty much drools over his stories and Varric... (lets be honest) loves the attention. They quip, make silly jokes and really fuck with people whenever they can... especially Cassandra. Because how could Tavis pass up that opportunity. He is such an ass. Really these two just mess around and enjoy life together. Tavis and Varric are the nightlife in Skyhold. They gather people together and form the stories.

vivienne ★★★☆☆

//Hehehehe ahhhhhhhhh. They went shopping together once. Just for the winter palace. Vivienne really doesn’t like Tavis at first (no shit).... Is it that surprising rofl... he is wary of her but is willing to experience her weird world, learn and have fun fucking with her.  He loves their shared salt though... he cherishes it. She knows this ... So it is kind of a back and forth mean girls salt fest between them both.