#ill probably have more da2 thoughts once i start inquisition bc ill probably end up comparing mechanics of the three games lol

[girlb0yfriend]

well i finished da2 <33 gonna start inquisition tomorrow when i get home from work. finalish da2 thoughts under the cut

ok so . combat in this game was extremely boring for the most part. i had to do so many different upgrades in the little skill trees to get to skills that were actually interesting . and then i had to do it over again to get another interesting skill. and even then, those paled in comparison to the origins skills/combat. by the endgame, though, i was having a little fun.

the enemies and environments are suuuper repetitive in this game but i am definitely not saying anything new there. i will be happy to never run through the same 4 caves with the same 5 types of enemies materializing in waves tho <3

as for the companions, i ended up really enjoying them. i did miss being able to have a bunch of full conversations with my companions on the road, or at one camp, but i think this game made up for it by making my companions, for the most part... actually friends with each other, too. the banter is just better when they like... don't really Have to hang around each other for some world-saving responsibility, they just choose to . even though they annoy each other <3

for the first act, i pretty much just kept isabela, varric and anders in my party, and they actually really got along well which was a welcome change from morrigan and alistair's "banter" which was just them actually not liking each other lmao. and the things that netted positive friendship points for one of them, would at the very least not take away points from the others . because i couldn't bring myself to go the rival path for any of them DSJFLK

after the first act, though, i switched aveline in for a bit, and through that + doing fenris' and merrill's companion quests, i was able to boost everyone to full friendship level. and SDFKLS isabela and aveline's conversations were so fucking funny i ended up liking aveline. i also liked the quest where she was really bad at flirting that was endearing.

but i think my favorite details with the companions were how they would just visit each other <33 like i really liked going over to visit my bestie anders and seeing isabela getting treated for an sti. that truly made the world feel alive.

also i absolutely did not regret going with the isabela romance because i love her but . if i were to replay, which i may do at some point, i may go for anders. on that note, if i replay, i may play a mage because i'd like to see more of what carver is like.

my favorite quests were probably the one where hawke's mom died, every quest where isabela is important, the zevran quest where hawke gets to have a threesome with him and isabela, the one where hawke can play wingman to aveline, and the nathaniel quest. i do think a lot of the story and writing for this one was very strong, if it was encased in a lot of stale, repetitive gameplay.

very excited to see what inquisition is like, gameplay and story-wise. i was aware of a few things (from googling stuff about the other games and also from that one time like a year ago when larson broke down someone's bad dorian take in my dms) but there's also a lot i don't know so i'm looking forward to playing it.

i played a human warrior in origins, and you're locked as a human in da2 (and i was a rogue), so i think im gonna play an elf or qunari mage in inquisition. to spice things up a bit.

[red-wardens]

DA Questions

Tagged by: @goblin-deity and @gothkimmyschmidt -- thank you :)

Tagging: @jaffa-keksi @chillyrose @dickeybbqpit @mocha-writes @the-dread-doggo @heraldofwho @keeperscompanionsdai @space-vashoth (if you guys haven’t done it already. if you have, tag me so i can see!)

–---------

01) Favorite game of the series?

Dragon Age 2. I love the bisexual disaster companions and how they have friends/relationships/lives outside of you. And I love Hawke and their tragic story. I also like having years passing with the same protagonist/companions instead of “my new companions and I had one crazy year together”. Plus fighting mechanics were my favorite in this game. 

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

I saw gifs of Morrigan on tumblr years ago (back when DA2 was still new) and thought, “holy shit, she’s pretty I should play that”, and just never got around to it till a couple years later till when I saw a lot of gifs of default Marian Hawke and thought “she’s gorgeous and funny and I would die for her” (I still can’t believe I used to think I was straight...) and then found out she’s not till the second game so I hurried up and bought Origins to play first. Then got hooked, Origins has such a great story.

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

I’m on my 4th and 5th (playing simultaneously) playthroughs of Origins, I’ve played DA2 either 6 or 7 times. Inquisition I’ve only played once and I skipped most of the side missions because that game is so long.

04) Favorite race to play as?

Elf. I love dwarves a lot though and if they could do magic they’d easily be the fave. 

05) Favorite class?

Mage. I like healing and not having to get close to enemies. 

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

I try to play differently each time and role play hard (ex: certain mage OC’s are only allowed to have skills in certain fields of magic even if it’s inconvenient for me, my traumatized-by-Carver’s-death Hawke who is triggered by seeing ogres can only “hold position” when one appears and I can only fight as the companions because she’s having a panic attack). In Origins I like to put someone different on the throne each time, side with mages once and templars the next, and have companions love/hate me according to my OC’s personality (and not cheat by using the Feast Day gifts). In DA2 I have a different personality Hawke each time and they make varying choices but in the end I have never sided with templars. I think in my 2nd Inquisition playthrough I’ll side with templars though out of curiosity. 

07) Go-to adventuring group?

Always depends on who is the love interest and who are the closest friends of my protagonist. Even if the team comp is terrible. 

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

Blue Surana was my first character ever so she’s had the longest time of me adding/subtracting/updating her and her story. That being said I like to think I’ve put a lot of thought into my Mahariel and Amell as well. Out of my Hawkes, Claira is the most developed. 

09) Favorite romance?

Fenris. 

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

I've read all the comics and I’ve read “The Calling” and “The Last Flight” I plan to read the other books soon hopefully. 

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

I really recommend The Last Flight if you’re a die hard Grey Wardens fan like me. The main character inspired the name for my Mahariel. 

12) Favorite DLCs?

 I genuinely forgot Awakening is DLC since it came with my game but, yeah. I love all the companions in Awakening and I wish it were longer. “The Exiled Prince” is also another fave since I genuinely like Sebastian Vael and he’s a kickass squadmate. 

13) Things that annoy you.

The white-washing, what happened to Orsino, the way Inquisition doesn’t take into account Hawke could have been a blood mage, no healing as an Inquisition mage, the fucking Requisition Officer, the way you can’t be nicer to Sera, no dwarf romances, and how the Inquisitor can’t call Cullen out on certain things (Cassandra too, honestly, though I love her she can be really insensitive to other cultures). That’s just in the games, don’t even get me started on some of the fandom. 

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Frozen Dog Lovers > Snooty Elf Oppressors, any day 

15) Templars or mages?

Mages, no contest.

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

I have 3 worldstates that I have playthroughs for, and a Multi-Warden AU

Worldstate 1 - Arcane Warrior/Battlemage/Fire Mage, mutual-pining-for-Sten, grey-sexual Blue Surana + Spirit Healer/Ice Mage, Fenris Romance, gay Akono Hawke

Worldstate 2 - Ranger/Assasin Archer, Zevran Romance, straight Isseya Mahariel + Blood Mage/Earth Mage, Sebastian rivalmance, panromantic/ace Henley Hawke

Worldstate 3 - Blood Mage/Spirit Healer/Entropy Mage, Leliana Romance, bisexual Alyss Amell (dies) + Shadow/Dual-Blade Rogue, Anders Romance, bisexual Claira Hawke

Multi-Warden AU: Blue Surana is main warden and recruits the others after Ostagar forming what I call the “Warden Squad”. Most thought-out world, that I have the most writing for but will probably never get around to writing the actual fic. We will see. Also, I need to make some Inquisitors for all these worldstates....they’re planned out I just need to force myself to actually play them. 

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

Mabari’s: Rabbit (Blue Surana), Dog (Isseya Mahariel), Teddy (Alyss Amell), Tor (Akono Hawke),  Better Carver “BC” (Henley Hawke), Bear (Claira Hawke). Isseya Mahariel numbers her wolf and bear summons A-# for wolves and B-# for bears. 

18) Have you installed any mods?

I play on xbox so nah, sadly. 

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

Blue Surana didn’t want to leave the Circle and Isseya Mahariel didn’t want to give up searching for Tamlen so “no” for both of them, but they both were amazing at it. Alyss Amell, as much as it terrified her to leave to fight things, wanted to be free of Kinloch Hold. 

20) Hawke’s personality?

Akono is almost exclusively Purple though he has rare Blue moments when speaking to Carver or sometimes Fenris. 

Henley is solidly Red except maybe once or twice chose purple banter for talking to her only friend, Varric. 

Claira is the most varied in that she’s split 60-40 between Blue and Red, meaning well and wanting to be all good/peaceful, but having a wild, passionate temper when defending mages and her friends/family. I also headcanon she has the foulest mouth of my Hawkes though she actively tries to stop cursing it’s an unbreakable habit. She’s also a shameless flirt and hits that heart button almost every single time it comes up (I wouldn’t consider her Purple at all though since she isn’t sarcastic and is the type to laugh at jokes rather than make her own).  

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

I made Cole and I matching outfits because I love him ._.

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

This could get long if I listed everyone so, Blue Surana regrets not telling Sten how she felt sooner, though she doubts it would have changed anything. Isseya Mahariel wishes Tamlen could have been found sooner so the Joining could have saved him. 

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

My entire Multi-Warden AU is a big “fuck you” to canon because all those potential wardens deserve to live dammit.

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

In this house we do not leave Hawkes in the Fade. So, sorry Loghain :(

25) Favorite mount?

I legit forgot I had a mount 90% of the time. At least I got to hear more dialogue I guess. 

[blighted-cinda]

YAYYYYYYYY @sword-up-merediths-ass OKAY OKAY OKAY HERE WE GO 1: How did you get into DA? My best friend @gelabee got me into it! They loved the series, while I had pretty much never heard of it. So last year (I think) I decided to order a copy of Origins (with all the DLCs) and started playing! I am in love. ❤️ 2: Have you finished all three games? I have not! 😣 I'm close though! I've finished Origins twice and DA2 once, and have several unfinished playthroughs on the go, but I'm still on my first go of Inquisition. With my lovely Vehra Lavellan (whom I will tag at the end if you want to have a look at the smol bean). 8: Preferred class overall? Oohh, that's a tough one. It depends, I guess. 😂 I have lots of fun as a dual-wield rogue! 12: Do you prefer DAO, DA2, or DAI most? AHHHHH WHAT IS WITH THE HARD QUESTIONS I think I still have to go with Origins. I love Fenris in 2 and the graphics and some of the features in Inquisition, but Origins will always be precious to me. 35: Who do you want to return in the next game? Hmmmm. Solas, definitely. And Fenris. And Zevvy. And Alistair. Pretty much all my favorite characters. 😂 AND BODHAN AND SANDAL I CANT BELIEVE THEY DIDNT HAVE THEM IN INQUISITION THEY ARE PRECIOUS AND NEED TO BE PROTECTED AND I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THIS CAN YOU TELL 40: A moment/action you regret in-game? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Not really. Nothing that I could change anyway. I wish I could have saved the blind Templar in Origins. Oh! And the little boy in Lothering who runs off to find his mother if you fuck up the conversation. I've only saved him like once I think. AND I KILLED ZEVVY IN MY COUSLAND PLAYTHROUGH BC IT MADE SENSE FOR MY CHARACTER I DEFINITELY REGRET THAT 51: Favorite Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor headcanons? Hmm. Not really. I mean I daydream about stuff that doesn't happen on-screen but nothing I could really describe? Maybe my Duplicate Anders theory, but it's more theoretical than headcanon. 😂 (Here's the link if anyone wants it - https://blighted-cinda.tumblr.com/post/156595335816/okay-so-my-friend-and-i-were-discussing-the) I guess maybe my first Hawke, Tamara, being so scarred by the fighting in Kirkwall that afterwards she and Fenris just go into hiding and have a couple kids together and stop adventuring (except for the occasional local public service), because the thought of what happened in Kirkwall makes her physically ill and fighting reminds her too much of it. The only real exceptions being the whole Corypheus/Inquisition thing. 52: Favorite NPC headcanons? Hmmmm. Again, nothing really. I'm not very creative. :( 91: Do you have any friends who love DA too? Yep, like I said in #1! 😋 Other than them, nope. But then again I don't really have any other friends. 😂 93: Do you own any DA merchandise? NO AND I WANT TO SO BADLY I'll probably do what I did with Skyrim and Oblivion and just cut out the front of the instruction packet and make it a mini poster! 😋 101: If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I'll go with my first of each at the point I left them. Cinda Tabris: You did the right thing with the Architect. I know you miss your family, but people need you. Alistair needs you. So ffs gO FIND HIM Tamara Hawke: It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known how far Anders would go or what Meredith would do. Whatever you do next, try to be happy with your smol broody bean Vehra Lavellan: You might learn some disturbing things soon, about your people, your gods, and your vhenan. Just try to remember that knowledge can't hurt you unless you let it. It's your choice what to do with it, and it's your choice to give up on someone or keep fighting. Go kiss your smol egg while you can