#it’s Anders and Fenris against Merrill

[deedeemactir]

The real crime of DA2 is that you couldn’t put Anders, Fenris, Merrill, AND Sebastian all in your party at the same time. Like, who is gonna gang up on who first? Place your bets now

[trans-ruffboi]

I say this as someone who really does like Fenris and does think he's smart, but I think some portions of the fandom give him a bit too much credit as a debater

[azurechicken]

It's Fenders kinda day and I'm just so emotional like how they would understand, how they would accept if only they have met under different circumstances it kills me slowly please,,, The way they are not only two sides of the same coin (as it is always said about them), they are also reflections of the extremes of a scale? Fenris comes from a place where mages have reached the top of the food chain, they are the highest rank of the society. And the Circle and its principles, especially on tranquility, are the bottom of a mage's potential where you waste away without a choice unless you want to be hunted for sport. Then there is slavery and blood magic and all the experiments that show just the worst example of a mage and what they can do in power, whereas Circle contains mages like Spirit Healers who go out of their way to help people as best they can even within the treatment they get. From a perspective of a former slave of a magister, any kind of freedom for a mage is a nightmare. But from a perspective of a freedom seeking mage, it is an ideal to have mages with freedom to do whatever they want. With all the extremes on their views taken into account they just collide so beautifully. They share so many similarities they are too stubborn to understand each other about, it's just that Fenris hasn't hardened enough to reach acceptance on mages and Anders has so much more going on in his fight for so many people and doesn't have the patience for another mage hater. Despite all that there is also the fact that Anders doesn't exactly want what magisters are doing either, he wants at least a middle ground where mages are supervised at best but not prisoned and treated like trash and Fenris is growing to accept that not everyone with magic is the same (I'm considering mage!Hawke here). They do have the compromise in front of them to understand each other and grow together. But its just such a bad time and such bad conditions for them to meet for that to happen. Because Kirkwall supports these extremes so much. There is so many disturbing things that mages have to go through for things they aren't even responsible for most of the time and that fuels Anders each day. How can he tolerate hearing any kind of implication that mages should be imprisoned when it happens every day? And what must Fenris feel but justified on his views seeing all the blood mages go batshit crazy on them regularly? Even if they could understand, they can't get past all that is Kirkwall. Everything that happens just pushes them away from each other. If only they met after they've grown from their fear-powered anger in a place that wasn't so full of the negatives of what they feared the most. If only Bioware actually gave them the growth they deserved from each other instead of making them look like assholes who are insensitive to anyone's cause but their own? I'm trying so hard to not make this about how some things were written once again but... Look, I just want these glowing men to fight injustice together both for slaves and mages because they would and they should and Justice would one hundred percent support this.

[ziracona]

I didn’t know literally all the companions you can take to the Fade in DA2 sans Anders will sell you out and try to kill you and their friends for a demon deal I’m losing my shit. I knew Merrill did bc she did it to me but apparently anyone but JustAnders will ditch your ass to make a deal with a demon and I’m absolutely going insane

[flashhwing]

scrolling through my own published fics and one summary has a character referred to as the Champion, and having to reorient myself to read that as Vax, Champion of the Raven Queen, and not Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall

[marmett]

tbh i do feel like the inquisitor doesnt have as much room to have a wildly different personality, no matter what dialogue u choose it seems kinda samey to me. weirdly enough i felt like hawke's personality could have the most variation and NPCs reacted more to their personality differences. i have two diff hawkes i play as, one is mostly diplomatic and will also crack jokes frequently, but when pushed will take the more threatening or aggressive options, and the other is very serious and stern, so will mostly take aggressive options, occasionally will take diplomatic options, but will never take the funny/joke options.

and i feel like everyone reacts to them so differently and bc of the way the reputation system works the reactions are pretty consistent.

[persephoneggsy]

so i did this a while back, finally remembered it, and now i'm posting it

Mass Effect x Dragon Age AU

I did one of these already, sort of, for ME: Andromeda, but this one is set in the Milky Way.

Elaborations below:

Merrill is a quarian who was exiled from the Migrant Fleet. She's looking for a way not to destroy the geth, but to bring them back under quarian control, thinking they're too valuable a resource to just get rid of. Unfortunately, this made many quarians view her as dangerous, and she was exiled for the crime of experimental geth research. Making Merrill a quarian was the first choice I did for this AU, I think it fits really well.

Aveline is an asari. I'd considered krogan or turian, or simply keeping her human, but in the end I went with asari mostly because Aveline always struck me as condescending in the same way many asari are, lol. She's a commando who later moved to the Citadel to join C-SEC.

Isabela is a turian. She's a barefaced turian, meaning she has no association to a colony. Instead of following the typical turian tradition of proudly serving in the Hierarchy's military, Isabela instead ran off to become a space pirate, specializing in smuggling. She frequents the bars around Omega and has earned herself a fearsome reputation among the mercenaries.

Bethany remains a human; she grew up on a colony world with her siblings, and had a relatively peaceful childhood, despite the Alliance constantly badgering her parents to send her and her older sister to their biotic training program.

Marian, also a human, eventually ran away from home to become a mercenary. She resented her father for forbidding her and her siblings from joining the Alliance - not because she was particularly patriotic, but she felt like her father's grudge against the Alliance prevented her and her siblings from receiving the best training possible. Her powerful biotics made her both an asset and a target, and she soon caught the eye of a certain Council Spectre...

Fenris is a drell. He was raised under the Compact, an agreement between the drell and the hanar, and his purpose was to become a bodyguard... And then his training group was attacked by batarian slavers and he was taken captive. For many years, Fenris suffered under the batarians' rule, until he finally managed to escape. Unwilling to return home, he instead roams the galaxy, taking out as many batarian slaving operations as he can.

Anders is a human who escaped from a biotic testing facility run by Cerberus. Though this left him with a grudge against Cerberus, he also hates the Alliance, whom he sees as no better and will also use biotic children as weapons. He dreams of establishing a safe haven for biotics, and is willing to go to increasingly drastic measures to see that dream become a reality.

Varric is a volus. Unlike his business-minded brother, Varric does not spend his days negotiating trade agreements or doing finance consultations. Spending his days at the Afterlife bar on Omega, he's an information broker, and a pretty damn good one at that. With his specially crafted weapon Bianca, he's not too bad in a fight, either.

Carver, much like his older sister, left home to seek out his own path, and ended up joining the Alliance against his parents' wishes. He thrived in the military, quickly climbing the ranks due to his strength and competency. He's being primed for N7 training under the wathcful eye of Spectre Sebastian Vael.

Sebastian is a human, and a Council Spectre (I'm imagining this AU as a sort of nebulous period where humanity isn't as looked down upon as they were at the start of ME1, and there are a fair number of human Spectres running around). A wild child in his youth, his parents sent him to the Alliance to straighten him out, and to their relief, it worked like a charm. He specializes in covert missions and favors sniper rifles and tech powers.

[stormsbourne]

honestly though dragon age 2 was the exact perfect game to follow dragon age origins and it's almost entirely because of the things that most hardc0re gamerz hated most: the inability to change or divert what happens

you go from a game where you are a special rainbow star who the plot and world seems to rotate around to a game where you are just a person who ends up a significant figure mostly by chance. in origins you are one of the only survivors of a mass betrayal by the king's right hand man, and you have it drilled into you again and again that your choices matter. not only do they matter but they are the fulcrum the worldstate moves around. not a fan of the werewolves? kill them all off and let the guy who cursed them in the first place off scot free. think golems would be a sick way to really fuck up an archdemon? revive that ancient tech at the cost of who knows how many lower-class and casteless dwarf lives. you are the one who determines if the archdemon dies or gets reborn as a supernatural infant boy. it is all on you.

in dragon age 2 almost nothing is on you. the other characters have goals and motivations and you might be able to slightly affect them, but some things happen regardless. fenris always kills hadriana. anders always blows up the chantry. isabela always has already stolen the qunari artifact and merrill is not capable of being persuaded not to fuck with the eluvian. sure, you can affect their fates. do you sell fenris back into slavery? do you kill merrill's entire clan to protect her reputation or let her take the brunt of it to spare them? does anders live or die? bethany? carver? but the actions the characters take mostly happen regardless of hawke's input. the worldstate does not morph to fit what you want it to be anymore because the characters have too much weight in the people they already are.

and the wider plot reflects this, too. the qunari are unwilling to negotiate a peace, especially once they deem kirkwall too far gone to be worth saving. meredith is set in her ways and cannot be convinced out of her mindset. you cannot save leandra. anders, again, always blows up the chantry. hawke is involved in many of these events but they are far from being the fulcrum the world spins around. they are just a person, like most other people, caught up in the conflicts of forces so much more powerful and more ingrained into society than they are, that the best they can do is to ride the waves. to leap forward as the world changes around them, as flemeth fortells early in the game. the big reveal varric hesitates to tell cassandra for so long is that hawke was just a person, caught up in a million conflicts that they tried to stop but could not because the world was already too set against them. a fish struggling upstream for its whole life, and if you buy the depiction of hawke in inquisition, one who sort of resented the role they ended up playing in what became of the wider world.

it's perfect. it's beautiful. I know the narrative these days is that it's so constrained because of the short dev cycle, and while I do think that if the dev cycle had been longer there would have been more polish and shine, I think this theme was always intended because it's such a perfect foil to origins. origins says show me how important you are, the world your warden wants to create. da2 says that the world already exists, and the best you can do is try to keep things from getting worse, and make a tiny impact for the better in the lives of the people around you. the mages you help escape kirkwall while they can, the people you manage to save from slavers. maybe you can't change the world, maybe it's too set against you. but you can change something. some little things.

it slaps.

[barbex]

Happy Friday!! For DADWC, can I get "you're more than that," from the angst/fluff prompt list for Fenders?

Thank you for this prompt for @dadrunkwriting! Once again, I could have kept writing these two forever.

---

Have you seen him?" Merrill whispers to Hawke, but Anders hears her anyway. He also notices how Hawke glances at him, before she whispers something in Merrill's ear. 

Hawke looks at him again and Anders huffs, "What do you expect me to do? He killed his master, now he has to figure out what's next. Nothing I can help him with."

"I just thought... you two have been getting along, lately." Hawke stares into her ale. She doesn't even see how Anders scowls at her. 

"Right, just because we don't rip each other's heads off anymore, doesn't mean we're friends, suddenly."  

"I always thought you should be great friends," Merrill says with a little sing-song in her voice.

"Usually, friendship comes from not hating each other and one not trying to kill the other." Anders has a lot of different arguments he could present but somehow... Hawke and Merrill look at him with big, doey eyes... "Fine, I'll stop by before I go home. If I don't show up tomorrow, look for my corpse in a desolate mansion in Hightown."

Merrill giggles. "He's not going to kill you. He likes watching you, and he doesn't know what to do with that."

"You're sweet," Anders says, "but you don't know what you're talking about." He drains the last bit of bitter ale and pushes away from the table. "Keep me in your thoughts, I'm on my way into the lion's den."

Merrill giggles again and Varric wishes him luck as he walks out. He makes it through the barroom without anyone groping him or asking for healing, which may be a good sign. Or maybe not, maybe this was all of the luck the Maker granted him for tonight. Contemplating his luck, he arrives at the dark mansion, looking brooding and dangerous, just like its occupant. 

He shoves against the door with his shoulder. The door has not lock, not anymore, but with the broken door frame and the rusted hinges, the door doesn't open easily. "Fenris, it's me, Anders. I'm coming in."

"Go away." It hardly sounds like Fenris' voice. He sounds defeated. 

Anders ignores the order and steps into the giant hall that holds a fireplace and single stuffed chair. Why he likes spending time in this cavernous hall is beyond Anders, "I'm the official 'check on Fenris' emissary. I'm meant to make sure that you live and consume anything else besides wine. The last bit isn't quite true, that's my own concern." He steps closer. "Have you eaten anything?"

"No."

"Well, lucky for you, being a warden and a mage means I'm nearly always hungry and I try to keep something on me for emergencies." He searches in the pocket of his coat for the paper wrapped delights of nuts and chocolate one of his patients brought as payment. "Here, it's fresh."

Fenris wrinkles his nose at the brown ball resting on a piece of paper in Anders' hand. "You mean I should trust anything coming from a pocket in that coat?" 

Anders looks down on himself. "Because it's a mage coat?"

"No, because it is filthy."

Anders shoves the tasty delight in front of Fenris' face. "The one living in a rotting mansion should not talk shit about a good, clean coat. I wash this coat, regularly, and this food was wrapped. Unless you have any other food in the house, you're gonna eat this."

"Why?" Fenris pushes himself up, swaying a little as he stands. "I don't have to listen to any mage's orders anymore."

"No, and you never had to with me. These are healer's orders, nobody can deny them." 

Fenris stares at him with his mouth open and then, the corner of his mouth twitches and something that almost sounds like a giggle comes out of his mouth. He quickly looks away, as he doesn't want Anders to see it. "If I eat it, will you cease your prattling?" 

"Sure." Anders heroically controls his expression, nearly bursting out laughing when Fenris takes the delight and stuffs it in his mouth. His expression softens as he tastes it. "This is good."

"I know." Anders takes a step back and leans against the fireplace. "Next healer's orders are to drink some clean water, but take your time."

Fenris falls back into his chair, huffing like an angry toddler. "Why must you be here and annoy me?"

In a way, Fenris is still young, going through emotions and experiences like a teenager. Anders thinks back to how he was, young, stubborn, angry at the world. He shudders, he does not wish to relive that time. 

"Listen, I'm gonna take a wild guess what's going on with you and you tell me how far I'm off, alright?"

Fenris makes a lazy hand movement.

"Alright, here it goes. Right now, you're lost. You achieved your ultimate goal, your revenge, and now you don't know what to do. You feel like you're all alone, nobody knows you, and you don't even know yourself."

When Anders looks back, Fenris stares at him with his mouth open. He snaps it shut and rests his elbows on his knees. "It seems you are more observant than I thought." 

"No, I'm just old." He pushes away from the wall and steps closer to Fenris. "Now, keep listening. First of all, you're not alone, fucking ramshit, that. You have friends, and I'm here because they all worry about you. Secondly, you're free, you have options. Find a new goal."

With lightning speed, Fenris jumps up and presses Anders against the wall. "Did you not see how I killed him? I'm a killer, that is all I know. He may be dead but I am still the weapon he made me."

Anders holds himself very still. "You're more than that. You are an exceptional warrior but you're free to learn whatever you want."

Slowly, Fenris' hands sink down. "I don't know. What can I learn?"

With a long breath, Anders puts his hand on Fenris' shoulder. "I don't know, you could try a few things. Knitting, painting, gardening. You could help... maybe Hawke needs to build something, or..."

"Or what?" Fenris still stands close and Anders is very aware, with every fiber of his being, that he touches Fenris, that his hand is only separated from Fenris' skin by a thin shirt. 

"My clinic, you could help in my clinic. It's not, like, glorious, I mean, people are filthy, illnesses are not fun but helping people" — he meets Fenris' eyes, amazed at the openness in his expression — "helping people is good. It's its own reward."

"You think I can help?" 

"It'll probably be a lot of cleaning and washing but..." Anders wants to swallow his next thought but he can't. "I thought, your phasing ability, maybe there could be medical applications for that, like setting a broken bone, or removing an arrow head, or if a baby is breached you could... ah, maybe it's a stupid idea."

"My abilities could help?" The plain astonishment on Fenris' face makes him look so young, Anders just wants to pull him into his arms. But he also values his life, so he holds himself back. 

"We could at least try." He smiles at Fenris, gauging his reaction. "It'll still be mostly cleaning and washing though." 

"I understand." Fenris nods and looks at his hands. "With or without the phasing, I can help."

"Yes." Anders squeezes Fenris' shoulder. "But first your healer orders you to sleep, eat a healthy meal and drink nothing alcoholic for at least a day, before you come to help at the clinic." 

A smile spreads on Fenris' face, bright and happy and enough to stop a man's heart. Anders hurries to step away, walking over to the frontdoor. "You will come, yes?"

"Yes," Fenris says. "I promise to follow the healer's orders and I will come to the clinic in two days to work." 

"There won't be payment, but Lirenne makes great sandwiches."

"I look forward to it."

Anders waves at Fenris, not sure why he does, and walks back to Darktown. That worked out better than he expected.

[biowho]

Bioware Blorbo Beat Down

>>> ITS OVER <<<

ZEVRAN WON

We’re doing 70 npc’s from Mass Effect and Dragon Age and buckle up because first they’re going against each other! Check back in with my pinned post (this one) for updated links or go through the tag ‘bioware blorbo beat down’ on my blog to get to each poll faster

The winners of each round are polled against each other randomly but within their respective games!

[I recommend blocking the tag mentioned above to keep it outa explore pages/main tags if you don’t want to see any of it]

MASS EFFECT - WINNER!

Garrus Vakarian

DRAGON AGE - WINNER!

Zevran Arainai

MASS EFFECT - ROUND FIVE Garrus Vakarian VS Tali’zorah vas Normandy

DRAGON AGE - ROUND FIVE

Zevran Arainai VS Fenris

MASS EFFECT - ROUND FOUR

Karin Chakwas VS Tali’zorah vas Normandy

Garrus Vakarian VS Jack

DRAGON AGE - ROUND FOUR

Fenris VS Merrill

Alistair Theirin VS Zevran Arainai

MASS EFFECT - ROUND THREE

Jack VS Miranda Lawson

Steve Cortez VS Karin Chakwas

Tali’zorah vas Normandy VS Urdnot Wrex

Mordin Solus VS EDI VS Garrus Vakarian

DRAGON AGE - ROUND THREE

Varric Tethras VS Fenris

Zevran Arainai VS Isabela

Alistair Theirin VS Dorian Pavus

Sera VS Merrill VS Krem

MASS EFFECT - ROUND TWO

Suvi Anwar VS Karin Chakwas

Steve Cortez VS Kenneth Donelly

Urdnot Wrex VS Thane Krios

Legion VS Mordin Solus

Jack VS Liara T’soni

Garrus VS Joker

Javik VS EDI

Urdnot Grunt VS Tali’zorah vas Normandy 

Miranda Lawson VS James Vega

DRAGON AGE - ROUND TWO

Dog (dao) VS Isabela

Fenris VS Josephine Montilyet 

Merril VS Vivienne de Fer

Nathaniel Howe VS Krem

Anders VS Alistair Theirin

Sera VS Sten

Dorian Pavus VS Wynne

Zevren Arainai VS Morrigan

Shale VS Varric Tethras

  MASS EFFECT - ROUND ONE

Ashley Williams VS James Vega

Jacob Taylor VS Miranda Lawson

Samantha Traynor VS Tali’zorah vas Normandy

Urdnot Grunt VS Morinth

EDI VS Kaidan Alanko

Cora Harper VS Javik

Nakmor Drack VS Joker

Garrus Vakarian VS Kasumi Goto

Jaal Ama Darav VS Liara T’soni

Jack VS Liam Kosta

Mordin Solus VS Samara

Peebee VS Legion

Thane Krios VS Zaeed Massani

Vetra Nyx VS Urdnot Wrex

Suvi Anwar VS Gabby Daniels

Steve Cortez VS Kallo Jath

Kenneth Donnelly VS Gil Brodie

Karin Chakwas VS Lexi T’Perro

DRAGON AGE - ROUND ONE

Cassandra Pentaghast VS Shale

Varric Tethras VS Sigrun

Morrigan VS Bethany Hawke

Zevran Arainai VS Cole

Dorian Pavus VS Velanna

Solas VS Wynne

Tallis VS Sten

Oghren VS Sera

Alistair Theirin Vs Cullen Rutherford

The Iron Bull VS Isabela

Anders VS Blackwall

Krem VS Scout Harding

Nathaniel Howe VS Sebastian Vael

Carver Hawke VS Vivienne de Fer

Lelianna VS Merrill

Josephine Montilyet VS Aveline Vallen

Fenris VS Loghain

Dog VS Dog

[ustalav]

did leandra hear them fucking?

anders: yes. leandra actually goes downstairs or maybe leaves the house because anders is really fucking loud and its uncomfortable for everyone.

isabela: again, yes. except this time it is hawke that is loud bc their mind is just entirely blown and also there is a lot of mysterious thudding against every imaginable surface. leandra leaves the house.

fenris: no i think that fenris would rather die than have to look leandra in the eye after spending the night so it's always in his subconscious that she is in the house and her room is right there. when he leaves in act 2 his head is down, he is rushing out not meeting anyones eyes.

merrill: no, but on the offchance she did, merrill prepares a well crafted basket of flowers and fruit she unknowingly stole from peoples backyards and leaves it at her door

sebastian: by virtue of his vows of celibacy... no :)

[tobythewise]

Happy Friday! For DADWC, how about "“Tell me I’m wrong.” for Handers?

Happy Friday! :D This is written for @dadrunkwriting I started writing this last week and I'm pretty sure I wanted to do some hurt/comfort and then I got back to it this week and decided no<3 Anders being down bad for Hawke and Hawke being burly for everyone but the ones me loves? Yes ;p I hope you enjoy!

~~~

Sweat drips down Anders’ spine. He stops for a moment, leaning against his staff. They’ve been up and down the coast all day, trying to find ingredients for a merchant who sells mostly in the Gallows. 

As much as Anders gets sick to his stomach every time Hawke has to head there, he’s glad Hawke picks the jobs he does. 

Following Hawke has always felt like second nature. Okay, maybe not immediately. After realizing this burly, hardass persona is just that; a persona, things smoothed out between them. These days, Anders is glad to be by his side. Plus, Hawke’s adventures sure beat going into the Deep Roads like he had to do with the wardens. 

Leaning down, Anders readjusts the bandages that wrap around his knee, making it more secure. He knows he’ll be sore tomorrow after all this walking, but the pain will be worth it. Especially with the way Hawke’s usual scowl softens into a smile as he pulls a certain plant from the ground, adding it to his pack with the other ingredients they’ve scavenged today. 

Anders is pretty sure he’d do a whole lot to keep that soft look on Hawke’s face. Ever the hopeless romantic. Ever the pining friend. 

“This is the last of it,” Hawke announces. Anders is about to suggest they make their way back into town when distant thunder sounds across the water. Hawke hears it as well. “Sounds like we should find a safe place to make camp. We can head back in the morning.”

“So much for making it back in time for Fenris’ Diamondback night,” Varric grumbles but Merrill is there to reassure him that he can simply attend next week. Varric gives her a soft smile, leading her down the path towards an outcropping of rocks. The two of them find a cave for them all to make camp in. 

Anders can feel the storm approaching. There’s something about storms that leaves him feeling excited. It’s almost like his magic is reaching out and connecting with the lightning, connecting with nature itself. It’s freeing in a way he was never allowed to experience in the Circle. The stone walls always kept this feeling away but now that he’s free to feel the rain on his skin, he’s allowed to revel in it, enjoy it. 

He’s allowed to learn to love his magic instead of viewing it as a curse like the Chantry tried to teach him. 

Anders ducks into the cave. It’s cold and damp and dark. His skin crawls as he notices how low the ceiling in here actually is. 

So much for getting any sort of rest tonight. 

Hawke, Varric, and Merrill work on putting a fire together in the damp space, making sure the fire is built towards a crack in the cave so the smoke has somewhere to drift up and out of the space. Merrill uses her magic to light the fire and Varric comments on how glad he is that he won’t be freezing his balls off tonight. 

Anders finds himself smiling at his friends for a moment before he turns away. He makes his way to the entrance of the cave just as the rain begins to fall. Lightning flashes across the sky and his chest feels light and free, the air bristling with electricity and possibility. 

The sound of his friends talking, echoing off the cramped space behind him has Anders taking off his coat and stepping out into the rain. He knows he’s not back in the Circle. He knows he’s free. But sometimes, he’s human and needs the reminder. 

The rain is cold but in a way that leaves him feeling refreshed and clean. He tilts his face up, letting it wash over him. His chest feels light and warm. His face breaks out into a grin as he pushes his hair out of his face. By the Maker, he loves the rain. 

That spark returns to the air and before he can see the flash of lightning, he decides to meet it with his own. Feeling all the anxieties that the cave brought back, feeling the loneliness that comes with pining over his friend, feeling the freedom of the rain on his skin, Anders channels all of those feelings and lets them burst through him in a sparking arch of lightning. It darts from his fingertips up into the sky. He’s not sure if it’s possible but he wears that his somehow joins the path of the natural lightning streaking across the sky, causing it turn a brilliant purple color halfway through it’s trip. 

Anders can’t stop the bubbling of emotion that overcomes him at the sight. It’s beautiful and he did that. His magic created that. He giggles to himself, stretching his arms out wide, turning around in a circle in the rain. 

“Anders?”

Anders turns around, finding Hawke standing at the entrance of the cave, watching him. Andraste’s wrinkled knickers! He must look like an absolute fool out here, giggling to himself. Except. Wait. Is that a smile on Hawke’s face?

“Hawke,” he says in greeting, tipping his head down in a nod. “Care to join me for a twirl in the rain?”

Hawke shakes his head, looking down at his shoes for a moment. “Yeah, okay,” he says softly. Anders watches as the warrior takes his armor off, laying them on the ground beside Anders’ coat. 

Once he’s down to his trousers and undershirt, Hawke steps out into the rain. Lightning flashes, illuminating their faces and Anders is once again struck by just how beautiful Hawke is. The warpaint slides down the bridge of his nose and over his cheeks, his dark hair starting to lay flat from the rain, and his clothes stick to him, but even so, he’s the most beautiful man that Anders has the pleasure of knowing. 

“Why are you out in the rain?”

“Do I really need a reason? Its so incredibly fresh compared to Darktown.”

Hawke hums, like he doesn’t quite believe Anders’ answer but he’s not about to push. Instead, he pulls Anders in close by his waist. A noise of surprise leaves his lips before he’s gaining his composure once more, placing his hands on Hawke’s broad shoulders. 

Anders isn’t sure what to expect but to be swayed into a waltz wasn’t it. Water drips down their faces and they can only truly see each other when lightning flashes in the sky, but somehow, their feeting doesn’t falter. They find the perfect sway, the perfect rhythm and dance in the rain, their bodies pressed together, stark warmness compared to the coldness of the rain. 

“Anders, I’m sorry you’re stuck in a cave tonight,” Hawke eventually says when their waltz is just about over. Instead, they hold onto one another, swaying gently back and forth. “I know how much you hate confined spaces. I shouldn’t have taken so long--”

“Oh no,” Anders interrupts him, “it’s not your fault. I agreed to come along.”

“I’m glad you did. I’m glad you always do.”

Anders looks away, hoping his cheeks aren’t as hot as they feel. This is getting too close to topics he’d rather ignore. It’s one thing to pine for your friend. It’s another entirely for him to actually know about those feelings and reject them. 

Anders isn’t sure he’s strong enough to handle that on top of everything else. 

“It’s no big deal following our fearless leader.”

“It’s more than that,” Hawke says right away. His hand leaves Anders’ waist, instead touching his cheek. Anders holds his breath, not daring to move for fear of ruining this moment. “You mean so much more than that, Anders.”

“What--” Anders clears his throat. “What do you mean?”

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Hawke breathes out, his eyes darting between Anders’. “Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll never bring this up again. We can chalk it up to my bullheadedness reading into things that aren’t there, but I think I’m right. I almost always am.”

Damn this man and his confidence. Damn Anders for finding it so attractive.

“I think we’ve been holding ourselves back. I wanted to give you space after Karl. You wanted to give me space after everything that happened with my family. I’m so goddamn tired of holding back, Anders.” Hawke swallows. He’s usually a man of few words so to hear this type of speech directed at him as Anders nearly weak in the knees. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, is that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and I’m so fucking tired of not living to the fullest and keeping you at arm’s length.”

Anders opens his mouth to respond but nothing comes out. Is this? Is he dreaming? Is this real?

“Anders? Could you say something, please,” Hawke says with an awkward chuckle. 

The sound snaps Anders out of his stupor. There’s no way he’s going to let Hawke feel like he’s being rejected, not when Anders feels near bursting with joy. The euphoria of sending lightning up in the sky pales in comparison to knowing Hawke has feelings for him. 

“By the Maker,” Anders breathes out. Instead of answering Hawke with words, he does the only thing he can think to do that’ll leave Hawke without a doubt how he feels. He places his hands behind Hawke’s head and pulls him into a kiss. 

Hawke’s lips against his own is as close to freedom as he’s ever felt. In the Circle, he tried his best not to fall in love, and now here he is, doing it all over again, only this time there’s no cages or walls or templars. It’s just two men, daring to put everything aside and experience love. 

It’s terrifying. It’s exhilarating. It’s everything that Anders is fighting for. 

When they pull back, their foreheads press together. They breath each other’s air, just taking in this closeness, this softness that’s just for the two of them. At least, that’s what Anders thought. 

“By the Creators, it’s about time!”

“Damn it, you two! Isabela is going to grill me on this for her friend fiction!”

Hawke rolls his eyes and gives Anders another peck on the lips before turning around. “Stop gawking, you assholes and get back in the cave!”

Everything has changed and yet, they’re all completely and utterly the same. It’s comforting. Anders smiles as Hawke reaches back and laces their fingers together, pulling him towards the entrance of the cave. 

“Hawke!” Varric yells from his place beside the fire. “This mean you ain’t spooning me tonight?”

Hawke snorts, letting go of Anders hand in order to run into the cave and start bickering with Varric. Anders shakes his head as he watches, his heart light for the first time in a long time. 

[villainanders]

Top 5 pathetic Anders moments?

Okay I started compiling my list so I could narrow it down to 5 but I came up with 16 so I’m going to cheat and just post my list as is in no particular order

Earnestly trying to get Fenris to bond with him over suicide ideation

Every time you make the most milquetoast pro mage statement and he looks at you like 🥹 with wonderment and love in his eyes

If you say you don’t want him to move into your house after sleeping together once and he starts acting like an 18th century lady who just had her virtue stolen by a charlatan who had promised to marry her

Asking to move into your house immediately after you sleep together once

Instantly falling for the first person to be nice to him mere hours after being forced to kill his ex boyfriend

Getting mad when Fenris won’t say he could be trusted outside of the circle and vowing to prove it to him

Ok the first time I played DA2 I was being dumb and accidentally chose the options that didn’t save Ella (which high key was so shocking and stakes raising it’s actually my recommendation for your first experience playing DA2) but I went over to Anders after that quest SOOOOO mad at him and he was so incredibly pathetic in the scene where he’s freaking out and trying to leave Kirkwall that I spent the whole time telling him it wasn’t really his fault instead of chewing him out like I intended

That act 3 dialogue where he tries to convince aveline that her husband is scheming against the Templars behind her back. I guess not pathetic if this is actually true but I earnestly believe Anders heard Donnic make one off hand comment once and then convinced himself of a whole story to try to get aveline on his side

Frankly all of Anders’ act 3 dialogue that’s just increasingly stupid and desperate attempts to get people to agree with him

Trying to convince Hawke to leave Fenris or Merrill has to be on this list bc it’s probably him at his most pathetic but they’re too far even for me those scenes are UNBEARABLE to watch

STARTING A WORLD CHANGING REBELLION AND IMMEDIATELY GETTING KICKED OUT BC NOBODY LIKES HIM

If you convince him to side with the Templars in 2 then in DAI Varric says that he got kicked out of kirkwall immediately after for what he did. Imagining that entire series of events makes me want to THROW UP it’s insane

Trying to give Varric a treasured and deeply sentimental possession of his to remember him by only for Varric to give it back bc he thinks he’s being weird

If you kick him out of the party but then side with the mages and he shows up at the gallows asking you to please take him back so he can help

The first time I took Anders on mark of the assassin and the wyvern immediately picked him out as the squishiest member of the party and bolted over to rip him to shreds instantly. I build Anders as mostly support and I wanted his effects on the rest of the party for the fight so I kept reloading my save to try to keep him alive longer than one second but every time the wyvern would go out of its way to brutally kill him at the beginning of every fight until I gave up. Being trapped in a repeating time loop where he is mauled by a wild animal as his friends are helpless to stop it is definitely a top pathetic Anders moment for me

When I was playing a pro templar Hawke and took him, Fenris, and Sebastian with me when we talked to Meredith at the end of that capturing apostates quest and Anders started mouthing off about this all being the Templars’ fault and everyone in the room started bullying the shit out of him

[themostfinalofpams]

I’m not sure if DA2 was a good game or not because of how much it hurt me from the end of Act 2 onwards. Isabel leaving my party because I didn’t max out our friendship, Merrill’s tribe turning against her and trying to kill her, Anders blowing up the chantry, having to fight Fenris after siding with the mages… maybe I didn’t make the right choices to prevent some of those, but that shit gutted me. (I do think though that I enjoyed the combat and gameplay more than in Origins though)

[ziracona]

My love of and desire to play DA2 again vs the knowledge I physically can’t play through All That Remains again: fight

[sky-fire-forever]

Happy Friday! Hows about "I just want you to be happy! And perhaps a little bit naked." for any or all of the Kirkwall polycule. I'm not sure who counts as part of it but I am psyched to find out.

Thanks for the prompt! In my brain, the Kirkwall polycule is whatever combination of Hawke/Varric/Fenris/Merrill/Isabela/Anders + maybe Sebastian I feel like it is at any time. For @dadrunkwriting

This one is a little spicy, but it's mostly just flirty banter and nothing is too explicit.

My Hawke in this one is Angel Hawke who uses she/her pronouns.

The Hanged Man is full to bursting and Varric thinks that’s the way it should always be. It’s the night of his weekly game of Wicked Grace and the bets have been high tonight. Isabela has come away winning the most, with Varric right behind her, and Hawke on their heels. Everyone else has been losing pitifully. 

“I don’t understand why I’m so dreadful at this game!” Merrill exclaims with a pout. “I could’ve sworn I was getting better.” 

“I’ve told you before, Kitten.” Isabela leans over her girlfriend’s shoulder to snag one of her cards. “It’s because I cheat.” 

“Keep betting, Daisy,” Varric suggests. “I’m sure you’ll win if you put enough gold on the table.”

Merrill shoots a glare at Varric and the whole table laughs. “I’m not stupid, you know,” she says with her nose in the air. “And I think I’ve lost quite enough money for one night.”

Hawke whines, teetering on the edge of her stool. “Come on, don’t be like that.” She throws an arm around Merrill’s shoulders. “One more round!” 

“I’m in,” Anders says. “I’m determined to win back some of my dignity.”

“That’ll be hard to do with how extensively our opponents cheat,” Fenris says dryly. 

“You say that like you haven’t been cheating this whole time,” Varric counters. “Both of you.” 

“Me? Cheat?” Anders puts a hand to his chest. “Never! That would be unjust.” He winks at Varric across the table. 

Hawke laughs so hard she nearly topples to the floor, only remaining upright because Fenris steadies her stool. “And that’s enough spirits for you, I think.” 

Hawke protests as he takes her mug and chugs its contents. “Unfair! Anders, make your boyfriend behave.” 

“Oh, so he’s my boyfriend when you’re upset with him?” Anders asks teasingly. 

“He’s whoever’s boyfriend who will make him give me my alcohol back.” 

“Oh, well, in that case.” Isabela snatches the mug from Fenris’ grip. “I would very much like to be with a handsome elf.” She bats her eyelashes at him as she returns Hawke’s drink to her.

Hawke giggles and Varric can’t stop smiling. “If we’re not in the mood to lose any more coin tonight, I’ve got an idea,” he says. “How about we bet clothes instead of coin?” 

Merrill’s attention is immediately grabbed. “You can do that?” 

“Sure, if everyone’s game.” 

“We’re in public, dwarf,” Fenris points out and when did Isabela find her way into his lap? 

“I’m sure Corff won’t mind.” He’s willing to pay him enough that he won’t mind. “Or we can always take this to my room.” He doesn’t bother keeping the suggestion from his voice.

“Varric, you aren’t sneaky,” Hawke says with a laugh. 

“Hey, you’re the one who wants Daisy to play another round! I just want you to be happy.” He grins. “And perhaps a little bit naked.” 

She laughs and shakes her head. “Well, I’m in.” 

“As am I,” Fenris says. 

“Me too!” Merrill hurriedly adds. 

“Why not?” Anders grins. 

“I’m just glad Aveline isn’t here.” Isabela snuggles against Fenris’ chest. 

Varric grins. “Excellent, then I’ll deal.” He shuffles the cards, determined to win.