#kaleb ‘are we…’ and morrigan has to rly sit down w him like. kaleb i love you but you’re a f*****

[tahopo]

I gotta agree with anon. I’m neutral about Alistair but his relationship with Kaleb makes me feel crazy? insane? It just /feels/ romantic despite *hand wave because I rly don’t know what’s happening with them*.

Was there an inspiration behind this? Was Kaleb always an Alimancer?

kaleb’s very much the classical paragon. he should feel default-y. a bit tired. i said it before somewhere but i tried hard to name him lancelot but it sounded ugly with cousland LOL. his physical height and themes (self-denial, loyalty, sacrifice… homosexuality dont believe mallory) are based off galehaut whom i also similarly tried to name him after but… also ugly. and in the end it was too on the nose, im glad i didn’t go through with it.

ROMANTIC!! so actually yes… i was into pre-raphaelitism when i designed him :) this is one of the things that has stayed consistent. i wanted him to look sympathetic, noble and gentle but also? incredibly sad?? Waterhouse’s men were very big influences on kaleb’s early look:

the hylas and nymphs one always makes me chuckle. fun fact kaleb’s born with a condition that makes him want to drown himself near the end of his life. it’s what happened to his grandfather.

his lip shape is a nod to rossetti! so if you ever wonder why his mouth’s so wiggly and poutyfrowny……

he was my ultimate sacrifice warden 💙 and that’s my canon in-game. it’s all very requiescat 1888 with him.

and he didn’t romance alistair strictly speaking because it’s not possible. but he had high alistair approval and a short failed romance with morrigan. the last bit i don’t rly adhere to anymore but it still sorta rings true in whatever worldstate he lives (or rather, decides he wants to live, and therefore lives enough to make mistakes). kaleb actually deceives himself into thinking he’s in love with morrigan. it’s a bit of a terrible mess.