#kirkwall gang

[joemapik]

You don't want to know how many times my Hawke was pierced by Arishok

And this Garett is a mage, so RIP Bethany

[annoyed-galaxy]

Fictober 2024 ~ 22

"why are we doing this again?"

Fanfiction: DA2 This is the longest fictober I've made so far and just really wanted to spend some nice time with the Kirkwall gang fully (except Sebastian because we don't like choir boy here sorry) especially before everything falls apart. I have lots of feelings about my Hawke's relationship with all his friends. He loves so much, but can't hold on to that love for various reasons so by the end of the game when everyone is kinda torn apart, it breaks him a little. Pushes him past the edge if you will. The next couple prompts are angst filled so….prepare for that I guess. Can also be found on Ao3

It was an unusually sunny day on the Wounded Coast. The sea breeze was a nice refreshing smell compared to the usual manginess the coast held. The sky was blue and sun shone bright. Seth had chosen a good day for this outing and he was excited for the games ahead. 

He had not said anything to anyone, merely gathered all of his friends and brought them to a nice open beach on the Wounded Coast. Once he arrived at the place he had scouted out a couple days before, he turned and addressed his friends.

“Today, we will be doing something fun,” he announced clapping his hands together. To the rest of them, Seth was very oddly ecstatic. Normally he was more laid back than this.

“You didn’t bring us here to build sand castles, did you?” asked Varric, crossing his arms. His face was alight with amusement. He didn’t know what was going on, but he could sense something interesting was about to happen. 

Seth considered for a moment. “I could have, but I didn’t plan for that.” He shook his head and cleared his throat. “Anyways. Lately, I have been noticing tensions in our friend group here getting…high.” His eyes glanced over Fenris and Anders, Isabela and Aveline pointedly. “I figured now would be a great time for us to have some fun, destress, and work on some team building exercises!” 

“What.” It wasn’t even a question and it came from most everyone except Merrill and Varric. 

Seth smiled. “I have organized a couple activities to be completed by all of you. There will be two teams of three and each team will complete these activities for points. The team with the least amount of points will have to buy rounds for everyone else at the Hanged Man.”

“Wait,” Anders held up a hand. “You said two teams of three, but there’s seven of us here.” 

“Thank you for pointing that out sweet cheeks,” Seth replied. Anders became flustered under the nickname, but it was quickly swept away with Seth’s explanation. “All of you work well with me and I work well with all of you. So I don’t think my bonds with you guys or your bonds with me needs to be strengthened as much. So I will not be on either team and instead, calculating points and monitoring everything.” 

There were a few blinks and stares of disbelief. 

“Do we really need to do this?” Isabela rolled her eyes. 

“I think it will make us a more formidable team. Plus, it’d be nice if we could get along just a little bit more,” Seth explained. 

“Do we get to choose teams, at least?” Aveline asked. 

Seth let out a laugh. “Of course not!” There were a couple groans in response. “I have already made the teams based on who really needs to work together. So, the teams will be team one with Fenris, Merrill, and Anders.”

Anders and Fenris both shouted, “WHAT?!” They looked at each other, disgust in their eyes. Merrill wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hide within her small frame. 

“No arguing,” Seth gently snapped. “That leaves Aveline, Isabela, and Varric on team two.”

“Greeeeat,” Isabela sighed, rolling her eyes. 

Aveline looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Of course I get the non-team player.” 

Varric let out a chuckle and muttered to himself. “This should be interesting.”

Seth clapped his hands again to gather everyone’s attention. “The first exercise will be a simple one: choosing your team name. You must unanimously come up with a name for your team. And, because I know we would be here until the sun blinked out of existence, you have three minutes to come up with a name.” Seth swirled his hand and an ethereal sandglass appeared, shimmering with red light and hovering above his hand. “And this exercise starts…Now!” 

Aveline, Isabela, and Varric moved a little away from the mages and Fenris to discuss. Anders and Fenris were still glaring at each other. 

“This is stupid,” Fenris growled crossing his arms. 

“At least we agree on something,” Anders scoffed. 

Merrill’s ears were flat against her head and worry covered her face. Fenris and Anders were silent. “Ahem,” she spoke up meekly, “should we discuss a name?”

Anders rolled his eyes. “What’s the point?” 

Merrill squeaked a bit at the mage’s harsh tone, but then spoke once more. “Because it’s Hawke asking this of us all.”

Anders face softened just a bit. Using his lover against him seemed to work, even if that’s not what Merrill was trying to do. 

Fenris let out a loud sigh. “Fine. But how do we come up with a stupid name?” 

Merrill slowly stood taller and a smile spread across her face. “Well, what are things we all have in common?”

“Nothing,” both Anders and Fenris spat. 

Merrill shook her head. “No sillies. Hawke! We all like Hawke!” 

“Yeah, but we can’t just be Team Hawke,” Anders argued. 

“That’s just as stupid,” Fenris agreed. “No matter how much we like Hawke.” 

Merrill tapped her chin in thought. “Well…surely there’s one more thing we can find that all three of us like.” 

The group stood in silence, thinking for a while. They heard Seth call a minute left, and began to think harder. 

Then, Fenris spoke. “Have either of you had those lemon cakes that are sold sometimes in Hightown?” His voice was quieter than it usually was and didn’t hold the same edge of fury. In fact, he sounded slightly…embarrassed. 

“The ones imported from Orlais?” Anders asked.

Merrill jumped up and clapped her hands. “Ooo, I love those!” 

“They are pretty good,” Anders agreed, a smile spreading across his face as he imagined eating one. 

“Well, there we go,” Fenris offered. 

“Hawke’s Lemon Cakes!” Merrill cheered. 

“That sounds sexually charged,” Anders frowned.

“Fits perfectly for you then,” Fenris jabbed. Anders cheeks went red and the result made Fenris smirk a bit. Another attack against Anders using Seth.

“Time!” Seth called from the center of the beach. The two teams met back in front of him. Seth pointed to Varric’s team. “Alright, what do you guys got?” 

“We,” Isabela began, putting a hand to her chest, “are the Charming Trio.” 

Varric shook his hands extravagantly and Aveline did too, but less enthusiastic. 

“Wonderful! How did you come up with this name?” Seth asked.

“Well, dear Isabela and I are clearly the most charming here,” Varric replied, motioning to himself and the Rivaini woman.

“And I’m here as a third,” Aveline added, unenthusiastically. “Thus making a trio.” 

Seth shrugged. “Works, I guess.” He turned to the elves and Anders. “Alright, what’s your name?”

Merrill smiled wide and declared loudly. “Hawke’s Lemon Cakes!” 

The Charming Trio looked over at them with dumbfounded looks before bursting out laughing. Seth’s face turned slightly pink. “That…” he stuttered. “Sounds like an innuendo…” He cleared his throat. “How…did you come up with that name?”

“It’s the only things we have in common,” Fenris said, arms crossed. 

“All three of us like you and lemon cakes,” Anders expanded. 

Hawke smiled. “Right.” Then he looked directly at Anders. “I swear if you start using that…” 

Another bout of laughter from the Charming Trio. Anders just groaned and put his face in his hands, unable to take the teasing he had been receiving. 

Seth’s hands clapped once more, the ethereal sandglass vanishing between them as he did so. “The next exercise is going to be one of trust.” He waved his hands again and two wisps swirled into existence. They were just tiny blobs of energy, bouncing slowly in each of his hands. “One member of each team will be responsible for taming the wisp. The other two have to carry the other member to the end of the finish line.” Seth flicked a finger out and some driftwood from around them floated towards the end of the beach, settling down in a line. “We’ll be starting from that end,” Seth pointed to the opposite end of the beach, away from his driftwood finish line. 

“How exactly are we supposed to tame these wisps?” Isabela asked, looking curiously at the floating creatures. 

“Simple. These wisps are curious things, currently bound to my will. However, once I give them to one of your teammates, that teammate will be responsible for keeping the wisp with you.” Seth held up a finger. One of the wisps danced at the tip. “However, the teammate taming the wisp cannot touch the ground. Their focus has to solely be on the wisp.” 

“Can a non-mage even do this?” Aveline asked. 

Seth nodded. “Wisps are intrigued by the simplest of things and that would include someone with no magic, even. It might be slightly more difficult, though.” Seth glance at Hawke’s Lemon Cakes and could feel the bitterness between the three of them. “Buuuut considering the circumstances, there may be slight advantages. The first team to the finish line will receive ten points!” The wisps began to circle Seth. “Now, choose your wisp tamer!” 

Fenris glanced at the mages next to him. “One of you do it.” 

Anders shook his head. “I am not touching that thing.”

“Why not?” Fenris raised an accusing eyebrow. “You seem comfortable consorting with spirits as it is.” 

Anders snarled, about to open his mouth to argue until Merrill stepped between them. “I’ll do it!” 

Anders scoffed looking at her in disgust. “Of course you would, blood mage.” Merrill looked at him with a simmering fury in her eyes and it threw Anders back a bit. 

“We need to work as a team!” she hissed. “Besides, I am lighter than both of you. It should be easy to carry me. But that means you two have to be in sync.”

Fenris let out a curt laugh. “Yes, because that’s possible.”

“Well make it possible!” Merrill snapped. Fenris’s eyes widen at the usually calm elf’s sudden anger. She pushed past them and motioned to Seth. “I will be a wisp tamer.” 

Varric raised his hand. “I’m the other one.” 

Seth smiled. “Good!” He closed his eyes and whispered something under his breath. Then he raised his hands up a bit, pushing the wisps towards each of the wisp tamers. Merrill giggled as her wisp began to bob around her head, its presence tickling the hairs on the back of her head. Varric’s wisp was snuggling itself under his chin. The dwarf let out a nervous laugh, patting it like a father would a son. 

The two teams took up their position. Merrill’s wisp floated above her hands and she cooed at it as the men on her team still frowned at each other. 

“Alright. Wisp tamers, take your position!” Seth announced.

Merrill looked back at Anders and Fenris with eyes that shocked them to action. Anders was on her left and Fenris on her right. They held out their arms to cradle her in between them. “It would be easier if you both connected your hands,” she said. “That way you would be more in sync.” 

“I-“ They started. 

Merrill snapped her fingers. “Do it for Hawke remember!” 

They both groaned and begrudgingly clasped their arms together, forming a chair-like frame. Merrill smiled as she settled in between. Their connected arms supported her back, allowing her to recline, as their other pair were underneath her knees. 

“Wow, you really are light,” Anders said with surprise. He then looked at Fenris. “Are all elves this light?” 

Fenris just shrugged. “Regardless, it’s good that she is.” He looked over at his shoulder. The Charming Trio were in a similar position, but Fenris could see Isabela struggling to hold Varric. “The dwarf may be small, but he’s denser.” 

“Still, walking together will be challenging,” Anders added. 

“Then just do what I do, mage, and we shouldn’t have any issues.” 

Merrill hushed them both. “I’m going to concentrate on Willy here. Both of you just get us to that finish line.”

“Willy?” Anders raised an eyebrow. 

Merrill pointed to the wisp who chittered with sound similar to wind chimes in a slight breeze. 

“Great. We’re naming it,” Fenris groaned. 

“Alright teams! On your mark,” Seth shouted, beginning his countdown. “Get ready…Set…GO!” He raised his arm and brought it down, signaling the beginning. The Charming Trio began immediately, Aveline and Isabela in perfect sync with their footsteps, despite Isabela’s struggle with holding Varric. 

Hawke’s Lemon Cakes did not start off well. Anders and Fenris both took off on opposite feet, almost immediately tripping and causing Merrill and the wisp to flail a moment. “Willy!” she called out as the wisp tumbled out of her hands. The wisp turned and bobbed back to her, snuggling itself in her hands. Her hands were glowing softly with the hum of magic as she held the wisp close, tethering its will to hers. 

The Charming Trio were already almost halfway to the finish line by the time Hawke’s Lemon Cakes managed to coordinate their steps together. Seth watched with bated breath as he saw Anders and Fenris fall in line together, mage and elf focusing on stepping on time, rather than arguing with each other. Merrill seemed unbothered by the two men carrying her, holding the wisp close to her and focusing on keeping it close to her. She was using her magic, but considering they were behind, Seth didn’t foul it. Aveline and Isabela were muttering between each other, their steps in-line, but their holding of Varric weak. Varric was chatting with the wisp, as he would with the patrons of the Hanged Man, wishing to hear stories about Seth and his great adventures. 

Seth watched as both teams struggled with their own issues, but in the end, the Charming Trio made it to the finish line. Hawke’s Lemon Cakes were close, closer than Seth expected. When they finally crossed the finish line, Seth clapped his hands again. “Congrats to the Charming Trio. You guys get ten points. Hawke’s Lemon Cakes, you guys receive five for being pretty close behind.” Isabela dropped Varric and the dwarf cried out as he and Aveline fell to the sand suddenly. The wisp went flying, spiraling into the air. Anders and Fenris gently let Merrill down before quickly unlocking their arms from each other and turning away. Merrill waved to her wisp before dismissing it. Seth reached in the back of his mind and dismissed the other wisp that had started to wander. Both of them fizzled out into nothing, returning to the Fad . 

Seth rummaged through the back he had brought with him and pulled out the instruments for the final exercise. Seth summoned a thread of the Fade to allow the items to hover in the air since he didn’t want to put them on the sand. As both teams approached him, they looked at the items curiously. There were two slingshots, two sticks with a long ribbon on one end, six tiny pouches, then several shimmering tiny pebbles. He then grabbed six small flags and let them float. 

“Now for the final exercise. As you see before you are multiple items, one of each for each team.” Seth pointed to the slingshots. “These will be used with these.” He pointed to the various pebbles. “They may look like pebbles, but these are actually enchanted by dear Sandal. Upon contact with someone, they will burst in a smoke of colored powder. I’ll explain why later.” He then pointed to the sticks. “These have also been enchanted. The ribbons at the ends will slap a bit of color upon contact.” He then pointed to the pouches. “These are smoke bombs. Makes you invisible temporarily.” Seth pointed to the flags. “The goal is to get all of the other team’s flag onto your side, or have the most flag once time ends. If you get hit with the ribbons or pebbles, you have to go back to your base to ‘revive’.” Seth emphasized with finger quotes. 

“What base?” Aveline asked, looking at the empty beach. 

Seth smiled. He took his staff off his back. His eyes glowed a gentle blue before he slammed it into the ground. The ground shifted underneath them all. Seth raised his free hand and with it, the sand along the beach began to form structures. A few moments later and the beach had been modified for two great “sandcastles” on either side, with varying sand walls branching out from both. Seth dug his staff further into the ground and left it there, the crystal at the top still shining with blue light. 

“That’s cool,” Isabela said into the silence. Her eyes were wide with genuine amazement at the sight before them. 

Seth gave a slight flourish of his hand, smiling, before returning to his explanation. “Each member will have one of three roles. The main defender will have the slingshot and stay back at their sandcastle. The secondary defender will be patrolling their area with their batons in search of the flag stealer. Flag stealers will have access to the smoke bombs, but only get three. So use them wisely. There will be two rounds of five minutes.” Seth summoned the ethereal sandglass once more. “After the first round, there will be a three minute restrategization time.”

“Hawke, why are we doing this again,” Aveline let out a sigh exasperatedly. 

“Because, Aveline, it’s fun to play games like this, but also encourage some teamwork!” Seth’s face took a serious tone as he fiddled with the sandglass. “I also just want you guys to get along without me. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only thing holding this team together.” Seth looked down at the ground. “My mom used to make me and my siblings do stuff like this whenever we argued and such.” There was a moment of silence. It had been three months since Seth’s mother was murdered. The wound was still fresh. He shook his head and looked back at them with a masked smile. “I just want us to have some fun and work together.” 

There were some nods and relenting. Seth pushed the pairs of items towards each team. “Now go to your castles, set up your defenses and get ready. Your flags should be arranged on your mounds, er, castles. Flag stealers, you can only have one flag at a time on your possession.” 

The teams dispersed. On Hawke’s Lemon Cakes side, the elves and mage struggled on who should do what. 

“Only three smoke bombs,” Fenris studied. “I may not need them, but could be useful.” 

“You?” Anders asked. 

“Who else should be the flag stealer? I’m faster than both of you.” 

Merrill rose a hand to argue, but Anders shrugged. “Fine. I’ll be the secondary defender and Merrill can protect the flags on top.” 

“Fine.” 

The men grabbed their items and stormed away, leaving Merrill with the flags and slingshot. She sighed and went up to the sand mound that constituted as their “castle”. She placed the three flags in a line. There was no use in strategically placing them since the flag stealers could only hold one flag at a time. She stood in front of them and used her magic to allow the pebbles to float next to her. Across the way, she could see Varric take up position on the opposite sand mound. Of course he would be assigned slingshot duty. 

Merrill’s shoulders sagged and she let out another sad sigh. Then Seth called start, flipping his ethereal sandglass. Merrill stood at attention, looking all around her. The quiet sea breeze was her only comfort. She couldn’t see Anders or Fenris, the sand walls Seth’s staff had summoned blocking a good part of the arena. She started to get nervous, sweat forming on her head. 

Then she felt something on her shoulder. She shrieked and spun around, launching a pebble. There was a laugh behind her and once she spun around again, she just missed the blur of Isabela grabbing a flag and bolting. “No!” Merrill called out, attempting to shoot the rogue, but her shots going wide. Merrill hoped Anders would catch her. Fenris appeared next to her with the enemy flag. When he saw one of their flags was missing her looked at her angrily. 

“Seriously?” 

Before she could say anything, the elf bolted. 

The next four minutes passed by horribly. Merrill didn’t land a single shot on Isabela and by the time Seth called time, they only had one flag left. “The Charming Trio gets two points!” They cheered, while Merrill’s shoulders just sagged once more. Anders and Fenris approached her, both irritated. Not with her, but with themselves more like. 

“This isn’t working,” Anders stated the obvious. 

“Varric is too good,” Fenris said, dusting off some of the powder that remained on his clothes. 

“I’m sorry,” Merrill whimpered. “I’m not good at this.” 

Anders and Fenris looked at each other, then at the elf who was starting to cry. Anders sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright Merrill. It’s just a game.” 

Fenris offered a comforting smile, but it was strange to see on his usual grouchy face. “We’re supposed to be having fun.” 

Merrill shook her head. “Well I’m not.” 

“What if we switch roles,” Fenris suggested. He turned to Anders. “Out of the three of us, you are the most accurate.” 

“What?” Anders asked, confusion on his face. 

“I’ve seen you weave a fireball through a crowd of enemies to hit an enemy mage precisely when they were casting a spell. You also have good reaction time. You’ve often hit me with a healing spell right before I fall to someone’s blade. You should be the one defending with the slingshot,” Fenris explained. 

Merrill seemed to brighten. “He’s right! You are a really good shot. With magic at least. Plus your reaction time is super good.”

Anders shrugged. “I mean, it’s magic though. It’s easier to aim magic precisely when it’s connected to me.” 

“Better than what either Merrill or I could do,” Fenris rebutted. 

Anders conceded. Then he handed his baton to Fenris. “If that’s the case, you should be secondary defender. I’ve seen you chase down men with a fury that cannot be rivaled.” 

Fenris chuckled a bit, grabbing the baton. “Can’t argue with that.” 

Fenris then turned to Merrill and tossed her the smoke bombs. “That means you are flag stealer. You’re good at hiding in plain sight and being unnoticeable.”

“I don’t know if that’s quite a compliment,” Merrill said. 

“We’re elves, it’s a natural ability at this point,” Fenris attempted with a joke. It made her chuckle. 

Seth called time and for everyone to take their places. Merrill placed her hand in the air between them. “Hawke’s Lemon Cakes?” she asked, hesitantly. 

Anders let out a little laugh before placing his hand on top of hers and nodded. Fenris rolled his eyes, but there was a light in them, an amusement uncommon in the elf. He put his hand on top of Anders. Together, the three of them cheered. “Hawke’s Lemon Cakes!” 

The next round went better. Better than anyone expected. Isabela could not get past Anders’s hawk eye sight and lightning fast reflexes. He saw her at the corners of his eyes and always spun perfectly, pulling the sling back and releasing as soon as he finished turning around. The Rivaini woman had begun getting louder with her groans of frustration as she got more and more stained with colored powder. She did manage to slip through once or twice, but Merrill was faring better. 

Merrill was very careful of Varric’s archer sight, sticking low to the ground and floor. She also had to be wary of Aveline’s guard sense in their territory. She traversed the sand walls like a cat, slipping into small shadows that were being caused by the setting sun now. She sneaked up behind Varric multiple times, snagging a flag each time. She had never got shot by him. However, everytime she returned to their sand mound, she found a flag missing. She steeled herself for another trip. She still had the smoke bombs.

Once entering the Charming Trio’s land, she used the smoke bomb immediately and ran. She bolted between the walls, dancing across the surface until she got to the sand mound and snagged a flag and ran out before Varric realized what happened. She did that a couple more times and by the time Seth called time, Merrill had captured all the flags. She cheered and gave Anders an impromptu hug. The mage laughed nervously, but returned the hug. When Fenris came up the mound, he immediately began to protest and back away, but Merrill caught him and pulled him into the hug. 

“Congrats to Hawke’s Lemon Cakes! They win!” Seth announced. 

“What the fuck do you mean they won?!” Isabela shouted angrily. “We had more points!” 

Seth shrugged. “I didn’t really iron out the point system.” There were laughs in response to Isabela’s groans. As they all returned to where Seth’s staff was, he pulled it out of the ground and the sand arena collapsed onto the ground once he dismissed the magic. “Thanks for humoring me everyone,” Seth smiled sadly. “I know it might have seemed…stupid, but I just wanted us to work together.” 

Fenris smiled and clapped Merrill and Anders on the shoulder. “I think it worked a little bit.” 

Anders smiled and nodded. “Until tomorrow when we start hating each other again.” 

“But we learned a lot about each other’s strengths and can use those to work together!” Merrill added. 

Seth smiled as the elves and his lover got along for what seemed like the first time in ages. 

“Well that’s dandy,” Isabela groaned once more.

Varric chuckled. “Looks like the drinks are on the Charming Trio, tonight.” There was light laughter and then everyone began to head back to Kirkwall. Anders slid in line next to Seth, grabbing his hand and smiling. 

“I did have fun today,” he said. 

“I’m glad.” Seth replied. “It’s genuinely nice to see you and Merrill and Fenris get along. It’s nice to know that we can do it.” 

Anders nodded. “I may not agree with them most of the time, but when it comes down to it, we work well as a team.” 

“I’m glad. That’s all I can hope for. One big family that can shake the world.” Seth smiled. “Or something like that.” 

[understanding-hold-on]

Sometimes Varric forgets.

He is way braver than any other companions in Inquisition and always, because he forgets that there is no one to heal him during and after the battle and heath potions can only do so much.

When they encounter hostile mages, Varric reacts to blood magic to slowly.

Seeing two daggers flash on the battlefield, he expects gold to flicker too.

He aims too close to Iron bull, not accounting for bigger body wielding the great sword.

He seeks for red hair when trying to find a good point to shoot.

And sometimes he terribly misses a mabari by his side.

[v-arbellanaris]

excellent tags via @ammoniteflesh

how likely are the da2 party to have other friends, a discussion

varric: his character is the guy with lots of friends. or contacts, at least. obviously he’s not emotionally honest or vulnerable with any of them but that’s by nature of it being varric so it’s hardly news

isabela: similar to varric, knows a lot of people, likely not close with them. also knows a lot of people, wink wink, that she might consider friends. there’s zevran :) also worth saying that she looks out for marginalised women who seem to look up to her, because she’s that cool

fenris: several comments are made that he does not have a social life. also lives in a manor full of dead bodies, which is not conducive to hosting guests unless your friend is hawke who is apparently cool with this. however, has his own mercenary contacts, points out to merrill that some elves are willing to chat to him that will not with her, and by the end of the game is having regular game nights with people like donnic. we’ll call it a work in progress

merrill: it seems like it takes the alienage a while to warm up to her and that she doesn’t spend much time socialising at least at first bc of the mirror situation, but people are generally fond of her and there is canonical material to suggest this was true in the alienage eventually, not to mention that she took a leadership role among them after the end of da2, which is really cool

sebastian: probably, but they’re priests and, like, chantry-going old ladies who think he’s a sweet boy and try to marry their granddaughters off to him. does not seem like he gets out much otherwise these days except with hawke

anders: i don’t know that i would call them friends exactly but he does have entire circles (haha) of people that he knows outside the game npcs, like the mage underground, and all the darktown refugees who are apparently just up for killing for him whenever. there’s people like lirene. characteristically probably tries to hold them at a distance, may not realise he is considered a friend

aveline: canonically if you are like “why the fuck are you asking me” during her act 2 personal quest, literally outright says she has no other friends

[vaguely-concerned]

just had the thought 'in the end the most important thing varric taught rook was how to make a home for, with, and in other people' and then I had to go lie down on the floor and clutch at my head in unceasing agony for a few hours, as you may well imagine. hawke and the kirkwall crew........ in the end you kind of saved the world a bit in the most characteristically indirect and chaotic of ways. not by anything in particular that you did or achieved or accomplished (lmao imagine!), but just by -- having existed, and by the love that was always there, despite it all, in all its imperfections, even when no one was saved by it in the end. you're not here right now and you're not quite haunting the narrative but I hear your voices bickering and arguing and laughing from the other room. (and so, I think, does varric. all the time.)

'did you think you mattered, hawke? did you think anything you ever did mattered?' yeah actually, varric says with da2 and keeps saying through the series. you were here. and I loved you. and as it turns out that mattered more than almost anything in the world, no matter how long it lasted or how fucked up it was at the time or what else happens, because varric manages to pass that feeling, that intangible... home, that echo of you all as you were together, that love, hopefully the best parts of it, on to someone else for them to bring with them on their journey, with their family. and maybe the world will be kinder this time. you never know. merrill's line of 'Everything affects everything. We were born, a bunch of things happened, and now we're in a mess with our friends.' varric's greatest fear of becoming his parents. even through the wreck and the ruin of the world, ghosts upon ghosts upon ghosts of love -- malcolm hawke, who we never even see, but his life touched hawke's and hawke's touched varric's and varric's touched rook's and rook is passing it on to the family they're creating. the unbroken legacy of love shines through in ways that are stronger and stranger than any magic. help

[mrs-gauche]

I'm so interested to learn more about this "initial Veilguard" that John Epler talked about in this interview. It said "Varric and another handful of adventurer, the initial Veilguard, have been tracking down Solas throughout Thedas" before the start of the game. So, who are/were they? Where are they now? And why have they seemingly disbanded/split up? Or are they dead? And if not, where were they when the ritual happened? 🤔

Was it the "Special Task Group" formed by the remaining Inquisition after the end of Trespasser, the initial "We need to find people Solas doesn't know"? But if they were already a thing during the "The Missing" comics, it's kinda strange that there was no mention of them whatsoever? Then again, the Missing had so many inconsistencies and logic errors, anyway. lol But regardless, I assume Harding was part of it as well?

Before I heard about this, I had assumed that "The Veilguard" would be our main group formed in reaction to what happens during DA4's prologue... But it makes sense, considering the end of Trespasser? I just didn't expect them to give this group an official name, I guess? lol And again, who even came up with this name in the first place? 😂

[tuxedo-rabbit]

I'm sorry but Sebastian trying to convince a blood mage Hawke to be Viscount is buck wild.

I'm obsessed with his thought process on this.

[teine-mallaichte]

I do not have the skill or patience to do this myself...

But I really want someone to rewrite the narrative of DATV with the characters from DA2

Like Varric tracks down solas, sends Hawke (who is not in the fade) a letter and about a week or so later they are all just turn up (dragged by hawke) to the inn where Varric is staying 🤣

Merrill would have this shit sorted in minutes so we need to find a way to taper her knowledge... But otherwise I think it has potential.

I also want Zevran there... I feel he'd fit in well and get a kick out of this.

[andrewknightley]

this is how my da4 is currently going

[queenbol-of-baldurs-gate]

Okay sound off, who do you think from current DA media is going to become a companion in DA:D and do you think they will be romanceable?

I will bet and eat my Left Shoe that our boy Marius (ostensibly from Magekiller) is going to be a romanceable companion. The build up in the comics around him and his past and his sad wet intense personality- he's a perfect set up for a "I Can Fix Him" companion. I can smell it.

[crows-of-buckets]

The funny thing about liking both Anders and Fenris is that whenever I force them into a team together I get the urge to beat both of them with hammers it's great

[dragonsasastronauts]

Bioware was so real for this

[grimwarden]

girlfailure: the team (kirkwall crew who hasn't managed to kill one (1) guy)

[breadedsinner]

Isabela and Sebastian would look better with grays than Anders would, I said what I said.

[morgandarcyarts]

Ha, long time no see, here! It’s been a wild ride those past years, hope you all are doing great!  Back to drawings after a long break due to work, feels a little rusty but DA is my comfort zone ♥

I’ve started another DAII run, so those are all inspired by random banters across Kirkwall. I’ll go back drowning in my pool full of feelings for those two.

[vaguely-concerned]

man I'm still thinking about just how cool stray gods is. it took what I find to be one of the most interesting features of Dragon Age 2 (Hawke's personality types, consistent even outside your active dialogue choices) and went 'yeah that's cool but watch me I'm going to do that again, backwards and in heels and with a soundtrack of such dizzying scale and modularity you could pick it over for hundreds of hours to find every nuance'. and I just think that's neat.