#my warden and hawke are Real People to me Tumblr posts

[reliquiaen]

Wanting to replay all the dragon age games to sort out My World State™ before Veilguard vs. not really wanting to play Inquisition again bc I didn't like it.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

my greatest achievement in DA2 is maxing out Carver's friendship

and all it took was begrudgingly kissing a little templar ass in act 1 because Carver didn't want to plan a prison break if my Hawke got his ass arrested for being stupid.

[dearest-and-nearest]

My favourite thing in rpg is playing as evil. I was a monster in dao, very bad person in da2 and tried something like that in dai. I killed Alistair, gave Fenris back to Danarius and punched Dorian and that was fun. I had fun in bg3 killing tieflings, last light and others. I had fun in Jade Empire being worst nightmare of people and companions. I had fun in kotor2, corrupting companions. There were many games in which I had fun, because devs of those games didn't try to make me a stupid child who's not allowed to play evil, because game=real life, did you know? If you slaughter dalishes, then you support genocide irl!

Veilguard doesn't allow me to have fun. It doesn't even allow me to be rude. Like, i'll be honest, i don't like Taash. But game doesn't allow you to be rude towards her, doesn't let you misgender her or (especially if you're from Antiva or Tevinter) not trust her and call her racial slurs. And you see, it's like that with every companion. You can't be really mean to them and that's the problem for me. I can't roleplay in roleplay game. In dao I could be hostile towards almost everyone, mock elves, templars, Eamon, Morrigan and whoever I want. Now I can't even call Neve stupid for desire to change the Tevinter

And that the big problem for me. I don't enjoy being nice and friendly, I don't like when devs act like i'm incapable to differ reality and game and force me to be nice and acceptable of everything.

And yes, this game has many other cons, but they are discussed already, while lack of roleplaying - you know, lack of literally game's core, of reason why dao became classic - is almost ignored and that bothers me, because yes, Isabela's outfit is crime against taste in clothes and 3 decisions while bringing characters from previous games is slap into the face, but even if Veilguard was standalone game, it still would be bad exactly because it doesn't allow you to create your character. It allows you to customize appearance (unless you're a curvy woman. If you dared to be more feminine than man at the start of transition, then you're not included in The Most Inclusive CC Ever), but not the soul of character. My Warden was different from Wardens of my friends. My Hawke was different from Hawkes my friends created. Even my inq was different. My Rook will not, it will be the same nice guy everyone will have and that is disgusting

[leliwardens]

One of the most frustrating things I've seen come about with the limited choices decision is how exaggerated some people are responding/reacting to others being upset with variations of "when did your choices ever matter!!!" I'm unsure if it's genuine ignorance or being willfully obtuse.

Anyone who has played any Dragon Age game and transferred their save knows very well there is not an overall giant impact with choices made. That is not really...what people are upset about? At least myself and the majority of the posts I've seen. It's been losing out on the flavor text, the unique dialogue choices, the acknowledgment of you the player being involved, no matter how small.

Let's take for example a codex since I have seen that mentioned as one of my personal favorites: The Champion of Kirkwall from Inquisition. It has two different versions depended on who you sided with at the end of DA2 and even has variations with extra lines if you fought the Arishok or sided with either as a mage.

Another example that might of gone unnoticed is Varric approves or disapproves of siding with the mages or templars depending on Hawke's choice back in DA2.

To me, as someone who sided with the Templars in my canon playthrough, these were nice nods to how I played my game even if they overall had little impact. They are both minor in the grand scheme of all things but it's still meaningful. It showed thought and care put into how you played, even if it wasn't the "popular" choice.

A bigger example and one I see cited a lot is Leliana in Inquisition. Yes, she is alive and well even if you killed her in Origins, however this has been the norm since Awakening. Oghren can be killed in Origins if certain choices are made and still show up at Vigil's Keep, but he still acknowledges the "attempt" at killing him. Leliana is the same. Whatever you feel about the "lyruim ghost" canon, she still acknowledges that she did in fact die and was brought back to life, it even adds a really unique flavor to that specific state for her. She even gets a unique ending slide for this state if she's not made Divine.

(I'd also assume her being dead isn't something that is in a lot of worldstates either, likely more she was never recruited. Not to mention she had a lot of EU build up but that's another post.)

This shows that they still wanted your choices to matter even if it wasn't wholly "permanent". I meannnnn, if we're being real, Oghren, Leliana, and even Anders are clearly exceptions to the norm and this is why we haven't seen the majority of other companions even cameo because of their quantum state. So in a way, yes those you killed or not recruited outside three specific companions won't ever come back (even before Veilguard), a win I guess!

But I digress. These are just minor examples of what we now have lost. There's so many others like the unique quests in DA2 with whoever was crowned the King of Orzammar and the werewolf/Dalish consequence. Hawke being mentioned as related to a Warden Amell or Merrill mentioning a Warden Mahariel if either of them are the Hero of Ferelden. The much beloved romance dialogues with Origins LIs in Inquisition. The codex for Grey Whiskey/Ritewine/Conscription Ale mentioning a Warden Bethany or Carver if that's their fate. Hawke having a unique dialogue line for a romanced but killed Anders in Inquisition. Shale getting a mention due to the "shrinking pigeon population" in DA2 from the bartender. I could go on and on but I think I've illustrated my point enough.

This is what will be missed, this is what I'm already missing. And well. That really fucking sucks we won't ever get this again.

[storm-arts-around]

ngl folks I'm really really upset about the veilguard choices.

Like, the little cameos were what made it for me, the couple lines of callbacks that remind you how big this world is and how you made your own tiny mark on it and its people.

I get that scope is important but... Morrigan with no reference to Kieran? Varric who cant mention Hawke? A whole Weisshaupt segment and fighting archdemons and you cant mention anything about the last warden who killed one?

I'm gonna have to stepup my fangame project for real :'(

[thedinanshiral]

On the choices we make

This week we got the last article in IGN First series for The Veilguard, and many are not happy.

Here's the article, feel free to read it whenever, at your own risk tho

SPOILER WARNING & DISCLAIMER: I'll mention some spoilers for the character creator options for the Inquisitor. And i have not really read the IGN article, just looked through it vaguely but Twitter made sure i knew what it was about. I also got these spoilers earlier when the embargo on the preview event was lifted, so it wasn't really news to me.

In short, the shocking part of the article people are upset about is basically most choices from previous games don't carry into The Veilguard in any significative way. This news caused a lot of people to despair, become disappointed, sad, and even angry. So here's my two cents explaining why the devs decision to trim down the ever growing tree of possible outcomes from all past decisions was a smart and necessary move.

First let's talk about the Warden. It's been fifteen years since DAO, the Warden has served their purpose. Expecting them to still keep on the spotlight forever just isn't realistic. Particularly lore-wise, they're tainted, they're getting their calling eventually, they can even die in DAO. Even if in some worldstates the Hero of Ferelden is alive, searching for a cure, enjoying family bliss with Morrigan somewhere, this is not their game anymore, hasn't been for fifteen years. And it makes absolutely every sense that Rook doesn't get to casually ask Morrigan of all people about her personal life and her partner. Considering the different origins as well it also makes sense if the Warden is simply referred to as the Hero of Ferelden in codices instead of specifying if they're Cousland or Mahariel, that way all origins are contemplated without the need to select which one we chose, yes i'll say it again, fifteen years ago. Please, play DAO again if you must, but just, please, move on. It's time.

Then let's be real here, DA2 is pretty much self-contained. We see the direct consequences of the DA2 events early into DAI. There isn't much to talk about DA2 choices after that.

And now, about DAI...people were left in the Fade, people drank from a well, Divines were chosen. And The Veilguard is not about that. Sorry, but that also makes sense.

The Fade choice: it's pretty much decided that whoever stays in the Fade during Here lies the abyss didn't make it. They're gone. Sad, i know, but it's also been ten years in game as well and Hawke, Alistair, Stroud and Loghain are only human, they can't survive that. The thread many hang on for hope is Flemeth's words to Hawke "We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment... and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly" , is not a hint towards them surviving the Fade, it's precisely about them jumping into it. Which is what happens in that quest. There's nothing in those lines about making it out alive, or out at all. It's "whether you can fly", not "that you can fly". People always want these games to be DARK FANTASY full of DIFFICULT CHOICES and CONSEQUENCES that CARRY OVER, but when they choose a loved character to make a sacrifice and potentially die suddenly they expect them to have plot armor and return like nothing happened and nothing was lost? That loss was a consequence of that choice, and we all have to live with it and move on.

The Well choice: Solas' reaction to the Inquisitor drinking from the well is a strong one, but the consequence of that was already shown in DAI, in worldstates where OG Kieran exists we can see Flemeth control the Inquisitor to restrain Morrigan when she's trying to stop Flemeth. There's no confirmation on this but it's possible this power is gone once Solas petrifies Flemeth in the epilogue scene. From there we can only headcanon what happened with that power to control whoever drank from the Well of Sorrows; did the power vanish once Flemeth died? Did Solas inherit it when he absorbed her powers? Did Solas decided to only absorb her energy but avoided taking that particular ability with him? Remember, he's against slavery, servitude, and controling others. He's more into killing people in their dreams, petrifying his enemies and blowing up dear old friends' favourite stuff with his insane mind powers for extra emotional damage. If Morrigan is who drank from the well, it could also be she found a way to nullify that binding to Mythal; we don't know it yet but seeing as she appears in The Veilguard with a headpiece similar to Flemeth's it could even be she eventually accepted Mythal's deal. Anyway, the protagonist this time is Rook, and whoever drank from the Well of Sorrows is not something that affects them, or the main events of the game surrounding the Veil and a double Blight. The Well was drank, let's move on from that too.

The Divine choice: honestly? Not geopolitically relevant this time. The Veilguard takes place in Northern Thedas where the main power is Tevinter, which has its own Chantry and its own Divine. We're apparently not going south of the Waking Sea, so who rules Orlais or Ferelden and who sits on the Sunburst throne ruling over the southern Chantry is of no consequence to the regions we'll visit and the people we'll meet as Rook in this new game. Also, it's been ten years since all of that went down, whatever we made happen with the Inquisition could easily have been changed with a rebellion or two throughout the years.

The choices from previous games that affect The Veilguard are all from DAI, because that's the one game directly connected to The Veilguard; whatever happened in DAO and DA2 happened then and there and we've already seen the effects of those choices, sometimes in the same games they were made on. And the choices from DAI that carry on are limited to just three: Who the Inquisitor romanced, if the Inquisition remained or was disbanded, if the Inquisitor vowed to save or stop Solas. These are the choices that directly affect and are pertinent to The Veilguard events. DIRECTLY.

Now this has gotten some people bitter, like the game is serving Solavellans and dropping everyone else in the Amaranthine to die like their worldstates don't matter, but that's not it. Those two last choices are there even if your Inquisitor is not Lavellan, even if your Lavellan did not romance Solas. Remember, the Inquisitor and Solas can be friends too. They can even despise each other. I guess some could argue the romance option is there to cater to Solavellans too but i ask -rhethorically-, is it not relevant if the man set on destroying the world to return to a past long gone has a romantic history with the hero advisor of our new protagonist? Is it not relevant that this particular relationship was his only weakness, capable of changing his mind and stopping his hand??? Better yet, try to explain how it's not relevant. Considering who Solas is, what he intends to do, his role in determining the fate of all Thedas in the past as he is about to do now, Solavellan is very much relevant. A friend Inquisitor is also very relevant. An Inquisitor that wants his head on a platter i bet has much to say about Solas' role in this new stage too. As for the fate of the Inquisition i imagine it might affect how the Inquisitor can play their role as advisor to Rook, if they still hold the title and have some support from the Chantry maybe they can offer different resources or intel than if they're acting independently.

Every game so far has had many different options available, worldstates abound, paths can fork in so many ways and places it's insane to pretend it all carries on and on and on in every following game, when each game presents a new protagonist, a new institution, and its own theme and conflicts to deal with and resolve. In The Veilguard we'll be dealing with blighted ancient elvhen gods set on destroying the world. What is Hawke got to do about it? What could a senior, dying Warden do to save the world now? Even the Inquisitor can only contribute from the sidelines, maybe, we don't know yet.

Apocalyptic events will not wait for what was to come back to soothe our nostalgia. This time it's the Veilguard and Rook's time to save the world, and i'd say we let them. And let's give ourselves a new chance to make new, differenct choices, with different stakes and consequences we'll likely see soon enough probably backfiring on us. The devs worked on this game with the intention of giving us a full game, avoiding a repeat of previous questionable moves (like the main story truly ending in a dlc rather than the base game). In order to achieve that they had to focus, a lot, on how to carry the narrative forward and develop all these new characters, and let's be honest 100% now, that's pretty difficult to do if they're permanently looking back and dwelling on old characters and events. We can't move forward by looking over our shoulders to what was.

I strongly suggest everyone we give The Veilguard the opportunity it deserves, to be its own game as all the previous games were. For many players including myself their first Dragon Age was Inquisition so previous choices were not registered, we had no idea and still had a great time playing DAI and got so invested in it many went back to play DAO and DA2, and dive into the novels and comics, even Redemption, and that CGI Cassandra movie. So past choices not carrying over to newer games isn't the catastrophe some people are complaining over. Also please don't be arses to the devs over things like this, they worked hard all these years to give us their best, they deserve respect.

Lastly, i'd like to share a phrase in my language, "quién te quita lo bailado", which translates to something like "who can take away from what you've already enjoyed?" (the answer is nobody btw). If you already played previous games and enjoyed them, loved them, and played them 50 times over, that's yours, your experience, and nobody can take that away from you; the characters you built, your headcanons, that's all yours, for life.

Can't wait for October 31st so we can keep enjoying this world that for many of us feels like home.

[jean-dieu]

All my protag from Dragon Age!! An idiot, an idiot, a sweetheart.

With very important informations regarding them of course.

Below the cut is just me rambling about them with actual informations, you can ignore LMAO

Artemis Tabris is a city elf with a fierce personality. Extremely stubborn, he refuses to stay silent in front of whatever discrimination he and his people can face. He's extremely protective of his friends and his family. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he would do something that would put him in big troubble. When his wedding day is interrupted in the worst way possible, he seeks vengeance for all the women, not caring for the consequences. He was glad to become a grey warden, as he thought it would give him the opportunity to finally be properly respected and to protect his family more than ever. He did lack the proper discipline though, often just doing whatever he wanted to do. His main past time is annoying Alistair, mostly by rubbing his relationship with Morrigan in his face. It started as more or less of a fling, but he grew very attached to her in the end, even going as far as searching for her despite everything. In the end, he gives up, and ends up with Zevran instead, and the two men manage to find happiness in life.

"Nacht" Hawke will never say his real name because he thinks it's lame. No, he's a hero, he's the main character, he's so cool, so he gets to name himself. He's a sarcastic piece of shit. He loves to annoy Carver, and the two of them doesn't go along. Despite his many flaws, he values friendship more than anything. Varric is his bff for life, and at this point they probably have matching tramp stamps tattoos. He's fiercly pro-mage, not exactly like Anders. Nacht's point of view is just "I was born like this and I just think I deserve the right to live". He's in general very against people in position of powers and in favor of the common folks. There's not a day that goes with him and Fenris fighting then kissing right after. He resented Carver when he chose to join the Templar, but they both made peace in the end, agreeing that they'll never manage to get along, but accepting to protect each other because they're family.

Aloysius Lavellan would gladly do anything else instead of being the Inquisitor. Still, the weight of the world on his shoulders is too overwhelming to ignore, and he's doing his very best to lead the organization to success. What he lacks in leadership and charisma, he makes up with determination. Cullen is coaching him for public speaking, and Josephine to polish his public image. Aloysius is in general too soft and too gentle to be a leader. He's shy, introverted, anxious, and always wondering if he did the right thing. Still, with a bit of help, he actually manages to become a worthy leader, respected for his humility and overall kindness with his men. He still doesn't know how he managed to secude Iron Bull but he's very happy about it and he loves him so very much. He tends to be kind of naive but he's very knowledgable on the world. He knows everything about plants and can rambles about them for hours. He's friends with every companion. He's a great mage, and he's always eager to improve his skills and magic, and he's not the type of man to rest on his laurels.

[vigilskeep]

Considering DA protags are referred to by either title or surname, got any headcanons about that?

i’m going to be real with you i’m not sure i understand what this ask means or if it’s in reference to something i’ve forgotten but i’m going to give it my best shot anyway? and simply proceed to ramble. it’s late so i’m going to be very rambley

i’ve always taken particular notice of duncan’s codex entry saying it’s commonplace for wardens to drop their family names as a sign of abandoning their ties outside the wardens. so the warden being known by their family name is an act of defiance against warden tradition. it’s a good representation of how many warden codes they had to break to do the job, and what firm ties they tend to still have to their respective origins. reminds you that the warden is very often the ultimate anomaly. it can be something of a rallying cry for those whose names arent the type to ordinarily be heard across thedas

as for the ‘hero of ferelden’ title, there’s a couple great things about that one. firstly, it directly mimics loghain’s title, the hero of river dane, which is delicious. who knows how long yours will outlive the death of his, when the wheel of history turns once more! otherwise, i’m super interested in it tying the warden to ferelden especially if the warden is not from ferelden. if you’re dalish, how do you feel about nationhood being applied to you? if you’re a dwarf, are you paragon or hero first? if you’re a city elf or a circle mage, how do you feel about this being the moment they finally suddenly want to decide you’re ‘of’ the same people, rather than pushing you aside? etc

‘hawke’ is so great. love how it depersonifies them. love how they’re the one who doesn’t rlly get a nickname from varric; hawke is the nickname, the false persona carrying the story. love that malcolm probably went by ‘hawke’ too and they stepped right into his shoes. love the genderlessness. love the flavour it gives to the names carver hawke and bethany hawke, the twins who can never be the hawke and struggle to get out from under that shadow, but also are in some ways freer in getting to have their own unique names appended, not made into a lifeless symbol

i’m very fond of ‘champion of kirkwall’. there’s a great beautiful confusing dead tradition of referring to nobles simply as their place name, which would be like for example referring to sebastian himself as starkhaven or anora herself as ferelden, and i would love that to apply to hawke in this case. it’s more relevant if they go dark and become viscount but i think all champions should get it as a treat. you don’t even get to be hawke; you are kirkwall. you clawed your way up it and now it’s a part of you, caked under your fingernails. i like how kirkwall claims them as its champion no matter if they were just fighting for their friend. in da2 everything is narrative, decided after the fact

i wish we could get more into herald of andraste because to me it screams end-of-days cult. a herald arrives ahead of someone, a herald announces them. the implication of a herald of andraste is that they have been sent to cry that she is coming

[miraculan-draws]

I have mentioned before that my Worldstate does not have Hawke going to Adamant/the Fade at all, and the Inquisition allies the wardens. This leaves. The Perfect opportunity. Of plausible deniability. For Anders.

By this point, Anders is occasionally using his Real Name as an alias. He can, with nothing more than maybe a hair cut and a change into his old warden gear, reunite with his husband and child, terrorize Varric, avoid Cullen and Cassandra like a Scooby-Doo chase scene, etc. The rebels and Fiona openly call him Anders. His haters are so mAD but they NEED Hawke so bad they have to just sit and stew in it.

When tensions are high enough, and people demand a trial for Anders, the Inquisitor, a DALISH MAGE, flips the script on them: if the people are pushed to overlook the past abuses of the templars, they must also be willing to overlook the past retaliations of rebel mages. When they refuse to settle on a path forward, he pulls out The Folder.

The folder has the illegal tranquility orders from kirkwall, the ones with the Knight-Captains mark. Eyewitness accounts from Amell, with the seal of Amaranthine below, as well as several inquisition mages, from HAWKE, (mages are not people like you and me).

In essence: if the jury wishes to convict Anders of a crime, the exact same sentence will be given to Commander Cullen.

Anders is pardoned :)

[v-arbellanaris]

talking abt polycules. initially, i was very clearly like. yeah. maimunah/merrill makes perfect sense of course. but now. okay hear me out. i've been playing muna as a complete support mage. she has NO offensive spells AT ALL. she is entirely 100% a support mage and support spells ONLY. coupled with her being a blue/diplomatic hawke, parentification bc she's the eldest amell daughter, raised by a fairly devout andrastian circle mage raised father, muna really reads like someone who has always had to stamp her emotions down for fear of appearing aggressive, who has only ever learned support spells so she does not come off aggressive, etc etc and she is just completely and utterly defanged. which is what always made her romance with merrill so interesting to me, because merrill is so animated, merrill is so passionate and of course merrill's entire spellset is full offense, she does not have access to ANY creation spells at all.

because muna's the support mage, something that did not really occur to me but i'm so fascinated by now is that i can fully spec anders for DPS. i only set his tactics so he heals himself, since muna is already focused on healing and buffing the party. all of this other spells are aggressive, offensive, and i fully fleshed out his vengeance tree, and it's genuinely such a fun playstyle for him that i don't get with most of my other playthroughs. but i am also realising that this kind of playstyle is really great for emphasising anders' own character - he is not toothless or harmless, he will show you why mages are feared. he is a grey warden, he is an abomination, and he does rip through enemies like they're made of butter with very little effort. justice makes an appearance on the battlefield often.

i think there's really something to be said here abt muna being taught her whole life to tamp down her emotions to not appear aggressive, to appear meek and docile, and all the ways she can never express her rage or anger or upset or excitement because, as a mage, the very expression of her emotions can be a threat (that very real lesson from malcolm that mages must appear in control, calm, logical, reasonable at all times, that the expression of emotions is a threat because it makes other people think you are seconds from possession and may act accordingly violently) and muna being drawn to the most blatant violations of the very rules she was taught for her survival, falling for the very cautionary tales she grew up with, drawn to the kind of monster people would so easily accuse her of becoming.

just really fascinated by the idea of muna being drawn to the mages who exist in such defiance of everything she was taught to believe about herself, about her kind, and her deep, abiding admiration for the both of them - abomination and maleficar, by the chantry's law, but to her, the deepest, richest, most passionate expressions of being alive.

[eastern-lights]

So we all know how the main theme of Veilguard is gonna be Regret, right? Why stop there? Why not assign theme-demons to the other games as well?

Origins: Despair/desperation

Aside from generally being what you feel when there's a Darkspawn horde ravaging your country, despair is what sets the whole plot in motion and keeps appearing in the individual origins and minor plot points throughout the story.

Everything Loghain does he does out of desperation. He is desperate to preserve the Ferelden he knows because he genuinely believes he is the only one who can. He turns to heinous acts because he is desperate to win and he sees no other way out.

Grey Wardens in general can be summed up by "desperate times, desperate measures". The Warden, too, can commit horrible crimes to get the power to oppose the Blight, because times are desperate.

Despair is what makes most of the origin characters join the Wardens. Cousland just lost their family. Tabris/Brosca are about to be executed. Amell/Surana are about to be shipped to Aeonar. Aeducan is dying in the Deep Roads. Mahariel is dying of the Blight.

As early as Lothering, you fight and kill people whose only reason for attacking you is desperation.

Also, what colour is the Warden associated with? Blue. What colour are despair demons? Also blue.

(me rn:)

Dragon Age II: [helpless] Rage

Where in Origins, times were desperate, but ultimately you had the power to win, few games manage to convey the utter feeling of powerlesness in the face of fate and societal change as DAII.

Despair may drive the Warden to questionable measures to achieve victory, but nothing Hawke does can ever lead to even just losing less, nevermind actually winning.

Almost every single character is a powerless victim of circumstance and their own nature. All they can do is rage impotently against the heavens.

Rage at being powerless to reclaim the Tome of Koslun drives the Arishok to his conquest of Kirkwall.

Rage is what threatens to consume Fenris throughout his arc.

And it is rage at the plight of mages that corrupts Justice into Vengeance.

Also, Hawke's colour is red. Just like that of Rage demons.

Inquisition: Fear

Or, more specifically, fear of there being no higher power, but also of it actually existing.

Pride is a very strong contender here, but please, indulge my mental gymnastics so we can fit into my demon colour scheme theory for a moment.

While pride is definitely the cardinal sin that lead Corypheus to try and usurp the throne of the gods the first time, I would argue that in Inquisition, it is fear that drives him more. He claims there is no higher power, that the Golden City was empty. And that terrifies him. He wants to become a god so there is one. In the end, he desperately wants divinity to exists in the world - when the Inquisitor defeats him and all seems lost, he calls out to Dumat, hoping he was wrong and there actually are gods.

Fear is definitely what drives the entire plot of Here Lies the Abyss.

Sera is absolutely terrified of magic and the Fade, but also the Elven gods. But she seems fine with the Maker. That is because the Maker is an absent god. She is free of His influence. But spirits and the Creators are hands-on and, if real, influence events. There is desire in her for there to be something divine, but also fear of that divinity actually reaching out.

Solas potentially leaves the love of his life because he is afraid that loving her, acknowledging there is something in this world worthy of love, would prevent him from doing what he sees as his duty.

Also, Inquisitor green, Fear demon also green or smth.

Now, Veilguard is really gonna mess with my colour scheme, isn't it...

[daitranscripts]

Leliana Conversation: Investigate

You Are Well-Connected

Leliana Masterpost

PC: You seem to know a great many people.

Leliana: I’ve made friends and, on occasion, enemies. It’s unavoidable.

1 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: You met the Hero of Ferelden? [2]

Investigate: Did you know Hawke? [3]

Investigate: How do you know Josephine? [4]

Investigate: Tell me about Morrigan. [5]

General: We’ll talk later. [6]

2 - Investigate: You met the Hero of Ferelden? PC: You have a history with the Warden who ended the Blight, don’t you?

Romanced, HoF died (and Leliana was not killed by the HoF) Leliana: We were in love. Even in the midst of all the chaos, I was happy. Truly happy. And then [they]… I’m sorry, I’d rather not talk about this. [back to 1]

Romanced, HoF alive (and Leliana was not killed by the HoF) Leliana: [They are] always in my thoughts, even when we’re far apart. My love is on a quest of [their] own. When the Inquisition has no further need of me, I will join [them]. For good, this time. I have lost enough. I will not lose [them] as well. [back to 1]

Left the party due to low approval/crisis Leliana: The Hero of Ferelden was not what I expected. We traveled together in the early days of the Blight, but joining was a mistake. We never got along. I was you and had silly ideas. [back to 1]

Any other approval level, HoF died Leliana: I had the privilege of calling [them] “friend” before [they] died. The world seemed much duller after that. It still does. [back to 1]

Any other approval level, HoF alive Leliana: Leliana (female HoF): I count her among my closest friends. She’s probably the only person I trust completely. I haven’t heard from her in some time. She just… disappeared. I try not to think of what might have happened. Leliana (male HoF: )I count him among my closest friends. I still write to him for advice when I can. He hasn’t replied to my letters in some time. I try not to worry about it. He can take care of himself. [back to 1]

Killed by the HoF Leliana: The “Hero of Ferelden.” (Laughs.) There are no heroes in real life, just people. And people can do terrible things. Like striking me down, for example. It’s hard not to bear a grudge. [back to 1]

If asked before Leliana: We’ve talked about this. I’d rather not do it again. It brings up memories. [back to 1]

3 - Investigate: Did you know Hawke? PC: They say you spent some time in Lothering. Did you know the Champion? Leliana: We spoke a few times. I seldom left the chantry, and we never became more than casual acquaintances. I saw more of the Hawke twins. Bethany in particular. She would spend time in meditation at the chantry, and she seemed to like my stories. The other one, the young man? He was a little surly. I did encounter the Champion again later in Kirkwall. Those were terrible times.

Dialogue options:

Special: Why were they terrible? [7]

[Back to 1]

7 - Special: Why were they terrible? PC: Was this when the chantry was destroyed? Leliana: No, that happened later, but even then the news coming out of Kirkwall was… disheartening. There were some in Val Royeaux who wanted the Divine to declare an Exalted March on Kirkwall. Justinia sent me there to see if that could be avoided, to gather evidence to calm those agitating for war. I guess it didn’t matter in the end. [Back to 1]

4 - Investigate: How do you know Josephine? PC: You seem to know Josephine quite well. Leliana: I met her a long time ago, but we didn’t become good friends until years later. After the Blight, in fact. I’d just returned to Val Royeaux, and she welcomed me back by throwing a diplomatic ball. She was the Antivan ambassador at the time, you see. The ball was… all right. Too many politicians. At midnight, Josie and I left to find a real party. We’ve been friends ever since.

Dialogue options:

Special: A real party? [8]

[Back to 1]

8 - Special: A real party? PC: What do you consider a real party? Leliana: It’s not a real party until someone’s smallclothes are pinned to a chantry board. And that’s all I’m saying about it. [Back to 1]

5 - Investigate: Tell me about Morrigan. PC: What do you know of Morrigan?

Morrigan had Kieran Leliana: She’s changed. She used to be so… disagreeable. Cruel. She said things just to hurt people. Now the sharp edges have worn away. Perhaps it was Kieran.

Old God Kieran, Leliana not romanced by HoF Leliana: He seems so normal, like any other little boy. And so polite. Not that I was expecting anything else. I mean… never mind. [back to 1] ㅤㅤ ㅤ Old God Kieran, Leliana romanced by HoF, HoF did the ritual with Morrigan Leliana: He saved us, did you know? I would have lost my love without Morrigan’s child. I may never know her intentions, but I’ll always be grateful. [back to 1] ㅤㅤ ㅤ Kieran is a normal child Leliana: I suppose becoming a mother could change anyone. [back to 1]

Morrigan did not have Kieran Leliana: I first met her when we were traveling with the Hero of Ferelden. We never really got along. Morrigan can be a powerful ally. Just never forget that she’s here because she wants something. Work with her, learn from her, trust her if you must, but never underestimate her. [back to 1]

Not recruited in Origins Leliana: I met her at court a few years ago. We never got along. She inserted herself into the empress’s confidences. Be wary of her. Morrigan can be a powerful ally, but only when it benefits her. [back to 1]

6 - General: We’ll talk later. PC: We can continue this conversation later. Leliana: You know where I am.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I said I wasn't going to get started on the topic of Aveline ruining Carver's chances with the guard but I lied okay, it's Carver Hawke defense hours.

Here's the thing; it doesn't matter if you believe Carver was or wasn't fit for the guard. That's a different debate that I'll get to. What matters is Aveline's in no position to tell the guard not to accept his application. Why does she think that's her right to judge whether or not he's fit?

Carver should've had the chance to prove himself one way or another. If it turns out he's not a good fit, then let him fail. Let him learn from it.

"Oh but failure could mean lost lives-"

Aveline doesn't get to talk shit about failure and the people. Plenty have died on her watch yet she still believes she's a good guard and Guard-Captain.

"maybe Aveline's protecting him, Carver could die while on patrol-"

Carver could die working in the Bone Pit, or serving as a templar, or when he's running around with Hawke. Carver could trip and fall down a set of stairs and die. In fact, he can die in the Deep Roads, somewhere he wouldn't have to go if the Hawke's weren't desperate.

Either Carver fails as a guard, or more likely, he succeeds and proves himself worthy of it.

But let's be real, Carver probably kept getting rejected due to being a Fereldan with a past of smuggling/mercenary work and Aveline only reaffirmed the decision, either because they asked her what she thought or she stuck her nose in unprompted.

But what irritates me is that she admits to telling them not to accept his application, and then has the balls to call Carver too proud to take up a trade or find another line of work.

Carver tells her, "And who would take on a Fereldan apprentice? Maybe in another year I could work my way up to pissboy." He has a good point here. Aside from the guard, the only other place Carver could work and use his skillset is with the Templars. Or go back to mercenary/smuggling work.

And Aveline doesn't even have a real answer for him. No suggestions, no encouragement, nothing. Just "Fine, let's crawl down some holes. Good bloody luck for your sake."

Also, if you do the Mark of the Assassin DLC in Act 1-

Aveline: You should see if any of the noblemen are looking for new men-at-arms. Carver: Are you trying to get rid of me? Aveline: It's a role with some autonomy. A good fit with your training and... tendencies. Carver: After serving King Cailan? You want me to suffer some poncy git who needs two servants to wipe his own ass? I'll find my own way, thanks. Aveline: I wish you would.

You wish he would?? Aveline, he was trying to find his way into the guard, a position he'd make a good fit for, and you helped deny him of it because YOU didn't think he would be good enough, I just-

If I haven't made it clear yet, I firmly believe that Carver would've made a great guard. He wants to help people, to be a protector. He's loyal, and despite what Aveline claims, he can follow orders and take his duty seriously. We see him do incredibly well with the Grey Wardens, after all. If he were a guard, he wouldn't have to go down into the Deep Roads with Hawke, and I think he would've been okay with that! He's so hurt and bitter when you leave him behind because that effectively tells him, "I don't need you." Carver's spent the whole first act telling you he wants to go on the expedition aka that he wants to be needed.

But if he were a guard, he would be needed elsewhere. He'd be in training as a recruit. He'd look after Leandra while you go. He wouldn't be backed into a corner with no income and only the templars left as his chance at forging his own path and providing for his family.

He doesn't get that opportunity, though.

By the way, if he becomes a warden, you can get this banter:

Aveline: I'm glad you found a place with the Wardens. Carver: Well, it's not the city guard, but it'll do. Aveline: Carver... it wasn't the place for you. Carver: No, it's all right. It is. It cost a lot, but I get it. I really was a bit of a tit those days, wasn't I? Aveline: Well...

This banter makes me want to scream.

Aveline's just... she's so insistent that she's right. She's someone who will double down rather than entertain the idea that she's wrong and it's not just with Carver and the guard, it's with everything. The "my beef with Aveline" list gets longer and longer every time I replay da2, I swear.

Say what you will about Carver, whether you think he would've been a good fit or if Aveline's right and it wasn't for him, he was denied a chance and it cost him so much in the end. He either dies, or he joins the templars where he deals with Chantry's bullshit trying to brainwash him with "mages aren't people" and "magic is a cancer in this world", or he's infected with the blight and becomes a Grey Warden, forced to serve the rest of his life fighting darkspawn, tormented by voices and nightmares.

I will never not be bitter about this.

[platoniccereal]

If you could undo any of the retcons in DA, what would you choose and why?

the inquisition.

i mean, this is a short answer, but as time goes by, i understand that this is an honest one. this is a tangent, but i guess dai is just an example of electronic arts' production hell if bioware planned the second game only as a bridge for the inquisition's main conflict, and then we get this regarding the mage uprising. like, it's reasonable to assume that since da2 was supposed to be a preamble, the dai's initial main focus was the mage rebellion? and then it's just one main quest in the beginning of the game, and that's it.

but this is not about retcons, it's just me being annoyed. it's just the dai is the most fruitful regarding the topic.

hawke suddenly hating on blood magic. they tried so hard to push it with leandra's death, and then just decided to take the matter in their own hands, ig.

whatever the fuck hawke and varric say about anders. this is not their point of view, at least not in every case, in da2??

whatever the fuck they did to dalish.

like, vallaslin? i guess it's cool if you get inspired by real-world peoples, and then decide to make vallaslin slave marks.

or make their gods powerful slavers Just Like The Nations that inflicted the genocide on them. nothing about andrastianism, tho.

dalish actually kick out the mages is the obvious one.

the point of view on the red crossing. same reason. i count it as a retcon because of the implications that elves actually did that (i.e. the exalted march) to themselves.

also iirc they changed relationships between dalish and city elves/ made it worse to shit on elves again. stop that wtf!! they won't, ofc.

i dunno if it's a retcon or just conscious disinformation, but the presentation of celene and briala in-game. no spoilers, but did they suddenly decide that celene actually didn't do anything she did in the masked empire?

whitewashing of alistair, fiona and briala. they don't look like that, you fuckers???

make these cullen endgame sliders canon again and work from here, cowards. i actually got them in my playthrough even tho they deleted them, afaik. (the ones where he snaps and kills three mages.)

actually, the whole cullen arc. i won't say anything new here, his story was supposed to end in dao, da2 at most.

and i think there are other sliders from dao they retconned and put aside, like with the circle that mages built near orzammar? do it, cowards! it would make such a good plot point in a normal version of dai where your focus is the mage rebellion.

the ending of dragon age absolution. i'm sorry, did anyone find it satisfying? did anyone go, like, hell yeah finally? or i knew that!

the wardens. of course they're suddenly all that stupid to fall for cory's lap dog's lies and shenanigans!

i dunno if the last one counts as a retcon, but it surely falls into the same line of crimes against the previous lore. suddenly bioware felt an urge to shit on every group da:o players held dear. because grey morality. but, you know, even without "i like diversity and opportunity to be a dick, i don't appreciate when the game tries to push an agenda in defense of the oppressors and you can't fucking escape it", sooner or later one should understand that trying to mix grey with every colour in the picture will lead only to it looking dirty and messy. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

thank you for your question! :)

[invinciblerodent]

Re: people’s needlessly pessimistic whining about Veilguard and the lack of focus on decisions from the other games. Idk I just… I’m kind of glad that they didn’t focus on that? Inquisition came out ten years ago, origins 15 years ago. I’d argue it’s good for the story that they chose to put the focus on the story of the game they’re publishing *now*, and not endless, gimmicky throwbacks. Especially since no one was really happy with how they handled it in inquisition.

Exactly! Yes, that's just what I mean!

Sorry for the rambling that I'm about to do, but I said this earlier today to my friend: I think the choices here from a writing- and development standpoint are either:

a series of small cameos that are vague and fundamentally unimportant enough to be taken- or switched out quickly without upsetting the entire plotline (as to not make the game both incomprehensible to new players, and/or so big and bloated that it's just borderline unmanageable),

or references that are relatively few and specific, but they affect the story in meaningful and interesting ways.

And I wholeheartedly believe that the second option of these two is far preferable to the first.

As nice as it would be to see beloved characters returning for a spell... like you said, it's been 15 years since Origins, and we've had three games with wildly branching possibilities for most characters- I honestly believe that it would have been an unnecessarily large added workload (that 99% of players potentially wouldn't even see) to account for all the possible deaths, romances, friendships, and fates that each companion could have in that time.

Plus, my main point in my grumpy tags on that post- from its infancy, Dragon Age has, in large part, relied on a series of unreliable narrators to tell its story.

The very moment you choose an origin in Origins, you choose a very specific lens through which to view the plot of the game that emphasizes different stakes in each big quest. They purposefully made a known liar the narrator of DA2, and Solas (another main player known to be a liar and a trickster) even spells this out in Haven, that (though I'm paraphrasing) reality can be fundamentally different depending on who it is that's telling its story, and what's their agenda in telling it.

Almost all of the events of these three games are told to us by imperfect people remembering things the way they saw them, through journal entries, letters, and word of mouth. We never even got (and were told that we would never get) a confirmation on whether the fucking MAKER is even REAL or not.

With that in mind, I honestly think it makes perfect sense for the majority of what the Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisitor have done to become distorted, misunderstood, and eventually lost to legend in a remarkably short time, especially considering that we're presumably in entirely different parts of the continent, with only Solas and Varric there to present likely diametrically opposing accounts of the events of 9:41. (Like yeah, sure, by that time whether there are werewolves in the Brecilian forest, or whether this or that person who was near to the action twenty in-game years ago in some Fereldan backwacter is dead or alive today, is probably meaningless pap to anyone who wasn't there at the time.)

Plus, yeah, one needs not to look further than Hawke and blood magic to see why Bioware might be reluctant to get really specific with including choices and characters who can be fundamentally affected by player choice. (I personally liked Hawke being very firmly against blood magic, but yeah, with them potentially having been a blood mage at one point, it was kind of a doozy.)

I just.... god, I know I sound bitter, but I so dearly wish people would just use their imaginations instead of complaining about stories not being exactly what they want them to be, and demanding for writers and actors to confirm everything.

---

Honestly all day today, it's been making me laugh to just imagine my Inquisitor Trevelyan being not just glad to be forgotten, but actively participating in the spreading of unfounded rumors about himself.

Like fuck it, he's retired. Nobody bother him, the Herald of Andraste is now an elven mage woman. Who was also sleeping with the Dread Wolf (definitely not the Big Scary Imperial Magister), what of it. Yeah, them being a non-mage human man is a common misconception, that was clever misdirection at the time, you're likely confusing the Inquisitor and the Inquisition's general. Ignore the missing arm, that's just an unfortunate accident and a total coincidence.

If they don't get mentioned after all (which I find unlikely tbh, knowing that Dorian is basically primed to be a returning character, what with him invariably being a Magister regardless of player choices) I can just headcanon that as soon as they caught wind of Varric's whole entourage approaching Minrathous, they just started packing frantically. No story is going to catch them with their pants around their ankles again!

(No, babe, leave that, there's no time, we have to go, quickly, the plot is fast approaching! We've already survived one ending of the world, this time? This time, we're going to my aunt's in Llomerynn. I hear it's nice this time of year. If the world is ending, I'd rather watch it happen with a fantasy!mai tai in my hand, and my feet in the fucking Amaranthine.)

[thekingofwinterblog]

What do you think of the people you can romance in DAI? Who is the best in your opinion?

I honestly don't have a good answer. For all my time playing Dragon Age Inquisition, for good or bad, it's romances are something I've mostly left untouched simply because unlike Origins, and even DA2, Inquisition doesn't lend itself all that well to replaying the game with a different origins.

A Kossith Mage Herald is unfortunately not nearly as different compared to playing as anything else as it should be. The only exception is playing as an elf, and unlike Origins, that only opens up all the cracks and flaws to the Inquisitor as a character.

The end result is that i effectively only have two Inquisitors I use, and as a result, i have only two romances i've gone through.

With that in mind, i can only comment on those, and what i've seen in other's playthroughs.

Josephine

Josephine is a good character, and if you go her romance, it does feel like you forge a connection... But the game unfortunately does not let you delve into her deepest secrets on such a route the way it should.

One common thing I've seen is a big problem with all the romances is that because Bioware didn't want to touch any of the inquisitors pasts in any meaningful way, it's impossible to open up to anyone about one's past, and get their take on it all.

Josephine tells you of her past, her family, siblings, etc. But you cannot really do the same.

Do the inquisitor have siblings? How do they feel about their parents? Have you had previous relationships? I have no idea.

If the Inquisitor was written as an actual in game person, defined by their background like hawke and the Warden, then the game's way of handling romance would have hit way harder and better. Because there is good stuff here, as I know just going through two romances.

The best highlight of Josephine's romance of course is her personal romance quest where you decide to engage in a duel for her hand, a very, very antivan thing to do, and a display that goes more to flesh out the actual Antivan culture than almost anything else in the games.

This kind of open, grand, romantic displays is what actual antivan society is all about, far, far more than it ever is about the tiny minority of assassins that are their most famous part to the world ever was...

And subsequently, it's excellent to showcase how Josephine differs greatly from other Antivan noblewomen. Rather than be taken in by it all, or swept of the feet, she is angry, and terrified, a results of her own history as a failed bard in the monstrosity that is the great game.

But if the Inquisitor choses to just anounce their love then and there for all to hear(also a very antivan thing to do), she is ultimately swept off her feet, and the lord you're fighting also choses to back down as he realises it's an actual duel for love, while he merely wanted a challnge and the honor of having dueled the inquisitor.

Again, this is a very great way of showcasing actual Antivan culture.

Overall i would say that though there is nothing wrong with Josephine's romance, and i do like the way it's a departure from previous ones by being all about courtly love, it didn't exactly wow me by being outstanding the way Morrigan's and Alistair's did in Origins.

Cassandra

Cassandra's romance meanwhile is both better, and worse than Josephine's.

Better in that you have a much, much more defined and in many ways more nuanced relationship with her, which can actually have some real weight depending on your choices. Like if you decide to actually make her divine... And she no longer feels she can have a relationship with you, despite how much she wants to, because she feels it would not be proper.

I would also say i greatly do like how the game handles the fact that Cassandra's an older woman, who is also a romantic at heart, but not very experienced in such matters... Which leads to an intentionally corny, but very enjoyable wooing scene after setting up a romantic date.

Subsequently, if you are a woman, i do like how she actually does go through a moment where she intentionally turns you down due to incompatible orientations. It's a small moment that shows her awkwardly fumbling as she usually does, but showcases that she is a good girl at heart, as she tries to let you down gently.

Now to the bad stuff.

Namely if you woo her off her feet as an elf... Like I did.

Now there is the core of something good here... But it's not fleshed out at all.

As i've said before, cassandra's biggest issue as a character is that like most of the companions, there are aspects of her personality you are not even allowed to change, and in this case, it's her less than flattering opinions on Elven religion(which even if completely true in the end, it doesn't exactly paint her in the best light).

There is a moment where she questions a dalish inquistor about possible Synchronization between creator worship and Andrastian, but you are not allowed to go any deeper on the subject, either positively, or negatively.

Which sucks, because if it had been, this could have added some much needed peraonal growth for her on the subject, either if you affirm the idea that there is room for such(as we know from lore, you would not be the first dalish to think so) and through that maybe Cassandra might actually learn that Creator worship isn't quite as scary as she has been led to believe, or reject it, and she eventually grows to love you anyway.

Because that is one of the strengths of this romance playing as a dalish. For all the way she talks shit about the creator religion, she comes to both love the inquisitor, and respect them like absolutely no other, felling that they are force of nature, that can do anything. And she does that regardless of whether you convert, is an atheist, or remain steadfast creators worshipper, all the way to tresspasser.

Now, we could debate whether he actually does, but the important thing here is that she believes it.

There was room here to really make something really special by delving into this, as cassandra has a moment where she notes that in the future, she will either be recognized as the lover of a saint, or an elven madman.

It's a poignant moment, which is echoed by what happened with other historical elven related figures in the game, but unfortunately you aren't allowed to ask her the simple, yet extremely important question "Do you care what they think?", instead the closest being "I don't care what they think, what do you believe?" Which ultimately is there to affirm Cassandra's belief in the maker, and that she does fully believe you were chosen by god, rather than allow her to express that regardless of what other people might think, she does love you, and will stick by you to the very end.

That kind of thinking is obviously still there... But it's subtext, when it should have been the main thesis around which her character arc was built.

All in all, Cassandra's romance arc is good... But if you're playing as Dalish, there is a lot of jank that mirrors the way the game handles so much about a dalish inquisitor.

Sera

From here on I haven't actually played any of these, so this is more observation more than anything else.

Sera seems to be okay enough, if you like her brand of humor, and personality, but i've seen a lot of people who greatly dislike the fact that if youre dalish and you refuse to abandon the elvhen gods, she breaks up with you, and is another reason Sera is a terrible character.

I disagree heavily on that front. The fact that Sera refuses to compromise on her beliefs and accept a "pagan" partner is a character flaw... But it's a very human one, and unlike so much else, I would say it's a character aspect you should not be able to change.

Its something that makes her a fundamentally different person than Cassandra, and that is good... But if you hate her as a character already, this really doesn't help much with that.

Blackwall

From what I can tell, this romance doesn't really add much to his character... Though it does add much to the Inquisitor, by showing how badly she wants it, and is willing to play the part of the sub for some love.

Solas

Ah, the Solavellan Hell.

Cullen

I don't really have any bigger thoughts on this one, other than to note it seems to be a better told version of the blackwall romance. Also it tells us that Cullen is not into women who are either taller than him, or way shorter.

Dorian

The most interesting thing about this romance from a character perspective is how the romance quest brings out Dorian's Tsundere side, something not seen much elsewhere in the game.

You only briefly see it in his personal quest depending on your choice of words, and far more in his banter and relationship with The Iron Bull.

Other than that it seems a perfectly decent romance quest.

The Iron Bull

Now this one is interesting for a number of reasons... But by far the most facinating thing about it, is that while Bull is not being disgenious, tresspasser shows us two things.

1. That regardless of how he feels about you, you ARE second to the Qun in his eyes, and 2. The thing he truly, truly cares about more than both the Qun and You if you romance him, is his mercenary crew.

They are his true family, his home, his soul.

That adds a lot of interesting hidden subtext for his romance as far as I'm concerned.

Bull is facinating, because as Cole reveals if he betrays you, there is no malice, no hatred, nothing. This really was not anything personal. He really did like you... But you were essentially just a bond girl of the week to him, and him the great spy, the glamorous Bond, moving on from yet another conquest.

Of course bond doesn't tend to get brutually murdered by said Bond girl(or guy, Bull ain't picky) after the fling, so there is that.

That is a fascinating dynamic, and great and interesting way to handle a romance with a spy.