#orsino is alive

[fanstuffrantings]

Some quick sketches of DA2 characters.

[withasideofshakespeare]

Woah no way?? People (completely unprompted /s) want to hear my trans Shakespeare headcanons?? You bet I can do that.

I’ve done this once before:

But I have even more thoughts now!!

In no particular order:

Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Every single pronoun possible. He/she/they/it + all of the neopronouns and xenopronouns that exist currently or will ever exist. Fairy gender is always weird but Puck’s is extra weird.

Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Fairy gender. Probably he/they/it?

Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): More fairy gender. She/they/it?

Titania’s fairy attendants (Midsummer): Get a hat and fill it with various pronouns and draw them out at random for the fairies.

Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing): Could go either way, but I really like the idea of transfemme Benedick. Or he/him lesbian Benedick.

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing): The she/they to end all she/theys

Viola/Cesario (Twelfth Night): Could be trans in literally any direction. I made a post about this too at some point. My suggestion is all of the directions: they/she/he

Sebastian (Twelfth Night): He/him, transmasc. I also made a post about this at some point.

Feste (Twelfth Night): I saw a great she/her Feste last summer.

Orsino (Twelfth Night): Specifically the himbo variety of he/they

Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III): If I ever play Margaret, I will use she/they pronouns.

Catesby (Richard III): Just played Catesby with she/her pronouns and it worked!

Richard II (Richard II): Tell me Richard isn’t the most they/he or he/they guy alive (or… dead).

Hal (1 Henry IV-Henry V): Saw Hal played with she/they pronouns last summer and it was great. Could also see he/they Hal. Very nonbinary vibe overall. I personally believe that going by Hal rather than Henry for two whole plays is their way of pulling the “going by the first letter of what my name used to be instead of picking a name from scratch” nonbinary trick. He probably pretends to be cis after his dad dies and he becomes king—one more element of Hal’s lifelong identity crisis.

Hotspur/Harry Percy Jr. (Richard II & 1 Henry IV): He/they in denial.

Kate Percy (1 & 2 Henry IV): She/they, not in denial. (Also Katespur should be bi4bi)

Ned Poins (1 & 2 Henry IV): Transmasc Ned Poins?? Maybe he doesn’t actually have a sister and Nell is just his deadname. Ned Poins’ failed scheme to flirt with Hal.

Romeo (Romeo & Juliet): he/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Juliet (Romeo & Juliet): she/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet): they/he(/it?). Vibes alone. Look at them. Just look.

Nurse (Romeo & Juliet): she/her, transfemme!

Cassius (Julius Caesar): Would love to see a they/them Cassius

Hamlet (Hamlet): he/they. I’ve made multiple posts about this theory and I still love it.

Ophelia (Hamlet): she/they. As she should.

Laertes (Hamlet): she/him and NOT just because Laertes used she/her pronouns the first time I saw this play.

Rosencrantz (Hamlet): he/they/she. Vibes. Sometimes goes by Ros/Rose. Probably genderfluid.

Malcolm (Macbeth): they/he or they/them. Also vibes.

Lady Macbeth (Macbeth): stolen straight from my last post because this is still my HC: she/they; would insult you for “having pronouns in your bio” and then turn around and punch you in the face for using their pronouns incorrectly.

Angus (Macbeth): she/her, transfemme. (t4t Ross/Angus. I will die on this hill… Dunsinane Hill.)

Ross (Macbeth): he/him, transmasc

Caithness (Macbeth): she/they lesbian

Mark Antony (Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra): I would not bat an eye at he/they Mark Antony

Edmund (King Lear): they/he, nonbinary, sexiest man (/gn) alive.

Edgar (King Lear): he/him. Transmasc Edgar is slowly becoming canon To Me.

Cordelia (King Lear): she/her, transfemme.

Goneril (King Lear): she/they. I would let them kill me.

Coriolanus (Coriolanus): transmasc OR transfemme Coriolanus is!!!! The butterfly/metamorphosis motif! Name changes during canon! Discomfort with scars/body! Lack of autonomy granted by society! This is THE transgender play. (Other than Twelfth Night)

Imogen (Cymbeline): Tell me she doesn’t want to be a she/they so bad.

Florizel (The Winter’s Tale): he/they(/she?). Literally just a vibe. I have a pet rock named Florizel.

Perdita (The Winter’s Tale): she/they. I also have a pet rock named Perdita.

Ariel (The Tempest): Similar to Puck, probably they/she/he? Even my conservative English prof consistently rotates between she/her and he/him for Ariel (possibly not intentionally? I’m not convinced he knows what her canon pronouns are.)

Ferdinand (The Tempest): she/they. PLEASE give me transfemme Ferdinand. PLEASE let Miranda realize she’s a lesbian during canon.

Miranda (The Tempest): she/they. Ariel taught them about the existence of she/they pronouns and she immediately started using them.

So in other words… every Shakespeare character should be trans, actually.

[vigilskeep]

this is a time sensitive question thank you

[deathonthe]

cruell'st she alive | 1633

pairing: charles/max

rating: mature (for now)

word count: ~7000 (chapter 1/3)

tags: twelfth night au, historical setting, rule 63, misunderstandings, mutual pining, truly catastrophic levels of lesbian yearning

summary:

“My Lady,” Charles greets as he walks up the entrance steps to her. He sounds like he’s had the wind knocked out of him—his voice breathless but his tone is sure. He leads with his hand outreached and Max steadily lays her gloved hand in his. He brings her hand slowly to his mouth and presses his lips gently against her clothed knuckle. “Mr. Leclerc,” Max replies, retrieving her hand modestly, “I have been waiting for you.” Charles beams at her. He looks particularly scruffy, with his chin dotted in black, his hair out of sorts, and a moustache that appears as though it hasn’t seen a practical end of a brush for days—he looks like he’s in desperate need of a grooming session, and a barber with a good shaving razor at that. He bends back to his full height, and is barely taller than Max by any means. It catches Max by surprise. Charles is a bit pink in the face—flustered, if she dares to guess.

Or: in which Max is Olivia and Charles is an odd combination of Viola and Orsino (the two people who love her the most).

will post further notes when i finish the entire fic (and if i feel like it)!

[thatgirlonstage]

Twelfth night!!

Yeah tumblr would throw that one at me. Okay, let’s talk about Orsino.

—before we can do that, though, in case you’ve never heard me yell about Twelfth Night before, we need to very briefly talk about Hamnet, because you need to understand that all my Twelfth Night thoughts stem off this:

Shakespeare had three children: Susanna, and fraternal twins Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet died in 1596, when he was 11 years old. Twelfth Night, a play about a woman who believes her twin brother has died and later discovers he is incredibly, miraculously alive, is written in 1601. However much you believe the plays are or aren’t biographical, I simply don’t think it's humanly possible for Twelfth Night to be uninfluenced by Hamnet's death. So: Twelfth Night is a play about grief, loss, and fantasizing happy endings and miraculous reunions.

Now back to Orsino.

Orsino… kind of sucks. A lot sucks. The guy is harassing a woman in mourning who has told him repeatedly and explicitly that she has no interest in him, and yet he keeps sending marriage proposals anyway. He threatens to murder Cesario because Olivia likes Cesario more than him. He's more than a little misogynist ("There is no woman's sides / Can bide the beating of so strong a passion / As love doth give my heart; no woman's heart / So big, to hold so much; they lack retention") and his turnaround to proposing to Viola when her identity gets revealed at the end is an hilariously quick heel turn from him proposing to Olivia again literally earlier in that same scene, which makes their happy ending feel very precarious and unearned.

However.

Much of Orsino and Viola/Cesario's relationship happens offstage—the first time we see them interact, we learn that Orsino has been showing Cesario favor and that Viola has already fallen in love with him. There's clearly meant to be some immediate chemistry there, with only the gender issue being a barrier to them being immediate love interests. We never see Orsino and Olivia directly interact until the final scene, when their relationship is already barbed and they're clearly just rehashing an old argument.

I think Orsino is most interestingly played when his "love" for Olivia is transparently a performance of heteronormativity. He might be lying to himself as well as everyone else, but I think the way you make Orsino Not Suck So Much That Seeing Him End Up With Our Main Girl Viola Makes You Wince For Her Sake, is to make it very obvious that he's just grasping at the thing he's supposed to do (fall in love with a woman, marry her) and that all his interest is in Cesario from the moment he turns up. I think it is both comedic and genuinely emotional if part of the reason Orsino sends Cesario to woo for him is coming from a place of, "Well I fell in love with him right away, clearly if anyone can convince Olivia to be in love my Cesario can." (and if the threat to kill Cesario is a very mixed-up "I'm jealous but I don't know of who" kind of thing). The scene where Cesario roundabout confesses to being in love with Orsino (the "I love a woman of about your complexion and years" scene) should, in that interpretation, be absolutely wrought with sexual tension, and the climax and turnaround to proposing to Viola not so much a sudden change of heart, as Orsino going "oh thank god, I have a societally acceptable way to marry this guy now."

Because remember, this play is about fantasizing miraculous happy endings.

It's funny, you know, that in Orsino's very final lines of the play, he still says "Cesario" rather than "Viola," and that his line of "Cesario, come— / For so you shall be while you are a man / But when in other habits you are seen / Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen" both refers to Viola/Cesario as being a man, concurrently and in this moment, not just in disguise as one, and also… doesn't precisely preclude the idea that he might be a man again sometimes in the future. There isn't a time limit on that "while you are a man." It's one of those things that's just ripe for trans/genderfluid readings of Viola, and a reading of Orsino that says he's not only okay with that, but actively in favor of it.

[recents]

the way to enjoy DA2 unironically is to play it once ironically, then play origins unironically, then start getting invested in the lore, then realize that critical thinking about the narrative you are presented with is one of the core themes of the series, then get spoiled for the fact that in inquisition if you side with mages orsino is alive and varric covered it up, then think about the differences between anders’ characterization in awakening vs 2, then have the thought “so what else did pro-mage varric cover up when he told this story to the chantry,” then start replaying DA2 but unironically and taking notes, th

[dragonagekeeper]

Merrill Polls / DA2 Companion Polls / DA2 Act 3 Polls

Dragon Age 2 Polls

See quest and choice descriptions from Dragon Age Wiki/Keep below

In most cases Merrill will immediately agree to help Hawke who sided with the templars. However, if the following conditions are met simultaneously, she will refuse:

Anders is a 100% rival and his Act 3 Questioning Beliefs quest was completed, i.e. he can be potentially persuaded to turn against the mages.

Merrill's Act 3 Quest, Merrill, Friend or Foe? was not completed.

Later Hawke will see Merrill in the Gallows courtyard. If you choose the top option ("Join Me"), she will always rejoin the party, telling Orsino that Hawke is now "her people". If you choose any of the other two options, she will walk away and Hawke will encounter her inside the Gallows: at this point all dialogue options lead to killing Merrill in combat.

Merrill died

Merrill's beliefs led her into direct opposition with Hawke. She did not survive the conflict.

2. Merrill alive & well

Merrill survived the conflict.

[daitranscripts]

Varric Conversation: Investigate

I Have Questions About Hawke

Varric Masterpost

PC: I’ve read your Tales of the Champion, and I have a few questions.

Varric: That’s a pretty common reaction. Go ahead.

1 - Dialogue options:

Investigate (Anders alive): What happened to Anders? [2]

Investigate: Orsino’s fate made no sense. [3] -Varric slightly disapproves

Investigate (Arishock killed): You made up the Arishok fight. [4]

Investigate (Arishock lived): What happened to the Arishok? [5]

Investigate: Where are Hawke’s friends? [6]

General: Never mind. [7]

2 - Investigate: What happened to Anders? PC: What happened to the mage who destroyed the Chantry? The book never said.

Varric (Hawke sided mages): He fled Kirkwall with the mages from the Circle. Stayed with them a while. But he had to move on. Somehow, a lot of mages blamed him for making them live a fugitives. Varric (Hawke sided templars): Hawke made him stay to help put out the fire he caused. But he eventually moved on. Nobody else wanted him in Kirkwall.

Varric: I don’t know where he is now, and I don’t want to know. [back to 1]

3 - Investigate: Orsino’s fate made no sense. PC: In the book, you say that First Enchanter Orsino turned himself into a giant monster made of corpses. How? Why? Varric: Do I look like an expert on magical weirdness to you? I can’t tell you how. As for the “why,” all I can say is he was desperate. [back to 1]

4 - Investigate: You made up the Arishok fight. PC: There’s no way Hawke really could have killed the Arishok. It would have started a war with the Qunari. Varric: Apparently, the Arishok didn’t get permission before he attacked Kirkwall, and the Qun didn’t want another Exalted March. When they finally sent a ship to haul the wrecked dreadnought away, they just said, “We will never speak of this again.” As far as I can tell, that’s the Qun’s version of an apology. [back to 1]

5 - Investigate: What happened to the Arishok? PC: Your book doesn’t say what happened after the Arishok left Kirkwall. Varric: He kind of… lost the Tome of Koslun again. Along with the thief. As I understand it, he returned to Par Vollen to find the Qunari equivalent of a court-martial waiting for him. There’s a new guy named Arishok now, and asking about the old one is a nightmare of logic and grammar. [back to 1]

6 - Investigate: Where are Hawke’s friends? PC: Where are the rest of Hawke’s associates?

If Merrill is alive and stayed with Hawke: Varric: Merrill decided to look after the elves left homeless by the fighting. She’s done a pretty good job of keeping them away from the mages and templars so far. I guess she had plenty of practice avoiding stupid human battles with her old Dalish clan.

If Fenris is alive and stayed with Hawke Varric: Fenris has kept himself busy, hunting down the Tevinter slavers who came south to prey on the refugees. I’m not sure exactly where he is at the moment. You can usually follow the trail of corpses, though.

If Isabella stayed with Hawke Varric: Isabella went back to the raiders. She’s calling herself an admiral now. I don’t know if she’s actually in charge or just has a really big hat. Might be the same thing, honestly.

If Sebastian was recruited: Varric: Sebastian went back to Starkhaven. I’m sure he’s boring all sorts of people there.

If Hawke was not a mage and Bethany survived the Deep Roads: Varric: Last I knew, Hawke’s little sister Bethany was doing something Wardeny near the Anderfels border.

If Hawke was not a mage and Bethany did not go to the Deep Roads: Varric: Hawke’s little sister is in the Free Marches, helping some of the other survivors from the Kirkwall Circle.

If Hawke was a mage and Carver survived the Deep Roads: Varric: Hawke’s little brother was off on some Warden business near the Anderfels border last I knew.

If Hawke was a mage and Carver did not go to the Deep Roads: Varric: Hawke’s little brother Carver is still in the Free Marches, helping the Kirkwall guard keep order.

Varric: Aveline is still guard-captain. I’m pretty sure Kirkwall would fall right into the sea if she quit her job. [back to 1]

7 - General: Never mind. PC: Carry on.

[sweetmage]

SweetMage's DA Writing Prompt List

Hi! I am making this little prompt list in anticipation of joining the Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle. Below the cut you'll find all of my OCs/Ships (platonic, romantic, and familial), some TWs and disclaimers, and some sample writing prompts but feel free to come up with some of your own prompts or ask me for more info! :) WARNING: There are some 18+ prompts!

Things with ❤ are preferred this week! Characters:

❤ Edan Cousland | Inquisitor!Edan Cousland Garrett Hawke (purple mage) | Inquisitor!Garrett Hawke ❤ Anders (and Justice) Sebastian Vael Ser Roderick Gilmore (loosely based on the NPC companion mod but with my own characterization/HCs) Niall (from the Circle Mage Origin/Fade Quest. Will write him post-DA2 in an AU where he survived mostly!) Meeran (DA2 mercenary leader. Will probably write him in my dystopian/cyberpunk AU version of DA2)

Romantic Ships (SFW or NSFW is okay!):

❤Purple Mage M!Hawke/Anders ❤Edan Cousland/Ser Roderick Gilmore ❤ Celestine (non-Hawke OC)/Sebastian Purple Mage M!Hawke/Anders/Justice Niall/Orsino (Post-DA2, both alive OR during DA2 where Niall is sent on an assignment from the Kinloch hold)

Platonic/Familial Ships (SFW Only):

❤Anders & Edan Cousland ❤Purple Mage M!Hawke & Any of the DA2 cast ❤Anders & Varric (DA2 or DAI time period) ❤Garrett & Marian Hawke (twin!Hawke AU) ❤Garrett and/or Anders & their son Victor (AU where trans!Garrett/Anders had a biological son during DA2 act 2) Edan & Any of the DAO or DAA cast Inquisitor Edan & any of the DAI, DAO, or DAA cast Inquisitor Hawke & any of the DAI or DA2 cast Orsino & Anders

Sample Prompt Lists: Please do not request: Not used to freedom, preventative measures not taken, reopening an old wound. I have gotten many of these!

*Starred prompts may contain triggering angst content * Bad Things Happen Bingo Card [SFW Angst] ❤ * Old Whumptober Prompt List [SFW Angst] ❤ Domesticity/Intimacy [SFW/NSFW Ship] Old Sicktember Prompt List [SFW Hurt/Comfort] Old Platonic Flufftober Prompt List [SFW Fluff] Old Flufftober Prompt List [SFW Fluff or Angst] ❤ Multi Category Smut Prompts (Vanilla, kinky, goofy, etc.) [NSFW Smut] ---

TWs and Disclaimers:

- Fics about Edan may contain references or depictions of his lyrium addiction and resulting cognitive decline (memory issues, hallucinations, confusion, etc.) as that's a big part of his character. - Fics about Roderick may contain mention of PTSD and past torture (mental/emotional/SA) at the hands of Rendon Howe as that is a part of his story. - Fics about Anders might contain mention of self-harm, past abuse, and suicidal ideation

Like To Write:

- Trauma and/or Healing ❤ - Mental Illness Related Hurt/Comfort ❤ - Sappy Smut ❤ - Silly/Awkward Smut - Hurt/Comfort Smut ❤ - Sweet/Romantic Scenes - Domestic Life in Tough Situations (long distance like Edan/Ser Gilmore, Fugitives like Anders/Garrett, etc.) ❤ - Hurt/Comfort ❤

Prefer Not To Write/Won't Write:

- Anders Demonizing/Anti-Anders sentiments such as rivalmance, abuse from Hawke, death ending, him 'ruining' Justice, etc. (him facing opposition from characters like Fenris, Sebastian, various NPCs, etc. is 100% okay though!) - Non-Canon Major Character Death (near death, Hawke/Warden in the Fade, or non-companion canon deaths like Leandra or the Cousland family are okay though!) - Gratuitous Physical Torture - Second Person/Character x Reader - Modern AU/Coffee Shop AU/College AU or anything similar

[dykebarbie]

someone needs to write an au where viola DOES somehow go work for olivia at her than orsino (because she first says that olivia is the one she wants to work for) and they end up in love instead

viola would still be herself and accidentally woo olivia, AND they could bond over the loss of their brothers (even if viola’s ends up being alive)

antonio would still rescue sebastian and they could fall in love

orsino could have his grand conversations about love with feste and then they could fall in love

it would all be perfect

[beththeb01]

No one leaves Kirkwall without trauma because Meredith literally summons shit of nightmares. Hey see those Tevinter slave statues? BOOM! ALIVE! AHAHAHAHHA

Funny how Fenris found them unpleasant and intimidating

THANKS FOR THE FORESHADOWING DUDE

Even if you pick mages, Orsino still performs his blood refusal where he is a massive fetus of compiling flesh of dead mages

And Hawke is like im just a dude what the fuck I'm just a refugee trying to make money

I will admit I didn't expect them to start moving so that was fun. Also they were unpleasant

Yeah that did feel bad. No winning there. That's actually one of the points I've seen contested by a few people. Some think that Varric was trying to protect Orsino. On one hand I would like that, on the other it's thematically consistent for Hawkes' choices to just not matter.

Hawke: can I have. One day of peace? Can I please have a break? Maybe go on a nice picnic or something with Fenris? Just one day.

[wylldebee]

Do you have a canon run through for Dragon Age? If you do, what is it?

(oh wow my first ever ask :D!) Yes! Yes I do! My canon world state mostly has the "Good" choices (as much as there can be in Dragon Age). Dragon Age: Origins (Warden: Valerie 'Val' Tabris, rogue; assassin+duelist): —Circle saved; Mages supported; Irving alive —Brokered peace between elves and werewolves —Branka killed; Anvil destroyed; Bhelen rules —Connor alive (not possessed); Isolde alive; urn not poisoned —Helped Alistair find Goldana (hardened him); killed Marjolaine (didn't harden Leliana); killed Master Ignacio —Hardened!Alistair and Anora rule together; Loghain was executed —Killed the Architect; both Keep and Amaranthine protected; Oghren and Felsi reunited —Didn't go with Morrigan —Sophia killed; Avernus continues his research ethically; drank the Power of Blood —Companions alive, well, and quests done; romanced Leliana

Dragon Age II (Champion: Arin 'Rin' Hawke, mage; Force Mage) —Joined the mercenaries —Returned Saemus to the Viscount; convinced Templars to leave; sent Feynriel to the Dalish; defended Ketojan from the Qunari; Aveline made guard captain; Carver is a Templar —Aveline and Donnic married; didn't side with Petrice; Bartrand not killed; Varric not allowed to keep Red Lyrium Shard; Isabela returns with the tome; didn't give Isabela to the Arishok; killed the Arishok —Let Zevran go; rescued Nathaniel; reunited Charade and Gamlin; handed conspirators to Orsino; allowed Emile to go free; sided with the mages —Sided with Larius; found Malcolm's will —All companions recruited and friend-manced; Merrill didn't destroy the Eluvian; Merrill's clan is alive; friends with Tabris; didn't kiss Tabris (but did flirt a little :3); didn't approve Ander's actions; killed Anders; romanced Isabela is all three acts. (Before anyone says anything; I have nothing against Anders and I have more playthroughs with him alive than I do dead. I'm all for Ander blowing up the Chantry. Is just Hawke mercy killing Anders because he would've been the number one target for Templars, and to also free Anders from Justice. Role-playing.) Dragon Age: Inquisition (Inquisitor Rhosyn 'Rho' Lavellan rogue; Tempest) —Captured the various keeps; Fairbanks not revealed as a noble; closed the lake's rifts; helped refugees; investigated the dwarven ruins; gained the cultists' support; Imshael killed; rescued the troops from the Avvar inner sanctum reached (<- f*ck this quest in particular) —Inquisition forces were regularly deployed; Sutherland's company was successful; contacted Charade; Jecin and Celeste married for love —Mages allied; declared the Inquisition for order; denied being chosen by Andraste; Samson my rival; saved everyone in Haven (<- frigging mission making me reload a thousand times to save everybody) —Celene alive; Celene rules and reconciled with Briala; Florianne alive —Grey Wardens rebuilt; Stroud left behind in the fade —Respected the temple's traditions; allied with guardians; Rhosyn drank from the well —Leliana made Divine —Met Ameridian; earned legend-mark from Avvar; dragon slain; shared the truth about Ameridian —Saved mines; stopped earthquakes —Bull remained loyal; preserved the Inquisition as a peacekeeping force; attempt to redeem Solas —Everybody recruited and friends with everybody; Blackwall made into a Grey Warden; Solas freed his friend; Cassandra rebuilt the Seekers; Dorian reconciled with his father; saved the Charger and Bull is Tal-Vashoth; Cole more human; gave Vivienne the heart; forced Hammon to work for the Inquisition; Varric tracked down the red lyrium source; romanced Cassandra (<- unfortunately as a male! Inquisitor but it's still part my canon world state) And that's that!

[echthr0s]

just some fun notes about Anansi since most of y'all weren't around for the DAblogging years

he's a necrodancer! Dayir is Yuna-coded and Anansi is reverse-Yuna-coded (dances to bring them back instead of dancing to send them off).

he's [part-]Chasind and knew Morrigan when they were children but then the Chantry got a hold of him and he's been a menace to Circle society ever since

(the other part of his ethnicity is Rivaini. culturally he considers himself Chasind, since the Wilds are where he lived)

his magical affinity is earth-based but in a roots-and-rot way <3

relatedly, he cannot keep plants alive. if Alistair's rose hadn't been magically preserved that shit would have been dust as soon as it touched his hand lmao

he fucked that old man (Uldred. Duncan. Loghain. Seneschal Varel. Orsino. Solas lmao)

he fucked that weird creature (Urthemiel. the Architect. Fade spirits. Corypheus, who really fucking needed it)

his spirit companion is called Clarity. he also has a staff with a Fade spirit in it. Anansi is how Anders and Justice found equilibrium

he's a creation of the dragon god Razikale, which has functioned as the perfect handwave for all the anime ass shit he's able to do

like the fact that he cured himself of the Blight. or the fact that he functionally cured Thedas of Blights in general

he was First Enchanter of the Fereldan Circle for a while but this was incredibly boring to him and so he went to the Conclave primarily as a way to do something interesting (meet up with Morrigan and do some Shenanigans). little did he fkn know

he shot down the "Herald of Andraste" business very quickly -- Andraste was a nice gal and all but his authority comes from... elsewhere -- but this had a rebound effect where people started deifying him. the cult got so out of hand that the Chantry did the ultimately STUPID thing of Exalted Marching during what was obviously pivotal world-breaking moment in Thedas's history and basically signed its own death warrant. <3

considering all of the above, you can probably guess Tevinter is obsessed with him. meanwhile, he thinks Tevinter is cringey as fuck

[vigilskeep]

Which quests/decisions would lead to Evrion’s largest approval gains? Disapproval games? Are there any quest-specific bits of party banter for him you’ve already considered?

generally supporting the templars gains rivalry, supporting the mages gains friendship, and those quests are going to have the biggest effect. he’s also a loyal citizen of kirkwall, so anything to help kirkwallers gains friendship and anything that endangers them gains rivalry. killing people unnecessarily especially when framed as taking justice into your own hands usually gains rivalry although he will say it’s probably for the best, showing mercy gains friendship although he will express wariness

evrion rivalry speedrun: hand mages over to the circle, deal with demons, make feynriel tranquil during night terrors, do whatever athenril or meeran wants in loose ends, support ser varnell and petrice, agree with elthina and cullen in dialogue, refuse to take emeric’s investigation seriously, be aggressive to merrill and anders and refuse their personal quests, let isabela’s criminal contacts get away with what they want, support meredith

evrion friendship speedrun: send feynriel to the dalish, protect the mages during act of mercy, disagree with chantry figures, take threats to kirkwall in quests like blackpowder courtesy or prime suspect seriously, be supportive of the mages in your party and defensive of mages in dialogue, be aggressive to aveline, support orsino, help anders with his act 3 plan

some ambient dialogue during quests off the top of my head:

during the unbidden rescue: “The son has more of a spine than the father. Twenty silvers on that ending badly.” (isabela: “You’re on!”) (varric: “Only because I know you need the silvers.”)

during act of mercy: “Maleficarum always hide in the dark when they’re frightened. Like rats. ... Maker, I didn’t mean that. Hawke, it’s your call, but the Circle will eat them alive.”

during enemies among us: “To think of demons hidden among my brothers... Well, we’ve thrown enough mages to the wolves. Only fair they take their turn.”

during the deep roads expedition: “They should bring templar recruits down here. That’ll stop them complaining about a few measly walking corpses.”

during night terrors: “[muttering to himself] Though all before me is shadow, yet shall the Maker be my guide. I shall not be left to wander through the—the shifting—no, the drifting—the... Shit. Hawke, where’s your princeling the one time I need him?”

during all that remains: “No time for fear, Hawke. Let me be your hunter. I’ll find the trail.”

during on the loose: “I’m here for you, Hawke, but I hope you know what you’re doing. Meredith will always push you one step further.”

during justice: “I’m worried about Anders. If he won’t talk to me, I hope he’ll talk to you.”

[ineedmyknightcommander]

WIP Whenever!

@mxkelsifer, @mxanigel, @druckkugelschreiber and @anneapocalypse have tagged me in various 'share snippets' memes over the last few days, and I... actually wrote something today! (Post Absolution, taking place in the continuity as my other Orsino Lives works.)

The cottage wasn’t the sort of place Cullen had envisioned Orsino taking as a residence. It was of simple means, with wooden walls and a thatched roof. If anything, it reminded Cullen of the houses of his youth. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, considering he was in the Hinterlands, but despite being back on Fereldan soil, Cullen had never felt so far from home.

Cullen raised his hand to the door to knock, but it was already ajar. It felt dangerous, perverse, for the former First Enchanter to be so unguarded like this. It hadn’t been this way back in the Circle.

But so many things had changed since then. Everything had changed. Except for the most important thing.

He sighed loudly. He wished it hadn’t come to this, that he didn’t have to be the one to tell Orsino the bad news. But who else was there? Who else knew Orsino’s whereabouts, who knew he was even still alive? The popularity of the dwarf’s book seemed to have overwritten reality even for those who were present. “Cullen,” Orsino’s voice called from inside, “do you intend to brood in my doorway all day? Come in.”

Cullen flushed, pushing his way into the house with heavy footsteps. “How did you know it was me?”

Smiling, Orsino looked up from the teapot in his hands. “I’d recognise that sigh anywhere.”

Tagging: @sharksister, @venatohru, @ineffableaz, @breadedsinner, @milesmentis, @galfrey and YOU! (but no pressure!)

[kettlequills]

meredith stannard for the character meme?

Meredith Stannard

First impression: oh whoah hot jean gilpin lady fucking MURDERED a qunari so sexy so powerful

Impression now: oh the toxic tragedy of the Modern Chantry literally embodied.

Favourite moment: Her death scene is incredible. Amazing voice acting and very impactful, the hubris, the drama, and ultimately actually even a little sad.

Idea for a story: I have spoken before about the idea of Solas bringing down the Veil early, leading to big problems as suddenly, a bunch of people awaken as mages that weren't before; Meredith being one of them, and also dealing with being suddenly extremely lyrium sick.

Secondly, Meredith embodying Hawke's Pride or Rage in the fight against the Nightmare demon and being a Cole-esque situation where it's uncertain how much of her is really there, considering she didn't exactly die properly, and Hawke not being sure themselves if they're still alive, but bouncing between Meredith and Orsino (Despair) who are helping them fight the Nightmare, who has created a vast and endless loop of Hawke's powerlessness in Kirkwall - a sort of, dreamlike timeloop story. Hawke only starts breaking out of the Nightmare's hold when they do what they never managed to do when they were alive, which was get Meredith (in her incarnation as the more positive side) and Orsino (as Hope) to work together to help them, due to realising essentially that they were being trapped into the same repeating patterns (cue commentary on mage templar dynamics repeating oppressively) and overcoming those negative feelings those two were feeding off to make it work. Also it's gay and polyam and Hawke maybe returns double possessed. Who knows.

Unpopular opinion: Not unpopular, but Meredith is a victim of the Chantry, who then goes on and victimises others. She is the perfect templar and exactly what the Templar Order values and searches for. If it hadn't been for the red lyrium causing her atrocities to become visible to the wilfully blind like Cullen, she would have continued leading the city and her troops with full backing and support regardless of the illegal Annulment. She was a great character, an amazing villain, and she still would have been a more interesting character to play leader of the Red Templars or Inquisition military advisor than Samson or Cullen.

Favourite relationship: Her dynamic with Elthina fascinates me. Elthina's frustration at Meredith, who is slipping into a lyrium madness, not being able to keep up with her politically and manage the powder keg of Kirkwall in a way that satisfies them both when previously the two of them have worked so well together to do just that is great. So much packed into one short scene.

Favourite headcanon: The Andraste in Kirkwall's Chantry was deliberately modelled off Meredith, who started wearing her circlet to accentuate the similarity.