#ranni and alistair have so many problems and issues and then those problems and issues get

[abyssal-ilk]

7, 9, 21, 27, 28 for ranni please i need to know everything about her and barely restrained myself from sending the entire list

HIII vee, thank u for sending in questions about ranni!! kicking my feet, you are always welcome to ask more or yell at me in dms if you'd like <3

(for this game here!)

7. How did they feel about being put in a leading position? Do they resent alistair for putting that on them or are they ok with it?

ranni has a lot of conflicted feelings on this! on one hand, she has never been outside of denerim in her life– and she's spent most of that time in the alienage. being suddenly pushed into the wide open world while being expected to interact with so many new people and be exposed to so many new cultures is,, extremely jarring for her. she's gone from being viewed as a child by her close-knit community and having zero autonomy over her own life to suddenly being in charge of not just her life, but the lives of ALL of her companions and everyone who is relying on the wardens to stop the blight. it's a massive jump. one she isn't prepared for whatsoever. there absolutely is a level of resentment between her and alistair because of this– he's the one who actually likes being part of the wardens, after all. he's the one who knew them, who's traveled past the stone walls he was born behind, who has actual combat experience, and who at least has some knowledge of the rest of the world.

but alistair is grieving after ostagar and the world cannot stop for that. since he refuses to step up, there just. isn't another choice. it's a good distraction from her own recent traumas, at least. if she's too busy making sure her group gets through the next fight, then she won't have time to think about anything that has happened to her. ofc, it inevitably ends in a messy breakdown and drives an even bigger wedge between her and alistair than the one that was already there. it's a mess

9. If the warden was trapped in a nightmare, what would it be like?

being trapped in the arl's estate; the doors unmoving no matter how she claws at them and the hallways stalked by a great beast she cannot see but she knows, instinctively, is hunting her. barking of the guards' hounds, claws clicking against the stone floors. the harsh voices of men echoing down corridors that do not end. blood on her hands, soaking her torn dress, but she doesn't know if it's hers, or nelaros', or shianni's– she just knows it's from one of them and not the arl's men. fire burns for miles outside of the windows. legions of darkspawn seperated from her by thick walls of stone. even if she did escape, where could she go?

21. Did the warden romance anyone from their group? If so, what attracted them to their partner?

yes and no! ranni was briefly in a relationship with zevran and had some underlying tension with morrigan, but neither of those relationships lasted. initially, ranni pursued zevran because he seemed interested in her and,, that was kind of it. she wasn't attracted to him. she didn't love him, at least not romantically. ranni knew that zevran was objectively attractive and charming, and figured that the feelings would come later. she was still struggling with the trauma of being kidnapped by vaughan and her fear of men, and she assumed that it wasn't a lack of attraction that stopped her from being interested in zevran but her distrust of men. she really wanted to work through that through zevran but it became obvious to them both fairly quickly that neither of them were actually interested in the other. ranni loves women, and zevran was vying for favor through seduction. it was messy, but they were never upset with each other and it opened the way for them to becoming close friends.

it's so much messier with morrigan and it maybe deserves its own post. they both spend nearly the entire game being in denial over their attraction towards each other and by the time it clicks, it's too late and morrigan has already left. average first wlw homoerotic friendship except this time it includes an old god baby that ranni kind of wants absolutely nothing to do with because of her own hangups with motherhood.

27. How does the Warden feel about what is happening in the Alienage? How do they feel about how elves are treated?

angry. it always comes back to anger with ranni. anger and guilt, as she blames herself for a lot of what happened there after she was conscripted into the wardens. she's convinced that there must of been some other way that wouldn't of ended with the deaths of so many, and she tries over and over to imagine what it could of been with nothing to show for it. ranni grew up in the alienage; they are her people, her community, her family, her home. she veers so sharply between anger and guilt that she becomes physically ill when things are too quiet or she is still for too long. so the moment the blight ends, all of ranni's focus is on rebuilding her community and healing her people. she uses her sway with anora to push for change and puts her own influence and funds towards improving living conditions for everyone she can. she helps rebuild the apartments and repairs homes, she steps in and takes over the orphanage herself for a time, she trains others how to defend themselves in secret. she doesn't care about the wardens. she doesn't care about whatever bullshit she did for orzammar, or the circle, or redcliffe. she doesn't care about anyone outside of the alienage gates. she can't afford to anymore.

28. During the Landsmeet, who did the Warden choose to rule Ferelden and why? How did they come to that decision?

i've gone back and forth so much on this but i think i have finally settled on it being anora and alistair. she just fucking wanted it to be done with. anora was the easy choice; already beloved by fereldan at large, has the experience needed to rule confidently, and she actually wants to be queen. ranni suggests that alistair marry anora to make ferelden as unified as possible, so that anyone having doubts over anora's rule is silenced through her marriage to alistair, who has the royal blood of his father and the backing of arl eamon. ranni is in an extremely poor headspace during the landsmeet (the alienage is in ruin and instead of focusing on her people and family, she is expected to make choices she honestly has no business making) and honestly? it was kind of a "she threw her hands up and said fuck it" moment. it seemed like the right choice. that's all she can say.