#solas is a deeply interesting character and he's also wrong.

[loquaciousquark]

DAI Update

I haven't forgotten Tav's BG3 playthrough (I have the pictures put together, just need to assemble the posts), but now that I've gotten through the first Solas romance scene, I felt the need to share some DAI screenshots to mark my progress.

This is Adahla Lavellan, electricity/spirit mage. She likes history and religious study and puzzles and, much to my chagrin, Solas.

She's got the vallaslin of Dirthamen (secrets, knowledge) and a hunger to understand the roots of major historical & legendary events. I'm still learning her as I play, but so far I know she's very self-assured and has almost no regrets; once she commits to a path, she lets go of wondering what else might have been and completely focuses on the decisions still ahead.

I've been trying to lean into the spy stuff mentioned in the prologue & in her codex. I know she was a foundling left with the clan at birth by non-elves, and she has a fascination with other cultures and especially with the various theologies scattered across Thedas. (I'm pretty sure she devoured every Genitivi text she could find growing up.)

While she does worship the elven gods, she doesn't disbelieve in any of the others; rather, she's deeply curious about finding ways where the elvhenan tradition and Andrastian tradition can both be true, or where the legends of the Old Gods and Tyrdda Bright-Axe might have overlapped at their religious root.

Her familiarity with these cultures made her the most suitable to represent the Lavellan clan at the Conclave. The mark is more of an exciting mystery to her than a painful burden, and though she does believe in the diplomatic efforts of the Inquisition and is firmly comfortable in her place leading the charge against Corypheus (since he wants to kill specifically her), she's secretly most invested in the Inquisition's acquisition of ancient texts, access to libraries, and uncovering of secrets. For her, "Inquisitor" is a decidedly literal title.

Romance stuff under the cut.

I was very unsure of how the Solas romance would go with a character like her. As @silksieve said, I'm coming at the romance from the wrong end; I already know who Solas is and yet know literally zero of the romance structure. I needed to create a character who could survive a heartbreak, and I think I've done that, but I'm fascinated to see how the intermediary beats shake out.

However, the romance ended up sparking naturally due to lovely happenstance. I've been keeping Solas in the party almost constantly so I can learn to like him, which meant he was present as I worked through all the astrariums and ocularums in the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, and most of the Emerald Graves. (Yes, even here, I'm still a completionist.) This led to a nice bit of headcanon that Adahla & Solas worked through a lot of the star puzzles together, which meant that later in the Graves, when I stumbled upon one without Solas in the party, Adahla & I both had a moment of seriously missing him and wishing he was there.

It felt natural, therefore, to examine (logically and methodically) why she was missing him so much, and after bringing him a copy of the unsolved map so she could watch him solve it and judge the number of tries it took him, I think she realized she was growing interested in more than his stories of Fade wanderings and legends out of time.

Considering this whole relationship started with him being grabby and rude while she felt like death, I'm amazed they've gotten this far. She may not have always liked him, but she has always respected him, and I the player was surprised at how smooth the change in her opinion felt.

Also as a player, I'm still a bit unsure of Solas myself. I like the deep wealth of history and knowledge he provides, but there's a...a sort of rigid pride to him that I personally still find off-putting. As I mentioned on stream, I'm going to need to see some chinks in the armor to really buy into the romance in any major way. Plus, he's just so...blandly designed! I dunno. Bald, beige, and a boring dresser? I know this is a me thing, but dang, seeing the concept art with dreads...well, a girl can dream.

Adahla, however, is having a great time. Once she decides on something, she commits with her whole heart, and now that he's admitted to being thrown off-balance during the Fade scene, she's made it her mission to keep him on that back foot as long as possible. I again have no idea how the romance plays out, and please God don't spoil me, but she & I are both hopeful that she'll keep him guessing through the end.

In terms of gameplay, I've about finished the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, the Emerald Graves, and the Forbidden Oasis. I plan to do Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts (or whatever it's called) next, followed by Crestwood, and then will keep working through the maps one by one. The level gating isn't quite as bad as I remember, though still annoying, and my few QoL mods have shaved off the worst of the gameplay irritants (thank you @bettydice!).

All in all, I'm having a really good time! Like I said, I'm still a little doubtful about Solas myself, but the character concept coming into shape for Adahla feels sound, and I think she's resilient enough to weather some of the revelations that Priory wasn't. I'm excited to keep going and find out! :)

Also, my girl, because I still love her best:

[grandwitchbird]

So let’s talk about Veilguard as an intentional subversion of the heroic power fantasy in RPGs. This is messy because I’m still thinking about it.

Generally we’ve got two approaches to crafting subversive narratives: utilizing the conventions of genre and medium to subvert expectation, and/or writing from the margins and against hegemonic interests.

Note that the audience is presumed to be informed. There’s no sense in trying to subvert uninformed expectations.

Veilguard puts the power of writing from the margins at least partly in the player’s hands. Are you a former galley slave turned pirate? Are you a cursed warden doomed to die in a world that will pay lip service to ideals it doesn’t really believe in? Maybe you’re just trans in a world that only barely even has words for what that means. It’s a collaborative narrative after all. And you can be the hero if you want! The game does not take that from you. It’s just that there are consequences to your choices, and heroes don’t get to escape their stories.*

Relationships & Characters

The subversions are there at the micro level, in archetypes and arcs turned on their heads. The noir detective is a woman. The necromancer fears death. The big damn hero guy is happier and more fulfilled as a cat dad. Most importantly though, the player cannot solve these character’s problems. We can only stay beside them while they struggle. And we’re meant to struggle too. There’s no incentive to people please to game approval. Trying to game a romance system for kisses and content isn’t even possible here. Our only motivation can be genuine interest and investment in these characters as-written, something that has finally allowed BioWare to shake off the spectre of player-sexual gamified romance arcs.**

The Narrator

Varric’s (explicitly illusory) attempts to frame the story as a schlocky hero’s journey are constantly undermined. We already know he’s spinning stories because that’s what he’s done for 3 games now. His advice to go solve your team’s problems is canned and doesn’t really help for reasons that become painfully apparent later in the game. This Varric is just whatever perception-filtered memory Rook/Solas has of the real Varric. Varric’s absence as a character then haunts every corner of the story and calls every narrative frame into question: heroes of the Veilguard as a game mechanic, Neve as folk hero or criminal collaborator to the same ends, Rook only calling themselves a hero when playing storyteller themselves, even Rook’s moniker takes on a new shade after Solas pulls his castling maneuver and the illusion is broken.

Varric being an absent narrator pushing us along the hero’s journey allows that big reveal to free us even as it frees him from the role of narrator. It also challenges us because it gives us undeniable reasons to want personal revenge against Solas. The real Varric was just a guy who did his best and was often wrong. He made his choices and can rest now. But Solas made his choices too, even if the outcome wasn’t what he intended. And now we’re free to choose between their paths. We haven’t actually fixed anything because this world is much bigger than us. We can open doors, offer a shoulder, provide backup. We can trust and be trusted. We can make mistakes. We can punch a god and die a hero. But we don’t have to be the hero.

The Hero

Solas, the dreadwolf, god of lies (depending on the story) is of course the walking narrative key to all of this. It’s a retread of his own story we escape if we refuse to play the hero. But it should be noted that the heroic path is interesting in its own right! The dreadwolf rises also in us. Sacrifice the pawns, damn the consequences. It’s a story that’s tragic and brutal and unapologetic in its classic structure. We get caught by the story and become the very hero we’ve been fighting this whole time.

It’s just at least equally interesting that we don’t have to be the hero. And it’s deeply subversive that the path to freedom is gained at the cost of the power fantasy. We can be part of a team that is more than pawns in a game. Some other guy can kill a god, and that’s actually his win, not just a step on our path. Somebody else can die for the cause, and that’s their choice more than ours. Our romances are represented by flowers because they’re alive and growing and not just beats in a story. Even the tragic hero himself can change. And that’s only possible if we let go of the power fantasy completely. Rook stops being Rook at the end of that path. It’s why we’re not in the mural. We get to escape the story.

* We’re going to get into heroes and stories and why heroes can’t escape their stories next if I don’t run out of steam.

** Or just Shepherd-sexual in Mass Effect. I want to write more about romance separately because this is a whole thing.

[vigilskeep]

What made you pick human Cole over spirit Cole? I’ve never quite understood the general fandom preference for human personally, being more sympathetic to the idea that he’s not human and doesn’t need to be put in a human shaped box to interact with the world. But I can see why people would choose otherwise, I don’t want to sound like I think I’m objectively right here!

i think human cole vs spirit cole is definitely one of the more interesting “no wrong answer” personal quest decisions! i probably prefer human cole in general myself, i love a story where you can change your nature and our spirit companions interacting with the mortal world and being changed by it is one of my favourite things, but i also understand and like solas’ perspective that spirits being fundamentally different and having different requirements and moral frameworks doesn’t make them not people, simply their own kind of people

i think, from nennaia’s perspective, she wanted the best for cole in the situation he’s currently in and seems likely to stay in: the real, mortal world that has already made him “too human” for the amulet. their group is in the heat of major world conflict. as part of her day job, nennaia literally executes people in front of all of skyhold, including this boy. she takes him to war. in her mind, he needs to be able to function within all that mortal complexity to survive here, or while solas may be able to keep him as purest compassion now, the next thing he faces without guidance may destroy him. he can’t be babysat forever, if he wishes to stay. he needs to learn and cope and grow, which she thinks this will do, even if it’s hard

and she fears the simplistic conclusions he can be led to as a pure spirit, like his murders at the spire. even pure compassion can be dangerous if misdirected. she wants to lead him to where he can better understand the world he’s affecting, for others’ safety as well as his own

nennaia is also a very justice-driven character. perhaps this is (interestingly!) a part of her nature that is deeply at odds with “pure compassion”. but personally, there is something abhorrent to her about letting cole simply help and “free” someone who did such an evil, even if it’s to preserve cole’s nature

[isobellenoire]

Solas is Neurodiverse.

This is of course my opinion, don't invalidate me, if you find comfort in this character then I'm glad, join the party!

• Info dumping (You boost his approval by asking him about magic & the fade... and oh my world does he have a lot to say about it!)

• Strong sense of justice... freeing the slaves, wanting to right wrongs. He feels so strongly about injustice, especially when he can sympathise (mages & elves) a strong sense of social justice is often linked with ND people because we are marginalised, mistreated and ridiculed. I can often get angry, irate and depressed when there's injustice in the world and for a lot of my ND friends it's the same.

• Likes to be alone (he still has friends who are spirits, but he doesn't actively seek out companionship with people) prefers his own company. (Hermit tarot... come on! I'm crying in INTP/INTJ here)

• Always reading, writing, he even paints a whole ass mural on the walls as skyhold in a short burst of time, hyperfocus/hyperfixation.

• Comes across as blunt. I've been told I'm blunt so many times it's infuriating when I don't mean to be, I'm just firm in what I know to be true and will say it without dancing around the matter.

• Speaks 'strangely' in a poetic rhythm. While not an exclusive trait, given everything else it holds merit.

• He does have a great deal of empathy if you romance him/get to know him, but on a surface level he seems distant because he doesn't open up personally! It takes a LOT to crack that egg. I'm 4 years into a committed relationship and I still get told I don't open up enough when I'm struggling with emotions because I keep them internalised... probably a trauma response but in Solas' case... yeah, definitely a trauma response.

• Comes across argumentative when talking about stuff to which the group (Dorian especially during party banter) will ask if he's upset with them, and he says he isn't. ND people are always stuffed in the 'uncanny valley' and seen as outsiders, or stand-offish... we're just not very good with social nuances in terms of delivery, but are deeply self aware of that and prefer to observe, and I argue Solas is incredibly self aware. (Knows when he is being 'selfish' or 'foolish')

• Incredibly knowledgeable on a lot because he's intensively researched it, has to know everything about that subject and becomes deeply immersed in it.

• He never lied about anytning, he just didn't throw it out there... Autistic people can lie you know... however not once did he lie, he just kept his secrets hidden, that's very different to lying. Lying wild be 'Are you Fen'Harel'?... 'No' I've kept secrets from people for a long ass time to spare their feelings and my own self interest. (Not as bad as it sounds ahah! Just an example)

• History nerd... C'mon most of us have a favourite time period that isn't this one...

• I mentioned the paintings, he's also an artist, as well as a dreamer. A lot of us have infiltrated science or the arts... or both! Most of the world's leading scientists and artists are ND. He probably has an idetic memory.

I have more if people care to hear it, but in my opinion and based on my own personal experience being AuDHD, I'd say he is. I resonate with his character more deeply than the others because no ND person is alike and we all have our own personal struggles/wins.

A similar example in media to Solas would be (and hear me out ahah) Walter White (minus the drugs) but intelligence and the way he speaks to others, hides stuff from people (and assumes an alias to seperate himself) I definitely see WW as Autistic. So why not Solas?

Can we please stop infantalizing ASD, and applying the manic pixie lense to it, there's so much more to it that just 'quirky'. Cole is practically confirmed, people have debated Sera being ADHD, but also they are painted with a similar 'childish' brush.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk ahah.

[3gremlins]

ahhhh i finished it last saturday night (11/9) (this will post from the q so after other q'd things)! it was really enjoyable tbh, i really liked it. it was good (if we don't get another da game, i am fairly satisfied) not perfect but few things are. def stick with it if you're not sure, there's a LOT at the end

spoilers for the end of veilguard- initial notes after the cut, not particularly organized

not me figuring out the varric reveal like 5 minutes before it was actually revealed tho XD tbh i was expecting him to die from the trailers and then he didn't and i was like "oh perhaps they're doing something else with him?" so they got me with the bait and switch and i was properly horrified. good job, you got me bioware. (as an aside, i still don't think varric was a strong enough choice as solas' friend for the intro section, like you never get the impression they are friends in dai at all. varric was stronger friends with anders than he was with solas, despite weird dai retcon about it. I wish they'd centered the narrative around someone else there- cole would have been a good choice? or cole and varric even since that's the most interesting interaction varric has with solas in dai) i'll def have to watch the cutscenes with him in subsequent pts. I kinda wish they'd done a follow up with him somewhere, maybe like the endings in that one fade book you find in trespasser (like at that fade bar with alistair/the warden/hawke/etc, would have been nice). got some solavellan conclusions, more than i expected and it was pretty good all things considered (i would have loved more, but also this was much more than we've gotten from other cameos of previous protagonists).

(is this the most awkward screenshot ever? possibly XD look she loves him so much, she'll even kiss his blight-y mouth and go live with him in the fade) i do wish they'd figured out a way to keep cole in (esp since spirit cole has that sad line about needing to help solas at the end of trespasser) somewhere. it was still pretty good honestly, i cried (this whole game made me cry at various points tho). I do think it could have resolved with them both living outside the fade and just his life being tied to it but i also get them wanting to literally tie up loose ends with this particular narrative.

it feels very mass effect 2ish (esp the end game section), i think most people will like it but i did find the end game section kinda stressful (where you have to pick the right person for things). Also for a dragon age game, usually by the end you have your team so having to break up the team so they live is not necessarily what i want in a DA game (i can appreciate it narratively while disliking it in practice lol) The format is also very mass effect-y in how it doles out companion stuff (esp romance stuff)- it's paced around the plot which is for the most part a good thing (but it also made it hard to tell where you were with things). I definitely like how they utilized the factions better than DAI or DAO tho- even tho only their rank mattered, having the characters in cut scenes and as npcs you can chat with at the end was really nice. I don't know if it's just lucanis' romance or all of them, but i kept thinking i'd missed something b/c of how long they make you wait for private time alone with your partner (the parts we get are really good, don't get me wrong, it just made me wait FOREVER to smooch him or get more than burning looks lol). 100% worth it tho. will romance many more times probably

(aside: getting to have a rook who's got a body like mine and a flat chest and have another character look at them desirously was just gender euphoria really. like okay actually their chest is nicer than mine -i have to do more pushups- but STILL. THANK YOU BIOWARE FOR INCLUDING NON BINARY PEOPLE SO MUCH IN THIS NARRATIVE and integrating us so deeply in all the bits, not just pronouns and basic shit) Like it wasn't even before the first "final" mission but before teh for realskies final mission ish (and i got more dialogue towards the end too). Real Return of the King BUT WAIT there's more vibes with the end (past the point of no return warning). I wish there was a little bit more romance partner time in act 2 even if it was just vibing? I did get a lot of good companion banter about it which i love (i live for banter and the banter in this was so good) i think my biggest note is i didn't feel the music helped it that much? idk i wish they'd just gone with one of their previous composers so it felt more dragon age-y (the zimmer score felt a little generic except when it did reprises of previous dragon age themes). Sometimes it felt too bombastic and sometimes there was not enough, idk, it just didn't have quite the same feel. i did like that they reused the bard music from DAI in the cities, made me smile hearing the sera song esp. i also wish the approval/tone system was a little more like dragon age 2 where you got unique dialogue choices based on which you chose more. Also sometimes the "sassy" answer wasn't that sassy or felt mean, there felt like a little bit of a disconnect between what i would have expected from the choice and what was said. The approval system was a bit weird too - like there were no approvals early on and then suddenly people reacted to things (but it didn't seem to impact their bonds). It felt like that could have used more tweaking or been more obvious anyway. It also felt like it required your character to code switch when talking to different companions since some of them responded to the different tones differently- which felt really weird and a little clunky. I def wished for more of the DA2 style where your companions just accept that you are a fun or kind or straightforward and you can rp that for the whole game.

i really liked the art direction (tho i did sort of miss the persistent splatter gore) and loved all the companions! the story was overall pretty good tho it suffered from a few pacing issues early on (you could sort of tell it had been reworked a little bit and bits were still a bit weird- but tbh all the games suffer from this a bit).

the combat was fun! i wish the targeting was a little better (as i've mentioned) and toward the end of the game, i got some stuttering when a lot of things were hitting rook at once (so it wouldn't register my dodges correctly). I played as rogue rook and it was super fun, glad i went with my actual fave class on my first pt (i always think i should be a mage and then want to be a rogue so im glad i can finally be like no no, i love knives and arrows!) The optional bosses were the most fun/challenging. Finished the game with the poison squad ofc but most of the companions felt reasonably balanced when I had to use certain parties (i'd say the warriors felt the weakest in their skills, have to see how player warrior feels, rogue rook was awesome). i loved that you could refund your skill tree at any point for no cost and also that it explained the bits of the tree (bursty, control, etc) so you could work out your own build for it. I wish the super special rune you get for beating the optional questline wasn't presented as your last ditch effort thing- i got confused by this dialogue and was a little afraid to use it at first (i thought i'd have to use it at a particular time in a fight, but nah it was just a really good rune with a normal cd) Obviously there's still more questions (the "secret" post credits scene) and i kinda wanted a post credit party scene? Maybe if we're lucky we'll get one like we did for bg3 i'm pretty satisfied, already started some more rooks and ready to make some fan art! [im also pretty sure my first pt had the most bugs since i started it on release date and didn't get the starter quest achievements until my 2nd rook, so we'll see how it plays with war rook and mage rook)

[magspy]

43 and 37 for the OC meme? <3 <3

Thank you for asking<3

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

Immediately had to think of Dandelion.

I mean, he's probably a little further away from 'not quite human' than the question intended, but he's my only character that's being actively deceptive with his appearance. Man's a bug (Fey). He's just a little more invested in and better at hiding it than other bugs.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess.

I feel like I often need a gimmick before I design a character and it so so often involves their hair (Marius, Cirrus, Dandelion, The Dryad) or skin (Andy, Marius, Fire Starter, Dandelion, The Dryad) being weird. My friends have also called me out on apparently being allergic to just letting them wear their hair down.

It also takes me an insane amount of effort to not make more characters that wear the same type of silly round glasses as Solas and Ellen. Cirrus barely escaped that fate during his redesign.

You get this one extra because I looked at the wrong number and wrote a full answer😂:

EDIT: Little animal companion! Bonus points for noodle shaped or able to ride on shoulder.

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Yes! Aside from any characters a DM is in charge of, Solas' love interest during the campaign belonged (and still belongs to) my best friend :3

His name is Callimar and he showed up when Solas had to pull a card from a deck of many things and pulled the Knight card.

"Knight: You gain the service of a 4th-level fighter who appears in a space you choose within 30 feet of you. The fighter is of the same race as you and serves you loyally until death, believing the fates have drawn him or her to you."

Solas was deeply distraught at just having essentially kidnapped a knight (because where the hell did he come from???) and it actually took them a long time and a lot of shenanigans before Solas ever considered that Callimar was sticking around because he wanted to and not because of the card.

(I tend to get embarrassed talking about my OC's love interests, but I could ramble about Callimar for hours, but I'm stopping myself here) Beautiful, kind man who'll call Solas out on his bullshit and keep his anxious ass from selfsabotaging.

[tethrarisms]

I saw a tweet whose OP says it's hard for them to understand Varric's POV probably because they're a Solas stan. And it makes so much sense to me because the opposite is also true. I hardly get along with Solas in DAI, mostly because I'm very Hawke-driven for the events of DA2 and how messed-up spirits and blood magic can be.

DA2 punishes you A LOT for dabbling with spirits and the Fade and blood magic. DAI Hawke is strongly against it too, and they're not wrong because, well, Corypheus and Venatori.

Meanwhile, DAI isn't that stern when it comes to these subjects. So imagine my surprise when I meet Solas and he's just SO interested in the Fade and is friends with spirits.

That's actually pretty amazing to me as a player because DA2 is the apple of my eyes, and I came from a place where I always play as a mage, which is always stressful because I'm being constantly reminded that I could be possessed and killed at any given minute, by wardens, templars, friends even.

Obviously, I learned how to get along with Solas after a second playthrough, and I do find him super compelling after the revelation in The Tresspasser. But personally I think it's easier for me to understand him from this point of view instead of the other way around. Especially if players are not familiar or deeply connected with Origins and DA2. DAI-only players come from a place where Varric is an antagonistic character to Solas, water and oil, and that's on purpose because Hawke is literally the most important person in Varric's life, and they're definitely in too deep with the events that trigger DAI and DAV. Both Hawke and Varric feel extremely guilty for Corypheus even though it was not their fault. They both watched a close friend (and a possible romance even) descend into madness because of a spirit (Anders and Justice). Another friend of theirs is just magicphobic in general (Fenris, my beloved brooding elf). And do I even need to mention Merrill?

In short, Varric couldn't know Solas knew what he was doing. We as players learned that Solas was actually the Dread Wolf and even created the Veil. He's powerful and cunning and has several layers. But how could Varric know before The Tresspasser? "Solas is an elf and a mage." So was Merrill. And Merrill was punished over and over for dabbling with blood magic.

So in short, I totally understand where Hawke and Varric are coming from, and the writers were very clever to use two opposing characters and a middle term to illustrate that (Cole, you'll always be famous). They failed in Veilguard, tho. They failed by using Varric as a narrator because it wasn't even his true self telling the story. It was Solas manipulating Varric's image. And that made everything too antagonistic, as if Varric and Solas could never find a middle ground (which they already have in the past thanks to Cole).

Anyways, it's funny to me that players have such different preferences when it comes to these two because there's so much involveld in everything that makes them special in their own ways. And it shows, man. It shows so hard.

[infiniteanalemma]

So, this is about Dragon Age, which means it's a long essay of a post. The question was which companion was my favorite.

Okay, so first of all, asking me to pick only one favorite? In a BioWare game? Cruel. 😞 How can I pick just one across three games and multiple dlcs? Impossible. I'm too indecisive for that.

Instead, I'll do one per game, which is still hard. Long post ahead. You've been warned.

Origins first, as God intended. If I have to pick only one (*sob*), it has to be Sten. Don't get me wrong, I love Alistair and he was my canon Cousland's romance. But as the player, Sten's my guy. I love a strong, silent type who'll talk philosophy with me, so what can I say? Maybe we don't always agree on everything, but that's half the fun of a philosophical debate. It was through talking with him and hearing his thoughts that I started to be interested in the qunari, which wound up causing me pain in DA2, but I don't regret it. Plus, my dude likes art -- truly a man of culture and taste.

It was a little bittersweet at the epilogue, knowing he would return to Par Vollen. Despite the Warden becoming his kadan, if he ever did see any of them again, it would probably be in war. However, they had a mutual respect and the hope that any war would be pushed back beyond their lifetimes.

Honorable mention goes to Nathaniel Howe in Awakening. Although the Warden killed his father, in the end even he could agree that his dad had it coming. Despite the shortness of the story, he actually had a fairly nuanced character arc. It felt especially satisfying to me to have him and my Cousland become friends. Something something, healing of old wounds, something something, found family.

DA2 is probably the hardest for me to pick just one. I loved them all, and all for different reasons. It comes down to a three-way battle between Varric, Fenris and Carver. But, since only one can win, it has to be Fenris. Sorry, sometimes I am just a basic bitch.

The thing I really appreciated, especially in Fenris's rivalmance, was the exploration of trauma and coping. My canon Hawke is a mage, and their relationship really showed how two people can hit each other's vulnerabilities and trauma, but still love and care for each other. It really shone a light on Fenris's character flaws, but also showed him grappling with them. That's how real-life trauma works. It wasn't an immediate "love conquers all" situation. It was a deeply wounded person lashing out and hurting someone they care about (and who cares about them) because that person inadvertently stepped on their trauma. Fenris winds up being very cruel to Hawke at times, which he later regrets, but it was a dysfunctional coping mechanism that he has to unlearn. And that takes time. He screws up, regrets, and tries to do better. Not just once, but many, many times. That's real.

Really, that's the thing that makes him win out for me over Varric. I love Varric, but no matter what happens, he's still Hawke's bestie. They never really have any serious conflict. While that's great for Hawke, it also means we never really get to see Varric's flaws and insecurities in action or have him overcome them. This makes sense, as Varric is the one telling the story -- a story that isn't about him, but it also slightly flattens his character. Carver (and Bethany), on the other hand, never really gets the screen-time to build up their relationships in the same way. I love them both to pieces, but there's so much with them that we never get to see. Really, I wish we could have gone more in-depth with everyone, but I guess that's what fanfic is for.

Inquisition is another game where I could write an essay on every character and, once again, I'mma be a basic bitch. Solas, Solas, Solas, my beloved egg, my problematic fave. Like with Sten, I enjoyed the philosophical bent to his conversations with the Inquisitor. Also, as my canon Inquisitor was a Trevelyan mage who gained his respect, I enjoyed the meta knowledge of how much their friendship was tearing Solas apart.

I liked that, once you know what he is, you can literally see the anguish he experiences as the story goes on as he grapples between what he personally wants and what he has to do to achieve his goals. I find it a satisfying thought-experiment to try to delve into a character's mindset and understand their motivations, and Solas is an interesting character for that. It's a fascinating window into his character to realize that his pride is such that he can't give up on his goals, because to do that would render all he's done and sacrificed to be in vain, and he can't allow that. He's doing it all "for the People", so he can't allow himself to "be selfish" enough to stop, so he condemns himself and tells himself it's noble to martyr himself this way. He's fascinating to me, and I want to pick his brain and study him like a bug.

Second honorable mention goes to Cullen, who is technically a companion, if only briefly. I know Curly is divisive within the fandom*, but I feel like that speaks to the complexity of his character. Personally, I'm glad he's not the unproblematic, idealized love interest. Perfect people in fiction are boring, anyway. Granted, the fans have to fill in a lot of places where BioWare could've handled things better. That said, I do think you can love someone and also be critical of their actions. I think you can care about someone, want them to grow and overcome their traumas and indoctrination, while also pointing out that they've said and done things that were really messed up. Even someone who wants to change can still have subconscious, problematic views that they don't even realize are still affecting them. I wish BioWare had leaned farther into that aspect, actually, instead of trying to smooth things over and make him less problematic.

*I do kind of find it funny that the range of opinions on him go from "I love him sm" to "he's terrible" to "he's the most boring, generic white guy of all." The Dragon Age fandom is ... definitely something.

[fandom-rants]

/breathes deep/

y'all people are still out here in the land of 2022 squawking that everyone who hates Vivienne hates her at least somewhat because she's black and I just. One person even said, "I remember when all we had was a trailer and all we knew about Vivienne was that she's pro-Chantry and black and fandom hasn't changed a bit since then" (as if being pro-Chantry isn't enough of a reason to hate a character lbr fuck the Chantry) and I'm LOSING IT.

NO, that's not all we knew about her, because every single Dragon Age Inquisition character was introduced with a blurb on Bioware's official site, and Vivienne's blurb said she 'cared more about fashion than efficient armor' (paraphrasing) and I immediately snorted and thought, 'oh, great, she's a shallow Orlesian noble (info that was given to us) who cares more about her image than getting anything useful done.' And lo and behold, I was right.

But hey, I was wrong about several characters I'd read about. I ended up loving Solas way more than I thought I would and caring way less about Blackwall and I actually found The Iron Bull extremely interesting. But Vivienne I went from thinking I wouldn't like her to actively hating her, and shocker!!! One of the few things I sympathize with her for is the hate she got from that one racist noble whom she ended up manipulating into his death in a war, which... yeah, no, that's a bit too far, holy shit, but hey, he was a prick and what he said was unacceptable.

But I still hate her.

I hate her because she lies straight to your Inquisitor's face, manipulating information to make her arguments seem more palatable. "Oh, the vote in the White Spire was too close! It should have been unanimous! Oh and also the reports about templar cruelty were deeply exaggerated; after all, I come from the White Spire and everyone was nice to me!" Like. Literally all manipulations and lies. I read Asunder, bitch; I know the truth.

I hate her because she is petty enough to steal shit from my character's room and throw it up on the veranda for everyone in the Main Hall to see, showing off the 'power' she has over me because the game literally doesn't let me order her to leave, order her to take it all back and let me watch her do so, order her to carry it all to her room herself, or even let me throw it out the window to spite her. The game literally forces my character to have to stand there and watch her act like a brat and smirk at me because she's a bitch and likes manipulating people, literally enjoys power plays. The worst kind of scum.

I hate her because Fiona is literally in the same building as her and she refuses to talk to her and still pretends nothing bad happened in the White Spire. I hate her because she treats Cole and Solas and Sera like shit. I hate her because she mocks everyone, insulting the intellect of every single character and insinuating she would somehow be a better choice than anybody else on your team. I hate her because she constantly belittles every single mage who disagrees with how she wants things run, to the point of mocking the mages in Redcliffe who were desperate enough to turn to slavery before they had to return to the Spire, instead of listening when they spoke of how bad things were.

I hate her because whenever she and Sera talk, it's so disgustingly clear that Vivienne is a noble, always punching down, mocking those beneath her despite the fact that she only got her position from luck and looks and a willingness to sleep with a rich man in order to get ahead. And that's from someone who also isn't fond of Sera.

I hate her because she uses the death of her lover to garner more favor. She doesn't care about saving him. She cares about losing her position. Proven, of course, by how she uses her actions of trying to save his life by currying favor among the surviving family instead of, you know. Mourning. You can even call her on it, say she's scheming and she'll say 'always,' say she used you and she'll laugh in your face. Because she is a user, will always be a user, is proud of being a user, to the point of saying to Cassandra that there is little else as enjoyable as manipulating and bullying people.

I hate her because she will literally destroy the College of Enchanters if it's built again, because the very idea of her power being limited in literally any way infuriates her to the point where she finds it acceptable to destroy buildings with people inside (but when Anders does it, it's unacceptable).

I could have liked her if she'd used her position to help literally anyone other than herself. Or if the game showed her feeling vulnerable sometimes and eventually opening up to the Inquisitor, maybe mentioning how she sometimes left a crowd to go to the restroom and have a panic attack or something. But no. We get information about how she struggled when she was younger (because mages struggle in Circles!!), then returned and made others struggle because it made her feel powerful and important.

She's a bully. She's self-important. She's manipulative. She's cruel. She's egotistical to the point of narcissism. She thinks everyone around her is a tool to use - in fact, I believe she even says as much once. Solas calls her out on it all perfectly - "You could use those skills to improve the lives of your fellow mages. Instead you have done nothing, save consolidate your own power." What an unlikable cow.

And shockingly, none of these things have shit-all to do with the color of her skin. You kids seriously need to grow past this fantasy of yours that hating Vivienne has literally anything to do with her race.

[ziracona]

youre playing dai? what do you think of the characters and which ones youre favorite so far?

Uhmmmm let me see. I’m not super far. Been in Skyhold a little but not suuuper long. My favorite is probably Cole? I love and would die for the little ghost boy. He’s so odd but so GOOD and kind and very interesting. My little brother now.

Uhhh my Inquisitor and I don’t have the exact same opinions/I play as and make decisions as my inquisitor, not myself, because I like to create in depth characters when I play games like this (though we share an opinion on Cole more or less), but I’ll give my answers.

I like Cole the most, then Harding, Solas, Josephine, and Cullen. I like Varric a lot so far but I haven’t spent as much /time/ with him so far, but I expect he will rapidly climb the ladder. He’s a good dude and he loves Hawke and I love people loyal to their friends. Also he and Solas have both casually dropped into conversation Cassandra has threatened to torture them like wtf is wrong with that woman & I need to start a support group for my friends Cassandra is threatening to tie to a chair and take apart apparently. Varric 🤝 Solas: one thing in common and unfortunately it’s being kidnapped by Cassandra and threatened with bodily harm.

Uhhhh I hate the Chantry/that whole government, so I have reservations about people deep into that faith, but aside from that, I like Josephine a lot and she’s invaluable to the team. Level headed and funny, very smart, and weirdly chill. Cullen I didn’t like at first, but he’s serious about feeling awful about all he did and wanting to change and never be who he was again, and I deeply love characters who actually put in work to improve and face what they did. He’s like unlearning 18 toxic behaviors bc he was a horrible person, but he’s genuinely trying and you can see the effort. I appreciate he’s chill about Mages not trusting/hating him on principle instead of resentful, and he is also invaluable to the team. He and Josephine have /way/ too much asked of them, but deliver, and I respect that. Lilliana is cool too, but I don’t know her as well. I like that she’s friendly to the Mage cause.

Hmmm oh Solas. I thought he was super weird at first but he’s also got a lot of useful information, and he’s the only one who was nice to me for the first 30 hours of this game and that carried his ass a long way. I like he’s a weird ghost protector. Uhhh he did say something super mean to my boy like an hour ago so I’m waiting to see where that goes but almost everyone in this damn game has been xenophobic to me, even—actually weirdly /especially/—my only fellow Qunari. Anyway Solas. He’s nice to me 95% of the time and one of the only ones who shares my politics, and he’s very useful. Like ghosts too.

Speaking of my fellow Qunari. I don’t know tbh how I feel about Iron Bull. He’s cool, and I love how he treats his gang, but every time I really start to like him he calls my parents savages or something so you can imagine the distress I’m under.

Dorian I liked a lot in the quest he was introduced in, but then he got bitchy with me about saying the slave trade is bad and apparently thinks it’s no worse than just having poverty exist, and his family has slaves, so….

Vivienne I want dead in a ditch. She’s got the best fucking design of any companion and it makes me SO mad they gave her the worst imaginable personality I want to hit her with a blunt object until she ceases to be. She won’t even call Cole ‘he’, she’s specist, she’s terrible to mages, and a massive hypocrite who holds her kind to rules she doesn’t impose on her perfect self. She’s also smug and sanctimonious and self important and petty and hateful. Literally the only nice thing I can say about her life is she’s good at magic. I want her OUT of my fucking house.

Sera I like. She’s weird as fuck and kind of mean about elves or like, Dalish elves though?? Despite being an elf?? Don’t love that, but I do enjoy her general ‘I’m for the little guy’ attitude and she’s funny and she hasn’t been xenophobic to me so that puts her in a very small category of ‘I really appreciate that fam’.

Harding is very cool and nice and pretty and smart and mostly as far as she’s expressed solid politics too so like damn guys the whole package…

Blackwall I don’t know enough yet to have a real opinion except I’m very concerned by how ready he seems to be to throw himself on a grenade for the cause. It’s like he /wants/ to.

Cassandra…. : /. she has some traits in common w Cullen but instead of actively trying to improve she keeps saying she will and not and threatening other companions. I don’t despise her but she needs to get her shit together.

As far as non-companion/advisors go, I like Krem a whole lot, and Fiona is nice to me. I like the artificer but I haven’t known her long. I’m probably forgetting someone important. :’-) but there you go. That’s me so far. We shall see beyond. Thanks for asking!

[emerald-amidst-gold]

18 19 20 27 28 from the protag questions <3

Ooooo! Lots of goodies! o3o You all spoil me~! X3

Thank you so much! Let's get into it! >:D

18. What is the biggest similarity between your protagonists?

Grey morality. PFFFFT!

I'm serious. I have a habit of creating characters that have questionable methods to situations, but yet can be empathized with or even sympathized with. Fane, Rylen, and Elise all do what they have to do, and it's up to the audience to formulate whether or not they agree or disagree with their personalities and actions.

I'll say this once because I've had people in the past kind of...bash me for it, but just because your character has a specific view does not necessarily mean you as the creator share that same view. That isn't me throwing swings out at self-inserts or characters that are reflections of their creators, this is just how I feel in response to my own characters. I try to disconnect from my characters because I want them to be their own. I build the foundation, give them a name, a history, or a family to influence them, but I don't steer their minds, their decisions. They flow the way they want to flow. Simple as that. Fane is the OC that is most reflective of me, but not with everything. He has his own methods, own reasons for thinking the way that he does and so do I.

I think it has a lot of my fixation on making characters teeter has to do with how I interact with the world in real life. I just...don't see black and white. I give everything the benefit of the doubt and I hold my ground concerning my views even if others might see them as 'wrong' or 'controversial'. I'm horribly analytical and I'm always like, 'But what if...'. That's just...me. XD

But yeah! Grey characters are my vice and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right most of the time, but I try! :3

19. What is the biggest difference between your protagonists?

Mainly how they approach situations and their feelings surrounding leadership.

Fane is rash, doesn't plan, doesn't think everything through before acting or he just outright chooses not to. He tends to make decisions on his own, but mainly only in battle. In more diplomatic settings, Fane is the master of deferral. XD He divvies out tasks that he feels aren't his area from either a lack of interest, a lack of confidence in himself, or just feeling that someone else would be the better option.

Rylen has his moments of brashness, but he's pretty subdued, go with the flow type of deal, but most who know him intimately know he's pretty high strung when it comes to matters where his voice has power. Man's a ball of stress and anxiety. PFFT!

Elise is the calmest out of the three. It was practically trained into her in the Circle. She's also just inherently docile, but after the Blight she does have moments of being feral and unhinged. That mostly happens if one of her companions are in danger or if her own life is threatened. She's not afraid to make her voice heard, either. Generally, Elise is soft spoken, but she will stand up for herself and other people, despite the grief it could cause her.

20. Who handles responsibility the best? And who handles it the worst?

If Fane puts his mind to it, he can handle responsibility pretty well. His want to involve himself deeply in matters doesn't happen until after Adamant and only gets stronger and stronger after Trespasser. Fane is a force when he wants to be and Solas tries to draw that out, to make him realize he can do whatever he puts his mind to. However, Elise would be the best in terms of responsibility. She had a lot in the Circle, even more during the Blight, and a substantial amount as Warden-Commander. Does she wish she could rest? Of course! But she doesn't complain because she knows she can make change. Rylen's okay with responsibility; he becomes Viscount after all. But, he is prone to slacking off at times, but really only after the Chantry explosion. The guy is TIRED. What can I say? XD

All in all, none of them bad at handling responsibility. They just have different ways that they go about it! :D

27. What would their fears on the graves in the fade during Here Lies The Abyss be?

Yes, yes, yes, YES! The question! The big question! The question that leads to Fane and Solas' first kiss! AHAHAHAH! >:D

Elise - Betrayal. This is more in terms of Elise towards herself and her own actions. She's afraid that everything she's ever done has been one great betrayal to everyone and everything she has ever cared about. She had no choice but to witness Jowan become Tranquil, Alistair, so hurt and angered by her decision at the Landsmeet, abandoned her to face the possibility of the death alone, her faith was sundered after the Broken Circle, making her fear her magic for the first time in her life and making her wonder when she would become the very monsters she had just finished killing. The list goes on. Elise made so many decisions in service to the world, but she silently wonders when it'll all come crashing down around her, when everyone will leave her because they'd been betrayed.

Rylen - Wasn't enough. Rylen wrestles constantly with the fact that he's never been strong enough. He wasn't strong enough for Carver; the ogre ripping him from their family and pounding into pulp. He wasn't strong enough for Bethany; unable to protect her from the templars, so he opted to take her to the Deep Roads, thinking it would be safer, but it wasn't. He wasn't strong enough for his mother; his eyes focused on the horizon rather than the ground that began it all.

And he hadn't been strong enough to end Corypheus for good. We all know what happened wasn't Hawke's fault, but Rylen the master of blaming himself for everything, so that's one event he dwells about every. day. every. night.

Last, but not least, FANE. *sounds the horns* You ready? You ready?! >:D

Fane - To be forgotten. That's right.

That's Fane's biggest, deepest fear; to be forgotten. I know there's only been a few chapters of my main fic that kind of reference this, but you know how Fane constantly says to himself, 'I wish I could be forgotten. It would be better if I would just disappear and be forgotten.'? Yeah, it's a front. He's trying to convince himself that that's what he wants, but in actuality, it's reversed. He's terrified, terrified of being forgotten by the world, by his sister, by the Inquisition...

...by Solas. That's the worst person who could forget Fane. And around the time of Adamant, Solas and Fane being the stubborn fools that they are, act as if they haven't known each other for fucking centuries even though the truth literally screamed at them after Haven. They were lost together in the mountains with that truth hanging between them, and still they ignored it because it hurt and they both felt they didn't deserve the hope that they could be together. Fane attempts to unearth some lost memories, some lingering feelings, but Solas wasn't ready and guided them away from that unopened bag, refusing to let Fane in on his agenda or allowing him to help in any way. It gets to a point where Fane starts to believe Solas doesn't actually recall their relationship, who he is and he spirals pretty bad in the Raw Fade when that tombstone is glaring at him.

When Solas sees it...he cracks. Quietly, in his mind, but he realizes how stupid he'd been, how stupid they had been. The truth was looking at him in two tones and he ignored it out of fear. It's what spurs Solas to take Fane into the Fade and show his dragon the place where he had endeavored to make sure the other would never be forgotten. Solas also makes it clear that he had never forgot Fane, ever.

"I could never forget you, my dragon. Your memory lingered within the halls of my mind even as I slumbered. I am but a fool, a fearful fool. I thought it kinder to let you live a new life, unburdened by my burdens. I do not wish for the past to repeat itself, to see two tones ebb away and breath leave your lungs once more.", Solas said, eyes downcast, pained grimace housing sorrow, grief, and despair in its curves. "...But, it is not kinder. It is more agonizing to try and forget than it is to remember. Though, I have never tried to erase you from my memory nor have I tried to abandon what I felt for you--what I feel for you.'

Fane frowned, tugging on the mage's forearms to bring him closer, urgently, but timidly; Solas didn't even protest, but his eyes remained downcast. "What do you feel, Solas?", he asked and received no answer. "What do you feel, Solas?! What can't you forget?!", he repeated, voice echoing off the halls of death and remembrance. He needed these words, he needed to know!

What did the sky feel?! What did it remember?! He just wanted one damned answer in this upside down world!

Solas' eyes shut slowly, chest rising with a deep inhale. "I..", he started, but paused again, face twitching with hesitance and reservation. "No, it's not--!"

Fane growled low. "Enough! If you won't tell me,", he barked, yanking Solas forward by his arms, barely registering the grunt of surprise that left his lips, and shot his hands up to hold a bewildered face. "...then show me!"

I tease~ >:3

-----

28. What is their favourite location within their own game and what would be their favourite in each others?

I answered this ooooonnnneee HERE! >:D (I would just copy and paste, but it LONG. ADHDKS)

And there we have it! Beautiful! Perfect! And FUN! X3

[theharellan]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. tagged by: stolen from @dansiere tagging: @ghiassan, @deathsreflection, @altuspavus, @windrunnerrs (velanna), @hopewrought, @willbeshot, @seahaloed (iron bull), @asterfed​ (noctis), @ anyone who wants to steal it! also multis feel free to choose a different character

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated (i’m open to roleplaying with non-dragon age characters, and have AUs for other fandoms)

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. solas is both wildly popular and wildly hated. he’s been more consistently popular than the controversial women in the series, like sera or vivienne, who have only recently begun to get to the point where their tags are less vitriolic (although i’m sure it’s still out there), but there’s still a sizable hatedom that can’t have his name breathed in their vicinity w/o them talking abt how much they hate him. even if you’re currently cosplaying him!

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. again, you have ppl who are super into him and ppl who think he’s ugly. my personal opinion is that i think he’s weirdly pretty, and wish ppl would commit more to his unconventional features rather than try to chisel him into sb more traditionally attractive and that ppl who don’t find him attractive would maybe chill w/ calling him ugly. find him unattractive by all means, but lets embrace the fact that inquisition let their love interests have skin flaws etc and accept that some won’t be our cups of tea.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. its hard to deny at this point tbh.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK. frustrating as the hate in the tags he has enough fans that i couldnt say he’s underrated w/ a straight face.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. he’s the reason the game starts with a bang and not the inevitable dissolution of the conclave b/c the sides are disparate.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. regardless of solas’ relationship with the inquisitor, there are parallels and contrasts in their stories and he also is the reason they survive inquisition.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. fen’harel is well-known and revered, if feared, among the dalish, yet at the same time he’s not remembered for a lot besides locking the gods away-- and the context of that decision has also been lost. as solas he’s relatively unknown until inquisition and especially trespasser.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. again, polarising!! he has loyal agents and people are willing to speak well of him despite everything, including his enemies sometimes (depending mostly on the inquisitor). 

How strictly do you follow canon?  — generally i try to have a canon basis for my interpretation, even if i interpret the text differently than the author.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  solas is an immortal who is simultaneously jaded and very much invested in the small moments of life. far from being weary of the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, it is systems and orders he is most tired of. he walks an interesting line that feels far less misanthropic than other immortal characters i’ve experienced, yet still he’s quite cynical. as a character who has fought against religious based tyranny before, but in a completely different era, he is in a unique position where what he sees around him is both horrifyingly familiar and yet completely new. it allows an exploration of the wrongs of thedas’ society from an outsider’s perspective. his motivations are complex and multifaceted, often condemnable and yet also understandable. his character arc in inquisition (if befriended, or regardless in the case of my solas) takes him from a dispassionate, disconnected antagonist to someone deeply invested in the people of thedas, deeply conflicted and actively hoping he will be proven wrong again. i think his story is a testament to human (or elven, or dwarven, or-) connection and how even when we resist we can’t resist creating bonds with the people in our lives. i personally see this bond going beyond the inquisitor hence why i play low-approval solas as conflicted as high-approval, if not when it comes to the inquisitor.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  solas is selfish and motivated solely by revenge, he’s clinging to a past that clearly no longer exists, if you ignore all the people from it who are still alive. he’s totally unaware of all his flaws and never owns up to any mistakes ever. no, i haven’t listened to a single word solas has said in my life why do you ask. he’s also critical of my faves which means he’s #cancelled, there is clearly no validity to what he’s saying. ksjdf no but in all seriousness i think a lot of reasons ppl don’t find solas interesting are just... weird readings of his character that sometimes have no basis in the text of inquisition, but also there are plenty of perfectly valid reasons to not find him interesting. usually those ppl don’t like... talk abt how much they don’t find him interesting constantly tho. they just chill and aren’t invested in this particular villain. for one thing i think the game missed out on opportunities for exploring how someone who may not have even had a body at the beginning of his existence would feel about gender and sexuality, so making him presumably straight and cis was a boring choice. i also think that the dragon age games being very protagonist-centric hurts solas’ character, there’s no real reason why the inquisitor is the only one who can throw his plans into question but making the player the center of the universe means he’s not allowed to change due to the effects of other companions or NPCs. thank god this is rp and i do what i want.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  i have a history degree so when the inquisition companions were being teased, solas describing bias in primary sources from the memories he’s seen got me interested in him. but my first playthrough i didn’t actually take him with me all too often, i think my main party was dorian-blackwall-varric. i liked him, and i think he or dorian were my first friends in skyhold, but my initial interest was in other characters. between his dialogue that appealed to the historian in me tho and how his spirit opinions sort of turned everything i’d felt about spirits in the last two games on its head, i started vibing with him more the farther i went in. like merrill set me up for the “spirits are people” thing and solas hit it out of the park. then temple of mythal happened, and i did bring solas with me there. i found his dialogue fascinating and also suspicious, i’d just finished masked empire like the day before da:i came out so i definitely thought solas was an ancient elf in the same vein as felassan. it was after temple of mythal that i actually decided to make his blog, although like as one idk linchpin to cement my status as solas trash... i was hit BAD by the banter bug on my first playthrough, probably got like a dozen banters total. but then at some point late in the game i took solas to the forbidden oasis and he wouldn’t stop talking to people, and i really loved his banter with the rest of my party at the time.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  replaying inquisition, new DA content when the bioware gods deign to grant us a lifeline, but the biggest thing is my rp partners. i wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the people i write with, new and old. my activity of late hasn’t been the best, work and the summer heat has really been sapping me of energy, and does even during years when we aren’t going through a pandemic. but it’s the thought of my rp partners and love of solas that keeps me coming back.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? i have my doubts sometimes, but i think i do ok.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? there is no headcanon too small for me.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. but not lately * gestures to the low activity * i’ve been in this cycle where i get anxious abt late replies, so prioritise them, then burn myself out and can’t write the fics i want. i’ve had two i’ve been DYING to write tho i just... need to find the space in my brain to let myself.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO. i mean it depends on the day. if i work closing shifts at my store it gets very quiet and boring around 8:30 so i spent the next 90 minutes thinking about character stuff.

Are you confident in your portrayal?  YES / NO / SORT OF? 

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / SOMETIMES. 

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO / SORTA.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  i’m going to say ‘no’ because like, i don’t ask for criticism. this is a hobby based on my interpretation of a character, if you think i write solas too soft then you’re welcome to think that, but i’m happy with the balance i’ve struck with his internal versus external behaviour and how he changes based upon who he’s speaking to. if you think i’m erasing straight people by making solas pan then ksjdfs. ok.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  yes!!! even if they retread ground already trodden, a) my interpretation may have adjusted since the last time i played or b) a reminder is nice. if it’s new stuff then it’s fun to think about.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  it’d depend on why they disagree. if they just disagree on a subjective opinion about what i took from a certain line, then they’re welcome to their opinion but i don’t necessarily care to hear it. if it is unintentionally hurtful then i would like to know. although rather than a comment i’d rather a non-anonymous message.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  same as the above.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  if they’re vocal about it i typically just unfollow / softblock if i was following in the first place. people can feel how they want about solas, but i’ve found over the years that if people really hate solas ooc it can often bleed into their ic interactions. it’s really weird seeing your character being brought up repeatedly in threads with others specifically to dunk on, for no reason other than i guess solas is living rent free in their heads, so at least we have that in common. but anyway unfollowing is just the best choice to avoid getting kinda pressed if i’m having a bad day.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  roleplay is the wild west of writing, so i think it’d depend on what the error was. coming at me like “you shouldn’t start a sentence with a preposition” would get a laugh, but i don’t edit my replies much if at all and mistakes will 100% happen. pointing out typos is chill so long as you do it politely.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  it depends! i’ve learned that being too easy going actually just means i’m subjecting myself to negative emotions to please people. so i’ve gotten less easy going as the years go by. how does one define “easy going” anyway? does asking that question mean i am objectively not easy going? the longer this thought goes on the more the answer seems to be “probably not,” but i like to think it could be a lot worse.

[nerdanel01]

DA:I Fantasy Opera Casting

One of the podcasts I’ve been listening to recently, Opera After Dark, sometimes features episodes where they’ll do fantasy castings movies/tv series (like HP, SW, GoT) and, well... I couldn’t resist.

I’m not going to tag anyone but if you have any passing interest in opera, I’d love to see what other people come up with! Some of these were really easy to choose and some of them I really struggled with, it would be v. interesting to see choices others make (and maybe be introduced to some new artists along the way?) disclaimer: I know next to nothing about music theory or composition i’m just having fun

COMPANIONS: Blackwall - Peter Mattei, baritone I went back and forth a bit on whether a baritone or a tenor would be more suitable for Blackwall; I went with Baritone mostly because I really fell in love with the idea of casting Mattei. He’s got enough charisma to make Blackwall’s lie believable. I also think he’d be well suited to handle both the more dramatic beats of Blackwall’s narrative arc (I’m imagining him singing an aria adaptation of that story Blackwall tells in the bar about the dog) as well as his more light-hearted interactions with characters like Sera.  Iron Bull - Morris Robinson, bass I wanted at least one bass among the companions and Bull seemed like the best choice! It’s hard to tell how well-suited he’d be to the humor (most roles in his vocal range are deeply serious figures of authority: the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlo, etc.) but he comes across as very charming and warm based on his interviews and I think he’d do great.

Cassandra - Joyce DiDonato, mezzosoprano I had to get Joyce in here somewhere. I think the mezzo range would suit Cassandra really well, and I cast DiDonato because I think she could bring a lot of nuance and sympathy to the character that I don’t feel in canon. She plays a lot of strong women, and I think she’d make a whole ten-course-meal out of the journey Cassandra goes on re: the Seekers, the Chantry, questioning her role in establishing the Inquisition, etc. Add in a splash of Cassandra’s romantic side? Joyce would kill it. 

Varric - Matthew Polenzani, tenor Varric was one of the hardest roles to cast. He ended up as a tenor largely because most of the other companions were cast before him, and I wanted another companion in that range. I also like the idea of a tenor/mezzo argument between Varric and Cassandra. 

Sera - Pretty Yende, soprano Pretty Yende is one of my favorite sopranos, partly because she can be absolutely hilarious in one breath and heartbreaking in the next. IMO she really shines in comedic roles. I just imagine her as an extremely irreverent, uninhibited and fun-loving Sera, showing off her coluratura, taking the piss out of everyone else in the main cast in the most beautiful way possible. 

Cole - Nicholas Tamagna, countertenor I went back and forth a bit on whether to cast Cole as a countertenor or as a pants role, but ultimately I went with the countertenor. I really love this voice type and I think it suits Cole really well—youthful and kind of lofty? His vocal range is therefore higher than (or as high) as everyone elses, so when he’s reading the other character’s thoughts he can always sing “above” them, which might be an interesting musical way to tie him to the Fade. idk

Dorian - Amar Muchhala, tenor There was no doubt in my mind that Dorian was a tenor. Give him all that kind of like, typical heroic, bombastic music.

Vivienne - J’nai Bridges, mezzosoprano J’nai is a queen, and there’s such a warmth to her voice. I have no trouble imagining her wrapping the whole Orlesian court around her finger. She has that regality but also that vulnerability, y’know? For those really sweet moments with Viv and the IQ. Solas - Bryn Terfel, baritone I struggled with Solas the most so I’m really curious what thought anyone else might have. I thought about casting Solas in pretty much every other vocal range before I settled on baritone. I feel like you MIGHT have been able to get away with casting like, a young Fen’Harel as a tenor, but that seemed far from the right choice to Solas. I also thought about making casting him as a countertenor, but there’s like... this characteristic of the countertenor voice, this kind of purity? that I think is also wrong for Solas. Simply because of baritone roles in the rep Terfel plays a lot of villains and he’s spine-tingling good at this, but I also think he has the sensitivity to pull Solas off. The idea of him in a bald cap is slightly horrifying but I usually sit in the cheap seats anyway so likely I’d be spared the sight. xD

[sassyseeker]

Sometimes when I’m reading fanfic I start having ideas that grow on their own. Like, I am reading a MGiT au now and started imagining Solas with a non-inquisitor, secretly future-knowing character, in the Inquisition. Solas knows she is from another world and knows some stuff that will happen in Thedas, but not that she knows his secret. From here on, it diverges completely from the story to the point it distracts my reading. In my mind mc is head over heels with Solas and in private she showers him with kisses, gives him gifts and sweets, serenades him, likes to hold his hand and cuddle and caress him, to be understanding and say supportive words that almost reach deep. He is still not committed though, he’s undecided, flattered but not used to her kind of affection, not sure it’s a good idea to indulge. He doesn’t see himself as someone who deserves such adoration. He is still suspicious of the world, himself and her. After Wisdom died, she declared her love and is ready to go all in. He desires her but does not want to have sex before she knows of his past and he can’t tell now. She says it’s okay, she knows he is the Dread Wolf. But it’s not a relief to hear. He asks why. Why she didn’t tell them, tell him? Was she going to blackmail him later? Was she hoping to gain his favor, to manipulate him? Perhaps blackmail was plan B? She says no, she tells him all she knew from the start and how she loved him even before coming to Thedas. He sort of believes her. Then he asks if she chose him from among all the others because she wanted the most powerful partner she could get. Did she like him for being godlike? Did she hope to conquer him, to wrap an evanuris around her little finger with her attentions? Did that make her feel powerful? Did she see a life of privilege and luxury with him in her future? She doesn’t know what to say, she came to love and accept all of him, the parts that are powerful and godlike, they’re part of who he is and yes, she loves it too, she can’t deny. Would she love him without it? She thinks so but it also seems so out of character, so unexpectedly how could she know the answer to that?  He says he was actually happy that she seemed to love the humble apostate before because he had nothing to give, so it should be true. Instead she is just a child, with childlike notions and the same selfish desires that are so commonly expected from her pitiful race. She has no words to defend herself from the pile of assumptions quickly growing. He tells her to go away and not look for him again, maybe the Inquisitor can still be second-best replacement. She knows he means it.

(Just a heads up that the ending is not happy 😔)

She cried her eyeballs out for two days, until her tears dried, and stayed in her room. She wouldn’t say what happened to the Inquisitor. Cole can’t defend her before Solas because she doubts herself, so he sticks around for comfort with mc, where the pain is greater. Solas suffered the first night, wondering if he judged her wrong. When memories of her gestures of affection threatened to come again the second night, he shut them down. It is easier for him to fall back into his usual rhythm, it is the way it should be and now he can focus completely on his goal. At least he was right and will not mourn the death of this world. Bull, Varric and other observant companions know Solas is involved with mc’s breakdown, they give him a large berth and he is happy with it anyway. She doesn’t tell his secret and he remains in the Inquisition but they don’t see each other. She only goes on travels when he’s not. Solas leaves after Corypheus’s defeat. Cullen courts mc to no avail, some Orleasian nobles and common folk too, she is not interested. When she decides to open her heart again, it’s to somebody who will never doubt her feelings. In time, the spirit of Love crosses the veil to finally be with her. He takes the form of an Elvhen man to please her, with a head full of hair. He doesn’t have a coin but she is happy to provide for him with her savings from the Inquisition. They buy a small but comfortable house in a place of their choosing. Solas is curious and cannot contain himself from seeking this Love spirit in the fade. Love does not care for him. The couple did not join the allies army when the war with Sola’s forces started. They joined no side but were thrown in the middle of it regardless. A skirmish near their home takes the life of Love, as he is shot in the crossfire, trying to protect mc and other civilians. She weeps so loud, so desperate and mournfully, both sides make silence and quietly go home. Mc was not heard of after that. Solas tore the Veil down. There were few survivals. The humans who survived do not like him. The elfs who survived realized how close they came to death, how lucky they were, and they do not like him. The elvhen who were woken from uthenera never asked for it, they don’t like the state of the world, don’t like that they were forcefully tasked with fixing it now and they do not like him. The evanuris do not like him. They are weak and will remain so for a very long time, since Solas was thorough to gather all the remaining power in the land before undoing the Veil. They are too weak to kill Solas. Solas is strong, but not enough to take all the evanuris down or to rebuild Elvhenan without help. If he were to attempt uthenera, it would be a matter of who would be the first to find and kill him for what’s left of his power. Solas goes to a gathering of his people in a public place. They disagree, many despise him, they argue and somebody pushes him to the ground. Somebody else spits on him before they all disperse. Solas stays lying there for a long time. After what feels like days, maybe weeks, an old woman in a cloak gives him water and pets his head, humming to herself, until he gets his bearings again. She helps him up. Before she can leave, he insists on why she did it. Doesn’t she know who he is? She doesn’t speak but after a while a word comes out: Vhenan. That voice… He removes the hood and it is mc indeed. Her eyes seem blind, she is not old but weak, everything about her reeks of neglect, she’s almost unrecognizable. She starts walking again and he follows to what is left of her house. There he cries and takes her to his abode. He closes himself to the rest of the world, decided to help her recover. He bathes her, clothes her, feeds her, puts her to sleep. He calls her by her name, she seems to react to that sometimes. He asks, “who am I?” She says “Vhenan”, and he smiles, laughs and embraces her, raining kisses on her head. He likes to watch her humming to herself. She starts to recover very slowly. Her eyes are bright and focusing again, she is not blind. Doesn’t talk much though. One day he puts her on his lap and asks again who he is. “Vhenan.” “And why is that?” He hoped to hear it’s because she still loves him, eventually, but her response is: because “love never dies.” She repeats the words a few times, confusion and pain in her face, big tears start forming. He is mortified and changes the subject, trying to distract her. She continues to get better and speak more. She no longer needs help with personal matters like bathing, dressing or making her own bed. He doesn’t ask who he is, but calls her vhenan himself instead. She asks what place that is and why he is helping her. He kneels at her feet, crying, says that once he did her wrong and he is sorry. He did many wrongs that he cannot change, so “please, please vhenan. Let me help you, let me fix this, right the wrong that I did to you, please, I beg you.” She looks out the window, pets his head and hums until he calms down. She undoes a knit piece in her room and tries to knit it again with a wooden stick. He brings her what knitting material he manages to find and it’s her favorite pastime. He did not know she could do it before. There’s probably a whole lot he never got to know about her. She remembers his name. She starts to look at him curiously, suspiciously. When she refuses to cuddle on his lap, he doesn’t insist. One day she asks “Solas, why do you call me vhenan?” He says he was her vhenan once, hoping she will remember. After thinking for a while, she replies “You were ma vhenan but you did not love me back.” He wants to deny, to say that he did but the guilt of the memory of how he dismissed her back then holds the words in his throat. She breaks the silence: “You’ll never cease to be vhenan to me,” she pats his hand in a consoling gesture. “You’re just not mine/ma (vhenan).” She goes back to her knitting and he leaves, feeling miserable. When they are taking a walk together on the garden, Love’s wisps approach her. They are drawn to her as she is drawn to them. Solas takes a step back but keeps watching. They communicate and she says out loud: “Look Solas, Love does not die, it changes when necessary…” He wants to take her inside and hide her, but it would be useless. Love’s wisps want her to follow and he lets her, but follows behind them. They go a long way into old, powerful territory. Solas is not into their private communication. Mc turns to him and says: “I want you to know that I really loved you, my friend. I cared for you deeply. Even though it may have started for less than noble reasons, you were truly cherished. I am sorry.” He nods bitterly, “I am sorry as well.” He watches them together for some time and is about to ask her to come home when something changes. A bright light covers her form and great amounts of power are displaced. When he can see again, her form is vanishing into colorful wisps that dance happily around Love’s. They spin together through the air until their matters join and shape into the form of a new spirit. Forgiveness is born. Solas searches for any clues on the place of Forgiveness’s birth. He consults his annotations, the Vir Dirthara and his spirit friends. He befriends categories of spirits he is not used to interacting with, that’s when he has a breakthrough. Finally,  he goes to that same place of power. He concentrates to separate spirit from matter, liberating the rest of the power he accumulated back to the source, away from his peers’s grasp. A bright light envelops him and… The wisps float aimlessly until an unknown force drives them together… A new spirit is born, quickly greeted by another called Forgiveness, who was nearby and witnessed its formation. The new spirit’s nature is Regret.

(why do I do this to myself) (the worst is, I wrote this before and tumblr simply lost it, “oops, we don’t know what happened.” I was tired but also pissed so here it is again, but now it’s even longer -__-) (guess I can go back to reading my fic now)

[mistresstrevelyan]

11 & 12 & 20

11. Top 5 favourite female companions?

5) Leliana 

I love how her character develops and grows throughout the trilogy. Esp. when you soften her during DAI, aka sustain her during her crisis of faith. "Though darkness closes, I am shielded by flame. Andraste, guide me. Maker, take me to your side!" and "No one is without worth. Whoever you are, whatever your mistakes, you are loved. Unconditionally." are among the most beautiful quotes in ANY game. 

4) Sigrun

What’s not to love? She’s fun, sweet, dedicated, snarky and adorable. I love the idea of a Legionnaire becoming a Warden tbh. And her bonding with Rhia & thus always coming back to the Vigil or Soldier’s Peak to see her (And her fellow Wardens) really means a lot to me. I actually shipped her with Sera before Sera/Dagna became Canon. Both she and Nathaniel were Rhia’s rock and support when she became a widow. (Nathaniel became her lover later) Sigrun is also like an aunt to Rhia’s daughter, Teleri Esclarmonda, who absolutely adores her. Sigrun is family tbh.

3) Morrigan 

Her arc is among the very best BioWare has written so far. The scenes with Kieran in DAI alone, oh my God. And while I disliked that a shem was the supposed elvhen expert, the game also showed her getting shit wrong. (Her No Idea shrug will always make me giggle) Drusilla (Trevelyan) is in awe of her (That entrance!) while Rhia is extremely protective of her. (She would have fought Flemythal again for her if needed) 

2) Vivienne de Fer

There are the obvious reasons. She’s breathtakingly beautiful and graceful. She is stylish, witty and clever. She’s an incredibly badass mage and player of the Game. Indira Varma being her VA. But there is more. The way her voice and eyes soften when she calls a befriended Inquisitor “Darling”. The frigging friendship ring. How she supports the Inquisitor after Haven and praises them if they got everyone out alive. (Everyone that CAN be saved anyway). Vivienne isn’t “just” highly intelligent and brilliant. She is also incredibly warm, supportive and protective. And tbh there were two MAJOR glaring issues with how she was written. Her personal quest, while interesting, isn’t just very short and abrupt, it also is phrased like a betrayal or attempt to poison someone. And she had NO involvement at Halamshiral. (There could have been scenes with Celene. Morrigan. Vivienne entering in a stunning gown instead of the Nutcracker ensemble. Vivienne deserved better than that.

1) Sera

Yep. That’s right. Cussing, foot in her mouth, unable to voice her emotions Sera is my favourite. The girl Tumblr couldn’t throw to the wolves fast enough when the game launched. (While Solas and his treatment of non elvhen Inquisitors was soon put aside and forgotten) Instead of being met with understanding or being given a chance to grow (IE Fenris) she was attacked and trashed. Some even went as far as erasing her altogether. Sera deserved better. This girl who loves so deeply, who just needs a chance and some kindness for her to grow and love herself is so utterly precious to me. Her friendship/romance journal entries are among the most beautiful words ever strung together in these games.

Her cute little giggle makes Drusilla smile. She was matron of honour at her wedding with Dagna. 

Fandom’s treatment of Sera was horrific tbh. I was caught up in it for a while myself and almost kicked her out of the party myself bc it seemed like everyone else was. I’m so glad that I didn’t. Sera is a gem. She’s not a possible king or an elvhen God. She’s a girl you could meet in Derbyshire. She’s REAL in her struggles with her past and present. Sera is extremely precious to me and I will defend her 24/7 if need be.

12. Top 5 favourite male companions?

5) Varric Tethras

There are the obvious reasons. His wit, charm and CHEST HAIR omg. Bianca! (The crossbow) His nicknames for everyone. His protectiveness of Hawke. But there’s also a depth to him that isn’t all that obvious. He’s a sad clown about things A LOT. (The quest with Bianca the dwarf REALLY brought that out) He’s all about fake it till you make it. And I can relate to that A LOT.

4) Nathaniel Howe

Given who the lad’s father is and Rhia’s revulsion for him (Rendon) this might be a surprise. But Rhia and Nate actually bond over their broken/lost families. When Nate asked her to look for Delilah, she was on board immediately. She loves his snarky wit and banter with their friends. And as mentioned in the section about Sigrun, he is her rock after she became a widow. He is also her last great love. (She’s had four. Alistair. Leliana. Loghain. Nathaniel.) 

3) I’m gonna cheat and name The Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus here. They are both incredibly well written. And as a member of the BDSM community the romance scenes with Bull were both satisfying and emotionally charged. Dorian’s quest never fails to make me cry. Dude deserves a better family. And he found one at Skyhold! And with Bull ofc. I also love that Bull is one of the few companions who is sweet to Sera. (When people twice her age are not) 

2) Solas. Yeah, yeah, I know. But it’s not about Solavellan mainly. It’s about how he hoodwinked you through the ENTIRE main campaign and Corypheus being a smoke screen. And then Trespasser. Possibly DA4. IMHO the best antagonist BioWare has written since Jon Irenicus, God Tier kind of antagonist right up there with my Nr. 1.

1) LOGHAIN MAC TIR

Need I say more? Like....you have been following this blog, yeah?

20. Favorite fantheory?

Hmmmmmmmmm, that’s a tough one. But it’s probably the old “Andraste was a mage and the Maker is a powerful Spirit of Compassion she’s bonded to.” theory. DA4 might go into that?

[writingreactsandwords]

Hi! Could I get DAI LIs (pre-romance) reacting to a Desire Demon taking the appearance of the half-naked (or fully naked? Demons don't play around) Inquisitor to try to seduce and possess them? (maybe the team ended up in the Fade and got separated or something). In detail, if you feel like it, and maybe also non-LI companions reacting to seeing their leader like that, if you -really- feel like it. Hope I'm not asking too much!

Jumping right to it, anon! You’re not asking too much at all, though I do deeply apologise if this bloody essay of a post pops up on your dash when you’re not interested.

But honestly, long/big requests are no trouble. Might just take a little longer! I hope you like it! (Spoilers for Inquisition and Trespasser! Not, like, too NSFW but I wouldn’t want my mom reading it. Foul language ahead, buckaroos.)

Cullen (pre-romance):

Demons he knows too well.

When he sees her standing there, something inside him cracks for a moment. Cold, polished stone floors. His heavy Templar armour, the pain and sweat. The blood on the floor, the smell of abominations and growing, pulsing, rotting flesh. Her image is blinded briefly by the white translucent walls that had caged him, had trapped him in with anything that Uldred had seen fit to punish him with.

And then, as always, the cracks melt together again. A little tighter, more strained, more fragile. But his eyes can see what’s there.

It’s wearing her skin, her voice. And Maker is she perfect, the sight of her breaks whatever convincing he’d done to persuade himself he wasn’t as besotted as he felt.

Demon, he reminds himself, and the anger comes back. That it took what he wanted and wore her like a gown, took her body and made his first sight of her like this when she was unwilling, unaware. That it would use her as a game piece to break his mind makes the rage burn red hot in his chest.

“Cullen,” she whispers, and somehow he hears it as if it’s in his ear despite the distance. “Love. Darling. Aren’t you going to touch me?”

The leather of his gloves makes a soft noise as it curls around the grip of his sword. 

“Stop,” he says, and is ashamed of how his voice is strangled and cracked. Ashamed of how he can’t look at this thing.

“She doesn’t want you, Cullen,” she said, stronger and harsher, the tone of someone doling out hard truths. “I am the only version of her you’ll get. Give in to this. I’m soft. I’m real. As real as you want me to be.”

“Try harder,” he growls out, and his eyes are shut when he strikes the killing blow. 

Solas (pre-romance):

The Fade was, undoubtedly, a place of strange beauty. With its gravity-defying topography, electric greens weaving through the air and clouding the horizon with mist. The ever-present sense of danger, of eyes and fingers creeping up spines unseen. The Black City, as they called it, hung close enough that he felt he could reach out to touch it.

Yet none of it was as strange as her.

All softness and muscle stood like some terribly lifelike, terribly beautiful sculpture. She was the opposite of the rocky pitted ground. The opposite of terror.

Her presence made everything different, but it wasn’t her.

“This won’t work,” he warned, already gliding the staff into his usual stance. The spirit looked at him with hooded, sweet eyes. She was so beautiful, though admiring her here felt like a betrayal of trust. Like he should be admonished for being a peeping tom.

“I know,” it said simply. Her voice felt like something hard and sharp in his chest. “You don’t have many weaknesses, Wolf.”

He watched her and raised a dark eyebrow.

“She is one of mine?” He admired her, yes. Despite many- despite all of his better judgements, he couldn’t help but try to charm her. Couldn’t help but take solace in her, marvel at her intelligence and empathy.

It was wrong. He had not, wouldn’t (couldn’t) allow it to go further. The spirit’s spiteful grin made him shudder.

“She will be, Wolf. As you will be hers.”

He watched her as the disguise melted away in front of his eyes, a demonic violet woman stood in the Inquisitor’s place. Curiosity burnt, but he looked at it with icy eyes.

“Stand and fight.” He had to get back to the others, to her.

Cassandra (pre-romance):

Cassandra is a practical woman. She has never stilled her sword when she knew the enemy and knew the intentions behind them.

She knows now as the Inquisitor stands in front of her, naked and smiling, that he’s not him. He looks like him, certainly. Down to every hair, every dip and curve, the face she’s committed to memory despite it being downright pathetic. And… Below. Places she’s definitely not seen are still undoubtedly him.

But she knows what it is. A desire demon. Characterised, when in it’s ‘true’ form, by purple skin and long curling horns. Often female. Certainly not female right now, she thinks. Her eyes dart down, and her shame is amplified by that subtle, smug smile.

Her shield lifts when he reaches toward her.

“I could give you what you want, Cassandra,” he says in a perfect replica of the Herald’s voice. “Love. Sex. Passion. Take my hand, love. I’ll give you what he won’t.”

I want him, the real thing, she thinks though she shames herself for how soft it is. She has been tested many times before, in more difficult situations than this. 

“Die, demon,” she hisses.

Dorian (pre-romance):

Dorian knows the tricks of demons as well as any mage. They enter his dreams, his life, wait with bated breath for the pleasure of owning a man with such power as he. Sometimes desire demons, yes, offering sex and some of his deeper wishes in trade for something harmless on the surface yet terribly wicked beneath.

He’s spent far too much time with their shadow to be scared of them.

He watches the demon taking strong, graceful steps across the ground of the Fade in the body of the Inquisitor with bored eyes. Mind games. Taking his surface attraction of the man they called a leader and standing in his naked body. Trying to tempt him.

Still, Dorian remains quiet. 

“The Herald wants you,” the demon said in his voice. “He thinks about you at night, in his more… intimate moments.”

“Does he now?” Dorian asked, bored. “Whatever you’re trying to entice me with, it won’t work.” He adjusted his staff in his hand, an eyebrow raised.

“But he doesn’t care about you,” it said, ignoring him. Dorian’s eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t love you. Won’t love you. He just wants to fuck you, like all the others.”

Demons lie and trick, and besides, why in the name of the Maker would I care? He tells himself, even as something inside him hurts and his grip on the weapon tightens so much that splinters dig into his palm.

“You’re smart, Dorian. There’s nothing out of here for you. There’s nothing you can fix or do. But I can give you everything. I know you love him. I look like him, I sound like him, I can build you a reality that loves you back.”

Every word just makes him angrier, and his resolve doesn’t falter once as the mana charges up from his fingertips.

Josephine (pre-romance):

She wasn’t even meant to be here.

Josephine’s cheeks were already dark red from panic, her breaths short and her fingers gripping the ruffled sleeves of her shirt. She thought the rifts led to the same place, yet here she was, with no Inquisitor beside her-

Until there was. She felt the presence before she saw it, turned terrified with images of demons conjured, stood weaponless against an enemy triple her size. She spun, unprepared but ready- and came face to face with a person.

“Oh, Inquisitor! I-”

The press of their lips to the edge of her jaw is… unexpected. Unpleasant, almost. It’s not that she hasn’t thought about it. About them. Of course she has, they’re… The Inquisitor. Strong, brave, intelligent. Yet the mix of terror and surprise and relief and- something just being wrong has tainted it anyway. Rotted it, soured it.

The press of them naked against her breaks whatever shock was keeping her still. She nearly fell as she stumbled away from them.

“I-Inquisitor?” She said, her fear and embarrassment amplifying tenfold. They’re stood bare, mouth curled up into a smile clearly meant to be alluring but doing nothing but setting off warning bells. “You are… Not the Herald.”

“I could be,” it says with their voice, “if that’s what you want, Josephine.”

A desire demon, then. She watches it speechless, almost admiring of how complex their disguise is. Brought from her own mind, likely- her cheeks stain darker as she realises its naked form is from her own shameful fantasies.

It’s cunning, clearly. Clever. A creature of crafted deals and words, this she knows. But so is Josephine.

Stood weaponless against an enemy. Not quite. The Inquisitor would be looking for her, she knew. All she had to do was stall.

“Let us talk about what I want, then.”

The Iron Bull (pre-romance):

Bull doesn’t like demons, though he sure as hell likes the view.

Lately, the Inquisitor has been playing on his mind pretty bad, though he’s not certain why. There are some pretty clear reasons- they’re stunning, strong, genuine. They’re funny. They think he’s funny.

So the demons picked up on that, huh? He thinks, flinching as he imagines phantom fingers digging into his mind, his thoughts, picking out his daydreams and fantasies. Until they could build up the visual that had been pacing his conscious and cover themselves with it.

He knows people are weaker than they want to be and think they are, but still. That he was so easy to figure out is humiliating in its way. Terrifying in others.

“So what are you, then?” He asks, quietly. The demon’s eyes spark, something malicious and amused that don’t fit his Inquisitor’s features. It makes their body look more like a costume. A hot costume, admittedly, but with none of the character.

“I’m yours, Bull,” they say, almost sing-song, breathy and gentle. It works its way inside his ears until he can imagine the real Inquisitor saying it. Saying it in Herald’s rest, whispering it in his ear, saying it on top of him, underneath, anywhere.

He can’t help letting his eyes drag across them as they step even closer, head tilted just a little bit, hands sliding over their own skin.

“You’re good,” he nods, “but I fucking hate demons.”

He brings down the axe as they snarl.

Sera (pre-romance):

“This isn’t fucking real!” Sera yells, her voice straining against her own pitch. There’s green fucking everywhere, and there are floating rocks and- and- there are demons and shit and it’s the Fade and you don’t piss about in the fucking Fade and you don’t see the girl you’ve been pissing fantasising about in your actual dreams all naked and shit in front of you and-

“I’m as real as you want me to be, Sera,” she says, eyes sparkling with delight and- other stuff. Sera’s been squeezing at the grip of her bow awkwardly for the last however long naked Quizzy’s been stood there.

Like, what, a minute? Too long. Too close. Demon. Solas had even gone through the types- what’s this one? Desire.

She looks so… Her. It isn’t right. It isn’t close to right. Everything’s wrong and the actual Inquisitor is off somewhere with the others, or alone, and here Sera is having a stand-off with her fantastically naked body-double.

“Nothing’s real here,” Sera says, “except me. You’re just some- some piss demon.”

“Oh, Sera…” The Inquisitor says, her voice all moan-y and it’s never like that usually however much she wishes it was. “Look at me. There’s no danger in me. I’m just what you want. What you need. I might not be real, but the real Inquisitor… She wants nothing to do with you.”

“Fuck off,” she says, shaking, even though she’s letting the Inquisitor’s hand reach towards her, sliding over the air above her hip and it would be so good.

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, love.”

And suddenly - venemously - her mind hisses, not real though, and she’s slamming the bow into the demon’s pretty face.

Blackwall (pre-romance):

“Inquisit–” Blackwall chokes on his words when he sees her. After the destructive wake of realisation has settled - and it takes a while, embarrassingly - his first thought is, absurdly, it’s been too long. He looks at the Inquisitor’s nakedness bluntly, unable to do anything else.

The would-be Warden does take a bitter sort of comfort in his self-flagellating, denying habits. I don’t deserve it is a common thought of his, so the last time he took relief in another person was…

It’s been too long.

He watches her with a dry mouth, words clawing up but choking out somewhere between the centre of his chest and his throat. He plants his feet a little more firmly into the pockmarked ground of the Fade, don’t forget this isn’t real, and curls his finger into fists as the supposed Inquisitor makes her way towards him.

Maker, she is… He wants so many things he can’t have.

The Inquisitor did not let them step into the Fade without knowledge. They all knew of the demons. They all knew they’d be more susceptible alone. “End it quickly, firmly, and do not give them a chance,” the Commander, Cullen, had told them. An ex-Templar with experience enough to look a little haunted at the thought of demons.

Despite it all, he’s allowed her to come this close. It. It to come this close. He breathes heavy when she, it, it raises its hand. Soft and warm and it lands on his bearded face not chastely, anything but; those eyes look at him with promise. Her mouth opens, wet and shining and-

“Thom.”

The illusion breaks. He raises his sword.