#templar thancred

[eva-cybele]

wolmeric week day 3: AU

Kaede sighed and shoved a rogue lock of blonde hair behind one sharply pointed ear. Usually, the chance to leave the circle tower was a welcome change of pace – there were only so many times a girl could read the same books or blow up the same training dummy – but this assignment was… less than ideal.

Stupid Orlesians.

Her escort cast her an amused glance from behind his shaggy hair. “You know, you seem awfully sour for a woman who just got a free pass to live somewhere that’s not a tower in the middle of nowhere.”

Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Kaede grumbled a quiet, “Shut it, Waters,” in his direction.

Most mages wouldn’t dare speak to a templar like that, but Thancred wasn’t like most templars – they were the only Fereldans in the Ostwick Circle, and had always gotten along well. He was human, but they were both Denerim street rats at heart, even if his path had led to the Order, while hers landed her in the Circle. He had a few other reasons to treat her more kindly than the other mages in the Circle, but, well. Those didn’t bear dwelling on in the cold light of day.

“Oh, don’t be like that. Orlesians aren’t all bad.” His serious expression lasted for about five seconds before dissolving into a snicker. “Damn, I can’t say that with a straight face after all.”

As they passed through a part of the forest that seemed darker and thicker than the relatively sparse woods they had been traveling through for nearly a day now, Kaede finally asked the question that had been on her mind for the entire trip – “Why in Andraste’s name does an Orlesian country vicomte need a mage? And more specifically, why does he need an elven mage from bloody Ostwick? Orlais has Circles, surely he could have found one closer.”

Thancred shrugged, catching hold of the reins of Kaede’s mare in an attempt to guide the beast around a tree that had fallen half over the path. “Apparently he asked for a Knight-Enchanter, specifically. And seeing as how those are in short supply, First Enchanter Matoya determined you were the best candidate.”

“Do you know why he needed a battlemage? And, well… anything about him?” Thancred was always the man who knew things – had things been different, he would have made a great bard, Kaede was sure.

Shoving his bangs out of his face, Thancred cast a look around, then urged his horse a bit closer to hers. “I don’t know much, but rumor is, he’s the Divine’s bastard son.”

Kaede opened her mouth to respond to that – though with what, she did not know – but before she could, a horrifying scream rent the air and a large creature darted directly into their path, trailing blood from several wounds.

“Andraste’s tits, is that a drake?” Even Thancred, who approached most things in life with the same laconic humor, seemed startled by the appearance of dragonkin.

Adrenaline hummed in Kaede’s veins, and she all but leapt down from her saddle, raising her left hand and forming a complex sigil in midair. Recognizing her as a threat, the drake reared his head back to spew a gout of flames their direction, but the fire flowed to the sides and around the shield that hung, invisible, in the air in front of her.

Apparently irritated at the lack of immolation of his prey, the drake lashed out with fang and claw, narrowly missing Kaede as she rolled out of the way, only to find herself face to face with a smaller – but still larger than her – dragonling. And if the cursing behind her was anything to go by, Thancred had met a few of his own.

Kaede braced herself for an attack that never came, for at the moment that the dragonling lunged, a brilliant blue blade lodged itself in the side of the creature’s neck and sliced through muscle and tendon, leaving it half-beheaded and bleeding on the forest floor.

A gloved hand reached down and pulled her to her feet, and Kaede found herself face to face with possibly the most handsome human man she had ever set eyes on, even though his armor was spattered with dragon blood and his wavy black hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.

“Are you hurt?” A warm, masculine voice with an Orlesian accent was barely audible over the screech of the remaining dragonkin surrounding them, and Kaede shook her head.

Movement caught her eye behind the man, and she abruptly pushed him to the side as the drake rushed forward towards them, reaching for her magic and pushing outwards, until ice crystallized around the creature’s legs, stopping it in its tracks. An arrow immediately lodged itself in a eye socket and the drake screamed as it crumpled.

A strong arm caught her around the shoulder and pulled her close against the mystery man’s chest, spinning to keep her beyond the reach of another dragonling’s lunge, when a lance came down and skewered it between its shoulderblades.

A quick glance over her shoulder revealed Thancred and another human man, with a lance in his hand, fending off the last two dragonlings, and then, finally, everything was quiet.

As she willed her heart to slow back down to a normal pace, the arm around her shoulders relaxed a bit, and her eyes were drawn back up to lock with pale blue ones. “My thanks, my lady. I take it that you are the Knight-Enchantress I sent for, then?”

Blinking in surprise that this was the vicomte she’d been assigned to serve, Kaede couldn’t resist a second look at him – she didn’t know of many Orlesian nobles who fought in places other than the dueling rings of tourneys, but this one looked well at home amongst the chaos of a battlefield.

A loud, Antivan-accented woman’s voice interrupted whatever answer Kaede thought to give, as a dark-skinned elven woman with a face covered in tattoos strode over to the drake and gave its corpse a kick. “Well. At least these aren’t bloody tainted. Unlike the last bunch.”

The grey-haired human man answered with a grunt, nudging the dragonling in front of him with his lance, before pronouncing in a gruff voice, “Aye, but that makes them harder to track.” Silver griffins emblazoned both their armor, and Kaede wasn’t sure which to be more confused by – the appearance of a Dalish elf, or the presence of two Maker-forsaken Grey Wardens.

Finally realizing that she was still more or less in the arms of an Orlesian lordling, Kaede took a step back and looked around the clearing in complete bewilderment – “What in Andraste’s name is going on here?”

The handsome human bent in a shallow bow, his sharp blue gaze never wavering from her face. “My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Aymeric de Borel, and as you can see, we have something of a dragon problem.”

[echthr0s]

ok because i am curious about dragon age, calpernia and samson? (and for ffxiv, hm, thoughts on lahabrea?)

I'm gonna be honest with you, I really did not pay Samson much attention aside from "wow his whole situation sure was fucked up huh", which is probably a travesty in retrospect but I cannot be responsible for the crimes of my former self

and I... *squints* barely remember Calpernia x_x whoops.

Samson isn't exactly Anansi's type but Anansi does have a lot of sympathy for 1) templars who don't follow the rules and 2) lyrium addicts so that's the basis for something, I'm sure. the whole Red Templar business does complicate matters. fortunately I love complications (but like I said, it's been a long time and my DA loreweaving loom is uhh rusty. can looms get rusty--)

now. fuckin Lahabrea lmao

his characterisation in the early game was always a bit... flat, for me, I guess, and I think that's just a product of the Ascians not having been totally fleshed out as a concept back then, but I never latched onto him aside from thinking it's funny that he was just wearing a Scion for a while and no matter how many times I play ARR I somehow never even notice that Thancred is gone until the Mor Dhona quests LMAO (sorry, Thancred)

but when it comes to Pandaemonium Lahabrea...... well, okay, yeah. there's Potential there, for sure. specifically, the potential is Dayir sidling up to Lahabrea and going, "ok so hear me out. we don't unmake Hephaistos. not right away, anyway... and we can...." *stage whispers some stuff that'd make Menphina blush*

Themis: 0_0 *covers Erichthonios's ears*

[chysgoda]

📚📘

You my friend get the non WTF thoughts (most because I’m out of them)

So some day I’ll get around to writing all of this and like actually stitch the few scattered paragraphs together. Bel is by far the most fleshed out of my OCs and someday I really am going to write her entire journey from child to warrior who can stand side by side with her mom (WoL). The kind core start of her story that isn’t family fluff and drama is figuring out how to get a dragoon soul stone to work for her. I subscribe to the cannon/HC/Fannon (I’m honestly not sure which it is) that only those of Ishgardian decent with the blood of Ratatoskr can be dragoons, it’s not a outsiders bad thing it’s a need dragon blood in your veins thing. (WoL is an exception because WoL) So before Art’imis goes off to do WoL things for n Ala Mhigo she helps Bel work out a deal with the Knights Dragoon that she has six months to get the soulstone to work for her or she has to give it back. So after much training and frustration Bel goes to Aynx Trine to get advise from Vidofnir. (Art’imis’s skewed ideas of age appropriate activities for 11 year olds included visits to Eorzea’s biggest cat tree) Vidofnir directs Bel to Hrasvalger who says he’ll only help her if she rejects Hydaelyn’s blessing of light and remakes it by her own work. The intention is that the tiny hatchling will never do that and go away and stop bothering him. However what he doesn’t account for is that A) Bel really fucking wants to be a dragoon B) has the teenage arrogance not to consider that she can’t do what he asks and C) Bel has been very sus of Hydaelyn for awhile both because of Lahabrea dropping doubts on to the impressionable child while he was wearing a Thancred suit and because she is very bitter that Hydaelyn took Aunt Minfilia away. So crystal gets yeeted and Hrasvalger lives in a state of surprised Pikachu face while Bel goes through shenanigans to meet his criteria. (There may or may not be a scene where Midgaurdsommer shows up to ask his son what the fuck he thought was going to happen) So once Bel’s task is completed, Hrasvalger give her some of his blood to drink (thank you Into the Land of the Unicorns for that idea that has never left my brain) and is effectively adopted into Hrasvalger’s horde. So couple of training montages later we arrive at Ghmlyt Dark where Bel is a front line soldier for the first part of Shadowbringers until a grenade blast destroys her hip and to much aetheric healing makes it so that the muscle and bone can’t support the aether needed for a dragoon’s jumps. From here we follow her recovery and coming to terms with having to find something else now that she has had to put aside her Drachenmail. Once she has a clean bill of health she follows Krille’s suggestion to join the arcanist’s guild. Here we explore a lot of head cannons about the dragon song and dragon magic as Bel researches how to repurpose Hrasvalger’s gift to her new situation. By Endwalker Bel has an ESA carbuncle, a Utahraptor like familar (another story) that actually does battle, and a working knowledge of how to use the dragon soul for spell casting. Thank the twelve that the guild mistress is willing to give her an ‘end of the world’ extension on her dissertation.

The other long winded story I think about is my rewrite of the PLD 50-60 line. Because that line SUCKS and is the worst set of job quests in the game, no I will not be taking criticism at this time. It’s kinda evolved into three stories intertwined about how three character come to their own place of faith and conviction that a Paladin needs. There is Tristan the Fiend Slayer a Paladin of an Ishgardian order that got the Knights Templar treatment while he and a rouge set of Paladins were at Cartenau. Exiled on pain of execution he wanders Ethyris looking for a purpose after his oaths in Ishgard have been denied to him. Somehow he finds his faith again and now stands tall as a free Paladin who is not related to the Saultansworn and therefore 100% cooler. This leads into my WoL’s (Art’imis) line. Art’s faith in pretty much everything is shattered after the bloody banquet. While her swordsmanship is top notch she can no longer call on the magics a paladin uses. She meets Tristan when Momondi sends him to help her fight a newly summoned Ifrit. (Yes Tristan has the echo) with Tristan’s help she escapes the ambush Ilberd and the Crystal Braves planned and Tristan goes back to Coerthas with her under mask and an assumed name. Tristan goes with her to check out what’s up with Sozkazgyl. With his guidance and having to help train Constaint the three unravel Sozkazgyl’s frankly selfish and unhinged plot to make Constaint an Ishgardian Batman and show up the Sultansworn. (Because that is exactly what he’s trying to do in cannon and it needs to be deconstructed hard). This leads into Allie asking Art to teach her to be a Paladin after the weapons line. Art can’t promise to be around enough to be an effective trainer but she can take Allie to Ishgard where Tristan is rebuilding the Order of the Unseen Crown at Aymeric’s request. There under Tristan’s tutelage and with the support of her girlfriend Bel, Allie finds her own faith and conviction to honor the memories of her siblings and protect their home. So yea it’s like three versions of the heroes journey and would probably be told concurrently rather than linearly.

And that was extremely long. Maybe someday I’ll actually write it.

[elfyourmother]

Can’t stop thinking about how much Gisele has romanticized Sharlayan over the years, listening to the Archons’ stories, how much she’s built this place up in her head as some kind of utopia for someone like her to the point of even feeling a little bitter about it sometimes. Gisele tries to hide it because she’s way too proud to accept anyone’s pity, but she legitimately gets depressed whenever any of them express sadness that she never got to attend the Studium, and was instead trained somewhere like the Circle of Magi—something they all find incredibly abhorrent to a one (especially Thancred, but it’s the papa wolf in him wanting to go back in time and murder a bunch of Templars on Gisele’s behalf for taking a little girl from her mother like that). So

And then when Gisele finally gets to Sharlayan, losing her mind and having to be pried away from the libraries like a kid in a candy store…but how hard she’d be stung by the inevitable disappointment when the reality of this shining city that’s all she’s ever dreamed of hits her. She knows intellectually about the political stance that is anathema to her, obviously because the Archons never would have come to Eorzea otherwise. But hearing about it and experiencing it for herself are totally different things.

For all the jokes about throwing hands with Monsieur Leveilleur I think Gisele would be disappointed by him more than anything. On a personal level given that she never met her own powerful mage of a father in this timeline, like “how could you possibly treat your children this way, do you have any idea how fortunate you are to have any like this” but then his stubborn insistence on holding onto this policy of non interference even in the face of annihilation that is totally anathema to everything Gisele has ever believed in. Hoarding knowledge for no purpose but to hoard it flies in the face of her entire worldview. Lord knows she never believed in Andrastianism but the one thing in the Chant that Gisele ever really agreed with is the idea that magic is to serve man. This is a woman who begged to join the Wardens because she was adamant to join King Cailan’s war effort, because she believed very strongly that someone of her abilities was wasted locked away in a tower while people were out there risking their lives against the darkspawn. Gisele has always believed very strongly that with great power comes great responsibility.

I think Monsieur Leveilleur would hate and resent Gisele given all of that, because she sounds exactly like Louisoix, and has clearly encouraged these views in the twins.

[starswornoaths]

📔

I wrote these a bit lengthy, so I’m sticking a cut here bc spoilers for 4.5 but I was an indecisive bean and there’s an entry for Serella, Uthengentle, and just because I write him enough that I might as well, one for Aymeric as well! Thank you for the ask! \o/

(edit: OR IT JUST WON’T LET ME ADD A CUT WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT TUMBLR I’M ON THE DESKTOP SITE SO FAIR WARNING SPOILERS FOR 4.5 AFTER THIS EDIT OKAY THANK YOU I’M SO SORRY WTFFFFFF)

Serella:

My name is Serella Arcbane. (her name is underlined)

Not so long ago I would have found it ridiculous that I needed to remind myself what my name is. Given that I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been referred to by my name instead of a title, however, I think I’m allowed. Now that I have another one, however temporary...it seemed a good time to remind myself.

Antecedent...the title carries with it too much pain. Too much loss. The remaining Scions approved of my accepting the title for lack of anyone else with any seniority willing or able to take it. I remind myself that it’s temporary, that the second even one of my companions wakes up, I get to just be the Warrior of Light again.

Just, I say. As if it were an inconsequential thing in itself.

At least then, when I was naught more than the Warrior of Light, I was able to still be Serella. I wasn’t made to isolate myself from everyone I know and love. It hurts, knowing that I had finally found family amongst so many people, so many I hold dear, who now can’t see me, either because they are unable to make the journey or because it would be improper of them to do so.

Ma came to visit me today. Her visit...I don’t know. When she called me by my name...I didn’t even respond to it at first. It was as if I had just...forgotten it. Perhaps I did. Perhaps I will again. She suggested I write it down. Said it’s how she remembers the little things about Da. I don’t know if it’ll help. I wish he was here, too. Of all the things I’ve forgotten, that I can’t remember what he looked like hurts me the most.

I’ve forgotten so many things I took for granted. So many little things about those I love. In writing, I hope I can remember at least a few- or at least, be reminded of them.

Raubahn has this deep belly laugh when I crack jokes with him- and really, he is the one constant patron of my puns, readily exchanging more with me for as long as we both have jokes to spare. Says it’s from years of being a father. I can’t remember how his laugh sounds.

Merlwyb would refuse to admit it- and if she ever catches wind of documentation of it, she’ll throw me to the Sahagin, of that I have no doubt- but I miss her singing. Low and rumbling as thunder, textured like velvet but fills the room like smoke. I’ve forgotten how the tune goes, which is ridiculous. I’ve heard her hum it a thousand times.

Aymeric...gods, for how he haunts my dreams you would think I would remember his smile. I should. I remember the things that made him smile. When I would bring sweets from that one chocolatier in town, or sweets from somewhere I had recently traveled. When I would move his bangs to kiss his forehead. Or sometimes...just when he looked at me. 

What shade of blue were his eyes? Were they a deeper shade like the night sky over the Steppe? Or was that the blue of his coat that I’m remembering? 

Why am I forgetting everything so quickly?! I have object permanence! It’s only been some moon and a sennight since I last saw everyone! I’m not some geriatric invalid rapidly losing who I am! I’m not some tempered thrall of a primal, adrift in want to serve my master and bereft of all concept of self! I am not-

(The following lines are writ with words made illegible with scribblings of ink and lines frustratedly crossed through them with enough force to nearly tear a hole in the paper. At the bottom, as if in triumph, there are only two more legible sentence:)

I am Serella Arcbane, and no one can take that from me. Not even a god.

Uthengentle:

Visited Ma over coffee this morning. I went fully intending to just say goodbye then and there. Made sense, I figured. We were leaving tomorrow.

I couldn’t say goodbye. I tried, Rhalgr knows I did. 

Had written a letter ahead of everything just in case. Only makes sense, given our line of work. Left that instead. Didn’t even have the stomach to say goodbye at the door. I left while she went to make another cup for me. I’ll have to apologize to her later. If we make it back.

...When. When we make it back. No sense in the doom and gloom; we’ve been through such shite before. Doubt this would be the end of it, either, but I can hope.

Ellie’s been having worse episodes with that voice, nearly passing out a time or two from what F’lhaminne told me. I hate I can’t be more help. I wish I could at least understand what she’s going through. All I get is headaches, sometimes a flash of an image, but it never bothers me. Krile suspects that has to do with Serella being more sensitive to aether and the Echo than I am. 

I just hope they stop once we leave. They should, right? If we’re going where we’re being called, they have no reason to keep callin’, I’d assume. Or their arseholes, and will do it anyway. Won’t matter. Let ‘em. We’ve got our family to save.

...Well. Some of ‘em. Still feels wrong to abandon everyone on the front lines. We should be there. The closer we get to leaving, the more ill I feel about it. From what Ellie said, she’s not faring much better in that regard. Said Aymeric told her to let them handle this fight, but he’s gotta know without us it could go either way. The man’s not stupid- none of ‘em are. Raubahn promised he’d defend the camp with his last breath...but I don’t want it to come to that.

Riol’s been scouting in Thancred’s place- from what he’s been able to gather, the Garleans are holding their cards to their chest. They have something big planned, and they’re just waiting for the right time to use it. Is that time when we’re out of the picture?

I hate that I don’t know, and I can’t find out before we leave.

I hate even more that we have to leave at all, but it’s clearly not something we have a choice in. Either we go to them, or we’re pulled to them. Better we still have our bodies and our senses and just bite the bullet. 

Warned Hilda to up the Watch with the Templars out of Ishgard. Not that she needs that warning; woman’s an unstoppable force already. It could be her and her alone standing at the gate if the Imperials march on Ishgard, and the safe money would still be on Hilda, far as I’m concerned.

I know my friends are capable without me around. I know they don’t need the Warriors of Light to keep them going. Doesn’t mean I don’t just want to be there to protect them- or failing that, die with them- and just fuck off to some far flung wherever.

We’ll be back before we know it. I’ll see to it myself if I have to.

Aymeric:

The battle continues into its fifth week, now. Though we have not lost an ilm to the Imperials, nor have they lost ground to us. Losses on both sides are mounting. We are hitting a breaking point, everyone can sense it. That there is a turning point fast approaching is not in question, but to which side the tide shall turn. 

O Halone shield your children from the encroaching dark, I beseech thee. 

The Warriors of Light make to leave in search of the Scions. The Alliance had to all but force them into leaving this battle to us, a turning point that came with the fear that (there is a name crossed out) the acting Antecedent had fallen to the same affliction that had claimed the rest. With her restored, however, they yet have hope to find those whose souls have been set adrift from this star. I only hope their path leads to victory, and then to home.

(the remainder of the entry is written in a different ink, presumably at a later point in time. The letters are splotched in places with drops of water.)

I nearly lost her. When Estinien laid her lifeless body in front of me, I feared the worst. We bore her to Ishgard with the full expectation that she would not wake. By the Fury, but when she did...

We are...no longer courting. I remind myself of this every time I am made to respond to one of her missives. That we are only separated by temporary obligation is beside the point: whatever relief I might have felt, whatever ache I carry in my chest will have to stay there, so long as she holds the title of Antecedent. 

Only for now. Another reminder to myself.

She yet shields me, even now, so far from the battlefield as she is made to be. Her promise still sits upon my hand. It shall do so unto death, and longer yet. I have already requested she not be allowed to take the ring from my finger. I have no need to be freed from it in Halone’s halls; regardless of her own heart, if I am the first to fall, then I will wait. I had long since decided thus, even before we were betrothed. 

I only wish I had not been so reserved with her for so long. I should have made more time for her. I swore to her I would never take her for granted and yet to dwell on our courtship, I always took her return as given. Now...now I only pray, and continue to fight that I might live to see her return.

(there are entire swaths of sentences scratched out, only some words such as, “promise,” “love,” and, “forgive,” are barely legible)

She must return. I know not what to do without her otherwise.

O Halone guide my beloved home in victory. 

[valeerasanguinar-blog]

——————— ROLEPLAYING HISTORY !

the rules are simple ! post ten characters you’d like to role playas , have role played as , and might bring back . then tag ten people to do the same ( if you can’t think of ten characters , just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people ) . aside from that , please repost instead of reblogging!

CURRENTLY PLAYING !

Valeera Sanguinar -- World of Warcraft

Miss Fortune -- League of Legends (If I’m not on Valeera I’m probably there)

Sejuani -- League of Legends

Vi -- League of Legends

HAVE PLAYED !

Rengar -- League of Legends

Akali -- League of Legends

Quinn -- League of Legends

Illaoi -- League of Legends

Undyne -- Undertale

Some OCs

WANT TO BRING BACK !

Kinda lowkey waiting for more Demacian and Ionian lore from League then I’d go back to Akali and Quinn

WANT TO WRITE !

Templar Assassin -- DotA 2

Valla -- Diablo Series

Thancred -- Final Fantasy XIV

Y’shtola -- Final Fantasy XIV

More OCs

TAGGED BY: i stole it O: TAGGING: anyone who wants to c:

[elfyourmother]

regarding the Soft askmeme, 🍁, 🌾 , 🌸 ,🌼 ? Whichever of these you'd like to answer!

🌼 Who are this characters friends and found family? How did they meet, how long have they been friends for, could they ever be something more than just friends? What do they look for in a friend or a romantic partner?

The Scions were first and foremost, until she met House Fortemps. They are still her closest friends though, and the closest thing to family she has besides the Fortemps (though she is also romantically entangled with many of them).

Gisele just never had a conventional family, is the thing. She was taken from her single mother by the templars at age 8, never knew her father, and grew up in the Circle where nobody was allowed contact with their family outside the tower, or to even have a family inside of it with any kids they might have getting taken away. So found family in a sense really is all she’s had for most of her life, it’s the most normal thing in the world to her.

Cutting cause this got really really long.

Thancred was the first Scion she met, and he recruited her to the order. Aside from Nanamo, he is literally Gisele’s oldest friend in Eorzea, the person who in a sense was her guide to this whole new world. It’s colored all of their interactions since then, especially with his Sorceress Knight complex. Her relationship with him is way too complicated to get into detail here, but they had smoldering UST from the beginning, and went from Friends to Friends With Benefits to Lovers in rapid order, developing into a deep emotional bond that was tested a lot by various things: his fear of being vulnerable, her amnesia and falling in love with Minfilia and having a relationship with her, the Lahabrea episode (which I hc happened while she was off on the Titan storyline, because I have to in order to keep my sanity. the canon timeline would mean some pretty horrific implications re: consent so. yeah.). Gisele and Thancred have always had a very strong friendship but romantically have seen ups and downs over the years, with them being estranged in the wake of the Bloody Banquet all the way up until Norvrandt. Not because of anything on her part at all, mind you, or because they weren’t still in love with each other (they very much were!), but entirely because of him and his insecurities and various complexes causing him to keep his emotional distance from her, “for her own good”. As far as Thancred was concerned, he’d failed her in Ul’dah, and she deserved a better man than him--and she found three in Ishgard. As of the end of 5.0 they have 100% reconciled (him nearly dying to Ran’jit was the major turning point) and are lovers again, for good. Haurchefant helped a lot.

Gisele loved talking shop with Papalymo, probably more than any of the Scions barring Y’shtola and Urianger he was one to always push her in her studies, and it was something she adored about him. She also loved his dry sense of humor, and got a lot of amusement watching him and Yda needle each other. And while Gisele didn’t know him for as long, his loss was something she felt very keenly, and still does, even though she doesn’t talk about it often, and people tend to assume it didn’t hit her as hard as losing Minfilia did because they weren’t dating. But Papalymo was like an older brother to Gisele, and it hurt.

Grieving him brought her and Lyse a lot closer together, and I think it was why Gisele was so quick to forgive her deception. She wasn’t an Archon to begin with, which helped. But as Gisele is quick to point out, she wasn’t who anyone thought she was either, and even after she knew the truth, she damn well lied to the outer circle (Arenvald and the like) to keep it secret, for the longest time. Besides that, Gisele was genuinely fond of Lyse, and unlike the others, she had no preconceived notions of how she “should” have been, which made Lyse feel a comfort and ease with Gisele that she didn’t with the others in the immediate aftermath of her coming clean. Their bond really deepened over Stormblood, when they became FWB--they love each other, but it’s not the sort of bodice ripping all consuming gothic romance stuff Gisele has going with Ysayle. More of a romantic friendship, I’d call it. But Lyse did remind Gisele an awful lot of Alistair, with the same kind of insecurities, the same hiding her feelings with jokes and self-deprecation, the sad clown stuff. So Gisele encouraged her as best she could, for the same reasons.

Alphinaud is...phew. She sees a great deal of her younger self in him, like A LOT--and Gisele is probably the one person besides his sister that Alphinaud feels can truly understand him, and the pressure he puts on himself to live up to these Teen Prodigy/Gifted Kid expectations. It’s why she didn’t bristle at his sometime arrogance, because she very much understood where it came from--it was like looking at a mirror through time, at herself, the genius apprentice whose mother made much of her storied lineage when her gift became known (her father’s line goes back to Arlathan and has always been very strong in magic), and was continuously praised by Irving in the Circle as being a generational talent. Plus, Gisele was only 19 when the Fifth Blight started, and died at age 20 ending it after having raised an army and outmaneuvering the entire Fereldan nobilty to put Alistair on the throne. (Posthumously named as the Warden-Commander of Ferelden during that Blight by Weisshaupt made her the youngest in the order’s entire history.) She has a lot more patience for Alphinaud in ARR than others, as a result.

Going through everything they did in Ishgard and Dravania was what really cemented their bond though. He’s her closest platonic friend in the order and out of all of them, the one she feels most overtly familial towards. (From a meta standpoint, Alphi is 100% spot what Gisele and Alistair’s eldest son was like in the old canon, too) But he is deeply infatuated with her, and so is Alisaie come Stormblood. And Gisele, who is normally very perceptive when it comes to these things, had no fucking idea until Haurchefant pointed it out, when they got back to Ishgard. The thing is, during the whole road trip when she was consumed by angst over falling in love with Ysayle and Estinien by turns, she was totally oblivious to the fact that Alphi was going through the same angst re: her and Estinien.

But even if Alphinaud were old enough to be under consideration (and he very much isn’t, FTR--this is very much a one-sided crush of the sort that teens frequently get on cool older people they know, and that the cool older people in question gently but firmly rebuff if they’re at all responsible ), I don’t think Gisele would ever stop viewing Alphi as anything but her younger brother. She feels a profound sense of responsibility toward both the twins, not that she’s the “mom friend” (heavens forbid), but more so that Gisele’s an only child, and he and Alisaie are the closest thing to siblings she’s ever had. The spiritual connection she feels to Louisoix cements that feeling also; he basically summoned her to Source, in a sense being a catalyst for her rebirth, and so she considers him a kind of spiritual father, especially after freeing him the way she did in Coils, and with his aether being with her in a sense as Phoenix. If Gisele didn’t basically get adopted by Edmont, Louisoix would have. He kinda did, anyway.

Same goes with Alisaie, for whom Gisele feels like even more of a cool big sis/mentor figure. Gisele essentially teaches Alisaie how to Red Mage, among other reasons, but the big sis/mentor thing extends to just life lessons--while Gisele isn’t as hothead as Alisaie, she is a very emotional person just like her, and feels a responsibility to help her not be so overwhelmed by them at times.

I’ve talked a lot about Y’shtola and Urianger wrt Gisele already so I won’t get too deep into it other than to say that Gisele felt a kinship with both of them very quickly, and both of them pined over Gisele for years until their respective friendships with her developed into romances on the First. Neither of them especially wanted to complicate things for Gisele but each had their own reasons for not crossing that line with her, no matter how badly they wanted to. For her part, Gisele very much reciprocated, but never said anything because they didn’t, and she felt the signals were clear.

Y’shtola especially had seen how difficult it was for her wrt Thancred for all that time, which was another reason why she was so hesitant to tell Gisele how she really felt about her. As well as irrational guilt that she had fallen for Ysayle while on the First and they’d become lovers in the 5 years they were there before Gisele arrived. It was the incident in Amaurot that changed everything though, when Y’shtola was abducted and Gisele saved her. They had a long, long talk after that.

For Urianger, it was his mainly grief for Moenbryda and the Warriors of Darkness saga. But then there was the episode with Gisele after Lakshmi tainted her aether and she needed healing, and he essentially performed sex magic on her to do so. He had been well aware of his romantic feelings for Gisele until then, but that night was when it became extremely real to him, and he understood just how deeply he loved her. It became a lot harder for him and he suffered in silence a lot. Later on, the Exarch’s plan greatly complicated things too. He carried her all the way down Mt. Gulg out of guilt and shame. But Gisele forgave him rather easily, all things considered. She loved him too much to do otherwise.

Krile is a close friend and confidante of Gisele, and while I don’t want to say she’s exactly replaced Minfilia, Krile kind of slips into that role of “someone who understands the specific burden of this power I have because she shares it”.  A not insignificant portion of Gisele’s guilt and inner turmoil over her weird attraction to Zenos is specifically because of what he did to Krile, though, and it’s caused Gisele to keep a certain distance with her that she otherwise wouldn’t. It’s not that she’s grown cold or entirely distant, but that it’s more of a cordial colleague type of relationship they have than the deeply emotional bonds she has with the others. I imagine that will change in time though.

Gisele values loyalty and honesty. As she says, the cornerstone of all her relationships is honesty, because she’s an ethical hedonist. She admires beauty, obviously, but more than that she also greatly admires fearlessness and authenticity. Oh, she loves her knights and her brooding types and whatnot, but ultimately Gisele looks at a person’s heart more than anything. Passion is something Gisele craves, and needs. Physical yes, but also a passionate spirit--what moves a person? What do they cherish with all their heart? What drives them? These are the things that matter to her, because she is a deeply passionate person and does nothing by halves herself.

[elfyourmother]

I don’t think I’ve ever really talked about the rather unique perspective Gisele has WRT the whole situation with Ryne given her own childhood trauma of being taken from her mother and locked away For Her Own Good in the Circle Tower (she was 8 when the templars took her away from the Denerim alienage)

Gisele didn’t really understand what a prison Kinloch Hold actually was until she ended up in Eorzea, in a world where magic wasn’t feared and mages weren’t treated as pariahs and living weapons that had to be shackled. she’d convinced herself that all of the petty indignities of life in the Circle were worth it, because it was the best life she could have had as an elven mage in Ferelden. so at the time, as much as she resented it occasionally, she understood it was very much a gilded cage. I mean, she had a permanent roof over her head and didn’t starve anymore, as a start. she wasn’t sick all the time. she learned to read and received an education. Liliane even told herself that Gisele was better off with the shems in the tower, because they gave her a life she never could.

but deep down Gisele was still obsessed with fairy tales of maidens locked in towers who were rescued. she dreamed of becoming First Enchanter one day because that was the greatest height she could aspire to, but she also dreamed of one of the handsome chevaliers in her romances tearing down the tower piece by piece and carrying her away from it, sailing off from the island into the sunset. but in the end no knight in shining armor rescued her from Kinloch Hold. she only got out because Duncan needed her to fight the darkspawn, and the alternative after she’d gotten busting helping Jowan escape was actual prison (the Aeonar). she loved Duncan in large part because she tried to cram him into that mold. it was the idea of him, more than anything.

in short, she didn’t have a Thancred to save her the way Ryne did.

Gisele really isn’t a jealous-hearted person in the slightest--obviously, she could never have the kind of relationships she has if she were--but nonetheless there’s still an ugly part of her deep down that is downright envious of Ryne because of it, but she’d never ever admit it, even to herself. it’s the same part of her that flinches unconsciously with resentment and bitterness every time she listens to the Archons laughing and fondly reminiscing about their days in the Studium, and reminiscing about Sharlayan period (needless to say the Archon Bread thing was...not fun for her). because she doesn’t want to admit how hurt she is by her upbringing, and always tries to focus on the “gilded” half of the “gilded cage” phrase, what was valuable and good and happy about it. the rest--remembering how Vic was taken away from her, the way she was bullied for her Orlesian name and accent (with its odd Dalish inflection), the harassment, etc. is just too painful. she swallows it down and forces a smile and tries to be happy for them. it’s not like she would wish her upbringing on them, or anyone really. 

but Gisele takes great pains to hide her flaws--she doesn’t like people worrying about her, it makes her feel guilty--and truth be told she’s really quite bitter deep down about all this. it’s why she’s so damn ambitious, ultimately. somewhere inside of her there’s still an 8 year old little girl who is absolutely terrified of being figuratively shackled again and told that she’s flawed goods and a curse that needs to be tightly controlled and regimented