#teven my beloved

[emolionsrawr]

buck, high on pain meds: are you an angel?

tommy, rubbing bucks chest: no baby i'm not an angel

buck: noooooo you can't rub my chest my boyfriend will be mad

tommy: evan i AM your boyfriend

buck: ohhhhhhh, hey babyyyyyy when did you get here?

tommy: *trying not to laugh* i've been here the whole time sweetheart

[critterpages]

[emolionsrawr]

oh my god YES

I need the 118 to keep telling Buck "your man" when referring to Tommy and the Harbor crew to keep telling Tommy "your boy" when referring to Evan, and then I need Tommy to whisper my boy to Evan one day after waking up together and then Evan randomly blurting out my man, all giddy and in love.

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard references to the spinoff game of all time (OF ALL TIME):

Note: Seneschal's Notebook

"Seneschal's Notebook Recent Acquisitions: —24 goblets of Serault glass. —A landscape by Lapaglia. —An antique bronze whistle (courtesy of the young master) with an old Tevene inscription: "QUIS EST ISTE QUI UENIT." Young lady Felicity tried the whistle. Peculiar sound. Her brother continues his dig, and is certain he's found an ancestral ruin. Last night he claimed to see a figure by the cliffs. The huntsman will investigate."

and

Winged Locus [a Neve weapon] This winged staff uses a focus cut from Serault-infused glass for an optimal magical conduit.

AAAAAAAAA

forget all the lore reveals, forget romance. Serault my beloved

[Dragon Age Legends mentioned]

[basket-of-cats-and-witches]

Dragon Age OCs

This will be an extensive post so obviously I'm going to put it under a read more and also tag it with spoilers... because not everyone has finished Veilguard!

That being said, I've put everything in order of most recent game to the earliest, that way if you're only interested in what weird shit I'm cooking for Veilguard, it'll be right there at the top.

EDIT: this got long. This post is Veilguard only. I'll put Origins and Dragon Age 2 in a different one.

This is mostly for my own personal reference as I continue to write banter and fanfiction, but I like posting it where people can see it if they get curious. This is all subject to change, as OCs can (and should) change as their writers do. That's progress and growth, babey.

Maybe someday I'll even include screenshots of my OCs. Dragon Age Origins my crusty beloved.

Don't care about this post but you're curious about the OC template I made? Just scroll to the bottom of the post!

Anyways, onto OC rambling!

Veilguard

Lanalath De Riva (he/they)

My currently canon playthrough. Not my current playthrough, just my canon Rook atm. This might change with time.

🐦‍⬛Stats🐦‍⬛

Age: 29

Race: Elf, non-Dalish

Faction: Antivan Crows my beloved

Class: Sword and Orb mage.

Specialization: Spellblade, lightning and fire focused. This was nuts to run, and I did it by accident.

Romance: Lucanis the disaster that you are

Birthplace: Seheron

Brief backstory:

Ngl this one was a hassle to work out. Originally Lana was a Lords of Fortune named Monarch, only I did a full playthrough and then realized Lana fit the Crows far better. And then I changed their entire backstory bc it no longer fit 😭

So Lana is, as you read, from Seheron originally. This is partially due to The Iron Bull's influence, I hyperfixated pretty hard during Inquisition.

Lana's one of many in that shitshow of a war-torn nation, probably made exceptionally worse now that the Antaam's separated from the Qun. Bioware give us more world politics and lore.

Their story is pretty straight to the point, and very DA2 and DAO inspired. In the endless war between Tevinter and the Qunari, some magister decided that a feral elf child from Seheron would make an excellent gift, and kidnapped them. Lana (a la Anders vibes) stubbornly refused to give their birthname, and was renamed by another elven slave aboard the ship.

This slaver ship got sunk before it could make it to port, and Lana was one of the ones that survived.

Through sheer luck, they made it to Antiva, and barely scraping by, made it to sixteen years of age.

And then a young Viago fell out of a window directly on top of them trying to escape someone inevitably trying to kill him, and a friendship was formed.

Lana stayed glued to his side since then, being his loyal shadow, until the Crows gave up trying to separate the two and just recruited Lana instead.

Viago's "canonically" (via datamined information) 32ish, so there's only a three year difference, making them have an incredibly strong rapport.

As a result of their childhood, Lana speaks fluent Qunlat and Antivan, and a handful of Tevene. This means the Crows send them to deal with the Antaam when needs must.

What happens if Lana doesn't become Rook/doesn't romance Lucanis:

It takes an incredibly long time, but Teia and Viago eventually get Lana into their bed (and into their hearts). Lana remains Viago's shadow, and helps Taash guide those who choose to split from the Antaam into better lives. Also helps deal with the sudden influx of Tal-Vashoth in Antiva. Even after the Antaam, you know population statistics are going to drastically change.

Other OCs Lana knows: Kaarash-Taar (later documented), Ghil'danan (later documented), Wren (later documented), and Riesel (later documented).

Ghil'danan Ingellvar (he/him, ftm)

My favorite punching bag. Idk why I love traumatizing him specifically so much, but I do. I've written considerably more for him than I have my other OCs, and I'm almost done with my playthrough of him. And by almost I mean like. Post the two dragon fight.

🪲Stats🪲

Age: 32

Race: Elf, alienage

Faction: Mourn Watch! My favorite goths.

Class: Warrior, sword and shield

Specialization: Reaper. It made sense for Mourn Watch. Surprisingly, not my favorite, though the death tornado is cool.

Romance: Emmrich, my beloved. I keep wanting to spell it "Emmerich". Old classy goth x Grungepunk goth energy. Sorry, dad.

Birthplace: Denerim! *Rubs hands together evilly*

Backstory:

I'll...try and keep this one short. I've been hyperfixating on him lately so his stuff's gotten out of control.

Ghil was born in the Denerim alienage, pre-blight. Raised briefly by his mother, he wasn't born Ghil'danan, it was the name he took later on.

Ghil's father was out of the picture from the start. His mother shared stories of his father growing up, so he's aware neither of them wanted to part, but there was a lot of baggage and kids learn young not to press on things that make their parents cry later.

Fast forward to the events of DA:O.

Ghil is more or less raised with Shanni as a sort of sister figure. Events begin steamrolling, his mother is one of the elves sold to Tevinter by Loghain (when I catch you Loghain Loghain when I catch you), and he's witness to all the horror of The Wedding. Those of you who played City Elf origin know what I'm talking about.

Ghil develops a hatred of Shems (he gets better, but those scars run deep, and I don't blame him), and things get dicey with Shanni. I'm tiptoeing around it because origins was very direct with Shanni's alcoholism.

The blight hits, the Alienage gets overrun, and Ghil flees. He loses Shanni in the chaos, and gets temporarily picked up and thrown into a tree by the overhead Archdemon, therefore cementing his fear of dragons and heights.

He obviously survives the fall, and runs past a human girl pinned in place by an ogre that was killed by a piece of fallen rubble.

He hesitates. Remembers that his mother would have wanted him to be kind to those in need, and with a LOT of effort, saves the girl.

They flee the city together. He learns her name is Wren, an orphan. Ghil is twelve as of the fall of Denerim. Wren is seven.

I'm not gonna get into the more mary sue aspects of Ghil's personality, but needless to say, it turns out Wren has the blight, Ghil willingly makes a deal with a spirit to transfer his brand spanking new magic to her to postpone her blighted condition, and they make it into Nevarra by sneaking through the Orlesian border. This is not easy, but they're children so it's easy...er. Easier.

Mourn Watch goes "hey that's some interesting magic you've got there" and takes Wren in who's like "hey fuck you take my brother too" and they're like "these two are definitely not related but okay"

And then they attend schooling together, until a few years later when Wren's condition begins to worsen again, because it's the BLIGHT, and she gets recruited into the Wardens.

This is where Wren and Ghil's paths split. More later on Wren. For now, my punching bag.

With Ghil's genius, fierce sister out of the way, he gets bullied RELENTLESSLY. Ghil's a smart cookie, but his grades begin to drop and he fully introverts.

Then, Hezenkoss takes him in as her student. Sort of. He's technically her student, but moreso she wanted a henchman to narrate at, and he got stuck doing a lot of manual labor.

Hezenkoss gets him trained up as a Reaper, especially as he shoots up like a weed and becomes The Second Tallest Elf Ever (I'm looking at you, Halsin Baldurs Gate 3), and transitions. Hezenkoss doesn't notice. He's not her Archnemesis Emmrich, so she doesn't care.

She also doesn't notice when he anonymously tips off the Mourn Watch that she's up to shit. Someone had to be the whistleblower, that's all I'm saying.

And from there, he graduates into a proper member of the Mourn Watch.

After a chance encounter with Professor Volkarin in the Memorial Gardens (with the tissue box, a la Clue), Volkarin comforts a grieving eighteen year old who has incredibly complicated feelings about the death of Shanni and being completely alone in the Mourn Watch.

Volkarin is unaware that this not only revives passion in the Mourn Watch in the Youth (this is actually pre-transition, oops), but plants the seeds of a budding affection.

Ghil then spends the next fourteen years trying to forget his first crush, fails miserably, wrecks several relationships in the process, and changes completely by getting tattoos and pretty much only ever hanging out with the dead.

And Myrna and Vorgoth.

Then the events of the game happen, and oh no! Guess there are Still Feelings for Volkarin, and now Ghil is helpless to fall head over heels in a proper, adult love.

What happens if Ghil isn't Rook/doesn't romance Emmrich?:

Let's be honest. Ghil would always romance Emmrich. But in the course of "never became Rook and Emmrich old man yaoi'd with Strife", it's...hm. A bit sad.

Wren dies in the end (unless she's Rook). So Ghil fully closes off to the living, and spends the rest of his life with the dead. He still has a living friend in Lana, of course (to be explained in Wren's backstory), but that's the most of it. I'd like to hope that Ghil falls in love with someone else. Do I, the writer, think he will? No. Ghil has been spending fourteen years trying to fight his own heart. He's one of those people who wants to move on but just can't. It's the inherent tragedy of his life.

Where the hell is Ghil's dad in all this?:

He's one of the Greater Dead. Literally cannot leave the Necropolis, got the love of his life pregnant and kicked it. Ghil has no idea, and Etheldredd also has no idea that his child is a part of the Mourn Watch.

The Necropolis is vast. Maybe they'll find each other posthumously.

Other OCs Ghil knows:

Lana, Wren (to be documented, but also duh), Riesel (to be documented). Very vaguely Din, a HoF OC, because she was at The Wedding and lived in the same alienage.

Wren (she/they)

She's baby and I love her. Too bad I'm addicted to the inherent tragedy of the plot. I'm not goth for nothing.

🦅Stats🦅

Age: 27

Race: Human!

Faction: Grey Wardens, my favorite narrative punching bag. Or Bioware's, besides the elves.

Class: Mage, whackin' stick staff.

Specialization: Death Caller! I haven't played it yet but I plan to for her playthrough. Seemed appropriate.

Romance: Undecided. Maybe Bellara, because Neve's already planned for someone else and I managed to make Harding disapprove of me A LOT in the beginning of my Wren Run.

Taash is also definitely on the table. As I said, undecided.

Birthplace: Denerim! Same as Ghil.

Backstory:

The majority of Wren's early childhood can be referenced in Ghil's long-winded backstory. So this'll hopefully be shorter.

Wren was the illicit bastard of a Chantry sister and a Templar. Thus, she got dropped off on the orphanage's steps and summarily forgotten.

Despite this, Wren had a pretty happy childhood! Sure there was the occasional haunting and blood magic and slew of murders in Denerim, but that's pretty normal.

...right?

She knows who her father is, simply because his conscience is more guilty than her mother's. Her father stopped by to check up on the orphanage regularly on his circuit, and she often got cheap gifts from a father who was rarely there.

Still, she dreamed of being a Templar when she grew up.

Flash forward, Denerim, the Blight, everyone dies, and she finds a brother in Ghil'danan.

For a while, Wren remains one of the top students in the Mourn Watch. She grows up, attends lectures by Volkarin who becomes a mentor figure to her, and perfects her magecraft.

And then, her blight symptoms get worse.

Wren collapses on her way to class, and is found by a Grey Warden, who offers to recruit her and stay the Blight's hand a while longer.

She agrees. (This is where her particular backstory gets a fuckton of content warnings, so I'm going to keep it light. To be blunt, my OCs are often a dumping ground for trauma, and Wren got a lot of the heavier ones. Trigger warning for grooming and abuse. There'll be red text like this when trigger warnings are over.)

Wren is trained specifically by one Warden, the one who saved her. He's an older Weisshaupt veteran who's well-respected, and encourages her as she grows.

And when she turns eighteen, he tells her that due to her young age, it could reflect poorly on him that he made her do the Joining so young. He tells her that if she wants to remain a Grey Warden she'll marry him, and she owes him for it because he saves her life.

And for a few years, this works. She endures a very abusive relationship.

And then, Ghil finds out.

Because of her Warden husband's venerated status, he's hard to bring to justice, so Ghil just takes the swifter path.

He hires a Crow, a young one named Lana De Riva, and although they're reluctant when they find out it's a Warden that's the target, context for the hit makes them agree.

And together, they make it seem like an accident.

Wren's highly conflicted at first, but over time, settles into her new, freed role. She becomes a Warden librarian, for lack of a better term, and finds herself. She still keeps a low profile in the worries that someone will find out what her brother did, but remains relatively at peace even as her Calling slowly creeps closer.

What happens if Wren isn't Rook/doesn't romance anyone?:

Well, Wren's a strong independent nonbinary who don't need no man, but she's also got the constitution of wet paper in a typhoon. So when she's not Rook, she participates in Weisshaupt. While she survives, the aftereffects of adding more blight to her system is what eventually does her in, much to Ghil's grief.

I like to think she becomes a spirit of Kindness or Joy. Or good ol' fashioned Wisdom.

Did the Templar father make it?:

If he did I'd make him kick it at Therinfal Redoubt. But no he doesn't. Wren still has his Templar cloak that he gave her, once. She's got mixed feelings on her father.

OCs that Wren knows: Ghil (duh), and Lana.

In the circumstances where she dies, Lana and Ghil pull a favor with Riesel to get her HoF father to accompany Wren to the Deep Roads, as he's her idol and an uncorrupted part of the Wardens. So technically, she meets Lithe Surana, my DA:O OC and canon HoF.

Kaarash-Taar (he/him)

Finally, a bulwark of maturity and a breath of fresh air in the Trauma Squad. I'm very excited to play Kaarash in a later playthrough. Because I've been focused on the Traumatized Three, I haven't given too much thought to him yet. Just basic sketches of ideas.

🐍Stats🐍

Age: 31

Race: Qunari, Vashoth

Faction: Shadow Dragons

Class: Warrior, two-handed

Specialization: Slayer, I think! Give me back Reaver, Bioware.

Romance: Neve. Honestly bc I'm a gay transman I almost never go for the female LIs, but Neve... she's cool as hell. I wanna see what she's like. Incidentally when I made Kaarash I forgot Neve belonged to the Shadow Dragons factions LMAO

Birthplace: he doesn't know! Most of his young life was spent at sea.

Backstory:

Kaarash-Taar is an orphan, picked up by an old Tal-Vashoth sailor nicknamed Beres.

Beres, who grew up under the Qun, did what any ex-beresaad would do - drag the kid onto his Captain's ship and teach him the ways of the world and the Qun.

Ironically, this happened to be Isabela's ship.

Beres was a part of Isabela's old crew, pre DA2 events. He heavily respected his captain, and expected the same of his adoptive son.

When Isabela's ship was wrecked in the reefs, Beres and his young son survived, being taken aboard a ship while adrift at sea.

This was seen as a miracle, until they learned it was a slaver's ship, and the two were supposed to be cargo.

That didn't go to plan. Years of work as Beresaad and then with Isabela made Beres a wickedly sharp warrior, and Kaarash was much the same way. They managed to corral the slaves, enact a plan to overthrow the slavers, and successfully executed it, taking over the ship.

For the first time, Beres was a captain, and for nearly ten years Kaarash stayed by his father's side.

Later, when it turned out Isabela was alive, Beres joined his crew to hers and went back under her captaincy. But by this point, Kaarash was a young adult and hotblooded, feeling the energy of the revolutions happening around him.

Around this time he separated from them, drifting from place to place, helping refugees and freeing slaves. Around this time, he met Riesel, a young elven woman with an impressive family legacy, and decided to travel together in search of like-minded people.

Eventually, they found it in the Shadow Dragons.

While Beres doesn't necessarily agree with his son's revolutionary actions (he thinks it'll get Kaarash killed), he reluctantly supports his son nonetheless. After all, Kaarash has proven time and time again to be a tactical leader, and as time passed on, cool-headed under pressure.

What if Kaarash doesn't become Rook/doesn't romance anyone?:

He's still fighting with the Shadow Dragons. Maybe he'll romance Hal or something, that guy's fried fish does seem like it's worth being a little gay for.

OCs he knows: Riesel, Lana. Technically he knows Ghil, but like. Distantly. They don't talk, really, but they get along well enough.

Riesel (she/they/doesn't care)

Riesel's actually the oldest in terms of how long she's been in my brain for! I made her back in 2018, when I played Dragon Age Origins for the first time. She was baby then. Now, like many of us who did the math and realized our Wardens' children are grown adults in Veilguard, she's a fully fleshed out OC.

She's also probably the only one I'm not going to do a playthrough for, because....well, maybe. Idk. We'll see.

🐍Stats🐍

Age: 28ish

Race: Elf (non-Dalish)

Faction: Shadow Dragons

Class: Rogue, stabby

Specialization: Duelist! It looks incredibly fun and fits her backstory.

Romance: If she absolutely had to romance someone from the party, it would be Davrin, I think. He's got his shit mostly....together.....and Emmrich's too old for her tastes.

Otherwise she'd romance, idk, the Viper or something. Or Tarquin AND the Viper, which would drive her father to an early Calling.

Birthplace: Amaranthine City. For those of you who played Dragon Age: Awakening, you know where this is going. Probably.

Backstory:

*cracks knuckles excitedly*

Riesel was born to two loving, wonderful elven parents doing their best in an arling that hates elves. Like most of Ferelden. And the rest of Thedas, unless you're Bioware and suddenly pretend that the racism from your last three games doesn't exist.

And then, her parents died in the assault on Amaranthine city.

She was left wandering the rubble, crying loudly and dragging along a stuffed nug, until some tall man in shiny armor came and picked her up and tried to help her locate her family.

And he did, but they were in less than stellar condition, so he said "I guess you're mine now" and swept her away.

His husband, the ex-Crow, was exasperated but too smitten with his new spouse to tell his darling Warden "no".

(but really, Zevran did actually want to take care of her as much as Lithe Surana did.)

And so the pair raised their little girl lovingly. Riesel grew up fluent in Orlesian and Antivan, learned to throw knives, and sneak around so that her fathers didn't know what she was getting into.

(They did, but only interrupted when it was actually dangerous.)

Over time she learned a few rules.

1. Never be a Crow, Marry a Crow, or Hire a Crow. Fuck them Crows.

2. No joining the Grey Wardens. There are no griffons, and it'll make your uncle Alistair really sad.

These truths were ingrained in Riesel, and eventually she grew up to be a relatively responsible and level-headed adult. Who wanted to be a Grey Warden, but wasn't allowed to, so she settled for the next best thing.

The Friends of Red Jenny. This is who she was with before she met her best friend Kaarash-Taar.

Together, they traveled together to try and help people while her dads were away trying to cure the Blight, and eventually the pair joined the Shadow Dragons together, remaining a bombastic dynamic duo.

What happens if she doesn't become Rook/doesn't romance anyone?:

Romance is dead, or will be shortly, if Zevran has anything to say about his precious baby's relationships. Also Riesel doesn't care. Regardless, she's off saving people with the Shadow Dragons and doing things that will definitely send her parents to an early grave.

OCs she knows: Lana, Kaarash-Taar, Ghil, and Wren if Wren goes through the Calling.

TEMPLATE IN CASE YOU WANNA WRITE YOUR OC SHENANIGANS

Name:

Age:

Race:

Faction:

Class:

Specialization:

Romance:

Birthplace:

Backstory:

What happens if [pronouns] doesn't become Rook/doesn't romance someone?:

Other OCs they have connections to:

-----------------

Anyway, that's it for this humongous OC dump! I hope you enjoyed, and if you use the template, feel free to tag me in it! I love hearing about people's OCs.

Have a good night, and happy Dragon Age!

[supacutiepie]

My poor girl

Maelia Mercar - aka the "oh baby a triple!" rook because this poor girl: -Was adopted by a fairly prolific general, okay good her dad genuinely loved her and had her well trained to be his successor.. -Well, turns out her father became a high level Venatori General and only Got Worse From There. But he still adores her and expects her to follow up. -She in fact, does not want to follow up. She doesn't believe in this insane plot for the revival of tevinter, she loves tevinter and wants it to grow and finally break through. -So, she becomes an 'informant' for the Shadow Dragons. Without ever directly revealing how she gets her info - she's feeding direct venatori and tevene political schemes to the SD faction but playing into this idea she's just an assistant or something using the 'Mercar' moniker to hide her identity like The Viper does. -Cool! Great!.... She has to break out a bunch of slaves and an important dignitary she finds in her own fathers camp. She did so under the 'Rook' guise though, think blue mask style. So now, the Venatori are wary about someone infiltrating, and the SD are weary about how Rook got involved (claims SHE got kidnapped! but the truth? someone in the venatori caught her slipping the slaves free and she made up this big con on how its her in to the shadow dragons and wow maelia what initiative!) -Messy, but ok she's managing? She's managing dammit. She's got the SD convinced she's spying on the Venatori, but because she fucked up and got risky, she now convinces the Venatori she is spying on the Shadow Dragons. -The Venatori who are now looking Solas' way and send Maelia that way towards the people aksing too many questions (Neve, Varric, and Harding) -Well, then she gets dumped on Varric. A spymaster, who gets on good look at her and fucking laughs in her face like "Ooohh kid, you're in for it..so whose side are you really on?" Obviously, "The People's." -So, Varric helps her with the back and forth. Keeping up her cover, Maelia wears some heavy paint and a veil mask when working for the SD and Varric, and then she's clean cut and aristocratic for the Venatori. -So. Let's recount: Maelia is Rook, the Shadow Dragon hunting down the Dread Wolf and using her insider information to spy for the SD against Venatori. -Maelia is also the daughter and heir to a very powerful general of the Venatori, who has her on orders to spy on Varric and the Shadow Dragons. -Then she is reporting EVERYTHING back to Varric. It's one hot fucking mess of her teetering this line. Going back and forth as Rook then Maelia, slipping away from the Veilguard to report to the Venatori juuust enough information about the Shadow Dragons to be satisfying while then going to the Shadow Dragons with juuust enough information to be useful and then going back to the Veilguard and handling ALL THAT SHIT TOO... It's bound to bite her in the ass. Especially when there is a fucking evil elf god in her mind that clocks her as Rook and then she's trying to not only con Elgar' fuckin' nan but also Solas, and the Shadow Dragons, and the Venatori, and the Veilguard-- And and and--

And then the Dragons. She didn't know about the Dragons. This was too early for the Gods to have noticed her, and it was such a high level stunt she hadn't been approached by any of the Venatori for it. Because, the Venatori assumed she would already be in Minrathous, and be on their side. Minrathous, her beloved home. Her friends, her Shadow Dragons, who knew she was with the Veilguard but surely she'd come for them... But Treviso is a merchant city. It's just canals, and innocent lives, and no army and a lot of innocent people barricaded into the city by Antaam. And she thinks the Crows will do their best, but knows they can't handle the Venatori like this-- Minrathous, her shining gem, was built for siege. Was built and armored and has soldiers and the fucking Archon's palace has a gods damn canon in it so!! She hadn't heard about the Venatori plan to take over the Palace. She didn't know... Treviso still stands, but her home...her faction? "Rook--" Neve, someone she though was going to be so important to her one day, looks at her and the hate there puts a cold iron into Maelia's soul. Tarquin...Ashur... her friends, her mentors, blighted. And they look at Rook like she betrayed them by putting faith in their skills. It fucking sucks. And she tries so hard to get the Shadow Dragons out, to field the Venatori demands, the pressure is so intense... she's losing her grip on where what lie lay. One thing after another, and the cracks get thicker. She can't get to one place after another fast enough, she's trying to keep people alive, she's trying to stave of Solas and that fucking look...he sees right through her. Varric helps, his quiet reassurance the only thing she feels secure in. She keeps meticulous notes and documents every lie, every rouse, misdirect, and order. She's couriering for favor across northern thedas, she's fighting gods.... And then, the Dalish are taken. And then, Strife is saying they need to infiltrate the ritual. And then, Maelia cannot hide behind the Rook Mask - and Maelia goes from being Rook-- to 'Lady Maelia? I was not aware you'd be joining us for the festivites!" And fuck, she knows everyone here. She knows these Altus', these mages, these god awful brats hanging onto their parents coattails. She knows them, she's sat with them for dinner, magic theory, these grand ideas of a better world they think they're closing in on... Neve isn't the one to get them in, Bellara is so sick she can't even look at Maelia... "I just got in, something big to report you know. When is the ritual starting, I don't have all day to time this." "Soo, your father is actually further in, should I let him know you're here?" "No-- gods no, he'll want to chat and catch up, and with all this mess, time is of the essence." "Ah, always the pragmatic one, well go right ahead. But don't forget, we're getting new orders after the ritual, I'm sure you're expected." "Of course, let me hand these reports over first and maybe I'll catch up.." Maelia can't look at the team. Can't look around. People greet her with familiarity, old and new. The deeper in, the more obvious that Maelia is one of them-- But Maelia gets them past the mess, and beelines for the prisoners, and Elgar'nan calls her out-- To everyone.

[manfred-volkarin]

head in my hands. i finally know what personality my mercar will be when i start a next pt and my mercar WILL be my next because...i realized that tevene has a base in latin, which means i could reuse the name of my most beloved bhaalspawn (filia) which means i could also use her personality and pyromantic tendencies....and then it hit me that mercar is also a ward. it's all coming up erik. or something

[bottomthor]

I've been meaning to share my Rooks, so here's my boy: Alero! Spoilers under the cut.

Name: Alero Assira

Age: 34

Race: elf

Faction: Shadow Dragons

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: gay

Romance: Emmrich

Alero spent his whole life in Minrathous.

Born to a blacksmith and a herbalist with some small magical talent- enough to heal small injuries and get better jobs but not good ones- Alero's childhood was money poor but rich in love. His own magic did not manifest until he was 11, when they were out of firewood in the dead of winter and he spontanously created flame- not in the fireplace. It was a hopeful thing for the family- if his magic could be nurtured it would ensure he at least found consistent work. It quickly became clear his magic was far stronger than his mother's and by twelve he was seeking an apprenticeship.

At fourteen an Altus took him on- Calumaine, who was fifteen years his senior and who he immediately had a crush on. Unfortunately for him Cal did not prove to have his best interests at heart. He used his very eager pupil's work to advance his status, passed off Alero's growing expertise in Old Tevene as his own achievement and when he turned nineteen, seduced him.

Alero would spend the next ten years as Cal's lover, and Cal refused to let him graduate knowing that the threat of wasting all these years was keeping Alero at his side. During those years his parents both died of preventable causes that his apprentice wages did not cover the doctors for, and Cal presented his thesis on the misinterpretation of an Old Tevene poem as his own and was awarded a mage knife for "his" scholarship, continuing to claim his schedule was too full to help those seeking translation help but his "assistant" could help.

Eventually Cal was forced to graduate Alero for the sake of his own reputation, which plummeted rapidly as Alero bolted (stealing the mage knife he'd earned Cal on his way out) and it became clear that it was Alero's work and not Cal's. Alero took to the streets, deeply ashamed of his complicity in seeking to better himself rather than his people, and was recruited by the Shadow Dragons at much the same time an angry Cal joined the Venetori.

Working under the alias of "Songbird" Alero gathered information for the Shadow Dragons by being a willing ear for those in power, getting them drunk and sympathising with them- and being willing to be taken to bed if that was what it took. Cal was well aware of who he was, but unable to catch him.

His proudest work is his freeing of the slaves, though he deeply misses his beloved Minrathous. Working with Varric gave him both a fresh start and breathing room- the alias of Rook was not connected to him in any way.

[luckyjak]

ending questions

spoilers under the cut

SO, WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH BELLARA NOW, HUH?

(she was the one who got captured by Elgan'han in my game)

Is she going to become a Warden? Is she going to die?

Dorian is the ARCHON now? he's got a mess on his hands!

What is up with the Blight? Is it still a problem/thing? Is Solas going to end the Blight forever?

Where did Solas and the Inquisitor go??? I assume the Fade, but why does he think they are going to be in for a bad time?

also, what happens to everyone else!!!!

Neve and Lucanius are dating...is Neve going to move to Terviso? Or will she stay in Minrathos because she's still a Shadow Dragon?

Is Davrin going to stay with the Wardens or hang out in Arlathan all the time taking care of griffons?

I'm guessing Emmrich and Rook are going to move to the Necropolis, which is fun, and are taking Manfred with them. Will they ever officially acknowledge Manfred as their baby boy? I kind of wish the game had a "make he spirit of curiosity Manfred a real boy like we made Cole a real boy" but I guess they didn't want to do the same thing twice.

again, what the fuck is up with bellara

and SOUTHERN THEDAS??? my darling Fereldan...my beloved...will you ever be safe again? can we get a sequel in Fereldan as they rebuild? Is King Alistair still alive and holed up in Skyhold? Is Divine Victoria Leliana still struggling to keep Orlais together?

where is Iron Bull? :( Dorian was barely in the game so I wasn't expecting him to mention his boyfriend but I'd still like to know.

ALSO WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THE QUNARI. are they having like a civil war with the military leaving??? I could use more information, Bioware!

where is Keiran. where is my boy.

also man Minrathos got majorly fucked up in my game. It got seiged like three times. bummer my tevene friends but this is what happens when you have slaves and blood magic

[amoebab22]

Hard agree on this. Also wtf is Bellara's class?? Mage? Rogue? Why can't she do mage stuff in battle?? Does she just have a cool magic pip boy or....

Really only Davrin, Bellara, and Harding's personal quests make sense.

Analysis of each in no particular order below the cut.

Bellara has to go do calibrations initially (classic Bioware) but you get the sense she does this on the regular because of Cyrian's death, so the fact she "waits" for Rook makes sense because it feels like she does this weekly or whatever so we could just tag along one time. We also find this magic archive with important knowledge which somehow is not a Chekov's gun, but initially I was like okay this is a little forced BUT this could be so useful!!! (But then it's just like, not at all.) So of course we're gonna go help her figure it out but then we run into Cyrian and he's working with yet another evil ancient mage and well, shit, we should probably take care of that. Sure, his funeral might not be necessary, but because he sacrifices himself to defeat the forgotten one, I can see Rook feeling an obligation to him.

(Also, what happened to the Dalish burying their dead because it was more like uthenera? Also why are the Dalish up in Tevinter and Antiva where they could be enslaved? Also why are Tevene magisters not up in Arlathan forest doing their fucked up magic PhDs by stealing Elvhen shit??)

Anyway, then we have Harding, who can SUDDENLY CONTROL ROCKS??? Yeah, that's PRESSING to figure out. And yeah of course she's waiting for Rook to come in case she needs help cuz fuck if she knows how this rock shit works. Going to Kal-sharok (sp?) also makes sense cuz well fuck they've somehow survived the Blight alone for a thousand years (side note, the dude says they had to do terrible things to survive but then I didn't see that explained? I assume cannibalism. But did I miss that explanation? I was ready for some Broodmother shit. I was READY. That quest fucked me up in DAO), which hey, the Blight is different now, but these guys are the Legion of the Dead on steroids. If I was Rook I'd be begging for their help.

Then her whole quest kind of unravels for me. I admittedly got bored. Once she could control the stone it just felt like a ton of exposition that could have been done in a more engaging way. Also why is she going camping in Ferelden with Emmrich when the entire country is basically dead? It would make more sense for us to use her powers to rescue her parents or something? Something hyper personal that's really urgent.

Finally we have Davrin, the most obvious choice to join up. He's a goddamn Grey Warden (Wardens, my morally grey beloveds), and Wardens are sworn to fight the Blight at any and all costs. That's why Clarel could be convinced to do what she did. That's why Isseya was ordered to blight the griffons and ultimately did it, despite hating it and knowing it was evil. That's why the Wardens forced Hawke's father to do blood magic. And that's why a few Wardens followed First Warden Genevieve into the Deep Roads in The Calling to find her brother (which, good book other than the fact that Maric has a weird elf fetish and had never learned not to think with his dick. Loghain was holding Ferelden together tbh). The Wardens are compelling because they're the ultimate "the ends justify the means" group, who are unknowingly weakening the Veil each time they stop a Blight, which could ultimately unleash all of the Blight.

And Davrin is up against this Architect-like blighted creature so yeah, he's not taking that shit on without some back up. And Rook really doesn't want the Gloom Howler or her calling-addled Wardens rolling around. Seems bad when the gods control the Blight. So waiting for Rook makes sense, and a harder fight when you ignore his shit also makes sense.

We could have had Emmrich join up and speed up his timeline on being a Lich supposedly because the power would help the fight, only to find out it's really because he's terrified of dying.

Lucanis should have been more like Zevran: an unwilling Crow who volunteers so they can have some goddamn agency for once in their life and because fuck it, they were gonna die anyway. Much like a Warden, they would have accepted death.

A Shadow Dragon would be down to kill Venatori and super powerful mage slaveholders. I mean, my Shadow Dragon Rook killed slavers too hard for the group. We could take another one of those. A former slave Shadow Dragon would be extremely conflicted about fighting Solas (if he'd been characterized correctly and not retconned into an asshole) because Solas is a former slave who freed slaves. Hell, without sufficient loyalty to Rook, they'd JOIN Solas in a final battle.

Or, frankly? Dorian could join us again. Solas made Dorian a better person. Dorian has an amazing, genius level understanding of the Veil and magic. He kept up with Solas's discussion of magic every time. Yeah yeah, it has to be a new leader, but uh, Lace is there. Dorian would immediately be like oh, another world threatening evil mage? Two this time?? Well, looks like I'm coming out of retirement. Dorian would *struggle* to kill Solas. Solas is the reason (along with possibly Inky) that Dorian is fighting to end slavery in Tevinter. Solas maybe wasn't his friend, but Solas was *right* about so much. And Dorian would have felt the Veil weakening. He'd know. And I think he'd really sympathize with Solas's story of being coerced into being something he's not, into doing things he doesn't believe in, by people that say they love him. That would hit home. And without high enough loyalty to Rook, an Inquisitor who vowed to save Solas and Dorian could turn on Rook in the end. They could side with Solas, see that his place actually makes sense (because it does, in an 'ends justify the means' way. In a 'this is inevitable, and doing it in a controlled way is better than a chaotic collapse' way).

But then we'd have to sympathize with Solas and we'd want to take down the Veil. Which would end the story, and by god EA and Bioware are gonna milk that IP until it's a desicated corpse.

Ok fine you guys twisted my arm (I say to a completely empty room) here's why I think Mass Effect 2 worked and Veilguard tried to copy it and failed.

First up is the complexity of the goal/plot. In ME2, the end goal was simple: Stop the Collectors from harvesting humans. Blast off through the Omega 4 Relay and probably die. Take down as many Collectors as possible before you die. Basically, shoot stuff until it explodes. It made sense that half of the squadmates were just "legendary badass", "legendary badass (green skin version)" and "legendary badass (huge tits version)." You need to kill dudes, so you pick people who are good at killing. There are a few who are better at tech or science, but they use tech and science to, you guessed it, kill dudes. Then you have a few who join due to aligning goals (Legion) or loyalty to Shepard (Tali, Garrus) or humanity/Cerberus (Jacob, Miranda), or they're literally getting paid to be there (Kasumi and Zaeed). But all of them have reasons to stick around, of various importance.

The specificity of the main plot is also relevant here, because everybody in the galaxy is like "oh humans are getting kidnapped? sucks to suck dude rip in piss ://" so it makes sense to recruit whoever you can get. You need help for an issue that (according to everyone who would otherwise help) only concerns you. So you're like "hey are you good at killing? and do you mind dying?" and most of those freaks go "yeah lmao whatever." They're self-selecting, because the cause is so specific and explicitly suicidal.

The suicidal thing also helps explain the loyalty missions, btw. They're not presented as "hey can you umm help? or I'm gonna be distwacted 👉👈" but as "hey man, these people are willing to die on your command, you should probably help them with their unfinished business at the very least." And yeah, the mechanic of "if you don't help they'll fucking perish" remains the same, but the framing is different. In ME2, you're basically helping a bunch of professionals to do this final thing before they die for your cause. It's both a sign of respect and of consideration for them as people, and strengthens your bond with them and their loyalty to you. The way it's framed means that you don't have to do this in order for them to do their job, but doing it helps strengthen their belief in you.

And because the stakes are relatively low (as far as everyone knows), of course the squadmates will respect and appreciate a Shepard who takes care of them more. Of course it builds loyalty. This person isn't just using you as a meat shield for their pet crusade, they're genuinely trying to do what's right and don't want you to die for nothing.

In Veilguard, you're literally told multiple times that you have to do their dumbfuck busywork or else they're gonna throw in the towel. Hey man can you do this thing? Or else I'm not saving the world :3c The stakes being SO HIGH while their issues are SO NOTHING makes most of them look really immature and incompetent, which clashes against the whole "gang of experts" thing. You're telling me this couldn't wait? I have to go into Lucanis' mind and figure out his traumas or else he won't ... hold a knife good? And that will doom the world because he's the only guy who can hold a knife? Okay???

ME2 presents everybody as professionals and experts in their field, but at the end of the day, they're just there to kill stuff. Remove one, and another will be found. The mission is (as far as everyone in power knows) not galaxy-threatening yet, so finding new guys to help would be easy. That's why Shep taking the time to solve their final issues means something and why it earns their loyalty. It shows that Shep cares about them as people.

Veilguard presents these people as experts in their fields, too. They're considered irreplacable in this conflict. And the conflict is saving the whole entire fucking world. And YET, that has to take a backseat to them figuring out what happened to a work colleague or Lucanis' grandma, because none of these experts can take a fucking chill pill to SAVE THE WORLD.

ME2 offers "low" stakes for the conflict and high stakes for the characters, so when it focuses on the characters' stories, it makes sense. You get the impression that it's character drama with a common goal that brings them all together. Veilguard offers high stakes for the plot and low stakes for the characters, but still focuses on the characters, so you get the sense that we're fucking around playing therapist while the world is on fire in the background, and it's presented as totally logical, because these guys can't save the world without a clear mind!! Despite being ... experts in their fields.

That's why, to me, Rook feels like a therapist while Shep feels like a leader.

Anyway, this is the formal end of the post but I wrote more on the specific character motivations of the Veilguard and why they don't work/feel trite to me and how that adds to Rook feeling like they're a therapist but it didn't fit with the rest of the post so under cut.

Another thing is that, while sometimes the problems of the Veilguard are technically higher stakes than the problems of the ME2 squad, there is a sense of "Hey do you actually need me for this?" And that I think is in part to the lacking motivations of the Veilguard. It's so unclear why some of them stick around that it becomes difficult to justify why they wouldn't just leave to fix their own issues.

(For example, Garrus asks us to help kill a guy. The guy isn't dangerous, he's not out there killing people or in possession of a superweapon ready to destroy a city. He's just an asshole and Garrus wants revenge. He could, technically, leave and just kill the guy himself. He knows where the guy is, so what's holding him back? Well, the job is. And Shepard is. Garrus wants Shep's help, because he doesn't trust himself to finish it on his own. He needs somebody to rely on, but he also knows that he can't just leave without Shep's permission, and that Shep needs him, too. Everything is on Shep's schedule, and there's no real time limit. His revenge can wait until Shep is ready to offer their help.

Neve is hunting an old rival who is a blood mage threatening to enslave her favorite city in all da world. It's pretty damn high stakes. But in my playthrough, Neve wasn't counting on Rook's help at all. In fact, she explicitly mentioned several times that she didn't. Yet, she still sat around and waited for their help. She didn't leave to deal with this on her own, didn't even consider it. But why not? What about Rook or this cause is keeping her there, especially since there's canonically time before the next big move and the issue is so high-stakes and pressing? People will die if she doesn't do something, yet she's sitting on her ass waiting for Rook, whose help she isn't counting on, to step up? What???)

Neve is introduced as being hired by Varric to find Solas, which she does. In the tutorial mission. She sticks around after Varric dies because ... she's in too deep now, I guess. She has to help save the world, you see. Even though all she wants is to go back to Minrathous and protect the people there. She wants your help to. Figure out some stuff. The famous big city detective needs the help of a person who's introduced as somebody who "thinks in straight lines" and whose nickname is probably a play on "rookie." She is not getting paid for this. She's doing this out of the kindness of her heart, even though most of her time on screen is spent dreaming of her favorite city in da world. She's not an expert in anything that has to do with the current plot, so she's in-fiction not really vital to keep around. Her role as a mage is made entirely pointless by the existence of Bellara and Emmrich. Supposedly her area of expertise is in blood magic ... despite hating it and not actually practicing it, on account of it being bad and evil. So she's an expert in killing blood mages, then?

Well, no. That's Lucanis. He's the resident mage killer ... who we find in an underwater prison, guarded by blood mages. I get there is a reason for why he was defeated, but the optics aren't great, ya know? We don't really free him as much as we lightly distract his guards, so he can bust out of the prison fully clothed and armored. He's suuper eager for revenge, but he's also been forcefully possessed. But that's okay, because we need his expertise for um. Killing mages. Which is what the Evanuris are. So this random possessed human guy will know better than anybody else how to kill the Evanuris. Sure. He decides to stick around on account of ... the Crows always finishing a contract. Who is paying him? Who is paying the Crows? His gam-gam ordered him to stay, she's basically offering us his services for freeing him. Guy is an indentured servant but acts like it's his choice, like it's an honor thing and not his grandma putting him in the toilet. And when it's time for him to show/offer his expertise in the field, he says "How am I supposed to fight a cloud?" which is fair enough, sure. But have you not fought mages before? Do you not have any reference for them doing weird shit at all? Do you not know how to disrupt rituals, break barriers? In the end, all he can practically do is hold the special knife and attempt to stick the pointy end into his target. Which my rogue Rook or Davrin or Taash chould've done. But gam-gam says to sit so he sits! It's not a very compelling motivation for this epic expert mage killer to just kinda. Stick around out of obligation. It could've been interesting, if he chafed against it or had to be won over, but he's just fine with it. It's treated as natural that this dude, who isn't even slightly an actual expert and is just a glorified knife holder and who isn't practically useful in any sense of the word, is still in the group. It's treated as natural that Rook has to go out of their way to help him clear his mind so he can hold the knife better next time, instead of just finding another guy to hold the knife. Maybe the spirit in him makes him stronger and more capable of fighting mages? No, the spirit is what made him miss in the first place, actually! So you have to help him figure it out or he'll miss again. DON'T ask somebody else to hold the knife though. It HAS TO BE Lucanis. Because he's the mage killer expert. Who missed. And can't handle mages.

Then we have Taash, who we need to kill the blighted dragons. They're the only dragon hunter around and have an encyclopedic knowledge of said dragons. Unfortunately the blighted state of the dragons that are actually necessary to kill are behaving in unexpected and different ways from normal dragons. They're literally manipulated by the Evanuris to be harder to kill. Making Taash's expertise moot. I didn't even have them in my party when I took on two dragons at once, and in fact the only dragons that Taash is presented as capable of killing are ones that they want us to kill. So this expert we recruit mostly introduces more dragons for us to kill that aren't actually threatening us in any way. The main time Taash has to show off their knowledge is when we use the dragon trap ... which was fashioned by Wardens. Who are all trained specifically to fight Archdemons. Who are dragons. That are blighted. Do you uh. Do you see my problem here. Taash also sticks around the Veilguard for inexplicable reasons. Mostly it seems they don't want to go home to their mother, which is fine, but this is a whole-ass adult, supposedly. They could go back to hunting dragons for the Lords, because they're written as too self-absorbed to really care about stepping up to the fight just for the sake of it. So despite them not really being useful in any way to the overall plot, we still have to help them figure out their gender identity, or else they won't be able to ... fight the blighted dragons. Which they couldn't fight. On account of the blight. Cool cool cool.

Then we have Emmrich, who is a professor and has shit to do. He is also presented as a Fade expert, while Bellara is somehow not, despite doing most of the Fade-related and artifact-related magic on-screen. Emmrich joins the Veilguard on account of um. Well we asked nicely, and he's a good guy, so he has to help save the world. Despite the fact that he's terrified of dying. Which he's far more likely to do after leaving his job. And the thing is, yeah, "the world might end so we need to stop that!" is a valid motivation, but if we accept it as the motivation of a central character whose plot we must find compelling, then why is it that it's only a few guys trying to save the world? This conflict is prestented as bigger than all the previous games combined, bigger than (the) Inquisition, which had literally entire armies and different branches and infrastructure for it's "smaller" conflict, and people were still volunteering and joining in droves, but here we're 8 guys? Are we meant to believe Emmrich's willingness to join the Veilguard is somehow unique to him, and that nobody else in the world would volunteer to join? When Harding exists, on the same team?

Speaking of, Harding is a character who can really get away with "I wanna save the world", because her joining the Inquisition is literally how she got into the plot in the first place. She's a joiner. She joins heroic causes. So her having this sort of bare-bones but noble motivation works. Same with Davrin. Bellara seems to join out of both curiosity and guilt, which are interesting enough reasons and come through visibly in her subplot and characterization, but more importantly, she doesn't have anything holding her back that might take priority until she finds out her brother is alive. Her sticking around also makes some sense because she's ya know. An elf mage Fade expert. Or sorry an elf artifacts expert.

I'm not saying "somebody's gotta do it!" or "it's the right thing to do!" aren't valid motivations, they clearly are, but there's gotta be more to it, especially when it comes to characters who have something to lose like Emmrich. My guy is terrified of death but he's such a good dude that he jumps into this life-threatening conflict without a second thought? But then gets so "distracted" by his wacky scientist former colleague that he needs our help figuring it out? Huh???

Um. I didn't have a conclussy for this part of the post so. bye

[emolionsrawr]

buck: you know... i think i have a fetish for the final paragraph of an essay

eddie: what... how did you know that?

buck: i dunno, i just came to the conclusion

eddie: *groans*

tommy: *snorts*

[cinnabun-faerie]

I have discovered a new OT3 that is Graha/WoL/Urianger and so I was wondering if I could request them with a WoL that just loves listening to them talk about the things their passionate about, even when the WoL doesn't understand a word they are saying. They just love their two nerds just nerding it out and always look startstruck when Uri and Graha get into a debate over some theory or other.

A/N: Anon, you're my favorite person. This OT3 ship is amazing. Perfection :3 Especially considering how they are two of my favorite boys (there are many). Although I feel like I've written something like this before, but it might be that I just imagined it in my brain but never actually wrote it/posted it. Anyways, please enjoy!

Warning: Poly! Relationship, other than that, none. It's fluffy

Paring: G'raha Tia x WoL x Urianger

FFXIV taglist: @missnella-nova @shippyprincess @healersadjust @thai @lumeriadeborel @obscene-tevene @losingmymindinglitter @gudaworks

If you want to be added to the taglist for whenever I post, you can comment here on the original post !

so the relationship between the three of you would be really sweet

just two sweethearts and their beloved hero and love

they would have unconditional love for you

and you for them, naturally

and other than the little bit of squabbling about who is hogging your attention, there's not really any fights/arguments

honestly both of them are just happy to have you by their side

you love and support and encourage them

and they can share their favorite things with you without fear of judgement

and with both of them being bookworms (and maybe you are too), they are always sharing new books with you

G'raha wants to recount the stories to you where Urianger would want to sit down by the fire and read along with you

sometimes you weren't really sure what these books or stories were about, but that didn't really matter to you

but you were just happy to see them sharing what they liked with you

sometimes it wasn't even stories that G'raha shared, but his hopes and dreams of travelling Eorzea with you

not to mention how adorable G'raha was when you'd agree to hear the stories

his face would like up and his ears would do their little wiggle

besides, listening to his stories meant you got to curl up with him

and often times you would fall asleep to the sound of his voice

but he didn't mind, he enjoyed this time with you

Urianger loved teaching you different things

or even just showing you or telling you about those things

and you could not imagine how much that truly meant to him

he may get a little worried from time to time however that you were getting bored and only listening to him because he was your partner

but you'd assure him that even if you didn't understand what he was talking about, you were happy to learn anything that you could

and you honestly just loved to see him pour over what he loved

and it should be noted that G'raha & Urianger were often in their own worlds as they debated with one another

it was rather fun for them

you enjoyed the way they went back and forth, calmly/excitedly explaining their point on different theories or books

sometimes you would even chime in but for the most part you just listened to them, delighted to hear what they would come up with

honestly you would always look at them with heart eyes

you had to admit that how they expressed their passions through words were rather attractive

[galpalaven]

Kira my Hero of Ferelden is still into Zevran but I’ve also come up with a wonderful Runaway Tevinter Magister AU for Vethna so Kira is just like Torn between canon and AU lmao

I also moved my old Hawke from being Hawke over to being an Amell, and she’s very in love with Alistair. She is round and sweet and soft and he deserves a squishy giggly sweet gf I think.

I’m playing through DA2 with the poly mod just to see how things play out bc I will never play through the other romances other than Fenris. Koha ends up with Fenris, because he makes her feel safe and she loves the feeling I her chest every time she gets him to grin. He likes when she comes over for drinks and brings her fiddle. One night she teaches him to dance. Another night he teaches her to use a sword. She asks him to teach her Tevene or Qunlat, and in exchange she teaches him the bit of Elvhen that she knows from her dad. One night he comes over while she’s baking challah and she teaches him to make it and they get into a play fight throwing flour at each other. He’s never felt so much like a normal man in his life and he loves her for it.

Nadia Surana, my beloved angry blood mage Warden, is in love with Anders. She had a crush even before he left, and had always admired him for escaping the Fereldan Circle. During Act 2 or the lead up to it, the Hero of Ferelden, Kira, takes off with Zevran to help him deal with the Crows. She wasn’t about to let him go alone, but without the Nobility in Amaranthine, things immediately spiraled. Some Orlesian Wardens came to help them out in Amaranthine with recruits and things, and they immediately demoted Surana as Warden-Constable and acting Commander. They said it was about experience, but she didn’t really believe that. Found out it was about the nobility of Amaranthine that didn’t like her, but that wasn’t the final straw.

Nadia was deep into researching ways to cure the Blight with blood magic, sure she could pull it from the body if she could just figure out how to isolate it in the blood. The new leadership refused to allow her to continue her research—so she said to hell with that and left in the hopes to track down Anders. She’d been putting out feelers to see if she could figure out where he went, more out of curiosity than anything, so when she found out he was in Kirkwall, that was where she went.

She landed in Kirkwall about a week after he and Hawke had descended into the Deep Roads. She ended up taking his position as healer at his clinic while she waited for him to come back.

When he did get back, he was already on edge sensing a Warden in his clinic, but then she sees him and she gasps his name as she runs at him, laughing and throwing herself at him so that she can wrap her arms around his shoulders and hug him tight.

She’s with him up until the Conclave. They have a bit of an argument about her going, but she insists as someone who has experienced both the life of the circle and the life of an apostate AND the life of a warden. Also as a hero of the blight. She had thought to bring about change—she hadn’t anticipated the whole inquisition thing.

[invinciblerodent]

just for the record I want to post this snippet i just vomited onto a page, because I actually forgot how easy and natural writing in Ray's voice feels??? so he is monologuing

(also apologies for my style of drafting things when I'm not writing by hand- I like marking character lines with colors, inserting actions in parentheses just wherever they fall, whatever works lol)

(I was wrong about the length btw, he spoke for almost 700 continuous words- in a real fic this'd be pared down severely)

“I was… actually, the age you are now, back when we first met. Him, a dashing mage of great talent and noble blood, and me, the rakish spare son to a minor lord, entrusted with a quest beyond any ability I could ever hope to have. Now, you’ll have to understand, I was… brash, and irresponsible, and more of my nights ended with my- or someone else’s smallclothes around the ankles than I care to admit or enumerate, but when I saw him that first time… fine robes coated in gore, and in the process of beating a demon to death with his staff as a last resort, I think… I think I knew then, that he would be something special.”

“And I was right, you know. He was by far the most intelligent, most spirited person I had ever had the pleasure of knowing- my heretic archivist, I used to call him. Silver-tongued and shrewd, but he was also… sweet, passionate and compassionate to a fault, and infinitely kind. Though he’d hate to hear me describe him so, not even making mention of his devastating handsomeness- which he was, of course. Naturally, I was smitten right away, and took to wooing him like a young bird takes to flight: halting, uncertain, but no less determined for the numerous failures, for instinct dictates it was meant to happen. He tempted me into bed first, but then I tempted him into a relationship that extended past pleasures of the body- and later… years later, after our great adventure that net me my moniker had concluded for good, I tempted him into becoming my husband.”

“See, he was a brilliant scholar, a gifted mage, and a tenacious politician- he had inherited a seat in the… do you know what the Magisterium is? Magisters, they are the… the mage-princes of the Tevene Imperium, from where my Dorian hailed. His father, Halward, he had held one of the seats in the Magisterium, and with his death, he had left that seat to his estranged son. And my Dorian, determined to better the world as he was, went, while I, up to my ears in love as I was, followed.”

“I did my best, or rather I did well enough dealing with minutiae for 25 blissful years, while he worked tirelessly at reforming his homeland. He had wanted to end slavery, grant all their freedom, rip out the taint of blood magic that plagues his beloved Imperium, as he used to say. He was a very likely candidate to one day become Archon too, the… the head of the Magisterium and the mage with supreme power, but he… maybe forgot that his wings, they were but wax and feathers.”

“We weren’t– couldn’t have been prepared for the assassins. (pause) He bled out in minutes, cradled in my arms, and I was… I was powerless to stop it.”

“The worst part is, the previous evening, we argued too. I remember every word I said, crystal clear: I was concerned about the suspicious figures I had been seeing wandering the streets, my informant had told me that the House of Repose– um, a very powerful organization of expensive assassins, had been in an unusual tizzy for the past while, and I got worried. I told him, love, we’re better off leaving for a while, let’s go visit my sister in Ferelden, let’s go see our friend Thom in Val Chevin, let’s go stay with Varric in Kirkwall, but he just… he would hear none of it. He got… angry, told me I was being overly cautious, paranoid, that the threat I saw as a bloodhound was but a particularly hateful rat, and I acquiesced, not wanting a fight. They struck that very night.”

"He sounds like he was an incredible person, love."

“Oh, you– well. This sounds like rather a strange thing to say to one's new love indeed, but I do think you would have liked him a lot.”

"I’m sure I would have." steps forward, twines his arms around Ray’s waist from the back- uncertain what he’s feeling, but there’s a deep sorrow at its core as the older man relaxes into the embrace slightly

“We had long- more than I ever thought we would get, but much less than either of us had hoped. But- (his right, the flesh hand comes to squeeze gently at Wyll’s forearm) it’s been… gods, it’s been three, four years now. I’ve mourned, and time moves on, ever forward, doesn’t it. (soft exhale of a laugh) Forgive me for reminiscing, love. See, this is why I told you that I’m too old a man for you- here you are, stuck listening to my boring stories about what used to be and a man you won’t ever know, rather than doing… I don’t know, something exciting.” (playful nudge) “Something you young folks do these days.”

"I think I’ve had enough excitement for a while yet- I’d much rather be here with you, listening to you." (knocks his forehead against the back of Ray's shoulder) "Even a melancholy tale you tell is a joy, knowing that its ending is here, with you safe in my arms."

i think i may have made a mistake writing anything at all for Wyll, because my mind is now full of nothing but him

well, him, and just how sweet, and gentle, and sweet, and kind, and careful, and SWEET he'll be to this game's version of my Ray, and his battered, weathered, widowed heart

like i just. immediately when I just sat down, I banged out a good 500 words on Ray telling Wyll about his late husband Dorian, apologizing for being a downer and a bore, and then I wrote the line "Even a melancholy tale you tell me is a joy, knowing that its ending is here, with you safe in my arms." for Wyll and guys...

whatever cheesy, romantic, cliché, or overly ornate line you want a protagonist to say, you can just. give it to Wyll. first of all, it's free, but second of all, he can pull it off. Like it'll actually sound like him, and it'll still sound pretty good.

That warlock charisma is just that powerful.

(I honestly can't wait to play that sweet May-September romance I have planned for them. i'll fucking eat my keyboard at that first kiss, i just know it.)

[barbex]

"I wish you would write a fic where" Fenris tries to teach Anders some Tevene and it all goes horribly wrong.

Thank you for this prompt! I don't know why, but it turned into a musical AU. I hope you like me writing about singing even though I know jack shit about it (apart from my secret singing career in the shower). For @dadrunkwriting on this Friday.

- - -

Fenris pinches the bridge of his nose. "You're making this needlessly difficult."

"Am not! I'm really trying to do this right," Anders says, trying to sound certain but failing. Fenris can hear the wavering in his voice. The man better not start crying now. 

Fenris is going to kill Hawke. Slowly. Not only did she ask him to help a friend, fluttering her eyelids at him, the friend turned out to be Anders. There is just something about Anders that makes him nervous. He usually avoids him, even if he had to accept that he is an unremovable part of Hawke's friend group. 

He is obviously educated, knowledgeable about all sorts of different subjects, but he is unable to pronounce the Tevene phrases he brought with him on a sheet of paper. "Let's try this again. Astia valla femundis." He makes sure to articulate every syllable clearly, even exaggerated. 

Anders nods, squares his shoulders — and obliterates the three words in ways that Fenris could not have imagined before. 

"Stop, stop!" Fenris wonders if elves used to be able to fold down their ears. What a useful feature that would be. He glares at Anders. "How? How do you even do that?"

"I don't know." Anders looks sufficiently sheepish and Fenris can't help but feel sorry for him. The man is perfectly intelligent, annoyingly so sometimes. He should be able to speak a few words in Tevene.

"You have a perfectly normal, if slightly Fereldan accent, but when you speak Tevene you sound like some hick from Texasia." It's almost adorable but he would never admit that to Anders. He looks at the sheet of phrases again. "Try this: Tutum te robore reddam, semper habebis liberatem."

He tries not to wince, but what Anders does with these words would probably be considered an insult in Minrathous. He is hopeless. Fenris pinches his nose again. "What are these expressions, anyway? I will give you safety by strength, you will always have freedom."

Anders falls into a stuffed chair and leans his head back. "It's a musical. I'm friends with the director and, well not the lead, but one of the bigger side-characters got into an accident last night and she asked me to help out, and —"

Fenris drops his hand. "You're meant to sing this?"

"Yes?" Anders looks confused.

Before he can pinch his nose again and possibly hurt himself, Fenris flexes his fingers a few times. "Singing uses an entirely different part of your brain than speaking does. Why didn't you say so?"

"Oh fuck, I forgot about that." Anders slaps his forehead. "I heard that before at the hospital. Okay, hang on." 

Anders jumps up and grabs the sheet of paper from Fenris hand and strikes a pose. He looks taller, stronger, his expression calm and convincing. He takes a deep breath, hums the beginning of a melody and then starts to sing.

"Donum habeo tibi, amatus. Amor est fortior quam mors. Tutum te robore reddam, semper habebis liberatem."

I have a gift for you, beloved. My love is stronger than death. I will give you safety by strength, you will always have freedom.

Anders' voice is incredible. He fills the too large hall of Fenris' decrepit house with the melody, warm, strong, beautiful. It echoes off the walls, almost humming in Fenris' chest. He sings of love and freedom and Fenris realises after the second verse that his pronunciation is perfect. 

Anders stops, smacking his lips a few times. "Was that okay?"

Fenris realises that his mouth hangs open and snaps it shut. "It was... adequate."

That was not the praise Anders had been hoping for, judging by the way his shoulders sink down. "Well, let me try again, I think I can do better on that rolling R."

"Yes, please, go ahead," Fenris says. His throat is scratching more than usual and he takes a long sip of water. 

Anders starts singing again. This time, his voice is even more like velvet, the words rolling gently from his tongue, dancing along the melody. There is a spot at the centre of Fenris' chest that flutters in an unfamiliar way as he listens. Anders looks at him the whole time, as if he sings just for him. 

"That was wonderful," Fenris says, when the last sound of Anders' singing slips from the air. "Your pronunciation was very good."

"Thank you. I'm glad I won't be embarrassing everybody tomorrow." Anders looks at him a while longer and then turns away, hiding behind strains of blonde hair falling into his face. "Maybe you want to come to the show tomorrow? It's at 19:00, I can reserve a ticket at the door for you."

"Yes," Fenris says after a short hesitation. "I would like that."

"Good." Anders grabs his papers and shoves them into his backpack. "Thank you for your help." He starts to walk past Fenris but stops, leans over, and brushes a tiny kiss on Fenris' cheek. "See you tomorrow then."

Fenris is too stunned to answer. He watches Anders rush out, his fingertip hovering over the spot where Anders' lips were just a moment ago. 

He might not avoid Anders anymore.

- - -

(yes, I've put Texas into Thedas 🤣🤣)

[borisbubbles]

My favourite Dorian Quotes

Just as an addendum, since my previous didn’t exactly put across the hilarity of Dorian, here are my favourite quotes/conversations/reactions by Dorian Pavus in Dragon Age 3.  Edit 22/01: added a few more because Dorian just keeps giving.  60.  Dorian: Come on Varric, just answer the question. 😣 Varric: My mother didn’t raise any morons, Sparkler. 🙄 Dorian: But you must have an opinion! And you’re a Dwarf! Completely unbiased. Varric: There is no way I’ll answer “Which Inquisition Mage is the best dressed?”, not for all the gold in Orzammar. Vivienne: Also, the answer is obvious. 🙂 59. Dorian: So what's your estimation, Varric? Think we could win? Varric: 😱 You aren't asking me to give odds on our beloved Inquisitor's success?! 😛 Dorian: What would that look like? Three to one? 🤣 Varric: In his favor?  Dorian: After Corypheus pulled an archdemon out of his arse, are you joking? Inquisitor: You would actually bet against me?  Dorian: Now now, if I weren't here, it would be five to one at least. 😘 Inquisitor: I’ll take those odds, actually. 😏 Dorian: This is why I adore him so.  😍 58.  Cassandra: So Bull, about Dorian... Iron Bull: Yep, it’s true. 😁 Dorian: By all means, let’s discuss this all together. 🙄 Cassandra: If you’re both pleased Dorian: He’s happy, I’m happy, everybody’s happy!  Iron Bull: Awww, you’re happy. 😍 Dorian: 😣 Cassandra: 😄 57. You joke! they’ll be writing books about you, boring ones that will get it all wrong. Just you wait!   56.  Iron Bull: Yesss, we’re going to fight the dragon, boss? Oh THIS is gonna be GOOD.  Dorian: You are way too excited about this. 😑

55.  Blackwall: How do you get your hair to do that, Dorian? With magic? Dorian: With proper hygiene and grooming. Maybe the three of you should get acquainted. 🙄 54.  Cole: You’re happier now, Dorian Dorian: Oh is that what this light tingly feeling is? I suppose you’re right. 😏  Cole: Wishing but wondering, wounded and whistful Cole: What if he doesn’t want me after? Dorian: But he did. 😁 Cole: Now you’re smiling. It’s good.  😃 53. Varric: Does this shit make any sense to you? Dorian: Are you referring to the giant gaping hole in the sky, or the creature from a Chantry cautionary tale pretending to be a god? Varric: Either. I’m feeling generous. Dorian: What’s the matter? Some pretender comes along, tears the place down, declares himself king. That’s half of history. Varric: Corypheus is like that drunk uncle who refuses to leave the party? Dorian: Even after he puts a hole in the ceiling. Terribly common.  52.  Sera: You gonna warn me the next time you’re throwing your magic around? Dorian: As long as you’re careful where you shoot all those arrows Sera: You magic me, I’ll put three in your eye! Dorian: 😅 Now we can live together in peace and harmony!  51. Vivienne: Dorian, what did you think of little Sera’s last Red Jenny mission? Dorian: Hmm... I’d call it ‘medium’. 🤔 Vivienne: ‘Medium’, my dear? Dorian: It wasn’t rare, and it certainly wasn’t well done. 😏 50. Cole: Dorian, what is 'a slave'?  Dorian: FESTISBEIUMOCANAVERUM! 😨 Cole: You said I could ask questions! Dorian: I know I did, just... go ask the Inquisitor that one. 49. An optimist! 🤣  such a rare breed, I have stumbled upon a unicorn. 48. Dorian: What I wouldn't give for some proper wine.😫 Vivienne: Skyhold's steward is a sadistic little man who is trying to kill us. 🤢 Dorian: Perhaps he found a bargain he couldn't pass up, on vats of vinegar? 47. Cassandra: Why are you looking at me like that, Dorian? Dorian: I am trying to imagine what you would look like... in a dress.😈 Cassandra: Keep wondering. If my uncle couldn't put me in one, neither shall you. 46. Dorian: How do you want to be remembered, Cassandra? Valiant yet sexy rebel against the status quo? Cassandra: I don't have any control over how I'll be remembered. 🙄 Dorian: Sword raised high, blue scarf dramatically fluttering in the wind, sun rising behind you? Cassandra: Blue scarf?😒 Why would I be wearing such a thing? Dorian: It's a painting, of course! Work with me( It'll be fantastic! 🤗 45. Dorian: Why is it so cold? How do you southerners stand it? Iron Bull: What's the matter? Not enough slaves around to rub your footsies? Dorian: My ‘footsies’ are freezing, thank you! 😒 44.  Blackwall: Dorian, I’d appreciate it if you stopped refering to me as ‘that hairy lummox”.  😠 Dorian: When did I do that? Blackwall: At the tavern, the blacksmith’s, the stable. You said it to the gateguards when we left Skyhold! Dorian: hmm... 🤔 yes, that does sound like me.   🤗 43. Dorian: Watch out where you point that thing! 😡 Iron Bull: Dirty! 😏 Dorian: Vishante kaffas, I meant your weapon! 😡 42. Dorian: What would you say Blackwall's best feature is, Vivienne? Vivienne: His absence, of course. 🙄 Blackwall: I can hear both of you. 😒 41. Dorian: Did you know we are actually related Inquisitor? Inquisitor: We, what? Dorian: Not first cousins or anything. Can you imagine?  Dorian: I however did a bit of digging in my family tree, and somewhere down the netheregions of my line there was also a Trevelyan. Dorian: Perhaps the one who went to Ostwick to establish the branch? I knew we looked so alike for a reason. 😏 Inquisitor: Um, yay?  Dorian: Indeed! 😁 Yay! 40. I’m always nice. 😏 39. Dorian: I don't know if you've heard, but the rumours are that you and I are... intimate. Inquisitor: That's not such a bad thing, isn't it? Dorian: I don't know, is it? Inquisitor: Do you always answer a question with a question? Dorian: Perhaps you would like me to answer in a different fashion? 🤔 Inquisitor:  If you're capable. 😅 Dorian: 😘🥰😚 Dorian: 'If you're capable.' The nonsense you speak. 🤭 38. Dorian: You caught the eye of a young woman in that last village, Blackwall. Blackwall: I'm sure you're mistaken. 😒 Dorian: You're right. She was undoubtedly looking at me.🤭 37. Dorian: Vivienne, I have only the one question - why the Orlesian fixation with masks? Vivienne: It is The Game, darling. You never show the players your true visage. Dorian: A strange custom in a culture where people assassinate each other for putting too much salt in the soup Vivienne: An extra hurdle to be overcome. Fail at The Game, and you die. Dorian: And you people call Tevinter barbaric. 🙄 36. Dorian: You are smiling a great deal these days, Cassandra. 😉 Cassandra: I am not... smiling. 😒 Dorian: Now you're not, but only because I pointed it out to you. Cassandra: I am not a giddy schoolgirl! 😡 Dorian: That would have been easier to believe if you hadn't just blushed. 🤗 35. You’ll be surprised at the credit my tongue gets me, your Reverence.  34. Dorian: Sera, I see you are having fun with your illustruous paramour- Sera: WHAT? 😨 Is it showin'? Dorian: What? NO, oh heavens NO. 🤢 Dorian: I meant to ask if you're enjoying your new relationship. Sera: Then why not just say that? 🙄 Dorian: I did... in words you apparently don't understand. 😑 Sera: What's the point of words you know and others don't? Who'd you say them to? 🙄 Dorian: Letmejustdobothofusafavorandretractthequestion. 😡 Sera: Pity, because we're doing great. That's why I'm following her around with weirdies 🤗 33. It was fun to goad you, Cassandra. You get that knot between your eyes when you're flustered - Ah, look, there it is! Delightful!  🤗 32. Dorian: I half expect my mother to materialize from the crowd to criticise my manners. Inquisitor: Where would we be if you mother we really here? Dorian: Short one mage, after he's been dragged out by his earlobe. Inquisitor: I have a hard deal imagining that. 😅 Dorian: Picture me a young boy of five years then. She certainly always has. 🙄 31. Dorian: 'Official Mage to the Orlesian Court'. Well that sounds exciting. 🙄 Vivienne: It's an esteemed position, darling. One many mages should envy. Dorian: Yes, I suppose being paraded around like an exotic peacock is better than frantically running from templars. 🙃 Vivienne: Better an exotic peacock than one Tevinter rat amongst many. Dorian: Oh? A dig at my homeland? This should be fun. 😏 30. Sera: Dorian? Those words you say. What do they mean? Dorian: What, you mean like mendicant or ultimatum? 🤨 Sera: No, arse, when you're mad. 'Pish-anty cough-ass'. You're swearing, I know it. Dorian: Ah, 'vishante kaffas'. It's Tevene, relics of the old tongue. We still use the colorful phrases. Sera: And it means what? Dorian: Literally? 😏  'You shit on my tongue.' Sera: 😂 Why not just say that?  Dorian: A mystery for the ages.  29. Sera: Demons! Flappy robes! Dorian: Thieves! Dog Stink! Sera: Culty shits! Dorian: Treacherous teyrns! Sera: Wha- It’s not a proper game of ‘Your people are shit” if you just make up words. 🙄 Dorian: A ‘teyrn’ is a Fereldan title, just below that of a king. I thought you of all people would know that. Sera: Well that’s just... I... smartasses 🤬 Dorian: Too late! I believe that’s my round. 🤗 Sera: Piss! 😠 28.  Vivienne: You’re rather amusing, Dorian. Dorian: Your outfit’s entertaining, I’ll give it that.🙄 Vivienne: Pretending to be a shark from a land of sharks. But you’re not a shark and you’ll never be one, darling. They knew this as much as we do.   Dorian: I could have of course pretended, wore fancy clothes, convinced everyone I’m something I’m not.  Dorian: Then I could take a position at court, whore myself out, and desperately hope no one realizes what a fraud I am.  Vivienne: Such snapping for a fish without teeth! 😂 Inquisitor: I cannot believe the way you two speak to each other. 😨 Vivienne: Inquisitor whatever is the matter? We’re having a perfectly civil conversation. Dorian: It’s true. I’ve heard worse from the gardener back home.  27.   Dorian: Varric, you owe me five royals. I’d like them paid in candied dates. 😉 Varric: I haven’t lost that bet yet, Sparkler. Dorian: You said we would be arse-deep in trouble. This is more like knee-high. Varric: I didn’t specify whose ass, did I? 😏 Dorian: Leave it to a dwarf always lowering the bar. 🙄 26. I hope you tried the ham they were serving, by the way. Tasted of despair. Fascinating. 25. Dorian: Vivienne, we can continue this dance forever if you like. Vivienne: Certainly. Provided both of us are capable. Dorian: I mock Orlesian frippery and nonsense, you slam Tevinter decadence and tyrrany. Dorian: There's however something more important we must remember. Vivienne: And what might that just be? 🤨 Dorian: At least we're not Antivan. Vivienne: 🤢 Quite right. Thank the Maker. 🙏 24. Cassandra: You're not as handsome as you think, Dorian. Dorian: Ah, but I must be! Or you wouldn't have been thinking about it all this time.  😏 Cassandra: Anyone who claims it as often as you must be dreadfully concerned they're not. Dorian: Look at this profile - Isn't it incredible? Dorian: I picture it in marble. 😏 Cassandra: 😒 23. Flying cows over Minrathous? Preposterous! Okay that one is actually true, but the cows didn't have wings. 22. Dorian: I have only one question, Sera: did you cut your own hair?  Sera: Yeah. Why wouldn't I? 🙄 Dorian: You could try using something other than a rusty butter knife. Sera: Oh, excuse me while I dig up my diamond-studded hair-cutting whatevers. 🙄 Dorian: Scissors. 😏 The word you're looking for is "scissors." 😏 21. Iron Bull: Quite the stink-eye you've got going, Dorian. Dorian: You stand there, flexing your muscles, huffing like some beast of burden with no thought save conquest. 😡 Iron Bull: That's right. These big muscled hands could tear those robes off while you struggled, helpless in my grip. Iron Bull: I'd pin you down, and as you gripped my horns. Iron Bull: I. Would. Conquer. You. 😏 Dorian: Uh. What? 😨 Iron Bull: Oh. Is that not where we're going? 🤐 Dorian: No. It was very much not.😳 20. You can't call me pampered, Varric. 🙄 Nobody has peeled a grape for me in weeks. 19. Sera: Dorian are you going to warn me the next time you bust out in demons or sumthin? Dorian: 😂 How exactly do you picture me 'busting out’? Dorian: I am just walking along and *OOPS* - demon? Dorian: I mean it could happen, after years of training. You could also trip and impale your eye on an arrow. 😏 Sera: So are you going to warn me or not? 🙄 Dorian: Certainly. But only because you're so dear to me. 😘 18. Dorian: For being so unnerved by magic, you aren't shy about benefiting from its effects.🤔 Sera: I don't. I use normal things, not magic. 🙄 Dorian: You consider swathing yourself in flame or ice 'normal' and 'not magic'? 🤨 Sera: For one: it comes out a bottle. Sera: For two: I mess up, I get burned. You mess up, your head chucks up a demon. Sera: For three: Bottle, little burned, no demons. So there. 🤗 Dorian: That was only... you know, if it lets you sleep at night, never mind. 😒 17. Festis bei umo canaverum! I swear, if you don't come through this, I will kill you. 😖 16. Dorian: The first time I entered the Fade it looked like a lovely castle full of silks and gold. 😍 Dorian: I met a marvellous desire demon as I recall. We chatted and ate grapes before he tried to possess me. 😇   Vivienne: 🙄😒😠😡🤬 Dorian: Yes? I hear your southern Harrowings are slightly more strenuous. 😏 15. What do they call this place? A "bog"? Lovely word for it.  🙄 14. Dorian: Solas, what is this whole look of yours about? Solas: I am sorry? 🙄 Dorian: No, that outfit is sorry.😷 What are you supposed to be, some sort of woodsman? Dorian: Isn't that a Dalish thing? Don't you dislike the Dalish? Or is it some sort of statement? Solas: No. 😠 Dorian: Well, it says "Apostate hobo" to me. 😏 Vivienne: Unwashed apostate hobo, more specifically. 🙂 13. I AM TOO PRETTY TO DIE 😭 12. Dorian: Amatus, it's been so long. Did you miss me? Inquisitor: A little bit. Dorian:  😂 'a little bit' he says. I'll show you a little bit! Just you wait. 😏 11. Dorian: Sera, where do you get your arrows from? You have so many. 🤔 Sera: From your arse. That's where. 🙄  Dorian: My arse should open up a shop. It's apparently quite prolific. 😁 10. Ah, this reminds me of the time Mother took me boating in summer. Or rather, she had the servants take me on the boat while she sat inside with a cool drink.🙄  09. Inquisitor: Things are going well with the Bull, I take it? Dorian: He's glad I've returned, if that's what you mean. Nearly crushed three of my ribs with that ridiculous hug. 🙄 Inquisitor: You say that as if you don't like it. 🤨 Dorian: For such a great beast, he can be such a terrible sap 🙄 Dorian: [bullvoice] "I want to talk about my feelings, Dorian". Dorian: Ugh. 🙄 Inquisitor: 😂 you do like it Dorian: Quiet you! He'll overhear, and then where I'll be?🤫 08. Dorian: Sera, I cannot believe you, of all people, are scared of magic. Surely you can see nothing wrong with a properly used tool? Sera: What about all the mages waving their proper tools in people's faces? Dorian: There's an image. 😁 Sera: "What about Corfyface? How many proper tools does he have under him? Dorian: That's not... I don't think I can continue. 😬 Sera: I don't care how gifted you are, don't cram it where it's not wanted. 😡 Vivienne: Maker, how does she not know? 🙄 07. Just once we should enter a cave and see normal sized spiders. 🙄 06. Cassandra: After all the places we have been, I hardly expected us to find ourselves in another cave. Cassandra: Still, as mad as our lives had been, I would take any chance to be together.  😘 Dorian: Why seeker, after all these years, I never realized you felt this way!! Cassandra: ... Dorian: ... Cassandra: 😒 Dorian: Oh, you meant him. 😶 05. Mountains! 😠 Cold! 😠 "Let's bring Dorian!". 😒 04. Dorian: I heard a little rumour that somebody has been doing some training. As an assassin no less. Inquisitor: I thought the skills might come in handy. Dorian: Yes, I suppose a little flair is welcome, with all the killing you do. Inquisitor: I don't kill that many people. 🙄  Dorian: Are you joking? I'm only surprised you didn't kill someone walking over here. 🤨 03. Cole: Breath painful, stabbing, and then real stabbing, lungs full, frothing, scent of apples as it all goes black. Dorian: 'Death By Applepie' - A lovely poem by our dear friend Cole.  02. Blackwall: Corypheus, one of yours isn't he? Dorian: One of my mine? 🙄  Like a pet? 🙄 Like a giant darkspawn hamster with aspirations of godhood? 🙄 Dorian: "Dorian, why can't you look after your little friends. Corypheus peed on the carpet again". Dorian: In this analogy, 'the carpet' is Haven. 😏 Blackwall: Is he or isn't he a Tevinter magister? 😒 Dorian: Meaning 'the source of everything bad in the world'? They are the same, yes? 😑 Blackwall: Sigh. Feels that way at times. 🙄 01. Inquisitor: No matter what happens, I wouldn't trade the years I spent with you for anything. Inquisitor: I love you. Dorian: I knew you'd break my heart, you bloody bastard. 😭