#the tal-vashoth | the iron bull

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

You don’t have to. Trust me, we’re dying too

Dragon Age has a lot of funny moments but this one really takes the cake I think

[asparklethatisblue]

Five years ago @hattedhedgehog and I wrote a Dragon Age fic that was mostly an exploration of Qunari and Tal Vashoth culture, as well as non birth family groups.

I’m still incredibly proud of that fic, and of Tama, the leader of those Tal Vashoth

You can read it here!

[frostbite-711]

All four of my heroines from my main world state in the Dragon Age games with their respective love interests. Hero of Fereldan: Amenthris Mahariel, Dalish Elf Rogue. Romanced Zevran, is an absolute bi disaster. Champion of Kirkwall: Juliet Hawke, Rogue. Romanced Fenris, Emotional Disaster. The Inquisitor: Asala Adaar, Tal Vashoth Mage. Romanced Iron Bull. An absolute sweetheart.

Rook: Assaranda, Qunari Mage of the Antivan Crows. Intends to romance Lucanis.

[maxx-the-queer]

One thing I wish we'd gotten a little more of with Taash is the exploration of gender in the various cultures they're aligned with.

For one, I'm a big believer in the idea that gender fuckery is a lot more common in the Tal-Vashoth specifically because of the way the Qun is so rigid about gender. For Qunari, gender isn't just a personal thing you simply are, it's a role you fulfill.

Even with the concept of Aqun-athlok, Qunari gender is incredibly binary and rooted in their fundamental belief system as a group that things are as they are meant to be. "Asit tal-eb." One can choose to accept the life they have, or struggle and suffer unnecessarily against nature.

For the Tal-Vashoth, leaving the Qun is often a rejection of that ideology, and an assertion that things aren't always the way they're meant to be. The role that they were assigned was one they left behind, and the struggle comes in finding a way to define yourself outside of the Qun.

Some would cling to what they know, for sure. But many would also seek out new things and adapt to their new life. They might try a new name, new words to fix the new changes in their life, and they might find the new parts of Thedas they like and reincorporate that into themselves to make it feel easier to fit somewhere new.

They might find that their role can be theirs to define, and with that definition comes a new understanding of what it means to be.

Gender is as much cultural as it is personal. Our understanding of gender is wired into our language and guided by our practice, and I think Taash's story could've been enriched so much more by the exploration of how those kinds of things differed between their cultures.

The Qunari may not have a word for being non-binary, but maybe the Tal-Vashoth do. Maybe they took the Rivaini term for that experience and translated it into some kind of bastardised Qunlat, something linking themselves to their history and their future.

Maybe when Taash begins to deconstruct the idea of themselves, they don't have to choose between being Rivaini or being Qunari, because the truth is that they're not one or the other. They're both and neither at the same time. They're a Vashoth who grew up in Rivain and is influenced in equal measure by their Tal-Vashoth mother who still emotionally follows the Qun, and the people of Rivain they grew up around.

Maybe they have other Trans and Queer Tal-Vashoth to lean on a little closer to home, rather than having to lean on others like the Crows or Shadow Dragons who are just as distant and strange to them as the Qun itself.

Maybe, just maybe, Taash gets to explore what it means for them to be non-binary and for that exploration to have some actual connection to the cultural issues they struggle with as well.

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

Excuse me HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION TODAY AFTER READING THIS?😩

the unfortunate thing about solas dragonage is that he has the aura of a man who would moan very nicely if you pulled his hair. alas,

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

I can't believe it's taken me this long to have Leliana and Sten together in a party. I won't lie, Sten's usually my least used companion so I'm making a conscious effort to use him more this playthrough.

His banter with Leliana? It's so good.

Leliana: I saw what you were doing back there. Sten: Oh? Leliana: Don't play innocent with me. Sten: What are you talking about? Leliana: You. Playing with that kitten. Sten: ...There was no kitten. Leliana: Sten, I saw you. You dangling a piece of twine for it. Sten: I was helping it train. Leliana: You're a big softie! Sten: We will never speak of this again. Leliana: Softie!

And then she continues to call him "Softie" in later banter, I love it.

I also appreciate all of his banter with Shale, that's been a real interesting one.

Shale: I have a question of religion, Qunari. Sten: For you, kadan, I will answer. Shale: Would its "qun" accept a convert that was a golem? Sten: I do not know. It has never happened. We accept beings of all walks of life, so long as they are willing to accept their place in the world. Shale: And what place is that? Sten: One of equality. Within the Qun, an individual exists to serve. Shale: Hmm. That is less appealing. Would it consider birds to be its equal as well? Sten: Birds? Birds are... but animals. Enlightenment does not await them. Shale: Excellent. That sounds very promising.

Like... it's not that I don't like Sten, he just ends up being the companion who gets benched the most, especially once I've gathered everyone else. My Tabris always gets high approval with him, though don't ask me how. Every time they talk at camp, Sten's out here throwing "+7 Approval" and "+13 Approval" left and right? Rose is straightforward and doesn't take his shit, so I guess he likes that? I don't know, they're buddies though.

I have a rule that Alistair's never allowed to leave the party--he's a grey warden, too. He and Rose gotta deal with all the bullshit together no matter what, but that means I already have a warrior constant in my party. When I want another, I tend to gravitate toward Oghren more than Sten. That's mostly because I like Rose and Oghren fighting together a lot before Awakening, and that means poor Sten's a benchwarmer in the Blight.

Not this time, though, I'm working to rotate my party around a lot.

Except for Alistair.

He's never sat on the bench and he never will.

[andrewknightley]

doing the iron bull demands of the qun mission and gotta say a fucking crime that an elf comes instead of a qunari. like the only whole qunari in the whole game* is just iron bull pls you did a whole CC of qunari and didnt use it for this????

(*not counting trespasser)

[ringofdoubt]

Playing Tresspasser and I got to the scene where the Chargers are sneaking in a Dragon Skull for Bull's birthday. Thought to myself 'damn this scene must be heartbreaking if Bull is still Qunari and about it betray the Inquisition' 💀💀💀 forgot that if that's the case, the Chargers very much did not get Bull a bday present

[ryssabrin]

i'd seen that if you say the inquisitor wants to stop solas rather than redeem him, solas will talk about being close to cole instead of them, but no one mentioned he also talks about josephine and cass! cass makes a lot of sense and what he specifically respects about her tracks with their dynamic. josie tho lol. did they have a single conversation in dai? obvs the companions had to have interacted with the advisors more offscreen and it makes sense that he would admire her bc she's god's most perfect angel but idk if you could say they were friends.

[soloragoldsun]

Just gotta stop in and talk about The Iron Bull for a sec. Again.

This time, I’d like to focus on how his whole storyline is basically that of someone either being freed from or doubling down on a cult-like religion. Because that’s what the Qun is. Anything that puts certain people on leashes and has “re-educators” that are meant to “fix” people who start thinking differently is a freaking cult!

Bull is shown to be on the fence when it comes to a lot of things. While he insists on being true Qunari and a follower of the Qun, he also shows discomfort when the Qunari offers the alliance with the Inquisition. He flat out says that he’s grown used to them being “over there.” He even acknowledges that the Qun isn’t the right way for everyone.

If you let the Chargers die, he says that the Qun demanded the sacrifice, but you can see cracks in his armor and how much he hates making that decision both during the battle and after Gatt and the Inquisitor secure the alliance at Skyhold. As a result, he doubles down on his devotion to the Qun. The Iron Bull becomes just a role he plays. He becomes Hissrad. How else can he deal with the guilt of leading the people who had become his family to their deaths? He has to believe that it was necessary, and to do that, he has to believe in the Qun unquestioningly.

If Cole is in the party during his betrayal in Trespasser, he comments on how Bull didn’t feel anything when he betrays the party. I’d bet anything that between the end of Inquisition and the beginning of Trespasser, he submitted willingly to the re-educators, masking his emotions and eliminating what was left of The Iron Bull.

On the other hand, if you order the retreat, he doesn’t hesitate to blow that horn. He smiles when he sees his men are safe. When you correct Gatt and say that his name is Iron Bull and not Hissrad, Bull approves. If you say that there’s still something to do to salvage the alliance, he disapproves. Once he’s Tal-Vashoth, he commits almost immediately and acts as if a weight has been lifted.

He smiles while sparring with Krem. He tells you that, whatever he regrets, he’s where he wants to be. Most of his inner conflict comes with the realization that much of what he believed was wrong, that being Tal-Vashoth doesn’t make one a monster. So, what does that make him, someone who has killed many Tal-Vashoth over the years?

No matter what playthrough I do, I will always save the Chargers, both because I love them, and because it’s the best thing for The Iron Bull. One choice allows him to move forward and become his own person. The other forces him to regress into what he once was as a way to avoid his guilt.

[chialattea]

today I dreamt da4 came out and it had a wlw tal vashoth romance option but they’d gone and made her dainty and petite and I was so pissed off I immediately woke up with the biggest migraine I’ve ever suffered

[eldritchblaaaast]

i love making an inquisitor adaar (i like to feel tall), especially a mage adaar, but i spent too long pondering one particular version of inquisitor adaar and now i can't get him out of my head

[thedaselcor]

“He’s already tried to kill her once!” Cullen snapped, as if Sataareth herself wasn’t in the room.

Sataareth let out a long, tired sigh.

“Should I stop working with Cassandra as well, then?” she asked. “Grab Varric on my way out, be sure not to say goodbye to any of the Faithful who were ready to immolate me before I was named the Herald of Andraste?”

She could tell her calm was unnerving them, but she was so tired. There seemed to be no other way to end the meetings, so she continued. “I am an escaped slave, who once belonged to one of the most powerful, and gruesome, men in Tevinter. I free slaves for a living. I’m Tal Vashoth. If a week passed where someone didn’t try to kill me, I’d be exceptionally surprised. That doesn’t matter.

[uchidachi]

Omg ty @daitranscripts for writing out all those Cole observations about the companions!! I wanted to pull this one out in its own post, because I hadn’t heard it since the game came out, and i just realized i understand it now.

Cole’s line about The Iron Bull (while Bull’s personal quest is active):

“The,” a joke. He laughs to himself, imagining herds of cattle in fields of iron, but now he worries it fits.

Saying he “likes the article” is the joke, we know this because Bull tells it & explains it early on. The joke is that he is object-ifying himself with the definite article. Not a name: Iron Bull. The Iron Bull.

For this joke, Bull imagines many literal iron cattle. If you refer to one object out of many of the same type, you would use the indefinite article “an” for it. One literal bull made of iron that is taken away from a group of many other iron bulls is “the iron bull.”

But then there’s the other reason you would use “the.” When the item you are talking about is the only one there is. There are no fields full of many iron bulls. There is only The Iron Bull. Unique. Individual. This is the part I think Bull “worries it fits.”

Under the Qun; your role is who you are, and you share that role with many others. Bull thought he was one of many, and he is worried he has become unique. He’s already starting to become Tal Vashoth before the Storm Coast.

The Iron Bull

[rosella-writes]

happy friday!! how about “ you can rely on me, you know. ” for a pairing of your choice? :o

Thank you!! I chose some Solas & Iron Bull for this. Shippy if you squint. For @dadrunkwriting

Rating: G

~~~

"You have the Inquisitor," Solas had said. "And you have me."

Iron Bull once considered him full of shit. People say that sympathetic crap all the time, all dripping with condescension and pity and whatever else they fool themselves into thinking is empathy. But Solas is a dick, and even if Bull knows he's keeping things to himself, he's also a terrible liar. There was no lie in that promise.

And Iron Bull does have the Inquisitor. He knows that much. Despite barely reaching his belt buckle in height, Tilda Cadash is a larger-than-life force to be reckoned with, and she takes Bull's crap as seriously as she does a rasher of smoked nug flank. She doesn't pick and pry and hover and wring her hands — she waits, and she listens, and she treats him as she always has.

Solas is comforting in a different way. Their bickering over beliefs has all but quit — instead, Solas has been asking him questions, like how his people put on shirts. Iron Bull asks him if he fucks Fade-ladies. Solas turns fifteen different shades of red, and Bull wonders if they're not Fade-ladies but Fade-gents.

But then they fight one of those Fade-ladies and Bull changes his tune.

This one's important to the Fadewalker — Tilda's dragged them to the ass end of a civil war's final whimper to find her. It. Whatever. And when they discover it's turned into a demon — because of course it (she?) has — Solas loses his mind. He shouts at these mages and curses in his slippery language, and Iron Bull can't remember if he's ever heard him so much as raise his voice.

The binding falls quickly — Tilda, despite her lack of affinity for magic, seems to know exactly where to hit the spires to break them — and the spiky piece of demony horror that Iron Bull has been keeping off the others slumps, then falls. Solas runs to its side, puts up a hand to ward Bull away, and drops to his knees beside it.

It sure looks like a woman now.

He's talking to it, wringing his hands and sounding on the verge of tears. Iron Bull wants to take him away from here, away from the burning scent of death and scorched magic marks in the dirt. But he needs this.

The demon asks Solas for something, and it's like a mask of grief drops over him. Years and years show on his face, carved deep into the lines around his mouth. Bull's suddenly certain this isn't the first time this has happened to him.

That's why Tilda brought them here. That's why they rushed. That's why Solas had shouted and paced and now seemed so... dead. It's worse when he puts out his hands, and when the demon dissolves — just like the ones they kill at rifts, no different at all — Solas's face is made of flint.

He wanted to save just one, and he'd failed.

Solas kills the mages, and it's cold and dark and without mercy. Iron Bull doesn't feel anything at all when they fall — under the Qun they'd never have gotten this far, but he doesn't say that. He's not Qunari anymore anyway.

He's not surprised that the Fadewalker goes off on his own. He's a private guy, and Bull finds himself wishing he'd done the same when the dreadnought had sunk instead of drinking himself silly and making himself forget in the sparring ring. In his absence, he gets Tilda back home — Cole, in his weird-kid wisdom, follows them instead of Solas.

Iron Bull wakes up in his own bed, a week later, with Tilda shaking his arm.

"He's back," she hisses. "I can't get much out of him. Talk to him?"

Iron Bull groans and presses his head back into the soft pillow. "Or I could do what you did for me after the alliance failed and just... not talk about it."

Tilda can't focus her pale eyes on him, but she still manages to direct her mostly-blind stare directly at his face. "Solas needs different things than you do. He needs to talk or he begins to get... weird. Weirder. You know."

Iron Bull does know. He gets up.

He finds Solas hunched over some drawings in his lap, his ass sat on that sofa he's got shoved against the wall in the rotunda. There's space, so Bull sits next to him. Solas doesn't look up.

"Those look good," Iron Bull grunts, gesturing at the sketches. Solas scrubs some charcoal onto one to finish forming that demon's nose. "Looks just like her."

"It," Solas corrects him with a sniff. "Its pronouns were it and its."

Bull thinks briefly of Krem, then shakes the notion away. Demons aren't like his flesh and blood boys. "Wanna tell me about... it?"

"Why?" he snaps. "You hate spirits. Your fear has blinded you to their personhood. Do not pretend for my sake."

Bull shrugged. "Fine. I won't. I don't get it. But I do... well. I care." He tips his head to one side, then the other, then pushes through his discomfort and says with a wince, "About you."

Solas's snort speaks to his disbelief. He still doesn't look at Bull, not even sideways — he just focuses on those papers in his lap.

"You have the Inquisitor," Bull said in a low voice.

Solas's hand stills. His fingers are smudged from the charcoal he holds.

"And you have me," Bull finishes.

[grimweaver]