#this is like Morrigan and isabela and sera all over again

[antiqua-lugar]

I am trying to not go into many Baldur's Gate 3 fandom spaces because SPOILERS but also I think I am condemned to be on Tumblr forever because I already saw too many people everywhere else complain that Lae’zeln is mean...

And like

1) She isn't? I didn't bring her to the Emerald Grooves because she was not a fan but I brought her everywhere else and she now says I am worthy of respect and wants to jump my bones. For context: I'm romancing Gale. My character is not that morally ambiguous.

2) She is clearly a grumpy character that is going to soften to the player?

3) Have you seen what a dick ASTARION is???

Lae'zel my beloved :(

[girlb0yfriend]

well anyway. canon worldstate romances i think

dao - zevran and morrigan (shoutout to mods) (also my warden Was mid-leliana romance but that got. cut short. hahah.)

da2 - isabela (was gonna use mods and romance anders as well because i want to see his romance butttt i just don’t think his romance works for this hawke. think i was trying to force it and i should just make a new hawke to try out the andersmance)

dai - josephine

datv - very tentatively saying emmrich. could still go bellara but. i think it’s emmrich.

also if ur curious. warrior tabris. tentatively going warrior hawke as well (mightttt switch to mage i dunno…… i like carver and hawke’s dynamic a Little more but i think bethany fits into this hawke’s arc a little better. and i do love her. we shall see….). mage trevelyan. andddd warrior ingellvar. shoutout to dragon age warriors i <3 the warrior class forever.

also while we’re here i Am still thinking about the consequences of my tabris and steve existing in the same worldstate Specifically from a leliana angle…… lyrium ghost leliana is sooo fun since assuming i stick with in hushed whispers (since i do plan at Some point to try champions of the just….. i’ve heard good things….). Anyway . yeah leliana sacrificing herself in the future during in hushed whispers was like a defining character moment for steve and leliana is someone he looks up to a lot. and probably the person he’s closest to besides josephine and sera. so that with the lyrium ghost angle is. something to think about!

god tangential side note thinking about steve and sera makes me ILL like that’s his best friend…………..

actually. that makes me think. who are my protags best friends…… my tabris ummm. doesn’t have all that many options. she’s dating two of them, two of them are either gone/dead…… leaving oghren sten alistair and shale i believe. think it’s a toss-up between alistair and sten…… alistair and her got along really well at first but they hit a rough patch…… iirc my girl fucked up and had no option but to kill connor. really awesome. they Do end up moving past that but it’s like. it’s a moment. STEN though…… i mean they have a fight too and it’s really poorly timed (rightttt in the middle of that awful stretch of time where things keep getting worse. actually the reason sten was in the party on the way to the sacred ashes in the first place to trigger that fight was because my tabris and alistair had just fought about the connor thing. so alistair was swapped out for sten who was swapped out for leliana after their fight, even though it was settled. just to give sten time to cool off and also because my tabris could Not deal with anyone else challenging her judgement right then. Lol. Lmao even . Does she know…….). ANYWAY yeah there Is actually a lot of respect between sten and my tabris (please ignore that i keep calling her that i can’t acknowledge that i named her after sylvain fire emblem. i can’t do that right now .)

ANYWAY. my hawke’s best friend is probably sebastian….. once again want to see how sebastian’s arc actually plays out but. Yeah i think it’s sebastian. andddd my rook. um. probably bellara if i don’t end up romancing her? or maybeeee neve? once i picked up emmrich he kind of took over her spot in the party, and i’ve mostly been using bellara or occasionally taash in the second slot……. i don’t knowww.

also thinking about how my protags would get along (something i have surprisingly not thought about before)…. picturing my tabris and steve interacting is really really funny to me because my tabris is just like. she’s unpleasant 😍 and really creepy she drank a lot of different cups of blood and now she’s creepy. meanwhile steve is like. pleasant and agreeable for the most part and he doesn’t really know what’s going on ever and his hobbies include jumping on the bed. Do think he’d be pissed about the leliana thing. he Would be pissed about that.

gonna have to finish the game and see where my rook ends up before deciding where he factors into things…. and honestly i should do a replay of da2 as well to solidify my hawke’s characterization as well……. still haven’t played all the way through with sebastian as a party member.

ANYWAY. this has just been me rambling about my worldstate i think. got off topic. wellll…. enjoy 😁!

[dgcatanisiri]

Have fully assembled the Veilguard, so I'm taking some time to organize some thoughts.

Seriously, OF COURSE Isabela would be leading the Lords of Fortune. It really does not surprise me, despite being surprised by her cameo.

I do like Emmrich more than I was expecting as a first impression, but I don't think I really vibe with him on a romantic level enough to ever really give that a try.

I do kinda regret not romancing Lucanis on this first run, because I do like the Crows. I'll probably roll him a Crow boyfriend next run.

Assan hits me in the heart, considering... Well, losing my dog. So yeah, of course I'm romancing Davrin. Or at least in the process of flirting with him.

I am pleased that there's plenty of opportunity to just not accept Solas's "good intentions." I particularly liked getting to throw the line "spoken like a god" at him.

Oof, choosing between Minrathous and Treviso was emotionally hard. Like I had a solid reasoning with opting to go to Treviso - no standing army, the waterways, as the Prologue showed, Minrathous has defense capabilities that Treviso just doesn't... But oof, it was hard on the heart having Neve take Rook to task for not backing up his city and fellow Shadow Dragons. To say nothing of the aftermath.

I DO need to address something that's really sticking out as a problem for me, and that really is the understandable but still sore point of the fact that the three choices of carryover from Inquisition really are just NOT. ENOUGH.

In universe, I feel like AT LEAST acknowledging WHO Divine Victoria is would be important, and Morrigan drinking from the Well or not really SHOULD be a thing, considering her featuring somewhat AS all this ancient elven knowledge is coming to light. On top of that, going further back to Origins carryover issues, despite how Kieran would surely be old enough at this point to be on his own, you would think that Morrigan would maybe MENTION her son.

And then there's my personal bugbear, in that not just with the cameo of the Inquisitor, but even Harding talking about the members of the Inquisition... By having the game written to assume all the characters possible being part of the Inquisition, this does not feel like a continuation of the game world I've played. I don't recruit Dorian, but he uses a mention of being at Adamant during the battle against Clarel to make the First Warden back down. The Inquisitor then outright refers to him as an ally, even though, again, he's NOT one in my games. Harding shares a story of Sera making Reiner laugh, when neither of them were part of my Inquisition, so she's talking about two people she never met, one of them who never actually HAD his hidden identity revealed, so she shouldn't know him by that name.

Is this being finicky over a relatively small part of the game overall, considering that these are minor lines in minor cameos, or a reference line that impacts nothing in terms of the game proper? Sure, I'll grant that. BUT it still leaves me feeling like... Why do my choices in the prior games matter if this game comes alone and says that they didn't? If they didn't matter, why did that game matter? Which was there a choice in the past?

It's the choice to undermine player choices when they could have worked around them. Like, sure, statistically, they could say that (probably) most players would probably bring in all possible characters, especially when the ones I'm specifically upset about are romance options. But... I mean, that's the same kind of logic that led to Jacob being written to cheat on a Shepard who romanced him - just because "most" players do a thing, it doesn't mean that the players who do something else don't deserve acknowledgement.

And yeah, I do recognize that having any variation options involve the cost of recording and animating any line being spoken, so if something had to have variation cut down in the name of allowing anything else, yes, I do understand this being where it falls, because it's not actually impacting anything of this game specifically. It's just a choice that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, even if I recognize that it has a reason that I DO fully understand.

I can understand WHY a choice was made without agreeing with why it was.

[cuntstable]

i'd love to hear any of those ask game options that you feel like answering re: cr*tical r*le and/or da

TY!!!… also whoah….. cringe role…. thats a name i havent heard in a long time….. ill start with da though and keep it short because good lird the floodgates opened….

CULLEN… like he is extremly unlikable in dao (even outright creepy and disgusting) but like in da2 and inquisition hes really nothing to me. a shitty templar that goes through an unconvincing character redemption. whatever. but like the fans make soooo many excuses for him and for what…… can a white boy who let human rights violations happen under his watch still get woobified and called a golden retriever boyfriend? 🥺

the hill i will die on forever is that dragon age has some of the insanest craziest best video game yuri out there. like not a lot of it but whats there is god tier….. ISABELA AND MERRIL…… MORRIGAN AND LELIANA…… SIGRUN AND VELLANA….. even sera and dagna are cute. always more content for the yuri warriors please god. its lacking

anyway getting the non controversial da takes out or the way. i will never forgive cr for the beaujes war. ever!!! not the show itself. not the jester x fjord warriors and NEVER the caleb x jester. fans. that constantly tried to paint beaujes fans as toxic and over overbearing for…. celebrating a popular f/f ship. like i think beaujes was genuinely the nail in the coffin for being invested in shipping for me like NEVER AGAIN…….

anyways the build up and characterization for it was so good and interesting i stand by this, but the way they kneecapped it out of nowhere… for the most boring alternatives they did nothing with too…….. and the excuse of ”it was just lust”…. like not even giving it a proper send off…… yuri warriors lost that day genuinely. and the fans just rolling with it and the way the rest of the show went equally downhill from there…. its all just incredibly cursed but i guess i can thank cr for making me far more skeptical a jaded towards shows and fandoms LOL. never again will i buy into the hype for stories and character arcs that will not be delivered </3

[merrybandofmurderers]

[id: four images with silhouettes in different colors representing the companions of each game against a height scale. the character’s name and height in centimeters is labelled over each silhouette. names and heights are in the captions. /end id]

Companion Heights

decided to put my headcanons for companion heights all in one place. i used this post as a basis for average heights, and i used this site for the height comparison examples. while the images have the heights in centimeters, i’ll be listing them in inches and feet. i’ll also include some thoughts as to my reasoning, although the answer usually comes down to “vibes”.

obligatory disclaimer that this is just how i personally see the characters, and you’re free to disagree. don’t try to bring up “canon”, i don’t care about canon.  and please don’t try to argue with me as if i’ve caused some great offense to your own vision of a character, just go make your own post.

Origins

Alistair, 6′0″ - the bigger he is, the better he is at hugging

Leliana, 5′9″ - on the taller side of average, i just think it fits her

Morrigan, 5′10″ - mostly i just don’t see her being shorter than Leli, probably got her height from Flemeth

Oghren, 4′9″ - i think an average height fits him

Shale, 7′5″ - is a golem, so

Sten, 6′11″ - a matter-of-fact man with an average matter-of-fact height

Wynne, 5′8″ - for her perfectly pleasant non-threatening grandma facade

Zevran, 5′6″ - short king 👑

Loghain, 5′9″ - i like the idea of him being physically average but having an intimidating aura that makes ppl think he’s bigger than he is

Awakening

Anders, 6′1″ - he is a beanpole and nothing will convince me otherwise

Justice, 5′11″ - generically tall warrior

Nathaniel, 6′0″ - while i see him as a beanpole independently, i cannot pass up the beauty of having Anders be just one inch taller than him

Oghren, 4′9″ - as previously stated

Sigrun, 4′7″ - on the shorter side but that just means ppl don’t see her coming

Velanna, 5′9″ - tall for an elf, i think this fits with her personality and her history of ostracism during adolescence

Two

Anders, 6′4″ - growth spurt courtesy of this headcanon

Aveline, 6′0″ - is built like a brick shithouse and you know it

Bethany, 5′9″ - both glad to be unassuming and also bitter that Carver is so much taller than her

Carver, 6′3″ - an early growth spurt to accentuate his teenage awkwardness, again there is the beauty of Anders being one inch taller

Fenris, 5′9″ - i just like him being tall for an elf

Isabela, 5′5″ - short queen 👑

Merrill, 5′7″ - not average but not quite as tall as Fenris

Sebastian, 5′10″ - attractively tall without it being overwhelming

Varric, 4′10″ - on the taller side of average, i think it fits him

Tallis, 5′6″ - average for an elf, perfect for a spy

Inquisition

Blackwall, 5′6″ - short king 👑

Cassandra, 6′2″ - the only man legally allowed to be taller than Cassandra is the Iron Bull

Cole, 6′0″ - growth spurt that human cole didn’t have the chance to grow into, just love him being absurdly tall compared to his adopted dads

Dorian, 5′9″ - average in height but nothing else ;3

Iron Bull, 7′3″ - i like the idea of him being tall even for a qunari

Sera, 5′3″ - look, we don’t listen to game models, this girl is a tiny tornado of whoop-ass and i stand by that

Solas, 5′7″ - his whole deal is being unassuming, he is average

Varric, 4′10″ - as previously stated

Vivienne, 6′1″ - look me in the eye and tell me Viv isn’t the kind of woman to wear six inch heels when she’s already over six foot

Cullen, 5′10″ - slightly taller than average, just think it fits

Josephine, 5′5″ - the delicate young lady who is much more frightening and much less delicate than you think

Leliana, 5′9″ - as previously stated

Morrigan, 5′10″ - as previously stated

[queenaeducan]

Morrigan, Isabela and Sera for character opinion bingo? :) 💖

Keeping this under a cut for length / character critical discussion!

Morrigan

I really love Morrigan when she's talking to friendly Wardens or Kieran (I ADORE her development if she becomes a mother and think it's a great way of exploring the abusive upbringing she suffered) but I can't take her anywhere because her morality especially in DA:O feels very... fantasy ayn rand. I like a lot of fandom interpretations of her more than I enjoy her in the games themselves, although I don't necessarily think in-game Morrigan is like... poorly written. I do think she suffers a bit from "evil" companion syndrome tho, where someone has to support the Warden doing the worst thing imaginable, but it's consistent enough that I can accept it as part of her character/moral alignment.

Isabela

Isabela is neat. She's one of the characters where I wish I could take a middle ground between her friendship and rivalry path, I think I split the difference by having her at 100% friendship by Act 3 so I can pick the choice that gets me rivalry points without it costing me anything. She gets done real dirty by parts of the fandom thanks to whitewashing alone, nvm people who think she's shallow or hate her b/c of a Fenris romance glitch (or the fact that she dared to sleep with him in pts where they're trying out the Merrills or Andersmance). My first pt she actually left me and even when I loaded trying to fix her approval by giving her the book it still didn't work. I don't hold it against her tho <3

While I do like a lot about her writings in DA2 I do think there was wasted potential in her interactions with Aveline and Fenris. With Aveline I think the whole thing is a mess and, considering their morals etc, I don't think I'd want them to get along, but I wish their rivalry was less gendered. With Fenris I sort of lean into the interpretation that there is solidarity between them but I think the writing could have been tighter in places.

But anyway she's perfect.

Sera

I get why ppl don't like Sera, but I like her a lot. She can be a lot but I also think she's often done dirty by her writer and by the fandom. It's interesting to see what amounts to a regular person's take on mages and Templars after spending 2-3 games embroiled in their politics, even if that perspective is flawed. Her conflict with her elven identity could have been better written but I do like that she was able to grow in the Trespasser DLC. I wish she had a better arc in the main game, it's not without its strengths, but she parallels and contrasts with the likes of Solas and offers a unique perspective we don't get in many other companions through the series.

I do hope we see Sera again tbh b/c I wanna see her and Dagna be in lesbians together and I think she has a stronger case than Varric for being involved in DA4.

Oh and this epilogue for her is my fave: 

With the Inquisition now serving the Divine / With the Inquisition disbanded, Sera returned to the singular and plural role of Red Jenny...because nobility and grammar could both still eat it. Many noted how Sera's methods had changed after seeing the Inquisitor stand for everyone. This Red Jenny was more focused, tactical, and, some dared say, effective. She and her network could also be counted on to act in the interests of the supposedly desk-bound / supposedly retired Inquisitor. Sera remained a formidable ally of allies, intent on proving that the powerful weren't, and that it was friends who mattered over all.

[eurekq]

>be me >today i will make a height chart for my da protags and their love interests >okay maybe ill make it an outfit and color reference too >well i dont want it to be too boring to look at >draw this

so here we are with all my sweet little ladies and their lis :]!!! from left to right: cassie cousland, marian hawke and anders, aoife lavellan and cullen, rhiannon tabris and alistair, cecelia hawke and fenris, melly cadash and sera

LOTS of extra stuff under the cut!!!

lovely da protag templates are from marian churchland!

dear sweet cassie, partaker in the forbidden non-romantic alistair marriage that the game never knows how to acknowledge. very much the definition of gaslight gatekeep girlboss. and by that i mean a genuinely bad person in the sense that she tends to toy with peoples feelings. had an extremely public affair with anders during the events of awakening. It takes a good 5 years for her and alistairs marriage to be anything even approaching functional. extremely savvy, ambitious, and charismatic; a great politician and an extremely effective ruler. morrigan is her closest friend in the world (yes i know i never had her in my party. thats because im bad at video games and needed a healer.) and they’re like sisters.

my default hawke. 6′2, buff as shit, slept her way through half of her friends before finally settling with anders. she’s a blood mage and her first use of blood magic was during a particularly nasty fight where she got speared through the stomach. she carves herself up for mana; anders puts her back together. does things in anger and impulse and then regrets them (see: giving isabela to the arishok, never reconciling with carver after leandras death). mean if you dont know her, intensely protective if you do, but takes betrayal extremely poorly. constantly taking action, even if it doesn’t turn out very well; she is physically incapable of being a bystander. her and anders are my fave da couple ever... ask me about my post da2 hcs <3 theyre happy and have a daughter named bethany :] she punched cullen in the mouth at the end of da2 so hard that it left that scar.

literally is there anything like your first dai playthrough being an elf. aoife is... remarkably well realized in my brain for a character who’s life began as my friend chanting “goth elf! goth elf! goth elf!” over my shoulder while i was in character creator. very affable and friendly, but extremely politically adept with a capability for subterfuge that even she isn’t fully comfortable with. huge history buff. solas was like a big brother to her and her faith was extremely important to her so trespasser was crushing. very curious, especially about magic; definitely learned some blood magic from hawke after hearing dorian and solas talk about it. dorian is her closest platonic friend, but cullen is her rock. as in he is literally so normal compared to everything else that happens to her and she loves him for it. also her and hawke are friends and a scenario that lives rent free in my mind is them hanging out while anders and cullen attempt to kill each other in increasingly looney toons-esque ways in the background. she turned out remarkably pretty for an inquisitor... look at her

....and that’s it for my canon timeline. onto the secondary timeline!

DEAR SWEET RHIANNON. 4′8 powerhouse with a sword longer than she is tall. i first played rhiannon with a friend who was very new to rpgs and she picked all of the mean dialogue options because she thought they were funny, which led to me discovering that alistair reacts oddly and kind of hilariously well to being made fun of by a female warden pre-duncan dying. rhiannon is fun in that she literally gives no shits about conflict avoidance; if you start something with her, she’ll see it through. disliked alistair on principle and poked fun at him when they first met, but after the events at ostagar bonded to him extremely strongly. very close to him pretty much at the exclusion of all her other companions. extremely strong willed, laughs loud and smiles wide, no real concept of subterfuge except for when she’s hiding her own pain, generally goes in the path of least resistance if it gets to her goal faster. #1 arl eamon hater. she looks pretty different when i draw her compared to how she looked ingame but this screenshot of her doing the like. dead deer tinder profile pic pose is extremely powerful

cecelia is the truest tragic hawke that i’ve played (rip cecelia. you had the misfortune to exist in the warden alistair timeline). lost carver, lost bethany in the deep roads, lost her mother, believes that fenris has left her. act 2; a real rough ride for cecelia. aside from all the tragedy, she’s tough as nails, direct, and extremely blunt. very cautious in combat, even more so since she lost both carver and bethany. plans upon plans upon plans and prefers to strike unseen and unheard from the shadows. DEEPLY in love with fenris, best friends with isabela and merrill. aware of anders affection for her and keeps some distance for both their sakes; after the chantry explosion she helps him fake his own death on the condition that she never sees him again. when terrible things are not constantly happening she has a very dry wit, part of the reason her and fenris get along so well. too many bad things happen to her for someone with such nice thighs and such a stylish cape. her save file had some weird bugs with companion like.... staring???? in weird directions???

the absolute energy here. she also turned out very pretty in inquisition.

melly is easily my most powerful da oc. not in terms of in-universe power (although sword and board reaver is like. unkillable.) but in the sense that she is a catholic (read: andrastian) mid-40′s widowed mobster milf. she’s very close to cassandra and vivienne and consults them for advice before she goes to her actual advisors. even she was surprised by her relationship with sera; she finds sera’s unique sense of humor very charming and really likes pulling silly pranks with her as a reprieve from her everyday life. when she’s not with sera, she tends to be very pragmatic and logical when making decisions for the inquisition and has a very defined sense of purpose. she takes her role as both as the inquisitor and the herald of andraste very seriously. she’s very warm and soothing to be around during off hours and random inquisition members will often drift towards her for life advice. first draft of her and sera in this drawing had sera wearing this

[mattressdemon]

bitching about narrative design in bioware games part 2

to summarize part 1 quickly, i bitched a bit about how bioware wrote some characters and designed some parts of the narrative of baldurs gate 1 and 2. they killed the only black woman in the og bg games for a (supposedly) white man’s pain (minsc) and then offered a replacement in the form of a white woman (aerie).

while complaining about bg1 and 2 could stand all on its own, the reason i wanted to talk about those things in particular is to highlight the way bioware writes and designs characters and stories in their later titles, like mass effect, but especially dragon age. i do particularly pick on the writing of david gaider and lukas kristjanson and a little bit on patrick weekes, but this is not meant to be a personal jab at any of them or say anything about their character or beliefs.

overall i think a lot of the way bioware frames certain characters and manipulates the dialogue of certain characters is really more questionable than allowing for actual critical thought. the best examples of my issues with this are cullen, aveline, fenris, dorian and sera. also a special shout out for jacob from mass effect. you might notice that ive now named four characters that lukas kristjanson wrote for; minsc, aveline, sera, and jacob. that doesnt mean i dislike how he writes all of his characters: i actually really enjoy carver and joker, for example.

my issues with the way he wrote these characters directly relates to over-utilization of stereotypes, writing dialogue that sometimes sounds bizarrely out of character, and combine both of those with poor levels of representation in all of the bioware titles.

aveline, while a very enjoyable character (imho) says things that i think directly contrast how she actually thinks and feels in game. she makes many degrading and insulting comments directly at isabela (who was confirmed as a black woman by gaider) about her sexuality and i feel like its honestly really uncharacteristic of her, given how often she finds herself agreeing with a pro-mage hawke throughout the story and how strongly she feels about the real protection and care of people. this is an issue for multiple reasons:

1. isabela is only one of two black female companions in the dragon age franchise, and she does not even have black facial features (she looks pretty european to me, leaving vivienne as the only black woman in the series with black facial features). contrast that to 12 white female companions throughout dragon age including DLCS, and three white female temporary companions (not including merrill, as i already counted her).

2. isabela is expressive and open with her sexuality in a way only one other female character is, and morrigan isn’t even near to the degree that isabela is. also, isabela is bisexual, and the narrative plays hard against characters that are bisexual/pansexual and simultaneously considered slutty (they have one each game! zevran, isabela, iron bull).

3. isabela is a swashbuckler/rogue with a spotty history irt loyalty, again reinforcing stereotypes of characters that are bisexual or bipoc being untrustworthy or of dubious morality.

and none of this would have mattered if there were more black and bisexual/pansexual characters in the series. weekes’ comment about not wanting to make solas black and bisexual because he didnt want to fall into a stereotype? null and void if there were more black and/or bisexual characters in the franchise. representation matters.

i love fenris too! and you know what i hate? people writing GOTCHA dialogue that doesnt even fit a character just to push a devils advocate agenda.

the conversation in question is between fenris and anders in act 2.

fenris: there, your magic would be a mark of honor. apprenticed to the right magister, you would do well.

anders: so they all do those things?

fenris: just the ones who don’t complain about how powerless and persecuted they are.

“just the ones who dont complain about how powerless and persecuted they are” shut the fuck up. why would this come out of fenris’ mouth at all, ever? bruh gaider wrote his storyline, he knows this doesnt make sense. he has to. doesnt he???

and i feel like da2, but especially inquisition, does this a lot. they shove a lot of dialogue into the game that kinda gives you a GOTCHA sorta vibe, like they’re just tryin to snag the inquisitor on bs.

this happens with dorian in inquisition too. if you play a dalish elf inquisitor, theres an entire conversation with him about slavery in tevinter. while the game spends the entire narrative effectively shitting on a dalish inquisitor for being proud of their dalish culture and heritage, dorian is often praised by the narrative for being nationalistic and proud of tevinter’s culture and history. in the conversation, it feels more like dorian is talking at the inquisitor rather than having a thoughtful and engaging discussion about slavery and why his perspective on it might be different. i dont have screencaps off hand atm, but it’s right there in the game, if you have a copy, go play it.

in contrast, in dragon age origins, you can have a conversation with leliana with a dalish warden wherein she says some hurtful things about dalish elves, things that are typically associated with real life stereotypes about indigenous people, like them being “savage” “brutish” or “lazy”. and by the end of the conversation, no matter what you say or do, she apologizes. she says she was wrong to say those things, and she’s sorry, and she won’t do it again. that’s an effective dialogue about serious issues in a video game!!!! not whatever bullshit that dorian conversation was.

and last but not least: sera and jacob. sera is a great character, and yet, she is the only companion who you can actively dismiss / rudely ask her to leave the inquisition throughout the entire game and in every single conversation. the narrative frames this 20 year old (she is YOUNG!!!! who ISNT annoying sometimes when they’re young???) lesbian as an irritant, and most people walk away from inquisition disliking sera. consistently ppl shit on sera throughout the game, and the narrative itself likes to make her an enemy to the inquisitor, make it feel/seem wrong that she constantly questions authority, when so many other characters are shown in a positive light for doing and saying the exact same shit she does. this is part of a larger issue bioware has in general with writing elven women in dragon age (see also the framing of merrill in da2 and velanna in the expansion for origins, awakening).

do i even have to start on jacob? black man with a heart of gold and a deadbeat, creepy, abusive father? then he “cheats” on shepard in mass effect 3 and the narrative gives you the option to punch him? he didn’t even know if shepard was going to be released from custody!!! he knew the reapers were coming and he didn’t know if he would ever see her again!!!! of course some people will feel his actions were a betrayal, but its all ignorant of the circumstances he was in. its not no two years thought dead thing that everyone is okay with excusing (virmire romance), but it’s certainly fucking close.

tl;dr: i hate how bioware frames characters and designs narratives sometimes. if someone ever reads this that works at bioware: please hire more bipoc and queer designers.

edit: someone showed me info about minsc’s culture based on something separate from what I was originally taught, so i retract the stuff about his culture not fitting his physical design! but i left it here because it’s what i originally wrote.

[dionaearps]

hi, i’m joey (25, nb, he/they) and i’m looking for some new plots! rules and plot/fc ideas below the cut!

rules.

i rp on tumblr and discord. my strict cut off is 18+ for partners but i generally prefer partners over 21. i have a slight preference for playing girls or nb muses, but mostly because i prefer f/f ships. i’m down for any pair combination, with a big preference for queer ships.

my favourite genres are fantasy, supermatural, sci-fi, dark academia. i generally don’t like plots that are solely domestic, pregnancy/parenting, or celeb/fame rps. further info such as my trigger warnings can be found here.

plots.

period vampires! i don’t have much to say for this one bc there’s lots of directions we could go, i would rly love to play a jodie comer fc for this perhaps…, kind of like interview with a vampire/anne rice style vampires maybe?

i love anything to do with fae lore, esp the rly traditional stuff. also love anything from holly blacks’ fae verses. changeling plots are particuarly *chef’s kiss*.

i have a faulty android muse that i’d love to plot with in a setting based off cypberpunk 2077 (or the original 2020 ttrpg). based on this super old comic from tumblr where the android escapes half-broken from the corp that made them and breaks into a techies’ shop to fix themselves up

fantasy mumus in settings like the elder scrolls or dragon age or a generic ass fantasy settings where we could just make a bunch of ocs and stick ‘em together in a guild like in ur standard dungeons and dragons set up. i have a lot of dnd ocs. and a lot of them will never be used in games so??

something rly cutesy and farmcore with like stardew valley/animal crossing/harvest moon vibes plot where its all whimsical and rural and fervently anti-capitalist but has maybe some soft fantasy vibes (look i just rewatched the animal crossing film and im,, in love once again, bonus for older muses looking for a city escape). i also saw this post that mentioned a witch running a cat shelter like that it’s thats the ship. cat shelter witch x former corporate wage slave turned farm girl.

girl’s. boarding. schools. enough said. could either have a dark academia vibe with a murder mystery OR ghosts/cults/general spooky stuff (or both??).

have any of y’alll read angelology? nun and a cute academic team up to stop nephilim from destroying the world with gabriel’s lyre and then it turns out nun is a nephilim and academic is like actually, nope and suddenly they’re enemies? Love that

fandoms.

generally i prefer to play ocs in fandom settings, but there are a few canon ships i’d like to do.

elder scrolls

fallout

dragon age (leliana/josephine, leliana/warden, morrigan/warden, hawke/isabela, josephine/inquisitor, sera/inquisitor)

the witcher

borderlands

stardew valley

life is strange (chloe/max, chloe/rachel)

tithe

percy jackson

magnus archives

would love a bubbleline or catradora ship as well

faceclaims.

i prefer finding the right fc for the character rather than make plots based on fcs, but here are some i’m interested in:

hunter schafer, zendaya coleman, dev patel, lulu antariksa, chella man, reece king, gabriel darku, barbie feirrera, natasha liu bordizzo, amita suman, moon gayoung, aubrey joseph, danai gurira aron piper, seo kang joon, emmy rossum, maya hawke, kimiko glenn, sophie skelton, ryan potter, michael cimino, mj rodriguez, joe keery, jonathon daviss, lalisa manoban, tati gabrielle, rachel weisz, archie renaux, alilsha wainwright, indya moore, keiynan lonsdale, taron egerton, park chae wo, madison bailey, theo germaine, haley kiyoko, kit young, summer bishil, lana condor, viola davis, vanessa morgan, medalian rahimi, steven yuen, sofia byrant, liv hewson, lucy lui, jordan fisher, avan jogia, malese jow, doona bae, alberto rosende, arden cho, jodie cormer, rudy pankow, marlo kelly, tessa thompson, lyrica okano, lupita nyong'o, anya chalotra, naomi scott, neve campbell, erinn westbrook, brianne tju, ryan destiny, bryna marquezine, maisie williams, nick robinson, jessica parker kennedy, freddy carter, kaylee bryant, millie brady, bridgette lundy-paine, oscar isaac, sen mitsuji, im jinah, jessie mei li, lee pace, oliver jackson-cohan

[viviae]

can you like. tell me a little about dragon age. seeing your posts about it has got me interested in playing but i have little to no clue what it actually is

Boy can I explain nonny <3 This is a bit long so strap in and im sorry

Dragon Age is (currently) a three game series composed of Dragon Age: Origins (PS3, Xbox 360/Xbox One, PC), Dragon Age: II (PS3, Xbox 360/Xbox One, PC), and Dragon Age: Inquisition (PS4, Xbox One, PC) and its really unique because of its selling point that your actions impact the games as you progress. Like if you kill one character in one game they’ll stay dead through the rest of the series which makes you feel lived in the story and that your actions matter. Dragon Age is also an RPG so a roleplaying game kind of along the same lines of DnD where you get to make and play your own character. And yes there are romances and you can be gay.

The First Game of the series is Dragon Age: Origins where you choose from a selection of six unique (technically seven) origins or backgrounds for your character. You can be anywhere from a human noble or a Dalish elf, the unique elven culture in Dragon Age of nomadic clans dedicating to reclaiming their past. But eventually, from the events in your origin, you wind up a member of a secretive and elite order known as the Grey Wardens whose duty is to protect the world from the Blight.

The Blight is this spread of a horrible disease known as the Taint but is characterized by the presence of Darkspawn, a kind of zombie like creature who exists only to destroy the world. Grey Wardens take the heavy duty of protecting the world from the Blight, which have nearly wiped all of humanity multiple times, at all costs. And currently the country of Ferelden is under going a blight and due to events you wind up the only Grey Warden with your companion Alistair to save the world and reunite Ferelden which had fallen under a civil war.

Along Origins you meet many interesting characters. Alistair is your friendly co-warden who has a mysterious parentage that he hides under his happy go lucky attitude. In contrast to Alistair is the witch Morrigan who is your favorite goth swamp queen who would insult you and you thank her. In addition you meet your chaotic bi rogues Zevran and Leliana. Leliana is a nun who is on the run and hiding from a dark past and she is suspiciously good at murder. And Zevran is not at all hiding his aptitude for murder as an Assassin for hire who tried and failed to kill you but who can ignore that charming bastard?

Dragon Age II follows a much smaller story of a Ferelden refuge who had escaped from the Blight to the city of Kirkwall named Hawke. Unlike in origins where you get to pick your background 2 limits you to Hawke but fear not, Hawke is a loveable bastard and you can still customize them. Throughout DA2 you get to experience all the delights Kirkwall has to offer: Demons, crime, corrupt cops, and fighting your way to survive in this city and make a name for yourself.

Where Origins sets the stage for the world DA2 you are the actor in that play - literally the game is divided into 3 acts that take place over a span of 7 years. DA2′s main conflict is the argument of Mages vs Templars, as in DA’s lore while there are those who are born with magic they are forced to live in prisons policed by the Templar order and the church. You explore the more political arguments of; are the Templars right in their fears of magic as Kirkwall is filled to the brim with corrupt mages or do Mages deserve the chance to live and prove themselves freely from their prisons.

Your romancable companions in DA2 are all bisexuals as the true theme of DA2 is: be gay do crime. You have the foils of Anders: the runaway mage who fled from the prisons the mages are housed in and is determined to bring mages to freedom, and Fenris: the runaway escaped slave who curses magic for only inflicting pain and suffering in his life and wants his warnings to be heard about the dangers magic bring. In addition you also have Merrill, your cute but terrifying Dalish mage who would probably murder you with a cute smile and then go oops. And of course, my pirate wife Isabela, who lives a life free from commitment and is dedicated to the idea everyone should have a good time no matter the cost. Also while not romancable Hawke’s bff Varric deserves every ounce of praise he gets as never before has the energy of “two idiots sharing a braincell” ever been so well adapted.

Then finally we reach Inquisition. After the events of DA2 it triggers a full on war between the Mages and Templars that is destroying the land and causing severe damage that neither side can handle anymore. Desperate for an end to the conflict the Divine (err... fantasy pope) calls for a meeting on both sides... only for the entire thing to literally explode. Killing everyone present and causing a hole in the sky which now means demons are raining like cats and dogs you are the only one to survive. In Inquisition you can once again return to pick between unique backgrounds like in Origins but you don’t get to play through those backgrounds sadly.

You now possess something on your left hand which gives you the ability to patch up the hole in the sky that is pissing demons and due to being the only survivor everyone is incredibly confused about you. Eventually the Inquisition is formed around you, the character they are calling the Herald of Andraste (Andraste is fantasy Jesus) due to your ability to seal the holes. The mystery unfolds as over the course of the game you learn what caused the explosion, how you are connected, and what exactly the mark on your hand is.

DAI has the largest numbers of romance options so I’m gonna give a quick bullet point list for them all

Iron Bull (Pansexual, All Races): A Qunari (think Tiefling but big and beefy) mercenary who is far more clever than he lets on, as well as being the rope top dom of your dreams. Literally! Bull’s romance is a really healthy bdsm relationship if you are interested its very well done

Josephine (Bisexual, All Races): Your loveable ambassador and advisor for the inquisition. She is a workaholic noble who is a tried and true classic romance. Sweep her off her feet and duel for her hand all while navigating the nobility

Dorian (Gay, All Races): The flamboyant pariah rock star mage, he demands attention whenever he walks into the room. Although he wants to be all talk and no emotions make no mistake he is making puppy eyes at you the entire time and gets deeply offended if you say he is. Also not going to lie Dorian is the best piece of gay male rep in gaming history.

Cassandra (Male-only, all Races): Your stern warrior wife who is all serious no funny business... expect she is a bleeding heart romantic who reads horrible smut for fun. You wish to COURT HER?? I mean... if you want 👉👈 she won’t say no...

Blackwall (Female-only, All Races): Your weird dilf who wants desperately to prove himself every step of the way and help people. He is a constable for the Grey Wardens, but all the details on him seem murky... Ah well I’m sure its nothing, the Grey Wardens are a secretive order after all.

Sera (Lesbian, All Races): My wild child, monster chugging, beer guzzling, arrow shooting lesbian. Sera is here for a fun time and not a serious one, she’ll always make sure to keep you humble and ensure you aren’t getting to big for your breeches. 

Cullen (Female-Only, Human and Elf only): Cullen’s the Inquisition’s commander who oohh boy is steeped in a lot of trauma. Cullen’s actually a character you get to know through out the series and see just all the horrible nonsense he’s been through. But he is your tragic self loathing... he isn’t princely but he is your adorkable charming

Solas (Female-Only, Elf Only): The humble apostate who joins the Inquisition out of curiosity of the breech, he is an expert on what the hell is going on with that hole in the sky. However, he holds a wisdom that goes far deeper than your typical apostate. Smooth talking and refined he carries a heavy cloud over him.

I left out a lot and all the nonsense with books and what have you but this is the easiest overview of the series I can offer. It’s main selling points is the deep story and characters throughout the games. And of course who doesn’t love the ability to make and roleplay your own character as a bonus? The games are bit of a flawed gem and Origins in my ugly child but they are truly a delight if you are interested

[phoenixsoul13]

Alissa Hawke as a DAI Companion

I actually started working on this one before Rosalie’s, but I struggled so much with writing aer companion quest. ^^’ (template by dextronoms)

OC’s Name: Alissa Hawke (pronouns: ae/aer)

Race, Class, & Specialization: Human, Two-Handed Warrior, Berserker

Varric’s Nickname for them: Hawke

Personality archetype: Red/Blue (though you’ll only encounter the Blue side with high approval)

Default Tarot Card: The Hermit (inner strength, withdrawal, caution, vigilance)

How they are recruited: After talking with Alissa in Skyhold, ae will join as a temporary companion until Here Lies the Abyss is completed, at which point ae will automatically be permanently recruited if aer approval is high enough. “You’re not as useless as I thought, Inquisitor. I’ll help you stop Corypheus.” Otherwise, Alissa will leave for places unknown.

Where they are in Skyhold: Before Here Lies the Abyss is completed, Alissa will stay up on the ramparts, sharping aer sword. Afterwards, ae can be found next to the herb garden.

Approval/Disapproval: Alissa will approve of direct actions, getting straight to the point in dialogue, delivering justice swiftly (ae will Slightly Disapprove if judgments are left too long), and killing darkspawn. Alissa will disapprove of beating around the bush in dialogue, pro-Chantry/Templar sentiments, and the Inquisitor making presumptions about aer.

Major Quest Approvals/Disapprovals:

-(Applied after speaking to Alissa for the first time in Skyhold.)   In Hushed Whispers/Champions of the Just: Ally with the Mages (Approves), Ally with the Templars (Greatly Disapproves), Disbanding the Templars (Approves), Conscript the Mages (Disapproves)

-Here Lies the Abyss: Grey Wardens exiled (Approves), Grey Wardens recruited (Greatly Disapproves)

-Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts: Celene rules (Disapproves), Gaspard rules (Greatly Disapproves), Briala rules through Gaspard (Slightly Approves), Public Truce (Slightly Approves)

-What Pride Had Wrought: Following the Elven rituals (Approves), Ignoring the Elven rituals (Disapproves), Allying with the Sentinel Elves (Approves), Refusing to ally with the Sentinel Elves (Greatly Disapproves)

Mages, Templars, Other?: Having grown up in a family with apostates, Alissa is very defensive of mages being able to choose their own path. Still, ae can be persuaded by the argument that mages need a place to study, but only if said place is run by mages, with no Chantry interference. Ae has no respect for Templars, from the stories ae has heard and aer time in Kirkwall.

Friends in the Inquisition: Sera, The Iron Bull, Blackwall (until Revelations)

Romanceable?: No. A few opportunities will be available to flirt (for all Inquisitors), but the first time such an option is selected, Alissa will say, “Don’t. I’m not interested.” Attempting to flirt a second time will cause aer to Greatly Disapprove, with the comment, “I said no. Try again and it’ll be the last thing you say.”

Small side mission: After completing Crestwood’s main questline [closing the lake rift], talking with Alissa will prompt aer to bring up the Fifth Blight and how it’s still affecting Ferelden today. If the Inquisitor expresses interest in helping people still struggling with the Blight’s aftermath, Alissa will Approve and says ae’ll give the Inquisitor the locations of places they can help. These will include pockets of darkspawn to dispatch and places to donate supplies. If Alissa is along with an encounter, ae will Approve. Otherwise, the Inquisitor will only get Slight Approval from aer.

Post-Recruitment Cutscene: After Alissa is permanently recruited, talking with aer will trigger a cutscene that shows aer working in the garden. The Inquisitor can express surprise that Alissa is into gardening (“Why not?” Slight Disapproval.) or ask what ae’s working on (to which ae’ll reply “The elfroot needs to come out before it chokes itself”). Eventually, Alissa will stand up to face the Inquisitor and ask what they want. The Inquisitor will have three options:

-“Just wanted to make sure you’re settling in okay” will grant Slight Approval and Alissa will respond with, “I’m fine, thank you.”

-“No reason,” will not give an approval change, but Alissa will frown and appear to eye the Inquisitor cautiously.

-“Making sure you’re staying out of trouble,” will grant Disapproval and Alissa will scoff, roll aer eyes, and say “I’m not the one you need to worry about.”

Regardless of the option chosen, the conversation will move on to the fate of the Wardens at the end of Here Lies the Abyss. If the Wardens were exiled, Alissa will say the Inquisitor made the right decision. If the Wardens were recruited into the Inquisition, Alissa will reiterate aer thoughts from the end of Here Lies the Abyss, that it isn’t safe to keep people Corypheus can influence around. The Inquisitor can defend their choice, admit ae has a point, or if they were exiled, agree with aer or wonder if they really did make the right decision. No matter what, Alissa is not swayed from aer position.

At this point, the Inquisitor can ask about aer dislike of the Wardens, especially since they saved Ferelden from the Fifth Blight. “No, two Wardens saved Ferelden. Of course there are good ones; one of my sisters is a Warden herself. But over two dozen Wardens left Kirkwall to fall to the Qunari, and we almost ended up swimming in demons because they can’t think about anything but Blights.”

Alissa will then sigh, say, “Whatever, it’s done,” and turn back to working on the garden.

Companion Quest: After permanently recruiting aer and getting high approval, interacting with Alissa will trigger a cutscene where ae and Cassandra are conversing near the training dummies. Cassandra says that while she wished they could have found the Champion earlier, she’s glad ae’s here now. Noticing that the Inquisitor has joined them, she adds that maybe it worked out for the best that Varric refused to give up Alissa’s location.

Alissa is confused by this, as Varric and ae have never been friendly, and ae assumes he’d sell aer out in a second to save his own skin. Cassandra insists quite the contrary, that he was very defensive of Alissa. Alissa scoffs, saying that doesn’t sound like the Varric ae knows.

Here the Inquisitor can ask if Alissa wants to ask Varric. Alissa will ponder it for a sec then shake aer head. Either way, Alissa will say there’s no point in asking, as he would probably just lie anyway; telling fiction is one of his trades after all.

After this scene, the Inquisitor will have a chance to ask Varric about it. If they do so, he’ll say that despite the differences between them, he does have a lot of respect for Alissa, and feels partially responsible for drawing negative attention aer way. “I know Hawke hated the fact that I wrote The Tale of the Champion; I wanted to show aer and the others in a positive light, but maybe I just made things worse.” The conversation ends with Varric asking the Inquisitor to not repeat any of this to Alissa.

The Inquisitor can then talk to Alissa in the garden, where ae will admit that despite aer earlier dismissal, ae can’t stop wondering about why Varric would defend aer to Cassandra, wondering if he was up to something.

Option 1: The Inquisitor can encourage Alissa to talk to Varric. Ae sighs and says, “Fine, soon.”

Option 2: The Inquisitor can encourage Alissa to forget the matter, to which ae’ll say, “For the best, I’m sure.”

Either way, the quest will complete. If Option 1 was chosen though, after leaving Skyhold and returning, talking to Alissa and Varric will reveal that they’ve talked and made things less tense between them.

Tarot card change Option 1: reversed Eight of Swords (new beginnings) Option 2: (no change)

What Pride Had Wrought: After the cutscene where Morrigan shows the Inquisitor her eluvian and the Crossroads, another will trigger where Alissa approaches the Inquisitor, saying that ae noticed that the Inquisitor’s Arcane Advisor has an eluvian. The Inquisitor can ask how Alissa knows about them, to which Alissa will say ae knows someone that worked on one and might be of some help. Whether the Inquisitor says they could use someone with that knowledge, or says that they’ll be fine with just Morrigan, Alissa will say that ae already received a response to aer letter and aer partners are on their way.

After leaving and returning to Skyhold (or when What Pride Had Wrought is selected on the war table, if done without leaving Skyhold after this scene), a cutscene triggers where Merrill and Isabela arrive in Skyhold. Alissa will introduce them to the Inquisitor, who can be welcoming or cold (of which Alissa will Approve or Disapprove respectively). Regardless, Merrill will say she’s glad to be of assistance. Isabela will remark on the size of Skyhold, and then walk away, mentioning wanting to catch up with Varric. In Skyhold, Isabela and Merrill will change locations: both can sometimes be found by Alissa, while Merrill can occasionally be found talking with Morrigan, and Isabela can occasionally be found sitting at Varric’s table in the Great Hall.

Regardless of companion selections, Merrill will join the Inquisitor alongside Morrigan during What Pride Had Wrought as an extra companion. She will be excited at the prospect of meeting the elves of the Temple, and offer her own commentary throughout. Alissa, if brought along, will defend Merrill against any negative remarks towards her comments (and Slightly Disapprove). Merrill will insist they follow the elven rituals, breaking away from the group if the Inquisitor refuses; Alissa will stay with Merrill, meaning the Inquisitor will be down a party member if they refuse to complete the elven rituals. At the Well of Sorrows, Merrill will be another choice to drink from the well, becoming angry if Morrigan or a non-elven Inquisitor is chosen (Alissa will Greatly Disapprove); Alissa will be noticeably worried if Merrill is chosen (no approval change), saying it would be better if no one drank from it until they know more about it, but unfortunately Corypheus is leaving them no choice.

After the quest, Alissa will offer comments about it when spoken to in Skyhold, positive or negative depending on the choices the Inquisitor made and how they responded to Merrill’s commentary.

Trespasser: Alissa will not be present at the Exalted Council, but with high enough approval, the Inquisitor can find a letter from aer wishing them well.

Cole’s reflection on their thoughts: “Anger fills you up until it’s all you know. Not this again. Why must it always fall to me? It’s not fair, but you still keep fighting.”

Comment(s) on Mages: “People fight back after being driven into a corner too long.”

Comment(s) on Templars: “They claim to fight for good and then attack innocent people? Typical.”

When looking for something: “I’m sure it’s nothing important.”

When finding a campsite: “Tired already?” High Approval: “Let’s stop for a bit.”

When the Inquisitor Falls: Low Approval: “Carry your own weight for once, damnit.” Middling Approval: “Someone check on [Last Name]!” High Approval: “No! Inquisitor!”

When they are low on Health: Low Health: “I refuse to die here.” KO: “Damn... you.”

When they see a Dragon: “Not again.”

When during their small side quest: “Good.” “Ten years later and the darkspawn still keep coming back. And we’ll keep cutting them down.” “So many people still hurting from the Blight.”

Default saying: “What?” High approval: “Nice to see you.”

What do they call the Inquisitor?: With positive approval, Alissa will refer to the Inquisitor by their last name. It’s only with high approval that ae will (non-sarcastically) call them Inquisitor, as at that point ae believes them worthy of the title.

Leaving the Inquisition: At the end of Here Lies the Abyss, if aer approval isn’t high enough, Alissa will not be permanently recruited. Instead, ae’ll say, “Now that this is done, I’ll be going.” The Inquisitor can attempt to convince aer to stay, but Alissa will refuse. “I don’t have any interest in being part of your Inquisition.” The Inquisitor can ask where ae’ll go, and be met with, “Somewhere else.”

If Alissa’s approval is low enough at the end of Here Lies the Abyss, ae’ll leave without a word.

If after being permanently recruited, Alissa’s approval falls far enough, ae will not leave, but it will trigger a cutscene where Alissa is pacing the garden and turns on the Inquisitor when they appear. “I thought you were making a difference. I can’t believe I fell for it.” Ae’ll cross aer arms and be silent for a moment. “I’ll stay since I said I would, but the moment Corypheus is dead, I will leave and not look back.” All dialogue options will disappear, and interacting with Alissa in Skyhold will just have aer say, “Go away.” After Corypheus’s death, Alissa will be true to aer word and will not be present at the victory banquet.

[bloedewir]

Until we get some da4 info i can waste my time guessing about former companions.

All of them, who'll back?

So, I made a list (I think many already done it, but still..). After a few years I'll can check it and find out am I a predictor or not.

DA:I

Cassandra - Likely - I think the personal quest and revealing truth about Seekers was not an accident. Also Nevarra and mortalitasi.

Leliana - Unlikely - A side quest or help, maybe. How many of players made her a new Divine? Maybe it'll be sort of canon, like a 'king Alistair'.

Josephine - Unlikely - She's back to Antiva and family.

Cullen - 90% for no - Arc is complete, and Curly is tired. Also the recent unpleasure comments from v/a made me think he won't appear anyway.

Blackwall - Unlikely - A Warden or not, arc is complete. It's all about atonement and helping people.

Iron Bull - Most likely - Qunari, Tevinter, Viddasala' shit and Ben-Hassrath. I bet, he'll back. And KREM.

Cole - Most likely - Guess, he won't miss the chance to help his wolf friend.

Sera - Likely - (as the any other elf, understandably). Maybe a letter or side quest with "Red Jenny" team.

Varric - Likely - As the Viscount of Kirkwall he can offer a possible help. Maybe, a cameo?

Vivienne - Unlikely - Only if she became a Divine it could be a some kind of Chantry interaction.

Dorian - Most likely - As a Magister. He'd better be in da4 or I'll scream, I promise.

Solas. Well. No doubt.

DA2

Anders - Unlikely - A Warden, a claimed criminal and possessed by Vengeance.. I think, he's dead already. If not, it could be an interesting, if he'll back. Y'all know that thing: will to help, seek for redemption, dramatic heroism - cutscene - he's dying, but as a forgiven.

Fenris - Please, yes - An elf with lyrium tattoos, Tevinter, magisters, slaves, all that story. He has to be in da4.

Merrill - Likely - An elf who knows about eluvians. Some kind of resistance maybe? She won't join Fen'Harel, so maybe help a bit?

Hawke - Likely? - Even if she/he is in the Fade, we all remember what has said Mythal about jumping and flying.

Carver/Bethany - Unlikely - Only if as a mention.

Isabela - 50/50 - Maybe she's the last hope of Thedas. She stole from Arishok.. how bold it would be if she'd steal a lyrium idol? Would be ridiculously awesome.

Sebastian - Unlikely - Maybe as a Starkhaven support?

Tallis - Likely - She was mentioned in Tevinter Nights. + Qunari, Tevinter, invasion, spies. And she's Felicia Day, hope she'll come back.

Aveline - Unlikely - Arc is complete. She's happily married and watching over Kirkwall.

DA:O/A

Morrigan - Likely - Maybe she'll join Fen'Harel just to thank him for Flemeth death. JK.

Sten - Most likely - He's an Arishok. Once again: Tevinter, qunari invasion etc.

Wynne. N/A

Oghren - Unlikely - He's drinking and raising child. (But those ugly creepy things from Tevinter Nights, made by Ghilan'nain?).

Alistair - Likely - As the king of Ferelden.. and a demi-elf? A support maybe?

Zevran - Possibly? - An elf. I cherish the thought that he can be a sort of Inquisition' agent.

Shale - Unlikely - But she could have been useful. One stone fist vs bald head.. obvious result.

Velanna - Possibly? - An elf. We don't actually know what happened with her.

Sigrun - Possibly? - A mention maybe, something with Titans?

Nathaniel - Unlikely - (But those creepy things from TN....)

HoF. Uh.. I lose a hope, almost completely. But.. if she/he found a cure and..??

***

That was made as a list with my own thoughts, no matter what I actually want. I'm totally one of the "bring me back my team" people, but also I clearly understand that is unlikely option.

And, every of them could be mentioned in any way. Letters, dialogues, a notes - all is possible, but I'm about an actual appearances (or npc).

A-a-nd I believe da4 will be a sort of "elven" game according to possible plot, so there's a chance to see a familiar known elves from past parts.

***

..if there's an any elvhen gods who hears my prays, bring back to me Trevor Morris. Many thanks *muwah*.

[lavellander]

more bc i am unstoppable now

I Am Thinking About My DA Protagonists’ Taste In Romantic Partners both their “usual” type and why they’re drawn to their canon love interest (and the hypothetical ones from other games). i expect no one to give a shit abt this except me lsdfjd but im on a roll and its a good exercise or whatever. i’m sure i’ll use it eventually?????

once again. i know no one gives a fuck but if anyone DOES happen to want to torture themselves and read this pls know all my ocs are bi except zaniyah, who is a lesbian<3

sarenan: 

general disclaimer that “in the circle love is just a game” etc etc etc so while she definitely is more inclined to romantic relationships, she only really had friends w benefits at most

she likes smart people! she likes fun people, she likes people who can get on board with her fucked up sense of humor. she’s witty and charming and loves to flirt just to flirt, and in the circle that wasn’t much of an issue lol. leliana is the first person she ever feels like...foot-in-mouth around, bc suddenly she likes and is attracted to someone and...that’s allowed? it’s all very foreign to her but she falls Real Hard, Real Fast

in a hypothetical da2 romance obviously isabela is extremely hot but also sarenan canonically has a foursome w her, leli, and zev so dLFKKDS it makes sense that bela’s the love interest of choice<3 (but also i think it would be like...friends-to-friends with benefits-to-lovers lol)

in a hypothetical dai romance once again josie is very hot and also so sweet and cute and delightful !!!!! idk if its just me but i see similarities bw origins leli and josie so again it just makes sense to me that josie is the LI for an inq romance :’)

(BUT for the most part. it is pretty hard for me to imagine sarenan w anyone but leli, bc they are the only couple i have that like. makes sense. lmfao)

maeve: 

actually doesnt often have romantic relationships? she has ~flings~ and rarely catches feelings. she describes her type as “anyone sexy” 

(her and isabela do in fact have a brief Thing but strictly no strings attached; this is bc i was very very adamant about romancing isabela when i played da2 and then anders fucking SNIPED me. so i incorporated it into canon i guess. lmao)

her attraction to anders is originally just “sexy tortured man” and then “sexy tortured man that gives free healthcare to poor people!!!!” and then - after it’s clear it won’t be a fwb situation - she realizes she has Actual feelings for him and is like well. its been a good run. guess i’ll die! until he reciprocates dflksdjf then they are kirkwall’s weirdest couple to everyone except themselves :’)

in a hypothetical dao romance her and zev would be classic fuckbuddies who accidentally start having a crush on each other, absolutely refuse to acknowledge it, then someone else in the friend group is like “oh my god PLEASE just kiss we are all going insane watching yall do this” <3

in a hypothetical dai romance im still torn bw sera and bull. maeve would just keep hitting on sera until sera did something about it; bull would be similar to zevran in the fuckbuddies-accidentally-caught-feelings dynamic

alani:

i feel like (depending on the size of the clan etc) alani was prob mostly involved w people she’d known almost all her life. she’s obviously attracted to other ppl who like to learn and stuff, but other than that it’s equal opportunity crushes ykwim. she doesn’t even Know she has a thing about people who are like. puzzles to be solved until solas lol

in a hypothetical dao romance she’d be drawn to alistair bc...who wouldnt be. hes adorable. they’re both warm friendly charming sunshines and i think it’d be natural for them to be drawn to one another. once she realizes he has Baggage she’s like oh. OH. i have to defend you against the world now

in a hypothetical da2 romance i thiiink it would be kinda similar to solas. like oh this bitch has a lot of emotional walls up, he’s got some real shit going on. I Like That. also mage rights, hes a sad sexy doctor, we love a revolutionary, etc. it makes sense imo

zaniyah:

similar to maeve i think she’s more of a fling person than a relationship person, but she has had a couple gfs. she’s not very comfy being super serious but she’s a good gf and is very devoted. generally speaking i think she just likes Hot Ladies but is esp drawn to quirky / weird ppl lol

in a hypothetical dao romance she’d like morrigan bc 1) she’s hot and 2) she’s standoffish lol. she’d take it upon herself to get morrigan to like her as like, a personal triumph, but then along the way realize she has a real crush on her and be like shit? fuck? (the same goes for morg. it would be an oh shit oh fuck moment on both ends)

in a hypothetical da2 romance i think her and merrill would be more like friends to lovers :’) zaniyahs immediately like “youre weird. i like you” also they bond bc dalish etc, and over time she starts liking her more and more. eventually zaniyah just cant take it anymore and kisses merrill, apologizes profusely, etc, and merrill’s like “oh. i thought we were dating?” sldkfjsLDKFJds i care them

(josie is kind of an outlier bc she’s so graceful, collected, knows what to do/say always, etc. i dont believe in love at first sight but if i did thats what zaniyah and josie would be<333)

ranae:

she doesnt like. have a type really. because she’s just been in love w her childhood best friend since forever and doesnt think of what she might like in other ppl bc well. he’s right there? she assumes they’ll be together forever, even if only platonically :( 

when she meets morrigan she’s like oh i like women too apparently. cool?? when she meets alistair shes a little put off by the fact that hes a golden retriever, then clings to him bc Trauma, then VERY begrudgingly realizes she has a crush on him but feels like shes betraying tamlen 

eventually she comes to terms w the fact that like. theres nothing she can do about tamlen unfortunately, and alistair is here and Loves Her and he’s been the only person to make her truly happy in a very long time. it takes a lot for her to think she deserves that, but she does, and the rest is history :’)

in a hypothetical da2 romance it makes perfect sense to me that she’d latch onto the other Elf Who Is Full Of Rage immediately. they are both very intense and it can put other people off sometimes but they dont really care! die mad about it, shem! etc

in a hypothetical dai romance she’d be drawn (platonically) to blackwall bc grey warden stuff, but subconsciously they both kind of feel like frauds, like they dont deserve happiness, etc; theyre both kinda brusque, at least at first, too. she just kinda sees him as a buddy til she watches him bonding w sera or with some kids or something and then shes like  😳 😳 😳 and then angry that shes like that lmao

[hewhofragments]

Short Version: I want to play Dragon Age.

I want to play Dragon Age again, but I don’t know which game to start with! DA:O is a classic, but I’m trying to get my boyfriend to play it so I kind of want to just wait til he has time to play. . . also the mage’s tower is horrible. Morrigan + Alistair + Zevran + Leliana are all amazing, but I should probably take different companions with me for once. . . Excited to see who my boyfriend grabs.

Dragon Age 2 has my favorite companions, and I absolutely love Hawke and how small and important the setting feels, I love how you see Kirkwall change over time (and of course the characters lives develop with it). It’s definitely my favorite Dragon Age game (it has to be, it has Fenris!), but exploration isn’t really a thing and so many maps get re-used. I ALWAYS have to take Fenris, Aveline is cool as fuck (although sometimes she stays behind). I like Isabela and Varric, but never really invested much into either (I prefer Varric as the storyteller). Never took Carver/Bethany much. . . never even got either to be a Warden. Love Merill (she’s the sweetest blood mage ever!) but hate Anders (too much whining, too much not bathing for days, too much being mean to Fenris).

Dragon Age Inquisition is massive and fun, but the inquisitor is kinda boring and the companions just don’t really do it for me. I like Varric, but I always preferred him as the storyteller to the frontline combatant. Sera is okay I guess. . . Cole is cool, but he doesn’t feel very human (surprise, surprise). Cassandra is awesome, but I always travel with her. I find Blackwall boring but maybe he’d be a fav if I took him, and honestly Iron Bull just annoys me. Love Vivian so, so much, but I dislike Solas (don’t like egg) and Dorian (don’t enjoy the whole unrepentant former slave master being silly and jovial). 

So. . . . this didn’t help at all. Now I just want to play every game!

[felassanis]

My favourite parties in the Dragon Age games:

Origins:

Alistair, Morrigan and Zevran; I romance Alistair everytime, Morrigan is best girl and most powerful girl, and even though Zevrant can’t pick a lock to save his life I like having him for banter and just on the off chance I might romance him one day and get over Alistair (Spoilers, I probably never will)

Sten, Wynne and Alistair; For when I need to take the offensive in missions, get the two strong bois with me casting magic and sweet Wynne healing us every ten seconds. I also love Sten...just thought I’d mention that...

Dragon Age 2: 

Fenris, Anders and Varric; All the different classes together and also they have some of the best and most interesting banter. I kinda like the idea of Anders and Fenris putting up with each other because their two favourite people are in the party, Varric and Hawke. But whenever they do bicker I feel like Varric would nudge them on rather than try to stop them like Hawke. Also Anders and Fenris tend to be the most powerful in my opinion in combat so they’re useful to have around. These are also my favourite boys (And only boys, sorry Seb stans but Sebastian is just a massive inconvenience)

Aveline, Isabela and Fenris; Again, for when I need to take an offensive. Just two strong peeps hammering into the enemies with Isabela putting in those extra hits and the three of them keep enemies distracted while I fling spells from afar. Also, Aveline is one of the best companions in Dragon Age fuck anyone else who thinks otherwise and as a mangy FenHawke romancer I can’t not bring Fenris at every damn opportunity.

Inquisition:

Dorian, Cassandra and Varric; I always like to have a party with all the classes present and these three are by far the most entertaining companions. Their approval is the most important thing in my playthroughs and how can I not take Varric with me at every opportunity? You know how happy I am we got Varric TWICE despite people saying Dragon Age 2 was the worst on the series (Y’all are wrong btw) and Dorian and Cassandra are fabulous geezers.

Solas, Blackwall and Sera; Best banter, all classes, all powerful. Blackwall and Sera have the best friendship need I say more?

Iron Bull, Cole, Dorian: My guilty pleasure Party.

[aimosketchcard]

Inktober 2018 - Day 27 to 31

The original A5/6″x8″ artworks are available at my online store

Direct links:

Day 1: Poisonous ft. Solas SOLD

Day 2: Tranquil ft. Keyleth

Day 3: Roast ft. Daenerys Targaryen

Day 4: Spell ft. Caleb Widogast SOLD

Day 5: Chicken ft. Varric Tethras SOLD

Day 6: Drooling ft. Mabari Hound and Friends SOLD

Day 7: Exhausted ft. All Might SOLD

Day 8: Star ft. Carth Onasi and Revan SOLD

Day 9: Precious ft. The Dragon Prince Cast

Day 10: Flowing ft. Katara

Day 11: Cruel ft. Ardyn Izunia SOLD

Day 12: Whale ft. Isabela and Friends

Day 13: Guarded ft. Fenris

Day 14: Clock ft. Lucina and Robin SOLD

Day 15: Weak ft. Alistair and Warden Aeducan SOLD

Day 16: Angular ft. Loki

Day 17: Swollen ft. Gladiolus Amicitia

Day 18: Bottle ft. Sera & Friends SOLD

Day 19: Scorched ft. Thordak & Vox Machina SOLD

Day 20: Breakable ft. Atton Rand & The Exile SOLD

Day 21: Drain ft. Alucard

Day 22: Expensive ft. Morrigan SOLD

Day 23: Muddy ft. Nathaniel Howe

Day 24: Chop ft. Blackwall

Day 25: Prickly ft. Noctis Lucis Caelum & Iris Amicitia

Day 26: Stretch ft. Merrill

Day 27: Thunder ft. Sorsha Aeducan & her Mabari Hound

Day 28: Gift ft. Tristian

Day 29: Double ft. Jester

Day 30: Jolt ft. Regongar

Day 31: Slice ft. Catwoman

Selected pieces are also available as prints/posters/canvas at my Teepublic store, though it’ll take a while to put them all up as I need to clean up the scans and format each properly for print.

I will also offer customised postcard-size print packs and the complete 31-piece bundle sometime in early November for those who want space-saving versions. Watch this space for updates on this!

Now that Inktober is officially over, after a day or so of rest from the sheer mental fatigue, I’ll get back to answering emails and such. Thanks so much for your patience!

Thanks for your likes, reblogs, kind words and patronage during this endeavour! See you again in Inktober 2019!