#varric is too good for her anyways

[rosykims]

ive made my feelings on veilguard clear atp but i WILL say as a tragedy enjoyer act 3 really redeems sooooo much of it for me. esp having my rook-and-siblings worldstate bc let me tell u 3 rooks = 3 separate tragedies is DOING it for me rn. a bellaramancer a hardingmancer and a varricmancer walk into a bar. they all walk out single 😍

[vigilskeep]

sometimes your life choices will have you wake up, make a post, fall asleep again, and wake up again to a good dozen asks about whether or not varric fucks

[hazardsoflove]

i do really love how your choices from other da games affect inquisition so much because it turned my warden and alistair’s love story into a horrible tragedy against my will

[ekjohnston]

The Book Club Conundrum

One thing really love about reading fanfic for videogames (Veilguard in particular), is seeing all the other in-game mini-story options that wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years. In Veilguard, for example, there is a large component of the fandom that writes Rook as isolated within the team, someone who is always helping but never gets helped in return. It's fascinating because you can do a lot with it, and also because it never would have crossed my mind otherwise.

I have started to call it The Book Club Conundrum, because you twice find book club notes in the Lighthouse where everyone gives their thoughts on a book they've read together. Rook does not give them, which I assumed meant we were supposed to fill that part in ourself (since Rook is the self-insert character, the game writers try to leave as many of their opinions open as possible), but it's very common in fic to read that Rook wasn't invited, and holds at least a bit of resentment for that, and for the way the team bonds around them in general.

As I said: a lot of mileage, which is great for fanfic, because conflict has to come from somewhere.

HOWEVER

Since I imagined Rook at the book club meetings and adding their thoughts, I did it with other examples of team bonding as well. This is particularly important to the "always helping, never helped" component of the argument, because: the team does try. They try so hard.

Most of them take you to a funeral/memorial at some point (Lucanis does it in a Blighted Treviso; if Minrathous is Bighted, you get it twice: once from Neve and once from The Viper. Davrin takes you out to play with a griffon, over and over, which is just as therapeutic). They take you through their grieving process, for new pains and old. They share their traditions. Their grief. Their anger. They wait for Rook to break.

And they never do.

Solas does a lot of heinous things, on all manner of scale, but something I find EXTREMELY fascinating is that he almost fucked up Rook's relationship with their entire team. Rook's seeming denial of their grief is the one thing that no one can break through. It makes them seem cold and a bit uncaring, like they're willing to push through almost everything to get the job done. And of course they are! Willing, I mean. It's a very Dread Wolf sort of lie: just enough truth to destroy everything.

(If you save "Words of Fire" as long as possible, Taash finally just yelling at you is SUPER affecting, lmty.)

In fanfic, I've seen everything from "it's weird that Rook is talking to an empty room again" to "Rook is grieving in their own way" to "Rook hears a weird humming noise every time they think too much about Varric, but can't do anything about it". Sometimes Rook yells at the team for not noticing (Neve notices IMMEDIATELY, fwiw, the same as Solas tells you immediately what he's done. You just keep going anyway), and sometimes the resolution is more quiet.

It's fascinating to me, both as a writer and a reader/player, that the same common start point (Solas being a manipulative jackass "for the greater good"), can have so many divergent paths. It's not just "Rook ignores the team and they all die" or "Rook moves heaven and earth for her team and they all live". There's a lot of space in that second one, and fanfic lets us wallow in what the game sets up.

Veilguard is a game of mirrors, obviously, but it's also a game where all of your companions could have been the protagonist, except all of the good guys are DESPERATELY trying not to be the main character. The villains are all like that too (especially Johanna, who is barely aware the risen gods are there), only they WANT to be the main characters. And that's usually what leads to their downfall.

Varric wrote pulp fiction. The kind reviews denigrate as trashy while millions of people have fun reading them. He wants a main character, a hero he can pin a tragedy on. He made one, and propped up another. Rook was going to be his third, and Solas (accidentally) almost made sure it happened. But Rook gets free of that, wins themself out by sheer friendship and the willingness to move forwards.

And no matter what kind of angst you want to put into your fanfic (and please, continue to do so; I am having fun!) that is pretty great.

[goodoldmila]

I have a strong desire for a new Dragon Age cookbook, but it's just a collection of the recipes from the Veilguard and their allies across Thedas.

Most of it is in Lucanis' neat handwriting or in messy, scattered one from Bellara as they note down recipes from their friends and allies;

It's their project together, they pass the empty notebook back and forth as they try to learn requested dishes, but they also just leave the given pieces of parchment written by others.

All the recipes have a little story or background, and maybe like bad illustrations of what it's meant to look like.

Neve had Hal scribble down his secrets to fried fish, but there is a note by her that it never tastes like when he does it anyway - close second though.

Taash adds a qunari recipe from Shathann but also one they enjoy from Rivain. Maybe goes on a bit too long about what foods make one attractive or repulsive to a dragon.

Harding has a page full of absolutely chaotic snacks (ham and jam slam, smashed and fried potatoes with raisins and gooseberries, carrots with whipped cream, while not that wild I do believe she'd love ants on a log) but she'd also give some good cheese pairings.

She would give them a few nice hearty recipes from her ma, who gushes about what an amazing girl Harding is for so long before she gets to the recipe (food blog vibes). I think they would be like a few different types of pie (sweet and savoury) a full roast and maybe some mix of Fareldan and Dwarven.

Lucanis will asd more than a few antivan recipes. His notes get progressively more precise on what NOT to do (Mierda, please! Do NOT break the pasta! NEVER pour out all the pasta water!!!)

All four desserts from Lucanis would be there. Gooseberry pie written by Bellara since she took the recipe from Neve and Nevarran Chocolate Torte in Emmrich's handwriting.

There are precise and detailed instructions on how to make coffee that Lucanis left out for Neve. A note clearly added later is one in capitals on top - 'Please just ask me to make it when you want some.'

Davrin gives a Dalish recipe but also a Warden 'Everything stew'. Says it's bland at best, but still provides comfort and tastes like home. His tea for Rook makes it too, maybe a recipe for a treat for Assan with notes back and forth between him and Taash.

Antoinne sent a recipe for Orlesian Onion soup. Evka adds a dwarven roasted cave roots recipe.

Teia sends a recipe for Arepas and Viago provides notes on how to hide poison or recognise it. He forgot to actually get to the recipe for the soup the servants at house De Riva make frequently.

Tarquin sends a letter for a spiced tea and writes about how it gets him through his annoying job.

Vargoth sends a recipe for dried candied orange peels. He doesn't eat but likes the smell.

Myrna sends a tea served to calm the dead - whatever that means (nobody tried that one).

Johanna shouted instructions on how to make mulled wine at Bellara and required someone to bring it to Emmrich's office. The recipe has many crossed out notes and added notes as Johanna kept insisting it's not right.

There is a few blank pages to fill in your Rook's recipe.

Varric's favourite Cinnamon buns still make it in.

There could be additions big or small from Viper, Elek, Strife, Irelin, Illario???, Jacobus, Heir, all of the faction merchants, Inquisitor and others from Inquisition through Harding... any further ideas are welcome and desired!

I just think it would be delightful.

[krems-chair]

I would give all my critiques (this is a lie) back if at the end of Veilguard we had found out in an extra extra post-Marvel credits scene that it's just been Sandal playing with figurines on the Skyhold war table's map of Thedas all Civil War Buff Dad style.

I wasn't going to do this because everyone deserves to rationalize Veilguard however works best for them, but in the wake of that hilariously dismal end-of-times IGN interview and AMA, I thought I'd share how my best friend and I decided to view Veilguard. Everything below is taken from probably a fifteen minute text conversation we had working through our disappointment together, but by the end we both felt way better about the game.

Picture this. You reach the climax of the game, Solas has freed himself from the fade and is getting ready to cast a really powerful spell and suddenly, out of nowhere, he just gets squished flat and then it immediately cuts to Bodahn in a little fire-lit room saying "Oh Sandal, you crushed another one of the pieces?"

Varric is sitting there alive, well, and BLONDE, and has been playing the whole game with Sandal and says "the kid's got a great imagination." They're all in the home of the Inquisitor.

So how do we get here, you might ask?

*drumroll*

Actually wait no I fear this is going to be long so I'll put a divider thingy in.

So hear me out.

We'll go a year or so after Trespasser. The inquisitor is going through it. Skyhold is still theirs to command because sure everyone and their mother's mother was mad at the Inquisition for taking care of business, but what are you going to do, take their home away? Not if any of the Inquisitor's fiercely loyal friends have anything to say about it (I'm sure Josephine had something worked out to get a title locked down after there being so much uncertainty at Haven, anyway).

So it's become a home base once more, regardless of how intact the inquisition is or isn't under Divine Victoria. Agents are always going in and out, the murals in the rotunda serve as an ever-present reminder of the mission at hand, and Varric visits regularly from Kirkwall to touch base. On one such visit, Bodahn and Sandal accompany him, because they heard there might be a need for enchantments (BOOM).

One night everyone ends up around the map because it's been a rougher week than usual and a game of wicked grace at the tavern just isn't enough, they've gotta treat this like an overdue group project and pull an all-nighter to get SOMEWHERE on tracking down Solas.

Enter Sandal. He's bored, no one is asking him to enchant anything, and Dagna isn't around for them to talk shop (engage in probably illegal/definitely unsafe experiments). And there, amidst the pile of clutter the team has been using when they need to add a new piece to the war table, is a Rook chess piece.

He's seen one before, of course. Varric used to try and teach it to him back in Kirkwall, and Sandal was good in the way that new chess players who go full chaos mode are stellar at driving experienced chess players crazy. His win streak is no joke. So he grabs it, tries to lighten the mood around the war table because no one in a bad mood is going to be requesting enchantments any time soon, and suddenly the tension that's been building up for months starts to ease just a little.

Eventually, everyone gets involved. Much like any great D&D campaign, they fit time in for the adventures of Rook & co in between skrimishes, secret missions, and stressful planning sessions, but that just enables more people to have input.

The Chargers keep making suggestions of all the missions Rook should go on when they pass through, but these all end up becoming Neve's cases.

Bellara was made up by Cassandra who stopped by for a visit from rebuilding the Seekers/wearing her big hat and she was too busy to give anything substantial, but she went with what she knows: a character who loves romance and has a dead brother.

Sera doesn't have the attention span to get too in-depth with it, but she does doodle all over the map of Thedas and add some much needed commentary as the Rook piece moves across it. She also INSISTS that the villains of the story be old and elfy, because they don't get enough representation as villains.

Lucanis loving coffee/it being 75% of his lines comes exclusively from the fact that on the nights they get too invested to stop it's the only thing that keeps them going and he became the character that embodies that particular struggle.

There are so many enchantments Rook can take advantage of because Sandal keeps thinking of new ones he can test with Dagna when she's next around.

Speaking of Sandal again, he tried to kill Varric off in the beginning because he was putting on his author hat and over-narrating. Varric was of course like "wait no why did you kill me I wanted to be part of this" so he keeps interjecting as himself and everyone else is like "shhh you're dead." They only indulge him when they conclude what feels like a major plot point and need someone with an understanding of narrative and pacing to tie all the threads together or give them an idea of where to go next.

The Inquisitor struggles to get into it sometimes because they feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders yet again. Occasionally, they'll sighs heavily and insert their game piece onto the board (Blackwall carved it, so it's as close s a completely different style can be to their true likeness) to be like "so anyways, THESE are the problems happening in Southern Thedas, in case anyone forgot" only for their message crystal to light up and Dorian's voice to filter through.

"I hear you're working on an astounding number of hypotheticals. Do you think it would be feasible to form an undercover group that works to liberate slaves?"

And then suddenly they spend the rest of the night working through how effective such an organization might be (through Rook's eyes, of course), but because Dorian isn't there to stop them they give him an insane new hairstyle and mention it every time they're giving a description of the Shadow Dragon leader. He is horrified.

Harding gets to be a self-insert because everyone unilaterally agrees that a fictional scout wouldn't hold a candle to her skill level. All the not fleshed out dwarven plot points come from their scrambled theorizing, but it does inspire her to look deeper into the mysterious Kal-Sharok during her real travels.

The reason Morrigan acts so out of character is because they're all like "we have no fucking idea what she gets up to when she isn't saving the world, but we know she'd be there in some capacity."

Leliana is busy busy busy but when she hears about what they're doing and that Morrigan is involved, she finds the time to send a letter saying "let's give her different hair :)"

When Morrigan finds out she brings Kieran for a visit (he missed all of his friends at Skyhold anyway) and is like "seems a most inconvenient waste of time..." and then finds out Leliana is the reason her game piece looks crazy and is like...make a character who is nosy and up in everyone's business all the time but still super reserved and afraid to trust others. (Boom, hi Neve).

Kieran gets really into the story and is critical to designing Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain. "She has sooOOoO many arms!" he explains, miming it out over the sound of a muffled voice crystal shaking as Dorian yells "you could've killed me! You could have made me evil! But you made me UGLY?!"

Even the Inquisitor, exhausted as they are, still finds the time to check in and ask if brown-haired Varric is still dead. The answer is always yes.

They all have a good laugh about the idea of Treviso and Minrathous being full of zip lines, but how else are they going to get to the parts they actually care about?

Minrathous gets destroyed instead of Treviso because while they're deciding the stakes for Rook to be faced with, Fenris stops by to check in with Varric because he heard they might need to go to Tevinter. He takes one look at the board and goes "hanging bodies. Everywhere."

"Fenris, that means the venatori will take over."

"...this game is stupid anyway."

Iron Bull definitely said "this story needs a DRAGON HUNTER" so boom. Enter Taash. A Dorian that romanced him sighs heavily and decides to play along if only to get to spend more time with his amatus another way. He models a character after one of his favorite professors from when he was a child.

Solas looks so yassified because the Inquisitor's love interest (or Sera, if they're pining after the Dread Wolf himself) came by and threw his actual war table piece into the fire during a particularly rough evening after his agents thwarted them yet again. To replace him, they let Kieran draw on a spoon and add a new cursed detail every time he pulls some bullshit to try and cheer each other up.

Fenris goes back to Kirkwall and complains about the stupid game Varric is running instead of spending all of his time on saving the world. Merrill overhears and is like "oh! They're incorporating eluvians? That's nice!" until she hears about how many there are and her eye starts twitching.

Harding only dies because everyone over-celebrates when Rook finally gets a win over on the stuffed squid animal being used to represent Ghilan'ain and her game piece topples over. Varric insisted that it be canon because he's tired of being the only dead one.

Blackwall gets Sera to be a little more invested by promising they can make a character together, maybe an elven Grey Warden! She washes her hands of anything too dalish, even though Blackwall makes it clear that there's more to him than that, but insists he should have a loyal griffon friend in honor of his rocking toys.

It's one of the Inquisitor's fondest memories as they prepare to actually find Solas for real, and one of the only unifying threads keeping everyone sane.

[nadas-dirthalen]

I don't think I can ever forgive Solas personally for the way he used Varric's death as a manipulation tool against Rook. As someone who experienced the recent loss of a loved one in my life, realizing what he did to Rook and imagining someone taking away my autonomy to grieve and accept the loss makes me feel so disgust toward him. And to use the image of Varric, someone who was always protective and loyal to his friends? It angers me more, as it feel like such a disrespect act for Solas to do with Varric's image, especially as Solas was arguably once one of his friends. I still question if Solas ever understood what it meant to be alive as a mortal or if he was so caught up in continuing to see himself as some spirit of Wisdom, he denied how he had changed or that life is not as simple/much more vastly different than his once pure Spirit self believed. If he did, would he have treated Varric's death as a tool to use against Rook in the same callous way he did?

Absolutely love Solas' role as Veilguard's antagonist and how it provokes so many emotions and debates on his actions and how to deal with him. Hating his former colleagues is easy, they're batcrap insane and power hungry, but Solas? His actions hurt so much more than anything those two could ever do because we know him in Inquisition; we know, as flawed as he was, he was capable of good, and yet ends up taking actions similar to that of the people he once fought against. But yeah, even though I had the tools for the arguably 'good' ending, there's a reason I chose to fight him and force him into the Veil: He just lost a lot of my sympathy for what he did and I didn't think he deserved a gentle sending off, harsh as it may sound.

Hello anon!! First off, let me say this: you're totally valid to feel as you do about Solas, and even though I don't share your opinion of him, I definitely had a moment of, "Oh god, that was reprehensible."

I think the difference, here, is that my Rook was feeling the feelings you're describing. My Rook would have a hard time wanting to redeem Solas, and only did so for the sake of my Inquisitor.

But the longer I went on after playing Veilguard, the more I realized... that was intentional. That was the point BioWare was making in the third act of Veilguard, and they did it beautifully.

We're supposed to hate him. Let me explain.

We all know what Solas did in the end of Veilguard, and what we find out he's been doing from the very beginning with Varric. What I want to talk about is Solas' conversation with the Inquisitor in Trespasser.

PC: You said that the elven gods went too far. What did they do that made you move against them? Solas: They killed Mythal. (Chuckles.) A crime for which an eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment.

We find out in Veilguard that everything Solas has done, no matter how awful, no matter how violent, has been to bring back the world that Mythal knew before she was killed by the other Evanuris. The one where she was whole. Where Solas, in his mind, had not yet failed her.

Whether or not his actions are good for Thedas (and in most cases, they aren't), Solas does them anyway, consumed by his grief and his need to avenge Mythal. He doesn't think through the creation of the Veil. We see this in a note from Felassan to Solas that is found (I believe) in the Crossroads. He does it anyway, even though even the companions notice that the process hurts him. Badly.

We know, as players, that redeeming Solas leads to him vowing to help soothe the anger of the titans. He works toward his atonement. It is extremely important and powerful that there are many people out there who, knowing this, choose to fight Solas anyway.

Solas also knows, logically, that the world will burn if he takes down the Veil. That doesn't matter to him. What matters is his grief.

We know that, logically, Thedas is worse off if Solas is fought into Fade Jail rather than convinced to go of his own volition by redeeming him. To some players, that doesn't matter. What matters is their grief, like you're saying here.

"An eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment."

In this way, Rook becomes Solas. By choosing to fight him rather than swallowing down their own feelings and pain for the greater good, Rook perpetuates the cycle of violence—for better or worse. And here's the thing: you are justified in this. Your Rook is justified in this. That's why, I think, Solas is written the way he is in Veilguard. BioWare wanted to show that those people who hate Solas have ample reason to do so. They wanted to show what Solas is like with people he doesn't value—and Rook is one such person in act 1 of the story, when he chooses to do blood magic on them.

Redeeming him means Rook taking a chance on Solas' redemption despite the pain he's caused, even if he doesn't deserve it, for the chance at Solas becoming something better. This shows what I think is true of the cycle of violence: that sometimes, it is a deeply uncomfortable and counterintuitive process. But sometimes, that is the only way a cycle of violence is stopped, for better or worse. We acknowledge the pain caused by those who hurt us, but refuse to inflict the same pain upon others, no matter how much pain we feel. It is deeply uncomfortable and counter-intuitive, but sometimes walking away from a situation is all we can do. (and of course I do not believe this is the right course of action in all situations, but Solas is a fictional character, and I believe this angle on his story is reasonable and poignant because it is fiction. real life is infinitely more complex, but Solas' arc isn't meant to be an exact representation of real life: it's to mean something.)

This was the last way, I think, that BioWare drew a strong parallel between Solas and the player. During the DAI quest "In Hushed Whispers," they show us that our seeing the alternate timeline as "not real" mirrors how Solas feels about waking up in present-day Thedas after creating the Veil. Now, they show us that his singular desire for revenge is something that is possible for even us, the players, who knows these are all characters made of pixels, to feel.

I think this is why Epler has said he advocated for an ending where you can fight Solas. Not because he hates Solas (I assure you, he does not), but because it is of tremendous importance to Solas' thematic statement that the player can act on their anger, their pain, toward him—because that is what Solas has been doing to Thedas this entire time.

Thank you for sending me this. I hope you know that I think you're valid for wanting to fight Solas, even though that isn't the ending I choose. It's people like you who help make Solas such a fun, interesting character, and who help highlight just how cool he is to me. You can love him, you can hate him, but I have yet to find a person who's 100% neutral on him. And I love that for us.

[callahanisms]

inquisition companions react to the inquisitor missing half their arm

because bioware didn’t wanna give it to us, i decided i’d just do it myself. (insert thanos meme) even though i am like years late to the hype.

the game is like 9 years old at this point, but spoilers ahead.

do keep in mind this is my own personal interpretation of each character. it may not be accurate to your own interpretations. (also i know leliana is technically not a companion in inquisition but i included her anyways)

cassandra pentaghast

if cassandra could plunge a knife into the heart of solas, she would. she would not let him get away with betraying you and taking the anchor along with your arm. you had basically fallen into her arms when you emerged from the portal and she had to carry you back to halamshiral. for the days you were unconscious, cassandra was anxious and extra prickly. there were many times where cullen would have to talk her down from her anger. even varric did too.

dorian pavus

the first thing he did was crack a joke. the atmosphere was tense and it just slipped out. “i asked you to come back in one piece, not missing one.” safe to say, the other companions did not approve of his joke. dorian was set to return to tevinter after being notified of his new position as a magister, but he delayed the return to his homeland for you. he sat in your room as you lied unconscious, barely breathing, leg anxious bouncing up and down. when you awoke, you were immediately met with a large and tight hug from him. he knocked the air out of your lungs from that.

blackwall

blackwall admires you. in fact, everyone would go so far as to say he adores you. he thinks of you as strong, capable, almost infallible. you closed rifts, you closed the big green tear in the sky, and you defeated corypheus! what couldn’t you do? all your feats proved to him that you were the strongest leader he could ever know. and yet, you were still mortal. you left the eluvians mortally wounded and exhausted beyond belief, your eyelids so heavy and ready to close so you may drift off into the black void of sleep. blackwall would not let you, not until you were taken away to be cared for. you found him sitting besides you, awake and on guard. your mortality was his reminder that you and him were the same, even if your lives appeared to be completely different. and he understood that the world would need a leader like you and that is dangerous.

iron bull

the bull could feel a stronger kinship with you that day. it appears that the both of you lost something. he betrayed the qun for the inquisition, thus losing a part of himself, his people. you lost a literal part of yourself, something you had to come to terms with after having the anchor for two years. to say iron bull was shaken up would be an understatement. he was getting cassandra to hit him with sticks for days on end while you lied unconscious. he wondered what would’ve happened if he was with you, if maybe...he could’ve stopped solas. but reminiscing never did anyone any good.

cole

as much as he wanted to help you, cole couldn’t. he also understood that you wouldn’t accept his help, no matter how much he insisted. so instead, he did the best thing he could do: help tend to your injuries. what was curious was that he could feel very little of your pain. when he felt your pain two years ago after forming the inquisition, it was concentrated in your hand and forearm. with it gone, you felt at peace. the primary source of pain for you had been washed away. perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, he thought.

sera

sera’s immediate reaction is, like dorian, to crack a joke. everyone is used to her eccentricity. but it felt different this time around. while you laid unconscious, recovering from the long battle, she occupied herself. she had to busy her hands and her legs, keep moving, keep her mind busy. because if she sat too still for even a second, then her mind would think about the worst outcome. she would get images of you, dead, because solas had betrayed you, betrayed her, betrayed the inquisition. hell, he betrayed the world! that knob! thinking he knew what was best! sera’s all the more relieved when it’s revealed you survived. she bursts through the door to see you and hug you tightly, complaining about how much you scared her.

varric tethras

in all honesty, varric should’ve been more prepared to expect...well, the unexpected. he had expectations of you coming out unharmed, untouched. obviously, that was not what happened. and he wondered if he was responsible for this. he had been one of the many people to support you as the inquisitor two years ago, suggesting it. he wondered if he made the wrong decision. but also, part of varric was relieved. he lost someone close to him two years ago. he didn’t know if he could handle losing you too.

vivienne de fer

the court would devour tales of the eluvians and how you managed to survive. that was vivienne’s first thought. people would be talking about you for centuries to come, certainly. and yet, she knew in her soul that was not what you would want. she does her best to minimize what rumors spread when you first emerge from the eluvians and help give you privacy. behind closed doors, vivienne checks on your injuries. part of her is amazed that the anchor was removed so cleanly.

josephine montilyet

josephine has seen many things ranging from serious to just plain absurd. when she was alerted that you had returned with many serious injuries, including the loss of half your arm, she sent messages to get the best possible doctors in all of orlais to help attend to you. the woman was definitely stressed beyond belief. but when she wasn’t trying to get everyone from backing off from you or getting people to look at you, josephine was attending to you herself. you awoke to find her wiping some sweat off your face and when she noticed, she muttered about how great andraste was and embraced you tightly.

cullen rutherford

your knight-commander appeared to take the news very well, much to the disapproval of cassandra. but the moment cullen was alone, in private, he flipped a table, causing everything to crash. all he could feel running throughout his body was regret, guilt, and anger. regret and guilt for not having gone with you. he should’ve. because if he did, maybe you would have came back alright. anger directed towards solas because the apostate had betrayed you, the inquisition. and everything you and him had worked towards was going to crumble. all of his hard work, leliana’s, cassandra’s, josephine’s, it’d all be for naught. cullen ends up spending a lot of time alone while you’re unconscious. he prays to andraste and the maker to distract himself from any wandering thoughts going towards lyrium. certainly the new mabari hound he decided to adopt on a whim helps with distractions at least.

leliana

the woman has seen many things in her lifetime, having experienced the fifth blight itself and been part of that fight against the archdemon. still, things aren’t easy when you come back from the eluvians missing half of your arm. even if it goes against all her duties, leliana stays with you until you wake up to make sure you’re alright. you’re the inquisitor after all and it’s vital that you’re still alive.

solas

he’s the one who took it. you think he cares?

in all seriousness, it gave him no pleasure to remove your arm for the anchor. even if his plan was...well, shoddy we should say, the anchor was going to kill you. he had no choice. carrying your hand and forearm around felt heavy. he could carry it just fine but what made it heavy was the burden that came with his plan to tear down the veil and bring doom upon the world in a desperate attempt to bring it back to what it once was. and also, the burden of having harmed you.

[jazzmckay]

soulmate au (da2 edition)

dao

carver and bethany, for whom destiny has other plans. one of them will never meet their soulmate. possibly both of them will never meet their soulmates. even if one does, there's no guarantee of such everlasting happiness for wardens, circle mages, or templars.

aveline, whose soulmate gets blighted, and who may have to give him a merciful death by her own hand. she finds love again, as bright as the one that was snuffed out too early. alternatively, aveline, who finds her soulmate among the kirkwall city guard, but wesley was and always will be her first, the one she found unexpectedly, one of her two great loves. soulmarks have no say in who she chooses and who is the most important person in her life.

varric, who calls bullshit on all this soulmate crap. his mark has never done him any good. bianca's mark has never done either of them any good. real life isn't a story, isn't a fairy tale where it all works out how it should. and if it were? the hero probably just dies at the end, anyway.

merrill, who thinks the concept of soulmates is wonderful, magical. to think that there's someone out there for everyone, that not a single person will have to go through life without being loved and accepted just as they are. the marks are promises of what's to come, something to fight for, something to cherish. soulmarks are beautiful things... for other people. for people who are not a keeper's first, and then an exiled former-keeper's first, one who seems to always leave destruction in their wake regardless of intention or precautions.

anders, who has not one, not two, but three soulmarks--except circle mages don't get to have soulmates. he gets to be with karl, but he doesn't really get to be with karl, not in the way regular people get to be with their loves. they are destined for tragedy as much as they are destined for each other. one of anders' other marks bears the name of a spirit. for a long time, he doesn't know what to make of it, then it becomes clear, then he comes to resent it, and, finally, he finds peace in it alongside his third and final soulmate.

isabela, who's with varric on this one. having a soulmark made no difference when she was sold into a marriage. now that she has escaped that cage, she doesn't plan to let anything hold her back, least of all her soulmark. her first and strongest love is the sea, and it grants her the freedom to go wherever--or to whomever--she pleases.

fenris, who doesn't remember a time before danarius was the center of his universe. soulmarks have no more significance to slaves than freckles or blemishes or old, faded scars. and, once free, why would he let himself belong to another? no one will ever have any claim on him again--however, he finds that love is not about claiming. it's about choice, and mutual effort, even if the universe has given them a nudge in the right direction.

sebastian, who has never had, and likely will never have, the luxury of hoping for a relationship with his soulmate. there are expectations for princes, even the third in a trio of boys. and when he does not live up to those expectations, he only becomes restrained even further. soulmates are for those who are free, and sebastian isn't sure he's ever known what true freedom feels like.

[shewolfofvilnius]

Jordana Mercar ("Rook") x Bellara Romance Headcanons and Notes

Rook has feelings for Bellara almost immediately, but between the whole 'end of the world' thing, the crisis with Bellara's brother Cyrian, and the fact that Rook is technically Bellara's boss, she's hesitant.

Rook also assumes that Bellara doesn't reciprocate at first, either because she's just not interested - or because Rook is a human from Tevinter, a group not always exactly known as a friend to elves.

It takes Bellara a little longer to start to develop feelings for Rook, but when she does, it's sincere. Bellara however assumes that Rook just likes her as a good friend who likes spending time with her and who delights in pointing out Bel's positive qualities.

Neve, who practically considers Bellara a sister and Rook her best friend, is the first of the squad to clue in to the growing attraction between the pair, and tries desperately to encourage both. She and Lucanis lie to Rook slightly at first to see where Jordana's head is regarding romance (They'd actually hit it off almost immediately but kept it secret for a time) - while the serials she brings Bellara are increasingly romantic in nature, and frequently center on things like warrior princesses and heroic lady knights - and even a scandalous story about a Tevinter soldier who fell in love with a Dalish keeper. All of these serials feature happy endings, even the couple Neve had to have re-written herself. (Remember too: The scene directly preceding the romance softlock directly involves Neve, and is referenced in the softlock scene.)

Taash and Harding both figure it out soon thereafter as well, Taash picking up on the massive hormone and pheromone changes in both Rook and Bel and other markers, and Harding bc she knows Rook the longest/best even if Rook's closer to Neve (and Varric told her most of his secrets, one of which was Rook's 'tells'). They get involved in trying to set Rook and Bellara up too, and wind up hitting it off themselves (the opposite of the other two)

SIDEBAR: Neve and Taash talking about Rook and Bellara is how they get into the convo about Taash and gender stuff that Rook interrupts.

They both realize they're genuinely in love at the same moment. Rook is trying to comfort Bellara, who is horrified both that she might have to kill Cyrian - and that she might fall victim to the same manipulation he did. Bellara is snapped out of it by laughter when Rook notes the strict 'no turning evil' policy, and playfully teases her. It occurs to Bellara that Rook might just love her, for herself. Might just care about her just as much as Cyrian - but in a different way. She notices that there's something else in the look Rook gives her.

Seeing Bellara brokenhearted and down on herself hurts Rook in a way that she had never anticipated. Bel was amazing, how could she not see that? And yeah, Cyrian appeared to be heading down a dark road, but that was a choice. And dammit, Bellara's friends weren't going to let her go down that road.

Rook thought for a moment. She loved seeing Bellara's eyes light up when she was 'rambling' about whatever she was passionately invested in that moment. Loved seeing the joy in her spirit at a new discovery. The surprise adventurous spirit, that each new ruin to explore was a new challenge, and that there was ALWAYS a new way to approach an old problem.

It already would have been anyway because of Solas' betrayal plus Harding presumably dying (plus learning the truth of Varric's death plus "a few weeks blurring into 45 minutes") but to say the day Elgar'nan kidnapped Bellara was the worst of her life is an understatement.

That said, it was also the day/weeks that Rook, that Jordana, resolved herself. If she got Bellara back, Maker willing if she got Bellara back (however weird it is to pray to the Maker now), she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Bellara. Be it a day, a century, exploring ruins, you name it.

She promises as long as there is breath in her lungs and the beat of her heart, she is going to kill Elgar'nan for this - and any remaining willingness to reason with Solas went out the window after learning weeks had passed. Weeks with Bel in Elgar'nan's clutches. Having become her worst fear, having become to Elgar'nan far worse than even what Cyrian was to Anaris.

Rook notices the extensive degree to which Bellara is blighted, and is already making plans for them both to join the Grey Wardens. She'll do anything to keep Bellara alive, and to be with her for as long as Bel will have her. Davrin, Antoine, and Evka are already onboard, and Rook herself had ordered the Ostagar Joining Chalice and "as much stuff as you can carry" hauled out as they fled Weisshaupt.

Both Rook and Bellara know that their time together may be limited to a matter of hours. Bellara assumes that Rook wouldn't even so much as look at her blighted like this, but is joyful to receive such a warm hug (and had noticed earlier the care at which Rook had cradled her after recovering Bel from Elgar'nan).

Here, when Bellara sees Rook drinking in every single moment that she's alive and with Bel, she pushes back that Elgar'nan and the Blight still sing to her, loosens his control that much more.

That first night back at the Lighthouse is majestic. Never in her existence has Bellara felt more truly cared for. They didn't even 'do anything'; Rook was still nursing broken ribs and a hurt shoulder, and Bellara emotionally wasn't ready. But the kiss. She'll never, ever forget the kiss. Will never forget the warmth and tenderness of laying by her love's side.

She made SO much progress writing her serial the next day.

The music room had never let anyone other than Jordana and Emmrich into it - the latter because he had been her music teacher at the piano. On the day after, Bellara was shocked when it's doors opened for the first time for her.

Three weeks later is the first. Only one detail from that night - "Some things are better left to the imagination" - makes it into Bellara's serials: Rook is ticklish just above the small of her back.

Although Bellara has noticeable blight scars, and Rook and Bellara keep in touch with the Grey Wardens, Bellara's blighting seems to have disappeared save only for the scarring. Bellara's worry that Rook won't love her changed appearance were quelled the same night they kissed for the very first time - Rook loves Bellara. Bellara loves Rook No matter what. Even when they're withered and grey and laughing at each other watching the sun set. Or dying together in a trapped ruin. Or with the Wardens if it comes to that.

Bellara means it truly when she calls Rook her eternal waking dream. In a billion years, she never could have fathomed meeting someone who would cherish her - even for the things others considered faults - so utterly and truly. Rook is both her anchor and yet also a mythic dream figure. Surely someone so kind and loving can't be real. But she is.

Jordana wonders if she was ever truly alive before meeting Bellara. She settles on "not really".

Bellara meets Rook's father six weeks after Elgar'nan is destroyed, and right as the new Magisterium is debating who will be named the new Imperator (commander of the military). Legatus Mercar is one of the lead candidates.

Bel and Rook's mutual insecurities kick in when the Legatus' opponent tries to use Jordana and Bellara's relationship against the Elder Mercar - with the aid of Jordana's mother and the Legatus' now soon-to-be-ex-wife.

Bellara understands where Rook 'gets it from' ("I AM adopted, Bellara, I told you this." / "I know. He's still your dad, though.") when the Legatus sings the praises of his daughter, the "Slayer of Lusacan", and the love of his daughter’s life on the floor of the Magisterium. And suggests that if Minrathous can't handle being saved by a soporati woman and her elf girlfriend that just perhaps the city should be left to burn.

Charon Mercar (Rook's father) is named Imperator, but is stunned to learn that Rook plans to join the largely-Dalish Veil Jumpers as a senior advisor. Between her experience killing Elgar'nan, setting up Ghilan'nain's death, and tricking Fen'Harel, Rook has very specific experience - and both Rook and Bel just want to go off and explore ruins and artefacts together.

Rook admits privately that "Tevinter helped destroy so much of who the elves were AFTER the Evanuris were locked away. Maybe it's time some of us help them see what can be recovered - and what's worth recovering."

Bellara and Rook get married in a slightly modified Dalish ceremony one year to the day after that first kiss in the Lighthouse. Although Sylaise is no longer asked to watch over their aravels and the other Evanuris are dropped, the main beats of the ceremony remain the same.

Although Bel is no longer formally member of a clan, Rook has to go through the ritual of 'proving herself' to the Veil Jumpers instead, with Irelin (Bellara's ex) being the final arbiter. ("No, the slaying of the Ancient Gods does not count, Rook. We know Bellara's heart, now you must show us yours.")

On the first three attempts, Rook is rejected. She found an improbably lost relic by herself and got it operational, she delivered several baby halla, and - after learning from the Inquisitor that Templar magic could sometimes heal tears in the Veil, offered to have an entire squadron of Imperial Templars mend some of the Veil's damage in Arlathan created by Tevinter so many years ago.

When that didn't work ("no one here wants to see a hundred tevinter templars in full armour in Arlathan Forest, rook"), Jordana changed tactics as she noted Bellara's now visible tears at Irelin's continued refusals. Rook had had enough, catching the entire camp off-guard. "Irelin, let's be clear about this. If Bellara tells me to jump into a volcano, I will. If she tells me to leave, I'll be out the door. Until that day, she is the woman I love, and her word is law. I've done all I can to respect all your traditions AND to try to help, but Irelin, I killed Elgar'nan when he tried to hurt Bellara. You're making her cry right now, what do you think is headed your way if you keep up with this petty crap?" Irelin withdrew her objection.

Bellara later tells Rook that her standing up to Irelin so forcefully definitely, definitely resulted in a "Powerful - but this time not even remotely contained - tingle."

[notebooks-and-laptops]

You know I desperately want a sympathetic qunari viewpoint in DATV (I was low key hoping we'd get a qunari origin because that would have been so fun...like you're in the Qun and you can leave it or stay within it during the game but like...there's not a right choice and you yourself can be the sympathetic view and ANYWAY) and I'm kinda sad our companions don't seem to have a member of the Qun in them. However,,, I do think this is potentially good in terms of us potentially getting a Sten cameo?

Because here's the thing; Sten IS your sympathetic qun character. He isn't like Bull who defects or dies nor is he like Tallis (my beloved) who is struggling with what she wants to do vs. what the Qun wants her to do. Sten is sympathic, he loves his homeland and he misses it and he never conforms or has a 'oh my homeland is bad' revelation. He loves the warden but it doesn't mean he has to not be part of his own culture. And I think thats so fun.

So Veilguard....bring Sten back!!! He's the Arishock now too so we could see how an Arishock SHOULD act if they're not you know stuck in Kirkwall going crazy. It'd be a fun little cameo and a way to remind us of a qun character we love who isn't about to change his ways to fit into the 'normative' southern Thedas ideals but also isn't going to outright betray us and can even help us!

And I mean Varric literally knows Sten now through Alistair in the comics. So there's even like a contact there. It'd be interesting if Bull and Dorian also knew him in some regards or were in contact.

This is rambly. anyway. I have demand Bioware. Bring back my boy

[tonberrykins]

Alright, I've had some time to gather more of the Veilguard Thoughts(TM), so here's another peeve.

Varric apparently wasn't going to be included in the game (at the very least, wasn't originally supposed to be an integral part) and, like, that makes sense. Dude is Viscount of Kirkwall and Seneschal Bran WILL kill him if he keeps putting that shit off on him. I've met the guy, I've seen what he's lived through, he just wants to have time off to go see Serendipity at The Blooming Rose and maybe have a nice dinner at home more than once a month. He can't do that if Varric is fucking off Maker knows where doing Andraste knows what! So, yeah, Varric ought to be Viscounting.

Thing is, Varric is a fan favorite and I am no exception to that. 12 years I've been carrying a torch for that dwarf and I was huffing so much Copium up to Veilguard's release in the hopes that I would get to smooch him it was unhealthy. Then came The Fear, but that's besides the point. What matters is Varric being a fan fave and Harding was too and therein lies the problem. They were added in because popular, but they were not integral to the story whatsoever. They were used as set dressing and not even good ones; it was literally EA/Bioware banking on fans loving these two to drive numbers against the Unknown.

"But Tonberry!" you say. "What about the whole thing with the Titans? That's Harding's whole story!"

I would like to implore you, if that's your thought process, to examine that and see how that is Not Good. Because let's be real here, Harding herself was given barely anything beyond a cute, country, gal next door personality and "Legs." Where did this fascination with dwarven ancestry come from? She makes zero mention of any of that it's just like 'Well, she's a dwarf so of course she cares!' And I would like to point at Exhibit A, Varric Tethras, who would have been MUCH MORE COMPELLING in her shoes because he clearly has nothing but disdain for dwarven tradition because of how fucked up it made his family. Don't believe me? Replay DA2 and LISTEN. But they fridged him for Emotional Points just like they stupidly did to Shathann (but that's another rant for another day.)

So, if Harding has no logically presented reason for her story arc to be what it is and really was just there for appeasement, then who would have filled her shoes? Dagna is a FANTASTIC choice for one. She's into magic, studies it, so many people have it headcanoned that she made their Quizzy's prosthetic that it could have been easily adopted into canon and no one would have batted an eye. But you wanna know the BEST choice? And one we still could have had Harding around for bc they would have needed a bodyguard anyway?

MUH-FUCKIN' SANDAL FEDDIC!

It has been implied since Origins that he is a dwarf--THE ONLY DWARF--to be able to use magic. This continued into 2 where he also had a weird prophetic monologue before going back to "Enchantment!" because didn't want to scare his dad. And since he and Bodahn were clearly supposed to be in Celene's court in Inquisition we could have found out what happened and gotten him back for the storyline AND still let Harding have her time to shine because who better to help him through the Titans' anger than someone who'd been with him through these recent discoveries and had formed a bond? Too, it's that innate love of people and the world around her that could have helped him form that tether to others, too, or however you'd like to spin it but no.

So, yeah, I'm pissed that Harding turned into a Nothing Burger in the end and that Varric was weaponized against players, SPECIFICALLY ones like me who have loved him since his first appearance. Our hopes were used against us in this entire game and I am now Lot's wife with how salty I am over it.

[vigilskeep]

mairyn is my idea of a hawke who was really defined by the horrors of ostagar. even as the warden, up in the tower, we never quite experience what it was like down in the mud when the banners started going down and the battle rush turned to panic

she was one of the first to desert when the tide began to turn, blindly shooting down anyone—darkspawn or fellow soldier—who tried to stand between her and getting her brother and getting out. her commanding officer had been a gruff but honourable nobleman, a mentor figure who’d taken a chance on a scoundrel with a tongue too sharp for her own good. she doesn’t know what happened to him, whether if in his final moments he had been thankful she’d fled or cursed her for abandoning him. all she knows is that in the days between ostagar and lothering, his old mabari found her, and has limped along in her shadow since

her life is definitely cleanly cut down the middle between ‘before’ and ‘after’. i like the absence of ostagar in what we see, because i like the idea that the one thing mairyn would make varric promise is to cut ostagar and carver’s death from the story, as he does in the exaggerated intro. one story she won’t tell, like his bianca

she’s evenly weighted purple/red, restless and resentful, saying whatever will cut the deepest or spark the most laughter, anything to have an impact, start a fight, dodge the personal. she’s definitely rushing through life, going for everything that’s exciting and dangerous and fun, quick to leave baggage behind. she’s still running from ostagar. the only time she stopped was to drag carver to safety, and it was for nothing, just to lose him anyway. she won’t make the same mistake again. she loves her family, sure, on the days she doesn’t want to strangle them, but no matter what her father asked her to do—play the third parent and always be a protector for her siblings, like she would never have her own life, like she didn’t matter—she’s going to live for what she wants. running has to be the right answer, the only thing anyone can do, because if it isn’t, she’ll have to face what she did that night at ostagar

pretty unfortunate that she’s about to fall in love with a lot of people who can’t be truly saved, but need you to stop and try anyway!

also her entire aesthetic in my head is based on this one hawke concept art:

wet cat of a woman. horrible kirkwall ghoul. you should never be completely sure somebody didn’t fish her out of the docks this morning

[amourningcrow]

Late game spoilers, particulary about Varric! I wasn't able to put this into words before, but now that I've had some time, I think I can actually talk about it. It's a little long though.

I tried to start a new playthrough three times now, but I can't even make it to the ritual side without breaking down. It is, frankly, embarrassing.

But Varric means so, so much to me. I knew deep down that he wouldn't make it out of this alive - that he even survived past DA2 was a surprise to me. The man's got tragic death written all over him! But I still wish we had gotten some more out of him. Some more interactions with the companions, more banter, more relationship dynamics. We never even found out what he would have called the others! (Aside from Neve, who was 'Slick', apparently.)

This isn't even a criticism of the writing! I think it makes sense and fits his character, sadly. (Though it's also the first time they actually managed to make me hate Solas, which is quite a feat.) It's just me being heartbroken about one of - or maybe even my ultimate - comfort character. I played DA2 (and the others, too, but DA2 holds a special place in my heart in this regard) during a time in my life where I was very much just... lost, I guess. God. I think I actually felt physical fucking grief when I went through the Fade prison scene? I was shaking and sobbing the whole time and I don't know if I have it in me again.

I'm a bookseller by trade and Varric loving stories always resonated with me. He's often reduced to being the sarcastic sidekick, but I love all his aspects and complexities so very dearly.

The son who didn't ever quite fit in with the society he grew up in, who couldn't hold up to his parents expectations and so instead refused to be tied down by them, but still had a deep love for his family.

The man who was so tragically in love with a woman he couldn't have that he made her his little secret, keeping Bianca's identity even from his best friends. Who probably still didn't let go of his yearning all those years later, maybe because it was easier than opening up and getting hurt again.

The one who was always bickering with Cassandra, this steely woman he was always at odds with, but still wrote her a continuation for his romance series he didn't even think was good because beneath all of his veneer, he still cared.

Who was presented with this half-spirit half-boy and saw just a squirrely kid who needed some help to find his place in the world. (And yeah, this is special to me. Because god damn it, I never had someone like that growing up, and I would have given all my limbs and a kidney for it.)

Who was so, so full of compassion himself, despite all the shit the world had already thrown at him.

I don't know. Maybe I just have a thing for people who try to lock their hurt away so not even they, themselves, have to confront it. (Maybe because I'm a little like that myself and maybe that's why I like Lucanis so much, as well. Damn you, Mary Kirby.)

But anyway. Sorry for the vent. I just needed someplace to share this, I guess. I don't know what to do with this hole in my chest, but props to Bioware (and damn you again, Mary Kirby) for putting it there, because it's definitely not normal for me to care this much. I wasn't even this sad when I had to leave my Hawke in the Fade. Maybe they'll finally find each other again, wherever they are now 💔

[thebookworm0001]

Fun Sized - Banter Update

Rating: T for innuendo

Summary: Ellana is short. Really short. So of course her companions have to tease her about it.

Link: AO3

Sera: You’re short. Like. Really short.

Ellana: What? I had no idea. I’d spent this whole time thinking everyone else was just exceptionally tall. 

Sera: [Giggles] That would be a trip, wouldn’t it. Wonder if that’s why dwarves are all… like that.

Ellana: The taller the ladder you need to reach your own cabinets, the grumpier you are. It’s just a fact.

(cont. under the cut)

Sera: But you’re not grumpy. Most of the times, at least. 

[if The Iron Bull is in the party]

Bull: That’s because she’s got a good view.

Ellana: I can promise you, that has nothing to do with it. 

Bull: Hey, you can enjoy the painting without wanting to eat the bowl of fruit.

Ellana: Funny, I don’t see any works of art around here. 

Bull: There’s some kitchen servants who might disagree with you. 

[Otherwise]

Ellana: [Laughs] You should say that to my sister. I’m sure she’d have some stories to tell that say otherwise.

Varric: Anyone ever ask you if one of your parents was a dwarf?

Ellana: Oh, very original. Never heard that one before. Are you going to ask if I stunted my growth by sitting in my aravel for too long next? Got kicked in the head by a Halla?

Varric: It’s a serious question. Usually the people I see eye-to-eye with have more than a passing affiliation with the Merchants Guild. 

Varric: With the right contacts and some clever paperwork, you could make some serious coin.

Ellana: Are you… asking if I want to con the Merchant’s Guild?

Varric: No, no, not at all.

Varric: Just saying, when all this is over, you have options.

Ellana: I’m sure my vallaslin won’t cause any problems in this plan of yours.

Varric: Evidence of a forbidden romance. People love a good tragedy - even better if you can scrape out a happy end despite it. 

Varric: They’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand.

Vivienne: I was speaking with our Lady Ambassador earlier, and she informed me you had rather firmly rejected her suggestion of incorporating heels into your ensemble.

Ellana: I did. 

Vivienne: Might I inquire as to why?

Ellana: Is it not enough that I simply do not want to wear heels?

Vivienne: Desire is reason enough to do anything, my dear. That does not make it wise.

Vivienne: You are an image for all of Thedas to aspire too, and your battle for legitimacy is not one that will be easily won.

Vivienne: It might help ease the process if those you wish to impress do not have to literally look down their noses at you. 

Ellana: Perhaps. Though I doubt anyone who already dislikes me will have their minds changed by a pair of fancy footwear.

Ellana: Anyway, any respect I gained would be quickly lost the minute I tripped and fell on my ass in front of a room full of dignitaries. 

Ellana: Or even better, I caught my new armor on fire. That would give everyone something to talk about.

Vivienne: Yes, well. Perhaps you are right. Some clever tailoring, then. And posture lessons.

Vivienne: One does not need to be imposing to command a room. 

Bull: Hey Kitten, you ever get lost, just look for the horns. Can’t miss ‘em.

Ellana: And where do you think I’ll be getting so lost that I’ll need to use you as a landmark?

Bull: Oh I don’t know. The crowds in Val Royeaux can get pretty nasty. Then there’s the ramparts, wrecked towns, corn mazes, overgrown fields. Really, just about anywhere.

Ellana: I- I’m not going to disappear into the grass like a lost girl in a child’s story. 

Ellana: What, should I leave a trail of bread behind me? Find a dog to guard me from the Dread Wolf?

Bull: I hear those Ferelden dogs come in pretty handy, actually. But no.

Bull: We might want to put a bell on you though, just in case.

Ellana: Think it’ll rain today?

Bull: Depends.

Ellana: On?

Bull: If you’re aiming at my height or my bad ankle.

Ellana: I could just be making small talk. Plenty of people talk about the weather.

Bull: Yeah, but most people aren’t wringing their fingers for an hour trying to come up with a clever way to ask about it. 

Ellana: My sister was always better at jokes than I was. 

Bull: That’s alright. You’ve got your own strengths.

Bull: For example, I think you’d make a very talented armrest.

Ellana: You know I can set you on fire, right?

Bull: Don’t worry, Kitten, you’re very scary.  

Inspired by @shift-shaping 

Bull: Solas, did you hurt yourself in our last fight?

Solas: I do not believe so. Why?

Bull: You’ve been rubbing at your neck more than usual. Thought you might’ve tweaked it after that one move. I’ve got some tips that could help if it’s sore.

Solas: I thank you for the concern. Your advice would be appreciated. 

Bull: Well, first off, you’ve got to start lifting with your knees. The Inquisitor’s tiny, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hurt yourself picking her up. 

Solas: Excuse me?

Bull: Oh, and you should probably invest in some cushions, maybe those feathery ones the Orlesians have. It’ll help you stay on your knees longer.

Solas: That is none of your concern.

Bull: It is when I get between you and the next templar that takes advantage of your stiff back. 

Bull: Those charging bastards hurt, you know.

Ellana: What information do I have to pass along to the Qun to get you to stop?

Bull: What? It’s friendly advice. If he keeps bending over, he’s going to get stuck that way. 

Bull: I’m just saying, It’s easier if he comes down to your level. 

Ellana: Please just tell me who Josephine needs to blackmail for this to end.

Bull: [Laughs] Now where’s the fun in that?    

    

Blackwall: So, you and the Lady Inquisitor, how does that work?

Solas: Much like any other relationship, presumably. 

Blackwall: Most relationships don’t have one party towering over the other. 

Solas: Really? That is your concern?

Blackwall: Not a concern. Just curious, is all. 

Blackwall: I mean, it can’t be easy. It looks like she’d need to climb scaffolding for anything to line up properly.

[If Cole is in the party] 

Cole: She is precious, held wholly in the palm of my hands. Sweet, small like the frilly cakes she brings me from the kitchens. 

Cole: He likes how small she is. He thinks it’s cute.

Blackwall: Well wasn’t that just adorable.

[Otherwise]

Ellana: Oh is that a dragon I see overhead? No? Pity. I would have appreciated being eaten right about now.

Blackwall: I’m sure Solas would be happy to oblige, my Lady.

Ellana: [Groans] Kill me now.

[fauville]

wip wednesday

thank you for tagging me dear @lalizah mwaahhhhhh

tagging: @nat-seal-well, @thee-morrigan, @agentnatesewell, @agentark, @ava-du-mortain, @l-llavellans, @itsmistyeyedbi and @carriehobbs

my writing this past week has been very dragon age centric again, but wanted to share it anyway! also i have a shiny new writing blog @goldennug where i will reblog all of my writing too, so feel free to follow. 🥰

under a read more bc this is long!!!!

anyway this first one is from my varric/hawke fakedating fic (of pestering mothers, secret girlfriends and unwanted marriage proposals), where they pretend to be married, so hawke's mom doesn't marry her off.

The house is a shack on a beach.

It's ugly. And very small. There’s a hole in the roof and it’s overgrown with weeds. Definitely in need of some good TLC. 

“It's a shack,” Hawke says, “on a beach.”

She's shading her hazel eyes against the sun with her hand. The ugly (fake) wedding ring is glimmering in the shine, the lyrium stone mirroring the light of the afternoon in an eye-catching way. For some reason Varric can't stop staring at it and feeling funny.

He sighs. “Look, it was the best I could do in two weeks. It was this or the slums.”

“It's uglier than the arseholes of some of the worst looking men I’ve slept with,” Isabela comments helpfully before drinking a sip of her bottle of rotgut.

Varric doesn't really know what she's doing here. She just appeared as if from thin air.

“Yeah,” Varric says, scratching the back of his sweaty neck.

“Well, I think it's charming,” says Hawke — ever the optimist.

Isabela scoffs. Varric is pretty sure she’s already drunk.

the second one is from a future chapter of my arranged marriage solavellan fantasy AU. fantasy AU sounds funny bc dragon age is already fantasy but idk how else to describe it, lol. it's an original verse, i guess, lol.

After those two months of doing basically nothing, Merrill started giving her lessons on the theory of magic.

Apparently Fen'Harel had ordered that too for a reason she could not fathom. She still had not exchanged any words with him after her first prophetic dream. It was starting to make her seriously angry. He clearly thought she had no other uses than her visions and did not even pretend otherwise. It was infuriating.

“So,” Merrill said, stretching the word for a few seconds, her fingers linked together under her chin, “in theory magic has no theory.”

She blinked, and Merrill giggled at the expression on her face.

“Magic is wild,” Merrill explained. “Free. It's completely unpredictable like a dog mother with rabies. It can bite. It can tear. But it still knows how to nurture, how to grow something from a small seed into a beautiful tree.” She paused. “Dogs aren't trees, though. Dogs are dogs. But magic isn’t.”

She blinked again. “So magic can't be controlled?” she asked and Merrill shook her head.

“It can. In small amounts. Blood makes it easier.”

She thought about the time he saw her husband train in the courtyard. “The Dread Wolf doesn’t use blood.”

Merrill smiled. “Magic is attracted to power. Solas has more than most.”

“Solas?”

Merrill looked horrified. “I shouldn't have said that,” she said. “Pretend I didn't say that.”