#varric. ok. well you know he's obsessed

[hadescavedish]

No companion in Da2 was ever straight.... there are just ones that are well hidden

[gyrovagi]

hello and welcome to my gamer's den. here's a quick and dirty guide to the ocs i talk about constantly

CANON PROTAGS/NORMAL MEN. INNOCENT MEN:

eloy "el" surana (blood mage/arcane warrior) - i'm like if a control freak could control things ❤️ with blood magic ❤️. generally well-intentioned but hypervigilant, always playing 5d chess about the worst scenario. world's first moral (not necessarily ethical) male bigender manipulator. wields a wholly inappropriate degree of political influence in denerim

seongmin hawke (primarily diplomatic, sword + shield berserker) - afraid that his abandonment issues will leave him. pathologically conflict avoidant, fawn response to the max - up until someone he loves gets threatened, at which point good luck leaving alive lol. 'i don't think i need to talk about my feelings,' says man who just broke the arm of a templar asking around too much about the darktown clinic and then continued making casual conversation with varric as if nothing happened

ciuying "arav'assan" lavellan (archer, assassin) - king of compartmentalization. would really prefer to be one guy helping people on the ground rather than the unwilling inquisitor chained by power he never wanted, fighting for his life to be as politically uninvolved as possible. guy who is duty-bound never to return home

dak-wai (wi)thorne(s) (spellblade) - prospective rook, direct port of my bg3 durge. tal-vashoth grey warden mage seeking a righteous purpose after a complicated and bloody past, but who has yet to find a better general approach to problems than killing things with hammers.

TGIRLS SAVE THE WORLD(STATE):

sang tabris - (dual-wielding champion/berserker) next shem bastard who pisses me off i'm just going to fucking kill you. alistair did you eat yet ^_^. struggling to reconcile an irrepressible hope for a better world with the abject horrors he's been subjected to by the world he lives in at present. morrigan's lesbian husband.

so-min hawke (blood mage) - girl could you at least pretend not to be a chantry-hating apostate in the middle of the gallows. carver just got suddenly pissed off in a darkspawn tunnel and he knows it's not because of the genlocks

r trevelyan (rift mage) - tranquil since 18, and at age 33, honestly dealing pretty well with accidentally getting a magical lobotomy reversed. yeah ok so maybe the random prolonged neutral-expression weeping is a little off-putting. it's hard when you're the white girl who needs to save yourself

yazmin de riva (duelist) - embittered bastard child of the young lord owain trevelyan. frighteningly competent and driven, but has difficulty taking orders and working with others due to the huge chip on her shoulder. thinks lucanis dellamorte is a nepo baby

INSANE WOMEN AND MALE MANIPULATORS:

ngayu brosca - (reaver) what do you MEAN the fate of the country is dependent on two twenty-year-olds one of whom gets scared looking at the sun. has never once in her life believed she would live past twenty and that's looking increasingly likely as a prediction

rina hawke (assassin) - when you are endlessly bitter and refuse to deal with it in any healthy way because that would require you to acknowledge your resentment towards the family members you perceive as a burden. chronically insincere, subservient but seething the whole time, wouldn't be able to name a solid belief if you asked her, incapable of self-reflection. crack baby you don't know what you want...

caden trevelyan (templar) - gay transgender homophobic misogynist. has weird ideas about being a man. constantly develops obsessive fixations on authoritative older men. believes he has the divine right to mete out violence. white boy who sucks 🔥

ha-neul aldwir (slayer) - prospective rook, veil jumper. fascinated by magic and magical artifacts. something of an oddity by both dwarven and non-dwarven standards, a guy with an endless thirst for life and little interest in denying himself pleasure or dwelling in guilt, for better or worse. can be surprisingly cynical and self-interested, despite his generally upbeat, affable vibe.

PRONOUNS USERS GOING THROUGH IT/TRAGEDY WORLDSTATE;

enasa mahariel (ranger) - deadalive nothing girl who isn't. didn't anticipate that taking the vallaslin of dirthamen, twin brother to death, would be quite so prophetic. very clearly crumbling under mounting pressure while refusing to stop dragging the rotting corpse

bryn hawke (force mage) - half-avvar on malcolm's side, raised with what avvar beliefs and practices their father could half-remember from childhood. never quite at home in ferelden and struggling to come to terms with the idea they'll never be quite at home in their mother's city either. quietly shouldering other's burdens until it chokes them.

meiying lavellan (knight-enchanter) - turns out when you take an anxiety-ridden elf burdened with excess responsibility since youth out of their familiar environment and support system she'll have a bad time. solas' ex-spouse still misses him… but their aim's getting better!

orpheus ingellvar (death caller) - < he doesn't know (that he's the child of the last theirin king and the missing presumed dead hero of ferelden). surprisingly cheerful for a guy collectively raised by a bunch of necromancers, seems like a polite young man, but then he says something weird and offputting that makes you realize he's spent a lot of his life interacting with skeletons

ASSORTED GUYS:

dea surana - reserved but observant, knows it's best not to attract attention, tries to look after herself and her own in the ways she can. surprisingly worldly/cynical after her brother was taken by the templars at a young age and her life afterwards was spent largely on the road. then her situationship was like 'you know the hero of ferelden is named surana? circle mage, relative of yours?' and now she regularly talks to the king of ferelden

owain trevelyan - never really stopped hoping his older brother would come back from the circle and everything would be fine again. he's socially well-connected and charismatic, and could make for an influential heir to the house with motivation and an advantageous marriage - but he's a lot more interested in dragon hunting and boy bestiesisms with the prince of starkhaven.

valerie trevelyan - black sheep of the family, annoyed that this is more about lesbianism than being a fantasy communist. managed to pull off a 'buy my silence - for $8000 a month i will stop' ploy on her parents at 20, before she knew that this would end with her as the warden-commander's sister-in-law

ga-ying lavellan - middle sibling b/w meiying and ciuying, closer to both of them than they are with each other. tends to take things a little too lightly, an optimist unconcerned with anything outside of the clan and the present. the siblings' dads (and meiying, and his wife) are hoping the birth of his daughter will make him more serious. ciuying likes him as he is.

everybody's parents tend to be less developed than their kids are but they exist. In my mind . there's also a couple other extremely incidental fellas but they'll come up when they come up. i might also ramble about my non-da guys here but (closes my eyes and passes away silently)

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

some more incorrect quotes, cos they're fun xdd

---

Dorian: We can bake these cookies at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or 4,000 degrees for 1 minute

June: How about 4,000,000 degrees for 1 second?!?

---

Varric: I hate the countryside. It’s dirty. It’s unclean. And what is that smell?

Liam: That would be grass.

Varric: Disgusting.

---

Liam: Honestly, I don’t even play an active role in my life anymore..

Liam: Things just happen and I’m like “Oh, is this what we’re doing now? Ok.”

---

Noya: What doesn't kill me better start running, because now I'm fucking pissed.

---

Liam, texting Fenris: Fenris there’s a spider on the outside of the bathroom door can you get rid of it?

Liam: Pls hurry because I’m going to cry

Liam: Fenris

Liam: Fenris?

Fenris: Fenris is dead. You’re next. Love, Spider.

---

Addie: Can we go out to get icecream?

Liam: Did you ask Pa?

Addie: He said no.

Liam: Then why did you ask me?

Addie: He’s not the boss of you.

Liam, internally: It's a trap, it's a trap, it's a trap-

---

Noya: Are you busy?

Sten: Yes.

Noya: Cool, listen to this-

---

Zevran: We’ve been conducting an ongoing study to see what Kala will and will not eat.

Alistair: Grass? Yes!

Zevran: Moss? Yes!!

Alistair: Leaves? Ohh, yes!

Zevran: Shoelaces? Strange but true!

Alistair: Worms? Sometimes!

Zevran: Twigs? Usually nah.

Alistair: Rocks? Usually!

Zevran: Morrigan's cooking? Inconclusive!

Wynne: How did you… test this?

Zevran: You just hand her stuff and say ‘eat this’ and if she eats it, she eats it.

Wynne: ... I don’t know how to feel about this.

Morrigan: IS THAT WHERE ALL MY SPARE SHOELACES WENT?

---

Kala: You are an absolute sodding dork.

Alistair, singing: Yeah, but I'm your dork!

Kala: *sighs* Yeah, you're my dork.

---

Ari, to the party: And remember, if I get harsh with you it is only because you’re doing it all wrong.

---

June, trying to comfort Cullen: What's the problem? Anxiety? Low self-esteem? Obsessive thoughts of random arson? I've been there.

---

Liam: I dunno if I'm ready to process the ramifications of this bullshit.

---

Cullen: So, June is no longer allowed to take the trash out at night.

Cass: Why?

Cullen: Because I've caught her trying to train raccoons to fight five times in a row.

June: You'll be thanking me when the third raccoon battalion saves your ass.

---

Var'Renan: *raises eyebrows*

Noya: Put those back down!

---

Kala: That's ridiculous, Alistair doesn't have a crush on me.

Zevran: Yes he does.

Leliana: Yes he does.

Alistair: Yes I do.

---

Ari: Do you ever get pre-annoyed? Like you already know someone is going to piss you off?

Josie: What? No, I—

Solas: *enters room*

Ari: *jaw clenches*

---

Neira: Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices.

Neira: Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

---

Morrigan: Ugh, there’s always that weak bitch in the group who isn’t down with murder.

Morrigan: *glares at Neira*

Neira: Well, sorry I have morals!

---

Jowan: You’re overthinking this.

Neira: You don’t know the appropriate level of thinking, Jowan. What if I’m underthinking?

---

Alistair: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it.

Kala: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out.

Alistair: Th-that's not how that works-

---

June, reading a recipe: Beat three eggs?

Sera: It means like in hand-to-hand combat.

June: Ohhhh-

Cullen: Both of you get out of this kitchen.

---

Liam: Fine! I don't give a shit!

Merrill: You seem to give a lot of shits for someone who claims not to give a shit.

---

Neira: My expectations are low, but they can always go lower.

---

Ari: Who hurt you?

Sera: *snorting* What, do you want a list?

Ari: ...Yes, actually.

---

Krem: Welcome to Fucking Applebees, do you want apples or bees?

Cass: Bees?

June: SHE HAS SELECTED THE BEES!

Cass: Wait-

*Sera approaches, shaking a jar of bees menacingly*

---

Liam: Swear words are illegal now. If you say one you'll be fined.

Addie: Heck.

Liam: You're on thin fucking ice.

Liam: Oh no-

---

Solas: This is a very powerful artifact. You’d be messing with forces you don’t fully understand.

June: That sounds like a dare to me.

Solas: Oh my god.

---

Neira, making coffee: This is going to fix everything

---

Cassandra: Yesterday, I overheard June saying “Are you sure this is a good idea?” and Dagna replying “Trust me,” and I have never moved from one room to another so quickly in my life.

---

Lilian: I love the term 'partners'. Are we dating? Are we robbing a bank? Are we the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies and are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit? Who knows.

---

Zevran: Hey, can I get a sip of that water?

Kala: It’s not water.

Zevran: Vodka! I like your sty-

Kala: It’s vinegar.

Zevran: …What?

Kala: It's vinegar, PUSSY.

---

Ari: *closes a cabinet*

*a crash is heard behind the cabinet door*

Josephine: What was that?

Ari: The sound of someone else's problem.

[insert dejected Trifles Minutiae noises]

---

Lilian: I need to dye my hair.

Lilian: Or get another tattoo.

Lilian: Or a new piercing.

Sebastian: ..... Why?

Lilian: To, you know, appease the mental breakdown gods.

---

Merrill: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 million gold?

Liam: You stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a big-ass house.

Varric: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 million.

Liam: Good thinking.

---

June: *makes Cullen a cup of tea but puts salt in it*

Cullen: *sips tea*

June:

Cullen: *finishes tea*

June: Didn't it taste bad?

Cullen: Yeah, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings so I drank it all.

June, tearing up: Oh, okay.

---

Random Orlesian at a political dinner: How many kids do you have?

Ari: Biologically, emotionally, or legally?

---

Var'Renan: Creators, give me patience.

Noya: I think you mean 'give me strength'.

Var'Renan: If the Creators gave me strength, you'd be dead.

[eye-of-yelough]

ok. hawke (personality and how it effects his relationships) hours

i think Leo is a bit like an annoyingly energetic untrained dog where if she goes without Fighting or Fucking for too long she start getting Testy. she throws her weight around a lot in the hopes of getting a reaction to sink her teeth into. especially when she’s drunk. and she drinks a lot. very much “troubled teen starved for attention and if it ain’t positive then negative works just as good”

to his credit, she does try to resist the urge around certain people. Merrill and Bela almost never see him like that.

and i think it’s a really good trait for her to have in the context of her relationships with everyone. specifically their reactions.

by act 2 most of the kirkwall gang has mostly picked up on this trait. Merrill picks up almost immediately that she should just keep her distance. Isabela, tease that she is, takes a little longer to realise that but she gets the hint eventually. hawke would never hurt her anyway, they’d mostly just bicker until Bela makes it sexual, which makes hawke laugh enough to calm down. Aveline tries to fuck off but she has just enough pride (and rage) that she refuses to stand down if she gets targeted and sometimes they just full on kick the shit out of each other. (yuri moment)

Fenris is a smart little shit about it and usually finds a way to deflect her anger towards some other drunk rando. Sebastion isn’t smart. they don’t fight but they do argue. a lot. a lot a lot.

and then there’s Varric. ohhhhh Varric you tiny idiot. you wretched little man. he can’t help himself, he always takes that bait. and hes only one other than anders n bela who knows hawke well enough to hurt her, but doesn’t know her well enough to know that he’s hurting her. he thinks she’s immune to words, thinks she has a thick skin and that nothing gets to her, it’s just part of their game. everything he says gets to her. they never get physical, despite eveything, she just can’t bring herself to hurt him. or to stop seeing him. it’s a vicious cycle and i’m obsessed with it.

and anders thinks it’s endearing because he’s a total fucking mess. once they start living together it’s hard for hawke to avoid him, (close quarters) (increasingly volatile because dead mother) (first time living without rules because dead mother) (meredith’s existence) but he still never gets it as aggressively. they have a lot of… not arguments, more like spats. play fighting. sometimes physical play fighting that turns into fucking Very Quickly (its so easy to pin him down. do you think there’s a chance he loses on purpose? i think there’s a chance)

[common-blackbird]

it’s time... for a dragon age 2 playthrough post. scroll on!

The things i loved most:

1) the frame of the game - Cassandra interrogating Varric.

What a great way to get hook the player. Like, the opening of guards dragging this poor dwarf with cuts of the title, and then Cassandra demanding answers... Whoaaa! I have no idea if that’s usually done in games or not, but it’s definitely such an amazing intro with characters introducing themselves as well as the story so perfectly, it captivates instantly. The tutorial has a charm to it bc varric is messing around. Which serves to show more of his character. Cassandra’s personality was pretty much blank here but her presence is so powerful. Something happened, something huge and they know and i was about to find out. I can’t describe how excited that intro made me feel. Each time the scene cut to the interrogation scenes, my eyes were glued more than ever. Just GREAT.

Also it makes for a very convenient scapegoat for every plothole ever with the argument “it’s just his version of the story”.

2) The story.

It’s tragic. It’s amazing! The further you play, the more you can see that no matter what you do, everything leads to a disaster. Hawke doesn’t want to take sides, tries to mediate, does not want to get involved, but just can’t stop it. For every thing gained, Hawke loses two more. Your friends come with packages that get you involved in terrible stuff. Your good intentions result in disasters. The whole game you spent time climbing  the social ladder not only to reach the top hauntingly alone after losing all of your family, but also losing even that empty title and watching as the city you started to find your place in fall apart in blood. UGH! GAH! FEELS!

3) Kirkwall.

“ But, I beg you my dear readers, never forget that, no matter the subject of any story that might ever be explored between the cliffs of Kirkwall, She will find a way to steal the thunder of the protagonist. Or become the antagonist. Kirkwall is never a mere background. We could even understand it so: the challenge for you dear readers is to prevail against the smokescreens and observe to what extent our characters are players or played by the merciless black souled stone giant. Enjoy playing the dare of the ages between the lines of these humble memoirs. “

Memoirs from the Downfall - Act I. Mirage    by Pfefferminze on ao3 (fic rec!)

This paragraph summs up what Kirkwall is better than I ever could. This shrouded mystery that surrounds Kirkwall keeps you on toes. From the first intro when Varric describes it (paraphrasing from memory) “Kirkwall. The city of chains. It is a free city - keeping in mind i use the  the word loosely”. You already start seeing how dark Kirkwall gets. The name, that derives from its black walls (interestingly, the walls in the game aren’t black...), the history of slavery etched into every corner of that city  and its surroundings - the names (The Gallows, the Bone Pit, the Wounded Coast, the pub The Hanged Man), the scenery (sculptures of slaves, the sunken ships by the Wounded Coast, slums and underground of the Lowtown and the Darktown).

I was really digging the History of Kirkwall and it loved it. Kirkwall has a history of violence, from the times of slavery of the Tevinter Imperium, to Qunari conquests and liberation from Orlais. Many revolts and uprising. And though free now, it’s suggested that, seeing that the Templars hold the most influence, Kirkwall is in the hands of the Chantry.

It’s full of cultures mixing together. I love how not one of your companions is a native to Kirkwall, and it feels like a crossroads to every character’s life. a very tragic crossroads in their life, seeing there’s nothing ever good waiting for you in Kirkwall.

Also there’s these codex entries you look for about the Enigma of Kirkwall. It was when i started digging that up that i fell in love with the city and all. Combined with the History of Kirkwall and every codex entry for every place in and out of Kirkwall, I was pulling my hair out reading about the Enigma. I..i’m still not quite sure what happened. Did the magisters use blood of thousands upon thousands slaves to unbound a forgotten one? if so, is that corypheus? And around what time did that happen?? I get that part (or all?) of Kirkwall’s mysterious violent agency is owed to corypheus slumbering relatively close to the city, but is that all? or is there something more? In either case, the Band of Tree are my heroes.

4) The characters.

I’ll talk more about them later, but in general, i just love how they oppose each other, how complex they are, and there is just not pleasing everyone. They feel genuine. They are all deeply flawed. They all have a solid background that makes their beliefs and actions convincing. The friendship/rivalry points are shaky though, and sometimes really don’t fit the character, but i guess there must be someone hating/loving your bad choices for the sake of the game regardless of characterisation. But all in all, i really appreciated each and every character, and loved how their viewpoints challenged me.

First i want a disclaimer: i love each and every character in the game, whatever i say against them doesn’t diminish my liking of them. My issues really aren’t significant. Also, i might and probably will say smth wrong bc i’ve only played it once. I’m a baby.

let’s start with Family:

Mama Hawke:

i really loved mama hawke. after reading her codex entry and an excerpt of some book on this site, i really feel for her. I mean, imagine going back to your home city where you only remember being respected and wealthy only to find out everything you remember is gone, you are forced to live in poverty, your kids are doing dangerous jobs and you can’t stop them bc you do need that money, you write letters trying to get the old connections but keep failing (at least it was implied?), it’s really been hard for her. I get why she was so obsessed with her legacy. She wanted her childhood home back. She can’t feel like Kirkwall is her home until she is home.

Also loved her antagonism towards Hawke. It seems she can no longer treat him like a child, so she criticises him instead. and honestly, hawke is doing some crazy things so he defintiely deserves some criticism. And stopping Hawke from taking carver with him is just logical to me, idk. since she knows she can’t stop Hawke from going, she will at least attempt to prevent the last kid from going into mortal danger. I’d do the same. AND AFTER HAVING CARVER DYING IN DEEP ROADS I AGREE WITH HER

All in all, i don’t think she’s a perfect mom, but there is no perfect mom, and Leandra does care a lot for her kids. The All that remains killed me too :’(

Bethany

RIP :(

Her codex is not long, but i guess she wasn’t happy with her magic :(

CARVER

My favouritest bestest bro in the game. A secondary character with an inferiority complex towards his sibling, with no sense of humour, blaming everyone else for his inability to get a life? I see a lot of myself in him.  He is sooo bitter, but doesn’t even realise (or at least doesn’t admit) that he’s his biggest obstacle. He feels like it’s Hawke’s fault for Carver not getting his place in the sun, but honestly, it’s Carver’s devotion to Hawke that keeps him from getting a life. He’s just tied with that responsibility and can’t break from it unless forced to.

His interactions with other characters are so funny. Either he’s bitter or he’s awkward, i die every time ;;__;;

Anyways, he became a templar in my game and i thought it fits better thematically (throughout the game the grey wardens felt more like a fanservice material since they really aren’t connected to the story), but after reading that meta about carver and seeing the striking difference between warden!carver and templar!carver i wanna reload and redo everything ;;__;;

i mean... carver isn’t exactly a templar material. The codex entry for templars says that the wanted characteristics of templars are strong faith and utmost  obedience, none of which carver really has... . But that moment when he stands up against meredith was *chefs kiss* worth it. I’m just wondering what happens after, is he still a templar? is he with hawke? is he in Kirkwall or if not, where did he go?? so many questions ;A;

Uncle Gamlen

I feel bad for him. Mostly he’s mean but i like to think it’s bc he’s so ashamed that his sister sees what he’s become. And he’s bitter about his own life. I was so happy when i realised he has a personal mission ;__; I feel bad that he didn’t come to live in the hawke estate tho, especially since Hawke is also alone there :(

COMPANIONS!

Varric

There are no words that can properly convey the amount of love for this guy. He is simply flawless. He’s a charming godfather of the dwarven mafia. I wanna have a charming godfather of the dwarven mafia in my life... He already becomes interesting with the intro, and i gotta say, out of all ~storyteller~ types of characters, he is the best. he puts a disclaimer at the beginning with that game tutorial, and during the whole interrogation he’s like “well, how do you know i’m not lying? i could be.” Also, his voice is the second best voice in the game. 

As for his personal missions, oh wow, that thing with his big bro really hurt. I also gave him the red lyrium... was that a mistake? will i regret it? ;__; I know the true friend would prevent him, but i also trust that varric knows how to handle dangerous stuff...

On a side note, since i’ve read the comics (no self control whatsoever), i loved the beginning of the Until We Sleep, where varric mentions it’s easier to imagine all the people he had to kill were evil than to face the fact that those were normal people just doing their job or trying to survive. Man, it hurts TAT

*garret hawke’s voice when he looks a certain way at the family crest in the hawke estate* ISABELA!

Ok ok, so, i love Carver bc i relate,  i love Varric because he’s simply perfect. But I love Isabela because she’s the most intriguing.

She just crashed in Kirkwall and really didn’t sign up for all the trouble she got. She never likes to have deep conversations, she is always downgrading herself and you just wonder, what is it that happened in her life, and you know her past mistakes haunt her, and she’s doing her best to move on. Her arc was i think my favourite. I think the comic Those Who Speak really adds a lot to her arc in DA2 and makes some of her choices more understandable. Her whole story is about her internal conflict of whether to survive or do the right thing. Her story about freeing the slaves got her ship wrecked is great and all for making her be a pirate with a golden heart, but that story about her drowning all the slaves few years previous make this freeing of slaves a big character moment for her. She finally did the right thing. And she got for it was more trouble, because she’s a pirate which means she can’t afford to just do the right thing. And throughout the game, that same story is going back and forth. She runs off with the Relic bc she’s done the right thing before and it got her nowhere, so now she decided to put her own survival as a priority, but comes back bc she’s too kind to just leave Hawke standing like that. And again, with the slaver papers, it’s the same reasoning: it’s her or the higher cause. She needs that ship. She chooses herself. It’s her biggest flaw. But hey, between pros and antis in your party, it was really refreshing to have someone who, along with varric, just gives you a break with moral high-grounds.

I only wish we actually got to see her more as a captain in power in the game or that she showed me that amazing hat she saw in lowtown. It’s cool that it’s implied that her crew doesn’t like her and she also lost most of them during the crash while the others probably left her after.

I love it when she says she goes sometimes to the docks just to watch the ships. That there is no feeling like sailing. I just want a spin-off with captain isabela’s terrible adventures (´A`)

Also, isabela’s VA is my fave, she really did an amazing job. she voices so smoothly, i wouldn’t know if i was playing a game or watching a movie. And has such a pretty way of talking...

Aveline

I’m really neutral towards Aveline. I like her personality and i like that she’s found herself a purpose and advanced in the guards, and she’s always looking out for everybody. I just wish her personal missions went in the vein of the one in act 1... i feel it would have been more interesting to see her having trouble in her position and that you can’t just waltz into Kirkwall and take command. It’s implied she’s being pressured, so i guess she’s just dealing with it herself, but i just... eh. She’s ok.

Merrill

Merrill actually has one of the if not the most tragic story-line that really challenges you both morally and emotionally. 

Her cheerful and cute personality is dampened by her constant dark leitmotif of willingly practicing blood magic. And i think her story really showed well the indirect consequences of it.

Not in one instance was Merrill’s practice of blood magic an active culprit for all tragedy that surrounds her. First, it seems that blood magic is practiced in the clan, seeing there is no freeing Flemeth without it, but i’m guessing it’s seldom practiced and with great caution. So Merrill wasn’t in any danger of being prosecuted for her blood magic. It’s actually her wish to study it further with the help of the demon that makes her an outcast. That and the magic mirror that apparently is forgotten for a reason. Also, it’s made quite clear that Merrill would be welcomed back no questions asked if she at any point decided to ditch the demon and live without the study of magic mirror. She, on the other side, is driven by the higher cause, the idea that figuring out the forgotten purpose of some evil mirror might help her clan, and is willing to be an outcast if it means reaching her goal and helping her clan. Fast foward to act 3, the clan is still there when they should have moved away, and it’s only when you face the demon possessed Keeper, you realise why. She knew Merrill would sooner or later bargain with the demon again. And she sacrificed herself, trapping the demon within her, as to prevent it. And i think that is why the clan stayed so long there. She waited for Merrill because she wanted Merrill to kill her, and hopefully with her the demon. It didn’t go as planned, obviously, but i really think she had good intentions. When Merrill does manage to kill the Keeper she’s forced to face the clan and i chose the wrong option of telling the truth which resulted in a massacre. Merrill gets back and regrets everything. She, however resolves to help the alienage.

The thing is, there is no one to blame Everyone had the best intentions. Everyone is working for the safety of the clan. it’s a story of sacrifice and when sacrifice feels like the wrong choice (whether it truly is or isn’t depends on your worldview) and it’s really done well.

But here are my issues with Merrill. I love her as a character, but i don’t agree with her decisions.  It’s a personal issue. Merrill is giving up everything as to help her clan by learning history of the evil mirror. And while this is a game where old things are important and significant, her mission is always explained as this duty of preserving history. And while i agree that preserving history is very important, there is a limit to it. you should never put history before the present. If your research endangers the present, you give up on that line. The other is that you need to make peace with the fact that many, many things are forgotten and will be forgotten. It’s sad, but you gotta make peace with the fact that some things are just gone.

And Merrill, who is a magic historian, fails to see that. So that kinda irks my historian moral codex. And in the end, as far as i know, Merrill doesn’t succeed in reviving the evil mirror and dedicates herself to help the alienage. It was a terrible way to learn that some things aren’t worth it.

The other, less personal issue, is that none of this had to happen. I mean, the keeper obviously didn’t think Merrill was experienced enough to actually deal with demons and therefore distrusted her and warned the clan about it. So, if Merrill was a little bit more patient she could have just studied normally under the keeper, and when she herself becomes the keeper, she could have fraternize with that demon however she wanted without much complications. So yeah... i guess youth is made of idealism.

But as i said, minor issues. Her story is really, really great.

Fenris

Fenris and Anders are my “i love you but i am soo annoyed by you but i still love you” characters. Half of the time they’re just there to make you feel guilty for being a neutral party. Which sometimes has me rolling my eyes. If Fenris and Anders actually got along with each other, slavery and mage oppression would have ended in 2 days. Which makes it all the more frustrating that they do not.

Fenris.. his voice. What a nice voice colour. So elegant, but kinda rough, sometimes he talks like he’s 80 years old, sometimes like he’s a teenager. I love it.

As for the rest, i mean, i don’t agree with his methods, but very often, the guy’s got a point. I get his experience with mages colours his view on them, so while i symphatise, it’s really hard to have him on my “free mages” missions when he’s my best tank and i want him to be on friendly terms with Hawke so this makes things... difficult. That aside, it’s interesting that fenris doesn’t see mages as evil per se, but rather victims who, in his experience, will always, always going to succumb to a demon. It’s an inevitable reality to him. And this makes me wonder if he ultimately, despite being his friend or lover, is just waiting for the day he will be forced to kill Hawke too :(

As for his missions, they were ok, it led up to culmination and i didn’t let him kill his sister bc Hawke has just lost his mom, don’t do smth you’ll regret ;__;

also, somewhere around the end of act 2 i decided to romance fenris bc i love to suffer, so i worked the whole act 3 trying to get more aproval points and also wondering why are there no romance options when i talk to him... turns out that one night stand with isabela romanced her and canceled fenris. But i never even finished the romance with her so i’m just ??? about it all.

I wish it was more explained about the tattoos fenris has? I just thought the tattoos would play a big role somewhere in the game and it just never happened. There was a banter with Merrill about how his tattoos are similar to valaslin, so i thought, hmm, interesting, maybe the two are connected. But nah they just glow in the dark and make you pass through walls. Whatevs.

also dude just goes and kills without a second thought, i’m just “mate, you gotta calm down”. But that’s his thing. He’s constantly bitter and is very bad at anger management. I can’t blame him, considering he lacks around 10- 20 years of experience due to amnesia.

He’s the only one who left me when Hawke sided with mages, and i was like, “ok i getcha, it’s been nice knowing you”, but then when i asked him to join me 5 minutes later he just went “ok changed my mind” which was so funny, like, where did all that integrity dissappear??? It would have been more impactful if the dialogue went in the line of “i want to stand by my principals but you’re a living breathing proof that not all mages are weak to succumb to demons so i’ll join you in the end” (and then side-eye “i told you so” when orsino turns into a demon)

And i wanna read the fenris comic now bc my question for every character here is what is their fate after kirkwall. I only know that isabela & varric are working for alistair and merrill wants to help the alienage. Aveline is i guess either dismissed from her job or got a pass after cullen took  the command.  But Carver?? Fenris?? Anders?? They never talked about long term plans...

Anders

ooh boy, here we go. there are many questions i have for him and am generally just hmmmm. First, as for his pro-mage rights - it’s like opposite fenris so i just have the same feelings: you mean well, i don’t agree with your methods, your experiences define your worldview so i let some things slide, but other things i will not agree with. Though, question: in how many circles has Anders been? He knows the kirkwall circle, he knows the fereldan circle. Seeing he has excaped 7 times, did they send him to a different circle each time or was the fereldan the last one? or the first one? Or maybe it was his boyfriend they transferred? did i miss something?

I’ll just whisper: awakening!Anders >>> da2!Anders. I just miss the old anders. Which says a lot bc during the awakening i was just “shut up anders”. I miss his bad jokes, his terrible attempts at flirting, his enjoyment of freedom, nagging all the time, and generally being more moderate in pro-mage rights. Like, in awakening, because it was not the only thing he talked about, it felt more personal and intense. Here mage-rights are the only thing he ever talks about + justice. I mean, please correct me if i’m wrong, this was just general impression. But to defend da2!Anders here, it makes sense that merging with mixed both of their personality, and i like that they did that. It’s also very sad.

The thing is, when i’m thinking about anders, i love his story and character. Just as it’s terrible that Fenris, having no memory from before being Fenris, Anders can never go back to being just Anders. And this, people, is why you don’t fraternize with spirits. He’s obviously afraid of how justice is affecting him and there are some bare traces of his old personality and i guess he wouldn’t be as radical if he didn’t have justice personality that can’t stand the injustice. And in combination with anders quite selfish personality (form awakening, and i say that lovingly), it makes him do things that justice wouldn’t condone. Anders is literally a walking bomb.

Again, same problem as with fenris, i really thought that the justice glow would have a incredibly significant culmination, and it didn’t, it was just to show that anders and justice are very bitter. Eh, ok.

Also, i let anders join after he blew up the chantry, bc he started it, so might as well follow it through.

Some minor characters that i remember

Senechal Bran for the next Viscount! He hated hawke so much but still put up with him.

Feynriel is the coolest mage in Kirkwall. I think his missions were my favourite. Dude goes from “oh no i’m a mage” to “i will just dreamwalk to tevinter and learn control the reality” to “i dream-killed bad people from thousands of miles away”. Does he appear in the next game? I want him on my side. He’s so cool.

I think the Maker is sending Cullen signs to quit being a templar. First job: evil mages that tortured you. Instead of “this job will kill you” h took it as  a “never trusting mages again, got it”. Second job: your boss is evil possessed paranoid maniac. Man, talk about bad luck.

What is the story of the Lady Elegant?

Flemeth had that big great talk at the beginning of the game and i thought by the end of the game i’d realise what it meant, but nope, still no clue.

Ok so I defeated Corypheus, but there was this looong shot of Larius walking away. Corypheus possessed larius, didn’t he? He’s out there. In a madman’s body. I know he appears in inquisition.

Many thoughts

I gotta say, in Kirkwall, at least, it didn’t feel like much of a challenge to pick a side. Like, there was no mage who said “hey i actually really like it here in the circle, the templars aren’t so bad”, and having templars actually smuggling mages from the circle says a lot to say the least. Every time a mage talks to you, unless you go with “oh they’re 100% lying”, their stories invoke sympathy and of course you want to help them. And then in 99% cases they turn to blood magic bc there was no other way. Except that dude who always hanged out with the wrong people, he only did blood magic to save Carver. But yeah, that turning to blood magic was like having Fenris side-eye me with an unspoken “i told you so” bc every mage, whether in desperation or hunger for power, will turn sooner or later into a demon. Regardless, blood magic was always in the act of desperation and self-defense. The only times where magic was actually evil was the slavers and the serial killer, who is a madman.

When i was reading the Enigma of Kirkwall, there was a part that talks of a blood-mage conspiracy and i was all, oh shit, there is a reason why templars are mean to mages! maybe the conspirators are framing innocent mages on blood magic crimes that they actually commit, maybe Meredith is actually on trail of the conspirators, maybe there is a reason for animosity on both sides. After all, Kirkwall was known for having a bigger number of apostates, a bigger number of blood magic cases and far more ruthless templars. It added up.Thinking back now, i never even got any specific reason why meredith was so intensely anti-mage, other than going mad.

But yeah, no conspirators. Just sad mages and mean templars, and good templars that get screwed by desperate and mean mages.

While in Kirkwall it’s easy to be a pro-mage, i was thinking a lot about mage-rights in general so let me indulge myself: there are circles, but the mages aren’t oppressed. Rather, the circles would be educational centres and society in every larger city where one learns how to properly handle magic bc magic is dangerous. You can leave when you pass the final exam and also come back anytime to hang out with mages who decide to live there since the institution would support mages.

Also, when one gets possessed, i’d invest more into “walk into their head and free them of demons” specialists. It’d be cool if you could have a dreamer who does that bc no lyrium spent. Honestly, why don’t they ever do that? How did the keeper do that rite for Feynriel? Was it blood magic?

I guess, you’d still have to answer for your crimes, tho no death punishment and degradation allowed. Blood magic wouldn’t be punishable by death, but rather have specialists who study it, but practice with extreme caution and use of another person’s blood is strictly prohibited.

Templars would still exist but completely reformed. No more “mages are all potential disasters”, but i’d rather make it that mages can too be templars, since they both have abilities that prevents the others from casting magic. This way the control system would be much like the dalish: if the keeper(mage) is possessed, the clan (which means the non-mages and the first(mage)) need to kill them. You could argue that you don’t need templars as non-mages, since mages can do it too, but seeing that in general people fear magic and feel inferior to it (since there’s a collective memory of the great tevinter imperium), having non-magic specialists would make them feel like on equal ground. The extra-reformed templars would be under Circle, not under direct command of the chantry, and circle, depending of whether chantry is reformed, might or might not be under chantry.

(a side note, i was thinking about templars recently and i can’t recall an instance where it says who had the clever idea to chew lyrium first? i just wanna know)

I know that DA2 wasn’t about grey wardens and therefore not about darkspawn, but seeing as in legacy we get corypheus being... an evil version of the Architect(??), i was only wondering do we get more answers about the darkspawn? is there hope for them? is the Architect still alive?

And oh, to turn to the Anders question:

Is he a terrorist, or was that just activism? I mean, i don’t see why those two can’t go together. blasting a building with a symbolic significance killing and harming many innocent people to get a message of your radical activism across belongs into a schoolbook of terrorism. Does he have a good cause? He sure believes so, and i, too, agree that mages should not be oppressed for just being mages. But does that mean this is the right way to do it? Personally, i do not condone any act of violence in service of a political or religious cause. I know it’s sometimes inevitable, but i like to believe there are more diplomatic ways, or at least not including an attack on civilians.

That aside, the moment where anders goes in front and just announces that the church was gonna blow up in a minute was the best anders moment for me. Until that point i more or less just viewed his activism as a hobby since he just did it in his free time, but now he put his money where his mouth is and freaking went all out. Cool character moment. And incredibly heartwrenching. He was aware of how many innocents he killed, but just didn’t see other way to get the point across.

I still don’t agree with his idea of blowing up the church tho. Maybe if he told Hawke, they could have done something to empty the church previously and further people away from it and then blow it up?

But still, blowing up religious buildings isn’t the answer. If i was the radical mage activist, i would have gone for the open assassination. Seeing it worked in WW1, i don’t see why it couldn’t start a fantasy war.

Some random things i liked:

uniportant but lovable interractions in the house: it starts innocently with gamlen’s house, to see how you’re doing, and becomes really fun during act 2 when you see your friends have been here and left you things. In act 3, however, it feels melancholic. no more family to come back to, just ghosts of friends that have visited, Bodahn and Sandal being there for you, Orana still not getting some sunlight and your dog at the fireplace. The Hawke Family Suite is playing, and you feel older than you are, lonlier than you should be. just... ouch. I hope Bodahn adopted Orana and took her out of Kirkwall :(

t i named the dog “Maker” which is very funny to me bc every time i summon the dog i just imagine Hawke yelling “Maker help us”. Carver hates the name bc he needs to chase the dog often in the streets. Mama Hawke never ever calls the dog Maker, but she never has to call the dog anything: he’s super obedient towards her.

Fighting wasn’t as hard as in origins, i like that.

The haunted house mission was so cool.

When random people greet aveline in Hightown.

And that’s i think about it. There are probably plenty more things i loved, but i think this is already enough. if somebody told me i’d be playing so much this year, i’d laugh, but I already want to play the next game ;;___;;

[pxperhearts]

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPS WORK ON YOUR BLOG

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE? : Well, uh *looks through muses* I don’t have one for every muse but here are some of my OTPs (as in, pairing I super love and enjoy for that muse, but keep in mind I’m a multi-shipper). emma swan x neal cassidy, gamora x peter quill, jack x sally, kaitlyn x varric, lailah x zaveid, link x mipha, lucifer x chloe, & yuna x tidus. Most of my OTPs are friends to lovers because I just love and appreciate that dynamic. 

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE? : Anything with a muse that is 18 or younger and with an adult. Otherwise like, as long as both are adults (24+) I’m generally OK with any age gap. It’s more about mindset than actual years. Though not all of my muses are interested in such large age gaps, but this is about what I’m comfortable with so...

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING? :  Certain muses, yes. Others, no. Like Jecht would be one I’m picky about because 1. I know the thirst levels (I’m right there with you) and 2. he’s difficult af (personality-wise and for me to write) and I don’t wanna force anything. He still loves his wife too so.. that just makes it more difficult. But others, like Belle, I’d throw her into a lot of ships if I could.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NS/FW? : On here, I don’t mind some light making out, but once clothes start coming off/things get more heated, then that’s it. On my nsfw sideblog.... everything is fair game.

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH? : Well, @theirohana, @passiondreamt, @multiplechoicepast, @voiceofmany & @arielthelionhearted are some that I just ship a lot of my muses with and I deeply love & appreciate these muns and their muses. I have too many muses and ships to get in-depth 

ANY NOTPS? : I think my thoughts right now is that while I may have NOTPs in their original media, it’s because of the dynamics they’re in. I may not like them there, but maybe I’d like an AU of the ship. However, I don’t think that would ever happen with r.eylo so I guess I can put that here.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU? : It’s preferred! However, in some of my muse’s rules I state that certain ships are fine to auto-ship with mine. So far this is just Jennifer/Marty and Gamora/Peter. These are just ships that I find very easy to write/already part of my muse’s feelings. Others, even though I really ship them, like Emma/Neal, my muse may have unresolved feelings or has walls up so auto-shipping would be more difficult if I don’t know your muse. I am generally open to just jumping into a ship and seeing how it goes, though asking first really helps simply so I know your intentions. My anxiety has a way of making me doubt things. 

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP? : I love it! Of course, I love platonic interactions too, but idk shipping is just a lot of fun to me and discussing those dynamics. Not just the romantic aspects, but going through trials together, helping each other, picking up habits from each other, going on adventures, etc.

ARE YOU MULTISHIP? : Yup! Some of my muses are exclusive, but it’s not often. ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS? : I guess I’m more on the obsessed side in that I just really enjoy them? But there needs to be chemistry and development for me to really be involved, its just typically easy for me to get involved. But yeah, I take it as it comes and enjoy what I have.  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM? : I guess my ‘current’ fandom would be classified as MCU because I’m obsessed with Gamora rn. So... starmora lol look, I’m just all about that aesthetic and the songs and peter being a complete dumbass but exactly what she needs and don’t touch me I love them

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU? :  uh... literally just slide into my IMs and be like ‘I have a ship idea’ and I’ll lean forward like yesssss? I feel the need to clarify this is for mutuals, though. I am a mutual only blog. 

TAGGED BY: @ironbloodied TAGGING: @voiceofmany, @venomhosted, @cadcnce, @passiondreamt, @multiplechoicepast, @multicoloredhorses-andfriends, annnd really just anyone that wants to

[pikapeppa]

Dragon Age Question Meme

Tagged by @galadrieljones - thanks lethallan!  This is a long one - I’ll continue it under a cut. 

Tagging forward to @schoute @viktuuri-fluff-saved-my-life @thevikingwoman @buttsonthebeach @charlatron @mrscullensrutherford @oops-gingermoment @iarollane @aban-asaara @irlaimsaaralath @wardsarefunctioning and anyone else who wants to play!

01) Favourite game of the series?

I haven’t played Origins yet, but between DA2 and DA:I, Inquisition is my jam! I’ve played it 3 times already and I’m not yet tired of it! So many places to explore, and I still haven’t heard all the banter yet, and the lore is just so rich, so many codex entries, yes yes.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

Basically all my Horizon Zero Dawn friends insisted - INSISTED - that I play Inquisition. For some reason I thought I wouldn’t like it, like “ahh everyone says it’s so great, how great can it be.” WELP LOL. I have no regrets, but my HZD friends might, given how HORRIBLY OBSESSED I have become LOL. 

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

- Origins: 0 times, but looking to rectify that this year! - DA2: 1.5 times. Ughhh Act 2... - DA:I: 3.5 times and still loving it!

04) Favourite race to play as?

Elf. Hands down. I played a Trevelyan once and was like MEH BORING.

05) Favourite class?

MAGE. MAGE MAGE MAGE. Although I’ve been playing as Fenris a lot in DA2 and it’s surprisingly fun!! Good thing too since I’ll have to be a two-handed warrior during my Fenquisition playthrough

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

I’ll answer for Inquisition. There are some things I always do the same (e.g. Bull saving the Chargers, allying with Abelas, making Solas APPROVE OF ME LMAO), but other things I alternate. I’ve gone with the mages and the Templars twice, respectively; I prefer picking the mages, it just makes more sense and is more “ethical” to me, but I ADORE COLE and I think the whole envy demon storyline is very interesting, so I quite enjoy siding with the Templars too. I have done something different each time at the Winter Palace, and this time I plan to do something different yet again. I strongly prefer Cole as a spirit, but I’ve had him as a spirit and as human twice each. 

My Fenris-as-Inquisitor playthrough will be interesting. I’ll be playing in character as him, so it’s going to be quite different than what I canonically do, and I’m quite interested to see what happens. Solas is going to hate me oh god

07) Go-to adventuring group?

- DA2: FENRIS and Anders, and then I alternate my rogues. I love both Varric and Isabela, but depending on how far into my Fenris romance I am, I often have to leave Isabela behind because I HATE WATCHING HER FLIRT WITH MY MAN <sobbing> - Inquisition: SOLAS, Cole and Blackwall is my favourite group, but I also love bringing Cass instead of Blackwall - I love Cass and Cole’s banter. But Solas and Cole are my FAVOURITE PAIRING. I could listen to their incomprehensible chatter forever.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

Damn. Umm... I put equal amounts of thought into Elia Lavellan (romanced with Solas), Athera Lavellan (romanced Abelas) and Rynne Hawke (romanced with Fenris). Before I started writing those ships, the question I had to answer was this: Why would Solas/Fenris/Abelas love her? I know why Elia loves Solas, and I know why Rynne loves Hawke and why Athera admires and eventually loves Abelas. But what is it about those OCs that those men fall in love with? I build my OCs around the men in their lives, not the other way around. 

09) Favourite romance?

URGH WHY MUST YOU ASK ME THIS. GOD FINE. Fenris rivalmance, ok?? But I also love the Solasmance and the Blackwall romance to the point of swooning so just FUCK RIGHT OFF WITH THIS QUESTION THXBAI~

10) have you read any of the comics/books?.

Yes! Masked Empire and Asunder.

11) if you read them, which was your favorite book?

Masked Empire. I really liked getting more background on Celene/Briala and Gaspard (i.e. WHY THE FUCK I SHOULD GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE WINTER PALACE MISSION AT ALL). I loved Felassan and Briala’s dalen/hahren relationship. And it was just better written than Asunder.

12) Favorite DLCs?

Must agree with Gala here; Trespasser is bae, and Jaws of Hakkon is just beautiful (and also AMERIDAN <sob>). But I also liked Mark of the Assassin quite a bit! So amusing!

13) Things that annoy you.

The fact that it takes a MILLION YEARS to get banter in DA:I, and also that you can’t just click on your companions in DA:I whenever you like if you just want to hear their voice. I KNOW I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CLICKED ON FENRIS CONSTANTLY TO HEAR HIM SAY “I enjoy following you”, OKAY? LIKE ALL I WANT IS FOR SOLAS  TO SAY “vhenan” TO ME WHILE WE’RE WANDERING THROUGH THE BLOODY WESTERN APPROACH

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Ferelden? We seem to spend more time there. But I’m kind of neutral I guess.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages. Hands down. Sorry Templars.

16) if you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

All parallel universes. None of them coexist. Rynne Hawke doesn’t even coexist with any of my Lavellans because Fenris becomes the Inquisitor in my headcanon

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

I have only one pet, Hawke’s mabari, and his name is Toby. 

18) have you installed any mods?

Console only <sob>

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

n/a - haven’t played Origins yet!

20) Hawke’s personality?

PURPLE HAWKE, with a healthy dash of Isabela-level flirtiness. But Rynne (over?)uses humour to deflect pain and agitation and anger.

21) did you make matching armour for your companions in Inquisition?

...Maybe. 

HAHAH so I made matching colour armour for Elia and Solas, yes. And I generally like to dress both Cole and myself in black and red!

22) if your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?  

Ohhhh.... fuck. This is tough. - Elia Lavellan (romanced Solas): ...surprisingly, nothing really. She’s got a pretty zen kind of ‘what will be, will be’ attitude. In her darkest moments she might regret falling for Solas, but overall, she doesn’t really regret anything. - Arya Lavellan (romanced Blackwall): nothing. She is very confident.  - Athera Lavellan (romanced Abelas): honestly, she questions half of her decisions half the time. After Trespasser, she regrets not dissolving the Inquisition. (I haven’t decided yet if she eventually does dissolve it after all; perhaps we’ll see what DA4 brings us).  - Rynne Hawke (romanced Fenris): a LOT of things. She regrets letting Bethany attack that ogre. She regrets not bringing Carver to the Deep Roads, because maybe then he wouldn’t have joined the Templars to spite her. She regrets not following up more closely on Emeric’s murder investigation because otherwise maybe her mother wouldn’t have died. She basically blames herself anytime anything bad happens with her family (including the Merry Band of Misfits). 

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

I actually quite enjoy sticking to canon for the most part, and expanding on facts that we already know. The one canon-ish(?) thing I don’t love is the idea of Dalish Inquisitors understanding or speaking a dialect of Elvhen that’s mutually intelligible with the dialect that Solas and Abelas speak. I let it slide in my Solavellan fics, but I mean, it’s been THOUSANDS OF YEARS between Arlathan and the Dragon Age. Dalish Elvhen (even if they have many many dialects, which is most certainly the case) is very unlikely to be mutually intelligible with ancient Elvhen. I’ve been meaning to write a full post about this for like a year oops

24) Are any of your character(s) based on someone?

They all contain some elements of self-insert, so... me, I guess? XD

25) Who did you leave in the Fade?

The first time I played Inquisition, I had not played DA2 yet, so I left Hawke in the Fade for LOGIC REASONS OK - Stroud was like the only senior Warden left, I thought they needed him! I’ve left Stroud there every time thereafter. 

26) Favourite mount?

Well, it WOULD be any and all the harts, except for that FUCKING HORRENDOUS SOUND THEY MAKE. I thus prefer to ride dracolisks for the Coolness Factor™. 

[wolgrahas]

tagged by: @falkreathh thank you!!  sorry for doing this so much later u_u’ tagging: whoever wants to!! (◡‿◡✿) 1. favourite game in the series ok... i don’t know if you already figured it out but my total fave is dao. why? maybe is the nostalgic feelings this game gives me or... i played it so many mcfucking times that i just get this hollow feeling inside my chest when i haven’t played it for weeks... idk. the trespasser dlc was spectacular too and gave my lavellan a lot of personality (what i thought the dai base game lacked, bc it made me feel like my inquisitor was an empty shell with no personality, solas’ romance save the dai base game to me tbqh). but... you can create such complex personalities in dao for your warden, and the relationships are so so realistic. i think (dao) is neat lmao. 

2. how did you discover dragon age? before being a dragon age fan i was a dark souls fan; i breath dark souls, i read dark souls, i ate dark souls, i was quite obsessed with dark souls, and before dark souls i was an obsessed skyrim fan (oNLY SKYRIM, not the previous games ashdgjasdgh) and with skyrim that was the first time i made video game oc's, like... they had such complex personalities and i cannot make complex character now... aNYWAY i'm getting carried away: i knew dragon age bc dai was being lunched and ALL the people i followed reblogged stuff about dai, and then i bought dao and loved it!! 

3. how many times have you played the games? hfgsdjfhsjfshd fffUCKKKK SHITT... alright... many mANY TIMES, but how many times i haven't finished my game?? countless times!! i think i finished fINISHED dao maybe... pls don't laugh at me... 10+ times. yes they are so so so many times, shame on me! shame on my cow! blah blah, but i lOVE dao. da2 maybe.... 3-4 times? and dai 6 times?? it's funny bc i played dao and da2 in many different ways but dai... m8, always the same, fuck you solas sdhfjdshjsdf 4. favourite race to play? qUNARIIIII!!! i lOVE tieflings so.. i obviously love the qunari too, but in the dai the first race i chose was qunari but then i talked to solas and i was like... bITCHHHHH i'm gonna create an elf to romance this egg, and then... my canon inky became an elf lol. and last favourite race are humans... ok don't hate me, it's not bc they are """boring""" or shit like that, it's bc they are the upper-class of thedas and i LOVE the "from zero to hero" trope... so... yeah agfshsdfhj 5. favourite class? mages!! bc i love the lore behind this class, it's fantastic, precisely blood magic. but if i didn't care about this, i would choose archer, tho in the first games it sucked but in dai is pretty cool :^) 6. do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time? as i've said before i have made many different decisions in dao and da2 but in dai are always the same lol 7. go-to adventuring group? origins: alistair/sten, morrigan, zev/leliana da2: aveline, anders, isabela/varric dai: solas, cassandra, cole/sera 8. which of your characters did you put the most thought into? i think prim/anika??(they're the same but one is a human and the other an elf lmaoo), she was my first da oc, and obviously the one i put most thought into bc i uSED to have a lot of creativity some years ago, what a pity my brain is useless now lmao 9. favourite romance? pfffff... solas, alistair, leli and cass!! i think?? idk i gotta play again dai bc i'm not sure :/ 10. have you read any of the comics/books? i've read aLL the books but not the comics :/, i want to read the comics but idk where i could read them online and free (sorry i'm poor lol), so... mi gozo en un pozo lmao 11. if you read them, which was your favourite book? my fav book was "the masked empire"!! patrick weekes is a good writer and i loved the orlesian politics, and i adored seeing these characters in dai! (tho briala was whitewashed lmao) 12. favourite DLCs? obviously: awakening and trespasser. these two dlc's were mcfUCKING AMAZING. i mean, with dao i expected the same quality of the base game, but trespasser was such an excelent and good experience, it gave a lot of insight to our inquisitors and also: sOOULASSSSS, so yep! i mainly lOVED trespasser and i hope weekes guides the team to make a game at least as good as this dlc! (tho, if ea is a greedy bintch this time [as always lol] it doesn't matter how many times the bioware time tries, ea will force them to do a shitty game :/) 13. things that annoy you how viv, anders and sera are written, i mean, i loved anders the first time i played da2 but his personality is obviously written to annoy the fuck outta you, tho i loved how he expressed his ideals freely (tho sometimes he even seemed too traidtional to me about topics like blood magic :/), but sera and viv were a lil harder to befriend and like, and i still don't like much viv, but i love her as a character, y'kno 14. orlais or ferelden? tbh, if i gotta live in one of those two places i would choose ferelden by fAR. but, now, if we're talking about which is more interesting; orlais. 15. templars or mages? like @/blckwall said: all templars are bastards :). i would love if thedas had independent magic schools, that there were no higher representatives or charges, that every village or city had its own magic school, and the crown would be the responsable of manage its needs. i haven't thought much about this so my thoughts are quite vague :/ 16. if you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? they're from different universes, tho i'd love the idea of all of them being in the same universe, but some worlds states are incompatible with others. 17. what did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc) in dao: barkspawn (i'm extremelly predictable, sorry u_u') 18. have you installed any mods? all my dragon age games are modded as fUCK. i mean, i think dao is the most heavy modded game i have?? (mainly bc i cannot install many mods in skyrim lol) but when i have my gaming computer again i will mod the shit out of dai >:) 19. did your warden want to become a grey warden? prim had been working in the circle her entire live to be in the higher ranks, and then she saw how all her work was lost made her really conflicted: she didn't wanted to leave bc she yearned to be more powerful and make the circle a better place for mages (yep, she's deeply anti-circle bc of her traumatic past), and she was going to die if she refused duncan's offer. even so, she was never sorry for supporting jowan. and, she became the king of ferelden's mistress; she loved him obv, but she could also take some advantage of his power to make the mages and marginalize people's situation better, and gain fortune by that; alistair was well aware about her plans by prim's words herself, but he never objected. altho the main cause prim made alistair king is bc she wanted him to have a good life and not waste it as a grey warden, so... anyway, i got acrried away... this is long af ghdjsdgf 20. hawke’s personality? red mostly, tho he used to be purple/red in the first and begining of the second act :/ 21. did you make matching armor for your companions in inquisition? yes i did!! i lOVED to be fashionable in dragon age instyle!! 22. if your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? prim : she would have tried to convince jowan and wait some months until she could convince him. also: sometimes she wishes she didn't make alistair king, mostly bc of her daughter (her daughter is the only heir to the throne of ferelden, and basically she doesn't even know that prim is her real mother, mostly bc anora adopted her bc alistair and she couldn't have children), sometimes, in her alone saddest times, thinks how things would have been if alistair was still a grey warden, they would have a happy family and wouldn't even had to hide inofensive stuff like a cheek kiss. but anyway, her duties as a grey warden are more important and doesn't have time to think about it. garrett hawke: he regrets not defending carver, he would have prefered to sacrifice himself instead of any of his siblings. he also regrets going to the deep roads with bethany, letting the grey wardens make her one of them (obv he doesn't know that if he didn't she would have joined the circle lmao). and obv her mother's death... if he had been there, with her mother, he could have done something... :'/ maia: she regrets not being strong enough when that shem tried to hurt her when she was a litte girl, that made her mother kill him to save her bc she was too defenseless, she should have been stronger, that caused her mother and she part ways, because now maia's mother was a criminal and she had more proabilities of getting caught, so maia should go on her way and find the next village, but she found the lavellan clan. she deeply regrets not going after her mother. she also think she was too stupid to not found out the true identity of solas and try to convince him that this world has meaning :'/ 23. do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon? mmmm... no? :/, i like my decisions to have consequences?? 24. are any of your characters based on someone? sahgdashsd pls don't make fun of me but in the first stage of prim's/anika's 'personality creation' was inspired by mother gothel, then she was inspired by...... mikasa ackerman dsfgdjsdf, i'm still inspired by that character tHO i know that shingeki no kyojin is nazi propaganda and i no longer watch that anime lmao. maia is inspired by... a mix of me and rapunzel (from tangled)?? she's basically a shy rapunzel :') 25. who did you leave in the fade? some of you will hate me bc i had to choose between hawke and stroud but i still chose hawke dsfgsdf. m8, hawke is just a 'figure' who isn't widely recognized in thedas, while the grey warden are 394789x more useful, idk i always put myself in the shoes of my characters even if their decisions hurt me (tho, tbqh, i'm not tHAT attached to hawke so this choice was easy lol) 26. favourite mount? royal sixteen!! she's so pretty!! ♡♡♡ thanks for tagging me!! ♡♡

[fade-and-loathing-in-thedas]

Dear author (hightown funk)

Hi gifter! Thank you for taking my prompts. I wanted to write this in case you’re stuck or just wanting more info about my likes/dislikes since I kept my prompts pretty vague. I'm generally excited about any and all Varric/Hawke content so I'm not hard to please, so feel free to change as much as you like of the prompts as long as you avoid my dislikes :)

PROMPTS

Pirate AU: I'm obsessed with Our Flag Means Death at the moment so would love to see the Kirkwall Crew in a pirate AU. Would love something fun and humourous with a happy ending.

Some ideas for this prompt:

Idiots in love - Maybe the crew/Kirkwall gang conspiring to get these two idiots to realise they're in love.

Hurt/comfort - person a is injured, so person b is out of their mind with worry and looking after them.

Person a is doing something epic, or maybe incredibly stupid, and person b sees and is just like 'omg I think I'm in love with them' queue freak out because how are they meant to resolve this without messing up their friendship/partnership.

Hurt/comfort: Hawke gets injured and Varric looks after them.

Some ideas for this prompt:

Would love to see a red Hawke trying to hide an injury and Varric noticing. Hawke could be a complete jerk about it all but Varric just like nope, none of that bullshit today. This also works with purple just instead of being a jerk they keep making jokes and avoiding the issue.

Doesn't have to be a physical injury. Varric could be comforting them after Bethany, Carver or Leandra.

Also doesn't have to be that deep. Varric could be looking after Hawke cos they have a cold.

Mutual pinning: I would adore some in canon mutual pinning. It can be at any point in canon but the basics being they are both in love with the other but don't think the other feels the same way and don't want to loose their friendship over it. Angst with a happy ending or just angst, I would love either.

NOTE: This is tagged as a custom Hawke request, but I'm a-ok with a default Hawke (male or female) if you are struggling to write my gal :)

FOR ARTISTS

Honestly, have fun. Anything you want. It doesn’t have to be inspired by any of the prompts above if you don’t like; consider this a wild card!

HAWKE

I love me a pro-mage, chaotic good, purple Hawke but I also have a soft spot for a red Hawke who just doesn't know how to be vulnerable or express emotions outside of snark and anger. One of my favourite things about Hawke's relationship with Varric is how well he knows them and can see through their mask, be it made of humor or anger. For appearance, I love the default female and male Hawke, but if you want to play around with appearance I'm not gonna have a problem (go wild!)

CUSTOM HAWKE

Description: Aeryn Hawke has light skin tone, a small smattering of freckles across her nose, dark brown, messy, chin length hair, and green eyes. She's also a shorty and stands roughly 5'1"

Personality: Aeryn Hawke is an awkward as all hell purple Hawke who just wants her friends to get along. Speaks fluent sarcasm and is surprisingly charming for the awkward mess that she is. She's also idealistic, deeply empathic and incredibly self-critical and will take on too much responsibility. And despite being a rogue, she's clumsy as all hell lol

Links: screenshots , interview , intro and face claim

RATINGS

I’m open to any ratings! I honestly have no problem where it falls on the rating scale (throw in as much lemon or lime as you want) the one caveat I have is that the whole fic not be just that. I just prefer plot and banter over spicy content. I also prefer reading get-togethers than pre-established relationships, where possible :)

OTHER SHIPS

I’m fine with other background ships if you want to include them (except no Bethany/Sebastian, please).

STUFF I LOVE

I love pretty much all the Kirkwall crew, would not say no to any or all featuring. I will admit I'm so-so on Sebastian, like he's not a no or a dislike but honestly not that excited to see him in content. Love when Aveline is the mum friend. I also love me some established Merrill/Isabela, so always happy to see that in the background. I'm a sucker for absolute crack and humour, but I also adore some hurt comfort and angst with a happy ending.

I also really enjoy: touching moments, mutual pining, one person thinks it's unrequited love but it's actually not, jealousy, normally charming but now I'm awkward cos I just realised I love you, love confessions, partners in crime, fake dating/pretend relationships, AU settings, person a thinking about how much they really care about person b, and missing scenes from canon.

PLEASE DON’T

No non-con, bdsm, character bashing, or pro templar or chantry stuff. Bickering is okay but no out right tearing each out to bits from the companions (verbally or physically).

[inquisitor-julia]

I was tagged by @i-dont-even-like-elves for the 11 questions ask meme thingy! Thank you so much for tagging me!! :)

1) THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HAPPY, IT WAS BECAUSE YOU ___.

i was at a place called Lazy 5 Ranch with my mom and brother and we were having a great time feeding all of the animals (though having a giant cow shove its head into your car to try to steal your bucket of food is mildly terrifying .-. )

2) WHAT’S THE BEST (OR STRANGEST, OR MOST UNEXPECTED) COMPLIMENT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

I’m going to be really honest the one that i enjoyed the most was an anon message i got here on tumblr after posting a selfie (i think) and it just said “Your eyes remind me of true love pickles” to this day i don’t know exactly what that means or who sent it but i think about that a lot. 

3) BASED ON THE TALENTS YOU CURRENTLY POSSES, ARE YOU A WARRIOR, ROGUE, MAGE, OR BARD (OR IF NONE, NAME ANOTHER CLASS)? WHAT’S YOUR SIGNATURE SKILL? YOUR LEAST IMPRESSIVE SKILL?

I’m a mage, probably favoring elemental magic and/or nature magic. Not sure what my signature would be....but i’d probably be known for accidentally setting people’s hair or clothes on fire when i’m super mad at them ^^” my least impressive skill would be that (because of my nature magic) animals love me...which is already pretty true like let me tell you last time i went to the zoo my ex accused me of being a disney princess because i had a butterfly land on me and not want to leave even when i shook my hand a little (i ended up having to get it to land on someone else), i got the alligators to come over to us so we could see them, the tiger was absolutely 100% talking to me and rubbing his face on the fence, i was petting a parrot and when i stopped and started walking away he threw an absolute fit, AND i had a wild lizard crawl up my leg to ride around on my shoulder for a few minutes....

4) WHAT’S THE SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF THE BEST NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE?

The one that comes to mind is “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas because it reminds me of a time in middle school that all of my friends and i went to a corn maze together and...i just have really fond memories of hanging out with all of them in middle school :’) we’re still friends of course but we don’t have as much time to hang out like we used to

5) MUST PROTECT AT ALL COSTS: ____

COLE, Izuku Midoriya, Yuri Katsuki, Josephine Montilyet, 707, literally everyone in Voltron, the raptor squad in Jurassic World, Anders, ALISTAIR

6) WELL, SHIT. VARRIC’S WRITING A BOOK ABOUT YOUR EXPLOITS. WHAT’S THE TITLE?

“Really....that’s it?” is the only thing that came to mind lol my life would hardly make for an interesting read but if anyone could make it interesting i suppose it would be Varric

7) WHAT’S AN OBSESSION YOU HONESTLY HOPE NEVER GOES AWAY?

Dragon Age, anime, animals, dinosaurs, SCIENCE

8) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR RETIREMENT?

oh good gosh i have no idea i’m only 21....i mean if i retired right now i’d probably learn to make mods, refine my art, maybe start taking commissions? If i have the money when i retire i want to travel...i’m not about to let a little age stop me from seeing the world. Though ideally i’d like to travel while i’m young =/

9) WHO WAS YOUR FIRST CRUSH OR HERO? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THEM NOW?

My first crush that i can remember was probably James from Pokemon??? 

I still love James and I’m still weirdly attracted to him??

And my first hero who i looked up to and wanted to be like was Steve Irwin.

Steve Irwin is still really and truly what I aspire to be. To love life so much and be so excited about what you do and excited about the world around you? For me that’s the ideal. He respected animals and nature even the dangerous things and for me to grow up seeing that helped shape me into who i am today. I work at a vet’s office and my respect and understanding for the animals helps me get along with even some of the “mean” ones. I learned that respect from many people in my life but Steve Irwin was absolutely one of the greatest influences in helping me find that animals are my passion. :)

10) WHAT’S SOMETHING THAT OTHERS EXPECT YOU TO CARE ABOUT, BUT YOU SIMPLY DON’T?

hmmm....well every single time someone finds out i’m a vegan they think i support PETA or other preachy organizations and i absolutely don’t. PETA is awful but besides that i also don’t take part in that crazy veganism which involves policing what other people eat? I support animal rights but within reason. People are going to eat meat i just wish animals raised for meat or other products were treated more humanely. I also wish that workers in the food industry were treated better and paid more. I truly just want people to respect each other and the world around them. I’m a vegan for health reasons, you eat your bacon i literally don’t care if you eat three pounds of it in front of me (besides that i might worry about your health if you did that in one sitting)

that went a little off topic but I don’t care about PETA that was my original point ^^”

11) WHAT MYTH, FAIRY TALE, LEGEND, OR SUPERSTITION DO YOU MOST WISH WERE TRUE?

....does Harry Potter count because damn i want to go to Hogwarts

Ok so now i ask ten questions right? that is how this works?

1. What is your favorite dinosaur?

2. What kind of natural scenery appeals the most to you?

3. What smell (or smells) do you find comforting?

4. Do you collect anything?

5.  What two characters would you want as parents and why?

6. What is one physical feature about yourself that you like?

7. What is one thing about yourself (personality-wise etc.) that you like?

8. If your soul/spirit was represented by a color, what color would it be/would you want it to be?

9. Tell me about That Fic/Comic in your head that you’ll probably never write

10. What’s your favorite book/movie of all time and why did it speak to you so much?

11.  Tell me of a trope you don’t like, and one time you made an exception and actually enjoyed it in a work of fiction! That, or tell me about that one character that is not the type you usually like, and YET…

And I’ll tag...the first 11 people in my activity. Feel free to ignore this if you don’t want to fill it out! No pressure to do this!

@mmesnappysnips @alleiradayne @evillyte @star--nymph @please-pet-the-dread-wolf @queerantivan @empresstress13 @dragenage @aromagebloom @miriani-lavellan @irlaimsaaralath  @elevanetheirin and @i-dont-even-like-elves (if you’d like to do this again)

Thanks again for the tag! :)

[pointy-eared-muse]

11 (More) Questions!

I was tagged (back) by @i-dont-even-like-elves​; thank you, lovely!

Again, rules are to answer 11 questions, write 11 new questions of your own, and tag 11 people to answer them!

1) THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HAPPY, IT WAS BECAUSE YOU ___.

Got offered a new (and hopefully better) job!  I should be starting in a couple weeks!

2) WHAT’S THE BEST (OR STRANGEST, OR MOST UNEXPECTED) COMPLIMENT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

Oh boy, hmm.  Well, when I was 18, I won the “Most Original” category for my dorm’s Halloween costume contest.  I was dressed as Naga The White Serpent from the anime Slayers.  However, they announced me as “the futuristic Xena lady.”  I still laugh over that one.  Also, I once had a partner say to me “I love that you’re so tiny.  It’s so easy to manhandle you.” (By which he meant “pick me up and move me around”)

3) BASED ON THE TALENTS YOU CURRENTLY POSSESS, ARE YOU A WARRIOR, ROGUE, MAGE, OR BARD (OR IF NONE, NAME ANOTHER CLASS)? WHAT’S YOUR SIGNATURE SKILL? YOUR LEAST IMPRESSIVE SKILL?

I... guess I’d be a bard...?  Or maybe a loremaster.  I have pretty high INT and CHA scores.  I’m pretty good with diplomacy checks.  Also I have language feats.  And several ranks in disguise/cosplay.  My signature skill is Bardic Inspiration.  I don’t know how it works, but somehow I make a very good Muse.  I’m not sure what my least-impressive skill is... Maybe Fitting Into Small Spaces...? Otherwise, maybe a mage, but unfortunately, I’d have to be a blood mage.  My patron deity insists on being paid that way.

4) WHAT’S THE SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF THE BEST NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE?

Best night of my life?  I’m not entirely sure I’ve had it yet!  But, so far...  OK, this is going to sound dumb, but “Elvenpath” by Nightwish.  Why? Because that was one of the first songs of the mix CDs I’d made for being in labor when my son was born.  I didn’t end up using them, but still!  And his birth I think counts as one of the better nights (even if labor itself is no fun whatsoever). 5) MUST PROTECT AT ALL COSTS: ____

My son’s imagination and ambition. He wants to be an inventor when he grows up!  I hope he becomes one!

6) WELL, SHIT. VARRIC’S WRITING A BOOK ABOUT YOUR EXPLOITS. WHAT’S THE TITLE?

“Sweet Smile, Silver Tongue.”  ....I’ve spent most of my life doing customer service in some form or another.

7) WHAT’S AN OBSESSION YOU HONESTLY HOPE NEVER GOES AWAY?

I don’t think my obsessions ever truly go away, but... IDK, maybe my love of Tolkien. 8) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR RETIREMENT?

AHAHAHAHA, you assume I’ll actually GET to retire one day.  But, hmmm, sleep in every day, pet cats, play games, read books, knit/sew things, write stories, draw pictures...  Basically everything I do on my days off, except without having to worry about going to work ever. 9) WHO WAS YOUR FIRST CRUSH OR HERO? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THEM NOW?

As in... a real person?  Not a fictional one?  I... don’t really have much in the way of either, actually (real or fictional).  I’m aroace, and I’ve never really had a personal hero/role model...  So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 10) WHAT’S SOMETHING THAT OTHERS EXPECT YOU TO CARE ABOUT, BUT YOU SIMPLY DON’T?

Housekeeping/tidiness.  I hate to clean.  I am disturbingly content to live in disorganized squalor.

11) WHAT MYTH, FAIRY TALE, LEGEND, OR SUPERSTITION DO YOU MOST WISH WERE TRUE? Who says they aren’t?  I mean, I’m an Elfkin, so....

OK, time to write a new batch of questions!

1) What is the most unique thing on your proverbial “bucket list”? 2) If I offered you a free divination reading (tarot, geomancy, stichomancy, fortune sticks, etc.), would you take it?  And if so, what would you want it to be about? 3) What is your most treasured memory? 4) Is there anything you didn’t expect you’d like at first, but now really love?  If so, what, and why? 5) Tell me about the worst book you’ve ever had to read. 6)  Where are you most likely to find your inspiration, and why? 7)  Tell me the story of the most embarrassing typo you’ve ever made. 8)  How are you most likely to show someone kindness, and why? 9)  If you had to identify as something other than human (real or otherwise), what would you choose, and why? 10)  What are your most and least favorite weather phenomena, and why? 11)  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; what’s something you find beautiful that no one else seems to, and why? I tag @enchanted-phoenix, because you’re new! (Welcome to my corner of the internet, by the way!)  And... so I don’t become That Mutual, I informally tag all the rest of you who want to answer these questions.  If you see them and want to answer, consider yourself tagged.

[ms-katonic-of-tamriel]

Dream Daddy #1 - The Dadsonas

I finally did all the arcs.  Go me, eh?

So anyway, I had run-throughs involving various characters, including Madanach, Cicero, Alistair, Dorian, Eliot Spencer and Argis.  And I shoulda done a Varric one, bugger.  Oh well.  Still time.  This is Madanach and Cicero, because Cicero’s got long.

Madanach was first and it took three attempts to get him a happy ending.  Fucked up Damien’s final date and got dumped at Amanda’s graduation party.  Reloaded, went for Joseph... and it turns out he won’t leave Mary.  Mads is not OK with being the bit on the side.  Reload.  I will get you a boyfriend if it kills me, Madanach.  Went with Hugo, and it turns out the bookish nerd is SUPER INTO watching muscly guys grappling with each other, and Madanach is also FINE with this.  A bit too fine.  You do not need to shout that loudly at them to get in there and kill the enemy.  Calm down.  But it went well, Madanach loyally gave the finger to the kiss cam to protect Hugo’s privacy, and Hugo has a new burst of confidence, not to mention someone who will be Far More Authoritarian Dad than Hugo ever can be.  (The first time Ernest tries to join the Forsworn gang from the other side of town will be hilarious. The second time, not so much.  Ernest claiming he’s a member anyway and shouting at Madanach in an argument that he’ll get the Forsworn to kill him nearly gives Madanach a hernia from laughing.  Then he stops and seriously tells Ernest not to take the gang’s name in vain, he knows damn well Ernest isn’t a member, falsely claiming you’re a member is a dangerous move.  Two nights later, the Forsworn pick him up, and drag him blindfolded to a darkened warehouse and terrify the living blazes out of him (he’s not actually harmed but a lesson is needed).  When he’s finally sobbing and pleading for mercy, they relent and dump him on the edge of town... where Madanach’s waiting, in civvies.  He thanks the Forsworn for bringing him and they salute before leaving.  Then he picks Ernest and rather gently tells him not to romanticise criminals, they aren’t worth it and he can do better with his life than this.  He’s a bright kid with a bright future.  He doesn’t need to fall into a life of crime.  He can have a better life than Madanach did.  Ernest looks at his stepfather with new eyes, quietly goes home with him and gives neither Hugo nor Madanach any trouble again.)  The Dad character was weirdly in character for Madanach!  The right mix of social awkwardness, heart in the right place, cares dearly for his kids, capable of laying down the law when needed, a bit too competitive but there for his friends.  I think he’d have worked out well with all the Dads, weirdly!  Apart from Joseph.  He’d have spent weeks seething and wanting to have Mary killed but not be able to bring himself to do it because he likes her, dammit, and then he realises perhaps it’s not Mary who needs killing.  The gangland shooting of the popular youth minister is a crying shame and a tragedy, but Mary, although initially heartbroken, rallies and survives and a year later is a completely different person who no longer visits bars and is wrangling four kids who are sad but also surviving.  Madanach considers chatting her up himself... but then Robert, the former one night stand who’s been ignoring him goes ‘I know what you did... *silence*  *intense stare*  *moar silence*  *comfort is a distant memory* thanks.  She’s a better person these days... want a drink?’  Madanach says yes to the drink, no to the sex, somehow a queerplatonic thing develops.  Mary, Robert and Madanach end up buddies and effectively co-parenting the kids after Mary and Madanach stage an intervention for their Hot Mess Not-Boyfriend involving all the other dads.  The repeated refrain of ‘ROBERT NO, STOP ENCOURAGING THE TWINS’ is a constant echo in the Christiansen-Smalls-Dareche household.

It obviously didn’t end like that, but it would have been great if it had. ;)

Cicero!  Cicero was a delight.  He was spoilt for choice, but managed to miss out on Robert due to being Unable to Say No (probably for the best, amirite?).  Originally went for Brian, but the forced competitiveness jarred, because Cicero doesn’t do alpha-maling.  He’d be losing on purpose and acting helpless and accidentally-on-purpose causing minor domestic disasters that Brian would have to come and help fix, meaning Cicero gets to watch a big strong man at work and then invite him for dinner as a reward.  The fall in the lake on the fishing trip would be on purpose so Brian would have to rescue him.  And then on the ferris wheel, Cicero glances over as Brian’s telling him not to panic, it’ll be all right, he’ll look after him (because he’s so used by this point to Cicero gazing adoringly up at him or pathetically up at him because he needs help).  And then Cicero reaches for his knapsack and pulls out this harness and rope and carabiners and stuff that would put professional rock-climbers to shame, tells Brian to sit tight and make sure the rope stays clamped in place, and casually abseils off the fucking ferris wheel.  He reaches the ground like he’s done this before (he’s done this before, he’s a retired professional hitman, continually riding on a ferris wheel is a great way to survey a carnival when your target works there).  Brian’s phone rings and it’s Cicero wanting to know if Brian can talk the staff through repairing an engine - wait never mind, the problem is a live raccoon still in the engine, Cicero has this one -click.  Minutes later, the wheel starts moving, staff advising everyone the problem is solved and do not look closely at the engine or the unmoving lump under the tarpaulin nearby.  Cicero is looking very pleased with himself, and goes to cuddle Brian as he gets off the ride, only for Brian to stare at him and demand to know could he have sorted out all those incidents himself the whole time.  Was he in fact losing at all those carnival games on purpose???  Cicero goes a bit pale and nervous, giggles and then ends up up admitting yes, Cicero won just enough toys to keep Amanda happy and lost the rest of the games because he was trying to fluff up Brian’s ego.  Brian can’t believe this and tells Cicero he didn’t need to do that, Brian’s not the type to get angry if someone is better than him at something and he’d rather win honestly.  Then he sees Cicero’s sad face, pats him on the back and tells him next time the carnival is in town, he wants Cicero to stop holding back, and promises he won’t mind losing, in fact he likes the idea of Cicero being a fiercely skilled individual, it’s attractive.  Also it was kinda sweet being rescued for a change.  Cicero beams and hugs him and they go off holding hands, Cicero promising Brian he will win him lots of prizes next time, that dart game is very easy once you know the trick, it’s all to do with the way the darts are weighted.  Then Amanda and Daisy arrive in tears, because they lost the pet fish Brian won for Cicero.  Cue Daring Rescue operation and Cicero deftly rescues Brian the Fish with one flick of the pole and then squeals all the way down the log flume and swears this was the best night of his life.  Followed by watching the fireworks, cuddling Brian, and Brian saying he rather likes Daring and Brave Cicero and wouldn’t mind seeing more of him.  There is kissing.  It’s cute.

That’s the Cicero/Brian arc I WANTED but it’s not the Brian arc I got.  Sigh.  So I reloaded and went for Craig instead.  (Missed out on Robert, Joseph not an option, Hugo and Damien too intellectual, and Mat’s niche indie musical tastes are a bit of an embarrassment for Cicero, who’s music collection is basically the G.A.Y. playlist and showtunes - identical to Joseph’s had he known it.)  And Cicero/Craig REALLY WORKED as a pairing!  Cicero’s in shape enough from all that running away from police and private guards and scaling walls and fences and wrestling targets into submission, and as said above, can abseil off a carnival ride without fear, so can keep up with him physically and show an interest in things athletic even if he’s not obsessed.  And Craig has become so wrapped up in parenting he’s lost sight of who he is.  He needs someone who will nag him into taking care of himself and lead him astray a bit, and his old buddy Cicero (who wasn’t very good at university in all honesty, he only went because it was expected, did Media Studies and Journalism because it meant an excuse to walk round campus with a camera and ask people impertinent questions then write a scurrilous anon gossip column in the student newspaper which he got material for by eavesdropping, breaking and entering and basically being a conniving little shit) is VERY good at tempting people down a path of irresponsibility.  Also the third Craig date is perfect for Cicero - basically making Craig sit down and enjoy himself, being just mildly threatening if Craig tries to do anything like work, cackling at a tree that looks like a bottom, flinging himself off a waterfall and loving every minute of it, posing as he strips off for the swan-diving, cooing as Craig sorts the fire out then accidentally-on-purpose forgetting the other sleeping bag so they have to share one.  Perfect!

The twins love him, although it pains him they will not be trained to do the creepy thing that Joseph’s two have got going, and River will never know a life without him tending to her.  He’s very loving and protective of all three of them.  Gods help the future boyfriends. XD

[glowyelfboyfriend]

Hey, any advice for writing fanfic? I find it's hard to get in the heads of characters that aren't my own but I want to write stuff!

Oh my gosh oh my gosh ok I love talking about character writing in fanfic omg yes please.

I consider this SUCH an important skill as someone wanting to write professionally for things like tv or video games or bigger medias that have multiple writers/designers/directors where the characters aren’t 100% your brain bunny. Even if you aren’t gunning for something like that its still a great skill and practise because it forces you to move outside of your character-creation comfort zone and experience characters who might be radically different from you or what you might write! Its so good!

Ok alright. here’s my actual tips for getting in the heads of and writing characters for fic~

RESEARCH! Research so much. Find out everything you can about the characters you are planning on focusing on. Treat it like reverse character creation, instead of ‘deciding’ how their childhood impacted them or why they are the way they are find out. Try and see how they make their own decisions and opinions in game based on their history (I mean, how does growing up under the Qun affect how someone like Iron Bull perceives things? How does having a family history like Alistair affect his present social interactions?). Pay attention to details but don’t obsess over them, try and see the character as if they were a new friend you wanted to get to know better and understand.

My fave example of this is when I realised Varric was going to be a pretty integral part of TCR and I realised I had NO IDEA how he worked or how to write him convincingly. I spent a solid day reading everything I could about his character, rewatching scenes with him, examining details and then by the time I sat back and took it all in I realised there was SO MUCH to him I had no idea about and suddenly he made sense to me as a character and I was able to understand the subtle nuances that surround him as a character (that dwarf is strange and complicated and well written like fuck me up)

Research their voice and their ‘voice’. When I need to write with a character Im not as familiar with or someone new or even just feel stuck doing dialogue with a character I know well I find its extremely helpful to drown myself in their in-game dialogue. The super lcuky thing about DA is that we have both tons of youtube videos containing all their banters but also wiki pages with them all written. I find it helps me to look at both, back and forth, hearing them talk and reading their dialogue will give you different understandings of how to make their dialoguesound like them which is sometimes half the battle with writing canon-characters.

More writing advice than character advice but do your best not to drown your character dialogue in stereotypes or false habits.  If a character swears you gotta figure out HOW and how often and what context. If a character uses nicknames you gotta know how often and how those nicknames are selected.

Find something you can easily connect with with the character you wanna write. I write very empathetically, I feel what my characters feel as I write and connect to them emotionally pretty easily. Not everyone is like that but I think it can help writing a character when you find a thread of something you can empathise or relate to, then build understanding from there.

Just like with any character you would create, you need to find out what a character’s main root motivation is so you cn have them respond to situations in an understandable way that readers will recognise.

Read those big huge meta posts that are floating around, read what fan say they see in the characters or what they love. But do so critically as well, combine this with research and active attention to them in-game.

PHEW I think that covers some ideas, people should go ahead and add more if they have tips too!