#anders was right actually

[rusted-pipe-of-wisdom]

bingo! got tagged by @massgrav to submit my (correct) character opinions.

tagging @laniardraws for Samson and @ryyann302 for Malenia, if you’d like <3

#rustypipes-rambles #character bingo #character opinions #dragon age #anders was right actually #loghain... ok hear me out #he's a scrimblo bimblo #skrunkliest man alive #esp in the stolen throne

[azurechicken]

I find it curious that people who end up disliking Anders usually list their reasoning as him being snappy. Well, yeah? He is snappy, he is loud, he is fiery, and he doesn't know how to stand down most of the time. If he was not the way he is, he would be another Circle Mage. But that is not really the point, is it? He does not start out as this fiery mage who cannot shut up about anything injustice. He starts out as this jokester even the fans always look back and say "I liked this Anders better". Between the jokester!Anders and fiery!Anders, is there really that big of a difference though? Don't get me wrong, I do see the way years changed him, as well as the merging of course. But who he was and who he is are just a reflection of how he reacts to the same problem he always faced; being unheard. This man spent his entire life trying to make points that never really reached their destination. At first he joked about them, and everybody waved him off. Then he got serious, and he was shut down or ignored. From the point that we meet him, between dead templers, he already looked like he lost the argument about having anyone just listen long ago. So he jokes about it. Now, Awakening!Anders is young, not yet faced the unending taint and darkspawns, he is just starting. He didn't yet see the mess Kirkwall is, didn't help anyone who needs it in a sewer selflessly until drained. Didn't have an ethereal being of justice push him towards righting the wrongs done to his kind. He still had Ser Pounce too, if that helps. And in a way, Karl, of course. But the Anders we see in Kirkwall has seen and done all that. He is now all that he suffered. He changed, he didn't have a choice against it. But one thing did not change; he continued to make his points, and he continued being unheard. And at this point, I think it is already a bit late to hear him out. Because he has been unheard for so long, he feels unheard. And feelings are louder than facts, always. And, yes, he is snappy. He snaps because who would hear if he didn't? He is fiery because he has people to stand up for. It is not just his voice anymore, it is of many more like him. So yes, he is loud, with many voices hidden behind his own. Yet, even then, 'he is just an abomination.'

#dont touch me or loml ever again #ive seen more negativity about him than i would like today that i am kinda emotional #i feel like i could have worded my thoughts better but this rant got away from me way too quickly and im not gonna edit for now at least #please dont take my emotions too seriously but also!!! #i dont take the feeling of being unheard lightly #becoming short-tempered for being dismissed about your points is a real response to feeling invisible and ignored #and i feel like it fits him #so in a way this is an analysis on how he acts i guess???? #you decide #anders #anders positive #dragon age #anders was right #actually #anders is right #me own

[rebelrevolutionary]

Are you the person who made antifa/anarchist modern AU Anders art like 5 years ago? Something about the way you used to draw noses seems familiar. If you are I just want you to know that those were my favorite pieces of Anders art. It was just so self indulgent for me and I'd kill to see them again :D

FGHNGFHHJFHFGHD YEAH IT WAS ME. i posted them on my main cause i didnt have this sideblog yet, but p soon afterwards i created this blog so thats why theyre not on here fghfhgfhg i was just a little baby DA fan back then 😭

you know what? ill just add them all here in this post for you, my fellow self-indulgent anarchist anders enjoyer

#dragon age #da2 #anders #my art #i still love this AU soooo much i need to draw more of it Right Now #it came from me having gotten into DA and specifically DA2 right when i was getting more politically aware #i was reading karl marx and angela davis. making/reading zines and going to protests #when anders blew up that church yall know i fell in Luv like... hes literally my fantasy self and also my fantasy bf all in one #politics are SO frustrating bc youre just educating yourself and trying to do something but instead ur watching the world go to shit #but then anders decides to make a statement and blows up a building and it Actually Fixes Stuff 😭😭😭😭😭 #my biggest power fantasy forreal. also i gave anders the same exact rainbow patch i have on my jacket lol

[sapphim]

so I'm leaning towards alistair or sera as my preferred standin for the champion of kirkwall for what probably boils down to similar reasons for both characters. tbh I've been specifically fishing for ideas to flesh out into a full au from what I started with hero of ferelden blackwall.

#fenris and anders seem too popular as suggestions for inquisitor so they are right out as I am feeling hipster and contrarian about it #even though normally fenris would be one of my top 3 picks for the role #I DO have to be difficult‚ actually

[tenojan-in-tevinter]

Honestly I really want to be able to side with Solas in dreadwolf. I think it'd be super interesting to play as an elf in Tevinter and be able to just go "yeah actually I think Fen'Harel is right let's tear down that veil." I mean I assume the main conflict will be Solas trying to convince your character to join him, or your character being told they have to try and stop him, and there are not enough games that let you side with the presented "villain" character. I want to see what the world is like with no veil I'm so interested. Also so interested to see what full-on Fen'Harel Solas is like. Is he still as empathetic? Or is he more conniving and distanced from "mortals" like the old stories would have us believe?

#side note it's been a hot minute since I've played trespasser I've been obsessed with origins and anders and justice recently ok #i don't have super high hopes cause bioware sucks ass #Idk if they'll have the balls to introduce the player to that level of moral nuance #i just think it would be fun and cool to have some choices on the final outcome #*with the main villain character I should say #instead of 'player character who is awesome hero defeats evil mean bad guy' #i feel like the past games have always tried to paint a very clear target of who the 'bad guy' is #when in reality that's rarely ever so simple #i want a story that lets you decide if you actually think the bad guy is bad or not #and then lets you choose what to do about it instead of directing you to kill this one guy to save the day yknow? #and I think this would be a wonderful opportunity to explore that #and I mean we did get this is 2 if I'm honest #there's not really a singlular villain #you can choose if you think the mages or the Templars are right and side with one or the other #dragon age dreadwolf #fen'harel #solas dragon age #i just like complications in stories that make decisions very hard #make solas the players friend or something again make him seem like a person and not an evil mage entity bent on killing everyone #maybe I'm just tired of how often the writers have done moral gymnastics and tried to swap it around #to make it seem like actually the mages should all be locked away and treated like shit cause they're all egotistical maniacs #and that the Templar/mage issue is a both sides have a point thing when it is clearly not #maybe I just want them to direct us towards taking the side of the oppressed instead of the oppressors for once #Hope you enjoyed my longish rant I hide in the tags as usual

[mabaris]

it's. interesting. the way that irving is popularly interpreted. i regularly see people who imply that he purposely leads mages into performing blood magic, only to pull the rug out from under them and expose them to the templars, in order to fulfill some type of quota (?unclear) because “see? we catch x number of suspected maleficar a year, we must be doing our jobs right”

so, okay. kinloch hold has the reputation of being the most liberal circle, because it doesn’t censor information. knowledge about blood magic rituals isn’t suppressed, necessarily; they hope that their teachings (and the implicit threat of the templars) are enough to keep people from acting on it, but people are still allowed to read about it. this is wild

the codex entry “Irving’s Mistake” reveals a lot. he writes, “The environment of the tower is such that certain modes of thought are encouraged, both for good and ill.” and it’s easy to take this as an admission that these “certain modes of thought” means they're just. straight up encouraging blood magic. but in tandem with the above fact (kinloch mages don’t censor information just because they disagree with it), ive always assumed it means that they encourage apprentices to question authority and use their Critical Thinking Skills to decide what chantry rules are actually worth following, rather than obeying blindly.

the danger with that is, everyone holds different values, and some people believe “blood magic is forbidden” is a rule that’s not worth listening to. and then we get uldred.

this is still irving’s fault, because he encourages his circle to question authority, but it’s not entrapment. he’s encouraging his circle to wring freedom and independence out of the small bit they’re offered

i also think his treatment of jowan is a little bit of. trying to play 4d chess without fulling understanding the pieces. he identifies jowan as someone of weak will, who could be easily manipulated by a bad actor. i honestly believe it was an empty threat, and irving’s thinking was something like:

-i am the first enchanter and i have blind spots. i know there are people in the circle who operate in those blind spots to prey on apprentices

- i have identified one of these vulnerable apprentices. i will present a false accusation, which will hopefully scare him straight if he was considering it. he may also reveal names of people who tried to influence him. if he has done nothing wrong, there’s nothing to worry about; we can investigate and it will turn up nothing because he is already innocent :)

his biggest problem was, in my opinion, having too much trust that everyone else would share his perspective. sort of has the mindset of "well, i read about some ancient tevinter blood magic rituals and i turned out okay" without realizing how insidious uldred etc. had gotten at manipulating people from the time they were children

#i think this is also why irving’s so lenient with anders tho. like damn that kid does stick to his convictions and hate authority #he's just. a libertarian #in the real world sense of the word and not the actual fraternity lmao #mine #irving #this has been in my drafts for a long time and i feel like this might have originated as a vague but yknow what #i havent seen irving posts on my dash in a minute and im still right

[kaltacore]

"sebastian and anders were supposed to represent opposite extreme views on andrastian chantry" oh okay i thought they were supposed to represent opposite kinds of religious trauma

#no like. both of them are andrastians. both of them didn't end up here by their own will. not completely at least #and sebastian fully gives himself into it but there's still a part of him that. enjoys things he shouldn't enjoy as an andrastian at all. #he likes violence. he's up to revenge every single time. he doesn't dislike the idea of being a prince himself but he knows the chantry doe #he does come back to become a chantry brother willingly but he breaks the rules every time he's conflicted. which is ohhh #he clings to his faith but is it what he really wants or is it the only safe thing he has left #meanwhile anders distances himself from andrastianism but big part of his stances is still based on the chant of light #still thinking about him not believing that corypheus is really a magister because it's all chantry's propaganda #and then when it's made sure that corypheus actually is one of these guys he questions if the chantry is right about some things. oh boy #(this is also ironic because no. chantry doesn't know shit. go ask merrill about dreadwolf you know) #they're so very not normal!! no way #sebastian vael #anders #dragon age

[flashhwing]

i hate when characters are written out of character in fics unless it's people making anders and fenris be nice to merrill. i think that's good mischaracterization actually

#also when anders and fenris come to a begrudging respect for each other #look these people hung out together for seven years. they gotta do more than tolerate each other #there are holes in da2's characterizations and it's interesting to plug them #i think the banters we see don't tell the whole story #i think the banters we see between anders and fenris are at their worst #i think both anders and fenris woudl take merrill under their wing. she appreciates it even though she doesn't need it #because it's different than how varric takes her under his wing #because varric is like. protecting her and teaching her how to navigate the city #whereas anders and fenris are like. trying to change her way wrt demons and blood magic #and i think merrill's smart enough to see their hearts are in the right place. so she appreciates it #even though it's so so so irritating and she wishes they would stop #all's i'm sayin is. there's depth to these characters we don't get to see #and when i have time i may just start actually writing about it #this has been a post #anders #merrill #fenris #dragon age

[eye-of-yelough]

“Anders may have talents but playing the lute isn’t one of them” of course it isn’t have you seen his fucking hands. put that boy in front of a PIANO ‼️

#literally had this post bouncing around in my head for over a year now and never actually. posted it. so here it is #i’m right btw. about everything but especially this. he learned piano in the circle and no one can take that away from me #dragon age 2 #anders my beloved #your daily dose of idiocy #anders dragon age #wait does thedas even have pianos. i’ve never seen one i don’t think? whatever they do now

[vigilskeep]

Minerva and the Amaranthine Wardens: "Anders?! You're ba- what is that?"

Anders, with a baby sling (including baby) and a gruff blood-stained mercenary: "Shit happens."

minerva taking two seconds to process before jumping into explaining why if velanna stole HER baby for an apprentice to teach it dalish magic and entropy then by all rights she can thieve anders’ baby to make it an elementalist battle mage arcane warrior. sharing is caring anders

#anders: what abt spirit healing :( #minerva: this isnt abt u #anyway in the actual theoretical timeline the hof finds out LONG before keir #awakening crew abt to throw hands with the da2 squad for aunt and uncle rights

[sappylemons]

2024 vs 2021 wowie!! we are doing SOMETHING here i just don't know what it is

#(workin on refs & actually having a lot of fun with them. pulled up his old one to get his skin right then was like ''hey wait a minute'') #something really satisfying about like. this was always what it was MEANT to look like this is always what i saw in my head #but i can make it real now! we got there! #my art #ocs #anders

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Maybe I'm giving the writer's too much credit, but I think the reason Varric can't forgive Anders, even after a six year friendship, but is willing to forgive Solas, is literally just because Anders actions affected Varric on a personal level, and Solas's haven't yet. At least not in such a direct, visceral way.

I think Varric is a big hypocrite who really only cares about things if they affect him personally.

He chooses whether he supports the mages or templars based on his best friend's feelings.

His approval on the Grey Wardens being banished vs conscripted relies on whether or not Hawke died to save them.

He only cares about the red lyrium and Corypheus so deeply because he helped release them.

etc.

Anders actions, however justified, forever changed Varric's comfortable life with his friends in the city he calls home. Varric had to watch the home he'd lived in his whole life fall to pieces around him, and his closest friends potentially turn on each other. And this time, it wasn't because of some outside force, but because one of his closest friends decided to try and rock the boat. I don't think Varric is a "rock the boat" type of guy. I think the way his approval works in both DA2 and DAI shows he's a big ol' centrist. Personally, for the type of character Varric is, I can definitely see how Anders could become a villain to him because of this.

Solas, on the other hand, is from a time when Varric's life had already been turned upside down. Shit just got a little weirder because of him. Solas wasn't the catalyst for Varric's friend group splitting up and his home being destroyed. He is claiming that he's going to destroy the world, but he hasn't actually done anything that affects Varric personally yet.

But that's just my interpretation. I don't blame people for thinking it's another example of the writers' using a character as a mouthpiece for their own opinions.

(I also haven't read the new issue of The Missing, I've only seen this one scene being referenced out of context. If Solas has blown up Kirkwall at this point or murdered Varric's friends that would, of course, debunk this)

#I'm uh not gonna tag this with fandom tags #because anders fans have been mean to me before for saying that varric being bitter towards anders after da2 makes sense #i like anders #i like varric #i think they're both interesting flawed characters #just putting that out there #also I'm not saying that varric hating anders is right on a moral level or whatever #just that it makes sense #if you want to ignore canon and have Varric be supportive of Anders I 100% support you! #I think the idea that he's lying his ass of to the Inquisition and is actually protecting Anders is funny #and also could be in character for Varric if you interpret him to have more of a moral backbone than I do

[villainanders]

One thing is that for all the times Irving used his influence to protect Anders there were even more times he didn’t protect apprentices he was either less personally invested in or that he didn’t think had talent that was worth investing in. At least on some level Anders is very aware that is survival in the Circle has been hinged on one authority figure finding him likeable and/or useful

#and that reading of Irving is soooooo good bc you can’t really villainize him for it either frankly. he is trying to protect as many people #as possible and sacrificing others (literal children!) along the way to save more later #even in the more cynical reading of the above scenario where Irving protected Anders bc he recognized him as a potentially powerful mage #who could be an asset to the circle (which had always been my hc for whatever reason I’m just realizing I don’t think that motivation is #ever actually suggested anywhere. but regardless) #this is a long game of proving the circle and mages’ as a whole’s value that ultimately leads to the trust between he and Gregoir that can #save the circle in dao. it’s an impossible situation to do right in

[bluerose5]

Nostalgia

"Tell me something about yourself."

Anders’s hands stopped in their tracks. Golden brown eyes glanced up at Garrett, curious about what brought on such a request.

He returned to healing Garrett's wound, brow furrowed as he concentrated on knitting the flesh together. Slowly but surely, the large gash on his arm started to seal closed.

"Like what?" Anders asked. "Have we not been getting to know each other all this time?"

"Well, we have," Garrett said, then added, "in a way. Even then, I feel like so much of you is still a mystery. The Grey Warden thing, I get. The apostate thing, I get. Even the whole merging with Justice thing, I get."

"But...?" Anders trailed off.

"But you don't tell me much about you." Garrett watched him closely, searching for any change in his expression. "I've seen you joke around with the others. Then, as soon as I walk into the room, you get all serious and quiet. You've told me plenty about the mages' plight, which is fine, but I just want to know more, you know?"

"Is that your way of telling me that I need to lighten up?" Anders questioned, head cocked to the side as he peered over at him.

Even after the wound was healed, Anders’s touch lingered on his arm.

Neither one of them tried to move away.

"If that's how you choose to take it." Garrett shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't mind being that guy that you can vent to about your frustrations. I'm glad that you trust me enough to share your concerns; but if I'm right about you —and something is telling me that I am— then there's more to you than you let on."

"Okay, and if there is?"

Garrett leaned in with a roguish grin, dark curls falling into warm, brown eyes.

Anders swallowed thickly.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Then I plan on finding out what."

"Heh," Anders laughed in an attempt to cover up how flustered he was. He dropped Garrett's arm as if his skin was on fire, taking a second to brush his hair back behind his ears. "What a tease you are, Garrett Hawke." After a slight pause, he glanced over at him. "What would you know of me?"

Garrett's grin softened into a smile.

"Oh, that's easy," he hummed. "Favorite color?"

"Red," Anders answered without skipping a beat.

Walking around the clinic, he started to straighten up, cleaning every surface as best as he could while taking inventory of his supplies.

"Really?"

"Yeah." For some reason, Anders felt the need to explain further. "It's a very versatile color. Bold and passionate, dangerous yet warm..."

"I'll have to keep that in mind."

Right.

"Anything else, or was this all just an excuse to find out what my favorite color is?"

Garrett snorted.

"I'm just getting started." He leaned his weight back onto his hands, kicking his legs out from the crate he was sitting on. "Tell me, when you're not out striving for mages' freedom, what do you do in your free time?" Garrett thought it over, then took a guess, not even giving Anders a chance to respond first. "Do you like to write?"

Anders wrinkled his nose.

"Not particularly."

"Seriously?" Garrett blinked owlishly at him. "Huh. Interesting."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that you're so good at it."

Wait, did that mean...

"Garrett Hawke," Anders said, "did you actually read my manifesto?"

"Perhaps." Garrett beamed at him, his eyes crinkled at the corners. "Does this mean you'll stop leaving copies all over my estate?"

"Maybe." With his back to Garrett, Anders clutched a pile of clean linens to his chest in an attempt to muffle the pounding of his heart. Anders wouldn't be surprised if Garrett could hear it from across the room. "Maybe I could leave other notes for you to find."

"Now, that's a challenge that I would gladly accept."

"Guess my Circle education is finally paying off," Anders joked. "As for hobbies, though." Anders sighed, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Oh, I don't know. Ever since I last escaped, I can't honestly remember when I've done anything for myself. Back then, I was with the Wardens. After I got away from them, all of my time here has been split between the clinic and the Mage Underground."

"When you're not with me, at least."

"True." He shrugged. "So, yeah. When I'm not playing cards with you lot at The Hanged Man, I don't do much. Pathetic, right?"

"No," Garrett huffed, glaring at him for making that jab at himself. "It means you're dedicated to what you do."

"That's one way of looking at it."

Humming in contemplation, Garrett sat there, deep in thought.

Eventually, he spoke up.

"Well, what would you like to do?"

"Excuse me?"

Garrett rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Anders with a fond smile.

"What would you like to do?" he repeated. "You and Justice?"

"Justice?"

"Is there an echo in here?" Garrett teased. "Yes, you and Justice. Say what you want. You may not 'hear' him, but he must have some kind of influence if you're both two halves of a whole."

"Such a huge simplification of our... arrangement."

"Yet you don't deny it. Come on," Garrett insisted. "The clinic is empty at the moment. I know for certain that today has been a quiet one for the Underground, so let's go have some fun. Alone. Together."

"What do you have in mind?" Anders asked, wary.

"Whatever you want."

Anders considered his options.

Setting the linens aside, the words came to him, unbidden.

"I'd like to go fishing."

At Garrett's surprised look, Anders grimaced.

"My father, he was always a stern man," he explained. A wistful sense of nostalgia settled deep into his bones. "But he was a proud father before my magic manifested."

Anders stared down at his hands, flexing them through the aches from years of healing and spellcasting.

"He used to take me to a lake not far outside of our village. We would take to the docks for hours. I would run around with fistfuls of worms and bugs for bait." Anders scoffed. "Every time I caught something, even if it was just trash, I would get so excited. I could have caught the smallest minnow, and he would brag about how strong I was."

And all it took to destroy that bond was fear.

Anders wouldn't linger on that, though.

"I mean, we don't have to fish, but perhaps we can take a walk down to the docks. Clear our heads a little?" Already, he could see the rhythmic motion of the waves, smell the tang of salt in the air. "Well, if you can sit still for that long."

Garrett chuckled.

Jumping down from his perch, he approached Anders’s position, hesitating before he took his hand into his own.

"For you, I'll try my best."

#dragon age #da2 #garrett hawke #anders #handers #in case i didn’t make it obvious enough i multiship #not always polyam either #i just wanted to actually give Hawke some insight into Anders #i feel like the game could have developed him more beyond mage rights and what-not #but meh that’s best saved for another post #bluerose rambles #bluerose headcanons #bluerose writes #it's not me it's queue

[galpalaven]

Warden-Commander Kira Cousland -> Hero of Ferelden Kohava 'Koha' Hawke -> Champion of Kirkwall Warden-Constable Inquisitor Nadia Surana -> Herald of Andraste

#WOULD you believe me if i said this has actually nothing to do with the teaser #bc it really doesnt hawke just showed up and tbh #surana's playthrough of inquisition was the only one that felt Right #SO #big fan of givin my girls the symbolic Big Chop when running away from things lol #kira cousland #kohava hawke #nadia surana #anyway. nadia is with anders btw. lmao.

[breadedsinner]

I think an overlying theme across all 3 of my canon girls and their relationships is "I need to believe there's hope for you, so that I can believe there's hope for me, too,".

#DA Tag #This is me just reconciling w the fact #That there's no going back Hervor spares Loghain and that's that #Their situations aren't really the same an outside might think she has no blame #But in her mind she's not a real dwarf and has no honor #So she would respect a man wanting to make things right #For Judith ... you could make the argument it'd be more poignant with Anders #But he does the thing no matter what you do so #BUT she and Seb struggle with wanting things and doubting if they deserve anything so #Seb pretty much knows he's like candy to demons and turns out Judy is too #There was just more to ...untangle with her #And then with Rota well #She all but yells that when she argues with Cass #What hope is there for a criminal that was forced into repentance #If there's to be none for someone who actually wanted it