#in defense of anders dragon age

[justcallmecappy]

One of the criticisms I've seen DA players have in response to Anders' actions at the Kirkwall Chantry is some degree of, 'his actions forced innocent mages into a war they had no choice whether or not they wanted to be involved in'.

What a lot of these players seem to miss is this: The mages were already involved. They have been involved since childhood, when their magic manifested.

If you are born a mage in Southern Thedas, you are marked. The Templars will find you, or your neighbors who were conditioned by the Chantry to fear magic will turn you in, and you are brought to the Circle where you are at risk of Tranquility, or Annulment, and subjected to a Harrowing. Your children born to you in the Circle will be taken from you to be raised in a Chantry orphanage (like Wynne's child was). You are not allowed to get married, or start a family, or own land. You are not allowed to leave your Circle ever, unless conscripted to fight in the army (like in the Fifth Blight) or fulfilling some whim or need of those in power (like Malcolm Hawke being made to entertain nobles at a party). You might be thrown into the dungeon and left to starve to death, like the mage child Cole (and other mage apprentices of the White Spire) did. You are at risk of physical and sexual abuse, like the mages of the Gallows were.

Innocent mages were already involved. They were already being killed, they were already fighting for their lives for centuries since the inception of Circles, long before Anders' actions.

Also, in the case of the Gallows specifically, Knight-Commander Meredith had already called for the Annulment as early as the beginning/mid of Act 3. The mages' lives were already in danger, even before the Chantry was destroyed.

Anders tried for six years to make people listen and show how magic is not meant to be feared and can be used for good -- by publishing a manifesto, by providing free magical healthcare in Darktown -- to bring people's attention to the plight of mages and change things for the better. It took the imminent threat of his people being slaughtered wholesale for him to resort to what is aptly titled 'The Last Straw'.

If players want to blame anyone for subjecting mages to a conflict they did not want, look no further than the Chantry and their system of exploitation and oppression over the mages. Put blame on the Chantry for forcing mages into lives they did not choose, and asserting methods of culling and control over them, simply for how they were born. It was the Chantry that gave them no choice whether or not they had a say in staying alive or dying.

And if DA players would still say that the mages could have tried for a more "peaceful route" to alleviate their circumstances (despite seeing how Anders' manifesto, his Darktown clinic, and years of trying to negotiate with Elthina failed and Meredith was calling for Annulment anyway): very rarely do the oppressed win change by pandering to the morals of their oppressors.

Innocent mages were already suffering and being murdered in droves, for centuries. Innocent mages were already involved in this struggle, whether they wanted to be or not. And Anders' actions at the Chantry was like a rallying cry: If we're going to die anyway, then I'd rather die trying to take them down than giving them what they want.

(Also, I have not yet gone into detail on what actually started the mage-templar war, which was the Seekers hiding the cure for Tranquility, and Lord Seeker Lambert's decision to dissolve the Nevarran accord and take the Templars hunting for the free mages across the countryside because he decided dead mages were better than free mages -- because that's a whole separate post.)

#da fandom critical #bioware critical #anders defense squad #da meta #in defense of anders dragon age #anders #dragon age 2 #chantry critical #templar critical #elthina critical #anders was right #mage rights #plight of mages #mage-templar war #sometimes the da fandom makes me want to flip tables #my meta

[rivilu]

It's me i'm people

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age 2 #anders dragon age #zevran arainai #zevran dragon age #to be clear i could talk about both of them for twenty hours straight Anders just activates my defensive instincts more often hfdgjg #riverdraws

[the-cryptographer]

was talking about how the amount of explosive material needed for the chantry boom, even /after/ that material been refined from the raw ingredients, is probably a lot more than anders and company could gather from a single trip to the sewers/mines without even bringing a cart. (which is cooroborated by the concept art of anders's bomb setup, although I don't think that picture makes much logistic sense either). all of which makes me wonder if the quest we get in canon was more like a scouting mission for anders to see where he could get the materials or arrange the bomb setup rather than the actual dirty work.

"why did he bothering inviting hawke et al then, if he wasn't even using them for the bulk of the actual labour?"

well, that's the thing. I'm wondering how much hawke et al's involvment in helping anders gather bomb materials is entirely symbolic.

other parts of the same quest are definitely symbolic. asking hawke to distract elthina with questions about mages as he goes about his business in the chantry is symbolic. he knows elthina isn't going to budge at that point. he just needs to build up a situation where she was given this last chance to save herself from what he's about to do, so that he can justify what in his own mind feels unjustifiable (though I do not see it that way, and I don't think merrill or isabela do either for that matter)

and given anders manages to set up the bombs just fine even if you turn down the quest…

how much is hawke et al going to find drakestone and sela petrae symbolic? how much is it making them complicit in the bombing simply for the sake of it? how much is this putting hawke et al in a position where their actions mean 'you're either with me or against me (and nothing imbetween)'?

like he really wants someone on his side so badly. so much so, he's willing to interpret lukewarm statements from hawke about not hurting mages as a radical statement of support. willing to interpret what was probably a lukewarm statement from donnic about disliking meredith as a reason donnic is more meaningfully on his side than aveline's. it's not hard for me to imagine anders spinning hawke et all bumbling around as he gathers samples of shit and sulphur and charcoal into a whole emotional experience of support and solidarity.

"so you're saying this was all a manipulative attempt by anders to gain support - support he didn't even really need - under false pretences?"

yes...? but also... no?

i feel like the thing canon doesn't really quite capture, and the thing i don't want to belittle, is how real and visceral and human these needs are? like, yes, maybe anders doesn't /need/ someone there to help him scout bomb ingredient locations to get the bomb built anyhow but-

to want companionship and personal recognition and support and someone to hold your hand through an emotionally difficult task? those are certainly things that pretty much everyone needs to be happy, even if they can persist and survive without. and anders has been denied these things at a lot of avenues of his life, has been taught he cannot ask for these things plainly and expect to get them. so I think it's entirely understandable that he resorts to manipulative, underhanded, and aggressive methods to get those needs met in lieu of even knowing how to pursue them genuinely anymore.

like- fenris crossed several continents to get to a place and a people for whom his experience of slavery hadn't been entirely culturally normalised. where he wasn't constantly being gaslit about how, actually, what he went through was excusable.

whereas anders is really living in the middle of cultural apologism for the circle as an institution. and where the person he seems to consider his closest friend can't accept and respond to anders trying to give away his mother's pillow as the desperate cry for attention and validation and help that it is.

idk, it's difficult bc- I will definitely make fun of anders's dysfunctional methodology for trying to get the attention and help and support that he needs. because he really does behave in ways that are cruel and aggressive and manipulative and stupidly misaimed and wildly alienating, and turn away people who are actually sympathetic to chase after hawke and varric being their least genuine.

but I never want to make fun of anders actually needing attention and help and support. like, yeah, we all do. all the moreso when we're standing up against tyrants and abusive prison camp wardens.

#anders #dragon age #lork dragon age opinions #sorry been a bit tetchy about this character recently (read: the last three years) #my brand of poking fun of this guy has triggered defensive responses from other fans on more than one occasion #and i'm under the mistaken impression that i can get this to stop if i can articulate my points clearly enough

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Man i always forget just how much Liam's entire way of thinking and making decisions is centered around Bethany in Act 1

#i mean i Do Know but also every time i replay it really stands out again #guy's conditioned to put the safety of his family and especially his mage sister first #and add this to him being protective by nature and it getting Even Worse after carver dies *and* them being in a city that is #infamous for its strong templar presence and harsh treatment of mages #the main concern is Always ''will this put bethany at risk'' #wary about helping anders cus it might antagonise the templars. defensive w fenris cus he makes a comments about magic #etc etc #laya plays dragon age #oc: liam hawke #my ocs #all the quests are also fun tho cus its such a funny back and forth between an optimistic 'yeah sure lets take this job' #and 'ah shit of course this got way risky again'

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

Me, when Sebastian joins my party for the first time: Okay, this time I'm not going to forget about you, Sebastian. I'm going to make an effort to use you a lot this playthrough so I can better understand you.

Also me, immediately forgetting about Sebastian while finishing Act 2 and making it halfway through Act 3 before I finally notice his Faith quest: ......................Oh. Right. My bad.

#da2 #dragon age 2 #sebastian vael #listen in my defense..........i don't like bringing sebastian anywhere sksksks #okay look i seriously tried but every time i bring him somewhere i always think man i wish i had brought someone else #and also i do just forget about him! i finally added him to my party at one point and he had 24 points to spend... #that's how long i neglected him after i promised myself i was gonna use him more and then i didn't #it's not that i don't like sebastian as a character though i do tend to side eye him A LOT... it's just that i like everyone else more #even aveline like i'd take aveline over sebastian any day and that's saying something... or is it? i have a lot of feelings about aveline #whereas my feelings about sebastian could maybe fill a thimble...it doesn't help that in my canon run as a mage hawke #i romance anders and well... sebastian wants me to kill anders and my hawke is like 'do i approve of blowing up the chantry? complicated.' #'am i breaking up with anders for this? absolutely. do i still love him? mmhmmm. am i going to kill him sebby? i'd sooner set varric aflame #then sebastian threatens to bring an army to kirkwall and leaves so i can't say i have the greatest opinion on him #even the time where i did kill anders and he stayed in my party he was just... there #and then he glitched out and started t posing while asking if ed ever found out what anders wanted to do in the chantry so..... yeah #but even this playthrough where i'm playing as a lady warrior with a different personality and everything... i'd just rather use anyone els #also keep him away from bethany i do not approve sksksks she's too good for him #i want to understand and see the different angles of him like with the other companions but i've yet to convince myself to do it #also sebastian romancers out there can you like... explain? genuinely can you explain the appeal? i'm curious #because of all the love interests in da2 i look at sebastian and you'd think i'd maybe be more interested? but it's like... #i know about the chaste marriage and everything like that's fine i don't need sex to be a thing in the relationship but it feels less like #an asexual romance and more like... y'know... being with a priest and i guess that's just not one of my kinks? sksksks #i guess there's also the prince angle but i romanced alistair in dao and kept him a grey warden i don't really care about royalty power #and i don't have issues with him being a part of the chantry [well i do but yknow what i mean] since i romanced cullen in dai #and his whole deal with the chantry and magic and shit makes his romance interesting to me but sebastian is just.... a bit too much i think #i don't know i'd like to understand because i really don't but i also keep forgetting about him

[nebulousmistress]

A Master's Work

The Defenders

Chapter 9 of 10

I had originally meant for this story to be 9 chapters long. But halfway through this chapter I realized I needed to split it, that Vigil's Keep needed detailing. The Architect's Deal will be the next and last chapter. Justice is Not Pleased with that upcoming arrangement.

Soon, precious, soon the retelling of Dragon Age Awakening will be over. I expect a few side stories but this is the main one.

Also yes I see no reason why Vigil's Keep needs to fall just because Amell isn't there. Vigil's Keep has the three Wardens whom Amell doesn't take with him. Also Wade and Herren and the entire Silver Order. Both Amaranthine and Vigil's Keep will suffer but both will be saved.

#fanfiction #ao3 #whatever i'm going to end up naming my da world state #dragon age awakening #warden amell #justice dragon age #anders dragon age #oghren #herren #the defense of both amaranthine and vigil's keep

[mywitchcultblr]

'terrorist' for you oppressor but they are liberator for me and others. Sainted heroes...

#dragon age #anders #anders was right #daenerys targaryen #asoiaf #love them #daenerys defense squad

[ziracona]

My friend told me this is incomprehensible but I have decided I don’t care because I made it for me.

#Handers #Tiva Hawke #Anders dragon age #Anders…protection? I guess I could tag as ‘pro Anders’ but it’s more like ‘Anders defense squad’ smh idk #dragon age 2 #anyway me any time someone dares go try & say shit about him to my face #also Justice any time someone tries to hurt Anders #Tiva 🤝 Justice: being the only remotely memorable moment in the CGI Avatar movie any time Anders is threatened (the time the guy’s GF came #out of nowhere when he was in trouble to shoot the Big Bad in the chest in 3 seconds for an instant win & then got over her husband’s #unconscious body & hissed/snarled at the dying Big Bad like ‘back tf off he’s mine & protected’ #while her man was unconscious on the ground. anyway that’s Tiva Justice & me @ all threats

[buggyballed]

i like how every time i start a new game in da2 i go in with the intention of romancing someone different and then fenris shoves a hand thru a guard and starts talking and i immediately fall in love

#kaelan.txt #kaelan plays dragon age #in my defense i have also romanced anders before but still

[spainkitty]

The Fiona is Secretly Alistair's Mother Scenes Part 1

Lanil's Pieces Masterlist

I knew his father a... long time ago. I would just like to know if... if he's happy. For his father's sake.

"King Alistair..." Lavellan began slowly, not quite sure where her thought was going.

Cullen looked up from the board, but she turned the next words over in her head carefully instead of continuing. She frowned, then moved her castle. Cullen smirked at her, eyebrow rising, and she scowled at him. She moved the castle back and tried the knight. Cullen nodded in approval.

"So the king, he's... you said once, he's not like other royals? Or nobles? I can't... remember." She huffed and leaned back in her chair. "I know Cailin was the previous king, I know he died in Ostagar, but I can't remember Maric having two sons."

"Officially he didn't," Cullen told her.

He surveyed the board and moved a pawn. Lavellan scowled. Minute little plays like that were fucking annoying. She couldn't figure out what he was going to do next with a play like that. She braced her elbows on her knees and glared, ignoring his chuckle.

"King Alistair's birth was a very closely guarded secret. No one knew for most of his life, not until the Landsmeet where the Warden declared him king, and her his future Queen."

"Well, that's one way to take over the world. Good for her." She raised her fist in the air.

"It was Ferelden, not all of Thedas," he said, laughing. "I met them both, briefly." She glanced up at the strange shift in tone. He was looking over the garden, but it was obvious he wasn't seeing it. "They came to the Circle to conscript the mages against the Blight, and they... saved us. What was left of us." His voice lowered and he passed a hand over his eyes. "They saw me at my worst, but her. Cousland, at the time. I'll never forget her. It was like waking out of a dream, out of a nightmare. The others, they tried to get through. Leliana was there, Wynne, a healer and enchanter I'd known for more than a year, too, but her. The Warden. She got through. I believed in her, and I was furious that she wouldn't listen. She was the only one who could... who could do what I asked." He sighed, shoulders falling. "I'm so glad she was... so much wiser, stronger, so much kinder than anyone I'd ever met. If she loves a man like our King, he must be a good man. I have to remind myself of that sometimes whenever I meet him."

Lavellan huffed in amusement. "It sounds like you had a little crush."

"No." She drew up short at how vehement that was. Cullen's look was intense, earnest, and completely genuine. "She is my Queen, and a hero. She saved my life, and then she saved my soul."

Lavellan blinked. "Oh."

"I'm sorry. This was--"

He started to get to his feet, looking too pale and shaken. Lavellan reached without thinking, wrapped her hand around his wrist, and smiled as gently as she could. As if she was trying to soothe her high-strung Ferelden Forder. He stilled immediately, eyes on her hand, and then slowly up to her face.

"I'm about to kick your ass for real this time. You can't go yet."

He slipped back into his chair, smiling weakly. "I told you, I didn't let you win last time."

"And I told you, you're a shit liar."

The answering laugh was deep, unabashed, and her heart lightened to hear it. She'd done something right, and Cullen was smiling.

"But, um, Alistair. If it was a secret, it can't be now, obviously. So who's his mother? Where did he grow up?" she asked, getting back on the original topic. She moved a cleric recklessly.

Cullen frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know details. I wasn't in the headspace to notice much at the time. What I've picked up since is that he was raised in Redcliffe until he was sent to the Chantry to be a Templar, younger than I was when I went, actually. I don't know exactly when or why the Wardens conscripted him, but it wasn't long before Ostagar."

"You were... thirteen, right?" Lavellan asked.

"I was." He glanced up, surprised. "You remembered?"

"I don't talk just to hear myself," Lavellan retorted with an eye roll. "And it's easy to remember what you tell me. Maybe because you're easy to talk to. Or maybe I just like hearing you talk."

Flirting with Cullen, even as innocently and obviously as she did, was always worth it. Just to see how easily and quickly he turned red. She smirked as it crept up to his ears He cleared his throat and moved a piece on the board. Her reckless cleric was gone and he was two moves from a check.

"Fenedhis!" she cursed.

He laughed, leaning back in his chair and shoulders shaking. "So. The story goes his mother was a serving woman, and she died giving birth to him. King Maric sent him away in secret to his brother-in-law and closest advisor. Other than... well."

"Loghain, Hero of River Dane."

"Yes."

Lavellan scowled darkly, leg hopping in place, and finally moved a different castle. This time, Cullen didn't protest, both eyebrows rising in surprise.

Ha.

"You... sounded unsure," Lavellan said, interrupting Cullen's focus after a long minute. It looked as though he dragged himself back to the garden, staring at her a little too long, before the words sunk in.

"Did I? I suppose I am."

"Why? Surely kings and nobles taking advantage of pretty serving maids is a tale as old as time," Lavellan said, mouth curled in disgust. "Though, perhaps it was a love story."

"Either could be true, but King Maric... He wasn't that kind of king, or man," Cullen said, his expression mirroring hers. He saw her incredulous eyebrow and he quickly raised a hand. "I'm not saying that as a Ferelden boy who grew up on stories of our heroic King Maric, who kicked the Orlesians out and freed us all. No matter what, if a king, um," he broke off, ears red again, "tends to... take advantage of pretty serving maids," Lavellan couldn't help but laugh at his uncomfortable expression, "people find out. They may whisper about it, or joke about it, or shake their heads about it, but people know. But until King Alistair took the throne, the only thing people ever talked about was how much King Maric loved his late Queen. No other woman managed to get his attention for years afterwards."

"So if he did tip a maid a few times and got himself a bastard son,"

"Inquisitor!"

"it was probably a love thing. It would only make sense, it being such a secret." Other than her wide smirk, she completely ignored his outburst.

"It's your move, Inquisitor." Cullen sighed, then sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking so very tired.

She wanted to poke a little more. See what it would take to tip him over the edge. What would it look like, if he was already so flustered? She looked down at the board and blinked.

"Oh shit. I didn't see what you did."

"I'm not helping this time. You deserve this."

She burst into laughter.

To Part II

#kitty writes a thing #dai lavellan #Lanil's Pieces #long post #dai fanfic #i LOVED the fiona scenes i wrote and im not even ashamed #FIONA DESERVED BETTER #dragon age fiona #i will go down swinging and screaming in defense of cullen #dai cullen rutherford #Aleandria was my first DA Babey and i love her so much #im still pissed that Anders and Justice story went where it did #NO WAY would she have let her bestie mage go thru that!!! #She came back to Amaranthine and kicked Orlesian Warden ASS i accept nothing else

[platoniccereal]

If you could undo any of the retcons in DA, what would you choose and why?

the inquisition.

i mean, this is a short answer, but as time goes by, i understand that this is an honest one. this is a tangent, but i guess dai is just an example of electronic arts' production hell if bioware planned the second game only as a bridge for the inquisition's main conflict, and then we get this regarding the mage uprising. like, it's reasonable to assume that since da2 was supposed to be a preamble, the dai's initial main focus was the mage rebellion? and then it's just one main quest in the beginning of the game, and that's it.

but this is not about retcons, it's just me being annoyed. it's just the dai is the most fruitful regarding the topic.

hawke suddenly hating on blood magic. they tried so hard to push it with leandra's death, and then just decided to take the matter in their own hands, ig.

whatever the fuck hawke and varric say about anders. this is not their point of view, at least not in every case, in da2??

whatever the fuck they did to dalish.

like, vallaslin? i guess it's cool if you get inspired by real-world peoples, and then decide to make vallaslin slave marks.

or make their gods powerful slavers Just Like The Nations that inflicted the genocide on them. nothing about andrastianism, tho.

dalish actually kick out the mages is the obvious one.

the point of view on the red crossing. same reason. i count it as a retcon because of the implications that elves actually did that (i.e. the exalted march) to themselves.

also iirc they changed relationships between dalish and city elves/ made it worse to shit on elves again. stop that wtf!! they won't, ofc.

i dunno if it's a retcon or just conscious disinformation, but the presentation of celene and briala in-game. no spoilers, but did they suddenly decide that celene actually didn't do anything she did in the masked empire?

whitewashing of alistair, fiona and briala. they don't look like that, you fuckers???

make these cullen endgame sliders canon again and work from here, cowards. i actually got them in my playthrough even tho they deleted them, afaik. (the ones where he snaps and kills three mages.)

actually, the whole cullen arc. i won't say anything new here, his story was supposed to end in dao, da2 at most.

and i think there are other sliders from dao they retconned and put aside, like with the circle that mages built near orzammar? do it, cowards! it would make such a good plot point in a normal version of dai where your focus is the mage rebellion.

the ending of dragon age absolution. i'm sorry, did anyone find it satisfying? did anyone go, like, hell yeah finally? or i knew that!

the wardens. of course they're suddenly all that stupid to fall for cory's lap dog's lies and shenanigans!

i dunno if the last one counts as a retcon, but it surely falls into the same line of crimes against the previous lore. suddenly bioware felt an urge to shit on every group da:o players held dear. because grey morality. but, you know, even without "i like diversity and opportunity to be a dick, i don't appreciate when the game tries to push an agenda in defense of the oppressors and you can't fucking escape it", sooner or later one should understand that trying to mix grey with every colour in the picture will lead only to it looking dirty and messy. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

thank you for your question! :)

#dragon age inquisition #dragon age #bioware critical #cullen critical #i guess #just should label it #ask

[breadedsinner]

Ngl, going through Dragon Age related tags and seeing the results absolutely flooded with countless posts by you about how Varric, Anders etc all piss you off because they hate Sebastian gave me a huge chuckle. Not to be condescending, it is just is kinda mad funny that you're so horny for your man that you have paragraphs and paragraphs worth of passionate defensive take downs of the other characters and da2s writing etc, all for his sake. I do feel that he does get sidelined by the game, could've been given more, and honestly, hey, I think people who are into less popular/more sidelined characters and that are so passionate about them despite the more limited content are cool. If he was real you'd be a great partner. Very dedicated. Go get him, gurl. Rawr.

What a weird thing to say on the Blorbo from my Media Website.

[elvhenfaer]

So maybe I’m getting ahead of myself but my ideas are this: some subtle DA romance pins and each goes to a cause related to the character. Maybe one visual & one quote for each character (send me your favorite quotes!)

Cullen donates to addiction recovery

Dorian donates to homeless LGBTQ youth OR ending conversion programs OR both (one pin goes to one, one goes to the other)

Josephine donates to Women in Government programs

Fenris donates to end human trafficking

Anders donates to religious reprogramming maybe? (Is that a thing??) Does anyone have any better ideas for him? Homeless cats?

Cassandra donates to Women’s Self Defense programs that teach self defense for free or get it into schools for younger girls (I’ve looked it up and these programs definitely exist)

The Iron Bull would go to Disabled Vets and maybe that program that trains homeless dogs to be PTSD dogs for vets

Sera could donate to homeless youth maybe? Free archery programs? (Does that exist?) unfortunately there’s no nonprofit for the destruction of the 1% which is what I think would really fit her character lol

Dalish sigils would donate to land back initiatives for Indigenous peoples. I could do multiple for them to donate to U.S. Indigenous, Canadian Indigenous, Palestinian freedom, maybe even to Romani populations if their are any nonprofits that benefit them.

Who tf would Blackwall donate to? The closest I can think of would be Prisoner Reform programs that actually make jail more than a cage or maybe like that southern law firm (can’t remember the name right now) that works pro bono to get innocent people out of prison.

Varric would donate to public libraries or free literacy programs

Merril would donate to indigenous culture reconnection/reclamation such as relearning lost languages

Solas pins will donate to blowing up the world (haha jk). Uhhhmmm no, maybe he could donate to Jewish pilgrimage programs or the same kind of idea of what Merril donates to but for a different tribe?

Those are my ideas so far for specifically dragon age pins. Obviously getting the pins made will cost money and take time and I have to design them AND I’m gonna do some ocean conservation bois first, so they won’t all be available right away. But that’s okay because I want your opinions anyway! Does anyone have any great charities along these lines they want to bring to my attention? Any favorite quotes or motifs they’d like to see made into a wearable pin? Which character would you be itching to have first?? Geeks for Good, let’s make some money for some great causes!

#dragon age inquisition #dragon age #dorian pavus #dragon age romance #charity #donate #just spitballing here #i want your opinion #Geeks for Good #pins

[the-cryptographer]

Kinda a vent post but- someone just left a comment on a fic of mine calling me an Anders hater, lol.

I know I’m not the easiest on Anders regarding his lateral aggressions, talking over other marginalised folks, his extremely Christian/Andrastian martyr complex, lack of respect for others’ boundaries, and other generalised personality defects, but I feel like I’ve always been pretty clear that I fully respect and support his work with Justice, in the clinic and the mage underground, including and exceeding his spot of anti-Chanty iconoclasm.

Also, like, lmao, how much do I have to conspire to get Fenris and Merrill to suck his dick before it becomes obvious I am really unnaturally fond of this character and want to see him happy and supported?

#i know sucking someone's dick doesn't automatically equal respect btw please forgive me for being oversimplistic and crude i am venting #i want them to love him tenderly and make accommodations for his mental health issues and practice better self care in the process #i know why people are so defensive of anders bc canon is so ableist and hypocritical about him #but i'd appreciate being given the benefit of the doubt here #just bc i have a character call out some of his behaviour doesn't mean i think he's wrong about the big picture #lork dragon age opinions

[wavesofinkdrops]

A Chance Encounter

Teen & Up Audiences, Black Emporium Exchange 2021

Fandoms: Dragon Age Inquisition, Dragon Age II Relationships: Anders/Dorian Pavus Characters: Dorian Pavus, Anders, Varric Tethras, M!Lavellan, M!Hawke, Sera, Cassandra Pentaghast, Cullen Rutherford, Justice

The Inquisition happens on an unlikely person during what was meant to be a normal rift-closing outing. Dorian takes an interest in the mage they've just met, and soon truths come out that heighten that fascination. A meeting of fate that then becomes an unlikely friendship... and more?

The healer hesitated, eyes darting away as he stood. “You said you’re an inquisitor? Inquisitor of what?” Four pairs of eyes blinked at him in confusion, Sera having found her way to them after making sure the area was clear of any further threats. “How’s he not heard?” Sera asked, disbelief clear in her voice and on her face. “I need to know if you’re with the Chantry,” the healer replied defensively, hand at his staff again.  Dorian rolled his eyes. “Andraste’s tears, we’re not Templars, if that’s what you’re asking. Southern Circles are an atrocity, I would never hang around such a place as would have chained me so.” Whatever the reason was, the stand-off the healer was giving them was quickly becoming unamusing the longer they stood in the cold under a darkening sky. “Now, if you please, we can spend our time distrusting each other in the damp cold of these woods, or we can find our way to your house and help Cassandra.” The healer’s eyebrows arched in surprise, he considered this, nodding without conviction. “Can you walk?” He addressed Cassandra, as Mahanon and Sera helped her stand. 

#my writing #dragon age 2 #dragon age inquisition #dragon age #anders #dorian pavus #dorian x anders #black emporium exchange 2021

[envihellbender]

h/c Carver and Fenris, Fenris finding Carber’s magic scars

Characters: Carver Hawke, Fenris

Fandom: Dragon Age

Content: hurt/comfort, scars, angst, evil blood mage Hawke AU

Fenris followed Carver into his room, holding his head down and walking quickly in hope that Hawke wouldn’t spot them. He sighed in relief when the door shut behind him with no issue. A feeling that was quickly replaced with anxiety as he saw Carver begin to unfasten his gauntlets. He stood awkwardly, he was unsure precisely what he was supposed to do and what Carver intentions were. Before he could fixate and worry however, his spotted something on the bare pale skin of Carver’s wrists.

Fenris recognised them instantly, the fractal patterned scars across Carver’s arms were something he had seen before. They weren’t uncommon among slaves, and even citizens, of Tevinter. Sometimes it was to mark a magister’s property, usually it was just the product of a fight or beating. In the south they were less common, however, as he saw Carver remove the gauntlets he always wore and unfastened the wrapping from his wrists … he was for a moment instantly brought back to the north of Thedas. Across Carver’s pale wrists were those scars that looked exactly like bolts of lightening flashing across the sky or from a mages’ hands. Deep purple scars that ran up to his elbows. He felt sharp pains shooting up and down his arms and legs as a blue glow radiated from him.

“Fenris?” Carver said suddenly, he took a step forward and his bright blue eyes widened in alarm. Fenris was instantly grounded, he blinked in confusion and shook his head. He glanced over Carver’s eyes, not the electric, unnatural blue of magic or lyrium. The deep blue of the ocean. It calmed him almost instantly, but he still felt a twist of sorrow in his stomach.

“I- I apologise,” Fenris said. “I just… your arms.”

“Oh, erm, right.” Carver’s cheeks burned red. He looked away and felt his muscles tense. “I didn’t think you’d be particularly repulsed by scars,” he said defensively.

“No. No, absolutely not. That’s not what I-” Fenris sighed and took a step towards Carver. “I recognised them. They are common in the Imperium. They’re caused by magic. I… someone… hurt you.”

“Oh.” Carver felt his anger turn to pure embarrassment as he wrapped his muscular, toned arms around his torso. He avoided looking at Fenris.

“You don’t have to talk-”

“S’okay. Not much of a story. Dad was particularly brutal with his punishments sometimes. And. He liked to test out new spells. Worked better on the kid who couldn’t fight back instinctively with fire I guess.” Carver sighed and perched on his large double bed. He kicked off his boots and sat curled up wrapping his arms around his legs, trying to make himself look as small as possible.

“Ugh. Of course. I should have guessed. Your father sounds far too much like your brother,” Fenris spat. He perched next to Carver on his comfortable bed, he always felt so strange in the Hawke estate. It was so huge and ornate, he half expected to see some cruel magister appear and grab him by the collar. He had to admit it was far more comfortable than his decaying mansion.

“Anders is helping me with them, the scar tissue isn’t as sensitive any more but without the gauntlets even the wind makes them hurt,” Carver mumbled. “It’s… pathetic.” He buried his face into his knees, he turned away and screwed his eyes shut. Fenris tentatively touched Carver’s back, resting his palm between his shoulder blades.

“Well, if aching scars are pathetic-”

“No. No that’s- that’s not what I-” Carver interrupted. He lifted his head and loosened his arms letting his knees fall forward. “That’s-”

“I know, I know,” Fenris said soothingly pulling Carver into his lithe, toned arms. “I… do you wish for me to stay here for tonight? I can leave if…”

“No. Stay,” Carver mumbled, he shuffled into Fenris’s arms and buried his face into his warm chest. Fenris’s breathing was so slow and deep, it was almost meditative and soothed the racing thoughts in Carver’s mind.

#carver hawke #fenris dragon age #dragon age #dragon age 2 #hurt/comfort #angst #fanfic #dragon age fanfiction #scarring #abuse reference #envi writes